Resurrection And The Judgement Pt.2

All right, well, we're in 2 Corinthians, and we're going to continue there. 2 Corinthians, chapter number 5. 2 Corinthians, chapter number 5. I'm going to do some review for those who weren't here, but also for us. I wanted to add some things to the message last time and make it a way of review.

We're going to spend a little bit of time here reviewing. We talked last time about the judgment seat of Christ. And it is true, as the Bible says, that every one of us will give an account of ourselves to the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ.

It's not going to be an issue of sin. It's going to be an issue of labor. We talked about that last week.

Our labor and our works. Revelation chapter 21, I believe it is, 20 or 21, talks about a great white throne judgment, where the dead are judged according to their sin. But here in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, Paul is mentioning here the judgment seat of Christ.

I want to read in chapter 5, verse 9. He says, wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. And so out there in the future, there is a judgment seat to come.

And by faith, we prepare for that. We prepare. Our life is a matter of preparation.

And so it says in verse 9, wherefore we labor. We labor. And I shared last week about the importance of labor.

And I think labor is very important. We're going to see that here again this morning, as Paul continues with this idea of labor and judgment. Last time we talked about the gold and the silver and the precious stones that are going to be tried.

Those will pass through the fire and there will be rewards based upon that which passes through the fire. And that is that which is motivated and generated by the spirit of God. It is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

And so when you are wielded to the spirit of God, as Chiquita mentioned, and you're surrendered, then there are motivations that come out of the heart, as Jason mentioned, this fountain of living water that comes out. And I like being around fountains because they bless people. Fountains bless people.

You like to be around a fountain to drink, to bathe, and it's a good place to be. Cities were built around lakes and rivers because of the water source. And so to be a fountain for others.

Gold, silver, and precious stone. And these things are wrought out of the grace of God. And grace of God, and we'll talk about that here this morning.

There's many aspects of it, but it's the working of the spirit of God in us, his grace given to us. Last week, I read this verse, I'll read it again. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 10, you have to turn there.

It says, but by the grace of God, by the grace of God, I am what I am. It's nothing about me, Paul says. It's the grace of God and his grace.

This is important. His grace, which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. In other words, it wasn't like God poured this out on me and it ran off my back like water off a duck's back.

I didn't get anything from it. No, the grace of God came to me and I was open to it and it blessed me and it motivated me and it drove me. Someone might look at Paul and say, Paul, how did you do what you did? Paul would say it was the grace of God.

And I know that's a little coin phrase that we oftentimes use, the grace of God. But he meant that it was the spirit of God, the spirit of grace. It was all of God's favor toward me that he's given to me.

That was driving me. And that's the gold and the silver and the precious stones. But by the grace of God, I am what I am.

And his grace, which is bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. I was laboring and you'd have been around Paul. He said, man, you work, you work hard.

You must've been taught by your parents to have a good work ethic. It's really the grace of God in me. There's something else working in me.

And yes, he might've been taught with a good work ethic, but this work, this labor was that which was being worked out by the spirit of God in him. And so we think of grace this morning. This is just a foundation for the message on grace.

And we did this in the Baptist church. G-R-A-C-E, grace. God's riches at Christ's expense.

Everything we have comes at Christ's expense. We were sinners, lost, had no hope in the world. Through the work of Jesus Christ, God is now able to give us all of his grace.

And so you can go down through the list. I'll just run through a little. We are saved by grace, Ephesians chapter two.

Paul says here, we labor by his grace. We win souls by grace. Acts 1.8, for you shall receive power.

After that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses. Brother Loyal, we are given gifts through grace. They're actually called charities or gifts, the gifts of grace.

We are given wisdom by the grace of God. It comes down from above. Even chastisement is the grace of God.

It's his favor upon us. And I like to get up here after the people have laid a good foundation. And I think it was Loyal.

Yeah, Loyal here mentioned this first. First Peter 4.10, it says, as every man has received the gift, right here, even so minister the same one to another, that's here, as good stewards of the manifold gift of God, or the manifold grace, I should say, of God. And so this idea of a manifold, some of you guys know what a manifold is.

