WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.740 Good morning, church. My name is James, and it is good to be with you today. 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:13.519 Brand ambassadors and now social media influencers have the tough job of trying to convince me and 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:20.420 you to buy a product that they're selling. They often do this by showing that they love it and 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:29.019 they use it, and we should too. When I think of the actor George Clooney, and I don't very often, 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:36.079 but when I do, I just picture him with an espresso machine and a tiny cup of coffee in hand. You 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:43.560 should be able to see him on screen. I fully expect that if I ever went to George Clooney's house, 00:00:44.019 --> 00:00:50.480 he would welcome me with a fresh espresso, and I'd walk in, and there'd just be a wall of coffee pods, 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:54.039 and he'd have Nespresso machines, and he'd just be giving them out at his front door. 00:00:54.039 --> 00:01:01.500 Well, product ambassadors need to have authenticity to the product or the country 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:08.760 that they represent. I would feel let down by this personal friend of mine, George Clooney, 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:15.920 by this actor in TV with all of these ads. I would feel let down if I found out that he doesn't 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:24.400 actually drink coffee. You've been lying to us for years. There was a Brazilian football player 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:32.180 named Ronaldinho, and he was an ambassador for Coca-Cola, and he was being paid a million dollars 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:40.340 a year to be a brand ambassador. That was until he turned up at a press conference drinking Pepsi. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:48.800 Gasp! I hear you saying. Here I was thinking that if I drank Coke like Ronaldinho, I could play football 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:56.040 like Ronaldinho, and now all my hopes and dreams have been dashed. And Coke quickly dropped him to the curb. 00:01:57.080 --> 00:02:05.580 When an ambassador is seen to be untrustworthy, it makes us reconsider the product that we're selling. 00:02:05.579 --> 00:02:14.659 All Christians are ambassadors. Not ambassadors for a product or a country, but for a person, 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:24.479 for Jesus. We represent Jesus to the world, to our families, to our friends. We represent him online 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:32.939 with what we post on social media. Are we aware of the influence we have on other people's lives 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:42.620 to how they view Jesus? This is really daunting. The way we live our lives actually influences how 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:49.840 other people see Jesus. Will the way we represent Jesus encourage people to check him out, 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:59.039 or will we send them away from him? What kind of ambassadors are we? Today, we're continuing in our 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:08.319 series in Acts, and we're in Acts 25, and Paul is on trial. And in this situation, he is very much like 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:17.180 a brand ambassador. He is standing in the place of Jesus as his ambassador. And Acts 25 is going to 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:26.599 show us what happens when an ambassador is authentic, when he represents truly the one he is an ambassador for, 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:34.620 and the influence that comes from being a gospel ambassador. The challenge for us today will be to 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:39.939 understand what our lives look like, and to understand what we actually look like as ambassadors, 00:03:40.359 --> 00:03:49.620 so that we can use our influence so people can see Jesus. There'll be two points this morning. First of all, 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:56.459 that we are gospel ambassadors, and secondly, the influence of ambassadors. So as we have a look at 00:03:56.460 --> 00:04:05.020 this part of the Bible, let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, and for this part of 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:13.060 the Bible, reminding us that Paul was an ambassador for you. Help us, as we consider what our lives are 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:20.879 like, to be aware of how people see Jesus in our lives, so that they would get to see him all the more 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:29.540 clearly, Lord. Amen. First of all today, gospel ambassadors. At the start of chapter 25, we meet some 00:04:29.540 --> 00:04:38.920 new characters. First of all, we meet a new governor, Festus. He has come in and replaced Felix. The Jews 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:47.360 were under the control of the Romans, and this region was very difficult to keep peaceful. And so when 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:54.340 Festus became governor, one of the first things he did was go to Jerusalem. He'd only been in charge for 00:04:54.340 --> 00:05:01.020 three days when he went to Jerusalem, because he goes there, because this region has the chance of 00:05:01.020 --> 00:05:10.120 boiling over and having a lot of problems. So Festus, a high-ranking Roman official, is sent, and he goes to 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:16.600 this volatile area. And he immediately seeks to build relationships with the key movers and shakers, 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:24.439 and that's the Jewish leaders. He wants to bring peace and law and order, and the Jewish leaders, 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:32.240 they bring their most pressing issue to him, Paul. Have a look with me at verse 3. This is the Jewish 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:38.759 leaders. They requested Festus as a favor to them to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:45.639 for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Come on, Festus, the Jewish leaders are saying, 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:51.259 you've become our new ruler. Look, we'll follow you. We'll listen to you. Just do us this little favor. 