Chris Grainger
Host
00:03
Welcome to The Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders and God intends you to be. I’m your host, chris Granger. Let’s jump in. All right, guys, spiritual kickoff time. I know you’re excited. Let’s get into it. We’re going to be in the Book of Job.
00:16
Okay, the Book of Job. Go straight to chapter 14, chapter 14. We’re going to look at three verses, seven through nine. It says, for there is hope, or tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again and it shoots, will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, as at the scent of water, it will flourish and will produce springs like a plant. Guys love that scripture. We’re going to unpack it as an okay baby. Like what in the world are you talking about? trees dying and water and sprouts? just hang with me, trust me, there’s something to be seen, to be learned here. We’re going to simplify. We’re going to simplify this together.
00:56
The first thing you need to know is where is the Book of Job right? We’ve got to understand that. It is in your Old Testament. Okay, it’s usually right before Psalms. If you find Psalms, that’s usually kind of midpoint of your Bible Psalms, proverbs flip back a little bit and you’re going to find the Book of Job. Okay, for me that’s just one of the easiest way to go through.
01:15
A lot of so many guys are very familiar with the Book of Job because we think about the persecution he saw and then the redemption. Right, i totally just restored him at the end and blessed him. So let’s just kind of break it down because ultimately what happened here was I started with his donkeys and his ox and his oxen They were killed and his servants that were taken care of those animals. Then, like the next verse, later you find out that fire killed all the sheep and all the servants in that area. And then he heard that his camels and his other servants, the people that were watching over his camels, they were taken, they gone. And then the final dagger came when he got message that seven sons, three daughters that’s 10 kids were killed when the high wind came and took the house down that they were in. Just think about this for a second Seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred oxen, five hundred donkeys, many servants We don’t know the number of servants and 10 children. And that sounds extreme, but you know what It is. It is extreme.
02:33
And Job, right there in that moment, he had a choice. He did. He had a choice He could turn and run and just and completely rebuke God or he could run towards him. You know what he did. He chose to worship. He chose to worship And I’m sure he had tons of emotions, guys, when you think about this. But all the things happening at once just bam, bam, bam, bam. But when you are grounded in the truth, you are not defined by your circumstances. You just not right. But sometimes, particularly Job, in this moment, all he had to cling to was hope, and that’s where these verses come from. So that’s what you think through the loud.
03:20
The last time you took a walk, maybe it was through your neighborhood or somewhere where there are trees. If you have an opportunity walking through the forest or hike or trail or something like that, and we’re all seeing tree stumps right, either tree’s been blow down or tree’s been cut. You have that stump left, right, and when you see that stump right, usually the stump’s gonna have something that’s potentially could grow from it, right, it’s something that can flourish, and it doesn’t say right here that because that stump is water flowing abundantly over it. Oh, it doesn’t say that. It says that the scent of water, it will flourish, and sometimes, guys, that’s all we have. Right, it’s a scent of hope, just that little bitty piece of hope that exists. And you know what, if you have it grounded into right things, that’s all you need. That’s all you need.
04:19
The actual context here of this verse, job, is comparing man to the tree. Okay, but for those that have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus, right, we should be the most hopeful people on the planet. Right? Because if you keep reading Joe, he talks about how the man doesn’t have that hope, because once the man dies, it dies unless you have the hope and something greater. And we have that hope and something greater. Okay, we have that reason to celebrate every day and hold our heads high, even when those flaming arrows of the evil one are coming at us over and over and over. We know that hope exists. Right, you gotta hold that shield up.
05:01
So maybe you get that phone call from your boss that you didn’t want, or the phone call from your doctor that you didn’t want. Maybe you and your wife are fighting this morning. Maybe you and your kids just are not seeing eye to eye. They’re driving you up the wall, right. Or maybe your job. You just can’t figure out this project. Or you got cut off in traffic, or you got into an accident lately, or you got bills piling up that you can’t pay and you don’t know how to pay, because you’ve been out of work for a little while and you just up against the wall and you feel like it’s never gonna stop. You gotta breathe. You gotta breathe, take a deep breath and understand.
