SEVEN INVITATIONS OF CHRIST

Jesus is not only the Saviour. He is also a loving Friend. He was a Teacher, what we would call a Mentor, to His Disciples. Jesus wants you to be a disciple yourself. He invites you to be His friend. Here are seven of the invitations Christ offers you.

I. First, the invitation to find out.

“He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour” (John 1:39).

The Disciples Jesus was talking to were just barely starting to know Him. They didn’t even know where He lived. So, Christ said to them “Come and see.” And they did.

This is a very simple invitation. Some of you are just starting to come to church. You may be just starting to learn about Christ. Jesus speaks to everyone where they are, the way they are. To you, Jesus says, “Come and see.” That’s simple. But those simple words open the door to a personal relationship with Him. I hope you get to know Him too.

In verse 45 of John 1, Philip said to Nathanael that he had found the Messiah. In verse 46 Philip said, “Come and see.”

For some of you, that’s about all you can do. But that’s OK. You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to make a big commitment at the beginning. I give you the first invitation of Christ, “Come and see.” Yes, come to church and see. Find out for yourself.

II. Second, the invitation to rest.

Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

If you are burdened by your sin, if you are burdened by your life, Jesus offers you rest, if you will come to Him, believe in Him, trust Him. He will forgive your sin and give you inner peace and a new life.

But I must say that this is only offered to those who are burdened, who are worn down, who are tired of themselves, who feel guilty. If you are happy with yourself the way you are, those words are not for you. You don’t feel any need. This is only for people who feel convicted of their sin, who feel bad about themselves. I hope you will come to feel that way.

III. Third, the invitation to drink.

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).

Christ said this to the people on the last day of a great feast. Everyone had a lot of food and lots to drink. Physically they were not hungry, and they were not thirsty. So, what was Jesus saying?

He spoke of a spiritual thirst, beyond what you feel in your body. If you are thirsty to know God, to have a right relationship with Him, to have a new life, to have your sins forgiven, Christ is speaking to you. Of course, if you are not thirsty in this way, you will get nothing from Jesus because you don’t feel the need. In fact, you do need Jesus. I pray that you feel that for yourself.

IV. Fourth, the invitation to abide.

The word “abide” is an older word in English. It means “stay,” “remain,” or “stick around.” Christ said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4).

Jesus was saying, “Stay with me. Remain with me. Be connected to me. Live your life with me.” This is not an occasional thing. It is living with God through Christ. Will you do that?

Christianity is not just a hobby. It is a life-long, eternity-long calling. Is that what you want?

David said, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

And David said, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). That was what he wanted! To be with God. To know God, all his life. Why don’t you go after that too?

V. Fifth, the invitation to discipleship.

Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). He was saying, “Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.” To bring other people to Christ.

Be obedient to Christ. Be His follower. Be His servant. He said it was easy,

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29, 30).

It’s not a terrible burden to follow Christ. There’s a joy in it. I didn’t say there would be no trouble in this world. I didn’t say there would be no pain. But in your heart, your burden will be light because you will be with Him.

Don’t stop with just being curious. Why not trust Jesus for yourself? And why not become His disciple yourself, following the Master and learning from Him? Why not? I have known many people who have done that, including people here in this room. Their life stories are different. They trust the same Person, Jesus. They all follow Him. Their own personalities are different. They are different people. The stories of their lives are different.

But I have never, never, met one disciple who regretted following Christ. None of them said it was a mistake and they shouldn’t have done it. Whatever has happened in their lives, following Jesus has its own worth and its own joy. Amen!

VI. Sixth, the invitation to the cross.

Christ said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

If you are going to seriously follow Christ, you must deny yourself – say no to yourself. You cannot take up the cross of Jesus Himself, since you can’t die for anyone else’s sins! But you must take up your own cross, and go through whatever pain, suffering or trouble comes to you. Make Christ your ultimate, top, and final priority.

Jesus told us more about this in the next verses,

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” (Luke 9:24, 25).

If you try to hold on to your life for yourself, you will lose your life and your soul. If you put yourself first and Christ second, you will lose it all. Some people, like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have done a lot here in this world. But if they die without Christ, they will lose everything.

If you put Christ first and yourself second, in whatever way that comes to be, you will be the greatest winner. For Christians in some countries, that means prison, torture and death. For you here, it means whatever pain and rejection and missing out on something you have to go through. It may feel bad, but in the end, you will be the winner.

VII. Seventh, the final invitation.

At the very end of the Bible, Jesus said,

“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

He wants to invite you one more time. He doesn’t want anyone to miss out. He doesn’t want you to miss out.

You don’t have to be educated to take the water of life freely. You don’t have to be rich or important. You don’t have to be a Bible expert. You don’t have to have a religious life. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to know very much. You don’t have to be clean and pure to come and take the water of life freely. If you had to be clean and pure, then no one could come, because none of us are clean and pure. I wasn’t. You’re not. But I came, and you can come. It’s that easy.

Jesus just said, “Whosoever will.” Anyone! Whoever wants to! That’s it! That’s all! If you are tired of your sin and you want to be saved by Christ, come to Him and take the water of life freely! Why not? Why not you? I pray that you will. Amen.