Sunday Worship - September 26, 2021

praise the lord everyone isn't it such a blessed opportunity to be able to be in the presence of the lord and this morning or call to worship is from psalm 118 verses 1 to 14 and we're reading from the english standard version o give thanks to the lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever let israel say his steadfast love endures forever let the house of aeron say his steadfast love endures forever let those who fear the lord say his steadfast love endures forever of my distress i called on the lord the lord answered me and set me free the lord is on my side i will not fear what can man do to me the lord is on my side as my helper i shall look in triumph on those who hate me it is better to take refuge in the lord than to trust in man it is better to take refuge in the lord than to trust in princes all nations surrounded me in the name of the lord i cut them off they surrounded me surrounded me on every side in the name of the lord i cut them off they surrounded me like bees they went out like a fire among thorns in the name of the lord i cut them off i was pushed hard so that i was falling but the lord helped me the lord is my strength and my song he has become my salvation amen and amen let's just lift our hands and thank god for his words hallelujah we thank you jesus for the comfort god that's in your words lord jesus we thank you that you have not forsaken us we thank you that your steadfast love endures forever and ever and ever [Music] before i spoke a word you were singing over me you have been so so good to me before i took a breath you breathe your life in me yeah you have been so so kind to me is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and [Music] and you have been so kind to me [Music] it chases me [Music] me [Music] [Music] all way [Music] don't destroy yourself [Music] coming after me [Music] [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] for me [Music] oh me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] he loves us oh [Music] he loves us [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] reckless [Music] bending beneath the weight of his wind and first [Music] just how beautiful [Music] oh oh [Music] [Music] he is [Music] is [Music] when i think about [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] loves us [Music] oh how he loves how he loves us [Music] whispers [Music] you're a good good [Music] who i am [Music] only you provide but i know that we're all searching for answers [Music] we are is [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are [Music] [Music] who you are [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] perfectly it's who you are [Music] am [Music] i [Music] am who i am [Applause] [Music] is [Music] i is you lord [Music] for your mercy never fails me for my days i've been held in your head from the moment that i wake up [Music] cause all my [Music] you have been so good [Music] of the goodness [Music] i love your voice [Music] [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] of the goodness of god cause your goodness is [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] i give you everything is [Music] oh i will see of the [Music] goodness of god is [Music] thank you lord we give you thoughts this morning oh god for your tender mercies and your care we acknowledge you as king you are our father our master our lord lord you are our everything every breath that we take is because of your mercies [Music] we are so appreciative this morning for life or health or even a good measure of health or even if we don't have a good measure of health that we can even help ourselves and if we can't even help ourselves we can breathe and in that we are just grateful we are grateful for every mercy every blessing and we dedicate ourselves to you this morning we dedicate our hearts we dedicate our mind we dedicate our entire body to worship you in spirit and in truth with every fiber of our being and lord we pray that your kingdom will come it has come but it will come in our lives individually it will come to our church as a collective oh god and that your will will be done in this time in this moment as it was destined to be done in the heavens oh god we give you thoughts this morning for the word that will go forward the offering that we collect that it will go towards your purpose oh god bless everyone who is viewing on this alive and who will view in the days to come months and even years to come if you tarry oh god i pray that everywhere that is said today will be for a reason and it will impact lives oh god this morning we are praying for those who are you know not having anything to eat not having proper provisions who are mourning grieving the loss of loved ones in light of this pandemic we have lost so many persons even outside of this pandemic you have a lot pandemic we have lost persons oh god for those who are grieving comfort them for those who don't have provide for them and if they are among us help us to become aware of their need so that we may meet that need physically oh god i pray that you will sanctify us sanction this word this morning that someone who is listening for the first time not hearing the gospel not knowing of your love would be regenerated would be made alive because of the word that will go forward and those who are in a state of being in a cycle in a sin cycle being in a depressed cycle being in broken relationships being in a financial drought that this world would somehow lift them and cause them to look to you as we pray to you this morning our only source that you will supply our needs according to your will and that will continue to submit to you even now bless everything that will be done from this point onward in this service in the name of all lord jesus christ i pray amen [Music] blessed the word of the lord comes to us from romans chapter 8 verses 28 to 39 and i'll be reading from the new english translation and we know that all things work together for good for those who love god who are called according to his purpose because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that his son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters and those he predestined he also called and those he called he also justified and those he justified he also glorified what then shall we say about these things if god be for us who can be against us indeed he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also among sorry along with him freely give us all things who will bring any charge against god's elect it is god who justifies who is the one who will condemn christ is the christ is the one who died and more than that he was raised who is the who is at the right hand of god and who also is interceding for us who will separate us from the love of christ will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake we encounter death all day long we we were considered as sheep to the slaughter no in all these things we have complete victory through him who loves who loved us for i am convinced that neither debt nor life nor angels nor heavenly rulers nor things that are present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of god in christ jesus our lord can we take a moment and just thank god for his word it is such a beautiful word it is so powerful and we just have to give him thanks for everything that he is doing in our lives so if you can for like 10 seconds just lift your hands wherever you are and just thank god for his word amen praise the lord everybody welcome to all our saints and visitors whether you are worshiping with us in person or via youtube live a very big and warm welcome to you i am so happy that you have decided to join us in worship today and i do know that you will be blessed now for the schedule of announcement for the period sunday september 26 to sunday october 3rd [Music] wednesday september 29th at 7 30 pm eventide prayer via zoom and youtube thursday is september 30 at 7 30 pm bib study via youtube all members are asked to try to participate on sunday september 26 9 a.m prior 9 30 a.m worship service via youtube 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 [Music] let us not forget our daily bible reading as we continue our daily bible reading journey under the theme lessons for living today we are at ecclesiastes 6 verses 1 to 12. 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 happy happy birthday to all who are celebrating our birthday today and this week and for those who are celebrating an anniversary today and this week we say happy anniversary and i do hope that you enjoy please continue to pray for those who are bereaved sick and have special needs have a blessed and wonderful week and may the grace of the lord be with you [Music] thank you jesus thank you jesus hallelujah the love of god you're so beautiful and so wonderful we bless you lord thank you [Music] the love of god [Music] is [Music] [Music] god gave his son to win [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] time [Music] mountain shall still enjoy [Applause] [Music] [Music] just [Music] is [Music] [Music] the ocean and where [Music] on earth and every man [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i am [Music] [Applause] [Music] the love of god the love of god how rich and pure how measureless and strong it is said that the third verse of that song the words of the verse were found written in the cell [Music] of a mentally ill gentleman after he had passed away [Music] could we with ink the ocean fill or were the skies of parchment made wherever stalk on earth aquile and every manners cry by trade to write the love of god above would drain the ocean dry there would not be enough [Music] enough sky upon which to write the love of god we would run out of writing implements even though every blade of grass were a pen thank you jesus brothers and sisters that's the story of of our lives that is the explanation for why we are here the love of god the love of god we cannot boast of any good deeds we cannot boast of any merit on our part we cannot testify of our goodness our song is the love of god so rich and pure so measureless and strong thank you lord can i invite us all just to slip our hands up and let's celebrate our great god [Music] hallelujah hallelujah amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved the wretch like me thank you for your love lord thank you for your love so steadfast so sure so strong [Music] thank you lord [Music] just before we look to the word of the lord i just want to let us know that on thursday we will not be having our regular bible study presentation from the book of ephesians but the presenter will be your great friend and brother minister mark brown who was recently in the island and just stopped by long enough to to record a wonderful bible story for us i know that you're going to be tremendously blessed it is so fitting for the season in which we live just a real blessing it is going to be and i urge us all to be in attendance on thursday evening at 7 30 for bible study we have been working through our present series born from above [Music] today we are going to look at this subject again it's our fourth go at it and we'll probably be on this theme maybe for another two weeks um i just want to say brothers and sisters that um when the grace workshop was started we had no idea that we would be where we now are as far as our doctrinal position was concerned what we have found is that it is not possible for us to build on our previous foundation i don't say that with the intention to offend anyone i say that because it is true what we are doing now is digging up the entire foundation that was laid virtually that is what we are doing and we are rebuilding the foundation so that when we build on top of that foundation whatever we build will be solid and secure and able to withstand the test of time i am very aware that much of what i have been saying would be jarring at least to many of you because it goes against what you have believed for many years and i myself am in that position i understand all the angst that you are feeling i went through the process before you but it is necessary brothers and sisters it is vitally necessary and so i am asking you not to come to these sunday morning sessions um just with your emotions i want you to come with your intellect i want you to come with your reason i want you to listen to the word of the lord it is no longer a concern to me about whether or not i'm going against tradition tradition is not something that is very important to me anymore especially tradition that is not biblical [Music] i'm asking us to think very carefully as we sift through the word of god and see if what we are saying is in fact the veritable word of the lord john chapter 3 verses 1 to 10 is our text again we read in your hearing from the king james version there was a man of the pharisees 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 the 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 is 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 it blows wherever it wants to blow and though here is 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 let us pray our god and our father please help us now we stand greatly in need of your help we are clinging to you lord god [Music] help us not only to speak words [Music] but to convey your heart and your mind help us to do so in a spirit that would be in accordance with your spirit we are nothing you lord god are everything we pray in the name of our lord jesus christ amen in verse 3 of our text jesus says to nicodemus verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of god our lord is not here answering nicodemus's words he is 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 i'm sorry jesus recognized that nicodemus's greatest need was for salvation nicodemus was spiritually dead he needed regeneration he needed to be born again regeneration is the holy spirit's supernatural work of granting spiritual life to persons who are dead in trespasses and sins this of course is not a work in which the persons can contribute 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 it is entirely impossible for a person to exercise faith in jesus christ unless and until they have been generated sorry regenerated or born again in first corinthians 2 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 