Ambassadors to Others

we're going to talk a little bit along those lines tonight as always we're going to turn to the word of the lord second corinthians chapter 5 starting at verse 12. second corinthians 5 and verse 12 we're going to read the remainder of this chapter and i want us to take note of the terms that paul uses to describe the people of god as well as our responsibility to others verse 12 says for we don't commend ourselves again to you but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart there's that word for we ourselves are for if we are beside ourselves and one translation says if we're out of our mind it's for god i don't i don't know exactly what paul's getting at there but there are probably some times he felt like he was or others did he said if we're out of our sound mind it's for you for the love of christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all then all died and he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh even though we've known christ according to the flesh yet we know him in this way no longer therefore if anyone's in christ he's a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new now all things are of god who has reconciled us to himself through jesus christ and he has given us everyone say us the ministry of reconciliation that is that god was in christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them thank god for that and he's committed to us everyone say us the word of reconciliation now then we are ambassadors for christ as though god were pleading through us we implore you on christ's behalf be reconciled to god for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of god in him it's such a powerful passage in a powerful chapter in paul's second letter to the church of corinth and we're going to use this as our launching pad tonight as we discuss several of these phrases that paul uses in this chapter to describe our approach and our responsibility to both christ and to those around us in particular i want to key in on a word and a phrase that's used in verse 20 you'll recognize it in the title tonight as we discuss how we're called to be ambassadors to others ambassadors to others we are ambassadors and we're going to discuss this together tonight look at your neighbor before you are seated and tell them you are an ambassador you're it you're an ambassador you may be seated i plan to talk quite a bit over the next little while so i am going to take a drink we'll just put it out there all right

i read this passage several months ago in true to form the bible has a way of jumping out of you just coming alive in ways it hadn't previously not because it's not alive previously maybe i just wasn't as alert to and i read this text in which paul says that christ has died for us so we no longer live for ourselves he mentions that we ourselves have been reconciled to christ we've been restored we've been put in a right relationship with christ so now we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation for others because of that we are now ambassadors of christ the ones through whom he makes his appeal this is such a compelling and sobering thought and one that i want to break down a little further tonight as we discuss our role of ambassador to others the truth is paul really doesn't give us an option to be an ambassador or not he just says that as those who have been reconciled to god it's now incumbent upon us to see to the reconciliation of others it's just part of the deal you've been reconciled now go help someone else become reconciled colossians 1 13 says that he's delivered us from the power of darkness he's conveyed us into the kingdom the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins and because of that because we've now entered the kingdom we have a responsibility to help facilitate the same for others so from our reconciliation on we're now ambassadors it is just who you are because you've been reconciled to christ and you could take this as literally as you want you could have people walk around calling you mr or mrs ambassador feels a little good yeah mr ambassador misses him either way you're deputized you're in you're commissioned you're called to be an ambassador the greek word used there and i hope not to butcher this i practice and practice for the cardin he uses the word presvo and to my knowledge and to the knowledge of the reference that i use to study that particular word it's used only one of the time in scripture which we'll discuss a little later it's got several meanings it's a word derived from the word precipice or uh the root of that press uh presbyter it means an older venerated person it's who we are someone who's mature and respected someone who's an elder who takes precedence and acts as an ambassador some of you are like that's me yeah those of you like yeah it's not me it's a working we're all work in progress it feels kind of good to be called someone who takes precedence someone who's respected but it means to to act as an established statesman a diplomat a trusted respected ambassador who is authorized to speak as god's emissary to represent his kingdom the term was used in an ancient phrase people would say i'm on embassy to the emperor i'm an ambassador to the emperor they were known as someone respected and trustworthy someone who is loyal someone who is knowledgeable especially in the opinion of those that they belong to no pressure tonight just adding on to the accolades but you start to see why i was so drawn to this word into this passage there's so much wrapped up into this calling in this commission to be an ambassador to others at the very least you are a representative of your king in your kingdom you're an ambassador you're an emissary you're to be trustworthy loyal and knowledgeable you're tasked with truly knowing the king and the kingdom that you represent can you imagine an ambassador who knew nothing about the kingdom that they represented they wandered in like where are you from what are you known for ah what do you where do you go to church more in our context apc what's that mean apostolic pentecostal apostolic what's that mean i don't really know all right pentecostal yeah i mean i've heard of pentecostals many have had this one you all handle snakes right can you imagine an ambassador who just knew nothing about where they were we're called to know we're called to know about the king we're called to know about the kingdom you wouldn't be effective if you knew nothing about your king and your kingdom the law of the land which of course in our case is the word of god we're called to know the one we serve the one who reconciled us to himself and in turn we're called to always be ready to give a reason for the hope of reconciliation that lies within us we're commissioned to be able to speak with authority on the principles and the desires in the word of the king which means we ought to know the king and we ought to know his word as much as possible we're tasked with this ministry of reconciliation of others which involves being god's voice and emissary to them wherever we are wherever we go you and i are ambassadors

