Well, I'm so grateful to be here and I'm honored
that pastor Jon and miss Adriene would allow
me to feel the pulpit Man, I was just so encouraged
by your worship Where was that? Where was that
harmony in the early service? Who you're tearing
it up some great the worship is awesome So I
have the privilege of also leading worship at
the church that we pastor So it's a it's a challenge
and so sitting back and just listening to the
drums and you guys do your thing I just blessed
my heart and then the really cool thing is This
is all for free. But you guys just singing. I
mean, I'm sitting there just listening to you
sing and it's, ah, it just blesses my heart.
Thank you so much. And so I've been a youth pastor
for a long time. And so I'm animated, I'm loud,
I talk fast. And then I say that too. I greet
the people, good afternoon, or good evening,
good night, you know, so I'm confused too. So
don't worry, we're all in good hands together.
Amen. Now that I pointed out everybody's flaws,
I'll preach. Again, I'm thankful to be here.
You know, I was talking to, mostly to Miss Adrienne,
because John and I, for some reason, can never
connect. We have to do it through text and all
that stuff. But through a long voicemail, he
left me. I was hearing about the vision, so it
got me excited about checking out, you know,
Village Church online and seeing all the good
stuff that's happening. But the moment that I
had an opportunity to talk to Miss Adrienne about
preaching today, just this particular verse of
Scripture that I'm going to share with you was
really prominent on my heart. And I really just
felt like I needed to share this. And then I
heard a lot about the focus for this next month,
this kickoff thing here at Village. And it just
really inspired me that this is what I need to
share. And I feel like God laid this on my heart
for this particular moment to share with you.
So today I want to share with you the power of
the invitation. I'm not great with sermon titles.
I thought that was pretty catchy for me, because
I'm not great with that. So if you have your
Bibles open to... Colossians chapter four, we're
gonna look at verses two through six, Colossians
four, two through six. It was in the year 2016
when the Golden One Center began hosting the
Sacramento Kings. And it was just a few days
before my birthday I was invited to the season
opener where the Sacramento Kings hosted the
San Antonio Spurs. One of my clients was one
of the main electricians I know there was many
people but this particular guy you know he was
one of the main guys and so they gave him some
tickets he had two tickets to the Kings game
and he personally invited me to come he wanted
me to join him one because it was getting close
to my birthday and he knew how much I like the
Kings and so he wanted me to come Also, I had
been and still am his faithful motorcycle mechanic.
I've been doing that with his bike and taking
care of it for years. And so he just wanted to
celebrate with me. It was going to be a great
night. Well, sadly, I had to decline. There was
something on my schedule and I had to attend.
But worse than that was the fact that that event
fell through. I could have went. Later on, I
found out that he took one of our mutual friends
instead. I also heard how awesome that night
was. You know, it was the inaugural night for
the Kings. It was a special night for our city.
The tradesmen and women who worked so hard on
that building, I found out, were celebrated that
evening. That was another reason why he wanted
me to come. He wanted me to see some of his great
accomplishments and what he did in that fantastic
building. And there was a lot of good complimentary
food. Anytime food is complimentary, it's good.
I was really bummed out. I missed out on an awesome
and incredible invitation. You know, invitations,
they come in all different ways. Some are very
informal. You know, your friends, they might
say, hey, come join me for a meal. Come on over,
or let's go get a cup of coffee. I like those.
I like it when my friends call me and consider
me and say, hey, let's go grab a cup of coffee.
I like that. I feel included. You know, some
are those Evites. You ever get an Evite? I'm
not good with computers. I have a saying in my
house, if it doesn't run on gas, I can't fix
it. So I have a cell phone, I know how to turn
it on. Thank you and good night. See, there I
go again, night time. You know, the e -vites
are those kind that you get in your email where
you can see who's gonna go and not go, and then
you can determine whether or not you're gonna
go. Yeah, no, none of us do that at this church,
right? We're holier than that. Bless God. Some
are super formal you ever get the ones that arrive
by mail. They're real fancy They're real thick
and you know, you know, it's fancy You know that
you're gonna be cordially invited right fancy
writing calligraphy the writing you can't read
You've got to try to figure out what time it
is. Well, regardless of how the invitation comes
They say this one thing If you're taking notes,
I want you to write this down one thing an invitation
always says is that You are wanted An invitation
indicates that you're welcomed, that you're included.
