1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:08,800 We’re continuing our series today about what we can be sure of in this very, very uncertain world 2 00:00:08,800 –> 00:00:14,880 and today we’re going to turn to some of, I think, the most wonderful words that our Lord Jesus Christ 3 00:00:14,880 –> 00:00:21,760 ever spoke in John’s gospel chapter six and verse 37. Charles Spurgeon, when he 4 00:00:21,760 –> 00:00:28,320 was speaking about this verse of Scripture, he said this is the sum and the substance 5 00:00:29,120 –> 00:00:38,400 of all theology. It takes us to the very heart of the gospel. It pictures for us in broad view 6 00:00:39,040 –> 00:00:46,720 the miracle of your salvation in Jesus Christ. I want to focus your attention on this verse 7 00:00:46,720 –> 00:00:52,400 and for it to get into our beings and for us to see how it can touch and change our lives. 8 00:00:52,400 –> 00:00:59,040 Notice that there are two marvelous statements. All that the Father gives me will come to me. 9 00:00:59,040 –> 00:01:08,000 Jesus says, and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. 10 00:01:10,480 –> 00:01:15,760 Now one of the joys of watching football on television is that you see far more on 11 00:01:15,760 –> 00:01:20,000 television than you would if you actually went to the game and it is much, much, 12 00:01:20,239 –> 00:01:29,360 much, much warmer! Right? When the Bears score a touchdown the replays show you the complexity 13 00:01:30,239 –> 00:01:37,519 of what was going on in the play from different angles. And so as you look at the replays 14 00:01:37,519 –> 00:01:42,720 on the television, you know, you see the play, then you see something more of what was going 15 00:01:42,720 –> 00:01:47,279 on when you get the reverse angle, then you get the camera that’s down the touchline 16 00:01:47,279 –> 00:01:55,279 and so forth and so on. You are looking at the same event, but the different camera angles give 17 00:01:55,279 –> 00:02:01,839 you a much more fully orbed picture, a much fuller picture than you would have if you only saw it 18 00:02:01,839 –> 00:02:09,440 from one point of view. Putting the angles of the cameras together and seeing them one after the 19 00:02:09,440 –> 00:02:17,119 other gives to you what you would have missed if you had only seen one particular shot. Now, 20 00:02:17,119 –> 00:02:20,960 I find that a helpful way to think about the verse that’s before us today, 21 00:02:21,759 –> 00:02:27,600 because what this verse does is it really gives to us three camera angles, as it were, 22 00:02:27,600 –> 00:02:33,919 on the one event of our salvation. The first camera is trained on God the Father. 23 00:02:34,639 –> 00:02:41,119 All that the Father gives me, so here’s the snapshot of what the Father is doing. 24 00:02:42,720 –> 00:02:51,360 Second camera is trained and focused on the sinner coming to Jesus Christ. Whoever comes to me. So 25 00:02:51,360 –> 00:02:57,839 here is another picture now of a sinner coming to Jesus Christ. Third camera is focused on the 26 00:02:57,839 –> 00:03:05,600 Lord Jesus Christ himself receiving the sinner who comes to him and who the Father has given to him. 27 00:03:06,240 –> 00:03:15,520 I will never turn away. And so you really have the full picture of what is going on in 28 00:03:15,520 –> 00:03:24,800 your salvation right here in this one verse. What is happening? The father gives, the sinner comes, 29 00:03:25,360 –> 00:03:33,839 the savior receives. These are the three great movements of your salvation. You may have seen 30 00:03:33,839 –> 00:03:40,800 one of them. When you see all of them, you see the full glory of all that is involved in your 31 00:03:40,800 –> 00:03:47,520 salvation in Jesus Christ. And that’s what I want us to see today. And then I want us to grasp how 32 00:03:48,399 –> 00:03:55,360 this can make a difference in everyone of our lives. So I hope you have the scripture open 33 00:03:55,360 –> 00:04:01,919 in front of you and that this will become part of us as we think about it today. Let’s look first 34 00:04:01,919 –> 00:04:10,160 then at the first camera angle the Father gives. Jesus says all that the Father gives me will come 35 00:04:10,240 –> 00:04:17,920 to me. Now this is making very clear that the Father gives the gift of people to his son. 36 00:04:19,119 –> 00:04:25,920 All that the Father gives me. Jesus speaks not only here but in other places too 37 00:04:26,640 –> 00:04:35,600 about people as the Father’s gift to him. For example, John chapter 17 when Jesus prays to 38 00:04:35,839 –> 00:04:41,079 Let’s get back to the Father just before he goes to