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2 Timothy 2:2 And Action

The Sidelines Trap For Christian Men

Faithful Men And The Trust Test

Why Leaders Share What They Know

Who Are You Investing In

Spirit Led Leadership Starts With Jesus

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SPEAKER_00 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, guys. Spiritual kickoff episode. Let's get into it. Okay. So the scripture of the week this week is 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 2. So triple twos. How about that? It says the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Okay, so now we're going to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life, guys. We will unpack this verse at length again. We do this Monday through Friday in the line within us. We call it the daily spiritual kickoff. It's live, it's unedited. It's like it's just very raw. I mess up a lot, I say things I probably shouldn't say, but it's all there to hopefully encourage you guys in your walk. And look, it's free. It also gives you access to our prayer request space. And look, we haven't talked about this a lot on the podcast, but we started in within the prayer request space a weekly prayer call. This is for anybody. Anybody's in the daily scripture kickoff. If you're in Alliance Den, if you're in a mastermind, it doesn't matter. We we've opened it up to everybody. So we're hopping on a call every Monday. And if you need prayer, if you just want to just come alongside just to pray for others, uh the most the the stuff we're struggling with, this the stuff we're praising God for, look, it's all about it. And we're all about being intentional, about leaning into the Holy Spirit and being uh and bringing groups of Christian brothers together. Look, it's all part of Daily Spiritual Kickoff. You can get that for free at the LionWithin.us. So if you if you listen to The Lion, if you're reading The Lion on the Bible app, if you're doing all if maybe you bought a copy of Unleashing The Lion Within the book and you haven't taken that step, you're you're missing out. I mean, those things are great. Don't get me wrong. We're glad to serve you there, but you're missing out on true connection and avoiding the isolation and whatever the lies in the enemy, he's trying to lie to you. Hey, we can help you. We're here to serve. So the lionwithin.us starts your free daily spiritual kickoff today. Okay. All right. Now let's get into this scripture. So this scripture right here is in 2 Timothy. So we need to know first and foremost, we're at 2 Timothy. We don't want to take things for granted at the lion. So 2 Timothy is in the New Testament. It's not the Old Testament, it's in the New Testament. If you go past it, like towards the back end of the New Testament, you'll find 1 Timothy. But if you get to Titus, you went too far. Okay. So it's nestled right in between there, right? Between 1 Timothy and Titus, okay? The Apostle Paul wrote this one. So he wrote this to Timothy. Okay. We have several letters to Timothy. So we wrote this one to Timothy. And we're going to see right here that there's a clear call for us to get off the sidelines. That's what we're going to be talking about. Because there's we see this way too much. And at the line, we're addressing this directly. But there's there is a quiet but dangerous trend that's happening among Christian men today. And too many of those, and that trend, quite frankly, boys, is it's too many guys are just sitting on the sidelines. They're keeping their hands in their pockets. They're becoming pew sitters, right? They attend, they observe, uh, they consume the content. Feed me, feed me, feed me, but they never engage. They never take it further than that. And 2 Timothy 2.2 is a clear call to us to get back in the game. And it's not like at some point, right? Uh not when life slows down or when I have more, more, more margin in my schedule, but now, right? And Paul is writing this letter towards the end of his life, and he's not just offering some abstract theology or leadership theory. No, he's passing the baton. And who he's passing to matters. And think about this. Paul didn't just preach to crowds, he was investing in men. Timothy wasn't a casual acquaintance that he had. He was a spiritual son of this guy. Paul taught him, he corrected him, he encouraged him, and he entrusted him with responsibility. And what came from that investment didn't stop with Timothy. And that's a key insight for us to think about here, okay? Particularly as guys you're leading today. The effectiveness of leadership isn't best measured by the number of direct reports you have. Because that number is going to vary. But think about this. What happens several rungs down the ladder or several generations down the line from your from your legacy standpoint? Because Paul had Timothy, Timothy had faithful men, and then that led to others. And that's a ripple effect. And that ripple effect was a shaping the early church and continues to shape us today. And this is discipleship when we have a true vision. And because that's leadership that's multiplying. It doesn't stop with us, right? If it stops with you, that's the termination. We don't want that. We want to multiply. And we want also faithful men, not just available men. Okay. So this is one of the most important words that Paul, the Apostle Paul uses here is faithful. He doesn't say emmy. He doesn't say talented. He just he doesn't say men who just say yes. No, he says faithful men. So that's implying to us, we could take that implication as discernment. It means trust is earned. It's not just assumed, but it forces an uncomfortable question for us to think about. This is what we're really going to wrestle with this week. Are you a man who can be trusted? Now you may, your immediate reaction may be like, yes. What are actions are you doing are you showing, putting forth to demonstrate that to be true? Because faithfulness isn't proven when things are easy, guys. We know that. Anybody can leave when things are cupcakes and rainbows and Cadillacs and we're in the green and we got enough more sales and we got enough money, whatever. But the true test comes when that pressure hits us, right? When obedience costs us something, when perseverance is required, when quitting, quite frankly, would be a whole lot easier. So Paul knew he had enough foresight to know that hard things were coming. And that's why he was careful about who was going to carry the message forward. Okay? And that's just why we have to think about the true test. Because this verse isn't just about calling us to invest in others. It's just nope, hold up a mirror time, boys. Am I faithful when it's inconvenient? Am I standing firm when things get hard? Am I consistent when no one is watching? Right? Because before we ask, who should I pour to pour into, we got to first ask, am I worth being pouring into? Because that's where it starts. And that reflection is hard. And the answer to start with, you may not like, but it's worth the mental exercise because that's where leadership begins. And here's another layer that Paul shows us right here. Because knowledge is meant to be passed on, but Paul's commanding Timothy to pass on what he's learned. But it's amazing how often grown men, and I've seen this, they just hoard knowledge, bro. They just hold it. And it's it's usually out of fear or insecurity or fixed mindset. Uh I've seen this play out where it's like, hey, if others know what I do, then I lose value. I'm telling you, bro, if that's if you're if you're like, well, Chris, there's something to be said about that. Be careful. That thinking is not biblical. And it definitely is not about leadership. I saw this play out so many times in the in the past industry I was in, where literally it could be a technician or machinist. They would not want you to know the intricacies of what they did because they felt like if they opened that up, then all of a sudden, well, you know, they then they lost a little bit of leverage they had because they felt like that's what kept them to be needed. I'm like, man, you're missing such a big opportunity here. You're so missing it. Okay? Because true leaders look for opportunities to advance others. They share that wisdom freely. They're teachers, they're equippers. And if they do so, they don't lose influence. They're multiplying it. Because passing that knowledge, guess what you're doing in that in that act of passing knowledge? You're building trust, you're building loyalty, you're creating brotherhood. And it ensures that the mission doesn't stop with you. It doesn't, that's what it's about. So that's why it's so important to throw this thing up and to look at scripture. You guys hear me talking about it all the time, with a mirror standpoint. Because it's not just a suggestion, it's a charge. It's calling us to get off the sidelines. It's telling us to get out of our comfort zone. It's calling us to be men of responsibility. And it's not just a reference, guys, for us. When we read scripture in this context, and we ask how it can apply to our lives or to our leadership, to the things just to overall to the things we're leaving behind, it stops being theoretical and it starts shaping who we are. So the question is very simple, but it is weighty. Who are you investing in right now? Who are you intentionally taking that time to invest in right now? And it probably just is important. Are you living in a way that proves you can be trusted? Because if you can't be trusted, then no one's gonna want to God wants you to take the time to invest in them. This is how it advances, this is how the kingdom moves forward. This is why Paul is so important what he's saying right here to Timothy. It happens one faithful man at a time. And if you're not a man that can be trusted right now, hey, first of all, recognize it. Amen. Just call it out for what it is. No, Chris, I haven't been living my life where I can be trusted. Hey, I get it. But you're not condemned by that. There's no condemnation for those of Christ Jesus, so we just go ahead and clear it out off the table. So now that you've recognized that you that you haven't been, what are you gonna do to course correct? And that's on you, bro. Like no one can do this for you. You have to course correct yourself. And then it starts that recognition, and then the actions you're gonna take moving forward. Because trust, one day at a time, it's built. You can't buy it, right? You can't go to Amazon and order a 12-pack of trust. Like it don't work that way, buddy. I sometimes it'd be nice if it did. And it can be, it can erode so fastly. But the Bible's very clear right here. We are to be, let's just go back. Let's go back one more time before we wrap this up. The verse says, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, and trust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So that's it, fellas. Let's be faithful men who can take the things that we've learned, that the things that the Holy Spirit has shown us, and teach them to others in a meaningful way. Because we truly care. We're not faking in, we're not giving lip service, but we genuinely have a heart of love. And that's what it's all about. Now look, entrusting, learning, growing, teaching, all this happens through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, meaning spirit-led men. Okay, so if you're not a spirit-led man, maybe you're just listening to the line because someone passed this on