Shod Your Feet With The Preparation Of The Gospel

The Armor Of God - Part 4

Ephesians 6:13–20 NKJV

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 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. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Pray

Confession of Faith

I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name

Intro: So We have looked at the Belt Of Truth and the Breastplate Of Righteousness Today I want to look at how we cover our feet putting on the armor of God

Ephesians 6:15 NKJV

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Ephesians 6:15 NCV

15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong.

Ephesians 6:15 AMP

15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.

The sandals the Roman soldiers put on to cover their feet signified a state of readiness to fight!

When the Roman soldier put on his sandals it was a sign that he was ready to march!

When the Roman soldier put on his sandals it was a sign of readiness to do battle!

Now , you must understand that those sandals

Now these sandals were not the type of sandals that you would put on if you were relaxing for the day - or chilling out at the swimming pool

These were no sandal that we would were in the house like slippers

The sandals which the Roman soldiers wore were made out of leather, and would often lace around the ankle and part way up the calf ! The sandals which the Roman soldiers wore were fitted with spikes or nails on the bottom of the sole.

The purpose of the spikes on the bottom of the shoes was to help the soldiers stand in all types of terrain

The purpose of the spikes on the bottom was to help the soldier stand in battle -in all types of weather

the purpose of the spikes was to help the soldier stand when the battle went on all day long

The spikes help the Roman Soldiers maintain their footing!

Paul said cover you feet so that you will be prepared to battle in any condition

prepared to battle under any circumstance

and to stand as long as you need to stand

Hear what I’m saying:

Paul says in verse 11

Ephesians 6:11 NKJV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

in verse 13

Ephesians 6:13 NKJV

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

in verse 14

Ephesians 6:14 NKJV

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

As an example - football players, soccer players, baseball players have shoes with cleats or rubber knobs on the bottom of their shoes to help keep their footing no matter what the conditions are they find themselves in rain, snow, dew, mud, soggy, etc...

The Roman Soldier was Ready

As A Christ Follower, A Believer in Jesus Christ, A Christian Soldier you must be prepared!

For me Paul tied this thing together

check this out

Ephesians 6:15 NKJV

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The Word Shod means to wear foot gear! To put on some shoes

But Paul is talking about a special type of covering

He said put the preparation of the gospel of peace on your feet!

Now typically, your feet take you were ever you go!

Paul is telling us that we need to be prepared - where ever you go to share the gospel!

Paul is saying - stay ready - so you don’t have to get ready to share the good news

Mark 16:15 NKJV

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15 NCV

15 Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.

The question is - how do I share the gospel!

Now here’s the deal - before you can share the gospel you gotta be Romans 1:16’d

Romans 1:16 NKJV

16 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.

See Paul is telling us that as a follower of Christ - all of us must be ready to share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone!

You can’t be on team Jesus and not share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Here’s how this works - if you are always prepared to share the Gospel - that is going to help you stand on your feet as a Soldier of Christ!

But Wait Pastor - I don’t know how to share the gospel!

I have never shared the gospel

I don’t feel comfortable sharing the gospel

Now - this might hurt a little bit, it might sting a little bit, so tell your self now - Self don’t get in your feelings...

Here’s the deal

If you are not really clear what the Gospel is, and if you don’t really know how to share the Gospel with others, then in all likelihood, you don’t really know if you yourself have believed the Gospel, or if you have believed the right thing, or believed enough.

If you don’t know what to tell others on how to be saved, then you don’t really know yourself how to be saved, and if you don’t really know yourself how to be saved, then you can’t really be sure you are saved!

That’s how the devil wins - he takes away our readiness, he makes us think that understanding the gospel and sharing the gospel is for other folks, not me...

There is nothing the devil likes more than is for Christians to not know how to share the gospel!

When we don’t know and when we don’t share it - it takes away our desire to serve others, it takes away our zeal to follow the leader of this army - which is Jesus Christ. It makes us afraid because we think we might do or say the wrong thing.

Jesus tells in Matthew 28

Matthew 28 NKJV

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. 5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” 8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” 11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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 NKJV

19 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.

That’s the charge for every Christ follower! That’s the charge for every believer of Jesus Christ

The word gospel is a word that means “good news.”

The good news or the Gospel,is this

God is holy

We are sinners

Sin Deserves punishment,

But God loves us

And God, out of that great love for us, sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to die in our place for our sin so that anyone who wants eternal life in heaven with God can simply believe in Jesus Christ for it and it will be given to them.

Now as proof that Jesus did everything necessary for us to have eternal life all that was necessary, and that His promise of eternal life and that he can be trusted he rose from the dead - defeated death and is now in heaven with God. That, essentially is the gospel…the good news.

The good news is that God is offering us salvation!

The good news is that God is offering eternal life to all who simply believe in Jesus Christ for it.

It doesn’t matter how good or bad we’ve been—if we simply believe in Jesus for eternal life, we receive it.

Paul says share the gospel of peace

Put on the sandals

Know what the good news is and be prepared to share

Remember We are to share with anyone and everyone that God has made peace with those who believes in Jesus for eternal life!

If you know someone who is struggling - there is confusion and chaos in their lives - get yourself ready to share the gospel of peace with them.

Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

The Good news is simple

whoever believes on Jesus Christ receives eternal life

Romans 10:9–10 NLT

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Today - get ready, get prepared to share the Gospel - the Good news of peace

Knowing that when you do - you can stand!

God bless you and God keep you - is my prayer