05:37
We have hope, christian man. We have hope. Our hope is not in this world, it’s not in these circumstances. Right, even if it’s like the tree that Job is referring to here, we’re gonna be able to understand that hope exists. Even if it’s just that little bit of scent of water, hope exists okay. So you gotta say right here that the tree and look what it also says about this tree It doesn’t say that the tree barely gets by. What does it say? At the scent of water, it will flourish and produce sprigs like a plant. It’s. That’s not just scraping by. No, that is actually abundance and joy and finding the true meaning of what he hopes for us.
06:24
So you may be going through that tremendous tribulation right now, right now, and if you are, i just wanna say from one brother to whoever’s listening I am sorry, i really am. I’m sorry that you were going through this tribulation. I would encourage you to stay to course. You gotta trust in his sovereignty and you gotta cling to the hope that he provides right. The trials that you’re going through right now. These trials are etching your testimony And you could have a tremendous impact on others just with your testimony.
06:59
Guys, thanks to about the stuff that I share with others that really tried to connect with the listeners, connect with the people in our community. The struggles I’ve had with anxiety or still have an anxiety. The struggles I’ve had with weight loss I’ve lost the whole person right. Struggles I’ve had walking through that season of divorce. Struggles I’ve had losing a child There’s so many different things, guys, that have been able to help me grow as a Christian man.
07:28
Well, i haven’t all figured out, absolutely not. I can tell you one thing those trials were the times of growth. Well, i think, through the lion, the things we’re doing here, the things that we’ve built, the growth happens when we have to push through the hard stuff. It’s not the easy stuff. The easy stuff is that for a reason it’s easy, but when you have that adversity, you have that pushback. When you have that friction, you’re gonna have areas of growth And guys, i just want you to remain hopeful in that, find that source of hope in Jesus And then you always, always look for ways to unleash the lion within. So I want you to think about this question as you go through this week Can good come from your catastrophe?
08:12
Can good come from it? Or is it just going to be something that constantly brings up negative thoughts, negative emotions, takes you down a rabbit trail that you’re just a person that nobody wants to be around? But can good come? The answer is yes, but you have to work hard at this. This is not just something that just comes naturally, but if you put your hope in the right things and in the right person ie Jesus, tell you what, guys you can make. A lot of good come from the catastrophes in this world. Those have us Now.
08:47
You may be thinking this, for listening to the line within us and you’re hearing us talk about the spirit and hope and Jesus and all this stuff You never really submitted to your life, to the Lordship of him. I just want you to get an opportunity to do that right now. So, basically, what’s going on here is, if you’re listening to this and you haven’t submitted, you need to know one thing that we all, all of us fall short of the glory of God When sin entered the world and it’s here. You don’t have to look very far to see that sin is in this world. That separated us from God and there’s nothing we can do to actually close that gap. You can’t nice your way in. You can’t do this by just being a good person or even just following the Bible to the T. You can’t do all these rules again, because it’s no such thing anymore. The rule of space righteousness does not exist, neither does works base. There’s nothing you can do on your own by following rules or doing works.
09:42
Okay, so you just need to understand that you are a center and need of a savior. Okay, you’re not a mistake or need of a life coach. Nope, you’re not a cupcake, you’re not a snowflake, you’re not a skittle. Nope, you’re center and need of a savior. And then, luckily, we have a savior. His name is Jesus Christ. He descended from heaven, he came down, he was born of a virgin. Go read Luke. It’s a great way just to see his original beginning of Luke, to see the birth of Jesus and then all the things that he did on earth to glorify God and to show that he is the way, he is the truth, he is the life, he’s it. And then he was crucified, and when he was nailed to that cross and his blood was pouring out, he did that for you, for you. He did it for me too. I want you to hear this listener. He did it for you, he was thinking about you on that cross, and he pushed up on his near pierced feet and he said to tell us how it is finished. He did it for you And he covered it right there. His perfect blood covered every cent of the world, all of us. And three days later, after they put him in a tomb, he rose. He rose.
10:55
So we don’t worship a dead guy. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We worship a living Savior. Jesus is alive. There’s no other religion out there that can say that Jesus is it. He is alive. He walked most of the people of that time that he has sent it to the Father. He’s sitting at the right hand of him right now. No one gets to heaven except through him. Guys, i’m telling you he is it.
