Less Ambition...More Submission

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21 March, 2021Pastor Mark SchultzAddition by Subtraction

“Are we there yet?” It’s not just a question that children ask their parents on a long journey. It’s a question that many ask in life. Have we arrived? Have we fulfilled our goals? Scaled the heights of our ambitions? Reached the pinnacle of our aspirations? We all have an instinctual motivation to aspire to greater things, to make something happen or to have an impact through our life. Ambition by itself is neither good or bad. But today as we continue a journey of deliberate discipleship, Jesus challenges the inner motivations that drive our ambition. He leads us on a path that is relationship driven rather than results driven; a way that transforms our motivations into a life that reveals his glory and makes a powerful impact for eternity. Less ambition...more submission. Are you there yet?

#6 in series: Addition by Subtraction

Mark 10:35-45

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all!” Mark 10:43-44


Godly ambition submits to the Heavenly Father's vision and is willing to be poured out to serve his mission.

1.      What's in your current "bucket list" of ambitions?

2.    What ambitions have you had in life? Have you achieved them or are they still on the way?

3.   What current ambitions do you need to submit to Jesus and how easy is that for you?

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