The Practice of Inviting.

Steve Gentry

[0:01] Alright, good morning. Welcome to Village Church. If this is your first time here, my [0:05] name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. And as always, I’m thankful [0:08] and grateful to see each and every one of you. If you have a Bible, go ahead and open [0:13] it to Romans chapter 10. We’re going to be starting in verse 13 this morning. Today [0:18] was the second preview service for our Chester location. I’ve returned from there and man, [0:25] I’ve never been more excited about the work of God. When we planted the first time, I

[0:30] was mostly filled with fear that I was going to fail. But it worked out, so I don’t really [0:36] have that anymore. A little bit, but not as much. And so now what I’m experiencing is [0:42] just the absolute joy of knowing that we have quite literally preached the gospel of Jesus [0:49] Christ all over our county this morning. And that is really what I want to talk to you [0:55] about this morning is kind of the why behind the what. So if you’re kind of new here and [1:00] you have no idea what I’m talking about, we’re launching a second location of Village Church

[1:05] down in the Chester area of our county. And starting September 9th, we’re going to go [1:09] every week. But we’ve had a preview service about a month ago. We had a preview service [1:14] today. And then we’re going to go every week come September the 9th. And the reason that [1:18] that is because we truly desire to reach as many people as possible in our lifetime. [1:26] I do not want to put a false ceiling on the amount of people that God can use me and the [1:34] team that we’ve built here at Village Church and the family that we have as a church. I

[1:38] don’t want to put a ceiling as to how God wants to use that. I don’t want to put a restriction [1:45] on it. And instead, my desire is that we would simply be used to reach as many people [1:50] as God has determined that we will reach. I think that is the heart of the Bible. I [1:54] think that was the heart of the apostle Paul when he continuously had the philosophy of [2:00] reaching just more. That was what he would say. I desire to reach more of them. And I [2:06] order my life that I may reach more of them. And I am convinced that you are designed

[2:14] by God to orient your life around that reality. That you were designed by God to make your [2:22] pursuit in life to make him known to as many people as you can be used to make him known [2:29] to. That is the life of discipleship. But so often, I don’t know if you’ve felt this [2:36] way but I’ve felt like this in the past that I almost reach a wall with my discipleship [2:40] and I keep running into it and I want to grow but I don’t know how to grow. I want [2:46] to follow Jesus but I’m struggling to see how can I experience more of God. And the

[2:52] way in which we are meant to experience greater forms of discipleship is to see our lives [2:59] multiplied into the lives of others. That God has designed our faith to be in such a [3:06] way that when we come to faith in Christ we begin a journey that is to take the rest [3:12] of our lives and we cannot hope to call ourselves what I want to call a fully devoted follower [3:18] of Jesus without seeking intentionally to multiply my faith into the lives of others. [3:28] It’s over 11 years ago now that kind of we were in the idea phases of Village Church.

[3:33] And when we were just coming up with ideas for you know what would this look like? How [3:39] would we do this? We had a phrase in our team that we were exploring a mission and [3:45] that we were forming a plan. But so many of you are trying to orient your life around [3:51] the ways of Christ but you’re not experiencing and you’re not exploring the mission of Christ. [3:57] You see God redeems you for a purpose. He saves you for a purpose. And that purpose [4:04] is the mission. That mission of making the work of Jesus known to more people. And that’s

[4:10] the call of God on every single life that comes to faith in Jesus Christ. And for so [4:17] many of us we look for the will of God in our lives and our careers. We look for the [4:26] will of God in our spouse and in our friendships and in any number of decisions that we make [4:32] but we start in all of the wrong places because the will of God is always found in proclaiming [4:39] the good news of Jesus. And so many of you, you surpass that in looking for the will [4:46] of God and you just start trying to find the will of God in things that only benefit you

[4:53] and what you can consume and what you can do and you’ll stay awake at night worrying [4:57] about the will of God without realizing that the will of God begins here. The will of God [5:04] begins in mission and exploring who Jesus is, what he did, how he told people about [5:11] himself and how he designed for his people the church to make him known to the world [5:16] around us. That is the will of God before anything else in your life is about the will [5:25] of God. But in exploring that mission we must not ponder too long. We must not just

[5:35] steep in theory and say what is the best way, what is the most precise way, well who is [5:39] doing it right, well who is doing it wrong. And many people have made their pursuit to [5:44] explore the mission of Jesus for the rest of their lives as if it is some kind of theory [5:49] rather than treating it as a reality and that we must actually do something. I don’t care [5:57] what anyone thinks about the gospel until they’re doing something with the gospel.

