Ambassadors For Christ

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:20

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

INTRODUCTION

An ambassador is an envoy, emissary, or representative commissioned to diplomatic service. Ambassadors are persons sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country. It could be a person representing a firm, industry or organization. The United States has hundred’s of ambassadors–one to each country where we have diplomatic ties, several to the UN and then many more to organizations such as NATO.

You and I, as believers in Jesus Christ, have been called to be His royal ambassadors. We represent HIM in this world.

Rome had their provinces divided into two groups: [1] Senatorial–Submissive Subjects and [2] Imperial–rebellious subjects. Obviously, Judea was an imperial providence. This world is an imperial providence. Our rebellion is not against Rome but God.

What are the aspects of a good ambassador?

I. REMEMBERING ALWAYS WHO WE ARE AND WHO WE REPRESENT

“We are Christ’s ambassadors.” 

Ambassadors are seldom greater than the one they represent. A good ambassador forgets himself. He has no agenda. In every way, he/she is a reflection of their boss, king, president, etc. This is an awesome responsibility. Before leaving for New Orleans and Seminary, I put a bumper sticker on my car that read…”Honk, if you love Jesus.” It was one of the dumbest things I’ve done because I forgot that it was there. One day while driving in heavy traffic on I-59 in New Orleans, a hippie van with flowers painted on the side, the whole nine yards, passed me in the left lane, he was blowing his horn like a fool and I was upset. My wife calmly said, “It’s your bumper sticker. He is honking because he loves Jesus.” I probably said, “Then why don’t he get his hair cut?” I was thoroughly embarrassed, I had made a fool of myself but because of the bumper sticker, Jesus got bad publicity. When I got back to the apartment, I took the bumper sticker off; not because I was ashamed of Jesus but because I was ashamed of how I had represented Him.

I would be thrilled if I could tell you that this has never happened again but that would be a lie. Time and time again, I have misrepresented Jesus with poor to sorry behavior. We are a reflection on our LORD, good or bad. Some people keep their faith private so that they cannot commit the sin I committed but how can we represent HIM if we never mention HIS name or fail to tell people who we are and we ARE ambassadors of Christ. Denying Him is not a solution. We just have to remember always, that we represent HIM.

II. UNDERSTANDING ALWAYS THAT THE MINISTRY AND MESSAGE IS NOT OURS

Remembering is important but understanding is also important. Bearing His name puts pressure on us but understanding the ministry of reconciliation takes a lot of pressure off. I did not have this understanding in the early days but now I am comforted by the fact that RECONCILIATION is God’s idea, not mine. Christ has done the work, not me. This is a ministry that God has given to me in terms of an assignment but technically, it is HIS ministry and HIS message. No preacher of the gospel is perfect. From time to time we will misstate things. Our knowledge is not complete and our theology is not perfect but we preach the word of God, not our word. It is always a battle to separate our personal opinions from the word of God but we have to understand that He will bless His word, not ours.

As I shared a couple of weeks ago: this fact is a great confidence builder. This is God’s work–Christ secured our forgiveness–He did the work of atonement, we had nothing to do with it. This is His ministry, not ours. He thought of this, not us. I speak what He tells me to speak. I don’t have a message. I can’t imagine the pressure I would feel if I had to conjure up a message. When I go into homes or hospitals, I understand that I am only His representative, or clay servant. I’m not God, I have never had any illusions about being God. I have no power. I cannot heal. I go merely as His representative. I am a reminder that He cares and that He is present in the crisis. I did not understand this in the early days and was easily intimidated by difficult visits. I’m not great in difficult situations now but it helps to know that I represent HIM, I am an Ambassador, a servant sent–not a clone of the One who sent me. You would be surprised at how much this understanding changed my life.

III. ACTING ALWAYS, UNDER ORDERS WITH CONFIDENCE

Being a younger sibling in a family of 7, I was called upon many times to deliver messages. When mother or daddy sent me to the field to give my older brothers a message, I never said, “Get to the house guys, right now.” They would have beaten me on the spot. I had no authority over them. I always said, “Mother said or Daddy said, “Get to the house now.” A messenger doesn’t have to have authority, he just needs to get the message right. The authority comes from the one who sent the message.

I do what I do because God called me to do it. He commissioned me to work in the ministry of reconciliation. When my brothers ignored my message from Mother and Daddy, I didn’t take it personally. My job was to deliver the message and get it right. They could do as they pleased. It would be skin off of their back, not mine. Woe unto me if I failed to deliver the message but once the message was delivered, I was free. Whether they obeyed or not, made no difference to me so long as I had done my job which was to get the message to them. I am not advocating that we be indifferent about the response to the message but it is not our responsibility to determine results, only to deliver the message. Many a preacher has becomes discouraged by the lack of response. 

