Inspiring others to Follow Jesus

Introduction

Introduction

Thank you to our LBC Kids Grow Team. I’d like to take a min and recognize all of our childrens workers. If you are a part of that team or have served on that team would you please stand.

Recognize those with more than 10 years, 20 years

Dismiss children for jr church

Looking forward to continuing our series “Who is LBC?”

This series was birthed from a conversation with the church in October where I facilitated a discussion surrounding our core values, vision, mission, and process.

Our first week we went over our core values:

Loving, Inspiring, Bold, Enthusiastic, Relational, Timeless, Yearning to Impact

Say those with me.

These speak to who we are and how we make decisions in order to accomnplish what God has called us to as a body of beleivers.

Last week we started on our Vision statement

VISION-Liberty Baptist Exists to Become a Diverse Family that Inspires People to Follow Jesus by Multiplying Followers of Jesus who love, serve, and invest in our community and beyond.

Liberty Baptist Exists to Become a Diverse Family that Inspires People to Follow Jesus by Multiplying Followers of Jesus who love, serve, and invest in our community and beyond.

We learned about being a diverse family of believers by intentionally seeking out others to love, support, and befriend. We do this because Jesus didn’t die for a specific people group or age group. Jesus died for all and called us to reach them all.

How do we do that? By inspiring others with our lives, our speech, and our love.

Today that’s what we are going to look at in scripture. We are going to see what God’ invitation to everyone is, God’s invitation to those of us who serve Him, and the invitation we are called to give to those who we interact with.

Let’ start off here in

Luke 14:15–23 KJV 1900

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Luke 14:15-23

A little background on what we just read.

Jesus is at a banquet himself. It wasn’t uncommon for Jews to invite people over after synagogue…it’s where our baptist roots come from.

They were having a conversation where Jesus had mentioned how those who are loving to the poor, maimed, and lame being repaid for the kindness in Heaven.

To invite someone to a party that had money and influence in the community could repay you today. It allowed you to say “this person came to my party” and develops connections in the community.

Jesus had mentioned the poor mamed and lame earting in the kingdom of God.

Someone then made the comment in verse 15 “ Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Scholars agree, this guy is referring to those who are children of Abraham and apart of the nation of Israel.

Jesu then retorts with the parable we just read.

Inside of it we see three invitations that are important to us if we are going to inspire others to follow Jesus.

Notice the Master’s invitation

I. The Master’s invitation

The master of the home is having a large banquet that he i inviting people to.

You have to understand, in this culture that banquet wasn’t just thrown together. They were big ordeals that the master would have already invited them to and got their agreement to come.

Because of how extravagence he would have already gotten the rsvp from them.

They would have already heard and accepted the invitation. The Master’s invitation isn’t the one we see him sending the servant to obtain, the master’s invitation was already given.

If what we are reading isn’t the masters invitation..then what is?

The Master’s invitation to you and I is to come and dine. To come and be with Him.

Now, every jew in the home would recognize this. They would relate to wanting the rich and wealthy with them. This made sense to those who were there.

Thinnk about it

If I told you I was having a party at my home and I was inviting the top 10% of the financially well off people in Bristol to it. No one would say “well, I dont know why he would do that.”

I would do that because I want to get to know them. I want them to be with me so that I can learn from them, maybe ask for some of their money to help the church, and ultimately I want them to know Jesus.

That makes sense. There is an earthly reward for invitiing that type of company around.

But what if I was lilke the master at the end of this passage?

Luke 14:21 KJV 1900

21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

Luke 14:21

Instead of the wealthy and people who i can personally benefit from, I’ve invited the poor, the lame, and the homeless. What would a person that isn’t a follower of Jesus look at that and say?

Wow he’s nice…but really the thought is “why would you open your home to those people?” Why would you not just host an event somewhere and keep them out of your home?

They could do nothing for me. That doesn’t make sense into the mind of someone focused on the world.

That’s our masters invitation though. Come and be with Him. Come and have a relationship with him. It’s an invitation to everyone. Not just people who dress a certain way or people that sing certain songs.

It’s not to those with homes only. It’s to everyone. There is no one with a past, present, or future that doesn’t deserve to hear the invitation of Jesus.

It’s in inspiring invitation because it is to all people from all nations, tribes, and tongues. It’s inspiring becuase it is a message that isn’t contingent on anything you do or have.

Have you accepted that message today? Have your trusted in Jesus as your Savior and become apart of the family?

At Liberty that’s who we are. People who believe in Jesus and the inspiring message of the Gospel.

