The Incredible Journey

September 29, 2013

The Incredible Journey

Philippians 1:3-11                NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—Christians are on an incredible journey.

Sometimes on the journey of life, things don’t always go as we would hope.  Such is the nature of life.  It is a journey full of ups and downs, a few dangerous curves, and times we seem to have lost our way.  Yet, for the believer, we have God’s guarantee we will make it to our destination.  Even with all the challenges we face, this life is still an “Incredible Journey.”

I’m sure many of you remember the Disney adventure, “The Incredible Journey.” Many of you remember the 1993 remake of a Disney classic, "The Incredible Journey." Two dogs and a cat form a "traveling partnership" when they believe they have been abandoned in "The City." The story continues as these three compadres brave the dangers of the wild in their quest to return home. The metaphor of life, though obvious, is nonetheless quite profound. From the time of our birth we are on an incredible journey to return home to Our Eternal Father. We face many dangers and challenges and at points it seems we will not make it home. Paul gives us the assurance that as believers, and followers of Christ, we will make it home—and, the journey home will be nothing short of “incredible.”

There are certain passages, I like to repeat from time to time.  The passage we are going to read, today, is one of those passages.  Let’s read what Paul says about having confidence as we make our way through life:

PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11

Three important facts emerge in regard to “Our Incredible Journey.”

1.  First, we are going somewhere? (21-23)

In the journey of life, the destination makes all the difference in our incredible journey.  Sure, there are steep mountains and deep valleys.  Life takes many an unexpected twist or turn.  But, knowing one’s eternal destiny is in God’s House with God’s Son, and all the saints of all the ages makes all the difference.  Jump down to verse 21:

²¹ For me, living is Christ  and dying is gain.

What does a believer gain in death?  We gain “heaven.” If it were not for the promise of heaven – life would be sore and miserable indeed.  The great Christian writer and Oxford Professor of English, C.S. Lewis, wrote a wonderful series titled, the Chronicles of Narnia.  One of the books in that series was made into a full-length, animated film.  It is titled, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  In this part of the tale, two children experience the magical, mystical, perhaps even frightening world called Narnia.  C.S. Lewis describes life in Narnia in a very profound way.  Lewis says of Narnia, “it is always winter but never Christmas.” As a child, I always knew when the first snow of winter fell, Christmas was just around the corner.

This is a perfect description of life on earth if there were no heaven.

It would be “always winter but never Christmas.”  One writer tells us this about heaven:  “Heaven is the inevitable reality that is coming which gives us not only something to live FOR, but also something to live TOWARD in the midst of earthside realities that so often disappoint and defeat us.”

The promise of heaven makes living in this world tolerable—in fact, it makes living in this world, “incredible”: Look at verses 21-23:

²¹ For me, living is Christ  and dying is gain.  ²² Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful  work  for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³ I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ —which is far better.

Paul is driven to continue telling the story and giving praise to God because he knew he was going somewhere – somewhere far better!

Paul describes heaven as simply the “far-better place.” Heaven will simply be “far-better than anything that our feeble minds could possibly imagine.”  Heaven will be a place of indescribable joy and fulfillment.

Yes, friends, as the journey continues we are going somewhere. We are headed for the Promised Land in this life, and the Land of Paradise beyond.  We God’s children.  We are going places!  In this “Incredible Journey” called life, we need to know we are “going somewhere.”  Our lives in Christ have purpose.  Even our pain has purpose.  There’s something else.

2.  We are not in a hurry. (23-25)

Too often we become “left-laners.”  Too often, the urgencies

of the moment blind us to the wonderful sights and experiences as we travel this earthly highway.  When we travel too fast and gets us into all kinds of trouble

Take one couple I read about recently.  Out of nowhere, a police officer appeared behind them with lights flashing.  The man pulled to the side of the road.  When the officer walked up to the car a man rolled down the window and said, "what's the problem officer?" To which the policeman responded, "I stopped you for running that red light behind you." Just then the man's wife leaned over from the passenger seat and said with a very loud voice, "I told him to stop at that light. But did he listen? No. He just kept right on going." The man then turned to his wife and yelled "Shut up stupid!" The officer thought that sounded a bit rude.  The policeman continued, "And just before the light I clocked you doing 50 m.p.h. and the speed limit is only 30." His wife then leaned over again and squawked "I told him to slow down. But did he listen to me. No! He never listens to me."  And again the man shouted at his wife "Listen stupid, I told you to SHUT UP!"  The man’s mental abuse of his wife actually made the officer a bit mad.  The policeman then looked at the woman and said "does he always talk to you this way?"  To which the woman responed, "Only when he has been drinking."