If we are faithful to deliver HIS MESSAGE, their response is not personal. If they are in rebellion against God, they are going to rebel against you because you represent Him. Since they can’t get to HIM, they will take their anger out of you.

IV. PRACTICING ALWAYS, A SPIRIT OF GENTLE HUMILITY

To be honest with you; it is a mystery to me that God would entrust the ministry of reconciliation to us in the first place. It’s not like we are reliable. It is an awesome privilege to be a communicator of the gospel. This did not dawn on me until I was in the latter stages of my career. I wish I had understood this truth when I was a young man but I did not. At one time, I thought I was doing God a service by preaching and serving as a pastor but it was He doing me a service and I had so little sense that I didn’t realize the favor.

It is a blessed task but it is also an humble one. My constant failure and short comings remind me of my dependence upon Christ. I used to get up and hit the floor running but age has slowed me down and it was a good thing. Now I focus on being where God wants me when He wants me. I usually do some planning before I go to bed but then I pray again before leaving the house or office. There is a huge blessing in being at the right place at the right time. If God puts a person on my mind, I take that as a clue. He laid a woman on my heart a few days ago and so I changed my plans. I had been visiting her on Saturday and this was on a Tuesday but I didn’t question what I felt was the Holy Spirit guiding and I went that evening. Just a few minutes after we left, the sweet woman took her flight. I was absolutely amazed. If I had waited until Saturday, it would have been to late.

It is an humbling task to represent Jesus. How does a flawed crack pot like me represent the Son of God? Humbly, very humbly. Jesus was gentle, meek and mild. He never used force. He never manipulated anyone. I’m there to share HIS love and HIS message and I need to use HIS method. Anything I do out of character to who He is will be sin.

Jesus condescended to our low estate but He was not condescending. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [Matthew 9:36] My goal is to see others the way Jesus sees me.

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A New Creation

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:15-19

15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

INTRODUCTION

As I have already stated: 2 Corinthians 5 is a rich chapter in the word of God. Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church, I became familiar with this chapter through the Royal Ambassador program. We were required to memorize 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 5:20. Of course, it was much later in life before I began to see all the gems in this chapter and for the next three weeks, we will be looking at three of them.

Tonight: We focus on verse 17…This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [NLT] The New American Standard reads…Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The Greek word for creature is ‘ktē’-sēs’ and it means creation, or a thing created, thus is is translated both ‘creature’ and ‘creation’ because it can refer to a person or a thing [such as a building]. The word is used 19 times and is translated 11 times a creature but it is also translated creation 6 times [KJV].

Actually, the child of God is a “New Creation” living in old order. The Creature is new but the world around he/she is not and this creates a tension that Paul has elaborated on in previous verses. I am a new person in an old world. I no longer think the way the world thinks. I do not value what the world values. In a nutshell, I am no longer in sinc with the world. 

Tonight we are going to talk about what this NEW BIRTH means.

I. FIRST: IT CHANGES THE WAY WE LIVE

15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

The very essence of sin is selfishness. People are under the illusion that you have to steal, kill or destroy to be a sinner. There are wicked, evil people in our world who kill, steal and destroy but the essence of evil and sin is our selfishness. The children we counsel in our churches have not committed in great evil but they are selfish and they can see this with the help of scripture and the Holy Spirit. The verse I use in counseling with children is Isaiah 53:6, All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Our basic problem is that we want things our way. This selfish desire of wanting our way causes churches to split, marriages to end in divorce and nations to war against other nations.

We are obsessed with ourselves and we do not think about pleasing Christ or helping others. But Jesus changes all of this: He makes us a new creature. At one time, Paul was selfish. He was not concerned about pleasing Christ or helping others. He took part in the death of a good man, a very good man. Jesus Christ changed Paul and made him a new creature. Paul says in verse 9, “So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.” Paul had always lived for himself until he met Jesus. Christ made him a totally new creation by giving him a desire to live for God and to serve others.

If this were

II. SECONDLY: IT CHANGES THE WAY WE THINK

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

At one time Paul was motivated by anger and hate which caused him to be hard on others. He was a strict Pharisee and he judged others accordingly by the letter of the law. He evaluated people from the human point of view. Obviously he judged Jesus strictly from a fleshly point of view. Most folks don’t believe that Paul actually encountered Jesus. He may have witnessed his crucifixion but as far as meeting and conversing with Jesus, most scholars don’t think this happened.

Then Christ made Paul a new creature, it changed the way he evaluated others. My mother was fond of saying, “You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover.” This is the problem, we judge people by looking at what’s on the outside. In John 8:15, Jesus said to the JRL, “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.” The JEV would read, “You judge according to your own carnal standard, I do not judge anyone in this manner.” Jesus is more than qualified to Judge but He does not judge the way the world judges. The world looks on the outside, at the appearance while Jesus had the unique ability to look at the heart and the motive.

By worldly standards; Paul was a dismal failure. He was not wealthy. It was not tall, dark and handsome. Well, it may have been dark. He had a prison record. Matter of fact, he spent more time in jail than out the last few years of his life. How do I rate Paul? High, very high but I’m not judging him on a carnal standard.

The same is true with Jesus: He was a poor Jewish Carpenter, He never owed a home, never attended a college or university, never held a political office, never wrote a book and never traveled more than 200 miles from the place of His birth. By the world’s standards, He was a poor Galilean Philosopher and Teacher, a revolutionary at best but this is not how I judge Him.

If you are a new creature: Christ has changed the way you evaluate others.

III. THIRD: IT CHANGES OUR ATTITUDE

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.

Before conversion, Paul was a Pharisee and he definitely believed in works. The Pharisees were not as big of a hypocrite as the Sadduccees.  The Pharisees believed in the inspiration of the law and the prophets, they believed in angels, and the resurrection. The Sadduccees were more political than spiritual. They accepted only the Torah and basically believed in annihilation. The Pharisees were proud, very proud and they put great stock is tithing, alms, prayers, rituals, fasting and other works. They believed that love must be earned and they had no concept of grace.

When Paul meet Jesus, the Pharisee died and a new person was resurrected in his place. It was Paul who figured out the age old mystery that Salvation is by grace, it is a gift to be received, not a reward to be achieved. Paul realized as expressed in verse 18, “All of this is a gift from God.”

In our culture, most folks believe in God and heaven. Most folks express some desire to go to heaven but they have no desire to repent of their sins or to even acknowledge their sins. In the FAITH presentation of the gospel, the key question is: “In your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes to go to heaven.” After you ask the question, you are to listen for one of two answers: [1] A faith answer or [2] Works answer. Nine times out of ten, you will get a works answer. My question was: “How in the world can people grow up in the bible belt and not understand GRACE? The answer is simple: they have never been born again. Grace is like being a grandparent, you can’t understand it until you experience it. 

I will tell you something just as disturbing as the works view of salvation in the world and that is the great numbers of folks within the church who have no clue what grace is about. Too many people think that God’s love and forgiveness must be earned. Max Lucado help me to understand that Grace and Gratitude go together. We have far too many baptist who are not grateful and that tells me that they have not experienced grace.

Christ changed Paul’s attitude: He went from prideful bookkeeping to graceful thanksgiving.

IV. FOURTH: IT CHANGES OUR MOTIVATION

18…God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Where Paul had been motivated by his zeal to attain righteous by the law, he now is motivated by something greater and sweeter, the love of Christ. Paul was motivated by, controlled by the love of Christ.

If we are driven by vain ambition, we are apt to be unhappy and dissatisfied because things are never going to go the way we want. There will be a constant dissatisfaction with circumstances and an absence of peace. A man that I fear is disturbed came up to me just a few days ago and said, “I want to meet with you and bring you up today on a little history.” I may be wrong but I think he is talking about a divorce that happened 55 years ago. Long story short, I don’t want to talk about it. It is water over the damn and there is nothing we can do about it. I think what I heard in his voice and saw in his face was an absence of peace. He doesn’t have peace with his past. The truth is: He does not understand grace. Grace enables us to move on and move forward with the understanding that all our sin and shame has been absorbed by the love of Christ. His love for us should be motivating us, and nothing else.

[unfinished]

Motivation

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-19, NLT

11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work [try] hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.

12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.

13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

15 He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Introduction

As I read and reread tonight’s text, the word motive kept popping into my mind and then I picked up Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and there it was again, the word motive. We’ve talked about it for weeks now, Paul’s motives were being impugned; his sincerity was being questioned. Evidently, some of the traveling preacher’s whom Paul refers to as “Super-Apostles,” were critical of Paul’s methods, message and motives. Now Paul is afraid of being misunderstood and misjudged by the Corinthians whom he loved. I 2 Corinthians 5, he makes his motives clear.

I. FIRST: PAUL IS MOTIVATED BY A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

[V. 11]… Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work [try] hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.

