An ambassador is someone who representshis country in a distant land. The United States has ambassadors, or diplomats, in virtually every nation on earth. These ambassadors live and conduct their business in embassies. The rare exceptions to this are those really naughty countries who sponsor terrorism or demonstrate unbridled hostility toward the United States. In those countries ambassadors are withdrawn, and embassies are shut down.
Ambassadors play the essential role of representing our nation’s interests. They are the President’s voice to people in foreign lands. They are authorized to act on the President’s behalf. They have the power to negotiate treaties, solicit favors, extend sympathies, offer congratulations, give thanks, and right wrongs.
While he was Secretary of State during the Reagan administration, George Shultz kept a large globe in his office. When newly appointed ambassadors had an interview with him or when ambassadors were returning from their posts for their first visit with him, he would test them before they left his office. He would say, "You have to go over the globe and prove you can identify your country." Inevitably, they would go over and spin the globe and put their finger on the country to which they were being sent. They did this unerringly.
When Shultz's old friend and former Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield was appointed ambassador to Japan, even he was put to the test. This time however, Ambassador Mansfield spun the globe and put his hand on the United States. He said, "That's my country." On June 27, 1993, Shultz related this to Brian Lamb on C-Span's show, Booknotes. The Secretary said, "I've told that story subsequently, to all the ambassadors going out. 'Never forget you're over there in that country, but your country is the United States. You're there to represent us. Take care of our interests and never forget it, that you're representing the best country in the world.' "
Christians are ambassadors of Jesus Christ.
Being an ambassador of the greatest country in the world is a terrific honor, but as Christians we have an even greater honor. We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ. We are representatives of the greatest king and kingdom known to mankind. This is precisely how the apostle Paul sees himself in Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV). "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
We live in Sangamon County. We live in the state of Illinois. We live in the United States. But this is not our home. We are aliens and strangers in this foreign land. As Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11 (NIV)we are, "aliens and strangers" who must, "abstain from sinful desires that war against our souls." Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV) says, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
We are citizens of heaven. We are Christ’s ambassadors, his representatives in this world. But is this how you see yourself? Is this how you conduct yourself in this world? Do you see yourself as a citizen of heaven? Or are you like those Paul describes in Philippians 3:19 (NIV)? "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things."
We are of little use to God if we see ourselves as anything less than citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ in this world. In Ephesians 6:19-20 we get a snapshot of what it means to be Christ’s ambassador. First, consider the heart of an ambassador.
The heart of an ambassador— prayer.
The heart of an ambassador of Christ is a heart fully yielded to God in prayer. As of 2002, the United Nations recognized 193 independent sovereign nations on earth. Now there are immeasurably more tribes and states than that, but let’s go with the number 193. Imagine if the ambassadors to all those nations did their own thing. If, instead of communicating with the President of the United States, each ambassador did whatever he thought best or whatever was in his own self interest. The ambassador to China would do one thing, while the ambassador to Germany did another. What would become of this great nation of which we are a part? As you can guess, it is critical that every ambassador maintain direct lines of communication with the nation and administration he represents.
How is this direct communication any less important or vital for the ambassador of Christ? For the ambassador of Christ, prayer is one of the most direct lines of communication to God’s throne room. We can pick up that phone any hour of the day or night and become fully engaged with God about his will.
Prayer grounded in the written word of God.
Beyond prayer, we also have the written word of God. We have God’s foreign policy that guides us in how we are to conduct ourselves as aliens and strangers in this world. In Ephesians 6:19 (NIV) Paul speaks the words of a dedicated ambassador, "Pray also for me." Prayer is where the ambassador of Christ aligns his purposes with God’s kingdom and where he discerns God’s will. There is no greater threat to God’s kingdom than prayer-less ambassadors, who in the name of Christ, go about doing their own will. They create confusion and chaos, disrupting God’s purposes in the world. The heart of an ambassador of Christ is a heart fully yielded to God in prayer. A heart fully pursuing God’s will. A heart aligned and in tune with God’s heart.
Are you someone who comes before God as his ambassador, eager to do his will? A lot of our prayers center on our will. "Lord, get me that job. Help me pay these bills. Make me healthy. Restore my family’s health. Take this burdensome situation away. Change my circumstances. Give me the desire of my heart." God is concerned about these things, but our prayers should transcend these things. In prayer, we should be seeing the bigger picture of what God wants to do through us as we represent him in the world. We should be gaining a clear sense of his will. And in our hearts, we should be deepening our resolve to be God’s man and God’s woman.
The words of an ambassador— gospel.
