Peace in the War

[0:00] Yes, Yes, Yes Yes Yes All right, how we doing tonight?

[0:53] Good. Good to see you. Actually, I can't see you at all. Now I can see you a little better. Good to see everybody. Glad you're here. If you've got a Bible, go to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. We are continuing in our series through the armor of God.

[1:07] Though for a little while I was kind of asking myself, because obviously with this being 4th of July weekend, you kind of know a lot of people are traveling and a lot of people are gone. So I considered taking a week kind of out of the series and doing something different, but was kind of encouraged just to kind of stick with it because this series has had so much momentum.

[1:26] So we are going to continue in our study through the armor of God. I hope you're all right with that. So all those people up at their cabins can just watch online.

[1:36] Okay. So Ephesians 6, if you're new with us, this is week 4 in our study through this. We've just been week by week looking at the different pieces of armor that Paul mentions here in Ephesians 6.

[1:50] The very first week we talked about kind of the biblical understanding of evil spiritual powers and kind of what's behind spiritual warfare. And so if you didn't see that, you should go online and watch that.

[2:03] And then we've looked at the belt of truth, which I argue biblically is the gospel. It's not the word of God. We'll look at that later in the series. But it's the gospel of salvation.

[2:15] That's what the belt of truth is. Then last time on the breastplate of righteousness, that our righteousness is that of Christ's righteousness given to us and that protects our heart.

[2:28] It secures our identity in this war. And so now we go to the next one, which is found in verse 15. But as I've been doing, I actually want to start in verse 10.

[2:39] So we continue to get the context and the flow of this passage. So if you've got your Bibles open and you're ready, please stand as we honor the reading of God's word. Ephesians 6, beginning at verse 10, Paul's ending this letter and he says, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

[2:59] Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

[3:18] Therefore, in other words, as a result of that, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm.

[3:29] Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. And now verse 15, this will be our focus this evening.

[3:41] And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

[3:51] Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this opportunity tonight to study your word, to take just one phrase, this one verse, and Lord, just unpack it, understand it, see what it means biblically.

[4:06] And we pray that your Holy Spirit, the very spirit of truth, would guide us into understanding what it means to gird up our feet, to be ready because of the gospel of peace.

[4:21] And we pray this in Jesus' name and God's people said, amen. Amen. You can be seated. It was the most intense storm in the history of the Florida panhandle.

[4:32] When Hurricane Michael ripped through Florida, some of you remember this, right? Back in 2018, it left behind some enormous devastation and destruction.

[4:44] When it made landfall, it was a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of about 161 miles per hour.

[4:55] It resulted in 74 deaths, and get your mind around this, $25 billion in damages.

[5:05] Rick Scott, who was the governor of Florida at the time, said this as he was making an evacuation mandatory. He said, quote, Michael is a massive storm that could bring total devastation.

[5:21] Let me be clear, this is a monstrous storm. And indeed it was. But when all the devastation through all of that caused by that hurricane, when there in Mexico Beach, Florida, there stood one home among all the others that stood firm.

[5:42] In fact, you notice from this other picture, everything else around it was destroyed. Everything around it was devastated except this one home.

[5:54] It was a home that was built by Russell King and his nephew, LeBron Lackey. They intentionally built this home, quote, for the big one, because eventually the big one is coming.

[6:08] So they went above and beyond to do everything they could to make it secure. When the code asked for building it for 150 mile per hour winds, they built it to withstand 250 mile per hour winds.

[6:23] They put 40 foot pilings buried into the ground to keep the home above the surge of seawater. They poured concrete with reinforced steel cables and rebar.

[6:35] They put additional concrete in the corners of the house. They did everything they could to make sure their home was secure. The reason was, they said, quote, because if you lose the foundation, you lose everything.

[6:54] And of course, while they were building this, all of their neighbors thought they were crazy. They thought they lost their mind. But when the storm came, theirs was the only home still standing.

[7:09] Faith Emily, let me ask you tonight, is there someone or something that you know that stood firm when everything else was giving in? When everything else was falling down, they stood firm.

[7:23] Maybe it was a business that stood firm when the economy around it was crumbling. Maybe it was a family that stuck together, even in the face of conflict.

[7:34] It may have been a church that stood firm on the gospel, on the word of God, when everybody else in the culture was giving in to false teaching. It may have been a military unit that stood firm together in the midst of the battlefield.

