Lord, I thank you for this day. Thank you that we’re able here to gather and worship in your name. Have the ability to do that in this free country, Lord. Thank you that we’re able to do that because not a lot of people in this world are. We have a school in the country that we’re living. And to really do that. Thank for that. I pray, Lord, as pastor comes up and speaks, Lord, that you help us to soften our hearts and open our eyes. Lord, hear the message that’s being us.

Amen. Amen. That’s a great prayer. Appreciate that. Appreciate the songs. Come on. All right. Open your Bibles. The second. Oh, there we go. Second Corinthians, chapter five. Second Corinthians, chapter five. Appreciate the music. I appreciate the prayer very much. Very heartfelt. Love the words. It’s good to be back with you today. I’ve been assigned the subject for today as an ambassador is accountable to the sending king. An ambassador is accountable to the sending king. We want to read 2nd Corinthians 5, verses 7 through 10 this morning. Apostle Paul writes here, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased, rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him.

For we must all appear before the judgment, seat of Christ. That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. There’s a wonderful truth that we can see here, declared by the apostle Paul in verse 8, that all of God’s people can take a lot of comfort in, no matter your age, that as a people of faith in Jesus, when our souls depart from this body, we will be present with the Lord. Indeed, there’s a lot of things about dying that is a mystery. But there are some truths in the word of God that are certain that we see, and this is it, that as believers, when we die, we are immediately in the presence of the Lord. There is no holding place between here and heaven. There is no limbo.

There’s no middle ground at all. We immediately, as a child of God, we go to be with Jesus. Can anybody think of a good passage or an account in the Bible that teaches this? Can anybody think of one? Nobody. Any story in the Bible where Jesus made it clear that as soon as you die, you would be with him. Remember the thief on the cross? Yeah, right. Jesus told the thief on the cross, he said, today you will be with me in paradise. And so really appreciate the answer there. And so that’s a great hope that we have in Christ by faith. And listen, we are safe and secure through the work of Jesus Christ as we have faith in him. Our eternity is secure through his work on our behalf. We are bought by his blood.

We belong to him, and he will bring us one day home to himself to live with him forever and ever. And that’s a great hope we have. And he is referencing this in chapter five. He’s talking about the new body we will receive. And then we will immediately be with the Lord when we leave this earth. And that is a truth that we can be confident in. It’s a truth that Paul was confident in. He says there in the verses we read in verse 8, we are confident he knew that when his soul left his body that he would be present with the Lord. Now, it’s because of this great hope and the faith he had in the promise of God that Paul says in verse nine. He says this.

Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him. You know, Paul wanted to do that which was well pleasing to the Lord Jesus because of the great hope that he had in Christ and that one day he knew that he would be in the presence of Jesus forever. Now, as Christians, we should all know here, hopefully, that we do not try to do that which is well pleasing to God in order to go to heaven. Correct. In other words, we’re not trying to do good to go to heaven. That’s not what we’re trying to accomplish. But rather, as Christians, we are seeking to do good because we are already going to heaven because of what Jesus has done for us.

Many people try to do good because they are trying to earn their way into the presence of God, but that’s not how we get there. But as believers in Christ so saved by his grace, we should be seeking to do good and to do that which is well pleasing to the Lord because we are saved from our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us, and we are trusting in him alone for our forgiveness. Now, just because we know we are going to heaven, and because we know that salvation from our sins is all of Jesus, that does not mean that it gives us any sort of liberty to be able to just live after the flesh or after sin. And so we should be, as Paul, who further said, notice what he said.

Therefore, we make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him. Does anybody know what it means to make it your aim to please Jesus? What does it mean for something to be your aim? What does that mean? Does anybody know? Does anybody do any shooting? Right? What do you shoot at other than deer? Right? You shoot at targets, right? You make it your target to make something your aim means to make something your target. It’s your purpose, it’s your intention, okay? That’s your focus, it’s your mark. And so Paul is saying, I make it my aim. I make it my target. It’s my purpose, my intention to aim to please Jesus, to do that which is well pleasing to him. And so we need to ask ourselves that question this morning. Is that how we are seeking to live our life?

I mean, did we even think about it today or yesterday or two days ago? Did we get up at any time in the day and say, lord Jesus, how can I please you? How can I honor you with my life? And so is that how we’re living now? Paul states this Next in verse 10. He says this for or because we Christians must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And so just because, when we put all this together, just because we are saved, washed and forgiven through faith and the blood of Jesus Christ, and just because we are secure in Jesus and going to heaven, that doesn’t mean that we as believers will not stand before Jesus one day and give an account on how we live the life that he gave us. Because we Will.