Too often in life, we let things distract us, or we get into too big a hurry to appreciate the “incredible journey” we are on. We try to figure things out on our to “move things along,” and it only gets worse.  Instead of taking our time and enjoying the journey, we get wrapped up in the details of life or we become impatient with the progress we are making.  When my kids were growing up, a common phrase they would use when I’d get a little “impatient” with something was:  Dad, just chill out.  I hated to hear that—but I knew they were right. 

Now, please do not hear what I did not say.  This is a problem

many people have when they listen to preachers.  I am NOT saying that there is not an “urgent” need to be about the business of Christ.  People are dying, communities are decaying, and families are disintegrating.  We must be urgent in our approach to ministry.  This is not to say we must be in a “hurry.”  To be in a hurry implies anxiety or uncertainty.  Being in a hurry implies that we are not confident of the outcome of our life and work.  To be in a hurry is to seek to “control” our circumstances rather than trust our Savior.  We need to be “urgent” about eternal matters, but not in a hurry.  Just as it takes many years to become a strong, mighty oak, it takes time to make a difference in our church, our family, and our community.  Urgency mandates that we take matters seriously, but faith dictates that we take time to hear from our Lord along the way.  Urgency and hurriedness are not synonyms in our walk with the Lord.

A good example of what it means to be “urgent” but not hurried”

is a vacation I took when I was an elementary school kid.  This is perhaps one of my favorite memories from childhood and I use it often as an illustration because it is rich with so many truths.

When I think of vacations I’ve had over the years one stands out

as the “Mount Everest” towering above them all.  It was our families trip to Florida.  I guess I must have about eleven or twelve years old.  I remember the Pontiac Bonneville station-wagon that my Dad recently had purchased.  It seemed like it was the size of a battleship.  It was blue and had wood-panelling (or a wood-like panelling stuff) on the sides.  It had a rear-facing third seat in the back.  It was my chariot-of-fire on a wonderful adventure from West Virginia hills to Florida swampland.  I remember we had a flat tire as we were leaving and I was afraid it would cancel our trip.  To this day I can see my Dad and Mom way up front as I would turn from that rear-facing third seat.  I remember watching as the scenery would change magically as we passed through state after state on our journey to Florida.  Every sight along the way was something remarkably new to me.  My eyes would strain to take every thing in.  Every spot along the way was a gateway to a whole new world.

The vacation for me did not start when we arrived in Florida.

My vacation started when we left the driveway.  I was excited about each and every mile along the way.  You see, I was a child, and it was my Dad and Mom’s job to worry about the details.  All I had to do was enjoy the ride!

Paul understood the struggle between “urgency in ministry” and “hurriedness.”  Look at verses 23-25:

 ²³ I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ —which is far better — ²⁴ but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. ²⁵ Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

Paul talks about “making progress.” (Greek: --prokope). The original world meant, “To drive forward as if by beating.” Christian growth is hard and takes time.  Often, ministry is hard and it takes time.  Sometimes progress is fast.  Sometimes it is painfully slow.  The key is to be urgent, but not hurried in our ministry.

Progress in our Christian lives takes time. Sometimes, for some of us, it takes a lot of time.  How many times as the journey of life continues have you had a “flat tire” along the way?  How many times have you tripped over your sin and fallen on face?   Life is full of flat tires.  There are trials and temptations upon the road of life that slow our journey.  There are nails of tribulations that puncture the tires of our faith and send us to the side of the road and searching for our spare tire.

Don’t get discouraged because you feel you are not growing fast enough.  Becoming what God wants you to be takes time.  It may take an eternity.  But time is something that a Christian has a whole lot of!

Like the ancient Israelites, God has brought us to the edge of the

Promised Land – a land of sweetness and blessing; a land of abundant joy and tremendous expectation.  As Christians, salvation has brought us to the edge of the Promised Land of a sanctified and holy life full of blessing and great expectations.  God wants us to live in the promised land.

