Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the Gospel according to John chapter 6. John chapter 6. Before we begin this morning,
let's ask our Lord's blessings. Oh, how our heart is made to
rejoice as we realize that we're able by faith to enter in by
the blood of our precious Savior into the very presence of Almighty
God. That we're able, Lord, to with
liberty approach you ask you. You said to ask and to not to
seek. Lord, we're asking this morning.
I pray, would you bless your word. Lord, I pray that you'd
bless it to the comfort and to the salvation of your people. Lord, have mercy, we pray for
Christ's sake. Amen. Continuing on in the gospel We're
in chapter 6, and I'd like to pick
up exactly where we left off last time. This particular passage
of Scripture reveals the difference, the evidence, the manifestation
the difference between true and eternal salvation and just a
formal, temporary perfection. This group of people had been
following the Lord. They had been referred to as
disciples, but disciples merely in the state that they, for They had seen some miracles. They had eaten of the five loaves
and the two fish. And our Lord, and this is where
we ended last time, our Lord said to this group of people,
verse 65, and He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man
can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my father." Now, this particular passage
of Scripture is one that I've quoted from, read from. It's
one of those passages that, in my mind, is one of those pillars
passages when it comes to the very heart of a sinner, hearing
the voice of Almighty God, and just that arresting question. When our Lord said, ìNo man can
come unto me, except it were granted except it were bestowed
upon him of my Father. What that does is it takes all
of the natural ability. Now, when I say natural ability,
this is what I mean. As a man is born in Adam, no man has the ability. No man has the capability. No
man has the desire. unless Almighty God bestows upon
one life, gives him a new heart, unless Almighty God gives a man
a desire, a true desire. And I'll tell you this, I've
recently read where people will hear what is being preached. concerning the gospel of God's
free grace, and they relate believers as being merely robots doing
things that they don't know why they're doing them. They're just
doing them. They're coming, but they don't know why they're coming. They're just out of context,
out of touch. Oh no. Almighty God gives His
people a new heart. He gives them life. He gives
them a new desire. He gives them a love, that which
they did not love before. They come willingly. There's
no believer here coming in heart to Christ by faith because he
doesn't want to. He's coming because he wants
to. No man can come except it were given unto him by my Father.
And here's where we pick up, verse 62nd, from that time. Many of his disciples went back
and walked no more with him. From that time, many went to
the things behind, those things that they formerly loved, those
things that they formerly believed. Truly, all this glittering is
not gold. I love the Lord. I love Christ. Obviously there's a counterfeit
belief. The devils believe. That's what scripture says. Demons
believe. Demons believe in God's sovereignty. Demons believe in God's election. They believe. But they have no
love for her. They have no desire for her.
They have no glory in Christ only for his honor. Remember
this. The angels that fell, they fell
from heaven. They know who he is. Those demons
that spoke out of that demoniac of the Gadarenes, they told him,
they said, we know who you are. Have you come to torment us before
our time? There is a counterfeit belief,
and though we know that from the foundation of the world,
that Almighty God's will and purpose stands sure, though we
know that the Lord gives unto His sheep eternal life, and no
man that He gives life to is going to perish. Though we know
that no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand,
though men may know that in their head, though we know that obviously
based on this scripture, from that time many of His disciples
that saw Him and heard Him and ate the food He provided, saw
the miracles that He did, they walk no more with Him I realize
that there is a counterfeit profession that many fall away from. Paul the Apostle said in 2 Timothy
4.10, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,
and is departed in Bethesda, Naica. Like the way Farring hears, the
words are plucked away from many that hear. It's like the stony
ground hearers, many have no root in themselves, and the thorny
ground hearers. The cares of this world eventually
steal away the hearts of many that profess to believe. And
I'll tell you this, God's people grieve. They grieve over that. They grieve. There's not a believer
that I know I know, I know how people will say, you know, believers,
you're just cold and insensitive. You don't, you know, you don't
care and stuff. That's not true. Every time someone, we've had
a few come in here recently, slip in the back door, sit down,
and I'm telling you, my heart, I'm thinking to myself, oh Lord,
Could it be that, Lord, that this might be one of yours? You
invite somebody to come. You say, look, why don't you
come to the service? The service is starting at 9.30. Why don't you come?
I think to myself, Lord, I pray, would you give my heart to come?
