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. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas, my most exciting time of the week is right now Spiritual kickoff time. Let's go. I absolutely love these. I know you guys do as well, so let's get into it, okay?

Chris Grainger: 1:27

So the scripture we're going to look at today is 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 16 through 18. I'm like Chris three verses, chill out, bro. Okay, chill out. It's not that long, it's super short, actually. This says rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Now we're going to unpack this together. We're going to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life. That's what it's all about. And I also want to remind you, if you like the SKOs and the way we do this, we do it Monday through Friday within the line within us. So just click on over to the line withinus, start your trial, see what it's all about, get in our app, get in our platform and be part of the daily spiritual kickoff. Okay, and even if you can't make it live, don't worry about it, they're already posted every day. The video is there. It's exclusive content for our members. Guys, the LionelTenus is how you get that started.

Chris Grainger: 2:23

Okay, we're going to be talking a lot this week about the power of prayer, because that power of prayer is the conduit to God that we just neglect too often, bro, we just do, but before we get into it we need to know first of all, where is 1 Thessalonians at. It can be hard to find. It's in the New Testament. This was penned by the Apostle Paul, so you're going to find. If you get to Colossians, you'll find after you finish that, colossians 4, flip a page, then you'll get to 1 Thessalonians. If you get to 2 Thessalonians, guess what? You went a little bit too far, so just back up there. Get the Hebrews back up a little bit as well. It can be somewhat difficult to find. It's not a long book, okay, it only has the five chapters in total, so it's only really my Bible is like three pages, four pages, so easy to flip by it. But that's going to be where I said OK, new Testament.

Chris Grainger: 3:16

Apostle Paul wrote this one and again, we're going to be talking about this week the idea of prayer and why that's so doggone important and because Often, in my life too, I treated it like just you do this, like Lord, take me with my food, right? We pray before the meals, that's just what you do, and it's like a ritual and rituals you know, I guess, if they're godly rituals, that they have some value. But the prayer itself is a direct line to the creator of the universe. Are you kidding me Like it's a direct line to him? And too often it's so untapped Because we think of that prayer as like a last resort, like a Hail Mary bro, like no. No, this should be a first response. And the Apostle Paul is reminding us, and he is hitting us right here with a transformational approach for us as men to reshape how we act Again rejoice, pray, give, giving thanks. These ain't suggestions, boys, no, this is God's will for us. So we got to take them serious and if we do, it can radically have a change on the outlook. It can take our anxiety level down, because worship and worry can't come together, they can't coexist. But more importantly, I think out of all this fellas, it deepens our relationship with him. Ok, so let's just think about the, let's break them down, naturally, how, how this Paul wrote it, and think about rejoicing always. Ok.

Chris Grainger: 4:48

Now, rejoicing always doesn't mean we ignore when bad things happen or pretend that it's going easy, because I don't know about you boys, but life is hard. And whoever sold you if they tried to sell you a bill of goods that if you just follow Christ, things are going to suddenly magically get easier, they lied, it's called prosperity gospel. I don't have any really use for that because that's just a lie. It's not going to. But by following Christ it doesn't mean you know what? Things just managed to get better or easier. No, they do get better, not easier, okay.

Chris Grainger: 5:24

And we have to make sure that if we're, if we're, rejoicing always, we have, that really has a comes down to that fundamental, unwavering confidence in God's goodness. God's goodness is over our circumstances. That's it, because joy is not dependent about what's happening all around us, is it no? But it's depending on us relying on him, who's reigning over us at all times. So we have to make rejoicing a habit. We really have to, and when we do that, perspective starts changing. Okay, and we see God's hand, even when things are challenging.

Chris Grainger: 6:05

I share this. All the time when we lost our daughter, there was no happiness there, zero happy. The circumstance sucked, it was terrible, okay, but we can still rejoice. We can give him joy Because I knew as soon as she opened her eyes she was right face to face with my Heavenly Father. That's it. I know that. I have that assurance there. That is an affirmation of my faith. So, no matter the circumstances, we can rejoice. Now. This is so much easier said than done and I don't want to fly by this and diminish whatever you're going through. I'm sorry you're going through some stuff, I really am, but it is an opportunity for you to rejoice. It's rejoicing in your creator, but it is an opportunity for you to rejoice. It's a rejoice in your creator, and it's not asking you to deny any of the current reality. No, I want you to affirm what you're putting your faith in Now.

