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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.

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Back to the 23rd Psalm. We only made it through half a sentence in our first day and we're only going to do the second half of the first sentence today. The Lord is my shepherd, and when you know that, when you know that the one that cares for you and knows you and calls you by name is the Lord of the universe, david then says and I shall not want. It literally means in Hebrew and I shall not be in want. Not want it literally means in Hebrew and I shall not be in want that when I have the Lord as my shepherd, I have everything that I could ever want and need in this world. So let me ask you this Can you say that, or is there some stuff that you want? And I look at that and I go uh-oh, because I want all kinds of stuff. I want the Georgia Bulldogs to win another national championship, kind of stuff. I want the Georgia Bulldogs to win another national championship. I want to shoot a big old elk this next year. I want every new piece of origin camo that I see.

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There's all kinds of things that I want, but ultimately what David is saying here is the only one that can fulfill our deepest wants and needs is the one that created us. You see, you were created by God and for God, and he will be the only one that will ever be able to fully and finally satisfy all of your wants and needs. You see, in the beginning, out of an overflow of God's love for God's self, god creates image bearers. And the reason that God made man is not because he needed anything. It's not like God was lonely in heaven. He was not lonely. God, the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit have always been and will always be in a perfectly submissive love relationship with himself, fulfilling everything he needs. God needs nothing and yet, because of an overflow of God's love for God's self, it spills out into creation. God speaks into existence, it its canvas unto his own glory, with mountains and streams and oceans and stars and galaxy that all shout back praise to his name. And he said that's good.

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But then God takes the dust of the earth that's Adama in Hebrew, it's where we get the English name Adam and he forms together the dust of the earth into the shell of the first human being. But the Bible says he was not yet a living creature. And then the Bible says in the book of Genesis that God breathes the ruach of life into the nostrils of Adam. There's a lot there. God went face to face with the very first man and breathed into him the ruah. Ruah is a Hebrew word. It means spirit or it can mean breath. It's the same thing. But when God breathed his breath, when God breathed the spirit of himself into the very first image bearer check this out Adam, our very first human ancestor, opened his eyes and he is face to face with his heavenly father, who happens to be his creator, and he knew this is what I was made for. And that face-to-face relationship was imprinted into the heart of Adam and he knew that's what he needed. God goes on to say it's not good for man to be alone. So he gives him a helper, he gives him Eve, and their relationship together was to be a reflection of the Godhead himself. And it goes exceedingly well in my Bible for less than a page. And then Adam and Eve both sin and when they do, it fractures this relationship.

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A friend of mine, pastor Ryan Britt, here at the Church of 1122, he said that the fallout of sin is like the fallout of one of those old nuclear movies, that when that bomb would go off, that ash would be on everything, and sin gets on everything. And this is why, by the way, you have yearnings and longings in your heart. This is why you want more. This is why you want to be known. This is why you want to be loved. This is why you want a bigger house. This is why you want more cash in the bank. This is why you want to be respected.

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The enemy knows these things, so he constantly throws these lures at you lest the eyes, lest the flesh and the pride of life. And we continuously think that if I just had a little bit more stuff, then I would be fully and finally satisfied. But some of you men have enough life under your belt to realize there are no temporary things of this world that could ever fully and finally satisfy. And so you got the job you always wanted. You got enough money in the bank, at least more than you thought you would. You got a wife laying next to you in bed and a couple of kids and they're not terrible. You've got the American dream two car, garage, truck, boat. You've got some stuff.

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And you lay your head on the pillow and think is this it?

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And the answer is this, ain't it, bro? This is not what you were created for. What you were created for is to know the almighty God as your shepherd. And when you have a right relationship with him, when you realize that you were created by God, for God and he and he alone is the only one that can scratch that eternal itch deep down in your soul, then you will be able to say the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want. And the crazy thing, the counterintuitive thing, is, when you get to that place, then, and only then, can you actually enjoy your wife and your family and your truck and your house and your boat, and then your job and all of these things that God has given you as a gift, because your worship doesn't terminate on those things that will never satisfy. Those things are a tool to aim you to God, to give him and him alone, glory. And you could say with contentment that surpasses understanding the Lord is my shepherd, I've got everything I need. I pray that for you this day.

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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.