Please continue to intercede for the upcoming MTC 2012 gathering in Chicago over November 21st-25th. Please click here for the Week 2 Prayer Guide. You can also find the Prayer Guides for all seven weeks leading up to MTC 2012 here.
This Week’s Audio Message
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Genesis 22:9-12
Last week, we said that one of the most precarious (not precious) places to stand is where our ambitions seem to “line up” with Christ’s Kingdom agenda. In such a place, we can easily find ourselves riding on God’s agenda to forward our own ambition, justifying as “doing God’s work”, the neglect of family, the circumventing of leadership cover, the abuse of relationships, and even the breaking of rules. Striving after “kingdom authority” with such a heart condition will not only cause us to “forfeit ourselves” as we gain the world, but we will do so fooling ourselves thinking that we are “serving” God’s Kingdom purpose.
The death of our ambition is the key to kingdom authority. God showed His heart concerning this principle through that famous test of Abraham. Isaac came about with the full fanfare of a miraculous pregnancy and the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom passion. When God asked for the sacrifice of Isaac, His intent was to take Abraham out of that precarious place of “ambition lining up with Kingdom agenda”. With the great call of becoming the seed that will produce the fruits like the sand of the seashore, God must impart to Abraham a heart that “runs after God, and not just after God’s blessings”. God would rather forgo His Kingdom agenda than to see us “gain the whole world but forfeit ourselves”.
For many of us going through the stripping away of everything that God has promised – the capability, influence, and resources that we need to fulfill our call, the contradiction can be confusing and can cause us to fight against the very test intended to elevate us. Let’s examine our hearts, take up self-denial, and sacrifice that ambition. It may mean giving up a promotion or a market opportunity for more family time or slowing down a project to honor the inputs of colleagues or being teachable to get the blessings of elders and leaders.
Ultimately, God’s greatest concern lies with our hearts. As Abraham’s testimony has shown, when we “pass the test”, He will not only provide the sacrifice, but He will bless, beyond our imagination, the very things we are willing to give up.
Market Place Reflection and Prayer
What is the test of Isaac in your life today? How has Abraham’s testimony lifted your faith to “give up your ambition”?
