I want to invite you to open your Bibles to John, chapter six. John, chapter six. We're going to do three particular messages as we kick off our fall together as a church. First one coming from John, chapter six. We're going to read just three verses. But as you'll see, there will be more than we can cover even in a message. So John chapter 6, verse 35. And as we read, let's remember this is God's very word. Verse 35. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. This is God's word. And Lord, we ask for your blessing on the preaching and the hearing of it today. Amen.
Well, a number of months ago, I was live on the radio for the first time. If you know this. We've had a radio show on our local Christian station, KLP for a number of years, but this was the first time I went in and was live on the station. And that was a new kind of terror for me, realizing that anything I said would be immediately broadcast to anyone with a radio in the city of El Paso. And it was like 4:30. So it was like everybody driving home and the radio host, Andy, who's a great guy, surprised me with a bunch of questions. I asked, do I need to prepare? And he was like, no, just, just come. It'll be easy. And once I got there, he starts, you know, starts asking me all these questions. He gave me a pop Bible quiz just to see how I would do, which is a pretty high stakes thing when you're a Bible teacher on the radio, right? But I remember most of all Andy's last question. This is what he often asks every guest that he interviews for 915Talk. And at the very end he goes, here's my question for you. If you could say one thing to the city of El Paso, if you could say one thing and have everybody in El Paso hear it, what would you say? Just one thing.
Now at the moment I just thought, oh my goodness, that's a huge question. And so I stumbled through something or other. I offered something. It's probably the gospel or something like that. But that, that question has kept working on me. If you could say one thing to the city of El Paso, what would it be? And I think finally, probably five Months too late, I have discovered what I think I would say. And it's this simple phrase, come and welcome to Jesus Christ. Come and welcome to Jesus Christ. Now, that is not an original phrase from me. In fact, it is a 347 year old phrase I found, found in a book by pastor and writer John Bunyan, who's the author of Pilgrim's Progress. I ran across this phrase in a book on my study break this summer and appropriately enough, it's in his little book titled Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ. And the book is, is an entire book specifically on John 6:37. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. The entire book, one phrase, one verse. And at first as I started the book, I thought, there's no way he's going to be able to come up with something for 20 chapters of this. And then by the time you get to the end of the book, you're like, man, I could probably go another five or ten chapters because of the way he uses that verse to show us the heart of God himself.
Which is why I think if I had a megaphone, if I had the ability to turn on all the radios in El Paso and broadcast one thing, it would be that phrase, come and welcome to Jesus Christ. And so the big idea that, the idea really that I believe God would have us as a church broadcast into our community is this, that the great need of every human heart, every human heart in our community and in the borderland is to be welcomed, to be called, to come, and to be welcomed to Jesus Christ.
So two very simple sections today. If you're a note taker, I'm not going to give you much to do today. The first phrase. Come. That's the first phrase. Come. Now we're going to walk through this little section with a few questions. The first question is why should we? Why should we come?
We hear the call of Jesus, come to me. Why should we come? Now notice the people Jesus is talking to and about in John 6. Notice why they've come to him. Jesus has just done earlier in the Gospel of John, a miracle of feeding 5,000 people with just a few loaves of bread. And as you can imagine, suddenly he's become very popular. Everybody is talking about this amazing man who fed the entire crowd and there was more than enough to go around. So they come to him, they actually seek him out. They come to him and say, sir, give us this bread. They want free and easy food.
6 · Expositional claim that Jesus identifies a deeper need beneath the crowd's surface request — their true hunger is for God himself
But Jesus sees these people coming to him. And he sees that underneath neath the surface level of having another meal, they have a deeper need. He sees that underneath their hunger, there is a deeper spiritual hunger. Underneath their thirst, there is a deeper spiritual thirst. And so what does he say? What. What is that need underneath our need? What is that longing underneath all of our longings? Well, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. He says, I am what you need. He says that God himself is the longing of every human heart.
7 · Theological grounding tracing the longing for God back to creation and the fall — humanity was made for God but broke relationship in Genesis 3 and has been searching ever since
Now, this goes all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. The Bible shows us that in the beginning, human beings were made to know God, to relate to God, and to be fulfilled in relationship with God. But humanity chose to look elsewhere. They chose to look beyond the Lord for their satisfaction, thereby breaking relationship with God and losing the very thing they were made for. That's the tragedy of Genesis chapter three. And ever since, humanity has been restlessly searching for what they've lost.
