SPEAKER_00: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_01: My passage this morning evolves 22 verses, and to cover 22 verses before noon is going to be hard.
SPEAKER_01: But nevertheless, we're going to try our best.
SPEAKER_01: I can literally say something about every verse.
SPEAKER_01: I will not.
SPEAKER_01: But in any case, if you think about a man like Solomon, he's probably one of the most puzzling and conflicted figures of all the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: You ask yourselves, how could a man of such faith and such wisdom make such a big mess of his life?
SPEAKER_01: And the answer is actually simpler than we think.
SPEAKER_01: God alone for Solomon was not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Solomon was given God's wisdom, but that was not enough for him.
SPEAKER_01: He wanted to combine God's wisdom with conventional human wisdom, thinking that it will be actually more satisfying and more fulfilling.
SPEAKER_01: But towards the end of his life, he does admit something perfect already existed.
SPEAKER_01: And striving after the wind will mean you add something to something that is already perfect.
SPEAKER_01: Ecclesiastes 1.17.
SPEAKER_01: And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly.
SPEAKER_01: And I realized that this also is striving after wind.
SPEAKER_01: You see, people like Solomon, they come to God seeking, but they don't seem to find what they are looking for.
SPEAKER_01: They somewhat feel unsatisfied, wanting more.
SPEAKER_01: Ecclesiastes 6, 7.
SPEAKER_01: All the toil of man is for his mouth, and yet his appetite is not satisfied.
SPEAKER_01: Despite having God and God's wisdom, Solomon spent most of his life seeking, but somewhat never finding what he was looking for.
SPEAKER_01: In some way, Solomon's life embodies the song of Irish songwriter Paul David Ewson.
SPEAKER_01: But I still haven't found what I was looking for.
SPEAKER_01: But I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_01: Does that remind you of a song?
SPEAKER_01: If you probably older than 30, you will recognize the singer and the song.
SPEAKER_01: But my title of today's message is, is God Alone Enough?
SPEAKER_01: Is God Alone Enough?
SPEAKER_01: And the subtitle of that, this message is, I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_01: You see, people come to churches seeking for something lasting.
SPEAKER_01: They want something fulfilling, enduring, all-satisfying.
SPEAKER_01: But they would often walk out of a church saying, I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_01: My friend, you are sitting here today.
SPEAKER_01: Is Christ alone enough?
SPEAKER_01: Is God alone enough?
SPEAKER_01: You see, people often seek something that will satisfy and fulfill them.
SPEAKER_01: They seeking.
SPEAKER_01: And they think if we could just add Christianity to it, it will make our lives better and more satisfying.
SPEAKER_01: But in fact, Christianity is not about adding things, it's about subtracting things.
SPEAKER_01: It's subtracting everything that is not Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: You see, satisfaction in life is not about adding faith, adding Christ, adding grace to the equation, but rather subtracting everything that is not faith, not Christ, not grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: You see, if we want to find something that is lasting, fulfilling, enduring, all satisfying, it will come through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: And now you might say to me this morning, Anton, that sounds like you read something from a dusty old book of some old reformer like Martin Luther or Calvin Klein.
SPEAKER_01: Someone's awake here this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Let me begin here in verse 24 and set the stage for us.
SPEAKER_01: It's really a very exciting passage.
SPEAKER_01: So the setting is Capernaum, and there's a crowd of seekers seeking Jesus, and the question is, why are they seeking Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: The question is, what will Jesus do with these seekers?
SPEAKER_01: And they came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus' response to them connects the occasion to the countryside of Bethsaida where they met Jesus witnessing something profound.
SPEAKER_01: What was that?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus making bread.
SPEAKER_01: Miracle bread.
SPEAKER_01: They ate miracle bread, not to be confused with wonder bread.
SPEAKER_01: Who remembers wonder bread?
SPEAKER_01: Wonder bread is nothing but a foamy block of bleached wheat with fullers, colorants, and other preservatives.
SPEAKER_01: That's not miracle bread.
