Preaching Accompanied by Power #2

Now let's look back at John chapter
6. I want to introduce this message
by repeating my four statements which made up my outline this
morning. The first statement is this,
there can be no saving benefit derived from the Lord Jesus Christ
unless there's a living, vital union with Christ. There cannot
be. He said, I am the bread of life.
Bread must be eaten. I am the water of life. Water
must be drunk. It's impossible for anyone to
derive any saving benefit, any eternal benefit, peace, joy,
rest, eternal life, unless we are vitally united with Christ.
Now, the second statement was this. There can be no union with
Christ except by faith. The Lord lays hold upon us by
His Spirit. We lay hold upon Him by faith.
Our Lord indwells us by His Spirit. We dwell in Christ by faith. You cannot have a living relationship
with Christ except by faith. You've got to believe on Him.
As many as received Him to them and only to them, not those who
study His life not those who believe facts about his life,
not those who profess to know him, but those who believe on
him. He that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath eternal
life. Now, the third statement was
this. There can be no faith without the preaching of the gospel.
A man calls upon Christ by faith, but how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed, and how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? It's impossible for you to lay
hold upon a Christ you do not know. It's impossible for you
to call upon a Christ whom you do not know. It's impossible
for a man to rest in, believe in, trust in an unrevealed Christ. He that seeth the Son. You cannot
see him with these natural eyes. You have to see him in the Word.
This is where you see the Son. You see him in the record that
God hath given. So there can be no faith without
the preaching of the gospel. Impossible. He that seeth the
Son, he who understands who the Son is, what he came to do, why
he did it, he's the one who believes, the man who understands. Paul
said, I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I've committed to him. But you don't commit
your soul to one whom you do not know. You don't commit your
eternal well-being into the hands of one whom you do not know.
You've got to hear of him, and you've got to hear of the living
God. Not a God, some God, any God,
the living God. The preacher has to present to
you the truth about yourself and the truth about Christ, and
the truth about salvation. A man's not going to be saved
believing error. He's not going to be saved trusting
a false Christ. You do not gather figs of thistles
or figs of thorn bushes. False prophets cannot produce
true converts. It's an impossibility. A man
has to preach the truth. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee the only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent, eternal life is to know Christ, not a Christ, the
Christ. And the Christ is presented in
the Word. And you've got to receive him in his true character, in
his true attributes, and you do that, you receive him by hearing
him preach. Now, here's the fourth part,
and this is the message tonight. There can be no saving efficacy,
there can be no saving faith through preaching, unless that
preaching is accompanied by the power of God's Spirit. Now, this
is the thing that most people do not believe today. If you'll
turn to John 10, just a moment, in John 10. Now, there can be
no saving faith. There can be no saving efficacy.
All the preaching in the world, now listen to me, all the preaching
in the world can never reveal the true condition of my heart
to me. All the preaching in the world
cannot reveal Christ to my heart. All the preaching in the world
cannot bring about true repentance toward God and faith in Christ
unless it's accompanied by the effectual power of the Holy Spirit,
by the regenerating, life-giving work of the Holy Spirit. I don't
care. Let the angels from heaven come down here and preach. But
till God the Holy Spirit draws me in, they come not to Christ. One old preacher used to say,
my voice is the only voice you hear. Nothing of any eternal
value will be accomplished for you. Listen to John 10 verse
23 Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch The Jews came
round about him these religious people and they said how long
do you make us doubt? If you be the Christ tell us
plainly Jesus answered them. I told you and I told you plainly
and You didn't believe me The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. You've never seen works like
these before. Nicodemus said no man could do
the works you do, the miracles you do, except God be with him.
You've heard me preach and you've seen my works. Now listen, verse
26. But you believe not. But you
believe not. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Why do
they hear my voice? because God gives them ears with
which to hear. Why do they see the mystery of
the gospel? God gives them eyes with which to see. Why do they
understand the mystery of the gospel? Because God gives them
hearts to understand. Now look at my text in John 6.44.
Read that text. Jesus said in John 6.44, Jesus
answered in verse 43 and said murmur not among yourselves.
