Turn to Christ - He Came for the Worst Sinners

What do you think children? The one who says a prayer will be saved? That's what most of Christendom believes. You say a prayer, you will be saved. It doesn't matter how you live after that.

The Bible is very clear. The one who endures to the end will be saved. Many of the verses that we have picked out for us to memorize are verses that contradict what is taught in many churches, much of Christendom, and I think it's good.

And children, you can consider yourself blessed that you get to be a part of a church like this, not in a proud way, but in a thankful way. And in a way that you recognize, all of us children, I'm speaking to the children primarily, but also that means even more so for us adults, you recognize that to whom more is given, more will be required. If you have the privilege of growing up in a church where the truth is taught, as I believe it is here, then God will expect more of you, because you heard that the one who endures to the end would be saved.

But there's no room for discouragement, God is on our side to help. I've sometimes wondered why, you know, people sometimes ask why do you all preach such a high standard, why is it always so strict, and I've thought about it like this. Imagine that you went to a restaurant to eat, and you saw the chef who was about to cook your food use the restroom, and then leave the restroom without washing his hands.

Would you eat your meal after that? Pretty sure you wouldn't. Now, imagine that it's more serious than that. You're about to have surgery, and the doctor who's about to operate on you, you see him use the restroom, and he doesn't wash his hands.

That's life or death, physically, and even if a doctor didn't wash his hands after using the restroom and operated on you, and you died as a result of the germs that you got, that would only kill your body. This is eternal life or death, and that's why it's important that we keep the standard in the church as high as it possibly could be. Why do we deal with sin seriously? Why do we speak about sin seriously? Why do we emphasize little things that people sometimes say, why are you making such a big deal out of that? You know how big a germ is? You can't even see it with the naked eye, and yet that's the thing that you're worried about with the chef or the doctor.

You can't even see it. It's so small, you can't even see it, but that's the thing that will kill you, and it's even more so spiritually. We take seriously many sins that I honestly think many Christians don't even hear about, let alone think about, and we will continue to do that no matter who gets offended, because we want spiritual health.

We can't afford to play around with our souls, because that's eternity. At the same time, and having said that, there is, the church must be a place where you always have hope. There's always room for encouragement.

Everything we do in the church is done in a way that encourages us, that says if you really want this pure, clean life that's free of spiritual germs, then the church is a home for you. Fellowship, building unity with other brothers, other sisters, making sure there's no offense or bitterness between you and anybody else, or any bitterness in your heart, no unforgiveness in your heart, nothing between you and the Savior. If you really want that, then God is on your side to help you.

No matter how much you may have failed, no matter how much it might have been, even up to this very moment in time, there is hope if you're alive. And I'd like to speak on that today, but before that I'd like to play a little message, and then we'll continue from there, so please listen. I'd like to continue based on what we heard.

That's my testimony as well, dear brothers, dear sisters. I know myself, I'm often reminded of the pit that the Lord picked me up from, and like Peter himself said, that I haven't quickly forgotten the pit from which He has picked me up, and that He's forgiven me. That's how we don't get short-sighted.

Let's turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and especially for you children as you listen to this, it'll save you a lot of misery as you grow through your youth and young adult years, and the devil tries to destroy your life with discouragement over failure. I hope you'll remember what you heard this morning. We could have ended right there, in fact, but I think the Lord's laid something on my heart to continue on from what we heard, but remember that.

You can go back and listen to that message anytime. It's on the CFC website, the Daily Devotion for May 30th, which was just a few days ago. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I would describe Christianity this way, very simply.

It is having an ambition to please God. Christianity, remember this, especially dear children, again, Christianity is very simply having an ambition to only please God. Unfortunately, in Christendom, it's presented as three different stages.

There's a stage when I live for myself, and I don't call myself a Christian. I'm an unbeliever. Then there's a stage, again, this is how it is in most of Christendom, there's a stage where I call myself a believer because I've said a prayer or I felt bad about something, but I'm still living for myself.

