One of the old hymn writers wrote these words, "'Come, ye
sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and power. Let not conscience make you linger. nor a fitness fondly dreamed. All the fitness Christ requireth
is to feel your need of Him. Come ye weary, heavy laden, bruised
and mangled by the fall. If you tarry till you're better,
you'll never come at all. True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you now, without money, without money,
come to Jesus. Come to Jesus and buy. I'll go to Jesus, though my sin
has like a mountain raised, and I'll say to him, I'm a wretch
undone without your sovereign grace. I can but perish if I
go, but I am resolved to try, for if I stay away from Christ,
I must forever die. I'll to the gracious King approach,
whose scepter mercy gives. Perhaps he'll receive my touch,
and then the sinner lives. But if I die, with mercy sought,
when I, the king, have tried that were to die, what I thought,
as a sinner, had never died. Charlotte Elliott put it this
way, just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was
shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God,
I come. Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose blood can cleanse
each spot, Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am, poor, wretched,
and blind, but sight, riches, and healing of the mind, and
all, all in thee, in thee I'll find, Lamb of God. I come." Well, coming to Christ
is a very common term in the Word of God. Our Lord Jesus one
day lifted his eyes to heaven and he said, I thank thee, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hid these things from
the wise and prudent, but you've revealed them to babes. You've
revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, it seemed good
in thy sight. Come unto me, all ye that labor
in a heavy laden. Come unto me, and I'll give you
rest. And again, on that great day
of the feast, the last day of the feast, our Lord stood on
the porch of the temple, and as he watched the people departing
from the ceremonies and departing from all of the traditions and
going back home, he said, hey, if any man thirsts, Let him come
to me. Let him come to me. And out of
his belly will flow rivers of living water. This he spake of
the Spirit, which all that believe on him, all that believe on him
should receive. And John, before he closed the
book of Revelation, he said, The Spirit and the bride say
come. The Holy Spirit and the bride of Christ say come. and
let him that heareth say come, and let him that is a thirst
come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Coming to Christ. Coming to Christ. Coming to Christ. What is it to come to Christ?
Well, it's the same as believing on Christ. Coming to Christ is
to believe on Christ. The Word says they'll never call
on Him in whom they have not believed. They'll never come
to Him in whom they've not believed. Coming to Christ is to believe
on Him. Coming to Christ is to receive Him. Coming to Christ
is to trust Him. You never trust Christ until
you come to Him. You never come to Him until you
trust Him. And if you come to Him, you'll come because you
do trust Him. Coming to Christ is to leave our idols, like Paul
said of the Thessalonians. He said, you have left your idols
and come to serve the living God. Coming to Christ is to turn
away from my works. To turn away from my works of
righteousness to his perfect righteousness. Because it's not
by works of righteousness which I've done, but according to his
mercy he saved us. coming to Christ is to turn away
from my religious tradition. The Apostle Paul said, I count
it all but done. I was born a Hebrew of Hebrews.
I was a Pharisee. Concerning the law, I was blameless.
I served God after the tradition of my father's. But he said,
I count these things but lost. I turn away from them. I lay
them down, yea, I count them but dumb that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. Coming to Christ is turning away
from my ceremonies. Ceremonies can't save. All the
blood on Jewish altars down through the centuries cannot put away
one sin or one stain. It's coming to His perfect sacrifice
by which He perfected forever them that are sanctified. Coming
to Christ. It's turning away from my feelings
and my emotions to the unchanging covenant so that I can lie down
with David, that sweet psalmist of Israel, the son of Jesse,
the man after God's own heart, and be able to say, although
it be not so at my house, God hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and this is my salvation
and all my desire, coming to Christ. is to turn away from
all these things and to turn to him alone. Because coming
to Christ is to come to Christ personally. Personally. He said, come unto me, all ye
that labor in a heavy laden. That's where we make a mistake.
Coming to Christ is not coming to the church. I believe folks
who have come to Christ will come to church. But coming to
Christ is not coming to church. Many have come to church who've
never come to Christ. And some have come to Christ
who never had the opportunity to go to church. The thief on
the cross was one. Christ said, come to me and I'll
give you rest. If any man thirsts, let him come
to me. Let him come to me. Seek the
Lord while he may be found. You'll seek me and find me when
you search for me with all your heart. That's it, brother, me.
Don't miss him. It's not coming to the things
of Christ, it's coming to Christ. It's not even coming to the law
of Christ, it's coming to Christ. It's not coming to the preacher.
How many have shaken the preacher's hand who have never seen Christ
the Lord? What a sad, sad experience to
come to the front of a church and make a loud boast of profession
of what I have when I don't have anything. Because coming to Christ
is not to come to the altar. It's to come to Him who is the
altar. We have an altar. Coming to Christ
is not coming to the ordinances, not coming to baptism or even
to the sacraments or the Lord's table or communion. Coming to
Christ is to come to Christ. Coming to Christ is not coming
to the doctrines of grace. It's coming to Christ. You can
learn all the doctrines. and never know him who gave them. You can know the teachings and
not know the teacher, but if you know the teacher, you know
the teachings. Let me show you a verse that may help you in
Psalm 130. Psalm 130, listen to this. I'm
gonna read most of this Psalm, but it says here in Psalm 130,
out of the depths have I cried unto thee. Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee. Coming to Christ is coming to
Him, to cry unto Him, to look unto Him, to lay hold upon Him. Out of the depths that I cried
Psalm 130 unto thee, O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears
be attended to the voice of my supplication. If thou, Lord,
shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there's
forgiveness with thee. that thou mayest be feared, I
wait for the Lord. I'm not waiting for the preacher
to come to see me, I'm waiting for the Lord. I'm not waiting
for someone to pat me on the head and say, you got it now,
I'm waiting for the Lord. I wait for the Lord. My soul
doth wait, and in His word, His word do I hope, my soul waiteth
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. Oh, how
long the night gets when you're sick, can't sleep, pain wracking
your body, and you just wait for the morning. Oh, I wish the
sun had come up. Some of you experienced that,
I know. I wish the morning would come. He said, I wait for the
Lord more than they that wait for the morning. More than they
that wait for the morning. I say more than they that watch
for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there's mercy. You see what he's saying? He
didn't say, let Israel hope for mercy. He says, let Israel hope
in the Lord. That's where mercy is. It's in
a person. Don't seek mercy, seek the Lord.
Let Israel hope in the Lord. With the Lord there's mercy.
Let Israel hope in the Lord. With the Lord there's plenty
of redemption. If you can lay hold on Him, you've
got mercy. If you lay hold on Him, you've
got redemption. He didn't say, let Israel hope
for redemption. I'm not seeking redemption. I'm
seeking the Redeemer. I'm not seeking mercy. I'm seeking
Him. Oh, somebody says, if I just
had assurance, I don't want assurance, I want Christ. It didn't matter whether those
folks down in Israel were in the house walking the floor,
or lying down, or sitting in a chair. God said, I see the
blood, I'll pass over you. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
With the Lord, there's mercy. With the Lord, there's plenteous
redemption. And he, he shall redeem Israel from all, from
all his iniquities. He said, I'm a just God and a
Savior. You look to me and be you're saved. Look to me and
be you're saved. In the Lord I have righteousness.
In the Lord shall we be justified. What is it to come to Christ?
It's to come to Christ. Not to a substitute, to Him who
is our substitute. What is it to come to Christ?
It's to come to Him as He is. Don't make a mistake now. Paul
said in 2 Corinthians 11, they come preaching another Jesus.
He says, if you believe another gospel, or if you hear another
gospel preached, don't you have any patience with that? He said,
though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel, let
him be accursed. Coming to Christ is to come to
him as he is. Our Lord said to the man who
was blind, he said, do you believe on the son of God? He said, who
is he? That I might believe. I wish somebody grabbed me the
bottle of pale. Sometimes they, who is he? Tell
me who he is. I know there's redemption. Who
is he? I know there's mercy. Where is it? I know there's grace
for the guilty. Where is it? I'd tell you, I'd
tell you it's in him who is Lord. It's in him who is Lord. Under
us a child is born, under us a son is given, and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. He's not only Lord and God, he's
the Christ. He is the Christ. These things
are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus
is the Christ. Jesus is the Christ and that
believing you might have life through his name. He's that prophet
Moses said God will raise up a prophet like unto me from among
the brethren listen to him When our Lord stood on the Mount of
Transfiguration the father said this is my son hear him He's
prophet. He's that priest after the order
of Melchizedek. He's that King that He's the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He's our righteousness. He's
our sin offering. He's our risen justifier. He's
the only mediator between God and men. There's one God, one
God, only one God, and one mediator between that God and men, and
that's the man. Paul Pilate said, there he is,
the man. Behold the man. Have you ever
beheld the man? The man Christ Jesus, his is
a name which is above every name, a name above every name, that
name of which the Father declared every kneel-bow and every tongue
will confess in heaven, earth, and hell that he's Lord. His
name is his attributes. His name is his power in person.
His name is his glory. Find out who he is and come to
him. Don't come to the front, come
to Christ. Don't come to a religious messiah,
come to Christ. Don't come to a fellow who sounds
logical, come to Christ. Find out who he is. Who is he?
Then I might believe. I don't want to miss Christ.
And I'll tell you the best place to miss him is in religion. Because
there'll be many Christ arise, false Christ shall arise, anti-Christ
shall arise, many Christ shall arise, and they'll say, here
is Christ, Lord, there is Christ, yeah, here is Christ. He said,
don't listen to them, don't listen to them. He said, they'll come,
they'll come doing signs and wonders, and they'll deceive,
if it were possible, God's elect. But don't listen to them. Find
out who he is, and you'll find out who he is in the Word. He's
revealed in His Word. It's to come to Christ. It's
to come to Christ as He is. As He is. Not as you think He
is. Not as you think He ought to be. Not as the preacher says
He is. He's Christ as He says He is. Even if it makes you mad. I don't believe in that kind
of God. I know by nature no man does. But He's still God. He's still God. I just won't
have a sovereign God. If you have a God, you'll have
a sovereign God. I just won't have a discriminating
Christ. If you have a Christ, you will,
because he took not on himself the nature of angels, but the
seed of Abraham. Yes, he did. And he said, I'll
be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I'll be merciful to
whom I will be merciful. Find out who he is, Herman. Find
out who he is. Who is he? And come to him as
he is, no matter whether you agree with it or not. Just come
to him. And bow down and say, Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. The thief had more sense than we have with all our
theology. He just looked over and said,
you're not going to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Think on me. Think on me. And I'm coming to
Christ wherever he is. I'm coming to Christ as he's
revealed in his word. And what is it to come to Christ?
It's to keep on coming to Christ. It's to keep on. Repentance is
not an isolated act. The man who says, I once repented,
never repented. I have repented, I am repenting,
by God's grace I will repent. Faith is not an isolated act.
Faith is not a one-time experience. Faith is not a decision alone.
Faith is a state of being. Faith is a new nature. Faith
looks to Christ, clings to Christ, comes to Christ, and is obsessed
with Christ from now on. I have been saved. For by grace
have you been saved, but I am being saved. By God's grace I'm
being saved, and now is my salvation nearer than when I first believed.
I'm coming to Christ. Real faith never ceases to look
to Christ, never ceases to come to Christ, never ceases to call
on Christ, never ceases to rest in Christ. Faith never finds
any place to put its foot except on the rock of ages. Faith finds
no place to build a living temple except on the chief cornerstone.
No place is ever any good or to be trusted but Christ. 1 Peter
2 verse 1 through 5, listen to this. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse
1 through 5, he said, wherefore laying aside malice and guile
and hypocrisies and envies and evil speaking, As newborn babes
desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby,
if so be that you've tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom
coming? To whom coming? That's present
tense. I'm not an English professor
by any stretch of the imagination, but I just know that means he's
keeping on coming. When our Lord said, ask and it
shall be given, he says, you keep on asking. Keep on asking. When he says knock and it shall
be open, he doesn't mean to knock and then to go about your business.
He said knock till the door was open. Keep on knocking. Keep
on knocking. Keep on seeking. Keep on asking.
Keep on asking. Coming to Christ, it is to come
to Christ continually. It's to never quit coming to
Christ. Oh, we have a hope, we have a sure hope, we have a certain
hope. Our hope is as sure as the throne of God. But I'll tell
you, we keep on coming. Keep on coming. And then to come
to Christ is to come to Him to find all I need. All I need. There's no buts, there's no ands,
there's no ifs about it. Christ of God has made unto me
wisdom. All the wisdom I need is in Christ. Christ is made unto me righteousness,
all the righteousness I need. Christ is made unto me sanctification,
all that I need. Christ is made unto me redemption,
all I need. Jesus Christ is made to me all
I need, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and power. I find in
Him all that God requires. all that the law demands, all
that justice requires, all that heaven demands. He has made me
sufficient in Him right now to inherit the saints, all that
the saints have in glory, sufficient. It's all in Christ. In Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete,
and you are complete. Oh, my soul, we thank you. If
anybody here is not complete, it's me. I know that in your
nature, in yourself, in your flesh, in your needs, in your
desires, in your happiness. But I tell you, in God's sight,
you're complete. And that's all that counts. In
his sight, I'm complete. I'm complete in Christ. Complete. All right, here's a second question.
Why do men not come to Christ? Turn to John chapter 5 verse
40. All these things are true. All
these things are true. When you think of the grace to
be found in Christ, when you think of the treasures, of the
riches, of the blessings, of the mercies, of the life to be
found in Christ, which is so evident to those who've come,
So evident to those who found those riches, so evident to those
who found that bread from heaven to be such bread that you never
hunger again, that water of life to be such that you never thirst
again. You say, well, why don't others come? Why don't others
come? Our Lord said in John 5.40, you
will not come. You will not come that you might
have life. You will not. You will not turn
to Matthew chapter 19, listen to this. I hear preachers say
this, Matthew 19, listen to this. I hear preachers say, well, coming
to Christ is the easiest thing you've ever done. Coming to Christ
is the most simple thing in the world. And yet my Lord said in
my text, no man can come to me except my father which sent me
drawing. No man can. No man can come to me. And here
in Matthew chapter 19 verse 20, 24, listen. And Christ said,
again I say unto you, it's easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
And don't you get to thinking here just about those that are
filthy rich. We're rich men too. Yes sir,
we have more than kings used to have. We're laden and loaded. I wish it was heavy laden. Read
on. When his disciples heard it,
they were exceedingly amazed. They said, well, who can be saved?
Who can be saved? Who can come to Christ? And our
Lord looked at him and said, with me, and it's impossible. With me, and it's impossible. With me, and it's impossible.
Well, let me tell you this. Why? Why? Will you listen for
a moment? It's not a physical disability
that keeps me from coming to Christ. It's not a physical disability
at all. I can walk to the house of God
as well as I can walk to a bar without any more effort. I can
walk to a bar or I can walk to the house of God. There are no
physical disabilities in that sense of the word. I can come
to the house of God as well as anybody else can, any man can.
I can walk down an aisle as well as I can walk down the stairs.
No physical disability. Get up and come down this aisle.
That's what the preacher said. Get up and come down this aisle.
Well, here I come. Ain't no problem. No problem. Man's not, man's
not hindered physically from coming to Christ. I can kneel
at an altar as well as I can kneel for an idol. Ain't no problem
to kneel. Any man can kneel. I can be baptized
as easily as I can take a shower. So it's not physical disability
that keeps men from coming to Christ. Not it at all. It's not mental inability that
keeps men from coming to Christ. No, it's not. Christ said, you
will not come to me that you might have life. It's not mental
inability that keeps them from coming. I can study the Bible
as well as I can study Mark Twain. I can read the Bible. Any man
in Iceland can read the Bible. As well as he can read William
Shakespeare. Or as well as he can read a book of poetry. Pick
up the Bible and read it. Nothing to it. And he can find
out words. He can read words like, no man
can come to me except my father through which sent me draw him.
He can read that just like you can read it, Bob. Just like I
can, anybody else. I can say prayers as well as
I can curse. I can say blessed Lord Jesus
or I can say Jesus Christ. See? So there's no mental inability. I can believe Jesus Christ died
on the cross as well as I can believe Columbus discovered America. And people mentally all over
this world give assent to the fact the devil believes Jesus
Christ died on the cross. There's no problem with mental
acceptance of facts. So it's not physical inability
that keeps a man from coming to Christ. It's not mental inability
that keeps a man from coming to Christ. Man's inability to
come to Christ savingly is not either in his body or his mind,
but in his will. That's where it is. It's nature.
Nature. He will not come to Christ. It
doesn't say he can't come to Christ, it says he will not come
to Christ. It doesn't say he can't call
on the Lord, it says he won't call on the Lord. You will not
through the fall of Adam. And because of our fallen natures
and our corrupted wills, we have become so depraved and so debased
and so corrupt that we love and enjoy everything that's contrary
to God. That's what we love. This is
condemnation. Light is coming to this world,
but men love darkness. That's what men love, darkness.
They love darkness rather than light. The light can't come.
They love darkness. They don't love light. They don't
love light. Listen to John 5. Listen to our
Lord tell about our condition by nature. What a solemn charge. And I'm telling you the truth.
I know it's offensive to natural minds, because the natural mind
is enmity against God. Men think, but they don't think
on God. Yes, sir, they do. Men love,
but they love themselves. They don't love God. And our
Lord said in John 5, 40, listen, you will not come to me. that you might have life. I receive
not honor from men. I know you, you have not the
love of God in you. You will not come to me and you
have not the love of God in you. He said, I'm come in my Father's
name and you receive me not. If another come in his own name
with a twisted and perverted and warped him you will receive. How can you believe? which receive
honor one of another, and you seek not, you will not come to
me, you have not the love of God in you, you receive me not,
and you seek not the honor that comes from God only. Oh, don't
think that I'll accuse you to the Father. There's one that
accuses you, even Moses, that is the writings, the word in
which you trust. You search the scriptures, he
said, in them you think you have life. There they would testify
of me. I'm not going to condemn you. The very words in which
you trust are going to condemn you. But he says, if you believe not
his writings, how shall you believe my words? You see that sheep? There's a sheep. There's a sheep. And you can walk over and pet
that sheep. And that sheep will let the shepherd
pet him. The shepherd can walk right over to the sheep. call
him by name, and the sheep will stand still, and the shepherd
will pet the sheep on the head, run his hand down the back of
the sheep. And that sheep will eat grass. He won't eat meat,
he eats grass. And that shepherd, if he wanders
off down the lane there, and the shepherd says, Quinner, come
here. And that sheep will come right
to him. Well, there's a wolf. Now, he could be petted, but
he won't. He won't let you pet him. Now,
he could be petted. There's nothing physically to
keep me from petting that wolf. Huh? But he won't let me pet
him. And that wolf could eat grass,
but he won't. It is not his nature. And that
wolf hears the shepherd call, hey, wolf! But he won't come. He won't come, Charlie. His nature
is not to come. He grits his teeth and he growls
and he heads the other way. And I'm telling you, man's inability
is not in his body. His inability is not in his mind. His inability and his refusal
to hear the word, to hear the voice of the shepherd who says,
come unto me. Come unto me and I'll give you
rest. He growls. What does a sheep do? My sheep
hear my voice, and they come. They come. It's not man's mental
inability, it's his nature. His inability, it is in his nature,
and he must be born again. He must receive a new nature. Someone says, but men can certainly
be saved if they will. Would you repeat that? Men can
certainly be saved if they will. That's not the question at all.
