Chris Grainger
Host
00:03
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, fellas, spiritual kick off time. I hope you’re excited. I am glad to have you here today.
00:17
Let’s dig into the word together. Okay, today we’re going to be in the book of Romans, chapter eight, and we’re going to look at just one verse, verse 17. It says Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Guys, i love this verse. Right here, we’re going to really unpack it. We’re going to look at it in depth to see how it can help us in our walk And, ultimately, what this is all about. Guys simplifying and applying God’s word to our daily life. That’s it. I know that you want to be a leader. I know that you have a lot of things that you feel like God’s calling you to do in your life. Well, before you start down any of those paths, you need to understand his word, because then, if you understand his word, then you can apply it to your life. Okay, let’s dig in, let’s go. You want to open up your Bible? feel free. If you’re just walking or you’re working out or you’re driving or something like that, just soak it in and you can go back to Romans eight later and make some notes. Okay, now Romans eight, 17. We don’t need to understand this. We got to understand where our Bible guys. Okay, so it’s in our New Testament. So go right past your Gospels, and again, your Gospels are Matthew, mark, Luke and John. So that’s what’s? quote, unquote, the Gospels. Then you get to book acts And then, after acts, you get to Romans. Okay, now, romans eight, arguably the most powerful chapter of the entire Bible. I’m just telling you Romans eight. If you just sit there and just soaked in that verse after verse, I’m going to tell you what It will help you grow. So much, so much. Okay. And we need to understand what Paul is telling us here. Okay, so Paul is really. What he’s doing is showing us what a life in Christ can truly lead us to. So, before we get too far, let’s look at a word, because we have a word here in this scripture. It’s actually brought up twice, actually three times in the scripture. It says heirs. Okay, we’re, then we are heirs, heirs of God, co heirs of Christ, and that’s H-E-I-R. Okay, that’s the word we’re looking at. So I just want to look that up. I wanted to see what that word actually meant, so I did OGG2G, go to Google.
02:31
Heir is the definition of a person that is legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person’s death. Okay, so for me, when I started thinking through air, what immediately came to mind was the royal family. Okay, when the queen passed away, what happened? There was the heir waiting to pick up her responsibility. That was it. That was a clearly defined path and lineage, and that came with. What A lot of responsibilities. That’s what it comes. If you were part of that royal family, you have a lot of responsibilities that come along with that. Right, when you are born, you know that these responsibilities are part of the package. Okay, now you may be thinking, okay, chris, that’s great, but I’m not part of the royal family and neither am I. Okay, i get it, but there is a tie here. There is a tie here.
03:16
Let’s start off with the children. Part of this verse Okay, that’s what it says right here. Now, if we are children and you guys immediately may be like what in the world? I’m not a kid. I raised kids. Maybe I’m raising grandkids. Okay, totally, get it. Totally get it. So we need to understand there’s some context here. We need to understand what the word is telling us.
03:35
The context of this verse is actually we need to look at verse 16 to have a better understanding of what Paul was pointing to And that verse I’ll just read it right here real quick. He said the Spirit Himself testifies that with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Now, if we think about that for a second children of God, you, me, that guy who’s frustrating you right now in traffic, okay, your ex-girlfriend. We’re all children of God. And that takes a minute to wrap our head around. Okay, the idea. When we actually get a better understanding of the idea, it changes everything It really does.
04:16
Now let’s look at John 1.12. Okay, because that’s going to frame up this whole point a little bit better for us. It says right here but to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become the children of God. Don’t miss that word. The right, right. There, fellas, we had the right to either accept God as our Father we do or choose to go our own path and deny him. You have that right Now. Nobody’s holding your feet to the fire, saying that you have to accept God as your Father or Jesus as Lord, so you have free will. But when we surrender to him, we become the heirs that Paul is referring to here. We become heirs Think about that for a second. We become heir with Christ because Christ is in us, and that is powerful, fellas. That is powerful. That should get you jacked up and ready to go and ready to move and ready to move forward, because what he’s pointing out to here is the father-child relationship. He loves us and he’s our father, and that.
