Armor of God (Part 4) - Gospel Shoes - Young Adult Pastor Jared Farley - June 23, 2024

Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.

You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you, choir.

Good morning, church.

All right.

Good to be with you today.

I'm glad to be speaking, filling in for Pastor Greg as he's gone.

My name is Jared Farley, and I'm the young adults pastor here at church.

So if I haven't met you or you don't know me, please come find me at some point.

Would love to talk to you a little bit more.

But I'm glad to be sharing this morning.

And of course, we're going to be continuing our Armor of God series.

And I'm going to be preaching about shoes today, okay?

Because that's the uh piece of armor that we're on.

But I want to tell you about uh two pairs of shoes I had back in the day.

Now, I love basketball, I've been an athlete my entire life, okay?

And these may not look very impressive, but back when I was about 10 years old, I mean, man, you couldn't have anything better than what I'm about to show you, okay?

Now, uh, if you look on the screen to your right, as you look up there, is a Shaq shoe, okay?

Shaquille O'Neal, right?

He was a really popular basketball player.

Many of you probably know him.

Huge dude, alright?

And so back in middle school, I was uh a little bit different shape, and so I modeled my game after Shaq, okay?

Like I was a bruiser, alright.

I stayed in the paint, and these shoes were everything that I wanted.

Okay, like I, man, you know, I didn't have these, but I wanted them, and I thought, what do we all think?

We think, man, if we can just get the right footwear, if we can just get the right shoes on our feet, then that's gonna give us what we need to perform the way we want to, or to look the best way that we need to.

And so these shoes, and why I love them so much, is they were made and they were sold at Payless Shoe Store.

Okay, so that was even on a budget, okay?

So, man, I was hoping for these shoes, and one day my mom took me up there and I got a pair of Shaq shoes.

Now, unfortunately, I will say it didn't quite improve my game exactly where I wanted it to go.

All right, but I had these shoes and I loved them and I wore them and I was proud of them, man, and they carried me through a lot of things, and they were in good shape.

Now, the other thing I want to say about the shoe to the left, right?

Now, when I got later on into high school, this is when I had to get a little bit more serious about the shoes that I wore.

Because on my high school basketball team, if you know you play sports at certain levels, your equipment really does make a big difference.

And so they've got to be, they've got to be in shape, they've got to be, you know, solid, it's got to be a high-quality shoe.

And so there is this thing that you could do is you could go online and create like a Nike shoe.

Okay, and you could put certain colors on it, you could put your name on it, you could do whatever you wanted to with this shoe.

Okay, and so I got the chance to do that.

Now that cost uh quite a bit more money than my my payleft shack shoes, but I thought, man, okay, if I'm gonna pay for a higher quality, this is gonna be incredible.

So I went on the website, I got this shoe, I put my school colors on it, I put, you know, my last name on it, my number on it.

Man, I thought, uh man, at the very least, I'm gonna be looking good out here in these shoes.

Alright, so I got them in the mail, I laced them up, and I went to play my game in one of the first plays of the game.

This shoe literally ripped along the seam.

Alright?

And so I was done.

Okay, I had to go sit, I had to throw these shoes off.

I was incredibly upset, as you can imagine.

Um, but I just found it funny that, man, these shoes, right, did different things for me.

And when we think about our shoes and what we put on our feet, it means different things over the years.

And it means different things in different situations and different things that we want out of our shoes.

Okay, now of course I'm setting all of this up to think about and put us back into the realm of our army of God series that we're in the bulk of for this summer.

That we're taking each piece of armor and explaining it a little bit more and giving us ways where we can understand, hey, what piece of armor is this?

What does it do?

What does it accomplish?

And then actually, how do we equip ourselves and put it on?

Right?

Because we've been talking, and Pastor Greg has been saying, and we can fully understand that armor is only good if we actually put it on.

Right?

We can say, man, we love the armor of God in Ephesians, but if we don't actually understand what it means to put on the shield of faith or the breastplate of righteousness, or today the gospel shoes of peace, then it's not gonna do us much good.