Would you come? I won't. I won't. I do. I want
God to save your kids. I do. I want the Lord to save
my family. I do, I've said that before. I'm telling you when he's right
here, when he said, here's the truth, he set forth the truth,
no man can come except what were given unto him of my Father.
Now that's the truth and you know that. And from that time
many of them went back and walked no more with him. And I, I thought
to myself, I don't know who the Lord's people
are, but all how I pray, I pray. Lord, magnify yourself. Lord,
draw your arm to yourself. Lord, your kingdom come. He has
a kingdom. Lord, your kingdom come. Call your light of darkness.
God's people truly are sensitive. to those that oppose themselves,
those that run well for a season, those that make an outward profession,
but in time forsake the hearing of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They want no more with Him. God's people, they're sensitive. And the scripture says, then
said Jesus under the toil. Would ye also go away? Not that
our Lord wondered. The scripture says Jesus knew,
verse 64, from the beginning who they were that believed not
and who should betray him. But he asked this question, would
you go away also? He asked this question according
to verse 6 of this chapter to prove for them to be proven,
to be shown that they were His. Will you go away? I mean, will you walk away also? Will you go back? Will the things
of this world take your heart? Does this offend you? Just ask
them. Does this offend you? Then Simon
Peter in verse 68 answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. This is the only answer that
can be given by a regenerated saint of God. This is the only
answer that there is. Who is there but you? Are we going to go back to the
law? The law that is nothing but a
curse to us because we can't keep it? The law that's holy
and just and good. Nothing wrong with the law. The
problem is me. Am I going to go back to that?
Am I going to go back to my own free will? Yes, walking an aisle or whatever.
Am I going to go back to that? What am I going to go back to?
Am I going to go back to that which the scriptures describe
as being nothing more than filthy rags? I who have no wisdom in
myself, I who can do nothing? Lord, You have the words of eternal
life. You have declared man's total
depravity. Lord, you just said no man can
come except if we're given unto him of my Father. Lord, you just told us. This is chapter 6. We're in verse
66. It was in chapter 6, verse 37. It was just a little bit before
it. Lord, you just said. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. Lord, you said that. We can't come. We have no ability
to come, except it were given unto us of the Father. And Lord,
you said all that the Father has given you is going to come
to you. Lord, you said those that come
to you, you're not going to cast out. Lord, you're the bread of
heaven. Lord, to whom shall we go? Where
are we going to go? I would ask everybody this morning. The Lord asked these believers.
These were believers. Not all of them. But he asked
his disciples. He asked twelve of them. He asked
his 12, that's what he said. He asked his 12, will you go
away? Let me ask you this, where would
you go? Where would you go this morning?
We're not gonna, we're not gonna go, we're not gonna go to Katie,
I'll tell you that. We're gonna, you know, we're
gonna go somewhere else, we won't pick, where are you gonna go?
Where will you go? Where would you go? and find where Almighty God is
honored, where man is evased. John said, I must decrease, he
must increase. Where are you going to go? Lord,
if you don't keep me, if you don't give me a heart, what am
I going to do? Lord, you alone, we believe,
verse 69, We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the Living God. What Christ is that? What do
you mean? What do you mean? Deuteronomy 18.15. I'll read this to you. Deuteronomy
18.15. Moses speaking here says, The
Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall your
heart count." This is a promise, this is a promise given by Almighty
God through Moses. He says, Moses was the servant. He's the
Lord of Glory. Almighty God is going to send
His Son. That was prophesied. All the
prophets He began on Moses 2 and the raven drove to Emmaus, beginning
with Moses. Genesis. All the prophets, He
expounded unto them in all the scriptures those things concerning
Himself. And there was the promises, and
the promises, and the promises, and the promises. Will you go
away also? Lord, where are we going to go?
We believe that you're that prophet. Lord, we believe that you are
the promised Messiah. We believe, Lord, that the Holy
Scriptures have sent forth and declared you. We believe, Lord, that you are
God Almighty. You're Jehovah in human flesh. Lord, you're the one that spoke
all of this into existence. Lord, you're the one that sustains
all things by the word of your power. Lord, we believe that
you're the one that beheld Jehovah, Father, Son, Spirit, Greatness,
We believe that you're the surety that was ever before him. Lord,
I believe you're the one that God the Father trusted first. I believe that you're the surety
in whom we were all chosen. Lord, I believe it was you whose
blood the Father saw in his eternal purpose from before the foundation
of the world. I believe you're the one that's
ever stood for us. I believe you're the one that's
ever loved us. I believe that you're the husband. I believe
you're the one that betrothed us unto you in everlasting love. Lord, I believe. I believe that you're that prophet.
