Well, dear church family, this evening we're gonna carry on with our series in Romans. Last time we looked at Romans chapter nine, verse 30, through to Romans 10, verse 13, where I trust we saw clearly that there is only one right way to get right with God, as opposed to the many kind of cultural ways or man-made ways in which many attempt to get right with God in building up a righteousness of their own and not submitting to the righteousness we thought of last time that comes from God alone through his precious Son and our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. We considered what actually righteousness means according to the gospel. It's not our righteousness, is it? It's the righteousness that comes from Christ through his finished work upon the cross, through his death and resurrection, and through his precious blood and his imputed righteousness to our accounts. We considered our need of a perfect righteousness for salvation. And thirdly, we considered how to obtain a righteous standing before God. And that, of course, was through true heartfelt belief in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins to be justified by faith in Christ alone and nothing of the flesh or our backgrounds or anything else that we can bring to the table. Well, with that said, in this evening's narrative, we see the importance of proclaiming the gospel to all the world. the importance of proclaiming the gospel to all the world, to all peoples and specifically of the world. Straight away we see in verses 14 and 15 the way and really the means which God uses to bring all of his elect children into his kingdom. We see the way and the means which God uses to bring all of his children, all those who will hear the voice of Christ and will be drawn by the Spirit. We're given really four questions here in verses 14 and 15, four questions, four hows if you noticed, four hows. Firstly, we see the first question, the first how, how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? That's the first how. The second how, and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? So the first one, how shall they call on the Saviour, on Jesus Christ in whom they have not believed? Secondly, and how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And thirdly, third how and how shall they hear? without a preacher? And fourth, how and how shall they preach except they be sent? Very important questions, really, in regards to the way and the means that God uses to bring in all of his elect. Now, before we look at these questions, it's important for us to realize the overall design, the overall design and theme in which God has given these questions to us. And I believe really it is to encourage us as Christ Church and to stir us up really to more widely and more earnestly and more urgently preach the gospel to all people, all types of people. To not be partial but to preach it fervently, urgently, earnestly, to look under every stone as it were, as we've sung in our hymn to go into the streets of sin as it were. I think that's the design behind that, to stir us up. to go out as a church, to go out individually, and just the importance of a widespread and urgent need to preach the gospel. And it's something which is very much lacking in our day, isn't it? I've heard it so many times before where you have, unfortunately, you have many churches who kind of grow into themselves and they have like a kind of a yearly magazine which they send out and they just kind of send it out amongst a few houses in the state around them. But really and it's sad when you see that and they keep on kind of just pushing this kind of leaf little magazine just to a few houses around the church or around the state. What about all the thousands? of villages and thousands of people, the estates and so on, that need evangelizing. I mean, there's tens of thousands around where we are, everywhere. There's 22,000 in this town alone. There's countless villages. There's many opportunities. And so I think it's, what I really want to do is encourage us really, for this great and glorious endeavour which the Lord has called us to. Although the Apostle Paul says firstly, how then shall they call on him, that is Jesus Christ, and whom they have not believed? Of course, It's talking about believing in Jesus Christ that is fundamental for salvation to call upon the name of the Lord, to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the main issues I think which many people have And unfortunately which is taught in lots of Christianity today is people think that they have to reach a particular level of holiness before they can actually begin to feel the need to be a Christian. Remember the hymn, come as you are. And that's the thing, you're never going to come at all, are you? No one will ever come. You have to come with all of our sin and failures and guilt. to the cross and plead for the Lord to save us according to him, according to his merits and God's love through his son to us. And we must believe in that, in our hearts. And that's fundamental. It's only through heartfelt belief Remember that Paul ended our previous study in verses 13 with a way of salvation described really in the simplest of terms. The gospel is incredibly profound but we must not complicate it. Verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. that there is certainty in this, that whoever cries from their hearts, understanding who the