[7:50] It may have been a boxer who got punched 5,372 times by a Russian and yet refused to go down. Do you know that kind of person?

[8:03] Anybody here tonight? Do you know that kind of person that stood firm when everything else around it was giving in? But my question really isn't, do you know a person like that?

[8:15] My question is, are you that kind of person? Are you the type of person that's able to stand firm when everything around you is raging?

[8:26] The reason I ask that is because that is precisely the kind of Christian that Paul wants these Ephesians as well as for us to be.

[8:38] Because look at what gets commanded throughout Ephesians chapter 6 here. Right? I want you to kind of shout out every time we get to this highlighted word. Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.

[8:50] Put on the whole armor of God. And why does he want you to put on the whole armor of God? So that you might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

[9:00] But then he goes on. Take up the whole armor of God. Why? That you may be able to withstand in the evil day. Having done all to stand firm.

[9:14] And then verse 14, stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now, do you need a PhD from seminary to know what Paul wants us to do?

[9:28] Anybody with me? He wants us to be the kind of Christian that stands. That when everything else around us is raging, we are standing firm.

[9:38] That when the spiritual warfare comes at you with hurricane-forced winds, that you will be the kind of Christian that is strong in the Lord and stands firm.

[9:52] Amen? Amen? Go ahead and say an amen for all the people who aren't here tonight. Amen, right? So, we clearly know and see the command is to stand firm.

[10:03] Well, this is the idea I want us to get our minds around tonight, and it's this. You can't stand firm without secure feet. You can't stand firm, which is the whole thing Paul wants us to do, if you do not have secure feet.

[10:22] Feet are to the body what a foundation is to the home. That is, it gives the body security. Have you ever known someone, or maybe you've been someone, that you try to stand when your legs or your feet are not secure?

[10:37] It's very difficult to stand firm. It's very difficult to be firmly grounded when your feet are not secure.

[10:47] That's what Paul addresses in the very next piece of armor. Look at verse, again, verse 15. And as shoes for your feet, having put on readiness given by the gospel of peace.

[11:01] So, as we've done with every single piece of armor, let's first talk about the significance of this piece of armor. Why is it so important? Because let's be honest, shoes are not something we would find significant in military armor, right?

[11:18] I mean, think about it. Breastplate, well, that's obvious. You want to protect your heart. A shield, well, that's necessary. I mean, I want something to be able to protect me against arrows or somebody wielding a sword.

[11:34] A sword itself. Yeah, I need something offensive to be able to, like, are you with me tonight? Those would be pieces of armor we would think that's necessary to have, but shoes?

[11:47] I mean, what's so significant about shoes? Why is that an important piece of armor? Listen, Paul knows. Paul knows. What every lady in this room knows.

[11:59] The outfit isn't complete until you have the perfect pair of shoes. Amen. Can I get an amen? Like, ladies, there was your opportunity to say amen, hallelujah, right?

[12:12] Right? My closet full of shoes. We know that the outfit's not complete until you have the perfect pair of shoes. Well, listen, in all sincerity, shoes were very important to a Roman soldier's armor for at least three reasons.

[12:29] If you're taking notes, number one, is that shoes provided traction. They provided traction. That is, a Roman soldier's shoes were kind of akin to our modern day shoes of cleats.

[12:43] You'll see a picture of one here. It's kind of got these little spikes in them. That's very similar to what a Roman soldier would have worn. And so it's important because think about it.

[12:54] If the soldier is climbing up a hill or they're running through a battlefield or they're trying to maneuver around, that helps them not slip and fall, right?

[13:05] It gives them the traction they need to not fall on the battlefield. Now listen, we live in Minnesota. We of all people know that traction is important. Amen? I mean, when winter comes, you do not want tires that don't have tread.

[13:20] Amen? Or you think about the athlete on the field. The last thing you want to do is slip and fall because you give the defense an opportunity to take advantage. First of all, you should never have Tom Brady be your wide receiver.

[13:32] But anyways, alright? Like, we know this. This is so common for us to understand in so many areas of life. Well, how much is it more important on a battlefield?

[13:45] I mean, it's one thing to slide around in a car or another thing to slip on a football field. But if you fall on the battlefield, you are in a very dangerous situation.

[13:57] Amen? So they provide traction. Secondly, they provide protection. In ancient times, if a nation was going to be going to war, if they knew that an enemy was going to be attacking, one of the things that they would do is they would take these little pieces of, they would either be wooden or metal, and they would hide them in the ground.

