Holy Ambition - Grow a Courageous Soul, Part 1

Draw a line in the sand taken a great step of faith you're committed to being the person God wants you to be this very moment your living life. God's way. So why are things coming apart at the seams. Why is it when you're doing exactly what God wants you to do things are going south, you need to know the answer to that and how to make it through today. Welcome to this Friday edition of Living on the Edge Chip Ingram drip serves as our Bible to draw the steely international discipleship program funding brewery and continues a series called holy ambition, turning God shaped dreams into reality. Over the last couple of weeks he's been in the process of laying out six necessary condition of personal ambition to actually take shape and have so if you missed any of the previous messages in this series can hear them online anytime by visiting our website LivingontheEdge.org just click listen now in this program shift begins the sixth condition grow a courageous soul. So let's get going. Bible open it down to Nehemiah. Let's join Chip for today's message God wants to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It's not about being smarter than you are. It's not about knowing more than you probably know, but it's about having a dislocated heart, right a broken spirit. It's about having a time we take a radical step of faith. It's developing a strategic plan. You need to discover where on the wall of God's kingdom. You make a personal commitment, not intellectual commitment, not an emotional commitment, not a when it's nice and not raining commitment but a commitment that says God I will do what you show me to do and I know it might get hard.

But when it gets hard.

I will be faithful by your grace and I have a concern because I'm having conversations and emails from people that God is beginning to germinate. Multiple holy ambitions, and for some it's for kids and I talk with a guy this talk about some things overseas and some people others it's in business and others is with women and here's what I know. If you don't understand what the last step is having a courageous soul.

You might take some very bright steps and I mean get crushed. This is a serious one, you need to listen very carefully. This is a word for those of you that are stepping out and you might actually find that your little discouraged.

He might've struggle with little depression rightly or maybe just kind of disillusion like you don't quite get it got I really and I thought I was on the right track but boy oh boy, it just seems like things are harder and everything is uphill. I had made the deepest personal commitment of my life I had done it God's way and I was discourage depressed dissolution of the biggest ministry decision.

I was a coach, a schoolteacher.

I like the coach I like to teach and that through a number of events everyone seem to know it but me that God said Chip I want you to shift gears not already on the college I went to graduate school. I thought I was going to get to be a coach some day against you know you know Duke or Indiana or somewhere, and that was my dream and it was like all know now I've got to go back to school and so put everything I had in her car and we gave a car way and we hope this little car and everything in a Ryder truck and arrived in Dallas Texas to go to seminary is like starting all over was a four-year graduate program. I too little kids. I had a total of I think $750 total between us.

I treated myself a missionary. Let me stay in his house for two months as we got ready and we found a little government-subsidized apartment with a bunch of other people and then I went to school with a carpool every day about 7 o'clock I got up at 430 and did Greek from five until seven and spend little time with God.

I went straight through. Got home cut the carpool.

Got home about five or 538 supper play with my kids for about 1/2 hour. Then I went to work from about six until 11 at night got up and did it again and I did that, year after year after year and they did that three years and money was tight and the only way I could do it workwise is do a straight commission job and to the straight commission job and people wouldn't pass her physical and how to how many months it was like God you not I get $240 rent and I got $11 in the bank.

What's the deal, and I did that and I did that I would go to the grocery store exit was a co-op you put in 10 bucks and you get all these fruits and vegetables.

We go for two or three weeks not eat any meat or any carbohydrates, just fruits and vegetables of what we got the farmers market and I remember one day sitting in class and I was tired and discouraged and depressed and disillusioned and I thought you know this was not my idea on the and of all the things that I ever wanted to be. It certainly was not a pastor or minister, and so you and I stepped out I had this quote I didn't call it a holy ambition but was a holy ambition.

I said I would do what you want me to do and I'll tell you what this stinks. I mean I'm tired I'm broke, I'm discouraged get like four and five hours of sleep. Is this how they'll treat us like servants. God, some sometimes when I'm struggling I I pray King James. Here's what I want to know I had a common pitfall. Here's the thesis.

Here's what you need understand we unconsciously believe a myth and the myth is if I do what God wants me to do. If I take a step if I make a sacrifice they can be with my time, my energy, my money, my future relationship is like oh I know this is a bad relationship I obey God and I broke up with him right broke up with her. I know my priorities are out of whack. I start meeting with God and given the first portion my income or get out of my comfort zone and a lot of people get go on a missions trip. When we do that kind of thing. Unconsciously we think God is good be so pleased what he is, but we think is can be so pleased that life's going to be great. Ice can be or shouldn't be right. You're obeying right he should eat them if you just can't get high-fives from the Lord, and way to go is can answer all your prayers and relationship issues and get better overnight.

