and I ask you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. Lord willing,
in the second service I'm going to speak on the subject of seeking
the Lord. But there's a passage of Scripture
I'd like to look at first this morning, and Lord willing, this
passage will answer some questions that may arise in our minds in
the second message. This message, obviously, we're
looking for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in so
doing, May the Lord be pleased to prepare our hearts to hear
not only this, but what shall follow. In Matthew chapter 11,
the Lord had disgraced some cities where some miracles, many miracles
had been performed by him, and the reason that they were disgraced. I use that word disgraced because
in verse 20 of Matthew 11, this is what the scripture says, verse
20, Matthew 11, then began he to upbraid. Disgrace. He shamed them. He told them,
shame on you. He began to upbraid the cities
wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented
not. Because, look up the word of
repent, look up the word. It means to change one's mind
for the better. To change your mind. Now, the Lord disgraced them
for doing something that the scripture clearly reveals man
by nature cannot do. Repentance, the scripture sets
forth, is granted. That's what Acts 11.18 says. But do you know, there is no
excuse. There's no excuse. That was the first thing I learned,
Fred. You guys were in the military. This is the first thing I learned
when I got to boot camp. Somebody asks you something,
they outrank you. Why you did something, let me
tell you what the answer is. No excuse. That's the answer. I don't have an excuse, sir.
No. You may have one, but keep it
to yourself. The Lord upbraided them. because they did not change
their mind concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who
He is, what He's done, why He came, where He is now. Man by nature has no excuse. He upbraided them because He
had done many mighty works there and because they did not repent. They did not believe Him. Listen, to not believe, to not trust,
now you know this, To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ has
nothing to do with believing in His existence. Demons believe
in His existence. But I'm talking about to cast
yourself upon His mercy, to entrust yourself to His well-being, His
care, to by faith lean upon Him. Lord have mercy on me. Lord, forgive me. Lord, save
me by your grace. That's what I mean when I say
believe. Not in His existence, but I'm
talking about to trust Him. To not believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ is the crime of all crimes. This is the pinnacle. This is
it. Almighty God, if a man, a woman
does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, casting themselves
upon Christ for mercy, and you die in that state, I promise
you, according to these scriptures, here's what's going to happen.
God's going to put you in hell, and you will be there forever. No second chance. No plea bargain. He that believeth on him, that
is, he that has faith and trust, commits to Christ, his well-being,
is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because... Why is he condemned? Because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Then the Lord began to tell him,
after he upbraided him, after he shamed him, Woe unto thee,
verse 21, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, if the mighty
works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Look at verse 23. And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven, you shall be brought down to
hell, for if the mighty works which had been done in thee had
been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. For those that had seen the mighty
works, listen to this. For all that have ever heard
the gospel preached, here or anywhere else, for all that have ever heard
the gospel preached, if you heard it one time, one time, and you
believe not, Here's what the scripture says, verse 22 and
verse 24 basically says the same thing. The scripture sets forth,
I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the day of judgment than for you. Verse 24, I say unto you
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day
of judgment than for thee. More tolerable. I know that it
has to do with remembrance. Remember. I know that because
that's what he told that rich man that died. He lifted up his
eyes out of hell. The Lord told him, he said, remember.
You'll go through eternity remembering. You'll remember every time you
ever heard the gospel. Every time you refuse. And the Lord after he had said
those things, look what it says in verse 25, at that time, He had just told them. At that
time, Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Then
the Lord answered. The word is, He began to speak
concerning the truth that He had just revealed And he thanked
as they listened. I thank Thee, glorifying and
praising the Father for His sovereign will and wisdom and power to
hide these things, these glorious truths of God's will and God's
purpose and God's sovereignty, the gospel, to hide these things
from the wise, those that think themselves so wise. I think them so, so smart. You've
hidden these things concerning the glory of the Messiah, the
Redeemer, the Savior. You've kept them secret. I thank
you that you've kept these things secret from those who you've
been pleased to leave to themselves in the darkness of unbelief.
wise in their own foolishness, and conceits, and arrogance,
and haughtiness, and darkness, thinking, Lord, please don't
hide these things from me. That's what a believer says.
Don't, Lord, don't leave me to myself. Those that are wise in themselves,
they'll get mad at that. Who does God think He is? He don't think He's anybody.
He knows who He is. I'm the Lord. God Almighty is
God. Who are we? We're the nothings. We're the dust. He's the Lord
of glory. We're earthy. The Lord said this,
I thank you that you've hidden these things. But He also thanked
him for revealing them. You've revealed them unto babes.
