Chris Grainger: 1:10

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be.

Chris Grainger: 1:15

I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas, spiritual kickoff time. I get so excited for SKO episodes Hopefully you do too. Really just enjoy unpacking scripture with you. And so this week we're going to look at the book of Philippians. Okay, so this is Philippians, chapter 3, verse 7. So just one verse, it says. But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. And this is a beautiful little verse, fellas, let's see how we can simplify and apply it to our life. And again, the spiritual kickoff. That's all we do. It's simple reflections to help you to simplify and apply scripture to your life. So, if you find this encouraging, we do this inside our Lions, within the Lion Within Us community each and every day. We call it the daily SKO, the daily spiritual kickoff. So if you like that, if you feel like these will be a little bit of boost on Monday mornings, you'd like to get one every day of the week. Hey, jump in the community with us. Love to see you over at thelinewithinus.

Chris Grainger: 2:14

Okay, so first thing we need to understand is in your New Testament. Where is Philippians? Well, I guess that's just a little bit of a question. Like, philippians is New Testament, I normally start as just Old Testament or New Testament. This is New Testament, philippians. And you'll find that you'll kind of get Matthew, mark, luke and John, and you get through Acts and Romans and you get 1st and 2nd Corinthians and then you get into these other epistles from Paul. So you get Galatians, ephesians, then you get to Philippians, then you get to Colossians. So if you get to Colossians, you went a little too far. Put it in reverse, back up a little bit. Okay, this is chapter 3. And this is a pretty powerful declaration from the Apostle Paul that we're seeing here around surrender and realignment.

Chris Grainger: 2:53

Okay, and remember, paul is the Pharisee of Pharisees. Right, I mean, he was crushing it so far as being a Pharisee it made him get any better than him, right. But then he had a moment of reflection here where he sees that everything he once valued, that Pharisee of Pharisee, paled in comparison to knowing Christ. And that was extremely relevant. Extremely relevant, particularly for us today. If you feel like that you're being weighed down by sin, or if you feel like you're trapped in a cycle that you can't get out of.

Chris Grainger: 3:33

Okay, and so many of us, we're carrying around these things that we think are going to bring us fulfillment or joy or just some type of satisfaction. And I'm telling you, fellas, this week we're going to talk about some heavy stuff like pornography. How about stuff like greed or pride or any other idols that tell us, hey, this is going to satisfy you, but then afterwards we feel what Shame, regret, empty. Paul, right here, in 3, verse 7, he tells us nah, there's so much more. When we surrender these false gains to Christ, we find something so much more powerful. And we need to start addressing the idea of this whole illusion of what a gain is okay, because the world is going to constantly tell us that it's all about self-gratification, it's all about personal achievement and pornography.

Chris Grainger: 4:44

That's an illusion, fellas. It promises connection but at the same time it isolates. It promises us pleasure but robs us of our joy. It seemingly gives you a way to escape, but at the same time it enslaves you. Doesn't make any sense, does it? So it's a momentary gain, but in the long run it leaves us bankrupt.

Chris Grainger: 5:13

I'm telling you, Paul demonstrates this. I mean, he hits a head on. He had all the credentials, everything. He compared all that crap to losses, to surprising greatness of knowing Christ. And I'm telling you there's something, fellas, I know there is. There's something in each and every one of your lives, just because there's things in my life that I'm clinging on to, what's that Death grip right, that I gotta let go of, gotta let go of, because true gain is found only in Christ. Because he didn't stop, paul didn't stop by saying his former gains is losses that wouldn't have made any sense, like okay, that's cool, everything he did is a loss. No, he's like no, I found something infinitely better, infinitely better.

Chris Grainger: 6:07

Christ, that's the key to the freedom, fellas. I'm telling you. It's the key to the freedom, fellas, I'm telling you, it's not enough just to renounce the harmful crap that's in our life and to break free from that shame. Freedom, fellas, at least I've experienced it, comes when we replace that empty stuff of this world with the abundant life that we found in Christ. You know, john 10, 10, the evil one comes to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly, or have it to the full, whatever your version may be.

