"The Disciple's Ambition"

I want you to think, for a few moments, about the people in our society and in history that we would consider GREAT at what they did. They were all known for SOMETHING - usually one thing that they were great at.

Dr. K. Anders Ericsson , a Swedish psychologist says deliberate practice, not inherited talent, determines success. And the practice must be long, sustained and ultra vigorous. Standout athletes and professional business people commit to minimum of 10,000 hours of focused practice to excel.

Michael Jordan - basketball. Basketball consumed him. He averaged about 6 hours of practice each day.

Michael Phelps - swimming. Michael Phelps swimming workout and 12,000 calorie diet are one of the most physically demanding around. His training routine and meal plan are astonishing for someone who is only 6’4 and weighs 165 lbs.

In peak training phases, Phelps swims minimum 80,000 meters a week, which is nearly 50 miles. He practices twice a day, sometimes more if he’s training at altitude. Phelps trains for around five to six hours a day at six days a week. To give himself some additional entertainment in the water, Phelps listens to music during his long workouts with waterproof headphones. Swimming in the water, especially that long, can be pretty boring. Listening to music can provide that extra spark to your workout.

Those are just a couple - what are others known for? Let me say some names and you tell me what you know them for. Henry Ford. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Michelangelo. What’s the one common thread, here? Ambition.

2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Aim - ambition…in Greek, “honor/value.” I think this is so huge. Two of the most ambitious disciples in the New Testament were James & John. Remember the story? Now, let me set this up for us, here.

Mark 10:32 ESV

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,

Mark 10:32–34 ESV

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Mark 10:32-

Mark 10:33–34 ESV

saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

M

Jesus is talking about his suffering & death!!!! And then...

Mark 10:35

Mark 10:35–38 ESV

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

They wanted the crown - not the cross. They wanted the thrones - not the thorns. What are our ambitions in our lives? Think about it. Everyone has an ambition. Let’s go back, here. What does ambition mean? Value & honor. It’s really quite simple - either we will seek to value & honor ourselves or we will seek to value & honor Jesus. Our ambitions are either for self or for the glory of Jesus.

Sanders says, “We can test the quality of our own ambition with this measuring stick: ‘Will the fulfillment of my ambition bring glory to God and make me more useful to Him in reaching out to a lost world?’”

David Brainerd (missionary to US Indians) - “I cared not how or where I lived, or what hardships I endured, so that I could but gain souls for Christ.”

And many of us won’t even show up to help with evangelism here at the church…because it’s too hot or too uncomfortable or whatever!

Of course, as Sanders points out, the apostle Paul is one of the greatest examples! Before his conversion, he was consumed with selfish, religious ambition. It makes me think about addicts. Have you ever known an addict? Part of recovery is finding another “outlet” for addiction. They have been mastered by addiction - it drives them…decisions, behavior, etc. That’s why you see so many recovering alcoholics just completely downing caffeine like fish do water! They’ve redirected their addiction and are feeding it with something else!

Paul is the same story!

2 Corinthians 5:14 ESV

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

Romans 1:14 ESV

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Read page 66

John Piper -

“You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.”

Jesus -

Hebrews 10:7 ESV

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”

John 17:4 ESV

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

Just like athletes - read page 67

What is our ambition in life? To whom are we seeking to honor and show value to?

What is our ambition in life? To whom are we seeking to honor and show value to?

1 Corinthians 10:31–33 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

You know, that’s one way, I believe we need to understand worship. When we worship, we are ascribing to God HIS worth. This is why Paul says,

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.