BASIC MILITARY TRAINING FOR THE BELIEVER (11)
We now come to our feet, that need these special shoes that God has made available for us.. Eph. 6:15 NKJV and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Col. 3:15 NLT And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts
PASSION Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One,
MESSAGE Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other,
There has sure never been a year like 2020 in our lifetime, and if ever we need peace it is now.
There are two aspects to Peace
- PEACE WITH GOD Col.1;20 NKJV having made peace through the blood of His cross Paul says in Rom.5:1 NKJV Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We will never forget the day when we experienced 1 John 1:9 NKJV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The AMP.N.T. tells us that Jesus is (true to His own nature and promises). The peace of God flooded our hearts, and we knew we were now in right relationship with God.
2. PEACE OF GOD
Phil. 4:7 NKJV the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
1 Cor. 14:33 NKJV For God is not the author of confusion but of peace
Now we have the peace of God that came when we were born again, we must seek to maintain this peace, even in the midst of trouble and worry, it is still possible to have peace.
It is interesting that Paul relates peace to our feet, WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE WALKING, I will not move move an inch unless the umpire of peace confirms it to my heart.
We need to note this peace is both VERTICAL with God and HORIZONTAL with man. WE must leant to keep short accounts with both God and man, the Psalmist tells us “if we have sin in our hearts God will not hear us”, we must regularly ask the Lord to “search our hearts” and seek His forgiveness and cleansing. Equally we must work hard at keeping in right relationship with our brother.
If you do not have this peace on your feet you will stumble and fall.
The enemies of the Romans would set traps to seek to cause the Roman soldiers to stumble and fall, and the word “wiles” in Eph..6:11 NKJV wiles of the devil has the picture of the enemy putting out his foot and causing us to stumble and fall.
This simple piece of armour can easily be neglected , to our severe distress, as it can render every other piece ineffective. Without peace you will “walk” in the dark and in confusion and just go round and round in circles exposing your back which is not covered with armour.
So what do we need to do?
As Peace gives direction to our feet:
We must “walk in the Light of the Word of God and our conscience and (no unconfessed sin) 1 John 1:7 NKJV But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
We must also learn to allow the peace of God to be a guide for our direction.
Seek the wisdom and counsel of a Mentor
Do you remember this old hymn?
Once I thought I walked with Jesus,
Yet such changeful feelings had:
Sometimes trusting, sometimes doubting,
Sometimes joyful, sometimes sad.
CHORUS:
Oh, the peace my Saviour gives –
Peace I never knew before!
And my way has brighter grown
Since I learned to trust Him more.
But He called me closer to Him,
Bade my doubts and fears all cease,
And when I had fully yielded,
Filled my soul with perfect peace.
Now I’m trusting every moment –
Nothing less can be enough,
And my Saviour bears me gently
O’er the places once so rough.
LET US WALK WITH PEACE AND BE AT PEACE WITH GOD AND MAN.
