Go ahead and turn with me in your Bibles to Acts, chapter nine. Now, in this series over the past few weeks, I hope it has been abundantly clear that we’re going back to basics this year. And what we’ve been trying to do over the last four or five weeks is to really answer the question of what does it mean to be an ambassador? And today is the last day of that little mini series, if you will, of answering the question of what it means to be an ambassador. And today the answer to that question is that an ambassador is both a privileged and a dangerous role.

Now, most of you have heard the story of Paul’s conversion, I’m sure, right? Paul of Tarsus, he’s going down to the Damascus road all of a sudden. You know, this was after he was giving threats and murder against Christians, or, well, he got metaphorically knocked square on his back with the bright shining light of the risen Christ. It was dramatic and it was miraculous. And it’s the kind of conversion story, of course, that you’ve probably heard in Sunday school. But here’s what we often miss. It’s that immediately after Paul’s conversion, God doesn’t just save him and move on, right? All done. Not even close. You see, God tells Ananias exactly what Paul’s life is going to look like, and it’s not what you’d expect. And if you’re in Acts, chapter nine, read with me. And starting in verse one.

But Paul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and he asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now, as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and he suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

And falling to the ground, heard a voice saying to him, Paul, why are you persecuting me? He said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do. The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one, Paul rose from the ground. And although his eyes were open, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. Now there is a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ananias. And he said, here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight.

And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Paul. For behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. Pay attention to the last two verses. But the Lord said to him, go. For he is a chosen instrument of. Of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Two sentences there at the end, right?

That is really all God says about Paul’s future calling. Number one, he’s chosen. Second, he must suffer privilege and danger, glory and cost. The two are inseparable in the Christian life. You see, here’s the lie that many of us have been led to believe, whether we realize it or not, ready for this. It’s that God just exists to make our lives comfortable. Jesus saves us so we could be happy, blessed, successful. Christianity is of course about God serving us, not us serving him. That’s what I like to refer to as co cultural Christianity. It’s a fake gospel that wants the privileges of the faith without any of the danger. But Acts chapter nine completely destroys that lie. Now here’s what we’re going to see today. God has called all of us to the most important mission in the world.

And if you weren’t aware, it will cost you everything. But you will gain everything. You see, if you are a Christian today, this is your calling too. Not just mine, not just your teacher, not just your parents, but yours too. You are an ambassador for Christ. So as we continue, let me open in a word of prayer. Father, I thank you for the opportunity now to come before these fine students and to. And to preach your word. Father, I thank you for that opportunity. But Lord, I pray most for your spirit to guide this time. And Father, that my voice would be nothing More than the words that you would have for all of us today.

That you would work within all of our hearts and minds, and that you would change us further by your spirit into the perfect image of your son, Jesus. Father, words are nothing unless you move first in mercy and grace. So, Father, I pray that you would do so today. Amen. Now, the first point I want to make here as we walk through this passage is that an ambassador is chosen by God, which of course is a great privilege, right? We read in Acts 9, 15, the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel. Okay, now let’s remember the context here. Paul, he wasn’t seeking God. He wasn’t searching for truth. He’s not even open to the Gospel.

In verse one there, it says that he was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Paul was literally hunting Christians with the intent to imprison and to kill them. But then Jesus appears and changes everything. Blinding light. And Paul falls to the ground. And God says to Ananias, he is a chosen instrument of mine. I hope it’s very clear that Paul did not choose God. God chose Paul. And it wasn’t when Paul was ready. It wasn’t when Paul was good and cleaned himself up enough. It wasn’t when Paul was even seeking and warm to this idea of Jesus. God chose Paul when Paul was the enemy of Jesus Christ. Now, notice the language here. God calls Paul an instrument, right? In the Greek, means it’s this vessel or tool to be used for something. Paul, of course, is not the message.

He is only but the messenger. He’s not the content. He is the carrier. God says that Paul will carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel. This, of course, I hope you see, is ambassador language, right? An ambassador doesn’t speak his own words. An ambassador represents someone greater. The ambassador carries the authority, the message and the reputation of the one who sent him. Paul, of course, as we know through the rest of the accounts of Acts, he will stand before rulers, nations, religious leaders, kings, and he will speak with Christ’s very authority. Because Christ chose him and commissioned him to be an ambassador. We all know 2nd Corinthians 5:20. I’m sure most of you have that memorized by now. If you’ve been listening over the past few weeks, it’s very clear. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

God making his very appeal through us because he chose us. Now, Paul’s calling wasn’t just to be saved. The work didn’t stop there. The goal was to be sent to carry Christ’s name and to represent Jesus as a hostile world. Now, I have another news flash, and this might be a little hard to believe, as I think most of you grew up in a Christian home. And I have the opportunity at our church, where I serve as an elder, to hear testimonies from a lot of folks. And I always hear people that grew up in a Christian home speak about their testimonies as less miraculous than the Apostle Paul’s, which quite honestly, breaks my heart a little bit, because I want you all to know this.

Whether you grew up in a Christian home or you grew up in the polar opposite like I did. Your salvation story is no less miraculous than what happened to Paul on the Damascus road. You all hear me? It is no less miraculous than what happened to Paul on the Damascus road. Okay, maybe you didn’t see a blinding light, okay? But the spiritual reality is identical. You were dead, as was I. Hostile to God and utterly unable to choose him. Romans 8, 7, 8 says, for the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Of course, those are Paul’s words, not mine. But if you read that the natural mind is hostile to God. It is not neutral. It is not confused.

It is hostile. And it’s not just that we don’t submit to God. The text there in Romans 8 says that we cannot. Apart from God’s intervention, His grace, his mercy, we are spiritually dead and we are incapable of choosing him. Romans 3, 10, 11 says this, that none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. No one seeks for God. Not me, not you, no one. We were all running in the very opposite direction of Christ until He intervened through mercy and grace. You say, well, how do any of us become a Christian? Well, the same way Paul did. God chooses us, and he moves first in mercy and grace. Jesus says in John 15:16 that, you did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.

Ephesians 1:4 says that he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Before were born, before we could do anything good or bad, before we had any say in the matter. God chose us not because were worthy, not because we sought him, but because of his sovereign grace and because of his mercy, Right? Many of you again grew up in Christian homes. And I have heard many testimonies of those who have grew up in Christian homes talk less about their testimony than someone who had some blinding transformation of absolute worldly darkness to the opposite. But I want you to know that your call, your election, your salvation are no less than Paul’s on the Damascus road. The only difference is that Paul’s rebellion was visible and dramatic.

I’d like to think that no one here is guilty of murder, right? Persecution, rage. Our rebellion is often quite quieter than Paul’s, right? Maybe it’s self righteousness, maybe it’s pride, maybe it’s living for ourselves, but the spiritual reality is the same, that were all hostile to God, dead in our sin as we read in Ephesians 2, unable and unwilling to choose him. But yet God chooses in his mercy and his grace to break through our hostility. And he opens our blind eyes and he gives us a new heart and he makes us alive when were dead. It is a miracle that God performs. And again, he chose us, just like Paul, not just to save us and be done with us, but to send us. There is a reason of why he moved in mercy and moved in grace.

Saving may have been the means, but doing his work was the goal of the Great Commission. And I have to say that’s quite a privilege, isn’t it? Now the question here for all of us today is we have to ask ourselves as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling as the Scriptures tell us, the question is, do we belong to Christ? And if you do, if you’ve truly been born again, if you have genuine faith in Jesus, that’s because God chose you. And you need to know that you are not insignificant just because you’re not Paul, just because books of the Bible will not be written by you are not insignificant. You’re not an accident. And you have been selected by the King of kings to carry his name into the world. That is a privilege.

And if you do not think about that as a privilege, I hope that you do. Because this is really, this is the highest honor that anyone in the universe can possess. Now of course, this privilege never comes alone. And the second point today is that an ambassador goes in to hostile territory. Verse 16 there in chapter 9 of Acts says, for I will show him how much he must not might, must suffer for the sake of my name. Now here’s what strikes me a little bit in this passage. Before Paul preaches his first sermon, before he plants his first church before he writes even a single letter that will become scripture, God tells him that suffering is going to define his very ministry. Now there’s something interesting here. God doesn’t even tell this first to Paul.

He tells it to Ananias and you say, well, why? Well, I think that it’s because he knew that the church needed to know that Paul’s suffering was not a mistake or a sign of God’s absence. It is part of the mission, it is part of the plan. And again, I point you to the word must. There at least what’s in the esv. This is not optional. Suffering that might happen if Paul, well, just got a little bit unlucky with those judaizers. No, this is divinely appointed suffering that will happen because he is God’s chosen instrument. God says, I will show him. God is very active here throughout all of Paul’s suffering. God is not just permitting the suffering, God is orchestrating it as part of Paul’s ambassadorship. Now this shouldn’t surprise us, at least I hope it doesn’t, right?

We’re told elsewhere in the scripture that indeed if anyone seeks to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, they will face persecution. Luke 9:23 says, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Now, taking up our crosses is not just a metaphor for some minor convenience like, oh, I got to do this thing my parents asked me to do, right? We wear crosses around our neck, we hang them on the walls at our churches and whatnot. But in the first century, they would never have done that. The cross was a one way ticket to the most violent death anyone could have ever undergone. Jesus is saying here, following means dying to yourself every single day. Or as we read in Luke 14, if you don’t, you cannot be my disciple.

The language is strong and the language is serious. Now here’s where cultural Christianity falls apart. Cultural Christianity says that just come to Jesus, your problems are going away. You’re gonna be blessed, happy, successful, wealthy, comfortable, you name it, right? Acts 9:16 says, Come to Jesus and I will show you how much you will suffer for my namesake. Now, following Jesus is going to cost us. This great privilege comes with danger. Here’s what it might look like, right? Maybe with your friends. You’re with your friends. The conversation turns inappropriate, right? Everyone’s talking about this and what have you, right? Maybe cultural Christianity says, I’ll just be quiet to keep the peace. Nah, we’ll leave this alone. But here’s the difference? God’s ambassador speaks the truth. In those moments, they stand up for what is right, no matter what it’s about.

Maybe just by refusing to participate. But here’s the thing. If you’ve ever had to do that, you will know that it costs you something. These people that were your friends will call you judgmental. They will leave you out next time. But you need to remember that you’re not living for their approval anymore. You’re Christ’s ambassador. Maybe your reputation will take an impact, right? When you stand for biblical truth on something that your unsaved friends disagree with, you’ll be called intolerant, hateful, and a bigot, among many other things. I’m sure friends who were fine with you when Christianity was nothing more than some cultural label because we live in America will not be okay with you when it becomes your convictional identity. Maybe it’ll affect your comfort.

Maybe when this obedience requires sacrifice, maybe when this faithfulness means missing out on certain parties or an opportunity or an experience everyone else is taking, you’ll feel the cost. Maybe for some of you, like me, will face issues with your family because of your decision to follow Jesus. Maybe it’ll create tension at home. Maybe you’ll be mocked, or maybe just outright opposition. Jesus isn’t surprised by these realities, right? In John 15, he says, if the world has hated me, it will hate you also. If you were of the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Matthew, chapter 10. He says, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. You see, an ambassador goes into hostile territory.

That’s the job. You’re all in hostile territory right now. Not because you’re inside the walls of the Troy campus, but because you’re inside the world. And if your faith never costs you anything, if following Jesus is so perfectly comfortable that no one ever opposes you, and if you never have to sacrifice, then quite honestly, you’re probably not doing it right. Maybe you’re not actually being Christ’s ambassador, but just coasting on the coattails of cultural Christianity. Now, the third point I want to make here is that an ambassador’s scars prove their loyalty. Now let’s fast forward a little bit in Paul’s life, okay? Years have passed. He’s planted churches, he’s written letters, he’s preached the Gospel all across the Roman Empire, which in those days was effectively the entire known world.

And then in Second Corinthians, he is defending his apostleship against false teachers who are boasting about their credentials, their success, and their authority. Here’s how Paul responds. I’ll read it in 2 Corinthians 11, starting in verse 21. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I am talking like a madman. With far great labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews, the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked.

A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all churches. Paul says, who, huh? You want credentials? I’ll show you my credentials. You want proof of my apostleship? Let me show you my back. You want to know that I am truly Christ’s ambassador. Look at what it’s cost me. 195 lashes total was more than Jesus received before the cross. He was beaten with rods three times. He was stoned once and left for dead.

If you remember, one time he was stoned and left for dead. What did he do? He got back up and he went back in the city and he kept preaching because he’s like, I wasn’t finished yet. He was shipwrecked three times, he was adrift at sea for a night and a day. Danger from rivers, robbers, Jews, Gentiles, wilderness, sea, and false brothers. And then, of course, last but far from least, the daily burden of carrying for the churches he planted. Now this, of course, as far as I’m concerned, this is Acts, chapter 9, verse 16. Being fulfilled, God said, I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. And Paul’s entire ministry became the living proof of that prophecy. Now, the suffering wasn’t random. The suffering was not some failure on Paul’s part.

It was the confirmation that Paul was truly God’s chosen instrument. It meant that he was really warring against the evil spiritual world. He was truly being the ambassador of Christ. Now, cultural Christianity often measures success by comfort and ease. Paul measured it by faithfulness, scars and sacrifices. Now, I love this because after all of this suffering, after all of these scars, Paul writes in Philippians chapter three, starting in verse seven. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.

For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God that depends on faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. In other words, what he’s really saying is that I might attain glorification. Glorification is just a fancy word to say the absolute final completion of your salvation. You see, Paul didn’t just endure the suffering. Paul didn’t just survive it. You see, Paul counted it as worth it.

