Food
for Thought: The
Shoes to Proclaim the Gospel of Peace
...and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from
the gospel of peace.
Dr. Mark Ruppert
October 5, 2003
Isaiah 52:7
Ephesians 6:10-17
A person's shoes can make all the difference in the world. Put
on a pair of shoes that are too small or too large or not the right
fit or too elevated (now you know I'm talking to your women who
wear those real high heal shoes with the skinny heal), the bottom
line is if your shoes don't fit, you have problems. I don't know
about you but buying a pair of shoes can be quit an experience.
Look at all the different styles and types of shoes we have today.
There are tennis shoes, basketball shoes, golf shoes, jogging shoes,
hiking shoes, cross training shoes, dress shoes, casual shoes,
football shoes, soccer shoes, wrestling shoes. There are shoes
for hikers, shoes for fishing, shoes for wading, shoes for climbing,
bedroom slippers. There are lip-flops, Oxfords, slingbacks, wingtips,
loafers, pumps, clogs, stiletto heels, sandals, scuffs, cowboy
boots and, have I exhausted all the shoes? Probably not, but you
get the point.
We Americans are literally inundated with different types of
shoes. Not to mention that promoting a particular shoe can
bring quit
a financial jackpot. Just ask Labron James, the high school phenom
who will be playing for our Cleveland Cavaliers this fall and
who landed a $90 million contract with Nike. And this poor
guy, pun
intended, hasn't even made a point in the NBA. Where else but
in America. Do you realize that following the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863,
thousands of Union troops ended up flat on their backs in general
hospitals scattered throughout the North. Most hadn't been shot.
Neither were many of these men sick or exhausted. Many of them,
however, were sidelined from the battle-sometimes for months;
some destined to even lose part or all of their legs-simply
because
of improperly manufactured or poorly fitted shoes. And so wearing
the proper shoes can be very important. This morning we continue in our series as we look to the man and
woman of God and the spiritual armor that is necessary for us to
make it in this evil world. Our passage from Ephesians told about
the spiritual armor that Paul encourages the Christian to put on
in order to withstand the wiles of the devil, Satan, and his evil
forces. Paul also says in Ephesians 5:15-16, "Be careful then
how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most
of the time, for the days are evil." This morning we pay particular attention to the verse 15 where
Paul tells the believer to put on shoes to proclaim the gospel
of peace. As I have mentioned before, Paul is in prison when he
is writing this letter to the church at Ephesus. He is attached
to a Roman soldier 24/7 and he realizes that just as the Roman
soldier needs to wear certain armor to do battle, so the Christian
needs to wear certain spiritual armor to do battle against the
evil, spiritual forces of this present darkness. And so one part
of the spiritual armor that the believer needs is the shoes of
the gospel of peace.
Back in Paul's day the Roman soldier wore a certain kind of shoe
called the caligal, military boots, were an open-toed spiked shoe,
laced up past the ankles and were designed for long marches over
every kind of tough terrain. Just as the variety of shoes that
I mentioned earlier serve different purposes so the Roman soldier's
shoes served as an important piece or his equipment. The Roman
soldier walked everywhere he went and so taking care of his feet
was very important. It has been said that the attention given to
soldiers' boots was the secret of Roman Conquest. If his feet where
bruised or injured he could not walk or fight and so he would be
rendered useless. His spiked shoes were like today's golf spikes
or mountain climbing crampons. The Jewish historian Josephus described
them as "shoes thickly studded with sharp nails."
It was made in such a way to help the soldier stand his ground
and advance. His shoes provided much needed traction, whether it
was on shifting sands or slippery places, and since most of the
combat was hand-to-hand, being able to stand one's ground was crucial.
Armies would surge toward one another and be locked up in mortal
combat. And so a soldier could not afford to be pushed backwards.
He was to "stand his ground," he was to stand his ground
at all costs. He could not afford to be pushed back and he could
not afford to slip down or it was over. And the same is true for
the Christian. Our spiritual shoes are also made for traction-to
get us to the battle and then to tenaciously hold our ground for
the Lord. My friends, we live in an evil world and so having our
feet fitted with the Gospel of peace will allow us to stand against
the spiritual enemies of this world. It is easy for us to understand who Paul used the GOSPEL as the
image of a soldier's shoes. In today's world with the shifting sands of ideas and philosophies,
with relativism and a mindset by some that there are no truths,
the Gospel offers stability that cannot be found in the world.
In the recent edition of Christianity Today magazine there is an
article entitled; One Voice Among Many where it addresses the fact
that after 9/11, Christian seminaries are seeking to balance new
realities of a pluralistic religious culture with old truths of
the gospel. The article pointed out that "the greatest hurdle
to spreading the gospel is that of contemporary relativism and
its insidious and subtle encroachment into the Church." (Christianity
Today, October 2003, p. 129) That is why it is crucial that the
Christian put on the shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace. Without
the gospel shoes we are sure to stumble and fall. There are two things I want to stress today as to why it is imperative
for the believer to put on the Gospel shoes of peace. First, the Gospel Shoes prepare the believer for the tough times
in life. I don't know what you think but life can be difficult,
life can be tough, life can be down right brutal at times. We live
in a fallen world and if you happened to see the power point presentation
on Sunday, September 21 when we had our missionaries from the Congo
with us, Dr. Mike and Nancy Haninger, you saw how difficult life
can be for the people of the Congo. And yet, as Mike and Nancy
will attest, it is the faith of many of these people that keeps
them going, that gives them hope for tomorrow and their Christian
witness to Mike and Nancy has been profound as the people of the
Congo have taught them what it really means to put your faith in
Jesus Christ. These people wear those Gospel shoes 24/7 otherwise
they couldn't make it in life. You see, the Gospel gives us stability
and sure footing in life to meet the challenges and the trials.
When we wear the Gospel Shoes we can "march over the rough
terrain of life, over the mountain passes of excruciating pain,
through the deserts of fear and terror, without falling out." (The
Communicator's Commentary, Galatians, et. al., Maxie D. Dunnam,
p. 241) And there is something else that is important about wearing the
Gospel Shoes and that is we, you and I must be willing to carry
the gospel anywhere and everywhere. I really think that there in
the back of Paul's mind as he sat in prison, was the prophetic
words from the prophet Isaiah when he said in Isaiah 52:7, "How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who
announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" You see there is a missionary
spirit when we wear the Gospel Shoes, there is an evangelical zeal,
there is preparedness, a readiness, a willingness to carry the
gospel everywhere. My friends if the Roman soldier back in Paul's day did not wear
his shoes into battle he was, well, naked, he was incomplete
and he was vulnerable. Think of it this way, if you are going
to go
walking on the Toe Path or take a trail off the Toe Path are
you going to go barefoot? No, I don't want to hurt my tootsies.
If
I drop a glass in the kitchen like I did a while back, am I going
to go barefoot in the kitchen? No, I don't want to get a sliver
of glass in my foot. If you are barefoot there are going to be
places you just will not go, right? Well the same is true for
the Christian. Without prepared feet, without wearing the Gospel
shoes
how will others come to know this one we worship today? Luigi Tarisio was found dead one morning with hardly any comforts
at all in his home. But there were 246 exquisite violins, which
he had been collecting all his life. They were all crammed into
his attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. You see, in his great devotion to the violin, he had (are you
ready for this) robbed the world of all that music all the
time he treasured
them. Others before him had done the same, so that when the greatest
of his collection, a Stradivarius, was first played, it had been
speechless for 147 years. Now let me bring this illustration
home to us. How many of Christ's people are like the old Tarisio?
In
our love for the church we fail to share the glad tidings with
the world. In our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it.
When will we learn that the Good News needs not just to be
cherished,
but needs to be told. Friends, all people need to hear it. (James
Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc, 1988, p. 492) If we are Christ's then we must not walk through life in our bare
feet but we must put on the Gospel shoes of peace. Why? Because
there is hurting world out there where people are sick and hurting
and hungry to find real, abiding peace for their souls and it can
only come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what He has to
offer them. The Gospel of Christ is the news of peace in the midst
of war. That is why Isaiah proclaimed, "how beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news." Do we have on the shoes to proclaim
the Gospel of Peace?
Key Points
Isaiah 52:7
Ephesians 6:10-15
Introduction: Shoes can make all the difference in the world…
The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863
Put on the Shoes to Proclaim the Gospel of Peace
Roman soldier's shoes called caligal
Why it is imperative for the believer to put on the Gospel shoes
of peace?
First, the Gospel shoes prepare the believer for the _____ _____
of life
Second, you and I must be ________ to carry the Gospel
anywhere and everywhere Isaiah 52:7
If the Roman soldier did not wear his shoes into battle he was
naked, he was incomplete and he was _____________
As Christians we must not walk through life in our bare feet
Conclusion: Do we have on the shoes to proclaim the Gospel of Peace?
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
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