the cross in that prayer. He says John 17.6 39 00:04:41,079 –> 00:04:49,760 I have revealed you. He says to those whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours 40 00:04:49,760 –> 00:04:57,519 but you gave them to me. And then Jesus prays in John 17 and verse 9 I’m praying for them. He says 41 00:04:57,519 –> 00:05:03,600 I’m not praying for the world. But for those who have given me because they are yours and here 42 00:05:03,700 –> 00:05:11,640 Jesus uses the same language all that the Father gives me. So this is a characteristic way of Jesus 43 00:05:11,640 –> 00:05:17,440 speaking about Believers. How does Jesus speak about Believers? He describes us as those that 44 00:05:17,440 –> 00:05:27,279 the Father has given to him. Second obvious thing from this a statement of Jesus is that the people 45 00:05:27,579 –> 00:05:35,440 are given to Christ come to Him. Jesus says all that the Father gives me will come to me. 46 00:05:35,440 –> 00:05:42,279 So who are these people that the Father gives to the Son? The answer is that they are the ones who 47 00:05:42,279 –> 00:05:49,480 come to him. They come to him because they have been given to him. And how do they come? Well 48 00:05:49,480 –> 00:05:59,040 Jesus says in verse 44, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. So we’re 49 00:05:59,040 –> 00:06:06,359 filling out the picture here. The Father gives certain people to the Son, the Father draws these 50 00:06:06,359 –> 00:06:15,959 people to his Son and these people come to his Son. Third observation from this statement of 51 00:06:16,519 –> 00:06:24,959 nothing can stop the people who are given to Christ from coming to Christ. How many of the 52 00:06:24,959 –> 00:06:30,720 people who the Father gives to the son actually come to him? I’m asking you a question. From this 53 00:06:30,720 –> 00:06:35,220 first word, how many of the people that the Father gives to the Son actually come to him? 54 00:06:35,220 –> 00:06:43,920 All of them. Now see we get used to working percentages. If you’re in sales, 55 00:06:43,980 –> 00:06:49,440 how many contacts actually become sales. If you’re in education, how many students actually 56 00:06:49,440 –> 00:06:55,980 graduate. If you’re in aviation, how many planes arrive on time. It’s all those percentages but 57 00:06:55,980 –> 00:07:02,940 if we ask the question how many people that the Father gives to the Son actually come to him the 58 00:07:02,940 –> 00:07:13,380 answer is 100 percent. All of them. Jesus says so. So that on the last day, when the Son of God 59 00:07:13,380 –> 00:07:19,579 stands in the presence of the Father we’re told in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 13 that the Son of 60 00:07:19,579 –> 00:07:27,899 God will say to the Father, here am I and the children you have given me. It’s a wonderful 61 00:07:27,899 –> 00:07:35,959 statement. He’s not saying on the last day, Father I got some of them. He’s saying on the last day, 62 00:07:36,920 –> 00:07:45,859 Father I’ve got all of them. Here I am and the children that you have given to me. And this 63 00:07:45,859 –> 00:07:51,339 emphasis is very clear in what Jesus says right here in John 6. If you just read on verse 37. 64 00:07:51,339 –> 00:07:56,799 All that the Father gives me will come to Me and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. For 65 00:07:56,799 –> 00:08:01,839 I have come down from Heaven not to do My will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And what’s 66 00:08:01,959 –> 00:08:09,279 the will of Him who sent me? Verse 40, That I shall lose none of all that He has given to Me 67 00:08:09,279 –> 00:08:16,200 but I shall raise them up on the last day. So if you have come to Jesus Christ you can have total 68 00:08:16,200 –> 00:08:27,019 confidence in Him. He says, I shall lose none of those the Father has given to Me. I won’t lose one. 69 00:08:27,179 –> 00:08:37,440 So all of the people who are given by the Father actually come to the Son. This is the first great 70 00:08:37,440 –> 00:08:42,979 movement of the Gospel. It is magnificent. The camera as it were is trained on the activity 71 00:08:42,979 –> 00:08:47,140 of the Father. What is the father doing? Is he standing by passively just waiting to see what 72 00:08:47,400 –> 00:08:57,619 is going to do about Jesus? No. He gives people to his son. Wonderful truth. 73 00:08:57,619 –> 00:09:08,679 Second camera is focused on the sinner coming to Jesus. The father gives. The sinner comes. 