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October 7, 2024 · 45 min · Chasing the Lion
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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Becoming a Lion Chaser 0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering, church? Hallelujah. What a joy and a privilege for us to study the word of God together. I wanna talk about becoming a lion chaser.0:12 This is a word in season that the Lord dropped in my spirit. As I was studying the text, as I was studying the bible, as I was waiting upon the presence of the Lord for this year, a word0:24 for this year, there was 1 particular verse that arrested my attention, and I wanna bring a word in season for us to meditate. In second Samuel chapter 23,0:36 we actually read about the great exploits done by David's mighty men. Out of all of the 30 mighty men, there's 1 guy by the name of0:47 Benaniah that stands out. And I wanna highlight 1 particular exploit that he did. I wanna read from new living translation0:59 verse 20. And verse 20 of second Samuel chapter 23 says, Benaniah, on another time, he chased a lion down into a pit. Then despite the1:11 snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. I want you to think about this. He encounters a lion, and the lion starts1:23 to run away from him. And he jumps into the pit. The lion falls into the pit. He jumps into the pit, and the Bible says it was a slippery1:34 ground. It was a snowy day, and he caught the lion, and he killed it. I wanna title today's sermon, becoming a lion chaser.1:47 William Carey, in his biography, records this. This is a prayer that he prays. This is a philosophy that he carries. He says, expect great1:59 things from God and attempt great things for God. Let me say that again. Expect great things from God and attempt great things2:11 for God. See, 1 of the things that you and I need to understand is this. We have the great privilege of partnering with the Lord Jesus Christ, the 1 who has authority in heaven2:23 and on earth. And he said, behold I'm with you always. And he has given us a mission and he has given us a commission. I want you to listen to me carefully. He has given us his2:34 holy spirit and his presence, his promise, his power with us every single day. But many of us, even though we have his presence, his promise, his power in our2:46 lives, we choose to be a cat chaser rather than a lion chaser. See, when I think of this text, and then when I think of this exploit,2:58 I ask myself this question, what is the difference between a cat chaser and a lion chaser? A cat chaser is someone who is ordinary. He just wants to do the mundane, the routine, the3:10 mediocre stuff that doesn't sweat, that doesn't cause any adrenaline rush. In other words, just go through the motions, just get things done, just play it safe in life.3:22 That's a cat chaser. But here's a man, the bible says, he's a lion chaser. Because the normal reaction when you see a lion is to run away. And if this lion slips3:34 because it's a snowy day, it slips and falls into a pit, you say, good riddance. I don't have to fight it. You run away. But here's a man who does the counterintuitive thing. He jumps into the3:45 pit and he fights with the lion. The reason why this fired up my imagination is because in this post pandemic world,3:58 all over the world, believers are entering into a phase of lethargy, apathy, compromise, and we kind of settle and we wanna play it4:09 safe. But God continuously calls his church to rise up, to to take risks for the kingdom of God, to seize the opportunities that he has for us, to truly4:21 become a lion chaser. And this is where I believe God is speaking to us in this season, that we expect great things from God and attempt4:33 great things for God. So this morning for our meditation, I wanna bring you just this 1 point. This 1 question. How do you become a lion chaser?4:46 I believe there are 4 things that we can lick look at this passage and learn. In order for you to become a lion chaser, you gotta learn to face4:58 your fears. You know, there is a Hollywood movie called Vantage Point. This vantage point actually examines an event that takes place.5:10 In this plot, it is the event of the assassination of the American president. And the vantage point movie focuses on 8 strangers who are in the5:22 audience when the president is being shot. And from the 8 different locations where they where they were standing and 8 different vantage points in how they5:34 see the event unfold. And the it was brilliantly put together. See, I love movies that are that that creates that sense of suspense and give you the gripping,5:46 feeling right till the end. And this was 1 such movie. It didn't make a big impact in the in the cinemas, but it's actually a wonderful plot. A good screen, a good5:57 script that grips you. The reason why I'm saying this is because I wanna take this scenario that you find in in Benaniah's life, and I wanna talk about the different vantage point in which you6:09 can actually look at this and learn there are 4 key things that we can do to become a lion chaser. So how do we become a lion chaser? Number 1, you become a lion chaser6:21 by facing your fears. He says he chased a lion down into a pit. I want you to think about this. The natural reaction to6:33 seeing a lion is you wanna turn and But here's a man who's willing to face the fear and step into the ground, into the pit6:45 to fight the lion. That means sometimes we have to overcome the fears that are crippling us. Fears that are keeping us stuck in life.6:57 Fears that are stopping us from becoming extraordinary and to do the extraordinary things that God is calling us to do. There was an experiment done by Ivan Pavlov.7:09 We call it the Pavlov experiment. In fact, he talks about the conditioned reflux. In other words, when 2 things commonly occur together,7:21 the appearance of 1 will bring the other to mind. What was Pavlov's experiment? He realized that whenever a dog is given a food, the dog7:33 salivates as it begins to eat. That means when it's when the food is presented for the dog, it salivates. So what he did is he started to ring a bell when before he give the7:45 dog a food. He rings the bell then serves the dog food, the dog salivates. 1 day, all he does is just rings the bell, the dog starts to salivate. Why? Because7:57 he expects food to come. In other words, 2 things are happening side by side and we assume if 1 happens, the other will happen. This is why many times people's lives are8:09 stuck. Why? Because they are still stuck in the past experience. There are fears that have gripped their life from young or maybe things that happened to them and they assume it will8:21 continue to happen. Therefore, they are stuck. They would rather become a cat chaser than a lion chaser because they are afraid to face the fears that are crippling them.8:33 See, when I was a a young boy, I was still in my primary school. I was chosen to appear in a talent show in our national television. I was going8:45 to perform, by being the lead singer and by playing the guitar and being a lead singer in this young talent show. Now the day of recording,8:57 there was a bus that was gonna come and pick us up from our school and bring us to the talent show recording. Now before that, as I was getting ready in the morning, I got ready. I was wearing my school uniform,9:11 and I saw my dad's bicycle, and it's I was so tempted to go for a ride. So I took the bike, went for a ride on the main road.9:23 Little did I realize the traffic was heavy in that morning, and I stumbled and fell. I cut a deep cut on my chin, and it was blood was gushing all over.9:35 My school uniform was completely drenched with blood. I rushed back home. My mom took me to a clinic. The clinic then stitched me up. It was 6 stitches right here. And cut the long story9:47 short, I missed the bus, and I missed the opportunity to be on TV in the young talent show. What did this do to me? Listen carefully. I was afraid9:59 to get on the bike for a while, But at some point, you have to overcome that. I'm afraid to do anything else when I have a major event in my life.10:11 Why? Because that reminds me, remember, if you're about to do something, don't get involved in something else. Listen carefully. In other words, these things actually affect the way we live10:23 our lives. And many people actually live like that. That's why we have to examine this key question. What fear do you need to overcome in your life? In other words, in this season, what is it10:35 that's holding you back? Is it a fear of intimacy? Is it a fear of rejection? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of being judged? You know how many people say, I don't wanna step up to be a leader. I don't want the10:47 title of a leader. Why? Because the moment I become I become a leader, people judge me differently. They look at me differently. So they hold back. In other words, you're afraid of the10:58 opinion of people that you would say no to God's call upon your life. Listen. The fear of becoming unpopular. You know, once I become a leader, whatever I do, I I can become unpopular. My friends will no longer be11:10 friends with me. Listen carefully. What fear is holding you back that you settle for being a cat chaser rather than a lion chaser. Number 2, how do11:22 you become a lion chaser? You become a lion chaser by facing your fears, but secondly, by embracing uncertainty. How do you embrace uncertainty? Look at11:34 this scenario. Benaniah chased a lion down into a pit. It was a snowy day. It was a