You know, the air comes in through the filter into a manifold, which separates it in maybe four or six different pipes that pushes it into the cylinders. And then there's a manifold in the back that takes that exhaust and receives it and pushes it out the exhaust. And so the manifold, many different aspects of the grace of God, he says, we're to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

So what's a steward? Remember I told you last week that when the Lord comes, he'll say, I want you to give account of your stewardship. I have given you, by the way, a steward doesn't own the property. It doesn't own the possessions.

He is simply using them for the owner's good and glory. Right? And so we're to be good stewards. Thank you, Conrad, of the grace of God.

Now, still trying to make an introduction here. I'd like to talk a little bit about the grace of God in regards to seeing it. You know, in Acts chapter 11, and we talked about this a while back.

I want to read to you. It says, then tidings of these things came into the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Antioch had received the word of God and the Lord was working there.

Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, he's seen the grace of God. You know, they came to this body of believers and he saw the manifestation of the spirit of God. My, this is unusual.

We got people here that are being blessed and they're being bold and they're using their gifts and you can see it. You can see it. You can see the love one towards another.

You can see the grace of God. And so that's a good thing for a church, to see the grace of God in us and in one another. The manifold grace of God.

Now let's look here at 2 Corinthians chapter number five. And he's going to talk about this here, but I want to get to chapter six, verse one first, and then we'll, I'm going to do a little bookends here. In chapter six, verse one, look what it says.

We then, as workers together with him, again, we're getting back to this idea of working. We then as workers or labors together with him, beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain. Ah, there's the same thing.

Paul says, I did not receive all the blessing of God to no use, to have no prosperity or no fruit, but, and I beseech you that you would not receive the grace of God in vain. Now, I don't want any of us to stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. And after all the grace of God is poured out upon us, everything's burned up.

That's what we talked about last week. Everything's burned up. That's not good.

Suffer loss. That it does not come to nothing, to no use. He says, I did not receive it in vain.

But maybe think about the third commandment. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. And a lot of times I've been taught, and we've heard this, that you don't cuss.

And take the name, you know, use the GD word or use Jesus Christ's name in a bad way. But that's actually not the meaning of this passage. To take the name of the Lord.

I'm a Christian. I have been saved and blessed by the grace of God. I profess to be a Christian to take the name of the Lord in vain, to no use.

Okay, I'm a Christian. I profess to be a Christian, but there is no grace in me. There's no fruit.

There's no works. There's just nothing. It's taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

And yes, I don't think it's good to curse either. But don't take the name of the Lord thy God in vain and have nothing to show for it in life. I want you to turn, hold your finger.

We're gonna come back. I'm still introducing the message here. But in Hebrews chapter six, I thought of this passage here.

It's a passage I've spent time on as a young Christian here. And this passage really motivated me as a younger believer. In verse seven of chapter six in the book of Hebrews, it says, for the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, that's the grace of God, and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessings from God.

But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh into cursing, is near cursing, whose end is to be burned, but beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor. Here again, your work and your labor of love, which you have showed toward his name, in that you have ministered and do minister to the saints.

Again, minister, labor. You know, God is pouring out his grace upon you, not for you can get the ooey-gooeys and have some, you know, some tinglings run up and down your spine and have a good feeling. No, he's pouring his grace upon you that you can labor and that you can work and that you can minister and minister, it says here, to the saints.

So here we are in 2 Corinthians chapter five, and we've been talking about labor. We've been talking about the judgment seat of Christ. And we're gonna continue that here this morning.

And I trust that you'll have an open heart today. I don't wanna preach in vain. You know, Paul said to the church, he labored.

He didn't wanna labor in vain. Didn't wanna labor in vain. That people would be open, that your hearts would be open like that earth that drinks in the rain that comes off upon it.