SPEAKER_01: They came and they ate the miracle bread of Jesus, verse 26, and they said, Jesus says to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me.
SPEAKER_01: You are seekers.
SPEAKER_01: But not because you saw a miracle, but because you ate some bread that filled your tummies.
SPEAKER_01: You see, Jesus' miracle bread satisfied their appetites and soothed their rumbling tummies.
SPEAKER_01: And that is why they are back.
SPEAKER_01: They are looking for Jesus to get more bread.
SPEAKER_01: While they ate the miracle bread, it hit their stomachs, but the miracle missed their hearts.
SPEAKER_01: Despite eating miracle bread, they remained somewhat unchanged, untransformed.
SPEAKER_01: And yet they are back the very next day wanting more of this free bread, this miracle bread.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says to them, look, you gotta look at life differently.
SPEAKER_01: You are so myhopic, all you can see is this immediate need in life.
SPEAKER_01: You are hungering after something, you're hungering and you want bread, free bread, miracle bread, but you set your sights on something higher.
SPEAKER_01: While they came seeking for Jesus, they were not seeking Jesus for Jesus, but seeking him for what he has to offer.
SPEAKER_01: And that was nothing more than free bread.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 27.
SPEAKER_01: Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: You see, these seekers seek food, but not the type of food that satisfies for life and everything in life.
SPEAKER_01: They are not looking to Jesus, and they're not seeking Jesus for everlasting life, but they are seeking simply plain old bread, good bread, heavenly bread, Jesus' miracle bread.
SPEAKER_01: They came to the right place at the right time, knocking on the right person's door, but it might seem to indicate they have not found what they've been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: Or have they?
SPEAKER_01: Will Jesus Himself be enough for them?
SPEAKER_01: What Jesus will teach here, and here's a wonderful lesson for all of us.
SPEAKER_01: We may come to the right place at the right time, knocking on the right person's door, namely Jesus, but we are looking for something that He is not gonna give us.
SPEAKER_01: And we might sing that song of that Irish songwriter, I still haven't found what I've been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: This passage is really about satisfaction, enduring fulfillment, everlasting soul satisfaction.
SPEAKER_01: And that alone comes through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: Probably should help if I turn this thing on.
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
SPEAKER_01: That which is enduring, that which gives fulfillment and everlasting satisfaction comes through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: And I will show this to you that I did not find this in some stuffy old book of it written by a reformer, but it is the words of Christ that I'm looking at.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, this idea of faith alone.
SPEAKER_01: You see, Jesus welcomes everyone seeking him.
SPEAKER_01: And they must expect to find what they are looking for through the eyes of faith.
SPEAKER_01: Seeking and finding the right things in life is not a matter of human ingenuity or human perception or even bargaining with God, but it comes through this thing called faith.
SPEAKER_01: And not just faith, but faith alone.
SPEAKER_01: And we must subtract everything in life that is not faith.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 28, read there with me.
SPEAKER_01: It says there, therefore they said to him, What shall we do?
SPEAKER_01: What shall we do?
SPEAKER_01: What type of thing can we do so that we can get the things that will satisfy us?
SPEAKER_01: What shall we do that we may work the works of God?
SPEAKER_01: How can we get something into our life that is really amazing that will be super satisfying?
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus doesn't answer them the way they thought.
SPEAKER_01: All they have to have is faith.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 29.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: That you believe in him whom he has sent.
SPEAKER_01: Who's the one whom God has sent?
SPEAKER_01: That's Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_01: You see, when God does his work, it is not a time for us to work with them, but rather rest and trust in him to do his work.
SPEAKER_01: And God's work, ultimate work, is that someone believes in the Son of God, whom he had sent to this world to die on a cross, rise from the dead, and pay for the sins of humanity.
SPEAKER_01: That is why God sent his only begotten Son.
SPEAKER_01: And his son will give you something that is soul satisfying, enduring, and everlasting.
SPEAKER_01: But the imperative is that we must approach expectantly to receive what we've been looking for in faith alone or through faith alone.
SPEAKER_01: Not adding faith, but subtracting everything that is not faith.
