Who's invited? Are you invited? Am I invited? If I am invited, what do I need to do to accept my invitation?
Sometimes you find yourself in the midst of a church service that just seems never ending. For many the longest and most painful part of such a service, is the sermon, which often has a tendencey to drag on and on. I remember one such service, where the pastor said "and finally" and then continued on for five more minutes before he said "and in conclusion" which was followed by several more minutes of talking before he said "and lastly"! I also vividly remembering asking God to intervene in some way, to get me out of there!
Our New Testament lesson (Acts 10:44-48) picks up right in the midst of one of those sermons. Peter is preaching to some Gentiles (people who are not Jewish) when the Holy Spirit interrupts and falls upon said Gentiles. Peter and those in attendance are shocked that such a thing would happen. Prior to this, it was taken for granted that the chosen people of God were Jews, and therefore God's Holy Spirit would only be given to Jews (as was the case at Pentecost). This single event raises the question of who's invited or allowed to be one of God's chosen people. In an instant, in the midst of a sermon that God just had to interrupt, Gentiles were now invited to the party.
I remember as a child growing up, we didn't have a church of our own. Our family believed in God, and we meant well, but for the longest time we couldn't seem to find a church to call our own. For a few weeks we would attend the Presbyterian church, and then for a few the Baptist church, and then for a few more, the non-denominational church, we even tried the Catholic church one Sunday. In those early years, we attended just about every church in and around my hometown of Owego, but none seemed to be a fit. We didn't really feel like we were welcome in many of the churches we attended. Most had nice enough people, but we just didn't feel like we were really a part of the congregation. Then it happened. My mother was invited to the local United Methodist church, and from the very first moment we felt like part of the family. The people seemed to notice us, care for us, and best of all, they actually learned our names (even mine and my sister's)! It was as if every single Sunday we were given a special invitation to attend there, and if we weren't there, people noticed and missed us! Finally we fit in, finally we felt like a part of the congregation. The best part was that there was no catch. We didn't need to do anything, or be anything that we weren't. We just had to be there.
It's the same way with God. In the first letter of John (1 John 5:1-5) the author talks about what is required to become one of God's chosen people. The answer is simple, a person doesn't have to be Jewish, or dress a certain way, he or she doesn't need to eat certain foods, or even attend church every Sunday, instead all that is needed is faith in Jesus. It's just that easy, all that's required is faith. It is for this reason, that I can proudly (and boldly) proclaim that YOU are invited to be a child of God. The invitation is open to all, and all that's required is that you believe in Jesus!
In a world where we are constantly dividing ourselves and creating more and more exclusive groups where membership hinges upon race, religion, gender, economic status, athletic ability, intellectual prowess, secret handshakes, funny phrases, payment of dues, etc. etc. God says you are all invited! Of course once you've accepted your invitation, there's a journey that lasts a lifetime before you, but the only requirement to begin that journey is faith. And to answer that initial question of "who's invited", the answer is EVERYONE! So the new question is, you're invited, but will you accept your invitation?
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Dear John,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote "all that's required is faith. It is for this reason, that I can proudly (and boldly) proclaim that YOU are invited to be a child of God. The invitation is open to all, and all that's required is that you believe in Jesus!"
This John is not the Gospel of my Lord Jesus Christ!
Act 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
One must confess that he or she has a need the need being that we are sinners. We must be willing to turn from SELF towards God in confession of that need in order to be Born again.
Some people have an Idea John that God is inclusive for mans eternal destiny, that all religions and all people will be saved. That God will allow all of mankind to enter into heaven because everybody is good so God must be fair and include everyone! It is true God does love the whole world but God is exclusive about mans eternal destiny without the Savior. To keep this simple man has a problem called sin in which man refuses to believe that there are eternal consequences for having sin, which is a one way ticket to hell. God is holy and he will not allow anyone with sin to enter into heaven. God is hurt and angry about our sin, we have broken his laws. But God is just and good and he knows our need so he provided a solution to our problem. His solution to our problem is to have our sins removed by having our sins placed on someone else, a sacrifice for us; paying for the penalty of the sin we have in our lives. So that someone else would get the penalty of Gods wrath and separation on him that was meant for us. So God sent his son Jesus on a mission from heaven to earth as our sacrifice to die on the cross on our behalf after this happened three days later Jesus came back from the dead, alive. But that’s not all remember I wrote that God is exclusive about mans eternal destiny without the Savior? The only way that Gods promise can be applied to your life is for you to turn from your way of thinking and know that your sin offends and hurts God and call on the Lord Jesus who’s alive to save you. Your sins are then transferred to Jesus for what he did at the cross, dying and being abandon by God because of your sins, for you and because Jesus arose from the dead he is alive you can now enter into a relationship with God. Will you call out to Jesus to save you? It’s your choice to enter in exclusively with God’s grace for you. Where will you want to spend eternity after hearing Gods promise for you?
If the answer was yes that you do want Jesus as your sin bearer, Savior, and you do believe God raised Jesus from the dead you can pray with your voice.
“Dear Lord Jesus save me.”
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.