One preacher wrote a personal letter to his brethren encouraging them to invite someone to services. He said, “The more I work with people who visit services, the more I am impressed with something. Coming to worship is much easier for a newcomer who already knows someone in our church, especially someone who invited them to come. Consider the person who feels the need for worship, is open to God, but hesitant to enter a strange church. They need someone they know to invite them and perhaps bring them to church. That changes everything. Then they have a host to help them. They feel less like an outsider. They can be comfortable enough to focus on God’s presence in worship.” When was the last time you invited someone to worship? Consider the power of an invitation.
In John 1:39, Jesus said, “Come and see.” This is the invitation of Jesus to come find out more about Him. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples heard John’s exclamation, “Behold the lamb of God.” This was an invitation for two who wanted to learn more about the Jesus. There are many who want to learn more about Jesus but who have never been asked or invited. Many are like the Ethiopian treasurer, who are searching for the truth about Jesus, and need help from others (Acts 8:29-35). There are those who are longing to reason from the word of God, to learn how to be cleansed from their sins (Isaiah 1:18; John 12:20-21). We need to go out to find those who are seeking (Luke 14:21-23).
In John 4:29, the Samaritan woman said, “Come, see a man.” The Samaritan woman was excited about meeting Jesus and wanted others to meet Him too. He had treated her with respect, like she was a human being. He had also told her facts about her life that He could not have known without divine knowledge. He had brought joy into her life, and the inference is that she desired that others have the same joy. Are we excited about people knowing the man from Galilee? David wrote, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalms 51:12-13). Do we have the same joy as when Andrew found the Messiah (John 1:41-42). The psalmist wrote, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalms 126:6).
Imagine for a moment that you are standing with a numberless assembly at the judgment. As a faithful Christian you have either died in the Lord, or been found faithful when He returned. As you wait you turn, others around you begin to say, “You invited me to worship, and I learned the truth. Thank you for loving my soul!” Will you invite a soul to learn more about Jesus?
Kyle Campbell
