Skip to content Willing to be C.R.A.Z.Y. | Rev Paul Jeyachandran Oct 7 · 45 min ...more
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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0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. What a joy and a privilege for us to worship the Lord together and to study the word of God. You know, today, I wanna0:11 continue on the same thought that I did last week. How to become a lion chaser. I'm gonna title today's sermon as willing0:23 to be crazy. You know, faith is defined as this. Faith is your willingness to look foolish to others, willing to be0:35 crazy. I wanna take you to second Samuel chapter 23 and verse 20, that 1 verse that we meditated last week. Another time, he chased a lion down into0:47 a pit. Then despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. Let me give you the context of this verse, and then we begin.0:59 In second Samuel chapter 23, you have the list of heroes. These are known as David's mighty men, and they did great exploits in the1:11 kingdom of David. Now, was 1 man in particular that I want us to pay attention to, Benaniah. The Bible says that Benaniah 1 day encountered a lion1:23 and when he saw the lion, the lion actually was running away from him. It fell into a pit, but Benaniah jumped into the pit. He chased1:35 the lion into the pit, and despite the snow and the slippery condition, he caught the lion and killed it. Now based on this, we talked about1:47 in our previous sermon, what are some of the characteristics of a lion chaser? So today, I wanna talk about 5 keys, 5 applicational1:58 keys to becoming a lion chaser. See, in the previous sermon, I established that if you want to become a lion chaser, you become a lion chaser2:10 by facing your fears. Secondly, by embracing uncertainties. Thirdly, by taking risks. And fourthly, by2:22 seizing the opportunities. That's the difference between a cat chaser and a lion chaser, that you face your fears, you embrace uncertainty, you learn to take2:33 risks, and you seize the opportunities that God brings your way. But the sermon is not complete until I share this framework with you. There are 5 applicational2:45 keys to becoming a lion chaser, And I'm gonna title this crazy CRAZY, and I wanna give you what that CRAZY2:57 stands for. And this will become the 5 applicational keys for us. The reason I'm sharing this is because if you and I want to do3:08 extraordinary things for God, that means we are ordinary folks who have an extraordinary God, and we want to expect great things from God and we wanna3:20 attempt great things for God. We need to embrace certain things. You know, I always ask this question, What is the difference between a good3:31 leader and a great leader? It's the ability to see. In other words, they see something that others fail to see. They recognize something that others recognize.3:44 They act on some things where others hesitate. They grab the opportunity and they go forward, take the risk, face the fear, embrace the uncertainty. They do all3:55 those and much more. So I want to give you these 5 applicational principles that you can take and apply in your life. And this is a leadership principle that we share with pastors.4:07 This is something I've learned from my mentors and especially from pastor Edmund who has walked with me in my leadership. And I wanna share these principles with you. Number 1,4:19 it's curating clarity. In other words, how do you become a lion chaser? It's when you are very clear on who you4:31 are and more importantly, whose you are. The part of the leadership journey is about curating clarity. I want you to listen to me carefully. Whether you're leading your household, whether4:43 you're leading a small group, whether you're leading a ministry in the church, or whether you're leading the entire church, or you're leading a movement, you're leading an4:54 organization, you're leading a not for profit, or you're leading a company, curating clarity is 1 of the key essentials of leadership.5:06 That means there must be certain clarity around certain things. Let me give you 3 in particular. Number 1, we need to be clear on our calling. See, there are a lot of things that you see5:18 in the world today. There are a lot of things that will move your heart. There are a lot of needs in society, but a need doesn't constitute a calling. You and I, we need to be5:30 very clear on the call of God upon our lives. And the moment you're clear on the calling, then you are very clear on the direction you need5:42 to go. Secondly, you are also need to have clarity around the core values. In other words, what are core values? These are the values that govern your thinking.5:53 