11:20
So you have to believe that with your heart. I mean truly with your heart. You got to confess him as Lord, and I’m not just talking about just you know, hey, i think I like this Jesus God. No, i’m talking about. You got to confess him as Lord of your life. That means submitting to him. You may be okay. What does that mean?
11:38
When that means taking it, just say you know what, lord, i can’t do this. I surrender my life to you. I need you to guide, direct me, and I believe that Jesus is the Son of God And therefore I am submitting my life to him. And at that moment, the Holy Spirit is going to come. It’s going to dwell. You’ll have a new heart. You’ll be able to have that Holy Spirit within, the lion within that’s going to be able to come out and show convict. You. Show you which way you need to go. Show you things you need to turn from. Show you things you need to turn to start opening doors for you that need to be open so that you can do the work he’s been calling that he has called you to do. So if you’ve done that you’re ready to make the, to proclaim Jesus as your Savior, as your Messiah.
12:18
Let’s pray So, father. I don’t know who’s listening right now, where they’re at and their journey. I just know, father, if they have accepted you as their Savior, i just pray blessings upon them, i pray peace upon them. I pray that they have just courage as they move forward for the most important decision that they ever will make in their life, and this is the decision right here today, to accept you as their Savior. So I just pray, god, that you put people in their path and will help God, direct them and their journey here to grow closer to you. I pray all this according to your will, in Jesus name, amen.
12:53
Now, if you just accept the Christ as your Savior, do me a favor, send me an email at support at the lion within us, that support at the lion within us, cause I got some free stuff I want to send you. I want to send you some scriptures. I want to send you some, some guides. I want to send you a Bible study. I’m just gonna hook you up because I’m first of all, i just want to do a virtual fist bump, celebrate with you because you’re in, and then I want to equip you for the battle that you’re going to face, because you are entering the battlefield. You don’t know it. You’re in a battle before you, just blind. Now the blinds are off, you’re going to get attacked, it’s going to happen, okay. So I don’t want to get you ready, at least get you started. Now I want to talk to you about how I can help you get plugged into a local church or local body. Believers Share you, share with you how our community may be something that you want to look at but, most importantly, just give you some resources to get started. So again, hit me up, email support at the lion within die US. Okay, so come back on Wednesday.
13:50
The conversation we have with a guest on Wednesday is powerful. We dig into hope big time. It’s been a lot of time talking about hope and not just this fluffy, fluffy stuff. No, i’m talking about hope these days as Christian man, going up against the attacks of the evil one. What do we need to know? How do we need to respond? Telling you guys, it’s powerful stuff. So hopefully you’ll come back, you’ll check that out.
14:13
Share this one out with others, give us a rating and review. You haven’t done that yet. What are you waiting on, guys? And then get on over to the lionwithanus. You have all the resources there. Check out some swag. If you haven’t got your hat or shirt yet to jump on that, what are you waiting on? Seriously, the never retreat shirts. They are amazing. They feel great. They’re incredible, got a ton of great feedback. I’ve got a lot of pictures from people wearing those shirts all over, so definitely check that out for sure.
14:41
You can get connected with our daily spiritual kick-offs, if you like the spiritual kick-offs. Like we do every Monday, we do this every day in the community, every day, monday through Friday. So be jumping there. We do it live in the mornings. If you missed the live, the recording is there, so that’s an option we have for you guys.
14:57
Obviously, we have our community that’s wide, open and rocking, and then we have our brand new leadership coalition. That is for business leaders only. So if you want to apply to that, go to the lionwithanus, slash leadership and you’ll be able to check out the information on that. But that’s business leaders only. Put your application in and we’ll go from there. All right, guys, we’ll come back for our meetup episode. Look forward to seeing you there, to serving you. Check us out. If you want to see this one on YouTube or something like that, follow us on YouTube. We’re starting to do a lot more content there as well, just to try to give you guys more and more items and material to help serve you, to help give you some light throughout your day, because I know how these cell phones are. I know what’s coming across your smartphone. There’s tons and tons of darkness. We’re just trying to bring you a little bit of light, pick you up, to give you that spiritual kick in the pants that I know you need.
15:49
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