Every beating, every shipwreck, every rejection, the sleepless night, the no food, the no water was worth it. Why? Well, because he knew that knowing Jesus was far better than anything else and that the privilege of being chosen by God and knowing Christ outweighed every danger, ca cost and sacrifice. And the question for you is, what’s your reputation worth compared to knowing Jesus? What’s your popularity worth compared to knowing Jesus? What is your comfort worth compared to knowing Jesus? What does fitting in with the crowds mean compared to knowing Jesus? Paul looked at everything the world offered and he called it rubbish compared to Christ. And the question we have to ask ourselves, can we do the same? Paul looked at everything the world offered and he called it rubbish. His scars proved his loyalty.

And we have to ask, what scars are we willing to bear for the name of Jesus Christ? Now, as we go to close, we see three things here today about being Christ’s ambassador. And it’s all about the privilege and the danger of the role. Again, first, an ambassador is chosen by God. Everything starts there. You can see it on the signs outside as you drive in. Right? We didn’t choose Jesus. God chose us. Our salvation is no less miraculous than Paul’s Damascus Road experience. Cultural Christianity says that, well, we just made a decision. Acts 9 says God performed a miracle. And if he chose us, that is a great privilege and a Great honor. Second, an ambassador goes into hostile territory. Following Jesus will cost you. I don’t know how much it will cost you. Nobody can guarantee you what it will cost you.

It may cost you friendships, reputation, comfort, family, approval. Cultural Christianity says that following Jesus makes life easier. But Acts chapter nine says that it will cost you everything. And finally, an ambassador. Scars prove their loyalties. You see, Paul’s suffering was not a sign of failure. I can’t say that enough. It wasn’t proof of failure. It was proof of faithfulness. Cultural Christianity will measure success by comfort. Paul measured it by his scars. And of course, I hope you know that I don’t just mean scars as in some physical defamation of your body in persecution. This could be relationships, family, whatever. It might be something that you’ve lost. And you will bear that for the rest of your life. And here’s the deal. If you’re a Christian, if you truly belong to Christ, then God chose you.

And I cannot say enough how incredible of a privilege that is to be chosen by Him. But the reality we have to understand is that he chose us for a dangerous mission. It will cost you. We just saw a couple weeks ago that it cost someone their very life. And the question we have to ask ourselves, is Jesus worth that? Paul said yes. Paul counted everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Maybe you’re here today and you’re realizing, I’m not sure that I’ve ever truly been saved. I’ve gone through the motions. I’ve said the words, but I don’t know if I actually belong to Christ. And here’s what we need to understand. We can’t choose God on our own. God moves first in grace and mercy. Romans 3 makes it clear that nobody seeks for God.

But if you do seek him, you will find Him. That is a command and a promise of scripture. Maybe through His Spirit, he’s using the words from the scriptures today to move into your heart and to bring you to salvation. Today, maybe you’re seeing Jesus for who he really is. Maybe you’re seeing what it truly means to be a Christian, really come to light today. If that’s you, cry out to him right where you’re at. Repent of your sin. Put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. After, ask him to save you, to give you a new heart, to make you his ambassador. And if he does, you’ll know it wasn’t your decision. You’ll know that it was his miracle. Because at the end of the day, we only need to do two things to Be saved, repent and to believe.

Now, for those of you today sitting here who do belong to Christ, where is God calling you to be his ambassador this week even though it might cost you something in return? Maybe there’s a conversation that you’ve been avoiding with one of your friends. Maybe it’s speaking truth when everyone else is silent. Maybe it’s refusing to compromise when everybody else says, nah, don’t be such a stick in the mud, it’s no big deal. Maybe it’s sharing the gospel with a very good friend that you’ve had for a long time that wants nothing to do with Jesus. You see, you need to know that if you were chosen by God, you have a great privilege to carry out the most important mission in the world. I would challenge all of us today to not waste it on comfort.

Not to settle for the cultural Christianity that we see in America, but to truly be Christ’s ambassador. To celebrate the privilege to look head on and face the danger. And to know that at the end of our days, when we stand before the risen Christ, we will be able to say with Paul and all of the other saints in the martyr’s blood who stains the pages of our Bibles, that we never made a sacrifice. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this time this morning. Father, I don’t know where all of these souls are at today, but Father, I know that they are precious to you.

Father, I pray that the ones that don’t know you, that you would do a miracle within their heart, that you would transform it from stone into flesh, that it would be like the valley of dry bones in the book of Ezekiel, that because you breathed on them, they rose up in newness of life. And Father, for those here that do know you, Father, give them the strength to press on and to truly live for you in all that they do. Father, you know we’re frail and butt of dust, but you’ve given us such a great privilege. Father, may we press on head on danger and all seeking to live for you and all that we do. Father, may we be careful to give you all of the glory and it’s in Christ’s name we pray. Amen.