Holy Ambition - Develop a Dislocated Heart, Part 2

Have you ever wondered why God uses some people more than others, and then you look at their life and you scratch your head. Why would you use them either not overly smart or even especially only religious. Why does God do something that welcome to this Monday. Addition of living on the drift. Your trip serves as our Bible to draw this daily international discipleship program continues a series only ambition for God -shaped dreams into reality. Just before we get started, let me encourage you to try using chips message notes while you listen three notes contain chips outline Scripture references much more to help you remember what you hear and share what you're learning. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org and click listen now you have a Bible open it now to second Chronicles chapter 16 let's join Chip for part two of his message. Develop a dislocated heart or model can be a man that had a holy ambition. What I like about him is not a prophet is not priest is a business guy. He's a guy with a 9-to-5 job. His job and that day was to be that cupbearer and you would taste the wine taste the food so that if it's poison you die before the king does. It was a great job with the food was good but he also became a confidant, you became friends with the king you're the inside man.

David's always chosen someone outside the royal line. So in this case he he wants a Jewish cupbearer because he's the Persian king because a lot of persons one job and the way you get to be the king as you kill the present King and when you look at history, sometimes even your own sons or whoever does answering me a man named Nehemiah. And God has judged his children because they worshiped idols because of their worship of idols. They then dispersed an accident, then dispersed.

He promised he would regather them and there is been a partial return in the ruble was one of God's man, a prophet, he went back and said hey people, you know, God promise let's get with the program and it wasn't very successful in the Ezra headed back and he's a teacher and a scribe in unit teaches God's word and is still wouldn't get any traction. So we pick up the story.

Nehemiah 1 said the words of Nehemiah, the son of hack Alliance in the month of Kislev, which is our November December in the 20th year in the references the 20th. You year of King Xerxes is the king of Persia while I was in the center of the Susa Hannah and I one of my brothers came from Judah with some other men and I questioned them about the Jewish people.

The Jewish remnant and and that survived exile and also about Jerusalem and by the way, it's interesting that people that get a holy ambition. It's from God. Ask questions.

Nehemiah gets a report in the ask about the people and he ask about place and now we get the report they said to me, those who survive the exile are back in the province and are in great trouble and disgrace the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire, so the wall would be protection.

It would be a functioning city. The gates are where the elders would meet. It's how you could close things off you have security, it would be a functioning city that was growing in making progress. We know that the temple hasn't been rebuilt, but the walls are crumbled and the gates are burned. Basically, you look at Jerusalem and this is the city that God promised would be the hope of the world and you if you could go back in a time machine and look at that city. At this moment you would just say God's agenda is dead. It ain't gone happen all those promises he made in a coming Messiah, and all meant. It is, it's done. The place is a shambles. And there's people today that when you look at the world situation. You look at the economy look at the violence in the murder.

When you look at the terrorism. When you look at people have the ability to actually blow up whole cities before sending where where is God in all this answer is he lives inside his children and they have an agenda today.

Just like there was an agenda that and the issue will happen that will really make the big difference is how you respond to the news that you see today. Coming near Mike could've said well you know that's really tough. I got a full-time job. I mean, someone has to eat the king steak and drink the best wine in the world and meet him is just my job. Don't blame me if I have a Rolex on Diana Armani toga and that that Lexus's chariot I have is pretty hot back. I get six horses announced that a four they really zip when I go through town. You know you and you know I'm called by God. I'm doing what God wants me to do. It's working for me right and you II didn't create that mess. I'm just a regular guy in the Bible school didn't look, I'm a business guy okay okay yeah okay I'm a wealthy business guy okay yes I have affluence yes I have influence yes on position in the strategic place in world history but God can use someone like me. Look at his response.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept in for some days I mourned. I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, we put a circle around the word sat would you put a circle around the word wept. Would you put a circle around the word mourned. Would you put a circle around the phrase fasted and prayed. When you see God's agenda going down the tubes. When you see what's happening in America when you see that only 1/10 or 1/12 people who are self identified as followers of Jesus living like Jesus you think of Gandhi's words.

Who said I think very highly of your Jesus, but I can't recommend them to my people because his followers are so unlike him, his response, he stopped stopped sat down running when you when you sit down you stop it inside and is not like you know, watching TV and there's a world vision, commercial or compassion you see little kid with the belly and and you, oh boy, you flip the notes back to sports or news or something that makes you comfortable selling going to the mall and looking to the eyes or talking to someone that's got a pregnancy and she didn't know what to do with it. Or someone who's got an addiction is just absolutely strung out and asked for help is like you just want to come up which the remote button will someone else to take care of them makes us uncomfortable. He stopped and then he let it get under his skin. He deeply demoted. He went he cried and here's the deal. His life is working great. He lives in a gated community and God's agenda is just slipping downhill and his heart response to God's agenda is. He stop he deeply emotes, and then to Moran has to do with grief ever lost a child ever lost a best friend ever lost a job in becoming grief that book grief is is it shouldn't be this way and by the way, this is in a gut level knee-jerk response.

You can find as we later read to the first part of this chapter is that it's interesting. The author tells us it's November December in the beginning of chapter 2 to give us another structural marker in order to learn. There's three months of this guy dealing with this issue of my life works. I'm comfortable. God's agenda is going down the tubes got what I do. God what I do. First you stop and by God's grace. You let it sink in and get cut and comfortable and I think actually weep and then you mourn and then you act as you realize you could hear God's voice and you can't do something stupid and you don't really know what God wants you to do and you're only one person right and so you fast and all that means is you stop eating for a period of time to take that time to give spiritual attention to hear the voice of God about what he wants you to do with your life right now and you pray I was talking this fellow on the plane and we are talking about these church planting movements and you had all these questions and what about this and what about that and and I said what if you learn he said. We did some research we had. I we took our top 100 church planters and it's a multiplying reproducing model and and so there their lowest guy planted 50 churches in that year, and their highest guy planted 500. Long story but amazing and accurate and true.

And so we brought an outside consultant and we had them interview and examine all of our top hundred church planters as we thought mean, obviously, these are our best guys and I guess if you had a salesforce and 100 of them were producing 80% the result. You do the study and find out what are they saying over the phone or how they greet people how they close and learn from them. He said, so we look they said we can only find one thing they have in common, different personalities, different countries India salvation all over. They'll have one thing in common. You ready for this. On average they pray 2 to 3 hours a day. They each fast one day a week and a fast one weekend a month maybe didn't get that I'll go over that again. The only common denominator of the super natural movements of God is they pray 2 to 3 hours a day.

They fast.

One day a week. They fast.

One weekend a month. The please don't hear there is a formula and that if you start doing justice that the God will automatically you know what hit me. I cannot meet God. I pray I don't pray like that you and I realize it's because they care a lot more than I did.

I want God to do some really great and I'm willing to make a mild to significant sacrifice for him to do something great, but I don't care enough to pray for people to hours a day, but I bet most of us, me included. I bet most of us figure out how to slip in an hour and 1/2 to 2 hours of TV because we need right at a wind down day pressure that catch the news not saying it's wrong.

I'm just saying your behavior and my behavior tell me tell you what matters. I just got this thought is, I've been flying and thinking what would happen if I prayed the way they prayed and fasted the way they fasted so that I could hear like never before.

What God wants me to do and then what is some kind of wild is a lot of you decided that limit let's get in on it.

Wonder what God would do what I call this is a dislocated heart see he's living in the lap of luxury. He's affluent and influential, but his heart is dislocated its in Jerusalem, a dislocated heart is a God-given concern for others that propels us out of our comfort zone. It's a passionate concern for God's agenda that supersedes our own desires for personal peace and prosperity. You want a little exercise that will move you little by little, as I would write that definition on a card and then under and under it I would write out second Chronicles 16 nine and read it over in the morning and read over at night and see if God doesn't do something inside your heart. A God-given but what you don't work this up. This is an artificial this is. And I want to be holy I want to be spiritual. It is a God given concern for others that propel you. I don't think Nehemiah was going.

Oh, I want to go.

I want to go. I want to go. I think he's like us. I don't want to go anywhere. I like this job. I like my sundial Rolex enough.

