Chris Grainger: 1:22

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, this is your spiritual kick off. Let's get to it Now.

Chris Grainger: 1:36

This week we're in the book of Matthew. Ok, so, matthew. So Matthew, chapter six, verse 10, says your kingdom, come, come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, guys, now that verse sounds very familiar, so we're gonna unpack this one together. We're gonna see how we can simplify and apply this into our life as christian men. Okay, first thing, we need to know simple stuff. I know for some of you guys, this is like come on, now, let's get to the, let's move forward, but let's not. We need to know where Matthew is. Guys, if you just open the Bible and you're kind of new to this, you need to know where these books are, so where you'll find Matthew. This is the first book of the New Testament. So if you're just flipping through your Bible and you get an Old Testament, usually it's a page or two that delineates between the Old Testament and the New Testament. As soon as you flip past that, you get one blank page that represents about 400 years. And now you are in the New Testament. So you'll find Matthew is the first gospel. It's the first of four gospels. You've got Matthew, mark, luke and John.

Chris Grainger: 2:38

Where we're going to go is flip over to chapter 6, get to verse 10. This is part of an overall prayer that Christ is teaching us how to pray, because what we're going to be talking about a lot this week particularly is around hope, this word around hope For your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we start thinking about that, that's a very genuine and sincere prayer of hope, because Jesus is saying look, this is how you need to pray every day, acknowledging that it's your kingdom, your will, because you're in charge. And we're reminded of God's kingdom and our calling to prioritize its advancement through our lives and our actions. And this is what Jesus is doing with these guys. I'm telling you this is such a big deal. He's showing us a model, he's giving it to us, he's giving us the playbook.

Chris Grainger: 3:33

All right, boys, this is the formation. Run this play Every time. Run this play and we pray for God's kingdom to come and his will to be done. We're aligning ourselves. Think about that, what God's sovereign plan? And expressing our desire to see his reign established in every aspect of our life, everywhere. Because this is not some passive wish that's not what prayer is but an active call to participation, active call to participation of the unfolding of God's kingdom right here. And this is to encourage us guys, as we go out and live our lives today, to live in a way that reflects the values and realities of heaven right here on earth. Bring that hope right here.

Chris Grainger: 4:21

This world is desperately in need of hope, and the hope that we have as believers is something that the rest of this world has no clue what it can. They can't relate to it, because we know what's to come, we know the end. Despite the challenges, despite the brokenness, despite all the attacks of the evil one that's happening around us all the time, we can hold fast to the promise that God is in control and his purposes will be fulfilled. This is not some fleeting or superficial thing, fellas. No, it's not something we're just being optimistic. No, this is a deep, abiding confidence in God's power and his faithfulness. It's our hope that sustains us. It gives us courage, because some of you guys, I know, are facing difficulties right now. You need that courage. It comes from Christ.

Chris Grainger: 5:14

If we didn't know that, your efforts to share God's love and truth, that stuff is never in vain, fellas, if you're doing what God's called you to do, that's not an act of vanity. No, we just have to keep leaning in because it's going to be hard. He's not going to want you to do it. He's definitely not going to want you to share your faith and your hope with others. No, he's not going to want you to do that. He's going to want you to keep it in your pocket. Hold on to it.

Chris Grainger: 5:36

But if you take that step, the way Jesus is instructing us right here, at that moment, you are being a representative, an ambassador for the kingdom. Well, to be an ambassador for something, you have to be proud of it. You have to talk to people about it. That means you have to prioritize spreading your message of hope and salvation through Jesus Christ, every day, looking for it. Your life should be a testimony to the power of his grace, what he's done for you. We should be actively seeking opportunities to share the gospel, particularly with the people around us. Right, and this means with our words. For sure, we need to be very precise with our words, but also our actions. Demonstrate that love, demonstrate thatrate that mercy, demonstrate that hope, demonstrate the peace, demonstrate the justice right of God, all in tangible ways. Let people see the fruit of the Spirit Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Let them see that come out of you every day, you every day.

Chris Grainger: 6:43

This cannot be overstated enough of how relevant this prayer is, because this is anchoring you to God's kingdom and our role in it. This is not our kingdom, it's His. But if we pray and we live out, your kingdom come. You will be done. Man, at that point you're becoming a change agent, buddy. You are, because you're reflecting Christ in this dark, dark world that we're in, and a prayer like this is a declaration of your trust in God's ultimate authority, and that's just. That is something that should give you a lot of peace, a lot of encouragement as you move forward. He is in charge.

