Chris Grainger: 1:43

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, did it's your spiritual kickoff episode? Let's go. Okay. So the scripture of the week this week is in the book of 1 Timothy, not second, but first, chapter 6, two verses though, 11 and 12. It says, but flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. All right. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you were made, the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. All right, guys. So now we got to unpack this. We got to see how we can simplify and apply these verses to our life because that's what it's all about. And totally, guys, this is what we do. The Lion Within Us, we're all about taking God's word and applying it to our life. We do this Monday through Friday, by the way. We call it a daily spiritual kickoff, just like you like this podcast, but we do it every day, Monday through Friday. And it's completely free. We give it to you. So head over to thelionwithin.us, start your free daily spiritual kickoff experience. That opens you up to our app. That opens you up to our box to our prayer request area. And then it gives you access to the daily spiritual kickoff. If you can't make them live, hey, they're posted right there. So you can consume them at whatever your leisure throughout the day. Okay. So, guys, again, this is all stuff we do just to serve at an extremely high level to help walk with you because we know you need help walking every day of the week, not just on Sunday, bro. So this is what it's all about. Okay. All right. Now, before we get into this, 1 Timothy, we need to know where it's at. So it's in your New Testament. Okay. You're going to go past 1st and 2 Thessalonians, and it's going to be before 2 Timothy. Okay. So it's kind of buried in there in the uh the epistles there in the New Testament. But that's where you're going to be finding it. And we're going to be talking, talking this week a lot about fighting, but we also need to be talking about fleeing, okay? Because it's a both and situation. And there seems to be a little tension in this verses right here that hits right to the heart of what it means to be a Christian man and a Christian leader. Because Paul, you know, he's great, tells Timothy to flee, starting off with. Then he tells him to fight.

unknown: 3:56

Okay?

Chris Grainger: 3:56

And that could sound like an opposite. It really can. But together, they complete a strategy for living an authentic manhood in Christ. That's what it's about. The key is, though, is learning when to do each and having that spiritual discernment to know which one the Holy Spirit is calling you to in that moment. Okay. So we got to know this. So let's just let's talk about fleeing first. Okay. So when you hear flee, I know my national instinct is to think of like, I got to get out of here. I'm scared. You can maybe even think of it as weak. If somebody's fleeing, they're weak or they're a coward. But bro, that ain't what Paul's talking about. Okay. To flee is to not to run scared, it's to run wise. Okay. Again, I'm around animals a lot, but I just imagine you're in a pasture, and the next thing you know, you realize that there's a bull there. Okay. And that bull recognizes that you're there. Okay. It drops his head, it's pawing the dirt, and this guy's just eyes locked on you. All right, now what are you going to do right there? You know, is the world going to say, all right, now's the time to be brave? No, no, no, no. Wisdom tells you, you better get out, and I mean you better get out now. And in the same way, the spiritual life is filled with moments where fleeing is the fight. Okay, we have to flee from temptation before it turns into sin. We have to flee from pride before it poisons us, right? We have to flee from compromise before it wrecks our witness. We don't mess around with this stuff. I mean, I've told guys a lot all the time, like, look, the evil one shows up right in your backyard, take your Bible, you know, get pull up those bootstraps, go out there with the armor of God and go to battle. Now, if your ex-girlfriend does in a little tight little black dress, what should you do there? You better not go to battle with that one. You better be fleeing, right? So he's Paul's telling Timothy, don't just stand there and reason with sin. Run from it. Because sin is not no negotiate with you, it's gonna devour you. Okay. So we have to know when to walk away, not out of fear, but out of reverence and faith in God. That's what Paul is teaching Timothy right here, what we need to learn from that. But then there's times we got to fight. And Paul says, he's like, look, fight the good fight of faith. And this isn't like a metaphor, like, no, this is active, bro. It's about contending, standing your ground, not just against people, but against what? The spiritual forces that are out there trying to steal, kill, and destroy everything in your life, trying to take out you, take out you out, take your family out, take your focus out, right? And fighting resonates with us. We were wired for the challenge. We want something worth giving our lives to. But way too often, Christian brothers have been told to what? Tone it down. Better play it safe or don't cause conflict because then you can just be a stumbling block for somebody else. And I'm just here to tell you, bro, that is not biblical. And the result of all that? Passivity. We're passive. And this is one of the greatest enemies you hear us, hear me talking about all the time because I think this is possibly the biggest enemy we have right now, 2025, 2026, whenever this is coming out, is spiritual passivity. We need men standing up. We're not called to sit on the sidelines. No, we're not called to sit there and just hope that things are gonna get better. Hope is not a winning strategy here. No. We're called to engage. We're called to step into the fight, using the word of God as our weapon, right? And the spirit of God as our strength. And so Paul is very clear here. We're not just surviving faith. We're fighting for it. That means we've got to fight for our marriage. We've got to fight for our kids. We've got to fight to guard our hearts from lies and lust. We've got to fight for integrity, okay? And the fight is worth bleeding for, boys. It's a good fight of faith. So, really, when we look at this, it's a both and because it just doesn't give us a one-size-fits-all formula. It's not flee everything or fight everything. It's both. Because some battles are won by running away. Other battles are won by standing. And but here's how we determine the difference to know the difference between the two. It's not what I'm going to tell you, it's what the Holy Spirit tells us. That discernment. And too many dudes fight, they they they they go default to one or the other all the time. Some guys fight for everything. So every you're gonna find them in arguments with people, disagreeing, even perceived threats. Like there, and usually there's a trail of wreckage behind them. Then other guys just gonna flee from everything. And this they're gonna avoid it, they're gonna avoid any confrontation, they're gonna avoid any comp uh accountability. And what happens there is they're just stagnant. And Paul is telling Timothy, they got to come together. There's balance. He's like, don't let your emotions drive your reactions, let the spirit drive your decisions. Because emotions are real, but they're terrible decision makers, guys. And the Spirit of God gives us the wisdom to know when to run from evil and when to resist. And Paul is just ending, he ends this whole scripture with one final word of advice. Take hold of eternal life for what you were called. Now think about that take hold, okay? That's an invitation to owning something, to having it in your hands, to think like to grip your faith like your life depends on it. And here's the reason it does. Your life does depend on it. We are not called to be casual believers. We have to be committed followers. So if you confess Christ before others, you have to take that confession and live like it actually means something. This isn't a one-round fight either. No, no, this is not a one and done. It's lifelong. And then it demands endurance, humility, and courage. So, what does this look like for us today, guys? Let's just kind of put it put all this together here. Well, fleeing may mean that uh we need to flee the traps that get us off the mission God's called us to. That could be women, pornography, drugs, alcohol, I don't know whatever it is, but it's a sin. We need to pursue what builds us up, right? Spending time in the Word, prayer, uh spending time with fellow brothers in Christ. We got to fight for our faith daily. I mean, and fight for it. And we better take hold of that eternal truth because that's the only peace we're gonna have. We're not called to be passive, guys. We have to be present. We have to know when to walk away and when to stand our ground, right? We have to flee the things that are gonna destroy us and fight for the things that define us. And all of this is done through listening to the Holy Spirit because He's the one who's gonna give us that discernment. So you can't get too far ahead of your skis here because you can't be fighting until you've learned what to flee from, right? You can't be fleeing unless you figure out what's worth fighting for, right? And we don't need passivity, we need guys who are willing to flee wisely and fight faithfully. So that's the whole point of it. That's that's really what Paul's trying to tell us. And look, I've talked about this Holy Spirit thing several times now in this, and just in this episode. And if you don't surrender, if you haven't surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you don't have the Holy Spirit. Okay? You may have feelings and emotions, but you're not spirit-led. And there's a fundamental difference there. And we want to make sure that you understand the difference. So look, if you've never surrendered your life to Christ, then why not take some time right now? I want you to understand that you are a son of the king. Like when God formed the whole earth and formed everything and created everything into existence, he had you in mind. Like it literally says in Genesis that Adam, the first man, was made in his image. Like in the