Holy Ambition - Develop a Dislocated Heart, Part 1

God is on a mission.

He's looking for a very select group of people on the face of the earth in order to strongly support to empower them to do amazing things in them and through them.

Would you like to be that kind of person you like to be one selects stick around. Welcome to this edition of living with the mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disciple Christians vital to were so grateful to join her sister begins a series turning God shaped dreams into reality for the next several programs to help us discover how to live a life satisfaction is do great things for God well before we begin, let me encourage you to try using chips message notes while you listen to contain his outline scripture references and much more.

Chips notes will really help you remember what you hear, maybe even share what you're learning to download these message notes just go to the broadcasts LivingontheEdge.org listeners With all that said, let's start your fidelity is serious with his message development dislocated part for the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout polar that he might strongly support those whose hearts are fully his think on that with me okay get that in your head in your mind. The eyes of the Lord, the spirit of God in this room on this night are going up and down all through the aisles and is looking for a man or student or woman whose heart is fully his and he promises if he could find one man or one woman, one student, he would strongly supported what a venture capitalist today find people that have a dream of vision organization skills in a plan and then when they find the right people the right plan at the right time. They fund and then they keep track and they bring about expertise. That's what God wants to do. He wants to fund your ministry vision. The Ephesians 210 calling on your life and I want to table to talk about how to know if your heart is fully his. And if it is not how to move week by week, where he will do in you and through you things you never dreamed because actually this book is full of stories of people that if you would've met them before they became apostles, or if you would've met them before they stood at the edge of the Red Sea, or if you would've met them just before you know the invaders were coming and they laid out this prayer before God said you know there's a million or so of them in 300,000 of us and were to be toast and got if you don't do it every summer single one were just ordinary people, and God cares about your relatives. They cares about the people you work with a cares about the people that are right next door to you and the fact the matter is, is that he'll strongly support you can give you whatever you need if you need courage you need faith you need money you need staff you need an idea what ever you need. If God can find a man a woman or student whose heart is fully his. He will do extraordinary things through ordinary people for his exclusive glory. So if you plot your teaching outside start the journey together and that's a great verse and I actually memorized it years before I ever studied it.

It was one of those verses that was while but let me give you little background on it because it means even more when you study the background, it actually comes out of a story in the second Chronicles 16, but the real story starts about verses 14 and 15 and it's about a king name Asa and Asa was a good king at a bad time and in this time in Ace's world.

I mean people are worshiping idols there sacrificing their kids to Malik and other I mean it was horrendous. What was happening and most of the kings were involved in it. I mean if you read first and second Samuel, first and second Chronicles. It goes like this backing backing backing backing backing okay king backing backing good king bad King backing. I mean, there's not very many good kings affect Ace's father did do a great job. The one before him was worse and Asa gets this heart for God, and it opens in chapter 14 and he honored God because he removed the idols and many started little building program and then God gives him about 10 years of rest. He basically in the little area of Judah.

He obeys God, and it begins to get cleaned up and God sees his heart and then God brings a test. There's the Army, the Cushites's northern part of Africa and they have well over a million soldiers and he's got a decent army but it's like this is impossible, and so goes out to battle and he literally says God you know no one can stand against you and you read the prayer, encourage you to do it basically says God if you don't show up if you don't do it.

There is no way I mean, the odds are insurmountable and they had this amazing victory that supernatural by God and is it's so amazing that when he gets done with the victory. Profit comes the prophet says the Asa, the Lord's pleased with you and this is a great line I read this afresh this morning and if you will be with him. He will be with you, Asa.

If your life lines up and if you will be with him and do like his way and align with him. He will be with you, but if you turn away from him a steel turn away from you and Asa like God it and he pulled together all the people and he said you know something we I mean historically we are so far off and there's this national repentance. And there's this movement of God and that another prophet comes in, so he gets 15 years of relative peace in a small area and then he gets another 20 years of massive success building programs, removal of idols. There's even a little line and there were talks about.

