Everywhere our Lord went, he
attracted a large crowd. People were intrigued by him. They were amazed by him. They
were curious about him, interested in him, but mostly, he said,
mostly they wanted a miracle or they wanted something from
him. They wanted their bellies filled
or their whatever, to see some kind of miracle. Does that sound
familiar? Things haven't changed. He said
this in verse 26. He said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles. That is,
some did. He said that about some earlier.
He said, you seek me, you want to see a sign or a wonder or
a miracle. But he said to these people,
right after the 5,000 were fed, he said, you seek me because
you did eat of the loaves and were filled. In other words,
you just want me to fill your belly. You want me to give you
things. And right now, it's the same
the world over. Sadly, buildings are full of
persons who are attracted, for one reason or another, to religion,
to Jesus. Mostly, though, they want to
see some kind of sign or miracle or wonder and have their needs
met. Verse 36, he said to some, I
say unto you, have sinned me and believed not. Everyone had
heard of and seen Jesus, yet he says to them, to the vast
majority of them, you see me, you seek me, you see me, you
believe me. Now what does he mean? What does
he mean, you believe me? They believed in Jesus. They believed in Jesus. They
believed he was the feeder of 5,000. He was the healer of the
blind, the lame. They believed he was the teacher,
the provider, the miracle worker. They believed all these things
about him. Right? And he said, you believe
not. Look at verse 37. He said in
verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Well, hadn't they come? Here
were thousands of people. They'd come to see Jesus. Hadn't
they? They'd come to see him. They
believed he was... Didn't they believe him? What's
he mean? They were seeking him. They believed in him. They came
to see him. They came to him. He says, you
believe not, but all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me. This is so, people, there's not
a more relevant message than this right now. Because as I
said, the world is full of buildings, full of people who are coming
for one reason or another to see something, to get something. Our Lord said this, now let me
read it again, verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Now, he said this over and over
again. All that the Father giveth me.
He said this over and over again. Turn over to, well, back in verse
38. Let's see, go to John 17. Go
over there. John 17, he says it several times
in John chapter 17. John 17, our Lord in his prayer
to the Father, says this several times about
them which the Father had given him. Verse 2, he says, As thou
hast given him power, over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. Verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were. Verse 9, I pray
for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. They are thine. Verse 11,
the last line. keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me." Verse 12, he says, "...I was with them
in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that thou gavest
me I have kept." None of them is lost. Verse 24, "...Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me." And so go back to chapter 6.
So he says here, all that the Father giveth me. And in verse 39 here, in our
text, this is the will, the Father's will which is sent me, that of
all which he hath given me. Now, what could be clearer? What could be clearer? Nothing
could be plainer that God has chosen certain individuals. God has, he's chosen, elected
a people. This is what Ephesians 1 says,
that he elected or chose according as he has, and the pastor preached
it last Sunday, according as he has chosen us in Christ, when? Before the foundation of the
world. Romans 9 verse 11 says that children being not yet born,
neither having done any good nor evil, that the purpose of
God according to election must stand. Must stand. It was said
unto her. The elder shall serve the younger,
as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
What shall we say to these things? Nothing could be plainer. God
has chosen or elected a people, and Christ says, all that the
Father giveth me. He calls them those whom God
has given him, those whom God has chosen he gave to Christ. Now, this all happened before
the world began. before anybody was born. I just
quoted that. God chose, elected a particular people, and he gave
them to Christ. Christ was the covenant head,
the surety of the everlasting covenant, the Savior of his people,
the Son of God, who was to come, be made flesh, and dwell among
us, to fulfill God's law perfectly for those chosen people. than
to be made sin for them, he who knew no sin, that they might
impute or make them righteous. He was made sin and paid for
every one of their sins, thereby justifying them perfectly by
his life and by his death. And God gave all these people
he chose to Christ to do that work, and he came and he did
that. All that the Father giveth me, he said. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me." Look at verse 45, we read then. It is written in the Prophets,
and this is found in Isaiah 54, verse 13. Our Lord quotes, they
shall be all taught of God. All that the Father giveth me
shall be taught of God, every one of them. No person whom God
has chosen, no person whom Christ died for, whom the Holy Spirit
calls, is ignorant of who God is. They
shall all be taught of God. That is, they know who God is. Not that he's trying to be God.