That's a broken ground, amen? A broken ground, when it rains, the water just goes. A ground that's hard, the river just runs off of it. And the word of God is coming to us, and the grace of God is coming to us in many different ways.

And the heart that is broken just drinks it in. Blessed is he that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, that heart will be filled. You take a sponge up here and dip it in water, that sponge is gonna be filled.

You take a rock up here and dip it in water, that rock will not be touched by water. And a lot of people have hard hearts. They have a rock in their heart.

They're self-willed, they're going their own direction, and God is pouring grace and grace and grace out, and it's going nowhere. And yet there are people here this morning who have sponges. They're hungry and thirsty, and they're soaking it, everything they can get.

And I trust you sit back there, you know, and Loyal's up here, and Caleb's up here, and others are up here, and as they're speaking, you're just taking it in, and you're thinking on it, and Lord, what can I learn? Yeah, that's good, how can that apply? You're hungry. Your mind here is not on some event you're doing next week, or you know, you have affections, and you're going all different places in your heart, but that you have a desire. So let's pick up here in chapter five.

This is a, I look at this passage a lot here, but I'm gonna go down through this in the next 30 minutes, and we're gonna address it, some of the major subjects here. And I'd like to start in 2 Corinthians 5, in verse 13, where we left off. Let's read here in verse 13.

For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God. Or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Now there's a lot in there, and we could spend a lot of time there, but I wanna talk to you about something that maybe you hear a lot about, and that is the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. That's the most important thing, and we could talk about that here this morning, but I believe most of you understand that.

The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, it's mentioned here in verse 14. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that one died for all. One, Jesus Christ, died as a substitute for all.

And that's accepted, and it's good. But there's another substitutionary thing that's going on here, and that's the one I want to emphasize here this morning. Not a substitutionary death, but a substitutionary life.

A substitutionary life. And here's where most of Christianity gets off track. They focus on the substitutionary death.

Lord, you stood in my place, you took judgment from me, you were my substitute. Praise God for the Lord Jesus, and I thank God for it this morning too. Praise God for that.

But it doesn't stop there. There's another substitutionary life that needs to be addressed and lived out. And that's what is addressed here in this passage.

Look what it says here in verse 14. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And here's the substitutionary life, and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him.

Now here's something wonderful. You didn't want to go to hell, and God didn't want you to go to hell either, so Jesus stepped in and he substituted himself, and he paid the price for your death. He died in your place.

He then went back to heaven, and now he asks you, I'm not on the earth anymore. I am gone to be to the right hand of my Father. I want you now to live in my place.

You know what the Bible means when it says go in the name of Jesus? I'm going to go in the name and the place of the Lord Jesus Christ. So yes, I want to elevate the substitutionary death of Christ, but what about our substitutionary life that we henceforth not live unto ourselves, but unto him? All right, he substituted for me in death. I'm going to let him take my life now, and I'm going to be a substitute for him on the earth.

Basically, that's why he gave you the spirit of God. I'm not down there anymore, children. You're my substitute.

You go in my name. I'll go to the cross for you, and I'll suffer for you as a substitutory atonement. Now you go and live.

Live for me. Many people just say, I'm thankful the Lord substituted me on the cross and died for me. Now I'm free, and I can go do whatever I want.

You're missing half of what the whole gospel is about. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him, which died for them and rose again. Verse 14 says, he died in our place.

He suffered for our sins. Verse 21 tells us that again at the end. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.

You know, I read in the long time ago, I read this story about the Civil War. I don't know how it was back then, but there was a man that was called to go to the Civil War in this story, and I forget what his name was. And he, for some reason, maybe he had a family, and he had a bunch of small children.

Maybe he had a sick wife. There was some legitimate reason that he was not going to go. He couldn't go.

He didn't want to go. And some friend of his said, I will go for him. I will go in his place.

And so legally, they accepted him in the place of this other individual. And during the process of time in the war, this man died. He died as he was serving in the place of another.

And a little while later, they called this man again, who was still alive with his wife and children. And he actually went before the courts. He said, I don't have to go because someone has already gone in my place.