SPEAKER_01: Look for a moment with me at Hebrews 11 6.
SPEAKER_01: And it joins here so perfectly.
SPEAKER_01: Hebrews 11 6 says there, the Hebrew writer, and without faith it is impossible to please him.
SPEAKER_01: Without faith, it is impossible to please him.
SPEAKER_01: For he who comes to God must believe.
SPEAKER_01: And the word faith and believe is virtually synonymous.
SPEAKER_01: And he must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
SPEAKER_01: If we are seeking, we must not seek with our eyes, we must seek with our faith.
SPEAKER_01: John 6, 35 says, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.
SPEAKER_01: He who comes to me will not hunger.
SPEAKER_01: And he who believes in me will never thirst.
SPEAKER_01: Eating and drinking can be a huge interruption when you are fishing and the fish are biting.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: You're like, man, I'm thirsty now, and now I gotta drop everything and go drink water.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, Look, I am the bread of life.
SPEAKER_01: If you come to me, if you seek to me, and you come to me in faith, I'm gonna give you something that will satisfy you forever.
SPEAKER_01: And you will never thirst after anything else.
SPEAKER_01: The idea here is faith.
SPEAKER_01: John's word here for faith is the word believe.
SPEAKER_01: John uses a form of the word faith, meaning an ever-present, active, and living faith in the Son of God.
SPEAKER_01: That faith will obtain the bread of life that satisfies everything forever and ever.
SPEAKER_01: Those who are seeking Jesus must come to him in faith, believing, an active and living faith.
SPEAKER_01: And they must not think that they can manipulate or work in this whole experience.
SPEAKER_01: It is God's work.
SPEAKER_01: And it is his will that people believe in the Son of God.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 40.
SPEAKER_01: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds everyone seeking and seeing the Son of God and believes in him will have eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: And I myself will raise him up on the light last day.
SPEAKER_01: Coming to Jesus, the source of everlasting satisfaction is not a matter of faith.
SPEAKER_01: It is not a matter of faith.
SPEAKER_01: It is a matter of faith alone.
SPEAKER_01: If there's any effort or any work on our part, it is faith plus at least some effort on our part.
SPEAKER_01: Faith, adding faith to our works, adding faith to our efforts will not please God.
SPEAKER_01: Hebrews 11:6 says that.
SPEAKER_01: One must first relinquish and sacrifice trust in oneself in order to receive the person who can be trusted with everything else.
SPEAKER_01: Faith or believing means believing alone.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing more, nothing less.
SPEAKER_01: Believing in Christ is not pleasing to God if it's not in faith alone.
SPEAKER_01: But this faith and this believing is in a person.
SPEAKER_01: There's an object to this faith.
SPEAKER_01: Who is that?
SPEAKER_01: Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: Verse twenty-seven says, God approves of a faith in no one else except Christ his Son.
SPEAKER_01: Look at John 6, 27.
SPEAKER_01: Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.
SPEAKER_01: For on him God the Father has set his seal.
SPEAKER_01: God the Father has set his seal.
SPEAKER_01: You see, if we think of a seal, you've got to think about the currency, the dollar bill.
SPEAKER_01: There is the seal, the great seal of the United States on that.
SPEAKER_01: That means that that dollar has value, and only that dollar has value.
SPEAKER_01: All other currencies that you run in your basement on your copier over your printer is valueless without that seal.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus has the seal of God that he alone has God's approval.
SPEAKER_01: Think of your visa or master card.
SPEAKER_01: Don't take it out now.
SPEAKER_01: You can take it out when we serve coffee and cookies.
SPEAKER_01: But there's a little square on there, a little hologram.
SPEAKER_01: I haven't looked for a while, but is it a little dove there?
SPEAKER_01: That too is an authenticating seal.
SPEAKER_01: If that card does not have that on, it's not an authentic Mastercard or Visa card, and it's nothing but a piece of plastic.
SPEAKER_01: It's valueless.
SPEAKER_01: You see, God has set his authenticating seal of approval on one person.