Paul was motivated in part by a Godly fear, he knew he would eventually stand before the ‘bēma‘ [judgment seat of Christ]. The bēma was a raised platform, mounted by steps where the Tribunes stood to judge the games, to disqualify or reward the runners. In this sense, Paul is stating that he is motivated by his desire to please Christ. Going back to verse 9, this purpose is stated clearly….So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. Max Lucado says, “If you want to conduct the orchestra, you have to turn your back to the crowd.”

In order to please Christ, Paul followed a plan or practiced certain disciplines.

1. Paul maintained a narrow focus…[Philippians 3:13-14] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. I ran track in college, believe it or not, and looking at me now, it is hard to believe. In track, you never look back. Three things can happen if you look back and none of them or good. [1] You waste vital energy [2] You risk stumbling and [3] You take a chance on being distracted. You always look forward to the finish, to the goal.
2. You never yield to social pressure...The world will try to conform you and make you like others. Our goal is to be like Christ. We never yield to the man fearing spirit that makes us people pleasers. Paul’s critics worked to gain popularity but Paul stood his ground. He was driven by principles, not popularity. [v.12] Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. Would Paul have enjoyed some fame and popularity? Sure, he was human but it was not going to make that his motive.
3. You never get your affirmation from your critics. You are sitting yourself up for failure once you make it your motive to please people. They will pull you in a dozen different directions. Paul had critics, they said he was crazy. Crazy Paul! [v.13]…If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Paul was not the first man of God to be labeled crazy, nor the last. Critics of Dwight L. Moody [a layman] called him “Crazy Moody.” Have you ever heard folks refer to me as ‘Crazy Jack?’ If you follow Jesus, you will be misunderstood and you will not be popular.

Paul was motivated in part by his fear of God but not fear of man. But this is not the only thing that motivated Paul and it cannot be the only thing that motivates us.

II. PAUL WAS MOTIVATED BY THE LOVE OF CHRIST

[v.14]…. Christ’s love controls us.

• KJV ….’constraineth’
• NKJV, NIV….’compels’
• RSV, NASB, NLT…’controls’
• GNT, CEV….’rules’

The Greek verb synechō means to take hold or hold together. I like either. Christ love takes hold of us and it compels us, drives us, motivates us, energizes us. If you study the various translations, none are incorrect: Christ love constrains, compels, controls and rules. 

In the early days of my ministry, I was highly motivated by fear of the LORD and my desire to please HIM. I felt a strong sense of accountability. Over time, I saw my motivation shift to the love of Christ. There came a time in my life when honestly, I had no desire, other than guilt, to witness to the lost. Then one day in my study, it dawned on me, I am not to be motivated by my love for the lost, I am motivated by Christ love for the lost: it changed my life and ministry. It set me free. No longer did I enter a home feeling guilty about not loving these people the way Christ did: I understood clearly, that I was there as His ambassador to tell them HE LOVED THEM, not that I loved them. What good would it do for me to sheepishly tell them, “I love you,” when they knew the truth.

I grew up with a guy that got saved when he was about 20 years old. He was so on fire for the LORD that it caused marital problems. His wife was jealous of him spending so much time at church and she told him so. This initiated a series of problems that did not get resolved. By the time I graduated Seminary [7 years later], he was divorced and bitter. He dropped out of church completely. A few years later, he fell in love with a very gracious Christian lady and I performed the marriage ceremony but he never healed. He was not bitter toward his wife or children but he was bitter about the past and I don’t think he ever let it go. He got cancer in his late 50’s and he didn’t last long. In one of my conversations with him, he talked about a local church that tried to get him involved. On there first visit, they told him they loved him and that did not fly. They could have said a lot of things and gotten away with it but this man had experience things they knew nothing about and he called them on it. He said, “You don’t love me, you don’t even know me. There is the door, it is time for you to leave.” The church was right is trying to reach my friend but they were wrong in their approach. We cannot be hypocritical and it was true, they didn’t love him and proved it by leaving him alone. We don’t go because we love people, that will be questioned, we go because JESUS LOVES THEM and that is not questioned, not by most. If they had told him that Jesus loved him, he would have been fine. This is what it means to be constrain, compelled,  or motivated by the LOVE OF JESUS, it’s HIS love not ours that motivates us. Understanding this truth will keep you out of a lot of trouble.

III. PAUL WAS ALSO MOTIVATED BY HIS LOVE FOR CHRIST

[v.19]…For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.

Paul never got over the fact that Christ died for him. Paul’s response was one of pure adoration: Paul was motivated by his love for Jesus. Paul gives us a brief list of benefits bestowed by a loving Christ:

1. Christ died for all, everyone [v.14,15]
2. Christ gave us new life [v.15]
3. Christ made us a new creation [v.17]
4. God did all this by grace [v.18]
5. God gave Paul a message and ministry [v.19]

In light of the fact that Jesus had died for Paul [a vicious church hater], gave him a new life with sins forgiven, made something totally knew out of him and did it all by grace moved Paul to love and gratitude. In light of what Jesus had done for him, how could he not love Jesus.

