In the Kingdom, Your Place Has Been Prepared - No Calling Shotgun! (Mat 20:20-23)Wednesday September 3, 2025
Main Idea: Spiritual ambition loses sight of the fundamental directives of the kingdom of heaven.
Passage: Mat 20:20-23
Intro: The ways of ambition are not always evil.
Ambition can be defined as: the strong desire and determination to achieve a specific goal or success, often involving significant effort, persistence, and a willingness to overcome obstacles.
Ambition therefore can be very good. Working off this definition, the aspects that make ambition either good or evil are what the goal is and how it is achieved.
The problem is that James and John have lost sight of the fundamental directives of the kingdom.
Spiritual ambition:
I am defining as “wanting something in the kingdom of God that has not been decreed for you.” It lacks trust in God and loses sight of the fundamental directive of the kingdom of heaven.
The natural human concern with status and importance is clearly one of the most fundamental instincts which must be unlearned by those who belong to God’s kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven is opposite of the kingdoms of the earth (Mat 20:24-28) and what Jesus has been teaching them since Mat 16:21.
God promises blessing to those who follow Him. Ambition is a lack of trust. With eyes on self we lose sight of heaven’s directives.
The cup is the will of God and to drink it is to suffer for His sake.
Jesus’ suffering and their suffering (Mat 20:18-19; 23:29-36)
In the OT the cup is sometimes used to represent blessing, but more often it represents judgment, and in some of those it represents the suffering of God’s people.
Joh 18:11
One has to drink it willingly.
James and John do not know what it is - yet.
Our “place” in the kingdom of heaven has been prepared by Christ.
Spiritual ambition fails to trust God.
He gave you your spiritual gift, place in the body of Christ, works (Eph 2:10), people in your life. And now you want to overrule Him on where your place is in heaven?
“Prepared” for you. (hetoimazo) Joh 14:1-3; 1Co 2:6-9; Rev 19:7-8.
It is very, very difficult to let go of something that you have made a part of your worldview.
Conclusion: When you come to the Lord with your requests, He will always be concerned for you and your desires, and He will listen intently. He will only give in response what is the will of the Father and decree of the Father. You may not receive the response that you hope for.
Your place in heaven has been prepared. Trust Him and rather than fret about your place, live in the foundational ways of the kingdom: service and slavery to the Lord first and then to all.
Ambition without trust in God is a trap that many fall into. The ability that comes from faith in God’s promises is that you can leave results to Him, eliminating stress in your soul that arises from desires mixed with unknown outcomes.
The minds of the disciples, tethered to the world, and the Judaism in that world, are stifling their understanding of the Lord’s teachings on the kingdom of heaven.
Application:
Ambition for personal desire, promotion, achievement, recognition, acquisition of things, tempts you all throughout your lives. The objects or things may change, but self-promotion is a constant temptation due to the pride of your old natures.
Remember, Christ has made you new and remember that your kingdom is the polar opposite of the one that is all around you. Remember that your Lord’s promises can be trusted. |