Chasing Lions I Pastor Brian Bullock I Social Dallas

Summary

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Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode of Social Dallas features guest speaker Pastor Brian Bullock delivering a dynamic message titled "Chasing Lions." Drawing on the story of Benaiah from 1 Chronicles 11:22, Pastor Bullock inspires listeners to pursue God-sized dreams, confront fears, and move from comfort and safety into courageous action. He implores believers to not only receive spiritual knowledge but to apply it, stepping out in faith to overcome the "lions"—challenges, fears, and obstacles—that stand in their path.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unusual Call to Chase Lions

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 11:22 – Benaiah chasing a lion on a snowy day into a pit and killing it.

• Pastor Bullock's Take:

  • Emphasizes the strangeness and courage of Benaiah’s act: not only does he face a lion, but he does so on a “bad day” (snowy, cold, in a pit), and wins.
  • “Have you ever been so in love with God that you do things you never imagined doing?” (12:44)
  • Falling in love with God causes you to step out of your comfort zone, doing things outside your normal personality or inclination.

  "Because when you really fall in love with God, you do stuff that's outside of your personality. You do stuff you never dreamed you do." (14:44, Pastor Brian Bullock)

2. God Designed Believers to be Lion Chasers

• Personal Testimony:

  • Pastor Brian and his wife started Union Church Charlotte, moving in faith to a city where they had no connections. Despite advice against it (due to post-pandemic times), the launch was wildly successful.
  • "At some point, you got to stop sitting in the seat, and you got to say, God, put me in the game. What do you want me to chase?" (26:59)

• Practical Application:

  • Lion chasing equals taking faith-based risks: starting a business, breaking generational curses, leading when you never saw yourself as a leader.
  • Pushes back against what he calls "safe Christianity"—urging the audience not to settle for comfort, but to do the hard, courageous thing God is calling them to.

  "We got too many influencers with no power. And the reason why you ain't got no power? Because you don't get no power from a podcast. You get it from a pit." (21:00)

3. From Knowledge to Action

• Criticism of Modern Christian Culture:

  • Critiques the tendency to amass Christian knowledge and content (sermons, podcasts, conferences), but not translate it into action.
  • Encourages moving from being merely "fed" to actually stepping out and confronting life's real challenges.

  "My question is, what are you doing with all that information? Because if all that information don't ever get you to go outside and chase something down, then you are just getting puffed up with knowledge." (24:40)

4. Three Keys to Becoming a Lion Chaser

• 1. Pursue a God-Sized Dream That Scares You (29:30)

  • If your dream doesn’t require faith, prayer, and God’s intervention, it’s not big enough.
  • God assigns you things that are beyond you, forcing you into dependence on Him.

• 2. Don’t Let a Bad Day Become a Bad Life (31:44)

  • “Benaiah is having a bad day, but what looks like a hard season is really a setup for promotion.”
  • The pit and the lion are the doorway to your next level; difficulties can position you for God's favor.

• 3. Move From Cowardice to Courage (34:05)

  • “There are too many coward Christians. A coward will always compromise. A coward will always run at the first sign of trouble.”
  • God’s command: “Be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
  • Urges listeners to step out even if they’re the only one, to stand for righteousness despite the cost.

  "God will give you a vision that will scare you, an assignment that will scare you...God will always put a dream and something on you bigger than anything you could handle on your own." (29:30, Pastor Brian Bullock)

5. The Enemy's Roar vs. the Believer’s Authority

• Scripture Woven In:

  • 1 Peter 5:8 – The devil prowls like a roaring lion.
  • Psalm 91:13 – “You will trample upon lions and cobras...”
  • Pastor Bullock demonstrates with humor how fear makes us retreat; urges believers to “bark back” at the enemy.

  "What if I told you that the devil you are scared of is really scared of you? And if you ever take your rightful place like Benaiah, you can chase a lion down and kill it." (38:07)

• Examples from Scripture:

  • David, Samson, and Daniel all had victories over lions or in lion’s dens, symbolizing God’s protection and empowerment for believers.

6. Jesus: The True Lion of Judah

• Applies the motif of 'lion' to Jesus:

  • Ultimately, Jesus is the Lion of Judah who gives believers the courage and authority to face any obstacle.

