REST, PREP, GO! | GO! | Trevor Cherryholmes

Paul’s word to Corinth starts with the gift before it ever gets to the task. God brought disobedient people back to himself through Christ, and God gave the ministry of reconciliation to the church. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. Christ, who never sinned, became the offering for sin, so that sinners could be made right with God through him.

Verse 21 carries the weight of the whole thing. Jesus received the punishment that guilty people so readily deserved, and his righteousness gets handed over through the victory of the cross. The guilt and shame that sit heavy on a person do not get removed by church attendance, good programs, or religious effort. The cross wipes away sin once and for all, and that kind of grace should create boldness, not quiet embarrassment.

The Interstellar picture gives a plain way to see it. When a steak is that good, or a movie is that powerful, people cannot help but talk about it. Joy wants company. Sharing the gospel should be the natural outflow of joy from encountering God’s grace, because the grace already received is too good to keep tucked away like a private church habit.

Sanctifying grace takes that same good news deeper. Grandpa Gene’s daily question, “Can you spell sanctification?” and the answer, “to make holy,” shows holiness not as an optional add-on, but as a way of life. Yet holiness is not earned by preaching, praying, leading, or being impressive. The love of Jesus goes first, and sanctification sets a person apart for God’s will instead of personal control.

The Mid America story presses that point into real life. Trevor wanted the diploma, the plan, the network, and the clean path into ministry. God asked for trust instead. The decision to stay, serve foster kids at Gap, and keep a commitment became a holy moment of surrender where God’s will mattered more than the wanted future.

Paul’s ambassador language gives the church its marching orders. God places people in strategic locations, at work, in retirement, in families, in neighborhoods, and even in difficult jobs like a 911 center. Salvation remains God’s work, but the ministry is shared together. The simple role is availability, so that God can share the grace already received with absolutely everyone.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Grace overflows into witness. Sharing the gospel is not meant to feel like forcing a sales pitch for Jesus. Grace creates the same kind of honest overflow that comes when someone experiences something deeply good and wants another person to taste it too. When witness grows out of joy, it carries less pressure and more truth, because it points to a grace already received rather than a performance still being attempted. [48:20]
• 2. Christ took the guilty place. The heart of reconciliation is not that sinners finally cleaned themselves up enough for God. Christ, who never sinned, became the offering for sin, and the guilty received his righteousness through the cross. That exchange breaks the old shame cycle because the believer’s standing rests on Christ’s finished work, not on religious success or emotional confidence. [51:34]
• 3. Sanctification surrenders the chosen path. Sanctifying grace is not just learning holy words or admiring holy people from a distance. It is the Spirit setting a person apart when God’s will cuts across the preferred plan, the impressive credential, or the future that seemed necessary. Holiness becomes real when obedience matters more than keeping control. [62:18]
• 4. Ambassadors stand where God places. Paul’s ambassador language means ordinary locations become intentional assignments. Workplaces, neighborhoods, family tables, retirement rhythms, and hard jobs are not random spaces outside ministry. God makes his appeal through available people who stand where they have been placed and speak with the love and steadiness of Christ. [66:12]
• 5. Availability is the simple role. The mission can feel huge because the world’s need for love and grace is huge. Yet reconciliation belongs to God before it belongs to any person, church, or program. The church’s part is simple but costly: stay available, stay attentive, and let God share through people the grace they have already enjoyed.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [40:35] - Father’s Day Greeting and Prayer
• [43:03] - Rest, Preparation, and Going
• [44:33] - Called to Bring People to Jesus
• [45:07] - Interstellar and Joyful Sharing
• [48:20] - Gospel Witness as Joy’s Overflow
• [49:22] - The Ministry of Reconciliation
• [51:34] - Christ Takes the Sinful Place
• [54:15] - Grandpa Gene and Sanctification
• [57:17] - A Scholarship Crisis and Surrender
• [63:15] - Salvation Is God’s Work
• [65:15] - Christ’s Ambassadors in Strategic Places
• [69:03] - Becoming Available at VBS
• [72:25] - Deeper Walk Challenge
• [74:09] - Prayer to Go as Ambassadors

Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 5:18-21
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [49:39]

2 Peter 3:8-9
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Observation questions

1. In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, what actions are said to belong to God, and what things are entrusted to believers?
2. What words or phrases in this passage describe the role believers now have in the world, and how is that role stated? [01:05:29]
3. What comparison is used to show how people naturally talk about something they find deeply good, and how does that picture connect to sharing the gospel? [45:07]
4. What details show that sanctification was described not just as an idea, but as being set apart for God’s will in real decisions? [01:02:18]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says reconciliation begins with God, not with human effort. How does that shape the way a person understands evangelism, especially if sharing faith has felt heavy or intimidating? [01:03:20]
2. Verse 21 says Christ took the sinful place so that sinners might become the righteousness of God in him. How does that speak to guilt and shame that still cling to a believer even after coming to Christ? [51:34]
3. Believers are called ambassadors for Christ, with God making his appeal through them. What does that suggest about ordinary places like work, family life, retirement, or hard jobs that may not seem spiritual at first? [01:06:05]
4. Sanctifying grace sets a person apart for God’s will instead of personal control. Why is surrender often hardest when the chosen path seems good, responsible, or even ministry-related? [01:01:24]

Application questions

1. Where has guilt or shame been quietly shaping the way life with God is approached? What might change if Christ’s cross were trusted more fully than personal failure? [52:49]
2. Sharing good news is often easy when it is about a movie, a restaurant, or some other joy. What makes it harder to speak openly about Jesus, and what would help that become a more natural overflow of joy? [48:20]
3. Who are the specific people God may already be placing in front of you right now—family, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, or someone else? Which one or two names come to mind first? [01:07:43]
4. Is there an area of life where control is being held tightly even though God may be asking for surrender? What would it look like to choose God’s will there instead of the preferred plan? [01:02:31]
5. God places people in strategic locations. How might your current season of life—whether busy, quiet, joyful, tiring, or uncertain—actually be an assignment for being an ambassador of Christ? [01:06:12]
6. Availability is a simple role, but not always an easy one. What habits or distractions make it harder to stay available to God, and what small step could help this week? [01:11:21]
7. God’s heart is that people would come to repentance. Would it be helpful to make a short prayer list of people who do not yet know Jesus? How can this group encourage one another to pray for them and be ready to speak with love and steadiness? [01:12:56]