Ambassadors of God

The scripture reading comes from 2 Corinthians.

Please follow along in your bulletin or on the screen.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.

Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,

we regard him thus no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself.

Not counting their trespasses against them

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Working together with him, then,

we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thanks, Christina.

Let's pray together for a few minutes.

Sovereign Lord, great and glorious God,

the majestic and mighty one,

we come before you this morning,

not presuming on your grace,

but we come before you, Father, with humility,

with a sense of fear and trembling,

aware of your awesomeness and our depravity,

aware, God, of your glory and our great need for you.

Father, where we do come self-confident,

we ask you to forgive us, God,

to humble us, Lord, to find grace in you.

God, you say that you oppose the proud,

but you give grace to the humble.

Oh, God, make us a humble people,

and therefore those that receive your grace, God.

What a dreadful thing it would be

to be opposed by the sovereign God.

Father, we humble ourselves before you today.

God, we so need you.

We come this morning full of weakness and limitations.

God, we carry in our hearts the brokenness of this world,

the brokenness of our own lives,

and God, we are so aware of our desperate need for you.

We've come to worship and adore you,

to praise your greatness,

but also, God, we've come to find our hope

and our rest in you,

to find our strength and our peace in you.

Christ, come and minister to us this morning, we pray.

Even as you have already,

we pray that you continue to minister to us.

God, as we read your word this morning,

we see the wonder of the gospel,

the beauty of the gospel, God.

We also see your great calling for us

to be your agents of hope and healing in this world.

And so, Lord, we pray that as we don't just read this word,

but as we ponder over it the next half an hour or so,

as we open up your word,

we pray that you will write your gospel deeply on our hearts.

We pray that as a church at Watermark,

we will be deeply, deeply moved by the truths of the gospel, God,

that it will set us free.

It will give us hope in our hearts, Lord, in the city.

But we pray, God,

that also you will cause us to be agents of your gospel,

as we see in this word this morning, Lord.

God, help us to see what you're doing in this world

and to join you, as that incredible verse said,

to work with you in what you're doing in this world.

God, we pray that as a church family,

we will be faithful to what you've called us to.

God, may you look on us as a church family

and say, with you I'm well pleased,

my good and faithful servants.

Speak to us, we pray.

Lead us and guide us, God.

Show us how to follow you and obey you, Lord.

Lord, as a city, this last year has seen so many challenges

and help us to know how to respond correctly,

how to neither feel sorry for ourselves

nor to be overconfident in ourselves.

God, help us to humble ourselves before you.

And so we do pray, God,

that Hong Kong will be a great city again.

Not great in earthly terms,

not great in necessarily wealth or sophistication,

great before you, God.

A city that takes care of its people,

a city that is humble before you.

Make us a great city in your eyes, Lord.

Finally, Father, this morning,

we want to pray again for our city,

for our continent, Asia,

and for the world around the coronavirus.

For those that are sick, we pray, be with them.

For those that are stuck in quarantine,

God, pray, minister to them.

For those that are at home this morning,

because they cannot leave,

Lord, minister to them, we pray.

Father, for those that have lost loved ones,

and are grieving the loss of loved ones,

Father, minister to them, draw near to them.

God, we pray for our parents and scholars and students,

those that have had school and university closed,

those that are needing to homeschool their kids,

we pray, strengthen them, minister to them.

We pray this next month will be good for families, God.

We pray for your grace.

Father, we pray finally for countries

that are experiencing large surges in the virus.

Pray for South Korea, God.

Pray for Iran and Italy.

Pray for the governments and the medical staff and doctors.

God, pray for the churches in those countries.

May they be salt and light, God,

as we pray for ourselves.

We pray these wonderful things in your magnificent name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, once again, welcome.

My name is Kevin, if you don't know me.

And if you're visiting from one of the other churches in Hong Kong,

I've met some of you this morning.

A warm welcome.

Great to have you.

You know, a number of churches have needed to close down their services.

And so if you're part of the larger body of Christ in Hong Kong,

welcome.

It's great to have you with us this morning.

Being part of the people of God means being part of the mission of God.

And what is the mission of God?

It's to bring hope and healing to a lost and broken world.

That was the main point of the sermon two weeks ago.

And as I try to show you us, that is not just a point of a sermon.

That is one of the main points of the Bible.

That God is at work in the world.

God has not abandoned his world, but he's moved towards his world in grace,

bringing hope and healing and redemption.

But he's doing that, not arbitrarily.

He's doing that through his people, through his church.

And then last week, Ed unpacked the Great Commission, Matthew 28.

