May it please Almighty God to bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the Gospel of John and chapter 5 and we'll read verse 40. The chapter 5 in the Gospel of John and reading verse 40. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life and just reading the few verses that surround that verse from verse 39 which tells us search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

These are, of course, the blessed words of the Lord Jesus when he was on the earth. And really, they're very searching words for each one of us to realize the relevance of them. And yet how true it is that so often it is the case. And you will not come to me that you might have life. And yet how vital it is that each one of us are found going to the Lord and seeking for his mercy and seeking for his love and grace toward us, how essential it is.

And perhaps we're reminded of an earlier verse which touches our hearts perhaps, and that's in the Gospel of Matthew. and the 11th chapter and the Lord Jesus again tells us in verse 28 come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

It's a wonderful statement given to us from the Lord Jesus himself and recorded in the 11th chapter of Matthew, and yet how wonderful it is to know that there is this wonderful invitation. Come unto me. Not anybody else. It's a direct request that you and I come unto the Lord.

And then it qualifies it by telling us, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And the Lord looks into our hearts and he knows our position. He knows whether we are laboring, perhaps laboring under a burden of sin, perhaps laboring under an evil heart of unbelief. And yet the Lord graciously invites us to come to him and the result, he says, and I will give you rest. So how are we to come? Well, we are to come, aren't we, in faith. Nothing wavering. We are to believe that we come to a God who hears and answers prayer.

And we don't want to be found amongst those that the Lord speaks of here when he says, and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. You see, the Lord looks into our hearts and he knows our individual position. No one else knows. People can make assumptions, they can look and they can draw conclusions, but it may not be a correct conclusion. And yet here we have the Lord God. who tells us very clearly this statement and you will not come to me that you might have life well the Lord knows all about us he knows perhaps if we're rebellious and if we reject God's Word and if we think that if we do come to the Lord and come to him and the blessing is we can come to our God and we can tell him everything There's no secrets which are hid from God because He knows all about us. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows what you and I are thinking.

And therefore, it's a great blessing to be able to come to Him. And so here the Lord speaks to these people. They were Jewish people. They were the Jews that he was speaking to. He was speaking to his own. They would have been familiar with the Scriptures. They would have been familiar with the many things that he'd spoken. And therefore he reminds them and encourages them. In the previous verse, it's so important and powerful for each one of us. And what it says is, search the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures.

Well, you and I are blessed with a Bible in our own language. There's billions of people in the world today who do not possess a Bible, who do not want a Bible. And yet they do not therefore search the Scriptures. By God's grace, all of us have a Bible.

And we have a tremendous statement here from the Saviour Himself, who comes and says, without any conditions, search the Scriptures. Well, if that word is spoken to us this morning, what's our response? Do we say, well, I do search the scriptures? Or do we say, I don't search the scriptures?

Because the Lord knows that which goes on between you and himself, no one else does. But it's a great blessing if we are amongst those who search the scriptures. And the reason, surely, if God has given us that grace to search the Scriptures, is to know whether we are amongst those whom He has loved with everlasting love. And that's why we come down to the 42nd verse, which tells us, But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you.

That's a very searching statement, isn't it? And yet how important it is for all of us to have the evidence that we have the love of God in us. I remember in my own life, I had an occasion where I needed to know that I did love the Lord. And yet all seemed dark, didn't seem to be any access. And yet I knew that it was very vital that I did love the Lord.

And you may say, well, so what happened? Well, I'll tell you what happened. I was ill at the time, and I couldn't do very much at all. But I could lay, and I could think, and I could pray. through the mercy of God, I was able to look back over my life, my spiritual life, and find now occasions when God had come to me, and God had perhaps corrected me, Perhaps God had encouraged me. Perhaps he put strength in me. I'm talking now about spiritual life. And as I traced out those positions in my life, I realized the great truth that the Lord spoke. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit. What a mercy. What a blessing to realize that God hasn't cast us off.

He hasn't given us up. He's looked upon us. He's caused us. to consider our ways and to be brought to that conclusion that because of that truth, you've not loved me, but I have loved you. And God has loved us and shown us his love. That's what commenced his blessing in our souls. His love toward us. And that produced the reverse, a love from us, a love from me on that occasion to Him. And gave me that confidence that as God had been gracious to me and drawn me in various ways, I had the evidence. that he had loved me. And the result was then that I loved him. The evidence that I loved him.

Well, says the Lord Jesus here, but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. Well, how important it is that you and I are able to trace out in our spiritual life that we do have the love of God in us. And it's not something that you and I can produce ourselves. No, it's that which God gives, and the wonderful thing is, he gives it freely. Not that ye loved God, but that he loved you.

But he loved me, and that's a wonderful, wonderful favor. And what peace that brings. It brought peace into my heart. And it will bring peace into your heart. To realise that. And worthy as we are, God has loved us. Well, what a mercy to realise the wonderful truth. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. And yet, if God has drawn us to him.