We've got something that's exciting happening
and we want you to be a part of it. An invitation
includes them into something that's happening
that's great, that's grand, that you should be
a part of. And so today I wanna talk with you
about the power of the invitation. So if you
have your Bibles, look with me at Colossians
chapter four, starting in verse two. It says,
devote yourself to prayer. Stay alert in it.
with thanksgiving at the same time pray also
for us that God may open a door for us for the
word to speak the mysteries of Christ for which
I am in chains so that I may make it known as
I should act wisely toward outsiders making the
most of the time let your speech always be gracious
seasoned with salt so that you may know how you
should answer each person there was a book I
recently read and it was entitled, The Simplest
Way to Change the World. Pastor Dustin Wilson
and Pastor Brandon Clements wrote this book.
There was something in there that struck me and
it said this, the simplest way to change the
world is to leverage your ordinary life for his
history sweeping mission of hospitality. What
does that really mean though? Is it being a good
neighbor? Maybe it's a gospel neighbor. You see,
an important part of living an evangelistic life,
a life that shares Jesus, is really opening your
heart to others, opening your life up to others,
letting people see what a Christian looks like,
what a life transformed by Jesus really looks
like. It's not perfect. Sometimes it's messy,
but we're forgiven by God. We have a relationship
with him that changes things. We have someone
that's forgiven our sins, someone who's always
with us. In our efforts to bring the gospel to
the most distant, unreached corners of the globe,
we must not overlook the opportunity and the
responsibility that God has given us to make
Christ known to the people who live around us.
to our friends, to our neighbors, to those that
we work with, to those that we pass by. Now,
may I share some inroads with you? You may or
may not already be doing these things, but this
is something that I want to share with you about
how we can be effective in sharing the gospel
with our neighbors. If you're taking notes, I
want you to write this down. Number one is this,
pray. Pray. You say, Pastor Tim, that's the simplest
thing to do. Come on, let's get theologically
deep here. Well, prayer should be the key for
everything in our life. Prayer should be a priority.
It should be the first thing that we do. Prayer
should be the last thing we do. Before we do
or go anywhere, we should pray. When making a
decision, we should pray first, spend more time
in praying. And it should be continual and ongoing.
First Thessalonians, you know, tells us to pray
without ceasing. It's something that we should
do continuously. And so prayer. Colossians chapter
four in verse two tells us to devote ourselves
to prayer. Stay alert in it with Thanksgiving.
So when you think about inviting someone to church,
when you're thinking about evangelism or sharing
the gospel with somebody, pray. You know, we
like to put these big words on it, evangelism.
But it's just living your life, sharing Jesus.
I can't help but talk about Jesus because He's
my everything. I tell people often, you know,
I found Jesus and He saved me from a life of
sin and crime. I was five years old. My feet
didn't even touch the ground in that little metal
folding chair in children's church and the Lord
saved me. My aunt Priscilla was talking about
Jesus and how sin would separate me from God.
And I thought, I don't want that. I was five
years old. I don't want that. I don't want to
be separated from God. I invited Jesus into my
heart. pray for their heart, their mind to be
open. Pray that God would prepare you. Pray that
God would prepare you with the right words. Pray
for yourself to be ready when these invitations
come. Pray that God gives you the opportunity.
Pray that you remain encouraged and diligent
even if you come into an encounter with someone
and they say no. Sometimes we get nervous, we're
afraid, what they might say. So I'd rather not
face the rejection than talk about Jesus. I don't
wanna hear the negative comments. I don't want
them to stereotype me in some way because I'm
a Christian or I'm one of those that's shoving
Jesus down their throat. So I don't, pray that
you're ready. Pray that you're willing to do
this. Pray that God gives you a passion for this.
Pray that you're ready when they say yes. You
know, sometimes we're so, in our mind that we
think that when we talk about Jesus, right away,
they're gonna turn us down. They're not gonna
want prayer. They're not gonna wanna hear about
Jesus. And then we're shocked when they say,
yes, they say, yes, pray for me. Okay, where
do I start? We need to ask God for a fresh burden
for soul winning, for inviting people to church.
And we need to pray for his compassion. Jesus.
Definitely modeled compassion towards people
and we should have that same heart Ask God to
pour out the Holy Spirit To inspire words from
your heart that are from scripture and grant
you the confidence to Proclaim the good news.
You know, we study scripture many of us grew
up in in Sunday school You know, we have all
these, as the Bible says, hide his word in your
heart. So you have it in here and pray that you're
ready. When the opportunity comes, it just comes
out naturally. You start talking. Have you ever
been in that situation where you know it's anointed
by God? You start talking to somebody and next
thing you know, you're like preaching and you
don't mean to, you're just excited. Jeremiah
said, it's like a fire in your bones. And it
should be that way, especially when you've experienced
God firsthand, when you've had that opportunity
to receive Jesus and He's touched your heart
in a mighty way. So pray that God uses your words
to bring healing. Pray that He uses your words
to bring encouragement, even prophetic words
that might lift up one who's discouraged, hurt,
or lost. I'm grateful. for an accident that I
experienced in 2017, where I was hit by a car
and I broke my femur and had some head trauma.
It took me several months to get back on my feet,
but I went through a time of depression, of discouragement.
I couldn't walk, I couldn't work, I couldn't
do much, and I went through it. Had you told
me before about discouragement or depression,
I would have snuffed it off, laughed it off.
You need to suck it up. You need to pray a little
harder or whatever. I'm grateful for that experience
because it gave me sympathy and empathy to understand
that depression is real and what Jesus can do.
And sometimes we have that testimony, we have
that story we can share and it becomes so real.
And so make prayer part of your everyday evangelism
so you can invite, use your testimony. Number
two is this, if you're taking notes, write this
down, be ready. Prayer is the best preparation.
you can do for evangelism. Prayer is the greatest
thing you can do to prepare yourself to invite
someone to church, right? However, being in the
Word is just as important, that you spend time
in God's Word. Sometimes we think that we have
to have this prepared script ahead of time. You
know, because I work on motorcycles, I come in
contact with people that don't know Jesus. And
sometimes they're shocked when they find out
that their bike mechanic is also a pastor, it
scares them sometimes. But you know, I would,
in my early days, I would have a sermon in my
back pocket. I mean, I was ready. When they say
this, I'm gonna say that, and I'm gonna steer
them. I got stories to tell. I like to read stories
about history and how they relate to Christ.
So I'll have these great stories to share, and
I'm ready. And then the opportunity never comes,
and I'm like, ah, I missed this opportunity.
I had this great story to tell, and I'm trying
to have this script. You ever done sales? Anybody
did phone sales before? Right? You're on the
phone and you're trying to sell something, right?
I was the worst sales telemarketer or whatever
on the planet, right? They would give me this
little script, and I'm on the phone and I'm calling
somebody. Hello, is this Mr. Maynard? Yes, it
is. Hello, this is Tim. Tim, yeah, I'm Tim. I
was terrible at it. They fired me twice. I was
bad at it. I felt like I had to have this, and
sometimes it's the same thing with... Sharing
Jesus. We feel like we have to have a script.
Word for word. What am I gonna say? When they
say this, I'm gonna say this. But you know, the
best script of all, first, is the Word of God.
That's the best script. Just have God in your
heart. Just spend time in the Word. Be ready
when somebody asks you a question. And then,
the next greatest thing is your life. It's your
life. Just live it. Live for Jesus and let it
show. And then your testimony, because nobody
can argue your testimony. What Jesus has done
for you. You know, a couple weeks ago, we were
talking about evangelism at our church as well.
And we're talking about sharing Jesus and my
dad. My dad is 83, he just celebrated his 83rd
birthday, right? Here's this old booger, right?
We get done with church, and you know what he
says? We always open the back doors. Our building
that we rent is kind of small, but we swing open
the back doors at the end of service. And my
pop, he says, now open the doors and let's go
save the world. He was so excited. Here's my
dad 83 years old. He could say I've had somebody
else's job. That's for the young man That's the
next generation's problem. I'm old. I'm just
gonna sit in my chair and watch it pass me by
No, he wanted to get involved. He's still excited.
