So Much More: Moving Beyond Kingdom Principles to Kingdom Power (23 page)

When a United States ambassador speaks, they speak with the authority of the president himself. An ambassador is authorized to act on the president’s behalf. He has been delegated the authority to negotiate treaties, solicit favors, and extend either condolences or congratulations, all with the authority of the government itself.

George Shultz served as secretary of state during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. I have heard that he kept a large globe in his office. When an ambassador was assigned to a particular territory and before they would actually leave, they were called into the secretary’s office and he would put them to a test. He would instruct them, “I want you to go over to the globe and prove you can identify your country.” Inevitably, they would go over and spin the globe and put their finger on the country to which they were being sent. That was not the answer he was looking for. He would then go on to remind his ambassadors, “Never forget you are over there in that country, but your country is the United States. You are there to represent us. Take care of our interests and never forget that you’re representing the best country in the world.”
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Being an ambassador and serving your country in a foreign land is a terrific honor, no doubt. But as Christians we have an even greater honor. We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus Christ and are born again into the kingdom of God, He baptizes us in the Holy Spirit to empower us to be His ambassadors. We are legal representatives of the greatest King and kingdom known to mankind: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). That is our role. We are called to be His ambassadors on this earth. God has delegated authority to us to serve as His ambassadors.

In his book
Rediscovering the Kingdom
, Myles Munroe points out that an ambassador is a unique political creature in all kingdoms and His disposition must be understood fully to understand the power and distinction of this revered position. Here are some paramount qualities of an ambassador:

• An ambassador is appointed to his position by the king. He never gets voted into the position. Our King has appointed us to serve in the role of ambassador. No one gets to vote and decide if you are qualified to be an ambassador in His kingdom.

• An ambassador is appointed to represent the state or kingdom. You represent the King’s interests and have been delegated both the power and authority to advance His kingdom.

• An ambassador is committed only to the kingdom’s interests.

• An ambassador embodies the kingdom.

• An ambassador is totally covered by the kingdom. All the resources, power, and authority necessary to represent the kingdom are at our disposal.

• An ambassador is the responsibility of the kingdom.

• An ambassador is totally protected by the government. The ambassador is not a member of the king’s army but has full protection of the army.

• An ambassador never becomes a citizen of the state or kingdom to which he is assigned. We are residents of earth but we are citizens of heaven. Just as an ambassador of the United States remains a citizen of his country no matter what country he lives in, we are citizens of heaven, assigned to represent our King and His kingdom in this foreign territory called earth. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3 that our citizenship is in heaven. We are Christ’s ambassadors, His representatives in this world. We are of little use to God if we see ourselves as anything less than citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ in this world.

• An ambassador can only be recalled by the king or president.

• An ambassador has access to all the king’s wealth for his assignment. God has given all of His riches, the power of His Spirit, to carry out the assignment He has given to us.

• An ambassador never speaks his personal position on any issue, only what the king’s official position is. Presently there are 196 countries that are recognized by the United Nations as independent sovereign nations. The United States has ambassadors in all these nations with the exception of a few where they have pulled out because of terrorist activities. Imagine if these ambassadors all decided to do their own thing. Instead of communicating with the president and speaking his position, what would happen if each ambassador did his own thing and spoke his own opinion? What if the ambassador to China spoke his own opinion and the ambassador to Germany also chose to do his own thing and they were speaking conflicting messages, neither of which were their president’s position? The nation would be in huge trouble with representation like that. It is critical that every ambassador maintains a direct line of communication with the administration of the president he represents because his opinion is the only one that matters. As ambassadors of the King of kings who represent His government on earth, we are not entitled to our own opinions. We must be in constant communication with the King and speak only on His behalf and represent His interests only. Even Jesus operated this way. He said, “I only do what I see my Father doing.” That is the way an ambassador functions.

• An ambassador’s goal is to influence this foreign territory for his kingdom.
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All of these characteristics are embedded into the message and ministry of the kingdom of God, and they apply to us as ambassadors of His kingdom. We have been appointed by the King Himself to represent and advance the kingdom of heaven on earth. We are given all the rights, privileges, authority, and power that go along with that. We are ambassadors of the King of kings. We are called to voice His views and represent His heart. That’s why Jesus admonished us to not worry about anything concerning our lives but instead to focus on the kingdom because then everything we need for life and fulfilling our kingdom assignment will be provided for us by the King (Matt. 6:33).

In Matthew 9 we read about Jesus sending a group out as His ambassadors to represent Him and advance His kingdom. Jesus gave them an ambassador’s briefing to prepare them for their assignment. Before He sent them out as ambassadors to represent His kingdom, Jesus pulled these guys aside and told them what He wanted them to do and what they could expect as they do it. What Jesus said to this initial group of rookie ambassadors preparing for their first assignment is of great importance to each of us because we are called to be ambassadors representing His kingdom as well. Wherever you find yourself posted—your neighborhood, your workplace, or your campus—these are the instructions from the King for fulfilling the assignment He has given you as His ambassador.

What does it look like to be an ambassador advancing the kingdom?

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

—M
ATTHEW
9:35–38

Jesus traveled to many places teaching the gospel of the kingdom. As He taught the message of the kingdom, He continually did the ministry that demonstrated the kingdom. He came close to people who had been oppressed by the enemy’s kingdom with sickness and disease and healed them. He freed those who had been oppressed by demons. As He ministered, Jesus came across multitudes of broken and hurting people who were in need and the overwhelming needs moved His heart. Jesus knew there was a need for more people to be involved in kingdom ministry. So He turned to His disciples and instructed them to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers in to the harvest field to do this kingdom work. What they didn’t know in that moment was that they were part of the answer to the prayer Jesus was telling them to pray. They were praying for the Lord to send out workers, ambassadors if you will, to represent His kingdom, and He was about ready to appoint them to the post.

“Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matt. 10:1). Jesus pulled His twelve disciples together and appointed them as the first ambassadors of his kingdom. He gave them authority to represent Him by doing what He had been doing. He assigned and empowered them to drive out evil spirits and heal all kinds of diseases. He appointed them as His ambassadors to represent both the message and ministry of His kingdom.

Before He sent them out, He gave them this ambassador’s briefing. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 10:5–6). This part was specific to the assignment He was sending them out on. Later He sent them to the Gentiles and Samaritans and the ends of the earth.

As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts—no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person there and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

—M
ATTHEW
10:7–16

As Jesus appointed these ambassadors to go out and represent the kingdom, He gave them a message to preach—the gospel of the kingdom. We, as ambassadors of Christ, must fully understand His message and be able to communicate it in a way that speaks to a foreign culture. When an ambassador to a foreign land speaks a message, He has to translate it into the language of the people to whom He is trying to communicate. You can imagine how challenging this is. A lot of important information can be lost in the process of translation.

When Kentucky Fried Chicken translated its slogan “Finger Licking Good” into Chinese, it came out as “Eat your Fingers Off.” An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market promoting the Pope’s visit. Instead of the desired “I Saw the Pope” in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed, “I Saw the Potato.”
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A quick search of the Internet will reveal thousands of these “lost in translation” mistakes.

As ambassadors of Christ we have the responsibility of speaking clearly and accurately on behalf of Jesus Christ. We must use all means necessary to translate the gospel of the kingdom in a way that communicates clearly to the people whom we are trying to reach. The apostle Paul put it this way. “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Jesus said, “As you go, preach the message of the kingdom” (Matt. 10:7).

He also instructed His followers to attach to that gospel of the kingdom a ministry that demonstrates the reality of the kingdom. What was the ministry they were to do that demonstrates the kingdom? They were told to cast out demons, heal diseases, and raise the dead. He gave them His riches, His power, and His authority to represent Him as His ambassadors.

That is the assignment He gave those first ambassadors sent to represent His kingdom and it is our assignment as well. We are to preach the good news of the kingdom. That’s our message. We are to do the ministry of the kingdom—heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons—those activities that demonstrate the reality that the kingdom of God has invaded earth. The assignment has not changed.

Jesus was very clear that this assignment of being ambassadors in His kingdom was not going to be easy. Some people will open up their homes and welcome you into their hearts and other people will slam the door and reject you.

Put yourself in the position of one of these twelve apostles. Picture yourself as the one being briefed for your assignment as a kingdom ambassador. We tend to look at the apostles and put them in stained glass and think they are larger than life, but these are ordinary guys like us. A few months earlier some of these guys had been fishermen, another was a tax collector, and all were simply ordinary, uneducated men whom Jesus had called and said, “Come, follow me” (Matt. 4:19). Now He was saying, “I don’t want you to just follow, I want you to go out and represent Me. I want you to be My ambassadors and represent My kingdom by preaching the message of the kingdom and doing the works of the kingdom.”

At this point, I am sure they were thinking, “What’s up with that? You want us to do what? We thought we were just here to follow You, and now You want us to go and preach what You have been preaching and do what You have been doing?” Jesus said, “Yep, that’s pretty much it.” They probably felt a lot like you feel when you think about going out and being an ambassador of His kingdom. They probably felt unworthy. They probably weren’t really sure they wanted any part of it.

That’s why Jesus went on in the rest of this chapter and gave extensive instructions to help the rookie ambassadors.

Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.