Power That Draws 1985

A man who prepared a great banquet, and invited many, and then sent his servants out to tell those who were invited, okay, come, for all is now ready, was perhaps disappointed when they came back and reported, nobody's coming. One guy says he's getting married, somebody else has bought some land he has to look at, somebody else has to check out these oxen he bought. Well, I say he may have been disappointed, but he wasn't discouraged.

He didn't get depressed for three weeks, he didn't fly into a panic and say, now what am I going to do? I spent all this money for this food, and I got this great big hall rented out in Cobo Hall, and nobody's coming. Because he knew that his banquet hall was going to be filled. So, the ones who were invited say, no, okay, we'll bring in others, but we will fill that hall.

There was never the slightest doubt in his mind that every seat in the place would be occupied, and every scrap of food would be consumed. However, when we're involved in this banquet, we're the ones going out with a message, come, for all is now ready, and people start saying to us, I'm sorry, I can't come, I got this to do, and I got that to do. We are inclined to become quite upset.

We panic, and we say, now what are we going to do? You know, what's going to happen to all the food? Think of the money we spent to rent the hall. And we have to understand that there is absolutely no need for panic. People will come, and it's really not our problem at all to make them come.

They will come. If these won't come, those will, but we will have them. They will be drawn.

Reading from John chapter 12, starting at verse 31, Jesus is speaking, now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men, I will draw all men to myself. This he said to show by what death he was to die. When Jesus sent his followers out to make disciples of all nations, there wasn't the slightest doubt in his mind that the disciples were there to be made.

He gave them no instructions about how to break through indifference, how to get people's attention, how to draw a crowd, because he knew that people would be drawn. That was never an issue for him. People would be drawn, they would come, and that's how it was.

From the day of Pentecost on, wherever the apostles went, these believers, wherever they went, people were drawn. We never see them sitting down, scratching their heads, and trying to figure out with their evangelism committee how we're going to get them in, how we're going to drum up business, how can we lure them? That was no problem for them at all. People were drawn as if they were being drawn by a magnet.

It was almost as if they could not help themselves. People came. Now, they didn't all come to faith, but they were all absolutely confronted by a living word that had an effect, an eternal effect on their lives.

Then why is it that we so often seem to think that our primary challenge is to wake people up and attract their attention and draw them, that somehow our big problem is to get through people's indifference? That's not our problem. We have to understand that drawing people to the kingdom of God is God's business, and they will be drawn. They will come.

If we abide in Jesus and his spirit abides in us, they will come. And even if this has not been our experience up to now, even if we feel we've met with much failure and much defeat, the time has come for us to see that this is how it works, that they will be drawn. God will draw them.

If we let the light shine, people will come to the light. If we lower the net into the sea, the fish will come into the net. If we live and speak this word we've been given, people will be drawn to the light of God.

It's time for us to see that this absolutely is so, that this works without any exception. Reading again from our little passage we've been in since the first of the year, but now we're going to read in Isaiah 60, not just the first three verses, but through to verse six this time, at least for a change, a little something different. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the people, but the Lord will arise upon you and his glory will be seen upon you and nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about and see they all gather together. They come to you.

Here they come, they're coming. Your sons shall come from far and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see and be radiant.

Your heart shall thrill and rejoice because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you and the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you. The young camels of Midian and Ephah, all those of Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. Now, here's a picture of Zion being almost engulfed by multitudes of people coming from every direction. The new Jerusalem.

And at the center of this picture is the Messiah. The Lord shall arise upon you, that's the Messiah, and his glory shall be seen upon you, that's the Messiah. And that's how it was.

When he was born, the shepherds were drawn. Wise men came from the far away east to see and worship him. Then there was a period of 30 years of almost total obscurity, nothing.

The age of 30, it's as if the Lord God, the father says, arise, shine for your light has come. Now's the time he gets up, goes down to the Jordan River, gets baptized, disappears into the wilderness for more than a month. And when he comes out to the consternation of his friends in Nazareth and to the complete baffling of his family, this unknown, obscure, quiet carpenter starts traveling around Israel and everywhere he goes, people are drawn to him.

They drop what they're doing and they come to listen to what he has to say and to see the signs of the kingdom. As an example, we see Jesus traveling from Judea to Galilee and Galilee to Judea without going around, as everybody else did, Samaria, goes right through Samaria, these people who don't like Jews and Jews don't like them. He's sitting at the well.

