#60 - Kyle Thompson // A Godly Man is Selfless

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Blade #60 - Kyle Thompson // A Godly Man is Selfless

Introduction

In episode #60 of The Daily Blade, released on March 25, 2025, hosts Pastor Joby Martin of the Church of Eleven22 and Kyle Thompson of Undaunted.Life delve into the second element of a godly man: selflessness. Building on the foundation laid in the previous episode, where the preeminent quality of a godly man's surrender to Christ was discussed, this episode explores how selflessness contrasts with contemporary societal values and aligns with biblical teachings.

Main Discussion Points

1. Recap of the Ten Elements of a Godly Man

   Kyle Thompson begins the episode by reminding listeners that they are in the midst of a series exploring the ten elements that define a godly man. The first element focused on total surrender to Christ, setting the stage for understanding the foundational aspects of godly masculinity.

2. Element Two: Selflessness

   • Contemporary Self-Centered Culture

     Kyle emphasizes that we live in an age marked by unprecedented self-centeredness. He observes, "We live in the most selfish time perhaps in human history. Like, everything is about us and our comfort and what we want to do and what we want to accomplish" (02:15). Social media exemplifies this trend, with platforms dominated by personal achievements and moments: "Social media is all about where I'm going on vacation, the workout that I just did, the car that I just bought, I, I, me, me, my family, the things that I liked" (03:10).

   • Impact of Self-Help Culture

     Kyle critiques the pervasive self-help movement, noting its focus on personal advancement: "We've been in this milieu for probably two or three decades at this point where everything is about helping ourselves to do whatever it is that we want to do." He links this to the rise of "moral, therapeutic deism," which he argues has led to widespread cultural and ecclesiastical challenges.

   • Biblical Selflessness vs. Worldly Selfishness

     In stark contrast to modern norms, Kyle asserts that "the way that God wants us to act and carry ourselves is the exact opposite of how the world thinks that we should" (04:05). This dichotomy sets the stage for exploring biblical principles of selflessness.

3. Exegesis of Matthew 16

   • Significance of Matthew 16

     Kyle introduces Matthew 16 as a pivotal chapter, highlighting a major narrative shift. He references Stuart Weber's commentary to underscore that up to this point, the disciples had a limited understanding of Jesus's mission: "the disciples only have a limited understanding of who Jesus is and what he was sent here to do."

   • Jesus’s Revelation of His Suffering and Resurrection

     A critical moment occurs in Matthew 16:21, where Jesus begins to openly discuss his impending suffering, death, and resurrection: "From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things" (04:45). This marks a departure from his previous teachings, providing a more transparent view of his mission.

   • Peter’s Rebuke and Jesus’s Response

     The interaction between Peter and Jesus serves as a focal point for understanding selflessness. When Peter rebukes Jesus, saying, "This shall never happen to you, Lord" (05:00), Jesus responds sharply, "get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (05:15). This exchange exemplifies the rejection of selfish desires in favor of divine purpose.

4. Application to Being a Godly Man

   • Denying Self in Following Jesus

     Kyle reads and interprets Matthew 16:24, where Jesus instructs, "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (06:00). He juxtaposes this directive with modern societal messages, such as "my truth" and "my safety," highlighting the tension between self-centeredness and godly selflessness.

   • Stuart Weber’s Insight

     Quoting Stuart Weber, Kyle reinforces the necessity of following Jesus on His terms: "Many people wanted to follow Jesus, but most wanted to do it on their own terms. Jesus said that only those who followed on his terms could be disciples and they would be rewarded for their loyalty" (07:10).

   • Conclusion on Selflessness

     Concluding the discussion, Kyle posits that embracing selflessness—focusing on God rather than oneself—is essential to embodying the second element of a godly man. "We don't focus on us, we focus on him who saved us. Amen" (09:00).

Notable Quotes

• Kyle Thompson on Selfish Culture: "We live in the most selfish time perhaps in human history. Like, everything is about us and our comfort and what we want to do and what we want to accomplish." (00:20)

• Joby Martin on Spiritual Warfare: "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." (00:01)

• Kyle Thompson on Matthew 16: "From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things..." (04:45)

• Jesus’s Rebuke of Peter: "Get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." (05:15)

• Stuart Weber’s Commentary: "Many people wanted to follow Jesus, but most wanted to do it on their own terms." (07:10)

Conclusions and Takeaways

Episode #60 of The Daily Blade effectively underscores the importance of selflessness as a defining trait of a godly man. By contrasting contemporary self-centered values with biblical teachings, hosts Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson encourage listeners to prioritize God's purposes over personal desires. The in-depth exploration of Matthew 16 serves as a foundational scriptural basis for this discussion, illustrating the transformative power of embracing selflessness in one's spiritual journey.