This is what men do Religious people when they disagree with
something they begin to murmur. They can't keep still they can't
go and inquire They can't seek of the Lord. They can't seek
for the truth. They begin to murmur. I don't believe that
I don't believe that I don't believe that you know how to
do you you can see it ripple through a congregation You can
see looks of disgust and disagreement, and it ripples through a congregation,
and people fold their arms and frown and sigh and look away.
Don't believe that. Christ said, now listen to me.
Verse 44, no man can come to me except the Father which hath
sent me draw him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. And it
is written in the prophet, And they shall be taught of God.
And every man that hath heard and hath learned of the Father
cometh to me." Now, the occasion for these two verses, you need
to understand this. The occasion for these two verses,
and this is one thing wrong with preaching today. They don't reach
back and pick up the setting. They don't reach back and pick
up who's speaking, and to whom he's speaking, and the subject
on which he's speaking, or the setting that caused these words,
what brought out these words. Why did Christ say this? Well,
look back, if you will, the occasion is found in verse 42. And they
said, is not this Jesus? Is not this the fellow that was
born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth? Is not this the
son of Joseph? Why, we know his mother, and
we know his father, and we know his brothers, and we know his
sisters. He's not just the carpenter. How is it, then, that he says,
I came down from heaven? Now, our Lord had been pressing
upon them his person and his work, his redemption. He said
back here in verse 29, this is the work of God that you believe
on me, whom God has sent. He said in verse 35, I'm the
bread of life. I'm the bread of life. I'm the
bread that came down from heaven. He that cometh to me will never
hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." And
they began to murmur. And they began to murmur. Substitution.
Vital union. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood hath eternal life. He that eateth not my flesh and
drinketh my blood hath no life in him. And they said, Why, this
is Jesus. This is a man. We know his mother
and father. We know he was brought up in
Nazareth. We know he's the carpenter. How is it that he said, I'm the
bread that came down from heaven? That's when he said, no man can
come to me, believe on me, understand my mission, embrace me, receive
me, except a miracle of God's drawing power and a miracle of
God's regenerating grace and a miracle of God Almighty's revealing
spirit take place in his heart. A man's got to become a disciple
of the Father. He's got to become a pupil of
the Heavenly Father. Now, I want you to watch this.
In spite of the authority of the preacher, this is the Son
of God preaching. In spite of the authority of
the preacher, no man spake like this man. One day, some soldiers
came out to arrest him, and they went back without him. And the
chief priest said, well, where is he? And they said, we couldn't
touch him. Why, no man spake like that man. What a preacher. He spoke with authority. He didn't
preach like the scribes and Pharisees. He spake as one having authority. But yet, no matter. In spite
of the authority of the preacher, and in spite of the holiness
of his life, boy, they examined him. They examined him. Pilate examined him. Pilate,
he wanted to find some cause to crucify him. He wanted to
find some cause to justify his condemning this man. And finally
he came to the end of that mock trial and he said, I find no
fault in him. Pilate's wife sent him a note
and said, have nothing to do with this just person. This centurion
finally said, surely this man is the son of God. And in spite
of the absolute, immaculate holiness of his life, and in spite of
the truth of his words, he said, I know whence I am. If I said
I didn't know God, I'd be a liar like you, but I know God. I came
down from heaven. The words that I speak are not
my words, but the words of him that sent me. And in spite of
the truth of his words, and in spite of the miracles which he
wrought, In spite of the miracles which
he wrought, they still objected. They still objected. They objected
to him. They objected to what he preached.
They objected to what he commanded. They began to murmur. Here they
had before him authority. They had before them holiness.
They had before them truth. They had before them him who
was able to raise the dead. And in spite of all of these
things, they murmured. And that's when he says, no man,
whatever his natural wisdom and qualifications, no man, whatever
his external advantages, no man, whatever his outward principles
and convictions, no man, no man. All men by nature are dead and
without God. They're all in the same condition.
No man can or is able He's not able because he does not wish
to come. No man can. Can the Ethiopian
change his skin? Can the black man from Africa
change his skin? Can the leper change his spots?
