THE NTEB HOUSE CHURCH SUNDAY SERVICE: We Are Ambassadors For Christ And Have Been Given The Ministry Of Reconciliation
If you’re saved, you’ve already been give the ministry of reconciliation as an ambassador for Christ, how’s your ministry doing these days?
The apostle Paul is quite clear, if you’re saved, you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ, and have been given the ministry of reconciliation to extend God’s saving grace to a lost and dying world. As far as I can see in the Bible, this is for all saved people, no exceptions. How are you doing in the ministry the Lord has given you?
“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 wit, that 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 ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (KJB)
On this Sunday Service, I want to talk about the ministry of reconciliation, and give you two very tangible illustrations of how this ministry plays out in the real world which we all live in. The first person I want to bring to your attention is John Harper on the Titanic in 1912, and the second being Al Braca in Tower 1 of the World Trade center in 2001. Both these men are prime examples of what it means to be an ambassador for Christ and to exercise the ministry of reconciliation.
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The Witness of John Harper
John Harper’s reputation as an evangelist was so well known that he was invited to speak at The Moody Church in 1910. I have in my possession a photocopy of a letter, in his own handwriting, which reads, “I have been in Chicago for three months, God gave us a very precious and wonderful revival of continuous services each day and sometimes even more often.” He went on to say that he now had been invited back to The Moody Church for another three months of meetings.
And so it was that John Harper, his sister, and his six-year-old daughter (his wife had died) found themselves on the great ship, the Titanic. Survivors later reported that as Titanic began to sink, Harper admonished people to be prepared to die. He made sure his sister and daughter were in a lifeboat even as he continued to share the Gospel with whoever would listen. And when he found himself in the icy water with a life jacket, floating near another man, Harper asked, “Are you saved?”
“No, I’m not saved!” the desperate man replied.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” Harper shouted.
One report says Harper, knowing he could not survive long in the icy water, took off his life jacket and threw it to another person with the words, “You need this more than I do!” Moments later, Harper disappeared beneath the water. Four years later, when there was a reunion of the survivors of the Titanic, the man to whom Harper had witnessed told the story of his rescue and gave a testimony of his conversion recorded in a tract, I was John Harper’s Last Convert.
John Harper’s Last Convert
Four years after the Titanic went down, a young Scotsman rose in a meeting in Hamilton, Canada, and said, “I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. John Harper, of Glasgow, on a piece of wreck near me. ‘Man,’ he said, ‘are you saved?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I am not.’
He replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’
The waves bore him away; but, strange to say brought him back a little later, and he said, ‘Are you saved now?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I cannot honestly say that I am.’
He said again, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,’ and shortly after he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.”
Al Braca “Who Want To Go With Me To Heaven?”
Al Braca began his workday at his office on the 104th floor of One World Trade Center as usual on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He had been a vice president/bond broker for Cantor Fitzgerald for 16 years. Most importantly Al was a devoted Christian with an insatiable desire to lead others to a saving knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ.
Al did not enjoy his job there because of the absence of Christian values. He would have quit years earlier, but for this deep-seated conviction that God had him there for a purpose and he knew it. He felt much happier in his church where he served as a deacon and a small group leader of men. He was much more pleased to be basking in the environment of his own Christian home, however he worked hard and faithfully at his job with the realization that he was there for a reason. Among the 700 people who worked alongside Al at Cantor Fitzgerald, many called him “Rev”, some out of admiration, but many out of sarcasm for his strong Christian testimony.
One of the planes hit the 90th floor of building one, trapping people on the upper floors. Through the testimony of spouses who received messages through email and last-minute calls from their deceased loved ones we have this final witness. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, this is what transpired: When it was certain no one was going to escape, Al jumped to one of the desks and cried out, “Who wants to go with me to Heaven?” People crowded around his makeshift platform. He continued, “Alright, a lot of you have made fun of this, but now is your last opportunity to do something about it. I’m going to tell you about Jesus and how to go to Heaven.” Al quickly gave them the gospel and then invited those gathered him to join hands. It is estimated that no less than fifty people joined hands and prayed the sinner’s prayer with Al. Within moments after the “Amen”, building one collapsed.
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