Lord is, who have been given an understanding of their sin and their great need of the Lord, they shall be saved. And unfortunately, many in Israel did not call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because they did not believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. The great majority did not believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They did not. believe in him as their saviour, as the only begotten son of the Father, and neither were they made to see their need. to believe in Christ, because like we thought about, they sought to establish a righteousness of their own, to build up a righteousness of their own. They did not submit to the righteousness which came from God, through Christ. And as we've been thinking about recently, they were more interested in a collective salvation. They wanted a conqueror. They wanted a political force and leader to come and overthrow the Roman occupation. occupation of Jerusalem. And Israel, they didn't want a saviour from their personal sins and from their failures, they were still very much attached to their sins. Many were still attached to their sins, you see, and that's the crux. You can only believe, really, if you have a dread of, the dread comes upon you, that I am under God's wrath, there's a day of judgement coming, And I believe in my current state I'm going to face God in my own filthy rag righteousness. And when that dread and that fear of God comes upon you, you cry out to the Lord over your sins. It's not a leader that's gonna lead us into having a nice and cozy and comfortable life. Unfortunately, many did not see their need in a personal way. It must be personal, not collective. It's me. Now, beloved, if you've been made to see Jesus Christ for who he is, that he indeed is the only begotten son of the Father, that he is God in the flesh, and he is the only saviour of sinners, and you've been given the faith to see your need of him in a very personal way, Then praise God for that. Praise him for his sovereign grace and his mercy. That's all of his doing, isn't it? And it's deeply humbling, isn't it, when we think about what he's done in our hearts. It's deeply humbling. Now, take a look at our second question. And how shall they believe in him in whom they have not heard? How shall they believe on him and whom they've not heard? So how are people going to believe the Apostle Paul is saying? It's almost like a rhetorical question. How are they going to believe if they've not heard of the gospel? If they've not heard about Christ? And of course this is true. How are people around us going to hear about the gospel? If no one's telling them the gospel, no one's giving them the knowledge of the gospel. And the word really, heard here, is to be understood in a wider sense. It's not simply speaking about the faculty of listening here, although that is the main meaning. It is rather coming to the knowledge of the truth that is in Christ. And there are many ways in which that can happen. Some can come unto the hearing of the gospel. through being invited into church, through the door-to-door witness, through going online and hearing a gospel message, through witness, through reading tracts handed out through Gospels of John and Mark and Luke. and gain a knowledge of the gospel. And also through private witness, through one-to-one witness, through someone explaining to them the good news of the gospel. These are all means in which people can hear and how shall they believe in Him, in Jesus Christ, in the gospel of whom they have not heard. And so it's not just listening, it's gaining a knowledge of the gospel. And the Lord, praise him, has given us many means for us to do that. And if we think about it, every single week some poor soul or many poor souls will perish through lack of not knowing the gospel, not having someone give them a track, not having someone witness to them the gospel. I'm not talking about apologetics. Yes, there is a place for apologetics and creation ministry and all these other things, but the gospel, many churches have forgot the power is in the gospel. Clearly, just talking to people about their need to have a relationship with God and sin, and the gospel, the cure, the way to get right with God through the gospel. That is the only thing that is going to change their hearts. And it's a challenge, isn't it, to us? I believe that we, in this church, really are convicted of that, of a regular gospel ministry in this church. And I pray that may continue for many, many years, as long as the Lord comes back, because what incentive do we have if we invite people in and there's no regular gospel message? There's no incentive, is there? And it's sad to say that many churches now, even so-called Bible-believing churches, do not have a weekly regular gospel message. Where's the incentive to invite people in if there's not an urgent heartfelt Spirit felt gospel message. There's no incentive, is there? And people just become introspective. They get it. It's just about our holy bubble, as it were. And they forget about the rest, the thousands that are perishing every week. and we've got all these means at our disposal more than those many of those have gone before us and how shall they believe in him in jesus christ of whom they have not heard so i just want to encourage us Make every opportunity. Pray for opportunities. Be specific with the Lord. And I confess when I was