Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. I wanna talk today, this morning,
about God's hands and God's feet. I don't have a specific text
to go to to begin with, but if you have a Bible, please get
it and follow along with the passages that I mentioned so
you can see what God's word says. Now some of you listening may
have heard the following saying. Maybe even some of you use this
saying who hear my voice. The saying is this, God has no
hands but your hands, and God has no feet but your feet, or
something to this effect. I know some may think this to
be a cute saying. The problem with this statement
is that it is a complete lie on God. Not only is it totally
physically false, Christ being God and Christ being man, he
had his own hands and his own feet. Although the physical lie
on God is offensive to God, there is no doubt about that. It is
what they really mean by this saying that is the biggest offense
to God. They are saying his hands and
his feet and the work they did were not good enough, and that
man has to put his hands to it to make it of any value. This,
my listeners, is a blasphemous thought that invokes the wrath
of God. If we believe God, then we should
want to know what God says about the matter and not what this
world believes or says about God or man. This world will do
anything to build up man rather than glorifying God Almighty. God is a unique God. He is so
unique that there is no other God. There is none like unto
him. So there is no one and no thing
to compare to God to give someone an idea of who he is. All we
have is the word of God, which is breathed by God himself. So
what does God say about himself? And what does God say about man? He has given us his word, and
for this reason, and if by his power we are enabled to see it,
then we will see that our hands and our feet do not help God
at all. As a matter of fact, as we are
born in Adam, our hands and our feet offend God and seek to murder
Him. Today, I want to talk to you
about two things. First, I want to talk about my
hands or our hands and our feet. What kind of works is it they
have performed as we are born in Adam? Then second, I want
to talk about God's hands and God's feet. What kind of works
has God done? Fallen man would like to think
they have something good to offer God. Something they can work
out that would please God or something they can run after
with fervor to gain favor with God. But God's word does not
teach such doctrine. There is no doctrine in scripture
where it says that man does anything with his hands or his feet to
gain God's favor. So what does God say in his word
about what our hands and our feet have done? First off, our
hands, which are a part of the flesh that we have, being wicked,
we slew the Lord of glory. Jesus Christ with my hands and
so did you. If you do not believe the God
of this Bible and what he says about man, then you are saying
just as those did in Christ's time when they nailed him to
the tree, I will not have this man reign over me. If you do
believe God, the God of Scripture, about who He says man is, then
you know it was your sins that put him on the tree, as he had
to pay for those sins. This is Peter talking to the
Jews in Jerusalem in Acts 2, in verse 22. Acts 2, and in verse
22. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you. As ye yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. So we see from Scripture that
our hands are guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ. one way or the
other, either by not wanting this man to reign over you or
the fact that he had to die for your sins. Not only are my hands
guilty of murdering the Lord of glory, but my feet are swift
to shed blood, the scripture tells us. Paul says this in Romans
3. Romans 3 and beginning in verse
9. What then? Are we better than
they? No, in no wise, for we have before
proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.
Jews and Gentiles, this means every single person ever born.
You, as you are born, are either a Jew or a Gentile. So we are
all under sin. Verse 10, Romans 3 and verse
10. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one, Jew
or Gentile. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God, Jew or Gentile. They are all gone 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 have used deceit, the poison of asp
is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. And then here it is, Romans 3
and verse 15. It says, their feet are swift
to shed blood, Jew and Gentile, all. God's holy and just law
tells me I cannot do those works needed to please God. That law,
when I see it and hear it, condemns me to death. Which is why Paul
the Apostle says, if a law had been given which could give life,
then righteousness should have been by the law. We read this
in Galatians 3, 21. And this is what it specifically
says here in Galatians 3, beginning in verse 21. Is the law then
against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. So God's law condemns me to death. His scripture plainly tells us
we are dead in trespasses and in sin. So being death by nature,
my feet are swift to shed blood. So my hands and my feet and your
hands and your feet being swift to shed blood, God does not want
or need. Misery and destruction are the
only thing that will come from the works of my hands and the
works of my feet or the works of your hands and the works of
your feet. Here's another passage that tells
us what happens when we try to put our hands to God's work.
In 1 Chronicles chapter 13, and beginning in verse 7, if you'll
turn with me there, 1 Chronicles chapter 13, beginning in verse
7. And this is when David, they
were, they had created a new cart, a different method of moving
the ark around, which was not the prescribed way that they
should move this ark around. And that's the context here in
this passage in 1 Chronicles 13. And it says, And they carried
the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab.
And Uzzah and Ahaiu drove the cart. and David and all Israel
played before God with all their might, and with singing, and
with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals,
and with trumpets. And when they came unto the threshing
floor of Chidon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark, for
the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Uzzah. and he, God, smote him, Uzzah,
because he put his hand to the ark, and there he died before
God. You want to put your hand to
God's work? You do not put your hands or
your feet to God's ark, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ
did not and does not need any help from you by the works of
your hands and or your feet. God will kill you if you attempt
to put your hands to His work. If He, God, never changes your
mind about who He is and leaves you believing that the work of
your hands and your feet bring you any favor towards Him, then
you will die in your sins and be forever, eternally forsaken
of God. We cannot and dare not try to
add one thing to the work of Christ. When you do this, you
only attempt to try and give glory to man, which God will
not share. All glory and honor goes to Jesus
Christ, the Lord. Put your hands or your feet to
his work, and you will be destroyed. What does the scripture tell
us we are by nature? And this is everyone by nature
as we are born in Adam. This is all of us. In Isaiah
1 beginning in verse 5. Why should ye be stricken any
more? Ye will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the
whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound
up, neither mullified with ointment. There is nothing in us or about
us that would be of any value to God. We are a stench in God's
nostrils. the only smell that God the Father
has any satisfaction with is the sweet-smelling savor of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. If we could in any way put our
hands or feet to His work, it would ruin the whole thing. Adding
our hands or our feet to Him, Jesus Christ the Son, God the
Father will not allow. It is clear from Scripture that
our hands and our feet are not something we should have any
hope in as far as gaining favor before God. But there are some
hands and some feet that truly did satisfy God the Father with
the works done by them. Jesus Christ the Lord did many
wonderful works, but he did one work for his people that was
so gracious that if you ever are enabled to see it, you will
glorify God. So what does it say about Jesus
Christ's hands and His feet? First of all, God Almighty has
value in more than just His hands and His feet. He has power in
every part of Himself. His thoughts are powerful, so
much so that if He thinks something, it is so. God has power in His
mouth. If God says something, it is
so. What God thinks, God says. And what God says, He also does
or carries it out with His hands and His feet. Jesus Christ came
down and was born of a virgin. He came in the likeness of sinful
flesh. So Jesus Christ has two hands,
each with five fingers on them. He has two feet, each with five
toes on them. I say Jesus Christ has because
Jesus Christ is alive and seated at the right hand of God in a
body. He is a real man. The God of
all glory is a man with his own hands and his own feet. But these hands and these feet,
those of Jesus Christ, always carried out the thought and speech
of God Almighty. Christ Jesus was God manifest
in the flesh, and he said himself that he came to do God the Father's
will, and he did. With his hands and his feet,
he was nailed to the tree. This is a real man who is God
manifest in the flesh. This was painful for him. Each
of those spikes used to nail him to the tree had to happen.
He had to die on that tree for the sins of his people. He died
for all the sins of his people and his people only. That is
what the work of his hands and his feet did. Now let's read
this text and keep in mind that Joseph is a type of Christ here
in this passage. In Genesis chapter 39, if you'll
turn with me there, Genesis chapter 39 and beginning in verse 20. And Joseph's master took him
and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners
were bound. And he was there in the prison.
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave
him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the
keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners
that were in the prison. And whatsoever they all the prisoners
that were in the prison, and whatsoever they did there, he,
Joseph, was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked
not to anything that was under his hand, that's Joseph, because
the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it
to prosper. Jesus Christ's biggest work was
to become my surety on that tree. He was my substitute who took
my place being made sin for me, being forsaken of God the Father. What I did, He did. This is the
gospel. What does the word gospel mean?
It means good news. The good news is Christ did all
the work with His hands and His feet, and there is no more work
to be done. He shed His precious blood to
pay for my sins and to pay for your sins if you are in Him. So what sins I did, He did because
He is my substitute. I do not have to do anything
to gain salvation. All that is left to be done is
for those for whom Christ died to be brought into that salvation. so that they will know of that
salvation and what Jesus Christ the Lord did with His hands and
His feet. In knowing this, they can lay
down their arms against Jesus Christ and take sides with God
against themselves, admitting their sinfulness and guilt before
a holy, just God. But Christ did even more with
his hands and his feet. He healed the sick, gave sight
to the blind, caused the deaf to hear, raised the dead, and
preached the gospel to the poor. Jesus Christ had compassion on
people and helped them. But even though God came down
to this earth and did all this, people still did not know him. In fact, no one knew him unless
he revealed himself to them. This is still true today. Unless
God Almighty reveals himself to you, then you will never see
him and who he really is and what he has really done with
his hands and his feet. This same man who was on this
earth is still alive and seated at the right hand of the father.
