A MOTHERLY AMBITION

Introduction

-{Romans 1}

-There are a lot of different characteristics that come to mind when you think about mothers. One is that mothers have a lot of high hopes for their children—they have ambitious thoughts about what their children will achieve. Some mothers may have ambitions that their children will become doctors or lawyers. In decades long ago, mothers had ambitions that someday their child would become president. The political cesspool has kind of poisoned that idea, and mothers now have an ambition that their children would stay as far away as possible from politics. It also used to be a thing in the past that some mothers had a desire for their sons to become preachers, but you don’t hear that as much anymore either.

-When I think of a biblical example of motherly ambition, I think of the mother of Jesus’ disciples James and John. She had some high ambitions for her sons. She asked Jesus that when He would establish His kingdom on earth that James and John would sit on the right and the left of the throne. These were places of prominence, power and authority in a kingdom. It would essentially equate to being #2 and #3 in the kingdom. Now that’s some ambition right there.

-What all these mothers have in common is that they want not only what is best for their children, but that their children will work hard in life, to dream big, to reach for the stars, to have ambitions of their own and to see them through. There is nothing wrong with any of those ambitions as long as they have their priorities right.

-In the passage of Romans that we are studying today, Paul has what I liken to a Motherly Ambition for the church in Rome, and by extension it is the ambition he has for all churches. But when you look at what he says, his ambition is not for personal, material, or job-related success. Paul has spiritual ambitions for the church; and I fully believe (since he was under inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that these ambitions are a reflection of the ambitions that the Lord Jesus Christ has for His church as well.

-The ambitions that Paul talks about, quite honestly, are good ambitions for mothers to have for their children, and they are also good ambitions that a church ought to desire for itself. These are ambitions where spiritual/godly success is even more important than earthly/worldly success.

-Sometimes, though, a mother’s ambitions can be frustrated when her children make no effort at pursuing anything, instead just lounge around—maybe like the old trope of living in your mom’s basement playing video games all day. And as bad as that is, I think it is just as bad when a church does not seek to fulfill godly, spiritual ambitions as they are laid out for us in Scripture.

-So, today, especially in light of being a church that has a vision of fulfilling Christ’s mission, I want to lead us to understand and to pursue these motherly ambitions that Paul has expressed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 1:8–15 LSB

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be strengthened; 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged, while among you, by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 In this way, for my part, I am eager to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

-{pray}

-Last week I cast a vision of fulfilling Christ’s mission by being a church that multiplies itself—going out into the fields as we harvest faith and nurture growth. But that does not mean that we neglect our own discipleship. We want to constantly nurture our own spiritual growth on an individual as well as corporate level. And so, my hope is that we are nurturing these characteristics in ourselves and our church.

-First, church, let’s have an ambition for:

1) Prominent Faith (v. 8)

-In v. 8 Paul gives thanks to God that the Roman church possesses something that he desires all churches to have—they have a prominent faith that is spoken of throughout the world. The fact that they have been born again and come to saving faith in Christ is known all over because their faith has so grabbed a hold of their lives such that all that they do and say is so seasoned by the grace of God that people take notice. The faith that they claim to have by mouth is proven through the faith that they live. And people look at them and recognize in them that they truly know Jesus. It reminds me of something said of the apostles after Pentecost and they were before the Sanhedrin for preaching Jesus; it says:

Acts 4:13 LSB

13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

-Their boldness and faith on display marked them as someone being with Jesus. So the ambition here is to have a prominent faith such that your reputation is known as someone who has been with Jesus. And then Jesus gets glory for it. It reminds me of a verse in Proverbs:

Proverbs 22:1 LSB

1 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.

-And the best name comes from a reputation for a faith that is lived out in Jesus Christ—not a name for one’s own accomplishments which will pass away—but something of more eternal value.

-The philosophy of the world is completely different from that—I remember a judge in a singing reality show summarizing it this way: They can talk good about you or bad about you, all that’s important is that they are talking about you. Understand what they’re saying? It’s all about you. That’s the way of the world.

-You often see mothers instilling that in their children, like in reality TV shows that are out there with these mom’s pushing their daughters to do all these things to make a name for themselves at a young age because for them life is all about fame and fortune. They essentially tell their daughters that it doesn’t matter if you have a bad reputation for the way you look or dress, as long as people are talking about you. That’s how you end up with the Honey Boo Boos and Cash Me Outside girls—it’s all about you.