He even removes the Queen Mother. His grandmother see when you start getting really serious with God.

He does stuff in you and through you will be a few really touchy relationships that you can step up and be honest and clear and walk with him and and I think that Texas and Asa from bottom to top was honoring God and then we pick it up in chapter 16 and it's the 36 year of his reign. So he said 35 years of success and there's a great door of opportunity in verses one through six of chapter 16. Here's the door of opportunity. It looks like a bad situation, but that you can follow along with what what happens is is that Judah and Israel are at odds, and the king of Israel is is really making war on Judah right now is at 36 years and after time you get a bit older, if not careful you get comfortable and you start relying on you instead of relying on God and so he sees this problem and so he hires some mercenaries, the king of a ram.

He empties his treasury and the king goes ahead and does what he said he would do. He attacks Israel.

Israel withdraws hey, great things are okay. Melanie read because I want you to pick up the text in verse seven of chapter 16 of second Chronicles and he's thinking I'm a good man up in good king at 35 years in my belt. We had a problem.

I had the resources to care the problem at that time Hanan I the seer or the prophet came to Asa, the king of Judah and said to him, because you relied on the king of a ram and not on the Lord your God, the Army of the king of a ram has escaped from your hand to God's plan when he brought that difficulty. He wanted to use the biggest new difficulty for a greater and greater opportunity victory, but he said that you kinda blew it and then he reminds them were not the great number of Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen yet when you relied on the Lord. He delivered them into your hand and then we get our verse see this is an axiomatic characteristic of God. This isn't just an Old Testament passage, he rebukes him and he says for the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth. This is a principle this is how God works.

Don't you understand Asa if you want to relied on him now like you use to the hand of God and the support of God in the victory of God but instead what you did. You grew comfortable and you relied on you and on your resources and you missed and unfortunately if you continue to read Ace's responses little less than we hope he gets a little contrarian throws a few people in prison. It's really a bit of a sad ending great door of opportunity. Sad commentary and here's what to tell you when you read through this book or when you read through church history, a lot of people start well in the Christian life very, very few finish well here 50 years and older, and you walk with the Lord for 15 to 20 years.

Let me put it*on your soul. Chances are you will not finish well unless you get intentional unless you get focused. What happens is you get risk adverse. When you're desperate when you didn't know anything and read the Bible it says it all tried all do it. God showed up, and pretty soon he blesses your life and pretty soon your final comfort level and your operating on the verses of yesteryear and pretty soon it's got, how can you make my life work and how can life not get too dangerous and you stop relied on God and if you not care if we end up just a nice moral religious person but misses what God called you to do in this life and on about you but I don't want to be there and I will have a holy ambition to make a difference with my life until the day I die. Well, the question is will we answer God's call to make a significant impact at this pivotal moment in history.

I mean all you need is three minutes watching Fox or CNN or one of the major stations to realize we've got nukes in a couple countries with terrorists with the ability to get their hands on very quickly. We have we have a economy in Europe, but because of outrageous debt. Now they can't sustain the system they developed.

We now have a global economy where we had things teetering a couple years ago but we don't live independently anymore and it is not only a flat world, but the whole thing can go under. The whole thing can go under and yet we now have people that actually believe with all their heart that the way to paradise is to strap a bomb and intermittently go to various countries and blowup people in the name of a false belief system thinking that honors God, not about you, but if you think that just getting your kids in the right schoolwork. If you're single. Finding the right person or getting that good job or someday living in a gated community or remodeling the house is can be the big answer of life you are deluded. We are living in a window of opportunity of time that God is calling his church.

Step up and be difference makers, and so we had a great door of opportunity me that this is a great church history. I mean, the early church. It wasn't born out of things were going great. There was crisis was crisis in the government was crisis in all these religions. It was crisis in philosophy that produces a fertile environment where people like never before, are open to not just hearing about Christ but trusting him and walking with him and making a difference.