We’ve been saved by grace, and we have been sent out now by King Jesus to live for him, to use the gifts and talents that he’s given us and to give his message to the world so long as we are here. And one day we will stand before Jesus and he’s going to ask us about that. And so I want to look at those three things quickly. This morning that we just mentioned, that we will stand before the Lord and give an account for number one, how we lived. How we lived. Paul said that we would give answer to the things. Notice what he says done in the body. Now, what we do with. With these bodies matter. Listen, these bodies are not our own, according to what Paul says. I think it is in First Corinthians, chapter six.

Well, these bodies are not our own, for we have been bought with a price. And what is that price? The blood of Jesus Christ. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to the Lord. And as Christians, we will give an account for what we’ve done in these bodies for Jesus. So what we do with these bodies matter. What we do with our minds, what we think about, what we think upon, what we do with these eyes, the things that we look at, what we do with these hands, the things we put our hands to we work at, the things we touch, what we do with these feet, the places we go, what we do with our tongues, of the words we speak and the way we speak, then all of that matters to the Lord.

And the good thing is that all of these things, because they matter to the Lord, that when we are conscious of how we use our minds, our eyes, our. Our hands, our feet, our mouth, as we are conscious of that and seek to please the Lord with that. But that is honorable to the Lord. In other words, you don’t have to have a huge ministry with a big name on it to do something that pleases Jesus. As a child of God walking by faith, you can please the Lord with the things you think about. You can please the Lord with the things you look at, the words you speak, the places you go, the things you put your hands to, how you serve other people.

So don’t get an idea that, but, boy, I have to have some sort of big ministry or my name and lights, or everybody’s got to know me in order for me to serve Jesus and to please him. That’s not true. That’s not true. But we will give answer for how we live. And so what we do matters. If you can turn to Titus, chapter 2 Titus chapter 2, and start with verse 11, Titus 2:11. You know, as Christians, we are called upon to lives that honor the Lord, that are holy and separate. And we talked about that last week about how we are foreigners and strangers and we’re different in the world.

And this further states that in Titus 2:11 he says, for by the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people. Zealous for good works. Listen, because we are saved by grace, it teaches us to live for Jesus. We’re not trying to do right to earn grace, but because of grace.

And what it has taught us through the salvation that we have in Christ, it teaches us we should live for our Savior, who gave himself for us, to redeem us from a life of sin and to purify for Himself a people that are zealous for good works. So be zealous to serve the Lord with your bodies, with how you live. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary for you, and you have eternal life and you want to honor him, you know, an ambassador to another country, if he does not behave well morally, he’ll be brought home because he’s not representing his country well. And so he might be taken out of that country if he does not maintain his character.

Now we as Christians, you see, we bear the name of Jesus and we represent King Jesus and we serve underneath his banner. And so we must care about how we carry that name. Because you may be the only christian that maybe some other friends know. You might be the only one that bears the name of Christ at your first job. You might be the only christian that some people will know later in life. And so as you identify as a Christ follower, they will look at you to represent Christ. And so it’s important that we live a life that is honorable to the name whereby we serve the name of Jesus Christ. We should care about how we represent our king. Paul told Timothy, he said this, the Lord knows who are his.

And then he said, let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. So let us lives that are well pleasing to the Lord, lives that are holy, lives that seek after to do good as we serve underneath the name of Jesus, because as Christians listen, we will give account to the Lord and how we live. Secondly, the things or secondly, regarding how we use our talents or gifts. We won’t read all of this account but in Matthew chapter 25, or all of this parable. I should say this parable in Matthew 25:14 on down. Now, we don’t have time to deal with this whole parable, but and I’m sure there would be questions as you read the whole thing, but there’s a truth that we will see that is clear and the verses that we will read.

The servants give account to the Lord for how they used what he left them in their trust and care. In Matthew 25:14 he says, for the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one to each according to his own ability. And immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord’s money. After a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

And so he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look, I have gained five more talents besides them. His Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. If you read on, he says unto them, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. And he said the same thing to the one that had two. You see, the one that had five talents and multiplied at the five, and the other had two and made that additional two. The Lord Jesus said, says the same thing to them. You know, it doesn’t matter how many talents or gifts we may have. What matters is that we use it faithfully.

Now, talents here literally is money in this parable, but it represents more than money because it’s about stewardship. It’s about stewardship. It’s about how we handle our finances. Yes, and we will give an account for that. But it implies stewardship of all things that God has entrusted to our life. Kind of like your parents, you see, you have been entrusted by the Lord to them. See, your parents will give an account before the Lord, and how they raised you, the things they taught you, they will answer to the Lord for that. All of us have been given so many things in our life, and it Matters how we handle it now. Can we think of anything right now, off the top of your mind, that we will give an account before the Lord and how we handle it? Some sort of stewardship?