image of God. Like we weren't made in the image of a polar bear. No, we're made in the image of God. And he loves you so doggone much. And you may look in the mirror and you see this flea, like this jacked up dude. And you see, you see all the mistakes, all the times you've let people down, all the times that you've actually just been disobedient and the wrong decisions that you've made. And you may think that those define you. I'm just here to tell you, I'm just to speak this truth of you. They do not define you. Christ does. Him and him alone. That's it. He is the only thing that gets to speak anything into your life. So please recognize that to be true. And then also recognize that this thing that we're fighting, or these evil out there, it all has a root to something called sin. And sin is not something we talk about a lot, but sin in the world, we talk about it all the time on a lion. But sin is anything that separates us from God. This simply put, that's all it is. So we have a fractured relationship with a holy and righteous God, and we have this sin that is separating us. And what we try to do is like just do things to cover that sin or to try to earn a right standing before God. And that's called works-based righteousness. And boys, it's just inaccurate. It doesn't work. There's nothing you can do to overcome the sin that's in your life. I wish I could tell you differently. I wish I could tell you do this three, four, five things and then you're good. It doesn't work that way. We can't. We don't rather need a coach to make us better. We need someone to step in and do for us what we can't do for ourselves. We need a savior. And that's where Jesus comes into the scene. That's why he left heaven on a rescue mission for us to live the perfect life, to be the teacher, to show us all the miracles and fulfill all the prophecies of the Messiah that we desperately needed to take away the sin of the world. And he willingly did this, guys. He went to the cross. Actually, he came to earth knowing he would go to the cross. And then he willingly went to the cross and gave this life up, was pierced for our transgressions, and died, lived a perfect life, but died on the cross. He didn't pass out, he didn't faint, he didn't go to sleep. Jesus died. So don't let anyone fool you there. Then they laid him in a tomb. But guess what? This was an Airbnb for Jesus, bro. He just needed that thing for a weekend because on Sunday he rose. And that's the difference between what we believe and what everybody else, all these other different religions out there, our Savior is alive. We worship a living Savior, not a dead man. And we believe in him. And Jesus told us, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. It is Jesus, him, and him alone. I don't care what Oprah's told you over the years, she's wrong. Jesus is it. And I love you enough to tell you the truth. And if you never confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, you don't have the peace that passes all understanding. You don't have the Holy Spirit for discernment. And you're missing out on the greatest gift and opportunity that God has for us. That's that is union with Him. So what do you have to do? If you can't earn it, can't buy it, mama can't do it for you, Daddy can't do it for you, grandma can't do it for you, your kids can't do it for you. What do you have to do? First, you need to recognize that you are a sinner. That's some self-reflection right there. I recognize that I'm a sinner. And I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And I mean, you truly have to believe that in your heart. You can't just say the words. You got to believe this stuff, guys, down to your core. Then you have to confess him as Lord and Savior. This is Lord and Savior of everything. Not just Sunday, everything. From your marriage to your kids to your finances to your bedroom to your health, every area of your life. He is Lord now. And when you do that, when you make that confession, the Holy Spirit's going to come. It's going to indwell. You have union with the Spirit. And then you'll be able to start walking with Him. It's not going to be easy. This is where many people get wrong. They think, well, that should be a Christian. Things should just be cupcakes and rainbows and butterflies. Like, no, bro, it doesn't work that way. Like you're still going to go through some stuff on a regular basis. But it's going to be better. Because you're going to have the peace of God. You're going to have God with you at all times. And when the evil one raises his head, he's going to. I can't stop him from raising his head. You can rest assured that God is with you. So if you've never taken that step of faith to where you accept that Christ as your Lord and Savior, I just want to encourage you to do it right now. I mean, maybe you're in the gym, on a treadmill, I don't know, driving a car, on a walk with a dog, whatever you are, wherever you are. If you've never surrendered your life to Christ, maybe now is the perfect time to do that. So that you can walk in this new identity, not this old you, but the new you that comes with that union with Him. So let's just pray and invite Him into your life. So, Father, that one listener, maybe it's just one, but Lord, you know who they are. And I pray you hear their prayer right now. I pray that they that they in this moment fully are giving everything over to you. They recognize that their way hasn't worked. So Lord, they're just going to follow you. They're now your disciples. I pray you put people in their life to encourage them. I do pray it has protection around them because right now the evil one is not happy. He is not happy they're making this decision. But I know, Lord, that by them doing this, first of all, they'll be in the kingdom when their time comes. But you're going to do mighty things through them. I just pray for the strength, wisdom, and sermon for them to take those steps of obedience. So we love you, God. In Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So look, if you just did that, if you just prayed that prayer, I want to hear from you, okay? Chris at thelionwithin.us. Send me an email because I got some resources I'd love to just send your way. All free stuff. Just want to hook you up. Also want to pray for you and would love to see. Are you in a church? Give you some things to consider when you if you are thinking about joining a church, some red some red flags as well as some green flags, some things to look for so that you can get plugged into the right type of community that's going to help you. All right. So I'd love to hear from you. They will just make my day. So please send me an email. All right. So, guys, on Wednesday, we'll have a great episode. You guys are going to absolutely love it. High energy, lots of fun talking about fighting, uh, stuff that this dudes just enjoy. So come back, enjoy that one. Thelionwithin.us is how you connect with us, guys. We have shirts up now. So check out our shirts and hats and all that fun stuff. Uh, we have our live event coming up in the spring. We have our mastermind groups that are awesome. So if you want to put an application for a mastermind to see if you would qualify, hey, check that out over there. We have our community, obviously, with all our stuff happening pretty much like five days a week. We have stuff happening at the Lion Within us there. We have a daily spiritual kickoff, which is free for you guys, our prayer request board. We have our plans on the Bible app, guys. Over 50 plans on the Bible app at this point and counting, dude. It is it's incredible. So open up the Bible app, just search for the Lion Within us there. We have our book, Unleashing the Lion Within. So go get a copy of that or get 10 copies, 20 copies, 100 copies. Share that, share it with other guys, fellas. That's what it's all about. Okay. So we have lots and lots of ways we're connecting, we're serving, we're trying to just encourage you. And if you're finding encouragement in anything that the Lion Within us brings you, please consider just being a supporter of what we're doing. We have places we can donate to LionWithin.us slash donate. We have some guys who are just monthly donors. We have some guys who are annual. We have guys who just do a one-time whatever works for you. I just guarantee you it would be greatly appreciated. And it goes to a great group of guys who are trying to do God's work. And it just takes resources, fellas. It takes resources to do that. So consider being a supporter there, okay? All right, fellas, get after it. Have a great day. Give us a rating review if you don't mind. Whatever you, wherever you listen to your podcast, that would be awesome. And if I can serve anyway, you know where to find me at thelionwithin.us. All right, guys, get after it. We'll see you next time. Just keep unleashing the lion within. If there's one habit that can change a home, it's this when a husband prays with his wife, not because it's a magic formula, but because it recenters your marriage under God's authority and care. And let's be honest, a lot of guys want to do it. But most don't know how to start without it feeling awkward. Maybe you've tried it before and it felt forced, or maybe you've never tried it because you don't even know what to say. Or maybe you're thinking, man, I'm not a pastor, I'm just a guy. And that's why we created this guide. It's our how to pray with your wife. Simple guide. It's biblical, it's practical, and it's designed to help you start praying with your wife in a way that actually feels natural. So it's a five-section guide and it gives you a simple framework to get started. Okay, it makes sure everything is grounded in scripture, and it also has a powerful PDF that you can pull up whenever you need, especially when things get off, because they're gonna get off. That's normal. So this is all about reclaiming your marriage and reclaiming the spiritual leadership reigns of your home. Because praying with your wife is one of the strongest ways. To fight for unity, to build trust, and to right the ship when life starts to pull you off a course. So if you're ready, get access today at the lionwithin.us slash guides. That's thelionwithin.us slash guides. And start unleashing the lion within at home by leading your marriage through prayer.