1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:06,160 Thank you, Jerry, for the very warm introduction. 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,040 It's great to see so many familiar faces, some new faces. 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,880 My name is Dan Waitman. I'm the executive director of 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,160 the Caribbean Youth Network, which is a small mission agency 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:21,160 based out of Pittsburgh, PA. We're local, but we've gone far. 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,520 And I just want to share before we get into the sermon, just a 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,120 just a little bit about the context of where I serve and 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,600 Kelly serves and Barrett and Kerry Hendrickson, whom you 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,880 know, many of you know also from this church who serve in the 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,520 Bahamas. So we're a we're A5O1C3 11 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:43,400 nonprofit Christian mission agency with a passion for 12 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,520 sharing Jesus with young people in the Caribbean and making 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,920 disciples for him through the work of the Holy Spirit and the 14 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,200 lives of others. And this is a map of the 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:55,640 Bahamas. If you're not familiar, it's 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:00,640 many islands stretches from the coast of Haiti and Cuba all the 17 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,880 way up to South Florida. And the little arrows you see 18 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,400 represent islands that over the last 2526 years now Kelly and I 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:10,960 have been serving in the Bahamas. 20 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,400 And if you add that the time that Jerry mentioned with the 21 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,520 camps, well over 30 years that we, and I say we, not Kelly and 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,840 I, but we as a church have been serving this nation for Christ's 23 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:23,920 sake. These little arrows represent 24 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,800 islands that we've impacted in the Deep South. 25 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,040 You'll see Long Island, which was where we got our start in a 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,480 foothold in ministry there and spent many years serving that 27 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,880 rural community. In the far north. 28 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,440 You'll see Grand Bahama and Abaco. 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,200 Abaco is where the Hendricksons live. 30 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,160 And then you'll see a Luthra, which is has a camp that we've 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,120 been able to help serve over the years and do ministry there. 32 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,280 And then the Little Arrow by the Big Island of Andros. 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,000 You can hardly see our island. It's the most populated Nassau, 34 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,120 Bahamas, which I know probably many of you have been to on 35 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,600 cruises or many of you on mission trips even, which is 36 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,440 exciting. That's where we live. 37 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,520 We we serve there. The next slide shares a little 38 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,960 bit about what we do and how we make ministry happen. 39 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,440 And this is this is the way it works. 40 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,440 This is the fruit of that. Yes, that Jerry spoke of all 41 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,640 these programs and the many students over there could be up 42 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:30,040 to 1000 kids who are impacted by the ministry annually, which is 43 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,840 just astounding what God has done, but we do high school 44 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,560 outreach ministry. We do what we call G2 high 45 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,760 school ministry. You can flip it back one more 46 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:42,840 I'll read through this. We do lunch clubs in high 47 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,040 schools, local high schools. We do student leadership, which 48 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,720 is a big thrust of our ministry is leadership development. 49 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,360 We do Bible studies through campus ministry at the 50 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,080 University of the Bahamas every week at the University of the 51 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,680 Bahamas, there's upwards of 60 students meeting on campus 52 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,560 having Bible study in various groups, being led by in many 53 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,440 cases, other college students who have been trained and 54 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,560 equipped to do campus ministry and lead Bible study. 55 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,760 We do young adult ministry as well. 56 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:18,480 We've spread our net a little deeper as as students adult a 57 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,440 little, little longer these days for whatever reason, but we're 58 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,600 we've gotten into young adult as well for students that are just 59 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,040 out of college or maybe went right into the workforce. 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,240 Camping has always been a big thrust of what we do. 61 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,240 If you know me, soccer is my game. 62 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,320 And so we do a soccer camp every summer and other retreats and 63 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,800 summer camps are always offered and then leadership training for 64 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:43,880 local leaders. One of the things we've learned, 65 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,960 and I've said this many times is the legacy of what we're doing 66 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:52,240 in the Bahamas is, is not going to be the, the really cool 67 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,280 program we did or the the snazzy camp or the clever way to 68 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,920 present Christ to kids. But it's, it's really going to 69 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,960 be the leaders that we train. It's the leaders that will be 70 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,960 able to be equipped to share the gospel with others and to love 71 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,480 others for Christ's sake and transform their community. 