The Great Banquet

Thanks, Jonathan, and thanks to Fiona again also for music this evening.

We're continuing in the parables of Jesus and Luke's Gospel,

and you might like to turn to Luke chapter 14 and just have your Bible open as we go along.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

It's a great parable, and it's a great invitation.

And I just want to start by saying that this parable is for us today.

It was spoken, of course, by Jesus all those years ago and written down.

But the parable is for us today.

The invitation, in fact, still stands, and you're invited to come to the great banquet.

What does that mean?

Well, with God's help, I'll try and explain the best I can as we go along.

But the main point to say is that you're invited to come.

And if I can do anything at all this evening, I just want to make that the main point,

invite you to come and to put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.

So if you're here in the church this evening or you're listening online,

and you haven't yet accepted that invitation, then here's an opportunity to do so this evening.

One day, of course, it will be too late, but now is the day of salvation.

Now the invitation still stands.

And if you're here this evening and you're already a Christian,

you've accepted that invitation and you've trusted in the Lord,

well, I hope that also in this passage you'll find a lot of encouragement

and by way of challenge too.

And I think there's some really deep theology in this passage as well.

And so I think there'll be something for everyone here in this passage this evening.

So let's dive right in.

And the first question to ask really is, what are we reading about here?

And the first thing to note was that Jesus was at a dinner and he was speaking about a dinner.

And so I think the words of Jesus must have been especially relevant to those who originally heard Jesus.

He was speaking to people right where they were at.

He was speaking about a dinner and they were sitting at a meal table.

But we also note that all was not well at the table.

And you can read about this if you just glance back to the beginning of chapter 14.

Jesus was in the house of a ruler of the Pharisees.

And all the guests present were Pharisees and lawyers.

And you can see that there was some unrest at the table,

particularly about who would get the most important seats at the dinner.

And you can just imagine the sort of thing that was going on here.

One guy is maybe just a bit annoyed that someone else got the most important seat.

Why should he get the important seat?

That should be me that's sitting there next to Jesus.

And so you can imagine the sort of thing that was going on in that occasion.

People were trying to get the most important seat.

And the whole thing was pretty sad.

And so Jesus deals with the problem directly.

And he reminds them that God's way is so different from the ways of the world.

Now the way of the world is me first.

But Jesus reminded them it's totally different in God's kingdom.

Remember how Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death.

Even such a death as the death of the cross.

And what humility that was.

And as followers of Jesus, this is to be our way as well.

Not me first.

But rather we're to be others first.

And how important is that in church life as well?

And how sad when that humility is lacking.

Jesus is our example.

But Jesus is far more than just our example.

And when we think of his atoning death on the cross,

we remember that what he did was not just an example for us to follow,

although certainly we are to take up our cross and follow him.

But Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins,

to take the punishment that we deserve,

to pay the price that we could never pay.

He was buried and rose again from the dead on the third day.

And he's risen, ascended to the Father's right hand.

And one day he will return in glory and in judgment.

But for now the call goes out to all to come to him

and to accept the invitation by faith.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

And those who accept the invitation will not perish,

but will have eternal life.

And Jesus reminds the people at the meal

about the kind of people who are on God's guest list.

It's not our rich neighbours or our own friends and relatives,

but the poor and the crippled and the lame and the blind.

And those who have no way of returning the favour.

And what a difference that is.

How different is God's kingdom to the way of the world?

The world says meek is weak,

but God says the meek shall inherit the earth.

We're going to look at the parable of the banquet itself now,

but you can see what I'm getting at with these words of introduction.

A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

And this parable about an earthly banquet

speaks of a heavenly banquet.

An entrance to it is by faith in God,

the one who has issued the invitation.

So let's just take a minute to identify the main characters in the parable.

Who do they refer to?

Well, first of all, there's the master of the house.

And the master of the house is God.

The gospel invitation is sent out by the servant.

And he goes out to invite people to come in.

Now, who is the servant?

Well, I think when it comes to this question,

there are quite a range of opinions.

There are those who refer to the servant as the prophets,

or perhaps John the Baptist,

or the evangelists, or the apostles.

And maybe the servant refers to us as believers,

or to Jesus himself.

In the Bible, especially in the book of Isaiah,

Jesus is spoken of as the great servant of the Lord.

And you might like to turn to Isaiah 42.

And we'll just read a few verses from there

where Jesus is spoken of as the servant.

Isaiah in chapter 42.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights.

I have put my spirit upon him,

and he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street.

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged,

till he has established justice in the earth,

and the coastlands wait for his law.

And then if we turn over to the New Testament as well,

in Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

and some really well-known verses there.

Philippians chapter 2,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

and starting at verse 5.

Philippians 2 verse 5.

Philippians 2:5

Have this mind among yourselves,

which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus,

every knee should bow in heaven

and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

So you see how the interpretation fits here.

On the one hand,

we as believers in the Lord Jesus

are called to go out into all the world

and to preach the gospel.

We are ambassadors for Christ.

So I think it's fair to say

that all of the views I just mentioned

about the identity of the servant in this parable

are correct.

Ultimately, the Lord Jesus

is the great servant of the Lord,

the one who is fully God and fully man.

The word became flesh

and dwelt among us,

and who during his earthly ministry

pursued his goal of calling people

out of darkness

and into his glorious light.

But right down through the Bible history,

we can see that the Old Testament prophets,

people like John the Baptist

and the apostles,

all were in a very special way

called to speak God's word

and to invite people to come to him.

But what about us today?

I mean, none of us here are apostles

or prophets,

as Elijah was a prophet

and Peter was an apostle.

Peter and John were among the 12 apostles.

But those of us who are believers

in the Lord Jesus

are sent ones.

We are sent out with the gospel.

That's what the word apostle means

in the original.

We are not apostles with a capital A

as the 12 apostles of the Lord,

but certainly with a small a.

And we have a great commission

and we are called to go

into all the world.

We are servants

and we are called to go out

and to invite.

We may be unworthy servants,

but we can do what we can.

We can serve the Lord

and preach the gospel

and invite people to come in

and as our text says,

to compel people to come in.

And so there's the master of the house,

there's the servant

who goes out with the invitation to all,

to the streets and lanes

and to the highways and hedges.

And finally,

there are two groups of people.

The first group are those

who accept the invitation

and come to the great banquet.

And then there's a second group

are those who reject the invitation.

And we'll see that they make excuses

and they turn down the invitation.

They reject it and they rubbish it.

And they are ultimately excluded

from the banquet.

And ultimately, of course,

in the teaching of the parable,

remembering that there's a heavenly meaning

in the story,

those who reject the invitation

will not be in heaven.

They will not take part

in God's heavenly banquet.

But just as in Jesus' day,

there were those who accepted

the invitation

and those who rejected

the invitation.

Even so,

when the invitation is given

nowadays,

amongst those who hear it,

some will accept it

and others will reject it.

But we're reminded

the invitation is very great

and it's an invitation

to eternal life.

And how wise it is

to take it

and to accept it

right now,

well, there is time.

And to enter into God's banquet

and to his kingdom

and ultimately

to have that hope

and assurance

of a place

at God's banquet

in heaven.

And so with these things in mind,

let's look at verse 15

of our text.

And this is a really key verse

to our understanding

of what follows.

We read that

one of those

who reclined at table

with Jesus

made a comment.

And the comment

he made

was in response

to Jesus' teaching

about the sort of people

who are on God's guest list.

And this man

made a comment

at the dinner

and he said,

blessed is he

who shall eat bread

in the kingdom of God.

I guess we all make

all kinds of comments

at dinner tables

and we talk

about all sorts

of things

at home

or families

and we're out

with friends

for a meal.

Sometimes there's silence

at the table

as is in the case

when Jesus healed

the ill man

over in chapter 14

and verses 4 and 6.

But on this occasion

at the meal,

this particular Pharisee

who also

must have been

an expert

in the law,

he made a serious comment

to be sure

we don't really know

what the man's thoughts were

but we can only guess

if his words

were truly genuine

or whether

there was a hint

of hypocrisy

in what he said.

And so we're left

with many questions.

And when he said,

blessed is he

who shall eat bread

in the kingdom of God,

was he

somehow presuming

that one day

he would make it to heaven

when in fact

he had no right

to expect this?