And then there's the third stage when I get to heaven, where I won't live for myself anymore. I live to please God. You see those three stages? Living for myself, not a Christian, having said a prayer, calling myself a believer, but still living for myself, and then when I get to heaven, I won't live for myself anymore.

I live to please God. That's a lie of the devil. And most Christians, I would say, fall for that lie, thinking that you can be a Christian and live for yourself, to please yourself.

True Christianity, this is the only kind of Christianity there is, is you're either living to please yourself or living to please God. And if you're living to please God, that begins here on this earth and continues in heaven. It doesn't change when I get to heaven.

My ambition is not going to change when I get to heaven. And that's the shock that a lot of Christians or people who think they are Christians are going to get. Because their ambition, while they were still here on this earth, attending churches, reading Bible, even attending RLCF perhaps, reading the Bible, praying, being a part of the meetings and the fellowship, but their ambition was still to please themselves in one way or the other.

And they'll get a rude awakening when Jesus comes and realize heaven is not for people who live to please themselves. Heaven is for people who learned while on earth to please God. So I hope, at least from now on, for those of you listening to this, you realize what it means to be a Christian.

To be a Christian is that my ambition is to only please God. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, we read in verse 9, therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home, which is in heaven, or absent, which is here on this earth, physically at home with the Lord, or absent, which is here on this earth, to be pleasing to Him. And Paul will tell you that on the road to Damascus, what changed was not that, you know, he said he's a follower of Jesus.

His ambition changed. His ambition was 100% to please himself, even in his righteous obedience of the law. His self-righteousness was to please himself, for him to feel good about the fact that he was such a good Jew, a Pharisee of Pharisees of the tribe of Benjamin.

That was self-pleasing righteousness. I mean, Paul wasn't a immoral adulterer, fornicator, stealer. It says according to the law he was blameless.

But his ambition went from pleasing himself in all his self-righteousness to only pleasing the Lord. And he says that's my ambition now. That's how you know that you're a true Christian.

And I hope that you'll search your heart, dear brothers, dear sisters, and dear children, to see if that is really your ambition. So our ambition is to please God. And how do I please God then? The lie of the devil is also, another lie of the devil, is that God is pleased if you never fail.

And I know that for many years, sitting in a church growing up where the standard of righteousness preached was high, I think higher than what we hear in this church even. We're trying to get there to the standard that is of Christ. In that church, it was very easy for me to think that God wasn't happy with me because I failed.

And that's why it's so important that we heard what we heard just now. God is not pleased or displeased with me based on failure or success. That's how we are pleased or displeased with ourselves.

That's how the world teaches us to rate ourselves. Employees are told to do these annual or biannual reviews where you rate yourself and then your manager rates you and everybody is rated. You see, are you a 3 out of a 5 or a 1 out of 5 or a 5 out of 5? And you rate it based on how much work did you do.

Did you finish these many projects? Did you not finish those projects? Okay, you probably landed about a 3.6. Try to do better next time. And we bring that into the Christian life. And I look back on the last week, or the last month, or the last six months, or the last year and I measure how many times I failed and how many times I didn't fall in temptation.

I think, well God, you must be happy with me because I did pretty good this week. I can sing a little louder this week. You must be happy with me because I didn't fall this week.

And then, oh, but I did fall actually. So you must not be happy with me. So I'm going to hang with my head down.

That's a lie of the devil. And as we heard, God never condones sin. And you know that we as a church never condone sin at all.

But we must know what pleases God. Hebrews 11 verse 6 is very clear. Faith is what pleases God.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. And so the flip side of that, not the opposite, but the same truth, the converse of that, is if you have faith, then you're really pleasing to God. Which means, very simply, you could have one person who didn't fall outwardly in ways that he used to fall, but he did it by gritting his teeth or gritting her teeth and making it through the week, not falling.

That's not faith. That's self-righteousness, self-dependence. And another person who tried and fought but failed, but after they failed, they came back to God and said, Lord, I need your help.