72 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,120 So we put a huge emphasis on leadership training, empowering 73 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,760 local leaders to take full ownership over ministry and to 74 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,240 be capable and equipped and empowered and encouraged to be 75 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,880 able to do that day in and day out. 76 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,360 So that's a little bit of what we do. 77 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,680 And I just a couple of pictures. I think it speaks a lot more 78 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,240 than a list of programs. These are some kids and some 79 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,880 leaders for me. What would be top left that 80 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,480 those are that's a leadership retreat. 81 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,800 Those are all leaders who are doing youth ministry, campus 82 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,720 ministry, young adult ministry. You'll see in the school that 83 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,520 would be a lunch club. That's a little bit about what 84 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,040 we do when we just get into the schools and we, we, we call it a 85 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,640 check in and we, we have a devotion with students and we 86 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,280 share with them a little bit and we play some games and just just 87 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:00,720 remind them of who they are in Christ during their school day. 88 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:06,320 And then the evening program is below, which we call G2 and that 89 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,640 you'll see the students are in their school uniforms, which 90 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,640 that would be a pretty typical government school garb for most 91 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,560 of them with the Plaid and the skirts and the red, red shirts. 92 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,000 And so that happens on a weekly basis. 93 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,280 So I hope that gives you just a little picture of what you're 94 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,160 helping to support what what you're doing in the Bahamas 95 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,040 through empowering us and through prayer and and financial 96 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,920 resources and support in so many ways. 97 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,240 So with that said, I'd like to get into the sermon a little bit 98 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,840 here, get into the word with you, if that's OK, Because I'm 99 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:43,720 sure when you woke up this morning, I hope when you woke up 100 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,560 this morning that that was on your mind is I hope that God 101 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,480 encourages me through his word when I go to church this 102 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,080 morning. So this morning's sermon is 103 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,640 entitled the visible Sign. And the question that we're 104 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:02,600 going to wrestle through is how can we as believers in Christ 105 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,400 Jesus be the visible sign of Jesus in the world around us? 106 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,400 And our Scripture this morning is taken from 2nd Corinthians 107 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,120 517 to 21. And if you have a Bible, if you 108 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,760 have a Bible on your phone, I invite you to turn there. 109 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,840 If you don't, that's OK because the Scripture is going to be 110 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,360 mostly on the screen as well. So we're going to go through it 111 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:29,400 together that way. But if you want to follow along, 112 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,720 that's always a good thing. 2nd Corinthians as you you we as we 113 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,480 get into the text. Just a little context for this 114 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,120 passage I think is important for it to be able to really hit us 115 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,000 in the way that I think the Lord would want us to hit us. 116 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,200 Is this is then second Corinthians. 117 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:52,160 The apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit is speaking to the 118 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,680 persecuted church in a city called Corinth, which is in 119 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,080 present day Greece. And in this section, Paul 120 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,680 reminds the church that no matter how difficult life gets, 121 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,720 even if their mortal bodies in this world are destroyed by 122 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,000 living out their faith through persecution, there is more for 123 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,480 them in eternity. And because of this reality, 124 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,920 Paul implores them to have confidence because to be away 125 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,240 from our physical body, to be killed or to be passed, to pass 126 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:31,640 away naturally is to be at home with the Lord in heaven. 127 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,520 And with this encouragement, Paul goes on to challenge the 128 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,360 church not to live for themselves. 