May 26, 2025 • 39 mins
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Navigating Godly Ambition and Contentment
In this episode of Chaos & Christ, Alexsy discusses the tension between godly ambition and selfish desires. Drawing inspiration from the movie 'Troy' and biblical scriptures, particularly from Matthew, Alexsy reflects on personal experiences and the struggle of aligning one's ambitions with God's purpose. He shares the importance of denying selfish ambitions, embracing God's timing, and finding contentment in the present. Alexsy also highlights the significance of letting go of personal dreams that align with worldly glory and instead following the path that honors God, emphasizing that true identity and purpose are found in Christ.
00:00 Introduction: The Struggle with Purpose
01:20 Exploring Godly Ambition and Contentment
02:04 Achilles' Dilemma: Glory vs. Peace
05:18 The Desire for Recognition and Significance
09:59 The Call to Deny Ourselves
20:35 Personal Journey: Letting Go of Ambition
28:45 Finding Peace in God's Plan
36:50 Conclusion: Embracing God's Timing
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alexsy (00:01):
Have you ever wondered before, God, why am I here?
Or, you know, what's mypurpose?
Or, I thought I knew mypurpose, but why am I not there
yet?
And maybe you feel stuck,overlooked, or like you've been
put on pause while everyone elseis just simply moving forward
or excelling.
(00:22):
You've got dreams, ambitions, asense that you were made for
something more.
But the doors you thought wouldbe open seem to be bolted shut.
I get it.
I've been there.
I am there and I see that Godhas taken me on the other side
of that.
I think today we're gonna talkabout that tension, the pool
(00:43):
between wanting to buildsomething great for God or so we
say we want to build somethinggreat for God, and the quiet
whisper of Jesus saying, followme.
Let it go.
My name is Alexi, and this isChaos and Christ.
All right, cool.
(01:20):
So let's talk about godlyambition, contentment, and why,
uh, where you are right nowmight be exactly where God wants
you to be.
Um, I want to kind of dive inand explore a little bit about
human desire and, uh, just thedesire for us to make a, a name
for ourselves.
Um, and this is gonna be like apersonal thing for me to just
(01:43):
kind of, uh, just been dealingwith, uh, this pretty much many
years.
But have, um, have you guysseen Troy, uh, the movie Troy?
It's a good movie.
I love that.
Those kind of movies.
Um, I won't belabor the point.
If you haven't seen it, gowatch this with Brad Pit.
Pretty, pretty decent.
(02:03):
But there's a conversation thatAchilles is having with his
mother Theus, uh, about whetheror not he will go to Troy and
fight in the Trojan Wars or stayback home.
And so there's thisconversation that's taking place
here, and I have a quote thatthe mother gives to Achilles
that I think is, uh, just worthreading.
(02:26):
Uh, check this out.
Uh, theta is saying, if youstay in Larissa, you will find
peace.
You will find a wonderfulwoman.
You will have sons anddaughters who will have
children, and they'll all loveyou and remember your name.
But when your children are deadand they're children after
them.
(02:46):
Your name will be forgotten ifyou go to Troy Glory will be
yours.
They will write stories aboutyour victories in thousands of
years, and the world willremember your name.
But if you go to Troy, you willnever come back for your glory
walks hand in hand with yourdoom, and I shall never see you
(03:09):
again.
And that's a very powerfulquote and statement.
Achilles has a choice to makehere, and if you've seen the
movie, and if you haven't, I'mgonna have to spoil it for you
guys.
I'm sorry, but that's justwhere it's at.
Achilles clearly goes, I mean,you should know this from school
or something, but he goes towar.
(03:30):
But it's amazing that he'spresented with a life of peace.
A life that he would be able tofind a wonderful woman to love,
who would love him back toshare a life with.
And then they would havechildren and then they could
raise these children, uh uh, andthose children will go on to do
(03:50):
whatever in life, I guess.
And then they will havechildren and they would, it is
not like his name will beforgotten from his children and
his grandchildren.
But after he's gone and thenhis kids and his grandkids are
gone.
Yeah.
Chances are your name won't beremembered.
I don't remember or really knowmy great, great grandfather's
(04:15):
name on both sides.
And that's just two greats,right?
So there's obviously many more,uh, within my family lineage
that I have no idea about.
Uh, and this is true what Theuswas TA talking to Achilles
about is exactly right.
But if you want glory, thenyou're gonna go to Troy, because
(04:40):
guess what?
I.
People will speak about yourname for thousands of years to
come.
Stories will be written aboutyour victories.
They'll be teaching it inpublic schools and, and that's
true too.
I mean, we're clearly speakingabout it today at this moment in
the year 2025 of our Lord.
I don't know if that's reallywhat his mom said in, in
(05:04):
history.
I, I'm assuming that the movietook.
You know, creative libertiesto, to do so.
But it's still a very truestatement that we are at times,
uh, presented with in our ownlives.
Maybe to, not to the extent of,Hey, go to war and, you know,
people wouldn't know your nameand write down books, but we
kind of want that.
(05:25):
There's a, there's a desire inus to, to want the glory in that
way, and we are willing toactually sacrifice.
The idea of finding another,uh, a person that we can make a
spouse and, and, and do lifewith and have children with.
That sounds okay and it's nice,but it's not going all in
(05:51):
right.
It's not going all out for whatyou feel deep down the side
you're meant for, right?
It's, it's about greatness.
We're the same way, and theculture tells us that if we're
not building something big,we're wasting our life.
No one's coming to us aboutgoing to war and being, you
know, named, you know, glorious.
(06:13):
But we are presented with tonsof content online, especially
YouTube, Instagram, to pursuethis business, to earn this much
money, to get the body tobuild, uh, a social media brand
and get the likes and thecomments, and we strive for
(06:34):
this.
Uh, because deep down inside,we want to be known.
We want to feel some, somelevel of significance that
others recognize.
And we do it in many differentways.
Some people do.
Really good content creationand work and build businesses
and make great money.
And maybe it's not about theirname for them, but at the end of
(06:58):
the day there are many that arepursuing it even at the lowest
levels.
I always find it, uh, funnyand.
Laughable that many timespeople will take their phone and
get on Instagram, Snapchat,whatever, and just record
themselves singing a song, andyou'll have a whole, like three
minutes of just watching 'emliterally try to sing lip syc
(07:20):
the song lyric by lyric, some ofthem failing abysmally
sometimes.
Uh, but what, what, what'sbehind that?
What, what's happening there?
What are they trying to portrayto those that watch?
There a free spirit that, um, Idon't know.
I I, I'm still trying to figurethat one out, to be very
(07:42):
honest.
But a desire for attention, adesire to be liked, to be found.
Interesting.
At the very least, we all dothis in some levels, and I'm
saying the same thing I do, I dothe same thing.
We all do this in some.
Shape or form.
But then there are some people,and I, I will put myself in a
(08:05):
camp that, that had ideas abouttheir life.
You had an idea about your lifethat was supposed to go a
specific way, and you are aroundyour thirties, you are, or
maybe even late twenties, and,but you're around the age where
you thought that it was supposedto be this specific way and
(08:26):
it's not.
And you're dealing with regret,but you still hold onto this
identity or this thought aboutwho you will become and what you
will do and how everyone willknow about it.
Now, obviously as Christians,we have to understand that
there's a difference betweengodly ambition, which is what we
(08:47):
should both, we should allhave, and then selfish ambition,
which we don't want to admit,we do have most of the time.
And with Achilles in thisscenario, he had a very personal
ambition of major glory andworld renowned past his death,
(09:09):
past generations upongenerations.
He wanted that, that soundedmore appealing to him, to the
point where he was willing todie, to not meet a woman, to not
be in love, but to go down.
Uh, in history is one of thegreatest of the warriors, and he
was willing to die.
(09:29):
His mother told him, you'regonna die.
This will be the last time Isee you.
And he was okay with that.
He chose, how many of you woulddo something like that would
deny the idea of finding a, a, apartner in life to be your wife
or husband, to have childrenwith them, and then to see your
children have children?
How many of you would say thatthat's okay?
(09:53):
But there's gotta be somethinggreater.
Well, if we're followingChrist, Jesus flips that on its
head quite, um, boldly straightto the point in your face.
He flips that on our, on ourheads, what the world says we're
(10:13):
supposed to pursue.
The Lord says, it's not likethat with us.
It's not like that for you.
And this is gonna cause a lotof tension within your own self.
And I, I, I hope that thisblesses you.
I'm gonna read Matthew 16, 24to 26, uh, it reads, then Jesus
told his disciples if anyonewould come after me, let him
(10:36):
deny himself and take up hiscross and follow me.
So lemme just park it rightthere for a second.
He's talking to, to thedisciples and those that are
around him, and he's saying, ifanyone's gonna say that you are,
uh, my disciple.
And in, in our day and age, ifanyone's gonna say they're,
they're Christians, you're gonnapost this on your social media
(10:57):
bios.
You're gonna, you're gonna wearthe t-shirts, buy the coffee
mugs.
If that's what you say you'regonna be, that you're gonna
follow me, well then.
You have to deny yourself andtake up your cross.
So to deny ourselves is to sayno to the things you know for a
(11:20):
fact, God is not pleased with,or that the scriptures reveal is
sin.
And nowadays, today all we dois try to justify it while still
bearing the name of Christian.
We try to justify this.
Because it's what we like andit's about our own pleasure.
See, that's where the selfishambition comes from, and we
(11:43):
think that there's, these arejust sins that God forgives me
for, and we could just toss itaway, not realizing what is
happening inside your heart.
This ambition.
I mean, sin is really just, itis the transgression of his law
and of his word.
It is the breaking of what hesays not to do.
(12:05):
Um, but it's also in the samenote, uh, a desire to say, I
have it under control.
I desire me more than I desireyou, Lord, I think my way is the
best way and not your way.
And that's what sin is.
And that's what sin does, andthat's what we do.
(12:26):
And so therefore, we don't denyourselves.
We say, I accept myself.
And isn't that what we hear allthe time in the culture these
days?
Love yourself.
Do it for you, for yourhappiness.
Marriages are being broken upby men and women alike because
of their quote unquotehappiness.
Whole families are destroyedbecause of this.
(12:48):
We saw in early 20 20, 20, 21,22, 2, uh, people like, uh, Mr.
Beast's buddy who did, uh, the,the YouTube with him who left
his, uh, loving family, a wife,and, and I believe a, a child to
transition into a woman.
Yeah.
(13:09):
Well, because it made himhappy, right?
That is selfish ambition in themost twisted and corrupt way.
But it's a very extreme examplethat isn't even an extreme
anymore because it literally hashappened and these, this is
what many people were doing inthe culture, um, not even a year
(13:30):
or two ago.
So that is what it looks like.
When God calls us to live alife of righteousness and
holiness in submission toChrist, in submission to what
his word teaches, we're not tocommit adultery.
We're not to divorce ourhusbands or our wives for any
reason because of your feelings,which I see now even in the
(13:51):
church.
Uh, wives divorcing theirhusbands because of their
feelings, and then people aroundthem in the church praise them.
And not call them to repentancebecause it makes, you know, it
makes them happy.
Or some, some case that's notdenying ourselves, that's being
(14:14):
about ourselves, being full ofourselves.
And this is what the Lord issaying, we, we have to deny
ourselves.
That's hard.
That is difficult.
That is sacrificing the thingsthat we hold dear and love and
cherish that please us.
But not God and whatever thatis, you know what that is?
(14:36):
We often think it, it's like,oh, it's the drugs.
Well, yeah, for sure.
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
It's, it's the weed in ourculture, weed is highly praised
and it's accepted and peoplewill go and die on the hill of
defending smoking weed.
That's, that's the thing.
Alcoholism, yes.
We have to be able to, uh, letthat go if we're prone to
(14:59):
drunkenness.
But what about sexualimmorality and the fact that
nowadays that is so prevalenteven in the church, girlfriend
and boyfriend sleeping together,girlfriend and boyfriend doing,
uh, things that they shouldn'tbe doing out, uh, in outside of
the context of marriage, movingin together without being first
(15:23):
married.
And I know people that havedone that and they might hear
this podcast and probably takeof offense of it.
And I don't mean to bemalicious 'cause I was guilty of
it just as well.
I, I had said in that way aswell.
But I guess that's my point.
I know the consequences ofthese things and it's, it really
destroyed me in, in many ways,God's grace has been sufficient
(15:48):
and I am, um, you know, I'mwalking in newness of light with
Christ now, but.
It.
It was very heavy and therewere consequences, and to this
day, I still face them so.
But that's, that's what we'redealing with.
Not to mention the L-G-B-T-Qum, propaganda and push that has
(16:08):
happened in the last couple ofyears.
That is also a sexualperversion that we need to be
able to be bold about.
But let's be honest, it's notjust that it is that we are in
our heterosexuality sleepingwith our girlfriend and
boyfriends without being in thecontext of marriage.
And that we are going out andwe are giving ourselves to, to
(16:30):
party and consciousness andanger, strife, desires of, of
money and greed and how we goabout that.
The list goes on and on and on,and God calls you out of that.
He calls us out of that to denyourselves.
And then as, uh, to take itfurther.
It's not just to say no tothese things.
(16:52):
We are to the, to say no tothese things, but now we have to
pick up our cross.
These, it's a burden to bear.
It's a, it's a life of, uh,self-sacrifice in a sense.
Again, when you think aboutwhat the Lord had to do in order
to pay for the penalties of oursin, he had to carry his own
(17:14):
cross up that mountain.
And so you get the picture herethat.
This is what Jesus calls us todo.
If we are to say we areChristian, and then it goes on
in verse 25 to say, for whoeverwould save his life will lose
it.
But whoever loses his lifewill, for my sake, find it.
(17:35):
And see that's, that's anotherthing, right?
We tend to go and want to notdeny ourselves, but to
completely fully acceptourselves.
And we are chasing after thingsto, to save our own lives.
We do it in relationships withour careers, with our money,
with, with, um, with substances.
(17:58):
Uh, there's so many things thatwe take and we try to save our
own lives with and to, to buildit up.
Running from God.
Right.
