RIck Warren - How to Live as Christs Ambassador in a Broken World

This weekend, I want us to look at the word ambassador.

The Bible says in Second Corinthians five point twenty, we

are Christ's ambassadors. If you're taking note, circle that word.

We are Christ's ambassadors. 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. So

what I want us to do this week three things.

I want us to look at the role of an ambassador.

I want us to look at the responsibilities of an ambassador.

And I want us to look at the rewards for

being an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Let's get right into

it first. What is my role as an ambassador? Well,

what it means. Number one, it means that if I'm

an ambassador, I am a representative of Jesus. I am

a representative of Jesus. I represent Jesus in the world. Now,

to understand this, you need to understand the difference between

your career and your calling. You need to know the

difference between your job and your vocation. Now, the word

vocation comes from the Latin word vosay, which is the

word for voice. We get the word vocal from it,

like a vocalist or a vocation. It means you're calling.

It has to do with your voice. Now. I was

talking to somebody a while back and I said, what

do you do? It's a person I just met us,

and what do you do? And they said, well, I'm

actually an ambassador for Jesus disguised as a businessman. I

talked to a woman one time. She said, I'm an

ambassador for Jesus disguised as a professional basketball coach. So

what's your disguise. You are an ambassador for Jesus. If

you're a follower of Christ, that's your primary calling. You're

an ambassador for Jesus. But you may be disguised as

a mom, as a nurse, as a truck driver, as

a mechanic, as a realtor, as a salesman or whatever.

That's your job, that's your career, but that's not your calling,

it's not your vocation. The Bible says this on the

screen tewod Timothy Chapter one. God saved us and called

us to be his own people, not because of what

we have done, but because of his own grace and purpose.

And I notice it says he is called. He has

called us. What's your calling? This week? I looked up

the phrase calling and what we're called to do in

the Bible, and the Bible says this in Romans one seven,

and we're called to be his people. John fifteen, we're

called to be God's friend. First Corinthians one, we're called

to be holy, and we're called into fellowship. The Bible

says in Second Corinthians five, we're called to speak for Christ.

Galatians five were called to serve each other, and Colossians

three were called to live in peace. Romans eighth, chapter eight,

verse twenty eight says we're called in verse twenty nine,

called to become like Jesus for God's purpose. Verse Peter two,

we're called to suffer for him. In First Peter three,

we're called to bless those who curse us Firs. Timothy

one says we're called to eternal life, and second Thessalonians

two says we're called to share His glory. That's your calling.

It's not your career, but it's your calling. If you

are a follower of Jesus Christrist, you are a representative

of Jesus Christ. You are an ambassador. You have an assignment,

and your assignment is to build relationships. Now, if you're

going to follow Jesus as an ambassador, it's going to

have to affect the way you live. It's going to

radically change the way you live. In fact, the Bible

says this Philippians one twenty seven, be sure that you

live in a way that brings honor to the good

News of Christ. Says, if you're going to be ambassador,

you're going to be a representative of Jesus. You got

to live like it. You can't just name the name

without playing the game. You've got to back it up

with your life. We need to remember that we represent Jesus.

Many years ago, when I was a high school student,

I was selected as one of eight students in this

state in California to be ambassadors to the International Congress

on Science and the Environment. And they said it's going

to be eight high school students and you're going for

a week, all expenses paid. We're giving an unlimited credit

line and no chaperones. What a life. And so I'm

one of the eight ambassadors from the state of California

as a high school student to go to this Congress.

As I'm walking out the door, my dad says to me, son,

remember who you represent. Remember who you represent. I didn't

just represent California. I represented the Warren name. And I

didn't just represent the Warren name. I represented Jesus Christ.

I think it's a good phrase we need to ask

ourselves quite frequently as we get up in the morning,

when you're going out for the day's remember who you represent? Now,

the Bible says the Ephesians, Chapter four, this live a

life worthy of the calling you have received. And I

have been called to represent Jesus in the world, and

so have you. This is not just for pastors, it's

for every believer. Now, Number two, an ambassador not only

represents someone. Number two. I've been given a mission. That's

the second thing an ambassador does. You're given a mission.

