September 8, 2025 • 24 mins
Every Christian man knows the tension—walking in a broken world while battling spiritual enemies that seek to destroy what God has called good. The war against lust isn't fought with flesh and blood weapons but with spiritual ones that God has already equipped us with. Pornography is a silent destroyer that thrives in darkness. It begins subtly—a glance becomes a lingering look, a momentary thought grows unchecked, and before we realize it, we're trapped in cycles of guilt, shame, and isolation. The real danger isn't just the act itself but how it warps our perception of love, sex, and relationships while driving us away from the very community we need for healing.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving
Christian men who are hungry tobe the leaders God intends you
to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, fellas, this is yourspiritual kickoff episode.
Let's get into it, okay?
So the scripture of the weekthis week, 2 Corinthians 10,
chapter 3, verse For though wewalk in the flesh, we do not war
(00:24):
according to the flesh.
Ok, now we're going to see howwe can simplify and apply this
to our life.
Right, and as a reminder, guys,we do a spiritual kickoff every
day, monday through Friday,within our line within this
community.
So if you just enjoy these inany way, if they encourage you,
jump on over the line withinthat US is a free way we offer
to just get guys introduced towhat we do as well.
(00:45):
But just to encourage them,fellas, just encourage.
So it's all within our platform.
It's all exclusive.
We don't put the recordingsanywhere else.
Cool part is if you can joinlive when I do them every
morning, usually between 8 and8.15 am Eastern If you can join
that live, you get a chance tochat directly.
And if you can't join live,don't worry, we post those
videos every morning.
(01:06):
So when they're finished theyhave to render on our end, and
then we post the videos thereand that's it.
So they live there.
So it's a great way.
We've been working through theMinor Prophets.
This has been a fun one.
We just did last year and ahalf, we worked through the
Psalms, every Psalm, so it'sbeen incredible.
We've worked through someGospels before, some Old
(01:26):
Testament books for sure, butnow we're in the minor prophets.
I'm actually right now we're inthe book of Joel.
So there you go, fellas.
So for this verse today, though,we need to understand, first of
all, where is it?
We don't want to assumeanything here at the Alliance.
So 2 Corinthians, that is yourNew Testament.
Okay, that is your NewTestament.
Ok, after First Corinthians,before Galatians.
So you'll go past your Matthew,mark, luke and John, your Acts
(01:50):
here, and then you'll get to tothese areas.
Ok, so that you want to just beaware of, kind of, where you're
looking at in your, in yourBible.
All right, so now, this weekwe're going to talk about some
heavy stuff and primarilywalking in the light,
particularly with fellowbrothers in Christ, because this
war that's raging against theflesh right now, guys, it is
(02:13):
freaking unreal.
Ok, as we live in a physicalworld, but as a Christian man,
we got to recognize hey, thebattle we're fighting is
anything but flesh and blood.
Ok, because we're not anythingbut flesh and blood.
Okay, because we're not.
What's this say?
Right, here we are.
Do not war according to theflesh.
So that's not it.
We know it's evil, but every daythere's a tension between
(02:40):
walking in a broken world and abroken body, with a spiritual
enemy that wants to absolutelysteal, kill, destroy everything
God has called good.
He just has.
John 10,.
10 is as true today as it everwas right, and we have to be
careful because it's a subtlepath towards destruction that we
often take and a regular battlethat I hear from other guys
(03:02):
I've battled this myself toothat we face as men is the war
against lust, because it doesn'tusually come out as just like a
blatant rebellion.
Lust starts creeping in quietly.
It's a longing or a feat tofeel something right, to feel
affirmed, to be excited, to bedesired, to be powerful, to be
(03:24):
seen, and then that desire tofeel those things slowly gives
way to what, to compromise.
It just does A glance.
At first you can't control thefirst, look, but you can,
doggone, control the second, andthen that glance turns into a
linger, a scroll turns into aclick, a scroll turns into a
(03:45):
click.
A thought is actually acted oninstead of being captured Right,
and before we know it, thatdoor is open for destruction and
pornography is a.
It's a silent killer.
Guys, let's just be real,because what is?
Where does pornography thrivethe most?
(04:05):
Secrecy?
Let's just be real, becausewhere does pornography thrive
the most Secrecy?
Let's just be real.
None of you guys are sittingaround with a bunch of other
guys watching porn.
That would just be freakingweird.
No, it's secrecy and it warpsus, it warps our hearts, it
rewires our brains and thebiggest problem is it distorts
God's design for love, for sexand for relationships.
(04:28):
And once that pornography doorgets cracked open, it's so hard
to shut it, fellas, becauseguilt starts to set in or shame
starts being multiplied Right,and then one of the biggest
problems isolation starts totake root.
