Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I’m your host, Chris Granger. Let’s jump in. All right guys. This is your spiritual kickoff of the week. I’m excited to have you here. Thank you so much for showing up, and let’s dig into the word.

So we’re gonna be in first Peter this week. Okay? First Peter, we’re just gonna look at one verse, chapter three, verse 15. It says, but in your hearts, revered Christ as. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect.

Love that verse, guys. Really love it. Let’s unpack it. Let’s see how we can simplify and apply this to our life on this spiritual kickoff Now. Where is first Peter? We need to know that first and foremost, guys. I know it can be kind of hard to really find some of these books in the back of the Bible, but you just need to know, get to second Peter, you went too far.

So there’s your little dad joke for this one, but seriously, it’s in the New Testament. Go right past Hebrews and then you’ll have the book of James, and then you’ll arrive at first Peter. Okay? And, and again, I love Peter. I think he’s, it’s just phenomenal books here and because. Peter for me, I just relate to this guy, right?

I can really relate to Peter. He was a leader. He was bold. He, he, sometimes he put his foot in his mouth, right? . And I feel like I’m constantly doing that myself. And I, hopefully I can get an amen from a bunch of you listeners out there. But he was just a guy’s guy. I mean, let’s just face it, he was a guy’s guy and I don’t know if you’ve watched a Chosen, I, I’m an advocate of Chosen and definitely I think that they’re doing a great job.

Do they take, uh, they, they, they’re, they’re really just for me, just. Put some personality to, to some of these disciples. And again, you have to take your gospel with everything, right? So you make sure that you follow along with scripture, cuz you, they tell you, they take, they take some artistic, uh, uh, path with this show.

But at the end of the day, I just think it’s just, it’s just a, it is very well done. And the way Peter, the pe, the character, Peter, Just person personifies him. So good. It’s just so good. He’s a strong guy. He’s outspoken. He’s always, he’s out front. He’s not afraid to, to, to just get out and do the hard work.

And I just think it’s important to, to, to, as we remember when we read the Bible, when we read, it’s not reading stories. These are the actual events of real people. Okay? Actual events are real people. So this is an important verse here, guys, and we need to see how we can actually put this thing in the process.

It starts off with addressing our hearts, right? And if we address our hearts, it states that we should revere Christ’s Lord. It doesn’t say buddy here, but as Lord. Yes, we have a friend in Jesus. There’s songs about that, but we must never forget that he is Lord. There’s a guy in our community, his name is Mitch.

I love this guy. He’s awesome, Mitch. So if you’re listening, shout out to you, brother. But he made a, a, a post lately in our community and, and reminded me of, of this point, and it was so spot on. He is Lord, and we cannot make sure we keep him in reverence there. And it’s a heart issue here, guys, that, that, and the heart is what he wants.

He can’t be just teacher. I was listening to a pastor, I can’t even remember on this one, who the pastor was, but they were talking about, The upper room when Jesus was sitting there with the disciples and basically he says, no one of you’s going to, to, uh, betray me. And it says, the disciples said, is it I Lord?

Is it I Lord, is it I Lord. You could just hear them going through, uh, the, the kind of line by line, right? And then when you get to Judas Iscariot, he says, is it Ira? Now, that little bit of, of difference there is huge. Is Jesus just a good teacher to you? Are you just trying to apply the things that Jesus is teaching you to your life just to be a better person?

Or is he Lord? There is a big difference between having Jesus as your teacher and having Him as your Lord. Okay Lord. He’s over everything. He is over everything and, and guys, you have to understand that. I get it. Head knowledge is great, but heart is where it’s all about. Salvation comes from the heart, and we have to remember that guys.

So the second part of this verse, as we start kind of working through the verse here, it can be a little bit scary, you know? And, and cuz think about it. Uh, always be prepared. Give an answer for the hope that we have. So why would that be scary? Well, what if people judge you? What if they ask a question and you don’t know the answer to it?

What if you lose a. You know what guys? That’s just a, it is cuz the worst thing you can be, fellas, I’m gonna be straight up. He’s a Fairweather Christian. Right? Can’t be that. You don’t wanna be that lukewarm. Lukewarm gets spited out, right? So if you gonna walk with Jesus, it has to be a priority every day, all the time.

This is a, this is a, a, a all the week. So there’s a different. That your family or your people that you lead at work or whatever in the, in the world sees Monday through Saturday versus Sunday check. You gotta check it. You gotta check that there should be no difference, right? That Sunday is just a chance to just, to go, just to, to really to plug into your church body.

But you need to be feeding yourself, yourself, spiritually. Every day you gonna be walking with the Lord every day. If you’re listening to the line within us, you, you’re taking steps right now to grow the Lord. Right? Gotta remember he ain’t a vending. He’s not a genie in a bottle that you just need to go go to when he needs something.

Think about your last few prayers that you had. How many of those prayers were thanking him and praising him versus the time you spent asking him for something? Ruth, think about that. Cause we need to be praising our Lord, our savior, right? It’s not just a gin and a. That’s when to keep that in mind. He’s a sovereign king of the universe.

So how do you give an account for your answer? Well, it’s pretty simple. You gotta know him. You gotta know him. So how do you know him? Well, you gotta spend time with him. You have to. That’s the only way you can do, you have to spend time with him, right? So I guarantee you, if somebody wants to know about you and your or your spouse, you can answer.

Why? Because you know her. You spend time with her, you ask her questions. You, you’re constantly studying her. And trust me, if you’re married, you know what I’m talking about. You’re, you’re always trying to study your wife to figure this thing out. Here’s the, here’s the tip, fellas. You ain’t gonna figure it out, but that’s not the point.

The point is to pursuit the pursuit and the covenant. That’s what you need to do with him. Spend time in the word, pray to him, talk to him. Right? It’s your individual pursuit of him. That’s what’s. Because let’s just say that, let’s, let’s play a scenario out. Let’s say you’re a gunsmith. I know a lot of our listeners, I hear they’re, they, they, they’re, they’re big en marshman.

Let’s say you’re gunsmith. If someone asks you to tear down, identify the parts and reassemble firearm that you are intimately familiar with, guess what? You could do that in your sleep. And most likely, because you have a p a passion for this, you understand that you know these parts in and out. You can lay it down.

You can either do a blindfold, right? You see so many times where we’re in the movies and things like that. Well, military men, they can do these things blindfolded. They know those parts so intimately well that it just goes right back together. Now, what does someone ask you? Why you follow Jesus? Most of us would stumble.

You would stumble, you’d shift from side to side on your feet, or you’d say something like, you know, well, the Bible says so. But at those moments, guys, we gotta have some. It is written in our heart so that we can go to them and share the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ. Right there. Right there. Will this be easy for you guys?

Probably not initially, no. But just like everything else in life, it will get easier with reps. That’s it. And more and more reps, you build up that muscle memory, it becomes easier and easier and easier. And the spirit, first and foremost is doing all the work. You just have to be obedient. When I decided to start the line within us and then we started to do these spiritual kickoffs, and then we decided, you know what?

On the spiritual kickoffs, we’re gonna share the gospel every week. You think that scared me? Heck yes. It scare me sharing the gospel every week. This is something that, that this is, was out my comfort zone. I wasn’t doing this on a regular basis. But not that it gets, it’s, it’s, it’s super easy now, but it’s definitely from where we started to now, I feel very comfortable in sharing the gospel with others cuz I’m trying to love and just leading with love.

And that’s what you guys need to do. Just leave with love, make a commitment to spend that time with your Lord and spend time with him daily. And then that’s gonna start doing something inside of you. It will, and before you know it, , you’re gonna just be leaning in and sharing the gospel and it’s gonna become so.

And you have that confidence and that comfort, right? And then, and when that happens, you’re gonna start looking for opportunities to do it. You will, I promise you, you’re gonna start looking for opportunities. You’re just gonna find ways for me as VBS shirts. I wear VBS shirts all the time when I’m out.

Why? Because they has scripture on ’em. They, they lead the conversations. I have one that says, Jesus is my superhero. I wear that all time. It looks like a Superman thing on the front. And the reason I wear that shirt, so, It’s cuz it opens up opportunities to have conversations with people. Cause if somebody ever says Nice shirt or let’s go, I like, that’s an immediate opportunity just to have a conversation to connect.

