Glen Bond Picayune Ms Sept 30, 2007 Subject : John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. The bible says that "you will not come" to Christ. Why? Mostly because you see no need of Christ. Every lost sinner is unaware of his need for salvation. Every sinner is blinded by Satan and thinks that his own righteousness will save him. You think that you are not that bad of a person. You think that you are OK. Then when you look at Christ and see from a worldly view what Christ is, you don't see anything that you want. Isaiah 52:2 he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. When you see all that God has to offer you, you have no desire for it. You don't want it. You see it from a distance, so to speak. You can't know what it is. When a lost sinner begins to see what he is by nature and the curse or judgement he is under, then Christ begins to have a great value to him. If the holy Spirit never comes into that sinners heart, never opens the blinded mind, never shows him that he has a great need, then that sinner will go on in his lost state and drop into an eternal Hell. Many will say, "Oh, I'm not that bad of a person, I don't think God will send me to Hell for the few little things that I have done. This is something that ONLY a lost and blinded sinner would say. I was lost and blinded and this is what I said. This is what I thought and believed. But let me tell you 2 things: 1 - I assure you that God WILL judge you and require payment for every little sin, no matter how small Even the few little sins that you see yourself to have made will be judged. 2 - You see that you have only a FEW little sins because you have not had your blinded mind opened. Therefore, you see yourself as a little sinner at most (insignificant in Gods sight) and see no need of a savior. he hath no form nor comeliness... no beauty that we should desire him. We see no need to seek the Lord, and by nature have no DESIRE to seek him. Every lost sinner has a totally depraved nature and will only chose the wrong way. Therefore, if you should think "I am going to seek the Lord", you will only seek him where he will not be found. In pride and self righteousness. You will never find him there. Your pride says "I don't need to beg for salvation". Your self righteousness says "I don't really need him any way, after all I only have a few insignificant sins". so then this verse has much meaning to it. John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I know this is true because I have come to see the truth in it. Now look at: John 16:7 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove (reprove, convict, convince,) the world (The inhabitants of the earth; the human race; mankind) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: MH: Convincing work is the Spirit's work; he can do it effectually, and none but he. The Spirit shall convince the world, of sin; not merely tell them of it (I can tell you of your sin, but I can not convince you of it). Without clear discovery of our guilt and danger, we never shall understand the value of Christ's salvation; but when brought to know ourselves aright [to see what we are], we begin to see the value of the Redeemer. Now look at these verses: John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: This is like a confirmation of John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Our Lord first tells us "Ye will not come..." then he tells us "No man can come..." The Lord knows the heart of a man. We are all the same in this respect. Lost, blind, totally depraved sinners. No man can come The Lord knows that if the Holy Spirit never opens the blinded mind of a sinner, never shows that sinner his need for Christ, then that sinner will NEVER come to Christ for salvation. You will not, you can not. Your pride and self righteousness will keep you from Christ. Do you believe Gods word? Do you believe that you can come to him and be saved? Do you think that you can come when ever you want? The bible tells us that you can not come to him unless he draws you. That does away with all of the decision ism that is in so many churches today. I have seen where preachers tell someone "Pray this prayer earnestly and you are saved". "You have to be earnest" Well, you will be earnest before the Lord saves you, but he will never save you because you have prayed an earnest prayer. If you are never earnest in prayer, you will never be saved. Don't misunderstand me, God is sovereign, he saves whom he will, and he leaves whom he will. If the Lord never sends the Holy Spirit to awaken you out of your sleep of death, then you will die in your sins. Do you believe the Bible? I plead with you now, beg the Lord for help. Plead with him to save you. Now lets go back again... John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove (reprove, convict, convince,) the world (The inhabitants of the earth; the human race; mankind) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: The Holy Spirit is the only one who can convince of sin. MH: Convincing work is the Spirit's work; he can do it effectually, and none but he. The Spirit shall convince the world, of sin; not merely tell them of it (I can tell you of your sin, but I can not convince you of it). Without clear discovery of our guilt and danger, we never shall understand the value of Christ's salvation; but when brought to know ourselves aright, we begin to see the value of the Redeemer. When the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sin, then we see the guilt that we have and the danger that we are in because of that guilt. Sin must be paid for. No sinner will ever come to know what he is as a sinner without the work of the Hols Spirit. This is where the election of God comes into play. If you are not one of Gods elect, then the Holy Spirit will never come and do his work in you. John 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. This is the condition of every lost sinner. Blind, hard heart, not able to understand what a sinner you are. You say "Oh, then my going to Hell is Gods fault because he has blinded my eyes". No! You go to Hell for your sin. But God permits Satan to blind your eyes and confuse your understanding. This is Satans work and he does it well. 2 Corinthians 4:3 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost(those that die or perish - the unsaved): 4 In whom the god of this world (or this time, Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not (the faithless, infidel, un-believer), lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (they would believe and be saved). Many people think that Satan is a stupid devil, but he is not. They think they can make deals with him, or weasel out of being sent to Hell by Satan. Satan can not send anyone to Hell. He doesn't have that power. He is giong to Hell and he knows it. He just wants to take as many as possible with him. The Bible calls him a deceiver, and that is what he does. He keeps telling you lies, and keeps leading you away from God. Matt. 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.