#165 - Kyle Thompson // A Time to Break Down, and a Time to Build Up

Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us that for everything there is a season, including times of breaking down and building up. We explore why accepting God's "breaking down" process is essential before He can rebuild us into something greater.

• Most men are comfortable with the grind only when they remain in control
• God designed life with necessary cycles of breaking down and building up
• Breaking someone down reveals what they're truly made of when tested
• The "burn it down and walk away" approach removes barriers to spiritual growth
• Testing people to their limits helps determine if they can be relied upon
• Without breaking down, we cannot know what needs to be built up
• It's better to volunteer for God's breaking process than have Him do it without your consent
• God's ultimate purpose in breaking us down is to prepare us for His calling

If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to the Daily Blade
• 0:21 Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything
• 1:21 Breaking Down Before Building Up
• 2:30 God's Purpose in Breaking Us Down
• 5:33 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

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.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Alright, howdy everybody. This week on the Daily Blade we are focusing on Ecclesiastes 3, verses 1 through 8. I will read it again here For everything there is a season and a time, for every matter under heaven a time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. Heal a time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to seek and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to cast away. A time to tear and a time to sow. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. So, specifically today we're keying in on the latter part of verse 3, a time to break down and a time to build up.

Speaker 2: 1:20

So for many of you guys, you're embrace the grind guys. You know so many of you guys in this audience and grind guys you know so many of you guys in this audience and hopefully most of you work very, very hard. So, specifically as it pertains to your bodies and your careers, you absolutely bust your tails and you should be commended for that. I mean those of you that actually do that. That is so when you read a verse that talks about a time to build up, you're here for it. I mean, you are on the path, as it were, right, you're down to embrace the suck because you know that on the other side of the building process is a better version of you and or a better life for you and those around you. But here's something I know Most of y'all, me included we don't like the first part, a time to break down. You see, we're okay with the grind as long as we're in control of it, right. We are totally and completely cool with the hard road to build ourselves up, just as long as we're the ones calling the shots, right. But, men, that's just not the way that God designed all of this.

Speaker 2: 2:25

So if you listen to my main show, undaunted Life, or if you've ever seen me speak live, you probably heard me talk about my presentation style. Okay, so I describe it as burn it down and walk away. So, essentially, if you bring me into speak in front of your group, especially if it's a room full of men, my aim is to burn it down and walk away. So what do I mean by that? I'm going to present and speak in a way that will hopefully impact the men listening in a very deep manner. Okay, I want to blow right past all of the fluff and affirmations and satanic agreements and mental junk that gets in the way of a man living out God's calling in their lives. So it's very brash, it's very abrasive, and that's a feature, not a bug, because I want to burn off all the crap that is keeping you from walking rightly with God.

Speaker 2: 3:12

And on the walk away side of things, I just explained to these guys and to the people that brought me in to speak that I don't live there. I mean, you brought me to where Eversville, ohio to speak to your crew, but when I'm done talking, I'm leaving. You guys live here. You are going to have to deal with these men after I burned off the stuff that needed to be burned off. Frankly, you need to have a plan for these men, you see, because part of my goal is to break these men down. And I do something similar with my foxhole brothers, or those that I perceive could be a foxhole brother someday.

Speaker 2: 3:50

I purposefully lean on these guys and I don't mean in a lean on me, when you're not strong, I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on, kind of a way. I mean I lean on these guys to see if they're going to break. I take them to their absolute limits physically, and then I try to take them a little farther. I challenge them to the limits of their philosophical and intellectual capacities and then I try to take them a little farther. Why? Because I need to know if they can be relied upon when the chips are down. I need to know that if you know the bullets start flying, that they aren't going to be curled up in the fetal position on the floor, right, and I'd rather know that now than later, obviously.

Speaker 2: 4:36

And I can only do that if I break them down. And if I don't break them down, then I have no idea what I can help them build up. You see, in God's economy there are cycles for everything a time to break down and a time to build up. And this is echoed in Jeremiah 1, verse 10, when God says to Jeremiah see, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant Men, hear me, you would much rather volunteer to be broken down than for God to do it without you right. You simply do not want God to humble you. But whether you decide to roll with it or it happens without your consent, just know God has a good and mighty plan for your life and he can and will build you up to make you ready for his calling, amen.

Speaker 1: 5:33

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.