[14:20] So they would dig down and they'd put these in the ground and then kind of leave them sticking out, but hide them so that as that army was coming along, what would they do? Kind of almost like a landmine, they would step on them that would shoot through their foot and then they'd be disabled, but they'd be unable to fight very well.

[14:42] And so, if you can't walk in war, you're at a severe disadvantage. So shoes were very important because they provided traction as well as they provided protection.

[14:55] Thirdly, is that shoes allowed for better motion. One of the things that was very important in military shoes is that they remain light enough so that you'd be quick to maneuver.

[15:07] How many of you have ever heard the expression of being light-footed? That idea of being able to quickly move around. We know that oftentimes to be quick is better than to be strong.

[15:20] And so, this was very, very important in the military understanding of Paul's day. If you're with me, say yes. So shoes were pretty significant. They were kind of a big deal. They may not be obvious at first, but when you understand it, you realize it's very important.

[15:35] Now, why is it spiritually significant? What's the meaning of this spiritually for the armor of God? Look back at verse 15. So, as shoes for your feet, we now understand why that's a big deal, having put on the readiness, the readiness.

[15:55] So, shoes are important, biblically speaking, or as it relates to the armor of God, is because shoes give you a readiness. Now, that's actually a very important biblical theme.

[16:11] I don't know if we often think about that as the case, but being ready, being alert, is actually something that runs throughout Scripture. I'll just give you a few examples, though there are a lot.

[16:22] How many of you remember Matthew chapter 25 and the parable of the ten virgins? Do you remember that? Five of them were ready when the bridegroom came, and five were asleep.

[16:35] And what does Jesus say at the end of that parable? Watch! Because you do not know the time. You don't know the day or the hour when Christ will return. So you need to be ready.

[16:47] Amen? This verse that we've read every week in this series, 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober-minded. That is, be alert. Don't be distracted.

[16:58] Be watchful. That is, be ready. Why? Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Do you remember what Jesus got on to the disciples about in the Garden of Gethsemane?

[17:14] What were the disciples doing? You can talk to me. They're asleep! And twice, Jesus has to go to the disciples and say, wake up! Like, you can't even pray for a second.

[17:26] You're zoning out, and Jesus says, zone back in. You'll get that later. That's where I got it. It was from Jesus. Jesus. Paul, Paul says to Timothy, what?

[17:36] Preach the word, be ready, in season, and out. Peter says that we are to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.

[17:51] In other words, it's all throughout the Bible. I thought about titling this message, Christians Need to Be Woke. I'm just kidding. It would be a little controversial, right? I, clearly, I was just trying to wake you up, okay?

[18:05] I'm not talking about woke the way the culture is talking about it. I'm saying, be alert. Wake up. Don't be sleepy in your faith.

[18:17] Why? You know this. The worst thing that can happen in a war is being attacked while you're asleep. Right? It's a sneak attack when you're not ready.

[18:29] Do you know how many examples I could give historically of armies that were caught off guard? I mean, think about maybe one of the most famous ones. You remember the story of the Trojan horse?

[18:41] Right? When the Greeks were fighting against the Trojans and they hid inside the horse and then came out during the evening and opened up the gates and the Greeks came in and destroyed the city.

[18:55] Or even here on our own soil, Pearl Harbor, which was a surprise attack from the Japanese. The point being, if you're going to stand firm, you must be ready.

[19:08] Wake up. Be ready. And shoes help you be ready. You put them on and in putting them on, Paul says, you're putting on readiness.

[19:22] Now, that word, readiness, that Paul uses in chapter 6, verse 15, means more than just being ready. It means that, but the Greek word actually has a kind of a bigger meaning to it and that is that of confidence.

[19:40] Confidence. That is, what it means to be ready is to be confident. Now, stop and think about it. That makes a lot of sense, right? That to be ready is to be confident.

[19:51] Let me give you an illustration. Imagine that there's two people sitting on a bench waiting for their time to go into the game. Here's the question. Which one is more ready to go into the game?

[20:05] The one who's confident or the one who's scared? Talk to me. The confident one, of course. The one that's confident is far more ready to enter the game than the other one.

[20:18] Or imagine an army. Which is more ready for battle? The confident army or the one that is scared? In other words, this is what I'm trying to get across to you.

[20:29] Readiness, in this verse, is more than being alert. It is that, but it's also being assured. What Paul's talking about is putting on a sense of confidence.

[20:45] That's what he means by readiness. to put on an assuredness that comes from the shoes or the shoes are a sign of confidence that come from something else.

[20:57] What does it come from? Verse 15. And as shoes for your feet, having put on, so when we put on these shoes, we're putting on readiness. We're putting on confidence given by, say it with me, the gospel of peace.

[21:16] Now, notice a few things first. The gospel of peace is not the armor. Did everybody notice that? Okay? Wake up.

[21:27] Okay? Be alert. It's not the gospel of peace that's being put on. Readiness is what's being put on. Confidence is what's being put on. But that confidence comes from the gospel of peace.

[21:41] So what is the gospel of peace? I would say in most of the things that I read or hear or have been taught kind of growing up about this particular verse is that most take this verse as referring to evangelism.

[21:59] That the gospel of peace is evangelism. And I take this from Romans chapter 10 verse 15. Look at it here. And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

[22:12] As it is written, how beautiful are the what? The feet. Of those who preach the good news. And so they try to make this connection between the feet of Romans 10 15 and what Paul says in Romans 6 verse 15.

[22:29] I don't think at all that's what Paul is talking about. I do not believe for a moment that this is evangelism. Of course I'm all for evangelism. I just don't think that's the meaning of this verse.

[22:41] And here's why. Because in Ephesians 6 notice it on the screen Paul is not talking about feet that go. He's talking about feet that stand.

[22:51] You with me? He's not talking about going feet. He's talking about standing feet. Nor does evangelism fit the illustration. Namely what gives us confidence for the battle.

[23:06] It's not sharing the gospel. Listen it's peace that comes from the gospel. Are you with me? Say yes. You got it? I'm not getting this confidence by sharing the gospel.

[23:21] I'm getting this confidence by something I get from the gospel. Namely this gospel of peace. So what is it? Well there's two types.

[23:32] Most of you probably know this. there's two types of peace that the Bible talks about. There's objective and subjective peace. Most of the time we think about subjective peace.

[23:43] We're thinking about things like the absence of conflict. Not having any hostility. We're talking about the peace of God.

[23:55] You think about for instance Paul says and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart. So it's the peace of God.

[24:06] But I don't think that's the one Paul is referring to because wartime is anything but peaceful in terms of our circumstances and lack of hostility.

[24:18] I think what Paul is meaning is the objective form of peace which is not what, it's not peace of God, it's peace with God.

[24:31] It's this peace. Look at Romans 5.1 Therefore since we have been justified by faith we have, say it with me, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[24:44] And you jump down to verse 10 and it says this, For if while we were enemies, that is we were hostile towards God, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.

[24:58] Much more now that we are reconciled, that is we're at peace with Him, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we've now received reconciliation.

[25:15] So here's what I believe Paul is talking about. The gospel of peace that is the good news of the peace we have that makes us confident in battle, that makes us ready, is the fact that we know we have peace with God.

[25:37] Let me say it this way, I have come to realize that I was an enemy of God, but I have now and forever been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.

[25:50] That's the gospel of peace. The gospel of peace is that I have been reconciled to God. I have peace with Him because of what Jesus did for me.

[26:01] And here's why I believe that's the peace He's referring to because I mentioned, and I know you remember it because you remember everything I say in a sermon. Several weeks ago, I told you that the order of the armor is important.

[26:15] So think about the flow of the armor. You put on the belt of truth that is the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ. You're clear on what Jesus did.

[26:27] He came, He was born, He lived a perfect life, He died on the cross for my sins, He rose three days later, He ascended on high, and He's my high priest where He intercedes for me.

[26:37] That because of what Jesus did, the good news of Christ, I now have a breastplate that is secure. Because I told you when you tighten the belt of truth, then the breastplate is tight and secure.

[26:52] I don't have to doubt who I am. I know my identity in Jesus. It is the righteousness of Christ which protects my heart. Are you with me? And that makes me confident.

[27:08] It makes me ready. Because here's what I know. No matter what happens in the battle, I have peace with God. No one can listen, no one can take that security from me.

[27:24] I know what Jesus did, belt of truth. I know what that makes me in terms of my identity, the very righteousness of Jesus, and that means nothing coming at me can change my secure relationship with God.

[27:38] I'm confident. I'm ready. Bring it on because I'm so strong. No, because look what Jesus did in bringing me reconciliation to God.

