Christ is love...and also a total badass!!!

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints Podcast with your host, Dan Willis.

Welcome back, Saints. We are going to get back down the loop today. Huge thank you to everybody who's been sharing out the podcast with friends, family, whoever. We broke through 150 downloads in the first week and a half, which is phenomenal. That's more than I could have hoped for. Really, really great to see, guys. Super thankful for all of you that are listening along, that have been part of discussions, that have been sending prayer requests. Huge thank you to all of you guys. If you have a second, make sure to leave a review wherever Wherever you are listening, let people know what you think of the podcast. But without further ado, let's get down to it today and continue on in Luke.

All right, guys.

So we are continuing in Luke. Luke chapter four, verse thirty-one is where we're going to get started today. For those of you that don't have a Bible, I'm going to read it out loud.

So don't worry about it whether you're at work or in the car or whatever.

I'm going to read this out loud. You'll be able to hear the entire scripture that we're going to break down today. I'm reading from the ESV as always, but you're welcome to follow along in whatever. Translation you prefer. But again, Luke 4, chapter 31. Luke 4, verse 31. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was teaching them on the Sabbath.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, what is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out.

And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

How cool is that? I just get blown away, guys. So often when, when you hear about Jesus, when you hear people talking about Jesus, it's, oh, Jesus is love and he's, he's so kind and he's compassionate and he's— and those things are all true. But so little is talked about with badass Jesus. And today We get to see a glimpse of that. Here's Jesus just walking down the road, and this demon thinks that he's got something to say. He, he's gonna quip at him. He's gonna mock. He's gonna jeer. He's gonna laugh. And Jesus's immediate response is to just stop it dead in his tracks and rip this demon out of this man simply by his word. His spoken word just separates demon from man and leaves this man completely unharmed as a result. How amazing and powerful is the Word of God that it has that authority? The people standing there were blown away by it. And yet you and I, every day of our lives, have the ability to turn to Scripture, and we have that ability to use Scripture, to use the Word of God as he did to enforce God's will. And when I say enforce God's will, guys, I'm not talking about being some overbearing, judging, manipulative user of God's Word. I'm talking looking demons in the face, looking sin in the face and going, no. The word says no, I will not allow that in my life, in the life of the loved ones around me. That it's just so powerful to see, guys. So that's the challenge I have for you today with the scripture, guys. I want you to stop and consider how do you use the word? Is the word simply a book that you are reading, or do you realize that it is a powerful weapon against evil? And whether that is demonic possession, which is, you know, Hopefully most of you guys don't come across us— across that in your daily walks. But aside from demonic possession, just the sins in your own life, the sins in the life of your family. Speak boldly with the Word. Are you doing that? Are you doing that in family Bible studies? Are you doing that in church? Are you doing that in your own life as you examine yourself against God's Word? Really, really use this tool, guys. It's powerful. Those who stood and saw Christ speak were blown away. But we get his Word in our hands, in our hearts, in our minds, and it can be such a powerful tool. All right, man, before we head out for the day, I do want to pray for you guys. Uh, thank you to all of you who have been sending in prayer requests.

Uh, it means a lot for me to be able to wrestle in prayer with you guys that are listening to the podcast. Um, as always, guys, if you do want to send a prayer request, any of the social media channels that are in the description of each episode or my email, you can send them there.

I do check those daily as well, guys. Uh, every, every Every single prayer that is prayed will be prayed with a pseudonym or first name only so that your identity is not compromised in any way.

But thank you so much for all of you who are willing to throw those prayer requests out so that we can pray together in fellowship as a group of men. So let's get down to it here. Lord, thank you so much for the men that are listening to the podcast. I just pray that you continue to work in their heart with the word, Lord. It's your word that has that power, that has that authority. All of us that are gathered here, whether it's me reading it or them listening to it, it's you doing the work, Lord. It's the Holy Spirit doing the work, and I'm so thankful for that.

Amen.

Lord, I do want to lift up the families that are stricken this morning with grief from the refinery fire in Ohio. Lift up those wives and children that are now left fatherless. I pray that their communities would come around them, Lord. I pray that you would come around them and embrace them. I pray that men of faith would come alongside and help the families through their grief and their suffering, Lord. Lord, thank you so much for all of those who are going through struggles with cancer right now. There are so many, so many requests for either people going through cancer themselves or loved ones that are facing cancer at the moment, Lord. And I just pray that you're, you're with them. That struggle is particularly difficult, especially for those that are struggling with finances through that, Lord. I pray that you would show some blessing, that you would show some compassion in those circumstances where people are more concerned about whether they're going to be able to feed themselves than actually get their treatments for cancer, get their, their, their medications that they need. And I just pray that you would be in that place, that you would be in that space, Lord. I pray for All of those who are working in the military, all of those who are working in war-torn countries today, Lord, that you would be with them, keep them safe, protect them, show compassion for their families as well, Lord, as they, they serve proudly to protect the rights and privileges that we so readily have available to us here in North America. Thank you so much for all the blessings that you show, Lord, in the power and authority of your word. In your name we pray.

That is it for today, guys.

Thank you so much for swinging through.

Again, huge shout out to all of you guys that are sharing out the podcast. Uh, spreading the word. It is really, really inspiring to see, uh, where this has started.

I wasn't expecting more than a handful of folks to listen, uh, in the first couple months, so that we are where we are is, is really a blessing.

Thank you so much for that, guys. If any of you has a second to leave a review wherever you are listening, that would be greatly appreciated. Have an amazing day, and I will catch you guys tomorrow with another episode.

Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints Podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all until next time.