Turn with me in your Bibles to 1st Peter 5:6. I want to preach a message entitled "Type A" for ambition. 1st Peter 5:6, "Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time".
Father, we thank you this morning for what you're doing in this place. God, we thank you for the ministries in this church and for the outreaches. We thank you for the souls that are coming to you weekly. Thank you for the privilege we have to carry the great commission throughout this city and around the world. Lord, in this place this morning I pray that your word would have its way. I ask that you would annoint me because without it my words would be empty. Lord with you we can do all things. May we decrease and you increase, in Jesus name. Amen
From the time that we are born in America we hear certain phrases that are driven into us to "Be the Best", "Be all that you can be", "Reach for the stars", "Go for the Gusto". We are pressured to be straight "A" students, to go to the top of the class, to never give up and never let go. Our country thrives on drive, pressure and ego. We are told to strive for excellence, to make a difference, to make our mark and every one of those things are good things. Having ambition and drive is far better than being a slacker.
I believe that we're supposed to accomplish things with our life and not one of us is put here on this earth to waste away and do nothing. You are precious to God and he has a plan for your life. Contrary to popular opinion, ambition is not a 4 letter word but if we're not careful ambition can become a curse. Lance Witt, the founder of Replenish Ministries said, "Ambition is a double edged sword. When it is God directed it can bear tremendous fruit. When it is restrained by humility, ambition can be a powerful motivator but when it is highjacked by self and ego it can leave a wake of destruction in its path". It is one thing to be driven and it is quite another to be God driven and God motivated. When you are in the midst of God's plan and he has put that passion inside of you and you are in obedience to his word then you are in the center of his will.
Sometimes the ambition can get to be so much in our lives whether we are a ?Type A' personality or not when we want to do something significant with our life. It is good to have a burning in our bellies. It is great to have a vision and to have desire to make a difference. God created you to make a difference in this world but the question we must all honestly ask ourselves, "Is my desire and drive that I have and the motivation about my life, is it about me or is it about God?" Where is that ambition going? That one question, depending on how we answer it makes all the difference in the world. Many times the truth is that we have to sort through a combination of both. As people we all have things that we want even though we also want what God wants.
Phillipians 2:3 says, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind or humility let each esteem others better than themselves". In God's kingdom there is not one person who is better than another. I don't care what you're doing with your life or what your calling is or if you think you are more productive than other people or not, the truth is in God's kingdom every one of us is valuable. As long as we are obeying God's call to our life, it doesn't matter if you are building the tallest building in the world or if you've been at home ministering to your children faithfully, every bit of that is just as big in the sight of God.
God has wired each of us to desire to aspire. He has also placed within us the need to be absolutely and completely dependent upon him. For the Christian it's more about our relationship with God than what we have accomplished, whether it is for God or what we have done in this world. It's more about our obedience than our advancement. When our ambition becomes more important than our relationship with God then our world around us will begin to crumble. I don't know what your plans or your dreams are or what God has put into your heart, those are all good things but there is absolutely nothing more important than Jesus is to us. That's the way it should be.
Vision and leadership or goals and dreams will destroy anyone without a healthy walk with God. If we have a wrong vision of success we will push hard and will become obsessed with making it big yet all along we will never pursue the plans and the dreams that God actually has for us. One of the problems with selfish ambition is that we usually don't see it in ourselves. Many of us suffer from self deception and self denial. ?Type A' people, those who are accomplishing things, those who have selfish ambition never think they have it until they look in God's face and they take a look in the mirror. The truth is this, we need to make sure that we're seeing things realistically.
When we're dealing with ambition that God has given us there are several things we need to pray for and ask for God's help to keep things in perspective. It will focus us and sanctify our ambition so that it is used for God and so we can reap the full pleasure of ambition's fruit. The first thing that we can pray when we're ?Type A' is "Help my ambition not get in the way of your permission". That word "permission" also means "God's blessing". True success is doing what God wants and this is all about obedience to his will. That's what permission is. "God, is this what you want for my life? Is this what you want to accomplish in me and through me and am I walking according to your word?" The greatest prayer in all of the Bible is "Thy will be done, thy kingdom come in me". That's the greatest prayer any Christian could pray. Are we even doing what God wants us to do in the first place? You could do a lot of things with your life, even change the world upside down but if you're not in the center of God's will, all those accomplishments mean nothing.
What is the measuring stick to use to show you've accomplished something? Ambition submitted to God is always subjective. That means that whatever we feel is right is making the difference. It means that as long as I'm looking at it from my point of view then what I'm doing is ok and that makes me a success. But the truth is many times we get disappointed and depressed because of the things that we aren't seeing or we think the things we're doing might be too small. That's why a lot of people have a midlife crisis asking "What have I really done with my life or where am I going?" In the kingdom of God there should be no midlife crisis. If you've been obeying God and walking according to his word it doesn't matter what you think you have to show for it if you've done what God has asked you to do. No matter how big or how small it is you're a success in the sight of God. As long as I obey the Lord I'm successful. I believe that if we would just understand that, there would be a lot less insecurity, a lot less depression and a lot less frustration.
The second prayer we could pray is, "Help my ambition to not get in the way of your direction". Many times we think we know best. Those with ambition will either forget to ask God what he wants or what they should do or how it should be done. Sometimes those with ambition feel that God is taking way too long and they begin to take matters into their own hands. I want to speak to everyone with that ?Type A' ambition going on. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path". The NIV says it this way, "He will make your path straight".
Acknowledging God means including him in your decision making. If we would take more time to ask God what he thought about something, we would spend a lot less time going in circles. We'd take a lot less detours and we'd take a lot shorter and straighter path. We need to acknowledge him, "Lord, where is it you want me to go? Is this the way you want me to go about it? Do I have a right attitude in the middle of it? Is my heart in your hand?"
Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his step". Many ?Type A' people struggle right here. Those with ambition would do well to remember that they really don't know it all or understand it all and don't always know what to do all the time. But that's ok because God does. You could put so much pressure on yourself and those around you to have an answer but God has every answer we could ever need. Sometimes he might not give you the answer as fast as you thought he should but if your steps are being ordered by God, his delay might be the difference between you getting slammed by a car that's going in the wrong direction or actually crossing just a little bit faster so it rolls behind you. The Bible says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God. He puts them in place and helps you to know what step to take and when to do it. That type of humility puts us in the position of being pointed in the right direction. I want to encourage you when you don't know what to do and you don't have the answer, just stop and kneel before God because that position will help get you in the right direction.
The next prayer we could pray is, "Help my ambition to not get in the way of your instruction". All of us need to be teachable and none of us are above
learning new things and new ways. We may say that we've always done it this way and we're going to keep doing it this way but sometimes God has a whole different idea. Have you ever noticed that God can actually teach you through someone who you thought didn't know as much as you did and weren't as talented as you are? ?Type A' people can get so stubborn sometimes. When you've got ambition and drive, the Lord may put someone right in your path and you'll think they're half crazy or just kind of weird. I have found when my attitude gets to that place, God is using those people to teach me something about myself and to give me good direction. Never be above being teachable. Listen to the people around you, talk to your spouse, look at the people God puts in your path. Many with ambition are so driven to go forward without considering all the ways they could be there. Sometimes we don't always know best but God does.
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall". When we get to the point where we know everything and we've got it all together or we think that we should trust ourselves and our instincts are always best, you may be pretty good and that's ok, but you've always got to make sure that you're ready to learn from God. None of us can do all things by ourselves. One of the marks of those with ambition who succeed is their ability to receive instruction, discipline and correction. When we can be corrected by God and do it with humility and move on then we are being successful.
The next prayer is "Help my ambition to not get in the way of your inspiration". That inspiration would be the empowering and anointing of God. Key phrases today that we hear and we tell kids are "Be a self made person" or "Do it yourself". They even have a TV station titled "DIY", the Do it yourself network. But if you watch that network and you learn from them, you really didn't do it all by yourself. The truth is you got some help. Those who attempt God size things without God powered enablement will wear out, burn out and drop out. They will even experience times of deep depression because they have tried to do what God has asked them to do in their own power. Whatever God has asked you to do or has placed in your heart, whatever job or ministry you have, we need the annointing and help of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you that when you find yourself doing things in your own strength, to stop and ask again for the annointing of God. The Bible says "Without God we can do nothing". Our best efforts pale in comparison when God is in the midst of what we're doing.
May we never lose our dependence on God. We were created to need God. People say "God is a crutch" but he's not my crutch, he's my savior and he's my everything. He's not just the one that keeps me standing, he's the one that keeps me living. He's my life support system. If all he is is my crutch then I'm going to fall down. I need him to hold me up and that's nothing to be ashamed of because we were created to need him. God wants that, that relationship is important and we can do nothing without him. We can't parent well, we can't be a spouse well, we can't do our job well without him. We're attempting God sized things here at Harvest Community and God is beginning to reward and pour out his spirit but may we never try to do it on our own. Every Sunday morning when we stand in that office to pray we're asking God to touch us and more importantly we need the annointing on our life to do what God wants to do in this place. God calls you to go out and do things everyday. Start your day praying, "God, I don't want to do today without you, I need you today. I ask you to annoint me". If you don't have the time to spend a half hour or an hour with God in prayer, God is not a legalistic God and he will listen to you even if all you have is a couple of minutes, he will help you.
The next prayer is, "Help my ambitions to not get in the way of my relationships". Many ?Type A' people are good at projects and they're not good at people. They can get so busy that family and friendships are left in the dust. James 3:16 says, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition you find disorder and every evil practice". Disorder means things are out of order. I want to speak to you with ambition and drive this morning, make sure your life is in order. There is an absolute order: God, family and everything else. You need to put it in order because the Bible says when it gets in disorder you'll find every evil practice. Ambition often clouds our judgement over what really matters. People are more important than goals and they always will be. If you're the boss of a company, the people who work for you are more important than the bottom line of your company.
I want you to mark this down, if you will take care of your people then God will take care of your company. God will bless you. People are more important than goals, and family is always more important than jobs. It's even more important than our ministry because if you win the whole world to Jesus and you lose your own family, what have you done? You can get so busy doing things that you know are important and changing people's lives but forget to bless the people around you. Even in our church with the things that we're attempting for God, we can get so busy building a church that we can forget that we are the church. As we're stepping out and believing God for big things, the church is never a building or a piece of property. The church are the people who belong to God and have given their lives to him and they are the ones who God died for. We're the family of God.
Let me ask you, what are you building with your life? 1st Corinthians 3:11-13 says, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each ones work of what sort it is".
Many times our ambition causes envy and jealousy and the end result is disorder or things out of order and confusion. It can lead to wrong things and compromises being made and lead to the idea of having victory at any cost, whatever it takes, even if I'm running over people and lying just a little bit. Our integrity is never ever worth the cost of the bottom line. There are things that are more important than success.
May our ambition be right in step with God's heart. The more we try to do things for the world, the more we try to be successful on our jobs, we have to ask ourselves how much of what we do is wood, hay and stone? The Bible also talks about gold and silver but it will also be melted down in the fire. How much of what we do is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ? Those who build with wood, hay and straw need to remember the story of the 3 little pigs where the wolf came and huffed and puffed and blew the house down. The enemy will come to try and mess up your life and if you are attempting God size things with your life then you just painted a big red bullseye on yourself. But I've got a word for the devil, I'm building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The things that we're building on are God inspired and God enabled. Blow all you want, do all you want because we're laying it all on the Lord. The devil is just going to be out of breath.
May our ambition not get in the way of God's perfection. We can get so busy that we can forget that God is not so interested in what we do for him but who we are because of him, in our walk and talk with him. Do you realize that God looks forward to being with you? Sometimes we get so busy even doing things for God, even being successful the right way or spending time with family that we forget that God desires to spend time with us. Do you know how precious that is?
1st Peter 5:10 says, "But may the God of all grace who calls us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish and settle you". I love this verse.
?Type A' person, I want to speak to you. Slow down and let God settle you down. There are some peole who are an absolute ball of frenzy. Settle down, may the God of peace settle you and establish you. It has been my experience that ?Type A' people experience a fair share of suffering, life induced, self induced and when we are particularly stubborn, God induced to produce his work in us. The suffering that life has given, the Lord will heal.
The suffering that is self induced, don't beat yourself up and don't give yourself a pass either but learn from your mistakes and let God heal. When the pain is God induced, stop and let him work his perfect work inside of you. Pain can come in many different forms and suffering can come in many different ways but the healer is the one who cares for us. Sometimes those with ?Type A' just ignore all those things and just keep on going and doing and God says, "I just want to be with you. I'm interested in your obedience and I'm interested in relationship. If you produce things for me and that's a result of your obedience, good job, but what I care about is you".
I pray that God will give everyone of us God size dreams, God size plans and God size goals but I pray that they will be submitted to the master of our lives. Then when we are submitted, may we reach every single one of them.
