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, welcome to day five this week of John, chapter five. I want to ask you a question Are you on team Jesus or team Pharisee? Now, I know immediately you're going to pick team Jesus, but let me ask you when God does the miraculous around you, do you try to poke holes in it or do you rejoice in it? Let's see what the text says, john five, beginning in verse six. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him do you want to be healed? And the sick man answered sir, here comes the excuses. I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. And while I am going, another steps down before me. And Jesus said to him get up, take up your bed and walk. And at once the man was healed and he took up his bed and walked. Aren't you glad that even when we are faithless, god is faithful.

Speaker 2: 1:13

Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews and this means the Jewish leaders. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed it is the Sabbath and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed. But he answered them. Well, the man that healed me. He said to me take up your bed and walk. I mean basically what? The crippled guy that just got healed? He's like dude, you can say what you want to say, but the brother that just made my legs work told me to, so I'm going to follow his instructions instead of yours. And verse 12, and they ask him who is the man who said to you take up your bed and walk. And now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in the place. Afterwards, jesus found him in the temple and said to him see, you are well, sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you. You know what's worse than being crippled for 38 years, not following after Jesus and going to hell for all eternity? Verse 15, and the man went away and he told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them. My father is working until now and I am working. Okay, a little heart check real quick.

Speaker 2: 2:29

Whenever you see a miracle and maybe you haven't seen a physical miracle, but whenever you hear of a mighty move of God but it doesn't happen to be at your church, do you rejoice or are you critical? When you hear of that person in your town that was the least likely person to get saved of anybody you ever know, and then you heard that that brother just got saved, do you question, hmm, did he really get saved? Or do you rejoice and say praise God. Or let me ask it the way the Pharisees saw it when Jesus does a work in somebody's life, do you see the mat or do you see the miracle? Jesus does a work in somebody's life. Do you see the mat or do you see the miracle? Do you constantly doubt when God does something in another ministry, or does it all have to go through you? Or if there's something that God does that doesn't line up with your preferences, do you think, well, this must not be of God.

Speaker 2: 3:21

You see, what the Pharisees wrongly state is they say that the law says that you cannot carry a mat on the Sabbath. Well, the law of God doesn't say that anywhere. The closest thing you can get is in the book of Jeremiah. The Bible says that on the Sabbath you should not bear a burden. But this guy is not bearing a burden. This guy is rejoicing because his life has just been changed. For the first time in his whole life, he gets to go to the temple. And the reason that he is carrying a mat is because it is not a burden. That mat is the testimony of his life. Just in case anybody was ever confused, this man is carrying the mat so that the whole world can see that God is in the business of taking our biggest messes and using them to tell the greatest gospel message to this world.

Speaker 2: 4:11

So let me ask you do you have a critical heart of a move of God, like the Pharisees? Do you see, by the time this comes out, we here at 1122 will have just done beach baptism. I don't know how many people will baptize, but probably close to, if not more than, 2,000 people. That's right. I will stand in the ocean, me and a bunch of our pastors and friends and Kyle's coming, and we will hear over 2,000 times people renounce any allegiance to the world, their flesh or any darkness in this world, and to profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Speaker 2: 4:47

And it blows my mind the amount of people that join up on Team Pharisee, especially the online keyboard warriors and they go. How do you know if they're really saved? Well, you know, I did ask them if Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. But please, please, please, may we not be the kind of people that, when God does the miraculous, that we first look at the mat and we miss the miracle. Let's be the kind of people that want to believe God is saving, people, that want to believe God is bringing revival, that want to be believing that God is changing lives. Let's be on team Jesus and let's rejoice when God does the miraculous, instead of being critical when it doesn't go the way that we want it to go. May we stand up and rejoice when God does the work of his Father.

Speaker 1: 5:36

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.