Neither can you. Neither can you. See who are
blind, hear who are deaf, understand who are dead. No man can. Come to me. Coming to Christ
is believing on Christ. Coming to Christ is receiving
Christ. Coming to Christ is submitting
to Christ. Coming to Christ is surrendering
to Christ. Coming to Christ is trusting
Christ. No man, he can come to the front
of the church, he can come to an altar, he can come to a profession,
he can come to a baptismal pool, he can come to a ceremony, he
can come to a preacher, he can come to a conclusion, but he
can't come to Christ. No man, and I didn't write this,
Christ did. No man can, is able to come to
me except my Father, not excluding the Son or the Spirit, for every
work of God is common to all three persons of the blessed
Trinity. But the Son and the Spirit do the will of the Father.
And that's where it all starts, sinner. It starts with the will
of the Father. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. And no man can come to me except
my Father who hath sent me draw him. And this is not a physical
drawing either. It's a spiritual drawing. Except
my Father which sent me compel him. Except my Father which sent
me regenerate him and renew him. and give him a will, and a desire,
and a hunger, and a thirst, and an open heart, and eyes that
see. Whom say men that I am? Well,
some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some
say you're one of the prophets. Peter, whom do you say that I
am? Thou art the Christ. Peter, flesh and blood didn't
reveal that to you. My Father revealed that to you.
My Father did that. You know me because my Father
revealed me to you. You see me because my Father
gave you eyes. Blessed are your eyes, they see. Blessed are your ears, they hear.
Lord, why do you preach to the multitude in parables? I preach
to them in parables because having eyes they see not, having ears
they hear not, having hearts they do not understand. No man
can. I don't care who you are. You
might have been brought up in the church. But you're not coming
to Christ. You can come to church and you
can come to a doctrine, but you're not coming to Christ until the
Father does a powerful, regenerating work in your heart. No man can
come to me. And you're not going to have
any saving benefits from Christ until you do come to him. And
you're not coming to him until you hear the truth. And you're
not going to hear the truth until God opens your heart. That's
right. three questions will make up
my outline tonight. Why is this effectual work necessary? Why? I'm going to startle you
a little bit, but I want you to see this. Why is this effectual
work necessary? Secondly, how does God draw men? How does God draw men? Thirdly,
to whom does he draw men? Now, you need to hear this, you
need to listen to it. It's true. Turn to John 5. Here's
where I want to start. John chapter 5. Here's where
I want to start. Why is this? Why? That's the
question. Christ said, here are these people
that seem to have a good mind. They seem to be religiously inclined. They seem to have some sort of
interest in heaven and hell and other things. And here they have
the preacher of the universe. with authority and holiness and
truth and power, and yet they don't hear it. They don't understand. Why? Christ said, no man can
come to me, no man can see me with eyes of faith except my
Father drawing. Why? Watch this now. First of all, it's because of
our wills. It's because of our wills. Look
at John 5. I'm going to read four Four or
five verses here now, and point out four. First of all, Christ
said in John 5.40, You will not come to me that you might have
life. Preacher, it's our wills that
bring us to Christ. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life. It's our wills that bring us
to Christ. That's where you're wrong. It's God's will that brings
you to Christ. It's your will that keeps you
away from Christ. It ain't your will that brings
you to Christ. It's your will that keeps you
from Christ. You will not come to me, Christ
said. Oh, Jerusalem, how oft would
I have gathered you as a hen doth gather her brood! And you
would not! You will not! It's your will that brings you
to Christ. Foolishness! It's your will that keeps you
from Christ. Before God can bring you to Christ, He's got to break
your will. Turn to John chapter 1. Now stay
with me. Let's start. I used to remember
Brother Barnard saying in meetings, he'd be holding a meeting and
I'd wonder why he'd say this, and once in a while he'd stop
and say, Folks, buy your Bible. Buy your Bible. We've been letting preachers
interpret God instead of letting God speak for himself. And this
has been the old religious clichÃ© that you've fallen for, hook,
line, and sinker. It's your will that brings you
to Christ. No, sir, it's your will that
keeps you from Christ. You will not, he said, you will
not. Look at John 1.12. As many as
received him, to them gave he power, the right to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who were
