Sermon 12/28/03 am

Jim Huskey, God Has A System

Last Sunday evening we looked at a subject that is probably applicable

in a lot of cases. We looked at the subject of zeal without knowledge,

as Paul spoke of in Romans 10. He said, "Brethren, my heart's desire

and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear

them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to

establish their own reighteousness, have not submitted themselves unto

the righteousness of God." Rom. 10:1-3. So many times this is true.

People get very excited but their excitement and their zeal are based

on a lack of knowledge. That was true with that man called Saul of

Tarsus who later became the apostle Paul, who would pen those words.

But there are some other things Paul said in that tenth chapter of

Romans that are very, very important. A lot of folks have a lot of

misconceptions when it comes to religious matters. They base a awful

lot of what they do on feelings. You know, however, and I know, that

feelings can sometimes be very, very misleading, regardless of how good

the intentions. Feelings can mislead. I'm sure you've heard of folks

who thought they had indigestion when they actually were having a heart

attack. I've know of folks who had a pain in their shoulder and they

thought it was their arthritis, but it was something far more serious

than that. Feelings are only as safe as the knowlege that backs them.

So in that tenth chapter of Romans, Paul went on to point out that

Christ, whom the Jews at that point had rejected, was the very end of

the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Then beginning in

verse 8 he talked about in contrast to what the righteousness of the

law presented, the righteousness which is by faith, and how the

righteousness of faith speaks. "But what saith it? The word is nigh

thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith,

which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord

Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from

the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto

righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be

ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek;

for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For

whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How

then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how

shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall

they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they

be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that

preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But

they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath

believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by

the word of God." Rom. 10:8-17. Over the years I've heard a lot of

people under a lot of different circumstances who told me various

tales, being honest and sincere. I would be the last to belittle their

feelings and their sincerity. They told how God spoke to them and told

them what they needed to do in order to be saved. If the Bible is

true, I'm here to tell you that didn't happen. If the Bible is true,

that didn't happen!!!!! Why do I say that? Well, Paul just got

finished telling us. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word

of God. How so? How shall they believe in him of whom they have not

heard? How shall they hear without a preacher?

There are a number of interesting events recorded in the New Testament

that would have presented an ideal situation for God to have directly,

without human involvement, directed an individual as to what to do in

order to be saved. In the book of Acts, chapter 8, a number of events

occurred after Saul raised such havoc in persecuting the church at

Jerusalem. One event was when Philip had gone down into the area of

Samaria and had preached the gospel to them. In the midst of that

period of time when Philip was in Samaria there was a fellow riding

from Jerusalem back to Ethiopia. He had been up to Jerusalem to worship.

Evidently he was a Jewish proselyte, because he was an Ethiopian, a

eunuch under Queen Candace. As he was riding along he read his Bible.

He was reading from Isaiah, chapter 53. Well, here was a man who was

religious and who had gone to great efforts to go to Jerusalem to keep

one of three appointed feasts the Jewish males were commanded to

attend at Jerusalem. He was riding in his chariot, reading his Bible.

Why would God pull that preacher away from Samaria and send him down

to meet that guy who was riding along in his chariot? Why didn't God

just send an angel down there and tell him what to do to be saved?

Because that's not the way God does it!!!! He sent Philip from

Samaria. He said "...Arise, and go toward the south unto the way

that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert." And he

went. When he got there he found this eunuch riding along in his

chariot, reading from his Bible. Philip was wise enough to know that

God didn't pull him out of Samaria and send him down there in that

deserted area for no cause. So he went up to the man who was riding

along and asked him, "...Understandest thou what thou readest?" He

said, "...How can I, except some man should guide me?..." He asked

Philip a question, "...of who speaketh the prophet this? of himself,

or of some other man?" He was reading from Isaiah 53. The record

says that Philip got in the chariot with him, began at that same

scripture and preached unto him Jesus.

Well, there's another interesting example. Turn to the next chapter,

chapter 9. That fellow Saul of Tarsus who was raising havoc and doing

everything he could to eradicate the name of Christ from off the

earth and to destroy the church had received authority from the chief

priest and was on his way to Damascus for the purpose of imprisoning

and persecuting those whom he might find worhsipping according to the

word of Christ. Now he was a unique individual. He was a speical

individual. He was special in one sense because of all the damage

he had been doing to the church. He was special to the Jewish leaders.