He's got 83 years of seeing God do miracles He's
got 83 years of experience of life of Jesus He
was excited and he said I know that's not theologically
correct because we're not going to save the world,
but we've got a message to share. We've got something
to share and nobody can argue with your testimony.
1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 15 says, but in your
hearts, regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready
at any time to give defense to anyone who asks
you for the reason of the hope that is in you.
So you see, we should set our hearts in a place
where Christ fully honored as Lord focus intently
on Christ's role as master as Lord of your life
and live it as if it were absolutely true live
your life that you believe Christ is truly Lord
of your life and if we set Christ as Lord of
our life things will change you can't stay the
same when Jesus is now master when Jesus is now
Lord you can't live the same way things begin
to change Peter says those who observe your life
they're going to take notice they're going to
see that there's something different there's
he's they're going to see the hope that's in
you because there is a difference when you live
a life with hope and in the midst of of this
life many times there are struggles and hardships
and difficulties You know, Jesus even said, not
if trials come, but when trials come. Apparently,
we're gonna go through things. But even in the
midst of it, we can still have hope. And so,
when we do, when we go through things and people
observe our life and see how we live, be ready
to answer the question that our life should inspire.
How can you be so hopeful in such difficult circumstances?
With all the things that are going on in this
world, how can you be so hopeful? Well, Peter
anticipates that people will become curious when
they see your life. Is your life a reflection
of Jesus? Hopefulness and joy. It's so different
from the normal human response. Because when
things go bad, what do people do? Fall in depression,
get upset. Sometimes they turn back to their
old ways, old habits. Our lives should be so
different that they should want to see something
different that they do see and then they begin
to ask us. And what will they say? What will
they ask about us? And we need to get, be ready
to give an answer to tell about our faith in
Christ. Now, sometimes we need to have this thing
called relational capital. You know, it's time
that you spend with somebody. You know, sometimes
there's things I can say to people. in my church
that I've spent a lot of time with. I know them.
They know me. They know where I'm coming from.
They allow me to speak into their life. But then
there's other people that don't know me at all.
We've never met. I don't have the right to say
certain things. Maybe I do, but how are they
going to perceive it? How are they going to take
it? They don't know me. They don't know that
I have their best interest at heart. They don't
know that. And so sometimes when it comes to
sharing Jesus, relational capital is important.
How much time? I have spent with them. I can
invite Jesus to them or invite them to church.
I can share Jesus with them and they'll hear
what I'm saying. I can talk to them about deep
things of Christ because I have this relationship
with them. They know my heart. But sometimes
you don't have to wait for those opportunities.
You don't have to wait for long periods of time.
I know stories of people that have come to church
with a simple invite. I know people that have
found Jesus because of a simple conversation.
They didn't even know the person. You know, I'm
probably the one that keeps the lights on at
the nearest Walmart by my house. I'm there almost
every day. And when I go in there, I try to avoid
the self -checkout thing. One is because I like
people. I enjoy talking to people. And so I try
to find a particular aisle. If I can't get in
the lane where there's somebody that I see on
a regular basis, I pray, I look, I try to find
somebody, as I'm going to use that as an opportunity
to talk about Jesus. And so if I can find the
same person that's good, I'll get in that line
and we'll drum up a conversation and we begin
to talk. And they begin to see something different
in us. It happens over and over. There's ladies
at Walmart that now we know them by grandma.
And we have a relationship with them. I have
this relational capital. And I can share with
them. And I've invited them to church. And sometimes,
you know, she's in a bad mood and she doesn't
want to hear it. And I know that. And I know
what to say. And I know how to talk to her. I've
built this relation. She lets me speak into her
life. But sometimes I don't know the person there.