Chris Grainger: 7:02

The second thing Paul tells us to do is to pray continually. Again, this is a lifestyle. This is a lifestyle, and we can think about prayer lots of times and we relegate that to specific moments in our life, like we're going to pray before we eat. We're going to pray at church, okay. Or we're going to pray when the going gets really tough and like we absolutely need something. But Paul, what does Paul tell us he's like bro, pray continually Okay, this doesn't mean you got to be on your knees 24 seven, paul. What does Paul tell us? He's like bro, pray continually. Okay, this doesn't mean you got to be on your knees 24-7, but it should be ongoing and open dialogue with God.

Chris Grainger: 7:38

I find myself. For me, this is the most natural thing for me is just praying continually. I had a call this morning with one of our guys from the line within us and he's going through some things he's struggling with, he's working through and as he's talking, I'm literally in my mind Lord, give me wisdom. I need you to show me what I can say to this brother, to encourage him, because I recognize prayer doesn't have to just be me alone in my prayer closet or here in the studio with my Bible open, and that's where I'm at Now. There's times for that, for sure, but there's times to talk anytime. Matter of fact, some of the best times I talk with God are outside, on the trail that I run at. Talk to him all the time In the barn, you know, just driving down the road Before, while I'm coaching some of our kids' teams. I mean, just pray continuously, because this is a constant connection rather than just an occasional call. We're not setting up flares, so we're constantly talking to them.

Chris Grainger: 8:43

Okay, and I think, if we think about how you stay in constant contact with others, like me and my wife, we see each other all the time. We talk to each other all the time when we're not actually in the physical house together, we'll text each other. Why? Because we love each other, we care about each other, we want to talk to each other. And what prayer does that is? We have the same type of connection with God. We have access to our Heavenly Father at all times. It's not just when we need something. No, it would not be good for me and my relationship with my kids if they only came to me when Dad needed to do something for them. I'd feel pretty used to that point. That's not how they respond. They want to be around me all the time. They love being around me. I love being around them.

Chris Grainger: 9:31

We're always talking the same thing for God, the same thing, whether it's you know what, lord, I need you so bad right now, I'm just praying for your wisdom. Or? Lord man, you really showed up. You crushed it, thank you. Thank you, it's the praise moment. Right, it doesn't need to be forced, it needs to be natural and just kind of woven into your natural rhythm. Okay, all right.

Chris Grainger: 10:02

Now the third thing Paul talks about is giving thanks in all circumstances, and I've talked about my battles with anxiety in the past. On the line, you can go back in episodes. We talk about this a lot and he tells us something kind of crazy here. He's like give thanks in all circumstances, you know, not just when things are going well. I'm like Paul, easier said than done, brother, because that's radical, that's a radical mindset shift and that means that we have to actively choose gratitude when life gets hard. And if we do that, we take power away from worry, because worry runs us down. And I'm telling you, fellas, worry and worship cannot coexist. They're at polar opposite ends of each other. And if we focus on gratitude, you start shifting the attention from what's missing to what God has already provided in our life. We're not ignoring difficulties, we're repositioning our hearts to see God's faithfulness in the midst of the difficulties that are actually happening. Okay, it's not just saying this is not happening, this is not happening, no, this is happening. But I'm reframing. It's a shift, because if we constantly thank him. Your stress level is going to start coming down because your trust is going up. See how that works, because a thankful heart is a peaceful heart.

Chris Grainger: 11:35

Phil Robertson talked about it all the time the rarest commodity on earth is peace of mind. Totally, 100% agree with him. So how do you get that peace of mind? Give thanks to your Heavenly Father. This is the conduit, fellas. This is the conduit that so many dudes miss and it changes everything.

Chris Grainger: 11:58

Because there's so many guys I talk to. They're stressed out, they're anxious, they're natural warriors. Maybe you're a warrior, right, you just worry about everything. Yet those dudes rarely turn to prayer as a first solution. What is the first thing they typically say? I want to do this, I got this, just get out of the way. Right, be careful. Right, be careful.

