Ambassadors of Jesus

The scripture reading comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and 6.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.

But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to boast about us

so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance

and not about what is in the heart.

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God.

If we are in our right mind, it is for you.

For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this,

that one has died for all, therefore all have died.

And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves,

but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Great.

Good morning.

Oh, that's terrible.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Great.

That's much better.

My name's Chris.

I'm one of the leaders here in Watermark,

and it's...

I'm going to try and lower this.

I'm not that high.

Okay.

Great to see you this morning.

And if you don't know, we're continuing in a series that Kevin alluded to earlier,

where we're looking at mission in the church.

I don't know if any, how many of you know the story of Corrie Ten Boom.

She was imprisoned in a concentration camp in the Nazi occupation in the Second World War.

She saw her father and her sister die horrifically at the hands of the guards.

And after the war, she became this speaker who traveled the world,

telling people of the love of God and the forgiveness of God.

And she tells the story of one day when a man, after a talk, a man approached her.

And she recognized him.

And he was a former SS guard, one of the ones who had stood mocking

while her sister was led into the gas chambers to die.

And as he came up to her, he held out his hand and said,

thank you so much for your message.

It's amazing that even someone like me could be forgiven.

Corrie, at that moment,

even though she'd been speaking about God's reconciling love,

she says,

I now felt and realized the anger and the hatred that was in my heart.

Because at that moment, I couldn't forgive that guy.

I couldn't reach out my hand to him.

And she said,

at that point, she also realized her own sin in her heart.

And she cried out,

God, please forgive me.

Forgive me.

I can't forgive him.

Help me to forgive him.

And she says,

she reached out her hand to him.

And she says this.

She said,

from my shoulder along my arm,

through my hand,

a current seemed to pass from me to him,

while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger

that almost overwhelmed me.

She had discovered the power of reconciliation

that only comes from God.

Now, many of us may not have experienced

the horrors of a concentration camp.

But we live in a world,

you just look around on the news,

that is filled with division and hatred and tension.

Just look at it in politics.

Look at it in your office.

Look at it in your families.

Look at it.

Just go on the comment section in YouTube.

And you will see

the division and the hurt that there is in this world.

We live in a world that desperately needs reconciliation.

And yet we're incapable of creating it ourselves.

And so as a church,

we have our three banners,

our three values,

gospel, community, mission.

Because we believe that actually the starting point

of all reconciliation

is knowing Christ in the gospel.

And that flows out into us being a community,

who are then a community,

which then go out on mission

to the world around us.

And so that's why over these four weeks,

we're looking specifically at that last one,

the issue of mission.

And so a couple of weeks ago,

we talked about salt and light,

and how actually we're called to be light.

And light doesn't have to try and be light.

Light just is light.

But what helps us to shine that light

is if we have our hearts captured by who Jesus is.

And then we saw last week

that actually Jesus sends us out like sheep

because we have a shepherd

who is compassionate towards us.

So we can demonstrate

and have our eyes open

to see the harvest field around us

and see with his eyes.

But today we're looking at the idea

of being ambassadors of Jesus,

those who are ministers,

agents of reconciliation

in Hong Kong and the world around us.

So we're going to be looking at this passage

in 2 Corinthians.

And this passage is Paul writing

in a context of division.

because there have actually been

a whole lot of very impressive,

eloquent speakers who've come in.

And they have,

the Corinthian church there in Greece

has got captured by their message

because they think that godliness

seems to look like being very impressive.

And Paul doesn't look very impressive.

And so he and his message

have been looked down on by the Corinthians.

And so Paul is writing this letter

both to prove his credentials

but also to say to the people here,

don't get distracted

from the gospel of Christ

because this is the power

for you to change

and to be agents of change.

So we're going to have two points,

okay, today.

First point that I want to look at

is receiving reconciliation.

And then we're going to look

at ambassadors of reconciliation.

So if you've got your bulletin with you,

have it in your handout with you.

Just have a look

and we'll be going through that together.

So receiving reconciliation.

Verse 14 says this,

for the love of God controls us

because we have concluded this,

that one died for all

and therefore all died.

