December 1, 2025 • 25 mins
What if the promise of Psalm 37:4 isn’t about getting what you want, but becoming the kind of man who wants what God gives? We walk through the heart-level shift that happens when you delight in the Lord and step into real discipleship, not just good vibes and busy calendars. Along the way, we draw a clean line between fellowship and discipleship, unpack why many church programs stall out, and share a simple, repeatable path that forms steady husbands, present fathers, and courageous leaders.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (01:43):
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 we're going tolook at today is in the book of
Psalms.
It's the 37th Psalm.
It's the fourth verse.
Delight yourself in the Lord,and He will give you the desires
(02:06):
of your heart.
Okay.
So we're going to see how we cansimplify and apply this verse
into our life.
Again, for you guys listening,we do this Monday through Friday
in our line within us community.
Usually I take bigger pieces ofscripture, you know, longer,
longer uh sections.
But ultimately, it's how we tryto encourage you guys.
So if you're looking for alittle more uh just
encouragement along your way,Monday through Friday, we do
(02:28):
this live.
You can join me, you can askquestions, you can talk, chat,
have cut it up, have a goodtime.
If you can't make the live,guess what?
We post the videos right therewithin the Lion Within Us every
day.
Okay, so you'll have exclusivecontent only for the Lion Within
Us members.
100% free, easy way to getconnected with what we do, kind
of get introduced to how we tryto serve.
(02:48):
And we also open up our prayerrequest board for you as well.
So if you have prayer requests,we're gonna lift those up and
we're gonna give you a littlebit of encouragement each and
every day.
So all that can be found,fellas, the lionwithin.us.
As soon as you pop over there,you'll see where you can sign up
for the weekly roar.
I'm sorry, for the dailyspiritual kickoff.
Hey, while you're while you'rethere, might as well sign up for
the weekly roar too, right?
But uh check it out, fellas, andhopefully you'll you'll be
(03:10):
encouraged, okay?
So now we'll get into this.
We need to understand, first ofall, before we unpack this
verse, where is the book ofPsalms?
Usually you can just open yourBible like midway and you're
gonna hit close.
Now you may hit Isaiah orsomething like that, but Psalms
is is right there, it's beforeProverbs, but it's all it's
after Job, okay?
So that's where you're gonnafind it.
(03:31):
So usually, midway, your Bible,you'll be able to find it there.
And we're gonna look at thisverse because when I look at
this verse, most of us, if ifwe're honest about looking at a
verse like this, look, it says,delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desiresof your heart.
Uh, we like the second half,right?
unknown (03:48):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Because the the thought of getting the desires
of our hearts, that'scomforting.
Like they're super encouragingthere.
Uh, but if we focus there, youmiss the weight, I think, of the
verse.
Because the challenge for us asmen, and this is kind of thing
why you guys are listening, iswe want to be challenged.
Well, the challenge is firsthalf.
(04:09):
Delight yourself in the Lord.
And this this is not casual,this is not passive, fellas.
Uh, this is calling to a truesurrender daily, period.
To center our joy, our will, ourlives on Him.
And we see it through that lens,things start shifting, okay?
And and true delight means truediscipleship.
(04:30):
And ultimately, and we're goingto talk about this in our meet
episode this week, but this is agap.
This is a big gap in manyChristians' journey.
This is a major gap in thechurch because discipleship is
the heart of the GreatCommission.
It really is.
But it's often the mostneglected.
Think about how many churchprograms out there emphasize uh
(04:51):
the programs itself or events oror even fellowship and all that
stuff is cool.
But discipleship is different.
Fellowship is sharing timetogether.
Discipleship is shaping lives,right?
And it requires investment, itrequires accountability, it
requires a commitment that goesbeyond just sitting in a pew on
(05:11):
a Sunday morning.
And quite frankly, this is wheremost people get lost.
It's hard.
It's hard.
But I'm telling you, I thinkguys are craving this now,
fellas.
I see, I just the more and moreguys I talk with at the Lion,
particularly in particular,they're they're just seeing a
surge of men who aren'tsatisfied with staying shallow.
(05:34):
They're craving truth.
They want to be challenged, theywant to be sharpened, they want
to be equipped to lead theirfamilies and their communities
better, particularly with abetter understanding of Christ.
And that hunger points back to,okay, well, what do we do about
that?
How do we help these guys thatare that are craving this?
(05:55):
We got to help them understandthe importance of time in the
word.
And I'm not talking about justskimming or just having your
daily reading of the word.
I'm talking about truly studyingdeeply to try to understand
God's word at a deeper level.
Then we need to help themunderstand prayer and
surrendering.
Like, how do we be effectiveprayer warriors and not just
(06:17):
thank you, God, for our food orthank you for this day, or thank
you for my wife, which all thesethings are cool to do, but how
do we be prayer warriors?
Then we need to start thinkingaround brotherhood.
Like, how do we engage withother guys who are gonna sharpen
and strengthen us?
Not the yes men that you canfind anywhere you turn, but the
ones that are gonna hit you withthe hard truth.
(06:39):
Hey, what's going on in yourmarriage right now?
How's that, how, how are thingsgoing there?
How are things uh goingprogressing at work?
What's you know, what are youstruggling with, right?
Having those types ofconversations.
Then we need to start thinkingabout service.
Okay, how do we live out ourfaith with the work that we do
with our hands, right?
It's not just one to give lipservice.
(07:00):
Like, what can we physically doto show others the love of
Christ?