Anybody think of anything? What is something you manage? What is something you ought to take care of? What is something that the Lord has given you that you need to handle? Well, yeah. Right. Tell people about Jesus. Absolutely. Take care of what? Okay, yeah. Take care of your body. Yeah, we mentioned that. That fits perfectly. Absolutely. What is something possibly that all of us have. We have a body. Yes. All of us have a soul. Take care of your soul. Take care of your life. We all have time, right. We don’t know how much time. And some people are given more time than others in regards to. They may live longer. Right. But it matters what you do with what time you have. There are some other things you’ve been given. You’ve been given money. Maybe not too. Maybe not so much right now.

Right. But I’m sure maybe some of you have some of it, but you’re going to have more later. Right? What you do with that matters? Your physical ability, your knowledge. Yeah. Can somebody repeat what he said? I couldn’t hear it. Sin. Yeah, we do have sin. Imagining your sin? Absolutely. What about your spiritual gifts? Right. You know, as a child of God, the Word of God teaches that all of us have spiritual gifts. Some may have one, two, maybe more. We see some spiritual gifts being used up here in music.

Right?

But all of us have different kinds of spiritual gifts. Some people are better listeners, some people are better talkers. There’s several spiritual gifts in the Word of God. In Romans, chapter 12, I think it is in First Corinthians it talks about that. But God has endowed you with certain talents, abilities. It’s important that we identify what those are and that we use them for the Lord Jesus. Why? To please him. And see, there’s a lot of people that have some talents in life, but they don’t use them to please Jesus. There’s a lot of musical artists, right? I mean, are they talented? Some of them, absolutely. But do all of them use those talents to bring Jesus glory and to please Jesus? They don’t. But as Christians, whatever your talent is, it’s so important that you use that for the Lord.

Ambassadors are always given everything they need in order to do the work that they have been sent to do. And everything that the Lord wants you to accomplish while you are here on this earth. He’s given you everything you need in order to serve him in a way that pleases him. That’s wonderful to think about. And you will give an account for that. Indeed. And wouldn’t it be wonderful that if you’ve used your life, you’ve used your talents, you’ve used everything that God has given you, and you stand before Jesus one day, who gave himself up for you, and he says these wonderful words, which I think would be the best words to ever hear from Jesus as a christian standing before him. Well done, good and faithful servant. Can you imagine better words?

And to hear the Son of God say that to you as you stand before him. Now, the third thing we’ll be held accountable for is our Word. Somebody said about telling the gospel, sharing the Word of God. Do you see? Ambassadors have a message to take to the country they are sent to, and they must be faithful to give that message. An ambassador is not free to change the message that the president has sent him to speak. He must. And as such, we must faithfully speak the words of King Jesus. You know, Paul told the young preacher to preach the Word, to be ready in season, out of season. And Paul said that he was ready to meet the Lord, that he had kept the faith and all of those sayings.

And we are encouraged that we too would be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. And then Paul says, holding forth the Word of life. And that is our mission, holding forth the Word of God. You see, the Word of God is sufficient for what God wants to accomplish through us as we share words with people. You may have a hard time talking to people, but know this, that there’s power in the Word of God. Are we sharing the Lord Jesus? Are we sharing the Word of God with others? You see? So let us make it our aim. Let us make it our aim. We will give an account to the Lord.

And so it’s so important that we make it our aim, our focus, our purpose in life, our intention, our goal in life, to do that which is well pleasing to Christ our Savior. And so let use our bodies, everything that’s been entrusted to us, the Word of God that’s been entrusted to us, to bring Jesus glory because he is worthy that has died for us. He is worthy that gave Himself for us, that has given us life. And one day we will for sure be with him that all eternity in that eternal home. And so let’s not live for this life, but let us lay up treasures in heaven above where Moth or rust cannot corrupt and lives well, pleasing to Jesus. You will never ever regret that. You will regret it if you don’t, but you won’t regret ever living for Jesus.

So make it your aim to live well, pleasing to Jesus. Amen. All right. Thank you for your participation. Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we pray for your help, Lord, that we would make it our aim, our purpose, our intention in life to lives well, pleasing unto you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for going to the cross of Calvary and dying on the cross, that we may have eternal life through faith in you. And I pray, Father, that you would help us to live for you, Lord. I pray, Lord, encouragement for all of the young people that are here, Lord, that their hearts would be soft and tender towards you. And, Lord, that they would seek with all of their minds and hearts and souls and bodies to love Jesus with all that they have to lives well, pleasing to him and to bring him glory.Help them, we pray. Thank you for this opportunity to speak into this fine crowd of young people in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so much for your attention today.