But that wasn't the real reason he was special. God had a job for

Saul to do. Saul would become not the persecutor but the persecuted.

He would become he apostle to the Gentiles. You remember the story of

the events that occurred. A bright light shone down at midday, a voice

spoke from heaven, "..Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" "..Who

are thou, Lord." "...I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." At that point

Saul raised a very important and significant question. "...What wilt

thou have me to do?" Now don't tell me the Lord didn't know what he

was to do!!!! He had already appeared to him. Why didn't God just

tell him????? Because that was not the way God designed the system to

work!!!!!! Back in the city there was a fellow named Ananias. The

Lord had plans for him, also. Rather than telling Saul what he must

do, he said "...go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou

must do." 'Well, Lord, why don't you tell me?????' No!!! Saul wasn't

about to ask that. He knew he'd already done TOOOOOOO MUCH in the

wrong direction. He didn't want to make it any worse. You know what

happened. He went to Damascus. But the Lord had given instructions

to Ananias. He said, "..Ananias." And he said, "Behold, I am here,

Lord." 'I have a job for you, Ananias.' I'm paraphrasing here.

'There's a felow by the name of Saul, he's blind now, and he's praying.

He's seen a man named Ananias coming in.' 'Now wait a minute, Lord!!!

I've already heard about that fellow. His reputation has preceeding

him.' No!!!!! 'Ananias, you go do what I told you to do. He is a

chosen vessel to bear my name to the Gentiles.' Now this is the

fellow, Saul of Tarsus, who would become the apostle Paul. Did God

show him favortism by going ahead and telling him what to do on the

road to Damasus???? NO, HE DID NOT!!!!!! Acts chapter 22 gives a

fuller account of when Ananias would come in to him. Saul would

receive his sight and Ananias would ask him 'Now why are you tarrying?

Arise and be baptized, was away your sins calling on the name of the

Lord.'

Now that Jewish proselyte didn't receive any special exemption from the

way God planned things. The man who would become the apostle to the

Gentile world didn't receive any special exemption, so to speak. He

would hear the gospel the same way everyone else did, as far as his

obedience was concerned.

Now if we turn one more chapter Acts, we come to chapte 10. Now here

was another unique fellow. He was going to become, as far as we know,

the first Gentile convert. Now we have some firsts - the first

Jewish proselyte, the first apostle to the Gentiles, and now the

first Genile. If we read in Acts chapter 10 we find out this was

indeed a unique fellow in a lot of ways. He feared God, he gaves much

alms to the people and evidently was held in very high reputation

even among the Jews. He gave much alms to the people, prayed to God.

He saw a vision and he was told "...Thy prayers and thine alms are

come up for a memorial before God." Now here we have the setting.

We have a divine messanger giving Cornelius instruction. No, he was

giving him INFORMATION. He was just tell him that the prayers and the

alms he had offered had not be offered in vain. They had gone up for

a memorial before God. Now there were some more things he needed to

know, more things he needed to do. 'Well, just tell me. I'll take

care of it.' NO, that's not the way it works. "..now send men to

Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter; He lodgeth

with one Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the sea side; he shall

tell thee what thou oughtest to do." Well, we know that fellow. He's

the fellow who preached the first gospel sermon on the day of

Pentecost. Peter was given a message about the same time Cornelius

was given one. He was on a housetop, he fell into a trance, a vessel

like a four-cornered sheet was let down from heaven with all kinds of

four-footed beasts and animals in it. A voice from heaven said,

"Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Peter was still a Jew and always would

be. That 's what he was born. "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." "...Not

so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."

A message came back to Peter, "...What God hath cleansed, that call

not thou common." Well, I'm not sure at that particular point in

time if Peter got the full impact of that message. That was done

three times and the sheet was taken up. Then the instruction came.

'There are some folks down stairs looking for you; you go with them,

doubting nothing.' Well, Peter got down stairs and there were the

messengers from a Gentile. Of all things, they wanted that Jew to

go into a Gentile's house. That was about more than Peter could

handle at that point, so he took some Jewish brethren with him. He

wanted witnesses. He didn't want any of them out telling tales on

him. So they went. When they got there Cornelius was going to bow

down to him. Peter said, 'Don't do that, I'm just a man.' That

doesn't sound much like a pope, does it??????? 'Stand up, I'm a man.'

