Church – it is time to rise…. and call our neighbors to surrender to the one who will save them.
An invitational culture is not just a happy place – it is a beautiful revolution of life and personal transformation in the name of Jesus.
The most beautiful expression of an invitational culture is the encouragement to surrender one’s life to Jesus Christ.
If the Spirit shows up in your relationship with your neighbor … it doesn’t matter how badly your botch it… it’s going to work. A beautiful thing will happen before your eyes.
John 16:9-15 paraphrase
When the Spirit comes, he will take the knowledge of God make it known to your neighbor.
When the Spirit comes, he will convict your neighbor of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. When the Spirit comes, he will guide your neighbor into all truth.
Key – no matter how clever you are or how committed to this process – unless the Spirit of God is moving their heart…nothing is going to happen.
Ø Step 5 – Wait for the Holy Spirit to do His work
What we are to do is point people to Jesus: we ask them to look to him, to love him, to live before and under and through and by and in him, to call them to give themselves to Jesus and to what he calls us to do. Scot McKnight
§ and it should include the act of baptism as symbol of the surrender
o but it mostly is about repentance, an act of the will and a change of direction
o yes, it includes receiving
o yes, it includes acceptance
o yes, it includes belief
· Surrender your life to Jesus and follow him…
Go and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20
· We need to say what Jesus would say to your neighbor…surrender to me and follow me.
That one leans too much on the intellectual – yeah I believe in Jesus!
o Nor is it insufficient to encourage a person to believe in Jesus
Both of those sound like we are doing Jesus a favor – he’s waiting for someone to accept him or receive him.
o It is insufficient to invite a person to receive Jesus as their savior
o It is insufficient to invite a person to accept Jesus as their personal savior
· Let me get specific …
· It is not enough to continue to have good spiritual conversations. It is not enough for your neighbor to get religious. It is not for your neighbor to simply believe. They must choose to surrender their life to Jesus and follow him.
When they believe they then must call on Him to save them. (Romans 10:14 Inverted)
Once they hear they can now choose to believe.
Your neighbors have to be told so that they can hear.
· At some point you must call the question.
Step 4 - When you sense they are ready, invite them to surrender their life to Jesus
· In all things remain humble - humility will unlock spiritual authority which will lead you to influence
o of course you are right – but now they are gone
o use apologetics carefully and lovingly…you do not want to win the fight and lose the war for their soul
o you seem to struggle with the thought that Jesus is God
o you seem to struggle with the problem of pain – how could God…
unless you have been given permission · Do not argue or use persuasive tactics
· Invite them to church or bible study or small group
(CG - Can you get a screen shot of this?) http://www.globalshortfilmnetwork.com
· Use creative techniques like short films – Global Short film Network – Scott Santee
Blue Like Jazz – Donald Miller §
Who is this man? – Ortberg §
The Jesus I never knew – Yancey §
· Or, as they get more interested …read a book together
· If interested, invite your neighbor to study the Bible together (Esp. the gospels)
Remember, sharing the gospel is not fundamentally about pleading, persuading, pleasing, or getting folks to decide. To share the gospel is to announce something about Jesus. Scot McKnight
o steer political/cultural conversations back to Jesus
o steer religious conversation back to Jesus
And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32
· Focus on the center (Jesus) not the boundary (the decision)
o As long as you don’t turn it into a sermon – talking naturally about what God means to you and your story about following Jesus will be respected.
o Lately I have used my medical issues along with my waiting on God in normal conversation… people are interested!
· Tell your story. They will be interested.
Ø Step 3 –Begin introducing the spiritual into conversations and your relationship
· Conversation and storytelling are the keys to determining their proximity to Jesus.
Where was God in it? – I dunno, my grandma, I suppose – What got your through it?– Awful – Was that tough? - Yeah until my parents divorced. – So you used to live in Akron? o
· Secret: Follow the path of disappointment
o Remember the vast majority of Americans have had some kind of spiritual background
o Inquire about their spiritual upbringing
o Ask good questions…be sincerely interested…
· How do you determine where they are on this diagram?
§ the direction they are moving in
§ their proximity - how far are they from him
o get an idea of…
· bounded set theology vs. Centered set
Ø Step 2 – Determine where they stand in relationship to Jesus.
· some of you have begun and have shared stories…BRAVO! the hard part is over!
(Aside - some (a few) have a unique ability to invite a person to follow Jesus without a relationship - gift of evangelism)
· practice hospitality and practice love – start here and the rest follows naturally!
Ø Step 1 – Invite them into your life
How do you invite a neighbor to follow Jesus?
But if you do affirm the exclusivity of Jesus then why don’t you act on it? Maybe because you don’t know what to do? Well, let’s try to address that.
Again…I ask…do you agree with this? If you don’t – if you believe there are many paths to God, that salvation is not limited to surrendering to Jesus – then I would understand your reticence to go Billy Graham on your neighbors.
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
As did the early church… (Peter)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” John 8:24
Jesus himself, of course, affirmed this conviction…
2. I believe that surrender to Jesus is the only way my neighbor’s life can be transformed for now and eternity
Most of us, if pressed, would affirm this concern. Few of us do anything about it. Why is that?
§ Their eternal destiny is in the balance
§ They will face judgment
§ They are lost and without life
§ They are separated from and un-reconciled with God
Does the state and fate of your neighbors concern you?
I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. Revelation 20:12
God commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. Acts 17:30
o the current state and their eternal state … judgment
1. I am concerned about my neighbors
2 Necessary convictions: (without which you will do nothing…2 essential stirrings
We’ll examine 5 Steps in the process of challenging your neighbors to surrender to Christ. But first:
How do you invite a neighbor to follow Jesus?
The Outline is not complicated – just want to answer this basic question:
Final week – We must invite our neighbors to follow Jesus.
the wonderful benefits of a great church
Third week – We must invite our neighbors into this church.
practicing hospitality and love
Second week – We must invite our neighbors into our lives.
the state of our neighbors – chronic anxiety, Isolated, distracted, aimless spiritually
First week – Why is an invitational culture so crucial today?
Grace Church: Hide or Seek?
It is time for us to transform from people who hide into people who seek.
“Invitational Culture” = A welcoming, alluring, provocative, enticing, hospitable community
But first…Review of the series:
Today…I want to try to as simply as I can walk you through the steps of this beautiful invitation. Try to take some of mystique and fear away. Give you clear handles on how to help your friends consider Jesus.
· but…it is also a fearful thing - some of you break out in a cold sweat thinking about it, some of you lack confidence, some of you are skeptical about whether it’s even our job to do such a thing.
· it is a beautiful thing to boldly and lovingly call our neighbors to follow Christ.
The most beautiful expression of an invitational culture is the encouragement to surrender one’s life to Jesus Christ.
Are you beautiful…in this way?
· there bearer of good news is a beautiful person
· people who go out of their way to invite their neighbors to consider Jesus as the source of life are doing a beautiful thing.
That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:15
· So…somebody has got to tell them.
· They do not know intuitively that they should turn to Jesus Christ. They may have heard of him but never understood the salvation he offers.
· the point Paul was making to the Roman church was… most people don’t know where to go to get answers to questions of meaning and eternity…they are lost.
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? Romans 10:14
Here is a true statement about that neighbor of yours.
· does he or she know where to go to get answers to life’s toughest questions?
· is he or she confident in their eternal future?
· is he or she confident on the meaning of their lives?
· does he or she know what they are looking for in life?
Get a face in your mind… A neighbor….Someone in your sphere of influence. Several weeks ago I asked you to imagine those with who you will have contact. Think of one of them right now.