THE ARMOR OF GOD AND THE LIES OF THE ENEMY
Footwear of Peace: Do What Makes You Happy
Ephesians 6:10-18
#armorofGod
INTRODUCTION… Rebellion Over Shoes (p)
Growing up I am pretty sure I was a good kid. I do not recall rebelling often against my parents and I obeyed them pretty much. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, my parents and I did have some issues. We had issues over belts and shoes. My dad was of the opinion that if the dress pants had belt loops that a belt should be worn, especially to church. One just did not wear pants without a belt, especially dress pants. That was our first contest of wills in which I lost because in a family parents should be in charge and not the children.
Next, pretty soon after this very ongoing emotional battle, my mother bought for me a pair of the ugliest dress shoes I have ever worn. After some research this week, apparently they are called ‘boat loafers.’ I hate boat loafers. I hate the square laces. I especially hate the little decorative laces on the side. I detest the crunchy rib around the top of the toe. I do not like them at all. I do not like them now and I did not like them then. I will not like them tomorrow.
One morning, getting reading for church, I recall putting on my belt because my dad told me to and I was so angry. “I am wearing a stupid belt and now I am wearing these stupid shoes. I look like a husky clown.” I reached down and pulled the side lacing decorations and broke them. I felt good for about five seconds until I realized I had to walk out of my bedroom with new shoes that I had just trashed. I am pretty sure it was not a good day, but I’m not sure because my mind goes fuzzy once I leave my bedroom. I wore those shoes broken until I grew out of them, which for me, was not long at that stage in my life.
Shoes and I are not usually friends. I was trying to be funny and asked Kelly the other day: “Name three words that describe me shoe shopping.” Her response: “Drawn to ugly.” I am not sure what that means, but shoes and I don’t get along.
SERIES REMINDER
We continue today to look at the Apostle Paul’s metaphor of the armor of God and look at the foundation of the soldier at their ready feet which is verse 15. The Apostle Paul is teaching us about spiritually preparing to live out our faith in our world in Ephesians 6. Verses 10-13 make it very clear that we have an enemy that wars against us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and that we need to stand firm against all his schemes which often come to us as lies, deception, false beliefs, worldly philosophies, and even beliefs from other religions.
Before we dig a little further into verse 15 and the Gospel of Peace, I want you to notice how many times we are commanded to be ready. This passage is all about spiritual preparation, but also notice how much of the passage is dedicated to our foundation and remaining firm in the Lord and the struggle we face:
Verse 10: “be strong in the Lord”
Verse 11: “stand against the schemes of the devil”
Verse 12” “wrestle”
Verse 13: “withstand in the evil day”
Verse 14: “stand”
Verse 18: “keep alert”
THE FOOTWEAR
We will read from Ephesians 6 in a moment, but we will be focusing on verse 15 which shares about “shoes for the feet.” Roman soldiers, during the Apostle Paul’s day, wore footwear called “caligae”. These were heavy military sandals which look like a half-boot half-sandal mashup. These sandals were the sign of a fully equipped soldier and someone who was ready for battle. The caligae are pretty heavy-duty with thick hobnailed footwear. They were worn by the lower ranks of Roman soldiers and possibly by some centurions, who were the bosses of 100 men. A common nickname for Roman soldiers was caligati which meant “the booted ones.”
The open nature of the caligae enabled the soldier to wear them all day. They could march or work or stand in them for hours without any discomfort. It was common that soldiers would march 25 miles. Their feet might hurt, but they would have no blisters. The bottom of the caligae most often had thick hobnails or sharp studs which not only would protect the soldier’s feet over rough ground, but could be used in battle to stomp on enemies.
As you can imagine, a soldier’s footwear formed a firm foundation for his military weapons and equipment and all their tactics. Soldiers needed firm footing in order to concentrate on the battle in front of them, beside them, and in dire circumstances… behind them
Let’s jump in with both feet and read from Ephesians 6, and again, we’ll take special notice of verse 15:
READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18 (ESV)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”
What does the Apostle Paul say in verse 15?
