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This new teaching series will challenge & equip us as Ambassadors for Christ, living with urgency & sharing the life-changing good news with family, friends, & neighbors …before it’s too late.

An ambassador never speaks on his own but is simply the mouthpiece for the nation & it’s ruler. He never utters his own thoughts, offers, promises, or demands, but only those of his ruler. The Greek word for ambassador comes from the root word for “old,” emphasizing experience & wisdom. Paul uses this metaphor of ambassador when he penned these words.

Paul and his associates were ambassadors for Christ. They did not speak on their own but simply brought God’s message to others. Similar to the ambassadors of the Roman Empire, these men had 2 primary tasks 1) to warn of wrath AND... 2) offer peace. Hopefully, people would respond to the message of peace and be reconciled - made right with God. But if they refused peace, just as those who opposed the Roman Empire, they would suffer wrath from One much more mighty. This is the task of Ambassadors for Christ.

What is it that would lead Paul and the generations that followed to be ambassadors for Christ?

For many people this meant being persecuted & even killed. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul calls himself “an ambassador in chains.” But what would DRIVE Paul do this...and why should WE be willing to become ambassadors for Christ? Paul was tired, often beaten & bloodied. He sat in prisons & went without food at times. There were times that he wanted to pack up his earthly tent & move to heaven. But he was willing to stick it out to serve His king. In fact, here’s what he writes earlier in the same passage.

Paul’s hope of heaven wasn’t about a place...it was about a PERSON - this is why he speaks of being at home with the Lord. This is the daily goal of the follower of Jesus - to please Him. 

• Is that YOUR goal? Do you ever ask this question at some point of your day, “Lord, are you pleased with my actions today?”

This is one of the reasons why Paul...why YOU...should be an Ambassador of Christ. Jesus has transformed your life, given you eternal life, & you want to please the one who paid for you.

This fear of the Lord is a healthy reverence, a sense of awe, and thankful obedience.

Think about what it will be like to stand or cower to the All-knowing, Perfectly Pure, Creator of the universe who formed you in your mother’s womb and provided for you throughout your life; the ONE who gave His body to be brutalized to pay for YOUR sin!THAT MOMENT should lead us to persuade others to turn from their sin and turn to HIM.

Sadly, many who claim to be Christians act as if we will NOT be held in account when Jesus returns. They are those of whom Jesus asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say?” (Lk 6:46) If that’s you, then you need to read what Jesus says...

Matthew 24:45–51 CSB Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If your version of ‘Jesus’ doesn’t judge and doesn’t send people to hell, where there is the weeping and gnashing of teeth, then you should tear a bunch of parts of pages out of your Bible. But Jesus DOES & WILL judge all people, from all nations, from all time. 

• His genuine servants will experience redemption, salvation, & the ultimate freedom forever! 
• Those who reject Him - those who act like He isn’t returning, will forfeit the redemption, salvation, & freedom that has been offered them - and will be sent to this place of punishment…forever. 

With the return of the Jesus as the Righteous Judge forever on His mind, Paul highlights the task God has given us to be…Ambassadors for Christ [who] Warn of God’s Wrath & Offer God’s Peace

Many think they are CHILDREN of God because they are CREATED by God. Yet, without turning from sin and trusting Jesus with your life, you are STILL in your sins, separated from God, enemies of the Creator (Rm 5:10, Col 1:21, Jm 4:4).

“Wait a second! You mean I can be made NEW? My past can be forgiven...wiped away?” Can you imagine your family member or friend - not yet a follower of Jesus - asking you that question with tears in his/her eyes? It is THAT moment that you will come to appreciate these next words...

There is no greater privilege on the planet! God uses PEOPLE - people like YOU & ME - to speak on HIS behalf. 

We must go others how to be reconciled to God, because they are NOT currently in right relationship with Him.

MANY within our culture don’t even realize they have a disease too, one that will bring DEATH, physical & spiritual death. If they don’t know the BAD NEWS, they likely won’t be interested in hearing from those who have the GOOD NEWS.

John 3:16-18 contains the GOOD NEWS, but it also contains the BAD NEWS that people need to know, as we’ll see next week.

1. Ask God to grow you as a good Ambassador for Christ. Pray, get in the Scriptures, & get ready to be used by God. 
2. Ask a mature believer to help grow as an Ambassador for Christ. 
3. Pray for souls & opportunities. Cry out on behalf of our lost family members and friends. Look for opportunities to SERVE them & SHARE with them!
4. Invite unchurched friends next Sunday, on 3/16, to hear the Good/Bad News from John 3:16.

These open-ended questions are designed to help you LIVE what you LEARN with your Family, Friends, or Small Group.

1. What questions, answers, or challenges did today’s teaching stir in you?
2. What are the two primary tasks of an ambassador for Christ as described in the sermon? Why are BOTH important? How might sharing how you came to understand your sin had separated you from God help others see that THEY are separated from God?
3. How did the cancer illustration - not caring about cancer doctors until the cancer was discovered - help give insight into why we must help people see their SIN in order to understand they need the SAVIOR?
4. Read 2 Cor 5:8-9. What does it mean to “please the Lord”? Do you ever ask this question at some point of your day, “Lord, are you pleased with my actions today?” How could asking that question change our attitudes and actions this coming week?
5. Read 2 Cor 5:10-11. What feelings arise when you think about standing before the judgment seat of Christ? How can thinking about this most humbling moment challenge us to live for the right reasons & fuel us to persuade others to follow Jesus?
6. Read Mt 24:45-51. What encouragement should a faithful servant receive from this story? What about the ‘servant’ who really isn’t serving his/her master - one whom claims to be a servant yet lives sinfully?
7. Read 2 Cor 5:17. What does it mean for someone to be a "new creation" in Christ? How has this transformation been evident in your own life?
8. Read 2 Cor 5:18-20. Why is reconciliation with God necessary? How does this passage emphasize the seriousness of our sin and our need for salvation? What does it mean that God makes His appeal through us? How should this affect our interactions with others?
9. How does viewing yourself as an ambassador God speaks through change the way you approach sharing your faith with others?
10. How can you engage in meaningful conversations about Christ with family and friends who do not yet believe?
11. What obstacles or fears prevent you from being an effective Ambassador for Christ? How can you overcome them?
12. Take a moment to encourage each other.