Giving Invitations

those who bring the good news will invite people to have faith in Christ based on the gospel.
not to invite to the front of an autitorium to make decisions.

 

Faith in Christ is followed by action. I cannot think of any time that Jesus or any other preacher in the Bible called people to be closet Christians. He called them to have courage to step forward and follow him. The disciples went from a job and life of security to follow a radical Jesus that had no security and easy life. In fact they were persecuted along the way. If we were to present that as part of the sermon leading into the invitation I doubt there would ever be decisons just to make numbers. I have never seen it in all the years since I started preaching like that.

I think when people know the cost of following Jesus before they make that decision then their decision is real and they expect something very different than easy believism and a gospel of health and wealth. I tell them that when they make a decison for Jesus their life will most likely get harder. They cannot do whatever they want but rather what is right.

I have seen it over and over where the religious folks get mad and those who want to grow and follow Jesus are encouraged to make the hard decisions and grow. God does not care so much about where we have been but where we are going. People are not saved because of coming forward but they are saved because of their belief. When a person screws up the courage to take a stand in front of a congregation and announce that their decison is real that is the start of enough courage to share their faith. I believe we demand way way too little of the people sitting in the pews. What right do we have than to demand less than Jesus demands of us. We must point them to all that God commands us. It's not about manipulation but about taking a stance for Christ. It's not about come forward and become a Christian. Ir's about come forward and give your life to Christ. I have never said to anyone to come forward and receive Jesus and be saved. I have often talked about the cost and then invite them to come forward if they would like to know more about what it means to be a Christian and follow Jesus. We must make them aware of the harsh reality of what it means to follow Jesus and what others may say and do. When I decided to go to seminary I was alienated by my dad. He told the rest of my family that was the worst decision I ever made and treated me so. I was ready for what I got from others. But years later most of my family are Christians today walking with God. Their decisiona are real and it can be clearly seen. My sister became a Chrisitan four years ago and tells me she hates it when the religious people wine. She says, "I have no patience with winers."

Ever take a look at the patience Jesus had with the religious zealots? He had none. He condemned them.

When we give in invitation it ought to be given with great care and yet inviting them to walk with God in a real way that demands everything we have. Once their decison is made we must do everything to disciple them along the way and help them through their struggles.

I have never had a new believr give me any trouble. They grow and are grateful.

Only when we have passion and compassion will we ever be able to invite those along with us to walk with God. Look at the early Chrisitans and the price they paid when they were baptized and followed Jesus making Him their Lord. Why should we invite people to less than Jesus does.

Last week I talked with a man that decided to follow Jesus five years ago. He was working a secular job and came to church once in awhile. When I started in town as the pastor of a small Baptist church my wife and I got to know he and his family better. Eventually his children and he made a decison for Christ. Five years later he is now leading a church in evangelism and visitation and leading their worship. I met with him every week personally and once each week along with some others in a Bible study. That man worked from 4 AM to 5 PM each day and still found time to grow. God changed he and his entire family in no time. He began leading his family in devotions and teaching them doing what I was teaching him.

It's not about the invitation. It's about following Jesus and all He commands. I have never seen anyone who has been discipled ever seriously question their salvation. But I have seen plenty of others who have.

 

your invitation sounds suspect to me, i will speak plainly that you are only to give the gospel of Christ Crucified, it is the gospel message wrought by His Spirit that will drive home the message. you are not to give a gospel of sacrifice based on what a person can do as a service to Christ for salvation, this is another gospel and it is condemned. if you want to see Christian growth then you will see in the person what Gods grace will do, not what you believe that you can disciple into. i suggest that you look into the invitation system more closely, i have some sites that could help you. pray about this read the sites and take the scripture and examples, pray the Lord will open your eyes of understanding.

 

your invitation sounds suspect to me, i will speak plainly that you are only to give the gospel of Christ Crucified, it is the gospel message wrought by His Spirit that will drive home the message. you are not to give a gospel of sacrifice based on what a person can do as a service to Christ for salvation, this is another gospel and it is condemned. if you want to see Christian growth then you will see in the person what Gods grace will do, not what you believe that you can disciple into. i suggest that you look into the invitation system more closely, i have some sites that could help you. pray about this read the sites and take the scripture and examples, pray the Lord will open your eyes of understanding. </font>[/QUOTE]I feel as though you either read into what I said or you misunderstood me.

I don’t give invitations&gt; I give the opportunity to make a commitment to a life filled with following Christ and their commitment is the starting point. Giving an invitation carelessly does not insure that the person fully understands what it means to follow Jesus. I never leave it with the invitation alone. I always visit every person who comes forward and have them explain more in detail about their decision.

In a deacons meeting I have given an invitation to come with me and knock on doors and share the good news. I have watched them bristle up and even later get mad and accuse me of stirrijg up the community. All they ever responded to was an invitation of a pseudo-salvation but not the real thing. Over and over again I have seen new believers have more courage in a week or two than most deacons.

I see so many cases in scripture when God says stand on this side or stand alone with me. It’s not about easy believeism. It about a real decision. I cannot discount it when a person goes to a country to spread the gospel risking their life. The decision is just the starting point. If we are obedient we will follow them up and disciple them teaching them to follow Jesus. But in the majority of churches we have babies floundering. This includes pastors who do not even know how to disciple someone. Many years ago I met a pastor that told me how he had led so many to Christ but few were doing anything until he learned how to disciple them.

Here is a glimpse of what I say at the end of a sermon. I talk about what it meant for someone to follow Jesus in the NT. It meant that they could have lost their life. When a person called Jesus their Lord it meant that the emperor was no longer their lord and he could have had that person executed. Following Jesus means we give our life to Him and that we turn a different direction form the way we are now and aim it at doing what God wants.