And once isolation takes rootand you have guilt and you have
shame plugging into you, satanis having a field day.
(04:51):
He just is.
And anytime we stay in theshadows, he's celebrating,
because that's where he kicksour freaking butts at is in the
shadows and the world out.
There they are.
There are some solutions andthey are useful, but I've often
found that these are justinsignificant or insufficient,
(05:12):
rather, and the solutions outthere are like filters for your,
for your computer and phone,things like that software.
You have accountability appsout there.
Now you have therapy something.
Therapy can be very good aswell, and none of these should
be dismissed because you mayneed to use a multitude of
different resources.
(05:32):
But we, as Christian men, weneed to understand one thing
that these are not the weapons,they're just reinforcements.
The real power isn't found in aprogram, it's found in the word
of God, because, think about it,when Jesus faced temptation in
the wilderness, he didn't quotesome philosophy.
(05:54):
Did he Heck?
No, he didn't phone a friend.
He didn't have a phone, but hecould have.
I mean, he didn't phone afriend.
You know what I'm saying.
He responded with three words,and these are so simple words
and they carry so much weightfor us as Christian guys.
It is written, that's it.
(06:18):
And think about this If the Sonof God used scripture to fight
the enemy, why don't we?
Why don't we?
Because you ain't going to winthis battle with willpower,
fellas, you just ain't.
As someone who struggled mywhole life with just food.
I mean, I'm not at my idealweight, but I'm definitely
(06:40):
better than I was right.
I've lost about 120 somethingpounds since my oldest would be
was 15 years ago.
But it's constant fightingagainst it and some days are
better than others.
But you win these battles bywielding the sword of the spirit
, the word of God, consistentlyWith extreme discipline, and you
(07:05):
often are wielding it out ofdesperation.
And we have to remember that weare equipped for war.
He has equipped us witheverything we need to stand firm
.
He's given us his word.
That's the offensive weapon.
He's given us his spirit.
That's our power source.
It's nonstop.
We have that power.
(07:26):
The Holy Spirit dwells at alltimes.
It's not just nine to five andafter five it checks out.
It don't work that way.
And he's also given us people.
These are our brothers inChrist, because this can't just
be some box to check boys.
This is how we aim ourselvesfor war.
So we have to memorize verses,we have to pray verses out loud.
(07:49):
When I went, I just got backfrom a little retreat with my
wife and one thing God just gaveme Psalm 40 for some reason for
that weekend, for a season ofLifetime man and it just hit me,
just pray this back to Him.
So that's literally what I did.
I opened my Bible and I prayedout loud, just reading Psalm 40,
back to God, and thenmeditating and reflecting on the
(08:13):
truth from God's word.
That's what I enjoy doing themost, because that's how you
reshape your mind and thisanchors us in righteousness,
that right standing with God,and it tears down any
strongholds that the enemy istrying to build.
But I want to caution you righthere.
Even if you have the rightweapon in hand which you should
(08:37):
we were never meant to fightalone, because lust flourishes
in isolation.
Because lust flourishes inisolation.
But I'm telling you, afterbeing in the lion now for
several years and just seeingthe impact it has on guys,
victory grows in communitybecause God didn't decide us to
do this stuff alone.
Fellas, every soldier thinkabout this every soldier out
(08:58):
there needs a unit.
He just does Every warrior.
They need a shield bearer.
So if you don't have brothers inChrist to walk with, to pray
with, to confess to, to beencouraged by, then your
likelihood of being defeatedgoes up.
And I'm telling you, this stuffdoesn't happen by accident.
You're not going to find thetrue brothers out there just
(09:21):
trip up and fall over.
It takes intentional steps likejoining a men's group or
joining an alliance within us,or seeking out one-on-one
discipleship and being able toconfess what's really going on
without any shame orcondemnation whatsoever.
James tells us in chapter 5,confess your sins to one another
(09:44):
and pray for another that youmay be healed.
So freedom, for that freedomthat we're searching for starts
with confession, and thathealing begins when we can
actually be honest with eachother.
Get it.
So if you're listening to thisright now and you feel the
weight of the battle that you'refighting against pornography, I
(10:07):
just need you to hear this, broyou are not alone and you are
not beyond saving, you are notbeyond freedom.
But also hear this you cannotweigh this, win this war by just
playing defense.
Can't do it, man.
You got to put some runs on theboard, bro.
You can't just be defensive,and be offensive means getting
(10:32):
into the word of God, gettingwith other brothers in Christ,
getting honest and actuallygetting serious about attacking
this, because Satan just wantsyou to think I'll deal with it
one day, or he wants you to feelstuck with it one day, or he
wants you to feel stuck or thatyou're too far gone, but God
wants you to be free, bro.
So, while we're walking in theflesh, remember you do not have
(10:56):
to war.
