January 15, 2006

Lesson: Matthew 23.1-12

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INTRODUCTION:

Ambition can be healthy or sick. Jesus clearly highlights an ambition that is dangerous and unhealthy. How may we tell the difference?

1. Tomorrow is a holiday honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. Dr. King was an ambitious person.

2. His ambition was to find a way to fulfill his dream.

3. That dream was well-articulated on August 28, 1963 when he delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial "I Have A Dream" ⁽¹⁾

1. In part this is what he said:

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

4. This morning, what is your dream?

1. What is it that you would still like to achieve?

2. What is it that you would still like to accomplish?

3. Remember that the dream is the mother of ambition.

4. Here is what Hannah Whitall Smith, who lived from 1832-1911 said about ambition: ⁽²⁾

"The ambition of most Christians...is to have a vast number of things; and their energies are all wasted in the vain effort to get possession of these things. Some strive to get possession of certain 'experiences'; some seek after 'ecstatic feelings'; some try to make themselves rich in theological 'views' and 'dogmas'; some store up a long list of works done and results achieved; some seek to acquire 'illuminations,' or to accumulate 'gifts' and 'graces.' In short, all Christians, almost without exception, seek to possess a store of something or other, which they fancy will serve to recommend them to God and make them worthy of his love and care."

1. This is the wrong kind of dream.

2. It creates an unhealthy ambition.

5. I have a dream for this congregation.

1. I would like to see this church full.

2. It is not something that I can do on my own.

1. It is something that is happening.

2. I was talking with a citizen of this community who noticed that there were more cars parked around the church.

3. I was told that if people came and heard a couple of sermons that they might decide to join us.

6. This is healthy ambition.

2. Jesus is confronted by a group who have what may be simply described as "blind ambition," unhealthy, sick ambition.

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MAIN BODY:

1. Its still Tuesday. Its been a long day. Jesus is near the end of his teaching, not only for this day, but also for his ministry.

1. He is not done instructing the disciples, and he would like to be able to reach the religious leaders, at least on some level, that might help them to let go of their dangerous designs that will have a destructive impact on his people and theirs.

2. His analysis of the condition of the scribes and Pharisees is accurate and to the point.

2. If we take some time to listen and apply what Jesus is saying then, perhaps, we can evaluate the ambitiousness in ourselves and others.

1. We may be able to determine if it is insightful or blind.

2. We may be able to discern whether it is sick of healthy.

3. So what is Jesus saying and why?

3. ¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

1. ²"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; ³therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it;

1. The scribes, when reading the scriptures stood and when they were explaining or interpreting the Old Testament they sat down.

2. The "therefore" is very important Jesus could not have desired them to do every thing, without restriction, which the scribes taught; because himself warns his disciples against their false teaching, and testifies that they had made the word of God of none effect by their traditions. See Matthew 15:6, etc.

3. Jesus would have us test or try the spirit that is in a person who would teach the scriptures: 1 John 4:1-3 (NRSV)

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.

2. ^2b...do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.

1. There are some scribes, the teachers of the Law, do not follow their own teachings.

2. We are to practice what we teach both by precept and example.

3. ⁴They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.

1. The burden of observances: The rites of religion were multiplied and elaborated until they became meaningless.

2. The burden of doctrines-traditions and speculations that are not a direct revelation of the scriptures became required beliefs.

3. The burden of duties: The details of what constituted correct conduct were multiplied until one could not know them all or keep them all.

4. Under the New Covenant, we are free from rules and regulations to live a life based on the New Covenant principles of love.

James 1:26-27 (NRSV)

²⁶If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

5. Why then should we burdens ourselves again?

Colossians 2:20-23 (NRSV)

²⁰If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ²¹"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"? ²²All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. ²³These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

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4. ⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.

1. This is blind ambition; it is sick and unhealthy.

2. We are given counsel that keeps this kind of ambition in check.

3. It is enlightened and healthy ambition.

Matthew 6:1-18 (NRSV)
¹"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Alms

²"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

Prayer

⁵"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

Fasting

¹⁶"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

5. ⁶They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

1. Hey! Look at me. See who I am or Who I know, or What I am!

2. There is a complete lack of humility in this posture.

3. It is exposed by Jennifer

Who's Your Daddy ⁽³⁾

While the family was sitting around the dinner table, Jennifer, 5, turned to her brother Andy, 3, and pointed to her dad. "That's not your real father," she said, startling the whole family.

"Yes, he is!" Andy replied.

"No, he's not," Jennifer insisted. "God is your heavenly father."

Then pointing at her dad, she said, "That's your homely father!"

6. ⁸But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. ⁹And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.

1. We have one father, our Father in heaven.

2. We have one rabbi, and instructor, Jesus Christ.

3. I am not here to tell you what to believe.

4. I am here to proclaim the Gospel

1. I attempt to do this with clarity and with a sound practical application.

2. Hopefully this will challenge your beliefs so that what you know may either be confirmed or changed.

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CONCLUSION

1. This is all done with a deep spirit of humility because I realize what an awesome task this is.

1. This is why Jesus finishes this section with these words:

¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

2. That sense of true humility is evident in this prayer

Self-Will, from the words of a Puritan prayer: ⁽⁴⁾

I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state,
of the vanity of creatures,
but also of the sufficiency of Christ.
When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,
When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.
When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.
When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,
When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will,
When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;
I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,
Instead of thee I look to man's approbation,
and am by nature an idolater.
Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.
Convince me that I cannot be my own god, or make myself happy,
nor my own Christ to restore my joy,
nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, and rule me . . .
Then take me to the cross and leave me there.

AMEN!

1. Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

2. As quoted in Martin E. Marty, Context, 1 December 1994, 2.

3. Pastor Tim [posts@cybersaltlists.org]

4. From The Valley of Vision, retrieved from, "PreachingNow [preachingnow@preaching.com]"

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