As you know, that hymn is used at the end of a so-called evangelistic meeting as an altar call. People come down front, which is totally unscriptural. There's no such thing as an altar call. Some of you were in Paul's religion. My dad was, and that's just what you did. Southern Baptist. He gave an altar call. invited people to come down and accept Jesus as their Savior, you know, give their heart. That's not in the Scripture. The altar call. Hebrews 13 says we have an altar, but it's not here. Christ is not down here. He's seated right in the majesty on high. We come to Christ from our hearts, you know. They don't come down front and make a big display. Baptism is the public confession of faith to Christ. Brother Scott Richardson used to say, come to Christ, but don't move a muscle. Oh, that's a show of religion, isn't it? See how many souls they can win to Christ. The notch on the preacher's belt. That's what it is. It's not the Bible. It's not the Bible. You won't find that anywhere. It's not there.

We operate according to Scripture, don't we? Christ is our altar. He's our altar. We come to Him. We come right now. Don't wait till the service is over. It's not an invitation either. The Gospel is a command. And it's a call, a divine call. John 6. John chapter 6. I prepared this. after hearing Brother Eric quote this verse. He just quoted it in his message, and those words, I'll in no wise cast them out. That just spoke to me, and I wrote it down and later prepared to preach it. And I didn't realize I'd just preached this last year, about eight months ago. You remember it well, don't you? I didn't remember. But that's fine. This is wonderful at verse 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to them, and him that cometh to them I will in no wise cast out. Isn't that good news? That's good news.

Often quoted, but you know, religion most of the time misquotes it. They quote the last part of it. They leave off all that the Father giveth them. Have you heard them quote, you know what the scripture says, him that cometh out of no wise cast out. But what's the first part? You got to start where it all begins with God, don't you? Don't start with us coming. You start with God choosing people and giving them to Christ. You can't preach the gospel without God's sovereign election. You can't do it. Like creation, salvation began with God. In His heart, His mind, His will, all that the Father giveth me shall come unto them. The great and glorious work of salvation, redemption, began when God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, purposed.

Now you all have heard all this before. Shall I continue? Absolutely. It may be somebody here that has not really heard this. It began when God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, before the world began. Known unto God. One of the men quoted this, Acts 15, 18. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. God's preachers quote these same verses over and over again. It gives God all the glory. It tells us plainly the Scriptures, the salvations of the Lord, completely. It's not a cooperative effort between God and man, because man is dead. God gives all the glory. Christ said, John 10, Ron just read that, I am come that they might have life, like Lazarus. Did the Lord invite Lazarus to live? The great work of salvation began in the mind, the heart of God when He purposed to save some of Adam's fallen race. None deserved it. Nobody deserves a chance to be saved. Nobody deserves to be saved. And salvation is not by chance. It's on purpose. God's purpose. It's not our choice, it's His choice. God purposed to save many of Adam's fallen race, and in a covenant...

I don't get tired of saying these things. I wish there was a way I could say it differently, but this is just it. God made a covenant. Jacob sure was thankful for that covenant. God came to him and told him, this is what I'm going to do. for you. Didn't ask him. He wasn't in any way dependent on Jacob. God made a covenant and purpose to save, ordered in all things and sure. This is all your salvation. God's covenant. Concerned you with Christ. You weren't around when God made this. And he purposed to save a multitude of people, which an old American number, gave them to Jesus Christ, who agreed to be the head of that covenant, the surety of that covenant, everlasting. This is really the first covenant. Surety of the everlasting covenant, and gave these people to Christ to come and save them by his life, by his death on Calvary Street.

Like the high priest of old would go into the Holy of Holies with names on his shoulders, particular names of particular people. Not everybody in the world, but God's chosen people on his shoulders and on his breastplate. Right? And Christ had all the people of God on his shoulders and in his heart. And he said, I have engraved them on the palm of my hand. Whenever I baptize someone, I just baptize chant, and I don't want to take the chance that I might forget somebody's name. I always do this. I write their name on my palm. I baptize thee. Our Lord doesn't forget His people. He said they're engraved on the palms of my hands. His people. laid down his life with sheep, not goats, sheep, his people.