Was it just a sort of

a pious comment

by a Pharisee

seeking to impress

the other Pharisees

and lawyers

at the meal?

Or was this man

really genuinely

longing to be present

with the Lord

in heaven

and to partake

of the heavenly banquet?

We just don't know

for sure.

But what we do know

is that Jesus

told this parable

in response

to the man's comment.

Jesus said

in verses 16

and 17,

the man once

gave a great banquet

and invited many.

And at the time

for the banquet

he sent to his servant

to say to those

who had been invited,

come

for everything

is now ready.

The banquet

described here

would have been

a formal dinner,

a great feast

and the invitation

went out.

In fact,

I don't know if you

spotted this

but there's a double

invitation here,

a two-part invitation.

Firstly,

in verse 16

we read that

many were invited

and then in verse 17

there's a command,

come for all things

are now ready.

And when you think

of this

it makes perfect sense.

In Jesus' day

there was no such thing,

certainly we're talking

about a formal banquet,

there's no such thing

as fast food.

Animals would have

had to be slaughtered

and roasted

and so this would have

taken quite a bit

of time.

And also it's such

an obvious thing

to say

but people didn't

have watches.

So their sense of time

would have been

quite elastic

and of course

they didn't have

the sort of

communications networks

that we have today.

But can you see

the two parts

of the invitation here?

Firstly,

in verse 16

the many are invited

and secondly

the call went out,

come for all things

are now ready.

It was a two-part invitation.

There's another

really great example

of this in the Old Testament.

If you know your Bible well

you'll remember

in the book of Esther

Queen Esther invited

the king and Haman

to a banquet

and remember

the banquet was announced

and that was the first part

of the invitation

in chapter 5

verse 8

but it wasn't until later

chapter 6

verse 14

when the king's servant

brought Haman

to the banquet.

So it's the exact same thing

is happening there.

There's the initial call

that goes out

and then

the second part

has basically come

where all things

are now ready.

So the master

of the house

gave the invitation

to the servant

and the servant

went out

to bring the people in.

But the astounding thing

is that despite

the kindness

of the master

and his generosity

and gracious invitation

to come to

such a lavish banquet

there are many

who declined

the offer.

And not only so

but they did it

in such

an ungrateful

manner.

We read that

they all alike

with one accord

made excuses

and three excuses

are mentioned

in verses 18 to 20

and we'll look at

those just now.

If you're taking notes

the heading here

is

silly excuses

verses 18 to 20.

the first two excuses

have a sort of

formality

attached to them

request to be excused

whereas the third

excuse

while seemingly

quite plausible

is just downright

blunt

and no hint

of politeness

in it at all.

All three excuses

are lame excuses

and quite ridiculous

to the point

of being absurd.

When you think about it

no wonder

that the master

of the house

was angry

as we read

in verse 21.

I guess

in everyday life

we all have excuses

for various

things

that we don't

want to do.

Maybe like me

you could write a book

on excuses

that you've used

in the past

but as we look

at the excuses

in the parable

the amazing thing

is

although the lifestyle

and culture

of the time

the parable

is written

is vastly different

from our own day.

The excuses given

for not taking seriously

the call

to faith in God

are much the same.

And in our text

here in Luke 14

clearly those

mentioned

considered

other things

more important

than coming

to the banquet.

Now here are

the excuses.

Excuse number one

I've bought a piece

of ground

and I must go

and see it.

And so we wonder

why the man

didn't go

and see the land

first

before

he bought it.

Would you really

buy some land

without first

viewing it?

I think that's

certainly possible

but it's certainly

not a wise

thing to do.

Excuse number two

I've bought

five yoke

of oxen

and I'm going

to test them.

and he was

actually on

his way

to test

the oxen

and again

beggars belief

why the man

would not have

tested the oxen

first

for their usefulness

before he brought

the animals.

How foolish

or maybe

just how ridiculous.

And so you get

the impression

that the man

was speaking

as he was walking.

I don't know

if he would even

have stopped

for a moment

to speak

to the servant

out of courtesy.

He made his

excuse

and he was off.

He was going.

And then excuse

number three

I've married a wife

and therefore

I cannot come.

And this excuse

is really the most

blunt of the three.