[6:05] So we must go from exploring this mission to forming a plan to how to live this mission. [6:10] That’s what this series has been all about. It’s been about putting practical things [6:17] into our lives to where we can know we are not just talking about it, we are actually [6:23] doing something with the gospel of Jesus. Because we started with the vision of the [6:28] harvest. But if all you ever do is look at the harvest and you never get down into the [6:33] field and begin to reap the harvest, what good was looking at it and thinking about

[6:37] it to begin with. So we talked about the principle of just showing up, of being committed [6:44] to the practice of presence. Because you can’t get to what we’re talking about today which [6:48] is inviting people until you come. Because if you invite someone and then you don’t [6:52] show up, that invitation was for naught. You have to be there. And some of you are struggling [6:59] with being there. Be there. Show up. Commit. Then last week we talked about being generous [7:07] about giving sacrificially. And Pastor Nate did a wonderful job talking about that. And

[7:13] that is so vital to inviting people because it is through our generosity, it is through [7:18] our giving that we show what we actually value. We show what we care about. And it is our [7:24] generosity that makes this a healthy place. Because we are generous with our finances [7:29] but we also must be generous with our time. We must be generous with our talent. We must [7:33] be generous with our energy and our effort in pouring ourselves in to building a healthy [7:38] church that is worth bringing people into the life of. And today I want to talk about

[7:45] the practice of inviting. The practice of really inviting people into the relationship [7:52] with God that you claim to have. Of inviting people into the life of Christ. Of inviting [7:59] people into the environments that you believe are making you a disciple of Jesus and that [8:05] you believe give you real spiritual vitality in your life. Because that is what the Bible [8:12] is actually all about. In Romans chapter 10, Paul talks about this. And I want to start [8:20] in verse 13 where he states a promise. He says, For everyone who calls on the name of

[8:28] the Lord will be saved. That’s a promise. You see what that tells us is there has never [8:36] been a moment in history where someone has sought salvation in Christ and found a God [8:43] who rejected them. There has never existed a person in the history of the world that [8:49] heard the good news of Jesus and believed the good news of Jesus. And Jesus said no.

[9:00] The reason being is that God says he won’t and God is not a liar. God always tells the [9:07] truth. And so you can rest assured on this primary promise that is going to serve as [9:14] the foundation upon which every invitation is going to be based on. That everyone who [9:20] calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And then he goes on and says, I will be saved. [9:28] And he goes on and he speaks to the Christian. And he says, How then will they call on him [9:32] in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never

[9:37] heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless [9:41] they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good [9:47] news. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what [9:53] he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. [10:02] Now if you are in here and you are a follower of Jesus, here’s what is the truth about [10:08] how you came to Jesus. That somewhere along the line of your life there existed a person

[10:15] or a grouping of people who believed the gospel of Jesus and they believed that Jesus was [10:22] necessary to give life into their life and the lives of everyone around them. And they [10:29] believed that to the extent that they wanted to tell. And then they cared enough about [10:34] you as an individual that they told you. And no matter how you heard, that’s the truth. [10:41] Whether it was in a church service like this or whether it was in some type of big rally, [10:46] whether it was on TV, whether it was through a podcast, whether it was through a radio

[10:50] program, whether it was through a book that you read, however it is that you came to [10:55] faith in Jesus, the medium didn’t matter because the motivation behind the medium was that [11:02] they cared enough about you to tell you about Jesus. And the idea that the apostle is trying [11:10] to get you to understand is that you need to, number one, believe the gospel to that [11:16] extent. And number two, care enough about others to live that way. Because number one, [11:25] the gospel is news to be told. The gospel is news to be told. You did not ever do any

[11:37] deed that was so good that God kind of stepped back and said, wow, you don’t need Jesus.