neither can he know them neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned this verse makes it very clear that it is impossible for any unsaved human being to understand the concept of regeneration let alone contribute to their regeneration this is exactly why our lord chose the analogy of new birth to speak to nicodemus about his need to be regenerated 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 brothers and sisters you will notice that i am repeating the things that we have been saying from the start it is important that we do so paul said to the philippians for me to write the same things to you it is not grievous for me it is safe for you for me to do that because i want to drive this point home to us our lord could have used several other analogies if it was his desire to convey the idea that persons have to make a contribution to their own salvation but he chose the analogy of the new birth in order to make it incandescent 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 alone [Music] 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 we have been saying that the greek word translated again is anathen which according to this scottish theologian william barkley has three different meanings it can mean from the beginning completely radically it can mean again in the sense of for the second time it can also mean from above and therefore from god we have stated that it is our opinion that the primary meaning that our lord desire to convey to nicodemus by the word anaphon is from above because he wants to emphasize to this pharisee that regeneration is this sovereign work of god quite apart from any human contribution we have also expressed the view that almost all of the difficulties that person's encounter in understanding this passage would be cleared up if they understood the phrase born again to properly mean born from above even jesus's explanation in verse 5 of the necessity to be born of water and of the spirit would be cleared up some of the misconceptions that we have especially concerning his analogy of water would be cleared up if we understood that he was speaking about a birth that is from above 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 in verse 4 how can a man be born when he is old he says can he enter the second time the second time into his mother's womb and be born however jesus's reply to nicodemus's question which we find in verses six to eight implies that he that is jesus referred to the need for a spiritual birth a birth from above in these verses you will know that jesus stresses the point that the new birth must be the work of the holy spirit and the holy spirit comes from the realm of the 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 spiritual re-creation and therefore it has its source not on earth but in heaven to be born from above means that this source of the birth is god to be born from above requires a supernatural work of the holy spirit 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 risk to repent of his or her sins and to trust in jesus christ alone for salvation this is a supernatural work accomplished by god alone regeneration 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 or critically ill or even in a comatose state they are dead in a spiritual sense they are dead last sunday we noted that 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 paul informs us of this in first corinthians chapter 15 verses 21 to 22 the new english translation renders the verses as follows for since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead also came through a man for just as in adam all die so also and so also in christ all will be made alive just as in adam all die in adam all die sin affects every area of our being including who we are and what we do in other words human beings are radically corrupt the word radical has its root in the latin word radix which means from the root or core the word does not refer to something superficial or incidental or minor rather it refers to something that permeates to the root or core of a thing the biblical view is that the effects of the fall extend and penetrate to every area of the existence of every human being the fall of man and the effects of the fall point to what theologians refer to as original sin and we have been saying this we said that original sin does not refer primarily to the first sin of adam and eve original sin primarily primarily sorry refers to the result of their sin the result not the committing of the sin itself but the result of that sin that is what we mean when we speak about original sin and the result of their sin was the corruption of the entire human race when adam fell every one of us who were in adam fell with him the doctrine of original sin teaches that sin singular is an inherited disease which inevitably bears fruit in the form of sins plural we may say that sins plural are the symptoms of the disease of sin singular as long as an individual is naturally born he or she is lost dead in trespasses and sins there is no natural way in which this situation can be remedied it has to be remedied by a supernatural [Music] work of god david was aware of the reality of original sin for in psalm 51 verse 5 he said look i was guilty of sin from birth a sinner the moment my mother conceived me new english translation i was a sinner before i sinned and because i was a sinner it was in heavy table that i would sin my brothers and sisters the truth is that as a result of original sin human nature has been corrupted at its source in such a way that it is incapable of any kind of self-help human beings are not merely lost and searching consciously for a way out of their predicament they are in fact as dead spiritually as the physically dead are dead physically in the same way that it is utterly impossible for a physically dead individual to respond to eve the most powerful physical stimulus it is impossible utterly impossible for a spiritually dead individual to respond to even the most powerful spiritual stimulus we are so hopelessly lost that we cannot even recognize the nature of our lost condition for what it is scripture is very clear that every aspect of man's being is affected by sin to the extent that according to romans 3 chapter 9 and verse 19 they are all under sin there is none righteous no not one there is none that understandeth 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 all the world is guilty before god that is the record of romans chapter 3 verses 9 to 19. in light of all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary is it not mind-boggling that many persons are still persuaded that fallen unregenerate human beings can make a contribution to their salvation in light of our radical corruption or spiritual deadness if you prefer how can any of us possibly be saved the answer is that god must overcome our radical corruption or spiritual deadness in such a way that we are able to recognize the helplessness and hopelessness of our condition or spiritually blinded eyes must be opened and the bondage of sin that renders us entirely enslaved must be broken in order for us to respond in faith to the gospel message in other words we must first