  "Revelation tells me that when Jesus returns, he's not just coming back as a little lamb, he is coming back as the lion of Judah. And I wish I had somebody in this room to say, I ain't scared of these lions. Cause I know the real lion." (38:28)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Crazy Love for God:

  "Love will make you do some crazy things. For many of us in this room, at some point in our lives, we fell in love with God. And when you fall in love with God, you will find yourself doing things you never thought you would do." (13:33, Pastor Brian Bullock)

• On Comfort vs. Courage:

  "You love sweet Baby Jesus, but sweet Baby Jesus became Grown Man Jesus. Because when Grown Man Jesus flesh flips tables, grown Man Jesus confronts stuff." (20:25)

• On Moving Into Action:

  "But at some point, this revelation and this knowledge is supposed to make you say, wait a minute, let me chase something down." (24:52)

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Important Timestamps

• [09:24] Scripture and sermon introduction: Chasing Lions, 1 Chronicles 11:22.
• [14:44] Taking bold, surprising action out of love for God.
• [18:35–21:00] Contrast between safe Christianity and real spiritual battle; lions vs. podcasts.
• [24:40] Challenge to move beyond consuming knowledge to courageous action.
• [26:59] Personal testimony about launching Union Church Charlotte in faith.
• [29:30] Three points about becoming a lion chaser begin.
• [34:05] Challenge to move from cowardice to courage.
• [38:07] Calling out fear and the enemy through a humorous dog story.
• [38:28] Jesus is the Lion of Judah; believers empowered not to fear.
• [40:18–41:00] Final ministry prayer of victory and invitation to accept Jesus.

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Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• "Because when you really fall in love with God, you do stuff that's outside of your personality. You do stuff you never dreamed you do."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [14:44]

• "We got too many influencers with no power. And the reason why you ain't got no power? Because you don't get no power from a podcast. You get it from a pit."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [21:00]

• "What are you doing with all that information? Because if all that information don't ever get you to go outside and chase something down, then you are just getting puffed up with knowledge."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [24:40]

• "God will give you a vision that will scare you, an assignment that will scare you...God will always put a dream and something on you bigger than anything you could handle on your own."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [29:30]

• "A coward is always going to choose to quit rather than to keep going. But God don't want you to be a coward. God wants you to be courageous."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [34:48]

• "What if I told you that the devil you are scared of is really scared of you? And if you ever take your rightful place like Benaiah, you can chase a lion down and kill it."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [38:07]

• "Revelation tells me that when Jesus returns, he's not just coming back as a little lamb, he is coming back as the lion of Judah."
  — Pastor Brian Bullock, [38:28]

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Closing Reflections (Pastor Robert Madu, [42:20])

• Pastor Robert affirms the message: feeling fear but acting in obedience anyway.
• Shares his own testimony about facing major ministry obstacles and stepping out in faith.
• Encourages attendees and listeners: “Keep chasing the lion. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Because it's not just for you. Somebody else is waiting on the other side of your obedience.”
• Repeats the call for those who made a decision for Christ and reminds the church to continue showing up and walking out their faith.

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Summary

This episode challenges listeners to break out of comfortable, passive Christianity and to "chase lions"—pursuing bold, seemingly impossible God-given dreams despite fear, uncertainty, or past pain. Both Pastor Brian Bullock's testimony and the biblical account of Benaiah serve as blueprints for courageous faith in action, reminding believers that their real authority and victory come only by taking risks and trusting Jesus, the true Lion of Judah, to empower them.

Transcript

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Hey, family. Before we get into the message, Taylor and I wanted to invite you into something big happening right here at Social Dallas. God has given us an incredible 90,000 square foot building, and we're believing for $6 million to break ground to make it home.

[Taylor Madu]

Yes, and every dollar moves dirt. If this ministry has ever blessed you or spoken to you in any season, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? Your generosity, it helps us turn this building into a home where people will meet Jesus for generations.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Absolutely. You can give Dallas.com give or click the link in the description because we are almost home. You look good in the house of the Lord. In fact, you look like you're flourishing. And I'm guessing that you're flourishing because you've been planted in the house of the Lord. That has been our word for 2025. We've been declaring that we're going to stay planted. Can I just tell you, I already know the word for 2026 and the scripture. You want to know it, you better come year. It's gonna be so. It's gonna be good. I really am excited about it, but come on. We've been declaring Psalm 92, 13:15 every single Sunday. We only have two more Sundays in person to declare it. So if you're waiting just to really shout it, today's your opportunity. Come on, let's read it as one big family. One, two, three. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

He is my rock.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

There is no unrighteousness in him. Y' all sound good social. You sound real good social. You're going to be blessed today. I'm telling you, you're going to be blessed. Just like the good old Thanksgiving dinner that you keep eating a couple of days afterwards. You're going to be blessed today because we're going to hear a word from God, from a mighty man of God. I've actually known him for years, but this is his first time here at Social Dallas. And we don't really have guests. We have family. So he's already in the family. He was born in Boston, grew up in Boston, but right now he is in Charlotte, North Carolina. Come on, Charlotte. In the house, leading one of the most phenomenal and perhaps one of the fastest growing churches in the United States of America. Union Church in Charlotte is a phenomenal church. So glad that the lead pastor of that church is here today. Come on, make some Noise social for Pastor Brian Bullock as he comes to bring the word of God today.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Come on, y' all could do better than that.

[Worship Leader]

Preach.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Man of God.

That was good for me. But can you make some noise for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?