And, you know, there might be a lady. Like one
time there was this young... a younger lady working
the register and she was Filipina. And because
we were missionaries to the Philippines, I was
able to use my terrible, terrible Tagalog and
talk to her and use some, and it opened the conversation
and I was able to talk to her about Jesus. It
was a one and done kind of thing, but I still
wanted to take the opportunity. And so I know
there are people that have come to church just
simply because they've been invited. Just a simple,
you don't even know them. But while we don't
really have to have certain capital relationship,
maybe it's important, but just be ready Ready
with what to say how to say it be prepared So
be ready to have an ongoing relationship And
here's the other thing whether or not they say
yes or no Be ready to have a personal relationship
with this person Sometimes, you know, we invite
people to church. Our goal is we want to fill
the pews. So sometimes I struggle as a pastor
with these alike. One time we were at this church
as youth pastors and they were trying to get
over a certain numerical hump. You see me? And
on the door it would say, push for 500, pull
for 500. And it was one of those things, you
know, just this campaign we were trying to...
And I felt like, are we trying to grow the church
or are we trying to win souls? Because nobody
wants to be a target. Nobody wants to be a mission.
Nobody wants to be a project. How about you see
me as Tim who's hurting? How about you see me
as Tim who needs Jesus? How about let's prepare
ourselves to be ready to care for our neighbors.
Not just inviting them to church, but to have
a personal relationship with Jesus. That we can
be a blessing to our neighbor. Not as a project,
not because the pastor's. doing this promotion
thing, but because we love Jesus and we want
to share Jesus with the lost and hurting world.
As our text says in Colossians chapter four and
verse five, it says to act wisely toward outsiders,
making the most of the time. Some translations
say making the most of every opportunity. Either
way, be ready. Number three, if you're taking
notes, write this down. Carefully choose your
words. carefully choose your words. For instance,
you might be saying to somebody, hey, I've been
enjoying our church a lot recently. I wanted
to give you the opportunity to come to be a part
of what we're doing. Are you interested in coming
with me on Sunday? Or you might say, hey, we're
talking a lot about hope at our church. It's
been very encouraging. I thought you'd like to
hear more about hope, especially if you see them
going through something. And we specifically
do certain things. certain activities, certain
series we'll preach, just so we can invite the
lost, opportunities for people to invite their
friends and those that don't know Jesus. I mean,
we'll invite anybody, friends, enemies, anybody.
And maybe for us, we have life groups. And sometimes
people, they're a little intimidated to come
to church and they don't know what to expect.
Are they gonna have to stand, sit, kneel, sing,
what's it gonna be like, you know? And so we
have these life groups throughout the city. And
we'll say, hey, why don't you join us on Wednesday?
One of our groups meets at Round Table Pizza
on Wednesday nights. Another group meets at Starbucks.
We have a group that meets at McDonald's. Not
that we all like food or anything, but we like
food. And so we have these groups. And they're
not intimidating. Show up. Just a bunch of friends
hanging out, talking, chit chat. And you know
what? We'll see ministry take place. I mean,
there was a lady that had a car for sale. And
another young lady needed a car, and they worked
a deal so this lady who had this car, she sold
it for dirt cheap to this young lady that needed
a car. Ministry was happening right there in
the middle of life through people loving each
other, caring for each other, acting as the early
church, doing what we're supposed to do. Colossians
chapter four, three and four says, at the same
time pray. Also for us that God may open a door
to us for the word to speak the mysteries of
Christ as Paul says for which I'm in chains he's
in chains over this right so that I may make
it known as I should are you sharing the gospel
like you found it you know it's sometimes sharing
the gospel is like sharing something that you
found fascinating maybe it's a new grocery store
a new gym, a restaurant. You know, you're excited
about this restaurant and you just want people
to know about it. You want to share, hey, check
this out. This is a great place to eat. We're
sharing this thing, considered in the same way
with Jesus. Obviously, it's much more important.
It's far more important than a gym or a restaurant
or a grocery store. However, it's the same type
of thing. We want to share what we found. It's
good news. It's something great. But here's the
thing, we don't want to make people feel as we're
the righteous and they're the unrighteous. Right?
First Peter chapter three and verse 16 says,
yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping
a clear conscience. So whatever words that you
choose, whatever phrases that you pick, be gentle,
genuine, and respectful. You know, sometimes
I hear people share the gospel, and man, they're
intense. And there's some people that are just
like that. I mean, they're truly being genuine.
My mom is a great example. Man, my mom is like
4 '11", and she'll get right in your face and
tell you about Jesus. But she does it with a
loving heart, and she's a little old lady, so
she can get away with it, right? And so she says
these things, not the way I would do it, but,
you know, and people love her. And I'm like,
mom, that's so intense. How come you talk to...