SPEAKER_01: One.
SPEAKER_01: That is Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: Acts 4 12 says, there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
SPEAKER_01: You can try someone else, they are counterfeit.
SPEAKER_01: You can try another religion, they are a counterfeit.
SPEAKER_01: You see, people often come to faith in Christ, but they do not come to faith in Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: You see, we like the Jews here are unwilling to relinquish our trust in ourselves, our religious system, and whatever thing we can think of.
SPEAKER_01: You see, it's not adding Christ to our lives to find satisfaction, everlasting satisfaction.
SPEAKER_01: It is subtracting everything else from our lives until only Christ alone remains.
SPEAKER_01: You see, genuine faith goes out with the sword and it decapitates and slays all other idols in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Now, for many people, and including myself for many years, I thought if I could just add Christ to a pantheon of Of idols, I will have double fire insurance.
SPEAKER_01: But in the and that is nothing but idolatry.
SPEAKER_01: And such a faith will burn to ashes.
SPEAKER_01: Think of the problem of old Israel.
SPEAKER_01: What was Israel's problem?
SPEAKER_01: It's not that they abandoned Yahweh.
SPEAKER_01: It was that they were adding other gods to Yahweh.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, yeah, Yahweh is cool.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, he's cool.
SPEAKER_01: He's our main God.
SPEAKER_01: But you know, let's add these other guys too, because God is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Yahweh is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Let's just add something more because, you know, we still haven't found what we've been looking for, and that's Solomon's life.
SPEAKER_01: 1 King 11, 6.
SPEAKER_01: Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not follow the Lord fully.
SPEAKER_01: He followed the Lord, but he didn't follow the Lord fully.
SPEAKER_01: The problem is we can only follow the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: We can only follow Jesus if we slay all other idols in our lives until Christ solely and exclusively remains.
SPEAKER_01: That's what it means to follow God fully.
SPEAKER_01: After all, the divine right and the seal of approval has been given to Jesus by God the Father to raise the saints from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: Nobody else is gonna raise people from the dead.
SPEAKER_01: Not even your cardiologist or surgeon.
SPEAKER_01: Not even the best one.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.40.
SPEAKER_01: For this is the will of my Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: Eternal life is not something future, it's something you have.
SPEAKER_01: If you come to Christ in faith alone, in Him alone, you have eternal life, my friend, you have it already.
SPEAKER_01: But this idea of the resurrection will come at the last day, and only Jesus will raise the dead.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.40, there in the end it says, I myself.
SPEAKER_01: I myself.
SPEAKER_01: He alone dispenses eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: He alone resurrects the dead.
SPEAKER_01: And so the passage makes it very clear that true satisfaction, this obtaining this bread of life, which if you eat it, you will not hunger, you will be satisfied, you will not thirst, you will be fulfilled.
SPEAKER_01: That can come only through faith alone in Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: Everlasting soul-satisfying food is to be found in Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.28.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to that pivotal verse there.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.28, it says, Therefore they said to him, What shall we do?
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that instinctive?
SPEAKER_01: You do something and you get something.
SPEAKER_01: They want this bread, and they're desperate for this bread.
SPEAKER_01: Not the eternal life bread, but this miracle bread.
SPEAKER_01: They just want a free meal.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: And they think that's all they need, and that's all they want.
SPEAKER_01: And if they just could only have that, they'll be happy.
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Jesus, how can what can we do?
SPEAKER_01: Can we sing a song?
SPEAKER_01: Can we do something?
SPEAKER_01: Just tell us what we can do so we can see another one of these free bread occasions.
SPEAKER_01: And the question then is, what can we do to earn this soul-satisfying bread?
SPEAKER_01: What can we do?
SPEAKER_01: That is the pivotal question here.
SPEAKER_01: What can we do?
SPEAKER_01: At least if we can do something, God will reward us.
SPEAKER_01: If I can do this, come to church every Sunday, God at least should reward me.
SPEAKER_01: If I just could get baptized, then God will reward me.
SPEAKER_01: If I could just give more money to the church, God must reward me.