8 · Illustration from Chesterton and scripture showing that all human searching — even in sinful places — is ultimately a search for God, the fountain we've forsaken for broken cisterns
Author G.K. chesterton has said famously that every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for something he's lost. And the context of his work, what he means. That thing that's lost is God himself. So it's often sort of phrased, every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God. He's looking for the relationship that he has lost. And the prophet Jeremiah gives us this vivid picture in Jeremiah 2:13 of. Of humanity. And God says to. To. To you, to his people. You have forsaken me, the fountain of living water. And you have hewn for yourself. Cisterns or pots, Right? Broken cisterns that can hold no water.
9 · Contemporary illustration from Jim Carrey showing that even achieving worldly dreams reveals they cannot satisfy without God
And in that we see the dilemma of all humanity. We have the fountain of living water, which we've turned away from and gone after these broken jars that hold nothing. Here's the reality, friends. No relationship, no affair, no bank account balance, no achievement, no comfort, no pleasure will ever be enough without the bread of life, without God himself. In 2005, actor Jim Carrey, at the height of his fame, said, I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so that they can see it's not the answer you got. You find this guy at the very peak of life going, yeah, it ain't up here. It's not here.
10 · Theological conclusion answering the question 'why come?' — because everything else is empty, and coming to Christ begins with recognizing that what we seek is not found anywhere else
Look. So. So when Jesus says, come to me. When Jesus calls the world to come, why does he do that? Why should we come? Because everything else around us is dust and air. Because where we are, it's not there. Whether we're at the peak of fame or Wherever we are, wherever you were sitting today, it's. It's not going to be found there. That longing underneath your longing, that hunger and thirst underneath your hunger and thirst. It's not going to be satisfied in anything else around. And so, so coming to Christ first begins with the conviction, it's not here. It must be somewhere else.
11 · Transition from the question 'why come?' to 'come where?' — pointing to Jesus himself as the destination
So second question. Come where then? Leave here, but come where? Jesus says, I am the bread of life. Come to me.
12 · Expositional survey of Jesus's 'I am' statements in John's gospel, showing how each statement answers a fundamental human longing
Now. The writer, John, one of the apostles writing this gospel, artfully matches a couple things in the Gospel. He. He matches the Jesus I am statements to his miracles to illustrate what Jesus is meant to do in this world. So, so think about the I am statements and, and how they get at those deep longings that we have. We see the first one here in John 6, I am the bread of life, right? It illustrates and, and meets our hunger for sustenance, our hunger for, for our very souls to be satisfied. In John 8, Jesus says, I am the light of the world that answers our longing for. For somebody to turn the lights on for us, for us to know where to go in life, to know where we are. We to. To look for a source of truth that we can hold on to. In John 10, Jesus says, I am the door of the sheep. And that answers our longing for a place of safety, a place of security in a world filled with dangers. In John 10, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd answering our longing for a companion, a protector, a provider who will go through life with us. And then in John 11, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life, answering our longing for that our great enemy, death, be defeated and new life be found somewhere.
13 · Transitional claim connecting the 'I am' statements to the significance of the two titles 'Jesus Christ
Why do we come to Jesus? Because he meets every deep, rather deepest longing of our souls. And all those things, all those things are found very quickly in the two titles we so often flippantly use, Jesus Christ.
14 · Personal anecdote illustrating a common misunderstanding of 'Jesus Christ' as merely a name rather than two titles with profound meaning
Now, I have a confession. I grew up in kids ministry at this church, and despite the best efforts of our teachers here, I assumed that just like my name is Ricky Alcantad, Jesus Christ was like his name. And I'm an Alcantad. He's a Christ. You know, I'm from the big Alcantad family. He goes to the Christ family reunions. I just assume that's just. That's his last name, right? And then finally one of the teachers is like, that's not his last name, Ricky. And. Oh, okay.
