Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee,
would like to invite you to listen to a message of Sovereign Grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times,
visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker. I would
like to bring a message to you from Matthew chapter 11. Matthew
chapter 11 and we don't want to sit one portion of scripture
above another portion of scripture. We don't want to put more emphasis
on one portion of scripture as opposed to another. God's holy
spotless perfect word is God's holy spotless perfect word no
matter where we are in the Bible. Every word is glorious, every
word we give thanks for it and we love it and we cling to it
and we hope in it. But there are some portions of
scripture that we just know those scriptures and commit to memory
those scriptures because they're such a great comfort to our hearts. They're such a great comfort
to the souls of God's people and this is one of them. In Matthew
chapter 11 verse 28 our Lord Jesus Christ said, Come unto
me. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I love that verse
of scripture so much. That is so personal. It's like
I can hear him speaking it to my heart. It's just so personal. It's so welcoming. It's so reassuring
and promising. He said, you come to me and I'll
give you rest. He did not say come to religion. I want to make that clear. He
didn't say come to religion. You know, a lot of people say,
well, I need to, I just need to get back in church. He didn't
say come to church. Although God's people do gather
as he said to do, but that's not what he said. He didn't say
come to doctrine. He said come to me. Come to me
and I will give you rest. Now I want to do that and I want
you to do that. I want all of us to come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I want us to enter into his rest that he gives to all of his people
that come to him. Hebrews chapter 4 says, there
is a rest for the people of God. There is a rest from labor. There is a rest from fear. There's a rest from bondage and
guilt. There's a rest from the works
of the law. Constantly feeling like we need
to do better and obey more in order for God to be happy with
us and to please God. There's a rest from that. There's a rest from trying to
earn God's favor. In Christ, we can rest from all
of our works as God did from his. In six days, the scripture
says God created everything that he purposed to create. And it
says on the seventh day, he rested. He rested. He did that because
it was finished. Creation was finished. And with
that being said, even though creation was finished, there
was still a work to be done. A fall came to man. Man fell into sin. And that caused man to be separated
from God. And a work of reconciliation
had to be accomplished. Reconciling God's chosen people
back to him, a work of redemption had to be done for God's chosen
people. A giving of new life had to take
place. A gathering of scattered saints,
a calling and a receiving into glory had to be done. For all
of God's chosen people, a work still had to be done. And this
is what Ephesians 1 says. It says that God the Father was
the first one to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to finish that
work. He was the first one. A work
still had to be done. And God the Father was the first
one to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish every bit
of that. The Father gave that work into
the hands of the Son. And in John 17 verse 4, the Son
said to the Father, I finished it. I finished the work. The work
you gave me to do, I finished it. God the Father is our example. He gained his rest by laying
all the work on the Son. And we can do the same thing.
We can go to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can bring all of our labor
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Our labor over sin. We can bring
it all to the Lord Jesus Christ and he will give us rest from
it. If we come to the Lord Jesus
Christ, we're gonna be coming to the one who we can trust with
all of our eternal souls, the only one who can be trusted.
Come to the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be coming to the one
who you can cast your all on. Trusting, he'll bear the burden.
Whatever you cast on him, he'll bear the burden of whatever it
is. There's rest there. There is
rest in him. Come to Christ, that's the command. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's not just his welcoming call, that's his command. Come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 28 says, come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Now, for all of those who have
a heart to do that, I want to do that. I pray that you want
to do that. I pray that you hear this and
you're saying in your heart, I want to do that. I want to
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. For all those who want to come
to Christ, let's consider these three things together. Number
one, how do we come to Christ? I believe that's a good question.
The command is come to Christ. How do you do that? How do we
come to Christ? All right, here's the second
thing to consider. Who can come to Christ? Is our Lord saying
that to everybody? Is he saying that to the entire
world? We're gonna get to the bottom of that. Who can come
to Christ? And the third thing is, what
should we expect to find when we get there? When we come to
him, what should we expect to find? All right, here's the first
thing. How do we come to Christ? How
do we come to Christ? We hear that statement all the
time. Come to Christ. How do we do that? First, we
need to understand this. If you have your Bible there,
and if you want to read this with me, I'm going to turn it
over to 1 Timothy 6. In 1 Timothy 6, verse 13 says, I give thee charge
in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession,
that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he
shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King
of kings and Lord of lords. Lord of lords, that means the
only authority that there is. And he's talking about Jesus
Christ. Who is the King of kings and Lord of lords? Who is the
only authority that there is? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. All things have been placed in
his hands. So this is talking about Jesus
Christ. Now, verse 16 says, who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light, which no man can approach unto. whom no man hath
seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. Do we know what that's
saying? No man can approach unto him. This is the only potentate we're
talking about. That means authority. This is
the only King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is the high and
holy God of heaven, God Almighty. And that verse of scripture says
no man can approach unto him. No man, no man can see him. That's what Matthew 11 said where
we started, Matthew 11 in the verses just before verse 28.
It said no man hath seen the son except those who the father
have revealed the son to. No man seen the father except
who the son reveals the father to. No man can see him. No man can approach unto him. How can you approach unto the
one who you can't even see? No man can come to him. I hope we really understand this.
I hope we really enter into this. Here's the command, come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. This ought to be our immediate
response. How? No sinner can come. No man or
woman can come because we're all sinners. Sinners against
God. If you turn over to John chapter
six, This is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, and in John 6, verse
44 says, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath
sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
No man, no woman can come to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
interesting, isn't it? Come to Christ. Nobody can. Nobody can. Why? Why? It's because all men and
women are dead in trespasses and sins. Spiritually dead. I know that we are alive physically.
And it's hard to understand because we have movement physically.
But in Adam, all died. Whenever he sinned against God,
he died spiritually in that very moment. And that spiritual death
passed to all men and women spiritually dead. You tell a dead man to
come, you go into a funeral home, walk up to a casket and tell
a dead man come up out of that casket. He can't. He's dead. He's dead. That's all of us spiritually
before God. We are dead in trespasses and
sins. That's why we just read where
it says, he quickens. That means gives life to. He
quickens whom he will. He has to give life first. No
man can, verse 44, no man can come to me except the Father
which hath sent me draw him. If a sinner comes to Christ,
it's only because the Father drew that sinner. And verse 37
right here promises us that the Father will draw every sinner
that he's chosen to save. Verse 37 says, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me all
in no wise cast out. They all will come to me. because he'll draw every one
of them. He will draw every single one of them. So if we come it
means the father has drawn us and if the father has drawn us
he will teach us to come in the only way that we will be accepted. The only way if you look back
at our text which is Matthew 11. Verse 29, he said, Take my yoke
upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. I am meek and lowly in heart.
He said, Learn this. Learn this meekness. Learn this lowliness. How do
we come to Christ? If the Father is drawing us.
How do we come to Christ? In meekness, in lowliness. Sinners come labored and heavy
laden, labored and heavy laden, bowed down, bent down, meek and
lowly. That's the soul that can come
to Christ. That's the soul that will come
to Christ, the soul that's in need. That's the soul that will
come to Christ. That's the soul that Christ is
commanding to come, the burdened, the bowed down, those that have
been brought low. Is he talking to everybody right
here? Is God saying this to everybody right here? Here's the answer.
No. He's saying this to the labored, the heavy laden, the bowed down,
the meek, the lowly. That's who he's talking to. He's
not talking to everybody. He's not talking to the pride
filled. He's not talking to the self-righteous. He's talking to sinners. Sinners. Those who can only come to him
in their sin. Those who know in their mind,
if I come to him, he's going to receive a sinner because that's
what I am. That's all that I am. That's the only way I can come.
If a man or a woman tries to come to Christ any other way
than in his or her sin, if a man tries to come in his pride, if
he tries to come in his self-righteousness, he's going to be abased. That's
what the Lord said. If a man tries to come in his
own wisdom, he's going to be proven to be a fool. If a man
tries to come in his own fullness, he's going to be emptied. But
if he comes empty, he's going to be filled. There's only one way to come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's as a sinner in need of
mercy. The only way to come to Christ
is as a beggar in need of grace, a beggar in need of a free gift. That's what grace is. A free
handout. A labored soul in need of relief. I need somebody to help me. One
who is being crushed under a heavy load in need of someone else
to come bear this burden for him or her. That's who can come to Christ,
is that you? I'll tell you that's me, that's
me so burdened because of sin, burdened because of sin. That's
who can come to Christ, that's what it is to come to Christ.
It's to come recognizing that we're in his hands and he has
the ability to do with us whatever he wants to do with us therefore
we come in reverent fear. How do we come to Christ? Fearfully,
reverently, we come as servants before our sovereign Lord and
master, we come as sinners before the God we've sinned against.
That's how we come to Christ, we come as sinners before the
God we've sinned against. so labored, so heavy laden, so
meek, so lowly, because we know that we are sinners who have
sinned against him, sinned against the very one we're coming to. We come begging for mercy. That's
who needs mercy. Lord, I've sinned against you.
I need mercy from you. That's what it is to come to
Christ. There's a story in the Old Testament that illustrates
this so well. It just illustrates this so well,
what it is to come the wrong way and what it is to come the
right way. And I'll tell you, I just want
to remind us if we come at all, it's because the Father is drawing
us. But when we come, there's only one way to come. There's
only one way that a sinner can come. and will be accepted. Accepted by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This story is in 2 Kings chapter 1. If you want to follow along
2 Kings chapter 1 verse 1 says then Moab rebelled against Israel
after the death of Ahab. This country Moab rebelled against
Israel and decided to go to war with Israel. And Ahaziah, that
was the king in Israel at that time, he was a wicked king. He
did not worship the true and living God. He worshipped false
gods. He worshipped idols, like so
many people do today. If we're not worshipping the
God of Scripture, we're worshipping an idol. His name may be Jesus. People may say his name is Jesus,
but if he does not match the Lord Jesus Christ of Scripture,
he's an idol. And that's what this king of
Israel was doing. He was worshiping idols, not
the true God declared in his word. And verse 2 right here
says, Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber
that was in Samaria and was sick. When Moab came in and besieged
Israel and attacked Israel, he hid up in his lattice in the
top of his bedroom and fell out of it. And he hurt himself to
the point that he was very sick. He was confined to a bed. So
verse two goes on to say, he sent messengers and said unto
them, go inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, a false god. an idol. You go inquire of Beelzebub,
the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease. But
the angel of the Lord, the angel of the Lord God said to Elijah
the Tishbite, and Elijah was a true preacher of God. He was a true prophet of God.
He was one that spoke God's word. Verse 3 says, The angel of the
Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers,
the messengers of the king, king of Samaria, and say unto them,
Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that you go to
inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Has this not all happened
because you're worshiping false gods, not the true and living
God? Verse four, now therefore thus
saith the Lord, thou shalt not come down from that bed on which
thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. That's what God told Elijah to
tell those messengers. And after he told it, Elijah
departed. Verse five, and when the messengers
turned back unto him, he said unto them, the king said, why
are you now turned back? And they said unto him, There
came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go turn again unto
the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord,
Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that thou sendest
to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Achron? Therefore thou
shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up,
but shalt surely die. He said that's what Elijah told
us to tell you that's what God Almighty told us to tell you. Verse seven, and he said unto
them, the king said to those messengers, what manner of man
was he which came up to meet you and told you these words?
And they answered him, he was an hairy man and with a girdle
of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the
Tishbite. The king said, Oh, I know him.
I know him. He he he doesn't have anything
to say that I like to hear. Then the king sent unto him Elijah,
a captain of 50 with his 50, and he went up to him and behold,
he sat on the top of a hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man
of God, the king has said, Come down. The king sent this captain
of 50 up to Elijah and said, Man of God, the king said, You
come down. And Elijah answered and said
to the captain of 50, If I be a man of God, then let fire come
down from heaven and consume thee and thy 50. And there came
down fire from heaven and consumed him and his 50. Again, also he
sent unto him another captain. The king sent another captain
of 50 with his 50. And he answered and said unto
him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
And Elijah answered and said unto him, If I be a man of God,
let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy 50.
And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him
and his 50. Two captains, a hundred soldiers. Verse 13, And he sent
again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. The king
sent one more. And the third captain of fifty
went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and besought
him. and said unto him, O man of God,
I pray thee, let my life and the life of these 50 thy servants. Elijah's a picture of Christ
right here. And this man comes lowly, he comes in meekness,
he comes in fear. And he's begging, he's a beggar
in need of mercy. And he came and he said, I pray
thee, let my life and the life of these 50 thy servants. Aren't you the king's servants?
No, we're your servants. Let our lives be precious in
thy sight. Verse 14, Behold, there came
fire down from heaven and burned up the two captains of the former
fifties with their fifties. Therefore, let my life now be
precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said
unto Elijah, Go down with him, be not afraid of him. And he
arose and went down with him unto the king. That's how the
Lord Jesus Christ went to the Father on our behalf. That's how he interceded to the
father on our behalf. He approached in his humility,
in his glorious meekness, in his lowliness, in the humility
of his cross. And because of that, that's how
we approach him. Every sinner in the scripture
who approached him in that way, he received every one of them.
That leper who said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Do you know how that went for
him? Very well, the Lord said, I will be thou clean. That woman
of the city who was a sinner, she came up behind him, weeping,
washing his feet with tears. You know how that went for her?
Very well. That poor blind man, Bartimaeus,
blind Bartimaeus, he sat by the highway side begging Jesus thou
son of David have mercy on me.' When he heard the Lord was passing
by that's what he cried. How did that go for him? Very,
very well. Every sinner who comes to the
Lord Jesus Christ in the labored, heavy, laden, meekness, and lowliness
of his own sin, begging for mercy, will receive it. Because if we
come that way, it means the Father, before the foundation of the
world, chose to draw us to Christ. God did the work. God gets the
glory. That's the evidence that we see
of His work. And to that we say thank you.
I pray we can all come in that meekness and lowliness. Amen. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, you can call
or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next
week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.