And this leads us to a boldlifestyle, fellas.
I mean, this means we're notgonna hide anymore, we're not
gonna cower anymore, we're notgonna just do, we're gonna stand
on the word of God.
We want others to see thatdirectly in us.
That's what it means delightingin the Lord.
Discipleship is delighting inthe Lord.
(07:22):
And if we do that discipleshipcorrectly and delight in the
Lord, guess what?
The Psalms tells us right here,he'll give you the desires of
your heart, but the desires ofyour heart will change when you
focus on God.
Because all of a sudden it's notall about you anymore.
You're not the center of theuniverse anymore, right?
Because we're focusing onsomething so much greater.
(07:44):
And that's where the realdelight comes in.
Because uh, this isn't about uhjust handing God a wish list and
hoping that he gives it to us.
No, it's not we don't have aSanta Claus for a God, it's
about God transforming our heartso that check this out, his
desires become what?
Our desires.
See how that works?
(08:04):
And then that transformationthat happens through
discipleship.
So if you want this Psalm 37, 4type of life, we have to commit
ourselves to the hard work, butalso the beautiful work of
discipleship.
Because then we're not justgoing to find joy in God, we're
(08:26):
gonna find our lives becoming atestimony that challenges others
to pursue Him with the samepassion.
And the cool part aboutdiscipleship is like once you
get it and you start reallyleaning in, you have the
opportunity to give that tosomeone else.
It literally is the gift thatkeeps on giving.
And just think about themultiplication uh opportunity
(08:49):
that exist that exists there.
For instance, you disciplesomeone, maybe you make it only
maybe like a couple criteria.
Okay, here's my criteria.
One, you show up, okay.
Two, when we finish, youdisciple someone else.
That's it.
That's the only criteria thatshould exist.
And I think that secondcomponent is a big one because
that's where the multiplicationcomes in.
(09:10):
Because if I if if we take thetime to disciple someone, and
then they just thank you,appreciate it, and they put it
in their pocket and they nevershare with anyone else, what a
wasted gift.
You just wasted that opportunityto help someone else grow in
their personal walk with Christ.
Are you kidding me?
So, I mean, I think it's a bigdeal, it's a big topic.
I'm telling you, fellas, the gutthe guests this week's when we
(09:32):
talk about it as well.
And uh again, discipleship, justto clarify one thing, it's only
for believers.
Okay?
You can't disciple someonethat's not a believer.
They have to be a believerfirst.
Now, once they become abeliever, then they're ready.
But there's plenty of people,aren't there, fellas?
And this is not an age thingeither, right?
It's not like, well, thisperson's in their 50s or 60s and
(09:54):
they're a believer, so obviouslythey're you know, they're they
they've they're pretty far alongtheir in their discipleship
journey.
Wrong.
Wrong.
There's plenty, plenty of peopleof uh uh you know, 50, 60, in
their 70s even, that are walkingwith Christ and are baby
(10:15):
Christians.
That does not make me feel goodto say that, but I'm telling you
the hard things.
So just because you may be inyour 60s and you're listening
right now, you could be a babyChristian.
The question that really mattersis what are you gonna do about
that?
Because you don't have to staythere.
And it's okay if that's whereyou are.
(10:36):
It's okay.
It's just me, no one's everchallenged you in this way.
Well, I don't want to challengeyou.
Okay, what can you do now tomove to course correct
discipleship?
This is what it's all about.
But again, this is forChristians only, okay?
So if you're not a Christian,you're listening to the lion,
you're here for a reason.
I don't know why you're here.
I mean, maybe just someonetricked you, right?
(10:59):
Or you just think this is justleadership only.
And we talk about leadership forsure, but we're 100% are leaning
in to help Christian men grow,okay?
But if you're not, you've neversurrendered your life to the
Lordship of Christ and you'rehere.
Hey, I just want you to know.
Thank you for listening.
And I want you to understand howloved you are.
Like God's perfect design he hadwhen he was making everything,
(11:22):
he was thinking of you, right?
And at the the Bible tells us,just so you may be interested in
knowing, that in the beginning,he's he created all these
things.
He spoke, spoke, spoke.
And then when it came to man, hetook the time to form Adam, the
first man, with his hands.
And he brewed the he blew thebreath of life into his
nostrils.
(11:42):
Then at that point, Adam wasface to face with his creator
God.
And the Bible tells us that wewere made in his image, and that
is just a really coolfundamental truth that we can
have as humans, is that we'remade in the image of God, and
there are no mistakes.
No, God made you exactly the wayhe wanted.
And things were really perfectin the garden with Adam and Eve
(12:03):
and God for like two pages in myBible.
Okay, because then that's whensin entered the world.
Okay.
And sin basically is anythingthat separates us from God.
And at that point, when sinentered, that's when the
separation happened.
Adam and Eve were put out of thegarden.
They were separated from God.
And ever since then, we've hadthis gap between a holy and a
(12:25):
righteous God and us as sinners.
And what we try to do, what theworld tells us is that what we
can do is we can close this gapon our own.
Like I talk to guys all thetime.
Well, how do you get to heaven?
Well, I just get to heaven bybeing a good person.
Define good, bro.
Like, what is good?
And then him and hall abouttaking care of their family or
providing, protecting, andpresiding.
(12:46):
And I'm like, all those thingsare really great, fellas, but
the standard's wrong.
Like, like we're we're missingthe point.
You can't work your way into aright standing with God.
Since we all fall short of theglory of God, and it tells us
that directly, we all do fallshort.
Like, there's nothing we can do.
You can't help old ladies crossthe street or write a big old
(13:06):
check, right?
Or you can't even like uh uh getin on the coattails of your mom
and dad, like, hey, man, I grewup, my mom and dad went to
church, I went to church,therefore I'm in, right?
Right?
Or or or grandma prayed for me,so that means I'm good to go.
I wish I could tell you thatthat was the case, guys, but
it's not.
It all has to do with a personalrelationship, that personal
(13:29):
one-on-one relationship with youin Christ.
And either you have it or youdon't.
So Oprah's gonna tell you, well,there's many paths to heaven.
Well, I'm just here to tell you,she's wrong.
There's only one path to heaven,okay?
So if we can't do it forourselves, right?
We can't coach ourselves up tobe just better people, how do we
earn, like what do we, what canwe do if we can't earn it?
(13:52):
How do we get it?
Well, what we need is a savior,someone to do for us what we
can't do for ourselves, right?
That's where Jesus enters thescene.
So Jesus left heaven on that100% rescue mission for us.
Came to earth, born of a virgin,fulfilled all the prophecies,
did all the teachings, did allthe miracles, showed us, taught
(14:15):
us, gave us the new path.
He told us that he is the wayand the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through him.
He is it.
Then he did the ultimatesacrifice, where he went to the
cross willingly, gave himself upto be the atonement, the
propitiation, the payment thatsatisfies all the sin of the
world.
(14:35):
And Jesus went to the cross.
This is the crazy part of thegospel.
Like he did this on his own, onhis own accord, because he loves
us so much.
And they've crucified him, theypierced him, and he died.
He didn't pass out, he didn'tfaint, he didn't fall asleep.
Jesus died on the cross.
(14:56):
He was the perfect Lamb, theperfect payment for our sins.
Okay.
Now, if it ends there, if thestory ends with the dead Jesus
hanging on a cross, like, whatare we doing?
That's where most otherreligions stop.
Well, not most, all otherreligions stop.
When their when their so-calledfounder is dies, guess what?
(15:18):
They're still dead.
Okay.
Here's this fundamentaldifference.
So they took Jesus and they laidhim in a tomb, okay?
Now, it might as well have beenan Airbnb for Jesus.
He only needed that thing forthe weekend because three days
later, he rose.
And this is what we get excitedabout from a Christian
standpoint.
It's like we don't have a dead,we're not worshiping a dead man.
(15:40):
No, we're we're worshiping aliving Savior.
And that's the difference.
The resurrection changeseverything because the tomb is
empty now.
He's not there.
Like you may be able to gothere.
There's a couple of tombs inIsrael now where they talk about
the empty tomb.
They don't know that for 100%fact.
But I know one thing (15:56):
the tomb that Jesus was in is still
empty.
He ain't in it.
And that right there is what weput our hope in.
So I'm hitching my wagon to theone that overcomes death.
Like, that's the guy I want torun with.
That's the guy I want to follow.
That's the guy I want to submitto, right?
So he came out the grave.
(16:17):
He rose.
He showed himself.
He did some more teaching.
He he gave us more absolute,irrefutable evidence that he
rose.
And then he went to his, heascended to the Father.
And again, he's right-handedfather right now.
And he and he there is no othername under heaven that has been
given among men by which we mustbe saved, fellas.
(16:39):
Jesus is it.
So there's there's no uh at thispoint, when you look at, well,
how do you know this is true?
How many of you guys would diefor a lie?
None of us.
But when you look at all of hisdisciples, the the core group
(17:00):
that were with him every day,every one of them were martyred.
They were willingly they theywere they died because they
would not refute anything aboutChrist.
And I don't know about you, butover and over and over, we see
these guys were put to deathbecause they nope, this is what
(17:23):
happened, this is true, and heis the Messiah.
And fellas, I'm just here totell you, I mean, this has to be
a decision that you make on yourown.
I can't make it for you.
I just know one thing.
With without Christ in yourlife, there is no hope.
You have no hope.
Your hope lies in you inyourself, in your circumstances,
(17:44):
and in the cars you're dealt.
But when you put your hope inChrist, you're hopelizing
something so much greater.
So much greater.
You're hopelizing him.
And the author and perfecter offaith loves you.
He designed you just the way hewanted.
And he wants a personalrelationship with you.
(18:06):
And he's just waiting for you toturn to him.
He's just waiting for you tocall out to him.
He's just waiting for you tosay, I can't do this on my own
anymore.
So maybe you're in astressed-out season of life
right now, and you're hearingthis podcast for a reason.
Things aren't going right atwork.
There's not enough money for themonth.
You and your wife haven't beentalking.
(18:26):
You haven't been intimate inforever.
You and your kids are strange.
You don't even know themanymore.
You look in the mirror and youdon't like the man that you see
and you don't know what to do.
And that's you right now.
And you have not made thatprofession of faith.
The first thing I'm gonnaencourage you to do is get right
with God.
(18:47):
And you can get right with Godtoday.
Today.
You can do it right now.
Listen to a podcast.
You don't have to be sitting ina church pew to get right with
God.
Are you kidding me?
God's everywhere.
So you could take the step offaith today.
It starts very simple.
Admit you need help.
Admit that you're a sinner inneed of a savior.
(19:09):
No.
You have to you have to believethis.
Like, yep, I I'm a sinner.
And I and God, I can't do thison my own anymore.
And I believe, God.
I believe that Jesus is theMessiah.