born, not of blood, not of the will of man, not of the will
of the flesh." Whose will was it? You received Christ. You were born again. You were
regenerated. By whose will? It says, not of
the will of the flesh, not of the will of man. but of God. Look at Romans 9.16, Romans 9.16,
you say, but preacher, men may be saved if they will. Right,
but who will? Who will? Who will embrace Christ? Who will nail the flesh to the
cross? Who will come with soul, body,
mind, health, strength, family, job, possessions, and everything,
and lay them at the feet of Christ? Who will? Who will lay aside
his self-righteous rags? Who will cry as a stripped sinner,
Lord, clothe me? Who will cry, show me mercy or
I die? Who will? Nobody. But the man
God makes willing. Look at Romans 9, 16. Listen
to it. And listen well. God said in
verse 15, He said to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I will have
mercy. I will be gracious, have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
willeth, it is not of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth
mercy. Yes, so you got eyes tonight
because God gave them to you. And ears because God gave them
to you. And you got a broken heart tonight because God gave
it to you. And you came to Christ because God in the day of His
power made you willing. Turn to Psalm 110. This is a
scripture you need to underscore in your Bible, and you need to
commit it to memory. In Psalm 110, verse 3, it says,
Thy people, thy people. Rebels, no. Thy people. Unbelievers, no. Thy people.
Religious people, no. Thy people shall be willing. shall be willing. God makes them
willing. They're not born willing. God makes them willing. Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power when God operates on
them. That old sinner be broken when
God breaks him. That old sinner lay down his
weapons of warfare when God Almighty brings him to the place where
he's willing. But he's not willing. He's not willing. You can preach
to him till you're blue in the face, but he's not willing. I
don't care what you say. I've had people look me square
in the eye and say, I don't care what the Bible says. And that's man's
true nature. He's not willing. Secondly, look
back at John 5. Why is this work, this effectual
work necessary on me and you? Because we're not willing. We're
not willing. God's got to make us willing.
You've got to be willing. And He's the only one who can
make you willing. You've got to be willing to part with your
ambitions and your plans. And God's got to make you willing.
Stack your arms. Stack your arms. Unconditional
surrender. Crown Christ King. God makes
you willing. That old proud spirit. God makes
you willing. Number two, verse 42. I know
you. I know you, Christ said. I know
you. If anybody knows you, I know you. You know something? You
don't know yourself. Not like He knows you. I don't
know myself like He knows me. Then shall we know, even as also
we are known." I know you, Christ said. I know you. You have not the love of God
in you. You might think you do. You might love your God. You
may love an idol, but the God of the Bible you don't love.
Now, I know that's unpopular preaching. I know everybody believes
that everybody in the world loves God, but natural men do not love
God. They do not love the God of creation. They do not love
the God of sovereignty. They do not love the God of providence.
They do not love the God of purpose. They do not love the God of the
Bible. They do not love his Son. Christ said, My brethren, marvel
not if the world hate you. It hated me before it ever hated
you. This world hates God. I know
you, Christ said. You have not the love of God.
You love yourself. You love your idols. You love
your idea of God, but you don't love God. I'm talking about the
God who reveals himself right here out of the Word. Turn to
Romans, if you will, chapter 8. Now look at this carefully. In Romans chapter 8, verse 7,
the Scripture plainly declares that the natural man hates God. He's God's enemy by choice. He says in Romans 8, 7, Because
the carnal mind, the natural mind, the unregenerated mind,
is enmity against God. Enmity. God's his enemy. The true living God is his enemy.
It is not subject, the natural mind is not subject to the law
of God, to the reign of God. Shall I crucify your king? They
answered, we have no king but Caesar. We will not have this
man reign over us. Christ said, Oh, you call God
Lord with your lips, but your hearts are far from God. I'll tell you why no man can
come to Christ because of his will. He will not come. I'll tell you why no man can
come to Christ. He hates Christ. He hates him. He despises the
God of the Bible. They hated Him so much, they
nailed Him to a cross and spit in His face. And I'll tell you the third reason.
Look at John 5 again. Now, Christ is telling us what's
wrong with us. He says in John 5 verse 40, it's
your wills. God's got to break your wills.