SPEAKER_01: And if I somehow do more good things than bad things, at least God must reward me.
SPEAKER_01: In some way, we think like these folk here.
SPEAKER_01: What can I do to experience the work of God?
SPEAKER_01: But this bread, not speaking of the miracle bread, but the bread of life that will satisfy for eternity, is a free gift.
SPEAKER_01: It is a gift of God's grace.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the third aspect of finding that which will satisfy forever and ever.
SPEAKER_01: It comes through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: And this is where many of you will start bristling.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because this masses of people were bristling at Jesus in the end.
SPEAKER_01: No, let me first say here, Jesus is not negating human responsibility.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is not negating human responsibility.
SPEAKER_01: He is not eliminating that.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is not negating or eliminating human responsibility.
SPEAKER_01: What he is eliminating is boasting.
SPEAKER_01: Boasting.
SPEAKER_01: What did I do this morning?
SPEAKER_01: I caught two very small and lame fish.
SPEAKER_01: And I was bragging about it.
SPEAKER_01: Went home last night.
SPEAKER_01: Caught my first two fish, first two trout for the season.
SPEAKER_01: Come here bragging.
SPEAKER_01: Bragging and boasting is our nature, my friends.
SPEAKER_01: Even in the activity of seeking and coming to Jesus, we want to take some credit for that.
SPEAKER_01: I was seeking, they were seeking, verse 24 says, they came in small boats.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're like putting in the effort.
SPEAKER_01: And they came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Whoopee! You did well.
SPEAKER_01: You came to the right person at the right place at the right time.
SPEAKER_01: Here's a little prize for you participation award.
SPEAKER_01: But this process of seeking and coming to Jesus is by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: Look, I'm gonna give you four reasons why this passage says it is of grace and grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, the Father is the giver of the Son.
SPEAKER_01: The bread of heaven, which is Jesus, and the eternal life that is in him, and the resurrection to come that is in him, is a gift of God from heaven to humanity living on earth.
SPEAKER_01: It is a gift.
SPEAKER_01: John 6, 32.
SPEAKER_01: Read there with me, please.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: This is not Moses is doing.
SPEAKER_01: But it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the word.
SPEAKER_01: It is God who gives.
SPEAKER_01: It is not man who deserves.
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
SPEAKER_01: My wife buys me a brand new Orvis fishing pole for Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna walk around there at the pond saying, oh, you know, I was such a good husband that my wife got me this.
SPEAKER_01: I might do that.
SPEAKER_01: I'm very boastful.
SPEAKER_01: But this gift and the giver is in heaven, the Father who gives the Son, who is the true bread of life.
SPEAKER_01: He gives to the world.
SPEAKER_01: The world does not give to him.
SPEAKER_01: The world does not ask.
SPEAKER_01: The father took the initiative.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, number two, the father gives seekers to the son well before he gives the son to seekers.
SPEAKER_01: That's very confusing.
SPEAKER_01: Let me read it slower.
SPEAKER_01: The father gives seekers to the son well before he gives the son to seekers.
SPEAKER_01: Somebody comes, I've been seeking and now I found Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Whoa, I'm so amazing.
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, you are amazing.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: But verse 37 says, All that the Father gives me, that is Jesus, the Father gives seekers to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Well, actually seek and come.
SPEAKER_01: So in other words, before you a seeker and a comer to Jesus, he has already given the Father, given you to him.
SPEAKER_01: And then just to make sure nobody boasts, and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out.
SPEAKER_01: So coming to Jesus is God the Father's work, and staying in Jesus is Jesus' work, then tell me what's there left to be done.
SPEAKER_01: Coming and staying is of grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna read to you this portion of a commentator, Leon Morris.
SPEAKER_01: He's an Australian, Jason, is he?
SPEAKER_01: Is he Aussie?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, something.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't think anything can come good from Australia, but apparently it does.
SPEAKER_01: They are opponents in South Africa and cricket and rugby, so we we it's tensions.
SPEAKER_01: People do not come to Christ, he says, because it seems a good idea to them.
