God, Spirituality, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Faith, Christian, Religion, Love, Word, Mercy,
Catégorie
📚
ÉducationTranscription
00:00So if you are a follower of Jesus,
00:02I wanna ask you, what kind of a Christian are you?
00:07If you are a Christian, what kind are you?
00:10I'll give you a couple of choices
00:12and these are kind of the extremes.
00:13Are you one of those bold ones?
00:17I mean, you know, you've been chosen and called by God.
00:20When you wake up every day,
00:23you know you're on assignment by God to do his will
00:27on earth as it is in heaven.
00:29You spend time in his word
00:31and you're sensitive to the spirit
00:33and you're prompted multiple times a day
00:35to reach out to someone to show God's love.
00:38You know, you're called to go into all the world
00:40to preach the gospel, showing the name of Jesus,
00:43baptizing people in the name of the Father,
00:45the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:46Are you a bold, spirit-empowered,
00:49faith-filled follower of Jesus?
00:51Are you that type?
00:54Or would you say, ah, I'm more of the normal type.
01:00You know, I love God and all,
01:01but I don't wanna go overboard.
01:04I mean, you know, I'm gonna do my spiritual thing.
01:06I'll go to church every now and then
01:08and I'll read the word occasionally.
01:09And you know, I wanna please God,
01:11but I'm just a stay-at-home mom trying to change diapers.
01:16You know, I don't have time for all of that.
01:18Or I'm a Christian, but I'm just a student
01:21trying to graduate and not drowned in student loan debt.
01:24Or I'm, you know, a grandparent.
01:26I'm a Christian and my kids are grown
01:28and I've worked really hard for a long time.
01:30I'm just trying to enjoy life.
01:32I'm more of the normal type of Christian.
01:37If you're a Christian, what kind of a Christian are you?
01:39Are you the bold, passionate, spirit-filled witness type?
01:44Or are you the more normal type?
01:47Now, if we were about 20 minutes into the message,
01:51meaning I've kind of broken you down
01:53with some stories and humor and I could go for it,
01:56about that time, if we were 20 minutes in,
01:58I would remind you that Jesus said,
02:00I'd rather you be hot or cold, but if you're lukewarm,
02:04I'll spit you out.
02:06I'll vomit you out.
02:07I would tell you that if we were later in the sermon.
02:11But since we're just getting going,
02:13I'll keep it kind of friendly
02:14and I'll save my punches till later.
02:16But what I wanna tell you on a serious note is
02:19if you're a Christian and you think
02:21you're just a normal Christian, you couldn't be more wrong.
02:25You could not be more wrong.
02:27Because if you are in Christ,
02:31there is nothing normal about you, nothing at all.
02:36In fact, scripture describes you
02:42as an ambassador of the most high God.
02:47If you are in Christ, you are representative of God,
02:51sent by him from heaven to earth
02:55to show his love.
02:56In fact, Paul told us this
02:58when he was writing to the Corinthian believers.
03:00It was about 55 or 56 AD.
03:03In 2 Corinthians 5, this is what the apostle Paul said.
03:06He said, therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
03:11the new creation has come, the old is gone, the new is here.
03:16If you are in Christ, your past sins are forgiven.
03:20Your old life is gone.
03:22You've been changed and redeemed
03:24by the power of the risen Savior.
03:26You are not the same, the new has come.
03:28And he says, all this is from God.
03:31Now, watch how many times we see reconciliation
03:35mentioned in God's word.
03:36All this is from God who reconciled us to himself.
03:41He makes us right with him.
03:43And through Christ, not on our own, but through Christ,
03:47he gave us the ministry of reconciliation
03:52that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
03:57not counting people's sins against them.
04:01Scripture says, and he has committed to us.
04:04That's you, that's the Christians.
04:06The message of reconciliation.
04:08So who are you?
04:10Let's say it aloud, type it in the comment section.
04:13Who are we?
04:14We are therefore Christ's ambassadors.
04:18We are Christ's ambassadors.
