Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leader God intends you to be. I’m your host, Chris Granger. Let’s jump in. Alright fellas, it is your spiritual kickoff of the week, so excited to have you here. We’re gonna dig in and let’s just get going. We’re gonna be in the book of First Corinthians today.

Okay, so first Corinthians, we’re go to chapter nine. We’re gonna look at two verses, verses 22 and 23 to the week. I became. That I might gain the weak. I’ve become all things to all people, so that by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel so that I may be become a fellow partaker of it.

So here some really good scripture here. We’re gonna unpack, it’ll look at it, gonna see how we can simplify and apply this to our life to be that leader that God, really, he’s, he’s called us and we know that he wants us to be okay. First thing we need to. One-on-one. Where is First Corinthians? Okay, so it’s in a New Testament.

Go pastor your gospel. She got Matthew, mark, Luke, and John. Then go past acts and go Pastor Romans and Here’re there. Okay, you have first and second Corinthians. So it’s really, it’s really interesting part. Here is where that Apostle Paul was writing and we’re gonna see what he’s trying to show us and help reveal to us.

So he’s gonna go through several scenarios. He had to adjust to so that he could share the gospel himself and well, I, when I read this verse, the one word that came out just abundantly was just yelling at me and seemed like through looking at this verse, was weak. Weak. Now what? Cause of mind when you hear the word weak, you know?

Well, I did though. Go, go to Google, right? And it says lacking the power to. That’s it. So I was lacking the power to perform. So you can’t do something. It’s, it’s fued as weak. But if you back up before this, these verses we just looked at, Paul talks to about, uh, to the Jews. He became a Jew. Interesting. He says to those under the law, he acted as under the law, but not being honored directly.

And those without the law, he acted without the law, although he was always honored. God’s law. And then he gets to this point about being. Okay. I want you to think about this guys. What are you willing to do to share the gospel? Okay? Because we don’t wanna think about being weak and we don’t wanna show any weakness in our lies.

I get it. I get it. We wanna act like we have it together. There’s no cracks. Everything is great, you know, blessed and highly favored. All the lies we tell ourselves, right? We, we want all that. However, it’s this mentality that’s holding us back. It really is holding us back from reaching others with the good news of the.

Because if you’re only willing to share the gospel with others who are like you, man, you’re missing such a big opportunity to really make an impact. Okay. So look, you have to meet people where they are. And I think this is for, for me, when I was reading this and studying this, this is what came out. And if you wanna connect with them, you have to meet ’em where they are.

And this makes guys, in particular, it makes us feel uncomfortable. Cause we don’t, we don’t. Getting out of our box, but think of how effective it could be if you had a high level of transparency, writing the struggles or the trials, the tribulations, all the things that we have in life, right? Think about the line within us and things that I’ve talked about very openly with you guys.

Anxiety, divorce, weight loss, child loss. Why do I talk about these things? Do I talk about these things? Cuz they’re fun. I like, I just, I just like talking about all the struggles. Talk about those things cuz I want to connect with you guys I on a deeper level and let you know, you know what, there’s people out here who are struggling with things and you guys struggle with things I’ve never, I may not struggle with, and that’s okay.

Share them. That’s what it’s about. Because the more transparent we are, again, the more the, the, the, the spirit is gonna be willing and gonna jump up and do the work. We just gotta be willing to step in. Okay? The spirit does the heavy lifting boys. That’s it. So when you meet someone, And they and you, and they just, I want you to think about this for a second.

When you meet somebody and they actually resonate with you and they, you just feel that connection, why? Why is it most likely they connected with you on some sort of emotional level and when that happened, your defenses did this? They started going down. Okay? And that’s who we need with others. If we gonna have any chance of sharing the gospel, period.

You’re gonna have to lower the defense of others. So if you just come up with to someone with your Bible in your hand and tell ’em you need to repent, or you go burn in hell, you know, maybe there’s a time and place for that, but most of the time that’s not the right tactic. Okay? You need to slow down and ask.

Ask good questions, and engage with people. Be willing to be weak. Be willing to be vulner. Okay. To be a fellow partaker of the gospel. That’s what he says right here. Uh, so I may be a, become a fellow parter of it means we are willing to do whatever it takes to love others. And that sometimes that’s gonna look like weakness and doing uncomfortable things.

But the ultimate decision you gotta make is, are you willing to be obedient? Okay. Are you willing to be obedient to do what the spirit has caused you to? That’s it. If the answer’s yes, then you know what? You gonna have to just accept a fact that sometimes the Lord calls you to do uncomfortable things.

You know, getting behind this mic, sitting behind the, the, the camera and making a podcast every week, it’s uncomfortable. I, it’s something that, that still brings a lot of nerves and angst. Cause I wanna do a good job, not just for you guys. I wanna do a good job for the Lord. I wanna do the work that he’s called me to do.

And that doesn’t mean it’s. There’s a ton of work that goes into it. Preparing and making sure that we’re doing what we can to glorify him. And the same things for you, right? The same things as you for you. You though have to get uncomfortable to share the gospel. And remember, the only treasures we get in heaven, the only thing we get take with USS people.

You know, we can’t take any of the material possessions we have. We’re not going. But you can take people and I that drive to share the gospel should overwhelm us as we seek for ways to do all things for the sake of the gospel, right? The very beginning of verse 23, right here, I do all things for the sake of the gospel.

So I mean, that’s, think about it. What are you willing to do? What are you willing to do for the sake of the gospel? It’s my prayer guys, that you’re willing to lean in, do the hard, do the uncomfortable, do the, do the things that are gonna stretch you. Let’s think about it in life, when we grow, when we really truly grow, it’s through the trials.

It’s through the hard stuff. It’s through that, that, that stress, that pressure that we get formed and, and strong. Talk about it a lot. When you go to the gym, you wanna get stronger. What do you do? You live heavy weights and you rip and as, as, as you rip, what what happens is the muscles get repaired and they repair and they’re stronger.

So they get you, you tear it, it, it gets repaired and you tear it, it gets repaired. But that, that process of constantly stressing and, and that’s what makes it grow, that’s what’s gonna make you. So guys, I want you to really think about that as you move forward. And one thing I want you to think about from a weakness standpoint, this, this week we’re gonna be talking about a topic that some of you guys may not be comfortable with.

You may not have any, um, no experience with whatsoever, but it’s something I feel like we need to, as Christian men have the conversation at least. Unpack it from, from a, from a Christian worldview and see how, how it could affect you and, and help you and serve you in the future. Now, what are we talking about?

Therapy and counseling and, you know, what does that look like from a ma from a man’s standpoint? Shouldn’t men go to counseling? Shouldn’t men go to therapy? Or is that just for the week? I don’t think it’s just for the. I want you guys to, to, to sit back cause I have a really special guest that’s gonna come on Wednesday.

We’re gonna unpack this in depth and I guarantee you guys it’s gonna help you grow. It’s going to open your eyes, it’s gonna give you some, some things to think about. So if you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, all these different things that are in our life that are pulling us down, this could be a conversation that would help you.

Now, the question I want you to think about this week are men in therapy. Do you think that are men in therapy weak? So do you view that as a weakness? So guys, I pray that this scripture helps you, uh, the, the spiritual kickoff and, and helps you understand the scripture better. Again, to the weak, I became weak that I may gain the weak.

I have become all things to all people, so that by all means save some. I can do all things for the sake of the gospel so I can may become a fellow partaker of it. We need to be willing to do whatever it takes for the gospel. And then if you’ve heard this now, the spiritual, this, this spiritual kickoff, and you, and you hear me talking about the gospel and you’re like, Chris, what in the world are you talking about?

I’m talking about the good news of Jesus Christ. And if you’ve never fully surrendered, I mean fully surrendered your life to Christ, today’s your day. Today is your day as my prayer. My prayer is that you’ve surrendered your, your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And when I say that, I mean he needs to be Lord over everyth.

And we need to understand it. You know what? There is no way, no way we can get to heaven except through him. Cuz the reality is we’re sinner. We’re all sinner. Chief center right here talking to you guys. We’re sin. We fall shorter in glory. God. And there’s nothing we can do to, to bridge that gap between our sin and his holiness.

There’s nothing we can do. I wish I could tell you guys that there’s this a b ABC plan. You know, you just do these 10 things. Maybe you eat this, do this work now, don’t work like that. Sorry fellas. Cause the reality is hell’s gonna be full of a lot of good guys. It is. It’s gonna be full of good guys with good intentions and good morals, who did things not, didn’t steal or anything like that.

It’s gonna be full of those guys. You know why? Cause they’ve never surrendered. And that’s what Jesus asking. He needs us to surrender to him. And I know for men that can be hard, but if you do, you will find the peace that passes all understanding, guys. I’m telling you, it’s just going to give that that sense of peace, that sense of calm.

And then at that point you’ll have the line within the holy. And that is going God and directs you and puts you on the right path. So long, right here. Here’s the trick. That’s your obedience. You have to be obedience, and that’s the piece that most guys miss, right? It, it’s not just about saying some, some words just to accept ’em into your heart.

You ha it actually, if you accept me into your heart, it’s going to transform. It’s going to make it have such an impact on your daily walk, that the love for others is just gonna come out. It’s gonna be who you are. So you really need to understand, are you ready? And if you are, admit that you’re a sinner.