Chris Grainger: 6:41

So when you surrender, when you surrender to Christ, here's what you get. You get identity you ever thought about that? Because you're no longer defined by those past mistakes, that crap, that struggle, it don't matter, right? Because you're called sons and daughters of the king. You also get a new purpose because you become aligned with God's eternal plan. Then you can find some true meaning there. You also find freedom, and the rarest commodity out there, fellas, is peace of mind. I know it because so many guys struggle with it. Yet Christ offers that up to us, as when we surrender to him, we get to walk in that. So we got to break this cycle of shame that's out there.

Chris Grainger: 7:28

And one of the lies I don't know about you, fellas, I hear this one all the time. I know guys talk about it, and whether or not you want to admit it or not, but one of the lies that I hear pretty regularly is that the sin that we're in has taken me too far for redemption. So that shame just starts whispering in our ears I'm not worthy. Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm worthy. I'm unfit for use. I'm incapable for change.

Chris Grainger: 8:01

Paul's story refutes that, though Think about this he wasn't just a sinner, yo. He was actively persecuting Christians. I don't know To me that gets pretty bad. I don't know To me that gets pretty bad. I don't know how much worse it can get. Yet God redeemed that dude and used him to spread the gospel across the world. So just think about this for a second.

Chris Grainger: 8:21

If they can transform someone like Paul, what about you? There's no sin too great or no past too messy, or no shame too deep for the redeeming power of Christ. You have to recognize there's a whole lot more grace in Jesus than there is sin in you. As soon as we recognize that to be true, it starts changing things. And too often, fellas, the evil one wants to play in those areas in our life where we have experienced the most brokenness, and it's in those areas where God does his greatest work. And Paul is telling us here, he's calling us here, he's challenging us here to examine our lives and to think about what are the things that we're holding on to that we think are gains but are actually keeping us from experiencing the fullness of Christ.

Chris Grainger: 9:18

And here's a few steps, simple steps, fellas. Identify the items that you need to surrender. What are you clinging on to? Maybe it's sin, or it could be things like achievements. Think about relationships as well. Are you holding on to relationships you know you need to let go of? Do you need to replace the loss with Christ? Replace it with him? But you're also going to need some community to walk in, because you're going to need to share your journey with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who can pray for you, that can have that accountability that we've already talked about and that can encourage you. And you have to.

Chris Grainger: 10:00

At the end of the day, you've got to keep the long-term view, because it's not about this dash between our birthday and the day we go to heaven. No, it's about eternity, because the things of this world, they, are so temporary. I want you to focus on something so much greater. Okay, the stuff that you're storing in heaven, this stuff, fellas, the whole idea of surrendering is not about losing. Please hear me on this one. It's not about losing. Please hear me on this one. It's not about losing. It's about gaining, gaining what truly matters, because if you let go of stuff that weigh you down, you're going to find a freedom, joy and purpose that passes anything that this world could ever offer you. And I just here to tell you there's a dude listening that needs to hear this world could ever offer you. And I'm just here to tell you there's a dude listening that needs to hear this right now. I don't know who you are, but please, please, please, hear my voice and hear me clearly. God is not finished with you. He is not finished with you. The fact that you woke up this morning, the fact that you're listening to this podcast, the fact that you have air in your lungs, he has a purpose for your life. I don't know what that is, but you can take that. That is the truth. Take heart, lean into it and experience the power of surrender, that freedom that Paul talks about. It awaits each and every one of us. So think about what that item is. I mean, what are you clinging on to that? You know you're being called to surrender. If you need help there, tell any fellas, the Lion Within. This is where we help. This is what we do. Our community we lean in through our discipleship masterminds for our four sessions, for our Bible studies. This is where you have the conversations for true healing and hope, encouragement and accountability. All right, thelionwithinus. So, fellas, look, also know each and every week. I'll be naive to think that every listener to the Line Within Us is a Christian. You know, that's just. It's impossible to believe that to be true. I just want to take an opportunity to share the good news of the gospel with you and really it all starts. I just need you take an opportunity to share the good news of the gospel with you and really it all starts. I just need you to hear me today, particularly if you're struggling with some things in your life you just don't know what to do with them. You are made in the image of God. You are. Scripture tells us that and you need to know that. When God formed Adam, the very first man, when he formed him with his hands and he breathed the breath of life into Adam's nostrils and Adam sat up, he was face-to-face with his creator. It was perfect, it was awesome and things went really well for Adam. For like a page and a half of my Bible, it was a dumpster fire after that. But what happened was sin entered the world and sin fellas easy way to remember it. It's just something that separates us from God. That's all it is. And this sin entered the world and that fractured your relationship and created this massive gap between a holy and righteous God and us as sinners, and so many dudes, so many guys trying to work their way back to the right, standing with God. And we do it through going to church or reading a Bible, or praying, or helping people or just being a good steward, all the things. And the problem is, all those are I, I, I, I did, I did, I did, I did. None of them are inherently bad, don't hear me wrong, but those works like. The question is okay, well, how many is enough? Like yo, bro, tell me the truth, how many times have I run into you at church and it's like, bro, it don't work that way. Like, no, it doesn't matter. There Should you go and be part of a body, for sure, but are you counting on that for your salvation? Probably not a good strategy. So it's not about our works, because the works are never good enough, no matter what we may try to think or who we compare ourselves to, because we get into that trap as well. Right, we start comparing who we are to our neighbor. Well, if you want to feel really good, compare yourself to someone who's in prison, right? Well, compare it to them. Are you kidding me? Look what they've done compared to me. Come on, god, seriously, I'm so much better than them, and I'm being a little tongue-in-cheek here, but this is how lots of people think. I'm just here to tell you, bro, this is. The problem with thinking this way is that you can't work your way into the right standing with God. You need someone to step in and do for you what you couldn't do for yourself. Okay, what a question is well, who was that? Well, jesus. Jesus left the throne in heaven on a rescue mission for you and me, to come to save the entire world. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He fulfilled all the prophecies. He did the teachings, he did the miracles. He showed us all the signs. He taught us the new way. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. He did it all and then he paid the ultimate penalty for our sin when he went to the cross and this by paying the penalty for our sin. They laid him into a tomb. And you may be having a question. Well, wait a minute. A tomb, and you know something? You may be having a question. Well, wait a minute. Jesus is dead, like well, jesus died. Yes, he did die because the penalty for sin is death. So, yes, he indeed did die. Don't, don't let anyone fool you. There he died. They let him in a tomb. But the difference is we don't worship a dead guy. That would be ridiculous. Lots of other religions worship dead guys, but hang with me here, christianity doesn't. Because that tomb didn't hold Jesus. He wasn't there long. No, no, no, no. No. Jesus, three days after paying the ultimate penalty for our sin, rose. He overcame death. This is the God we serve. See how awesome that is. He loves us so much, so so much. He overcame death. He paved the paths to eternal life for you, for me, for the entire world. So you have to take some action now. You have to actually turn from your old ways and understand that you are a sinner and you don't need a coach to come alongside and help you get