This is the highest motive, doing things because we love Jesus. We will never pay Him the debt we owe but we are not trying to repay the debt, we are expressing our love in obedient devotion.

CONCLUSION

God’s grace has changed me over the years. I am not the person I use to be. I think it all goes back to verse 15,  He died for everyone [ including me] so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

I don’t remember being ruthless or totally callous but I do know that in the early days, I was more motivated by fear than anything else. Then I discovered that I was to be motivated by HIS LOVE not mine and it revolutionized my world. In these last days of my life, I am learning to do things because I love HIM. I have to tell you the truth: I don’t know that I will have many if any rewards when I get to heaven but there are rewards here and now. I guarantee you by my own experience that it pays to serve Jesus and there is no greater fulfillment than to do things simply because you love HIM.

At one time, my goal was for my son to play professional sports which is what I always wanted to do and then it became for all my children, a good job, a good living and healthy children but I don’t ask for things like that anymore. I have narrowed my prayer to something that will cover all of the above. I pray that my children and grandchild will love Jesus with all their heart. If they do that, they will be happy and so will I. It’s a process and it takes time but it doesn’t have to take them as long as it took me.

What Do I Know?

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

1…For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

2…We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.

3…For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.

4…While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

5…God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

6…So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.

7…For we live by believing and not by seeing.

8…Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

9…So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.

10…For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

INTRODUCTION

Paul begins by saying, “We know”. The Greek word for ‘know’ is oida and it means; to know, to get knowledge of, understand, perceive. What exactly is it that Paul understands? What are his perspectives? Notice all the words of assurance in the text: “We know” [v.1,6], “Guarantee” [v.5], “Confident” [v.6,8]. The word confident means to be of good courage, bold, very confident.

TRANSITION

So what is it that Paul knows? What is he fully and always confident of?

I. FIRST: HE KNOWS THAT THESE EARTHLY BODIES ARE TEMPORARY

• Paul using two metaphors in reference to the body, one for the present and one for the future. Presently, we live in a tent. Tents are temporary dwelling places. They are inexpensive and unattractive. They always have the tendency to wear out. The building Paul mentions awaits us: already there, “We have a house.” Prepared by God Himself and eternal in nature.
• These earthly bodies can be the source of pain and grief. Paul said, “We groan and sigh.” Someone said, “Aging is not for sissies,” and there is some merit to the statement. Growing old brings about loss and loss produces grief. Our human bodies are frail and they will grow feeble in time. We lose our sight, our hearing, our taste, and sometimes our minds. We get to a point where normal activities are stressful. Simple things like getting in and out of the shower.
• BUT in all honestly, aging has some advantages. As we lose confidence in these earthly bodies, we gain confidence in the LORD. The passage of time had changed Paul’s perspective. When he wrote 1 Corinthians, he was confident that he would be here for the parousia but now and especially in 2 Timothy, he is confident that he will die for Christ sake.
• For the Great Apostle, in was a win/win. Either way, he would be free of the shackles of this human tabernacle which has more and more problems with the passing of time.
• Let me say, THE PASSAGE OF TIME is a great teacher. I know things, I understand things that my children don’t understand. Why don’t I enlighten them? You can’t, these things we have to learn by experience and respecting our elders is one of them.

II. SECOND: HE KNOWS THAT ETERNAL BODIES AWAIT US

• Everyone wants to know, “What kind of bodies will we have?” I am not going to lie, God has created a lot of beautiful female bodies. I am not attracted to men and thankful for it but God has made some beautiful women. So are we going to have male and female bodies. Jesus said, “We will be like angels”and it is my conviction that God is going to replace sex with something much better. This is one of those things that the PASSAGE OF TIME will help.
• Will we be recognizable? Yes, definitely yes. Peter, James and John recognized Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration.
• Will you be you? Yes, the real you, your personality will not be destroyed. You and I will relate to Jesus but we will not be clones. Jack will be Jack for eternity but without the sin and all the things that accompany sin.
• Our heavenly bodies will not be subject to pain, age, or death.
• We know we are not going to be a disembodied spirit, we will not be naked souls. God has a body waiting for us. The term Paul uses in verse 4…”Rather, we want to put on {ependyomaito, to put on over}  our new bodies.”  F.F. Bruce believes the new bodies will go on like and overcoat, meaning there will not be a time when the soul is naked.

III. THIRD: HE KNOWS THAT GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT HIS PROMISES

God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee [arrabōn] he has given us his Holy Spirit.

