Sunday Worship - September 19, 2021

good morning everyone grace and peace and happy sunday this is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord this morning we can't go physically into the house of the lord but we're going in to the presence of the lord together online and it's a wonderful privilege our call to worship comes to us this morning from isaiah 54 and verse 1 to 10 reading from the english standard version it's a sing o barren one who did not bear break forth into singing and cry aloud you who have not been in labor for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married says the lord enlarge the place of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out do not hold back lengthen your cores and strengthen your stakes for you will spread abroad to the right and to the left and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities fear not for you will not be ashamed be not confounded for you will not be disgraced for you will forget the shame of your youth and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more for your maker is your husband the lord of hosts is his name and the holy one of israel is your redeemer the god of the whole earth he is called for the lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit like a wife of youth when she's cast off says your god for a brief moment i deserted you but with great compassion i will gather you in overflowing anger for a moment i hid my face from you but with everlasting love i will have compassion on you says the lord your redeemer this is like the days of noah to me as i swear as i swore that the waters of noah should no more go over the earth so i have sworn that i will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you for the mountains may depart and the hills be removed but my steadfast love shall not depart from you and my covenant of peace shall not be removed says the lord who has compassion on you thank you jesus says the lord who has compassion on me says the lord who has compassion on us right there in your home just lift your hands and just thank the lord hallelujah thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus that you considered us lord god that you draw us back to you lord jesus oh hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah somebody better lift up their voices in their homes and shout hallelujah and worship the lord this morning hallelujah hallelujah oh i'm forever grateful this morning i'm forever grateful this morning [Music] hallelujah [Music] i don't know about you this morning this is how i feel [Music] lord you did not wait for me to draw near to you but you clothed yourself in frail humanity [Music] you did not wait for me to cry out to you but you let me hear your sweet voice calling me says the symbol i did not wait for me [Music] to draw near to you but you clothed yourself with real humanity you did not wait for me to cry out to you but you let me hear your voice calling [Music] but you cloned yourself with frail humanity you did not wait for me to cry out to [Music] foreign [Music] that you came to seek [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] ever [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] to see can't [Music] and say [Music] [Applause] [Music] to seek [Music] thank you jesus thank you jesus oh this morning we're just singing about this salvation that god has given us thank you jesus [Music] i could [Music] let's do it again [Music] [Music] [Applause] but it wouldn't be enough [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this world had to be [Music] [Music] kindness found in yes [Music] for one single drop of blood [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] no it wouldn't be enough to buy one splinter off the tree that jesus died and i couldn't pay the price for one single drop of blood that was shed [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] if [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you jesus thank you lord thank you lord i hope you're opening up your mouth at all oh you may be shut down at home but they can't shut you up remember paul and silas [Music] but he can't shut him up hallelujah let his praises go up today hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah thank you jesus thank you thank you jesus [Music] hallelujah [Music] is [Music] of glory divine here of salvation [Music] washed in his blood this is my story this is my song praising my savior [Music] [Music] [Music] all day long [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] visions [Applause] [Music] descented [Music] it goes [Music] this is my song [Music] oh [Music] oh this is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] i'm happy and blessed watching and waiting [Music] filled with love [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] ourselves [Music] [Music] just the music [Music] let's just [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hey [Music] thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you [Music] so this is our story this is our song [Music] praising our savior [Music] this is our song praising our savior [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] thank you lord thank you jesus thank you god [Music] oh jesus such a mighty god so holy so faithful so kind so loving god we thank you we thank you we thank you for coming into our midst today for giving us just a taste of who you are god i thank you that you are with us in this moment i thank you that you have blessed us with a means for us to come together even if it be virtually i thank you lord that you planned for every single day of our lives for this moment but even though we are on lockdown and some may feel weary god we know and we can rest in the fact that you are with us wherever we are and whatever means we can praise you we can lift our voices high we can give you thanks we can glorify you in all that we do lord god tonight today i just want to put before you our service lord that every word every song every scripture will have a weight to it lord that it will be a seed planted in our hearts lord that you will do surgery today god that you will transform us that you will renew our mind our thinking you will help us god to see you in the way that you truly are to understand our salvation in the way that it is lord that we will get clarity through your word through our worship through our prayer through our fellowship lord god jesus we know you will never leave us right you will never leave us undone you will never leave us halfway so we thank you that even as we go through these lessons as a church some of us may not come to a full understanding we have we're not there yet but god i know you're bringing us there and we just have to stick by you we just have to be faithful we just have to be deliberate we have to keep searching the word praying to you fellowshipping with you lord you who are faithful you who never let us go you come through so lord today i pray for us all i pray that we have love in our hearts i pray that we have compassion i pray that in these moments where we are so separated that we don't forget how to show love how to be kind how to be caring that we will reach out to one another lord god that we will have a burden for one another jesus help us god let us not forget who we are in a culture that has become so selfish let us always remember that we are part of a community we are part of your body and you have called us to love each other to encourage each other to be there for each other to be empathetic towards each other lord god let us not forget who we are in you let us forever lift our eyes to you may you be the sweetest and most important thing in our lives at every single moment jesus be our everything be the center of our lives and the center of our hearts touch our service lord touch everyone that's listening today whether they're here for the first time or they've been coming every week touch our hearts lord make new these minds rescue us jesus in your precious name in your precious and holy name we thank you we thank you we thank you [Music] grace and peace everyone the word of the lord comes to us today from john chapter 6 verses 22 to 44. the next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat and they realized jesus had not gone within several boats from tiberias landed near the place where the lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten so when the crowd saw that neither jesus nor his disciples were there they got into the boat and went across the capernaum to look for him they found him on the other side of the lake and asked rabbi when did you get here jesus replied i tell you the truth you want to be with me because i fed you not because you understood the miraculous signs but don't be so concerned about perishable things like food spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the son of man can give you for god the father has given me the seal of his approval they replied we want to perform god's works too what should we do jesus told them this is the only work god wants from you believe in the one he has sent they answered show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you what can you do after all our ancestors ain't mano while they journeyed through the wilderness the scriptures say moses gave them bread from heaven to eat jesus said i tell you the truth moses didn't give you bread from heaven my father did and now he offers you the true bread from heaven the true bread of god is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world sir they said give us that bread every day jesus replied i am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never be hungry again whoever believes in me will never be thirsty but you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me however those the father has given me will come to me and i will never reject them for i have come down from heaven to do the will of god who sent me not to do my own will and this is the will of god that i should not lose even one of all those he has given me but that i should raise them up at the last day for it is my father's will that all who see his son and believe in him should have eternal life i will raise them up at the last day then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said i am the bread that came down from heaven they said isn't this jesus the son of joseph we know his father and mother how can he say i came down from heaven but jesus replied stop complaining about what i said for no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them to me and at the last day i will raise them up this is the word of the lord thanks peter [Music] welcome welcome welcome we welcome everyone to our service this morning welcome to all our saints and visitors those who are here with me and those who are viewing by youtube live we welcome you and may the blessings of the lord be with you today here are our schedule of announcements for this week sunday september 19 to sunday september 26th on wednesday september 22nd at 7 30 pm we'll be having our event-tied prayer via zoom and youtube we invite everyone to come on and pray with us there's so much to pray for now we need to be praying now more than ever on thursday september 23 at 7 30 p.m we'll have our bible study via youtube live all members are asked to participate you know the bible can never be enough the bible studies are rich they are fulfilling they will give you enough food to last for a whole year so come on out to our bible study on sunday september 26th at 9 00 a.m we'll start with prayer again and at 9 30 a.m we'll start with our worship service via youtube of course if there are any changes to our schedule of services you will be informed via our social media platforms or you can also call the church office at 