Paul instructs us that if we are patient with life’s circumstances

and persistent in pursuing the calling in our lives, we will experience “progress and joy in our faith.”  We are not in a hurry.

But, the most fantastic truth about this journey that continues is this:

3.  We are not travelling alone. (3-5)

Look back at verses 3-5:   ³I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Isn’t that fantastic!  These verses remind us of the wonderful truth about life in the Christian family.  We have each other.  We do not travel alone.

The greatest treasures we have in life are our family and friends.

No thought more readily disturbs my sense of peace than the fact that I might someday be alone.  I love being around people.  I love even being around total strangers.

I’ve told you before, one of my most favorite past times is to go to the mall.  Most people go to the mall to shop.  I go to the mall to see the people!  It gives me great joy to be with all my “homies” in the mall.  I can walk around for hours just looking at people.  Wow!  That sounds really weird, doesn’t it!  I’m a stalker by nature!

God created us to be social. In the garden, he gave Adam a wife.

He gave Adam and Eve children.  The children spread out and made communities.  God said, “It is not good for a man to be alone.”

As this journey continues, remember that as a Christian, God gave you a church – this church – a COMMUNITY.  You need this church and this church needs you.  The “Church” is the only institution that Jesus instituted in this world.  He left no hospitals, no colleges, and established no government.  All He left was, “the Church.”  He said,

Mat 16:18:  I will build My church,  and the forces  of Hades will not overpower it.

Both the ordinances of the church—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—point to the importance of community.  Baptism identifies a person as a member of God’s family.  Celebrating the Lord’s Supper reminds us

of the communion (partnership, relationship) we have with God and with His family of faith because we share a common salvation.

God gave us our “community of faith” so we would not have to

travel this journey alone.   Not only did God give us this community of faith, God has also given each of us His Comforter, or the Paraclete, to live with us, in us, and through us. 

In the final days before Jesus was arrested and crucified, He had been preparing the disciples for the time He would be taken away from them.  This was very troubling for these men who had walked, talked, and ministered with Jesus night and day for three years.  It was so troubling that Jesus had to stop and say:  

John 14:1:  Your heart must not be troubled.  Believe  in God;  believe also in Me.  Later in this same conversation Jesus said:  Jn. 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor  to be with you forever.

The word for Counselor or Comforter is “parakletos.”  It is a beautiful word that means: “One who walks beside, or along with you.” If you are a Christian, do you realize that God, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is right beside you – He never leaves your side.  I think of that verse in Psalm 23:

4 Even when I go through the darkest valley [the valley of death], I fear no danger, for You are with me;

In this “Incredible Journey” we call, life, we must realize we are not travelling alone.  We have each other—the wonderful Community of Faith we call, the Church.  We also have God’s Comforter, Counselor, and Guide with us.  God’s very Spirit is with us, inside us, and around us.  There is nothing to fear as we face the future for God is with us.  We have the company of the Comforter every moment of every day.  We should expect great things with God at our side.

CLOSE:  In the cinematic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, there is a scene early in the movie as Frodo and Sam, Hobbits of the Shire, set out on a fantastic journey over mountains, through forest, and fraught with wonder and mystery.  As they are about to leave the comfort and certainty of the shire for a world of unknown mystery and unspeakable wonders, Sam stops and says to Frodo, “If I take one more step I will be farther from the Shire than I have ever been.” 

Every day you live in obedience to Jesus Christ, you move “farther away from this world of status quo than you have ever been.”  But, in the same manner, you move one step closer to your destination of heaven than you have ever been before.

Oh, how I long for us to “take another step of faith, today.”  How my heart yearns for us as a church to embrace the “Incredible Journey” which we call life.  We are going somewhere.  We are not in a hurry.  And, we are not travelling alone.

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You Are Invited

September 22, 2013

You Are Invited!

John 1:42                    NOT EDITED.  GRAMMAR POLICE BE WARNED!

SIS—A simple, yet effective way to get started sharing your faith is to invite people to church.

VIDEO:  The Evangelism Linebacker.  Everybody shares the gospel in their own unique way.

READING:  Just three verses, John 1:40-42

We don’t all have to be “Evangelism Linebackers.”  Some can be very effective taking a more subtle approach to evangelism.  It is the type of approach Andrew took in evangelism.  I call it, “Being an Inviter.”

A simple, yet effective way to get started sharing your faith is to invite people to church.

