Speaker 1: Now, what is an ambassador.
Speaker 2: Well, an ambassador is a representative send out on a
Speaker 2: mission to build relationships. That's usually what an ambassador is,
Speaker 2: a representative sent out on a mission in order to
Speaker 2: build relationships. Now, there are political ambassadors, there are economic
Speaker 2: and business and ambassadors. There are cultural ambassadors, there are
Speaker 2: goodwill ambassadors. And the Bible says there are spiritual ambassadors.
Speaker 2: And we are Christ ambassadors. If you are a follower
Speaker 2: of Christ, the Bible says you are an ambassador for
Speaker 2: Him in the world. As an ambassador, you have three
Speaker 2: responsibilities here on earth, and these are the things that
Speaker 2: God wants you to do as an ambassador. Number one,
Speaker 2: I must be an example. I must set an example
Speaker 2: for other people. The first thing God wants you to
Speaker 2: do is help other people know what God is like
Speaker 2: by being example of his character qualities love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, meekness,
Speaker 2: self control. Now, the Bible says this in one Peter
Speaker 2: Chapter two. People who do not believe are living all
Speaker 2: around you.
Speaker 1: That's kind of obvious.
Speaker 2: People who do not believe are living all around you,
Speaker 2: and they might say you're doing wrong. So live such
Speaker 2: good lives that they'll see the good things you do,
Speaker 2: and we'll give glory to God. What's he saying there?
Speaker 2: The first job of an ambassador, whether it's of a
Speaker 2: country or of Jesus, is you set a good example.
Speaker 2: What if you lived your life like that that you
Speaker 2: realize that you're always on as a as an ambassador
Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ, then no matter where you go, you
Speaker 2: are the only Christians some people will ever know that
Speaker 2: the people around you, you're the only Bible that they
Speaker 2: will ever read. You are a living Bible. Second responsibility
Speaker 2: of an ambassador, I must share the message.
Speaker 1: I have a message that.
Speaker 2: God has given me, and he wants me to share
Speaker 2: it with other people. That's interesting that in politics or
Speaker 2: in diplomacy, ambassadors are often used in history to end wars.
Speaker 2: Ambassadors are sent to negotiate the peace. Ambassadors are sent
Speaker 2: to sign the treaties. Ambassadors are sent to bring a
Speaker 2: reconciliation between warring entities and conflicting groups. And it's not
Speaker 2: an accident that God shows that term to refer to you.
Speaker 2: Where to help people make peace with God? Where to
Speaker 2: help people reconcile their relationship to God?
Speaker 1: Where to help people.
Speaker 2: Make their peace with him. The third responsibility of an ambassador,
Speaker 2: I must show love. I must show love to everybody,
Speaker 2: because if you're an ambassador, you've got to have a
Speaker 2: big heart and you got to show love. Why must
Speaker 2: an ambassador of Jesus Christ show love to everybody? Because
Speaker 2: God is love and if you show anything but love
Speaker 2: to other people, you're not representing Jesus. God is love. Now,
Speaker 2: how do I show love to the people in my life?
Speaker 2: The people I work with, my neighbors, my family, my coworkers,
Speaker 2: my enemies, my boss.
Speaker 1: How do I do it?
Speaker 2: Three ways? It's the next three verses. The first way
Speaker 2: I show love is by using my life to meet
Speaker 2: others' needs. When you use your life to meet the
Speaker 2: needs of other people in a practical way, whether it's
Speaker 2: taking them a meal, or helping them with a project,
Speaker 2: or offering them a ride, or praying for them, or
Speaker 2: you know, picking up something at the grocery thing or
Speaker 2: helping them with a plan or a deal. Every time
Speaker 2: you do practical help to somebody else, you serve others.
Speaker 2: You're ministering to them. You're showing love to meet their needs. Now,
Speaker 2: this is what an ambassador does. The Bible says this
Speaker 2: In First Essalonians two, Paul says, we loved you so much.
Speaker 2: He's talking about the people in this town in Greece
Speaker 2: called Thessalonika. He said, we loved you so much that
Speaker 2: we gave you not only God's good news that's number two,
Speaker 2: but number three our own lives as well. If you
Speaker 2: spend all your whole Christian life is spent inside the
Speaker 2: four walls of the church, you're not much of an ambassador.
Speaker 2: You've got to get out where people are hurting, where
Speaker 2: they're needed, where they're loved, need love and now, or
Speaker 2: they need help and concern. So you've got to get
Speaker 2: out out of the embassy and into the interior, using
Speaker 2: my life to meet others need. Second way, you show
Speaker 2: love by giving respect to everyone. By giving respect to everyone,
Speaker 2: as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, you are not allowed
Speaker 2: to be disrespectful to anyone. Why because God values every person.
Speaker 2: Doesn't matter who they are, what they've done, who they've
Speaker 2: done it with, or how long they've done it. They
Speaker 2: have the dignity of being created in the image of God,
Speaker 2: and the Bible says this on the screen one Peter
Speaker 2: two seventeen. Treat everyone you like with dignity or doesn't
Speaker 2: say that. Does it treat everyone you agree with politically
Speaker 2: with dignity? No, it says treat everyone you meet with dignity,
Speaker 2: love your spiritual family, revere God, and respect the government.
Speaker 2: Let me ask you this is an ambassador dogmatic or
Speaker 2: diplomatic diplomatic? They don't stay as ambassadors very long if
Speaker 2: they're not diplomatic. When you find a dogmatic Christian, they
Speaker 2: are not an ambassador of Jesus. They may be on
Speaker 2: the radio, they may be on television, they may write
Speaker 2: books or blogs or whatever. If they're dogmatic, they may
Speaker 2: be right, but they're wrong because they're not being diplomatic.
Speaker 2: The Bible says we're to do everything in love. We're
Speaker 2: to respect everyone, doesn't matter who they are, what they are,
Speaker 2: what they've done. I don't know if you've noticed this
Speaker 2: or not, but most of the time when I'm not
Speaker 2: at Saddleback, I'm speaking to people who totally disagree with me,
Speaker 2: almost all all of them. I'm speaking to group, and
Speaker 2: that gets me in a lot of trouble.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: I speak to other religions, to atheists, to Muslims, to Jewish,
Speaker 2: to Buddhist, to secularists, to gay groups. I speak most
Speaker 2: of the time when I'm not saddled backed to groups
Speaker 2: who totally disagree with me. Why because I am an ambassador.
Speaker 2: That's my job, and you are an ambassador too. Ambassadors
Speaker 2: don't speak to their own country. They speak to everybody
Speaker 2: else who's not in their country. They even speak to
Speaker 2: their enemies. And we are to show the message with
Speaker 2: love and kindness. In fact, here's what the Bible says.
Speaker 2: Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asked
Speaker 2: you to explain the hope you have in you, but
Speaker 2: do it with gentleness and respect. You and I are
Speaker 2: called to be gentle with everybody, and to respect everybody.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter what they say to me, doesn't matter
Speaker 2: how much they lie about me, doesn't matter how they
Speaker 2: accuse me. I am forbidden to hate anybody. I am
Speaker 2: forbidden to retaliate on anybody. I am forbidden to attack back.
Speaker 2: Why because I represent Jesus, and Jesus said you turn
Speaker 2: the other cheek. Jesus said you overcome evil with good.
Speaker 2: The Bible says you bless those who persecute you. I
Speaker 2: am forbidden from using the same tactics that people use
Speaker 2: against you or me.
Speaker 1: Or anybody else. Why, Because I.
Speaker 2: Am an ambassador of Jesus Christ, and we are to
Speaker 2: be known by meeting others needs like in Haiti, by
Speaker 2: loving respecting everybody. And here's the third thing we're to do.
Speaker 2: I must show love by building bridges. I must show
Speaker 2: love by building bridges. Ambassadors build bridges, not walls. Now
Speaker 2: on First Corinthians, chapter nine, it tells us this. He's
Speaker 2: talking about dealing with unbelievers. Whatever a person is like,
Speaker 2: I try to find common ground with him. Okay, it
Speaker 2: doesn't matter what he is. Okay, he may be another culture,
Speaker 2: may be another race, another language, another political party, another religion,
Speaker 2: another lifestyle. He said, whatever person's like, I try to
Speaker 2: find common ground with him. Why to be popular, no here,
Speaker 2: so that he will let me tell him about Christ
Speaker 2: and let Christ save him. I'm an ambassador. I do
Speaker 2: this why to get the good news to them and
Speaker 2: also for the blessing I myself receive when I see
Speaker 2: them come to Christ. Anytime you see your pastor speaking
Speaker 2: to any group, whether I've spoken to intellectual groups in
Speaker 2: the last couple of years, I've spoken at Harvard, at Oxford,
Speaker 2: at Cambridge, at Jewish University, at intellectual things like the
Speaker 2: Aspen Idea Center. I've spoken to groups like political groups
Speaker 2: on every possible side. I've spoken to every possible religion.
Speaker 2: You can imagine when you see that, you need to
Speaker 2: understand I don't have any faith at all in politics'
Speaker 2: ability to change human lives. Politics can't change a human heart.