[11:48] You’ve done good enough that you’ve saved yourself without him. No, you’ve never done [11:53] that. And since you didn’t get redeemed because you were so good, here’s another truth you [12:01] need to understand. You will never do a deed that is so good that other people will step [12:08] back and say, I understand the gospel without you ever opening your mouth. You will never [12:17] do a deed that is so good that you just almost mined it to me. No, there’s no good deed that [12:22] shows that the gospel is true. Good deeds serve as a foundation to show the outcome

[12:29] of our message, but unless presented as a message, no one can ever come to faith in [12:37] Jesus. There has never been a person that came to faith in Jesus who was not told the [12:43] gospel of Jesus. And so all of our attempts to try to take words out of the gospel, we [12:49] can’t do it. The word gospel in the original language literally means good news. It’s [12:57] something that you are told about. And so when we think about the gospel, we must understand [13:04] that the Bible as a whole was setting up a lifestyle where God is to be talked about.

[13:11] When we read through the Old Testament, what you see frequently is this thread throughout [13:16] all of the books in which the nation of Israel was to tell of the works of the Lord. In [13:23] first, Chronicles, all the way to the book of Psalms and beyond. What you see is Israel [13:29] talking about the wonders of God, talking about the deeds of the Lord, talking about [13:34] the history of the Lord, telling of the fame of God, telling of the name of God. And then [13:41] when you get to the New Testament, the apostles double down on that reality and they write

[13:48] of the news of the works of God, specifically that all works of God led up to what is seen [13:56] as the greatest work of God. And that is the person and work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. [14:05] And so we are meant to understand that the practice of proclaiming the works of God are [14:10] designed to be the way that the good news goes out of the church and into the world. [14:17] This is the purpose of the rhetorical questions that we see here in Romans 10. That people [14:24] are not going to believe unless they are told. They must hear of faith because that’s what

[14:31] happened to you. In Galatians chapter 3, the apostle writes and explains that you need [14:37] to hear about Jesus because he did the work. Why is it news to be told? Because it’s about [14:44] the work that someone else did. You didn’t work your way into redemption. You heard [14:51] your way into redemption. Because it’s news. In the fall, on Monday mornings, people come [14:59] to work talking about news of the game yesterday. Did you see that pass? Did you see that run? [15:07] Did you see that hit? Because it’s news of what someone else did. We are by nature people

[15:16] who share news with each other. And that’s why the gospel was designed the way that [15:23] it was designed. Because God has made us people who communicate events in history with [15:29] one another. And the gospel is the greatest news that can ever be shared. In 1 Peter 2 [15:38] 9, the apostle Peter writes of our identity in Christ that we are a chosen race. We are [15:45] a royal priesthood. I mean he uses these amazing words to describe who we are as a [15:52] church. But then note what the outcome of your identity is. To proclaim the excellencies

[16:00] of him who called you out of the darkness and into marvelous light. That telling the [16:07] good news is what your identity as a follower of Christ is all about. It is a natural outcome. [16:16] And without proclaiming the excellencies of God, you cannot hope to grow in your faith [16:24] in God. You need to live that. Jesus himself noted that that’s what love is all about. [16:35] You see in the New Testament, Jesus sums up the entire law of God in two things. And [16:41] this is pretty audacious because the Old Testament is filled with law. I mean over

[16:46] 600 specific laws in the Old Testament. And Jesus writes that he sums them up in two. [16:53] What he’s saying is he’s boiling them down to the motivation behind them and the purpose [16:59] of them. And he boils it down into love. He says in every law of God that you ever obey, [17:05] it is about loving God and loving others. And so if you love God, it will be seen in [17:13] your obedience to him. And all of your obedience for the love of God will have an outcome of [17:19] love for other people because God loves other people. The greatest love that you can share

[17:27] with other people is the love that connects those people to God. God designed that love [17:35] to be shared through good news of what Jesus has done. So if you want your life to grow, [17:46] we are to tell the world of God’s great work for us in Jesus. So it’s got to be told. [17:57] So I want to apply it to every day. You see number two this morning, God wants to use [18:03] you to bring people into your church. God wants to use you to bring people into your [18:10] church. See I want you to understand that there is a connection between telling people

