The Way of Invitation

Greeting

We are so glad to have you here with us today! If you are joining us today I want you to know that someone really likes you.

I told our church that I only wanted them to invite people they like to our party today. So here you are, and I hope that I get to meet each and every single one of you before you leave today.

My name is Josh, and my family and I started this church in March 2019 with the help of many amazing families and friends who shared the same desire to begin a multi-ethic, multi-cultural, life-giving church for Noth County San Diego.

I hope that this isn’t your last visit, and that in the months to come you can not only hear our story, but maybe write your story into our story.

But let me get to the task at hand… We are in a series of messages that we have called A Better Way. And today I want to continue in that series...

Introduction

Do you all remember when this word made it’s entrance into the world… FOMO.

It’s an acronym for the phrase, Fear Of Missing Out.

And it became a real thing for people to have triggered emotions due to not being invited somewhere, or to hang out with someone.

What put this feeling on steroids is of course social media. Everyone is sharing what they are doing, where they are going, and even what they are eating.

And I’m here for it. I love being social on social media.

But for some, they get triggered about not being invited and so they have FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out.

Transition

And so what I want to do today, is make sure you don’t experience FOMO and let you know that Jesus has made three invitations to you this morning. Three of them...

And that’s going to be the title of my message today, The Way of Invitation.

The Invitation

Before I get into the invitations that Jesus has made to us I want to stop and recognize that the way of Jesus is a way of Invitation.

What I mean by that is Jesus doesn’t demand that we follow Him.

Contrary to what impression you might have about religion, or church, Jesus doesn’t demand that we do good things.

I remember taking my boys to Comic Con one year and there’s the group of people holding up signs that say, “Accept Jesus or go to hell. Turn or burn.”

And to a degree I can appreciate their zeal, but I would also highlight to them that Jesus never took this approach with people. That wasn’t his way. That wasn’t the way of Jesus.

Instead, Jesus invited people to Him.

It’s way different, and it’s worth unpacking together.

The Invitation to Rest

The first invitation Jesus makes is an invitation to rest.

Matthew 11:28-29 The Message

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”

Let me just say that this is one of my favorite invitations from Jesus.

Jesus knows that we live in a world with a lot of pressure. We are consumed with demands, expectations and responsibilities. And while you can’t escape those things, the first thing Jesus wants you to know is that when you come to him expect to find rest.

I want you all to do something for me… Can we all take a deep breath in, and then exhale.

Can we do that one more time? I promise, you’re in church and not in a yoga studio...

Breathe in… and exhale.

That release is what a life in Jesus is going to feel like.

Jesus invites you to a different pace of life. A life of unforced rhythms. A life that doesn’t have heavy or ill-fitting expectations.

It’s a life that puts rest before work, and not after work.

Let me tease that out just a bit...

Many of us believe that it is only after we’ve worked that we can rest. But the way of Jesus teaches us that we only work after we have rested. We don’t rest from work, but we work from a place of rest.

That’s the first invitation that Jesus makes to you.

The Invitation to Follow

So how do we do that? Well, through our second invitation and that is the invitation to follow.

Mark 1:17 (NIV)

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

The word follow is not used in the context of follow behind me… that’s not what it means to follow.

To follow means to do what I do. That’s exactly why we are in this series right now.

We are teaching people to follow the way of Jesus by first learning the ways of Jesus, and then practicing the ways of Jesus.

You see unlike other religions in the world that teach about a diety that can’t be seen, or experienced, Jesus absolutely shows us how to live and how we can live like him.

And in case you are wondering how that worked out for him in his day, it’s documented that crowds by the thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands, flocked to Jesus to see him and to hear him.

Why? Because he invited them to come and follow him.

Let me take us to our last invitation.

The Invitation to Abide

Jesus’ third invitation to you today is the invitation to abide.

John 15:4 (ESV)

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I know that the word abide is not common so let me give you a definition. In the original language this verse was written in the author was expressing the idea of staying, or remaining.

I like to think of it as hosting someone that you never want to leave.

Growing up my eldest cousin was my hero. I loved hanging out with him. I wanted to be with him. He was so cool. He had a nice car. He was talented. And so my desire to spend time with him is much like what the author is getting at. I wanted to abide with him every chance I could.

Jesus says, I want you to abide in me. Enjoy my presence. Keep company with me.

You see even in that, it’s not forced. It’s an invitation. It’s an invitation to abide.

Conclusion

And as I close, and you get ready to enjoy the fun outside with your family I want to pray for you and ask one question.

So if you can, would you close your eyes, and bow your heads.

If you would like to respond to one of Jesus’ invitations today - to rest, to follow or to abide, I am going to ask you to lift up your hand. Please know you aren’t signing up for anything… this is just you responding and first in your heart saying I’d like to learn more about Jesus and his invitation. So if you’d like to do that, go ahead at this time and lift up your hand.

Thank you. Let me pray for us today.

Ok, if you raised your hands, or maybe you didn’t raise your hand but in your heart you did, I want to let you know that I want to gift you a book today. I want to give you a book I wrote with you in mind. It’s a super easy read. And it will explain more about what it means to follow Jesus.

So please grab a book, and I hope that you’ll come back next Sunday.

Have a great day everyone! Enjoy the party!