Hard Sayings

Q: What does the Bible say about hard sayings of Jesus?

The Bible indicates that hard sayings from Jesus often reveal the hardness of men's hearts and their reluctance to accept difficult truths. In John 6:60, many of Jesus' disciples remarked that His teachings were hard to hear. These hard sayings reflect the reality that many people resist the truth of Christ due to the unwillingness of their hearts to accept His message. Instead of adjusting His teachings to draw in crowds, Jesus maintains the integrity of His message, highlighting that the real problem lies not with the content He delivers, but with the hardness of men's hearts, who are often more interested in their material needs than in spiritual truth. By exposing this tendency, Jesus illustrates the need for a heart softened by God's grace to truly hear and follow Him.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty in salvation is true?

God's sovereignty in salvation is affirmed by Scripture, particularly in the teachings of Jesus that indicate only those given to Him by the Father will come to Him. In John 6:37, Jesus emphasizes God's sovereignty in salvation by declaring, 'All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.' This clearly states that the initiative in salvation lies with God. Furthermore, the inability of individuals to come to Christ unless drawn by the Father, as stated in John 6:44, supports the notion that God sovereignly orchestrates the salvation of His elect. This reinforces the historic Reformed belief that salvation is not based on human decision but on God's divine election and grace, showing that those who are truly drawn to Christ are those whom God has predestined for salvation from before the foundation of the world.

Q: Why is the teaching of materialism addressed in Jesus' hard sayings?

Jesus addresses materialism in His hard sayings to expose the false motives of those seeking Him for worldly benefits rather than for spiritual nourishment. In John 6:26-27, Jesus confronts the crowd, revealing their true motives for following Him. He states that they sought Him not for His miracles but because they had eaten and were filled. This insight shows that their interest was superficial and self-serving, prioritizing their physical needs over their spiritual well-being. By emphasizing this point, Jesus highlights the futility of prioritizing earthly sustenance over the everlasting life He offers. This serves as a reminder that genuine faith must grapple with the temptation of materialism, urging believers to seek a relationship with Christ that transcends worldly desires.

Q: What does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ?

Eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ symbolizes a deep, spiritual communion with Him through faith. In John 6:53-57, Jesus states, 'Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.' This metaphor speaks to the necessity of a union with Christ essential for spiritual life. It reflects the idea that through faith, believers partake in the redemptive benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice—His body broken and blood shed. This communion represents not just a physical act, but rather a profound spiritual relationship where Christ's body and spirit sustain the believer's life. Thus, to eat and drink symbolizes an ongoing, living faith in Christ, transforming the believer's existence through the acceptance of His grace and truth.

Q: Why did many disciples stop following Jesus after His hard teachings?

Many disciples turned away from Jesus because they found His hard teachings challenging and were unwilling to accept the truth of His message. In John 6:66, it is noted that many of Jesus' disciples went back and walked no more with Him after hearing His hard sayings. This exodus reflects the reality that the teachings of Christ can be divisive, particularly when they confront personal beliefs, desires, or preconceived notions. Many individuals desire a version of faith that aligns with their circumstances or needs, but when faced with the stark truths concerning sin, salvation, and God's sovereignty, they often recoil. Jesus' unwillingness to compromise His message for popularity showcases the unwavering nature of His truth. This serves as a sobering reminder that true discipleship may require embracing difficult truths and relinquishing worldly desires to follow Christ fully.

There in verse 60 it says this, Many therefore of his disciples,
when they heard that, said, This is a hard saying. Who can hear
it? Who can hear it? Then look down
in verse 66 when it says this, From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. From that time. At what time? When they heard
these hard sayings, this hard saying of Christ. This is a hard
saying. And so when they hear this hard
saying, they said, Who can hear it? Who can believe this? Who
could possibly believe the things He just said? Who can possibly
believe what He just said? Who can believe Him who would
say such things? And so that's the time when they
heard this hard saying. And that's what happens to a
lot of people when they hear what Christ has to say. When
they hear His teaching, they turn and walk no more with Him.
And our Lord began teaching these people back over here in verse
25. What had happened was that He
had just fed 5,000 people, men and women, Five thousand men,
plus men and women, or children and women, with five loaves and
two fishes. Well, at that evening, after
he fed them, his disciples got in a ship and started to cross
to Capernaum. Well, he'd come walking to them on the water.
Well, here they came back. They wondered where he was. They
began to ask, and they found out where the Lord was. They
found out, well, he went back over to the other side. He went
to Capernaum. So they found some boats and
they went back to Capernaum. Ask him how he got there. Watch
what it says. And when they found him on the other side of the
sea, from where they had best fed him, they said unto him,
Rabbi, how in the world did you get here? How did you get here? Well, he got there by walking
on the water. That's how he got there. That's how he got there,
by walking on the water. And then our Lord Jesus, as He
began to teach them there, and I'll go through these things
in a minute, and then He tells these folks here, you know, all
these hard sayings, and the modern soul winner, when they see all
these people start turning and walking away, you know what He
has said? He says, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute,
I didn't really mean that. Oh, we didn't mean to offend you.
We don't want to offend you. Please turn around and come back.
Whatever it takes to get you back in there, we'll do it. They
would have taught Jesus how to win souls. They would have taught
the Lord Jesus how to change His message and His methods in
order to get people to come to Him. That's what the modern soul
women would have said. And I want you to look at these
sayings, and I tell you, beloved, it's not the hard sayings of
Christ that turns people away. It's the hardness of men's hearts. Men don't want the truth, and
it's the hardness of men's hearts is why people say, that's a hard
say. What Christ says is not hard. It's the hardness of men's
hearts. And that's why he says, didn't
I tell you, didn't I tell you this? When they saw him walk
away, didn't I tell you this? That no man can come unto me
except the Father which sent me. Draw near. I told you that. So I'm not surprised that you're
walking away. I'm not surprised. And multitude
of his followers, many sick and lame, had been healed, and our
Lord started getting popular. Crowds followed Him. This 5,000
people, all these folks got in all these boats and come back
to the other side and ask Him how He got back over there. And
just yesterday before this, they had ate His miraculous food from
our Lord's hand and were so impressed by His miracles to declare, look
what they said here in verse 14 and 15. John 6, 14, 15. Then those men,
when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, is this
of the truth, that prophet that should come into the world? The
Christ, the Messiah, the one that God said, the prophet that
would come, put his words in his mouth? And then look what
he says in verse 15, when Jesus therefore perceived that they
would come and take him by force to make him a king, He departed
into a mountain himself alone. Here they was, beloved, wanting
to say, this is the prophet, let's make him the king. And
now they turned around from that time and walked away. Why? Because
these are hard sayings. Went from wanting to be a king
to walking away. What transpired? What was these
hard sayings that our Lord Jesus said? One time they said here
in verse 34, they said, Lord, ever more give us this bread.
As he said, I've got bread which came down from heaven. What are
these hard sayings? Well, I'm going to start in verse
25 and go down through these verses and try to tell you what
these hard sayings was that caused men to walk away from Christ.
And they do that people walk away from Christ now with the
same thing. First of all, he exposed their
false motives, their materialism. Verse 25. And when they had found
him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi,
how comest thou hither? Called him a rabbi, didn't call
him lord, didn't call him savior, didn't call him master. And oh
beloved, they had great trouble to find him, went to great trouble
to find him, got in boats to find him. How did you get across
the lake? He said, I walked. And then he says, truly, truly,
I say unto you in verse 26. And here's what he said, this
is a hard say. I say unto you, you seek me. The real reason
you coming after me, the real reason you went to all this trouble
to find me, was not because of the miracles. Miracles impresses
people, but not because of the signs you saw. And our Lord gets
very bold here, and He pulled no punches. You seek me not because
of the miracles, but because you did either the lows and were
filled. You want me for what I can do for you, For your flesh
and for your belly and your materialism, you don't want me for who I am.
You don't want me for what I can do for your soul. You don't want
me for what I can do for your heart. You're going to all this
trouble just because I filled your belly. And ain't that what
most folks say today? Said, you know, whatever your
problem is, Jesus can solve it. No, Christ didn't come to solve
men's problems. He come to put away sin. You're
going to have problems. If you live in this world, you're