And so today I hope for us to get into this mindset.

So I've got the verse up here in the screen, Ephesians 6.15, is my responsibility today.

And we're gonna be talking about this in depth.

And here it says, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

And so these are our gospel shoes, as I will call them today.

A critical piece of armor for a soldier and for anyone, man, you're not gonna leave your house very often without putting on the right pair of shoes.

And God says to us, you're not gonna get very far in the Christian life without putting on the gospel shoes.

And so we're gonna learn today exactly how to do that.

Now, I can't really preach a long message just with this verse, so we're actually gonna turn, if you have your Bible, and I'm gonna have these verses up on the screen, to Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

We're gonna turn to Romans chapter 10, and I'm gonna start reading here in just a second.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

But when Paul has these gospel shoes in mind from Ephesians 6, he actually has it in mind in several other places.

And Romans 10 is one of those where it's very obvious that we're gonna start to understand what Paul means by the gospel shoes as we study Romans chapter 10, just a few verses.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

And so this entire imagery of the gospel shoes of peace comes from Isaiah, but Paul's gonna expand on it more in Romans 10, and I think this gives us a great base to understand how to put on this armor.

So, if we understand a little bit about the book of Romans, man, it is a dense book.

One of the most uh dense in the Bible, an incredible book, and in Romans chapter 10 specifically, Paul is actually getting on to his closing arguments.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

Okay, so throughout the book of Romans, uh verse, you know, chapters 1 all the way up to 10, Paul has been building a case.

Right?

He's been building a case about uh the penalty of sin in our lives, that sin is what separates us from God, that the consequence of sin in our life, the consequence of disobedience to God is separation from God.

That is what keeps us from entering into relationship with God.

And so there's something that needs to be done about that.

Right?

That we can't overcome that on our own or in our own efforts, but Jesus, and God through Jesus has made a way.

And so he's working through the pieces of salvation that again we mentioned last week: justification, sanctification, glorification.

But here in Romans 10, it even gets more direct.

And so Paul's gonna boil down all of these arguments that he makes up to this point to the direct application of how we can receive salvation, who can receive salvation, and how we get this salvation to others.

And so we're gonna spend a little bit of time thinking a little bit more about that, and just bear with me because it's gonna be important as we study through this.

Right at the end of this section and passage is we're gonna see the shoes of peace or the gospel shoes really come into play.

Okay, so if you're there with me, it's gonna be on the screen.

Hopefully you have it in your Bible as well.

We're gonna start Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10, and some of these verses are gonna be very familiar to us, uh, but let's get into them.

Romans 10:9

Here's what it says starting in 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, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Okay, let's take a pause right here for a second.

This is the core message of salvation.

I told you, Paul's gonna get straight into it.

Right?

He really spent the first nine chapters getting up to this point, really helping us understand that, man, we need something to come from outside of ourselves to help us enter into the right relationship with God, to pay the penalty of sin.

And so Paul's gonna tell us exactly what that is, how we might actually be saved from our sin and be rescued and be reunited with God.

That he says first that we are actually confessing something, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus has a title, that Jesus has a position, a place, that Jesus is Lord.

Right?

This Greek word here is the same and drawn from the Hebrew word of Yahweh.

Right?

That God is Lord, that Jesus is Lord of all.

That we are confessing with our mouth that He is the one true God, the supreme ruler over all the world.

In the context of Rome, this would have been very important.

Right?

If you remember at the time, many people that were a part of the Roman Empire would have given this title, this profession of Lord to Caesar, right?

To the emperor of Rome at the time.

And so Paul, in essence, here is taking a piece of that culture and saying, you know what?

Actually, we need to confess Jesus as true Lord, as ultimate Lord, as supreme ruler over the entire earth.

And so, in the context, Paul is saying, those who confess Jesus in this way understand what salvation means.

He goes on to say that it's not just a confession with your mouth, but it's a belief in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

So not only is confession necessary, but the belief in the heart as well.

That God raised Jesus from the dead, that we are actually believing in a historical person that actually lived, that came to earth, that showed an example to us, but not just a good example, but was a living sacrifice on our behalf of the unblemished, spotless Lamb.