The disciples have gone into the village to buy food. Nobody's in sight. But it's as if he's waiting for an appointment.

I mean, he doesn't put up a sign, he doesn't advertise, and pretty soon here comes this woman of Samaria. She thinks she has come to draw water. But the truth is, this woman has come to keep an appointment that she doesn't even know about.

And in a matter of a few minutes, it becomes very obvious that she has been drawn by a wonderful power. She drops her jar right there. She leaves it there and runs back into the village.

Come and see a man who told me all I ever did is not this the Messiah. Pretty soon the whole village comes, it's being drawn. Now the disciples are back with Jesus and he says to them, you think it's four months until harvest time.

Look over there. Here it comes. That's the harvest.

I sent you to harvest that on which you bestowed no labor. Others have labored and you've added it to their labor. You didn't draw those people, but here they come.

And pretty soon they're gathered around Jesus, drinking in his word, they were drawn. Jesus never used any gimmicks to get them to come and give them prizes. They're not for the rewards.

You know, no gold belt stamps, no silver stars in the middle of their forehead. The word that he spoke was all it was needed and they came. Because his life had come, the glory of the Lord had risen upon him and nations came to his life, kings to the brightness of his rising.

When they came, Jesus had a word for people. Right from heaven. A word so clear and so strong that one of two things happened to the people who heard they were either drawn all the way into the kingdom or they were driven away, offended and angry.

But even those who walked away, offended by the word they heard from Jesus were never the same again. They knew that they had seen the light and that they had turned away from the light. Now, the time has come for us to understand, see that if we see this and enter into this, we won't have to be wasting so much of our energy figuring out how to draw.

How to get through their indifference, how to make them come into our churches, that's not our problem. And we'll be able to concentrate rather on being sure we have a clear word for the ones who come, they will come. And our responsibility is to have a word for them so clear that they will either be drawn into the kingdom or damned by that word.

Peter, Peter, fishing all night long, every time he lowers the net, the fish go. It's like they're driven away. Now, Jesus says, all right, Peter, lower your net.

And without much in the way of expectation and obedience, he lowers the net, and this time it's like the fish are falling all over each other to get into that net. They can't stay away. They must come.

And notice, Peter doesn't throw any bait down there. He doesn't hypnotize the fish. He just lowers the net and then they come.

And this mystery went with Peter the rest of his days, everywhere Peter went, people came to hear this word, which was burning in his heart. And so it is meant to be for us. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out and I when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all men to myself.

He said this to show by what death he was to die. Now, the fulfillment of these words. Will be when every man, woman and child that has ever been born on this earth will have had the opportunity to stand before that glorious land as if it had been slain, the land who was slain.

And we'll see precisely what happened there and we'll hear the voice of the Lord saying this is for you receive my forgiveness, come into my life. Then the only sin left. That isn't covered by his blood, every other sin will be under the blood, it doesn't matter what they've done or what we've done, the only sin left will be the sin of turning that away, rejecting it, and that will be the sin that damns them or us, the only sin that damns.

Now, the power that draws people to that moment. That power is already at work in this world. That's the power that brings us together and holds us together, is really the only thing we have in common here, nothing else.

If we open our lives to that power. If we yield ourselves to it, we become vessels by which this drawing power of God brings others to the light. Then the glory of the Lord rises upon us and is seen upon us and nations are drawn to our life, kings to the brightness of our rising.

If we yield ourselves to this glory of the land that comes to us and draws us pretty soon, we become the means by which others are drawn. And this takes place if we yield ourselves. To this light, according to four principles.

Principle number one. Let your life shine. And they'll come to your life.

Simple, we know it by heart, let's read it again from Matthew 514, you are the light of the world, the city set on a hill cannot be hit, nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works. We're not talking about salvation by works, but we're saying when you're safe, they better see them.

And give glory to your father who is in heaven. What are these good works that are described specifically by our Lord in Matthew five, six and seven, the Sermon on the Mount? We talked about it last Wednesday night, we'll be talking about it again this Wednesday and probably the next Wednesday, but you don't have to come unless we're drawn. But study it yourself.

Look at it. Look at the Sermon on the Mount and you will see that the good works that will draw people to the light are ticked right off by our Lord one after another. For instance, the light of the Lord shines forth from us when we clean up our relationships.