going to have problems. If you live in this world, you're going
to be sick. If you live in this world, you're going to have marital
problems, financial problems, health problems, social problems,
mental problems. You'll have every kind of problem
there are. But Christ didn't come to solve problems. He came
to save men from their sin. And He told these folks, you're
following me for your belly. No, you go great lengths to find
me, not because you want me, but what I can give for you.
You don't want the truth I teach, no, you don't want who I am.
It's the power I have to fulfill your fleshly needs and your ambitions.
You're after me for what you can get out of me. Your motives
are false. Your materialism, our Lord says,
is despicable. And He says, I know it. You see,
these people had no concern for their souls, their relationship
with God. They were interested in an earthly
kingdom. Look over here at John 2 with
me, just a moment. John 2.23. If our Lord was here preaching, and He could look into our hearts,
I wonder how many He'd say, you know, you seek Me for what you
get from Me. That's what Satan told the Lord, told God, when
he'd come in to meet with the sons of God, said, oh, if you
consider My servant, you know, He said, oh, He don't serve you
for nothing. He serves you because you've blessed Him so much. You've
just fed Him, you've clothed Him, you've made Him wealthy,
you've gave Him lots of children. I mean, you give Him anything
a man's heart could desire. He said, take that away from
Him, He'll cuss you to your face. And most folks, if God takes
what they have, they'd cuss Him to His face. They really would. I wonder what
would happen if He took all of our comforts away from us. But
I know one comfort he'll take away from you, a comfort of a
false refuge if he ever brings it to himself. And these folks
had a false refuge. Man, we know this man. Look what
he can do. He's a miracle worker. John 2.23. Now when he was in
Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed
in his names when they saw the miracles which he did. Now watch
this. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them because He
knew all men. Oh boy, what a miracle worker.
We think He's the greatest thing. We believe on Him. You see anything?
And He didn't need anybody to run around and testify of man.
Don't tell me what these folks are like. Don't tell me this
one's a good one, that one's a bad one. Do something for this one.
Do something for that one. Leave that one to Himself. He
knew what was in man. I don't need a man to testify
of me or of themselves. Now back over here in John 6.
Now look what he says in verse 27. For you seek me not for the
miracles, but because you did eat the loaves when they were
filled. That's the only reason you're looking for. You want
me to satisfy your flesh. And then he says, labor not for
the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto
you. For him hath God the Father's shield. He says labor. This labor
means intense desire. earnest desire, effort towards
obtaining that which is great and of eternal value. And that's
the bread of life, this intense and great eternal value, labor
for that, the bread of life, the salvation of your soul, a
relationship with God. And I tell you, a man is a fool
who's over-concerned about earthly things and not about spiritual
things. I heard somebody say the other
day, What I have is who I am. If I lose what I have, then who
am I? Right? If I am what I have, and
I lose what I have, then who am I? That's where a lot of folks are,
ain't it? Now, look what our Lord said
here. He says, labor not for that meat which endureth. And
then look what he goes on to say. Oh, be intense about looking
after this. Be intense. The kingdom of God's
not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. But watch what he says. Salvation's
not by labor. Salvation's not by work. Look
what he says. Which endureth unto everlasting
life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. You see, you don't
labor for this thing. He said, they come over here,
and He says, if that's what you want, you labor for it. But He
says, and I'll tell you where you're going to get it at if
you get it. You won't get it by your labor, and you'll get
it because I'll give it unto you. And if you have the intense
desire for Me, I'll give you this eternal life. And He says,
which the Son of Man shall give unto you, and because Him God
hath sealed. That word sealed means that God
sent His approval. This is the seal. This is the
evidence that this is the one that the Father sealed. He gives
eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. Oh, my. And I tell you this, most beloved,
I know those who enter in, they do it willingly. They do it sincerely. I know those who come to Christ,
those who receive the Son, they do it in loving faith. They need
Him. They want Him. Those who win
Christ, they do it with earnest and full commitment to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Those who find Christ, they seek
Christ. You're not going to find Him
if you don't seek Him. And those who are saved by Him, that He
gives life to, they call upon Him and always call upon Him. And those who enter in strive
to do so, and they never stop striving after Him. Never stop
looking for Him. Never stop calling on Him. Never
stop receiving Him. Never stop believing. They're
continually coming to Christ. I feel sorry for folks that's
laboring. Brad brought a message last couple of weeks, a few nights
ago, on eternal life. And he says this eternal life
is something we possess right now. It's not something we're
going to get at the end of the way. This life, we're going to
leave off this flesh and we're going to enter into what we possess
now. And that's what Christ gives us. He gives us life now. And
that's why He said, I give it to you. I give it to you. And oh, look what it says here.
Look what it says in verse 28. Then they said, why should we
do that we might work the words of God? That's not what we want
to hear. We don't want to hear about our
moneys. We don't want to hear about why
we're following you so you fill our bellies. We don't want to
hear about how wrong we are and our goals are false. This is