be regenerated or born from above unless and until god intervenes and breathes spiritual life into dead sinners they're radical corruption or spiritual deadness will manifest itself in a natural and natural refusal to accept god's offer of salvation they reject it because it is their nature to do so they cannot but do otherwise it is absolutely impossible for them to respond positively for a person who is dead in trespasses and sins to be able to understand the gospel and respond to it in faith he or she must first be regenerated or born again by the holy spirit he or she must be born from above last week we examined a few verses in john chapter 6 as we saw to ascertain the view of our lord regarding the radical corruption of fallen unregenerate human beings we learned that in both verse 44 and verse 65 the lord expresses a definitive position regarding the doctrine of the radical corruption of the human race we're going to try and quickly summarize what we said last sunday in verse 44 he says no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and i will raise him up at the last day new english translation in verse 65 he says no one can come to me unless the father has allowed him to come again the new english translation the first two words of both statements convey a universal negative jesus says no one 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 our lord is saying in both verses that it is not possible for any person to come to him unless that person is drawn or allowed to come by the father in both verses the word can is a translation of the greek word dun dunami which has reference to ability or possibility our lord does not say no one may come to me unless the father who sent me draws him or unless the father has allowed him to come what he says is that no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him or allows him to come we noted last week that the word may is generally used in the context of permission while the word can is used in the context of ability when i was in second form third form my biology teacher the celebrated mrs of wilma's boys school whenever we put her hands up and she acknowledged us and we said can i go to the bathroom she said of course you can but you may not what she was saying to us is of course it is possible for you to go to the bathroom but you do not have the permission to go to the bathroom what jesus is saying here there is no possibility of anyone coming to him unless he or she is drawn by the father it's not a matter of permission in both verses jesus is not conveying the idea that persons have the ability to come to him but do not have the permission to do so rather he's stating unequivocally that no person has the ability to come to him these statements of jesus are entirely logical and reasonable when we bear in mind that every human being in their natural state is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins our lord did not say that there are only a few persons who do not have the ability to come to him neither did he say that many persons do not have the ability to come to him neither did he say that the vast majority of persons do not have the ability to come to him in both verses he states unequivocally that not even one person has the ability to come to him unless unless in the case of both verse 44 and verse 65 the word unless introduces an exception it points to unnecessary condition that must be met in order for any person to come to jesus according to jesus the necessary condition that must be met in order for anyone to come to him is the father drawing or allowing that person to come in other words it is the father who must grand to that individual the ability to come to jesus without that necessary condition being met it is impossible for that individual or any other individual to come and it is obvious that this necessary condition cannot be met by human beings it can only be met by god i'm trying so hard brothers and sisters to reason this out with you not to shout or get overly excited because i really want to appeal to your minds and your hearts and not to your emotions no why does jesus say that it is impossible for any person to come to him unless they are drawn or allowed to do so by the father the inescapable answer is that because of the radical condition inherited by virtue of original sin all persons are born with a moral inability to receive the gospel by faith they are dead in trespasses and sins again not sick not critically ill not in a comatose state but dead yes brothers and sisters a sick person can contribute to their healing a person who is sinking drowning perhaps can signal to somebody on the shore that i am thinking a dead person can't send out a signal a critically ill person may be helped by taking medication even a person in a comatose state may one day happen to come out of that coma but a dead person has no chance of [Music] helping himself or herself they are dead only something that happens to them can help them 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 their moral inability and hostility must be overcome before they can come to jesus the lord god 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 that is how the new english translation renders john 3 and 3. i have to say brothers and sisters that it is beyond my intellectual ability to understand how anyone could imagine that a spiritually dead person has the ability to come to jesus surely it must be evident from our lord's own very clear statements that for a person who is dead in trespasses and sins to have the ability to come to him he or she must first be regenerated or born from above you it is unmistakably clear that when jesus says in verse 44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and in verse 65 no one can come to me unless the father has allowed him to come his references to drawing and allowing are distinct from both doctrine and miracles listen to me carefully think with me think with me don't be emotional think with me i'm going to say it again when our lord says no one can come to me except or unless the father draws him or accept or unless the father has allowed him to come he's referring to something that is distinct from both doctrine and miracles something in fact that is superior to both doctrine and miracles the persons to whom our lord was speaking had heard his doctrine they had witnessed his miracles and yet they did not believe in him something more than hearing doctrine and witnessing miracles is necessary to overcome the radical corruption that prevents human beings from desiring god and believing him for salvation that something is a divine compulsion that has absolutely nothing to do with the flesh that is the drawing of god brothers and sisters i wonder if we are able to see the connection between john chapter 6 and verses 44 and 65 and jesus's words to nicodemus in john chapter 3 verse 3 what does our lord say to nicodemus in john chapter 3 verse 3 he says unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of god that's the new english translation the word cannot in john chapter 3 verse 3 is a translation of the very same greek word dunami which is translated can in both john 6 john chapter 