preparing the sermon, I was deeply challenged and convicted. Sometimes you can go through times and seasons where you can let your guard down. And just that love and just that need for that constant witness, it must be a constant flow of witness, can abate, it can dry up somewhat. And so I just want to encourage us to have this always burning upon your heart. Every day that goes by, every week that goes by, be armed with tracks, be armed ready to send someone a sermon and so on and always have that desire. Well thirdly we see, and how shall they hear without a preacher? Verse 14, there is no hearing without a preacher, is there? How shall souls know the way The way to get right with God, the way to heaven, the way to have our sins forgiven. How shall people know without a preacher? We need men to preach in Christ's churches, don't we? We need men to preach on the highways and byways. There needs to be fishers of men. And if you know anything about fishermen, we know that fishing is very hard work. If you've ever met dedicated fishermen before, you know that they will not leave a mark untouched. They will go to various marks, far and wide. They will often endanger themselves upon rocks and do all sorts of things to catch a variety of fish, to go into the deep, as it were, to make sure that not one rock is has been not seen to And we are called to be fishers of men. All of us are called to be fishers of men. It's not just, unfortunately again, this is a prevailing teaching in our celebrity age, that it's the pastor or it's the preacher. We should just look to those, it's just their job to do that. But we're all called to be priests, aren't we? We've all got a message from the Lord. We've all felt the power of the gospel and therefore we should all share the gospel and bear testimony to its truth and power. So we must preach on the highways and byways. We must regularly proclaim the true gospel. And preaching is not lecturing, is it? It's not man's wisdom. And again we see, and this again getting to the context here as well, there's so many distractions to the gospel, isn't there? There's so many ministries. There's this whole messianic ministries that have raised up. Sidetrack, it's diverting people one side. You've got apologetics ministries diverting people another side. You've got all these different online ministries and people seem to be diverted. all sorts of things. Preaching is proclaiming what God has declared already concerning the Gospel and His Son. We're just proclaiming what the Lord has already given us, urgently, in love, with authority because it's the King's message, and with great gravity knowing what will befall the sons of men. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 17 for Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. Do you and I know the power of the gospel? Have we truly been transformed by the power of the gospel intellectually, experientially, through the spirit? I believe if you have, you will always have a concern to varying degrees for lost people. If you've been changed, if you know the power of Christ changing your heart and your mind and your life, you'll always have some concern for your fellow sinner, your fellow man and the detriment that they are in. if you and I know and not share the gospel. And I understand there are different characteristics. Some people are very shy. And some people are not extroverts. And that's understandable. And I'll get to that shortly. But if you do not share the gospel, it's like being given the greatest treasure in the world, the greatest gift, and not telling anyone about it. Just keeping it to yourself. You've got the Pearl of Great Price and you're just staring at it at home. You've got this huge pearl in your home and you're just glaring at it. It's not the crown jewels on display, is it? Attracting people, as it were. All believers are priests. We don't believe in just fathers in their homes are priests. We call to all of us are priests. We're all called to a royal priesthood who share what God has given us. We are spiritual Levites, as it were. And does our text say, how shall they hear without a doctor of divinity? Or how shall they hear without a popular preacher? It doesn't say that, does it? It says, how shall they hear without a preacher? Not a doctor of divinity. And again, we're living in such days where you have to have, and again, I'm getting a bit sidetracked here. This is a great problem for many churches of our day, because they look, when they look for a pastor, they often look to these big seminaries, these well-known seminaries, and they think, well, if I can get a pastor from that seminary, with all those qualifications, then surely it'll be successful, surely we'll do well, and so on, and often they are massively let down. They don't know the spiritual character of that person. They don't know if that person has got a true love for the lost, if he's got a true love for God's people to build them up in the faith, to protect them from wolves. They know nothing about those things. It's sad to say many young men go into the ministry for the wrong reason. They think that ministry is like a glamorous work. I'm going to have some downtown church. People are going to look up to me and things are going to be hunky-dory. I could spend my days in the study. It's the complete opposite. Any pastor or any laboring pastor will tell you that being a pastor or being in the ministry