and i mentioned paul uses this word he uses it in one other place although the principles found elsewhere throughout the bible he says this in ephesians 6 and 18 he said we should pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to the sin with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints he says and pray for me make me feel good that paul the apostle said hey also pray for me too put my name on the prayer list as well that utterance may be given to me that i may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which i am an ambassador in chains that in it i may speak boldly as i ought to speak this was the role of the ambassador and specifically of an ambassador of the gospel paul says that they should pray for him so he can open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which he was an ambassador in chains and what's remarkable to me among other things was that even in prison and even in chains paul never ceased to be an ambassador never stopped he was an ambassador of the gospel of jesus christ wherever he went and whatever he was doing and wherever he found himself and again i'm i'm getting a little ahead of myself but you start to get a sense of what being an ambassador of christ really looks like it's a 24 7 job and you're on call whether whether you're here or whether you're out there or wherever you would find yourself you are never not an ambassador it's part of your identity it's part of when you were reconciled to jesus christ and when you had you became a new creation old things were passed away you entered into the kingdom and god deputized you and god commission you okay now you're a minister of reconciliation you're it so i rubber meets the road here

just an example we were at costco the other day my kids are screaming the man had messed up our order he hadn't scanned ever it wasn't my fault he hadn't scanned everything in so i got to the yeah i don't know why i get nervous walking to the people that check the receipts i just paid for everything i have no reason to be nervous when i walk up there and i give and this is the one time the lady finds out that we didn't pay for a thing of water okay how does that look let's just get out of here no uh he didn't stand it but i'm standing there and the kids are screaming and and the lady's scrambling and frustration is mounting and i told mariah said we're we're in costco jail right now we're standing at the door and we're blocking the exit and people are walking by like the horror trying to take a case of water even there i am an ambassador whether i'm in prison like paul or i'm in costco jail i'm an ambassador when the frustrating frustrations mountain the kids are screaming it and i got people apologizing to people saying you didn't pay for that i'm an ambassador there by my life and my actions i point to jesus christ i i'm an ambassador as i said that word ambassador really jumped out at me when i read that phrase in that passage several months ago i'd probably read that chapter a dozen or more times at least but i hadn't keyed in on that language before that day it struck me differently i'll share with you the context of that reading what it really was it sparked my interest a little later on but