04:20Watch this, as though God were making his appeal through us.
04:27What kind of an appeal are you representing the love of God?
04:32Paul said this, we implore you on Christ's behalf,
04:37be reconciled to God.
04:39God made him, Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for us.
04:43Why?
04:44So that we might become the righteousness of God.
04:48Who are you?
04:49Scripture says, if you are in Christ, you're a new creation.
04:52The old is gone.
04:54And now you are an ambassador of the most high God.
05:00What does that mean for you?
05:02If you're an ambassador,
05:04let's talk about the Greek language
05:06so we can kind of understand the word.
05:08The word translated as ambassador
05:09comes from the Greek word prospeo.
05:12We get our word, taco bueno.
05:15We don't really at all, I'm just made that up.
05:18This Greek word appears two times in the Bible.
05:21It appears here and it appears whenever Paul says
05:23that I'm an ambassador in chains.
05:25In other words, even when I'm in chains
05:28and locked up in prison, I'm still an ambassador for God.
05:30And this word means an ambassador.
05:33It means a chosen representative of a ruling authority.
05:37It's a representative.
05:38We could say it this way.
05:40If you're an ambassador, what is an ambassador?
05:42An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat
05:46sent from one country to another
05:50to promote and protect the interest of their home country.
05:55What are you?
05:56You are the highest ranking diplomat
05:58sent by God from heaven to earth
06:02to promote and protect the interest
06:05of the kingdom of heaven.
06:09Who do you think you are?
06:12If you're in Christ, you are not just a normal Christian.
06:16There is nothing normal about you.
06:19If you are in Christ, you are an ambassador
06:23sent by God from heaven to earth.
06:27So what I want you to do is I want you
06:28to start internalizing it.
06:31And I'm gonna just ask you to repeat after me online.
06:33You can type this in the comment section.
06:35Everybody say, I am.
06:37I am.
06:38An ambassador of Christ.
06:39Ambassador of Christ.
06:40Sent by God to show His love on earth as it is in heaven.
06:48Again, I am an ambassador of Christ
06:52sent by God to show His love on earth as it is in heaven.
06:58There's nothing normal about you.
07:00You're an ambassador of a king.
07:02All kings, you're an ambassador of the kingdom of God.
07:06If you're an ambassador, what do ambassadors do?
07:10What are the benefits, what are the responsibilities,
07:13what do we need to know to fulfill our calling
07:15by God to represent Him?
07:17I'll give you three big thoughts from God's Word.
07:20The first one is this, number one,
07:22as Christ's ambassador, number one,
07:24you were not elected by people, but chosen by God.
07:30You weren't voted in by anyone else's opinion,
07:33but you were chosen by the King of Kings to represent Him.
07:38In fact, Jesus said this in John 15, 16,
07:40Jesus said, you didn't choose me, but I chose you.
07:47How does it feel to be chosen by Jesus?
07:51Not only did He choose you, but He appointed you
07:55so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.
08:00If you belong to this world,
08:02but you don't belong to this world,
08:03you're not from here, you're a citizen of heaven,
08:05you don't belong to this world.
08:06If you did, you would love it as its own.
08:09As it is, Jesus said, you do not belong to the world.
08:12Why?
08:13Because Jesus has chosen you out of the world.
08:18Jesus is reminding you, and we need to work to remember this,
08:23that this world is not our home.
08:26We are not from here, therefore we don't live for here.
08:30This is not where our home is.
08:32This is not where our values lie.
08:35This is not where our heart drifts toward.
08:37We are from the kingdom of heaven.
08:39In fact, it was Paul who said this.
08:41He said, for we, Philippians 3.20, are citizens of heaven,
08:45where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
08:48As citizens of heaven, God chose you
08:53to represent Him on earth.
08:56God chose you to be His ambassador.
09:00And you may say, dang, that feels a little more important
09:04than I was ready for.
09:05Like, I don't feel worthy to be an ambassador.
09:08I mean, I woke up late, I yelled at my kids.
