Welcome & Scripture Focus

Chris Grainger 1:43

Welcome to The Line 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, guys, spiritual kickoff time. Let's get into it, okay? Scripture of the week this week is Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 10. Okay. It says if the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. Guys, there's a lot to think about in this one verse. Let's see how we can simplify and apply it to our life, okay? And again, we do this Monday through Friday at the line within us. We call it the daily spiritual kickoff. So if you enjoy these episodes where we just talk about God's word and how we can apply it, how about if we gave it to you every day, Monday through Friday? And on top of that, we do it for free. We just want to give it to encourage you. And also with the daily spiritual kickoff, you have access to our prayer request space. So if you need prayer, you have some things going on in your life, you just, you know what, I just need to have some things prayed over right now. It would be an honor for us to do that for you guys. Okay, we even have a part of the daily spiritual kickoff, which we haven't talked about a lot yet, but we started it this year. There is a weekly prayer call. I'm telling you, these are probably some of the best calls we have each and every week. So it's a Google meet, hop on, share your prayer requests, and it will be lifted up right then and there. We're not going to put it on there and just forget about it. We're going to intentionally pray over the items that are important for to you and your discipleship journey and the areas that you just need help with. Okay. So look, the lionwithin.us. Get started today with your daily spiritual kickoff. All right. Now, for this verse, we need to first understand where is Ecclesiastes. It's not the easiest book to find straight up, okay? The easiest way to find the book, first of all, it's Old Testament. Go find Psalms, then Proverbs. Okay. That's usually guys can find that because that's right towards the middle of your Bible. Once you find Psalms and you get to Proverbs, okay, uh keep flipping, then you'll get there, then you'll get to Ecclesiastes before Song of Solomon. So it's right in that kind of the midsection of your Bibles where you're going to find it, okay? And we're going to talk about in this episode sharpening the axe before we swing it. Okay, because it tells us right here, if the axe is dull, its edge is unsharpened, more strength is needed, right? So that it's it's kind of giving us that wisdom. And if you think about you guys have probably heard the old saying, it's attributed to Abraham Lincoln. It says, look, give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I'm gonna spend the first four sharpening the axe, right? That saying exists for a reason. And the reason is because it's true. I mean, Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, captures this wisdom for us right here. He reminds us that effort alone isn't enough. Okay. The tool has to be ready, right? Or else all you're gonna do is get exhausted. But when the tool is ready and its purpose isn't is is being you know utilized for in in the right context and design, the work can be effective. And skill brings success. And also success leaves clues. My brother Rob tells me that all the time. But as men and as leaders, there's a lot of value in preparation. And yet, preparation, so many times, is what we skip. It just happens. And too often, we as Christian men, we feel the pressure to hit the ground running, right? We want to fix the problem, we want to lead well, we want to stand firm, and we want to start, you know, whatever the ground, whatever God's called us to do, we want to take that ground immediately. And the problem is the world has a way of eating unprepared men alive, just spitting them out, man. They'll spit us out burned out, they'll spit us out discouraged. And scripture like this reminds us that effectiveness requires readiness. To be effective, we have to be ready. And anyone who's ever tried to work with a dull or improper tool knows what what I'm talking about right here, right? I mean, I can't count how many times I have rounded off a bolt because I was grabbing the wrong tool, right? Instead of slowing down and getting the right socket, maybe I tried to put a adjustable wrench or a pair of pliers. And next thing you know, I've rounded off the bolt and I've made the job harder on myself versus if I just took the time to go get the right socket to start with. And if you don't know what I'm talking about right there, you know, that's okay. We can still be friends. But if you guys are picking up what I'm putting down, you know what I'm saying. And this is what happens when we slow down, or rather, when we refuse to slow down and prepare. We don't just struggle in the moment, we create bigger problems for the future. So it's all about the right tool, the right time, the right way. And Solomon uses an ax. But the principle applies everywhere, right? From our leadership to our marriage to being a dad to spiritual warfare. When we use the wrong tool or a dull one, we're compensating with something else. And usually it's not going to do any good. We just try harder, we push more, we grind ourselves down, and eventually something breaks. And for lots of dudes, this shows up right after salvation, right? Think about it. Like you're on fire, you get saved, you're on fire, there's a boldness, there's a desire, like you're ready to storm the gates of hell with a super soaking crucifix. You know what I'm saying? And I love the energy. And God can use that energy, but if the fire isn't matched for preparation, it's gonna burn out.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

It just does.

