Sent to Preach So They Can Hear 120923

Romans 10:13-21, For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 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? 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!” (Isa. 52:7) But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” (Isa. 53:1) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (Ps. 19:4)

But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” (Deut. 32:21)

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” (Isa. 65:1) But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” (Isa. 65:2)

The Apostle looks on his people and mourns for them because they, by and large, refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repeatedly, he presented the gospel first to the Jews then he turned to the Gentiles with a message that said, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." To leave it at that is not enough. Men call on the Lord's name in vain. If you listen you can hear the word "God" being thrown around casually everyday. Calling on the name of the Lord is more than calling on God like calling for a medic in time of trouble. It is calling on the LORD. The Bible knows nothing of Jesus being Savior and not being Lord. One is not saved by repeating a formula. One is saved by believing in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God The Father! In these verses Paul tracks back through the process of saving faith. Let us look at his trail.

How will they call on him unless they have believed?

Belief in God's goodness leads to repentance. Turn with me to Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews is very clear — faith is essential to a relationship with the living God. Just read the roll call of the faithful found in Chapter 11. From Able, to the last person who lives, faith is the evidence of a relationship to God.

We certainly cannot expect a person to call out to God unless they believe that he exists, and, that he rewards those who seek him earnestly. Now, many people believe in God — or at least they believe "about" God. Even those who claim to be atheists seem to believe in his existence. Otherwise, why would they be so adamant in their opposition? After all, who are they protesting against?

Now let's look at…

Romans 2:4, Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

To listen to some preachers you would think that the only thing that could lead a person to repentance is fear of an angry God. When I first began to preach, my father said to me, "You can't get people to come in by making them scared of hell. If you do you will always have to keep them hell scared." I've often thought of that especially when I hear a preacher preaching fire and brimstone only. What Paul said to the Romans is that they should not try to take advantage of the richness of God's kindness, forbearance, and patience. They should know that God's kindness is not something we should take advantage of. But rather, God's kindness should cause us to be ashamed of our sins and turn to him in repentance. Our earnest desire should be that people call on the name of the Lord. In fact, there is a tremendous need in the area we live in for people to call on the name of the Lord. If we show every kindness and patience with people perhaps they will listen to the kindness, forbearance and patience of God and come to repentance. Or, they may need to have a more dramatic introduction…

Like the Philippian jailer. Turn with me to Acts 16:30-31, Paul and Silas had been put in prison for the crime of freeing a young girl from demon possession. They had come to Philippi to bring the gospel, for the first time, to Europe. They had been severely beaten and placed in a jail cell. Their feet were in stocks so they hardly rested. Not being able to rest due to their beating and binding they did the best thing they knew how. They were praying and singing hymns to God. Now, about midnight there was a great earthquake that shook the jail. It was a very unusual earthquake because the jail doors flew open and everyone's bonds fell off. When the jailer saw what had happened he prepared to commit suicide because he was held responsible for all the prisoners. Paul called out to him, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." Apparently, the other prisoners had such respect for the godliness of Paul and Silas they wanted to stay and see what happened. The jailer hurried into the damaged jail and fell down before Paul and Silas. Now, let us read verses 30-31… Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” The jailer cried out to Paul and Silas because obviously those men knew the way of salvation. In order to call on the Lord, the jailer had to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He placed his faith in Christ and that very night he and his whole household were baptized on profession of their faith.

How will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And…

How will they believe if they have never heard of him?

A man who was born blind. Turn with me to John 9:35-38, this is towards the end of a very fascinating story from the life of Jesus. He and his disciples were leaving the Temple. On the way they saw a man who was born blind. Perhaps he was begging and thereby caused them to see him. The disciples immediately assumed that someone had sinned, causing this man to be born blind. Jesus said that it was not caused by sin. But, in order for God's work to be done Jesus healed him. Immediately the news spread around the city and the religious leaders gathered to question this man and his family. When he refused to denounce the man who healed him they threw him out of the synagogue. Now let us read verses 35-38, Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. This man had experienced healing from Jesus but he did not know who he was. Jesus asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. Well, by golly, he was ready to believe! All he needed to know was who he should believe in. He illustrates the answer to the question: "How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" Paul, the militant missionary apostle, had a burning desire to tell others who Jesus was in order for them to be able to call on. You see…