SPEAKER_01: It never does seem a good idea to sinful people to come to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Apart from a divine work in their souls, people remain more or less contently in their sins.
SPEAKER_01: That's us.
SPEAKER_01: We don't come, we don't seek, we're happy, we love darkness more than light, says John.
SPEAKER_01: Before they can come to Christ, it is necessary that the Father gives them to the Son.
SPEAKER_01: Number three.
SPEAKER_01: The Father's gift to the Son is treasured and protected.
SPEAKER_01: You see, a person cannot be saved unless he comes to Jesus, right?
SPEAKER_01: Person has to come to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But he cannot come unless he is given to the Son by the Father.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.39 says, This is the will of him who sent me, that all that he has given me I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day.
SPEAKER_01: You see, I would add to the words here of Dr.
SPEAKER_01: William Hendrickson, where he says, you cannot come unless you have been given to the Son by the Father.
SPEAKER_01: I would add to his word to say, you cannot stay and endure and hang on to the very end unless Christ has his grip on you.
SPEAKER_01: And that grip, I mean, anyone of you who have raised children or are in the process of children, sometimes they don't like this idea of you holding onto their hands.
SPEAKER_01: You know, you come to a busy road or you're in a crowd, you're at an airport, and they like wiggling their little hands out of your grip.
SPEAKER_01: That's us.
SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
SPEAKER_01: You will wiggle your way out unless Christ holds you tightly.
SPEAKER_01: So we may boast and say, we came to Christ because we sought him and we believe in him.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if anybody speaks that way, but in any case, we come to Jesus and we will boast.
SPEAKER_01: But okay.
SPEAKER_01: Let's see how you do with trials, tribulations, and temptations.
SPEAKER_01: Let's see if you stick around.
SPEAKER_01: And let's not even talk about the deceitful riches of this world and all other things.
SPEAKER_01: Let's see if you can hang on to the end.
SPEAKER_01: You hang on by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: Grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot fight off unbelief.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot resist the devil, my friend, unless Jesus has his gracious grip on you.
SPEAKER_01: John 10, 29.
SPEAKER_01: My Father, who has given them to me, that speaks up the saint, is greater than all.
SPEAKER_01: And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
SPEAKER_01: It seems like the Son has your left hand and the Father has your right hand, and they're not going to live up their grip on you.
SPEAKER_01: But if it depends on you, you will let go.
SPEAKER_01: You will let go, and I'll prove it to you from this passage.
SPEAKER_01: Let's think of the last thing here.
SPEAKER_01: The Father's grace draws sinners to God, the Son.
SPEAKER_01: You think of these, these people were hungry, and somehow, by God's sovereign and gracious work, they get in their little boats, and as you remember from last week, Jesus went faster than what?
SPEAKER_01: Bada Bing, right?
SPEAKER_01: He went very quick to the other side, and they like, where is this guy?
SPEAKER_01: Where are we going to find him?
SPEAKER_01: He didn't get on the boat.
SPEAKER_01: Where is he?
SPEAKER_01: And yet they find him.
SPEAKER_01: They find him.
SPEAKER_01: How did they find him?
SPEAKER_01: Because God let him find him.
SPEAKER_01: Leon Morris says, people think that they can come to Jesus entirely of their own volition, but Jesus expresses the utter impossibility of that.
SPEAKER_01: No one, no one at all can come unless the Father gives him and draws him to the Son.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.44.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you to my slide team up there.
SPEAKER_01: They awake.
SPEAKER_01: Man, you guys are cool.
SPEAKER_01: They advanced the slide without me doing that.
SPEAKER_01: God is offering.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.44.
SPEAKER_01: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
SPEAKER_01: And I will raise him up on the last day.
SPEAKER_01: That speaks of grace.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't speak of grace.
SPEAKER_01: It speaks of grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't be even looking.
SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't even be coming.
SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't be even seeking Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Unless the Father drew you to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: There are plenty references in John's gospel of God's sovereign grace in salvation.
