Rom 10-A Message of Hope

| A Message of Hope to All People! Romans 10:14-21

October 21, 2007 (NIV) 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”20And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”21But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” PRAYScripture Memory:How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom. 10:14 (NIV)) Intro:Is the gospel message worth hearing? Is it something that would be good for others to hear, understand and embrace? Is it precious to you? 1. The need to call on Christ (v. 14a)2. The need to believe in Christ (v. 14a)3. The need to hear (v. 14b)4. The need for preaching (v. 14c)5. The need for missions (v. 15) 1. The need to call on Christ (v. 14a)NIV: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?The Message: How can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust?☞  It is not enough to merely assent to the truths of the gospel.☞  Calling on Christ involves three things:Ø   KnowledgeØ   AgreementØ   Personal ResponseSC Question 31: Effectual Calling is the Work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel. Effectual Calling is the Work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery (agreement), enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ (knowledge), and renewing our wills (personal response), He persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel. ☞  This is the starting point. If each of these three things are not true of you, then you are NOT a Christian yet… 2. The need to believe in Christ (v. 14a)(NIV) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?Faith.As we have said many times before, The issue is not whether or not we have faith. We all have faith. It’s just a matter of where we are placing our faith.For some faith is placed in our job security or how much we have in the bank.For others it is in our fellow humans…Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: "Free to good home. You want it, you take it".For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too un-trusting of this deal. It looked to good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50". The next day someone stole it. For still others it is in technology and education…For others it is some vague sense of Karma or optimism…Neither is it is not how MUCH faith we have.The issue is what is the object of our faith? Where are we placing our faith? On what, or one WHO are we placing our faith? ☞  Some subtle but wrong places to put our faith (even as Christians):Ø   The church (or the pastor)Ø   The Sacraments (Baptism or the Lord’s Supper)Ø   Our own faithfulness or righteousnessØ   Our faith, or sincerity – We can be very sincere and still be sincerely WRONG! (like the Muslim suicide bombers) ☞  The right place to put our faith:Ø   Jesus Christ – crucified and resurrectedØ   Grace received by faithØ   The need to understand, more fully, the gospel – to be GROWING, daily, in our understanding of and application of it ☞  The danger of stubbornness (vv. 16-21):(NIV) 16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”20And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”21But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”Ø   The problem is not what we don’t know. The problem is refusing to act upon what we DO know.v. 18 (NIV) – Did they not hear? Of course they did!Have YOU heard?The beauty of gospel proclamation:☞  The beauty of gospel proclamation:Three possible outcomes, all of which bring glory and honor to God:Ø   Faith and obedience – Some are just waiting for someone to explain the gospel to them, and when someone does, they hear it, they respond quickly and appreciatively. |   | Ø   Sowing seeds – Some people need to have the seed of the gospel sown in their hearts and minds before they can respond to it. Sometimes we are either sowing new seeds, which will come to fruition later. Other times we are watering seeds which others have sown.Ø   Obstinate Rejection – Some will be angry that you should even insinuate that they need a savior…In all three scenarios God is glorified…Beware the danger of feeling like we need to see a person embrace Christ to make sharing our faith worthwhile! 3. The need to hear (v. 14b, 17)NIV: 14How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?17Faith comes from hearing the message, & the message is heard through the word of Christ.  The Message: 14And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted?Literally: How can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?Two things:People need to ABOUT Christ (what He did & what He calls us to)People need to hear FROM Christ (the need to meet Him Personally)☞  People need to ABOUT Christ (They need to know what He did & what He calls us to)Ø   General Revelation (Rom 1:20 – Men are without excuse)Ø   Special Revelation ☞  People need to hear FROM Christ (They need to meet Him Personally)John 10:27 (NLT) My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.Heb. 4:7 (NIV) – Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.In both cases this comes THROUGH God’s Word, not in a mystical vacuum.Faith is stimulated by a hearing of the Good News, the Word of God.Larry Richards 4. The need for preaching (v. 14c)(NIV) How can they hear without someone preaching to them?1 Cor. 1:21 (NLT) Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe.☞  Two kinds of preaching:Ø   Formal preachingWe are not all called to preach formally, but the question is: are you making good use of the formal preaching you are receiving – using the tapes…, inviting friends…, talking about what you learned…Ø   Informal preachingThere is a sense in which every time one of us teaches another person, or shares with them what we, ourselves, have learned, we are preaching…Are you willing to be an informal preacher of the gospel to those God puts in YOUR life? ☞  The foolishness of preaching:Ø   The Foolishness of the Message1 Cor. 1:21 (NIV) God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.1 Cor. 1:18 (NLT) How foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God.Ø   The Foolishness of the Messenger1 Cor. 2:1 (NIV) When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 5. The need for missions (v. 15)People must believe in Christ before they can call on Him.They must hear about Him and from Him before they can believe.God’s ordinary way of proclaiming Himself to people is through preaching.Therefore: We must send out preachers.☞     We are all commissioned to preach.The Great Commission: Mat. 28:18-20 (NIV)Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”This commission is given to ALL of us who are His. ☞  God must be the one who commissions us to preach.Mat. 9:38 (NIV) Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.Explain the apparent contradiction… ☞  We are not all called to GO to other lands and other cultures to preach the gospel. But we ARE all called to do everything within our power to make that happen. Summary / Review:We all need to call on Christ to save us, both from the penalty and from the power of sin in our lives. This means understanding what Christ did for, agreeing with God that it was absolutely necessary and responding personally.We need to constantly evaluate where we are placing our faith. Constantly coming back the simple gospel of salvation by grace through faith.We need to resist our natural tendency towards stubbornness and disobedience.We must constantly watch for creative ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those God puts in our lives, using our own testimony, tapes of sermons, invitations to church events, etc., not demanding a specific response in order to feel that we have done so.People NEED to hear the gospel. It is a matter of eternal importance as well as a key to life here and now. We must not let our own feelings of inadequacy or fear keep us from proclaiming this gospel.Finally, we must understand that while we may not be called to go cross-culturally or internationally to proclaim the gospel, we ARE all called to be partners with those God does call… A Truth to Remember: The gospel has great power to heal. But before it can heal it must be heard and believed A Challenge to Consider: What are you doing to help others hear the gospel message? One thing I heard this morning was… |

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