Welcome And Verse Of The Week

Chris Grainger 1:05

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, fellas, spiritual kickoff. Let's kick it off. How about that? So anyway, I don't know. Just kind of happier today. It's been a good day in the sunshine. I'm watching some geese right here. They're just like swimming on the pond. It's like, I don't know, 10 of them in a row. It's a gorgeous day. The sun is shining. Me and Miss Beck are in a good spot. Let's get into it. How about this? Matthew 19, 6 is our verse of the week. So they're no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together. No person is a separate guys. We're going to take some time. We're going to unpack this verse at length. We're going to be talking a lot about marriage this week, okay? And you're going to be encouraged by it. And I don't care where your marriage is. I don't care. What I'm trying to tell you is wherever your marriage is, we're here to serve you. We're here to walk with you. Hopefully you're going to enjoy this verse, okay? And we're going to get into it again. We do this thing. This is a spiritual kickoff podcast, but we do a spiritual kickoff Monday through Friday at The Lion Within Us, guys. It's completely free. If you haven't jumped on it now, like ball up your fist, look at it, like get it real close to your face, and then just go like this and punch yourself in the face. If you haven't joined a daily spiritual kickoff, what are you doing, bro? Like, seriously. It's free. You have nothing to lose, nothing but upside. And if you're in the continental U.S., we give you a free gift. And we have a Monday prayer call. Like, like, I don't know what else we got to tell you. We're here for it. We're here to encourage you. There's no women. There are no ads. It's all straight up just to help you be the leader God intends you to be on our platform. The encouragement you're looking for. So don't hit yourself in the face, but do go to the linewithin.us. Sign up for it today. All right. So now, where's Matthew? I don't want to just take anything for granted. Okay. So you got uh in your Old Testament and your New Testament inside your Bible. The New Testament starts with the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So Matthew is the very first one. Okay? That's where we're going to find it. If you go to Malachi, you went a little bit too far, just bump it back to Matthew. Okay. All

Finding Matthew And Reading The Verse

Chris Grainger 3:04

right. And I love how this verse says what God has joined together. And as we as fellas, we got to help each other guard it, okay? And and one of those verses right here, I mean, even I I've used this verse when I did a wedding uh and and recently, it's just we hear it all the time at weddings, right? And and yeah, we hear it, but we forget how weighty it is. Because it just gets red during a ceremony, right? Maybe it's maybe it's a fancy ceremony and they print it on the program, y'all, right? And people are nodding. Like when you hear that and you're in the in in the audience or or whatever it's called at a wedding where you're sitting in the crowd and you hear the pastor say that, you nod, you move, mm-mm. That's what I'm talking about. And and then you eat the case, the cake, and you toss the rice, you take the pictures, you go to the house, right? Uh and Jesus didn't give us these words so they could just be a wedding decoration, bro. No. He gave it to us to us because marriage is sacred. Because marriage is the covenant. And he's talking about becoming a husband and a wife are not just two people making a romantic commitment to each other. No, they're joined together by what? By God. And the context matters right

Jesus Grounds Marriage In Creation

Chris Grainger 4:20

here, guys, because in Matthew 19, the Pharisees are coming to Jesus. They're asking about divorce. They're like, hey, is it okay for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? You know? This and this is uh was not like sincere marriage counseling, by the way. No, they're testing him. This is what these boys did. They're trying to push him into a debate. But instead of starting a cultural with cultural opinions or a loophole, no, Jesus takes them back to Genesis and he reminds them that from the beginning God made them male and female. And that's where he lays this out. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and two shall become one flesh, right? And then Jesus gives this conclusion right here. They're no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no person separate. And that's a big deal, fellas, because Jesus roots marriage not in how we how we feel about it or convenience of it, but in creation itself. Because it's we didn't invent it. God did. It's God's design. Marriage is. Husband and wife are not just roommates with some rings on it. No, we are two individuals. No, he talks about this is a one-flesh covenant. One flesh covenant. And this is a whole lot deeper than a contract. I've taught this in the past, but this is a reminder. Like contracts talk about, well, if you then I, right? But if you do this, then I'm gonna do that. Well, covenant says no matter what I do, right? And because a contract is all about protecting my rights as a guy. But that caught that covenant caused me to give myself up into faithful love, period. This is what Jesus is telling us, guys. I'm telling you, too many of us out here, we're treating these marriages these days as thinking contracts. What's wrong with that, man? This it's not disposable, it's not casual. And it's not something we're supposed to enter into casually either.

