For The Person Who Has Everything: An Invitation
16th December 2024 • Restoration Church • Restoration Church
00:00:00 00:49:51

Transcripts

Speaker:

Pastor Nate Gagne: Hey, good

morning Restoration Church.

2

:

My name is Nate and I'm the lead

pastor of, uh, of the church here.

3

:

And if it's your first time here,

I'm really glad that you're here.

4

:

And we've been doing something the last

couple of weeks called Holiday Gifts

5

:

Giving Guide with Pastor Nate Gagne.

6

:

And so I've been giving you, sharing

with you either some great gifts that

7

:

I've received or that I've given.

8

:

And so today's Gift is not very

flashy, um, in fact, you would

9

:

actually maybe be surprised that it's

on our holiday gift giving guide.

10

:

It is, um, you know, it, I think

if people open it, they'd be

11

:

like, oh, wow, until you use it.

12

:

And then, it is life changing.

13

:

Alright, this is your gift

guide, alright, this is your tip.

14

:

I'm telling you, you need to do this.

15

:

It is a heated mattress pad.

16

:

Heated mattress pad.

17

:

All right.

18

:

I'm telling you, um, if you, uh, if

you're married, it has dual zones, so

19

:

you don't have to worry about your,

about your partner, uh, sweating you out.

20

:

But if you're hoping your marriage to

move, um, from snowsuit to birthday

21

:

suit, this is going to help you.

22

:

All right.

23

:

This is going to help you

in freezing cold winters.

24

:

I'm just telling you.

25

:

It is life changing.

26

:

So here's what you do.

27

:

You turn on that, that heated mattress

pad about like half hour before bed.

28

:

You can even take a shower before bed.

29

:

And that thing is amazing.

30

:

It is amazing.

31

:

If you've ever gone grocery shopping in

the wintertime, and then you get past the

32

:

trays of heated food, and you're like, I'm

just gonna stop here for a second, right?

33

:

Because the grocery

stores are so freezing.

34

:

That's what it's like.

35

:

The heated mattress pad.

36

:

So there's your holiday gift giving guide.

37

:

You can order it today

through my affiliate link.

38

:

And, I'm just kidding.

39

:

Well, um As our pastors already said,

we had 27 water baptisms last week, for

40

:

102 water baptisms through the year.

41

:

We celebrate that.

42

:

We've got another five people that

have signed up for next week, so

43

:

we'll move beyond that for the year.

44

:

It is a record breaking year for

us, that in 78 years of our church's

45

:

history, It's the first year we've

water baptized over a hundred people.

46

:

And, beyond, I, I think, one of the,

one of the things someone said to me

47

:

was, um, Oh, it wasn't a fluke, because

last year was a record breaking year

48

:

for water baptisms for our church.

49

:

And it broke the previous year, which was

a water baptism's record for our church.

50

:

So three years in a row, we've

seen the number of people water

51

:

baptizing increased more than we've

ever seen in our church's history.

52

:

And it is absolutely amazing to

be a part of that, to share that,

53

:

to witness that, to see you take

your step through water baptism.

54

:

And, uh, I'm just proud

of you guys and church.

55

:

I'm proud of you guys for it.

56

:

And, uh, let's put our hands

together for Jesus again.

57

:

He's the one who's changed their

lives and saved their lives.

58

:

Some of the stories from last week,

just a couple of them, because,

59

:

again, I can't go through everybody's

story, but Kay was invited by Kashim.

60

:

Gavin was invited by his dad, Eric.

61

:

Sam and Mason were invited by Benaiah.

62

:

Amanda was invited by her mom, Tamara.

63

:

Adalia was invited by her parents.

64

:

Della was invited by her mom.

65

:

Emma was invited by her mom.

66

:

Kyle was invited by Jay and Heidi.

67

:

And as we work through our message today,

Each of those stories, plus the names

68

:

that, um, of the dozens of names and the

hundreds, hundred names from this year,

69

:

they are, they all have their unique

testimony of salvation, of forgiveness,

70

:

of healing, of transformation.

71

:

Beautiful stories.

72

:

Last week, last week after the service

here in Dover, people come up to me,

73

:

they're like, I cry every water baptism.

74

:

This time, I didn't want to cry, but I

cried through the whole baptism again.

75

:

And it's, why is that?

76

:

Um, because these are beautiful stories.

77

:

For, for some of us in the room,

we've served God for three,

78

:

four, five, six, seven decades.

79

:

And we can forget, it, it, the,

the Christian life can become about

80

:

church attendance, it can become

about, about church activity and not

81

:

about the Great Commission and not

about the, the amazing, powerful work

82

:

that Jesus does in people's lives.

83

:

And every week when we see

another person's life change,

84

:

I mean, it, it moves me deeply.

85

:

And it moves obviously so many of

you where obviously you're sharing

86

:

with me like I cry every bad, these

are my favorite services and they're

87

:

my favorite services as well.

88

:

I want to thank you for, uh,

and, and thank the people who

89

:

were autobaptized last week.

90

:

Thank, thank your, um, thank you for

inviting your friends and your family.

91

:

Church to hear about Jesus so that

they could have the opportunity to

92

:

experience what they've what has

happened in their life I think that's

93

:

kind of one thing that maybe we forget

through every one of these baptisms

94

:

What if that person didn't invite them?

95

:

What if that person said I

don't think they'd respond.

96

:

What if that person thought well I

don't think they'd be interested.