The problem is not with the invitation so much. The problem is with the disobedient church that does not make disciples. It is expecting the new believer to show the same kind of fruit as a mature Christian. Every new believer goers with me to the hospital. helps me knock on doors. eventually knocks on doors with another new believer. Some go with me to funeral and eventually participate in it. They eventually begin to witness and share their faith and lead people to Christ and then disciple them. I have them give their testimony. They memorize scripture.

For one I don’t abide by the invitation system. Most of the time even the people who are the leaders have complained because they cannot tell when the sermon ends and the invitation begins.

1 Kings 18:16-40, “ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?" He said, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. "Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." So Ahab sent [a message] among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long [will] you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. "Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire [under it]; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea." So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it." Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us." But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened." So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again." Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape." So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.


Did not Elijah have them respond? Or did they just sit in their seats. Even Spurgeon talked about how about what the person does after they give their life to Christ has everything to do with what happened that preceded that. I have seen too many times what happened when a person came forward during an invitation to tell me that they came forward years earlier and now they are coming forward to make it real. That is when I see the difference.

If the person coming forward is not willing to come forward and acknowledge Christ before a small group of people who are believers what makes you think they will later before non-believers? We help them to be pew sitters and people who have no courage. Christ calls us to be strong and have courage not pew warmers. He has not given us a spirit of timidity...

Our preaching is practically worthless when we are disobedient by not making disciples. The Holy Spirit has made us the overseer. We do not make him the overseer. It is a command Jesus gave when her gave the great commission in Mt. 28:19,20.

Acts 20:28-31, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears

Notice how he spent three years with them. He didn’t play games and give prizes. He gave them the real stuff. He didn’t tell them how to live for Jesu&gt; he took them with him to show them. He made disciples not just converts.

The point is not whether or not we should give an invitation or not, but rather who’s living and reproducing for Christ because of our life. The fruit in our life will answer that question.

Sometime read http://66.218.71.225/search/cache?p=Born+to+Reproduce&url=csV8EdPVFzIJ:www.bibleteacher.org/Dm118_8.htm

 

So are you encouraging your listeners to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing. That is what they will do when you call them to a life of no reponse.

An invitation can also be a time when a person has a heavy heart and they want you to pray for them. One time I gave a message that just a few hours I felt compelled to give. I had planned to give another mesaage but I could sit still until I changed ot to what I did. At the endof the service I gave an invitation inviting people to come forward for a humber of reasons. A lady came forward and said to the person at the front that her cousin had just been murdered. That night I preached on trials and told the congregation thaT there might be someone going through a tral and that they might like to have someone pray for them. I didn't know of anyone like that. But she came forward and we prayed for her publically.

Invitations are noit just a time to chalk up another number but rather a time to help people with whatever God has touched in their heart.

If an invitation was never given in scripture then how do you think the writer of Acts knew that 5000 were saved. God calls us to action and be separate not good complacent pew warmers. I want men and women who have passion and are on fore for Jesus.

"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of God upon the earth."
John Wesley (1703-1791)

Jesus called his disciples to follow Him. Why should we not do the same? We are to call people to follow Him alone.

 

i appreciate you kindly response, yet i still have concerns in what you say, it sounds like you are confusing discipleship with salvation. if we are on the same page or not i am not sure. i do not believe it is courage that will make faith alive in a public profession as you described, but simply is one relying solely on Christ and His finished work for their salvation. remember this verse&gt;&gt;Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
once a person is saved discipleship now is most certainly a pastor and believers obligation to teach and edify.
i will read the site that you gave shortly.
you seem to have a great zeal for God, so i pray you will seek to have the knowledge as to not establish your own righteousness, but rely only on Christ.
i have problems when people use the word decision to define faith belief and trust, but i will not get into those semantics, anyway what you may call easy believism if it is related to altar calls based on decisions to follow Christ as synonymous with faith, then i agree this type of public decision is meaningless unless it is settled that the event is nothing or counted as nothing.

 

When one relies on Christ does he not have courage and faith at the same time? He has faith in Christ which gives him courage. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline or a sound mind.

I take the position that salvation has already been secured in Jesus by His death on the cross. He now presents us with a response to give to Him. Will we be like Judas or like those who walked with God in faith trusting Christ along the way.

When I see a man full of faith there is nothing that stops him except God alone. I believe that as preachers we are called to call people to join us in our walk with Him. Yes there is that tendency to be self righteous. But I know from experience that God has used me in ways unlike I could have ever imagined and cannot take credit for except to do what He has called me to do and leave the results to him.

I have seen many many in my lifetime who have made decisions in churches to only flop around like a fish on a rock that has been hooked.

I see discipleship as having nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is being born again. But discipleship is much like raising a child. The child is already born, but it needs to grow and mature to do well. All the time I see people who have made decisions in churches that are no further along in their faith than a person who is three months in Christ. I have served alongside deacons that are worse off than new Christians I have been discipling.

I have a great concern about how young people are perceiving as Christianity and what God commands. I see churches that are dying and pastors who are busy but few are living for Christ because of their life. They don’t have time to do the job God has called them to do. Their time is occupied by people who should be making disciples but those people are only making trouble.

 

I like Keith Green's song "Alter Call."

"Come up here and lay down at His feet and say, 'You're the Lord. and I'll follow You for the rest of my life on earth, so that I can spend eternity with You, in the glory of Your Father."

Also was at a Steve Camp concert one time.

When he gave the invitation, he stressed repeatedly, "Heads turning, and every eye open"--the oppositte of the typical and very wrong "heads bowed, and every eye closed."