We don't come naturally. We're rebellious. We're hard-hearted. Naturally, you know, our result is this. We say in our heart, perhaps not outwardly, I would not have this man to reign over me. Why do we say that? Because we don't want to bow down. We don't want to acknowledge that Almighty God is our Lord. master we don't want to follow what the scriptures tell us to do and to say and to act we have our own plans and therefore we become rebellious and we rebel against God's glorious truth And therefore we come into this catering.

And you will not come to me that you might have life. And we might be tempted to say, well, I don't think that's true. I think I do come to God. Well, you may come half-heartedly. You may come half-heartedly. Because if you come honestly and wholeheartedly, the effect will be that we will bow down. to this God, we will bow down to Him as our Lord and Master, as our great God. And the result is this, we will be made willing in the day of His power to do His will. It's a good test, isn't it? For you and me today. To know whether the Spirit of God has made us willing to bow down to Him. And then we might move on from there.

But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. The love of God is a very great and wonderful subject. And really it comes down to this. The three sections, the love of God the Father, the love of God the Son, and the love of God the Holy Spirit.

And so sometimes we need just to ponder these things and come aside and ask whether we do. know those three great and wonderful blessings, that we do know the love of God the Father. Of course, we can centre that in that great and wonderful statement, for God so loved the world, that he sent his only beloved Son into the world, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. So it's good to sometimes just ponder whether we know that personally. The love of God the Father. How wonderful it is when God gives us a soft heart to realise what this great and glorious God has done. God the Father send his only beloved Son into the world. We read it, probably it's the most familiar verse in the Bible, but do we really understand it? The wonderful love of God the Father? And does it touch our hearts? And are we through that drawn to the Father?

To think what a great and glorious God we have, God the Father, sending His only begotten Son. What a cost that was! It's easy just to say it, isn't it? He only has one Son, and yet because of His love to unworthy sinners, like you and me, He was willing to send His Son into the sinful world in which we live.

The love of God, the love of God the Father. Well, what a mercy if you and I know what that is, that our hearts have been moved by the amazing love of God the Father. And then we can move on to the love of God the Son. What love that was there, wasn't there?

The Lord Jesus Christ was willing to come into this sinful world for that one purpose, to redeem the souls of his people. because of his love toward us. And if we look at ourselves, and it's good to look at ourselves, perhaps we come in with a hymn writer and we have to say, what was there in me that could merit esteem or give my creator delight, was even so Father, we ever must say, because it seemed good in thy sight, the Son was willing to come into this world, and not only just to come into this world, but to live in this world for those 33 years. Why?

Because of his love to unworthy sinners. And what a blessing it is, therefore, if you and I enter in to that position and realize that love came down to me for me the application of that love to realize yes there were very many but I'm included because he loved my soul oh my friends the love of the Savior and then to recognize he loved us so much that he was willing to stand in our place and die in our place with that sin-atoning death. And it was no light thing to do.

Crucifixion, the most painful death. And why did the Son of God do this? because of his love. And so my friends, if the Lord brings you therefore, brings you to Calvary, that's where we need to be found. At Calvary, sitting there, the suffering son of God, giving his life, shedding his blood, that you and I might possess life.

Well, what's the result? Does His love to us produce in return a love to Him? Love of God, the Father. Love of God, the Son. And then the love of God, the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful mercy it is to know that God the Holy Spirit conveys to our unworthy soul these great and wonderful truths and shows to us that he has remembered us, revealed to us the Son, revealed to us the Father because of his love toward us. And again, my friends, does that produce a response, a love to the Holy Spirit? Well, this morning, can we come to look at this verse? But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. And can you not respond?

Because of his grace, Because of his favour, by his love toward us, we can say, I do love God. What a blessing. And that's a very intimate thing, to think that almighty God has loved us. And that's produced in our heart a response, a love to him. It's very heartwarming and encouraging to realise as you and I journey on through life that we possess in our cold hearts that warmth and that love to the Saviour as the Holy Spirit reveals Himself and reveals to us Christ and reveals to us the Father. This is the greatness, my friends, of the truth of God's Word. How wonderful it is when the Holy Spirit comes and reveals these things to us. And perhaps we've been like the apostle Paul tells us when he wrote to the Romans.

He explained what his situation was and he had to come. And he tells us in the seventh chapter of the Romans, we find, therefore, he draws the analogy between the law of sin and death. And he comes down to tell us, he says, for the good that I would, I do not. but the evil which I would not that I do here is a man of God does that find an echo in your heart and my heart? well here's what he says now if I do that I would not It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Well, the hymn writer has a line, O thou hideous monster sin, what a curse hast thou brought in.

And so he comes and tells us, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Our soul, our inward man, Do you and I know the inward man? Do we know the blessing of delighting in what God has done? Well, he tells us this great favour, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man.