Jesus says, go into all the world and make disciples, followers of Jesus,

teaching them to obey everything that I've taught you.

And then Chris looked at Peter chapter 3, who said,

always regard Christ as Lord.

And when you do that, then be ready to always give a reason for the hope that is within you.

Now this morning, Ed and Chris are preaching in Yunlong at Paul's church.

Paul, who was with us a few weeks ago.

And they are taking that message there.

And so this morning, we continue with this theme of God's call for us as a church to be on mission,

to join him in what he's doing in the world.

Now this morning, we're going to look at this passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 16 and onwards.

2 Corinthians 5:16

And if you're here at the end of January, this passage should be familiar,

because Oscar preached from this very passage a few weeks ago.

I hope you picked that up.

And Oscar magnificently unpacked the gospel, the fact that in Christ we are a new creation.

This morning, I want us to look at this passage again, not because Oscar didn't do a good job,

but because it is so rich and there's so many facets to it.

And we're going to look at the gospel briefly,

but then we're going to look at the main implication that Paul draws from the gospel.

So Paul establishes the gospel and then he says,

okay, the implication of this is, therefore, be on mission with God.

And so we're going to look at that together.

So let's look at this passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

And the context is this.

The apostle Paul goes to Corinth many years before and he plants this church.

And while he's away, some other people come to the church in Corinth and they say,

you guys listen to that Paul fellow?

Come on.

He's not very impressive.

He's not very sophisticated.

I mean, just look at him.

He doesn't even talk that eloquently.

And if Paul is not that impressive, then maybe his message isn't that impressive.

And so these people are coming to this church in Corinth,

and they're downplaying the wonder of the gospel because they're saying,

Paul's not a very impressive man,

and therefore maybe his message and his ministry aren't that impressive.

And so Paul writes this chapter to show them,

he says, yes, maybe I'm not impressive.

I'm fallen and I'm fallible as a person.

But the message of the gospel and the ministry that we've been given is magnificent.

Okay, so that's what this chapter is all about.

So look what he says here in verse 16.

He says,

What's Paul saying here?

He's saying that there was once a time when we assessed people,

sized people up from a purely humanistic perspective,

a purely worldly perspective,

or in the words that Paul uses here,

he says,

According to the flesh.

In other words,

we would look at people and work out their value or how significant they were

from a worldly perspective,

what careers they had,

how successful they were in their job,

where they stayed in Hong Kong,

what their culture or their background or their ethnicity were.

And so some people we would be in awe of and enamored by them.

And some people we would look down at them.

And then he says,

But something changed.

He says,

From now on,

no longer do we regard people according to the flesh.

Something's changed.

And what's changed?

Well,

Paul encountered the gospel.

And when he encountered the gospel,

that changed the lens through which he saw other people and himself,

and in fact,

the whole world.

He says,

Now the gospel helps us to see all people,

including ourselves,

in a different light,

which is that we're broken,

we're lost,

that we're sinners in need of grace.

But also,

if we've come to Christ,

if someone has come to find their hope in Jesus,

that we are eternally loved and accepted and esteemed and valued by the God of all creation.

You see that?

Previously,

we used to size people up and judge people according all sorts of criteria.

But now the gospel has given us a different lens.

Now we see all people,

whether working in the red light industry or the CEO of a big bank,

all of us in the same light.

We are sinners in need of grace,

but if in Christ,

loved and esteemed by him.

As that great preacher,

Oscar Chow once said,

The gospel is the great equalizer.

And it really is,

right?

It really does,

it just levels the playing field for all of us.

And then he says,

we even once viewed Christ this way.

Once upon a time,

we looked at Jesus and we thought,

he's this poor peasant from the backwaters of Nazareth.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Can he teach us anything?

Hey,

born to an unwed mom,

is there anything good that's going to come from Jesus?

But now the gospel has helped us to see us as we really are.

But it's also helped us to see Jesus for who he really is,

the savior of the world.

And so ever since encountering the gospel,

everything has changed.

And so Paul says,

a Christian is someone who's come to see Christ for who he is,

also come to see themselves for who they are,

and in light of that sees the world as it really is.

Now,

in verse 13,

Paul's going to elaborate,

elaborate on what a Christian is.

And in fact,

he's actually going to give us two definitions of a Christian,

somebody that's encountered the gospel.

The first thing is,

he says this,

a Christian is not just someone who's trying to be religious.

A Christian is not just someone who's trying to improve their lives,

make their lives better.

A Christian is not just someone who's trying to honor God and serve God in the

hope that maybe when they die and they get to heaven,

God will be forgiving towards them.