Chris Grainger: 7:29

This takes us past looking at what's going on superficially in our own life and our own personal concerns, because that stuff wraps us up. It really does right If we're being honest with each other. That stuff wraps us up in such a big way. But this helps us think broader. From God's kingdom. It's just, it's pretty incredible because this is bringing hope to the world and healing to the world. And this is a reminder that Jesus is just teaching us right here of the hope we have as believers and our responsibility that we have to share, that you cannot just keep this in your pocket, because the Lord's Prayer, what we did at the very end of the Lord's Prayer, what we're studying right here, caused us to align our lives with God's will and actively participate in the advancement of His kingdom.

Chris Grainger: 8:20

So you need to embrace this calling, you need to be confident that God's kingdom will prevail and His purposes will be accomplished, and you need to start thinking about how can you, as a man today, bring hope and transformation to the world around you? How can you bring that hope and transformation? I want you to know you can. I want you to know it's on you. I also want you to know this you can't outsource it. This is not something that you can just say okay, I want my kids to do this, or I want my wife to do this, or I want my employees to do this, or I want my wife to do this, or I want my employees to do this. No, this is on us. This is on us to own it. You need to sink your teeth into this one and recognize the importance that you have as a man, as a leader, to own this directly.

Chris Grainger: 9:10

People need to see the reflective of the fruit of spirit in you. And this is the hard part, guys. At all times, not just when you feel like it, but at all times. Now, anyone's going to challenge you. He's going to push back. He don't want you doing this, but I do. The Holy Spirit definitely does so.

Chris Grainger: 9:35

Lean in, choose your heart now, and you need to think about this week what is your message of hope to others? Because your message of hope, the way you deliver that and share that with others, is such a big deal. It can have an impact on people in a way that you never knew existed. But you have to be willing and vulnerable enough to even share your message of hope. This is where lots of guys get stuck. They don't want to be real, be transparent. They want to hold stuff close to their vest. There's no way I can talk about the real things in life, because I could be judged over that. I'm telling you put that to the side and just lean into what God's calling you to do.

Chris Grainger: 10:22

That's it Now, if you've never surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ and you're listening to the Lion Within Us today, hallelujah. You are here for a reason. I don't know what it is, maybe someone mentioned it to you and you just decided to pop out and check and this is the episode that you landed on. You have a choice you can click next, you can click and you can get off the treadmill. Whatever you're doing, you can stop listening to my voice I get it or you can pay attention to the greatest news you'll ever hear that can impact your life not just for now, but forever. And the greatest news ever is.

Chris Grainger: 10:59

It begins with this whole narrative around God informing creating everything. He created the heavens and the stars, and the suns and the moons and all the planets, and then he made the earth and this water and the land, and the creatures and the plants. He spoke all those things until that moment where he's like you know what I'm going to make man, and he formed him. He breathed the rule of life, the breath of life, into man's nostrils, into Adam he set up. The first time he was face to face with his creator. It was a beautiful, glorious moment.

Chris Grainger: 11:38

That is who we are. We are made in the image of God. That's it. And you are made just the way God wants you to be made. There's no flaws in you when it comes to God.

Chris Grainger: 11:49

No, now you may think you know I'm out of shape and man. I'm terrible at finances. You know I'm not that smart. I'm not the sharpest tool you know in the shed type of deal. I'm telling you they're all lies. They're all lies. God made you exactly the way that he wanted to and you have the ability within you right now to honor and glorify him and to draw people closer to him.

Chris Grainger: 12:13

Okay, so you're made in the image of God, but then we had this thing called sin. That's anything that separates us from God that entered the world and once that entered the world, that separation's there. There's nothing we can do to close that gap. We can't work our way there. We can't, you know, read our Bible and pray and do all these different things that close the gap. Because we're trying to be good enough. Because the question is, what are we comparing that good to? What is enough? Well, if we're trying to compare ourselves to someone on death row, we're pretty good, but when you compare ourselves to a holy and righteous God, we all fall short of the glory of God, every single one of us. We fall short. Okay, so we need to recognize we fall short of the glory of God and there's nothing we can do to pay a penalty for our sins. So what in the world do we do? This is a terrible story. Well, hold on, hold on. What we need is someone to pay it for us, because we can't afford it ourselves. There's no way we can pay for the penalty of our sin. We can't do that Right. There's just not enough. There's no perfect sacrifice for that.

Chris Grainger: 13:21

Until inner Jesus left heaven on a rescue mission for you, for me, for the whole world, born of a virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies there, did all the teachings, all the preachings, all the miracles that he did day in and day out. Then he did the ultimate, ultimately incredible act of going to the cross. He gave himself up and he was crucified for the sins of the world and he died for you and he died for me and he died for the entire world and this Jesus. At that point he paid the penalty for our sin, himself Paid in full, to tell us it's finished. Baby Took him off the cross.