Ambassadors are sent on diplomatic missions. In fact, the embassies

where ambassadors work are called permanent missions. I've been in

many of them around the world, in many capitals of

different countries. I've been to the American embassy. And usually

when we go into a major city, a major like

a capital, we'll get invited to the embassy just to

meet with everybody. And they're called the permanent mission, the

permanent mission to China, the permanent mission to Australia, the

permanent mission to Israel, mission whatever. Because the word mission

is what an ambassador does. Now, Jesus said this in

John seventeen. He said, in the same way that you

Father gave me a mission in the world, I give

them a mission in the world. Did you know that

you have a mission that the moment you step across

the line spiritually and you become a follower of Jesus,

God has a mission for your life, and that is

to be his ambassador. Now, when you're on a mission, friends,

that's all it matters. You're not there to see the scenery,

you're not there to take pictures, you're not there to

try the local cuisine. As an ambassador, you're there on

a mission. Now of all of the missions in the world,

the most important mission of all is helping people get

to know God and settle their eternal destiny, because they're

only going to be on earth for sixty eighty years,

but they're going to be an eternity for trillions of years.

And so our mission, the mission of ambassadors of Christ,

is more important than any other mission, than a mission

to the moon or a mission to some other country.

The Bible says this. Paul says, I don't care about

my own life. The most important thing is that I

complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave

me to tell other people the good news about God's grace.

He says, my job is to complete my mission. At

the end of his life, Paul said, I finished the race.

He completed his mission. He said, I did what God

told me to do. Are you going to be able

to do that? One day, when you stand before God,

He's going to say, did you complete the mission I

gave you? Oh? Oh, I didn't even know I had one? Well, yeah,

you did you think I put you on earth just

to live for yourself? No, I put you on earth

for a mission. Now, the Bible says, not only am

I given the responsibility of representing Jesus. And not only

do I have a mission number three, this is really important.

I have been given authority to speak. I've been given

authority to speak. Now. Sometimes, you know, we don't feel

very confident in talking about God to other people, and

maybe we feel a little insecure or a little unsure,

a little timid, little hesitant. We go, who am I

to talk to anybody about Jesus? You know, I don't

know what to say. I don't know how to say it.

I'm not a professional witnesser or whatever. I don't know

what to do. But God says, nope, you're authorized. And

he says, whenever I ask you to do something and

I ask you to represent me, and I ask you

to have a mission, and I ask you to speak

for me, he said, I'm going to empower you to

do it. And in Matthew twenty eight, Jesus said this,

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

Circle the phrase all authority. I've been given all authority

in heaven. Obviously, God has all the authority in the universe,

and he says He's given it to his son Jesus Christ.

And he says Therefore, because I've been given all authority,

he says, I'm going to authorize you. Therefore, go to

all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them

in the name of the Father and the Son and

the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I've

commanded you. And he goes, you can count on this.

I will be with you always. Now that verse is

called the Great Commission. It is our commission. It is

our mission in life. And the Great Commission was not

given to pastors, it was not given to missionaries. It

was not given to priests or elders or professional evangelists.

The Great commission Jesus gave to every one of his followers.

It's your commission. And one day God's going to say,

did you do the commission I gave you? Did you

do the mission? Somebody gave you the good news because

they represented me to you. Did you pass it on?

Did you share it with anybody else? And he said,

I have all the authority, and I'm authorizing you to speak.

One of the things that God wants us to do,

and he says that over and over scripture is to

practice gratitude. I don't know if you've ever noticed that

the more grateful a person is, the happier they are.

That's the power of gratitude. Now I've put together a

brand new Bible study called the Power of Gratitude, and

in it you'll find scriptures and teaching and exercises that

will help you develop the habit of gratitude. You'll discover

how to state in God's will, how to defeat discouragement,

how to conquer complaining, how to reduce stress, and how

to experience God's blessing through gratitude. So, today, when you

partner with me by giving a gift, a financial gift

to Daily Hope to help us take the certain hope

of Jesus to people all around the world, I'm going

to have my team send you the Power of Gratitude

Bible Study. I just want to say thanks to you.