[18:15] the good news of Jesus that has as an outcome and just an obvious practical application [18:22] of simply inviting people to come to a church service with you. And you say, no, no, no, [18:30] that can’t be it. No, it is that simple. That is where it can begin. Because so often [18:37] we overthink this. So often we complicate this to no end that we will try to convince [18:45] ourselves to obey God and share the gospel. And in that we will somehow actually end [18:51] up convincing ourselves out of sharing the gospel with people. And we will use silly

[18:55] language and say, well it’s obviously not God’s will for me to have that conversation [18:58] today. I don’t think that was the Lord telling you that. I think that was fear telling you [19:05] that. So I want to ask you two questions. The first one, have you put your faith in [19:12] Jesus? Have you put your faith in Jesus? And the second one, which has to be a second [19:18] question after that one, is has Jesus saved you from your sin? Because if you answer yes [19:25] to the first one, you say, yes, I’ve put my faith in Jesus, then the second one is

[19:28] important because it goes to do you understand what happens when you put your faith in Jesus? [19:33] And if you answer yes to both of those questions, then God has called you to tell others. God [19:41] has called you to tell others. If you answered no to those questions, then my hope is that [19:46] I will tell you today of how to come to faith in Jesus and you will. But if you are a follower [19:53] of Jesus, then this is the Lord’s will for your life. You know, returning to that idea [20:01] of God’s will, it’s so funny the way that we treat God’s will. Because I have talked

[20:05] to some people who have literally spent weeks praying about God’s will for what car they [20:11] should buy. You’re fasting and you’re just, Lord, is it this car or is it this car? And [20:18] it’s not that the car that you drive isn’t important. It’s not that the wisdom of God [20:22] doesn’t play into that. But you will spend so much time worrying and praying over what [20:28] car. And my question is, how much time do you pray asking God to put people into your [20:34] life to share the good news of Jesus? See, if we are more worried about God’s will for

[20:42] our automobile, then we are for how we are being used to share the good news of Jesus [20:48] with others. I only mean to tell you that that tells me something about your value [20:53] system. That tells me about what is chief amongst your concerns in this life. See, we [21:02] can’t overthink this though. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus put it very simply. And I love Acts [21:09] 1-8 because I have this picture of Jesus just kind of floating up into heaven. He’s like [21:14] Superman-ing up into the cosmos. The disciples are there. I mean, can you imagine? Jesus

[21:20] just starts flying and you’re like, hmm, that’s something. I’d like to have been there. But [21:28] as he’s doing this, he has one last message to share with his followers and he says, I [21:33] want you to be my witnesses. And that’s vital in understanding what we’re talking about [21:39] this morning. Because so often we treat the gospel as if it’s stories about us to share. [21:44] It’s not a story about you. It’s about witnessing what Jesus did. It’s about knowing what Jesus [21:52] did. It’s about sharing what Jesus did. The gospel is not about you. The gospel is about

[21:58] Jesus. It’s not the good news of me because that doesn’t exist. It’s the good news of [22:03] Jesus. And that’s why he puts such an emphasis on learning Jesus. Because he’s given us an [22:09] entire Bible about him. But specifically he’s given us four gospels in which we can [22:16] see the facts of Jesus. We can see the methods of Jesus. We can see the way that Jesus talked [22:23] to people. We can see the way that Jesus taught people. We can learn the deeds of Christ. [22:27] We can learn the work of Christ. And what Jesus is saying is, that’s all you need to

[22:33] be about is witnessing who I was and who I am and what I’ve done. And in that, just [22:43] a few chapters later in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 8, we see a specific story [22:49] of a person doing what Jesus said to do. There was a deacon in the church named Philip and [22:56] through an extraordinary series of events. Philip is put directly in the path of an [23:01] Ethiopian man, a man from Africa who was returning from Jerusalem from the Pentecost [23:07] Festival and he was returning back home. And Philip is translated somehow into his presence

[23:14] and this man is reading the book of Isaiah out loud as he goes along the path. And as [23:23] he’s reading out loud, he reads Isaiah 53. And what’s amazing about Isaiah 53 is it’s [23:31] 100% about Jesus. It’s a prophecy of the death and sacrifice that Jesus paid the price [23:40] of our sins through. And he reads this out loud and then he says something to the extent [23:44] of, I just wish someone could explain to me what this was about. Because I don’t understand. [23:52] And of course, Philip, here’s opportunity knocking. And Philip, you know, gets into

