Luke 14:24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.
We all have been invited to a banquet with Christ in heaven; if we want to attend it, then we need to accept the invitation before it’s too late!
If the party starts and we have not replied to the invitation, it’s too late!
God has given us all the time we need to accept Christ’s invitation, but one day it will be too late if we have not accepted...
Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
The temple gates were huge and magnificent and probably very hard to open each time a person wanted to come in or out.
They probably had a small secondary gate or door which could be opened up to allow people in and out – but for someone like a king, the whole gate would be opened up fully!
God is saying we are as important as our king, King Jesus, who is stepping forward to invite us in, personally.
God say we should expect the whole gate to open because we are His children.
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
When the people of the Old Testament offered the blood of various animals in sacrifice, it was to ceremonially cleanse them of their sins.
In others words, this was to allow others to see they were willing to be washed by blood because God wanted that.
When Jesus paid for our sins with His own blood, it was a final and permanent sacrifice to cleanse our bodies and souls once and for all!
Romans 11:11 Again I ask: did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
Have you ever thought you have done too much wrong for God to even look at you?
God knows exactly where you are in life right now and He is still reaching down to give you a hand up!
God knows when you trip and fall and wants to pick you up each time – but we need to accept that help instead of constantly rejecting it through fear!