this scripture this morning. Precious. Isn't that just an
amazing thought? Precious. We think of beholding
our Lord, to behold Him face to face. His word says precious. Precious in His sight. I think I speak for everyone
here and many others. Our thoughts and prayers are
with you and your family in the days to come. Open your Bibles with me to Romans
chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. Every time I stand up, you know,
I have dreams at times that I'll go somewhere and preach and I'll
forget my notes. Or I'll dream that I'm standing
up here looking and I can't find a scripture that's in my notes. And it does strike fear in me. It concerns me to follow, we
were driving home a couple weeks ago, we realized that Todd and
Martha were gonna be preaching the two previous days and the
thought of following two just giants in the gospel scares me to death. But I don't
know that I fear anything more than to stand before you and
not have a message from the Lord, that these aren't, this isn't
just a sermon, these just aren't words on a page, that the Lord
would give me a message for us, not just you, but for me, me
as well. And I pray that we have that
here this morning in Romans chapter 10, Romans 10. We're gonna look, Lord willing,
at the first four verses here in Romans 10, and the title of
the message is this, A Prayer for Israel. A Prayer for Israel. Look at verse one. Here we read, Paul says, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer. My prayer, this was, again, I stand before you in
weakness and fear and much trembling on this topic, this thing of
prayer. I can tell you this. I can tell
you, I pray for you. I pray for this congregation.
I pray that the Lord would be pleased to bring you a pastor.
I think, as it was said, a man who, who loves you, a man who
loves God, loves his scriptures, that he would be pleased in his
mercy to do that. I pray for you, but I confess
this to you as well. Often, quite often in prayer,
I often forget to pray for you. I often, I often fall asleep. in prayer. I often get caught
up in the day ahead, the days and events ahead, and get wrapped
up in those things. I doubt I'm the only one in the
room that that happens to, but I can tell you it's true of me. But I'm so thankful that scripture
declares this, God's word declares this, that the spirit helpeth
our infirmities. For we don't know what to pray
for. That's what scripture says. We don't know what to pray for
as we ought. But the spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. We can't
even begin to pray for those things that we should. But aren't
we thankful that the Spirit maketh intercession for us? Paul says, my heart's desire
and prayer to God. I remember Henry, Brother Henry,
saying in a message one time, he said that common Everyday
prayer, it comes from the lips. It just comes out of our mouth.
I hesitate to think the things that have come out of my mouth.
But true prayer. True prayer. Prayer in heartache. Prayer in sickness. Prayer in
times of trouble and distress. True prayer comes from the heart. That's what Paul was saying here.
He said, my heart's desire and my prayer to God. Isn't that
a humbling thought? To approach almighty God in prayer. And that he hears our prayers.
That he, that almighty God hears our prayers. He does in Christ.
He does so in Christ. In Hebrews 4, it says, we have
not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of
our firmities, but was it in all points tempted like we are,
yet without sin. David said this, this poor man
cried. And here's the amazing piece
of that. And the Lord heard him. The Lord heard him and delivered
him, saved him out of all his troubles. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel. You mentioned this just a little
bit ago. Isn't that our desire for our friends? our neighbors,
for our families, for ourselves, that the Lord would be pleased
to save us, that he would be pleased to show mercy to us. And these folks that Paul's praying
for, listen, they were his brethren according to the flesh. These
were his countrymen. His nation. You know, they were also, and
it's easy to, it's kind of easy to pray for those folks, isn't
it? For our family, for our nation. Listen, these were also people
that persecuted Paul. You know, after Paul had preached
the gospel back there in Acts 13, we read that the Jews stirred
the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city
and raised persecution against Saul and against Barnabas and
expelled them out of their coast. They kicked them out. They said,
we don't want you around here. In Acts 14, we read of an impotent
man, crippled from his mother's womb, never walked. This man never walked. And the
Lord used Paul to heal this man. And shortly after, it was the
Jews, they stoned Paul and then drew him out of the city, supposing
he was a dead man. When Paul spoke of those perils
that he encountered for the sake of the gospel, he mentioned this,
perils of his own countrymen. These are the folks he's talking
about here. These are the people that he's praying for, that in
his prayer, and he didn't say this, this would, if I'm being
perfectly honest with you, this would be probably my prayer.