And then verse 18, he says,

all this is from God

who through Christ reconciled us

to himself.

Now if you need reconciling,

that tells you

that there is a serious

relational problem with someone.

Here it is God.

God doesn't think

that we're basically cute

and he just needs to knock off

a few kind of rough edges

on our sides.

The whole of the self-help industry

is based on the idea

that basically you're fundamentally good

with a few flaws.

That if you just work hard enough,

you can overcome.

The gospel says,

no, that's not the situation.

Paul says,

one has died for all

because therefore all have died.

He's saying the reason

that Jesus died for,

on behalf of,

in the place of,

as a substitute for,

or every person

is because all people

were dead to God.

We don't want God

to interfere in our lives.

We don't want God

to tell us

what to do in our lives.

We don't want him

to tell us to reconcile

with that annoying colleague

or spouse.

We don't naturally want

to follow his ways at all.

None of us do.

One commentator said this

about this passage.

He said,

the New Testament

never speaks of God

being reconciled

to men and women,

but always of men and women

being reconciled to God.

The whole process of salvation

takes its beginning from him.

It was because God

so loved the world

that he sent his son.

It is not that God

is estranged from human beings,

but that they are estranged

from him.

God's message,

the message which Paul brought,

is an appeal

from a loving father

to a wandering

and estranged children

to come home

where love is waiting for them.

Do you get what he's saying?

What he's saying is,

he's not saying

God doesn't mind

about our sin.

He's actually saying

God hates sin.

He will not tolerate sin.

Those who persistently

refuse him

will end up in a hell

apart from him forever.

There won't be second chances

after you die.

But God is not cold

and distant

with his kind of back turned

needing to be persuaded

to reach out to us.

He wants to reach out

to his estranged children,

alienated from him.

People like you and me.

You know,

I first met Jim.

He was a homeless guy

when I was at university

selling magazines

just to get by.

We chatted over

a period of weeks

and months.

I got to know him.

I heard his story.

I heard how he needed

an address

to find a home

to be able to get a job.

So a friend of mine

offered to have him

stay with him temporarily

until he could get a job

and afford to pay

the rent himself.

Two days after he arrived,

my friend came back home

to realize

that 500 pounds

was missing

from his new colleague's

coat pocket

who'd been staying with him.

Jim had disappeared.

We phoned the police.

They weren't very interested.

So I went to look for Jim.

I knew where to go,

so I went straight down

to this local

kind of homeless shelter

and there he was.

As I walked in,

you should have seen

the look on his face.

It was the ultimate look

of a guilty look.

He hung his head in shame.

I told him

that we'd call the police,

but I also told him

of the love of Christ

and the offer of forgiveness

and I invited him

to come back to our house

for a meal.

Two weeks went past.

Jim never showed up.

I was cycling through

a completely different

area of town.

I was taking a kind of shortcut

through a back alley,

completely off the beaten track.

when who was sitting there

on the bench?

But Jim,

you should have seen

the look on his face.

He said to me,

I've been trying

to get away from you

and this was the one place

in the whole city

of half a million people

that I thought

could have escaped from you.

I guess God is on my case.

That's what he said.

I invited him

to come to our place.

We studied some

scripture together.

I invited him

to stay a couple of days

while we fixed up

accommodation for him.

We found him a place

and while I was,

I ran out,

I had to run out the door

for an appointment

and a few hours later

I got a call

from my housemate

saying that his PSP

and his guitar pedals

had been stolen.

Eventually he got arrested.

He got to prison

for a short time.

He came out.

He stayed at my parents

for a night

and he stole some more money

from another friend.

And then he went out

and he robbed some people

on the streets.

He was an addict.

He got back in prison

for a while longer.

Every week I went

to visit him.

I talk of the love of Christ.

I tell him to go

and see the prison chaplain.

Every week he promised

he would.

Every time I went back

he never had.

Eventually he moved prison

and we saw each other

much less.

18 months went past.

I kind of gave up on Jim

because he never seemed

to change.

And then one day

I received a letter

from Jim.

He said,

it went something like this,

Chris,

I just wanted to tell you

I got baptized last week.

I'd been brewing some beer

in prison.

Yes, you do.