[v.5] Ar-hrab-ohn’; of Hebrew origin; a pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest:—earnest. The NLT translates it guarantee. So does the NKJV, ESV and NIV. Holman translates it ‘down payment.‘ NASB renders it ‘pledge’. Some believe the word was used in relation to an engagement ring but I could not find evidence to support this but it is a great illustration of the truth.

When a guy gives a girl a $2,000 ring; he is serious, earnest, means business. Paul point is that the indwelling Holy Spirit is the origin of the sighing, longing for the new body. As F.F. Bruce points out, “The resurrection principle is already at work in us. The indwelling Spirit is the seed of the resurrection. Christ is being formed in us at present. This presence should be very obvious.” Herein lies our assurance that we are children of God and that everything He has promised awaits us. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee, pledge, down payment.

IV. FOURTH: HE KNOWS THAT TO BE ABSENT FROM THE EARTHLY BODY IS TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD

6…So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.

7…For we live by believing and not by seeing.

8…Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

• Since God is omnipresent, He is everywhere. Whatever point of departure you choose, He can bid you farewell. When you arrive at your destination, He can welcome you.
• Paul said to the Philippians…1:22-23…For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. The NASB says “I desire to depart.” The word depart means to loosen like the ropes of a tent, or a ship. It is a kin to the word Paul uses in 2 Timothy 4:6 ‘analysis.’ A word we all recognize. It means to unloosen, dissolve into separate parts [body and soul], to depart. It could refer to ships leaving port, Armies breaking camp or the process of the earthly body separating from the spirit.
• We know the presence of Christ now in the person of the Holy Spirit but it is not a visible or manifest presence. We will be more greatly comforted by the visible presence of Jesus which Paul was looking forward to and so am I.
• In the presence of Jehovah
  God Almighty, Prince of Peace
  Trouble vanish, hearts are mended
  In the presence of the King.

  V. FIFTH: HE KNOWS THAT HIS AIM IS TO PLEASE CHRIST WHETHER IN THIS BODY OR THE NEXT

  9…So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.
  10…For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
• I have altered my life purpose statement slightly. I have decided to use 2 Corinthians 5:9…. Whether in this life or the life to come, my aim and ambition is to please Christ.
• Paul had learned to simplify life, to narrow your focus, you goals. I have been reading and reviewing material on addiction recovery. There was one thing I figured out before we got started in the process…to recover, you have to narrow your focus to one thing, recovery. Very few people are in recovery by choice: many of them are under court order but the principle is the same…they have no outside responsibilities, everything they do has to do with their recovery.
• One of the things that made Paul a powerful and dynamic figure in history is his ability to narrow the focus. He didn’t mess with anything that was related to the gospel.
• I cannot speak for Paul but as for myself, verse 10 was a compelling motivation for years…For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Folks, I believe in accountability and I have great respect for the JUDGE [Jesus]. I spent last Monday evening in the Court House. I saw two judges and I treated both with much respect. First of all, I needed their help and secondly I respect their power and they do have power. I may have a little influence but I have no power other than what little has been delegated to me. The Judges have real power but nothing in comparison to Jesus.

CONCLUSION

Can you imagine standing before a Judge who can see right through you. He knows every little dirty secret in your life and He even knows every dirty thought you’ve ever processed in your mind. There will be no argument in His presence. You are guilty as charged. We don’t have a leg to stand on. I am afraid that too many people have misunderstood grace, it is not a license to sin. Some would protest… He has no way to judge us since we are under grace…are you sure. What if He does not say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It may not mean hell but I fear it will be a judgment in and of itself. I so want to please Him. To displease HIM will be a harsh judgment for me.

No Neutrality With Christ

Scripture: Luke 11:14-23, NLT

¹⁴ One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed, ¹⁵ but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” ¹⁶ Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

¹⁷ He knew their thoughts, so he said,“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. ¹⁸ You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive? ¹⁹ And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.²⁰ But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. ²¹ For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— ²² until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

²³ “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

INTRODUCTION

Jesus performs a miracle. He had made a man to speak who could speak and crowds immediately recognized this as a miracle. They were amazed and I imagine they began praise Jesus or God because the religious establishment got highly irritated. What ever they did in terms of celebration of the miraculous event, the Jewish leaders went on the attack. They began slandering Jesus….“No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” What a hateful and ugly thing to say and of course, it was a lie.

Jesus knew there thoughts! [v.17] He precedes to logically  disarm this malicious lie He presents a series of questions.

I. IS SATAN DIVIDED AGAINST SATAN? 

“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. ¹⁸ You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?