6 and verse 44 and john chapter 6 and verse 65 as it did in those two verses it refers in john chapter 3 verse 3 to ability or possibility our lord does not say unless a person is born from above he may not see the kingdom of god what he says is that unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of god it is impossible for somebody who is not regenerated to see or perceive the kingdom of god in saying that a person cannot see the kingdom of god jesus is stating unequivocally that no person has the ability to see or perceive the kingdom of god unless as in the case with john chapter 6 and verses 44 and 65 the word unless in john chapter 3 and verse 3 introduces an exception it points to unnecessary condition that must be met in order for any person to see or perceive the kingdom of god the necessary condition that must be met in order for anyone to see or perceive the kingdom of god is for them to be [Music] regenerated or born again or born from above without that necessary condition being met it is impossible for any individual to see or perceive the kingdom of god in john chapter 3 verse 3 as was the case with john chapter 6 and verses 44 and 65 this necessary condition cannot be met by human beings it can only be met by god in other words it is the father who must grant to individuals the ability to see or perceive the kingdom of god and he does so by regenerating them through the new birth again in spite of all the evidence to the contrary there are many persons who are persuaded that persons have the ability to see or perceive the kingdom of god before they are regenerated or born from above they believe that it is possible for fallen unregenerate human beings who are dead in trespasses and sins to understand and to seek after god and to believe the gospel and to do good even though romans 3 9-19 informs us that there is none who is able to do so none who does so to expect a man to respond merely because the gospel is preached is to expect to go out to dove cut our motorist and call the name of the loved one who lies beneath the earth and expect them to come back to life makes no sense i'm sorry if what i'm saying offends you if you understand that fallen unregenerate human beings are as dead spiritually as a dead human being is dead physically will not marvel at this that is why jesus said to nicodemus we haven't touched it yet but we are going to marvel not that i said unto you you must be born again this should not be astonishing to you nicodemus how else could it work how can a dead person believe the gospel just because they hear a preacher preach it they are dead something must happen to them first they have to be regenerated let us return briefly to jesus's declaration recorded in verse 44. we're taking our time brothers and sisters just stay with me for a while longer what does he say in john chapter 6 and verse 44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him now the following two very interesting and important questions may be asked listen to me carefully does the father draw every single individual to jesus or is it only a certain number who are drawn we say that again let me ask that question again let me pause it again does the father draw every single individual to jesus or is it only a certain number that are drawn that's one question the second question is are the persons who are drawn whether it is a certain number or if it is every single individual are these persons who are drawn to jesus by the father able to successfully resist his drawing or do they all come to him without fail what is our lord's own view in respect of these questions does jesus have a view he surely does let's look at john chapter 6 and verse 37. listen to what jesus says all that the father giveth me shall come to me all that the father giveth me shall come to me all that the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me i will in no wise cast out brothers and sisters what does this scripture say that is our mantra all that the father giveth me shall come to me our lord states very clearly here that every single person who is given are drawn to him by the father will come to him without fail there are to be no exceptions every person who is given to him will come to him those who are given to jesus by the father are not able to successfully resist the drawing or dragging of the father brothers and sisters if we are honest and i hope we all are we will be able to see the obvious influence if every person who is given to jesus by the father actually comes to him then it must follow that those who do not come to him were not given or drawn to him by the father because he says everyone who is given to him will come so if a person does not come the obvious inferences that they were not given to jesus as a gift by the father the significance of our lord's statement in verse 37 is brought into shape of focus when we consider the two preceding verses the new english translation renders verses 35 and 36 as follows jesus said to them i am the bread of life the one who comes to me will never go hungry and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty but i told you that you have seen me and still do not believe the persons to whom jesus was speaking had seen him in the flesh heard his doctrine and witnessed his miracles yet they did not believe him and they did not come to him he then says to these very same persons oh that the father giveth me shall come to me he was not saying he was sorry he was saying to them in effect in contradistinction to you who do not believe even though you have heard my doctrine and witnessed my miracles there are persons who will believe in me they will believe in me because the father by the working of his mighty power will give them the ability to do so he will overcome their moral inability resulting from their radical corruption by dragging them to me [Music] in ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 and 5 paul wrote and we consider this in an earlier lesson blessed is the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in christ for he chose us in christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal ears through jesus christ according to the pleasure of his will brothers and sisters listen to me god's choice of his elect was made in eternity and each and every person that the father has given to christ in eternity past will come to him in time as arthur pink observed the eternal purpose of the almighty cannot fail this sovereign will of the lord most i cannot be frustrated all everyone that the father gave to the son before the foundation of the world shall come to him the devil himself cannot keep one of them away it doesn't matter whether you didn't heed the urging of the holy spirit to witness to that person your inability your failure to witness to the person my failure to to witness to that person will not prevent god from saving that person are we crazy do you think god could rely on us to carry out his divine plan god is not stupid he said to jeremiah i watch over my word to perform it i could never rely on you listen to what paul says in ii timothy 2 19 nevertheless the foundation of god standeth sure having this seal the lord knoweth