876-926-0612 or 876-335-8016 we have our daily bible reading schedule continuing and as we continue we journey under the theme lessons for living today we are at ecclesiastes 3 verses 1 to 8. continue to read the daily bible schedule as it will enrich your lives we want to invite your attention to the screen where you'll be reminded of the different ways you can give your tithe and offerings we are thankful to those who continue to give we know that it is hard times and we really really thank you for those who have been giving in cash are kind we thank you so much and may the lord continue to bless you we want to celebrate with those who are celebrating birthdays those who are celebrating anniversaries we want to acknowledge those who are just celebrating overall happy birthday to all who will be celebrating our birthday today all those who will be celebrating this week those who celebrated last week we want to celebrate with you i know sister kaiye and brother andrew celebrated on the 17th sister abigail scott under 16 brother peter hebert and kevin on the 15th this coming week brother randall richards will be celebrating on the 21st sister shanil sammy wells on the 21st hortense hilton susan smith on the 23rd and 24th respectively and sister hilton on the 20th so we want to say happy birthday to all those who will be celebrating birthdays those who have celebrated before god will richly bless you have a wonderful sunday praise his holy name salvation has been brought down [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] until it's [Music] oh [Music] the word of god [Music] celebration has been brought down [Music] hallelujah thank you [Music] salvation has been brought down praise the lord it couldn't be worked up it had to be brought down and thank god jesus brought it down [Music] greetings to everyone may grace and peace be multiplied unto you from god our father and the lord jesus christ it's wonderful to be here sharing the word of the lord sharing in this great service just basking in the presence of the lord we welcome you to our service and we now turn to the word of the lord we are looking at the subject born from above and our text is john chapter 3 verses 1 to 10. there was a man of the pharisees [Music] named nicodemus a ruler of the jews the same came to jesus by night and said unto him rabbi we know that thou art a teacher come from god for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except god be with him jesus answered and said unto him verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of god nicodemus saith unto him how can a man be born when he is old can he enter this second time into his mother's womb and be born jesus answered verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of god that which is born of the flesh's flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit marvel not that i said unto thee ye must be born again the wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearst the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth so is everyone that is born of the spirit nicodemus answered and said unto him how can these things be jesus answered and said unto him art thou a master of israel and knowest not these things [Music] let us pray our god and our father we stand in your holy presence giving you thanks for the fact that salvation has been brought down had it not been brought down we would not be here this morning and whatever tried to do would have been meaningless so we thank you that salvation was brought down when jesus gave his life a ransom on calvary help us know lord as we try to expound to your precious people the full ramifications of this salvation that has been brought down give us lord clarity of thought and clarity of speech and give to all of us understanding hearts and minds in the name of jesus christ amen the passage of scripture that has been our focus over the last two sundays is one of the most important in the bible we have stated that nowhere else in the bible do we find more emphatic statements about the subject of regeneration than we do in this passage this passage then is foundational it is fundamental to our understanding of how god actually saves sinners in part one we made the point that several other great bible doctrines are hinted at in these verses and that we would be discussing them briefly as we thought it necessary to do so this week in addition to the doctrines of election and regeneration which we have already looked at we will be considering the doctrines of radical corruption and original sin we noted that the first step in the process of salvation is election we defined election as a decree of god before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved not on account of any foreseen merit in them but only because of his sovereign grace when in the process of time election is actualized the first step is regeneration we said last week that regeneration is the holy spirit supernatural work of granting spiritual life to persons who are dead in trespasses and sins this is not a work in which persons contribute anything how could they if they are dead regeneration is a work of god alone the grace of regeneration is the power of god that grants human beings the ability to exercise faith in god and that gives them new desires towards him any activity on the part of the sinner including faith itself cannot be the cause of the new birth but the effect of the new birth it is impossible for a person to exercise faith in jesus christ unless and until they are regenerated or born again in verse 3 our lord says to nicodemus verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of god our lord here is not answering nicodemus's words his answering his thoughts in chapter 2 and verses 23 to 25 john makes it clear that our lord knew what was in the heart of every individual he therefore knew what was in the heart of nicodemus he recognized