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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. Maybe you're memorizing it by now. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness.

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I think part of the reason Americans love this Psalm so much is because at this point we think, man, he's really into me. I mean, look how awesome I am that the sovereign king of the universal would be my shepherd and look what he's doing. I mean, we don't love the phrase he makes me lie down, but that's what he does. He makes me lie down. See, this is the kind of shepherd that makes you do stuff. And if you would look at your life in Christ and you think, well, he hasn't made me do anything lately, then he might not be your shepherd. Because nowhere in the Bible are you going to find this idea that the sheep go out, lead the way and then ask the shepherd to come and bless the direction of the sheep. No, no, no, he goes the other way. I mean, we'll spend some time here in a few weeks.

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But in John, chapter 10, the preeminent text on shepherding in the New Testament, jesus says that my sheep hear my voice and they obey my voice, and they do not listen to the voice of the stranger. And every single time we do what the shepherd tells us to do, it leads to life. And every single time we disobey it and go our own way, it leads to death. And so this is the kind of shepherd that's not listen, man. You don't have to feather the hair of Jesus. He's not just a sky fairy telling you wonderful things about you and trying to fix all your problems. No, no, no, no, no. This is the kind of shepherd that, for his own glory and for your own good, he makes you do things. He's going to make you lie down in green pastures. He's going to lead you beside still waters.

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And what we get out of obedience to the good shepherd is this he restores my soul, and some of you need to have your soul restored, and there is nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing in this world that can restore your soul. There is nothing, there's not a trip on this planet that can restore your soul. There's not an amount of money you can make that can restore your soul. Some of you need to put the bottle down because you're self-medicating and what you need is soul restoration, some of you smoking weed every day and trying to get in some political argument as to what's legal and not legal. And what's really happening is you're looking for a substitute savior and you're looking for a piece, and it ain't ever going to be found in the pipe or the pill. It's only going to be found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and what's crazy is when he makes you do stuff.

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The joy of this world is found in the obedience to the thing that he tells you to do, and I'm telling you it's not submission until you don't like it. It's not submission until you don't like it. Of course there's things in the scripture of which the shepherd speaks to us through, and of course there's things in there that we don't want to hear, like forgiveness and reconciliation, and that we should love our enemies, that we should not talk smack about people that we don't like. That includes political parties that you may disagree with. Of course there's things in there that you don't like, but the reason that you don't like it is because you and I are dumb like sheep and we only have the purview of a stinky animal with his nose on the ground, two feet off the ground and the shepherd can see what we can't see. And the shepherd knows what we can't know. And when we do what he tells us to do, there is restoration for our souls in ways that I just can't explain. You know what Christ wants for you. He wants your soul to be restored, and the only way it will be restored is in him.

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In Matthew, chapter 11, jesus gives this incredible invitation because some of you have been lying down in whatever pasture you want, some of you have been drinking out of whatever waters you want, some of you have been not led in paths of righteousness, but you went your own way and you're asking the shepherd to come and bless you. And in Matthew 11, jesus says come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and being the boss of your own life will wear you out. And you know what happens when we come to him. He says all you who are weary and heavy burdened, come to me and I will give you peace, I will give you rest for your soul. So if you have a restless life right now, if you feel like your soul is empty, then come to the good shepherd and do whatever it is that he tells you to do, because in knowing him, that is where your life will be restored.

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Whatever the shepherd tells you to do, march in that direction, especially when it doesn't make sense or you're scared or you don't understand. That's what trust is. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides still waters. He restores my soul, amen.

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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.