You Have A Ministry
Sermon Notes
Now today we’re continuing our teaching series called Instruments of Grace, it’s about helping us go from being recipients to instruments of grace. It’s about setting the direction for where we’re headed as a church in 2021. We want 2021 to be A Year of Multiplication, a year where we focus on living as instruments of grace like the video we just showed you. I love how Colin came to faith in Jesus through his friend Julian, but now it’s Colin who’s going out and sharing his faith in Jesus too! Both Colin and Julian are living as recipients and instruments of grace. Our culture thinks of this as paying it forward, being kind to somebody in response to somebody’s kindness to you. But for Christians it’s about something much deeper than doing occasional acts of kindness. It’s about living as instruments of grace not occasionally, but as a lifestyle. It’s about representing our King, for the sake of leading others to our King, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 and get into it. You’ll find 2nd Corinthians in the last quarter of your bible. Title of today’s message is You Have A Ministry, and here’s the big idea. You have a ministry!...It’s to live as an instrument of grace, by being an ambassador for Christ...It’s to live as an instrument of grace, by being an ambassador for Christ...
Context:
Here’s your context. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to address some false teachers in the Corinthian Church who were questioning his leadership and teachings. He was facing a lot of persecution from these false teachers, but in ch 4:6-7 he says we have such a great treasure of hope constantly sustaining us regardless of the suffering we face. He says it’s the treasure of the gospel, the treasure of Jesus. So last week we focused on us having this treasure of hope, but this week our focus is on us having a ministry. In ch 5:18 Paul says it’s a ministry of reconciliation, and in vs. 20 he says to fulfill this ministry of reconciliation we need to live as ambassadors for Christ. But what’s an ambassador? What’s it mean for us to live as an ambassador for Christ? Paul’s about to teach us 3 things about being an ambassador for Christ. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
2 Corinthians 5:11-21 states this, “Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in outward appearance rather than in the heart.” Paul’s talking about the difference between his ministry and the false teachers ministry. They’re teaching is about outward appearances, it’s about doing outward religious activities for salvation. Paul’s teaching is about inward heart transformation, it’s about having faith in Jesus for salvation. They’re serving in ministry for outward appearances to gain money and popularity. But Paul’s serving in ministry to change lives, to change hearts, for all eternity.
Vs. 13, “For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.” There’s the 1st thing we learn about being an ambassador for Christ. We learn...
#1 An ambassador represents the King, instead of trying to be King: An ambassador represents the King, instead of trying to be King. In vs 15 Paul says they dont live for themselves, instead they live for the one who died for them, which is Jesus. In vs. 14 he says it’s the love of Jesus, the sacrificial love Jesus displayed on the cross that compels and motivates them to live as ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors back then are similar to ambassadors today. It’s somebody who represents a president or king in a foreign land. They don’t speak for themselves; they speak the words of the king they’re representing. Every country has ambassadors they send to foreign lands, and as Christians we need to remember this world isn’t our home, it’s a foreign land. We need to remember our citizenship is in heaven, and we’re to live as ambassadors for Christ while living in this foreign land. This is why we shouldn’t be puffed up or crushed over the elections. We shouldn’t be puffed up if our candidate won, or be crushed if our candidate lost. Instead we should be puffing up Christ and finding hope in knowing his kingship can’t ever be crushed! A change in presidential leadership can’t ever change our eternal citizenship. We need to remember our citizenship’s in heaven, which means we’re to keep living as ambassadors for Christ in this foreign land. We’re to live as if our lives aren’t our own, instead they belong to King Jesus! We need to live representing the King, instead of trying to be King!
