Come To Dinner.

You might say,

What Are You Talking About?

In Matthew 22:2-10 Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven like this:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

All are invited to this dinner, but some make excuses that they don’t have the time. They have lives to live. They are too busy to come to Jesus; too busy to come to dinner.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:11-14).

Later on in this parable, Jesus talks about a wedding garment. What is this wedding garment, you say? It is white linen which symbolizes righteousness. What is righteousness?

Jesus says:

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

“Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.” (Matthew 23:3).

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25).

How can anyone be righteous?

You must receive Christ in your life. Jesus is our righteousness. We can’t be good enough to live up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness. In our own strength, we can never measure up.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Your works cannot save you; you cannot earn your way to heaven. Only faith in Jesus Christ can make you righteousness. Come receive Christ as your Lord and savior. Come to dinner! Receive the wedding garment.

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15).

How do you get saved?

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

Will you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? He died on the cross to pay for your sin, and now offers to wash away all of your sin and cover you in His righteousness. Many are called but few choose it. Will you choose Him? Will you come to dinner?

Turn from your way to God’s way today, and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Here is a sample prayer you might want to use to express your heart’s desire to Him.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead. I repent and turn from my old ways and accept Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior. I pray that you help me live through Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen

Walking with Jesus isn’t about being religious. Its about a relationship. Just like any other relationship, we must communicate and spend time together in order to grow closer. As followers of Jesus, we must spend time in prayer and reading the Bible. Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have become a new creation in Christ. You have been washed of your sins and saved by grace. But does that mean we can continue in our old ways since we are saved by grace? Lets look to the word.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4).