As Outreach October approaches, we’re being reminded once again that our vision for outreach at Earlwood Anglican is ‘as easy as P.I.E.’; Prayer, Invitation and Engaging in gospel conversations. As we ramp-up for our moth of outreach, which we’re calling ‘Encountering Jesus’, we’ve been looking at some of the things that often stop us from inviting people to come and encounter Jesus.
We learnt last Sunday from Matt 22:1-14 that God invites all people to the party to end all parties, where each day is more wonderful than the last, as we grow ever closer to the most wonderful being in existence. The alternative is an eternity of pain and suffering, where each day is more miserably depressing than the last.
We also learnt that God calls his servants to hand his invitations out, which can be dangerous at times, depending on people’s responses. Yet the particular fear we looked at last week was the fear of stuffing it all up, and perhaps dishonouring God with my pitiful efforts. So how do we overcome this fear?
Firstly, by remembering that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Rom 8:28). What this means is, if we confuse people, or don’t have all the answers, or even end up offending someone, God can and will use those mistakes to bring about his good purposes. You CANNOT stuff up God’s plans for people through your bumbling efforts. You’re simply not that influential. As such, the only real way to dishonour God is to not hand out his invitations in the first place. Even if you make honest mistake after honest mistake, you will be honouring God by playing your part in The Great Commission. So instead of focussing on what might go wrong, may we focus on the job God has given us, by inviting all this October to come and encounter Jesus.
