TEXT: John 6:41-45
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
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Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing the main thing — and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to “pray without ceasing” for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right candidate to win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord gives you peace about voting for. But, don’t get caught up in it like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 77.
Tim Keller said, “God made you to love him supremely, but he lost you. He returned to get you back, but it took the cross to do it. He absorbed your darkness so that one day you can finally and dazzlingly become your true self and take your seat at his eternal feast.”
After witnessing Jesus’ wonderful miracles and hearing Jesus’ testimony of who He is and how they can partake of the Bread of Life, the Jews start to murmur among themselves. Specifically, they take issue with Jesus’ words, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” Jesus repeated this statement five times in this chapter. The Jews realize that by stating that He came down from heaven, Jesus is claiming to be divine and claiming to be the Messiah. While some had previously entertained the idea of making Him their king, this was too much for them.
They can’t wrap their minds around the idea of Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah, so they lay out the facts as they see them. “They said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?” The Jews knew Jesus from when He was just a little boy growing up with their children. At the time, they didn’t think anything of Him. The Bible never records Jesus working any miracles as a child; such accounts are pure speculation. The Jews knew Jesus as the carpenter’s son from Nazareth. They were content to listen to him as just another Moses or another Elijah — a prophet anointed by God who could also perform miracles. But they couldn’t take it when He blatantly claimed to be greater than Moses and Elijah. Their attitude was, “Who does He think He is?”
Notice how patient Jesus is with these people. First, He rebukes them for their murmuring. He says, ‘Murmur not among yourselves. Stop complaining and grumbling.’ Jesus does not try to convince them of His origin. Rather, He turns their eyes to God whom they all claim to trust in and serve. He says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
The Jews saw themselves as the chosen people of God, and rightly so. They thought that they were favored by God above others by virtue of their bloodline. However, when Jesus came, He made it clear that He was there to “draw all men unto himself” — both Jew and Gentile. This let the Jews know and lets us know that God was and is working to bring all people to Jesus. However, many of the Jews did not come to Jesus because they resisted the drawing of God.
The Greek word John uses for “draw” is helko. It means, “to draw, to drag off, to draw by inward power, to lead, or to impel.” It is a strong, earnest action on God’s part. He desires that people come to His Son so they can live in union with Him and He with them. Everyone can come to the Son because God the Father is drawing everyone to Him in various and sundry ways. Sadly, some people resist the pulling, pleading efforts of God.
An elderly lady from California told the story of how she came to Christ. She said that she was raised in a nonreligious family and she grew up skeptical of anything to do with faith. However, one day, one of her friends invited her to go to a Billy Graham crusade in Sacramento. She said she went out of curiosity. She sat there in the audience determined not to be influenced by Billy Graham. She listened to the choir, to the testimonies and the special music, and she said to herself, “I know this man is using this to manipulate these people. He is psychologically preparing them to respond to an invitation.” She said she felt very confident that she could withstand what she considered to be manipulation because she knew exactly what he was doing. But then Billy Graham gave the invitation, and she said, “I was the first one to respond! I jumped out of my seat and went down immediately. I was embarrassed because, as I walked down, I saw that I was the very first person to respond.” That day, she placed her faith and trust in Jesus Christ. She didn’t know it, but God was working before the meeting and all throughout that meeting to draw her to His Son.
You may not realize it now, but God is drawing you to His Son today. You are just as valuable to Him as the skeptical woman from California or the Jews of Jesus’ day. He wants you to come to Him; that is why He sent Jesus. Will you give your heart and life to Him today? If so, here is how.
1. Accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Romans 3:23 reads: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In fact, I am the chief of sinners, so don’t think that you’re alone.
2. Accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
4. Accept the fact that you cannot do anything to save yourself! The Bible states in Ephesians 2: 8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
5. Accept the fact that God loves you more than you love yourself, and that He wants to save you from hell. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6. With these facts in mind, please repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you this very moment. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for over twenty-seven years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 