Those have been made to see something of their helplessness and ignorance
and defenselessness against the power and dominion of sin. And
what's the difference? What's the difference between
those that are wise in their own arrogance and haughtiness
and those who are babes? What's the difference? The grace
of God. That's the only difference. Leave
all of us to ourselves and we're all haughty. arrogant, high-minded,
lifted up in pride. By the grace of God, by grace
are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
a gift of God. And the reason that it was this
way, the Lord thanked him. I thank you. And what's the answer
to that? In verse 26. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. I will have mercy on whom I'll
have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So then the Apostle Paul says
in Romans 9, so then it's not of him that willeth. It's not
of him that runneth. But it's of God that showeth
mercy. And concerning the right, to
reveal or withhold this precious knowledge? The glorious knowledge
of God's eternal counsel and will and purpose and salvation?
Who's got that power? Who has that power to withhold
or to give? Who has it? Look at verse 27. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son. And He, to Whomsoever the Son
will reveal Him." Being God, nothing's given to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's God. But being the submissive,
humble servant of Jehovah, He who made himself of no reputation. The scripture sets forth that
all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. That's what the scripture says.
The Father has committed all things unto the Son. I thank
Thee, Father, You've hid all things are given to the Son.
In Him is life. I'm going to ask this one question.
What can a sinner, what must a sinner do? Look at verse 28. Come unto me. Come unto me. Now I'm not telling you to walk
down the aisle. I'm not telling you to come down
to the altar and pray. I'm not telling you to turn over
a new leaf. I'm not telling you to straighten
up, fly right. Coming to Christ has absolutely
nothing to do with a physical act. If there is a physical act
that can be done and you think, or I think, that I can do something
that will cause me to come to Christ, that is works. Plain and simple. But the Lord
exhorts sinners, come unto me. Coming unto Christ is an act
of a new heart, by faith. It is the actual believing in
response to the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit that has been
imparted. God must do something for a sinner
before a sinner is willing in the day of God's power. He said, without me you can do
nothing. Well, does that mean coming to
Him too? Yeah. No man can come unto Me,
except it were given unto Him of My Father. He exhorts sinners,
the sovereign of all things, come unto Me. Coming to Christ
is actually a response to a new nature. I'll give you
a new heart. I'm going to take a heart of
stone out of you. Sin's not going to have dominion
on you anymore. I'm going to remove that heart
of stone that rules and reigns. I'm going to give you a new heart.
The presence of sin is still there, but it doesn't have dominion
over a believer anymore. It's that new nature that responds. What does it do? What's the first
thing that a new nature does? It denies self, meaning my ability. That's what I'm talking about.
It doesn't deny that I'm in existence. I know I'm in existence. But
it denies any ability that I have. And immediately it forsakes all
former confidence in self-righteous works. Man by nature thinks that he's
converted, he's repented because he exercised a free will. Our
will is dead. It's dead. It doesn't do anything
but rebel against God. That's all it does. It trusts God. When He says,
come unto Me, if a man or woman has a desire to cast themselves
upon the mercy of God, it's because God's already had mercy on them.
He's already given them life. He's already saved them by His
grace through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
therefore, he believes God and he's willing, he's willing to
come. Coming to Christ. is a miracle. That's a miracle. Wrought in
a sinner. And I tell you those that have
come to Christ are coming to Christ right now. He that cometh
unto me. They cast themselves upon the
mercy of God afresh right now. Right now. Lord save me. Hasn't
He saved you? Yes. Lord save me. Hasn't He kept you? Yes. Hadn't he had mercy on you? Yes,
Lord, have mercy. And who does the Lord exhort
to come? Well, the scripture says, all you that labor and
are heavy laden, all that have been quickened to life in Christ
and made to see that they by nature are weighted down with
guilt and failures in themselves, that's a believer. He sees himself
as a failure. Well, how long will he see himself
as a failure till God takes him out of this world? They've been made to see themselves
by nature as slaves to sin and Satan. They've been given a desire
to know something. Tell me something. Tell me again
about peace and reconciliation with God. I know what I deserve. I know what I deserve. You don't
have to tell me what I deserve. You don't have to tell me how
lousy I know. You don't know the half of it.
