Prepare to uncover the transformative implications of Christ's final words, "It is finished." In our latest soul-stirring episode, we delve into the depths of "tetelestai" and its impact on our spiritual lives and leadership. I, Chris Granger, guide you through the events leading up to the cross and how Jesus's ultimate sacrifice establishes a new foundation for our faith as Christian men. As we examine the completion of His work, we'll discover together how to integrate these profound truths into our daily lives and leadership roles.
As men, we navigate different seasons, seeking guidance to conquer obstacles while remaining steadfast. Discipleship Masterminds is the environment where you not only receive invaluable insights to overcome challenges but also gain profound guidance on the path to becoming the leader God uniquely designed you to be.
Prepare to uncover the transformative implications of Christ's final words, "It is finished." In our latest soul-stirring episode, we delve into the depths of "tetelestai" and its impact on our spiritual lives and leadership. I, Chris Granger, guide you through the events leading up to the cross and how Jesus's ultimate sacrifice establishes a new foundation for our faith as Christian men. As we examine the completion of His work, we'll discover together how to integrate these profound truths into our daily lives and leadership roles.
As men, we navigate different seasons, seeking guidance to conquer obstacles while remaining steadfast. Discipleship Masterminds is the environment where you not only receive invaluable insights to overcome challenges but also gain profound guidance on the path to becoming the leader God uniquely designed you to be.
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, guys, it is your spiritual kickoff time. I'm excited to be here. Let's get into it.
Chris Grainger:
So we're going to be in the book of John today. Okay, john, chapter 19, verse 30, only one verse this week, fellas. So it says when he had received a drink, jesus said it is finished With that. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Man, that's some heavy words right here, fellas. So we're going to try to unpack this, we're going to reflect on this, we're going to think about this, we're just going to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life. And let's just go think about this. We're just going to see how we can simplify and apply this to our life. And let's just go, let's give, let's get, let's have some. Let's really dive deep right here today. So now we need to understand, first and foremost, where is the book of John? So you got Matthew, mark, luke, john it's the fourth gospel. Okay, if you get to Acts, you went a little bit too far back up. It's in the New Testament. Obviously, and we need to understand this is some really heavy scripture that we're going to look at and we need to think about, and I really just want you to recognize that. These are some closing words that Jesus said on the cross before he rose. And these words when he was on the cross. He was incredibly intentional about what he said. Incredibly intentional. There were only seven things. He said Okay, so we go back through those, you can look in the Gospels and you can unpack those, but these words were extremely significant and, as Christian leaders, we need to understand what this declaration when he said it is finished, what does it mean to us? What does it mean? Because we have Christ in his final proclamation right here. That, as believers, changes everything about everything, because if you go back here to the Greek word, it's actually called tetelestai, so it's T-E-T-E-L-E-S-T-A-I, that's how you spell it. It's called tetelestai. It's a really cool word when you start thinking about it and because this means it is finished and this really goes to the perfect tense of what this word means. Okay, and we need to understand. There were some things that happened leading up to here. Okay, and you may be thinking, okay, heading up to the cross. What's going on? Well, first of all, you know, we see Jesus being flogged, being tortured, being ridiculed, being mocked, having carried the cross to his final destination place. And then you see, right here, it says what he had received a drink. Like. What is he talking about right there? What are they talking about, rather John? What he received a drink. What's going on? You think this could be an act of mercy, but actually what's going on?
Chris Grainger:
The Roman soldiers during this time, you have big armies. You have lots of people that were in charge of the were part of the Roman soldier force, if you will. And when you have big armies, you have big, strong guys, you have lots of training, you have lots of metal, lots of you know different types of events that they're doing, going through. And you have big armies. You have big, strong guys, you have lots of training, you have lots of metal, lots of different types of events that they're going through, and you have guys living together as well that are just kind of you know. Think about how an army boot camp would be. Well, as part of that in the first century. You want to keep that army healthy. You want to feed them good food. You want to give them the best of the best so they can be out there and do and serve to the best of their abilities. But when you do that, when you feed people good food, guess what happens? Well, you probably guessed it right. We got to go to the restroom. It happens.