74 00:09:08,820 –> 00:09:18,640 Notice what Jesus says, All that the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes 75 00:09:18,640 –> 00:09:28,280 to me I will never drive away. Now notice from this statement the very obvious fact 76 00:09:28,280 –> 00:09:39,359 that Jesus invites all people to come to Him, who ever comes to me, you can’t get more 77 00:09:39,359 –> 00:09:47,840 inclusive than that, who ever, who ever includes, who ever certainly includes you. The Lord 78 00:09:47,840 –> 00:09:58,020 Jesus Christ, in His Word here, clearly invites all people to come to Him. Now it’s very 79 00:09:58,020 –> 00:10:03,500 interesting to me that God Himself has put these two lines right next to each other in 80 00:10:03,500 –> 00:10:08,520 the scripture. Don’t you think that’s significant? Isn’t that telling us something important? 81 00:10:08,520 –> 00:10:15,320 That the great truth, that the father gives certain people to the son never excludes a 82 00:10:15,780 –> 00:10:21,679 person who wants to come to Christ. Never excludes. If you have an interest in coming 83 00:10:21,679 –> 00:10:26,599 to Jesus Christ today, you can take that as a sure sign that the father is already working 84 00:10:26,599 –> 00:10:31,619 in your heart. I had a wonderful conversation with one of 85 00:10:31,619 –> 00:10:37,659 our high school students a number of weeks ago, very thoughtful lad, he is a senior in 86 00:10:37,719 –> 00:10:44,719 high school this year and he said to me, Colin, for a number of years I really struggled with 87 00:10:48,820 –> 00:10:55,820 the question of whether or not I’m one of the elect. He is a very thoughtful guy and 88 00:10:56,940 –> 00:11:01,419 I don’t suppose there are scores of high school students who are worrying about this question 89 00:11:02,179 –> 00:11:06,520 but for some years he had been thinking very seriously, What if I’m not one of the elect? 90 00:11:06,520 –> 00:11:13,520 And then he said to me, then one day I realised if I never came to Christ I’d never know. 91 00:11:17,479 –> 00:11:24,479 He said, so I came to Christ and he said since then what used to worry me has become to me 92 00:11:25,000 –> 00:11:32,000 a great joy. Now I want to say to you today, do not worry 93 00:11:32,119 –> 00:11:38,500 about whether you are among the elect. If that question plagues you or bothers you in 94 00:11:38,500 –> 00:11:43,460 any kind of way I simply want to say to you that that high schooler had great wisdom. 95 00:11:43,460 –> 00:11:50,460 Here’s what you must do. You look to Jesus Christ. You come to Him. You trust in Him. 96 00:11:50,840 –> 00:11:56,739 You take hold of this. The Son of God never slams the door in the face of anyone who wants 97 00:11:56,739 –> 00:12:01,919 to come to him. No, not ever. Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away, that’s what 98 00:12:01,919 –> 00:12:07,679 he says. That’s what he says to you. So you must come to him. And when you come to him 99 00:12:07,679 –> 00:12:14,059 he will welcome you. And when you come to him you will know with joy that the Father 100 00:12:14,179 –> 00:12:21,179 gave you to his Son. Then I want us to make another observation on this second camera 101 00:12:22,960 –> 00:12:29,960 angle of the sinner coming to Jesus Christ. That those who come to Christ see something 102 00:12:33,159 –> 00:12:40,159 great in Jesus Christ. You see, we’ve looked at Jesus’ words about the Father drawing people 103 00:12:40,859 –> 00:12:48,359 to Christ. But from this second camera angle, where we’re looking now at the sinner, from 104 00:12:48,359 –> 00:12:53,960 the experience of the person coming to Christ, when I’m coming to Christ, why do I come to 105 00:12:53,960 –> 00:13:00,960 Christ? I come to Christ because I see something great in Jesus Christ. That is the experience 106 00:13:02,320 –> 00:13:09,280 of every Christian. There’s no such thing as a Christian who doesn’t see something great 107 00:13:09,640 –> 00:13:16,640 in Jesus Christ. John Bunyan, you know who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress? That’s his most 108 00:13:17,859 –> 00:13:24,159 famous book. He actually wrote a whole book on this one verse. It’s a wonderful book. 109 00:13:24,159 –> 00:13:31,159 And in it he asks this question for Christians – what have you found in Jesus Christ? Now 110 00:13:31,320 –> 00:13:38,320 that’s a very good question. What have you found in Jesus Christ that is life-changing 111 00:13:39,739 –> 00:13:46,739 to you? What difference has it made? His point is very simple. Those who come to Christ see 112 00:13:47,559 –> 00:13:52,559 something compelling in Christ. So you say you have come to Christ, what is it in Jesus 113 00:13:52,559 –> 00:13:58,299 Christ that is life-changing for you? What is it in Jesus