10th December 2023 All Age All Nation Service

We're looking at a series around Kingdom today. U and I want to talk

about being an ambassador for the king I've had the privilege to travel recently and

I've used this. Anybody else got one of these? It's actually because somebody

gave me a very posh cover for it. You probably don't recognize it.

Let me get it out of the cover. Anybody got one of these?

Yeah, it gives us. It gives us permission to cross the border.

It gives us a permission to go somewhere. You know, if you haven't

got one of these, then when you cross the border, you're an illegal

immigrant. You know, that's the reality. And so when we want to

cross the border, we need one of these. Now that that that's I

know. We've got many nationalities here, so your one's probably a different color,

it's probably got a different country on the front. That's fine. I'm

not trying to proclaim the gospel of the United Kingdom. I am trying to

proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom, not I mean, the United Kingdom is

a great name for a country, I guess, isn't it, Although I'm

not sure how united we are. But the reality is this says who I

am, And so when I come to a border, somebody says, okay,

who are you? And I just hold it up and they say,

oh, yes, okay, And then then they check that I've got permission,

that I've not been a naughty boy before, and I'm going to be

allowed in. And then they'll after ask the next question. What's the next

question you asked me when you handed over your past? What's the question?

And ask you what's the person? Your hose of your visit? Why are

you now? I want to think about this from a perspecutive that means really

to you, two Corinthians, Two Corinthians, we are the ambassador as the

God were making his appeal for us. We implore you, on Christ's behalf,

be reconciled to God. We are Christ's ambassador. I wonder if somebody

said who are you and why you hear? What would we pull out?

A kingdom equivalent of this. It might be our testimony as Letty was encouraging

us to do. It might be exactly what Isabel did. Sitting there and

having breakfast. She starts talking to someone and suddenly who she is bursts forth.

She can't keep quiet about it. You know there are times when I

can't keep quiet. I'm not saying I'm doing that all the time. I'm

being honest with you, but there are times when I can't keep quiet,

and there are moments when I want to kind of declare and proclaim who God

is. And so, as an ambassador for the king, what do we

pull out? What is our evidence we're an ambassador? Well, what is

an ambassador? First of all, let's take a bit of a dictionary definition

something that might be helpful. A diplomatic official somebody who goes on behalf into

another country, goes on behalf. A diplomatic official of the highest rank sent

by one sovereign or state to another as it's resident representative. So there's some

things in this definition that I want us to get. When I read in

the scripture said we're ambassadors, that means we're sent. We're not an accident,

we're not a mistake. We're not doing something just because we feel good

and we want to travel. We're not just crossing a border for crossing a

border's sake. We are sent ones. You and I are sent, and

as a consequence, we should go with confidence, not I mean, I

don't know what you feel like when you get to the border. But I

honestly kind of feel a little intimidated. They've got their body armor on,

they've got all their dark uniform on, and they sometimes they smile, but

sometimes they don't. And then they say things like why are you here?

In a very official voice. And I felt like a little school kid.

Sometimes I'm here for a conference. YEA, that's nuts. I'm here for

a conference. You know, why are you here? Let's walk with confidence,

Let's lift up our heads. And so a couple of things that I

did the last time I traveled. I decided I'm not going to be intimidated.

Not that I'm going to not going to be awkward or anything. But

I had looked at the gentleman who checked my passport. I'd looked him in

the eye. He's a person too, he's just got a job to do.

But it's a moment of power, it's a moment of transaction. It's

a moment where one kingdom meets another. It's a moment where one nation meets

another. I mean, if he says no, go home, that's it.

I've got to go home. I can't. I might try and appeal,

but he says go Sometimes people say I don't want to hear the gospel,

and sometimes you will sense in your spirit just a bit like Isabel,

Well, I'm going to tell you anyway because there's a confidence in me.

There's a confidence in me. That means that I have something to tell you.