them that are his the lord with them that are his if he knows them that are his he knows those who are not his it must follow this is not rocket science he knows those who are his because he had made choice of them in christ before the foundation of the world and all those who were so selected will without fail be drawn to christ and all who are so drawn to christ with will without fail come to christ this is what this scripture says it does not matter how often persons have heard the gospel and or how often they have witnessed miracles hear me if god the father does not overcome their moral inability that results from their radical corruption they will remain dead in their trespasses and sins unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus in order for them to respond regeneration must first occur they must be born again born from above you and since they were dead spiritually before their regeneration it is obvious that they could not possibly have contributed to their regeneration and what brothers and sisters what an amazing guarantee our lord gives to those who will come to him did you see that let us read john chapter 6 verse 37 to 40 from the new english translation everyone whom the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me i will never send away that is our guarantee it was a choice made in eternity it was not a horrid choice god never makes a mistake he chose us in christ before the foundation of the world and that choice guarantees our security verse 38 for i have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who has sent me now this is the will of the one who has sent me that i should not lose one person of everyone he has given me this is the will of the one who sent me who sent him the father what is the father's will that i should not lose one person of everyone he has given me but raise them all up at the last day if jesus christ loses even one of the persons whom the father has given to him he has not done the will of god he cannot report in heaven that i have done your will for this verse fought is the will of my father for everyone who looks on the son and believes in him to have eternal life maybe in one of the closing lessons we will deal with this just to look and i will raise him up at the last day in verse 37 our lord says everyone whom the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me i will never send away there is a definite connection between the first clause everyone whom the father gives me will come to me and the one which follows it the clause which follows it and the one who comes to me i will never send away hear me brothers and sisters we are reasoning no one could come to jesus unless the father had first predestinated that they should far according to acts 13 48 which we looked at i think in our second lesson it is only those who have been appointed or ordained for eternal life who believe this last clause and the one who comes to me i will never send away gives every person who genuinely comes to christ an absolute guarantee of your eternal security in him pink explains that our lord's words and i quote do not signify that he promises to reject none who really come to him though that is true but they declare that under no imaginable circumstances will he ever expel anyone that has come this is the word of the lord brothers and sisters in john chapter 10 verses 24 to 30. we have the record of a similar scenario the new english translation furnishes the following rendering the jewish leaders surrounded him and asked how long will you keep us in suspense if you are the christ tell us plainly jesus replied i told you and you do not believe the deeds i do in my father's name testify about me but you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep my sheep listen to my voice and i know them and they follow me i give them eternal life and they will never perish no one will snatch them from my hand my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one can snatch them from my father's hand the father and i are one it is very important for us to recognize that the whole focus of john chapter 10 is not on the sheep and what they do but rather the focus is on the shepherd and what he does the focus is on christ's work for us and not on our work for christ or for ourselves let's take our time to work through this and then we'll close in verse 26 our lord says but you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep he gives a reason why they refuse to believe commenting on this verse arthur pink explains that jesus was not merely stating that the jewish religious leaders to whom he was speaking were unbelievers he was saying much more than that he was informing them of the reason for their persistent unbelief he says very clearly you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep the reason why these jewish religious leaders refused to exercise faith in jesus christ was because they were not his sheep faith had not been granted to them because they were not among the number of gods elect they had not been chosen by god in christ before the foundation of the world and therefore they had not been given to christ as a gift from the father consequently the father had not drawn them to christ what jesus had said earlier in verses 14 to 16 makes this very clear i am the good shepherd i know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and i know the father and i lay down my life for the sheep i have other sheep that do not come from this people i must bring them to and they will listen to my voice so that there will be one flock and one shepherd the word bring in verse 16 i must bring them to that word bring is a translation of the greek word ago according to fayette's greek lexicon the word ago means to lead by laying hold of and in this way to bring to the point of destination to lead by accompanying to any place to lead with oneself attached to oneself as an attendant all of these meanings are wrapped up in the word the greek word ago which jesus uses when he says i must bring them in order to bring his gentile sheep to his sheepfold the great shepherd has to lead them by laying hold of them he has to personally accompany them to his sheepfold he has to as it were attach himself to them as an attendant brothers and sisters do you understand what i'm saying we some of us have the audacity the arrogance really to misconstrue the words of jesus i have other sheep that do not come from this sheepful i must bring them to they explain that you know you have the apostolic sheepfold and the others who must be brought are the baptists and the methodists and the anglicans i'm just going to say it plainly it doesn't even matter if i offend you any longer i'm just going to say it plainly that is wrong there is no basis for such an explanation not in scripture jesus was talking about the gentiles he says you jews think you are the only ones that i care for but i have other sheep who are not of these people i'm going to bring them i am going to bring them i'm going to lead them i'm going to accompany them and put them in the sheepfold and there's going to be one sheepfold and one shepherd listen to acts chapter 18 verses 9 to 10 the lord said