Chris Grainger: 1:01

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, let's get right into it today. I'm so excited to be here with you on this meat episode. We're in the Scripture of the Week. This week was in 2 Corinthians 5.20. It says we are therefore Christ ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. So, guys, we're going to take a fun time today. Hopefully you're going to enjoy this. So what we do? If you listen to the line long enough, you already know this by now.

Chris Grainger: 1:35

We take a Bible study that we write for the YouVersion Bible app. I love writing these studies. They're all free. Goversion Bible app and I love writing these studies. They're all free. Go, check out the Bible app. Search up the Lion Within Us. Follow the page. You'll be able to see all the Bible studies that we have going on. You can even connect with me directly as a friend on the Bible app and then, when we do these studies, you can jump in with us and you can actually comment. I'll respond. We'll have some good conversation back and forth. It's a great way, great great way to plug in with this. So I love doing this. With YouVersion, you can head over to thelinewithinus and you'll find all the resources, all the Bible studies that we have laid out right there on the website. Okay, so just check that out.

Chris Grainger: 2:16

On the SKO, I unpacked one little idea around being an ambassador. So today we're going to keep on pulling at that thread because sometimes it's just good to have some insights and reflections on what that looks like and kind of thinking about what an ambassador is. Is that something that you feel like you need to outsource to others, like these professional quote unquote Christians? Or? I'm hoping through these reflections, each of us will understand our unique role, you know, and it may even help us avoid some worldly distractions that are out there and courageously start doing what God's called us to do. And so the whole idea of the first part, of understanding the ambassadors, go back and listen to the SKO. Well, really, unpack that at length because, at the end of the day, the understanding that we're ambassador like right here, 2 Corinthians 5.20, comes down to understanding that, no matter the time, date or location, we are called to represent Him and all that we do. It doesn't matter where we're leaning into, where we're trying to go in life At all times. We have to embrace that. Now the second thing that I want so again, go listen to the SKO unpacked at a link.

Chris Grainger: 3:26

The main thing outside of that, I want to share a couple of thoughts and reflections here for you, and the first one is to live out our calling with boldness. With boldness so it says in Ephesians 6 that pray for me that whenever I speak, my words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. So it makes me think that lots of times, lots of times, ambassadors are challenged with delivering difficult messages. Okay, let's just be real, because during a visit, an ambassador may run into resistance, and it's in those moments they have to remain true to the convictions that they represent. And Paul right here, our Apostle Paul, his resolve that he made to share the gospel at any personal cost to him literally landed him in prison. And what's crazy, once he got to prison, he didn't waver whatsoever, his passion didn't diminish, and I don't understand that that's like a gospel thing.

Chris Grainger: 4:37

But for our context, think about that. But for our context, think about that Because it's difficult for us in the West primarily, that's where most people listen to visualize that there are limited places in the world where we face persecution for sharing the gospel Because we just don't. We don't it's so easy out here. Those areas do exist, but most of the time it isn't fear or personal harm, let's just be real that holds us back from being an ambassador. We're called to be. No, what is it? It's usually the fear of others who are going to think about us that paralyzes us moving forward. And it's amazing to me Look, I'm putting myself in this but the power of what other people think, what they think about us, it impacts the decisions that we make, because when the thoughts start creeping in regarding what others are going to say, they can overpower conviction from the Holy Spirit, that conviction to speak truth boldly. And then it really comes down to this question of do we go with the flow and stay silent or should we speak the truth, knowing it may result in personal judgment and, bro, that's big, that's hard.

Chris Grainger: 5:58

And you know, I had a guest one time talked about an analogy for ambassadors, and he talked about chocolate chip cookies and I just love it. It's worth bringing up again David Benham. Love him like a brother. He's so awesome, but this one just stuck and we just need to understand that. We know, let's just be real. One thing the best cookies out there are chocolate chip cookies. There are chocolate chip cookies and there's everything else.

Chris Grainger: 6:27

Okay, but before you get to the final cookie, there's some basic things to make that cookie right, you got sugar, you got flour, you got eggs and salt and baking soda and fat and shortening vanilla, all these different things, and then you got the most important part. We know what that is right Chocolate chips. And as you make these cookies, my wife does a lot of baking so I get to watch her making cookies and stuff like that. Everything goes into a blender. Right, she's got one in table blenders and put everything in and just moves around and it's cool. With flour, sugar, all that stuff starts going in and all of a sudden you know the egg will start and then you can see the yolk. After a couple spins you can see a little. Yes, less, less, less. And then all of a sudden I can't see an egg anymore. I know it's there, but I can't see it. At some point everything looks the same and it's at that point where the ambassadors enter.

Chris Grainger: 7:25

So what's the ambassadors? Okay, the ambassadors are chocolate chips, because they don't blend in. No, what do you do with chocolate chips? You mix them in, right, they keep their distinctness as they interact with the other ingredients. Then the dough, you know. You roll into the little balls or whatever, throw it in the oven. What happens? Heat turns up. When the heat turns up, what does everything else do? Everything else just kind of melts down. But what does that chocolate chip do? It remains intact. Now, they may flex a little bit, but at the end of the day, the chocolate chip is still distinguishable. Like you can look at a chocolate chip and say, yep, that's a chocolate chip right there. Not to mention, it's the best part. I'm going to amen on that one.

Chris Grainger: 8:05

So this should be our goal as Christ's ambassadors we should be the chocolate chips and the cookie dough of life. Just be real. It means that we must serve boldly and never run from our responsibility. Yes, we can't worry about blending in. No, we're not. We're never going to blend in. We're to mix in and to do what he's called us to do, and that is responsibility we cannot run from, particularly when it comes to sharing the good news of the gospel. There you go Now. If you're hungry, go get a chocolate chip cookie and then we'll see you after this break.

Chris Grainger: 8:41

I don't know about you, but I used to find Mondays really rough. I would find myself trying to reset for work, trying to get my bearing on the family calendar, trying to find time for my own spiritual growth and development, and often I found myself overwhelmed or just flatly ignoring aspects of my life that I know are meaningful to me. What I learned was that if I had immediate access to important and impactful spiritual topics and reflections to start my week well, after the allure of a Sunday sermon has passed, I would set my whole week up to be more meaningful and for the opportunity to make a true impact. If you think that getting such a boost would help your week to get started on the right foot, we would love for you to sign up for the weekly roar, which is our newsletter that is produced by the Lion Within Us. Each week will deliver a powerful reflection and practical steps to help you apply scripture with clarity and purpose, all being rooted in light and truth. So in just a few minutes we hope to arm you with insights for living out biblical leadership with confidence and strength, and maybe even have a little extra bounce in your step. If that sounds useful, head over to thelionwithinus slash ROAR to sign up today. That's thelionwithinus slash ROAR to get your weekly ROAR today.

Chris Grainger: 10:15

All right, did you get a cookie? I hope you got a cookie, you know, and don't forget, you got to chase that thing down with some milk, okay. So get you some cookies and milk. Now we're ready to keep going. So now we need to embrace this idea of a heavenly citizenship. Okay, philippians 3.20 says but our citizenship is in heaven as we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chris Grainger: 10:36

So it makes you think about the simple question of where do you live? Okay, and everybody's been asked this from time to time. I know I've been asked where I live all the time. Right, it happens and it's an easy icebreaker. Let's just you go to a party. You know where are you from, where do you live? Something like that's a good icebreaker and there can be a lot of pride associated with that answer. Let's just be real fellas. So if you grew up in the Southeastern United States, as I did, it was very common to hear other people talk about hey, I was born and raised right here, proud, love it.

Chris Grainger: 11:07

They speak about their long lost relatives that settled the land. You can just feel the emotion coming out when they talk about their family ties to that, to that, when they talk about their family ties to that land. And an ambassador, however, recognizes that they are on a specific mission and during that time they're not home. No, no, no. So for a diplomatic ambassador, this means while they're in other countries, while they're having fun, they're enjoying it. Well, hopefully, they're having fun. They're still visitors. They're not residents, so they remain focused on their purpose of their presence, right. So, in that context, for today, so much is political Right, and they maintain that diplomatic relationship. They're protecting their country's interests while they're abroad and they're trying to promote peace and cooperation and mutual understanding between nations.

Chris Grainger: 12:07

Really, the crux of this is the environment where they find themselves. The meaning that they find themselves in for that day, wherever it takes place, does not change who they're representing Now as believers, so far as embracing our heavenly citizenship. A fundamental truth that we have to somehow embrace at some point is that this citizenship, this heavenly one, happens for all of us once we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior. And the Apostle Paul is just like well, making sure we don't miss this. Our citizenship is not of this world. We have hope in something so much greater. We have hope in something so much greater.

Chris Grainger: 12:53

Why do you think people who have all these different things in their homes and stuff are so miserable? Because they're trying to find their happiness in their being and things in this world? And it's not there. And it can be easy to tie our emotions to current surroundings, because when I start thinking about the different places that I've called home in my life, they all had certain things that I just remember very fondly.

Chris Grainger: 13:17

Right, I think about the security in my childhood home, bro. Right, the way that this mom and daddy always made it just feel safe. Or the freedom of my first apartment in college. Right, and in the moment I can do what I want to do. I can do what I want to do. Or the first time I moved after college, I moved to a five-acre plot of land and the seclusion and the pride I had. Just you know what. I got this land and now standing here in the farm that we own, I'm just in awe all the time and they have significant meaning to me, each and every one of them, and I'm sure you have memories flooding in right now. But each one of these homes, even where we're at right now at the farm, prayerfully I pray we never move again. It's still a temporary holding area. I'm not going to be here forever. My eternal home is in heaven.