But he came here with the name, like the high priest of old went into the Holy of Holies with the names of God's people on his shoulder and his breastplate and offered the blood before the Lord. Without shedding blood, there's no remission of sin. It's the blood that make atonement for the soul. Right? You've got to have a lamb. And that lamb's blood was shed for God's people. And the high priest went in, the holy of holies, where nobody could go but one man. And he represents Jesus Christ, the great high priest. Are you with me? I always say that. Why? Because I want you with me. And he went in and he poured that blood on the mercy seat, which contained the broken law. By the way, the bread was in there. Christ is all those things. He's the blood, he's the lamb, he's the mercy seed, he's the bread, he's the tabernacle, he's the way into the holy of holy. And he poured that blood for the remission of sin and came out. If he came out alive, God accepted the sacrifice on behalf of the people. And that's Christ. That's Christ. That's what he did. Christ came and went to Calvary's tree. He poured out His blood, His soul unto death for His people. His elect, His chosen, given to Christ. Their names were written in the Lamb's book of life before the world began. And Christ is called the Lamb slain before the world began.

Look with me at John 17. John 17. All that the Father giveth me. All that the Father giveth me. That's election, isn't it? That's God's choice. that God chose whom he would save and gave them to Christ to save them. Did he save them? You know, he said it's finished before it was even finished. Didn't he, John? Right here. John 17, look at it. Verse 2. As thou hast given, he's praying to the Father, a high priestly prayer, before he went into the Holy of Holies. And thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as what? Let him, accept him, receive him? No, no, no, no, no, no. To as many as thou hast given him. See that? And this is life eternal. This is what Brother Eric preached, didn't he? that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on earth. I have finished Thee work, which Thou gavest me to do." Finished before it was finished. Then on the cross, he said, it's finished.

Look at verse 6. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were. Thou gavest them Me, they have kept Thy Word. How's that? Christ gave them the Word. They didn't know Him, they didn't know the Word, they didn't know God. Christ chose them and revealed Himself to them.

Look at verse 9. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me. They are Thine and all Mine are Thine, Thine are Mine, I am glorified in them.

Verse 11. Now I'm no more in the world. These are in the world. I come to thee, Holy Father. Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me.

Verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me. You need more? There's more.

Look at verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one.

Verse 24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. And on and on it goes.

So, this begins, Christ says, all that the Father giveth me. Given in a covenant. Given, if you're given something, that means you own it, don't you? In ownership. He's Lord. He owns them. He's given power over all things. Lordship over His people. He said, thine are mine and mine are thine.

given in marriage. Christ is the great bridegroom who came for his ugly bride, all of them, like Hosea and Gomer. They were betrothed. I was going to go to Genesis 24, where you know what that is, doesn't it? Abraham's servant that went to find a bride for Isaac. And the father told the servant, go look for Go find a bride." He said, the angel will go before you and you will find a bride. She'll be waiting right where God put her. At the well. And that's where all His brides are. At the well, waiting for Him. Because they're given. And they shall come. They come.

So, our text says, all that the Father giveth Christ shall come to Christ. They'll come to Christ. All given to Christ were dead in trespass and sin. But He quickened them. You can't come unless He gives you life. No man can come unto Me, He said. You can't come unless you're given life.

Look at verse 44 in our John 6. No man can come to Me. Except the Father which hath sent me, draw him, draw him from death unto life, from darkness to light. He can't come. Like I said, Lazarus couldn't come until Christ called him. Somebody said if he hadn't called Lazarus' name, everybody in the grave would have come out. It's particular. Christ said, I am come that they might have life. He said, I give unto them eternal life. And they're what? I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. This is the record that God hath given unto us eternal life. And this life is in His Son. All given to Christ. In John 5, the Lord said to some, you will not come unto me. that you might have love. Do you remember that? But they were standing around him. And he said, standing around him, he said, you will not come on today. What do you mean? You know what he means, don't you? Some of you were in religion. You didn't come to Christ. You came to church. You came Sunday. You came to Sunday school. You came for this and for that and the other. And one day you came to Christ, didn't you?

But all given shall come, and him that cometh, Christ said, I will no wise cast out. Now, why do I say all this? Why do I start with all this? Because that's where it starts. Because it's true. Because Christ said it. And we must say what he said, exactly what he said. Because false prophets aren't saying it.

It was Martin Luther, see if I have that. Yeah, right here. I keep this in the back of my sermon notebook. Martin Luther said this, and you know what that man stood for. You know who he stood against. The world. I'm talking the whole world was against him. And he stood. He said, here I stand for the truth. And God used that man We have the gospel because of Martin Luther. Because the Lord raised up one man, like Elijah and others. He said, if I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of truth of God, except that point the world and the devil are attacking, I'm not confessing Christ. So whatever the world's not saying, we've got to say it loud and clear now. Loud and clear.

Why do we say these things? Because they're true. Because Christ said them. Because false prophets aren't saying them. Because it gives God all the glory. And that's the only reason we exist. That's the only reason I'm called to preach. It's not to save souls first. It's to give God the glory. It gives God all the glory. Salvation is to the praise of the glory of His grace. His grace. What grace? Electing grace. That's where it all started. Choosing grace. Redeeming grace. Calling grace. Life-giving grace. Grace, grace, grace. By grace He's saved. By grace He's saved. We preach grace. Why? Because salvation is by grace.

Okay, what is it to come to Christ? Have I come to Christ? Ask yourself, have you come to Christ? Do I? Do you? Peter said, to whom coming, didn't he? It's not a one-time thing. It's a lifelong thing. It's a continual thing. It's a daily thing. Okay? If you have come to Christ, you were given And if you have come to Christ, you will come to Christ. You shall come to Christ. You will continue to come to Christ. OK? Once you're called, you will come. And once you come, you'll keep coming. You hear me? Isn't that good news? So we need to know if we've come to Christ. That'll tell us if we're God's elect. That'll tell us if we're going to be saved or not. It'll tell us it's not up to us. Now, this is good news. Let's find out.

Now, first of all, what it is not. It's not to come out of curiosity. It's not to come because this is interesting. It's not to come because you're amazed by the miracles. That's what people do. It's not to come because of physical wants. and provisions, and that's what the people, that's what all the people did. They didn't come to cry. They came to get their bellies filled. They came to get their physical needs met. They came because they were amazed by this man. That's not coming to cry. Okay? Now, all who come, let me say this. Generally speaking, when you first come, you come for the wrong reason. We do. I did. You probably did. And when the Lord was here, they all heard, they all saw, and many thousands followed Him. They came to see Him for the wrong reason.

Why is that? Well, number one, it makes everybody accountable. Everybody's heard. It'd be hard-pressed to find an American citizen that hadn't been in a church service somewhere and read the Scripture and heard something of God's Word. Paul said, have they not all heard? Apparently, the sound's gone to the end of the world. So everybody's accountable and guilty of unbelief. They hear it, and they go their way. They come for whatever reason.

But people come for the wrong reason, but it's the Lord bringing them to make some people hear. They've got to hear the gospel. They've got to hear the Word, don't they? And for whatever reason they come, the Lord brought them, and nobody comes by accident. And those that the Lord chose, they're going to hear His voice.

I told you my story. I was interested in a girl. And I came back. I left and didn't want anything to do with this religion, but I got interested in a girl and came back because she was a churchgoer. And I came with her and I was interested in her. I wasn't interested in Christ. I came for the wrong reason, didn't I? Who brought me? Why did I come? The Lord used her to bring me. And the Lord spoke to me, because you've got to hear the gospel to be saved. You're not going to be saved sitting out on a hillside. No, no, no. You've got to hear the gospel.

