Pt. 3, “Feet Shod with Preparation of the Gospel of Peace”

 Ephesians 6:10-20, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so

 that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,

 which is the word of God.  18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

 “14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

 “Proper footwear is required if the soldier is to be ready for combat…the Roman soldier frequently wore the caliga, a half boot, which was part of the equipment for long marches and which could be studded with sharp nails to enable a firm grip.” - Andrew T. Lincoln

 “Once the breastplate has been fitted into position, the soldier puts on his strong army boots or caligae. Josephus described them as ‘shoes thickly studded with sharp nails’ so as to ensure a good grip. The military successes both of Alexander the Great and of Julius Caesar were due in large measure to their armies’ being well shod and thus able to undertake long marches at incredible speed over rough terrain.” - A. Skevington Wood

 The Roman soldier wore to Caliga, but we as Christians wear the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace.

 What’s the difference between wearing the Gospel of Peace and the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace?  More than us just wearing the Gospel of Peace ourselves, and keeping it to ourselves, we need to have the preparation and the readiness to declare the Gospel of Peace to a dying world who desperately needs to hear it.

 “Part of the Christian soldier’s equipment is his readiness to go out at any moment to announce the Good News to others.” - A. Skevington Wood  Isaiah 52:7  “How lovely on the mountains  Are the feet of him who brings good news,  Who announces peace  And brings good news of happiness,  Who announces salvation,  And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

 Romans 10:14-15, “14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “ How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

 “A continuing preservation and appropriation of the gospel of peace is, therefore, necessary if the powers are to be resisted and if believers are to be ready to make their stand in the world, the stand that is in line with their calling. Believers’ preparation for standing firm and prevailing against the alienating and fragmenting powers of evil is the harmony produced by the gospel.”- Andrew T. Lincoln

 God is a sending God. It’s apart of his mission of redemptive for this world.  God the Father sent Jesus, God the Son, into the World to die for the sin’s of humanity.  John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

 God and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower and equip the Church.  John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

 We see that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit has sent the Church into the World to proclaim the message of salvation.  Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

 "It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church.” Jurgen Moltman  God uses the same method and the same paradigm to see He mission comes to pass:  He sends and we go.

 “God’s mission is calling and sending us, the church of Jesus Christ, to be a missionary church in our own societies, in the cultures in which we find ourselves.” - Darrell Guder

 Old Testament Ex’s of God Sending People  A). Abram - Genesis 12:1-4  “Now the Lord said to Abram,  “Go forth from your country,  And from your relatives  And from your father’s house,  To the land which I will show you;  2 And I will make you a great nation,  And I will bless you,  And make your name great;

 And so you shall be a blessing;  3 And I will bless those who bless you,  And the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him.”

 B). Moses – Exodus 3:10-12  “10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “ Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

 C). Gideon – Judges 6:14  “The Lord looked at him and said, “ Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”  D). Isaiah – Isaiah 6:8  “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go, and tell this people…”

 E). Ezekiel - Ezekiel 3:1-5  “Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.  4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to

 them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel.”

 New Testament Ex’s of God Sending People  A). Jesus’ Disciples - Matthew 28:19-20  “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  B). Jesus’ Disciples - Mark 16:15  “ And He said to them, “ Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

 New Testament Ex’s of God Sending People  C). Jesus’ Disciples - John 20:21  “ So Jesus said to them again, “ Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  D). The Apostle Paul - Acts 22:10  “And I said, ‘ What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’

 Are your Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace?

Pt. 3, “Feet Shod with Preparation of the Gospel of Peace”