Speaker 2: If I believed it could, I'd go into government, but
Speaker 2: I don't. You cannot force somebody to be good by law.
Speaker 2: It has to be an internal change in their heart.
Speaker 2: And you need to understand that. All these people I
Speaker 2: speak to, why do I do it so I can
Speaker 2: get the good news to them? I'm building bridges, not walls.
Speaker 2: By the way, how do you know when you're building
Speaker 2: a bridge, you get walked on?
Speaker 1: Okay, count on it. You get walked on. That's what
Speaker 1: bridges are for.
Speaker 2: And so you know, if you're building a bridge, if
Speaker 2: you get walked on. Now, if you never get walked on,
Speaker 2: what are you doing. You're not building any bridges. You're
Speaker 2: only building walls. Walls don't get walked on. Bridges get
Speaker 2: walked on. And my goal and your goal as an
Speaker 2: ambassador of Jesus is that we build a bridge of
Speaker 2: respect and love to everybody, so that Jesus Christ can
Speaker 2: walk across that's the goal. That's the reason we try
Speaker 2: to find common ground, so we can do this.
Speaker 3: You know, This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of
Speaker 3: God's word with a brand new set of fifty two
Speaker 3: stunning scripture cards, each featuring verses about the birth of
Speaker 3: Christ and adorned with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect
Speaker 3: for memorizing scripture, tucking into gifts, or placing on your
Speaker 3: holiday table. These cards are a simple way to bring
Speaker 3: meaning to the season and share God's love with those
Speaker 3: around you. So whether you're starting a new tradition or
Speaker 3: looking for a unique way to share the Gospel with
Speaker 3: friends and family, well, these cards are a perfect fit.
Speaker 1: Today.
Speaker 3: When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take
Speaker 3: the certain hope of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure
Speaker 3: to request this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards.
Speaker 3: It's our way of saying thanks for supporting Daily Hope.
Speaker 1: Now what's the reward.
Speaker 2: We've looked at the role of an ambassador, we looked
Speaker 2: at the responsibilities. Now what's the rewards for being an ambassador?
Speaker 1: Oh? It's good.
Speaker 2: Colossians Chapter three whatever you do, always work at it
Speaker 2: with all your heart. Now I want to circle whatever
Speaker 2: you do and all your heart. Now, I don't care
Speaker 2: what you do. The Bible says, no matter what you do,
Speaker 2: you should be enthusiastic at it. If you work at
Speaker 2: Taco Bell, you better be enthusiastic about it. If you
Speaker 2: do gardening, you better be enthusiastic about it. If you
Speaker 2: do daycare or hospice, or you close multimillion dollar deals,
Speaker 2: or you drive a bus, or whatever you do, the
Speaker 2: Bible says, whatever you do as a believer, you were
Speaker 2: to do it with all your heart. You are to
Speaker 2: do it with enthusiasm. Why, Because you represent Jesus.
Speaker 1: You're to do it with.
Speaker 2: All your heart as though you were working for the Lord,
Speaker 2: not for people.
Speaker 1: Because you're worrying for the Lord.
Speaker 2: Remember that the Lord will give you here. It is
Speaker 2: as a reward, the inheritance he has kept for his people.
Speaker 2: God has some big plans for you in heaven. He
Speaker 2: has rewards. He has an inheritance for you in heaven,
Speaker 2: and he's keeping it there. For Christ is the real
Speaker 2: master you serve. Now, you don't have to like your boss,
Speaker 2: but you do have to treat them with respect and dignity.
Speaker 2: And the Bible says, regardless of who your boss is,
Speaker 2: you're to just do your work as if you're working
Speaker 2: for Jesus. And that's why you do what you do,
Speaker 2: not because you want to please that person, but because
Speaker 2: you want to please the Lord, and he says when
Speaker 2: you do that, it will produce great reward in your life.
Speaker 2: I want to do something this weekend I've never done before.
Speaker 2: I want to read from a well known book, nice cover,
Speaker 2: purpose driven life. Imagine if you were asked by your
Speaker 2: country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You
Speaker 2: probably would have to learn a new language. You have
Speaker 2: to adopt to some customs and cultural differences in order
Speaker 2: to be polite and accomplish your mission. As an ambassador.
Speaker 2: You would not be able to isolate yourself from the enemy.
Speaker 2: You couldn't stay in the embassy all the time. You'd
Speaker 2: have to fulfill your mission. You'd have to make contact
Speaker 2: with people and relate to them, the people who disagree
Speaker 2: with you. But suppose you became so comfortable as an
Speaker 2: ambassador with this foreign country you're in that you fell
Speaker 2: in love with it and you started preferring it to
Speaker 2: your own homeland. Your loyalty and commitment would change. Your
Speaker 2: role as an ambassador would be compromised, and instead of
Speaker 2: representing your home country, you would start acting like the enemy.
Speaker 2: You would be a trader. The Bible says, we are
Speaker 2: ambassadors for Christ. Sadly, many Christians have betrayed their king
Speaker 2: and his kingdom. They have foolishly concluded that because they
Speaker 2: live on earth, that earth is their home. It is not.
Speaker 2: The Bible is clear. Friend, this world is not your home.
Speaker 2: The Bible says, so don't make yourself cozy and it
Speaker 2: don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.
Speaker 2: God wants us to not get too attached to what's
Speaker 2: around us, because it's all temporary. The Bible tells us
Speaker 2: those in frequent contact with the things of this world
Speaker 2: should make good use of them without becoming attached to them.
Speaker 2: For this world and all it contains is going to
Speaker 2: pass away. In order to keep us from becoming too
Speaker 2: attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant
Speaker 2: amount of discontent and satisfaction, dissatisfaction in life longings that
Speaker 2: will never be fulfilled in your life on this side
Speaker 2: of eternity. We're not completely happy here on earth because
Speaker 2: we're not supposed to be. Earth is not our final home.
Speaker 2: We were created for something much much better. A fish
Speaker 2: would never be happy living on land because it was
Speaker 2: made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if
Speaker 2: it wasn't.
Speaker 1: Allowed to fly.
Speaker 2: You will never feel completely satisfied here on earth because
Speaker 2: you were made for far more. You'll have happy moments here, yes,
Speaker 2: but nothing compared to what God has planned for you
Speaker 2: in heaven. Realizing that life on earth is just a
Speaker 2: temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not
Speaker 2: temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for all your decisions.
Speaker 1: As C. S.
Speaker 2: Lewis said, all that is not eternal is eternally useless.
Speaker 2: The Bible says we fix our eyes not on what
Speaker 2: is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is
Speaker 2: seen is temporary, but what we cannot see is eternal.
Speaker 1: So it's a.
Speaker 2: Fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life
Speaker 2: is material prosperity, your popular success as the world defines it.
Speaker 2: Abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and
Speaker 2: faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career
Speaker 2: or even in ministry. An old story is often repeated
Speaker 2: of a retiring missionary coming back home to America on
Speaker 2: the same boat as the President of the United States.
Speaker 2: Cheering crowds and a military band and a red carpet
Speaker 2: and banners and the media all welcomed the present home
Speaker 2: with great fanfare, but the missionary slipped off the same
Speaker 2: ship unnoticed. Feeling self pity and resentment, the missionary began
Speaker 2: to complain to God. Then God gently reminded him, but
Speaker 2: my son, you're not home yet. You will not be
Speaker 2: in heaven two seconds before you cry out, Why did
Speaker 2: I play so much importance on things that were temporary?
Speaker 1: What was I thinking?
Speaker 2: Why did I waste so much time and energy and
Speaker 2: concern on what wasn't going to last. When life gets
Speaker 2: tough and when you're overwhelmed with dell doubt, when you
Speaker 2: wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, you
Speaker 2: need to remember this isn't your home and you're not
Speaker 2: home yet. You see it death. You won't leave home.
Speaker 2: You'll go home. It's power heads. Did you pray this
Speaker 2: prayer in your heart? Dear Jesus, I realize that to
Speaker 2: follow you means to be your ambassador, that it means
Speaker 2: to represent you in the world, and I ask you
Speaker 2: to forgive me for failing in my mission. Forgive me
Speaker 2: for the times that I have been silent and not
Speaker 2: shared your message. Forgive me for the times that I
Speaker 2: have not been a good example. Forgive me for the
Speaker 2: times that I have been just as unloving as others.
Speaker 2: And I have returned evil for evil rather than than
Speaker 2: returning good for evil. I want my life to reflect you, Jesus.
Speaker 2: I want you to use my life to meet the
Speaker 2: needs of other people. I want you to help me
Speaker 2: to learn to respect and treat every person with dignity,
Speaker 2: no matter who they are or what they say to me.
Speaker 1: I want to be a bridge builder, not a wall builder.
Speaker 2: And whatever I do, I want to do it with
Speaker 2: all my heart, as You've commanded me to do because
Speaker 2: I represent You. Help me to get out of the
Speaker 2: embassy to reach one more person. For Jesus, God, I
Speaker 2: ask you to give me the privilege of bringing one
Speaker 2: person into your family this year.
Speaker 1: I want to reach one more for you.
Speaker 2: And Lord, I ask you that when times are tough
Speaker 2: and I begin to focus on what I don't have
Speaker 2: and what I need, to realize that this life here
Speaker 2: is just temporary and the one day I will be
Speaker 2: with you for eternity. And I want to hear you
Speaker 2: say well done, good and faithful servant. If you've never
Speaker 2: invited Christ into your life, say Jesus, Christ, come into
Speaker 2: my heart right now. I want to be on your team.
Speaker 2: I want to follow you. I want you to be
Speaker 2: my God, my boss, my manager. I want to learn
Speaker 2: to love you and trust you in this year and
Speaker 2: be your representative.
Speaker 1: Thank you for ending the war.
Speaker 2: Thank you for offering the message of peace, Jesus, Thank
Speaker 2: you for offering forgiveness. I ask you to give me
Speaker 2: that forgiveness in your name, I pray.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 2: One of the greatest joys of my days reading letters
Speaker 2: from our listeners. It truly is inspiring to see how
Speaker 2: God is working in your lives, and it encourages me
Speaker 2: just as much as I hope to encourage you. So
Speaker 2: today I want to share a note from Heather, who
Speaker 2: has been discovering the incredible benefits of studying God's word
Speaker 2: every day. Heather wrote to me, she said, Hi, Pastor Rick,
Speaker 2: a friend of mine recently sent me your podcast and
Speaker 2: I've been feeling lost and helpless and I didn't I
Speaker 2: wasn't sure what to pray, or how to pray, or
Speaker 2: when to pray, and it's like I hit a wall
Speaker 2: and I haven't.
Speaker 1: Been sure how to get back on track.
Speaker 2: Well, your message really spoke truth to me, and it
Speaker 2: made me realize the missing pieces I had in my
Speaker 2: life because I was not in God's Word daily. I
Speaker 2: was basically living my life without God and I was
Speaker 2: trying to do everything on my own. Well, Pastor Rick,
Speaker 2: it goes without saying that doing life without God has
Speaker 2: been miserable failure. So thank you for stirring the Holy
Speaker 2: Spirit in my heart with the words that I needed
Speaker 2: to hear. I have now made the commitment to read
Speaker 2: God's Word every day and to pray daily, and I
Speaker 2: even started praying in the cars I go about my day.
Speaker 2: Just like you, it's hard for me to close my
Speaker 2: eyes and not fall asleep. You were listening. Please keep
Speaker 2: doing what you're doing and reaching people who really need
Speaker 2: to hear about Jesus and God's love. Well, Heather, I
Speaker 2: am so glad to hear that you're back in God's
Speaker 2: Word and that you're making it a part of your
Speaker 2: daily life. There really isn't anything more important than deepening
Speaker 2: your relationship with Him, and I love the fact that
Speaker 2: you are praying every day, especially keeping your eyes open
Speaker 2: while you're driving. Do you or somebody know or even
Speaker 2: feel lost yourself like Heather once did? Well, the best
Speaker 2: way to find hope and strength is by staying connected
Speaker 2: to God every day.
Speaker 1: That's the purpose of Daily.
Speaker 2: Hope, and that's why I started it, to help people
Speaker 2: like Heather dive into God's Word and experiences encouragement on
Speaker 2: a daily basis. Now, our Daily Hope devotionals and our
Speaker 2: podcasts are completely free and they're delivered straight to your
Speaker 2: inbox every morning. So if you're not getting these, sign
Speaker 2: up today and start each day with biblical wisdom and
Speaker 2: encouragement from God's word.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: This Christmas, you can enjoy the beauty of God's Word
Speaker 3: with a brand new set of fifty two stunning scripture cards,
Speaker 3: each featuring verses about the birth of Christ and adorned
Speaker 3: with elegant Christmas artwork. These are perfect for memorizing scripture,
Speaker 3: tucking into gifts, or placing on your holiday table. These
Speaker 3: cards are a simple way to bring meaning to the
Speaker 3: season and share God's love with those around you. So
Speaker 3: whether you're starting a new tradition, or looking for a
Speaker 3: unique way to share the Gospel with friends and family, well,
Speaker 3: these cards are a perfect fit.
Speaker 1: Today.
Speaker 3: When you give a gift to help Daily Hope take
Speaker 3: the certain hope of Jesus to people worldwide, be sure
Speaker 3: to request this very special collection of Christmas scripture cards.
Speaker 3: It's our way of saying thanks for supporting Daily Hope.