I have a new title for you to
add to your LinkedIn profile, “Ambassador”. Whether you know it or not, the Bible says
each of us has been called by God to be His representatives in a foreign land
and represent Him as His ambassador.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God
were making his appeal through us
Things to think about:
· We will look
at our Mission and our Message as Ambassadors
Our Mission
· The
dictionary defines an ambassador as “ an accredited diplomat sent by his
country to a foreign country as the resident representation of his own
government.”
· We are indeed
citizens of another sovereignty
o
Philippians 3: 20 – we however are citizens of Heaven and we
eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from Heaven.
o
Do you think of yourself as a citizen of Heaven?
o
How does that context alter your self-perception?
· We are sent
by God to do a job
o
“… as though God were making His appeal through us.”
o
that’s a wild thought, that God has entrusted you and me as His
representatives. We are His primary way
to reach others.
§ How does that
make you feel knowing this? Does it stir
up feelings of pressure, honor, maybe a little bit of both?
Our Message
·
2 Corinthians 5:19 – “… that God was reconciling the world to
Himself through Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has
committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
·
What does “reconciliation” mean to you?
o Going back to
our diplomatic theme, it means the restoration of friendly relations where
there had previously been separation.
o Why
is God so into reconciliation?
§ Hint:
John 3:16
§ Romans
6:26 – For the wages of sin is death
§ 2
Peter 3:9 – “not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.”
§ God is in the
reconciliation business! He has done all
of the hard work to restore our relationship with Him and to live at peace.
·
Why is reconciliation among believers a
big deal?
o
John
17:20-23, ““My
prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as
you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world
may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave
me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and
have loved them even as you have loved me.
o We
cannot have bitterness, strife, quarrelling among ourselves and tell others how
great Christianity is and expect them to believe our message
§ Have
you ever seen this be an issue?
§ Is
there something you need to change TODAY to remove that barrier for someone?
·
The Good News in one verse:
o
2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made Him who had no
sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of God.”
·
Let’s live as the citizens we are,
represent the One who sent us well, and clearly live and speak his message of
reconciliation to the country we have been sent to.
o That’s
living with a purpose and that’s a life worth living!
No comments:
Post a Comment