Hello and welcome to Sovereign
Grace Baptist Church Bible Study. Today our lesson comes from Matthew
11, 28 and is entitled, Invitation from the King. What a gracious
invitation we have from the King of King and Lord of Lords. In
Matthew 11, 28, he says, Come unto me, all ye that are laboring
or heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Boy, what a gracious invitation
we have. And from the earliest record
we have in the Bible, we have the gracious invitation of the
Lord. And in Genesis chapter 3, we go back to the time of
Adam in the garden, and after his sin and in the fall, the
Lord called unto Adam and said, where art thou? And there was
an opportunity to come to the Lord and confess the sin and
seek forgiveness. And yet, because of his nature
that he had now, because of the sin and the fall, dying spiritually,
alienated from God, He hid, and he blamed others. He blamed his
wife. He blamed God. The woman, she
gave me to eat, and it's your fault. If you hadn't given me
the woman, then she wouldn't have given me the fruit, and
I wouldn't have sinned, and so it goes. It's just a picture
of our nature. You know, it just takes God to
overcome that, and we find that he made them coats of skins and
took care of them. But he had to go to them. They
did not approach him with remorse or guilt or repentance. They
hid themselves, and he came to them. And the effects of sin
and the fall are so serious and fatal that man is utterly incapable
of responding of his own accord to the invitation of God. And
we would be just like Adam. We just oppose God, and we hide
from Him, and we reject Him. And not only is man really not
able because of his spiritual condition, he's most unwilling.
The Lord said, how oft would I have gathered you, but you
would not. And what a miracle of divine
mercy and grace when God overcomes our deadness and our enmity to
Him and compels some to come in. He compels them in a most
gracious way. And the Bible tells us in John
chapter 6, no man can come to me. except the Father which sent
me draw him." No man has the ability, no man has the will,
no man has the desire, except the Father which sent me draw
him. You know, we find that gracious work of the Holy Spirit and God
the Father God the son in Hosea chapter 11 verse 4. He says I
drew them no man can come Unto me except the father which sent
me draw him in the Hosea 11 forces I drew them with cords of a man
the man Jesus Christ with with bands of love and I was to them
as they that take off the yoke, that great burden. And in our
text verse today in Matthew 11, he says, take my yoke upon you. I'll take your yoke of sin. I'll
take your yoke of burden, your yoke of guilt and I'll give you
my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What a relief when
he takes away that burden of sin and takes it off our shoulders
and imputes to us the righteousness that only he can give. You know,
every gospel depicts us with great clearness In Matthew, again
in Matthew chapter 22, verse 1 through 6, if you turn in your
Bibles there to Matthew 22, Jesus is speaking, and Jesus answered
and spake unto them again by parables and said, and remember
we always say parables are or an example that he gives of something
that people are familiar with and has to do with the spiritual
truth. And he said, unto you it's given
to understand parables, but to them it's not. But he said, by
parables the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which
made a marriage for his son and sent forth his servants to call
them that were bidden to the wedding, the invitation, and
they would not come. And again he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have prepared
my dinner, my oxen, my fatlings are killed, all things are ready,
come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and
went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. And
the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully,
and slew them. Boy, what a picture of how we
react to the graceful invitation from the king. All through history,
we've rejected it and killed them that have brought the message
and treated them despitefully. But we find a few verses down
in the parable that the king sent his servants out to gather
together as many as they found and bring them in. He said, you
have to go out there and bring them in. because they won't come
by themselves. So there's a an element there
where he he draws them and it's that word draw is a very powerful
word it just doesn't mean a slight drawing it's a it's a powerful
word it's the the drawing that they used to draw the nets when
he was out on the sea with him and he says throw in your nets
for a haul and they threw it in and tried to draw it out and
they couldn't because of the weight but they put all their
They put all their effort into it, all their strength, and that's
what the Lord does for us. He draws us in that way. And
God is, and He's been so gracious to extend His merciful invitation
to all, and yet we've all been equally adamant in rejecting
the invitation and refusing the call. The psalmist wrote, and
it was important to him, he wrote it by the direction of the Holy
Spirit. My tongue is a pen of a ready writer. In two places,
in Psalm 14 and 53, he says, there's none that seek God. There's
none righteous. None that doeth good. So we find,
again, in the 11th chapter of Matthew, in verse 12-19, if you'd
turn there please, in Matthew 11 beginning in verse 12. And from
the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the
prophets in the law prophesied until John. And if you will receive
it, this is Elias, which was for to come." That's speaking
of John the Baptist who was coming in the spirit of Elijah. And
he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But where unto shall
I liken this generation? It's like unto children sitting
in the markets, and calling to their fellows, and saying, We've
piped unto you, and you've not danced. We've mourned unto you,
and you've not lamented. For John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they say, Yeah, the devil, the son of man, came
eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man,
and a wine-bever, and a friend of publicans, and sinners. But
wisdom is justified of our children. So we have this picture of John
the Baptist testifying of the times, and there's nothing different
today. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. We've declared the gospel as
the only remedy for sin. Sin against God has been brought
to your attention. We've mourned about your sin
over and over, and yet you've not lamented about it. And then
he goes on in verse 20 through 24 talking about, woe to the
great cities where many mighty works were done, yet unbelief
just thrived there. And yet against this rejection,
Jesus again graciously extends the invitation, come unto me
all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
And find that in the next couple of verses here in verse, So the gospel of Luke similarly
records a parable by the Lord where the invitation is given
by a certain man he's called, if you'll turn there to Luke
chapter 14. Luke 14 in your Bibles and beginning
in verse 16 Then he said unto him, a certain
man made a great supper and bade many, invited many to this great
supper. And he sent his servant at suppertime
to say to them that were bidden, come, for all things are now
ready. And they all with one consent
began to make excuses. And the first said unto him,
I've bought a piece of land and I must go see to it and I pray
have me excused. And another said, I bought Five
yoke of oxen and I have to go prove them I pray you have me
excused and another man says I married a wife and therefore
I cannot come So that servant came and showed the Lord these
things and when the master of the house being angry said to
a servant go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the
city and bring in hither and poor and the maimed and the halt
and the blind. What a picture of us in our spiritual
condition. Those that think they're well
and strong and mighty in their own right, they refuse to come. They come up with excuses and
invent things to do away with the sin and the
Lord and all those things. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. So the Lord says, send them out. The Lord, being angry, said unto
his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the
city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the
halt, and the blind, all those things that he talked about in
Luke chapter 4. He said, I've done all those things, and this
day is a scripture fulfilled in your ears. And the servant
said, Lord, it is done as thou has commanded, yet there's room.
And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and
hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none
of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." The
ones that were bidden that refused to come, that denied, that rejected
the Holy Spirit, they don't want to come and they will not come. Tune in sometime to our message,
the Gospel of the Mustard Seed. He brings a parable about the
mustard seed and his disciples were somewhat concerned about,
well, it doesn't seem like things are going very well. And he says,
well, you know, a mustard seed's pretty small, but then it produces
something really great. And so is the kingdom of God. And there shall be a multitude
that no man can number. that he brings, that he draws,
that he redeems, that he gave his life for. Instead of offering every excuse
why they would not come, we find the Lord taking action again,
and the master of the house says, compel them to come in. You know,
Psalms 103 says, thy people shall be made willing in the day of
thy power. So, again, back in Luke 14 as we're reading again
from verse 21 on he says so that servant came and short as showed
his lord this Things and the master of the house being angry
said to his servant Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of
the city and bring in the hither the poor the maimed the halt
and the blind the ones The ones that are pictures of no ability. No no way of their own power
to Come and the the servant said lord it is done as thou commanded
and yet there's room and the lord said go out in the highways
and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be
filled. For I say unto you that none of these men which were
bidden shall taste of my supper." Just emphasizing that again,
that this sovereign issue that the Lord has. The Gospel of John
records the words of our Lord lamenting the situation in John
chapter 3, and he's talking about when the Israelites were in the
wilderness, and they were bitten by the serpents there, and the
picture of being bitten by the serpent of sin, and he commanded
Moses to make a brazen serpent and lift it up, and whosoever
would look up at that brazen serpent Would would not die and
so as in John 3 he applies that to himself in John 3 14 says
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up as you picturing his crucifixion
and Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal
life for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
have eternal life For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."
And that's all of his church, all of his elect from every nation,
tongue, kindred, tribe. In verse 18 he says, He that
believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son. So there we have that caveat
that he came into the world and the world received him not. And
having referenced the Old Testament account of the children of Israel
in the wilderness being bitten by the serpent of sin as found
in Numbers 21a, and Jesus fulfilling that in being lifted up, that
picture of him being lifted up then is being fulfilled in the
time that he is. And he reports what the true
cause of this this condemnation was. He said, he that believeth
not is condemned. Because verse 19 says, and this
is the condemnation. that light is coming to the world
and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. What a picture of our natural condition and how
we have the gracious invitation and yet it's always met in our
natural condition with continual rejection. Over and over we're
given the most gracious and merciful invitation, and yet the response
from us in our natural state is always this. And we have three
examples from the Old Testament here. One in Isaiah 28, 12. I'll
just read it for you quickly here. Isaiah 28, 12. To whom
he said, this is the rest wherein ye may cause the weary to rest. And this is the refreshing. Yet
they would not hear. The gospel that Isaiah preached,
who has believed our report? They would not hear. In Isaiah
53, 3, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Just like Adam in the garden, we're no different. In Jeremiah, chapter 6, verse
16 and 17, Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye
in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, We'll not walk therein. also i sent watchmen
over you saying hearken to the sound of the trumpet but they
said we'll not hearken we'll not walk and we'll not hearken
and in the new testament we find jesus saying in matthew 23 37
oh jerusalem jerusalem thou that killest the prophets and stonest
them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under
her wings, and you would not." And so as our beloved Dr. Robert
Hawker said, and I'm going to paraphrase him here, as the Almighty
Father effectually completes the recovery of the church from
the ruin of sin, he does so using distinguishing grace, accompanied
by an inward work upon the heart of those he compels to come in.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. In the
beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning, thou has the
due of youth." And again, we refer back to Hosea chapter 11,
verse 4, where he says, I drew them with the cords of a man,
the man Christ Jesus, and with bands of love. You know, we find
that in Ephesians chapter 1. The Apostle Paul writes of that.
We'll turn over there and we'll read a couple of verses from
Ephesians chapter 1. Beginning in verse 3, the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself. according to the good pleasure
of His will. And so we find from before the
foundation of the world, we find from eternity, He has a people
that He has loved and that He gave to the Son in the covenant
of grace to redeem. And that redemption takes that
new heart. It takes that getting rid of
the old stony heart, which is dead and trespasses and sin,
and giving them a new heart. We find that in Ezekiel chapter
36, beginning in verse 23. And I always tell everyone in
my classes, you could just underline or highlight all the I wills
that God does here. They're just amazing. And I will
sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen,
which you have profaned in the midst of them. And the heathen
shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall
be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from
among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and
will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean
water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness.
from all your idols, I will cleanse you." You know the biggest idol
we have is ourself, our self-righteousness, our own self-esteem, our own
self-ability that we think that we have where we can come to
God in our own terms. And he says, a new heart also
will I give you. New spirit will I put within
you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh
and I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit
within you and Cause you to walk in my statues and you shall keep
my judgments and do them, you know We have the Lord that fulfills
all those things and as the Lord looks at us through Christ And
we we we have that imputed righteousness to him of him who kept all the
law and all everything And we do our best, and yet we fail
so often, and yet we find that He is there to take care of that
for us. And ye shall dwell, in verse
28, in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be
my people, and I will be your God, and I will save you from
all your uncleanness, and I will call for the corn, and I will
increase it, and lay no famine upon you. Boy, what a wonderful
thing that he does for us in this work of redemption. And
he says, you know what happens after that? Then, after all that
occurs, then you shall look at your own ways which were not
good, and then you're going to loathe yourself. But you know
what He gives us for the spirit of loathing? He gives us the
oil of gladness, the oil of praise, that Jesus has redeemed us from
those things and we don't have those weighing over us anymore. He takes our yoke off of our
neck and puts His yoke of grace around us, which is light and
free and refreshing. All the Father giveth me shall
come to me. We just see the eternal work
which God has entered into for those whom he has loved from
eternity. All that the Father giveth me in the covenant of
grace, they shall come to me. In him that cometh to me I'll
no wise cast out. You know they shall come graciously
compelled, lovingly compelled, lovingly Invited the invitation
of a king for I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of him that Sent me and this is the father's will
which has sent me that of all which he has given me I should
lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day and
this is the will of him that sent me John 640 that everyone
which seeth the son and believeth on him may have everlasting life
and I will raise him up at the last day and And so the invitation
of the gospel of the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of the Son of God goes out and is freely declared, whosoever
will may come and drink of the water of life, it says in Revelation
22, 17. And so every time We hear of someone coming to
the Lord, someone fleeing to the city of refuge. We know that
a mighty work has been done in them, thy people made willing
in the day of thy power. In Ephesians chapter 2, it describes
this process. You hath he quickened or made
alive. spiritually, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in the time past you walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation in time past. of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and we're by nature the children of wrath, even as others." As
we all said, we will not. We won't listen, we won't come,
we won't hear, until he works that work of grace in us. But God, who is rich in mercy,
Ephesians 2, 4, for his great love, wherewith he loved us.
And that's an eternal love that he has exhibited to us. I've
loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn you. That's from Jeremiah. And verse
5 of Ephesians 2, even When we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. And hath
raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. You know, all those things again
highlight what God does for us in spite of our rejection, in
spite of our enmity against Him, in spite of all of our unwillingness
to come to Him with His righteousness. We try to come with our own and
yet it's not satisfactory. and it just leads to frustration
and it's fatal. We have to have that righteousness
imputed to us through the new birth and that only comes from
the Spirit. In 1 Thessalonians, we'll close
with this verse in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 4 and 5. where
Paul writes to these Thessalonians and he says, knowing, brethren,
beloved, your election of God, your choosing of God, that he
chose them before the foundation of the world and redeemed them.
Knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God for our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the
Holy Ghost and in much assurance as you know what manner of man
we were among you for your sake. The gospel came to them effectually. It came to them in power of the
Holy Spirit and in that compelling grace that he exhibits in behalf
of his people. the graceful invitation of the
King. So to him, to God be the glory,
great things he hath done. And as always, my friends, be
free. Until the next time.