John chapter 6, John chapter 6 picking up at verse 36 and going through 40, I was actually marveling myself at how densely packed the teaching in John chapter 6 is. All of scripture offers us manifest, manifold opportunity for study. John chapter 6 granted it is 71 verses, it is a long chapter, but consider what we have covered just to this point in the chapter. We began with the feeding of the 5,000, then Jesus is walking on the water, and then we began with his teaching on him being the bread of life, and the difficulty that the people had in receiving that, and then he is continuing to expound upon not only the message that he is the bread of life, but also discussing and describing why it is that men would struggle to receive the teaching that he is the bread of life. We have uncovered and discovered there his teaching concerning his sovereignty and man's salvation, and also man's responsibility to hear and to respond to that which Christ reveals. Now in John chapter 6 picking up at verse 36, we find again the confluence of these two ideas and an explanation of how it can be that God is sovereign and yet man is also responsible. How these truths can be harmonious and how it is that God works for the salvation of man. Let's return together, John chapter 6 verses 36 through 40, but I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. The Lord bless the reading and the hearing of his Word. Why is it that when we should be standing on the promises as that great hymn of old testifies that we do, we actually are just sitting in the pews. When we should be standing on the promises we are really just sitting and watching. Our Christian life, our success in living as it is called victorious Christian life, has a lot to do with our security. It has a lot to do with our observation and recognition of our standing in Christ. There is something about our assurance of salvation that it's very practical not just theoretical. It's not just for our psychological peace or spiritual peace, although assurance does grant us that, but there is a very practical outworking of the Christian life that can be linked directly to our assurance of our salvation and consequently a lack of assurance of salvation has its working out in the Christian life as well. One without an assurance of salvation is one that lacks confidence in living the life we are called to live. One that lacks an assurance of salvation is one who is hesitant about their approach to the church, about their approach to the Christian responsibilities and obligations in life, one who is hesitant about walking out boldly sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, being obedient to the great commission, one who is hesitant in their worship, one who is hesitant and their relationships is one who is hesitant and they're understanding about their assurance of salvation. They are not positive about just what their assurance rests on and that hesitation is something that Jesus speaks to today. Our absolute assurance when we have that is in fact translated into daily living. The crowds, verse 36, the crowds have seen Jesus. He has fed over 5,000. He's walked on water that not seen by the crowds, particularly but the disciples. They have heard him teach. They have seen him heal in previous chapters. They've heard of the wedding at Cano where waters turn to wine. He has healed the lane. He's made the mute speak. He's brought sight to the blind. We find these recorded in the other gospels in time periods before chapter 6 of John, of John's gospel. Having seen all of this, having heard his teaching, having walked with him, having pursued him, they have found a man who is powerful and he has a roused, not only their curiosity, but their political ambitions as well. He has certainly captivated their interests, but he has not aroused faith. For Jesus says to them, after they have been pursuing him all this time, he says in verse 36, I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe. Does this mean? Could this possibly mean that having seen Jesus and all that Jesus is doing and not having faith that Jesus is somehow a failure or that he somehow lacks the power to convince the people that he lacks either the charisma or that his works on earth lack the convincing power so that they would give themselves to him in faith? Is there something about Jesus' work that makes it impotent in the faith of man? Is it somehow lacking? Is Jesus just not able to do it? If you were to talk to a magician, you would hear him talk about how the crowds are awed and how the crowds are just completely captivated when a trick is performed such as the sawing of a woman in half, for example. What? It's always a woman, by the way. Have you ever noticed that? A man always saws a woman in half. I don't know if there's something that could be studied there or not, but certainly something to ponder. Nevertheless, when a woman is put in a box and then she is sawing in half and the parts are placed ten feet apart. Have you also noticed that? Once sawing in half, the man not trusting that she somehow would pull herself together pushes the parts to opposite sides of the stage just in case. And there without pain and without screaming and without bloodshed, this woman that has been cut in half spread across the stage and the audience is thrilled. Just thrilled that this woman has been cut in half and they're front of their eyes. They don't know how it's done. There seems to be no strings. There's no mirrors that they can see. They aren't sure how it's done, but they are just absolutely thrilled by this trick, this illusion that has been performed before them. It's a simple trick if it's explained to you. It's not something that's difficult to understand and yet it's amazing. It's just amazing. The people who have been watching Jesus are amazed because they've seen with their eyes something that defies explanation but their amazement is not translated to faith anymore than an audience's amazement at a magician performing an illusion of cutting a woman into leads them to any faith in the magician. A spectacular feat being formed seen with the eyes are seen only with the eyes of flesh. They're not seen with the eyes of faith. So does that mean then that Jesus lacks the power to convince that the word of God in incarnate, walking among men, lacks the power to convince. As Romans 9, 16 says, but it is not as though the word of God has failed. It has not failed in the least. The word of God has not failed, not at all. For we're told in verse 37, all, every single one in the plural sense, all that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. That never and casting out being somewhat of a double negative can also be phrased in the positive. Those that come to me, I will keep. I will never cast them out. I will keep them. And so there is a conversion that occurs. We read of God's sovereignty in man's salvation. And then we also read that man coming to Christ will be kept by Christ. So it is not as though the word of God has failed. Then what place does the word of God have in all of this? As those who would become a bit hyper in their views on those great doctrines which we discuss such as sovereignty and predestination and providence, those who would become a little hyper in their expression of those might then be led to assume, well, if God is sovereign, then there's nothing at all for man to do. Why should we go out and tell people of Christ because God's going to fix them anyway? If it's all up to God, then it's not up to me. And if I go out, I must be demonstrating a dependence upon man rather than God. It's God's work. Let's let God do it. All of that is of course an egregious error. Salvation is of God. The word of God goes out not impotent but powerful to save. Let's go to Romans chapter 10. The very first verse of Romans chapter 10 is Paul's plea brothers. My heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Paul here is witnessing the word to the people. Let's move down to verse 8. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith we proclaim. Here we have the proclamation of the word of faith because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Here Paul is proclaiming salvation. He's going if you profess it with your mouth, if you believe it in your heart that