Sermons from Lone
Rock Bible Church Lovely
Feet, Good News As the soldier’s feet carry him forward into battle, so are God’s people equipped to engage the fray. Here’s what is involved:
As we continue our journey discussing the armor of God we have one verse to look at this morning. Ephesians
6:15 I have decided to begin this morning with a quiz to see if I was the only one paying attention during the 60’s. If I talk about that which would make me “Run faster, jump higher, stop on a dime,” what am I talking about? PF Flyers. How many of you have ever owned a pair of PF Flyers? They were long before Nike Pumps and Air Jordans and all that junk. We had PF Flyers. I saw the kid on the TV commercial running faster, jumping higher, and stopping on a dime. Proof, he had PF’s! Whether it is baseball or ballet or horseback riding or jogging or logging, footwear is normally functional. Look at your feet. What do you have on your feet? It got you through the mud. Normally, unless you are Amelda Marcos, footwear is functional. That’s what it’s for. It gets us somewhere in order that we might get something done. That’s what this verse says. “Having shod your feet with the preparation, or the readiness, that has to do with the gospel of peace.” In other words, your feet, my feet, will take us somewhere where a job needs to get done. In our case, and the argument here is, the job is the proclamation of the good news. Where do your feet take you? Not too many people dwell on the notion of feet. Very few would label feet as beautiful. If you are at all familiar with the book of Romans, you realize that the apostle Paul makes something of the notion of what I call body parts. For instance, in the third chapter of Romans he goes through his long list of activities, quoting from the Old Testament to the New. He talks about the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is an open sepulcher. Their eyes look where they hadn’t ought to. Their ears don’t work well and their feet are swift to shed blood. The problem, as he says, as it surfaces, as it fleshes out in life, reduces to how we make use of what we have, our body parts. That’s why in Romans 6 he will say you used to present your body parts, your members, as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. But now you are a Christian, choose to do the other. Present your body parts, your members as instruments of righteousness to God. I think about that when I read Ephesians 6:15. I think, what do I do with my feet? I would suggest that we need to look to our feet because our feet are connected to two tasks that God has lined out for us. One is where we go and the other is what we say. Where we go, or should I say, wherever we go and once we are there, what we say. That’s what is discussed in the verse. The feet are shod for the gospel, that needs to be said. So there are two tasks at hand in this verse. We will look at them in turn. Anyone who had been in the infantry, a foot soldier, realizes that your most important piece of equipment is your feet because if you are going to get from A to B, you are going to get there by walking. That’s why some would say it is smarter to join the armored division. Why walk when you can ride? On the other hand, many are in the infantry. When you are in the infantry, your sergeant takes care to look at your feet to make sure you have not developed serious blisters, something that would require medical attention that could be avoided with a mere change of socks. Feet have always been priority to a soldier, and aren’t we talking here about soldiering, metaphorically speaking, in the army of God? Sure. That is Paul’s metaphor. He is in prison in Rome and everywhere he looks, he sees soldiers. He observes what they wear and how they are equipped and so he writes to the Ephesians with that in mind. He talks about feet. The Roman soldier’s footwear had to be strong. They didn’t have tanks. They might have had a chariot or two. Their footwear had to be strong, but light and durable, yet allowing for mobility. They won many battles by surprise attack through unlikely terrain where their feet had to carry them. This verse assumes, brothers and sisters, that our feet will take us into battle. It assumes that that is where our feet will take us. In James 4:7, the half brother of Jesus, Jesus’ childhood roommate, said, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The apostle Peter says the same thing in I Peter 5:8, talking about the devil prowling about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. It doesn’t say run away; it says resist him, firm in your faith. But what kind of shoes do we wear for that? Gospel shoes. Where is this battle? I have two suggestions for the battle. They may overlap a little bit. First of all, my daily routine is where the battle is very often engaged. Yes, the humdrum, the mundane, perhaps. As I go through the day, as I go to work, for instance. As my feet take me to school. As I work around the home. When I go to Super One or some place shopping. My feet work the pedals when I am driving. Wherever they take me where I open my mouth and talk, even on the phone. You see, the battle is wherever there are people because people last forever, somewhere. People last forever and the devil hates them. I don’t know what it would take to convince Christian people, at least, that the devil really is determined to bring us all down. When the Twin Towers were attacked and bodies were falling from the Twin Towers to their death, the devil was applauding. He had an