According to the flesh, theHoly Spirit is so much stronger,
the word is so much sharper andthe light is brother, the light
is brighter, I'm telling you,brotherhood is where it's at.
So, fellas, be encouraged andalso reach out, bro, if you need
(11:18):
help, if you just need someoneto talk, to reach out, because
that is why we started Delilahwith Dennis, to serve guys in
these areas.
And our question we're going tothink about this week is what
small compromises have goneunchecked in your own life?
And I don't know what thatcompromise is.
I can tell you one.
Here's a.
(11:38):
Here's a quick litmus test.
This is not even in my notes,but it's just something for me.
It's just, it's very salient.
If you were to hand your wifeyour cell phone at any time,
actually check.
If your wife or girlfriend wereto pick up your cell phone at
any time and had full access toit, would your heart rate be
(12:02):
impacted whatsoever?
So would it go up?
If she picked up your phone andhad complete, unfettered access
to everything on your phone,would there be an elevation in
your heart rate.
If the thought of that makesyour heart rate elevate, that's
(12:29):
your checkpoint right now.
There has been a compromisesomewhere in your walk.
Don't feel condemned, butrecognize that to be true.
There should never be a momentwhere your significant other
cannot pick up your phone orlook on your laptop or your
tablet whatever that device iswithout any fear of browsing
history or potentially findingareas that shouldn't be there.
(12:53):
Let's just say that.
So, if you have thosecompromises and that convicted
you right there, reach outTheLionWithinus.
Connect with us directly.
Okay, that's what it's about.
And look, chris, atTheLionWithinus.
Connect with us directly.
Okay, that's what it's about.
And look, chris, atTheLionWithinus.
That's my email.
Send me a note, because I wantto at least plug in with you,
try to encourage you and alsosee if we can get you plugged
(13:14):
into some resources that aregoing to help you along this
journey, primarily some otherbrothers in Christ, okay.
So for that listener out there,though, who found the lion
within us, and maybe you'recurious about Jesus, what this
whole Christian thing is about,I just want to take a minute
here.
We always do this at the end ofevery Spiritual Kickoff episode
(13:36):
, just to let you know.
And it all started with God'sperfect design this world.
Believe it or not, I know it'sjacked up now, bro, it's so
jacked up, but at the beginningit was perfect, it was
(13:56):
absolutely great.
And then God formed the firstman.
His name was Adam, with hishands, and the Bible tells us he
breathed the breath of life,the Ruah, into his nostrils.
Then Adam set up.
He was face to face with hiscreator, made in the image of
God.
How cool is that?
That Adam was in the gardenwith God.
(14:18):
You think about that and itjust blows your mind.
There's nothing.
Think about a world wherenothing can go wrong.
It's just perfect.
That's what Adam experiencedand it went great for like two
pages in my Bible Maybe it'smore than yours, but I don't
(14:40):
know Page and a half, two pagesabout his general Genesis 3.
That's's, we have sin enteringthe world and from that moment
when sin entered, it separatedus from god.
So we have a holy and righteousgod and we have us who are not
holy.
We're not set apart.
(15:01):
There's this chasm, there'sthis gap between us and we try
to close that gap with things inthis world, with good deeds,
good works, which all thesethings.
I want you to do this stuff,fellas.
I'm not telling you to go outthere and not help people, but
the problem is we start thinkingthat those works earn our
(15:23):
salvation.
Right, and we, just we do it.
We go to church, we read Bibles,we'll pray, we'll, we'll help
little old ladies cross thestreet, we'll give money to good
organizations and things likethat, and all that stuff is fine
and dandy, but it doesn't coverour sin need, you know, because
(15:45):
the payment for sin is death.
So this gap that we havebetween Holy and righteous God
and us, we can't cover on ourown, you know.
We need someone to cover for uswhat we can't do for ourselves.
So what we truly need, once werecognize this to be true, is a
(16:07):
Savior In comes.
Jesus, who left heaven on arescue mission for us, came to
earth, was born of a virgin,fulfilled all the prophecies,
did all the miracles did all theteachings, showed us the way,
gave us everything we needed tounderstand Raising people from
the dead, healing lame people,blind people.
(16:28):
It was crazy what Jesus did,but all of that, he left heaven
on the rescue mission to go tothe cross to pay the penalty for
our sins, because we can't payit for ourselves.
So he was the perfect savior.
Payment for all the sins,propitiation, the payment that
satisfies.
(16:49):
That was Jesus.
And he nailed him to a cross.
They crucified him and he died.
And the penalty for death?
Payment for death rather sin.
The payment for sin is deathright.
So he died on the cross andthat's Christ.
(17:15):
Now, the fundamental differencebetween Christianity and all the
other religions of the world isthat it doesn't end there with
the death of our Messiah.