And I got caught.

And I got put

in solitary confinement.

And when I was there

I remembered all the grace

that had been shown to me

and all you had told me

about Christ.

And at that moment

I confessed my need

of Christ as my Savior

and I repented

of all that I'd done.

He said,

the next day

the prison chaplain

came around.

And he said,

it's Saturday.

Saturday you're going

to get baptized.

Jim was a little confused

because he hadn't talked

to the chaplain at all.

And so he said,

oh, okay.

Saturday morning came

the chaplain came around

and said,

hell, I'm really sorry

I got the wrong person

the other day.

It was another guy

who was meant

to be getting baptized,

not you.

But would you still

like to get baptized?

And he said,

yes.

And he said,

I shared my testimony

in front of all the inmates

of how God had chased after me

and he brought me home

to himself.

You see,

as I've thought about that,

I often wonder,

were we irresponsible

in the way that we kind of

kept inviting him back?

Was it stupid?

And I think there'd be

one or three things

I would change,

but I'd do it all again,

not because I'm great

or do anything like that

because I'm not.

I gave up on Jim,

but actually because I realized

that I am just like Jim

and so are you

and me.

You see,

how often

does God bless us

with so many things,

calling us to himself

and yet we steal from him

for ourselves?

We steal his glory

wanting it for ourselves.

And we run and hide

in hilt and shame.

And in chasing after Jim,

it cost us some money.

We had to compensate

the people who were robbed.

But when Christ

chased after us,

our sin and selfishness

cost Jesus

not just some money,

but his very life.

He died for all.

the one who had no sin,

completely blameless,

took the full cost

of all my running away

from God,

all my stealing his glory

for myself.

He took it on himself

so that my debt to God

may be paid.

How irresponsible,

knowing exactly what I'm like,

that I'm a sin addict,

self-glory addict,

who throws his kindness

back in his face

so often.

And yet,

at no point

did Jim ever take

the initiative

to walk in repentance

towards us.

In fact,

he was running away

from us.

At no point

have you and I

taken the initiative

to run towards God

because we were dead

to God.

But it's always God

who is reaching out

to us

who are like orphans,

homeless,

running away from him.

And he calls us back

again and again

and again.

This is the reconciling

love of God.

Do you see that?

That's what Paul's

talking about.

And reconciling

is not just about God

kind of wiping

our slate clean,

hoping we don't

mess up again.

Do you know

the word reconcile

originally means

to exchange?

Just as you know

when you go on holiday,

some of you have been

on holiday recently,

and you know

when you exchange

Hong Kong dollars

for Japanese yen.

You know,

Hong Kong dollars

don't have currency

in Japan.

So if you have come

to Christ,

you've come with

all your anger,

all your bitterness,

all your self-centeredness,

even the good deeds

that you think

make yourself feel

good about yourself,

you come to them

and you give them

to him because

they don't have

currency with him.

And God instead

gives you his currency.

He gives you

his righteousness.

That's what he says

in verse 21.

For our sake,

he made him

to be sin

who knew no sin.

The sinless one

became our substitute,

took our penalty,

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness of God.

Do you see

what he's saying?

He's saying

he gives us

his patience

for our anger.

He gives us

his mercy

for our unforgiveness.

He gives us

his selflessness

for our selfishness.

He gives us

his grace

for our judgmentalism.

He gives us

his right standing

with him

in close,

intimate relationship

with him.

His righteousness.

And Jesus

is the only currency

that God accepts.

Nothing you've ever done

unless it's done

through the trusting

work of Jesus

has currency

with God.

And if you're not

a believer

this morning,

this passage

has amazing urgency.

Paul is saying,

we implore you.

That's like,

we beg you.

We beseech you.

Urging you,

stop running away

from God

like a homeless orphan

relying on yourself.

Be reconciled.

Come back

to your father

who is reaching out

because eternity

is at stake.

Your life

is at stake.

And God's currency

is only Christ.

But if you are

a Christian,

Paul says this,

and this is just

very challenging.

He says,

the love of Christ

controls us

because we have

concluded,

we have come

to a place

of settled conviction

that this message

about God's

reconciling love

with the creator

of the universe

is true.

