Heavenly ambassadors (Part I)
Verse of the Day: 2 Corinthians 5: 20 "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 "
The verse tells us that those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior perform the function of Christ's ambassadors on earth. The Bible says that Christ is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father (Eph 1: 20) but we are His ambassadors on earth.
The US ambassador in Burundi does not depend on the Burundian authorities but he depends on the White House. When there is a problem in the United States and the reporters ask him questions, he does not respond according to his convictions or his way of seeing things, but he responds according to the thinking of the American president. He is his representative in Burundi and the American president gives him everything he needs to do his job properly. The building of an embassy in a country can show us the greatness and the power of the country he represents. Spiritually speaking, we represent the kingdom of God and everything we do should give glory to the Lord.
In the verse of the day, we said that we are Christ’s ambassadors. The word "ambassadors" is translated from the Greek "presbeuo" which means “act as a representative”.
If we are Christ's ambassadors, we are supposed to depend on Christ in all that we do here on earth. We are here on earth to represent him and to defend His interests.
In the chapters that will follow, we will see that as ambassadors of Christ, our thoughts and actions must conform to Him. We will see that everything we do on earth should depend on the kingdom of heaven, and that even our protection and financial provision depend on heaven. Our desires and ambitions on earth must die to give space to heavenly desires.
To be continued in the second part
Chris Ndikumana
Heavenly ambassadors (Part 2)
Verse of the Day: Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”
In writing the letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds them that even if they live in Philip, they must behave as foreigners as their true nationality is heavenly and not earthly. I know that you who are reading this message belong to a country in the world but if you are born again and that Jesus Christ is your savior, it is important that you understand that your real nationality is not of this world because the verse of the day reminds us that we belong to heaven. Obviously we are physically on earth but we are spiritually in heaven because the bible says that God made us sit together with Christ in heavenly places (Phil 2:6).
Why is it important to know that we are citizens of heaven? Because a citizen of heaven on earth should behave like someone who still have a way to go. Those who make long trips understand what I'm saying because sometime you have to cross two or three airports before reaching the destination. For example, I once traveled to Johannesburg and it was my final destination but I had to pass through Nairobi and I spent a night at a hotel in Nairobi before taking another plane to Johannesburg the next day.
Despite that I was entered in Nairobi, my bags were still closed but I had to take little things as temporary needs and even if I had to walk around the city for a little distraction, my mind and my focus was in Johannesburg. I did not take any appointments; I did not want to waste money by converting it to local currency because I wanted to save it to be spent in Johannesburg which was my final destination.
Today we are on earth but our final destination is in heaven. We should behave as heavenly citizens who are in transit on earth in keeping our thoughts and goals for the sake of the kingdom of God and not for earth only.
Now, there are some Christians who behave as if they have already reached the final destination while they are still in transit. All projects are related to the things of the earth and they do not care about heaven... I will clearly speak about it in the third part.
Chris Ndikumana
Heavenly ambassadors (3rd part)
Verse of the day: Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”
In the second part, I ended by saying that today there are some Christians who behave as if they have already reached the final destination while they are in transit.
If someone is in transit, his thoughts and decisions conform to the final destination. Our final destination is heaven and we are here on earth as ambassadors of Christ.
The verse of the day (Colossians 3: 2) asks us to set our minds on things above and not on earthly things. The world system often leads us to worry about the problems we face every day and they takes a lot of our attention. On the other hand we bind ourselves on earthly things as if we will live forever on earth while we all know that there is a day for everyone to leave this world.
I can say without fear of being wrong that all who will read this message do not have ninety years ahead of them to live on this earth. So if you have less than ninety years to live on earth, have you tried to calculate the years you will live after death? The Bible says about eternity i.e. billions and billions of years. There is not even a number to explain the length of life after death. If you are citizens of heaven and you know that you will live in heaven for billions and billions of years, why focus on the things of earth while we will live here for an average of eighty years?
I think we often fall into the trap of the devil who wants to persuade us that our happiness lies here on earth while the earth is just a temporary way to our final destination. There is nothing wrong in having a nice house, a nice car and nice things but if those beautiful things of the earth take much of your attention to the point of suffering if you do not have them, then you fell into the trap of focusing your attention on temporary things. Whether you want it or not, every day you approach slowly but surely your departure to eternity.
All our thoughts and decisions here on earth must comply with heavenly thoughts and decisions. Even our requests in our prayers must comply with decisions of the sky. I will talk about it in the fourth part.
Chris Ndikumana
Heavenly ambassadors (Part Four)
Verse of the Day: Matthew 6:10 “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
There is a reality that many Christians prefer not to talk: Most prayers are not answered, and over time many Christians end up discouraged. Some of our prayers are not answered because we often ask in our earthly nature without considering the heavenly position. God says in His Word that He knows the plans He has for us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29: 11). In the same book, he said that the projects were formed before our birth. This is why in the verse of the day (Matthew 6: 10), Jesus teaches his disciples to pray by asking that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we present our requests in prayer, we must always remember that we are citizens of heaven and therefore we must conform to what is already happening in heaven.
What matters is not the confidence of faith, but it is the confidence based on the will of God. It is for this reason that John wrote in saying: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15)
This is possible only when we understand that we are citizens of heaven. A citizen of heaven is always willing to walk in the heavenly plan by accepting to lose his own interests. We all have desires and preferences according to our flesh and personality but if you really are a citizen of heaven, you must learn to sacrifice those desires and preferences by giving room to the wishes and preferences of heaven according to the will of God.
Before we ask anything in prayer, we should ask God the following question: "What do you want in this situation? What is the heavenly opinion? "
A good citizen of heaven is biblically described as a soldier of the Lord. Paul wrote to Timothy saying: "Suffer with me, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. It is not a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, he wants to please the one who enlisted " 2 Timothy 2: 3-4
In the fifth part, I will talk about the financial provision of the citizen of heaven.
Chris Ndikumana
Heavenly ambassadors (Part Five)
Verse of the Day: Matthew 6: 26 "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather and they into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Do you not much more valuable than they? "
In the verse of the day, Jesus compares God's children to birds. The birds do not work for a living, they do not save but I've never seen a bird go a day without eating. In the evening, all the birds rest and none of them pass the night hungry. Jesus is trying to show us how God is our Father cares for birds that are only these creatures. Those who believe in Jesus are not only God's creatures but they are children of God (John 1: 12).
Who is more important in God's eyes between birds and children? If God takes care of the birds and make sure they do not miss to eat, what about when it comes to their own children? Notice that in verse Jesus said, "your heavenly Father feeds them." The birds are fed daily by our Heavenly Father.
If I am the heavenly citizen, I should not worry about what I eat or how I will live on earth for my Father who is in heaven will take care of me.
At the beginning of this course I said that we are ambassadors of Christ on earth. The salary of the US ambassador to Burundi does not come from the Central Bank of Burundi but it comes from the National Bank of Washington. Even if there's a financial crisis in Burundi, the US ambassador to Burundi should not worry because financial provision does not depend on the Burundian economy but it depends on the US economy.
When y 'will a crisis in your country, do not panic like everyone else because your provision does not depend on what happens on earth but what happens in heaven. If you put all your trust in the Lord will cover your financial needs even during the crisis because he has no limits. It will show you the strategies he or open unexpected doors for you to work without worry.
This is where I finish this course and if you have not yet made the decision to repent and accept Jesus as your savior, you're still an earthly citizen. You have to choose.
Chris Ndikumana