THE ARMOR OF GOD: Gospel of Peace

Isaiah 52:7–12 NIV

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

INTRODUCTION

Someone once said:

I got on my bathroom scale this morning, and let me tell you, the full armor of God is heavy! (P)

The good news is, as we have been discussing, the armor of God is an illustration of the spiritual armor God gives us, concepts like truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God, gifts that help us in our faith walk, especially as we consider this spiritual warfare we are in with Satan. So it is extremely beneficial, and I would even say critical, but it adds no physical weight to you whatsoever.

The bad news is that, because of this, you can’t blame this armor in the morning if you don’t like what the scale says. (P)

When we conclude this morning, we will be exactly halfway through this series on the armor of God, as Paul describes in Ephesians 6.

Now, the entire description is found in verses 10-20, but for this morning, let me reread just verses 13-17. This is where you hear the actual pieces and what they represent. That’s what I want us to review right now. {CLICK}

Ephesians 6:13–17 NIV

Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. {CLICK} Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, {CLICK} and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. {CLICK} In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. {CLICK} Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We started with the belt of truth - which is foundational. The truth contains just that - the truth about everything from God - the truth about sin, the truth about Jesus, the truth about salvation.

We learn that truth by studying scripture, and we said that, just like a police officer who has virtually everything he or she needs for their job right there on their belt, so, too, does the belt of truth help us to be prepared for everything faith-related, especially distinguishing between what is and is not from God, and sharing God and His truth with others. But we have to study to know it and to be prepared. (P)

One of the bits of truth we learn is what righteousness is, what we talked about last week, which is knowing and doing the right things. And we must face the dismal truth that no one is completely righteous; so we depend on Jesus to declare us innocent, to purify us from that sin, made possible only by Him taking on the penalty for our sin on the cross, and that’s why the believer has a chance of salvation. Salvation is central to all of this, which is why some hints of it appear in every message. But we will really break that down in a few weeks when we get to the helmet. (P)

So far, this waist belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness have revealed to us two pieces of defensive armor - pieces that protect us.

Today, we look at the first piece of offensive armor, that is, pieces that help us launch our attack.

Ironically enough, the first piece of “attack armor” we discuss is this special pair of armored shoes that remind us of the gospel of peace - two very important words. (P)

Now peace is a word that has carried great importance in both the Old and New Testaments, and, as it turns out, so is gospel - though the Israelites didn’t know it yet in the days of their Babylonian exile. But Isaiah, though he used different words, would be one of the main prophets to introduce this idea to them.

In fact, as you probably remember, it was Isaiah who first mentioned this in his ever-famous Christmas prophecy: {CLICK}

Isaiah 9:6 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

-Indeed, a fitting introduction to the gospel, which means good news, a concept we will hear a lot about today.

It was because of this special identity of Jesus that the angels could give the shepherds such glad tidings when He was finally born in Bethlehem. {CLICK}

Luke 2:14 NIV

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

(P)

And so, the only thing left to figure out was what exactly this peace would mean.

Sure, by and large, peace means what we have come to expect it to mean. But even Jesus said there would be times when it would be more complicated than that. Remember what Jesus told His disciples on the other side of His life on the night before His death in: {CLICK}

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

(P)

The world says it is okay with an imperfect version of peace right now, immediately, with an apparent cessation of fighting and conflict, even though we all know that isn’t possible because man’s hearts are not poised for that. (P)

Jesus, instead, is working us through the process toward the most perfect peace one could ever imagine, with hints of it along the way, despite the turmoil we must work through to get to that place. (P)

So when we think of the peace of Christ, we have to think of the armored shoes, implying some of that turmoil along the way, that represent the gospel of peace, and today we consider what that means. (P)

As we did with the word righteousness last week when we explored the breastplate, it helps to look at the word peace in its original Biblical language - the Old Testament Hebrew, which is Shalom, and the New Testament Greek, which is eirēnē.

While there are slight variations between the Hebrew and Greek in meaning, largely because the New Testament version covers the peace we find in Christ, the general definitions are pretty much the same. And as I list these, you will notice I have them at the top of your notes because we will then use some of these to break down the components of this peace.

And like last week, this is from Vine’s Bible Dictionary - because these definitions come straight from those Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek: {CLICK}

Harmonious relationships between people

Harmony between nations

Friendliness

Freedom from molestation (which is ANY kind of unwanted physical contact or intrusion]

{CLICK}

Sense of order (state or church)

Harmonized relationships between God and man, accomplished through the gospel

Sense of rest and contentment

(P)

There is a significant correlation between the peace of Christ, the gospel of peace Paul talks about, and the prophetic hope of peace the Israelites received from Isaiah during their time in exile, hundreds of years before.