God's got to make you willing. It's because of your affections.
You don't have God's love in you. God has to shed abroad his
love. He has to do that, because you
won't love God, you hate God. You know when you find out when
you hate God? It's when his will crosses your will. That's when
you find out. And the third thing is our mind.
Look at verse 43. Christ said, I am come in my
Father's name. My Father sent me. I'm a revelation. I'm the express image of the
living God. I am come in my Father's name.
And you receive me not." Now here's the state of natural man's
mind. Here's the condition of the natural
man's understanding. He said, I've come in my Father's
name. The Father sent me. I'm sent
with the Father's message and words and works and will. And
you don't receive me. Let another come, watch it now,
in his own name, seeking his own glory. preaching his obnoxious recipe
for salvation. In him you will receive. Turn
your television off. The man on television who is
the most ridiculously dressed, who's the most ridiculously arrayed,
who can't even quote scripture accurately, who does not preach
the gospel, who lies on God, who makes statements like this.
And I heard one of the millionaire revivalists say this, Romans
8, 28, all things work together for good to them that love God.
That's not so, he said. And that man has to count his
money on a conveyor belt that so much of it comes in. That's
not so, he said. He said the storms and the snow
and the tornadoes, God's not in those things. God has nothing
to do with that. Anything bad that happens to
you, God has nothing to do with it. Anything good that happens
to you, that's of God. He's alive. And yet, He's the one people
hear. That's what Christ said, I've
come in my Father's name. I've come with my Father's message.
I've come telling you the truth. And you won't receive me? Let
another come, an imposter, a counterfeit, an imitator, a man seeking his
own glory, a man counting your heads and robbing you of your
money and making merchandise of you, who cares nothing for
you, cares nothing for you, seeking his own glory in his
own name. And here's the tragedy, him you
receive. Him you follow." Boy, you talk
about twisted minds, you talk about warped minds. And then
maybe, this is one thing I could never understand. And yet the
Word of God says that I ought to be able to understand it.
How a brilliant man can be a brilliant attorney, a brilliant statesman,
even a president. And yet can go before a man clad
in the most outlandish clothes with a big crown on top of his
head sitting on a throne with gold and silver stacked about
him and his coffers full of billions and billions of dollars while
the earth stars and kneel and kiss that man's ring and hope
to have salvation through that man's blessing. I don't understand
that. I don't understand that. And
yet here it is right here. Christ said, I've come in my Father's
name and you won't blame me. But you let an imposter come,
a man coming, snowing you with error, throwing you the curves
of his own understanding, and you receive him. That's why God
has to do the work, because men are foolish. The preaching of
the cross is to them who are perishing. What? What? Foolishness. Foolishness. All right, look at verse 44.
Here's another reason. Why is this regenerating work
necessary? Why must God do something for
the poor, blinded sinners because their minds are blind? Fourthly,
P-R-I-D-E, John 5, 44, how can you believe which receive honor
one of another? Honor one of another. Oh, how
we covet. Oh, how we covet the praise of
men. Oh, we love that. How we covet.
How we covet the recognition of other worms. One worm bragging
on another worm, huh? That's all it amounts to. Oh,
how we covet the fame of this world, how we scratch and claw
and dig and seek and work and labor to get the fame and praise
and honor that comes from the flesh. That's what he said. You, how can you believe? How
can you come to me when all you're interested in is receiving honor
one of another and you're not seeking The honor that comes
from God. A son of God. Huh? Which you rather your son be?
Now think a minute. You rather your son be the senator
from Kentucky, or you rather him be a preacher of the gospel?
Huh? Come on now. Which you rather be? Which you
rather be? Had you rather be listed in Who's
Who in America and everybody turns to you, that's old, that's
old. Brother Ronnie Lewis, look at that. All these recognitions
and all these praises and all, or had you rather your name be
enrolled in the Lamb's Book of Life, unknown by men, maybe despised? There was a missionary, William
Carey, who had a son named Felix. William Carey was the greatest
missionary, one of the greatest the world has ever known. His
son was also a missionary. And the Queen of England, his
son Felix, was so brilliant that the Queen made him ambassador
to India, ambassador, the Queen's personal ambassador. And the
word came to his old daddy over in Burma, your son Felix is now
the Queen's ambassador to India." And the old man wept, and he
said, My son Felix has shriveled from a missionary to an ambassador.
My heart's broken. How can you, how can you, how
can you see? How can you believe? How can
you, when all you're interested in is this flesh, Seeking the
honor that you seek not the honor that comes from God We're unconcerned
about his praise You know, I read an interesting story Over in
first King. Sometimes you can look at it
and read it's found in chapter 20, but Israel Israel had fought
against the Syrians the men of Binnadad And in one day, they
fought seven days, but in one day they killed 100,000 footmen. 100,000 of them. Wiped them out. And those that were left fled
to Aphex. And there a wall fell on them
and killed 27,000 of them. And there were only a handful
left and their leader, Benedet. And they said to him, they'd
run into a room or castle somewhere, and they were sitting in there
together, and one of them said this, I've heard that the kings
of Israel are merciful. Why don't we put on sackcloth
and put ropes around our necks and go to the king of Israel
and seek mercy?" And so that's what they did. These men of Benedad,
generals, captains, lieutenants, men of valor, men of victory,
men of power, They came before the king of Israel, Ahab. That's
with Ahab. He was king then. They came before
him, and here they were, clothed in sackcloth. And each of them
had a rope around his neck and hanging down. We're guilty and
we're fit to be hung, but we come for mercy. That's what God has to do to
a sinner before you come to Christ. Because he's got to come as a
sinner. He's got to come as a self-judged
sinner. He's got to come as a self-condemned
sinner. He's got to come acknowledging
that if God gave him what he deserved, he would destroy him. He's got to come seeking mercy.
We can't come that way. We're too proud. God's got to
take me on my terms or I won't come. No, sir. You submit to
his terms or he won't take you. And we can't do it. And there's
no way. No way the natural heart can
be broken except by God. There's no way that the natural
will can be subdued except by God. There's no way that the
proud flesh can be broken and the proud spirit contrite except
by God. God takes a hold of that old,
wild ass that's cold, and he hangs on till he breaks him.
And he walks quietly, and, here I am, Lord, do with me, ride
me, put a yoke on me, do what you will. All right, John 5,
46 and 47. Here's another reason why this
works necessary. Our wills, our affections, our
minds, our pride, our unbelief. Verse 46, our Lord said, Had
you believed Moses, you would have believed me. He wrote of
me. But if you believe not Moses'
writings, how can you believe my words? How? Brethren, we are by nature filled
with unbelief. God has got to give us faith. Faith is not a flower that grows
in the human heart by nature. It's one that's planted there
by God. I believe in a Christ I've never seen. I believe in
a sacrifice I never witnessed. I believe in a God whom I've
never seen. I believe I have an inheritance,
undefiled, reserved in heaven that fadeth not away. And I have
no ticket stub. I just have his promise. And
that's unnatural. The natural way is, show me,
and I'll believe. That's why. You want to know
why these people are going to these healing meetings and Why
they're going to these tongues meetings and why they're going
to all these different miracles. They're seeking signs. They're
not satisfied with God's power. They can't rest on God's word.
They've got to see a sign. God Almighty has got to give
them a sign. They've got to see a miracle.
Why do you think every time the Catholic Church announces some
outstanding miracle, like a statue crying, or people get a picture?
Look at here. I turned up my camera and took
a picture of the sky. There's Jesus. There it is right
there. Well, look at there. Isn't that
something? And it'll go around to thousands
of people. Nobody passes this around. That's not a picture
of Christ. This is. That's a bunch of tomfoolery. This is God's Word. But unregenerated
men have to have a sign. They follow lying preachers with
lying wonders, and Satan deceives them. Satan will send you healing,
Satan will send you a miracle, Satan will give you language,
but God will give you His Word. That's enough. I read in here
where Christ died for sinners. That's enough. I believe God's
word. I want to be like Abraham. Abraham
believed God, and he knew that God was able to perform all that
he promised, and God didn't have to give him a sign. He just gave
him his word. Noah built an ark and saved his
house on the word of God. Moses led a people out of captivity
to a promised land on the word of God. Rahab saved her soul
by casting out a red line from the window on the Word of God.
