Review
•
Paul was writing
to people in Ephesus who knew a thing or two about armor (training facility;
Paul chained to a Roman guard)
•
There is a
spiritual battle happening around us
•
Therefore we must
be prepared for battle
•
We do this by
putting on the whole armor of God
•
The armor of God
allows us to stand firm against the attack of the devil
•
We cannot wait
until the battle commences before we arm ourselves
•
Our battle is not
against people, but against demonic forces at work
•
We must put on
the whole armor of God to resist the enemy’s trap
•
Belt of
truth: Truth is absolute and it does not change. The devil
wants to change what you believe to be true. Therefore we must know the truth
so that we can be free from deception. We must engage, confess, and stand on
God’s Word so that we can know the truth and believe it.
• Breastplate of Righteousness: Righteousness is the standard in which we please God. It is living rightly. Righteousness is meant to protect our heart from allowing the devil access into our life. Sin opens the door for the enemy to have a legal right into our life. Only true righteousness will guard us from the enemy. We received the righteousness of Christ at salvation, however we have a part to play as well. We must also walk out righteousness in our own life.
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
There are shoes for everything. Church shoes, basketball shoes, tennis shoes, work shoes, etc. There are shoes for every circumstance of life, including shoes for battle.
Similarly, a Roman soldier wore protective sandals that were made for battle. They allowed the soldier to be ready to run into battle when the enemy launched an attack. They were like cleats that allowed him to dig his feet in the ground in order to stand firm. These shoes were vitally important to the armor of a Roman soldier.
As Christians- we are instructed to “stand firm” against the attacks of the enemy. This is vitally important. One of the things that prepares us to do so are the shoes found in the armor of God. So what are these shoes we have to put on? They are the shoes of preparation of the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:15 - “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace”
The word preparation here in the Greek means “to be ready.” When you have your spiritual shoes on, you are ready for battle; you are ready to stand firm. In other words, you cannot stand firm without having your shoes on.
At home, I can have my shirt, pants, and socks on, I can have my hair done and have my teeth brushed. I can even be standing in the living room and my daughters won’t say a word. However, the minute I put my shoes on, they ask me, “where are you going?” Why? When you put your shoes on, it means that you are ready to go!
Similarly in order to be ready to go and to stand firm, we have to put our shoes on and keep them on. These shoes allow you to stand firm with “peace.”
If someone happens to not know what peace is then one can start with the opposite of peace. The opposite of peace is worry, fear, and anxiety. We all know what that looks like. When you are worried, afraid, and anxious, it means there is something going on around you that is making you worried, fearful, and anxious. However, there is something available to the believer through Christ that allows him to stand firm in the midst of trouble and tribulation; that is called peace.
Peace = Calmness of soul in the midst of difficult circumstances
Peace is like the saying that says, “even though there is chaos around me, things are going to be alright.”
Illustration
At times we have a picture in our mind of peace. That picture might look like a Bob Ross painting. A beautiful sunset settling over the hills with the reflection of the sun bouncing off the lightly rippled lake. Evergreen trees sprinkled in the background with birds chirping a beautiful song along with perfect circumstances surrounding it. That might be someone’s idea of peace. However, that is not the picture of peace that I see. One day, that is what peace will look like for us. In fact, it will look even better than that in Heaven!
However, The picture of peace I get in my mind is more of a Vincent Van Gogh painting. It is dark and dungy with mysterious swirls all around. The water of the lake in the painting is crashing along the bank with powerful winds violently whirling and whistling through the air. Lightening strikes across the sky from the thunder clouds above. Trees are bending underneath the pressure of the wind. It looks and feels as if a hurricane is blowing throughout this dark painting. With all of these things being the case, there is a bird sitting on one of the branches with a ray of light shining down on it from a break in the clouds. This bird is undisturbed by its stormy surroundings as it rests on its eggs, chirping and singing a beautiful song as if it was unbothered by the circumstances surrounding it.
That to me is a true picture of peace found in the Bible. Not convinced? Let’s take a look at what Jesus said about peace.
What the Bible Says about Peace
John 16:33
ESV
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Right here, Jesus says that in Him we have peace. Jesus also says that we will face tribulation. He says that we will face difficulty, trouble, etc. However, Jesus also says to “take heart.” Why? Because, He has overcome the world. In order to overcome something you have to have something to overcome. That is, tribulation, difficulty, trouble, etc. Though trials and tribulations are a reality for the believer, in Christ we have peace that overcomes all the trouble and difficulty we face in life.
Our tendency is to worry, stress, to be anxious and afraid. However, that is not what God has for you. Fear and worry is our response when we try to face our problems on our own. However, God does not want you to worry and stress. Instead, God wants you to have peace.