It's abrupt

and the man

doesn't even

say please

can you have me

excused.

He just

rejects the invitation

outright.

That said

at first glance

this excuse

might seem

to be plausible

at least

on the basis

of the Old Testament.

If you know

your Bible well

you remember

in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24:5

24

verse 5

a man

who just got

married

was exempt

from military

service for a year

and also

from other

certain responsibilities

in business.

But even so

the excuse

is quite ridiculous

and the banquet

has nothing

to do with

military service

and in any case

the man's wife

would have been

most welcome

to come to the banquet

as well.

And so there are

three silly

excuses here.

But what about

here and now

today?

I preached on

this passage

in Peebles

a few months ago

and in such

a rural

and farming

community

I guess

there may have

been some

people

in the church

who would be

in the business

of buying land

and buying animals

but I expect

for us here

today

in the big city

as none of us

will be

I think

anyway

going out

to buy land

or five yoke

of oxen

tomorrow morning.

But in fact

regardless

of our culture

or location

people have

many many excuses

for not accepting

God's invitation

and the excuses

are essentially

the same

as the ones

we just read about

although the culture

of the day

was very different

from ours

and none of those

excuses

that were made

or can ever

be made

are valid.

There are many

things that are

important in life

our families

our friends

our employment

our homes

our families

are very dear

to us in fact

and other things

are necessary

our work

and a home

to live in

but there's nothing

more important

in all the world

than how we respond

to God's invitation

and you can accept

it or you can

reject it

but by putting

it off

till another time

because you're

too busy

or now's

not a convenient

time

it's just the same

as rejecting it

and rejecting

the invitation

comes with

consequences

as we'll see

in a moment

in the following

verses

but my first point

was to

draw your attention

to the silly

excuses

of the parable

and now

in verses

22 and 23

we're looking

at surprises

and we see

that the master

of the house

is angry

because the

excuse is given

by those who

rejected his

kind invitation

and no wonder

and so he sends

the servant

out again

this time

in great haste

and you can

almost imagine

the servant

being driven out

by his master

into the city

and after all

the banquet

was ready

and there was

no time

to lose

time was short

and there was

a certain

urgency

about the matter

and he says

go out quickly

but here the

surprising thing

is that he

didn't say

go out quickly

to the rich

and to the

important people

to the people

of high standing

and the wealthy

influential

but he says

bring in the poor

and the maimed

and the lame

and the blind

and how interesting

that is

those who

in effect

had nothing

at all

to give in return

were invited

but we need to be

careful here as well

not misunderstand

what's being said

remember there's a

heavenly meaning

in the parable

and so the poverty

and the blindness

spoken of here

doesn't refer

to physical

disability

but rather

to spiritual

condition

in other words

those who are

spiritually blind

those who are

poor in spirit

those who are

crippled spiritually

and unable

to straighten

themselves up

again

and so the servant

goes out

at the master's

command

into the streets

and lanes

of the city

and yet

there was still

room

and so the master

sends them out

again

this time

to the highways

and hedges

with the command

compel them

to come in

the streets

and lanes

probably refer

to cities

and towns

whereas the highways

and hedges

the rural areas

the countryside

areas

and we can see

here clearly

I think that the gospel

is to go out

to all people

in every place

the gospel

is to be preached

everywhere

to all nations

in fact

in the cities

and in the streets

and lanes

in the countryside

everywhere

and people

are to be compelled

to come in

how are we going

to compel people

to come in

we're not going

to use force

and certainly

we're not going

to use the sword

or persecution

but a genuine

concern

and courtesy

and love

were to compel

them to come in

but that's not

the end of the story

point number one

was that there were

silly excuses

point number two

there were surprises

and my final point

number three

there is still room

verse 22 says

master it is done

as you commanded

and still there is room

there is still room

there is a great banquet

and you are invited

to come

and there are still

spaces at the table

and that's the good news

the Lord says come

for all things

are now ready

there is so much

more that could be said

about this parable

but for now

it's time to draw

things to a close

and just very

brief thoughts

by way of conclusion

three brief thoughts

there is an invitation

to be accepted

and there is a warning

here as well

to be heeded

and there is a mission

to be accomplished

first of all

there is an invitation

to be accepted

and that's very clear

I think from this passage

this evening

wouldn't it be great

if someone here

or if you listen

to a recording of this

wouldn't it be great

if someone accepted

God's invitation

to come

maybe you don't feel

very good

or worthy to come

maybe you don't feel

very religious

all I can say

is the invitation

is addressed to you

personally

and maybe the concerns

of life

have taken first place

in your life

and maybe over many years

in fact

your career

and your job

your professional development

your home

and family

and a hundred other things

have got in the way

your business of life

and all the things

that you need to do

or you want to do

you're so busy

that you don't have

time for God

maybe the Lord

is saying to you

this evening

now is the time

to put first things first

and no excuses

there are other things

of course

that are really important

in life

but this

takes a priority

this is the first thing

and this is the most

important thing

maybe you don't feel

worthy enough

to come to the Lord

well

all I can say

is that this parable

is for you

who did the master

of the house

invite

those who are

spiritually poor

and maimed

and blind

those are the ones

who are welcomed

with open arms

to come

to the banquet

there's a

kindness

and a graciousness

in this invitation

that he would invite

people like us

to come

to the great banquet

to come

into his kingdom

and that's the good news

you see

secondly here

there's a warning

to be heeded

a warning

to the religious

and that might seem

like a

quite a strange

thing to say

but remember

when Jesus spoke

the words of this parable

who was he speaking to

he was speaking to

people who were

very very

very religious

there were people

who were

known to be

very religious

and outstandingly

so in fact

they were Pharisees

the people

looked up to them

as religious people

but we have the benefit

of hindsight

today

and we have the whole

Bible

in our hands

and we know

that on the part

of the Jews

there was a rejection

of the gospel

they were the ones

who first were invited

and they rejected

the invitation

and then what happened

next

they were cut off

for a season

and you can read

all about that

in the book of Romans

particularly

from 9 onwards

chapter 11

as well

and so the invitation

has gone out

to the Gentiles

first

the invitation

has gone out

to the prophets

now in Jesus

the second invitation

is given

the religious elite

the Jews

rejected

the invitation

now the gospel

has gone out

to the Gentiles

there's some deep

theology

in these things

and it's good for us

to think about it

and to ponder

God's plan

and his amazing ways

what does this mean

for us here today

here and now

of course it's not

a bad thing per se

to be religious

but the fact is

it's possible to be

very very religious

and yet not to be

on the road to heaven

and that's just a plain fact

and read about that

through the Bible

and through the history

of the church

there's so many examples

of that

the Pharisee

who was sitting

at the table

with Jesus

of all people

could have sung

the words of that

really old hymn

that we very occasionally

rarely sing these days

when the trumpet

of the Lord

shall sound

when the roll

is called up

beyonder

I'll be there

but did he really

make it to heaven

we don't know that

and

you can see

he can be very

very religious

and yet not

on the road to heaven

what can we do

about this

or what can be done

about this

well I believe

the first thing

is this

to take heed

to the warning

here in this parable

and secondly

to pray

and to ask

for God's help

that we may be assured

that we are

really trusting

in Jesus

not in anything else

not in our good works

not in who we are

the good things

that we have done

we are trusting

in Jesus alone

for salvation

and how important

this is

to

take such great care

if we find ourselves

drifting or wavering

in our faith

I was thinking

of an illustration

of this

and a few months ago

I remember

there was that story

in the news

and there was

a P&O ferry

that

had gone adrift

it was

I think

going from

Cairn Ryan

over to Larn

and it lost

all power

in the engines

and here's this ferry

sort of drifting

drifting along

I thought

how good

an illustration

is that

is that

anyway like us

as Christians

at the time

we're sort of

drifting

an action

needs to be

taken

just supposing

the

captain

of that vessel

had said

to the first mate

on the boat

you know

we've lost

all power

in the engines

but not to worry

we'll just

we'll drift along

and a few hours

we'll drift

into Larn

everything

will be okay

well I think

you know

if the first mate

was

in any way

good at his job

he wouldn't be

too happy

with that

he'd be

saying

no no

we need

we need

to

put the

maide signal

out

we need

to get

the

we need

help

and of course

there was a

good outcome

to that

story

and you remember

that

after about

an hour

adrift

in the Irish

sea

ferry

got in

tow

tugboats

were sent

out

from

Belfast

and so

there was

a good

ending

and the

boat

got safely

into

the dock

but if

we're

in our

Christian

faith

if we're

drifting

if we're

wavering

if we're

not the

Christians

we used

to be

we're

going

back

instead

of going

forward

take heed

to the

warning

is what

this parable

says

don't go

on drifting

at the

end

you know

just like

the boat

you could

be dashed

on the

rocks

to use

the

illustration

but take

action

take the

warning

and pray

to God

for help

there's an

invitation

to be

accepted

there's a

warning

to be

heeded

and thirdly

and finally

there's a

mission

to be

accomplished

the man

at the

table

with

Jesus

said

blessed

is

everyone

who

will

eat

bread

in the

kingdom

of

God

let's

just

suppose

for a

minute

that

this

man

spoke

these

words

and he

spoke

them

really

genuinely

and let's

just suppose

for a

moment

and this

actually may

have been

the case

that the

man was

genuine

and like

so many

other of

the Pharisees

and his

expression

was a

real expression

of faith

in the

Lord

and he

had every

right to

say this

because he

was trusting

in the

Lord

and he

was actually

on the road

to heaven

and he

would eat

bread in

the kingdom

of God

and this

evening I'm

speaking

of every

reason to

believe to

genuine

Christians

and those

of you

here this

evening who

I know

and as a

matter of

fact some

of the

most

sincere and

outstanding

Christians I've

ever known

have been

members of

this church

some

are now

with the

Lord

but

I just

want to

encourage you

this evening

if you're

on the

road if

you're trusting

in the

Lord and

going on

with him

that there's

a lot of

encouragement

here in

this parable

for you

as a

reminder that

there's a

mission to

be accomplished

those who

have never

heard the

invitation might

hear it

and the

great commission

of course

still stands

and people

need to hear

the life

changing message

of the gospel

and we're

facing a

task

unfinished

the great

commission

still stands

go therefore

and make

disciples of

all nations

baptizing them

in the name

of the

father and

of the

son and

of the

holy

spirit

teaching

them to

observe

all that

I've

commanded

you and

behold I

am with

you always

to the

end of

the age

what does

that mean

for us

well I

quoted an

old hymn a

few moments

ago and

here's another

verse from

that hymn

when the

trumpet of

the lord

shall sound

the words

are archaic

I know but

the sentiment

of this hymn

is absolutely

spot on

let me

labor for

the master

from the

dawn till

setting sun

let me talk

of all his

wondrous love

and care

then when

all of

life is

over and

my work

on earth

is done

and the

role is

called up

yonder

I'll be

there

do you

get it

it's old

language but

it's absolutely

right

let us

labor

for the

master

let's go

on trusting

in the

lord and

doing what

we can

in his

service

there may

be only

so much

that we

can do

in our

own life

situations

or our

sphere of

influence

but we

can pray

and we

can do

what we

can and

surely the

lord will

bless it

I'd like to

finish just

with a

very short

prayer

maybe you've

heard a

sermon like

this and

it's such a

clear gospel

sermon

such a

clear invitation

I don't

know if

anyone here

this evening

may want to

respond to

the teaching

of this

parable

the bible

that we

have read

respond to

the lord

and trust

in him

I'm going

to just

pray this

short prayer

and if you

can use some

of the words

in this

prayer that's

great

it's not

a sort

of a

magic

formula

if you

pray this

prayer then

you're a

Christian

certainly not

saying that

in any way

at all

but if you

can take

the sentiment

of the

words expressed

here

then our

heart's desire

in prayer is

that you

would come

to know

the lord

and put

your faith

and trust

in him

so let's

pray together

I'll just

pray this

very very

short

prayer

and if

you can

use it

then please

do take

it

and use

it

lord

jesus

christ

i admit

that i'm

weaker

and more

sinful

than i

ever before

believed

but through

you i'm

more loved

and accepted

than i ever

dare to

hope

i thank you

for paying

my debt

for bearing

my punishment

for offering

me forgiveness

for inviting

me to your

feast

and i turn

from my

sin

and receive

you as

my savior

amen