Stop Treating Weddings Like The Finish

Chris Grainger 6:20

Or carelessly, rather, right? This is why verses like this matter, and they should hit us. Because one of our when when our buddies get married, we should not think that our job is finished once they go, you know, had their wedding day. And to by we'll just stand beside them in a rennet suit, and we'll smile for the pictures, and we'll celebrate the reception, we'll even give a toast, and then we're gone, bro. Right? Because we're showing up for the ceremony, but we're missing the covenant. Right? Maybe we're present for the vows, but we're absent for that whole first year when those fouls vows started getting tested, man. And that ain't what it's like to be a Christian brother in Christ. Because if marriage is sacred, if we got to believe, all right, let's let's just start right there. If marriage is sacred, then helping our brothers guard their marriages is sacred work. And when our brother walks down the aisle, he's stepping into something big that also is gonna test him and expose him. Because it's gonna expose the selfishness that that dude's got, the pride, the lust, the fear, the passivity, immaturity, the impatience. It's gonna show things about that dude that dating never does. Because, bro, when we date, we just love to dress it up, hide it up. Yep, we can do that very well. When you're married, it just comes out. It's just gonna come out. It's gonna call this boy to love when he's tired. It's gonna make him listen when he's trying to fix stuff. And not be defensive but be the chief repentant officer in his home, bro. And just think about it like this: like, we would never take a brand new private in the Army, give him a weapon, and send him alone on a mission with the Army Rangers, would you? Why would you do that? Because that wouldn't be courageous. That would be stupid, negligent. Why? Because this dude's gonna get overwhelmed, exposed, and possibly destroyed pretty stinking quickly. But if that private is trained, think about this one. If he's walked with, if he's corrected, if he's strengthened, if he's surrounded by men who understand the mission at hand, then he can grow. He can mature. He become the warrior that's inside of him. Marriage is the same way because marriage is war, bro. I'm telling you. But a newlywed man, tell you what, he may have the desire to be a godly husband, but desire is not the same thing as maturity. It's just not. And he may love his wife deeply, but love must be trained and guide and directed. Because you can't be a spiritual leader if you don't know how. You gotta have this. And this is why it's so critical for our newlywed brothers out here to have brothers in Christ walk with us. Older brothers in Christ to walk with us, right? Faithful brothers in Christ, Christ to walk with us, right? They're gonna, we need guys who's gonna be willing to say that you're not alone. Marriage is awesome, but it's also the hardest thing you're probably ever gonna do in your in your life. And you're gonna need a whole lot of grace, a whole lot of forgiveness. You're gonna be doing that need to be doing a whole lot of repenting, and you're gonna need some wisdom. And guess what? When things get difficult, don't think and try to fix it on your own and start hiding. Call me. We need those types of guys, man. Because marriage has a target on its back. And there's nowhere we can be safe. And and we have to recognize this because so many guys feel embarrassed when they recognize that and they they start to experience marriage being harder than they expected. They don't know who to talk to. When that first year, like the serious fight happens, who are you gonna go talk to? Better have that answer. When sex isn't exactly what you thought it was gonna be, where are you gonna go? Or when you have money issues or in-law issues or communication starts breaking down, what are you gonna do? Here's what most guys do. We just smile, say we're good, and we just put it behind, you know, closed doors. We just keep pushing forward. But man, we gotta be better in that. And we gotta be better at creating spaces to have conversations like this. And the church should be the safest place in the world for a struggling couple to say we need help. But it ain't. It's not. Let's just be real. So we have to take it as men on our own. How you doing as a husband? Hey, are you praying with your wife? Or or I think you're being a little bit selfish right here on this one. Or, hey, been looking at any poor lately? I'm telling you, you start having questions like or or conversations like this, rather, that changes things. And that type of brotherhood does not just happen just by accident. You don't just wake up and that's what happens. It takes a lot of intentionality. It means we've got to stop treating wedding line weddings like finish lines and start thinking that this is this is where we start commissioning. This is a commissioning service. Because it's not the end, right there, it's not the end of a man's need for discipleship. It's the start. It's just like when when a new believers come and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. They're babies. They're babies. And you gotta walk with them. And and we as men who have been married have a big responsibility here. Because if God has carried you through years of marriage, then guess what? You got a whole lot of wisdom to share. Not because your marriage is perfect, but because you have the scars, you have the lessons, you have the failures, you've been through it, Bo. You've been through it. And younger guys need to hear that. They don't need like to be pretending that it was easy and effortless. They need to hear you be honest about where it was stinking hard. Like it just, we didn't think we were gonna make it. I didn't think we were gonna make it another week, another day. But we did, and here's how. They need to hear that, man. Because that type of transparency builds trust. It lets these dudes put breathe and lets them know that they're not broken because their marriage is hard and that growth is possible. And it reminds them that the goal is not a perfect marriage between two flawless people, but a humble marriage between two sinners who keep returning to a perfect savior. And this Matthew verse right here should shape how we view our roles of witnesses at weddings, right? Because when they're making that vow before God, we're not just sitting by and spectating. We're witnessing a covenant. A covenant. And that's why we gotta like affirm the union, come together, be part of it, and stop being passive observers.

Practical Ways Men Guard Marriages

Chris Grainger 13:26

So I'm telling you what, Bo, what you can do, what can you do right now? You start praying for your brother's marriage, pray for his purity and humility and patience. That's what they want to pray for for our for our fellow guys, ain't it? Pray for his wife for communication. That their home be centered on Christ. And then look, pursue this guy. Don't wait for him to call you into Christ. Just like set up the meetings, invite him for breakfast, invite him for coffee, go for a run, go for a hike, ask real questions, quit asking the surface-level junk about your job and weather and stuff that doesn't matter. Like, have real conversations. And then be transparent about the things you're that you're battling in your own life. And at the same time, be honorable. Okay? Because you don't want, here's the thing, be careful with this one, boys. Don't turn your own lessons with don't start like sharing the lessons in your marriage and turn your wife into an illustration to be picked apart either. Okay. We're not talking about venting. We're not talking about venting and trying to berate our spouses. That ain't it. We're talking about sharing what we've learned together and encouraging and speaking truth. Okay, and it's such a big deal. And I think one thing we need to think about as we kind of get to the end here, we need to challenge our guys. We need to challenge each other. So what what does that look like? I think let's say you're having a conversation, you're having lunch with a buddy of yours, and he's talking about his marriage and things just ain't going that easy and things haven't been going well at all. And maybe he starts uh speaking about his wife with contempt with making comments that you just know aren't right. What do you do? Well, first of all, you don't affirm it. You don't laugh it off. You you gotta confront him, right? You gotta confront him. You gotta go after him. You gotta recognize let help him see that he's a big part of this equation too. It's not all on her, right? It's not all on her. And and and these words, right, it it may hurt him, but please, please hear this. Faithful wounds from a brother in Christ are far better than silent approval while a marriage burns down through the ground. It just it's just true. And and at the end of it, guys, we gotta recognize that Jesus has to be the center of the marriage. He has to be. And he has and we have to to show that and encourage our brothers out there. Because again, this is not just a wedding verse, it's a battle cry for a covenant faithfulness. No longer two but one. It means marriage is sacred. And we have to stop uh just abdicating our responsibilities and showing up for the wedding and disappearing from the marriage. So I mean, eat the cake, bro, have the party, take the pictures, all that fun stuff, but don't just go home and forget. Because he stepped into a marriage, to a covenant that's gonna shape him and require more of him than he can never even think of. So, as dudes, we gotta walk with them, bro. We gotta train with them, we've got to ask questions, give a place to be honest, and fight. Because what God is joined together, men of God must help guard. That's a sacred covenant. And I'm tired of the attacks and they need us long after they walk down the aisle. Please hear that. And maybe ask the question, how are you helping your brother guard his marriage today? Now I'm not here going to answer that. Some guys it's pretty it's a pretty challenging question to answer. I'm telling you, fellas, this whole week we're talking about marriage in the covenant. And it started, fellas.

Christ At The Center Starts With You

Chris Grainger 17:28

We need to recognize as well, to be able to help our brothers in Christ grow and keep Christ at the center of their marriage, we have to have Christ at the center of ours. And before we can have Christ at the center of your marriage, you have to have the Christ at the center of your heart. It's a you thing, baby. It's a you thing. What is your relationship with Christ look like? And if you don't have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your marriage, I'm gonna tell you right now, it's very, it's it's it's touch and go on whether you're gonna be successful or not because you're putting all your faith and your hope in the things of this world. Quite frankly, that's just that's just iffy, man. That's iffy. I don't know if that if that dog's gonna hunt or not. Some of them do, some of them don't. But you gotta be careful. So that means, okay, recognize that you are a sinner in need of a savior. You maybe listen to the lion, you're like, well, Chris, this is basic one-on-one stuff. Of course I know that. Well, not everybody does their buttercup. There's plenty of people who listen to the lion who are believers. I mean, the lion's cool. We're exposing some things from God's word, but not everybody's a believer. So just start off at the very beginning. Recognize that you're made in the image of God. When you look in the mirror, you may see this jacked-up flawed dude who looks at porn and cusses too much and you know ain't that good with money. Whatever it is, whatever you see, it's wrong. It's wrong. No, you're an image bearer of Christ. That's what God sees. But you're also a dirty rotten sinner, just like me. And a sinner is the only thing that is, guys, don't get complicated, trip up over here. Anything that separates us from God, that's a sinner. And that's you. And you are separated from Him. And then we try to overcome this separation from God on our own, don't we? We try to be a good person and donate money and and donate our time and just be good. I'm gonna tell you what, bud, the the path of good, you know, paved with good intentions, you know where that thing hit leads you straight to hell. Because you're not gonna be able to outwork and your your fallen nature that you're fighting. No. What you need is for someone to do for you what you can't do for yourself. So you don't need a coach, you need a savior. And guys, this right here, just that recognition alone is so hard for dudes. Because we don't want to ever get to the point where we feel like we ain't got this. But bro, until you get there, you're gonna have a tough road ahead. But when you get there and you recognize that you don't have this, that you can't overcome the sin in your life, that you're broken, period. There's nothing you can do to overcome the sin, that you need someone to do for you what you can't do for yourself, you're at that moment ready. You're on the cusp, you're on the verge of the greatest news I could ever share with you. And that is that Jesus came on a rescue mission for you to save you from the sin in your life and to give you a path toward eternal life, salvation in him. And I'm telling you, bro, this is real. This is not some fairy tale magic dust stuff. This is real. Jesus came on that mission for you, born of the virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies, did all the teaching, did all the miracles and the signs, and then willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin with his perfect spotless blood. And that's where he died. Because the penalty of sin is death. And he died on the cross. And bro, if he just died and it stops there, what are we still talking about him for? I mean, he's just a nice guy who did some really cool stuff, but it doesn't stop there. The Bible clearly tells us they laid him in a tomb three days. It was an Airbnb for Jesus. He ain't still there. The tomb is empty, bro. There's nothing in that tomb right now. So he overcame death. And I don't know about you. I'm gonna follow the guy that they pierced him, they flogged him, they crucified him, and he died, and they still couldn't keep him down. He rose. He rose. And he ascended to heaven and he sits right next to the Father right now. He's the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the follow except through him. Period. Touchdown. That's what I'm gonna follow. And that's what I want you to follow. Because when you when you do that, you admit you're a sinner and you believe that Jesus is who he says he is, and you confess him as Lord and Savior of life, it changes everything about everything. This old dirty writing heart that's in here, it's gone. It's gone. You got a new one now, right? The scales fall off your eyes. And you can finally, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, see and hear the word of God and what he's trying to show you and guide you and direct you. And that's my prayer for you. If you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, like, let's do it right now. Confess him right now. Maybe you're in a gym or in the truck, or I don't know where you're at. Perfect place to do it, baby. So let's just pray and invite Jesus into

Prayer And Next Steps For New Believers

Chris Grainger 22:55

your life. So, Lord, I don't know who's listening right now. I just shared the gospel pretty simply. That's the only way I know how to do it, God. Just simplifying a Your word. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to encourage these men listening, whoever it is right now who recognizes their way ain't working, and that you're impressing on their heart the need to repent, believe in you. I know you hear them. I pray that they just feel your presence right now. And as they take this first step, the most important step in their discipleship journey, I'm just praying a hedge protection around them. I'm so thankful for them. I love them. I want you to I want to see them pursue pursue you and all you've called them to. We love you, God, so much. We praise you, God. We pray it all according to your will. The most precious name we know is Jesus Christ. Amen. So look, you just accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I want to hear from you straight up. Send me a note. Support at the landwithin.us or Chris at the landwithin.us. They both come to me. We'll we'll check them. Love to hear from you. Love to get sending some encouragement as well to get you started on your discipleship journey. Just let you know you're not alone. Okay. So hit me up. Love to hear from you. Our next episode, guys, we're going to be talking about marriage and newlyweds. And hopefully you guys are encouraged by it and are able to for you guys who are thinking about your marriages and how to strengthen them, that you'll be in a good place, a really good place to go out and to to uh to to grow and be the men, the disciples that the leaders of your home that God has called us to. And hopefully this little verse we looked at today is going to be an encouragement to you while you do

Share The Show And Join The Mission

Chris Grainger 24:40

that as well. Okay. So share this out with others. This little podcast here may be the encouragement that another brother in Christ who's married right now needs to hear. I maybe I don't know. I mean, God uses me in different ways. And maybe this little podcast is something that could be an encouragement out there. So share it out there with others. Follow us on our social medias, Facebook, Instagram, all the stuff out there, fellas. That's that's big. Connect with us at the lionwithin.us. That's our website. So the daily SKO, the Lion's end, the leadership mastermind. Hey, open up the Bible app. Go follow some of our Bible plans on the Bible app. We got tons and tons and tons of ways we try to serve you guys on these different platforms. And be a donor, be a supporter of the Lion Within's Ministries. If you like the podcast, if you like the Bible lab plans, if you like all the things that we're putting out and the things that we're saying, if you're picking up what we're putting down, bro, help us out. Help us out. Be a monthly donor. We'd love to have your support. All right. We'll see you next time, guys. Get after it. Have a great day. Thanks for hanging out. And other than that, just keep unleashing and lion with that.

How To Pray With Your Wife

Chris Grainger 25:44

If there's one habit that can change your 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 going to 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 write the ship when life starts to pull you off a course. So if you're ready, get access today at thelionwithin.us slash guides. That's thelionwithin.us slash guides. And start unleashing the line within at home by leading your marriage through prayer.