a hard saying. I'll tell you what we'll do.
We'll just quit. We'll just leave. But oh my,
when he starts dealing with the sovereignty of salvation, let
me start back here. Now down in verse 36, not only
did he expose their false motive, their materialism, their reason,
their false reason for coming to Polynesia. Even though they
went to great trouble to do it, it was the wrong reason. And
then look what he, this is a hard saying, the sovereignty of God
in salvation. He starts here in verse 35. Our
Lord said, I'm the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
watch this now. But I said unto you also, that
you have also seen me, and you believe not. He said, you know, you see me.
Our Lord faces their unbelief, exposes their unbelief, and tells
them why they're unbelievers. He said, you've seen me, you've
seen my miracles, and yet you still won't believe. A miracle
won't cause anybody to believe. A miracle will not cause anybody...
You know the only miracle that will cause you to believe? God
taking out your stony heart and putting in a heart of flesh.
The only miracle that will cause you to believe for God to take
your blinding eyes and give you eyes to see. The only miracle
that you'll ever believe is when God gives you ears to hear when
He unstops them. That's the only miracle that
will cause you to believe. And, oh beloved, I'll tell you, he
encourages himself in the twelfth and God's sovereign election.
He said, I thank you, oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've
hid these things from the wise. You've hid them from the prudent.
And you've revealed them unto babes. Unto babes. And that's
what he goes on to say here. Oh, you see me and not believe.
And look what he says. Oh, that's what the Father gives
me. Verse 37. He starts talking about God's
sovereignty. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And
you know why you don't see me? You see me and don't believe
me? He wasn't given to me. All that the Father giveth me,
what's going to happen to it? He's going to come to me. Huh?
Oh, where were they given to the Father? In the eternal electing
covenant of God's grace before the world ever began. Chosen
in Christ before the world ever began. Grace given us in Christ
before the world ever began. And because we were given to
Christ in the eternal covenant of grace, everyone's given. They're
going to come to me. They're going to come to me. They're going to come to me.
How are they going to come? They're going to come as a sinner. They're
going to come as a sinner to be saved from sin. They're going
to come as a sin sick soul to be healed. They're going to come
as an empty vessel to be filled. They're going to come as a beggar
eating bread. That's what they're going to
come. They're going to come as a beggar. And oh, look what he says this.
He said, look what he says, me and my father said our will is
the same thing. He said, for I came down from
heaven not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent me.
I'm not going to do anything but what His will is. And me
and His will is exactly the same. He will to have a people, I will
to have a people. He will to choose a people, I
will to choose a people. He will for some to come to me,
I will for some to come to me. He will that I should lose nothing,
I will that I should lose nothing. He said, I'm not here doing my
will. If I did, I'd... I'm here to do His will in all
of mine. Oh, you know, that's what he
says, I and my father are one, and the scripture says in John
10, 30, they picked up stones to stone him. He said, for what
good work do you go stone me? He done a good work when he fed
his 5,000. Done a good work. He done such
a good work, they said, we'll just follow him around. Said,
every time we get hungry, he'll set us down and feed us. Oh, my, that's what he said,
but oh, no. No, no, no. Yeah, he said, we
don't stone you because you've done a good work. We're going
to stone you because you, being a man, make yourself to be God. You say you're God. And oh, beloved,
listen, God goes on down here and He talks about this. He's
God's righteous servant, God's elect. And then he talks about
God's eternal election. Look at that in verse 39. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, God's
eternal election of grace, God's everlasting covenant of grace,
him that sent me. God sent him into this world.
God sent him and bosomed him from his own will. And this is
the will. This is the will. This is the
one that God sent to be our representative, our surety, our substitute, our
sacrifice, our sin offering. And this is the will of God,
that everyone which seeth the Son, oh my, and believes on Him,
in our temptation, all that the Father gives Christ and comes
to Christ, All that by God's sovereign will that's been chosen,
all who've been redeemed by the blessed Son of God, all who are
called by the Spirit of God, our Lord Jesus Christ said, I
should lose nothing. And I tell you, they're going
to miss the will of God for men to see the Son. Are you in God's will? You reckon
you're in God's will? You reckon it's God's will for
you to see the Son? Huh? You're going to sit there blind?
You're hearing the Word, you're hearing what Christ Himself said,
you're going to sit there and say, well, I just can't see it.
I don't get it. Well, that's what our Lord said.
He said, this is my Father's will, that you see the Son. And
I tell you what, if God's will is going to be done, they're
going to see the Son. And then look what He says here. And He
said, and I'll raise Him up at the last day. Oh, the last day. You know what the last day is?
That's the last day of this earth, as distant as it is. That's the
last day when Christ shall descend with the shout, the voice of
an archangel. When the dead in Christ shall rise first, when
death shall be followed up in victory, and when The grave you
know I had to give up, it's dead, and those that are waiting for
them, they'll be changed in a moment, and the tweaking of the mind,
they'll be caught up to forever be with the Lord. That's the
last day! And he said, I'll keep them to that last day! I'll keep
the ones in the grave, because I know where they're at. I'll