No,

a Christian is someone who in the most fundamental part of their lives has been

recreated,

renewed.

Look at what he says here in verse 17.

It says,

if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation,

a new creation.

The old is gone and the new has come.

Friends,

a Christian is someone who was once dead to God because of our sin,

but has been made alive in Jesus.

A Christian is someone who was once controlled by our own self-centered desires,

living for me,

but now is free from that.

A Christian is someone who wants to live for themselves,

but now since coming to know Christ has been won over for Christ and now lives

for God and his glory.

Friends,

a Christian is someone who's in a being,

the control center of our lives,

our hearts was once self-orientated,

but now has been made new and changed.

In fact,

a Christian is someone who is so different that Paul says,

it's like a new creation has been born.

John Newton,

the famous guy who wrote Amazing Grace,

he said this,

I'm not what I hope to be.

That's true for me.

I'm not what I one day will be when I get to glory,

but by the grace of God,

I'm not what I used to be.

See,

God's grace comes and changes us.

And as Paul says,

it's like making us a completely different person.

How many of us have heard stories of,

of people who in coming to Christ,

family members have then come and said,

what have you done to my husband?

What have you done to my children?

They're like a new person.

I remember I was once in,

Claire and I,

when we first got married,

went to Czech Republic and we met a pastor there.

And I said to him,

how did you become a Christian?

And you know,

Czech Republic is one of the most atheist countries in the world.

Less than 1% go to church.

He says,

I was a university student.

Atheist didn't believe in God whatsoever.

I was riding on the trains to university and I met this guy from Zambia.

And every day he would share the gospel with me.

And so one day after hearing the gospel,

I'm quite moved by it.

I'm challenged by it.

And so I go home to my girlfriend and I say,

do you know what this guy's been telling me on the train?

And he shares the story of the gospel with her.

She believes she goes to her room,

gets on her knees and says,

God,

if it's true,

make yourself known to me.

She becomes a believer that day,

but he's still not so sure.

And so over the next week or two weeks,

he sees such a radical change in her that he suddenly believes it must be true.

And he gets on his knees and he says,

Christ,

come and have your way in my life.

He becomes a follower of Jesus.

He said to me,

I led my first person to Christ before I even believed.

Let his girlfriend to Christ.

But the point was she changed.

There was such a dramatic change in her life that had led him to see there must be something different.

Friends,

the gospel is a power that changes us.

And what brings about this change?

Where does it come from?

Well,

look at verse 18.

All this is from God.

Friends,

God is the great orchestrator of this.

If God is at work in your life,

if God is changing your life,

if you've recently become a follower of Jesus,

if you've seen the evidence of God's spirit at work in you,

it's not because you have amazing pastors.

As wonderful as this church is,

it's not because of this church.

It's because the great God of the universe changes people.

He's at work in your life.

God,

by his spirit,

is working in people.

All this is from God.

He's the one who gives life to the spiritually dead.

He's the one who gives sight to the blind.

Friends,

if,

as we pray often,

as I prayed at half past five this morning,

when I was praying for Hong Kong,

God,

send revival to Hong Kong.

Renew the city.

Friends,

if that happens,

that won't be because of any strategic brilliance of any humans.

It'll be because God in his sovereignty has ordained it.

If anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

All this is from God.

But now,

look at verse 18 and 19.

Because here Paul is going to give us the second description of a Christian.

So the first thing is,

a Christian is someone who has been made new in their heart.

But secondly,

look at what he says here.

A Christian is someone who has been reconciled to God.

Verse 18,

all this is from God,

who through Christ reconciled us to himself.

And again,

verse 19.

That is,

in Christ,

God was reconciling the world to himself,

not counting men's trespasses against them.

So here's the second description of a Christian.

A Christian is someone who was once estranged from God,

once alienated from God,

on account of his or her sinful nature,

but now has been reconciled or reunited.

A Christian is someone who was,

where once there was animosity,

now there is welcome.

Where once there was enmity and strife,

now there is friendship.

Where once there was alienation,

now there is reconciliation.

And friends,

that prior state of being alienated from the God that made us,

and loved us,

and created us,

and gave us everything that we have and need,

being estranged from God,

that is the natural state of every human being,

apart from the gospel,

apart from the grace of God.

But now,

in Christ,

because of Jesus and his death,

reconciliation between God and man is possible.

Friends,

that is the very heart of the gospel.

That is the central message of what the Bible is all about.

This is what God is doing in the world.

That though human beings,

in our natural condition,

are cut off from God,

under his judgment,

under his wrath,

because of our sin,

God has not abandoned the world.

He's moved towards us in incredible grace and love.

By sending Jesus to die on the cross,

to take upon himself,

our sin and our judgment,

now poured out on Jesus,

in our place,

so that our sins aren't counted against us,

but are now counted against Jesus.

As Paul says in verse 21,

we read it earlier,

for our sake,

I need a,

I need a handheld mic,

I mean a wireless mic.

I practiced this this morning with my hands.

For our sake,

God made him,

that's Jesus,

who knew no sin,

to become like a sinner,

to take on sin,

so that in him,

we who are sinners,

might become the righteousness of God.

Do you see what happens there?

There's this double exchange that takes place.

Christ takes on our sin,

and we become righteous before God.

Friends,

all this is so that we can be reconciled to the God who made us.

Friends,

isn't reconciliation such a beautiful thing?

I don't know if you've ever had this,

where a relationship that's really meaningful to you,

maybe your spouse,

maybe your children,

maybe your parents,

maybe a dear friend,

where there's some tension,

there's friction that takes place,

misunderstanding,

and you just,

it feels like it's jarring,

it feels like you're not seeing eye to eye,

and you lie awake at night,

you're tossing and you're turning,

you can't sleep,

you can't rest,

and suddenly one person says,

hey,

can we talk about this?

I'm sorry.

And the other person says,

I'm sorry.

Now,

please forgive me.

Friends,

isn't reconciliation one of the most beautiful things in the whole world?

Friends,

now God says,

the God who made us,

the God of the universe and the cosmos,

the God who knows you better than you know yourself,

the God who loves you,

that God has made a way for,

where there once was friction and animosity,

intention,

and under his judgment and his wrath,

now reconciliation is taking place.

Now there is welcome and embrace.

Now he says,

I love you,

my son and my daughter.

Dear friend,

have you been reconciled to this God?

Do you know him?

Do you know his love and his tenderness?

Do you know his warm embrace?

Friends,

are you still trusting in yourself to save yourself?

Are you trusting in your righteousness or your good works or your moral performance?

Are you trusting in your religious devotion?

Friends,

we've said it many times and we'll say it again.

Apart from Jesus,

you have no hope.

You cannot save yourself.

There is nothing you can do in this world to rescue and redeem and to be reconciled to God.

Put your hope in Jesus.

Friends,

the one who loves you the most and knows you the best,

the one who went to the cross for you,

he went to the cross that you might be reconciled to the God who made you for a relationship with him.

Friends,

do you know him?

Do you know him?

As Paul says later on in this chapter,

I implore you,

be reconciled to God.

Friends,

maybe for some of us who have been running away from God,

maybe you're still coming to church,

but in your heart,

you're drifting away from him.

Maybe in your heart,

you're making decisions that you know the relationship is being strained.

Friends,

be reconciled to him.

Don't go another day.

Don't go another hour.

Friends,

don't go another minute.

Be reconciled to God.

For in Christ,

he who knew no sin became sin for us,

that we might become the righteousness of God,

that we might be reconciled to him.

Friends,

this is the heart of the Bible.

This is the heart of Christianity.

This is what the gospel is all about,

that in Christ,

God is reconciling the world to himself,

not counting men's trespasses against him.

Isn't that good news?

It's great news.

If you're not convinced,

it's great news.

Now,

that is part one.

Okay?

Now,

in the second part of this passage,

he gives us part two.

Part one,

you could say,

is the ground,

or the foundation,

of Paul's ministry.

Paul's entire ministry is grounded on this.

The gospel,

right?

That's the message.

In part two,

he's now going to give us the implications of that message,

which is his ministry,

or his mission.

So,

the ground,

or the foundation of his ministry,

is the message of the gospel.

The goal of his ministry,

is the mission of Jesus.

And in the next couple of verses,

he's going to oscillate,

between the message,

and the mission.

Okay?

These two things.

He's going to go left foot,

right foot.

It's like,

it's like an airplane.

You need two wings to fly an airplane.

It's like pedals of a bicycle.

You need two pedals.

Okay?

And Paul's going to keep on jumping,

between one and two.

The message of the gospel,

and the mission of the gospel.

Let's see how he does this.

Look at verse 18 with me.

All this,

is from God,

who through Christ,

reconciled us to himself.

Okay?

That's the message.

Now the mission.

And gave us,

the ministry of reconciliation.

So God is reconciling sinners to himself.

That's what he's doing in the world.

By sending Jesus to die,

on the cross.

He is now at work in people's hearts.

But those that he has reconciled,

if you're a follower of Jesus,

this morning,

that's you.