Right? And also set apart. We need to be set a apart in this world. Peter talks about that as, as well in other verse, in other verses. But let’s say it on the focus here. Let’s look how Peter ends diverse. He says, do this with gentleness and respect with gentleness and. That can be lost when the, when, when the, the world that we live in.

It just can be straight up. That’s not something we think of, right? Because everything is on fire around us. You don’t go to social media, go to any news outlet, wherever, go to, just to your doggone local Walmart or Target. Walk around. It feels like everything’s just an utter chaos. Remember, gentleness and respect love.

That’s what’s gonna win people, right? This doesn’t say be weak. This says, be gentle, right? Don’t get those two words mixed up, right? Because this is gonna go a long ways. If you could just be gentle and actually, and, and I find it very comforting for me, and effect effective, effective is a better word, if you actually care about the people.

Like you can’t fake that. If you actually care about the person that you’re trying to serve and love them, and truly love them, and listen, meet ’em where they. The Holy Spirit’s gonna do the work. At that point, you lean in and you share the gospel and you, you understand where they’re at. You make that relationship first, right?

I’m a big relationship guy. You’ve gotta focus on the relationship first. Then once you have the relationship, then you can dig into the deeper truths, but the truly the things it’s gonna set you apart so far as walking in, in, in gentleness and respect is the fruit that’s you’re displaying in your. Do the people that you’re trying to reach, do they see any of it?

Do they know that you’re a Christian? Right? Can the world see that or does the world see someone that’s just going along with the flow? I know I’m stepping on a lot of toes here, but That’s okay. We, we guys gospel is offensive. I was telling something, somebody last night, you know, if you’re not offended by the gospel, uh, maybe you need to, to, to spend a little more time reading it cuz it it, Jesus calls everything out.

You need to be ready right here, always ready, prepared to give an answer to anyone for the reason. Why do you choose to follow this Jesus? God, if you’re ready and you leave with gentleness and respect, guys, at that point you are ready. You, you’re going to do it. You’re gonna do the work. You’ve been called to do that, my friends.

That is how you unleashed the line with him. You could do that today. So guys, I just pray this one encourages you. So, question for you this week. Where do you find your source of hope? Think about that. You know, where is it at? Because I’m hoping, I’m hoping I messed that one up, right? But seriously, I hope that your hope is in Christ.

There you go. Your hope should be in Christ. That’s where it needs to be. Now guys, if you enjoy the daily spiritual kickoffs, we do this every day, Monday through Friday inside our community, I highly encourage you to check that. Now also, if you’re listening to this and you never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have such a wonderful opportunity today.

Right now you have a chance to bow down to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and it’s very simple. You just need to admit that you’re a sinner, right? Admit that you are a sinner and you need a savior. You’re not a mistake or in need of a life coach. You’re a sinner in need of a savior. You have, have sin separates us from God, and there’s nothing you can.

There’s nothing you can do to overcome that. You are a sinner and you need to believe that Jesus is the son of God. That somehow when he came down, when he paid that penalty for us on the cross, that it counted for you. You have to believe that. And if you believe that, you confess him as Lord. And I’m not talking about confess him as rabbi.

Confess him as Lord. He’s not a teacher, he is Lord of your. For you to miss your sinner. You believe that, that somehow when Jesus died or cross that counter for you, and you confess him as Lord, you just this moment have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and God, he wants to give you that gift. He wants to give it to you.

It’s His grace. He wants to just pour it out over you, but you have to submit to him. And if you do, I like to call it the lion within that’s gonna come. It’s gonna dwell your heart. It’s gonna take over your. At that point, you’ll be able to go out and do that work he’s called you to do. You’ll be able to walk out this per first, Peter three 15 here, where you’re gonna be prepared to give an answer, but why you have the hope that you have.

Cause you have Jesus Christ. It’s your Lord if you just, if you just confessed him as Lord and Savior, welcome. Welcome. I want you to send me an email, support the lion within us. That email comes up on my phone. I will get your email immediate. I get the little notifications, right, which I tell you guys you shouldn’t do.