actually is an incredibly lonely work. There can be a much opposition raised up against faithful gospel preachers. They can endure many hours of loneliness, of rejection. It's being, I don't want to put a damper on this by the way, but it's a life of being rejected really. It's a life of being misunderstood. and there's a lot of heartache and a lot of pain. It's not some glamorous thing which these YouTube evangelists portray it as. Men going into ministry must put away these vain dreams that at some, this glorious, the glorious thing is that there are great joys and rewards when we see souls being saved and God's people built up. There are eternal joys. But from an earthly perspective it is not glamorous at all. Rejection is often something which is known for those who fervently and heartily speak about the gospel and sin and all these things. And the problem is all these people go to these seminaries And they go for the wrong reasons. I want to be part of this big uptown church and make a name for myself. You should never ever enter into the ministry if you're thinking like that. The sole reason why any man should enter into the ministry is because they genuinely have a heart for the lost. and for the gospel and the Lord's sheep wherever they are. And that's the only reason, not for anything pertaining to them, their name or anything else. And it's a sad cry, isn't it? The days that we are living in. So a bit of a sidetrack, but I think it's a very important part of the application. So how shall they hear without a preacher? We're all called in some form to witness to Christ. Some of us would still be lost, wouldn't we? I know I would be if some poor saint He wasn't a preacher, he was actually one of the least in his church at the time. Some poor saint, some poor broken hearted saint did not come alongside us and start talking to us, witnessing to us. It didn't have to be a theological, systematic It's just the basics. I know that was true of me with an Irishman who came alongside me and just lovingly challenged me. I know that was the same with my wife Emily. She used to work at a pizzeria and someone challenged her. These are just normal, I say normal, but just Believers who had the heart to just tell people about the gospel and their great need of getting right with God and the reality of eternity and heaven and hell. It's just the fundamental basics. And we can all do that, can't we, to degrees, depending upon the spirit. I think of people like Lord Sharesbury, If you know anything about Lord Charlesbury, he was mightily used of the Lord. He completely transformed London and the mental institutions and prisons and so forth back in, I can't remember what it was, the Victorian age, it might be Victorian age. And his parents really didn't take much of an interest in him. They were too busy. But there was a gracious maid who looked after him and she taught him the gospel. She spoke to him about the gospel and she lived the gospel and he was converted by that poor maid in his house. And when he was converted, he dedicated his life and all that he had to the poorest and the most needy in society. And that's why he did great wonders in the ragged school system, in the mental institutions, and all sorts of things, even in the sewage side of things. He completely transformed things. Many, many people, poor people, illiterate people, children on the streets were brought in so they can hear about the Lord. All due due to just that one maid. Think about it. Think about Spurgeon's conversion. It was just a poor country preacher, wasn't it? And so we've all got a part to play in this glorious work, haven't we? Well, if you're too shy to speak to people, I'm gonna labor on in this particular point, so please forgive me. If you're too shy to speak to people about the cross, write something. Write an email. Send a sermon. Get armed, as it were, with gospel sermons or with a series of sermons. If you're too illiterate to write, And there are people that are too shy and maybe too illiterate to write. Give someone a tract. Be armed with tracts. Send a gospel sermon on an email. And there are many means that God has given us. Gospels of John and TBS Bibles. There are many means, aren't there? Always be armed, as it were. And if all these things fail, if you're too shy, if you've broken your arms somehow, if you're illiterate, this is going way beyond what may be the case, then pray. If you have no arms, you're illiterate and you're too shy, pray. Cry before the Lord with all your heart. Many victories, many souls been won. through God's prayer warriors. And I know we have a number in this church who are often not here with the Hawksworths. And I know they are fervently praying for gospel success for us. That work is just as needful as any work done in this church. Heartfelt prayer. We all have a great work to do, haven't we, for the gospel. Or that said, our final question, and how, says in verse 15, and how shall they preach except they be sent? How shall they preach except they be sent? Now whilst it is every believer's duty to witness for Christ in some degree, some shape or form, the scriptures are very clear that the main responsibility of regular church ministry and public ministry lies specifically with commissioned men and how shall they preach except they be sent. That the main responsibility lies with sent men, men who have specifically been commissioned for that responsibility. It