to paul by a vision in the night do not be afraid but speak and do not be silent paul is here in corinth and of course you know he knows that everywhere he goes opposition faces him people rise up against him especially the jews so the lord said to paul by a vision in the night do not be afraid but speak and do not be silent because i am with you and no one will assault you to harm you because i have many people in this city the lord said to paul i already know the persons who i have in this city you do not be afraid you preach you do not know who they are but i know who they are you preach to everybody and the ones who i have elected i will draw them i have much people in this city brothers and sisters hear me a man does not believe to become one of christ's sheep let me say that again a person does not believe to become one of christ's sheep rather he or she believes because he or she is already one of his sheep how do i know that in his prayer to his father in john chapter 17 verse 6 our lord says i have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world they belonged past tense to you they belonged to you and you gave them to me this is reminiscent of what we have been dealing with in john chapter 6. they belonged to you past tense and you gave them to me and they have obeyed their word my question is brothers and sisters when did these disciples start belonging to god when did this belonging relationship start i can tell you when they were chosen in christ before the foundation of the world listen to me god will lead to saving faith all those whom he plans to redeem their redemption is certain because it is secured by this sovereign purpose and power of god himself to draw them to jesus in verse 27 jesus says my sheep listen to my voice and i know them and they follow me in this verse the lord contrasts the elect from the non-elect god's elect hear the voice of the son they hear the voice of the shepherd because they are his sheep they listen to their shepherd's voice because this sovereign god imparts to them the capacity to hear and recognize his voice each and every one of the sheep listen when the irresistible call comes to them just as lazarus in the grave heard when christ called him and we are going to deal with this calling next week lord willing in verse 28 the lord and notice he says my sheep listen to my voice and i know them remember that there are some who apparently are following him and who apparently have done great miracles and he will say to them i never knew you he didn't say to them he's not going to say to them i knew you want but no i don't know you he is going to say to them i never knew you but of his sheep he says i know them and they listen to my voice if god knows a person and this is of course speaking of knowing the person in a saving way he can never unknow them in verse 28 the lord gives his sheep the most positive guarantee of eternal security that it was possible for him to give he says i give them eternal life and they will never perish no one will snatch them from my hand not only does our lord say that the life that he gives to his sheep is eternal so he gives us eternal life how can a person lose eternal life if it is eternal how can it be lost but he doesn't only say that he he's saying that the ones on whom this precious gift is bestowed will never perish nor can they be snatched from his hand he says they will never perish listen to me the words will never are a translation of the greek double negative um donald b wallace in his book greek grammar beyond the basic states that employing the double negative um implying that double negative is the strongest way to negate something in greek when the double negative ume occurs the meaning is something like this it will never happen never positively not the idea is that there is not even the slightest possibility of it ever happening in this verse the holy spirit has used the double negative ume to express very forcefully that christ's sheep who have been given eternal life will never never perish it will never happen never positively not there is not even the slightest possibility of ever happening of it ever happening we would say don't even think about it they are entirely secure these are plain scriptures and we have been saying that we interpret difficult passages from clear passages not the other way around no one will snatch them from my hand says jesus here as arthur pink explains the lord anticipates an objection even when those who oppose the doctrines of grace are forced to acknowledge that this passage teaches that the life given to the sheep is eternal and that those who receive it will never perish they will shift this clause they will come to it now this last clause and argue that while it is true that the sheep cannot be snatched from the hand of the good shepherd they may decide to walk out of his hand themselves but such an argument is nonsensical the same hand that prevents anything external from snatching them away is the same hand that prevents them from leaving there are persons who contend that while it is true that god holds on to us it is also true that we hold on to him is this really the case do sheep have hands to hold on to anything can they grasp anything can they hold anything sheep have hooves they do not have the ability to hold on to anything they must be held so to introduce into this passage an argument that god must do his part and we must do our part both of us holding on to each other is not only false but it is an insult to god as if to reinforce the impossibility of any sheep being snatched away or leaving on his or her own accord our lord says in verse 29 my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one can snatch them from my father's hand both the hand of christ and the hand of the father are secured around the believer every believer is held securely in the hands of omnipotence brothers and sisters are we understanding why this conversation between the lord and nicodemus is so important not only does it deal directly with the doctrine of regeneration but it touches by implication on every one of the doctrines of grace lord willing we will continue to explore these wonderful truths next week let us pray our great god and our father again we stand in your presence we thank you for your word we trust the lord that you have spoken to your people with a clear and certain voice and that your word has entered into the secret chambers of their hearts there to work its wonderful work of love and grace lord if there be anyone under the sound of our voice who has never been regenerated never been born from above we pray that you would move upon such a one and bring them the saving faith we commit ourselves into your hands in the name of jesus christ amen our sinners are returning to minister and then sister thomas will be coming to close us off god bless you hallelujah [Music] the love of god [Music] is [Music] beyond the highest star and reaches true [Music] [Music] god [Music] to win [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] time shall pass away [Music] and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall when men [Music] mountains [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the