Everyone who is taught by God comes to Jesus (John 6:44-45)

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me - John 6:44-45

God gathers His people from places marred by sin’s desolation to live in His presence now and forever (Isaiah 41:10; 1 Thessalonians 3:13). Believers are cleansed by Christ’s own blood, shed to pay for their sin (Ephesians 1:7). The indwelling Holy Spirit softens sin-hardened hearts to know and love God (Matthew 22:37; Romans 12:2). God puts His laws into our hearts as the Holy Spirit leads us to love obeying God (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Those who trust Christ for salvation are God’s own children (John 1:12). God makes our lives fruitful for His kingdom and eternity (John 15:8, 16; Galatians 5:22-23).

Last week we focused on Our Powerful and Present God, The Doctrine of God the Father this week we focus on From Death to Life The Doctrine of Regeneration. John 6 ties these together perfectly. 

I was looking at previous ideas from 9 years ago: Jesus the Bread from Heaven, offered to all offensive to most. 

John 6:45-46 “Scriptures; taught by God, listen to Father, come to me, only I’ve seen God”

• Scriptures play a key role in people coming to faith. When Jesus resurrected he explained Moses and Prophets and all the scriptures concerning himself ( Luke 24:27; John 5:39-40, 45-47; 6:63)
• Here he quotes Isaiah 54:13 and this is a promise. A friend said to me today that our God is not a God of answers but the God of Promises. Acts 2:39 says, "This promise belongs to you and to your children and to all who are far off, to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself." and  Hebrews 8:11, "No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest."
• Those who err in mind will know the truth and those who criticize will accept instruction (Isaiah 29:24
• He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple (Isaiah 50:4)

I've been praying for all those who start BSF but don't engage in the word or the community. Asking the Lord how we can change that. 50% of our people are disengaged before they start. We call them struggling members who need the grace of God, loving kindness through our class culture. 

What are signs of a struggling member?

• alone, not participating, showing up late or unprepared. 
• aloof, clowning around. 
• emotional, physical, spiritual, relational problems

What core value most relates to the idea about extending Grace to struggling members?

• Compassion for people. We help others by applying grace and truth with Godly wisdom.
• Humility: we put aside self to serve God and others.

Thinking about the absent guys in your group what message would encourage a response from you?

• Our group isn’t the same without you. Want to catch up before Saturday?
• We've noticed your absence the last two weeks. How are you holding up this week?
• We’re stronger together. Hope you can jump back in with us this week.

Open up your group and think about how you can engage your guys, take 3 minutes and come up with a concrete action plan you’ll share with the group. 

Look at the promises; Raise up last day, not die, John 11:25 says live even though they die, 1 Cor 15:54-55 proclaims the truth of Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14, "death is swallowed up in victory" 

Application: What scripture does God use to draw people to believe in Jesus? Who will I tell these scriptures too?

God draws people to Jesus by:

• The Father’s initiative (John 6:44), God invites us to call on His Name for salvation (John 3:16, Romans 10:13)
• The proclamation of the gospel (Romans 10:17), Sin separates us from God we naturally reject the God's invitation because our deeds are evil. We naturally love darkness and fear being exposed (John 3:17-21). It's been like this since Adam and Eve first hid from God in Gen 3. 
• The cross of Christ (John 12:32), We see that God is serious about our life, soul, spirit in that God was in Christ reconcile the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).
• The illumination of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15), Jesus rose from the grave on the third day. The first thing he did was open their minds to the scripture concerning himself. Christian meditation is to emotionally glory in seeing Jesus
• The Spirit opening hearts (Acts 16:14), we crave a significant full life, found only in by obedient faith in Jesus (John 10:10) Salvation in Christ protects and preserves God’s people

Ministry makes a difference ONLY when people follow Jesus Christ