“The Heart of a Pioneer” (Part 3)

2 Corinthians 5:10-21

This week we are considering the heart of a pioneer—to be willing to do the hard work of blazing the trail of ministry. To do the dangerous work of walking point. To do the challenging work of leading the way. This was the heart of the apostle Paul—church planter and missionary. Monday we saw that a pioneer must be serious and Tuesday that a pioneer must be sensitive. Today we close by seeing that…

A Pioneer Must Be Strategic (vv.20-21)

Strategic in the Mission (ambassadors)-

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (v.20)

This challenge requires us to have …

• Knowledge (an accurately informed mind)
• Wisdom (an artful method)
• Character (an attractive manner)

Strategic about the message (v.21)-

Christ as our substitute is the message we declare to the world.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Strategic about resources (Luke 14:27-32)-

This is one of the hardest parts! We live in an age of almost infinite opportunity, yet we have finite resources. An issue our Lord Himself addressed…

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it –lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.”

In the growing and developing work of the gospel around the world, we must be open to thinking as pioneers. To think about the truth of the old message in a new set of clothes. New methods. New opportunities. New global realities.

I am convinced that we are in exceptional times filled with exceptional opportunity and exceptional danger. We are not here at this moment in history by accident. We have been placed here at this moment in time, called by God to reach our generation with the message of the Savior—may we embrace this moment and this privilege with seriousness, sensitivity, and strategic thinking.