97

:

They would have missed out on that

moment last week Last week we talked,

98

:

um, our series is for the person

who has everything and we've been

99

:

talking about a gift you can give.

100

:

Last week we talked about

the gift of the gospel.

101

:

Today it's similar but it's different.

102

:

To give the gift of an invitation.

103

:

And we can look at these baptism

stories last week and someone

104

:

invited, Hey, come to church with me.

105

:

Hey, why don't you come

to this event with me?

106

:

Hey, why don't you tag along with me?

107

:

And through that, they had an opportunity

to experience the presence of God.

108

:

They had experience to, to participate in

Jesus's bride, to participate in church,

109

:

in meeting other people who follow Jesus.

110

:

To, to have the opportunity to meet, um,

a, a truer representation of Jesus, I mean

111

:

not a perfect representation of Jesus,

but a truer representation of Jesus than

112

:

maybe they'd ever had through people who

called themselves Christians in the past.

113

:

If you have your Bibles, I want

to invite you to open up to a

114

:

famous passage of Scripture, famous

Christmas story in Luke chapter 2.

115

:

And ushers, could you just help me out

in the back, that would be amazing,

116

:

whoever is on duty for ushers today.

117

:

Jump up right away and Respond.

118

:

Thank you.

119

:

So in, uh, in Luke chapter 2, the

passage of scripture we're going to

120

:

be reading, you've probably heard

it before, but anytime that we have

121

:

a famous passage of scripture, I'm

always challenging the people who've

122

:

gone to church for a long time.

123

:

or we've heard it before, to put

yourself in the place of wonder and

124

:

curiosity, to put yourself in the place

where you're not just thinking ahead,

125

:

but you're trying to feel the emotion

of what you, of what we're reading.

126

:

What we're reading It is not a

Christmas story like Scrooge.

127

:

It's not a Christmas story like,

um, uh, like, like Ralphie, alright?

128

:

What we're about to read,

it is a true account.

129

:

Luke was a physician who wrote a

historical document interviewing

130

:

people, getting eyewitnesses accounts

of what happened in the life of Jesus.

131

:

So what we're reading is a historical

account from a doctor, um, about,

132

:

uh, who interviewed, uh, hundreds of

people to, um, to write this account.

133

:

So it's Luke chapter 2, and we're

gonna start reading at verse number 8.

134

:

And it says, That night there were

shepherds staying in the fields

135

:

nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

136

:

Suddenly, an angel of the

Lord appeared among them.

137

:

So, it wasn't a car sized drone.

138

:

It's been happening up and

down the East Coast this week.

139

:

But it was an angel of the

Lord, and the radiance of the

140

:

Lord's glory surrounded them.

141

:

The shepherds were absolutely terrified,

but the angel reassured them, Hey,

142

:

hey, hey, hey, hey, don't be afraid.

143

:

I bring you good news that will

bring great joy to all people.

144

:

And that's what we talked

about last week, church.

145

:

God loves you, sin enslaves

you, but Jesus, He rescues you.

146

:

The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord.

147

:

He has been born today in

Bethlehem, the city of David.

148

:

And you will recognize Him by this sign.

149

:

You will find a baby wrapped snugly

in strips of cloth lying in a manger.

150

:

Suddenly, that single angel was joined

by thousands of angels, the armies of

151

:

heaven, filling the sky, praising God,

and saying together in unison, Glory

152

:

to God in highest heaven, and peace on

earth to those with whom God is pleased.

153

:

When the angels had returned to

heaven, the shepherds said to

154

:

each other, What just happened?

155

:

They said, let's go to Bethlehem.

156

:

Let's see this thing that has happened,

which the Lord has told us about.

157

:

They hurried to the village,

and they found barren Joseph.

158

:

And there was the baby, the one the

angels spoke about, lying in the manger.

159

:

After seeing him, the shepherds told

everyone what had happened, and what the

160

:

angel had said to them about this child.

161

:

All who heard the shepherd's

story were astonished.

162

:

But Mary kept all these things in her

heart and thought about them often.

163

:

The shepherds went back to work,

glorifying and praising God for

164

:

all they had heard and seen.

165

:

It was just as the angels had told them.

166

:

Look up at me.

167

:

It's an amazing story.

168

:

I mean, just imagine yourself.

169

:

Last night, Michelle and I, we got

home from a family Christmas party,

170

:

and we're unloading the car, and

then, like, 45 feet in the woods,

171

:

like this screeching owl was like,

172

:

she's like, what was that?

173

:

And I'm like, I think it was an owl.

174

:

And, and it's like, but you stay out here.

175

:

I'll go inside.

176

:

And just imagine, right.

177

:

And that's just an owl.

178

:

Or maybe you've been out at a campfire

and there's coyotes, or maybe you

179

:

went to a church and some of the

people who were turned, who were

180

:

singing behind you a similar noise.

181

:

And we, we have these

moments where we're fearful.

182

:

Imagine.

183

:

being out in the woods, being out

in the field and, and, and you've

184

:

never seen, you haven't seen

airplanes flying in the sky before.

185

:

You haven't watched UFO

videos on YouTube before.

186

:

You haven't, you haven't done it.

187

:

You're just out there

working like you always work.

188

:

And suddenly with an immense

brightness, is an angel above you.

189

:

That's why the angel said, Hey.

190

:

Don't be afraid, because they

were afraid, afraid, freaking out,

191

:

take the sheep, take the sheep,

192

:

holding their shepherd's staff,

just absolutely terrified.