Chris Grainger:
And before you had toilets and all this different types of plumbing that we have now, you had to be very intentional about making sure that your people would not get sick, you know, from from these types of, uh, you know when, when nature calls, if you will. So the Romans they had a very defined process on how they would clean their soldiers, how the soldiers should take care of that sanitation, and part of that was you were given, you were given a sponge. You were given different types of materials as well as vinegar, and that was used as an astringent to clean, to disinfect. It was basically a hygiene tool. Okay, so they would use the restroom and this would help them clean up to make sure that they didn't get any infections or anything like this.
Chris Grainger:
And we see, in this moment, when he had received a drink, what they were putting in the face of our Savior was that the sponge soaked in vinegar. Okay, so just think about it. I know it's very graphic, but used toilet tissue. This is what's going on. So there's no mercy that they're being offered right here to Christ. So it's yet another insult, another insult going at him, and this reminds us of what he suffered for us. I mean, this is just a callous act. This is just outright hatred, evil at work. Yet Christ, he did that just to fulfill the prophecy about the vinegar. So it's just unreal when you start really thinking about what he did and how he did for us on that cross, and then when you start thinking about the words it is finished, right.
Chris Grainger:
I think we all like to say those words, particularly when maybe it's a heavy job we've been working on or something that's just been weighing us down, and we finally get to say it's finished. Maybe you've had this project going on at work and you see the end of the tunnel, you see the light and you're just chugging along, you're trying to get it done, you're trying to get it done, and then that moment happens when you finish the project and you can sit back and sigh and say it is finished, feels good, right went a weird way when Jesus said it is finished, the finishing work he did on the cross. That was the stake that he drove in the ground for us. I mean, this was the stake that was driven in the ground for all of humanity because this symbolized his victory over darkness. And when you start thinking about it like that, you've got Jesus, the innocent Son of God, right here, who is dying on the cross, and when he says it is finished, you can bet your bottom dollar.
Chris Grainger:
It is finished, because this cross that he was hanging on stood at the cornerstone of God's provision for humanity. What he did for us Because with everything he does for us through us flows through the cross and the perfect blood that he shed on that cross for us. And it's just so important as believers, we don't just skip by this, we don't just miss this. Check out what it says in Romans 8.32. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, with him, graciously give us all things? We're getting affirmation right here, fellas, that through Jesus and the cross he's providing God us with the things that we need. But when we try to omit Jesus from our life, we receive nothing and we can't find our way back to him, because this cross has to be a central focal point of our faith journey. It needs to remind us that we've been redeemed, that that reconciliation is there and that restoration hinge that is all focused on the sacrificial love that he demonstrated for us at Calvary.
Chris Grainger:
Guys, this is such a big deal. I don't even know how to put into words for you how impactful and how huge this moment right here in Scripture that we're reading here today is. On the cross and as we start thinking about okay, I get it, chris, this is big, this is heavy. What does it mean to me? How can I apply this into my life? I'm glad you asked. I'll ask you thinking about that, because you need to think about the sacrificial love that Christ did for us and he showed for us. He demonstrated for us.
Chris Grainger:
This impacts us as leaders today, because what he's showing us is a selfless act. A selfless act and that is not the way the world thinks. The world thinks right now. What can I do for me? Me, me, me, my, my, my, I, I, I? That's it. We're all first person and we know it when we start flipping and thinking about others and we see what Jesus did and how he, through his demonstration, he's challenging us to have this new leadership mindset that 100% focuses on others.
Chris Grainger:
Man, it flips it all upside down Because Jesus right here, he prioritized the flourishing of humanity over everything that was comfortable to him. Do you think it was comfortable for him to go to the cross? By the way, when he went to the cross, they had this little thing called a mercy seat that poked right out right around his bottom section and you have to lift up to keep that area of your body away from it and when you go down a lot of times, you will lose your control of your body functions. I'm telling you, it's called a mercy seat. There's no mercy here. There's no mercy here. There's no mercy here because he prioritizes us over his comfort and we, as leaders, we should be prioritizing the well-being of others that have been placed in our path Bottom line.