How so?

Because if there was anyone that needed that hope as much as, if not more than, us in the 21st century, it was these Israelites who had gone through judge after judge, king after king, and prophet after prophet without seeming to learn any important lessons in their attitude towards God and the way they were to honor them with their lives.

And after repeated warnings and chances, God concluded that the only thing that would get their attention would be this time in exile. They had been pulled from their homes, Jerusalem ransacked, and if you aren’t sure how bad it was, check out the book of Naaman sometime, still almost a century after this exile, and see the work that still had to be done to rebuild that city, particularly the temple. It was a disastrous mess. (P)

The Israelites were ready to go home; they were living anything but peace, and they needed a little bit of that.

And so, these writings of Isaiah's 52nd chapter provide an incredible example of four important components of this very special peace we find in the armor of God, and that’s what we’re going to work through before exploring how we can apply this to our setting today. {CLICK}

1. Peace is Sharing Good News.

Now, as we consider molestation as I described it before, it would certainly be an accurate word for what the Israelites were facing. Perhaps even some of the really bad kind- I don’t know for sure- but just being disturbed by the Babylonians by having that unwanted invasion on their land, and now they are being forced to go somewhere else for some unknown amount of time.

So, as the definitions for peace suggest, to have someone care enough- the harmony and friendship aspect of peace - to bring them good news of hope, particularly the hope of deliverance and a return home, would certainly be an ounce of real peace in their turmoil - not to mention - a relief from this “molestation,” as the definition also suggests.

I would say this would have been a welcome thing.

In fact, it would be so welcome that it is described in what many of us may see as a very bizarre way in verse 7 of our Isaiah text. {CLICK}

Isaiah 52:7 NIV

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

{CLICK}

Feet? Beautiful? (P)

I can only imagine some of the stories podiatrists share when they go home from work, some of the things they see with people’s feet.

Many of us are self-conscious about our own feet, and we discuss it all the time as we approach our Love Feasts, and the prospect of having someone wash our feet is not comfortable for many of us for that reason.

Beauty is certainly not a word we typically associate with feet.

Yet, that is exactly how the feet of the messengers of that day were described. And as we’ve spoken before about how their feet would have been, having to walk everywhere, dirty streets, animal-dropping paved paths, and none of the fancy fully-feet-covered shoes we have today...to call them beautiful says a lot.

It speaks of the turmoil they were going through and the hunger they had for an ounce of good news. And then when you think of the good news Isaiah said would be shared in verse 7 - salvation and this word focus for today - peace, words that probably would have meant more to them than they ever did to any of us because of what they were going through - indeed, the feet bringing those messages must have been quite beautiful. (P)

Secondly: {CLICK}

2. Peace is Teamwork.

Again, consider the harmonious relationships and friendliness between people as definitions for both the Hebrew and Greek understandings of peace.

How does that play out in today’s Isaiah 52 text? (P)

Verse 8 starts by saying: {CLICK}

Isaiah 52:8 NIV

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy.

(P)

Together is such an important word, isn’t it?

What are the watchmen doing together? Worshipping?

Well, yes, that’s certainly part of it, and we will see that again shortly. But that’s not all, because what did we just get done talking about in verse 7 - passing along Good News to a large population of people who really needed that.

And also, consider this world watchmen - where else do we see this concept? (P)

Look at the opening verses of Ezekiel 33, where it talks about watchmen, their responsibilities, and the dangers of them not doing their job. We will talk more about that part of it in a second when we get to number 3...

But watchman comes from the Hebrew word, Nasar, which defines that role as being one who keeps watch, guards, and protects.

Watchmen would, among other things:

Protect fields of crops during harvest season,

Build huts or other structures to provide protection from the elements.

Perhaps the most common understanding is that they would build watch towers and man those towers for observation,

They would warn people of incoming danger, so you can imagine what the consequences would be when they were negligent in their work. (P)

A lot of bad things would happen if watchmen withheld important messages they were to deliver to their people, good news and bad. (P)

The proclamation Isaiah is making in the first part of verse 8, continuing on this notion of sharing Good News, is that the watchmen are sharing that good news together...they were doing their job. (P)

And how powerful and effective that is...how much can be accomplished in the realm of togetherness.

We are very familiar with the power of togetherness here at Codorus, from several angles.

From a work standpoint, how many times do we see announcements asking for help with different events, and we see the very familiar sentence: Many hands make for light work? And we see that in action. My favorite is Christmas in Loganville - in moving furniture out of the rooms and back in - a job that should take hours, can often be done within an hour, two tops, with the help we usually have… and that’s just one of several examples.

From a courage standpoint - I’ve told you before how much I dislike being down here after dark - with the lights on! I find it very creepy sometimes. But come here when the youth are having a lock-in, and they’re playing hide-and-seek with the lights off at midnight, doesn’t bother me at all.

And we’ll talk about the power of worshipping together in a moment. (P)

But togetherness is key - together these watchmen would bring the Good News that meant so much to the nation of Israel, understanding that the alternative could be devastating, and that’s what number 3 is about: {CLICK}

3. Peace is Preparing Others.

Again, the idea of having enough harmony among people and love for one another, and care for one another, that they would want others to have all the good news, and all the fair warnings...is a beautiful and powerful example of peace. (P)

Paul asks a very fair question in Romans 10 and verse 14: {CLICK}

Romans 10:14 NIV

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

(P) {CLICK}

Interestingly enough, Paul goes on in verse 15 to reiterate what has become a familiar theme for today:

Romans 10:15 NIV

And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

(P) {CLICK}

And as with anything else, when we hear something that much, we might want to start paying attention.

What happens when we don’t use these special armored shoes? (P)

I mentioned Ezekiel 33 - the watchman has a big responsibility for other people. Those who did not issue the appropriate warnings of the dangers that were coming to the city put their people in serious jeopardy, and so the consequences would be great for the negligent...just as they are for people today who are not properly preparing others for the dangers of rejecting Christ, and not issuing proper warnings for unrepentant sin. (P)

It seems so easy to spread bad news and get people interested in that, but for some reason, life-saving news doesn’t come so easily.

We all remember September 11 - one of those days you will always remember what you were doing when the news broke, and how it changed your day, as many of you, if you were able, were glued to your TV.

I was still in college, the first plane hit just before our chapel was to start at 9 AM, so the prayer request, based on broken information before chapel began, was for a small plane that crashed into the World Trade Center.

By the time chapel was over, the updated prayer request was that two big planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.

As we left the chapel hall and worked through the lobby, the President of the college was out there talking quite loudly to a colleague that one of the towers had collapsed.

The way this news had been presented throughout the morning had made it so that everyone wanted to get to a TV so they could see for themselves with their own eyes what was going on, and naturally, not much else in the way of classes occurred the rest of the day. (P)

A nation of Israel, exiled, losing hope, would want some big positive news to change the tone. And now a dual message from Isaiah that the return to Jerusalem was near, and now talk of a Messiah that would come and offer eternal hope for all people of all time, in which none of this misery would ever happen again. (P)

And in the last half of verse 8, Isaiah promises that this glorious day will happen in such a way that everyone will see it for themselves. {CLICK}

Isaiah 52:8 NIV

When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

But how many people will see it after it’s too late - after they have lived a life of rejecting this Messiah?

How can the good news of Jesus Christ be spread, the way CNN and FOX News share their news, in a way that makes people want to see the glory of God with their own eyes today? (P)

Perhaps much of the answer is in number 4: {CLICK}

4. Peace is Worshipping Together.

—helping people fulfill the definition of peace that says they are pursuing that harmonious relationship with God, while we use our harmonious relationship as brothers and sisters to worship Him together. (P)

Verse 9 of our text says: {CLICK}

Isaiah 52:9 NIV

Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

(P)

I love that word burst - it implies a sense of spontaneity. Like you realize in any random moment of your routine day that ours is a God worthy to be praised, and it doesn’t have to happen at some calculated, scheduled time, and so you just stop and do it right there on the spot. (P)

You hear it again in Psalm 98: {CLICK}

Psalm 98:4–6 NIV

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; {CLICK} make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, {CLICK} with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

{CLICK}

So, burst is a powerful word, but the words together and all the world are significant, also. It’s not just one random person here and there who has lost his or her mind in worshipping a fairy-tale being, as the world likes to throw out there on YouTube and Facebook posts.

We worship together because together we have seen the work of God. The entire Earth, for as long as the Earth has been in existence, has worshipped God. And that worship has lasted that long because the evidence, just through what God has done and the way He works, is abundant of His reality and His work, and above all, His love that was about to be displayed in His Son that made the people in Isaiah’s day hopeful.

And we remain hopeful and joyful today because we know He has died, risen again, and now awaits with us the glorious day of His return, when all His people will be brought to a place of eternal, perfect paradise.

And that’s why we worship together, and I think we often underestimate how powerful our genuine, corporate worship is.

-When Sunday after Sunday we gather in this room as brothers and sisters in Christ and sing together, even if we don’t particularly like one of the songs.

-When together, we welcome the folks who come through our doors in a way that makes them interested in learning more about God here in this place.

-When people give of their already busy day to offer a helping hand in the events we have that help people in their relationship with Christ - MomCo being one of many examples, willing to watch a large group of energetic children so some moms desperately needing time with God and with each other can have that...and unless you’re one of those moms, you have no idea the impact that has.

But when we do all of these powerful acts of worship together because we are serious about our vision of being love, light, and living water to a world starving for Christ, I hope you can all see the power your involvement in this church has had and will continue to have as long as our eyes remain focused on Him.

In Isaiah’s day, yes, the nation of Israel had messed up together, as people tend to do - every single one of us. But now God was offering two promises of hope in a return of the people to their home, and the arrival of His Son into their lives, and for people who were as much in despair as they were, it made them want to do nothing but burst into joyful worship together. (P)

CONCLUSION

So as we fast forward the clock some 2500 years from this dreadful time in Israel’s history, what does it look like when the church of 2026 takes these lessons and applies them to its work in a world also in need of the hope and peace of Christ - AKA, the gospel of peace - the armored shoes we discuss today? (P)

You know, there is something about all of this that terrifies me, and we got a glimpse of it and spoke briefly of it when we looked at that last half of verse 8 in this Isaiah text.

Remember, Isaiah said: {CLICK}

Isaiah 52:8 NIV

When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

Part of what they are going to see is the salvation of God. And later, when John the Baptist was doing his work of preparing the people for Jesus’ ministry, he said something similar: {CLICK}

Luke 3:6 NIV

And all people will see God’s salvation.

(P)

Notice what Isaiah and Luke don’t say. They don’t say that all people will be saved. They say that all people will see God’s salvation; they will see God come onto the scene at just the right time, and everyone will witness the process of God coming, judging and assigning people to their eternal destiny. They will certainly see some people receive that salvation. But will they be one of the recipients?

And that will be determined by whether or not Jesus had become their Savior. (P)

The question that remains for the watchmen of today - AKA you, me, and all other Christians who’ve been charged with the continuation of the Great Commission of Matthew 28 is simply this:

Do we care?

Do we care enough about people, having the peace of Christ, the harmony with our brothers and sisters around the world, that it affects us in a heartbreaking way to know that some will miss out on the paradise and glory of God’s Kingdom? (P)

We can’t make anyone decide on faith, but do we care enough to give them all the information they need to make an informed and life-changing decision? (P)

Regardless of how many warts, broken toenails, crooked toes, and scaly heels we have, will people call our feet beautiful because we brought them the good news of Christ?

Will we continue to care enough about one another, as we have done so well so far, to continue to work as a team here at Codorus, so that no single person in the church has to feel they are the only one with beautiful feet? It is always so much more powerful, we are so much more productive, and it gives us so much more courage to do this tough work when we do it together as a collective body of believers.

Are we prepared to prepare others for what is in store? Judgment day is coming when the sheep and goats of Matthew 25 will be separated by those who lived for Christ and those who didn’t - in short, those who accepted Christ as their Savior and genuinely lived that life and those who had no interest in that whatsoever. Are we, like the watchmen of Ezekiel 33 and Isaiah 52, giving people the good news of Christ, and when necessary, lovingly warning them when they are headed in a dangerous and ungodly direction? We will talk more about this with future pieces of armor.

And finally, is our worship, especially as we do so together, making obvious our love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ? Do people see the joy in us when we speak of, sing about, and give praise to our great God in Heaven? (P)

These things combined showcase peace at its finest, when God’s people use their beautiful, armed feet, to ensure that the gospel of peace gets to as many people as possible, because we care about them, enough to want them to have a harmonious relationship with God, and we want them to experience the perfect rest and contentment of God’s Kingdom - three of the most powerful definitions of peace both the Old and New Testaments give us.

So with that said, how beautiful are your feet today?