Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

(2 Corinthians 5:20)

An anointed pastor and teacher once taught me, when reading the Bible, ask, “What is the ‘therefore’ there for?” To fully understand, one must read the paragraph before and after, or even the whole chapter to gain a perspective on the context. In this case, I am focusing on the word “ambassador.”

I became an ambassador for Christ on Easter Sunday in April 1980. I was clueless as to what happened to me that day during an Easter Sunday service. I prayed the prayer with everyone else asking Jesus to be my Lord. All I knew was ‘something’ significant happened to me. I had a ‘religious experience’ and I couldn’t explain it. As a new ambassador, I was untrained and unskilled in the ways of diplomatic communication. I made a lot of mistakes “imploring” others to be reconciled to God. I didn’t truly know the One I was representing. I knew only a little about Him.

My skill in Kingdom communication has developed over many years of training in Ambassador’s Training School (the church.) The curriculum involved gaining some rudimentary interpersonal skills in Small Groups 101. A healthy, life-giving small group can be a crucible of refining and healing when the members truly love and care for one another, learning to bear one another’s burdens and exhorting one another to keep their eyes on Jesus.

My favorite course in Ambassador Training School was and is worship. At first, I thought worship was when I bow down and acknowledge how great and powerful God is, which is part of it. However, I soon learned that worship was a two-way street. Not that God was worshiping me, but as I focused on Him, I became aware of His focus on me! As I opened my heart to Him, I found His heart was open to me! As I sought to show Him honor, respect, and love, He made me increasingly aware of His honor, respect and love for me… As I grew in awareness of His love for me, I became aware of how intensely He wants all men to know what I was coming to know.

After many years of study and seeking to apply what I was learning, God promoted me to a staff position in the Ambassador Training School. In this role, I served as the counseling pastor for almost 25 years. I continued my journey at a whole new level of training, learning to further refine my heart in His presence and in His Word, such that out of the abundance of my heart, His words would flow. I haven’t always succeeded in applying all I have learned, but I give Him all the credit for any progress I have made. I love Him more and more. He never gives up on me.

I haven’t said all I have in my heart to say on this subject, which is an indication I have learned something about diplomatic communications in His Kingdom. If you are an ambassador for Jesus and you are not in a good, life-giving Ambassador Training School, please get that taken care of. If you are struggling to get involved in the Body of Christ, please consider getting a personal, confidential Sozo session. We won’t tell you where you should attend church, but we will facilitate an encounter between you and the One who loves you more intensely than you can possibly imagine. He will guide you in your search to connect with other believers. Perfect Love drives out all fear and establishes you in a place of His power, love and soundness of mind. As you discover your identity in Him, He reveals your destiny. You can sign up here for a confidential, personal sozo session at one of our four locations in northern Colorado.

Blessings,

Pastor Bill

Tags: , , , , , ,