THE FOOTWEAR OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
In verse 15, the Apostle Paul uses words to indicate that the feet are the foundation or base of the soldier and those feet are fitted with the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel of Peace is our caligae that enables us to endure trials and persevere in rough times and move through the spiritual battles in which we find ourselves. The Gospel of Peace enables us to stand firm and is our foundation.
The phrase “Gospel of Peace” jumps out of the verse to me. Last week we dug into the Gospel of Peace seeing how this peace is connected to forgiveness between us and God and even between us and others. Forgiveness in the world says “forgive and cut them out” which peaceful on the surface, but really is a false peace. It is false forgiveness designed to take our foundation out from under us and make us weak. The standard of God in the Scriptures with forgiveness includes reception and restoration and restitution. Forgiving God’s way brings real peace and spiritual strength.
It is important for us to remember that “peace” in the Biblical context according to God’s definition means a right relationship, a lack of upheaval, tranquility, the assurance and blessing of salvation, and an absence of conflict all rolled into one. If you remember nothing else, remember peace primarily means “right relationship.” Peace is a broad and deep word in the New Testament and is in the Old Testament (shalom) as well. The definition of peace as “right relationship” must be kept at the forefront of our minds and heart because the devil attacks our peace. The devil attacks right relationships that have peace. Satan attacks our peace with other people, but he also attacks the peace that Jesus promises to give us on the inside.
TRANSITION
How does Satan attack our peace?
How does Satan send flaming arrows at us that are meant to take away our peace?
Of what other scheme of Satan do we need to be aware?
SCHEME OF THE DEVIL: DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
One of the ways that Satan schemes and sends flaming arrows our way to attack our peace is to make us think that the emotion of happiness is the pinnacle of being a human being. We need to be happy. We deserve to be happy. Satan wants us to believe and live like happiness is the goal for life. Everything we do should make us happy and every person in our lives should support our pursuit of happiness.
We Americans definitely prize happiness because the founders of our country believed having happiness was a self-evident core truth given to us by our Creator. The Declaration of Independence tells us so: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Now, this seems like a wise way to live. Why on earth would we want to live in such a way that makes us sad or brings about hardship or live in a way that depresses us? That doesn’t make any sense. Why should we surround ourselves with people that do not further our well-being? It seems wise and good and logical to prize happiness and things that make us happy and people who make us happy and jobs that make us happy.
And yet… and yet… prizing happiness and pursuing happiness and making happiness as the goal in life does not always lead to happiness. What a confounding truth! Trying to be happy does not always lead to happiness! This is another one of those schemes of the devil that seems totally right on the surface, but in the end is only half right. On the surface it seems good and logical to pursue happiness in all circumstances, but under the surface we see how self-centered, self-serving, and shallow this belief is, but we sort of live it out anyway because in our heart of hearts we all just want to be happy. We often believe:
* We should have a spouse that is dedicated to our happiness who is our soul mate
* If our spouse makes us unhappy, divorce them and go find our real soul mate
* We will be happy in our marriage once we have children
* We should have friends who make us happy, if they don’t, get new ones
* We should commit to pleasing people because this brings happiness
* We should love our job that makes us happy
* If we hate our job, quit and do something else or, let the government pay us not to work
* We should buy gadgets and material things because buying the right stuff brings happiness
* If we are sad and poor, play the lottery because money means happiness
* Happiness comes when we do not limit ourselves and pursue all our dreams
* If we are sad, drink or smoke or sniff something to alter our mood to make us happy
* Happiness means no drama and no chaos and no negativity
* Happiness means nothing ever goes wrong
* Happiness means completely forgetting the past
* Happiness is winning every argument
* Happiness means people treat you the way you want to be treated
The list goes on and on and on of beliefs that we hold in our minds either on the surface (conscious) or in the background (subconscious). When we make happiness our goal, we can be sure that we will NOT end up unhappy. Happiness is often a cruel emotion and an even crueler master.