Listeners are left with a clear call to action: to deny themselves in pursuit of following Christ’s example, thereby embodying the selfless nature that characterizes a godly man. This episode not only provides theological insights but also offers practical applications for integrating these principles into everyday life.

Next Steps

For those inspired by this discussion, The Daily Blade invites listeners to apply these lessons by sharing the podcast, leaving a five-star review, and staying engaged with future episodes that continue to explore the elements of a godly man.

Transcript

[Joby Martin]

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.

[Kyle Thompson]

All right, guys. Welcome back to the Daily Blade. We are going over the 10 elements of a godly man. So yesterday we did the first element of a godly man, and that is the preeminent one, and that is that a godly man has surrendered his life to Christ. Today we're going to be talking about element two of a godly man, and that's. A godly man is selfless. A godly man is selfless. But guys, here's the thing. We live in the most selfish time perhaps in human history. Like, everything is about us and our comfort and what we want to do and what we want to accomplish. I mean, look at social media. Social media is all about where I'm going on vacation, the workout that I just did, the car that I just bought, I, I, me, me, my family, the things that I liked. Right. That, that's social media. We don't really follow people on social media that are constantly talking about other people. Right. But also we're kind of in this milieu of self helpiness. And we've been in this milieu for probably two or three decades at this point where everything is about helping ourselves to do whatever it is that we want to do. And it's kind of led to this overall moral, therapeutic deism that's caused all kinds of problems for the church and really cultural culture writ large. But as per usual, the way that God wants us to act and carry ourselves is the exact opposite of how the world thinks that we should. So today we're going to be looking at Matthew 16. And here's the thing about Matthew 16. It is a very important chapter in the entire narrative that Matthew gives us as an eyewitness because there's a lot going on. Sure. But we see a major shift in this chapter. Okay. Because everything up to and including the beginning of Matthew 16. Stuart Weber actually pointed this out brilliantly in one of his commentaries. The disciples only have a limited understanding of, of who Jesus is and what he was sent here to do. Okay. So they're still kind of on the outside looking in a little bit. Also in general, up to this point, Jesus has seemingly avoided talking about his impending death, and resurrection hasn't really been a main point of conversation. Also, Jesus talked about his coming kingdom. But he didn't give a lot of detail up to this point. And again, up to this point, he stayed out of the spotlight of Jerusalem. Okay, so there's a lot of religious hypocrisy going on there, but he's kind of stayed in other areas of Galilee. Okay, but again, everything starts to change in Matthew 16. We'll go to verse 21. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chiefs, priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, far be it from me, Lord. This shall never happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. So right here we have a bunch of different shifts now. There's a shift that he is explicitly talking about the necessity of going to Jerusalem. He's explicitly talking about his impending suffering, murder and resurrection. And he's kind of stopped playing games with the disciples. He wasn't really playing games with them, but he's being more explicit. I mean, he rebukes Peter right back to his face. And we'll go ahead and read the rest of the chapter now, and then we'll park there for the rest of our time today. So starting in verse 24, then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his, his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father. And then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom again. Go back to verse 24. Let him deny himself. But, guys, this goes against everything we've been taught in modernity. Remember this whole concept of my truth, right? I mean, you should cringe every time you hear someone say, well, my truth is actually this. Because, guys, we know this by now. There's no such thing as my truth. There's only truth. And that's truth with a capital T. There's also these people that love to talk about my lived experience. Like, because you lived a certain way and you are a certain color or a certain race or a certain gender gender or have a certain nationality, that your lived experience somehow changes. Capital T. Truth. How about my safety? Right? We, we talk about constantly needing to be safe, but people are normally talking about being safe from things that they disagree with. And then that also equals my outrage. So, like, if I'm super duper outraged, that's somehow supposed to equal my level of rightness. But I think Stuart Weber gives us a great quote here. This is again from one of his commentaries about verse 24. Many people wanted to follow Jesus, but most wanted to do it on their own terms. I mean, my goodness, that'll preach. I'll read it again. Many people wanted to follow Jesus, but most wanted to do it on their own terms. Here's the rest of the quote. Jesus said that only those who followed on his terms could be disciples and they would be rewarded for their loyalty. And so how in the world can we be a godly man? Well, that's element two of a godly man. A godly man is selfless. We don't focus on us, we focus on him who saved us. Amen.

[Joby Martin]

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.