That Jesus came, he lived, he died according to the plan of God, and that he was raised.

That our belief as Christians, why we are here today, is staked on this claim.

Paul says elsewhere, right, if the resurrection is not true, then our faith is useless.

Why do we gather today?

Why can we have hope in difficult circumstances?

Why can we press on in the midst of a chaotic world because Jesus actually rose from the dead?

And if we don't believe that, then none of this matters.

But Paul says we can believe it and we can trust it that Jesus actually lived.

Paul is affirming this truth that if we confess with our mouth that and believe in our heart, the person of Jesus, not believing, right?

Notice, not believing on our good works, not believing on our own efforts, not believing on our church heritage, not believing on our family of origin, but in a person, and that person is Jesus.

We can see that this belief means to transfer any trust that we have to Jesus and his righteousness to save us rather than our own.

And then he's going to continue on, right?

In verse 9, he's going to extend that argument into verse 10.

He says, For with the heart one believes and is justified, as with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

So verse 10 is really just a restating of the truth that we just discussed.

So these shouldn't be seen as two separate actions, believing and confessing, but really the idea is that they're two sides to the same coin.

The idea is that, man, Paul is saying justified and saved.

These are the same terminology, the same words for him, all senses of the word.

That the heart believes, the mouth confesses.

So when the heart is truly moved to believe something, then the mouth is going to confess it.

So for instance, I got a few examples here.

Me just moving to Fort Smith, been here about a year, and there's two things that I really love.

I love donuts, and I love burgers, alright?

So uh not the example of the healthiest pastor sometimes, but um, you know, stick with me.

What's life without a donut or a burger?

And so I'm I'm going and testing, right?

You got to test all these things when you move to a new location.

And so as I'm testing these donuts, and this is not a paid advertisement, so don't worry.

Um, as I'm eating donuts all around Fort Smith, right?

I'm getting a sampling from everywhere, trying to find the best spot, right?

When I tasted the donuts at Sonny's in Fort Smith, man, my mouth immediately confessed, this is the donut right here.

Right?

This is the one in Fort Smith that I will spend my money on.

Okay, like it just worked like that.

I tasted it, man.

My heart believed it, and of course, because my heart believed it, my mouth couldn't help but to confess it.

So you see how these aren't working in opposition to one another, but they are working in tandem together.

Same with the burger.

Alright, this was an easier one for me, okay.

When I tasted the burger at Patrick's right down the road, it was an easy decision.

Right?

This is one of the best burgers I've tasted.

And I will continue to go back.

Now, you know, I won't get into the sports analogy.

We've got a lot of Razorback fans, and so I understand that every year at the beginning of the season, same thing happens, right?

You believe it in your heart, right?

We believe, you know, you might believe it and say, you know what, this is the year.

Okay, but you know, all right, so I'll just stay off of that, okay?

But but we understand, this is what Paul is talking about here, that when our heart is moved with the belief that we cannot come to God in our own efforts or by our own power, but there's a vast separation between us and God because of sin.

When our hearts understand that and believe that and confess that and transfer our belief in our in our heart, in our being, then our mouth then confesses Jesus as Lord.

So Paul tells us in these two short verses, and many of us, if you know the Romans road or have these memorized at some point in time, this is the reason why we use these verses so much.

Because it gives a complete and succinct picture of what it means to be right with God and how we can do that.

So when Paul tells us how, the next section he's gonna say, well, then who?

Look at me with verses 11, 12, and 13.

He's gonna say, 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 on him.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We saw in the previous passage, again, as I just mentioned, okay, if all of us, everyone here and on earth in general, is separated from God, Paul's gonna say, well, then how can we be right with God?

How can we pay the penalty for our sin?

He gives us the how, and now he's gonna say, okay, well, if that's the how, and if we all need that, then who?

And so he answers that question right here.

Right?

Is there a select group of people who can qualify for this?

Is it an age or a type of person or maybe an amount of money or a social class that you have to be a part of?

Or a certain club of people?