I. The Gospel invitation is open to everyone, and there’s still room

The servant comes back to him and says “I’ve done what you asked, and there’s still room” There is still room at the table for people to believe in Jesus. That’s our role. That’s our job to deliver that message.

Now, notice that after the message was accepted, it had to be followed through.

Let me stop heree and say, salvation is by grace and through faith only. There are no works you do that can get you into Heaven. Only what Jesus did on the cross will make that happen.

Once you have trusted in Jesus though, there is notheer invitation. I call this one the servant’s invitation.

II. The Servant’s invitation

Luke 15:18–20 KJV 1900

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Luke 15:18-20

This invitation is to those that already know the master. It is the people that have said “Yes, I’ll be with you.”

This invitation is to those who have trusted in Jesus

If you are here today and you believe Jesus is your svior would say amen?

So we have some, great. Some of you didn’t say amen and that’s ok, your welcome hear but just know I have an agenda with you. I want you to know Jesus how I know Jesus.

For those that know Jesus, you are being invited by the servant now.

You’ve accepted the ivnitation to the banquet and to be with Jesus but now the servant is coming and asking you to fulfill that commitment.

You see, the servant is asking “are you friends of my master, or are you not?”

Jesus said

John 15:14–15 KJV 1900

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

John 15:14-15

Being friends with the master is answering the invitation to fulfill your end of the relationship

The invitation God has given us is to inspire people by our obedience to Him. We have submitted to Him for salvation believing in His invitation to have an eternal home with Him but are we submitted to Him when He calls us to prove our faith?

Are we proving our faith by how we live? By how we handle difficulty? If we trust Jesus with our souls do we not trust Him with our lives?

How do we do that though? How do we get to the place we live in

We have to understand the servants invitation isn’t just to know Jesus, it is to be with Jesus.

II. Being With Jesus produces a desire to live for Jesus

Don’t wait till you feel like being with Jesus or living for Jesus. Spend time with Jesus and choose to live for Jesus and the emotions and feelings will come.

Emotion follows action, not the other way around.

I don’t feel good about going to the gym. I feel good after I’ve went to the gym.

Inspired people Inspire people

Paul, was an inspiring individual that had spent time with Jesus and called others to as well.

Ephesians 4:1–3 KJV 1900

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eph 4:1-3

As follower of Jesus we have been called to be ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors inspire those around them about the nation and people they represent.

We represent the king of kings and Lord of Lords. We represent the heavenly home and relationship with Jesus people can have.

However if we aren’t inspirerd by who He is and what He is done, then we can’t inspire people to follow and love Him.

If Jesus doesn’t inspire you to live for Him and inspire others, I question if your looking to the Jesus of the Bible

Don’t be inspired by me and my words, be inspired by God and His word

This ministry will not be built upon the greatness of a man or the personality of one person. It will be built upon the foundation of the gospel to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of His Spirit so people can have a place that will allow them to have a perosnal relatioship with God the Father.

I’m afriad many of us are mtoivated but not inspired.

Motivation lasts for a moment, inspiration lasts for a lifetime.

We can find motivation in the way a person speaks, the way a song makes us feel, or the challenge at the end of a message. Inspiration is found when we know the inspiring one, Jesus.

Have you ever spent time with someone that is motivating? Not just big persoonality or motivatiol speaker. I mean someone that is motivating because of their commitment to their faith.

I sat with a motivating person recently that if I were to telly ou who they were, you might not look and say “wow…your right that guy motivates me.”

But in speaking with him, I was challenged and motivated by his prayer life. The way he spoke of prayer, the way he spoke of the faith that had grown becuase of hi prayer life. The priority that he gave to prayer and Jesus iin His live was motivating.

That motivation led to some changes in my prayer life and reminded me of a proper outllook on prayer.

It motivated me…but it is Jesus that inspires me. IT is Jesus that inspires that man to be who He is. It is the Holy Spirit that works in oru hearts to inspire us to live lives for him and make changes based on His Word and His love.

True inspiration is rooted in the heart based on what you know of the one inspiring you

Do you know the one that inspires you? Are you being inspired by the right person?

The right person is Jesus. How does He inspire you?

Are you here and don’t know Jesus?

Would you like to? Would you like to know what it means to have a friend that never leaves or forsakes you? Would you like to know what it’s like to have hope in an eternal home in Heaven and a relationship with God the father based not on what you do but on what you’ve done?

This is the invitation we are to give to others through our inspired lives and words. The invitation to know Jesus and live for Him.

Time of Response