They laid him in a tomb.
They did for three days.
It was kind of like an Airbnbfor Jesus.
He only needed it.
They did for three days.
It's kind of like an Airbnb forJesus.
He only needed it for just forthose three days, because then
he rose, so he overcame death.
(17:36):
That's the big difference.
All the other religions outthere, their leaders are still
in the ground, they're stilldead.
Jesus lives.
That's what we celebrate.
That's why we choose tosurrender to him.
That's why we choose tosurrender to him.
That's why we choose for him tobe our Lord and Savior.
Because I don't know about you,but I'm going with the guy who
(17:57):
overcame death 10 times out of10.
And I know it's not going to beeasy on my walk, but it
definitely is going to be better, because I'm walking with Jesus
and that's the hope we have.
There's no other name underheaven that's been given among
men by which we must be saved,fellas, it is it, jesus is it.
He's the way, the truth and thelife.
Fellas, I'm telling you, hechanges everything, about
(18:19):
everything.
So if you're listening to theLion, you've made it this far,
through the spiritual kickoffepisode, and you've never
surrendered your life to theLordship of Jesus Christ.
You're here for a reason, bro.
I don't know why.
I really don't know why.
I just know one thing we'regoing to diligently, every week
at the Lion, good Lord willing,as long as he gives me the
(18:41):
strength and the ability to dothis, we're just going to share
the good news of the gospel andwe're going to let the Spirit do
what the Spirit does.
So if you're ready to acceptChrist as your Savior, you're
ready to confess Him as Lord, Idon't care if you're driving
down the road, if you're on atreadmill, if you're on a walk,
if you're at work.
Wherever you are, listen to thelion.
It could be cutting grass.
(19:04):
Now's the time.
Now's the time to make the mostimportant decision you'll ever
make in your life.
So if you're ready to do that,I'll pray with you right now.
So let's just pray it up.
So, heavenly Father, thank youso much for this opportunity
just to share the good news ofthe gospel.
There may be one person outthere who recognizes and admits
(19:26):
that they are a sinner in needof a Savior and Lord.
They believe that they are asinner in need of a Savior and
Lord.
They believe that you are theSon of God, that you are the way
, the truth and the life.
They believe that you are it,jesus, and they're right now
confessing you as Lord andSavior of their life.
So I pray, you hear theirprayer.
I pray, father, you just givethem encouragement.
(19:48):
You put people on their path.
That's going to help them asthey begin their personal
discipleship journey right heretoday.
And we praise you, we love youand we do all this according to
your will, in Jesus' name, amen.
So if you just accepted Christ,look, I want to hear from you,
chris, at the lion within, dotus.
Ok, shoot me an email.
The main reason is I want tohear from you, chris, at the
(20:08):
lion within, dot us.
Ok, shoot me an email.
The main reason is I want tohook you up with some free
resources.
We have a lot of ways to helpyou get started.
So some of those it is written.
I want to give you some ofthose right at the gate just to
encourage you you know, it maybe just a good way to get kind
of jumpstart your, yourdiscipleship journey and also
just want to find out whereyou're located, because we may
be able to, with the resourceswe have all over the country, we
(20:29):
may be able to help you.
At least think about what tolook for when you start
considering a local church.
Okay, and if you're in a localchurch, maybe it's a good thing
to we can help you with toevaluate should I stay in this
one or should I look for anotherone, because once you really
start leaning into God's wordand start being obedient in that
(20:49):
, you may have some red flagsout there that you know what
these are.
They're too big to ignore.
So therefore, I need to make adecision.
We want to help you with that,all right, so shoot me an email.
I'd love to help you with that,ok, thank you so much for
listening.
Look our episode on Wednesdayfor the meat episode.
This week we're going to bediving deeper into this topic of
(21:10):
pornography Some really goodresources out there to help you
guys who are struggling withthis, who just need some help in
these areas.
So head over and we'll see thatepisode come out.
The line within that US iswhere we have all that the
resources that we currently have.
We also have a really cool Devoon the Bible app right now, for
I'm just a guy battlingpornography, so open up your
(21:31):
Bible app, search for that.
You should see that right thereat the front of it.
Okay, within the Bible app.
So, other than that, fellas,have a great day.
The lion withinus is how youfind all our resources, from our
daily spiritual kickoff to ourcommunity, to our leadership
masterminds.
They are three primary waysthat we try to serve.
So jump in, get started.
Daily SKO is free.
(21:56):
Jump into the community.
Jump into or make anapplication, rather, for
Leadership Mastermind, and wesee if we can get you plugged in
.
All right, guys, have a greatday.
Come back next time.
Thank you so much for listening.
Give us a rating and review andjust keep on leashing the lion
within.
I've got something big to share.
