Welcome mat

Heart for God’s house-Welcome Mat

I have been dreaming of this moment for a long, long time. Leading a church. Leading the Body of Christ closer to Him, closer to His mission, closer to His calling for each of us and I am honored to be called your Pastor.

Revelation 22:12-17 12 "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie. 16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to His throne. I am the bright morning star. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let anyone who hears this say, "Come." Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”

1.      You will be judged by your work, or you can be judged by Jesus work if you will put your faith in His finished work.

1.      What are the some of last words God leaves us in His love letter?

1.      Come.

2.      Vs 17 The Spirit and the Bride say come, let each one who hears them say, “Come.” Let the thirsty ones come-anyone who wants to. Let them come and drink the water of life without charge.

3.      Both the Spirit and the Bride, the Church, extend the invitation to the entire world to come to Jesus and experience the benefits of salvation.

2.      The Welcome mat.

Illustrate here: We must all have seen that front door mat that says "WELCOME" on it.

1.      Why do you think we put such thing in front of our door?

1.      The answer is that a mat is meant to make people feel welcome; it's kinda as simple as what it says.

2.      Sometimes, however, the mark on the mat has faded; it seems like it does not say "WELCOME" anymore.

1.      Good clear message on our welcome mat.

2.      Some mats will get worn down and will just say wel.

1.      Well whatever goes man.

1.      It's ok I'll go with that I'll flow with that.

2.      You might throw out a good welcome mat but then it turns into well..I can’t believe that about so and so can you?

3.      Or maybe they’ll say come, but they don’t mean it.

1.      What they mean is I’ll put up with you, or I’ll entertain you for some brief moments but for me to really get to the nitty gritty of the work of discipleship, I am just not that interested.

2.      It's too hard.

3.      It's too grueling.

4.      Come on in I guess if you have absolutely no where else to be and nothing else to do.

4.      Some of us have a welcome mat that only says me.

1.      When you only concern yourself with yourself that makes you one thing, selfish.

2.      I want this, I want that, here is what I think, and here is the only thing that will work for me.

1.      If I remember correctly I would venture to say that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ probably didn’t happen on a day that was most convenient for Him.

2.      I know it wasn’t a death that Jesus would have chosen to suffer for Himself and I’m pretty positive that if there could have been a rescheduling that might have been to His liking He still would not have chosen that appointment.

1.      See ministering to people is inconvenient.

2.      Ministering to people will cost you something.

3.      Throwing out the welcome mat is a price we all must be willing to pay, a high price.

4.      Throwing out the welcome mat will change our schedules, change our appointments, change our thought processes and change our ideas of what we thought or how we thought God was going to minister.

3.      Or maybe there is no clear message at all the Welcome is wore off.

4.      Which sends a very unclear message of your life, your values, your beliefs, and your destiny.

1.      It’s so vital that we post, and live a clear message.

2.      You don’t want to send mixed messages. 

1.      Either the lost, the broken, the confused, the sinful are welcome here or they are not.

Matthew 9:9-13 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” 12 When Jesus heard this, he said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

3.      Vs. 11 When the religious saw this…now the unthinkable happens.

1.      If Jesus associates with such people then he must be like them.

2.      The Pharisees equated consecration by location, keeping away from the bad people, therefore keeping away from the bad things.

1.      Which ultimately consecration which means location leads to isolation and we got a holy huddle grouped up in Kansas some place doing nothing for the Kingdom, doing nothing for the call, doing nothing for the cause of Jesus Christ.

2.      Hoping Jesus comes back soon and saves us from all these bad people.

3.      That’s exactly the mentality of the Pharisees and if the global church isn’t careful, cautious, and compelled to change they’ll end up the same exact way.

4.      Jesus shows up in this parable and is reclining with some really bad people.

1.      Notorious people if you will and He is perfectly comfortable.

2.      Comfortable in His own skin, comfortable in His own calling, comfortable in His mercy.

3.      Knowing that leadership is influence.

4.      If I spend quality time with them it will change them, not me.

5.      Jesus is the way the truth and the life not this culture, not this denomination, not this bylaw structure.

6.      Jesus is completely ok with even being seen in the company of these infamous, notorious, sinners.

5.      Jesus chose to eat with such scum, He chose to hang around such scum, He chose to invest in such scum knowing this way was the only way to influence such scum.