[Worship Leader]

Come on.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Can you celebrate the great. I am the reason why we came here today.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Come on.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Can you magnify the name of the Lord? My name is Pastor Brian. I'm not Kevin Hart. No autographs, no pictures. Please stop. And I'm just honored. I'm glad to be here. I get to be the lead pastor of Union Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. My people in the building. And I'm just excited to be in cold Dallas today. I don't know why it's so cold, but it's all good. It's just great and amazing, and I'm just excited to be here. And we've been now lead pastor this church for about two and a half years. Just a young church, and God is just blessing us and moving in our lives. Tomorrow is actually my wedding anniversary. I've been married for 18 years. Can all the married people make some noise in the building? Can all the people who want to be married make some noise in the building? All right, fellas, look around.

This is your time.

Fellas, that was your cue. You should. But I didn't have a picture of my family and my wife Karen. We celebrating 18 years of marriage. And that's my daughter, Summer Annabella. And my daughter calls me Pastor Daddy. And every time I see my wife, I say, why can't you be more like my daughter and call me Pastor Daddy?

Anyway.

Anyway, that's a whole other thing. But that's my son, Brian Jr. And he's 9 years old. And that's my daughter, and she's 11. And, man, we're just excited. I'm excited to be here. But can you do me a favor? Can you help me honor two of the greatest pastors on the planet, Pastor Robert Madue and Pastor Taylor Madu.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

And.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

You guys are so. I don't want to say spoiled, but to me, Pastor Robert is. I call him the perfect preacher. He can. It's just even his little introduction. He did four. I was just looking at my hand like, four. God gave, man gave. He just does it again, you know what I mean? Just everything he says. And I've been watching him for years and been connected to him, but to see what God is doing through him and his wife and his family here in Dallas. Social. We watch y'.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

All.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

We study y' all we just say, man, this is one of the most incredible churches on the planet. So can you help me again, honor your amazing leaders and your amazing pastor? All the earth will shout your praise.

[Worship Leader]

Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing great. Are you Lord? All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bos will sing great. Are you Lord? Come on. All the earth say, all the earth our heart. Oh, yeah.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Great.

[Worship Leader]

Sara, you Lord, one more time. All these earth. All the earth Will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry these bones are going to sing. Sing. It's your breath in our l. Oh, yes. When we pour out our praise. Pour out our praise. It's your bre. In my lungs. So we pour to you. It's your breath every day. You're breathing in our. Brilliant. In our lungs.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Oh, yeah.

[Worship Leader]

So we pour out to you on le.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Can somebody shout in this place? Do me a favor. I need you to turn to a neighbor and say, neighbor, I don't know what you came to do, but I came here to praise the Lord. Come on. Find another neighbor that looks more happier than that Neighbor. And say, neighbor, I don't know why you got dressed. I don't know why you here today. I don't know why you Uber here today. But tell your neighbor I came to lift my hands. I came to act a fool. I came to run around the church. I came to tear the roof off the house. I came to mess up my shoes. I came to cry. I came to shout. I came again. Cause you don't know like I know what my God has done for me. My grandfather used to say he picked.

[Worship Leader]

Me up, he turned me around and.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

He place my feet on a solid crowd. If that's you, I wish you do me a favor and shout into God. Tell your neighbor I'll be right back. I'm gonna be normal in one second. But you don't know the challenges I went through. You don't know what it took to get me here. You don't know what I had to fight on my way here. You don't know what I gotta go back home to. So give me the next 10 seconds just to say, God, I praise you. I came to do this one thing, and that is to lift. We're gonna have fun today.

I got one verse, one verse, one verse. And then we're gonna pray, and then we're gonna sit down. One verse. First Chronicles, chapter 11, verse 22. I'm gonna read out of the NLT. Maybe you got the NIV or the ESV. Or the KJV you down with opp. 40 and over. 40 and over. First Chronicles, chapter 11, Verse 22 in the. Lt says there was also Banaya, son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kazbiel. Kabziel. He did many heroic deeds which included killing two champions of Moab. Then it says, another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. Let me say it one more time because y' all acting like this is normal. Yeah, I read that all the time. No, no, no. Let's pause for a second. It says another time. On a snowy day, he chased down a lion into a pit and killed it. The title of my message is Chasing Lions. Can you smack the person in front of you and say, chasing lions. Come on. Can you not. Next to you. In front of you. Can you push them in the back and say, chasing lions? Come on. Can you slap them on the back of their shoulder and say, chasing lions? Now can you look at the person who hit you? Say, if you ever touch me again, I'm gonna throw you to some lions. Don't ever put your hands on me. You don't know me like that. Father, I pray that you open up our eyes and our ears that we may receive a word from you that would change and transform our lives forevermore. Hide me behind your cross. Let your voice be louder than mine. In Jesus name we pray. Everybody say. Everybody say Amen.

I have a question for you, Social Dallas. Have you ever been in love? I mean, that.

High school puppy love?

I mean, that. Just. I am just in a whole nother world kind of love Anybody truly in love right now?

Okay, three of y'. All. That's so great. I love it. I love it.

[Worship Leader]

I love it.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

I love it, I love it.

I'm talking about, have you ever been in a kind of love where you do stuff that you don't recognize and.

You'Re like, who am I? I can't believe I'm doing this. This is not even me. Do you ever find yourself laughing hysterically for no reason because you're in love? You ever been so in love talking to somebody and they're not even funny, but you're just like, oh, my God.

Y' all been so in love, you made up nicknames that don't even make sense? My little Snookle. Snoogle. Snoogle.

Boo Goo. My little booby Snoopy Gooby Gooby Dooby. My little Wobble Schnabel. Schnabel.

My little Teddy Weddy, Betty Getty.

Get it.

Just saying crazy stuff. You ever been so in love that you sing songs for no reason? You just be walking down the street.

Starting when we were younger. You were mine, my boo.

[Worship Leader]

My, oh my, oh, my, oh, my, oh, my.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Yeah, just in love.

Sing it for no reason. Have you ever been so in love that your friends would say, what happened to you?

What's wrong with you?

Y' all been so in love that you keyed somebody's car?

Look at your neighbor say, is it you? Is it? He's talking to you, not me. Just tell the truth. Showed up at the job, right? I just wanted to see you. I just wanted to know if you was here. Just 50 missed calls. It was me. I was checking on you. What happened?

I've been so in love. You tattoo their name somewhere on your arm.

Rico Rous.

Cause love will make you do some crazy things. Love will make you do things that are out of the ordinary. And the truth of the matter is.

For many of us in this room, at some point in our lives, we fell in love with God. And when you fall in love with God, you will find yourself doing things you never thought you would do. Because love will cause you to do some crazy things. For some of you in this room, the fact that you're in church, it shocks you and it shocks your family. Because you were the type of person that said, I don't even do church like that. I don't even go to church. But here you are on a cold Sunday morning, sitting in church because you have fallen, smitten with this God, with this Lord Jesus Christ. And now you find yourself. You used to make. Make fun of people who praise God out loud and lift up their hands. And now here you are, got your hands lifted in the air, waving them like you really do care. Because when you really fall in love with God, you do stuff that's outside of your personality. You do stuff you never dreamed you do. For some of you are serving on a team and you're leading a team. You're saying, what am I doing? I never saw myself as a leader. But when I fell in love with God, he got me and I started doing things I've never done. Some of you are shy, and you have come out from the shad.

And you're talking in ways you've never spoken before.

You have a boldness you never had.

Why?

Because I fell in love with God. And when I fell in love with God, I stepped out of who I was and I started doing things I've never done before. Can anybody testify that because you have fallen in love with Jesus, you preaching. And you don't even like preaching. You don't like being in front of a crowd. There are things that you are doing right now that you're scratching your head.

Saying, I can't believe I'm doing that. But you start doing some crazy things when you follow God. And I'm sorry, but the passage that I read today, this passage in First Chronicles, is a passage of a dude who, in my opinion, is doing something crazy. Bible says this dude name is Benaiah Beniah. And it says, on a snowy day.

He chases down a lion into a.

Pit and killed it.

What I'm not gonna let you do is treat this verse like you treat all your other little devotional verses in the morning, where you just speed read it and treat it like it's just the most normal thing in the world. I'm sorry, this is not normal. First of all, it's a snowy day. Now, I'm from Boston. I live in Charlotte, but I'm from Boston. I know something about a snowy day.

On a snowy day, all you wanna.

Do is get a blanket, sit by a fireplace, drink some hot cocoa, and binge. Watch your favorite show on Netflix.

The last thing you want to do.

Is be outside at all on a snowy day. Some of y' all didn't want to be here today.

And didn't even snow. It was just cold. But then he says he's chasing a lion down. Now, I have seen people get chased by lions, but I ain't seen a lot of people chase a lion. You do know lions can kill you? You do know a lion is stronger than you, faster than you. What is Benaiah doing on a snowy day? Chasing down a lion. That should just make you scratch your head. That should just make you say, what in the world is he thinking? What in the world is he doing? But then it says that he chases him down into a pit. Now, I don't chase lions, but if I was, we wouldn't be in no pit. I want an open field grass.

I need to be able to maneuver.

I need to be able to get away. Not Benaiah. Snowy day, chasing down a lion into a pit. And then above all, says that he killed it. Said it went toe to toe with a lion, struck it down and killed it. Now, for many of us, us in this room, when we see scriptures like this, we say, praise God for Beniah. Good job, my guy. But what if I told you that.

God's expectation is that you are like Benaiah, that God by way of Holy Spirit put that scripture in the Bible specifically for you. So that centuries later when we're sitting in a room in Dallas and see scriptures like that, that Benaiah is a model for what the average and modern believer is supposed to look like. That the reality of the situation is.

That we are not supposed to sit.

Back and say, well, I'll go Banaya.

We are supposed to be inspired and.

Ignited to live the same way.

Because the truth of the matter is following God will cause you to chase some lions. Following Jesus, becoming. I know we told you when you got saved, all you do is get baptized, go to the next step class. I didn't see chasing a lion anywhere on the pamphlet. No, we leave that we, we saved, that we get you baptized, saved, and then we say, oh yeah, you gotta chase some lions.

Push your neighbor, say, chase some lions. Moving to a city that you have never lived in before because you got a word from God is chasing a lion.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Lion.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Starting a business because the Lord told you to quit a good job and you just said, I gotta walk by faith and not by sight. That is chasing a lion. You and your spouse saying, we're going to be the first homeowners in our family, we're going to be the first couple in our family not to get divorced. Is chasing a lion you breaking that generational curse of addiction and, and, and low self esteem and alcoholism Is you deciding that I'm chasing a lion. You praying for the sick and seeing the sick recover is chasing a lion you deciding that I'm going to step out in faith and I'm going to start something that I've never seen anybody else do before. But God is telling me something different. I'm telling you you are chasing a lion. Your ability to preach the gospel to strangers is chasing a lion. And I wish I had some people.

In this room that knows that deep down in your heart, God has called.

You to become a lion chaser.

Where you step out of the cave and go after some stuff that will even shock you. I'm teaching this because I believe. My concern with this dispensation of Christians is we love safe Christianity. We like safe, cuddly, cute, comfortable Christianity. We want all the I's to be dotted and all the T's to be crossed. You say, God, I, I've got my journal.

I want it to go exactly how I put in my journal, exactly how I wrote it in my timeline. I got my vision board and it's supposed to go exactly the way that.

I put it on my vision board.

But, see, you love sweet Baby Jesus, but sweet Baby Jesus became Grown Man Jesus.

Because when Grown Man Jesus flesh flips tables, grown Man Jesus confronts stuff. Grown Man Jesus goes toes to toe with the devil. And there are many of us, we just like this knives. We no longer go in pits.

We go on podcasts.

See, you don't want a spear. You want a studio. You want to be able to sit in the comfort of a studio with your little coffee mug and just tell everybody how they ought to be living. But the reality of it is, we got too many influencers with no power. And the reason why you ain't got no power, because you don't get no power from a podcast. You get it from a pit. And my fear is that we love to sit back and just talk about stuff and theoretically just think and debate. But when are you going to grab a spear? When are you going to go after a lion? When are you going to get into a pit? Because the anointing falls on people who actually get in pits with lions and say, I've been toe to toe with something in my life, and I have come, come out victorious. And I got too many people who are telling other people what to do. And you don't have no authority or no experience. I came up in a generation where you had to earn the right to be heard. Whereas today, all you need is a camera. But sometimes you got to put the camera down. And when are you going to actually go toe to toe with that thing that's been beating you up and chasing you down and fighting you on every level? I wish I had a believer here. See, this is why. This is why. I mean, the wind blow the wrong.

Way and you leave Jesus.

I mean, we don't say hi to.

You and we don't see you for two years.

This is why you've been healing for the last five years. Because you're just sitting here saying, I'm just.

I'm so hurt. And I get it.

But sometimes you got to be hurt and get a spear. Sometimes you got to be hurt and go through stuff. And sometimes the smallest thing goes defeats us because we've never had experience with God in a pit with a lion. But when you have really been through a storm, I'm sorry, but ain't nobody in here can get me to leave God. You cannot say hi to me all you want. I've been through too much stuff with God. My grandfather used to say, you can't make me Doubt him because I know too much about him. Do I got anybody in the room said, no, I've been in a pit with God before. And I came out on the other side. I was in a pit with a divorce, I was in a pit with depression, I was in pit with anxiety. I was in a pit with suicidal thoughts. But God put me in that thing with a lion, and I came out victorious. I wish I had somebody who's got a real testimony. How you got a testimony? You ain't never been tested. No, no, no. God is trying to build you in such a way that I can walk through some pain. Whereas the believers that can get thrown into a prison and not die, but sing psalms and hymns to God and watching the midnight hour, he break every chain. What happened to the believer that can be thrown into a fiery furnace and you still give God praise on your way into the furnace? What happened to the believer that can carry a cross and say, I'm gonna still make it to the other side because even if I die here, he's gonna resurrect me again. But this generation of believers, we've stopped chasing lions because this is.

Can I. Can I talk like this? This is okay. I really do like you. I promise I do. This is a generation. You want to be fed. So basically, you want to be fed. I just want somebody to feed. I want to be fed. You, you're in your fifth church. Because I want someone to confess, want to be fed. Line upon line, precept upon precept. This generation wants to be fed so bad. So you go to every conference, you go to conferences, revivals, and you got.

You.

You listen to Pastor Robert on Sunday, Pastor so and so on Monday, you want a prayer call on Tuesday, prophetess on Wednesday. Thursday, I listen to evangelist Friday, you got my question is, what are you doing with all that information? Because if all that information don't ever get you to go outside and chase.

Something down, then you are just getting puffed up with knowledge.

But you don't. No anointing that destroys a yoke.

But at some point, this revelation and this knowledge is supposed to make you say, wait a minute, let me chase something down.

[Worship Leader]

Let.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Let me go after a lion. Let me go and see what God.

Can do in my life. Push somebody, say chase a lion. Come on. Push somebody, say chase a lion.

When are you going to go after something?

And three years ago, January 29, 2023, my wife and I, we went and planted this church called Union Church Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. I promise you, I Had no connections in Charlotte. I had no hookups in Charlotte. Nobody was a plug for me. I had no plug. We moved there in June. I never been there or lived there in my life. I moved there in June of 2022. Now, remember, 2022 is real close to 2020, 2021. At that time, my friends were saying, hey, you be dumb to plant a church. People aren't doing large gatherings no more. Church is in decline. You be a fool to go and think you can go plant a church right now. We heard a word from God. We moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, six months. We built a launch team, and then we planted this church. I'm in a high school that seats 500. Seats 500 people. And so I'm sitting in the school. I'm worshiping God. And on our first days, one of my team came up to me. He said, hey, man, it's really packed in here. I said, man, praise God. Look at what God is doing. He said, no, there's a line going outside. It's pretty packed. I said, man, that's crazy. He said, no, the school is threatening to call the fire marshal because there are too many people on the property. Our first day, 1698 people showed up. On our first day as a church, we saw 331 people give their life to Christ. Christ. It's now been two and a half to three years later. We have two campuses, both in high schools. We do four services in one, two services in another. We've seen over 6,000 people give their life to Christ since we've launched this church. What am I telling you? I'm telling you, at some point, you got to sit. You got to stop sitting in the seat, and you got to say, God put me in the game. What do you want me to chase?

What do you want me to go after? At some point, you got to fight a lot.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Lion.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Some point, you got to make a decision now. If. What if I told you? What if I told you?

Netflix special Coming up this weekend, Pastor Robert Merdu will be going toe to toe with a ferocious lion in a cage. Who would you say would win? Pastor, they love you so much. And my pastor. My pastor would preach the gospel to that lion. That lion will get saved and get delivered right. On behalf of Pastor Robert, he would say, it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. The enemy is banking on the fact that just the threat of you having to fight a lion would make you retreat. This is why the Bible says, if you read your scripture, it says in 1st Peter chapter 5, verse 8. Be alert and of sober mind because your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He knows that his roar is bigger than his bite, and so what he does is he lets an attack roar at you. And the simple fact that I'm in this battle, just the thought of having to get in the ring with a lion will make me retreat. But I got a scripture for your behind. Psalm chapter 91, verse 13 says, you will trample upon lions and cobras. You will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. I know it's a little old school and a little corny, but can you stomp your foot and say everything that the enemy is trying to do? And in my life, these lions are under my feet, these cobras are under my feet. That depression that I was dealing with last year, under my feet. This thing that's keeping me back, every obstacle, every barrier, I place it under my feet. In the name of Jesus. Everything standing in the way of my destiny, I place it under my feet. Three things you gotta know if you're gonna be a line chaser. Number one, you gotta pursue a God sized dream that scares you. If you're gonna be a lion chaser, you gotta pursue a God sized dream that scares you.

God will give you a vision that will scare you, an assignment that will scare you, an instruction that will scare you, a desire, a dream, a calling that will both excite you and scare.

You at the same time.

A God sized dream is something that forces you to pray and fast. If you are telling me that God told you to do something and it don't require God in order to do.

It, then it's too small. It's not God.

If God has not told you something ever in your life that made you a little shook, then it probably not from God. At some point the Lord will put something on you that's like, oh, I need prayer. Oh I need a pastor. Oh I need a community. Oh I need the Lord to do this. If, if what you are saying God.

Told you to do, you can do it on your own and by yourself.

I'm not sure if it's from God.

Because God will always put a dream and something on you bigger than anything you could handle on your own. I've been married for 18 years and one of the ways I've stayed married for 18 years is I keep finding ways to impress my wife. Wife. To this day I'm still trying to impress her. And one of the ways that I impress my wife Is when she goes grocery shopping and she comes home with all the groceries, and she's got all these bags in the trunk of the car. And I sit by the window and I watch her for a second, watching her trying to lift these heavy bags. And then I wait for the right opportunity. And I come outside, I say, do you need help with these bags, girl? Oh, my God, if you could help me. Be so great, girl, back up, girl. Let me take these bags. Sweet.

And I don't do two trips. Nah, nah, nah, that was weak one trip.

So I sit there and say, girl, watch out. Back up.

And I get all the bags on one hand, and I get all the bags on the other hand. I put a bag around my foot. She be like, look at you, you're so strong. I say, girl, I know what I'm doing. I got goddamn is.

The truth is you do the same thing to God. You try to impress God with how much you can carry on your own. But the truth is, God will give you something that he's not impressed with you carrying by yourself. He is impressed when you say, lord, I need you. I need your hand on my life. This cannot be accomplished without you. That's why Psalm 18:29 says, in your strength, I can crush an army with my God. I can scale any second thing you need. If you're going to be a lion chaser, don't let a bad day turn into a bad life. Let's just keep it 100. Benaiah is having a bad day. He's fighting lions. It's snowing. He's in a pit. What is happening? What's happening is that it feels like this is a hard season or hard day. But what if I told you that this was just a setup for a promotion that was on the way? Pastor, how can you say that? Because if you go back to the text, First Chronicles, chapter 11, verse 24 through 25, it says, such were the exploits of Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. He too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. He was held in greater honor than any of the 30. But he was not included among the three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard. In other words, what happened was when David heard about this dude named Benaiah fighting lions, David said, bring him over here now, because I want to put him in charge of all my army. And what if what you're going through right now is just a setup for God to put you on someone's mind to promote you to where you're supposed to be. We would not know who you was unless you got into that pit with a lion. That was. Was something about the pit with the lion that positioned you for the palace that God is trying to bring you.

So rather than complaining about the pain.

Say God made this pain progress me to where you ultimately want me to be. Because maybe God is trying to push you to your rightful place. And then number three, you're not going to like it, but it's true. Anyway, you got to take the lead from coward to courageous.

I'm going to just keep it 100 with you. I think there are too many coward Christians. A coward will always compromise. A coward will always run at the.

First sign of trouble. A coward's gonna always tell you, I wouldn't do that. You know the government shutting down. Well, you know, flights is crazy. I wouldn't fly right. You know what they say about any eggs right now? You know what they saying about milk is right. If I was you, I wouldn't breathe cuz, you know, air's contaminated. You be quiet. Well, you know, the gas prices are high. Well, you know the gas prices are low, which mean they about to go back up like this is.

Because a.

Coward is always going to choose to quit rather than to keep going.

But God don't want you to be a coward.

God wants you to be courageous. Everybody say courageous. Come on. Joshua, chapter one, verse nine says, have.

I not commanded you be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. God is looking for some believers that will be courageous enough to go after a lion, courageous enough to take a stand, courageous enough to walk by faith, courageous enough to step out on a word, Courageous enough to be obedient to what he's calling you to do. Courageous enough to say, even though I don't fit in the crowd or fit in culture, that's fine. Because if God be for me, who can be against me at some point? God wants you to be courageous enough to say, even though I'm the only one who knows who, what's on the way? He told me to build an ark, and though we ain't never seen no rain, I'mma build an ark, even though I don't know if rain is even coming, but I'm just going to follow his word. And y' all can laugh at me if you want to, but when it rains and y' all are wet and I'm dry, then we going to really find out who was listening to who. When are you going to be courageous, to do the thing he put in your heart. When are you going to stop acting like you didn't hear what he said and hear what he told you? It don't matter if you don't got the money. It don't matter if things didn't line up. It don't matter if you don't have the resources. It don't matter if, you know God told you to do this and you know he put it in your heart. And you know you got a scripture to follow it. And you know you got some good men and women of God who are saying that's the word of the Lord. What are you doing? Why are you so scared? Just to stand for righteousness.

I was in a situation where. I hate to say this, it's embarrassing, but it's true. I was in a situation where. Where I don't really do dogs like that. I don't like dogs. I ain't gonna say I'm scared of dogs, but I don't. So I was living in this apartment complex where they would let the dog loose. So every time I come downstairs, the.

Dog would be downstairs.

Now, don't try to judge this out of the dog by the size of the duck.

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Duck.

[Pastor Brian Bullock]

Just mind your business.

I'm too grown to run.

So I.

Would never run from the dog.

But. But I. I used to have a little scurry, little, you know.

Have you ever had one of those not today days?

I had a.

Not today day, one of those days.

And I came downstairs and the dog started barking him.

And I. I was just annoyed with.

A whole bunch of stuff that was.

Going on that day. And I looked at the dog said, the dog said. And I said, he said. I said. And one of those times, I said, he said. I said, he said. And then I said.

That dog ran off and never seen that dog another day in my life. I'm embarrassed to tell you, but it's true. And my question for you is, when are you going to start barking back at the enemy who's been barking at you? What if I told you that the devil you are scared of is really scared of you? And if you ever take your rightful place like Benaiah, you can chase a.

Lion down and kill it.

Because Beniah is not the only one who had to deal with the lion. The Bible says that when David, when.

He was out there in the field, the Bible says a lion took his.

Sheep one day, and David had to.

Grab a lion by his hair and pull the sheep out of his mouth.

And David Killed a lion.

The Bible says that Samson, he tore a lion from his mouth and ripped it in two with his bare hands. The Bible says that Daniel was put in a den with some ferocious lions and when they woke up the next morning, not one lion touched his body. Because many of you are scared of these lions. But Revelation tells me that when Jesus returns, he's not just coming back as a little lamb, he is coming back as the lion of Judah. And I wish I had somebody in this room to say, I ain't scared of these lions. Cause I know the real lion. And when he returns, he's going to rise up and let God arise and his enemies be scattered. So I prophesy to you right now, whatever lion has been roaring at you, you about to have victory over him. I wish I had somebody in this room to say, God, give me a lion. Kill him. Giant slaying, chain breaking, mountain moving, wall climbing, anointing in my life. Come on, you got a lion waiting for you outside. Say when I get outside, when the roar comes out of my mouth, that roar is going to be filled with the anointing of God. And he's about to give you a power that you didn't have before. I declare in the name of Jesus, you're going to have power that you've never had. That's why the Bible said a thousand may fall at your side and 10,000 at your right hand. But just it happened to you don't mean it's gonna happen to me. That lion killed you, but that lion ain't about to kill me. Cause God's on my side and God's got my back if I'm talking to you. Throw your hands up, throw your head back and say, God, anoint me afresh to destroy. Let me pray for you, Father, in the name of Jesus.

I pray for every person under the sound of my voice. God, I pray for those in this room who's chasing a lion right now. We're not being chased, we're doing the chasing now. God, there's a lion that's messing with our kids. And there's a lion messing with our marriage. And there's a lion standing in the way of our destiny and purpose. But right now, in the name of Jesus, we declare victory. Victory on our right, right. Victory on our left. Victory in front of us and victory behind us.

We will win this battle. No weapon formed against us will prosper. Every tongue that rises against us shall be condemned. Father, right now, in the name of.

Jesus, if you're in this room, you don't know Jesus Christ. As your personal lord and savior, I would like to lead you in a prayer of salvation. You don't have to worry about anybody else that we around you. It's me and you. I don't want you to leave this room without saying, you know what? I'm gonna surrender my heart to the Lord that the greatest lion I can know is Jesus Christ. And I want his roar inside of my life. Come on. I need you to repeat after me. Everybody, let's pray together so no one's praying by themselves. Say, father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for me today. I surrender. I stop running and I give my life to you. You have my plans, you have my timeline, you have my future. I believe Jesus is alive. And today I make you, the Lord of my life. Come into my heart. Save me now. I am yours and you are mine. In Jesus name we pray. I need everybody to shout amen. And if you just prayed that prayer.

And you mentioned in your heart, I wanna welcome you to the largest, biggest, coolest, greatest family on the planet. Can you shout for every person that just say yes to Jesus Christ?

[Pastor Robert Madu]

Come on. Would you give God some praise? Could you all stand to your feet and help me? Thank God for the incredible gift of Pastor Brian for that word. Come on, y' all can do better than that. Were you blessed today? Just wait one moment. We'll have a Our official dismissal. I didn't say this in any other service, but I just felt led to say it today because I really believe there are some lion chases in the house today, some lion killers, and you gotta feel the fear and do it anyway. I was thinking how next Sunday, in many ways, will be kind of one of our last Sunday morning gatherings here for 2026. If you missed it, we'll be at Texas Trust Theater every single week. But we'll be here Wednesday nights. And if you need a testimony of somebody who had to chase down a lion and feel the fear anyway, I will never forget when he first toured Gillies. We were at what was then the hi Fi, now the Echo Lounge. And we outgrew that space. I said, where are we gonna go? We walked into Gilly's. None of these chairs were in this room. Myself and PT and they were giving us the tour. And this place looked massive. It looked like AT&T Stadium for where we were. And I was like, lord, is anybody gonna show up? And I'll never forget it, the lady that was giving us a Tour. She named this big church that had just closed down and was meeting in the music hall hall. And they were hoping to get to this room. Yeah. She said they never did. Their church shut down. I remember sitting right there going, lord, this is crazy. Is anybody even gonna show up? I'm so glad I didn't let the fear stop me from walking in purpose and obedience. If you would have told me then we would ever be a Texas trustee to any. If you would have told me then we would have a property of 90,000 square feet and 13 acres, I would have. I wouldn't have believed you. You know why? I got crazy ridiculous face that somehow, some way, we gonna get the 6 million to get what we need to renovate is. Cause I remember when it was 6,000 to rent Granada Theater. I was like, lord, how are we gonna get 6,000? That's a lot of money every week. But the God that was faithful then has been the same God that's been faithful today. And I'm just standing as a testimony to let somebody know, keep chasing the lion. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Because it's not just for you. Somebody else is waiting on the other side of your obedience. Somebody is waiting for you to kill that lion. And in your family, you know, every hunter will tell you, I'm not a hunter, but they tell me you got to put it on your wall after you killed it to let people know the story of God's faithfulness. This. Amen. Were you blessed by the word today? If you prayed through that prayer? I want to echo what Pastor Brian said. Welcome to the family. We want to be able to come alongside you if you'll tap the seat in front of you and click that following Jesus link that allows us just to resource you and come alongside you and help you walk this journey out. You need somebody in your life. Do not do this by yourself. But if you can't do that, if I were you, I would just keep showing you up. Because if you keep showing up, if you keep showing up, come on, come on. Give God one more hand clap of praise.