That's ridiculous. They know who God is. They're
all taught of the Father. That's what the Lord said. They're
all taught, like children. And that's what it says in Isaiah
54, verse 13. All thy children. That's what
it says exactly. Our Lord can paraphrase because
he wrote it. But it says all thy children,
all of God's children, like a father teaching all their children the
same lessons. I'm God. He said that in Isaiah
He said, I've chosen you that you might know me, that I'm God.
There is none else. I'm God. There's none beside
me, declaring the things that were not before they were. There's nobody ignorant of who
God is. God is chosen. He teaches who
He is, holy, sovereign, just, yes, merciful, gracious, loving,
but only in Christ. He teaches them what they are.
God teaches all his people what they really are by nature. None of them are ignorant of
the fact that they're undeserving, hell-deserving, worthless worms. Isn't that what he said, Brother
John? He's the God of Jacob. What's
he say to Jacob? What's he say to all the sons
of Jacob? Fear not thou what? Worm, Jacob. He said, I'm the God of Jacob.
I'm the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob. This is the only reason that
you're not consumed. You don't deserve salvation.
God teaches that to all of you. And God, especially then, after
those lessons are taught, God is holy and sovereign and just. and we're unworthy and deserve
God's wrath and judgment, then he teaches them there's only
one way. There's only one way I can have
anything to do with a human being. I who am holy, righteous, who
loveth righteous. There's only one way I could
love anybody or anything, and that's for them to be in Christ.
To be considered holy in Christ. But Jesus Christ is the one I
accept. My Son is my well-beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. And I'm not pleased with anybody
or anything but Him. But if you're in Him by faith. And God chose and had to do this.
He had to choose these people and put them in Christ. And He's
considered them in Christ before the world began. He's never really
considered them as rebels. But He's always considered them in
Christ. That's the reason he loved them before the world began.
He's always thought of them as being in Christ. You know that?
There's never a sense in which God's people were under the wrath
of God. They feel it, as they should. The law makes them feel
that. Their guilt and judgment. They feel as if they should be
under the wrath of God, but no. God said, I've loved them with
an everlasting love. Even while they were yet sinners.
God doesn't love all sinners. But God does love his people,
his children, and that's the only way he can love them. They're
not lovely, but he considers them in Christ. Does that understand?
They'll all be taught of God. And that's what he said, verse
45, and every man, every one of them that has heard and learned
of the Father, every one of the children comes to me. They come
unto me. to everyone. What is it to come to Christ? Everyone that has heard and learned
of the Father comes to Christ. There were a bunch of people
around him that came to him and said, You don't believe me. You
didn't come to me. What is it to come to Christ?
You can't hear a more important message, people. They all come, they're given.
Well, look at verse 44. Our Lord said this twice. Leave no mistake. Verse 44, No
man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me, and
draw him. You see that? No man can come. He said in another place, you
will not come unto me that you might have life. No man will
come. Men aren't willing by nature. And no man can except God wills
it. Brother Kelly and I were sitting
on my front porch talking about it. Mike, we just wrestled four
horses and trimmed 16 feet together. They don't want that. Do they? They don't want you to put a
rope around their neck and a halter on them and tie them to a post
and mess with their feet. They don't want anything to do
with human beings. They just don't want you to do
it. They will not come up to you. They will not say, come
here, yee-haw, and run the other way. except the Father which has sent
me a draw of them. No man can come unless God lassos
them. And the scripture says they are
drawn with cords, cords of a man. Christ, the Spirit, the great
rounder-upper of his people. That's what sanctify means, sanctified
by the Spirit. Second Thessalonians 2.13 says, that God had chosen us through
sanctification of the Spirit. Like a cutting horse. A man on
a cutting horse. There's a whole herd of cattle.
Have you ever seen this done? It's a good illustration. Have
you ever seen a cutting horse? Back in the old West days, they'd
have a herd of cows and they'd have to brand each one of them.
Alright? Well, a man would get on his
cow pony And he'd set his eye on one of those calves, one that
hadn't been branded or one he intended to brand. You know,
there were mixed herds back then. They didn't have fences on 5,000
acre ranges, did they? And their cattle got mixed. There
was one man's cattle and you had your cattle. You set your
eye on your cow. The cow you'd bought, the cow
you'd raised, the cow you'd chosen, right? You set your eye on that
cow. You got on your cow pony, and
you, you, you, there he is, right in the middle of the herd. He
ain't no different than the rest of them. He ain't better than the
rest of them. But he's your cow. Your cow. You get on your cow pony, and
you start cutting him out. Cutting him out of the herd.
