#240 - Joby Martin // Wise Friends Make You Stronger

We explore why wisdom is the greatest gift friends can offer, drawing from Proverbs to show how lived obedience shapes faith, choices, and character. We challenge each other to align daily life with God’s Word so our friends grow wiser by walking beside us.

• the call to be friends who point others to Jesus
• wisdom defined as living in God’s world, God’s way
• Proverbs traits of wisdom across speech, diligence, honesty
• the impact of counsel, correction and teachability
• choosing steady gain over shortcuts with money and work
• modeling faithful marriage, words, and integrity
• repentance as a normal rhythm that strengthens friendships
• becoming foxhole brothers who bring life, not harm

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

Chapters

• 0:01 Welcome And Mission
• 0:21 Traits Of A Friend Who Points To Jesus
• 0:38 Wisdom As A Friend’s Essential Gift
• 1:50 Proverbs On What Wisdom Looks Like
• 2:59 Living God’s Way In Daily Life
• 4:53 Charge To Walk Wisely And Share

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 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_01: 0:20

All right, welcome back. Day two as we do a deep dive on the kind of traits that we as friends need to possess in order that we would be the kinds of friends that would help others know Jesus better. Like, what does it require of us to be a Mac carrier or to be a foxhole brother? The second thing that your friends need from you is wisdom, is wisdom. The Bible says, he who walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. And I want to read you all of the context around that verse because in studying for this, what I realized is that before you get to the verse, what Solomon does in the book of Proverbs is he describes what wisdom is. Check this out. It's a bunch of verses. He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards him whose ways is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing. Another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat. The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. By insolence comes nothing but strife. But with those who take advice is wisdom. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes a heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Whoever despises the word brings destruction to himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing. Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignore instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. So what does it mean to be wise? Wisdom is living in God's world, God's way. Let me say that again. Wisdom is living in God's world, God's way. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is when we align the way we live with the Word of God and not the way of this world. Here are some of the things that Solomon says a wise man possesses according to this passage, that he hears his father's instructions. So let me ask you: are you the kind of person that is willing to hear your father's instructions? A wise man guards his mouth. He knows that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and he knows that his words either bring life or death. A wise man is diligent. A wise man hates falsehood. A wise man takes advice from other people. A wise man reveres the word of God and understands that reward is in the obedience. A wise man has a good sense about right and wrong. A wise man acts with knowledge, a wise man is faithful, a wise man heeds reproof. So let me ask you whoever walks with you, will they become wise, or are they a companion of a fool and they're going to suffer harm? So, in your life, when it comes to things like power, possessions, and passions, when it comes to things like status and stuff and sex, let me ask you, man, are you doing life God's way or your way or the world's way? Because what your friends need to do is they need to be able to look at you when it comes to how you go to work and how you treat your wife and how you handle money and how you use your words, and they need to see you living in God's world, God's way. That is what wisdom is. And a good friend is a wise friend because whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. May you know the word, may you walk in the word, may you repent where you need to repent so that you can be wise, not simply for your own benefit, but for the benefit of your foxhole brothers. We'll see you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00: 5:07

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.