15 · Expositional explanation that 'Jesus' means Savior, establishing Jesus as the one we come to for rescue and restoration
And often we say those phrases, especially in the city of El Paso, right? That. That stuff is everywhere. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. But those two Titles point us to him as our deepest longing. That first name, Jesus isn't just his name. It's, it's, in a sense, it becomes his title. He lives the fulfillment of that name. That word Jesus means God saves or Savior. So we first come to Jesus as the Savior. We know that the world is not what it should be. We know we are not what we should be. Therefore, we come to Jesus the Savior, the fixer, the restorer, the rescuer.
16 · Expositional grounding of Jesus as Savior in his work on the cross — his body torn, his life snuffed out, experiencing death and wrath to save his people
And we know this about Jesus because John 6 gives us Jesus headed to Jerusalem, headed to the cross. And the Gospel of John lays out that, that as the Savior, Jesus goes to the cross and his body is torn like bread. His life is snuffed out into darkness. He is cast outside the fold. He will experience all that death has for him in addition to the wrath of God. And he will do all of that to save, to save his people.
17 · Expositional claim that Christ means King/Messiah, and that Jesus's 'I am' statements intentionally echo God's self-revelation in the Old Testament, identifying Jesus as God himself
All that happens to him happens in the place of his people that he might call us. Come to me. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I'm the door of the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. He is the Savior, but he is also the Christ. That word means Messiah or king, meaning Jesus is no mere savior. He is also the King. And all those I am statements, Jesus very intentionally is referencing the burning bush and the language of the Old Testament. I am who I am, he's saying, I am God himself. I am your maker, I am your sustainer. I am who I am. He says, come to me the burning bush, the mountain of fire, the God who made you. And so we see in those two things Jesus Christ, the Savior, the King. That's who's calling us to come. We're called out of the world, but we're called to the Savior and to the the King.
18 · Pastoral observation on the tragedy of people coming to Jesus for the wrong reasons, missing the deeper need he came to meet
And yet the sad part is Jesus is there in the midst of these people and they are coming him, coming to him for something else. And Jesus is saying, you need me, but not for the reason you think you need me on a deeper level than you even know now.
19 · Personal medical story illustrating how the doctor identified a deeper need (water/hydration) beneath the surface symptom (kidney pain) — paralleling Jesus seeing deeper spiritual needs beneath surface requests
A number of years ago, I was at our, at the Pastors College, which is a pastoral training program our family of churches has. And I started to get this occasional sporadic and then consistent pain in my side. And I just thought, this is so weird. I've never had this before. And so I'm like, you know, trying to wake, you know, I'm thinking maybe I'm sitting too much. I'm getting up and moving around more. Finally it just keeps going. So I finally just end up saying, you know, I'm just gonna go to the doctor. I just don't want to worry about this. Let's see what the doctor says. So, you know, they do a full workup. They do an exam, and they start asking me about my diet and exercise and all that stuff. And. And I don't remember exactly the details, but this was the gist of the conversation. They asked me, okay, so what do you normally drink? And I said, coffee. And they're. How much coffee do you normally drink? And I said something like, all of it. All the coffee, however much is available. And they're like, okay, you can see their eyebrows went up. So they write some notes. And how much water do you normally drink? And I was like, water? Doesn't the coffee have water in it? And so, you know, they close their little exam book, and the doctor goes, okay, I think I understand what's happening here. That pain in your side, your kidneys are hurting. I was like, what do you mean? I was like, okay, like a small child, he explained to me, your kidney. Kidneys are designed to function with a certain amount of water. Okay? If you don't drink water, not the water, coffee, but the water, you're going to shut down your kidneys. I was like, oh, man. Okay, that would definitely explain some of the pain I'm experiencing. And. And it was like. It was funny. He. He's going, okay, you're coming to me wondering, how do you get rid of this pain in your side? But he saw a need underneath that need. He saw the need for water.
20 · Application of the medical illustration to Jesus's work in John 6 — he identifies the deeper spiritual need beneath the surface request
And that's what Jesus is doing. Jesus is going to all these people saying, okay, hey, you want a next meal? You want a refreshing drink? No, you have a way deeper need. You were designed to live for something. And with something. You need a savior and you need a king, and I am that which you seek. That is what Jesus is saying.
