My Invitation Can Make A Difference

Today, we wrap up our Difference Maker series. We've been looking at simple ways God can use you to make an eternal difference. Today we're going to talk about how my invitation can make an eternal difference, how extending an invitation to someone else, to come to church with us, to come and follow Jesus with us, can make an eternal difference.

We give invitations all the time. [examples]

Invitations matter.

Today we're going to look at a very powerful type of invitation. In fact, it can be an eternity-changing invitation, that is your invitation for someone else to come to church with you, for someone else to follow Jesus.

To do that, we're going to look at the story of two guys who extended an invitation in John 1.

In these nine verses, we have two different invitations. We have Andrew extending an invitation to his brother.

We have Philip inviting Nathaniel. Let’s read.

John 1:40–49 NKJV

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Andrew invites his brother.

Peter's life is not only turned upside down, but Peter goes on to lead the early church and turn the known world upside down.

The same thing with Nathaniel. Nathaniel's life is changed by his encounter with Jesus. He goes on to be a follower of Jesus. Through these guys the early message of the gospel spread.

You too can change the world by bringing someone else to meet Jesus.

Let’s look at this week’s difference maker principle.

Difference Maker Principle My invitation for my friends and family to attend church with me can make an eternal difference

How does that work? How can my invitation make an eternal difference? Let's look at a few ways.

Believe That Jesus Can Change Lives

My invitation makes an eternal difference when I believe that Jesus can change lives. This is where it starts. The two friends, they had found Jesus then they invited their friends.

Andrew invited his brother, and Phillip invited his friend. They had their life changed by Jesus. They said, "This is so powerful. This is so impactful. My life has been changed. I've been forgiven. I found the Messiah. I have to invite other people."

When you realize how much God has changed your life. How He has forgiven you. How He has saved you from hell. How He has given you new life in heaven. How He has given you a new purpose for living. Then, you want other people to find that as well. There are two verses in your notes.

2 Timothy 1:10 NKJV

10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

If you are a follower of Jesus, you've been saved. You've been given eternal life in heaven. You know that Jesus has changed your life. Now it's natural to want your friends and your family members to share in that same experience.

None of us who love our friends, who love our family members want them to die apart from Jesus Christ. We want them to know Jesus because it makes a difference for eternity, but it also makes a difference in the here and now.

Because Jesus is not only relevant to our lives after we die, He gives purpose and meaning to our lives on this earth.

Matthew 11:28 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Let me ask you this. Do you really believe that your friend's life will be better if they knew Jesus? Do you? Do you believe that the guys next to you at work or the neighbors will be better off if they knew Jesus?

Do you think your family will be better off if they knew Jesus? Of course they would. If you believe that, and if you care just a little bit about them, then you owe it to them to invite them to come and see for themselves.

He wants to use you to influence the people around Him for Him and toward Him. Philip was in Nathaniel's life for a reason. Andrew had Peter as a brother for a reason. God had a plan to use them both.

When you go to work tomorrow, maybe you're the only follower of Jesus at your work. You've wondered, "Why am I here?" God has a purpose for you to be there.

We need to recognize...

Recognize That Jesus Wants To Use Me

You have to understand, God wants to use you. You can be a difference maker and your God's plan A. God's plan A for telling the good news to the world is you.

There's really no plan B. Either they hear through me, they hear it through you, or they don't hear at all.

Mark 1:17 NKJV

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

In other words, as soon as you become a follower of Jesus, Jesus wants you to tell other people.

Now, look, the number one reason somebody comes to our church for the first time is because you invite them. I know we have a website, and we put the sign and banners up on the highway and from time to time people might just come.

But the number one reason people come to our church for the first time and thus become followers of Jesus and grow in Him and become a disciple is because you invite them to Jesus.

Now, across the page...

Identify People In My Circles of Influence to Invite

What I'm talking about is prayerfully identifying the people in your life whom God might want to use you to invite to church.

Then pray about them, and extend those invitations.

Colossians 4:5 NKJV

5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

"Live wisely among those who are not yet Christians, making the most of every opportunity."

Who is in your sphere of influence? We're expecting God to bless our church.

But who could you invite?

To help you think about that, let's look at these concentric circles. The way these circles unfold is that we're going to start in the middle.

Concentric Circles

The people that are closest to you. Right in the bullseye, this would be your family.

Circle with Family

I know sometimes family's the toughest, but that's how Andrew did it. Andrew invited his brother, Peter.

Then the next level up is friends.

Circle with Friends

Friends, these are the people you do stuff with, the people you hang out with, people who know you, and you know them. Do they have a relationship with Jesus? Do they have a church? If not, invite them to come with you. This is how it worked with Phillip and Nathaniel.

Moving further away from the center, we come to coworkers.

Circle with coworkers

These are the people you work with, that you may or may not know their name, but you know them because they're in your office or see you them around. Go over and extend that invitation with them.

Finally, the outer section would be your neighbors.

Circle with neighbors

These are perhaps people that you don't know necessarily by name, but you see them at the gym. You see them out walking. You know who they are. It might be somebody that you see going throughout your day at the grocery store or wherever it might be.

Now with these spheres of influence in mind, let's put some names with these people. It's going to be names of people that we're going to pray for and seek to invite over the next week.

If you don't want to write down their names, you can write initials or something like that. That's fine. But my challenge right now is for you to think of five people that you could invite. Go ahead and jot their names down. Five people that you could invite. If you can think of 10, all the better. But let's think of five.

You have an advantage on me because your workplace is full of people who need to come next week. Think about friends that you could invite, maybe somebody you want to reach out to that you haven't talked to in a while. Start with your family members, so five names.

I’m going to pray with you this week as you invite them.

Next...

Care Enough to Extend an Invitation to Church

If you really believe that Jesus can change lives, you believe the folks you just wrote down need to come to Jesus, then it starts with a simple invitation. You extend that invitation. Now the good news is 50 percent of your friends say they will come to church the first time they're invited.

A lot of times, when we think about extending an invitation, we build it up in our minds. We create all the excuses or all the things that could go wrong. Yet, study after study, decade after decade, have shown that 50 percent of your friends will come the first time they're invited, and an additional 25 percent will come with a little follow-up.

You extend the invitation and you call them again on Friday or Saturday and remind them. Or, maybe you say, "Hey, let's go out to breakfast and then go to church," or, "Let's go to church, then go to lunch," with a little bit of extra. Now 75 percent of your friends say they will respond positively.

Don't build it up in your mind. Don't be so afraid to extend an invitation.

Your invitation for your family and friends to attend church with you can make an eternal difference. This is what happened in our passage. Remember our passage from John 1.

John 1:46 NKJV

46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

I want you to think about how you could extend an invite for people to come with you next week.

Think about who you could invite. Think about it this way. Over the next week, of all that you have going on over the next week, what's the most significant thing you could do with your life over the next week? What would make the biggest eternal difference over the next week?

What if it's a simple invite? The one thing that could have the biggest eternal impact that would help you fulfill God's purpose for your life in a meaningful way is to extend an invitation. In fact, Apostle Paul said it this way in Acts 20:24.

Acts 20:24 NKJV

24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

He says, "But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus."

What is that work? "The work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love."

God created you to be a difference maker. Jesus says, "Come follow me," and then He says He will make us into fishers of people, people who invite others to follow Jesus.

Lastly,

Experience God’s Blessing in My Own Life

As you invite your friends and coworkers to come with you, not only will you be a difference maker in their life, but God will bless you as you go about this activity.

A simple invitation can change someone's life forever, but that's not all. Not only will it change their life, but you're doing what God created you to do.

Just like you feel good when you serve, God blesses you when you serve. When you're a difference maker, God blesses you as well. When you're extending that invite to someone else, God's going to grow you over to this coming week.

When you extend an invitation to someone else, and you say, "Would you come to me to church next week?" You're invitation doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be sincere. If you will sincerely extend that invitation, God will bless them, and God will bless you. God wants to use you to be a difference maker.

In fact, this was so important. Jesus made it the last words that He left with His disciples before He left the earth the first time. We commonly call the great commission. It's our memory verse,

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus says as you go, as you be a difference maker, He will be with us. May God be with you this week as you invite your friends and your family members to come with you next week.

Let’s pray together.

Father, we thank You that You extended that invitation to us to come follow You. God, I thank for each person in this room who is a follower of Jesus that they know that they have eternal life. That our sins are forgiven, that our eternity in heaven is secured. At the same time, we thank You for the purpose for living that You've given to each of us. I thank You for each Christian that is in this room.

God, use us this week to be difference makers. Lead us to the right people to invite the folks on our everyday path so that as we're going, we can extend these invitations. God, I pray You use each person to be a difference maker.

Before we go to that, maybe you're here today, and you're not yet a follower of Jesus. You felt that tug, and you're ready to say yes to Jesus today. Maybe right now you're ready to say for the first time.

"Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I know you died on the cross in my place. I am trusting you as my Lord and Savior. I want to follow You from this day forward. Help me to live for You from here on out. Jesus, thank You for coming into my life. I want to follow You today and every day."

In Jesus' name, and everybody said?

Let’s commit to our Difference Declaration afresh this morning...