He Will Draw You

Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John 12:32

"The very first and the most important thing is to melt and subdue the soul by presenting our Lord Jesus Christ as the sinbearer, the sin-pardoning Saviour, making the gospel as clear as possible." EV 264

Jesus was lifted up on the cross to die for our sins, so He can forgive and cleanse us and restore us to Himself. This is the most important truth in the word of God.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16, 17

"And thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. " Matt. 1:21

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isa. 53:6

"Hating sin with a perfect hatred, He yet gathered to His soul the sins of the whole world. Guiltless, He bore the punishment of the guilty. Innocent, yet offering Himself as a substitute for the transgressor. The guilt of every sin pressed its weight upon the divine soul of the world's Redeemer. The evil thoughts, the evil words, the evil deeds of every son and daughter of Adam, called for retribution upon Himself; for He had become man's substitute. Though the guilt of sin was not His, His spirit was torn and bruised by the transgressions of men, and He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 1SM 322

Jesus really felt all our sins and experienced the guilt of them, and He truly wants to make us righteous in Him.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. " 2Cor. 5:21

"As soon as Christ entered the wilderness of temptation, His visage changed. . . . The weight of the sins of the world was pressing His soul, . . . He realized the strength of indulged appetite and of unholy passion that controlled the world, which had brought upon man inexpressible suffering." 1SM 271

"What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled." Acts 3:18 RSV

"Could Satan have induced Christ to yield to a single temptation, could he have led Him by one act or even thought to stain His perfect purity, the prince of darkness would have triumphed over man's Surety, and would have gained the whole human family to himself. But while Satan could distress, he could not contaminate. He could cause agony, but not defilement. He made the life of Christ one long scene of conflict and trial." PK 701

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Isa. 53:7

"In His closing hours, while hanging upon the cross, He experienced to the fullest extent what man must experience when striving against sin. He realized how bad a man may become by yielding to sin. He realized the terrible consequences of the transgression of God's law; for the iniquity of the whole world was upon Him." 5BC 1082

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. " 1 Peter 2:24

"While the sinner is yet far from the Father's house, wasting his substance in a strange country, the Father's heart is yearning over him; and every longing awakened in the soul to return to God is but the tender pleading of His Spirit, wooing, entreating, drawing the wanderer to His Father's heart of love." SC 54

"I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee. " Jer. 31:3

Many children have not experienced a father's love. They have been rejected and abused and therefore they find it difficult to believe that God truly loves them and wants to save them. When our son was growing up, I sensed that he felt he could not be saved. I did not understand why until much later.

When he started school he seemed unable to learn to read, so the teachers thought he was either dumb or lazy. I did my best to teach him, but it was very difficult. We did not know he had a condition called dyslexia until I read about it when he was twenty-two years old. We discovered that he could see only two letters at a time, and he saw them backwards. As I shared with him his problem, he said, "Oh mom, everybody thought I was dumb or lazy, but inside me I knew it was not true, and you were the only one who still had faith in me."

I then encouraged him to read The Desire of Ages, a book on the life of Christ. When he finished reading it he exclaimed, "Isn't it wonderful that God loves me!" Then he could surrender himself to God because he finally understood that God had always loved him and would not reject him as people had done.

"The very first step in approaching God is to know and believe the love that He has to us; for it is through the drawing of His love that we are led to come to Him. " MB 104, 105

"By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word of the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God, - a patient, protracted process." DA 172

 
 
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