The Cost of Ambition (PHILIPPIANS 2.12-30)

For the past four Sundays, we have been reflecting on ambition as God sees it.

God is not against ambition. Quite the opposite. He wants to replace our small ambitions with His own: to fill the world with people who know Him and glorify Him.

Last Sunday, we saw that God is in charge of this plan. He opens and closes doors. He arranges encounters. He opens hearts. So we are not wasting our time in pursuing this ambition.

***

But… any serious ambition requires hard work. That’s what we’re going to look at this morning.

Not all ambitions are serious. I know someone who recently went to see Bruno Mars in concert. On her way home, she asked ChatGPT to come up with a plan for her to marry Bruno Mars!

As far as I know, she won’t be following through on it!

Real ambitions require hard work.

If Les Bleus want to lift the World Cup, they’ll have to put up with training sessions, injuries, sacrifices and the pressure.

Ambition according to God is no exception.

If we want to grow with God, see people come to know Jesus and see new churches spring up, it’s going to take work.

That’s where we are at Connexion.

In a year’s time, after more than ten years with us, the Procopio family will be leaving to plant a new church in eastern Paris. We are praying that some of you here will join them.

This ambition is deeply Christian. We have been praying for a long time for new churches to be planted in the Paris region.

This ambition will come at a cost.

Friends will leave. Routines will change. We will need to take on new responsibilities, lead services and step up to the plate.

It would be easy to experience this transition with a sense of loss rather than with joy.

This morning’s passage calls us to set to work.

Our situation resembles that of the church in Philippi in the Bible.

Last week, we witnessed its birth. God opened a door for the Gospel in that city. Lydia came to faith. A church was born.

Ten years later, Paul, who had planted it, is in prison. He faces execution. The Philippians love him deeply, but they must learn to move forward without him.

The context is difficult. From the very beginning, this church has faced opposition. Paul had been imprisoned there. Ten years later, he still speaks of adversaries and suffering.

He passes the torch to them at a time when the future seems most uncertain.

The beginning of our passage:

‘So then, my beloved… not only whilst I was present, but even more so now that I am absent… work out your salvation…’

In other words: it’s up to you to take over. The situation is tough, but God will help you.

All things considered — Jason is neither an apostle nor in prison — there is a parallel with Connexion.

How do we carry on the work that God has begun? How do we continue to bear fruit when the founder is no longer here?

Part of the answer, as we saw last Sunday, is that God is sovereign. We can undertake great things for him, because he is in control.

The other part is today’s passage: the work

This text tells us to set to work for Christ, because God works in us through this so that we may become like Christ.

1. Get to work …

2. … with the Master’s mindset as our model

1. Get to work

So perhaps we ask ourselves: what if I don’t feel like it?

What if I feel neither motivated nor capable of serving Jesus?

There are certainly times when I prefer my own comfort to serving Jesus!

In verses 12 to 18, Paul encourages us.

If we want to become what God wants us to become, and if we want to experience true joy… let’s set to work for Jesus.

He says first of all that we are…

• Trained through work (12–13)

Philippians 2:12 again

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to act according to his good purpose.

I imagine many of us have already asked ourselves this question: what is God’s will for my life?

In verse 13, we find the answer.

“God works in you both to will and to act in accordance with … his good purpose.”

What is this plan?

It is to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”.

We have salvation; it is a gift.

But we must open this gift and make the most of it. Let God transform us into the people he saved us to be.

What he wants us to be might … surprise us!

Let’s go back a few verses.

Philippians 1:27

Only let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. So that, whether I come to see you or am absent, I may hear that you are standing firm … in one spirit … striving together with one heart for the faith of the Gospel, and not being intimidated in any way by your opponents.

The city of Philippi was populated by veterans of the Roman army. They knew all about fighting and adversaries!

What God wants to train us for is to serve in his own army!

Not a literal army! A group that gives of itself so that the good news may spread and so that we may all stand firm in the faith.

‘That’s scary,’ some might say.

‘Fighting isn’t my thing!’

I see those who are incredibly zealous to serve, but I don’t have that zeal!

You know what? Neither do I!

But that’s exactly the point.

God isn’t looking for people who already think that way.

No, he says: I have already chosen you, but I won’t leave you to fend for yourself. I will train you to think more and more like Jesus.

That is the whole promise of verse 13: He produces in us ‘the will’ – the desire to serve.