keep the ones on the earth, I'll keep every single one of them,
and BAM! He said, when that day comes.
He said, I'm not losing one. Every single one of them will
be there. You know, I miss folks when they're
not here. I couldn't keep myself, much less keep anybody else.
But I said, I won't lose nothing. I lose things all the time. I
told those fellas the other day, I bought a new rifle with a bunch
of shells to go with it. I put the rifle up, and I haven't
found the shells since. I hear them somewhere from the
boys, and I can't find them nowhere. You all do this, and you say,
I'm going to put this right here, and I won't forget where it's
at. I'm going to go back tomorrow
and get that. Where did I put that? You see, that's the way
we are. We can't keep up with our old keys. Our clothes. But God said, I'm not losing
one. Of all the millions, myriads, multitude that's been saved by
His grace since the beginning of time, He knows where every
single one of them is at. knows every one of their names.
You know, they found a little baby one time washed upon a seashore. And they didn't have any idea
where it come from, who its mother and father was, and they buried
it. And you know what they put on its grave? God knows. God knows who it is. God knows
everything about that baby. And that's what He says. I know
Him, and I ain't going to lose Him. All of God's elect will
see the Son as God's will. Well, look what happens when
he says this to them. In verse 41, the Jews then murmured at
him because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
They murmured. They murmured. You mean to tell
me we don't have the power or the strength to choose Jesus? We don't have the power and the
strength when we walk in the aisle to accept it. You mean
to tell me that we can't pay through? You mean to tell me
that our free will is not what's going to determine our salvation?
You mean to tell me that only those is given to you? You mean
to tell me only those that you live for and die for? And we're
giving to you in a covenant of grace? You mean to tell me that
the Father sent you to lay down His life for those people that
seize the Son and that you'll not lose one? You mean to tell
me we ain't got nothing to do with this? That's too hard. We're just going to quit. We're
just going to quit. You mean to tell me I ain't got
nothing to do with it? That's what He said. This is my Father's
will. And all this murmuring, this
murmuring is complaining through anger, unbelief, impatience against
what they saw, against what they heard. How many times have we
seen folks murmur? How many times over the years
have we heard them murmur? But look what he says here. Look
what else they said. Now, they don't have a clue who
he is. They said in verse 42, as they said, Is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it
then that he saith, I come down from heaven? Oh my! No wonder they're murdering.
No wonder they don't get it. All they see is a man. They see
a carpenter's son. They see Mary's son. They see
Joseph's son. They don't see God. They don't
see salvation. They saw these miracles. He fed
this 5,000 with five loaves of fish and two loaves of bread.
Five fish and two loaves of bread. And they saw this. They ate from
his hand. They saw the miracles that he'd
done, and they turned around and said, well, this can't possibly
be nothing. What is he talking about? I've come down from heaven.
That's just too hard. He's just a man. He's just a
carpenter's son. There ain't nothing to him. He's
just flesh like the rest of us is. And oh, that's why they said,
man, this is hard saying. I'm going to quit. Now, our Lord
goes right down into the depths and extent of their inability
and their depravity. And he goes on down here and
he says this. He asks him there, he says, well, why in the world
do you murmur among yourselves? Don't murmur among yourselves.
Don't do that. Don't murmur. Just quit that. And I'll tell you, now here's
what it is. You're going to expose their
inability, their awful depravity, how deep it is, how awful it
is. So don't just murmur not among
yourselves. Watch this. No man can come to
me. Except a father would testify, darling, I know you murmur all
you want to. You tell us we can't come. He said, I'm going to tell you,
you can't. That's what I'm telling you.
That's the whole thing I'm telling you. You're so depraved. Your
will is so bound by sin. Your mind is so blinded by sin. Your heart is so hard. You're
so adverse to God, so in love with yourself, so in love with
your sin, that no man can come to me except the Father which
sent me to draw him. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. That's why Isaiah cried out, says, Who hath believed
thy report? To whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, but there's no
beauty about him that we should desire him. No comeliness about
him. And he says, no man. And when
he means that, beloved, he means no man. Regardless of his intellect,
regardless of his ancestry, regardless of his environment, regardless
of who he's related to, no man can. And that word can has to
do with ability. Has to do with ability. No man
is able in himself. No man in himself has the ability,
the will, or the inclination to come to me, to believe on
me, to trust me, except the Father, which hath sent me drawing. And
that means to quicken, means to call to life, call to faith
in Christ. Unless God does that, you know,
look what he went on to say. He said, and it's written. It
is written. They should be all taught of
God. And every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned
of the Father cometh unto me." Where's it written at? Look over
in Isaiah 54. I'm going to show you where this
is written at. I'm going to show you where this
is written at. Isaiah 54. And I tell you this, beloved,
men don't come to Christ ignorantly and blindly. In this part of God, Isaiah 54 and
verse 13, look what it says. It is written. Now watch this. Now watch what
it says, "...and all thy children." All thy children. Whose children?
Those that the Father gave me. Those loved of God. "...all thy
children shall be taught of the Lord." And listen to this, "...and
great shall be the peace of thy children." Oh my, when God draws
you, God quickens you, God teaches you, oh my, and it is written,
they shall be all taught of God. Those who come to Christ, they
don't come blindly, they don't come easily. I wonder how many
times today, in churches all across America, and all across
the world, that somebody will come into service for their very
first time, And somebody, some preacher, somebody in that service,
they don't have a clue of anything about who Jesus Christ is, what
he did, who he did it for, where he's at now. Don't have any clue
about his person, about his work, about his deity, his eternality, about all the types because they
don't know anything about Christ. But somebody will try their dead
level best to talk them into accepting Jesus. Only been in service one time.
They'll try their best to get them to accept Jesus. But I tell
you what, ain't nobody coming until they're taught of God.
He says they shall all be taught of God. Well, how in the world
does God teach these people? Well, He teaches them by the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes. The Holy Spirit, when
He comes, He takes the things of Christ, as Joseph went through.
And He teaches us through the Word. That's why we don't give
these invitations. That's why we tell people, Beloved,
the distance between you and Christ is faith from here to
there. And repentance. Faith and repentance.
Repentance and faith. And Beloved, through the Word.
God uses the Word. Faith comes by hearing. Hearing
by the Word. And then He calls them and teaches
them by the preachers of the Gospel. That's what we're doing. We're setting forth Christ, going
down through His Word, verse by verse by verse by verse, teaching
you line upon line, precept upon precept. And then He does it
by divine revelation, no matter what the preacher teaches. And
unless God opens your eyes, they shall be all taught of God. And
if God teaches you, I mean you're taught well. It's like Floyd
said Wednesday night, he says, Blind men, if the Lord opened
his eyes, they kept trying to say, oh, listen, who done that?
Who done it? He said, all I know is that I
was blind. And now I see, and I know, beloved,
the man who did it, and I don't care what you say. I know what
happened to me. When God teaches you, He teaches
you deep in your heart. And oh, beloved, and that's what
He says here, and everyone that has heard, What do they do? And hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me. Cometh unto me. Everyone I heard,
everyone that God teaches, where does He teach them to come? Come
to Christ. Now listen to me. These verses
reveal the design of grace. They reveal three things about
the grace of God. First of all, they reveal the
design of grace. Which the Father sent me to draw
me. You've got to be drawn. The drawing of grace, the design
of grace is to be drawn of God. The means of grace, what is it?
They shall all be taught of God. God himself should teach them.
That's what we want today. That's what I pray. God, please
be in our presence by the Holy Ghost to teach, to open eyes,
open ears, to make yourself known. And watch this, what happens?
The results of grace is, everyone that hath heard and learned of
the Father, the result is they come to Christ. Let me tell you something, beloved.
If you don't hear anything else I say, listen to this. The results
of our Lord's living and dying does not rest in the hands of
human beings and man's free will, but it's in the sovereign will.
The doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the sovereign
hands of God Almighty and the results of it. If it was left
up to man, not one soul on the topside of God's earth would
be saved. I'd be religious. I was religious
without Christ. I was a preacher without Christ.
I run hours without Christ. I walked the back of benches
without Christ. I spoke in tongues without Christ. I preached holiness
and works without Christ. But when the Father taught me,
when the Father drew me, when the Father opened my heart, when
the Father quickened me, when the Father taught me about Christ,
when I heard a man preach the gospel of the grace of God, that's
it. That's it. When all thy children
shall be taught of God, and grace shall be their peace. I never
had rest until I rested in Christ. I never had peace until I seen
Christ did it all. I've done a lot of things, but
I didn't come to Christ until I was taught of God. And you
didn't either, did you? Y'all went to altars, but you
didn't come to Christ. Y'all went to church, but you
never come to Christ. Y'all prayed and read your Bibles,
but you didn't come to Christ. You know when you come to Christ?
When the Father draws you, teaches you, you hear, you learn. And you say, oh, I see it. I've
learned it. I know it. I've learned the lesson
God taught me. Christ is all in it all. I'm
coming to it. And all beloved, this is humbling.
This is humiliating for proud human nature. This is a hard
saying. Who can hear it? That a multitude
came to accept Jesus. It's not of him that willeth.
It's not of him that runneth. But it's of God that showeth
mercy. And then let me hurry here, I'll tell you, let me give
you a few more minutes. Not only did he show them the
sovereignty of God and their false motive and the sovereignty
of God and the extent of their inability to come to Christ,
their depravity, but then he talks about salvations by a living
union with Him by faith. You see, beloved, salvation is
not a work we do for God, but what a work God does for us.
Look what it says there in verse 28. Salvation is not what we do for
God, it's what God does for us. It says in verse 28, Then said
they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works
of God? They didn't hear about Christ
giving them eternal life. They heard about work. Then said
unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God?
This is what our Lord said now. Everybody wants to work for their
salvation. God said this. Our Lord, this is the work of
God, that you believe on Him whom God has sent. That don't
mean that He gives you the work to believe. It means that He
does the work that you might believe. This is God's work that
