against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." So by way of review, in the past, Paul has focused on the The Roman foot soldiers battle armor as a metaphor of the Christian's armor for protection and progress in spiritual warfare. He exhorted these Ephesian believers to put on the whole armor of God that they may win in the hand-to-hand onslaught of spiritual forces in an unseen conflict. And so previously we've examined the belt or battle apron of truth, and there we are reminded of the Christian's thorough embrace of a biblical worldview and his deepest organs, his bowels gripped with the truth that is in Jesus, Paul refers to in Ephesians 3.7. As the belt is the anchor point of the soldier's armor, so the truth of God anchors the Christian that he may stand against the schemes of the devil. And then in our last study, we focused on the breastplate of righteousness. As this piece of defensive armor protects the vital organs, so too Christ's righteousness secures the believer against fatal blows in mortal combat. Now, while it is true that the apostle is using the imagery, this imagery of the often observed battle dress uniform commonly worn throughout the empire, He anchored truth of this imagery in the Old Testament, especially the prophecy of Isaiah. And so this is also true of the gospel shoes, the focus of this evening, or I should say this morning's meditation. Consider with me the meaning of these gospel shoes. Paul's imagery here, as we can see, and just doing some brief research on this, the calegiae, or the single caliga, are heavy-duty, thick-soled, open-work boots with hobnailed soles, as you can see in the illustration. They were worn by the lower ranks of Roman cavalrymen and foot soldiers, and possibly some centurions as well. the durable association of Caligia with a common A soldiery is evident in the latter's description as kiligati, or booted ones, in the early 1st century AD. The soldiery affectionately nicknamed the two- or three-year-old Gaius Caligula, which you may have called, which means the little boot, because he wore the diminutive soldier's outfit, complete with the small caligia. And so as we look at the imagery that Paul uses, Roman soldiers wore these special purpose sandals for long marches on the network of Roman roads that you can see in my map here. There was a deep work, as well. Sorry. An offensive weapon, as well, was used for up-close combat. Now, this morning, we're going to focus on verse 15 of our text. And we'll go ahead and set this away here. So if I could draw your attention to verse 15, and as shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. So as we consider first, as Paul describes these shoes, these gospel boots as it were. What is the preparedness or preparation to which Paul is going to refer here? The preparedness, the readiness that is arising from the gospel. My mind goes to Psalm 10, verse 17, where David prays, Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. You have prepared or made ready or strengthened their heart. You will cause your ear to hear. Consider David's prayer as well, prior to Solomon's anointing as king from 1 Chronicles 29, 18. Oh Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people and direct their hearts toward you. And so we can see there is a sovereign work of grace that turns the confirmed sinner who hates God to direct his heart to God. How does God prepare the Christian warrior's heart? If you would turn with me to Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah chapter six, beginning at verse one, as we consider the prophet Isaiah's encounter with the living God. Isaiah chapter six, beginning at verse one. In the year the king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to one another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Verse four, and the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, woe is me, for I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away. and your sin atoned for. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And then I said, here am I, send me. Now, I'm not going to say that Isaiah was an unconverted person up to that point, but we do need to see that there was a deep work of God in Isaiah, in this vision of God. In the immediate presence of the thrice holy God, the prophet's view of himself as a righteous man was completely and utterly shattered. Formerly, Isaiah had pronounced woes upon Israel's enemy, and now he is pronouncing a woe inwardly upon his own self. and then out of that purifying experience of his lips being seared by the coal and his sin atoned for. There was an immeasurable relief and gratitude that welled up in his heart. And finally, when the call of God came to him, he gladly responded, here I am, send me. If you would turn with me to Acts 9, we find a similar experience in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Acts 9, beginning at verse 1. But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and he asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Verse 3, now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus. And suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter this city, and you will be told what you are to do. if you drop down to verse 10 here. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he said, here I am. And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go. For he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Now, like Isaiah, Paul's whole view of his own importance, his life's mission, his prospects were utterly shattered. the perception of just how wrong he had been, the crimes that against the church really never left him, the memory of them continued. But also the far reach of the forgiving grace of God to him excelled that guilt. And so as we've looked at previously in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 8, we find Paul writing these words. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that was with me. We could examine how God drew near to others as well, such as Peter, in a similar way. And in both of these cases, there is nothing less than a personal encounter with the living God and a sinner, confronting their personal crimes, a confession of a life of sin and particular sins, and the experience of the forgiving grace of God found in Jesus Christ. And from that crucible there wells up a deep gratitude and desire to joyfully serve such a forgiving God. So this preparedness to do and to suffer all that God wills and a readiness to march as a Christian soldier, as a herald. And when I use the word herald here, I'm speaking of a person who has been appointed by a sovereign to proclaim the will of that sovereign to his people. And so may I ask you this morning, is there any parallel between the experiments of these two cases and your own? And if not, then it is time that you have heart dealings with this great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus. Consider with me. pardon me, under your outline part C, a herald of good news. What does it mean to be a herald of good news? If you would consider with me Zechariah's prophecy concerning John the Baptist from Luke one, Luke chapter one, beginning at verse 76, where Zechariah says, and you child will be called the prophet of the most high. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, verse 79, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. At the coming of the Messiah, there would be open to all mankind a way of peace, peace with God, peace with one another, restored harmony that went far beyond the borders of Palestine, even to the gates of heaven. And so what is this way of peace? Now, we've looked at Romans 10 in recent days, so I would just remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul, from Romans 10 beginning at verse 9. And what is this way of peace? Paul teaches the Romans beginning at verse 9, because 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified or made right with God, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call upon him. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Verse 14, how then will they call upon him on whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Verse 15, and how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. And so this passage that we see in verse 15, we find all the way back in Isaiah's prophecy of chapter 52 of his prophecy. And so let's take a look under part D, this Old Testament connection. As we saw with the belt and the breastplate here, there is a noticeable connection of Paul's thinking to Isaiah's prophecy. This passage is the only one in which feet, good news, and peace come together, as we see in Ephesians chapter 6. And so let's take a look briefly at Isaiah chapter 52, beginning at verse 7. Isaiah 52. beginning at verse 7, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation. Verse 8, who says to Zion, your God reigns. The voice of your watchmen, they lift up their voice. Together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people. his redeemed Jerusalem, the Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And so what is the message of the herald? under part one here. The message of the Herald is this. God reigns, not idols, not Nebo, not Marduk or Bel. Yahweh reigns. Our God is sovereign over the nations and the details of our very experience. He sets the captive at liberty from false gods, false hopes, and exchanges them for true, real, and eternal hopes. No longer do they live in fear of death and judgment, but in the power of the spirit to abandon the idols of this world, no longer seeking the fleeting pleasures of sin, the passing riches of this world, the vain approval of men, or some chemical substitute for happiness. God has redeemed Jerusalem, not by military conquest, but by the suffering servant of Yahweh that we will see in the coming chapter. The ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God, even as we sang from hymn number seven. We see a call to all the ends of the earth to worship God. God's salvation is not for Jews only, but a salvation that extends to the whole world, to every tribe and tongue and family. And so let's us examine this message. First, we can see under part two, it is first an objective piece, an objective piece. Note the striking contrast of the warrior herald, this complex picture that we see in Ephesians 6. The common Christian foot soldier who is engaged in a vigorous spiritual warfare bears a message of peace. He is a warrior, and yet he's proclaiming a message of peace. He or she enjoys that peace and gladly carries that message to a troubled and dying world. The followers of Jesus know an objective peace with God, who is no longer their enemy. If you would turn, please, to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, I'll begin reading at verse 19. For in him, That is, in Christ, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Verse 21, and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, Doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. There is an objective peace with God because of Christ having made peace through his death on the cross and his resurrection, as we heard in the Sunday school hour. and risen to glory to be our intercessor in heaven. But not only is there this objective piece of being right with God, where we are now right with God and our friend of God, there is also, part three, a subjective piece, one which that warrior herald knows in the depths of his being, a subjective piece. This warrior herald also knows something of a subjective piece. peace of conscience, and that he or she is reconciled to God. This inward complacency, a contentment, knowing first that the Lord reigns over every detail of his or her life, is working all things for his good, according to the counsel of his holy and perfect will. And so David can sing in Psalm 131, oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up. My eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great or marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul and like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Oh Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. So you can see the subjective peace is one that can be known and felt. In the experience of that warrior that's on the battlefield of the spiritual warfare, where he is a herald of God's truth, there is a peace that can be felt. Where Isaiah can say in 26.3, you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Where Paul could direct the Philippians in chapter In chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, by thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. One has said that our Lord Jesus was far more willing to go to the cross than we are sometimes to go to Him in prayer. Are you one that in the midst of your spiritual struggles, whatever they are, are you one who goes to God and lays these requests and concerns of your heart before him so that you're able to stand, as Paul said in the Colossians passage, continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope? of the gospel that you heard. It is by the exercise of prayer and going to God for grace in time of need. And fourthly, under this heading, we want to consider that it is Jesus who brought peace both to Jews and to Gentiles. When you think of our Lord Jesus following his triumph over Satan's temptation, recorded, for example, in Matthew chapter 4, Jesus returned to Nazareth, where he began his public ministry. You might turn there to Luke chapter 4, beginning as verse 14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. Verse 15 of Luke 4. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth where he'd been brought up. And it was his custom, as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. And he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written. Verse 18. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And so as the perfect herald of this good news, Jesus never missed an opportunity to bring to the lost and to bring this message of peace to a lost and a needy people. In his tireless teaching and healing ministry, He pointed to the way of salvation, offering himself as the way back to God, to the lost sheep of Israel, he testified in John 7 verse 37. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Spring up, oh well. And now this he said about the spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. He also exposed the error and hypocrisy of those who perverted the true faith, which intensified their resolve, of course, to put him to death. Jesus took time to visit the Samaritan woman at the well, to teach her plainly about the meaning of true worship, and to offer himself as the long-awaited Messiah. Both Jews and Gentiles came to Jesus. Now, how can this all take place if you turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2? Beginning at verse 11, Ephesians 2, Paul writes, after talking about the spiritual resurrection of those that are dead in sins and being made alive in Christ through faith in him, he goes on in verse 11. now being made the workmanship of God, you can see in verse 10. Verse 11, he says, therefore remember that at one time, you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision, by which is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God and the world, But look at verse 13, but now. This is the second but now in this chapter, isn't it? But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once were far off has been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace. who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace. Jesus is bringing peace. and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both had access in one spirit to the Father. Through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father, so then you are no longer strangers and aliens. You are now fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, he goes on, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone We have peace with God because Jesus brought this peace both to Jews and to Gentiles. And so here this day as well, Christ offers peace to each one of you. Now, what does it mean to wear these gospel boots, these gospel shoes of peace? Under Roman numeral two, consider with me. You have now in these gospel boots a secure footing that you need. First of all, for marches, as Spurgeon has pointed out, I'm reminded of this passage of Deuteronomy, where Moses addressed the children of Israel prior to entering Canaan, from Deuteronomy 8.4, where Moses says, your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these 40 years. The gospel boots you wear shall never wear out. They are made of durable stuff of divine origin, Spurgeon writes, we too have our marchings and these gospel boots. What page am I on here? And these gospel booths, and as far as some of us are concerned, they are no mere parades but heavy marches involving stern toil and projected effort. A soul at perfect peace with God is in a fit state for the severest of movements. The sense of pardoned sin and reconciliation with God fits us for anything and everything. And when the burden of sin is gone and all other burdens are light, since we are no longer on a road to hell, the roughest places of our pilgrimage do not distress us. In every sphere, a heart at perfect peace with God is the soundest preparation for progress and the surest support under trials. We may never be more vexed by little trials than great ones, but a peace of heart will protect us from both. So it is good, these gospel booths are good for long marches, but also for climbing. Spurgeon goes on to liken our rare experiences when we've climbed atop Mount Tabor, or Pisgah's glorious heights, and anticipated the glory to be revealed in us. He reminds us of the passage, this reminds me of the passage in Pilgrim's Progress, where the shepherds on the delectable mountains showed the pilgrims sobering warnings, but as well, their journeys end. Let me read from that account. where Bunyan writes, by this time the pilgrims had a desire to continue on their journey, and the shepherds agreed they should. And so they walked together towards the end of the mountains. And then the shepherds said to one another, if they have the skill to look through our perspective lens, Let's now show the pilgrims the gates of Celestial City. The pilgrims then lovingly accepted the idea, and so the shepherds took them to the top of a high hill called Clear, and gave them the lens to look through. They attempted to look, but the memory of the last thing the shepherds had shown them made their hands shake. And because of that hindrance, they could not look steadily through the lens. And yet they thought they saw something like the gate, and also some of the glory of that place. And then they went away and sang this song. Thus by the shepherds secrets are revealed, which from all men are kept concealed. Come to the shepherds then, if you would see things deep, things hid, and that mysterious be. And so there are times in our lives He suggests using the normal means of grace where God draws near. And I trust that's not a foreign experience to you. God draws near and we are caught up in wonder and love and praise. It is only by these gospel boots that we can climb such heights, having been reconciled to God by his gospel of peace. And so it can see these gospel boots are good for marches. They're good for climbing. They're also good for running as well. Our pace toward our journey's end is not all the same. As the hymn writer records, at times our steps are painful and slow. Our progress at times seems immeasurable, and so we plod on. There are other times, however, when we must quicken our pace. We cannot sustain this as a sprint, but duty calls us to sprint at such times. As Spurgeon observes, the joy of the Lord is our strength. And in the power of it, we become like Azahel, fleet afoot as a young roe. Try on these shoes, my climbing brother. And there are times when we must flee temptation. We must flee temptation, as we see in Paul's writings, from sexual immorality and youthful lusts. In 1 Corinthians 6.18 and 2 Timothy 2.2, from idolatry, 1 Corinthians 10.14, and the love of money, 1 Timothy 6.11. God has promised to keep open the path of escape, and it is our duty at that time to run, to redeploy. And so we can see these gospel boots, they're good for marching, they're good for climbing, they're good for running, but they're also useful for fighting. From Psalm 18, 29, David can write, for by you, I can run against a troop, and by my God, I can leap over a wall. As I mentioned earlier, the Roman legionaries boots are also used as an offensive weapon. Christian men are expected to fight with their feet in the battle against sin and Satan. Indeed, they must fight with all their powers and faculties. And because there are times when we feel as though our back is against the wall, and we must fight with feet as well as hands against a given temptation. James tells us to submit to God. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James writes, Satan heard that death sentence, remember, in Genesis 3. He heard that death sentence as well as Eve heard the promise of salvation and Adam along with her. The blessed seed of the woman will one day bruise his head. And so they are good for fighting. And so we have secure footing that we have, but also, part B, triumphant footing. Triumphant footing, part B. As Paul summarizes near the end of the book of Romans, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Remember our Lord's words in Matthew 16. And verse 18, he says, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. That's to encourage our hearts, this promise. The gospel of peace is the church's victory, to proclaim that victory and to display it. One writes, what a tread we give him, we will give him once we have the opportunity. We shall need to have our feet shod with a preparation of the gospel of peace to break that old dragon's head and to grind his snares to powder. And God helping us, we shall do it. Our covenant head has trampled on the old serpent and we shall all his members. As our Lord Jesus will put his head, rather his foot, on the neck of Satan, we shall also there as well. From Romans 8 37, knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Note briefly, as Pastor Mitch recently pointed out, our triumph is only in Christ, who is our peace. as Peter and Acts spoke to Cornelius, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. The gospel of Christ is our victory, for he is our peace. Where the apostle John can write in 1 John 5, verse 4, for everyone who's been born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? And so we can look on our Lord's example of being shunned with a preparation of the gospel of peace. Our Lord never struggled with thoughts of trying to win the Father's favor by his actions. He knew the peace of God which passes understanding. He was able to stay fully focused and fully engaged in doing the Father's will, having an inner peace, able to calmly proclaim the good news to whomever the Father had put before him. He knew that all the Father had given to him would surely come to him. It is these that he would raise up on the last day. In our Lord's mind, there was no question as to what the Father would have him to do, and he was certainly at peace with the will of God. Pray that God would make us entertaining, enterprising, in getting this message of peace before those that God puts before our path. And so, in summary, as we look at these gospel boots, We find a contrasting picture of what it means to be a Christian soldier, a soldier of the cross. On one hand, we are to fight against the temptations and schemes of the devil, even to death, as the book of Hebrews records. In your struggle against sin, you have not resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And yet, on the other hand, we are each and corporately heralds. bringing the good news of the gospel of peace to a rebellious and fallen world, where Jude says we are to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Both are the duties of the Christian soldier. And yet in the midst of these duties, we are assured of being at peace with God, at peace that is real, substantial, and can be felt. And so finally, in closing, I have to leave a warning. If you recall with me in Numbers 31, as the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses if they could settle on the east side of the Jordan, Moses urged them their duty to assist in driving out Canaan's ungodly hordes. He gave them this warning, beginning at verse 20. And so Moses said to them, if you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, and every armed man of you come and pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies before him, and the land is subdued before the Lord. And then after that, you shall return and be free of the obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But then he says, but if you will not do so, behold, You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. God calls you and me to war, not against a physical army, but against the forces of darkness in a heavenly conflict. Even now, you've been called up for service. How will you respond to this call? Remember Moses' words, if you will not go to the battle, be sure your sin will find you out. Every one of us here, we're made for eternity. Each of us has a soul. That immaterial aspect of our beings, where Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes, that God has put eternity into each of our hearts. And there are but two paths before you, one which leads to destruction, which is broad, and many tread upon it, as Jesus pointed out. The other, far narrower and steeper, is the one rarely chosen. Keep your feet. Eternity is before you. God, in his son, the Lord Jesus, offers you shoes that will not wear out, shoes of the gospel of peace. You cannot be at peace with God until you have these. And see how impossible it is for you to accomplish the journey unless you go to Jesus and obtain from him the grace that will make you pilgrims to glory. Find peace in him, and then your life journey shall be safe and ultimately happy. Your feet must be shod with a preparation of the gospel of peace. Let's pray. Our Lord Jesus, help us to continually look to you as you are that perfect warrior herald that we've seen both in Isaiah and in the gospels as well. You have enlisted us in whatever capacity and whatever place you have in your church. Dear Lord, help us to fulfill that capacity, wearing these gospel shoes. Keep us from temptations, from the evil hour, oh Lord. But also help us, dear Lord, to be the herald of the gospel of peace to our loved ones and to our community, Lord. We thank you. Give us grace, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.