The
invitation must be given with complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.
It must be given clearly. It must be given honestly. It must be
given courteously. It must be given urgently. It must never be prolonged
just to get someone to walk the isle. This is as wrong as neglecting the
invitation all together. Integrity must be maintained throughout
the entire proclamation.
Every
time I extend an invitation I feel totally helpless. If the Holy Spirit
doesn't convict and convert a lost sinner, I certainly don't want him/her responding.
This is the most sensitive part of the service. An individual’s eternal
destiny may be at stake. It may mean the difference between a marriage
being reconciled and a divorce. It may be the turning point in a teenager’s
life. It is a holy time for the Holy Spirit to do what only He can.
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Our
message must never be preached or the invitation extended with an air of superiority.
It must always flow from the breath of spirituality. After all we, the
proclaimers, once responded to an invitation to confess our sins, exchange our
lives for His and come follow Him.
Let
me be quick to say the public response is the initial phase of the invitation.
Unless there is immediate follow up and mentoring, the new convert is left like
a newborn on a beach at low tide. It is sad but true that most churches
do not provide either discipleship classes for the new Christian or orientation
for those who join their churches from other denominations. British demographer,
David Barrett found that, “more than 53,000 people leave the church every week
and never come back.”2 The invitation
must continue from birth to maturity.
The
late Dr. Stephen Olford said, “If a church as a whole, or a Christian as an
individual, is to progress in spiritual growth, then every message, sermon,
or truth declared, must elicit a total response on the part of those who hear
us.”3 Each time you preach, begin your
sermon with an invitation and weave it through your entire message. When
the mind is challenged, the heart warmed, and the will committed the response
is, “I believe”. Proclamation demands an invitation.
______________
Jerry
Drace is President of the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association, Jackson, TN.
His e-mail address is jdeainc@juno.com.
______________
1.
Tom Carter, Spurgeon At His Best, (Baker, 1988), 68.
2. David B. Barrett, ed., World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative
Study of Churches and Religion in the Modern World A.D. 1900-2000 (Nairobi,
Kenya: Oxford University Press, 1982), p.v.
3. Stephen and David Olford, Anointed Expository Preaching,
(Broadman & Holman, 1998), 274.