The govern your decision making. These are the values that help you to discern between what is of worth and what is not of worth. What you will pursue wholeheartedly and what you would ignore6:05 completely. Why? Because they align with your core values. So as a leader, whether you're leading an organization, whether you're leading a ministry, a small group, a6:17 family, you need to be clear on the calling. You need to be clear on the core values that govern your thinking and your philosophy of life and ministry and and career and6:29 decisions you make. Therefore, these 2 will give birth to clarity in the course of direction we need to take. You know, in my conversations with6:41 pastors and leaders, business leaders, or even a young person who comes to me time and time again and says, I want to know what is God's vision for my life.6:53 I usually tell them this. There are 3 things about vision that you and I need to embrace. Number 1, there is a distinctive vision.7:05 Number 2, there is a dynamic vision. Number 3, there is a directional vision. In other words, many times when you are encountering a7:17 crisis in your life or a fork in the road where you need to choose. Usually, people are examining or questioning or asking about7:28 directional vision. What is that step I need to take? What is the next step? Which way should I choose? They are always concerned about directional vision. But can I humbly say this?7:40 Directional vision is the last thing that we need to be concerned about. Why? There are 2 other visions that we need to fully embrace. Number 1, there's that dynamic vision. What is a dynamic vision? A7:52 dynamic vision is my relationship with God. Because he is the 1 who created me. He is the 1 who wired me for his purpose. My temperaments, my8:03 personality, what I like, what I don't like, what how I'm skilled and wired and talented and all that is the way He has prepared me for life, the experiences8:15 He has brought me through. All of that speaks about my relationship with him. Who I am and what I am is all about him. So that's the8:27 dynamic vision. I need to walk with Jesus. The more I walk with him, the more I spend time with him, the more I'm walking in intimacy with God, I can hear clearly how he has wired me, what he has called me, what8:39 he's preparing me for. That gives me the distinctive vision about my life. What is the distinctive vision? The distinctive vision is of all the things that God is calling me8:51 to do, this is the distinct things that he's calling me to do. I want you to listen to me. So you're not like any other doctor. You're a you have a you're a doctor with a distinct vision. You're not like any9:03 other engineer or any other business owner. You're a man, a woman whom God has chosen for his purpose. You have a calling upon your life. You have a destiny upon your life. Therefore you have a distinctive9:15 vision. Praise God. And once you're clear on the dynamic vision and the distinctive vision your directional vision becomes clear. In other words the course of direction that you need to take9:27 becomes clear. That's why how do you become a lion chaser? You first curate clarity by curating clarity. How do I build a team of9:38 people who are engaged on mission and they are they are charging forward and they're doing what God has called them to do. We need to curate clarity.9:50 You know, let me, give you an illustration. What is a group of rhinos, Rhinoceros, group of rhinos called? Do you know what they're called? They're called crash.10:02 A group of rhinos are called crash. This is an interesting fact about rhinos. Rhinos are very heavy animals, aren't they? They're huge, they're big. But this heavy10:14 animal can actually run at the speed of 50 kilometers per hour. Imagine this, the group of them running. A group of them running at 50 kilometers per hour.10:27 But 1 interesting thing about rhinos is they can run at 50 kilometers speed per hour, but at the same time, they can't see beyond 30 feet. In other words, they10:39 have very poor eyesight. They can only see up to 30 feet. Can you imagine you only see up to 30? 