Speaker 1: 1:10

Welcome to the Land Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intended you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas. Spiritual kickoff time. Who's excited? I know I am. Let's go, all right.

Speaker 1: 1:23

So the scripture this week Ecclesiastes, 4th chapter, 10th verse. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. And that verse hits a little bit too close to home right now, fellas, I'm going to be honest with you, but we're going to unpack that. I'm going to tell you why, and hopefully we're going to find ways to simplify and apply this to our life. Okay, now, if you enjoy the spiritual kickoff episode every week, just as a reminder, we do this Monday through Friday within the Lion Within us, so go to the lionwithinus. We also offer this up for free, guys. We're not asking for a dime, just go check it out. If you want a little reflection every morning, start those around 8, 15 Eastern. You can jump on it, live with me. And if you can't make the live, don't worry, the videos are right there within the app. All this is for free, I'm telling you, there's no reason to not start your daily spiritual kickoff experience right now. So DelionWithinus is how you get started with that today.

Speaker 1: 2:25

So we need to first understand where is the book of Ecclesiastes? Because he did his Old Testament books, I'm like where in the world is this? So this was actually pretty easy to find. Usually guys can find Psalms and Proverbs because they're right there in the middle of your Bible. You get the Psalms first and you get the Proverbs next. Right after Proverbs is where you find Ecclesiastes. Okay, if you hit Song of Solomon, you went a little bit too far, just back up. So that's where you're going to find it at.

Speaker 1: 2:51

And the reason this verse is so hard for me to write on right now and to think about and reflect on is because I am sitting right here at this moment of recording with a broken ankle Three fractures it was dislocated. I had an accident here on our farm this past Saturday Really messed my ankle up, actually dislocated. It was like my foot was like jelly inside my boot Working on a tree just a freak accident on a tree. And so, yeah, this is a very difficult season of pain right now. I'm actually headed into surgery next Wednesday, now at the time of this recording, so preferably when this comes out, all that will be behind me. Hopefully I'll be well down the path of recovery, but sitting here right now I'm in a fair amount of pain.

Speaker 1: 3:37

I'm in a dark place mentally. When you have an ankle, when you get taken away the ability to walk and you have a farm and four children and all the responsibilities there, it's stressful and I have my good moments and my bad moments. But when I look at verses like this, it really hits home, because I did have someone to pick me up. My wife is right there. She is right there, the love of my life, and she's there. And the people that were working, the paramedics and the ambulance, they were there. And the doctors and the nurses not everybody was there and we have to surround ourselves with people because when we get hurt, fellows, one thing, one seat, one trials of life really hit. You gotta be surrounded and we can't stand alone. And I'm telling you, uh, falling is never part of the plan, but falling doggone, it happens, it happens and if you like, anything like me, asking for help ain't easy, it just ain't.

Speaker 1: 4:40

I mean, I pride myself with being like a capable, strong, dependable guy, and I'm the guy that other guys call when they need some. You know what I'm saying. If they need something moved, or they need something cut down, or they need some grass cut, I'm there. But this weekend, one slip, one slip, broken ankle. All the projects on the farm stopped, all the daily work that I do stopped, and now simple tasks are out of my control. And suddenly this dude who thrives on being self-reliant. I'm going to do this. I'm having to stop. I'm having to lean hard on my wife, on my family and on others. I'll be straight up with you, boys. I don't like it. It's uncomfortable to me and I feel like I'm a burden all the time. If you've ever been in a season like this, maybe you can relate. This is new territory for you, boy. Okay.

Speaker 1: 5:41

And then verses like this, though, bring me some encouragement, because that strength isn't always just standing on my own, because God, if I go back to the things that I read and study and teach in this Bible, god does not design us for isolation. He didn't. He didn't want me to be a lone wolf, no matter how hard I doggone, try to be one from time to time. No, from the beginning. He wired us directly for community, he wired us for connection and he wired us to be dependent upon each other. And this is not a weak point, fellas. I mean I got to get this right in my brain too, and I had a choice.

Speaker 1: 6:20

And when that thing broke, I mean I immediately knew, like crap, this is not good. It's not good. So I could resist in that moment and just stew in it and make life hard for everybody, just be pissed off all the time, or I could accept the season as a reminder that God's put people on my path for a reason. And I've fallen right now and I need it them to pick me up. And let's just be real for a second, guys, every single one of us falls eventually. It may not be. Preferably you ain't gonna break an ankle like I have. We all fall physically at some point. We fall emotionally, we all fall spiritually. Life just has a way of knocking us down and the question is not around if, but the question is when, bro, when and when that moment comes, who's going to lift you up? Who is?

Speaker 1: 7:20

And I'm telling you, if you're hearing this and, like you, hate asking for help. I feel you, bro. I feel you, but hear me, your willingness to ask for help is not a sign of weakness. It is an opportunity. It's an opportunity for you to deepen your relationship with others. It's an opportunity for you to experience humility, which I needed it. This is an opportunity for you to see the body of Christ at work. It's unreal when you reframe it, and I'm having to learn this part myself too. We can't rob others of the opportunity, of the blessing to serve you. Okay, so if you're a strong guy who's always showing up for others, you may not know how loved you are until life forces you to lean on others.

Speaker 1: 8:02

And I'm telling you, fellas, this is what I'm walking through at this exact moment. And the truth is I don't know how long I'm going to be sidelined. I mean, they gave me some ideas. I mean I'm hopeful. Within you know, 10 or 12 weeks, I'll be kind of back up doing my thing, and within you know four or five, six months, hopefully, you know, running back on the trail again. But for right now, I do know one thing my wife, my family, they're stepping in and I can count on them and I'm not going to I, because I know this is a reason God has given me this as a gift, and this gift is primarily showing me that life is not meant to be done alone, period.

Speaker 1: 8:46

So my encouragement to you guys if you are in a season of help where you need some help, ask man, ask, receive that help, be grateful for that help. It's not failure to ask for it, it's faith. And maybe today you need to reach out to somebody that you trust and tell them what you need help with. I mean, it may not be physical help, it may just be emotionally or spiritually. You need some help. You got a Bible verse you can't figure out. I need some help with it. Right, but give them the chance to lift you up, because real strength is found in community, not isolation, fellas. So that's my encouragement to you.

Speaker 1: 9:22

I mean, and the question for the week, this week we want to think about at the lion is simple Is it hard for you to ask for help when you need it? If that answer is yes, like it is for me, you are not the Lone Ranger. You're not. It's okay that it's hard. It's not okay to just put in the back burner and not do anything about it. Ask the hard questions. That's what we're meant to do so. Look, if you listen to the lion long enough, you know every spiritual kickoff episode. What we try to do is simply take a moment to praise our Savior for what he did for us.

Speaker 1: 10:02

Now, I know not everybody listening to the line is a Christian. Most of you are, but not everybody. So there may be a listener out there right now who has never surrendered their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And they're sitting there like, well, this Christian stuff, you're curious about what it's all about. I just want you to know that God, at the very beginning, when he created everything, there was a perfect design.

Speaker 1: 10:23

It was incredible. It was absolutely awesome, by the way. And when he made the first man, by the way, his name was Adam. He formed him with his hands and then he breathed directly into Adam's nostrils the breath of life. Then it says Adam sat up and was face to face with his creator and we're made in the image of God. So, like when you look in the mirror and you see this jacked up version of you, that is not what God sees. You're made in his image. And for Adam it was incredible. It was. It was amazing. Things were perfect for like two pages, bro.

Speaker 1: 10:57

And then sin entered and that separated us from God. That's all it is. Sin entered and that separated us from God. That's all it is. Sin simply is anything that separates us from God, period. So we have a holy and righteous God and then we have us. There's a gap there, boy. There's a gap right between who he is and who we are.

Speaker 1: 11:16

And the question is okay, what are we going to do about it? And this is where most people get jacked up. They try to fill that gap with things to this world like yeah, good works and just helping people and giving to charities and going to church and reading bibles and praying and just being a good person, like bro. If I I hear this one more time, it's like I think I just gotta be a good person, get into heaven. I'm like, well, that's a good thought there, buttercup, but I'm sorry, hell is full of good people, it just is. It has nothing to do with your works directly. No, what we need is someone to come in and do for us what we can't do for ourselves, because we can't pay for the penalty of sin, because the penalty of sin is death. You can't pay it. So, so if we can't pay it, if we can't work our way to a right standing with God, then what do we do? We need a savior.

Speaker 1: 12:03

That's where Jesus comes into the scene, who left heaven on a rescue mission for us directly, was born of a virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies, did all the teachings and the miracles and all the incredible things that Jesus did, but the most incredible was when he willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. And, bro, you are a sinner. Let's just get this right first and foremost. Like you ain't just some dude who just made a few mistakes. No, bro, you're a sinner. You need a savior. And Jesus is like I got it. He wants you to cross. And they crucified him and he died. He didn't faint or fall asleep or pass out or none of that silly stuff. He died on the cross. They took him off that cross and they put him into a tomb. Okay, they wrapped him up, put him in a tomb. That's what you do to dead people. That ain't what you do to people who fall asleep. And that's where he lay for three days.

Speaker 1: 13:01

And the fundamental difference between Christianity and the rest of these religions out there in the world is the people who started these other religions. They're still dead. They gone. They ain't coming back.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Jesus, though, it was like he checked into an Airbnb for three days and he had a checkout date. I'm out of here. He overcame death. He defeated death. That is who we serve. He rose. Do you get? How big a deal that is Like.

Speaker 1: 13:33

The fear of death is like probably the number one fear in the world. Ever. People are afraid of dying. What was christ? He beat that. He beat. It couldn't hold him down, and that's who we put trust in, that's we put hope in. And he tells us like look bro, follow me. I am the way, the truth in the life. No one's gonna come to heaven except through me. There was no other name under heaven that's been given to my men by which we must be saved. Like Jesus, you're it.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Once you start recognizing that, it's like whoa, jesus is the only way. Now I want you to do good stuff. I want you to help people and be a good person and kind and gentle and all the things right. But that comes after you get the heart relationship right with the Lord and admitting you're a sinner, believing that he is the Son of God and confessing him as Lord and Savior. That's where it starts. Once you confess him as Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells, at that point the real work can begin and that's when it gets fun. I'm telling you people who say being a Christian is not fun, they ain't doing it right. They just must be screwing it up is all I can tell you. But there's nothing. I'll put it this way. It's not going to be easy, but it is so much better and there's going to be so much joy that comes in your life and peace that comes in your life because you're walking with him.