But we sometimes struggle with this don’t we? We sometimes want to be King, instead of a representative of the King! We sometimes invest more into building our own mini kingdom, instead of building Jesus’ kingdom. The reason so many churches have a shortage of funding and volunteers isn’t because of lack of training, it’s because of lack of desire to be ambassadors. It’s that we’re more invested in building our mini kingdoms, than we are in building Jesus’ kingdom. This is why we wrestle with giving more generously to the church or investing more time in the lives of others...It’s because if we give more financially to the church, it’ll take away from giving financially to our mini kingdoms. If we invest more time in the lives of others, it’ll take away from our downtime sitting in our lazboy thrones...I know I personally fall too easily into a my kingdom lifestyle, instead of a God’s kingdom lifestyle! I fall too easily into a my kingdom lifestyle, instead of an ambassador lifestyle...What areas in your life, are you needing to have more of an ambassador lifestyle?...What areas in your life, are you needing to have more of an ambassador lifestyle? Is it being more generous with your money?...Is it being more generous with your time and talents?...Is it being more willing to give up a certain sinful lifestyle, so you can live a more obedient ambassador lifestyle?...In Matthew 6:4 Jesus said you can’t serve 2 masters, 2 kings, representing 2 kingdoms. As ambassadors for Christ we need to serve King Jesus, representing his kingdom instead of our own. We need to represent our King, instead of trying to be King.
Vs. 16, “From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way.” Paul’s saying there’s really only 2 kinds of people, it’s those who are worldly and those who are ambassadors. It’s those who aren’t saved, and those who are saved. Those who aren’t reconciled with God, and those who are reconciled with God. As ambassadors of Christ we’re to share the gospel message of reconciliation with those who aren’t reconciled, which Paul says next.
Vs. 17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.” Okay so there’s the 2nd thing we learn about being an ambassador for Christ. The 1st is we’re to represent the King, and the 2nd is...
#2 An ambassador delivers the ministry and message of the King: An ambassador delivers the ministry and message of the King. In vs 18 Paul says if you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re an ambassador for Christ, then you have a ministry, it’s the ministry of reconciliation. And by reconciliation he means we’re to help reconcile people to God, by sharing the gospel, by sharing the message of reconciliation Jesus sent us to deliver. Paul summarizes this message in vs 21 stating, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” What he’s saying is our sin separated us form God, but Jesus came to bridge the sin gap by living the perfect life we haven’t lived, and dying the death we deserve to die for our sins. It’s called The Great Exchange! We exchange our sinfulness for his righteousness. We trust Jesus and give him our sin; Jesus loves us and gives us his righteousness. Our sin was poured into Christ on the day of his crucifixion, but his righteousness is poured into us on the day of our conversion. It’s an incredible exchange because the world won’t barter with you if the thing you’re bartering with doesn’t have equal value. But God’s so generous He gives us something far greater than we’re bartering with! He exchanges our sinfulness for His righteousness. He exchanges something so infinitely worthy and beautiful, for something so infinitely worthless and filthy. It’s the great ministry and message of reconciliation we’ve been sent to deliver. It’s that we have a God who wants to reconcile with us...We have a God who wants to reconcile with us, forgive us, have an eternal friendship with us through faith in Jesus.
City Awakening this ministry of reconciliation is the most important ministry in the world! It isn’t feeding the hungry or giving water to the thirsty, because those benefits are short lived if the people receiving them aren’t ever reconciled with God! We should still do those things since as ambassadors we’re to represent what King Jesus did. We should also do them since mercy ministries help soften people’s hearts to receive the message of reconciliation. But eventually we have to deliver the message of reconciliation because the entire point of a message is for it to be delivered. The primary message Jesus delivered wasn’t mercy ministries, it was reconciling people with God. He even says “The poor you’ll always have, but you won’t always have me.” So our primary ministry is to reconcile people to our King, since that’s the primary message of our King. This also means our primary ministry isn’t to change the culture. Too many Christians spend time fighting against the morality of the culture, instead of sharing the gospel that has the power to actually change the culture. The job of an ambassador isn’t to go to a foreign country to change the culture. The job of a U.S. ambassador isn’t to go to China, Iran, or any other country to change the culture. It’s to deliver the message the president gave them to deliver! As ambassadors for Christ, our primary ministry and message is reconciliation.