And no is the answer on all accounts, and aren't we thankful for that today?

Right?

Paul says, actually, no, everyone, right?

The word everyone here, if you really want to dig down and get into the original language in the Greek, it really means everyone.

Scripture says this, we affirm this, the invitation is held out that everyone and anyone who wants to be forgiven and made right with God can trust in him.

God says, and he makes no distinction in salvation between the Jew and the Greek.

He says, Lord is the Lord of all.

He bestows his riches on anyone and everyone who might call on him, who might come to a moment or a point in their life where their heart is so transformed and understands the beauty of the gospel message that they confess that he is Lord.

And the scripture says in verse 13 that if someone does that, everyone and anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Will be saved, right?

This is why you and I are sitting here today.

This is why we can be confident in this message as we move forward.

Whoever cries out in desperation to God through the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus can and will be saved.

God is no distinctor of persons, right?

He doesn't make a difference between this person and that person, where they're from, what they've done in their past, what they might do in their future.

Any of those things, all of those things can be erased, can be overlooked because when, as we've been talking about this entire series, when God looks at you, right, as you've confessed, Jesus as Lord, he sees Jesus and Jesus' righteousness in your place.

The ultimate exchange.

Right?

That Jesus is exchanging his righteousness for our sinfulness.

As he died on the cross and as God looks down from heaven and sees us.

So this is the good news, right?

So stick with me.

You might think, well, Jared, I thought we were uh in the Armor of God series, you know.

This doesn't really sound like, okay, hey, we're getting there, alright?

So stay with me because all of this, again, ties into the idea that Paul had when he says we need to lace up or put on these gospel shoes.

And so Paul's gonna build this whole argument together, all right?

So now as we move on, we're gonna get to verses uh 14 and the rest of this little section that I want to look at here.

And this is really the main link, okay?

So believe it or not, all that I just told you was great.

That might have just been a bonus for you this morning because here's where it really is gonna tie together into our armor of God series.

Alright, let's read this passage together, verses 14 and 15.

This is where I want to stick together.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

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.

Alright, so again, follow with me here.

This is Paul's logical argument here.

He lays this out in the entire book of Romans.

We have seen how someone can be saved.

Right?

Through a heart change and a confession that Jesus is Lord.

We've seen who might qualify for this salvation, anyone and everyone that wants to.

And now we get to the central theme of our armor of God and message today.

Well, okay, if anyone can, and if everyone needs it, then how do we get it out to everyone?

How does it actually go out into the world?

And how does God expect it to actually penetrate the world and permeate societies and places all around the world with little gospel influence?

How is that actually gonna happen?

What is the mechanism by which God wants the word to get out?

And here we see that Paul is gonna introduce to us this idea that we have some links in a chain.

Okay, and so all of these need to be linked together, right?

A chain does no good if the links aren't together and incorporated.

And so Paul's gonna say to actually get this great message out into the world, all of these things have to link together.

And he does that by asking us a series of rhetorical questions.

And you might remember the idea that, man, we're only as strong as our weakest link.

And so I'm gonna bring that out within this passage as we look at our links here together.

Because there are some points along this where some links can become weak.

And when a link is weak or not connected to these others, that is why the gospel message doesn't get out as it should at different times.

Alright, so Paul's gonna start, and we're gonna go really backwards here in a sense, because Paul's gonna reverse engineer these questions.

So, Paul, remember what he says right before we get into this is in verse 13.

If everyone who calls on the name of the Lord is saved, then he's gonna say, How do we help people call on the name of the Lord?

And how do people actually call on the name of the Lord?

So the first part, what he's gonna say is, man, well, how can they call in whom they have not believed?

So when someone believes the gospel, right, the last link in the chain here, when someone believes in the gospel, then of course they're saved.

We just talked about this, that a foundational trust in the person of Jesus.

That our heart is changed and moved to the fact that we actually proclaim and believe his name.

Okay, so that's the last link in the chain.

So when someone believes the gospel, when someone believes on Jesus, when someone transfers their faith, when you, someone in the room today, might need to transfer your faith to belief and trust in Jesus.

