You Are Invited to Eternities’ Greatest Event…

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Written by Jimmie Burroughs Email this article to a friend

You have been invited to enjoy a relationship with God for all eternity!

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-22, The New International Version)

Suppose you were invited to come to the White House for a great banquet. The president of the United States has invited you and will send Air Force one to pick you up. What would you say? Some no doubt would say, “I don’t like the president and I don’t want anything to do with him or his banquet.”  That is exactly what some said to the king in the parable that the Lord used to compare the invitation that is given for the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the king sent out the invitations, the response was, “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.” The original language indicates that they did more than just pay no attention; they expressed their dislike for the king and his son and declared adamantly that they would have nothing to do with them. They did not believe in them and neither did they care anything about them.

The King sent out more messengers to invite them again and they killed the messengers. The King was angry and sent and burned their town and killed the murderers.

There are an estimated 6 million people in the state that I live in alone, Tennessee, who have rejected the invitation to attend eternities’ greatest event. God has sent his messengers with the invitation to come to the banquet that is to be held in a place so beautiful words cannot describe, the kingdom halls of Heaven. It is a gala event that shall stretch out through all eternity. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

No generation on earth has ever been extended an invitation that is as prolific and clear as the one given to the present generation. They’ve been invited by radio, television, by the written word and through personal messengers and yet many pay no attention and go to their jobs and various places wishing to be left alone.

Some say there is no God and had rather believe a lie even one as foolish as evolution, which is so insane that ordinarily an idiot would laugh it to scorn but since it offers the only alternative to accepting God’s invitation, many agree and embrace it.

The Scripture says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14)

Those who finally reject the invitation will never have a second chance. They must remain forever separated from the king and his glory. The Bible speaks of that place of separation as being a place “…where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Many years have come and gone since I first accepted that invitation and there has never been a moment that I have regretted it, quite to the contrary, I have rejoiced in it and have rested in the peace and security of knowing that one day I will join that great banquet where friends and family have already gone on before.

Today I am your personal messenger, who is come to invite you to the great banquet of the king; will you say yes or will say as many, maybe another day, which is like the eight day of the week; it never comes? The Scripture teaches that, “Toay is the day of salvation.”

YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION TO HEAVEN

Heaven is by invitation only: It is like receiving an invitation to a great banquet of the King, you can accept or refuse. If you have a desire to go to heaven, that is God’s personal invitation to you. Here are the steps by which we accept God’s invitation to his great banquet, His beautiful heaven. We must be careful not to omit any for each is essential.

Our condition: First, we must understand that we are separated from God. This is an inherited condition from birth. The Bible is clear on this: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The bible also says, “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23). Death means separation, thus our sins separated us from birth from any relationship with God. Therefore, the very first thing that we must acknowledge is that our sins separates us from God and that we need a savior and only then can we come to the point of reconciliation.

God’s remedy: Second, we must understand clearly who Jesus is and what he did for us. First of all Jesus is the son of God equal to the Father and is far more than a rabbi (teacher), a prophet or just a good person. He was virgin born; he lived a life completely free from sin; he was crucified and was buried and rose again on the third day. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Second, he paid in full the penalty for our sins; He is our redeemer who reconciles us to the Father. Jesus died for us on the cross: “Christ also hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3-18). Because of our sin, there is a great gulf fixed between us and God and we can’t cross it on our own. We can never be good enough; we can never buy our way through charitable giving; neither is there any other way. Jesus is the only way (John 14-6). It is only by his cross that we are able to span the gulf that separates us from God.

Jesus is the only remedy for our sin, had there been an easier or better way, God would not have sacrificed his son. The penalty for sin is great therefore the price was great; it required the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to meet God’s requirement for reconciliation.

Our responsibility: The only response on our part that will be acceptable to God is to repent and trust in Jesus as savior.

I said earlier that each step in the process of reconciliation is vital and must not be omitted. Personal repentance is absolutely necessary. The word from whence our word “repentance” comes is a military term which means about face and that is a clear definition of what repentance is: it is a willingness on our part to turn away from our former sinful life and turn to Christ to follow his new way. It is to be sorry for our past sins and to desire God’s forgiveness and to make a complete and permanent change in the way we live.

Experiences differ when we come to this commitment in life. Some will feel a sense of cleansing for a lifetime of sins while others may feel a peace that passeth all understanding, the like of which they never experienced before. Regardless of what we may feel or not feel, it is certain that when we repent that God does forgive us and receive us as his own. While feelings may be important, we need to remember that salvation is based on God’s promise and nothing more.

A personal relationship with the Lord happens when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus and believe he died for our sins and was buried and rose from the grave. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. This is how we become the children of God as we read in John’s gospel: “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

* Does what you have read make sense to you?

* Is there reason why you should not receive the gift of eternal life?

* Are you willing to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus right now?

The Bible says that,” Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Read the prayer below and see if this is what you would like to say to God. Remember that it is not a prayer that saves but it is our faith and trust in him as savior that reconciles us to God. “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). The prayer confirms what we already believe in our heart.

“Jesus, I repent of my sins and trust in you with all of my heart to come into my life and to be my savior and to forgive me of my sins. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place. I believe that you are the son of God and I want to commit my life to follow you forever”.

Did you sincerely pray this prayer believing with all your heart? If so, WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. You have just made the greatest decision of your life. According to God’s promises and the desire of your heart, you can be sure that God has saved you and that you will spend eternity with him in heaven. Tell others about the decision you have made.

For information on the next steps in your new found Christian experience, please go to www.otobefree.com and follow the articles on the navigational bar from left to right; they will give you some important information on how to get started in your new found life in Christ.

I would like to hear from you; it would be a great blessing to me. I would also be glad to answer questions you may have concerning your new found faith.

Feel free to contact me:  CLICK HERE Jimmie Burroughs: 625.417.3125 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “With patience and ease, in an unselfish and purposeful way, over a time period undetermined, and for a good that includes others, I intend for $1,000,000 to come to me and to others who join me in holding to this objective.” Jimmie Burroughs