-But Paul says that a true spiritual ambition is to have a reputation of a prominent faith. People take notice that Jesus Christ has so changed your life and your life is so different from the rest of the world, and Christ is glorified. That is the ambition we should have for our children and grandchildren, as well as ourselves and our church. What do we want the watching world and the Christian community to say about Harvest Baptist Church? Oh, that it would be that we have a prominent faith.

-But then there is also a second ambition, and it is for:

2) Personal Fellowship (vv. 9-10)

-In verses 9-10 Paul tells them of his great desire to come to them so that he can be with them and impart some spiritual gift to them (meaning he wants to be a blessing to them and they can be a blessing to him). What is so amazing about what Paul says is the fact that Paul didn’t found this church. He actually has never met this church (although it seems a few of his friends have moved to Rome and joined themselves with the church). But even having never met them, they share this bond in Christ that surpasses all that.

-This shows that Paul has this longing to be with likeminded believers in Christ because of what they have in common in Christ. Even though most of the believers in the Roman church were Gentiles and he was a Jew, those surface differences did not separate what bound them together—being in Christ together.

-That is what true fellowship is—that no matter what our differences may be, we are all one body in Jesus Christ, and we can come together to be a blessing to one another for the glory of Christ. This is the type of fellowship that is a great need for the church. I mean, don’t run me out of a Baptist church when I say that fellowships are not just the get together and eat potluck kind of thing. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the biblical concept of fellowship is believers coming together for mutual benefit and edification.

-And this is one of the major reasons why the churches exist. Yes, we come together and worship. Yes, we band together for ministry, evangelization, and discipleship. But Jesus created the church for fellowship with one another. This is why the church is described as the fellowship of believers. We spur one another on to deeper faith and understanding of the things of God—we share with one another our very lives—it becomes personal on a deep spiritual level. And if people don’t find it in the church, they sadly look for it elsewhere in wrong ways.

- There was research done that shows the more deep, personal friendships a person has in a congregation (true fellowship), the less likely they are to become inactive or leave. There was a survey of 400 church drop-outs who were asked why they left their churches. Over 75% of the respondents said, “I didn’t feel anyone cared whether I was there or not.” These are shocking results, especially as church should be one of the most caring places in the world! Now, yes the individual has to make an effort on their part, but then the church can respond in kind. The pastor and staff cannot create this—it comes from the church body.

-And if not, the world then offers its substitutes for true fellowship. The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants for His church. It’s a cheap imitation, dispensing alcohol instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it is a Permissive, Accepting, and Inclusive fellowship. It is Unshockable. You can tell people secrets and they usually don’t tell others or even want to. Bars flourish not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few drinks. And obviously the world offers numerous other substitutes as well.

-Paul knew the importance of personal fellowship with like-minded believers—that is why he sought it and why he wanted to share it with others, and he had an ambition that the church would share in that as well.

-Then Paul talks about a third type of ambition, and it is for:

3) Partnered Fortification (vv. 11-12)

-That sounds like a mouthful, but let me explain. Paul tells the Roman church in vv. 11-12 that he wants to come to them so they may be established/strengthened and that they all may be encouraged by the mutual faith they share. He knows that being a follower of Christ places you on the outer fringes of most societies. At the time that Paul wrote Romans there may not have been outright persecution from the Roman Empire, but Christians were looked down upon because they didn’t hold onto the pantheon of gods that the Romans did. The Romans practically considered Christians atheists because they believed in only one God instead of the many gods that the Romans followed.

-Then there were the Jews that were still trying to stop the spread of what they considered a blasphemous, erroneous cult. And if the pressures from outside the faith were not enough, then there were those who claimed to be part of the faith that were twisting the doctrines of Christ and grace and faith, leading many astray.

-So in the midst of that kind of environment, a Christian could be very vulnerable to defeat, discouragement, or deceit. Paul knew that Christians, even he himself, needed a safe place spiritually so that a believer’s faith could be nourished, supported, built up so they would not faint, fall or stumble. And Paul saw that safe place in the church, where believers by their mutual faith could partner together to fortify / build up one another’s walk with Christ after being pounded by a world hostile to our beliefs.

