Rick Warren - How to Live as Christs Ambassador in a Broken World Part 3

Now, what is an ambassador.

Well, an ambassador is a representative send out on a

mission to build relationships. That's usually what an ambassador is,

a representative sent out on a mission in order to

build relationships. Now, there are political ambassadors, there are economic

and business and ambassadors. There are cultural ambassadors, there are

goodwill ambassadors. And the Bible says there are spiritual ambassadors.

And we are Christ ambassadors. If you are a follower

of Christ, the Bible says you are an ambassador for

Him in the world. As an ambassador, you have three

responsibilities here on earth, and these are the things that

God wants you to do as an ambassador. Number one,

I must be an example. I must set an example

for other people. The first thing God wants you to

do is help other people know what God is like

by being example of his character qualities love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, meekness,

self control. Now, the Bible says this in one Peter

Chapter two. People who do not believe are living all

around you.

That's kind of obvious.

People who do not believe are living all around you,

and they might say you're doing wrong. So live such

good lives that they'll see the good things you do,

and we'll give glory to God. What's he saying there?

The first job of an ambassador, whether it's of a

country or of Jesus, is you set a good example.

What if you lived your life like that that you

realize that you're always on as a as an ambassador

of Jesus Christ, then no matter where you go, you

are the only Christians some people will ever know that

the people around you, you're the only Bible that they

will ever read. You are a living Bible. Second responsibility

of an ambassador, I must share the message.

I have a message that.

God has given me, and he wants me to share

it with other people. That's interesting that in politics or

in diplomacy, ambassadors are often used in history to end wars.

Ambassadors are sent to negotiate the peace. Ambassadors are sent

to sign the treaties. Ambassadors are sent to bring a

reconciliation between warring entities and conflicting groups. And it's not

an accident that God shows that term to refer to you.

Where to help people make peace with God? Where to

help people reconcile their relationship to God?

Where to help people.

Make their peace with him. The third responsibility of an ambassador,

I must show love. I must show love to everybody,

because if you're an ambassador, you've got to have a

big heart and you got to show love. Why must

an ambassador of Jesus Christ show love to everybody? Because

God is love and if you show anything but love

to other people, you're not representing Jesus. God is love. Now,

how do I show love to the people in my life?

The people I work with, my neighbors, my family, my coworkers,

my enemies, my boss.

How do I do it?

Three ways? It's the next three verses. The first way

I show love is by using my life to meet

others' needs. When you use your life to meet the

needs of other people in a practical way, whether it's

taking them a meal, or helping them with a project,

or offering them a ride, or praying for them, or

you know, picking up something at the grocery thing or

helping them with a plan or a deal. Every time

you do practical help to somebody else, you serve others.

You're ministering to them. You're showing love to meet their needs. Now,

this is what an ambassador does. The Bible says this

In First Essalonians two, Paul says, we loved you so much.

He's talking about the people in this town in Greece

called Thessalonika. He said, we loved you so much that

we gave you not only God's good news that's number two,

but number three our own lives as well. If you

spend all your whole Christian life is spent inside the

four walls of the church, you're not much of an ambassador.

You've got to get out where people are hurting, where

they're needed, where they're loved, need love and now, or

they need help and concern. So you've got to get

out out of the embassy and into the interior, using

my life to meet others need. Second way, you show

love by giving respect to everyone. By giving respect to everyone,

as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, you are not allowed

to be disrespectful to anyone. Why because God values every person.

Doesn't matter who they are, what they've done, who they've

done it with, or how long they've done it. They

have the dignity of being created in the image of God,

and the Bible says this on the screen one Peter

two seventeen. Treat everyone you like with dignity or doesn't

say that. Does it treat everyone you agree with politically

with dignity? No, it says treat everyone you meet with dignity,

love your spiritual family, revere God, and respect the government.

Let me ask you this is an ambassador dogmatic or

diplomatic diplomatic? They don't stay as ambassadors very long if

they're not diplomatic. When you find a dogmatic Christian, they

are not an ambassador of Jesus. They may be on

the radio, they may be on television, they may write

books or blogs or whatever. If they're dogmatic, they may

be right, but they're wrong because they're not being diplomatic.

The Bible says we're to do everything in love. We're

to respect everyone, doesn't matter who they are, what they are,

what they've done. I don't know if you've noticed this

or not, but most of the time when I'm not

at Saddleback, I'm speaking to people who totally disagree with me,

almost all all of them. I'm speaking to group, and

that gets me in a lot of trouble.

Okay.

I speak to other religions, to atheists, to Muslims, to Jewish,

to Buddhist, to secularists, to gay groups. I speak most

of the time when I'm not saddled backed to groups

who totally disagree with me. Why because I am an ambassador.

That's my job, and you are an ambassador too. Ambassadors

don't speak to their own country. They speak to everybody

else who's not in their country. They even speak to

their enemies. And we are to show the message with

love and kindness. In fact, here's what the Bible says.

Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asked

you to explain the hope you have in you, but

do it with gentleness and respect. You and I are

called to be gentle with everybody, and to respect everybody.

It doesn't matter what they say to me, doesn't matter

how much they lie about me, doesn't matter how they

accuse me. I am forbidden to hate anybody. I am

forbidden to retaliate on anybody. I am forbidden to attack back.

Why because I represent Jesus, and Jesus said you turn

the other cheek. Jesus said you overcome evil with good.

The Bible says you bless those who persecute you. I

am forbidden from using the same tactics that people use

against you or me.

Or anybody else. Why, Because I.

Am an ambassador of Jesus Christ, and we are to

be known by meeting others needs like in Haiti, by

loving respecting everybody. And here's the third thing we're to do.

I must show love by building bridges. I must show

love by building bridges. Ambassadors build bridges, not walls. Now

on First Corinthians, chapter nine, it tells us this. He's

talking about dealing with unbelievers. Whatever a person is like,

I try to find common ground with him. Okay, it

doesn't matter what he is. Okay, he may be another culture,

may be another race, another language, another political party, another religion,

another lifestyle. He said, whatever person's like, I try to

find common ground with him. Why to be popular, no here,

so that he will let me tell him about Christ

and let Christ save him. I'm an ambassador. I do

this why to get the good news to them and

also for the blessing I myself receive when I see

them come to Christ. Anytime you see your pastor speaking

to any group, whether I've spoken to intellectual groups in

the last couple of years, I've spoken at Harvard, at Oxford,

at Cambridge, at Jewish University, at intellectual things like the

Aspen Idea Center. I've spoken to groups like political groups

on every possible side. I've spoken to every possible religion.

You can imagine when you see that, you need to

understand I don't have any faith at all in politics'

ability to change human lives. Politics can't change a human heart.

If I believed it could, I'd go into government, but

I don't. You cannot force somebody to be good by law.

It has to be an internal change in their heart.

And you need to understand that. All these people I

speak to, why do I do it so I can

get the good news to them? I'm building bridges, not walls.

By the way, how do you know when you're building

a bridge, you get walked on?

Okay, count on it. You get walked on. That's what

bridges are for.

And so you know, if you're building a bridge, if

you get walked on. Now, if you never get walked on,

what are you doing. You're not building any bridges. You're

only building walls. Walls don't get walked on. Bridges get

walked on. And my goal and your goal as an

ambassador of Jesus is that we build a bridge of

respect and love to everybody, so that Jesus Christ can

walk across that's the goal. That's the reason we try

to find common ground, so we can do this.

You know, This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of

God's word with a brand new set of fifty two

stunning scripture cards, each featuring verses about the birth of

Christ and adorned with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect

for memorizing scripture, tucking into gifts, or placing on your

holiday table. These cards are a simple way to bring

meaning to the season and share God's love with those

around you. So whether you're starting a new tradition or

looking for a unique way to share the Gospel with

friends and family, well, these cards are a perfect fit.

Today.

When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take

the certain hope of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure

to request this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards.

It's our way of saying thanks for supporting Daily Hope.

Now what's the reward.

We've looked at the role of an ambassador, we looked

at the responsibilities. Now what's the rewards for being an ambassador?

Oh? It's good.

Colossians Chapter three whatever you do, always work at it

with all your heart. Now I want to circle whatever

you do and all your heart. Now, I don't care

what you do. The Bible says, no matter what you do,

you should be enthusiastic at it. If you work at

Taco Bell, you better be enthusiastic about it. If you

do gardening, you better be enthusiastic about it. If you

do daycare or hospice, or you close multimillion dollar deals,

or you drive a bus, or whatever you do, the

Bible says, whatever you do as a believer, you were

to do it with all your heart. You are to

do it with enthusiasm. Why, Because you represent Jesus.

You're to do it with.

All your heart as though you were working for the Lord,

not for people.

Because you're worrying for the Lord.

Remember that the Lord will give you here. It is

as a reward, the inheritance he has kept for his people.

God has some big plans for you in heaven. He

has rewards. He has an inheritance for you in heaven,

and he's keeping it there. For Christ is the real

master you serve. Now, you don't have to like your boss,

but you do have to treat them with respect and dignity.

And the Bible says, regardless of who your boss is,

you're to just do your work as if you're working

for Jesus. And that's why you do what you do,

not because you want to please that person, but because

you want to please the Lord, and he says when

you do that, it will produce great reward in your life.

I want to do something this weekend I've never done before.

I want to read from a well known book, nice cover,

purpose driven life. Imagine if you were asked by your

country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You

probably would have to learn a new language. You have

to adopt to some customs and cultural differences in order

to be polite and accomplish your mission. As an ambassador.

You would not be able to isolate yourself from the enemy.

You couldn't stay in the embassy all the time. You'd

have to fulfill your mission. You'd have to make contact

with people and relate to them, the people who disagree

with you. But suppose you became so comfortable as an

ambassador with this foreign country you're in that you fell

in love with it and you started preferring it to

your own homeland. Your loyalty and commitment would change. Your

role as an ambassador would be compromised, and instead of

representing your home country, you would start acting like the enemy.

You would be a trader. The Bible says, we are

ambassadors for Christ. Sadly, many Christians have betrayed their king

and his kingdom. They have foolishly concluded that because they

live on earth, that earth is their home. It is not.

The Bible is clear. Friend, this world is not your home.

The Bible says, so don't make yourself cozy and it

don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

God wants us to not get too attached to what's

around us, because it's all temporary. The Bible tells us

those in frequent contact with the things of this world

should make good use of them without becoming attached to them.

For this world and all it contains is going to

pass away. In order to keep us from becoming too

attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant

amount of discontent and satisfaction, dissatisfaction in life longings that

will never be fulfilled in your life on this side

of eternity. We're not completely happy here on earth because

we're not supposed to be. Earth is not our final home.

We were created for something much much better. A fish

would never be happy living on land because it was

made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if

it wasn't.

Allowed to fly.

You will never feel completely satisfied here on earth because

you were made for far more. You'll have happy moments here, yes,

but nothing compared to what God has planned for you

in heaven. Realizing that life on earth is just a

temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not

temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for all your decisions.

As C. S.

Lewis said, all that is not eternal is eternally useless.

The Bible says we fix our eyes not on what

is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is

seen is temporary, but what we cannot see is eternal.

So it's a.

Fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life

is material prosperity, your popular success as the world defines it.

Abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and

faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career

or even in ministry. An old story is often repeated

of a retiring missionary coming back home to America on

the same boat as the President of the United States.

Cheering crowds and a military band and a red carpet

and banners and the media all welcomed the present home

with great fanfare, but the missionary slipped off the same

ship unnoticed. Feeling self pity and resentment, the missionary began

to complain to God. Then God gently reminded him, but

my son, you're not home yet. You will not be

in heaven two seconds before you cry out, Why did

I play so much importance on things that were temporary?

What was I thinking?

Why did I waste so much time and energy and

concern on what wasn't going to last. When life gets

tough and when you're overwhelmed with dell doubt, when you

wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, you

need to remember this isn't your home and you're not

home yet. You see it death. You won't leave home.

You'll go home. It's power heads. Did you pray this

prayer in your heart? Dear Jesus, I realize that to

follow you means to be your ambassador, that it means

to represent you in the world, and I ask you

to forgive me for failing in my mission. Forgive me

for the times that I have been silent and not

shared your message. Forgive me for the times that I

have not been a good example. Forgive me for the

times that I have been just as unloving as others.

And I have returned evil for evil rather than than

returning good for evil. I want my life to reflect you, Jesus.

I want you to use my life to meet the

needs of other people. I want you to help me

to learn to respect and treat every person with dignity,

no matter who they are or what they say to me.

I want to be a bridge builder, not a wall builder.

And whatever I do, I want to do it with

all my heart, as You've commanded me to do because

I represent You. Help me to get out of the

embassy to reach one more person. For Jesus, God, I

ask you to give me the privilege of bringing one

person into your family this year.

I want to reach one more for you.

And Lord, I ask you that when times are tough

and I begin to focus on what I don't have

and what I need, to realize that this life here

is just temporary and the one day I will be

with you for eternity. And I want to hear you

say well done, good and faithful servant. If you've never

invited Christ into your life, say Jesus, Christ, come into

my heart right now. I want to be on your team.

I want to follow you. I want you to be

my God, my boss, my manager. I want to learn

to love you and trust you in this year and

be your representative.

Thank you for ending the war.

Thank you for offering the message of peace, Jesus, Thank

you for offering forgiveness. I ask you to give me

that forgiveness in your name, I pray.

Amen.

One of the greatest joys of my days reading letters

from our listeners. It truly is inspiring to see how

God is working in your lives, and it encourages me

just as much as I hope to encourage you. So

today I want to share a note from Heather, who

has been discovering the incredible benefits of studying God's word

every day. Heather wrote to me, she said, Hi, Pastor Rick,

a friend of mine recently sent me your podcast and

I've been feeling lost and helpless and I didn't I

wasn't sure what to pray, or how to pray, or

when to pray, and it's like I hit a wall

and I haven't.

Been sure how to get back on track.

Well, your message really spoke truth to me, and it

made me realize the missing pieces I had in my

life because I was not in God's Word daily. I

was basically living my life without God and I was

trying to do everything on my own. Well, Pastor Rick,

it goes without saying that doing life without God has

been miserable failure. So thank you for stirring the Holy

Spirit in my heart with the words that I needed

to hear. I have now made the commitment to read

God's Word every day and to pray daily, and I

even started praying in the cars I go about my day.

Just like you, it's hard for me to close my

eyes and not fall asleep. You were listening. Please keep

doing what you're doing and reaching people who really need

to hear about Jesus and God's love. Well, Heather, I

am so glad to hear that you're back in God's

Word and that you're making it a part of your

daily life. There really isn't anything more important than deepening

your relationship with Him, and I love the fact that

you are praying every day, especially keeping your eyes open

while you're driving. Do you or somebody know or even

feel lost yourself like Heather once did? Well, the best

way to find hope and strength is by staying connected

to God every day.

That's the purpose of Daily.

Hope, and that's why I started it, to help people

like Heather dive into God's Word and experiences encouragement on

a daily basis. Now, our Daily Hope devotionals and our

podcasts are completely free and they're delivered straight to your

inbox every morning. So if you're not getting these, sign

up today and start each day with biblical wisdom and

encouragement from God's word.

You know.

This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of God's Word

with a brand new set of fifty two stunning scripture cards,

each featuring verses about the birth of Christ and adorned

with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect for memorizing scripture,

tucking into gifts, or placing on your holiday table. These

cards are a simple way to bring meaning to the

season and share God's love with those around you. So

whether you're starting a new tradition, or looking for a

unique way to share the Gospel with friends and family, well,

these cards are a perfect fit.

Today.

When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take

the certain hope of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure

to request this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards.

It's our way of saying thanks for supporting Daily Hope.