(pt100) Matthew

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all creation and nothing happens outside His control (Isaiah 45:18). The sovereignty of God is a fundamental aspect of our faith, affirming that He reigns over all things with absolute power and authority. Isaiah 45:18 emphasizes that God created the heavens and the earth with purpose, and in His sovereignty, He directs all events according to His will and plan. This means that nothing occurs by chance or accident; everything serves His divine purpose. Recognizing God's sovereignty brings comfort to believers, as we understand that He is in control of our lives and the circumstances we face.

Q: How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Christ's resurrection is confirmed by Biblical accounts and witnessed by many (Matthew 28:6-7). The resurrection of Christ is a cornerstone of Christian faith, validated by its Biblical accounts and the numerous witnesses who saw the risen Lord. In Matthew 28:6-7, the angel announces to the women at the tomb that Jesus is not there; He has risen as He said. This affirmation is backed by appearances to His disciples and the transformative impact His resurrection had on their lives. The certainty of Christ's resurrection not only proves His divine nature but also assures believers of their own resurrection and eternal life through faith in Him. It is a historical event crucial for the assurance of salvation and the hope we have as Christians, as it signifies victory over sin and death.

Q: Why is the concept of rest in Christ important for Christians?

Resting in Christ signifies trust in His finished work of salvation (Hebrews 4:3). The concept of rest in Christ is central to Christian faith, highlighting the belief that through His completed work on the cross, believers find spiritual rest and peace. Hebrews 4:3 articulates that those who believe enter into rest, signifying a cessation from striving to earn salvation through personal efforts. It reminds us that salvation is a gift given by grace, and therefore, resting in Christ is an acknowledgment of our dependence on Him for righteousness and reconciliation with God. This rest provides profound assurance, delivering us from anxiety and the burdens of sin, allowing us to live out our faith with confidence in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

Q: How does Christ's finished work affect believers today?

Christ's finished work guarantees the salvation and eternal security of believers (John 19:30). The finished work of Christ on the cross radically transforms the standing of believers before God. In John 19:30, Christ declares, 'It is finished,' signaling the completion of the atonement for sin. This accomplishment means that believers are no longer under the curse of the law but are now counted as righteous through faith in Him. His work not only secures our salvation but also assures us of eternal security as He continually intercedes for us (Romans 8:34). Understanding this gives believers peace and confidence, knowing that nothing can separate them from the love of God and that their salvation is complete and perfect in Christ.

Psalm 16, verse one, we read these words. Preserve me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, my Lord, my goodness extendeth not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied. Wait a minute. Their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lions are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel. My reign's also instructed in the night season. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope."

Tonight we have a subject before us that is of great hope, and I've titled tonight's study, The End of the Sabbath, which is the beginning of our text in Matthew 28, 1-10. All right, we're gonna start off tonight by reading from our scriptures. If you would, turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28, and we're gonna read verses one through 10 tonight. Matthew 28, beginning at verse one. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, toward the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his remnant white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and become as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here, and that was our title for last week's study, for he is risen as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see him. Lo, I have told you.

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, all hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said unto them, be not afraid, go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there shall they see me. We'll spend the rest of tonight's study in the handout. So if you want to take your handouts now and look at page one, top first paragraph, I want to set a picture for you right now. I want you to consider this statement. Look.

You know, wait a minute, before I go any further with that, some of you know that, most of you know that it is, for about six months now, it has been, I have been challenged over and over and over again about not spending enough time teaching on the good works that we do in the flesh guided by the Holy Spirit.

And I've never said that we don't, I've never put it down, but I don't spend my time pointing people to themselves. I don't spend my time or your time pointing to the things that you do just because the Holy Spirit might guide you in a way to do something good. What I do is I point out what God's word says, like Paul says in Romans chapter seven, I think it is, where Paul states that, O wretched man I am, in that very same section of verses, he says, even the good that I do, I find evil.

That's the way sinners see themselves. We don't spend our time looking into what we do. That person who is hounding me wants me to spend more time because that's what he wants to do. He wants to spend more time looking at what we do in the flesh. This is what I do here. Look at that first paragraph again. Look, behold our exalted Savior. That's my job. That's what John Reeves has been sent to do. That's what I do as a pastor of this church. I point people to Christ. Look, behold our exalted savior.

