Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

All right, last day of John, chapter 10. Verse 14, Jesus says I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the father knows me, and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Speaker 2: 0:42

And again I'm repeating from yesterday, verse five, a a stranger. They will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of the stranger. Let me ask you this what is he telling you to do? What is jesus telling you to do? The greatest advice in all of the bible? At some week I'm going to cover this In its entirety, but in john, chapter 2, verse five, mary looks at a group of servants at a wedding in Cana after they'd run out of wine, and she says these words do whatever he tells you to do. It's the best advice I can find in what it means to be a Jesus follower that you are to just do whatever it is that Jesus tells you to do.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Now here's what I need you to understand is that being a Christian is not merely sin management, and it's not enough to just think in categories of right and wrong. There are things that are right and there are things that are wrong, but if you think in categories of right and wrong, it will never be enough to sustain you to do the right thing. Some of you are, by nature, are wired to do the right thing. Well, god bless you. Some of us, by nature, are wired to just want to rebel and do the wrong thing. Some of you are, by nature, are wired to do the right thing. Well, god bless you. Some of us, by nature, are wired to just want to rebel and do the wrong thing. But listen, following after Jesus, it's not just about right or wrong.

Speaker 2: 1:53

John, chapter 10, lets us know this is about life and death that the decisions that we make put us on a path that leads somewhere, and one of those paths leads to killing and stealing and destroying. One of those paths, when we choose to reject what God tells us to do and instead we either obey the world or the devil, or our flesh, it's not just that we do wrong things, it's that death and destruction are at the end of this path. The other option is when we submit and surrender our will to the will of the good shepherd and when we hear the voice of the good shepherd and we do what he tells us to do. Listen, especially when we don't understand it. It leads to abundant life because it leads to him. I mean, when it comes to money, if we obey what the world tells us and says you better take care of you first, I'm telling you, it's going to lead to your own death and destruction because at the end of the day, you may have a pile of money, but all you're going to have is you. But when we are generous, when we bring our first and our best to Christ, when we tithe, when we say, all right, god, it's all yours, and even though my tax accountant doesn't think it makes any sense, I'm going to start with at least 10% and bring back to your gospel kingdom work. Not just random charities, but gospel kingdom work. It leads to life.

Speaker 2: 3:18

Let me ask you this what sin in your life are you tolerating or justifying? Because that sin is crouching at the door and it wants to kill you. It's time to quit treating sin like a pet. You have an apex predator living in your life if you're tolerating and justifying sin, and the moment it can, it's going to take you out. Listen, some of you are looking at pornography and you're justifying it and you're saying, no, it's not that big a deal, man, I got this under control.

Speaker 2: 3:45

Brother, you do not have it under control. You have a thief and the only thing he wants to do is steal, kill and destroy you. And you think it's just pictures, but it's not. First of all, you're participating in the destruction of that girl's life and all the people that abused her and the human trafficking that's happening, and you're going to kill your marriage and you're going to destroy your moral authority with your children or that girl at work that you're flirting with. You think I've got this under control. No, no, no, brother, you are tolerating the enemy trying to kill, steal and destroy. So when you go to work tomorrow and you decide to flirt with her a little bit, what you are doing is you're just marching down a path that leads to destroying your marriage and destroying your witness and destroying her family. When you go to work tomorrow and you have the opportunity to lie to get ahead, it's not just a little thing that you can manage. The consequences of this is the devil baiting you down a path that he's going to laugh at you when you get to the end of it, when you either get fired or locked up.

Speaker 2: 4:46

You see, the other option is that Jesus is the good shepherd, and every single time we take a step of obedience in the direction of the good shepherd, it leads to abundant life.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Whether it's turning away from sin, or being generous, or being faithful to our wife, or you get that nudge of the Holy Spirit to just send that encouraging text. Every single time we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and do what he says, it leads to abundant life. So it is your direction, not your intention, that will determine your destination. So, brothers, let me ask you what path are you on? Are you on a path to destruction or to abundant life? The good news of the gospel, though, is, even if Are you on a path to destruction or to abundant life? The good news of the gospel, though, is, even if you are on a path to destruction today, you can repent. Repent means to turn around, and you could turn your back to the world and the lies of this devil, and you could turn your face towards the Good Shepherd and march in the direction that he is calling you. Whatever you do, do whatever he tells you to do. Amen.

Speaker 1: 5:43

Whatever you do, do whatever he tells you to do. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.