God's Voice is Heard

Good morning, church family. My name's Bec, if I haven't met you yet.

We're going to continue reading from Romans chapter 10, starting at verse 14.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

The previous verse says,

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

So that's where we're picking up from in the very next verse, verse 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?

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.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

For Isaiah says,

Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?

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.

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.

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.

But of Israel, he says,

All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

This is the word of the Lord.

Good morning, everyone.

If you're visiting today,

My name is David.

I'm one of the pastors here.

A warm welcome to you.

We're in Romans 10.

If you want to get your Bibles open to there,

and I'm just going to pray before we sit under God's word.

Father, we ask for your spirit to illuminate our minds

so that we understand your word.

And we pray for your mercy,

that your word would penetrate each one of our hearts,

that we might see the Lord Jesus as he is,

that we might be rejoicing in the salvation we have in him.

A fresh, Lord, maybe for the first time,

we pray that you'd be in this room now speaking by your word.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

There was a public atheist, Alex O'Connor.

I don't know if you've come across his material.

He shares his personal experience

to what he sees as one of the biggest problems of Christianity,

the problem of divine hiddenness.

If there is an all-loving God who desires a relationship with us,

then why is God so hidden?

Alex says this,

If there is a God, then simply why is he hidden from so many of us

so much of the time?

I've looked in poetry, I've looked in the Psalms,

in Job, in Ecclesiastes,

I've looked in Dostoevsky,

I don't think I said that right,

I read C.S. Lewis,

I listened to worship music,

I prayed,

I studied the gospel,

I even got an actual degree in theology at a university,

and nothing, nothing.

Not once, not nearly, not ever,

not even briefly have I experienced anything

that it speaks to the existence of a God in the universe.

I don't want to quickly minimise this problem.

You can almost hear his heart in this.

I don't think apologetic arguments,

like the fine-tuning of the physics in this universe that we're even here,

like that is astonishing,

but I don't think multiplying those kind of arguments solves this problem.

We should take this problem seriously,

because we believe from Genesis and the whole Bible

that we were created for face-to-face communion with God.

So where does the problem for Alex O'Connor

and many others seeking God lie?

What's going on?

Where's the problem?

Let's consider that question

as we look at the problem for Israel in Paul's day,

in our passage today.

Where does the problem lie?

Just to get our bearings again,

chapters 9 to 11 is answering the problem that,

in Paul's day,

so many Israelites,

despite all their privileges,

having all the Old Testament knowledge,

they're outside the kingdom.

They're not saved.

Throughout these chapters,

the contrast is always there.

They're outside,

but Gentiles are flocking in.

They're in.

What?

What's going on?

Chapter 9 is focusing,

saying God's word has not failed.

It's always been the case since Ishmael and Isaac

that it's not the physical descendants of Abraham,

it's those born of promise,

God's sovereign mercy choosing.

Now, that's looking from heaven's angle,

but he flips the coin

and looks from human responsibility angle as well.

It's always 100% God's sovereign mercy

and 100% human responsibility.

We saw last week,

Israel are responsible

because they're trying to be right with God

by what they do.

They're not listening to the whole Old Testament

that pointed forward to Christ.

They've got so much passion,

so much zeal,

but they don't have knowledge

because all the Old Testament

was pointing to Jesus.

It's always been by faith.

It was always pointing to Jesus.

It was always pointing to the nations coming in.

The law, prophets and writings

clearly said this.

God has brought salvation

right up to Israel's heart and mouth,

but they have not submitted

to God's righteousness,

his way of being right with him,

which is by faith in his son.

Now, in our passage this morning,

Paul is, I think,

zooming in on the problem a bit deeper.

Is the problem in that

they haven't heard the gospel?

Have they not heard this wonderful message?

So we're going to see

three things this morning.

We're going to look at three things.

The vital links

chain,

you need these links

in order to be saved

in verses 14 and 15.

He then identifies

where in those links

is the problem

and then we're going to see

how do we get that missing ingredient.

I'm changing language there.

How do we get that vital link

that's missing?

So that's where we're headed.

So verses 14 and 15.

How then will they call on him,

call on Jesus,

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?

Nowhere else in all the scripture,

I think,

lays it out so clearly

what someone needs

from God

to that person

to be saved.

Here's what you need.

It's a beautiful passage.

Where does the fault lie

with Israel not being saved?

Now he doesn't mention Israel

until verse 19.

The immediate context is

the gospel's going everywhere,

everyone.