05:28
I don’t know about you, but that just blows my mind. It really blows my mind. So for me, when I read descriptions and start digging into and thinking about it, i think about my father, my dad right in the relationship that we have, and I’ve never questioned it. For the years I’ve been on this earth, i’ve been able to call him my daddy. How much he loved me, right, and the things that he would do for me, the things that he went out and sacrificed for me because it wasn’t always easy raising me. Trust me, i know that Me and my brother, we were not cupcakes and rainbows to raise, but I never questioned for a second the love that he had. And I can go to him right now and I know he’s going to give me honest feedback. He’s going to give me direct feedback And he’s going to give me the feedback that, ultimately, is the truth, and I may not always want to hear it right, but he’s going to give me the truth And I know if I stepped out of line growing up, you know what He’s going to be there, he’s going to crack me right back in, sometimes out of the knock upside the head, sometimes it was with a look, sometimes it was with a word, but I never questioned for a second, for a second that it wasn’t done out of love, right.
06:36
And I can remember vividly, fellas, i’m telling you, my dad worked third shift at a time I understand his life, probably when I was maybe 10, 12 years old, and I remember when we had summer break and no matter what, we would hit that ball field, he’d come home from work, he’d change, we’d be out in that red pickup truck of his, headed to the ball field. Me and my brother sometimes would be in the back of the truck, sometimes we’d be in the front, but we would spend all day at that ball field in the hot summer sun right there in Virginia, north Carolina line, playing baseball for just hours. Right, He had just finished working an eight or 10 hour shift And he never complained. I never remember him at once saying he was tired or anything like that. He was just there And he showed up and he coached our teams. He coached our teams and he put up with stuff that nobody should have to put up with. If you coach youth sports, you know what I’m talking about. I’m seeing it now, because now I’m coaching youth sports and it’s come full circles. I totally see it. And then when we had school events or things like that special ceremonies, he was always there, man, sitting right next to my mom. He was there because the love of father comes forth in all things. That’s it.
07:51
And this verse gives us a peek into what that is like. When we accept that God loves us and we choose to cling to him, man, everything changes. And look, jesus went through some suffering. He did, he was suffering while he was here And he also experienced perfect glory in that post resurrection body. Right, so we can walk confidently right now, today, guys, that as his air, his air. Whatever trial you’re going through, whatever you’re facing right now, we can understand you are not facing this alone. You’re not. He’s with you. He wants to have that relationship with you. He wants to be there with you for each and every one of his children. We’re all special, we’re all unique. He loves each and every one of us. And guess what? The victory he had when he overcame death. Hey, we have access to that too, and that should pretty good. Jesus fired up right there. He defeated death over 2000 years ago And we can have confidence today, in 2023. That’s when this is recorded. Maybe you’re listening to this in future years, i don’t know. We can have confidence, as his heir, right now, that we can overcome death. We do not have to fear that anymore. Right, he defeated that.
09:12
So maybe you’re struggling with your identity Now. I know a lot of you guys are. Well, you don’t think that you’re good enough, or you think that you’re all alone. You think no one can love you because of things you’ve done in your past, and that you’re defined by that. Hey, i’m just here to tell you that’s wrong. That’s the last one, the evil one. This verse, right here, kicks that thought to the curb. Claim to the promise that you are his heir. You are, and trust in the fact that when you accept Christ as Lord, you immediately become that beloved co-heir Co-heir with Christ. How about that fellas? A co-heir with Christ? the royal priesthood? That’s what I’m talking about. God doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t, especially, especially when it comes to royalty. So you may be thinking you know what? I’m just a good old boy, or I’m just a city boy or I’m just a whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’m here to tell you, you, right here, you are co-heirs with Christ.
10:17
The word says it right here, in 817. I’m telling you, if you take this word and study it and let it soak in, let it sink in, just think about it, just let it ruminate, and I have a deeper understanding of what it’s telling you. Cause when you read this God’s word, don’t read it just looking at stories. Read it with the mirror. See what it’s telling you. Perplace your name right here. If Chris heir, also heir of God and fellow heirs of Christ, if indeed Chris suffers with him so that Chris can be glorified with him, now just use my name, but you replace your name and see how it changes, how the tone changes, how you should get fired up, how it shows you how you can be that co-heir with Christ.
11:05
So it’s time, fellas, it is time you start holding your head high and you start trusting in the God to lead you, to lead you as you search for opportunities to unleash the line with him. That’s what it’s all about. So, romans, when you just read the book of Romans and you get to chapter eight man, it’s power. You hear me guys talk about Romans eight and one all the time. Therefore, now, there was no combination for those in Christ Jesus. That is like my go-to verse, cause I hear so many guys talking about how bad they are, how much bad junk they’ve done and how they can’t be loved and how they screwed up and this and that, and look, i don’t mean to mean all this stuff, but I’m sure to tell you there’s no combination for those of Christ Jesus. You are not defined by that stuff. The only person that’s holding that stuff against you is you. Gotta let that stuff go. You have to take verses like this right here. Gotta lean into that. That. That is the ultimate truth, fellas. So here’s what she think about this as you move forward this week.