30 first feet, you don't know what's there, but you're running at 50 kilometers per hour and a10:51 group of them are coming. Sure, it's gonna crash. Sometimes in life that's how we are. I want you to listen to me carefully. We have to walk by faith not by sight. We can't see11:02 beyond. We only see the next steps but we are called to take action and the only way you can chart the course and charge is if you curate11:14 clarity rightly. That's why you and I, we need to take time to go before God to be reflective practitioners, to continue to evaluate the happenings that are11:26 happening in our our in our life and to say, help me to be clear on the call of God. Help me to be clear on the core convictions that help me make the decisions wisely11:38 and help me to chart the course, help me to recognize the course of direction for my life. So the first thing that helps you to become a lion chaser is curating clarity.11:50 Secondly, it is about regulating risk appetite. In other words, in my first sermon on this series, I've established in order for12:02 us to be a lion chaser, we need to embrace uncertainty and be willing to take risks. You know, but you and I need to understand.12:14 Our personality is God given, isn't it? Your temperaments are God given. You know, there is always argument whether it's nurture or nature. Is it nurture12:26 or nature? I believe it's both. But I also believe there are sometimes that their temperaments are actually God given, the way you're wired.12:39 But God doesn't make mistakes. When he calls you to do something for him, he doesn't mean that he actually has given you the kind of personality and12:51 you will be comfortable within that personality to be able to do that. Listen carefully. Let me explain it this way. Many times when you read the bible, we project our own imagination into the text.13:04 Like for example, when someone thinks of Samson in the Bible. The Samson in the Bible was a valiant man, was a mighty man. He was a mighty warrior. So in our mind, when13:16 we think of Samson, we actually think of Samson as someone who has a a bodybuilder. He has the arms and legs of the rock, Dwayne13:28 Johnson. In other words, he is a mighty force to reckon with. Can I humbly say this? That's our imagination. What if13:39 Samson was just a regular bloke who did not have that kind of extraordinary muscles and a physique that frightens armies. What he was13:51 just a normal guy who was empowered by the Holy Spirit that when the spirit of God came upon him, he rose to be like the Hulk. He transformed like the14:03 hulk. In other words, it's an ordinary bloke that was transformed by the power of God that came upon him. The anointing that came upon him. It makes sense, isn't it? Because 1 day when his hair14:14 was cut, that means he acted in disobedience, he acted in rebellion, he was playing with fire, he was lying in the lap of Delilah, and14:26 Delilah stole that secret. And at the after his hair was cut, the power of God has left. The man became14:38 just an ordinary man. I want you to listen to me carefully. In other words, we sometimes have this glorified image that God has to give me that type of personality before I can do this kind of14:50 work. Not necessarily. God can call an introvert and anoint him to speak to the masses. God can take a shy person and give him the anointing of15:02 God so that he writes songs that the whole world will sing. God can take an ordinary person who doesn't have that kind of cleverness a strategic mind15:13 or intelligence or even cleverness. He's not street smart or book smart but God can take an average Joe and anoint him to do business for his glory.15:26 We don't need to glorify natural talent and natural skills and ability. The moment we recognize that this is the wiring that God has given me, but God has called me for this. These are the core15:38 values that guide direction I need to take. Then we take the necessary steps and 1 of the key steps you take is regulating risk appetite.15:50 What is regulating risk appetite? There are 2 dangers of risks. 1, some people are risk blind. In other words, they never sit16:02 down and count the cost. They get an idea, they resign from their job, they jump into a business. They have no business to be in. Listen carefully. In other16:13 words, they are risk blind. They jump into a partnership without counting the cost. They sign a contract without thinking through things, without reading the the16:25 terms and conditions and the small print. In other words, they are risk blind. I've spoken to pastors who had made decisions that cost a16:37 lot because they were risk blind. I've spoken to business owners who have risk blind. In other words, it doesn't matter. It it's not about how spiritual you are or how not spiritual you are. You can just be risk16:49 blind. We just need to be aware of it. That's a danger. But at the same time, there are people who are on the other extreme. The other danger is risk others. In other words, we wanna play it17:01 safe. We don't want to lose anything. So we play not to lose. You know, there's 2 ways you can win. You play to win or you play not to lose. And many times when you play not to lose, you will end up17:13 losing because winning is not in the radar. I want you to listen to me carefully. Risk averse will keep you safe, but you will not do17:25 anything for the kingdom of God because it takes risk to lead your family, to build a godly marriage,17:37 to lead your children with the worldview that is gospel centered, a value system that is based on kingdom principles, to build a business that is honoring God17:49 and and walking in integrity with no compromise. We have to take the necessary risks. Listen carefully. And that's why you and I, we need to understand what is it that God18:01 is calling us. So we gotta we gotta understand our own risk appetite and we gotta learn to rewire ourselves for what God is calling us to do. So as part of the18:13 rewiring, let me give you 2 things. 1, we need to right size our risk. In other words, you don't take risks that you cannot afford to take. You have to right size your18:24 risk. In other words, say for example, if I'm walking with a pastor who is pastoring a church that is small, A small church pastor doesn't need18:36 strategies that a megachurch uses. See, what happens is many times, small church pastors go to a large conference and listen to a megachurch pastor preach how he built his church, turn take all18:48 the strategies he has done and try to apply in a smaller church and will not work. Why it will not work? Because you are not rightsizing the risk. You gotta learn for what19:00 is the next step I need to take from where I am to where I wanna go. What is the next steps? What's the next few steps? So in other words, you and I, we need to understand that we need to right size the risk.19:13 David had to wear his own armor in order to fight Goliath. He cannot wear the armor of Saul to fight with Goliath because it wasn't19:25 right size. Listen carefully. You and I need to understand that we not only right size our risk, we need to develop the risk capacity. You take small19:37 steps of risk, you take small risks at a time, you grow in taking risks. Eventually, you build up enough risk capacity that you are learning to19:49 take larger risks. Listen, we just want thing to be risk averse, another thing to be risk blind, but we need to take calculated risks for20:01 the glory of God and for the good of his kingdom. So how do we do it? We right size your risk, we develop a risk capacity. Number 3, we gotta learn to audit20:13 alignment. How do I become a line chaser? Curate clarity. Regulate your risk appetite. Now audit your alignment. In other words, is your20:24 life aligned? Aligned to what? There are 2 things that our life need to be aligned. Our life need to be aligned to God and our line life need to be aligned to20:36 core values. In other words, never compromise from your core values. Let your core values, these are the convictions. What is the difference between a belief and a20:48 conviction? A belief is something you hold on to. Conviction is something that holds on to you. In other words, this is how I'm dictated by. There's a philosophy. There's a core value that governs my thinking21:00 and and and I need to stay true to that. Align. How do you audit alignment? Firstly, it's not just core values that you picked up from a book. It's a core values based on the21:11 word of God. But more importantly, you're aligned to the will of God, the ways of God, the word of God, and to God's plan and purpose for your life. So are you21:23 aligned to God? You know, 1 of the things that I've learned over the years as I journey with God is this. There is a divine flow that we can enter into.21:35 Let me talk about this. You know, people always say, pastor, this pastor is very anointed. What they mean is that the Lord speaks through that person.21:48 There's there's a there's a tangible presence of God that ministers through that person. The anointing of God. An anointing. Now, I simply define anointing as the21:59 divine flow. In other words, there's a flow of God. This is what God wants to accomplish in the world. This is what God is doing in a group of people. This is what God wants to say to those people, and you align yourself22:11 to that divine flow. And the moment you align into that divine flow, there is a flow of anointing. So our job is to get our ego out of the way. Our job is to22:23 get ourselves out of the way and step into the river, step into the flow, that divine flow. Now, when you walk in that divine flow,22:35 you know the difference. If you have walked in the divine flow or you're not walking in that divine flow, you will know the difference. If you have walked with God for a while, I know I know you will know what I'm22:45 talking about. Now, what is that divine flow? The divine flow is this. It's an incredible favor, a supernatural