And next thing, I know they're hugging on her,
and she's praying with them. The greatest thing
about it is she's sharing the love of Jesus and
she loves on them. She really loves them. She's
saying it because she cares. I don't know how,
in my opinion, whatever it's worth, is it really
respectful? But she's being genuine. She truly
loves them. I've heard it said it like this.
We're just one beggar who has found bread, showing
another beggar where bread can be found. Colossians
chapter four and verse six says, let your speech
always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that
you may know how you should answer each person.
Number four, if you're taking notes, write this
down. Watch for opportunities. Watch for opportunities.
See, when you pray that God will give you an
opportunity, don't be surprised when he does.
Look out for them. when you're praying for opportunities
also pray that you're ready because those opportunities
will come if you ask for it he'll give them to
you for instance somebody might say to you hey
i'm feeling a little discouraged and you could
say i'm sorry perhaps you felt that way too at
one point and you can share your story like i
have i understand what it is to go through discouragement
and i'm able to follow up with something about
how i found hope in the scripture i found hope
with my church I wouldn't have made it through
that time of discouragement if it wasn't for
the fact that my church supported me and encouraged
me and helped me during these hard times. I've
found church very refreshing recently. Would
you like to come with me? Come to my life group
where we can do life together. Colossians chapter
four and verse three says at the same time, pray
also for us that God may open a door to us for
the word to speak the mysteries of Christ. See,
overall, The model is pray for opportunities,
take the opportunities, pray for your preaching
opportunities, pray for your opportunity to share
God's word clearly, powerfully, be wise in what
you say and in how you say it. Let me rephrase
the Nike saying, just say it, just invite. Number
five, if you're taking notes, write this down.
Number five is this, invite them to something.
Invite them to something. Don't just invite somebody
to church and leave it there. Don't just invite
somebody to church and then not show up yourself.
So this is the plug for perfect church attendance.
Make sure that when you invite somebody, you're
there too. Show up. Be friendly. Sometimes we
say, hey, I'm going to church Sunday. Why don't
you come with me? And afterwards, Here we go
again. We'll go out to eat. I love to eat. Find
something you do well and stick with it. I have.
Join me. We're going to eat. It's a great way
to show that you're interested in them. They're
not a project. They're not a number. They're
not fulfilling some quota that the pastor has
to push for 500 or to pull for 500. They matter.
Invite them to one of your special events. Our
churches, Pastor John does the same thing. He
specifically has special events designed so you
can invite your friends so they can see us as
real people. We're people that have found a savior
named Jesus. And we want to share this good news
with you. Come to church. Come find out. Invite
them. Colossians 4 and verse 5 says to make the
most of the time or of every opportunity. We
have several special events planned this year.
Next year, we've done things like we're preparing
now in October. We'll start preparing for 2026,
believe it or not. And so we're gonna sit down
and map out the schedule. There were several
events that we did last year that were quite
successful in getting unbelievers and new people
to come find Jesus. We're not just about growing
a church. We're about having people find Jesus.
We would do things like Super Sunday, Super Bowl
events. We did Sunday Funday, where we did Church
in the Park. For us, our church, we rent a building
every Sunday. And so we're like mobile church.
We have to set up and tear down that stuff. And
we got a great team of people that make it happen.
And so every holiday weekend, we don't have access
to our building. So we have to be creative. We
have to find things like we did something called
Nacho Average Weekend, where we did church and
nachos in the park. It's kind of a fun way to...
not have a building and do church outside. We
would do things like something simple where we
even did a Valentine's dinner. We did a series
on hope. We did a month -long series on hope
targeting mental health and our faith in God.
And so it was a great opportunity for people
to invite their friends. You have one coming
up next week, so take the opportunity. This is
a great event to invite someone that doesn't
know Jesus to church. Number six, if you're taking
notes, write this down. Don't be discouraged
if they say no. Don't be discouraged by a no.
You know, people are not always gonna respond
with you and your excitement about Christ with
a yes. You know, you invite them to church, they're
not always gonna say, yeah, I wanna go with you.
