SHIFT 08 - Devotional 4: Invite Regularly
Devotionals
?How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them??
Romans 10:14
We have very good news, even though for those who are listening to us it sometimes doesn?t sound that way. The English word ?evangelism? is taken from the Greek euangelion. When translated, this word means ?the good news.? Sometimes the word is turned into a verb so that it means ?to tell good news.?
So it should surprise us that ?evangelism? has a negative ring in certain places. That may be because certain people have an anti-religion bias; but it also maybe because we have done evangelism badly. It feels to many who are outside of a relationship with God, that Christians have taken it upon themselves to tell people all that they are doing wrong when we should be focusing on all that God has done right on our behalf.
Telling the good news of what God has done on our behalf is a big part of what Jesus meant by ?fishing for people.? There are people out there who are caught in a trap of self-deception. They are leading empty, self-centered lives. In many cases, they know it but don?t know any alternative. When we go ?fishing? we are going to them to tell them how God can set them free from the trap. We are going to tell them that there is hope. It can be better. Life can be fulfilling and meaningful. There can be real, healthy connection with other people. It is possible to know God and to live inside of His will for your life.
When we go ?fishing for people? we are going to invite them into the freedom and purpose and hope that comes with knowing God. And how do they access that freedom and purpose and hope? How can they be ?saved? from their traps? According to the Bible, all they have to do is ?declare with their mouth, ?Jesus is Lord,? and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead and they will be saved.? (Romans 10:9 NIV) And this is not some kind of exclusive offer. This is for anyone and everyone, because ?everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.? (Romans 10:13 NIV)
This is where we come in. More specifically, this is where ?evangelism? comes in. After all, ?how, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?? (Romans 10:14 NIV)
In case you missed the connection, the word ?preaching? used in the quote above is almost an exact synonym for ?evangelism? which, in turn, is a very close match for Jesus? concept of ?fishing.? And since ?preaching? and ?evangelism? have different meanings in different people?s minds, we?ve decided to call it ?inviting.?
In Romans, Paul is encouraging us to tell others the good news of what God has done in Christ and to invite them into a new relationship with God. We said in Day One?s devotional that Jesus wanted his followers to know how to usher others into the kind of relationship that they themselves had been ushered into. Well, we?ve come to the heart of the matter and it?s far simpler than we thought. It turns out we just need to tell others the good news. We need to explain what God has done for us. We need to ?preach?; we need to invite! That?s it!
It?s not a matter of knowing all the answers. It?s not about having the right approach. It?s comes down to extending an invitation ? a real good invitation!
TO THINK ABOUT:
- By way of review, the SHIFT process starts with serving others in a Samaritan kind of way. This happens mostly as we hang out with people being who we really are. This earns us the right to invite them into what God has done in us.
- Remember that the religion of Jesus is about loving God and loving others. That?s why we also talk about inviting people to church and to home fellowship. The invitation we?re extending includes an invitation to connect with other people who have the same kind of connection with God that we have.
- We also try to host events at Gateway that are easy invites to help us with our invitations. The ?Marriage Gameplan? Night we held was such an event. So is Sunday morning service. Consider inviting someone today.
- Why do you think ?evangelism? has gotten a bad name?