When we discover Jesus and his love, when we seek to obey him, God gradually transforms our desires. His ambitions become our own.

And he also produces ‘the ability to do it’

He enables us to act in accordance with the new desires that Jesus gives us.

I meet Jesus. He is so wonderful that I want to serve him.

God says: go for it. I’ll train you as you go along so you can do it better and better.

Let’s not sit idly by waiting for the desire to serve him to come to us. When we set to work… God works within us to make us the people he wants us to be.

We are trained by working to…

• To shine whilst we work! (14–16)

Verse 14

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.”

In our professional lives, not all of us will shine.

I was a very mediocre journalist. The only people who remember my work are my mother and my wife; probably because my tie was askew in front of the camera.

The Christian’s calling, for which God trains us, is to shine by serving as Jesus did on the path leading to our heavenly homeland—the new creation that God has in store for his people.

To illustrate this, Paul draws a contrast between us and the Israelites in the Old Testament.

When Paul says, ‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing’, he is not simply saying: never complain.

It echoes the attitude of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

God had great plans for them too.

He had rescued them from Egypt to lead them to the Promised Land. But the desert they had to cross seemed too difficult for them.

They became grumblers: ‘We miss Egypt… its cucumbers, its melons, its leeks; everything was better when we were… slaves.’

pause

It’s not hard to see how one might think like them.

“Serving Jesus is too much of a sacrifice.”

“God doesn’t look after me properly.”

“Another life would be more pleasant.”

I’ll let you in on a secret. Sometimes I find myself wondering whether I really want to be a pastor. And on some days, whether I still want to be a Christian.

As if God hadn’t already shown me His goodness, and as if He weren’t going to keep doing so! It’s pathetic, but like the Israelites, I’m quick to forget.

When planting a new church, we may be tempted by such thoughts.

It’s not like it used to be.

My friends aren’t here anymore.

It’s on a smaller scale.

There’s more work.

We have to give more money.

Paul says: do not be like the Israelites.

In his great love, God has saved you and begun a work in you, so that, verse 15, ‘you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. You shine among them like beacons in the world as you hold fast to the word of life.’

We too are on our way to our promised land – the new creation.

We too are called to do everything we can to ensure that everyone makes the journey, crosses the desert and reaches their destination safely.

Unlike the Israelites, our task is also to call others to join the procession through the desert.

Paul says that “you shine among them like beacons in the world, bearing the word of life.”

What a magnificent image!

We know the way that leads to life. Our calling is to light up that path so that others may join us!

It is to do this that God has placed you in your workplace, or at the school gates, in your group of friends or sports club.

To shine for Jesus and light the way to life!

But if we ever find ourselves thinking: ‘Yes, but I’m not up to it; my witness at work hasn’t been great; I find it hard to share my faith with others…’ God is already at work within us to that end!

We work because God is at work within us! When we set to work for him, he continues his work within us!

We are shaped through our work… to shine whilst we work… and to be…

• Joyful whilst working (17–18)

Verse 17:

“And even if my blood is to be poured out as a sacrifice and service for your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. You too, be glad and rejoice with me.”

Paul is in prison for preaching the gospel. He faces the death penalty.

But he is joyful.

Our translation is a little more morbid than the original text.

Literally, verse 17 says: even if I am poured out as a libation, upon the sacrifice and service of your faith

In the Old Testament, a libation was an offering of wine that accompanied a sacrifice.

When an animal was sacrificed, it was sometimes accompanied by a cup of wine that was poured over it.

Paul presents the Philippians’ faith as a sacrifice offered to God. Their faith, their progress, their service – it is an offering that pleases the Lord.

And Paul rejoices at the thought of being poured out himself, even to the point of death, simply to accompany this offering and make it even more pleasing to God.

How is it possible to think like that?

If you’re like me, we don’t like making sacrifices, and if we have to make them, we at least want to be noticed!

Not Paul! He is delighted to give his all simply to support the spiritual growth of the Philippians.

How is it possible to take joy in sacrificing oneself for others?

***

The joy in Philippians comes from knowing Jesus.

(slowly)

In particular, joy comes … from welcoming Jesus … and his sacrificial death … as the supreme revelation … of who God truly is … x 2

Let’s go back a few verses.

Philippians 2:5

Let your attitude be the same as that of Jesus Christ:

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard his equality with God

as something to be grasped at,

but he emptied himself

by taking the form of a servant,

and becoming like human beings.

Found in human form,

he humbled himself

by showing obedience even unto death,

even death on the cross.

The one who poured himself out for others was, first and foremost, Christ.

Equal with God from all eternity, he humbled himself to serve and sacrifice himself.

Verse 9

That is also why God exalted him to the highest place

and given him the name

that is above every name

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow

in heaven, on earth and under the earth

and every tongue may confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was equal with the Father from all eternity …

but the moment that demonstrated most supremely that he truly deserved the name of Lord, the name of God …

… was the moment when he poured himself out for us.

Who is truly our God?

Look at Jesus emptying himself right up to the cross. That is our God. A God who gives himself. A God who serves. A God who loves to the very end.

Take Lionel Messi – and please bear with me if you’re not a football fan.

Many have been saying for a long time: “He’s the best player of all time.”

What will prove this beyond doubt?

If he scores goals and leads his team to the World Cup title.

Then people will say: “Now we can really see who the greatest is.”

(I know nobody here wants him to win!)

Jesus has always been God, but what demonstrated this most supremely was not a display of power.

It was when he gave himself up for us, because what brings our God the greatest glory is his love! His compassion!

Paul sees this and says: Jesus is my hero!

My God became a servant for my sake!

What other God would do that?

What other king would become a servant?

What other master would die for his enemies?

He’s my hero!

My joy is in knowing him, admiring him and following his example!

I want to be with him. And I want to be like him!

Our society tells us that happiness is achieved by clinging to our lives and living for ourselves.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

True joy comes from giving ourselves entirely because we know Jesus and we know that he gave himself for us!

A friend recently told me that the moments when he has felt happiest in recent years have been those when he has been most generous with the gifts God has given him.

Some of you will be serving at Christian camps this summer.

My experience of camps: stress, discomfort, fitful nights… and the deep joy of giving oneself in the service of Jesus!

To those of you who have set off on mission trips: frustration, tiredness, vulnerability… and I imagine moments of deep joy too!

Why? Because by serving Jesus, we come to appreciate more fully the service Jesus has shown us!

We savour the greatness of our hero!

A question to ask if we’re lacking joy: am I giving of myself because I’m in awe of Jesus?

Perhaps the answer is no – I don’t feel in awe of Jesus.

If that’s the case – we sometimes go through dry spells – let’s stand before the cross and implore God’s help.

It is He who gives us both the will and the ability… He delights in bringing us joy by showing us the greatness of His Son!

***

We are shaped through our work

To shine whilst we work

And to find joy in our work

Let’s get to work!

***

So what does that mean in everyday life?

Should we give up our jobs and become missionaries?

Perhaps you have the gifts and character that mean, yes, that would be the best thing for you.

Probably not for most of us, though.

What does it look like in everyday life to set to work for Jesus?

Pause
Second point before we finish

At work …

2. … with the Master’s mindset as our model

Paul introduces us to two men who are just like us and who have set to work for the gospel.

Their backgrounds are very different. What they have in common is their mindset. Their attitude.

Paul wants to show us that, since we are all different, there is no single way to work for the cause of the Gospel.

What really matters is adopting this mindset.

It is characterised by three things

A desire to serve God’s people.

A willingness to work hard.

And acceptance of the cost that this entails.

First, we have Timothy.

Verse 19

“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I myself may be encouraged by the news I receive from you, for I have no one else who shares my concern and truly takes your situation to heart.”

Timothy is Paul’s closest and most brilliant colleague

Paul says he has no one like him.

What sets him apart, first and foremost, is his concern for the faith of other Christians.

In verse 21, Paul makes it clear that caring for the interests of other Christians is the same as caring for the interests of Jesus himself.

One cannot serve Jesus without serving his people.

We may enjoy studying theology and listening to sermons – that is excellent. But if, little by little, we withdraw from church life because we prefer to learn on our own rather than bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters, we are missing the point of Jesus’ mindset. Christian maturity is measured not only by what I know, but also by the place others occupy in my heart.

Timothy is prepared to set aside his own interests for this very reason.

He is going to leave Rome, where he is with Paul, to go to Philippi and put his considerable gifts at the service of persecuted Christians.

He is selfless.

He is also diligent.

Verse 22.

“You know that Timothy has proved himself by devoting himself to the service of the Gospel with me, just as a son serves his father”

Timothy has seen Paul labouring for the Gospel … and he has followed his example.

Then there is Epaphroditus.