better no-transcript. Then you better, at that point, confess him. I mean confess him as Lord and Savior of your life, not just over Sunday, no, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every place the bedroom, the bathroom, the business room, the backyard, the ball field, everything everywhere, the grocery store, traffic. Yes, I had to say that one. He's Lord over it all. Once you recognize that, to be true man, things are going to start changing for you, bo. You're going to have the Holy Spirit's going to come and dwell, give you a new heart. The scales are going to fall off. You'll be able to see the world for what it really is. You'll be more equipped to do what he's called you to do. But it takes a step. It's a free gift of salvation. I literally just talked about this free gift for you for the last what five minutes or so? Are you going to accept the free gift? Because you're at the point of decision making right now. Am I going to accept the free gift of salvation, or it's a big, or am I just going to keep trying to do things my way? I can't answer that one for you. I can tell you, the peace that passes all understanding what Christ has done for me in my life, has changed it to the point. Every week I want to share the gospel. I just want to share it with you. If you're ready right now to confess him as your Lord and Savior, why don't you do that right now? You may be thinking I can't confess him as your Lord and Savior, why don't you do that right now you may be thinking I can't confess Jesus as my Savior listening to a podcast. Are you kidding me? I'm just here to tell you the evil. One wants you to think that I want to encourage you. This is not what this is. It's not about perception or image. No, if God's calling you to do business with him right now, lean in dog on it and do it right now. He'll figure it out. He'll clear the rest of it up for you later, but you can confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior right now. Let's pray. So, father, I just pray for that one listener, just that one who's ready to confess you as Lord and Savior of their life. Lord, they're here for some reason. They've listened to the show, they've heard the gospel. Maybe they've heard the gospel finally in such a way that they understand and they're ready to take action. So for that one listener who's confessing you as Lord and Savior right now, I pray. You just put your hand on them. Let them feel that peace that passes all understanding. Let them just know that they are now a son or daughter of the most high king and that they have that, that that promise of salvation is now just been given freely to them. So we love you, god. We praise you in Jesus' name, amen. So if you just accepted Christ, look, I want to hear from you directly. Okay, I want you to send me an email, chris at thelionwithinus. Okay, I'm going to hook you up with some free stuff, primarily our Bible study, some PDF downloads that I know are going to help you, and I also want to find out where you're located in the country, because we have lots of resources, lots of guys all over the US, and we may be able to get you plugged into a good, bible-believing, gospel-preaching church. Okay, let's just be honest, there's lots of bad churches out there. I want to equip you, to help you get ready so that you know what to look for when you go to one. Okay, you to help you get ready so that you know what to look for when you go to one. Okay, and this is. This takes a lot of discernment, but we're willing to help. We're willing to step in and walk alongside you. We also want to encourage you to check out our community at the Lion Within Us, because you're not going to be able to do this alone. You're going to need some brothers in Christ to walk beside, all right. So, guys, thank you so much. Thelionwithinus is where you find all our resources. Come back on Wednesday. We'll have a wonderful episode. I'm just going to be honest. It's not going to be an easy one. It's going to go kind of deep where we're going to be talking about a topic that most guys kind of cringe at a little bit. But it's needed. These conversations are doggone. It needed If we're going to lead the way that he is calling us to lead and do what he's calling us to do. So I'm praying, guys, that you don't turn away from this one. Lean into this one. Come check it out, thelionwithinus. We'll see you next week. Give us a rating and review. Go check out all our resources Again. The Weekly Roar you definitely want to get on the Weekly Roar email. That's our newsletter. It comes out every week. It's super short, but I guarantee it's going to be encouraging to you. So go sign up for the Weekly Roar. We also have a brand-new Christian leader assessment. Guys, this thing is dope. I mean it is really cool. Go check it out, take the assessment, see how you stack up. We'll give you some resources and some tools to help you along the way. So just check it out, see where, see where you land on scale. Okay, so again, the lion withinus. Obviously we'd love to see you inside our community where our discipleship masterminds, our Friday forge, our lion lunches, our Bible studies, our couple of nights, all the things that we offer day in and day out, monday through Saturday, we have an opportunity. We have events within the line, within us. It's crazy. Our live events, all the different ways we serve fellows. Look, the line withinus is where you find all those resources. Hope to see you there. So, have a great day, get after it, leave us a rating and review, be a supporter of the show. We could definitely use your support monetarily there. Jump on that. At the line withinus support. You can be a donate or you can sponsor. We have great ways to sponsor as well. It's a great way to support what we're doing to help build uh, to to build leaders, to be the leader that god intends you to be. I know I get out there eventually, so anyway, guys, have a great day, fellas, get after it and remember to keep unleashing the lion within. 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 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, we'll 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.