Chris Grainger: 1:24

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's your spiritual kickoff episode. I'm excited to have you here, so let's dive right into it.

Chris Grainger: 1:36

All right, mark, chapter 16, verses 15 and 16. They kind of just go together. It says verses 15 and 16. They kind of just go together. It says he said to them Jesus speaking here, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Chris Grainger: 1:59

So we're going to talk about this. We're going to see how we can simplify and apply this in our life as believers, and we really need to just get started with some basic fundamental truths. And the first one is where is the book of Mark at? Like my Bible up, chris? Where is this market? It's OK, it's in your New Testament. So find Matthew. It's the second gospel. If you find Luke or John, just flip back a little bit, it's no worries, and you'll find Mark. It's a pretty short gospel, by the way. It's not near as long as some of the other ones. So now we're going to see right here, in these verses, what we're getting is a clear directive from Jesus himself, clear Crystal. And it's also compelling, because if we're followers, if we are truly followers of him, this should be driving us, because this is not the great suggestion.

Chris Grainger: 2:43

Come on now. This has been commissioned. We have been commissioned each and every one of us, to take action and, as Christian men, you're in a unique position, each and every one of you, to lead and influence. That's what the Lion Within Us is all about. Because you have the opportunity to influence so many people around you. The ripple effect that you have as men is unbelievable and you have to embrace this responsibility. You can't run from this. No, embrace it, because this world right now it's such void of strong Christian men who are leaning in and being obedient to what God's calling them to do. So when you actually do this, you're going to be able to make such a massive impact for the kingdom. Your ripple could be incredible just by taking that first step of obedience, because you have leadership and you have responsibility, and they can't be decoupled from each other, because leadership, in the Christian context, is what Serving Serving. Let's just clarify that it's all about serving others and guiding them to know Christ.

Chris Grainger: 3:45

Okay, and what Jesus is showing us here? He's like look, this has to be part of your daily life. Wherever you're going, you're supposed to go out and share the gospel, because this whole going to the world and go out there and save this means go wherever you're going. That's your opportunity. So maybe you're going to the gas station right now, or you're headed to work right now. You're headed to the gym right now. That's your mission field. If you're in the gym right now, guess what? That's your mission field. Get to work. Okay, make sure that you're understanding.

Chris Grainger: 4:21

This is not just for those that are in formal quote unquote ministry or church roles. No, it's all of us. It's all of us. So let's talk about something that's misunderstood a lot in the Christian community, and that idea is that we want to outsource this call. Yep, we want to delegate it. We should be delegating evangelism, chris and discipleship. This should be the pastors and missionaries and all those folks, right, the church leaders. Nope, not for me. Wrong, wrong, these individual people do play a great role in it, do not get me wrong.

Chris Grainger: 4:57

But the Great Commission, what Christ has called us to do, is a personal call for each and every one of us, each and every one of us. So if you surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ, you've been, you're enrolled and you can't outsource that God given duty. You can't do it because every single one of us has an opportunity, a sphere of influence around us. That's your families, your vacations where you work, your communities where you go to church, all that stuff. And you're supposed to be sharing the gospel and leading by example, and you need to embrace this. You need to embrace this call to personal evangelism, because it's not just about sharing our words and trying to make sure that we got all the scriptures right, why that stuff's important. No, it's about showing what Christ has done for you. How has he moved in your life? Be ready to give that answer for what God means to you and why Christ is your Savior. Just be ready, be proactive, be looking for the opportunities to have conversations about your faith in a meaningful, tangible way.

Chris Grainger: 5:57

And then think about the whole idea of discipleship. This is one where I really get a lot of pushback on, because discipleship is not just about evangelizing. That is a component of it, but it's not just about it. Discipleship is about growing, nurturing and helping new believers and believers in their journey come to have a deeper relationship with Jesus. Now, how do you disciple someone?

