For thse not familier with an Anglica Service: there are four Scripture readings prior to the message. Today's assigned readings are: Job 38:1-7 & Job 34:41; Psalm 104:1-9; Hebrews 5:1-10 and Mark10:35-45
What does it mean... to be ....ambitious?
When is ambition.... healthy,... and when can it get us....into trouble?
Let us look into the faces .....of James and John in our Gospel Lesson.... And see if they mirror ....a part .....of our own lives.
And hopefully .....we will be able to direct our ambitions .....toward something more noble .....than having the best seats .....in the house.
Let's begin with A question: .....Are you ambitious?
Of course you are.
Ambition, ....in and of itself, ...comes naturally.
It is how ....we are wired.
Healthy ambition ....is a sign .....of A positive self-esteem.
It is what parents try to instill .....in their children ....from the earliest age:
"You can do it, honey, ....just keep trying"
"Just a little more practice, .....and you can be ......even better."
Ambition motivates us .....It motivates us to get up in the morning ....and to want to do ...our best.
At the heart of ambition ...is a hunger for recognition, .....a hunger for being wanted .....and for many ....a hunger for a reward.
According to the Scriptures, ....ambition ....is in our genes.
In the Book of Genesis, ....we are told how God took a lump of moist clay ....and fashioned it into a man ....and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, ....and he became A ....Quote...living being. (Genesis 2:7)
The word translated ..... "living being" ....is the word, "nephesh," (NEH-fesh) .....which literally means, ....."a bundle of appetites."
Beloved .... We are a living being..... a bundle of appetites.
And it is this bundle of appetites ....that stirs A hunger ........within us.
A hunger to savor ....the goodness of life,..... to flex our muscles.... to prove our ability..... to accomplish..... great things.
A healthy appetite .....is essential ....to good health, ....and it lies at the heart ....of a healthy ambition:
We hunger for something we do not have, ....and that hunger drives us... to excel .....to want more.
A more prominent position, .... a better salary, .... a loving family ..... a comfortable home, .... a good name in the community.
Once firmly established, ..... (Slow) this pursuit of excellence ..... will stay with us ....for a lifetime.
Many students study hard ....to make good grades ....because they want ....to be recognized.
Young adults put in long hours ....and go the extra mile ..... because they want to receive recognition ....and hopefully move up.... the ladder.
Middle-aged adults.... save ....and invest their finances ......in order to enjoy ....a comfortable retirement.
Ambition.... that force within us ....that compels us to strive to reach ..... our God-given potential.
Unfortunately, ....there is also..... a dark side..... to ambition. .......It is called greed.
Greed .... Instead of wanting to do something with your life to the glory of God.
You pursue what..... you can get for yourself ... and the more you get... the greater the need.
Left unchecked, ........greed is like a cancer.... it grows and spreads..... It infects .....everything it touches.
In addition, ....Greed is cyclical ....the more you have, .....the more ....you want.
And this leads to an addiction .....where, no matter how much you have, ..... it is never ....never quite enough.
Whether it is a hunger for power.... for prominence .... Prestige .... Or for worldly possessions,
Once greed takes hold of ambition, ..... it corrupts it, ..... and then .....kills it. (Pause)
This is sadly ....the story of Kenneth Lay,..... the founder and CEO ....of Enron.
He grew up in Missouri, .....the son of a part-time Baptist preacher.
His family ......was dirt poor.
But Lay .....was ambitious.
He managed to get accepted..... into the University of Missouri, ....where he earned his bachelor's degree.
He went on from there ...to land a job with Exxon ....in Houston.
That led to a government position..... as a federal regulator.
In no time, .....he was undersecretary...... for the Department of the Interior.
He was a rising star.
When the federal government deregulated energy, ....Lay returned to the private sector .....to form the company ........ Enron.
It quickly became ......a high-tech corporation.... on the cutting edge.
Its stock ......soared.
Investors could not get enough of it.
Then it fizzled..... Then it crashed.
As it turned out,..... Lay and his executives .....were falsifying reports..... cooking the books.....so as to exaggerate earnings.
Now Lay's friends ....would say ....He was a good man .....at heart.
Yet, .....something went..... wrong.
Instead of enjoying the fruits of success, ..... unhealthy ambition .....got the best of him.
In the end, ....he was convicted of fraud.... and conspiracy.
He would have gone to prison, ....but he died of a heart attack ....awaiting his sentence. (Pause)
Beloved .... There is a dark side to ambition, .... Its name is .... greed.
You see greed every time .......a person steps in front of another person...... to get ahead.
And that is the issue..... James and John brought to Jesus:
BIBLE "Teacher, we want you to do for us ....whatever we will ask." (Keep Bible Open) END (Mark 10:35)
Never mind the others..... just take care of us..... and give us.... what we want.