When someone does this, they call out.

Okay, and so then Paul's gonna just work his way backwards and say, okay, well, someone believes, they're gonna call out, but how do they believe?

And this is what he says, and how can they believe in whom they've never heard?

Okay, so Paul's gonna logically follow that up with the saying, well, someone actually then has to hear of Jesus before they can believe in Jesus and then therefore call on Jesus.

Now, hearing here is not the same thing as we might think of just hearing something like.

Hey, I heard what you said, or I went to this store and heard the price of this thing that I want to buy.

Hearing here is actually a deeper belief.

It's not just a literal hearing or meaning of the word.

It's more than just mere exposure to God's word.

Because we know many people who have heard the gospel.

Some of you may know many of your neighbors, your friends, your family members who have heard the gospel many times, but have not then transferred that to belief and then calling.

So it must mean something more than simply a hearing of the message.

So the deeper meaning behind this, right, would be that it, man, it's a hearing that has to penetrate and translate to understanding.

To get deep into the heart and the soul and the mind, the real meaning behind it, hearing, understanding, knowing that our sinfulness is what separates us, and that we need Jesus.

And so someone has to hear, and then Paul's going to continue on with his argument.

He's going to say, well, then how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Okay, so the next link in the chain comes when someone is preaching the gospel.

And of course, hearing can't come without declaration of the word of God.

Without preaching or declaring it.

It must be communicated.

Now, the word preaching here is not for us what we typically mean when what I'm doing right now, most of us would say, well, yes, Jared is preaching the message this morning.

And that is a part of the description here.

But Paul is meaning this in more of an over-encompassing, overarching term.

Right?

The word preaching here in the language is really translated to someone to be a herald or to make an announcement.

Right?

During these times, there were heralds who would take a message, right?

It was their responsibility to go into certain towns and to go into certain cities proclaiming a message.

And so when we think of preaching as simply, man, the pastor standing here preaching to a congregation on Sunday morning, we are limiting what Paul is specifically meaning here.

It's not less than what I'm doing, but it's much more than that.

It's much more than that.

Because if this was the only thing that we meant by preaching, it would limit the way that the gospel can be carried throughout the entire world and throughout different centuries and times and ages.

And so we have to understand that the preaching here is less the preaching that I'm doing now, but the everyday preaching that occurs by the people of God in the normal places of life.

That we would preach or take this message as a herald into our workplaces, into our neighborhoods, and into our homes and into our families and into our cities.

That this is what Paul means here, besides just standing on a stage, but more everyday places of life.

And then he gets to the last link in the chain, right?

And this is where our armor of God series comes together with the gospel shoes of peace.

He says that someone must be sent.

And how in verse 15 are they to preach unless they are sent?

As is it written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.

Paul celebrates that here, right?

And he says this link in the chain needs to happen, and they all need to be connected together.

This verse captures our Ephesians 6 that lies the good news right here in the passage that God has sent each of us.

Right?

It's not just pastors, it's not just missionaries, but all of us, as I'm going to talk about here in a few moments, need to be ready with feet fitted with the gospel.

That each of us have a responsibility as a Christian who believes and trusts in the gospel to be sent with the feet that are beautiful to bring the good news.

That we are sent to our neighborhoods, our schools, and across the street with the gospel.

And so Paul says that here as we remember, review back the links on the chain, that first we have to be sent, that as we're sent, we preach the good news, we actually communicate that to other people around us.

Others around us hear the message, but not just hear it, truly internalize it and understand it, and that produces belief in their heart, and that belief produces confession and are saved.

And so, as we have seen the pieces of armor during our series, that today, again, we're talking about the feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel.

So you might remember some of this, I'm just gonna state briefly that shoes are obviously an important feature for anyone who's getting dressed in the morning, but especially for a soldier, which is the imagery that Paul had in his mind.

And so if a soldier wasn't strapped on correctly with his feet or his shoes, right, he's not gonna be very successful in the battle.