What will it mean for each of us. First of all it means we can have them all that you can impart what you don't possess the a model you can talk all day. You have to live it out.

You can do God talk in the mall but you gotta do God walk at home and God walk at the job and God walk in your family. You have to model it. I was talking to men on the plane. He's a answer to a three or four year prayer. This is bizarre and got on the plane to come from Dallas and a couple said excuse me that you were husband-wife you would you mind if we sit here you sit here and will sit here and say do not travel by myself that's fine so they sit here and I sit here in a guy sits next to me and I've been praying about how do you multiply groups in God. How does it really work and I understand bits and pieces have been reading amid thinking of and looking churches are looked at things around the world. I know there's a way out the pieces that I don't understand it all.

I sit next to a guy the last 18 years, was responsible for writing the strategy and pioneering planning 100,000 churches around the world and I said David are you tired synoptic lesson that's very good to them, get my legal pad out and you can be answering questions for the next three hours. He said fire like I said brother I am and I may not do when I got done I said okay work I get this. He put pieces together that I've never seen. I'm just telling you God is working in our midst, and it requires every person in this room and every person in this church to discover of the holy ambition that he has for you, but it starts where we model it. That does mean were perfect. That means were making progress and we say what we say and we do what we do and we mess up. We say things like I messed up. Second, it requires focus.

The key to impact his concentration and the key to concentration is elimination.

If those last two quotes I've made sound a lot like Howard Hendricks because it's Howard Hendricks, my mentor is listening to a series and is called the ceiling of complexity.

As you work hard and you get focused and you do few simple things than that grows in the neck rose and that grows in you have to have meetings to talk about the simple things going to big things then you have to write reports about the simple things agreeing to the big things.

Many have to hire people in or get an revolt and other things and pretty soon your life. Anybody have snacks at home, clutter, clutter, clutter, stacks, tax, tax, email, email, email, phone phone phone and what actually many of you are very successful in the what happens you get a ceiling in you unwisely like me to believe that the way you break to the ceiling is working harder and longer. That's not what the research demonstrates the fact the matter is your paradigm has to completely change and you have to simplify your life and you have to realize you get a focus and there's a number of things you been doing doing doing, which made you successful. You step back and say some of those I can't do anymore. And some people will be a little upset because I'm drawing a boundary to get back to the simple focused things that I'm best at that. I love to do. Because the growth in my life, my family, my relationships, most people today are flashlights diffuse light going multiple directions with high frustration and lack of productivity people who are laser beams have discovered the few things they can do they say no to a lot of things into a lot of people and they do a few things extraordinarily well and a laser beam can cut through steel door and a flashlight can see about 30 feet across the room. So which are you and him and we have we believed we started to believe that the invisible gun that we hold to our head that someone else's hand is on it and it's not, it's yours and it's mine. I have to be here.

I gotta go here. I gotta go here. I gotta go here if my kids are involved in for you sports a look at these three meetings. Those to me to come out signed up for the said you kids have to be involved in that much will have to do this and this were both working that well who said you both have to work, but we have to rent instead of five who said you have about me at the end of the day you make choices I make choices and determine everything and some of the subtle choices you've made have ripple effects that have you living a life that you don't like this, not fulfilling what you're made to do and you keep hitting these walls to require that we model it then it requires focus Mikita focus his concentration begin concentration is elimination, and so it will mean for each of us that God gives us a holy ambition. Gotta searching is intently today as it was in Ace's day to strongly support those whose hearts are fully his is looking for those who would dare to dream and to believe that they can in fact change the world and I would really say it like this change your world.

No one knows your world of the needs like you do. It's the people you love there certain things we don't have to change the world if we will each change. Our little sections in the things that cause our heart to be faster and in the needs and the hurts that cost something inside of us that were the spirit of God is pulled out and says if you had more time, you could really care make a difference and we keep telling the spirit. I will linger things and I will later when I have more time and I will later when I have more resources I got news for you that leaders never application the listing of the first part of this message, develop a dislocated heart from a series holy ambition during God -shaped dreams into reality. Do you long for your life to make a difference is God's doing something in your soul but you don't know how to get started will through this series trip explains how those deep-seated convictions and promptings can become God -shaped realities stay with her sister plays out a six step process for ordinary people like you and me to follow God's calling and impact our world in unbelievable ways. For more information about holy ambition or are series resources go to LivingontheEdge.org or call AAA to 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org app listeners Special offers or Bible teacher Chip Ingram is with me. No engine chip were just getting started in the series about turning our God shaped dreams into reality.

And if I'm being honest when I think about this idea of following a holy ambition, I would never considered the story of Nehemiah so that take a minute will you ensure what led you to the series.

I'd be glad to Dave you know I was a pretty young pastor in Santa Cruz California and I think there was some connection with a major ministry that was discipling business people and so one of the business leaders in the church that I got a call from this ministry and they can bring about eight or 10 really high profile businessmen to Pebble Beach and some of them are believers. There is no few of them that are kinda just seeking the Lord in checking things out there to play golf for a couple days and I would like you to come in and teach the Bible as it all okay well that sounds good.

I just finished teaching the book of Nehemiah and had prepared a little talk for them.

But as I got in the backseat of the car were driving to Pebble Beach and thought to myself, oh Lord. These are these are powerful men in their business people and you know some know the Bible and some don't. In my mind just drifted. I mean immediately back to well. Nehemiah was like a business guy. He wasn't a prophet near you know it wasn't a priest, he was this guy with leadership skill and you know what I realize was there was a very clear pattern about he took something from nothing and developed it into God's fulfilled plan and I on the back of the sheet of paper literally jotted about five or six high level characteristics of the kind of leaders from the MIs life that make a difference in taking dreams and ideas into reality. To help other people and I didn't think that much about it. They were scribbled little notes but it went really well and we had a discussion and a few months later I was invited to speak at founders week at Moody Bible and they said we would like you to write a book. I said why just taught a series on Nehemiah and it was like my story to me. That is, that is the kind of man I've tried to be and I never dreamed I'd be a pastor. They said okay let's go with that. Will that was about 20 years ago, and that's how holy ambition got birthed by strip. While we hope you'll make plans to be with us for the next several programs, let me also encourage you to order the newest addition of chips book to which we've discounted for the series. Simply go to LivingontheEdge.org or give us a call at AAA 333-6003 app listeners Special offers level here. Strip with some final thoughts from today's message as we close, I want to talk about this phrase holy ambition. When I say that often those two words don't go together in people's mind. Holiness has this idea of something that is set apart that is given to God that it's pure words. It's things that God doesn't work, ambition, at least for most of our own experiences about you know me and my stuff and how many likes I have and how many people are looking at my posts and you know how famous I am. But here's what I would say those two words go together, you and I have been made for a very special purpose that no one in all the world can fulfill quite like us.

Ephesians 210 says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto a good work that he preordained from the foundations of the earth.

He wants to birth something in you and you don't have to be famous.

It doesn't have to be big, but there's something that he wants you to do. That's holy, but he wants to birth a sense of ambition. Ambition says I've got to do that and there's drive and there's motivation and there's planning and there's energy and there's perseverance and so I just want to encourage you to stay with me on this journey in a down deep. We all long to make a difference. That's what this is about.

So here's my prayer for you. Holy father, will you help my brothers and sisters to join with me for this whole series and would you birth in them very clearly the holy ambition you have for them.

In Jesus name, amen great wardship. Thanks. Well, as we wrap up of what effect those of you who make this program possible for your generous financial support. Your gifts help us create programs.

Purchaser time and develop additional resources to help Christians live like Christians. If you've been blessed by the ministry of Living on the Edge. Would you consider sending a gift today. Call us at AAA 333-6003 or go to LivingontheEdge.org app listeners tap donate. Your support is greatly appreciated. Until next time. This early saying thanks for this Edition of Living on the Edge