An ambassador and emissary carry a message. So okay, So what message

are you carrying? Now? I'm not saying we all need to carry the

same message. You will express your testimony your faith in a different way than

me, and that's okay because your testimony is your testimony, as my testimony

is mine. And so let me encourage you be confident in the testimony that

you have. Just tell the little stories that you know where God healed you,

where God saved you, where God answered your prayers, and keep on

telling them. Here's the reality. We get bored with our stories. We

get bored with our stories. But the people were telling me have never heard

them before. You're telling the story for the first time. So tell it

as though you're telling it for the first time, because think about the listener.

The listener is saying, Hey, I didn't know, I didn't know

God healed I didn't know God answered prayer. Not something I've experienced. And

then there's another thing in this definition here we are representatives. Represent How are

you are you proud when again, this is the last time I traveled?

Okay, am I proud of who I am? Because when I hand when

I passport over, he's looking at me. He's not looking at anybody else,

He's not looking at the state of the United Kingdom. He's just looking

at me and saying, am I going to let you in? People look

at us when we meet with them, and when they look at us,

they look at who we are, how we dressed, how we behave,

how we talk, what they know about us. If sometime reputation goes before

us. I sat down at a conference in London about it must be about

six or seven months ago, and a gentleman came and sat next to me

and said, hello, Dave, how are you? And I don't know

what you're like, but I'm pretty good with faces. I'm not so good

with names, but I'm pretty good with faces. And I looked at him

and I'm looking at his face and I'm thinking, I just don't recognize you.

Have we met before? He said no? I said, how do

you know my name? I realized I was wearing a badge saying day.

But it wasn't because I was wearing a badge saying Dave. He said,

I've been watching you online. I said, oh, was it? Was

it a conference or something? He said, no, no, I've been

I've been visiting your church online. I went, oh, how did you

find it? He said, well, I know someone who knows you.

I know a guy called Paul, and he and he re shared one of

your services and I happened to click on it. That's how I came and

visited. I said, are you a regular church go? He said,

I go sometimes at Christmas. I go sometimes at Easter. He said,

but I didn't realize church did online. I didn't realize that church shed stuff

like this. Why do you do it? Now? There's a question I

can answer because when people ask you why questions, you can go for it.

You can absolutely go. Even in other nations where it's illegal to preach

the Gospel, if someone asks you a question, you're quite in liberty to

answer the question. And I would say, when someone asks you a why

question, go for it. Go for it with everything that you are,

what you know, And it might be as simple as do you know what

why I do it is because I know someone special and I want you to

know them too. This might be as simple as that. So, sitting

in this conference, sitting at his table with other people sitting around the table,

and he said, why do you do it? I thought, Okay,

I've got an audience here, and he's not just listening. There's four

or five other people sitting around the table. We're just about to get started.

The conference is just about to get going. I said, Will I

do it for the same reason that Paul told you about it? That's because

there's good news to hear and I'd love to share a bit more with you.

And then the conference started, so he stopped talking. But you know

what, we've got to grab those moments. We've got to grab those moments.

We've got to declare who we are. We've got to proclaim who we

are. And we've got to remember we need confidence because you know what,

people will listen to someone who speaks with confidence and boldness and faith. And

if all the boldness and faith you've got is what you've got right now,

that's enough. You don't need my confidence or somebody else's confidence, or the

convidence of Billy Graham. Just go with what you've got, go in the

strength that you have. So let's remember this. We are ambassadors, We're

officials of the highest rank. So I want to encourage you. Put your

gold stars on. If you haven't got real gold stars, put your virtual

gold stars on. Hey. Hey, you know, you know when you

dress up for a special event, you know what you're going to look in

the mirror and you look at yourself and think, am I ready? You

look at yourself, you said, yes, I'm ready, having brushed a

few hairs off, or you know a bit of dust or something. Yes,

I'm ready. I want to encourage you do this with confidence. Dress

ready. And one of the things even as we were worshiping, even as

cherry and worship, do you know what I felt God say to me,

tighten your belt, Dave. And I don't think it was because I literally

physically tighten my belt and then to worship this morning, and I felt God

say to me, truth matters. Truth matters. And we know that it

talks about when we talk about when its about putting on the armor of God,

the belt of truth. Now, if we wear the belt of truth

loosely, then our conversation will be loose, and sometimes we need to tighten

our conversation. Do not allow drillities to creep in, Do not allow misunderstandings

to creep in. Go for the truth, go for who God is.