[23:56] the chariot with him and he begins to walk him through Isaiah 53 and explain to him [24:02] how Isaiah 53 stood as a prophecy that Jesus had fulfilled just about a month and a half [24:10] before that moment. And the Ethiopian man comes to faith in Jesus and Philip baptizes [24:19] him at a nearby river. And see, what I mean to tell you by telling you that is that is [24:24] an example of witnessing Jesus. But for over 2000 years now, the church has existed to [24:33] create environments in which people could enter into and hear what the word of God is

[24:40] about, how every aspect of it connects to Jesus, how every part of the Bible is the [24:48] story of Jesus and his redemption of his people. And here’s where I’m getting to. You are [24:54] in one of those environments right now. That we gather once a week to read the word, to [25:05] explain the word and share how every aspect of it connects to Jesus Christ. That the [25:13] church makes as its aims, especially here at Village Church, to create environments [25:19] that you can invite people into to have the word of God explained to them in a way that

[25:26] they can come to faith in Jesus Christ through. And so our practice of inviting people into [25:34] these environments is so vital. It’s so important. And so often I get encouraged, because I’m

[25:51] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably [25:58] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably [25:58] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably [25:58] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably [25:59] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably [25:59] probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably

[26:01] And if God has used this church to do something in your life, shouldn’t you want him to do [26:08] it in the lives of more people?

[26:11] Shouldn’t you want everyone that you know to have the opportunity to have that happen [26:16] in their life? [26:18] Because I say this in Pastors’ Lunch all the time, that Sunday morning is still in our [26:25] the way in which people who don’t know Jesus know that they can come and hear about Jesus. [26:34] And so they are apt to come if we will simply invite them. [26:42] One key to growing in your personal faith is realizing that your faith must grow past

[26:49] you and into the life of someone else. [26:53] God wants you to understand that if it is good for you, it is good for others. [26:59] And you can share that with them. [27:02] And you must. [27:05] But see, what some of you are doing is you’re going through the Rolodex of your mind. [27:09] And if you don’t know what a Rolodex is, it’s because I’m dating myself, I’m talking about

[27:12] the contacts list in your phone. [27:14] All right, so I’ll just use that. [27:16] All right, now we’re going to use the Rolodex, we use the contacts list. [27:18] And so you’re going through the contacts list on your phone and you’re saying, they’ll [27:26] say no, he’ll say no, she’ll say no.

[27:33] And so you go through that contact list in your mind and you put people’s no on the [27:40] table for them before you ever give them the opportunity to say yes.

[27:46] See, and then sometimes you also have this impression that evangelism is always you [27:54] finding someone you don’t know and going up to them and having an awkward conversation [28:01] that neither of you really want to have. [28:05] When we talk about evangelism, have you ever wondered why is that the first thought that [28:08] goes into your mind that that’s what evangelism? [28:10] Now, that is a type of evangelism, and I’ve experienced some success in that.

[28:16] But for some of you that aren’t extroverted and just kind of have the Lord removed that [28:20] little part of your brain that has fear of what other people think of you, because I [28:24] just don’t care what anybody thinks of me for some reason, it’s a problem. [28:29] But you actually care and you’re afraid of those conversations. [28:33] And so why are you getting yourself out of the game without realizing that you don’t [28:37] have to start there?

[28:39] It doesn’t need to be about that. [28:41] You can start with the people that you know and you should start with the network that [28:45] you’ve already built of friends that you have, of relationships that you have formed, of [28:51] family that you have around you, of coworkers that you have, that you can have conversations [28:57] that invite life into their lives. [29:00] And the things that we talk about with the people that we care about actually show what

[29:06] we really value and what is really important to us. [29:09] And so if your faith in Jesus never comes up, then what does that say about the value [29:17] that you place on your faith in Jesus?

[29:22] You see, when we put the no on the table for those people, we’re actually defying the data [29:30] that exists to say otherwise. [29:33] So the first piece of data is the peer research group did some research a few years ago that [29:39] showed us that over 60% of unchurched people that begin attending church do so because [29:49] someone invited them. [29:53] So that shows us that the most successful form of quote unquote, for lack of better

[29:58] terms, advertising for the church is sitting right in front of me.

