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Back to the Basics – A Changed Life

Posted on by chgruver

So in looking at the getting back to the basics and more specifically the basic of what it means to be a Christian we saw that first we are saved by grace, then last time we saw how as a Christian our focus will change from other stuff, including ourselves and our family, to being focused solely on God. Well with a change in our focus eventually our lives will change. One verse that comes to mind is Psalms 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” So now let’s take apart this verse and see what I mean by it leading us to a changed life.

Delight Yourself In The Lord

The first thing the psalmist mentions in this verse is that we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. You see this is where that change in focus comes in. When we start looking towards Christ and making Him our all, our one and only desire is where the changed life comes from. Jesus states in Luke 14 that one must hate his family in order to be His disciple, this means that there is nothing else in our life that takes our attention from God. So you see when we are focused on God we look to Him for everything. When times are good we look to God in gratitude, when times are bad we look to God for sustenance; no matter what the situation we are to look to God as He should be our All in All.

The Desires Of Your Heart

So what happens as our focus shifts from us and onto God? Well according to this verse we are given the desires of our hearts. So what are the desires of our heart? What exactly is it that God is giving us as we delight in Him? Will he give us all the things we want? Things such as money, fame, material things? No I don’t think that it is quite that simple. You see what I believe God is giving us is not those things that we want, the things that we desire; but rather God is actually changing our desires, He is actually giving us His desires. You see as we are walking in God’s will, focusing on Him we start to desire the things that God desires.

So what do these desires look like? James puts it like this, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Then Micah states it as such, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” You see the desires God gives us is that we are focused on serving others rather than ourselves. You see the Christian life is a progression, we are saved which leads to a change in our focus; that change in focus then leads to a change in our life. As Christians we are called to “be holy as God is holy.” Yet while we know it is an unattainable goal, it is still a goal that we should strive towards; or as I have heard it put we are not sinless, but every day we should sin less.

Table Talk – Episode 38 – Being the Body

Posted on by chgruver

March 18, 2016: This week around the table we talked about various topics which boils down to how we are the body of Christ.

Table Talk is a Prayer Breakfast held every Friday morning from 6:30 – 8:00 at the Egg Platter located on US 19 in Pinellas Park, FL. If you are in the area, whether you live locally or are just visiting, we invite you to come join us.

Back to the Basics – A Changed Focus

Posted on by chgruver

Last time we looked at how we are saved by grace. Today we will look at another aspect of what makes a Christian, a change in focus. Let’s start this discussion by looking at what a Christian is, looking at society some people may think that because they regularly attend church services, do good deeds, their parents were and their parents’ parents were Christians, or maybe they have actually been baptized that they are Christians. These are all good things but they are not what makes a Christian; Jesus stated in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What this means is that faith in Christ is what defines a Christian. So what does faith in Christ look like? Well there are a number of ways to describe a Christian faith.

I Am Second

The first way to describe a Christian faith would be that I take the view that I am second and God should come first in my life. On paper, or the screen, it sounds easy but in application it can be rather difficult. You see we have had an issue of seeking our own personal interest as long as man has been on the earth. Don’t believe me look at Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that the fruit was good to eat, desirable, and able to make one “wise.” You see Satan used the hook that the fruit would make them like God to get them to eat, He played to their self interest over reliance on God.

You see putting God first is not just a catchy phrase or the clever name of a movement, but a daily struggle we must face. Paul puts it this way, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” In other words we lay down our desires, wants, interests and give them to God. He will then give us what we need, His desires, and His interests. Our focus needs to change from putting ourselves first (which society tells us we should look out for only ourselves) to looking to what God wants from us.

All In

The thing is we cannot leave the description of the Christian faith at just putting God first in our lives, rather we need to make Him and His will our sole focus. Let me put it this way in a number of sports they have what is called a leader board and as long as you are on the leader board you are still in contention to take first place. What this means is that if there is anything that can take your focus it is on your spiritual leader board, God wants it so that second place does not even come close to ranking on your leader board. Now I am not saying we need to become monks and live a life of 24/7 church services but as Paul told the Colossian church in everything we do we should do it for God and give Him thanks. When working at your job, work in such a way to bring glory to God, even if it is stocking shelves at the grocery store or cleaning bathrooms. When hanging out with your friends act in such a way to bring glory to God, even if the others are treating the servers at the restaurant in a terrible manner look at them and treat them as a child of God.

Now one thing I do think needs mentioning is that this is not easy, in fact Jesus said it was hard (Matthew 7:13-14), but it is a goal we should aim towards. The secret is that the more we focus towards God the easier it becomes. Now we will never be perfect and we are all bound to slip at times but that is where God’s grace and forgiveness comes in, which we will talk about next time.