Christ that is compelling to 114 00:13:58,299 –> 00:14:03,859 you? What is it in Jesus Christ that is changing you, that is changing the way that you live? 115 00:14:03,859 –> 00:14:10,859 And he goes on to make the point this way. He says, Abraham saw in Christ something big 116 00:14:13,299 –> 00:14:20,299 enough to make him leave his own country for a place that God would lead him. You see something 117 00:14:21,260 –> 00:14:28,260 big enough in Christ to make you do a thing like that? Moses saw something great enough 118 00:14:31,700 –> 00:14:38,700 in him, in Christ to give up the comfort of life in a palace in Egypt in order to live 119 00:14:42,479 –> 00:14:48,380 in the desert with the people of God criticizing him. Do you see enough in Jesus Christ to 120 00:14:48,380 –> 00:14:55,380 put up with that kind of discomfort? And to choose it? Daniel saw enough in Jesus Christ 121 00:14:57,780 –> 00:15:04,780 to enable him to live with integrity in an aggressively secular world! Even when it meant 122 00:15:07,700 –> 00:15:14,700 him being thrown in a den of lions. Saw enough in Jesus Christ to enable him to do that. 123 00:15:14,900 –> 00:15:21,900 So Bunyan asks, what have you seen in Jesus Christ? What do you see in him? Because coming 124 00:15:22,919 –> 00:15:28,500 to Jesus Christ by definition involves seeing something in him that draws you, a love that 125 00:15:28,500 –> 00:15:35,500 compels you, a purity that attracts you, a glory that lifts you. What you see in Jesus 126 00:15:38,739 –> 00:15:44,500 Christ is the thing that will wean you away from your sins. So if you don’t see much 127 00:15:44,559 –> 00:15:51,559 in him you won’t change much. But when you see something of the love and the compelling 128 00:15:51,919 –> 00:15:58,919 glory of Jesus Christ you will find something within you that begins to say, I want to change. 129 00:16:00,440 –> 00:16:05,380 I want to be holy, I want to be forgiven, I want to be at peace with God, I’m tired 130 00:16:05,380 –> 00:16:12,380 of living for myself. I want to live for Christ. That is the experience of every Christian. 131 00:16:15,099 –> 00:16:21,419 That, by the way, is why a ministry that leads to life’s changing must have Jesus Christ 132 00:16:21,419 –> 00:16:25,960 at the center, because what happens? When he is lifted up, what does he do? He says, 133 00:16:25,960 –> 00:16:32,960 I will draw people to myself. That’s where life’s change begins. In you seeing something 134 00:16:35,820 –> 00:16:42,820 great in Jesus Christ! So, two camera angles. The Father gives. The 135 00:16:45,020 –> 00:16:52,020 sinner comes. Here’s the third. The Son. The Son of God, the Savior receives. Whoever comes 136 00:16:53,080 –> 00:17:00,080 to me, Jesus says, these are marvelous words, I will never drive away. Now, how good it 137 00:17:01,880 –> 00:17:06,560 is for us just to take these words in. When you come to Jesus Christ, He is there for 138 00:17:06,560 –> 00:17:13,359 you. When you draw near to Him, He is ready to receive you and He gives you His Word. 139 00:17:13,560 –> 00:17:20,560 I won’t ever drive you away. It’s interesting, and I think it’s significant 140 00:17:22,040 –> 00:17:29,040 that the word comes here is in the present continuous tense, is coming. Whoever is coming, 141 00:17:30,239 –> 00:17:36,500 I will not drive away. Whoever is in the process of coming, we might say. Whoever’s on his 142 00:17:36,500 –> 00:17:42,099 way to me or on her way to me, I will never cast them out. Think in your mind’s eye of 143 00:17:42,099 –> 00:17:47,140 the prodigal son on his way home. He started the journey away from the pigs where he’s 144 00:17:47,140 –> 00:17:52,219 been. He’s not yet back to the father, but he’s on the way home. That’s what Jesus is 145 00:17:52,219 –> 00:17:58,699 talking about. He hasn’t arrived yet. Whoever is coming to me, I will never drive them away. 146 00:17:58,699 –> 00:18:04,079 Bunyan has this marvelous comment. He says Jesus Christ has his eye upon, and he takes 147 00:18:04,079 –> 00:18:11,079 notice of the first moving of the heart of a sinner after himself. So if you have the 148 00:18:11,560 –> 00:18:18,560 first stirring of being drawn to Jesus Christ, the first sense that you’re not content to 149 00:18:21,420 –> 00:18:26,760 live with your life as it is, being about yourself, the first inkling that you want 150 00:18:26,760 –> 00:18:33,760 to move away from your sins, the son of God sees you coming. The son of God has his arms 151 00:18:34,760 –> 00:18:41,760 as it were, stretched out. He sees the first movement of your heart. He already knows who 152 00:18:41,800 –> 00:18:48,800 the Father has given to him so he is watching to see this movement and doing so with joy. 153 00:18:49,319 –> 00:18:55,420 So I want to encourage you, if you see the faintest stirring within your own heart towards 154 00:18:55,420 –> 00:19:02,420 the Lord Jesus Christ today, you have every reason for hope in him. So you and me as children 155 00:19:03,239 –> 00:19:10,239 so use this as an incentive to speed your path to Jesus Christ today. 