Summary:
We are ambassadors for Christ. Many people only know the message that God can heal sicknesses, but they don’t know of the more wonderful message that God is their Heavenly Father! Our role is not to help people to solve their problems, but to help them mend their relationship with the Heavenly Father. How can we preach the gospel well?

1. Prepare ourselves
2. Seize the opportunity
3. Pray that a door for the word will be opened

Although the church is doing the work of evangelism, not everyone is doing it? The speaker looks forward to the day when each and everyone of us can be an ambassador of Christ, to bring the gospel to others. Who first used this phrase?

Who are ambassadors for Christ?

2 Cor 5:20
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Paul says we are ambassadors for Christ. What is an ambassador? A bearer of a message or one who renders help. Ambassadors help to propagate news from their country to others. Today, we are ambassadors of the heavenly kingdom, to bring the message from the heavenly kingdom to the earthly kingdom.

“as though God were pleading through us”
We are like God’s mouthpiece! What do we plead for? For others to be reconciled to God. Not many people have heard this news. Many people may have heard about Jesus, but they only know the message that He’s a miracle healer, able to cast demons out, and that He answers requests. But what is the central message concerning Jesus? Originally, we had a good relationship with God, but it has been broken. It is through Jesus that this relationship can be mended to once more become His children. The wonderful message of having a God who is our Heavenly Father far surpasses the message that He’s just a God who can heal sicknesses. We are ambassadors of this message. We do not help people to solve their problems. What we are trying to do is to help them mend their relationship with the Heavenly Father. Like how an orphan would find it very meaningful to be reconciled to his father.

The apostles in the Bible carried out Jesus’ commission of preaching the gospel (Matt 28:18-18) and were persecuted for doing so. But they did it because it was entrusted to them. We may think this commission is only committed to leaders of the church, and has nothing to do with us normal believers. But what did Paul say?

2 Cor 5:18-19
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Paul wasn’t around when Jesus spoke the commission in Matthew 28:18-19. Yet, he said the ministry of reconciliation was entrusted to him, the Corinthian believers and us today as well! Since we are included in this ministry, we should properly carry out the work of being an ambassador for Christ.

Why be an ambassador for Christ?

2 Cor 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Why was Paul willing to be an ambassador for Christ? In many epistles, he said he was the chief of sinners; that he wanted to repay Christ; that since Christ died for him, he wanted to live for Christ. Paul was willing to be an ambassador for Christ and committed to this ministry because he personally experienced the beauty of gospel and the benefits of being reconciled with God. Jesus has died for us too; because of Him, we are made alive. We, too, should be ambassadors for Christ to repay Him for His grace.

We usually conduct Holy Communion every month to remember the Lord’s sacrifice for us. When we think about how Jesus died for us, our hearts are moved. But the issue is that our hearts are only moved for a moment, and then we forget. We need something to happen to us before we are once again reminded of His love for us. This is because we don’t frequently think about what He has sacrificed for us, and so we don’t constantly think about how we can share this message and be ambassadors for Christ.

We have to think that others have the same needs as we do. They, too, need to return to the Lord Jesus so their lives can be changed. Most of us lead simple lives and meet with simple problems. For example, falling sick with a minor illness. If we were to talk to friends outside, we’d realise quite a number of them lead complicated lives. Some are loan sharks; some deal with drugs. Their marriages are complicated too. On a radio programme where people can write their problems in, a man shared that he had been married 8 years to his wife and they just had a child. The two families were actually not supportive of their marriage but because of the child, they opposed less. During the 8 years of marriage, the wife was unfaithful but because she was remorseful, he forgave her. Suddenly, she dropped a bomb on him. She had done a DNA test and determined the child wasn’t his. The child’s real father wanted to enter their lives and take care of the child. Truly, their lives are complicated. What do these people need? An improvement of values and principles in their lives. Who can bring the best values and principles into their lives? The only way is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is our work. Our work is to improve the lives of the people around us.

For those who came to believe in Jesus on their own, think back to the times before knowing Jesus. The speaker came to believe when he was a teenager. He recalls his family and extended family were quite complicated. If he did not come to believe, he believes his life would be as complicated as theirs. Today, we experience the lack of complications in our lives. Let this motivate us to preach the gospel to others so they can experience it too. The speaker thanks God that there was an ambassador for Christ who brought the gospel to him. He didn’t feel any urgency to seek God. When he visited another church, they told him to believe and he just accepted. But the reason why he came to the True Jesus Church was through an ambassador for Christ. His cousin had just finished her SPN exams (similar to O levels) and stayed at his home while waiting to find a job. She had the experience of being pressed by an evil force. She asked a friend to help relieve her of her discomfort. They had intended to find a Buddhist monk for help, but who happened to come to his house was Bro Kai Ming, an ambassador for Christ, and he brought the gospel to them. As long as we are willing, God will send us to His lost sheep. Let us esteem this work and do it well.

How can we preach the gospel well?

1. Prepare ourselves
1 Pet 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear

We need to have a ready defence/answer in our hearts to anyone who asks us for the reason for our hope; about why we believe in Jesus. To be an ambassador for Christ, the very first thing we have to know are the teachings of Christ. We do not need to coerce others, but we have the duty to speak the gospel; we have the responsibility to know Christ’s teachings well so we can tell others. It shouldn’t be the case where we can’t answer a majority of questions people ask us.

Why are we willing to buy things from a salesman even when the product is more expensive? Because the salesman knows his product well and introduces it clearly to you. We would be less likely to buy from a salesman who can only tell us generally that his product is good, even if he sells a cheaper product.

The same applies when we are having a conversation about the gospel. We need to be able to properly introduce our teachings with others. We need to be ready at all times to share this message. This requires effort. Are we willing to put in this effort to this work, and to do it well?

“give a defence…with meekness and fear”
Not only should we be well versed with the teachings, our conduct needs to be in accordance to our teachings. We need to practise what we preach. To be good ambassadors, we need to spiritually nurture ourselves. Otherwise we may seem impatient and quarrelsome when having conversations about the gospel. We would not be able to achieve our desired outcomes. We need to suppress our frustrations and anger.

2. Seize the opportunity
2 Tim 4:2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Seize the opportunity - in season or out of season. ‘In season’ means that it’s very conducive for preaching; where we plan it out. It is important to plan our preaching out. Perhaps we have a circle of friends we have known for decades but haven’t preached the gospel to them yet. Or perhaps we may say we have already preached to these friends. Then let us consider the reality that we meet new people every year. It could be other people in the same office space. Create the opportunity to talk to them! Plan while it is ‘in season’. ’Out of season’ means when the opportunity comes upon us. The speaker met an old man when he was staying in a ward due to an operation. Thank God he was led to preach the gospel to him and he came to church for services. When it is ‘out of season’, we need to seize the opportunities.

Pr Titus from Myanmar is very afraid of flying. Before the plane took off, he was fearful in his seat. Suddenly, the lady beside him struck up a conversation and said she was afraid of flying! Even though he himself was afraid, he seized the opportunity to share that Christians need not fear. He used this opportunity to preach the gospel to her! It was really out of season, but he grabbed hold of the opportunity. We will meet with opportunities that’s hard to imagine. Let us seize every one of these opportunities to preach! When the speaker was in Myanmar, Kale, he preached almost everyday. He had so many and created opportunities to preach the gospel.

If you have friends you want to preach to and need help, you can find the preachers. They will do what they can to help. They can initiate the work, but we have to be involved in the follow-up too. They invite us to ask them for help.

3. Pray that a door for the word will be opened
Col 4:3
meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains

Often, our prayers are for our problems, for others’ problems, or for problems in church. Seldom do we pray for evangelism. We may not be able to go to church now, but Paul was able to preach even when he was in prison! Although we have to stay home due to the COVID-19 situation, if we have the heart to do it, God will guide this work.

May God guide us to have the heart to do the work as an ambassador for Christ. Let us set our minds on how we can be ambassadors for Christ.