One Sunday before church started, people were standing around the pews talking. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from the evil one. Soon everyone had exited the church except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seeming oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence.

Satan walked up to the old man and said, "Don't you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." "Aren't you afraid of me?" Satan asked. "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. "Don't you realize I can kill with a word?" Satan asked. "Don't doubt it for a minute," returned the old man, in an even tone. "Did you know that I could cause you profound, horrifying agony for all eternity?" persisted Satan. "Yep," was the calm reply. "And you're still not afraid?" asked Satan. "Nope," said the old man.

More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, "Well, why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for 44 years."

I know Satan is the subject of a lot of jokes, but the subject we've been talking about for the last few weeks is no laughing matter. Satan is not a joke; he is your enemy and he is on a mission to take you out. Everyday he engages us in a fierce battle. We better be equipped if we are to survive his vicious attacks. The theme of our series from Ephesians 6 is "Survivor." Be strong, be swift, be sure.

To survive this spiritual warfare against the forces of evil, you must wear the uniform that God provides. Every piece is important. Last week we looked at the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. The belt of truth helps us to live truthful lives and to know the truth. The breastplate reminds us that in Christ, we have already been made righteous; but each day we must practice a life of righteousness and holiness.

Today, we're going to look at the next two pieces of the uniform. Let's read verses 14-16. Today's message is called "Put on Your Shoes and Get Your Shield." Let's look at the shoes first.

The shoes represent the gospel of peace. Verse 15 says, "And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." You probably would not think of the shoes as being a vital part of the Roman soldier's armor. But they were extremely important. The boots had thick soles which were studded with pieces of metal. This particular type of shoe allowed the soldier to move quickly and provided sure footing. Historians note that Rome was able to conquer so much territory partially because the soldiers had adequate shoes.

What do shoes have to do with the spiritual battles we face each day? We need to be ready with the gospel of peace. But what does that mean? It sounds sort of vague. "Gospel of peace" does not refer to peace between two people or between two nations. It's talking about the peace that God produces in our hearts. We stand firm in battle, with peace in our hearts, because we know that God loves us, Christ forgives us, and that we have a secure home in heaven no matter what happens to us.

The opposite of peace is fear. One of the worst things you can do is engage in spiritual warfare with fear in your heart. Fear will paralyze you. It will keep you from taking decisive action. It will cloud your mind to the point that you can't make sound biblical decisions. Instead of fear, we need to face the devil with the calm assurance in our hearts that God is in control and that the devil has already been whipped.

When we wear the gospel shoes, we can face every battle with peace in our hearts. We can face persecution, relationship problems, school issues, family conflict, failing health, and even death with a sense of inner peace, the kind of peace that only God can provide, a supernatural peace.

A couple of the memorable treks Anita and I made on our trip to Hawaii several weeks ago was hiking through a rainforest and climbing Diamondhead. Although neither came close to what I would call a dangerous expedition, they certainly required proper shoes. We would never have made it wearing flip flops. The trip up Diamondhead was especially tough—parts of the hike were almost straight up. But once at the top—wow! The view was awesome, looking over the Pacific Ocean on one side and the rainforests on the other, the high rise buildings and hotels of Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. It was breathtaking.

The hike you're taking through life is filled with all sorts of challenges—a spot on your chest x-ray, an F on your algebra test, a broken down car, an unexpected bill, a call from the police department. All through our lives the pathways are filled with problems large and small. From the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you need the peace of God in your heart to see you through the daily challenges. Do you have that kind of peace? When you make it through the challenge, the view of the other side is awesome.

Before moving to the shield, let me give you three very practical ways you can be ready with the gospel of peace shoes. First, know that Jesus is your peace. You can't manufacture the peace you need in battle. It is supernatural. The Bible refers to it a "the peace that passes all understanding" (Phil. 4:7). Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When you accept Him into your heart, He gives you this peace. But you must appropriate it. In other words, the peace is available to you. You just have to claim it and apply it in your tough situations. When someone speaks in anger to you, you respond with gentleness. When someone criticizes you or insults you, Jesus helps you to respond with kindness.

Second, respond with peace when you face adversity. Some people are just bent on creating trouble. They live for it. They try to catch you off guard. They are always up for an argument. With this behavior, it gives them a sense of control. Do you know anyone like that? Are you sitting next to that person?

