Holy Dissatisfaction Toward Selfish Ambition: We are called to be a Ambitious People!

Call to Worship

Emmanuel Hymn No. 82

Welcome

Wayne Sullivan

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December 20th, Caroling on the Lawn!

Celebration of the 3rd Sunday of Advent!

Donn and Virgie Liles

Begin by reading the following Scripture:

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Say,

“On the first week of Advent, we lit the Candle of Hope.”

Light the first purple candle.

Say,

“On the second week of Advent, we lit the Candle of Faith.”

Light the second purple candle.

Say,

“Today we have the honor of lighting the third candle. The third candle symbolizes joy and is called the "Shepherd’s Candle." To the shepherd’s great joy, the angels announced that Jesus came for humble, unimportant people like them, too. In church tradition, the color rose signifies joy. This candle is colored pink to represent joyfulness and rejoicing.”

“Joy can be defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Galatians tells us that joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. And Proverbs tells us that a joyful heart is good medicine. Joy has its root in the hope and peace we find in living a Christ-centered life.”

“So it is appropriate that we light the joy candle because, in the words of

Isaiah 55:12 ESV

12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Light the Pink Candle. Then return to your seat!

Opening Scripture Reading

Old Testament Reading

Stephen Nobles

Joshua 14:6–15 ESV

6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.

This is the Holy Word of the Lord!

New Testament Reading

Wayne Sullivan

Matthew 2:1–18 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

This is the Inspired Word of the Lord!

Prayer of Invocation

Wayne Sullivan

Songs of Worship

The First Noel  85  (Sing 1,2 & 4th Verses)

Angels, We Have Heard on High  100  (Sing 1,2 & 4th Verses)

Abigail & Elizabeth sing Silent Night

Introduction:

Over the last few months, we have discussed a great many things in which we as believers should have a particular holy dissatisfaction toward. Each of those dissatisfactions should help to point us toward who we ought to strive to be in Christ! If we claim the name of Christ, we should be dissatisfied with allowing any of these characteristics into our lives. When we began this journey, I asked these questions of us all..

“Will we live with a renewed sense of conviction and mission? Will we experience a true Holy Dissatisfaction in the the status quo?”

Then I said these words,

“Indeed, it will not be until we experience a holy dissatisfaction with things as they are that we can be agents of renewal and catalysts of revival and spiritual awakening. But Holy Dissatisfaction is not enough. We will need something more. We will need to positively recover our biblical identity in Christ and discover anew who we are as His Church, what is our mission, our mandate, and our methods?”

In this we have looked at some of the things that make up our current status quo, things that we need to rekindle a holy dissatisfaction toward. Remember that we have addressed developing a holy dissatisfaction toward:

Nominal Christianity!

Doing Rather Than Being!

Apathy in Our Mission!

Engaging in Ministry Without Christ!

Our Loss of Christian Influence Upon Culture!

Our Lack of Peaceful Serenity!

An Ungrateful Spirit!

Indifference!

Hopelessness!

Today, as we continue to celebrate the Christmas Season and begin to transition from 2020 to hopefully, a better year in 2021, we are going to discuss our need for a holy dissatisfaction toward....

Holy Dissatisfaction Toward Selfish Ambition: We Are Called to Be an Ambitious People!

In our opening Scripture Passages that were read at the beginning of our service, we find two examples of people in the Scriptures who had tremendous ambition.

Caleb: A Role Model for Godly Ambition!

First we saw, Caleb, the man of God who stood by Moses in the wilderness and and Joshua in the taking of the promised land. Caleb was one of the twelve spies that Moses sent out from their camp in Kadesh-barnea to spy out the promised land and report back.

It was primarily Caleb, and Joshua along with him that brought back a report that was confident that Israel could take the land of promise with God’s help in Numbers 14. Unfortunately, the other 10 spies were of weak spine. They had no ambition to attempt to allow God to fulfill what He had promised to His people.

That night they returned and gave their weak report, the people began to rebel. They rebelled against the spies, they rebelled against Moses, and ultimately they rebelled against God.

