Who Is Your One? Living as an Ambassador for Christ

Let me ask you a question this morning. Who is your one? Who’s the person who is far from God but close to you — the neighbor, the coworker, the family member who keeps coming to mind even now? Hold that face there for a minute. Because the whole reason I get to write to you today is that I believe God may have placed that person close to you on purpose. I’m Pastor James Drake, and I want to walk with you through one of the most beautiful assignments in all of Scripture: you are an ambassador for Christ. Not a professional. Not an expert. An ambassador. And the King has handed you a message to carry to your one.

Here’s the thing I had to learn the hard way. For so many years of my life, I thought I was what I did, what I had, and what other people thought about me. I tried to find my identity in anything and everything but Christ. And then I began to wrestle with the Scriptures, and God opened my eyes to a truth that changed everything: my identity is not achieved. It’s received. That’s where mission starts — not with trying harder, but with knowing whose you are. And it’s all sitting right there in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.

You Are a New Creation — Your Identity Is Received, Not Achieved

Paul writes to one of the most affluent, influential churches he ever ministered to — honestly, much like a church in Miami — and he reminds them they are now a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Let me tell you what that looked like for me this past Friday. I was out with some families from the church, and one of the dads pulled out this old 1950s Chevrolet truck — the rounded hood, the curved back, from back when they made cars beautiful. And then he cranked it. And it didn’t sound like an old truck. I said, what did you do to that? So he popped the hood, and there, hidden inside, was an 800-horsepower Corvette engine. The suspension had been completely rebuilt underneath. You see, that truck wasn’t updated. It wasn’t polished and cleaned and improved. It was a new creation. And that’s you in Christ. You are new. You are forgiven. You are welcomed. You are sent.

So here’s where it gets practical. Only owners can label things. And in Christ, you belong to God — He calls you His beloved. That means you no longer have to scrape your worth together from what you do, what you have, or what other people think. There’s only one opinion that ultimately matters, and your Heavenly Father has already spoken it over you. And if you’re sitting there thinking you’re disqualified — that you’ve gone too far, sinned too much, that God can’t use you — let me say it plainly, the way I said it Sunday: “That is not true. That is not true at all.” God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines. He doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. He takes our brokenness and our pain, and He redeems it and restores it. Because it’s not about what we do — it’s all about whose we are.

Mission Must Be Our Mindset — or Faith Becomes a Hobby

Here’s the twist a lot of us miss. We were not saved just from something. We were saved for something. And if we forget that, everything starts to drift.

If a church forgets it’s sent, faith becomes a hobby. The gospel isn’t just for us — it isn’t just to make us feel better and understand more. It’s a message we’re called to reflect and proclaim to a lost world. That’s exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” So we don’t get to become a club. We replace our preferences with God’s purpose, and we trade consumerism in the house of the Lord for discipleship. There’s not one church in the Bible that wasn’t a multiplying church. The church was never meant to be a lounge, but a launch pad.

And it’s not just for the church — it’s for you. Watch what happens when mission stops being your mindset. A marriage becomes about expectation management. Parenting becomes behavior control. And a job, well, it’s just a paycheck. But mission changes everything. Heidi and I get to speak at marriage conferences all over the country, and we’ve watched thousands of couples come alive when they grasp one simple thing: they weren’t brought together just for their happiness, but for their holiness — and they’re sent into the world as a marriage on mission. I’ve literally seen divorce papers ripped up over that. I have a friend who told me his life felt like “Groundhog Day” — wake up, work, scroll, sleep, repeat. Nothing about his job changed. But when his mindset shifted from work-as-a-paycheck to work-as-a-calling, he stopped just going to work and started getting to serve at work. That’s what mission does. Every ordinary moment becomes an opportunity instead of an inconvenience.

What an Ambassador Actually Does — the Ministry of Reconciliation

Now look at what Paul calls you. Two powerful words: ambassador, and the ministry of reconciliation. An ambassador is someone who represents their leader in a foreign land, speaking on behalf of their kingdom’s interests, not the host nation’s. So in Christ you carry a new kingdom and represent a new King. You don’t speak in your own authority — you speak in His. You’re not so concerned with your citizenship on earth as you are with your citizenship in heaven.

And what’s the job? Reconciliation — helping people find forgiveness for their sins so they can be made right with God. Let me tell you how real this is. Years ago I was at airborne school as an Army chaplain, standing in line with a bunch of soldiers, doing what the government does best — hurry up and wait. I love soldiers, because they’re honest; they speak what’s on their heart and mind. I’d pulled out my little pocket Bible, and one of them came over with a hundred questions. We had hours, so we talked. Finally I asked him, “Have you ever sinned?” He said, “You better believe it. In fact, I’m planning on sinning tonight.” I asked how he hoped to find forgiveness, and he said he just hoped his good works would outweigh his bad. So I told him — given his profession of jumping out of perfectly good airplanes for a living — that might be something he’d want to figure out sooner rather than later. And right there on a hot Georgia day, that soldier placed his trust in Christ. He’s still walking with the Lord today. That’s the ministry of reconciliation. And here’s the part you can’t miss: God doesn’t just make His appeal around you. He wants to make His appeal through you.