21 · Direct application challenging the congregation to assess whether they view Jesus as optional convenience or essential necessity
So here's my question for you. Do you see Jesus as optional or essential in your life? Do you see Jesus as. When I get a chance, I spend time with him. If I don't have something going, then I'll seek him out. When I have a free morning, I might open my Bible. If nothing's going on that weekend, I might spend time with. With him. Or do you see I will die without him? If he is not my savior, I am gone. If he is not my king, I am gone. All that I seek is found in Him. All the longings in my heart point to him. That's why we come to him.
22 · Transition to the third question — who can come? — with expositional observation of the inclusive language in John 6
And then. And then. Here's the key question though. Who can come? Who is this offer for? Notice the language in John 6. I wish we had time to go through all of this in detail. Who can come? Look at the language here. Whoever comes to me. Whoever believes in me. All that the Father draws. Whoever. Whoever. Anyone. All.
23 · Theological claim establishing the radical openness of the gospel invitation — anyone who will come can come, without pre-qualification, based on God's welcome not human merit
But here is the invitation. Anyone who will come can come to Christ. This is not by invitation only. This is no pre qualification analysis. This is no. You apply for the credit card and they say, sorry, your credit score is not good enough. This is all who will come to Jesus. He will offer himself to. And this is not a new offer from God. It's not as though, okay, Jesus is the nice version of God in the New Testament. The Old God in the Old Testament. He's so grumpy. No, listen to Isaiah 55, the prophet Isaiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord says this, come and everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come buy and eat. Who can come? Not those with money. Who can come? The thirsty, who will come. The hungry, who will come. And this invitation is through the whole Bible. It ends in Revelation 22. At the very last chapter of the Bible, we hear this. The Spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price. The invitation is for all who will come, not on the basis of who we are, but on the basis of the inviter welcoming us.
24 · Alistair Begg's illustration of the thief on the cross showing that entrance to heaven is based solely on Christ's invitation, not on religious qualifications or personal merit
I love. I can't improve upon this. I love Alistair Begg's wonderful illustration, you probably heard it, of the thief on the cross arriving to the gate of heaven. And the angel at the gate begins to ask questions of this thief on the cross. And he's asking him questions like, so how often did you go to Bible study? And the thief on the cross is like, nope, no Bible study. Have you been baptized at least? Nope, never been baptized. What theology books have you read? None. Well, son, do you. Do you know the doctrine of justification by faith? No. Do you know the doctrine of scripture at least? No. And finally, you know Alistair Beggar, he does it so much, he just builds it up, builds it up. And so finally the angel asks him, okay, son, on what basis are you here? And the thief answers, the man on the middle cross said, I could come. And the angel says, welcome, welcome. Right? What? On what basis does this man enter? On the same basis, any who come to Christ enter the man on the Middle cross says, come, come all who are weary, come all who thirst, come all who are hungry. And all that will come, he welcomes.
25 · Direct evangelistic appeal to unbelievers, using extended quotation from Bunyan to answer every objection with Christ's promise never to cast out any who come
Oh, friend, look, if you are here today and you do not know Christ, this is for you. This is a divine appointment for you today. God meant for you to be here today because he is calling out to. To you. Come, friend, come, sinner. And you're. You're. You're saying okay, but, but, but, but you don't know me. This offer can't apply to me. I want you to listen to John Bunyan here, okay? But I am a great sinner, say you? I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I'm an old sinner, say you. I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I'm a hard hearted sinner, say you. I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I'm a. I'm a backsliding sinner, will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I have served Satan all my day, say you. I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I have sinned against light, say you. But I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I've sinned against mercy, say you. I will in no way cast out, says Christ. But I have no good thing to bring with me, say you. I will in no way cast out, says Christ.
26 · Evangelistic charge calling unbelievers to come to Christ, confessing him as Savior and Lord
Look, friend, if you are here today, come. Come to him. You who have no money, come to him. You are thirsty, come to him. Confess him as savior and Lord and come.
27 · Application to believers reminding them of the radical nature of their own salvation — they came with nothing, welcomed only because Christ said they could come
And for those of us who are Christians, let us remember the radical nature of this gospel invitation. This. This is the offer for all of us. And it should land us on us in a couple ways. One, let us remember how we came here. No good thing did we bring with us. No basis could we offer the angel at the gate of heaven by which we might be lent brought in other than the man on the middle cross said we could come. He did it all as savior and king and Christians.