is not upon men, or even women for that matter, to make of themselves or self-made kind of preachers who are responsible to no one, who are accountable to no one. And sadly you get a lot of that on YouTube and many churches. They're self-made. They're not accountable to a particular congregation or church. and they've been called by no one. They just go out and do their own thing on their own terms and they can cause a lot of damage. And they can mislead actually genuine believers in some of these kind of house churches. We've come across them, haven't we? Where they completely, some of these people are seen as almost like prophets in a way, aren't they? And completely lead people astray, as it were. And how shall they preach except they be sent? There are two things in terms of being commissioned and being sent. There are two main principles which I was taught very early on in my walk with the Lord. The first principle is the internal call. There must first be, and unfortunately again this is something which is completely missed in most churches today, there must be an internal call To preach the gospel in particular, the Lord lays on a man's heart the desire. He, as it were, afflicts and puts a burden upon that man's heart to preach the gospel. There's an overwhelming desire, often through scripture, often through the Spirit. often through the love for the lost, the law placed on their heart, to preach the gospel. And it's a desire that never goes away. It's always with that. Always with that person. When they are saved, and increasingly they have this desire for other people to be saved, it's an internal calling. And it's something that never goes away in those who are sent. Not everyone has that. The Lord gives many other gifts and everyone is used. But if someone has that desire, he desires a good thing, doesn't he? That's the internal calling. That must be there. That's the first principle. The second principle there must be an external calling. So when someone sees over time this person genuinely has a love for the lost. This person genuinely is being gifted in this certain area through the spirit and through the word with an understanding of the scriptures and with an understanding of the gospel in some form or degree to a certain people. And they are recognised amongst those who they are preaching to or those who they are serving with. And they can see very clearly this person has gifts over time and the Lord over time starts to promote that person, not men. The Lord puts it into other people's hearts and often it's an internal matter. It rises up within fellowships or within like-minded fellowships where people know each other And that's really how it ought to happen. And I think that's how it's happened here in this church. Our brother Rod came and I was crying to the Lord for labourers, for men to help. And that's how it happened, didn't it? And I think that is how it ought to be. These two callings, the internal call and the external call, they are recognized as were by the congregation that they are men who love the gospel, that have been gifted in preaching the gospel, and of course this varies to different things. This varies to church officers, pastors, elders, and also for it intenerate ministry. You have people who the Lord has given gifts to preach the gospel as an evangelist. Some people have been given the gifts of very good one-to-one. They're not so good perhaps preaching publicly, but the Lord has gifted them in such a way that when they talk to people on the door or just of things and how shall they preach except they be sent, the internal calling of a man, the external calling of a man. And again, just to labor on this point again, what an indictment this is against the many freelance preachers of our age who are commissioned by nobody, who are answerable to no congregation. It's an indictment, isn't it? Now we need to be careful. Remember Paul was sent to preach to the Gentiles. He was sent to preach the Gentiles. He did preach to Jews as well, yes, but that was his calling, that was his commission. Peter was sent, wasn't he, to preach to the Jews. That was his specific ministry. God calls men to specific ministries catered for these callings, these commissions. And it is up to all of us as individuals I just want to be used of the Lord. We shouldn't push people, and I've seen this before, pushing people into a certain way. I remember this poor man, he clearly wasn't, he shouldn't have been preaching, but he was pushed by the congregation. You know, you should be able to talk to people. No, no, clearly that is not what the Lord has gifted you in. what we ought to be praying for is I just want to be used of the Lord in any way. Practical men can be very practical in a church. They're gifted in certain areas where they can be great doormen, or they are very good in areas where other men are not. And we need all sorts of laborers, don't we? That's what the church is made up with, is laborers, people who want to be used to the Lord. We're a house, we're a building, we're a body. Christ is our head, as it were. and we are members and that's what we need to seek to be used of the Lord. So be under no illusion, the Lord's commissioned men and preachers, this is no glamorous work like I mentioned before. And like I said, Like I said, preachers, how shall they preach except they be sent? Commissioned men, young men should never enter into the ministry