accurate body count. He loves it when people are destroyed and destroy one another. He loves it! He likes it when kids and old people are destroyed. It doesn’t matter. He is an equal opportunity destroyer. We need to understand that. If we are Christian, wherever you and I encounter people, realize that there is something at stake there in the agenda of our enemy. He knows he is doomed and he is determined to drag as many with him as possible. So the battle can be engaged with you and me wherever there are people. Work, school, home, shopping, driving, whatever, wherever we go. It may seem to you and me to be mundane, but it isn’t because there is no person who is mundane. There is no soul that lives forever that could be considered “matter of fact” or routine. Where is the battle? Wherever I am and there are people, even if it is my routine. Do I realize, as I engage my daily routine – some of us are home most of the day, some of us go away to work some place or to school some place – as I engage that daily routine I have to ask and answer a few questions. Do I know, do I realize that the devil hates those people, the people with whom I work? He would love to see them destroyed. He would love to see them deceived. Do I realize the devil hates them? Do I realize, at the same time, that Jesus offers life? Do I get that? Do I understand that Jesus is in the business of offering life? And do I realize that I represent Him? The literal, physical, presence of Jesus is now in the church. That’s why in Acts 9, Paul or Saul at the time, was accused of persecuting Jesus though Jesus was exalted to the right hand of the Father. He identifies His people with His own body. We represent Him. Do we know that? Do we remember that He offers life and are we aware that the devil would ruin all that? As we enter that regimen, do I enter that in an attitude of prayer? Do I remember to pray for the people as I look ahead into my day? Maybe I’ll be meeting a client. Maybe I have an appointment with someone. Maybe I always stop and get a cup of coffee or a latte some place. We all have a different way of going at the day. Do I remember to pray for those people whom I will encounter? And for those I don’t expect, that God would just make me sensitive, reminding me of the issues of the field of battle. Am I a good listener when I am with people or am I so concerned about getting my words said that I come across as insensitive or worse yet, self-centered? Do I ask God to give me an opportunity, an open door that I might speak the words that need to be said? Prayer is so critical in my daily business, wherever God takes me, wherever there are people. Where is the battle? First of all, it is wherever we are on a day to day basis. That covers most folks. But there is another location where the battle might be a little more focused and that is my specific ministry. God wants us in some sort of work. He wants us in some sort of front line role in the kingdom business, whether it’s the nursing home or the jail or Awana, anywhere, somewhere. And do I realize that this is not a place that the enemy would just ignore. As I go there, do I pray for the same types of things? Am I a praying person? Am I a listening person? Am I a sensitive person or can I just not wait to get it done? If that’s the case, I have forgotten what it is all about. We cannot expect the devil to give ground. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that in this sort of specific ministry engagement there is added resistance because in some cases we are actually treading on the devil’s turf. He is not going to like that and he is not going to let it go. What is my specific ministry? Do I remember that the people with whom I interact there are also a target for the enemy and I need to be vigilant in prayer and in sensitivity. The question sometimes arises in this regard. Christian people can debate this. Where should I go? Where shouldn’t I go? Where is it out of bounds for a Christian person to go? This conflict or this difference of opinion came into stark reality once as I attended a pastor’s and church leader’s workshop with a couple fellows from my church. The question was put to this panel of professional ministers. The question went something like this: How do you keep your balance as a pastor when there are more bars than churches in your town? Sitting to my right at that moment was a very good friend whose ministry was in the bar. He went in the bar regularly. He sat there at the bar, ordered a coke and a pizza, and would offer pizza and visit with whoever was there. I felt that there was a little bit of a distinction being made here about where Christians ought to be. I have a friend who is a pastor in a small Montana town. He felt burdened of God for what is referred to in many of these small communities as the “bar crowd.” You know that in rural Montana in many of our small towns are class B and class C schools. There are two crowds as far as the public is concerned. There is the school crowd and there is the bar crowd and I don’t think you need me to tell you the difference between the two. This particular pastor said, “I’m going into the bar.” He would go in there and do similarly to my other friend. He would order a coke and pizza and would share with people, got to know people. The bar crowd, you might say, doesn’t have as long a life expectancy many times and whenever there was a death among them they didn’t know about churches. They didn’t go to church. Church people to them were just plain off-limits and I think