I believe that He is the Son ofGod.
I believe that He is the way,the truth, and the life.
I fully believe it, God.
I believe in the resurrection.
(19:31):
Then you have to confess Him asLord and Savior of your life.
This means Lord and Savior ofall of it, fellas.
Everything.
Your family, your finances, yourfitness, your career,
everything.
Give it all to him.
I confess you, Lord of my life.
I need you, God.
(19:51):
And at that point, once you makethat confession, the Holy
Spirit's gonna come.
It's gonna give you a new heart,guys.
And all of a sudden the scalesare gonna fall off your eyes.
But guess what?
At that point, you're a brandnew Christian.
You're been reborn.
You're a baby.
And that's where we want to comealongside and help you, give you
(20:13):
some encouragement.
That's where you need thediscipleship.
That's why the stuff we've beentalking about in this episode
today about discipleship is soimportant.
But it starts with yourdecision, not your mom, your
dad, your grandma, no, yourdecision to surrender your life
to the Lordship of Christ.
If you're ready to make thatdecision, if you're on a
treadmill, driving in the car,walking, wherever you are, it's
(20:36):
okay.
You can make the decision tofollow Christ right now.
And I want to pray with you asyou accept him as your Lord and
Savior.
So, Father, just thank you somuch for this opportunity to
share the gospel with ourlisteners.
And Lord, I'm sure most of ourlisteners are Christians, but
the one guy who's listeningright now, who's not, who's
never made that decision, I justpray you just just give him some
(21:01):
encouragement.
Let him know.
Let him know that that uh thathe is loved.
And Lord, as he's confessing toyou as Lord and Savior of his
life right now, I just pray apeace that comes over him, a
peace that passes allunderstanding, Father.
And I pray that, I mean, there'snothing in my voice that can do
to any any saving.
All I can do is share themessage.
You're the one that does thesaving, God.
I'm just thankful that you gaveand that you're using this
(21:24):
moment right now to draw onemore to you.
So, Lord, I pray that they theyrecognize this to be true.
And then I pray, Lord, asthey're now a new, um, they're
starting their new discipleshipjourney, that you put people on
their path that's going toencourage them, that's gonna
help them with their walk,Father.
And I'm just just thankful to beable to deliver this message,
(21:45):
and hopefully, Lord, it it landson the heart that you intend.
Just in your name I pray, God.
Amen.
All right, so look, you justaccepted Christ as your savior,
like, touchdown.
Let's go.
You should be pretty stinkingpumped up about this, okay?
So I want to hear from you firstand foremost, okay?
Send me an email because I'dlike to connect with you, uh,
(22:06):
you know, just just to encourageyou, 100%, just to encourage
you, to give you some resourcesthat's gonna help you out.
Like we got this whole thing, 10scriptures to fight like a lion.
Like, you're gonna need somethings to get going in your
discipleship journey, okay?
So my email is Chris that's C HR I S at the LionWithin.us.
(22:26):
Okay, so send me an email tothat email address.
I'll connect you with someresources, and I would love to
connect with you and like in aZoom call, just to encourage
you.
All right.
All right, fellas.
So the question of the week thisweek, where are you confusing
the fellowship with truediscipleship in your life?
Like we got we gotta make surewe're understanding them two
(22:47):
separately as fundamentallydifferent items.
Both of them are important, bothof them are necessary, but they
are not the same.
Okay.
Do you need support there?
Thelionwithin.us, we have lotsof resources to help you with
this, okay?
Particularly if you just needhelp in your discipleship
journey, you're looking forplaces to have deeper
conversations and you just don'tknow where to go.
(23:08):
This is why we built ourcommunity, guys.
Be able to have theseconversations, be able to study
the Bible, to be able to ask thequestions, to be able to help
each other, the iron thatsharpens iron.
It's all found atthelionwithin.us, okay?
Again, our leadershipmastermind.
Maybe you're ready to take thatstep.
So you know what?
I know I need to be a leader.
I know God's called me to.
I'm gonna take the step.
(23:29):
So our leadership masterminds,check that out on the lion
within us.
Take the, if anything, just takethe assessment.
The assessment's free, and thatgives you a baseline
understanding of where you'reat.
Okay?
All that stuff can be foundthere, fellas.
Okay.
Look, come back on our nextepisode.
You're gonna love thisconversation.
It's a good fun one.
This is more of a uh a teachingconversation that's gonna be
(23:51):
coming up, but I promise you,you're gonna be encouraged.
You'll be you will uh leave witha probably a new zeal for the
for the old testament inparticular, but with some
practical ways to uh advance andto and to to grow in your own
discipleship journey.
Okay?
So, guys, give us a rating andreview if you don't mind.
That would be helpful as well.
(24:12):
Uh connect with us again at thelionwithin.us.
Thank you so much for listening,and uh, we'll see you next time.
Remember, keep unleashing thelion within.
If you're like me, you don'tneed another book just sitting
around collecting dust.
What I enjoy is something tohelp guide me when my feet hit
the ground in the mornings.
(24:33):
And that is why we put togetherUnleashing the Lion Within.
It has honest stories, scriptureyou can apply, and simple steps
to help you lead at home, atwork, and everywhere in between.
So if you've been feeling stuckor scattered lately, you may
find this resource encouraging.
Read a few pages.
(24:54):
Take one step and watch what Goddoes with your obedience.
Hey, and if reading's tough foryou right now, no problem.
The book is also available inAudible version so you can
listen on the go.
