Sermon Brief
Date Written: October 3, 2008
Date Preached: October 5, 2008
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Preparing to do Battle!
Sermon Title: Are You Wearing the Right Shoes?
Sermon Text: Mark 2:1-12
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately[a] many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” 6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Introduction:
When you think about getting ready for battle? What do you think about putting on? Your helmet? Your armor? Your sword? Your shield???
Many people think about those things but overlook or take for granted a very important part of their armor and that is their SHOES! How important are your shoes? Well let’s just think about what would life be without shoes to protect our feet?
Think about the soldier storming the rocky beaches of Normandy.
Think about construction worker working around nails, broken wood and other sharp objects…
Think about an ice-skater and what his or her life would be like without their skates!
Think about a fireman and what his or her life would be without safety boots!
Think about the pro athlete (doesn’t matter which sport)…without their specialty shoes
What about the farmer? What about the door to door salesman? What about the truck driver?
Do you see what I mean? Do you see how important shoes are to us? This morning I want us to look at the importance of our ‘shoes’ when it comes to preparing ourselves for battle… the shoes of our spiritual armor!
One of the first things I can say about shoes is that there is not a one size fits all…many things can be one size fits all but shoes are not one of them.
Shoes are very a personal item. When your shoe does not fit, they hurt and when your shoe hurts, all the world seems out of joint!
There are some things in life that you can make do with the wrong size – a belt that’s too long, pants that are a bit snug, a shirt that’s big enough to pitch a tent with… none of these things are bad, but if your feet are hurting because you don’t have the right shoes on…it won’t matter much. When our feet hurt…everything seems out of sorts!
I absolutely HATE to shop for shoes… most of the time I use the hunter gatherer method of shoe shopping. I will go into Walmart locate my prey, take out my debit card and take the shoes home!
There are some people in this very ROOM today where shoe shopping could be considered an Olympic sport! But I just cannot get excited about rifling thru box after box of shoes, comparing styles, and harassing the shoe salesman.
I have my shoes that I have purchased from Walmart for the past several years… I like these shoes, but I can’t recommend that to you, now, can I?
And just as one size does not fit all, neither does one style please everybody. Then there is price and affordability to consider. Another HUGE factor when purchasing shoes is does it fit the occasion? I would NEVER recommend that you follow me to the store and get shoes just like mine.
We all need good fitting shoes…many people do not realize just how important the right shoes are for our overall health. An improperly fit shoe causes us to walk the wrong way which leads to back problems or hip problems and it can have a domino affect. Shoes are VERY important for us physically!
But if I am going to do battle against the enemy of God, against the enemy that is sworn to destroy me I need to be outfitted with the proper spiritual armor and that includes the spiritual shoes that I wear! I need the kind of shoes Paul spoke about in his passage about the full armor of God –
The passage of Scripture listed in your bulletin this morning is Romans 10:14-15 and it speaks about the beauty of one carrying the gospel to those who do not have it… it uses ‘feet’ as the illustration!
Well those feet need protection and any spiritual shoes we wear as believers are to be worn so that you are ready to proclaim the gospel of peace to those around you!
In other words, put on whatever shoes will help you do what God desires of you. This morning I want us to look at a story about Jesus to learn a bit about wearing the proper shoes in our ministry for Christ!
Early in His ministry Jesus attracted a great deal of attention. His teaching, His preaching, and most of all His healings brought the crowds. When He got back to Capernaum one day, the buzz on the streets was that Jesus was home.
They all came running to hear what He had to say and to receive what He had to give. They came running, they filled His house, they crowded the street – so many people, so eager to be close to Jesus. One man who was paralyzed was carried by his friends.
They couldn’t get through, so they took their friend to the roof, they peeled back some tiles, and they lowered their friend down to Jesus. This man had some very special friends. I like to think that to do what they did, they must have been equipped with just exactly the right shoes.
On the OFFENSIVE we need our Marching Boots! v.3-4
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
When I read this story I see 4 very strong men, with strong wills, and a strong love for their friend! I imagine them wearing boots, good strong military style boots, so that they could march through the crowd and carry their friend to where Jesus was.
You see, their friend was paralyzed, he couldn’t walk on his own, he needed THEIR help. Here were 4 friends, determined to get their friend to where the action was! Here were 4 men on a mission, set out to do what had to be done.