[30:05] But more than that, Lifeway Research Commission to study very recently, just a few years ago,

[30:13] that contacted unchurched people and they had a questionnaire to see if you were churched [30:17] or unchurched. [30:17] And just so you know, to define the term so you know what church and unchurched means, [30:22] Churched means you have been to church at least twice in the last year. [30:27] Two times. [30:29] That’s what it takes me church.

[30:31] So unchurched means you didn’t even go twice. [30:33] And some of you, you’re like, oh, twice. [30:35] That’s me. [30:37] And you’re going to leave today and you’re like, see you in six months. [30:41] Okay, I accept that. [30:43] But I do think you should try to come back sooner.

[30:45] You’re going to miss a few things over the next six months. [30:47] So please, please come more often than that. [30:50] But they only included unchurched people in this survey. [30:56] And what they found out in this this research was that 96 percent of unchurched people [31:06] would be very likely to attend if someone they knew would invite them and attend with [31:13] them.

[31:15] That’s over nine out of ten people. [31:20] 96 percent. [31:22] So when you put their no on the table for them, you’re defying research. [31:30] The fact is they are more likely to come, much more likely to come than they are not [31:35] to come if you’ll attend with them. [31:38] But what’s staggering about that to me is that in that same research, they found out

[31:45] that among active churchgoers, and so this isn’t just that you’re a church, you are [31:51] actively involved in the life of the church.

[31:56] Only 21 percent of active churchgoers have invited anyone to attend church with them [32:02] in the last year.

[32:05] I mean, 79 percent of us.

[32:10] Are putting no on the table for every unchurched person that we know.

[32:17] You see, a few weeks ago when we talked about Jesus talking about how ripe the harvest [32:22] of the field is and that we’re to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers in. [32:30] And we say, yes, I believe that the field is white for harvest. [32:34] Let’s do this.

[32:39] Our lives show that we don’t believe them. [32:44] Our lives actually say, Lord, I don’t know if the field is actually white for harvest.

[32:52] Our lives tell the story of what we actually believe. [32:58] And only 21 percent of us believe that the harvest is ready.

[33:07] You see, friends, the key to understanding what God wants in our lives is understanding [33:11] that it must grow past us. [33:14] In John 17 20, Jesus himself said, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who [33:20] will believe in me through their word. [33:24] He’s praying for you. [33:27] He’s saying that once these disciples begin to tell others the good news of Jesus, more

[33:33] will come and then more will come and then more will come. [33:35] And you are a part of that history. [33:38] And the Lord wants you to tell people and he wants people to come to faith in him through [33:42] your word.

[33:46] Because you see, number three, this morning. [33:49] If you invite people. [33:52] They may actually come.

[33:55] And for some of you, you’re like, and that’s why I don’t invite them. [33:59] All right, so you’re a different category, and you just got to change just about everything [34:04] about you, OK, because you just don’t love anybody. [34:07] And you got to get some Jesus in you, friend, because you don’t have his values.

[34:13] But if you invite people, you may actually be a part of changing their life. [34:19] In Second Corinthians 520, the apostle Paul, God speaking through him, writes that we [34:26] are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us be reconciled to God. [34:34] You understand the amazing statement there. [34:36] You see, an ambassador is a representative of a foreign land. [34:41] He’s saying that if you are a follower of Jesus, that you are a representative of the

[34:46] kingdom of heaven. [34:49] That means that the church, this church serves as a kingdom outpost filled with people who [34:57] are to tell others of Jesus. [35:01] We can join together for that purpose. [35:05] But if we would all live that out and understand that God is making his appeal through us, [35:10] the key that you need to understand is that we could plant more churches.

[35:15] If you would take the responsibility of inviting people and overcome whatever obstacle you [35:23] have put up to inviting people, if you could tear that wall down and actively do this week [35:31] in and week out, we could plant more churches. [35:37] We would see more lives changed. [35:40] We would make more disciples. [35:44] We would see more people come to faith in Jesus Christ because the will of the Lord

[35:50] for your life has been found. [35:52] And the will of the Lord for your life is that you are an ambassador for Christ. [35:58] We are called to invite people in to a relationship with God. [36:05] If you are asking yourself, how can I live out my faith in a greater way?

