Armor of God part 7: "Ready Feet

``We know that we can have a peace that transcends human understanding, that we can have a peace that goes beyond anything that we can fathom or think in our own imagination. We can have that. That's a confident promise in the Word of God that is given to us as believers, that no matter what we're going through, no matter the circumstance, no matter what we see ahead of us, Jesus has promised that we can have peace in the storm, right? [00:07:49] (24 seconds)  #PeaceBeyondUnderstanding

It means that we are no longer at war with God. Simple. It's really simple. It means that the peace that Jesus came to bring was really reconciliation with the Father. It means that we're no longer at odds with Him, because the veil had been torn. Because of Jesus, when He resurrected, it has been torn. That separation that kept us from the Father has been torn, and now we have access to Him. We have access to the Father. That is the peace that we are no longer at odds with God. [00:08:22] (38 seconds)  #ReconciledWithTheFather

There is stability, stability that comes with preparation. There's stability. There is confidence that comes with preparing. And God is calling us, the church, the body of Christ, to be a prepared people. A prepared people that are getting ready. Just as the scripture, we read this morning in Revelation. It's like that bride that's coming for the banquet. You got to get ready on a bride's wedding day. Many of you know what that looks like. The hours that go in. The thought that go into her preparing for the day. Preparing for her to go down the aisle. The preparation and the thought that goes into it. The dress. The makeup. The hair. Everything is thoughtfully prepared. And God is saying, are you getting ready? Are you preparing? [00:14:54] (50 seconds)  #ReadyToHearAndAct

It's about being strategically prepared, knowing the climate, knowing what you're going into, and strapping up your sandals and preparing and saying, okay, I know, I know what kind of battle I'm going to be in. And because that's what we're talking about. This is Ephesians. Why are we putting on armor? Just for the heck of it? So we can walk around like with a bunch of armor and a head, a helmet and some shoes? No. It's because we are fighting a war. We are fighting a battle that is not against flesh and blood, but is against power. Powers and principalities of this dark world. We are in war. It may not be able to be seen in the physical, but it is happening absolutely in the spiritual realm. It is happening. And we must be awakened to that fact. [00:18:46] (43 seconds)  #TrustingGodInSimplicity

Sometimes I think we think a little bit too hard about things. Maybe we don't act because we think it has to be perfect. Or it has to be more strategic. But sometimes God is saying, just trust me. Trust me in the simple. Trust me. Trust me in the one thing that if you put me first, I will work out everything according to my will. [00:19:38] (22 seconds)  #EnduranceInFaithJourney

We see the disciples when in the time of Jesus, when he was with them, we see that, um, they were a little timid, right? We see that, um, sometimes they even, there was doubting Thomas. There was Peter who denied him. There were, they were in the presence of Jesus, yet they were like this. It wasn't until the resurrection and Jesus revealed himself that they became bold messengers for Christ. Bold messengers for Christ. It's because of the resurrection, the good news. Because if it had just been about his life and his death, what's the good news? What's the good news? That he was a good prophet, a good teacher, but it's because of the resurrection that we have the good news, the gospel of peace, the gospel of peace. [00:27:33] (52 seconds)  #VoiceForTheBody

But God is not, he's made me, he's given me a voice to, to share in this hour. He's given me a voice to, um, proclaim in this hour what it is for us to do as a body of Christ. And I always get emotional and I always, um, I always cry. Um, but there are tears of just joy and overwhelming. There's just, it just, just because of how good he is. But when you begin to realize when he begins to touch you in such a way and you've tasted and seen that he is good, you can't help, but just be overwhelmed. [00:29:50] (46 seconds)  #ModernDiscipleshipCall

We have freedom to dance. We have freedom to, to have our Bibles and in any type of translation that has been created. We have, um, bookstores and, and, and Amazon and things that we, we have at our fingertips. We have an abundance of resources that we can pull on. We have an abundance of, of the ability to, to have freedom here, but it's not like that in other places. And many of us know or are getting notice of what's happening across the world. What's happening in Nigeria, the persecution of Christians. There is a massacre happening to Christians. There's a genocide happening to believers for standing on their faith and for believing in God. And we, as the body of Christ need to recognize it. We need to recognize it because it might not be long before it's us. [00:32:36] (58 seconds)  #IntentionalGospelProclamation

This is the question that I leave with us today. It's a call to action. When was the last time you shared the gospel? Was somebody. When was the last time you shared your faith? When was the last time you shared what Jesus has done for you? How he picked you up and he turned you around. He faced your, he placed your feet on solid ground. [00:35:23] (26 seconds)

The modern church has grown into a culture of apathy. That's a state of not caring or indifference. We cannot have a culture of apathy. We cannot. We cannot be indifferent to what is happening in the world. We cannot be indifferent to what is happening, not just across the world, but in our nation and in our cities and in our communities. We cannot not care. We cannot look away. We cannot turn a blind eye. We have to press in. Right now, we have to press in and bring the shoes of peace, which is the gospel of peace, which is the reconciliation to the father. [00:35:48] (42 seconds)