29. New Life 101, Resting in the peace of God and running with the gospel; Ephesians 6;10-20

Ephesians 6:10–20 (ESV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

In the face of ongoing spiritual struggles God calls Christians to do all they can to stand firm against the schemes of the Devil. (Ephesians. 6:10-13)

Look again at Ephesians 6:10-13

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13

Satan’s Schemes: (wiles, tactics, strategy, etc):

Twisting the Word Accusation Temptation Intimidation Division Doubt Fear And more… the Bible doesn’t give an exhaustive list as much as we see the aim of the devil is rooted in rebellion.

Doing all you can to stand firm begins with bracing yourself with the truth.

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Doing all you can to stand firm requires “Guarding your life and heart by grace and good works”

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Our message today zero’s in on verses 15-16…

“15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one”

“15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Doing all you can to stand firm requires resting in the peace of God and running with the gospel to our neighbors and the nations.

The shoes of our feet help us to think of God’s peace in two different ways. On one hand we find the firmness of our footing in the peace we have with God. On the other hand we have been sent by God to take the gospel of peace to our neighbors and the nations.

In the context of spiritual warfare we find our rest in the peace we have between us and God. (Not a brokered peace- but a peace that comes through victory)

Resting in the peace of God

I want to step in for a moment to the political moment we are in as a country. We are just two Tuesdays away from voting on our next President. This past week I had 4 or 5 conversations with members of HBC about the election, and I understand that there is a desire for some that preachers will make the election the centerpoint of their preaching… in fact there are some that wish that was the focus of the church on many Sunday’s… and that’s not just in one church, that’s in a lot of churches.

I don’t think anyone with a rational mind thinks that thing are going well in our country… at least in comparison to parts of our history or our potential. And I know we can all point out the ways that the worst version of America is still a better circumstance than some parts of the world… But, things are not going great, at least when it comes to the character and personal integrity of many in the highest offices and who are running.

Immorality reigns, people are greedy, the news is more about entertaining you than informing you, and social media is worried more about keeping scrolling and thumbing through the timeline than it is doing anything good for you. You don’t know who to trust, you don’t know where to turn, and many Christians are acting out of sorts and showing signs of anxiety and stress over the future of our country and the world.

But, this isn’t the way of Christ. Anxiety, stress, fear, worry… these are not the marks of the church.

Resting means seeking God’s kingdom and striving for holiness today.

Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Resting means trusting in God’s power and the promise of the resurrection.

2 Corinthians 4:7–15 (ESV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Resting means finding your hope in the presence and power of God in your life.

Isaiah 41:9–10 (ESV)

9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Resting means turning to God and not on one another.

Psalm 46 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Resting brings peace that surpasses all understanding.

What do you do in our current political, economic, moral, ethical, and social situation- you rest in the peace of God… Peace that passes understanding.

Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But, how can I be at peace? It ultimately comes down to who you trust…

Psalm 20:7 (ESV) says, 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. - Psalm 20:7

This is resting in the peace of God. When you have peace with God through Christ it means that God is no longer against you… you are at peace with Him… and without Christ you are not at peace with God. No matter how peaceful the country you live feels.

You can have peace treaties around the world and stop all the wars, I mean you actually can’t- but for the sake of the point, if all the conflict on the earth stopped the greatest conflict continues…

As Paul said- 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The spiritual war is ongoing- even when your political party wins, even when the border is handled, even when the economy is stable, even when jobs are plenty, interest rates are low, and gas is cheap.

The warning that God gives us with Ephesians 6 is that we can’t ever assume that the world around us is right- unless it is right with God.

I’ve shared recently with a handful of people that I am worried about our country… I worry about the state of affairs… and I think my focus has been surprising and maybe even disappointing. But, we didn’t get here overnight. And we won’t see it turn around overnight. So, my hope and prayer is that the three girls growing up in my home will be like Corrie Ten Boom, Lottie Moon, Elizabeth Elliot, and a host of other women who followed Jesus when others didn’t.

You see I am convinced that our country needs men and women who will hide people in their homes to save their lives from the Nazis, who will walk away from a fiance who wouldn’t go to the mission field, or who would go back and share the gospel with the man who killed their husband… It’s those kind of people that can change the world… and it’s those kind of Christians that I believe God has called all of us to be.