slippery ground. In other words, on a snowy day, you can't see clearly11:46 what's at the distance. You can't. The conditions are so dim. The light is so dim. And you can't have a proper balance. It's 1 thing for you to fight a human being. It's11:58 another thing for you to fight an animal that is 250 kilograms heavier. That can see so sharp. They say lions have 20 2012:10 vision better than human beings. So listen carefully. Here's a man who the odds are stacked against him and it's all uncertain, but yet he embraces that uncertainty. I12:22 tell you what, if you truly wanna embrace this philosophy of attempting great things for God, you have to be willing to embrace certain uncertainties.12:35 You know, we are conditioned as people of God to look for certainties. And in fact, when you come to faith in Christ, faith actually reduces12:46 spiritual uncertainty. In other words, faith actually produces within you certain spiritual certainties. Certainty that God is for you, not against you. That God forgives you and accepts you as his own.12:58 You are now adapted adopt you are now adopted into the family of God. These things are certain for us. All our sins are forgiven and we are adopted into the family of God. These are spiritual13:10 certainties that we embrace and we enjoy, that we live in the favor of God continuously, that the grace of God is is sufficient for our lives. These things are certainties. But just13:22 as faith reduces spiritual uncertainty, it increases circumstantial uncertainties. Let me explain. In other words, when you step out to do something for13:34 God, that faith requires that you are willing to embrace circumstantial uncertainty. I want you to think about this. What makes a movie13:46 gripping? What makes a story a great story? I'll tell you what makes it. It's the suspense. It's that dramatic uncertainty. It's that romantic uncertainty. You watch a13:58 movie like Gladiator. Gladiator, it grips you right till the end. Will he win? Will he have his revenge? Will he be able to restore that honor14:10 that was stolen from him? Listen. It grips you when you watch a movie like Slumdog Millionaire. You you feel for the characters. You go you go, will they want will they14:21 unite in the end? How will this end? I want you to listen to me. That uncertainty, it what is what makes a great storytelling. In life, uncertainties14:34 actually add that sense of adventure. In fact, when you take that step to follow Christ, you are actually called to embrace uncertainty. Let me give you a principle. Jesus' call14:46 to discipleship involves sacrificing certainties. When you read the scriptures in Matthew chapter 4, when Jesus went to his disciples and said, follow me. Come follow me. You know14:58 what he was asking them to do? He said, leave your nets. What is their nets? Their nets is their certainty. It's the family business that they were involved in. They are fishermen trained to fish.15:10 And here, they leave their certainty. They leave their career. They leave all that traditional certainty. They sacrifice it to follow Christ.15:22 In fact, Jesus said it in Matthew chapter 8. He said foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man have no place to rest. In other words, when you follow me, you are embracing certain level of15:34 circumstantial uncertainty. That's what Christ invites us to. You know, there was a man in Matthew chapter 19. The bible records and he the bible calls him the rich young ruler. He came15:46 to Jesus and said, Jesus, I wanna follow you. What should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said very simply, go sell all your possessions. Give to the15:58 poor. Come follow me. In other words, to go and sell all your possessions and give to the poor and you come follow me. Why? Because it'll be the greatest adventure of your16:10 life. You know what the Bible says? The man walked away sad. In other words, he didn't want to do what Jesus called him to do. Why? He wanted the certainty of wealth. He wanted the16:21 certainty and the comfort of what the wealth brings to him. He wasn't willing to sacrifice that certainty. What a missed opportunity. Listen to me carefully. Jesus says to these fishermen, come follow16:33 me. They came. And Jesus said, I'll make you fishers of men, and they became. Hallelujah. Can you imagine the front seats that they got in the in witnessing the miracles, the signs, the wonders that Jesus performed?16:45 For 3 and a half years, they watched from the front. They had a front row seats to everything that Jesus did. What an exciting opportunity. And then to these16:57 people, these these men who were just fishermen before, tax collectors, Jesus says to them, you will go into the world. You know, back then,17:10 not many people have traveled the world. In fact, an average