It is true.

And when we get that

and that sinks

into our hearts,

he says,

it means you no longer

live for yourself

but you live for Christ.

In other words,

Christ's love

now drives you

more than your GPA

drives you.

more than your grades

drive you.

More than your bonus

drives you.

Christ's love

is shaping

every single facet

of your life

as the gospel

goes deeper

into your heart.

I mean,

just think.

No longer live

for yourself

but for the one

who loved you

with my time.

What would it mean

for me to say

the love of Christ

is going to shape

the way I'm thinking

about my time?

What would it mean

as I look at the finances

and the resources

that I have

and I say

the love of Christ

is now going to shape

the way I view

every single penny,

every single cent

that I own

because it's his

and his love.

Now,

it's not for just myself.

It's going to shape

who you hang out with.

It's going to shape

your holidays.

It's going to shape

how you do your social media.

Every part of your life

shaped by the love of Christ

and where it's not doing that,

this is where the gospel

needs to go deeper into us

because this is why

the reconciliation of Christ

is something we need again

and again to go deeper.

That's the first point.

We are those

who have been reconciled

to Christ.

Secondly,

because of that,

we are ambassadors

of reconciliation.

He says this,

Jesus didn't just bring you

to yourself,

bring you to himself

just for yourself.

Did you know that?

Half a person knows that.

Okay.

Did you know that?

You were not saved

if you're a Christian

just for yourself.

Verse 18,

he says this,

he reconciled us

to himself

and gave us

the ministry

of reconciliation.

And then later on,

he says,

and he entrusted

to us

the message

of reconciliation.

Do you see what he's saying?

He's saying,

if you're a believer,

you've been reconciled,

brought close to Christ,

and you've been given

a ministry,

do you know you have

a ministry?

Do you know it doesn't matter

where you're serving,

you have a ministry

and your ministry

is the ministry

of reconciliation.

Did you know that?

Say,

I'm a minister

of reconciliation.

That's good.

Okay.

We're ministers of this

because we live

in an angry,

divided world.

And the privilege

that we spoke of last week

of being involved

in the harvest

is what chapter 6,

verse 1 says.

He says,

we work together

with God

in his work

of reconciling people

to himself.

And just think,

this is what we said

last week,

but it bears repeating.

Just think what an insane

idea it would be

if it's not in scripture.

That the God

of the universe

actually wants

to partner with you.

Have you ever thought

about how crazy

that is?

That God

has headhunted you

to be on his team

and he looked

at your CV

and it was bad.

And then he looked

at your references

and they were even worse.

And yet he still

chose you

to be on his team.

And he brought you

to himself

and he gave you

a ministry.

Because it's about him

and his glory,

it's not about you.

C.H. Spurgeon

once said,

without God

we can't.

Without us

he won't.

You hear that?

Without God

we can't.

We can't do his mission.

But without us

he won't.

He has chosen

to partner with us.

Which is why

Paul then says,

therefore

we are ambassadors

for Christ.

God making

his appeal

through us.

What is an ambassador?

Well in the Roman Empire

of the time

the emperor

was the supreme ruler

of the vast Roman Empire.

Because his empire

was so large

what he would do

he would send out

representatives

to deliver

his proclamations

to speak

and act

on behalf of him.

And here

Paul is saying

what is the message

that we have been

sent as his representatives

it's the message

that God is in

the reconciliation

business.

And he's saying

that to every believer

you've been entrusted

with this message

about a savior

who has died

as Colin was saying

earlier

you've been entrusted

with that

as his ambassadors.

What does that mean?

There's a few things

that I think

that means.

Firstly

it means

we speak

on behalf

of God.

That's a crazy idea.

It says

it is God

who is making

his appeal

through

us.

Do you see that?

That means

I don't need

to be embarrassed

by the message

because it's his message

it's not my message.

And it also means

I don't need

to make it

so that it never

I'm so worried

about what everyone

else is thinking

and I just don't

want to offend anyone

so I'm going to

change the message

to make it sound

alright for everybody

else

because it's not

my message to change

it's his message.