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:59.339 Bring Paul back to us. Let's try, let's put him on trial up here in Jerusalem. Do a little favor. 00:05:59.539 --> 00:06:06.839 You scratch our back. We'll scratch your back. But Festus needs to emphasize that he is the one who's in control. 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:13.599 If you want to put this man on trial, come down to Caesarea where he is, and then you can bring your 00:06:13.599 --> 00:06:22.779 charges against him. And so the Jews come, and they bring their charges against Paul. And verse 7 says 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:28.319 that they couldn't prove them. They actually had no evidence. They're trying to convince Festus because 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:37.199 Festus' word is the law here. The Jewish leaders try and bring every accusation against Paul to win 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:43.399 Festus over. But they couldn't get anything to stick. The Roman judicial process is actually working in 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:50.159 Paul's favor here because you can't just bring baseless claims against a Roman. You actually need 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:56.920 to have evidence. And so it's most likely that the Jewish leaders are arguing at this point that 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:03.640 Paul has brought a Gentile person into the Jewish temple, that he was blaspheming against their God, 00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:10.680 and that he was claiming that there was another ruler, Jesus, that he was following, not Caesar. 00:07:11.520 --> 00:07:18.460 But again, for this, they didn't have any proof. In this situation, God is using Paul's Roman 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:25.239 identity to protect him. And Paul briefly gets a chance to defend himself and share his side of 00:07:25.239 --> 00:07:32.959 the story. Have a look with me. Verse 8. Paul said, I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:41.419 or against the temple, or against Caesar. Really simply, he says, I'm innocent. The Jews have attacked 00:07:41.419 --> 00:07:47.899 and slandered him with everything they've got. They knew they had to just make it more than just a case of 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:53.819 difference of theology. They needed to make him out as someone who was against Caesar. This Paul guy, 00:07:53.919 --> 00:08:01.299 he's a rebel. He's a destabilizing power in Jerusalem. You know, Festus, if you want peace, 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:07.079 you know, we really should get rid of this man. But they aren't able to convince Festus. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:15.539 Paul is on trial in a very similar way to the trial that Jesus had. In that situation, 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:22.680 the Jewish leaders claimed that they had no other leader than Caesar. Paul, like Jesus, is innocent 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:31.700 on trial. Jesus stood condemned. But in that situation, Jesus didn't defend himself. He knew that 00:08:31.700 --> 00:08:43.019 his purpose was to die, to be the innocent lamb sacrificed for us instead of us. Paul's purpose is 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:46.879 different. He knows already, as we've seen over the last couple of weeks, that God was going to take 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:56.059 Paul to Rome to preach the gospel. He was going to spread it even to rulers. And so when Paul defends 00:08:56.059 --> 00:09:04.539 his innocence here, he's being an ambassador for Christ and also for Christians. He is defending 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:12.319 the credibility of Jesus and the credibility of Christians. He is highlighting before rulers and 00:09:12.319 --> 00:09:20.339 powers the purity of Christians. Christians aren't rogues and rebels who are going to start 00:09:20.339 --> 00:09:28.659 wars and try and destabilize powers, but they are godly people. Paul isn't seeking to defend himself. 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:34.539 He is seeking to defend Christians. He's not trying to do this to get himself out of dying. Have a look 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:42.120 with me. Verse 11, he says to Festus, if, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, 00:09:42.719 --> 00:09:52.159 I do not refuse to die. He is defending the one he represents. But he even says to Festus, 00:09:52.159 --> 00:10:01.100 if you find me guilty, I won't fight you. You put me to death. Paul here is on trial just like Jesus. 00:10:01.719 --> 00:10:04.419 He's on trial as Jesus's ambassador. 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:13.519 And this is why he argues for his own innocence, standing before the governor and the rulers just 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:21.139 like Jesus did. They laid the same accusations against Jesus and Jesus was killed. But Paul, 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:29.319 when faced with an unjust trial, shows the kind of ambassador that he is. He is authentic. He doesn't 00:10:29.319 --> 00:10:38.000 crumble and try and save his own life, but he is representing Jesus. Now, this situation would have 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:43.960 been totally different if the Jewish leaders had any evidence. It's actually really interesting because 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:49.939 they have no evidence. It actually makes Paul come across as a more reliable ambassador. 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:56.800 Festus and Agrippa, who we'll see in a moment, are actually more likely to listen to him because 00:10:56.800 --> 00:11:01.760 the Jewish accusations are so strong and yet there is no evidence for it. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:13.059 Whether we like it or not, we too are ambassadors for Jesus. Every day I go out, every day you go out, 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:19.200 whenever we do go out, we are ambassadors for whatever we're representing, whether it's the clothes 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:26.519 that we wear, the sporting team that we wear, a hat, the country that we're from, but most importantly, 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:34.100 the Lord that we follow. Paul would later write in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he said, 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:40.679 we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:46.059 I wonder if when Paul wrote that later on, he's remembering this situation here, 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:53.619 where he is being Christ's ambassador to these rulers, to kings and to queens. 