A man when he says, “I will,” may not mean much. We very often say “I will,” when we don’t mean to fulfill what we say; but when we come to the “I will” of Christ, He means to fulfill it. Everything He has promised to do, He is able and willing to accomplish, and He is going to do it. I cannot find any passage in Scripture in which He says “I will” do this, or “I will” do that, but it will be done.
1. The “I Will” of Salvation.
The first “I will” to which I want to direct your attention, is to be found in John’s gospel, sixth chapter and thirty-seventh verse: “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.”
I imagine someone will say, “Well, if I were what I ought to be, I would come; but when my mind goes over the past record of my life, it is too dark. I am not fit to come.”
You must bear in mind that Jesus Christ came to save not good people, not the upright and just, but sinners like you and me, who have gone astray, and sinned and come short of the glory of God. Listen to this “I will”—it goes right into the heart— “Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out.” Indeed, that is broad enough—is it not? I don’t care who the man or woman is; I don’t care what their trials, troubles, their sorrows, or their sins are, if they only come straight to the Master, He will not cast them out. Come then, poor sinner; come just as you are, and take Him at His word.
He is so anxious to save sinners, that He will take everyone who comes. He will take those who are so full of sin that they are despised by all who know them, who have been rejected by their fathers and mothers, who have been cast off by the wives of their bosoms. He will take those who have sunk so low that upon them no eye of pity is cast. His occupation is to hear and save. That is what He left heaven and came into the world for; that is what He left the throne of God for—to save sinners. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” He did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.
A wild and prodigal young man, who was running a headlong career to ruin came into one of our meetings in Chicago. The Spirit of God got hold of him. While conversing with him, and endeavoring to bring him to Christ, I quoted this verse to him.
I asked him: “Do you believe Christ said that?”
“I suppose He did.”
“Suppose He did! do you believe it?”
“I hope so.”
“Hope so! Do you believe it? You do your work, and the Lord will do His. Just come as you are, and throw yourself upon His bosom, and He will not cast you out.”
This man thought it was too simple and easy.
At last, the light seemed to break in upon him, and he seemed to find comfort in it. It was past midnight before he got down on his knees, but down he went and was converted. I said:
“Now, don’t think you are going to get out of the devil’s territory without trouble. The devil will come to you tomorrow morning and say it was all feeling; that you only imagined you were accepted by God. When he does, don’t fight him with your own opinions, but fight him with John 6:37: ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.’ Let that be the ‘sword of the Spirit.’”
I don’t believe that any man ever starts to go to Christ, but the devil strives somehow or other to meet him and trip him up. And even after he has come to Christ, the devil tries to assail him with doubts and make him believe there is something wrong with it.
The struggle came sooner than I thought in this man’s case. When he was on his way home the devil assailed him. He used this text, but the devil put this thought into his mind: “How do you know Christ ever said that after all? Perhaps the translators made a mistake.”
Into darkness, he went again. He was in trouble till about two in the morning. At last, he came to this conclusion. Said he:
“I will believe it anyway; and when I get to heaven, if it isn’t true, I will just tell the Lord I didn’t make the mistake—the translators made it.”
The kings and princes of this world, when they issue invitations, call round them the rich, the mighty and powerful, the honorable and the wise; but the Lord, when He was on earth; called round Him the vilest of the vile. That was the principal fault the people found with Him. Those self-righteous Pharisees were not going to associate with harlots and publicans. The principal charge against Him was: “This man received sinners and ate with them.” Who would have such a man around him as John Bunyan in his time? He, a Bedford tinker, couldn’t get inside one of the princely castles. I was very much amused when I was over on the other side. They had erected a monument to John Bunyan, and it was unveiled by lords and dukes and great men. While he was on earth, they would not have allowed him inside the walls of their castles. Yet he was made one of the mightiest instruments in the spread of the Gospel. No book that has ever been written comes so near the Bible as John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” And he was a poor Bedford tinker. So, it is with God. He picks up some poor, lost tramp, and makes him an instrument to turn hundreds and thousands to Christ.
George Whitefield, standing in his tabernacle in London, and with a multitude gathered about him, cried out: “The Lord Jesus will save the devil’s castaways!”
Two poor abandoned wretches standing outside in the street heard him, as his silvery voice rang out in the air. Looking into each other’s faces, they said: “That must mean you and me.” They wept and rejoiced. They drew near and looked in at the door, at the face of the earnest messenger, the tears streaming from his eyes as he plead with the people to give their hearts to God. One of them wrote him a little note and sent it to him.
Later that day, as he sat at the table of Lady Huntington, who was his special friend, someone present said:
“Mr. Whitefield, did you not go a little too far today when you said that the Lord would save the devil’s castaways?”
Taking the note from his pocket he gave it to the lady, and said: “Will you read that note aloud?”
She read: “Mr. Whitefield: Two poor lost women stood outside your tabernacle today, and heard you say that the Lord would save the devil’s castaways. We seized upon that as our last hope, and we write you this to tell you that we rejoice now in believing in Him, and from this good hour we shall endeavor to serve Him, who has done so much for us.”
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