129 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,960 For he would say that would be selfish, but to live for Christ 130 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,520 who died and rose again. And it's this eternal 131 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:50,400 perspective to follow hard after Jesus for the sake of others, 132 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:55,960 even when it hurts, that leads us to this, the 5th chapter of 133 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,560 Second Corinthians. So before we read it, if you 134 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,000 would bow with me in a word of prayer as we go to God's word 135 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,320 together, I would be grateful. Heavenly Father, we thank you 136 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,120 for your word. We're about to read it. 137 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,920 We're about to talk about it. We're about to think on it. 138 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,240 And we pray, Lord, that it would change us. 139 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,680 It would transform us that it would feed us this morning that 140 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,960 Lord you would give us new insights, that you would give us 141 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:26,240 new motivation, that you would just regenerate us in new ways 142 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:30,000 as we look into Your word. Help us to be focused, help us 143 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,280 to be clear of mind as there's many distractions and help me to 144 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:42,440 speak clearly as well in Jesus name, Amen. 2nd Corinthians 5, 145 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:51,680 17 to 21 says this. Therefore, if anyone is in 146 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:58,080 Christ, the new creation has come, the old is gone, the new 147 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,800 is here. All this is from God, who 148 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,520 reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry 149 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,000 of reconciliation. The God was reconciling the 150 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,720 world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them, and 151 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,200 He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 152 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,800 We are there for Christ's ambassadors as though God were 153 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:27,880 making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's 154 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:34,280 behalf, be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to 155 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,120 be sin for us, so that through him we might become the 156 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,920 righteousness of God. Amen. 157 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,760 Throughout the Scriptures, the church is given a whole bunch of 158 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,440 different job descriptions, and each of them has their own 159 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,880 nuance. And the church is referred to in 160 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,280 different places. We're called disciples, and 161 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,200 other places were called witnesses, were called the 162 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,240 people of the way. We're called an assembly. 163 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,440 We're called a temple. We're called a body, we're 164 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,960 called a priesthood. But here in the Scripture, the 165 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:13,680 people of God are charged with an incredibly awesome and 166 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:18,960 undeserved privilege of being the ambassadors of Christ in 167 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,000 this world. Verse 20, it says we are there 168 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,360 for Christ's ambassadors as though God was making his appeal 169 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,640 through us. Now we live in a very 170 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,520 politically, ideologically charged world and there's a lot 171 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,920 of talk about privilege. If you look it up, you can find 172 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:39,720 out you can be privileged in pretty much any kind of way. 173 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,000 You could have racial privilege, you could have gender privilege, 174 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,240 you could have cultural privilege. 175 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,760 You can even have athletic privilege, family privilege, 176 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,560 academic privilege, that the amount of privileges that people 177 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:55,240 have put forth upon others is. The list goes on and on. 178 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,720 Sadly, the problem we're talking about privileges that way is 179 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,240 that the people on the privileged side of the equation 180 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:10,400 are often looked upon to be shameful or embarrassed because 181 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,120 they've found themselves in a perceived privileged position. 182 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,320 However, in this passage we're reminded that as Christ 183 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:22,400 followers, the God of the universe has given us an 184 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:28,680 honorable and undeserved privilege that carries no shame. 185 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,360 It carries no embarrassment. It's not to be hidden. 186 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,920 We are privileged to be the ambassadors for Christ. 187 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,240 To be called an ambassador is a term. 188 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,160 It's a term of great dignity. It's a title possessed by 189 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,280 someone who represents the government of another in a 190 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,520 foreign land. Ambassadors. 191 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,200 They don't speak their own words or give their own thoughts or 192 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,080 make their own promises, but they speak the thoughts and the 193 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,640 promises and the ideas of the government or the monarch they 194 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,240 they represent. They don't have their own 195 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:08,560 priorities. They don't have their own will. 196 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,720 The dignity of an ambassador comes not from themselves, but 197 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,680 from the dignity of the one they represent. 