person in Israel would have traveled only within the state of Israel. In other words,17:21 Jesus says to them, go beyond the borders. What an exciting opportunity. The second century historian, Eusebian, he actually records and says that some17:33 of the disciples went further. John, you and I read that John went to Asia near Turkey. Peter went to Italy. Thomas the doubter went to India. I want you to listen to17:45 me carefully. In other words, these are men who actually embraced and went further because they embraced the uncertainty and followed Christ. Now my question to you today is what certainties do you need to sacrifice?17:58 In this season, what certainties are you holding on to that is actually preventing you from being extraordinary for his kingdom? What certainty? Is it a relational certainty?18:10 Is it a career certainty? Is it a financial certainty? You know, God calls you to step out and do something, but you are holding on to a financial certainty. Listen. What is it that that is18:22 holding you back? The third thing, how do you become a lion chaser? You become a lion chaser by taking risks. I want you to think about this.18:35 Here's a man who jumped into the pit on a snowy day in a slippery condition, and he caught the lion and he killed it. In other words, he risked18:47 it all. I want you to think about this. There are 2 dangers when it comes to risks. In fact, many people are risk averse. In other words, they don't want to take any18:58 risk. They wanna play it safe. On the other hand, there are people who are risk blind. In other words, they just blindly enter into contracts, blindly enter into businesses,19:10 blindly enter into things that they never even should have ventured into. Why? Because they're risk blind. The Bible says, you gotta sit down, take some stock,19:22 understand the cost, and then pay your dues. It's important. But you cannot be risk averse. If you truly wanna attempt great things for God, you gotta take risk.19:35 And that risk doesn't necessarily has to be a huge risk. It is just a small acts of courage. It's a small step of obedience. It's a small step of faith that19:47 you need to take and God will do the rest. You know, history teaches us this. What does history teach? History teaches this. It is small acts of courage that changes the course of history. Sometimes19:59 it takes a risk. Someone takes a risk and it has a domino effect. You know, recently, I was in Germany. I walked into this chapel where Martin Luther was actually tried20:11 and excommunicated. Now who's Martin Luther? Martin Luther was a monk. He was a monk, And on October 30 first 15 17, he20:23 nailed to the door of the church 95 thesis against the Catholic church. And as a result, they excommunicated him. But his 120:34 act of courage, a small act of courage, it ignited the protestant reformation. Listen to that. You know, in 19 45, on April the20:46 eighteenth, a factory owner by the name of Oskar Schindler, he had a list of thousand and 97 names that he manually typed. 297 women20:58 and 800 men. He rescued them from Nazi concentration camps. And the moment he he did that, he lost everything. Schindler actually21:10 lost everything. You know, Steven Spielberg, 1 of my favorite directors, wrote he wrote and directed this movie Schindler's List. It's a it's a 1 of those classic movies that you21:22 should watch. It moves. It will grip you and will move you. And in fact, Schindler lost everything. But today, if you go to Israel, there are more than 600021:33 Schindler Juden, they call it. That means these are the people who came from the descendants of people who were rescued by Schindler. They are Schindler Jews. There are more than 6000 of them. In other21:45 words, 1 small act of courage had a domino effect, and it saved thousands. Rosa Parks was a seamstress. On first21:57 of December 19 51, she got into a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. You know, in those days, there was segregation. The black people have to give way for the white22:09 people to sit down. But she refused to get up, and she was tried, and she was thrown in prison. She lost her job, but that 1 act of courage had a domino effect.22:21 In other words, it inspired a citywide boycott and a court battle. Within 2 years, segregation, bus segregation was ruled out unconstitutional in Alabama.22:33 Listen to me carefully. In other words, there is a domino effect. When you take that step of faith, when you take that step and you risk for the glory of God, what happens? It carries a domino effect. In22:45 fact, in Benaniah's life, you find that. Look at this in verse 20 to 23. The bible says, Benaniah, son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He22:57 struck down Moab's 2 mightiest warriors. Look at the odds against him. Here's 1 man, 2 mightiest warriors of Moab. He took them.23:10 He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 1 man, a 250 kilogram lion, and he took23:22 it. The third 1, he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, and Benaniah went against him with a club. Where's the club? Where's the spear? Where would you put your23:34 money? I would definitely put the money on the pointy thing, the spear. But he snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. In other words, can you see the domino effect? There was 123:45 time he killed 2 Moabites. Second time, he killed a lion. Third time, he killed an Egyptian. In other words, he there is a progressive way. The same way,23:57 David, he's he's he protected the sheep from bear, from lion. And 1 day he protected the whole nation from Goliath. I want you to listen24:09 to me carefully. There is a domino effect when you take a step of faith. It's the same thing in our spiritual life.24:22 You either can play it safe and be a cat chaser all your life, or you can take that bold step of faith and say, yes, I wanna take that risk, that necessary risk for the glory24:34 of God and for the good of his kingdom and do what God calls you to do. You know, in Matthew chapter 25, there are 3 parables that talks about the end times. The parable of 10 virgins,24:46 the parable of talents, and the parable of goats and sheep. The bible says about the parable of talent that the owner, the master called his servants, 3 of24:58 them, and gave them 5 talents, 2 talent and 1 talent, and told them, I'm going away on a long journey. 1 day I'll return and I'll ask you an account. The guy who received the 5 talents, what's a talent? A25:10 talent is 20 years' worth of wages. A day laborers' wage for 20 years is given. That's 1 talent. Imagine the guy, he had hundred years worth of wages. He25:22 went and multiplied it. Another guy had 2 talents. He went and multiplied to become 4. Whereas this 1 guy with 1 talent, the bible says he went and hid it.25:33 And when the master came 1 day, he dug it out and came and gave back the 1 talent to the master. You know what the master said? You wicked and slothful servant. You should have25:45 invested this. You should have traded with this. You should have done something to produce more. In other words, where is my return? Can I humbly say this? You and I, we need to evaluate what25:58 God has entrusted to us. If what God has entrusted to us, you just 1 day give it back to him and you say, Lord, I have been faithful to what you have given me. Look, I have maintained it. I give it back to you, bigoted26:10 and slothful servant. Because how we measure faithfulness is we measure faithfulness in terms of maintenance, in terms of not losing, not risking. But you know how God measures faithfulness? He26:22 measures faithfulness as risk that has been taken. A return on investment. Listen carefully. The faithfulness is risking for what? For maximum reward. And that's the26:34 key. You and I 1 day have to give an account for what has been entrusted to us. I always ask pastors who are in the last leg of their life or in the last last26:46 season of their life where they are transitioning or passing on to the next. Are you passing on a ministry that is better than how you found it? What they gave it to you, when you give it back,26:57 is it better than what they how you inherited it? Listen carefully. The reason I'm saying this is because we need to redefine what faithfulness is. It's not just about maintenance. It's about27:09 doing what God has called us to do. That's why you gotta change our mindset. Sometimes we have the saving mindset, and Asians are very good at this. Saving, saving. Oh, don't let let's not risk it. Just play it safe.27:22 But we gotta change our attitude towards investment mindset. In other words, how do I invest my time? How do I invest my talent? How do I invest my treasures in godly things so that it can bear fruit for the glory27:34 of God? It can multiply and bless. Listen carefully. Don't play it safe. For all the young people, let me give you an illustration. There was a young27:45 man by the name of Ted Leonis. Ted Leonis today is the owner of Washington Capital. He made his money by investing in a company, starting a company called AOL.27:58 But when he was 25 years old, he was caught up in a airplane crash. The air stewardess came out and said, embrace for impact. He had28:10 a crash landing. And at the where he at that moment, he made a decision in his heart. If I survive this crash, I'm gonna play offensive28:22 for the rest of my life. I'm not gonna play defense. I'm not gonna play it safe. And so you know what he did? He put a hundred and 1 list of things that he wants to do in his life. And out of that28:34 hundred and 1, 74 things he has already accomplished. Let me name some of the things he wanted to do and some of the things he has already accomplished. Number 1, fall in love and get married. Number 14, net worth of28:46 hundred million after taxes. Number 22, create the world's largest media company. Number 24, own a jet. 35, give 1000000 to Georgetown University. 37,28:57 start a family foundation. 40, own a sports franchise. 83, produce a TV show. 86, invent a board game. 92, hold elective office.29:10 In other words, here's a man who said, enough of playing it safe. I wanna risk it all. I wanna live life on the offensive. Why? I don't wanna be a cat chaser. I wanna be a lion chaser.29:22 I want you to listen to me carefully. You and I have been given the greatest gift of life. Not only that, the Lord Jesus has not only redeemed us for heaven, he has redeemed29:34 us for earthly good. You know, many Christians, they are heavenly good, but earthly no good. Why? Because we are so heavenly minded, we have no earthly use. We think that it's all about getting29:46 saved so that we can go to heaven. Can I humbly say this? He saved you so that you can be useful for his kingdom here while you are alive on earth. Let29:58 me ask you this reflection question. What small step of obedience is God calling you to take in this season? You know, psychologists actually say30:10 this. There are 2 kinds of regret in a person's life. The regret of action and the regret of inaction. You know, the regret of30:21 action is doing something you wish you hadn't done. The regret of inaction is not doing something that you wish you had done. And 2 psychologists30:34 actually did a research on it, and they came up with a philosophy. This is their finding. The short term, we tend to regret our actions. But over the long30:45 haul, that means at the end of your life, you don't regret your actions. You actually tend to regret your inactions. In other words, you tend to regret the lions you did face.30:57 I want you to listen to me carefully. That's why I want you to think about this. What is it that God is calling you to do in this season? What is the small step of obedience that God is calling you to31:09 take for his glory and for the good of his kingdom in this year? How do you become a lion chaser? Number 4, ceasing the opportunities. 1 of the31:21 things that grips my heart is this. How do you define spiritual maturity? I wanna give you 1 verse that defines spiritual maturity for me. In Colossians31:33 chapter 4 and verse 5, it says this, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. In another translation, it says this,31:45 walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. How do you use the time? You have been redeemed.31:57 God has given you time. He has given you talent. He has given you treasures. You make the most of every opportunity that God sends your way. The problem with us is we want32:09 opportunities that doesn't cost us anything, that doesn't cost cost us to risk anything, doesn't that it comes with all the certainties, and only then we will take it. Can I humbly say32:21 this? When God calls you into embracing and ceasing an opportunity, he calls you to face your fears. He wants you to embrace that uncertainty. He wants you to take the necessary risk, and he32:33 wants you to seize the opportunity. What is opportunity? Let me talk about the etymology of opportunity. The word opportunity actually comes from in32:44 Latin. In other words, in those days when the ships were coming near the port, they wait. The sailors actually wait for a tide, a tide to actually bring32:56 them. It's a flood tide that needs to bring them into the port. Otherwise, they will crash. Otherwise, they will be, they will be in the ground. So they wait for that the tide. That is the opportunity.33:08 In other words, you wait for the the tide to come to bring you into the port. The Chinese word for crisis, it comprises of 2 characters. 133:20 character represents danger, and the other character represents opportunity. In other words, it it may seem like a crisis. It may seem like a problem, but it's not a problem. It's an opportunity. Yes,33:32 there is danger involved, but it's a great opportunity. You know, recently I was in US, and I came across this interesting fact that there are more number of Starbucks33:44 in California than there are in any other state in US. The most number of Starbucks in 1 city is actually in New York City. New York City33:56 has the most number of Starbucks. But do you know that Starbucks was actually a coffee chain only within Seattle, Washington? Howard Schultz was a man34:08 who had the opportunity to buy Starbucks. It was gonna cost him 4000000 dollars And he actually says he resisted it. He didn't want to invest. He didn't wanna take34:19 that risk. But then he writes in his, autobiography that moment when he made that decision. This is what he says. This is my moment, I thought. If I34:31 don't seize the opportunity, if I don't step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I knew that if I didn't take advantage of this opportunity,34:43 I would replay it in my mind for my whole life wondering what if. So Howard Schultz bought Starbucks for 4000000 dollars as an investment. 