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle was
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
(22:16):
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past in a
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it andthat's exactly why we built our
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
(22:38):
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
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Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
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(23:01):
Every man needs a strongholdand you don't have to fight
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If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving
Christian men who are hungry tobe the leaders God intends you
to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, fellas, this is yourspiritual kickoff episode.
Let's get into it, okay?
So the scripture of the weekthis week, 2 Corinthians 10,
chapter 3, verse For though wewalk in the flesh, we do not war
(00:24):
according to the flesh.
Ok, now we're going to see howwe can simplify and apply this
to our life.
Right, and as a reminder, guys,we do a spiritual kickoff every
day, monday through Friday,within our line within this
community.
So if you just enjoy these inany way, if they encourage you,
jump on over the line withinthat US is a free way we offer
to just get guys introduced towhat we do as well.
(00:45):
But just to encourage them,fellas, just encourage.
So it's all within our platform.
It's all exclusive.
We don't put the recordingsanywhere else.
Cool part is if you can joinlive when I do them every
morning, usually between 8 and8.15 am Eastern If you can join
that live, you get a chance tochat directly.
And if you can't join live,don't worry, we post those
videos every morning.
(01:06):
So when they're finished theyhave to render on our end, and
then we post the videos thereand that's it.
So they live there.
So it's a great way.
We've been working through theMinor Prophets.
This has been a fun one.
We just did last year and ahalf, we worked through the
Psalms, every Psalm, so it'sbeen incredible.
We've worked through someGospels before, some Old
(01:26):
Testament books for sure, butnow we're in the minor prophets.
I'm actually right now we're inthe book of Joel.
So there you go, fellas.
So for this verse today, though,we need to understand, first of
all, where is it?
We don't want to assumeanything here at the Alliance.
So 2 Corinthians, that is yourNew Testament.
Okay, that is your NewTestament.
Ok, after First Corinthians,before Galatians.
So you'll go past your Matthew,mark, luke and John, your Acts
(01:50):
here, and then you'll get to tothese areas.
Ok, so that you want to just beaware of, kind of, where you're
looking at in your, in yourBible.
All right, so now, this weekwe're going to talk about some
heavy stuff and primarilywalking in the light,
particularly with fellowbrothers in Christ, because this
war that's raging against theflesh right now, guys, it is
(02:13):
freaking unreal.
Ok, as we live in a physicalworld, but as a Christian man,
we got to recognize hey, thebattle we're fighting is
anything but flesh and blood.
Ok, because we're not anythingbut flesh and blood.
Okay, because we're not.
What's this say?
Right, here we are.
Do not war according to theflesh.
So that's not it.
We know it's evil, but every daythere's a tension between
(02:40):
walking in a broken world and abroken body, with a spiritual
enemy that wants to absolutelysteal, kill, destroy everything
God has called good.
He just has.
John 10,.
10 is as true today as it everwas right, and we have to be
careful because it's a subtlepath towards destruction that we
often take and a regular battlethat I hear from other guys
(03:02):
I've battled this myself toothat we face as men is the war
against lust, because it doesn'tusually come out as just like a
blatant rebellion.
Lust starts creeping in quietly.
It's a longing or a feat tofeel something right, to feel
affirmed, to be excited, to bedesired, to be powerful, to be
(03:24):
seen, and then that desire tofeel those things slowly gives
way to what, to compromise.
It just does A glance.
At first you can't control thefirst, look, but you can,
doggone, control the second, andthen that glance turns into a
linger, a scroll turns into aclick, a scroll turns into a
(03:45):
click.
A thought is actually acted oninstead of being captured Right,
and before we know it, thatdoor is open for destruction and
pornography is a.
It's a silent killer.
Guys, let's just be real,because what is?
Where does pornography thrivethe most?
(04:05):
Secrecy?
Let's just be real, becausewhere does pornography thrive
the most Secrecy?
Let's just be real.
None of you guys are sittingaround with a bunch of other
guys watching porn.
That would just be freakingweird.
No, it's secrecy and it warpsus, it warps our hearts, it
rewires our brains and thebiggest problem is it distorts
God's design for love, for sexand for relationships.
(04:28):
And once that pornography doorgets cracked open, it's so hard
to shut it, fellas, becauseguilt starts to set in or shame
starts being multiplied Right,and then one of the biggest
problems isolation starts totake root.
And once isolation takes rootand you have guilt and you have
shame plugging into you, satanis having a field day.
(04:51):
He just is.
And anytime we stay in theshadows, he's celebrating,
because that's where he kicksour freaking butts at is in the
shadows and the world out.
There they are.
There are some solutions andthey are useful, but I've often
found that these are justinsignificant or insufficient,
(05:12):
rather, and the solutions outthere are like filters for your,
for your computer and phone,things like that software.
