21.May.23

Apostle Paul says whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But if they don’t know the Lord, they can’t call upon the name of the Lord. We learnt in Genesis 4:26, calling upon the name of the Lord means a life of worship. And Apostle Paul says how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When Apostle Paul says beautiful feet, the word beautiful in Greek is ὡραῖος (hóraios). It is derived from the word ‘Hora’. When the word of God is spoken and there is faith to receive and obey, that is when Hora faith comes. In Matthew 4, Apostle Paul speaks about ‘Hora’ which is referring to the time of the end when the Lord is coming back.

As people of faith, we need to recognise the time like Daniel, he was in prayer and reading the Bible. Through the Bible, he came to realise the timing of God and that is when he started to sincerely pray. When it is time to proclaim the word of God, those who in obedience proclaim and evangelise the gospel of Jesus Christ, are the beautiful feet. May Zion Church be blessed with beautiful timely feet that will bring the word of God to all parts of the world. Apostle Paul says to have timely beautiful feet is not so easy, we have to get on our feet and obey. Let us think about Apostle Paul’s attitude and how he carried the gospel.

1. Apostle Paul’s attitude and posture in preaching and evangelising

Gospel in Greek is εὐαγγέλιον (euaggelion), which means evangelism. So preaching is evangelising. Apostle Paul said he was under obligation and indebted (Romans 1:14-15). People in Rome feel they had the privilege to be preached to first. But Apostle Paul says “I am under obligation to preach to the Greeks and Barbarians who you look down upon. I am not under obligation to you but to Jesus Christ.” Often, we forget we are the ones indebted for our lives. Apostle Paul said, “I can’t give it back to Jesus Christ even though I worked all my life, that is why as a worker of God, I am doing my best to pay back as much as possible and I am thankful.”

2. The circumstances of Apostle Paul’s preaching

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, Apostle Paul was saying that even with all these trials and difficulties, he was still thankful to be able to do God’s work. May Zion Church members be able to say this. We need to wake up, there must be a reason why God is blessing us so much, we need to respond and reciprocate. God says timely feet are the ones who will get up on their feet, obey and act upon it.
Apostle Paul realised that knowing Jesus was more precious than anything on this earth. In Philippians 3:7-8, in earlier verses, he spoke about what he had, but here he said if he had to throw away everything so he can have Christ, he will throw everything away. His feet turned from the feet of a violent prosecutor to the feet of the one who brings good news of life. Our Lord Jesus Christ also says the reason why He came to this earth is to proclaim and share the gospel. Wherever He went he was looking for an opportunity to proclaim the word (Mark 1:38-39, Luke 19:10).

For our feet to become beautiful:

I. Our feet need to be clean
We are born descendants of Adam and we are born with unclean feet. Our forefather Adam, his feet took him to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Our feet have a tendency to take us to places of sin. Jesus’ disciples’ feet took them running away from Jesus when he was crucified. Jesus knew that and still, He washed their feet. He washed their feet and said, “By me washing your feet, it will cleanse your whole body.” In order for us to bring this gospel and carry this to the places He wants us to proclaim the word, our feet need to be washed. Let us pray that God will wash our feet and that our feet will stop taking us to the wrong places.

II. We have to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15)
For us to be equipped and put on the shoes of the gospel of peace, we need to understand the word of resurrection and transfiguration. When Jesus sent his disciple (Mark 6:7-9), Jesus had them put on sandals because their feet are the ones that will carry them. Those who get in the way of the gospel, have no feet (spiritually). In Genesis 3:14, for the serpent who was against the word of God, God says “On your belly you shall go.” May we have blessed feet.

Conclusion

A true Christian will evangelise and carry the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16). A healthy tree will bear fruit and a healthy Christian will evangelise. When a tree is planted and doesn’t bear fruit at all, it needs to be cut down. May we be able to bear the fruit of the spirit and evangelism. Not evangelising is rejecting Jesus’ great commission. This is the last will Jesus gave us before He went up to heaven (Mark 16:15, Ezekiel 3:17-18). When people perish without knowing Jesus, their blood will be on those who don’t evangelise. Beautiful feet are those who are at the right place at the appointed hour. Beautiful feet are the timely feet that know the hour (Matthew 24:36). Let us pray that our night will pass and the day will come. We all have problems and issues, may that night come to an end and day comes to us. May this blessing be given to Zion Church and may Zion Church be the beautiful feet of Jesus Christ.

AMEN!