I wish vengeance would be taken upon these people. I wish you'd just wipe them from
the face of the earth. Isn't that how we often feel
about our enemies? That's not what Paul says here.
He says, my heart's desire and prayer for Israel is that they
might be saved. In the book of Matthew, Matthew
5, verse 44, our Lord said, I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless those that curse you. Do good to them that hate you
and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Paul says my heart's desire and
prayer for Israel is that they might be saved. And listen to this comforting
thought. God's elect shall be saved. He's not gonna lose a
one. His elect will be brought to
repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we, by His
grace, We'll continue to pray for the lost, to pray for those
that do not know the Savior. We'll continue, by His grace,
to preach His word, to declare the truth from His gospel, and
command men, not invite them, but command them to bow to Christ. You just read that, huh? Every knee's gonna bow. Every
tongue's gonna confess. Jesus Christ is Lord. And command
men to come to Him, to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know
Moses, Moses prayed I believe a similar prayer. He said this,
after the children of Israel had worshiped that golden calf,
they turned to adultery, turned to idolatry. He said, this people
has sinned a great sin. If thou will, if thou will forgive
their sin, but if not, blot me, I pray thee out of thy book,
which thou hast written. Oh, that the Lord God would give
us a heart to pray. to pray for those around us. Listen, not just for health and
well-being, and we do, we pray for the health and well-being
of those that we love and those near to us. We pray for their salvation,
that God would be merciful. Look at Romans chapter 10, verse
two. Here we see a description of
these people. This might sound familiar. Look
at verse two. Paul says, I bear them record,
they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They have a zeal. They have an
excitement, a fervor, an intense passion. Doesn't that describe much of
our country today? Most of those in false religion. We have family. We work with
folks. Men have a zeal. They have a
zeal for God. They're very serious about what
they're doing and about what they're saying. They're excited
about it. They get excited about these
things. Excited about what they are doing
for Him. Or at least what they think they're
doing for Him. Religion's everywhere. It's everywhere. I didn't count
this morning, Just think about the number of buildings you drive
by on the way here, or anywhere you're going. I mean, literally,
there are churches on every street corner, it seems like. And these people that attend
them, they're very serious. They're
very serious about what they do. They're feeding the poor. They have programs, they have
basketball teams, softball teams, getting kids involved, all these
things. And there's a lot of excitement
surrounding that. They take trips. They take missionary
trips and they come back and they talk about teaching people
how to plant gardens and dig wells. feed their families. And there's certainly nothing
wrong, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with people being
fed and having clean water to drink. But this is what scripture
declares. It says, go ye into the world
and preach the gospel. We were at a park several years
ago. I remember some fellow, Walker,
he was pushing around a brand new bicycle. and of course kids
were running up looking at that bicycle and the whole purpose
of it was this he said that he said if you'll come to our bible
school we're going to give away we're going to give away this
bicycle this shiny new bicycle and if you get your friends to
come you can even throw more of your name in the hat and increase There's a true excitement there.