198 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:22,320 And to scorn an ambassador is to scorn the one who sent them. 199 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,120 It's to reject them. And to mistreat an ambassador 200 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,640 would be to mistreat the government or the monarch they 201 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,840 represent. So here in this passage we are 202 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:40,320 told and we are given this privilege, a privilege of being 203 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:44,880 God's ambassador. I'm an ambassador for Christ in 204 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,520 the Bahamas, serving cross culturally for 26 years in the 205 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,840 Bahamas. And you as a follower of Christ 206 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,280 are ambassadors in the burg. That is your privilege. 207 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,720 That is your call. That is your your position in 208 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,560 the Kingdom of God. And as such, whether we reside 209 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,960 far away or we live locally, we also don't carry our own 210 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,480 message. We don't make our own promises. 211 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,720 We're charged to speak only that which King Jesus has empowered 212 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,800 and given us to speak. Today. 213 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,480 The world's full of ambassadors. Most ambassadors today are given 214 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,080 their position because of party loyalty. 215 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,080 A lot of ambassadors are given their position because of 216 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,040 celebrity status. The ambassador to the Bahamas is 217 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,920 Herschel Walker. He's a celebrity. 218 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,320 He and he was loyal to the party and he was given a pretty nice 219 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:49,480 placement, I think. But as ambassadors we have done 220 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,480 nothing to gain our privilege status. 221 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:59,720 We are given it by grace. We are giving it undeservedly, 222 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,400 but we are trusted by the Lord to carry out our role. 223 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,680 We live as foreigners and strangers in this world, but 224 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:12,240 we're empowered by the Holy Spirit and our task is to take 225 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,760 the message of our King, King Jesus to the ends of the earth, 226 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:20,920 imploring men and women everywhere, as the passage said, 227 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:27,400 to be reconciled to God. The message of reconciliation in 228 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,440 the text that we just read, That's the primary theme of of 229 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,720 the text is the primary role of the ambassador in the Greek, the 230 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,760 word reconciliation is referenced in some form or 231 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,200 another in this passage at least five different times. 232 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,600 The late Pastor John MacArthur says this. 233 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:52,280 He says this text defines for us the mandate that every Christian 234 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:58,160 has from God to engage in the ministry of reconciliation, to 235 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,480 proclaim the message of reconciliation, thereby 236 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,840 functioning as ambassadors through Christ through whom God 237 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:08,600 is conveying his message. Now this call, it's this call to 238 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,920 ambassadorship is really just an expansion of the Great 239 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,480 Commission to go to all the nations and make disciples, 240 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,720 baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy 241 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,400 Spirit. Or where it says that we shall 242 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:26,680 be witnesses in this world, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, into 243 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,840 the ends of the earth and today's world. 244 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,480 As we think about the role of being a minister of 245 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,240 reconciliation as an ambassador for God, I think we're familiar 246 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,200 with the term and what it means to reconcile. 247 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,560 We're probably all too familiar with reconciliation. 248 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,280 There's counselors abounding helping others to reconcile 249 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,640 estranged families and spouses. There's courts that exist to 250 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,240 arbitrate between divided parties. 251 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,880 There's organizations that exist to reconcile one group of people 252 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,440 to another, their friendships that need reconciled, their 253 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,360 sibling rivalries that need reconciled. 254 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,480 There's families that need reconciled. 255 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:18,360 I think that we all too maybe sharply and wrongly understand 256 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:23,560 what it means to be reconciled to another and how how fragile 257 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:28,840 that is and how important that is in relationships and how it's 258 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:35,360 often a work of grace and it's a work of forgiveness that we 259 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,280 think about God being reconciled the sinners. 260 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,520 For me, that's a little bit of a harder concept. 