The Great Exchange — Why You Can Carry This Message at All

So why can a broken person like me carry a message like this? Because of 2 Corinthians 5:21, what I’d call the greatest gospel verse in the Bible: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Hanging on the cross, Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled — never for a split second a sinner. But God treated Him as if He’d lived my life, and then turned around and treats me as if I’d lived His. That’s the great exchange. He takes our shame so we can receive His glory. He lays down His life so we can live. He bears our sin so we can have life. It’s an imputed righteousness — right standing before God not because of what we’ve done, but because of what Christ has done for us.

Think of Jim Elliot, who left medicine for the mission field and went to reach an unreached tribe in Ecuador. He and his friends were killed on that shore by the very people they came to love. “What a waste,” everyone said. But in his journal Jim had written, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” His wife went back to that same tribe — and over time, the very people who killed her husband placed their faith in Christ. Years later, the man who killed Jim baptized Jim’s own son. And thousands of young people, stirred by that sacrifice, were sent all over the world. People thought to themselves: if that message is worth dying for, surely it’s worth living for. That’s what it means to be compelled by the love of Christ. (This message is the same one we started this series with — see why Jesus must be our message.)

Who Is Your One? — Your One Step This Week

So what do we do with all this? It comes down to one question I want you to answer today: Who is your one? Who’s the person far from God but close to you? Because chances are, you might be the one God wants to use to proclaim this ministry of reconciliation to them.

Here’s your step, and it’s close to the ground:

• Write down their name. Right now — pen, paper, phone. Don’t trust yourself to remember. Put the name where you’ll see it.
• Pray for them daily. You’re not the Savior; you’re the ambassador. So ask the King to go ahead of you and soften their heart.
• Look for one open door this week. Not a script, not a sermon — just one honest conversation where the King’s message can be heard. Remember, you’re not better than them. You’re a beggar who found food, pointing another beggar to where the food is.

You don’t have to travel overseas to live a sent life. The person across the table, across the cubicle, across the dinner table — that’s the mission field God has assigned you. (If your “one” feels more lost than reachable, take heart from the Good Shepherd who pursues the lost.)

Common Questions About Living on Mission as an Ambassador for Christ

What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ? An ambassador represents their leader in a foreign land, speaking on behalf of their kingdom’s interests rather than the host nation’s. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says Christians are ambassadors for Christ — we represent a new King and a new kingdom, speaking not in our own authority but in His. We’re more concerned about our citizenship in heaven than our citizenship on earth. And we’re not better than the people we’re sent to. As Pastor James said this Sunday, we’re “beggars who have found food and can point people where they can find food too.”

What is the ministry of reconciliation? It’s the assignment God gives every believer: helping people find forgiveness for their sins so they can be made right with God. In 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and then handed us the message to carry. It means God doesn’t just make His appeal around you — He wants to make His appeal through you. Every conversation, workplace, and relationship becomes a place where the King’s message can be heard.

What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ? According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This isn’t a polish or an upgrade — it’s a brand-new creation, like dropping an 800-horsepower engine into an old truck. Your identity is no longer achieved through what you do, what you have, or what others think of you. It’s received from your Heavenly Father, who calls you His beloved. So many of us think we’re disqualified. That is not true at all.

What is the great exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21? “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God treated Jesus as if He had lived our life, and now treats us as if we lived His. He takes our shame so we can receive His glory; He lays down His life so we can live; He bears our sin so we can have life. We receive imputed righteousness — right standing before God not because of what we’ve done, but because of what Christ has done for us.

How does mission change everyday life? Mission changes everything. Marriage becomes a partnership on mission when couples grasp they were brought together for holiness, not just happiness. Parenting shifts from behavior control to raising up world changers for Christ. Work stops being a paycheck and becomes a calling where you get to serve. Mission gives meaning to what might otherwise feel like “Groundhog Day,” and the ordinary moment becomes an opportunity rather than an inconvenience.

Who is my “one” that God wants me to reach? Your “one” is the person far from God but close to you. Write down their name, pray for them daily, and look for one opportunity to share the ministry of reconciliation — that Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for them so they could become right with God. You don’t have to fly overseas to live a sent life. The person across the table is the mission field God has assigned you.

Questions for Reflection

• Who is the one person God has placed close to you who is still far from Him? Have you written their name down yet?
• Where have you been finding your identity in what you do, what you have, or what others think — instead of in whose you are?
• What would change in your marriage, your parenting, or your work this week if mission truly became your mindset?
• Are you more concerned with your citizenship on earth or your citizenship in heaven?

You don’t have to live the sent life alone. Whoever your “one” is, you were never meant to carry that mission in your own strength — and you don’t have to. Join us this Sunday at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th St, Miami, and take your next step with a community learning to live on mission together. You can also explore more sermons and reflections on our blog.

Credits

Adapted from Pastor James Drake’s November 3, 2025 sermon, “Who Is Your One?”

By Pastor James Drake, Lead Pastor, Christchurch Miami.

Christchurch Miami is a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregation in Miami, Florida, led by Pastor James Drake. Services are held Sundays at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th St, Miami, FL 33156.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Frequently asked questions