Someone has already died in my place. And so legally, the whole thing went through the courts and he was excused because of the fact that someone had died. And basically, he said this, I already died in the person of my friend.

And that's exactly what happened in Christianity. Bible says you're to be dead. You're dead because you died in the person of Jesus Christ.

He took your place in that death. And you won't face judgment. You won't face that great white throne we talked about last week because someone has already been judged in your place.

And that's a wonderful thought. There is no double jeopardy. There's no double jeopardy.

You won't be called to the throne because my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Jesus Christ has already been called to the throne. He's already been judged for the sins of the whole world. And therefore, hey, he's died already in your place.

And that's a blessing. We can rejoice in the Lord there. But now what about this? It's your place to be a substitute for him here and to live for him.

He died and took our place on the cross. We live and take his place. And this is a beautiful plan because even Jesus in his mortal body while he was on the earth, he looked around and he saw the multitudes.

He said he was moved with compassion. He couldn't reach the world. And so he decided to, by his spirit, reach the world through all of us.

Amen. It's not a one man. It's millions of us who understand the substitutionary life that we're supposed to be living to reach this world.

So, you know, Jesus said, I'm looking forward to leaving because when I leave, the Holy Spirit's gonna come and the Holy Spirit's gonna fill all you people. And I am going to be everywhere in the world, going into all the world and I'm going with you. And we're gonna win the world.

What one person, me and my body could not do. So we go, and the Bible talks about this in the name of Jesus, a substitutionary life for him. That's what the Bible says.

Lose your life for what? Jesus' sake and the gospels. Now, let's just stop here and we're standing at the judgment seat of Christ. It's okay, it's time to give account of your stewardship.

Okay, I died for your sins. I substituted myself for you and I ask you to substitute your life on the earth for me. And I gave you all this grace, all this grace to do it.

Now, tell me what you did with it and give an account of what you've done. Give an account. That's what's gonna happen.

Right there. I died for you, I redeemed you from all iniquity and I ask you then to give your life for me to reach this world and to build my church and I give you all the tools you needed and there will be people who stand before him in terror as we saw last week. I didn't do anything.

I just was happy I was saved and I went on with my life. God help us, right? No, maybe I'm wrong, correct me. But he lost his life for your sake.

You lose your life for his. Lose your life for Jesus' sake and the gospels. You know, how people see the grace of God in a church and in individuals is here's someone that's losing his life for the sake of Jesus Christ.

There's the grace of God. I don't care what it is, brother Loyal, it's whatever your gift is, whatever your ministry is. You've lost your life for it.

You know, I don't have a salt shaker up here, but I've said this before. The problem with Christianity is this, we have people who have a life and they wanna sprinkle it with a little Christianity. Season it a little bit.

The truth is what we ought to be seasoning is our own affairs and our own needs that we have that we have to take care of and the whole life being given to him. It's all flip flop. Oh, I have to work.

That's right, I do have to make money. I have to provide. I have to do my things and then we narrow things down to I can do as little as I have to because my life is for him.

Amen. He died a sacrificial death for us. We are to live a sacrificial life for him.

What's it say in Romans 12? I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God that you would present your bodies a living sacrifice. That's what you're supposed to be, a living sacrifice. He was a sacrifice.

He was a dead sacrifice for you so you don't have to die. He wants you to be a living sacrifice. And I believe that much is spoken today on the sacrificial death of Christ, but what of the sacrificial life of his people? Those who take his name.

And again, this is all the work of God's grace in us. Verse 15 says this, and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. No longer living life unto ourselves, but unto him.

This will cure all your problems. Here's my counseling session here. It'll cure all your problems.

A lot of times we have problems just because we're living for ourselves. We're the prodigal son. We're down there carrying the name of Jesus, trying to do our own thing, build our own kingdoms, you know, get our own things accomplished.

And maybe if I have time over here, I'll get something done for the Lord. But our thrust of life is for ourselves. And it just seems like there's thorns and thistles and problems we're facing constantly.

