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May 11, 2022 6:00 am
You have a desire or dream in your heart. God wants to do something in your life. Maybe it's a job during your marriage. Maybe it's a change needs to happen with your kids. Maybe it's a whole new direction in your singleness, the desire don't know how to get there how to plan how you move from point a where you are, where you know God want you to arrive that day. Thanks for joining us for this additional international discipleship history focused on Christian mission specific committed up to this message ensure that shipping will be sending them the freedom of the 350 that airstrip with the second half of the stock plan. Nehemiah chapter 2 where God's agenda is championed God's resources flow were God's agenda is championed. His resources flow don't start thinking about how just get focused on the what and on the why God would take care of the house to bring people dream a dream.
Form a team. He will resource the vision and he'll do something in you in the process. Nehemiah shows us how it works. Chapter 2 verse five and I said to the king of the pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me the radical step of faith where to the city and Judah were my fathers are buried so I can rebuild it. That's his vision.
That's his circle it I can rebuild just very clean, very clear. He didn't say semi back to preach the ultimate back to a revival tie what there's a physical issue, business person I got leadership gift I've been praying about it. Send me to rebuild it. Then the king with the Queen sitting beside them asked me how long will your journey take and when will you get back it please the king to send me so I set a time circle the phrase so I set a time and he knew I can only set a time when I know here's the extent of the damage here's a resource I need here telling people I'm gonna need here is about how long a better foothold margin and buffer into it. So he had a strategic plan. Strategic plans don't have all the details. It has all the major building blocks and steps of how to get from where you are to wear what you know God want you to do the goes on. So I said to him, if it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of the trans-Euphrates, so they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah needs protection and may I have a letter to a soft keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make the beams of the gates of the Citadel by the temple for the city wall and for the residence that I will occupy Katie's provision. Translation king I need your MasterCard guy and he has a broken spirit.
He understands it's not about him.
Here's his reason why he is so bold and because the gracious hand of my God was upon me. The king granted my request was because of a great leader was because unpersuasive because I had this great big vision the people to get behind is because the good hand of my God is upon him, and he knew his good hand was upon them because for the last four months is been fasting and praying and seeking God in us that this isn't about Nehemiah.
This is about your agenda and is championing God's agenda. So I went to the governor, the trans-Euphrates.
I gave in the king's letters and the king. Also, this is the exceedingly abundantly beyond what God provides. The key to the vision becoming a reality is a strategic plan. The key to a strategic plan is first and foremost, what's your vision, you must have a picture of a preferable future. What is the burden on your heart that could be and must be in a person, place or situation. If the grace of God and the power of God was unleashed in it and were God's agenda is championed. His resources flow and here's how you get his resources. You asked the king when he minded.
I mean he went from an idea to a prayer meeting to a game plan to can I go and he says yes and they said about why would you finance really you finance it. Kinko's yeah you have the king. That's a lot bigger than the king of Persia cofinancing needs. Staff will give you staff you need ideas to give you ideas. God will direct God will fund God will resource it. I wrote it very specific line my notes on a read to you great movements of God are not look not lacking because of lack of resources, but because lack because of lack of vision and radical faith with a clear-cut strategic plan to accomplish them. God's just looking for a man for a woman and he'll give you eyes to see. Later we can hear Nehemiah say what he shared with the people of God put in his heart.
There are needs. The prick your heart like no one else's that make you tear up when you give yourself time to really think about it. There needs that desperately need the grace of God and the love of God and the compassion of Christ to move into and you are made differently than any single person, and often God's provision is how he confirms that you're on the right track.
The biggest mistake we make is we wait for God to dwell God when you bring all the people all the resources then will go nothing happens there all those Old Testament pictures is the water parts when what happened. They step into the water.
It's mom's going. I think my holy ambition needs to be first and foremost, my family and then I think I'll connect with children are.
I think I'll connect with women.
It's guy saying first and foremost my vision. I'm to be a man of God, a man of integrity.
But I got some baggage and can help smother men get out of their addictions. Like I got out of my so in the next couple pages. Nehemiah will give us I think is good as any leadership book and I don't have any formal training in it. I just read everything under the sun to try and learn about strategic planning and leadership. And I will tell you what points three and four. Nehemiah gives it as good as any book of ever read. He's gonna say your strategic plan must be berthed in private must be berthed in private. Follow along with me.
In verse 11. He says I went to Jerusalem after staying there three days so is gone from Susa. He went to the guy with all the timber and said here's how many trees were gonna need king says so.
Here's his credit card and now he's arrived in Jerusalem and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men had not told anyone what got it put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on and by night I went out through the Valley gate toward the jackal wall. The dung gate and I was examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down and it is gates which have been destroyed by fire, and then I moved on toward the fountain gate in the king's pool but there was enough room for my mount to get through.
So I went up the valley by night, examining the wall and then finally I turned back and reentered to the delegates. We literally counterclockwise.
If you had a map of the city, he goes all the way around the entire wall. Some places are so much trouble. He can't get through and he's examining the extent of the damage and what the situation is and I notice his last line. He said the officials did not know where I am gone.
So he's done doing it. Secrecy or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests of the nobles or the officials or others who would be doing the work there some confidences and I haven't talked to anyone yet but these are all the people you do the work there some faith. So imagine he's coming to Jerusalem and any Picture this week we get. He's like not quite the vice president. But I mean this is he's coming from the right-hand man of the most powerful person in the world to a broken down city and for three days he goes dark, he is not like you came press conference. Once you know guys God spoke to me. Get king's credit card to make the thing happen you just listen to me guys and we can do it for three days. He says nothing. In fact what he wants to find out the real lay of the land he does it at night so people don't even know what's happening three principles flow out of this of birthing your strategic plan number one is silence to listen. Verse 11. It was after three days. Verse 12.
I told no one.
Verse 16. I said nothing. Once you get a God-given vision, a burden that he wants you to respond to a need that you believe he wants you to meet. Don't go blabbing about it don't get this idea in his heart and pray for a few days, and six reach inner-city kids start this ministry to do this with just listen. Ghosts will go quiet. Don't assume you have all the answers. That's why he listened.
Don't assume you know all the facts.
Discover what other people think what their views are what's coming you what he did.
He didn't come in with a bunch answers. He came in and said what's the lay of the land what's going on here. The second is secrecy to assess you have to do your homework.
We want to jump into make stuff happen. Evaluate the extent of the need. What are the available resources. What are the attitudes what's the climb is one of the issues that examining the wall is like a surgeon looking at the extent of the damage before he operates and so you get secret not to hide something from people but to really understand not what other people say is going on but you find out firsthand what are the real issues. What are the real needs and then third is solitude to strategize and develop a team to come up with specific strategic plan, you have deadlines have specific goals. Here's where we want to be in five years. Here's where want to be in three you know it's all in a change of big picture the next 12 months is what we gotta do when one hears how much it's gonna cost her steps were gonna take.
Here's the first steps God blesses specific plans, not vague general ideas, and so solitude is for strategizing to develop the specific means to implement. More specifically, just so we get it down to the grassroots level. Many of shared sort of the journey of coming from homes where we really do know how to do marriage or family and let let me give you about a year year and 1/2 in my marriage. Here's how I came up this with the strategic plan for my marriage silence.
I listen to to Teresa listen to her frustrations and her telling me what she needed me to be was painful. I spent the first year and have tell her what she needed to do and become. To make our marriage work. She's make me nuts. Great, she love God I love God, but not working very well after the silence that was secrecy to assess.
I went away and got quiet and owned my part.
Realizing I could not change my wife and she had a lot of baggage and so did I. So I went to Prof. Gunning, prof Hendrix is been a mentor into a guy who's teaching pastoral psychology at the seminary and said I think this is what I need to own my best understanding from what I've learned is this is where she's coming from what I'm coming from.
This is kind, homes, home. I know two things we can't communicate and we can't resolve anger and I know that's not good.
So we you help me regardless if she ever changes in any way. Will you help me secrecy assess how can I be the con husband responded that and they did. And then last one was solitude to develop a plan and I got away and she got away and we went to some counseling and then we came up with the strategic plan for our marriage, and it involved because of us.
This isn't necessarily for you but for us.
We need at least 15 minutes every day. Sometimes a lot more after supper where we talk and share how are you really doing and connect we needed one date a week. I made it Friday mornings for about three or four hours we breakfast together and ready to spend time together every Friday we needed to have what we call a conference about twice a week we asked these three questions. The teach about communication. They were on the calendar and we went out and did them together asking these three questions we learn to communicate and we plugged in two times a year to get away for at least a couple nights despite how poor we were. We would trade off kids with other people because we realize if we didn't invest in the romantic side of our marriage, and get away. It wouldn't work. I came up with my wife for strategic plan for a marriage full of where the burden of my heart and what I believe is biblical. We did the same thing for kids. We talk about strategic plans, this isn't just about church and ministry and growth. This is about what you need to do I need to do. We need to do you need a strategic plan for your own spiritual life, but it has to be birthed in private.
It takes times of silence, times of secrecy in times of solitude and so strategic planning begins.
You must have a vision to you champion God's agenda and he'll cause the resources to flow your way people wisdom. Whatever you need its birth in private and then finally it needs to be launched in public notice and two versus Nehemiah gives us an amazing way to launch things in public. It says that I said to them you see the bad situation we are in the Jerusalem is desolate and gates are burned by fire, he says he speaking to the group of people. He's going public. Now there's a big group of people. This guy came was a coming from even hiding out for quite a while now is going public duty to God, look at this easy to see the big rocks you see this gates sending no one's worshiping no one lives in the city didn't use to see the situation.
The Jerusalem is desolate.
Gates burned by fire, challenge left us together build the wall. Jerusalem why we may no longer be a reproach. This is a disgrace to God's name.
