Warrior - Shoes of Peace
Today, we are in the 6th Sermon of our Warrior Series, focusing on Spiritual Warfare from Ephesians 6. If you have missed any of the sermons, I encourage you to go back and watch the sermons you may have missed.
When I was a child, I loved getting a new pair of shoes. Because the bones in my legs were turning, I walked on the inside of my shoes and wore out the inside soles faster than the outside – and it always felt like I ran a little awkwardly. But when I would put on a new pair of shoes – I felt a spring in my step, a cushion when I walked – and it felt like I could run ten times faster than I could in my old shoes. I would take off running outside, and stare down at my new shoes running so fast to make them blur. I felt like I could run faster, jump farther, and change direction more easily.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT2)
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Like many kids back in the Seventies and Eighties, I had one pair of shoes at a time for my growing feet. It didn’t matter what I was doing or where I was going; I had one pair of shoes to do it in. I wore the same shoes with dress pants, shorts, jeans, playing kickball, fishing, hunting, to go to school, and for PE.
My dad was an abusive alcoholic, we lived off of food stamps, we had a family with 6 children, and shoes were expensive. So, when the treads on the shoes started flapping before my feet grew out of the shoes, my mom would take my shoes to the little country shoe store, and Ms. Dill would hot glue the treads of my shoe together. The only time we got new shoes is when our feet had grown so much that our toes poked out.
As the Apostle Paul describes the shoes that Warriors are supposed to wear, it is important to understand first that…
THE SHOES HAVE BEEN PAID FOR, BUT YOU MUST PUT THEM ON. (Rom. 5:8, Eph. 2:8-10, Rom. 10:9)
The shoes you see on my feet right now are not the only shoes I have on. I actually have two pairs of shoes on my feet. These worn-out, $30 Under Armor running shoes are worn in, comfortable, and I have had them for at least five years. But the other pair of shoes, are shoes of Peace. They were given to me when I surrendered my life to Jesus and received Christ as my Savior.
I have been wearing these shoes of peace since 1991 when I was saved, born again, forgiven for my sin, and made new. You can’t see them – but I wear them every single day. You can’t buy these shoes. You can’t tithe for these shoes. You can’t earn these shoes by doing good works. The only way to put on these shoes is by repenting of your sin, and surrendering your life to Jesus, and by receiving Him as your Savior.
Earlier in the book of Ephesians Paul said…
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT2)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
You and I cannot earn forgiveness for our sin. We can’t love other people enough to be forgiven for our sin. We can’t distribute enough food to hungry people to be forgiven for our sin. We can’t give enough money to pay off our mortgage enough to be forgiven for our sin. We can’t care enough for people in the Western Carolinas. There is NOT one thing you and I can do to earn forgiveness for our sin from God. All we can do is accept forgiveness, we cannot earn it.
God loves us, and he has forgiven our sin, because Jesus has already paid the price for our sin and given forgiveness to us.
Romans 5:8 (NLT2)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
You can’t put on the Armor of God unless you first invite Jesus to be your Lord. You can’t be a Warrior for God, if you aren’t a soldier of God. And you can’t be a soldier, unless you are part of God’s family. The Bible is very clear on how a person can receive forgiveness for their sin and become a follower of Jesus:
Romans 10:9 (NLT2)
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
So – confess. Confess that you are a sinner. Confess you can’t earn forgiveness. Confess Jesus is LORD. Repent of your sin. Receive Jesus as your Savior. You can do this right now:
God, I confess I am a sinner, and I can’t earn forgiveness for my sin. But I understand I can be forgiven for my sin, if I repent and turn toward you. So, I do. I repent and confess that Jesus paid the price for my sin on the cross – and I receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
I am so glad that YOU chose to put on the Shoes of Peace. So, when I was younger I had one pair of shoes for all occasions - but now that I'm older, I have boots, tennis shoes, golf shoes, black dress shoes, brown dress shoes, Jordans, Adidas, and Chuck Taylor’s. I have specific shoes, for specific events. And, if you are a woman, you have shoes to match every shade of color in the world. If you are going to spend all day shopping, you will want to wear comfortable shoes. If you are going to spend the day playing golf, you will wear shoes for the greens. If you are going to be dressed up in a suit, you will most likely wear dress shoes. We all have felt the pain in our feet at the end of the day, and we wish we had put on different shoes that morning.