They're not gonna always say, yeah, please, right
here in the middle of Target, please pray for
me. They're not gonna always be excited about
it, but there are some that will respond with
a yes. And when they do, sometimes, you know,
you say, hey, can I pray for you? And they're
thinking, like most of us do, I'll pray for you
on Thursday at Bible study. You know, how about
do it right then? They're shocked sometimes when
you do. Hey, they said yes, take advantage of
it. But sometimes people may say no first, but
later they'll say yes. It's worth persevering
with inviting people to church. You know, there
are certain times in people's lives when... things
change. Oh, they're saying, no, I don't want
to be part of it. No, I don't want to get involved
in church. I don't want to be here. I don't want
to hear about that. But then there are these
moments in time. They say when a baby's born,
when there's the passing of a family member,
when there's a change of job, a new job starts
getting fired, these different events in life,
it opens us up to the things of God. It's a perfect
opportunity for you to be there, to pray with
them, to encourage them, and to talk about Christ
in these opportunities. So you may find that
someone says no, but eventually they follow up
with a yes. So I would say when they say no,
respect that. Respect their wishes in that regard,
but know that they may change their mind in the
future. I would say this, don't ever take a...
a no as a never. Never take a no as a never.
Down the road, there may be a change of heart,
a change of situation. And always conclude it
with, I'd love it if you'd join me sometime.
You can tell them about a future event, and you're
like, hey, if it's cool, I'm gonna circle around
in March, or I'm gonna talk to you in February.
We got a Super Bowl event. Maybe we can go check
it out. I hope you'll consider this with me.
Why not check it out then? Hebrews chapter 12
and verse three says, for consider him who endured
such hostility from sinners against himself so
that you won't grow weary and give up. You see,
we should take that same approach that Jesus
did when we're faced with a no. Now not just
with a no, but when we're faced with persecution
or when we're faced with hard times, we should
think about what Jesus. went through. Jesus endured
hardships at the hands of his friends and his
enemies. Those that were supposed to be religious
leaders even treated him poorly. You know, it
makes me think about when I was in high school,
the worst persecution that I faced was being
laughed at or made fun of because I went to church.
But nowadays persecution, as this Bible talks
about, is so much greater. People are losing
their lives because of their faith and I'm grateful
that I didn't have to experience that. or even
didn't even understand that that could we read
about it we heard about it but that would never
happen in america that would never happen to
us in the church today but realize that jesus
endured terrible hardship and even though he
was god incarnate he still faced hostility struggles
he still still faced trials and temptations but
know this trials in life is not evidence that
god has abandoned you The scripture says that
he'll never leave you. He'll never forsake you.
He's always with you. That means that the same
power that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside
of you. That same power, can you believe that?
That power, Jesus lives with you. I thought of
it this way. When he says I'll never leave you
or forsake you, it's like Jesus says I'm like
your skin. You don't get out of your skin. It's
always there. Jesus is with you like your skin.
It's on you. He can't. He's not going to leave
you. Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life and
yet he still faced trials and rejection. And
so when we face those challenges in our life,
we should look at Jesus. What did Jesus do? How
did he handle it? He persevered. Remember this,
when you're sharing the gospel with people, that
you're part of this great big plan. You might
be the one that's planting the seed. You might
be the first person to ever talk to them. Really
have a conversation with them about Jesus. Oh,
they probably saw some wacko on YouTube telling
about Jesus screaming in a mic, asking for money,
and they had this bad taste in their mouth. Then
they see you, the real deal, and you might be
planting a seed. Some of you might water the
seed. So you never know where you're at in the
process. That's why sometimes you might get a
no, but don't be discouraged. And lastly, number
seven is this. reminder. Whether you send a text,
a Facebook invite, an Instagram DM, a call, a
flyer, a text, mail a flyer in the, put it in
the mail. Does anybody use snail mail anymore?
But give a reminder to somebody. It can help
them solidify this invitation. Why? Because it's
just that important. You're inviting them to
something that's special. This is a great event.
I mean, it's because of church that I found Jesus.
I know as a little boy, I probably didn't have
a choice. At five years old, I didn't probably
have the right to back talk to my mom or dad,
but I still at church, I found Jesus. It's just
that important. When you invite somebody and
you give them the reminder, this reminder can
tell them where the church is, what time to arrive.