favor that comes upon you. Not only a supernatural22:57 favor, that is a the divine flow not only brings supernatural favor, it it brings uncommon blessings into your life. It opens doors that no man is able to shut. It shuts the door that no man is able to23:09 open. It preserves, it protects, it provides. There's a providence of God, divine flow. Now listen carefully. Now why this is important? Years ago, I was in the23:21 presence of God crying and I said, Lord, whatever I'm doing, I am not experiencing a breakthrough. And I learned in the presence of God many, many decades ago. This is23:33 going back a few decades ago where I penned in my journal, wait for divine appointments, work on divine opportunities, and walk23:45 in divine favor. Let me say that again. This is the crux of years and years of journeying with God. I've come down to nut it down to these 3 things. Number 1, wait for23:56 divine appointments. That means don't jump around doing things. Wait for divine appointments because there are things that he has appointed for you to do. Do those things. There will be a flow. Lot of24:08 people say, I'm disappointed. I tried to do this, but it didn't work. Yet, it was never appointed for you. When you're doing what is divinely appointed for you to do, there is a divine flow instead of disappointment.24:20 Listen. There is a walk, wait for divine appointments. Secondly, work on divine opportunities. Recognize, learn to develop that in24:32 inward radar. Learn to recognize what is what is of God and what is not of God, what to what way to go, what steps to take. Learn to wait for divine appointments. Learn24:44 to work on divine opportunities. And when God gives you divine opportunities, do your best. I want you to listen to me carefully. There was a prophet who was visited24:56 by a king and the king said, all this army from Syria is attacking us. So this king of Israel went to the went to Elisha and said, can you please help us? And Elisha25:07 said 1 only 1 simple thing. Take the arrow from your quiver and strike on the ground. And this king, he was hoping for25:19 a exciting word from the prophet. Maybe the prophet should have said, thus says the Lord, you and the whole lot will be saved. Maybe something like that. Or you will have an incredible victory without25:31 any effort. But can I humbly say this? You know what the prophet said? Take the arrow, strike the ground. He took the arrow and struck the ground and the king only did it like this.25:45 Only 3 times and he stopped. And you know what the prophet said? The prophet actually got indignant. And the prophet said to the king, you should have taken this opportunity to take that arrow and25:57 strike the ground with all your might continuously. Keep striking until I say enough. You know26:08 why? Because if you had done that, you would have wiped out your enemy completely. But now you only did it 3 times. You will have victory only 3 times. And after that, the enemy will be26:20 stronger. He will wipe you up. Listen. The reason I'm saying this is because sometimes God gives us great incredible opportunities. We don't know how to maximize those opportunities that he26:32 brings our way. Why? Because we don't learn to wait for divine appointments. We don't work on divine opportunities. Sometimes we fail to walk in divine favor. But if you learn26:44 to wait for divine appointments, work on divine opportunities, you will walk in divine favor. That's the flow of God. So can I humbly say this? How can you live a life26:56 that is anxiety free? How can you live a life that is stress free? How can you do something that God calls you without getting burnt out? Without getting destroyed in the process? Learn to27:08 grow in the flow. Learn to flow with the flow. The divine flow. And the only way you can do the divine flow is to be able to recognize, Lord, my life is not mine. My27:19 future is not mine. I want to be aligned with you. I want to be aligned to your word. I want to be aligned to your word. I want to be aligned to your ways, will. I want to be27:31 aligned to what you have in store for me. Hallelujah. That's why how do you become a lion chaser? You be a lion chaser by curating clarity, by regulating your risk appetite. Number 3,27:43 by auditing alignment. Let me talk about number 4. Number 4, you zoom in on zeal. What is zooming in on zeal? You know, the Bible27:55 says that Jesus it talks about Jesus as someone who was consumed with zeal. He was passionate, he was enthusiastic. In other words,28:07 what sets apart a leader from a great leader? Zeal. What sets apart a businessman and a great businessman? Zeal. In other words, they're zealous, they're passionate,28:19 they they they are willing to persevere. It doesn't matter what what uncertainty they have to embrace. It doesn't matter what risk they have to take. It doesn't matter how much the cost is. They are28:31 willing to continue to persevere and lean in. I want you to listen to me carefully. You know, you and I need to continue to learn to persevere. You28:43 know, as a student of leadership, as a student of organizational leadership, I have seen how leaders who last the distance,28:55 they not only fly high, but they last long. These are the leaders who have 1 characteristic. Whether you are in the business, whether you are in29:07 ministry, these are the leaders who fly high and they last long. The only reason they are able to go through the overhaul on the long haul is because they persevere. Perseverance is29:19 important. Now, I'm a man of God who believes in the reformation theology of the preservation of saints. In other words, God preserves. It's the Lord who keeps us.29:32 But the same time, it also says you keep yourself in the love of God. You keep yourself in his mighty hand that he will lift you up. In other words, there's a29:44 preservation, but there's also a perseverance. So continue to persevere and lean in. Lean into what? Lean into God. Lean into his promises. Lean into his thing. When you're when the going gets tough,29:56 the tough gets going. When you don't know what to do, do what you know. Do what you know to do. What is it? To go back to the word of God, to align yourself back to30:08 him and 0 in and zoom in on that zeal. Never lose that zeal. I've always noticed this, the people who are zealous from young30:20 and zealous to their old age, they are people who are really crazy. They are people who are truly lion chasers. Why? Because they learn how to zoom in on that zeal to keep30:32 themselves passionate before God and passionate for the things of God. Hallelujah. But along the way, as you as you continue to persevere, you gotta learn to pay your dues.30:46 In 1 way or another, you're gonna pay. Like they say in the in the popular vernacular, there's no such thing as free lunch. In other words, someone is always paying for it. In30:58 some ways, there's no promotion without that kind of dedication, hard work, perseverance. I want you to listen to me. God takes31:10 time to prepare you. God also takes time for you to pay your dues so that you earn your stripes as well. I'm I'm a firm believer in the favor of God, but I I define favor31:21 like this. Favor is when preparation meets opportunity, favor happens. When preparation meets opportunity, favor happens. In other31:33 words, favor is not, I just while away my time, I don't do the due diligence, I don't pay my dues, I don't do the hard work. I'm not staying dedicated. I don't pursue this wholeheartedly.31:45 But 1 day, I arrive on stage, and I'll be brilliant. No. You don't. Behind the scenes, whether it is Michael Jordan who who practices the same shots, throwing31:57 the ball into the basket again and again for hours on end, whether it's a whether it's a pianist who's a who's a protege, he practices for hours sitting at that32:08 piano. Whatever your skill or craft or whatever your gifting is, you have to learn to develop it. How? By paying your dues. And that requires32:20 auditing alignment. That's the discipline we need to go. But in all things, we're not just dependent on our own talent or skill or ability. We're dependent on the grace of God. So you32:32 rely on God. Talent doesn't just cut it. Listen to me. Can I humbly say this? You know, there was a man that is celebrated32:44 sculptor, the best sculptor in the whole world, greatest sculptor that ever lived, Michelangelo. Michelangelo learned under the great Giovanni, and Giovanni was trained32:56 under the great Donatello. So Donatello, Giovanni, and Michelangelo. Now Michelangelo was a teenager when he was brought to Giovanni to train him.33:08 Giovanni could spot the talent in Michelangelo. And Michelangelo is extraordinary. He had this he had this, brilliant talent, but he was playful because he was33:20 so young. He was also playful. And you know what? Sometimes talented people, if you're highly talented, you get bored very easily. You get bored with things that doesn't challenge you. You get33:32 bored with the mundane and the routine of doing things. So in 1 of the class, Giovanni noticed that Michelangelo was working in this culture and it was very33:43 substandard, well well beneath his abilities. So you know what Giovanni did? He took a hammer, walked straight to that sculpture, and he knocked it down into smithereens.33:55 It was shattered into pieces. And this is what he famously said