Chris Grainger: 6:20

Here's the hard part. It's hard time, commitment, willingness to invest your time into others. And it's at that moment where most people check out on the idea of discipleship because we don't have time, we're too busy, we're in too much of a hurry, we've got all these other priorities going on, chris, I have no time to be able to disciple someone else. Are you kidding me? Have you looked at my schedule and let me tell you one thing If the evil one can't make you sin, he's going to make you busy and he's being very effective at what he's doing. So you need to lean into this Because if you're intentional about mentoring, about discipling others that God puts in your path, you're going to have such an amazing impact on the kingdom in ways you never knew existed, just because you're obedient to lean in and be that leader that God is calling you to be. So don't think that you can outsource discipleship and also make sure someone is discipling you Big gap.

Chris Grainger: 7:26

So many Christian men miss this Sometimes. You have to be willing to be vulnerable and just open up like will you disciple me, will you help me come to have a better understanding of the Bible or Jesus, or just my faith? And when you go to wise, sage guys who are walking their faith out, they would definitely lean in and embrace this opportunity. And then, once you start being a disciple, you need to start living out your faith, because your life should be reflective of the teachings of Jesus. Right, you have integrity. You have things like compassion and humility and servantship. Right, you have integrity. You have things like compassion and humility and servantship. Right, all these are just pillars of what it means to be a Christian. And if you live that out authentically, man, you could have such an amazing impact for the gospel.

Chris Grainger: 8:20

And you're going to have challenges as you go through this because if you embrace this stuff right, guess what? The evil one is going to push back because you may feel inadequate right now or unprepared, or you may feel like man, if I christ, if I go out on my faith, I'm gonna get rejected. I'm like, look, you're right, you could, you could get ejected, but that holds you back from taking that step. The the evil one is won and he renders so many Christian men out there with this sense of inadequateness and fear. We don't feel smart enough or capable enough, to where we won't even do this with our families.

Chris Grainger: 8:54

I can't leave family prayer time. I don't know how to pray. I can't leave family devotion time. What if they ask questions? I don't leave family prayer time. I don't know how to pray. I can't leave family devotion time. What if they ask questions? I don't know Right, we don't want to do these things because we're afraid we're going to put ourselves in a situation that makes us look weak. We need to remember that I can do all through Him. Who gives me strength? Yes, through ourselves, through our own abilities, we probably don't have the strength, but through Christ, when we lean into Christ and just are obedient, it's amazing what happens.

Chris Grainger: 9:26

I want to encourage you Take a step of faith, trust in God's promises out there. Take that first step of obedience, because he's equipping you as you take steps. He doesn't call to qualify, he qualifies to call, and I believe that wholeheartedly. So get out of your comfort zone and allow God to work through you. If you're willing to do that, it's just going to bless you more than I could ever even tell you right now. The blessings are going to come and then start building some community around you to help encourage you when it gets tough, because it's going to get tough. The more and more you do this and lean in, the harder it's going to be. So you need other Christian men that are coming alongside you, who are committed to fulfilling, ultimately, the Great Commission. They're going to encourage you, they're going to hold you accountable, they're going to pick you up, they're going to pray for you. They're going to walk beside you when you go through your trials. I'm telling you this journey, you can't do it alone. Build your community.

Chris Grainger: 10:26

The reason that we started Align Within Us community is for this, right here, you need brothers in Christ to come alongside you that are going to speak life into you. Right, not discouragement. No, there's plenty of those guys out there. You need some guys that are going to speak life, speak encouragement, speak hope into you. And then you got to start equipping yourself. And that equipping yourself you have to do it yourself. You need to wake up every day with a hunger, with a desire to grow closer to Christ. It means you need to be studying your Bible, you need to be going to church, you need to be reading books on evangelism and discipleship and making sure to get your attending workshops and opportunities where you can learn to see what this truly means for you in your life. It's such a big opportunity. Out there Again, the harvest is plentiful.