Audit Your Tools And Disciplines

Chris Grainger 6:58

And here's here's another thing to consider sharpening the axe is not flashy, it's not a sexy process. It doesn't feel productive in the moment, but it is necessary. And for dudes, we need to think about this. Like, how do we sharpen ourselves and make and not like a height thing, but look, how do we actually do it? It turn it into habits, into standards that are going to change the game. Some basic things. Studying God's word, not just skimming it, but truly studying it. Like when I prepare for SKOs now, like I got like five Bibles open, multiple commentaries, because I genuinely want to understand the God's word from other people's perspective. But then I'm actually inviting the Holy Spirit in as well to help reveal to me, okay, what what do you want me to see in this? Or praying, talking with God. How often do we do that? Maybe we do it in the morning or we do it at night. How often are we doing it throughout the day? Or spending time with other brothers who can sharpen us, like intentionally putting ourselves in the right room with those people, or serving, like just straight up serving, or allowing correction, discipline, and growth. These things are not like gonna get like big awards. You know, they're not gonna draw a lot of applause, but they're preparing us for the battle that we're gonna face. And scripture tells us right here that wisdom has an advantage because it's gonna lead to success. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm looking for an advantage. We all are. But we also know that wisdom doesn't just come from hustle, it comes from God. He gives us that. So something we need to think about is an audit before we advance. So here's a question some maybe we need to start asking ourselves. Instead of rushing into every fire, what if we paused and did an audit and said, you know what, what tools do we have that we need some attention to right now? What disciplines do I have or have I had in my life that have grown dull? Maybe what relationships need to be sharpened? Maybe some of them just turned into surface level and they used to be deeper. Maybe they need to be sharpened. Or what habits do we need to repair before we start leaning on them again? Okay, because when the moment comes in life and the moment's going to come, you don't want to discover that your edge is dull. It's not there. Preparation doesn't slow you down, guys, it saves you. And the guy who's going to sharpen his axe before he takes a swing, that's the dude who's going to be able to last in the middle of the fight. So look, fellas, this scripture means so much when we think of it in this context and then we apply it to our life. And now we have to ask ourselves, where are we swinging harder instead of sharpening? Look, bro, if you're just if you're tired at the end of every day, you're swinging, and you're just like, it's over, it's over, and it's over, and nothing's getting better. I'm sorry you're feeling that way, first and foremost. But it could be you need to step back and recognize that the way you're doing things are not in alignment with the way God is uh desires. And if that's the case, don't beat yourself up. There's no commendation for those in Christ Jesus. But course correction is required. And sometimes that means we need to sit down and get to sharpening. Get to sharpen that axe. Get some edits written in our life. You know, go to God's word. Get some of those scriptures that are going to speak directly to the issue that you're trying to battle so that when the when you get to the battlefield field directly, you're ready. You're ready. You're not just swinging a dull axe, you're swinging a sharp axe with precision. See the difference there? This is what Solomon is talking about. Now, to be able to sharpen the axe and to truly be led by God first starts with surrendering our life to Him. And if you were listening to the Lion and you've never had that moment where you surrendered your life to Christ, where you've truly done it, we've handed him everything, we confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, that's a big deal. Like not doing that, you can't let's see, I want to be very precise here. We're never gonna get the a full understanding of the power, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit until we surrender to him completely. Now, you may have grown up going to church, and that's great. Maybe you did have that moment where you surrendered to him, but if you can't look back and truly remember when was it I gave my life to Christ, that should tell you something. There should be an indicator there. I mean, I remember very clearly when I was 16 when I said, Yep, my way ain't working, gotta be his way. And I can look back to that, to that moment.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

If you don't have that, it's okay. Now could be the time to do that.

From Striving To Alignment With God

Chris Grainger 11:58

Look, it takes just a little bit of courage, I know. And it starts with just understanding that you are a sinner and that we have the sin in our life. And we can't just, you know, scrape it out or put it underneath the rug. We have to deal with this sin. And we deal with this sin by bringing it to the cross. And just admitting that, you know, I'm a sinner and I need a savior. And then also, outside of just admitting that we're a sinner, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, believing that he came on a mission for us to pay the penalty for a sin that we could not pay for ourselves. That's Jesus. That's who he is, and truly believing that he is the Messiah. And then confessing him as Lord and Savior of our life. So, like that admitting, believing, confessing is a big deal. But if you've never walked through that, if you've never said, you know what, Lord, my way's not working. And I'm repenting. But instead of turning to something else with this world, I'm going to turn to you. And once you make that decision, then everything changes. That's when everything starts really reframing. That's what it means. So far as repentance and believing, that's what it's all about. And then at that point, you have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Then you can start sharpening that act we were talking about earlier. So look, if you've never surrendered your life to Christ, let's do that right now. There's no better time to surrender your life to your Lordship of Jesus Christ than right now. You don't have to be sitting in a pew, right? You don't. You don't have to be just coming off a worship service. No. It could be you could be at the gym getting ready to hit a squat. I don't know where you're at listening to the lion. I just know one thing. If you're doing life without the Holy Spirit, without being led by Christ, you're missing out on so much joy. But primarily what I want to encourage you, you're missing out on peace.