but now especially in light of current events and happenings across the globe with the backdrop of this biblical mandate we recognize that there is such a great need for and such a great responsibility of an ambassador and we're talking about ambassadors in a biblical sense of course but this this is also underlying this importance it's underlined by ambassadors that we observe right now on the world stage at face value i believe we can learn some things about the importance of an ambassador even in today's culture since our role of an ambassador is based on those that paul would have recognized even in his time but particularly in this ukraine conflict recently it's shown us how critical and how valuable it is to have someone who can stand in the fray and communicate back and forth be an ambassador in a modern sense an ambassador is one who steps into the fray one who is a go-between one who is a mediator one who is a peacemaker ambassadors today like they were in paul's time they're the voice of their nations amongst the foreign people they're often times a translator sometimes literally and many times they're just one who helps communicate across international and multilingual lines they're often a linchpin between two peoples two cultures two governments two mindsets two opposing views two conflicting countries ambassadors are critical i'm sure you're picking up on some of those parallels what it means in our context as well i'm careful about painting the biblical version of an ambassador in the terms of of modern version or concept but there are some powerful comparisons that can be made as we approach this topic and we obviously adhere first and foremost to that biblical definition to what paul referenced earlier but i did think that this analogy that we can pull from modern examples would benefit us as well and i give the preface that every analogy breaks down at some point so i've already thought about the individual in the room who would say okay i'm an ambassador so that means i've got diplomatic immunity no that's not what i'm saying i don't even know what that means in a spiritual sense one saved always saved or something like that which we do not adhere to all right i recognize that you can't completely draw a parallel but the fact remains that ambassadors including biblical ambassadors like you and me they share qualities qualities like that of being a servant to their kingdom to their nation qualities like that of being sent to others ambassadors are sent they're appointed they're commissioned they're they're dispatched they're posted in a place for the good of the kingdom for which they were called and ambassadors whether literal or and modern ambassadors or ambassadors of christ they are sent everyone say sent this is the inherent meaning of the word apostle in and of itself where apostolic which literally means one who is sent or even one who's an emissary to others so you didn't land here in this church or you didn't land in st louis by happenstance and you didn't find yourself at apc at your job in your family in your neighborhood your school district or or on your street by coincidence ambassadors don't just wander into the place where they're supposed to work and where they're supposed to minister they are sent they're sitting there and they have a commission while they're there go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit teaching them to observe all things that i've commanded you and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age that's the mission and that's why you were sent where you are in the first place you may have thought that you landed where you are by your own fortitude and your own ambition and your own will and some of that along with life absolutely factors in i don't deny that but paul tells us in this verse that we love to quote he said all things work together for good to them that love god to them who are called according to his purpose it's all about his purpose it's not all about our good it's about his purpose his purpose and commission is on our lives so we serve as an ambassador wherever we are and even if you somehow got to a place yourself god has still called and commissioned and sent you there for the purpose of reconciling others to himself that's why paul tells us in our text in verse 15 he said he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again you now live for him you're an ambassador for him and for others

and the practical applications abound obviously when i moved to my house right down the road it appeared oddly coincidental that the timing and the location and the housing situation worked out the way that it did obviously it was such a blessing but the truth is it wasn't coincidental i believe that the lord helped and the lord sent me there in fact before i moved in i just felt like the lord said i planted you here this is where you're going to minister this is there's going to be people you're going to come across because you're living here they're going to need help i don't live there for myself i've been sent to those 40 plus neighbors that i've met since i moved there and to those who who need reconciliation i've been sent to the ones who have been taught bible studies at the house or the ones that just come over because they need a conversation or they need a safe place or they need to i am an ambassador to burview lane i'm an ambassador to south county put that on a door plaque it's me i'm an ambassador to soco that's what we call south county if you live here you know i'm an ambassador to this play i'm an ambassador to the people of costco i am sent there pretty regularly i'm an ambassador to the workers of home depot again the lord sends me there often i'm an ambassador to the people of the land of walmart what a foreign place i say that but i go there all the time i am the people of walmart in fact there's a couple months ago i went to walmart and i was about to get in my car and i just i felt like the lord just helped me about to get in my car i looked out over that parking lot slopes down a little bit i could see quite a ways off just the myriad of people a lot of activity going in and out a lot of them dressed ways that i wouldn't dress a lot of them hustling trying to get in and out trying to get their stuff and it thought occurred to me these are my people here this is my field right here the people of walmart are my people i'm an ambassador every time i walk in there i'm sent there by god and by moriah every time i pass by and i wave at anil he works at subway i'm engaging in the ministry of reconciliation we're just talking about free cookies but i'm building a relationship with anil i flagged him down his i mean you could see his smile from a mile away he's sitting there bored all day doesn't have a lot of customers go see a neil at subway every time i let someone go ahead of me with their cart in the aisle i may not say it out loud but i am communicating with a smile with my christian character you ought to be reconciled to jesus christ i'm god's ambassador to costco and home depot and woman i've been sent there in a manner of speaking and this mindset speaks to what paul mentioned in verse 15 we don't live for ourselves instead being an ambassador it's a lifestyle it's a 24 7 job it's an all-in opportunity even at face value you think about modern day ambassadors they live a life of sacrifice they move across the world many times they leave the comforts of home they invest themselves into the work of the kingdom from which they came they are all in

