The Test of Ambition (Test for Life and Min.)

Time With The Evangelist

The Test of Ambition

2 Kings 2:9-11
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.

Ask what I shall do for thee

This was like giving Elisha a blank cheque. This was a test of Elisha’s ambition.

• I often hear statements such as:
• my leader is envious of me
• my leader dose not like me to excel
• my leader dose not do this or that
• Let me tell you this as a servant working under a pastor

I have a leader, and as an assistant, what I have to say regarding assistants also apply to me. I have lived this message or revelation for twenty-seven (27) years, so this is nothing new to me. I speak to you on this matter not just from divine revelation but also from a daily personal experiance.

When you see people spewing out the above mentioned complaints constantly, then there is one thing about them that you need to check, their ambition.

• What is your ambition?
• What are you trying to archive around the man of God?
• Are you trying to project yourself?
• Are you trying to let the world know you?

My ambition and my ministry as an assistant pastor, is the ministry of my senior pastor. The moment I decide to work under somebody, I must immediately bury my personal ambition.

My Experience

I buried my personal ambition way back in 1994 when I had an invitation to the United States of America. I came had come to my pastor to ask him for documentation to process my visa. At the verge of leaving he said to me, “Elvis if you had sought my opinion, I would have told you that it is not yet the time for you to travel”.
This prompted a question in my mind which I asked immediately, “Daddy, if you did not want me to travel, why did you help me with this documentation”? He answered, “you did not seek my opinion, you only asked for documentations; I helped you because I love you. If you want my opinion, then I would say, do not go”.

When I heard this coming from my pastor, I decided not to travel again. At that time, I was a pastor at the upper west region of Ghana; so I left Kumasi back to my base, and told my wife that I was not traveling again because pastor said it was not yet time”.

I had allowed my pastor to be positioned in my life such that he could influence my decisions. He can be a road block or a red light to put a stop to my initiatives without any contention.

If you are running a race or driving on a road, and all you see is green light, please be very careful because you will likely crash very soon. This is because, there are junctions on the road.

I pray for you today, that you bury your personal ambitions and take on the vision of

• your pastor in ministry
• your boss in the office
• the organisation where you work
• the institution where you school
• your husband in the home

This is a good seed to sow now, to reap in the near future.

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Desire the Spirit of Your Leader

2 Kings 2:9
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

In the above scripture we see Elijah giving a blank cheque to Elisha to test his ambition.

• What are your values?
• What do you stand for?
• What are your principles in life?

These must be put to test by your leader.

At this moment Elisha could have been carnal. There are two kinds of ambition:

• Carnal ambition
• Spiritual ambition

Elisha could have seaid that,

• Give me all your properties
• Give me an increase in salary
• Give me your preaching appointment contacts

Elisha having walked with Elijah for 10 years did not ask anything carnal. He rather requested a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

Ladies and gentlemen Elisha did not ask for a double portion of the Holy Spirit; what Elisha asked for was the spirit of the leader.

The Spirit of The Leader

The spirit of the Leader is very different from the Holy Spirit. In any church, you will most likely find individuals who have the Holy Spirit and yet do not have the spirit of The Leader on them.

Those who do not have have the spirit of The Leader on them,

• do not answer to anyone
• are not controlled by anyone
• are not impacted by anyone
• are on their own, having no head
• are bosses over their own lives

I am secured in the fact that my senior pastor who counsels my life, also has someone who is an authority over his life. In as much as he disciples me, I am happy to know that there is someone who disciples him as well. That person speaks into the life of my senior pastor just the way he speaks into my life.

If you have no one speaking into your life, and you always do what you want, then big trouble lies at your door.

I pray for you, that if you do not have a leader in your life, may God connect you to one now in Jesus Name, so that your glorious future can be preserved. Amen.

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