God said to Moses,

Numbers 14:11 ESV

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

Moses prayed and God forgave, but issued a decree that none of the men who doubted Him would see the promised land and dwell in it. Yet in the midst of this decree, God says, well done my good and faithful servant to this man of God we call Caleb.

Numbers 14:24 ESV

24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Immediately following this decree,

Numbers 14:36–38 ESV

36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Joshua and Caleb, had a holy ambition to serve the Lord fully! Caleb was 40 years old when all this took place. Fast forward 45 years, now the 85 year old Caleb still demonstrates this faithful, holy ambition as he requests the inheritance that the Lord had promised to him many years ago.

The very people that the spies were afraid of, the Anakim who lived in Hebron with great fortified cities, were the people who possessed the land that had been promised to Caleb 45 years earlier. The Anakim were descendents of the Nephilim, they were giants among men. These were the race of men that brought fear into the hearts of the other 10 spies, but not Caleb. Listen to Caleb’s request again.

Joshua 14:10–12 ESV

10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

Here we have before us a case of true Godly ambition on full display.

Herod: The Worldly Model of Selfish Ambition!

Next, we read the passage of the visit of the Magi that occured within two years of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Now, I want our focus this morning to be on Herod the Great, not on the magi, or on Joseph and Mary.

Herod the Great was half-Idumean nobility and half-Jewish. He ascended to power as the king of Israel in 37 B.C. In actuality, he was more of a client-ruler over Israel on behalf of the Roman Empire, than a true King.

Unlike many in history, Herod worked hard and earned his position of authority. He was known as a great builder of public infrastructure and a shrewd diplomat in his dealings with both the Jews and with Rome.

Now that great building campaign required a heavy tax burden upon the Jewish people and brought on conscripted labor, where the people were assigned employment not according to their own personal preferences.

And his great diplomacy required the heads of many men and women in order to hold on to his position.

Herod rose to power in the midst of the tumultuous Roman Civil Wars where he was noticed by several Roman leaders including: Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cassius, and Octavian. He was the epitome of one who lived life with ambition.

As he grew older, he became increasingly paranoid about threats against His throne. This paranoia caused him to put to death numerous sons, wives, and others close to him because he feared that they were plotting to overthrow him. This paranoia caused Emperor Caesar Augustus to utter his now famous pun concerning Herod where he said that, “he would rather be Herod’s pig than his son.”

Herod’s selfish ambition to succeed and to hold on to that success revealed that he was so desperate to maintain his throne that he was willing to murder anyone he deemed a threat, especially his own family.

Given this, is it any surprise how he reacted to the news of the wise men from the east?

Matthew 2:1–3 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

Herod heard in their question, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” a serious threat to his throne. If the people see this baby as the rightful king of Israel, then challenges to his throne would surely come.

His selfish ambition was troubling his heart, and along with his heart, the heart of all Jerusalem. All Jerusalem here probably refers to most of the priest, most of whom Herod had appointed to their positions of authority as well.

Selfish ambition will always, when taken to its logical end, cause trouble. So what did Herod do?

Matthew 2:4–8 ESV

4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

Comment on this passage briefly!

Matthew 2:13–15 ESV

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Comment briefly,

Sadly, we know that Herod’s selfish ambition led him to commit a horrible tragedy, in a last ditch effort to stave off what he felt was a potential insurrection. To save his power and position, Herod massacred all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding regions who were two years old or under.

Matthew 2:16–18 ESV

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Ambition is often defined as “an intense drive for success or power; a desire to achieve honor, wealth or fame.”

Can a Christian be ambitious in this life and maintain godliness? Is it okay for a believer to have ambition?

Today, we have been presented with two pictures of ambition: Godly ambition and worldly, selfish ambition.

The world’s picture of ambition is that of a strong, confident person, working to achieve his or her dreams and never giving up, no matter what the cost.