You know, because we know thathis ways are calling us to deny
ourselves and we think thatwe're trying to, I don't know,
(18:19):
save something out there fun,whatever we call it.
But Jesus is saying that if wetry to do that to save our own
life, by our, by our own might.
By, by going after riches, bygoing after fame, by going after
whatever it is that you'regoing after.
If we try to do this by ourown, might, then actually we're
(18:43):
gonna lose our life.
So ironically, the everythingwe fear about our lives, you
know, loss, we then go to, allright, try to save it in our own
might and still end up losingit anyway.
You gotta appreciate the ironyhere.
But then Jesus takes it furtherand says, but whoever loses his
(19:07):
life, for my sake, will findit.
You see what's happening here?
We are to deny and lose ourlife and the pleasures and the,
and the ideas we once thought wehad about our lives.
For the sake of Christ, for hisway, for his, his will.
(19:27):
At his service because when wedo that, we actually find our
lives.
We actually find what we'relooking for when we try to do it
in our Al Might.
Verse 26 reads, for what willthe prophet a man if he gains
(19:48):
the whole world and forfeits hissoul, or what shall a man give
in return for his soul?
Our identity has to be rootedin Christ first and not
achievement.
Take a paper, write down whatit is you're trying to achieve.
It's not just money sometimesfor people.
It's not just fame.
Um, these are easy to pick on,but there are things subtly that
(20:08):
we are trying to achieve thatmight not be for you.
It might not be what God hascalled for you.
Despite how much you'veconvinced yourself and have
attached yourself to thisidentity, it might not be for
you.
It might be that Jesus issaying, let it go and just
follow me.
And so that's what we'll diveinto next, the process of
(20:33):
letting go and trusting in God'stiming.
So I'm gonna share thispersonal thing with you.
Years ago when I first came toknow about Christianity, uh,
and, and just I guess goingthrough the, the process of, of
conversion and becoming aChristian.
I ended up going to a youthgroup called Uprising, the city
(20:54):
of Chicago.
It was, it was a pretty lityouth group, I'll be honest.
The pastor, uh, it was justkinda like your man's man.
Funny dude.
Um, and you know, a lot ofrespect for him.
The way he preached was bold,straightforward, and I've always
respected that.
I've always respected.
Just raw truth and grittiness.
(21:16):
You know, I don't like softpedaling things and, um, I just
don't like the softness of, ofhow things are, you know.
Given these days and, and this,he wasn't like that.
He was bold, he was honest, hewas straightforward.
He added the humor.
He was just a good preacher.
I'll just put it like that.
And I would go to the youthgroup and eventually, I don't
(21:37):
know how it happened, but westarted talking and I just
remember being a 14-year-oldkid, I didn't grow up with my
father.
I was desperately looking foracceptance and validation
wherever I could find it amongstmy friends and at the time.
An older man, a brother, likefigure, a older brother figure
(21:57):
or a father figure.
If he gave me something thatwill validate with me, I would
run with it.
And my youth pastor one, onetime, I just kind of remember
this clearly, him looking at meand saying, you know, you are
called into the ministry.
I believe you're called to be apastor.
Guys, that will be thetrajectory of my life.
(22:23):
That will be something that Iwill wrap my identity around for
many years to come.
And mind you, I'm 34 and Ithink I've now just come out of
that at the end of that.
And I still even wrestle withit.
I still do wrestle with it.
That was an identity I wrappedmy head around so much, so much,
(22:48):
guys, you have no idea.
That was everything.
And then I would try to deny itand then try to tell people I
don't want it because deep downactually I did.
But I thought that the humblething to do was to not want and
to push it away.
And I had this weird dance withthis situation.
And at the same time, as muchas I started to, um, love God
(23:13):
and the gospel, and actually,yeah, actually I did start to
find enjoyment in the scripturesand wanted to study the
scriptures and actually learnabout theology and, and sound
doctrine.
It would take years for me totruly grasp that.
Uh, but it was definitelygrowing in me, but it was more
so about.
Me being a person who couldspeak in front of many people
(23:37):
because I got this, uh,charismatic gift about me, and I
wrapped my identity around thatfor a long time.
And I wrestle with that, thatcalling, that identity, all, all
the while always, uh, just inmy life dealing with sin.
You know, I, I, I believe Godsaved me during that period of
(24:02):
time, but I was wrestling with,uh, sin, sexual morality.
I had a girlfriend at the time,and we were definitely, uh,
doing it all wrong.
And I, I, I just, I'd wrestledwith that and then I would have
moments of discouragement andcomparison, especially the older
(24:22):
I get.
Seeing that there are otherpeople that probably have gone
to where I thought I wassupposed to be and now I'm not
there at all far from it.
And lately God has beenshifting my mindset.
I gotta be honest with you, Irecently, I don't know what it
(24:43):
was.
I was talking to, um, my pastornow and I was talking about
potentially getting a new joband he mentioned something
about.
In, in prayer about me seekingto work a quietly with, uh, a
quiet, leading a quiet life,working with my hands, um, to,
(25:04):
you know, and this is found, uh,I believe in Thessalonians if
my mind or memory serves mewell.
But when he said that somethingin me, I don't know, it hit
heavy.
We got off the phone, then Istarted to pray, and then I
just, I just recognized, I justrealized like.
What if, what if that it's notmy calling at all?
(25:25):
What's what If that is not whoI'm supposed to be, and, and
look, I'm gonna be really realwith you here.
I actually started to, to sob.
It was as if I, something wasgetting pulled out from under
me.
My identity.
I realized that all my lifeI've just been wanting to be
(25:48):
special and many people in, inthe church back then at the
time, would, you know that thatwas a big thing at the church.
You're calling this, you'recalling that you're special
this, you're special, that, andI honestly thought I was some
special snowflake.
I really thought that God hadset me apart to be a preacher
and to be, to do something greatand the thought of that
(26:10):
actually not being true.
It broke me.
It broke me.
I actually was sobbing and it,I mean, it's heavy.
It's heavy.
For me it's, it is still heavy.
But as I was praying, Irealized, yeah, what if God does
not want that for me?
What if that's it?
And just the pain I wasfeeling, and I don't know if it
(26:34):
was because I held onto it solong that releasing it felt
good, or I held onto it so longthat to release that felt.
Like, I had no purpose.
Now, now what am I to do?
Who am I?
This was what I thought I wasstriving towards, even though I,
I haven't been striving towardsit.
I did everything but walk inaccordance with the Lord up
(26:55):
until a couple years ago.
But my mind has started toshift and instead, I, I, I
started to just say, you knowwhat, Lord, I'm okay with it.
I'm okay if that's not what I'msupposed to do anymore.
I let it go because myambition, it shouldn't be for
(27:21):
that for me to say, I made it, Ifinally got here.
Um, and so that can what put,put it on my Facebook or
Instagram that I guess what I'mnow, now I'm a pastor.
What does that, what does thatmean?
What so what?
Right.
I used to think that ambitionwas wrong.
(27:41):
I used to wrestle with that too'cause I am an ambitious
person.
Um, and when I put my mind tosomething, I'm all in.
But I would wrestle with theidea that, you know, maybe I'm
not supposed to be ambitious.
