We Are Christ’s Ambassadors!

James P Texeira

2024 • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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We touched on this yesterday at our Annual Vision Meeting So here is the definition of the word AMBASSADOR.

An ambassador is an Official envoy

He or she is a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment

An ambassador is an authorized representative or messenger

Ambassadors also have diplomatic immunity. The definition is this:

Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

Diplomatic agent” is the term for ambassadors and the other diplomatic officers who generally have the function of dealing directly with host country officials. This category enjoys the highest degree of immunity.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 AMP

17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 18 But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. 19 It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].

We Are Not Under the Law but Under Grace!

The devil is very legalistic. He tries to discourage us from doing what God wants us to do which is the ministry of reconciliation which is the Great Commission. We are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and baptism and disciple the new believers. As long as we don’t realize we are ambassadors, we subject ourselves to his condemnation and become discouraged.

Romans 8:1–4 TPT

1 So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. 2 For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death. 3 For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. 4 So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!

We Are No Longer Under Condemnation!

One of the reasons you and I have a difficult time being the ambassadors of Christ that we are, is we all tend to live in the sin conscious way of remembering everything we did wrong in the past. That’s the fact, we all did do stuff in the past that wasn’t good and all failed at one time or another. But the thing that supersedes that is the fact that Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death and has given us the law of the Spirit of life. We are made righteous through Him!

Romans 6:22–23 MSG

22 But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! 23 Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

This is Our Message as Ambassadors!

The message we bring as Christ’s Ambassadors is this, we are set free in this life and we will spend eternity with Him. The NKJV says this, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! We are here to reach the lost with this message as His ambassadors. So here’s how Ambassadors for Christ suit up for ministry.

Ephesians 6:11–20 NKJV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul Suits Up So He Can Be an Ambassador No Matter What!

The Armor of God is what we need to put on everyday as ambassadors for Christ! Look at what Paul says after teaching the church at Ephesus to put on the armor of God, he tells them to pray for him to speak boldly even though he is in prison because he sees himself as an ambassador in chains! Whether free or in chains you and I are ambassadors. We have a job to do in our community to represent Jesus to a dying world. Let’s go and be ambassadors for Christ and be a part of Kingdom expansion!