When you're wearing the gospel of peace shoes, you respond in ways that are just the opposite. You desire to take God's peace into every situation. You go into every appointment, every meeting, every classroom, and every home with the desire to bring the peace of God. With these shoes on you will have the confidence and courage to stand up, speak up, and take risks in your witness for Christ.

Third, share the gospel of peace with others. When others see the peace of God in your life, they will be more open to receive the peace of God in their lives. Boots are made for walking. Gospel boots are made for walking to tell others about Jesus. I think you will agree that most people don't have peace in their hearts. Their lives are one big stress fracture after another. Tell others about the peace God has given you. The Bible says, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'" (Isaiah 52:7)

Let me tell you one of the simplest ways to witness to someone. How many of you ate in a restaurant at least once last month? You did say the blessing at the table, didn't you? You should. Next time, after the waitress takes your order, say, "We're getting ready to give thanks for our food and wanted to know if we could pray for you. Is there anything you would like for us to pray about?" That very simple question can open up many doors for a positive witness for Christ. I do that frequently. I'm not good enough with my Spanish, however, to try it at La Fogata's.

Time's running out, so let me talk to you now about the other piece of uniform found in verse 16. It is the shield of faith. Verse 16 says, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In addition to the belt, the breastplate, and the shoes, you need to equip yourself with the shield. Take up suggests that the battle is imminent; so the urgency is great.

The Roman soldier used two types of shields. One was small and round. The soldier wore it on his arm for hand-to-hand conflict. The other was a large door model. This is the shield described in verse 16. It was covered with leather and sometimes with metal. It was large enough to cover most of the soldier's body. It was common for him to drench his shield with water in order to protect him from the fiery arrows of the enemy. When these arrows came, he would kneel low to the ground and cover himself with the shield.

When you go to fight the spiritual forces of evil, you need the door-sized shield. The little one is not what you need. The faith you need is not the faith that saved you. The faith you need is the day by day faith whereby you draw upon the power and promises of God to see you through. Faith does not possess some type of inherent power that protects you. Picture it like this. When Satan fires one of his arrows at you, faith puts you in direct connection with God, and He comes between you and the arrow to protect you. That's a pretty good deal.

There are two ways this shield works. First, it helps you with personal daily attacks. All through the day Satan messes with your mind. "You could be happier if you would walk out of your marriage. This other person cares about you more." The shield of faith blocks that dart and says, "No, my commitment to my mate is for a lifetime." Satan fires another shot: "Go ahead and buy that surround sound system. Put it on your credit card." Faith steps in and says, "I'm not going to be eaten up by the high interest monster."

Satan throws another one: "You're always going to have this health problem." The shield blocks it: "God is my healer, whether in this life or in death." Here comes another one: "You know that person is talking bad stuff behind your back. Give him a piece of your mind." Faith steps in: "I will be Christ-like even if others say bad stuff about me." Another one fires: "Click on that icon. You deserve to have a little sexual fantasy. No one will know." Put up the shield: "I want Jesus to be in charge of my thoughts."

Every day those flaming missiles will be shot in your direction. Get your shield of faith ready. If you don't block them with your shield, the fire will burn you up and put you in the position of disobeying the God who loves you and has saved you. Notice the word all. This shield of faith can block every single missile that the devil fires. Keep that shield handy all day long.

Second, the shield protects the church of Jesus Christ. Don't miss this. Have you ever noticed the worship chairs in The Pointe? They interlock so that they can stay properly aligned. If a row gets out of line, it's tough to straighten the whole row without separating them.

The shield of the Roman soldier was made so that it could interlock with another shield on both sides. In other words, the army could line up side-by-side with their shields interlocked and create a tremendous wall of defense. The army could crouch and advance to the front line of battle as a united team.

When tough times come to a church, the people of God need to lock their shields of faith together and say, "We will not let the evil one penetrate our family. We are one in vision, one in spirit, and one in mind. How dare Satan try to defeat us!"

There was a period last year when Satan attacked. We had to take a defensive stand with our shields of faith. And even though the battle was tough, the people of God here locked their shields of faith and said, "We will not be diverted from our vision of helping as many people as possible connect with God and become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ." As we came through that battle, I now sense that once again we have our shields locked together. But this time the church of Jesus Christ is moving forward into enemy territory and claiming the victory.

When the battles are over, I want to be standing firm and secure. I want Chapin Baptist to be standing firm and secure. We will as long as we use the shield of faith. So put on your shoes and get your shield.