Chris Grainger: 11:15

We need some more doggone workers, because this great commission, this is a powerful reminder right here that this is the ultimate responsibility that Jesus passed to us. He passed us the baton and this is it. We're all called to lead, to preach the good word, to share the good word, to disciple others, and this is not something that we're supposed to delegate to others. No, this is a duty we have to embrace wholeheartedly, because when we start stepping into these God-given roles that he has ordained for us, man, the impact, the ripple, whatever you'll never understand this side of heaven and this whole world that we live in. I can tell you this without a shadow of a doubt the world that we live in is searching for hope. They are, they're searching for meaning and direction, and the more and more that you, as a Christian leader, lean in and share what God has done for you in your life, people just grasp that, they hold, they cling to it, they gravitate to it. They want to know more and just share what God's done for you in your life and how it's impacted you, what your daily walk looks like, and that's going to draw people to you. It's going to draw people to you. It's going to be something. It's going to be absolutely incredible and I'm telling you, if we lean into this mandate with courage, with compassion, with that conviction, just sit back and get ready for the way God moves and the impact you're going to have, because I'm telling you what you need to be a worker fully committed to the cause of Jesus Christ, and I want you to think about this whole week as you go forward. What's driving you? What drives your mission to fulfill the Great Commission? What's driving it? What steps are you taking?

Chris Grainger: 13:13

You're listening to a Christian podcast right now. That's great. Hopefully this is encouraging you. If anything, with the line within us, all I hope to bring is some ideas and some conviction through the Holy Spirit to make you take a step of obedience moving forward, and it could be super small. Maybe for you, that step today is you just want to pray with your wife tonight. That may scare a lot of you to death, so let that be the step Pray with your spouse. Or maybe do you know what? Leave prayer at the dinner table with your family. Hey guys, I feel like we need to start praying together as a family. You don't have to make it super weird, just say it. That's all you got to say. Hey, let me think about it. I think we need to start praying together as a family before we eat and then just pray and all of a sudden, you just made a huge impact right there at the dinner table that you never know. That little seed of obedience that you, that little step of obedience, rather, that you took, could plant the seed in the people around that table. They could do incredible things.

Chris Grainger: 14:14

Okay, so I'm telling you this is such a big deal. We're talking about obedience to Christ. It wasn't mean to follow Christ. Why is it such a big deal for us as believers? But I also know, with all the people that listen to the Lion Within Us, not all of you are believers, and that's okay. You're here for a reason. God has put you on this path.

Chris Grainger: 14:33

Maybe someone passed an episode to you and you liked it and you just want to see what some of these other episodes are about For our spiritual kickoff episodes. They're specifically designed to help you take God's word and simplify and apply it to your life. And part of the spiritual kickoff episode that I'm doing making sure a firm commitment on this, and I've made it with God when we started the show is I want to share the best news I can share with you on every SKO, and that is the good news of the gospel. And it all starts by understanding who we are, that we are made in God's image. That's you Right now. If you're hearing my voice. You are made in the image of God. You're perfect, just the way that God made you. He designed you with what you think are flaws. He thinks it's perfection. God knows it. He put these things in us, usually in ways for us to honor and glorify Him. So don't run from it.

Chris Grainger: 15:24

I'm not a very good speaker and here I have a podcast and you guys know I stutter sometimes, I stumble over my words, but you know what it ain't about me. It's about being obedient to God and knowing. You know what, through these reps, I'm going to get better and I may not ever get to be great, but I'm just going to do it because you've called me to do it and it'll be effective because you never turn your back. I know that and I made an image of God, and so are you. You know he spoke all these things into existence when he created everything. Yet for man, he formed him. He breathed the breath of life into man's lungs. Adam set up. For the first time he was face to face with his creator, and we were made for that relationship with God. That's us Now.

Chris Grainger: 16:11

We're supposed to have that relationship with God, but that relationship has been severed, and it's been severed because of the impact of sin, of sin. In our life. We have sin. Really, all that is is anything that separates us from God. That's a sin, and when sin entered, the perfect relationship was ruptured, and this is why we have all these bad things in the world. This is why the way the world is. In so many ways, it's because of sin.

Chris Grainger: 16:43

There's a sin issue, and when we start comparing our sins to other sins and things like that, that's when we get in trouble, because, at the end of the day, the only thing we should be comparing ourselves to is a holy and righteous God, and we all fall short of the glory of God. We just do I wish you didn't, but you do, okay, and guess what the best person that you can think of. You think that they had their life together and you know what. You never see them do wrong and they're always just on the side of right and safety and caution. That person's a sinner too, and they're just about as sinner as a person on death row in God's view. But why? Because that sin separates us from Him. So we have this big gap between us and between God and we know there's nothing we can do. We can't pray your way there. You can't read your Bible your way there, you can't go to church or tithe or donate or whatever. There's nothing you can do to close this gap, because this is a massive holy gap and this is where so many people get in trouble, because they just think they're a good person.

Chris Grainger: 17:48

The problem with thinking that you just got to be a good person to get into heaven is how good is good enough? What's your standard? Is it on a sliding scale? Does it move? Or am I just going to be better than the other person, than my neighbor, or just better than people in prison? Right, there's all different standards out there. The problem is that's workspace righteousness that's not going to do anything to get you the inheritance that's available. So if you can't buy your way or work your way, what do we have to do anything to get you the inheritancy that's available? So if you don't, if you can't buy your way or work your way, what do we have to do?

Chris Grainger: 18:20

Well, we need a savior, and Jesus saw this, he recognized it and he chose to take action. He left heaven on a rescue mission for you, for me, for the whole world. He was born of a virgin. He fulfilled the prophecies, he did the teachings, he taught the parables, all the wonderful things, the miracles, all the miracles, the miracles. And then he gave himself up and chose to pay the penalty for our sins. The payment that satisfies completely for our sins was his perfect, righteous blood. So he went to the cross Volunteers. He went to the cross Right. This is nothing. This is nothing. Caught Jesus by surprise. He went to the cross intentionally, suffered the wrath for us, for all mankind, and died on the cross, paying the ultimate penalty for our sins. And we laid him in a tomb. We laid him in a tomb, but he just rented it just for three days, because at the end of the day, he overcame death.

Chris Grainger: 19:22

You can't hold back Jesus, and that's who we worship. Now we have a living Savior and when we confess him as Lord of our life, he sends the Holy Spirit to be with us at that moment, to take the scales off our eyes, to see the world the way that he wants us to see it, to take steps of obedience in ways that he wants us to take steps of obedience, to love the way that he loves us and show us His path, that narrow path that is so beautiful, so beautiful. Once we have that relationship with Him, so recognizing, you can't work your way there, you can't buy your way there. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life no one comes to follow except through him. There's no other name that's given among men by which we must be saved. Scripture tells us this directly. Jesus is the only way.

Chris Grainger: 20:08

What do you have to do? You got to confess him as Lord of your life. You have to just say Lord, I believe. I know that you're the Son of God, I know that you are my Savior and I trust, I'm putting all my trust in you at this moment because I love you and I know that you've always loved me. I'm so thankful for that and I'm telling you, once you surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ, this means everything. The Holy Spirit's going to come, it's going to dwell and all of a sudden you're going to have this conviction, you're going to have this fire to do what he's calling you to do.

Chris Grainger: 20:43

And the whole point of this whole episode today is just to encourage you to keep doing it. Don't run from it. If he's calling you to get out and start a small group or start a discipleship group or go on a mission trip, whatever he's calling you to do, take that step of obedience. Don't run from it today. Please, please, please. I'm begging you, don't run from it. Okay, but it takes.

Chris Grainger: 21:04

The first step of obedience is surrendering to him, and this is where so many guys miss it. And ladies, but because we're we're focusing on, on being Christian leaders here, christian men, I'm telling you guys, don't let this part be an area where you stumble. Don't let this be your stumbling block. Don't get all the way to the start line and fall down and turn around and go back home. No, lean into it. Accept Him as your Savior.

Chris Grainger: 21:32

We're going to pray together here in a second, and if you are at that point right now where you know what. I need you, jesus, I need you. I recognize I can't do this on my own. I recognize my way has just not been working and I've taken the opportunity. Today I'm taking a step of obedience and I'm choosing to follow you.

Chris Grainger: 21:53

So, father, I'm praying for that one listener right now who's choosing to take a step of obedience and follow you as their Savior. I pray you just put your blessings around them, put some encouragement around them, put some people in their life that are going to speak just truth to them. Let them feel your joy that comes with just being a son or a daughter of the King. I pray you just put again people in their life that's going to help them on their discipleship journey to get to the point where they can go out and share the good news of the gospel in a way that just can impact the world. So we love you, we praise you. I pray that you again be with these people, give them wisdom, give them the sermon and help put them in the places that you want them to be. Protect them from the attacks of evil. One. Thank you for how much you just love us each and every day, in Jesus' name, amen.

Chris Grainger: 22:43

So again, if you just accepted Christ as your Savior, welcome to the team, welcome. You now have the Lion Within. We're ready to help you equip it and now you need to learn how you unleash it, and I want to help you. So again, chris at thel the lion within dot us, is my email address. That's Chris at the lion within dot us. Send me an email.

Chris Grainger: 23:02

Love to hear about your testimony, love to hear about how you just accepted Christ as your savior, and I also want to send you some free resources to get you started, to get you on the path, to get you ready for the battle. And you just entered a battle. It's part of it about being a Christian. We're in a battle. You need to recognize that you are in a battle, but this is a battle that, with the power of Christ, you got some pretty cool things ahead of you and I will hook you up with some resources to get started, with some scriptures you need to know. Try to make sure you get put into a good church family. Just try to just love on you the best I can to welcome you to as a brother or sister of the King, all on you, the best I can to welcome you to as a brother or sister of the King, alright, so, guys, have a great one. Thank you so much.

Chris Grainger: 23:42

If you enjoy the spiritual kickoffs, I'm just I say this all the time, but we do this Monday through Friday in our community. Every morning I go live, I'm able to share God's word. It's a blessing to do this each and every day with our guys. If you think that would encourage you, I just encourage you to check out the Lion Within Us community. Start your program, your plan today. Be a partner with us. Come alongside a fellow Christian man. We're helping each other grow. Join one of our discipleship mastermind groups where we're leaning in. We're being the iron that sharpens iron, that's, we can follow a map, a journey to be the leaders that God's called us to be.

Chris Grainger: 24:19

So I'd love to connect with you. I'd love to just have a conversation. I'd love to see how the Lion Within has conserved you and you can figure out all that or see firsthand for yourself at thelionwithinus. Okay, so the don't forget the lionwithinus. We also find our devotionals on YouVersion Bible app. We have lots of study guides out there, lots of resources, and if you're dealing with pornography, you're dealing with stewardship, you're dealing with parenting issues. We have lots of resources on the website, so the lionwithinus is a way to get connected with us there. Okay, all right, guys, come back on Wednesday. We'll have a great conversation on Wednesday. You guys are really going to like this one. It's a powerful conversation with a very well-known author. Wrote an amazing book, but the book's cool. The conversation's better. I promise you that. Okay, so, guys, come on back, looking forward to hanging out with you. Thank you so much for the support.

Chris Grainger: 25:07

If you want to be a donor of the Lion Within it's again lionwithinus slash donate. There's ways you can connect, you can serve us. Maybe you don't want the community right now, or just not for you, not the right time for a season of life. Come alongside and be a monthly donor. That would be huge, as we are obedient and continuing to try to grow and do what God's called us to do. All right, so have a great day, guys. There you go. I know I'll get out eventually. Get after it. Have a good one, stay strong. See you on Wednesday for our next episode and keep unleashing the lion within.

Chris Grainger: 25:43

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 Lion Withinist community. 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 Lion Within Us 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 have always focused on how to discern and apply what we learn, and even our amazing forum where you can speak your mind without fear of getting shut down or judged by the extreme rules of modern day social media. 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.

Chris Grainger: 26:43

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 with them.