We believe that you are the one that God the Father promised.
In Matthew 16, our Lord asked his disciples, whom do men say
that I am? And the scripture says, And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ. You are the Son
of the Living God. And our Lord gave the only source
of that belief. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood
has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Do you believe this morning that
the Lord Jesus Christ, this Christ right here, that prophet, is
he your Lord? In saving, quickening, grace,
mercy? Do you believe that this Christ
right here, the Son of the Living God, are you trusting Him alone? Does everything else pale into
insignificance? Lord, You're my only hope. You're that prophet. The Lord
Jesus Christ said in John 17 3, is life eternal, that they might
know thee, know thee in truth, know thee in peace, comfort,
and surety, that they might know thee, the only true God in Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent. I tell you, if a sinner is by
the grace of God able as his surety, as his representative
and substitute. God's Christ, God's salvation,
God's lamb for a chosen people, chosen in him from before the
foundation of the world. If he is your redeemer, the great
high priest who ever liveth to make intercession for his people
right now, Right now, in our presence, two or three gathered
together to give my name, I am in the midst of you. Oh, what a guest. Lord, that you would be here. Lord, that you would bless this
little remnant, this little group. Lord, that you would allow us to have the privilege of Your
presence, and that You, by Your Spirit, bless this Word to our
hearts. Allow us to feast this morning,
and to eat of the bread of life. And Lord, that You would cause
us to long after You, and hunger after You. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ,
their lilies among the thorns, They're left. There was a big
group of people right there. A bunch of them. And our Lord preached the truth
of them. Scripture says many of them left.
But those that the Lord had given a heart. When he asked them,
he said, you're going to go, Lord, where are we going to go? Jesus answered them, ìIf not
I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil, he spake of
Judas Iscariot as some sign, for he it was that should betray
him, being one of the twelve.î Now you listen, in closing, these
words just rest me. Jesus answered them, Have not
I chosen you twelve? All twelve of them were there.
Judas was with them. One of you is a devil. He spake
of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. For he it was that should
betray him, being one of the twelve. And he knew it. Sure he knew it. The omniscient
God Sure he knew it. He chose twelve men to the office
of an apostle. He chose twelve men. He said,
have not I chosen you twelve? Eleven of them he chose to return
alive. And the eleven never suspected
Judas. When our Lord said in Matthew 26, 21, I say unto you
that one of you shall betray me." And Scripture says, And
they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to
say unto him, Lord, is it I? Lord, am I the one? Lord, I've felt the pains of
my own nature within. I know what it feels like to
feel that pain. the presence of that sin. I know
what it feels like, Lord, to try to pray and find myself wandering. I know what it feels like to
read your scripture and then what I just read. I know what
it feels like to think the thoughts that I thought, Lord, am I the
one? I've seen just enough of myself
to think Except He keep me. I'm Him. I'm the One. Lord, keep me. Lord, help me. Lord, though many
leave. Though many left that day. Though
many don't care. And Lord, it grieves. It grieves. It grieves us. when some don't continue. But we do know this, except He
keeps us. We're going to go away, too.
I do know this, that He's eternally purposeful to keep us. We're
going to be kept by the power of God through faith. But a believer
is not presumptuous. The same Paul, said, I keep my
body under subjection, lest that after I've preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway. The same Paul said this, I know
whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. Of labor
struggles, and by the grace of God, Almighty God keeping He seeks after, searches after,
strives after to make his calling and election sure. Where are
you going to go? Lord, you've got the words of life. We're
sure that you're that Christ. Lord, keep me. That's what every
believer says. Lord, keep me or I'm going to
perish. Thanks be unto Him that we look
to, never to our old confession. You're never going to find a
believer that's looking to his old profession, saying, well,
I know I'm okay because I was in the back. Oh, no, no, no.
He looks to the Lord Jesus Christ right now. Lord, help me right
now. Faith, coming by hearing. Hearing by the word of God. May
the Lord bless these words to our heart, for Christ's sake.