12:01
How does your identity as a child of God shape you? Your identity, i’m not talking about mine, but what is your identity? How does your identity as a child of God shape you? And I mean straight up have you ever even considered that you are a child of God? I know you’ve heard you’ve probably heard the Psalms and things like that, but have you ever thought back and think? you know what I am a child of God. That means something. That’s just not a saying, that’s just not a good chorus to a song. No, i am a child of God. That should shape you, that should change things.
12:38
And when that does, paul, you better get out the way, because he’s gonna do some incredible things If you choose to walk in obedience and listen, to do whatever it is he tells you to do. Now, if you haven’t accept Christ as your savior, you’re listening to this spiritual kickoff and you’re getting fired up and you’re feeling it and you got all the feels right now And yeah, this is great. Here’s the thing You only are a co-heir. Paul is very clear. You’re only a co-heir with God If you accept Christ as your savior. That’s it. Now, what does that mean That means you have to surrender. You have to surrender. It’s no longer about you. It’s no longer about you. It’s not about you and all your accolades and all the things you’ve accomplished Nope, you have to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That’s a simple process, but this is the biggest decision you’ll ever make.
13:32
But how does it work? Well, it starts off very simple. You just need to understand that you’re a sinner. Okay, the guy created the world The same one, sin, entered the world at the fall of Adam and Eve. Sin entered. Basically, there’s a gap, there’s a chasm. There’s nothing we can do as humans to overcome that. So you can’t nice your way in fellas And this is where I see so many guys getting wrong.
13:57
They feel like they can nice their way in. They can just be a good person or I just need to do better. I just need to do this or I just need to do this. Problem with all that is you’re starting with I and you, no matter how good you are. Even Mother Teresa, think about the greatest people that you’ve ever met. They are still sinners. They just are. They’re still sinners and they’re in need of a savior. So that admission that you are a sinner. That’s where the starting point, that is the starting point I am a sinner, i need help.
14:31
Okay, then you have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Okay, and this is where people get kind of squirrely a little bit. You know, you hear these tales of Jesus and you read the stories. And how do you know this stuff is true, while a lot of this stuff, fellas, it takes faith, takes faith and trust. I don’t know about you, but you got to remember James, half brother. Jesus wrote about Jesus being his Lord. I don’t know about you, but my brother, if he told me that he was God, well, you may be something, but you ain’t that right.
15:02
And just think about the other disciples that walk with Christ. Everyone of them, except for John who was exiled, everyone of them were killed. Would you be killed if he wanted to die for something that was faint? Don’t think so. But Jesus was the Son of God. He, yes, he descended from heaven, he came, he was born of a virgin, he walked with us, he taught us, he showed us, he performed miracles, he had signs, all these things. But then that led up to the point where he went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. And right there on that cross of Calvary, guys, his blood ran, and it ran for me, it ran for you, it ran for everybody, and that blood was the payment for our sins. That perfect blood. It had no sin. He became sin for us, guys. They laid him in a tomb three days later. He just rented that thing for us, because he came out, he overcame death. So Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected. That’s it And that’s who he worshiped. Right now He’s ascended to the Father. He’s sitting at the right hand of him right now And, guys, he is the Son of God.
16:14
So you have to believe that This is a hard thing. So once you know you’re a sinner, you believe that he is the Son of God. Next step is pretty simple You’ve got to confess him as Lord, and this means you’ve got to hit your knees. You’ve got to say you know what, god, i give up, i give up, i can’t do this. I’ve tried my way and it doesn’t work. And I know, i know that I don’t deserve this, but I know that you, you’ve given me this gift and I want to confess you as Lord and Savior.
16:44
And at that moment, when you confess him as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes we like to call it the lion within That then dwells you. The scales are going to drop from your eyes. You’re going to be able to see the world differently. You’re going to have that conviction from the Holy Spirit to do what he’s called you to do. And the next thing you know, your life is just going to be headed down a path of obedience. It’s not going to be better. Okay. It’s not saying this is not prosperity. It’s not going to say, all of a sudden, money’s going to start raining down and the girl of your dreams is going to come riding around the corner on a horse. No, that’s ridiculous. But what they’re saying? there’s a better way. That’s walking in obedience to Christ. Not an easier way, a better way. So if you’re ready to accept him as your Savior, this is the biggest decision you’ll ever make in your life.