Nothing was going to stop these men from getting their friend to Jesus. I can just see them wearing boots… like heavy duty Army boots… boots made for down and dirty work!
These men had to overcome many obstacles, but they overcame all of them. I have been in the military and I know what it feels like to wear ‘army boots’ [in my case it was Air Force boots] but it is basically the same thing!
When you are wearing these heavy duty boots, you feel as if you can step and walk anywhere. You feel you can get in there, no matter where ‘there’ is and no matter what stands in your way.
These men saw many obstacles that was preventing them from getting their friend to Jesus. There were too many people; thick walls on the house; a roof that had to be peeled back, all difficult obstacles but these 4 friends were not going to be stopped. They were determined … they had their marching boots on and were not going to be deterred in their mission!
This is the type of zeal and attitude we need today as we serve God in a hostile and evil world filled with obstacles just waiting to derail us! As believers, we must serve Christ with grit and determination! We must be willing to march and NOT be deterred in our mission for Him!
Let’s face it, it is evident to me that most of this world does NOT want Jesus, it does not want God, and it is going to present all sorts of roadblocks and troubles to those of us who want to share Christ!
But marching for the Kingdom of God is not for the faint of heart. God’s work is not for the timid. God desires servants who are determined and faithful! He wants followers that lean on Him and march forward for His glory!
But preacher, that sounds really hard! Well like I have already said, this is NOT for the weak of mind or timid, it takes courage to follow Christ… it takes grit and determination to march where God directs! We must seek His direction because when we march in OUR direction we get lost and disoriented.
But when we follow Christ, we march forward much easier because we know where we are going! Seek Him, seek His will and He is going to reveal to you what you need to do for Him! He will reveal to you what His work is all about!
But when we don’t know what God’s work involves… you will more than likely allow almost anything stop you from marching on for the Lord. If you have doubts and you don’t believe that what you are committed to is the will of God!
Well you will then have the tendency to march in your own direction and under your own power and you will get tired, frustrated and you are going to wear out.
So, to ALL the believers out there today, if you would do battle for the Lord, you are going to have to put on the marching boots of a servant... and march to His command! Are you willing today?
These marching boots of the Armor of God give us HIS strength, give us HIS courage, give us HIS resolve, give us HIS love of the world, and allow us to see HIS will! Do you have your marching boots on today?
If you are committed to sharing Christ with a lost and dying world… if you are committed to sharing the peace of Christ, if you are committed to helping the helpless and befriending the friendless…you are going to put on the marching boots of God!
If your walk in Christ is going to carry others to Jesus, you will wear the marching boots of God! And when you do, distractions and controversy won’t stop your march, you won’t be disillusioned when trouble comes your way… When you are wearing the marching boots of God you are going to be victorious!
What was it the old song says? “These boots are made for walkin and that’s just what they’ll do” And my friend if you know the will of God, if you put on the marching boots of God, you are going to march on, you are going to serve Him no matter what the obstacles may be!
One pair of shoes that the soldier of the Lord must have is a good set of marching boots that enables them to walk anywhere, face any obstacle and overcome it… but there is another set of shoes that the believer needs and it is…
On the DEFENSIVE we need out STEEL-TOED Boots! v. 6-7
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
In the military the main objective is to advance on the enemy and defeat him. The armor you wear is to protect you from his attacks!
However, there is a sad statistic to any military campaign and that is the fact that there are troops who are taken down NOT by enemy fire… NOT from hostile attacks, but they are taken down by what is termed ‘friendly fire’.
Friendly fire is defined as being hit by the artillery or small weapons fire from your own troops. In every war, many US soldiers are killed or injured in battle by friendly fire!
And the sad part about serving Christ is that there are a lot of ‘friendly fire’ casualties in our churches. There will be a time when you march to where you need to be and the work God has ordained is being done, but that’s when ‘friendly fire’ begins. You begin to hear grumbling and complaining about what is being done, how it’s being done, why it’s being done... and so on!
And even when we know, as a pastor, or as a layman, that we are dead center in the will of God, there WILL BE a time when we have to worry just as much about those we consider our fellow workers as we do the enemy.
Unfortunately, there have been MANY Christians who have suffered because of this ‘friendly fire’ and they have suffered attacks by those they trusted and thought were on their side.
As soldiers in God’s army we KNOW that we have to be constantly on the defense from the enemy, for God’s word tells us that he is roaming here and there looking for any opportunity to pounce and destroy.