• Epaphroditus

Whilst Timothy is someone exceptional, Epaphroditus is just an ordinary bloke!

Not someone remarkable. Just someone with strong convictions.

When you think of Epaphroditus, think of a parcel delivery man. He crossed the Mediterranean to bring the Philippians’ support to Paul in his time of need. Nothing spectacular, but an indispensable service.

Timothy had preached to crowds. Epaphroditus undertook a long, uncomfortable and dangerous journey to serve a brother in need.

But… it’s just as valuable for the gospel!

Epaphroditus takes his concern for Jesus’ people to the point of absurdity.

Verse 27

During the journey he fell ill and came close to death, yet Epaphroditus “longed to see you all again and was distressed because you had heard of his illness.”

He does not feel sorry for himself. He thinks of his brothers and sisters first!

Two examples. Two different characters. The same mindset!

This shows that we can all set to work for Jesus!

We’re all different.

We have different personalities. Different gifts. Different backgrounds. We’re at different stages in life.

We can all adopt this mindset.

Serving God’s people.

Working hard.

Accepting the cost

That is the mindset of Jesus… our great hero!

***

If we have this mindset… all we need on top of that is a little imagination.

Working for the cause of the Gospel is the work of an entrepreneur.

If we’re clear about what really matters, and if we’re prepared to give of ourselves, we’ll find opportunities to serve everywhere.

At work. With our friends. At church.

All you need to do is adopt this mindset and then dream!

Don’t swallow the lie that says the only goal worth working towards is getting the best education, landing the best job, earning the best salary, buying the most beautiful house, having the best pension, dying in the best hospital, being buried in the most beautiful cemetery, with the most beautiful grave, and the loveliest daisies growing beside it.

We can work towards something far more glorious!

Let’s dream together for a moment.

We all have gifts, resources and opportunities.

Imagine all that we could achieve by putting them to use for the gospel!

It starts with simple things.

Having a coffee with a sister who’s feeling discouraged, or phoning a brother we haven’t seen for a month.

Inviting a colleague to our community group.

The holidays are coming up. Why not take this opportunity to ask yourself: what could I do for the gospel?

Why not grab a notebook and make a list: if I adopted this mindset, I could…

And then pray about these things.

But let’s not forget that it’s not just about me and my personal plans.

God is not just preparing servants. He is preparing a people of servants. An army!

So the question is not just ‘what could I do?’ but ‘what could we do?’

This mindset is the key to the future of our church – or should I say, our churches.

It is striking that when Paul wanted to prepare the Philippians for a future without him, he did not say: ‘Appoint a new pastor.’

He says: ‘Let each of you adopt the mindset of the Master.

Let us all imitate Jesus!

Connexion, Oberkampf, East Paris – the pastor is important. But he is secondary!

What matters most is the mindset we all share.

Serve joyfully.

Work hard.

Accept the cost.

This is what God is already bringing about in us!

This mindset will be the deciding factor in choosing where we commit ourselves.

Not: where will I be most comfortable, or where will my friends be going?

But: where can I best serve God’s people, by working hard and accepting the cost?

We can all make the most of this transition to let God teach us to think like Jesus, in his service, his self-sacrifice and his love.

***

I know that some of you feel discouraged because you have served so much this year with seemingly little to show for it. Your small group has shrunk in size. You have shared the gospel but seen no fruit.

It’s frustrating.

Perhaps God wants to shift your joy … from results to Jesus himself.

Christian joy does not come from ministry that succeeds, but from ministry that makes us more like Jesus!

Jesus persevered when nobody wanted him; he was rejected. And in seeing that perseverance, we see God’s character, and we can rejoice that he is making us more like him.

A word also for those who think life is too difficult right now to serve Jesus.

Firstly, living out our salvation involves applying the Gospel to our trials.

To come before the great Servant so that he may serve us.

But if Paul is right and joy comes from taking our focus off ourselves, as Jesus did, perhaps setting to work for him is precisely the remedy we need.

The broken-hearted who allow Christ to heal their wounds are the ones who accomplish the most for him.

A final word for those who say to themselves: ‘I didn’t set out to serve; I lived for myself.’

Jesus became the servant of people who lived for themselves …

He did not come for people who were already servants of God. He came first to serve us, so that we might be transformed into servants filled with joy.

God is at work within us. Let us set to work for him.

It’s summer. I imagine many of you need a holiday.

And then… back to work!