So, the aim of my home, my heart, and my preaching is to build up a church that will still be here if things really fell apart… now I don’t want them to fall apart, and I’m not trying to say that I think it will fall apart to that degree… but I am going to do what I can to root and ground my life, my home and your life in Christ in such a way that we cannot be shaken.

Why? Because…

God’s peace comes with a promise of a better country… a heavenly one.

Hebrews 11:1–16 (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Resting in God’s peace means that you live by faith, die in faith, and press forward to the city God has prepared for those who are His.

You know I have seen and heard over the last few years people wishing that Paul could write a letter to America…. But I want to remind you that Paul didn’t write his letters… I know his hand held the pen- but the Lord wrote these words… and God said in Hebrews 11:16 that he isn’t ashamed of those who die in faith…

Listen, if you want to know what it looks like to rest in peace… Resting in peace is to live by faith, press forward to the city that God has prepared for those who are his, and to die in faith.

Resting in peace is going through each day with a commitment to die in faith, and to die in faith you have to live by faith, and living by faith is to trust God and find your refuge in him.

So, who should you vote for? Vote for the one that allows you to stay at peace with God. You should pray about it. Man, if you haven’t prayed about it, but are googling, YouTubing, Facebooking, Twittering (I know it’s X), Gramming, Snapchatting, Tik-Tokking, etc… you are going about this wrong.

The issues are available, you can do all the pros and cons you want… and there are some significant differences in policies, long-term goals, and some differences in morality- especially when it comes to abortion.

Pray about it. Pray about which candidate from President down to the local elections give us the best chance at a future that fits what God wants. And, after you cast your vote, press on toward the future that God has prepared for us… rest in your identity as a sojourner, stranger, and exile in this world because you belong to a greater kingdom and city.

Do what God told Israel to do when they were in captivity… Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV)

7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

You life here will go as the city, county, state, and country go… and as God told them in Jeremiah 29:11, he has plans for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you… and the promise of Hebrews of 11 is that the plans of God are more than we will experience here! And praise God that even the best days here are nothing in comparison to eternity!

Our country doesn’t need revival because of the political situation… our country is simply filled with people are lost, without hope because they reject Christ, and bound for hell. Praying for them without sharing the gospel with them is like a missionary moving to another country and then praying daily for God to bring someone to share the gospel with the people around him.

We need to find the posture and heart of Isaiah…He cried out with anguish over his sin and the sin of the people around him.

Isaiah 6:1–8 (ESV)

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

God cleansed him of his sin and then called out for someone to go to the sinners… Isaiah responded with “Here I am! Send me.”

And, we seem to think that we can get right with God, and then when God says whom shall I send, and who will go for us… we cry out- God bring them to a worship service…

But God didn’t call us to go invite people to a worship service… there’s nothing wrong with, and God uses it… But God called us to make disciples and bring them with us to worship and grow with in our faith and life for God.

Which is where Paul takes the readiness of the peace… on one peace is about our peace with God, and on the other hand it’s about being ready and laced up to take the gospel to those who are without Christ, hope, and bound for hell.

Running with the gospel to our neighbors and the nations

The readiness of the gospel of peace serves as the foundation for our lives… and it’s also the peace that we are called to take to those who are lost around us.

We are ambassadors for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:11–21 (ESV)

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Runners have beautiful feet!

Romans 10:9–15 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Bringing this home for us…

Being salt and light requires resting in the peace of God.

Absolutely be engaged..

Be a part of it

Some need to run for office…

But, be engaged as an ambassador for Christ… but you can’t be salt and you can’t be light unless you are walking with Christ. This is true for students, adults, seniors, etc.

6:8

1:8

Peace with God is the result of the reconciling work of Christ

Absolutely amazing! What Christ has done for us!

How beautiful are your feet?

Do they look like you have been running… get some callouses this week

Add dying in faith to your commitment to live by faith

It hits different to think about dying in faith as opposed to living by faith… living can be pushed off until tomorrow… but dying brings each day into focus…