that nicodemus's greatest need was for salvation nicodemus was spiritually dead yes he was a leader of the sect of the pharisees he was perhaps the most important teacher of the uni nation of israel he was wealthy he was respected but he was lost nicodemus needed to be regenerated he needed to be born again the idea of being born again is something that fallen unregenerate human beings can not comprehend in first corinthians chapter 2 and verse 14 paul writes but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned the new english translation renders the verse as follows the unbeliever does not receive the things of the spirit of god for their foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned it is impossible for any unsaved human being to understand the concept of regeneration let alone accomplish it and that is exactly why our lord chose this particular analogy the whole point of the analogy of being born again is to demonstrate that in the process of salvation something has to happen to a person that he or she cannot cause to happen or contribute to in any way the new birth analogy describes a spiritual reality to which the one who experiences it makes no contribution whatsoever in the same way that we contribute nothing whatsoever to our physical birth we contribute nothing whatsoever to our spiritual birth in the same way that our physical birth was something that happened to us our spiritual birth is something that happens to us our lord could have used several other analogies if it was his desire to convey the idea that we make a contribution to our salvation but he chose the analogy of the new birth in order to make it inconsistently clear that salvation is something that happens to us not by us he desires for us to understand and appreciate that salvation is entirely the work of god the old testament prophet jonah clearly understood this for in jonah chapter 2 and verse 9 jonah said from the belly of the great fish but i will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving i will pay that that i have vowed salvation is of the lord jesus tells nicodemus that in order for him to see or perceive the kingdom of god it is a necessity in the nature of the case that he be born again the greek word translated again is anathen the scottish theologian william barkley explains that the greek word anathem has three different meanings number one it can mean from the beginning completely radically number two it can mean again in the sense of for the second time number three it can mean from above and therefore from god last week we said it is possible that in john chapter 3 verses 3 and 7 john intends for the word anathem to be understood in any one of the three ways mentioned by barkley it is also possible that john intends for all three meanings to be incorporated in our understanding of jesus's use of the word anaphon it is my opinion though that the primary meaning of the word intended by jesus is from above born from above because he wants to emphasize to this pharisee that regeneration is this sovereign work of god quiet apart from any human contribution nicodemus apparently understood our lord's use of the word anaphon to mean again in the sense of for the second time which explains his reply how can a man be born when he is old can he enter this second time into his mother's womb and be born however jesus's reply to nicodemus's questions in verses 6 to 8 imply that he referred to the need for a spiritual birth a birth from above in these verses jesus stresses the point that the new birth that he is talking about must be the work of the holy spirit and the holy spirit comes from the realm of the above we said last week that almost all of the difficulties that persons encounter in understanding this passage would be cleared up if they understood the phrase born again to mean born from above the whole act of the new birth is not a human achievement because the radical transformation that occurs instantaneously when a person is regenerated can only be brought about by the grace and power of god regeneration is a spiritual recreation and therefore it has its source not on earth but in heaven to be born from above means that the source of the birth is god to be born from above requires a supernatural work of the holy spirit which is performed in the life of a believing sinner he or she is given a new heart being brought from spiritual death to spiritual life and is made able and willing to repent of his or her sin before god and trust in jesus christ alone as his or her lord and savior this is a supernatural work accomplished by god alone why is it that the work of regeneration must be a work of god alone it is a work of god alone it must be a work of god alone because this sinner is absolutely incapable of doing anything to help himself or herself the bible makes it clear that in a spiritual sense unsaved individuals are not merely sick are even critically ill they are dead we have confirmation of this in ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 and you have he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins because you were dead in trespasses and sins he that is god had to quit you or make you alive in colossians 2 chapter 13 we read almost the same thing and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he acquitted together with him having forgiven you all trespasses brothers and sisters listen to me carefully we are going to be talking about some pretty deep things now as a result of the fall of adam every part of every human being their mind their will their emotions and their flesh has been corrupted by sin sin affects every area of our being including who we are and what we do in other words human beings are radically corrupt the doctrine of radical corruption acknowledges the biblical truth that we sin because we are sinners by nature the fall of man and the effects of the fall