It gives them a sense of what they're coming
to, what they can expect. And it shows them that
they're really wanted. They're wanted enough
that you're reminding them. You really want them
there. It also allows them to think about this
invitation when you're no longer there because
they have some kind of reminder, whether it's
a text that they see or a voicemail, there's
some kind of visual or invitation that's beyond
just that initial conversation. Second Peter,
chapter one in verse 13 says it like this. Peter's
writing, he says, I think it's right as long
as I am in this bodily tent to wake you up with
a reminder. You see, Peter was writing that his
mission is to remind us of what we need to do.
Peter says, it's just that important that I remind
you what you're called to do, what you're supposed
to do. Living for Jesus is just this important,
so because it's so important, I'm gonna remind
you. He seeks to motivate us to act, to do. Repeated
reminders of the truth not only keep us on track
But it helps us to realize that it's just that
important and so we remind others because we
want them to realize just how important it is
Just how important they are that they're important
Enough that we would invite them to an event
that we're doing Peter's goal is to keep reminding
us as long as he lives Because we're not here
for long His purpose was not to criticize but
to encourage, to invite them, to remind them
because it's just that important. A few years
ago, Sarah and I pastored in a small town outside
of Oklahoma City. I'll never forget this young
man named Andrew. Andrew, he came to the U .S.
to work in the TDK factory that was just north
of the town that he came to live in. He came
from Beijing, China and he didn't plan to be
here very long. You see, Andrew was a single
young man. He lived in a small little apartment
and every afternoon he would come and play basketball
at the court right down the street from me. There
were times when I would get home and I would
see him out there or I might hear him bouncing
the ball and shooting it and hit the old chains
and you'd hear the sound. Eventually I went over
there We made friends with him. We'd hung out.
We played some ball together. We met up for meals,
went to coffee. Eventually, due to my simple
invite, he joined the church. Now, you know this
young man, he had every excuse not to be a good
neighbor. He had every excuse to distance himself.
He comes to this small town in the Midwest. He's
an outsider. I was even treated like an outsider
because I was from California. He didn't know
the Midwest culture. He had an accent. He looked
a little they didn't see people like that in
this particular town and he wasn't planning on
being there very long and Yet he was one of the
most hospitable men I'd ever met He regularly
welcomed co -workers next -door neighbors and
friends like me into his home one day we were
on the court shooting some hoop and we're hanging
out and His time with TDK was complete and he
was getting ready to head back home and so we
decided that on his last Sunday we would prepare
like a little get -together we would do a departure
for him and so we decided to do a little party
that we called a go away party and of course
there was food and everybody would hang out we
got in the gym and we had the table set up and
some cake and people would say their little tributes
and it was a wonderful afternoon And then as
things were wrapping up, I had to grab the mic.
I just had this question I had to ask. And so
I looked at the crowd and I said, hey, those
of you that had started attending the church
within the last year, how many of you are here
because of an invite or a connection with Andrew?
And of those that started the church within the
last year, nearly every hand went up. In a simple
way, Andrew made a huge impact. He made a huge
impact in those lives of the hands that went
up. I mean, not only did he invite them to church,
but he invited them to come and meet the Savior.
Simply by opening up his home, by sharing his
life, he helped so many see the priority of the
Lord Jesus Christ. His invitation emphasized
one important thing. They are wanted. With your
heads bowed, Father God, I thank you for the
privilege that it is to stand before you. God,
you're a great God. You've showed me over and
over your hope, your great mercy. God, that you
forgave me of my sin. I have so much to be thankful
for and I have so much to share. Like my friends
that are here today. We all have a testimony
of your great goodness and your mighty power
and Lord I pray that you would help us to be
as bold and open as Andrew that we would share
our faith that God we would Because of the time
spent with you our life is prepared because of
the time that we spend in scripture It's in our
hearts and we're ready God I pray that you would
make it like a fire in our bones that we wouldn't
keep quiet We want to share with others about
the goodness of God. You've been so good to us.
We don't want to keep silent Please help us give
us strength wisdom. Help us be ready. Give us
the words to say no excuses God you and nothing
else and Lord We give you the praise and the
glory for it in the name of Jesus. Amen