Until finally, the rest of them run, they run, run this way,
and you got this one cornered. You got him cornered. He lassoed him. What do you do? You don't sweet-talk him. You
throw him on the ground. You think these cowboys are cruel,
don't you? Those cows would kill themselves.
Those cattle would run off the cliff, die of hunger, die of
thirst, wouldn't they? If the owner didn't do what he
had to do to them. Throws them on the down. Ties
their feet up. Oh, how mean! No, sir. He belongs
to somebody. I'm not going to let him run
loose. That cowboy said he's mine. He's not going to run loose. I'm going to keep my eye on him
from here. He's going to serve me from here on. I'm going to
let him grow up into a fine cowboy. I'm going to trim his hooves. I'm going to trim his horns.
I'm going to trim everything. I'm going to make him submit. I don't do this trimming, he
won't submit. This is exactly what God Almighty,
the Holy Spirit does. That's what sanctification means,
to set apart. Cut them out of the herd. How? With the gospel. What's
the gospel? Show God you're not your own. That somebody owns you. You're
not running loose. You are running loose. with your
mind, you're not your own. You bought with the price. Come
unto me! No! Yes! Right, Stephen? Come unto me! Throw him on the ground like
that angel that wrestled with Jacob. The story of Jacob. Jacob was a worthless person.
He wasn't able to stand until God Almighty, Christ himself,
wrestled with him. As a wrestling match, God laid
hold on old Jacob, wrestled him to the ground, crippled him for
life. So he'd know, he'd remember,
he'd been wrestling. He said, you're mine. That's what God in the Holy Spirit
does. Where am I? In John 6, he said, you will
not come, but now all that the Father giveth me will come. We
sang that song, little happy day that fixed my choice. We
didn't choose him, he chose us, he cut us out. Psalm 65 says,
blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach
unto thee. He won't come. Man, it's hard enough to get
an 18, 19 year old boy like me, I was, to sit still for 40 minutes
and awake. let alone interested and want
to come back for more. And it's impossible. With man,
it's impossible. It's impossible. But with God, he breaks the wildest asses of
coal. Yeah, he does. But not with sweetness. Well, what is it to come to Christ?
What is it to come to Christ? Pastor Scott Richardson said
this years ago. Everybody was there and heard
him, never forgot it. He said, come to Christ, but
don't move a muscle. Do you know what that wise old
man meant by that? What he meant was what it means
to come to Christ. You don't come to the church
house to a denomination. You don't come to the front.
There ain't no salvation down here. This is a piece of wood.
There ain't no salvation in that. That's just water. And we don't
have much of it. You don't come to an altar. You
don't come to a preacher. He ain't nothing but a man. He
puts his pants on just like you. Don't come to a soul winner.
You don't come to a decision. Well, what is it to come to Christ?
What is it to come to Christ? Three things, and I'll hurry.
Three things. Number one is to believe who
He is. You come to Christ is to believe
who He is. Number two is to need what He did and who He is. It's to trust him. To trust him. Stay with me. All right? What
is it to come to Christ? It's to believe him. Look at
verse 28. Verse 28. They said, I mean,
what shall we do that we might work the works of God? How do
we get to heaven? What do we do? What do we do? People the world over, what do
we do? And people are trying all kinds of things, aren't they?
That's the reason there's so many religions. Everybody tries
something new. What do we do? Well, we've got
to go to Mecca. We've got to get to Mecca and
walk around a black box. What do we do? We've got to get
to Jerusalem and put our head on a stone wall and beat it until
it's bloody and cry at the wailing water. What do we do? We've got to make our pilgrimage
to the Ganges River. in India and watched seven or
eight times with all of them. What do we do? Well, we've got to keep the Ten
Commandments. We've got to live the best, we've got to quit this,
we've got to quit that, we've got to do this. What do we do? Verse 29, Our Lord.
