Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the Gospel according to Matthew 11. I'm going to look at one verse
of Scripture this evening. Matthew 11. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Let's pray together. Our Father, this evening we ask You Lord,
would You bless the Word. Blessed, I pray, to the salvation
of sinners. And Lord, to the comfort of Your
people, thank You that we can be here tonight. I ask You to
have mercy. Lord, forgive us where we failed
You. For Christ's sake, amen. Often I'll go through Wednesdays
and Sunday mornings. I take a book, and because of
taking a book of the Bible, as I've said before, you go verse
by verse. You take that book just exactly
the way the Spirit of God moved upon the writer, the penman,
to pen that Scripture. That's the way God wrote it.
And I think that that's as far as taking a book. Take it verse
by verse. Just don't skip anything. Take it just like the Lord set
it forth. And we profit from that. But then there's times that something
will happen. something comes up. And I, as
I know pastors do, you'll be impressed to preach
on something that you truly feel the Lord would have you to preach
on. Last evening I was at the house and the phone rings. And I received
a call that I think any believer, but in my case, a believing grandfather,
would want to receive. A lot of times you get calls,
you know, and you want to make sure everything's okay. You know,
tell me everything's okay before we start talking. But this was
one of those conversations where After I found out what was going
on, I was so thankful. One of my grandchildren called
and was burdened, just grieving over her soul, just trying to
talk, trying to express herself. And as I listened to the struggles
and the concerns about life, death, eternity, judgment, as
I listened to her speak, oh, how my mind, I desperately, I
just struggled, struggled in my mind. What do I say? Trying to listen. trying to pray,
asking the Lord, Lord, help me. Help me. You'd think after preaching
for 35 plus years, you'd think that, you know, well, you'd be
able to just know exactly what to say. I got off the phone and got up
this morning, just burdened, asking the Lord. I told her, I said, listen, why
don't we talk again today? And we did. Asking the Lord. Lord, help me. Where do I go? Help me to know what to say.
Bless the conversation. Lord, order my thoughts. And
I believe, Lord, I believe the Lord has given me the verse of
Scripture that I needed when we had our talk this afternoon. And this was the verse of Scripture
right here. This is where my heart settled
down. And I was able to share some
things with her. I don't think that there can
be any greater instruction than the instruction of this passage
of Scripture. This is instruction from the
Lord of life Himself. What do you say to someone when
they're asking you, expressing to you how they're hurting, how
they're grieving? How they're torn. How they're
fearful. What do you say to them? I read
this verse again. These are words of mercy and
grace and comfort and peace and joy and security for a needy
sinner. Now, I've got three questions
tonight. And I believe that these three questions are answered.
in this verse of Scripture. And the answer to these three
questions, these answers right here, these three questions,
I'll tell you this will stand forever. Here's my first question. Who is the Lord speaking to? The Scripture sets forth and
He says, All ye that labor and are heavy laden. Now, I can be assured of this
one thing. The only sinners that labor and
are heavy laden are the ones who have been moved upon by the
Spirit of God to behold what the Scripture has to say concerning
man as he is born in Adam about who God is, who the Lord Jesus
Christ is, what God demands for righteousness. The only ones
that grieve, that labor heavy laden over their eternal souls
are these ones that the Lord of glory thanked the Father for
revealing these things to. I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." You
know, for an unbeliever, there is no struggle, not over the
condition of their eternal soul. There is no labor. There is no
being heavy for those that think that they have provided for themselves. and acceptance with God. There's
no struggle over that. I was talking to a man today,
and he was sharing with me that his boss is very close to dying. And he said that his boss just
decided that since he was so close to dying, he wanted to
take a trip to Europe. And he said, you know, he said,
I've never done that before. I think I'm going to go to Europe
and just enjoy myself. That's going to be it. And I
sat there and thought to myself, there's no fear of God with the
unregenerate. There's no labor. There's no
turmoil. Believes that all is well. With
death and hell, the scripture says, I'm at agreement. An unbeliever is one that absolutely
doesn't care. No struggles. And all those that
labor and are heavy laden are those who by the grace of Almighty
God God giving them an understanding of who they are in themselves
and what they deserve if left to themselves. The justice of
Almighty God who is going to deal with sin. They have heard
something, the ears. God has given them some understanding. This labor is truly known as
the awakening light of God's power and grace. is shown to
an object of God's mercy. What happened when the Lord of
glory arrested Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? The
Lord stopped him and knocked him down. He said, Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me? Who are thou, Lord? He said,
I'm Jesus that you're persecuting. And the Scripture says, Saul,
trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what would You have me
to do? What can I do? Do you remember that Philippian
jailer just moments before? All secure. There was an earthquake,
Scripture says. The shackles fell off. Doors
all opened. Seeing that there was an earthquake,
the doors were open. He wanted to fall on his own
sword. Paul cried out to him and said,
Don't hurt yourself. Don't harm yourself. He got a
light and came in there and looked up. There they were. All of them.