261 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,320 It's a little more difficult for me to get my arms around about 262 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,080 how that happens. Sinners being reconciled to 263 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,520 other sinners is reasonable because both parties are guilty 264 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:59,960 of sin. But with God and us, all of the 265 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:04,480 sin is ours, all of the air is ours, all of the fault is with 266 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:10,359 us. He is perfectly flawless, and He 267 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,040 is the one who's been violated the brokenness in our 268 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,560 relationship with our Creator. It's our fault, it's our guilt, 269 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:23,480 it's our responsibility. And yet God has determined a way 270 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,680 that we can be reconciled to Him. 271 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:32,280 So how does this happen? What could God do to reconcile 272 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:37,880 us to Himself without denying or violating His own divine 273 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:42,800 attributes that demand justice in punishment for sin? 274 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,880 How does God do that? When the passage we just read, 275 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,760 we get the answer? It's one of my favorite verses 276 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,320 in Scripture. In verse 21, we'll put up on the 277 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,720 screen, it says this. It says the way that this 278 00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,040 reconciliation has happened is that God made him who had no 279 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:05,000 sin. That'd be Jesus to be sin for 280 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:12,040 us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 281 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:19,480 In that one sentence we see clearly how reconciliation with 282 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:24,760 God needed to happen. Perhaps a visual might be 283 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,840 helpful. I'm a youth pastor. 284 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,480 I use images, I use illustrations, I use pictures. 285 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:36,960 This is a, an image that we often use with our leadership as 286 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:42,120 it's hard to communicate the message, the ministry of 287 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:45,320 reconciliation with others. So how do we do that clearly and 288 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,000 effectively? How do we get our heads around 289 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,760 that in a way that is simple and understandable? 290 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,600 And, and the gospel is that it's simple and understandable, but I 291 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,120 really like this. It's, it's 5 lines that 292 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:00,800 communicate how God reconciled us to himself. 293 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,200 What did that look like in history and in real time? 294 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,280 The first there is a down arrow that God came down in the person 295 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:13,960 of Jesus Christ to live a perfect life on our behalf. 296 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:21,280 The second line is the cross. Jesus died as a substitute for 297 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:25,520 us on a cross, thereby satisfying the justice of God 298 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,880 That could not be denied, That needed to be dealt with. 299 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:34,640 The third line is the the ark. It represents the tomb that 300 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:39,560 Jesus was buried in. Then we get to the fourth line 301 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:45,240 that goes up. Jesus rose in bodily form from 302 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:50,000 death, thereby conquering death so that anyone who believes. 303 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,000 This is our message that anyone who believes may become new 304 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,960 creations, forgiven and reconciled to God, filled with 305 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:01,320 the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing their inheritance. 306 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,320 In the Kingdom of heaven and then the last era, the story's 307 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,440 not over. The redemptive plan is not yet 308 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,560 complete. We live in the already, but the 309 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:14,920 not yet. And it's the down arrow that 310 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:19,080 says that Jesus will come back, and he'll come back and he'll 311 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,520 redeem all things in his creation and make them new. 312 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:28,680 So whether in the Bahamas or in Pittsburgh, this is our message. 313 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,960 This is a picture of reconciliation. 314 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:39,120 God made him who had no sin to become sin for us so that we 315 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:42,800 might become the righteousness of God. 316 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,160 In the final verse of this section, Paul concludes with a 317 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:52,000 plea to Christians in Corinth. At the end of the section he 318 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,240 says this and I didn't read this earlier, so this is new and 319 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,280 chapter 6 verses one and two, it's sort of the end of the 320 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,200 passage, the conclusion of the matter. 321 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:06,840 Paul says as God's coworkers, we urge you not to receive God's 322 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:11,680 grace in vain for he says in the time of my favor, I heard you in 323 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,200 the day of salvation, I helped you. 324 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:20,720 I tell you now is the time of God's favor for now is the day 325 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,680 of salvation. Other translations you might 326 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:28,320 have heard this verse before say today is the day of salvation. 327 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,880 Now I don't know about you and and your Christian journey. 328 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,800 If you've heard this verse before, often it's used as a a 329 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,800 call to salvation. It's an evangelistic verse. 330 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,280 Today is the day of salvation. Don't wait, it's there. 