Oh, this is what He said. This is the work of God. This
is not work Some of the works, a work, you say, the work, then
this is the work of God, the only thing. Believe on him who
has it. Do you know that's the hardest
thing in the world for a human being to do, though? It's impossible, as a matter
of fact. It's impossible. Just believe on him? Yeah, but
man, it's impossible. Look at it here this way, how
he said it. This is the work of God. Faith is not of yourselves. You can't believe on Christ. You won't believe the truth.
You won't believe God is God. You can't believe God is God.
You can't see God. No man has seen or can see. You
can't. You can't believe until God sends
a preacher, until the Holy Spirit, you can't do it. This is the
work of God. This is God's work, salvations
of the Lord. It's God's work to save us. Can't save ourselves. Oh, not
by works of righteousness which we have done, Paul said, but
according to his mercy he hath saved us. This is the work of
God, therefore he gets all the glory in it, doesn't he? It's the work he performs, faith,
not of yourself, it's a gift which he bestows, which he works
according to the working of his mighty power, the scripture says. You who believe, it's according
to the working of his mighty power. It's the work of God. And this is the work he accepts. This is the only work he requires. This is the only thing, Barbara,
you listen to it, this is the only thing God requires of us. Not the scale of Mount Sinai,
not the washing of the Ganges River, not the... Believe on
him whom he hath sent, who's that? The Christ. So what is
it to come to Christ? It's to believe Christ is Christ. Now, this is not with the head.
The Scripture says, listen to this, Romans 10 says, with the
heart, man believeth unto righteousness. God looks on the heart. What
is it to believe? Well, I believe the doctrines
of grace. Well, you ought to. They're true. But that's not
saving faith. I know some who believe the doctrines
of grace are lost as a goose in a snowstorm. I was. You must believe the truth. Yeah,
the truth's impossible not to. But that's not saving faith.
That's not what it means to—you don't—he doesn't say all that
the Father giveth me cometh through a knowledge of the doctrines
of grace. Does it? Though they do, they
understand the doctrines of grace. But John said, if any man abide
not in the doctrine of Christ, all that the Father giveth me
cometh to me. Those who come to a knowledge
of the doctrines of grace generally, well, go to a Bible conference
about twice a year, and that's it. Let's hope that gets out on tape. This belief in Christ is not
with the head, but it's with the heart. With the heart, man
believe it. Now listen to me. Listen to me.
And tell me if this is not so. You don't ever really believe
something unless you believe it with all your heart. Do you? You don't ever really believe
something. Unless it's with all your heart.
And to believe with the heart is to believe that that man that
walked this planet years ago is actually God. That's God.
God walked this planet. I believe it. Is there any doubt
in your mind? There's no doubt that he existed.
Nobody will doubt that. No one will dare to doubt that
there was one named Jesus that walked this earth. Nobody. Nobody. Time is measured around his life
on this planet. Even absolute atheists must confess,
yes, there's too much evidence he was here. I believe that.
Who is he? Well, all these people. We know
he's Jesus. He's Mary's son. He's Joseph's son. He's a healer. He said, who do you say that
I am? He said to Peter and the boys.
Who do you say that I am? Thomas said, my Lord and my God,
you're the one that made me. God, as a man? Yes. I believe that with all my heart.
You believe that with all your heart, huh? Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Our Lord said that to
Peter, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father,
for they're all a part of God. That that man was and is God. And therefore, all he said is
true. All he did was your only hope,
was to believe him, believe Christ as God, believe Christ. He said,
an old man cometh unto the Father, but by me. I believe that. I believe that. I believe that. Without me, you can do nothing.
I believe that. I believe that. I know that. I believe that in my heart. Who
he is, what he said, what he did to believe Christ is to not—you
know, if you really believe Christ, he is the truth. If you really
believe Christ, you don't really believe anything or anybody else.
Do you hear me? There is a way that seems right
in the man. There's a way that seems right
in the man, whether he's religious man or scientific man. Everybody
thinks this is the way. Christ says, I am the way. I
believe him. Yes, I do, John Cheesley. There's
not a doubt in my mind. He's the way. He's the way. Everything else is false. Didn't
David say that, John? I esteem all my precepts concerning
all things to be right. Man is wrong! God is true! Let every man be a liar!" Do
you believe that with all your heart? Yeah, but they said the
other day that there's not a big bang, that there was just bull! Don't say nothing, say bull!
Christ said, and away! Do you believe that in the face
of all your scientific teachers and philosophers and all the
wise men of this world? He believed me with all their
hearts, because I gave it to them to believe. It's given unto
them to believe. That gives me hope, because I
do, from the bottom of my heart, believe who He is and everything
He said and did. Do you? That's what it is to
come to Christ. You don't come anywhere else,
that's the reason you come to Him. Are you with me? That's the reason
you come to Him. You realize there's nobody and
nothing to do anything for me but Him. What is it to come to
Christ? It's to come to Him! To believe Him. But sure enough
to believe in yourself. When you start believing Christ,
you'll never believe that. You'll completely distrust yourself
from that. That's what it means to believe
him. He said, without me, you can do nothing. And boy, that's
so true. Peter said, Lord, save me or
I'll perish. And he was leaving, and told
them he was leaving, and they were all torn to pieces. and said, don't go. Oh, they
were full of them and bigger weren't they, Stanford, while
he was there, and then finally said, I'm leaving. Oh, don't
go. We're hurting if you go. He said, don't worry, I'll send
a comforter. I'll not leave you comfortless.
I'm not going to leave you. I told you I'd be with you to
the end of the world. That's what it means to come
to Christ, Nancy Parks, to believe him. To come to Christ is to need
Him, and all this runs together, really. It's to need Christ. Those other people that came
needed a handout. They needed a job. They needed
a wife. They needed a husband. They go to the singer's ministry.
Why? To see Christ? No, to get a husband. They come
to church. Why? To get entertained. I want
to see the choir. I want to see—just show me something. All that the Father did with
me comes to Christ. They need me. They don't need music. They can get that at the Grand
Ole Opry. They don't need entertainment. They can get that on the internet.
They come to me. They need me. Not their bellies
full. They got a fridge ready full.
Not a new job. That won't do any good. They
come to me. Not a bigger house. They come
to me. They need Christ, what he is,
what he did. They need his righteousness.
To come to Christ is to say, I need his righteousness. I'm
a sinner through and through, and I'll never be anything but
a sinner through and through, and I can't get any better. I can't get any better. Paul
was a fifty-some-year-old man when he wrote Romans 7. He said,
the things I want to do, I can't do. want to do, that's what I
do. What am I going to do? Who shall
deliver me? Who?" That's it, Paul. Who? Romans 8, didn't he, John? With this, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ. I can't help but
get excited about this. This is what it means to come
to Christ. Need is righteousness. People were never going to get
better. Oh, we're going to quit some of this stuff and, you know,
seem to straighten up and all that, but our heart's going to,
oh, the heart. And the tempter and the adversary
is going to assault you. The older you get, the more he's
going to assault you. The closer you get to glory,
the more he's going to assault you. And he's not going to let
up. Because he doesn't know who are
the lords, really. He thinks, maybe I can get him.
I've got Judas. Maybe I can get him. I've got
Demas. Maybe I can. They need his righteousness.
To come to Christ, that's not a doctrine, is it, John? That's
not just a doctrine. That's to need him to be your
holiness with God. is to need him as your intercessor.
Do you have trouble praying? Anybody besides me feel like,
oh, what's the use? Huh? You feel like, what's the
use in trying? I can't seem to pray. Things
come through my mind, all distractions and this and that and the other.
I seem to only be able to say the same thing. What same things? Oh, Lord, have mercy on me. Forgive
me. Oh, my. Thank you. That's good enough. But you need
an intercessor. Romans 8 says we know not what
things we should ask for. We're like little babies. We
need an intercessor, one to take groanings which cannot be uttered
to the Father. And Christ said, I ever lived
to make intercession. He's an intercessor, he's a mediator.
We need him as our captain. Oh, Nancy, this boat, this life,
this troubled seas, isn't it, huh? You don't know what tomorrow
brings. You don't, do we? We don't know
what's going to happen tomorrow. It might be the most, the toughest
time we've ever been through in our life. What do we need?
A captain! We need to know somebody's at
the wheel, not the co-pilot. And this thing's going exactly
the direction he intends it to go. It won't be off to a one-inch. No matter the flack and the turbulent,
he's been through it all. He knows where he's going, and
everyone has landed safely that's in here. So I need a captain. I don't need no co-pilot. I'd just let me ride the baggage
department, would you? I need a captain. Captain of my salvation. Oh,
I need a daysman. I need an umpire. I need a judge.
Huh? Nobody knows the difference between
me and old Joe Blow out there in the world. The old Jimmy Smith
out there in the world, I look like, act like, who knows the
difference? God's the judge. Christ is the judge. He judges
between fat cattle and lean. He knows where the foundation
of God stands assured. Sometimes I don't know. I'm not
sure if I'm here or not. The foundation of God stands
sure, having this seal. The Lord knows them that are
his. He knows them. They're out there in the world.
Well, look at them. Sam, the accuser of the brethren. That's what Satan's called, the
accuser of the brethren. He says it to you and me. Look at that. Look at there. They don't look
a bit different. Look at them. But God says, don't
lay anything to charge them by that. Who is he that condemneth? It's God that justifies. Crucially,
you think of the charge of God's elect. You need an umpire. You need
a daysman. That's the word there in the
Old Testament. You need a judge. You need wisdom. You need righteousness.
You need sanctification. You need wisdom. Now that you're up there in years,
let's take Brother Henry. There you are again. You're not
the oldest. Charles is. Somebody else. Who
else? William? There you are. Now that
you've—let's pick on William. Now that you're an old man, you've
got it all figured out, don't you, by the way? You don't need
anybody or anything. You've got all the wisdom. You
know you've got everything all figured out. Wise. About the
time you think you've got everything figured out, you realize I don't
know anything. Especially that woman sitting
beside you, huh? I didn't mean to say that, but
I'm glad. And he's been married to her for a hundred years. Almost. But you sure don't have... When you come to the end and
be an old man, and the other old men have told me this, I'm
still young, I'm not old. But David said it. There's only one thing you need
to know, that your Redeemer liveth. That's
what Job said. It's all said and done. All you
need to know is, I know my Redeemer liveth, and he's going to stand
on this earth. Again, he's coming for me. It's
to need him as your wisdom, your righteousness, your sanctification,
your redemption, your Lord, your Redeemer, your Savior, your protector,
your provider, your hiding place. But to come to Christ is to need
him. We don't need a fancy building.
We do need a tabernacle, though. We don't need whatever. We sure need Christ. To come to Christ is to trust
him. And as I said, all this goes
together. But to come to Christ is to trust him. Look at verse
29. This is the work of God that you believe, does it say, in
him? No. What does it say? On him. Look at verse 40. This is the
will of him that sent me that everyone that seeth the Son and
believeth on him may have everlasting life. This is important. This
is important. What is it to come to Christ?
is to believe on him. Ephesians 1 says, After you heard
the word of truth in him, you trusted him. You trust him. To trust something or someone
is to put all your confidence in them, in it. To really trust
something. There's a bench That's a good
bench. I know it is. I took it apart
one day and shortened the length of it. That thing is heavy. It's
stacked. That's a good bench. I know it
is. It's made of really dense imitation wood. And it's well
made. Constructed well. That bench
will hold me up. I believe in that bench. I believe it's a bench. I believe
it is able to hold me up. I believe it is well made. I
believe it will hold me up if I sit on it. I believe in that
bench. This bench will hold you up. I know it will. I'm sittin' on
it. Huh? Least in the difference?
Y'all done it since. It will hold a man up. Stretch out your hand. I can't.
It's withered. Stretch out your hand. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. I don't know, I don't, I'm not,
you're not, I know you're not. You're nothing. Believe on him. You believe me? Believe on him.
Take him at his word. David said to him, here's what
I'm going to do, David said, I'm going to take the cup of
salvation. I'm going to take it. Come unto me all you that labor
and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Lazarus, come forth." Well, he's
dead. Come on. Eat my flesh, drink my blood.
I don't understand. Eat my flesh, drink my blood,
come to me. I don't know what it is, really.
I'm trying except to say, well, look with me. Romans 10.
Look at Romans 10. There's some connection between
the heart and the mouth, you know that? There's some connection. Because
with the heart, out of the abundance of the heart, what happens? What's
the scripture say? The mouth speaketh. The mouth
speaketh. You know, we don't have to say
a word from the heart, but I tell you, if it's in the heart, it
will come out of your mouth. Verse 10, Romans 10, says, With
the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Yes, with the
heart. And with the mouth confession is made. It's coming to me. But in him we live and move and
have our being. He's all around us. We're in
his hand. What does it mean to come to him? I don't know, except to say,
Here I am! Does that make sense? Does that make sense? Here I am! I
believe! Not believe in yourself, not
do something. Believe on him. Believe on him. On him. Say, Lord, I believe. Help my
unbelief. I believe your word, I believe
your person, I'm not looking to myself." Don't look to yourself,
ever. Don't trust yourself, trust him.