if they have not got this internal calling. They must not dream of these vain dreams, as it were, that are some glamorous work. They must never be under that illusion. They must never do it for themselves. This must be for the cause of the gospel and for Christ. That is the sole reason behind that. Me and Rod were speaking about this recently, but it would seem that everyone wants to be a preacher nowadays, and no one's just satisfied with just being a member and sitting quietly and listening and being built up in the faith and being used of the Lord. It would seem everyone wants to be a preacher. People don't actually realize it's not glamorous. It's very painful. You have to face a lot of rejection. Lots of other work is required in Christ's church and we need other people to take on lots of different other responsibilities. We need a proper laboring and functioning church with lots of different labors, with lots of different gifts. Well, hence the Apostle Paul's quote. He says in verse 15, he quotes Isaiah 52, seven, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring good tidings of good things. They bring the good news of the gospel. They bring peace to men's souls concerning the gospel. Is this talking about preachers' feet, aesthetically? Do preachers have beautiful feet? Well, my children have seen my feet, and I'll tell you something, they are probably the ugliest feet in Devon. I've got stitches right across one of them. A sheet of glass has gone through one of my feet, and I've got stitches all along my right foot growing up in South Africa. So I have got probably the ugliest feet in Devon here, and I trust my preaching is not as ugly as my feet. And what it's talking about here really is really commissioned men who are dedicated. to going out on the highways and byways, commissioned men, sent men who have a heart, really, to serve the Lord, not for rewards of men, but because their reward is in heaven with Christ. They're dedicated, they're committed, and serving the Lord wherever the Lord brings them. Now the Apostle Paul quotes again Isaiah in verse 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who have believed are a port. Unfortunately, not everyone who hears the sound of the gospel comes to believe, to believe. And again, this is heartbreaking. for preachers and heartbreaking for us all, isn't it? Because verse 16 says, Lord, who have believed our report? Not everyone that is under the sound of the gospel will believe. Unfortunately, many people will reject the gospel. But on the other hand, we must be clear that no one will believe at all unless they hear the gospel. Look at verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. No one will come to truly believe and be born again of the Spirit of God unless they actually believe in the gospel, unless they come under the sound of the gospel. Many perish eternally without a true gospel witness, without regular gospel preaching. And this teaching should have really a profound effect, I hope, upon us all who have obtained saving faith by God's grace and in him sending means that what the Lord has done in our lives, how he drew us as it were with those cords of love and how we were given, sometimes it's over a period of time, a clear understanding of the gospel. We were quickened and then he gave us that clear and we were born again. And so we must be clear that many perish without a true gospel witness. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The only way someone can actually receive true saving faith is if they come to a knowledge of the gospel. That can be through tracts, through hearing the word of God, being invited to church, being sent a sermon, and ultimately through the spirit. is work upon the heart. Every true church of Christ should have a regular gospel ministry. Else, where is the power? Where's the power? And that's the problem, isn't it? Many churches have lost the power. And I think that's why many churches just slowly over time decline, because they get into this kind of introspect way where we'll just have this little magazine or this thing here, and they never go beyond the borders, as it were. And that's what the Apostle Paul is saying here. This is the essence of what I'm getting to. He's saying, yeah, we shouldn't just get it fixed. The majority of the Jews have not believed the gospel. God's favor is now upon the rest of the world, the Gentiles. There's a whole missionary field here. We shouldn't just continue to focus upon this. We need to spread the gospel fervently and openly. And it seems whenever we try to do that there is this force trying to bring us back. Isn't there? Well let's focus again on this messianic. type of Christianity. And we need to be very careful of that. We need to preach to all people widely, as far as we can go as it were. We've got people who come from an hour away here, further afield. There are countless towns and places, and to just be sidetracked by a certain people, certain area, some people who we don't have any contact with, to spend a lot of our time and resources, I think is wrong. And that's what the Apostle Paul is saying, don't be sidetracked. God has called you for a great and glorious work. Get on with it, really, that's what he's saying here. And so every true church of Christ should be praying for the Lord to raise up men to help with this most glorious endeavour. We should be praying, shouldn't we, for more men, for