00:11:54.859 --> 00:12:03.759 Paul knew firsthand that God uses people like us to make his appeal to other people of the goodness 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:12.099 of Jesus. It says something important about our role as ambassadors for Jesus. Just like Paul, 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:20.040 we'll be scrutinized. Our words and our actions will be sifted. When people are trying to figure out 00:12:20.040 --> 00:12:26.879 who this Jesus is, they won't first turn to him and investigate, they will look to us. They will look 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:34.960 to Christians. If it is easy to dismiss Christians because they're unloving, they're harsh and they're 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:43.259 judgmental. Well, it is easier to dismiss this Jesus. But when we are quick to forgive, when we are 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:53.540 patient and loving and gentle, God's appeal for Jesus can be made through us. We are ambassadors. 00:12:54.920 --> 00:13:01.960 What kind of ambassador are you? What picture of Jesus would people get if they were around you? 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:10.280 If you're not a Christian, have you been judging your entire view of Jesus on other people? 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:17.000 Now, Christians are ambassadors for Jesus. We do get to see a picture of Jesus through Christians, 00:13:17.400 --> 00:13:25.420 but small reminder, Christians are not Jesus. So let me encourage you, if you are still investigating 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:32.559 this Jesus, go and investigating him directly. Go and read the book of Mark. Go and read part one of Acts, 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:39.819 which is the book of Luke. Go and investigate this Jesus directly. That's our first point today, 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:48.979 that we are gospel ambassadors and that we need to look like the one we represent so that people can see 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:59.220 Jesus. Paul showed the importance of living out his faith as an authentic ambassador. There is wonderful 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:08.180 benefit for us to having a saving faith in God, a faith that we live out, one that responds to God's love 00:14:08.180 --> 00:14:15.899 for others. I was so encouraged in this in the last couple of weeks as we've been raising money for Sam and 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:23.179 Sally Lowe on the Gold Coast and their church plant. I have been so encouraged to see our church give so 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:31.899 generously. It warmed my heart. It's been difficult in this season to see you, to feel connected to you 00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:39.500 because we are disconnected, but it was so encouraging to see how God is working on your heart to be generous 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:49.220 because our God has been so generous to us. When we are good ambassadors for God, we look like him. 00:14:50.500 --> 00:15:00.679 And it doesn't just benefit us, it does benefit others too. And it's our second point today, the influence of ambassadors. 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:11.679 After Paul met with Festus, he appealed to Caesar, as was his right as a Roman citizen. But before he would be taken to Rome, 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:22.239 King Agrippa, the king of Judea, and his sister Bernice, it was actually a massive scandal in the Roman Empire at the time 00:15:22.239 --> 00:15:26.099 that Agrippa was living with his sister. You can investigate that on your own though. 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:32.340 And these two come to hear from Paul after they meet with Festus. 00:15:33.420 --> 00:15:40.360 The impact of Paul's honest character, the fact that he had all of these accusations brought against him, 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:46.460 but none of them would stick because there was no proof, meant that people would end up talking about Jesus. 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:55.340 Not just people that knew him, not just those in the churches that he ministered to, not just their friends and families, 00:15:55.400 --> 00:16:06.320 not even just people in the streets hearing about Jesus, but kings and rulers of nations would see Paul and hear about Jesus. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:15.200 King Agrippa and Bernice came and they met with Festus and Festus explained this situation of Paul to them, 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:18.960 seeking to get some understanding of the problem. 00:16:19.800 --> 00:16:23.540 It was urgent. It was something that Festus was taking very seriously. 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:27.740 But Festus was clearly confused by all this. 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:34.600 You can almost hear a puzzled tone in Festus' words as he explains the situation. 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:36.600 Have a look with me at verse 18. 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:43.860 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:50.720 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus, 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:53.200 whom Paul claimed was alive. 00:16:54.600 --> 00:17:00.519 It's a confusing set of theological debates outside of Festus' expertise. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:04.400 But Festus can see the heart of the matter. 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:06.839 It's all about this man Jesus. 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:11.959 The Jews claimed that he was dead, but Paul claimed that he was alive. 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:15.459 Paul claimed that he had been raised to life. 00:17:16.719 --> 00:17:21.819 This short conversation between Agrippa and Festus reveals two things. 00:17:22.659 --> 00:17:27.240 First of all, the Romans were mostly ignorant of the gospel. 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:34.039 They may have heard about it like Festus had, but they didn't understand what it meant. 