SPEAKER_01: John 6, 65, John 17, verse 2, verse 6, verse 9, verse 12, verse 22.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, sorry, verse 24.
SPEAKER_01: And this one last question remains can we at least do something to earn or merit God's gift?
SPEAKER_01: Can we at least do something?
SPEAKER_01: There must be something.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Let me give this illustration to you.
SPEAKER_01: I in the good old days uh I ran these marathons.
SPEAKER_01: 10Ks.
SPEAKER_01: And um I would always get a medal.
SPEAKER_01: Always.
SPEAKER_01: Just because I got to the end.
SPEAKER_01: I just got to the end.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, the I was in mountain biking too.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you wouldn't believe that when you look at me now.
SPEAKER_01: But the one day I can't I finished so late in the race.
SPEAKER_01: They packed up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, where's the finishing line?
SPEAKER_01: They're like, we packed the thing up, dude.
SPEAKER_01: And then a guy was opening a box and he's like, here's your medal.
SPEAKER_01: Put it over my neck.
SPEAKER_01: Got a medal.
SPEAKER_01: Mom, look, I got a medal.
SPEAKER_01: Got a medal.
SPEAKER_01: You see, again, grace eliminates boasting.
SPEAKER_01: That's what it does.
SPEAKER_01: My friends, if you think about this idea of God's gracious work in salvation and our responsibility, it's hard to fathom that.
SPEAKER_01: We cannot do one to the exclusion of the other.
SPEAKER_01: The one does not negate or eliminate the other.
SPEAKER_01: But what it does, it eliminates boasting.
SPEAKER_01: You see, if we drop the G from the word grace, what does that become?
SPEAKER_01: Race.
SPEAKER_01: Like my bicycle race or my 10K race.
SPEAKER_01: You see.
SPEAKER_01: Then everything in life becomes about this race of finding what we have been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: We can strip grace and make it a race.
SPEAKER_01: And we, in the end, if that's what it's about, then God gives us a participation medal for at least doing something.
SPEAKER_01: At least you participated in this race.
SPEAKER_01: You did well, Anton.
SPEAKER_01: Here's your medal.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm going to do with that medal, that participation medal in heaven?
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to walk about boasting about it.
SPEAKER_01: Look at my medal.
SPEAKER_01: I stuck around.
SPEAKER_01: But you see, if it's by grace alone, you got that medal without working for it.
SPEAKER_01: Because Ephesians 2.8 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith.
SPEAKER_01: And this is not your own doing.
SPEAKER_01: It is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
SPEAKER_01: Done with the bragging and bro bragging and boasting, it is of grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: This is what Dr.
SPEAKER_01: William Hendrickson said.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Does this mean, therefore, that he who does accept Jesus with a believing heart can give himself the credit for this excellent deed?
SPEAKER_01: By no means salvation is ever by grace, and faith is ever the work of God in the heart of the sinner.
SPEAKER_01: It is of grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.66.
SPEAKER_01: No, let's go back.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go back.
SPEAKER_01: John 6.61.
SPEAKER_01: These seekers found Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They were seeking and they found him.
SPEAKER_01: And verse 36, go back to the thirty six for a second.
SPEAKER_01: They came to the right person.
SPEAKER_01: At the right place, at the right time, seeking and asking for things.
SPEAKER_01: And what does Jesus say?
SPEAKER_01: But I say to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe.
SPEAKER_01: What happens if you don't believe if you have no faith?
SPEAKER_01: It's a done deal.
SPEAKER_01: You go nowhere.
SPEAKER_01: It's a dead end.
SPEAKER_01: How is it that these folks can come thus far, thus far, and it's not enough for them?
SPEAKER_01: They even ask at some point, Jesus, do one more miracle.
SPEAKER_01: Just one more miracle.
SPEAKER_01: That's all we need.
SPEAKER_01: And then we will believe.
SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
SPEAKER_01: He will do 30 miracles, and they will not believe.
SPEAKER_01: Unless it's of grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: John 6, 61.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the seekers were seeing, and yet they had a problem with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the problem grew even more.