Surrender To Christ Explained

SPEAKER_00 13:51

The peace that passes all understanding. Now your life's still gonna be busy, it's gonna still gonna be chaotic, but you will be connected to the fountain of peace that right now you're disconnected from. You don't have it. You may have some happy, but you don't have peace.

Chris Grainger 14:13

And it's only found through that abiding relationship with him.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

So look, if you if you're ready to confess him as Lord and Savior, let's pray.

Prayer Of Salvation

Connect, Resources, And Next Topics

Share The Show & Support

Chris Grainger 14:22

Just pray right now and invite him into your life. So, Lord, for that one listener who recognizes that their way is just not working, Lord, and they're inviting you to be their Lord and Savior. I pray you just touch them in a meaningful way. Put some people in their life that's gonna encourage them. Let them know, without a shadow of a doubt, Lord, how much you love them. Let them see that in a in a in a truly meaningful way today. And Lord, as they begin their discipleship journey, we recognize you're gonna meet them right where they're at. You're not surprised by at all that they're making this decision right now. And I just pray, Lord, as they do make this decision, as they move forward in their discipleship journey that's starting today, that you encourage them and that you, again, just help us as fellow believers come alongside and help them grow to be the man that you called them to be. We love you, Lord. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So look, if you just accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want to hear from you, okay? So shoot me an email, Chris that's C-H-R-A-S at the LionWithin, the LionWithin.us. Okay, that's how you connect with me. Got some free resources I'd love to hook you up with, Bible studies. All we have some scriptures to help you uh start memorize memorization and things like that. And I just want to give you a virtual high-fug and just like give you a fist bump. Just come alongside and just encourage you and hopefully speak some words, some some words of encouragement. It's just gonna uh maybe lift your day up a little bit. So I'd love to hear from you. Just shoot me a note. Let me know what episode you're listening to. Just tell me that, hey, you just surrender your life to Jesus and uh we'll go from there, okay? So, other than that, fellas, we have a great episode coming up on Wednesday if you guys are really gonna like this one. Uh, fun conversation for sure so far as mentorship. We're going to be diving deep into that topic. So come hang out with us there. But seriously, guys, the big thing, thlionwithin.us, check it out. We even have a store up now. So we have a store up with lots of resources there with lion merchandise. We have our unleashing the lion within book. Guys, you should get a copy of the book, seriously. Like go grab a copy of the book right now, get on Amazon, uh, print audible and ebook ebook version. We have our Reclaiming the Wild Men's Retreats. We have our Bible plans on the Bible app. We have our Lions Dan community, daily spiritual kickoff. We have our leadership mastermind. You put in an application for that. So many different ways that we're serving there, fellas. All found at thelionwithin.us. All right. So we'll see you next time, guys. Thanks for hanging out with us today. Well, if you would give us a rating review, that would be amazing if you would do that. That does help big time. And also share this stuff out. This is how we grow the lion. We we don't have big marketing budgets, we don't have a lot of capital backing us up from sponsors. I mean, we're just trying to do this with what God's called us to do. So the biggest way that you can help us really is just share the lion with other people. Let them know. Take a podcast episode, just send it to a group text message. That's an easy way. Easy way to just, you know what? Hey, I listened to this podcast. I thought you guys want to know about it. That right there, if we maybe one or two of your buddies start listening to it, that's huge. Because then we're we may be able to come alongside them and encourage them in their walk. So don't keep it in your pocket, guys. Share it out. All right. We'll see you next time. Thanks for hanging out with us. Keep on leashing the lion within. Let's just say it out loud. Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God can give a man, and one of the most consistent places where we can feel unsure of what we're doing. Even the strongest marriages have moments where you look at your wife and you think, you know what? I love you. I'm so committed to you. But right now, I have no idea what I should do next. And that's why we launched something new inside the line within us community. It's our very first support group, and it's for husbands. And we're calling it committed and occasionally confused. This isn't just a place for men in crisis. Though if you're there, hey, you're welcome. This is for any man who refuses to coast and wants to take his marriage from good to great. So inside, you'll find an active chat and a feed, honest conversations, and brotherhood that says, you're not alone. We've been there. Let's bring this to God and grow. And we're also doing a monthly couples night where your wife is invited because we're not letting the world set the agenda for our homes. Now, if you want access to this support group, it's very simple. Go to thelionwithin.us and join the Lions Den. Okay, that's thelionwithin.us. Start your 30-day free trial of the Lions Den community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group. We'll see you inside the den.