And if you're saved, it'll be on the basis of God's Word. But
I'll tell you this, I understand, I don't blame you. I don't blame
you a bit in the world. God's got to give faith. People
got to have signs that don't have the Spirit. They've got
to have miracles that don't have God's Word. God has to give faith. How does God draw men to Christ?
By his Spirit and by his Word. To whom does he draw men? Well,
let's look at our text, and I'll quit. John 6, verse 44. No man, no man can come to me, come to me. Oh, he can come to
a lot of things, not to Christ. And only Christ is sufficient.
No man can come to me, except my father which sent me drawing.
I raise him up at the last day. Somebody said last week, Brother
Mahan doesn't give an invitation. You know what that meant? After
the service is over, after the message is preached, I don't
sing just as I am and get down here and plead with people to
come follow me. But I'll tell you this, I just gave you an
invitation. What is that invitation? I can't
invite people. Christ said, come to me. He's
the inviter. Coming down here is not coming
to Christ. You know, we've made salvation synonymous with an
act of the flesh. Salvation is a faith in the heart. We've taken salvation out of
Christ and put it in a mourner's bench. There you go, preacher,
getting on the mourner's bench. I don't care what I get on, I'll
tell you anything that's standing in the place of Christ, I'm going
to get on it, because it don't belong there. We have taken salvation out of
Christ and put it in an act of man, in a handshake, in a decision. That's not salvation. Salvation
is going to Christ in here, in here. If you've gone to Christ,
if you've closed with Christ, if you laid hold on Christ, if
you have a saving interest in Christ and you want to come down
here and tell us about it, we welcome you. If you want to follow
the Lord in baptism, we welcome you. If you want to unite with
this church, we welcome you, but don't come down here to get
saved, because there's no salvation down here. About all that's down
here is a table, an amplifier, and some envelopes, and a preacher. But Christ is on the right hand
of the Father. That's one you've got to do business
with. No man can come to me, he can come to the front, but
not to me, except my Father which sent me drawing. And you know
what we've done? We've taken the Holy Spirit and
given his place to these soul winners. That's right. Instead of leaving that sinner
alone out there and letting the Holy Spirit deal with him, we
send a deacon after him, or a soul winner after him, or some professional
witness back there to grab him by the arm and say, Don't you
want to be saved? Don't you want to go to heaven? Don't you believe
on Jesus? Come to the front. Confess the Lord. That's the
Holy Spirit's business, not yours. You leave that sinner alone.
I'll tell you this, I'm confident God's able to draw me into Christ,
and I'm not going to try to do his work. I've done all he sent
me to do. I've told you who the Savior
is. I've told you your need. That's all he sent me to do.
He didn't send me to do what only he can do. I've told you
where salvation is. It's in Christ. And I've told
you he welcomes sinners. And I've told you that's the
work of God. Now I tell you what I would do. I'd seek the Lord. If I had a proud will, I'd say,
Lord, break it. If I had a confused mind that could not understand
the true, plain word of God, I'd ask God to reveal it to me.
If I had a proud heart that rebelled against God's truth and rebelled
against God's message, I'd ask God to break it. Yes, sir, if
I didn't love the God of the Bible, I'd ask God to give me
love. That's right. I'd say, Lord, not. It'll be
open. Seek. You'll find. Ask. It'll be given. You have not
because you ask not. You've been arguing doctrine all your life.
The Bible's not a book to argue. It's a book to love and receive,
not something to debate. That's what we've been doing.
We've been carrying on our religious shenanigans and foolishness,
and we haven't opened the Word and said, Lord, I'm just a simple-minded
child. I sure wish you'd teach me. I
wish you'd smash me and melt me and break me and bring me
to my knees and give me faith in Christ, shut my big mouth
and open my heart. Give me something to talk about
when I talk. Give me joy and peace in here.
Our Father in Heaven, thank you for your presence. Thank you
for your word. Thank you for eyes that at least
in a measure see the beauty and glory of him who died on that
cross. And thank you for ears that at
least to some extent

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