1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:05,120 Today we're going to be talking about the shoes of Gospel peace. 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,600 So just kind of a reminder where we're at here. 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,160 So we're in Ephesians chapter 6. We're at the very end of 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:17,560 Ephesians and the first several chapters, about 3 chapters of 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,400 Ephesians is pretty heavy on theology getting, getting the 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,640 foundation of of our beliefs correct. 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,760 And then chapters four and five in the first half of chapter 6 8 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:33,360 are really focused on application, how that truth 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,680 impacts our lives. And then this, this kind of 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,280 ending spot that Paul has as he's talking to the church and 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,720 Ephesus is he's reminding them, knowing that there is spiritual 12 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,240 warfare, something that we can forget about sometimes, but 13 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,880 there is a spiritual realm. Battles are being waged and, and 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,200 we are a part of that. He encourages them to put on the 15 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,080 armor of God and, and it's a call to action. 16 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,920 And, and, and you kind of have this imagery. 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,560 Oh, there we go. There's some Roman armor right 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,880 there. Can we check in the I think the 19 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,760 cursor is anybody in the back the is the cursor on the screen. 20 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,680 That's probably there it goes. OK, yeah, we have kind of 21 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,640 imagery of the Roman armor. We're talking about the shoes 22 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,040 today and and this is going to be our our kind of title. 23 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,720 Our theme for today is that we we have to have the right shoes 24 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,800 on the shoes of gospel peace. So that's where we are going to 25 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,760 be for today. So first, before we jump into 26 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,000 our passage, as I like to do, we're going to kind of form some 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,720 little discussion groups and we're going to have some 28 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,720 questions as we go throughout. So if you can kind of find maybe 29 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:52,120 4 ish 5:00-ish people around you and, and find a little group you 30 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,080 may, you know, introduce yourselves or if you know each 31 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,360 other already, give each other a hug and then we'll get jumping 32 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,280 into our passage. So find those little groups real 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,160 quick. That'll work. 34 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:09,800 All right, so we're going to start by just going ahead and 35 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,480 reading the full passage. And then we will we'll we'll 36 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,840 focus in on our verse for today. And so starting in verse 10, if 37 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,960 you've got your Bibles, we're in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10, 38 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,680 it says finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his 39 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,320 might. Put on the whole armor of God, 40 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,840 that you might be able to stand against the schemes of the 41 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,200 devil. For we do not wrestle against 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,320 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 43 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,480 against the cosmic powers, over this present darkness, against 44 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,000 the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,920 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be 46 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,480 able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to 47 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,960 stand firm. Stand, therefore, having 48 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,480 fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the 49 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,680 breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,840 having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in 51 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,440 all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you 52 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,120 can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil. 1 and 53 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,240 probably a few slides behind. I forgot about that part. 54 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,160 All right, there we go, and take the helmet of salvation in the 55 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,560 sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all 56 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,160 times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. 57 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,560 To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making 58 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:30,240 supplication for all the Saints and also for me that words may 59 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,040 be given to me in my in the opening of my mouth boldly to 60 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,200 proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an 61 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,440 ambassador in chains that I might declare it boldly as I 62 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,760 ought to speak. So there's there's the whole 63 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:48,160 passage, but we're going to focus in today on verse 15 and 64 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,960 it says and as shoes for your feet, having put on the 65 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:56,400 readiness given by the gospel of peace. 66 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,440 So we're going to we're going to kind of take this verse 67 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,680 backwards a little bit. I want to focus in on what we 68 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,400 mean by gospel of peace. And then we're going to circle 69 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,720 back and and figure out what what we're talking about with 70 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,400 shoes here, being ready with the right shoes. 71 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:18,040 And so we're going to we're going to focus in on Gospel 72 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,640 peace. So with that, got a question for 73 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,000 your groups. Take a minute and answer this 74 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,440 simple but profound question. What is the gospel? 