But I get the notifications, like the email’s gonna come up, and I promise you, I’m going just, I want to connect with you, give you some resources, come alongside, pray with you, pray over you. Just try to give you some things to prepare for the battle that you’re facing as you’re in the battle now. But now you have the blinders off.

You’re able to see what you’ve got to put in. So I pray if you just accept the Christ, send us that email support at the line within us. And as a reminder, guys, we’ll, we’ll, we enjoy this, the spiritual kickoffs, and I know you guys do every day of the week, every day of the week, Monday through Friday. Good Lord willing.

We do ’em. We do ’em every day of the week while I go live inside of our community. I share, we just read scripture together and I try to share some things that the Holy Spirit has revealed to me and all this is the Holy Spirit. None of this is Chris, so don’t ever think this is not the line within Chris.

This is the line within us. You guys have this. You know, if you tell me a year or two years ago that I’d be sitting here reading scripture and trying to explain how, what the Holy Spirit is telling me and that you guys are listening and that helping is helping you guys grow. Cause we get the. I will think you’re crazy.

Just be obedient to the spirit. Be obedient to the spirit so that you can be ready to give that account. So again, hop in our community guys. We give a 30 day free trial so you can come in for a month, check it out. If you don’t like it, bounce out. It’s fine. I just want you to come in and get the resources and try.

If you just get plugged in and grow a little bit closer to Christ in that 30 days, you can. And you say, what? This isn’t for me. Mission. In line within us. We did what we were supposed to do. We’re just helping you guys grow to be the leaders that God has called you to be. Guys, we have our mastermind going, so maybe you want to, you’re interested in a mastermind group, so if these are gonna be guys that are gonna come in and sit beside you, and we and these guys get together, we’re leaning in.

We’re talking about health, wealth, and self, how you can grow as a Christian man. We’re talking about real life situations. We’re talking about, um, marriage or separat. Or we’re having some financial hardships, or we’re trying to get that advancement at work, trying to figure out how, how do we do that? Or this tough situation that we have with our kids.

Whatever it is, you bring it to the table. These group of men, they lean in and we just tear that into that. We pour into that guy and we leave with commitments. So you have an ability within our community to be part of a mastermind. It’s all part of membership. We have lion lunches, we have Bible studies, we have the Mastermind.

We have courses, we have every, uh, month. Ask me anything events where we bring in guests from the show. Guys, we have event, all sorts of items that are happening within the line within us. The only way you’re gonna be able to be a part of that is jump into community. Again, 30 day free. Check it out, see if it serves you.

The lion within us. That’s the line within us. Hop in that trial. In that trial. I’ll hop on a call with you if you wanna just see more. Us up, send us email to support at the line with N Us. I’ll be glad to hop on a call with you, show you the community so you can see firsthand what it looks like, and I’ll just give you that sneak peek.

We got some things like that planned up. They’re coming. This is a way we could serve you guys. Seriously support if in line with us. Let us know what questions you have. We’ll hop on. I’ll be glad to hop on a Zoom call with you, show you the community, see you. How just amazing it is that these guys are leaning in, they’re growing together in Christ.

All right, guys will get after it come back on Wednesday. This is gonna be a powerful conversation that you do not wanna miss, okay? Telling you. We’re gonna be digging into the deeper truce of what you can do to stand firm and take this verse right. And live it out each and every day. Particularly when the rebuttals come, when people come with, come back at you, you need to know what to say.

And our guest on Wednesday, he’s gonna bring the hammer. So I look forward to it, to, to seeing you guys here on, at that, at the next appointed time. Get after it. Share this with others. Give us a rating and review. All those things matter. Seriously sharing it is probably the biggest thing you could do. If you wanna donate to the line within us, go to our main website and the line within us as a donate page.

If you just wanna support the ministry, help us out right there, wherever you feel led. But if all you do is consume the podcast, I just pray that it helps you grow as a Christian man. That’s it. Send some forward it over to a buddy and help them grow as. That’s it guys. Come back on our next appointed time.

Look forward to seeing you just serving you again. Have a great day. Get after it and unleash the lion within.

Guys out. Hear all the time how we are isolated. We’re along. We don’t feel like we have anybody we can talk to. I’m here to tell you we took action. The line within us, we started a community and that thing is. 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 none 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 den.