The ambassador has the important responsibility of speaking on behalf of another person. You can think of an ambassador as a translator. He must fully understand the message he has been given, but he must also interpret that message for those he has been sent to tell. You can imagine how challenging this is. A lot of important information can be lost in the process of translation.
When Kentucky Fried Chicken translatedits slogan into Chinese it came out as, "Eat your Fingers Off." When Burger King translatedits slogan for Australians it read, "Resistance is futile." When GM first introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, the cars didn’t sell very well. Evidently, in Spanish, "No Va" means, "Goes no where." An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market promoting the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired, "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed, "I Saw the Potato." In order to target American tourists, a Hong Kong tailor shop posted a sign on its door saying, "Women may have a fit upstairs." You can google and read thousands of these "lost in translation" mistakes.
The ambassador of Christ has the responsibility of speaking clearly and accurately on behalf of Jesus Christ. This is a responsibility that has to be taken seriously. In Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV) Paul says, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Do you realize that for billions of people around the globe, the gospel is a mystery? The gospel is also a mystery for a great number of Christians attending church every week. There is widespread confusion about who Jesus Christ is, what his relationship to God is, what kind of life he led, what kinds of things he taught, what kind of death he died, what kind of hope his resurrection produced, what kind of purpose he has for his people, and what he has said about his return, the coming resurrection, and judgement. The people of this world are oblivious to the cosmic purposes of God because so few Christians see themselves as ambassadors of Christ in the world.
The call to be an ambassador is not a matter of guilt, but of duty and privilege. In Romans 10:13 (NIV) Paul says, “ for 'Everyone who calls on name of the Lord will be saved.' " But in Romans 10:14-15 (NIV) he follows up with some questions. "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' "
Let me ask you. Who has the responsibility to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to your children? To your neighbor? To that family member? To that person you work with? It isn’t me. It is you! You are Christ’s ambassador. You’ve been put in your situation to obediently proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ! There is a remote possibility that people in your circle of influence may show up at church and hear the gospel preached, but it is not likely. God is sending you as his ambassador to unveil the mystery to them!
It is your privilege to speak on God’s behalf, and not just my privilege. What I do during this hour on Sunday morning, we all do throughout the week! But here is the good part. We can pray for God to give us the words that we need. If there is one prayer that God answers more than any other, it is the prayer for him to give us the right words for a particular person or situation. Just try it! The heart of the ambassador is a heart for prayer and for knowing and doing God’s will. The words of the ambassador are contained in the gospel. It is making known the mystery of Christ.
The faith of an ambassador— fearless.
There are some places where it might be fun to be an ambassador. But there are other places where being an ambassador may not be so much fun. Could you imagine being an ambassador to Afghanistan? North Korea? Iraq? Cuba? Generally, ambassadors are afforded respect and protection even while visiting hostile nations. But there are some hot spots around the world where not even ambassadors are welcome. Places where people are so hostile, the life of the ambassador is in danger.
This same thing is true even for the ambassador of Jesus Christ. It is easy to speak for Jesus Christ in a church service on Sunday morning among friends. But as ambassadors, we need to be willing to speak on behalf of God to Christ’s enemies. If only the church choir hears about Jesus Christ, how does that advance God’s purposes in the world? If this room is the only place Christ’s name is spoken, then what will become of all those places where people gather and never hear his name?
Presenting the gospel is always an act of faith.
I want you to pay very close attention to what Paul says in Ephesians 6:19-20. In Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV) Paul says, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."Do you want to know why Paul twice asks the Ephesians to pray for his ability to proclaim the gospel fearlessly as he should? The reason is because even the apostle Paul was scared to death about speaking on Christ’s behalf. Preaching is always an act of faith. Preaching always requires the ambassador to trust God. Preaching is always a step outside our comfort zone.
If you have trepidation and fear when proclaiming the mystery of Jesus Christ to your friends, you stand with a long succession of obedient ambassadors who have walked where you walk. Nothing raises my anxiety level higher than telling people about Jesus Christ. This is not because I doubt my message, but because I know what is at stake. And I want to be liked. I don’t want to be rejected. I don’t want to be the alien or stranger or odd man out.
Yet my personal apprehensions don’t change the fact that I am to be an ambassador. We have a duty, a responsibility, and a privilege to make known the mystery. God has sent us to be his representatives. To do his will. To speak his words. To trust him! Don’t let the fear of men keep you from being an ambassador for Jesus Christ and the greatest kingdom known to man.
I want to end this morning with Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (NIV). "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."