The body moves. FAITH GROWS!

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

Welcome back, Saints. It's a new day, new podcast. We are almost through the week this week. I hope everything's going well for you guys. Today we're going to continue the walkthrough Luke. If you guys have missed it, you know, you're just coming across the podcast, you've just tripped across it and you want to start at the beginning, no problems whatsoever. It is a daily devotional, so you could start back at episode 1, and that's the start of Luke, and walk with us all the way back to where we are now. Or if you just want to keep going where we are, that's good too. But typically we build on the past couple episodes, so maybe even going back the past couple episodes will help you out. Huge shout out to all of you guys that are leaving reviews. We did have another major milestone yesterday where we were among the top 10 Christian podcasts on Spotify. So again, what a huge blessing. Not something I was expecting to happen this quickly, if at all. So really, really excited, guys. Thank you so much for that. But today we are going to get down to Luke 9. And yesterday we started into Luke 9. He had sent his apostles out into the field, as it were. He had demonstrated in the end of Luke 8 his power and authority, how it is used, how to properly use it. And then in Luke 9, he sends out the boys and off they go, the apostles casting out demons, healing the sick. So today we're going to visit our friend Herod and we're going to take a look at Jesus going a step further and demonstrating Exactly the difference between us here and the man of God. Ah, the Son of Man. Here we go. As always, guys, I encourage you to grab your Bibles and read along. I think it's an important part of the process for you to have a Bible in hand. I understand though, if you're driving and listening to a podcast or at the gym and running on a treadmill, it can prove a little difficult to have a Bible in your hands. So have no worries. I am going to always be reading the scripture. I read personally from I'm going to be reading from the ESV. Feel free to read along in whatever translation you prefer. But without further ado, here we go. Luke 9:7. Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. On their return, the apostles told him all that they had done, and he took them with him and drew apart to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the 12 came and said to him, Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place. But he said to them, you give them something to eat. They, they said, we have no more than 5 loaves and 2 fishes, unless we are to go and buy food for all these people. For there were about 5,000 men. And he said to his disciples, have them sit down in groups of about 50 each. And they did so and had them all sit down. And taking the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up. 12 baskets of broken pieces. Okay, so let's start with Herod. This is the Gospels, this is Luke telling us, okay, Herod's aware. Herod's aware something's happening. So the moves that Jesus is making are coming to his ears and people are starting to get a little flustered, a little excited about what's going on. Now, Herod thought he had nipped this in the bud, he wouldn't have to deal with something like this again once he, you know, lopped the head off John, but it doesn't seem like that's the case. So now we know that Herod's on the lookout, he's going to be a part of this process moving forward. Jesus probably was aware of this as well. But on the return of the apostles, they came back and first thing they did was spew on him. And it's like, it's like when you send your kids off to school for the first day, right? They come home and they're, we did this and we've got this teacher and there's all these kids and we, I jumped on this and I did this and I had, you know, hand paints and look at my work. And it's like, okay, great. First day of school. Gotcha excited. Very cool. But he took them because he needed some time together with them. So he took them and drew apart to a remote area. He always loves to do this. I don't need to be in Jerusalem. I'll be where I am. People will come. I'll walk around and I'll serve whoever's there, right? But the crowds learned it and sure enough, they followed. Okay, Jesus is over there.

Great.

Everybody pack up. We're going for a road trip. We're going to follow him. Okay, so they follow him and sure enough, he does what he's been doing, what the apostles have been doing. They cure the sick. They cure those who need healing. But so many were following that it took the day. So you've got 13, you've got 12 apostles and Jesus healing away, and it took the whole day. And the apostles start to become aware, oh man, we've got like a logistical issue, Jesus. I know you've got bread, of which we do not know, but at the same time, these people gotta eat. And Jesus' response is, well, I have equipped you guys, the apostles, to do the thing that needs to be done. So you feed them. And they literally like jaw dropped to the ground. Or like, we've got, we've got, what do you got? Like a loaf? You got a loaf? Okay. We don't even have a loaf each. Jesus. And we got a couple of fish here. Like we've got enough for us. We've got enough for 12, but there's like 5,000-ish people. Well, more than 5,000. It says 5,000 men. So 5,000 men plus accoutrements, plus their wives and servants and children and whatever else. Right. So like a little bit dumbfounded by this. And Jesus again has now, he's not gonna argue with them. He's already given the instructions.

Yeah.

And he goes on to say, okay, well, this is how you're gonna do it. Do it this way. And they did. There was no questions. There was no arguments. As ludicrous as this may have sounded to anybody else, these apostles had just seen Jesus calm the storms, raise the dead, heal the sick. cast out thousands of demons. They're bought in. They went out into the field, they tried it out, it worked. They're bought in. They believe. They believe. The faith is starting to come. And this one little sentence often gets skipped in this miracle they perform, but I think it's probably the most important verse of them all. It's 15. And they did so and had them all sit down. Now, I know it doesn't sound like your typical exciting verse, right? But this is a testimony to them having faith. Their faith is building. Their faith is growing because they didn't question Christ. Okay, Jesus says, have them sit down in groups, about 50 each. That's what we're going to do. Bam, done. And away they go. And they started serving. And not only were they able to do the seemingly impossible task of feeding this mob, they were also able to feed them until they were satisfied, which means You know, it wasn't like everybody got a little peck and they'll have to wait until they get home to have a full meal. They were satisfied. They had a full meal's worth of food, and conveniently, there was enough left over for there to be 12 baskets of broken pieces. Guess who that's for? So really, really cool stuff here. So I think the takeaway for today on this one, guys, is the more that we're in the word, and I. I— there's some men that have been following along episode by episode by episode by episode. So you've been on this journey, same as the apostles. We've been breaking this down. We've been walking alongside. And I really hope that you are feeling the same way, that faith is starting to grow. Even if you've been a Christian for a long time, you've read the Bible before, I hope you feel like your faith is starting to grow. I know I can attest to it. My wife and my kids definitely are recognizing a change of holy moly, something is going on. But this, this concept of and they did so is pretty remarkable. It's pretty remarkable. So I would challenge you with that today, man. Whatever is resonating from the scriptures as you're reading them, if this is all you do during the day is for your devotions is listen to this episode, no problem. That's not an issue, but make sure that and they did so becomes your model. And this is this is to tie into what we saw yesterday when he sent them out, right? Jesus's teachings are not just academia. It's not there just for knowledge sake. Is it there for knowledge sake to come to a better understanding of the Lord and your relationship with Christ? Yes, absolutely. It's there for that. But is that it? Is that the entirety of what's expected? No. He wants you to take what you have learned and to use it. It's not enough. It's not a YouTube video where you pop up and you watch a YouTube video and you learn how something's done. You're like, oh, that's cool. And then you go back off and do whatever you. want. It's meant as instructional lessons. So today, this one's talking about taking a look at the situation around you, recognizing a problem, and trusting that the Lord will provide. I don't know what that looks like in your own lives. I hope when I say that, it brings something to mind, but you are capable. You have that power. You have that authority. You have the ability, and maybe not to feed 5,000 people. I'm not saying put yourself into a situation that requires a miracle, But take a look around you day to day. Every man out there is going to face a problem today. We're going to face a trial. We're going to face something that somebody else feels overwhelmed by. Face it with confidence. Pray beforehand. Face it with confidence. Ask the Lord in prayer, how am I supposed to deal with this? Go to the Word if you're not sure how. But the and they did so has to be a part of your day. If we're not being active doers of the Word, We're missing the majority of the point. It's not that we have to do these things for salvation's purpose, but in doing these things and trusting the Lord and trusting his teachings and trusting his words, we are growing closer and closer and closer in our relationship with Christ. And that can be such a powerful thing. So your motto today is, and they did so. So find, find something in your walk, find a problem in your life, find a problem in somebody who in your life with somebody who's close to you, find somebody who's close to you who has a problem in their life and Get on it. Help with conviction, with authority. All right, guys, I like to finish every episode with praying for you men. If you guys have prayer requests, the website is active. You can go there. There's a section for you to drop your community prayers in there now as well. Any of the social media networks, you can reach out to me on those and give me your prayer requests. I would be happy to pray for you either anonymously or first name only if you would prefer some level of anonymity. If you're okay with me using your name, just let me know. Today we are going to give special focus to one of us in our community. He has a whole bunch of problems. He is suffering. He did say it was okay to be praying for him in this time. So I do want to lift him up to you guys. I do want to encourage you to not just be prayed for today, but also to take the time to keep this man on your heart and pray for his family throughout the day. Let's do this. Lord, thank you so much for the men that come here daily and listen to your word. The community is building and growing, Lord, and it's of no doing of myself or even these men. It's you, Lord. You have a passion for your sons to have a fire for you, to grow in relationship with you, to want to come closer and to draw near, Lord. I lift up William and his family to you, especially his wife and his daughter, Viviana. His daughter required open-heart surgery again. This is multiple times, Lord. Uh, this poor little one is a trooper. Uh, she's got a big old smile and a lot of joy in her heart. She knows you, Lord, but she is going through a heck of a time with her physical, physical health. And like we've been reading, you are the great healer, you are the great physician, you have the ability to do what the doctors cannot. I pray that you are there with this little girl, that you would continue to have your hand on her, that you would bless her. I pray for mom and dad, that you would be able to Comfort them in this time. They have struggles both with their daughter's health, but also, uh, I lift up William. He tried to stay closer to home, be closer to his daughter during these hard times, and it didn't— it backfired, Lord. And you have your means, you have your purposes. I don't know what's happening there, Lord, but I pray that you would help this man work. He has a desire to work. He has a desire to provide for his family. And I pray that you would be able to find him employment, that he would be able to provide as he wants to.

Protect him.

as he wants to, preside as he wants to over his family, Lord. I lift up his wife to you, Lord. It's hard. It's hard to have an expectation for a provider and due to life, he's not able to do it. It's tough to trust and respect a man like that. And that can really weigh on a marriage. So I wanna lift him up to you, Lord. I wanna lift her up to you. That marriage is so special and so important.

Amen.

What you've joined together, let no man separate. Um, that the world would try to leave this man unemployed with nothing, um, you can provide. So float a hammer for this man, Lord. I lift him up to you. I pray that, uh, the community would keep him on their hearts today, uh, that we could help this brother find gainful employment, that his daughter could see healing, Lord, and his marriage could draw closer together.

Amen.

In your name we pray. Amen. Have an amazing day out there today, guys, and I will catch you tomorrow with another episode. Take it easy.

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.