"Selfish Ambition" (7 of 10)
Series: Judges - Before There Were Kings
Pastor Jeff Schreve
Primary Scripture: Judges 9:1-57
If you have your Bible, please turn to Judges chapter 9. I want to talk to you today a message I've entitled, "Selfish Ambition."
Now, the word ambition is defined in the dictionary this way: "An earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction." You know, ambition can be good, or ambition can be bad, very, very bad. The good side of ambition is when you're ambitious for the Lord, when you're ambitious for His glory, when you're ambitious for His kingdom. You know, William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army, said that he was ambitious for the souls of men, to lead men and women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ. William Carey, the great missionary was ambitious for the Lord. He has the statement: "Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God." We could say that he would be one that says we need to be ambitious for the Lord and His kingdom. The apostle Paul was definitely zealous for the Lord. He was ambitious for the Lord. He says in First Corinthians chapter 15 that he was the least of the apostles. And he said that, "But by the grace of God He chose me... and I labored all the more...but not me, the grace of God within me." And he wanted to plant churches, and he wanted to train and raise up disciples and lead people to Christ and train up pastors, and God used his life in great ways. So, that's good ambition.
But, you know, the Bible warns us about selfish ambition, the bad side of ambition, when ambition is all about me, me, me. James says, in James 3:16, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing." Selfish ambition, when it's all about you, is deadly.
Now, the Puritan pastor from yesteryear, Thomas Brooks, he said this about selfish ambition: "It is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the moth ...
Series: Judges - Before There Were Kings
Pastor Jeff Schreve
Primary Scripture: Judges 9:1-57
If you have your Bible, please turn to Judges chapter 9. I want to talk to you today a message I've entitled, "Selfish Ambition."
Now, the word ambition is defined in the dictionary this way: "An earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction." You know, ambition can be good, or ambition can be bad, very, very bad. The good side of ambition is when you're ambitious for the Lord, when you're ambitious for His glory, when you're ambitious for His kingdom. You know, William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army, said that he was ambitious for the souls of men, to lead men and women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ. William Carey, the great missionary was ambitious for the Lord. He has the statement: "Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God." We could say that he would be one that says we need to be ambitious for the Lord and His kingdom. The apostle Paul was definitely zealous for the Lord. He was ambitious for the Lord. He says in First Corinthians chapter 15 that he was the least of the apostles. And he said that, "But by the grace of God He chose me... and I labored all the more...but not me, the grace of God within me." And he wanted to plant churches, and he wanted to train and raise up disciples and lead people to Christ and train up pastors, and God used his life in great ways. So, that's good ambition.
But, you know, the Bible warns us about selfish ambition, the bad side of ambition, when ambition is all about me, me, me. James says, in James 3:16, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing." Selfish ambition, when it's all about you, is deadly.
Now, the Puritan pastor from yesteryear, Thomas Brooks, he said this about selfish ambition: "It is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the moth ...
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