1 Pet 5:8 (NLT) tells us, “…Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour…”
But the sad thing about this is that sometimes as believers we must protect ourselves from those we thought were our fellow soldiers!
When God has you doing something for His kingdom there will be times when you hear something like what Jesus heard in our passage this morning. He heard the friendly fire coming from the religious leaders of his day…
The scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Jesus had just healed a man and had just forgave him of his sin, but instead of joy and rejoicing this action by Jesus brings out the griping and grumbling of the religious leaders.
When we serve God there will always be those who will merely sit and question what we are doing! I can deal with believers whose questions come out of their work for the Lord.
However, I do have a problem with those believers who simply sit there and criticize and complain and are doing NOTHING toward the kingdom... That hurts! Friendly fire is always fire that we never EXPECT! And it hurts!
Have you ever tried to help someone in trouble, and then someone in the church tells you, “Don’t you be using up money and time for outsiders.”
Maybe you are reaching out to the homeless or those who are suffering in some other way and someone in our congregation says, “Those people aren’t worth it. They are not going to change and you are a fool if you think you can change them!”
Have you ever heard that sort of comment? It hurts, doesn’t it? Feelings get trampled on. So I recommend that when that time comes, when the friendly fire comes your way that you put on your special steel-toed boots.
These boots are special in that they are lined with steel to prevent your feet from being crushed under the heavy weight of criticism and attack!
Usually these shoes are the ugliest shoes you have because they are constantly battered and beaten. In this life we are called to wear steel toed boots at work… say on a factory floor, to protect your feet.
This is because things have a way of falling; you might stumble into machinery and you must protect yourself. The fact that these boots look tattered, battered and bruised tells you that they do their job.
Walking in steel-toed shoes: that’s is my way of saying that when you do battle for the Kingdom, someone will not understand. Someone will criticize. Someone may try to sabotage you and trip you up.
So you have to be ready. You have to be ready with your spiritual steel toed boots. These boots are the fact that you have to have such a firm grasp of what God is leading you to do, and who you are in Christ and why you are doing what God has called you to do… that the griping and complaining of those who are sitting around cannot crush you but you are protected and their criticism does little or nothing, it just bounces off.
The issue with many of us is that we do get our toes stepped on, we get a little hurt, and because we are not wearing our steel toed boots, we limp away from the battle. Especially if the attack was made by a fellow believer.
Today the church loses far too many front-line workers for no other reason than they get their feelings hurt, and run off to pout and sulk because they are hurting. These believers are not prepared for the attacks of Satan or the friendly fire that comes their way! And because they are not ready, they get hurt and run away!
Friends, if you are not prepared, if you are not wearing your spiritual steel toed boots because you are firm in God’s Will… you simply are allowing Satan to get a foothold and hurt you!
So when you get hurt and run off or run away from what God had you doing, you have given ground to Satan. You have let evil win the day.
We must all remember that as part of the Lord’s army there will be difficult hazards to come our way! They will come from our Enemy but they will also come from our own as well.
There will be somebody who will choose not to understand and you could get your feelings hurt. But when we wear the steel-toed boots of confidence in knowing God’s will, we know what we are doing and why we are doing it... and those criticisms don’t detract from our service because we are confident, and calm in our service to Christ.
Finally this morning I want to look at one more pair of shoes that we need as soldiers for the Lord. You may be surprised by what shoes I am speaking about.
When we march into battle confidently and when we protect ourselves in knowing God’s will, we still need to focus on moving ahead with our walk in Christ…with the mission God has given to us! But we also must be…
Focused on MOVING AHEAD with Baby Shoes! v.11-12
Baby shoes! Do you know what baby shoes do for the baby? They cause their feet to remain straight so that they can consistently put one foot in front of another to begin the walking process in their life!
Left without baby shoes a baby’s feet could turn in or turn out and lead them to a difficult and painful way of walking… causing them great pain in the future. Baby shoes help to train their feet and legs to go where they are supposed to go!
Pastor you have lost your ever-lovin’ mind! It sounds like you are taking a step backwards here… what do you mean? Well, let me explain!
Personally I find spiritual baby shoes to be the most challenging, but the most important shoes of all for the believer!
Let’s go back to our passage of Scripture for this morning. I want us to see what is happening in this house in Capernaum! Here is this man who had been paralyzed, and unable to walk. Then Jesus heals him, and what does Scripture tell us that happened next?