i think it's also important to know that even as they live amongst and are embedded in the land and the culture to which their sin they still maintain their identity and the identity of their citizenship now they do seek to learn the people the culture in which they're sitting they try to bridge barriers they try to build connections with the people of that land but they never lose their identity they never lose their citizenship that gives them authority because they're a citizen of a different place they are all in but they're still tied to and they're anchored to their own country and their own culture and paul reinforces this in philippians 3 he's writing to some pretty proud citizens of rome and philippi and he reminds them he said our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for a savior the lord jesus christ that just because you lived there and you've been sent there and you're an ambassador there that does not mean that your citizenship is there so we can't get so cozy with the culture of where we are sin that we forget about the kingdom from which we were sent i'll say it again we can't get so comfortable with the culture of where we're sent that we forget about the kingdom from which we were instead our identity and our citizenship is derived from a different king in a different kingdom which again speaks to the role of an ambassador you are sent you're all in you're invested into the people in the country to whom you were sent but you maintain your citizenship in the process you still have a king you still have a kingdom still have his law to guide you even as you navigate a people in a place that may be foreign to god's word you're an ambassador to that place but you're still helped and guided and bound to him and to his law and again this speaks of it being a lifestyle every day and in every place i find myself i represent him i represent the king and the kingdom i represent the citizenship that i bear the church that i'm a part of i am always an ambassador it's just part of who i am i put on that apc shirt i act a little differently i love my church you'll love it too well if i ain't acting like the church they're probably not going to love me and they may not want to come to my church but whether i'm wearing that shirt or not i'm still an ambassador i'm still a part of the kingdom i'm still a citizen of heaven i still represent the king and i've used this analogy before it's so fitting today because we represent the kingdom at all times but on the last vehicle i drove i placed a 99.1 joy fm sticker on the back window i noticed i drove a little differently with that sticker on my window sometimes i forgot it was on there i remember i can be what they call an aggressive driver at times the lord's working on me but oftentimes i would remember that i had that sticker on my car and it would remind me that i needed to represent that community well it's like one of those stickers that asks how's my driving you know i'm representing something in someone that is bigger than myself ambassadors don't live for themselves but daily they represent the country and the community from which they came and more than that they represent the king who sent them

paul says this now then we are ambassadors for christ as though god were pleading through us we implore you this is what he's pleading on christ's behalf be reconciled to god other translation says it's if god is making his appeal to humanity through us and through our example and through our lifestyle he's pleading with others through you and through me and when i considered this it it begged the question one that surfaced in my heart in my mind that if god is using you and me to make an appeal for reconciliation are others really getting the message it's a pointed question i've asked myself if god is using me and my life and what i say and how i respond to things as an appeal to others to be reconciled to him are they getting the message loud and clear how loudly is my life speaking to my neighbors and co-workers and that person that i honk at in traffic when i talk to others do they heal or hear the the appeal for salvation through my life and through my example or would they ever know that i was an ambassador for christ in the first place would it shock them that i'm an ambassador for him do they recognize that i'm not from here that my citizenship is found elsewhere they can they hear the appeal for salvation through my life or do i blend in so much to the world around me that they have not recognized in the slightest that i am an ambassador for the king these are questions i've pondered of late and that i present to you and oftentimes i'll key in and just add to this and ambassadors speak on behalf of the nation and the sovereign that they represent so it's my responsibility to line up my life and my words to the wishes of the king and the good of the kingdom i represent this is where the rubber meets the road and