You have accountability appsout there.
Now you have therapy something.
Therapy can be very good aswell, and none of these should
be dismissed because you mayneed to use a multitude of
different resources.
(05:32):
But we, as Christian men, weneed to understand one thing
that these are not the weapons,they're just reinforcements.
The real power isn't found in aprogram, it's found in the word
of God, because, think about it,when Jesus faced temptation in
the wilderness, he didn't quotesome philosophy.
(05:54):
Did he Heck?
No, he didn't phone a friend.
He didn't have a phone, but hecould have.
I mean, he didn't phone afriend.
You know what I'm saying.
He responded with three words,and these are so simple words
and they carry so much weightfor us as Christian guys.
It is written, that's it.
(06:18):
And think about this If the Sonof God used scripture to fight
the enemy, why don't we?
Why don't we?
Because you ain't going to winthis battle with willpower,
fellas, you just ain't.
As someone who struggled mywhole life with just food.
I mean, I'm not at my idealweight, but I'm definitely
(06:40):
better than I was right.
I've lost about 120 somethingpounds since my oldest would be
was 15 years ago.
But it's constant fightingagainst it and some days are
better than others.
But you win these battles bywielding the sword of the spirit
, the word of God, consistentlyWith extreme discipline, and you
(07:05):
often are wielding it out ofdesperation.
And we have to remember that weare equipped for war.
He has equipped us witheverything we need to stand firm
.
He's given us his word.
That's the offensive weapon.
He's given us his spirit.
That's our power source.
It's nonstop.
We have that power.
(07:26):
The Holy Spirit dwells at alltimes.
It's not just nine to five andafter five it checks out.
It don't work that way.
And he's also given us people.
These are our brothers inChrist, because this can't just
be some box to check boys.
This is how we aim ourselvesfor war.
So we have to memorize verses,we have to pray verses out loud.
(07:49):
When I went, I just got backfrom a little retreat with my
wife and one thing God just gaveme Psalm 40 for some reason for
that weekend, for a season ofLifetime man and it just hit me,
just pray this back to Him.
So that's literally what I did.
I opened my Bible and I prayedout loud, just reading Psalm 40,
back to God, and thenmeditating and reflecting on the
(08:13):
truth from God's word.
That's what I enjoy doing themost, because that's how you
reshape your mind and thisanchors us in righteousness,
that right standing with God,and it tears down any
strongholds that the enemy istrying to build.
But I want to caution you righthere.
Even if you have the rightweapon in hand which you should
(08:37):
we were never meant to fightalone, because lust flourishes
in isolation.
Because lust flourishes inisolation.
But I'm telling you, afterbeing in the lion now for
several years and just seeingthe impact it has on guys,
victory grows in communitybecause God didn't decide us to
do this stuff alone.
Fellas, every soldier thinkabout this every soldier out
(08:58):
there needs a unit.
He just does Every warrior.
They need a shield bearer.
So if you don't have brothers inChrist to walk with, to pray
with, to confess to, to beencouraged by, then your
likelihood of being defeatedgoes up.
And I'm telling you, this stuffdoesn't happen by accident.
You're not going to find thetrue brothers out there just
(09:21):
trip up and fall over.
It takes intentional steps likejoining a men's group or
joining an alliance within us,or seeking out one-on-one
discipleship and being able toconfess what's really going on
without any shame orcondemnation whatsoever.
James tells us in chapter 5,confess your sins to one another
(09:44):
and pray for another that youmay be healed.
So freedom, for that freedomthat we're searching for starts
with confession, and thathealing begins when we can
actually be honest with eachother.
Get it.
So if you're listening to thisright now and you feel the
weight of the battle that you'refighting against pornography, I
(10:07):
just need you to hear this, broyou are not alone and you are
not beyond saving, you are notbeyond freedom.
But also hear this you cannotweigh this, win this war by just
playing defense.
Can't do it, man.
You got to put some runs on theboard, bro.
You can't just be defensive,and be offensive means getting
(10:32):
into the word of God, gettingwith other brothers in Christ,
getting honest and actuallygetting serious about attacking
this, because Satan just wantsyou to think I'll deal with it
one day, or he wants you to feelstuck with it one day, or he
wants you to feel stuck or thatyou're too far gone, but God
wants you to be free, bro.
So, while we're walking in theflesh, remember you do not have
(10:56):
to war.
According to the flesh, theHoly Spirit is so much stronger,
the word is so much sharper andthe light is brother, the light
is brighter, I'm telling you,brotherhood is where it's at.
So, fellas, be encouraged andalso reach out, bro, if you need
(11:18):
help, if you just need someoneto talk, to reach out, because
that is why we started Delilahwith Dennis, to serve guys in
these areas.
And our question we're going tothink about this week is what
small compromises have goneunchecked in your own life?
