Untitled Sermon (5)

We will be a student ministry who is Firmly Rooted in the faith, establishing our lives on the Word of God, and the salvation that is a Gift of God through Christ Jesus. It is because of this gift that we will Pursue God, be Unified with the Church, Strive for Righteousness, and be Ambassadors of the Gospel to our neighbors, city, and around the world.

We Are…Pursuers of God

We Are…Unified with the Church

We Are…Striving for Righteousness

We Are…Ambassadors of the Gospel

We Are…Ambassadors of the Gospel

After everything that we have discussed, now comes the action that we are moving forward with. We are to be Ambassadors

What is the job of an Ambassador?

Ultimately the job of an ambassador is to be someone who speaks for and on behalf of the country that they represent.

In a similar manner, we as believers are called to speak for, and be the ones that represent Christ to the world.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

First, when we look at this passage, this is Jesus speaking to His disciples before He ascends into Heaven. This is essentially the last words that Jesus gives them. In here He gives commands on what to do.

Go make disciples

The go here that Jesus talks about is really translated “as you go” meaning that as we are walking through our lives, we should be spreading the gospel to those around us.

But further than that, we are called to make disciples.

Disciples are different than converts. Disciples are life long followers. Disciples are those that are dedicating their lives to it. There is a reason that Jesus told His disciples to “count the cost” of following Him. Disciples do not care about the cost.

Go make disciples

Baptize them

Baptizing is a two fold thing. First, baptism is not what saves you. Baptism is something that is an outward expression of an inward change or commitment in your life. Baptizing as an infant is like a dedication or commitment of that child to the Lord.

Baptizing when you are saved is important, and while it does not save you, it is used as a way to tell people publically that you believe in Jesus. That your old life was buried with Jesus in the grave when He died on the cross, and a new life has been given to you with the resurrection from the grave. A gift of God that has been given through Jesus because of God’s great love for us.

Go make disciples

Baptize them

Teach them

This is incredibly important too. Much like someone who has a permit is “ready to drive” doesn’t mean that they are ready to hit the road by themselves. There are still some things that they have to learn, with the help of someone who has been driving for a while.

This is why we are called to teach. Someone who just got saved may not know all the things that they were doing was wrong. They know that they needed Jesus, and are saved by Him, but much like you and I are going through sanctification, so are they. They are just in the early stages of it.

We can help by teaching them to do a bible study, how to pray, what God is saying through His word. There is nothing more special than walking this road with someone.

The cool part though is that there is a promise that Jesus gives here as well.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

At the very end, Jesus says that He is with us always until the end of the age. This means that we are not alone in this process. That Jesus is guiding us, and giving us the words to say, and even with us when we are rejected by those around us for believing in Jesus.

Very similarly, Paul points this out in ephesians

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

First, it is important that we understand that we are not the ones who save ourselves. Nor are we the ones who are going to save our friends, but rather it is Christ. His grace alone, and through our faith alone are we saved.

What I love though is verse 10. That we are God’s workmanship…

The good works that God prepared beforehand for us, that is the sharing of the gospel with those around us. That is the fact that before time began, God knew exactly what school you were going to go to, what classes you were going to take, and who your friends were going to be. It means that He also knew who in your life does not have a saving relationship with Jesus, and strategically placed you there to be an ambassador of the gospel. He placed you there to share the gospel with the people around you. He placed you and prepared these works ahead of you.

It is our Job to share the gospel with the unbelieving world around us.

Romans 10:14 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Paul knowing that we are called to go and spread the gospel, points this out. We say we want the world to know Jesus, but how are they going to know Him unless someone share Him with them.

2 Corinthians 5:17–20 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

And Paul is not one that says that you have to have gone through special schooling to know how to share the gospel. He says here that we are a new creation because of Jesus, that we have been reconciled to Him through Him. THEREFORE…anytime we see that we need to ask “what’s it there for?”…THEREFORE, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ.

Because you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are called to share the gospel with those around you. You are called to be an ambassador.

If there is one thing that we should be about as a youth group, it is this. We should be about lives changing for the gospel. We should be about sharing the gospel with everyone around us.