To be ambitious, in the worldly sense, is essentially to be determined to have more than your neighbor. Its motto is “he with the most toys wins”; ambition strives to be number one.

Those who pursue worldly ambition have pride and selfishness at the root of their goals. It’s the old story of the “self-made man”, whose goals are often centered around showing others that “I can do it”, or proving our worth to ourselves or to others.

Ephesus, do we realize that where the world teaches us to go all out to be the best, to have a biggest house, the nicest car, a larger paycheck than our neighbor, the Bible teaches us something else.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 NIV

11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,

Philippians 2:3 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

The Bible teaches that we should be ambitious, yet the object of our ambition as Christians should always be to please Him, to bring glory to Christ!

Jesus once asked,

John 5:44 ESV

44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Paul once asked,

Galatians 1:10 ESV

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Do we want to live out our lives seeking our own selfish ambitions which will never fill the void in our lives? Or do we want our main ambition to be to live for God in such a way that one day we will hear Him speak over us what He said to Caleb?

Numbers 14:24 ESV

24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

God wants godly ambition back into our biblical understanding of our biblical identity. We are to be people who dream and do big things for the glory of God and the good of others. It was William Carey, the father of modern day missions, who ambitiously said

“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

A biblical understanding of godly ambition teaches us that we have a God-gifted drive to improve, produce, develop, create, and make things better. When our ambition dies or is neglected or is placed on ourselves selfishly, big dreams die. And when big dreams die, the world misses out, and we fail to realize the full potential that God has given us.

Ambition sent missionaries around the world. Ambition built the ministries that God has used to bless and challenge us. Ambition planted the church you attend and, hopefully, serve.

John Stott once said,

Ambitions for self may be quite modest. . . . Ambitions for God, however, if they are to be worthy, can never be modest. There is something inherently inappropriate about cherishing small ambitions for God. How can we ever be content that he should acquire just a little more honour in the world? No. Once we are clear that God is King, then we long to see him crowned with glory and honour, and accorded his true place, which is the supreme place. We become ambitious for the spread of his kingdom and righteousness everywhere. (The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (IVP, 1993), 172–173).

Author Tim Challies nailed it church:

The world needs ambition, your ambition—the ambition of a generation raised with extraordinary privilege, world-class education, unique abilities, unusual determination, mind-blowing technology.

The church needs your ambition—ambition directed to bettering the home, congregation, classroom, and workplace. God loves your ambition—ambition taken captive by his Word to carry out his will. Your ambition is a gift. Use it... Use it for God’s glory.

Invitation:

In Caleb’s mind, that is exactly the way he lived his life, expecting great things from God and attempting great things for God!

In Herod’s mind, there was only room for one king on the throne, and he was not about to share it.

The truth is, Herod was absolutely right! There is only room for one King on the throne, but Herod was not that king. Jesus is the King!

This Christmas, who or what is sitting on the throne of your heart? What things are you elevating above Jesus in your life? Perhaps it’s your job, your relationships, your hobbies, or your vices?

Maybe you’re living in a way that you know is not pleasing to Him? Don’t make the same mistake as Herod. Recognize that Christ is King and surrender all control of your life over to Him today. Then go forth and live ambitiously for the glory of God and watch what God will do with your life!

Develop within your heart a holy sense of dissatisfaction toward selfish ambition and learn to live as people who are called to exemplify godly ambition.

God’s invitation this Christmas is to make Him the sole object of your life’s ambition. How will you respond to Him today?

If we would dream and if we would pray, if we would seek His will, would not God answer? Would he withhold from us a life of joyful love and mercy and sacrifice that magnifies Christ and makes the nations rejoice in our God?

I plead with you, as I pray for myself, and for my family, set your face to run your race with your one holy ambition being to bring Christ glory before a watching and needy world. When they see our sacrificial love — radiant with joy — will they not say, ‘Christ is amazingly gracious and wonderful’?

Hymn of Invitation

Oh How He Loves You And Me  (1,2 Verses)

Benediction

Hebrews 13:13–14 ESV

13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Closing prayer and offertory