June 13, 2020
With the Belt of Truth holding everything together and the Breastplate of Righteousness protecting our hearts, let us move now to the 3rd piece of combat gear – The Shoes of Gospel Peace.
Why is The Gospel of Peace found in the position of “The Shoes”?
The Roman military “boot” was a heavy sandal with thick soles studded with hollow-headed hob-nails. These “boots” allowed the soldier to stand firmly in battle - and to cross safely over every kind of rough terrain.
Anyone who has walked outside without shoes knows that there are some places you simply cannot go – a Cactus garden for example.
Sometimes, in the summer, when I take the trash to the outside cans, I don’t bother to put on shoes. Between me and the cans are brick pavers, which get extremely hot. I oh!!! and ouch!! and dance about all the way to the can and all the way back again. Shoes are important. They provide us stability and sure-footedness, which gives us the ability to go almost anywhere.
The TYPE of shoe also matters:
• If you’re going to climb Mount Everest you don’t wear high heels – you wear boots with cramp-ons that provide warmth and sure-footedness as you climb through the snow and ice.
• Marathon runners don’t wear flip-flops in a race. They wear running shoes that give them comfort and good support as they run 26.2 miles.
Walking or even standing in the wrong shoes will leave our feet hurting and blistered, so, it is important to wear the right kind of shoes as we navigate life.
Likewise, it is important that we wear the right kind of shoes as we navigate our spiritual life.
Warfare, by definition, is the absence of peace – yet in Ephesians 6 Paul tells us that part of our combat gear holds within it the guarantee of peace. Not just any peace – Gospel Peace.
• Ephesians 6:15 {Amplified Bible} - And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
{Greek: ?t??µas?a – het-oy-mas-ee’-ah = foundation, firm-footing, preparation, readiness}
As I have worked through this sermon, I have identified 3 phases of Gospel Peace – Peace with God, Internal Peace, Sharing Peace – all have their foundation in Jesus:
Peace with God
God has never been OUR enemy, but the moment Adam and Eve sinned, we became HIS. When He went searching for them, they ran and hid {Genesis 3:8-9} and we’ve been running ever since. Our natural selves are at war with God and we want nothing to do with Him = NO PEACE.
• Romans 5:8-10 - While we were still sinners…. When we were God's enemies…..
• Romans 8:7 - The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
• Charles Spurgeon {April 22, 1855} - But, before we enter upon a discussion of the doctrine of the text, observe how strongly the Apostle expresses it. "The carnal mind," he says, "is ENMITY against God." He uses a noun, and not an adjective. He does not say it is opposed to God merely, but it is positive enmity. It is not black, but blackness; it is not at enmity, but enmity itself; it is not corrupt, but corruption; it is not rebellious, it is rebellion; it is not wicked, it is wickedness itself…. {see Jeremiah 17:9}
Nor need we say a word to explain that it is "enmity against God." It does not charge manhood with an aversion merely to the dominion, laws, or doctrines of Jehovah; but it strikes a deeper and surer blow. It does not strike man upon the head; it penetrates into his heart; it lays the axe at the root of the tree, and pronounces him "enmity against God," against the person of the Godhead, against the Deity, against the mighty Maker of this world; not at enmity against his Bible or against his gospel, though that were true, but against God himself, against his essence, his existence, and his person.
Like I said last week, knowing that we would not seek Him, God came in search of us and He did it in the person of Jesus.
• Isaiah 9:6-7 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
• John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
• Romans 5:8-10 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
• Galatians 4:4-7 - But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
The supernatural work of God is to change the natural man into a spiritual one. When a person trusts Christ, God exchanges what is natural (enemy- received from Adam) for what is spiritual (friend - received from Christ) = PEACE WITH GOD.
Internal Peace
Remember, our battle is not against people. Ours is a spiritual battle and the place Satan will always strike first is the land between our ears….. OUR MINDS.
Lust starts in the mind. Covetousness starts in the mind. Murder starts in the mind. Falsehood starts in the mind. Stress and anxiety start in the mind………… Today we are going to focus on Stress and Anxiety.
Generally speaking, it is not the situation we find ourselves in that is the problem, it is how we respond to it. Satan enjoys wrapping our minds in stress and anxiety – often times causing us to worry about things that will likely never happen. Jobs bring stress/anxiety. Homelife brings stress/anxiety. Social interactions bring stress/anxiety. Fear of the future brings stress/anxiety. The unknown brings stress/anxiety – and Satan rejoices!!!
Stress can cause all sorts of medical difficulties – according to the Mayo Clinic:
• “stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can help you manage them. Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes”.
Stress and anxiety can literally kill you….. and Satan rejoices!!!
Story: God’s timing is so perfect!!! As I sat down to write this sermon, I received a medical bill for $10,720.00. Now, on any given normal day, receiving a bill for 10 thousand bucks would have sent me over the edge- as financial stuff can create great anxiety in me. But because just then, I was literally writing about internal peace - I had to laugh. As it turned out the bill was in error and I was told to disregard it, but even if it had been correct, I have all the internal peace I need because of Jesus.
Jesus gives us stability and sure footedness, allowing us to march over the rough terrain of life without giving up. As we look to Him and choose to rest in His power, He speaks peace to us and gives us encouragement to keep fighting. He is our PEACE and when we wear the Shoes of Gospel Peace – we remain at peace even in the midst of life’s fiercest battles.
• Psalm 29:11 - The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.
• Isaiah 26:3-4 - You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
• Isaiah 32:17 - The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
• Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
• Colossians 3:15 - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
• 1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Sharing Peace
This is our first piece of armor that implies movement – going in a specific direction – activity. We put on our shoes because we’re going someplace. The Gospel of Peace isn’t going to go anywhere unless our feet are moving. God doesn't need great ability from us – He just needs our availability.
Every day brings its heart-sickening record of racism, bigotry, violence, lawlessness, indifference to human suffering, and the brutal, fiendish destruction of human life. There are 7 Billion hearts crying out for something they don’t have - Peace. Because we have experienced peace WITH God and the internal peace OF God, we are called to go to a world that desperately needs the Good News of Gospel Peace and tell them about it – pointing them to the ONLY ONE who can give them peace.
• Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
• John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
• James 3:18 - Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Men cannot manufacture this peace. The only power that can create and sustain true peace is the grace of Christ
• John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Wrapping Up
If we’re trying to do battle in our bare feet, we’re in trouble – Thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup!!!
Satan is the destroyer of peace. His purpose is to create division and separation from God and from each other – which can ONLY EVER lead us to stress, anxiety, anger and hatred.
The gospel of peace brings reconciliation in the place of hostility. It replaces selfishness with servanthood, bitterness with forgiveness, lies and deception with the truth. The good news of Jesus Christ is powerful. Because of Him our sins are forgiven, we are new creatures, we have been reconciled with heaven and the barriers that divide us can be broken down.
We start with Jesus {THE TRUTH}, which brings Right thinking and Right Doing {RIGHTEOUSNESS} and leads to PEACE – Peace with God, Internal Peace and Sharing Peace.
The gospel of peace can change our world.
Let’s get our shoes on!!!!