331 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,840 You might not have tomorrow. Today is the day to be 332 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:49,600 reconciled to God. So act upon this. 333 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:51,840 And often that's how this verse is used. 334 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:56,280 But it's interesting to me that is, we look at this passage in 335 00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:00,240 its context. I've come to appreciate that the 336 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,560 offering of salvation is not the primary focus of this verse. 337 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,280 If we look closely at the wording, the timing, the 338 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,920 audience that Paul is writing to, it becomes clear that this 339 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:19,360 passage is a call to the church. It's written to the church. 340 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,800 It's not a call or a plea for the church to be reconciled to 341 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:28,280 God because by definition the church is reconciled to God. 342 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:34,040 In its context, though, this verse is a call for believers, 343 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,200 for us, the community of God, the people of God, to be active, 344 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,360 to be proactive in our proclamation of the message of 345 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:49,160 reconciliation. To make this message known to 346 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,200 the world that reconciliations through God, by the forgiveness 347 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,120 of sins, through faith alone in Jesus Christ is available to all 348 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,120 who receive it. Today is the day of salvation. 349 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:08,800 So let us, the church, let us be bold and intentional ambassadors 350 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,240 of that message. Let us get out there. 351 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,680 Let us not be docile or idle, but let us get into the 352 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,280 community. Let us get into the 353 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,480 relationships that God's put before us in the circles that we 354 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:25,400 dwell in and be intentional about sharing this message of 355 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,800 reconciliation. It's notable in that same 356 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,160 passage, if you look at it, comes with a warning, it says 357 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:39,240 that to do so and to not do so individually or as a faith 358 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:44,560 community, it's more than just an unfortunate oversight for 359 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,960 Paul. He says that to not be actively 360 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,840 engaging in your role as an ambassador for Christ is to 361 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:58,360 receive God's grace in vain. It's to reject the privilege of 362 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,440 ambassadorship that we have been entrusted with. 363 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:06,440 It's it's to be in vain. It means it's the sense that 364 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,560 it's not having its proper effect upon you if you don't 365 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,440 share it, if you don't talk about it, if you don't live it 366 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:19,040 in a way that others can see it. And here's here's the 367 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:25,760 encouragement, those, when you think about it, the only reason 368 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,120 believers are left on this earth, the only reason why we're 369 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:32,640 still here, if you think about it, is because of this ministry 370 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,240 of reconciliation, this opportunity to be an ambassador. 371 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,680 If you think about it, everything in heaven it, it'll 372 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,160 be better. Many of us, we struggle here, 373 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,560 don't we? We struggle day in and day out. 374 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:48,680 We struggle to have healthy bodies. 375 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,880 We struggle to have healthy minds. 376 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,920 We struggle to have healthy relationships. 377 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,200 We struggle with sin. We're easily distracted. 378 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,920 Many of us limp along for years in this life, wondering why God 379 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,880 doesn't just get us out of here. We long, like Paul, to escape 380 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,840 our body and to live in the glories of heaven with Jesus. 381 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,120 We long to be perfect. We long to be away from the body 382 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,360 and to be with the Lord, which Paul says in the same chapter is 383 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:22,880 far better. But when we read this verse, we 384 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,640 realize and we're reminded of why we're here. 385 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,840 Why is God giving you 2026? Why didn't He just end it for 386 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:35,240 you 2025? We're left here for the ministry 387 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,520 of reconciliation because when we get to heaven, there's one 388 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,200 thing that we won't get to do. There's one thing we'll have no 389 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:48,360 chance to do there, and that's to tell a Sinner the good news 390 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:53,560 that by believing in Christ they can be reconciled to God. 391 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:55,880 We'll never have that chance again. 392 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:02,320 There's no evangelism in heaven. We're left here as a force with 393 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:07,240 a ministry of reconciliation to declare the message how sinners 394 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,000 can be reconciled to God. This is what we do. 395 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,880 This is what we live for, and this is what we press on for, 396 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,360 not as citizens of this world, but citizens of heaven, as 397 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:23,560 ambassadors of Christ, working diligently under the instruction 398 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:28,040 and privileged appointment from our sovereign King so that none 399 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:32,600 would be lost. Therefore, when the world looks 400 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:37,320 at us, what are they to see? They're to see a visible sign 401 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,760 screaming out in love to a broken world, a message of 402 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,280 reconciliation to God. I want to close with just an 403 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,240 illustration from our ministry to maybe hopefully drive this 404 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:53,600 point home a little bit further. One of the ministries that we've 405 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:59,560 started over the last last four to six months is a, a upper 406 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,280 elementary junior high ministry. So not only we've been 407 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,640 stretching our programs later into young people's lives, we've 408 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,120 also gone a little bit earlier and we started a program 409 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,440 recently called Friday Night Lights. 410 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,120 And this is been a just a, a great fun. 411 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,640 There's been a lot of work put into, it's a partnership with a 412 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,000 local church that Kelly and I attend in, in the Bahamas Youth 413 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,920 Network Ministry, which is our primary ministry partner in the 414 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,840 Bahamas. And, and we're reaching out to, 415 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,120 to these, these junior high and upper elementary kids. 416 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:34,440 And, and they just love it. They think this is the best 417 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,200 thing that, that it's ever happened to. 418 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:37,520 And we weren't sure how I was going to go. 419 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,840 Started off as a small group and then they start inviting friends 420 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,480 and parents started inviting friends as they're like, my kid 421 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,560 loves this and your kids should get involved. 422 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,640 And so it's been just another exciting work of the Lord 423 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,400 through the ministry in the Bahamas. 424 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:57,880 But at Friday Night Lights, we, we play games, we eat food and 425 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,640 then we have a, a, a Bible time with them. 426 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:07,080 And many of the students that come to this ministry have very 427 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,480 little church background, very little Christian education at 428 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,080 all. A lot of them are from the expat 429 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,840 community or, or foreigners who are, have moved in to work and 430 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:18,880 their kids are there and they're, they're living there 431 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,160 and, and are from all kinds of backgrounds, but, but very much 432 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,600 unchurched. It's been fun. 433 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,080 Our son's been involved in this and he's gotten to invite his 434 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,520 friends who he goes to school with and who, who don't know 435 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,840 Jesus. And so he's, he's a little 436 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,200 missionary, which is really fun to see. 437 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,800 But we, we had a message recently around around the 438 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,120 Thanksgiving time or the Halloween time I guess, where we 439 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,240 had a pumpkin and we brought the pumpkin out and I put the 440 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,320 pumpkin down and we talked about how the pumpkin was special to 441 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:50,960 me. We named the pumpkin, we called 442 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,680 him Mr. P and he, he was carved out to a little face. 443 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,360 But I left the guts of the pumpkin inside. 444 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,320 And we talked about how God, you know, just like the pumpkin 445 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:04,240 special to, to me, like we're special to God and even a more 446 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:07,160 meaningful way. And, and then, then we, we point 447 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,520 out how the, the nasty, the seeds and the slop was still 448 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,280 inside. And we talked about how that's 449 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,280 kind of like us. We, we can look OK on the 450 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,720 outside, but on the inside we have a problem. 451 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:21,120 That problem's sin. And it, it, it rots us from the 452 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,320 inside out and it needs to be removed or there's problems. 453 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,360 And so we started taking out the guts and the kids like, yeah, 454 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,160 yeah, it's yucky. And then, and then we, we talked 455 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,160 about how that happens when we believe in Christ. 456 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,160 And then, then we took a little light, we turned the lights off, 457 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,480 we put a light inside and we talked about how we believe in 458 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,120 Christ. The Holy Spirit comes into our 459 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:45,720 life and and he, he begins to to transform us and we begin to to 460 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,720 reflect Jesus into the world in ways that we never thought we 461 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,920 could. And the, the kids were, were 462 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,280 really into this. And so after the, the, the 463 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,600 message, we have a little small group time and we break them up 464 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,000 into groups with leaders and just check for understanding and 465 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,000 let them ask some questions. And they, they like this time, 466 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,400 they really enjoy talking after the message. 467 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,960 And I had a couple of boys in my group who who had like probably 468 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,600 0 Bible knowledge And the, the one kids like this is really 469 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,640 interesting about Jesus. You know, I'd really like to, to 470 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,000 see Jesus tomb. I'd like to go to where he's 471 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,360 buried. And I was like, that's 472 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:23,680 interesting. I was like, and I kind of 473 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:28,880 smiling like, you know, I've been to the place where Jesus 474 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,120 was buried. It's in Israel and there is a 475 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,960 tomb there and they don't know if it's Jesus tomb, but they're 476 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,960 it's they think it could be. It's in the right location. 477 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,840 It's very similar. And I said, guess what? 478 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:44,600 I went to that tomb and the kids eyes are just big as saucer. 479 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,680 She's like, no way. This is like in reality, like 480 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,520 this is just a story. And I was like, I went in, I 481 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,560 guess what I saw, guess what was in there. 482 00:30:55,520 --> 00:31:01,080 And he was like Jesus. And I'm like, no, it was empty. 483 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,960 He was gone. He rose from the dead. 484 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,720 And if you believe in him, you can have a relationship with 485 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:08,400 him. You can have friendship with 486 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,760 him. And the kids just looking at me 487 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:12,880 and and the other kids in the group are just kind of like 488 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,400 stunned and they're like, you can just see in their eyes like 489 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,840 this is awesome. This is amazing that God did 490 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,640 that and that that can be a part of my life. 491 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,680 Friends, today is the day of salvation. 492 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:33,840 So let us individually and as a community embrace the privilege 493 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:39,280 God has given us. Let us in 2026, in the New year, 494 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:45,120 consider how we might be more actively engaged in pursuing our 495 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:49,120 purpose as ambassadors of reconciliation. 496 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,200 I want to close just with a couple questions for reflection, 497 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,440 something to think about throughout the week or maybe the 498 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,440 rest of today. The first question is when was 499 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,280 your day of salvation? Maybe you know the exact time or 500 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,400 the place. Maybe you waded into Jesus and 501 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,560 you just found yourself there. Or maybe today is the day of 502 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,440 salvation or there's something holding you back and you need to 503 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,880 reconcile that. You need to deal with that. 504 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,600 I hope that you do. If that's you, when, when was 505 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,280 your day of salvation? The second question is this, is 506 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,600 it clear to those around you that you are an ambassador for 507 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,840 Christ? Why or why not? 508 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:35,440 If, why, what is it about you? What are you doing right now 509 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,000 that's working, That's helping people to see that? 510 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:40,640 If you think the answer is no, you know, I don't think people 511 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,200 see me as an ambassador for Christ. 512 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,920 Where is the disconnect? What needs to be adjusted? 513 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,400 And the third question is this. If you are a part of this 514 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:54,160 community, what is your role in being a visible sign of God's 515 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,080 reconciliation in the world around you? 516 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,840 I know many in this church are very active in the ministries of 517 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,280 this church. You're very active in the 518 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:08,040 community here, working so that others can hear this good news. 519 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,400 But where is it? You need to plug in it. 520 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,320 Maybe you found yourself a little disconnected from that 521 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,920 role. If you don't know, I'm sure 522 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,160 Jerry or Henry could tell you some opportunities that exist. 523 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,680 And I encourage you to reach out to them. 524 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,440 I'm going to leave that there. And, and I invite you to pray 525 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,560 with me as Henry comes up and we have the Lord's Supper together. 526 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,360 Let's pray one more time. Heavenly Father, we thank you 527 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,440 for for your word, for this message of great hope and 528 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,160 encouragement, but also a great challenge. 529 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:44,200 Lord, help us to to dwell on these thoughts, to dwell in this 530 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,640 passage. And Lord, we pray that you would 531 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,720 work in it in appropriate ways, ways that give you glory and 532 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,520 give you honour in Jesus name, Amen.