03.06.2016 2 Cor. 5 How to Represent Christ to Others

3-6-2016 How to Represent Christ to Others from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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Finishing 2 Cor. 5 – there is a balance of things in this ministry of transformation.
Lord, thank You for the opportunity to be in Your presence – always in Your presence, but in Your presence as Your church, as the Body of Christ here on earth. Speak to us in such a way that our lives are changed – that Your Word, Your Holy Spirit, would shape us into the people You want us to be. May we always be longing to be more like You. May it be deep in our hearts – to move us each and every morning. I pray that these words would encourage us to live this week and from here on, in a way that is pleasing to You.
In this ministry – the ministry of the spirit and the ministry of transformation is for everyone – not just for those in professional ministry – we are all ministers of the gospel. The word minister doesn’t mean anything other than servant – we all fit in that realm.
2 Cor. 5: 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
We will all stand before God and our lives will be evaluated! And Paul uses that as a motivation to live for God and to engage in this ministry. There will be this time where we sit down together with Jesus – and picture Him asking – So, Mike, how has your life been?
And Paul says, therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men – what we are is known to God. He will let us know what He knows -
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.
So the first aspect of motivation is the fear of the Lord. Now, before I talk about what that means – there is a sidenote – we persuade others. Remember Paul is defending his ministry. He is saying – I am not afraid of this evaluation – I know how I have lived – he is defending himself – and he says – we persuade others – in the context, it is not about technique or salesmanship. We think – I need to “sell” the gospel. Why would we ever think we need to do that?
These super apostles could sell refrigerators to Eskimos. But Paul is saying he is the opposite of that - Paul is presenting the simple truth of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit – and he is saying – that is how we persuade others. He didn’t need the techniques – or to be a salesman – but spoke the truth of the gospel, not in his own abilities. He just said in chapter 4 that he was like a common clay pot, broken, but that is how God works.
Back to the fear of the Lord. There is always confusion about this. What he is not saying – is that he is afraid of punishment or condemnation. That is not a concern. He knows he is going to be judged and evaluated – but has no fear of condemnation or being judged, because Christ has taken care of those things on the cross. There are two kinds of fear – the things that make us flee. For me, it is bugs. I flee at the sight of fleas.
There is a second kind of fear – the kind that draws us near – to bring us close. That is the fear Paul is talking about here. Drop down to verse 14 – he will connect two motivations – the fear of the Lord and the motivation of love.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
We see God’s love at the cross. The fear of the Lord is grounded on God’s love for us.
We don’t always feel God’s blessings – we all know times where we don’t feel it – and the opposite seems true – in those times, our only hope is to remember that God loved us enough to die for our sins.
So Paul is saying – knowing he will be judged by God who loved him – he fears he will not have lived up to that love – the fear motivates him? When the child knows they are deeply loved, they don’t want to be disappointing to that parent. That is what Paul is talking about – he knows he will go through this evaluation and wants to hear – “You’ve done well – excellent!”
I hope that is our motivation. We WILL stand before Him – that is coming – and realizing there is coming a time we will be evaluated and judged – it is a good practice to start doing it now. Allow God to examine and evaluate your life on a regular basis. Like at nighttime – reviewing your day – saying, God, where did I respond properly or improperly – search me O God, and know my heart, try me – and see if there is any hurtful way in me? What was my heart this day? It is a helpful practice.
Soul Feast:
“Only under God’s steady gaze of love are we able to find the healing and restoration we desperately need. When we feel searched and known by a gracious God, we are able to search our own hearts honestly.”
When God searches you, it is in love, not in punishment
“What do you need to believe deeply about God in order to examine your real self and your real motives without beating yourself up?”
This time of evaluation is not about whipping ourselves – but in order for it to not be that, there are things we need to understand about God.
15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
We were united with Christ in His death and resurrection. We participate in His death. The result is forgiveness and the removal of guilt and shame – and we participate in His resurrection – so there is a practical side to all of this – if you died – you need to live for others.
1 John 3:16 – we know love by this that He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for others.
So Christ’s love demands imitation – His death demands imitation. Laying our life down comes down to many simple choices. I can say – Hmmm. And it hits me – I can live for this person or myself right now – what will I do?
I can live for this person or I can live for myself – what will I do?
Like Christ, there are ways to lay down your self – making those tiny choices.
16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ [g]according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Second aspect of the ministry of transformation – our Christian identity – we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection and we are to be controlled by those things. If we don’t understand that we are His beloved children in whom He is pleased, we will not be able to engage in this ministry of transformation.
Third – our focus
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
It is a ministry – he brings out clearly here – the focus is reconciliation. This is a really Christian word, isn’t it? At the time, the word had nothing to do with faith. It was a political and legal term – focusing on the relationship between countries – the diplomatic resolution between warring parties. He adopts that to talk about our relationship with God.
Romans 5:10
We were God’s enemies – warring parties – a nation at war – and what has happened, peace has been brought into our relationship with God – the war has ended!
What Paul says – because we have this – we have been given a ministry of reconciliation. And it begins to change things.
How many of you hate the term evangelism? It is scary – brings back bad memories – but our ministry is to bring peace between warring parties- to take people who are alienated from God – at war with God – and to bring them into a peaceful relationship with God. That to me, really – is not about telling them about my religion – if that is what you are doing – STOP! You are causing more damage than good! Just end it! It is about reconciling people you love with God – what a different outlook Paul has on evangelism than what we have!
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
What does and ambassador do? They don’t make policy, do they? They only communicate what their country has already determined. It is God’s responsibility – you are just an ambassador – you are to represent your king, president, Lord…
Some practical ways –
1) in your context – learn to listen! That is tough. It is really hard to listen. It takes good ears to understand. Our job is to partner with God – to join Him in that work – but to do that, we need to understand how He is working in our context. To do that, we need to listen to those we are around. What are their concerns or problems? What excites them? Is God at work in light of these things? Where is God in this concern? He is on Your job before You get there – He is involved in every life – the Spirit of God is active – and He wants you to discern what He is doing here.
2) Observe – with your eyes! Before, just look! How much do you look at people’s countenances? What are their eyes telling me? What is their facial expression telling me? Watch the politician’s eyes – you can see the lies! We can train ourselves to see peoples' deep needs.
3) Ask questions! It is a great way to know what is going on – it is the only way! Ask questions – pay attention to how God might be working.
Ways to recognize how God is working in someone's life.
When a person demonstrates a willingness to talk at a personal level. Beyond the Browns or the weather – but when a person gets beyond that point and starts to share some difficult things – our alarm should go off – God is working here – and we need to give them that opportunity. Be brave enough to OPEN UP YOURSELF!
When there is a deep sense of need – it can be revealed in many ways – guilt – shame – broken relationships. Cindy is really connected at work – recognizing when there is a problem with a parent – even with the adults – that is a way to get in and minister to others.
Spiritual curiosity – when someone has an interest in the spiritual world –
People going through a crisis. God is there - We can be assured of that – and God wants us to be there.
Transitional circumstances – when things are being turned upside down at work – God is there – and wants us to enter into the situation –not just speak to it. Entering in is so much more challenging.
John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus dwelt with us – and in His dwelling we behold the truth of the gospel and his grace.
When we think of people who are far from God – we think first – yes, we need to tell people the gospel – but we think – tell first – and do stuff first! Before we do and tell, we need to dwell with them – engage in their lives – be with them – and in the being – that is what Jesus did. He could have blasted it out of heaven, but He chose to dwell with us and wants us to do the same for others – those we work with, our neighbors, our family – and in the dwelling – in the really being with them – will gain the opportunity to speak and do.
Let's pray...