Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, we are so glad you're here with us today.
Speaker 1: On Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, Rick Warren continues with an
Speaker 1: inspiring news series called what does it Really Mean to
Speaker 1: Follow Jesus Now? In this powerful teaching, Rick dives into
Speaker 1: God's word to explore how we grow spiritually represent Christ
Speaker 1: in the world and find our place in God's family
Speaker 1: through the church. It's a fresh look at discipleship, purpose
Speaker 1: and the life changing power of spiritual community. And now
Speaker 1: here's the final part of a message called we Are Ambassadors.
Speaker 2: The third responsibility of an ambassador Number one. I must
Speaker 2: set the example, I must share the message. I must
Speaker 2: show love. I must show love to everybody. Because if
Speaker 2: you're an ambassador, you've got to have a big heart
Speaker 2: and you got to show love. Why must an ambassador
Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ show love to everybody? Because God is
Speaker 2: love and if you show anything but love to other people,
Speaker 2: you're not representing Jesus.
Speaker 3: God is love.
Speaker 2: Now, how do I show love to the people in
Speaker 2: my life? The people I work with, my neighbors, my family,
Speaker 2: my coworkers, my enemies, my boss. How do I do it?
Speaker 2: Three ways? It's the next three verses. The first way
Speaker 2: I show.
Speaker 3: Love is by using my life to meet others' needs.
Speaker 2: When you use your life to meet the needs of
Speaker 2: other people in a practical way, whether it's taking them
Speaker 2: a meal, or helping them with a project, or offering
Speaker 2: them a ride, or praying for them, or you know,
Speaker 2: picking up something at the grocery thing, or helping them
Speaker 2: with a plan or a deal. Every time you do
Speaker 2: practical help to somebody else, you serve others, you're ministering
Speaker 2: 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 Thessalonians 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. Now, if
Speaker 2: you're going to be an ambassador, some of the time,
Speaker 2: you got to get out of the embassy.
Speaker 3: Does that make sense?
Speaker 2: If you spend all your whole Christian life is spent
Speaker 2: inside the four walls of the church, you're not much
Speaker 2: of an ambassador. You got to get out where people
Speaker 2: are hurting, where they're needed, where they're loved, need love,
Speaker 2: and now where they need help and concern. So you've
Speaker 2: got to get out out of the embassy and into
Speaker 2: the interior, using.
Speaker 3: My life to meet others need.
Speaker 2: Second way, you show love by giving respect to everyone.
Speaker 2: By giving respect to everyone, as an ambassador of Jesus Christ,
Speaker 2: you are not allowed to be disrespectful to anyone. Why
Speaker 2: Because God values every person. Doesn't matter who they are,
Speaker 2: what they've done, who they've done it with, or how
Speaker 2: long they've done it. They have the dignity of being
Speaker 2: created in the image of God, and the Bible says
Speaker 2: this on the screen one Peter two seventeen.
Speaker 3: Treat everyone you like with dignity or doesn't say that?
Speaker 2: Does it treat everyone you agree with politically with dignity? No,
Speaker 2: it says, treat everyone you meet with dignity. That means
Speaker 2: even the people who voted differently than you.
Speaker 3: You may not put them down.
Speaker 2: You may not use sarcasm and slice and dice and
Speaker 2: use the same kind of words that the world does
Speaker 2: for people you disagree with. Treat everyone you meet with dignity,
Speaker 2: Love your spiritual family, revere God, and respect the government.
Speaker 2: That doesn't say respect the government. If you voted for him,
Speaker 2: you didn't. Maybe you didn't vote for the city council,
Speaker 2: you still need to respect them. Maybe you didn't vote
Speaker 2: for the governor, you still to respect them. Senator President whoever,
Speaker 2: it doesn't matter me. The Bible says respect the government.
Speaker 2: Why because as representatives of Jesus, we show dignity to everybody. Everyone,
Speaker 2: We show love and kindness. Let me ask you, this
Speaker 2: is an ambassador dogmatic or diplomatic, diplomatic. They don't stay
Speaker 2: as ambassadors very long if they're not diplomatic. When you
Speaker 2: find a dog maa Christian, they are not an ambassador
Speaker 2: of Jesus.
Speaker 3: They may be on the.