You can come up with all kinds of things, you know. Well Marvin,
hey look, I'll be your biggest fan to tell you I agree with
you. But a believer is one weighted
down, heavy laid, Knowing something of that burden of sin that he
bears himself, they know what they deserve. That thief on the
cross. What did he tell the other thief
after the Lord opened his eyes? And he changed his speech. Been
railing on the Lord just like the other thief was there for
a while. All of a sudden he said, wait a minute. Don't you fear
God? We're getting exactly what we
deserve. We killed those people. We stole. We're getting exactly what we
deserve. Lord, would you remember me when
you enter your kingdom? Lydia, all religious woman, Scripture
said she worshipped God, the God that she knew. And she was
out of town, she was doing business, seller of purples
out on business, and she went to prayer meeting one day. It
was a riverside. There were women there that want
to meet together and pray. And Liddy was there, religious
woman, you know. But God sent a preacher that
day. And the scripture says that Almighty God opened her heart and she attended
to the words that were being spoken. At one moment she was
religious, the next moment she was a believer. Big difference. Big difference. What did she
do? She asked Paul. She said, listen,
if you count me worthy, would you come over and stay at my
house? Would you come visit and talk? The Lord was pleased to
bless her home. This blessed state of laboring and being heavy
laden is the result of the grace of God. It's not natural. It's not natural to the carnal
heart. How many unbelievers do you know
that have just tore all the pieces over their sin? How many unbelievers
have you ever met? It just burdens them. Now if somebody is fearful of
being caught, I understand that part of it. Everybody is always
repentant when they are caught. when God exposes them. That's when you know, I'm so
sorry for what I've done. Well yeah, you got caught. But I'm talking about as that
prodigal son. He said, I've sinned against
you and I've done it in sight of God. I've sinned against the
Lord. That was David's repentance. My sin is ever before you. Sinned
against God. If there's anybody here that
God's given a heart, that they're laboring, heavy laden under the
burden of the presence of sin. Let me tell you who that is in
here. Every believer. Every believer. What do you do? Come unto me.
Come unto me. And then lastly, what does Christ
promise to those who come to him by faith? His word said,
I will give you rest. Rest. Rest is given. It's not earned. It's not merited. Oh, the joy of being able to
just rest when you're tired. You work, you know, you work
six twelves. Any good, Mark, just to be able
to rest for a few minutes? I just want to sit down just
for a few minutes. This feels so good. I don't know if this
recliner ever felt this good. I think I want to just close
my eyes for just a few minutes and just rest. Oh, the blessed
state of being able to rest before God. Rest. to be exempt and taught
that you're exempt from the responsibility or the labor of establishing
righteousness before God. Can you imagine thinking that
you can please God? That you can in word, thought,
and deed please God and establish righteousness You think that
it could ever be said of any of us and ourselves, these are
my beloved children, I am well pleased with you. Oh, to be able to rest from the
knowledge or the thought of condemnation before God. There's therefore
now no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. Rest, to
rest because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
And to rest in the midst of afflictions and trials and troubles of this
life. When trials come, tribulation
comes, you see the animosity, the resentment, you know, in
conscience, outside, just to be able to know Almighty God
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. All
things work together for good to them that love God. Turn with me to Hebrews 4. Hebrews
chapter 4, 9 to 11. Hebrews 4, 9 to 11. There remaineth therefore
a rest. Actually, the margin says in
my Bible, the keeping of a Sabbath. There's a rest. A rest in heart. A Sabbath in the heart to the
people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did from
his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. What does he say? Work. to not
work. Work strive to not work. Lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. There's a present rest for God's
people in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're free. Free from the bondage
of works for salvation. We rest in the Lord's love and
righteousness and acceptance in Christ, and there's a future
rest. Revelation 14, 13, I heard a voice from heaven saying unto
me, write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. Though a believer knows now by
faith. the surety of the blessing of
dying in the Lord. In the day of God's judgment,
a believer knows something of the blessing of dying in the
Lord. They know something of it. They know something of it.
But I'll tell you this, in the day of God's judgment, they're
going to know perfectly the blessing. We know something now, and we're
thankful somewhat now, but all the blessing of knowing that
we died in Christ. In Christ, by God's choosing,
association with Him in His death, by the Spirit's sanctifying power,
made willing in the day of that power to come to Him by faith
in the Lord. And the works of these saints
The scripture says their works do follow them. Their works do
follow them. I read something Brother Henry
wrote. He said they don't go before
thinking that they're going to be prepared for heaven by their
works. Their works don't go before.
They don't take them with them as merits. You know, well this
is the reason I have the right to go in. But they follow. And
what works are those? They are works that have been
wrought by Christ alone in them. Philippians 2.13, for
it is God which worketh in us both to will and do of His good
pleasure. I can't help but think about
that woman with the issue of blood. All these years, she just couldn't
do anything. All of her doctors she went to,
none the better. But she said in her heart, if
I can touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole. I believe
that. I believe that. She believed
in Christ by faith. Where'd she get that faith? Well,
the scripture says it's given unto you to believe. All men
have not faith. It's given. But you know when
she touched the hem of his garment, what did the Lord say? Thy faith. Thy faith hath made thee whole. He said that work that you just
did. Where'd she get it? He gave it
to her. He gave it to her. Their works follow them. What
works are those? All that Christ worked at them.
All that Christ has done that's worthy to follow them. Nothing
else will do. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen. All right.