Latest / CLA+ / The Lion Within Us - Leadership for Christian Men - 749. 1 John 4:1 - Spiritual Kick Off

Transcript

The Lion Within Us - Leadership for Christian Men - 749. 1 John 4:1 - Spiritual Kick Off · CLA+

• 1:05
  Chris Grainger: Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be.
• 1:10
  Chris Grainger: I'm your host, Chris Granger.
• 1:11
  Chris Grainger: Let's jump in.
• 1:12
  Chris Grainger: All right, guys.
• 1:13
  Chris Grainger: Spiritual kick off.
• 1:14
  Chris Grainger: Let's kick it off.
• 1:15
  Chris Grainger: All right.
• 1:16
  Chris Grainger: So scripture of the week this week is in the book of 1 John.
• 1:19
  Chris Grainger: So not John, but 1 John chapter 4.
• 1:22
  Chris Grainger: And looking at the first verse, it says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.
• 1:32
  Chris Grainger: Because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
• 1:35
  Chris Grainger: Okay, guys.
• 1:36
  Chris Grainger: So that's the verse.
• 1:37
  Chris Grainger: We're going to see how we can simplify and apply it to our life as Christian men right here today in 2026.
• 1:42
  Chris Grainger: And look, we do the SKO Monday through Friday at the Lion Within Us.
• 1:46
  Chris Grainger: So go to the LionWithin.us right now.
• 1:49
  Chris Grainger: Sign up for the daily SKO.
• 1:51
  Chris Grainger: Guys, it's free.
• 1:51
  Chris Grainger: I mean, what are you waiting on?
• 1:53
  Chris Grainger: We give it to you and we do this video every Monday through Friday.
• 1:57
  Chris Grainger: We have video where we just share God's word and how we apply it to our life.
• 2:02
  Chris Grainger: We also have a prayer request space where we have a prayer meeting every Monday.
• 2:06
  Chris Grainger: We'd love to invite you to come to that.
• 2:08
  Chris Grainger: Let us know how we can be super intentional about praying for you on your behalf and be a prayer warrior for you.
• 2:15
  Chris Grainger: And on top of all that, all that, if you're in the continental U.S., we have a free gift.
• 2:21
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• 2:22
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• 2:30
  Chris Grainger: You'll see the link right there just for the daily SKO.
• 2:33
  Chris Grainger: Just jump all over it, okay?
• 2:35
  Chris Grainger: All right.
• 2:35
  Chris Grainger: Let's get into it.
• 2:36
  Chris Grainger: So where is 1 John?
• 2:38
  Chris Grainger: We don't want to just assume anything, okay?
• 2:40
  Chris Grainger: So when we study God's word, we need to know where where to look.
• 2:44
  Chris Grainger: And for some new believers, this is a little bit challenging, okay?
• 2:47
  Chris Grainger: First John is in the New Testament.
• 2:50
  Chris Grainger: You're going to find it after 2 Peter.
• 2:52
  Chris Grainger: So if you go first and 2 Peter, then you get to 1 John.
• 2:55
  Chris Grainger: But 1 John, 2nd John, and 3rd John, they all run together.
• 2:58
  Chris Grainger: So it can be kind of challenging.
• 2:59
  Chris Grainger: It's going to be towards the back of your Bible, though.
• 3:02
  Chris Grainger: That's the main thing.
• 3:03
  Chris Grainger: Just kind of go towards the back.
• 3:04
  Chris Grainger: It's probably easiest to go to the back and then work backwards, okay?
• 3:07
  Chris Grainger: All right.
• 3:08
  Chris Grainger: So we're going to be talking about this week's going to be a very interesting week.
• 3:11
  Chris Grainger: I'm going to be straight up with you guys.
• 3:12
  Chris Grainger: We've never had a topic like this on for our Wednesday guest that uh that we're going to be unpacking, but I'm not going to be a spoiler.
• 3:19
  Chris Grainger: But this right here, this verse, kind of it really dovetails nicely into that conversation.
• 3:24
  Chris Grainger: And we're going to talk about testing spirits.
• 3:28
  Chris Grainger: Okay, because we need to understand, as men, we need to have discernment.
• 3:33
  Chris Grainger: And we also need to recognize we live in a very distracted time, don't we?
• 3:36
  Chris Grainger: I mean, it's just, it's, it's, it's everywhere.
• 3:38
  Chris Grainger: Distraction is constant, deception is profitable.
• 3:41
  Chris Grainger: It's profitable, be deceptive, y'all.
• 3:43
  Chris Grainger: I mean, it just is.
• 3:44
  Chris Grainger: And everywhere we turn, somebody, somebody, everywhere, they're trying to capture our attention.
• 3:50
  Chris Grainger: And then what they're trying to do is shape what you believe.
• 3:53
  Chris Grainger: They're trying to sell you what they what they believe to be true, or pull us down some other type of rabbit trail.
• 4:00
  Chris Grainger: And headlines, let's just face it, headlines are loud, bro.
• 4:03
  Chris Grainger: They are.
• 4:04
  Chris Grainger: And theories out there, they're just nonstop.
• 4:07
  Chris Grainger: And the internet, if you look how the algorithms work, it's very interesting.
• 4:12
  Chris Grainger: They really reward speculation.
• 4:14
  Chris Grainger: It just does.
• 4:15
  Chris Grainger: People love this stuff: controversy and conspiracy theories and all this stuff.
• 4:20
  Chris Grainger: And many people are, at the end of the day, they're just trying to pull wool over our eyes.
• 4:25
  Chris Grainger: And for a Christian, as a Christian man, this matters.
• 4:29
  Chris Grainger: It matters.
• 4:31
  Chris Grainger: Because we're not just dealing with bad information.
• 4:33
  Chris Grainger: Scripture tells us that we live in a world where spiritual deception is real.
• 4:41
  Chris Grainger: Okay, it is.
• 4:42
  Chris Grainger: The Bible doesn't present a reality that's just physical.
• 4:46
  Chris Grainger: No.
• 4:47
  Chris Grainger: The Bible tells us directly that there is a visible world and what?
• 4:51
  Chris Grainger: An invisible world.
• 4:52
  Chris Grainger: You have earthly powers, yep.
• 4:55
  Chris Grainger: And you have spiritual powers.
• 4:56
  Chris Grainger: You got human lives and you have demonic doctrines.
• 5:00
  Chris Grainger: Because Paul tells us right here in Ephesians 6.12 as well, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against what?
• 5:06
  Chris Grainger: The spiritual forces of evil and the heavenly places.
• 5:10
  Chris Grainger: So, fellas, that doesn't mean every strange event that happens or every mystery or anything that's unexplained phenomenon is automatically demonic.
• 5:20
  Chris Grainger: We have to be cautious about this.
• 5:22
  Chris Grainger: Okay, because we don't want to overstate what we know.
• 5:26
  Chris Grainger: Because some things are just natural.
• 5:27
  Chris Grainger: They just do.
• 5:28
  Chris Grainger: I mean, some things are happening, some things are man-made, uh, some things are just quite frankly misunderstood or exaggerated, or maybe they're just unknown to us.
• 5:37
  Chris Grainger: But scripture, if we want to use the lens of scripture to help us, scripture is clear right here that deception, deception, that's real.
• 5:46
  Chris Grainger: Okay?
• 5:47
  Chris Grainger: And not all deception is merely intellectual.
• 5:51
  Chris Grainger: Because there is a spiritual dimension to this falsehood that we have to understand.
• 5:55
  Chris Grainger: And that's why John's words right here in the gospel and 1 John are so important.
• 5:59
  Chris Grainger: It says, do not believe every spirit.
• 6:03
  Chris Grainger: So that command should do what for us?
• 6:05
  Chris Grainger: It should probably cause us to pump the brakes.
• 6:07
  Chris Grainger: Because John assumes that not every claim deserves us to trust it.
• 6:13
  Chris Grainger: Okay, that's a pretty good assumption.
• 6:15
  Chris Grainger: Right?
• 6:15
  Chris Grainger: Not every teacher deserves your ear, boys.
• 6:17
  Chris Grainger: I'm telling you, not every teacher does.
• 6:20
  Chris Grainger: And because and not every supernatural claim is from God.
• 6:25
  Chris Grainger: It's just not.
• 6:26
  Chris Grainger: So the Christian, for us as men, we're not commanded to be naive.
• 6:32
  Chris Grainger: We're commanded to be discerning.
• 6:34
  Chris Grainger: And there's a problem with chasing all these rabbit trails.
• 6:38
  Chris Grainger: Because you have these topics out there now that are just very pervasive.
• 6:41
  Chris Grainger: You have topics like UFOs and aliens and knowledge and hidden civilizations and government cover cover-ups and this unexplained phenomena that's out there.
• 6:52
  Chris Grainger: And it can capture our imaginations.
• 6:54
  Chris Grainger: And we and it can also trip us up.
• 6:56
  Chris Grainger: And it trips us up because these unexplained things quite often create a vacuum.
• 7:02
  Chris Grainger: Okay.
• 7:02
  Chris Grainger: And this is where people are rushing it into it because they want to try to find it with meaning.
• 7:20
  Chris Grainger: Because it starts reshaping their theology around what God has not clearly shown us, but it's it starts really changing the way they think about it.
• 7:29
  Chris Grainger: And it's not the danger is not in asking questions, okay?
• 7:32
  Chris Grainger: Christians should ask questions.
• 7:34
  Chris Grainger: The danger is letting the speculation become more authoritative in our minds than God's word.
• 7:41
  Chris Grainger: That's it.
• 7:42
  Chris Grainger: When we start giving more, here's straight up.
• 7:45
  Chris Grainger: When you start giving more emotional weight to a podcast or a documentary or some short that you saw, like then when you start giving that more weight, then you give the word of God.
• 8:01
  Chris Grainger: You've totally stepped out of the realm of discernment at that point because you're being discipled by a mystery.
• 8:08
  Chris Grainger: And that's a terrible master to serve.