1.      Well I am a Christ follower and I will gladly hang out with these people but they have to change this, that, and whatever else I deem necessary if they want my friendship.

2.      I am guilty. I am absolutely 110% guilty of thinking, saying, and doing this very action.

3.      Straight up!

4.      I am holy and being holy means being absent from bad people, leading to somewhere in Kansas.

4.      When Jesus visited Matthew, He hurt His reputation.

1.      Matthew was cheating the people, but Jesus found and changed him.

2.      We should not be afraid to reach out to people living in sin because God’s message can change anyone.

3.      This is throwing out the Welcome mat.

1.      I don’t want to just throw the welcome mat out to you and then next week you throw it out to me and the next week I throw it out to you and we do that same beautiful gesture ‘til heaven.

1.      God has called me, designated me, designed me, and destined me to throw out the welcome mat to all people.

2.      He has given us all that mission.                         

2.      I have never visited a home that had a paragraph on their welcome mat.

1.      Here are some things we need you to do before you enter our home.

1.      Take off your shoes.

2.      Remove your hat.

3.      Did you remember to brush your teeth this morning?

4.      Have you checked your hair?

5.      Don’t use any four letter words while on the premises, in the premises, or within 500 feet of the premises.

6.      Finally, if you do not know Jesus you might meet Him face to face if you make me mad.

3.      Did Jesus live His life a different way towards lost people?

1.      Jesus' life, His message to sinners is come.

2.      Pull up a chair, lets hang out.

1.      Then His next move is not let me preach the gospel to them.

2.      He’s just with them.

3.      He’s not condoning their lifestyle, but He is loving them.

Matthew 11:28 “Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

4.      Now Jesus doesn’t say, "come to me" after you, or come to me if you, come to me when you, He just says, “come.”

1.      What would happen to a community that preached what Jesus preached?

2.      What would happen to a church that lived out such values as Value God, Value Others, Value the Mission?

3.      A message as simple yet as strong as "come."

1.      I submit to you today that we need to put out the welcome mat in our church, we need to put out the welcome mat in our lives, put out the welcome mat at our work place and in our homes.

2.      You are welcome here, you are welcome in my life, you are welcome at my dinner table, not every night…, you are welcome at starbucks with me, or anywhere else I go, you are welcome.

4.      Jesus gives us the essence of evangelism here the essence of our mission.

5.      The Spirit and the bride say, "come."

1.      The bride is imagery, a depiction, of the church, local and global.

2.      Don’t you dare tell me that you are a part of the global church if you are not part of the local church.

3.      Jesus died and gave Himself for the church.

4.      A place where some one knows your name and knows when you’ve not been there, knows the challenges you are facing and is praying for you, pulling with you, ministering to you, discipling you.

5.      We can’t just visit a local church we’ve got to be planted in church.

1.      Throwing out the welcome mat together, collectively, and singularly.

2.      Having a heart for God’s house.

5.      Notice the Spirit and the church say simultaneously and in stereo, come.

1.      Next notice who we are saying come too, really bad people.

1.      Just so you know, just so we’re clear on who we’re inviting into our world, into our space, into our dinner tables, into our relationships, into our church, and into our lives.

2.     Vs 17 is talking to Vs. 15 "Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie."

1.      Listen to the language it’s on purpose.

1.      Outside are the worse of the worse.

2.      Not just people who lie but who love to lie, hey I put a spell on your family, hey I killed a man, I pray to inanimate image objects, it’s cool come.

3.      This is a great message, isn’t it, until people start coming.

4.      I love the gospel until people start responding to it, hold on just a second, wait up just a minute we wasn’t talking to you.

1.      The Spirit and the Bride say, "come" you are welcome here.

2.      Many of us are inviting people into our church but until we invite them into our lives church won’t make sense.

1.      I refuse to be a preacher that doesn’t hang out with sinful people.

2.      I am not built that way.

3.      I live my life with the welcome mat thrown out to everyone.

1.      Inviting them to dinner is good but inviting them into my life is best, make them friends, make them know that I care about them, that I care about their children, that I care about their health, and it will definitively relay to them how much I care about their eternity.

2.      I will be a welcome mat of change that they will be able to encounter Christ.

5.      We’ve lost the gospel, we’ve lost the simplicity, and we’ve lost the welcome of heaven.

Psalm 51:12, 13 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.”

6.      The Spirit does not say come without the Bride.

1.      If our message is gonna stay simple and stay clear, and if its going to be heard, its gonna be because we value the house of God.

2.      For the Spirit will not preach without the Church.

3.      It will not, because God partners with man.

1.      The kingdom is the cause, the church is the vehicle, so lets get in and get going.

7.      Notice also that if our message is going to be clear and not fade, get worn out, and get convoluted we must understand that the Church cannot say, “come” without the Spirit.

1.      In all of our innovation, all of our methods, all of our new ways, thoughts, ideas, all of our creativity, and technology it means nothing without the Spirit of God.

2.      The methods are not sacred but our message is, the Spirit it, the Church is, Jesus is, and His people are.

1.      Our message is hollow, shallow, lifeless, and empty without the Holy Spirit of God whose job it is to reveal Jesus.

2.      How can we reveal Jesus to the community of Ukiah without the Revealer?

1.      He is our strength, our source, our power, and the voice to our souls.

8.      If the gospel is boring to you I am going to be the most boring Pastor you have ever heard or laid eyes on in your life.

1.      If the gospel is boring to you the next 35 years as I lead this church will be the most boring, monotonous, 35 years of your existence.

2.      Because that’s what we’re gonna preach.

1.      We’re gonna preach Jesus, we’re gonna preach His grace, we’re gonna preach about His love, we’re gonna preach about the sacrifice, we’re gonna preach about His death, His burial, His resurrection, salvation, the Holy Spirit, and we’re gonna preach about life and life more abundantly.

2.      And if that is boring to you then prepare for decades of boredom!

3.      That’s all I’ve got, all I have to say, is “come."

1.      All I will ever have to say or be able to say is, “Come.”

2.      Come to Jesus you are welcome here.

3.      “Come!”

1.      I don’t have all the answers but come to the One who does.

3.      Vs. 17 Jesus says, “Anyone.”

1.     Anyone is able to come, “let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”

2.      Take freely, no cost, no payment necessary, the price has already been paid.

3.      Take freely of the promises and privileges of the gospel.

4.      Your redemption is purchased, your acceptance is purchased, your approval is purchased, you are mine, I choose you, I call you, take freely of belonging, take freely the salvation I have made possible to you.

4.      If we’re gonna preach the Gospel then we have to remember what the Gospel is all about.

5.      It’s about coming freely, and receiving freely what Jesus has paid for.

1.      Somewhere between feely receiving and freely giving though there is a disconnect.

2.      Many times I have found myself trying to charge others.

1.      You have to stop doing this.

2.      Your gonna have to change that.

3.      You can’t keep using those words.

4.      And you better not do this oh you’ll go to church eventually but we have some things we better work on before you go up in there.

5.      Oh we’ll be friends from a distance til' you clean some stuff up.

6.      You have to walk this step out, you’re gonna have to jump through this hoop.

9.      Our message goes from “come” to com..mand...ments.

1.      It’s close, it’s definitely, undeniably close.

2.      We have to let the gospel be the gospel and stop adding some trinkets, some ploys, some toys, because that’s just too easy.

3.      We get ridiculous, we get religious, we get confused.

4.      We just have to put the welcome mat out and say, “come.”

10.Come with all your baggage, come with all your fears, come with all your insecurities, and come with all your sin.

1.      Come.

2.      This is the kind of church we are going to be.

3.      Red, yellow, black, or white, you are welcome here, come.

4.      Come, with all your issues, all your drama, all your stereotypes, all of your abuse, addictions, and all of your hurt.

1.      Church we can’t put a spiritual time limit on people.

2.      You have this window of time to transform, or else.

5.      We just need to say, “come.”