Chris Grainger: 1:38

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, meet episode time. Let's go, all right.

Chris Grainger: 1:50

So the scripture of the week this week is James, my favorite book of the Bible. The first chapter, the fifth verse, says if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all those, without finding fault, and it will be given to you. So, guys, I unpacked that verse at length in our spiritual kickoff episode. So pop back one in your podcast feed. It'd be right there. Just, you know, 10, 15 minutes. Get a little bit of encouragement right there. And now also, guys, we do these spiritual kickoffs Monday through Friday in the Lion Within Us community. That's a great part of what we do, just so guys get so encouraged by it. So again, thelionwithinus is how you get started with all that stuff. Okay, all right. So now we're going to be talking about today, really, what the difference is between three items Knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Three big, heavy words. Particularly, what does it mean as a disciple of Christ? Okay, we're going to explore them independently and we're going to try to bring some clarity to these crucial elements. And again, this is one of our Bible studies that we have on the YouVersion Bible app. So, again, if you're a Bible app user, okay, please, please, do this. Open up your Bible app, search for the line Within Us and follow our page, because we drop Bible studies pretty regularly. You know we try to do about two per month out there, but then you can also connect with me directly and then we go through two Bible studies as a group each month on the Bible app on their platform. It's just a great way to connect, have a lot of fun with fellow brothers in Christ, so you can connect with me directly there. Go to thelinewithinus slash Bible. There's a link right there where we can connect on the Bible app. Love to be a part of it. We're big proponents of the platform. We're all in on supporting, on serving, on creating content, and they've been a great platform for us. It's crazy the downloads and the subscribers, the followers, all that stuff on that platform, because God's doing some great things. Almost a billion users on the Bible app right now, with a, b, okay, so that's pretty neat. So super, super pumped up. So that's where this content that we're working through today, that's where it's coming from. Okay, all right up. So that's where this content that we're working through today, that's where it's coming from. Ok, all right, fellas.

Chris Grainger: 4:02

So now let's get into the first area, knowledge. And we think about the pursuit of knowledge, think about our head, our minds. And Proverbs 9, verse 10, says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. So when I start wrestling with this whole idea between knowledge, understanding and wisdom, it became abundantly clear that they are indeed fundamentally different in their source, okay, and they're fundamentally different in their purpose and they're fundamentally different in their outcome. And I really spent a lot of time in this one praying and looking at God's word for and, and it was through that process that some clarity came. And hopefully that clarity is going to be helpful for you as we, as we kind of unpack this together and this whole idea of knowledge. The first point of clarity really was the point of clarity for me was the word head. You know, h-e-a-d head, because this starts showing up in my life, and maybe your life too, in different ways, because so often we're learning stuff for a different skill At one point in my life I worked on race cars, absolutely loved it.

Chris Grainger: 5:20

We spent a lot of time racing at South Boston Speedway in South Boston, virginia. That was a big part of it and I really didn't grow up around race cars. You know we watched it but I really wasn't working on them. So when I entered the world of racing man, I was a novice, so I was consuming anything I could, I was reading, I was on the internet, I was asking questions, anything I could to get the ins and outs of what it takes to make a car go fast. I want to know that and as my knowledge for that, for that, that craft began to increase, guess what also increased my confidence.

Chris Grainger: 5:58

Okay, cause I I find myself making decisions on the race car and then that started just showing up at the racetrack, right, so if I start shifting that same framework to be in a cycle, it really made me think about how memorizing Scripture is really it's just key for spiritual growth, is really it's just key for spiritual growth? And on the surface, taking the time to do that, you may think it's childish, okay, you might be like well, man, I memorized crap as a kid, like I never use this stuff. Now you know, and basically I don't remember something. I would memorize stuff for a test and then flush it. What did classes know? You guys know what I'm talking about.