193

:

And they were not, if we're going to

think about, predict, Jesus is coming

194

:

back today, who's he going to go visit?

195

:

Where's, you know, the most

important person in history, who's

196

:

he going to go hang out with?

197

:

Who's he going to show himself to?

198

:

We think maybe it's Maybe someone who's

got a lot of influence, someone who's

199

:

got a lot of, uh, social media followers.

200

:

Because that way he could tell one person

and they can instantly tell, you know,

201

:

50, there's 56 million followers on

Instagram and it would get right out.

202

:

But he didn't do that.

203

:

He didn't go to the social

influencer, social influencers.

204

:

He didn't go to the important people.

205

:

He went to people that no one

even probably knew their name.

206

:

Some shepherds.

207

:

One thing that does for me is

it reminds me Jesus came for me.

208

:

I'm nobody.

209

:

I'm not known.

210

:

No one follows my Instagram.

211

:

Oh, thank you.

212

:

At Nathan J Gagney.

213

:

And we, we,

214

:

one of the things is Jesus shows

up to these people who aren't known

215

:

and every week he shows up to us.

216

:

We're, you and me, we're regular people.

217

:

We're normal people.

218

:

But he cares about us.

219

:

He cares about us.

220

:

In the midst of our mess, in the

midst of our life, He knows you,

221

:

and He wants to show you who He is.

222

:

He wants to, He, He, He

wants to announce it to you.

223

:

For, and one of the things that the

angels did here that I, that we're

224

:

going to look at and talk about, is the

angels, they, they set an example for us.

225

:

They show up, they talk about the

gospel, we talked about that last week.

226

:

But they give these

shepherds an invitation.

227

:

Hey!

228

:

There's a baby born.

229

:

He's the savior of the world.

230

:

And here are the evidences.

231

:

You need to go find him.

232

:

You need to go search this out.

233

:

You need to discover him.

234

:

Because if you take, if, we're

going to share this with you, but if

235

:

you, you can do whatever you want.

236

:

You can stay here in the field.

237

:

You can go put on dry clothes,

because they peed themselves.

238

:

Uh, you can, uh, uh, but

there's an invitation here

239

:

for you to go and find him.

240

:

To see for yourself who he is.

241

:

And they gave an invitation.

242

:

This is something that we should be doing.

243

:

Something that you have

the opportunity to do.

244

:

To give the gift of an invitation.

245

:

I want to read a scripture, two

scriptures here in Romans chapter 10.

246

:

Um, and these are foundational scriptures.

247

:

Important scriptures for you to, it

would be important for you to memorize

248

:

them, for you to understand them.

249

:

The first is Romans 10, 14.

250

:

But how can they call on him?

251

:

So, the question here is about Jesus.

252

:

So Jesus has an opportunity.

253

:

Jesus rescues you.

254

:

That's an important thing, right?

255

:

It's part of the gospel.

256

:

Important.

257

:

Jesus rescues you.

258

:

All you gotta do is call on him.

259

:

But how can you call on him?

260

:

How can you call on Jesus?

261

:

For, to rescue you,

unless you believe in Him.

262

:

So you're not gonna call on

Jesus to rescue you if you

263

:

don't believe, believe in Him?

264

:

And how can they believe in Him

if they've never heard about Him?

265

:

And how can they hear about

Him, unless someone tells them?

266

:

It's going through, yeah, all

you gotta do, is when you hear

267

:

the Gospel, is receive it.

268

:

But you can't receive it, if you

can't believe it, and you can't

269

:

believe it, if you can't hear it,

and you can't hear it, unless Someone

270

:

has the courage to talk about them.

271

:

Verse number 17 says, So

faith comes from hearing.

272

:

That is, hearing the

good news about Jesus.

273

:

Faith comes from hearing.

274

:

And an invitation or a presentation of

the gospel, the good news, gives someone

275

:

the opportunity to hear about him and to

hear about him can change someone forever.

276

:

And I don't mean forever, like till

they die, I mean forever because

277

:

there's a life after this one in

the presence and glory of God.

278

:

One thing that the scripture tells

us is that declaring our faith

279

:

saves other people.

280

:

Declaring our faith is the starting

point for everyone's faith.

281

:

Declaring our faith also is part of

our faith that we must not forget.

282

:

I saw this recently.

283

:

This, um, uh, on the,

on TV, on the internet.

284

:

It said, um, uh, not sharing my

religion is against my religion.

285

:

We have, in order to be obedient to our

faith, in order to be obedient to the word

286

:

of God, we have to share the word of God.

287

:

It is not something

that's optional for us.

288

:

In Matthew 4, 19, Jesus talking,

inviting others, and he was

289

:

inviting others to follow him.

290

:

He was giving them an invitation.

291

:

He called out to them.

292

:

He said, Hey, come follow me, and

I'll show you how to fish for people.

293

:

These were men who were fishermen by

trade, and he's saying, Hey, there's

294

:

a, if you decide to follow me, there's

a new assignment for your life.

295

:

Everybody water baptized this year.

296

:

There's a new assignment for your life.

297

:

Everybody who said,

Yes, Jesus is my Savior.

298

:

There's a new assignment for your life.

299

:

Fishing for people, and giving people

an invitation, giving people the gospel,

300

:

giving people a chance to meet Jesus.

301

:

Earlier this year, my boys got

invited to an event in Missouri.

302

:

So Michelle and I got to

tag along as chaperones.

303

:

And one of the things that they gifted

the boys was a guided, um, um, a guided

304

:

fishing trip with, uh, with the guide,

like with a professional fisherman.

305

:

And so this is in Branson, Missouri.

306

:

So we went out, I don't remember how

long we went fishing, um, but it's

307

:

got one picture here of, uh, Benton

here with one of the fish he caught,

308

:

which was, which is a real fish.

309

:

We didn't just pull it out for a photo op.

310

:

He caught a fish, uh, I was

on a boat with him and Asher.

311

:

They both caught, uh, multiple fish.

312

:

My other boys, they were on a boat

with another guy, and another, um,

313

:

Assemblies of God leader, and they,

uh, they all got caught, they all

314

:

got caught, they all caught fish.

315

:

I didn't, I didn't catch one.

316

:

Not a sunfish, not a weed, nothing.

317

:

Not a goldfish, nothing.

318

:

And so, there's this, just one

idea here, is that, you know,

319

:

who here has gone fishing before?

320

:

Other locations raised your

hand, gone fishing before?

321

:

Yeah.

322

:

Everybody can.

323

:

Everybody goes fishing.

324

:

Not everybody is good at fishing, alright?

325

:

But the, the call for us and Jesus says,

Hey, I'm gonna make you fishers of people.

326

:

He's not calling us to be professionals.

327

:

He's just calling us to grab the rod

and real and to go out and participate.

328

:

in what he's doing.

329

:

Participate in what he's at.

330

:

Some people are really good at

fishing, but anybody can fish.

331

:

Some people are really

get right at inviting.

332

:

Some people are really great at, um,

leading others to Jesus, but everyone

333

:

is called to be fishers of men.

334

:

Everyone's called to participate in it.

335

:

Some people have the spiritual

gift of evangelism, but everyone

336

:

is called to evangelize.

337

:

It is an every person assignment.

338

:

And don't be discouraged because other

people have made a profession out of it.

339

:

Because other people are

experts out of, out of it.

340

:

Because other people have

a grace in their life.

341

:

Or it's really easy for them.

342

:

Just participate.

343

:

Just celebrate.

344

:

Just take the pictures.

345

:

Like I did for the kids.

346

:

Just take the pictures and enjoy the ride.

347

:

And just keep sharing your testimony.

348

:

Just keep passing out and

handing out those invitations.

349

:

Couple things about invitations.

350

:

Invitations.

351

:

Give the gift of, of an invitation.

352

:

Invitations encourage investigations.

353

:

And this is something

that's, that is important.

354

:

unique about Restoration

Church compared to maybe other

355

:

churches you participate in.

356

:

We are a church that wants

you to investigate Jesus.

357

:

We're a church that wants

you to investigate the Bible.

358

:

And, uh, it's very important

for you to do that.

359

:

We give away Bibles for free every

single week because we want you

360

:

reading God's Word for yourself.

361

:

We want you finding Him for yourself.

362

:

I'm not up here trying to get you

to believe everything I believe.

363

:

I want you to believe the Word of God.

364

:

And if there's things I believe

That other brilliant scholars don't

365

:

believe, we're going to tell you that.

366

:

Here, and, but here are the things that we

know, here are the things that are true.

367

:

But when we begin to talk, and

we say, hey, you know, I've

368

:

got to talk to you about this.

369

:

I want to share this with you.

370

:

People begin to investigate it.

371

:

And that's what we saw the

shepherds doing in verse number 15.

372

:

They said, hey, the angels have told

us that this baby has been born.

373

:

It's the Messiah.

374

:

He's in town.

375

:

Let's go check this out.

376

:

And when you have the opportunity to

talk about Jesus, to send an invitation

377

:

to say, Oh, you're a Christian.

378

:

Yeah.

379

:

Not only am I a Christian, but so

are these three other coworkers.

380

:

So are these 10 other students.

381

:

Yeah.

382

:

We're all going to this.

383

:

Then they're like, really,

you all are really.

384

:

I thought you, I thought

you're, you're also normal.

385

:

Really.

386

:

I thought.

387

:

And so because they're able to

hear, because you're able to give an

388

:

invitation, they're able to show up

and invest, investigate for themselves.

389

:

Don't invite people to an argument,

but invite them to investigate.

390

:

Here's what Jesus did in my life.

391

:

Maybe he could do the same thing for you.

392

:

You know he can.

393

:

I'm inviting you.

394

:

You're not here.

395

:

You're here today, but you've never

made a decision to follow Jesus.

396

:

I'm inviting you to investigate.

397

:

Hey, he changed my life.

398

:

He changed my wife's life.

399

:

He changed the, the baptisms last week.

400

:

He changed hundreds of

people here, uh, around you.

401

:

If you investigate, maybe he

could change your life too.

402

:

Hey, I know he can actually.

403

:

I want you to investigate it

because I know what you'll find.

404

:

John chapter 1 verses 45 and 46.

405

:

This is about one of the disciples.

406

:

He gets invited by Jesus to follow him.

407

:

He meets Jesus, and he says, he says

this, he said, Philip went to look

408

:

for Nathaniel, his friend, and he told

him, Hey, we found the very person

409

:

Moses and the prophets wrote about.

410

:

His name is Jesus, the son

of Joseph from Nazareth.

411

:

Nathaniel responds, maybe like some

of your friends would respond, Really?

412

:

You're a Christian?

413

:

You believe all that stuff?

414

:

I'm surprised.

415

:

But Nathaniel said, Nazareth,

which was a town, Yeah.

416

:

Can anything good come from Nazareth?

417

:

So insert your town that you disparage.

418

:

Uh, Uh, And so if you're from

Summersworth, disparage Rochester.

419

:

If you're from Rochester,

disparage Farmington.

420

:

If you're from Dover,

disparage Summersworth.

421

:

Just pick your town.

422

:

Can anything good come from that town?

423

:

And Philip said this,

Come and see for yourself.

424

:

Hey, come investigate it.

425

:

I'm not gonna argue you.

426

:

I'm not gonna go back and forth with you.

427

:

Just come see him.

428

:

Just show up.

429

:

Find out.

430

:

Take the time.

431

:

And this is the posture that

we try to take as a church.

432

:

This is the posture I try to

teach you and lead you into.

433

:

You know what he did in your life.

434

:

You don't have to argue

and try to convince people.

435

:

Just invited them to check it out

for themselves because if they

436

:

investigate, They'll have the chance.

437

:

So Jesus invited Philip.

438

:

Philip invited Nathanael.

439

:

John the Baptist, in another part,

he invited two of his disciples,

440

:

Andrew and John, to go find Jesus.

441

:

Then Andrew invites his brother Peter.

442

:

Then John invites his brother James.

443

:

And now, begin to see the disciples,

um, they're coming to investigate.

444

:

And when they investigate,

what do they find?

445

:

Oh yeah, I'm gonna follow him.

446

:

Jeremiah 29, 13.

447

:

This is a promise for anybody

in the investigative stage.

448

:

You're here today, there's some part of

you that's saying, I wonder if God's real.

449

:

I wonder if Jesus is real.

450

:

I wonder if he can help me.

451

:

This is a promise in scripture.

452

:

If you look for me

wholeheartedly, you will find.

453

:

If anybody's investigating,

they're not investigating Jesus,

454

:

they're investigating God.

455

:

Although there are testimonies

of people who are investigating

456

:

Jesus to find out what's wrong

with it, and they discover him.

457

:

Renowned physicist, um, the director

of the Human Genome Project, you can

458

:

look him up, he wrote a book about it.

459

:

But, ultimate brilliant scientist, begin

to discover, begin to investigate Jesus.

460

:

And, hey, I don't believe, I should

find out why I don't believe, comes

461

:

to Christ through his investigation.

462

:

If you're trying to find answers of Jesus.

463

:

You'll find them.

464

:

That's a promise.

465

:

Whether you've been investigating him for

two weeks, or two months, or two years,

466

:

keep searching him with your whole heart.

467

:

You're gonna find him.

468

:

You're gonna find him.

469

:

You're gonna find him.

470

:

You're gonna find him.

471

:

It is a promise.

472

:

He's going to show himself to you

and it will change everything.

473

:

Next thing is that in

invitations bring celebrations.

474

:

Verse number 20, the shepherds

went back to their flocks,

475

:

glorifying God and praising God

for all they had heard and seen.

476

:

Listen, I've got dozens

of nieces and nephews.

477

:

I love them all.

478

:

All right.

479

:

Even the ones that don't

love me, I love them all.

480

:

And, um, I've, I've visited most

of them at the hospital, uh, in

481

:

their first couple days of life.

482

:

And I was grateful.

483

:

It's exciting.

484

:

It's great to be an uncle.

485

:

It's great.

486

:

But I never left this way.

487

:

Glorifying and praising God

for all I had seen and heard.

488

:

I wasn't like, I was like, Oh, poor kid.

489

:

He's, his looks are like

our side of the family.

490

:

Poor kid.

491

:

Hopefully he grows into that nose.

492

:

My word, this one looks like an alien.

493

:

Alright?

494

:

Never did I, did I walk away like

these guys when they saw a baby.

495

:

We've all seen babies.

496

:

They walked away glorifying

and praising God.

497

:

Because you investigate

and what do you find?

498

:

You find Him to be who He says He is.

499

:

Even in His meekest human form.

500

:

And he was God in heaven, but

became one of us, to rescue one of

501

:

us, a covert mission to rescue us.

502

:

Even in his infancy, the power

of God was changing people's

503

:

understanding, was giving people

hope, was changing their lives.

504

:

Why do we share Jesus?

505

:

Remind yourself you're

a follower of Jesus.

506

:

Why do you share him?

507

:

Remind yourself of the moment you

met him put yourself back in that

508

:

place where you experienced him

Allow yourself to give thanks and

509

:

glory to God again for that day.

510

:

He changed your life Now for me,

I've gone to church my whole life.

511

:

I've shared this hundreds of

times over, over my ministry here.

512

:

You know, probably a

week or two weeks old.

513

:

I was in church and pretty, I mean,

I've been in church ever since.

514

:

I never walked away from Jesus.

515

:

I never walked away from church.

516

:

I've just gone to church.

517

:

And I always believed.

518

:

I remember being a first grader and

praying, Jesus, I give you my life.

519

:

Forgive me of my sins.

520

:

Um, and.

521

:

But, and always going to church, always

believing, but being a 14 year old,

522

:

and being in a church service, and

experiencing the presence of God on the

523

:

outside of my life, on the inside of my

heart, for the first time in my whole

524

:

life, and crying, and being shocked,

and thinking, I always believed in God,

525

:

but I had no idea God knew who I was.

526

:

But here I am right now, in

this moment, experiencing Him.

527

:

And it changed my life.

528

:

It changed my life.

529

:

I was never a kid who swore.

530

:

I wasn't using chewing tobacco.

531

:

I wasn't stealing from my mom's purse.

