Ambassadors for Christ

I apologize for not getting this posted by Sunday evening like I normally do but after Acquire the Fire, I was exhausted and I have had some things come up that have delayed me from getting this posted.  I know, I know, enough with the excuses right?!  Some of you who read this may already know that Joanne McKay suffered a stroke Monday night but she is doing much better tonight (Tuesday) and she seems to be headed down the road to recovery.  It will be awhile before we will know the affects of the stroke but please keep her in your prayers.  Those of you who do not know her, I ask that you also keep her in your prayers.  The scripture for this sermon comes from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians 5:16-21:

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Oh my, where to start?  There are so many aspects of this scripture that could each be made into a different sermon... Even though we are supposed to get another winter storm this afternoon, I would like to go with a springtime theme but before we get there, I would like to start with the events of ATF (Acquire the Fire) because I want all of you to know what kind of an impact that each of you made by helping the kids to go and experience this event.  First, I want you to know how well behaved our group was.  I could not have been happier with how it seemed like they were such a well oiled machine.  They met with the me and the other leaders when and where they were supposed to, they listened to the leaders of Park Avenue Christian Church, they picked up all of their stuff, they were willing to meet kids from other youth groups, they were polite and most of all, they paid very close attention to the music, speakers, dramas and challenges that were all part of this event.  There were groups all around us that were not paying attention at times but our youth were very attuned to what was going on around them.  I could not have been more impressed with the group of kids that went.  And second, I want to personally thank all of you for the opportunity to spend time with your kids.  I cherish the time that I was able to spend with them because I was able to learn more about each one of them and where they are in their faith.  And I was able to learn more about their personalities.  I have to admit, I learned some things that I would be better off not knowing as well.  I won’t mention any names, but there was one youth from this church that can snore loud enough to wake a bear from hibernation.  And you do not want to ride home from Des Moines with his brother after he has ate mac and cheese pizza from CiCi’s. I did not mention any names because I did not want to embarrass them but nonetheless, I honestly had a blast.  For some reason, my wife thinks I have a tendency to be a little grouchy when I don’t get much sleep, and I know this sounds a little cliche, but the entire experience was made worthwhile because of the kids.  So again, I thank you.  

Ok, now to today’s scripture.  I extended today’s scripture because verses 14 and 15 are important in helping us to understand the rest of today’s reading.  In verse 14 and 15 Paul tells us that that Jesus died for all of us and we all died alongside him.  This verse fits in perfectly with the Lenten season because it so clearly reminds us of what we are preparing for: the death and resurrection of Christ, as well as the death and resurrection of us.  Some of you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about... Others of you may be thinking that I am talking about Revelation and the end times.  But I am strictly talking about today, which I do not consider the end times by the way, I am talking about when you ask Jesus into your life.  One of Paul’s favorite things he wrote about was two simple words, in Christ.  And in these two little words, Paul describes so much to us.  In today’s reading, he is referring to the change that comes to us when we realize exactly what Jesus did on the cross.  Our old self vanishes when we realize what Christ has done and we are created anew, same as the butterfly as it leaves the cocoon.  Verse 16 tells us that we can no longer look at that butterfly as a caterpillar, it is now a butterfly.  That butterfly has a new set of standards to follow.  He no longer is restricted to crawling along the ground, he can now spread his wings and fly.  The camouflage that he uses to hide from his prey is now completely different.  He no longer has to stay hidden, as he did as a caterpillar.  As a butterfly, he has a new sense of purpose and emboldened by this new strength. He now has brightly colored wings that can scare prey away.  He no longer has to hide what he is.  The power of Christ works the same way within each of us.  When we realize the saving grace of the cross, we too are emboldened with new power and strength.  We too are able to shed our old self, we too are resurrected, sculpted directly by the hands of God.  We do not have to hide who we are, we are called to spread our wings and share the good news of Christ with the world.  

There are two points from that last paragraph I would like to expand upon: 1) our Christian position being in Christ and 2) our Christian character as a new creature.  As Christians, let us first explore what it means to be in Christ.  There are three possible ways that our soul connects with Christ: first, we can be without Christ.  Even as proclaimed Christians, it is possible that we have lost our connection with Christ.  We may come to church, have a Bible in our house, or even we may even pray and still not have a connection with Christ.  Without that connection, we are without a relationship with Christ.  The relationship we have is of the utmost importance to our faith.  Without it, the words we hear preached, the words we read in the Bible, and the words we pray are lost.  When we are resurrected anew, when we break free from the cocoon of the world and seek a living, breathing relationship with Christ is when the words we hear, speak or read then find meaning.  This meaning is different to each one of us because God reveals Himself so differently to each one of us but this is where we find the power of Christ.  He is able to unify us, even though our faiths can be so different.  Being without Christ is not a position we want to be in.  If your life seems to be falling in around you, it may because you need to re-evaluate your relationship with Christ.  The next two possibilities of how our soul connects to Christ are intertwined and difficult to separate but we first must be in Christ before we can be with Christ.  We cannot have one without the other.  To be in Christ means that we are called to be more Christ-like.  When we break free of the cocoon, we are transformed into the likeness of Christ.  Once we have become imitators of Christ we then can walk alongside Him, we can be with Christ.  We no longer follow but walk side by side.  We no longer wait for the world to come to us, we are called to go out into the world just as Christ did.  Once we have gone through the process of being in and with Christ, we are transformed into a new creation.  We are a new creature who no longer uses the world’s point of view to understand Christ.  In this process God gradually reveals Himself so that we no longer see the world from a caterpillar’s point of view but so we can spread our wings and fly so to see the world from a new point of view.  If we looked at the world through the eyes of the caterpillar, we would have a different view of the world.  Our vision is narrowed and the world seems so small and we think we are such a large part of it.  If we were to go out in the driveway, lay on our stomach and look around our point of view does not see much.  But if we were able to go up in a hot air balloon, straight up from the church we can see so much more.  We realize that our part of the world is exactly that, only a fraction of the whole.  Our point of view so changes after we bring Christ into our lives.  We realize that our part of the world is only a part, and a small part at that.  We realize that God’s power and majesty stretches much further than we could have ever imagined before.  Once we have Christ in our hearts, we realize that we are such a small part of this world, yet we are called to do so much and we are only limited by the limits we personally set on God.

In closing, I want to talk about the last verse of today’s reading, here it is again: “God made him who had no sin to be sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  We are three Sundays away from celebrating the resurrection of Christ but this passage describes the hope that comes on that Sunday.  Jesus, who had no sin, was sent to be an offering for us so we could become the righteous of God.  But what does it mean to be the righteous of God?  It is in this statement that we find our Christian privilege and responsibility.  The honor of Christ and of the Church are in our hands.  By our every word and action we can make people think more - or less - of our Church (universal Church) and of our God.  Once the caterpillar becomes the butterfly, he is not called to still view the world as he did when he was a caterpillar.  He has different standards, abilities, and responsibilities.  As Christians who have a living, breathing relationship with Christ, we too have different standards, abilities, and responsibilities.  Think of your salvation like God cutting you a check for the biggest Powerball Jackpot of all time.  You have many different options on how to use your new-found blessing, but are you grateful for what was given to you?  How will you repay that blessing?  Our salvation is an unearned blessing, but what will you do with it?  Will you still hide under the safety of a leaf as a caterpillar? Or will you spread your wings and fly like a butterfly?  If you want to escape your cocoon, if you want to see the world from a different point of view and want to have a living breathing relationship with God, shortly, we will offer you the opportunity to do so.  You do not have to come up front, but I encourage you to examine your faith and see where your relationship with God rests from your seat.  Ask yourself if are in Christ and want to walk side by side with Christ.  Amen.  

God Bless,

Clinton

Fairview Christian Church