Speaker 2: Radio, they may be on television, they may write books
Speaker 2: or blogs or whatever. If they're dogmatic, they may be right,
Speaker 2: but they're wrong because they're not being diplomatic. The Bible
Speaker 2: says we're to do everything in love. We're to respect everyone,
Speaker 2: doesn't matter who they are, what they are, what they've done.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but
Speaker 2: most of the time when I'm not at saddleback, I'm
Speaker 2: speaking to people who totally disagree with me. Almost all
Speaker 2: the time I'm speaking to group, and that gets me
Speaker 2: in a lot of trouble.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 2: I speak to other religions, to atheists, to Muslims, to Jewish,
Speaker 2: to Buddhists, the secularists. I speak most of the time
Speaker 2: when I'm not saddled backed to groups who totally disagree
Speaker 2: with me.
Speaker 3: Why.
Speaker 2: Because I am an ambassador. That's my job, and you
Speaker 2: are an ambassador too. Ambassadors don't speak to their own country.
Speaker 2: They speak to everybody else who's not in their country.
Speaker 2: They even speak to their enemies. And we are to
Speaker 2: show the message with love and kindness. In fact, here's
Speaker 2: what the Bible says. Be ready at all times to
Speaker 2: answer anyone who asked you to explain the hope you
Speaker 2: have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.
Speaker 2: You and I are called to be gentle with everybody
Speaker 2: and to respect everybody. It doesn't matter what they say
Speaker 2: to me, doesn't matter how much they lie about me,
Speaker 2: doesn't matter how they accuse me. I am forbidden to
Speaker 2: hate anybody. I am forbidden to retaliate on anybody. I
Speaker 2: am forbidden to attack back. Why because I represent Jesus,
Speaker 2: and Jesus said you turn the other cheek. Jesus said,
Speaker 2: you overcome evil with good. The Bible says you bless
Speaker 2: those who persecute you. I am forbidden from using the
Speaker 2: same tactics that people use against you.
Speaker 3: Or me or anybody else.
Speaker 2: Why Because I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ, and
Speaker 2: we are to be known by meeting others' needs, 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.
Speaker 3: 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. May be another culture, maybe
Speaker 2: another race, another language, another political party, another religion, another lifestyle.
Speaker 3: He said, whatever.
Speaker 2: Person's like, I try to find common ground with him.
Speaker 2: Why to be popular, no here, so that he will
Speaker 2: let me tell him about Christ.
Speaker 3: And let Christ save him. I'm an ambassador.
Speaker 2: I do this why to get the good news to them,
Speaker 2: and also for the blessing I myself receive when I
Speaker 2: see them come to Christ. Anytime you see your pastor
Speaker 2: speaking to any group, whether I've spoken to intellectual groups.
Speaker 2: In the last couple of years, I've spoken at Harvard,
Speaker 2: at Oxford, at Cambridge, at Jewish University, at intellectual things
Speaker 2: like the aspen Idea Center. I've spoken to groups like
Speaker 2: political gris groups on every possible side. I've spoken to
Speaker 2: every possible religion. You can imagine. When you see that,
Speaker 2: you need to understand I don't have any faith at
Speaker 2: all in politics' ability to change human lives. Politics can't
Speaker 2: change a human heart. If I believed it could, I'd
Speaker 2: go in the government, but I don't. You cannot force
Speaker 2: somebody to be good by a law. It has to
Speaker 2: be an internal change in their heart. And you need
Speaker 2: to understand that. All these people I speak to, why
Speaker 2: do I do it so I can get the good
Speaker 2: news to them.
Speaker 3: 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 3: Count on it.
Speaker 2: You get walked on. That's what bridges are for. And
Speaker 2: so you know, if you're building a bridge, if you
Speaker 2: 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.
Speaker 3: That's the goal. That's the reason we.
Speaker 2: Try to find common ground so we can do this. Now,
Speaker 2: what's the reward. We've looked at the role of an ambassador,
Speaker 2: we looked at the responsibilities. Now what's the rewards for
Speaker 2: being an ambassador? Oh, it's good Colossians chapter three. Whatever
Speaker 2: you do, always work at it with all your heart.
Speaker 2: Now I want to circle whatever you do and all
Speaker 2: your heart. Now, I don't care what you do. The
Speaker 2: Bible says, no matter what you do, you should be
Speaker 2: enthusiastic at it. If you work at Taco bell, you
Speaker 2: better be enthusiastic about it. If you do gardening, you
Speaker 2: better be enthusiastic about it. If you do daycare or hospice,
Speaker 2: or you close multimillion dollar deals, or you drive a bus,
Speaker 2: or whatever you do. The Bible says, whatever you do
Speaker 2: as a believer, you are to do it with all
Speaker 2: your heart. You are to do it with enthusiasm. Why,
Speaker 2: because you represent Jesus. You are to do it with
Speaker 2: all your heart as though you were working for the Lord,
Speaker 2: not for people.
