Invest and Invite
Part 2 “This is Your Invitation”
Brian A. Moon
Story – My wife one time told me a story about this girl she wanted to invite to church when she was in 7th grade. The girl was a bit of a bully and Cheryl was very nervous about asking her to go to church for obvious reasons… One time she even saw an open Bible in Cheryl’s room and picked it up to see if there were any cuss words in the back. Finally, one day she mustered up the courage to ask her and the girl said, “I have better things to do.” Not disheartened Cheryl continued to pray and ask her to come to church. Finally, 5 years later the girl came to church and found a need for God.
Tonight we conclude our series called “Invest and Invite” with a look at the invitation side of things.
Last week we talked about how we can do one of three things with our lives, we can: Waste it on wild living only for the present, Spend it on trying to get to the top or, Invest it in other people. We looked at investing our lives in others by doing three things: Investing through words, Investing through actions, and Investing through prayer. If we do these things we will earn the right to make the invite, we will earn the right to ask someone to come here, and hear about the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. So now that we have been investing in other people’s lives with our words, actions, and prayers, how do we go about this invite thing? For many of us we may have some questions and concerns about inviting our friends to come to church, but don’t feel bad. Christians always have some questions and concerns when it comes to inviting people to anything church related questions like: Why should we invite them in the first place? What are we inviting them to? How should you do it? What are some do’s and don’ts of asking people to church? Tonight my hope is that all of these questions are answered and that each of us is able to go out and make that invitation to those people that we have been investing in. The first question that I want to tackle is:
Why do they need to be invited?
“Why do I need to invite my friends here? I am doing just fine as things are, I don’t need them coming here and making me feel awkward, I want to feel comfortable when I come, why can’t someone else do it…” These are all common complaints about bringing people who do not know God, people who are far from being the church type, into here. “We like the way things are and bringing un-churched people into here is just going to mess it all up.” Often times we think evangelism is just for me the pastor to do, or the other leaders are responsible for inviting people here, “it is not my job to invite my friends” you might have told yourself.
But the fact of the matter is, Lost people matter to the heart of God, and therefore they should matter to you! People who have given up on God because of the things they see Christians doing, people who see no need for God, people who are so bad that they make you look like a saint, All matter to God! 2,000 years ago Jesus told a parable about some lost things, he told a story of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and the lost son, look at this first story of the lost sheep:
Luke 15: 3 – 8 “So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. NRSV
Jesus was talking to the religious people of his day when he told them this story. You see He allowed sinners and tax collectors, who were regarded as the scum of the earth, to come and be near him And listen to his teaching, and the religious leaders were grumbling and talking to each other saying, “Who is this guy that he lets these evil people come and be apart of what he is doing?” This is when Jesus turned to them and said this story… This is where this applies to you and me today, when we feel ourselves not wanting to invite people to come and be apart of what God is doing, When we feel like these “sinners” are going to mess up the nice little thing we have going on here, when this happens we are in the same boat as those religious leaders of Jesus day!!!
Jesus says to us, “the angels rejoice each time a lost person comes across that line and becomes a child of God, A celebration that goes all the way to the heart of God goes on each time a sinner becomes a saint, and yet you are indifferent, you would rather them stay home!” The size of heaven may have been determined before the foundations of the world were set, But as long as there is a lost person left on this earth we are to be in the process of making the invitation to come and hear about Jesus Christ and the hope he brings to a hopeless world. Part of the reason we exist, as the church today, is to go reach out as our purpose statement says and show and tell people about God’s love for them.
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” NRSV
We are called to make disciples, or truly devoted followers of Jesus Christ, but this is impossible unless we first make the invitation. Lost people matter to God and they should matter to you and me, this is why they need to be invited. The next question we need to answer is:
What are we inviting them to?
What kind of environment are guest going to find when they come here on an invitation? Often times we as the church are quick to judge people, we see that person that we know does this or that, and we turn our nose up to them for coming to church. We make them feel guilt and judgement when it is our place to love and forgive. Now true there is a way that a Christian should behave and after some time a person should begin to look more and more like Christ, They should put away sinful habits, and strive to live a Godly life, but this transformation is seldom instantaneous.