Of course they can. Of course they can. That wolf
can eat grass if he will, but he won't. And that wolf could come if he
will, but he won't. And that wolf could be petted
and tamed if he would, John, but he won't. And something's
got to be done to His will. Something's got to be done to
His want to change it to I will. And that's my trouble and your
trouble. The Word is the same. God is
the same. The problem's not with God, it's with me. The problem's
in my will. It's in my nature. I will not
bow to Christ. Any man can be saved if he will.
But who will? You want me to tell you who will?
Turn to Psalm 110, I'll tell you who will. In Psalm 110, it
says here in Psalm 110 verse 3, listen to it. It says in Psalm
110 verse 3, thy people shall be willing, thy people shall
be willing, willing to bow down, willing to submit, willing to
believe, willing to confess, willing to be conformed, willing,
our people shall be willing, when? In the day of our power.
Convicting power, converting power, regenerating power, quickening
power, awakening power, Pentecostal power. When God comes down, in
the power of His Spirit, when God Almighty is pleased to speak
through His Word. Or we read the Bible, quote the
Bible, argue the Bible, but once in a while somebody hears the
Word in the power of the Holy Ghost, once in a while. We see the scriptures written
on signboards, we hear it over radio, television, we hear people
memorize it and quote it. One fellow calls himself the
walking Bible. Oh, but God said, my word will
not return unto me void. And that word which is spoken,
if it can be spoken in the power and unction of the Holy Spirit.
And men hear not just with these ears, but the ears of the heart.
And they hear not with these mental concepts, but they hear
with a spiritual understanding. They hear with an enlightened,
illuminated heart. And they hear with power and
with the Holy Ghost. And they'll come in the day of
our power. They'll come. They'll come. They'll come in the beauty of
holiness, just like they're born from the womb of the morning.
They'll come. Yeah, they will. Because, he
says over here in Philippians 2, listen to this, Philippians
2, verse 13, because he says in Philippians 2, verse 13, listen, Listen, for it is God, for it
is God which worketh in you. It is God which worketh in you,
both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do you have the
will to do His pleasure? It's God that worked it in you. Do you have the will? Do you
have the ability? Can you come to Christ? He made
you willing. Will you come to Christ? He gave
you the strength. How does God teach men? By his
spirit, through his word. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. Oh, my friend, do you see? You
say, yes, I see. Then give God the glory. Do you
hear? Yes, I hear. Then praise his
name forever. Will you come? Yes! Yes, I'll
come. Yes, I'll come. I'll come to
Christ. Then praise the Lord. He gave
you the ability. No, I will not come. I will not
come. Yonder amazing sight I see, the
incarnate Son of God. dying on a cursed tree, shedding
his own precious blood. Behold that purple torrent run
down from his hands and his head. That crimson flood blots out
the sun, and his groans awake the dead. the trembling earth,
the darkened sky, proclaim the truth aloud, and with the amazed
centurion I say, this is the Son of God. You see that? So great, so vast a sacrifice,
may well my hope revive. If God's own Son bleeds and dies,
then this sinner need never die. Oh, that those cords of love
divine would draw me, Lord, to Thee. And let me say, Thou hast
my heart, it shall be Thine, Thine forever my heart shall
be. I'm coming. There's nowhere else
to go. There's no one else to whom we
can turn. except to Christ. But I'll tell
you he's a perfect, he's a perfect Savior. He's a gracious Savior. He's a kind Savior. He's a loving
Savior. He's a willing Savior. He's an
able Savior because of who he is and what he did and where
he is now. I cast my lot with Christ. I say it over again after 30 In four years, I say it over
again, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and His
righteousness. I renew my vows, lay my heart
again at the feet of Christ. I come to Thee. I found in Him
all I need. Let's sing number 340.