So, as an ambassador, what can we ask about an ambassador? Who

do you represent? What do we carry? What can we say? Well,

firstly I want to say and I want to move on from. Actually,

before I forget, I did leave it in the case. He's a

really interesting thought that I had. You know, this is my identity.

This is just a piece of leather to protect my identity. How do we

protect our athens? Do you know what? Whenever you get to scat these

modern scanning machines, you try putting it in with this on and it won't

accept it. You have to take it out of the cover. You have

to show the real identity. And so please let me encourage you. Let's

not put on masks. Let's show the real us. Let's take out the

covers, the things that we hide behind. Because people respect reality, people

expect reality. People are looking for the real kingdom, they're looking for Christ

in us. You know, sometimes we get in the way. Sometimes we've

got too much stuff in the way. And sometimes we just need to give

a little glimpse of who we are because we represent the king, the king

of king. So I know there's a king who live well, he has

a house not far from here. Actually, sorry, it's a castle,

isn't It's a castle, Windsor Castle. And do you know what, Just

let me again illustrate something that might be of interest to you, and I'll

show you the libits of my history. If you go to Windsor Castle,

right in the center of Windsor Castle is a tower that's the central keep,

and round that is a moat, and then round that is a wider castle,

and that would be the castle grounds. And there are people who live

in those castle grounds who live under the protection of the king. But if

you go a little further out outside the walls of the castle, you come

to a place called home park. And home park is a farm and some

land that belongs to the king, and it's protected by the castle. It's

within eyesight of the castle. It's what's called home park. And often people,

when they'll be under battle would come and reside in home park to feel

safe. But do you know what, if you go even Further out you

come to the Great Park. If you ride down the long Walk, you

come to the Great Park, which is also crown Land, also under the

protection of the King. Not so well protected because it's a long way from

the castle, but it's still protected. And I want to encourage us to

think about where are we. Are we just abiding near the king? Are

we on the King's lands? And I'm talking about the King of kings?

Now are we abiding on his lands? Are we close to him? Are

we in his homekeep in his moat? There's a saying which I don't know

how this relates for everybody else, but it says an Englishman's home is his

castle. And I know I say to my Spanish speaking friends, my Mexican

friends, my cassa souscassa, which I believe translates literally as my castle is

your castle. I know we translate it as my home is your home.

It's a way of welcoming people. But I love it when I say my

castle is your castle. Have a thought about the place that you live being

a castle. It may not have turrets, it may not have slip windows

for archers to shoot through, but it's your safe place you when you get

at home, you shut the door and think, oh, I finished for

the day. I'm home and I'm safe, and you kick your shoes off

and you make yourself at home. So who do we represent? We represent

the King? What do we carry? We carry something of his presence,

we carry something of his authority, and we carry a message. And that

message needs to be proclaimed. Now, proclamation is not you know, I

don't believe it's possible to proclaim like this, Oh it is great and greatly

to be praised. I don't think that's proclamation. I think proclamation comes with

an energy. It comes with the confidence. It comes with the sense of

identities that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. It goes on

to say in one peter as I'll read it, why can we be good

at emissaries here? But we are a chosen people, a royal pre stood,

a holy nation, God's special possession. That you may declare the praises

of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful life. It's once

you were a people, but now you are the people of God. Once

you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends,

I urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from simple desires which

wage war against your soul. And then it says in verse twelve, it

says, this live such good lives amongst the pagans, that though they accuse

you of doing wrong, they see your good deeds and glorify God on the

day he visits us. If we walk in with the wrong reputation, if

we walk in with the wrong mindset, if we start abusing. What would

happen if I got to the border and I started being really rude to the

border God, even though I've got my part as well, what happens He'd

probably goes, do you know what, go into the side room, go

into the cybe room, and have to ask some more questions. You know,

he has the power to say no. You know, we need to

recognize who we are as God, and such live such good lives that our

reputation goes before us. That the way we carry ourselves will be glory to

God, will bring glory to Him because we do things by his grace.

