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 .
Welcome back day four in John , chapter 10 . We're gonna pick it up in verse 14 . Jesus says 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 . I lay down my life for the sheep , and I have other sheep that are not of this fold . Let me stop for one second . I love this so much .
Speaker 2Jesus said this 2000 years ago to a group of his followers that were with him in Israel , and he is talking about you and me Now . We're not the only ones he's talking about , but we are included in these other sheep that are not of this fold . I want you to know that , before Jesus ever goes to the cross , before Jesus has ever resurrected from the grave , that he had in mind that one day he would send out his followers that would start the ecclesia , the movement , the church that would take the gospel to the very ends of the earth so that God could call unto himself his children . This is who he's talking about , and I have other sheep that are not of this fold . I must bring them also , and they will listen to my voice . So there will be one flock and one shepherd .
Speaker 2Let me ask you this
question how do you know the voice of God ? Because Jesus says that his sheep recognize his voice and that we listen to him . Earlier , in verse five , he says a stranger . They will not follow , but they will flee from him , for they do not know the voice of strangers . So let me ask you which voice are you listening to ?
Speaker 2You see , the reality is that we live in a world that spends billions of dollars a day to try to amplify the voice of the thief who comes only to steal , kill and destroy . We live in a world that tries to tell you that it's all about you , that you just do you . We live in a world that says if you buy this stuff , it will satisfy . We live in a world that says if you buy this stuff , it will satisfy . We live in a world that says you have your own truth , that you are the arbiter of truth , that you stand in authority over God and everybody else and you decide what's right and wrong . This is the voice of the stranger and it leads only to death and destruction . So the question is do you listen to the voice of Jesus ? How do you know the voice of Jesus and are you doing what the voice of Jesus is telling you to do ? Well , how do you know the voice of the good shepherd ? First and foremost , people have asked me . They've said hey , do you ever hear God speak ? Of course I hear God speak and they'll say out loud of course .
Speaker 2If you want to hear the voice of God out loud in your life , just read the Bible out loud . God , god out loud in your life . Just read the Bible out loud . God has given us his gift the revealed word of God . This thing is called the daily blade because the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword . The word of God is the sword of the spirit , and God has given it to us because he is not a God of confusion , he is a God of clarity . And so God's will for your life is recorded right here in the scriptures . God's will for every single believer is to make disciples , that make disciples , that make disciples . That's called the great commission . So if you want to hear the voice of God , the voice of the good shepherd , first and foremost read your Bible , and good job listening to the Daily Blade .
Speaker 2Another way to help hear the voice of the good shepherd is listen to some good Bible preaching , some pastors that just open up the scriptures and just walk through the scriptures and help
you understand . And Jesus promised that he would give you the Holy Spirit to help interpret and understand what he would want you to know at a certain time . Another way to hear the voice of God is through prayer . Now here , notice I started with the Bible first and then prayer , because God is never going to tell you something specifically that differs from what he has told us generally . But for sure we lean into God . He wants to bring a good word to you , he wants to give you direction . He wants to lead you beside still waters and lead you into green pastures . Another way to hear the voice of God is in community . Again , I feel like we're going to go back to this every single week .
Speaker 2Do you have a group of men in your life that are rooted in the scriptures ?
Speaker 2So when you think you hear the voice of the good shepherd leading you in a certain direction , then you can go to your brothers , your Mack carriers , your Foxhole brothers , your 3am guys , and say here's what I think God is saying to me .
Speaker 2Brothers who also know God and also know the Bible , do you think that sounds like the voice of the good shepherd , and also pay very close attention to where you're paying your attention .
Speaker 2Very close attention to where you're paying your attention . If the majority of your input is from the voice of this world that is trying to lead you astray because the enemy is trying to kill , steal and destroy , then no wonder it's going to be hard to hear the voice of God . You see , do you think it's that God doesn't want to speak to you , or do you think that your world is so noisy right now that you have got too much white noise and you can't hear the voice of God ? I would highly encourage you to make it a regular practice of you to get away from the noise of this world . Turn down all the noise , turn off your phone after this podcast . Turn off all the noise . Just get you and the Word and say Father , speak to me through this word , because he promises that he speaks to his sheep . The question is are you listening for the voice of the good shepherd ? Amen .
Speaker 1Thank 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 .