I've entitled this message, Draw
Me. When my heart has grown cold
and unfeeling and I can't even come up with a spark of life,
this is my prayer. Draw me. will run after thee. When my heart feels aflame with
love to Christ and zeal for his glory, my prayer is, draw me. We'll run after thee. When I feel helpless before sin
and before temptation, And I know I can't stand before it. The
prayer of my heart is, draw me. Draw me. We'll run after Thee. Now, this prayer is ever-present
with every believer, regardless of their condition. This is the
desire of their heart. When they feel and when they
don't feel, the desire is, draw me. draw me, and we will run
after thee." Now, we have some understanding of our own personal
sinfulness, and we know that if he doesn't draw us, we won't
run after him. You know that, don't you? In
grace, he must initiate everything. I won't believe unless he first
gives me the faith. I won't repent unless he grants
me repentance. I won't love unless he puts that
love in my heart. I will not rejoice unless he
causes me to rejoice. In our experience of grace, it
all must be initiated by him. We find that in our own experience,
don't we? Draw me. If you don't draw me,
I won't run after you. So I'm praying. Draw me. We will run after thee. Now, this prayer is throughout
the Psalms. If you want to find out what
really goes on in a believer's heart, the best thing you could
do is read the Psalms. Because if you talk to anybody
on any level, you won't get all the truth. You just won't. I
mean, they'll say this, they'll say that, they'll say what you
want to hear. But if you want to know what a believer is really
like, someone who's born of the spirit of God, someone who's
been born from above, read the Psalms, and you'll find out what
truly goes in their hearts. And you're going to see that
in our experience of grace, we know He must initiate it. Now let me give you some samples
of this. Turn to Psalm 27. I'm going to
show you a bunch of scriptures out of Psalms. These are the
ones that came to my mind, and there are a whole lot more. Psalm 27, verse 8. When thou sensed, seek ye my
face. My heart said unto thee, Thy
face, Lord, will I seek." Now, it's a good thing to seek the
face of the Lord, isn't it? And when do you do it? When he
says, Seek ye thy face. Turn to Psalm 51, verse 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice." Make me
to hear joy. I won't hear it unless you make
me to hear it. Look in verse 14. Deliver me
from blood guiltiness, sins that deserve death, O God, thou God
of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
Open, O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth
thy praise, and my mouth will not show forth your praise until
you first open my lips." Draw me. Open my lips. Cause me to seek your face. Look
in Psalm 65. Verse 4, Blessed is the man whom
thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee, that he may
dwell in thy courts. That's a good thing to approach
unto the living God, isn't it? And the only way I'll do it is
if he chooses me to it and he causes me to do it. I find that
in my own experience. Draw me. Look over in Psalm 80. Psalm 80, verse 3. Turn us again, O God, and cause
thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. The only way we're
going to turn is if you turn us. So turn us again, and cause
thy face to shine, and we'll be saved. Look in verse 17. Let
thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man
whom thou hast made strong for thyself. So will not we go back
from thee, quicken us, and we'll call upon thy name. Turn us again,
O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and we'll be saved. The only way we won't go back
is if he quickens us and causes us to turn to him." And that's
the prayer of our hearts, isn't it? Psalm 119. There's a bunch
of scriptures like this. Psalm 119. Verse three. No, I'm sorry, verse five. David
says, oh, that my ways were directed to keep my statutes and they
won't keep the statutes unless you cause my ways to be directed
to keep your statutes. Look in verse 18. Open down mine
eyes. that I may behold wondrous things
out of the law, I'm not going to do it unless you open my eyes.
Look in verse 27. Make me to understand the way
of thy precepts, so shall I talk of thy wondrous works, but I
won't do it until you make me to understand. Look in verse
32. I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt
enlarge my heart, but if you don't enlarge my heart, I won't
do it. Look in verse 33 through 36. Teach me, O Lord, the way
of thy statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end. But you've
got to teach me first. Give me understanding, and I'll keep
thy law, but you've got to give it to me first. Yea, I shall
observe it with my whole heart. Make me Make me, I like that
language, make me to go in the path of thy commandments, for
therein do I like. Incline my heart under thy testimonies
and not to covetousness. And if you don't incline my heart
to your testimonies, I know my heart will be inclined to covetousness. Look in verse 88 of this same
chapter. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness, so shall I keep
the testimony of thy mouth. Verse 117. Hold down me up. And I'll be safe. I'll have respect
into thy statutes continually when you hold me up. Verse 125. I am thy servant. Give me understanding that I
may know thy testimonies. Verse 133. Order my steps in
thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Turn over
to Psalm 143. This is the last one we'll look
at just to show you how this Thought is in the heart of a
believer continually in his own experience. Whether he feels
cold or whether he feels hot, his cry is continually, draw
me, draw me to yourself and I'll run after thee. Look at it in
Psalm 143 verse 8. Cause me to hear. Thy lovingkindness
in the morning, for in Thee do I trust. Cause me to know the
way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee.
Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. I flee unto Thee to hide me.
Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Thy Spirit is
good. Lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord,
for Thy namesake, for Thy righteousness' sake. Bring my soul out of trouble."
Now, you see that in the heart of a believer, this is a continual
cry. Draw me. Draw me. We'll run after thee. You know, this kind of language
almost sounds like David is laying the responsibility of what he
should do on the Lord. If you don't do this for me,
then I won't do it. That's what David's saying, isn't
it? If you don't do this for me, then I won't do it. Now, we know the truth. Without
me, you can do nothing. But if we do nothing, we don't
blame the Lord, do we? We blame ourselves. We don't say, He could have enabled
me and didn't. Therefore, it's his fault and
not mine. No, it's all my fault. If I overspend and get myself
in a world of trouble financially through irresponsible living,
and you've got plenty of money to bail me out, is it your fault
that I did that? Is it your responsibility to
get me out of that mess? No. It's all my fault. So we take the blame for our
sins. It's all our fault. But we know this, unless he draws
me, unless he initiates in me what I'm required to do, I won't
do it. Therefore, we cry, draw me. cause me to do thy will, and
we will run after thee." Now, the foundation behind this prayer
is the perseverance of the saints. That's what's being taught here,
the perseverance of the saints. Now, some of you might have been
here. This has been quite a number
of years ago. Bruce Crabtree was preaching
here, and he kept mispronouncing a word. He was talking about
perseverance and he started calling it perseverance. Perseverance,
and you know, that's not the way you pronounce it, but wait
a minute. Perseverance, I believe that word ought to be put in
the dictionary. That's a good word. We persevere because we're
preserved. We're preserved through perseverance. Perseverance, that's a good word,
isn't it? the perseverance of the saints. We persevere in following Christ. Our Lord said, he that endureth
to the end, the same shall be saved. And if I don't endure
to the end, I will not be saved. We continue in his word. We deny ourselves We take up
our cross daily and follow Him. And we're called upon to pluck
out the right eye and cut off the right hand if it causes us
to offend. Somebody says, literally? I like
what one fellow said. Because I've heard people say
that we ought to do that literally. I say, you first. But yes, we are called upon. to pluck out the right hand,
or pluck out the right eye, and cut off the right hand in following
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we persevere only because
we are preserved. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling. Actually, the only way I won't
fall is if he keeps me from falling. Peter said, by the power of God through faith
unto salvation. Now, our Lord said, I give unto
my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. The reason
we persevere is because we're preserved by him. Now, you take
away the perseverance, the preservation, how do you say it? Perseverance.
That's why I always start using that word. You take away the
perseverance of the believer and you make meaningless the
gospel. I mean, if a believer could fall
away, what's election mean? Nothing. What's the atonement
of Christ mean? Not a thing. What's the new birth
mean? Nothing. What's justification
mean if you can be, fall away and be damned after all that?
It doesn't mean a thing. Preservance of the believer is
behind every doctrine of scripture. It makes everything meaningless
if a believer is not preserved. Now, so what is my cry from my
heart? Draw me. Draw me. We'll run after thee. And if you don't draw me, I know
I won't. Now, I believe in the eternal
security of God's elect, and I fear falling away. I do. I believe in the eternal
security of God's elect. Not one of them will ever fall
away. And I personally fear falling away. You see, we have this thing
called the flesh. And let me tell you how powerful
the flesh is. I think this gives us some idea of the power of
the flesh. Believer, right now, while you're sitting here listening
to me, you'll never be any more holy than you are right now.
In heaven, You'll never be any more holy than you are right
now. You can't get a hold of that,
can you? You can't even come close to getting a hold of that.
If so, I know that's true. If so, but the flesh has such
power and brings us down so much that we can't even get a hold
of that. Therefore, we fear. Yes, I believe in the eternal
security of the believer, and I fear falling away. Now turn to John chapter 6. You
know what scripture I'm going to read. John chapter 6. Very
important verse of scripture. Verse 44. No man can come to me. No man has the
ability to come to me, except the Father which hath sent me
draw him. And I will raise him up at the
last day." Now, there are two different responses to that. Well, if I can't come unless
I'm drawn, then I can do about it. I'll just wait till he draws
me and I'll go on my merry way. Or we can say, draw me. Draw me into your presence. Draw
me and I'll run after thee. Now that word, draw me, where
no man can come to me except the Father who sent me. Drawing,
that word draw, what does it mean? Well, the same word is
used in James chapter 2, verse 6, where it says, Do not rich
men oppress you and draw you before the judgment. What it
means is they drag you. They drag you before the judgment.
You remember when the net was filled with 153 fish and they
drew it in? They drug it in. No man can come
to me except the Father which has sent me drag him. And if you're a believer, you
know that so. I don't have to convince you of that. You know
the only way you'll come to Christ is as he drags you by invincible,
irresistible grace. And this is what is called irresistible
grace. Turn to Romans chapter 5. Let
me show you a couple of verses of Scripture. And let me say
this before I go on. Somebody says, what, does that
mean we come against our will? No, he makes you willing. Yes,
you're drug in with your full consent. He makes you willing. And what irresistible grace is
more than anything else, when God gives you grace, you find
the Lord Jesus Christ irresistible. You must have him. You must hear
the gospel. You can't resist. You have to
have him. You have to believe. That's what
happens when God gives you grace. Now look here at Romans chapter
5. Here's irresistible grace. Verse 20. Moreover, the law entered
that the offense might abound. Wherever the law entered, Whenever
the law was seen in its reality, it shows that all sin does is
abound. It abounds in me. But where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound than as sin hath reigned
unto death. Now, you think of the reign of
sin. How much power do you have to resist death? Can you say
no to death? I'm never going to die, I want
to bet. I want to bet. I guarantee you. You don't have
any power to resist death. It has complete sway over you
because you've sinned. That's why you're going to die.
That as sin hath reigned unto death, in the same manner grace
reigns. You can't say no to death. You
can't say no to grace because it's irresistible. If he puts
his grace in your heart, you're going to be saved. Ain't nothing
you can do about it. And you're going to like it that
way. You're going to love it that way. You're going to run
in that way. Turn to Philippians chapter 2. Verse 13. Let's start in verse
12. Wherefore, my beloved, as you
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you, both to
will and to do. of his good pleasure. That is
irresistible grace. He works in you. Both to will. He makes you willing. Only God
can do that. I can't make you willing. If I could, I would
make you willing to do everything I tell you to do. If I could. But I can't. And as far as my
will goes, I can't make myself do anything. I mean, you know,
I like what John Chapman, I remember he said, He said, if I had a
free will, I'd just freely will to lose 20 pounds, but I can't
do it. I mean, our will is chained up in so many different respects.
But he works in us both to will and to do his good pleasure. Look in Hebrews chapter 13. Verse 20. Now the God of peace
that brought again from the dead Our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Strangely, mysteriously,
by His grace, He makes us willing. shall be willing in the day of
thy power, and we are willing to be saved by him in all ways. Now, what's behind this? This
drawing that we read. No man can come to me except
the Father, which has sent me drawing. What's behind this is
down there in Jeremiah 31, 3, where God said, Behold, I love
thee, with an everlasting love. Now, there's never been a time
when he didn't love you. You go back before time began,
he loved you then. If you're one of his, there's
never. Behold, I've loved you with an everlasting love, therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Turn with me to John chapter
12. Now, here's the drawing of the
gospel. John chapter 12, verse 32. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth. Now, before we finish reading
that verse, look down in verse 33. Here's what he meant by that.
This, he said, signifying what death he should die. When he
was talking about being lifted up from the earth, he's talking
about being nailed to a cross and that cross being lifted up
and dropped in the sand. Now he says, and I, if I be crucified,
is what that means. If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all. Notice the word men is in italics. It's translated, it's put there
by the translators to clear up the meaning. I'm not real sure
that it does. It's literally, we'll draw the all. All the elect. Everybody I've died for. If I
be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all unto me. Now, what this is a reference
to is the cross. And you know the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm drawn to what the cross has
to say. You see the cross, you can't
know God apart from the cross. There's no knowledge of God apart
from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the cross, I see who
I am. Now, listen to me real carefully. The only way you can understand
how sinful you are, how sinful personally you are, is not by
looking within and thinking of the bad things you've done. It's
by looking to the cross where the Lord was crucified. That's
what you would do if God took his hand off of you and left
you to yourself. You would murder Jesus Christ. And that's how
bad every one of us are. The only way I get a realistic
look at myself is through the cross. The only way I can know
who God is. It's in the cross. Every attribute of God is displayed
in the cross. I see His holiness, His hatred
for sin, His justice. He must punish sin. I see His
power in putting away sin. I see His wisdom in making a
way to be just and yet justify somebody like me. All of God's
attributes are displayed in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there's something about that that draws us. Turn with me to
Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one. Another
very familiar passage of Scripture, verse 20. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, all reason for wrath has been
removed. God is satisfied. Do you find
that? Are you drawn to that? Having
made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile
all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things on earth or things in heaven. And you that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
have He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight.
Are you drawn to that? My soul, I am. I mean, that's And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to me." Now, this word, draw,
in the Hebrew, where the church says, draw me and we'll run after
thee, is also translated, continue. Psalm 3610, continue thy lovingkindness. Continue your lovingkindness
and we'll run after thee. It's translated in Psalm 109,
12, extend mercy, extend mercy to me and we'll run after thee.
It's translated in Nehemiah 9, 30, forbear, forbear, put up
with me and we'll run after thee. In Ecclesiastes 2, 26, it's translated
give, give, give me the grace to run after thee and I'll run
after thee. Draw me. And I'll run after thee. In Judges
5, 14, it's handle, handle me. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, and we'll run after thee. Draw me and we'll run after
thee. Not poke along, not turn aside,
not become distracted, but we will run after thee. And this
thing of running after him, that's what I want to do, don't you?
I don't want to poke along. I want to be somebody that runs
after him. Now, you may remember this scripture I read in Psalm
119, verse 32. David said, I'll run after thee,
I'll run after thy commandments, I'll run in the way of thy commandments,
when thou hast enlarged my heart. Now here's what I need in order
to run after him and run after the way of his commandments.
I need him to enlarge my heart. Now in the Bible, The heart is not some ethereal, undefinable
something. It's the whole man. The heart
means the understanding. The heart means the affections. The heart means the will. I need my understanding enlarged. I need my affections enlarged. I need my will enlarged. Now, when he enlarges the understanding, you'll know what I'm saying. Honestly, the more I know, the
more I say I don't know. I'm sure of that. And the gospel
keeps becoming more mysterious, more incomprehensible. More glorious? Way beyond me. And the more I
understand, the more I see I do not understand. But there are
some things that I understand. More now than I ever have. I understand that the righteousness
of Jesus Christ is the only righteousness I have. I understand that. I understand that if He doesn't
draw me because of my sinfulness, because of the coldness and wickedness
of my heart, if He doesn't draw me, I will not run after Him. I understand that. And so you
know what I pray? Draw me! Draw me! And we'll run after Thee. The will is expanded. Now, your will is what you desire.
That's what your will is. It's what you wish for. It's
what you desire. It's what you want. That's what
your will is. Now, we don't have the power to make our will come
to pass, do we? I mean, there's a lot of things
I want, but unless He causes them to come to pass, I'm not
going to have them. I can't make anything come to pass. I think
it's funny how so many people are control freaks when they
have absolutely no control. It's a waste of time to be a
control freak. Let me assure you that. But the
will being expanded, the desire being expanded. Now let me tell
you what my desire is. My desire, my greatest aspiration,
is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's expanding
more than... I don't... Well, don't you want
to be a great preacher? No, I want to be found in Christ.
Don't you want to see the church grow? Yeah, I do, but I want
to be found in Christ. That's what I want. I want to
be found in Him and nowhere else. My desire has expanded in that
sense. My affections are expanded in
my heart I love being saved by His righteousness. With the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and I love being saved by His
righteousness. I love being saved wholly by
grace. I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I love Him. Now, when He expands
my heart, I run in the way of his commandments. Now, let me
leave you with this thought. Draw me, and we'll run after
thee. We're not running after doctrine.
We're not running after a better life. We're running after the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. we're pursuing him. Draw me invincibly,
irresistibly. We'll run after these. We don't want to stumble and
fumble along. We do plenty of that, don't we?
We want to run after him. Let's pray.