In Two Corinthians, as God's co workers, we urge you not to receive

God's grace in vain, For he says in the time of my favor.

I heard you, and in the day of your salvation I helped you.

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor. Now is the

day of salvation. We put no stumbling block into anyone's path, so that

our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God, we

commend ourselves in every way, in great endurance, in troubles, in hardships

and distress. Do you know what people actually look at us when we're under

pressure, When there is pressure in our world, people look at the way

behave because they want to see whether what we say is actually what we do.

We can say things like I pray, I trust God, I have

faith, and then suddenly we're doing it in our own strument. Well,

I've got a better plan. We don't trust God. And so let me

encourage you to come with boldness and with confidence, and with faith and with

purpose. And so as we go, let's ask others to pray for us.

In Corinthians, sorry, in Ephesians, it says this pray also for

me, that whenever I speak, words will be given to me, so

that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel. Just like Isabelle

for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it

fearlessly as I should, and I don't want to say me here, this

is not me. Let's make this a declaration for ourselves. Pray also for

us whenever we go that we are ambassadors for Christ. Let's pull out our

credentials if we need to, but let's our credentials go before us, and

let's declare who God is and bring him glory. Let me pray, Father,

we thank you for the privilege to be out your ambassador. And Father,

we thank you that you chose us, You made a way for us

through your son Jesus and Lord. As we head towards Christmas, we head

towards the story again of you sending your son, born of a virgin,

laid in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, welcomed by angels, by

shepherds, by kings and wise men. And so, Father, help us

to be ambassadors for the king today. Help us to be ambassadors for the

kingdom. I just want to pause because I want to give a little bit

of space there, because sometimes when you present your passport they might turn you

away because of something you've done. Before some way you've been before. Sometimes

there are people who have to have two passports because to get across particular borders

they can't have a stamp of another country in that passport. They won't be

allowed in. Disqualifies them. Do you know what, Church? I sense?

There are some, even as I'm praying, who feel disqualified from being

an ambassador for the king. Do you know? Being an ambassador for the

King is not about what you've done. It's about what He's done. It's

not about what you and I have done. Because we're getting we'll get it

wrong from time to time. We'll do things we shouldn't have done. We'll

say things we shouldn't say. But you know it's not because how good we

are, Because if it was about how good we are, there'd be regular

times when we wouldn't be allowed in. But it's not about that. It's

about him. God sent his one and only son that whosoever believes in him

should not perish but have everlasting life. So I just want to all those

who are listening, you are not discified as a follow of the King,

as a disciple of Christ. You are not disqualified because it's not about how.

It's about his and we carry that presence. We carry that Holy Spirit

presence. If you feel like you're not qualified, then linger in his presence.

Remind yourself of who the King is. Remind yourself of who you are

an ambassador and am emissary to the King, and then lift your eyes up,

look into his eyes, and look into the Father's eyes and hear his

heartbeat that says, son, daughter, you're special. That's why I sent

my son Jesus for you. You're precious. That's why I made a way.

And you're not alone. That's why I gave you others around you in

church and beyond who will encourage you, bless you, pray with you,

walk with you, and the Holy Spirit to empower you. In Jesus' name,

And so, Father, we choose right now. I want to encourage

you to choose right now to walk in his footsteps, to walk his ways,

to walk with his confidence and bring that which can only bring him glory.

Declare his kingdom for the sake of the lost, for those who have

not yet heard the good news of the Gospel, and for others in Jesus

name. Amen.