Thursday, July 26, 2018 - Ephesians 6:20

Your Royal Ambassadorship, Pt. 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFPRitSGcY

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org 

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

Summary, The Profile of the Ambassador.

1. Ambassadors do not appoint themselves. We are appointed by God Himself at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ. God also gives us the power and ability to handle the job.

2. The Ambassador does not support himself. The Church Age believer, as an ambassador for Christ, is provided for by God’s logistical grace blessings.

3. The Ambassador’s instructions are always in written form, so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the policies, Problem Solving Devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the Scripture.

4. The Ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent. Our citizenship and home is in heaven, Phil 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Cf. Eph 2:19; Phil 1:27; Heb 12:22. We are also citizens of a client nation to God – the USA.

5. The Ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest. We live here on earth solely to serve in the interest of our Lord. Therefore, we subordinate all personal interest to the function of our ambassadorship, which includes the development and function of the spiritual skills, including the Filling of the Spirit, understanding of Bible doctrine, and the execution of the Plan of God. Our position as Ambassadors for Christ is in place as of the moment of salvation, but it is not effective until we develop spiritual skills by growing to spiritual maturity.

6. The Ambassador does not treat any insult to himself as personal, Prov 12:16b. This is the Royal Ambassador’s function in both Spiritual Self-Esteem and Impersonal Love for All Mankind. We tolerate others and hold no grudges. When we are insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, we have tremendous Problem Solving Devices (PSD) to handle the situation. You recognize that it is God who they are insulting and not us, we apply the PSD’s, and we turn the matter over to the Supreme Court of Heaven in Faith-Rest.

7. When an Ambassador is recalled, it means either that his job is done, or it means a declaration of war. This is analogous to our death when our Lord will bring us home as a good servant, Mat 25:21, 23, or the Rapture of the Church, 1 Thes 4:13-18. The Tribulation is analogous to the period of war.

8. Everything the believer does in life becomes a part of his way of life as a Royal Ambassador. Every believer, therefore, makes a pulpit out of his circumstances in every area of life. Every believer is in full‑time service; this is a decision God made, not one that we make. The Lord uses ambassadors in business, professions, homes, academic life, and in local churches. Your circumstances are your full-time Christian service whether you work in the military, in labor, or in management.

      a. Believers as ambassadors are the personal representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer is in the Plan of God and lives his life under the principle of full-time Christian service. The profession of every believer is representing Christ as a Royal Ambassador. The avocation of every believer is making a living as per Philemon. Paul was as much an ambassador in prison as when he was a traveling missionary. You always represent Christ.

9. Your ambassadorship is basically made up of two factors: how you live, and what you say as a result of what you think. Generally, in private, you function under your priesthood; in public, you function under your ambassadorship. This was Font/Pitch 2,12 - Off.Note:  The change to pitch (12) and font (1) must be converted manually.This is the function of every believer who witnesses and is the special function of the believer with the gift of evangelism. We are to witness through verbal communication of the gospel of the Word of God. We are not to witness only through our lifestyle.

10. The Church Age believer is not only an Ambassador to human creatures but to angels as well. You are a Royal Ambassador being watched right now. Angels observed our Lord, 1 Tim 3:16. They observe and rejoice over the conversion of one person, Luke 15:7-10. Fallen angels are organized to resist and oppose your ambassadorship and your growth in grace, Job 1:6, 2:1‑3; Eph 6:12. The fact that angels are watching you as an Ambassador is found in 1 Cor 4:9; Eph 3:10; 1 Tim 5:21; 1 Peter 1:12.

1 Cor 4:9, “For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death (last ones into the coliseum); because we have become a spectacle (amphitheater) to the world, both to angels and to men.”

Eph 3:10, “So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places (angels).”

1 Tim 5:21, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen (elect) angels, to maintain these principles (doctrines) without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.”

1 Peter 1:12, “It was revealed to them (OT Prophets) that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those (Church Age Ambassadors) who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”

11. Christians are God’s ambassadors in that they have been “approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,” 1 Thes 2:4. As we go through this world, we represent another Kingdom, John 18:36, and it is our responsibility to reflect the “official position” of heaven. We are in this world, but not of it, John 17:16.

12. God’s ambassadors are to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves,” Mat 10:16. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must take the message of our King to the “ends of the earth,” Acts 1:8, imploring men and women everywhere to be reconciled to God.

Conclusion:

Being an ambassador for Christ is the fulfillment of the incredibly important kingdom perspective. To follow Christ means to give up the kingdom of self and the kingdom of the world, and pledge allegiance to the Kingdom of God. It means our home is heaven, not earth. Our responsibility is to tell others about that good news, so they can join the Kingdom of God as well.