So I think these links

are for everyone.

Young and old,

whatever passed,

anyone who calls on Jesus

to be saved from sin

and judgment.

You can hear different words,

that calling,

but there is a calling

because it expresses

the belief in the heart.

Save me.

Forgive me.

Rescue me.

Take charge of my life.

There is a calling.

You can't just be born

into the kingdom.

You've got to call.

In fact,

I think Christians

never stop calling.

We're saved

from that moment of calling,

but we're constantly calling.

Jesus,

please help me today.

Please rescue me from this.

A Christian is just calling.

But you can't call

if you don't believe in him.

Believe is not less

than theological understanding,

but it is more.

It's committing yourself

to the person of Jesus.

But you can't give yourself

to Jesus

unless you've heard of him.

The wording here of hearing,

it could even mean

when you hear about Jesus,

you're hearing Jesus

speak to you.

When you hear the message,

you're hearing Jesus.

I know my voice

is ordinary today,

but through God's word,

you're hearing Jesus.

But you can't hear Jesus

without someone preaching,

without someone telling

over the back fence

in Grace Kids right now.

Why Jesus tonight?

But someone can't preach

unless they're sent.

So where's the problem?

There's the vital links.

Where is the problem?

Verse 15b picks up

the first vital link.

Has God sent preachers?

And he quotes Isaiah 52,

how beautiful are the feet

of those who preach

the good news.

Now the context there

is God is sending.

This,

what Isaiah talked about,

the good news,

this is it.

He's sending.

It's here.

The context there is,

it's God himself speaking.

The context there is,

Jerusalem is singing

for the salvation.

But the context is also,

all the ends of the earth

shall see the salvation

of our God.

Now what's,

what follows after Isaiah 52?

Isaiah 53,

yes.

And it's one of the most

clearest,

beautiful,

prophetic

pictures

of what Jesus

was going to do.

His suffering

to deal with sin

and his resurrection

and triumph

making many righteous

and the victory.

Has God sent people

to declare

this good news?

Absolutely,

Paul said.

He sent the apostles.

The start of Romans,

Romans 1:5

chapter 1,

verse 5,

Jesus Christ,

our Lord,

through whom we have

received grace

and apostleship

to bring the obedience

of faith

for the sake of his name

among the nations.

He's writing

to a church

in Rome

about 20,

25 years

after Jesus

and there's

an established church

in the heart

of the known world.

Has he sent?

Yes,

he's sent.

The apostles,

the church

is living proof.

We here today

are living proof.

He is sent.

Now I'm guessing

the focus

on beautiful feet

isn't that

Paul got a pedicure.

The focus on,

I think the focus

on feet

is they've travelled.

God has sent.

They've travelled.

They've crossed borders.

Any difference

in the world,

you have to go

across differences

to get the message

across.

Whether geographic

or social differences

amongst us,

they've travelled.

God indeed

has sent

his word.

Now I think

something is implied

here.

If God is sending

anyone,

if God's the one

sending anyone

who says

salvation is in

Jesus,

he is Lord,

just by faith,

not by what you do,

however you express

that,

whatever words you use,

you have the authority

of God.

We're going to do it

humbly,

don't get me wrong,

but I think we've also

got to know

the confidence

we can have.

God is sending.

Some ask the question,

what about

the person

in tribal Africa

who has never heard?

Some want to say

God is inclusive,

that he's very inclusive,

the gospel is to all people,

but inclusive in the sense

that,

well,

they may not have heard

about Jesus,

but as long as they're just

depending on God's mercy,

they will be saved

by Jesus,

even though they've never

heard about him.

But I don't know

how you square that

with this,

I just don't know

how that fits

with this passage.

Now,

God doesn't

condemn someone

for not hearing

about Jesus.

Romans 1 says,

all creation,

everyone knows

there is a God

and everyone

suppresses that truth

and everyone

exchanges God

for created things.

Or your conscience,

we've all got a conscience,

no one lives up

to their conscience.

So whatever we know

about God,

that's the reason

we need to be saved.

That's,

we haven't responded

to what we've heard.

You think about

Cornelius in Acts 10.

If there is anyone

who should be in,

just,

he's never heard

about Jesus,

he's fearing

the Jewish God,

he's so morally upright,

he should be in.

But what does God do?

He sends Peter.

And in hearing

the gospel,

he believes

and he's saved.

There was a man

named Joseph.