I like and it's God did something that propelled him out of his comfort zone.

Passionate concern. What's it look like when they give you couple pictures on what you think I make up the stuff like dislocated heart of her to the dislocated shoulder affect my rotator cuff known than in okay Jesus had dislocated heart and he says that this attitude that was in him should be in us being in very nature God didn't consider equality with God. Philippians 2 something to be grasped and made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient.

That's the key word to death, even death on the cross. The rest of the passage says how God did in Jesus modeling the same thing that's happening with these church plants. Therefore, he was highly exalted, he was lifted up. He was supported he was exalted Jesus was living in comfort receiving the adoration of angels, Jesus saw the need of mankind. He left his comfort zone to be a missionary and he says were to have that attitude of crossing a culture.

It means you cross some barriers to connect with people that don't know that God loves the week. We've got this whole thing backwards like we gotta be perfect. And I don't know what the say that don't say anything just to what you to start loving people like crazy and being generous with your time and your money and your energy.

Invite people over asking questions and listen to them, love them and then you come back.

Tell me what happens. A couple months even most popular person your company remove popular person neighborhood and I'll tell you what. Pretty soon you could get jammed up because I can say why in the world are you doing this. No one treats me like this, you have to come up with something like actually it's not me.

It's this Jesus who lives in me and he gave me a dislocated heart that compels me out of my comfort zone to build a bridge with people that are always like me to tell them that he loves you and he's already forgiven you and want you to receive any can work this thing out your marriage, they can work this thing out with your kid can work this thing out with his addiction.

He loves you, he's God. He's 40. The second example of the apostle Paul says I speak the truth, I'm not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers those of my race didn't mean to. You get what he saying here mean that you do understand what he just said I wish I could lose my salvation and be separated from God forever if all of my Jewish brothers could understand Jesus as the Messiah. Forgiveness is available and they could all spend it and not heat some possibility but you know what dislocated heart is you know what answers the question is do you care to high care. Okay no not this is little more and that it's do you really care.

Do you care enough to get out of your comfort you care enough to rearrange your life you care enough to deal with whatever need to deal with inside so that you say what you not I can't really help and what else is bait basic I get some. This double life stuff going on okay.

God understands it will go to him asking to forgive you get some help get rid of the double life and start living a life. Do you care enough to make a radical sacrifice of your time and your energy just as once who's the last person you lead Christ.

Personally, I mean yeah you pray for someone they received this last person this last person you invited over to your house.

It doesn't know Christ from your neighborhood or work. This last person just give me a name in your head whose last person you took the lunch at work just for the purpose of encouraging them.

Could you pray for at work. You pray for in your neighborhood limit. I'm not trying to induce guilt. I'm just saying if we don't really care. We don't have a dislocated heart. If we don't have a dislocated heart. God will not strongly support us and he wants to. He longs to support you. The last dislocated heart as you see there is you.

Do you have a dislocated heart just an honest evaluation, and rather than you know trouble.

Maybe I do know what just just be honest with God.

Do you really care, not by your thoughts, but does your behavior indicated second just genuine repentance and repentance just means a change of mind at least a change of action. It's just like being on the freeway realizing all I'm going the wrong direction. You get on the exit ramp and start going back this direction, and repentance is God when you forgive me. I don't really care about people. I'm pretty consumed with me in my world and my stuff in my comfort and you know what he'll just lift that off because guess what he loves you. Third is a careful consideration this message is not designed for knee-jerk reactions of people coming up afterward.

I'm selling my business tomorrow and I'm going to the mission field timeout if God leads you.

They are great but you know what this is a think through.

Pray through get wise counsel and then finally, this may sound really crazy but I had a really significant time with the Lord just because of the travel and I headed little window and did this for me I just ask God for one I'm in Ascot every day for a while. Not sure how long M's mascot.

I would you give me a dislocated heart when I get in lines on planes when I in lines here when I see my neighbor when I pull in what you give me a dislocated heart. Would you supernaturally. I don't want to muster it up. I want to fake it. I don't be a phony.

I want to care. Show me what it looks like in my world in my network, my job in my home to love others the way you should back in just a minute with some application is teaching.

