Lion Chaser.

A few weeks back I was blessed by a team from New York that came and they paid my way to go on safari with them. This was an awesome trip for me but hard at the same time I was having a few days off feeling very down and out of it. as I sat in the van roaring down the road looking out at the African plan around me in western Uganda I was feeling frustrated with my life. How was I going to raise money for YWAM with only two months to raise the 7000 I need? How was I going to deal with that issue or this issue? It seemed like everyone had life sorted out but me. Our van came to a halt next to the Ugandan Equator. I got out and walked to the second van, the van full of all the guys. They invited me to switch vans and so I did without hesitation, I wanted a break from the other van. We took off down the road, I sat in the uncomfortable chair just listening to the conversation and thinking about life. And at one point one of the men passed me a book and said I needed to read it. So I opened it and I began to read. The basic point of the book is about being a lion chaser, being someone that would stand against the odds when everyone calls you crazy.
See I don’t think God intended us to live life on the side lines. I think he intended us to be lion chasers. Men and women of God that would go way beyond what was normal or natural and do the abnormal and supernatural; look at the bible for example. You have a boy named David; he was 17 years of age. He looked after his father’s sheep, not only did he kill a giant with a pebble pulled from a stream, but he was also anointed and appointed by God to be king. How about the woman in Jericho? She took in to spies and protected them! Need I even point out the greatest lion chaser I can think of? Jesus, at thirteen years of age he preached to the teachers of the bible in a temple! He healed the sick he dared to say he was the son of God. can you think of anyone that you know that would willing put themselves out there and say hey guys I’m the son of the one true God, and I will prove it by healing the sick, raising the dead and preaching the truth? And then back it up by being nailed to a cross and raising from the dead three days later! Jesus by our standards was nuts! But he was nuts for God! He willingly chased a lion even though he knew it would cost him his life. Even when people warned him and told him to hide or even tried to defend him with sword he still pursued his lion! If I look at the bible almost every person of faith in the bible seems to be a lion chaser. They went beyond all odds. I had this awesome opportunity that I think was one of these lion chaser moments. I was given the option of going to church or going to a prison. I said I would go to the prison and when we were deciding who would preach I decided I would do it. Everything in me was saying your tired take a break; you don’t want to preach here. I didn’t want to do it but there was a small piece of me that was like but it’s a lion, lets chase it. So I went along with it even though I didn’t really want to. And so we got to this prison. And we go in and my friends and I move to the front of a room full of about 120 prisoners. What the heck have I gotten myself into; I went into a lion fight with my bare hands! I hadn’t even prepared any kind of message! I sat there looking at these men thinking this through thinking, what was I going to say, what could I possible say to these men? Sure I had been in fights I had done illegal things back home but I never murdered anyone, I never committed a crime punishable by prison. What could I offer this lion? How could I chase such a strong lion? And then it came time to get up, I can see it now: “in the right corner standing at 5”9 weighing 175 pounds, Joel, and in the left corner standing 4” tall weighing 300 pounds of pure muscle THE LION!!!!” I can tell you I have faced many fights, none of them seemed as bad as going into a fight with a lion with only my bare hands. So I got up no message prepared, and I said a quick prayer, I set my feet apart and ran at that lion with everything I had. Man did it feel like I was getting the snot kicked out of me. And then came the big moment. I’m in my corner bruised and beaten I think and that lion isn’t even breathing heavy let alone bleeding! This was it. my finishing move. “so if anyone would like to give their life to Jesus I want to ask you raise your hand” all of a sudden to many hands to count go up, the lions bleeding! “ok now I want to ask you to make one more step of faith and stand up.” all of a sudden that lions was on the ground completely knocked out, roughly 60 of the 120 men in that room were standing! The point I’m trying to make is that lion chasing is scary, and sometimes we get burned, I was fortunate this time, but sometimes when we chase a lion we get burned and we have to pick our self’s up. But regardless of if you win the fight or chase, you will always come out that much stronger, because even if the lion wins you still chased it; you still said I’m not willing to settle for second best. God never said follow me and you won’t get hurt. In fact he said the opposite there would be trials there would be pain. Some would die horrible deaths for Christ. Others would witness a different lose, a lose of family and friends. The incredible thing is though that those that chase lions will witness the kingdom of heaven advancing at incredible rates. In one month I witnessed over 500 people saved, in one month! This was because I stepped out and I chased that lion down and I fought him as hard as I could! So are you going to be a lion chaser? Or are you going to run away like everyone says you should? I will tell you, chasing lions is one of the best things I have ever done!