75 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,640 So let's take maybe 2 minutes. Talk it as your group, and we'll 76 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:40,520 we'll circle back. All right, All right, let's 77 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,200 circle back up. So what did what came up in our 78 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,200 groups? What is the gospel? 79 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:52,480 Yeah, that's some good stuff. Anybody else have something to 80 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,960 add? Yeah, Blueprint about how to go 81 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:56,920 about your life. Yeah. 82 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,760 So we talked about good news. So good news is kind of the 83 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,360 literal translation of the word. It means good news. 84 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,720 But then what is the good news? We talked about what Jesus did, 85 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,240 a way to salvation, a way out of sin, a blueprint for our lives. 86 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,320 And so I think those are all good answers. 87 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:18,200 And you know, it's easy for us sometimes to go, OK, gospel of 88 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,600 peace gospel. We got that part down, so let's 89 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,080 move on. But I think it is good for us to 90 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,880 to sometimes focus in on that. There's a, there's a quote often 91 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,520 attributed to a guy, Jerry Bridges, that says we got to 92 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:36,720 teach ourselves the gospel every day. 93 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,520 We got to preach it to ourselves day in, day out so that we don't 94 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,120 forget what it is. And so that's what we're going 95 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,240 to do to start. We're going to get into what is 96 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:51,560 the gospel and kind of a framework that's helpful for me. 97 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,200 And there are, I think there are a lot of ways we can go about 98 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,360 going through the gospel. Some of us are familiar with the 99 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,920 Romans Rd. There's Ephesians 2 one through 100 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:02,920 10, which is just a little bit earlier in here. 101 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,280 This is a way that I found particularly helpful for myself 102 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,960 when when talking with people that don't know the gospel of 103 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,560 reminding ourselves what it is. And so it's the gospel and five 104 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,040 questions. We're going to go through these 105 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,640 one at a time. And so the first one is who is 106 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,680 God? We start with who is God? 107 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,040 So God is the creator of all things. 108 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,440 We get that right from the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 109 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,800 11. He is the first of all things 110 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,400 and he created all things and He's been there for all of time, 111 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:34,880 really doesn't have any beginning. 112 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,560 I like this verse in First Timothy 117. 113 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,040 It says to the king of the ages. So this is glorifying God, 114 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,760 immortal, invisible, the only God to be honor and glory 115 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:48,920 forever and ever. Amen. 116 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,320 He is the ultimate thing in there we have. 117 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:54,160 He is immortal before all time, invisible. 118 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,200 He got his spirit. He is the only God. 119 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,920 And so there aren't many gods, there is just one God. 120 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:08,200 He is also to be honored and we place him above all things and 121 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,800 we give him glory forever and ever. 122 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:15,520 He's perfect, He's holy, He's set apart, he is an other than 123 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,600 us. He's deserving of all praise. 124 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,000 And so I think as we get into the gospel, we've got to start 125 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,680 with who is God and, and having an awe of who God is and that he 126 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,960 is perfect and holy, set apart from us. 127 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:30,680 And then that would take us to the second question. 128 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,600 So if if we know who God is, then who is man? 129 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:40,240 Man is the the first, the preeminent of all creation, the 130 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:47,440 head of the created beings. We see this in Genesis 1/22/26 131 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,560 to 27. Then God said, let us make man 132 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,520 in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over 133 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:55,800 the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over 134 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,320 the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping 135 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,000 thing that creeps on the earth. So man was created separate from 136 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,480 the rest of creation with the image of God. 137 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,160 And there's some important things that come from that. 138 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,000 That's where we get the fact that that human life has 139 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,520 inherent value. It's made in the image of God. 140 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,320 We know that man was created with a special relationship with 141 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,800 God that was apart from the rest of creation in the garden. 142 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,760 This was a perfect relationship. We know the fall comes. 143 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:28,200 We're going to get to that in a moment. 144 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,559 We also have here I passed over here the ended that so God 145 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,280 created man in his own image, the image of God. 146 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,159 He created him male and female. He created them. 147 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,720 We also have Psalm 84. What is man that you are mindful 148 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,840 of him and the Son of man that you care for him. 149 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,240 This idea that again there is a special place that man holds in 150 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,680 the created order. We were made to worship and to 151 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,040 glorify God through this right relationship with God. 152 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:56,960 When we're in the right relationship with God, that 153 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,800 brings him ultimate glory through this relationship that 154 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:04,920 he's created with us. So we know who God is, who's 155 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,920 man, Then we can ask ourselves what happened between them. 156 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,040 Why are God and man no longer in this right relationship? 