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 .
All right , back to John 10 . John 10.10 . I don't know if you realize this , but the enemy's mission statement is in our scriptures . God's word said the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy . I came that they may have life and have it abundantly . I am the good shepherd . The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep , it abundantly . I am the good shepherd . The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep . He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd , who does not own the sheep , sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees , and the wolf snatches them and scatters them . He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep . I am the good shepherd . I know my own and my own know me , just as the father knows me , and I know the father . And I lay down my life for the sheep . I want you to see what the thief wants to do . You have two options here in John chapter 10 . You can follow after the good shepherd or you can follow after the thief .
Speaker 2And this is who the devil is . Satan , your enemy , the accuser of the brethren . And this is who the devil is Satan , your enemy , the accuser of the brethren . He's a thief . What he wants to do is take what is not his , and the only thing he wants to do I don't know if you see
this , or you probably hear this in verse 10 , the thief comes only to steal , kill and destroy . The devil's not just trying to make you stumble . The devil's not just trying to cause a hiccup in your life . The enemy is not here to let you have a good time , and it's just an alternative to the way of Christ . The only thing he wants to do is steal what is most valuable to you . He wants to steal your life . He wants to steal your hopes . He wants to steal your dreams . He wants to steal your family and he wants to kill . He literally wants to kill you , and he knows that if you're a follower of Jesus , that he cannot extinguish your soul , because Christ has purchased that and you will live forever with him . And so he wants to kill everything good and godly in your life and he wants to destroy . He wants to destroy your testimony . He wants to destroy your witness and your ministry . He wants to destroy your family . He wants to destroy your joy . This is what he does , and the enemy will do whatever he can to try to trick you or lure you away from the abundant life in Christ . The good news is we find out .
Speaker 2We're going to talk about this a lot because I want you to understand this all the way from Genesis 3 to the temptation of Christ . What we see is that the enemy basically only has three tricks up his sleeve . 1 . John calls it this the lust of the eyes , the lust of the flesh and the pride of life . And these are tricks , these are lures . Think about being a bass fisherman . Here in Florida , we fish a lot , and what you do when you're a bass fisherman is you throw a lure . But the problem with a lure is every lure has a hook . The idea of a lure is it's alluring . It tricks Big Billy Bass to go for what he thinks is bait , but it's not bait , it's a gotcha . And every trick , every temptation has a gotcha .
Speaker 2And so one of the things that you should consider in your life is that you have an enemy that only wants to steal , kill and destroy , and so if you were your enemy , how would you try to take you out ? Is it lust of the eyes ? Lust of the eyes is when we see some stuff and we want some stuff . Lust of the eyes is when we give ourselves to greed and materialism . Lust of the eyes is we didn't even know we wanted that new truck until we saw that new truck . And now we think I've got to have that new truck and there's nothing wrong with a new truck . I have a new truck , kyle's got a new truck , there's nothing wrong with a new truck . The problem with the lust of the eyes is when we think that temporary thing will do for us what it cannot do for us . We think that we'll be fully and finally satisfied if we can just move into that new neighborhood or get that new truck or get that new bow , as if that temporary thing can satisfy an itch . And then we begin to neglect our family or overwork or cut some corners to make some more money or not be generous to the Lord , in order to try to satisfy the lust of the eyes .
Speaker 2It's a temptation that the enemy is trying to kill
you with , or maybe it's the lust of the flesh . Lust of the flesh is the temptation to feel this could be everything from cookies to cocaine and you're like what ? Yeah , lust of the flesh is when you begin to negotiate with yourself and you believe you deserve to feel a certain way . And again , it could be overeating , because you're just lazy and it's easier to sit on your couch and eat Doritos than it is to get up and go to the gym . Or it could be that time when you get home from work and one drink turns to two , which turns to three , which turns to four , and you're self medicating to just take the edge off . The enemy wants to use that alcohol in your life to kill you . Or it could be the pride of life when you were trying to make much of yourself .
Speaker 2Now you started out with the right aim in mind . You were going to glorify God at work and you were going to provide for your family . But now you know you're just trying to make a name for yourself . So let me ask you if the thief comes only to steal , kill and destroy , and his only weapons are lust of the eyes , lust of the flesh and the pride of life , then if you were your enemy , how would you take you out ? By the Spirit of God , you need to war against these things because you have an enemy and he is trying to take you out
. But the good news is you have a big brother , christ Jesus , who is the victor , and we walk in victory in him , but not by being lazy , but by going to war against this thief .
Speaker 1Amen . 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 .