[27:50] It flows together. Let me say it this way. Notice it on the screen. I can stand firm in the war against false gods when I know I'm no longer at war with the true God.

[28:05] That'll preach. In fact, I'm just going to slow down and let that sink in. I can stand firm in the war against false gods, these evil powers and rulers and principalities.

[28:22] I can stand firm when I know. I'm secure when I know I'm no longer at war with the true God. I've got peace with God.

[28:37] If that's true, what do you think evil spiritual powers are going to come after? To steal a line from Mighty Python and the Holy Grail, they're going to try to bite your legs off.

[28:49] They're coming after your feet. They're going to come after your legs. And if you've been paying attention in the letter to the Ephesians thus far, you wouldn't be surprised at this because look, here's where I get it.

[29:02] Look at chapter 5 and verse 15. Look carefully then how you walk. Come on. How you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of time.

[29:17] Say it, because the days are evil. Why should you pay close attention to your feet? The confidence that you have in Christ?

[29:29] Because the days are evil. They're coming after your legs. They're coming after your feet. They're coming after your security. And do you see that phrase the days are evil?

[29:41] Does that ring a bell to you? It should. Look at Ephesians 6, the very passage we're looking at. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand, say it, in the evil day.

[29:56] In other words, chapter 5, 15, and 16 are connected to chapter 6, 13, in that this, you had better guard your feet because the days are evil.

[30:09] evil powers, the evil rulers, the evil authorities, they are coming after your security in Christ.

[30:21] Oh, man, that will preach. Now, how do they do this? How do they come after your feet? How do they cut off your confidence? Well, again, if you're keeping a record, you know every single sermon thus far in this series, I have made a point to say we have got to take Ephesians 6 in context of the rest of the book.

[30:46] Have I not said that every week? And I'm going to keep saying it because my biggest complaint with the literature that's out there, my biggest complaint with a lot of teachers and preachers out there is they treat this passage in isolation and they don't treat it in context to what Paul is already saying through this letter.

[31:04] So what I mean by that is, are there any clues already in the letter to the Ephesians that would help us understand how these evil spiritual powers come at our feet?

[31:15] Yes. Look at chapter 2 and verse 12. Remember you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off, that's language of separation and hostility, you've been brought near by the blood of Christ, that's language of reconciliation and peace.

[31:46] In fact, look at verse 14. For he himself is our peace who made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, war, by abolishing the law of the commandments expressed in the ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making, come on, peace, thereby killing the hostility, thereby, listen, ending the war, ending the conflict.

[32:28] Now, stop and think about all the language in those verses about separation and hostility and peace that go perfectly with what Paul's talking about here in Ephesians 6.

[32:41] So from that, I take it there's two ways, and man, I'm really hoping you're listening, because listen, just as much as I want you to be clear about who Jesus is in the gospel, and I want you to know your identity, the breastplate, I want you to be secure in God.

[33:00] I want you to be confident in Him. So how do they come after your feet? Number one, is that evil spiritual powers want you to believe you're still at war with God.

[33:16] Paul talks about you were once separated, once alienated, once strangers, but no longer. You've been reconciled, you've been brought near. Listen, if what makes you ready and confident is knowing that you have peace with God, then what do you think evil spiritual powers want to convince you of?

[33:35] It's this, that you and God are still at odds. Amen? And this happens all the time. Like, sometimes I just want to come out there and understand what's going through your mind in some of this, because I have to believe that some of you are fighting this all the time.

[33:53] Am I really at peace with God? Does God truly accept me? Is there anything that's between us? Is there anything that's alienated?

[34:04] Oh my goodness, like, if you never struggle with that, then you are far more spiritual than the great reformer Martin Luther. Martin Luther spent much of his Christian life struggling with a guilty conscience.

[34:20] Luther said on one occasion, quote, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence before Him.

[34:32] Therefore, I did not love a just God, but hated and murmured against Him. He always felt like there was enmity between Him and God.

[34:44] He was never at peace with his relationship with God until one day. He fully and ultimately understood justification by faith and the imputed righteousness that we have of Christ by faith.

[35:00] And it hit Him. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Listen, listen. Are you with me? Are you listening? If I have the righteousness of Christ given to me as my identity, then the only thing I ever receive from God is love.

[35:16] Because I have the very righteousness of His Son. in whom He is well pleased. And the war within His heart was finally over.

[35:31] And He finally started resting in the truth that He really was at peace with God.

[35:43] And I wonder today what you struggle with when it comes with your relationship. Are you unsettled in any way with your relationship with God?

[35:54] Listen, are you at peace with His sovereignty? That means you're not in control, but He is? Are you at peace with His love?

[36:05] That you really are as accepted as the Bible says you are? Are you at peace with His wrath? There are some that would say, I could just never love a God like that.

[36:16] Well, you don't get to determine who God is. Amen? Are you at peace with faith? Always struggling? Do I believe enough? Do I trust enough?

[36:28] Am I sure that this is enough? Are you at peace with His goodness? Maybe you're angry at God because some injustice that's happened in your life? I'm asking you, is there anything unsettled in your relationship with God?

[36:45] And here's why you'd better answer that is because until your peace with God is settled, your feet will never be secure. And you're not ready for battle.

[36:57] You are limping on the spiritual battlefield and you need to put on your shoes readiness and confidence that comes from the gospel of peace.

[37:12] Amen? That's the first way that I believe the evil spiritual powers try to take our confidence is they want to convince us we're still at war with God.

[37:24] And here's the second one, is they want you to believe you're still at war with one another. They want you to believe that you are at war with one another.

[37:35] What was Ephesians 2 all about? The fact that in Christ this hostility between Jew and Gentile has been destroyed and we're now reconciled into this one new man through Jesus Christ who is our peace.

[37:52] Listen, go all the way back to the book of Genesis. You don't have to turn there but like in your mind go all the way back to the book of Genesis and what was one of the attacks in fact what was the two attacks there in the garden are you with me say yes putting enmity between us and God so that we would fight against God and fight against one another.

[38:17] Listen, you will not be ready to fight evil powers please tell me you're listening you're not going to be ready to fight evil spiritual powers if you're always fighting with one another.

[38:33] Why do you think Paul said this for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

[38:46] The war is not with one another to stop fighting like it is. You're just giving in to the schemes.

[38:58] They want you to believe the war is with your boss or your spouse or your other church member or whatever. That's what they want you to believe. But no we wrestle against rulers and authorities and cosmic powers against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

[39:17] Do you see? It's why he says this war is not with flesh because the more you make it a war with flesh that is one another the less you will be ready when the hurricane forced evil spiritual powers come at you.

[39:34] It'll be a sneak up attack because you've been focused on the wrong enemy. Somebody say preach preacher. It is why Paul and I've given you this kind of list multiple weeks and I'll give it to you again.

[39:49] It's why Paul says these kinds of things in Ephesians. Look at Ephesians 4 26. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Why?

[40:00] Why do you not need to keep this hostility with one another? Because you're going to give an opportunity to the devil. You're angry at one another and that's when they sneak in.

[40:12] Is everybody seeing this? It's clear to me. I hope it's clear to you. Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths. Do you know what you should be doing to your fellow soldier? Building them up.

[40:24] Not tearing them down. Because the war is not with them. that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you're sealed for the day of redemption.

[40:37] No, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander all of this nonsense with one another. Put it away.

[40:50] Put it away. And be kind to one another. And tender hearted. And forgiving one another. As God in Christ forgave you.

[41:03] Are y'all seeing this? Come on, come on, come on, listen. Be ready. Be confident. How are you confident you've got peace with God? And how do they come at your feet?

[41:17] By convincing you're still at war with God and you're still at war with one another. And you are prime for the plucking on the spiritual battlefield of life.

[41:31] I know this as much as I know anything and I bet you do too, that nothing will destroy your spiritual confidence than personal conflict.

[41:42] Amen? Nothing can destroy your spiritual confidence more than personal conflict because you get obsessed and consumed in the wrong war.

[41:53] so how then do we as I close, that's your 30 minute warning, how do we stand firm? How do we stand firm? If that's the significance of the shoes and what it means and how the evil spiritual powers come at it, then how do we stand firm?

[42:07] What is it about this gospel of peace that enables us to have secure feet? Look at chapter 6 verse 15. And as shoes for your feet having put on readiness, readiness, and that readiness comes from, it's given to us by the gospel of peace.

[42:24] And who is the gospel of peace about? Go back to chapter 2 and verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near, you've been reconciled by the blood of Christ.

