Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 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, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

• The first thing that comes to mind when we think of sandals and a soldier would be that the two really do not go together.  Sandals do not usually provide a lot of protection to one’s feet.  They can easily slip off and many do not have straps around the back of one’s heel.  But the sandals the Roman soldier were not flimsy sandals.  They were a sign of readiness for marching and to do battle.  The Roman sandals were made with nails that gripped the ground firmly even when the ground sloped or was slippery.  The sign of a Christian soldier is also readiness to go as the Lord directs and be a witness for the Lord.  Wherever the Christian soldier’s feet take him, he/she should be ready to share the gospel that can firmly ground a world reeling under the weight of sin and desperation in a world in much need.

Matthew 28:19-20 – “Go thereforeand make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 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.”

Romans 1:16 – “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.”

• An old adage says:  Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.  Don’t walk in from of me, I may not follow.  Just walk beside me and be my friend.
• The French Foreign Legion’s motto:  “If I stumble, help me.  If I fall, pick me up.  If I retreat, shoot me.”

I am not advocating that we shoot our brother or sister if they fall into sin.  But we need to realize if we turn back from serving God we are spiritually dead.  No one has shot us, but just the same we are dead.

2 Peter 3:14-18 – “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.  You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.”

• What actually is the gospel of peace?   When you became a Christian, the peace you experienced came as a result of the peace of God that flooded your soul.   That is the peace you are to transmit to others.  The gospel is not witnessed by brow beating,damning someone to hell or shoving the Bible down someone’s throat.  The Gospel is shared best with a healthy dose of humility and a quiet and peaceful spirit.
• Our principle warfare is not against our circumstances or opposition from people who seem to stand in the way of our progress.  Our true enemy must be identified and then assaulted with the spiritual weapons at our disposal.  Your neighbor, boss, husband, wife, children, mother-in-law are not the reason you may be having a tough time serving the Lord.  Instead of getting upset with them, use your God given authority against the real culprit, the devil. 
• Satan wants you and me to think that telling others the Good News is a worthless and hopeless task.   He wants you to think the task is just too great and all the negative response are too much to handle.  But God has given us power, along with the command, to charge forward with the message of salvation.
• Remember the weapons of this spiritual warfare are both defensive and offensive.  We stand firm on the Word of God.   We fight this war on our feet.

Romans 10:14-17 – “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:  ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

• Remember this:  It is not your task to make someone repent.  It is only your task to be a witness.  He is the Lord of the harvest and He knows how to reap the grain.   

Isaiah 6:6-8 – “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”