2 Corinthians chapter 5. As you know, it was already mentioned that this is Missions Month. If you know anything about Metropolitan Baptist Church, you know that we take missions very seriously around here. It is something that we do as a church, something that we do in our personal lives and reaching our communities, but also giving to those who are not in, that are going to other countries to serve and to preach the gospel. So it is something that we take very serious around this church, but it is also a God-given command that we call the Great Commission. Can you guys hear me? That we call the Great Commission that we are to do as a church and as individuals. We're going to be in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And we're going to be looking at verses 14 through 21 this morning. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Wherefore, henceforth, know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to which the God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Lord, we know that you are a mighty God. And Lord, that you've done everything in your power to bring men to a right relationship with you. Lord, you call your people to take that message of the gospel to not only people here in our community, but to all of the world. Lord, I pray that this morning that you'll touch our hearts, that we can know, Lord, that you want to use us for your glory, that you want to use us to see your kingdom advance. And so I pray, Lord, that you help us this morning. I pray that you help me. I pray that you help those that are in attendance. And if there be anyone here that does not know Christ as their Savior, I pray, Lord, that you'll touch their hearts and that you'll show them their need of you. It's OK. I'm going to try my best. That means I've got to stand in front of the pumpkin. I can't go anywhere else. What's that? Does this work out? Wow, that's amazing. I guess someone didn't want to preach this morning. I'm going to need a lot of partners for it. So as you know, Paul is writing this letter to the church there in Corinth. This was a church that had a lot of issues. There was a lot of things going on in the church that really from looking from the outside in, he would really be wondering about this church. But although this church had problems, this was a church that was called by God. This was a church that was there for a purpose, as any of the Lord's churches. And Paul says in verse 17 that this church, he wanted them to understand something. You see that when we are saved, an amazing thing happens is we are born again. But not only that, there's a God expects something from us. I've heard a lot of people say, well, what is my purpose as a Christian? Well, you have a purpose. And we're going to talk about that this morning because Paul says that there are some things that come with the new birth. And so today I want to leave you with a couple of thoughts concerning the new birth and who we are in Christ. Number one, the new birth brings complete devotion to Jesus Christ. Paul says, first of all, we see here in verse number 14, we see our condition, who we were before Jesus Christ. The Bible says, For the love of Christ constrains us. He says, Because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. Paul is telling us that there was a time that we were dead. That Christ died for all. And because He died for all, the conclusion there or the judgment that we make is that all were dead. Because He had to die for all. What an amazing thing. Have you ever thought about that? The Apostle is here for the love of Christ constrains us, that we're constrained at least to hold together and carry the idea of being urged or controlled or driven by something strong. For Paul, it was the love of Christ. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. See, but God didn't either of them. God saw our condition, and God chose to love us anyway. That ought to be our motivation. Because He loved me. He loved you. He loved the whole world. We are constrained because we see that He loved us first. Therefore, we have a love for Him, but it is His love But then we see in verse number 15, we see our devotion to Christ. And that He died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them. Now remember that Christ died for all. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, that His only begotten Son, No, it's a command from God. And then he calls us as believers to henceforth not live for ourselves, but to live for him who died for us and rose again. You know, God calls us to live for Him. I know that life is a bit busy, especially here in the United States of America, right? Things get busy. I mean, work, you know, the average person works at least 40 hours a week. Then we have family time and rest time and all kinds of time, right? But most of our time ought to be given to living for Christ. all of our time, all of it ought to be for him, to live for him. He said, henceforth live unto, he said, that they which live should not live henceforth life unto themselves, but unto him which died for them. And so the question is for the believers, who are we living for? Who are we living for? You know, the average Christian in America, in the United States, gives their one hour to the Lord on Sunday morning, and then the rest of the week, it's for them. No concern. about what we've been called for, to reach people for Christ. I was telling my youth group this morning, we're talking about the Great Commission, and I was telling my youth group, it's amazing to me that out of all the young people in here, in this country, that even in our churches, it's amazing to me, and when I say young people, I'm talking about young adults, you know, youth, It's amazing to me that God is not calling any of them. Why is that? Is it that we're so busy that we are so busy and so focused on our careers and our life here that we kind of just ignore what God is calling us to do? Could that be? I'm pretty confident that God is calling young people. Because if God is going to call us to do a mission, then He's going to give us the resources to complete the mission. God is not going to do anything in vain. Is that the microphone working there? Is this one working? Praise the Lord. Because I'm tired of yelling. Okay, but God is going to call young people. The problem is are we submitting to the call of God? Guys, a lot of the times we're so afraid of answering the call of God because we might get discouraged, at least for me, you know, you get discouraged because you think, oh well, I'm not good