Those that he has reconciled,

he is now given a ministry of reconciliation.

In other words,

when God saves somebody,

ransoms somebody,

rescues somebody,

reconciles somebody,

he also brings that person

into his reconciliation mission,

into the world.

In other words,

being reconciled to God,

being a Christian,

is not distinct or separate

from being part of his mission

of reconciliation into the world.

In other words,

being those that have received

the good news of Jesus

is not distinct or separate

from his calling

to be those who carry

the good news of Jesus

into the world.

Being those who have been

changed by the gospel

is not distinct

from being those

who tell others about the gospel.

Or in the words of Genesis 12,

those that have been blessed

by the gospel

are called to bless others

with the gospel.

And so Paul says

the exact same thing

in the next sentence.

Look at verse 19.

He says,

that is,

in Christ,

God is reconciling

the world to himself,

not counting their trespasses

against him.

Okay,

that's the message,

the gospel.

Now,

entrusting to us

the message of reconciliation.

So do you see that?

Paul's saying

these two things,

being reconciled

and being agents

of reconciliation,

these two things

go together.

Now,

you could say,

okay,

Kevin,

but isn't that just

the apostles,

right?

Maybe Paul's just

talking about himself.

Maybe he's saying,

I,

Paul,

you know,

the apostle

who wrote half

the New Testament,

I have been reconciled

and I have been given

this message

of reconciliation.

But the rest of you,

well,

you know,

you just go on

doing what you want.

Well,

look what he says.

the same people

that he talks about

being reconciled

is the same people

who are given

this ministry

of reconciliation.

He says,

God,

who through Christ

reconciled us,

okay,

to himself,

gives us,

those same people

that he's reconciled,

the ministry

of reconciliation.

Who has he given

the ministry

of reconciliation to?

Those that he's reconciled.

Who is he sending out

as his missionaries?

Those that have

received the gospel.

Friends,

it's not just

the pastors

and the elders

and those that work

at the church

as staff.

It's all believers.

So we could say it

like this.

Central to the gospel

is that those

that were once

alienated from God

have been reconciled

and central

to what it means

to be a Christian

is to be an ambassador

of reconciliation

in our world.

Friends,

just think about

what incredible

responsibility

and privilege

this is.

The gospel

is so precious.

It's the hope

of the world.

It's the hope

of our city.

It's the hope

of our lives.

Friends,

the gospel

is the thing

that's going to bring

hope and peace

to our city again.

It's the thing

that can bring together

fractured

and warring parties.

It's the thing

that can quieten

the anger

and the frustration

and the restlessness

of our city.

The message

of the gospel

is a power

that changes

people's lives

and it can change

a city.

And this precious

treasure,

which is more precious

than all the gold

in the world,

this treasure

God has entrusted

into our hands.

I know it sounds foolish.

I wouldn't have done it

if I was God.

But somehow

in his wisdom

he has entrusted

this message

into our hands

to take into

the city

to people

like you and I.

And so in verse 20

Paul says the same thing.

He uses a different analogy.

He says,

therefore,

we are ambassadors

for Christ.

God making his appeal

to this world

through us.

Friends,

what do ambassadors do?

We have some friends

from Ambassador Church

here this morning.

What do ambassadors do?

Ambassadors speak

on behalf

of their government.

Now,

in the 21st century

often ambassadors

engage in negotiation.

In the Roman world

there wasn't a lot

of negotiation.

The Roman Empire

they just annexed somebody

and then they sent

their ambassador

to tell their colony

what to do.

So when you're

an ambassador from Rome

there wasn't a lot

of negotiation.

You just told somebody

what to do.

Friends,

God says that

he's called his people

to be ambassadors.

To speak on behalf

of the king of heaven

to a rebel world

that there is hope

for the world.

He's called us

to speak on behalf

of him

as his spokesperson

to represent

his interests.

Friends,

this morning

we're ambassadors

not of Rome,

not of Hong Kong,

not of the family business

or the family name

but of the reconciling

God of the universe.

And what is the message

that he's given us

to deliver?

That in Christ

reconciliation

for rebels

is possible.

That in Christ

God is reconciling

the world to himself.

Not counting mankind's

trespasses against them.

That if anyone

is in Christ

he is a new creation.

Friends,

that God made him

who had no sin

to be sin for us

so that in him

we might be

the righteousness

of God.

This is our privilege.

We are entrusted

with this message

as his ambassadors.

God making

his reconciliation

appeal

through us.

Is that not

an incredible privilege?

Oh my goodness,

it is.