Chris Grainger: 14:13

Jesus died, laid him in the tomb. However, he didn't stay there. This is why we're not dressed like we're going to a funeral on Easter. No, we're celebrating the empty tomb, the risen Savior, and that's worth getting excited about. All these other religions out there, their leaders dead, they gone. Ours came back, he's alive, and right now he ascended back to heaven. He sits right hand to the Father. No one gets there except through him. He is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other name under heaven that has been given to the man by which we must be saved. It's Jesus.

Chris Grainger: 14:51

And if you've never confessed him, I'm telling you today's the day, because now you need to know. Okay, all right, chris, I'm feeling you, I'm hearing you. What do I need to do? Well, it's very simple. Jesus doesn't require special circumstances. What he wants is your heart. So, once you get there, okay, I haven't surrendered my life to the Lordship of Christ. I'm ready to do that. What you need to do is just take some time in prayer and we're going to pray together here in a second and surrender it all to him.

Chris Grainger: 15:23

So for that listener who's ready to pray to confess Jesus as Lord. We're going to pray here in a second. Again. You're confessing him as Lord over your life, over your finances, over your career, over your marriage, your children, your addictions, all the things that pull you away. He's got to be Lord over it. All your money, yeah, he's got to be Lord over that too, so you can't go in the water holding that wallet out. Nope, all in All in. So let's make that decision together, let's pray, let's accept Christ to our life so that you can experience the scales falling off your eyes and seeing what God has done for us in a way that can't be explained.

Chris Grainger: 16:05

So, father, thank you for the listener right now, who's struggling Lord, who's ready to accept you as their Savior. I pray you be with them, give them encouragement, give them hope, give them wisdom, give them discernment. Put some people in their life. That's going to help God and direct them. It's going to draw them closer to you, lord. I pray maybe right now they're dealing with some doubts, some doubts, some anxiety, some stress that you just melt all that away. You just let them see the goodness of you, how good you are. I just pray, lord, that you hear their prayers. And then I pray, Lord, that you put some people in their life. That's going to help them walk down the road of discipleship as they continue their journey following you. So we love you, lord, we praise you and just so thankful for this time in Jesus name, Amen. So if you just accepted Christ as your savior, hey, touchdown, today's your day. So I want to hear from you.

Chris Grainger: 16:49

Chris at the Lion Withinus, send me an email. We'll get you some free resources, some things that we put together. Let's jump on a Zoom call just virtual fist bump and a high five and also try to get you plugged into a local gospel preaching center church. Ok, we want to help you do that Because, again, the Lion Within is we're not a church. We're a great supplement, but we are not that directly. So be thinking about that, be messaging us, be letting us know. Okay, so the LionWithinus is how you connect with us. We have lots of resources on the website that are trying to help you be the leader you guys intend you to be Stuff about our mission trip, about our live events, stuff about our community, stuff about our Summit Leadership Development, our U-verse and devotionals. Tons and tons and tons of stuff out there on the website to help you grow, be the leader you guys called you to be. You can't get access to any of that until you go to the Lion Within that's thelionwithinus thel the lion within that us and get started today. That's what it's all about.

Chris Grainger: 17:50

So, guys, come back on Wednesday. We'll have a great episode on Wednesday, for sure. That's going to be encouraging for you. It's going to be definitely a story of hope. Give us a rating and review. That stuff helps big time. And if you want to be a monthly donor and supporter of the show, of what we're doing, of how we're trying to help equip men to be the leader God intends them to be, thelionwithinus slash donate is a great way to jump on board and be a partner. All right, so get after it. Have a wonderful, wonderful day. We'll see you here on our next meet episode on Wednesday. Have a great one. And you know what's coming. Well, at least you should, by now, keep unleashing the lion within. Well, at least you should, by now, keep unleashing the lion within.

Chris Grainger: 18:29

If you're a man who's looking for greater spiritual guidance into how to become a better leader, finding resources that you can trust and then implement can be daunting For me. Personally, I thought it was a lost cause and I decided to take the action, knowing that I wasn't alone. It was because of this wide gap that we created our line within this community, and the areas that we're helping Christian men grow are incredible. For instance, we've built ways for guys to lean in and grow through fun events like our daily spiritual kickoff, where you get that much needed boost directly from God's word. Our Bible studies that always focus on how to discern and apply what we learn, and even our amazing form, where you can speak your mind without fear of getting shut down or judged by the extreme rules of modern day social media.

Chris Grainger: 19:17

On top of all that, we know that many men won't help overcoming issues and becoming stronger in many different areas. That's why we created several mastermind groups, where the iron truly sharpens iron. Our community is about having a growth mindset, accountability, intentionality and transparency. In other words, just leave fake you at home and come to community just as you are. I fully believe what we feel. I see the impact it's making on men right now and I would love to have you check it out. So start your very own 30-day free trial today to see how we can help you be a better leader. So if you're ready to take that first step, head over to thelinewithinus and get started. Your journey begins here. Visit thelinewithinus and I'll see you inside the den.