Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 7

                                                         Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – 7

Subject – Our Feet Fitted and Ready

By Rick Welborne

Ephesians 6:10-15 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³  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.
¹⁴  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
¹⁵  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

--So far, we have looked at the belt of truth (Jesus is the Truth) and we have looked at the breastplate of righteousness…tonight we will look at your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

1. Get ready…get ready!

Ephesians 6:15 (NIV) ¹⁵  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:15 (NLT) ¹⁵  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

Ephesians 6:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

--Just in case you have not caught this yet…Paul is talking about being intentional…readiness & fully prepared.

--If you will have readiness, if you will be fully prepared, if you will have preparation, if you will be ready… it will be because you intended for that to happen. You…you…you put on the full armor of God.

--Yes, you can live a life of reaction, conformity, or independence but, if you do, you will not be ready for battle. You must be intentional about winning this battle…you must do your part!

Gordon Maxwell – A Roman soldier wore thick leather boots and would take and drive nails thru the soles to act as spikes like a cleat or a golfing shoe. This gave him more traction, a good foothold, and a good foundation to stand and fight the enemy. This way, no matter how the enemy pushed the soldier, he could not be pushed back, he could not be moved. 

Barnes – With the shoes were added greaves that were fitted to the legs, and designed to defend them from any danger. These greaves were made of brass and were used universally by the Greeks and Romans. 

Adam’s Clarke’s Commentary – The greaves were deemed of essential importance in the ancient armor because if the feet or legs are materially (significantly) wounded, a man can neither stand to resist his foe, pursue him if vanquished, nor flee from him should he have the worst of the fight.

--The point here is this: our feet and legs are vitally important to be able to stand and hold your place when you are in battle. Ask any athlete who has an injured foot or leg. In sports we call them our wheels.

--J. Vernon McGee says we can’t pick and choose the parts of the armor we want…we need it all. Neither can we pick the parts of the Bible we like and forget the rest…all of it is important.

--You see, Christ is our Belt of Truth, He is our Breastplate of Righteousness, and He is the foundation on which our feet get prepared for the gospel of peace. Christ equips us for battle. 

--Our weapons are not carnal because Christ is not carnal:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NKJV)
³  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
⁵  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
⁶  and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

2. We fight the battle to win peace.

--As I meditated on Eph. 6:15 it hit me that the purpose for war or for being engaged in battle is to get to a place of peace…we are fighting a spiritual battle but our goal is peace. 

--You may be in a battle for the souls of your prodigals, a battle in your heart after a broken relationship, a battle to see someone healed…our goal is for peace from the struggle whatever it might be.

Hebrews 12:12-15 (NLT)
¹²  So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.
¹³  Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
¹⁴  Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
¹⁵  Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 

--Wow! Work at living in peace with everyone…what would happen if the church, the country, or the world would live by this…How different is this compared to a religion that calls everyone else infidels. 

--There is something special about people who bring peace to people and to situations. I love what the Apostle Paul says about this:

Romans 10:15 (NKJV)
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!" 

--Our feet should be geared or shod for war but our feet should be running to spread peace to everyone we can. This is not just for missionaries but for all of us. We could use a “Beautiful Feet” ministry!

3. Our feet must be planted on a solid foundation.

1 Corinthians 3:9-13 (NKJV)
⁹  For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
¹⁰  According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
¹¹  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
¹²  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
¹³  each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

--Feet having a good foundation is so very important…this is why whether it is for battle or for sports…the right shoes are so necessary. Most of you women think they are just for a fashion statement…heeled!

--Verse 11 tells us again that it is Jesus Who is our foundation and the way it is worded is that He is the only foundation for us as believers…no other foundation can anyone lay than that of Jesus Christ.

Tyler Edwards - “God doesn't expect us to be a walking encyclopedia of biblical knowledge. He wants us to know Him, to be in a relationship with Him. This means not only hearing but allowing our understanding of God to change the way we live. Like the wise builder who laid the foundation of his house on the rock, we learn to let our knowledge of God change us.”

--I believe this has been said before but let me reiterate…it matters how we live when we walk this Christian life and it especially matters when we are engaging in spiritual warfare.

--When we live in such a way that the world cannot distinguish whether we are true followers in Christ and when we live in ways that are contrary to God’s Word…we have no reason to believe for victory in battle.

--When we enter spiritual warfare (for the believer that means getting out of bed) we must give great attention to our feet being planted in something stronger than we are…planted on the Rock Christ Jesus!

--So what this means is that spiritual warfare starts today and getting ready starts today…we must be intentional in all we do…what actions are you going to take today to be prepared for battle?

--I suggest that you put on the full armor of God every day out loud and that you build on that proclamation each day.

--Once I have prayed these declarations I pray for my wife, my children, my siblings, friends with marriage problems, the sick, the hurting and so on…then, I pray in Holy Spirit! I am intentional!

Andrena Sawyer - “When it comes to purpose and preparation, most of us want to skip the preparation part and get right to purpose, which is why we don't always get to truly enjoy and walk in our purpose. Don't despise the discomfort in preparation. It's the set-up for a firm foundation. Preparation ultimately ensures that we don't squander purpose.” 

--The Roman soldier was always going thru rigorous training to get him ready for battle. The constant preparation and detail to their weapons made them so successful.

--Of course, the same is true for us…we must be trained (our word is disciple) and we must put on the full armor of God so that we can stand when we are in the heat of the battle. Watch for the word stand!

Ephesians 6:10-15 (NIV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
¹¹  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
¹²  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand (to hold up under – to defy – to resist – to hold out) your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
¹⁴  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

--Having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace in an enabling ability to stand in the middle of battle.