As I was walking the beautiful Augusta National Golf Course several weeks ago; I noticed .the famous German golfer, Bernard Langer, practicing for the Masters. He is a two-time winner of that prestigious tournament. As I watched him, I thought about his personal testimony which he offers far and wide. Langer says that when he won the Masters in 1985, his priorities were golf, golf, and more golf, then himself, then a little time with his wife, and occasionally a nod toward God. He says that if his golf was not going well, his entire life was miserable. Then in 1985, one week after he won the Masters, he was invited by a friend to attend the Tour Bible study led by Larry Moody. For some reason, he decided to go. There he learned for the first time in his life that he needed to be reborn in order to have abundant and eternal life. Within a matter of a few months, he and wife Vikki had received Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Notice that I said that Bernard Langer agreed to attend that Tour Bible Study FOR SOME REASON. I think I know the reason. We in the Wesleyan tradition call it prevenient grace. That is a term describing God's first attempts to reach us, to call us, and to save us. God always makes the first move toward us. The word "prevenient" is a combination of two root words: "pre" meaning "before"; and the Latin word "veni" meaning "to come." Prevenient means that which comes first or in advance. Grace simply means undeserved love, that unmerited favor which God always feels toward us. So, prevenient grace is that first move God makes in our direction.

Prevenient grace is that first slight twinge of conscience, that vague discontent with one's Godless condition and that first slight interest in spiritual matters. Picture yourself in a boat asleep. The boat is drifting down a river, moving closer and closer to a dangerous waterfall. The water makes considerable noise, screening out other sounds. But someone on the shore is shouting your name. Prevenient Grace is God calling your name over the noise of a sinful, distracting world. Now, our scriptural focus is John 6:44: Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him;. and I will raise him up at the last day."

I invite the Holy Spirit to teach us at least four truths from that mighty verse.

THE FIRST TRUTH IS THIS: WE ARE UTTERLY LOST IN OUR NATURAL STATE.

Note the first part of that verse: "No one can come to me unless the Father...draws him." In other words, without the grace of God, we would feel absolutely no need for God, no perception of sin, no desire to live righteously.

Consider certain big-name, sports heroes in professional football and basketball who in the last year have gotten into big trouble, primarily because of drugs. Most of us read about those tragedies in the newspaper and we wonder why the guy would be so stupid. He has money, fame, an adoring public.' He has the American dream. Why would he risk it all for an illegal drug? But consider this---until that sports hero has responded to the grace of God, he has no peace or joy in his soul. Though he has the American dream, it almost mocks him---saying: "Ha! Look at all you've got and you're still not really content'." So, the temptation to drugs is even more powerful for him. He wants above all else to feel high...and if he can't find a natural high, he will settle for a chemical high.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, chapter 3, describes the condition of people before they respond to the grace of God in Christ. "None is righteous; no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one...in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-12, 16-18). That is the condition of persons before they respond to God's first overtures.

NOW LET'S MOVE TO THE SECOND TRUTH OF THIS VERSE: GOD DRAWS US TO HIMSELF.

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." Our God is a searching, drawing, attracting God. He searches for everybody. In Ezekiel 34:11-12, God says, "I myself will search for my sheep." Francis Thompson referred to God as "the hound of heaven," pursuing us as persistently as a hound tracks a deer. In Luke 15:04, Jesus asked, "Which one of you, having 100 sheep, if you have lost one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?" That's the character of God--always seeking the sheep that is lost. Referring to himself, Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Why do you really think you are here this morning? It would be interesting to give all of you a dose of truth serum and then have you write down the really honest answer. Some would say, "My wife is obviously disappointed when I skip church, so, to please her..." Some would say, "I have this friend at work who attends a certain very large Baptist church. Every Monday morning he asks me if I went to church on Sunday. When I tell him I didn't make it, he looks at me like a heathen. So, to keep him from feeling so spiritually superior "

Most of you know the name of Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I had a chance to meet him one time and heard him tell a story. He said that he was in Cincinnati for a ball game against the Reds. That morning he went to early morning Mass and happened to see the Reds' manager there. They were old friends and sat beside each other during Mass. Afterward, the Reds' manager said, "Tommy, I'll see you at the ballpark. I'm going to hang around a little." Tommy said that he reached the door and glanced back over his shoulder; he noticed that his friend was praying at the altar and lighting a candle. Tommy said, "I thought about that for a few moments. Then, since I couldn't take any chances, I doubled back and blew out his candle." Isn't it strange how we often don't want anybody to get ahead of us spiritually?

The most accurate reason you are here, I believe, is because of grace. You are responding to God's grace. For some of you, it's prevenient grace, the first dawning of God's grace. Others of you responded to prevenient grace years ago; now, you are responding to other installments of grace that you'll be hearing more about in later sermons. But some expression of God's grace beckoned you here; I am convinced of that. The first meaningful commitment I made to Christ was in a little country church in upstate South Carolina. My father was the pastor there. A revival was held in the spring of the year when I was 12 years old. A young college student, on his way toward ordained ministry, was the guest preacher. I look back and wonder why I agreed to go with Papa to that revival meeting. He never required me to attend church except on Sunday mornings. I'm sure I had homework to do that evening. There were TV programs on; not many, but a few like the Lone Ranger. But something pulled me to go with Papa that evening. What was it? I think it was God through his prevenient grace.

Prevenient grace caused a Jewish ruler named Nicodemus to seek out Jesus for a private conference one night. Prevenient grace caused a sawed-off tax-collector named Zaccheus to climb a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. Prevenient grace prepared a man named Saul of Tarsus to encounter Jesus on the road to Damascus; and there he became Paul the Apostle.

I have had so many young adults come to me over the years relating a similar story that I refer to it as the young-adult syndrome. Here is the typical way it sounds: "I grew up around the church, but as I got older, I got away from it. At college I almost forgot about God entirely; oh, maybe at Easter or Christmas, I would drop by the church to please my folks, but it didn't mean anything. I tried everything the world told me would make life really good. I had multiple sex partners. I smoked pot. I drank enough booze to float a boat. But I still wasn't satisfied inside; in fact, these excursions into the fast lane, while exhilarating for the moment, made me feel worse. After I got out of college I worked hard to make some serious money, and I did. I bought a red sports car. Now, the girls really noticed me. Finally, I fell deeply in love and she loved me too. On our wedding day, I said to myself--this is what I have been missing all that time. Finally, this will enable me to be totally satisfied. But wonderful as our love was and is, there was still something unsatisfied. Then our first child came along, and that was fantastic!! What a feeling it was to hold something that precious in my arms for the first time! I was overcome with joy, but, something was still unsatisfied in my heart. Finally, my wife and I had some long talks about this. She felt the same thing. We concluded that perhaps we have a spiritual part of us inside--sort of like an invisible organ in the body-- which must be nourished or we will never be satisfied. That's when we headed to church. It seemed strange at first, but it wasn't long before we knew that this spiritual part of us was being fed. We found what we had been missing and longing for.”

I have heard that story countless times. Who do you think creates that unsatisfied feeling inside when we are apart from Him? God is at work through prevenient grace.

HERE IS A THIRD TRUTH I WANT YOU TO SEE IN JOHN 6:44: SOMETHING INSIDE US RESISTS GOD'S CALL.

The Greek verb in that sentence--to draw--is a strange word. It implies resistance. It is not an easy pulling but one that has opposition. It is the word you use for pulling or drawing a heavily loaded net up on a beach. It is like reeling in an artificial lure with a big bass on the other end. There is resistance. While God is drawing us to himself through prevenient grace, the enemy- the Evil One- creates all kinds of resistance. The Evil One whispers to you: "If you get mixed up with Jesus, you'll have to quit everything that's fun. You will lose some of your best buddies. He might interfere with your hunting and fishing. He might turn you into some kind of hypocrite. He might get into your bank account. You might become a wimp." The resistance will be there. Just count on it. The Evil One will not surrender any of us without a fight. But also remember this: "The One who is in us is greater than He who is in the world."

FINALLY, A FOURTH TRUTH FROM JOHN 6:44: IF YOU RESPOND TO PREVIENT GRACE, YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO SALVATION

There are further stages of grace up ahead. If you compare God's grace to the rooms in a house, prevenient grace is just a gentle nudge toward the front porch. That front porch is called repentance. When one enters that front door, one becomes a believer or a Christian. Notice Jesus' promise in John 6:44...those who respond with faith to God's drawing will find that at the end of their lives or at the end of history (whichever comes first) Jesus will raise us up to eternal life. This sermon is designed to raise these questions: Have you felt God's grace pulling you to himself? Have you responded? Are you responding?

Let me close with a story that was told to me by my colleague Gene Barnes. The great composer Alexander Borodin had a little granddaughter who was a great favorite. One day he lifted her up on a piano bench and invited her to play a duet with him. Using two fingers she pecked out the familiar "Chop Sticks" while Mr. Borodin improvised an accompaniment. She was absolutely delighted. So, her proud grandfather set it down on paper and named it Cotelettan Polka. A friend, Franz List, added variations and adapted this piece for a full orchestra. It was later played and recorded by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. When Borodin played a recording of this piece for his granddaughter, she said in great awe, "Was that me?"

If any of us plays God's song, it will be because God in his grace placed us on the piano bench, put our fingers on the right keys, and taught us his melody. How wonderful is the grace of God!