Then Cornelius began to tell him why he had called for him. And he

said, "...and thou hast done well that thou art come." Imagine that!

A Gentile telling Peter "..thou hast done well that thou art come. Now

therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that

are commanded thee of God." So beginning at that point, Peter got the

message and connected it with what he'd seen back on the housetop.

You see, in the Jewish mind there was just one nation, and that was

the Jews. They were the only ones blessed of God. But now Peter got

the message, "...Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of

persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh

righteousness if accepted with him." He began and preached Jesus to

him, he preached the gospel.

Well, isn't that exactly what Paul said in Romans, chapter 10 ??????

One cannot believe unless one has heard. One cannot hear unless one

has taken the message to him. In every case you'll find recorded in

the scripture that's exactly the way it was, from Pentecost on, from

the time that new covenant, having been sealed by the blood of Christ,

was brought into existence. They must hear. Why? Because faith

comes by hearing, but hearing what? THE WORD OF GOD. Not just

anything. You see, there are a lot of things I believe that cannot,

from a scriptural standpoint, be called faith in the Biblical sense.

Why? because faith in the Bilical sense comes from hearing the word

of God. Oh, I believe there was a fellow named George Washington.

Now I've never seen and the shape he's in now, I probably don't want

to see him. I don't care anything at all about them digging his

bones up, if there are any left. But the evidence exists that causes

me to believe he lived and that he was the very first president of our

country. Now that's not Biblical faith. When Paul said faith comes

by hearing, he was talking about a faith that saves man, faith that

is based on the word of God. That's why he said faith comes by

hearing, and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD. As I mentioned when we

began this sermon, we can't find the exception in the New Testament

to that plan.

Now sinse God is no respecter of persons, if he wouldn't make an

exception for the first Jewish proselyte, if he would't make an

exception for the first Gentile if he wouldn't make an exception

for him who was to become the apostle to the Gentiles, what makes me

think he would make an exception in my case !!!!!????????!!!!!!.

No, faith comes from hearing the word of God, by human agency. That's

why Paul would say "...How beautiful are the feet of them that preach

the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Now

I've looked at my feet. They "ain't" beautiful from a physical

standpoint. Toenails look like they belong on a monkey or something,

wrapped around where they can dig in a tree. No, they're not

beautiful in that sense. That wasn't that of which Paul was speaking.

Those are the uncomely parts that Paul referred to in I Corinthians

and other places, but they're needed; and they're certainly needed in

this area to carry the gospel to those who have not heart it, in order

that they may hear. Why? In order that they might believe. Why? In

order that they may call upon him. Why? Because, as Joel in the

Old Testament said, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the

Lord shall be saved." How can that occur? Well, in order to call

on him, we must have heard about him and we can only find that out

from the word of God, and someone who brings that message to you.

Human agency is involved. God could have chosen to have done it any

way he desired. I have no problem with that. What if God had wanted

to.....God could have done it. That's not the question. The question

is, What did God do? The only place we can find that, as Paul would

point out in the Corinthian letter, is if God told us, that's how

we would find out. And HE DID, right here in this book. Paul later

in the next chapter as it comes to an end raised the question.

You know it's going to come up. "...who hath been his counsellor?"

Who did God have to go to for counselling? Somebody says 'that's

ridiculous!!!' Yes, it is; but the way man acts sometimes, we

wouldn't know. We would think MAN created GOD, rather God having

created man. So one of the points Paul ended with was that that

was one of the problems. He started out by saying in chapter 10 that

the Jews had created their own system of righteousness which was not

of faith. Verse 19, beginning, we read "But I say, Did not Israel

know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that

are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But

Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me

not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to

Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto

a disobedient and gainsaying people." One of the points Paul made

was that to the Jew and Gentile alike the gospel is the same. That

was Joel's prophecy. It would come to pass that WHOSOEVER (not just

the Jews, not just the Gentiles, not just the half-breeks) but

WHOSOEVER, and that gets all of us. The gospel of Christ, a source

of faith from the word. It important that we hear it, it's more

important that we believe it, and believing it that we do the things

that are contained therein. That's what those individuals did in

everyone of those incidents to which we pointed - that Ethiopian

riding along in his chariot, Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius. They did just

like those folks on Pentecost in Acts 2, they did what God said do.

Thus they were heirs of the blessings God promised.