Rising up again

Called to be an Ambassador.
Two worlds contend for dominion. For as long as Christians are in the world, darkness and light will remain at war for the right to rule and reign.

Kingdom citizens are those who choose to live in the domain and under the dominion of the Almighty God who calls and equips them with the authority and power to serve as His ambassadors here on earth.

Sin, amongst many other things robs us of this identity and purpose. It’s  a false representation of who we are. It’s impresses on us the nature and characteristic of the sin rather than the truth of what we are - the righteousness of God.

Ambassadors repentant of treason
Treason is the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government.

Living in sin is choosing to live in a way that betrays The Kingdom and The King. It’s like partnering with the enemy to overthrow the King in our lives. But the King is merciful, even for such treason, He offers hope of redemption.

“ «For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Proverbs ‭24:16‬ ‭NIV‬
Get back up again.

It seems a rather extreme analogy, perhaps, but confronting this is crucial to our ability to be like the men described in Proverbs 24:16. Living in sin negates the job description of an Ambassador of Christ, however we could be reinstated when we  CHOOSE to humble ourselves and turn away from our sin. Instead of being crushed by sin, we can rise from it and use it as an opportunity for intimacy that leads to transformation.  God has given us the Spirit of Power, Love and Self-Discipline to lift us up when we fall, so we need not be casualties of our own failures.

Psalm 86:8: I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants - but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.  

For those days when we as ourselves, how can an Ambassador of Christ serve God even when consumed by sin? We must stay encouraged to reach for the truth of who we are. Putting the question to some members of our congregation, these are some of their responses.

Although the eternal penalty of our sins has been paid for by the death of Christ on the cross. This does not eliminate our old nature and tendency toward sin. When we do fall into sin, we should confess our sins to God, repent, pick ourselves up and keep walking – sin does not disqualify us for being an ambassador for Christ. However, we should not practice sin habitually, otherwise the picture of Christ we present by the way we live could put an obstacle in the way of someone else trusting in God.

The good news is we don’t walk alone, we seek the Lord for the grace daily to represent Him well in our different callings. God has given us the Holy Spirit to convict us from sin and lead us away from it. The key is knowing the difference between the Holy Spirit convicting us and the enemy condemning us. The holy spirit disciplines, convicts, corrects with the aim to develop our character, while the enemy wants us to stew in our situation and feel condemned and disqualified from working for God.

To be an effective witness, we must continually abide in Christ - meditate on His word, spend time with him in prayer and worship. As we do, the light of Christ shines through us and His heart becomes our heart.
DL, in East London

There will always be times when we don’t feel that we can be an authority, that we are not the right person or that we are inadequate to be ambassadors for Christ.
 
We feel that our actions have let God down or that we have turned our gaze more on earthly endeavours as we reflect on the time when we were much more closer to him. We look at our life and we don’t want it to cause others to stumble. We are right to want to be careful, yet we are humbled by the fact that we are not ‘the way the truth and life’ Christ is. Our righteousness is but just a filthy rag.
 
Christ can use us to point others to Himself. Even when we are ministering to others His words are ministering to us and drawing us closer to him after all His Word is living and active a two edged sword (Heb 4:12).
Y.L, in East London

In the Kingdom of God, we have a high-ranking, impressive and influential job and all of Heaven stands to  back us up, defend us, provide for us, and join forces with our actions of faith! This means we are very important to the plan of God, as we represent Jesus Christ to our families, colleagues, and in our neighbourhoods.

As we are in the last days in the history of mankind, we need to be vigilant so as not to fall into the traps society sets for us. As ambassadors of Christ Jesus, we need to love (agape) one another, for that is the most important thing (1 Corinthians 13). In 2 Timothy 3 we are encouraged  to learn how to behave as God’s ambassadors and to not live for self-consumption and self-love.

Now what is the litmus test to know if we have fallen into the trap of the world? When the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts, do we yield? Or find it difficult to let go of our desires and pleasures?
K.C, London

Holy Spirit help us to desire and choose holiness and righteousness, surrender and submission so every day lived is a pledge of allegiance to you as our Lord and King. In Jesus name. Amen

LIVING WORD

LIVINGWORD