Ephesians
6:15-16
#3: Get Ready (v15)
Our
third point to help us win in Spiritual Warfare is Get Ready. Notice verse 15, “[Stand firm then] with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” The way you outfit your feet can be a big
deal. Show up to play baseball with
tennis shoes rather than cleats. You’ll
have a hard time running the bases. Try
working at a job-site without steel-toed shoes. Shoes are important.
The
picture here is one of readiness. I love
when its time to leave the house and the kids are sitting on the stairs
dressed, groomed and with their shoes on.
Nothing says “I’m ready to go” more than having your shoes on your
feet. Nothing says “I’m ready for the
enemy” more a Christian who has his spiritual shoes on. That is Christian readiness. And we are called to be ready so often in
Scripture I will give you several samples.
What
should we be ready for? I’ll offer 3
important tasks we need to be ready for.
First, we need to be ready to evangelize. Romans 10:15 fits so perfectly here: “How beautiful are the feet of those who
bring good news!” Let’s adapt
it: “How beautiful are the shoes of
those who bring good news.” In the ancient world there was no texting,
no skype, no smartphones, no internet, no phones, no cars no planes no
nothing. The only way news could travel
was “by foot”. So when some messenger
arrived he was out of breath and had beat up feet and his beat up feet were a
testimony of the long hard journey he made to bring the news. [Marathon?]
We should have our witnessing shoes on our feet and laced up tight,
ready to bring the good news to anyone the Lord may lead us to.
Secondly
we need to have our feet ready to do good. Turn with me to Titus 2:11-14; 3:1, 8,
14. Doing good to others and serving
wholeheartedly should be the byproduct of our faith in Christ.
Thirdly,
we need to have feet that are ready for attack. Attack from our enemy. First Peter 5:8 says, “Be self-controlled and
alert; your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.” Translation: The devil will devour you if you aren’t alert
and ready for him. Over and over again
we see this exhortation, this instruction, even a command to be ready. Get your shoes on, Christian, and be ready
because your enemy is looking for you.
He comes to tempt you when you are most vulnerable. I’ll suggest 3 areas you are vulnerable. First, when you are proud. In Matthew 26:33-34 Peter was open to attack
because of his pride.
Second,
we are vulnerable when the hunger of our physical bodies are strong. Jesus fasted for 40 days and then after 40
days without food Satan came and tempted him.
The first thing he tempted him with was food. “Turn the rock into some bread Jesus”.
Third,
we are vulnerable to the enemies attacks when we are ignorant. When we are uninformed, and unaware, and
otherwise ignorant of the truths taught in God’s Word, we are wide open. Matthew 4; Mark 12:24-27
#4: Faith (v16)
Fourthly,
if we want to win, we need faith. Notice verse 16 says, “In addition to all this take up
the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one.” If we don't want to lose then we
can't leave our shield behind - or leave it on the ground.
A shield is a
defensive piece of equipment, meant to protect you from the attacks of your
enemy. A Roman shield – what Paul is
referring to here - was big enough to cover the whole soldier, being 2 ½ x 4 ½
feet. It was made of wood and covered
with either metal or leather. The
soldiers who carried this kind of shield were the frontline soldiers. When they stood side by side with their
shields together they formed a huge phalanx extending more than a mile
long. They made a barrier for the
archers and protected them from the flaming arrows of the enemy.
Paul says to us
as frontline soldiers, “Take up the shield of faith.” Faith is our shield. God told Abram in Genesis 15:1, “Do
not be afraid Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.” Psalm 61:3 says, “For you have been my refuge, a
strong tower against the foe.”
Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the
righteous run to it and are safe.”
Faith is
important to the Christian life. The
only way a man may save his soul is by faith.
We can only be counted as righteous by God if we believe (Rom.
4:5). The only way to please God is
through faith (Heb. 11:6). Anything that
does not come from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23).
So, one of
Satan’s chief objectives is to keep men in doubt. To keep them without the protection of their
shields. Keep the unbeliever from
believing so that his soul will perish with Satan. And, keep the Christian from living by faith
so they never please God or produce righteousness in their lives (2 Cor.
5:8). Satan wanted Eve to doubt God,
which is why he came to her to lead her into disobeying God’s command. All disobedience to God starts with doubt of
God. Doubt always underlies disobedience
just as faith always leads to obedience in the Christian life
And there are two
important points regarding the shield of faith:
First of all
faith replaces fear. And the other way around, fear replaces
faith. The two are mutually
exclusive. Fear robs you of peace in the
Christian life. But when you apply the
shield of faith it pushes out fear and plants peace. Turn with me to Luke 8:22-25. This is a great picture of how fear robs
someone of peace. [Read] Then turn with me to Acts 27:21-25, and 31-35
to compare how Paul reacted in a storm.
[Read] Paul’s faith did not waver
from the wind and the waves. He never
lost his peace. Like Jesus he probably
slept very soundly on that boat.
Second of all, faith
is important and needs to be fed. It
needs to be fed the word of God. An
uninformed faith is nothing more than sentimental religion. We need to learn about God and His promises
so that we know what it is we actually believe in. His word is a shield, as Proverbs 30:5 says,
“Every
word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
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