SPEAKER_01: They grew hostile towards this idea that it is of faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: That idea of grace alone is super offensive to humanity.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because we like to take the credit for at least something.
SPEAKER_01: And because Jesus takes all credit away so that there can be no boasting, guess how it results?
SPEAKER_01: Verse 61.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples, that's his disciples, were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this?
SPEAKER_01: How is it that you offended?
SPEAKER_01: Answer, you are prideful.
SPEAKER_01: You are prideful.
SPEAKER_01: You see, you're okay adding faith.
SPEAKER_01: You are good with adding Christ.
SPEAKER_01: You're good with adding grace.
SPEAKER_01: But faith alone?
SPEAKER_01: Christ alone?
SPEAKER_01: Grace alone?
SPEAKER_01: Super offensive.
SPEAKER_01: John 6 verse 66.
SPEAKER_01: This is how it ended for the seekers.
SPEAKER_01: And you would say, Jesus, you're not very seeker sensitive here.
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
SPEAKER_01: You need to take a class at seminary.
SPEAKER_01: John 6, verse 66.
SPEAKER_01: After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with them.
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they were offended by what Christ taught.
SPEAKER_01: Faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone.
SPEAKER_01: They could do nothing to brag.
SPEAKER_01: What they put their trust in seemed to be worthless.
SPEAKER_01: Their effort seemed to be aberrant and offensive to God.
SPEAKER_01: They can no longer brag that they did something to receive something.
SPEAKER_01: And so they packed up and they left.
SPEAKER_01: And you want to ask yourselves, is that not the case for many people who come to church?
SPEAKER_01: You know how many people walked the walk with me?
SPEAKER_01: They started way back in 1999.
SPEAKER_01: You know how many have walked away?
SPEAKER_01: Countless.
SPEAKER_01: And I wonder sometimes if their song of their lives does not sound like this.
SPEAKER_01: I believe in kingdom come, then all the colors will bleed into one, bleed into one.
SPEAKER_01: But yes, I am still running.
SPEAKER_01: You broke the bonds and you loosed the chains, carried the crush of my shame, of my shame.
SPEAKER_01: You know I believe it, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_01: But I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_01: You recognize the song you're gonna date yourself.
SPEAKER_01: It's Bono, you too.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Is that right, Mariki?
SPEAKER_01: She was a big fan.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, who's this?
SPEAKER_01: Bono.
SPEAKER_01: Amazing words.
SPEAKER_01: You broke the bonds, you losed the chains, carried the cross of my shame, of my shame.
SPEAKER_01: You know I believe it, but I haven't found what I've been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: This is the story of many people who come to church wanting something more in life, something more satisfying, something deeper.
SPEAKER_01: And yet they go, it's just not what I've been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: Because Christ alone is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Faith alone is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: Grace alone is not enough.
SPEAKER_01: My dear friends, I'm gonna pray that God will give us the grace to let go of everything that smacks of works righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: And my friend, if you're not in a place where faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone, you're in a very precarious position in life.
SPEAKER_01: You in a difficult position in life.
SPEAKER_01: If you do not embrace these three things, you at some point will say, Yes, Christ did carry that cross.
SPEAKER_01: He did take the shame.
SPEAKER_01: I do believe in his kingdom, but I still haven't found what I've been looking for.
SPEAKER_01: Heavenly Father, give us your grace and your mercy so that we can walk out here fully satisfied.
SPEAKER_01: May we slay all the idols, may we sever ourselves from all the vestiges of works, righteousness, and turn to you alone.
SPEAKER_01: We know, Lord, it is by grace alone, and we thank you.
SPEAKER_01: It's so undeserving that you even took notice of us.
SPEAKER_01: All we have to contribute to anything here is our sin.
SPEAKER_01: And we thank you for having mercy on us.
SPEAKER_01: I pray, God, for those who are sitting here today who are maybe unsettled in their faith, and maybe there's no clarity.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, guide them and lead them to someone here that could explain the gospel in all its details.
SPEAKER_01: I pray this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.