157 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:18,920 We know the fall at Genesis 2 and three there is this through 158 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:23,160 Adam, sin enters the world through disobedience, the aid of 159 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,120 the tree they were, they were told not to. 160 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,200 And from them we have the seed of sin that goes on. 161 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,440 We have what we commonly call the fall that we fell away from 162 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,280 this relationship. If you want to go ahead and turn 163 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:40,560 to Romans 5, we're going to have a verse here on this next next 164 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:42,480 point. But we're going to spend a good 165 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:45,680 bit of time at the beginning of chapter 5 here throughout our 166 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,520 time this morning. So we're going to start with 167 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:55,600 Romans 512 to 14. And that says therefore, just as 168 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:00,040 sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, 169 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,920 and so death spread to all men, because all sin, for sin indeed 170 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,720 was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not 171 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,040 counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to 172 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:17,080 Moses even over those over who's sinning was not like the 173 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:21,240 transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 174 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,760 So we have this idea of original sin, the fact that the sin in 175 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:30,240 the garden prevails to all men, that we have a sin nature. 176 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,720 And I think it's interesting, you know, when sharing the 177 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,120 gospel with most people, there are some who would claim to be 178 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,120 without sin. But you know, as important as 179 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,480 original sin is, even if that weren't a piece of the puzzle, 180 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,320 which it most definitely is, we ourselves can look at our lives 181 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,040 and see countless sins that we've made against God. 182 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,000 So if God is perfect and holy, man has fallen away from that 183 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,960 relationship and we need perfection to get back to God. 184 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:58,760 Even if it weren't for original sin, we couldn't get there. 185 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,560 But that sin nature is very prevalent in US. 186 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,200 And we can see in Scripture that it's no surprise that there is 187 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,880 sin in the world. That tells us that there is sin 188 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,560 in the world, that sin is all over our hearts. 189 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:14,080 And so we know that when we look at God, man, what's happened 190 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,680 between them, we find ourselves with this chasm between God and 191 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,560 man. And that's where the next 192 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,000 question comes in, who is Jesus? What did he do? 193 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,680 What's what's up with Jesus? And so we can, there's several 194 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,640 places as far as answering who is Jesus in Scripture. 195 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:33,040 One of my favorites to go to is Philippians 2 five through 11. 196 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,680 So I'm going to read that. It says, Have this mind among 197 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,840 yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was 198 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,280 in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing 199 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,440 to be grasped, But he emptied himself by taking the form of a 200 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,480 servant. Being born in the likeness of 201 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,240 man, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by 202 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:57,520 becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 203 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,480 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name 204 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,000 that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus. 205 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,800 Every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the 206 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,760 earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the 207 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,120 glory of the Father. Amen. 208 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,560 That's good stuff there. So we know that Jesus is God. 209 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:19,160 He's the four, it says, in the form of God. 210 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,520 He did not count equality with God if Him to be grasped. 211 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,200 Meaning he humbled himself to come to earth to take on the 212 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,600 form of a servant, which was not what was expected of him right 213 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,520 there. The expectation was that he 214 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,200 would come as this conquering king, a political or military 215 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:37,200 figure, but he came as a servant. 216 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,440 He died for our sins. Really we can see it. 217 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:46,160 As you know, God came in flesh. God wrapped himself in flesh to 218 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:49,880 come to pay the price for our sins so that there could be this 219 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,760 fix between in this chasm between God and man through the 220 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,320 blood of Jesus. Back in Romans 5 where we're at, 221 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:01,160 we're going to read at verses 6 to 11 that says while we were 222 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,120 still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 223 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:09,000 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps 224 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,920 for a good person one would dare even to die. 225 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,720 But God shows His love for us in that while we were still 226 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,320 sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now 227 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,080 been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by 228 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,760 Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we 229 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,360 were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more now 230 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,760 that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. 