Uh, maybe I'm not supposed tobe that guy, but I think I, I'm
coming to this place where Iknow the Lord has given me this
(28:02):
thing of ambition, but it needsto be rightly ordered, godly
ambition.
Ambition that pleases the Lord.
And in that moment I realizedthat I was feeling discomfort of
not being in control of my ownlife in that way.
And.
(28:24):
I'm not.
But then the peace that thatcomes right after that, when I
just decide to surrender to, toGod's plan, whatever that looks
like, it's different and I'mfeeling lighthearted about it
right now.
And so really what I'm tryingto get at.
Is that maybe you're in a placeright now where you thought
(28:47):
life was supposed to be aspecific way and it's not, and
you're still hoping and you'restill wondering, or maybe you're
starting to come to theconclusion that, man, what if
this is not at all for me?
What if this is not what I'msupposed to be doing?
Like how, how did I even gethere?
(29:09):
Does God even have anythinggreat for me?
I wanna encourage you for, foryou who feel stuck, overlooked,
who feel like you're justabandoned or nothing great is
ever gonna come from your life.
I, I think I'm gonna encourageyou to recognize that God is not
(29:32):
wasting this season.
He's not wasting the seasonsthat we find ourselves in.
God is preparing you for whatit is that he wants you to do.
Not what you think you wannado, but what he has called you
to do.
'cause there is a calling onyour life.
There is a purpose for your,your existence here.
And the the sovereign king isorchestrating all of that for
(29:56):
his glory and for our good.
But it might not look like whatyou think it looks like.
It might not be exactly whatyou've always wanted it to be,
and it might be exactly what youwanted it to be.
And then when you get there,you realize it's not all that
it's cracked up to be.
We have really no idea at theend of the day, but what is our
(30:18):
ambition to be?
It is to love God with all ourheart, soul, mind, and strength.
Right?
Isn't not that.
And so then what is our callingright now?
And our calling right now is tonot waste what God has given to
us at the moment.
What is before you now is whathe has called you to be
(30:38):
responsible for and to stewardwell with excellence.
And so that is where yourambition should lie, despite not
being where you think you'resupposed to be or being left out
in exile.
For example, Moses in, inExodus chapters two and three.
Rays in Pharaoh's house withinfluence and status, and then
(31:01):
tried to act in his own strengthby stopping a fight between one
of the, the citizens of Egyptor, or maybe the officials
against one of his own people,the Hebrews Moses killing the
man, and then finding out thatpeople did know about them and
they found out, and now he was.
(31:22):
In exile.
And then Moses, we all know thestory about Moses.
We all know the, the greatthings that God used him for,
but do you realize that Moseswas in exile for 40 years in the
wilderness, forgotten by man,but being formed by God 40
years?
Can you wait 40 years?
(31:43):
Are you good with God?
Uh, placing you in a, in aworld of simplicity?
Of, of just working quietlywith your hands where no one
knows your name, no one thinksyou're special, no one
recognizes your gifts ortalents.
Can you actually do 40 years ofthat?
(32:04):
Most people would say life isover.
It's over for me.
40 years for me at 30 makes meclose to 60.
Uh, yeah.
40, 56.
70.
70.
And I think Moses was 80 at thetime when God called him.
Um, and, and called him throughthe burning bush.
And then eventually God doescall him.
(32:28):
And what does he say?
After decades of silence, hesays, go set my people free.
I have a purpose for you.
And, and we want that story.
We want the story of, of let mypeople go, right?
We want the King David storyand not recognizing what we have
to go through the Joseph story,the second in command, right?
(32:51):
But not recognizing how manytimes he was lied to,
imprisoned, slandered,forgotten, betrayed years, 14
years and, and you, you'dwonder, where's God and all of
that.
I'm talking about years, guys.
(33:14):
I'm talking about years.
What if God has called you tothat?
To be faithful in the now to sowhere you are to trust God with
the harvest and to trust thathe has it all planned out.
(33:37):
It might not be what youthought you were supposed to be
and it might end up where.
You might come to the end ofyour life and no one still knows
your name, but if you don'tthink God is using you for his
purposes, for his glory, for thesake of others to know who
Christ is using you, then I, Iencourage you to take a step
(34:01):
back and really consider yourlife and really think about,
your current circumstances.
We have to get to a place wherewe recognize that we are where
we are, we are right now, andGod has called us to it.
And we will actually find peacewhen we abandon the idea of our
(34:22):
own selfish ambition, the imagethat we've created in our own
minds, and lay it down at theLord's feet and simply follow
him.
Just follow him.
And trust that wherever he heleads you, it's where he has
called you to be.
And so your faithfulness shouldbe where you are now.
(34:45):
Look around you and see what itis God has given you
responsibility over.
Is it being a wife?
Is it being a husband?
Is it being a dad?
Is it being a mom?
That's definitely a calling toraise your children in the fear
and admonition of the Lord inyour work.
Or if you're a or you know, ahomemaker, that is your calling.
(35:06):
There is.
There is something there.
You don't have to become apastor.
You don't have to become amissionary.
If you're in sales like I am,then honor the Lord in your
sales position.
If you're in contracting, ifyou do construction work, be the
best construction worker there.
Make friends there.
Stand boldly for your faith inChrist and then allow the
(35:30):
conversations to flourish so youcan share the gospel to your
coworker or to a client, or to avendor, whatever.
Not only does he want you toshare the gospel, but he also
wants you to be good at what youdo because what you do does
matter.
In the grand scheme of things.
God cares about that and.
(35:55):
Take whatever big dream.
And I'm not saying kill it, I'mjust saying put it in a place
where you know that you can'thold too tightly.
And whenever you think aboutthat, remind yourself to say,
Lord willing, if that be hiswill, I'll do that.
(36:16):
Because now you're saying thatmight not be for me.
I might never become rich.
I might never have a successfulbusiness.
I might never become a pastor.
I might never, um, become arapper or a, a con, I don't
know.
Whatever.
Whatever you want, guys.
Whatever you want.
My, my brain is like thinkingof so many things.
(36:37):
It's so fast.
I can't even get the words out.
You might not get that, butwherever God has you is good.
So your ambition should be.
What's in front of you and howyou can glorify God with that.
All right.
I think I beat a dead horseenough.
I hope this helps somehow.
I hope that this encourages youand maybe helps shift the
(36:58):
perspective in your mind.
Remember that even when we'regoing through life, and it just
seems like it's, it's full ofchaos.
Christ is there.
He's there in the midst of allof this.
And it may seem silent.
It may seem very quiet.
You might feel like you're inexile, but God is faithful and
(37:20):
he will lead you to where youneed to go.
And at the end of the day,guys, it's not about us.
It is about him.
It is about His glory, and itis about making his name known,
and it is about loving others aswe do ourselves.
Let that set you free.
Let that let you.
Breathe freely from here onout, that you don't have to do
(37:45):
anything by your own might, andyou can let go of that identity
you once held onto so, sodearly.
And find your identity inJesus.
Seek first the kingdom of Godand all its righteousness and
everything else will be added.
Make sure you share thispodcast for someone else.
(38:07):
Leave a review.
Subscribe, please.