He shared his story

as part of

the Billy Graham

Crusades.

I don't know

if you've heard

this before.

Not that he was

saved at the

Crusades,

but he shared

how he was saved

at the Crusades.

He's from the

Maasai people

in Kenya

and northern

Tanzania

and just

on an African

road,

someone shared

the gospel

with him

and he believed

right away.

It's kind of like

the Ethiopian

eunuch

kind of story.

And he was so

delighted that

he went to

his own village

and Joseph

began going

door to door

telling people

about the cross

of Jesus

and he expected

their faces

to just light

up.

But to his

amazement,

the men grabbed

him,

held him down

while the women

got some sort

of barbed wire

and just beat

him.

And they dragged

him out of the

village and

somehow he

survived that

and he thought,

I must have

got something

wrong.

I must have

said it wrong.

And so he

rehearsed it

again and

must be by the

spirit's power.

He went back

and he said

it again.

He died for

you so that

you might find

forgiveness and

come to know

the living God.

And the men

grabbed him and

the women beat

him again and

they dragged him

out again and

somehow he

survived again.

Now, I don't

know why, I

think I would

have given up

by then, he

went back.

And before he

could even open

his mouth, the

men grabbed him

again.

And the

women beat

him again.

And this

time he woke

up in his

bed and the

women are

trying to

nurse him

back to

life and

the whole

village comes

to Christ.

God

sends, he's

still sending.

Don't expect a

positive response

necessarily.

Has he sent?

Yes, and he's

still sending.

Well, have

they heard?

Let's go to the

next vital link.

Have they

heard?

We're going to

come back to

verses 16 and

17 because I

think that's the

climax of the

point.

So we're going to

come back.

So verse 18.

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.

Now this is

quoting Psalm

19, which the

verse is actually

about the

heavens declaring

the glory of

God, which

theologically,

that's God's

general revelation

to everyone.

You can know

something about

God just by

looking at the

stars, seeing

the sun.

Now you

can't be saying

that by nature,

looking at nature,

you can understand

Christ because

again, that

doesn't square

with this

passage.

How does this

quote then

answer, has

Israel heard?

I don't think

he's just

grabbing hold

of these words

to exaggerate

the point.

I think some

people see

Paul as

exaggerating a

bit.

The close

context here,

and I think

throughout

Romans 10,

is that the

Gentiles, the

world is

coming in.

Israel can't

say they

haven't heard.

I think he's

picking up the

context of

Psalm 19.

The first bit

of Psalm 19

is general

revelation, but

the next part,

if you know it,

is about the

law.

God has

spoken to

Israel, a

very

understandable

word.

God is

speaking again,

his gospel.

I think he's

using it as a

picture.

God is

committed to

his glory.

You can see

that in general

revelation.

He wants

everyone to

know his

glory.

His light

from the

sun reaches

every nook

and cranny

on the

earth.

Everyone can

see it.

In the same

way, he is

going to

speak to

the whole

world about

Jesus.

The light of

Jesus will

reach every

nook and

cranny over

the face of

the world.

going to

I think

this light

dawned

immediately

at

Pentecost.

You've

got the

diaspora of

the Jewish

people coming

from all

over the

known world

and

immediately

they're

hearing the

word of

God in

their own

language and

many come

to faith.

Immediately

the light

just

spreads.

spreads.

That's the

book of

Acts, isn't

it?

The word

of God

will not

stop.

Whatever

tries to

stop it,

the light

is spreading.

You can't

stop it.

Has

Israel not

heard?

Just think

of Paul's

missionary

experience,

his first

hand

experience.

He went

to the

synagogues

first.

They

heard

everywhere

he went

and they

even

accused

Paul

of

having

heard

in

Acts

Acts 24:5

24

verse

5.

They

charge

Paul

before

the

Roman

governor

Felix.

They

say,

we have

found

this

man

Paul

a

plague,

one

who

stirs

up

riots

among

all

the

Jews

throughout

the

world.

They're

testifying

against

themselves.

This

guy's

a

plague.

All

the

Jews

have

heard

about

his

message.

Have

they

heard?

God's

light

has

reached

them.

It's

reached

them.

It's

spreading

as far

as the

sun

spreads

on the

face

of the

earth.

Now

verse

19 and

20,

he seems

to dig

in.

They've

heard,

but was

that a

superficial

understanding?

Do they

really

understand?

Did they

really

understand

the message

they were

hearing?

Is that

the

problem?