Now,

friends,

how does this

transform

your week

and your life?

Imagine every day

waking up

with this sense

of conviction.

Today I am

an ambassador

for the king of heaven.

Today I am

God's agent

to bring reconciliation

to the world.

Friends,

how would that change

the way that we live

our lives?

Yesterday morning

I was going to

pick up a bed

from Kennedy town

to our house

youngest daughter

and wanted a bunk bed

and so got this bed

and ordered the go-go van

and so while I am

in the go-go van

I am having this conversation

with my new friend Sam

the go-go van driver

and he asks me

what I do

so I say

I am a pastor

and what do you think

about faith?

Well,

he says

I don't believe anything.

Oh,

why is that?

Why don't you believe anything?

And then we were both

wearing face masks

and actually he was wearing

a face mask

and so I said

oh,

you know,

the coronavirus

what do you think

about that?

Well,

Hong Kong's gone through

a difficult time

this last year

what are your thoughts

about Hong Kong?

Where do you find hope,

Sam?

And so we have this conversation

in the go-go van

about the hope of the world

where you can find hope.

Now the reason I did that

was because I was preaching

this message this morning

and I was aware

that there in a go-go van

God has placed me

to be an agent

of reconciliation.

Here's my friend Sam

who does not know

the God who made him

the God who made him

for a relationship with him

the one for whom

Jesus died on the cross

and had his blood poured out

the one who Jesus said

Father,

it is finished.

Christ hung on the cross

for my friend Sam

and he doesn't know

the great love of God

and maybe there's nobody else

that he's going to meet

in this next year

that knows Jesus

and God has put me there

in the van

as an agent

of reconciliation

to help Sam

get to know

this God of the universe.

Friends,

when you go to work tomorrow,

you go there to do a job

and we do that job properly.

Okay?

It's good to work hard

but you don't just go to a job.

You go as an ambassador

of the king,

as an agent for reconciliation

to help those

that do not know

the love of Christ

come to know him.

Friends,

how would this change

the way we do parenting?

We don't just think

of parenting

as raising our kids

to send them

to a good school,

to go to a good university,

to get a good job.

We raise our kids

that they will know

the problem of sin

in the world

and the wonder of Jesus

and what he's done

on the cross.

To teach our kids

how to fear God

and to love him deeply.

Friends,

what happens if we saw

our social engagements,

not just as having

a drink with a friend

after work

but as a time

to listen

to the pain

and the hurt

in people's hearts

and to help

give a reason

for the hope

that is within us

and to show them

that there's hope

in this world.

Friends,

God has called us

to be agents

of reconciliation.

For those of us

that are followers

of Jesus this morning,

those that have been

reconciled to God,

can I ask us,

how is our

ambassadorship going?

Friends,

how faithful

are we being

with the task

that the sovereign God

has entrusted

to your care?

Have you neglected

this task?

task he's given you?

Are you faithfully

discharging your duties

with diligence

and care?

The last few days

I've done a lot

of repenting

as I've thought

about this.

How so often

I neglect

the great call

that God has put

on our lives

as followers of Jesus.

On Friday night

we were flying back

from Thailand

and I was sitting

in the airplane

and I was frantically

typing away

trying to finish

off the sermon

and on the way

back from the airport

half past 11

on Friday night

I realized

there was a lady

sitting next to me

fully donned

in coronavirus

gear, right?

The rain jacket

and the plastic gloves

and the mask

and the laboratory goggles

and everything

and for two and a half hours

I sat next to her

on the plane

typing out a message

about reconciliation

and did not have

one conversation

with her.

And so in the taxi

I was like

God I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

You've called me

to be an agent

of reconciliation.

I was more concerned

with my own work

than this person

knowing you.

Father forgive me.

As we come to a close

I want us to

finally look at

what does this mean

practically

and the way to do this

I want us to look at

the book of Acts

and look at Acts chapter 5

Acts 5 · chapter mention

and we want to look at

how the early church

did this

and then draw a couple

of practical applications.

So in Acts chapter 5

Acts 5 · chapter mention

the story is this

Jesus sends out

his apostles

to be his witnesses

he says

wait until you receive

the Holy Spirit

the Holy Spirit

of Pentecost

comes upon them

empowers them

and they go out

witnessing for Jesus

and as they do that

many people

are coming to faith

in Christ.

It's just

the city of Jerusalem

is being turned

upside down

and people are

following the apostles

and listening to their teaching

and the religious leaders

are getting jealous

because more people

are now following

and flocking

to the apostles

than listening

to the religious leaders

and so the religious leaders

have the apostles

arrested and thrown

in jail

to try and

quieten down

this uproar

in the city.