[42:37] For Jesus is our peace. And he made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

[42:48] So everybody with me? I know you're going to think that this is like, yeah, you just give us this application all the time. But there's a reason for that. Because you got to tighten the belt. Listen, the more I think about what Jesus accomplished for me on the cross, the more I'll rest and understand that I have peace with God.

[43:13] I want you to take just a moment and put this image up. I want you to think about what Jesus did for us when he was nailed on the cross.

[43:26] What did he accomplish? And what did he experience? That if you would think on that often, you'd be a far more confident Christian.

[43:40] Three very quick things. I'm saying them quickly. number one, is that Jesus on the cross took our separation. He took our separation.

[43:51] The separation, all this language I've been saying all night, alienation, strangers, far off, enemies, it's all talking about the same thing.

[44:02] Your sin made you an enemy to God. Your sin, my sin, separated me from God. And do you know what happened to Jesus on the cross?

[44:15] He was separated from God. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He took your separation, your alienation for you on the cross.

[44:33] Amen? And not only that, Jesus became became our big Bible word here, propitiation. It's a word I stole from Romans 3. Romans chapter 3 says that Jesus was put forth as a propitiation, that is a sacrifice.

[44:49] In other words, listen, God, like, Lord, can I just ask you mid-sentence that you would let this plant firmly in us? Listen to what I'm saying, please. Jesus absorbed on the cross every bit of righteous hatred, righteous anger, righteous wrath of God towards sin.

[45:15] He absorbed all of that. Every bit, and I say righteous because it is of God, every bit of righteous hostility, anger, wrath, absorbed on Christ.

[45:30] And that means, that means that all the hostility that God could ever have towards you was absorbed in Christ.

[45:43] So He takes your separation, He becomes your propitiation that is taking on all that hostility your sin deserves, and then, if that wasn't good news enough, thirdly, Jesus is our reconciliation.

[46:01] He doesn't just take our separation. He doesn't just become a propitiation. He brings us to God. He reconciles us to God.

[46:15] 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Yeah, let's go. Let's do it. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation, the old is past, behold, the new has come, and all this is from God.

[46:32] God did it. You didn't accomplish it. God accomplished it for you who through Christ reconciled us to Himself.

[46:48] You think on that for very long, and you will have secure feet. because what could you possibly do to separate yourself from God?

[47:02] What does Paul say in Romans 8? Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What could you do that would make God angry and want to pour wrath on you when Jesus has already taken all your sin past present and future.

[47:27] That's why there's nothing towards you even if it's painful that isn't love. You're the very identity of Christ Himself given to you by faith.

[47:44] He has reconciled you to God. You are now and forever more at peace with God.

[48:03] Those that's a truth that allows us to put on secure shoes. Amen? And in the midst of this war in the midst of this battlefield no no matter what they try to convince me of I am not at war with God and I am not at war with one another.

[48:22] I'm ready. June 1995 South Korea experienced the largest peacetime casually in its history.

[48:35] A department store in the Gangnam District collapsed killing 502 people injuring over 900.

[48:47] It wasn't because listen faith family it wasn't because of terrorist attack it wasn't because of an act of violence it was because of bad engineering listen it was originally going to be built as an office building but during the construction they decided to make it a department store which required completely different codes all of which they ignored the negligence resulted in cracks all throughout the foundation and the building and management while knowing all of this ignored it eventually the five story department store collapsed with thousands of people inside all because the foundation was neglected I'm about done but would you just listen I'm afraid the same has happened to many a

[49:52] Christian we have lost our security we have collapsed on the spiritual battlefield for the very same reasons we have not secured our foundation we are not living with the confidence that comes from knowing you have peace with God through Jesus Christ knowing this that Jesus already faced the hurricane forced winds of God's righteous anger towards your sin he already has and three days later was still standing when we truly understand what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross then and only then will we have the confidence to stand firm and all God's people said amen let's pray together father thank you for this additional piece of armor that we get to think about and understand putting on the belt of truth understanding the gospel having a secure identity of the righteousness of

[51:06] Christ and then having feet that are secure confident because we have peace with you and all peace starts with peace with God there is no peace of God until there is peace with God so Lord may we put on these shoes and be ready and confident in our security not of our own works but the work of Christ on the cross which we now enter into a time of remembrance about as we think on these next few moments what Jesus did as we hold this bread as we look at this juice and we're reminded of the body and the death of Jesus that reconciled us forever to God pray this will be a beautiful time of worship and remembrance in

[52:09] Jesus name amen to to to to