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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.

Paul’s Plea And The Prodigal Son

Paul’s Suffering And Their First Love

Truth, Manipulative Religion, And Real Shepherding

Care For Others And The Mat Carriers Challenge

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All right, day three. Uh we're in chapter four. We're going to pick it up in verse eight. Paul says, Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You see, this world and the law, in order to try and earn your salvation, just equal slavery. And so Paul is like, what is wrong with you? You have heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You pagans used to worship pagans. Surely you don't want to go back to pagan worship and being tricked and duped by this world, because this world can't do anything for you. And those of you that grew up in good religious systems that taught you right and wrong, please don't go back to the yoke and the slavery of thinking if I do good, then I can stand right before God. This is what he's saying, verse 10. You observe days and months and seasons and years, and I'm afraid I may have labored over you in vain. Brothers, I entreat you. I just want to stop right here. Paul is not the, he's not like the most emotional guy. Well, he's got a lot of emotion, but he ain't the most tender fellow you've ever read before. And yet, this word treat means to beg and cry, to get on your knees, to plead. Another time this is used is when Jesus is telling the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. After the boy, the younger son, comes to his senses and comes home, and the dad throws a party for him, not because of what the younger son had done, but because of the father's grace. The older son, the religious one, the one that represented the Pharisees, the Judaizer, that kind of person, he's the older son. And the Bible says that the dad leaves the party and entreats the older son. That means he begs his older son to put down his pride and come to the party. This is what Paul is doing. He's saying, brothers, I beg you, I get on my knees, I cry for you, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first. If you read through the book of Acts, you find out that God used a really tough time in Paul's life to land him in Galatia. That wasn't even where he was intending to go, but God used a tough time in Paul's life for God's glory and for the building of the church. Because God is sovereign and God is in charge. Verse 14, he says, And though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel, angel just means messenger, and received me as a messenger of God as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? Again, this church, the church in Galatia, it started by believing the gospel, and now the Judaizers, the people that have come in, these wolves in sheep clothing, they are beginning to trick young believers to think that you have to go through a religious ritual before you can be right with God. And they are leading the people back into slavery, the slavery of trying to obey the law to be made right with God. Paul goes on to say, For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eye and given them to me. Most commentators and theologians believe that Paul had really bad eyesight. And what he's saying here is you guys loved me so much, and I love you so much that you would have been, if you could have given me an eye transplant, you would have done that. So why are you questioning me now? Verse 16. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? Listen, this is hard. The truth can divide relationship if the person is dedicated to a lie. Verse 17, he says, They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out that you may make much of them. The religious leaders, this is what he who he's talking about. This is what a Christless religion does. The religious leaders will use you to make much of themselves, but a true shepherd knows you, loves you, feeds you, and corrects you, and always points you to the truth. Verse 18, he says, It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Paul is hurting for his people. Now let me make this very personal to you. Who in your life do you care for like this? You see, most of the time when I hear people talk about a negative experience that they have had at church, and we're talking about gospel-centered, Bible-believing churches, it's people that are saying, Well, I didn't get cared for the way I wanted to be cared for. Well, listen, what if we spend more time caring for others than worrying about who's caring for us? I mean, Jesus commissioned us to make disciples. Our concern should be that we care for others, we pray for others, that we are pointing others to the truth. We've, Kyle and I talk about this ad nauseum. But just in case you're late to the party, do you have mat carriers in your life? Do you have the kind of men, at least four? I get this out of Mark chapter two. There's a man who's paralyzed on a mat. He's got four guys. They each pick up a corner of the mat and tote him to Jesus. Do you have four men like that in your life? And the best way to find four men like that is devote yourself to being that kind of man. When is the last time you picked up somebody else's corner of their mat and you brought them to Jesus?

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