Speaker 1: 15:01

I'm sitting right here in a boot. I got crutches to my left outside the screen here. That's how I get around right now. And you know what? I still got joy. I ain't very happy right now, but I still got joy because I have Christ in my heart and I know he's teaching. He's taking me through this for a reason to teach me something.

Speaker 1: 15:19

I just got to listen. That's the truth that we can hang our hats on. So if you've never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior and you're listening to the lion right now, I don't know why you're listening. I just know you are. I'm very thankful that you are, and I just want to encourage you, to send a word of encouragement to hopefully brighten up your day and also encourage you to, right now, surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord and savior, and I'll do it with you. I'll pray with you right now.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Well, chris, I can't do that. Listen to a podcast Are you kidding me? Why not, bro? You ain't got to be at the front row of a church to do this. I can't do this. I'm on treadmill, why not? You can walk and pray. Just don't close your eyes. That'd be ill-advised Wherever you are. If the Holy Spirit is nudging you right now, stop resisting. It's time to lean in and take the first step on your discipleship journey.

Speaker 1: 16:12

So, father, just praying for that one listener, just one who recognizes that they have completely, completely missed the mark with you. I pray that you hear their prayer as they are just confessing. They're calling out to you to come into their life to be their Lord and Savior, and I'm so thankful that you hear their prayer. I pray you put people in their path. That's going to help them, that's going to guide them, that's going to direct them and just welcome them into this brand new first step in their discipleship journey. We love you, lord, we praise you. Jesus, it's in your name. We pray Amen, all right, so look, you just accepted Christ. Touch down, let's go.

Speaker 1: 16:47

Okay, hit me up, chris, at thelionwithinus. That's my email address. Okay, I'm going to send you a bunch of free resources to kind of get you going on your discipleship journey and also just want to connect with you. If you want to have a conversation, if you need help, if you have questions, if you want to like, what do you look for in a church? I'm here, I'm ready to serve, I'm ready to talk. Send me an email, we'll make it happen, okay.

Speaker 1: 17:09

So, guys, this week's episodes are going to be great. The guest is a returning guest. He's out of Florida, fellas, absolutely Just an incredible man. Really unpacked a lot around difficult seasons in life. Again, I'm going to an extremely difficult season right now, so the timing was providential, I guess you could say, so far as this conversation with him. So if you are in a difficult season in life, you don't want to miss the next episode, and if you know guys who are going through some difficult trials right now, share out this episode, share out this spiritual kickoff episode, because it may be the encouragement that they need, or it may be that the potential door opener, that you need to have a deeper conversation. I don't know, never know how spirit's going to move, but I know it's not going to move until you take some action. Okay, you got to do your part too. Okay, until you take some action. Okay, you got to do your part too, okay. All right, fellas, thank you for listening.

Speaker 1: 18:00

If you want to support what we're doing at the Lion Within the lionwithinus, slash donate is a super easy way to start with that. If you want to take part in our daily spiritual kickoff or our community, that's two easy ways to get started. That can be found at the lionwithinus as well. If you're interested in submitting an application for the leadership mastermind, that can be found at the main site as well. Or you can just slash leadership and go directly to that page and, again, these groups meet every other week. We have a very in-depth. We have a structured process. There's a whole program around our leadership masterminds. Go check that out at thelinewithinus slash leadership, okay, so get connected in all those different areas.

Speaker 1: 18:40

On the. From that standpoint, fellas, you can open the Bible app as well. Please, if you haven't downloaded the Bible app yet, download the Bible app. We have tons and tons and tons of Bible studies or or reading plans I think it's what they call them on the Bible app, and you may be encouraged, guys. I seem like all over the country, all over the world, actually are loving these studies. We're getting feedback on the way that it's impacting them. So if you want to see what they're all about, download the Bible app, search for the Lion Within Us, follow the page and then from there, you'll be notified every time we release new content on the Bible app.

Speaker 1: 19:19

Okay, all right, guys, get after it. Have a great, great day. Look forward to seeing you on our meat episode this week. I'm telling you you're not going to want to miss it. It's going to be incredible If you would give us a rating and review. That would help as well. And again, thelionwithinus is how you get connected with us moving forward.

Speaker 1: 19:35

All right, guys, thanks for listening to the Spiritual Kickoff. You know it's coming right. Keep unleashing the lion within. I've got something big to share. We're making a major shift because we know the battle was real and it's time more men had access to the support they need.

Speaker 1: 19:51

For too long, guys have been trying to carry the weight alone pressure at work, tension at home, wounds from the past and 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. 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 the lion withinus and join the community and see for yourself what happens when iron truly sharpens iron.