Sermon Tone Analysis

In this series on Who We Are, we are examining scriptures to discover what the Bible says about how God sees us.

So far, we have seen that we are children, sons~/daughters of God—heirs with Christ.

We are His special treasure, hand picked and we are a sweet aroma or fragrance to God and the world.

This week we want to look at who we are as ambassadors for Christ.

 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NIV) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

20We are therefore Christ’s *ambassadors*, as though God were making his appeal through us.

We implore (beg) you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

What is an ambassador?

An ambassador is a minister of state, representing his own ruler in a foreign land.

He is the highest-ranking diplomatic representative appointed by one country or government to represent it to another.

According to Webster’s dictionary, the root word that the word ambassador comes from means mission or task, a *messenger*.

An ambassador is a messenger who does not speak his own words, but rather those of the country he represents.

But when he speaks, he speaks with full authority for his country.

He speaks with confidence and boldness because he knows he has the government of the country he represents behind him.

He is highly respected and honored by his government.

He has the ear of the president and all of the top government officials.

There is no more responsible position than that of ambassador.

1.

An ambassador of Britain is a Briton in a foreign land.

His life is spent among people who usually speak a different language, who have a different tradition and who follow a different way of life.

The Christian is always like that.

He lives in the world; he takes part in all the life and work of the world; but he is a citizen of heaven.

To that extent he is a stranger (in a foreign land).

2.                 An ambassador speaks for his own country.

When a British ambassador speaks, his voice is the voice of Britain.

There are times when the Christian has to speak for Christ.

In the decisions and the counsels of the world his must be the voice which brings the message of Christ to the human situation.

3.                 The honour of a country is in its ambassador’s hands.

His country is judged by him.

His words are listened to, his deeds are watched and people say, “That is the way such-and-such a country speaks and acts.” . . .

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Paul says that we ARE ambassadors for Christ.

We are the *representatives* of Christ to the world.

This is our privilege and almost frightening responsibility as Christians.

The honor of Christ and of the Church is in our hands.

By our every word and action we can make men think more-or less-of the Church and of Christ himself.

God has entrusted us with the mission of representing Him to the world we live in.

We do not speak our own words, but rather the words of the King of King who sends us.

When we speak, we speak with His authority and power.

We have His ear and are empowered to speak in His name.

John 14:13-14 (NIV) And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 16:23-26 (NIV) In that day you will no longer ask me anything.

I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

26 In that day you will ask in my name.

I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

So if we are to speak for Christ to this world as His ambassador, then what is our message?

Paul very clearly tells in vs. 18-19.

He has given us the “word of reconciliation”.

What does reconciliation mean?

What is the “word of reconciliation”?

Reconciliation is the restoring of friendship or restoring of favor.

When couples fight (or argue), and make up, we say they reconciled their differences.

They have been restored to the favor and friendship that they had before the fight—and they seal it with a kiss!

When couples fight, and can’t settle their argument, we say they have irreconcilable differences.

We must recognize that the reconciliation Paul is talking about starts with God (vs.

18).

If God had not reconciled us, or restored us to favor (friendship) with Him, we would have no “word of reconciliation” to give to others.

But because He has restored us to friendship with Him, we have the words of friendship to give to others.

Simply put, God loves them and wants them to be His friend.

Before we go any further we must talk more about this “word of reconciliation” (favor-friendship), I want you to note the word friend I just used in talking about our relationship to God.

We are now His friends, not His enemies! 

Romans 5:10-11 (NLT) For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.

11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.

This is an awesome truth of scripture.

God restored us to friendship with Him while we were still His enemies!

How much more do you think He values you as a friend today as His son~/daughter?

In plain English—God is not mad at us, He loves us!

The word friend is a covenant word.

It has the connotations of desire and delight for a loved one.

There is only one man in the scripture that was called God’s friend.

Was it David?

No.

Was it Paul?

No, it was Abraham.

James 2:23 (NIV) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” b and he was called God’s friend.

(2 Chron 20:7; Isaiah 41:8)

Abraham had a covenant with God and because of his faith, was called God’s friend.

David is called a man after God’s own heart, but only Abraham is called the friend of God.

That is, until Jesus came along, then Jesus said that we are the friends of God.

John 15:13-16 (NIV) 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.

Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

When we obey God’s commands (which are not burdensome 1 John 5:3) we are called His friends.

What are those commands?

1 John 3:23 tells us:

1 John 3:21-23 (NIV) 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us.

So as the friends of God, we have been given the awesome privilege of representing Him to those who are His enemies.

What *message* can we tell them about our God?

He loves them and wants to be their friend!

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (GDNT) 18All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.

19 Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ.d

God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.

Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us.