A Comprehensive Guide to Sharing the Gospel (Part 2): Invitation

Our family recently transitioned our ministry to the African nation of Uganda. To gain entry, we were required to have an invitation from the indigenous church leaders. Their invitation paved the way for us to live out God’s calling in this context.

Last week, we looked at how Jesus intentionally focused on Zacchaeus even though His mission was getting to Jerusalem. Jesus stopped and took time to speak with this man of small stature. But that intentionality led to an invitation.

As we intentionally go about the Father’s commission to preach the gospel, remember to follow Christ’s example of offering an invitation to come into the kingdom of God. Look at what Jesus says in the last part of Luke 19:5,

“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Jesus tells Zacchaeus to “come down.” He invites Zacchaeus to join Him on the same level. Think about this: Zacchaeus is short, and if he comes down, Jesus will know he is short. He couldn’t see over the crowd, and if he came down, he might lose the advantage of the tree. It would put Zacchaeus in a vulnerable position. Jesus gives him a reason to come down – I must stay at your house today.

Three things come into play when we get intentional about inviting people to follow Jesus.

1. Vulnerability.

Asking someone to consider their own sin and how to deal with it creates vulnerability. Nothing is more vulnerable than confessing, “I am a sinner, and I need a savior.” The Holy Spirit’s conviction is on them, and they can sense the joy of salvation that awaits them, but leaving the old and taking on the new, leaves them with an uneasy feeling of vulnerability.

2. Blindness

Satan is doing everything he can to blind people to their own sins. He helps them justify or disregard the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of their eyes (1 John 2:16).

3. The Crowd

But another side to this invitation has nothing to do with the person. When Jesus intentionally invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house, “the crowd” felt like they had something to say:

All the people [the crowd] saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (emphasis mine).

As much as we don’t want to admit it, sometimes, we do not intentionally engage people with the gospel because we fear what others might say. The enemy attempts to convince us that spending time with the addicted or broken will cause others to think poorly of us. “The crowd” is always a factor when trying to make a choice to invite others into the kingdom intentionally.

But take careful note of how Jesus handles “the crowd” in Luke 19:8-10,

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Did you catch it? Jesus doesn’t respond or hint that He is concerned with what “the crowd” thinks. Without acknowledging them at all, Jesus shuts their mouths and removes their influence. How? By not being distracted from His purpose of seeking and saving lost people.

How often are we distracted by those around us who sit in the scorner’s seat and stand in the way of sinners (Psalm 1:1)? Their perceived influence causes us to lose faith in the transformational power of God. Now, we feel the uneasiness of vulnerability, and blindness overtakes our trust in the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul reminds us of this truth:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (1 Corinthians 10:4).

What “the crowd” thinks is a stronghold that must be demolished. Not in our own power or with our cleverly crafted opinions. The influence of “the crowd” can only be overcome by the power of God; Paul continues:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:5).

My admonition to you is this, be led by the Holy Spirit. Let Him direct your path to the lost and help you handle the distractions. Then trust Him to give you the words of invitation for the person in front of you in need of Christ.

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