We are all on a path called sanctification, or the process of becoming more like Jesus and we should encourage and support those who are just beginning that pilgrimage. Imagine a place with me for just a moment… Imagine a place where lost and hurting people can come and find hope and guidance. Imagine a place where people get along with each other and have a blast just being together. Imagine a place where you felt like people really cared about you and what you were going through. Imagine a place where you were challenged to know God better. Imagine a place where you could help others and serve people with your God given talents and abilities. Imagine a place that no matter who you were, or where, or what you came from you were viewed as someone who mattered to God. Imagine a place where could not wait to go to each week, and a place where people we attracted to because of the love of God that was always there. This is what this place is going to be!!! This is the kind of place that we are working to become, but it takes your corporation. We cannot be judgmental of people who come through these doors, but instead we should be willing to embrace people where they are at, but love them enough to not leave them there. We are to welcome them into the family of God, and yet at the same time help them in their journey without being judgmental.
Matthew 7:1 – 5 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” NRSV
This verse is not saying that we should never make judgements because we are, we are called to make wise decisions but what this is saying is, We are not to stand in judgement of someone when we have the very same problem they do. And all of us have a need for Jesus in our lives, and all of us came from sin into God’s family. We need to keep this in mind when we are looking across the room to a guest that might be in the same position we were in some time ago. After we have extended grace to a guest and they have become a child of God then we are called to help that person along in their faith and to leave sinful habits behind,
But at no time are we to stand in judgement over them, or look down upon them for the things they have done or places they may have been. This wonderful place that we imagined before will only happen if we all commit to making guest feel loved and welcomed, and not looked down upon and judged. The last question I want to tackle is:
How do I make the invitation?
Making sure that our hearts are in the right place can be the easy part sometimes; actually making the invitation can be the real gut-wrenching chore in this invitation process. Obviously we don’t want to ruin the investment we have been making in this person by thumping them over the head with a Bible and saying come to church or else… But what options are we left with? How do we make the invite? There a few things we can do to make this process as smooth as possible.
1. Go with Power
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” NRSV
As a Christian you have the power of God’s spirit living inside of you and with it the boldness needed to talk with someone about coming to church. Jesus never gives us a task without first giving us the power needed to perform it, It is not even about our strengths and weaknesses anyway because God is the one who will enable you to speak to your friends. Don’t be afraid, but go in the strength of the Spirit!
2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions
People are more open to spiritual type questions now then at any other time, and you can capitalize on that!
Here is a sample list…
Have you ever gone to church before?
What was it like?
Do you go anywhere now?
Why don’t more people go to church?
What would you look for in a church if you were to go?
Then tell them about all that we have to offer here for them and that it is non-threatening environment, tell them that people are not going to look down on them and that they can just be themselves.
3. Follow up with more invitations
Chances are that you are not always going to find success on the first invite, but that is OK. Don’t be afraid to keep asking, don’t bug them to death with nagging, but always when you are getting ready for Sunday nights call them and ask them if they want to go, Even offer to come by and pick the up!!!
4. Be open and real
Finally, and maybe most importantly, is to be open and real with them, tell them about a time you doubted this God thing, but found that you need him. Rebecca Pippert once said “There is no excuse for a Christian to be boring or one dimensional or to come to life in a conversation with a non-Christian only when the topic is about the Bible.” The point is to be real and be yourself, use the personality that God blessed you with! Tell them when you have a great experience here, don’t hide Sunday nights from them. Let them see the real you, and don’t give them a bunch of made up stuff that sounds too good to be true, they will probably think the same thing too!!!
I hope you all have gained something from this series, I hope you have gained a passion to not waste your life, but to invest it in others, And I hope you have learned that lost people matter to God, and they deserve the right to an invitation to come hear about Jesus. Whether they accept it or not is up to God, but we are to be faithful with our investing and inviting.
Most importantly though is to not be afraid to tell people that… This is your invitation!!!
Prayer Time ------------------
God I thank you for the chance to invest in others and be a part of your irresistible grace that calls people into your kingdom. Help us to make this process of inviting a priority in our lives. Give us a heart like yours God, a heart that goes after the right things. Thank you for this opportunity and grant us the boldness we need. Amen.