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:41.200 The Jews saw Jesus and his followers as the leaders of the greatest scandal of their faith. 00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:44.400 But non-Jews, it just led to confusion. 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:47.380 This is still true today. 00:17:48.060 --> 00:17:50.340 Many people have heard about Christianity. 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:57.420 Maybe they've heard about the peripheral things, how Christians have laws and rules that they're trying to follow. 00:17:57.840 --> 00:18:01.460 Christians have strong views on sexuality and sexual ethics. 00:18:01.460 --> 00:18:07.319 But a lot of people, when they view Christianity, miss the heart of it. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:14.200 That it's all about this man Jesus and whether he was raised to life again, 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:23.340 proving that he was God and that he has dealt with our sin and our shame on the cross, promising us eternal life. 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:29.639 We can't assume that when we talk to people, that they are on the same page. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.480 They may be confused like Festus and Agrippa were. 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:39.459 Many people I talk to these days don't understand the differences between religions, 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:44.559 let alone that Christianity is all about a dead man who came back to life. 00:18:45.959 --> 00:18:51.899 We need to assume that people will have some understanding, but have missed the heart of it. 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:55.720 That it all depends on the resurrection of Jesus. 00:18:57.040 --> 00:19:03.860 The second key part of this short conversation is that these two rulers talk about the resurrection. 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:09.220 Even though they are confused, they ponder the good news of the resurrection. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:16.000 God has started to work in them, sowing seeds of the heart of the matter. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:21.480 Jews say that Jesus is dead, but Paul says he is now alive. 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:26.380 God often works slowly in people's lives. 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:31.620 Very rarely do people hear the gospel preached and then convert straight away. 00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:40.920 Far more often it takes many times of hearing the gospel before someone will realize their need for Jesus 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.840 and turn and follow him. 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:47.619 This can often come from a number of different faithful ambassadors for Jesus, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.819 over years reflecting the love of Jesus to a person in their lives. 00:19:53.919 --> 00:19:57.639 But as these leaders consider the resurrection of Jesus, 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:02.099 they're investigating Paul as his ambassador. 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:06.639 The Jewish leaders attacked Paul with little to no evidence, 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:12.819 whereas Paul was willing to face trial, even if it meant his death. 00:20:13.459 --> 00:20:19.000 The baseless attacks of the Jews made Paul look like a more reliable ambassador for Jesus. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:27.579 He stands up under unfair attack and he is given an opening for people like Agrippa and Festus 00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:29.319 to hear him preach the gospel. 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:38.539 At the end of chapter 25, we saw that Agrippa was keen to hear Paul preach. 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:46.299 Now at the end of 25, there's a whole congregation of eager people willing to hear him preach the gospel. 00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:49.299 They all come ready to hear the gospel. 00:20:50.139 --> 00:20:52.980 And you can read what happens in the next chapter. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:54.559 That's for next week. 00:20:55.740 --> 00:21:01.899 What the rulers do to Paul's life, people will continue to do to Christians today. 00:21:02.639 --> 00:21:08.119 They will peer into our lives and watch and consider our actions 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:11.839 to see if this Jesus is worth investigating. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:18.159 The behaviour of a Christian's life can either bear fruit for Jesus' claims 00:21:18.159 --> 00:21:22.079 or it can harm the witness of the gospel. 00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:30.039 Hypocrisy in a Christian's life is one of the best ways to kill any credibility that we have. 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:33.279 If we want to stop people investigating Jesus, 00:21:33.679 --> 00:21:36.379 Christians should say one thing and do another. 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:41.520 Just like that football player Ronaldinho did with the Pepsi. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:47.060 Coke stopped their relationship straight away because he was not an authentic ambassador. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:54.520 This is why we value authentic Christian faith here at St. Paul's. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:59.880 Lives that reflect our faith in Jesus. 00:22:00.020 --> 00:22:03.140 When we say one thing, we do the same thing. 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:08.700 Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2 speaks to this. 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:10.100 He says, 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:23.620 Paul is under attack. 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:26.000 They are accusing him of doing wrong. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.740 But Festus can see that he is innocent. 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:33.779 And his innocence is pointing people to the resurrection. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:42.059 Paul being an authentic ambassador is causing people like Agrippa to want to hear more about this Jesus. 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:46.660 They are primed and ready for the gospel to be preached. 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:52.800 So what does that mean for us as Jesus' ambassadors? 00:22:54.080 --> 00:22:59.500 Let me just briefly move from talking about brand ambassadors to a country's ambassador. 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:05.380 Imagine the ambassador for Australia who was living in New Zealand. 00:23:05.800 --> 00:23:11.920 I actually don't know if we have one, but let's just say Australia has an ambassador and they're living in New Zealand. 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:14.080 They have certain responsibilities. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:17.079 They must get a message right. 00:23:17.699 --> 00:23:21.339 They don't get to make a message nice or pretty. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:23.559 They just have to deliver it. 00:23:24.439 --> 00:23:31.379 Now imagine the ambassador from Australia had to deliver some bad news to their counterpart in New Zealand. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.099 Imagine that as the borders start opening up, 00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:38.279 a hundred people from Sydney had flown to New Zealand and they had COVID. 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:43.619 The situation of the ambassador, they've been told this by the Australian government. 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.000 They need to share this terrible news with the New Zealand government. 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:52.680 But imagine the ambassador got the message wrong. 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:58.039 Instead of saying there was a hundred cases of COVID, there was only one case of COVID. 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:00.279 It's a very different situation. 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:07.099 Or imagine the ambassador being worried about the New Zealand government's response. 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:08.859 I don't want to upset them. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.240 Maybe I'll try and make the message a bit nicer. 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:14.240 We've got great news. 00:24:14.399 --> 00:24:17.940 We've got a hundred people who are coming to share. 00:24:18.899 --> 00:24:21.899 They're coming to share with you a disease. 00:24:21.900 --> 00:24:26.960 Can you imagine the ambassador trying to make the message nicer or prettier? 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:33.820 Or imagine the ambassador not wanting to share the message at all because they were worried about it. 00:24:34.800 --> 00:24:41.940 They have responsibilities to share their message and get it right to save lives. 00:24:43.040 --> 00:24:47.660 Brothers and sisters, we are ambassadors for Jesus. 00:24:48.780 --> 00:24:51.259 We are not at home here. 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:53.079 Our home is in heaven. 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.879 We are on foreign soil as we wait for Jesus to return. 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:09.200 And while we wait, we have an opportunity to share the message of Jesus with our words backed up by authentic Christian lives. 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:14.359 It's not up to us to try and make the Christian message a bit nicer. 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:20.339 Maybe we don't want to share the gospel with people because we're worried about their response. 00:25:21.259 --> 00:25:25.759 When we need to tell them that our lives are lost without Jesus. 00:25:26.140 --> 00:25:30.420 That we're doing things that God doesn't want us to do and it grieves him. 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.720 But this is a message that we must deliver. 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:42.599 We do not need to sugarcoat the gospel because the gospel of Jesus is so sweet already. 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:47.480 This is a message that we must deliver. 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:52.299 And we must have our lives look authentic so people can hear it. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:26:00.099 By God's grace, he is making us more like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit day by day. 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:04.099 Making us to be more authentic ambassadors. 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:17.599 So this week, as we go online, as we post things on social media, as we engage in meetings with family and friends and work over Zoom, 00:26:18.899 --> 00:26:21.139 let me just ask you to stop and think. 00:26:21.679 --> 00:26:23.980 How am I representing Jesus? 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:33.960 If I post this negative message, this criticism of somebody on social media, what are they going to see of me? 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:37.519 More importantly, what are they going to think of the one I represent, Jesus? 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:42.019 When I'm on Zoom, should I just turn off my camera and my microphone? 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:47.039 Or should I actually engage and love the ones that I am meeting with? 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:55.159 How am I representing Jesus here so that when people see me, they can see more of Jesus? 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:56.899 Let me pray. 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:03.659 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the good news of your Son. 00:27:04.659 --> 00:27:06.000 That he died for us. 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:10.240 And that he was raised to life so we could be part of your family. 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:16.339 Heavenly Father, it is very strange that you choose to make us your ambassadors. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:18.519 But you do. 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:23.240 Help us to look more like you. 00:27:23.859 --> 00:27:29.659 Help us to continue to check our lives so that people would see Jesus. 00:27:30.639 --> 00:27:35.119 Because God, you love us and you are for all people, Lord. 00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:41.740 Help us to look like Jesus so that people would get to know Jesus more and more. 00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:43.779 We ask this in your Son's name. 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:44.559 Amen.