231 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,920 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus 232 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,120 Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 233 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:48,160 So a lot there, but we know that through the sacrifice that 234 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:52,440 Christ made on the cross that we have a bridge between US and 235 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:53,920 God. We have peace with God, which is 236 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,040 where we're going to get to in a minute. 237 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,920 So 5th question. So we have who is God, who is 238 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:02,640 man? What happened between them, who 239 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,520 is Jesus? And then really what does that 240 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:09,960 mean for us? And so here we can see that 241 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,440 Romans 9 or 10, nine and 10 says, because if you confess 242 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,920 with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart 243 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,120 that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. 244 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,240 For with the heart 1 believes and is justified, and with the 245 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:29,400 mouth 1 confesses and is saved. And so we find this free gift of 246 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,200 God, this grace that we get, that Jesus earned righteousness 247 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,960 for our sake by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. 248 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,680 And, and really, as we look at the totality of Scripture, we 249 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,920 see it's about repentance. It's about that we turn away 250 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,080 from our sins. We confess Jesus as Lord and he 251 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,280 then through his power and his works, not through our own do we 252 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:53,360 walk in godliness, not through our own power do we save 253 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:58,760 ourselves, but through his. And so in that we get to this 254 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:05,760 part about peace with God. And so Romans 5, one through 5, 255 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,480 if we're still there, I'll read this verse here. 256 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:14,080 It says, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we 257 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,440 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 258 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,760 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into 259 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,560 his grace which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory 260 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,120 of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in 261 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,120 our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and 262 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,520 endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope 263 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:38,240 does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into 264 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,680 our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 265 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,880 That's good stuff there. So we see that we have this 266 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:48,320 peace before God. So we're going to, we're going 267 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,280 to talk about this. But first I've got a question 268 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:53,000 for you. It's kind of a two-part 269 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,680 question. So I'll give you guys about four 270 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:59,000 or five minutes to discuss this. But first, what is peace from a 271 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,600 biblical perspective? And then two, how might this 272 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,200 differ from how the world defines peace? 273 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,120 So we see through the gospel that we've just talked about 274 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,160 reminded ourselves of, we have peace with God. 275 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,520 What does that mean? And might how might that differ 276 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:15,880 from how the world defines peace? 277 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,360 So let's take a few minutes in our groups and then we'll we'll 278 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:25,200 discuss that. All right, what are some things 279 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,600 that we came up for? Maybe let's start with what is 280 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:32,640 what is peace from a biblical? Yes, yeah, yeah. 281 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,960 So, so biblical peace we have inside us. 282 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,440 It's it's not about the external. 283 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:40,960 Whereas, yeah, worldly peace is often very much about the 284 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,120 external. What what else do we have? 285 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:48,960 Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So we have reliance on Jesus 286 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,160 taking away that where we have a lack of sin. 287 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,880 Anything else? I think, you know, there there's 288 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,600 really two kind of concepts of peace that are biblical, that 289 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,920 are both there and are both very much true. 290 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,359 We've talked some about this internal peace, right? 291 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,880 So, so when we have this right relationship with God, there is 292 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:13,720 this internal peace that we can be, you know, calm inside, 293 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,040 trusting and relying on God despite all of the things 294 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,079 happening around us. And that is an absolute blessing 295 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:23,560 that we receive from salvation. We also, I think really what 296 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:30,280 what Paul is getting to here in in Romans 5 is ultimately peace 297 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,400 with God is the absence of his wrath. 298 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,560 It's that we were once, you know, by nature, children of 299 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,920 wrath as as Paul says in Ephesians 2. 300 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,760 And then, you know, once we've taken, you know, he's poured 301 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,000 that wrath out on Christ and now we're at peace with God. 302 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,760 We don't have this impending wrath coming to us once we have 303 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,400 salvation. And yeah, that differs from the 304 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,640 world because because the world says, you know, yeah, it's about 305 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:59,720 everything around you. And, you know, we can find all 306 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,520 of these different ideas of how we can find peace. 307 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,320 I mean, throughout human history, there's so many 308 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,600 different, you know, types of, of governing that have been 309 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,680 tried or, or types of communities or different things 310 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,080 to try to reach some sort of utopian society where there's a 311 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,240 lack of conflict. Now, it's, it's not as if these 312 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,240 things are completely separate. I do think the biblical concept 313 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,560 of peace, there's some common grace there where where, you 314 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,560 know, even a lot of humanity strives to find, you know, a 315 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:32,800 lack of, of conflict, which can be certainly a godly thing, But 316 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,760 if taken out of its place in Scripture, we have to see this 317 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,240 peace with God comes after our salvation. 318 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:43,800 And sometimes when we think about even sharing the gospel, 319 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,080 there's some hard conversations that have to be had sometimes. 320 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,120 And some, I think oftentimes we can say, well, we don't want to 321 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,280 cause any trouble. We don't want to stir things up. 322 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,880 We don't want there to be a lack of peace in a relationship we 323 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,720 have. And so we kind of hide behind 324 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,880 that to avoid being appropriately bold and sharing 325 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,160 the gospel. And there's certainly a tension 326 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,280 there that I think we as believers feel. 327 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,240 And it probably takes us to a place of conscience to where 328 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,320 where we figure out exactly when and where to be bold and we seek 329 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,240 discernment there. Or when and where do believers, 330 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,120 you know, find themselves in the midst of things like conflict 331 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,080 and war? And that's not necessarily where 332 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:25,320 we're going today. I just wanted to point out 333 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,760 there's there's, there can be conflict there a little bit of 334 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,000 tension as we work that out as believers. 335 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,560 But we can see ultimate peace, you know, comes from salvation 336 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,440 where we no longer have the wrath of God pointed at us. 337 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,240 And then we have this calm internal peace where we can 338 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,680 trust in God despite really challenging situations. 339 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:47,360 So those were that was some good discussion. 340 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:49,920 I really appreciate that. We're going to for a moment, 341 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,160 head back to the verses that we just talked about and just break 342 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:58,360 this down really briefly before we we we finish off with that 343 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,760 with the shoes aspect of this. So we see in five one, it says, 344 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,920 therefore, since we've been justified by faith, we have 345 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,680 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 346 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:07,960 So something to remember there is. 347 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,640 Ultimately, peace with God is found through the gospel. 348 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,640 It's found through our justification, our our where we 349 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,840 are made right, legally declared right before God through the 350 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,440 sacrifice of Christ. That's where peace comes from. 351 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:26,000 Verse 2 says through him we have also obtained access by faith 352 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,800 into the grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of 353 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,560 the glory of God. And so this talks about, you 354 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,600 know, this grace won by Christ puts us in this new place before 355 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,360 God where we were no longer, you know, we were children of wrath. 356 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:46,840 Now we're children of God. And so it's Christ his sacrifice 357 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,160 that allows us to be in that position. 358 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,040 And then the last few verses, they're starting in verse 3. 359 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,920 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that 360 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,040 suffering during character produces hope. 361 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,360 And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has 362 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,520 been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has 363 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,040 been given to us. And so this this points us right 364 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,160 back to spiritual warfare where we're headed with the armor of 365 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,160 God. There is going to be suffering 366 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,480 that comes, but we can recognize that that suffering has a 367 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,680 purpose. We can rejoice in that. 368 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:23,040 And maybe that doesn't mean that we are having a lot of fun about 369 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,160 it, but we can see with joy that's apart from our 370 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,320 circumstances. We can see that through these 371 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,320 challenging situations going on in our life that God is 372 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,400 sanctifying us, refining us, and pointing us to be more like Him. 373 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,280 And that there will be a day in heaven when we can look back and 374 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,720 see that for what it is. And that'll be a joyful day, 375 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,960 even though it can be challenging to find joy in that 376 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,200 now. So as a summary of the gospel of 377 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,080 peace, what is the gospel of peace? 