It also means

that if I'm lovingly

sharing the message

of reconciliation

with people

just like

Colin's friend did

if others reject it

they're not rejecting me

they're rejecting

God himself.

God doesn't need us

to make excuses

for his reconciliation

plan.

An ambassador

doesn't change

the message

to suit his hearers

because his message

comes direct

from the emperor

himself

from God himself.

So what does that mean?

That means

when you sit down

with your friends

and maybe the nature

of the conversation

turns to a spiritual topic

or you're talking about

something of

division that's going on

or there's tensions

and you can speak

there's an opportunity

to speak of God's

restoring love

into that.

There is a direct line

from the throne room

of heaven

right down to you

right there

for you to speak

with God's authority

into that situation

and represent

what he would want you

to say

at that moment.

Do you remember

when Jesus sent out

the twelve last week?

He said

I give you

authority

to preach

and to heal

and to drive out

unclean spirits.

I remember

the beginning

of the great commission

in Matthew 28

where he says

all authority

in heaven and earth

is given to me

therefore

you guys go.

You go in my authority

not in yours.

And so instead of going

when you're in those situations

I hope I can get away

without saying anything

right now.

We go

if you know

you're an ambassador

sent with his authority

you're going

thank you father

that you've entrusted me

with the privilege

right now

of being able

to speak

and to share

this incredible

good news

with my friends

and my colleagues.

God what do you

want me to say

right now

because I have no idea.

And maybe you just ask

have you ever thought

that God actually

wants a living

relationship with you?

You're an ambassador.

And ambassadors

don't just speak

his message

we speak on behalf

of him

but we don't just

speak it

we also embody

his message

intentionally.

That's the next thing

that an ambassador does.

You know

an ambassador

doesn't stay

in his home country.

An ambassador

always goes

to another place

another culture

where there's

another language

where there's

different customs

and different ways

of doing things

right?

If all the ambassadors

are in their home country

they're doing something wrong

right?

And so ambassadors

you have to

intentionally think

and Paul does this

all the time

through Acts

you have to

intentionally think

how to communicate

and how to represent

your nation's values

in this foreign environment

right?

That's why Paul says

in verse 16

verse 17

he says

we don't judge

people any longer

according to the flesh

everybody else judges

it according to

the world standards

according to race

according to

appearance

according to your intellect

according to how much

education you have

that's how everybody else

judges people

but he says

we have come to know Christ

we're seeing Christ

differently now

and if anyone

is in Christ

he's a new creation

the old has passed away

and the new has come

he's saying

he's saying you're part

of a different world

a different kingdom

that works

and is embodied

in a different way

and so as ambassadors

we're going to do

things differently

we're going to be

thinking intentionally

in a place

of division

a place where

people are so segregated

we're going to think

how can we embody

that message

of reconciliation

reconciliation

last week we talked

about praying

for God to open

our eyes

to see the people

around us

how many of us

have actually been

praying that this week

because God wants

us to start

all ambassadorship

starts in that prayer

it starts in the prayer

to God

knowing we cannot

do this by ourselves

but it's not just

that we pray

it's also

ambassadors

are putting

in the effort

just as Paul

has put in

all the effort

with reaching out

the gospel

to intentionally

think and plan

of how to represent

your king

and display his goodness

to the people

around you

you know

in my building

no one talks

to each other

maybe your building

is a friendly building

mine is not

so

here's a place

where people

are alienated

from each other

how can we bring

God's goodness

into that place

so I tried

taking around

chocolates

to my neighbours

didn't work

everyone's thinking

are you trying to

sell me something

or now I've got to

owe you something

so just shut the door

right

doesn't work

so then

instead of just

getting discouraged

you go

how can I

God show us

some ideas

of how we can

do this

so instead

my wife made

some dessert

one day

there was

some left

over

and so

we actually

ended up

just taking

it round

to the neighbours

it was amazing

everyone just

opened their door

and we started

chatting with them

and there was

this openness

because we were

trying to demonstrate

the restoring

power of God

and actually

was I sharing

the gospel

at that moment

no I didn't

but actually

what I was doing

we were providing

the context

we were setting

the table

of demonstrating

a glimpse

of the goodness

of God

and so

through that

actually

one guy

he said

oh come back

to my place

come and you can

have some dinner

with me

and so I came

back to his place

and then we had

a drink

and over that

that was the context

in which we were

able to talk about

how the gospels

at work in my life

and how it's shaping

just the way

do ordinary decisions

like speaking to

playing football

with a whole load

of Nepalese kids

on a Thursday night

and then from that

you're able to talk

about Jesus

do you see

ambassadors

embody

so that we might

be able to share

and I don't know

what your context

is

but how often

and I just thought

I was convicted

even about this

for myself

how often

in our CGs

or with your spouse

with your friends

do you ever

intentionally sit

planning

and thinking

and praying

about where do we

see alienation

in my office

in my family

in my neighborhood

and then thinking

how can we bring

the reconciling

love of God

into that context

how often

do we think

about that

and we're doing

it not as a project

but out of love

you know

this week

I want to challenge

us in your community

group

take 15 minutes

in your community

group

to actually

intentionally

think

and pray

and plan

and say

God

where are the places

that I'm rubbing

up against

where I see

alienation

and division

and how can I bring

how can we bring

your love

into that place

because if we're

doing that

as a community

I mean

just think

how much

how much time

do we spend

planning

and thinking

all the stuff

that we want

to do

for our kingdoms

and our work

and our careers

right

but he says

when the gospel

gets into you

we're not just

living for ourselves

we're living

for him

who loved us

what an amazing

community

it would be

if all of us

are thinking

like that

think how much

the light

would shine

in your office

in your workplace

wherever you go

as together

sometimes I don't

have ideas

I'm like

I have no idea

what to do

so you come together

and you talk about it

and God will use you

in amazing ways

because ambassadors

embody

their king

and their reconciliation

does that make sense

okay

we're nearly there

two other things

ambassadors

they don't just

speak on God's behalf

that message

of reconciliation

they don't just

embody the message

you know

ambassadors

are also held

accountable

Paul says

he says in verse 10

which is not in your passage

but it just comes before

he says

we will all appear

before the judgment seat

of Christ

so that each one

may receive

what is due

for what he's done

in the body

whether good or evil

and then he says

knowing the fear of God

we seek to persuade men

see Paul is saying

that the evaluation

of my life

is not based

on what everybody else

thinks this way

it's based on

what God thinks

this way

and he's saying

what God thinks

matters more to him

than what other people think

and that's what fear

means here

it's that sense of

his opinion of me

has so much more weight

than anybody else's

and he says

there's going to be

a judgment

at the end of the time

for some

that's going to be

a judgment

where salvation

is at stake

for believers

salvation is not at stake

but what's at stake

is the reward

of the joy

of pleasing our king

he's saying

if you're an ambassador

for China

in the US

and you spend

all of your days

in Florida

on a luxury yacht

fishing

others may look

at you in envy

and wish they had

your lifestyle

other people

may respect you

for having such

a place

that you can do that

but when Beijing