Paul's desire was that all should hear. Turn with me to Romans 15:20, Paul wrote this letter to the Romans so that they would understand what he believed when he arrived as a prisoner of Rome. He expected to be released and allowed to go on his way, even as far as Spain. So he said…and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,…

Just as Jesus wanted to go to all the villages around to preach, Paul also had the desire to go where no one has ever preached Christ before. That is the missionary call. It is a call that we need to hear and respond to now. The majority of the people in the world, even in the United States of America, have never truly heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and as such they cannot call on him. So…

How will they hear if there is no preacher?

There are two Greek words used for "preach" in the New Testament. One is found in Acts chapter 8, verse 4. After Stephen was martyred, a general persecution of the church began, led by Saul of Tarsus. Saul would later become Paul the Apostle after he met Jesus. With the persecution, the church, except for the apostles, were scattered all over the region. These were the common people. Church members if you will. Wherever they went…

The scattered church preached. Turn with me to Acts 8:4, Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Here, the word for preach is not the special term for one who is called to preach the gospel. The word could be translated "gossiped". So, as they went they told everyone what had happened in Jerusalem. They told about Jesus being born of a virgin. They told about his life, teachings, and miracles. They told about his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. But, I am sure, they went on to say that if you call on the name of the Lord you will be saved. As they went they brought good news. Philip was one of them. He went to Samaria and preached to them there. And then he was called by God to go into the desert to meet a man from Ethiopia and to bring good news to him.

Bringing good news. Turn with me to Acts 8:30-31, So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Beginning at that passage, Philip preached to him the good news about Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch had a hunger in his heart to call on the Lord. He was reading from the scroll of Isaiah but he did not understand. He needed to hear someone speak the truth about Jesus because…

Faith comes from hearing. It is extremely important that we hear and believe the word of Christ. In our text today, verse 17, Paul said very boldly, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

Let's see what else he has to say on the subject. Turn with me to Galatians 3:2-6, Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

The work of God is done when his people hear with faith. Not in response to the flesh nature but in response to the Spirit. We need to hear with faith in order to become sons and daughters of Abraham the father of the faithful.

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? And…

How can they preach if they are not sent? There needs to be a sense of being "sent" in order for preaching to have power. I remember, very clearly, the day I was "sent" here by the Lord. In 1970 or 71 we had come through the area and stopped in Stamford. We were gone longer than we expected and needed to eat, or thought we did, yet we did not have enough cash. So I went into Grand Union and asked if they would accept an out-of-town check and they said, "Sure, we will." That stuck with me for the next 4 years. I had become pastor of Plainview Baptist Church near Bogalusa, Louisiana, and had been there for 4 years when I clearly felt a call of God to come back to New York. Soon it became clear that he wanted us here! It is a long story. At the right event I will tell it all. Let's get back to the sermon…

Early missionaries were sent. Turn with me to Acts 13:2-4, Barnabas and Saul, later to be renamed Paul, had been ministering in Antioch of Syria. The church had grown there by leaps and bounds and now it was time to reach out to other places where the gospel had not been heard. During a time of worship, and fasting, the Lord instructed them to set aside Barnabas and Saul for the work to which he had called them. Let's read the passage, While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

That began, for Paul, an amazing adventure that led finally to his execution in Rome. On the way he would see governors, soldiers, leaders of synagogues, future preachers and common people come to faith in Christ by the hundreds or even thousands. He would plant churches on Cyprus, throughout modern day Syria, Turkey and Greece. And eventually he arrived in Rome itself where he was able to lead members of the Praetorian Guard, the personal soldiers of Caesar, to faith in Christ. And then from Rome he would take his final journey into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, courtesy of the headsman's axe.

Following in the footsteps of Paul there would be hundreds of thousands of future missionaries. They were sent out by churches or groups of churches throughout the centuries since.

Through the centuries they are sent.