[36:16] Which you always should be asking.

[36:19] The key is, is that the practice of inviting will change your life because you will begin [36:29] to see your person, yourself rather, as a person who’s on the mission of Jesus. [36:37] And you would see other people as people who need Jesus. [36:44] People who Jesus loves. [36:46] People that Jesus wants to save.

[36:51] And it’s very simple.

[36:53] Build a rhythm of inviting people to attend worship with you. [37:01] To enter into the same environments that you say are shaping who you are in Christ. [37:08] Begin to invite people into that. [37:11] See, in Romans 10-15, the apostle uses an interesting metaphor that at first glance, [37:17] if you don’t look into it, it’s weird. [37:19] Because he’s talking to us about telling and hearing and speaking.

[37:24] And then he says, have beautiful feet. [37:27] You know, like, why am I staring at my feet now? [37:31] This is very odd. [37:33] But see, the key about the beautiful feet part of Romans 10-15 is that it is actually a war metaphor from the Old Testament. [37:41] See, this phrase is used three times in the Old Testament. [37:44] And he uses a similar metaphor in Ephesians chapter 6-15.

[37:49] In Ephesians 6-15, he talks about the whole armor of God. [37:53] And then he gets to our feet and he says that you are to put on your feet shoes with the readiness of the gospel of peace. [38:01] And you’re like, why? I don’t understand. [38:04] Because he’s talking about the mission that you are to go with in your life, that you are sent to live a mission. [38:11] And in the Old Testament, the mission that he’s talking about is a mission that whenever a battle was over and victory was won, [38:23] or a war was completed and we won, there was an officer that would be commissioned to run home ahead of everybody else.

[38:34] And they were to get back as fast as they possibly could. [38:39] And they were the people with beautiful feet, heralding a message that peace has begun. [38:50] Victory is ours. We won the battles over. The army’s coming home.

[39:01] You see, with the gospel, we have peace with God. [39:07] Jesus died on the cross for our sins. [39:12] And he rose from the dead to win victory for you and for me. [39:19] And he tells us, he says, now that you have experienced the victory, now that you have been reconciled with God, [39:28] now that the battle is over, the war is complete, Jesus has won the victory. [39:34] You go and proclaim the peace of God.

[39:43] That God wants to redeem sinners with his victory. [39:49] Friends, God wants to make his appeal through you. [39:53] Be reconciled to God. [39:57] That’s the good news. [39:59] You see, if we live with beautiful feet, here’s what I know is going to happen. [40:05] We will plant churches that won’t be able to help it, but plant more churches.

[40:15] Because we need kingdom outposts all over the world. [40:21] Let’s be people with beautiful feet. [40:23] As we transition into a time of communion, you see, the elements on the table represent the victory of God. [40:33] Because the bread represents the broken body of Jesus. The cup represents his shed blood. [40:40] His body was broken. His blood was shed as he fought and procured the victory over sin. [40:48] And he did it by taking the penalty onto himself and sacrificing his life.

[40:55] But then three days later, Jesus rose from the dead to show that sin could not defeat him. [41:03] To show that death did not have power over him. [41:06] And in overcoming sin and death, he gives the victory to us. [41:12] And he says, all that you need to own this victory is to believe in Jesus. [41:20] To put your faith in him. [41:23] So if you’re in here this morning and you’ve not trusted in Jesus, I want to invite you to put your faith in Christ.

[41:33] In just a moment as we’re reflecting on communion, I want you to do something a little different. [41:37] I want you to step out into the foyer where someone will pray with you. [41:41] Where someone will answer any questions that you might have and help you understand just what it is to enter into a relationship with God through the victory of Jesus. [41:52] But for those of you that are in here and you’ve trusted in Jesus, you’ve put your faith in him. [41:57] These tables are open for you. The victory is yours. [42:01] But when you eat and drink, you proclaim to everyone in this room, I have put my faith in Jesus.

[42:09] And when you leave this building today, understand that you are leaving as an ambassador for Christ. [42:15] And everywhere that you go over the next week, God desires to make his appeal through you for others to be reconciled with God. [42:25] Practice inviting. [42:26] And it will change your life. [42:30] When you’re ready, come.