rings up

and says

how are diplomatic

relations going

with the Americans

and you say

well not so good

but I just caught

an amazing tuna

the other day

that's not going

to get you a bonus

right

because at the end

of the day

what God thinks

about us

is more important

than living

just for myself

or what anybody

else thinks

and he says

don't receive

the grace of God

in vain

that's 6 verse 1

you don't want

to get to the end

of your life

and see that the very

mission God

has called you to

you missed

because you were

so wrapped up

in your comforts

in your investments

in your kingdom

and he says

we have a judge

he's a loving judge

he's our savior

so we don't live

in crippling fear

wondering what

he's going to

think about us

but we don't want

to get to the end

of the lives

like a 70 year old

that I once taught

who came to me

and he said

I wasted it

I wasted it

I wasted my life

and we don't want

to get to God

and say

man

all I gave him

was a tuna fish

but instead

we say

the gift of God

that you entrusted me

this reconciliation

this grace

that you gave me

and it was meant

to be brought

to the people

around me

I don't want

to be more interested

in my computer games

or my retirement

than that

do you see

what he's saying

ambassadors

are evaluated

and judged

by him

not by

and appraised

not by just

what we want

or what other

people want

so we speak

on God's behalf

we embody

his message

we're evaluated

and appraised

by God himself

not what anyone

else thinks

our great savior

the last thing

ambassadors

need Christ

if you're a Christian

who here is an ambassador

every Christian

is an ambassador

that means

there's never a time

when you're not

an ambassador

when you're walking

down the street

you're an ambassador

when you're

playing football

you're an ambassador

when you're on the phone

you're an ambassador

ambassadorship

is a 24-7 thing

right

because

this is scary

actually

because that means

sometimes people

are watching you

right

and

if you act

unkindly

and harshly

and impatiently

what do people

think about

your king

and your country

you know

isn't the behavior

of Christians

sometimes the number

one reason

why many people

say they don't

believe

and that

puts a lot

of pressure

on

right

and sometimes

many of us

would prefer

not to share

the gospel

with people

not to

not to even

say that we're

a believer

because we don't

feel we're a very

good ambassador

anyone ever feel

like that

the problem

is

if you're a

Christian

you're always

an ambassador

so if you're

trying to pretend

that you're not

one

kind of

disguising

yourself

putting on

dark glasses

a false beard

whatever it is

and then somebody

finds out

that you actually

go to church

that's even worse

because you're

a true fraud

right

so instead

rather than

saying

oh I'm not

a very good

ambassador

therefore I'm

not going to

be an ambassador

can you not

see that when

people around

you

maybe point

out things

that you

are not

doing

as an

ambassador

should

that that

is grace

to you

it is grace

because people

are inadvertently

encouraging you

to grow

as an

ambassador

it is grace

to you

because they're

pushing you

back to

repentance

and to

come back

to your

savior

who has

loving arms

which are

welcoming you

opening his

heart to you

so you may

experience grace

just like

with Jim

God is

persistently

calling you

back to

himself

even

sometimes

through

other

people

so evangelism

and being an

ambassador

is a spur

to being

more godly

it will help

you to hold

your tongue

more

I can promise

you

but it's a spur

to see how much

more you need

the gospel

in your own

life

that you

need to see

this amazing

sense of

reconciliation

so that if a

colleague ever

points out

but I thought

you were a

Christian

you can go

without

defensiveness

without embarrassment

you can go

man yeah I

really did

mess up

I'm sorry

because I

didn't live out

who I should

be

but you know

I have an

amazing savior

who takes

even people

like me

and he

demonstrates

incredible

grace to

me

who is

walking

with me

and persistently

again and

again he

runs after

me

and God's

love for

you becomes

so much

more real

and that

then encourages

you to then

share the gospel

even more

because you see

how great a

savior we have

you know

Paul was

willing to

give his

life for

this mission

of evangelism

because he

knew he

was the

worst of

sinners

and yet

God had

made Christ

who knew

no sin

to be

sin for

him

so that

in him

he might

become the

righteousness

of God

and that's

the same

for every

single one

of us

let me

pray

father you

have called

us

you have

called us

first to

yourself

thank you

so much

for your

reconciling

love

love

I pray

right now

for those

of us

who are

here

who

don't

know

you

I pray

as

in

Colin's

testimony

for those

who maybe

have heard

this message

many many

times

but I

pray today

would be

the day

of salvation

I pray

today

that you

would speak

into their

hearts and

lives

and show

them

your

incredible

love

so they

turn in

repentance

and find

a God

who wants

to welcome

them home

I pray

for those

of us

who are

believers

I pray

for those

of us

who think

we're

inadequate

those

of us

who

even

the

thought

of doing

evangelism

and sharing

our faith

is something

that just

scares us

I pray

that you

would show

us

your

incredible

love

the

incredible

privilege

the

incredible

way that

you have

called us

together

to be

partners

with you

in this

I pray

right now

you would

be putting

on our

minds

people

that we

should be

reaching out

to

I pray

we'd be

a church

that

is not

just so

focused

on our

own

things

but we're

actually

taking

time

to think

about

the people

around us

in our

offices

in our

neighborhoods

and to

begin to

say

God

how can

we show

your amazing

reconciling

love to

them

change

us

we pray

in your

amazing

name

amen

love to

kind