03/01/15 Stepping Out - With Faith!
Worthy
Walk Series – Ephesians 6:15-16
Intro: Have you ever stepped on something that
you regretted later? Was it squishy, did it sting you, was it hot, or was it
cold? Did it break, or did you twist an angle or hurt your knee, maybe your back
went out again. So many things could be said about the step you just made! Or
steps you are making …
The Bible tells us that when a person receives Christ, a
key part of their walk with God is to step out on faith. “For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone
who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16
I learned
a very important acronym almost 20 years ago and the word was FAITH: Forsaken
All I Trust Him. So obviously the next thought would be, do you?
Text: Ephesians
6:15-16 (NKJV)
“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
Application: Step out on Faith
and use the Armor!
Have you ever torn something apart and when you reassembled
it you had some left over pieces? What if you actually took the time to read
the instructions and then realizing the grief you spared assembling it right
the first time. The Apostle Paul had a lot of time on his hand when he was
imprisoned, he allowed God to give him the instructions to write down on paper
how to build the perfect Man of Armor, a man who knew how to use his armor and
could experience the worthy walk. Yes he could chew gum and walk at the same
time. This person stepped out on Faith. The Shods and the Shield are the
discussion for today’s continuation of the Worthy Walk Series.
1. Shod of the
Gospel: vs. 15
“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace.”
Shod: An external covering for the human foot, usually of leather and
consisting of a more or less stiff or heavy sole and a lighter upper part
ending a short distance above, at, or below ankle, it is a shoe!
I am sure most
of you are familiar with an idiom or two that is often referred too with the
shoe: such as “So now the shoe is on the other foot,” “no one could fill their
shoes,” “I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes,” I had jobs where OSHA
(Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency of the US Department
of Labor) required steel toed shoes, in order to have the proper foot wear for
the job. It is all about the proper protection for your feet.
A Christian’s
spiritual footwear is equally important in his warfare against the schemes of
the devil. If he has carefully girded his loins with truth and put on the
breastplate of righteousness, but does not properly shod his feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace, he is destined to stumble, fall, and suffer
many defeats. The shoes or shod or sandals where placed on your feet for the
readiness of the gospel. “Having shod your feet with the preparation of the
gospel of peace.”
The shods were a sign of readiness—readiness to march and to
do battle. The Roman shod or sandals were made with nails that gripped the
ground firmly even when it was sloping or slippery. The sign of the Christian
soldier is readiness—a readiness to march and to bear witness to the gospel.
Wherever the Christian soldier's feet take him, he shares the gospel that can
firmly ground a world reeling under the weight of desperate need and conflict.
Lehman
Strauss makes a statement about this point that startles the mind of modern
man: "The soldier's shoes are not the dancing slippers of this world or
the lounging slippers of the slothful, but the shoes of the Christian warrior
who knows Christ and makes Him known."
“Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” Matthew
28:19-20
“And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15
ACTS 1:8
The believer who stands in the
Lord’s power need not fear any enemy, even Satan himself when he comes to
attack us, our feet are rooted firmly on the solid ground of the gospel of
peace.
2. Shield of Faith: vs. 16
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with
which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
This
shield was about two and half feet wide and four and a half feet high, designed
to protect the entire body of the soldier—who was considerably smaller than the
average man today. The shield was made of a solid piece of wood and was covered
with metal or heavy oiled leather. The soldiers who carried these shields were
in the front lines of battle, and normally stood side by side with their
shields together, forming a huge unit extending as long as a mile or more. The
archers stood behind this protective wall of shields and shot their arrows as
they advanced against the enemy. Anyone who stood or crouched behind such
shields was protected from the barrage of enemy arrows and spears. The shield
was worn by the soldier to protect his body from the fiery darts thrown by the
enemy.
The darts were dipped in pitch or some other combustible material and
set afire. When they struck, they served the purpose of a small combustible
bomb. Satan has his fiery darts, those things that cause the believer to
question their salvation, to question their call, to question if they are worthy,
to question if they can really serve, to question if the project can really be
done, to question, doubt, and wonder, to become discouraged, depressed, and
defeated to burn with passion and desire. Such fiery darts often assault the
mind, one doubting and evil thought after the other, fighting against the will,
struggling to get hold of the mind and subject it to doubt or evil.
The sign of
the Christian soldier is that of the shield of faith, faith in God—a complete
and perfect trust that God will quench the darts of doubt and evil that attack
him, that God will help him control his mind and conquer the evil doubts and
thoughts. The Christian soldier's consciousness of God's presence is so great
that God's presence itself becomes his shield and defender: “After these things
the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid,
Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." Genesis 15:1
The
spiritual flaming missiles against which believers need protection would seem
primarily to be temptations. Satan continually bombards God’s children with
temptations to immorality, hatred, envy, anger, covetousness, pride, doubt,
fear, despair, distrust, and every other sin.
Satan’s initial temptation to
Adam and Eve was to entice them to doubt God and instead to put their trust in
his lies. That was the first of his flaming missiles, from which all the others
have lighted their flames. Every temptation, directly or indirectly, is the
temptation to doubt and distrust God. The purpose of all of Satan’s missiles,
therefore, is to cause believers to forsake their trust in God, to drive a
wedge between the Savior and the saved. He even tempted God’s own Son to
distrust Him in the wilderness—first to distrust His Father’s provision, then
to distrust His protection and His plan. Whenever and however we try to justify
any sin, we degrade God’s character and elevate Satan’s. To sin is to believe
Satan, and to follow righteousness is to believe God. Therefore, all sin
results from failure to act in faith in who God is and in what He is. Faith,
then, is the shield.
The only way to extinguish Satan’s flaming missiles of
temptation to doubt God is to believe God, taking up the shield of faith. Our
struggle is against personal forces of evil—not simply against bad philosophies
or wrong ideas our battle is not against abstract evil influences but the
personal evil one and his hordes of personal demons.
“For the LORD God is
a sun and shield. The LORD gives grace and glory; He does not
withhold the good from those who live with integrity.” Psalm
84:11 (HCSB)
Conclusion: The faith to which Paul refers here is not the body of
Christian beliefs, but basic trust in God—the faith in Christ that assumes
salvation and continues to bring blessing and strength as it trusts Him for
daily provision and help. The substance of Christianity believes that God
exists and that He rewards those who seek Him putting total trust in His Son as
the crucified, buried, risen, and ascended Savior; obeying Scripture as His
infallible and authoritative Word; and looking forward to the Lord’s coming
again.
This week has been all about the shod and the shield. It is not only
about a step that must be taken, it is about a faith that must be applied: “Forsaking
All I Trust Him” That is faith, faith in action. A worthy walk and an echo that
is heard at the end of the corridor!
“But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
“Stepping out - with
faith!”
In : Sermon
Tags: "worthy walk series" "book of ephesians"
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