• 8:11
  Chris Grainger: So John tells us test the spirits.
• 8:15
  Chris Grainger: He doesn't say ignore them.
• 8:17
  Chris Grainger: No, he doesn't say panic over them or believe every every supernatural claim.
• 8:22
  Chris Grainger: He says test them.
• 8:23
  Chris Grainger: So we need to think about this.
• 8:25
  Chris Grainger: How do we do that?
• 8:26
  Chris Grainger: Look, first of all, let's test what Christ said.
• 8:30
  Chris Grainger: Because John gives us the first test immediately.
• 8:33
  Chris Grainger: He's like, test you'll by this you'll know the Spirit of God, that every spirit confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh from God.
• 8:43
  Chris Grainger: So the first question is not, is this interesting?
• 8:47
  Chris Grainger: Or is it convincing?
• 8:49
  Chris Grainger: The first question is, what does this do with Jesus?
• 8:51
  Chris Grainger: Okay, what does it do with Jesus?
• 8:54
  Chris Grainger: Does this claim lead me to worship Christ as Lord?
• 8:57
  Chris Grainger: Does it affirm the truth of the incarnation?
• 9:00
  Chris Grainger: Does it submit Jesus to Jesus rather as the Son of God?
• 9:04
  Chris Grainger: So any spirit or or teaching or system or theory that diminishes Christ, that's not from God.
• 9:12
  Chris Grainger: And this matters because deception often doesn't really begin by openly denying Jesus, but it will, it does have a way of distracting us from him, doesn't it?
• 9:23
  Chris Grainger: Right?
• 9:24
  Chris Grainger: It shifts the center, it makes something else feel larger.
• 9:28
  Chris Grainger: And that should cause us to pump the brakes.
• 9:31
  Chris Grainger: And then it tells us to test it against the scripture.
• 9:33
  Chris Grainger: That's the second way to do it.
• 9:35
  Chris Grainger: Because the Bible is our final authority, it's not speculative.
• 9:41
  Chris Grainger: Isaiah tells us to the teaching and to the testimony, if they will not speak according to this word, it's because they have no dawn.
• 9:51
  Chris Grainger: It says that directly.
• 9:54
  Chris Grainger: And it's interesting in Acts that the Bereans, they were called noble because they examined Paul's teaching by the scriptures daily to see whether it was true.
• 10:04
  Chris Grainger: So even if uh the the preaching was examined by scripture, how much more should like these theories that we read on the internet uh be tested?
• 10:16
  Chris Grainger: I mean, really?
• 10:16
  Chris Grainger: We're talking about uh comparing preaching versus what's was found on a viral YouTube clip?
• 10:22
  Chris Grainger: Yeah, I think we need to do a little bit more testing.
• 10:24
  Chris Grainger: We've got to start asking better questions.
• 10:26
  Chris Grainger: They've got to ask, does this contradict what God has revealed?
• 10:30
  Chris Grainger: Does this lead you towards obedience or takes you down the path of being obsessed with something from this world or not from this world, right?
• 10:37
  Chris Grainger: Does this produce a fear inside of you?
• 10:39
  Chris Grainger: Does this make the scripture clearer or less necessary?
• 10:43
  Chris Grainger: So see how all this works.
• 10:45
  Chris Grainger: So God has not told us everything there is to know.
• 10:47
  Chris Grainger: We need to recognize that to be true.
• 10:49
  Chris Grainger: But he has told us everything we need to know for life, for godliness, for salvation, for discernment.
• 10:56
  Chris Grainger: And then it also talks about testing the fruit.
• 10:59
  Chris Grainger: Remember what Jesus says in Matthew, you will recognize him by the fruits, right?
• 11:02
  Chris Grainger: So a belief is not harmless simply because it's interesting.
• 11:07
  Chris Grainger: Okay, ideas bear fruit.
• 11:09
  Chris Grainger: So does this belief produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, general, self-control, all the fruit of spirits, right?
• 11:15
  Chris Grainger: That's in the right out of Galatians.
• 11:17
  Chris Grainger: Or does this belief produce fear or pride or arrogance or an obsession or suspicion?
• 11:22
  Chris Grainger: You see how you see how that works?
• 11:24
  Chris Grainger: Because some rabbit trails do not make men stronger than the Lord, they make them anxious or combative or suspicious or distracted.
• 11:32
  Chris Grainger: And that's bad fruit.
• 11:33
  Chris Grainger: And as a Christian man, we need to be honest enough to ask, hey, is this making me more like Christ?
• 11:42
  Chris Grainger: Or is it just feeding my need to feel like I know something that someone else doesn't know?
• 11:47
  Chris Grainger: I'm telling you what, but you start asking that question, it really hits you.
• 11:50
  Chris Grainger: And then you have to test whether it leads to fear or sober-mindedness.
• 11:54
  Chris Grainger: Because scripture repeatedly calls to believers to be what?
• 11:58
  Chris Grainger: Sober-minded.
• 11:59
  Chris Grainger: And to tell 1 Peter tells us, be sober-minded, be watchful.
• 12:03
  Chris Grainger: So biblical discernment is not panic or paranoia, it's clear-eyed faithfulness.
• 12:10
  Chris Grainger: And there's a difference, fellas, between being awake and being consumed.
• 12:16
  Chris Grainger: Right?
• 12:17
  Chris Grainger: And there's a difference, a big difference between being watchful and being fearful.
• 12:22
  Chris Grainger: And God does not give us a spirit of fear.
• 12:24
  Chris Grainger: He tells us that right here in 2 Timothy.
• 12:26
  Chris Grainger: So if a claim is consistently driving us into fear or instability or obsession, you should slow down and test it carefully.
• 12:35
  Chris Grainger: And we have to see as this testing, and this and through the process of this testing, rather, is it distracting us from our calling?
• 12:43
  Chris Grainger: Because one of the enemy's greatest strategies, and quite frankly, one of the oldest strategies, is distraction.
• 12:50
  Chris Grainger: Because if he can't get you to outright deny Christ, what's he gonna do?
• 12:55
  Chris Grainger: He just wants to keep you busy, Bo.
• 12:57
  Chris Grainger: That's it.
• 12:58
  Chris Grainger: I just want to keep you busy because if a busy Christian is not an effective Christian, right?
• 13:02
  Chris Grainger: Well, he's definitely busy on the things of this world, to be to be clear there.
• 13:07
  Chris Grainger: Because a man can we can spend hours studying theories.
• 13:11
  Chris Grainger: And at the same time, while we're studying those theories, what are we neglecting?
• 13:15
  Chris Grainger: Sometimes we just neglect prayer.
• 13:17
  Chris Grainger: Or you debate, you get into these debates on these mysteries, and while you're doing these debates, who's leading your family?
• 13:25
  Chris Grainger: Or I just see you see how this works.
• 13:29
  Chris Grainger: And if we go down these rabbit trails too far, we miss what God has really called us to.
• 13:35
  Chris Grainger: And that's not discernment and that distraction.
• 13:38
  Chris Grainger: And that's distraction is wearing a spiritual mask.
• 13:42
  Chris Grainger: And God has called us to something more.
• 13:44
  Chris Grainger: So you know, you're gonna see more and more as as we unpack in and in the Christian worldview as well, on the topic of like UFOs and aliens.
• 13:53
  Chris Grainger: And we're gonna talk straight up, we're gonna talk about that some on our podcast on Wednesday, but look, it's not a time to panic.
• 14:00
  Chris Grainger: Particularly in the things that are unexplained phenomena.
• 14:04
  Chris Grainger: Because here's the reality: if something is natural, God made the natural world.
• 14:09
  Chris Grainger: If it's technical, if it's a technological type of advancement, right?
• 14:14
  Chris Grainger: Man remains accountable to God.
• 14:15
  Chris Grainger: So we know that.
• 14:16
  Chris Grainger: If it's psychological, guess who understands the mind?
• 14:20
  Chris Grainger: God.
• 14:21
  Chris Grainger: If it's deceptive, well, God is the God of truth, so we know that's not from Him.
• 14:25
  Chris Grainger: If it's demonic, we have to remember that Christ is Lord.
• 14:29
  Chris Grainger: Still, He's on the throne.
• 14:31
  Chris Grainger: So a Christian worldview, our Christian worldview is not threatened by any mystery.
• 14:38
  Chris Grainger: But we have to be careful.
• 14:41
  Chris Grainger: We have to be careful.
• 14:42
  Chris Grainger: Because Scripture does not give us permission to build doctrine on speculation.
• 14:48
  Chris Grainger: We should not quick be quick to baptize every unexpected and to to claim rather every unexpected, unexplained event as demonic.
• 15:00
  Chris Grainger: Nor should we accept them at face value.
• 15:04
  Chris Grainger: So when we start thinking about it, the right posture is not being gullible or fearful.
• 15:11
  Chris Grainger: The right posture is being biblically discerning.
• 15:15
  Chris Grainger: And at the end of the day, whatever we encounter in this world belongs to one of two categories.
• 15:22
  Chris Grainger: It's either part or part of the created earthly order or the spiritual realm.
• 15:31
  Chris Grainger: Either way, it's not ultimate.
• 15:33
  Chris Grainger: God is ultimate.
• 15:35
  Chris Grainger: That means we don't need to be shaken by the unexplained.
• 15:39
  Chris Grainger: We test everything under the authority of the one who explains reality himself.
• 15:44
  Chris Grainger: So at the end of the day, slow down.
• 15:47
  Chris Grainger: Just slow down and be skeptical, but in the right way.
• 15:52
  Chris Grainger: Because there is a type of skepticism that is sinful, because it refuses to believe God.
• 15:57
  Chris Grainger: But there's also a type of skepticism that's wise because it refuses to believe things too quickly.
• 16:03
  Chris Grainger: And John is calling us to be that second kind.
• 16:06
  Chris Grainger: Okay?
• 16:06
  Chris Grainger: He's really calling us.
• 16:08
  Chris Grainger: Do not believe every spirit.
