← The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
#363 - Joby Martin // Pathways That Lead To Life
00:06:45
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- [00:01]
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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.
- [00:21]
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All right. Last day. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of the sinner, nor sits in the seat of the scoffer. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. We're going to focus on the last three verses. The wicked are not so. They are like chaff that the wind drives out. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor the sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Here's a clue about what this part is about. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. You see, wicked and righteous are pathways, not snapshots. Let me say that again. Wickedness and righteousness are pathways, not snapshots. Now, if you are not in Christ Jesus, you are on a pathway of wickedness that will lead to eternal torment. And if you are in Christ Jesus, you have been imputed with the righteousness of Christ. Amen. And you will. It is a pathway that leads to your glorification. In John, chapter 10, Jesus talks about being the good shepherd. This is one of the seven I am statements of John that Jesus Sundays. In John, seven times Jesus says, I am. And so for all those goofy people out there that say Jesus never claimed to be God, then they just don't understand literature. It's like Jesus was a Jewish man talking to a Jewish audience. And God's covenant name was I am. And so seven times the number of completion, Jesus says, I am. So that means that I am completely the I am. That's what he's saying. And so he says, I am the good shepherd. He goes on to say, the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But I am the good shepherd, and I have come that we may have life and have it Abundantly. Now, what we, like we talked about yesterday, the abundant life is in him, not an abundance of possession. He goes on to say, my sheep hear my voice. The voice of a stranger, they will not listen to. Here's what I wanna tell you about wickedness and righteousness. What Jesus is talking about in John chapter 10 is that this is so much bigger than merely right and wrong. This is about life and death. That the reason that we do what's right is not simply because in and of itself, it's right. What Jesus is saying is every single time you hear my voice and you heed what it says. Every single time you hear what the Good shepherd says to you through his word and you obey it, especially when it doesn't make sense to you, you are taking steps of obedience in the direction of the Good Shepherd. And every single time we take steps of obedience in the direction of the Good shepherd, that is the abundant life and the voice of a stranger, they will not listen to. Why? Because the voice of a stranger is a thief. And every single time we reject the voice of. Of the Good Shepherd. Every single time we reject the word of God and we decide to do whatever we want and we obey the voice of the stranger. It's not just that it's bad. It's not just that it's wrong. It's not even that it's a sin. The wages of sin is death. The way of the wicked will perish. That you are on a path that leads somewhere. So please, please, please, if you just think that your Christian life is sin management and trying to not do bad things and try to do good things, you'll never survive. First and foremost, you have to understand that by the power of Christ, the love of Jesus compels us to follow after him. And the best thing that we could do for our very own life is following his direction. Because everything he has for us is good. So here's what I mean, man. Every single one of us, we're not merely choosing right and wrong. We are on a path that leads somewhere. And it is our direction, not our intention, that determines our destination. Like when it comes to sex, there's God's way and there's the world's way. And the world says, hey, man, porn's fine. Promiscuity is probably the way to go. Adultery, I mean, you know, why not? You might as well. Fornication, as long as you love each other. And you might think that's okay for me to do, but the problem is, they're not just wrong. It's not just sinful, but it's a pathway that leads to death and destruction. It destroys your relationship with God. It's gonna kill your relationship with your family. And if you're like, I'm not married yet, okay, cool, you're just pre deciding that it's gonna kill your ability to love your wife like Christ loved the church. If you do money the world's way, you're going to be consumed with consumerism. You're going to love money, you're going to be greedy. And the problem with that is it leads to a path of destruction. If you do power the world's way, you're just going to try to make much of you. And at the end of your life, all you're going to have is you. And God has a better way. God has a way that leads to life because his ways are the ways that lead to life. So whether it's sex or money or power or the way you talk to people or your relationships or whatever it is, there is a way of righteousness. And that is first and foremost, humbling yourself before Jesus, confessing I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. I put my faith in you, Jesus, and then Christ gives you the spirit of God to live in you so that you can have your ear tuned to him and you can follow the voice of the good Shepherd. And I am sad to say that wide is the way of wickedness that leads to destruction. May you be on the path that leads to righteousness. Amen.
- [06:25]
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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.