Back to the Basics – Saved By Grace

Posted on by chgruver

With our next conference coming up, where the theme is “Back to the Basics;” I figured it would be best to take a look at some of the basics. Now when thinking of getting back to the basics there is one concept that needs to be dealt with before any others. We can read Scripture and study the Bible, have a quiet time, and even attend church but unless we have given our life to Christ it is useless. The first basic that needs to be dealt with when getting back to the basics is the question of “Are you a Christian?”

So what does it mean to be a Christian?

I know those of us that are Christians, and even some that are not, are well aware of the vocabulary we use when trying to find out whether someone else is a Christian. We use phrases like “given your life to Christ,” “asked Jesus into your heart,” or “are you saved.” You see to be a Christian means that we are saved from a life of sin and spiritual death. So now the question is not what is a Christian but how are you saved? Paul probably puts it best when writing to the church in Ephesus, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Saved by Grace Through Faith

The first thing Paul tells us is that we are saved by grace through faith. So what is grace; some people will use the phrase “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” to describe what grace is. Essentially it is receiving something that was not earned or deserved. You see God bestows upon us salvation not because we have earned it or deserved it, but because since we believe and trust in Him He desires to give it to us. Paul told the church in Rome that while we were enemies of God Christ came to die for us. You see would you willingly die to save the life of someone you know that hates you? Would you lay down your life for someone that would rather have nothing to do with you? This is what God did for us.

Not by Works

As I previously mentioned God’s grace is not earned or deserved, so Paul following up his statement about being saved by grace through faith with it being a gift of God and not by works is to help explain how we are saved. You see it is not because we said a prayer, got baptized, feed the homeless, give to charity, or even attend church whenever the doors are open; our salvation is not the result of anything we can say or do. Our salvation is freely bestowed upon us by God because of our faith in Him. Paul explains it earlier in Ephesians 2 by stating that we were dead in our trespasses. Think of it this way before Christ we are each laying on a gurney dead, Christ walks up with a defibrillator charges it up and then discharges it into our dead body to bring it back to life. This is much like how God gives us the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins and turn us towards God in faith.

Now we cannot just leave it with that we are save by grace through faith and not by works, because Paul didn’t leave it there. In Ephesians 2:10 he continued, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So we are not saved by works but we are created for good works. What this means is that while works do not save us, our salvation does get proven by the good works we do. In other words our Christian faith should result in a changed life, which we will dig into next time.

Becoming God’s Man – God Will Do What?

Posted on by chgruver

So we have been looking at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and seen how as Christians we fall under the categorization of being God’s people and called by His name; then last time we saw how in this promise what we are required to do and how it is actually a progression from humility to repentance. Today we will look at what God promises to do. In the last part of 2 Chronicles 7:14 we see God stating, “then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” There are three things that God promises to do, and again we will see that it is a progression; He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

Hear From Heaven

The first promise God makes is that He will hear from heaven. You see the main thing here is that God is always listening for us to come to Him; but He wants us to truly come to Him. I know I have been using a parent/child relationship a lot here, but think of it like this. You have a child and you hear them calling for you because they want something; you won’t answer them right away, even though you know what they want, you want them to come directly to you and ask. You see God is the same way, he know what we need and hears us but want us to truly come to Him, to seek Him out in order to present Him with our needs. It is then that He will answer us.

Forgive Our Sins

So after God hears us when we are truly seeking after Him and having turned away from our sins, He will then forgive our sins. This is the next step in God’s promise to us, and is a natural step. You see as we humble ourselves we realize our sinfulness and need for repentance. God is listening and will hear us, this includes the eventual ask for forgiveness when we realize our sinful state. It is when we are at this point of brokenness, where we realize our need for God, that He will then faithfully forgive our sins. The thing for us is unlike in the Old Testament where a sacrifice was required whenever one asked for forgiveness, Christ’s work on the cross served as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Heal Our Land

So after God forgives our sins, the next step is healing and restoration. While in the Old Testament where this was the original audience, healing of the land meant helping with their livelihood, the healing of our land is that of our hearts. With the help of the Holy Spirit, God not only forgives our sins but changes our hearts to where we long for godly things. As I mentioned last time we start to desire the things God desires, we start to want to do His will rather than follow our own selfish ways. The healing of our hearts also means we find a peace and joy that is unable to be explained, even when the trials are tough and everything seems to be against us, God is there holding us up and reassuring us that He is faithful and everything will work out for His glory; and this is what we finding ourselves longing for because as those called by His name, we realize it is not about us but about Him, and seek Him to be glorified above all else.

Becoming God’s Man – We’re to do What?