Again, a true passion for what they're doing. They're very serious
about it. And you know, that was true of
Paul's fleshly brethren. They took what they believed
very seriously. I would like to think if you're
gonna stone a man until he's dead, you feel pretty strongly. about what you're saying and
about what you're doing. They have a zeal of God, but
here's the problem, not according to knowledge. They weren't atheists. They were religious. They were
very, very religious. They knew all about the law and
the ceremonies, but they didn't know Paul was in that same boat, not
too much earlier than that. Remember that? He had asked for
letters to go and arrest and throw in prison those that were
in the way. Turn to what? Turn to Philippians. Philippians 3. Philippians three, verse four. Paul says, though I might also
have confidence in the flesh. And that was the thing, they
had a great, great confidence in the flesh. They had a zeal
and a fervor. Though I might have confidence in the flesh,
if any man, if any other man thinketh he is aware of, he might
trust in the flesh, I mourn. circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews,
as touching the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, Paul says, you
want to talk about zeal? I persecuted the church. Touching
the righteousness, which is of the law, blameless. Blameless. Paul knew something of zeal. And we're like these people that
Paul spoke to. Our nation as a whole, our country
as a whole is like those people that Paul spoke to when he was
there on Mars Hill. He said, I perceive that in all
things, you're too superstitious. That word means religious, too
religious. Turn to Matthew 23. Matthew 23. Look at verse 13. Matthew 23,
verse 13. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites. You shut up the kingdom of heaven
against man, for you neither go in yourselves, neither you
suffer them entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrites, if you devour widows' houses for pretense. Just to
be seen, you make long prayer. Therefore you shall receive the
greater damnation. Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrites! You compass sea and land to make
one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more
the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, you blind guides,
which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it's nothing,
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he's
a debtor. You fools and blind, for whether
it's greater the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold.
Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it's nothing, but whosoever
swears by the gift that's upon him, he's guilty. You fools and
blind, whether it's greater the gift or the altar that sanctified
the gift. Whoso therefore shall swear by
the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon, and whosoever
shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth
therein, and he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne
of God, and by him that sitteth on the throne. Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and anise
and cumin, but you've omitted the weightier matters of the
law. judgment, mercy, faith. These ought to have been done
and not leave the other undone. You be blind guys which strain
in the gnat and swallow the camel. Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees,
and hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup
and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and
excess. Thou blind Pharisees, cleanse
first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside
of them may be clean also. Woe unto you strives Pharisees
hypocrites, for you're like unto whited sepulchers. Indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's
bones and all uncleanness. Even so, ye also outward appear
righteous unto men. But within, you're full of hypocrisy
and iniquity. Sin, huh? Listen, a zeal, a zeal,
a fervor. Religious talk, huh? Go about quoting scriptures and
again, doing all these great things. But he says, not according
to knowledge, huh? They honored the law outwardly.
They probably, I don't know, if they'd had bumper stickers
back then, they'd have had some on the back of their car, right?
Outwardly, they honored it. But they didn't know Christ.
They were ignorant of Him as a Savior. They knew about a man
named Jesus, but they didn't know Him as Lord and Savior. Paul, in 2 Timothy 3, he says
that they have a form of godliness. a form, but denying the power
thereof. And he gives this warning, from
such, those that deny the power of God, the power of Christ to
save sinners, he says, from such, turn away from them. And then a few verses later,
he said, they're ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge
of the truth. Those things that are true pertaining
to the matters of God. God who is holy, just, and righteous. Those things that are true concerning
man. Man's a sinner. Man's dead in
trespasses and sins. and what is true as it relates
to who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what he has done for his
people. Who he is, who he is, what he's
done, why he did it, and where he is now, seated at the right
hand of God. Paul's prayer, he says, my heart's
desire and prayer for God to Israel is that they might be
saved. Man's zeal, a zeal and a passion,
but listen, not according to knowledge. And then we read of man's ignorance.