Let me give you some examples. Moses came for all the wrong reasons. When Moses said, there's a bush burning. I wonder what that's all about. It's not consumed. I think I'll go up there and look at that. Curiosity, wasn't it? He went up there and somebody spoke to him. Take your shoes off. He saw Christ in that building. He heard his voice.

Moses came out of curiosity. And Nicodemus. Nicodemus came at night. Why? He didn't want anybody to see him. He was curious. He was interested. The miracle, he said, Master, he said, Rabbi, nobody can do what you do except God be with you. What did our Lord say to him? What did our Lord say to him? This is John 3. This is how John 3 starts out. The man came at night. He said, you must be born again. He was lost. He was a religious leader. He didn't know God. He thought he knew God. Thought he was saved. He was lost. He didn't know God. He didn't know Christ. And Christ said, you must be born again. Salvation is of the Lord. We came out of curiosity.

Well, in the end, what happened to Nicodemus? He came in broad daylight and begged Pilate for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. He owned him publicly after seeing Christ crucified. He was right there listening to what Christ said on that cross. He smote his heart. He believed. And he begged, preached the whole message on that, begging for the body of Christ.

Nicodemus came for the wrong reason, but he heard Christ's voice and he did. Not by accident. Nathanael. Remember Nathanael? They said, we found the Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. He said, anything good come out of Nazareth? I don't believe anything. Well, come and see. Boy, didn't Christ put him on his knees. He said, I know you. I saw you under the fig tree. Rabbi, you're the Son of God. So we come with the wrong reasons, but those that the Father gives to Christ, they're going to come to Christ and they're going to hear His voice and they're going to believe on Him and never, never going to be cast out. They're never going to leave again. and never will leave.

Moses walked with the Lord for the rest of his life, didn't he? Nathaniel, Nicodemus. To come to Christ is this. Here's what it is to come to Christ. Matthew 8. Go over to Matthew 8 real quickly. I'm not going to be very long. Matthew 8. Look at this. Right after the Sermon on the Mount, you have it. Matthew 8, verse 1. When he came down from the mountain, a great multitude followed him. See, they're coming to Him, but they're not coming to Him aright. Behold, there came a leper and worshipped him. That's how you come to Christ, Father. That's how you first come to Christ. If you ever really hear who He is, before you even believe you're a believer, Before you think He's had mercy on you, you worship Him. Like Nathaniel, you're the Son of God. You worshiped Him.

John 15. Look at this. You know the woman with her vexed daughter that came to Him for her daughter's sake. Matthew 15. Behold a woman, verse 22. came out of the same coast and cried unto him, Have mercy on me. O Lord, Son of David, my daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. She came asking for mercy. He answered her, Not a word. His disciples came and sought him, saying, Send her away. She cries after him. He answered and said, I am not sent unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Mine elect. Then she came and worshipped him. She didn't know if she was one of His elect or not. She worshiped Him.

I think it was, I don't know if it was Bunyan or Calvin, one of those men, they asked him, you believe that only the elect will be saved, don't you? He said, yes I do. They said, what if you could look in the Lamb's Book of Life and not see your name? Your name was not there. Would you still worship your Lord? He said, yes I would. Because He's worthy. Whether He saves me or not, He's worthy. Have you come to Christ like that? Lord, I don't deserve to be saved. I don't see how I could be saved. But You're Lord. And I bow before You. I remember that's the way I first came. I don't know if I'm saved or not, but I sure do believe. It's to worship Him. It's to worship Him. That's what it is. We come for mercy. That woman just said that. We come for mercy. We come as a guilty sinner in need of mercy. That's how you come to Christ.

Christ came into the world to save who? Sinners. What kind of sinner? Hell deserves a sinner. There's no other kind. Rebels against God. Christ came to save sinners, and we come to Christ as a sinner. We come guilty. Guilty, like David in Psalm 51. That's the reason all of God's people love Psalm 51. Don't you know what it says? Do you know that many, if not most, of the martyrs went to the stake and died quoting Psalm 51?