you believe. And what's the work that He does?
You believe on Him whom He sent. Not just believe, you believe
on Him whom Father sent. And look what it goes on to say
here now in verse Verse 48, I believe it is. He talks about salvation
by living in union with Him by faith. He said, I am. I am that great of life. I am. You know, he says seven different
times, I am. I am. That's the same I am that
told Moses. You go down there and tell them,
I am that I am since you self-existed. He's the great I Am. He is dear
to... He's the bread of life. He said,
I am that bread of life. That true bread. Not perishing
man. Now look what he says there in
verse 49. Your fathers did eat men in the wilderness, and they're
dead. He said, they're dead. That man
of there, you can't live by the bread of life. It's natural bread. He said, man don't live by bread
alone. And he says that manna is a type of Christ that comes
down from heaven. God gave it to him. Moses didn't.
But he says, listen, that manna that your fathers ate in the
wilderness has no power to save, has no benefit to give eternal
life or spiritual life. It can't even maintain your physical
life. You have to get up every morning
and get a new bunch. Christ is fresh every day. Christ is the
same today, yesterday and every day. And oh beloved, then he
goes on, verse 50 says, this is that bread which cometh down
from heaven, which a man may eat thereof and not die. And
oh beloved, I'm the living bread which cometh down from heaven,
verse 51. I'm the living bread, the living
God. I'm a bread that's alive. How can you have living bread?
He's Christ. They had to go out and pick up
that way, and that's why they said, what works for me? Christ
said, I'm the resurrection and the life. I'm the living God.
And I came down, the living bread which come down for me. The man
eat of this bread, he shall live forever. Oh my, He gives life
to dead sinners. He ever lives. He's life. And
what is this bread that He gives? Look what He says now. The bread
that I give unto you, in verse 51, is my flesh. The bread that I give is my flesh,
my body, my humanity. Thou hast prepared me a body.
What does he mean, I give my flesh? I come to offer myself
as a sacrifice. I come to die on a cross. I come
to offer my flesh, to offer my body. This is my body which is
broken for you. And I'm giving my flesh, I'm
giving myself in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemn sin in the flesh. And, oh, beloved, that's what
he says, you know. He says, Christ crucified, that's
where we find redemption. That's where we find life. We'll
give down. He said, I'll give my flesh. And then watch what
he says, and I'll give it for the life of the world. The Jew
says, you know, the manna was only for the Jews. Christ says,
my flesh is for Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female.
It's for men from all classes and all types. And then he says,
and watch what he says, and whoever eats this, and if any man eats
this bread, what's going to happen? He's going to live forever. I'm
eating this morning. Are you eating this morning?
I'm eating this morning. I'm eating this bread. Oh, it's
such good bread. Oh, it's the best bread. And
look what it says in verse 52. And these Jews, like Nicodemus,
tried to interpret spiritual things in a carnal sense. The Jews strove among themselves,
argued among themselves, and talked among themselves. How
can this man give us his flesh to eat? They saw everything carnally. How are we going to eat this
man's body, this flesh? And I tell you, beloved, we don't
eat literally the flesh of Christ and drank His blood, but that
means by faith. It means by faith. We live in
Him, by Him, because of Him, and we do it daily, and there's
no life apart from Him. Ain't that what he says in verse
57 here? As the living Father hath sent
me, I live by the Father. The Father lives, I live, so
he that eateth me, even he shall live. Not has lived, Might live,
but shall live. Shall live today. Every day.
That's how you live. You live by Christ. We lived
by Christ yesterday, we'll live by Christ today, and we'll live
by Christ tomorrow. He's our life. And then look
what our Lord says here in verse 53. Then our Lord said unto them,
truly, truly, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the
Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. What
in the world is he talking about? Huh? Whoso eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up
since the last day. My flesh is meat indeed, my blood is drink
indeed. And ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye dwell in me,
and I dwell in you. What he means is, beloved, disunion,
because we have Christ. And we partake of His body. We
partake of His blood. We partake of that sacrifice.
We partake of that life laid down. We partake of that blood
that was shed. That blood of everlasting covenant.
That's what we live by. This is like we have flesh and
in this world, we live spiritually by Christ. We join to Him. He says, you know, He that eats
my flesh and drinks my blood, He dwells in me and I dwell in
Him. We're one. You can't have Christ
and not have His life. You can't have Christ's body
and not have Him. You can't have His blood and
not have Him. And if His blood's in us, and
His flesh is in us, and His blood cleans us, I'm one with Him. He's not ashamed to be called
one with His brethren. And oh, beloved, listen. There's
no life apart from Him, and we partake of Him every day. Every
time we open the Bible, we partake of Him. We partake of Him when
we pray. We partake of Him by faith. Oh, Lord, please, I need
You. I want You. I desire You. And it worries us whenever we
get leanness of soul, you know, I'm not eating, I'm not, I'm
not, I'm not, oh Lord, what's the matter with me? I'm not seeming
to get anything from, from the scriptures, from the service,
from the preaching. And then you start saying, oh
Lord, please just, and that's why we, because we get hungry.
Do you get spiritually hungry? Oh my, spiritually needy? You
know why that is? You've got a spiritual appetite. Oh my, by faith we live in Him.
And oh, lots of people give reasons for not coming and eating, not
eating this flesh, not drinking this blood. Lots of folks give a lot of reasons,
a lot of excuses. They're too busy. Just too busy. Well, if I could find where there's
some good food at, I'd go get it. Well, I tell you, you'll
not find no better food than Christ. No matter what better
to eat than His righteousness, His forgiveness, His justification,
His cleansing blood. Huh? Our acceptance into the
Lord, all spiritual blessings in Him, wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification. What more do we need than Christ?
Huh? Oh, my. And sick? I'm too sick
to come. Listen. Best thing in the world
for a sick soul. Gotta have Christ. Oh, listen,
I'll buy it if I can afford it. No, you can't buy this food.
You can't buy this. Come and eat. Drink without money,
without price. Some, here's the problem with
these folks. The food wasn't good enough. Wasn't dressed up
enough. Wasn't garnished right. This
is a hard saying. Who can hear it? And some just
flat don't like the food. I just don't like it. They like
morality, they like free will, they like their works, they like
their obedience, they like their sin. They just flat don't like
the food. And our Lord goes on down there
and says in verse 60, And these folks said there in
verse 58, ìThis is that bread that came down from heaven, not
your fatherís eaten or dead. He that liveth this bread shall
eat forever.î And oh, he taught this in the synagogue, in the
Capernaum, and many of his disciples, when they heard that, this is
a hard saying. Who can fear it? All right. Oh, my. I know this, beloved. Look what
happens. Look what happens now. ìWhat
did our Lord and His disciples How did they react to this crowd
leaving? Oh, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew
in himself that his disciples murmured at him, he said, does
this really offend you? Does this offend you? You know, most
of us, if we offend somebody, we apologize. We say, well, we're
so sorry. He says, if this offends you, just what my sister told
you offends you, what if you see me ascending up where I come
before? If you're standing there watching me and you don't believe
I come down from heaven, you don't believe I'm the life, you
don't believe you have to have my sacrifice, you just wait until
I go back to glory and you see me. What are you going to think
about that? You think that's hard. Wait until you see me go
back up and you're standing there with your mouth agape and you
didn't believe. And it's the Spirit that quickens. Your flesh
profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and life. But there are some of you that
believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning they were that
believed not." And then he comes down there to the twelfth, and
there he says to the first, he said, Therefore I said unto you,
no man can come unto me except it were given unto him from my
Father. And then, from that time, many of his disciples went back
and walked no more. Our Lord was uncompromising.
You don't want You want to leave? Go ahead. Then he turns to his
own. He says to the twelve in verse
67, then will you also go away? He's uncompromising. You fellas
want to leave too? You fellas want to go too? You
want to just go on with the rest of them? He came to do his father's will
and he'd do it. It wouldn't fail no matter how
many turns and walk with Him no more, how many turns and walks
away. It is not going to change our Lord's will. It's not going
to change the fact of man's inability. It's not going to change the
teachings of our Christ. No. Why did He ask Him if they
were going to leave also? I'll tell you why. Because they're
going to have to receive Him on His purpose. On the Father's
terms, there's no negotiation in the gospel. There's no negotiation
in the gospel. No options. No options. And then see His sovereignty
here. He said, we also go away. And oh, He said in verse 64, I know
from the very beginning that believe not who we betray. See,
sovereignty, He knows who's going to betray. I chose twelve of
you. He says there in verse 70, I
chose twelve of you and one of you's a devil. Oh, my. He took these men and
he says, We also go away. And look at their response. Look
at their response to this hard saying. You know, all this bunch
walked away and said, These are two hard sayings. And we also
go away, our Lord. Ask them in verse six. Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words. Everybody
else says they're hard sayings. They're words of life to us.
There are words of life. St. Thomas says, who can hear
these things? The heart says. He said that, oh, Lord, we let
them all go away. But these are words of life.
And we believe and assure the doubt that Christ, the Son of
the living God, you've got the message that brings life. You've
got the message that sustains this life. And if we did leave,
where could we go? Would we turn to the law? We
found no comfort there. Would we go to the Pharisees?
They don't want us. When we go back to the traditions,
they didn't change our hearts. When we go back to religious
organizations, our own wisdom, our own righteousness, we believe
and are sure. And we ain't fixed to turn from
you. What they say is a hard saying. They're words of life
for us. They turn won't no more. We can't
walk away. Is it a hard saying or words
of life? I pray God be pleased to make
it words of life. Words of life.

Hard Sayings

What does the Bible say about hard sayings of Jesus?

How do we know God's sovereignty in salvation is true?

Why is the teaching of materialism addressed in Jesus' hard sayings?

What does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ?

Why did many disciples stop following Jesus after His hard teachings?

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Hard Sayings

What does the Bible say about hard sayings of Jesus?

How do we know God's sovereignty in salvation is true?

Why is the teaching of materialism addressed in Jesus' hard sayings?

What does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ?

Why did many disciples stop following Jesus after His hard teachings?

Sermon Transcript

About Donnie Bell

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