point to what theologians refer to as original sin listen to me original sin does not refer primarily to the first sin committed by adam and eve original sin refers primarily to the result of their sin which was the corruption of the entire human race original sin refers to the fallen condition in which every human being is born david was aware of the reality of original sin for in psalm 51 and verse 5 he said behold i was shaping in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me david was not saying that he was shaping iniquity and that his mother conceived him in sin because um she had him out of wedlock he was not saying that what he's saying is that i inherited fallen unregenerate nature this thing that we call the flesh from my great father adam the doctrine of original sin teaches that we human beings commit sin because we are sinners that is what sinners do they commit sin we are not sinners because we sin that's putting the cart before the horse but rather we sin because we are sinners since the fall of man we have inherited a corrupted condition of sinfulness we now have a sin nature we all commit sins because it is our nature to do so the word radical has its root in the latin word radix which means from the root or core the word refers to something that permeates to the root or core of a thing it does not refer to something superficial incidental or minor the biblical view is that the effects of the fall extend and penetrate to every area of the existence of every human being in romans chapter 3 9 to 19 paul informs us of our radical corruption what then are we better than they no in no wise for we have before proved both jews and gentiles that they are all under sin as it is written there is none righteous no not one there is none that death there is none that seeketh after god they are all gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that does good no not one their throat is an open sepulchre with their tongues they have used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace have they not known there is no fear of god before their eyes now we know that what things so the law saith it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before god brothers and sisters hear me human beings in their fallen unregenerate condition are as dead spiritually as a physically dead person is dead in the same way that it is utterly impossible for a physically dead individual to respond to even the most powerful physical stimulus it is utterly impossible for a spiritually dead individual to respond to even the most powerful spiritual stimulus scripture is very clear that every aspect of man's being is affected by sin to the extent that they are all under sin there is none righteous no not one so brothers and sisters there is no one of us that is excluded from this list here there is none that understand this so if there is none that understand this how can anyone claim that they understood the gospel before they were born again there is none that seeketh after god if there is none that seeketh after god how can anybody claim that they were seeking god before they were born again how can a dead person see god they are all gone out of the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that does good no not one all the world all the world is guilty before god how then can anyone possibly be saved the answer is that god must overcome our radical corruption or our spiritual deadness in such a way that we are able to recognize the helplessness and the hopelessness of our condition our spiritually blinded eyes must be opened and the bondage of sin that renders us entirely enslaved must be broken so that we can respond in faith to the message of the gospel unless and until god intervenes and breathes spiritual life into dead sinners their radical corruption or their spiritual deadness will manifest itself in their natural refusal to accept god's offer of salvation a dead person cannot respond to the message of salvation he or she is dead spiritually just as dead as a dead physical person is dead they cannot do otherwise for a person who is dead in trespasses and sins to be able to understand and respond to the gospel in faith he or she must first be regenerated or born again by the holy spirit he or she must be born from above if we are not regenerated or born again or born from above we cannot even see the kingdom it is critically important for us to consider what the lord jesus christ himself has to say concerning our radical corruption we have already considered a part of his statement to nicodemus in john chapter 3 in support of the view that an individual who is dead in trespasses and sins must first be regenerated or born from above by the holy spirit in order for his or her radical corruption to be overcome we will now examine a few verses in the sixth chapter of the gospel according to john in which our lord expresses a definitive position regarding the doctrine of the radical corruption of the human race and i'm going to try and take my time with this in verses 63 to 65 our lord says it is this spirit that quickness the flesh prophet has nothing i want you to remember that it is this spirit that quickness the flesh prophetess nothing the words that i speak unto you they are spirit and they are life but there are some of you that believe not for jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believe not and who would betray him now these who did not believe were classified among his disciples but jesus knew which of his disciples believed and which did not and he said therefore said i unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father in verse 65 our lord makes a very emphatic statement so sorry no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of the father we're going to take our time and exegete this verse the new english translation renders verse 65 as follows so jesus added because of this i told you that no one can come to me unless the father has allowed him to come the message furnishes this translation of the verse this is why i told you earlier that no one is capable of coming to me on his own you get to me only as a gift from the father the first two words of the statement convey a universal negative jesus says no man no man a universal negative is a proposition that denies something of all members of a class or group it is all inclusive and therefore there are no possible exceptions what we have here is an absolute negative what our lord is saying here is that it is not possible for any person to come to him unless that person is allowed or enabled to do so by the father the word can is also an important one in helping us to appreciate the full significance of the statement of jesus the word is a translation of the greek word dunami which has reference to ability or possibility please note that our lord does not say no one may come unto me except it were given unto him of my father he doesn't say that he says no one can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father the word may is generally used in the context of permission the word can on the other hand is used in the context of ability in saying that no one can come to him jesus is not conveying the idea that persons have the ability to come to him but do not have the permission to do so he is stating unequivocally that no person has the ability to come to him how could they if they are dead no what is it that jesus says no one has the ability to do he says that no human being has the ability to come to me my brothers and sisters human beings in and of themselves do not have the ability to come to jesus these are not the words of martin luther or john calvin or that wicked reprobate john bartlett these are the words of jesus himself printed in red letters in your bibles one of the cardinal principles of sound biblical interpretation is that the bible must be used to interpret itself difficult passages must be interpreted in the light of clear passages many of us made the mistake of trying to interpret clear passages in the light of difficult passages that is absolutely faulty and can only bring faulty uh beliefs and faulty behavior difficult passages must be interpreted in the light of clear passages brothers and sisters the verse that we are examining is not a difficult one to interpret in fact it is one of the clearest passages in the whole canon of scripture another cardinal principle of sound biblical interpretation is that our interpretation must be based on the meaning that the author intends to convey and not on the meaning that the reader reads into the verse or passage based on his or her presupposition brothers and sisters it is not difficult for us to understand the meaning of our lord's statement here he is saying categorically that it is impossible for any human being to respond positively to him unless god the father allows that human being to do so this statement of jesus is entirely logical and reasonable when we bear in mind that every human being in their natural state is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins when we preach the gospel to people we must understand that unless god almighty allows them to come they will find it entirely impossible to respond let us think carefully did our lord say that there are a few persons who do not have the ability to come to him is that what he said did he say that many persons do not have the ability to come to him is that what he said did he say that the vast majority of persons do not have the ability to come to him is that what he said the answer to these questions is no no and no what he said was that not even one person has the ability to come to him except accept the word accept introduces an exception it points to a necessary condition that must be met in order for any person to come to jesus what is it that jesus identifies as the necessary condition that must be met in order for anyone to come to him the necessary condition is the father enabling that person are giving that person the ability to come without that condition being met it is impossible for any person to come it is important for us to understand that this necessary condition cannot be met by human beings why because they are dead it can only be met by god god has to quicken them god has to make them alive that is what regeneration is that is what it means to be born from above let us look again at verse 65 what does our lord say he says therefore said i unto thee or unto you therefore said i past tense that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father the words therefore said i unto you past tense indicate that he had made a similar statement earlier in his discourse where is this similar statement found it is found in verse 44 john chapter 6 and verse 44. in this verse our lord made the following statement no man can come to me sounds familiar except the father which has sent me draw him and i will raise him up at the last day jesus said in verse 65 i told you earlier the very same thing as in verse 65 the first two words of verse 44 convey a universal negative no man no man remember that a universal negative is a proposition that denies something of all members of a class or group as was the case in verse 65 the word can in verse 44 refers to ability or possibility not to permission jesus states that it is an impossibility in the nature of the case for any person to come to him except except as was the case in verse 65 the word accept introduces an exception and points to unnecessary condition that must be met in order for anyone to come to him what is the necessary condition that verse 44 says must be met in order for anyone to come to jesus the necessary condition stated in verse 44 is the father drawing that person to jesus christ brothers and sisters the lord jesus in this verse makes an emphatic and definitive statement he categorically denies the possibility of any human being coming to him if that human being has not first been drawn by almighty god again we ask why is this the case why can't anyone come to jesus unless the father draws him why does jesus say that it is impossible for person to come to him unless they are drawn by the father or allowed by the father as he says in verse 65 the inescapable answer is that because of the radical corruption that human beings inherit by virtue of original sin all persons are born with a moral inability to receive the gospel by faith it is impossible for a person who is dead in trespasses and sins to receive the gospel by faith except such a one has been drawn to jesus by the father remember that these persons are dead in trespasses and sins not sick not critically ill not in a comatose state but dead every human being is by nature hostile to god and to the things of god and they will not indeed they cannot come to jesus christ this moral inability and hostility must be overcome by the holy spirit in his work of regeneration the lord must give fallen human beings the ability to believe before they can believe unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of god new english translation now what exactly does jesus mean when he says that the father has to draw a person in order for him or her to come to him the word draw in verse 44 is a translation of the greek word helko which both literally and figuratively means to drag i'm sorry i didn't invent the meaning of the greek word if we consider other verses in the new testament where this greek word helco is used it may help us to appreciate the meaning of our lord's statement in verse 44. john chapter 2 and verses 7 and 8 jesus saith unto him fill the water pots with water and they filled them up to the brim and he saith unto them draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast and they bear it john chapter 4 verse 7 then cometh a woman of samaria to draw water jesus saith unto her give me to drink john chapter 4 and verse 15 the woman saith unto him sir give me this water that i thirst not neither come he the to draw john chapter 12 verse 32 and i if i be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me john chapter 21 and verse 6 and he said unto them cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it that is the net for the multitude of fishes acts chapter 16 verse 19 and when her master saw that the hope of their gains was gone they caught paul and silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers james 2 and verse 6 but he have despised the poor do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats brothers and sisters if we are honest and i hope we all are if we are honest we will have to admit that in all these verses except perhaps john chapter 12 and verse 32 where jesus says and i if i be lifted up will draw all men unto me we get the overwhelming sense that some force our compulsion is conveyed by the word draw or drew there is no possibility of applying any meaning remotely similar to wing enticing inviting or attracting to the words draw or drew as some person suggests some persons say that when jesus makes this definitive statement that no man can come unto me except the father draw him that they are talking that jesus is talking about the father wooing the person or enticing the person or inviting the person or attracting the person but when we look at the way this word draw help has been used in the rest of scripture it is very difficult for us to put that meaning on it the drawing of persons by the father to the son mentioned in john 6 44 is not to be understood as wooing enticing inviting or attractive attracting this drawing refers to the internal and powerful influence of the grace of god for this act of drawing is something distinct from unsuperior to both miracles and doctrine the persons to whom jesus was speaking had heard his doctrine and they had seen his miracles and yet they did not believe something more than doctrine and miracles is necessary to overcome the radical corruption that prevents human beings from desiring god and believing him for salvation they are so dead that even the most eloquent and anointed preaching and the most remarkable miracles cannot cause them to respond a dead person cannot obey the gospel that should be probably clear to us by now god in his drawing of fallen unregenerate persons who are dead in trespasses and sins must first regenerate them he must first cause them to be born from above in order to make them willing to obey the gospel it should be clear to us then that when jesus says in john chapter 6 and verse 44 no man can come to me except the father which hath sent me draw him he's referring to a divine compulsion something has to happen that overcomes our spiritual deadness something has to happen that raises us from the death and the grave of our spiritually lost condition and brings us to life he must first cause them to be born from above that's the only way they will be willing made willing to obey the gospel you know brothers and sisters this verse all by itself should be enough to settle the issue once and for all in respect of the radical corruption and spiritual deadness of fallen unregenerate human beings and their absolute inability to come to jesus christ this verse should be all that we need to settle this matter you know for jesus to say it is impossible for anyone to come to me unless he's drugged he's drugged by the father the father has to overcome the natural resistance of the deadness of the lost condition jesus himself says it is impossible for them to come unless the father drugs them or compels them we must bear in mind brothers and sisters that according to romans 5 and verse 6 it was when we were yet without strength in due time christ died for the ungodly when we were yet without strength it was when we were dead in trespasses and sins that god made us alive christians may argue vehemently about whether or not to accept the teachings and opinions of even the most learned theologians but no christian within his or her right mind would dispute the clear teaching of jesus christ himself would they to do that would be tantamount to insanity but some people still do it some of you listening to me right now are doing it in john chapter 3 verses 6 to 7 our lord said to nicodemus that which is born of the flesh's flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit marvel not that i said unto thee ye must be born again here we have the fundamental point of the radical corruption of fallen unregenerate human beings that which is born of the flesh is flesh and according to john 6 63 the flesh prophetess nothing now hear me i'm going to make what i consider to be a very important point if it is true as some believe that god whose or entices or invites or attracts persons to him and we all and all we have to do is cooperate and yield to god's wing or enticing or inviting or attracting while we are still in the flesh then the flesh would profit something i hope you see that in fact the flesh would profit a great deal because our choice made while we are still in the flesh would be the deciding factor without which we could never be saved no matter how much god wanted to save us now the following questions may be asked does the father draw every single individual to jesus or does he draw only a certain number are the persons who are drawn to jesus by the father able to successfully resist his drawing or will they all come to him without fail next son the lord willing we will allow the lord himself to answer these questions and we will also explore other issues related to our subject born from above and let us pray oh god our great god and savior help us your word lord is affecting us it is changing the way we think we are understanding that this born again mata is perhaps not what we thought it to be help us lord as we work our way through this passage continue to open our understanding continue to clear away the mists that have been created by years of false teaching and by i see jesus instead of exegesis help us lord it is important for us because you said that we shall know the truth and the truth would set us free so only truth can set us free and we want to be free and the more truth we receive is the more free we will become bless us we pray lord and continue to be merciful and gracious unto us in the name of jesus christ our lord god bless you brothers and sisters our sinners are coming to bless us after which minister nathan thomas will come [Music] [Music] more about jesus [Music] more about cheese would i know more [Music] died for me [Music] see [Music] [Music] me [Music] is [Music] to me [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] and night [Music] let's [Music] who see for me [Music] is [Music] more about jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] see [Music] let's sing more without the music [Music] for more [Music] [Music] let's just hum it right now [Music] more of his saving fullness [Music] is [Music] oh hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah more about jesus [Music] more about jesus hallelujah hallelujah [Music] each day as we grow we are learning more about him and as we learn more about him it should increase our faith in him or confidence in him amen and i hope that as we heard the word today we recognize once again that jesus is our all in all he's our reason for living he's the reason why we are who we are as believers he has brought us this fire and he will continue to take us where we need to go amen and that goal is to be conformed to his image that simply means to think like him to be like him amen amen amen amen and as we become more like christ we are now able to affect our world just as how christ would want us to affect our world and oh how our world needs to see jesus or how our country needs to see jesus not in the clapping of our hands you know all of us marching to gordon halls or king's house but in our everyday conversations in the way how we carry out our work in our workplaces the way how we deal with each other in our communities this is how we testify that we are believers in christ jesus amen amen amen we're so grateful for the message of god we're so grateful for the presence of god in our midst today and i hope we were all blessed by what the lord had to say to us this morning or this afternoon wherever you are maybe it's it's night where you are but we give the lord thanks amen just lift your hands and just give the lord the glory and the unended praise thank you jesus thank you lord thank you lord you are good you are great you are awesome you are our refuge and strength you are a healer you are our savior hallelujah thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus well we have to close this aspect of our meeting [Music] for this time today and truly we are so glad that you were able to share with us we're so glad that you continue to support us and we crave your prayers and we also crave your support in any way you can as we continue to do what the lord has asked us to do has laid upon our hearts to do and so on behalf of our pastor pastor john mark bartlett and his wife lady elisa bartlett and the entire grace family may the grace of the lord jesus christ be with you until next time on you know we have our zoom prayer on wednesday and our bible study on thursday please like share subscribe we truly appreciate you all amen god bless you and have a wonderful week

Channel: The Grace Workshop Ministries

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Keywords: The Grace Workshop, Jesus

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Length: 111min 24sec (6684 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021