So if this sounds interesting,check out thelion within.us
slash book or search forunleashing the lion within
(25:16):
directly on Amazon.
So there's no pressure here,just a resource that many guys
are finding helpful.
So grab the format that fits andtake your next step.
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 we're going tolook at today is in the book of
Psalms.
It's the 37th Psalm.
It's the fourth verse.
Delight yourself in the Lord,and He will give you the desires
(02:06):
of your heart.
Okay.
So we're going to see how we cansimplify and apply this verse
into our life.
Again, for you guys listening,we do this Monday through Friday
in our line within us community.
Usually I take bigger pieces ofscripture, you know, longer,
longer uh sections.
But ultimately, it's how we tryto encourage you guys.
So if you're looking for alittle more uh just
encouragement along your way,Monday through Friday, we do
(02:28):
this live.
You can join me, you can askquestions, you can talk, chat,
have cut it up, have a goodtime.
If you can't make the live,guess what?
We post the videos right therewithin the Lion Within Us every
day.
Okay, so you'll have exclusivecontent only for the Lion Within
Us members.
100% free, easy way to getconnected with what we do, kind
of get introduced to how we tryto serve.
(02:48):
And we also open up our prayerrequest board for you as well.
So if you have prayer requests,we're gonna lift those up and
we're gonna give you a littlebit of encouragement each and
every day.
So all that can be found,fellas, the lionwithin.us.
As soon as you pop over there,you'll see where you can sign up
for the weekly roar.
I'm sorry, for the dailyspiritual kickoff.
Hey, while you're while you'rethere, might as well sign up for
the weekly roar too, right?
But uh check it out, fellas, andhopefully you'll you'll be
(03:10):
encouraged, okay?
So now we'll get into this.
We need to understand, first ofall, before we unpack this
verse, where is the book ofPsalms?
Usually you can just open yourBible like midway and you're
gonna hit close.
Now you may hit Isaiah orsomething like that, but Psalms
is is right there, it's beforeProverbs, but it's all it's
after Job, okay?
So that's where you're gonnafind it.
(03:31):
So usually, midway, your Bible,you'll be able to find it there.
And we're gonna look at thisverse because when I look at
this verse, most of us, if ifwe're honest about looking at a
verse like this, look, it says,delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desiresof your heart.
Uh, we like the second half,right?
unknown (03:48):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
Because the the thought of getting the desires
of our hearts, that'scomforting.
Like they're super encouragingthere.
Uh, but if we focus there, youmiss the weight, I think, of the
verse.
Because the challenge for us asmen, and this is kind of thing
why you guys are listening, iswe want to be challenged.
Well, the challenge is firsthalf.
(04:09):
Delight yourself in the Lord.
And this this is not casual,this is not passive, fellas.
Uh, this is calling to a truesurrender daily, period.
To center our joy, our will, ourlives on Him.
And we see it through that lens,things start shifting, okay?
And and true delight means truediscipleship.
(04:30):
And ultimately, and we're goingto talk about this in our meet
episode this week, but this is agap.
This is a big gap in manyChristians' journey.
This is a major gap in thechurch because discipleship is
the heart of the GreatCommission.
It really is.
But it's often the mostneglected.
Think about how many churchprograms out there emphasize uh
(04:51):
the programs itself or events oror even fellowship and all that
stuff is cool.
But discipleship is different.
Fellowship is sharing timetogether.
Discipleship is shaping lives,right?
And it requires investment, itrequires accountability, it
requires a commitment that goesbeyond just sitting in a pew on
(05:11):
a Sunday morning.
And quite frankly, this is wheremost people get lost.
It's hard.
It's hard.
But I'm telling you, I thinkguys are craving this now,
fellas.
I see, I just the more and moreguys I talk with at the Lion,
particularly in particular,they're they're just seeing a
surge of men who aren'tsatisfied with staying shallow.
(05:34):
They're craving truth.
They want to be challenged, theywant to be sharpened, they want
to be equipped to lead theirfamilies and their communities
better, particularly with abetter understanding of Christ.
And that hunger points back to,okay, well, what do we do about
that?
How do we help these guys thatare that are craving this?
(05:55):
We got to help them understandthe importance of time in the
word.
And I'm not talking about justskimming or just having your
daily reading of the word.
I'm talking about truly studyingdeeply to try to understand
God's word at a deeper level.
Then we need to help themunderstand prayer and
surrendering.
Like, how do we be effectiveprayer warriors and not just
(06:17):
thank you, God, for our food orthank you for this day, or thank
you for my wife, which all thesethings are cool to do, but how
do we be prayer warriors?
Then we need to start thinkingaround brotherhood.
Like, how do we engage withother guys who are gonna sharpen
and strengthen us?
Not the yes men that you canfind anywhere you turn, but the
ones that are gonna hit you withthe hard truth.
(06:39):
Hey, what's going on in yourmarriage right now?
How's that, how, how are thingsgoing there?
How are things uh goingprogressing at work?
What's you know, what are youstruggling with, right?
Having those types ofconversations.
Then we need to start thinkingabout service.
Okay, how do we live out ourfaith with the work that we do
with our hands, right?
It's not just one to give lipservice.
(07:00):
Like, what can we physically doto show others the love of
Christ?
And this leads us to a boldlifestyle, fellas.
I mean, this means we're notgonna hide anymore, we're not
gonna cower anymore, we're notgonna just do, we're gonna stand
on the word of God.
We want others to see thatdirectly in us.
That's what it means delightingin the Lord.
Discipleship is delighting inthe Lord.
(07:22):
And if we do that discipleshipcorrectly and delight in the
Lord, guess what?
The Psalms tells us right here,he'll give you the desires of
your heart, but the desires ofyour heart will change when you
focus on God.
Because all of a sudden it's notall about you anymore.
You're not the center of theuniverse anymore, right?
Because we're focusing onsomething so much greater.
(07:44):
And that's where the realdelight comes in.
Because uh, this isn't about uhjust handing God a wish list and
hoping that he gives it to us.
No, it's not we don't have aSanta Claus for a God, it's
about God transforming our heartso that check this out, his
desires become what?
Our desires.
See how that works?
(08:04):
And then that transformationthat happens through
discipleship.
So if you want this Psalm 37, 4type of life, we have to commit
ourselves to the hard work, butalso the beautiful work of
discipleship.
Because then we're not justgoing to find joy in God, we're
(08:26):
gonna find our lives becoming atestimony that challenges others
to pursue Him with the samepassion.
And the cool part aboutdiscipleship is like once you
get it and you start reallyleaning in, you have the
opportunity to give that tosomeone else.
It literally is the gift thatkeeps on giving.
And just think about themultiplication uh opportunity
(08:49):
that exist that exists there.
For instance, you disciplesomeone, maybe you make it only
maybe like a couple criteria.
Okay, here's my criteria.
One, you show up, okay.
Two, when we finish, youdisciple someone else.
That's it.
That's the only criteria thatshould exist.
And I think that secondcomponent is a big one because
that's where the multiplicationcomes in.
(09:10):
Because if I if if we take thetime to disciple someone, and
then they just thank you,appreciate it, and they put it
in their pocket and they nevershare with anyone else, what a
wasted gift.
You just wasted that opportunityto help someone else grow in
their personal walk with Christ.
Are you kidding me?
So, I mean, I think it's a bigdeal, it's a big topic.
I'm telling you, fellas, the gutthe guests this week's when we
(09:32):
talk about it as well.
And uh again, discipleship, justto clarify one thing, it's only
for believers.
Okay?
You can't disciple someonethat's not a believer.
They have to be a believerfirst.
Now, once they become abeliever, then they're ready.
But there's plenty of people,aren't there, fellas?
And this is not an age thingeither, right?
It's not like, well, thisperson's in their 50s or 60s and
(09:54):
they're a believer, so obviouslythey're you know, they're they
they've they're pretty far alongtheir in their discipleship
journey.
Wrong.
Wrong.
There's plenty, plenty of peopleof uh uh you know, 50, 60, in
their 70s even, that are walkingwith Christ and are baby
(10:15):
Christians.
That does not make me feel goodto say that, but I'm telling you
the hard things.
So just because you may be inyour 60s and you're listening
right now, you could be a babyChristian.
The question that really mattersis what are you gonna do about
that?
Because you don't have to staythere.
And it's okay if that's whereyou are.
(10:36):
It's okay.
It's just me, no one's everchallenged you in this way.
Well, I don't want to challengeyou.
Okay, what can you do now tomove to course correct
discipleship?
This is what it's all about.
But again, this is forChristians only, okay?
So if you're not a Christian,you're listening to the lion,
you're here for a reason.
I don't know why you're here.
I mean, maybe just someonetricked you, right?
(10:59):
Or you just think this is justleadership only.
And we talk about leadership forsure, but we're 100% are leaning
in to help Christian men grow,okay?
But if you're not, you've neversurrendered your life to the
Lordship of Christ and you'rehere.
Hey, I just want you to know.
Thank you for listening.
And I want you to understand howloved you are.
Like God's perfect design he hadwhen he was making everything,
(11:22):
he was thinking of you, right?
And at the the Bible tells us,just so you may be interested in
knowing, that in the beginning,he's he created all these
things.
He spoke, spoke, spoke.
And then when it came to man, hetook the time to form Adam, the
first man, with his hands.
And he brewed the he blew thebreath of life into his
nostrils.
(11:42):
Then at that point, Adam wasface to face with his creator
God.
And the Bible tells us that wewere made in his image, and that
is just a really coolfundamental truth that we can
have as humans, is that we'remade in the image of God, and
there are no mistakes.
No, God made you exactly the wayhe wanted.
And things were really perfectin the garden with Adam and Eve
(12:03):
and God for like two pages in myBible.
Okay, because then that's whensin entered the world.
Okay.
And sin basically is anythingthat separates us from God.
And at that point, when sinentered, that's when the
separation happened.
Adam and Eve were put out of thegarden.
They were separated from God.
And ever since then, we've hadthis gap between a holy and a
(12:25):
righteous God and us as sinners.
And what we try to do, what theworld tells us is that what we
can do is we can close this gapon our own.
Like I talk to guys all thetime.
Well, how do you get to heaven?
Well, I just get to heaven bybeing a good person.
Define good, bro.
Like, what is good?
And then him and hall abouttaking care of their family or
providing, protecting, andpresiding.
(12:46):
And I'm like, all those thingsare really great, fellas, but
the standard's wrong.
Like, like we're we're missingthe point.
You can't work your way into aright standing with God.
Since we all fall short of theglory of God, and it tells us
that directly, we all do fallshort.
Like, there's nothing we can do.
You can't help old ladies crossthe street or write a big old
(13:06):
check, right?
Or you can't even like uh uh getin on the coattails of your mom
and dad, like, hey, man, I grewup, my mom and dad went to
church, I went to church,therefore I'm in, right?
Right?
Or or or grandma prayed for me,so that means I'm good to go.
I wish I could tell you thatthat was the case, guys, but
it's not.
It all has to do with a personalrelationship, that personal
(13:29):
one-on-one relationship with youin Christ.
And either you have it or youdon't.
So Oprah's gonna tell you, well,there's many paths to heaven.
Well, I'm just here to tell you,she's wrong.
There's only one path to heaven,okay?
So if we can't do it forourselves, right?
We can't coach ourselves up tobe just better people, how do we
earn, like what do we, what canwe do if we can't earn it?
(13:52):
How do we get it?
Well, what we need is a savior,someone to do for us what we
can't do for ourselves, right?
That's where Jesus enters thescene.
So Jesus left heaven on that100% rescue mission for us.
Came to earth, born of a virgin,fulfilled all the prophecies,
did all the teachings, did allthe miracles, showed us, taught
(14:15):
us, gave us the new path.
He told us that he is the wayand the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through him.
He is it.
Then he did the ultimatesacrifice, where he went to the
cross willingly, gave himself upto be the atonement, the
propitiation, the payment thatsatisfies all the sin of the
world.
(14:35):
And Jesus went to the cross.
This is the crazy part of thegospel.
Like he did this on his own, onhis own accord, because he loves
us so much.
And they've crucified him, theypierced him, and he died.
He didn't pass out, he didn'tfaint, he didn't fall asleep.
Jesus died on the cross.
(14:56):
He was the perfect Lamb, theperfect payment for our sins.
Okay.
Now, if it ends there, if thestory ends with the dead Jesus
hanging on a cross, like, whatare we doing?
That's where most otherreligions stop.
Well, not most, all otherreligions stop.
When their when their so-calledfounder is dies, guess what?
(15:18):
They're still dead.
Okay.
Here's this fundamentaldifference.
So they took Jesus and they laidhim in a tomb, okay?
Now, it might as well have beenan Airbnb for Jesus.
He only needed that thing forthe weekend because three days
later, he rose.
And this is what we get excitedabout from a Christian
standpoint.
It's like we don't have a dead,we're not worshiping a dead man.
(15:40):
No, we're we're worshiping aliving Savior.
And that's the difference.
The resurrection changeseverything because the tomb is
empty now.
He's not there.
Like you may be able to gothere.
There's a couple of tombs inIsrael now where they talk about
the empty tomb.
They don't know that for 100%fact.
But I know one thing (15:56):
the tomb that Jesus was in is still
empty.
He ain't in it.
And that right there is what weput our hope in.
So I'm hitching my wagon to theone that overcomes death.
Like, that's the guy I want torun with.
That's the guy I want to follow.
That's the guy I want to submitto, right?
So he came out the grave.
(16:17):
He rose.
He showed himself.
He did some more teaching.
He he gave us more absolute,irrefutable evidence that he
rose.
And then he went to his, heascended to the Father.
And again, he's right-handedfather right now.
And he and he there is no othername under heaven that has been
given among men by which we mustbe saved, fellas.
(16:39):
Jesus is it.
So there's there's no uh at thispoint, when you look at, well,
how do you know this is true?
How many of you guys would diefor a lie?
None of us.
But when you look at all of hisdisciples, the the core group
(17:00):
that were with him every day,every one of them were martyred.
They were willingly they theywere they died because they
would not refute anything aboutChrist.
And I don't know about you, butover and over and over, we see
these guys were put to deathbecause they nope, this is what
(17:23):
happened, this is true, and heis the Messiah.
And fellas, I'm just here totell you, I mean, this has to be
a decision that you make on yourown.
I can't make it for you.
I just know one thing.
With without Christ in yourlife, there is no hope.
You have no hope.
Your hope lies in you inyourself, in your circumstances,
(17:44):
and in the cars you're dealt.
But when you put your hope inChrist, you're hopelizing
something so much greater.
So much greater.
You're hopelizing him.
And the author and perfecter offaith loves you.
He designed you just the way hewanted.
And he wants a personalrelationship with you.
(18:06):
And he's just waiting for you toturn to him.
He's just waiting for you tocall out to him.
He's just waiting for you tosay, I can't do this on my own
anymore.
So maybe you're in astressed-out season of life
right now, and you're hearingthis podcast for a reason.
Things aren't going right atwork.
There's not enough money for themonth.
You and your wife haven't beentalking.
(18:26):
You haven't been intimate inforever.
You and your kids are strange.
You don't even know themanymore.
You look in the mirror and youdon't like the man that you see
and you don't know what to do.
And that's you right now.
And you have not made thatprofession of faith.
The first thing I'm gonnaencourage you to do is get right
with God.
(18:47):
And you can get right with Godtoday.
Today.
You can do it right now.
Listen to a podcast.
You don't have to be sitting ina church pew to get right with
God.
Are you kidding me?
God's everywhere.
So you could take the step offaith today.
It starts very simple.
Admit you need help.
Admit that you're a sinner inneed of a savior.
(19:09):
No.
You have to you have to believethis.
Like, yep, I I'm a sinner.
And I and God, I can't do thison my own anymore.
And I believe, God.
I believe that Jesus is theMessiah.
I believe that He is the Son ofGod.
I believe that He is the way,the truth, and the life.
I fully believe it, God.
I believe in the resurrection.
(19:31):
Then you have to confess Him asLord and Savior of your life.
This means Lord and Savior ofall of it, fellas.
Everything.
Your family, your finances, yourfitness, your career,
everything.
Give it all to him.
I confess you, Lord of my life.
I need you, God.
(19:51):
And at that point, once you makethat confession, the Holy
Spirit's gonna come.
It's gonna give you a new heart,guys.
And all of a sudden the scalesare gonna fall off your eyes.
But guess what?
At that point, you're a brandnew Christian.
You're been reborn.
You're a baby.
And that's where we want to comealongside and help you, give you
(20:13):
some encouragement.
That's where you need thediscipleship.
That's why the stuff we've beentalking about in this episode
today about discipleship is soimportant.
But it starts with yourdecision, not your mom, your
dad, your grandma, no, yourdecision to surrender your life
to the Lordship of Christ.
If you're ready to make thatdecision, if you're on a
treadmill, driving in the car,walking, wherever you are, it's
(20:36):
okay.
You can make the decision tofollow Christ right now.
And I want to pray with you asyou accept him as your Lord and
Savior.
So, Father, just thank you somuch for this opportunity to
share the gospel with ourlisteners.
And Lord, I'm sure most of ourlisteners are Christians, but
the one guy who's listeningright now, who's not, who's
never made that decision, I justpray you just just give him some
(21:01):
encouragement.
Let him know.
Let him know that that uh thathe is loved.
And Lord, as he's confessing toyou as Lord and Savior of his
life right now, I just pray apeace that comes over him, a
peace that passes allunderstanding, Father.
And I pray that, I mean, there'snothing in my voice that can do
to any any saving.
All I can do is share themessage.
You're the one that does thesaving, God.
I'm just thankful that you gaveand that you're using this
(21:24):
moment right now to draw onemore to you.
So, Lord, I pray that they theyrecognize this to be true.
And then I pray, Lord, asthey're now a new, um, they're
starting their new discipleshipjourney, that you put people on
their path that's going toencourage them, that's gonna
help them with their walk,Father.
And I'm just just thankful to beable to deliver this message,
(21:45):
and hopefully, Lord, it it landson the heart that you intend.
Just in your name I pray, God.
Amen.
All right, so look, you justaccepted Christ as your savior,
like, touchdown.
Let's go.
You should be pretty stinkingpumped up about this, okay?
So I want to hear from you firstand foremost, okay?
Send me an email because I'dlike to connect with you, uh,
(22:06):
you know, just just to encourageyou, 100%, just to encourage
you, to give you some resourcesthat's gonna help you out.
Like we got this whole thing, 10scriptures to fight like a lion.
Like, you're gonna need somethings to get going in your
discipleship journey, okay?
So my email is Chris that's C HR I S at the LionWithin.us.
(22:26):
Okay, so send me an email tothat email address.
I'll connect you with someresources, and I would love to
connect with you and like in aZoom call, just to encourage
you.
All right.
All right, fellas.
So the question of the week thisweek, where are you confusing
the fellowship with truediscipleship in your life?
Like we got we gotta make surewe're understanding them two
(22:47):
separately as fundamentallydifferent items.
Both of them are important, bothof them are necessary, but they
are not the same.
Okay.
Do you need support there?
Thelionwithin.us, we have lotsof resources to help you with
this, okay?
Particularly if you just needhelp in your discipleship
journey, you're looking forplaces to have deeper
conversations and you just don'tknow where to go.
(23:08):
This is why we built ourcommunity, guys.
Be able to have theseconversations, be able to study
the Bible, to be able to ask thequestions, to be able to help
each other, the iron thatsharpens iron.
It's all found atthelionwithin.us, okay?
Again, our leadershipmastermind.
Maybe you're ready to take thatstep.
So you know what?
I know I need to be a leader.
I know God's called me to.
I'm gonna take the step.
(23:29):
So our leadership masterminds,check that out on the lion
within us.
Take the, if anything, just takethe assessment.
The assessment's free, and thatgives you a baseline
understanding of where you'reat.
Okay?
All that stuff can be foundthere, fellas.
Okay.
Look, come back on our nextepisode.
You're gonna love thisconversation.
It's a good fun one.
This is more of a uh a teachingconversation that's gonna be
(23:51):
coming up, but I promise you,you're gonna be encouraged.
You'll be you will uh leave witha probably a new zeal for the
for the old testament inparticular, but with some
practical ways to uh advance andto and to to grow in your own
discipleship journey.
Okay?
So, guys, give us a rating andreview if you don't mind.
That would be helpful as well.
(24:12):
Uh connect with us again at thelionwithin.us.
Thank you so much for listening,and uh, we'll see you next time.
Remember, keep unleashing thelion within.
If you're like me, you don'tneed another book just sitting
around collecting dust.
What I enjoy is something tohelp guide me when my feet hit
the ground in the mornings.
(24:33):
And that is why we put togetherUnleashing the Lion Within.
It has honest stories, scriptureyou can apply, and simple steps
to help you lead at home, atwork, and everywhere in between.
So if you've been feeling stuckor scattered lately, you may
find this resource encouraging.
Read a few pages.
(24:54):
Take one step and watch what Goddoes with your obedience.
Hey, and if reading's tough foryou right now, no problem.
The book is also available inAudible version so you can
listen on the go.
So if this sounds interesting,check out thelion within.us
slash book or search forunleashing the lion within
(25:16):
directly on Amazon.
So there's no pressure here,just a resource that many guys
are finding helpful.
So grab the format that fits andtake your next step.
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