17:27
If you have any questions about whether or not you are saved at this moment or not, i advise you to pray with me right now. So follow this. Thank you for today. Thank you for the opportunity at the Lion within us each and every week to share the gospel, to share the gospel with others through this platform. I just pray that there’s one listener out there right now, just one, who is moving one step closer to accepting you as Lord Savior, and I pray to, if this is the moment for them, that they just pray right now, they accept you into their heart, and I pray that at that moment, father, you, god, direct them. You give them wisdom and discernment, you show them the things that you desire. You brought them here to the lion for a reason. Maybe they’re searching. They want to see what this Christian stuff’s all about.
18:15
They wound up on this podcast with this guy from North Carolina who just talks about how much he loves Jesus and how, if we listen to him, that will make us better leaders. I don’t know. Your ways are better than my ways, lord. I know whoever’s listening right now. If they have not accepted you as their Lord Savior, i pray that they do it this moment And I pray you give them the peace that passes all understanding. You, god, direct them in this path. I’m just so thankful for you, god, how much you love us and pray all this according to your will, in Jesus name, amen.
18:45
Now, if you just accept the Christ, i want you to do me a favor. I want you to send me an email, and here’s why I got a bunch of free things I want to hook you up with, because now you’re in the battlefield. You are in it. I didn’t want to tell you before, but now you might as well know You’re in the battlefield. You’re out there. Satan is going to come attacking. It’s going to happen, but it’s okay, we have weapons. I want to hook you up with some weapons. So, support at the lionwithinus, support at the lionwithinus. I’ll hook you up with some free resources that will get you started. I also want to try to help you get plugged into a local church. Again, the lionwithinus is not your church. We are a good supplement for your church, but we are not your local church. So we need to get you plugged into a body believing church so that you can start to step in and have that spiritual growth that you need from a local fellowship standpoint as well.
19:35
Now I want you to check out our Wednesday episode. We’ll have a phone this week, fellas, which I think they’re all fun, but this week we’ve got a special guest who runs an organization that many of you are going to recognize. I’m not going to tell you where he is. Yet You’ve got to come back on Wednesday for that. But his journey this is a funny story how he and I met. We actually met on my trip to Louisiana. We’re going to unpack that. We’re going to have a lot of fun with that. But I’m telling you, guys, if you’re in a leadership position or you want to improve your leadership, come back for this one. We’re going to talk about how he leads this very, let’s just say, interesting group of very influential people to make a big difference, to make an impact. Guys, i think this is going to be one you’re going to enjoy for sure.
20:18
If you’re liking the spiritual kick-offs which I know a lot of you guys do we see the downloads. We know that this is one of the most popular episodes we have. Every week. We offer the daily spiritual kick-off Monday through Friday. It’s in our community. We have that as a special package as well. It’s a very easy way to get started with the line. With this. It’s only $5 a month, so check that out. That’s a great way, monday through Friday, to connect with me. I go live, i read scripture, we give insights. You can chat with me directly. You can’t make the lives. We post those inside the community. So there’s all sorts of ways to connect there. Obviously, we still have our full blown community that we’d love for you to check out. We have our leadership program we’d like you to check out. We have our live event. That live event is quickly coming up. Guys, i’m telling you, get your spot, because we only have a limited number of seats for that. Get your spot for the live event. It’s in October, it’s in North Carolina. It’s going to be awesome. Tell me, this is going to be fun stuff, fellas. So check that out.
21:12
If you want me to come start doing a speaking engagement for your men’s group before your church, connect with me. Go to our speaking page. The lion within US slash speaking. We’re getting stuff lined up for the fall, for the winter, so connect with me there. I would love to have a conversation with you to see how I can serve your church. We have a lot of really great presentations ready. We can do workshops. We can do full day workshops, half day workshops, whatever works for you and your church and your situation. We want to be there to help. Or if it’s just you and your guys group, i’m telling you, fellas, i’m here to help. So connect with me, let’s have a conversation. All those resources can be found at the lion within US. And don’t forget the V the lion within dot US.
21:56
All right, fellas, a good after. Have a great day, give us a rating review, share this stuff out with others. You know all that stuff matters. Come back on Wednesday. You’re going to really enjoy this conversation. I’m telling you it’s going to be a good one. Looking forward to it. So, for the rest of this week, until then, i want you to really lean into this problem, to this not problem versus Romans 817. Okay, lean into this one. Start thinking through how you are, that coerrion with Christ, and then start showing that to others. All right, guys, get after it. Have a great one. Keep unleashing the lion within. Are you ready to unlock your true potential?
22:33
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