What is your Ambition?

Well as far as spiritual ambitions go, God has actually already told us what they should be, and like we work hard at all our other ambitions, we should be working hard at this one too.

Now we might think that our spiritual ambitions should be to live holy lives and yes that is true:

1 Thessalonians 4:3 AV

3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

But this sanctification, along with many other spiritual goals, actually all falls under a larger umbrella.

In fact the bible tells us plainly what our spiritual ambition should be and what we should be hard at work persuing.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 AV

11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

1 Thessalonians 4:11 NIV84

11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,

Let us seek God’s grace as we meditate on those words today: Lead a quyite life.

That word quite means “a life free from disruption and commotion”.

Examine your life today, is your life free from disruption and commotion? probibly not, probibly not even close to it.

Think how hard it is to make thid a reality. I mean it was hard 2000 years ago, before cars, before emils, before smart phines and cell phones, before electricty, back in the days when work stopped when it got dark or when it rained.

People living, in what we would today call the stone age, struggled to lead quite lives free from distraction and commotions - HOW MUCH MORE IN DANGER ARE WE TODAY?

Yes, we have just accepted that this is life now, but we should be working towards a qyite life.

I wish to share the areas in our lives that the bible entreats us to make quiteness the highest priority.

why?

Because, God makes it very clear that a life or spirit or marriage or country that is in a state of disruption and commotion cannot grow, cannot heal, cannot continue.

Revelation and communion with God require stillness of Spirit.

Psalm 46:10 AV

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Even here and now, your receptivity to the Word I preach is dependant on your stillness of Spirit.

1 Samuel 9:27 AV

27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.

1: Quite Your Own Spirit

Work, family, commitmernts, dead lines, responcibilities, appointments, sport functions, work functions, school functions, family functions, suppers, school lunches, breakfats, garden work, church commitments...

The fact that record numbers of people around the world are on antidepresesents and anti anxiety meds tells us that our lifestyles are incredibly unhealthy.

Not only that, but its worste for alm fo you, time and times again research shows that dispite winning the world cup, Living in South Africa mkes us the most stressed of all people on earth.

http://www.702.co.za/articles/341911/sa-second-most-stressed-nation-in-the-world-here-s-what-you-can-do-about-it

Second in the world! More stressed that than people living in war. If only we had america’s worries, if only we had europes stress, if only we has the stress of NZ (even after their WC loss).

This lifestyle, coupled with our incredibly high stress rates, makes this a south african christian high priority.

How do we still and quiten our own Spirts sourrounded by all this turmoil?

Psalm 4:4 AV

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

This short little verse gives us wonderful insight.

1: Stand in awe - awe of what? God! We have got to fill our minds with the awsomeness of God, we must fill ourselves in the magesty of His splendor, we must sourround ourselves wit the wonder of His glory!

2: Sin not! - There can be no peace and fellowship with God, if a) you are not born again and b) you are living in sin.

and 3: Commune with your own heart upon your bed - You need to remind yourself of Giod’s faithfulness and goodness. Of his love, of his grace and mercy. You need to remeber his works and meditate on His words.

Another think to remeber in your persuite of quitness is not to be a noise maker.

As a pastor i have met many people who honestly seem to enjoy drama. If everything is falling apart they seem to be the most happy and when things are quite they LOOK for ways to make noise.

Drama-Lamas i call them.

Always in a crises, always in trouble, always have something serious, always have something very important to talk about.

They dont know how to properly place things in the shelves of prioroties.

Most adults have 10 shelves, 1 = bearly worth your attention and 10 = very urgent.

Now i well rounted adult evaluates every situation, and every word said and every insult receaved and judges which draw to place it in.

Do you know who cannot do this? Chiuldren. Chilren do not have the mental and emotional aptitude to make these evaluations, so to a child its only 2 shelves.

1 = It does not matter at all. and 2 = Its the end of the world.

Children to cry and sob, like their hearts have been broken over a lost toy the same way an adult might cry over a lost loved one.

Now listen to the Bibkle:

Psalm 131:2 AV

2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

God expects us to calm doewn over the silly trivial things. You are not children and so you should not wine like children.

enough of that.

2: Quieten your marriage

If your marriage is full of disruption and commotion then you have a lot of work to do.

Peace, stillness and comminication and conflict resilution should be your no1 marriage priority. Husband and wives, amilies, NEVER let the sun go down on your wrath.

Let me tell you a secret to a happy marriage: you can either be right or happy, but often not both.

Proverbs 21:9 AV

9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

It does matter how big your house is or how many cars you have or who gets the last say in an aurgument - If your house is not still, you will not be still.

And never sacrifice peace in your home for anything!

To many families trade peace for profet, but peace cannot be bought.

Proverbs 17:1 AV

1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 AV

6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

Sometimes the promotion is not worth it. Sometimes the sacrifice for more money is not worth it. Sometimes the better job title is not worth it.

3: Quieten Your Country

While our name are written in heaven, our earthly lives are still spent here on erath. And much of our peace and quietness depends on our country.

As we ahve seen, our country is very broken, I see real battle worn christians here.

And I see people who long for heaven, probibly way more than your norwegins brothers, or american brothers, or australien brothers do. Our longing for gloty is related to our displeasure here.

Yet, here we are, for the foreeeible future and while we wait, we must pray for peace and quite in our land.

1 Timothy 2:1–2 AV

1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Let me say this, in the same way that people who do not vote forfit their right to complain about the goverment, imo people who do not pray for the goverment forfit their right to complain how hard it is.

“ but i dont like the govement, they re my enemy” so what?

Matthew 5:44 AV

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;