Chris Grainger: 6:41

But from a disciple standpoint, if we're trying to acquire knowledge from God's word, that is a staple in the sanctification process. Okay, because we have to get the stuff into our head so that we can put it into action in our life. This has to be done daily, can put it into action in our life. This has to be done daily. And thinking about this process, I stopped looking at it as an academic exercise. I had to, because if I think about it from a pure academia standpoint, it's not going to get there. I had to recognize that this is a way of planting seeds of truth and I'm doing the work so that God can do the change. And then suddenly trying to memorize verses really shifts from laborious work to that more meaningful impact. Right, because it's going to give you clarity, it's going to give you purpose. And this wasn't like memorizing something back in English class either, fellas. This was closer to like thinking about a poem and memorizing that and then watching that impact how I lived, behaved and acted in life, because the trick wasn't memorization.

Chris Grainger: 7:59

Memorization was the key to reflection which led to implementation, and it's through this process that discernment started coming up. Right, because there's lots of crazy messages out there. Right, this world and conflicting and it's going to tell us one thing or this other thing over here. But as we think about knowledge, remember this it's only the beginning. It equips us with truth, right, but understanding and wisdom that helps us apply it correctly. So knowledge tells us what God's word says. That's our head and we need to know that. Understanding tells us what it means and wisdom shows us how to use it.

Chris Grainger: 8:41

Okay, so we're going to keep continuing this journey. We're going to explore understanding and wisdom deeper and hopefully, you're going to find this encouragement you know, and help you in your own personal walk. So look, fellas, we'll take our first break. We'll be right back. We're going to keep unplugging this together. I've got something big to share. We're making a major shift because we know the battle is real and it's time more men had access to the support they need.

Chris Grainger: 9:09

For too long, guys have been trying to carry the weight alone pressure at work, tension at home, wounds from the past, in a world that demands strength but offers no place to rest. We see it, we've lived it, and that's exactly why we built our community. We've lived it and that's exactly why we built our community. It's a stronghold, a place where warriors can find rest, truth and a band of brothers standing beside them. And starting now, we're making it easier than ever to step in. We've lowered the barrier to just $15.99 a month. That means, for less than the cost of a drive-thru lunch, you can join a brotherhood that's centered on Christ and built for growth. Inside you'll find access to our daily spiritual kickoffs every Monday through Friday, our Lion Lunches, our Bible studies, our Friday Forge gatherings all that and so much more. Every man needs a stronghold, and you don't have to fight alone. If you've been waiting for the right time to jump in, this is it. Go to thelionwithinus and join the community and see for yourself what happens when iron truly sharpens iron. All right guys, welcome back.

Chris Grainger: 10:12

So look, we just talked about knowledge the head. Now we're going to move to understanding our hands. Okay, so look at Proverbs 2.6. It says the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Okay, so, as we keep moving along our journey, we need to shift right now to the concept of understanding. Again, we've got to move from the head here because we've unpacked knowledge and we've got to start thinking about our hands Hands and the reason for this is because, you know, at our level, as our level of knowledge kind of goes up, okay, there becomes a point where we must start taking action. So having a solid how-to is important in our discipleship journey.

Chris Grainger: 11:00

Again, I talked about racing earlier. Again, I talked about racing earlier From the racing standpoint. That started to show up. My understanding began to show up as I transitioned into the primary person who set up the car each week, because a setup on a race car involves a lot of different parameters. So you're thinking about you got ride heights that you have to maintain. You have your shot configurations. You have of different parameters. You're thinking about ride heights that you have to maintain. You have your shot configurations. You have your different springs. You have camber that you have to work on.

Chris Grainger: 11:35

Overall, a big part of what I was focused on was the overall balance of the car. There are lots of other factors, but these are the big ones. You have tire sizes. There's also tire pressures. There's so much that goes into getting the car One. We're in a past inspection. That's a big one.

Chris Grainger: 11:50

But two, this was fast, and not just fast for a lap, like anything. I can make it go fast for a lap, for sure, that's easy. How do you make it go fast? For, you know, 50 or 150, right, that's the big piece. And the tricky part is that each one of the components on the race car had adverse effects on each other. You mess with the right front corner, you're impacting the left, rear and vice versa, right, and ride heights change. You find yourself chasing ride heights all over the place, and a single turn of the wrench in one area had an impact on the overall handling machine overall, all over the place. And a single turn of the wrench in one area had an impact on the overall handling machine overall.

Chris Grainger: 12:32

And as I learned more and had a deeper level of understanding of how the car reacts, then I could learn how to make the necessary adjustments that provided the outcome we were looking for right Trophy at the end of the day. So think about this as my base level of knowledge was there and the understanding increased, my understanding just began to increase. All of a sudden, applying the right adjustments began happening. Okay, all of a sudden, applying the right adjustments begin happening and we start thinking about the power of understanding in the light of being a disciple. There's a simple connection here. You can know all the Bible verses on the planet and that cannot be the desired finish line. At some point you got to get the head knowledge of the Bible verses to manifest into something tangible If we're going to fulfill what Jesus is calling us to do.

Chris Grainger: 13:35

And in my discipleship journey I see understanding show up the best when I'm teaching and really when I'm teaching God's word to my family, because it's been awakening for me to see how studying a section of scripture and building a level of knowledge can shift into an opportunity to help those in my home grow. And I see it over and over and over. And some of the sweetest moments we have as a family has been that we started doing Bible reading this year. We've always read the Bible. I should clarify we read the Bible every night at dinner, so we finish eating dinner and then we have a Bible reading plan we're working through and sometimes we'll read one chapter. It's always at least a chapter, but sometimes, if we're getting caught up, maybe we missed it or something, we read two chapters or something, but it's just a great moment for us to sit down together and read God's Word.

Chris Grainger: 14:37

But then the understanding kicks in. Okay, what do you think about this? And we start wrestling with the scriptures, and it's just a fun thing. But that understanding bridges the gap between knowledge and application, because it turns what we know about God into actions that we can take to glorify Him. Right, and it's not enough just to have the knowledge in our minds. We have to help it, guide our hands to take action. And that understanding transforms our choices and our conversations and just the way we live our life. And this is where discipleship really becomes real, because it's not just about what we know, it's about how we live and lead others to Christ. So now that really covers understanding. And we're going to look at the concept of wisdom next, because that's really the last part of Triple Crown and that's the guiding light. That's really the guiding light that's going to bring it all together for us. So, guys, as you think through this now, just think about knowledge and understanding, see how that is showing up in your life, and then what are maybe some practical adjustments you can make in your own spiritual life to better align to his purpose. I know these are kind of big, heavy questions but, buddy, if you'll just take a few minutes and think about it, you'll be amazed what the Holy Spirit's going to reveal to you. So we're going to take our last break, fellas, we'll be right back. We're making a big change that I think you're really going to enjoy.

Chris Grainger: 16:05

I spent a lot of time thinking about our spiritual kickoffs and, honestly, I love doing them each week, so much so we started doing them live every Monday through Friday inside our exclusive platform. And here's the best part we decided to give full access, completely free. So now you can join our daily spiritual kickoff space at no cost. Every day, we go live to read the word, to encourage each other and find simple and powerful ways to apply God's truth to our lives. You'll even have the chance to engage with me directly, and if you missed a live stream, don't worry, the videos are posted the same day so you can catch up whenever it works for you. This is exclusive behind-the-scenes content that is not available anywhere else, and now we've removed every excuse. So if you're ready to get started, head over to thelionwithinus and grab your free access today. Let's grow together. All right, guys. So now we're back.

Chris Grainger: 17:11

So we've talked about, you know, the head, the hands. Now we need to move to the heart. So get that knowledge, understanding, wisdom. And again, our verse, our verse of the week this week, james one five, talks about if you don't, if you lack wisdom, you better just ask brother. And we've talked a lot about the race car, you know, and we start thinking about the, the, the, our life in general. My mentor has a beautiful definition of wisdom and he calls it the ability to see things from God's perspective and that's just a pretty awesome goal. It's just a pretty in general. And we start. You know, we've talked a lot about the race car in this episode. So far, that head knowledge which turned into understanding, which connected the hands. And those two are important for sure, but there are very little value if they don't directly couple our hearts with wisdom.

Chris Grainger: 18:11

So at the, at the track, everything revolved real speed, right, and it all comes ahead of when you get to race day. But reality, 80% of the work necessary to win on weekend occurs at the shop by applying. But you know you got to get to work at shop done, but applying wisdom at the track is where you go to victory lane. Does that make sense? Like you got to do the work, you got to get the work at the shop done, but applying wisdom at the track is where you go to victory lane. Does that make sense? Like you got to do the work, you got to do the homework, you got to get everything set up, you got to get all your ducks in a row, but when you get to the track, you got to perform too. Okay. And there's several weeks on a typical race weekend, you got practice sessions and all this type of stuff and you can test your equipment out and all this stuff to figure out what's happening. And this is in those sessions, buddy. That's when the race is won. That's when wisdom prevails.

Chris Grainger: 18:58

You kind of see how the car is responding on that particular day and you know what? Sometimes it's not stable, sometimes it will be way too loose, or sometimes it's way too tight. Car's not turning. I feel like that's all my driver ever says Car's tight, tight, tight. But we knew what we had to do to fix those things. But it was right there. You had timing and opportunities met and success came because we knew what to do. We knew what to do and there's an uncanny parallel fellas between how wisdom was applied at the racetrack and how wisdom manifests in my life as a believer, because the more time, effort and attention that I put into studying God's Word, the easier it becomes to know what to do with it and to apply it to my life, and I'm seeing a linear path of progression. But it all starts with His Word and studying it, then it moves to sharing it like I've talked about earlier, teaching it too, though and it ultimately culminates with the practical application. So this is kind of like a trifecta, if you will.

Chris Grainger: 20:05

Again, the triple crown right, and it's only possible through the sovereignty and the goodness of God, because, at the end of the day, I've had to teach myself and remind myself that wisdom is from Him. He provides it with extreme generosity. I have to humble myself enough to ask Him for it. Again, pride's a headwind, boys it is. It holds us back from seeking it. I don't know if that resonates with you or not. I'm sure it does with lots of guys. So maybe now you're a little more equipped to navigate his way, because wisdom is where they all come together. You got knowledge, understanding, humility all that stuff coming together in Christ, and it's our ability to align our perspective with God's Okay, seeing the opportunities, the challenges, the decisions through His lens. Right, because, just like at the racetrack, it takes a ton of preparation and practice and application. So does our journey as believers, because it's not something we generate on our own. It's a gift. It's a gift. It's a gift.

Chris Grainger: 21:17

And again, wisdom is not the finish line, but an ongoing pursuit. Like you know, she's going to get there. Oh, I'm finally wise. No, bro, it don't work that way. I wish it did sometimes, but no, it doesn't. Because maybe you're in a preparation phase right now hey, keep prepping. Maybe you're in a preparation phase right now hey, keep prepping. Maybe you're in a practice phase and keep refining this, or maybe you're actively applying what you've learned right now. His wisdom is always available. It's leading you towards victory. But you got to lean in, you got to ask boldly and then you got to watch how he transforms your life. So, guys, this has been a great. I hope you've enjoyed this. I thoroughly enjoy walking through this Again. This is one of our studies on the Bible app. Now I pray that you just take away some practical steps you can take towards seeking God's wisdom. And now, if something comes to mind, put it into action. That's what you have to do. You have to put it into action, fellas. So thank you, guys, so much for listening Again.

Chris Grainger: 22:15

The LionWithinus is how you connect with us directly. So head over to the LionWithinus, join our mastermind, join our community. Connect with us in different ways, fellas. We have lots of ways we try to serve. We have our Christian Leader Assessment. We have a weekly roar out there. There's a newsletter that goes out lots of live events, all different ways we serve and try to just be there to encourage and equip and just be there for others. So we'd love to see you over at the Lion Within Us, okay? So, guys, give us a rating and review. They do help, believe it or not. So if you could just click the five-star rating, give a couple cents review, that would be amazing. And, guys, we certainly appreciate you taking the time hanging out with us. All right, have a great day, fellas, get after it and remember, keep unleashing the lion within.