Look here in verse three of Romans 10. For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, what God requires, they being ignorant
of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own
righteousness. They have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. You know, they honored the law
in the outward appearance of it. Somebody gave them $10 or
they come over here and they take a dollar out, right? Outwardly. Don't do anything, don't do anything
on the Sabbath. Outwardly. Remember they, I mean,
they'd get after, they got after our Lord for healing the man
on the Sabbath, because they told him to pick up his bed and
walk. Well, you can't carry your bed
on the Sabbath, right? Outwardly. He rubbed mud on it. He made mud and rubbed it on
a fellow's eye one time. It's violating the law. Outwardly. All these things outwardly. And being ignorant of Christ. being ignorant of the Lord Jesus
Christ as the only savior of sinners. Ignorance. In our day, men have
a hope of salvation. It's a false hope, but they have
a hope of salvation, and it's partly based on what they've
done. I suspect you'd probably go in
any building in this town or surrounding area across this
nation, and for the most part, that's what's being said. That
Christ did his part, but now you've got to do yours. They believe that Christ made
a down payment, and then it's, It's up to man to pay the rest
of that. They're ignorant thinking that
God will accept their works as the balance do. Turn with me to Galatians chapter
3. 3. Verse 10. Galatians 3 verse 10. For as
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for
it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them. It's pretty easy on our
part to think we're obeying the law if we can just pick the ones,
if we just pick the ones, right? I'm not gonna, I don't have any
plans on killing anybody. So thou shalt not kill. Oh, I
can do that. Outwardly. But as soon as somebody
cuts me off in traffic, inwardly, what are my thoughts? We cannot,
we cannot keep, we cannot keep God's law. And if a man would
seek to be justified by his works and deeds, and trust his own
works, and trust his own righteousness for acceptance with God, that
man, that woman, that young person is under the curse of the law. The law requires doing. The law requires keeping the
law perfectly in word, in thought, in deed, not just in outward
obedience. And scripture says this, to offend
in one point, just one point, yeah, to offend in one point
is to be guilty not just of that law, but the entire. Scripture says this, it has to
be perfect. Perfect to be accepted. Being
ignorant of God's law, ignorant of God's holiness, ignorant of
the strictness of His justice. Paul said this in Galatians 4,
he said, you that desire to be under the law, do you not hear
what the law is saying? Do you not hear that? In Galatians
3, 11, no man is justified by the law in the sight of Almighty
God. In Romans 3, verse 20, therefore,
by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh, not one, no flesh
be justified in his sight. How do we arrive at that conclusion?
Turn back to Romans 3. Romans 3. Romans 3, look at verse 10. As
it is written, Do you think you're righteous?
Does anyone in this room think they're righteous? As it is written,
there is none righteous. I had a fellow tell me he went,
he was very sincere about it, that he had went 12 years without
sinning. Isn't that just foolish? I mean, we giggle about it, but
it's also sad, isn't it, to think that Man's convinced of that. We can't go 10 seconds. I doubt
we could go a second without sin. As it is written, there
is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They are all going out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
with their tongues they've used to seek. The poison of ask is
under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of
peace they've not known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
for this purpose, that every mouth may be stopped and all
the world, all the world, even your most religious friends,
all the world may become guilty before Almighty God. Listen,
they were looking to the law for justification, but all the
law can do is condemn me. These folks were ignorant of
God's righteousness, going about to establish their own righteousness,
and they had not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Back in Luke chapter 8, Luke
8, 43, we read of a woman. There was a woman who had an
issue of blood. She had an ailment. And she had
suffered this ailment for 12 years. And scripture says this, that
she spent her living. She spent all her life. She spent
all of her livelihood. All her means. You talk about
somebody that was given everything they had. She spent everything. And this issue of blood couldn't be helped by anything
that she had done. She spent all that she had, all
of her money, and she spent it on, scripture says, on physicians. I picture somebody just kind
of floating from church to church to church, huh? The Presbyterian Church couldn't
do nothing for me, huh? Just go through the list. All these physicians, they were
physicians of no value. Mark 5.26 says, she suffered
many things from many physicians. You reckon they told her things
like, you know, all you need to do is just kind of get your
life straightened out. You need to maybe start doing
some volunteer work, or you need to do this, or you need to do
that. You need to come down to the front of the building. You
need to, you name it. She suffered many things from
many physicians, and when she had spent all that she had, She was nothing better. In fact,
scripture says she was worse. She rather grew worse. She couldn't help herself, and no one could help her. Isn't that a striking similarity
to every sinner? Every sinner that would seek
relief, seek deliverance, seek righteousness, seek salvation
anywhere apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture's clear. None but the
Lord Jesus Christ can heal. None but the Lord Jesus Christ
can make us whole. Anything else, anything else
is a physician of no value. Anything else would, and we read
that a little bit ago, would make us two-fold more the child
of hell than when we started. And she said this, after all that, if I could just touch his garment,
If I could just touch His arm, all that He would make us to
know something of our sin. You know, we talk about coming
to Christ. We'll never come to Christ if we don't know something
about our need of Him. That has to be revealed to us.