It's

like

thinking you

hear

Abba's

song

Dancing

Queen

correctly

as you

sing

along.

See

that

girl,

watch

her

scream,

kicking

the

dancing

queen.

Just

if you

don't

know,

that's

not

the

lyrics.

You're

not

hearing

it

right.

There's

no one

kicking

anyone.

Was it

a superficial

hearing?

Do they

really

understand?

Well,

if we

quickly

survey

Acts,

Stephen,

the

first

martyr

in

chapter

7,

he

declares

his

vision

after

his

speech.

He

sees

Jesus

at the

right

hand

of

God

in

heaven.

Now,

that's

pretty

clear

to

Jewish

ears.

And

they

cried

out and

they rushed

at him,

they dragged

him out and

they stoned

him.

They

heard it

all

right.

They

understood.

And

there's

rage.

Paul

is

converted

and he

starts

preaching

in

Damascus,

the very

town he

went to

put people

in prison,

and the

Jews plot

to kill

him.

He

has to

be lowered

in a

basket

at

night

time

out

the

wall.

There's

rage.

We

see this

pattern

again and

again in

Acts.

they

hear

Paul's

preaching,

they

either

exile

him

or

they

try

and

kill

him.

They

are

jealous

for the

law of

Moses

and the

temple

and they

hear the

message.

Jesus

is now

the

center

of

God's

salvation

plan,

fulfilling

the law

and temple.

They

understand

it

all

right.

They

hear

the

lyrics,

they

just

hate

God's

tune.

They

understand

the

lyrics.

They

see

Gentiles

automatically

become

sons and

daughters of

the living

God simply

by faith

and there's

a rage.

Their

jealous

anger

shows that

they

understand.

They

get it.

They

get it.

God's

love

to

God.

He's

quoting

Moses

and

Isaiah.

Moses

is the

first

in line

saying

the

Old

Testament

was

pointing

forward

to

this

time.

The

nations

are

going

to

flock

in

and

Israel

are

going

to

be

angry.

They've

heard

since

Moses.

they

understand.

Coming

back to

Alex

O'Connor

who I

started

with,

has he

truly

understood

the

gospel?

I

don't

know

the

man.

God

ultimately

knows.

My

first

encounter

with

Alex

was

in

a

podcast

interview

with

Jordan

Peterson.

He

was

pressing

Jordan

Peterson,

do you

believe

in

Christianity?

Jordan

Peterson

talks

about

Christianity

non-stop

but he's

reluctant to

commit to

say,

yes,

I'm a

Christian.

Alex

was

pressing

him and

he came

up with

this

test

for

Jordan

going,

do you

believe

this?

Yes

or no?

He

said,

if I

went

back in

time

with a

Panasonic

video

camera

and put

that

camera

in front

of the

tomb

of

Joseph

of

Arimathea,

would

the

little

LCD

screen

show

a

man

walk

out

of

that

tomb?

I

couldn't

come up

with a

better

question.

That's

a great

question.

Does

Alex

understand

who

Jesus

is

claiming

to be

and

what

he's

done?

God

is

a

We

as a

church,

as we've

got

opportunity

to share

who Jesus

is,

how he's

impacted

our lives,

can I

encourage us

by all

means,

please,

let's go

the extra

mile to

make sure

people

actually

understand

what we're

saying.

Let's

use

language

people

comprehend.

Let's

address

any

stumbling

blocks,

any

questions,

any

doubts.

Let's

take them

seriously.

Let's

be patient.

Let's

use

rational

arguments

to go

belief in

Jesus is

not only

possible,

it's

wonderful.

We need

to

distinguish

between

what people

think

we're

saying,

you've

got to

be

good

to

go

to

heaven,

from

faith.

But in

the end,

the

responsibility

lies with

each person

to respond

to what

they've

clearly

heard and

understood.

That's

not our

burden to

carry.

Let's

go the

extra mile

to help

people

understand,

but it's

not our

burden to

carry how

they respond.

So where

then is

the

fault

in the

vital

links to

be

saved?

Verse 21,

the Lord's

assessment

through Isaiah

is all

day long

I've held

out my

hands.

It's a

gesture of

welcome and

embrace.

All

through Israel's

history,

I've held

out my

hands.

Constant

offer of

grace.

grace,

even to

this day,

to a

disobedient

and contrary

defiant

people.

This is

from Isaiah

53,

again,

at the

heart of

who Jesus

is.

Isaiah

said,

some

people just

will not

want to

come,

will not

hear it.

verse 16

is the

missing

link.

They

have not

all

obeyed

the

gospel.

For

Isaiah

says,

Lord,

who has

believed

what he

has

heard

from

us?

That

root word

for

obey

is the

same

for hear.

I think

he's

playing off

the hear

here.

hear here.

It's like

a parent

talking to

a child.

You

didn't

listen to

me.

True

listening

is

obedience.

So,

too,

with God.

The fault

is not

with ears.

The fault

is in the

heart of

not obeying

what is

clearly

heard.

the

announcement

from

heaven

in the

gospel

is such

wonderful

news.

Like,

through

the

crucified

risen

saviour,

there's

complete

forgiveness.

Complete

forgiveness.

There's

assurance

you are

declared

right.

That

heavenly

judgment,

that

courtroom,

you

are

justified.

You're

right with

God.

There's

assurance.

There's

a legal

name

change.

You

have

the

right

to be

called

children

of

God.

You're

adopted

simply

by faith

in

Jesus.

There's

divine

connection

and

communion

and

power.

There's

resurrection

power in

your life

now by

his

spirit

dwelling

in

us.

We

have a

hope.

We're

born into

a living

hope.

His

resurrection

is going

to be

ours.

We're

looking

forward to

the

resurrection

of the

universe

and

that's

ours

simply

by

faith.

It's

such a

wonderful

message.

You've

got to

scratch

your

head

and

wonder

why

doesn't

everyone

just

what's

going

on?

What's

the

barrier

here?

You've

got to

confess

at the

heart

of

Christian

faith

is

Jesus

is

Lord.

God

is

the

Lord.

requires

handing

over

your

allegiance

to

him.

He's

your

Lord.

He's

the

Lord.

I

think

we should

expect

Satan

to rage

against

this.

His

lies

will

rage.

If you

hand

yourself

over

completely

to

Jesus,

you

will

be

miserable.

you

should

expect

the

world

to

rage

because

we

want

to

keep

control.

We

want

the

kingdom

or

the

blessings

without

the

king

to

tell

us

how

to

live.

You

should

expect

your

remaining

sinfulness

to

rage.

We

want

to

sit

on

the

throne

of

our

lives.

Even

as

Christians

it's

hard,

isn't

it,

to

hand

over

control

to

Jesus.

God

has

brought

the

gospel

light

right

to

Israel's

heart

and

mouth.

They

understand

the

fault

lies

in

their

disobedience

of

unbelief.

They

don't

want

Jesus

to be

Lord.

So

how do

we get

this

vital link

of

faith?

Verse

17,

how do

we get

it?

So

faith

comes

from

hearing

and

hearing

through

the

word

of

Christ.

The

kind of

hearing

that can

lead to

faith

can

only

happen

with

the

word

about

Christ,

the

word

of

Christ.

St.

Francis

of

Assisi,

hopefully I

said that

right,

preach

the

gospel

at

all

times,

use

words

if

necessary.

He

preached

the

gospel

at

all

times,

use

words

if

necessary.

Is

that

right?

Here

at

Grace,

we

actually

like

the

term

witness

a

bit

more

than

evangelism

because

we're

witnessing

all

the

time,

our

whole

lives.

Just

the

other

day I

heard

someone,

an

unbeliever,

talk

about

their

boss,

just

seeing

in

their

boss

their

patience

and

peace.

they

could

see

a

difference.

There

was

a

witness.

But what

creates

faith and

what

nourishes

faith is

the

word

about

Christ.

It's

not

some

general

notion

of

God.

Words

are

necessary.

That's

why we

get together

each week,

isn't

it?

we

got to

keep

the

word

of

God

central

in

this

church.

Like

preaching,

it can

be

doctrinally

true,

but

sometimes

it can

miss

Christ.

Christ

is

missing

from

the

sermon.

If

you

hear

that

from

us,

pull

us

up.

Our

songs,

I

got a

musical

friend,

he

was

saying

that

his

faith

was

just

becoming

malnourished

because

he

realised

all

the

songs

are

about

my

praise

of

God.

There

was a

wrong

emphasis.

The

songs

weren't

about

what

God

has

done,

what

Jesus

has

done.

That's

what

nourishes

faith.

By

all

means,

some

songs

that

go,

I

worship

you,

Jesus,

they're

appropriate,

don't

get me

wrong.

But

we

need

to

keep

it's