Living no longer unto ourselves, but unto him. And so when we understand this and allow the grace of God to free reign in our heart, by the way, there's plenty of grace. Did you know that? You say, well, I'm not doing well as a Christian.

I've got sin in my life. I've got good news for you. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

Don't use that as an excuse, amen? No, there's no excuse for that one. Well, I just don't have the abilities or the strength. Well, you don't need them.

He has them for you. Verse 16 says, wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.

Now, for someone to in the mind understand what life is about, I'm a sacrificial offering to him. He sacrificed for me. I'm gonna sacrifice my life for him.

And I've got all this grace. My heart is wide open. It's broken before him.

Lord, this is my life. You can have it. The grace comes rushing into that life.

And the grace of God changes that life to where people who once knew you said, who are you? Right? I mean, what happened to you? You are a new person. I don't even know who you are. And then he gets a good testimony.

After you get converted, people say, wow, I don't know who you are. I knew the old you, but who is this? Can you imagine the maniac you dare? I mean, that's an extreme example. People meeting him and wow, you're not the guy we know.

You're totally different. Amen. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature.

Old things, that old flesh of life has passed away. And all things have become new. It ought to be, and I trust it is in your life.

People say, I remember you. Jerry, I remember you when you were 17, 18, 19, high school and college. You're not you.

You're a different person. Is that you, really? Well, actually, no, because I died. I'm a new person.

And it ought to be that way, our life. There is a change in the person. A new creation.

And you know, the Spirit of God has the power to do that. I gave children's lesson last week about Peter and a little damsel. Little damsel with no power coming and saying, Peter, I think you were one of those over there.

And Peter's, oh, fearful, no, no, it wasn't me. And denying the Lord. And three times he denies the Lord before these girls and these people that are around this fire.

That's the old man. That's Peter. But then, when Peter gets the grace of God in him, and he starts speaking boldly and saying, I'm with him.

I'm with Jesus. I don't care if you kill me. Beat me up, scourge me, I'm with him.

You know what they said? These guys, they've been with Jesus. There's new creation. And that's the way it ought to be.

Lord, help us, we need the grace of God. Maybe we need to pray for more of the grace of God. I prayed this morning, Lord, give me grace.

Claiming the promises of God, we need the grace of God. Well, verse 18 says this, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us, here's these two things. He reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.

He died a sacrifice for us. And now he has given unto us the ministry of reconciliation. His substitutionary death brought a reconciliation with humanity.

And our substitutionary life leads us to a ministry of reconciliation. I've often said, the Lord offered us forgiveness and reconciliation, then he left. So what good's that gonna do if nobody knows about it? So he said, I'm leaving.

By the way, it all worked together. Those disciples, they're about ready to see him go up into the air. And the last thing he says to them is what? Go into all the world.

Preach the gospel to every creature. Reconcile the world. I'm leaving.

I'm gonna leave you the spirit, or I'm gonna come to you in the spirit. But it all works together. I've done my part.

You do yours. Now, listen, folks. Doesn't matter who you are.

I'll talk to myself. Just let you know, someday you're gonna stand before the Lord Jesus. You're gonna give an account of your stewardship.

What you did with your life. What you did. And the Lord's gonna show you, if you don't understand it already now, all the grace.

I saved you. I redeemed you. I purified you.

I gave you my spirit. I gave you gifts. I gave you my chasing rod.

I tried to direct you in all the things. What'd you do with it? Now, some of us, like Brother Tom, I look at Brother Tom, myself. We're getting up a little older.

That's not too far off. Our journey will end and life will be over. I'm not planning on retiring anytime soon.

God told Adam to labor until he went back to the dirt. I'm planning on doing that if the Lord would give me the grace to be healthy enough to do it. But hey, our time is getting... Young people, you got a whole life ahead of you.

Amen, you got a whole life. And the decisions you make at 20, 25, 30 are going to affect that life that's before you. And as I know you don't believe this, but as we've told you many times, it goes by so fast.

I can't believe I'm gonna be 70 in five years. That's just unbelievable. So fast.

And so, you know, before we know it, I'm gonna look over there and Caleb, well, here we are at the judgment seat of Christ. I think you're next, Caleb. I'm after you.

Okay, what do we do? Do we do right? And if you don't believe that, then go out and eat, drink, be merry, and live it up and live for this world. Don't be tossed between two. Either go one direction or the other.

Amen. Verse 19, to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. That's the substitutionary death.

And, that's an important and, has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. This is the substitutionary life to reconcile the world. His work was the cross.

Our work was going to all the world. Reconcile it. And all the things that we've been given to do it.

Now, I don't know. I'm just trying to give you instruction as someone who's given that responsibility, but I'd order your life in such a way as to make reconciling men to God the primary thing of your life. I don't think you'll regret it.

Lord, I was an ambassador all my life. I mean, ever since you saved me, I was an ambassador. You know that I did.

I tried to reconcile men to you. I tried to build your kingdom. Why people are building kingdoms on this earth and they're going to burn.

I have no idea why I spend your time on that. It's all going to burn, right? Amen to that? Well, maybe you can live nice for 40 or 50 years. Have people envy you.

Other Christians. By the way, don't envy. David learned that.

Don't envy these people. Don't envy them. Oh, they got all this and they drive the best and they have boats and beautiful places to live.

Don't envy them. I'm working at a place right now that someday they're going to envy you. You just have to have the faith to believe it.

Well, look at verse 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. Here's our calling.

Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Now this idea of being an ambassador, I'm sure you've heard many things about it, but basically you are sent in the place of the Lord Jesus Christ. Donald Trump right now is choosing ambassadors.

I heard he has an ambassador of Israel, an ambassador of this place. And these are individuals who go and stand and speak for the nation of America and Donald Trump, the soon to be president here of the United States. Ambassadors, and that's what you are.

Here you are. You're a Christian. You think you're nobody.

You're an ambassador. You're an ambassador to a world that is wicked. The world that we're going to see in a minute hates us.

And so you're an ambassador. You're an ambassador to go forth. And I looked up this word and tried to do a little studying on it, but there's three aspects of an ambassador I'd like to talk about here briefly.

First of all, an ambassador is a high ranking official chosen by a president or a king to represent the nation in a foreign land. That's why we're called aliens in the Bible. We're called pilgrims and strangers, right? A high ranking official.

Are you all high ranking officials in the kingdom of God? Kings and priests, that makes you high ranking officials. He has made us kings and priests. So when you go out there into that foreign world, which we're not in this world, we're not of this world.

When you go out of that foreign world, you're not just some little tiny person. From God's perspective, you're a king and a priest. We should act like one, amen.

Kings and priests. Number two, an ambassador goes to a foreign nation to represent his own nation and the will of the king. And so we represent Christ and the kingdom of God to a world that is lost, blind, and heading to ruin.

That's our ministry. And our world may just be right around Martinsburg. It may be right around your neighborhood for now.

And the Bible says, he that's faithful in little is faithful also in what? Much. You want to be faithful in much? You want God to give you much? You want to reach great things? Well, reach the small things right next door to you. Reach your community.

Reach your family. Reach your proximity. Be faithful in that which is least.

And all of a sudden you're going to hear, you're going to knock at the door. I want you to go to much. Amen.

So going to a foreign nation to represent this nation. Oh, by the way, we're a holy nation, the Bible says. And the third thing is he's a messenger.

He has a message. And that message is the gospel. Here's what my king wants you to know over here in Ethiopia, spiritually speaking.

He has a message for you. And that message is we're going to destroy your nation and you need to repent before it's time. And we'll bring you in as a child of God.

Look with me to Ephesians once here real quick. Ephesians chapter six. In verse 19, Paul uses this word ambassador here.

As for me that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. Who is the gospel a mystery to? Is it a mystery to you? No, it's not. But who's it a mystery to? Those people out there, they have no idea.

I had no idea at age 19. I mean, Christopher, you know, at Christmas time we had this tree and all this Santa stuff. But we remember Jesus, a little baby.

I can tell you all about that when I was 15. Yeah, Jesus died in the manger. But I was blinded to my need of salvation.

Didn't have an understanding. And so to make known the mystery of the gospel, verse 20, for which I am, notice this, an ambassador in bonds. That therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.

An ambassador to share the mystery. By the way, if President Trump were to call me on the phone today and say, Jerry, I just appreciate you. I want you to be the ambassador to China.

Oh, thank you. By the way, I wouldn't take the job, so don't worry about it. I'm gonna stay here.

But ambassador to China. Okay, I'll take that. So I go to China.

Okay, you folks here in China, I've got a message for you. What's gonna happen? They're gonna know my language. So what's that guy babbling about? I have no idea what he's saying.

And yeah, I need to communicate to them in a language they understand. By the way, that's why when the lost read this book right here, doesn't make any sense. It's not their language.

And we have to help them understand the language. First of all, we have to get them converted. When someone's converted, they can understand the language.

And so this mystery of the gospel. But notice here that Paul mentions he's an ambassador in Bonds. And how many of you have been following some of these embassies that have been under attack all over the world? U.S. embassies.

I pulled them up on the internet and the list of embassies the last 30 or 40 years and how many attacks in Libya and in Iraq. All of our embassies. You know why they attack the embassy? They don't like us.

They don't like our policy and so they go after this little place, the U.S. embassy in Syria or Iraq or in Russia and they attack that. We can get that. We can't get them over there.

They're too far away. They're too powerful. But we can get this place and they attack it.

Ever wonder why people don't like you? You're an ambassador. You're over in a foreign country and they would like to get him. But they can't.

They can get you though. You the ambassador. This is our ambassador building here and you're an ambassador.

So Jesus said, don't marvel at the world, they hate you. Listen, they really hate me. So as you go and perform the work of an ambassador, there are many times like Paul said, I'm an ambassador in bonds.

I'm ending up in jail for being an ambassador. And so don't take it personally. And so the Lord said, don't be offended.

You know why? Because they don't hate you, they hate me. And so let's have a understanding and even let's just ask the Lord to give us some grace for this. God has grace.

Give me grace, Lord, that I can be a millionaire. Trickle, trickle, trickle. Give me grace, Lord, that I can be some famous person who does some incredible things in this life.

Trickle, trickle. Lord, give me some grace that I can be an ambassador of Christ even to the point of being an ambassador in bonds. I'll do anything you want.

Whoo, right? Grace, all the grace. I got it all for you. And so you think of the new covenant, we're getting to the end here, this new covenant, old covenant, judgment seat of Christ.

I want you to be an ambassador. I dined for you. Now it's time for you to substitute your life for me.

And don't set your heart on the things of this life. Doesn't do any good. So let's be ambassadors, amen? I get motivated when I prepare these things and I'm ready to go.

Who wants to go with me? Let's be ambassadors. By the way, we may get thrown in prison and be an ambassador in bonds. We may be an ambassador being scourged.

We may be ambassador being jailed. That's okay. But just be an ambassador for him.

All right, I'm gonna close and we'll open it up for anyone who'd like to share. Let's have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for all that you've done for us, though our minds are oftentimes blinded to that reality.

Thank you that we can have peace with God because you've reconciled the world unto yourself through the death and burial and resurrection of your son. But Lord, we want to be better at being ambassadors, substituting our life in the place of you, going in the name of Jesus and giving our life for something greater than just existing and paying bills and getting through life. Lord, may our vision be raised and our eyesight be lifted up to your purposes.

Bless the young people here as they ponder life and ponder marriage and ponder purpose. And Lord, may the brevity of life be brought to our attention, even as a vapor, it says, it appears for a moment and is gone. Help the youth to set their course here in this church.

We pray your blessing on us now in Jesus' name. Amen.