stage [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] measureless [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] on earth [Music] by [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh stretch those stretches [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Applause] yes [Music] [Music] [Applause] hallelujah [Music] thank you jesus thank you jesus brothers and sisters that's the truth the love of god is so rich the love that god has for us nothing or no one will be able to separate us he loves us with an everlasting love just lift your hands wherever you are right now and thank him for that love but thank him with understanding let it not just be a ritual but because you're now understanding how much he loves us i want to encourage us this morning that you are loved by god your salvation is secure he chose you before the foundation of the earth remind yourselves daily brothers and sisters that he was the one that chose you all your days are carefully crafted in his hands and gentle hands are leading you all the way not just for today but even in times when you don't understand gentle hands will be there leading you his love will carry you we want to pray this morning i will be leading but i want all of you wherever you are if you you just find a moment no where we will pray together soberly with understanding from the word that has gone forth you have heard that you're secure you have heard that nothing or no one will be able to pluck you out of his hands let's pray lord our lord my heart is overwhelmed this morning just to think about your love and this great salvation that you afforded us what a love what a god what a salvation many of us this morning we can sing with confidence understanding and assurance that something beautiful something good all of our confusions you understood all we had to offer you was brokenness [Music] and strife but you made something beautiful you who have called us from before the foundation of the earth in our struggling days when we weren't even aware of you we were secure the days when we thought we wouldn't make it we were secured what a god i want to thank you this morning hear these praises from our assembly grace workshop ministries that we're thankful that we're grateful for this great salvation you have been opening our hearts like you did to lydia and your disciples and we are learning how secure we are and it is causing us to see your goodness and your goodness is leading us to repentance daily we just want to be like you we want to be faithful so when we fail we don't try to cover our shame on our sins we are now learning to come boldly seeking help and strength because we just want to please you for we now understand what you have done what a god what a love lord as we listened this morning [Music] we want to ask that you continue to pull us we want to ask that you strengthen us there are many of us lord still struggling but because of what you have done we are assured that none will be left behind none will be ignorant none will be cast away so we who you have opened our eyes help us to live lives that will help them to come into the knowledge of who you are and that you will strengthen them strengthen us as we live out this time lord we want to go deeper in you you have given us a taste i know our hearts are not satisfied we want more of you lord place us in a position lord where we can experience you the depth and the height of you that we will not be satisfied living in the shallows no more that every day we will renew our minds we will remind ourselves who we are [Music] we will remind ourselves of the responsibility we have for our brothers to our sisters may we believe your word that there is no condemnation that we will testify of your goodness and help our sister and her brother to heal because you have brought us through not for ourselves only but that we can help each other lord i am so thankful for all that you are doing we have seen your hands in our lives some of us are experiencing some valley moments though they may be dark painful but you know what lord because we are learning you we're not running away we're not even asking you to take them away from us not necessarily we're asking for grace we're asking for your grace for we know without a shadow of a doubt that we're coming through all right for your word tells us that we are more than conquerors so we don't view failures and sickness and hurt like we used to it's a part of the journey but the inner man's strive just to please you to be in your presence we push past pain and hurt just a fellowship with you for no it means so much to us to fellowship with you that the sickness and the pain and the hurt and the confusion is getting dimmer they are there and we are feeling them but we crave your fellowship that we're saying lord this is what we want oh god we desire you lord we want to know you more and more and more know that we are assured that we are secure equipped us strengthen us help us now to live lives of conquerors help us to lift our heads high because of you only because of you lord we thank you for this table that you have spread this morning we thank you that we were privileged to feast at the table i know all our hearts are saying more more about jesus more of his saving grace more about jesus thank you lord for every member every person who's listening this morning i pray thee that you will meet them at the place they need you right now we are confident that our prayers of an audience up in heaven and we have an advocate though we can't explain it he's there making petitions on our behalf oh we don't have any reason to doubt you god so touch no our unbelief as we move forward through this week may you help us to lift our heads high and aim to be the best child of yours this week because we were once again reminded that we are secure that your love has no limit no boundary and that you love us thank you for hearing us thank you for meeting us at the place we need you and we rejoice in just saying in jesus name wow in jesus name in jesus name hallelujah thank you lord thank you lord just lift your hands with me for a moment and thank him for his love thank him for his grace thank you for this great salvation thank you jesus thank you jesus you're worthy you're so worthy lord you're so worthy [Music] you're so worthy i want to thank you all for joining this morning especially our visitors we know you had a choice and you choose to worship with us and i pray that it was a blessing and that this week you'll remember that there's a god in heaven that loves you [Music] we meet again on wednesday at 7 30 for evening tide prayer and thursday for bible study and as pastor said it's going to be [Music] well a good bible study we have had good bible studies out i don't know how it can be better but let's let's wait and see because with jesus it just keeps getting better it just keeps getting better amen so god bless you have a beautiful rest of day and a beautiful week god bless you

Channel: The Grace Workshop Ministries

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Length: 145min 26sec (8726 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021