28 · Theological claim that the invitation to come to Christ is not a one-time event but the ongoing posture of the Christian life — we continue coming to Christ daily
The offer, the offer still stands for us. We do not come to Christ once in salvation and then after that we go off to processing and never see him again. Right after that he, you know, like getting a diploma at utep, you get to shake the president's hand. I've never met the President. I've never seen the president. Never saw her again after that. She shook my hand, gave me the diploma. And sometimes we think, well, that's my relationship to Jesus. I get saved, he shakes my hand, welcome to salvation. And then you're off. No no, no. This. This is every day, friend. This is every week. This is our lives. Come to me, all who are heavy laden, come to me. I am the bread of life. Come to me. I'm the thing you're thirsty for. Come to me. When you have no money, when you've messed up again, when you are blacksliding slender, Come to me. He says again, that's the first word. You see why Bunyan's book takes so long? That's just the first word. Come.
29 · Transition to the second major section (welcome) addressing the question of how God feels about us when we come — confronting the lie that God reluctantly accepts us
Second, welcome. When we come to him, how are we received? How does God really feel about us when we come? Because I think maybe you're like me. There is a small voice in my head that says things like this, but God doesn't really like you. But God accepts you, albeit reluctant. Someone is twisting God's arm to accept you. The. The circumstances required God to welcome you or to give that invitation, and you responded. But he's not particularly happy about it. How does God really feel about you, friend?
30 · Structural signpost announcing two sub-questions within the 'welcome' section: how the Father welcomes us, and how the Son welcomes us
Just two questions we'll ask here. First, how does the Father welcome us? How does the Father welcome us? And the second question is going to be, how does the Son welcome us? But first, how does the Father welcome us?
31 · Expositional claim that John 6:37 implies the Father's active role in drawing people to Christ — we come because the Father gives us to the Son
Look at verse 37. All that the Father gives me will come to me. Do you see the implication in that phrase? The implication is we come because the Father gives us. Because the Father has gone out and gotten us, because the Father has brought us.
32 · Extended quotation from Bunyan showing that the Father's power overcomes every obstacle that might prevent someone from coming to Christ
And in Bunyan's little book, he goes through all the objections people make. Like, okay, this offer of salvation might be there, but. But you don't know what I have holding me back. And Bunyan contrasts it, okay, well, here's the obstacles. And then he contrasts it against the Father's ability to go out and grab you. And I can't. You just got to read the whole book. But, but. Here are some of the objections. Somebody might say, but I'm dead in my sins. Bunyan says, by the Father's power you will come. But I'm a captive of Satan, in chains and bound. By the Father's power you will come. But I'm blind and I can't see the way to go. By the Father's power you will come. But. But you don't know me. I was the ringleader of sinners. Well, by the Father's power you will come. But I don't have enough faith. By the Father's power, you will come. But the world grasps on me and argues with me. By the Father's power, you will come.
33 · Spurgeon's illustration of the door of salvation showing the paradox of free offer and sovereign election — from outside we see 'come all who will,' from inside we discover 'chosen before the foundation of the world
The Father, friend, if you are in Christ, has gone out and gotten you and drawn you and brought you and given you. We think, okay, this is just a cattle call offer. And I was a lucky one that happened to respond. No, Spurgeon has this great picture that there is a door of salvation, right, that we see from this side. And the door of salvation says, come all who will. Right? Come all who are heavy laden. Come all who are thirsty. Come all who want the water of life. And we see the offer and we walk through the door only to discover on the other side of the door there is a different phrase chosen in him before the foundation of the world. So from this side of the door, all we can see is the open offer. But when we walk through, we discover it was the Father's purpose all along to draw us, that he was the one that went out and got us and brought us and gave us.
34 · Direct application of the Father's pursuit to individual believers — God went after you specifically, wherever you were
Friend, do you see that it wasn't a cattle call. He went after you. He went after you wherever you were in life. A ringleader of sinners, hard hearted, secret sins, all of it, little faith, mocking God. He went after you. He went after you.
35 · Rhetorical question establishing that the Father's pursuit proves his desire to welcome us — if he went after us, how can we doubt his joy in receiving us?