Michelangelo. Michelangelo, talent is cheap. Dedication is expensive.34:08 I want you to listen to me carefully. In other words, there's a bunch, a dozen who's talented. You can find so many people who are skilled and talented and who have the qualification, who have34:19 the right skills and the abilities. They have actually better than you. But that doesn't cut it. Why? Because talent alone doesn't cut it. It takes34:31 dedication. That's why we have to zoom in on the zeal. Lastly, if you want to be a lion chaser, not only you need to curate clarity,34:43 regulate your risk appetite, audit alignment, and zoom in on zeal. The last 1 is you gotta learn to yield to the yieldedness. It always comes back34:54 to God. Who God is? See, I'm a firm believer that God created us for himself. That's what the word of God says. Not only God35:06 created us for himself, God redeemed us through Christ for himself. So we are twice owned. We are created by him. We are redeemed for him. Therefore, we belong to35:18 him. Our time, our talent, our treasures, our territories, everything about our life belongs to him. So we cannot do what we want, we gotta do what he35:30 wants. That's why every single waking day, you come before God and you say, Lord, let your will be done. I wanna be concerned about your35:41 business. I wanna do your will. I wanna fulfill the plan that you have for me. I can while away my life watching Netflix, Stan, Prime Video, whatever there35:53 is. Or I can just go around talking to people and be full of nonsense. Listen. Have you ever heard this statement by Eleanor Roosevelt?36:06 Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events, and low level minds or poor minds discuss other people.36:19 That's what gossipers are. Low level. They got nothing better to do. Just talk about other people. Listen carefully. Lion chasers live very differently. In other words, you come before36:31 God, you have you have taken stewardship of your life. You go before God and you say, Lord, you are the Lord of my life. You are the you are the you are the Lord of my life. You're the owner of my life. I'm mere steward.36:42 And because I'm a mere steward, I need to give an account 1 day. Therefore, I wanna surrender my life. Surrender my ways. Surrender my will. And when you come before God36:54 and you surrender yourself, you know what happens? You learn to not only steward your life, you learn to sacrifice your life for his glory and for the good of his kingdom.37:07 You learn to steward. You learn to sacrifice. You learn to serve. That's what yielding to the yieldedness means. In other words, I37:19 was a young teenager when the Lord called me into ministry. And on that day when I yielded to the Lord, I said, Lord, for the rest of my life, I just wanna serve you. I don't wanna do anything37:31 else. I don't want to be a businessman. I don't want to be a Bollywood movie director. I don't wanna be a music director. I don't want to pursue anything else as a career. I don't want to be a computer37:43 engineer. I don't want to be doing anything else with my life. I want to be the proclaimer of God's word. I want to be a teacher of God's word. I want to serve you. That37:53 yieldedness every single year, every single month, every single week, every single day, I go before God and I yield myself to that yieldedness. In other words,38:05 we must surrender to God afresh every single day. And as we surrender ourselves, we embrace his calling for our lives. We embrace his purposes for our38:17 lives. We embrace his leading for our lives. And when you walk in that by curating clarity, knowing your calling, core38:29 values, and the course of direction, By regulating your risk appetite, you come before God and you say, I don't want to be risk averse. I don't want to be risk blind. I want to regulate, right size my risk.38:41 I want to develop my risk capacity. I wanna align myself to your word. I want to align myself to your ways, your will by auditing alignment. But I'm also wanting to 0 in on38:53 zeal. I wanna persevere. I wanna hold on to you. I wanna pay my dues. I wanna lean in, press in, lay hold of God's promise for my life and be39:04 enthusiastic. And I wanna lay it all down for you. I wanna surrender. I wanna live for your glory. If you learn to do this, that is what spiritual39:16 maturity is. That is what will cause you to become a lion chaser. What is spiritual maturity? Spiritual maturity is all about seeing and seizing opportunities. Let me39:27 end by saying this. If you are a person who has never placed your faith in Christ, that means you have never believed in Jesus as your savior.Show more
Paul Jeyachandran
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