I must have gone away from depending on you and that's why I failed. So I'm coming back to you in faith. And today, who is pleasing to God? The one who made it the entire week without falling by fighting and gritting his teeth? Or the one who may have fallen, but is dependent on the Lord today and say, Lord, whether I fall or don't, I want to live depending on you.

Faith is what is pleasing to God. And Paul says this earlier. You know, he says, therefore, in verse 9, which means you go back and see what it's there for.

And you could go all the way back, but let's just go back to verse 6. Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Therefore, we have as our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord.

So you see the secret there. God is pleased with you today, dear friend, dear brother, dear sister, dear child, dear sinner. God is pleased with you today if you are walking by faith today.

Don't look back on what happened this morning or yesterday or last week or month before or last year. Are you walking by faith today? That is pleasing to God. So I would look at, I would say it like this.

Faith is not known by where you are, but by where you're looking. Listen carefully again. Faith is not known by where you're sitting, but by where you're looking.

And I'll make a statement of faith here that I want you to think about. Christ came for the worst sinners, so I will turn to Him again today. This is faith.

Christ came for the worst sinners, so I will turn to Him again today. Let's turn to Luke chapter 5. If you feel like you are the worst sinner sitting here, maybe you think, Lord, I know what all is in my thoughts. I know what all my eyes have looked at this week.

I know what all my ears have listened to this week. I know how I've used my tongue this week. I know all the ambitions and the other ways in which I am so self-centered and you haven't been my ambition.

Lord, and I look back on all of those things and I think I don't deserve to be sitting in this church. I am the worst sinner here. Then remember, Jesus Christ came to save the worst sinners, so I will turn to Him again today.

Jesus said in Luke 5 verse 30. We'll read Luke 5 verse 30. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples saying, why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered and said to them, it is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And if you think about that, even today, who is it that Jesus has called? Is there anyone here that's righteous? Jesus is not speaking to you today. You're wasting your time sitting here.

If you feel like you're righteous, Jesus says, I didn't come to call you. I didn't come to speak to you today at RLCF. I came to speak to sinners.

Let's turn to 1st Timothy chapter 1. Faith is to believe that Christ came for the worst sinners, and so I will turn to Him again today. This was the faith that Paul had. 1st Timothy chapter 1. Let's begin reading in verse 18.

1st Timothy 1 verse 18. This command I entrust to you, Timothy, and we'll look at what that command is, but I want you to see what he says to Timothy. First of all, this command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which if you don't keep that, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

And he mentions a few who suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. And what was it? Is it that they became unbelievers? Like you said, oh yeah, I'm not believing in Christ anymore. No, I think it was deeper than that.

In fact, Hymenaeus and Alexander may very well have still taken the name of Jesus, but they lost their faith. They lost their dependence on God. Somehow they thought, I'm better now.

I'm not the worst of the sinners. Paul, before that, gives Timothy the description of how he keeps himself in the faith, how he avoids shipwreck, how he makes sure that he never destroys his life, suffering shipwreck. So let's go back.

1st Timothy 1 verse 13, in the middle of the 13. Oh, let's just begin in verse 12. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord.

This is Paul about to describe his faith. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful, putting me into service. Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor, yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly and unbelief.

And the grace of our Lord Jesus was more than abundant with the faith. There it is, the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. And then he says, this is the faith that I have.

It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners among whom I am the worst. I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason, I found mercy so that in me as the worst, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

Then he goes on to say, this command, Timothy, I entrust you. Keep this faith, Timothy. When you've fallen, Timothy, if you fall or even if you're, if the Lord preserves you from falling, remember Jesus Christ came to save the worst sinners.

And if you preserve that mentality and that attitude, then it will go well with you. The faith of Paul was that Christ came to save the worst. And because Paul felt and honestly felt like he was the worst.

I mean, today people say, I feel like I'm the worst of sinners. They're probably just quoting Paul. First Timothy 1 verse 15.

But Paul wasn't quoting anybody. He actually thought I am the worst because I was a violent aggressor and a blasphemer and a persecutor. Imagine what temptation Paul must have felt.

We heard about Peter's temptation as well. Imagine the temptation Paul must have constantly been reminded of. I've thought of it like this, that Paul would be speaking somewhere in the church, let's say in Rome.

He wrote to the Romans or preaching in Corinth and sitting there is a woman with three children, a widow. And Paul knows that that reason the widows, that woman is a widow is because he sent soldiers to kill her husband because he was following Christ years ago. And he's sitting there and now he's, God's called him to be an apostle and to preach and to teach God's word.

And every time he got up, maybe the devil would immediately allow his eye to look at that person. And even if that wasn't the case, constantly the devil would have reminded Paul, who do you think you are to speak so firmly, to deal with sin in the church, to say I have handed over such a person to Satan when you were a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Paul would say, I have faith that Jesus Christ came to save the worst sinners and I am the worst devil.

When the devil tells you that you're worse than your wife, husband, tell him you're absolutely right, I am. And that's thank God for that because Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Or if people tell you you're not good enough, people make fun of you or people despise you because they think you're not good enough, that's okay.

Jesus Christ came to save the worst sinners and because it was, because Paul realized that, because Paul had this faith that Christ came for the worst of sinners and so he would turn to him again today, God was able to use him. Think about what God did through Paul. Paul, the worst of sinners, I mean if he actually felt like that, he probably was and because he felt like that, the Lord was able to use him.

I wonder if you have thought about when is it in the scriptures that you see God the most delighted. We're talking about 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 9, our ambition is to delight God. I want God to be delighted.

That's what it means to be pleasing to God. I want God to just be like, wow, that was great. Have you thought about it? What is it that causes God to be absolutely delighted with you? Was it the fact that you overcame sin in that temptation? I know that's what I used to think and I again, I don't want to go away from the fact that it is important that we should overcome all sin.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit on the throne with me and to eat of the tree of life. The last book of the Bible reminds us that the kingdom of heaven is for the overcomers. We must be overcomers, so you must overcome.

But I want you to know what delights God and if you think about it, beginning with the book of Genesis and the creation God created and all him saying it is good, it is good, it is good, it is good, it is good, it is good, it is very good on the seventh day, the sixth day and all of that and you look at all the stories, the good, the bad, the ugly, Jesus coming, his death, his resurrection and his ascension, the Pentecost, the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and all of that. When is it that it's recorded in scripture that God showed his greatest delight? It's in Luke chapter 15, right after a young boy took everything that his father had saved up for him and destroyed it. Let's turn to Luke chapter 15.

You know the story, it's called the story of the prodigal son. A prodigal means wasteful. This man, this young boy, I think he was 18 years old or so, took what the father had saved up for him.

The father had two sons and he took what the father had saved up for him, that half and destroyed it, went and wasted it all. But before that I want you to see and that's the story when this young boy finally came back, that's when you see God demonstrating his greatest delight. But before that I want you to talk about, I want you to think about the older son for a little bit.

This older son was sitting in the father's house, he never left the father's house. But there's something about him, he was sitting in the father's house but his eyes were always outward looking and that's why I said faith is not about where you're sitting but where you're looking. And here was this older boy, older son sitting in the father's house, sitting at the table.

There's his father and there's the older son sitting right next to the father but his eye was out there with his friends and all the other things that he wanted to do. Sitting in the father's house, his eye was looking elsewhere and we see that in Luke 15 verse 28 because when the son came back, the younger son came back, the older son became angry and he didn't want to go in and his father came out and began pleading with him. In the same story you see the rejoicing God and the pleading God.

The rejoicing God is rejoicing over the young man who wasted all of his wealth and failed horribly. And the pleading God is seen interacting with an older son who has been in the house the whole time. He came out and pleaded with him and the older son answered and said to his father, look, doesn't even say daddy or father, he says look you.

For so many years I have been serving you, I've obeyed you, I've done everything, I've overcome. I never failed once. You asked me to be out there at work at eight o'clock and I was there and you told me to work till six and I did and then I got up and you asked me to do some more work in the home and I did.

For all these years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours. I've never fallen even once. This is the man with whom God is pleading, displeased.

Says I've obeyed, I've never neglected even once and I don't think he was lying to the father. The father knew you're absolutely right. You've been with me, you've obeyed every command of mine, you've never neglected a single command of mine and then the son says and yet you have never given me a young goat so that I might go celebrate with my friends.

So all the while, while the son was obeying the father, his eye was with his friends. Maybe he was thinking about his younger brother and all the fun he was having, sitting in the father's house with his eye elsewhere, looking away. Now let's look at the younger son.

Luke 15 verse 18. Well let's back up a little bit. You know the story.

He went out there in the far country, wasted all of his money and then there was a famine and then there was no money left to be had. No more money and he was looking for a job and nobody would give him a job because he was good for nothing, useless, complete failure. Then he gets hired at a pig farm and the pig farm owner is so stingy and cares so little for this young man that he won't even let him eat the pig food.

He says, you're not even worth my wasting the pig food that I, the food that I buy for the pigs. That's exactly what he says here. Luke 15 verse 15.

After the famine, verse 14, when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in the country and he began to be impoverished. This is a complete failure of a man. Verse 15.

So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine and he would have gladly, the young man would have gladly filled his stomach with the food, with the pods that the swine were eating but no one would give him anything to him and the asked the owner, hey the pigs are eating this and it looks, I mean, have you seen pig food? It's not appetizing at all. I don't care how hungry I am. I'm probably not going to eat that and yet this young man was so starving, so impoverished and famished and hungry that he looked at the filthy food sitting there among all the pig dung and the muck and the food.

He says, I wish I could just take one of those little pods and eat for myself and the owner said, no you better not touch that pig food. I'm watching you because if you touch that, you're in trouble. You're not even worthy of the pig food.

Is this a failed man? Do you feel worse than the pigs spiritually? And then he says, when he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's, his eye turned towards his father and that's what rejoices the father. My dear friend, this is the essence. It doesn't matter where you're sitting today.

Are you sitting defeated by some sin? Are you sitting in a pit, in a muck, in mud, defeated? Is the way you spoke to your wife or your husband heavy on you? Are you sick and tired of living the same defeated life? Are you defeated with your eyes? Are you defeated with your tongue? Are you defeated with your ears? Are you defeated with the love of money? Are you defeated with giving all on the altar like we sang this morning, not being able to do that? Are you defeated with unforgiveness and bitterness towards others and taking offense at little things? Are you defeated by that and you long to be different? Are you sitting in the muck? It doesn't matter where you're sitting. That's the message today. Where are you looking? Sitting there in the muck with all these pigs around him, he brought joy to his father's heart.

You can bring joy to your father's heart, sitting in that muck, in that amongst all those pigs, if you will turn and look to him. He said, came to his senses, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread but I am dying here with hunger. I will get up and go to my father.

I will get up and go to my father. I hope you'll do that today. I think somebody needs to hear that this morning.

I will get up and go to my father. You've been sitting there too long. Sitting there, get up and go.

Don't let the hang-ups, and I've tried it before, hold you back. I will get up and go to my father. I will turn to him.

And then you see the father celebrate. Now it was an earthly father, so he couldn't see him in the far country, but he could really. He knew where the far country was, and so the father was looking out there.

And the heavenly father you serve, the heavenly father who loves you, can see you wherever you are. You're not too far from his gaze. Dear brother, dear sister, your child, you're not too far from his gaze.

Yes, he has seen the good and the evil. The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the good and evil. He sees it.

He's seen all the things you've done, and thought, and said, and heard. He's seen all of it, but he sees you in that pit, and he is looking to see where you will look this morning. If you will turn to him.

And so he got up, verse 20, and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran. You've seen God sitting on his throne.

You've seen God rising up in anger. You've seen God kneeling in Gethsemane. You've seen God hanging on Calvary.

You've seen God rising up from the grave. You've seen God ascending up to heaven. But have you seen him run? It's when you turn and look to him, you see God run.

He went and ran to him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and he cuts him off. The father said to his slaves, quickly bring out the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet, and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate the rejoicing God. For this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again.

He was lost, and has been found, and they began to celebrate. He was far away from his father at that time, but he brought joy to his father's heart. So the first statement I want you to remember is this.

Christ came for the worst sinners, and so I will turn to him again today. I think I'll end there. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for reminding us today afresh, Lord, of your heart of love for us. Thank you, Lord, that while I was in that pit, when I turned to you, and saw your gaze looking at me, I looked up and saw eyes of compassion. Not eyes that condemned me.

Not eyes that said, oh see, I told you so. I knew you were going to betray me. But eyes that loved me.

Eyes that felt compassion for me. Thank you for running, and embracing me, even though I had that filth all over me, and I smelled like pigs. Thank you for coming, and kissing me, and holding me close to you, even though I was so full of filth.

And Lord Jesus, I pray that I'll never forget that. And I pray, Lord, for any who are in that place today, and need a reminder, needed this reminder, that you're a God who has come for the worst of sinners. I pray, Lord, that they'll have the courage to get up, and go to you, and look to you.

Thank you that you're a loving, compassionate God. Lord, I pray that there will never be any discouragement in any heart in this church, or anybody listening to this message. No more discouragement.

Thank you, Lord, that you're in the business of using failure to make us more like you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord.

I believe you'll do that. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.

Before we go, actually, I think I have it here. I'm going to read a little poem. Many of you know John Newton.

He wrote a very famous hymn called Amazing Grace. And his testimony is amazing. How he was a slave trader, treated slaves badly, sold them into slavery, and then God got a hold of him.

And he said, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. T'was blind, but now I see.

T'was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first relieved, and grace will lead me home. But he wrote another hymn, which is not as well known.

I want to read it to you. Afflictions, though they seem severe, in mercy often are sent. Afflictions means trial, tribulation.

Even though they seem severe, even though they seem like they're squeezing you and pressing you, sickness, difficulty, problems with your children, or problems in your workplace, or pressures, afflictions, even though they seem severe, they're often sent in mercy. They stopped the prodigal's career and forced him to repent. Although he no relentings felt till he had spent his store, his stubborn heart began to melt when famine pinched him sore.

You see the goodness of that famine, and the goodness of that poverty that that young boy, because he would have stayed there far away if it hadn't been for the famine. God allowed the famine. God allowed that pig farmer to employ him in a way that he couldn't even eat the pig food, because his goal was to get the boy home to his father.

Listen, dear brother, dear sister, God's plan for your life is not to remain barely making it, getting a few pods of pig food here and there. His goal is for you to come back to the Father completely, to have your all laid on the altar, and to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. What have I gained by sin, he said, but hunger, shame, and fear.

My father's house abounds with bread while I am starving here. I'll die no more for bread, he cried, nor starve in foreign lands. My father's house has large supplies, and bounteous are his hands.

I'll go and tell him all I've done and fall before his face, unworthy to be called his son. I'll seek a servant's place, but his father saw him coming back. He saw, and ran, and smiled, and threw his arms around the neck of his rebellious child.

Father, I've sinned, but all forgive. I've heard enough, father said. Rejoice, my house.

My son's alive, for whom I mourned as dead. Now let the fattened calf be slain and spread the news around. My son was dead, but lives again, was lost, but now is found.

Tis thus the Lord his love reveals, to call poor sinners home. More than a father's love he feels, and welcomes all that come. Tis thus the Lord his love reveals, to call poor sinners home.

More than a father's love he feels, and welcomes all that come. Amen.