we can often understand why. Who did they call? Who by now, after 20 years in this rural community, has preached the gospel to people who really do need to hear it. He gets the call. Why? Because his feet took him to a specific ministry where he went as a listener, prayerfully with sensitivity, and built relationships with people. I have had a minister tell me when a wife calls and her husband is in the bar and he won’t come home, she’ll call me to go get him. He says I’ll go down there, but I won’t go in. I’ll wait outside. I think, is that what is it about? Is there a place that is just off limits simply because a liquor license is owned? Where would Jesus have gone? Correction, where did Jesus go? He went to where people needed to hear the word of God. Where should Christians go? Here are three options: One is a place I just won’t go, and there may be reasons for that and that’s fine. Secondly, there are places we cannot go. Folks, there are places we cannot go; we are stupid to go. If my friends had trouble with alcohol addiction they would be stupid to go in a bar and try to have ministry. There are certain places we just can’t go; but there are certain places we must go as God leads, as God opens doors, as we are prayerful and sensitive and good listeners and also bold. Nobody else is going to go. Who will take the gospel to the jail? Who will take the gospel to the internationals? Who will take the gospel to the nursing home people? People whom God burdens. Where do we go? We go where God leads, but it doesn’t end there. We have to be very careful about this business. “I’ll just live a good life and people will see that I am different and they’ll want to know about Jesus.” That is so rare. There is a time, brothers and sisters, we have to say the words. I was thinking recently about Isaiah. The very first verse of the book of Isaiah talks about how long he served God as a prophet, through the span of four different kings of Judah. I think my way through the events of those times and I wonder what the headlines looked like in the newspapers during Isaiah’s time. Here are a few suggestions: Northern tribes dispersed. Assyrians overwhelm. Impale leaders. Exile folks. Subtitle: Foreigners to be imported to take their place. Editorials following that probably talked about how we don’t really like the Samaritans. Assyrian juggernaut on a roll. Advances from the north threatening the borders of Judah. Lachish fallen to the Assyrian army. Jerusalem may be next. Northern kings threaten Ahaz. King not sure what to do. (King a jellyfish) Egypt no help at all. Many flee to Egypt regardless. The editorials of those newspapers in Isaiah’s day were saying things like, “We’re OK. Peace. All is well.” And the prophets of God stood up and said, “Peace? There is no peace.” Let me read you a few verses from Isaiah 52. By the way, Isaiah 52 is where Paul got this concept, as you shall see. Isaiah 52, beginning in verse 4, gives us a little taste of the backdrop. 4For thus says the Lord GOD, "My people went down
at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5"Now therefore, what do I have here,"
declares the LORD, "seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?"
Again the LORD declares, "Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually
blasphemed all day long. Sure could use a little good news, couldn’t we? 7How lovely on the mountains That is good news! If you lived there then and God finally steps in, deals with the bad guys, and provides deliverance, oh, halleluah, that’s good news! This is so great because what is Paul saying is Ephesians 6? “Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The imagery comes right out of Isaiah 52. Because what you and I have, brothers and sisters, is good news. We had a squabble one time among the ranks in another church. We had enlisted an individual in the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission to come alongside a fellow who had been pastoring a particular church. Things seemed to go ok for awhile and then it got bad. This gentleman was kind of undermining what the pastor was trying do and creating his own little thing. It didn’t look good in the church. People were concerned and wondering. Finally we had to get to the bottom of it. We sat the two men down and I asked the newer guy what was the deal. What problem do you have with him? He said, “He doesn’t preach the gospel.” Doesn’t preach the gospel? He’s been in the ministry of the gospel for decades and you’re saying he doesn’t preach the gospel? “No, I don’t believe he is preaching the gospel. He has people in his church who chew and he never preaches against chewing! He has people in his church who have trouble with alcohol and you never hear him preach against alcohol.” He is not preaching the gospel in this guy’s mind because he is not preaching against things. We had to have a parting of the ways. It wasn’t going to work. To his way of thinking, that was the gospel. He would say what did the prophets say in the Old Testament? They were always telling people to repent and turn away from their sin and they were always preaching against sin. Let me tell you about the M.O. of the Old Testament prophet. His job was to point the errant, the sinners, to God’s law. “This is God’s standard, return to it.” Here’s how it works. When a person turns and sees God’s perfect law, that person is to say, “Oh, my I can’t do it.” Paul would say later the law is our schoolmaster, our tutor, our teacher, to take us to Christ because I know I can’t do it and the law reminds me I can’t and drives me to grace and causes me to throw myself on my face before the God in heaven who is a God of mercy and loyal love and say, “Please forgive me. I can’t do it.” Paul says because Jesus paid your debt you are forgiven. That’s good news! If all we do is rail against people’s problems, where is the good news? Every Christian, whether we are in a daily routine and can really name no specific ministry outlet – fine – or whether we are involved in both somehow, the time will come when we must say the words that are good news. That’s the gospel. The word “gospel” means good news. So when we are preaching the gospel, it better be good. Good news. And if we are going to point out people in sin, we need to say you can’t break it any more than I can break it. Jesus has broken it for us. Let me show you how to find Him. He is the key. Sometime, at some point, we will need to say the words. Let me say, before the words are said, we need to be people of prayer. That’s where Paul is going. He will give more verses in his discussion of the armor of God to prayer than anything else because that is where the battle is waged. First we have to be people of prayer. Second, we have to be people who are honest. I don’t just mean we won’t steal from the till. I mean when we screw up, we need to be able to say I’m sorry. Please forgive me. We need to be people who don’t come across as though they have all the answers, have it all figured out, does it right all the time. Right. Just ask his wife, kids, her husband. Nobody is there. If we are pretentious and say my act is together, nobody believes that. People are going to say I might have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. We need to be people of prayer. We need to be people who are honest. We need to be people who are servants, who look for opportunities to do nice things, just to do nice things, because Jesus did nice things. We need to be people who respect others, who don’t put others down, individually or as a group. Then we need to say the words. Now this may not happen immediately, but by the grace of God it will happen, sooner or later. Here are the words, folks. You’ve heard them before, and if you haven’t, please hear them now. What is the good news? I’ll break it down into four points. First point is this: We are all guilty before God. There is nobody who is excepted from that. Even nice people are guilty before God because all we have to do is break one law, one time and we have truly offended an infinitely holy God who does not abide the presence of sin. We cannot go to heaven under those circumstances. It isn’t going to happen. We are guilty before God. Not just guilt feelings. Guilt feelings are kind of illusive. I’m talking about genuine guilt. The Bible says we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The second point of the good news is this: You can’t save yourself. There is no one who has enough virtue to impress God. There is no one who can pay for his own sins and come away clear. We can pay for our own sins if we want to go to hell forever. That’s true. That pays for them. But there is no one who can accumulate enough virtue to impress a God who is infinitely holy. No one. It can’t be done. No matter how long we live or how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves. Isaiah says that all of our righteousness amounts to filthy rags in the presence of a holy God and you can’t build a ladder to heaven with filthy rags. We are guilty. We cannot save ourselves. If the Bible stopped there, I’m out of here. But the Bible doesn’t stop there. The Bible says in several places in the New Testament “but God.” This is just such good news. But God, being rich in mercy and the love by which He loved us, poured out His grace and sent a Savior to pay our debt. That is such good news! What if the Bible ended in Romans 3:23? But it doesn’t, because God has made a way, God took the initiative, God came. This isn’t a matter of us trying to build a way to God; this is a matter of God invading our world and coming to us. That’s what grace is about. God took the initiative. He made a way and as horrible as it was, His Son died a literal death, a painful death, an excruciating crucifixion, and paid for your sins and mine. God has made a way but that’s not the end. In order for us to access that way, do we have to do a lot of good things, go to Sunday school? No, we simply put all our trust in Jesus only. That’s it. “Jesus, I believe You paid my way to heaven and as best as I can, God, with what I understand and with all I have, I’m just going to put all my trust in Jesus only.” That’s it. What does God say when that happens? Why, I do believe salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. God accepts us then. Not because we are good, but because Jesus is perfect and He has taken our load. That is good news. How lovely on the mountain are the feet. You bring good news, I’m going to love your feet. And that’s where this takes us. This is good news, that God has literally stepped in with His feet, if you will. The feet of Jesus were pierced with spikes. That’s good news for us. So that we can know Him. That’s the good news. Now the devil hates it and the world scoffs at it, thinks it is silly, thinks it is irrelevant, thinks it’s just a legend. That’s ok. The angels rejoice over it. It’s our job to tell it, wherever our feet take us. "Scripture
taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Jim Carlson 2006, Lone Rock Bible Church, Stevensville Montana, USA |