For I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity, The law of sin, which is in my members. Does that ring a bell in our hearts? We realize that left to ourselves, we're captivated by the devil, who controls our mind and our thoughts and leads us into sinful considerations. Well, says the Apostle, here I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

And then he cries out from his heart, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Do we understand that? Have we cried out like that? a wretched man that I am? And then there's this question, who shall deliver me from the body of this death, condemned?

And then he comes and says finally, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here's the gospel. Here's that which brings light and strength and encouragement to our soul. We called out a wretched man, I am, and now he comes and says, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God. but with the flesh, the law of sin. What's he doing? He's showing to us the battle between the flesh and the spirit. Every true believer understands this, because our life is a battle, a battle between ourselves, our spirit and our flesh.

Well how good it is then to recognize God's love toward us in bringing us to this realization and you know it's good to realize that it's the work of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit that brings us to this position and shows us his amazing love.

Well, the Lord says, and you will not come to me that you might have life. Well, I wonder by the grace of God, we can say, well, by God's grace, I have come. I have come. I sometimes quote, as you all know that hymn, I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad.

God knows about us. He knows where we are. He knows what we're thinking. And we can tell him precisely everything. We can make a clean breast of it before God. And that's a comfort. To be able to come and pour out our heart to God. God knows about us. No one else does. No one else knows our innermost thoughts, but God does.

And so how merciful it is we have such a God to be able to come to and tell him, but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. We're here speaking to the Jews and perhaps that's where we've been. Perhaps we may be there today, I don't know. And you will not come to me that you might have life.

Well, every true believer comes to Jesus. Yes, there's no other place. Jesus is the one thing needful. I, without Him, perish, must, no doubt about it. But what a blessing it is when God opens our eyes, our spiritual eyes, to behold the wonders of redeeming love, the love of God in coming into this sinful world to pay the price to take away our sin, that you and I stand redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Oh, how good it is.

You know, the psalmist David tells us In the 119th psalm, it's a well-known psalm. We don't know it all, but we have meditated on some of the verses in it, and recently we have. But also, if we come down in this 119th psalm to the 18th verse, the prayer of David. And what a blessing, it's our prayer. He says, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law we're born spiritually blind we don't understand we might think we do but it's when the Holy Spirit comes and opens our heart to see how evil we are how sinful we are and we can bless God And we have a kind and a gracious and merciful God.

And it's a good statement, isn't it? And in the previous verse, let me read the previous verse. 17, deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth. Hide not thy commandments from me. Interesting, isn't it?

I wonder whether you and I are a stranger in the world or if we're at home in the world. We're one or two things, aren't we? We're either a stranger or we're at home. That's why sometimes we refer to the death of somebody and that death either is for that person to go home to their eternal rest or to leave home their sinful life on this earth. And you and I come into one of those two categories. We will either be going home or we shall be leaving home.

Well, what a blessing if God has opened our eyes to see the vast difference between those two positions. Oh, open thou mine eyes. We don't want to go through life, do we? Spiritually blind. Spiritually blind. And then comes that great day when we must pass out of time into eternity and find that you and I don't possess the certificate to pass into glory.

And that certificate is signed with the blood of the Saviour that all our sins have ever washed away in his precious and most glorious sacrifice for sin. Well, hear the words of Jesus himself. Come back to the 39th verse. Search the Scriptures. Let us never be tired of searching the Scriptures. It's not easy. It's not easy to search the scriptures. And you may say, well, why isn't it easy? I'll tell you why it's not easy. Because the devil doesn't want you to. And you'll make all excuses why you should not search the scriptures.

But what a blessing it is when you and I search the scriptures, and we find there those secrets of the Lord. The secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him, and He will show them His covenant when He reveals Himself to you and me through the Scriptures through His words and they come to us where we are and they touch our hearts and they revive our spirits and we're able to come and to thank and praise Him that He has revealed Himself unto me as He does not unto the world What is it? It's the love of God. It's the grace of God. It's the favor of God.

Well, this morning, let us be found in searching the scriptures. For in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me, right from Genesis to Revelation, They speak of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, and it's good, my friends, to find it. Search the Scriptures to find Christ.

You'll find rest for your soul. You'll find joy and peace in believing, because you'll be able to believe the very truth of God's word. It's not man's word. It's God's word. And the truth of God's word, if you and I are given grace to believe it, will bring us safe home to glory. What a mercy. How comforting. What a blessing it is, therefore, to be found walking in this path.

Well, let's ponder these words which I read to you this morning. I'll read it again from verse 39. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men, but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. Well, may we be able to prove that we do have the love of God in us, and that we do believe the great truth of God's word, and we do have a good hope of eternal life. And when we have finished our little life on this earth, it will to be forever with the Lord. Amen.