09:10I can't even get to church on time,
09:13and I'm supposed to be an ambassador, right?
09:15We often don't feel good enough.
09:18We don't feel smart enough.
09:19We don't feel ready enough.
09:21We don't feel important enough.
09:23And yet God calls us.
09:25I illustrate it this way.
09:27I've told you many times that years ago,
09:30before starting Life.Church,
09:32I went before the ordaining board
09:35to become ordained as a young pastor.
09:37And I was midway through seminary,
09:39and the board actually rejected me for ordination.
09:42I've told you that part many times.
09:44The part that I rarely ever talk about
09:46is a year later, I was ordained.
09:48And finally, I would glow in the dark,
09:52because that's what happened when you're ordained.
09:53I'm just joking, you don't really glow in the dark.
09:55You're still in the dark.
09:57But anyway, I was ordained,
09:59and then I graduated from seminary,
10:00and I went to the leaders,
10:02and I said, I feel really burdened to start a church.
10:06And they said, you can't start a church.
10:08I said, I really would like,
10:09I feel like called by God to start a church.
10:11They said, you can't start a church.
10:12And so I kind of said, can I please, please start a church?
10:15And they're like, we barely ordained you.
10:17No, you'll never start a church.
10:20And so I was rejected for ordination.
10:24I was rejected by that kind of governing authority
10:27to start the church.
10:29But God opened the door to start the church.
10:33And what I wanna tell you is this.
10:35When God selects you, it doesn't matter who rejects you.
10:39When God calls you, man's opinion will never ever stop you.
10:44It doesn't matter what anybody else says about you.
10:47It doesn't matter what they think about you.
10:49Doesn't even matter what you think about you.
10:51You are chosen by God, and you are placed by God
10:54at this moment in history,
10:56given your specific and very unique design,
11:00that you've got spiritual gifts within you,
11:03and you've got a calling upon you
11:05that when you walk into a room,
11:07you are ordained by God to represent him in that moment.
11:12You're an ambassador of the most high God.
11:15So as an ambassador, how do you know what to do?
11:20Who do you talk to?
11:21What do you say?
11:22Well, a good ambassador is gonna stay
11:25in close communication with headquarters.
11:27As an ambassador of the most high God,
11:30you're gonna stay in close communication
11:32with your heavenly king.
11:34That means every single day, you open up the book
11:38and you say, God, what are your assignments for me
11:40in your word?
11:42You let his word, his instructions renew your mind
11:46and build your faith.
11:47And you listen for promptings from God.
11:50You listen for the voice of the spirit to say,
11:52reach out to this person and show my love
11:54and be a witness here and be a light there
11:56and be generous to this person and be on call, be available.
12:00When you're an ambassador, you're not on your own agenda.
12:03You're always on call for the one who sent you
12:05to represent his will in the country in which you're in.
12:10God, prompt me and lead me.
12:12And when you recognize you're an ambassador,
12:14you're ready for an assignment from your commanding officer
12:18to fulfill his will where you are.
12:21When you recognize you're called and chosen, you're ready.
12:26Your day is never just your day.
12:29Your day belongs to him.
12:30God, where do you want me?
12:32What do you want me to say?
12:32And when you have that posture, that mindset,
12:35I'm a representative of the king of kings,
12:39you'll sense that he prompts you over and over and over again
12:43to show his love as though he were making his appeal
12:47through you.
12:49I was in the gym one day when my workout partner, Paco,
12:52didn't show up and so I worked out by myself
12:54and went to the sauna afterwards and thought,
12:57give me a nice quiet sauna.
12:59And this guy walked in and didn't know who I was.
13:02We'd never talked and he sat down
13:04and he was having a really, really bad day.
13:06You could just tell, it was like all over him.
13:07And I said, looks like you're having a bad day.
13:10And he said, cuss word, cuss word, cuss word,
13:12I'm having a bad day.
13:14Well, he doesn't know who I am, this is kind of funny.
13:16Now I can be a regular guy, not pastor guy.