The life of Andrew demonstrates three important truths about the power of an invitation to church.

1.  It is a personal matter (41)

He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which means “Anointed  One”)

You cannot lead someone to some place you have never been.  Oh, I guess you could perhaps stumble upon a place together, but that is not likely in regard to discovering that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.  As I’ve said many times, the Bible tells us (Rom 10:17):

So faith comes from what is heard,  and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Andrew was able to “invite” his brother to meet Jesus because Andrew had already discovered that Jesus was the Messiah.  I explain that term in a second.

You cannot invite someone to a place you have never been or to a church where you are not an enthusiastic participant.  Many people downplay the importance of church. I’m sure you have heard someone say, or maybe you have said it yourself, “you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”  That has a ring of truth to it, but it is not the “whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

No, you do not need the church to “become a Christian.”  The church does not have the power of salvation.  This is a “false” doctrine mostly perpetuated by the Catholic Church.  Catholic doctrine in regard to the Catholic Church and salvation has been articulated continually for thousands of years.  The common teaching of the Catholic Church is summarized in the ancient saying, Extra ecclesiam nulla salus ,"Outside the Church there is no salvation." Now, modern popes have tried to restate this doctrine and reformulate it so it does not seem to say so bluntly what it so bluntly says, but the matter remains clear that Catholics teach that grace comes through, and only through the Catholic Church as it provides the eucharis and other sacraments.

That is false.  The church is the result of people being saved, not the cause.  The Person and Work of Jesus Christ is the cause for which the church is the effect.  Acts 4:12 makes it crystal clear what is the source of our salvation:

¹² There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”

So, it is true, salvation does not come through the church or as a result of going to church.  Salvation comes wholly by a personal response to God’s offer of salvation as provided by Jesus Christ on the cross. 

Yet, this does not mean that the Church is unimportant or inconsequential to our faith.  The Bible tells us clearly,

^{Eph. 5    25} Husbands, love your wives,  just as Christ loved 
the church and gave Himself  for her

We cannot honor Christ if we disparage, disregard, or disrespect His Bride, the Church.  Also, we cannot grow in faith without the Community of Faithful, which is the Church.  A Christian that is not attached to a local body is like an arm that is not attached to a physical body.  It will die and slowly decay.  The Bible says,

^{Rom 12   4}Now as we have many parts in one body,  and all the parts do not have the same function, ⁵ in the same way we who are many  are one body in Christ  and individually members of one another.

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Inviting someone to church, then, is a very personal matter.  You will not be affective in inviting others to church if you are not active in and excited about the church. 

There is another matter in regard to personally inviting others to church.  You must be confident in, and excited about, the Church.  That means, you must be confident in Jesus Christ, the head of the Church.  The Bible says,

^{Eph 5   23} for the husband is the head of the wife 
as Christ is the head  of the church.

Don’t put your confidence in the pastor’s preaching—I sure don’t!  Don’t put your confidence in the choir’s singing.  Don’t put your confidence in the building or its programs.  Put your confidence in Jesus Christ.  Trust that if you get someone to church, Christ will make Himself known to that person in a powerful way.  Jesus said, Himself,

^{Jn 12   32}As for Me, if I am lifted up  from the earth
I will draw all people to Myself.”

When you invite someone to church, you are really bringing them to Jesus.  You can be confident that any guest you invite will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly, consistently, and continually. 

Becoming a “good inviter,” like Andrew, you have to be personally invested in the church yourself.  You have to have had a personal experience with Christ and have absolute confidence in His power to draw men, women and children to Himself.  Being a good inviter is a personal matter.

2.  It’s an urgent matter (41).

“He FIRST found his own brother.”

There is some discussion as to what “first” refers to in this passage.  It could refer to the fact that Andrew found his brother, Simon, before John found his brother, James.  In verse 35 it says that “two disciples of John the Baptist were together.”  One is named, and that is Andrew.  Ancient testimony has always identified the other as John the Apostle. 

The other way to view the passage is to have it refer to Andrew.  The form of the word is somewhat disputed and can be a predicate adjective (protos) or an adverb (proton).  In the first case of the adjective it would mean Andrew was the first to share the gospel with another.  In the second case, as an adverb, it would mean that the first thing Andrew did was go look for his brother. This is the reading most scholars prefer, and I think it is the most likely.  But, the key issue, regardless of what “first” refers to is that it indicates a high sense of urgency.  Inviting people to meet Jesus, whether at church, in the market, or on a street corner must be a matter of extreme urgency.