Beginning with the apostles of Jesus Christ, Christians of every generation have been called and sent to preach the gospel. Tradition tells us that each of the twelve went out to preach in different places. Andrew went to Greece, and at Patra he led the governor's wife and brother to Christ. He was arrested and executed there. When he was told that he would be crucified he said he was not worthy to die in the manner that Jesus did. He asked that his cross be shaped like an X and that is now called St. Andrew's cross. Bartholomew traveled east and preached in Armenia and India. He was cut to pieces with knives because of his faith. James, brother of John, was the first of the apostles to be martyred. He was beheaded by order Herod the king. John, the beloved disciple, was made responsible for Mary, Jesus' mother, and took care of her until she died while he traveled and preached in modern-day Syria and Turkey. He was the only apostle who died of natural causes when he was nearly 100 years old. Jude is said to have been killed with arrows at Ararat after a successful ministry. Matthew wrote his gospel and had a successful preaching ministry in Ethiopia where he died a martyr. Peter traveled extensively preaching the gospel and wrote two letters that are part of the New Testament. Tradition tells us that he was crucified upside down in Rome. Philip preached in modern Greece. He was martyred in Hierapolis. Simon, the zealot, preached the good news and was crucified. Thomas traveled in the East and is credited with founding the church in South India where he was martyred for his faith.

Of course, I cannot possibly give you a list of everyone who went out and, in one way or another, gave their lives for the gospel. But I can mention a few.

Patrick was kidnapped and made a slave in the 5th century. He was taken to Ireland from Britain. He was also a Christian and after being a slave for six years he escaped and returned to his home. He was trained as a preacher and returned to Ireland where he led many people to faith in Christ.

William Carey was a cobbler who studied the word of God and taught himself foreign languages while he worked with leather in the early 1700s. After he felt himself to be called to preach he became concerned for the lost. Not just the lost people of Great Britain but also the lost people around the world. He wrote a book about the need to carry the gospel to foreign lands. He helped organize a mission sending agency and became their 1st missionary to India. He was a linguist who became a university professor while at the same time translating the Bible into Sanskrit and several other Indian languages.

Adoniram Judson led the 1st group of American missionaries to India. On the way there the entire group came to believe that they should be baptized by immersion and they became the 1st American Baptist missionaries. They went to Burma where, after unspeakable hardships, they established the 1st Baptist Churches in Burma. There is not time to tell all these stories. But I can quote a poem that Judson wrote, "In spite of sorrow, loss and pain. Our course be onward still. We sow on Burma's barren plain, And reap on Zion's Hill."

These missionaries, and millions of others, are my heroes. They are the ones who really paid the price that the gospel could be spread around the world. Today, all over the world, there are missionaries who are laying down their lives in order for people who have never heard to have the privilege of hearing the good news about Jesus Christ.

You may never be a missionary in a foreign land but you can be a missionary where you live. You see…

All believers are sent. Turn with me to The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus has come to the end of his earthly ministry and is now preparing to ascend into heaven. His gathered disciples heard these words from the lips of Jesus. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

All believers are sent! As we go we should always be considering the need to make disciples. As we come in contact with people we need to share the faith that God has given us with them. And we do not have to be concerned about where they are from or who their family is. We should only be concerned about whether they know Jesus or not. All the nations are gathered in the United States alone. We travel to Peru to share the gospel with the descendents of the ancient Inca. In our own state convention, here in New York, there are several churches made up of these same people. Here, in our immediate vicinity, there are people from China, Mexico, Sweden, Germany, and many other nations. Some are Christians many are not. We do not have to buy a single plane ticket to share the gospel with one of these.

Now, let's get back to the message.

Paul goes on to say that everyone has heard. The elements of nature, as cited in Psalm 19 speaks of the creator. Specifically, Israel heard but refused to listen. Moses had told them that God would pass them by to make them jealous and draw them to himself. Isaiah went even further to say that God would be found by those who did not seek — that he would show himself to those who did not ask. Yet, to Israel God stretched out his arms to disobedient and contrary people. May it never be true here. May God's hands find in us a cheerfully obedient people.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.