In other words, we should not be stressing all the time. We should not be worrying all the time. Instead, we should have a little bit of worry, a little bit of stress and a whole lot of peace. We shouldn’t be walking in stress, worry, anxiety as a natural flow of our life. Instead, we should be walking in a new flow and a new way of life. That is peace that surpassing understanding.
We have to walk it out! However, you can’t do that without your shoes on. You need to put on your peace shoes and lace them up. However, the peace we are to walk in is not just any type of peace. Look at what Jesus says in John 14:27.
John 14:27
ESV
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Jesus says I am giving you “My peace.” He says I am going to give you peace that comes from me. He then goes on to say that it is not the peace that the world gives. We have to make sure we are putting on the right kind of peace.
The world can offer you peace. However, it is a temporary peace.
The world’s peace comes from the outside-in. It comes in the form of entertainment, your favorite tv-show, lust, pills, substances, alcohol, friends, comfort, money, stuff, etc. We can keep going on and on, but the point is that the world can provide you peace, but it is only temporary. It only lasts for a short period of time in which you don’t have to think about the mess around you.
On the other hand, the peace that Jesus provides comes from the inside out. He says it is “my” peace. It is a peace that allows you to not be afraid and not be troubled (stressed). The only way you would be afraid and stressed is if there is something going on that gives you reason to be worried or stressed. In other words, there is a peace that allows you to be steady, to be good, regardless of the mess around you.
Even though:
• I’m
struggling with disappointment, I still have a reason to trust God.
• My health is not doing well, I still have a reason to
put a smile on my face.
• I don’t know how
the situation is going to play out, I have a reason to praise the Lord.
• Everything around me seems to be falling apart, I still have a reason to bless His name and stand on His Word.
No matter what you are facing today, if you got your shoes on, you can walk in His peace. This peace is one that surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4:7)
So now, how do we put on these shoes on and keep them on?
Ephesians 6:15 NKJV
“Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…”
In other words, the peace that Jesus gives you is found in the gospel. It is not found in the world, it is found in the Gospel. If we want to know how to put on peace, then we have to know the gospel. Therefore, let’s go back to the gospel.
Gospel = Good News
There is “good news” for those who are in Christ. This good news is really good news. It is a “whosoever believes” type of good news.
The good news in the NT refers to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who did so for the forgiveness of our sins. If anyone believes in Him, they will be forgiven of sin in the present, past, and future, and into eternity. The person that places their faith in the gospel will be born again as a new person in Christ.
Now here is the thing, many times we only apply the gospel when it comes to getting into heaven. The gospel is what saves you and gets you into heaven, but it is much more good news than just that. You see, the gospel is good to secure you in the after life, but it is also good to secure you in this life!
Before Christ we were enemies of God because of our sin. It separated us from Him. Through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we have been forgiven of sin and made right with God. We were once at war with God, we are now at peace with Him for eternity. That is the gospel.
Romans 5:1 - “”Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.“
We were once enemies of God, but we were reconciled (brought back together) through Christ’s atoning death on the cross. We were at war with God, but now we are at peace with God for eternity. But Paul says here that not only were we saved by His death, but we were also saved by His life! His life gives us hope for this life! His life also gives us “peace” in this life.
1
Thessalonians 5:23
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It says here that the God of peace, the One who gives peace, is the who sanctifies you. You and I:
•
Were Justified at
salvation
•
Are being
sanctified in this life
• Will be glorified at the return of Christ
So here in this life, you and I are being sanctified with righteousness, love, patience, etc….and also peace. The God of peace is the one who will sanctify you with peace.
What that means is that if we want peace in our life, we have to go to the one who gives us peace. If we go to another source then we are doing it backwards. It will not work. You will not find true peace in any other source other than the God of peace. We must go to the source; we must go to the Word of God.
We need the word of God to help settle our soul with truth. We do that by reading, believing, and agreeing with the Word in our heart. If we trust His Word, then our hearts will not be troubled.
Takeaways
1.
You
have peace with God
- Peace is found in the gospel
- The good news is that through faith in Christ’s
atoning death, burial, and resurrection, we have peace with God; we are no
longer enemies of God.
- We have been justified with God and are made right
with Him.
- Because of this, our names are written in the Lamb’s
Book of Life.
- That is good news!!
Because you have peace with God…
2.
You
have access to the peace of God
- Peace is made available to the believer
- We don’t have to walk in fear, worry, and stress, we
can walk in peace
- It is made available to us because we are in Christ
If you want to receive this peace…
3.
You
must go to the God of peace to claim it
- The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth
- Truth is found in the word of God
- Find out what God says in His Word about your
situation and claim that truth for your life
- Claiming it means agreeing with it
- Believe it in your heart and the results will manifest
itself in your life
- You will find peace when you know the truth
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Don’t worry about anything; instead,
pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has
done. 7 Then you will experience God’s
peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your
hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