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercy. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. David's not asking for anything material. He's not asking for anything but mercy. I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is ever before me. Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. And you will be justified when you speak And clear when you judge. If you cast me out, you will be just. I don't deserve to be saved. That's what it is to come to Christ. And you keep coming like that. Why? Because you're still a sinner. Are you better than you used to be?

Now, the Holy Spirit restrains God's people from sin and constrains them to do good work and bear fruit and so forth. But you still feel your wretchedness within, don't you? Your heart still convicts you of sin, the Holy Spirit. Christ said, when the Holy Spirit comes, He said, I'm going to give the Holy Spirit to all my people, and He's going to convince of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Isn't it? He's going to convince you that you're the biggest sinner on earth. And you don't deserve to be saved. And you'd never think otherwise. Ever.

Righteousness. And God's holy and righteous. You must be righteous. And you are not. And you can't produce one. But when you learn that Christ is made unto you, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and judgment. There's a judgment to face. Satan's the accuser of the brethren. And our Lord said, in judgment, the prince of this world is cast out. He accuses the brethren. And everything he accuses us of, we're guilty of. But Christ took our sins on the cross, bore our guilt and our shame. And that's how we come. A judgment, there's no judgment, no condemnation for them that are in Christ. That's how we come. We still come that way. Is that how you came? Is that how you come?

Okay. Sounding good to you. A lot of you nodding your head. Sound like you were given. We come to Him poor and needy. Poor and needy. Blessed are the poor. Poor in spirit, meaning I'm a nobody, I'm a nothing, I have nothing, I can't do anything, I can't believe, I can't repent, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't. I'm poor and needy. Everything I need, you're going to have to give it to me. Everything I need, Lord, you're going to have to do it for me. Hungry and thirsty. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Unclean. The leper came down, the Lord said, and he worshipped him. And the Lord said, what wilt thou that I should do? He said, I want to be clean. He couldn't cleanse himself of it. And our loins are filled with a loathsome disease, aren't we? We can't cleanse ourselves. Who can? Who does? Christ said, you're clean. To every leper, it says, I can't find any sound. In my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I can't find one single clean place from my mind, to my walk, to my heart, anything. Christ said clean. Men do like that. I do too. That's how you come to Christ. That's how you come to get it. You still come that way.

To whom cometh. He's still the high priest. He pronounces those clean that call themselves unclean. Is that you? Try scrubbing one cent away. Try doing it. Try to get rid of one cent. Can't do it. It's to come helpless. It's to come as a little child. A little child. Lord, if I'm saved, you're going to have to save me. He come. David was a grown man. David was a powerful man. David was a wise man. David was a strong man. David defeated many, many enemies. Throughout his life, David was a courageous man, but David said, I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh on me. He said, I saw my salvation. He said, God made a covenant concerning me, ordered in all things, and sure, that's my hope. If that's David's hope, that sure is my hope. So to come to Christ, you deny yourself. Anything good about yourself, your self-righteousness, your will, your worth, your value, your works, everything, it's to come to Christ you've got to leave. You've got to leave your old religion, like Nicodemus. You've got to leave your family. You've got to leave the world. You've got to leave somebody to come to Christ. Because He's outside the camp. And to bear His reproach, you've got to leave the mainstream. Except you forsake all you have. Christ said, you can't be my disciple. You can't serve God and men.

So we come to Christ. And all that the Father giveth me... Let me dwell on that just a minute. And I had three or four examples, but my time's up.

He said, I will in no wise cast out. Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cometh, cometh, cometh. Keep coming. Well, you leave. And some do for a while. If we don't leave physically, sometimes our minds and hearts are so far away, service after service, we might as well not be there. I preach to people, I look and they're not there. After the service, no comment. Thank you. We all get like that.

All right. What if we come back? Well, if the Lord convicts us and makes us poor and needy again and guilty, vile, helpless, we and we come back to it, will he take us back? No way. What if we leave again? in no whites, him that cometh and cometh. I wanted no whites cast out for any reason. And I had so many examples to give, but I got to quit.

Isn't that good news? All right, stand with me.