THE POWER OF AN INVITATION
Isaiah 1:18
There is something about an invitation that makes us feel special, wanted and accepted. An invitation is a powerful way to reach out to others.
a. A man invites a lady out for a date
b. A business person invites a client out for lunch
c. A housewife invites a friend over for coffee
d. A family invites another family to supper
That is the way you get to know people and your circle of friends and the church family gets larger. We all want our church to grow, and if it grows we all must grow. When we stop growing our church stops growing.
I want us to look today at the power of an “Invitation” from a Biblical perspective. I want to look at the invitations in the Bible.
[I.] THERE IS A HOLY INVITATION
God has never been obligated to invite us in to his presence. The access that we have to God is only by grace through faith. The only audience you and I will ever have with the King is at his good pleasure. He doesn’t have to invite us but I’m glad that he often does.
A.) God Invites The Sinners To Come
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
B.) God Invites The Stony-Hearted To Come
Isaiah 55:1,2 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
2 “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
C.) God Invites The Struggling To Come
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest...”
D.) God Invites The Seekers To Come
Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
[II.] THERE IS A HUMAN INVITATION
The Lord sends out his message of invitation in many forms. But the fact remains that we have a responsibility to respond to his open door. When God opens a door no man can shut it, but when he closes a door no man can open it. God has chosen to use us as servants to deliver his invitation.
A.) The Prophesy of the Invitation
Isaiah foretold of a day when men would unashamedly ask others to join them as they journeyed to the House of God.
Isaiah 2:3 “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
B.) The Practicing of the Invitation
Just as people came to Christ by invitation in the Bible, they can still come today. The Lord does the inward work of the heart but we do the outward work to place them under the Word of Truth.
Romans 10:17 “So then faith come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”
*In (Luke 5) Matthew gave a feast to introduce Jesus to his friends.
*In (John 4) the Samaritan Woman at the well invited her neighbors.
*In (John 1) Andrew invited Peter, and Phillip invited Nathaniel.
*In (Acts 8) Cornelius invited his friends and family.
C.) The Power of the Invitation
Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
[III.] THERE IS A HAPPENING INVITATION
Real evangelism is inviting men to Christ under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit. As servants we are to rehearse his words in their ears knowing that God alone will do the work. We have but one task. To simple magnify Christ and him alone.
John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
A.) Invite People To See For Themselves
John 1:46 “And Nathaniel saith unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”
God can save the curious as well as the obvious.
B.) Invite People To Study The Word
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
C.) Invite People To The Services
Never underestimate the power of a simple invitation. Your personal call or contact may very be the key that unlocks the door of faith in their life. It is better for them to decline our invitation than for them to have never received one.