where this passage really struck me in a powerful way about a year ago was during a time of turmoil a time of division and disagreement on a world stage and that seems to be more and more common you could say that right now and it's happening which is why we need to be reminded of who we are that we're ambassadors because our role is not getting any less important it's not getting any less there's there's no less responsibility for us if anything we're thrust a little more into the limelight as ambassadors because we stick out from the rest but this passage struck me i remember reading during this time all the opposing viewpoints on facebook and instagram and like many of you i was weighing how do i respond to all this as a christian as a member of the church as a follower of jesus christ in the process i kept seeing this comment over and over and over again and when i say it you all most likely recognize it to some extent i probably bought into it a little bit myself it was on all the comment sections and i heard people say it in personal conversations this idea is so prevalent that many actually take it as bible and it's the notion that everyone is entitled to their own opinion how have you ever heard that before i just show a hands okay so i grappled with that very american notion i may have even bought into it for a season until i came across this passage along with several others like it i realize that the premise of everyone is entitled to their own opinion is found nowhere in the bible i also ironically stumbled onto the fact that this whole expression starts and it's based on three very telling words think about how that sentence starts everyone is entitled there's your sign i began to think through that but more important than that more than that i compared it with this passage in second corinthians as well as others and i realized i've never heard of an ambassador who is entitled to his or her own opinions especially not an effective ambassador who places more stock in their opinions than they do in the word and the posture of the king and the kingdom ambassadors have the sobering responsibility of speaking on behalf of the king in their kingdom which means that an ambassador who voices their own thoughts and their own opinions over and above that word of the king that is a rogue ambassador maybe not an ambassador at all an ambassador who does not represent the king even when they're venting on social media they are not an effective or even an endorsed ambassador i'll just say it like this tonight ambassadors are not entitled to their own opinion americans may be and i love my freedom but ambassadors of the kingdom are not because where my thoughts and opinions conflict with those of the king and his word they cease to matter at all i really hold any significant spiritual value at that point paul speaks to this and brother peter wright pointed this out to me himself paul talks to the church of corinth in his first letter about hair and the covering of our godly ladies and after he makes the principle of the kingdom very clear he says in verse 16. in first corinthians 11 he said if anyone wants to be contentious about this if he wants to argue over this we have no other practice nor do the churches of god in other words if anyone has another opinion about this it is not the practice of the church to supersede the word and the principles of god simply stated if it's my word against his his word wins every single time and especially as an emissary an ambassador of the king i want my words and my appeal to reflect his word and his appeal if he's really making his appeal through me then my god help me to make sure that my words are representing you well i pray that i don't ever disrepresent or misrepresent him i if i'm going to misrepresent anyone help it not to be him i'd rather misrepresent someone in in politics or someone or even my own i don't want to misrepresent the king of kings and the lord o lords and even when i'm frustrated on the job or when i'm stressed out at my home in my living room i want my words to reflect his words and his hearts and even when i don't agree with that post and with the politics that that person employs i am still an ambassador of the king so i will speak the truth of his word over the best of my opinions and i will speak that truth in love even to a world into a culture that opposes my own i will be an ambassador to others allow the lord to make his appeal through me and through my life i will allow that call to be reconciled to christ to echo loud and clear through every post and every text and every conversation and every interaction i will be a part of that ministry of reconciliation and perform the role of a priest or a priest and a peacemaker one that's also inherent in being an ambassador i want to be a reconciler i want to be an ambassador as the lord makes his appeal through me and through my life