5 years later,34:56 in 19 92, on June the 20 sixth, it was listed in Nasdaq. On that 1 day, it was the second most traded stock.35:09 And on the closing bell, the market capitalization stood at 273000000. Not bad for a 4000000 dollar investment. But today,35:21 Starbucks is actually in 37 countries. They have 32600 stores all over the world, and their market at capitalization today is hundred35:32 and 19000000000 dollars. Not bad for 4000000. I want you to listen to me carefully. In other words, there's always a risk, but there's a greater35:44 reward. In other words, in life, you cannot just be a cat chaser. You gotta take risk. You gotta seize the opportunity. You gotta embrace the uncertainty. You gotta face the fear35:56 if you want to be a lion chaser. And just like William Carey said, if you truly want to be someone who expects great things from God and attempts great things for God, then you gotta36:08 embrace this philosophy. I want you to listen to me carefully. The bible says, make the most of every opportunity. But in the context of Colossians chapter 4, I believe36:20 the secret is found there. How do you make the most of every opportunity? In verse 2 it says this, devote yourself to prayer. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it36:32 with thanksgiving. In other words, how do I know which opportunities to seize, which risks to take, which uncertain uncertainties to embrace, which fears to overcome? It36:44 will all be revealed when you continue steadfastly in prayer. You know, I'm reminded of that character in the bible, Esther. You know, Esther was a young woman who was36:55 promoted to be queen. And during that time there was a plot to kill the Jews in the land. And Esther had a strategic opportunity. She was placed37:07 in king's court. She was the queen. But she can't just walk into the king's palace to ask for freedom, ask for deliverance for her people. So you know what she37:19 did? She called for prayer. And she's the 1 who famously said, if I perish, I perish. But she took the risk. Why? Because she prayed. She understood. This is an opportunity that should not37:31 miss. I need to seize this opportunity. I need to take this risk. I need to embrace the uncertainty. Her husband, king Artesesus, was known as a madman. In other words, he37:42 had already killed 1 queen. He had already disposed of 1 queen. Here's a man who's temperamental, very egotistical, but the bible says37:55 queen Esther went before God and prayed and she faced that fear. If I perish, I perish. But there was a great deliverance. And up to today in Israel, Jewish people celebrate38:07 the feast of Purim to celebrate how God intervened in the book of Esther to deliver them. We're living in the last leg of the last days. And in this last days, 1 thing38:19 matters, that we are prayerful. See, this last days is not how do we survive in this last days. The reflection question is not, are you living on survival mode? How do I survive this last days? No. No.38:30 No. You should be on a prayer mode. What is a prayer mode? Prayer mode is going before God and say, Lord, what fears do I need to confront? What uncertainties should I38:42 embrace? What risks should I take? What opportunities that you are aligning in my path that I need to seize? Listen carefully. The reason why this is important38:54 is because when you start to pray, you create an awareness within your own consciousness. You know, there is an RAS in our brain. Reticular39:06 activating system. What RAS does is this. You know, there are millions of bits of information that is coming into our brain cells. And this RAS acts39:18 like the gate. It actually vets what you notice and what you don't notice. In other words, it protects you from becoming overwhelmed. So it actually filters and says these are the things you39:30 notice. I hope you notice this, you know, when you buy a new car, where as soon as you have gotten to the car and drive out of the car park, you start to notice the same car on the road.39:43 You were on the road many times, but you never noticed that type of car, that model of car. But the moment you bought it, the moment you are using it, now you start to notice it everywhere in the street. Why? BecauseShow more In this video 0:00 Becoming a Lion Chaser
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Paul Jeyachandran
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