Does the Father really want you with him? He went and got you. How will he not now welcome and rejoice over you?
36 · Contemporary historical example of a massive search for a missing child in Australia, culminating in the mother's declaration 'our family is whole again' upon reunion
On October 16, 2021, a little four year old child went missing from a remote campsite in Western Australia. It launched one of the largest searches in Australian history, coordinating police and volunteers in nearby towns, across rugged and dangerous terrain. And eight, 18 days later, the child was located and brought to her parents. And when they embraced her, the mother said, our family is whole again.
37 · Application of the Australian search story to God's heart — if an earthly family would welcome their found child with such joy, how much more does the Father rejoice over those he has sought and brought home?
Do you not think the family that launched this search for this little girl at the expense of time and effort, desperation. Do you not think this family would welcome them? Of course they would. Would the family bring the little girl home and go, well, you stay over there, little girl. Why did you wander off, little girl? Now, the mother said, our family's whole again. Such, friend, here, here. This. Such is the heart of the Father for you. He went and sought you. He went after you. Do you not think you will find him like in Zephaniah, rejoicing over you having come home? That's how the Father feels about you. That's how the Father feels about you. He overcame your objections and your weaknesses and brought you to himself and to the son.
38 · Transition from the Father's welcome to the Son's welcome, pivoting to the second part of the 'welcome' section
Second, how does the Son welcome us? That's the Father. How does the Son welcome us?
39 · Expositional observation that 'I will never cast out' in John 6:37 is emphatic language — stronger than the English suggests, ruling out any possibility of rejection
All that the Father gives me will come to me. And here's the Son. And Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. It is one thing to be invited to a party, only to have the host forget about you and leave you talking to their weird friends in the corner. If that has ever happened to you. Maybe it's just me, right? Come to my party. Awesome. You'll know people. Great. You show up, there's nobody there, the host is busy, and there's one weird guy and you're just like, great, right? Is that what salvation is like? No. Look at the language. I will never cast out. The language here is. Is more emphatic than the English. I will in no way or by no means cast out.
40 · Theological claim that the Son's welcome is not a one-time event but a continuous posture — once welcomed, continually welcomed, continually rejoiced over
Once welcomed. Here's what I want you to hear. Once welcomed, we are continually welcomed. Once brought in, we are continually rejoiced over. Look, there is nothing Jesus says in heaven or earth that will cause him to rethink his decision or cause us to not be welcomed in his presence.
41 · Extended quotation from Dane Ortlund establishing that Christ's welcome is secured by his finished work and flows from his unchanging heart — we are permanent residents, not tenants, in Christ's affections
Dane Ortland says it this way. I can't improve on this either. Have you considered what is true of you? If you are in Christ? In order for you to fall short of loving embrace into the heart of Christ, both now and into eternity, Christ himself would have to be pulled down out of heaven and put back in the grave. His death and resurrection make it just for Christ to never cast out his own, no matter how often they fall. But animating this work of Christ is the heart of Christ. He cannot bear to part with his own, even when they most deserve to be forsaken. But. But I, you say, raise your objections. None can threaten these invisible words. Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Listen to this. For those united to Him. The heart of Christ is not a rental. It is your permanent residence. You are not a tenant. You are a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb. His heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort. Whatever our present spiritual accomplishments, it is. Listen. It is who he is. Whoever comes, I will in no way buy no means for any reason ever cast out. That is the welcome of God.
42 · Direct application challenging the congregation to see Christ's welcome not as a one-time event but as his ongoing posture and inclination toward them
For you, do you see the heart of Christ? For you, do you see the wel. Here's my question. For you, do you see the welcome of Christ as an event in your life or as the posture of Christ toward you? Do you see it as him shaking your hand as you enter the door of salvation? Or do you see it as his vision very inclination toward you, such as the heart of Christ?
43 · Structural transition announcing the sermon's concluding section — three personal applications followed by three city/church applications
Now, very briefly want to just offer some personal and church applications Here. Okay? Three personal applications, three city applications, if I could say it that way.
44 · First personal application: if you believe the gospel, you will rest in the Lord rather than live in constant striving and anxiety
First application. Personally, if you believe this, come and rest in the Lord. As I've thought and prayed about this, guys, I just think so many of us live with a constant restlessness in our relationship with God. A constant striving, a constant anxiety, a constant fear. Look, if the presence of God is not refreshing and comforting to you, but let me offer this. I don't think you fully believe this yet. I don't think you fully believe Jesus yet. Come and rest in the Lord.
45 · Second personal application: if you believe Jesus is enough, stop looking elsewhere — sin is the futile search for satisfaction in empty things
Second, if you believe this, stop looking elsewhere, friends. What is sin? What is sin? But saying it's not enough, I must look elsewhere, right? Sin is just us going, it's not enough. The fountain of living water is not enough. Maybe this next broken cistern will hold some water. Look, the reason that we turn away from those things is not just that they displease the Lord, though they do. It's that they're empty. Utterly empty. It is me guzzling the second gallon of coffee, thinking that it will solve my kidney problems. And yet we do it so often. Another thing, another hobby, another hit. If you believe this, stop looking elsewhere.
46 · Third personal application: if you believe this, your schedule and rhythms will change to prioritize being in God's presence — the thing your soul was made for
And third, if you believe this, it will change your schedule and your rhythms. This is where we get all the way down into the practicals of life. If we have been welcomed to Christ, we should be at his house often, and we should be in his presence often, because it is the thing that we were made for. Look, the other day I. I saw essentially a. A pastor trying to. You know, I don't understand what he's trying to do, but. But trying to basically convince the church he's leading that, okay, just adding one more night on your calendar for this new thing we're starting. It's not. It's not enough. You can integrate it. It's going to be. You know, we. There are ways we can make this easy. And. Look, I get it. I understand. We. We gotta, like, do some of that sometimes. But. But as I watched that and as I read this, I just thought. I think we're going about this totally wrong. I think the reality is there's living water there. Do you want it? There's living water here. Church. Do you want it? There is living water in the presence of God. Do you want it? The very thing that your soul was made for is being offered. Do you want that? And if so, it should. It should re. Change. Change some of our rhythms daily, weekly, monthly, annually, should change the way we live. That's the call Third. Oh, sorry. That is third.
47 · Transition from personal applications to city/church applications
Now the city application, okay? This is where we go from personal to city application.
48 · First city application: the greatest need of El Paso is Jesus Christ — underneath all the city's social problems is the deeper spiritual need for God
If we believe this, the greatest need of our city is Jesus Christ. Look, our city has obvious needs at times. It has areas of deep poverty. It has an epidemic of fatherlessness we've talked about. It has promiscuity, it has substance abuse. It has less obvious needs like materialism causing people to drown in debt and trails of broken marriages. Right? We should. We should look at that and we should go, man, I want to help. I want to help here, I want to help there. I want to help with poverty. I want to help with that broken marriage. Marriage. We want to help with all those things. But underneath all the needs of our city, there is a deeper need underneath those needs, and we should go. I know what you need. It is Jesus, right? It's not the fourth gallon of coffee, It's Jesus. It's not the next broken cistern, it's Jesus every time somebody drowns in debt. I think Chester did a few live live would say this. Every time somebody spends endless time scrolling or drowning in debt or having another affair, it is because they are looking for God. And we know where to find him. We know where to find them.
49 · Second city application: the church's task is not to save anyone but to invite and welcome — we should excel at being the best inviters and welcomers in the city
Second, if we believe this, our task is not to save anyone, but to invite and welcome, Right? This is where we get to take the pressure off of ourselves, right? We can't save anyone. Can I save that person or this person? No. Can you? No, we can't save anybody. But what we can do is invite them to Christ. What we can do is offer the offer of Christ to them through us. And then we can welcome them to Christ. We can be a loving home for them. Look, we should be the best inviters in the city. The best welcomers in the city. Look, there's a bunch of stuff across the Grace. We don't do well. They're probably not ever going to do well. But here's one thing we can do really, really well. Invite and welcome sinners to Jesus Christ. If we do that, man, everything else, it's fine.
50 · Third city application: the church must always have room for one more — we cannot claim our lives are too full to invite and welcome others when Christ has welcomed us
Third, if we believe this, we must always have room for one more. Always room for one more. In. In life. There's always a subtle move to my life is full, my schedule's full, my hands are full, and us to go. I don't have room in my life to invite or welcome anyone else. And. And yet, friends, that's what the Lord has done for us. And so how can we not then go and be an extension of the welcome to Christ to others.
51 · Transition to two closing items: explaining the church's new icon and asking for prayer for a building project
Now, I want to do a couple things. I'm going to just illustrate this at the very end. Two things. I want to show you our new icon and just explain why we're doing that, because I want it to be full of meaning. And then second, I just want to ask you to pray for our next project.
52 · Explanation of the church's new icon featuring open doors with a cross, symbolizing the welcome extended to the city and the fact that we enter only through Christ's cross
So first thing is, I want to show you our new icon. Okay? This is the new icon. This is what you'll see all over the place. And the reason we went with this is we wanted the doors to be the first thing people see as an extension of the welcome in Christ to the city around us. And here's the thing I love about the person that did the original artwork for our door is just a brilliant person, because do you notice this? The cross is the means by which we enter. And it's a sign and symbol that there is no one out there who's going, but I'm not good enough. But you don't know what I've done in my life. But I have no good thing to bring with me. I'm not sure I have enough faith, friend. We enter not on the basis of our works, on the basis of our Bible studies, on the basis of knowing the doctrine of justification by faith backwards and forwards. We. We enter because the man on this cross said we could come and made a way for us. And so, friends, I just want you to. Every time we see this, I just want this to be like a little reminder. That is our hope for the city of El Paso. Come and welcome to Jesus Christ.
53 · Call to prayer for the church's building project — undertaken not for comfort but to make room for more people to hear the invitation to come and welcome to Jesus Christ, even if it costs convenience
And second, I want to ask you to pray. If you were at the members meeting last weekend, if you remember, you can get those notes. But one of the things that we laid out was a risky undertaking, a bold undertaking of exploring building a larger auditorium on our property. And as we looked at it, there are times I want to admit. Okay, but I think we're. I think we're fine. Let's just stop inviting people. You know, I mean, if you guys stopped inviting people and we shut down the website, I think we'd be okay. We could just be here, happy forever. It's gonna be very expensive. It's gonna take a lot of work. It's gonna be, you know, it's gonna do all these things. But, friends, one of the reasons we're undertaking things like that, one of the reasons that I am determined that even though God has brought us, you know, more people than we ever thought we'd have, one of the reasons I'm so determined to keep inviting Is. Is this. This welcome in Jesus Christ needs to be extended to all the sinners in the community of El Paso. And the reality is this, if this city came to Christ, we wouldn't have enough churches. There are more people out there than there are seats in here or all the churches of our city. So, friends, we want to go. Okay, come, Come and welcome to Jesus Christ. Even if it's expensive, even if it's tough, even if we got to make room, even if somebody walks in and takes your favorite spot. I've seen you guys, right? Somebody on the Owen will sit in your spot, and you're like, okay, it doesn't have my name on it, but that was kind of my spot. And that the person greets you and they're like, hey, I'm new here. And you're like, yeah, I bet you are, right? And you're going to, like, not tell them about the donuts and, you know, so you can get your seat back. No, friends, this is what we want.
54 · Closing quotation from Spurgeon celebrating the reality that Christ receives us despite all our brokenness and inadequacy, calling the congregation to come again to the one who never casts out
I'm going to end with this from Spurgeon. This is what we want to be about. We come to him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, small knowledge, and slender hope. But still he does not cast us out. We come by prayer, and those prayers are broken. We come with confession, and that confession is faulty. We come with praise, and that praise falls far short of his merits. And yet he receives us. We come diseased, polluted, worn out and worthless, but still he does not cast us out. Let us come again today to him who never casts out. Amen.
55 · Closing prayer asking God to draw unbelievers to Christ and asking that the church would faithfully invite and welcome sinners just as they have been welcomed
Would you stand and let's pray. Oh, Lord, I first pray for any who are here that need the invitation of Christ extended to them today. May they come. May they come. And I pray for our church, Lord, that we would be, with all of our faults and failures, that we would do a few things well and a few things faithfully. And that maybe the chief among those things be inviting and welcoming sinners to Jesus Christ, just the way that we have been invited and welcomed. May the doors of our church always be open in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.