Unfortunately for us, Satan is not divided. Satan divides, he is the author of division but he is not divided within his ranks. Everyone in his ranks hates Jesus and is out to destroy Him and His church. You and I know that Satan has failed but he has not conceded. Jesus defeated, Satan, sin and death at the cross and the resurrection. But he is not divided. He still schemes, he still attacks. His mission of killing, stealing and destroying is still in tack.

Logically, the thinking of the Jews is flawed.

II. WHAT ABOUT YOUR OWN EXORCIST? BY WHOSE POWER DO THEY CAST OUT DEMONS?

And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists?  They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. [v.19]

Jewish exorcism went back to Solomon who concocted a blend or herbs and incantations. Where the Jewish religious leaders prepared to say the same thing about their own exorcist. Where they saying that all exorcism is of the devil or just those performed by Jesus.

III. WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG?

But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. [v.20]

Wow! What audacity the Jewish Religious leaders had; in their pride, they would not even consider the possibility of being wrong about Jesus. Do we have this same pride?

The Kingdom of God was so near these people and yet they missed it, not barely but by a country mile. I know that Jesus made some outrageous claims such as “God is my Father…I am God,” and know if would be hard on us in a man came on the scenes making those claims. But Jesus didn’t make the claims until He had proven in word and deed that He was the Messiah. The problem is that the Jews were not open to the truth. They would not sit down and listen to Jesus teach. They rejected everything he said or twisted it. They were blinded by their pride.

If you never take in to consideration that you could be wrong: too much pride.

IV. HOW COULD I OVERTAKE SATAN IF I WERE NOT STRONGER?

For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— ²² until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

Conclusion

²³ “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” 

I am a Jack Ryan fan. In the Jack Ryan movie, Clear and Present Danger, Ryan refuses to lie before congress although pressured by the President and two higher ups. One of them is screaming at Jack as he leaves the White House, “The world is gray Jack, the world is gray.” Believe it or not, Hollywood got this one right: the world is not gray, it is black and white. It is not 50 shades of gray either. Jack Ryan saw right and wrong and no in between–that is because there is no in between.

Switzerland prides itself in being neutral especially in WWII but were they? How is it that Hitler did not invade Switzerland? Was he afraid of the mighty Swiss army? How much have you heard about the Swiss Army? The Swiss are not known for fighting or courage: it is their policy to play both sides. Hitler used their railroads. Actually, they complied with all his request: why would he invade. Hitler’s plan was to confiscate the Jewish gold being funneled into Swiss banks but of course, his plan failed. The rich Jews who were behind the scenes, standing in the shadows, eventually profited from the gold transferred into Swiss banks by middle class Jews in Europe. Long story short: Switzerland was not really neutral, they were working with Hitler who allowed them to appear neutral.

You are either for Christ or against HIM but there is no neutral ground.

Persistent Prayer

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13, NLT

⁵ Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ⁶ ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ ⁷ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ ⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹ “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? ¹² Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! ¹³ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Introduction

The story Jesus uses is hypothetical, “suppose” you went [v.5]. Hospitality was practically demanded in ancient Eastern society and travel into late evening was very common due to the heat. Jesus hearers had seen this very story enacted before; it was not a rare occurrence in the Middle East. Bread was baked daily; they had no additives or preservatives. So the picture Jesus paints is very common. Most of the peasant population lived in one room houses where the door stayed open during the day [light]. These houses had only one window. The family slept in the same room on mats. The houses were made of stone and mortar and the doors were made of wood. Getting the family bed down for the night was a chore and when someone starts beating on your shut door, it creates a problem. The man has to get up, crawl over bodies to answer the door, then to get bread, he has to have a light and before you know it, the whole house hold is awake. For a neighbor to bang on your door after bed time was a huge inconvenience.  Yet, this surly neighbor got up and got the bread because the petitioner would not stop beating on the door.

God is not like the neighbor.  The message is in the contrast, not the likeness.

#1

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS NEVER INCONVENIENCED BY OUR PETITIONS

The unhappy neighbor was in the bed. In the ancient east, peasants lived in one room houses. The middle class had two at best; only the rich lived in houses with multiple rooms. These little one room house had one door and one window. The door was open during the day for added light and closed and bolted at night. The house were made of mud and stone and the doors were made of wood.

The family slept in the same room on mats. Getting the family bed down for the night was a chore and when someone starts beating on your shut door, it creates a problem. The man has to get up, crawl over bodies to answer the door, then to get bread, he has to have a light and before you know it, the whole house hold is awake. For a neighbor to bang on your door after bed time was a huge inconvenience.  Yet, this surly neighbor got up and got the bread because the petitioner would not stop beating on the door.