In order for you and I to stand firm in spiritual warfare, we are told to wear specific items for war. In this passage, we are told to wear:
The Belt of Truth
The Body Armor of God’s Righteousness
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
The Sword of the Spirit.
The belt, armor, shield, helmet, sword…these all support this idea that we are entering a conflict, a battle, and a war. The first five pieces of armor make sense in battle, but the sixth—"Shoes of Peace"—stands out as unusual…
If we are in a war, why would we put on shoes of peace? Shouldn’t we put on COMBAT BOOTS? Why would we put on shoes of peace? Why is that? It’s because…
PEACE MOVES US FORWARD IN MISSION
We read through this passage and think – I am ready to FIGHT! We get inspired to FIGHT the enemy, put on the armor, and use the weapons…The mission for the Warrior is not COMBAT! The Mission is not to fight. The Mission is determined by the type of shoes that God has placed on our feet. He didn’t put Combat boots on us because our purpose is not to be combative. Our mission in Spiritual Warfare is to bring PEACE.
Now, some followers of Jesus are mistaken and think they are supposed to be combative and confrontational with others. But they are wrong. Followers of Jesus wear Shoes of Peace because our mission is not just to fight battles and engage in warfare but to bring the peace of Jesus into enemy-occupied territory. We are not fighting to prove we are right. We are not fighting for a victory. We are moving forward in our mission because we are compelled to bring PEACE.
When you became a follower of Jesus, you became a Warrior assigned to bring peace to the world around you. Paul ties this mission of peace into our salvation in 2 Corinthians 5.
RESURRECTION POWER SENDS US TO BRING PEACE TO OTHERS. (2 Cor. 5:17-20)
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (NLT2)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
God has given us the task of reconciling people to Him. This means, the whole purpose of spiritual warfare is to spread the life-changing message of Jesus to the world around us. He wants us to be known as Peace bringers, not fighters. He has equipped us with the Shoes of Peace that come from the Gospel because he wants you, engaged in spiritual warfare, to bring the life-changing message of Jesus to others. You and I have been set free from sin, so that we can help set others free from sin too. And because we wear Shoes of Peace, that is why we are launching a new Saturday night service in April.
We are not launching this service because we need another option for people who already go to church. We are launching this service because there are people in this city who need Jesus, but Sunday morning is not an option for them. There are workers in the hospitality industry, restaurant servers, grocery store clerks, hotel staff, and emergency responders who cannot be here on a Sunday morning. There are young families juggling sports, school, and weekend shifts, and they need a place where they can encounter Jesus without the weight of their schedules keeping them away.
There are thousands of people in Myrtle Beach who are completely disconnected from church, not because they do not want to come, but because no one has invited them into a time that works for them. Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.”
The harvest is not the problem. The lost are everywhere. The problem is whether we will show up and do something about it. And let me be really clear: this is not just another service—this is a mission. This is a beachhead in enemy territory. This is an opportunity to take back ground the enemy has claimed.
And now, I am asking you—will you step up? Will you get in the fight? Because,we cannot do this without you.
If you serve on a team, I am asking you to consider shifting to Saturday night for six months to help us build momentum. If you are not serving anywhere yet, this is your moment to jump in.
We need kids team members to pour into children who will walk through our doors for the first time. We need First Impression teams to welcome every person. We need prayer team who will cover this service and every person in it. We need worship team members, tech teams, production teams, life group leaders, and people willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And we need people who are willing to personally invite the lost, the disconnected, and the searching to come and experience the peace that only Jesus can bring.
There are people in this city who need to hear the Gospel—but will they?There are people in this city whose lives could change forever—but will they? That depends on us.
We wear Shoes of Peace, and that means we do not sit back and hope people find their way here on their own. We go. We serve. We invite. We make it impossible for them to miss it.
Will you step forward? Will you be part of this? Will you help carry the Gospel into enemy-occupied territory? Because this is what spiritual warfare looks like - not just standing your ground, but taking ground back. You have been set free, so you can help set others free.
Let’s do this together.