Sermon - 26 May 2013 by Bruce McCallum

2. Philippians 3:5-6 (MSG)
5 a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an
Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and
devout adherent to God's law; 6 a fiery defender of
the purity of my religion, even to the point of
persecuting Christians; a meticulous observer of
everything set down in God's law Book.

3. Philippians 3:7-8 (MSG)
7 The very credentials these people are waving around
as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out
with the trash—along with everything else I used to
take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. 8 Yes, all
the things I once thought were so important are gone
from my life. Compared to the high privilege of
knowing Christ Jesus as my
Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had
going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it
all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ 9 and be
embraced by him. …

4. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is
behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press
on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

5. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV)
26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat
my body and make it my slave so that after I have
preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified
for the prize.

6. “Ultimately, in life, there are only 2 controlling
ambitions – one is our own glory and the other is
God’s glory.” John Stott

8. God’s Glory – Jesus centered ambitions
Here’s how Paul describes a person with Godly
ambition
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so,
somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

9. 1. They want to know Christ
“I want to know Christ”

10. ‘Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore
Cain’ Gen 4:1 – RSV

11. 2. They want to know the power of
His resurrection
‘and the power of his resurrection”
Romans 8:11 (NIV)
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the
dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
his Spirit, who lives in you.

12. 3. They want to share in His sufferings
& death
“and the fellowship of sharing in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

13. 4. They want to share His destiny
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection
from the dead.

14. Philippians 3:15 (NIV)
And if on some point you think differently, that too
God will make clear to you.

16. Our Glory - Self centered ambition
Here’s how Paul describes a man with ungodly
ambitions
18 For, as I have often told you before and now say
again even with tears, many live as enemies of the
cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their
god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.
Their mind is on earthly things.

17. 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 (NIV)
4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in
every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships
and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots;
in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;

18. 1. Appetites determine their lifestyle
“their god is their stomach,”

19. 2. They boast when they should blush
“their glory is in their shame”

20. 3. Their minds are locked into this
planet
“Their mind is on earthly things.’
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly
await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

21. Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at
the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things.

22. “I was ambitious
and I am ambitious
today, but I hope it
is not for Chuck
Colson (though I
struggle quite a lot
as a matter of fact).
But I am ambitious
for Christ.”
Chuck Colson