you see ambassadors speak for the king and they also seek the peace of those around them they even seek the peace of opposing peoples and those in conflict with one another ambassadors don't go into a place to stir up trouble and conflict now they do speak the word and they let the chips fall when that happens we don't speak anything other than what the king speaks but we don't go in with the motive so we're going to stir up conflict we promote peace in whatever place we reside whatever place we go we're constantly ambassadors are constantly found between opposing sides and viewpoints anyone ever been there i don't feel like i've fallen this side and i don't feel like i've fallen this side but i i fall and i lay them whatever the bible tells me to land and it's contrary to this and it's contrary to this and it's contrary to that opinion ambassadors constantly find themselves in a place right in the middle and many times we find ourselves obviously aligning with scriptural values and we do find ourselves in line with others who have those scriptural violence but we're constantly mediating on behalf of others we're constantly reconciling others this is what it means to be an ambassadors ambassadors you and i find themselves meeting between people even between god and man seek peace between god and the people he sent us to reach paul admonishes us along these lines he says this in romans 14 therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another is talking about peace in the body over differences of opinion he tells us pursue peace and all the things that make for peace in other words be a peacemaker it says the same in romans 12 if it's possible as much as depends on you in other words do everything you can do to live peaceably with all men ambassadors for christ pursue peace and reconciliation if at all it was a contentious time paul he's saying this to the people of rome you talk about a political climate a difficult place to be at peace with people he says try to pursue peace or live peaceably with all men ambassadors are peacemakers and the word tells us that we're blessed for it blessed are the peacemakers matthew 5 9 says for they shall be called the sons of god seek the peace of all men hebrews says over and over again called to be peacemakers and on this point specifically i i intentionally just hovered a little bit because we seem to have so many occasions to do the opposite of this especially like i mentioned with social media in this digital world at large we seem to have so many opportunities to be pot stirrers and not peacemakers we we have more opportunities to stir the pot and we do to make p and it's easier to do that than it is to make peace with that in mind i emphasize again the role of an ambassador the responsibility of a peacemaker we are called to make peace my dad always emphasized the make in that phrase peace is often something we have to make or work towards rather than just maintain or let things happen he had plenty of practice making peace with all four of us he was making peace between angry teenagers he stressed to us as ambassadors we have to make peace and not just keep or maintain it we are peacemakers and not pot stores this is part of that ministry of reconciliation that word reconciliation there means the adjustment of a difference reconciliation restoration to favor so we have the ministry of seeing others overcome their differences with god adjust their viewpoint to match his in return or turn to favor with him i thought what a powerful and incredible ministry that is we are working to bring god and man together to restore relationship to bridge a gap between our king and those who may even be at odds in opposition to him and all of it is for the sake of eternity that person who's mad at god your ministry is to help reconcile and bring them back in the right relationship with him second corinthians says our lives are an appeal to others be reconciled to him they're a testament in a billboard to others that they can be reconciled to god for themselves they can be changed like we've been changed they can experience grace and transformation like we have they can become a new creature old things will be passed away all things will become new this is the message that my life should communicate to others the mystery of the saving gospel of jesus christ

one of my favorite sayings one author put it he said we're all just beggars telling other beggars where we found bread i've been reconciled i didn't deserve it but i'm at peace with god i've got god's favor i found life you can have it too it's here here you can have rec i know your life is a mess i know your life is torn up but it doesn't have to be like you can get you can be reconciled with him and at peace with him and everything will change you can experience reconciliation this is the message and the essence of what it means to have peace or to be ambassador of jesus christ and every day on every occasion and every place i should go i'm compelling others to be reconciled to him the old adage certainly applies here some have asked if i don't reach him who will i rephrase that tonight if god doesn't use me to make his appeal will they ever hear it now i'm not got it based on all of his plans on me but who's he going to use if i'm not an ambassador to my neighborhood who can he send i'm the most likely choice and if he sent me is my life such that they can hear the appeal and see the invitation for reconciliation abundantly when they see me if i am an ambassador have i represented the king in the kingdom well or can i do better