And so the Roman soldiers had a very important way where they would strap on these shoes, where they would lace them around the ankle, where they sometimes would have nails or glass embedded in the bottom of the shoes.

And so the point of these shoes were for them to be able to travel long distances, right?

To get to the actual battle and to stand firm in the battle.

And if you didn't have the right shoes on, then it was probably gonna be a long day for you.

And you probably couldn't accomplish what your mission was set out to accomplish.

And so the idea behind these gospel shoes of peace were those that, man, we need to be ready to proclaim the good news to those around us at any and every moment.

And our shoes were gonna be the things that we put on to help us do this.

And this morning, there are obviously lots of points of application that we could get to.

But I want to focus on one simple application today, right?

If we're gonna say, you know what, okay, the armor, we've got to put it on, we've got to get ready because this is the way that we're gonna be successful in living out our Christian life and living our faith in Christ, it does no good for our shoes, again, to use the same analogy, to be by the door on our way out the door.

So we've actually got to be willing to say, you know what, what can I do then to put on these gospel shoes?

And how can I be ready and willing in lots of situations to share the gospel and have the readiness that come with these shoes of peace?

Because I'm sure all of us, if we can admit this and understand this, we we may not be doing what we feel like we should be doing in this area of evangelism or sharing the gospel with others around us.

Right?

Even myself, as a pastor, I can be transparent and admit this to you.

That there's lots of moments and lots of times where I feel like, you know what, God, man, I just missed that opportunity.

Or, you know, God, maybe not today.

Maybe, you know, you know, can you bring me back to this person, you know, next week, maybe?

Right?

We all have those experiences.

We all have those moments.

But today I want to introduce us to just a simple habit, something that any of us can start to do as a component of our day, whether it's on your commute to work, whether it's when you wake up, whether it's at some point during the day.

And it's just a simple pattern of prayer that I want to introduce you to.

Because again, part of this is I want God to begin to change our hearts so that we have more of a willingness to put on these shoes and to take the opportunities all around us.

So here's the prayer.

It's very simple.

And to help us to remember this prayer, uh I want to I want us to pray what I would say, pray Bob daily.

B-O-B.

Alright, pray Bob daily.

Okay, and each of the letters in Bob, I've got to stand for something here, okay?

So the first one I want to look at is B, a burden for the lost.

Okay, I've got a little scripture here with it as well.

Uh so the idea is to begin to pray, and again, any of us can pray this in one or two minutes throughout the day, but the first thing I want us to start to pray is to ask God to give us a burden for the lost people around us.

Right?

A burden is kind of a word we may not use as much anymore, but a burden is defined as something oppressive or worrisome.

And this is a reflection point for us.

Are we burdened for the people around us who are far from Jesus?

And maybe I could ask it this way.

When you see someone, when you interact with someone, how are we primarily viewing that person?

What lens do we see that person through?

Do we see that person through the lens of what they look like?

How they vote?

What they spend their money on, where they live?

Are these the lenses that we see people through?

Or do we see them through the lens of man?

Does this person know Jesus?

Is this person hurting?

In what ways can I serve this person, right?

All of these things would be incorporated into the idea of having a burden for someone, a burden for the lost people around us in our neighborhoods and in our cities, right?

Are we so calloused to the world around us that we've lost our burden for people who are far from God?

This is what Paul says in Romans 9, and this is the type of burden that we want to be praying for.

He says, That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

That's a burden right there, right?

That's just a shorthand way of saying Paul had a burden, and he says, For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Paul is talking about seeing the fellow Jews around him that are rejecting Jesus, that are denying the salvation that was promised to them through the ages.

And Paul has such a burden for these people that he says, you know what?

I actually wish that maybe I could be cut off from Christ because I am so burdened and feel so much compassion for those without Jesus.

And so the first part of the prayer, again, that if we start to say this daily, would just be, God, give me a burden for the people around me that don't know you.

Help me to see them as you see them.

Eyes to see them and compassion to care for them as you do.

So that's the first B.

The next part of this prayer would be, okay, if we're praying for a burden for the lost, we're gonna pray also for opportunities to share.