And I don't know what thatcompromise is.
I can tell you one.
Here's a.
(11:38):
Here's a quick litmus test.
This is not even in my notes,but it's just something for me.
It's just, it's very salient.
If you were to hand your wifeyour cell phone at any time,
actually check.
If your wife or girlfriend wereto pick up your cell phone at
any time and had full access toit, would your heart rate be
(12:02):
impacted whatsoever?
So would it go up?
If she picked up your phone andhad complete, unfettered access
to everything on your phone,would there be an elevation in
your heart rate.
If the thought of that makesyour heart rate elevate, that's
(12:29):
your checkpoint right now.
There has been a compromisesomewhere in your walk.
Don't feel condemned, butrecognize that to be true.
There should never be a momentwhere your significant other
cannot pick up your phone orlook on your laptop or your
tablet whatever that device iswithout any fear of browsing
history or potentially findingareas that shouldn't be there.
(12:53):
Let's just say that.
So, if you have thosecompromises and that convicted
you right there, reach outTheLionWithinus.
Connect with us directly.
Okay, that's what it's about.
And look, chris, atTheLionWithinus.
Connect with us directly.
Okay, that's what it's about.
And look, chris, atTheLionWithinus.
That's my email.
Send me a note, because I wantto at least plug in with you,
try to encourage you and alsosee if we can get you plugged
(13:14):
into some resources that aregoing to help you along this
journey, primarily some otherbrothers in Christ, okay.
So for that listener out there,though, who found the lion
within us, and maybe you'recurious about Jesus, what this
whole Christian thing is about,I just want to take a minute
here.
We always do this at the end ofevery Spiritual Kickoff episode
(13:36):
, just to let you know.
And it all started with God'sperfect design this world.
Believe it or not, I know it'sjacked up now, bro, it's so
jacked up, but at the beginningit was perfect, it was
(13:56):
absolutely great.
And then God formed the firstman.
His name was Adam, with hishands, and the Bible tells us he
breathed the breath of life,the Ruah, into his nostrils.
Then Adam set up.
He was face to face with hiscreator, made in the image of
God.
How cool is that?
That Adam was in the gardenwith God.
(14:18):
You think about that and itjust blows your mind.
There's nothing.
Think about a world wherenothing can go wrong.
It's just perfect.
That's what Adam experiencedand it went great for like two
pages in my Bible Maybe it'smore than yours, but I don't
(14:40):
know Page and a half, two pagesabout his general Genesis 3.
That's's, we have sin enteringthe world and from that moment
when sin entered, it separatedus from god.
So we have a holy and righteousgod and we have us who are not
holy.
We're not set apart.
(15:01):
There's this chasm, there'sthis gap between us and we try
to close that gap with things inthis world, with good deeds,
good works, which all thesethings.
I want you to do this stuff,fellas.
I'm not telling you to go outthere and not help people, but
the problem is we start thinkingthat those works earn our
(15:23):
salvation.
Right, and we, just we do it.
We go to church, we read Bibles,we'll pray, we'll, we'll help
little old ladies cross thestreet, we'll give money to good
organizations and things likethat, and all that stuff is fine
and dandy, but it doesn't coverour sin need, you know, because
(15:45):
the payment for sin is death.
So this gap that we havebetween Holy and righteous God
and us, we can't cover on ourown, you know.
We need someone to cover for uswhat we can't do for ourselves.
So what we truly need, once werecognize this to be true, is a
(16:07):
Savior In comes.
Jesus, who left heaven on arescue mission for us, came to
earth, was born of a virgin,fulfilled all the prophecies,
did all the miracles did all theteachings, showed us the way,
gave us everything we needed tounderstand Raising people from
the dead, healing lame people,blind people.
(16:28):
It was crazy what Jesus did,but all of that, he left heaven
on the rescue mission to go tothe cross to pay the penalty for
our sins, because we can't payit for ourselves.
So he was the perfect savior.
Payment for all the sins,propitiation, the payment that
satisfies.
(16:49):
That was Jesus.
And he nailed him to a cross.
They crucified him and he died.
And the penalty for death?
Payment for death rather sin.
The payment for sin is deathright.
So he died on the cross andthat's Christ.
(17:15):
Now, the fundamental differencebetween Christianity and all the
other religions of the world isthat it doesn't end there with
the death of our Messiah.
They laid him in a tomb.
They did for three days.
It was kind of like an Airbnbfor Jesus.
He only needed it.
They did for three days.
It's kind of like an Airbnb forJesus.
He only needed it for just forthose three days, because then
he rose, so he overcame death.
(17:36):
That's the big difference.
All the other religions outthere, their leaders are still
in the ground, they're stilldead.
Jesus lives.
That's what we celebrate.