13:19We sat there for a while and I thought,
13:21well, I'll just pray for him.
13:22But then I felt like there was an assignment,
13:24this prompting that I should ask another question.
13:28And I just said, hey, if you wanna talk about it,
13:32I'm willing to listen.
13:33And he said, I don't wanna talk about it
13:35and then he started talking about it.
13:37And he told me all about basically
13:41how he had screwed up his marriage
13:42and his daughter was begging him not to leave
13:44and his wife had kicked him out and he was really hurting.
13:47And I sat there that moment
13:49and I felt like God had ordained for us to be there.
13:54And so I was praying, do I tell him that or not?
13:56And I said, hey man, I don't wanna sound weird
13:58or religious or anything like that,
14:00but I really believe that God sent me to this place
14:03at this time for this conversation with you.
14:06And I really, really, really think you're supposed
14:08to go back and tell her what you just told me
14:10about what you did wrong and apologize.
14:13And he looked at me and he said,
14:14cuss word, cuss word, cuss word.
14:16And he said, I'm not religious,
14:17but I do think God sent you here to tell me that.
14:20And that's what I need to do.
14:21And I said, well, let's go do it, man, go do it.
14:23He said, I'm gonna go do it.
14:23And he went out.
14:24And what I realized at that moment is
14:26I was where God wanted me, not for a workout
14:30or not for a sauna, but to represent him
14:32to someone who needed a message from heaven.
14:35And in the very same way,
14:36every single day in the smallest,
14:42just a conversation with a guy.
14:44If you wanna talk, we can talk.
14:46And all of a sudden you find yourself representing heaven.
14:50You may be driving along
14:51and you see someone's got a flat tire
14:53and you're like going, I can change a flat tire.
14:56And suddenly you recognize you are God's ambassador
15:00of the flat tire changing ministry.
15:04And you just pull up and say, hey, can I help you out?
15:06Or you walk into work and someone's hurting
15:09and you think I can listen.
15:10And you are the ambassador of the ministry
15:13of listening on that day.
15:14Or someone has a baby
15:16and you know they're going through a lot.
15:17You think I can make a meal.
15:19And so you have the ministry of meal making.
15:22Or like me, you have the ministry of gift card buying.
15:25Let's just be honest, right?
15:27I'll buy you a dinner
15:28because I'm not making you anything.
15:30It doesn't have to be big, but you understand, wow.
15:34It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks.
15:36It doesn't matter how much I know or don't know.
15:38I was not elected by people, but I was chosen by God.
15:42Therefore, I step in with the authority of God
15:45to do His will.
15:47Who are you?
15:49Who are you?
15:50You're an ambassador of the most high God.
15:54You were not elected by people, but you were chosen by God.
15:58Number two, you never represent yourself.
16:03You always represent God.
16:06You never represent your own will, your own desires.
16:09You're always representing the King who sent you.
16:13In fact, Philippians 1.27 tells us this.
16:17Scripture says, above all else,
16:20you must live as citizens of heaven,
16:24conducting yourselves in a manner worthy
16:28of the good news about Christ.
16:30How cool would it be if everyone who called themselves
16:34a follower of Jesus conducted themselves
16:36in a way worthy of the manner of Christ,
16:39showing His love, His truth, and grace?
16:42Because no matter where you are,
16:45and no matter what you're doing,
16:46you may be at the soccer field with your kid,
16:48you're at the grocery store buying groceries,
16:50you're going to the bank,
16:52you're talking to somebody at the store.
16:53No matter where you are, no matter what you do,
16:56you're representing Christ in that moment.
16:59That's who you are.
17:01I'll give you an example.
17:02How many of you have been here for a long time?
17:05We're talking like 20 plus years of the church.
17:07Anybody been here a long time?
17:09A few of you.
17:10Would you say, if you've been here for a long time,
17:11I have matured a little bit, just a little bit.
17:13Raise your hand, just please,
17:14just makes me feel better, thank you.
17:16Just a little bit.
17:17Some of you say, you've got more room to go.