That is a myth. The common pitfall jot if you will, false expectations, false expectations I was. I mean literally. I had three years in and I was having private conversations with myself which is not good when you're talking yourself a lot and it was good. I'm done.

I mean, if this is what it means to follow you if this is what you get for really obeying for having a holy ambition, I am done, you can have this matter here. What I didn't understand was our greatest personal commitments and spiritual victories are almost always followed by periods of intense opposition. Underline the word intense opposition.

Moses takes a big step of faith. Intense opposition. Elijah you know as the big confrontation and then later intense opposition. Jesus sets his face and says okay he's baptized he's commission for ministry and what happens 40 days in the desert with intense opposition. You can take it to the bank or least you can. You still think when you step out and take a step of faith. It is the clearly defined will of God.

It will usually get more difficult, before it gets easier. And if you don't know that that I watched this happen you know what I thought this was God's will, but not must not be because look how hard it is and how difficult it isn't. And all these things have gone wrong. When I moved to Atlanta.

It was probably that was a second hardest ministry decision. We were in Santa Cruz's pastor local church.

I loved what I was doing my family loved it. My boys all found Santa Cruz girls married them and God made it clear you're supposed to go to Atlanta so make this decision.

We go my car on the ways in an ice storm. You know by Senate there was a big tractor-trailer thing so it it gets ruined.

But I don't know it because her snow when it comes in gasoline had poured through it so I had this car in the winter, but I can only drive with the windows down, my wife had two surgeries on her jaw.

The didn't work so she was in intense pain. I will going through but at one point when it got to number 11. We started keeping track in the first 10 days we had 23 things happen to the house that broke down one guy said is never happened my life. We cut through that line that line that line so you don't have any water you have electricity and and then are you ready I take over the job in 2002. It has a huge international component to it and it takes millions and millions of dollars, so does anybody remember what happened, like in January 2003 the.bust so all the major donors didn't have any money so all of a sudden it's like okay now I'm waking up in the middle of the night and my wife is crying and sobbing into a pillow because she's not real happy part physical part emotional everything that could go wrong around me has the move is just an absolute nightmare. My daughter is been taken out of the school in the middle of high school. We don't have any money, and other than that things are going well. Here's the difference you know what my reaction this timeless while I think God is really up to some. I think God must really have something significant beyond my wildest dreams for little old me, who doesn't mean very much to get this level of opposition and I would look back seven years later and see 100 countries, 90,000 teachers, eight videos and five books written in a season of time that I never drink happen to an ordinary person like me because opposition told me I was on the right track that I like it.

Not part of the opposition that's meant to pull you down.

God uses to develop some character and some trust and some issues in you so that when he blesses you, you understand. It's him instead of you. So with that look at Nehemiah the he's our model. So he's holy ambition right member, yet it made in the shade. These cupbearer to the king, and we gone through three chapters to learn about his dislocated heart. We've learned that then he had this intense prayer time of looking up looking and looking out. He took the radical step of faith.

He risked his life that he finds his personal commitment. He says I'm supposed to rebuild the wall and gathers the people cast the vision is got the gift of leadership in any nexus this personal commitment develops out of the strategic plan and then you would think right things are gonna go great. This is a great man of God. All of history. Literally the entire history of Israel is completely changed by this man. Now what happens. I begin to give you an overview of the next three chapters in chapter 3, there's an external opposition. It's very frontal.

It's in his face. The goal is to discourage him and the means is ridicule or fear and working a look at this one very carefully in chapter 5, we won't get to this one, but I want to give you an overview because as you some of you launch out unifying yourself back in Nehemiah lot reading this over and realizing you're not crazy. This is God's will, but it is hard in chapter 5.

The opposition is in out there it's internal and and all the sudden you find that they're fighting among themselves. The goal of the enemy is to divide and the way he does. It is by selfishness and greed within the family of God. Here, then in chapter 6 it goes from this corporate opposition to individual. It's very, very subtle. They attempt to destroy him that there's a there's literally a contract out on his life and people he thought he could trust a priest and a prophetess come together and telling you really need to do this and the goal is to get them in a certain place so they could assassinate deception and intimidation will open your notes and I want to dig in chapter 4, because I think this issue of discouragement is so so critical and I put it in the metaphor of boxing. My dad was a boxer. He was in World War II and because of that when he came back he went 16 he came back he can play any sports he really like sports, so he learned to box and back. I guess you can brag on your dad when he is dead but he's in heaven right now.

He won the Golden gloves when I was little. Hee hee.

Would you know, and then unachieved chip.

Then I can keep it in here. So he taught me how to box. I don't ever got any good, but I learned the terminology in the metaphor of opposition here want to give you an boxing ring look at the enemy's first punch to Thorton God's program in our lives.