I'm going to be grateful for you. You know your support

is essential for us taking the Daily Hope message of

Jesus all around the world. There's a term that's often

used in foreign affairs called plenty potentiary. It's a Latin

phrase that literally means full power. And what a plenty

potentiary is is it's somebody who is authorized to represent

a government with offers without having to check back with

anybody else. A plenty potentiary is someone who can negotiate

on the behalf of a country without having to say

I'll get back to you. During the Revolutionary War, John

Adams and Benjamin Franklin were both plenty potentiaries to both

France and to England, which means they were authorized by

our young government to sign treaties well that haven't even

to be approved by Congress. That's how much power they

were given. And they were saying, we give you the

authorization to make the offer in our behalf without having

to check back with us. Now, historically, the people who

have this ability, there's a word for them. They're called ministers.

Now when we think of minister today here in America,

we think of pastors and we think of people in churches.

But around the world minister is often a potentiary. For instance,

we talk about a minister of State or a minute

mister of commerce, or a minister of foreign affairs or

a prime minister. We don't use these terms in America.

We use the term president. We use a secretary of State,

secretary of commerce, secretary of foreign affairs things like that,

But most of the world uses the word minister, and

a minister is somebody who has been authorized to act

on behalf of somebody else. Well, that's really a cool thing,

because the Bible says that you you are authorized as

a minister of Jesus Christ. Every Christian is an authorized

minister of Jesus Christ. You're not a pastor, you're not

a priest, you're not a full time Christian worker, but

every believer is a minister. The Bible teaches us over

and over and he says, you are authorized to speak

on my behalf. You don't have to go check with

anybody else. You can talk in the name of Christ

to other people. And he says, you represent me. I've

given you a mission, and I'm giving you the authority

to speak. Now, there's one other thing you need to

remember as an ambassador number four, and it's this, I

serve in a foreign culture. You've probably never thought about this,

but if you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ,

your home is not on earth. Your home is in heaven.

Your homeland is in heaven, and your identity is in eternity.

So he's saying this isn't my home. And as an ambassador,

I'm simply on a short term assignment. Now, where does

an ambassador live in their home country or in a

foreign country? They live in a foreign country. So for instance,

America's ambassador to China lives in China, and America's ambassador

to Japan lives in Japan. They don't get to live

in their home country. Ambassadors don't live in their home country.

They live in somebody else's country. In fact, they often

live in enemy territory. During the Cold War, American ambassadors

lived in all the communist nations even though they were enemies.

And we're actually trying to bring us down. And so

an ambassador will often live not just in a foreign

country or culture, but in an alien or enemy culture.

And he says, that's what you are as an ambassador

of Jesus Christ. This world is not your home. You're

just passing through. He said, you were made for eternity,

you were made for heaven. If you want to go

out and read on this. In the first seven chapters

of Purpose Jove in Life, I talk about this in detail,

and the Bible says this in one Peter chapter one.

Here on the screen if you call God your father,

he says, live your time as temporary residents on earthbassador.

And I've met a lot of ambassadors around the world.

They don't buy a permanent home, whether they live in

Paris or in uh you know, Rio de Janeiro or

anywhere else. They rent. Why because they know I'm just

an ambassador. And when the next administration comes in, they're

going to appoint a new ambassador, So they say, we're

not going to stay here for the rest of our lives.

Nobody moves to a country and then lives there their

entire lives. If they're an ambassador, you're there on short

term assignment, and you're in a foreign culture, and you're

not really in your home homeland. What Jesus is saying

here is, don't get too comfortable living in this world.

You're just an ambassador. You're just an ambassador. Don't get

too comfortable. Don't think that this life is all there

is here on Earth. Don't get sucked into the myth

that you know all there is is the hearing now,

And don't forget your role. Your role is not to

create a little cushy pad and make your life as

comfortable as possible. That's not your role. Your role is

an ambassador. Your role is to represent me, to fulfill

your mission, and to speak in My name with authority,

and you're doing it in foreign territory. The Bible says

this in Philippians chapter three. Here on the screen, comparing

believers and unbelievers, he says, all the other people think

about is life on earth. They're not thinking about eternity.

They're not thinking about what's after this. They're just thinking

about here and now. Get all you can, can all

you get, sit on the can and spoil the rest.

You know, the one with the most toys wins. Now

the one with the most toys still dies. And your

valuable and your value is not have nothing to do,

and your self worth and your net worth have nothing

in common. Life is not about the acquisition of things.

So he says, don't get caught up in the thing

that you think that life is all about things. The

greatest things in life aren't things, he says. Other people,

they're always thinking about what life is like here on earth.