17:19Yes, thank God for the redeeming power of Jesus
17:22who continues to conform us to His will.
17:24If you were here a long time ago,
17:25if you think I'm rough now, I've come a long way.
17:30And just as an example, like years and years ago,
17:33I'm 56 now.
17:36When Amy turned 40, I've got a picture of her,
17:39this was when she turned 40, she had her little hat on.
17:41You gotta understand, I am so in love with this woman.
17:44When I tell you this, it's like there's no way
17:48to describe how much I love her.
17:49She is the best thing.
17:52She's my favorite thing about everything.
17:54So I did this post that was both funny and true,
17:57but it was not appropriate.
17:59On the post, I said, happy 40th birthday.
18:02I love you with all my heart.
18:03Happy 40th.
18:04You are way better than two 20-year-olds.
18:07That's what I said.
18:10Now, I said, I told you, it was funny and it's true,
18:15but it was unwise.
18:18That's one of the reasons why I have help
18:20with my social media accounts today.
18:22So it's that.
18:24And I mean, like people lost their minds.
18:28Like pastor shouldn't ever, pastor shouldn't ever,
18:30pastor shouldn't ever, and you're a man of God,
18:32pastor, held to a higher standard,
18:33and that's not, pastor shouldn't ever,
18:35pastor shouldn't, pastor shouldn't, pastor shouldn't.
18:37Okay, okay, okay, okay.
18:38I shouldn't have done it.
18:39I know, whatever.
18:40But it is funny and it is true, but I shouldn't have done it.
18:43And I'm not ever gonna say a pastor shouldn't be held
18:48to a higher standard,
18:49especially when it comes to teaching God's Word.
18:51But what I'm gonna say is if you're a follower of Jesus,
18:53we all should be held to a higher standard.
18:55And everything we do in the way that we conduct ourselves,
18:59we should always represent Christ.
19:02It was Paul who said in Colossians 3, 17,
19:04he said in whatever you do or whatever you say,
19:08anywhere you go, you act it, you say it,
19:10do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
19:15Though we live in this world, we are not of this world.
19:19The world has its values that are not the same values
19:22of the kingdom that sent us.
19:25This world says, put yourself first,
19:27but our King says, put others first
19:30and consider them better than yourselves.
19:33We're representatives.
19:34This world says, get as much as you can,
19:37but our King says, give as much as you can
19:41because it is far more blessed to give to others
19:45than it is to receive.
19:46This world says, hate those who hate you,
19:49but our King says, love and bless those who persecute you.
19:53We're not living according to the values of this world.
19:57We represent Jesus in everything that we do.
19:59Who are you?
20:00You are representative of the most high God.
20:05There's nothing normal about you.
20:07If you're in Christ, you're not a normal Christian.
20:10You are chosen and appointed by God
20:14to represent Him on this earth.
20:17What does it mean to be an ambassador?
20:18Number one, you're not elected by people,
20:21you're chosen by God.
20:22Number two, you never represent yourself,
20:24but you always represent God.
20:27Number three, you have the authority
20:29of the one who sent you.
20:32You have the authority of the most high God.
20:38Paul said this, 2 Corinthians 10, verse eight.
20:43He said, I may seem to have been boasting too much
20:47about the what?
20:48Let's all say it aloud, about the authority given to us.
20:52Who was it given by?
20:53Given to us by the Lord.
20:54Hey, I may have been telling too much.
20:57I mean, like God gave me authority
20:59and because of that authority,
21:01I'm happy to walk in that authority
21:03and live in that authority.
21:04So I may be boasting too much about that authority
21:06given to us by the Lord.
21:08But our authority builds you up.
21:13It doesn't tear you down.
21:15We encourage one another.
21:17We build people up as followers of Jesus.
21:19So I will not be ashamed, he says, of using my authority.
21:24God gave me his authority.
21:27Notice Paul said, I am operating in his authority,
21:31but he didn't use the word power.
21:32And there is a difference.
21:34He said, I have his authority.
21:36I don't have the same power, but I have his authority.
21:38Kind of like if a police officer stands
21:41in the middle of the road and says, stop.
21:45Do they have the power to make you stop or the authority?
21:49They don't really have the power
21:51because they can't really stop a moving vehicle
21:55with their physical body.
21:56But they have a badge that says
21:58there is a greater power standing behind them.
22:01And that power behind them gives them the authority
22:04to say, you better stop.
22:07You have the authority given by God.
22:10Or if that doesn't make sense to you,
22:12if you grew up with a sibling and your sibling acts up
22:16and you walk into your mom and tell on your sibling
22:20and your mom says, you go back and tell her, I said.
22:26You go back and tell him, I said.
22:29If he does that again, I'll knock him into tomorrow.
22:33Or they don't say that.
22:34If he does that again, I'll give him time out.
22:40Whatever it is, you tell me, right?
22:42And so you walk into that room like this.
22:46Mom said, if you whatever, because now you,
22:49what power do you, you don't have any power,
22:51but you have authority.
22:53You have the authority of the mom.
22:55There's the authority of God and the authority of the mom.
22:57It is below God, but not by much, okay?
23:00And so you come in and you say, I have a different authority
23:05and Jesus said this.
23:07He said, look, I've given you authority
23:10over all the power of the enemy.
23:13In other words, we do have a spiritual enemy
23:15who came to steal, kill, and destroy.
23:18But anytime the enemy attacks you,
23:20you take authority over the enemy.
23:22And you tell the enemy, not today, devil.
23:25Jesus gave me authority over you.
23:27You get behind me.
23:29Devil, you can't have my kids.
23:32Devil, you can't have my marriage.
23:33Devil, you can't touch my health.
23:35You can't touch my finances.
23:36My God gave me authority over you.
23:41Get behind me.
23:42I don't have the power, but I've got the authority
23:45to call on the one who is sitting at the right hand of God,
23:48the Father Almighty, making intercession for me,
23:52that you can come boldly before the throne of grace.
23:56And when you do, you find help in your time of need.
24:01You're not a normal Christian.
24:02There's nothing normal about you.
24:04You have the authority of the most high God.
24:09Who do you think you are?
24:11Who do you think you are?
24:13Say it, I am.
24:15An ambassador sent by God to show his love
24:21on earth as it is in heaven.
24:24I am an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ on mission.
24:28I'm on call.
24:30I'm available.
24:31I wasn't chosen by people.
24:34They didn't vote me in.
24:35I was chosen by God.
24:37I never represent myself.
24:40I represent the country, the kingdom from which I was sent.
24:43And I may not have a whole lot of power on my own,
24:45but I come with the authority of the one that sent me.
24:50And that's why we're not just asking on behalf of Jesus.
24:56And we're not just sharing our faith on behalf of Jesus.
25:00And we're not just inviting people to the good news,
25:03but we're pleading with them.
25:06We're pleading.
25:07That's what the text says.
25:08Here's what scripture says.
25:09Scripture says, so we are Christ's ambassador.
25:13God is making his appeal through us.
25:16We speak for Christ when, what do we do?
25:19Say it with me, when we plead.
25:21And what do we say?
25:22We plead, come back to God.
25:25Type that in the comment section, come back to God.
25:27What do we say?
25:28We say, come back to God.
25:30What am I gonna do today?
25:32Listen, I'm pleading with you.
25:36If you are away from him, come back to him.
25:43He loves you with every part of his being.
25:49For God so loved the world
25:51that he sent his one and only son, Jesus.
25:54That whosoever, it doesn't matter what you've done,
25:56whosoever believes in him would not perish,
25:59but would have eternal life.
26:00Come back to God, come back to God.
26:03You got hurt by someone in the church?
26:05That's gonna happen.
26:07Unfortunately, people hurt you.
26:09God didn't do it, come back to God.
26:12Come back to God, come back to God.
26:14You've been away, you put him on the shelf, come back to God.
26:17He's still there, he's waiting for you, he's calling you.
26:20Let me tell you where I come from.
26:21Where I come from, there's love and there's joy
26:25and there's peace and there's kindness.
26:27There's grace where I come from.
26:29Where I come from, the truth of God, it sets people free.
26:33Come back to God, come back to God.
26:35There's forgiveness when you come back to him.
26:39There's grace for you when you come, come back to him.
26:42We plead, come back to him.
26:44How's it going in your sinfulness?
26:47How do you like the values of this world?
26:50Do you find more joy?
26:52Is there more peace?
26:55Do you find yourself fulfilled
26:58when you follow the sinful ways of this world?
27:01Come back to him, come back to God.
27:05We do that with our lives.
27:07We don't just go to church,
27:08we're ambassadors of the most high God.
27:11With everything in us, we plead,
27:13come back to the one who created you and loves you,
27:17come back to him.
27:18Why?
27:19Because scripture says this,
27:20for God made Christ, who never sinned,
27:24to be the offering for our sin.
27:27Jesus Christ, who never sinned, gave his life for us.
27:31Why?
27:33So we could be made right with God through Christ.
27:38If you are in Christ, there is nothing normal about you.
27:44You're an ambassador, you're chosen.
27:47You're not just a mom, you're imparting spiritual life
27:52to everyone that you interact with.
27:55You're not just a new employee at the bank,
27:57you're God's undercover agent,
28:00showing his love where you are.
28:01You don't just go to school,
28:03you are God's representative in your sorority,
28:06in your chemistry class.
28:08When you show up, hope shows up.
28:12When you walk in, love walks in.
28:15Who you are and how you live and how you love
28:19represents the kingdom of heaven.
28:23That's who you are.
28:25So what kind of Christian are you?
28:28If you're in Christ, there's nothing normal about you.
28:31You're chosen by God as his ambassador.
28:35I want you to say it again,
28:36and I want you to feel it in your spirit.
28:39Don't believe it in your head, believe it in your heart.
28:43Who are you?
28:44I am an ambassador of Christ,
28:49sent by God to show God's love on earth
28:55as it is in heaven.
28:58God, help us to represent you,
29:00to make your appeal through us
29:02in a way that shows a hurting world,
29:06that coming back to you
29:08is where there's truth and forgiveness
29:10and healing and grace and joy and peace.
29:15Today as you're praying at all of our churches,
29:17I wanna speak to those of you who would say,
29:19yes, I am a Christian,
29:22but you might be more of the normal type,
29:28just kind of going through life,
29:30and you recognize there's way, way more.
29:33Maybe you're underperforming your potential,
29:36because it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about you,
29:37God chose you and called you to be his ambassador.
29:40If you say today, hey, I want his help
29:42to represent him well, we're gonna pray,
29:44and when you pray that, you gotta be ready,
29:46because every day, you're on call,
29:49and he's gonna prompt you.
29:50All of our churches today, if you say,
29:51I am a follower of Jesus,
29:53and I wanna be even more available,
29:57to fulfill his calling, would you lift up your hands?
29:58I hope it's everybody.
29:59Lift up your hands and say, that's me.
30:01Online, you can say, I wanna be available to God.
30:03Just type that in the comment section.
30:05Father, I pray, God, that every day,
30:09because we represent you,
30:11that we'd be in close communication with you,
30:14that we'd start the day in your Word,
30:16or find whatever works best for our schedule
30:18to be in your Word,
30:20and then, God, in our prayer time every day,
30:22we just talk to you and listen to you
30:23and say, we're available.
30:25Our day belongs to you.
30:27Prompt us.
30:28God, I pray that there are those
30:30that could not walk out of the church room
30:33that they're in without being prompted
30:35to love somebody, pray for somebody,
30:37give something, reach out, invite somebody somewhere,
30:40that we'd see, we're here for somebody else.
30:43God, I pray that even those online
30:45would be prompted to pray for somebody
30:46and reach out to use what you've put in us
30:49to be a blessing to others.
30:50We're on call.