532

:

I was a good church kid at

that point in my life, who

533

:

fought my brothers and sisters.

534

:

I was a good church kid, but the moment

that That I met God it changed everything

535

:

for me And that's one of the primary

reasons that I'm a pastor because I want

536

:

every Single one of you to experience

Jesus like I did in eighth grade or the

537

:

summer after eighth grade Every single

one of you to experience Jesus just as I

538

:

the reason we have fun in church to reason

Why we do everything we do is, again, just

539

:

kind of all setting the stage for you to

feel comfortable to investigate Jesus,

540

:

because I want you to try to find Him.

541

:

I want you to experience Him

like I did, because when you do,

542

:

you're going to celebrate.

543

:

You're going to celebrate.

544

:

You're going to celebrate.

545

:

He is so good.

546

:

The last thing here is that

invitations affect generations.

547

:

Verse number 18, it said, All who heard

the shepherd's story were astonished.

548

:

And for 2, 000 years now, The account

of these shepherds has been shared

549

:

around the world over and over

and over and over and over again.

550

:

We're still hearing about the

angel's invitation to the shepherds.

551

:

We're still hearing the shepherd's

story about what happened to

552

:

that night, to them that night.

553

:

And the invitations that we share,

it doesn't just change your friend.

554

:

It changes their family, their

future family, It changes far

555

:

beyond you could ever imagine.

556

:

Imagine Jesus in the scripture we

read earlier, he said, follow me

557

:

and I will make you fishers of men.

558

:

This is another promise.

559

:

I will make you a person

if you allow me to.

560

:

I will make you a person who affects

other people's lives with my good news.

561

:

I will make you a person who

helps me on these rescue missions.

562

:

I will make you a person who's

a carrier of the good news.

563

:

I will make you a person who

carries the presence of God.

564

:

This is a promise from Jesus.

565

:

This is a promise from Jesus.

566

:

You gotta, you gotta recognize this.

567

:

This is important.

568

:

Your life, every one of you, your

life, It will produce spiritual life.

569

:

Your life, your invitation,

your, um, your, uh, um, confusing

570

:

description of the gospel.

571

:

You're like, I did not do good.

572

:

I'm sorry, Lord.

573

:

I did not do good trying to explain you.

574

:

But every effort that you give, your

life will produce spiritual life.

575

:

It will change people for eternity.

576

:

Your life will.

577

:

Your testimony will.

578

:

Your invitation will.

579

:

It will change, not just there

today, it will change there forever.

580

:

I want to share with you a

couple photos from last week.

581

:

Just a couple.

582

:

I mean, there's a bunch of photos,

but some baptisms from Bethlehem and

583

:

Another one, here's a baptism from

Dover, uh, baptism from Plymouth.

584

:

These baptisms are, I, you

know, I shared with you earlier.

585

:

about how they were, who

they were invited by.

586

:

It was an invitation.

587

:

Hey, I'm going to church.

588

:

You want to come to church with me?

589

:

People said just randomly one day.

590

:

Sure.

591

:

All right.

592

:

Sure.

593

:

Okay.

594

:

Fine.

595

:

Yes.

596

:

And now they are celebrating this

in front of the whole church.

597

:

Hey, I was invited to come.

598

:

I investigated it.

599

:

And now I'm celebrating today

because he changed my life.

600

:

He's not just their Lord and Savior.

601

:

He's my Lord and Savior.

602

:

Some of the stories from last week,

Della was invited by her mom, Amanda,

603

:

who was invited by her friend, Heidi.

604

:

Kay was invited by Kashin.

605

:

Kashin was invited by Brian.

606

:

Brian was invited by his mom.

607

:

His mom was invited by people from

the church who were doing an outreach.

608

:

Gavin was invited by his dad, Eric,

who was invited by his dad, Dave,

609

:

who was invited by his friend, Max.

610

:

Sam and Mason were invited by

Benaiah, who was brought by Michelle

611

:

and I, who were both brought

to this church by our mothers.

612

:

Adalia was invited by her parents,

whose dad was invited by her mom, and

613

:

whose mom was invited by Eric's dad.

614

:

Something about that

615

:

is so wildly beautiful to me,

616

:

because we're not talking about a couple

months, where it was the fad thing, the

617

:

in thing to do, so a bunch of people, oh

church is cool, let's all go to church,

618

:

let's all get baptized, No, we're talking

about, we're talking about decades

619

:

that when Eric is 13, his

dad brings him to church.

620

:

Now when his son is 20,

he's getting water baptized.

621

:

That when I'm five years old,

my mom signs me up for Wednesday

622

:

night kids program here.

623

:

And now, however many years later, I don't

know how old I am, a long time later.

624

:

Now, my friends are inviting friends.

625

:

It affects generations.

626

:

Why?

627

:

Because being religious is good?

628

:

Heck no!

629

:

The worst seasons of our church's

78 year history were the seasons

630

:

about religious activity.

631

:

Horrible years.

632

:

Should I share some more stories?

633

:

Bad years in our church

because they came about being

634

:

religious, not about the gospel.

635

:

Beautiful, beautiful stories.

636

:

As you, I've got this invitation I've been

playing with, I apologize, I keep trying

637

:

to hide it so I wouldn't distract it.

638

:

This is a Christmas invitation.

639

:

One of the reasons that we give out

invitations, something I discovered long

640

:

ago, is some of us are shy and some of

us are, are just too introverted, we're

641

:

too shy, even extroverts can be shy,

but it's hard for us to share our faith.

642

:

And one thing I discovered long ago

is try to give tools to the introvert.

643

:

A reason to talk about church,

a reason to talk about Jesus.

644

:

So what is one thing everybody is

going to be asking each other at work

645

:

and school for, for the next few days,

uh, this week and, and next week?

646

:

They're going to ask, hey, what

are you doing for Christmas?

647

:

Have this invitation on you.

648

:

You can even start, hey, what

are you doing for Christmas?

649

:

Oh, we're going to, whatever it is.

650

:

And then they say, what

are you doing on Christmas?

651

:

Well, Christmas, with my family, Christmas

Eve, we go to Restoration Church.

652

:

And we've been doing

it for a lot of years.

653

:

It's so much fun, whatever, whatever.

654

:

Um, you should check it out.

655

:

Who, especially here in New England,

how many, how many people talk about

656

:

going to church in a positive light?

657

:

Not very many.

658

:

I mean, it happens.

659

:

Obviously there's great churches all

over New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont,

660

:

Massachusetts, amazing churches, amazing

pastors, amazing men, I want to know God.

661

:

Uh, but when I was growing up, there

was not a person in my school who talks

662

:

positively about their church experience,

663

:

including me until freshman year.

664

:

So when you say, Oh, I love going,

it's so much fun, whatever, whatever.

665

:

And you begin to share, or even if you've

never been before, I heard it's amazing.

666

:

I'm going, just pastor.

667

:

There's this guy there.

668

:

Pastor Nate, unbelievably cool.

669

:

He's got like a Instagram.

670

:

Amazing guy.

671

:

And give the invitation.

672

:

You're not trying to convince them,

you're, you're giving them the

673

:

opportunity to investigate for themselves.

674

:

Sometimes people say, I don't

know, I don't have the answers.

675

:

I'm afraid to share the gospel.

676

:

Maybe you're, but you

can share an invitation.

677

:

Sometimes people say, I'm just too afraid.

678

:

I'm afraid they're going to ask me a

question I don't know the answers to.

679

:

And I just want to encourage

you not to worry about that.

680

:

My, my middle schooler told me

this week, he said, you know, kids

681

:

been asking me all these questions

about, about church and God.

682

:

They asked me this week, is

it a sin to marry your cousin?

683

:

So he's asking me later, Dad, is

it a sin to marry your cousin?

684

:

And so we're having that conversation, and

I said, Well, what did you say to the kid?

685

:

And he said, uh, I said, Do

you want to marry your cousin?

686

:

And, like, why are you searching

for the answer to that?

687

:

Is it a sin to marry your cousin?

688

:

Why?

689

:

Are you, like, really

attracted to your cousin?

690

:

Is that something you're trying to

get set up for the holidays here?

691

:

A little mistletoe accident?

692

:

A little bizarre?

693

:

And so, listen, don't worry

about what you don't know.

694

:

Talk about what you do know.

695

:

He changed you.

696

:

The other thing that can kind of happen

is, well, I don't have it all together.

697

:

I, I'm a mess.

698

:

Uh, uh, uh.

699

:

Listen, it is okay.

700

:

We're all from different places.

701

:

We're all in different seasons

of our life walking with Jesus.

702

:

You're maybe not able to, to show how

He transforms lives yet, but you're

703

:

able to show how He forgives past.

704

:

And you're at that starting point, you

may not show, be able to show how he, how

705

:

he changed his families for generations

yet, but you're able to show how he's

706

:

changed you today from yesterday.

707

:

That's a great thing.

708

:

We need people who are in the

beginning part of their journey as

709

:

well, because otherwise it feels

like I could never fit in here.

710

:

But when you get in and you, and

you're able to see people where

711

:

we're able to see, we're obviously

all from different places of life.

712

:

You've got some people you

can see they have definitely

713

:

served Jesus for generations.

714

:

They just They just uh, like a

have a fragrance of the presence of

715

:

God You can definitely see in the

parking lot when you're leaving.

716

:

There's some people who haven't

met the Lord yet We're coming

717

:

from all different places.

718

:

That is a beautiful thing Don't be

embarrassed about where you've been.

719

:

If you've ever recommended a

restaurant to someone else, I'll

720

:

recommend to you one right now.

721

:

There's a Brazilian barbecue place

in, um, in Manchester called Gaucho's.

722

:

Brazilian barbecue, for those

of you who've never heard of it,

723

:

you have, uh, it's kind of like

a game of red light, green light.

724

:

And you have a card, literally a card,

one side's red, one side's green.

725

:

When you have it on green, you

just put it green on your table.

726

:

The waiters don't stop

coming and bringing you meat.

727

:

It's steak lamb, different cuts of steak,

chicken sausage, as long as it's on green.

728

:

They just come and they give

you more, more more more.

729

:

And then when you're when you're

when you're like to full or to

730

:

embarrass you flip it over to read.

731

:

And it's amazing.

732

:

Amazing place.

733

:

Um we were like, um we had a

deacon Christmas party there a

734

:

number of years ago during COVID.

735

:

We were like their first customers.

736

:

since they opened back.

737

:

So it was like the waiters were

excited to finally get a tip again.

738

:

I mean, it was a good, good night.

739

:

But if you were to ask me, Pastor

Nate, talk to me about that restaurant.

740

:

What's the marinade?

741

:

Where do they source their ingredients?

742

:

How much do they pay their employees?

743

:

I'm going to say, I have no clue.

744

:

I don't have answers to those questions.

745

:

But what I do know, but what I do know,

let me tell you about what I do know.

746

:

And when people come to you and they,

and they're trying to put you, well,

747

:

how could you believe the Bible?

748

:

It's so full of contradictions.

749

:

Like, I, how, what, can

you even marry your cousin?

750

:

And they're coming with

all these questions.

751

:

Like, I don't know the answer to this.

752

:

Say, hey, I don't have those

answers, but here's what I do know.

753

:

And don't say this, but, but in your own

words, I was lost, but now I'm found.

754

:

In your own words, say, I don't know.

755

:

I showed up to church because, because my

crazy ex girlfriend made me go, and now

756

:

she doesn't go, and it changed my life.

757

:

I showed up to church because someone told

me there was, uh, unlimited eggnog at the

758

:

Christmas Eve, and so I went to go put

that to the test, and then after I came up

759

:

front for healing, and, uh, I got healed!

760

:

Uh, you just share what you do know.

761

:

Talk about what you do have.

762

:

You're welcome.

763

:

In 1 John, chapter 5, verse number

10, it says all who believe in

764

:

the Son of God know in their

hearts this testimony is true.

765

:

You know what He's done in your life.

766

:

It is just deeply profound,

deeply unexplainable.

767

:

But you're trying to create the

conversation that others would

768

:

investigate and find out what you have.

769

:

Church, musicians, you can come up.

770

:

I want to challenge you

to be bold this week.

771

:

To be bold this week.

772

:

To invite someone this week.

773

:

At the very minimum.

774

:

Give out these invitations.

775

:

There's some on your seats.

776

:

There's some at the new here area grab

some How many can you believe God for?

777

:

God, give me the opportunity

to invite one person.

778

:

God, give me the opportunity

to invite 10 people.

779

:

How many can you believe God for?

780

:

There are, we just don't know who's going

to show up, who's going to experience

781

:

what and how it might change their life.

782

:

Will you close your eyes

and let me pray for you.

783

:

As your eyes are closed and bands

figuring out what to do, I want to, um,

784

:

I just want to give you an invitation.

785

:

to give your life to Jesus right now.

786

:

We read earlier in Romans chapter 10

in verses 14 and 17, but verses 9 and

787

:

10 says this, If you openly declare

that Jesus is Lord, and believe

788

:

in your heart that God raised Him

from the dead, you will be saved.

789

:

For it is by believing in your

heart that you are made right with

790

:

God, and it is by openly declaring

your faith that you are saved.

791

:

To believe in your heart, that you

are made And to say it with your

792

:

mouth, that I'm, that I follow Jesus.

793

:

If your eyes are closed, even

out of their locations, I'll

794

:

ask you to respond the same way.

795

:

But you've been coming to church, you

want Jesus, you've convinced yourself

796

:

maybe that He wouldn't want you.

797

:

But you'd say, you know what Pastor

Nate, that's it, I mean I believe it in

798

:

my heart, but right now I'm gonna tell

you, I'm gonna tell my location pastor.

799

:

That, yeah, I'm giving my life to Jesus,

and you just raise your hand up at me.

800

:

Um, I'm, I, I, I believe it in my

heart, now I'm saying it with my mouth.

801

:

I follow Jesus, and just wave at me.

802

:

Thank you.

803

:

Anybody else?

804

:

Yeah.

805

:

Yeah.

806

:

Thank you.

807

:

Thank you.

808

:

You've been investigating,

and now it's your time.

809

:

And what this verse

says, it's right there.

810

:

And I'm gonna lead you in a prayer that's

putting this verse into your own words.

811

:

But it says, declare that Jesus

is your Lord, so let's pray that.

812

:

And you say this, Jesus, you're my

Lord, you're my God, you're my Savior.

813

:

It says if you believe that He's

raised from the dead, you'll be saved.

814

:

And you say, you pray that right now,

Jesus, I believe the Christmas story and

815

:

the Easter story that it's true, that you

came to earth and became one of us and you

816

:

died on the cross to save us and that you

were raised from the dead to rescue us.

817

:

I believe that, Jesus.

818

:

And in that moment when you

pray that and you believe that.

819

:

Your sins are forgiven.

820

:

Your life has changed.

821

:

You start a brand new

life today in Jesus name.

822

:

So the next step that you, if you

prayed that to God, the next thing I

823

:

want you to do is you raise your hand

to me and I thank you for doing that.

824

:

But tell your location pastor, tell the

person you invited, just share with them.

825

:

Hey, I made the decision

to follow Jesus today.

826

:

Thank you God for your word.

827

:

Thank you for showing

yourself to the shepherds.

828

:

If you would choose them to

show yourself to you, show us.

829

:

Pour down your spirit

in our services today.

830

:

We pray that you'd go ahead of these

invitations that we'd hand out.

831

:

Let us bump into people while we're

shopping, bump into people at school, have

832

:

conversations with people about Christmas

and have the opportunity to invite them.

833

:

Jesus, we love you.

834

:

Thank you for the baptisms and the

salvations and the salvations today.

835

:

You're still good.

836

:

You're still good, God.

837

:

You're still powerful, God.

838

:

You still forgive God.

839

:

You haven't given up on us, God.

840

:

You're still after us.

841

:

And you, even the people

today are still wrestling.

842

:

I just pray they won't

stop searching for you.

843

:

Because when they search you,

for you, when they search for

844

:

you, they're gonna find you.

845

:

And we pray this in Jesus name.

846

:

Amen.

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube