Here in John chapter 6, we'll
begin reading at verse 35. Then we'll consider the context
of our Lord's words in just a moment. Verse 35, And Jesus said unto
them, them being a multitude of people that had followed him
across the sea to Capernaum, many of them being the multitude
that were witness and partakers of the miracle of the multiplication
of the loaves and the fishes the day before this. They followed
Christ across the sea. And Jesus said to them, I am
the bread of life. I'm the bread of life, the true
bread, living bread. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from
heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that
of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of
him that sent that every one would seeth the Son, and believeth
on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day." They all shall come. That's the title of my message.
They all shall come. Notice the contrast in verses
36 and 37. Our Lord says to this multitude
that got hungry again and wanted to have their stomachs filled
with earthly bread. Our Lord says to them that ye
also have seen me and believe not. You believe not. Well, does that make God's purpose
to be void? Does that make the mission of
the Son of Man to be a failure? No. Their unbelief doesn't change
a thing. Doesn't change a thing. Look
what our Lord says. Verse 37. All that the Father
giveth me. Now you've come with your feet,
He said to this multitude, but not with your heart. Not with
your heart. Coming to Christ is not something
done with the feet. everywhere are being told at
this hour, come forward. The altar call, as it's called,
is the climax of most services. But coming to Christ can't be
done with the physical feet. Coming to Christ is something
done with the heart. Done with the heart. No man can
come, Christ said in this same chapter, except God the Father
draw them, fetches them, by His mighty grace. And of those, those
are who He is speaking of when He says, all those, all that
the Father giveth me, they'll come to me. You won't come, but
they'll come. And him that cometh unto me,
I will in no wise cast out. There you have the purpose of
God Almighty. and the mission of the Son of
Man all in one. Their unwillingness, their unbelief
does not make void the purpose of God. Nothing can. Nothing
can. I like that. I rejoice in, find
comfort in the fact, the truth of a sovereign God. Oh, it gives
me peace and joy to hear my God say that He is in the heavens
doing whatsoever He has pleased. I don't have a problem with that.
Who would have a problem with that except a rebel? A rebel
does. They don't want to be told that
God is sovereign, that God has His way and the world wins, that
He rules everywhere, that all flesh is in the hands of the
Son of God and it's up to Him. His good pleasure, according
to the Father's will, to give them eternal life or not, we're
in His hand. Hear what God the Father says,
remember the former things of old, Isaiah 46, for I am God. I'm God. I'm not like these idols. I'm God. And there's none else.
I'm God. And there is none like me. Oh my God, how great thou art,
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I
shall do all my pleasure. And it was the Father's pleasure
to send His Son into this world. It was the Father's pleasure
to give Him a people. It was the Father's pleasure
to commit them into His hands. And it's the Father's good pleasure,
our Lord said, to give you the kingdom. Don't be afraid. Don't
be afraid. And concerning the mission of
the Son of Man, did the unbelief of this multitude make void His
mission or render it a failure? Oh, no. to God again. God the Father speaking of His
Son. He says in chapter 42 of Isaiah, Behold! Behold! Oh, for grace to behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I have
put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. Verse 4. Don't you like this,
child of God? He's speaking of that one who
is your short. He's speaking of that One in
whose hands you are. He's speaking of that One who
is responsible to take you to glory. And concerning those things
and every other thing He puts His hand to, God the Father says
of His Son, He shall not fail. When I hear people talking about,
especially preachers, about Jesus Christ trying to have His way
or He could have His way if people would allow Him to have His way,
I know they're not talking about the Christ of Scripture. That's
not Him. That's not Him. He's never described
that way. Concerning Him, God says, He
shall not fail nor be discouraged. And that great shepherd of the
sheep says plainly, Matter of factly, without question, without
doubt, without the possibility of it being any other way, but
this, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Salvation by Christ of those
God gave him is not determined by their merit, by their worth,
by their will, call it free will if you want to, but it's not
free like old Scott Richardson said. Yeah, your will's free
like a frog in a snake's belly. It can wiggle a little bit, but
he can't get out. Oh, no, you will not come to
me if left to yourself. Oh, thank God, then it's not
a matter of man's so-called free will, but God's mighty reigning
abounding free grace. I like that. I like that, don't
you? The son of David can say what
David said before him. God had made with me an everlasting
covenant ordered in all things and sure. They shall come. All those, he says, given to
the son by the father shall come to him. Now when you read that,
surely our Lord speaks of them coming in time. All of his sheep,
all of his sheep will hear his voice. They'll all come to him. They'll all be made willing in
the day of his power. They'll each come in time to
the experience of his sweet grace. They'll learn in time what they
cannot know otherwise. When they're called, they'll
know, oh, God must have chose me. I was chosen. Oh, my soul,
I've been called. That's the evidence of my election. He redeemed me, or I would have
never been called otherwise. Oh, but it means more than that.
They shall each be called in time to Christ, but they each
shall be called to Christ in glory. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. He speaks of both those comings,
coming in time in the experience of grace, and then coming to
be with Him in glory. He'll raise Him up at the last
day and say, I've lost none. That's what happened. That's
what happened yesterday evening. The great shepherd of the sheep
had said concerning Louis, concerning all the sheep, Father, I will,
that they also whom thou hast giving me, be with me where I
am. And he was one of them. And now
he's with him where he is. Oh, we rejoice that it's so.
Oh, think about that. Think about that, child of God.
Paul said, I press forward toward the high mark, the prize of the
calling that's in Christ Jesus. I've not got there yet. Oh, but
I've got my eye on the finish line. And look what's waiting
for all God's redeemed. The Redeemer himself. They shall
see him as he is. Oh, behold, John said. Behold
this wonder. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know, we know. He promised that it's so. He's
told us that it's so. We know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him, like Bobby just
now sang, with an unsinning heart. We shall see him as he is. Think about that. Now, I hear
people self-professed prophets with their charts and their figures
and got it all figured out, pre-millennial, post-millennial, Reynolds aluminum,
as Tim James called it. But, oh, brothers and sisters
in Christ, the only reason, the only reason And we find this
in scripture. Peter said it was so. The only
reason God Almighty allows His evil, Christ-rejecting, perverse
world to continue, the only reason He allows it to continue, that
He doesn't put an end to it right now, is because He's still calling
out His elect. Christ still has sheep. that
haven't been called to him yet, and they shall be called. They'll
all be called. They'll not be one lost. They'll
all come to Christ. They'll all hear his voice. They'll
all follow him. They'll all experience his saving
grace. That's not happened yet. The
great shepherd is still calling out his sheep. Remember what
Peter wrote in his second epistle? He said, in the last days there'll
come scoffers and mockers. And we have them all the time
though. I mean, you've had people tell
you, Christ, we've heard that all our life. You say you're
looking for the return of Jesus Christ? Well, where is he at? Well, it's a fairy tale. It's
a fable. And Peter said, this they're
willingly ignorant of. God is not slack. God is not
slack about anything. He's not slack about any of his
purposes. He said, Peter said, God is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count silence, but
he's long-suffering." To who? To us-ward. To us-ward. He's chosen. He's redeemed. He's long-suffering to them,
to us-ward, the elect. Those are who Peter wrote to,
not willing that any should perish. Oh no, but they should come to
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why the world stands.
Because as of yet, all the sheep haven't come to Him. But He said
they will come. They will come. They'll all come. Everyone, not one will be lost. Glory to His name. Why is that
so? Because this is the Father's
will. This is why Jesus Christ came into this world. He didn't
come to be an example of morality. He didn't come to be a martyr. He came to lay down His life
for His sheep. He came to redeem us with His
own precious blood. He came to bring in an everlasting
righteousness. He came to save all of His people
from all of their sins and glory to His name. He shall not fail. He shall not fail. The Son of
Man came down from heaven to seek and to save those who are
lost and He will. They shall come to Him wherever
they are. Whoever they are might be a poor,
blind beggar sitting by a dusty wayside in Jericho. Jericho, my soul, that was notorious. Notorious in every bad way. Jericho,
can any good thing come from Jericho? That's where the man
in the parable that was robbed and left for dead was on the
road to Jericho. And one day, as always, there
sits one poor blind beggar, Barney Mayers. Ain't nobody pays him
much mind. He's there every day. He's a
nuisance. Wish he'd go somewhere else. People try to ignore him.
Oh, Barney Mayers sits there in his rags, in his blindness,
begging for an offering, begging for an alms. And then one day,
he hears a commotion. It's obviously a multitude of
people passing by. And he asks, what's going on? What's going on? And he's told
that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. He'd heard of him. He'd heard
of him. And he began to cry out at the
top of his lungs, Lord, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And lo and behold, lo and behold,
in Mark's account of it, chapter 10, when Jesus heard the cry
of that blind beggar, now remember, remember, he's on his way to
be made sin for his people. He's on his way to obtain eternal
redemption for us. But on his way there, he hears
the cry of one poor blind beggar, and Jesus Christ stops dead in
his tracks. You know why? Because all that
the Father given me shall come to me. And he'll have every one
of them. It may be that despised publican. He climbed a tree. He was a short
fellow. And just out of curiosity, the only reason he was there
that day and climbed that tree was to get a glimpse of Jesus
Christ. It was just curiosity. That's the only reason he did
so. But it wasn't so for the Son of God. We read in Luke 8,
19 rather, that Jesus came to that spot and stood still. And looked up and said, Zacchaeus,
come down, because today I must, I must abide at thy house. And that publican was saved by
God's sovereign grace. And the Lord said, the Son of
Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. It might
even be a condemned thief dying justly on the cross. And looks over and says, Lord,
remember me. Man, he's got something. Remember
you? You just confessed that you're
getting what you deserved, you and that other thief. You're
not being treated unjustly. Nobody's infringing on your right. You're getting exactly what you've
got coming and you want him to remember you? Are you serious? And you remember what the Lord
said today? Oh, never a man spake like this
man. He said, today thou shalt be
with me in paradise, wherever, I repeat, wherever his sheep
are, whoever they are, the great shepherd will seek them out and
he'll find them. He'll seek, he won't cease the
search until he finds them. And when he finds them, he'll
save them. And he'll bring them all the
way home. He'll preserve them, he'll keep them by the power
of his grace, and he'll bring them all the way to be with him
in the Father's house in glory, and none will be lost. This is
the will of the Father, he says. that of all which he has given
me, I should lose none." Turn over a few pages here in John's
Gospel, chapter 10. He repeats this again and again.
In chapter 10, verse 16, he said, other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold, what's going to happen to them? Well, them
also I must bring. They shall all come to me. Them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice. And there shall
be one fold and one shepherd. Look down at verse 26. Look what he says here. But ye
believe not, because you're not my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life.
And they shall never perish. They shall never perish. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which
gave them to me, is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand." Oh, look at that. Look at that.
He says, there we are, the sheep in his hand. There, in the hand
of the omnipotent God and Savior. And he said, not only that, you're
in the Father's hand, in God's hand. in my hand. Now who's going
to pluck me out? Who's going to snatch me out
of the hand of my mighty God and Savior? Oh, they shall come
to me, Christ says. The sheep will come to the shepherd. To Christ the only Savior. I
hope you'll take time, if you haven't already, to read the
article about your brother Henry in your bulletin today. Only
one ark. Only one ark. Oh, the only Savior,
the only mediator, the only way to God, the only ark. In chapter
10 again, verse 9, Christ said, I am the door. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
I'm the door. I'm the way to God. I'm the way
of grace. I'm grace personified. I'm the
way to everlasting life. I'm the way to peace with God. Peace with God. My soul, what's
that worth? What's that worth? To lie down
at night and to know I have peace with God. God's not angry with
me. God doesn't have a quarrel with
me. Jesus Christ made peace with God on my behalf. That's what
we read in Ephesians chapter 2. Oh, what a blessed, blessed
reality that is to have peace with God. All is well between
me and God. That's a blessed man indeed.
The world looks out and they see a celebrity. or a rich person,
and they say, oh, that's a blessed man. That's a blessed man. Oh,
no, no, no. The old Puritans used to say
when God willed to curse a nation, he would send it prosperity,
and they would turn their hearts away from God. You know who the
blessed man is? The psalmist described him. He
said, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes calls
us to approach unto thee. That's the blessed man. Who's
the blessed man? Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. That's the blessed man. Here's
the second thing looking at our text again, verse 27 in John
6. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. and him that cometh unto me I
will in no wise cast out." A certain reception. A certain reception. I will in no wise cast out. I like that. What our Lord actually
said was, no, never, never, never cast out. Christ receives sinful
men. He came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. He came to save sinners, not
good sinners, not believing sinners, not willing sinners, but sinners
just like he finds them, dead dog sinners. That's what Mephibosheth
said to David. Who am I? Who am I that you should
look upon such a dead dog as me? Who am I that God Almighty
would choose me? and give me to his son. Who am
I that Jesus Christ would come into this world and shed his
precious blood for me? Who am I that he would call me
by his grace? Who am I, this dead dog sinner,
that he wants me with him in glory? Indeed, greater the sinner,
the greater the grace. Christ doesn't search for a believing
sinner. He gives unbelievers faith. He doesn't seek living sinners. He brings dead sinners to life. This is the language of scripture.
You hath he quicken? Made a lie, Paul said in Ephesians
2 verse 1. You hath he quicken who were
dead? Dead. Dead. Helpless. Take the first step
and God will take the rest. Sorry preacher, sorry. I can't
do it. I'm dead. I can't do anything. I can't take the first step.
I can't take any step. I'm dead. And until he who said
I'm the resurrection and the life comes to me and gives me
life, I'll stay dead. Oh, but when he says live, live. The very life that flows through
his own veins is the same life he gives to me, everlasting life. No wonder he says, my sheep shall
never perish. It sounds like to me, preacher,
you're saying that Jesus Christ does it all. There you go. There
you go. You got it right. He does it
all. He does it all. This matter of
salvation, it's all of grace from beginning to end. Old Spurgeon. was going to visit a widow, a
member of his church one day, was going to call on her. And
she knew he was coming. And he knew she was poor. He
knew her circumstances. So before he left, he got a few
little cakes that his wife had made and put in a napkin and
put in his pocket to take with him. When he went to visit this
widow, they sat down and she poured some tea. And then she
got up to go get something. When she came back, Spurgeon
had then set those cakes out on the table on that napkin,
and she brushed them off. She said, you don't bring nothing
here. She said, I've got my own. I
invited you. I'll supply the meal. I'll supply
our food here. And that's exactly what Christ
said, does he not? Hey, is anybody thirsty? He cries
out. Anybody thirsty? Come ye to the
waters, buy wine. and milk without money and without
price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread? Labor for that which doesn't
satisfy. Oh, we see people do it all the
time. Spending their life for that
which does not satisfy. Chasing a bubble, hearken unto
me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Jesus says everything's ready.
Don't bring nothing of your own. No, no, no. Everything's ready. Come and die. Here's a third
thing. A certain conquest. Look at verse
39 again here in John 6. And this is the Father's will
which is sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. Christ's sheep will never ever
perish. Not one. They can never be lost
after being found. That's what he taught. They're
in Christ's hand. Peter said that we have an inheritance
in heaven reserved for us and we'll be kept until we have that
inheritance. We are kept by the power of God. And with David, every child of
God can join in singing that sweet psalm, the Lord is my shepherd. So what? So what? Well, so what this? If the Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want. That is, I shall not like. I shall not lack anything God
requires. I shall not lack anything necessary
to keep me and to preserve me and to bring me to glory. Having
Jesus Christ as my righteousness and my wisdom, my sanctification
and redemption, having Jesus Christ, I must be complete in
Him. How could I be anything but complete? Last of all, verse 40, a certain
conclusion. a certain outcome. And this is
the will of him that sent me, that every one would seeth the
Son, and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I
will raise him up again at the last day. We shall be raised
up from corruption to incorruption, from mortal to immortality, raised
up to be with Christ. The bride must be with the bridegroom. The sheep must follow their shepherd. This is what we read in Revelation
chapter 14 concerning the redeemed that are with the Lamb. These
are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whether so ever he goes. Wherever the Lamb is, the sheep's
going to follow. They follow the Lamb whether
so ever he goeth. These were redeemed from among
men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their
mouth was found no gall," listen to this, "'for they are without
fault before the throne of God.'" Without fault before the throne
of God. Isn't it comforting to remember
that Christ is the one responsible for bringing all the sheep to
the Father's house? Jesus Christ must answer for
me. I'm not responsible to keep myself,
to preserve myself, to keep myself from falling. He promised the
Father that he would do that. He must answer for me. And if
one of his sheep should perish, it won't be their fault, it would
be the shepherd's fault. God put us into his hands. He's responsible for us. And
he says, I'll let the Father give it, and he shall come to
me. And I'll raise him up again at the last day. His body, his
church must be with their glorious head, the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you will, for a moment,
Revelation chapter 7. I just love these verses of scripture. We're told that John sees a multitude
that no man can number before the throne of God. And the elder
in verse 13 asks John, who are these? which are arrayed in white
robes, where did they come from? And John said, sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out. Listen, child of God. Listen,
suffering believer, heartbroken. These are they which came out
of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. They all suffered. They all endured
trials, temptations, heartaches, sorrow, but bless His glorious
name, they all came out. Mark gives us a good picture
of that. In chapter 4, the Lord tells
His disciples, let us pass over into the other side. A big storm
arose. They thought they were going
to perish. Don't you care that we perish? rebukes the wind and
the sea, and then in verse one of the next chapter we read,
and they came out to the other side. Let us pass over us, us. Whatever happens to them happens
to Christ. If they perish, Jesus Christ
has to perish first, and that's the impossible. There's a hymn
in our hymn book that puts it this way. Sometimes on the mount
where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children along.
Sometimes in the valley, in the darkest of night, God leads his
dear children along. Though sorrows befall us and
Satan oppose, God still leads his dear children along. Though
through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, because
God leads his dear children along. Some through the waters, and
some through the flood, some through the fire. but all through
the blood. Some through great sorrow, but,
but, God gives a song. Yes, he does. In the night season
and all the day long. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy
name, thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. God leads his dear children along. This multitude before the throne,
they all wear the same blessed garment, don't they? White robes. White robes. That's symbolic
of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Oh, when He
shall come with trumpet sound, oh, then may I then in Him be
found, dressed in His righteousness alone, thoughtless. Oh, did the
songwriter go too far there? Thoughtless? No. The Him that
is able to keep you from falling and to present you thoughtless
before the presence of His glory. Are you still in Revelation 7?
verses 15 through 17. Therefore, therefore, because
their robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb, therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the Lamb, which is in the
midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Thus when the Christian pilgrim
views by faith his mansion in the skies, the sight his fainting
strength renews and wings its speed to reach the prize. The
thought of home his spirit cheers, no more he grieves for troubles
past, nor any future trial he fears, so that he may safe arrive
at last. Tis there, he says, I am to dwell
with Jesus. Tis there, he says, I am to dwell
with Jesus in the realms of day. Then I shall bid my cares farewell,
and he'll wipe all my tears away. God bless you. God bless you.