-The world out there does not like us, who we follow, what we believe, or how we live. And so if we won’t conform ourselves to the ways of the world, and we won’t keep silent about our faith, the world will then try to beat us into submission, if not literally then figuratively. Maybe you’re mocked at your job, or have been overlooked for promotions at your job because of your faith; maybe you’re not in the in-crowd at school because of your faith; or maybe expressing the biblical views of marriage has resulted in insults being hurled your way.

-So having faced all of that week in and week out, you need a safe haven where you partner with other believers to fortify your faith, so that when you leave here you can face what is going on out there. Wise king Solomon stated it this way:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 LSB

9 Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not a second one to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can stand against him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

-I think of the early church when Roman persecution was at its heaviest; Christians would actually meet together in catacombs where they would gather to pray, bury martyrs, and encourage one another, fostering resilience against brutal opposition. Or today, in China, Christians meet in secret house churches where they strengthen one another by sharing smuggled Bibles and providing food and shelter for those who lost everything to a government that is completely against them. They fortify one another under the pressures of a hostile world.

-And that was an ambition Paul had for the church—that we would be partnered together to fortify one another in the faith so together we could stand strong for our belief in Christ.

-Paul had one final ambition:

4) Pleasing Fruitfulness (vv. 13-15)

-Paul stated in v. 13 that he wanted to have some fruit among the Roman church—he wanted to come and not only fellowship with them to encourage one another, he also wanted to do ministry with them and wanted to bear fruit for the kingdom of God by harvesting faith and nurturing growth. Paul didn’t want to visit the church to have a nice vacation, but that together they might bring unbelievers into the fold and then nurture growth and maturity in all believers.

-But what I find interesting is the reasoning he gives for this. He says in v. 14 that he is a debtor to Greeks and Barbarians (non-Greeks), wise and foolish. Why does he feel this obligation of debt? Well, after all these years Paul still hasn’t gotten over the fact that God saved a sinner like him through Jesus Christ, so out of joy and thankfulness he feels indebted to share that same salvation with everybody else he could get to listen to him. And then to help believers to grow and mature in the faith.

-That is why he goes on to say in v. 15: In this way, for my part, I am eager to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. He was so grateful for what God had done in his life by leading him to Jesus that he wanted to please his God by having a fruitful ministry of leading others to salvation and maturity as well.

-And then this is also his ambition for the church—that we are so overwhelmed by the unthinkable that God loved us enough to save us, that we feel that same obligation of sharing the faith so as to bear fruit among others—an ambition that we would have the desire to please Him in honor of what He has done for us.

-Last week was Star Wars day—May the Fourth be with you. There is an interesting backstory to some of the most beloved characters of the franchise that was finally explored in the movie Solo. We know from the original movies that Han Solo and Chewbacca are friends and partners. The backstory is that Chewbacca and his kind had been enslaved by the evil Galactic Empire. Han Solo was a young imperial officer who abandoned ship to help some smugglers. But he was caught and thrown into a pit with a vicious monster, which turned out to be Chewbacca. So, Solo convinced Chewbacca to work with him to escape, which they did. So, out of gratefulness Chewbacca swore a life debt to Solo, swearing to protect him with his life. It was an obligation he felt for his life being saved.

-I think of that story, and it reminds me that Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe because I owed a debt I couldn’t pay. He took my penalty for sin, so the least I could do in return is to willingly give Him my life in service and ministry. To use biblical terminology: to be a living sacrifice; crucifying my desires; losing my own life to give it all to Him; to bear fruit that is pleasing to Him.

-I don’t do it thinking that somehow I can repay the debt (because that’s impossible); but because of it my love for Christ is cultivated and I want to please him by bearing much fruit in His service.

CONCLUSION

-Those are the ambition’s Paul has for you as the church: to have a reputation of prominent faith, to give your life to one another in personal fellowship so that you might have a partnered fortification of mutual encouragement, pleasing your God through fruitfulness in ministry. These are eternal ambitions.

-Mother’s may have ambitions for children to be doctors or whatever, but even better ambitions for them are to be disciples who are like what is described here because these ambitions have far greater implications because of the eternal ramifications that it holds.

-Mothers ought to have an ambition that their children are saved from sin, and the only way is through Jesus—so to honor your mother today, come to Jesus…

-Mothers ought to have an ambition that their children are walking closely to Christ—maybe you aren’t walking close or maturing, and you want to come to the altar today…

-Or maybe you’re looking for a church that seeks to fulfill these ambitions—you have found a church fellowship…