Need believe it. Jesus Christ is, is the, is the son of God. Need to confess him as Lord. And I mean Lord. Okay? And this means Lord, over everything. This is where I lose a lot of guys. Check. Finances, bank accounts, marriage. Your, the bedroom of your marriage. How about that? Your computer, all your, all your search history, all your browsing.

Okay. That, that I went to mein. Your friendships, people you associate with your, your talk. You gotta commit all these things to God. And when you do, it’s gonna transform you. And it may mean you have to walk away from some things. Repent. That’s what you were talking about, repentance turned away from, right?

So that’s what it means. But if you’ve just accepted this, if you said, you know what, Chris, I’m, I’m, I’m accepting Christ in my heart right now, praise your Lord. Hallelujah. At that point, send us an email support at the Lion with them us. Here’s why I want an email. I just wanna send her a big old hug to you, A virtual hug, but rather, but I also wanna send you some resources and let you know, look, you’re in the battle.

You were in it before, you just didn’t realize it, but now you are really on the battlefield and you need to be ready. Okay? Cuz the attacks are gonna come. But the cool part is now you’re on the winning team and we have a weapon. The weapon is the word of God. And the more we get this, the more we get it in our heart, the more we let it just resonate in us just and just soak in and be who we are, the more prepared we are for the battle that we will ultimately face.

So guys, I pray this serves you well. I can look forward to you coming back. I’m serious. Come back on Wednesday. This episode’s gonna be episode. If you say, you know what, Chris, I don’t need therapy. I fine. I get it. You don’t need therapy. You got it all figured out. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord for you. But somebody in your sphere of, of influence, of your, of your group of men, may or or brothers in the future, they may need it and they come to you and say, what do you think about therapy?

At least you’ll be able to give them some, some something of substance more than I don’t. And that’s what we’re gonna talk about. Why is it important? What does it do for you? What does it look like for the Christian man? How do we make sure we can keep Christ at the center of things like this? That’s what it’s all about.

It’s all designed to help us grow, be the leaders God attends us to be, and God’s therapy. So many times it comes down to connection with others and to just real quick to connect with others. That is why we built our c. And I’m serious guys, if you listen to the line with Dennis, and I know so many of you guys do.

We’re so thankful and blessed for each and every one of you, and you’re not in our community. What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on? There’s an opportunity for you to grow with other Christian men in a safe environment where you’re not gonna run under these brothers at at your local Walmart, at Target, on white or Bass Pro shop.

Where you out running errands. These guys are all over the country, all over the world. We, we have guys all over who are connecting with us, who are helping us. You can ask questions. It’s a safe place to bitch. Be yourself guys. There’s no better chance than right now. Jump in the community. We have a 30 day free trial for everyone, so just sign up, check it out for 30 days.

Come to our events. Come to our Ask me anything events. Come to our Bible study. Come to our lion lunches. Check out our different topics and spaces that we have going on. Check out our courses that we have online to help you be a better man, to help you learn about your finance. It’s all designed to serve you in a community of strong believers.

Okay guys, so check it out. Go to the lion within us for those links and then you can, you can, you can join directly from the main pages there. We would also ask that you would give us a rating and review if you would do that. That’d be great guys. I would love to get that from you. And then the biggest thing you can do is share this with someone else.

Just send that text message. Hey, I like this episode. Check it. That makes all the difference in the world cuz that’s how the word spreads. That’s literally how the word spreads the most, is when people take direct action by sharing links. So I encourage you to do that. Check it out, come back on Wednesday.

Serious, this is gonna be a really good episode. Very blessed and honored to be able to, to bring this to you guys to hopefully help you in your walk. If you have any questions, I’m in the community. Jump in the community. We’d love to serve you there. Again, that’s the line within us to do that. So get after it.

Have a great. Don’t forget to unleash the lion with them

guys out hear all the time how we are isolated. We’re alone. We don’t feel like we have anybody we can talk to. And I’m here to tell you, we took action. The lion within us, we started a community and that thing is awesome. We have events happening all the time, and more importantly, we have guys connecting with each other every day.

And I’m talking about we’re building meaningful relationships, serving each other, accountability, growth, and I know that’s what you’re looking for and it’s done. Guys, we’re all within the community itself. Every week we have lion lunches, we have bible studies, we have, uh, ask me anything events we. This is we have things, resources that we have built to serve you, to help you be the leader God intends you to be.

We’re offering right now a 30 day free trial. Jump in, check it out for a month. Come to some events, see what it’s like. See if it serves you well. You have nothing to lose at this point. Check it out. And I guarantee you guys, once you get in, you’re gonna find the resources that you need to help you keep.

Just that encouragement. Sometimes you just need that fellow brother coming alongside that’s just gonna be there and say, I got you, bro. And that’s what we got. We have that and so much more. So go to the line within us, click on get a 30 day free trial and start today. And guys, I’ll see you inside the d.