Mark 2:10b-12 [NKJV]
10b [Jesus] He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Let me ask you a question here… do you think that this man stood up and power walked his way out of that house and back to his home? Or do you think that he may have been a little tentative in rising from the bed he had known for all those years?
Do you think that he may have wobbled a bit when he first stood up? Do you think he danced a jig right then and there?
I believe that his first few steps were hesitant and maybe there was someone there who reached out and steadied him? And each step he took he grew more and more confident about walking.
And on or about that 3rd step, I can see him standing up straight and smiling as one of his friends clears his path. And after a few more steps we find all those around him cheering him on and saying they have NEVER seen anything like this before!
Do you remember your first few steps as a believer? Do you remember that person or persons who were there to steady you, clear a path for you, and encourage you?
I believe that very often, as believers, we tend lose sight of what it was like when we began our walk with Christ! We forget that we were not able to walk on our own at first, but with the help of Christ and our brothers and sisters in the Lord we were able to steady our steps and begin to walk in faith!
People we simply cannot lose sight of those early and unsteady steps we took in the kingdom! We need to continually refresh ourselves in what it is like to walk in baby shoes. We need to do this because we need to be ready to help others in their first tentative steps toward Kingdom service.
I will admit that this is a shoe I have difficulty in wearing in that I sometimes just cannot understand why believers act like they do… and the simple fact is that they are still learning to walk… they are still in those baby shoes!
I need to be constantly aware of what it was like to wear those shoes and what I can do to steady their walk, to clear their path and to encourage them to put one foot in front of the other and begin to walk for Christ in a bold and courageous way!
But I find myself to be impatient. I’m one who tends to do everything myself and go everywhere on my own. But what I need to understand and learn is that there is no such thing as a one-man army! In the service of God there is no such thing as winning the battle all by yourself!
We cannot face this world on our own and if there is one who is new in the Lord… who is a babe in Christ… THEY will need me… they will need you to help them, to protect them and to encourage them!
If you’re a grizzled veteran of walking for the Lord… if you have been down “that path” well then it is incumbent upon you to train, protect, and encourage someone else. That’s what the fellowship of the church is all about!
The church is here for the protection of the saints as well as the fellowship of the saints! The church is here for the training of the saints as well as the encouragement of the saints!
We are here to sharpen one another! We are here to learn how to equip ourselves and each other for the battle. We are to be here for one another.
Our task is to march forward, to protect each other and for us to NEVER forget how to walk in baby shoes and encourage others to walk this walk along with us.
A little child, learning to walk, sees his daddy across the room, and knows that’s his goal, to get to daddy. He stretches out his tiny arms and in those baby shoes takes a few steps, maybe falls down, but he’s on his way to daddy. He’ll get there.
Just like that, all around us there are people starting out for the Father. Some are going to stumble and fall. But if we understand them, and encourage them, and equip them, and leave off the criticism, and set aside the grumbling, they’ll get there. They’ll get to the Father.
Are you wearing the right shoes today? We must be ready to proclaim Christ and His gospel at all times and we must be ready to put on whatever shoes we need to do what Christ has called us to do!
We must be willing to march into whatever He has called us to do in our combat boots! We must be willing to protect each other and ourselves with those steel-toed boots and finally we must be willing to share, help and encourage others by NEVER forgetting what it was like to wear those beginner baby shoes!
Whatever shoes – boots to keep on marching, steel-toed to protect against hurt feelings, baby shoes to help beginners. Whatever shoes you must wear… you are called to wear them for the glory of God! Are you wearing the right shoes today?
Conclusion:
Today you have heard about yet another part of the battle armor of God. You have heard about the Sword of the Spirit…we know it as the Word of God! [hold up Bible]
We have also heard about the helmet of salvation and how it identifies us, protects us and brings honor to Christ…
Today you have heard how the shoes we wear are for OFFENSE (marching/army boots) DEFENSE (steel-toed boots) and ENCOURAGEMENT (baby shoes)
Are you wearing the right armor today? If you are here and you find that you are not, I encourage you this morning to make right your relationship with God… ask Him to help you to put on the right and correct shoes you should be wearing!
Today if you are hear and do not know Jesus Christ…
[In the construction of this sermon I found and used illustrations and information on sermoncentral.com... this sermon is orginal as pertaining to overall sermon, but there are some portions of this sermon that were taken from outside sources]