CONTENT/ILLUSTRATION…psycom.net/why-pursuing-happiness-makes-us-miserable [adapted]
The problem is that happiness is a constant chase and we’re always chasing after a moving target. What makes us happy one day may not do so the next because happiness is a fickle emotion. I was doing some reading and Dr Patrick Wanis says: “We place our happiness somewhere off in the future and therefore we're never able to enjoy where we are now because we're always thinking we’re only going to be happy when we get to be, do, or have something.”
Happiness is often cruel and empty because we don’t always know what will make us happy. We think money will make us happy, but mo’ money means mo’ problems. It us also hard at times to define what happiness actually is and what it is based on. The pursuit of happiness often is based on the idea that happiness means excitement and fulfillment, but those feelings do not last.
Psychologists and sociologists and relationship experts… I don’t know if they are Christians or not… say that pursuing and chasing happiness has a high price. One states: “People become disillusioned and then start experiencing inner emptiness. And the inner emptiness is the result of pursuing goals rather than actually doing things that are meaningful.” Pursuing happiness as an ultimate goal leads to emptiness.
VIDEO ILLUSTRATION… youtube.com/watch?v=yXk5ms4OMQU [1:38]
‘Megamind’ is a 2010 animated movie by Dreamworks. Supervillain Megamind and his arch-nemesis, the superhero Metro Man, are both aliens who were sent to Earth as infants before their planets were sucked into a black hole. Though both land in Metro City at the same time, but Metro Man is raised in a mansion, while Megamind is raised in a prison. He goes to the same school as Metro Man, who is well-liked by his classmates. Megamind is bullied by everyone until he concludes his purpose is to be a supervillain, setting off a rivalry between him and Metro Man. Megamind eventually wins and has everything he could ever want and everything he ever dreamed that would make him happy. And yet…
[show clip] [1:38]
APPLICATION
It is at this point that you might be wondering… what does any of this have to do with the footwear of the Gospel of Peace and the Armor of God and Ephesians 6:15? What does pursuing happiness have to do with peace?
The scheme of the devil is to make us think that we need to live our lives in the pursuit of happiness and that this is the fulfillment of all that we want or need. Happiness will fill all the holes in our heart and bring us peace. Happiness will give us our identity and we will have inner peace. This is a scheme because it is not true. Even non-Christian psychologists and therapists know that this is a lie. Even fictional evil villains in animated movies know that this is a lie. Pursuing happiness steals our peace. Happiness as the ultimate goal for our life us unfulfilling and dangerous and selfish and feeds our sinful nature and again… more than anything… steals our peace. Satan wants us to have our eyes and purpose on happiness because when our eyes and effort and heart and mind are on pursuing happiness… it can’t be anywhere else.
The Bible definitely teaches us that this idea and belief is a lie and is empty. What does the Bible teach us? Where does the Bible share that our focus should be? What focus or aim will bring us peace?
READ Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV)
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
READ Micah 6:8 (ESV)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
READ Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
READ Matthew 22:35-37 (ESV)
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
READ JOHN 10:10 (ESV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
READ John 15:4 (ESV)
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
You see our pursuit, as believers in Jesus Christ, should be for Him. Our worldview and our faith perspective is that our foundation is in Jesus Christ and our lifelong pursuit of Him.
* We seek a relationship with God and this generates in us happiness.
* We cultivate knowledge of Jesus Christ and this grows in us happiness and joy.
* We meditate with the Holy Spirit and pray and in us our hearts change to be happy.
* We live based on the God-given principles of the Scriptures and we will be happy.
* We make God the priority and seek God first and He adds to us everything else we need.
The basic truth is that the Christian life is all about making the Gospel of Peace our sure foundation and not happiness or fulfillment or anything else. When we do what makes us happy, at times this puts us at odds with God’s will. What we do not realize and what is the tragedy of this whole topic is that if we would just keep our eyes on Jesus and follow God in all things and follow His path… we will be happy. We will have happiness generated in us by the God of the Universe and not empty changing happiness given by everything else.
CONCLUSION
I invite you this morning to keep the commandments of God which lead to peace and happiness.
I encourage you today to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
I echo the command of Jesus to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
I beg you to please love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
I pound into your soul that Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly.
I remind you to abide in Christ and what you seek and want and need He will provide.
PRAYER
INVITATION
