This is the last chapter and the finale of our Chase the Lion series. It has been a great ride that encouraged The Community big time.
One of the biggest ideas from the small group study is the question of God-consciousness and Self-consciousness. As humans we are more worried about self than God any time. Take for example what the Garden of Eden was like before Adam and Eve sinned. They were unaware that they were naked and knew only what it was like to be in fellowship and OK with God. Sin caused them and all humanity to fall away from God, to be separated from God.
We need to understand what it is to fully trust God. Surrendering to God is what we will be talking about this coming weekend at The Community. In fact, my precious wife will be sharing on Sunday. Pray for her.
The idea of looking foolish means you will do anything God wants you to do no matter if your reputation is gone or your imagine is marred or if people think you are stupid or foolish. Are we more willing to please God than to please people or make ourselves look good?
In the message yesterday we talked about some people and situations that seemed foolish: David when he went up against Goliath, the Apostles when they left their lives and work to follow God, Esther who took huge risk to save people, 2 of the 12 spies who looked at the land God promised His people, Paul who lived life full out following God, the Good Samaritan and Zaccheaus. All of these would rather do what God wanted than to hurt His name.
1 Corinthians 1:27 (nasb) --- But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
Matthew 10:16 (nasb) --- Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
Think about your God-consciousness. How you do get to that point? How do we leave our own thoughts to follow what God wants? It is not easy.
As we close this study, I challenge each of us to chase the lion, to follow God full out and to let Him tell us what direction to go, what people to impact and how to give Him great glory!
Ephesians 5:18 (nlt) --- Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
Romans 12:2 (The Message) --- Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
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