156 00:19:13,199 –> 00:19:18,900 See, think about the prodigal son. Remember Jesus’ famous story about the guy who leaves 157 00:19:18,900 –> 00:19:22,920 the father and wastes all his resources, and eventually comes to the end of himself and 158 00:19:22,920 –> 00:19:29,920 begins the long journey home. How fast do you think he walked? I don’t think he walked 159 00:19:30,260 –> 00:19:37,260 very fast. I expect that in his mind he was anticipating a long lecture about wasted money, 160 00:19:40,739 –> 00:19:47,739 wasted gifts, and wasted years. Maybe that is one reason why he stayed away so long, 161 00:19:50,020 –> 00:19:54,819 but now he is so desperate he thinks he has no other alternative and so he begins this 162 00:19:54,880 –> 00:20:01,880 long weary trudge home and he is on the way. Put yourself in his shoes, you expect to be 163 00:20:05,180 –> 00:20:12,079 hauled over the coals and then as you are trudging your way forward, what happens? You 164 00:20:12,520 –> 00:20:18,560 hear a voice, it�s a familiar voice and it�s calling your name and you look up and 165 00:20:18,560 –> 00:20:25,560 you see his father, and he is running towards you, and as he gets nearer, his robes up round 166 00:20:28,500 –> 00:20:35,500 his knees, running as best he can, his arms are outsretched and as he gets nearer still 167 00:20:35,599 –> 00:20:42,599 you see that there are tears running down his face. Do you walk towards him quicker 168 00:20:43,599 –> 00:20:50,599 or slower when you see that? It is the knowledge of the love of Christ, the welcome of Christ, 169 00:20:53,439 –> 00:21:00,439 when you see that, it will hasten your progress to faith in him. That is why in every presentation 170 00:21:03,959 –> 00:21:10,959 of the Gospel we must always make clear the love of Jesus Christ. The eye of Jesus Christ 171 00:21:11,959 –> 00:21:16,719 and the heart of Jesus Christ towards every person who will come to him. Listen to what 172 00:21:16,719 –> 00:21:23,719 he says, whoever comes to me I will not ever drive away. So use this as an incentive to 173 00:21:25,920 –> 00:21:31,400 come to him. As you come to Jesus Christ you lift up your eyes as it were and look forward 174 00:21:31,400 –> 00:21:37,280 and take in this picture of Jesus Christ ready to welcome you. There for you, already knowing 175 00:21:37,420 –> 00:21:42,280 that you are coming because he knows who the father has given and full of joy in his heart 176 00:21:42,280 –> 00:21:49,280 to receive you. When you have come to him, you will be able to look back and behind you, 177 00:21:53,319 –> 00:22:00,319 you will see the giving of the father and the drawing of the father and your heart will 178 00:22:01,319 –> 00:22:07,319 see how blessed and joyful. Now that is the marvelous teaching of this word of Jesus Christ 179 00:22:07,319 –> 00:22:13,239 and I want to take just a few minutes now to apply it to us. Because we have learned 180 00:22:13,239 –> 00:22:18,160 what Jesus says, it’s very clear, it’s not difficult to understand, I want us to 181 00:22:18,160 –> 00:22:25,160 see how we are to use what Jesus says here in our Christian lives. 182 00:22:25,599 –> 00:22:32,599 Let me suggest three ways and focus on the first two. Use this truth that we’re learning 183 00:22:33,959 –> 00:22:40,959 today, will you use this truth to strengthen your grasp of God’s love for you? And I’ll 184 00:22:42,400 –> 00:22:48,959 tell you, this has been my biggest prayer for today or at least one of them, that God 185 00:22:49,040 –> 00:22:56,040 will give to many of us today, a bigger stronger grasp of the dimensions of His love for you 186 00:23:02,680 –> 00:23:09,680 in Jesus Christ. Now this is a big issue. In Ephesians where Paul is praying for Christians, 187 00:23:10,319 –> 00:23:15,319 what I’m praying for you Paul says in Ephesians 3 is that you will know the breadth and length and 188 00:23:25,619 –> 00:23:32,619 depth and height of the love of Christ. In other words, Paul recognized that among the Christians 189 00:23:32,619 –> 00:23:38,339 in that church in Ephesus, and this is true for Christians in every church, where we find it very 190 00:23:38,560 –> 00:23:45,380 difficult to take in how much Jesus Christ loves us. So he says, as an Apostle I’m praying that the 191 00:23:45,479 –> 00:23:52,880 congregation will get a bigger view, a stronger grasp, a clearer glimpse of the love of God in 192 00:23:52,880 –> 00:23:59,880 Jesus Christ for every person here. I want that for you. I’ve been praying that for today. 