Chris Grainger: 12:29

Because if we saw prayer instead as a first line of defense rather than a last resort, what would that do for us? Instead of stressing, what if you just surrendered? It's powerful, but it only happens when prayer becomes that priority. We have to choose it daily, guys. We have to. We have to make it just part of who we are, of our fabric, of our being, and we have to start trying to really, if Eeyore is your spirit animal, get rid of that. Start working, praying against that, so that you can cultivate gratitude in your life, because this is some of the most powerful resources we have and it's the conduit in how we access what God's trying to show us and reveal to us. Fellas, don't neglect it. All right Now. Scripture of the Week, not Scripture of the Question of the Week. This, fellas, is how do you rejoice when life gets hard? Because life's going to get hard, and my prayer is that you redirect it all back to him.

Chris Grainger: 13:26

Okay, now for those who listen to the Lion each and every week on our spiritual kickoff, when we reach this point of the show. I just want to take a minute because I do recognize, to be true, that not everyone who listens to the Lion with Dennis is a Christian and they confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. They don't have that relationship with God. They're quite, quite honest. Many people are curious, but they've never taken that moment. I just want to take a second just to share with you that God absolutely loves you.

Chris Grainger: 13:56

There was a perfect design that he had in mind when he created everything, when he created Adam, the first man, and he formed him with his hands and he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and Adam was set up. He was face to face with God. What an incredible moment. And Adam was made in his image. So just think about that. You are made in the image of God. When you look in the mirror, you say you see a bunch of junk. And you're like of God. When you look in the mirror, you see a bunch of junk. Seriously, man, I'm here to tell you God says yep, I made that. He's so proud, he loves you, he wants that relationship with you. That was the original design. It was perfect for like a page and a half in my Bible.

Chris Grainger: 14:39

I didn't think there was a rupture there. The rupture was sin. The, the evil one, came in and disrupted and we have sin, and that entered the world and that fractured that relationship between the holy and righteous God and us. And unfortunately, we can't run back right. We can't overcome that. And so many guys struggle here because they think you know what, chris, all I got to do is just be a good person. I just got to help others. I have to. You know, maybe I need to go to church. Ok, maybe you have me there. But if I just read my Bible every now and then and generally I'm a good person, I think when I get to it, to heaven at the end of the day, or get to the gates, rather they're just going to let me in because you know, I tried and I'm like bro, hold up now. Hold up now.

Chris Grainger: 15:28

So you're saying that you can overcome the sin that's in you and that's a dangerous path to walk down, fellas, because that rupture is permanent. There's nothing we can do to overcome that. You know, then, we try to pursue things in this world, right that we think we can overcome that, yet none of those things actually will. We need someone to come in and do for us what we can't do for ourselves. Okay, so we didn't need a coach to help us make us better. You know, it's okay to think that Maybe that's just what you need, because I'm an actual coach. I help other people in sports and things like that and I want to see them excel. But the reality is no one can save anyone. The only one who can save us is Christ. So we needed someone to come in and do for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. We need a savior. Get that, not a coach. And that's exactly what Jesus did for us.

Chris Grainger: 16:31

He left heaven. This is the incredible part about this. He left heaven knowing what he had to do On that rescue mission for us, came down to earth, was born of a virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies, did all the teachings, all the miracles, literally did everything that needed to be done, and then decided you know what? I'm going to pay the full price for the sin of the world and I'm going to go to the cross for them. And that's what he did. And they crucified him and he died. He didn't faint and pass out and go to sleep, he actually died on the cross.

Chris Grainger: 17:01

They laid him in a tomb. Jesus was dead. Now we're not wearing black every Sunday like we're going to a funeral, because we're not worshiping a dead guy. In fact, the tomb was kind of like an Airbnb. He just needed that thing for three days, that was it. And then on that third day he rose, he overcame death, and that is the fundamental difference between Christianity and the rest of the religions that are out there. We worship a living Savior. You see how fundamentally important that is. It's not some dead guy in a tomb, it's a living Savior. And he came out, he walked amongst us, he showed us proof of his evidence of his resurrection, and then he ascended to the Father and he's at right hand of him right now. And there is no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. It is Jesus.

Chris Grainger: 17:51

Whoever tells you anything different is lying. So what do you have to do? Well, it starts with repentance Understanding that you know what. You are a sinner in need of a Savior, and you all fall short of the glory of God. We all do. Every single one of us, even the most righteous person that you can think of the Billy Grahams, mother Teresa's people like that. They still fall just abundantly short of the glory of God. We need a Savior. You have to put your trust and your faith and your hope completely in Jesus, and that means confessing him as Lord. And I mean Lord over everything, not just Lord over Sunday boys.

Chris Grainger: 18:32

It's easy to say I'm a Christian on Sunday. I'm talking about Lord over it all. Lord over your finances. Lord over your marriage, so that includes your bedroom boys. Lord over your kids, so that includes your bedroom boys. Lord over your kids, your career Hmm, got really hard right then, didn't it All these things when you just render it to him. It brings so much freedom, but it starts with a decision To repent and to turn to him, to change that direction and turn back to him and turn to Christ and confess him as Lord and Savior. So look At that point once you confess him, then you have the Holy Spirit that's going to come, that's going to give you that new heart, new revelation, and that's the start line.

Chris Grainger: 19:21

Okay, that's the start line. That's not the finish line. That's the start line of your discipleship journey and I want to help you with it. But you got to get to the start line first and this has to be your faith. It can't be your mom's or your dad's or your grandma or your grandpa, whoever, your wife or your or your husband, whoever. It has to be yours, your faith, your personal relationship with Christ. I love my kids more than anything on this planet. There's nothing I can't save them. I can't make them love God, I can't make them confess him as Lord and Savior. That's up to them. I can do all I can to point them to him, but they have to make the decision. And right here is the decision you have to make. Are you going to confess Christ as your Lord and Savior? And if you are and you haven't done that yet, let's pray together right now and accept him and confess him and accept and accept the Holy Spirit into your heart. So, lord, just thank you so much. We just love you.

Chris Grainger: 20:22

Just pray for that listener who's just maybe they've been at the difficult season of life. They recognize their need for a savior. They can't do this alone anymore. And they're confessing you right now, father. I pray you hear their prayer. I know you do. But give them just confidence, give them assurance, give them just affirmation. Put people around them that's going to just encourage them as they start their discipleship journey. Also, know that the evil one is going to try to trip them up. It's going to try to slow them down. It's going to try to be a stumbling block for this new believer. I just pray against that right now, father, I pray you put some people in their life that's going to just be able to help them as they start their journey. And, lord, we're so thankful for this opportunity just to come to you to share the good news of the gospel, and we pray that hearts are moved in a mighty significant way. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Chris Grainger: 21:20

All right, so if you just accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want to hear from you because I got a bunch of free resources I want to send you your way just to get you started down your journey, because I mean, there's scriptures, there's studies and things like that that will help you get started for sure. Ok, chris at the Lion Within dot US. That's my email address. Chris at the Lion Within dot US, send me a note. I want to see some resources. Also want to make sure that, if you're not plugged into a church, at least find out where you're at in the country and give you some ideas. We have lots of guys in the Lion Within us that are all over the United States, depending on your location. I want to give you some things to consider, at least some things to look for when it comes to selecting a church that you may want to consider attending and checking out.

Chris Grainger: 22:06

Okay, so, again, connect with me. Love to hear from you For sure. Come back on the show on Wednesday, have a great conversation. I think you guys are going to really enjoy this one. It's going to be a fun topic that we'll be unpacking.

Chris Grainger: 22:19

And then thelinewithinus is how you connect with us and all our resources. We have our Bible studies that are on the Bible app. If you're on the Bible app right now and we're not friends, what are you waiting on, bro? Like it's the easiest thing to connect with me on the Bible app that way, when we do our Bible studies and we do about two a month so come along on the journey. It's just fun way to do that together. So again, the line withinus click on the Bible, the Bible studies, and there's a link there directly where we can be friends on the Bible app. Okay, we'll love to do that with you.

Chris Grainger: 22:49

So thank you so much for listening to the lion within that us. Check out our community, our summit, leadership development. That's where it's all at, fellows, where we're leaning, we're teaching, we're helping you grow. Be the leaders God intends you to be. We're going to push you, we're going to challenge you. We're going to help you grow in a very meaningful way. All right, so get after it, have a great one, Come back on Wednesday and remember to keep unleashing the lion within. Most men are fighting battles. No one sees Strained marriages, silent wounds, pressure to lead without a place to rest. That's why we created our community To help build, strength, sharpen and support brothers just like you. And now it's even easier to join than ever. We've lowered access to just $15.99 a month. Immediately, you'll get our daily spiritual kickoffs, our Bible studies, lion Lunches, friday Forge and so much more. Every man needs a stronghold and you don't have to fight alone. Join today at thelionwithinus that's thelionwithinus and get started today.