I need to get to connectingwith you guys.
Leave me a mail, a fan mail, orI hate that word.
That was a terrible word.
Leave me something.
Um, in the link, in the shownotes, there's a link that you
could write to me.
Questions, prayer requests,thoughts, whatever.
(38:28):
I want to connect with you.
I know that there are peoplelistening to this and I'd like
to connect with you some way,somehow and consider supporting
the podcast, uh, if, if Godleads you to do so, okay?
Remember, in the midst ofchaos, Christ is there.
God bless.
Have you ever wondered before, God, why am I here?
Or, you know, what's mypurpose?
Or, I thought I knew mypurpose, but why am I not there
yet?
And maybe you feel stuck,overlooked, or like you've been
put on pause while everyone elseis just simply moving forward
or excelling.
(00:22):
You've got dreams, ambitions, asense that you were made for
something more.
But the doors you thought wouldbe open seem to be bolted shut.
I get it.
I've been there.
I am there and I see that Godhas taken me on the other side
of that.
I think today we're gonna talkabout that tension, the pool
(00:43):
between wanting to buildsomething great for God or so we
say we want to build somethinggreat for God, and the quiet
whisper of Jesus saying, followme.
Let it go.
My name is Alexi, and this isChaos and Christ.
All right, cool.
(01:20):
So let's talk about godlyambition, contentment, and why,
uh, where you are right nowmight be exactly where God wants
you to be.
Um, I want to kind of dive inand explore a little bit about
human desire and, uh, just thedesire for us to make a, a name
for ourselves.
Um, and this is gonna be like apersonal thing for me to just
(01:43):
kind of, uh, just been dealingwith, uh, this pretty much many
years.
But have, um, have you guysseen Troy, uh, the movie Troy?
It's a good movie.
I love that.
Those kind of movies.
Um, I won't belabor the point.
If you haven't seen it, gowatch this with Brad Pit.
Pretty, pretty decent.
(02:03):
But there's a conversation thatAchilles is having with his
mother Theus, uh, about whetheror not he will go to Troy and
fight in the Trojan Wars or stayback home.
And so there's thisconversation that's taking place
here, and I have a quote thatthe mother gives to Achilles
that I think is, uh, just worthreading.
(02:26):
Uh, check this out.
Uh, theta is saying, if youstay in Larissa, you will find
peace.
You will find a wonderfulwoman.
You will have sons anddaughters who will have
children, and they'll all loveyou and remember your name.
But when your children are deadand they're children after
them.
(02:46):
Your name will be forgotten ifyou go to Troy Glory will be
yours.
They will write stories aboutyour victories in thousands of
years, and the world willremember your name.
But if you go to Troy, you willnever come back for your glory
walks hand in hand with yourdoom, and I shall never see you
(03:09):
again.
And that's a very powerfulquote and statement.
Achilles has a choice to makehere, and if you've seen the
movie, and if you haven't, I'mgonna have to spoil it for you
guys.
I'm sorry, but that's justwhere it's at.
Achilles clearly goes, I mean,you should know this from school
or something, but he goes towar.
(03:30):
But it's amazing that he'spresented with a life of peace.
A life that he would be able tofind a wonderful woman to love,
who would love him back toshare a life with.
And then they would havechildren and then they could
raise these children, uh uh, andthose children will go on to do
(03:50):
whatever in life, I guess.
And then they will havechildren and they would, it is
not like his name will beforgotten from his children and
his grandchildren.
But after he's gone and thenhis kids and his grandkids are
gone.
Yeah.
Chances are your name won't beremembered.
I don't remember or really knowmy great, great grandfather's
(04:15):
name on both sides.
And that's just two greats,right?
So there's obviously many more,uh, within my family lineage
that I have no idea about.
Uh, and this is true what Theuswas TA talking to Achilles
about is exactly right.
But if you want glory, thenyou're gonna go to Troy, because
(04:40):
guess what?
I.
People will speak about yourname for thousands of years to
come.
Stories will be written aboutyour victories.
They'll be teaching it inpublic schools and, and that's
true too.
I mean, we're clearly speakingabout it today at this moment in
the year 2025 of our Lord.
I don't know if that's reallywhat his mom said in, in
(05:04):
history.
I, I'm assuming that the movietook.
You know, creative libertiesto, to do so.
But it's still a very truestatement that we are at times,
uh, presented with in our ownlives.
Maybe to, not to the extent of,Hey, go to war and, you know,
people wouldn't know your nameand write down books, but we
kind of want that.
(05:25):
There's a, there's a desire inus to, to want the glory in that
way, and we are willing toactually sacrifice.
The idea of finding another,uh, a person that we can make a
spouse and, and, and do lifewith and have children with.
That sounds okay and it's nice,but it's not going all in
(05:51):
right.
It's not going all out for whatyou feel deep down the side
you're meant for, right?
It's, it's about greatness.
We're the same way, and theculture tells us that if we're
not building something big,we're wasting our life.
No one's coming to us aboutgoing to war and being, you
know, named, you know, glorious.
(06:13):
But we are presented with tonsof content online, especially
YouTube, Instagram, to pursuethis business, to earn this much
money, to get the body tobuild, uh, a social media brand
and get the likes and thecomments, and we strive for
(06:34):
this.
Uh, because deep down inside,we want to be known.
We want to feel some, somelevel of significance that
others recognize.
And we do it in many differentways.
Some people do.
Really good content creationand work and build businesses
and make great money.
And maybe it's not about theirname for them, but at the end of
(06:58):
the day there are many that arepursuing it even at the lowest
levels.
I always find it, uh, funnyand.
Laughable that many timespeople will take their phone and
get on Instagram, Snapchat,whatever, and just record
themselves singing a song, andyou'll have a whole, like three
minutes of just watching 'emliterally try to sing lip syc
(07:20):
the song lyric by lyric, some ofthem failing abysmally
sometimes.
Uh, but what, what, what'sbehind that?
What, what's happening there?
What are they trying to portrayto those that watch?
There a free spirit that, um, Idon't know.
I I, I'm still trying to figurethat one out, to be very
(07:42):
honest.
But a desire for attention, adesire to be liked, to be found.
Interesting.
At the very least, we all dothis in some levels, and I'm
saying the same thing I do, I dothe same thing.
We all do this in some.
Shape or form.
But then there are some people,and I, I will put myself in a
(08:05):
camp that, that had ideas abouttheir life.
You had an idea about your lifethat was supposed to go a
specific way, and you are aroundyour thirties, you are, or
maybe even late twenties, and,but you're around the age where
you thought that it was supposedto be this specific way and
(08:26):
it's not.
And you're dealing with regret,but you still hold onto this
identity or this thought aboutwho you will become and what you
will do and how everyone willknow about it.
Now, obviously as Christians,we have to understand that
there's a difference betweengodly ambition, which is what we
(08:47):
should both, we should allhave, and then selfish ambition,
which we don't want to admit,we do have most of the time.
And with Achilles in thisscenario, he had a very personal
ambition of major glory andworld renowned past his death,
(09:09):
past generations upongenerations.
He wanted that, that soundedmore appealing to him, to the
point where he was willing todie, to not meet a woman, to not
be in love, but to go down.
Uh, in history is one of thegreatest of the warriors, and he
was willing to die.
(09:29):
His mother told him, you'regonna die.
This will be the last time Isee you.
And he was okay with that.
He chose, how many of you woulddo something like that would
deny the idea of finding a, a, apartner in life to be your wife
or husband, to have childrenwith them, and then to see your
children have children?
How many of you would say thatthat's okay?
(09:53):
But there's gotta be somethinggreater.
Well, if we're followingChrist, Jesus flips that on its
head quite, um, boldly straightto the point in your face.
He flips that on our, on ourheads, what the world says we're
(10:13):
supposed to pursue.
The Lord says, it's not likethat with us.
It's not like that for you.
And this is gonna cause a lotof tension within your own self.
And I, I, I hope that thisblesses you.
I'm gonna read Matthew 16, 24to 26, uh, it reads, then Jesus
told his disciples if anyonewould come after me, let him
(10:36):
deny himself and take up hiscross and follow me.
So lemme just park it rightthere for a second.
He's talking to, to thedisciples and those that are
around him, and he's saying, ifanyone's gonna say that you are,
uh, my disciple.
And in, in our day and age, ifanyone's gonna say they're,
they're Christians, you're gonnapost this on your social media
(10:57):
bios.
You're gonna, you're gonna wearthe t-shirts, buy the coffee
mugs.
If that's what you say you'regonna be, that you're gonna
follow me, well then.
You have to deny yourself andtake up your cross.
So to deny ourselves is to sayno to the things you know for a
(11:20):
fact, God is not pleased with,or that the scriptures reveal is
sin.
And nowadays, today all we dois try to justify it while still
bearing the name of Christian.
We try to justify this.
Because it's what we like andit's about our own pleasure.
See, that's where the selfishambition comes from, and we
(11:43):
think that there's, these arejust sins that God forgives me
for, and we could just toss itaway, not realizing what is
happening inside your heart.
This ambition.
I mean, sin is really just, itis the transgression of his law
and of his word.
It is the breaking of what hesays not to do.
(12:05):
Um, but it's also in the samenote, uh, a desire to say, I
have it under control.
I desire me more than I desireyou, Lord, I think my way is the
best way and not your way.
And that's what sin is.
And that's what sin does, andthat's what we do.
(12:26):
And so therefore, we don't denyourselves.
We say, I accept myself.
And isn't that what we hear allthe time in the culture these
days?
Love yourself.
Do it for you, for yourhappiness.
Marriages are being broken upby men and women alike because
of their quote unquotehappiness.
Whole families are destroyedbecause of this.
(12:48):
We saw in early 20 20, 20, 21,22, 2, uh, people like, uh, Mr.
Beast's buddy who did, uh, the,the YouTube with him who left
his, uh, loving family, a wife,and, and I believe a, a child to
transition into a woman.
Yeah.
(13:09):
Well, because it made himhappy, right?
That is selfish ambition in themost twisted and corrupt way.
But it's a very extreme examplethat isn't even an extreme
anymore because it literally hashappened and these, this is
what many people were doing inthe culture, um, not even a year
(13:30):
or two ago.
So that is what it looks like.
When God calls us to live alife of righteousness and
holiness in submission toChrist, in submission to what
his word teaches, we're not tocommit adultery.
We're not to divorce ourhusbands or our wives for any
reason because of your feelings,which I see now even in the
(13:51):
church.
Uh, wives divorcing theirhusbands because of their
feelings, and then people aroundthem in the church praise them.
And not call them to repentancebecause it makes, you know, it
makes them happy.
Or some, some case that's notdenying ourselves, that's being
(14:14):
about ourselves, being full ofourselves.
And this is what the Lord issaying, we, we have to deny
ourselves.
That's hard.
That is difficult.
That is sacrificing the thingsthat we hold dear and love and
cherish that please us.
But not God and whatever thatis, you know what that is?
(14:36):
We often think it, it's like,oh, it's the drugs.
Well, yeah, for sure.
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
It's, it's the weed in ourculture, weed is highly praised
and it's accepted and peoplewill go and die on the hill of
defending smoking weed.
That's, that's the thing.
Alcoholism, yes.
We have to be able to, uh, letthat go if we're prone to
(14:59):
drunkenness.
But what about sexualimmorality and the fact that
nowadays that is so prevalenteven in the church, girlfriend
and boyfriend sleeping together,girlfriend and boyfriend doing,
uh, things that they shouldn'tbe doing out, uh, in outside of
the context of marriage, movingin together without being first
(15:23):
married.
And I know people that havedone that and they might hear
this podcast and probably takeof offense of it.
And I don't mean to bemalicious 'cause I was guilty of
it just as well.
I, I had said in that way aswell.
But I guess that's my point.
I know the consequences ofthese things and it's, it really
destroyed me in, in many ways,God's grace has been sufficient
(15:48):
and I am, um, you know, I'mwalking in newness of light with
Christ now, but.
It.
It was very heavy and therewere consequences, and to this
day, I still face them so.
But that's, that's what we'redealing with.
Not to mention the L-G-B-T-Qum, propaganda and push that has
(16:08):
happened in the last couple ofyears.
That is also a sexualperversion that we need to be
able to be bold about.
But let's be honest, it's notjust that it is that we are in
our heterosexuality sleepingwith our girlfriend and
boyfriends without being in thecontext of marriage.
And that we are going out andwe are giving ourselves to, to
(16:30):
party and consciousness andanger, strife, desires of, of
money and greed and how we goabout that.
The list goes on and on and on,and God calls you out of that.
He calls us out of that to denyourselves.
And then as, uh, to take itfurther.
It's not just to say no tothese things.
(16:52):
We are to the, to say no tothese things, but now we have to
pick up our cross.
These, it's a burden to bear.
It's a, it's a life of, uh,self-sacrifice in a sense.
Again, when you think aboutwhat the Lord had to do in order
to pay for the penalties of oursin, he had to carry his own
(17:14):
cross up that mountain.
And so you get the picture herethat.
This is what Jesus calls us todo.
If we are to say we areChristian, and then it goes on
in verse 25 to say, for whoeverwould save his life will lose
it.
But whoever loses his lifewill, for my sake, find it.
(17:35):
And see that's, that's anotherthing, right?
We tend to go and want to notdeny ourselves, but to
completely fully acceptourselves.
And we are chasing after thingsto, to save our own lives.
We do it in relationships withour careers, with our money,
with, with, um, with substances.
(17:58):
Uh, there's so many things thatwe take and we try to save our
own lives with and to, to buildit up.
Running from God.
Right.
You know, because we know thathis ways are calling us to deny
ourselves and we think thatwe're trying to, I don't know,
(18:19):
save something out there fun,whatever we call it.
But Jesus is saying that if wetry to do that to save our own
life, by our, by our own might.
By, by going after riches, bygoing after fame, by going after
whatever it is that you'regoing after.
If we try to do this by ourown, might, then actually we're
(18:43):
gonna lose our life.
So ironically, the everythingwe fear about our lives, you
know, loss, we then go to, allright, try to save it in our own
might and still end up losingit anyway.
You gotta appreciate the ironyhere.
But then Jesus takes it furtherand says, but whoever loses his
(19:07):
life, for my sake, will findit.
You see what's happening here?
We are to deny and lose ourlife and the pleasures and the,
and the ideas we once thought wehad about our lives.
For the sake of Christ, for hisway, for his, his will.
(19:27):
At his service because when wedo that, we actually find our
lives.
We actually find what we'relooking for when we try to do it
in our Al Might.
Verse 26 reads, for what willthe prophet a man if he gains
(19:48):
the whole world and forfeits hissoul, or what shall a man give
in return for his soul?
Our identity has to be rootedin Christ first and not
achievement.
Take a paper, write down whatit is you're trying to achieve.
It's not just money sometimesfor people.
It's not just fame.
Um, these are easy to pick on,but there are things subtly that
(20:08):
we are trying to achieve thatmight not be for you.
It might not be what God hascalled for you.
Despite how much you'veconvinced yourself and have
attached yourself to thisidentity, it might not be for
you.
It might be that Jesus issaying, let it go and just
follow me.
And so that's what we'll diveinto next, the process of
(20:33):
letting go and trusting in God'stiming.
So I'm gonna share thispersonal thing with you.
Years ago when I first came toknow about Christianity, uh,
and, and just I guess goingthrough the, the process of, of
conversion and becoming aChristian.
I ended up going to a youthgroup called Uprising, the city
(20:54):
of Chicago.
It was, it was a pretty lityouth group, I'll be honest.
The pastor, uh, it was justkinda like your man's man.
Funny dude.
Um, and you know, a lot ofrespect for him.
The way he preached was bold,straightforward, and I've always
respected that.
I've always respected.
Just raw truth and grittiness.
(21:16):
You know, I don't like softpedaling things and, um, I just
don't like the softness of, ofhow things are, you know.
Given these days and, and this,he wasn't like that.
He was bold, he was honest, hewas straightforward.
He added the humor.
He was just a good preacher.
I'll just put it like that.
And I would go to the youthgroup and eventually, I don't
(21:37):
know how it happened, but westarted talking and I just
remember being a 14-year-oldkid, I didn't grow up with my
father.
I was desperately looking foracceptance and validation
wherever I could find it amongstmy friends and at the time.
An older man, a brother, likefigure, a older brother figure
(21:57):
or a father figure.
If he gave me something thatwill validate with me, I would
run with it.
And my youth pastor one, onetime, I just kind of remember
this clearly, him looking at meand saying, you know, you are
called into the ministry.
I believe you're called to be apastor.
Guys, that will be thetrajectory of my life.
(22:23):
That will be something that Iwill wrap my identity around for
many years to come.
And mind you, I'm 34 and Ithink I've now just come out of
that at the end of that.
And I still even wrestle withit.
I still do wrestle with it.
That was an identity I wrappedmy head around so much, so much,
(22:48):
guys, you have no idea.
That was everything.
And then I would try to deny itand then try to tell people I
don't want it because deep downactually I did.
But I thought that the humblething to do was to not want and
to push it away.
And I had this weird dance withthis situation.
And at the same time, as muchas I started to, um, love God
(23:13):
and the gospel, and actually,yeah, actually I did start to
find enjoyment in the scripturesand wanted to study the
scriptures and actually learnabout theology and, and sound
doctrine.
It would take years for me totruly grasp that.
Uh, but it was definitelygrowing in me, but it was more
so about.
Me being a person who couldspeak in front of many people
(23:37):
because I got this, uh,charismatic gift about me, and I
wrapped my identity around thatfor a long time.
And I wrestle with that, thatcalling, that identity, all, all
the while always, uh, just inmy life dealing with sin.
You know, I, I, I believe Godsaved me during that period of
(24:02):
time, but I was wrestling with,uh, sin, sexual morality.
I had a girlfriend at the time,and we were definitely, uh,
doing it all wrong.
And I, I, I just, I'd wrestledwith that and then I would have
moments of discouragement andcomparison, especially the older
(24:22):
I get.
Seeing that there are otherpeople that probably have gone
to where I thought I wassupposed to be and now I'm not
there at all far from it.
And lately God has beenshifting my mindset.
I gotta be honest with you, Irecently, I don't know what it
(24:43):
was.
I was talking to, um, my pastornow and I was talking about
potentially getting a new joband he mentioned something
about.
In, in prayer about me seekingto work a quietly with, uh, a
quiet, leading a quiet life,working with my hands, um, to,
(25:04):
you know, and this is found, uh,I believe in Thessalonians if
my mind or memory serves mewell.
But when he said that somethingin me, I don't know, it hit
heavy.
We got off the phone, then Istarted to pray, and then I
just, I just recognized, I justrealized like.
What if, what if that it's notmy calling at all?
(25:25):
What's what If that is not whoI'm supposed to be, and, and
look, I'm gonna be really realwith you here.
I actually started to, to sob.
It was as if I, something wasgetting pulled out from under
me.
My identity.
I realized that all my lifeI've just been wanting to be
(25:48):
special and many people in, inthe church back then at the
time, would, you know that thatwas a big thing at the church.
You're calling this, you'recalling that you're special
this, you're special, that, andI honestly thought I was some
special snowflake.
I really thought that God hadset me apart to be a preacher
and to be, to do something greatand the thought of that
(26:10):
actually not being true.
It broke me.
It broke me.
I actually was sobbing and it,I mean, it's heavy.
It's heavy.
For me it's, it is still heavy.
But as I was praying, Irealized, yeah, what if God does
not want that for me?
What if that's it?
And just the pain I wasfeeling, and I don't know if it
(26:34):
was because I held onto it solong that releasing it felt
good, or I held onto it so longthat to release that felt.
Like, I had no purpose.
Now, now what am I to do?
Who am I?
This was what I thought I wasstriving towards, even though I,
I haven't been striving towardsit.
I did everything but walk inaccordance with the Lord up
(26:55):
until a couple years ago.
But my mind has started toshift and instead, I, I, I
started to just say, you knowwhat, Lord, I'm okay with it.
I'm okay if that's not what I'msupposed to do anymore.
I let it go because myambition, it shouldn't be for
(27:21):
that for me to say, I made it, Ifinally got here.
Um, and so that can what put,put it on my Facebook or
Instagram that I guess what I'mnow, now I'm a pastor.
What does that, what does thatmean?
What so what?
Right.
I used to think that ambitionwas wrong.
(27:41):
I used to wrestle with that too'cause I am an ambitious
person.
Um, and when I put my mind tosomething, I'm all in.
But I would wrestle with theidea that, you know, maybe I'm
not supposed to be ambitious.
Uh, maybe I'm not supposed tobe that guy, but I think I, I'm
coming to this place where Iknow the Lord has given me this
(28:02):
thing of ambition, but it needsto be rightly ordered, godly
ambition.
Ambition that pleases the Lord.
And in that moment I realizedthat I was feeling discomfort of
not being in control of my ownlife in that way.
And.
(28:24):
I'm not.
But then the peace that thatcomes right after that, when I
just decide to surrender to, toGod's plan, whatever that looks
like, it's different and I'mfeeling lighthearted about it
right now.