• 16:10
  Chris Grainger: That means ask your questions.
• 16:12
  Chris Grainger: Open your Bible.
• 16:13
  Chris Grainger: Pray for wisdom.
• 16:14
  Chris Grainger: Look for evidence of the fruit.
• 16:16
  Chris Grainger: Consider the source that you're getting information from.
• 16:19
  Chris Grainger: Examine it to see what it says about Christ.
• 16:21
  Chris Grainger: And ask whether this is helping you obey God or me, or simply just maybe feeding your curiosity.
• 16:28
  Chris Grainger: And we, as guys, we've got to have this type of discipline.
• 16:32
  Chris Grainger: We just do.
• 16:33
  Chris Grainger: Because we're called to be watchful, not impulsive.
• 16:37
  Chris Grainger: We have to be steady and courageous and curious, yes, but submitted to truth.
• 16:42
  Chris Grainger: And this world is going to keep throwing these mysteries at us, fellas.
• 16:46
  Chris Grainger: It's just going to happen.
• 16:48
  Chris Grainger: The more and more, the longer it goes, we're going to get more and more of this stuff.
• 16:52
  Chris Grainger: And the internet's never going to be empty of theories.
• 16:56
  Chris Grainger: There's going to be plenty of theories out there.
• 16:57
  Chris Grainger: There's going to be plenty of false teachers out there.
• 16:59
  Chris Grainger: There's going to be lots of spiritual deception out there.
• 17:02
  Chris Grainger: But God has not left us helpless.
• 17:05
  Chris Grainger: We got his word.
• 17:07
  Chris Grainger: He's given us his spirit.
• 17:09
  Chris Grainger: We have the church.
• 17:11
  Chris Grainger: And he's given us the command to test.
• 17:14
  Chris Grainger: So do that testing.
• 17:16
  Chris Grainger: Not because you're afraid of the world, but because you belong to Christ.
• 17:20
  Chris Grainger: And Christ is the truth.
• 17:22
  Chris Grainger: So, fellas, I mean that's it.
• 17:23
  Chris Grainger: And look, at the end of the day, though, the testing and submitting to the Spirit only works when you yourself have submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and He is Lord over your life.
• 17:35
  Chris Grainger: So you're listening to the Lion, and we love unpacking God's word, and we love bringing these incredible guests on and trying to just give you an insight from a biblical worldview of what it means to be a Christian man today, to be the leader he intends you to be.
• 17:49
  Chris Grainger: And I'm so thankful you're here.
• 17:50
  Chris Grainger: But if you yourself don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the testing of the Spirits is outside of your capability.
• 17:59
  Chris Grainger: It's outside of your capability because you do not have the Holy Spirit working within you to give you this wisdom and discernment that I've been talking about on this whole entire episode.
• 18:09
  Chris Grainger: So you have to have wisdom and discernment, but that only comes from God, and you only get it from God when you confess Him as Lord and Savior.
• 18:17
  Chris Grainger: That starts with just having a basic understanding of who you are as a sinner, someone who is who's separated from God.
• 18:24
  Chris Grainger: That's all the sin is, anything that separates us from God.
• 18:26
  Chris Grainger: That is a sinner.
• 18:27
  Chris Grainger: Every single one of us are.
• 18:52
  Chris Grainger: Whatever the word is, right?
• 18:53
  Chris Grainger: And if I can do enough of these things, then I'll probably, when I get to that point, I'm I'm earning a right standing before God.
• 19:02
  Chris Grainger: And I'm like, bro, you completely missed it.
• 19:03
  Chris Grainger: You can't earn a right, you can't buy that.
• 19:05
  Chris Grainger: The penalty of sin is death.
• 19:07
  Chris Grainger: So no, you can't you can't overcome the sin of your life by trying to be some version of good.
• 19:14
  Chris Grainger: It just doesn't work that way.
• 19:16
  Chris Grainger: No.
• 19:17
  Chris Grainger: So it's like, okay, well, if I can't be good and earn my salvation, how in the world do I get it?
• 19:25
  Chris Grainger: Well, you get it by submitting to a savior.
• 19:28
  Chris Grainger: You need a savior to come in and do for you what you can't do for yourself.
• 19:31
  Chris Grainger: That's why we make such a big deal about Jesus.
• 19:35
  Chris Grainger: Because this is exactly what he did when he left heaven on the mission for us to come save the entire world.
• 19:42
  Chris Grainger: So this is Jesus.
• 19:43
  Chris Grainger: He was born of a virgin and performed all the miracles and the signs and fulfilled the prophecies and all that stuff that he did in his earthly ministry was for us.
• 19:53
  Chris Grainger: And then he willingly, willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, to die the most gruesome death for the sin of the world.
• 20:03
  Chris Grainger: Because he loves us so much.
• 20:06
  Chris Grainger: And when Jesus was hanging on that cross, he was thinking about you.
• 20:10
  Chris Grainger: He just he was.
• 20:11
  Chris Grainger: He was thinking about every single one of us.
• 20:14
  Chris Grainger: And I don't know about you, but I will not leave on a mission when I know that the outcome is my demise.
• 20:20
  Chris Grainger: But this is what Jesus did.
• 20:23
  Chris Grainger: He came and he paid the penalty on that cross.
• 20:26
  Chris Grainger: And he died.
• 20:27
  Chris Grainger: He didn't faint or go to sleep or anything silly like that.
• 20:30
  Chris Grainger: He died on the cross.
• 20:31
  Chris Grainger: They laid him in a tomb.
• 20:33
  Chris Grainger: But the God we worship, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, did not stay in that tomb.
• 20:39
  Chris Grainger: Three days later, it's like an Airbnb for Jesus, man.
• 20:42
  Chris Grainger: That's all he needed was a weekend.
• 20:44
  Chris Grainger: He overcame death.
• 20:45
  Chris Grainger: He defeated death.
• 20:47
  Chris Grainger: And he walked out of that tomb.
• 20:49
  Chris Grainger: And he lives.
• 20:50
  Chris Grainger: And there's no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved.
• 20:55
  Chris Grainger: It is Jesus and Jesus alone.
• 20:58
  Chris Grainger: And this is where he's at.
• 20:59
  Chris Grainger: He ascended to the right to heaven.
• 21:01
  Chris Grainger: He's at the right-handed Father right now.
• 21:02
  Chris Grainger: No one comes to the Father except through him.
• 21:04
  Chris Grainger: This is it.
• 21:04
  Chris Grainger: He's the way, the truth, and the life.
• 21:06
  Chris Grainger: It's Jesus.
• 21:07
  Chris Grainger: So look, maybe you've been doing life your way for quite a while.
• 21:11
  Chris Grainger: I get it.
• 21:12
  Chris Grainger: We got lots of guys listening to the show.
• 21:14
  Chris Grainger: Guys love to have the I got this mentality.
• 21:16
  Chris Grainger: We just want to bootstrap it and get things done.
• 21:18
  Chris Grainger: I'm with you.
• 21:19
  Chris Grainger: I was that way for a long time.
• 21:21
  Chris Grainger: I will tell you one thing.
• 21:23
  Chris Grainger: You will hit a point, and I don't know when that point is.
• 21:26
  Chris Grainger: Maybe you're at that point right now where you don't.
• 21:29
  Chris Grainger: You can't do it.
• 21:30
  Chris Grainger: You're going to reach your limits.
• 21:32
  Chris Grainger: And at that moment, either you're going to uh uh keep pushing and burn out or keep getting more and more frustrated, or you're going to start recognizing, you know what?
• 21:44
  Chris Grainger: My way hasn't been really the best way.
• 21:47
  Chris Grainger: And I want to invite you in to a relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
• 21:52
  Chris Grainger: Is it going to make things magically instantly improve?
• 21:56
  Chris Grainger: No.
• 21:57
  Chris Grainger: You're still going to, because we live still live in a fallen world, but it is better.
• 22:01
  Chris Grainger: It's 100 times better because you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you.
• 22:06
  Chris Grainger: And at that point, it's guiding, it's directing, it's showing you the steps to take.
• 22:10
  Chris Grainger: So I would invite you, if you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you're listening to the Lion within us right now, take the step today.
• 22:21
  Chris Grainger: Take the step today.
• 22:22
  Chris Grainger: Don't put off for tomorrow what God's calling you to do right now.
• 22:25
  Chris Grainger: Because quite frankly, you're not promised tomorrow.
• 22:27
  Chris Grainger: I'm not trying to scare you, but none of us are.
• 22:29
  Chris Grainger: I'm not promised tomorrow.
• 22:31
  Chris Grainger: But I'm promised right now, and right now, God is asking me to ask you to confess Him as Lord of your life and surrender.
• 22:39
  Chris Grainger: Just give it all to Him, submit to Him, and watch how the peace that passes all understanding just floods your mind, just fills your body because you now be walking with the Lord.
• 22:52
  Chris Grainger: So if that's you, you want to make that decision to follow Christ right now, let's just pray it up.
• 22:58
  Chris Grainger: Let's make it happen.
• 22:59
  Chris Grainger: So, Lord, I don't know who this one listener is right now.
• 23:01
  Chris Grainger: And they're surrounded.
• 23:02
  Chris Grainger: They are surrendering their life to you, Father.
• 23:04
  Chris Grainger: They're calling out to you.
• 23:05
  Chris Grainger: They're recognizing that they are a sinner in need of a savior, and they recognize that you are that savior.
• 23:10
  Chris Grainger: No one else.
• 23:11
  Chris Grainger: No one else can do this for them.
• 23:13
  Chris Grainger: They're doing this for themselves.
• 23:14
  Chris Grainger: They're not being pushed into this.
• 23:16
  Chris Grainger: They're not trying to be coerced into this.
• 23:18
  Chris Grainger: They're making this personal decision to follow you.
• 23:21
  Chris Grainger: And I'm so thankful that they're doing this, Lord.
• 23:23
  Chris Grainger: We welcome them into the kingdom.
• 23:25
  Chris Grainger: I know you welcome them in.
• 23:26
  Chris Grainger: And I know one thing.
• 23:27
  Chris Grainger: I'm going to pray and hedge protection around them because the evil one is very frustrated right now that they are making this decision.
• 23:33
  Chris Grainger: So I'm just praying for their protection.
• 23:35
  Chris Grainger: I'm praying that for wisdom, for guidance, and discernment.
• 23:38
  Chris Grainger: And I'm so thankful for this ultimate decision they're making as confessing you as Lord and Savior of their life.
• 23:44
  Chris Grainger: We love you, God.
• 23:45
  Chris Grainger: We praise you so much in Jesus' name.
• 23:47
  Chris Grainger: Amen.
• 23:48
  Chris Grainger: So look, if you just confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, look, I'd love to hear from you.
• 23:52
  Chris Grainger: We have a bunch of resources at the Lion.
• 23:54
  Chris Grainger: We would just love to send you a couple of scriptures to just help kind of get you down a track of memorization because memorizing God's word is a big deal.
• 24:02
  Chris Grainger: It really is a big deal.
• 24:04
  Chris Grainger: And look, wherever you're located, we have guys all over the country.
• 24:08
  Chris Grainger: We'd love to at least give you some input or some guidance on how to what to look for, rather, in a church.
• 24:15
  Chris Grainger: Okay.
• 24:15
  Chris Grainger: Not all churches are created equal by far.
• 24:17
  Chris Grainger: Trust me, I know this firsthand way too well.
• 24:20
  Chris Grainger: Lots of lots of uh wolves and sheep's clothing out there.
• 24:24
  Chris Grainger: Okay.
• 24:24
  Chris Grainger: So you got to be careful.
• 24:26
  Chris Grainger: We want to help you discern that.
• 24:28
  Chris Grainger: So if you like, if you'd like help from that, look, send us an email, support at the lionwithin.us.
• 24:33
  Chris Grainger: You can email Chris at thelionwithin.us.
• 24:35
  Chris Grainger: Either one of those gets to me.
• 24:37
  Chris Grainger: Happy to look at that and reach back out.
• 24:39
  Chris Grainger: Also just want to give you a virtual high five and just give you a little encouragement because this is a major step in your life.
• 24:44
  Chris Grainger: I'm so happy that you took it.
• 24:46
  Chris Grainger: Okay.
• 24:46
  Chris Grainger: So the question of the week this week is do you tend to test the truth or chase distractions?
• 24:51
  Chris Grainger: Think about that one.
• 24:52
  Chris Grainger: Okay, because we're if we're testing, that's good.
• 24:55
  Chris Grainger: It's good to test.
• 24:56
  Chris Grainger: Be careful about the chasing those distractions.
• 24:59
  Chris Grainger: Okay, because that can that can throw us off.
• 25:01
  Chris Grainger: So anyway, fellas, thanks for listening.
• 25:03
  Chris Grainger: Look, this next episode would be straight up.
• 25:05
  Chris Grainger: It it's it's baller.
• 25:06
  Chris Grainger: You're going to want to listen to it on Wednesday when this thing comes out.
• 25:09
  Chris Grainger: So make sure you don't miss that.
• 25:12
  Chris Grainger: Thelionwithin.us is where you find all our resources at, guys.
• 25:15
  Chris Grainger: So if you go to thelionwithin.us, sign up for the daily spiritual kickoff.
• 25:19
  Chris Grainger: Hey, just hop if you want to.
• 25:21
  Chris Grainger: The easiest thing, just hop on the weekly roar.
• 25:24
  Chris Grainger: We have guys who sign up for that thing every day.
• 25:26
  Chris Grainger: Thousands upon thousands of guys now are on that email list.
• 25:29
  Chris Grainger: And the weekly roar comes out every Monday.
• 25:32
  Chris Grainger: So when the Spiritual Kickoff episode comes out that same day, a weekly roar email comes out.
• 25:38
  Chris Grainger: And look, this is not, we're not trying to push something.
• 25:40
  Chris Grainger: We're not trying to get you to do anything.
• 25:43
  Chris Grainger: We just want to encourage you with that weekly roar.
• 25:45
  Chris Grainger: So that's in your inbox.
• 25:47
  Chris Grainger: It's not a bunch of fluff.
• 25:48
  Chris Grainger: It's just direct talk that my guys, quite frankly, seem to get a lot of value out of.
• 25:52
  Chris Grainger: So I'd love to get you on that.
• 25:54
  Chris Grainger: And also you have our Lion's Den.
• 25:57
  Chris Grainger: So you can go to alignwithin.us.
• 25:59
  Chris Grainger: You can see join the Lion's Den.
• 26:01
  Chris Grainger: So that's a great way to plug in with us.
• 26:03
  Chris Grainger: Or maybe you want to put it, you're considering a leadership mastermind, put it in application.
• 26:08
  Chris Grainger: I'm not going to guarantee you that you're going to be accepted, but we will definitely entertain it.
