Welcome And Daily Spiritual Kickoff

Chris Grainger 1:09

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, spiritual kickoff time. Let's get into it. Okay, so the scripture of the week this week is Romans, first chapter, 16th verse. Can't believe we haven't done this one, but I look back and we hadn't. But anyway, here we are. Romans 1.16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Guys, that is a powerful verse. We're going to take some time to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life to help you grow in your walk with Christ as well. And again, fellas, the spiritual kickoff, it's all about that. And the cool part is if you enjoy them, we do the spiritual kickoff Monday through Friday at the Lion Within Us, guys. So it's our way to serve, it's our way to encourage, it's our way to embolden and to lift you guys up. It's a whole lot better than anything you're gonna pick up at some Starbucks. I promise you that, boys, in the morning. And look, cool part is we go live in the platform. You can join us live, you can chat with us and things like that. If you can't make the live feed, don't worry about it. We put that videos directly in our platform. We don't put them on YouTube, we don't put them on Instagram or anything anywhere else. It's right there. It's just for the guys that are lying within us. And the cool part now, we're even doing a free gift for the guys who join the daily spiritual kick off. It also has access to our prayer request space. So we have a prayer feed, fellas. And this thing, it's every day, every day. Guys are asking for things to be prayed over, to be prayed for. And the guys are leaning in and they're doing it, guys. And look, we have a Monday prayer call. It's just a prayer call. We open up a Google Meet, we hop on, we talk about what we need to be praying over, and guess what? We just pray over it together. So look, all that's free, and it's our way to serve you. So head over to thelionwithin.us, check out the thing called daily spiritual kickoff, where you may see it abbreviated as daily SKO and get started today. All right. So now this verse, Romans 1.16. Let's think about it. First thing we need to know is where do you find it? Like we're not going to take anything for granted here at the Lion. So Romans is in the New Testament, okay? So you just go past your gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you get to Acts. After Acts, you get to Romans. So if you get to first or second Corinthians, you want you flipped a little too far, just back up. And I do that, fellas in the SKO, by the way, teaching kids has shown me one thing. Maybe they've only opened a Bible once in their life. That whole range. We want to serve them all. So that's why we share, you know, where to find the Bible verse, the Bible chapters at, if you will, uh or the books rather in the chapter. All right. So now, this right here, we need to start. When we think about 1 Corinthians, uh, not first Corinthians, Romans 116. We need to start thinking about how we need to stop hiding our heads in the sample. I mean, this is a direct call. I love this verse as well because my old buddy Al Robertson and the Roberts family and Unashamed, this is the foundation of that podcast, of that, of what they're they built over there. Again, it was an honor to go on that show and hang out with Al. And this verse matters so much. And it's not a soft verse, right? This is not some poetic verse or just uh or or some type of window dressing. No, bro. This is a line in the sand. And the apostle Paul is drawing it boldly for us and for men, especially. This confronts a growing issue in our time. And that's that issue, guys, and you heard me talk about it a lot, but it's spiritual passivity. Okay. Too many dudes have learned how to agree with the gospel without ever actually standing with it. Right? And Paul's saying, wait a minute now. He says, I'm not ashamed. And that phrase matters. And to say you're not ashamed of something goes before goes far beyond some private belief. That says you align to it, you're loyal to it, you have public support of it. It means this is where I stand, regardless of the cost. Paul is not saying I intellectually affirm the gospel. No, bro. Are you kidding me? He's saying I identify with it. And that is clarity that we need for Christian men in the world that we live in so desperately today. Because spiritual passivity is not biblical masculinity. That is not it. And the world we live in has made it incredibly easy to assume a passive faith posture. It's just there, right? You're supposed to keep your faith personal. You're supposed to keep quiet about it. You're not supposed to offend people. Geez Luigi, you're not supposed to stand out. You definitely don't want to make any waves. But when you open up scripture and you actually read it, that is not what we see. Especially from the men that God used in a mighty and bold way. Paul, in particular, refused this type of neutrality. And Romans 1.16 reads like a wake-up call to us, fellas. It says, stop hiding, stop hedging, stop minimizing the only thing that actually saves. Because this isn't about being loud or abrasive. No, it's about refusing to live as if the gospel is optional or secondary. Paul is calling us out of comfort and into conviction. You see what I'm saying there? Out of comfort and into conviction. And it's not our power. And that's the whole point that Paul's trying to make up for us right here. Because he immediately grounds his boldness in the right place. For it is for the power of God for salvation. Not our strength, not our discipline, not our moral improvement. No, the gospel works because God works. It works because he does. Salvation is not something we achieve, it's something he accomplished. And the truth should be humbling us and emboldening us at the same time. It should humble us because we bring nothing to the table, and it should embolden us because the outcome doesn't depend on us. And lots of dudes get this wrong. We turn faith into some like self-improvement program, bro. Like just be better, try harder, clean yourself up. But Paul, he dismisses that mindset. The gospel is powerful precisely because we are not, right? That's the big, that's the whole point he's making. This whole unto salvation, that's a big deal. Those words carry serious weight. They force an uncomfortable but necessary question. Salvation from what? Think about it. Before we can celebrate salvation, you have to acknowledge the danger that you're in before. And this is where lots of fellas stumble. They downplay sin, right? Like, well, no, we don't sin anymore. Or we can start comparing ourselves to others, and then we start feeling pretty doggone good about ourselves. Or we redefine good based on human standards instead of God's holiness, right? But the biblical standard is not better than average. The biblical standard is perfection. And once you're honest about that, the illusion of self-sufficiency starts to collapse, doesn't it? Because we're not just flaw boys, we're in trouble. We are in serious trouble. And that realization isn't meant to crush us, it's meant to lead us to the grace. Because this is a free gift that is personally received. Because salvation, Paul tells us, comes to anyone who believes. Faith alone, Christ alone, period. This is not an earned favor with God. It's not inherited. It's not borrowed for someone else's faith. No one's going to believe this on your behalf, and no one obeys for you. This is a deeply personal, one heart, one response, one savior type of alignment. And that type of intimacy matters, guys, because Christianity is not a group, a group identity, rather, that we hide inside. No, it's a personal allegiance that reshapes everything about everything. And the beauty of the gospel is that this gift is for all people. Paul makes that explicit because it mattered then and it matters now. Jesus didn't limit his sacrifice. He didn't ration out his grace. He did it for all. Every single one of us, if you're hearing my voice, he did it for you. And that's a story worth getting excited about. It should. We should celebrate. And what not ashamed? What does that actually look like? Being unashamed of the gospel does not mean just walking around wearing Chris Christian merch. Now, if you want to get a lion, I'm just a guy shirt, hey, bro, all means get one and rock it. Because those those those shirts are just dope, let's just be honest. But what this means is that when we it means we living visibly transform lives. That's it. So the shirt's cool, but if underneath the shirt is this dude who's just following and doing things in this world, that's not going to help anything. It means exhibiting the fruit of the spirit and how we work, lead and love and help each other out, bro. It means leading first with that mindset of love and servanthood. Like, how can I, what can I do for you? It means caring if we're supporting for others above our own interests. Paul tells us that directly in Philippians. I just finished teaching that side of this rush on top of my brain. And it also means letting our convictions shape our decisions. And this means day in and day out, not just on Sunday morning for like when you're getting your ears tickled by some pastor. That's cool. Outside of that, for the rest of the hours of the week, that's what needs it to be guiding and directing us. That's it. And that's how allegiance becomes visible. It has to become visible. And when that comes, someone may be curious or searching or asking questions. And at that moment, we don't shrink back in our chairs. We don't say, man, I don't think I know enough. There's no way I can share this. What if they ask a question I don't know the answer to? No, this verse tells right here, we share the good news clearly, humbly, and with confidence. Not because we're the solution, but because we know who is the solution, right? We have to do our part. So Paul right here in Romans 1.16 is reminding us that the gospel is the only hope we have this side of heaven. There's no other hope this side of heaven. There ain't a backup plan, boys. And there's not an alternative uh escape route. Like when you die, you die. You're gonna when it happens, it happens. And either you believe in heaven and hell, or you're gonna see it firsthand for yourself, right? And every knee, the Bible says, every knee will bow. It's not a question of if. The question is where. Are you gonna bow in heaven or are you gonna bow somewhere else? But you will bow because Jesus is Lord. So we got to stop hiding in the sand. We got to stop living as if quiet agreement is enough with this. Like, I'm just gonna do my little thing. I'm gonna send Jesus, I'm gonna get my fire insurance, and then I'm just gonna live my life. That ain't what he's that's not what scripture says. Because as men, we're called to stand firmly, humbly, and unashamed. And that's how we advance the kingdom. That's how faith becomes visible. That's how we do our part, fellas. And we got to stop outsourcing this stuff, man. Stop it. Enough with the spiritual passivity. Lean in and do what he's called you to do. And that's how you unleash the life within. And I'm telling you, the question you need to think about this week is where have you been spiritually passive instead of boldly aligned with Christ? And look, the answer to that question, I can't do it for you. You're gonna have to answer that question yourself. But if you've been spiritually passive in certain areas, just own it. Just own it. Then do something about it. That's the challenge. Do something about it. Then you'll find the peace of God that transforms all understanding. So look, fellas, look. I've been hammering on this verse now for what, 10 minutes, 12 minutes or so, something like that. It's been this has been a good one to think about. But if you don't have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, then you're you're not gonna be able to do this work. And I want to make sure if you're listening to the Lion, if you never heard the good news of the gospel, we talked about, I mean, this verse right here literally says it at the very beginning of it. It says, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, right? So what is the gospel? The gospel is the good news. And some of you guys like Chris, are you kidding me? This is like vacation Bible school one-on-one. So yeah, you're right. Not for everybody though. Everybody listener right now. When I say you I'm not ashamed of the gospel, you're like, hmm. Is he talking about a song? And if that's you, bro, stay with me. Don't stop. Keep listening. So the gospel is the good news, and the good news of Jesus is specifically. And it all started with God's perfect design. And how God created the earth and everything in it, the heavens, the earth, the whole everything. He had a perfect design when he made all this. And he made man, he formed man with his hands out of the dust. And it says he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. And all of a sudden, when Adam sat up for the first time, guess what? He was face to face with his creator. So and it says we are made in the image of God. So when you look in the mirror, you see some jacked-up flawed dude, but God sees someone that he made in his image. And that is such a beautiful picture for us. And things went great in the Bible. It was amazing in the Bible for like two pages, bro. Like seriously, for two pages. And then sin entered the world. And that fractured that relationship with us and him. So we ran from God. And now and and and we run and we ran away from him. And then this the sin that fractured the world, we try to pursue the things of this world to fulfill us. We try to make to do things to that that that um they're gonna bring us happiness and money and relationships and and all the the accolades of the world promises you to leave you fully and finally satisfied satisfied, but it doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't leave us satisfied at all. We end up broken and recognizing that you know what? I can't do this. And within but so many guys try to earn a right standing with God just by being a good person or just trying to help people or give donations or whatever you think that thing is, right? Well, I read my Bible and I pray you should be good. No, bro, wait a minute now. You're trying to earn your way in. While some of these things are inherently good, they're not going to earn your salvation. That's called workspace righteousness, and it just doesn't work. You can't earn a right standing with God by the things that you do on your own. So it leads you to a point like, okay, I can't do this on my own.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

I have sinned, and the sin is anything that separates us from God, and there's nothing I can do to overcome my sin. What am I supposed to do?

Chris Grainger 15:58

And that's and that's the point you got to get to. Because if you get to that point, you can recognize that you're right. You can't overcome it. You don't need a life coach to just help make things better for you. No, you need a savior to step in and do for you what you can't do for yourself. That's why we need Jesus. And that is why he left heaven on the mission for us. Guys, he lived the perfect life. Just think about this. Jesus looked up from heaven, it's like, look, I'm going in. These guys can't do it. Obviously, uh they they need a path to me, and I'm gonna give it to them. And he left, knowing when he left heaven, he was headed to the cross. That's mind-blowing. And not just for for himself, but he did it for everyone, everyone who ever existed, whoever exists now, and whoever will exist in the future. He did it for them all. He left on a rescue mission for us. He was born of a virgin. He did all the, fulfilled all the prophecies, did all the teachings, did all the miracles, showed us evidence that he is for the Messiah firsthand. And then the crazy part, went to the cross, was crucified, was killed, paid for our transgressions right there. He was pierced for them. Fellas, through his hands, through his feet, pierced inside. He died. He didn't think, he didn't pass out, he didn't go to sleep. He died on the cross. And look, if the story ends right there, what are we doing? Every Sunday we'd be dressed up like we're going to a funeral. This story didn't stop right there. Yes, they laid him in a tomb, but that thing was more like an Airbnb for Jesus. He just needed it for the weekend. Because three days later, he rose. And that's the difference between Christianity and all the other quote unquote religions out there, fellas. The rest of those religions, their founders, they still dead. They gone.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

No, for Christ for Christians, our Savior lives. You have to get that part. The resurrection means everything. And then Jesus promises us, promises us eternal life with him. So yeah, I mean, you you you you have the chance, you have the opportunity to have eternal life. So you may die once, but you can live twice.

Chris Grainger 18:18

Because I don't want you to be separated from him. Because if today is the last day, and I don't know if it is or not, we never know. Today could be my last day. I don't know. I know one thing. Whatever my last day is, I know where I'm going. And I want that for you too. I want you to experience salvation, experience peace, experience grace. Have that right here now. It's a free gift. You don't have to buy it. There's nothing you have to do. Just accept it. You have to admit that you're a sinner in need of a savior. You have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he came on this mission for you. You have to confess him as Lord. And I'm saying this is Lord over everything, boys. From the boardroom to the bedroom to the bathroom. It is everywhere. He's got to be Lord over it all. Right? And once you confess him as Lord and Savior, then the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit's gonna come. And you're gonna have the Holy Spirit within you. You're gonna start seeing things in a whole new light. Right? All of a sudden, because guess what? You're being guided, you're you're being you're being uh shown a new way from him.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

And it's such a big deal.

