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 the Daily Blade. This week we're gonna do a deep dive on Matthew, chapter 14, a very famous event Jesus walking on water. I'm going to read the whole thing and then each day we will dissect a part of it. It's Matthew 14, beginning in verse 22. The Bible says immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him on the other side while he dismissed the crowds. And after he dismissed the crowds he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone.

Speaker 2: 0:48

But the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against it. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified and said it is a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying take heart, it is, I do not be afraid. And Peter answered him Lord, if it is, you, command me to come to you on the water. And Jesus said come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid and, beginning to sink, he cried out Lord, save me. And Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying oh, you have little faith, why do you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased and those in the boat worshiped him, saying truly, you are the son of God. Here's what I want to focus on today. Immediately he, jesus, made the disciples get in the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. The reason he was dismissing the crowds is because he had just poured himself out in ministry. He had just fed 5,000 people with a little bit of fish and a little bit of bread verse 23. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up by the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Speaker 2: 2:12

Listen, men, in order to grow in your faith, you're going to need some sort of combination of the following three things You've got to have God's presence, god's people and God's word. You got to have God's presence. This is typically like worship and prayer. You got to have God's presence, god's people and God's word. You got to have God's presence. This is typically like worship and prayer. You got to have God's people. This is both like sitting around in Bible study with guys to share your life with like I call Matt Carriers or Kyle calls Foxhole Brothers and there needs to be people that you're serving and you got to have God's word.

Speaker 2: 2:41

This is taken in sermons and personal Bible study. And so let me ask you do you have those things in your life and do you have a regular rhythm of solitude and prayer? This is a must. Listening to podcasts are great. Of course they are, or we wouldn't make them for you, but they will only be supplemental. Do you have a regular rhythm of solitude and prayer? This is a must.

Speaker 2: 3:05

Jesus, on a regular basis, is going to go. Be alone with the father. When Jesus teaches us how to pray, he says go into your prayer closet. This means that we are to do this between us and God. When Jesus gives us our Lord's prayer, that we are to pray the model prayer, he says that we are to ask God for our daily bread. Implicit in this is that we are doing this on a daily basis.

Speaker 2: 3:30

Listen, the daily blade can be a great starter for you, or the daily blade could be a great supplement, but it will not sustain you what you are going to need to do is find a consistent time and place to do some Bible study and prayer alone with the Father. For me, I've got three different places. When I can get to the woods, I go to the woods. If I can't go to the woods, I go to my back porch. There's one particular chair that I have in my office and I don't work from that chair. I only sit in that particular chair to read the scriptures and spend time in prayer.

Speaker 2: 4:05

Listen, this time alone with the Lord. It's not magical. It's about repentance and reorienting your life so that you can be ready for what's next and what God is going to do. Next, jesus is going to walk on water. It's a really big deal. So let me ask you do you have a consistent daily time with the Lord where you get along with him, where you can be in his presence, you can be in his word, you can hear from him and he hears from you? If not, then you need to change that now. This podcast will not be enough to sustain you. It's got to be a consistent, regular time, like Jesus, where you get along, where you turn down the noise of this world so you can tune your ear into the voice of God in your life. Make it a regular practice today.

Speaker 1: 4:53

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.