That's why we choose tosurrender to him.
That's why we choose tosurrender to him.
That's why we choose for him tobe our Lord and Savior.
Because I don't know about you,but I'm going with the guy who
(17:57):
overcame death 10 times out of10.
And I know it's not going to beeasy on my walk, but it
definitely is going to be better, because I'm walking with Jesus
and that's the hope we have.
There's no other name underheaven that's been given among
men by which we must be saved,fellas, it is it, jesus is it.
He's the way, the truth and thelife.
Fellas, I'm telling you, hechanges everything, about
(18:19):
everything.
So if you're listening to theLion, you've made it this far,
through the spiritual kickoffepisode, and you've never
surrendered your life to theLordship of Jesus Christ.
You're here for a reason, bro.
I don't know why.
I really don't know why.
I just know one thing we'regoing to diligently, every week
at the Lion, good Lord willing,as long as he gives me the
(18:41):
strength and the ability to dothis, we're just going to share
the good news of the gospel andwe're going to let the Spirit do
what the Spirit does.
So if you're ready to acceptChrist as your Savior, you're
ready to confess Him as Lord, Idon't care if you're driving
down the road, if you're on atreadmill, if you're on a walk,
if you're at work.
Wherever you are, listen to thelion.
It could be cutting grass.
(19:04):
Now's the time.
Now's the time to make the mostimportant decision you'll ever
make in your life.
So if you're ready to do that,I'll pray with you right now.
So let's just pray it up.
So, heavenly Father, thank youso much for this opportunity
just to share the good news ofthe gospel.
There may be one person outthere who recognizes and admits
(19:26):
that they are a sinner in needof a Savior and Lord.
They believe that they are asinner in need of a Savior and
Lord.
They believe that you are theSon of God, that you are the way
, the truth and the life.
They believe that you are it,jesus, and they're right now
confessing you as Lord andSavior of their life.
So I pray, you hear theirprayer.
I pray, father, you just givethem encouragement.
(19:48):
You put people on their path.
That's going to help them asthey begin their personal
discipleship journey right heretoday.
And we praise you, we love youand we do all this according to
your will, in Jesus' name, amen.
So if you just accepted Christ,look, I want to hear from you,
chris, at the lion within, dotus.
Ok, shoot me an email.
The main reason is I want tohear from you, chris, at the
(20:08):
lion within, dot us.
Ok, shoot me an email.
The main reason is I want tohook you up with some free
resources.
We have a lot of ways to helpyou get started.
So some of those it is written.
I want to give you some ofthose right at the gate just to
encourage you you know, it maybe just a good way to get kind
of jumpstart your, yourdiscipleship journey and also
just want to find out whereyou're located, because we may
be able to, with the resourceswe have all over the country, we
(20:29):
may be able to help you.
At least think about what tolook for when you start
considering a local church.
Okay, and if you're in a localchurch, maybe it's a good thing
to we can help you with toevaluate should I stay in this
one or should I look for anotherone, because once you really
start leaning into God's wordand start being obedient in that
(20:49):
, you may have some red flagsout there that you know what
these are.
They're too big to ignore.
So therefore, I need to make adecision.
We want to help you with that,all right, so shoot me an email.
I'd love to help you with that,ok, thank you so much for
listening.
Look our episode on Wednesdayfor the meat episode.
This week we're going to bediving deeper into this topic of
(21:10):
pornography Some really goodresources out there to help you
guys who are struggling withthis, who just need some help in
these areas.
So head over and we'll see thatepisode come out.
The line within that US iswhere we have all that the
resources that we currently have.
We also have a really cool Devoon the Bible app right now, for
I'm just a guy battlingpornography, so open up your
(21:31):
Bible app, search for that.
You should see that right thereat the front of it.
Okay, within the Bible app.
So, other than that, fellas,have a great day.
The lion withinus is how youfind all our resources, from our
daily spiritual kickoff to ourcommunity, to our leadership
masterminds.
They are three primary waysthat we try to serve.
So jump in, get started.
Daily SKO is free.
(21:56):
Jump into the community.
Jump into or make anapplication, rather, for
Leadership Mastermind, and wesee if we can get you plugged in
.
All right, guys, have a greatday.
Come back next time.
Thank you so much for listening.
Give us a rating and review andjust keep on leashing the lion
within.
I've got something big to share.
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle was
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
(22:16):
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past in a
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it andthat's exactly why we built our
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
(22:38):
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
That means, for less than thecost of a drive-thru lunch, you
can join a brotherhood that'scentered on Christ and built for
growth.
Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
every Monday through Friday, ourLion Lunches, our Bible Studies
, our Friday Forge Gatheringsall that and so much more.
(23:01):
Every man needs a strongholdand you don't have to fight
alone.
If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
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