He said, you are citizens in heaven. We are citizens

of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And this

really isn't our ultimate home. We really, our ultimate home

is in heaven. You're only going to be here for

eighty years. You're on temporary assignment. Now, what am I

supposed to do while I'm here? Have you ever thought

about this? After you become a believer, after you accept

God's salvation, once your sins are forgiven, and you know

you're going to heaven, why didn't God just take you

on right then? Have you ever thought about that? I mean,

once you're saved, why didn't God just kill you? Yeah?

I mean because ultimately you're going to heaven anyway, why

should he leave you here for another twenty thirty, forty

or however many years? It is with all its sins, suffering, sorrow, sadness, depression, despair, discouragement, problem,

pressures and difficulties and trials and tribulations and tears. And

if you're gonna go to a perfect place anyway, why

doesn't He just take you there the moment he knows

for sure you've accepted the invitation. Once you're in, why

does he leave you here on earth? To be an ambassador?

That's why, to be an ambassador. You see, there's only

two things you can't do in heaven you can have

fun in heaven. You can sleep in heaven, you can

rest in heaven. You can fellowship with other people in heaven.

You can pray, you can worship, you can be creative

in heaven. You can eat in heaven, and no calories.

All right, there are only two things you cannot do

in heaven. One of them is sin, because it's a

perfect place, and the other is be an ambassador to unbelievers,

tell people who don't know the good news the good news.

So there's two things you can't do in heaven, sin

and share your faith. Which of those two do you

think God leaves you here to do? Hmm, let's just

think about that one for a minute. Why does he

leave you here on earth? He leaves you here to

tell somebody else you're going to go to heaven because

somebody told you. Have you been an ambassador to anybody else? Now,

that's the role of an ambassador. I'm a representative, and

I am you know, I'm authorized to speak, and I've

been given a mission to tell the good news to

other people. And I got to remember that it's just

a temporary assignment and this really isn't ultimately my home.

So what am I supposed to do well. The Bible

says three things. So let's look at it. 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 First 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. He set a good example. Now,

I took a team to Latin America, and we went

to Columbia and to Brazil, into Uruguay and a bunch

of different places. One of the places we went to

was Argentina. And while we were in Argentina, we were

in Buenos Aires and the US embassy heard that the

team from Saddleback was in town and they asked us

to come over and meet the ambassador who wanted to

meet our team. So we went over to the embassy

in Buenos Aires, and the guy was quite a nice guy.

He had been an ambassador to several different countries in

his lifetime, stationed at different missions, and so I was

asking about what it was like to be an ambassador,

and I said, what is the most difficult part of

being an ambassador? He said, the fact is you're never

off duty. You're always being watched. He said, no matter

what I do, I represent Jesus Christ. My job is

not an eight hour not a Jesus Christ. I represent

the United States of America. He was a Christian, but

that wasn't what he was saying. He was saying, everywhere

I go, people look at me, and for many people,

I'm the only American they know, so they look at me.

And he said, if I had an eight hour job,

I can go home at night and that. But he said,

if after work I go out to a restaurant, people

are watching isn't that the ambassador of the United States,

And they see if I'm cranky to the waitress, if

I'm an ugly American and I'm demanding and I'm grouchy,

or if I'm egotistical or act like a prima donna.

He said, We're always on, We're always being watched, We're

always representing our country. What if you lived your life

like that, that you realize that you're always on as

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

you are the only Christians some people will ever know.

One of the things that God wants us to do,

and he says that over and over scripture, is to

practice gratitude. I don't know if you've ever noticed that

the more grateful a person is, the happier they are.

That's the power of gratitude. Now I've put together a

brand new Bible study called the Power of Gratitude, and

in it you'll find scriptures and teaching and exercises that

will help you develop the habit of gratitude. You'll discover

how to state in God's will, how to defeat discouragement,

how to conquer complaining, how to reduce stress, and how

to experience God's blessing through gratitude. So today when you

partner with me by giving a gift, a financial gift

to Daily Hope to help us take the certain Hope

of Jesus to people all around the world, I'm going

to have my team send you the Power of Gratitude

Bible study. I just want to say thanks to you.

I want to be grateful for you. You know your

support is essential for us taking the Daily Hope message

of Jesus all around the world.