enough for the service of the Lord. I'm not smart enough. I'm not loud enough. I'm not charismatic enough. But if God is calling you, God's going to put all of that in place for you. Our thing is to just do what He says, right? We are to live for Him, be devoted to Him. You know this is why the Apostle Paul could say in Philippians chapter 1 verse number 20, he said, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I should be ashamed, but that with all boldness as I also sow, now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. This is why Paul could say that. How many of us can say that? For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. We're the people of God, we should be thinking on those things which are eternal, those things that God has set before us. But not only does the new birth bring complete devotion to Jesus Christ. But the new birth brings a transformed perspective. Look what Paul says in verse number 16. He says, wherefore, henceforth, he says, because of this, moving forward, know we no man after the flesh. no longer do we judge others according to the flesh. That word flesh here refers to our human nature. Judging others by a human perspective. I don't know about you, but when I gave my life to Christ, and I was born again, I had a new perspective on other people, how I viewed other people. Before I didn't really care about other people, I only cared about myself. I was first, it was all about me. But that changed. Now I see people, and I see people that Christ died for. people that need to hear the gospel, people that need to hear about Christ, people that need to be saved from the wrath of God. You know we say, saved from hell? It's from the wrath of God. And so He changes our view for others. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh. The Christian no longer judges others according to the flesh. We no longer see people as just someone on this planet. We have a different view. Now we see sinners for whom Christ died for. People who need Christ. But we no longer see Jesus according to the flesh. He says, henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yet though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. I want to ask you, before you were saved, how did you view Christ? Was He the second person of the Trinity, the Creator, the only Savior, the Son of God in the flesh? Was He the Lord of glory? Is that how you viewed Christ before you were saved? I know that's not the way Paul viewed Him. Paul saw Him as an enemy. It wasn't until that road to Damascus that Paul saw Christ and his view of Christ changed. See after we come to a place of full surrender to Christ, where that Holy Spirit of God reveals to us the truth of who Christ is. that we have a different view. We no longer see Him like we used to see Him. Now He is Lord, now He is King of my life, and I hope that He's the same for you. We no longer have the same view. We're new creatures. Bible says, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new. We are a new creation, new creatures in Christ, my devotion to Christ, my view of others, my view of Christ is new. Either it is, or it ain't. Either it changed or it didn't. And if it didn't change, why did it not change? Bible says we are new creatures. And because we are new creatures, everything's changed. But not only does a new birth bring a transformed perspective, complete devotion to Christ, but it brings a purposeful mission. Notice what he says in verse number 18, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse number 18, and all things are of God. who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given, look at this, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." Now what does that mean, reconciliation? That word reconciliation refers to the act by which God restored the broken relationship with humanity through Jesus Christ. He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, the way God justifies man, the way man can come back to have that right relationship with God, the ministry of reconciliation. You know, when you look at religion all over the world, right, you look at all false religion, And if you ever just find out what the Muslims believe, find out Hinduism, find out Catholicism, find out all these false religions of the world, and you know what they do? They give you something to do, some way that you have to get right with God. But Christianity doesn't do that. Christianity has made the way for you to get right with God. God has made the way for you to get right with Him, and it's through Christ. God has said, this is how you get right with me. We don't get to decide that. Remember, we are the ones that broke that relationship because of our sin. But see because God loves us, He restored that relationship. And God says, these are my terms. This is how your relationship gets right with me. And He has given to us, His people, to His church, to the church in Corinth, the ministry of reconciliation. Because of sin man was alienated and at odds with God, but through Christ's death and resurrection, peace has been made possible with God. We have been given a divine ministry, the ministry of reconciliation. That's the Great Commission. Verse number 19, to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us again the word of reconciliation. To wit that God was in Christ. You think about his birth. His ministry, the prophecy, God's plan, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, all of it was God's plan to reconcile. the world, it says, to reconcile the world unto himself. Look at this, not imputing their trespasses unto them. That is so important. You know that there's a world out there that thinks that somehow they can get right with God by how they perform in their good deeds. But I want to tell you that sin has to be paid for. They have to account for their sin. And God has done that for us through Christ. And then verse number 20 tells us, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. Because of this great responsibility, We are ambassadors for Christ. What does that mean? What does it mean to be an ambassador? An ambassador, it means it's a representative or messenger of Christ, we're representing Christ. It's a representative. And look what he says there, as though God did beseech you by us. That word beseech, it means to call near. Now he says, as if God did beseech you by us. It's as if God is pleading you or urging you by us. The us there is Paul, the one that is preaching this message of reconciliation. He says, if God is using you, Paul, to reach these people here, these unbelievers, he says, we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. So what is the ministry to plead and to urge people to be reconciled to God. Not by their own terms, but by the terms He has set before us. And then verse 21, for He hath made Him to be sin for us. Guys, we We as God's people, again, we put the emphasis on missions, and the reason why is because we have the truth, and another reason is because God has commanded us to go, but it takes all of us. It isn't just one person here or one person over there, it's the whole body. He has commissioned the whole body, the church. For He had made Him, Jesus Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin." Jesus Christ was perfect in sinless. He was a perfect sacrifice. No other man could do that. The Bible says, for all have sinned. and come short of the glory of God, for there is none righteous, no not one." But then it says that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Imagine that you were before God without the righteousness that God has provided, which is Christ. And you stand before God with your own righteousness? The Bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags, that we are wicked and filthy. But then God offers this perfect righteousness, the righteousness that we can stand before God with, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. We put on His righteousness through faith. While others are trying to make their own righteousness, God offers His righteousness. I was talking to a Muslim one time and we were talking and he says to me, why are you out here telling people about your religion? And I said, because my God commands me to. And he said, why? And I said, because everyone else is trying to work their way to Heaven, but He's already provided a way for them to get there. And it's the only way to get there. There's no other way to get there. There's no other way to restore your relationship with God outside of Christ. God didn't save us. so that we could live our lives the way we want to live. He saved us to live for Him, for a purpose. I know it's hard to hear that, but it's the truth. He saved us to live for Him, for a purpose. I don't know about you, but I'm driven by His love, not only for me but for everyone. Hey, don't you want somebody else to know what Christ has done for you? Don't you want that for somebody else? I do. And when I'm witnessing to someone, the one thing I think about is, Lord, what you did to me, you can do to them. What you did to all of us in here, hopefully, you can do to anyone outside of these walls. You can do to someone out there in Argentina. Stop asking God what is His plan for your life and start knowing that God already has a plan for your life. All you gotta do is get with the program. You may not believe the plan that God has for your life, but that is the plan that God has for your life. It's for your life. And He's already told us that this ministry has been committed to us, not to Pastor Boojack. not to Brother Jeff or Brother Wayne or Brother Bruce, only to us, to me, to you. He has a plan for your life. Complete devotion to Jesus Christ, a transformed perspective, a different view for others and for Christ. a purposeful mission, the ministry of reconciliation. We must understand that if we're not committed to reaching people for Christ, then who's gonna do it? It has to be us, God's people. And the good thing is we're not the only ones. We're not alone. God has many Christians out there that are busy about the Lord's business, but we need to be busy about it too. That's what missions is about, reaching the world for Christ. Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse number 3, but if our gospel be hid, it is his from them who are lost. So if you could stand please. For those of you that know Christ this morning, you know where you're going to spend eternity. Praise the Lord. But for those of you that don't know Christ, you don't know where you're going to spend eternity, you've never made a profession of faith, I want to tell you that God wants you to get that right with Him. He wants you to settle that today. And for those of you who are just kind of sitting on the sidelines, I'm going to tell you, you're going to be challenged this month about missions. You're going to hear some messages on who we are as Christians and how that we're supposed to take this very seriously. If you're not involved in any way and you want to be involved, hey, here's the altar, you can talk to people here in church, you can talk to our pastor. But Brother Tim is going to sing a song for us right now and at this moment if you, if God has spoken to your heart you're welcome to come to the altar and take care of your business with the Lord. I want to tell you that God is good. He is merciful. Master today, why do Thou suffer? Watch me just now, as in Thy presence, only I bow. Have Thine own way, Lord Have Thine own way Wounded and weary Help me, I pray Touch me and heal me, Savior divine. Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way. Old or might be absolutely certain. Christ, Lord, be always living in me. Have Thine own way. I am the clay. Only I wake me after Thy will. While I am awake, All right, just want to thank all of you for coming out here this morning, and just be and pray for our pastor, pray that he get here safely, that he have a great trip. Also if you can be and pray for one another, we have a lot of people in our church family that are battling with health issues, please remember to pray for one another, and I encourage you to get involved in this month of missions. Pray that God will do something in your heart. and my prayer is that you'll respond, that you'll be sincere. I also want to thank you again for being here. God bless each and every one of you. Brother Tim, if you can close us in prayer. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for allowing us in your house today. Lord, we thank you for this message, and Lord, I pray that you'll continue to touch hearts and help us to realize the importance of missions. And Lord, the lost souls that are there, Lord, we pray that you'll continue to touch hearts, and Lord, bring people to you. Lord, we thank you for visitors today, and Lord, we pray that you'll just bless them as they go their way, and Lord, bring them back. Lord, we pray for our pastor and his wife. Lord, bless this time together with them, and Lord, just bless them in a special way. Keep them safe. Lord, bless each one that's here. Bring us back tonight. In Jesus' name, amen.