to you, and and all of a sudden you're listening to this guy talking about this verse, and you're maybe you're just curious, you're just seeking. And I appreciate that you took the time to listen to this far. But the things that we teach in the spiritual kickoff, things we that I teach Monday through Friday in the spiritual kickoff, they don't make sense if you don't have the power of the Holy Spirit guiding and directing you. Like that has to be the ultimate guide. To be the leader that God calls me to be only happens when I have submitted my life to a lordship of Christ and He is leading me, right? At that point, and I'm listening to Him, right? That that's what that's that's what happens. That's step one. But if you don't have if you don't have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, then you're just leading by the way of the world and you're trying to pick up some trick, some tips and tricks from this podcast, maybe. And like you may pick up a few tips and trips and tricks, but it's not gonna effectively sustain you as you grow in leadership. The only thing that's gonna sustain us as we grow to be leaders is the power of the Holy Spirit, period. 100% full stop. So now, how do we get that? Well, we have to first, at the very beginning, understand that we were made in his image, right? And and understand God's perfect design he had in mind when he created everything, right? And we were made in the image of God. It's it literally says we were formed from the dust that he breathed the breath of life to his nostrils, and we were made in his image, boom, face to face with the with our creator. That's who we are. We're spiritual beings. We have that, we have to recognize that to be true. But sin fractured that relationship because sin entered the world, Genesis 3. Sin entered, and ever since then it's just been you know downhill, right? So sin entered, and that fractures the relationship with us. And sin is anything that separates us from God. It's that simple. If it separates us from God, it's a sin. So we have that, and we're wrestling with that, and we're all sinners, every single one of us in need of a savior. And the problem is we think we can overcome our sin by living a certain way, right? Or or doing certain things, right? Or, you know, being nice to people and being courteous and being kind. And maybe I'll go to church every now and then. I'll and maybe I do want to read my Bible, and I'll even pray once a week or something like that, right? We think about these things and we start, you know what? I'm I'm a relatively good person. You ask people all the time, how do you get to heaven? Well, you just gotta be a good person. Okay, well, define good. And that's where people get tripped up because my definition of good and your definition of good are different. And my standard compared to you is different. If I start comparing myself to others, I start feeling pretty good about myself. And we live pretty close to a federal prison. If I start comparing myself to guys that are on death row, I'm looking pretty good. So far, I hadn't killed anybody. Really wanted to a few times, but hadn't done it, right? So this is like you see how easy it is to start comparing yourself? We do it, do it right with your neighbor right now. I guarantee you if you can start comparing yourself yourself with your neighbor, you'll you'll find areas that you know what you're crushing in, or maybe you'll find different ways that maybe they are there they are surpassing you. But the problem is we have the wrong standard because we're comparing ourselves to others instead of comparing ourselves to a holy righteous God. And guess what? When we compare ourselves to a holy righteous God, every single one of us falls short. Every single one of us. We all fall short of the glory of God. We just do. Because He's holy, and we are not. He is set apart, and we ain't. Right? That's just who God is. So once we recognize that, okay, there's nothing I can do to overcome the sin that I have in my life. God is holy, I am not. What do I do then? Well, you need someone to come in and do for you what you can't do for yourself, i.e., you need a savior. You need a savior. This is where Jesus enters the scene. So he left the left heaven on a rescue mission for us. Was born of the virgins, did all the the teachings, the miracles, fulfilled all the prophecies, taught us, showed us all the ways to heaven. What does that look like? And then paid the ultimate penalty for our sin by going to the cross willingly to die for us, to pay the penalty which we cannot pay. He did it. He hung on that cross. The blood ran. He died. He didn't pass out or go to sleep. He died on the cross. Then we laid him in an empty tent. Right? And if the story stops there, guys, like it's just uh just another guy who died. And we'd be sad because you know, Jesus is dead. But it doesn't stop right there. This is where most religions do stop because at some point the founders die, and then then that's it. But what we see is three days after he died, he overcame death, he rose. And that's the difference in our faith, and what we believe, than all the other religions of the world, is that our faith rests in a living Savior. Not some dead guy. No, a living savior. He is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. There's no other name on earth to give an among men by which we must be saved. It's Jesus. He is it. So we recognize that. So it starts, okay. So Jesus is the our Messiah, our Savior, and the path to our salvation. We can't earn it on our own. We can't, you know, do any, we can't buy it or anything like that. There's nothing that we can do. What's the steps we have to take? First, it's just that first admitting, look, I am a sinner. I've never