Chris Grainger
Host
00:03
Welcome to The Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I’m your host, chris Granger. Let’s jump in. All right, guys, it is spiritual kickoff time. I’m excited, i hope you are, so we’re going to be digging into God’s word together.
00:16
So we’re going to look at the book of Proverbs. Okay, we’re going to look at one proverb this week. So we’re going to look at Proverb 10, verse 22, says the blessings of the Lord brings will without painful toil for it. Okay, so let’s unpack that one. Let’s see how we can simplify and apply that to our life as we move forward together today, guys. So, first thing, we need to know where is Proverbs? We got our Bible right here. Where is Proverbs? Well, it’s about midway of your Bible. It’s right after Psalms, and it’s usually an easy way that you can find it. And this is an interesting proverb. Okay, because we’re going to start researching it. We’re going to see how it’s going to give different interpretations to different people. Okay, i’m going to start by saying this, just to lay a foundation You need to study the word of God for yourself Now.
01:05
I’m so thankful that you listened to the spiritual kickoffs, but you also need to see what the Holy Spirit reveals to you directly. So too often we take the word of others without spending time to see what he reveals to us. This is what we need to do when you actually go and study it for ourselves. This comes this even when you’re listening to preaching right on Sunday, even if you’re listening to, like my favorite pastor, pastor Joby, i still need to see what the word says to me. Now, when I looked at this verse, this is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me. That may not be what it reveals to you, but I pray that we can take this time to see how he moves and what he reveals to you.
01:45
So the first two words that really jumped out to me when I read this proverb are blessings and wealth. Blessings and wealth. And actually, when we hear those two words, what do we think? We think they just fit together like peanut butter, jelly, don’t we Right? Everybody wants blessings and that’s going to lead to wealth. I get it. The problem is, that is what we tend to think of these things from a worldly materialistic viewpoint. Okay, that leads to many churches out there preaching prosperity gospels and driving their congregations into some frivolous pursuit of wealth, and this is 100% inaccurate And we need to understand as Christian leaders. Hey, we need to correct those that have this worldview with love and share the true meaning of falling Christ, and that’s surrendering and obedience.
02:34
Okay, now, when you read these two words, you can’t just skip by it and think that God doesn’t want to bless us. Right, in some ways, why we’re here on earth either. That’s not the case. It’s kind of like a fine line. Yes, we know that blessings are going to come. You got to look at people like Solomon. He would have been like if you have a list of the top 50 most rich people in the world, solomon would have been at the top, for sure, for sure, the Lord blessed him. Okay, so we know that the blessing was absolutely there and he blessed him because he asked for wisdom and the Lord saw the humbleness of that request and he blessed him. But that shouldn’t be the primary driver for us.
03:18
Okay, because when I think about this word in this verse, in particular in the word wealth, that stood out, because I think differently about the word wealth. Just me personally. Instead of bank accounts, i thought about my marriage, right. I thought about my kids. I thought about my friends, i thought about my church. I thought about Align with Dennis and the way God is blessing us there. It’s a lot different than always monetary things that stand out in this world, because for me, people, relationships, they mean more than anything else. Guys, i just finished with a phone call, a Zoom meeting, with someone who just connected with our Align with Dennis. He’s checking out some of our stuff. We just had a 30-minute conversation. He lives in Monroe, north Carolina. If he’s listening to this right now maybe he’ll know who I’m talking about. When he was out there fishing last night he was just talking to me about things, the way that the Lord moved his life. It shows me right there, connections with people and guys like that have real Heart to heart conversations about what’s going on in our life. That’s so much more. So much more than anything you can go by at any store, anything, and it’s just I was thinking about. Also.
04:35
I recently had a buddy of mine call me and he had a colleague who was retiring and early retirement. By the way, guy was in his 50s And you know he’s single. He’s been making down, knocking down multiple six figures for years, guys. I mean so from the worldly standpoint. He has it all. He has the cars, he has the motorcycles, he has the, the vacation homes, all the things that you would want me to standpoint. He’s single, he’s never been married, he’s had a girlfriend for a long, long time. And I look at that situation and maybe that’s what guy called him to. I don’t know, you never know what guy calls you to, because a guy calls, does call some people to live that life of singleness. Now, he’s not single, he’s been had a girlfriend. He’s just choosing to not, chosen to not get married.
05:16
And I think through, man, you’re kind of missing the opportunity here in life. You know, you, you have definitely been blessed monetarily, for sure, for sure that the monetary blessing is there, but is there, is that it? And when I think through that, i really got sad. I got sad for him, i felt sorry for him because, man, you have but one shot to go around this earth Now do you need to have all these? young is like me and my wife? We have. Maybe God’s not calling you to that, but I’m just telling you. There’s something powerful about what happens when we have, we’re able to do life with others, and particularly when it’s family And man. It’s just. It just jumped out to me, and you know, i’m not judging this guy because I don’t know where his heart is, i don’t know where it got. Maybe that’s what guys, guys, call me to do.