musicians come james writes to the church that those he was writing about those who wander away from truth but the principle applies in chapter 5 and verse 20. listen to what james says he said remember this whoever turns a sinner from the air of their way you have that ministry of reconciliation you will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins have you ever found anything more fulfilling than that more eternal and powerful than that whoever turns a sinner you can be reconciled to you've been going this way let's turn this way you save them from death cover a multitude of this is the work of an ambassador and i haven't found any work that's more fulfilling and more important we are an ambassador for christ he makes his appeal through us what a responsibility we have there's just nothing quite like it that's why i told that story i chased down my male lady on foot and it wasn't her it's a guy named george i think she said george is really squirrely and he was he thought i was going to rob all the mail you know but there's a trade-off it would be so worth the embarrassment george thinking i'm a crazy man see jenny changed i've been flagging her down every time she drives by mike will tell you we talked to her a couple weeks ago i don't know if i've done anything special just tried to reach out to her and she said this we were at the workday she said i haven't been able to stop thinking about you and about your church she said you made such an impression on me i started talking to her about coming i can't i can't i said you it would be my honor if you came she said i'll think about it and she said you know what i did though said i i talked to another couple your neighbors on the next street one of them's catholic one of them's former pentecostal she said i told him i don't go to a pentecostal church but if i did go to one it'd be that one she's an ambassador from my neighborhood that makes me think what in the world am i doing if jenny the male lady is spreading the good news am i doing it too you made an impression on me i can see there's something different about you've been reconciled to jesus christ and i can't stop thinking about that god's calling us to reach and be ambassador to others i feel that calling in this room i wonder if you just stand and lift your hands and your voices and respond to it right now i believe god is just stirring someone's heart again like he's been stirring mine that there is someone nearby who is in desperate need of peace and in desperate need to be reconciled to him i wonder if you just call on the name of the lord ask for god's help commit and lord i'm going to be all in on this ambassador thing i'm going to give my life lord to be an ambassador to others i want my life to be an appeal to others that they can be reconciled to you i i want them to see me and have a conversation with me and think you know what i got to have what he has or i've got to have what they have i i want opportunities lord to communicate that they can be changed and they can have peace and they can live in peace with you and have right relationship with you i pray you'd help me lord to be an ambassador every day not to forget about it but to be an ambassador to my neighborhood and to that grocery store lord and my job site and my workplace and my family in the name of jesus i need your help lord i need your help and i commit tonight to be an ambassador for jesus christ paul tells the church of corinth in first corinthians 9. this is the mindset of paul an ambassador to jesus christ to the jews i became a jew to win the jews that was under law i became like one under the law though i myself am not under the law so as to win those under the law so those not having law became like one not having the law though i'm not free from god's law but i'm under christ's law so i could win those not having the law to the weak i became weak to win the week i become all things to all people so that by all possible means i might save some i do all this for the sake of the gospel that i may share in its blessing i've been blessed by the gospel so i have to share it an ambassador for christ in his gospel so someone else can experience the blessings of the gospel and reconciliation like i have i'm thankful tonight for someone who is an ambassador to my family said you can be reconciled too that's the only reason i get to stay in here

i wonder before we go any further before we conclude tonight you just thank the lord for the blessing of knowing the gospel that someone came to you that someone was an ambassador to you and your family lord i thank you jesus for your word for the truth of this gospel thank you lord for the blessings lord of your word that i got to experience that death burial and resurrection and have all my sins wash thank you for sending an ambassador to my family my grandparents lord thank you jesus that someone wanted them to experience the same blessings of the same gospel i thank you lord for it and for this calling and commission to help others thank you jesus thank you jesus amen we're going to go out of here invite someone into reconciliation and into relationship with god i talked to one of our newest apc members he told me sunday he said i don't know what's going on he said i've just been so changed he said i used to be miserable he said but god's done something to me i don't know what's going on he said people didn't want to be near me but he said something has changed i thank god i want to see that over and over and over and over again and i believe the lord's going to use us god's going to use us thank god for that change what he's doing the apostolic pentecostal church to go and invite someone