Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast sermon, Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I’m your host, Chris Granger. Let’s jump in. Alright fellas, this is your spiritual kickoff for the week and I’m so excited to have you here. And we’re gonna be, just jump right into this.

We’re gonna be in the book of John chapter 12 verse 24. So John 12, verse 20. Very truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. So we’re gonna unpack this scripture. We’re gonna look at it. We’re gonna see what this verse is trying to tell us and, and how we can apply this to our life.

That’s what it’s all about, right? Simplifying and applying God’s word to our. So first of all, we need to understand basics. Where’s John? I know we, we, I’ll do this every week, but that’s okay. We need to understand where scripture is and, and understanding our Bible is an important part of that. So first of all, John is in a New Testament, so that’s your gospel.

So you have Matthew, mark, Luke, and John. You get to ax back up one. Okay? That’s right’s right after John. So John, again was an a. Of Christ. Alright, so he walked around with Jesus. He and John loved himself too, buddy. He loved just, he talks a lot about love, but he also calls himself the one that Jesus loves, right?

So there you go. He, he’s all, he’s all about some John. But, so at this point in the book of John Jesus, he had entered Jerusalem and he had performed many miracles, and this verse has a lot of, As, as to what he did for the propitiation of our sins. Now, I know that’s a big word. That’s even a hard word to say, propitiation.

Go ahead and say that three times real fast. I’m not gonna do that cuz I’m just gonna screw it up. But what that ultimately is, it means the payment that satisfies, that’s all that means. Propitiation is the payment that satisfies, right? So, so what we got going on here is think about when you pay off a car or, or, or praise God.

Maybe you’ve paid off your house, you may, I’m not there yet, but maybe you are. And what comes. You get that paperwork and it says that the debt has been satisfied, it’s been paid in full and buddy, that’s gotta be an amazing feeling for me to get a house note back. I have, I have car, I have the car titles back.

When you get that title back for the car and you don’t have any payments on the car and it, and you own that, man, that’s a great feeling when that comes into mail. Right? And that’s what that feeling right there. We all get that when we put our. And our trust in Christ, cuz that’s what he did for us. By him taking our place on the cross, he paved that way so we can all have eternal life.

That should get us fired up on this spiritual kickoff. Are you kidding me? So that’s what he’s talking about right here. When he says, if it dies, it produces many seeds. So you, me, your neighbor, your coworker, that aggravating person who just cut you off in track traffic when you’re listening to the, to the line with.

We’re all his seeds. So when you first look at this verse, it can be kind of sad, be straight up. It can be kind of sad feeling. Just think about just a single kernel of wheat, how small and insignificant that is, right? And just it’s lonely. I mean, it’s just one little colonel, just what can one little colonel do?

But Jesus knew that that little colonel would not be alone for. Right, and he walked the path that only he could walk so that we could be with him. What he wants in return is very simple, fellas. He wants our heart. That’s it. If we give him our heart, then the Holy Spirit’s gonna do his work, do us. And that should lead us to sharing the good news with other and let that cycle keep on repeating and repeating and repeating.

Think of that old snowball, that thing starts at the top of the mount at the top of the hill, and as it rolls downhill, it’s doing what? It’s getting bigger and it’s picking up momentum and you better not get in his way cuz it’s gonna knock you out. Every Christian, every one of us should be so on fire for what he did for us on that cross, that it pours out in the fruit of our lives of everything that we.

So I’m gonna do something I don’t, I don’t normally do. I’m gonna read a little bit more. So let’s, that was verse 24. Let’s look at verse 25 and 26. So this comes right after what Jesus just said, says, he who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me and where I am, they’re my servant will be.

Also, if anyone serves me, the father will honor. Think about what’s, what’s just going on? And think about what is manifesting in your life, right? Are you, are you walking this out? Or do others see you serving him? Because if you do, the father’s gonna honor you, right? He’s going to, he’s going to help you, you, if you, if you love you, if it’s all about you, that’s for time about love in your own life.

You can’t do that. You have to deny yourself and father. That’s when that happens guys. Amazing things gonna happen in your life. And look, I’m the chief center here and some days I get this better than others. Be straight up, okay? And as the old sand goes, keep the main thing, the main thing. And when the main thing is Jesus, you will be focused on serving him.

I promise you. Because that’s what’s, it is just going dry. It’s not just cause you that you have to, it’s cause you want. Right. And that’s how you’re gonna honor him. You gonna walk to, to, to, to serve him by loving others. Cuz we get two commandments, guys. Love God. To love God. You have to do what? Know his word.

You have to ob and you have to obey. That’s it. And then you have to love others. And you love others. Love is a burb. That’s a active, so you have to actually do something right. And that’s how we honor. I tell you what, that is a blessing that we all have for the sacrifice he made for us. And we all, each one of us, me, top of the list, we don’t deserve it, but he did it.

Thank you Lord Jesus for doing it. And today we need to remember the payment that only, that, that, that you can only satisfy by putting that trust in in Christ. And we need to honor him and all that we say and all that we do. We need to honor him. That’s what it’s about, guys. So look, if you wanna produce many seeds, you, you need to die.