We'll never come to Christ until we know that He's the Savior
of sinners. Oh, that he would make me to
know my sin. And rather than to look to those physicians,
rather than look to my tears, rather than look to reforming
my ways, that we, like this woman, would
be brought to look to him, to look to the Lord Jesus Christ,
to look to him with eyes of faith. that I could see that I have nothing. I have nothing
to commend myself to God. I bring nothing to the, I bring,
you ever heard that, what do you bring to the table? I wonder
what they bring to the table. We bring nothing to the table.
I suppose we bring one thing, we bring sin. I'm a sinner. I have no righteousness. I have no hope apart from Almighty
God showing me mercy. Well, quickly, back to our text
here. Romans 10, look at verse 4. Romans 10, verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. Believeth what? Better said,
believeth who? Christ. He that believeth, what's
scripture say? He that believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. It's not the law. that justifies
the believer, it's Christ. The believer is complete in Christ. We have no confidence in ceremony. We have no confidence in the
keeping of the law. Our salvation and acceptance
in Christ has nothing to do with this flesh. The Apostle Paul
knew something about that ceremonial law. Remember when we read that,
he said, let me read it again. Philippians 3, though I might
also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh he
hath whereof the glory, whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more. Religious works, religious ceremonies,
the keeping of the law, Paul had them all beat. No one held a candle to Paul.
And he said, I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of
Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching
the law, blameless, concerning zeal, persecuting the law, touching
the righteousness, which is the law, blameless. Paul, he was
of the strictest sect of the Jews. He was a Pharisee, and
he persecuted the church. And with regard to outwardly
keeping the law, he said, I was blameless. But that which was
gained for me, I count it lost. Lost. Todd showed us that so
clearly the other day. All those things, count them
lost for Christ. You know, there was a time when
Paul believed that his works, that his keeping of the law would
be reasonable. I think I heard Jackie say this
one time. We're all self-righteous Pharisees
by nature. That's all of our thinking. I
did this wrong, well, I'll do this to fix it. He thought these things made
him righteous before God, that he had favor with God. But you
know what? When God was pleased to reveal
the Lord Jesus Christ to him, All of those things became worthless. Worthless. What was revealed
to him? What was revealed to him? The
Lord Jesus Christ, and the same thing that's revealed to his
people. Christ, who is our sanctification. Christ, who is our sacrifice. Christ, who is our righteousness. That which was everything to
Saul was now nothing. And the Lord Jesus Christ became
everything. Everything. He said, yea, doubtless
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things and do count them but done. That I may win Christ and
be found in him not having my own righteousness. That doesn't
even exist. Not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That's true righteousness. Not
trusting in any self-achieved righteousness. Again, nothing
that I could do, not by works or deeds, not by keeping of the
law, but by resting in the very righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And consider this, we're made perfect. We're made completely
whole in him. Well, back to Romans 10, Romans
10, verse four. Christ, the end of the law for
righteousness, to everyone that believeth. The law cannot justify you. The
law cannot justify me. Only Christ can. There's no hope
in this flesh. Our hope is in Christ. You know,
the end of the law, the whole purpose of the law, scripture
says this, that the law was our schoolmaster, huh? For this purpose, to bring us
to Christ. To bring us to Him. You know we're not under that
schoolmaster anymore. The believers not. God's children
not. We rest in Christ. We rest in
Him and Him alone. The law says this do and live. This do. But the believer rests in the
completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ, His righteousness. Free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus hath bled, and there is remission. Cursed by the law
and bruised by the fall, grace hath redeemed us. The Lord Jesus
Christ hath redeemed us once for all. In that our hearts, I pray that
we make, the Lord will make that our prayer, our desire and heart's
prayer for Israel, for our neighbors, for our countrymen, for our enemies, reveal unto them, the Lord Jesus
Christ, that he would be merciful to us.