193 00:24:01,180 –> 00:24:05,619 First because however much you have grassed of the love of God you’ve only grassed a 194 00:24:05,699 –> 00:24:12,699 tiny bit of it. Second because many, many Christians have only a faint impression of 195 00:24:13,880 –> 00:24:20,880 the love of Christ. Many Christians find it difficult to believe that God really loves 196 00:24:21,119 –> 00:24:28,119 you. You really do, you find that very difficult to get. Now I’m saying I want you to use this 197 00:24:28,900 –> 00:24:35,900 truth that we’re learning today in this one verse, so it’s easy for you to get a hold 198 00:24:37,219 –> 00:24:43,760 of, I want you to use this truth to strengthen your grasp of Christ’s love for you. Think 199 00:24:43,760 –> 00:24:50,760 about it. The Father knew everything about you before you were born. He knew all that 200 00:24:51,439 –> 00:24:58,439 you are, all that is in you. He knew everything you would ever do. And knowing everything 201 00:24:59,199 –> 00:25:06,199 about you, here’s what He chose to do. He gave you to His Son! And here’s something 202 00:25:06,199 –> 00:25:13,199 just as remarkable, the Son received the gift!” The love of God is more personal 203 00:25:22,839 –> 00:25:29,839 far than many Christians think. God loves the world. We rejoice in that. The Bible states 204 00:25:30,640 –> 00:25:37,640 it clearly. But there is more than that. To his own people the Bible repeatedly makes 205 00:25:39,760 –> 00:25:46,760 clear that God, in a very special way, loves you. He has set his heart upon you. Paul puts 206 00:25:48,939 –> 00:25:55,479 it this way in Galatians 2.20, and this is something you can say as a Christian. The 207 00:25:55,479 –> 00:26:02,479 Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Behind Christ’s death on the Cross for 208 00:26:07,599 –> 00:26:14,599 you and behind the story of how you have come to faith in him stands the Father giving you 209 00:26:15,599 –> 00:26:22,599 to the Son, and the Son receiving you as the Father’s gift to him. 210 00:26:25,599 –> 00:26:30,599 I don’t know if you could begin to picture this, it staggers my mind even to think about 211 00:26:30,599 –> 00:26:37,599 it, but to meditate on great truths I think is profoundly helpful. Picture this, the Father 212 00:26:38,560 –> 00:26:45,560 says, Son, I have a great gift for you. I’m going to give you, and he says, John and Jim 213 00:26:50,579 –> 00:26:57,579 and Mary and Melissa and on he goes thousands upon thousands and millions of names of people 214 00:26:57,599 –> 00:27:04,599 from every continent, every language, every nation, every generation in the entire history 215 00:27:09,979 –> 00:27:16,979 of the planet and as you try to take in the magnificence of the scene there comes a moment 216 00:27:18,640 –> 00:27:24,640 where you hear your name. I give, I put your name in there. To you, Son. 217 00:27:28,579 –> 00:27:31,579 The Father does not read these names though 218 00:27:31,579 –> 00:27:36,880 they are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He does not need to read them because he knows 219 00:27:36,880 –> 00:27:43,880 them. The Father says, I give them to you, the Son says, I will redeem them, the Father 220 00:27:44,979 –> 00:27:50,900 says, I will draw them, and the Son says, I will receive them. I will never, never, 221 00:27:51,839 –> 00:27:58,819 never drive them away. And so my prayer for you today is that you 222 00:27:58,819 –> 00:28:05,819 would get a bigger view of God’s love, that you would go home today saying, I always knew 223 00:28:06,420 –> 00:28:13,420 that God loved me, but I never knew He loved me like that. Use this truth. To strengthen 224 00:28:13,959 –> 00:28:20,959 and personalize your grasp of the love of Godfor you in Jesus Christ. And here’s just 225 00:28:33,060 –> 00:28:38,979 one more thing that’s of great importance here. Let me just touch on it more briefly. 226 00:28:38,979 –> 00:28:45,979 Use this truth to sustain your commitment to gospel ministry. Let me explain why I say 227 00:28:47,780 –> 00:28:53,319 that. This verse and these words of Jesus come at a time that wasn’t really encouraging 228 00:28:53,319 –> 00:29:00,040 in the ministry of Jesus. He had just fed the five thousand, multiplying loaves and 229 00:29:00,040 –> 00:29:07,040 fish, and if you look back to verse 15, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king by force. 230 00:29:07,900 –> 00:29:12,619 They wanted to politicize Jesus in other words. Jesus knew that this is what they wanted to 231 00:29:12,619 –> 00:29:16,280 do so he slips away from the crowd, goes to the other side of the lake. The crowd come 232 00:29:16,280 –> 00:29:21,040 around the lake. They find him again and there is this discussion which is the passage we 233 00:29:21,040 –> 00:29:24,020 read. Jesus says in verse 26, You’re looking for 234 00:29:24,020 –> 00:29:29,619 me because you ate the loaves and you had your fill. He begins to speak to them about 235 00:29:29,619 –> 00:29:36,400 eternal life in verse 27. He speaks to them about faith in verse 29. He speaks to them 236 00:29:36,520 –> 00:29:43,520 about spiritual things. I am the bread of life verse 35. So Christ now is giving the 237 00:29:43,579 –> 00:29:49,699 Most Glorious presentation of the Most Glorious truth. The Lord Jesus Christ is talking about 238 00:29:49,699 –> 00:29:56,199 faith and about eternity and about life and you know how much interest these people have 239 00:29:56,199 –> 00:30:03,199 in these things. none. No spiritual interest. Verse 36, Jesus says you have seen me. You 240 00:30:06,560 –> 00:30:14,579 see me. And still you do not believe. Now folks where do you go from there if we are 241 00:30:14,599 –> 00:30:19,439 involved in ministry. If we are trying to reach others for the gospel and we begin to 242 00:30:19,439 –> 00:30:24,060 speak about faith and about Jesus the bread of life and we begin to speak about eternal 243 00:30:24,060 –> 00:30:31,060 life and the level of spiritual interest among people around us seems to be zero. Where do 244 00:30:31,239 –> 00:30:36,140 you go from there? So after a while you get discouraged. You begin 245 00:30:36,140 –> 00:30:39,439 to think maybe you should pack it in. Is it really worth it or the biggest pressure of 246 00:30:39,439 –> 00:30:44,739 all is this? Well people really are not interested in the words of Jesus. People are not really 247 00:30:44,739 –> 00:30:50,599 interested in spiritual things. Let us find some other way in which we can help them. 248 00:30:50,599 –> 00:30:56,119 So how do you keep going? See think of where Jesus is here, there is a group of people 249 00:30:56,319 –> 00:31:01,300 who want to politicize him and there’s a much larger group of people over here who 250 00:31:01,300 –> 00:31:06,319 have absolutely no interest whatsoever in spiritual things. So how do you sustain gospel 251 00:31:06,319 –> 00:31:13,319 ministry in that environment? Answer, Jesus says, all who the father gives me will come 252 00:31:16,479 –> 00:31:23,479 to me. God sends his people into tough places. If we are to take the gospel to the world 253 00:31:24,479 –> 00:31:31,479 that will mean taking the gospel to some highly resistant unresponsive groups of people here 254 00:31:33,640 –> 00:31:40,219 and around the world. Paul did that on many occasions. One of them was in Acts chapter 255 00:31:40,219 –> 00:31:47,219 18. It’s a fascinating story. He goes to a place called Corinth which was the Las Vegas 256 00:31:47,619 –> 00:31:54,479 of the early world. In Acts chapter 16 Luke tells us that he gave himself exclusively 257 00:31:54,479 –> 00:31:58,040 to preaching to Jews and testifying about Jesus Christ. 258 00:31:58,040 –> 00:32:02,900 Acts chapter 18 and verse 6 says that they opposed Paul and they became abusive towards 259 00:32:02,900 –> 00:32:09,900 him. So Paul goes into the Las Vegas of the early world. What does he get? Spiritual response, 260 00:32:10,160 –> 00:32:17,160 zip. So where did he go from there. Well he went next door and set up in the home of someone 261 00:32:17,680 –> 00:32:23,020 else and what happened was that in fact the leader of the synagogue came and professed 262 00:32:23,020 –> 00:32:26,939 faith in Jesus Christ along with his family and then a number of other people did as well. 263 00:32:26,939 –> 00:32:32,760 And here’s the point. While Paul was there in that city of Corinth Jesus Christ the Son 264 00:32:32,760 –> 00:32:39,180 of God spoke to him in a dream. He said this don’t be afraid keep on speaking I am with 265 00:32:39,359 –> 00:32:46,359 you the Son of God said for I have many people in this city. There are many people in this 266 00:32:49,119 –> 00:32:53,420 city who the father has given to the son. They haven’t come to the son yet but because 267 00:32:53,420 –> 00:32:57,579 the father has given them to the son they will come to the son. So Paul just you keep 268 00:32:57,579 –> 00:33:03,060 on doing what you’re doing. This truth is the greatest truth I know in my own experience 269 00:33:03,619 –> 00:33:10,619 in sustaining gospel ministry. I think I would have given up by now if it was not for this 270 00:33:11,680 –> 00:33:18,680 truth. This truth to me is the greatest incentive I know for the work of evangelism. It really 271 00:33:20,500 –> 00:33:27,500 is. The father has given people in this city to the son. They don’t know it yet but they 272 00:33:28,500 –> 00:33:35,500 will come. And they will come through the sharing of the gospel. Perhaps through your 273 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:41,520 sharing of the gospel, our sharing of the gospel. They will come because the father 274 00:33:41,520 –> 00:33:48,520 will draw them and nothing can stop that from happening. Their unbelief at this moment can’t 275 00:33:49,140 –> 00:33:54,319 stop it from happening, satan can’t stop them, sin can’t stop them, the culture can’t stop 276 00:33:54,500 –> 00:34:01,500 them. Not if you believe this. Persecution can’t stop them Jesus says get it into your 277 00:34:01,699 –> 00:34:06,760 mind this will sustain our life of ministry. All that the father gives me will come to 278 00:34:06,760 –> 00:34:13,760 me. Folks that is our guarantee of the progress of the gospel. That’s it. Right there. So 279 00:34:15,800 –> 00:34:22,800 use this. Use this to strengthen your grasp of the love of God and use this. 280 00:34:25,139 –> 00:34:32,139 To sustain your commitment to gospel ministry. And just very briefly at the end. To use this 281 00:34:35,800 –> 00:34:42,800 to deepen your confidence and your joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever comes to me 282 00:34:43,520 –> 00:34:50,060 I will never drive away. Notice he doesn’t say whoever comes to me I’ll not drive away 283 00:34:50,139 –> 00:34:53,100 That’s true, but it’s stronger than that. It’s I’ll never drive away 284 00:34:53,100 –> 00:34:58,399 In fact in the words that Jesus used in the original there there’s it’s doubly strong 285 00:34:58,399 –> 00:35:03,179 It’s like no not ever ever. That’s the kind of sense of it. No never 286 00:35:04,939 –> 00:35:10,260 This in other words is a wonderful not only a wonderful incentive for sinners coming to Christ 287 00:35:10,260 –> 00:35:16,780 I’ll never drive you away. It is the most marvelous assurance for all of us who are believers in Jesus Christ 288 00:35:16,780 –> 00:35:22,860 He’s saying I’ll never drive you away. Not now not in the future. Not ever. No, not ever ever 289 00:35:24,659 –> 00:35:26,659 So do you ever wonder if 290 00:35:26,899 –> 00:35:31,540 If Christ will tired of you when he sees how weak your faith is 291 00:35:32,139 –> 00:35:34,139 answer from this text no 292 00:35:34,540 –> 00:35:36,540 never 293 00:35:36,899 –> 00:35:39,020 Do you ever wonder if Jesus Christ 294 00:35:39,979 –> 00:35:46,379 Will somehow lose interest in you because you have been slow to change and to grow as a Christian 295 00:35:46,520 –> 00:35:48,520 answer from this text no 296 00:35:48,600 –> 00:35:50,600 never 297 00:35:50,699 –> 00:35:56,600 When you fall into temptation and you fail in some big kind of way and Satan says to you 298 00:35:56,600 –> 00:35:58,600 Well, there’s not much future for you now 299 00:35:59,580 –> 00:36:02,600 Jesus Christ isn’t going to be able to use you very much now 300 00:36:03,959 –> 00:36:06,540 Lord, Jesus Christ would say to you this I 301 00:36:07,439 –> 00:36:15,100 Will never drive you away, no matter what failure it there is in your life as one who comes to Christ 302 00:36:16,919 –> 00:36:22,979 You will never hear the Son of God say I’m done with you never no 303 00:36:23,399 –> 00:36:25,320 not ever 304 00:36:25,320 –> 00:36:27,320 so come to Him 305 00:36:29,219 –> 00:36:32,360 Father thank you for the glory of the fathers giving 306 00:36:32,939 –> 00:36:36,699 the joy of the sinners coming and 307 00:36:38,600 –> 00:36:42,939 The love of the Savior’s receiving 308 00:36:44,580 –> 00:36:52,379 Work this marvelous truth into the core of our being that it may expand our knowledge of your love 309 00:36:54,020 –> 00:36:57,600 Sustain us in the proclamation of the gospel 310 00:36:57,639 –> 00:36:59,639 And 311 00:37:00,360 –> 00:37:03,080 Hasten our coming to you and 312 00:37:03,820 –> 00:37:08,179 increase our joy and our confidence until faith is turned to site all 313 00:37:10,139 –> 00:37:14,159 That the Father gives me will come to me and 314 00:37:15,239 –> 00:37:17,479 Whoever comes to me? I 315 00:37:18,959 –> 00:37:20,959 Will never 316 00:37:21,739 –> 00:37:23,739 Drive away