06:07
My point is the wealth that God gives us is so much deeper, fellas, it’s so much deeper. It starts with love, right, and then it just keeps building. It just keeps building from there and it can’t be matched by anything. And then you look at the second part of this proverb, right, it says without painful toil for it, all right. So when we start start thinking, just thinking through that, when you burn the candle both ends and you start sacrificing what you need to sacrifice just to make that little bit of extra chateau each month, there’s a cost. There’s a cost to that. It comes with pain. Let’s just be real. Other people will be impacted. They will, and this has been hitting me lately directly because I’ve been talking with my wife about it.
06:51
I had to pour so much time into the lion with Dennis and getting this thing off the ground, having another full-time job. It’s stretching us right And the balance has gotten off. I have, i’ve, i’ve took my eye off the ball and the balance has gotten off and I have to get things back in alignment. So that means setting the right boundaries and going back to the fundamental things that I, that that we teach to lie with Dennis. I just need to actually start applying.
07:13
You know how many pastors have you heard talk about? they do so much better job of preaching than they do of walking it. I mean, it’s just true, right, i can teach this stuff all day long. When it comes to implementing, sometimes I fall short. That’s just the way it is, and we, so many of us we just chase the things of this world and we think that’s what our loved ones want the most. In reality, that ain’t what they want. They would so much rather.
07:36
I know my daughters would so much rather enjoy me taking a walk with them just on a park, or going for a walk with them up the road, or just going to hang out at the lake and being fully present, without my cell phone being, without being distracted. More than anything, i could buy them from any store. I mean, i’m talking about anything. They would rather have me. They would just rather have me and the evil one, guys, the evil one has lied to us regarding blessings and we need to open our eyes and see. See it for what it is. It’s an attack. We’re never going to win until we recognize that the true blessings come from the Lord. That’s it.
08:17
If you’re trying to find yourself fully and finally satisfied in the stuff of this world, you’re going to be sadly mistaken. It’s not going to happen. I don’t mean to be a bearer of bad news, but I do mean to be the bearer of truth. It’s not going to happen. If you’re trying to find yourself fully and satisfied with the things of this world, you just it’s not going. You’re not going to get there. You’re going to be disappointed in something You constantly it’s going to come up. You’re just never. You’re never going to be.
08:39
If you get to this, you know, let’s see. You get the wrong two on the ladder. Where do you want to go next? I want to go to run three, then run four, then run five. Have you ever considered that the ladder may be leaning against the wrong building? Think about that for a second. Are the ladder, is the ladder you’re climbing? is it leaning against the building that God desires, or are you chasing the things of the world that you desire Because the Lord. He wants to bring wealth, he wants to bless you. He definitely does, but you have to be walking in obedience in order to receive that blessing. So just really think about that for a second, guys.
09:14
I really think that you need to start committing to seeking him, seeking him alone, and to see how he blesses you on your journey, because this gonna be different than my journey, it’s gonna be different than your buddy’s journey. It’s just everyone. Everyone’s path is different. But until we stop and we surrender our needs, our wants, our desires to his, you’re just gonna be, you’re gonna be chasing that toil, that painful toil that the problems talks about right here. I don’t want that for you. I want you to have that John 1010 life, to have the life and have it abundantly. Guys, we know he wants that for us, but it comes first by taking a step and walking in obedience. And this is where a lot of guys struggle. a Lot of guys struggle and don’t miss this, guys.
10:05
That evil one is gonna do all he can To make sure to make that. That shiny objects, those things of this world shine to where you have this deep, deep desire for that stuff. You have to, you have to recognize it, you have to turn away from it, you need to understand it. Yet He’s gonna attack, but the blessings of the Lord, they are real, so let’s walk with him. So I want you to think about this week How do you recognize the nefarious schemes of the enemy? Because they’re out there, buddy. They’re trying to pull you down, they’re trying to make you continue in that painful toil, because if you can recognize those nefarious schemes of the evil one, ah, then the game changes, because at that point you’ll be able to flip the script, you’ll be able to start walking with him, and at that moment You’re walking with the Lord, you’re not walking with the evil one. Oh, buddy, it’s on, it is absolutely on, and that’s when you can start unleashing the lie within Now, for you guys are listening that you have not accepted Christ as your savior.
11:16
We do this on every spiritual kickoff, every Monday. So that’s what we do. We present the gospel because I want you to have an opportunity and I want you to maybe, if you’ve even listened, if you’ve accepted Christ as your savior. Let this just be as a quick reminder to you on how you can present the gospel to others. It starts off with very simple just admitting that you’re a sinner. You’re not a cupcake, you’re not a snowflake, you’re not a skittle. You’re a sinner and you’re the savior and that is real and there’s nothing that you can do, nothing that you can do to overcome that right. You can’t pay it back. You can’t do it. There’s no price you can pay. You can’t buy your salvation. You can’t work your way in, you can’t nice your way in, you can’t just be a good buddy and take care of people. No, not at, not at. So, admitting that we’re sinners and need our saviors.