If you're just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with shipping room and the message you just heard develop a dislocated heart is from trip series holy ambition, turning God shaped dreams into reality.

The six part series helps you discover how extraordinary things for God can be accomplished by very ordinary people in a chip explains six key conditions for anyone who longs to make a difference longs to know God's will for their life and then see it actually lived out that's you or someone you know this series. Holy ambition is the perfect voice to start chip walks you through a step-by-step process that will bring clarity and intentionality to everything you do.

There are several holy ambition resources available and all 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.

Click on. You were made for more find all of the resources were currently discounting. We hope 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 woodchip before you come back with some final thoughts from today's message.

People often want to know what has inspired you to create the different series. We are all Living on the Edge so I can like to know what sparks the idea for the series. Holy ambition is really interesting. I was asked to come and speak at Pebble Beach to group of I guess I'll call them very influential, very wealthy people that were on a retreat and I was kind of a local pastor. Once you come out and teach the Bible and I thought, oh Lord, you know what you say to these people. What I thought will who in the Scripture might identify a person with with money, power, position, prestige, and what will be the biblical view and so I remember being very nervous and so as I'm praying and thinking on the back of an envelope literally in the car on the way there. It finally popped into my mind it's Nehemiah mean he was a man of position and power and influence and wealth. And yet, instead of him using that for himself what he saw was God had placed him there, not to feel guilty about that.

But to be greatly used by him and I jotted sort of the basic thoughts because I knew the passages very well and then later I met with Moody publishing and they said what's really your life message and what I realized was this holy ambition.

This drive this dream, this desire and how do you make a difference for God had really been the message got it implanted my heart and so II taught that first but later became a book and we've recorded a a brief like 10 to 12 minutes for each chapter DVD for small group to get together.

This is can be a very exciting time for those who think you know I want God use my life but I really just don't understand how he taps you on the shoulder and how you go from an idea or a passion to that becoming a reality.

So I think you have a great couple weeks by strip. It's fun to hear the evolution of a series is not well now would be a great time to get a few friends together and dig in the holy ambition is a small group pursuing a holy ambition isn't for the faint of heart. It will take determination, perseverance, and a group of people to support and cheer you on. So let me encourage you go to your website. LivingontheEdge.org we'll find the holy ambition video resources either DVDs or online streaming with study guides and get your group started. Remember, if you have questions you can always just give us a call here at 1-888-333-6003. Would love to talk with you will now here's chip with some final thoughts. Today we learned that the first prerequisite for making a difference for God is a dislocated heart as you heard Nehemiah story and then saw the example of Jesus and Paul and people from our church.

Let me ask you give a dislocated heart. Do you have a God given concern that is propelled you out of your comfort zone.

Do you find that you are willing to give up personal peace and prosperity to really care about people and make a difference or do you have to admit like I do and many of us very often that somehow everyday stuff of life is crowded out really caring for other people so I went through the end of today's broadcast I talked about how to develop a dislocated heart. Would you like one would you like to care for others deeply, passionately, what begins with honest evaluation. I can't do that for you, even as you heard my voice under the spirit of God's work. Ask yourself do you really care about people or have you unconsciously been squeezed into the mold of really living a Christian life with the premise God.

What can you do for me. God, how can you work my life. After an honest evaluation where you see that you don't have a dislocated heart. I invite you right now. Honestly, repent I mean honestly repent. Get before God telling me you're sorry. Honestly look in your own life and heart and repent and then carefully consider the price tag of following him and just today I mean right now as you hear my voice asking for one there's few prayers that God is willing to answer as immediately and as powerfully as hearing your voice honestly say, oh God, we you give me a dislocated heart. Will you help me look at people and care about people the way that you do pray today and you can see God work just before we close. I want to thank those of you who make this broadcast possible through your generous giving Living on the Edge invests those dollars to purchase their time create programs and provide resources to help Christians live like Christians, if Living on the Edge is been a blessing to you. Would you prayerfully consider sending a gift today. You can donate online at http://livingontheedge.org or by calling us at 1-888-333-6003. Thank you for your partnership with us. While I hope you'll join us again next time Manitoba this is Dave Drury saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge