You can turn back to Matthew
11. We'll use that as a springboard
for where we're going with the rest of it. I want to expand on the message I brought
at Sally's funeral last Monday, I believe it was. You know, as I said at her funeral,
the first thing I thought of when I heard the Lord had taken
her home was rest. The word rest hit my mind and
stayed on my mind, and I've thought about it since. Such a peaceful word. There's
nothing like rest, is there? You think about when you're so
weary and tired, you're ready to fall over. There were times
when I owned a business that I'd work, I think one time I
worked 32 hours straight. I mean, I was ready to cry. I was ready to cry. I wanted
to go home so bad. I wanted to go home and lay down
so bad, but I had to get this one particular job done. And
I was craving, I mean, craving rest. I just wanted to stop and
rest. Well, the rest that we have in
Christ far exceeds any rest I may feel that I need from my body.
I want that soul rest. I want that peace. and quietness
of mind and conscience, heart, that inward rest. I want that. I want that. I know
that our sister Sally, she's now, along with Boat and along
with all the other saints of God that are with Him, They are
enjoying eternal rest that can't be broken. Tommy and Jane, they
are enjoying, they are together this morning, worshiping the
Lord Jesus Christ without any thought coming into our mind
and without having to reach out and get our mind and bring it
back and listen. they have this eternal rest and
peace. And that's what I want to talk
about this morning, the believer's rest. Where can we find rest
in such a world of unrest? This world is nothing but a place
of unrest. And you and I are born with a
nature of unrest, a nature that cannot rest. Solomon said, the
wicked can't rest unless they're doing some evil. I'm paraphrasing.
Unless they're doing something evil, then they're plotting for
the next one. We're plotting by nature. We plot for the next
thing we want to do. It's unrest. One of the things
that I hated to do when I was a teenager was go to bed. I did. I hated to go to bed and sleep.
I wanted to be up and at it and doing something. My mind was
always so restless. I thought before Adam fell there
was perfect rest and peace of heart and mind. Not a worry or
a care crossed Adam and Eve's brow. But that didn't last long,
did it? Didn't last long. I don't think
it lasted long at all. As soon as Adam disobeyed God,
unrest set in and it hasn't let up. It has not let up. Think about this. Has the news,
since it's been on television, since we have television and
the news programs, has it ever changed? I remember seeing the Vietnam
War and all the riots and stuff going on in the Vietnam War. Has it changed? It's still the
same today. Why? There is no rest in this life,
in this world. There is no rest. There is no
lasting peace, no lasting rest. It can't be. It cannot be in
this world. But it can be in the heart and
in the mind of those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
you know it. Some of you know it. So let's
talk about some of the ways that a believer finds rest. And I
gave most of these at the funeral. But the believer finds rest in
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't we? We find rest
in Him. Now we have to start with the
Lord Jesus Christ if we are going to start right. This rest is not found in deep
meditation. This rest is not found in quitting
certain things or doing certain things. This rest is not found
in a therapist chair or couch. This rest is not found in a pill.
Now there are pills that can numb you and knock you out and
make you have a little peaceful feeling for a while. But that's
just for a while, and it's not real. It's just a chemical reaction. That's all it is. If this rest is found, listen,
this rest is found in the Prince of Peace. That's where it's,
in the Prince of Peace. As it said in Matthew 11, 28,
Christ said, come unto me, seeing that all things are delivered
to me, And no man knows the Son, but the Father. No man knows
the Father, save the Son. He to whomsoever the Son will
reveal Him. That being so, come to Me, all ye that labor." And
we all know what labor is. Hard work. It's being stressed. It's being under a load. As he said, heavy laden. Not just laden, but he adds the
word heavy because The conviction of sin, and a conviction of sin
by the Holy Spirit, using the law of God, is heavy. There's nothing heavier in this
world, there is absolutely nothing in this world heavier than guilt.
Nothing heavier than guilt. And our Lord is saying this,
come unto me all you that labor and heavy laden under sin, under
guilt, Come to me and I, and this is a promise. Here's a promise. This is one of the promises of
God. I will give you rest. Now, if I can't rest from my
sins, I've not come to Christ yet by faith. I haven't really
come to him by faith. He says, come to me and I will
give you rest. Christ is the only one qualified
to give rest. No one else can do so. I don't care how many degrees
they have after their name. The only one qualified is Jesus
Christ. Being God, He can give rest. Being a high priest who can be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, he can give rest,
soul rest. That's the kind of rest I want.
I've got a bed over there I can lay my body down in and get rest. That's what that bed's for, to
lay down and get rest. But my soul, that bed, no recliner,
nothing can give my soul rest. Listen, nothing can quiet my
conscience. but the blood of Jesus Christ.
The only thing that can quiet an accusing conscience is the
blood of Jesus Christ. Come to me and I'll give you
rest. He said in John 14, 27, He said to His disciples, Peace,
peace, rest. You know, if you have peace,
you got rest, if you got peace. Peace I leave with you. Listen,
my peace, I give unto you my peace, spiritual peace, peace
of mind, peace of conscience. I give to you, not as the world
giveth, he says, not as the world giveth. The world gives temporary
peace by false, by lies, by falsehood. It gives temporary. You can find
some temporary peace. You can go to a therapist and
they'll talk you through it. You can get some temporary peace. But that's not lasting. That's
not lasting peace. Not as the world gives. It's
a temporary peace. It's a false peace. I don't want
a false peace. I don't want to try to quiet
somebody, quiet my conscience by telling me a lie. He said, not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. I give you this peace. I give you my peace. Can there
be any greater peace than the peace of Christ? I give you the
peace I have. He said, let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid. When the believer comes to Christ
crucified, the believer finds rest that is the believing center. I'm talking here about believer,
I'm talking about a believing center. They find rest for their soul. And this is where it starts.
Listen, it starts at the cross. It doesn't start at the manger.
It doesn't start with Christ's working miracles. It doesn't
start there. I'm not coming to the miracle-working
Christ. I'm coming to Christ crucified,
died for my sins. The only way I can have any rest
and peace from my sins is that I can see at Calvary, hanging
on that cross, my death, my judgment, my release, my release. Turn over to Colossians chapter
one. Colossians chapter one, look
in verse Look at verse 19, "'For it pleased
the Father that in Him, in Christ, should all fullness dwell, and
having made peace through the blood of His cross.'" That's
when you will have peace, that's when you will have rest, when
you see your peace hanging on that cross. When you see that
by the blood of Jesus Christ, you have peace with God. made
peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all
things unto Himself by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth
or things in heaven. And you that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled
in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy, unblameable,
unapprovable in His sight. This rest that we have starts
at the cross. It starts with Jesus Christ.
It doesn't start anywhere. There is nowhere else it can
start. It has to start at Christ and Him crucified. And coming
to Christ, coming to Him, who is peace, who is our peace, we
find rest. We find rest. Let me show you
a beautiful scripture over in Genesis chapter 8. Genesis chapter
8, let me show you something. Here's the scripture I read,
the first scripture I read when I heard of Sally passing. This
is the first scripture that came to my mind. And God remembered Noah in Genesis
chapter 8, verse 1, And God remembered Noah and every living thing,
and all the cattle that was with him in the ark. And God made
a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep
and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven
was restrained, and the waters returned from off the earth continually. And after the end of the 150
days, the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh
month, on the seventh day of the month, upon the mountains
of Arat. And the waters decreased continually
until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first
day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it
came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window
of the ark which he had made, and he sent forth a raven, which
went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from
off the earth. And he sent forth a dove from him to see if the
waters were abated from off the face of the earth. But the dove
found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto
him and to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole
earth. Then he put forth his hand, took her, and poured her
in unto him and to the ark." And that's where that dove found
rest, in the ark. That raven, it didn't come back. You know why it didn't come back?
It was eating that floating flesh on the water. It had a lot to
eat. It just landed on those floating bodies and it just,
it was just, it's like a buffet out there. And it didn't come
back. There was nothing in that ark
that it wanted. What it wanted was that dead
flesh floating out there. But that dove, that dove had
to come back to the ark because it doesn't live on dead things.
We live on that dead flesh out there. And it came back to the
ark. And this is the first scripture
I thought of when I heard of Sally. I thought he reached out
and took her in, brought her into the ark unto himself. And
it said, that dove found no rest for the sole of his feet. God's
children find no rest in this world. You find no rest in dead
things. You find rest in your living
Lord. That's where you find rest. That's where it is. It says in
Psalm 37.7, rest in the Lord. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently
for Him. Rest in Him and wait for Him. Secondly, rest is found in the
Word of God. It says there in verse 29 of
Matthew 11, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. It's not a study of doctrine. The gospel is not a study of
doctrine. It's a study of Jesus Christ.
And through Jesus Christ, learning of Him, we learn doctrine. That's
how you learn it right. That's how you learn it right. Learn of me. And notice what
he says here, "'For I am meek and lowly in heart.'" He's approachable. "'Come to
me,' he says, "'Sinner, come to me.'" Now those who are heavy
laden, those who are laboring and heavy laden, this is sweet
music. This is good news. Now everybody
else is like, whatever. It just doesn't register. But
I tell you, I know every person here and every child of God,
when God makes them to labor and heavy laden under their sins,
this is music, this is music. Take my yoke upon you, learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest. Here's a promise, there's another promise. You shall find
rest unto your souls. That's what we want, we want
soul rest. Let me tell you something, and
I'm sure you've been told this many times, but the living word,
Jesus Christ, and the written word cannot be separated. You cannot, it is impossible
to grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ and not grow in the
word of God. It can't be done. It can't be done. They cannot
be separated. We find rest in his word. We
find rest in the promises of his word. As I've just said,
these are promises. He said, I'll give you rest.
I'll give you rest. I want you to listen to 1 Thessalonians
2.13. Listen to this. And here is why
it is so important for you and I to study, study, study the
Word of God, read the Word of God, ask God to bless His Word. For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing, because when you receive the Word of
God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the Word of
men, but as it is in truth the Word of God, which effectually
worketh also in you that believe." You see, the Word of God is not
like other books. I've read a lot of books over
the years, and no book works effectually in me, but this book
does. The Word of God said it is powerful.
It is sharper than the two-edged sword. It cuts. It divides asunder. I'll tell you what about the
Word of God. It cuts where and when it needs to cut. It heals. The Word of God is
like the balm of Gilead. It heals. It heals the broken
heart. When you read it, it's because you're reading of Christ.
It's God speaking to you. God doesn't speak to anyone apart
from His Word. It cuts, it heals, it comforts.
Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4.18, comfort one another with
these words. And then it guides, it's a lamp
unto our feet and a light unto our path. I believe it was John Newton
said, the more we are saturated, and I'm gonna paraphrase this,
the more we are saturated in the word of God, the more we
have an understanding of which way to go and what to do, you
know, when we come up against things, the more we are saturated
with the word of God, the more we can say, that's what I should
do. Because it guides us. David said in Psalm 119, 105,
thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And I know this, the more the
word of God is in us, the more we read it and study it, the
greater the rest, the greater the rest. According to thy word. How many times do you hear that
in scriptures? According to thy word. David, especially in the
Psalms, according to thy word. The word of God in the hands
of the Holy Spirit ministers rest. And then rest is found in his
love. Psalm 36, seven. How excellent is thy loving kindness,
O God. Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. You know, the scripture
says love is strong as death. It's strong as death. Where there's
real love, you can't separate. You can't separate where there's
real love. I'll show you that over in Romans
chapter eight. Look over in Romans chapter eight. Paul says over here in Romans
chapter 8 and verse 38 and 39. This is real love right here.
This is real love. that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord." We cannot separate ourselves from
the love of God in Christ to us. I can't even separate myself
from it. Not His love. Not His love. And we rest in His love. That
gives us rest. When you read the Scripture,
that gives us rest. You know, there's real rest in
love. When someone loves you, and you
love them, is there not rest? Can you not go away for two or
three days or whatever and rest, knowing that your spouse back
home loves you, is true to you? You know that. And that gives
you rest. That gives you rest. Love gives
rest. Where there's real love now,
where there's real love between two people, they have rest. When the love of God is shed
abroad in the heart, when it's shed abroad in the heart, there
is real rest because the Lord loves you. It's not do this,
do that, don't do this, don't do that. No, it's a relationship
built on love. And that brings rest. Go over,
we don't have time, but go over and read 1 Corinthians 13, I think it's
four through eight, when you have time, love never fail, love
volunteer not itself, that portion of scripture that speaks of the
character of love, when that is between two people, there's
rest, there's rest in love. Real love brings rest. And then,
the believer finds rest in the power of the Lord. As it says
in Romans 8, 28, And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are of the call according
to His purpose. Now, how do we know? How can we be sure that everything's
working for my good? Because right now, it just seems
like it's disaster. Right now, it seems like everything
is working against us. Here's how we can be sure. Here's
how. And I'll read it to you, Philippians
3.21. Paul speaks of the Lord who shall change our vile body
that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. Here
it is. Here's how God is able to make
all things work together for our good. According to the working
whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. He has
the power to subdue absolutely everything. Satan, all the evil
spirits, Men, all evil men, He's able to make everything work
for my good. As chaotic as things look right
now in this country, as chaotic as they look throughout the whole
world, it is absolutely working together for our good. Everything
is working according to the purpose of God to bring you and I home. Everything is working right now,
individually. We all experience things differently. You know, there's things going
on with you, that's not going on with me. Things going on with
me, that's not going on with you. But right now, all those
things are conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ. And that's good. That's good. If we could just remember that
when we get out the door, You know, it's easy to remember that
when I'm standing here telling you. And I'm standing here reminding
myself because I got it in my notes. But here in just a few
minutes, we all got to leave. That's why Paul said in one scripture,
he said, think on these things. Take your mind and think on these
things, things that are honest, pure, He said, think on these
things, and think on the message you've heard today. Here's one
of the things we have to work on it, and I have to work on
it, and you have to work on it. And it's to take what we've just
heard. But you know the Lord has promised
to be here, right? I mean, He's promised we're two or three together
together. You believe He's here? In spirit, He's here? If you're
the body of Christ, He's here, right? You're His body. He's
the head, you're the body, He's here. Let's not take what we've
heard and forget it by the time we get it out the door. We really
ought to chew over it. Get spiritual nourishment out
of it like we do the food we eat for our bodies. We rest in His power. We know
that Jesus Christ has all power given to Him in heaven and earth.
And He's able to make everything work for our good. He has the power to subdue Satan.
Satan very real. I know, you know, we have a tendency
not to, not to, we have a tendency to lose the reality of that because
we can't see. You know, we have more of a tendency
to believe everything we can just see. But He's very real. He goes to
and fro in this world, up and down in this earth. He goes to
and fro. He's going to and fro seeking
whom He may devour. Never forget that what's going
on out there, the spirit of darkness is behind it. It's not just a
bunch of men that can't stand each other, which that's so,
but the spirit of darkness is behind all this. The spirit of
darkness. But our Lord is able to subdue
Satan, He's able to subdue men, and He's able to subdue my sin
nature. He's able to subdue that. And
I tell you what, He's able to subdue death. Death has no hold on us. It has
no hold on us. The Scripture says we are kept
by the power of God through faith. Our Lord said this and well,
it's this is written. Well, he said it is in Genesis
18. Everything here is his word. He said, is anything too hard
for the Lord? Remember, as Sarah was going
to have, he said, told Abraham, Sarah is going to have a child.
And she laughed. She laughed. And the Lord said, is anything
too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed, I'll return
to thee according to the time of life." And Sarah will have
a son. There's nothing too hard for the Lord. Our Lord said this
in Mark 10. And Jesus looking upon them said,
With men it's impossible, not with God. For with God all things
are possible. Do you believe that? That'll
give you rest. I'm telling you the truth. It'll
give you rest if you honestly believe it. If you can't find
any rest, you know why? You don't believe it. It's not His fault. It's not
a problem with the Word. It's a problem with the fact
that I really don't believe what He said. But if you really believe
Him, if you really, really believe Him, you'll find rest, because
there's nothing too hard for Him. He said that back in Genesis
18, and the Lord said it again in Mark chapter 10. And then last of all, the believer
enjoys rest when he finally enters into the presence of the Lord. You see, we have rest in this
life. But now listen, in this life, you and I have to labor
to rest. Isn't that what Paul said in
Hebrews, labor to rest? For you and I to really rest,
we have to actually labor to do it. But now there comes a
time when our time is up and we go to be with the Lord. And
then there's no more labor to rest. It's an eternal rest. Never to be troubled. I just
can't wrap my mind around that. Never to be troubled. Never to
be troubled again. As it says in Hebrews 4.9, there
remains therefore a rest to the people of God, and there is that
eternal rest in His presence. Now, I want you to look over
in Revelation chapter 21. I think I'll go ahead
and close here. In Revelation 21, let me read
these first six verses. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth." You know, that alone, just that statement right there,
you ought to sit down and think about it. You ought to sit down
and think about a new heaven and a new earth. That's going
to happen. That is literally going to happen. For the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no
more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, that's the church coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people
and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he
that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. New. And he said unto me, Write. Write this down for these words
are true and faithful. It's going to happen. And he
said unto me, it is done. It's done. Now you and I are
waiting on it. We are waiting for the experience
of it. But for God, he said, it's done. I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Now turn
over to chapter 22. And he showed me a pure river
of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb. in the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river was there the tree of life,
which bared twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month. And the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and
His servants shall serve Him. and they shall see His face."
And you all sing that song, what a day it will be when His face
I shall see. They shall see His face, and
His name shall be in their foreheads, in their minds. We have the mind
of Christ. And there shall be no night there,
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun. For the Lord
God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Think on these things. The more
you think on these things, the greater your rest will be. Rest in the Lord. There is no
other place to rest.