SUNDAY, 26 JANUARY 2014 SERMON: ALWAYS THE PERFECT, SOUTHERN INVITATION, ‘‘Y’ALL COME!” Good morning! Southerners just have a special way of making people feel welcome and at home. The root of this invitation is found in the Bible and is an extension of God’s word. We are called to extend “The Invitation”. There is nothing that can make us feel as loved, wanted or needed as an invitation. Perhaps it is an invitation from someone we already know likes or loves us or, it is an invitation from someone we do not know or from someone we believe does not like us, or us, them. These invitations are all similar in that in most cases we are interested to consider most invitations. If you ever want to get someone’s attention, just say, “I want to invite you to something.” Nine times out of ten, you have their undivided attention and you have created curiosity and anticipation which are two ingredients that help attract people to Christianity. We use invitations every day. We invite our spouses and family members to be with us. We invite coworkers and clients to meetings and other events. We invite our friends to join us in our activities. There are “giver/receiver” dynamics in each invitation that occurs and these can be very powerful forces especially when used as tools to bring people to Christ. Knowing the positive power of an invitation, it is easy for us to understand why God uses invitations to bring us closer to him. There are many examples of the use of invitations in the Bible and probably too many to mention in this short sermon. In most Biblical invitations the method and the meaning are not aggressive or threatening. ‘The invitation” is very successful in method and almost too simple for us to believe that it really works. God’s invitations are “equal opportunity” invitations and in a same methodology that he uses for all. One thing that you will notice is that God’s invitations are free from begging or pleading. Ironically, the invitations we receive from others on earth seemed diminished when the invitation is followed by pleading or begging. When this happens we become less likely to accept the invitation for fear of being manipulated. This is the miracle of God’s invitation. He does not want you if you feel you have been manipulated. He wants you to come FREELY so that you can experience His place where you feel completely wanted, needed and loved. The understanding and use of this invitation without obligation is one of our most powerful tools of Christians. I often use the example of a poor invitation to illuminate the nature of a true invitation. We have all received the bad invitation. These often come to us from strangers that are trying to get something from us. A great example of this is a tactic used in sales where you are invited to what seems like just a fun event but turns out to be a high pressure sales effort. God’s powerful and perfect invitation is embodied in a single word, “Come”. It is perhaps God’s example of inviting those who are in the most need that should inspire us and transform us to see how and why we are to behave on earth. God invites sinners, those who are in real need, those who are burdened and those who are exhausted by the world. God’s invitation to sinners is often collaborative, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18-19). His method is simple and without obligation. It is offered almost in the way that a wise grandparent can offer to open the door to conversation when they already know you are troubled, “Come sit by me and tell me what is going on.” God’s invitation to the needy is often given in a way to remind them that they are not destitute and have the real riches of the world if they can only accept the invitation, “Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, come buy and eat…” (Isaiah 55:1-3). He is offering something that satisfies. God’s invitation to the burden and tired…, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matthew 11:28-30). He invites all who are thirsty for the water of life, “Come! And let him who thirsts come…” (Revelations 22:17). As He has extended the invitation, “Come”, He expects us to do the same and gives us examples of humans who have offered the invitation. There are a few examples in the Book of John, when Andrew and Philip invite Peter and Nathaniel to meet Jesus and, when the Samaritan woman invites her neighbors. Also, there is the example of Matthew (Levi) who gave a feast to introduce Jesus. So now we can see that people can come to know Jesus through Divine and human invitation in a simple form, a single word, “Come!” We are encourage to invite people to join us in worship or to join us in the study of God’s word and, we are told that we must never stop extending invitations (Luke 14:16-21). Our invitations must be delivered without judgment or expectation so that they can be received in love and not become an invitation perceived as manipulating or threatening. Through understanding the power of a divine invitation we can see that evangelism is not nearly as hard as we often think that it is. The power lies in its simplicity in requiring only one word, ‘come” or, in the case of the southern invitation, “y’all come”. The invitation is made simple so that it can be accepted or declined without immediate consequence so that the dialogue can always remain open for the future and so that the door to salvation is always open. There are no strings, no obligation and only love as ones reward. The “invitation” has transformed lives and saved souls since the beginning of the Word and it is often a soul that goes unsaved because of a lack of the simple invitation, “come”, being extended. This is where we fail when we fail to say to others, come. God and Jesus gave us ‘the invitation”. They invited us to accept and extend the gospel of Christ. Have you accepted their invitation? Have you extended their invitation? (Acts 2:36-41) COME!...,YALL COME! SPECIAL MUSIC JUST AS I AM (CLICK LINK bELOW) https://youtube/watch?v=Kv24jRNASQMhttps://youtube/watch?v=Kv24jRNASQM
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:08:30 +0000
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