Can you see him seated upon his throne in heaven? There he sits undisturbed. Folks, this is not Plan B, this is Plan A. God Almighty, the Almighty God-Man sits on His throne right now in all of His glory. He sits there undisturbed. He sits in the undisturbable serenity of His absolute sovereignty. He rules everything. It's all under his control. He's not worried about something.

Oh my, you know, it's not like us humans are. We too often spend too much time trying to make our God like us, instead of doing the right thing and comparing ourselves to him. which makes us nothing but worms, makes us worthy of nothing but His wrath, His anger.

Look, look at our sovereign God who's sitting on His throne. Second paragraph, page one. His rest is His glory. Folks, that's the glory of God sitting on His throne, resting. Listen to these words from John 17 too, as that has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And that's what he's doing. He's sitting on the throne of grace, giving eternal life to as many as thou as the father has given to him.

Or what about these words from Philippians 2 verses nine through 11, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him. and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And to bring this out from the Old Writings, I should have put Testament, the Old Testament Writings there, I put in a long, a very lengthy statement from Isaiah. It's Isaiah chapter 45, verse 18 through 25, and it says this, for thus saith the Lord that created the heavens. Now remember, we're talking about looking unto Jesus who is sitting on his throne. He's not in that grave. He's no longer in that tomb. God accepted his sacrifice and he raised himself from the dead.

For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret in a dark place of the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain. I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.

Assemble yourselves, and come, draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near. Yea, let them take counsel together, who hath declared this from ancient time, who hath told it from that time.

Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else beside me, a just God, and a Savior? There is none beside me. Look unto me. And be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth, in righteousness, and shall not return that unto me. Every knowing shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say in the Lord, have I righteousness and strength? Even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed. Page two. Against him shall be ashamed, and the Lord shall the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory.

He has finished his work. In John 17, verse four, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, John 17, four. And then this in John 19, verse 30, when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished.

I remember the first time Pastor Gene preached a message on that to me. I remember sitting there in the pew again, sitting alongside my brother Lee and his wife Shirley. Not the very first message he preached, but pretty close. Kathy hadn't started coming with me yet.

And I remember thinking to myself, there you go. That's the answer to it all. It is finished. There is nothing to do. I remember when Don Fortner preached on that and he took a chair and he slammed it down on the front and he sat down in it and didn't say anything for like 30 seconds. That's a long time when nobody's talking. What a good message that was. It is finished and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.

Our Lord has brought in everlasting righteousness by his obedience. and obtained eternal redemption by His blood. Because Christ has finished His work, the salvation of His people is certain. That's a good way to explain this. It's certain. It must. It shall, it will, it's certain. Listen to these words from Hebrews 9, 11 through 12. But Christ, being come in high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once. into the holy place having obtained. Did you catch that? Obtained. Done. Finished.

Eternal redemption for us. The works were finished before the foundation of the world in God's purpose, and after the cross, they were finished in time when the God-man took his seat in heaven as our forerunner. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, Hebrews 620. There is no more work to be done. Oh, how I wished I could get this through this man's head that is hounding me. Christ did it all. Period. It is finished. The Lord Jesus Christ has entered into his rest, and his rest is glorious, because he's finished his work.

Listen to Isaiah 1110. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17 through 20, we read these words, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away.

Behold, all things have become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Folks, where we were once separated from God, we've been reconciled. What took us away from God, the sin of this flesh, has been reconciled. Christ reconciled his people by becoming sin for us, that we would become the righteousness of God in him. Now then, we are ambassadors, last part of page two. Now we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ dead, be ye reconciled. Be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And then, of course, Romans 8, verse 34, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Look! Behold! Look at our Savior. He's not in the grave. He's sitting on his throne.

Listen to Hebrews 9, 10, 9-14, Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified, set apart, made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Wow. And every priest standeth daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemy to be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

And His rest is glorious, especially to us, His people. I mean, He understands what glorious means to the very, He is glorious. But what a glorious thing it is for you and I, knowing that we deserve nothing but God's wrath, but that our Savior took it for us. and accomplished what we could not do, and that is satisfy God's justice. Folks, we could spend an eternity doing anything and everything we could, and we would never, ever, ever satisfy the justice of God. Our Lord's rest is glorious, just as Isaiah 1110 declared it would be.

Our Savior's rest in heaven is His glory. As God the Father rested on the seventh day because his work of creation was finished, so God the Son rested in the seventh day of time and entered into his rest forever, because he has finished his work of making all things new for his people. That which is his rest is our rest.

Our Lord says, come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in the heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Remember that back in Matthew 11, 28-30?

Or how about these words from Hebrews 4.3, for we which have believed do enter into rest as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. We keep the Sabbath of faith, a spiritual Sabbath, not a carnal one. We rest in Christ, trusting his finished work by faith, entering into his rest. We put all of our rest into what our Lord has done. He's resting. Why shouldn't we? We think we have to offer up good things in this flesh to glorify our God? Let me tell you something, folks.

There's only one thing that glorifies God in John Reeves, and that's his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. My belief in him and what he has done. And that is a gift of God, which glorifies him as well. As God, we read that one, we keep the Sabbath of faith, a spiritual Sabbath, not a carnal one. We rest in Christ, trusting his finished work by faith entering into his rest. Last part of page three. The believer's life is a spiritual keeping of the Sabbath. None of us keep it perfectly. Our best faith in this world is still unbelief, but we do keep, this page four, blessed Sabbath, rest sincerely, ever looking to Christ. ever coming to Christ, ever resting in Christ. Doesn't that bring peace to us, Roger? Our all-glorious Christ gives rest to every sinner who comes to him in faith.

He says, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Listen to this poem I copied. I heard the voice of Jesus say, come unto me and rest. Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad.

I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad. The Lord Jesus Christ has given and continually gives us rest. He gives us the rest of complete pardon, as we read in Isaiah 45, 22, and also in Ephesians 1, verse 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Perfect reconciliation. Colossians 1, 20 through 21, and having 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 that you that were sometime alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. Absolute security.

The Lord has given and continually gives us absolute security, as we read in Philippians 1.6, being confident of this thing, very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

That's one of the verses that's been taken and used to get me. See how the Lord's doing a good work in me? Folks, the good work is Christ in me, the hope of glory. That's the only good work I have in me, Christ, believing in him. That's what this is telling us here, being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work, he's gonna keep me believing in his son, he's gonna keep me trusting in his son, he's gonna keep me, by the power of God, to believe and rest in my Savior, the Lord Jesus. What about 1 Thessalonians 5, 24? Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it, page five. Let us never forget of his special providence as well. And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

We do not keep a carnal legal Sabbath, but a perpetual spiritual Sabbath of faith. Christ is our Sabbath. We rest in him. When the Lord Jesus Christ died at Calvary and rose again, the old Sabbath of the law ended and the new Sabbath of grace began. As the ceremonial Sabbath of the law portrayed a strict universal consecration to God, so this blessed Sabbath of faith involves the perpetual consecration of ourselves to our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what take my yoke upon you means in Matthew 11 29.

We keep the Sabbath of faith when we willfully deliberately take the yoke of Christ. If we would keep the Sabbath, it involves much more than living in a religious ceremony one day a week. To keep the Sabbath is to bow to Christ's dominion. To keep the Sabbath is to learn of Him what to believe, how to live, what to do, how to honor God. To keep the Sabbath is to bow to His will. How can a troubled, weary, heavy-laden, tempest-tossed sinner obtain this blessed Sabbath rest?

I can tell you, both from experience and from the Word of God, there is only one way we can enter into his rest. We have to quit working. We have to trust Christ alone for everything. We also see in our text, our Lord's resurrection glory was announced in a remarkable way. We are told by Matthew that there was a great earthquake.

Then we are informed that the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back a stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his remnant white as snow. Our Lord did not need the help of an angel to roll the stone away from his tomb, but God was pleased to make his son's resurrection a glorious thing, accompanied by signs and wonders. Therefore, when his son arose conqueror of death, conqueror of hell, conqueror of the grave, he shook the earth and sent an angel wrapped in glory to the scene." Page six.

I stress this because we need to always remember that our Lord's resurrection was a type, a pledge, a picture of our own. As the grave could not hold him beyond his appointed time, it shall not be able to hold us. As the angel of the Lord witnessed his resurrection, the angels of glory shall both witness and be instruments of our resurrection. They shall gather God's elect in the day of harvest, as our Savior arose with a renewed, glorious body, but still a recognizable material body, so too we shall rise with glorious yet material bodies in the last day.

Listen to 1 John 3, 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Let all who are taught of God take comfort, be patient. There is a day soon coming when you and I shall appear with Christ in glory. Here we often meet with trials, sorrows, and persecutions. In this world, our lot is one of suffering, weakness, pain, disease, bereavement, and death, but glory awaits us. We shall rise again. Lord, help us who are born of God to think of the resurrection of our Lord and always receive the comfort of it. Let me read for you verses five and six again of our text, Matthew 28.

And the angel answered and said to the women, fear not ye, for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. He's not here, for he is risen as he said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. These words were spoken by the angel and recorded by the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit, for the benefit of God's elect in every age and in every place. They are full of meaning. They tell us that we have no cause for fear in this world. Whatever may come our way in this world, whatever trouble or trial we may face, let us remember the resurrection of our Lord.

Look, behold, the sovereign God of all creation sitting on his throne, and be at peace. The best news you'll ever hear came from a graveyard. He is not here, he said, for he is risen, as he said, come, see the place where the Lord lay. Child of God, that means that our savior is king.

Our sins are gone, and it is well with our soul. It is certainly true that our Lord shall appear in the clouds of heaven and the earth shall be burned with fire. The grave shall give up their dead. The sea shall give up its dead. Page seven. The judgment shall be set. The book shall be opened. The dead shall be judged. The angels of God shall divide the good from the bad and the bad shall be burned with everlasting fire.

But there is nothing in all that to make believers fear judgment. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ and washed in His blood, we shall be found without spot and blameless before Him. We shall be found in that ark which cannot be hurt when the flood of God's wrath is poured out upon the earth. In that great day, We read from 2 Peter 111, an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In other words, we shall enter into everlasting life in a blaze of glory. Then shall both the wicked and the righteous understand the psalmist words that say, blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. What is this message of our Lord's resurrection? The angel said these words, he said, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.

And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There you shall see him. Lo, I have told you, and they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, all hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said unto them, be not afraid. Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there they shall see me.

Our Lord appeared to those two faithful women who had come to honor his body first. They had been the last to leave him after his death and the first to come to his tomb. How greatly he honored their faithfulness. These two women were the first to see the risen Lord. They were the first to hear the risen Christ. They were the first preachers of the resurrection.

That's what they were going to do, to tell the brethren. Our risen Redeemers first thought and first word was for his people. He said, go tell my brethren. Does that fact not touch your hearts? Those words, my brethren, deserve an eternity of thoughtful contemplation. The disciples were weak, frail. erring and filled with unbelief and sin, just as you and I are." Page eight. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ calls them and says, and calls them and us, my brethren. Just as Joseph comforted his brothers. Remember the story of Joseph?

He was sold. He was sold unto a vision of life going down into Egypt. And then years later, the Lord brought a famine into the land and Jacob sent his sons into Egypt for bread. And what did they have to do? They had to stand before their brother. Just as Joseph comforted his brethren who had sold him, so the Lord Jesus comforts and encourages our hearts. Sadly, the disciples had not lived up to their profession, but had yielded to the fear of man, just as we often do.

But Christ is still not ashamed to call them and us, my brethren. What a joyful meeting that must have been. How unexpected, yet that is just what we should expect from him, isn't it? From him who is not ashamed to call us such things as we are, my brethren. Mark tells us in 16, chapter 16, verse 7, that the angelic messenger was especially concerned for Peter.

Peter denied the Lord openly. before men. He seems especially commissioned to give a message of grace and forgiveness to the most fallen of those whom the Master calls my brethren. When the Lord was about to enter into His glory, the Lord Jesus made it a point to show Himself to His poor disciples repeatedly, as if to assure them that no change had taken place in His heart. His love for them was still as fresh and as full as when he first embraced them in electing love before the world began. As if to manifest the nearness, the dearness, the completeness of his affection for his poor, fearful people, he said to Mary, go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. If the Son of God is not ashamed to call us his brethren, let us never be ashamed to own him as our Lord. What a fitting way to close, huh?

(pt100) Matthew

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is the concept of rest in Christ important for Christians?

How does Christ's finished work affect believers today?

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(pt100) Matthew

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is the concept of rest in Christ important for Christians?

How does Christ's finished work affect believers today?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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