378 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,880 It tells us who God is. It tells us how great and 379 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,760 awesome he is. It tells us who we are and, and, 380 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,720 and who we are apart from sin at first. 381 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:07,760 It tells us that we are in this special relationship created 382 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:12,920 with inherent value by God, but that sin separates us from him. 383 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,360 And it tells us about Jesus who saves us from that sin that 384 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,240 bridges the chasm between God and man that sin has created. 385 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:27,280 It calls us to repentance daily. That's the walk of of a 386 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,240 Christian. We are justified by our 387 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,280 repentance. And then we repent and repent 388 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,200 and repent as we're sanctified. And then it puts us in a 389 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,280 position of peace before God where we are no longer an object 390 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,600 of his wrath. So that's the gospel of peace. 391 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,960 So that leaves us with we we have to have the shoes aspect 392 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,200 here. What are we talking about with 393 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,320 shoes in battle here? So fitting in with the armor of 394 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,520 God. So here these are and I am going 395 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,400 to butcher this because I don't speak Latin, but these shoes are 396 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,720 called calige. Does anybody know how to 397 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,840 actually say that? No, I'm going to take that as a 398 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:13,000 no, but that's these these are this is an image of what these 399 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,880 shoes supposedly looked like. Something to notice here is, you 400 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,440 know, this is kind of before the medieval ages where you would 401 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,880 have armored shoes in the sense that the shoe was designed to, 402 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,640 you know, stop you from being stabbed or cut by something. 403 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:33,800 The main point of the shoes is to to have the right traction 404 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,960 that you need for battle, to have the right footing that you 405 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,320 need for battle. I think probably all of us have 406 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:44,040 experienced a time when we've had the wrong footwear on for a 407 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,400 particular activity. If you're trying to play 408 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,920 football and flip flops, or if you are trying to hike your 409 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,280 church shoes or something, you feel it a little bit right. 410 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,520 You don't have the traction that you need. 411 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,160 You don't have the support that you need. 412 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:02,920 And so in order to be effective, you have to have the right 413 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,280 footwear on for the job, to have the right foundation, the right 414 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,680 traction to do the job. So we're as a lot of the pieces 415 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,600 of the armor of God are about protection against those. 416 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,560 Yeah, the thrust in, the swipes of the sword, all of that. 417 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:20,840 The shoes are about having the footing in order to to do any of 418 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,560 that. And so as we think about this 419 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,120 concept of being grounded, kind of an encouragement for us as we 420 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:32,520 go from here, first I would say you have to be grounded in the 421 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:34,320 gospel. So we talked about this gospel 422 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:35,920 of peace. You've got to be grounded in 423 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,400 that in order to have the right the right footing and so of many 424 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:41,800 places we could go to in Scripture. 425 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,400 This is Jeremiah 17 eight God Speaking of what a righteous man 426 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,880 would be, which a Jeremiah's time was a scarce commodity, but 427 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,880 it says he is like a tree planted by water that sends out 428 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,200 its roots by the stream. He does not fear when heat comes 429 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:00,000 for its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of 430 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,840 drought or it does not cease to bear fruit. 431 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,440 So basically, when we're grounded in the right things, we 432 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,920 can weather the storms that are going on. 433 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,800 We're not, you know, we're not overly concerned when the heat 434 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,560 comes on, when things get difficult. 435 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,160 We've got our footing in the right place in this gospel of 436 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,920 peace. Second one, we need to have a 437 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:22,880 solid foundation, the right support. 438 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,800 I think about, you know, if you're trying to play a sport 439 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,280 that requires a lot of quick movement side to side if you're 440 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,560 not wearing shoes with the right supports, you feel it for sure 441 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,240 you break your ankles says do your best. 442 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,920 This is second Timothy 2:15. Do your best to present yourself 443 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,160 to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, 444 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,480 rightly handling the word of truth. 445 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,720 This calls us to do exactly what we're doing today, which is 446 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:53,280 study God's word, know his word, know the gospel of peace so that 447 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,880 we're not ashamed of that and that we know how to correctly 448 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,040 handle the word of truth. Which takes us straight into 449 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,800 this next one, which is we have to be ready to guard against 450 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,600 false teaching. And this comes up several times 451 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,480 in Philippians, all over Paul's letters. 452 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,680 We know there's going to be false teaching, and we've got to 453 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:13,880 be ready for that. If we are grounded in the gospel 454 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,320 of peace, we're going to recognize false teaching for 455 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,160 what it is and be able to defend against that. 456 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,760 Second Timothy 4/3 For the time is coming when people will not 457 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,840 endure sound teaching but have itching ears. 458 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,240 They will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit 459 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,840 their own passions. Man, we see this all over the 460 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,160 place. It it comes, it disguises itself 461 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,040 as sometimes as Christianity where it's a version of 462 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:41,480 Christianity where we just take the easy parts and we don't 463 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,800 listen to the hard parts. Or sometimes it's when we 464 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,880 overemphasize the hard parts and we don't lean on God's grace. 465 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:49,840 We make it really, really legalistic. 466 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:55,480 It could, it could go both ways. We can also see it with other 467 00:26:55,480 --> 00:27:01,280 religions and where often times there are key pieces of, you 468 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:06,600 know, human passion or or confusion where another religion 469 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,440 tries to say, oh, I have an answer for that. 470 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,520 You can think of Eastern religions where it's all about 471 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,800 enlightenment, all about knowing, you know, IA human can 472 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,440 get to a point where they understand completely the 473 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,080 universe. We can see it even in the 474 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,600 theology of of our LDS neighbors where there's a lot of emphasis 475 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,360 put on exactly defining what comes in the next life and, and, 476 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:30,400 and where the people we know will fit into that. 477 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,880 Because sometimes we can as Christians go with our itching 478 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,160 ears, We can go, man, I would really like to understand 479 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,400 exactly how all of that works a little bit better. 480 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,200 But that doesn't call us to go away from Scripture to go find 481 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:47,480 answers to those questions. And then this is a verse that 482 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,760 we've probably all heard, and it's a good one to remind 483 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,600 ourselves of first Peter 315. It reminds us that we have to be 484 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,760 ready to defend. We have to be in that stance, 485 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,600 ready to defend the faith. But in your heart's honor, 486 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,840 Christ the Lord is holy, always being prepared to make a defense 487 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,440 to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in 488 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,000 you. And we don't need to read the 489 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 rest of that, right? Because that's the easy part. 490 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,760 Now, if that's the challenging part, right, that we have to do 491 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:17,080 it with gentleness and respect, we can't forget that piece of 492 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,200 this. And hey, I mean, that's even 493 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,320 talking about peace that those are that's a good spot for us to 494 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:28,080 ponder upon as as we leave here, as we think about this during 495 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,480 the week, is how do we balance gentleness and respect? 496 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,360 But recognizing that that talking about the gospel can 497 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,680 bring up conflict, we, we have to find a way to do those 498 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:39,680 things. And we can see a lot of example 499 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,320 in scripture of how they go about doing that. 500 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,760 And I can tell you that the the answer is not do nothing. 501 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:49,000 We have to seek discernment, to find the right situations, to be 502 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,160 bold and doing that. So in summary, right, we have to 503 00:28:54,160 --> 00:29:00,040 have the right shoes on if we're going to stand firm in spiritual 504 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,480 warfare, if we're going to be able to use all of these other 505 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,440 pieces of the armor. You know, we can't use the sword 506 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:09,160 of truth very well if our footing is not firm. 507 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,680 And so we've got to have the right shoes on the gospel of 508 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,040 peace. And so as we finish our time 509 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,480 last five minutes here, I want you guys in your groups and 510 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,280 we're not going to come back together to discuss this. 511 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,680 I want you guys just to have a conversation in your groups of 512 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,360 how can we take what we've discussed today and apply it to 513 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,080 our lives this week? Let's get practical. 514 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,720 What is it about the Scripture we've looked at today, the 515 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,880 concept we've looked at today with the gospel of peace that we 516 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,920 can use in our lives this week to have better footing as we 517 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,000 seek to fight that battle of spiritual warfare? 518 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,400 So let's have that conversation and I'll finish this off in 519 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:43,200 prayer here in a few.