Speaker 3: Because you are working 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.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: You don't have to like your boss, but you do
Speaker 2: have to treat them with respect and dignity. And the
Speaker 2: Bible says, regardless of who your boss is, you're to
Speaker 2: just do your work as if you're working for Jesus.
Speaker 2: And that's why you do what you do, not because
Speaker 2: you want to please that person, because you want to
Speaker 2: please the Lord. And he says when you do that,
Speaker 2: it will produce great reward in your life. I want
Speaker 2: to do something this weekend I've never done before. I
Speaker 2: 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. I 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.
Speaker 3: 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 in 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 allowed to fly. You will never feel completely
Speaker 2: satisfied here on Earth because you were made for far more.
Speaker 2: You'll have happy moments here, yes, but nothing compared to
Speaker 2: what God has planned for you in heaven. Realizing that
Speaker 2: life on Earth is just a temporary assignment should radically
Speaker 2: alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become
Speaker 2: the deciding factors for all your decisions.
Speaker 3: 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 2: So it's a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal
Speaker 2: for your life is material prosperity, your popular success.
Speaker 3: 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 3: 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 tough,
Speaker 2: and when you're overwhelmed with doubt, when you wonder if
Speaker 2: living for Christ is worth the effort, you need to
Speaker 2: remember that this isn't your home and you're not home yet.
Speaker 2: You see it death. You won't leave home, You'll go home.
Speaker 2: It's power heads. Did you pray this prayer in your heart?
Speaker 2: Dear Jesus, I realize that to follow you means to
Speaker 2: be your ambassador, that it means to represent you in
Speaker 2: the world. And I ask you to forgive me for
Speaker 2: failing in my mission. Forgive me for the times that
Speaker 2: I have been silent and not shared your message. Forgive
Speaker 2: me for the times that I have not been a
Speaker 2: good example. Forgive me for the times that I have
Speaker 2: been just as unloving as others. And I have returned
Speaker 2: evil for evil rather than returning good for evil. I
Speaker 2: want my life to reflect you, Jesus. I want you
Speaker 2: to use my life to meet the needs of other people.
Speaker 2: I want you to help me to learn to respect
Speaker 2: and treat every person with dignity, no matter who they
Speaker 2: are or what they say to me.
Speaker 3: 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 embassy,
Speaker 2: to reach one more person. For Jesus, God, I ask
Speaker 2: you to give me the privilege of bringing one person
Speaker 2: into your family this year. I want to reach one
Speaker 2: more for you and Lord, I ask you that when
Speaker 2: times are tough and I begin to focus on what
Speaker 2: I don't have and what I need, to realize that
Speaker 2: this life here is just temporary and the one day
Speaker 2: I will be with you for eternity. And I want
Speaker 2: to hear you say well done, good and faithful servant.
Speaker 2: If you've never invited Christ into your life, say Jesus Christ,
Speaker 2: come into my heart right now. I want to be
Speaker 2: on your team. I want to follow you. I want
Speaker 2: you to be my.
Speaker 3: God, my boss, my manager.
Speaker 2: I want to learn to love you and trust you
Speaker 2: in this year and be your representative.
Speaker 3: Thank you for ending the war.
Speaker 2: Thank you for offering the message of peace, Jesus, thank
Speaker 2: you for offering forgiveness. They ask you to give me
Speaker 2: that forgiveness in your name. I pray Amen. You know
Speaker 2: if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time,
Speaker 2: or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today.
Speaker 2: Would you let me know about it. There's something real
Speaker 2: about sharing your commitment. So write me Rick at pastor
Speaker 2: rick dot com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer
Speaker 2: of commitment, I gave my life to Christ. And I'll
Speaker 2: send you some material that will help you on your
Speaker 2: journey with Jesus. And I'll also pray for you. God
Speaker 2: bless you.
Speaker 1: Hey, thanks so much for being with us today and
Speaker 1: listening to Pastor Rick's daily hope. Pastor Rick Warren teamed
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Speaker 1: give a gift to help Daily Hope take the certain
Speaker 1: Hope of Jesus to people worldwide, we'll send you the
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Speaker 1: hope to seven oh three oh nine and again, that's
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Speaker 3: Word for our daily hope.
Speaker 1: This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and
Speaker 1: your generous financial support.