Now, the urgency with inviting people to come see Jesus did not stop with Andrew’s brother.  In fact, in all three references to Andrew in the N.T. he is inviting people to come to Jesus.  Andrew is a master at the “invitation.”

Here in our text, Andrew invited his brother, Simon (Peter), to come meet Jesus.  In John 6 we have the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand with just the lunch of a little boy.  It was Andrew that invited that little boy to come see Jesus.  The third time we see Andrew in the Gospel of John comes in the last week of the Lord’s ministry (Jn. 12:20-22).  Andrew invites a group of Greeks to come see Jesus. Jesus had spent His earthly ministry primarily with the Jews.  The gospel had not yet been fully opened to the Gentiles.  But, Jesus never turns away a seeker, regardless of nationality or other standing in life.  It was Andrew that invited these “outsiders” to come and see Jesus.

Andrew had a wonderful instrument, but it really only played one note.  His note was “inviting others to come and see.”

Andrew was sort of like Billy Ray Cyrus (Picture). Name one song of Billy Ray Cyrus.  That’s right, “Achy, Breaky Heart.”  Now, name another one!  Thought so.  That’s not so easy to come up with another hit even though he did make several albums.  He had one great song and rode that song into fame and fortune.  Andrew had one presentation, and he used it in every situation.  There was never a situation that stumped Andrew.  He always had the answer:  invite them to meet Jesus!

Andrew personally experienced Jesus and from that day on it became the most urgent need in his life to invite others to meet Jesus.  Andrew was a “master-inviter” and was highly effective.  You can be a master-inviter also!  Come rain or shine you can bet that on Sunday First Baptist Church will be open for business and preaching Jesus!  Be an inviter.

3.  Is most of all an eternal matter. (v41-42)

How did Jesus respond to Andrew’s inviting his brother?  Notice, he didn’t say much about Andrew—in fact, nothing.  Jesus did say something very important about the one that Andrew invited:

⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”(which means “Anointed  One”), ⁴² and he brought Simon to Jesus.  When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John.  You will be called Cephas” (which means “Rock”).

The transformation in the life of Peter was immediate and dramatic from the language of these verses.  So dramatic would be the change in Peter, that his name would be changed.  Everything about Peter changed because his brother, Andrew, loved him enough to care about his soul and invite him to meet Jesus.  That invitation eternally changed Peter’s life, and also radically altered the course of human history through the work of Peter, the great apostle.

Andrew did not just make a casual invitation to a meaningless event.  He said, “We have found the Messiah.”  That’s what church is all about, “The Messiah.”

Messiah, or Anointed One, is a powerful term that would have been immediately understood by Andrew’s brother, Peter, they being Jews. The word, “messiah,” in Hebrew is an adjective meaning, “Anointed One.”  When a person was “anointed” it meant they were set aside for very special service to God.  Messiah referred to the King of Israel as well as priests, particularly the High Priest. The Hebrew term, Messiah, or Christ in Greek, came to refer to the special messenger of God that would come and bring salvation to all mankind—thus, Jesus is called “Christ,” or “Messiah” referring to His person and work, as that of God’s Deliverer.  So, as it was, Andrew did not merely invite others to some meaningless event, or some worldly celebrity, but Andrew invited people to meet the very Son of God.  In the case of Peter, this radically transformed Peter immediately.

If you invite someone to a fine restaurant, they can experience a fine meal.  In a few hours, they will be hungry again.  If you invite someone to a superb Broadway musical, they can have a wonderful experience.  They may even talk about it for days, perhaps even weeks, but sooner or later this great experience will become a distant memory.  Now, if you invite someone to church, they hear the gospel and get saved, then that experience will last for eternity.

All that we do for someone in this life, however noble or even spectacular, will not survive the grave, except one—leading another to discover Who Jesus is and What He has done.  You can be a part of something eternal with something as simple as an invitation to church.

CLOSE:  The consequences of your one invitation can actually affect the lives of untold thousands, even millions. 

The story of Edward Kimball. That picture is a picture of D.L. Moody, the great evangelist in the late 19^th century.  Many of us have never heard of Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher. I could find no picture of Edward Kimball.  He won a young D.L. Moody to the Lord, while Moody was in Boston working as a very successful shoe salesman.  So on fire that Moody became the well-known evangelist who shook two continents for Christ .   After evangelizing America, D. L. Moody started on England. There in England Frederick B. Meyer heard his message.  Moody’s influence soon affected F. B. Meyer in a powerful way.  Meyer’s own ministry began to open up and spread, and as it did, he was invited to come to America.  F. B. Meyer was invited to Furman University to preach. The message by Mr. Meyer was given with such fervor and flame that the young fellow stepped out, came forward and renewed his vow to preach the gospel. He became the evangelist and pastor, R. G. Lee.  F. B. Meyer went on to preach at another location. In this service a young fellow caught fire and began to evangelize. His meetings spread out all over areas of New England and the mid-Atlantic coast, until they were bulging at the seams. J. Wilbur Chapman, inspired by the preaching of F. B. Meyer, began to stir up the whole northeastern coast. Then, because of Chapman’s preaching, he was invited to speak at a certain place. His ministry was changing and he needed someone to come and help him in his ministry. Mr. Chapman found Billy Sunday a recent convert and mentored him.  Billy Sunday, influenced by J. Wilbur Chapman, got into the ministry and went to Charlotte, North Carolina. There a group of business men got so inspired and so stirred up that they organized a committee to invite other evangelists back. One invited was Mordecai Ham from Louisville, Kentucky. He preached in a meeting, and Billy Graham came to salvation.  Billy Graham’s ministry is known throughout the world.  We must acknowledge that Billy Graham’s preaching and crusades have influenced hundreds of thousands if not millions. All this happened because of one Edward Kimball. One nobody who won other nobody and started a series of dominoes falling that ended up with millions acknowledging Jesus as Savior in Moody’s ministry, hundreds of thousands in Meyer’s ministry, hundreds of thousands more in Chapman’s ministry, hundreds of thousands more in Lee’s ministry, and hundreds of thousands more in Graham’s ministry. All because one fellow won one soul to Christ!

Now all of you are familiar with Billy Graham.  A few may even have heard of Billy Sunday or R.G. Lee.  Fewer have heard of F.B. Meyer or J. Wilbur Chapman.  And probably none of you have heard of Edward Kimble.  These string of great evangelist over the last hundred years or so have accounted for the salvation of literally millions of souls.  But, it all started when on Sunday School teacher invited a young man to Sunday School.

A forest fire, especially in the dry, wooded areas of California and the West, can reduce thousands of acres of tall timber to smoldering ashes in just a matter of days.  All that raging, uncontrollable fury of such an inferno can be released by the tip of one tiny match!  The same holds true in regard to inviting someone to church who discovers Jesus is the Messiah.  The tip of Andrew’s match set off the blazing passion of Peter’s ministry and whole continents would soon be caught in the fires of salvation.  A simple invitation can lead to nearly immeasurable eternal results.

I am so impressed by the few, bold soldiers of Christ who seem to share their faith so effortlessly seeing people saved in restaurants, airplane seats, golf courses, and nearly any place you might imagine.  Such soul-winners bring so much joy to heaven and glory to the Father.  Jesus said very clearly,

Jn 15:8  My Father is glorified  by this: that you produce much fruit
and prove to be  My disciples.

However, I don’t believe we should ever discount the power of inviting friends and family to church.  7 our of 10 people who are not attending church reported in a survey that they would be “highly likely to attend church if someone invited them.”

So . . . be an inviter!  Start there with you adventure into soul-winning.  This can be highly affective.  It was Andrew’s way, and it was a highly effective way.

Here you are today.  Some of you are here because someone invited you, today.  Some of you are here because someone invited you to church long ago and you met Jesus.  What wonderful love is demonstrated by inviting someone to church.

But, getting someone to church is only part of Operation Andrew.  As we said above, being in church will never make you a Christian.  As my good friend, Charles Massegee often said, “You can sit in a pew every Sunday without fail and still split hell wide open!”

It takes something more than merely accepting an invitation to church in order to secure a place in heaven.  That’s a good—no a great start—but that is not enough.  In order to gain heaven, one must also accept the invitation of grace offered by God based upon the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

Have you made secure your place in God’s heaven?  You can do that today by rejecting your sin and accepting Christ’s invitation to grace.

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