No Man Can Come To Me!

 

John 6:41-44, 64-65

"The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."

"But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

I can remember when I was drawn by God to my wife. We met on Christian Cupid dot com, when it was still a bit taboo to meet someone online, let alone date them. How fast times have changed right? Now if you're not on the internet you're seen as strange! 

It's amazing to me how some people can see the light and others can not. Some feel led to change their lives and be different, others feel the same leading but don't respond to it. They turn their backs on God, they blank out and walk away, and many don't feel anything at all!

Those who do come to Christ always have a testimony of what God did for them, how he drew them to Himself, or what they were doing when something happened they couldn't explain. Many cry out to God and say, 'God if you are real then do this or that and I will believe.' 

The first disciples Jesus called were drawn to Him because it was granted to them by the Father in Heaven!

Matthew 4:18-22

"And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."

How is it possible that Jesus being a total stranger to these four fishermen, could call them out of their jobs, their family, their lifestyles, and they listened! The scriptures tell us that the four men IMMEDIATELY left their nets, their boats, their jobs, even their own father and followed Jesus!

That is a perfect example of what it means to be drawn by God!

The same thing happened when John the baptist started calling the people to repentance. The scriptures say that people came from all around to be baptized by John. How was that possible, John being another total stranger coming out of the desert?

Mark 1:1-8

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins."

People of the whole land of Judea and Jerusalem went out to him! And then they got baptized and while they were being baptized, they were confessing their sins, outloud! No secret chambers, no priest in a box, no church building! The people were out in the open air confessing their sins and getting baptized by John in the Jordan River!! That's what you call a supernatural drawing and manifestation of the power of God working through His prophet!!!

Something similar happened to Paul too when he was preaching.

Acts 16:11-15

"Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

You see that the Lord had to OPEN THE HEART of Lydia so that she could listen to what paul was saying! The word of God being spoken through His anointed and appointed is spiritual, it can't be understood by those with carnal minds and hard hearts! 

What about the other women who were there? We see that God only opened the heart of Lydia to understand Paul's message, and then she and her whole household were baptized! The ways of God and His choosing is beyond our understanding, only He knows the hearts of all men!

This is why it's so important to pray for the Father to open your heart, and your mind so that you can be drawn to Christ and receive Him when He comes to visit you!

In The Lord's Army,

Tyrone