That's what it means, trust him. Don't ever trust yourself. And
this is not a one-time thing, to come to Christ is not a one-time
thing, it's a lifelong thing. Peter said, to whom coming. In
other words, tomorrow morning I'll come to him. He's not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere. You're
going to go to work, but you're going to come to Christ. Does
that make sense? Does that make sense, Debra?
You've been around here a hundred years. Does that make sense?
You're not going anywhere. You're not coming here. But you
come to Christ, don't you? Oh, here I am. Like my dog, Annie. I know
I use her. Sorry, I'm sorry. I love that
little dog. If she was here, she'd love her
too. Well, she loves me. How do I know? She won't leave
my side. And she's worthless. She's worthless. She was worthless when I found
her at the dog pound. And I taught her a few things,
but she's still worthless. And I
go outside and it's like, don't leave me, don't leave me, don't
leave me. She said, don't leave me. You're not going to leave
me and take me to town, are you? That's what it is to come to
Christ. Look at what he said in our text. Are you with me? This is the
best, this is the best part. Romans, Acts, John 6, 37, All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out, and in no circumstances ever
That's why they say, never! I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. All that cometh to him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out. But
look at him now. Look, he's backward. Never. Peter, follow me. Follow me. It's like a dog, isn't it? Where
was Peter when the Lord found him? Oh, he was an old rough,
gruff fisherman on a boat. People, we don't realize what
a rounder Peter and those guys probably were. Rough. You wouldn't have wanted your
daughters to date him. Rough, on a boat, half-naked, cussing. Maybe if they had tattoos back
then, they'd have had them all over them, wouldn't they? person,
God, no fish, but God, came walking down the shore one day and called
Peter and James and John and Andrew and Philip, not so-and-so over there. That harbor
was full of boats, full of fishermen, and none of them being better
than one another, but God. All that the Father had given
Christ were the sons of Zebedee and Philip, and he came calling,
Peter, follow me. And he did, buddy. All that the
Father giveth, come to him. He came to him. He didn't know
much about Christ, but he started learning. He started hearing.
He started meeting him. He started believing him. He
started trusting him. All right, three and a half years
later, after walking with Christ. Three and a half years later,
Peter, according to the Lord's purpose, the Lord said, you're
going to deny me that you even know me. Oh, no, not me. I would never do anything like
that. Everybody else may do something
like that, but not me. Yes, you will. But by my grace,
I'm going to prove it. resorted right back to where
he was. He was sitting by a fire, he denied him once, he denied
him twice, and a little girl said, yeah, you're one of his,
and he started cussing up a blue streak, I ain't, I'm just an
old fisherman, I'm just, I don't even know the man. Is that one of the Lord's at
last? Of course, the Lord wouldn't
let him stay like that, and for three days he grieved horribly. His conscience smote him. He
was convicted. He thought, I'm no better than
I used to be. In fact, he thought, I'm not
one of the Lord's own. I must be lost. And what did
Christ say? When Christ rose from the grave,
Christ said this, Go tell my disciples. And the two sweetest words Peter
ever heard in his life was this, and Peter. I will in no wise
cast out. He sure doesn't look like it,
but he's not. And the Lord brought Peter down
to realize that he hadn't gotten as high as he thought he had.
And so Peter wrote a letter, and it's just my favorite. Peter
wrote a letter to us, the Church, and he says in chapter 1, and
right out of his mouth he said, people, we are kept by the power
of God unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last hour.
We're kept, Peter said. This is my hope. on Christ the
solid rock I stand. All the other ground is sink
and stand. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on the Lord Jesus'
name. On Christ the solid rock I stand." That's what it means to come.
Have you come to Christ? Well, the Lord knows, the Lord
knows. But come, come. of closing hymn. What was it, 240? 240. 240. All that the Father giveth me shall
come to me. Come up, John, and Lee is singing
it. 240. We'll sing the first and second verses only. First
two verses. I will hear Thy willful voice
that calls me Lord to Thee. The living and the living is
Yours, and no longer will be. I am coming, Lord, Thank you very much.