Ambassadors and Embassies
Ecclesiastes 5:1-3: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
Sometimes, you say it best when you say nothing at all. God has called us not only to deliver the message, but also to be the message: According to 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
God has called us to be Ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador is the highest ranking government official sent from his homeland to a foreign nation to represent his homeland. As ambassadors, our homes should be embassies: outposts for God’s kingdom of heaven in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom we shine as lights in the world. Our credentials as ambassadors begin with 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Because of the credentials given us by our sovereign Lord, 2 Corinthians 5, says that we are ambassadors for Christ. He has given us the Word of reconciliation and has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. To reconcile is to put back together that which has been separated. We are not called to convince unbelievers about the Truth of the word of God with the right answers. As ambassadors, how do we communicate the message of Jesus Christ on his behalf? 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “we pray you in Christ’s stead be ye reconciled to God.” Our message is to declare against the adversary and the powers of darkness what God has declared us to be: For he who who knew no sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God inn him.
The message of the gospel goes far beyond the self-fulfillment of the “prosperity gospel”. A prideful heart cannot approach God. To come before the throne of grace requires that we approach him with a heart of humility and meekness.
As Christ’s ambassadors we are ministers not of the letter but of the spirit which gives life. We shall tear down every argument that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We shall walk by faith and not by sight. We shall love our neighbors as ourselves and we shall love others not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
As his ambassadors we must give up all rights to self sufficiency and independence. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says Not that we are sufficient in anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Not of the letter for the letter kills but the spirit gives life through Christ. According to Jeremiah 17: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and maketh flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. Therefore, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.
Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear any fruit. God through Jesus Christ has called us to die to self in order to live for him. Until you surrender your life to him, you cannot be his disciple. Those who approach God for forgiveness must leave their egos at the foot of the cross. If you value the things of the earth, you will not be blessed when you read the book of Ecclesiastes. The theme of Ecclesiastes is that the things of earth are vanity of vanities… Everything that is done in the flesh is worthless, it will come to naught. At the end of Eccleastes the conclusion of the book is that the whole duty of man is to fear, love, honor and respect God and to serve him and keep his commandments.
The gospel of prosperity in the flesh is contrary to approaching the throne of grace with a humble, broken and contrite heart. Salvation is about making me a captive Lord and then I shall be free. Salvation is to change lordships: I am no longer master of my own life, He is. According to Isaiah, in repentance is rest and my salvation. Repentance in the Greek means to turn around, it literally means to “change your mind” from the things of the world to the things of the Lord. Rest and peace with God is waiting for your repentance. Who’s doing the waiting? You’re not waiting on the Lord, He’s waiting on you. God is longing to be gracious to you…his nature is loving kindness and tender mercy. When we turn from ourselves and unto him, when we get out of the way of our selfish selves, God will grant reconciliation. Reconciliation means to put back together that which has been separated. Our selfish self sufficiency will separate us from the grace of God. Until we proclaim our “Declaration of Dependence” God cannot reconcile us back to himself. The greatest victory is the greatest surrender. I surrender all…God works best with nothing.
Like Gideon’s men who broke their pitchers so that the light of God could shine forth, Lord break our earthen vessels so that the excellency of the power may be of you and not of us. May we die to self in order to live for you… Thank you lord for your words in Romans 12: I beseech ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and wholly acceptable unto God, our reasonable act of worship.
May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael