Robert Canipe- Spirit Empowered Ambassadors

Amen. If you would turn to Matthew chapter 28, that's not going to be our main text.

We're just going to start there. Matthew 28 and of course the end of the chapter.

I think I started last conference with that, with that passage. It was interesting that a couple of the guys mentioned yesterday about feelings.

And I think it's because there's a misconception that Baptists don't have feelings. And so they were addressing that misconception and they made a, they used the word correctly and they made that correction and tried to help with that misconception about Baptists and feelings.

But it was interesting that feelings have already been brought up because that's the first line of my sermon here, that I wanted to ask you how something makes you feel.

And you normally don't hear a Baptist or a Reformed Baptist preacher come to you and say, how does something make you feel?

We don't say that. And probably after this, you're not going to hear me say that either. But I wanted to ask you that question concerning how you hear a text sometimes.

I'm going to use Matthew chapter 18, the last part of that chapter, to usher us into the subject this morning.

So I cringe sometimes if you're a student of God's word and you're familiar with a passage and then you hear somebody read it or quote it and they start in the middle.

I kind of cringe a little bit when I hear that because they're leaving stuff out, they're missing something.

And so I cringe when I hear people start in verse 19, go therefore.

And I say, by whose authority? By whose power? In what confidence?

Why did you start there? Please start earlier. Go to verse 18. And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

There you go. We're getting somewhere now. Then I had to take a little bit of my own medicine.

And I should have read a little bit more because I learned more when I read more of the context. I noticed that as I read in verses 16 and 17, let me read that for you real quick.

But the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain, which Jesus had designated.

When they saw him, they worshipped him and were doubtful. They worshipped him and were doubtful.

They were doubtful. Can you believe that? That's the part I had missed when

I didn't read it in context. But then Jesus lays out for them this solid foundational message that should be giving them hope.

If I'm honest, I approach the study of the text with doubt.

I approach the pulpit with doubt. I approach decisions with doubt.

And what's my excuse? My excuse is, well, if I want to sound super spiritual,

I will say things like, you know, I'm unworthy to do all these things. I don't want to let down the name of Christ.

I don't want, I want all the glory to go to God and I'm fully aware of the lack in my abilities.

But I think if I'm transparent and if we're transparent, we often say those things sometimes because we want people to see us as super spiritual.

We don't want them to see our weaknesses. We want them to see our true humility.

In fact, are we not tempted to have doubts in other ways for me and some of the guys specifically?

Some of those doubts are, for example, they won't like my sermon or my delivery as much as they like the other pastors.

I'm afraid I won't get the compliments, the pats on the back. I won't see the numbers in my church, the fruit, the results of my efforts.

I'm afraid I won't get the views and the likes on social media. How dreadfully sinful are we?

Though our motivations may sometimes seem mostly pure or whether they reflect our old sinful flesh, doubting

God is doubting God. Now look, look back at the disciples.

After they doubted, he gave them that foundation. He gave them his word. He commissions them.

He gives them the command. He gives them the foundation of confidence. But have you ever stopped to think?

I know most of us, when we've taught this before, we call it, you know, a command from Christ.

He gives them a command. But have you ever stopped to think about that situation?

It's nothing more than more law. Despite telling them where he gets his authority from, despite encouraging them that he will always be with them, despite standing face to face with the

God -man, with the Son of God, with the Son of Man, the exact representation of God, with God himself in human flesh, they stand before him as helpless as all the priests and prophets before them.

These words for them might as well have been written on stone again. They said they stand before this law with doubting and more work.

In a similar matter, God walked with Adam and Eve. They walked and talked with their creator, and he relayed to them his expectations.

Do not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Yet when faced with the opportunity to obey

God, the power to repel the temptation to question God's word and the power to flee from sin was not within them.

It is complete and utter arrogance to think that any of us can please

God by being obedient to his word apart from a supernatural work within.

Not only do we need Christ's work that was completed outside of us on the cross and followed by the empty tomb, we also need the work of Christ within us, a work that crucifies our hearts and raises us from the dead.

As Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Father where he reigns as king, we need a new ruler that sits as king in our hearts.

Praise the Lord he wasn't finished with Adam and Eve. Praise the Lord he wasn't finished with the disciples, and praise the

Lord he's not finished with us. The plan was not over, it's just the beginning. Jesus tells us how he will accomplish this work and give us this power and give us this confidence.

He tells us in John 16, 7 and 8, Jesus says, and I believe it was Jonathan that quoted this yesterday, but I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.

But if I go, I will send him to you, and he, when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

We need to be crucified with Christ. We need to be raised to new life in Christ. We need

Christ to change us. We need Christ to dwell in us. We need the Holy Spirit.

We cannot please God in ourselves, therefore there is no room for boasting.

A great place, and this will be the the bulk of our study, is 2 Corinthians. So if you will flip over to 2

Corinthians, this is a great place for me to see that truth. 2

Corinthians chapter 3, and the title of this little section is, Do Not Rely on the

Flesh. Let me read verses 1 through 5. Are we beginning to command ourselves again, or commend ourselves again, or do we need some letters of commendation to you or from you?

You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men, being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the

Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.

Wayne Barber says, In ancient times, the standard way a person or his ministry was approved was a letter of recommendation or letters of recommendation from sister churches that were sent, that he could look, that he took along with him and gave him credibility when he did.

Just like today, men, and Wayne says, listen carefully to what I'm saying, men have a way of judging men as whether or not their ministry was authentic.

Paul had evidently been criticized by false teachers. What does Paul say is the fruit or confirmation of a new covenant ministry.

He says, it's you, you are the letter written on our hearts and the manifestation of Christ's work in you is read by all men.

Our work is not written with ink or on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

The work and way of the old covenant is dying and is dead. The glory of the old covenant is fading and has faded.

The work of the old covenant was material. It was always a picture of a higher truth, a truth that a spiritual work needed to be done on the inside of man.

In the old covenant, what you could see with your eyes would eventually manifest itself in a spiritual reality.

In the new covenant, that spiritual reality takes place and manifests itself for our eyes to observe this work of the new covenant.

And is this is the work of the new covenant and is an authentic authentication and testimony of a new covenant ministry.

You can see this testimony of folks like Imago Dei who are out fighting for life, for pre -born babies.

God is manifesting his work through them and what they do. You can see this work in my brothers who are preaching and serving in their local churches and serving in music ministry in their local churches and serving their communities.

You can see Christ's work manifesting itself through them. And then to make it personal at home, you can see

Christ's work in my wife. We not too long ago started to foster and you can see

Christ in my wife at 12 a .m, 2 a .m, 4 a .m,

6 a .m with a child that is not our flesh and blood. Then she has to get ready for work.

After being up all night, yet she serves the

Lord. The examples and testimonies could go on and on of the work of the

Lord and his people. It's a work that we do that completely flows against our natural man, our selfish flesh.

Why in the world would we stay up all night long or serve other people when we could joyfully serve ourselves all day long?

When it comes to being a spirit empowered ambassador for Christ, a minister of the gospel, a minister of reconciliation, we must let go of any confidence in ourselves.

Paul says in verse 4, such confidence we have through Christ toward God.

Verse 5, not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.

In verse 6, God has made us adequate as servants of the new covenant. Paul tells us where this work of change takes place and he tells us there will be fruit and it will be evidenced by all men.

Yet the clearest evidence that the minister and the ministry is authentically from God is that the credit has been given to God alone.

It happened in Paul's day and it happens in ours. God will work in the hearts of men.

God will cause men to change from the inside out. Then man takes the credit.

But we're sneakier than that. You will hear some preachers say that they preach

Jesus and all the glory belongs to God until they want to sell you their sermon series box set.

But I want to tell you that in my opinion, the gospel is not for profit.

If you want to learn how to revitalize your church, if you want to learn how to evangelize, if you want to learn how to grow your numbers, make disciples or care for others, be ready to fork out the cash.

But Paul says that it's the spirit who gives life, not our pragmatic means.

Not only does the spirit make us adequate as new covenant servants, but the spirit is the one that gives life to those who are lost.

Not only are we inadequate to minister the gospel, we are inadequate to save anyone.

And there is no one that can save themselves. Nothing has changed from the beginning of time, and we've called it by many different names, but no matter what we call it, salvation by works is inadequate.

Paul says that the old covenant gave to us letters engraved in stone, and this letter kills and is the ministry of death.

The old covenant, the letter did have glory. Paul says, but even this glory was inadequate.

It was inadequate because Moses was only able to see the back of God and could not see

Jesus face to face. Verse 13 and 14 says, not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.

But their minds were hardened until this very day at the reading of old covenant, the same evil remains unlifted because it is removed by Christ.

Does man think he can be saved by works? Does man think he can understand the meaning of life?

Does man think he can know God? Does man think that he can say he believes in God and then continue to live his sinful ways and think he will be right with God in the end?

The answer is yes. Man thinks that way because man is deceived by Satan.

He is deceived by his own lust and the veil remains to this day on unbelievers, which keeps them from seeing the beauty of Christ through the gospel.

The veil can only be removed by Christ. And this is the reason.

In hope and with confidence, Paul says in verse 12, therefore having such a hope, we can use boldness of speech.

Verses 16 through 18 in chapter three. But whatever a person turns to, whenever a person turns to the

Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image of glory to glory, just as from the

Lord, the spirit. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Christ removes the veil. Then we all with unveiled faces can behold the glory of Christ.

And by the work of the spirit are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory.

So what does an empowered, a spirit empowered ambassador do? What are the do's and don'ts.

Second Corinthians four, one and two, the do's and don'ts verses one and two of chapter four.

Therefore, since we have this ministry, we have received mercy. We do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Excuse me. A spirit empowered ambassador does not lose hope.

We do not lose heart because we have received mercy. First Peter one through three, blessed be the

God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead by God's great kindness.

He has withheld the mighty judgment of his wrath that we rightly deserve in the light of his mercy toward us.

Because of that, we do not do ministry in a bad way.

In the example that Paul gives here, the spirit has led him to forcefully declare an utter and complete rejection of any shameful practices in ministry.

He has already been defending himself in second Corinthians one 17. He did not do it according to the flesh.

In chapter two, verse 17, he was not peddling the message. In chapter three, verse one, which we read, he said, we do not need letters of commendation.

But here in second Corinthians four two, Paul lists some of these shameful practices that do not mark his ministry.

He mentions craftiness like those who will stop at nothing and will use all manners of trickery to persuade you to follow them.

He tells us about not adulterating the message like a magician or salesman to bait and switch.

He will not lure you in by enticing words or promises. And the word adultery here also implies, and it carries with it, the idea of watering down.

A spirit empowered ambassador will never water down the message. This is why we can appeal to every man's conscience in the side of God, because the unadulterated truth was delivered.

No bells and whistles, just the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Second Corinthians four five, for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your bond servants for Jesus' sake.

As a spirit empowered ambassador, we do not preach ourselves.

We do not preach ourselves in the verses of the Bible. We do not preach in a way to attract the goats or unbelievers.

We do not preach to amuse a crowd. We do not appeal to man's methodologies or strategies.

We do not exalt ourselves as God's great instrument or service or appeal to ourselves as the apex of the

Christian life. First Corinthians two one says, and when

I come to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God, for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Intelligence or great speaking ability or persuasiveness or eloquence or even credibility for man are not prerequisite.

I can't use these big words this morning. They are not prerequisites to minister the gospel in the name of Jesus.

You may have those gifts, not by your own merit, but by the spirit of God, you may have those gifts, but they are not requirements for the spirit to be working.

It is the gospel that is the power of God to salvation. Romans one 16, faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.

Romans 10, 17. It is Christ that died and rose again. It is the spirit that regenerates and seals.

It is God that gives the growth, but we, we are mere clay pots, earthen vessels, some for honorable use, some for an honorable, still yet weak and fragile earthen vessels.

We are made holy, made useful for the master and prepared for good works.

First Timothy two, for by grace, you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves.

It is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians two eight nine, but far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our

Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Galatians six four, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might.

Let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the

Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things, declares the

Lord. Jeremiah nine, we also see in second

Corinthians four five, that we preach Jesus as what?

Lord. Jesus is the good shepherd, the son of man, the alpha and the omega, the lamb of God, the redeemer, the beloved son, the prince of peace, the mediator, the high priest, the fountain of living waters, the rock, the door, the true vine, the true

Israel, the light of the world, the word, the mighty counselor, the great prophet, the greater

Moses, the second Adam, the first fruits, the sovereign, the almighty God, he is

Jesus Christ the Lord. As a spirit empowered ambassador, we will preach

Jesus as Lord. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He has been given the nations as his inheritance.

He has purchased a spotless bride with his own blood. Now, no one can match his power.

No one can blemish his majesty. No one can thwart his rule, and no one can circumnavigate his will.

We preach Christ as Lord. And as we preach and serve

Jesus, what I get from verse five here, we are also serving you.

As a spirit empowered ambassador, we preach ourselves, quoting verse five, ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus' sake.

We are not motivated by self, but we are led by the

Savior. There's not a greater commentary for this than what Paul has already laid out in verses six through 15.

So let me go through verses six through 15 with just a little bit of commentary to talk about that subject.

Verse six, for God who said, light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is all about the glory and beauty of Christ. If we can be saved by any other means, then someone else receives the glory.

It is God that shines the light in the darkness. This is how the new birth happens.

It is God that shines the light of the glory of Christ in our hearts. Apart from the light of God, we would not know the beauty of Christ.

To those whom he has saved, Christ is glorious. And God gets the credit because it is he that has made

Christ known to us. And this is the glory of Christ that we have been made to be known by him.

Verse seven, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power of God and not from ourselves.

There are no words to describe the lowness of man or the highness of God.

It was necessary that this kind of power come from not just outside of us, but outside of this world.

This is the power of God and the reason we do not preach ourselves. Verses eight through 12, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not despairing, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed.

Always caring about in the body, the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death works in us, but life in you. Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Matthew 16. The answer is nothing.

Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. Naked, come to thee for dress.

Helpless, look to thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly.

Wash me, Savior, or I die. Not the labor of my hands can fulfill the law's demands.

Could my zeal no respite know? Could my tears forever flow? All could sin, all never, all could never sin erase.

Thou must save and save by grace. Verses 13 and 15. But having the same spirit of faith according to what is written,

I believe, therefore I spoke. We also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that he who raised the

Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you. For all, for all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

When we stand, we stand firm. When we march, we march with confidence.

When we serve, we serve with humility. When we lead, we lead with hope. Because Christ has been raised, we too will be raised with him.

And all we do for the sake of man are done so that grace may go forth to all the more.

In order that thanks be given by all to glorify God. 2

Corinthians chapter 5 verses 13 and 16. The title of this little section is,

A Spirit -Empowered Ambassador is an Odd Duck to the World. 13 through 16.

For we, for if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are of sound mind, it is for you.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.

And he died for all so that they who live might not longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf.

If you say that we are sane, if you say that we are of a sound mind, then we're looking like you, like the rest of the world.

If we behave this way, we are doing it for you and we're doing it for your sake.

And we're forsaking the power of Christ that's within us. What I'm trying to say is if we're trying to please, please the world or please man, we're going to look like them and forsake the power of Christ.

However, if we are empowered and controlled by the spirit, then we are going to look foolish to the world.

This is what A .W. Tozer says about looking foolish. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen.

He talks familiarly every day to someone he cannot see. He expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another.

He empties himself in order that he might be full. He admits he is wrong so he can be declared right.

He goes down in order to get up. He is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and he is happiest when he feels the worst.

He dies so that he can live, forsakes in order that he can have, and gives away so that he can keep.

He sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge.

Christ died so that we could die. Christ rose so that we could rise. We have died to ourselves so that we could live by Christ, to Christ, and for Christ.

Romans 6 11 says, even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 14 7 and 8, for not one of us lives for himself. Not one dies for himself.

For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or we die, we are the

Lord's. First Corinthians 6 19 and 20, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the

Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

You have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. Galatians 2 20,

I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.

And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

We now therefore see no one according to the flesh or evaluate them by man.

This is how they personally, the disciples, they personally knew Jesus. This is how he walked with them and he talked with them.

But we have been made new. We don't see things according to the flesh anymore.

The old things have passed away. We no longer ask, are you from Abraham?

Are you from Moses? Do you keep the law? Are you a good person? A spirit -empowered ambassador sees things in a new way because he has been made new.

Galatians 3 25 and 29 say, but now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

If you belong to Christ, you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to the promise.

In reality, how did it ever benefit us to live according to the flesh, to live according to the law, to live according to religion?

It didn't benefit them at all and it never benefited us. The love of Christ would have us to see other people as either one of two ways.

I either see you as my brother and sister in Christ or I see you as a potential brother and sister in Christ.

There's no one better than anyone else. There is no higher or lower classes.

There are no birthrights or silver spoons in the kingdom. Christ died for me.

How can I not live for him and treat others in a way that the gospel treated me?

Last part, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 18 through 21. Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he was committed to us the word of reconciliation.

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. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Let me finish the verse. Being friends now with Pastor Claude for a good while,

I've learned something about him that I'm sure many of you know. My brother loves ice cream, especially before bedtime.

If Claude were to call me and invite me over for some ice cream, he wouldn't have to do much persuading.

He wouldn't have to describe how good the ice cream would make me feel. There I said it again. He wouldn't have to explain how great it tastes.

He wouldn't have even have to tell me about all the different ways you can have ice cream. You've got your fried ice cream.

You got ice cream sundaes. You got ice cream in a bowl, ice cream in a waffle cone, ice cream in a sugar cone, ice cream in a mason jar with all kinds of toppings.

You got milkshake, and the best way to eat ice cream is right out of the carton. Of course, he wouldn't have to go through all that trouble.

I have experienced for myself the greatness of ice cream. Because of this experience,

I do not hesitate to jump in my car and head over to Claude's house for some fantastic ice cream and fellowship.

But, if you've never experienced ice cream for yourself in that way, Claude and I would appeal to you to be reconciled to ice cream today.

And I don't mean to lower the message or make it trite, but I use that as an example.

Paul says in verse 18, God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, not to ice cream, of course, but to himself.

But what does that look like? What has he given us? More likely than not, you have received it.

That's why you're here today. God has saved you. You are born again.

You have been made new. And based on what God has done for you, his goodness and loving kindness compels you with great desire to be with other believers and to plead with non -believers to be reconciled to God themselves.

A spirit -empowered ambassador will be an ambassador for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation.

If you could only know the love of God the way I do. We entreat you, we plead with you, be reconciled to God.

Repent, turn from your sins, and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

May God be praised. Now, go therefore based on the authority given to Jesus in heaven and on earth.

Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that he has commanded you because he is with us always by the

Spirit. And by the Spirit, be ambassadors of Christ. Application, relinquish any confidence in the flesh.

Keep your eyes on Christ. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word.

Through your Holy Spirit, would you be working it in us that we may please you because that's the only way it happens by you.