And so really what I'm tryingto get at.
Is that maybe you're in a placeright now where you thought
(28:47):
life was supposed to be aspecific way and it's not, and
you're still hoping and you'restill wondering, or maybe you're
starting to come to theconclusion that, man, what if
this is not at all for me?
What if this is not what I'msupposed to be doing?
Like how, how did I even gethere?
(29:09):
Does God even have anythinggreat for me?
I wanna encourage you for, foryou who feel stuck, overlooked,
who feel like you're justabandoned or nothing great is
ever gonna come from your life.
I, I think I'm gonna encourageyou to recognize that God is not
(29:32):
wasting this season.
He's not wasting the seasonsthat we find ourselves in.
God is preparing you for whatit is that he wants you to do.
Not what you think you wannado, but what he has called you
to do.
'cause there is a calling onyour life.
There is a purpose for your,your existence here.
And the the sovereign king isorchestrating all of that for
(29:56):
his glory and for our good.
But it might not look like whatyou think it looks like.
It might not be exactly whatyou've always wanted it to be,
and it might be exactly what youwanted it to be.
And then when you get there,you realize it's not all that
it's cracked up to be.
We have really no idea at theend of the day, but what is our
(30:18):
ambition to be?
It is to love God with all ourheart, soul, mind, and strength.
Right?
Isn't not that.
And so then what is our callingright now?
And our calling right now is tonot waste what God has given to
us at the moment.
What is before you now is whathe has called you to be
(30:38):
responsible for and to stewardwell with excellence.
And so that is where yourambition should lie, despite not
being where you think you'resupposed to be or being left out
in exile.
For example, Moses in, inExodus chapters two and three.
Rays in Pharaoh's house withinfluence and status, and then
(31:01):
tried to act in his own strengthby stopping a fight between one
of the, the citizens of Egyptor, or maybe the officials
against one of his own people,the Hebrews Moses killing the
man, and then finding out thatpeople did know about them and
they found out, and now he was.
(31:22):
In exile.
And then Moses, we all know thestory about Moses.
We all know the, the greatthings that God used him for,
but do you realize that Moseswas in exile for 40 years in the
wilderness, forgotten by man,but being formed by God 40
years?
Can you wait 40 years?
(31:43):
Are you good with God?
Uh, placing you in a, in aworld of simplicity?
Of, of just working quietlywith your hands where no one
knows your name, no one thinksyou're special, no one
recognizes your gifts ortalents.
Can you actually do 40 years ofthat?
(32:04):
Most people would say life isover.
It's over for me.
40 years for me at 30 makes meclose to 60.
Uh, yeah.
40, 56.
70.
70.
And I think Moses was 80 at thetime when God called him.
Um, and, and called him throughthe burning bush.
And then eventually God doescall him.
(32:28):
And what does he say?
After decades of silence, hesays, go set my people free.
I have a purpose for you.
And, and we want that story.
We want the story of, of let mypeople go, right?
We want the King David storyand not recognizing what we have
to go through the Joseph story,the second in command, right?
(32:51):
But not recognizing how manytimes he was lied to,
imprisoned, slandered,forgotten, betrayed years, 14
years and, and you, you'dwonder, where's God and all of
that.
I'm talking about years, guys.
(33:14):
I'm talking about years.
What if God has called you tothat?
To be faithful in the now to sowhere you are to trust God with
the harvest and to trust thathe has it all planned out.
(33:37):
It might not be what youthought you were supposed to be
and it might end up where.
You might come to the end ofyour life and no one still knows
your name, but if you don'tthink God is using you for his
purposes, for his glory, for thesake of others to know who
Christ is using you, then I, Iencourage you to take a step
(34:01):
back and really consider yourlife and really think about,
your current circumstances.
We have to get to a place wherewe recognize that we are where
we are, we are right now, andGod has called us to it.
And we will actually find peacewhen we abandon the idea of our
(34:22):
own selfish ambition, the imagethat we've created in our own
minds, and lay it down at theLord's feet and simply follow
him.
Just follow him.
And trust that wherever he heleads you, it's where he has
called you to be.
And so your faithfulness shouldbe where you are now.
(34:45):
Look around you and see what itis God has given you
responsibility over.
Is it being a wife?
Is it being a husband?
Is it being a dad?
Is it being a mom?
That's definitely a calling toraise your children in the fear
and admonition of the Lord inyour work.
Or if you're a or you know, ahomemaker, that is your calling.
(35:06):
There is.
There is something there.
You don't have to become apastor.
You don't have to become amissionary.
If you're in sales like I am,then honor the Lord in your
sales position.
If you're in contracting, ifyou do construction work, be the
best construction worker there.
Make friends there.
Stand boldly for your faith inChrist and then allow the
(35:30):
conversations to flourish so youcan share the gospel to your
coworker or to a client, or to avendor, whatever.
Not only does he want you toshare the gospel, but he also
wants you to be good at what youdo because what you do does
matter.
In the grand scheme of things.
God cares about that and.
(35:55):
Take whatever big dream.
And I'm not saying kill it, I'mjust saying put it in a place
where you know that you can'thold too tightly.
And whenever you think aboutthat, remind yourself to say,
Lord willing, if that be hiswill, I'll do that.
(36:16):
Because now you're saying thatmight not be for me.
I might never become rich.
I might never have a successfulbusiness.
I might never become a pastor.
I might never, um, become arapper or a, a con, I don't
know.
Whatever.
Whatever you want, guys.
Whatever you want.
My, my brain is like thinkingof so many things.
(36:37):
It's so fast.
I can't even get the words out.
You might not get that, butwherever God has you is good.
So your ambition should be.
What's in front of you and howyou can glorify God with that.
All right.
I think I beat a dead horseenough.
I hope this helps somehow.
I hope that this encourages youand maybe helps shift the
(36:58):
perspective in your mind.
Remember that even when we'regoing through life, and it just
seems like it's, it's full ofchaos.
Christ is there.
He's there in the midst of allof this.
And it may seem silent.
It may seem very quiet.
You might feel like you're inexile, but God is faithful and
(37:20):
he will lead you to where youneed to go.
And at the end of the day,guys, it's not about us.
It is about him.
It is about His glory, and itis about making his name known,
and it is about loving others aswe do ourselves.
Let that set you free.
Let that let you.
Breathe freely from here onout, that you don't have to do
(37:45):
anything by your own might, andyou can let go of that identity
you once held onto so, sodearly.
And find your identity inJesus.
Seek first the kingdom of Godand all its righteousness and
everything else will be added.
Make sure you share thispodcast for someone else.
(38:07):
Leave a review.
Subscribe, please.
I need to get to connectingwith you guys.
Leave me a mail, a fan mail, orI hate that word.
That was a terrible word.
Leave me something.
Um, in the link, in the shownotes, there's a link that you
could write to me.
Questions, prayer requests,thoughts, whatever.
(38:28):
I want to connect with you.
I know that there are peoplelistening to this and I'd like
to connect with you some way,somehow and consider supporting
the podcast, uh, if, if Godleads you to do so, okay?
Remember, in the midst ofchaos, Christ is there.
God bless.
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