What did he say? Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Remember when Isaiah chapter
6. Turn with me to Isaiah 6. Look at this right here. Isaiah
chapter 6, verse 1 to 5. Isaiah 6. Verse 1, In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up. His train filled His temple.
Above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings with twain. He covered His face with twain.
He covered His feet with twain. He did fly. And one cried unto
another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The
whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I
am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen
the King, the Lord of hosts." I know this. I know that when
the Lord begins to deal with an object of mercy. I know that
there is that burden, that realization of the presence of sin that wasn't
there before. That high-mindedness and that
loftiness about an unbeliever that thinks themselves to be
something when they're nothing begins to flee. All of a sudden,
a person They're arrested and they're realizing this is real. This is real. Life is short. But do you know that there is
never a time throughout the life of a believer,
it's not just when a believer is converted and called out of
darkness, they never get away from the struggles in this life.
They never get away from the heaviness, being burdened, heavy
laden. Look at Romans 7.21. Here's Paul. Paul the Apostle,
converted, preacher of the Gospel, a man that God taught. Romans
7.21, I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is
present with me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man. But I see another law in my members,
warning against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
of the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" Oh, how the fiery darts of Satan! How the old man within! How the
presence of sin! waves and tempts us to doubt
God and to question His providence. Yes, a believer. One that truly
labors and is heavy laden. Just the thought of being unfaithful,
just the thought of being disrespectful causes me to cry out, Lord, save
me or I'll perish. Lord, help me. Help me. Who is the Lord speaking to back
in Matthew 11, 28? All ye that labor and are heavy
laden. I remember the words of Newton.
I wrote these down. I love this song. We've sung
this a couple of times. But I read these words and I
think to myself, I can enter into this. And you that know
them, you can too. Newton says, when I turn my eyes
within, All is dark and vain and wild, filled with unbelief
and sin. Can I deem myself a child if
I pray or hear or read? Sin is mixed with all I do. You
that love the Lord indeed tell me, is it thus with you? Yet
I mourn my stubborn will and find my sin a grief and thrall. Should I grieve for what I feel
if I did not love at all? A believer is one that struggles. Who is the Lord speaking to?
Those who not only in the day, in the time, in the times of
regeneration, but all through our lives, the Lord allows us
to see the corruptions of our old nature that we might behold,
first of all, what we are, except for His sustaining grace what
we are capable of. And secondly, that we truly are
being kept by the power of God through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Who is He speaking to? He's speaking
to His people. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden. But let me ask you this. What
can we do? Where do we go? Here's the words
of the Master. He said, Come unto Me. Come unto Me. Here is the only
refuge of life. The Lord Jesus Christ. John 14,
6. Oh, how this precious passage
of Scripture has thrilled our hearts time after time after
time. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Me." Christ plus nothing. How does a man come to Christ?
As Brother Scott used to say, empty handed. Empty handed. Pleading no merit whatsoever. I know, I know that the Lord
said, He that cometh, He that cometh continually is coming. I will in no wise cast out. You
that know Him are coming to Him right now. You're coming today. You're coming afresh. I know
that believers are coming to Christ just like they received
Him. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him.
Just like that, helpless, needy, thirsty, hungry. Just hearing
the words again, Come unto Me, you think, you know what, that's
life right there. Just hearing Him say, Come unto
Me, that tells me that I can come. I can come. That I'm permitted to come. That
I'm bid to come. That He's given me a heart to
come. But what does the Scripture say about coming to Christ? Don't distort it. I don't want to know what the
world has to say about coming to Christ. I don't want to know
about all of the message. If we've ever heard the truth,
we need to hear this right now. If we've ever been told the truth,
don't tickle my ears here. Whatever you do, don't lie to
me. Show me in the Scriptures. Prove to me by the Word of God
what God has to say about coming to Christ because I know this. This is life. This is it. This
is it. He that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. You will not come to Me that
you might have life. I know that coming to Christ
is everything. What does the Word of God have
to say about coming to Christ? I know this, first of all. I
know that coming to Christ is by sovereign grace. I know that.