And it's the jab of ridicule and criticism when symbolic heard that we were rebuilding the wall.

He became angry was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews in the presence of his associates an army of Samaria. He said what are those feeble Jews doing will they restore the wall.

You can hear the sarcasm in his voice, will they offer sacrifices fully finish in a day can they bring stones back to life, from those heaps of rubble burned as they are told via another one of the bad guys, the Ammonite who set aside said what are they building if even a fox climbed on that he would break down the wall of their stones in the Nehemiah. You can find just a minute as can respond and respond the way that we need to respond but I want you to see here ridicule and criticism notice. The aim is at their worth it.

Sarcasm really taken a step of faith. God can use someone like you it's it's casting doubt God has shown you, you start to take a step and all of a sudden you feel like. While many of us in such a good idea. Maybe I don't measure up. This probably really won't work for politics someone a lot smarter than they are here. Maybe I should do it next year. All that kind of stuff.

I had this can paralyze you. I was a high school teacher. It was Grafton high school and this is in West Virginia and I was a junior varsity coach, and I knew the varsity coach and it was my very first year very first job and and so I was a pretty zealous Christian and I found myself walking to the teachers lounge one day and it sort of cleared out just before the bell rang and there is three guys all fairly young teachers. One middle-aged guy and they were making all I can call it is extraordinarily lewd comments about a very attractive coed that was like a €17 girl in the school and I walked in, and I'm here in this conversation going.

McManus is wrong and so you know I'm listening just a little bit was very lewd and just like as excuse me guys I that's very unprofessional and they kinda looked to me like Joe new teacher. Do you think you are and then you know I got on a roll. So I said guys that is so disrespectful of me ask you, how would you like someone talking about your daughter that way those sexual innuendos, comments, there's no place for that Nessus teachers and the bell rang, I kinda got rescued is coming right will you know I thought well enough that upper Lord. And then I will never forget. Next outcome in the teachers lounge and all, here comes the preacher and I mean people, then the conversation Mr. O let's not talk about that chips in the room. We all have to be very careful and I mean it was just piled on, ridicule, ridicule, sarcasm ridicule, so guess what I had solution to that I stop going teachers left I got intimidated I got my feelings are life, I felt like I did measure up. I started doubting that Megan shouldn't of said something, but in my mind think that's the right thing to do. That was the right but then how come I feel so bad and I felt like it. I'm like a chump. And then I found myself a prisoner I would get in a like the teachers lounge is where the good coffee was, you know, so hear what you do and I remember just coming to grips with, you know, are you can allow labels and names and ridicule and sarcasm to define you, or God jot down to verse Proverbs 29, 25, the fear of man is a snare, but blessed to see you trust in the Lord at some point in time in your life you need to figure out who you want to be afraid of. You can fear people and their opinions or fear God, but you can't fear both and one will free you and the other will imprison you so Nehemiah. How did he respond, he says, hear us, O God, for we are despised turn their insults back on their own heads give them over as plunder in the land of captivity do not cover their guild or blot out their sins from your site, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders so we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart, he prayed jot that down. He prayed he gets ridiculed. He struggling key prayed we been talking about that he comes before God faces God.

This is what they're doing. He didn't talk back to him. He didn't Torino exchange were skull working to build the key didn't defend himself.

He prayed and then noticed he persisted. He didn't.

He didn't let him sidetrack did you know that little phrase half of the wall is built. I was reading. Actually this morning, so it's a little book I read.

It's a devotional on prayer called magnificent prayer by Nick Harrison and it tells the story of a man named Crane Heidi was a Presbyterian missionary to the pungent people in India and and a fellow he was a ship captain who was a Christian and he was coming to Abuja and they were having a big conference may ask him to speak and so he comes to this conference and he comes in.

They have a little TV. I guess they had tea in those days, and then he says I was to take up to a cup of tea with the delegates with others and I was introduce across the table to Mr. Hyde. He was a missionary there and he was a missionary.

If you know his life story who went there and was not very successful and decided that he was going to make prayer the priority of his mission and begin to intercede to tell stories now. I think this is a real calling.

Sometimes we pray for like 40 hours in a row and and then all of a sudden this revival begin to break out in among the pungent people here in India and in so that the captain comes he has tea and as he walks out from the T is the stories told this man they called in praying high sick.

He reached out his hand and he says I want to see you. He says I shall wait for you at the door and there he was, after tea, waiting, this first words were come with me to the prayer room. We want you to be there. I do not know whether here's the captain speaking. I do not know whether it was a command or request. I felt I had to go. I told him that I traveled all night that I was tired and had to speak at 4 o'clock but he went but I went with him anyway. We found 1/2 a dozen persons there and hide went down on his face before God. I knelt down in a strange feeling crept over me several prayed and then Hyde began, and I remember very little more. All I knew I was in the presence of God himself, and I had no desire to leave that place.