30:52God, help us to internalize this,
30:54that we never represent ourselves,
30:56we always represent you.
31:01Empower us, God, by your Spirit.
31:04We thank you that we've been chosen.
31:07No one can talk us out of this.
31:08We represent you.
31:10God, help us to live in such a way
31:12that you make your appeal through us.
31:17As you keep praying today,
31:19there are those of you that would say,
31:20actually, I'm not walking with God.
31:23Maybe you'd say, I don't know God.
31:25Maybe you were like with God for a while
31:27and now you're kind of away.
31:28But what I wanna just do is say what Paul did is,
31:31I am pleading with you, would you come back to him?
31:35Come back to him, come to him.
31:41He is the supreme creator of the universe
31:43and yet he loves you.
31:45He created you as his masterpiece.
31:49He loves you.
31:53There is no meaningful life outside
31:58of a fully surrendered life to the one who created you.
32:01You may say, but I've done some things wrong.
32:03Yeah, welcome to the club.
32:04We all have, every single one of us,
32:06every single one of us.
32:07The Bible calls it sin.
32:09We have sinned against a holy God
32:12and our sin separates us from God.
32:14But here's how good he is,
32:16that God sent Jesus who was without sin
32:19to die in our place, the Bible says,
32:21so we could be made right with God.
32:23Listen, it doesn't matter who you are,
32:25doesn't matter what you've done,
32:26doesn't matter where you are in life right now.
32:27When you come to him, he will forgive your sins
32:32and he will fill you with the very same spirit
32:34that raised Christ from the dead
32:36and you will no longer be apart from God,
32:38but you will be in his family.
32:40And then get ready, because immediately you're drafted.
32:43You're in his army, you're an ambassador.
32:46And so today, wherever you're watching from,
32:47those who say, you know what?
32:49I don't know where I stand with God.
32:50Hey, we're just gonna go all in today.
32:52We're gonna step away from our sin
32:53and we're gonna step into the grace of Jesus.
32:55The Bible says when you're in Christ, you're a new creation.
32:59The old is gone and everything becomes new today
33:01at all of our churches.
33:02Those who say, all right, that's me, it's now.
33:04I need it, I need his grace, I need his forgiveness.
33:07I'm stepping away from my old life.
33:09I'm coming to him, I'm coming back to him.
33:11I'm coming to him, I'm giving my life to him.
33:13When you do, he hears your prayers, forgives your sins,
33:14and makes you brand new at all of our churches today
33:16and online.
33:17Those who say, I'm coming to God, I'm giving him my life.
33:19Today, I'm coming to him, Jesus, take my life.
33:22That's your prayer, lift your hands high right now.
33:23All over the place, lift them up high.
33:25Oh, great, praise God, all of you right here.
33:27Others today saying, that's my prayer.
33:28Praise God for you, right back up here, over here.
33:31Lift up your hands high, right back over here.
33:33God bless you in there.
33:34Oh, come on, church, let's give God some praise.
33:36We thank you, God, for salvation in Christ.
33:39Others today who say, yes, Jesus.
33:41Online, just type it, I'm coming back to God,
33:44I'm coming back to God, or I'm coming to God.
33:46And let's all pray together, just pray aloud.
33:48Pray, Heavenly Father, I'm coming to you.
33:51I'm coming back.
33:53Jesus, save me.
33:55Make me new.
33:57Forgive my filth, all my sin.
34:01Wash me completely clean.
34:04Now fill me with your spirit,
34:07so I can be your ambassador,
34:09representing you in all that I do.
34:12My life is not my own.
34:15I give it to you.
34:17Thank you for new life.
34:18You have all of mine.
34:20In Jesus' name, I pray.
34:22Come on, church, could you thank God right now?
34:24Could you give him some praise?
34:26Give him some praise, give him some praise.
34:29Did you connect with this message?
34:31Did it resonate with you?
34:32We've got even more messages about your calling
34:35and your purpose that you can watch right now.
34:37Check them out here.
34:39♪♪