Even after his death and resurrection, he came in the midst of his disciples.
And we read this in Luke 24. This was after his death and
he ascended to God and he came back down to his disciples that
were there in Luke 24. Luke 24 beginning in verse 36.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst
of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were
terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a
spirit. And he said unto them, Why are
ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is myself Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones as you see me have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed himself his hands and his feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them, have ye here
any meat? And they gave him a piece of
broiled fish and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before
them. And he said unto them, these
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures. So this same Jesus Christ, as
He's shown them in this passage, is alive today. He is not a little
baby in a manger. He is exalted at the right hand
of the Father, ever making intercession for His people. He has to be
the one to open your understanding so that you might understand
the Scripture. If He does not do this, then
you will never know Him. But if he does, you will see
what his hands and his feet have done, and you will give all praise
to him. You will see the print of the
nails in his hands and in his feet as it is revealed in scripture,
and your hope will be that your hands and your feet stay hidden
in his hands and his feet. We have read that from the top
of our head to the sole of our feet, we are nothing but death. I hope and pray that it is not
all that God sees in me. My hope is only found in Jesus
Christ, my Lord, and that I might be found in him. So everything
we have seen so far shows us that the statement I first read
to be a complete lie on God, the saying that says, God has
no hands but your hands, and God has no feet but your feet.
First of all, Jesus Christ is a man with his own hands and
his own feet. He currently has them right now
being seated at God's right hand. But it is what is meant by those
who say this that is the biggest offense to God. They are saying
that what Christ did was not good enough. They want to stick
up their hands to steady the ark that they think is going
to fall. Oh, what a dangerous thing to
do. If God, by His grace, gives you
life so that you are able to see who He really is as revealed
in His word, then you will come to see that your hands and your
feet are not useful to God at all. In fact, you will come to
find out just like Mephibosheth, you are lame on both your feet.
You will know that with your hands, all you will do is devise
ways to try and steal from God. Steal His glory, steal His throne. That is what Satan wanted to
do from the beginning and what all his, Satan's children will
do. You will only know Him and what
He has done as all if He in grace gives you life and you will also
come to know that it is He that works in you both to will and
to do of His good pleasure. So if you do anything of His
good pleasure, it will be God that does it. Working in you
to do those things so we cannot take credit for any of it. All
honor and glory goes to him because any work is done by him and for
him. We do not want to lay our hands
to his works. God will be displeased with that
as we have seen. God has not changed because he
tells us in his word he does not change. We can always count
on God because of this. We do not have to guess who God
is or what he will do. He will honor and glorify Jesus
Christ because it is He who did all the work with His hands and
feet to accomplish salvation for His people. So if Jesus Christ
never reveals Himself to you, then you will never know Him.
But if He knows you, He will in time impart spiritual life
to you and will send someone to you with the gospel. You will
then believe that gospel to the saving of your soul. Do you believe
God? Do you believe Jesus Christ is
God and that he has come in the flesh and has accomplished salvation
for your soul? Go to him. Don't move your feet. Don't use your hands. Just go
to him asking for mercy. Asking him to move toward you
in grace. He delights to save sinners.
Don't try to work something out with your hands. Beg him to lay
his hands on you, making you clean. You will never be found
if you have not first been lost. I ask you, are you lost? You
will never be healed if you are not sick. I ask you, are you
sick? God will see to it that you come
to the end of yourself If you're one of His, do you have a place
to go or a safe haven you can run to? I tell you if you do
not, then run to Jesus Christ. Scripture says Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. It also says He came to save
His people from their sins. So if you are a sinner, then
you are one of His people. You will never know this unless
He first performed the work on the cross for you with His hands
and His feet. If He did not then, there is
no hope for you. But if He did perform that work
for you, and then in time, He will perform the work needed
with His hands and His feet, giving you life in Him and sending
you His glorious gospel. the life He has given, having
the fruit of the Spirit, and that fruit, one of those fruit
being faith in Christ, you will believe the gospel. And the gospel,
what I've been telling you today, the gospel. You will then bow
down to Jesus Christ and His gospel. If not, then you will
forever be forsaken of God, and He never knew you. your hands
and your feet will receive of the work done by them. That work
being iniquity before God. That is not a good thing. If
you can, if this Jesus Christ is the one you know to be God
Almighty, come in the flesh, working the work of salvation
with his hands and his feet, then bow down to Jesus Christ
and his word and thou shalt be saved.