This is a disgrace to us and I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king's words which he spoke to me. Then they said response let us arise and build so they put their hands to the good work.
Get your pan out as I go through these quickly. I want to give you in those two verses how to launch your strategic plan. You pray you recruited team you dream to dream your forming a team or you, working through some of those private areas number one clearly defined the problem people get used to living in messes they get used to marriages that are dysfunctional to get used to kids that have bad attitudes and slammed the door and live in front of videogames.
Well, I want the conflict. People get used to the walls being burned down. You define the problem first and foremost. Do you see he says the answer was I didn't see. Second, identify what the problem. Notice he says it's our problem. It's not yours. Do you see the bad situation we are in third proposing we solution. He didn't blame any sedan with the kids what we can do about this.
You sit down with your wife. What are we going to do about this to get with the government. What are we gonna do about this. Number four. Give a clear strong challenge. He asked big things.
So what what I want you to ask people for big things.
If you feel me asking you for big things your hearing very clearly. Way to go then motivated the deepest level, there's no soft sell. He didn't say we get the walls built in your businesses will go better or later on get the king to give you good retirement.
He says do that we may no longer be a reproach to motivate from within. Scott to be about what kind of believers do we want to be.
How seriously do we take the name of Christ and his church will come a difference. Do we want to make for his glory.
And then you help other people see God's hand me the reason I told you some of the stories were God's hand showed up this year and finally you explain specifically how everyone can be involved. God is prepared to give direction and resources wisdom. If you can find a man or woman whose heart is though you may be asking yourself what is it mean to have a holy ambition.
Those two words seem to be contradictory as well understand through trips teaching God's called us to be both holy and ambitious through the biblical story of Nehemiah ship on Paxil. God develops unique passions and desires in us so that he can then work through us. Discover how you can be used by God to accomplish the extraordinary know if you missed any part of our series, holy ambition, the chipping roadmap is a great way to catch up anytime or Bible teacher chipping was with me. No chip in this message. You talked about creating a strategic plan and part of it was challenging others to do big things and I think you'd agree we really seen people step up and do incredible things to their support of this ministry. So what would you like to say to those who were standing with us financially right now I just want to say thanks to every single one of you who partner with us Living on the Edge you know some of you pray some of you give and so me do both.
You may not know about we meet as a staff Monday through Friday, and we pray to me, we have staff all across the country and we time it where we come together we pray over you. We pray over the teaching that goes out, we pray over the projects we have so many people to call in and say this is a specific need, and we pray for specific needs.
We pray over relationships.
We pray that God will use the ministry here and around the world.
I have just one question.
If the teaching on this program is making a difference in your life would you get on board. Would you commit to pray for us. Would you commit to give effect regardless of the amount, if you could give monthly would make a world of difference. We have so much ahead of us. The needs are so great and life is short, would you go online or give us a call and become a partner with the ministry I'm not discouraged because I know God's in control, but I believe he's calling us to step up and really make a difference and we need your help to do that flex chip if joining the Living on the Edge team is an idea that makes sense to you.
We'd love to have you. Your support multiplies our efforts and resources in ways that only God can do.
So if you like to be a part of that. But we encourage you to become a monthly partner. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org and tap the donate button. With a few clicks you can set up a recurring donation and help others benefit from this ministry, or if it's easier just give us a call at AAA 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003 to learn how you can become a monthly partner with Living on the Edge hapless nurse step donate without triplets get your application that we promised. As we close today's program. I am acutely aware that there are some people that when I speak about strategic plans.
It is so natural for you to think this way that it's like oh yeah, and especially for those in business for those who are in areas of leadership for some of you this is so, I mean basic for many of us, this is like how to get my arms around this and so I want to remind you that silence you have to listen ponder, ask questions, it's getting alone. Second, it's secrecy you need to do an assessment and let those things bubble up where you see what needs to be done and why. And then solitude you need to get a loan to come up with that strategic plan, but after you get a loan, you may desperately need some help. Often, gotta put something on your heart, but you'll need a team of people and you need to share you know this one gal who had this dream to help disabled kids through horseback riding and it was a dream, and she had all this emotion but she got with the her husband and another man who was a strategic planner and they found a plot of land and and what they did is they went from an idea and a passion that was in her and she got a group of people and now are you ready there's a ranch there's horses, there's all these disabled kids.
They're getting loved and then there hearing about Christ and their parents are there listening to Jesus because of her holy ambition but she needed help for the strategic plan. So let me encourage it may be ask God, who do you know that might be good at helping you formulate this, don't do it by yourself. In fact, if you wonder how to get there this series that I'm teaching right now is in a small group DVD format that you could just go through this with a group of people and I think your strategic plan will come to light. We long to help you fulfill the dream because, put on your heart flex chip was a great way to get plugged in with some of those resources trip just mentioned is through the chipping roadmap. There you can listen the past series sign up for daily discipleship.
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Starting today with the Chip Ingram left join us next time series holy ambition to say thanks for listening to this edition of