Welcome And Why The Blade Matters

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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 Christians' 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.

A Week Of Leadership Lessons

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Welcome back to the Daily Blade. Hey, this one's gonna be a little bit different this week. I'm gonna spend each day unpacking five different leadership lessons that I've learned in ministry for the last 30 years and especially leading the Church of 1122 over the last more than 12 years. This isn't my normal just unpacking the scriptures. I'll get back to that next time. I hope it's helpful. And if you have any authority over people, whether you're a husband, a dad, a boss, a mom, a coach, whatever it is, this is for you.

Direction Beats Vision In Leadership

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So, in no particular order, just day by day, the first leadership lesson is this is that direction is more important than vision. That's right. Direction is more important than vision. I don't actually have a grand vision for 1122. Um, but I do know what we have been called to do, and I do know the direction that we have been called to go. And it is my job for our church, for me, to set that direction. We are a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, when when you think about vision, vision is like a picture of the preferred future. The problem with that, I'm not anti-vision. The problem is what happens when you arrive? Well, then you have to have a new vision for the next season. And if I look back over my shoulder in the last 12 years or so, my visions would have all been too small for what God wanted to do here at the Church of 1122. And maybe if we would have accomplished those visions, then I could have been tempted to take my foot off of the gas when we reached that vision. Instead, what I've done is just hammered down in the direction that God has called us to, which is just to make disciples that make disciples that make disciples.

Scripture And Destination Shaped By Direction

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So the Bible talks about this in Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, and following, very famous verses. It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. This is directional language, that every single one of us are on a path that leads somewhere. And to quote one of Kyle's most favorite pastors of all time, Andy Stanley, he said, It is direction, not intention, that determines your destination. And then the proverb keeps going and says, Be not wise in your own eyes, fear of the Lord, and turn away from evil. This is also directional language. And he says, it will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Well, if you are a follower of Jesus, and I assume if you're listening to this, you most likely are, then God has already set the direction of our life. We all have the same overall commission. It's called the Great Commission. That Jesus says in Matthew 28 that all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto him. Therefore, we as

Great Commission Sets Life Direction

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followers of him are to, as we are on the go, we are to make disciples of all nations, all people groups, that we are to teach everything that Jesus has commanded us, and we are to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus has already given us the great commandment. The way by which we are to do this is that we are to love God and love people. So the question I have for you what is the direction of your life? What is the role that God has called you to play in the Great Commission and in the Great Commandment?

Abraham Follows Without The Full Map

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And so a good example of this you can find in Genesis chapter 12, when God calls Abraham unto himself. You see, what Abraham has to do is he just has to trust God one step at a time. Now, when God calls him, he does give him a sense of a vision, but it is so grand, it is so unattainable that if all Abraham had was a vision, he would have no idea how to accomplish it. Because God tells Abraham, I'm gonna change your name from Abraham and Abraham, you're not just gonna be a dad, but you're gonna be a father of many nations, and your descendants are gonna outnumber the sands on the seashore and the stars in the sky. Now, if God would have just said, so good luck, Abraham, accomplishing that, he doesn't even know where to start. He doesn't even have a kid yet. So instead, what God does is God gives him direction. He does not give him the full map, because if we had the full map, most of us would screw this up. That we have been called to walk by faith and not by sight. If when I went into ministry when I was 19, if God gave me a vision of what I'm responsible for now at the church of 1122, I probably would have screwed it all up. So I just took one step at a time. So what God does in Genesis 12 says, the Bible says this, now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And here's what's key, verse 4. So Abraham went as the Lord told him. I'll bet you if you interviewed Abraham that first day that he goes home and has to tell Sarai, whose her later her name is Shames, to Sarah, if if he had to explain to you all that God had in store for him, he had no idea that God would use him to bring about a nation called Israel that would bring about the Messiah, and that through the Messiah the entire world would be blessed. There's no way he would know all the ideas, but what he did know is that God said, Follow me, and I'm not even telling you exactly where you're going, but I will show you along the way. So set your direction in obedience with what I have told you to do.

Choose Obedience Over A Preferred Future

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So, men and the 5% of women that listen to this, be real clear about the direction that you've set. And it will be your direction that will take you where you need to go, even more important than some picture of your preferred future. One leadership lesson that I've learned is that direction is more important than vision.

Share The Show And Stay Sharp

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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.