• 26:12
  Chris Grainger: We'll see if it's a good fit.
• 26:13
  Chris Grainger: If there's an opportunity, we would love to walk with you and show you what that path looks like.
• 26:18
  Chris Grainger: Okay.
• 26:18
  Chris Grainger: So that's the that's the first step for a mastermind is doing the assessment.
• 26:22
  Chris Grainger: Maybe you want to open up the Bible app.
• 26:25
  Chris Grainger: So open up the Bible app.
• 26:27
  Chris Grainger: Inside the Bible app, search for the LionWithin.
• 26:29
  Chris Grainger: Just search not for the Lion Within.us, just search for the Lion Within Us in the Bible app.
• 26:34
  Chris Grainger: You'll see all our plans.
• 26:35
  Chris Grainger: Tons and tons and tons of plans out there, fellas.
• 26:38
  Chris Grainger: Our I'm Just a Guy series.
• 26:41
  Chris Grainger: Guys love that series, so you may enjoy it as well.
• 26:44
  Chris Grainger: So just go check all that stuff out, guys.
• 26:46
  Chris Grainger: It's all again, just open up the Bible app, you'll find it right there.
• 26:49
  Chris Grainger: If you like what we're doing and you want support in the Lion Within Us, you can go to thelion within dot us slash donate.
• 26:55
  Chris Grainger: Okay, so slash donate.
• 26:57
  Chris Grainger: Again, we're a 501c3 fellows, nonprofit.
• 26:59
  Chris Grainger: We would love to have your support and helping us do this ministry that we feel and the feedback we're getting from others is also they feel it's helping so many men in their discipleship journey.
• 27:11
  Chris Grainger: Right.
• 27:12
  Chris Grainger: We're just doing our part.
• 27:13
  Chris Grainger: Do we have all the answers?
• 27:14
  Chris Grainger: No.
• 27:15
  Chris Grainger: But we I know one thing.
• 27:16
  Chris Grainger: I'm seeing changed lives.
• 27:18
  Chris Grainger: I'm seeing how the men that are coming into the lion, who are who are engaging and having conversation and really leaning in to grow, how it's impacting their life.
• 27:28
  Chris Grainger: I don't take any credit for it.
• 27:29
  Chris Grainger: God gets all the credit and glory.
• 27:31
  Chris Grainger: We're just we're trying to build something that focuses 100% on him and helps you be the leader that he intends you to be.
• 27:40
  Chris Grainger: So if that sounds interesting, go check out any of those resources at the Lion Within Us, okay?
• 27:44
  Chris Grainger: All right, guys.
• 27:45
  Chris Grainger: We'll see you next time on the next episode.
• 27:47
  Chris Grainger: Give us a rating and review if you don't mind.
• 27:48
  Chris Grainger: That really does help wherever you're listening.
• 27:50
  Chris Grainger: And if you're listening on Spotify now, you can comment.
• 27:53
  Chris Grainger: So comment on that.
• 27:54
  Chris Grainger: YouTube, comment on that as well.
• 27:56
  Chris Grainger: Uh, other than that, fellas, thanks so much for hanging out today.
• 27:59
  Chris Grainger: Have a great day.
• 28:00
  Chris Grainger: Get after it, and just keep unleashing the Lion Within Let's just say it out loud.
• 28:08
  Chris Grainger: Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God can give a man.
• 28:11
  Chris Grainger: And one of the most consistent places where we can feel unsure of what we're doing.
• 28:16
  Chris Grainger: Even the strongest marriages have moments where you look at your wife and you think, you know what?
• 28:20
  Chris Grainger: I love you.
• 28:21
  Chris Grainger: I'm so committed to you.
• 28:22
  Chris Grainger: But right now I have no idea what I should do next.
• 28:25
  Chris Grainger: And that's why we launched something new inside the line within our community.
• 28:29
  Chris Grainger: It's our very first support group.
• 28:31
  Chris Grainger: And it's for husbands.
• 28:32
  Chris Grainger: And we're calling it committed and occasionally confused.
• 28:36
  Chris Grainger: This isn't just a place for men in crisis.
• 28:38
  Chris Grainger: So if you're there, hey, you're welcome.
• 28:41
  Chris Grainger: This is for any man who refuses to coast and wants to take his marriage from good to great.
• 28:47
  Chris Grainger: So inside you'll find an active chat and a feed and honest conversation and brotherhood that says, hey, you're not alone.
• 28:55
  Chris Grainger: We've been there.
• 28:56
  Chris Grainger: Let's bring this to God and grow.
• 28:59
  Chris Grainger: And we're also doing a monthly couples night where your wife is invited because we're not letting the world set the agenda for our homes.
• 29:06
  Chris Grainger: Now, if you want access to this support group, it's very simple.
• 29:10
  Chris Grainger: Go to the lionwithanity.us and join the Lions Dan.
• 29:13
  Chris Grainger: Okay, that's the LionWithEntby.us.
• 29:16
  Chris Grainger: Start your 30-day free trial of the Lions Dan community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group.
• 29:26
  Chris Grainger: We'll see you inside the day.