The "Invitation!"

While visiting with my daughter and discussing all the Holy Spirit has led her to become (including things still on the horizon), I discovered yet another adjustment we have made in our attempts to be something other than what God intended. Jesus told us to go into all the world and yet those still bound by the tradition of my fellowship would have us believe God designed the church for all the world to come, VISIT, be taught and receive salvation after we change them with our "correct" way to worship.

It is not too amazing that I came to this realization when I mentioned the idea of a preacher, in our fellowship, not giving the "appropriate" words of invitation to those needing "to be saved." As I type these words, I might even consider how I do not believe we can even find an example of men being asked to save or described as "saving" another man (if, as so many in my fellowship, we need an example).

If I find myself "bound" to using examples, I am curious how we ever began requiring a preacher in our assemblies to end his lesson reminding people of the importance of hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized. I might guess men made the assumption of this taking place because we do find a statement of the disciples coming together daily and if we stretch this passage enough, we can use the statement of those being saved and added as "proof positive" of the effective "assembly preaching" of those already in fellowship! Yes, we can be assured it was the effectiveness of the church in assembly responsible for advancing the numbers of Christians and not the effectiveness of the lives led by men and women. Yes, we have credited man's institution with the success of the gospel message and not the people led by the Holy Spirit to resemble Christ in their daily lives (going into the world).

I have been taught to regard 1Corinthians 14 as "the main guide" for our worship and yet I can't find the official invitation required. In fact, I find the focus of our "official" worship to be focused, not on the lost, but on the SAVED!

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

I find brothers and sisters, those having been added to the church, coming together to meet the needs and strengthen each other. I think we could more easily defend an official policy of forbidding the lost to come together with us than we can a tradition of focusing our worship time on meeting the needs of the lost.

May God be praised more fully by the lives we lead in the world and not wanting to miss the lesson learned from the sermon I heard this past week, may the goal of our faith not be to get us to heaven but rather get heaven down to us! May we all be effective in assuring God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven!

I thank God for the ability to see areas of life where the will of man has replaced the will of God and make adjustments so that His will not mine becomes the norm.