We're gonna pray for opportunities to share.

We're gonna model again after what Paul is praying for.

Right?

And I've mentioned this at different points in some of the places that I've taught, but man, God is the one who wants to give us these opportunities to share the gospel.

Okay, we don't have to manufacture opportunities.

We don't feel like we have to do all of this on our own.

But if God ultimately wants people to come to know him, which his scripture says that he wishes all would come to repentance, then if God wants this and we partner with God in prayer, then what do you think is going to happen?

I think, and I know from experience, that we will get opportunities to share with others.

That's what Colossians 4 3 says, and this is Paul's own prayer that he's telling people to pray for him.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God would open a door for us for the Word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.

Here's a quote as well that I've shared before that I think is really helpful for us, that goes along with this prayer.

This is a guy named Billy Hanks who uh has shared the gospel and trains people to do so.

He says, After extended observation, we have concluded that effective lifestyle evangelism happens when a Christian prays each morning, asking for specific opportunities to witness.

And here's what he asks Do you know why Christians aren't leading more people to the Savior?

Is that we are not asking for daily opportunities to share our faith.

Alright, so again, we want to pray a burden for the lost, opportunities to share, and then the last be here is, man, we also want to pray for boldness.

Acts 4.31.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they are gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued, listen here, to speak the word of God with boldness.

Alright, I don't think most of what we need in sharing the gospel is more methods or newer programs or shinier things to attract people to our church or other places, even though none of those things are necessarily bad.

But I found just personally in my own life that I just need more boldness.

I just need more courage in the face of, yes, evangelism can be intimidating.

There can be times where we fumble our words or mess up.

But in our weakness, Jesus is elevated and made strong.

And so boldness is not about having a loud personality or forcing your way into conversations, but it's simply being confident to take the opportunities God gives you as you pray for them.

And so, church, I want to tell us, man, as we begin to pray this, again, a minute, two minutes each day, start to incorporate this prayer of a burden, of opportunities and boldness.

And as we do this, let's remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood.

Our battle is against the spiritual forces of evil.

And these forces of evil would love nothing more than for us to leave our gospel shoes at the door.

To leave them untied, to not be ready to enter the battle for the souls of the people all around us.

And so I would pray for us that we would not let them win.

That we would begin to pray and work and humbly submit to God in a way that laces our feet with the gospel so that we can have feet that are beautiful, who bring the good news to those around us in Fort Smith and beyond.

Let's pray together.

Would you bow your heads with me?

I want to take a moment here to give an invitation as we're bowing our heads as our worship team comes forward.

Every Sunday in our church, we give a moment, an opportunity for anyone who has not trusted in Jesus to have an opportunity to do that.

I mean, you heard it today, there wasn't more clear of a passage that we could have described and how to be right with God.

So today, if you've come to church for your first time, if you've come with a guest, if you've been coming for a little while, but man, you're feeling God working or moving in your life, man, we want to give you an opportunity.

As we sing here in a moment, there'll be pastors standing at the aisles, and they would love to talk to you about making a decision to trust in Jesus.

Right?

It's that confession and belief in the gospel that will save us.

Belief in a person, and that person is Jesus.

So as I pray and as we stand here in a moment after I'm done praying and singing, if that's you, we'd love the opportunity just to talk with you to explain a little bit more about Jesus.

So, God, I just thank you so much for our time and these moments together.

God, I pray for this passage that we've been able to unpack today in Romans 10 that you have given us a way of salvation.

That anyone and everyone who wants to call on the name of the Lord can come to you.

And so, God, I pray that if there is anyone here that needs to trust in you, God, that they would take that step of faith to do that.

Believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that you are Lord.

Father, I pray for the rest of us, God, that we would not leave this place with a sense of guilt, but of encouragement and conviction.

Knowing that you've equipped us to lace up the gospel shoes, to give us a burden, to give us opportunities, and to give us boldness to share with those around us.

So we just pray that we would be faithful to do that.

We pray all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.

Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.

Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.

Thank you for listening to chapter and first, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith First Baptist Church.