11:59
Second thing you gotta do you need to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. That’s it. You just gotta believe that he’s, he is God. And if you believe that, that he would. He came, he was born of a virgin, that he walked with us and he taught us, he showed us these parables, he did all these things, that he went to cavalry and paid the ultimate price for your sin and my sin. If you believe that when something he pushed up on his, on his narrow pills feet and said it is finished, that somehow that counter for you, hey, at that moment You’re getting real close, because you have to, and there, understand that he is Lord and they laid him in the tomb, guys. Just, jesus died. He died. He paid the penalty for your sin and for my sin, but they didn’t keep it in that tomb. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Three days later He rose, he overcame death and right now He says the right hand of the father.
12:49
So we do not worship a dead man, we worship a living savior, and you have an opportunity today to accept him. All you have to do is say Lord, i need you, i need you to come into my life, i need you to guide me, i need you to write me. I’m tired of doing things my way. I’m tired of being just, just alone and And anxious and tired and worried. I need you, god. I believe that you are the son of God. I believe in all my heart that, that that you are the only way of salvation, and I’m asking you to come into my life and at that moment, the Holy Spirit is gonna come. It’s gonna give you a new heart. You’ve got to call the lion within. You’re gonna have it. The scales We’ll fall off your eyes and you’re gonna see things and new light. You’ll be walking with him and it’s such a beautiful moment.
13:35
So, if you’re ready to accept Christ of your Savior, i would just ask you, let’s pray together And let’s ask him invite him into your life. So follow God. Just thank you so much for how much you love us. Thank you for the good news of the gospel. For that man or woman, lord, who’s listening right now, who is ready to accept you as their savior, i pray you just bless them in this moment. Give them a peace that passes all understanding. Just show them the path that you desire for them. God, i pray you put people in their life right now that can guide and direct them, that can help them in their Christian walk. As they now have surrendered to your Lordship, i pray blessings upon them. I know that the evil one is gonna attack them. Lord, i just pray that you just put a hedge of protection around them to keep them safe. I pray you give them wisdom and discernment to move forward, to do the works you call them to do. I’m just so thankful, god, that you have saved one more. We know that heaven is rejoicing right now because of that one more as accepted to you as their savior. We pray all this corner of your will in Jesus’ name, amen, all right, so if you just accepted Christ as your savior, welcome to the team, buddy. Welcome to the team.
14:39
But seriously, hit me up. Send me an email supportatvlinonwiththemus. That’s supportatvlinonwiththemus. I’m gonna send you a bunch of free stuff. I’m gonna send you our Bible study. I’m gonna send you some resources. I’m gonna send you 10 scriptures to fight like a lion. I’m gonna send you habits, anything we got that I can hook you up with. I’m just gonna send you your way so that you’ll be equipped to move forward in the battle that you’re in. Okay, so looking forward to hearing from you again.
15:05
Supportatvlinonwiththemus, i want you to come back on Wednesday. Now here’s why Probably one of the biggest interviews we’ve ever had. This interview is gonna be incredible. I’m really looking forward to sharing. I’m not gonna tell you guys at all who the interview is. I will give you a hint. I’ve mentioned the name of what they were participated in earlier in this episode. If you wanna go back and see if you can capture it, good luck on that. But come back. I’m telling you this is one you’re not gonna wanna miss. We’re gonna really unpack some tremendous truths here as we move forward together. Again, if you like the spiritual kickoff.
15:44
We do it Monday through Friday inside our community. It’s an easy way to get plugged in and get engaged. You can’t make those live events. We post the recordings. You have access to all that within our community, guys, so that’s an easy way to get started. Obviously, we have our full blown community. We have all our events happening all the time. Guys, we have our leadership coalition program that’s starting up.
16:05
So I’m telling you, we have different ways to serve wherever you’re at, to connect with you, okay, all that can be found at thelinonwiththemus Don’t forget the thelinonwiththemus notcomus. Go check us out. Okay, get all the free resources, get connected with us, get plugged into our email list so we can send you all the stuff that we sent out on a regular basis, that we try to just give you not junk, but really impactful, meaningful information that will help you grow to be the leader to God intends you to be. So, anyway, come back on Wednesday, guys, looking forward to having you here for this conversation, looking forward big time to this one. This is gonna be pretty powerful. Hopefully, it’s gonna be an opportunity to help you grow, particularly around the reality of spiritual warfare that we’re under right now. Guys, this stuff is real. The attacks are from the evil one are hitting us hard. Anyway, we need to recognize it for what it is, and then we have to start standing up and fighting back. All right, fellas, we’ll get after it. Come on back for our next episode. So look forward to hearing from you guys again.
17:10
Support at TheLionWithInus is a great way to connect with us. So have a great day, stay strong, stay firm. Don’t forget the blessing the Lord brings with without a painful toll for it. He wants to bless you. Just have to be obedient and walk with him. So, guys, stay strong. You know what to do next.
17:28
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