Well

the apostles

are in jail

and that night

an angel

miraculously

opens the gates

of the jail

and sets them free.

Now

if you're a spiritual

seeker this morning

you might think

come on

that stuff

doesn't happen

right

who believes

those kind of things

but just take note

the book of Acts

was written by

Luke

who's a physician

and Luke

was commissioned

by a Roman official

called Theophilus

to write

to investigate

the claims of Jesus

and to investigate

the early church

and then to write

a report for him.

So the book of Acts

isn't like a PR stunt

or written from an angle

it was an investigative report

commissioned by a Roman official

to this physician

to write for him.

So you can trust

the facts of the book of Acts.

So

this angel

opens the gates

and if I was in the prison

I would have said

thank you God

time to go home

and to look after myself.

But that's not what

the angel says.

He says

go into the town square

go to the temple

and go and tell people

about Jesus.

Now they've just been arrested

for doing that

right?

And he says

go back and tell them

the words of life.

So they say

okay.

So they go to the town square

they go to the temple

and they start telling people

about Jesus.

Very soon

the religious leaders

find out exactly

what's happening

and they have them

arrested again.

And they bring them

before the council

called the Sanhedrin

and look at what they say.

They say this

in chapter 5

verse 28.

It says

we strictly charged you

not to teach

in this man's name

and yet here you are

filling Jerusalem

with your teaching.

Church

is it possible

that one day

people could accuse us

of that

in Hong Kong

if we link up

with other churches

and work with other

great churches

in our city

and plant new churches

in our city

that one day

people could say

you guys

you're filling Hong Kong

with your teaching

about Jesus.

May it be so.

If you're a guest

here this morning

just so you know

that's what we're trying

to do.

We're not trying

to build a big church

or a fancy church.

We're trying to fill Hong Kong

with the message of Jesus.

That's what we're on about.

So that's what they do.

They're filling Jerusalem

with the wonder

message of Jesus.

Except

that's exactly

what they were told

not to do.

And so the authorities

come to them

and they say

what are you doing?

We told you

not to do this.

So look what Peter says

in verse 29.

Peter and the other apostles

answer them

and say

but we must obey God

more than man.

Okay?

He says

we know you've said that

but God's told us otherwise.

We're going to obey him.

Well look at how well

this is received.

Verse 33

it says

when they heard this

they were enraged

and decided

to kill them.

Things have escalated

a little bit.

From going to jail

to now

being killed.

So they have this

council meeting

and at the council meeting

one of the leaders

Gamaliel says

guys this is not a good idea.

Let's not kill them.

Just charge them

and just

this thing will die out.

If it's not of God

it'll die out.

So they agree with him.

Verse 40 says this

when they called the apostles

they beat them

they charged them

not to speak

in the name of Jesus

and then they let them go.

Then the apostles

left the presence

of the council

rejoicing

that they had been

counted worthy

to suffer dishonor

for the name of Jesus.

And every day

in the temple courts

from house to house

they did not cease

teaching and preaching

that Jesus

is the Christ.

Okay what do we learn

from this?

Three very quick things

and we're done.

First is this

being an ambassador

for Christ

is hard

and often unwelcomed.

Friends if you

are a follower

of Jesus this morning

you've got to reconcile

the fact that

what Jesus calls you to

may not make you

the most popular

person in town.

Sometimes it's hard

sometimes it's unwelcomed.

No way in the Bible

does it say

that being obedient

to Jesus

is a bed of roses

or going to be easy.

If you're a follower

of Jesus this morning

he's calling you

to be a missionary

and ask any missionary

sometimes it involves

suffering

sometimes it involves

persecution

sometimes it involves

rejection

often involves

heartache.

It means giving up

certain privileges

to things that you

previously thought

were just normal

or entitled to.

It means being

misunderstood

being accused

of ulterior motives.

It means persistence.

I love how the

apostles here

they preach

about Jesus

they get arrested

they get released

they go back

and do the same thing

they get arrested again

and then the last

verse is

so every day

they did not cease

they did not stop

going from house

to house

in the temple courts

telling everybody

that the Christ

is Jesus.

This unbelievable

persistence

they just would not

give up

in the face

of opposition.

Friends

being an ambassador

for Christ

is often hard

often unwelcomed

but it's a wonderful

and a privilege.

Second thing is this

being an ambassador

for Christ

requires us

to know

where our allegiance lies.

When they're arrested

the second time

the authorities

come to them

and say

what are you doing?