more helpers to be brought in. And really, it's the knowledge of God's sovereignty in salvation of all types of men, really, that is the main spring, isn't it, of all of our evangelistic endeavors. We don't know who God's gonna call, do we? We don't know the types of people God is going to call. It can be all sorts. Christians are like a bag of sweets, isn't it? All different shapes and sizes and colors. We don't go, I'm gonna pick that certain one, because look, he's got a suit on. and he hasn't got purple hair and he hasn't got a tattoo and therefore he might receive the gospel. No. We preach to all sorts of sinners from all types of backgrounds. God's sovereignty has a lot to do with that. God sovereignly saved me. And therefore I'm gonna go out and preach to anyone who will hear me, whether they like it or not. Because it's the Lord who saves, and often he saves people who are completely, their character is completely the opposite to me. That's often how the Lord does it. Think of Naaman and the other ones. Now in closing we see the issue of preaching to a disobedient people. Look at our last verse in verse 21, which really encompasses the last four verses. Verse 21, but to Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. Perhaps Israel did not hear, some may say, perhaps they didn't hear the gospel, and that's why they have not believed. No, the Apostle Paul says in essence, and these are difficult verses, these ones, but the Apostle Paul is saying in verse 18, in essence, he quotes actually Psalm 19, four, where he's reminding us of Romans one, that there is sufficient witness to God in creation to render all men inexcusable. as we learnt in Romans 1 and as Psalm 19.4 says. It's not just the Gentiles, it's Jews as well. Creation bears witness to the truth of who God is, to not only Gentiles but Jews as well. So they are inexcusable. It says their sound went went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world." Verse 18. God has a witness in creation, doesn't he? Israel benefited like everyone else from the sound and truth that God's creation preaches every day. The heavens declare the glory of God, don't they? They preach to us every day that there is an absolute truth. that there is a God of great wisdom and power, and a God of mercy. And that is the God of whom we have to do with, a God, an eternal God, and a savior. But also, through Moses, verse 19, and Isaiah, verse 20, and many other prophets and messengers did God send to Israel, didn't they? And verse 21, But to Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsame people. God did everything. He sent countless messengers and prophets to point to the Savior, to bear witness to the gospel through a types and an atonement and through many prophecies. And Really, the Apostle Paul is saying, in essence, what more could the Lord God have done concerning Israel and the Gospel? What more? I've stretched out my hands all day long. You've killed the prophets whom I've sent for your good. to bring good news to you and you've killed them. What more can I possibly have done? That's really what he's saying in essence. And what the Apostle Paul, like I said, is implying by these things, he's implying is that we must get on with the worldwide proclamation of the gospel to all people. We must not just, and principally that was true of Israel then, we just must get on with it. Yes, still reach out to Jewish people. God's mercy is still open to those who will believe in Israel, but His mercy is open to all people, everywhere. And so we must not be sidetracked by these kind of ministries that, and there's so many that have opened up now especially in the West, where increasingly there's this movement towards messianic Christianity, where we see a blending of Jewish traditions and identity and practices with Protestant Christianity. And it is ushering in a grace plus works type of Christianity. It is. And it creeps in very, very slowly. But it sidetracks us, really, from... And increasingly it was saying, well, you've got to be focusing on Israel every day, all the time. Yes, God's mercy is still open to Israel. Yes, his arms are still outstretched to all who will believe, but to everyone as well. His grace and his favor is to everyone now. And we must not be sidetracked by these certain things that will come up, that will actually take us away from preaching to everyone the gospel. I think that's what the Apostle Paul, I believe, is implying with these verses. But you see here, God as a compassionate father, his hands and mercy are still outstretched to receive Jews and Gentiles who believe in the gospel. But unbelief should never be excused, should it? We must get on with preaching the gospel to all people. We must not get sidetracked. And like I said, principally, sometimes this happens in churches, where over time, they get to a position where, well, we'll just do a little magazine or a little paper, and we'll just do it to the estate around us. And they stop spreading the word far and wide, as it were. And it's just about this small thing. And yes, there should be a concern for that. But that's the principle here. is the gospel must go far and wide, the witness of the gospel as far as we can. We pray that the Lord will press upon our hearts that need. Well in conclusion I'll just end with Mark 16, 15 and 16. And he said unto them, that's the Lord Jesus, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.