That is the dark side of ambition .....when we want preferential treatment, ......and we are willing to step on ....or over others ....to get it.
Jesus handled this request ....with such a caring heart..... He said,
BIBLE "You don't know what you are asking...... Are you able to drink the cup ....that I drink, ......and to be baptized with the baptism ...that I am baptized with?" (Close Bible) END (Mark 10:38).
The verb "ask" .....used in this passage .....represents a person ....acting in their own interest.
It is a...... "self-seeking" request.
Our Lord in return .....asks them a question,.... "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?"
In this passage ......a personal pronoun occurs with the verb...... and that is important.
For it indicates .....a particular cup which our Lord is drinking from..... a special cup.... a unique cup....a cup ....that has never been used.
The futuristic present .....is also used in this passage, ..... which denotes an event .....which has not yet occurred,
......but which is regarded as so certain...... that it may be contemplated..... as having already come to pass.
This cup of certainty.... is the one ....to which our Lord refers too..... in His Gethsemane prayer:
BIBLE "My Father, .....if it be possible,..... let this cup pass from me; ...nevertheless, ....not as I will, ....but as you will." END (Matthew 26:39 ESV )
Our Lord addresses his suffering with the metaphorical use of the word baptizo ....to baptize.
Our Lord is clearly referring to the sufferings which He will be plunged into .. baptized into .....at the Cross.
Sufferings.... which will overwhelm His soul, ....wringing from Him that desolate cry:.... Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani
...."My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)
As one ponders over our Lord's answer, .....one cannot help but see .....the patience,..... kindness, ....and love ......which is exhibited by Him.... to James and John.
BIBLE The Lord went on to share with them, "You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, ....and you shall be baptized .....with the baptism ...that I am baptized with;.... but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand ....is not mine to give,.... but for whom it has been prepared." END (Mark 10:39-40)
As we know from the Scriptures ......The words of our Lord came true ....in the case ....of these two disciples.
James died by the sword.... of Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2),..... and John was exiled to Patmos,..... where tradition says, .....he died ....at hard labor.
Beloved.....We all want ....various things ......out of life. ........We are all ambitious.
The issue is ...how will we relate to others..... in the process:
We are all called ....to be a part of the Body ....and we should be ambitious ....to be all ....that God has called us.... to be in the Body.
To be ambitious... but not at the expense of ...a servant heart.
We are called to be A servant to all. (Pause)
The story is told.... of a track meet ....for special children,.... Children physically ....and mentally challenged.
The climax of the event ........was the quarter mile race..... at the end....of the day.
The contestants lined up ....and the gun sounded;...... They were off.
Everything went well ....until they got to .....the final turn.
One of the contestants.... stumbled ....and fell.
As soon as the other runners..... realized what had happened, .... they turned around......and came back to the fallen runner ....and helped him.... to his feet.
Then,....... arm in arm, ....they limped together..... toward the finish line.
As the herd of runners passed in front of the crowd,.... everyone .....stood to cheer.
No one cared to notice .....who actually crossed the finish line......first.
What difference ...did that really make?
What mattered was..... they finished ...... every last one them ........completed the race ......no one .....was left behind. (Pause)
When your ambitions ...turn from satisfying your own wants .... to that of attending to the needs of others;.... To be a servant to all......that is the mark..... of Christian Maturity.
In the final analysis, .....when that happens, .....you do not become less ambitious; .... you become .......more ambitious.
An ambition..... that has matured.... in Christ Jesus.
An Ambition focused on something far greater than yourself ......an ambition focused ..... On others .... On the Kingdom of God.
For You want no-one .....to be left behind.
We are all ambitious,.... in one way or another.
That is how God created us to.
Beloved.....We should be ambitious ....for who we are ....in Christ Jesus.
Ambition is a healthy thing ....when it motivates us.... to reach our God-given .....potential.
Yet.....It becomes even healthier .... when we have a heart for the lost .... and want no-one .....to be left behind.
Beloved.... Move forward in the faith.... Be men and women of the cross.
Let your prayer not be: ....."Lord, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you,"
Move on to a prayer of maturity.... Move on too.... "Not My will... But Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Amen and Amen!
Another Potential Story:
Osceola (O-C-O --la) McCarty .....was a little elderly lady in Hattiesburg, Mississippi .....who made a living .....taking in laundry .....for folks .....on the better side of town.
She scrimped and saved .....her meager earnings .....and, when she was eighty-seven years old, .....she donated $150,000 .....to Southern Mississippi University.
Someone asked her ....what motivated her.... to work so hard ....and then to give it all away.
She said, ......"I always wanted to help somebody else's child ....go to college."
Now Beloved .....That is .....a healthy ambition.
This message is based of a sermon by Philip McLarty Titled "Healthy Ambition" and I commend it to you.
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