In fact, I don't think that I thought of myself or of my surroundings at all. For I entered into a new world, and I wanted to remain there. There is an incredible incredible power as you learn to come before God and deal with things at a significant level, pray, and I will tell you whether it's in Korea or whether it's in the revivals in America or whether you meet people where God is doing something for some people it spent a lot of hours watching a little box that forms their thinking and there's other people that spend a lot of time on their knees or on their face that shapes their character and their view of God an amazing supernatural things are very normal with God, but he always wants to start with this in prayer is one of those avenues of grace. It's not that big not to have to it's the actual privilege of keeping company with God in his presence being transformed by him claiming promises about what you're dealing with and then standing on those promises and watching the spirit of God. Take the word of God and change people's hearts are. That's how God is always one and he received Nehemiah ship will be right back with some additional thoughts about but if you're just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram and the message you just heard grow a courageous soul is from chip series.

Holy ambition turning God shaped dreams into reality.

Of the six part series helps you discover how an ordinary person can do extraordinary things for God in it. Chip spells out six key conditions for anyone who longs to make a difference longs to know God's will for their life and then how to accomplish it.

If that's you or someone you know this series.

Holy ambition is the perfect place to start. Chip walks you through a step-by-step process that will bring clarity and intentionality to your life. There are several holy ambition resources available and are discounted right now.

Not only that, but we know not everyone is in the same place on their spiritual journey. So when you go to our website look on you were made for more to find all of the resources were currently discounting. We want to help you discover your spiritual gifts and what's next on your faith journey. Give us a call at 1-888-333-6003 or visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for holy ambition and you were made for more. Now here's chip you know I get letters, emails and Facebook messages from people every day to tell me how Living on the Edges impacted their life. People of all ages from I mean every walk of life. Many of those letters also share painful events, deep wounds are hard times that people wrestling with.

Like many of us depressing in their seeking God and I'm deeply moved when they've taken the time to write and say thank you. Thanks for a message they've heard, or resource. They been using were you note seeing God work through his word and they understand him and the Holy Spirit is beginning to work in their life like never before.

They aren't only thanking me your Living on the Edge there thanking you all of you that invests in this ministry and walk alongside us by praying for its daily giving every month to keep the doors open are giving to our matches once or twice a year to develop new resources and reach more people.

These folks there thanking you to so I just want to pause and thank you for your financial investment in all that we do right here Living on the Edge and if you're listening and you've never given her didn't realize that we rely on contributions until just now.

Would you prayerfully consider giving financially to the ministry that we could keep creating new resources keep helping people to be the kind of Christians that live like Christians and let me say just thank you in advance for what ever God leads you to do. You don't need to do more or less were just asking everyone do your part and will see God work as you prayerfully consider your role with this ministry I would remind you that when you partner with Living on the Edge. No gift is insignificant ministering together, our efforts and our resources are multiplied in ways that only God can do to send a gift call us at 1-888-333-6003, or if you prefer to give online just go to LivingontheEdge.org your partnership is a great encouragement will now here's chip with some final thoughts as you listen to today's program. What went through your mind, are you like me.

Did you listen to the program today and just had that little light go on and say to yourself, oh yeah I forgot I'm doing life in a fallen world that I'm walking with God.

But there's opposition. Isn't it amazing how we forget that it isn't it amazing that we somehow fall into that myth, that when you obey God when you take steps of faith when your loving your mate and raising your kids right next put your finances in order that unconsciously just unconsciously we think, well, life's gonna turn out great and we look at that first punch. You know that jab of ridicule and and I want to ask you where you getting that you getting it at home and getting it at the office. Are you a student in getting it from people because you carry your Bible or you share your faith.

You know something God knows the score.

God loves you.

Remember the fear of man is a snare, but blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. Let's agree together today to live for an audience of one. That jab of ridicule that making fun of you that little look that you get because you're doing life God's way.

Let's draw back and say you know the Lord is smiling and he loves you and I just want to encourage you today.

I would encourage you to pray and persist like Nehemiah don't give up. Don't give in. Ask God to make away and please don't quit because quote someone out there is making fun of you in some way. There's too much at stake. Keep pressing ahead. Do you wish you could hear Living on the Edge when it fits into your schedule. You can for those of you who want to listen to Living on the Edge whenever and wherever you want. Download the free chip Ingram up you'll find the chip Ingram map at Google play or the app store today will be with us again next time when chip continues our current series. Until then, this is Dave Drury saying thanks for listening. this Edition of Living on the Edge