Chris Grainger:
Instead of that self-interest, self-promotion mindset, we need to embrace a leadership model grounded in sacrificial love and that's going to set us apart from everything else in the world. And at that point you're going to be looking at whole transformation, reconciliation. Everything's going to start just aligning differently. We recognize nope, I can't do it this way. I'm doing it for them. I'm serving no matter what. I'm doing it for them. I'm serving no matter what. Because once we get this right and we start recognizing that we are here, put here to serve others, it does take a lot of pressure off. It takes a lot of pressure off of us because we're not so inwardly focused.
Chris Grainger:
I know for me this has been a big, big item in my life as different leadership roles I've had all throughout my career. I was since successful in those roles to the degree I was because I truly cared about the people I was leading more than my personal accolades. And usually when I got in trouble, it's when I started trying to take care of myself Down to the lion. When I got in trouble, it's when I started trying to take care of myself Down to the lion. When I get into most troubles, when I start looking at okay podcast downloads or membership numbers and start trying to analyze these metrics versus how can I help someone, how can I truly help someone today, that's a big shift. Big shift Because we see right here what Jesus is showing us right here on the cross transcends mere the things that we think about, because what he's showing us is his redemptive plan, his redemptive plan and we can see, as believers, as Christian leaders out there, we need to be reflecting on this profound truth that Jesus demonstrated through his sacrifice, and it should shape us.
Chris Grainger:
It should really challenge the way that we go about our business, the way that we conduct ourselves in the workplace. It should guide our interactions with others. It should guide the way that we lead our family, our spouse. I'm telling you, it changes everything, because when he said it is finished, that is final. There is no coming back from that, and we need to recognize, as his believers, that we need to embrace his sacrificial love, and not only just embrace it for us, but extend it to others, to everyone around us, because you, right now, wherever you're at, you, have an opportunity to make a huge impact on other people. We all have circles of influence Now, some people's circles of influence are bigger than others, but each and every one of you has an opportunity to impact someone else today for the kingdom.
Chris Grainger:
So I mean, the ultimate question is what are you going to do with this man they call Jesus? What are you going to do with him? Are you going to keep him in your pocket just for you? Are you going to turn away from him and say, nah, this ain't for me, or are you going to bow down to his lordship and do all you can to point as many people as possible to him? That's what I encourage you to do. That's what I hope you do, because it is finished. It is finished completely. There's nothing you have to do. You can't work your way in here. He did it for you. So lean into that beautiful reminder that he's given us or promise, rather, he's given us. Just lean and just point all you have, everything you are. Just point to him.
Chris Grainger:
Now for you listeners out there who found yourself like the lion within us, for some reason, you're hanging around, you're listening to this podcast. Maybe your phone broke and you can't cut it off. I don't know. You never know how the evil one works or how the holy spirit's gonna work. Maybe the holy spirit's keeping this thing going for you and you've never accepted christ as your lord and savior. I just want to take a minute here. For every spiritual kickoff episode we have, we do this. We just want to make sure that the truth of who he is and what he did for us is known to you. We get lots of downloads from the spiritual kickoffs. They always perform pretty well and that's the episode each week I really care about the most Because in this episode is where we, we share the good news, and I just want you to, first of all, just to know, man you're, you're a son or a daughter of the King and God.
Chris Grainger:
When he designed us, he designed us in his image. It's pretty cool. Go back to Genesis and check it out. It's the very first part of your Bible, if you, if you knew the Bible, study and see how he formed us. He spoke all the things into existence the heavens, the earth, the stars, the sun, the moon, the land, the sea, the creatures, the animals. He spoke all that stuff Because there's power in God's voice. Then he also, he took his hands and got dirty and he made man in his image and he went right down there to the nose that he had formed and he breathed the breath of life. It's called the Ruah of life and as that, his breath filled Adam's oxygen, his lungs with oxygen for the first time. He took that first breath and sat up and, being face to face with his creator, that's who we were made in the image of, and everything was perfect, absolutely perfect In the Garden of Eden. There was no evil, there was no sin. I just think it was awesome when you sit back and think about it. Really, how incredibly cool would it have been to just be right there.
Chris Grainger:
Then sin entered the world, mistakes were made, the forbidden fruit was eaten and they were escorted out, and I think about that too. I read this recently. They were escorted out of the garden. Can you imagine being in God's presence, perfect holiness, and how sad that final walk was out of the garden and knowing they couldn't come back. And that just shows you the power of sin and what that did to separate us from Him, because he is holy and we are not.
Chris Grainger:
We have this great big gap and this gap is sin, and sin is anything that separates us from God. And the reality of the matter is we all are sinners, each and every one of us. You know we're not people struggling with stuff. No, no, no, no. We're sinners and we don't need a coach to help us figure this stuff out and to get us to better versions of us. No, we don't need coaches, we need a Savior. We need a Savior. We need a Savior. Now.
Chris Grainger:
You may need a coach to help your business or to help different areas of your life, your fitness, but when it comes to your salvation, no one can help you there. Your parents can't help you, your kids can't help you, your spouse can't help you, your co-workers can't help you. Nope, this is an individual thing with between you and your savior. The only one who can do this is christ. Just like he said, it is finished. Guess what? He didn't lay in that too long. He overcame death and that and we have to recognize this, okay we have this gap between the perfect holiness of God and us. Sin is the gap. There's nothing I can inherently do as a person to close this gap, because no matter how close I feel like I'm going to get to God, he's still holy and we're not. That's an important recognition to make, and once we recognize this and you can say this is a salient truth that I know to be true what can I do? And unfortunately, the answer is nothing. You can't do anything. What he did is what comes in next.
Chris Grainger:
So Christ left heaven on the rescue mission for us, was born of a virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies raised up, did the teachings, showed us the different miracles, brought people back from their life, healed people, cast out demons, turned water into wine, walked on water, performed miracle after miracle after miracle, just to point people to his divine nature. And then he takes us right here, to this point in Calvary on the cross, where we study today, where he was sacrificed for the sin of the world. Then they laid him in a tomb For three days he was there. Then he rose, he came out of that tomb, he conquered death, he conquered sin and right now he ascended to the Father, where he sits in the right hand, and no one gets to him except through him. He's it. He is the way, the truth, the life, fellas, that is it.
Chris Grainger:
There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus, is it? So we no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved? Jesus is it. So we recognize there's this gap. We have this sin nature because we were made perfect and holy, but we messed that up. So we have this gap.
Chris Grainger:
Jesus came to fill the gap. So what do we do now? You've got to confess him as Lord and Savior. You've got to confess him as Lord over your life, not just Lord, over Sunday, every day, every aspect of your life, he has to be Lord and that just means hitting your knees and inviting Him in and then, once you do, the Holy Spirit's going to come. It's going to dwell you. You'll have a new peace.
Chris Grainger:
The only peace I can offer you is the peace that comes with walking with Christ. I'm also not offering you a ticket to the easy camp. This is not that easy. Following Christ is not easy, but it is better. It is a whole lot better, but it means making this decision right now. Are you going to make the conscious decision to surrender your way and follow his? If you're hearing my voice, you've never done that. You want to do that right now. Let's just pray together. It's that simple. You don't have to be in a church to do this stuff. Okay, you can do this wherever you're at, if you're on a treadmill, if you're walking, if you're riding in a car, wherever you are right now, we can pray together and you can receive Christ as your Savior.
Chris Grainger:
So, father, I'm just praying for that one listener right now who's having this moment of recognition that they can't do this. They're tired of trying to do this on their own. I just pray that you just be with them, father, as they're struggling, but they're recognizing how good you are. So I just pray for that peace that passes all understanding right now to just flood over them. I pray you hear their prayers and listen to their heart and I just pray, father, as they accept you as their Savior, that you just put people in their paths. That will help them, that's going to encourage them, that's going to come alongside them to lift them up, just to be that support system that they need. We love you, lord, and I just pray that as we grow as Christians, as believers, that we can just continue to be obedient to what you've called us to do.
Chris Grainger:
And just praying for that listener again who's ready to just confess you. I pray you hear their prayers and I pray you just do a great thing in their life. Also, pray it has protection around them more, because I know the evil one is not happy right now. So I just pray that protection around them. We love you, lord, we praise you. We are so thankful for what you did for us, because we definitely don't deserve it. We do all this according to your will. Jesus' name, amen, All right.
Chris Grainger:
So if you just accepted Christ as your Savior. I don't even know what else to say other than touchdown. I want to hear from you. Okay, send me a note, chris at thelionwithinus. You would have no idea what a message saying that you found salvation through a podcast called the lion within us. You have no idea what that would mean, and I also want to. I want to encourage you, I want to, I want to pray with you. I want to send you some free resources that you're going to need, because reality is, you just entered a battlefield and you need to know this. You got to have some resources to come alongside of you to help you, and I want to hook you up, so I'd love to hear from you. So again, chris at the Lion Within, dot US, also for our listeners out there. Come back on Wednesday. The episode on Wednesday is going to be baller. I mean, we've already recorded it, so I can tell you right now it's baller, it's awesome. The conversation is great, it goes deep, it gives a lot of insight and we talk about these words right here tetelestai, it is finished, and what that means for you, what that means for me, it's incredible. So I just encourage you to come back, check it out, give us a rating and review.
Chris Grainger:
Head over to the website thelionwithinus. That's thelionwithinus. Check out all our resources there. Join the community. I'm just going to be just straight up with you. I want you to join the community. Try that 30-day free trial. See how it serves you. We have lots of things changing in the community, with more masterminds, more summits, more live events. You're going to be able to see all the different ways we serve Christian men.
Chris Grainger:
So if you enjoy this content at all, if you listen to the lion, maybe once a week or something like that I'm telling you you're missing an opportunity to engage with us on a regular basis. I'd love for you to be a part of it. I'm so thankful for you guys that do listen and girls I do know there are a lot of ladies who listen and I I've just just blessed and honored, so I pray you guys have a great one. Come back on Wednesday again, check us out. Looking forward to that. And when you start thinking about that question about what are you going to do with this man named Jesus, I hope you all answer with worship and follow. I'm just going to worship him. I'm going to follow him. I'm going to make a whole lot about him each and every day, so thank you so, so, so, so much for listening. Again. Ratings review do help. Youtube, youversion, thelionwithinus, all the different places Facebook, instagram. We're out there, connect with us. We'd love to connect with you and see how we can serve you moving forward. All right, so get after it, have a great, great, great day, and remember to keep unleashing the lion within.
Chris Grainger:
If you're a man who's looking for greater spiritual guidance into how to become a better leader, finding resources that you can trust and then implement can be daunting For me personally. I thought it was a lost cause and I decided to take the action, knowing that I wasn't alone. It was because of this wide gap that we created our line within this community, and the areas that we're helping Christian men grow are incredible. For instance, we've built ways for guys to lean in and grow through fun events like our daily spiritual kickoff, where you get that much-needed boost directly from God's Word. Our Bible studies have always focused on how to discern and apply what we learn, and even our amazing form, where you can speak your mind without fear of getting shut down or judged by the extreme rules of modern day social media. On top of all that, we know that many men want help overcoming issues and becoming stronger in many different areas. That's why we created several mastermind groups where the iron truly sharpens the iron.
Chris Grainger:
Our community is about having a growth mindset, accountability, intentionality and transparency. In other words, just leave fake you at home and come to community just as you are. I fully believe what we feel. I see the impact it's making on men right now and I would love to have you check it out. So start your very own 30-day free trial today to see how we can help you be a better leader. So if you're ready to take that first step, head over to thelinewithinus and get started. Your journey begins here. Visit thelinewithinus and I'll see you inside with them.