said that out loud. I am a sinner, right? And recognize, whoa, that's a big heavy weight. And I need a savior. And then after that, just believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Like, truly believe in your heart that Jesus is the Messiah. And then the next thing is the hard part, going from belief to confess. Because once you confess him, like truly confess him as Lord of your life, it's going to change everything. That's not going to get easier all of a sudden for you. No. But it's going to get better. Because at that point, once you confess him as Lord of your life, this is Lord over everything, guys, from the boardroom to the bedroom to the bathroom. It doesn't matter. He is Lord over it all. Then the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit comes at rest. The old self died. The new self is born. All this stuff. You have the spirit, the blinders are all. You'll be walking in newness of life. Fellas, it's so much better. But it starts at recognizing the need for a savior and recognizing that you don't have this as much as you think you do. And then, then, once we have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, then we have to be able to be the faithful men that Paul's talking about in this verse, 2 Timothy 2.2, the faithful men who we can be entrusted with to teach others also. That's who we're we're we'll be we're being qualified in that process once we surrender to him. And that's what I want for you. So if you've never surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and you're listening to this podcast, you're like, man, this dude is saying something that is speaking to me directly. Look, do it today. Do it right now. You can accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, listening to a podcast. 100% full stop. You don't have to be dressed up in some church pew waiting for some altar call. Now that's where you end up going, great, I want you to. But the point of salvation is not an altar call. It could be wherever the Spirit is prompting you and when you take the step of obedience. And it could be right now, you listening to the Lion Within Us, and you re and you recognize I got to do this. If that's you, let's pray. So, Father, this one listener who clearly has they just heard the gospel presentation. They know that they are sinner, need of a savior. They know that their way hasn't been working and they're tired, but they're they're they are they're at the end of the rope and they're confessing you as Lord of your life. I just pray you just give them peace that passes all understanding. Put some people on their path that's just going to encourage them in their walk, Father. And I'm so thankful for them for having the courage to take the step out of darkness and into the light. So we love you, Lord. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. So look, if you just confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, hit me up. Send me an email if you don't mind. I got some free resources we'd like to send you, some scriptures to get you started with, some Bible study resources, and also just to give you a virtual high fug. I'd love just to come alongside and celebrate this with you. You can just email me at chris at theliothen.us. That's chr s at theliothan.us. Just email me. Tell me which podcast you're listening to if you don't mind. Uh, and then we'll sit. I'll definitely connect you with that. If you're not plugging to a church, love to talk to you about that, just what to look for, some things to look out for us as well as some things to look for, okay? And then we just have lots of ways we try to encourage you and walk alongside you. So love to hear from you, okay? Other than that, guys, look, come back on Wednesday episode. You're gonna have a lot of fun with this one. Uh, thank you, particularly for you guys who are in leadership positions. Uh, we brought in one uh premier expert in leadership that I think you're gonna really get a lot of value out of. But all our resources, guys, thelionwithin.us, if you're listening to the podcast, thank you for listening. But seriously, to support us, to encourage us, to come alongside us to help us continue in this fight, head over to that website. If anything, just join the free daily SKO. But I would I would challenge you if you're listening, if you've been a long time listener to The Lion, we have you know six, seven hundred episodes, I don't know, so many episodes out now, you know, and you're maybe you're consuming our Bible plans on the Bible app, which are great. Like, consume away, support us. Head over to the lionwithin.us, join the lion's den. It's an easy way to be a monthly contributor to what we're doing. It's small, it's not a lot, but it means a lot to us. Okay. So head over there, start that right there today. Come to one of our live events, go to the linewithin.us slash events to see our live events. We have one coming up in April. If you're listening to this early 2026, this one you should have time to get registered for that. And other than that, fellas, uh just that website, the mastermind, the lion's community, daily SKO, buy a copy of the book, Unleashing the Lion Within. All that stuff, fellas, can be found at the Lion Within. Don't forget the the T H E Lion Within.us. All right. Have a great day, guys. Give us a rating and review if you don't mind. Thanks for hanging out with us. We'll see you next time. You know what's coming. Keep unleashing the lion within. It's time to stop battling pornography. Lust and temptation alone. We're done sitting on the sidelines, seeing shame win, and hearing from guys that are fighting private wars with no backup. So we decided it's time to fight back. 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