If you bring your gift to the altar and there, remember that somebody has something against you, get it right, then come and offer your gift. The light will shine forth from us if we clean up our eye and our imagination. Whoever looks on a woman in lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The light will shine from us when we clean up our speech, let it be yes or no. Forget the oaths. The light will shine from us when we clean up our attitude toward the people who are wronging us, turn the other cheek, love your enemies, pray for the ones who are giving you a hard time, even if your wife or your husband.

Or your mother or your child. The light will shine from us when we start cleaning up our walk with God so that we're doing it before his eye and not everybody else's. Our giving of alms, our fasting and our praying, let it be clean before God.

The light will shine when we clean up our faith so that it's faith in God, not God and money. The light will shine when we provide a way for the mercy of God to come in and go out. The whole seventh chapter is on that.

If you've got to take the speck out of your brother's eyes, you've got a lot in your own. Get the log out of your eye. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom, but he who does the will of my father, who is in heaven, which is mercy.

Let the light shine. People will be drawn to the light. Principle number two.

Seek that one lost sheep, that one lost coin and all the other little sheep and all the other little coins will seek you. Notice that Jesus never sought crowds. He wasn't like Barnum and Bailey.

He didn't have an advanced team to go and put up the posters. He never sought the crowd. The crowds sought him.

They were drawn to him. And the thing that drew them was this thirst that was in Jesus for the lost sheep. Jesus didn't say, oh, Nicodemus, now there's the kind of fellow we ought to get into our outfit, meaning he's got clout, he has many friends, lots of influence, and he has a few shackles in his pocket.

And if we get him, think of all the other people we'll get. No, Jesus never went after Nicodemus, Nicodemus came after Jesus. Because Nicodemus was drawn to the light that was going after the lost sheep, Nicodemus had enough sense to know that that's what he needed and he went for him.

Likewise with us, we don't have to chase Nicodemus, Nicodemus will find his way to us if we go after the lost sheep and the lost coin. We never have to worry about trying to get the crowds, go after the lost sheep and the crowds will come to us. Principle number three, walk with Jesus in the fellowship of his cross and everywhere you go, people will be drawn to the crucified lamb.

The Apostle Paul gloried in the cross, he was always fellowshipping with Jesus in the fellowship of his suffering and he was not morbid, he rejoiced in this and everybody place Paul went, people were drawn to the crucified lamb. Reading from First Corinthians, chapter two, verse one, When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling and my speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

What's the power of God? The power of God is the cross. The crucified lamb, the place where I am made right with God, the place where I begin to know Jesus in the fellowship of his sufferings, and if I follow Jesus outside the camp, bearing his reproach, the power of his cross will rest upon me and everywhere I go, people will be drawn to that in me. Finally, principle number four.

Worship God. And the glory that you worship will come to rest upon you. And people will be drawn to that glory.

Moses goes up on the mountain, he comes down and his face is so radiant, people can't stand to look at him, he has to cover it with a veil. How come? Because on the mountain that time particularly, he was in worship, intercession, prayer, crying out for his people and worshiping Yahweh, the living God. So he comes down just radiant with that glory and people are drawn.

Jesus, on the Mount of Transfiguration, takes aside Peter, James and John. And his face begins to shine like the sun, his raiment becomes white as light. Why? Because the son is worshiping the father.

Luke tells us that as he prayed, the fashion of his confidence was altered. Now, the purpose of our existence in this world, the basic purpose of our being here is to worship God. That's why we're here.

And everything we do becomes worship. You know, our daily work, you know, washing clothes, getting something to eat, driving the car, going to our jobs, talking to people, all becomes worship of God. And the more we see this and the more our life is, in fact, worship, the more the glory of the Lord comes to rest upon us and people are drawn to that glory.

Lift up your eyes round about and see they all gather together, they come to you, your sons shall come from far and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see and be radiant. Your heart shall thrill and rejoice because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you and the wealth of the nation shall come to you.

And the power that draws them is the power of the crucified lamb. One day, every soul that has ever been on this earth or ever will be, will look into the face of the crucified lamb and will choose life or death. Meanwhile, the power of the crucified lamb is given to those who belong to the lamb.

Today, we feed at the lamb's table. We worship the lamb's glory and then we go out bearing the lamb's light and we will have the joy, we will have the joy of seeing people drawn to that life, this very week. Look for it, expect it and rejoice in it.

Let's just wait a minute in silence for a minute, please.