* Ambition is a great follower, but a terrible leader. * Letting ambition in the driver’s seat will cause you to arrive at a place God did not intend for you to be. * Waiting on God gives you: * Purity - purifies your ambition so you want what God wants you to want. * Presence - like waiting to eat until the person you’ve invited shows up. * Power - “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…” * The result of not waiting - you forfeit what was supposed to be yours. * Backstory - the Philistines had the Israelites in a pinch, so they needed God’s help. * They waited for Samuel to show up and sacrifice the animals, but he didn’t show for a week. * Vs 7-13 - Saul took matters into his own hands. * The king jumped ahead of the priest. * He “felt compelled” - he put his thing ahead of God’s thing and therefore he had a false peace about doing something that was wrong. * Saul’s ambition to win field his decision to move forward when he should’ve held back. * His “feeling” should have been weighed by Scripture. * Vs 14 - Saul was replaced by a man who would be “after God’s heart.” * This is the first mention of that phrase, which shows that Saul was after his own heart and not God’s. * Going after someone’s heart is about pursuit, like a server at a restaurant. They want to win your affection. * From “Rescuing Ambition” - waiting cultivates patience and redefines our definition of productivity. * “For God, productivity is wrapped up in transformation - it’s about who we are becoming, not what we are accomplishing.” * What do we do? Two Keys: * 1) The “state” of waiting - your mindset where you let the priest lead the king. * Don’t take matters into your own hands. Don’t bust doors open. It’s a faith “walk,” not run. * 2) The “service” of waiting - your method where you actively serve while you wait. * Be busy about your task at hand. Don’t focus on the next big thing. Cultivate faithfulness.
1 Samuel 13:12 (5/6/21)
Harnessing Ambition
May 6, 2021
Jeremiah 36:7 (4/24/24)
April 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Jeremiah 36:7
* A merciful mindset positions us for favor with God. * If one of my kids shows mercy to their brother or sister, it makes me want to reward them! * God feels the same toward us. * James 2:13 - “For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who is not merciful…” * Jesus shows us this with the woman caught in adultery. * They wanted judgment, but Jesus taught mercy. * But He didn’t lower the standard to show it - “Go and sin no more.” * Two OT prophets - Jonah and Jeremiah. * Jonah - got mad at God when He showed mercy to Ninevah. * He wanted justice for the people, not mercy. * God did not like that. * Jeremiah - he had to deliver a harsh message to the king who had imprisoned him. * Look how he responds as he asked his assistant Baruch to carry a message to the king: * vs 5-7 - ““I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.” * Jeremiah shows us the power of a merciful disposition. * Jeremiah 51:8 - “Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.” * We should want our enemies to experience the mercy of God. * Not because they deserve it, but because God showed us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. * This disposition will keep us from getting bitter an angry toward others. * And it will keep us from falling prey to James 2:13!!!!
1 Corinthians 4:15 (4/24/24)
April 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • 1 Corinthians 4:15
* We are “watchmen” not “watchdogs.” * We don’t do the “latest news.” * Our mandate from God is to expose evil and help you stand strong. * We do that by helping you think through stuff. * Five observations from the Mark Driscoll saga. * 1) The Jezebel spirit is real - it thrives on three things: * Sexual Anarchy (LGBTQ+) * Child Sacrifice (Abortion) * Murderous Spirit (Cancel Culture) * 2) A fatherly mindset is the only way to deal with Jezebel. * 1 Cor 4:15 - “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” * A pastor is a “father” - a dad doesn’t let the kids lead the home. * Pastors today are allowing creatives to take the lead. * Jehu was the one who was tasked to take out Jezebel - he was a “bad” dude. * 3) Etiquette should not be valued over purity. * Pastor Lindell should’ve addressed both issues. * 4) The consequences of private sin will affect you down the road, even after you’ve repented. * Mark’s personal sin caused him to shrink back. * 5) We have to “let the prophets speak” - because their words are hard. * Most prophets travel alone - often because they have “issues.”
Acts 13:49-50 (4/17/24)
April 17, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Acts 13:49–50
* God uses people to accomplish His will on the earth. * He uses both good and bad people. * Satan uses people to accomplish his will on the earth. * He uses both good and bad people. * Backstory - Jesus was off the scenes and now the growth of the church was the responsibility of the apostles. * Paul and Barnabas were preaching like crazy! * Jews and Gentiles were getting saved by the droves. * vs 49 - “The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.” * Through their witness the kingdom of heaven was advancing forcefully against the kingdom of hell. * Then something happened: * vs 50 - “But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” * A “God-fearing” person who’s a “leader” is a Christian Influencer! * The Christian Influencers of the day were now on the wrong side of God’s Kingdom expansion! * We need to always remember the four spiritual players at work here. * Revelation 17 shows us: * Dragon - Satan himself. * Beast - Antichrist spirit (any idea that stands against God). * Babylon - (PEC) Political, Economic, Cultural system of the Beast. * The goal of Babylon is to turn people away from God. * Harlot - Religious system of Babylon that gives credence to the Beast. * The only way people will desire Satan’s way more than God’s way is if there is a religious system that legitimizes it. * That’s what happened here in Acts 13. * Satan needed good-hearted Godly people to buy into his lies and hinder God’s work. * Note - These influencers were first convinced by the “religious” leaders. * “…the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women…” * What are our pastors teaching us today? * How do we make sure we don’t get used by Satan? * 1) Wrap knowledge around our zeal. * These influencers certainly had a zeal for the Lord, but they didn’t have knowledge. * They needed a Biblical worldview to filter the lies being spoken into their ears. * We need to “study” Scripture to be intimately familiar with the truth. * We need to study it through the lense of a battle. * 2) Look and listen for the spirit behind what’s being said or done. * EX: Jesus with Peter. * EX: Stanley - teaching Christians to stay out of the “hot topic” issues. * “If you need an enemy to prop up your leadership, you’re not leading.” * People clapped - but the Bible is a book about God’s enemy. * 3) Ask God what He thinks. * Then pause and listen. * 4) Sit under leaders with a “Fatherly” spirit (and Motherly). * They’re willing to talk about all things. * They teach about boundaries.