The Message and its Messengers
Notes
Transcript
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads here. We’re so thankful for all of you :)
Open your Bibles and turn with me to Romans 10.
There’s a game I’ve played with my friends. I’m not sure if there’s an official name for it, but we just call it “How Does It Work?”.
The rules are, simple:
You point at something and ask “how does it work?”
With every shred of confidence, the player’s goal is to drone on about the inner mechanisms that make something… work!
If I pointed at this microphone, I could boldly answer:
The microphone is composed of a body and a receiver. The microphone’s components vibrate as sound waves hit it and convert them into an electrical voltage.
Then, the microphone can amplify that electrical signal.
That… may not be right. I’m not really sure,
…but that's the whole game, isn't it? You say it with your chest, and if nobody at the table actually knows how a microphone works, you … win?
…in reality, some would go as far to dig into every facet of the microphone: the frame, the diaphragm, the wiring. Anything to sound confident and overblown.
I bring up this dorky game to show you something. You can start with something simple, but when you start pulling the thread, it goes deep. Fast.
There's almost always more underneath than you ever stopped to think about.
The everyday thing you use without a second thought turns out to have a whole hidden chain behind it, holding it up.
I want to play that game with you this morning,
I want to pull the thread with something far more important than a microphone.
I want us to point at our salvation,
Our redemption in Jesus and ask the question “How Does That Work?”
Where does it start?
WHO does it start with?
What does it lead to?
[Pause] Our sermon summary today is this:
When we learn to love God’s work of redemption, we learn to love sharing the gospel even more.
The passage we will be reading today is humbling, revealing, but applicable as we go and share the good news of Jesus.
So in light of that…
Will you please stand for the reading of God’s Word? Starting in verse 13… ending in 17.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
First sermon, you know I gotta hit ya with the three points.
Point One: We Call On the Name of the Lord (13)
Point One: We Call On the Name of the Lord (13)
I want you to think of how often we name things by the final step…
We’ll say, “I turned on the lights” and simply mean the flick of a switch.
We’ll say, “I drove to church this morning” and simply refer to the time spent behind the wheel.
We’ll say “I poured a glass of water” and allude to the glass getting filled.
…We’ll say… “I called on the name of the Lord and was saved”... and only refer to the action itself.
Is that statement untrue? No.
It’s as true as the fact that you drove to church this morning and, more importantly, it’s in the passage we just read.
But. Do we tend to forget the chain of events leading to that call? Yes.
When you say, “I poured a glass of water”, there’s a chain leading to that event that goes without saying. There’s pipes under the sink.
Coming from a main.
Coming from a treatment plant.
Coming from a reservoir.
You drove to church this morning. You put a key in a keyhole.
…turned on an engine.
…that was assembled in a factory.
…that was designed by engineers.
The danger is this:
We will say “I called on the name of the Lord and was saved” the way we say “I poured a glass of water”... as if it began with us.
Paul’s chain of events is doing something pastoral. He’s wanting to show us everything that had to happen before we ever called on the name of the Lord.
In Luke, Jesus tells us, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
What is this abundance Jesus is referring to? Jumping back a couple verses to verse 9…
We read:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
There’s so much to talk about in this passage, but I want to point your attention to His riches.
His riches.
My riches? No. Ha, definitely not that.
Ephesians 1:7-8: “ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight”
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Guys, it’s out of the abundance of grace…
Overflowing from our hearts…
…that our mouths speak.
How can we keep quiet?!
How can we not call on Him?!
How can we not be thankful?
We (Gentiles!!) have been included in this promise!
It applies to us!
The Pharisee, Saul, hated that reality, but the Christian, Paul, PREACHED it. He LOVED it.
He wants US to preach it, love it, remember it, LIVE in it.
We are the “everyone” in this passage. Not just the Jew, but the …us!
[Pause] Paul’s background wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a mistake. God didn’t… change his mind about Paul halfway through his life. No!
Paul received the finest religious education the ancient world could offer. He was a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel
…he could read Scripture in Hebrew. He KNEW the Scripture.
He knew the prophets by heart.
Verse 13 is a direct quote from the prophet Joel in Joel 2:32
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of YAHWEH shall be saved.”
Y’all. Paul is doing something crazy. Follow me here.
When Paul quotes Joel in verse 13, he doesn’t say “YAHWEH”, he says “(KUR EE OSS) Kyrios”, meaning “lord” or “master” in Greek.
One word difference? How is that crazy?
[Pause] For a thousand years, a faithful Jew would not even speak the name Yahweh out loud. It was too holy. Too set apart.
When they read the Scriptures and came to that name, they'd use a different word so their lips never formed it. Adonai, meaning “Lord”.
So when the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, that holy name became one word: (KUR EE OSS) Kyrios. Lord.
Four verses earlier, in verse 9, what's the confession that saves? “Jesus is Lord.” KUR-EE-OSS.
In Philippians 2, Paul continues this thought talking about "the name that is above every name", and longing “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. KUR-EE-OSS.
So when Paul gets to verse 13 and says 'everyone who calls on the name of the (KUR EE OSS) Kyrios will be saved' … whose name is he talking about?
In Joel, it's Yahweh. The God of the burning bush. The great I AM.
In Romans, it's Jesus. Yet, it’s still YAHWEH.
Paul took the most sacred name in the Hebrew Bible and he put it on Jesus Christ. He actually does it four times between verses 9 and 17.
In verse 9, Jesus is Lord.
In verse 12, he is Lord of all.
In verse 13, he is the Lord whose name saves.
In verse 16, he is the Lord the prophets cried out to.
Four times, Paul takes the name and places it on Jesus.
YAHWEH, out of the abundance of His grace… overflows our hearts, so we may call on the Name the Lord.
Point Two: We are Sent in the Name of the Lord (14-15)
Point Two: We are Sent in the Name of the Lord (14-15)
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
If everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and belief comes from hearing the gospel, then shouldn’t we want people to hear? Shouldn’t we want to preach it?
In fact, isn’t it cosmically important that they hear? Apart from the gospel, there is no salvation.
If you are Chrisitan, think about your own story, your testimony:
there was a moment when the good news finally reached your ears.
…the good news that you could be saved from your sin and brokenness
…and you believed it.
Right then, God put his mark on you and sealed you as his own with the Holy Spirit he'd promised all along.
So, there’s a task ahead of us, and beloved, if we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, it’s a command from Jesus himself,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Do you see the duality? On one hand, only the Holy Spirit has the power to change the sinner’s hearts, but on the other, Jesus isn’t telling us to sit back and watch the show from the bleachers. He’s telling us to get to work. If we want to watch the Holy Spirit work, we have to get on the field!
God is in control, yet we have been tasked by the Great Commission by YAHWEH!
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Paul is quoting the prophet Isaiah who wrote:
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Almost identically, the prophet Nahum writes:
Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace! (Nahum 1:15
15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.
The Hebrew word for “publish” means to "announce" and “proclaim”!
Proclaim peace! Proclaim salvation! Proclaim…
…the good news.
What was the “good news” in the prophets’ cases?
In both, a messenger was arriving proclaiming the enemy was finished…
…and God reigns.
For Isaiah, Judah was in exile. Carried off to Babylon. Far from home, far from the temple, wondering if God had forgotten them…
…when from over the mountain, the herald cries: it's over.
You're going home.
God reigns.
For Nahum, the enemy was Nineveh, the empire that had terrorized God's people for generations.
And the herald crests the mountain with the news: the tyrant has fallen.
The threat is broken.
God reigns.
The good news in these Old Testament passages was the freedom from the oppression and wickedness of Gentiles …and the redemption of Israel.
But, Romans heralds freedom from oppression and wickedness of sin …and the redemption of Jews AND Gentiles.
Christian.
You are to be a herald of victory.
We are to send heralds into the world proclaiming VICTORY.
How will we proclaim God’s victory, which is GOOD news to the sinner, if we don’t PREACH? If we don’t GO?
Is that daunting? Satan wants us to think that it is. He wants us to think: I’m incapable. I’m not enough. I’m too young. I’m not eloquent. I’m not a pastor.
The enemy delights in magnifying fear and anxiety until it keeps us silent.
I can’t help but think of the prophet Jeremiah. We see a young man, probably a teenager or in his early-twenties, being called and sent to a nation that was sliding into darkness.
Jeremiah's call was pretty unique. He was set apart to be a prophet to the nations, something none of us are here to claim.
But watch how God answers him,
Watch the way God calms his fear.
Jeremiah is worried about his ability. His words.
And here’s how God responds:
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you, and
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:4-9”
God tells Jeremiah that He appointed him as a prophet to the nations before he was born. There wasn’t a day of Jeremiah’s life He was out from under the provision of God.
None of us here are prophets, but we are messengers that God has sent out.
Beloved, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? That herald from the mountains, “Jesus has won!”
“Your God reigns!”
[Pause] “I am with you always, to the end of the age,” Jesus says.
We aren’t alone. We never have been.
In victory, we are sent in the name of the Lord.
Point Three: We Hear the Name of the Lord
Point Three: We Hear the Name of the Lord
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
If we are sent in victory, why does Paul tell us… we might not be victorious?
Jesus took the Cross.
He bore our sins.
He died and ROSE again.
But, they have not all obeyed the gospel? There’s an EMPTY TOMB, REDEMPTION FROM SIN, and still, not everyone believes?
This can feel… discouraging.
“Can I mess it up?”
“Am I to be trusted with this good news?”
Can I remind you of something, beloved?
The gospel tells us that Jesus took our sin, died the death we deserved, and gave us everlasting life with Him in Heaven…
THAT is the victory by which we are sent.
We are not sent by OUR victories:
Not by conversion numbers
By our eloquence
By our mission trips
By our theology
[Breath] We are sent so that Jew, Greek, American, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Canadian, Russian, Egyptian, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, South African, Costa Rican, lost, people, from, every, nation… will call on the name of the Lord.
When Paul says, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel,” it’s to serve as a reminder that we aren’t the ones who save, but God alone.
Salvation is not in our hands. This is good news for a messenger, right? Salvation is not a result of human will or exertion.
We are not the savior arriving, we are the herald announcing a salvation already secured…
…calling out to people whose hearts only God can open.
That doesn't make the going less urgent. It just makes it possible.
Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Isaiah 53 is one of the strongest christological passages in the Old Testament, even leading some to call the whole book the Gospel of Isaiah, despite being written some 700 years before the birth of Jesus.
This particular chapter has Jesus -filled verses such as,
"he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities,"
"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter"
"the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
This is THE Suffering Servant chapter.
…but in verse 1, it starts with a lament: “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
“Lord, who is going to believe this good news?
Lord, we preached, and who listened?
Lord, we told them the gospel, and so few believed.”
[Pause] Isaiah knew this truth. Paul knew this truth. God wants us to love this truth.
When God sends his word out, it doesn't come back empty-handed.
It doesn't fail.
It goes and does exactly what he sent it to do - to lead to belief and calling on the name of Lord.
Our gospel proclamation IS NOT for us to save anyone, but merely to succeed in what God asks of us as followers of Christ.
So the weight you feel:
the fear that you'll speak and nothing will happen,
God lifts it right off your shoulders.
The word doesn't depend on your eloquence.
It doesn't depend on their response.
It depends on the One who sent it.
Like God said to Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
And, Jesus telling us:
“I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20)
Paul writes,
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (v17)
[Pause] You can have the warmest smile…
…give the best hugs…
…have people over and give them the most amazing meatloaf
…but lost people aren’t saved by those things.
They’re great!
But, they don’t save.
As many of you know, we as a church have a goal towards 100 gospel conversations.
God has used this challenge in my life to position my interactions, my prayer life, and my everyday disposition to be aimed at the growth of The Kingdom of God.
I’ve seen my weakness. I’ve seen my cowardice.
…I’ve seen my need for a Savior. I’ve seen my need for the strength only found in the Holy Spirit. [pause]
People need to hear the WORD. The GOSPEL.
“AcTiOnS sPeAk LoUdEr tHaN wOrDs” well not when it comes to the good news of the gospel.
Let’s say you want to invite your friend to your wedding. It’s gonna be beautiful, memorable…
You can’t wait for them to be there.
So, you start mowing their grass, bringing them dinner…
you become the nicest person they know.
But, you don’t tell them about the wedding.
You don’t tell them where it is, when it is, how badly you want them to be there.
Your actions really aren’t speaking louder than your words here.
How will they come to the wedding if they don’t hear?
How will they hear if you don’t tell them?
How can you tell them without your words?
Yes, we are called to be loving, kind, gentle, on and on,
But, we’re not saved by those attributes, and no one is being saved through them. Only through the gospel alone.
Missions and gospel proclamation is a command from Jesus.
It’s how the lost hear good news.
It unites cultures and people.
It leads to redeemed souls calling upon the name of Jesus.
[Pause]
It would be… foolish of me to stand here and talk about missions with the assumption that everyone here professes Jesus is Lord.
If for whatever reason you find yourself here…
In that seat…
At GraceLife Church this morning… It's not by accident.
The Bible tells us that God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
In the depths of our hearts, we know this world isn’t our home.
We feel its brokenness.
We see its sickness.
We grieve something we may not even know we have lost.
That weight you feel? That’s sin.
That grief? That longing for something more? That’s what sin does to us.
That’s how sin infects each and every one of us.
The Bible tells us that God made humanity perfect.
We walked with God. We worked without toil.
…but we sinned.
And, as a result of that sin, the world fell into ruin.
Worst of all, death was introduced.
Did this sadden God? Beloved, it broke His heart.
In His perfect wisdom and oversight, it didn’t surprise Him, but it broke. His. Heart.
What are we left with?
I think you feel it.
That longing. Groaning. Itching for something more.
The world offers pleasures:
Money, relationships, power.
But, these are fallible. They’re fickle. They are infused with sin.
If we want joy. We won’t find it in these things. They will…
…let us down.
If the wages of sin is DEATH, then we deserve to DIE for our crimes against an almighty God. [Pause]
I’ve mentioned “good news” a lot. The good news is this:
The Almighty and perfect God that we wronged, that we sinned against, that we mocked, that we hated, that we disobeyed…
… he took that punishment for us.
The Judge stepped out from behind His seat and took the death sentence that had MY name on it.
Why? Why would He do this?
Church, it’s because He loves you.
Why Jesus? Why did God have to take my debt? Why did He have to die?
With His death, our sin that He bore was [poof] dissipated. Done for.
And, three days after He died, He stepped out of the grave.
Why?
Because death couldn’t hold him down. Death… lost.
The response to the good news is simply this: repent and turn away from sin, and trust in Christ to save you.
God has put eternity on our hearts for this reason, that we run to Him. That we desire Him.
So, yeah, Paul is right. God’s in control. He knows our hearts, but as Christians, we have a job to do. We’re to see the chain through from start to end:
To send, for the sent to preach
For those preached to to hear.
For those who hear to believe.
And for those who believe to call on the name of the Lord.
We don’t start the chain. We see the end of it.
The glass of water at the tap; the lights turning on.
Chain after chain after chain…
Sending missionaries and seeing lost sinners fall at the feet of Jesus.
Where does the chain land? What’s at the end of all of this?
Beloved… worship.
Worship is eternal, missions… is not!
Missions is a temporary command that leads to eternity with Jesus in WORSHIP of Him!
One day, missions will be no more. We won’t need to send preachers, we’ll be worshipping The Lamb, glorified, in a state where sin and death are never seen or heard from again.
We know what’s in store for us, but right now, we have a mission.
A mission to send. To preach.
For the lost to hear.
And if they call out to God to be saved, know this is not our doing, but the Holy Spirit’s alone.
We have confidence in the gospel, not ourselves.
It’s not up to our ability, our will, our exertion…
We can find a peace in the duality:
We proclaim the gospel, but…
It’s in God’s hands.
And, there’s NO better hands for the mission field to be in.
