Welcome And Weekly Scripture

Chris Grainger 0:02

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, 2 Timothy, first chapter, looking at two verses though, verses 8 and 9. It says, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. So, guys, great scripture right there from the Apostle Paul. We're going to take some time. We're going to see how we can unpack this and simplify and apply it to our life, okay? Again, we do this podcast is called the Spiritual Kickoff that we have each and every week. As a reminder, we do this Monday through Friday at the Lionel Tennessee. I just taught Psalm 52 this morning, actually. So look, every morning I'm able to go live, share God's word, give an encouragement, and guys are just flocking to this, fellas. I mean, they're flocking to it. It's a great way to be encouraged by the word to get your day started. If you can't join it live, the videos are put there, you can consume them at your leisure or whatever is easiest for you. It also gives you access to our prayer request space. And we just started, fellas, giving you a free gift. So anybody who signs up for the daily spiritual kickoff doesn't cost you anything. And on top of that, we want to give you something. So we got a free surprise gift for you. When you sign up, we send you the link. You you you place that order, boom, and it's and it's in the mail, fellas. So we love to connect with you, love to serve you. I think you'd be encouraged by the thousands of guys that are in the daily spiritual kickoff. Now, it's just been it's been incredible to see how God is growing this. And look, this is just a great way. It's our way of serving you, just coming alongside you, and uh hopefully helping you with your discipleship journey. Okay, so let's get into the word today, fellas. So, what first thing we need to know is where is the book of 2 Timothy? Okay, we won't take anything for granted. So that is actually New Testament, it's not your Old Testament, it's New Testament. And for you guys like, Chris, come on, why you do that? Because not everybody knows that, bro. So just back up and sit your cup now, okay? We just we want to walk with guys no matter where they're at. So it is New Testament, it's after 1 Timothy, it's before Titus. You're gonna find it towards the back of your Bible, okay? So that's that's really if you open up your Bible and boom, that thing flips open open about halfway or maybe two-thirds,

Daily Spiritual Kickoff Invite

Chris Grainger 2:30

just flip a little bit more to the right. Eventually you will get to 2 Timothy. Okay, now the Apostle Paul wrote this to Timothy, and we're gonna see how what we're gonna focus on this week is how trading comfort for what he's ultimately called us to do is very meaningful, okay? And we're gonna think about that because for most of our lives, and for for me, but I know this is true, we're sold all I. Like the the goal we're told of being a man is how much stuff can you accumulate, right? And then not only that, how much stuff can I get and how much pain can I avoid, right? Think about it. We we're told to chase the promotion, we're told to chase prestige or pleasure, uh, you know, um, and it's at the end of the day, like, wait a minute now. And and we're surprised when you wake up at 40 years old and you feel like you've been running a uh a race on a treadmill. Uh you're you're you're exhausted, but you're almost when you're on a treadmill, where are you going? You ain't going anywhere. Same place, wherever that treadmill is sitting. And then

Finding 2 Timothy And Context

Chris Grainger 3:39

some guys get the call. They get the call because they're asking, they're talking to God. I know for me, it was the lion, quite frankly, it was the lion. And when God gave me the call, but before maybe let's take it back. Before I had the call for the lion, it was very empty. I I was I was making plenty of money. It's fine, it wasn't a money situation, but it was just a something nagging at me that was missing. It was just missing. But once he showed me what the path looked like for the lion,

Comfort Culture And The Treadmill

Chris Grainger 4:14

and it's still not 100% clear, but it's getting a whole lot more clear now. That has been the most useful thing for me. Because suddenly, like the emptiness is gone. You know? And the emptiness is not just gone, but it's been replaced by a fire that that that just burning and nothing's gonna put it out. And Paul's letter to Timothy, right, is kind of like a manual for us for that fire. We're gonna break that down. And we're gonna kind of break it down piece by piece, if you will, because we're gonna talk about like the very beginning here, the myth of trying to do the easy will of God, right? Because Paul says, like, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me his prisoner. Okay, and think about it, we're we're sold a lie that if we are in the center of God's will, all of a sudden doors are just gonna swing open and the path will be paved with cupcakes, rainbows, and buttercups and fire, you know, butterflies and all this stuff, right? It's like, wait a minute, bro. Paul, that's not what the scripture tells us. Paul tells us right here. He's like, hey, uh, I'm writing you this from a hole in the ground. Like, this is a Roman prison, bro. And the world, the enemy in particular, wants us to feel shame for the calling that God's put on our life. They want us to feel like we're a fool for sacrificing like a good, quote unquote, good career or a comfortable reputation for something radical, right? As a God-given vision or purpose. But Paul's telling Timothy, say, look, guy, don't blink. Don't miss it. Don't be ashamed. Because when you start walking in obedience and the world starts pushing back, right, that's expected. Because if you aren't getting that pushback or friction, probably you're not doing headed in the right direction. You definitely aren't moving best enough. Resistance is the ultimate validation that the work you're doing has moved from the human hobby to what God has truly called you to do, a kingdom threat to the enemy. And look, man, I don't want to just be a human hobby. I want to be a threat. Every day I wake up, this is crazy to think about. I want the gates of hell

The Myth Of Easy Obedience

Chris Grainger 6:24

to be like, oh crap, Chris is up again. Right? And when the Lord calls me home, I hope they throw one outrageous party. Just throw a big party because you got rid of that guy. Because he was an adversary to me. Versus, yep, Chris is up. He's doing exactly what I want him to do today. And when my time is up, the gates of hell are just like, oh man, Chris is really good at helping people stay stuck. I don't want that. Neither do you, bro. Neither do you. We need to have, think about it as an invitation to the front lines. Because look what Paul says. He says, rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Right? And this is hard. This is hard. Because uh Paul doesn't just say here, I hope your suffering ends. No, he says, join with me in it, bro. Like get in the get in the boat. Right? There's a and think about this. There is a brotherhood in the struggle. Right? I can tell you, the lion, creating the lion, has brought more spiritual warfare to me than I ever could have imagined. Because, and here's why. I've stepped onto the battlefield finally. And when you step onto the battlefield, shots are gonna be fired, bro. They just are. But when you're pursuing money or self-interest or worldly things, you're not a threat. You are an asset. Don't want to be threats. And we want to be threats rather than we don't want to be assets. But when you start walking in your purpose, man, all of a sudden, yep, that target gets bigger. And Paul calls us directly. He's like, look, embrace it. Embrace the weight. Like leadership, being a leader, a God-given leader, is heavy. He also says, embrace the warfare. He's like, look, bro, if the enemy is quiet, you're probably not doing it right. But you better rely on the source as well. Because he's like, look, the power of God, that's the source. You cannot sustain, be sustained on anything out outside of that. You know, well, again, we're called to be lions, not house cats, right? You know, house cats don't have the strength. Lions have it once we get the will of God in our life. Right? Because on our own, we're just going to fail. But with the Holy Spirit's power, we're headed to something great. And then he tells Timothy right here, kind of like the architecture of purpose, he's like, look, he saved us and called us to a holy life. Not because of anything that we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. This is where we have to get locked in, guys. Think about that. I've spent years uh pursuing what you wanted. Maybe you've done that too. And if you do that too often, maybe you just feel empty. Why? Well, because you're designed to carry a weight that only God's purpose can provide. And Paul reminds us of that, right? He says our calling isn't a reward for being good enough. It's a gift of grace and purpose. Grace means we ain't got to be perfect to leave, right? You just gotta be willing and available. And purpose means uh your life has to have a specific why that predicates just you're being born, bro. There's a purpose behind this. And when you align your daily grind to the stuff that you know, work that you get them to do with that eternal why, that get that getting tired changes, right? This is not like a fatigue of a rat race you feel anymore. This is a good tire. This is a tire that I'm starting to feel more and more. Like this is a tire that a soldier feels uh what when he has everything on the line and he comes off that battlefield to rest. This is how we should lead our families. This is how we should lead our businesses, this is how we should lead whatever God's calling us to, right? We have to stop looking at our own stats and start looking at his objectives. And then we've got to shed the weaknesses, man. We've got to shed that stuff and get it out. To be the leader that he

Called By Grace For Holy Purpose

Chris Grainger 10:20

has called us to be, we have to shed off the old skin. We have to stop apologizing for our convictions, and we've got to start stop seeking approval, okay, of a world that didn't give us our calling. The world doesn't give it to us. God does. And the world can't take it away either. So think about this. The decisions that you're making today, do you have clarity? Do you know exactly what God told you to do? Do you have conviction? Are you doing it even when the open arms turn into clenched fists? Right? And are you being consistent? Are you staying locked in when the fire of the beginning turns into the grind of the middle? Because it's easy to get fired up at the beginning, Bo. Well, you're talking about when you when you you're day in and day out, that's when the test the faith gets tested. So maybe that you're feeling empty. I get it. Right? And you've never had the hunger that I'm speaking about, I fully get it because I was there. Look, my encouragement is just stop backing down and trying to take the easy life. Okay. Because that easy path, the paths of less friction, often the path that's this that's that's lined with the most uh potential um worldly fruit is just gonna leave you longing for more. That's a path to a slow death. But the life God's calls you to, the one with the warfare, the one with the suffering, and the one with the fire, that's what we're meant to live. That's what Paul's trying to show Timothy right here. This is he's reminding you, he's like, Look, Timothy, I need you to stay locked in. I need you to join in the suffering, and then I need you to advance the work that matters. Guys, this is what I want you to do. This is why we built the lion to help you recognize this in your life. You are called for so much more than whatever you think that that's your purpose is. When you start asking God this question, God, show me. Please show me what you want me to do. What's the next step of obedience you would have me take? And look, he's gonna tell you something that's absolutely crazy. It's not gonna make any sense to you whatsoever. The challenge is, are you gonna trust him in that? I wrote something the other day. I was like, do I trust God? Uh uh, do I not trust, do I trust what I know more about me to be true more than what I don't know about God? Like, and too many times I lean on my own understanding. The Bible is very clear. No, we're not supposed to lean on our own understanding. We're supposed to lean on God, and quite frankly, he's gonna call us to do stuff that we just don't, we can't wrap our minds around, we can't comprehend. But taking those steps of faithful obedience, man, they matter so much. That's my encouragement to you. And that stirring, that conviction of the Holy Spirit only comes when you have that truly abiding relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you don't have that, maybe it's because you never accepted Christ as Lord of your life. Maybe you thought about it, but you've just never taken the step. Look, I just want you to know if you're listening to the lion, whatever version of you, when you look in the mirror, whatever that reflection back, and you start telling yourself maybe that you're not enough or you're you're not smart or whatever, whatever that, they're lies. You are made in the image of God. You're made in the image of God. Tell yourself that and recognize that to be true. And the Bible actually says Adam was set up and he was face to face with his creator. Adam was face to face with God. We are made in his image. Now, unfortunately, go back to Genesis 3, there was a there was a fracture in that relationship because sin entered the world and we were separated from him. And we have this massive gap between a holy and righteous God and us. And the problem is we try to close this gap by just being good and doing things on our own. At the end of the day, it just doesn't work. There's no such thing as works-based righteousness. So you can't just like give money and be a good person and help little old ladies cross the street to overcome the sin that's in your life. Or even worse, we start trying to compare ourselves to others. Well, compared to Jim, you know what Jim did? Like, or compared to like, you know what those people did on death row? Like, yeah, I totally get it. Compared to them

The Gospel And Surrender Prayer

Chris Grainger 14:55

from a work from a worldly standpoint, you're doing pretty well. Instead, compare yourself to God. Guess what? We all fall short. Every single one of us falls short of the glory of God. It tells us that directly in Scripture. So the standard's wrong. And once we get the standard right, and the news doesn't get any better because it's like, wait a minute, man, I'm comparing myself to a holy and righteous God. Um, not sure how I can overcome that. That's exactly where you need to be at that moment. Because it's in that moment where the real work begins. Because in that moment, you move from, okay, there's nothing I can do to overcome the sin in my life. I'm a sinner in need of a savior. I need someone to do for me what I can't do for myself. Who is that? Back in comes Jesus. That's what Jesus did for us. He went to the cross to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. That is his plan of salvation. So if we recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, who lived a perfect life, he was born of a virgin, did all the prophecies, did all the miracles, the teachings, and then willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. If we believe that, that he died on that cross, and not only that he died on that cross, that they put him in a tomb and three days later he rose. So that's who we this is who we worship, a living Savior, not some dead guy in a tomb somewhere, but a living and breathing savior. If we believe that to be true, bro, let's go. That's what it's all about. This is a Jesus that we serve. This is Jesus that we love. Okay? And what we have to do at that moment, once you believe that, you have to confess Him as Lord and Savior of our life. Yeah, I just come to us like, look, Lord, I am busted up, broken, and I can't be trusted. But I know one thing, I'm trusting in you. And I've done this my way for far too long. Now I need to do it your way. And I'm just submitting to you in all things. I'm asking you to show me, to guide me, direct me. I'm praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to convict me, to illuminate your path so that I know the steps to take. Once you start praying prayers like that, bro, just get ready. The stuff that Paul's talking about, Timothy, yeah. It'll start shifting. But it only starts once you have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit working within you. And that starts when you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And that's where we're at right now. You're listening to this podcast, I don't know where you're listening to. Maybe you're driving down the road, maybe you're walking, maybe you're on a treadmill, maybe you're in the gym. I don't know. I don't know. You can just be sitting at your house chilling. I don't know where you're at. But if you've never submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and you're hearing my voice right now, maybe it's the Holy Spirit saying, look, you got some unfinished business you need to take care of. Maybe right now is that moment where God's like, I got you this far. I'm using this little boy right here to tell you the good news. You got to take action. Look, I can't do this for you. And here's something you need to hear too. No one else can. Your parents can't, your wife can't, your grandparents can't, your kids can't. This is a personal decision you have to make. Are you going to surrender your life to Jesus? Because if you don't, the consequences are dire. You may crush it here on earth. But the Bible tells us at some point, every single one of us will bow. We'll bow to Jesus as Lord and Lord and Savior. The question is not when. The question is where. Because you will either bow in heaven or you will bow in hell, separated from him. And I don't want that for you. I have enough conviction in me and know the Bible to be true that I want to share the good news of the gospel with you each and every week. That's why we take the time to do this. I mean, do you think about it? Every week on the Spiritual Kickoff podcast, we're sharing a gospel. This is not something that's going to get clicks and things like that. It's not for more views. It's because the good news of the gospel changes lives. And if for some reason you're listening to the line within us and you haven't surrendered your life to Jesus, this is my way of imploring and of begging you. Don't put off what God's calling you to do today. To the point I'm going to pray with you right now. And my prayer is for that one listener out of the many, many people who listen to the Lion, maybe there's one, one who knows that today's a day. They need to surrender our life to Jesus. And if that's you, let's just pray together. Lord, I don't know who that listener is right now. But I know one thing, they're out there, and they are tired of running the rat race of life, feeling like they're stuck on a treadmill, not having any purpose, and just trying to keep up with the Joneses. Lord, for that listener, is it I I know you hear their prayer when they're confessing their sin. They recognize that they're a sinner in need of a savior, and they're calling, they're declaring that you are that savior, God, that Jesus is the savior. And their prayer is heartfelt. They recognize they bring nothing to the equation but you. You just you want their heart. So I pray you put people in their life that are going to help walk with them, it's going to encourage them as they make the most important decision they'll ever make. This is more important than where they work or where they go to school or anything, God. This is the most important decision. Because this is the starting point of their discipleship journey. And I'm just praying for them right now, praying for their strength. We love you. We praise you in Christ's name. Amen. So look, if you just surrender your life to Jesus, touch now. Can we just can we just celebrate that for a second, first and foremost? And if you have and you want support, I also encourage you to send me an email. I got a bunch of resources. Like the Lion is full of resources now. We have lots of ways we can help you. A couple things I just want to send you out the gate. So send an email to Chris at the lionwithmen.us. Okay. Shoot me an email. Let me know that you made this decision. Also, if you don't mind, just let me know which podcast you listen to. I'm just super curious. I'm always interested to hear from listeners on that. And I got some resources. And I just want to get a virtual high five for you. I'd love to jump on a call with you, just encourage you. If you need help finding a church, we got ways we can help you with what to look for there as well. Okay. Oh, excuse me, guys. By the way, I've been fighting a cold, but it was important to get this message out. So I wanted to do this. So thank you. Voice sound a little bit deeper today. It's not because I'm trying to be cool, it's just because I'm literally losing my voice. But anyway, the question of the week is why are we choosing comfort over the fire of God's calling? Hopefully, you guys just be thinking about that. Look, we're not called to that path easy. We're called to do hard things. And hard things require work. And the work is meaningful though. Okay. So look, if you need encouragement, if you need support, if you just need somewhere to talk, check out our lines, man. Seriously. We have support groups, we have a husband support group, a sexual integrity support group, we have a health support group. We have regular meetings all throughout the week, guys. Just engagements, opportunities for you guys to come together, have fellowship. Like I'm recording this on a Friday. So the Friday up on Fridays, we have what's called a Friday 4. It's just another way just to lean in and be encouraged by other brothers in Christ. So all that stuff is part of Alliance Den, fellas.

Next Steps And Community Support

Chris Grainger 22:49

Start your 30-day free trial. So go to the Alliance Den. It also gives you access to the daily spiritual kick off. So it's two births of one song, but this gets you full access to everything that we're doing. And then consider joining a leadership mastermind, guys. This is how we kind of walk alongside with fellow brothers in Christ. Okay. So look, our next episode, we're going to have a lot of fun with it. We're going to have uh a wonderful guest talking about purpose. I think you guys are going to really enjoy that. If there's any way that I can serve you, please reach out and let us know. Again, the linewithin.us is our website. Or if you want to open up the Bible app, please do a way to just open the Bible app, search for the line within us. Follow our page here on the Bible app. We've been blessed with uh tens and tens of thousands of followers on the Bible app. God is just blessing that in a mighty way. So we put regular plans out consistently on the Bible app. So we'd love to serve you there, okay? Just check it out. Again, alignwithin.us is our website. Thanks for listening, guys. Give us a rating and review. That helps big time. The bigger outside of that, if you don't want to do a rating and review, just share the podcast out. Like just hit the share button, send this to your buddies, maybe send this to your pastor or to your men's discipleship group leader or whoever it may be. Uh, we love to connect with them. Starting to do more speaking as well. So if you if if I could serve your audio, maybe it's your small group or your men's group or whatever it could be, uh, your church in some way, reach out. Love to talk to you about what that would look like and how we could come alongside and be a partner with you, okay? All right, guys, get after, have a great day. We'll see you next time. And just keep on leashing 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 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 the lionwithin.us slash guides and start unleashing the line within at home by leading your marriage through prayer.