To die to yourself and ultimately surrender to Christ. That’s what it’s all about. Now, if you’ve listened to the line within us before you know what’s coming, cause we wanna take the opportunity on a spiritual kick. To to share the good news, you know? Cause you may be out there and you’ve just heard about this Jesus stuff, but you don’t really know what’s going on.

Nobody’s really explained it to you. I get it. It can be confusing. Talking about denying yourself and dying. What are you talking about Chris? I look, I get it. Here’s the main thing we need to understand. We’re all sinners. Every one of us. And you get the old question all the time. Well, why do bad things happen to good people?

Well the answer is cuz there’s no such thing as good people we’re, we are all sinners. We all fall short with the glory of. We’re not a cupcake. We’re not a snowflake. We’re not a skittle. We’re a sinners in need of a savior and we need to remember this. Guys, we got to remember that. We need to understand that we all fall short.

So you say, okay, Chris, I get it. I’m screwed up. I fall short. So what do I do? Well, luckily there’s a way. Jesus Christ. So what did he do? He ascended from heaven, no descended, sorry from heaven, and came to. He came to Earth. Are you, can you, can you believe it? God came to earth and took on one of these suits that we all walk around with, right?

One of these human forms. He took on that human form and he walked with us and he taught us, and he showed us all the ways of the Lord. And he, and he was our messiah, our Savior God with us. Emmanuel, go look it up. I mean, there’re hundreds of names of, of, of ways to describe Jesus performed all these miracle.

And they crucified him. They crucified him. They hung him on a cross and he paid the penalty, his blood ran. He died on a cross for the, the, the sin of the world. He did it. Okay, but guess what, if it’s story stops there, then it’s just, you know, a nice dude who got killed. But, and this is what differentiates Christianity from all of the religions, the resu.

They place him in a tomb three days later. Guess what? He robes. We don’t worship a dead guy. We worship a living savior. And that’s the difference. See, you got to understand the resurrect without the resurrection, but without that, it is nothing. But the resurrection is everything, and that should drive us.

That is the driver. The resurrection is everything we serve and we worship a living savior, right? Then he ascended to back to heaven, where he sits righthand on the Father and in scripture says, no one gets to the father except through him. You have to follow Jesus. What does that mean? That means, first of all, you need to admit to your sinner voice.

Gotta have, just admit it, straight up I’m the sinner. And look, every one of us are need, need to believe that Jesus is the son of God. I mean, actually, That’s one thing just to say, yeah, yeah, I believe it. No, but you have to believe this in your heart, guys. This is a hard thing and you have to confess him as Lord.

And I mean, Lord, not just Lord, under my circumstances, like Lord of everything, not one bad things are just going bad. I need someone to help me. Everything. So he needs to be Lord, over your, your finances. So, so you guys that are, that are, that are touching your wallet right now, holding onto it. Yep. You don’t have to let go of.

It needs to be Lord of your relationships, primarily your marriage. So when you think, if you think you got, you can shut the bedroom and leave Jesus out. Nope. You gotta leave. He, he, he’s in that bedroom too. Boys. He needs to be, Lord, Lord, over your children, over your career, all over the personal places.

You don’t want that. You feel like you got it. That’s where he needs to be. There’s not a single place that he does not need to be Lord of over our life. And once you make that confession, he say, you know what, Jesus, I don’t have this. I need you. I need you to show me. I need you to help me. I need, I just, I I need you.

I, I don’t have it anymore. I don’t have it. At that point, boys, that’s what exactly where you need to be. Cause at that moment, the Holy Spirit’s gonna come in and dwell your. And then you’ll have the third part of the Trinity. So you got God the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we like to call the lion within the Holy Spirit will guide you and direct you and show you all the ways he sell, the ways that of, of what he desires.

And then you just gotta be obedient. I talked about this a lot. You have to be willingness, but then you have to be obedient. You have to actually do what he tells you to. And this is where we lose a lot of guys. Okay? But we don’t want to put that, that, that call into action. That’s not what we’re called to do.

Pez and James, we were called to be doers of the worst, not just hearers. So it’s one thing to hear it and understand it. There’s another thing to actually do it, boys, and we gotta get out there and do it. That’s what the line within us is all about doing it. If you do that, you’re gonna produce many seeds like we talked about earlier.

Said, look, if you just accepted Christ, you’re a savior and you’re, and you’re making this confession, send us an email support at the line within us. I don’t, all I want to do is send you some resources to serve you, to help you along the way. Because guess what? You just entered a battlefield. You don’t, may not be aware, but you just entered a battlefield.

It is going get real. It’s gonna get scary. It can get tough, but you don’t have to do it alone. I need you to remember this. You don’t have to do it. We are gonna come alongside. We’re gonna support you. We’re going to help you. Now, this week, I want you to come back on Wednesday because we’re gonna have a powerful conversation and we’re gonna talk about a topic that not everybody wants to talk about.

We’re gonna talk about the topic of divorce and what that looks like, and you know, how that’s viewed from a Christian standpoint. And understand, you know, what do we need to be doing in our marriages to protect them? Because the question I want you to think about this. Is your marriage the way you have right now, husband and wife?

If you’re listening to this in your marriage and you’re married, is your marriage treated as a covenant or contract? Okay. Have you guys heard me talk about this a lot in the past? Covenant or contract? Contract says if you, then I covenant, no matter what I do, which way does your marriage treated? Because we’re gonna unpack this cuz divorce is running.

Inside our community at the line within us, we’ve got guys all the time that are talking about the, the separation, divorce, how that’s impacted them guys. Satan wants your marriage to fail, but that, so again, he wants your marriage to fail. He’s gonna do everything he can to put a, a, a wedge between you and your wife.

And it can be small things for big things as he’ll. Take the small, he’ll turn ’em into big boys. That’s just the way he works. He is. Right. So we need to pee together. We need to understand if he wants our marriage to fail. We gotta get ahead of it. We need to stay ahead of it. And to, we do that by, you know, being with, with other believers for one, and then getting the support from other Christian men that are going to help you win.

They’re going to help you in your marriage and, and, and pull you out and say when you’re screwing up. So, gonna jump in and say, you know, that’s not right. You need to get on the right. That’s what it’s all about. And that’s what the line with us is all about. Now, guys, you’ve heard me talk a lot about the the community and I’m just gonna be straight up, that’s where it all happens.

I’m so thankful that you’re listening to the podcast that we love it. We know you guys, a lot of guys listen to this every week it’s going up. We’re seeing it more and more. We’re, we’re blessed. Beyond, I can’t even put it in words how blessed we are and we have so many guys listening to the line within us.

But I will tell you what, to take the the, to make it. Rubber meet the road. You gotta jump into community. That’s where we’re at. That’s where I’m at every day. We’re there talking with guys, helping guys, supporting guys, uh, building resources for ’em, courses, mastermind groups, bible studies, lion lunches, where we get together, we just break bread and we just talked about whatever you guys wanna talk about.

And everything is designed to help us be the leader. God intends us to be primarily around our finance. Round hu being a better husband, being a better dad, our careers and, and guys all, and leading ourselves, our minds and our bodies taking care of them. So we have all these different resources and tools and ideas and people, community that helps us grow.

But you can’t get it just sitting on the sidelines. So if you’ve listened to this line with NSF for any point, and you haven’t taken action to join our community yet, you need to. Jump in. It’s a 30 day free trial. I’m gonna give you 30 days just to try it out. Just experience it. Come to the events we have live, ask me anything.

Events once a month where previous guests come on and they share. So you can actually touch base with one of our previous guests and ask ’em questions specific to your situation, to your life. And that’s where they’re, they’re going, they’re gonna help you. So we can’t do this alone. So we put a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of resources in building this community.

And it’s growing. It’s amazing. It’s phenomen. I love it. It’s a great way to serve others. And guys, you have to take action. So jump in to the line within.us. Check out our resources there. You can join up against 30 days free trial and then take, be part of it guys. You can’t just sit on the sidelines, get in the game, get the resources to help you grow.

Be the man, the leader God intends you to be. So hopefully John 1220. Means a little more to you now than it did you know, 10 minutes ago. And then hopefully you keep coming back to the line within us and let us, let us keep helping you grow, giving you ideas, and pushing you to be the man God intends you to be.

And if you’re looking for that accountability, guys, we all need it. Jump into the community. Last thing I’m gonna say on that. So if you would give us a rating and review, that would be wonderful. Five stars, write a review. That would help, again, the lion within.us for easiest way to connect with us there, uh, for, for all those resources.

And then come back on Wednesday. We’re gonna have a powerful conversation. Guys, I’m excited for this one. This is gonna be one that’s gonna help us all. And you, I guarantee you guys, if you look at a, a divorce rate, things that are happening in this country, Either, if it hasn’t impacted you, it’s probably impacted one of your boys, one of your brothers guarantee you.

And you need to be able to have some resources, some, some insights, some some, uh, knowledge to be able to help them when they’re dealing through this. Because I can tell you one thing, man, I’ve, I’ve talked to so many guys who are struggling with this, with this area, and we often get it wrong. Cause we try to figure what man, what, what I need to do to get her back.

And, and it ain’t about her. It ain’t about her. It’s about you. You know Jerry McGuire stupid. You know she don’t complete you. Jesus does. We’re gonna unpack that in a lot more on Wednesday. So guys, hopefully we’ll see you back here. Get after it. Have a great week. Get this John 1224. Cement it in your heart and unleash the lion within them.

Most men know what it’s like to do life in a vacuum and feel isolated on the journey. We believe every man needs a community to help them become the men they were created to be more than just a website or podcast. We are a community of Christian men who are committed to supporting and encouraging one another on our journey to come the best versions of ourselves.

We are men who have fought the good fight and come out victorious. The lion within us is here to help you stop feeling lost, defeated, and alone. Instead, find community and connection with other men that will help you achieve your goals. Live a life of purpose and be the leader God intends you to be.

Visit the lion within us to join the new growing Lions Den community today.