No man, John 6, 65, can come unto Me except it were given
unto Him of my Father." Philippians 1.29, for unto you, it is given
in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also
to suffer for His sake. So I know that sinners, needy
sinners, heavy laden sinners, I know that they come to Christ
by God's grace, by God's permission, by God's bidding, by God's power. Secondly, I know this, they come
willingly. Psalm 110.3, Thy people shall
be willing in the day of Thy power. Willing to forsake all
for Him. What will a man give at the expense of Christ? What
would he keep? One that's truly heavy laden. What would he hold back at Christ's
expense? Nothing. No. He's coming willingly and willing
to forsake everything for Him. Willing to crucify the old man's
self. Longing and willing that Christ
be formed in him. Lord, manifest Yourself to me. May Christ be formed in me. Willing
to believe. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
I want to believe. I want to believe. I hear these
Scriptures preached as I'm preaching And I think to myself, Lord,
if You don't give me a heart to believe this, to enter into
this, these are just words, divine words, precious words, God's
Word. But unless God does something
for me and gives me a heart to believe, Lord, I want to believe
You. Lord, I want to love You. I want
to obey You. I want to be Lord, Your servant. Lord, help me. The love of Christ
constrains me. I don't want to be driven. I
can't be driven by law. I can't keep God's law. I know
that. I want to cast myself upon His
mercy, grace, God's people. They are willing in the day of
God's power, but they find no confidence in themselves for
that willingness. Remember, it was in the day of
God's power. You're not your own. Bought with
a price. Willing. So I know that men,
women come to Christ. They come by grace, sovereign
grace. And they come willingly. And
needy sinners come to Him exclusively. He said, Come unto Me." Remember
when the Lord told that group of folks there in John 6. In
fact, He had told them this, no man can come unto Me except
it were given unto Him of My Father. That's a hard saying, they said.
Who can hear that? That exclusiveness. No man can come to Me except."
And from that time, the Scripture says, many of His disciples went
back and walked no more with Him. Oh, what a fearful thought. Then said Jesus unto the Twelve,
Will ye also go away? And Simon Peter answered Him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe. and are sure that Thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." How does a man come to
Christ? He comes by grace. He comes willingly. He comes exclusively. He comes
by faith, by faith. Hebrews 11.6 says, But without
faith it is impossible to please Him. And that is when it says,
without faith. That is, without faith in His
Son. Without faith in Christ, it's
impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is. What? That He is God? Well, the devils know He's God. Not that He exists. He that cometh
to God must believe that God is as God says He is. No man
comes to God by Christ believing a lie. He is the sovereign, holy,
just God. God Almighty, the One before
Whom we must stand, the One who alone is right, He that cometh
to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. They believe God. They believe
God. Come unto Me, all ye that are
needy, helpless, heavy laden, burdened. So this needy sinner,
one laboring, comes to Christ by grace. It comes to Him willingly. It comes to Him exclusively and
by faith. And then lastly, what has He
promised? He said, I will give you rest. Well, just as a regenerated sinner
rests from the labors trying to establish His own righteousness
before God by His own work. We who are continually coming
to Christ, we need rest right now. I need rest tonight. I need
peace when my conscience condemns me. I know that the Scripture says
if my conscience condemns me, God is greater than my conscience.
Come to Him. I know what I am by nature. I
know I am struggling. But I can tell you this, coming
to Him, I find rest. I need to hear this message of
sovereign grace again. I need to have the Holy Spirit
apply afresh the truth of pardoning grace. I need to hear that I
have been justified that there is no record, no record. The law looks and sees no record
of sin. I've been justified by the righteousness
of God imputed to me. I need rest. I need to hear how
He's never going to leave me nor forsake me again. And I want
the Spirit of God. I desire God's Spirit. Teach
me that again. Lord, make Romans 8 one. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus.
Free from the law. Oh, happy condition. Lord, I need to rest. Settle my heart. I want to rest. from seeking satisfaction from
this world and consider again the Lord Jesus Christ who is
the pearl of great price and be taught afresh that He's my
friend, that He's my Lord, He's my God, my Husband, my King,
my Prophet. I want to hear about that everlasting
love. Tell me again how He's ever stood
as my surety. Tell me one more time how He's
gone to prepare a place for me. And that when I leave this world
immediately, I will then in true life for the first time, I'm
going to see Him as He is and be like Him. and be seated with
Him on His throne. Oh, these precious promises.
I need rest from the temptations of this
life that would cause me, just like we just sang a moment ago,
prone to wander. Lord, I feel that. Prone to leave
the God I love. I don't want to, but I've got
a nature that wants to. He wants to do nothing. Come
unto Me, all you that labor heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts, and I pray to
the salvation of His people for Christ's sake. Amen.