Posted on by chgruver

So last time we started looking at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and how it pertains to Becoming God’s Man Ministries with asking the question of are you a Christian? Today we will continue to look at this verse and see what we are called to do as God’s people in this promise. So lets take a look at the verse from the beginning, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” So as God’s people, those called by His name we are told to do four things as a part of this promise.

Humble Themselves

The first thing we are to do is to humble ourselves. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and stand in the way of God blessing us. This is why the author mentions humbling ourselves first. When we are thinking that everything is all about us, we are blind to everything else going on around us; we become blind to the work that God is constantly doing in our lives and ignore the blessings. You see when we humble ourselves, we stop looking at ourselves and realize there is someone greater than us. It is not until then do we realize all the blessings God has been and is constantly bestowing upon us. But the issue is also before we can do any of the other actions the author mentions we have to humble ourselves; for unless we are humble we will never pray, seek His face, or turn from our wicked ways.

Pray

The next thing we are told is to pray. The simple answer to what exactly is prayer, is that it is our way of talking with God. It how we confess our sins to Him but also how we ask Him for our needs. The thing is even though God in his sovereignty knows what we need, He still wants to hear from us, like any father He wants us to come to Him and ask. James tells us that if we lack wisdom to ask God and He will grant it to us.

Seek His Face

So we have seen that we need to first realize it is not all about us, then we need to open lines of communication; now we need to seek God’s face. What the author is getting at is now that we realize it is not about us we need to realize who should be the focus of our attention, God. Everything we do should be centered around God and His will. To seek His face would be to picture God standing next to you at all times and with every action, every thought, every word you look to see if He has a pleased expression on His face or if it is one of disappointment; just like a child is always wanting to please his earthly father, we should be seeking to please our heavenly father.

Turn From Our Wicked Ways

The next step in this progression is that of turning from our wicked ways, repenting of our sin. This is literally doing a complete about face in regards to sin. While in the flesh such an action is impossible as this is how we are naturally inclined. However, once we have been adopted into God’s family we were given the Holy Spirit, who helps us along this progression of humbleness to repentance. You see as we seek God’s face our desires change to reflect God’s desires; making it easier to turn from our wicked ways as they no longer hold power over us, our hearts no longer desire them but long for God’s will.

Now that we have seen what as those called by His name are to do in regards to this promise we will next time look at what God promises He will do for us.

Becoming God’s Man – Who is God’s Man?

Posted on by chgruver

For those that are familiar with Becoming God’s Man Ministries you may have noticed that we often use a specific verse with a lot of the things we do. It is brought up in the intro to our radio show and referenced in some of our flyers and brochures. This verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14 which states, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” This week we will take a look at this verse and how it describes our goals at Becoming God’s Man Ministries. Today we will take a look at the first part of the verse, “if my people who are called by my name.”

Who

The first thing to realize in this promise that God made is who the promise is made to. The writer of 2 Chronicles tells us that this promise is being made to God’s people. At the time this was written God’s people was Israel. Today Christians also fall into the grouping as being God’s people and called by His name. Now one thing to remember is that not all of God’s promises to Israel apply to Christians; but this is one of the ones that does.

Are You Called By His Name

Looking at this verse it shows a good place to start in regards to what we do with Becoming God’s Man. You see before anything else the question that needs to be answered is are you part of God’s people? Are you called by His name? You see unless you have given your life to Christ none of the rest of the verse matters. With Becoming God’s Man Ministries we believe that before anything we need to be sure of our salvation; it all starts with our faith and being a Christian.

Adoption

The phrase in this verse “called by my name” in the Christian’s life refers to our status in Christ as adopted children of God. As children we are given our parents’ name, that specifically of our father; for example my last name is Gruver, if I had children they would take on the last name of Gruver. The thing is that this is regardless of whether I am their biological father or if they are adopted, either way they will be considered my children.

The Question

So the question I again ask and will leave you with today is are you called by His name? Have you at any point in time given your life to Christ? God does not care what you have done or how messed up you are. He loves you the way you are; we will see though that He loves us to much to let us stay that way. We just have to place our trust in Him, believe that He will do what He says He will do, and accept his free gift of salvation through Christ’s work on the cross to die for the sins of all mankind. Next time we will look at the next part of the verse to see what we must do as those “called by [His] name” in this conditional promise and how it applies to Becoming God’s Man.

Becoming God’s Man Radio Show Episode 14 – Evangelism

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Every week Becoming God’s Man Ministries records a radio show that is aired on Inspiration Radio 1110 AM on Sunday mornings at 8:30 in the St. Petersburg area. We usually have a number of the different pastors and leaders that are involved with the ministry there and occasionally a guy that the ministry has reached will join us.

This week we took a look at evangelism and reaching our neighbors with the Gospel of Christ. Air Date March 6, 2016.