Gospel Living and Giving

Last week I was at the Wilds with several of you and to say it was a wet week would be an understatement. Well, on Tuesday there was a group of sponsors meeting up to go to the falls. Out of the entire group, only Dan, who is one of the guides, Elijah and myself chose to go to fourth falls and though it was rainy, I felt confident that my waterproof Merrill hiking boots could handle it. So, we begin the hike and they hold up perfectly, I’m as comfortable as I could be. Finally, we arrive to fourth falls and it is so powerful and so wet that it was almost spooky to stand on the rock in front of it. Well, after a few minutes of standing there to enjoy the view, we, being soaked by the rain and the mist from the waterfall decide to begin heading back and that’s when I realized that all of the water from my pants has ran down into my boots. Now, the thing about waterproof boots is that it doesn’t let water in, but it also doesn’t let water out. So I was left with soaking wet and heavy boots for the rest of the hike back.

To put it plainly, shoes matter. They matter because they provide protection and comfort. With them, you can feel confident in where you’re walking, but if you don’t have them on, you’ll find yourself walking a lot slower. Well, as we look at our passage today, we will find that we are to find our feet wearing gospel shoes as we read, Ephesians 6:15 because it is in the gospel that we find comfort and confidence as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:11–15 NKJV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 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;

Now Paul isn’t just being creative when he mentions gospel shoes here, instead he is reaching back into Isaiah 52:7-10 which reads,

Isaiah 52:7–10 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!” 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the Lord brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

Here, “Isaiah presents the image of watchmen bursting into joyful song on the walls of Jersualem. These watchmen who had long strained their eyes with fearful anticipation of an approaching enemy army now become heralds declaring good news of deliverance to the beleaguered citizens of Zion” (Duguid, 53)

It is this approaching messenger who brings them this beautiful message that God reigns, God redeems, and God is working in this world. And it’s with this message in mind that I want us to consider Gospel Living and Giving tonight.

Since God Reigns, I Look To Him For Affirmation

It’s important for us to remember that in Isaiah’s time, there were Babylonians idols everywhere such as Marduk, Bel, Nebo and more (Duguid, 54). But even in the midst of the hardships faced by Israel, there comes a message that it is not these false gods or these troubling circumstances that reign, but it is Jehovah God, the God of Israel.

Now, we don’t have little statue idols here today quite like they did back in this time, but don’t be fooled, idols are everywhere.

*What would you say are some examples of idols in today's world?* It could be self-image, money, pornography, or sports. And the thing about these idols is that they can’t truly satisfy you and they’ll only let you down. Iaian Duguid wrote this:

“For me, [my idols] tend to be money and productivity. When unexpected bills mount up, I can feel the rising fear in my heart. My idol is declaring me a failure… I become irritable. My idol is cursing, and I respond with fear and anxiety.”

You might be bound my an idol tonight and you feel like it has an unbreakable choke-hold on you and you feel like you can’t help but to obey it. If that’s the case, you need to know that there is freedom because these idols don’t reign, God reigns. Whatever idol you’re submitted to, whatever idol you’re being crushed by, whatever temptation has you in a choke-hold, you need to remind yourself that assurance, peace, comfort and joy aren’t found in their bondage, but true joy and freedom are only known in God.

Where do you find your assurance tonight? An honest answer to that question might reveal to you what your idol really is.

But this makes me ask another question: If looking to idols will never give me assurance, how could I ever find assurance in God as a sinner? This leads us to point 2 which is:

Since God Redeems, I Belong To Him

Our assurance, our acceptance and belonging isn’t relying upon you or what you’ve done. Rather, it rests in who Christ is and what He has done for you. In Isaiah 52 we find the messenger with gospel shoes on and in Luke 4:18-19 Jesus says,

Luke 4:18–19 NKJV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophesy, Jesus is the messenger who brings good news. But that isn’t all. He doesn’t just bring good news, He is the good news. He created it in Himself. Ephesians 2:11-18

Ephesians 2:11–18 NKJV

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Have you experienced the reality of this truth for yourself? That Jesus is the only way you could ever be forgiven and made right with God. Is this more than a head knowledge for you, is it a personal reality? Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good?

I have recently decided that I’d like to begin focusing a little more on cardio and so, I decided I’d like to get some good running shoes and so I put on a pair of Hokas. Let’s put it this way, after trying those on, I became a Hoka Evangelist. So much so that when Elijah and I went into town while at the Wilds I made him try on a pair. But why? Why do people do that? Why do fitness people talk so much about fitness, or coffee fans drag you to their coffee shops? It’s because they’ve experienced the greatness of these things for themselves and they want you to as well and if that’s true with insignificant things like coffee or shoes, how much more should it be the case with us as children of God? This leads me to our last point”

Since I Belong to Him, I Have Business To Do

In Isaiah 52:10

Isaiah 52:10 NKJV

10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

And in Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

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.

What I want us to get from this is that God has done a great thing in providing salvation for us through His Son and the way by which He is making this good news known to the world is through those of us who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. We are convinced Jesus is God, we are convinced that Jesus is the savior of all who believe, we are comforted in knowing we are absolutely accepted and loved by God and because of this we have confidence in telling the whole world the good news that Jesus is Lord and Savior.

So what do we take away from this today?

When I find myself bound by temptation, I am comforted in knowing that the God who loves me is in control.

When I find myself beat down by my failures, I am comforted in knowing that Jesus died for sinners.

And when I think of how great God is and how great His love is for me, I am encouraged to share the good news with others around me.