Vs. 20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’ 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So Paul says we’re to represent the King, deliver the ministry and message of the King, and #3...
#3 An ambassador embraces everyday opportunities, to reconcile others to the King:
An ambassador embraces everyday opportunities, to reconcile others to King Jesus. In vs 20 Paul says that God is making His appeal through us, meaning God is using us as instruments of grace to reconcile others to Him. This means pastors aren’t the only ones meant to be in ministry, everybody who’s a Christian is meant to be in ministry. Paul isn’t writing this to pastors and seminary students, he’s writing it to members in the church like you! He’s writing it to all Christians, be that lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, sales reps, college students, homeschool moms, everyone who’s a Christian! In his book ‘Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands,’ author Paul Tripp states, “Every believer is called to be in ministry, not necessarily by vocation in a salaried position, and not even in an organized way like a volunteer Sunday school teacher or youth group leader. But through a lifestyle of intentional ambassadorial behavior.” In other words ministry isn’t an activity you place on your calendar, it’s a lifestyle you live!...Ministry isn’t an activity you place on your calendar, it’s a lifestyle you live...It’s where you strive to embrace everyday opportunities to deliver the ministry and message of reconciliation with others. As we interact with others throughout the day we’re to ask, “How can I best represent King Jesus with this person, at this particular time, as an ambassador for Christ?”
Look the work of an ambassador is incarnational, meaning we’re to live our lives in such a way that it makes Jesus visible to the outside world. The word incarnation means “God with meat” or “God in the flesh.” Jesus is our God who chose to put on flesh, move into our world, move into our neighborhood, to reconcile us with God through the cross. As his ambassadors we’re to move into our neighborhoods and cities, we’re to deeply invest in relationships, so we can make our invisible God visible in those relationships. We’re to function as incarnational ambassadors for Christ in the world. We’re to represent our King everyday with our actions, our character, our words, our entire lives. The incarnation of Jesus is more than just a one-time event in history, it’s an ongoing event happening through us living incarnational lives in ministry. At this point in history Jesus isn’t making his appeal through his physical presence, he’s making his appeal through us in his absence. He’s making his appeal through his followers living incarnate ambassadorial lives! But if we’re too busy running around trying to be King, we’ll miss viewing our interactions with others as everyday opportunities to represent our King. If we’re too busy building our own mini kingdoms, we’ll miss the everyday opportunities we have to build Jesus’ kingdom. If we’re too busy drawing swords, fighting over over our mini kingdoms in marriage, we’ll miss the everyday opportunities to represent our King in our marriage. If we’re too busy getting annoyed over disciplining our kids, viewing it as an assault on our parental mini kingdoms, we’ll miss the everyday opportunities to represent our King in our parenting. If we’re too busy viewing our time with others as an inconvenience, taking away from our lazboy throne time, we’ll miss the everyday opportunities to represent our King in the time we have with others. But as ambassadors for Christ we must turn our backs on our mini kingdoms to represent Jesus and his Kingdom. We must represent our King, deliver the ministry and message of our King, by embracing everyday opportunities to reconcile others to our King.
The Big Idea:
The big idea is you have a ministry...You have a great treasure of hope in Jesus, but you also have a great ministry. It’s to live as an instrument of grace, by being an ambassador for Christ...So what’s your ministry in marriage? It’s to be an ambassador...What’s your ministry in parenting? It’s to be an ambassador...What’s your ministry in singleness? To be an ambassador... What’s your ministry with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, on the ball field, even in your own leisure time? It’s to be an ambassador for Christ, to represent Christ no matter where you are or what you’re doing. This is the life we’re called to live as Christians, and it’s the life we’ll strive to live in 2021. The people in our lives and city will be far better off if we embrace this way of life, instead of our culture’s pay it forward way of life. The people in our lives and city will be far better off if we live as instruments of grace not occasionally, but as a lifestyle. The greatest of those benefits being, their reconciliation with God. Let’s pray...