Prayer To Receive Christ

Next Steps Resources And Community

Sexual Integrity Support Group

Chris Grainger 19:26

I want you to have that peace. I want you to have that encouragement. So if you're doing life right now and things just aren't going away, maybe you're in a tough season right now, and you listen to Lions for some reason. Maybe you just like the logo. I don't know why you listen to the lions. And now you're hearing this dude, this old this southern boy from North Carolina talk to you about the gospel. And like, what in the world am I listening to? Bro, you're here for a reason. You're here, you made it this far for a reason. And I know one thing, God's pulling at you. He's trying to get to you. He's using me somehow for some reason to share this message with you. Now the question is, are you just gonna click on to the next podcast? Or are you gonna actually do something with this information that could change your life forever? And when I say forever, I literally mean forever, for eternity. But it starts by the decision that you have to make. I can't make it for you, your wife, your kids, your family, your mom, your dad, your grandma, I don't care. Nobody in your life can make this decision for you. This has to be a decision that you make for you to have a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And if you're at that point, you're like, yep, Chris, finally makes sense now. Let's pray and invite him into your life. So, Lord, that one listener, who they've heard the gospel and for some reason right now, it makes sense. I pray you hear their prayer where they're just asking you into their life. They're recognizing that their sinner in need of a savior. They're recognizing their way is not the right way, and they're recognizing that you are the Messiah God, and they're calling upon you as Lord and Savior of their life. So I just pray you just flood them with peace right now. Give them just that peace that passes all understanding. I pray that as the Holy Spirit just comes in and takes, it just it's it's it is indwelling at this moment in them that they can feel that. They can feel that power just being just being flown into them, Father. But I also recognize now they're a target, they're a massive target for the evil one because the evil one's not gonna like the fact that they made this step. So I praise the uh supernatural hedge protection around them to keep them safe, guard them and direct them, and help put people in their life that are going to help walk with them as they start the discipleship journey today. Because their discipleship journey starts at this moment, Lord. So we love you. We praise you. We do all this for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen. So look, you just accepted Christ as your savior. Like, let's go, dog on it. Like, this is the best thing that I get to do each and every week at the Lion is share the gospel. I want to hear from you. Like, shoot me an email straight up, Chris at the LionWithin.us, okay? The reason is I got some free resources I want to hook you up with. We got so much things we've created at the Lion. The least I can do is give you some free resources to get you started, okay? Some scriptures to memorize, some verses and things like that, okay? I want to hook you up with that. Also, love to just connect on a call and just hear more of your testimony. How did you get to this point to make this decision today? Love to have that conversation with you and just be a support mechanism for you, okay? So look, hit me up, send me an email. Love to connect with you there. Other than that, guys, if you're listening to the show, thank you first and foremost. Come back on Wednesday. We're gonna have a really good episode. We've got some really incredible faith-driven stories. I think you guys are gonna like a ton. Uh, and other than that, thelionwithin.us is where you find all our resources resources. So start off with the daily spiritual kickoff. That's free. Join the Lions then. Again, if you just like the The Lion Within Us and you enjoy our content each and every week, and you just want to find a way, man, how can I support these boys? That is the easiest way. You're in our community at that point. You didn't you would have access to stuff, but the big thing is you're just supporting what we do. We're just gonna straight up ask you for that support. And then we have mastermind groups. So if you're interested in a mastermind group, put in an application. I'm not sure if it's gonna be right for you, but we will find out if it's not. Hey, we'll shake hands. And sorry it didn't work out. But if it is right, it could be something that changes your life. Okay. Open up the Bible app. Open up the Bible app. Search for the line within us. Go to some of our 50, probably 60 plus plans we have out there right now. Fellas, that's a meaningful way we're trying to serve guys all over the world. God is doing some crazy stuff on that platform. And we're just we're just an on-point ride. And we're just enjoying it in our way, it's our way to serve you. Okay. Check out our live event. If you listen, I think when you listen to this one, you still have time to register for our live event in the spring. So come sh come hang out with us in April, guys. It's such a big deal for fellowship and communion and just being being able to uh to be together with other uh body of believers and and other men of Christ. So all these ways are ways to connect with us, okay? It's all found at the LionWithin.us. Get a copy of our book, Unleashing Alion Within. And that's a great way just to if you want to work with some of your buddies in a in a in a Bible study on the weekend or something like that or through or during the week, use our book. Let that just be a way just to spur conversations on topics that matter, that help us to be the leaders that he's called us to be. So all these resources are available to you, fellas. The Lion Within. Don't forget to be T-H E LionWithin.us. If you don't mind, give us a rating review. That would help big time. Share this podcast out with others, particularly this one, you know, for for you guys. So if you want to share this with others who are not believers, maybe they're curious. This could be one. This could be the the the conversation. This could be the the content that that spot me clicks and makes sense. And then at that point, you never know what God's gonna do. You never know. So share it out, fellas. Thank you again for supporting. Hang out with us at the lionwithin.us. We'll see you next time and keep on leashing 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. We have our sexual integrity support group, which is a confidential space inside the lion's den for men who are ready to step into the light and pursue real freedom. This isn't just for guys in crisis, by the way. It's for any man who's tired of the cycle, who's tired of living in secret, who's tired of saying, this is gonna be the last time. Look, most guys don't need another app or some rules. They need some brothers to come alongside them to say you're not the only one. This doesn't define you. And freedom is possible. So look, inside our group, you're gonna find a confidential, judgment-free forum to engage and ask questions. You'll have honest conversations without combination. And you'll also have a monthly call with a trusted guide. So look, this isn't just about stopping pornography. It's about becoming a man of integrity, a man aligned, a man who lives in freedom, not secrecy. And you don't have to clean yourself up first to come. You just have to step in. So our sexual integrity support group is found inside the lion's den. And you can start that today with a 30 day free trial. So if you're ready to stop fighting alone and need that extra support, start your 30 day free trial right now at thelionwithin.us. That's thhelionwithin.us, and step inside the lion's den.