Misguided Ambition

Ambition is a great virtue for a person to have. It means to have a drive, initiative, motivation, aspirations, goals, and purpose. Give me one person who has ambition in life and I can accomplish more with that one person than with 20 others who don’t have any ambition at all.

But ambition, if its not bridled with humility, becomes pride and we all know what pride can do to us.

Proverbs 11:2 NKJV

2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Tonight we’re going to look at the disciples and their “Misguided Ambition”

Text: Mark 9:33-41

Mark 9:33–41 NKJV

33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” 38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. Remember 3 have experienced the Transfiguration of Christ while the other 9 encountered the valley of failure with the demon possessed boy where they could not cast out the mute spirit. All this time Jesus has been trying to teach them about denying self and losing their lives for Christ and the gospel, yet they seem to be set on selfish ambition instead of a serving ambition like Christ.

1. Misguided Ambition; 33-34, 38

What might have caused these men to begin to argue about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God?

Imagine the 3 who came off the mountain how superior they may have felt compared to the 9 who fell flat on their face in the valley. Listen to this conversation.

As they walk, they begin to talk. The nine ask the three about what happened on the mountain top. The three respond that they cannot tell them what happened up there. As you can imagine, this would have caused the nine disciples to feel inferior and left out. The other three might have felt and acted superior to the others. You can almost imagine what their conversation would have sounded like.

Peter, James and John make the case that one of them is surely the leader of the group since they were chosen to go with Jesus and the others were not.

Maybe Peter says, “Well, it’s obvious that I am the leader. After all, it was me that first proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah.”

Maybe Andrew says, “Wait just a minute Brother! I introduced you to Jesus. If it weren’t for me, you would still be out there on that boat fishing.”

Maybe John and James speak up and say, “Hold it right there! We were among the first to follow Him. We have been with Him longer than the rest.”

Maybe Judas says, “What about me? He trusts me to take care of the money.”

And so it goes. Each man thinks he is more qualified than the others. Each man thinks he is more worthy of honor than the others. Each man thinks he should be the leader of the group.

Carr, A. (2015). Who’s the Greatest (Mark 9:30–41). In The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (pp. 787–788). Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr.

[38] John even told Jesus that they told someone else who was casting out demons in the name of Christ they couldn’t do that anymore because he wasn’t a part of their group.

How many times as baptists have we thought other denominations were wrong because they didn’t do things the same way we do?

Misguided ambition leads to strife and arguments amongst the brethren and that leads to Anorexic Christians, weak faith and a self-serving church. All of which God is not pleased.

The disciples were silent at Jesus’ question because they were ashamed.

Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion typically associated with a negative evaluation of self; due to guilt, embarrassment and humiliation.

Psalm 4:2 NKJV

2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah

2. Re-Directed Ambition; 35-37

Jesus didn’t condemn these men for their desire to be great [ambition], but he corrected their attitude in what greatness is. Greatness comes by being a servant to others-not by exalting yourself above others. Jesus re-directs their ambition towards things that are worthy and serving others.

Receive- welcome, accept, give recognition and standing

Servant- “deacon”, refers to those “who wait tables”. The literal meaning of the word is “to kick up dust”. It is the image of a servant kicking up dust as he moves from one duty to another.

Jesus uses a child as an illustration of what it means to receive and serve others.

The ancients, with high infant mortality rates, did not exalt the merits of children as we do today. Though they were loved by their parents they had no voice or say in matters. They were immature, unexperienced and lacked wisdom of years. But a little child was an excellent example of the last or least.

Children have not yet accomplished or achieved anything; they have no power or honor or resources, but are weak, dependent, and the bottom of the social ladder. (Rabbis considered it a waste of time to teach the Torah to a child under the age of twelve).

A child really can’t do anything for adults. A child can’t enhance a person’s position in society. A child cannot add to your success. A child can’t make you more important in the eyes of the world.

But a child can teach an adult a lot about ministry and serving others.

Every parent knows what happens when you have a new baby. That child demands everything! From day one it must be served, every need must be met by a willing adult.

They take constant care and attention. If they are ignored, they let you know all about in loud and irritating fashion.

When that child is born you give and you give and you give, and then you give some more. When that child grows, you give and you give and you give. Even in some cases as they reach adulthood, you give and you give and you give.

Why do we do this? Love. We serve them because we love them!

Jesus used a child because children need to be served, cared for and they cannot serve us in return. That’ s the lesson we all need to learn!

Too often, we only serve those who can do something for us in return . The Lord wants us serve those who cannot or even will not serve us in return. He desires that we do as He did and give our all for those who may break our hearts in return.

Too often the church reaches out to people who are like us. We look for those we think will be a blessing to the church or fit in. We want people with money, talent and potential. We look for people who can help us become a success.

Jesus had a habit of reaching out to people who could do nothing for Him in return [Demoniac of Gadara, Blind Bartimaeus, Lepers, Jairus’ daughter, Syro-Phoenician’s daughter healed]. That’s what true greatness is, humble service of others.

Receiving a child means taking on great responsibility, patience and endurance, a willingness to forgive, teaching and training, mistakes and failure and often rejection even in all your love for them.

Jesus has done that with each of us and He expects us to do this with others. In doing so we not only receive Jesus but also The Father.

Philippians 3:8–14 NKJV

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with being ambitious as long as its focused on the right things with a right attitude.

Close;

Jesus points the way to true greatness: Die to self, serve others, care for those no one else cares for. Receive one in Jesus’ name, and you receive Jesus—and His Father too! The way up is down. The way to get is to give. The way to be first is to be last. This is the way of Jesus. This is the way to true greatness.