00:00Today, I want to tell you a modern parable. It's a story about a lion who, as a cub, was raised by sheep.
00:13From the very beginning his world was shaped by what surrounded him. He didn't see lions running.
00:23He didn't hear roaring. He didn't learn to hunt. He learned to walk slowly. He learned to graze.
00:34He learned to stay close to the flock. He learned that danger meant hide. He learned that survival meant blend in.
00:47And the tragedy is not that he lived like a sheep. The tragedy is that he believed he was one.
00:57And that is how many human lives are formed.
01:02We are shaped by our environments, by our parents' fears, by our teachers' doubts, by our culture's limitations, by the voices that told us, be realistic.
01:19When God was whispering, be faithful. Now, the lion did not choose to forget who he was. He was never shown.
01:31And many people don't reject God's calling. They never see it.
01:37So, the lion wandered the valley with the sheep. He ate grass. He slept curled up beside them. He jumped when noises came. And he moved cautiously through life.
01:53He was comfortable. He was safe. He was unchallenged. And comfort can be more dangerous than fear. Because comfort keeps you from ever discovering who you really are.
02:11Then, one day, a real lion came into the valley. And all the sheep scattered. But the sheep raised the lion? Well, he froze.
02:25Something inside him recognized what his mind could not explain. His heart trembled. His body shook.
02:35Not because the lion was a threat. But because truth has weight. The real lion said, Hello, lion. And the sheep raised lion said, No, I'm not a lion. I'm a sheep.
02:55Now, that sentence is the language of identity confusion. It sounds like, I'm not strong.
03:04I'm not chosen. I'm not gifted. I'm not worthy. I'm not capable. I'm just an ordinary person. I'm just broken. I am just afraid.
03:22I'm just afraid.
03:23Now, the real lion, I'm Schweizer.
03:27Now, the real lion, he didn't argue. He revealed. He took him to the river. And this matters. Because water is always symbolic in scripture.
03:38Water is where reflection happens. Water is where cleansing happens. Water is where transformation happens.
03:50the lion said, look. And for the first time, the sheep-raised lion saw himself clearly,
03:59not as he had been treated, not as he had behaved, and not as he had been taught,
04:08but as he truly was. And the Bible says this is exactly what God does through his word.
04:16Scripture is not a rule book first. It's a mirror. It shows you who God is and who you are in him.
04:29And when the lion saw his reflection, something woke up that had always been asleep inside.
04:38Power surged through his body. Instinct ignited. Truth replaced habits. And he roared. Not a practiced
04:50sound. Not a learned sound. A natural sound. Because identity produces action. The sheep trembled.
05:03The valley shook. The lie collapsed. And from that day forward, he never walked like a sheep again.
05:14Because once you see truth, you can never unsee it. And this is where the story becomes personal.
05:23Because many people are spiritually raised among sheep. They grow up hearing, don't rock the boat.
05:34Don't stand out. Don't get too serious about faith. Don't expect too much from God. Don't dream too big.
05:45Don't risk too much. And slowly, courage becomes quiet. Calling becomes caution. Purpose becomes preference.
06:00And faith, well, faith becomes comfort. But the Bible says something radically different about you.
06:10You are created in the image of God. You are called out of darkness into light.
06:18You are not given a spirit of fear, but of power. You are chosen, royal, the daughters and sons of the King, set apart.
06:32You are an heir with Jesus Christ. You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
06:38But information alone doesn't change lives. Revelation does.
06:46The sheep-raised lion always had strength. He just never exercised it.
06:53And many believers live like this. Faith in their heart. Fear in their behavior.
07:02They pray quietly. They hide their gifts. They doubt their calling.
07:10They underestimate their influence. Because roaring, well, roaring is risky.
07:18But roaring changes the environment.
07:21When the lion roared, the valley shook.
07:25The sheep trembled. The sheep trembled. The atmosphere shifted.
07:31And when you step into who God made you to be, your family dynamics, well, it'll change.
07:39Your friendships may shift. Your comfort zones will crack.
07:45Your excuses will die.
07:49Not everyone will celebrate it.
07:52But when the lion wakes up, it exposes the sheep mentality in others.
08:00Jesus never told his disciples, stay safe.
08:05He said, go, follow, deny yourself, take up your cross, be the light, be the salt,
08:16be witnesses.
08:21Those are lion commands, not sheep commands.
08:26The enemy doesn't need to destroy your faith if he can convince you to live beneath it.
08:32If he can keep you grazing instead of roaring.
08:37If he can keep you afraid instead of faithful.
08:40But the lion of Judah, the lion of Judah walks into your valley and says, look at yourself.
08:49Not through guilt, not through pride, but through truth.
08:56And truth says, you were never designed to live afraid of your purpose.
09:02You were never meant to hide your gifts.
09:05You were never created to walk in circles of comfort.
09:10You were never meant to blend in with fear.
09:15You don't become a lion by effort.
09:18You awaken it through faith.
09:23And the roar is not volume.
09:25The roar is obedience.
09:28The roar is courage.
09:30The roar is prayer.
09:32The roar is stepping forward when fear says stay back.
09:37The roar is trusting God when comfort says settle.
09:43When the lion roared, the valley learned something new.
09:49And when you live as who God made you to be,
09:53your children learn something new.
09:57Your co-workers see something new.
10:02Your prayers, well, they carry something new.
10:05And your walk reflects something new.
10:10Not because you are special, but because God is faithful.
10:17And today, the invitation is simple but powerful.
10:22Go to the mirror.
10:24Not the mirror of culture, or the mirror of comparison,
10:29or the mirror of your past.
10:31The mirror of God's word.
10:35And let him show you who you really are.
10:38Then walk like it, speak like it, pray like it, and live like it.
10:47You were never meant to be a sheep living in fear.
10:52My friend, you were meant to be a lion living in faith.
10:58Lift your head.
11:00Straighten your back.
11:02Trust your calling.
11:03Follow your king.
11:04Follow your king.
11:07You are not a sheep.
11:09Never were.
11:11You are a lion.
11:13And God made you that way.
11:17There are gifts inside you that God has bestowed upon you
11:22that only you can share with the world in the way he intended.
11:28So get out there and be a lion.
11:31Be yourself.
11:33Be true.
11:35Nothing can stop what God has deemed appropriate for your future.
11:43Truth.
11:44God bless you, my friends.
11:49Bye-bye.
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