A shut door meant bed time: do not disturb. The neighbor had labored to get all his children down for the night. He did not want them awakened. It was not a good time for someone to beat on your door asking for bread. The bread was not the problem, it was the inconvenience of the moment.

God is never at an inconvenience, never. He never slumbers or sleeps. He doesn’t even take naps. He doesn’t need rest like you and I need rest. One of our major problems in in our thinking. How many petitions have you made to God this week. Take out a piece of paper and write down five distinct things you have asked God for this week. Then lift your hand when you get to five. Wow! There are more than 200 adults and young people in this room and we asked God for nothing this past week. You talk about a group that has it all together, that would be us. God has nothing we need.

Well, that is an hyperbole, we actually have great need but we don’t ask. The reason we don’t have is we don’t ask. One of the reasons we don’t ask is that our mind is all fouled up, we are not thinking properly. Look at me, now look at verse 9…“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Jesus said imperatively, “Ask and keep on asking.” For you and I not to ask is an act of disobedience. We are not putting our heavenly Father out by asking. It is no inconvenience for us to knock on His door anytime day our night.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to asks: He commands us to ask.

#2

THE NEIGHBOR GAVE BUT RELUCTANTLY: OUR FATHER IS NEVER RELUCTANT TO GIVE

I am an earthy father and I love to give to my children. Even though I am depraved and battle sin every day of my life, I will not give my children something that will hurt them. In Jesus day, people ate eels which are considered fish but they look like a snake. You could trick a child who was asking for a fish dinner, by giving them a snake. The scorpions of the Middle East could roll up in to a ball and look like an egg but what kind of father would give a deadly scorpion to a child who was asking for an egg. If we earthly fathers love to give, think how much more the Heavenly Father loves to give.

This story is not about you and I overcoming God’s reluctance. It is this kind of thinking that has us where we are today. God loves to give. The problem is not God’s reluctance to give, it’s our reluctance to ask. A lot of people came to Jesus begging and you look at the response. Jesus responded to those who desperately begged. Whether you beg or simply ask, the main thing is that you ask. You are not trying to overcome God’s reluctance; you are asking for what you need and He wants to respond and He will, just like Jesus.

#3

OUR FATHER IS NOT LIMITED IN RESOURCES

The neighbor got up and gave him bread because the man was shamelessly persistent. The man had bread to give but he could not give forgiveness, peace, joy or eternal like. We humans can give a lot including our life but we are limited in our resources, we cannot give men all they need or what they need most.

I was in two homes yesterday were families were in deep sorrow and in both cases, it was the matriarch who was on her death bed. It is tough to lose your mother. We rarely are ready to give them up although prolonged suffering does tend to make it a little easier. I prayed before I left home and I prayed as I turned into each drive. These families are hurting and what can I do? It’s not like I am Jesus or some miracle worker. I am as helpless and impotent as the next man. So why do I go? I go as an ambassador for Christ, a human representative. I am there  simply to remind them that God is present in their crisis. I am to give them a sense of God’s presence but I am not the real thing, only an envoy or a reminder. If God sent me, they will know and understand that He cares.

Ministry forces all of us to face our limitation. We are not what people need and we can’t fix their problems. We can only point them to Jesus

#4

THE FATHER NEVER GIVES WITH THE WRONG MOTIVE

The man in Jesus illustration got up and gave but he didn’t want to, his heart was not in it. He gave begrudgingly. He wanted the man to go away and leave him a lone. His logic was simple: If I don’t get up and give him the bread, he will wake up the entire house. He gave to get rid of him.

I have to admit, a lot of my giving is for the wrong reason. I have given before when my heart was not in it. I have given under compulsion, begrudgingly and to get rid of people. God is not like this neighbor and He is not like me. You cannot hoodwink God. He knows exactly what your intentions are. You can’t pressure Him to give. God gives when he chooses to, when it is wise to and always because He wants to…God loves to give.

There are things right now, as I speak, that God wills to give you if you would only ask. What things you ask? Look at verse 13… “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

CONCLUSION

1. Have you ask the Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit today? [be honest]
2. What’s the problem? God’s reluctance or yours?
3. Do you think that a person who refuses to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit should be a leader in the body of Christ? What is the opposite of being filled with the Spirit? To be filled with self.

Today, I am going to challenge you, especially leaders to come to the altar and

1. Repent for your inconsistency in prayer. Make an apology to God for not taking Him as His word. He commands us to ask. Tell Him you are sorry for not trusting Him, taking Him at His word.
2. Ask Him [not me] to fill you with His Spirit. His Spirit will give us the wisdom we need to follow His will.