Chris Grainger: 14:21

And that temporary mindset for me it's been helpful for as I evaluate my success as an ambassador, because this mindset has helped me, maybe to help you, from getting trapped. And that trap is in the world, right, because the evil one wants to trap you. He's trying to steal, kill and destroy everything in your life. We need to call that out and recognize that to be true. First and foremost, if we can recognize that and avoid that trap, it's going to do something for us. It's going to be a glorious day that we all get when we will be with him in heaven. Right now, as we wait for that glorious day where you're not going to have to worry about property tax or wells running dry or none of this stuff right, for right now, we have to maintain that heavenly mindset that is coming, and then we have to take the steps of obedience to share the good news with others here on earth while we're here.

Chris Grainger: 15:13

Right, and that temporary mindset, guys, I'm telling you it's hard at first, but the more you lean into it, the easier it's going to be. It's kind of like a new muscle that you work out. You start working on a new one and it starts hurting it. First. I'm going to take this a little sore right now, give it a little break and you come back. You hit it again. It's not quite as bad the next time. That quite as bad the next time. That's the way it does. It builds, it builds Once you start leaning into it. It's going to build over and over and over. All right, so look, so we'll take a quick break, we'll come back and we're going to finish unpacking this idea of being an ambassador together.

Chris Grainger: 15:48

When I reflect on the kind of things that the men who participated in our discipleship masterminds had in the past, I am overwhelmed by the quality of their comments and commitment to each other. Several of the guys commented that this was the most meaningful leadership experience they've encountered, and we even had one man logged into a discipleship mastermind while a hurricane was hitting his house. He was that committed and received that much from his peer group that he didn't want to miss it. Because of this extraordinary commitment, and because it's a true gift and pleasure, we made them a core part of our community, and we hope you might join us. We sit up men with their own peer advisory group of seven individuals that meet every other week for 12 weeks. Each member shares areas they want to focus on, such as improving their prayer life, being more intentional with their wives or maybe shedding a few extra pounds. Together. We help them strategize, make commitments, find accountability and learn. It's been our experience that most guys want a community of trustworthy men to share their ideas and create support for each other with, and it's been our experience that most men don't either create this for themselves or seek them out. So we do this because we want you to have that in your life, and all that is needed to begin winning is you. If this sounds interesting, check out our community to see the dates and times of when these different groups meet. Visit thelionwithinus to start your free trial of our community. To get started today, that's thelionwithinus, and I would love to see you lean in and tap into the power of our discipleship masterminds. All right, guys.

Chris Grainger: 17:52

So now we're going to unpack the idea of why we should need to declare God's praises as his chosen people we just are. So let's declare it First. Peter 2.9 says but you are chosen people, are you a royal priesthood? I don't know, peter, a holy nation, god's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who calls you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Chris Grainger: 18:15

So now, ambassadors, let's just be real. Have a process they work through before being chosen to represent their country. Okay, I did some research on this stuff, and typically they're chosen based on their experience or qualifications or different political considerations. Let's just be real. And while this can vary from country to country, it includes many times processes like nominations, appointments. Then you have a confirmation process where this ambassador is being confirmed. Then you have a swearing in, which ultimately leads to the assignment, which is just the first part.

Chris Grainger: 18:52

The answer to the assignment is the deployment. Okay, lots of moving pieces here, things moving, you know, in and out, lots of things that could go wrong, you know, and you just have to keep that in mind. For the believer, though, this process is radically different because, instead of working through a bunch of steps and committees and hearings and trying to earn this righteousness and I get this approval here and got to get this there and I got to do this Now I got to go do this, here's what, okay, here's what. Finally, I got to get my deployment. When I get there on my deployment, this is what I'm called to do. It doesn't work like this.

Chris Grainger: 19:26

The way worse God is. God comes to us and says I want you, I want you, I want you, and the crazy part is you start pondering the gospel and thinking about it. I can't put my head around why he want me, because reality is, when I look in the mirror, I see some dude that's just busted up. He's bruised, he's broken, he's terrible, he's made a bunch of bad decisions in his life. He's just a black hearted sinner. He doesn't deserve anything from God. Nope, all I deserve is judgment, condemnation and separation from the Father and the idea that God looks at me and says I want that one. I can't, I don't know how to wrap my head around it. He wants a relationship with his children and the fact is, peter's laid it out we are his special possession, mind-blowing Special possession. So just go sit down on a bench somewhere and think about that for five minutes. How you?

Chris Grainger: 20:27

You are God's special possession and as his special possessions, we, as as good ambassadors, must take steps every day to ensure the goodness of what he's shown us in our life is reflected to others, no matter the situation. So that may be in a Sunday morning on a church pew okay, that's a great way to encourage others, but it's also a great time to be encouraged to be equipped. But after that final amen and you head out the doggone doors into the world, that's where the work begins and it shows up when we start looking for opportunities to speak truth. This could be in our careers. This could be at a doggone ball field with your kids, or the grocery store, or how about this one? A family gathering when you know you need to be more intentional about sharing the love of Christ with others.

Chris Grainger: 21:25

Because declaring the praises of who they represent is what ambassadors do. That's so important. Declaring the praises of who they represent is what ambassadors do, and my prayer is that we all me, you, all of you guys we live our lives in such a bold manner that we remember our distinct call to take steps of obedience each and every day, because you never know how the step you take today could be the one that opens the door for someone to escape the snares of the evil one and start walking into the light of Christ. That's crazy to think about. Just think about this for a second. There's something you could say today A comment, a, a, a, an email maybe, where that one thing could be what one person needs to hear for the pinhole to be opened up, for the good news of the gospel to penetrate and to change their life radically. Now flip it. There's one thing that you could say today that shuts the door and closes the pinhole. Which side of that coin do you want to be on? My prayer is man, whatever happens.

Chris Grainger: 22:40

We take opportunities every day to share the good news of the gospel with others, and all you can do is start with your testimony how you speak, what God has done in your life. No one can refute that. They can argue scripture all day long, but they can't refute what God has done in your life. You can speak from your own personal circumstances of how God has moved. See, when you start thinking of it that way, like how can I be a conduit for God's blessings today, rather than, you know, a distraction or pulling people away? I mean, christians get all the bad connections of hypocrites, and we're just terrible people. We don't tip well and we're stingy and rude. I get it, man. What are you going to do, though? We can't just play the victim card. No, we're called to be his ambassadors. It's kind of a big deal. My prayer is this We've kind of gone through this now Is that when you look in the mirror, you don't just see another dude, you see that you're made in the image of God, and what am I going to do today with the gift that he has given me of today? Today is all he's given me to represent him. So what does being an ambassador for Christ look like in your life? That's the ultimate question.

Chris Grainger: 24:09

So I'm hoping you enjoyed it Again. These are so much shorter, these episodes, because I really don't want to just draw it out and just ramble, ramble, ramble. I just want to encourage you with the words that God's given me. If you like the reflections, I'd love for you to again head over to the Bible app. Open it up, follow the Lion Within page. Connect with me as an author, as a friend, rather, on the Bible app, as I go through these each and every month. Hey, you'll be invited to come along with us. That'd be awesome Love for you to do that again. So you can go to the lionwithinus, click on over on the Bible app, our Bible reading plan resources, and you'll find everything that you need right there to get connected with us. Okay, so I just I love the writing. Hopefully you enjoy the content.

Chris Grainger: 24:51

Shared the stuff out with others as well. Guys, I'd encourage you to come back on Friday. We're going to have a fun Friday. I'm going to share some tips, some more ideas. There's a couple of dad jokes, all the fun stuff that we thelionwithinus to check out all that we're building, all that we're doing, our resources, just to kind of give you a quick recap of our resources. We have tons of articles that we write each and every week that we just try to encourage you with. We have Bible reading plans. We have our book of the week. We have a Christian leader assessment. We have downloadable guides. We have our weekly roar. That's out there and that's available.

Chris Grainger: 25:25

Guys, there's so many ways we try to serve you each and every day, not to mention for the guys that are in our community. We have our daily spiritual kickoff. We have our Lions Den community, we have our Discipleship Masterminds, we have our Friday Fours, we have our Lion Lunch. You see, the list goes on and on and on. But you don't get access unless you head to thelionwithanus and get started. So my prayer is that you go there, that you get plugged in, you get engaged. You see, the stuff that we're offering. We do have sponsorship opportunities.

Chris Grainger: 25:56

So maybe you don't want to join the lion directly, but you want to do it for someone else, maybe for you moms listening, or you or you wives that are listening right now. It's a great gift to give the men in your life, just a great gift to say, hey, just wanted to come alongside. I know you're trying to be the man that God's called you to be. I think these guys can help you. They disciple leaders and I want to support you for a year. Just hey, pop in, give us that, and then we'll get them connected within our community and start leaning into them and serving any way we can.

Chris Grainger: 26:19

So again, the LionWithinus is how you find all those resources, all the different ways we try to help, different ways we try to serve. Thank you for listening. I really mean that from the bottom of my heart. Give us a rating and review that helps. You could also be a donor. We have that available on our website as well. If you like what we're doing and you want to come alongside and support monetarily, that would be amazing. You can donate right there on thelionwithinus. All right, let's have a great day.