We told you not

to do this

and Peter doesn't say

oh sorry

we misunderstood you.

He doesn't say

oh gee

we didn't hear you.

Sounds like parents

right?

You ask your kids

seven times

to do something

and say

sorry

I didn't hear you.

That's not what

Peter says.

He says

we know

but I'm sorry

we've got a higher

allegiance.

His name is Jesus

and he has asked us

to do this.

We've got to listen

to him.

Friends

you know

if you're a Christian

today

Jesus doesn't

just save us

to forgive us

he calls us

into his kingdom

with Christ

as our king.

Before you Christians

the Bible says

you're a slave

to your own desires

now you're a slave

to Christ.

Before we are

Christians

we follow our own

desires

now we follow Christ.

In becoming a Christian

you switch allegiance

from your own kingdom

to the kingdom of Christ.

Jesus is a savior

reconciler

but he's also king.

He's also lord.

And so that means

that we have a higher

allegiance

allegiance to Christ

who's our king.

Third thing is this

being an ambassador

for Christ

requires that we know

the gospel deeply

and love Christ

lavishly.

that verse we looked

at last week

1 Peter 3

regard

honor Christ

in your hearts

as Lord

always being ready

to give a reason

for the hope

that is within you.

Friends

when opposition

comes your way

when persecution

comes your way

when it's tempting

just to buckle down

and just be quiet

when it's tempting

to just live a life

of comfort

and convenience

what's going to help us

turn the tide?

What's going to help us

not live for ourselves

but live for others?

Friends

it's going to be

when our hearts

are reminded

of the wonder

of Jesus

when our hearts

are warmed

by what Christ

has done for us

when we remember

that once we were

alienated from God

under his judgment

and his wrath

but now have been

welcomed as his sons

and daughters

friends

when the love of Christ

washes over our hearts

and floods our hearts

that is when we'll be

ambassadors for Christ

that's when we'll be

missionaries

friends

if we're going to

turn this city

upside down

if we're going to

fill the city

of Hong Kong

with the message

of Jesus

the first thing

we need is

for our own hearts

to be in awe

and overwhelmed

by what Christ

has done for us

that once we were

sinners

still sinners

once we were

lost and broken

once we were

alienated

and cut off

once under his

judgment

and his wrath

and now welcomed

as his sons

and his daughters

friends

Christ has called us

to be his agents

of reconciliation

Jesus is calling us

to stay

to go into the

public square

to be ambassadors

for him

so let the city

and our world

know

that there is

hope in Jesus

let's pray

let's pray

just before we pray

I said earlier

that

as I consider

a message like this

and this scripture

from my own heart

I'm compelled

to get to my knees

in repentance

as I consider

how often

I live for myself

and not for Christ

I cannot help

but

calling out to God

for his mercy

and his forgiveness

friends

maybe some of us

here

we need

the best way

to respond

is by

acknowledging

God

we've

not heeded

your call

to be your ambassadors

God

we've enjoyed

the reconciliation

you've given us

but we've neglected

being agents

of reconciliation

in our city

let's come before

our father

and ask him

to forgive us

great and sovereign

God

we do

God

your word

exposes us

your word

God

is like a mirror

to our souls

it shows us

what's really there

father

so often

we enjoy

the benefits

of the gospel

but we neglect

the calling

that you've given us

to be agents

of hope

and reconciliation

in our world

father

forgive us

father

as we

ponder

the wonder

of what you've

done

by sending

your son

and Jesus

you sending

the Holy Spirit

to change us

to make us

a new creation

and you've

reconciled us

to yourself

God

we

we want to

become agents

of hope

for our world

Lord

and so we

pray God

send us out

we pray God

that tomorrow

morning

when we wake up

we wake up

with a sense

of your calling

your divine

calling

on our lives

God

may we know

what this means

and looks like

for us

God

may we say

yes to you

Father

for those of us

that

have been

over the last

few weeks

or months

slowly shrinking

back from you

maybe we've

been making

decisions

or engaging

in sin

hardening our

hearts towards

you

God we want

to be reconciled

to you

this morning

we want to

come and say

we're sorry

God

Father thank you

that the gospel

reminds us

that you took

the first step

you're not waiting

for us to take

the first step

you've taken

the first step

towards us

by sending

Christ the Son

to die

on the cross

and now God

you've sent

us your word

saying

be reconciled

to me

Father we're

sorry

won't you

take us

back

forgive us

Lord

Christ come

and have your

way in our

hearts and our

lives we pray

come and don't

just be

saviour

come and be

our Lord

come and be

our King

we pray these

things in your

name

Amen