The mission of an ambassador of Jesus is to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus...

This week we have been asking the question “What is the mission of an ambassador?” To answer that question, we are going to look at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 28:16-17, we looked on as the disciples wrestled with the doubts that flowed from two fundamental questions. The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?” The disciples doubted how God’s presence could be present with them as they moved forward on earth while Jesus was in Heaven.

We looked on as Jesus approached the disciples and explained that “all authority has been to Me in heaven and on earth”. In other words, Jesus declared to His disciples, and to His followers throughout history, that He is large and in charge of everything. God the Father has formally given Jesus the right to exercise command and control over all of creation. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He was Lord and Leader and was the one whom God had granted the power to exercise control over the universe and to guide God’s kingdom mission.

And we looked on in Matthew 28:18-20 as Jesus gave His followers a mission; and that mission is to make disciples of all nations. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the areas of influence that we have been given by Jesus.

We discovered that we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever area of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

We discovered that we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. A major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity through Jesus and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in the kingdom mission we have been given by Jesus.

You see, evangelism is not a separate activity from discipleship. Evangelism is the first step of discipleship, where a person responds to what God has done for them through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And baptism is a step of identification with Jesus as His follower and with the kingdom mission that He has given us as His followers.

We discovered that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time.

And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good. That is why, as we talked about two weeks ago, we have three strategic goals for everyone who attends City Bible Church. And the reason why we have these three strategic goals is because we believe that these three goals accomplish Jesus command to make disciples in a way that fulfills the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus as ambassadors of Jesus.  

First, we have as a strategic goal that everyone who attends City Bible Church would be investing their time, in addition to consistently attending a Sunday worship gathering, as part of a community group. Second, we have as a strategic goal that everyone who attends City Bible Church would be investing their talents serving God by serving others on a ministry team. Third, we have as a strategic goal that everyone who attends City Bible Church would be investing their treasure as an act of worship through weekly and proportional giving.

As a church, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say. And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question as to whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this statement together, which is at the end of Matthew 28:20b:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus grabbed the attention of His disciples with what is translated in our Bibles today as lo. This would be like me standing and saying “Yo, listen up!” You see, Jesus wanted to have the disciples undivided attention because He was about to introduce something new; something previously unheard of; something that would have been viewed by the disciples as unusual.

And what was so new and unusual was this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. Jesus here is promising His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history that He is fully present.  Just because God may seem silent, that does not mean that God is not present. Just because we cannot see God, that does not mean that God is not present.

You see, God’s presence is evident when followers of Jesus are engaged in community with one another and on mission with one another. When followers of Jesus gather together in community to worship, we experience God’s presence in powerful ways. When followers of Jesus gather together in community groups, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way as we support and encourage one another.  When followers of Jesus invest their talents serving God by serving others, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others. When followers of Jesus invest their treasure, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others as we create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience community.

We are never any closer to God’s presence here on earth than when followers of Jesus are engaged in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another, because God has divinely designed the church to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to one another and the world. And it is here, in this event from history, that we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “What is the mission of an ambassador?” And that timeless answer is this: The mission of an ambassador of Jesus is to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus.

Just as it was for early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, the mission of an ambassador is to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus. And once again, as followers of Jesus, we are confronted with the reality that Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

As followers of Jesus who are ambassadors of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus as we invite others to explore faith and experience genuine and authentic community. As followers of Jesus who are ambassadors of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their time in a community group as we invest our time in a community group.  As followers of Jesus who are ambassadors of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their talent on a ministry team as we invest our talent on a ministry team. And as followers of Jesus who are ambassadors of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their treasure in an open handed and generous way as we invest our treasure in an open handed and generous way.

So here is a question to consider. As a follower of Jesus, are you engaging in the mission that you have been given by Jesus as His ambassador? Are you speaking and acting on Jesus behalf in such a way that you can be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus?

 Because as we have discovered the mission of an ambassador is to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus...