It was late in the evening in
the land of Galilee. Men and women were coming in
from the fields, the shops, the markets, and the sea, exhausted
after a long day of toil and labor. There was the workman
coming from the shop, the carpenter with his tools, the farmer coming
from the field, the fisherman with his nets, after toiling
all day long in the hot, humid sea, the woman with her pitcher
of water for the evening, all weary, burdened with care, going home
for a few hours rest, get up and go after the same pursuits
again the next day. There was the widow with her
hungry children in the streets. There was the young man with
his wife and children with care written across his face. And as our Lord Jesus saw them,
he read their hearts. And he saw in those faces in
the crowded streets of Galilee a representation of the world
in every age, a world perishing with care,
a world perishing in helpless despair, a world perishing with
a heavy burden. a world perishing in sin. And he lifted up his voice and
cried out to these multitudes, come unto me, all ye that labor
and are 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 you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light. Now look in Matthew chapter 11
with me. You will notice in this context
that our Lord Jesus plainly declares four things in very close connection
which most people must have separated, defined, and explained. He sits as he preaches to these
people, as he ministers to their needs and instructs them in the
gospel, he gives them plain declarations concerning four things which
most people would never put together in one sermon. Our Lord, first
of all, in verses 20 through 24, shows us that it is the responsibility
of all who hear the gospel to believe and obey the gospel. Look in verse 20. Our Lord began
to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were
done because they repented not. These men and women who had heard
his word and seen his miracles were responsible under God to
repent of their sins and to embrace the Messiah, the Savior, the
King, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. But they didn't
do it. They ignored his word. They ignored
the miracles he performed. They ignored his warnings. They
ignored his promises of grace. They ignored his instructions
from the Word of God. Though he is the prophet like
unto Moses whom God raised up, though he is the priest, though
he is the king, they ignored him. Though God's Son came in
human flesh and ministered to them, they ignored him. And our
Lord says in verse 21, woe unto thee, Chorazin. Woe unto thee,
Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which
were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. He's declaring to
them that if he had done for Tyre and Sidon what he did for
Judea, what he did for Galilee, what he did for these cities
now in Galilee, he said, if I had done for them what I'm doing
for you, they would have repented. But I withheld from them that
which would have brought them to mercy and grace, and now I've
given it to you, and you despise it. Woe unto you. He says in
verse 23, and thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven
shall be brought down to hell. For this reason, for this reason,
if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done
in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto
you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and the
day of judgment than for thee. Now, will you hear what the Son
of God is saying? He's declaring in the plainest
terms possible your responsibility for your soul. He's declaring
in the plainest terms possible that you are responsible for
what you do with the word of his grace. He's declaring in
the plainest terms possible, if you suffer his wrath, it's
your fault. If you perish in your sins, it's
your fault. If you die in unbelief, it's
your fault. And the fact that you have heard
the gospel, and you've heard it. The fact that you have heard
the gospel preached in the power of God's spirit, and you have.
The fact that you have heard God speak, and you've heard God
speak. You've heard every one of you
here. You've heard God speak. I know you have. You know you
have. Now, if you despise that word
from God, you'll perish in your sins and it's your fault. It's
your fault. That's human responsibility.
Folks say we need to preach more human responsibility. You can't
preach it much plainer than this. If you would believe, God would
have mercy on you. If you would repent, God would
pardon your sin. If you would come to Christ,
God would save you. But you won't. But you won't. And the hottest place in hell
is reserved for you. That's what he says in the text.
If he had done for the Sodomites what he's done for you, if God
had just sent a preacher down to Sodom and told him of a crucified
substitute, they would have repented long ago. But he didn't do that
for them. And therefore, in the day of
judgment, those sodomites will rise up in judgment against this
generation. And the hottest place in hell
shall be reserved for those who've heard and despise the gospel. But secondly, our Lord shows
us plainly that God has from eternity chosen to reveal the
gospel to some. and hide it from others according
to his own purpose of grace in election. So he declares man's
responsibility and in the same breath proclaims God's sovereign
grace in election, God's immutable purpose of grace in election,
and he does it in form of a prayer. Look in verse 25. At that time,
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because thou hast hid these things." Now underscore
that. God has hid these things from
the wise and the prudent, and revealed them unto babe, even so, father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Another person says, I believe
in human responsibility and I believe in election. Well, I believe
in human responsibility, and I believe in God's electing grace,
and I believe that they are both complementary to one another,
and they both lay the burden of responsibility upon the sinner,
and they both give glory to God for his free grace. There's no
contradiction here. You're responsible to believe.
If you believe, God has caused you to believe. If you refuse
to believe, it's your fault. But if God saves you, it's God's
fault. If God gives you light, it's
God's fault. If God gives you mercy, it's
God's fault. If God reveals the gospel to
you, it's God's doings, not your doings, not yours. Yes, God has
from eternity chosen whom he will save. He's God. Yes, God
has from eternity predestinated all things whatsoever come to
pass, that those whom he has chosen may hear and repent and
believe the gospel. He's God. Yes, God has mercy
on whom he will have mercy. Yes, God is gracious to whom
he will be gracious. Yes, God shows his everlasting
love to whom he will show his everlasting love. He loves Jacob
and he hates Esau only according to his sovereign will without
anything in Jacob or in Esau. Now, that's what the scriptures
declare. Well, I don't like that. I'm sorry. That's the way it
is. That's the way it is. And then our Lord tells us of
his own total sovereignty in the matter of saving sinners.
Look in verse 27. He tells us that every man's
responsible to hear the gospel. He tells us that God has purpose
to save some. And he tells us in verse 27 that
he's the one who does the saving and he saves whom he will. Look
at verse 27. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. The Father's put everything in
the hands of the Son. God the Father, the triune God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost has put everything in the hands of
the mediator. For what purpose? No man knoweth
the Son but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and look at it, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him. If you ever know the living God,
you're going to have to have Jesus Christ, the sovereign savior,
turn the lights on in your soul. If you ever come to know the
living God, you're going to have to hear the voice of the son
of God speak in your soul. If you ever know the living God,
you're going to have to have repentance and faith given you
and proclaimed to you by Jesus Christ the mediator. That's the
only way men know God. That's the only way. How shall
the dead live? Behold, the hour has come, and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God,
and they that hear shall live. This is the hour. If you hear
the voice of the Son of God this hour, you're going to live. It's
just that simple. He's sovereign and he's a savior. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. But lest it be his name, he does
have mercy. He will be gracious to whom he
will be gracious. Oh, but he will be gracious.
May he be pleased today to be gracious to some of you. And
then our Lord declares this. All who come to Christ will be
saved by his almighty sovereign grace. He looks out here at these
men and women who've heard his voice, have been hearing his voice now
for three years, have been seeing the miracles for three years,
and they despised it. They despised it. He's looking
at these very men and women whom he has just abraded, He's looking
at these very ones whom he just said, Sodom will rise up against
you. Tyrant Sidon will rise up against
you. In the day of judgment, hell's
hottest place shall be reserved for you who despise my word. And now this is what he says,
come unto me. Come unto me. All ye that labor
and have it laden, I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. All who come to Christ, obtain
rest from Christ. Now some folks will argue. Some folks will say, well, I'm not going to believe in a
God like that. No, I will not trust a God who
reveals the gospel to some and hides it from others. I will not worship a God who
is absolutely sovereign. If God doesn't give me my free
will, I'll not have anything to do with God. I won't have
a God who's just a dictator over me. But then there's some folks
who are weavy. There's some folks who are heavy
laden. And the very fact that there's a God in glory who has
mercy on sinners gives them hope. And they hear the word, come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I'm going. How
about you? I'm coming. How about you? We're
here, laboring, heavy laden sinners. Christ says, come to me. Now,
you can argue, or you can come. You can fuss, or you can come.
You can fight against it, or you can come. Come unto me, he
says, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. Let others fuss
and argue. Let the theologians speculate.
While you're trying to figure out how divine sovereignty and
human responsibility fit together or exclude one another, I'm going
to preach the gospel of God's sovereign grace to perishing
sinners and call on whomsoever will to come to Christ and urge
them to do so. While other folks are trying
to figure out how the gun works, I want to pick it up and fire
it. That's what I'm doing today, preaching the gospel of God's
free grace to you who need his free grace. Now, this is the
gospel call. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Christ says, come
and I'll give you rest. He does not say, come and I'll
show you rest. He does not say come and I'll
tell you about rest. He says come and I'll give you
rest. I have the power to give it.
I have the will to give it and I have the right to give it.
Come to me. That is believe on me. Trust
me. Commit your soul to me and I'll
give you rest. I'll give you peace with God,
peace in your conscience, peace in your heart, peace in your
soul, peace forever. I'll turn your turbulent storm
into an everlasting calm. I'll give you such rest that
the world can never give and the world can never take away.
I made you for myself. Come and find rest in me. You can never find rest until
you come to me. Now hear me. I want everybody here to pay
attention, hear me. This gospel call is to you. No qualification, no limitation,
no reservation. This gospel call is to you. If you hear my voice, it's for
you. If you hear my voice this morning,
I am God's ambassador. Christ Jesus, the Son of God,
is calling you to come to him. And if you come, if you come
to Jesus Christ, our Lord, you will find rest for your soul. And that's what the text says.
As I preach, may God, the Holy Spirit, graciously speak to your
heart in life-giving power and cause you to come to Christ.
I'm going to try to open up this text with the greatest simplicity
simply because it's a very simple text. I trust that God will anoint
my words with his power. First, I want you to see the
person who calls you. It is none other than the God-man,
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the one who calls
you to come to him without fear and find rest for your soul.
It is the Savior himself, the ever-living high priest who died
at Calvary as the sinner's substitute, that one who died to satisfy
justice on the behalf of men, that one who suffered the wrath
of God to the full satisfaction of wrath for sinners, that one
who died to put away the sins of his people. He calls you to
come to him and obtain rest. He is the God-man in heaven,
the sovereign Lord who has power to save whomsoever He will, who
will save all who come to Him, all who come to God by Him. He'll
save them to the uttermost. It is that one who is the sovereign
Lord of the universe who now calls and he says, come unto
me, come unto me. Now I'm going to use his words,
but it's not me. It's him. It's him doing the
talking. Come unto me. Come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden. You see, I'm just his ambassador.
I'm just his messenger boy. I've come with his word and his
authorities with that word. His power is with that word.
He says to you, he says, come unto me. He is the one whom you've
long rejected and despised. And yet he says, come. Oh, what
mercy, what mercy. How many times have you heard
his voice? I heard him speak. No, thank you. Not interested. That's good for some folks, but
not for me. Maybe one of these days, maybe one of these days, That's the condition some of
you're in. And your willful rejection of
Christ, you've heard and despised and heard and despised, and your
willful rejection of the gospel of His grace is an aggravation,
is an horrible aggravation of your guilt before God. It's far,
far, far more dreadful that one should perish before God from
the place where the gospel is preached than perish before God
from a place where there is no voice of a gospel preacher. You've
not only broken God's law, but you've despised his gospel. He
says, I've called and you've refused. I've stretched out my
hands and you would not answer me. I have offered and I've given
to you the word of my grace. You despised it. Therefore, I'll
mock when your fear comes. I'll laugh at your calamity.
When you cry out, I'll not hear you. This is the context in which
we find this. Our Lord is speaking to these
men and women in Bethsaida and Chorazin. He's speaking to these
men and women in Galilee and in Judea and he's saying, you've
heard and you've heard and you've heard and you would not come
to me. Now I cannot, I cannot but speak
one more time. Come, come. Oh, you that labor in a heavy
land. Oh, what mercy. He spoke one more time. He spoke
one more time. What mercy to you. He speaks
to you one more time. Come unto me, all you that labor
in a heavy laden. This is the one who knows fully
and perfectly the purposes of the eternal God. And yet he invites
you to come. I hear people all the time fuss
about God's election, say, well, if I believed in election, I
wouldn't preach. They probably wouldn't. If I believe in a God
like that, I wouldn't do anything. They probably wouldn't. They
serve God for what they get from God, not from a principle of
love and faith. But our Lord Jesus Christ knows
perfectly what God's eternal purpose is. He knows who the
elect are because he chose them. He said, you've not chosen me,
but I've chosen you. He knows who the redeemed ones
are because He redeemed them. He said, I laid down my life
for the sheep. Other sheep I have. And then
He turned around and said, you're not of my sheep. He knows who
they are. Our Lord Jesus knows who will
repent and who will believe the gospel. He knows who will have
faith and who will have life because He is the one who sovereignly
gives repentance, faith, and eternal life to whom He will.
The Son quickeneth whom He will. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows all
these things and yet he freely invites everybody who hears his
voice to come to him. He freely invites sinners to
come to him and even presses you to come to him. He even presses
you. He says, come, and I'm going
to tell you why you ought to come. Come, and I'll give you
reasons to come. Come, hear me now. Let us reason
together, saith the Lord. He presses men into the kingdom,
though He knows full well who the elect are, who the redeemed
are, who shall be brought to faith in Christ Jesus. This one
who calls you has all power to receive you, all power to save
you, and all power to give you rest. He does not speak with
vanity. His invitation is not a vain
word to men. Our Lord means what he says,
and he has the right, the will, and the power to do what he means.
He says, come unto me and I'll give you rest, and he will. He'll
surely do it. This one who calls you to rest
in himself has already obtained rest for himself and for all
who come to God by him. Turn over to Hebrews 4. Hebrews
chapter 4 and verse 3, for we which have believed do
enter into rest. That's what it is to believe.
That's what it is to come to Christ. We enter into rest. As he said, as I have sworn in
my wrath, if they shall hear my, if they shall enter into
my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world. And in verse 9, there remaineth therefore a rest
to the people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, that is entered into Christ's rest, he also hath ceased from
his own works as God did from his. Let us therefore labor to
enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ,
as a mediator, entered into heaven, and he ceased from his works. As a mediator, he has finished
the work of righteousness, and he's finished the work of atonement.
He's finished the work of reconciliation. He's finished the work of justification. He's finished the work of redemption,
and he's entered into rest. Nothing left to do. Nothing left
to do. I've finished the work thou gavest
me. Our Lord Jesus has not only ceased from his work as a mediator,
but he has obtained freedom from all work for all his people.
That is, he says, come to me and in coming to me, you enter
into a rest where there is no more work to be done. No more
work, no more work to obtain God's favor. No more work to
obtain God's mercy. No more work to obtain God's
salvation. Cease working! Come to me. Stop laboring. Come to me. Stop working for God's favor. Come to me. That's what it is
to enter into rest. He gives rest to all who believe. I've told you so many times this
is the meaning of the word Sabbath. In the Old Testament scriptures,
God on the seventh day rested. That means Merle, he quit working.
He just quit working, that's all. He wasn't hired, he's gone. He just quit working. He quit
doing. He flat quit doing. Rested. And he said, now you keep a Sabbath
day unto me. Every seven days observe one. Every seven weeks observe one. Every seven years observe one. A Sabbath of rest. What does
that mean? That means quit working. Don't
pick up sticks on the Sabbath day. That's what it means. And
don't tell your grandma on the Sabbath day. Don't do anything
on the Sabbath day. Stop working. That's what it
means. Somebody says, well, we ought
to keep the Sabbath. I've been keeping it now for
some time. I've been keeping the Sabbath day for 21 years
and tend to keep on keeping it, keeping it forever. Well, how
do you keep the Sabbath preacher? I quit working. I quit working. I quit laboring for God's favor. I quit trying to do something
to make a I quit trying to atone for my sin. I quit trying to
please God. I quit trying to make God like
me. I came to Jesus as I was and
as I am, and I missed. I quit working. I trust him. That's what it is to come to
Christ. We enter into his rest. Secondly, here's the character
which describes you. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden. Now, I've heard preachers wrangle
that around and make it say what it doesn't say. Our Lord does
not put any qualification upon the words. And not any qualification. Do you labor? Then he's talking
to you. Do you carry a heavy burden?
Then he's talking to you. All who labor are here called. Any form of labor qualifies you. Every form of labor is included
in the call. This is the laboring man's gospel.
Those who labor in the service of vain religion, especially
those who attempt to justify themselves, they're called to
Christ. You're offering your sacrifices,
and you're offering your prayers, and you're offering your religious
services, and the Lord says, I'm weary of them, and I know
you are. They don't do you any good. They'll
bring you no rest. Stop laboring. Stop saying your
prayers and stop reading your Bible and stop offering your
sacrifices and stop going to church. Stop doing anything to
get my favor. Stop doing it. Oh, you don't
dare say that to folks. Oh, I hope you heard me say that.
Stop doing anything. Just stop it. Stop it. Don't
do it anymore. Don't do it anymore. You've been
laboring in religious service year after year after year trying
to win God's favor. The Lord says come. Come to me. I'll give you rest. I'll give
you rest. Those who labor in the service
of self. Most everybody does. Labor to
get gain. Labor to get fame, labor to get
a name. The Lord Jesus calls you to.
He says, come to me. I'll give you rest. Come to me
and you won't care anymore about gain or fame or name. Come to
me and you'll rest. Those who labor in the service
of the world, trying to improve the world, and lots of folks
do. They labor by deeds of charity to try to make things better.
They labor in education to try to improve the next generation.
They labor in medicine to try to find cures for various diseases
and to help folks who are in need. They labor in legislation
and government trying to cause the world to be a better place
in which to live. And they labor and labor and
labor for this world. And the Lord says, come to me.
I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. And while
you live in this world, you'll have rest in this world. Those
who labor in the service of Satan and drunkenness and lasciviousness
and rioting and infidelity, they too are called. He says, come
to me. Our Lord looked out and there's
a harlot. and there's a drunk, and there's a publican, and there's
a Pharisee, and there's a Sadducee, and there's a religious zealot,
and there's one who's just laboring after all he can get, the rich
man, the merchantman, and the Lord looks at him, and he says,
come on. Laboring men, laboring women,
folks who've been laboring, laboring, laboring, come to me and quit
your labor. Quit your labor. All who are
heavy laden are called. All those whose hearts and souls
are heavy, burdened with despair, weary with disappointment, and
vexed with sorrow are called. Are you burdened with sorrow,
slander, oppression, and isolation? I don't remember where it was
or why. A while back I was with someone,
might have been Shelby, I don't know, looking at some pictures. I was a boy. And whoever it was made the observation,
said, you look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your
shoulders. I responded by saying I was. I was. Oh, I brought myself to such isolation. had such care and sorrow and
yet at the same time such ambitions and anxieties and greed. A burden of sin, guilt. Try to unload it on somebody
else. Try to put it somewhere else. A psychiatrist tried to
tell you it's somebody else's fault, but you can't get rid
of it. Your heart's still burdened.
You have a dread of God, oh, a horrible dread of God. Fear
of death, horrible fear of death. Our Lord says to the heavy laden,
come, come, come to me, I'll give you rest. Are you weary? Are you heavy laden? Will you
spend your money and labor for that which satisfies not? Come
to Christ and find rest. All that my soul has tried left
but abysmal void. You fill in the blanks. Jesus
is satisfied. Jesus is mine. Come to me, he
says. I'll give you rest. Thirdly,
look at the rest which is promised you. Rest. Oh, I like that word. Rest. How sweet. What a blessed experience. What would you give for a little
rest? I mean, for real rest. Rest. Sometimes I get so weary. So
tired. I've been going on the road preaching. Sleep a few hours every night
and drive home, drive all night long. Pull in driveway eight, nine,
10 o'clock in the morning. I don't want anything to eat. I don't want anything to drink.
All I want is a bed. I want some rest. Rest. Oh, how good rest is for a weary,
laboring man. But this is promised to those
who come to Christ. It's promised to all who come
to Christ, but only to those who come to Christ. There is
a rest to be given. He says, come unto me and I will
give you rest. Trust Christ alone. Trust Christ
alone as your all sufficient Lord and Savior, and he'll give
you rest. This is the gift of his grace. He gives faith and then he honors
faith by giving to faith rest. Say, well, preacher, I trust
Christ and I don't have that rest. That's because you're mixing
something with trusting Christ. That's right. You're mixing something
with trusting Christ. You're trusting Christ and your
repentance. You're trusting Christ in your works. You're trusting
Christ in your reformation. You're trusting Christ in your
good deeds. You're trusting Christ in your feelings. You're trusting
Christ in your emotions. I'm telling you, if you come
to Christ, you have rest. You have rest. He gives it. He
gives rest to my conscience. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, sprinkled on my conscience, has purified my conscience from
dead work. I was tormented in conscience.
My soul, the guilt of sin, crushed on me like a weight from heaven
that would sink my soul into hell and was sinking it fast. My conscience wouldn't let me
sleep. My conscience tormented me day
and night and night and day, tormented with the guilt of law,
tormented with the guilt of sin, tormented in conscience, in heart
and in soul. But then I saw one hanging on
a tree and I trust him. And my conscience
is now Dead to guilt. Dead, dead. The blood of Christ
says not guilty. The blood of Christ says free.
The blood of Christ says justified. The blood of Christ says there's
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
He gives rest to my heart. because the love of God is shed
abroad in my heart. The knowledge of his love for
me gives me rest." And if he knew his love for you,
he'd be resting. Sure he would. Does God love me? Does God Almighty
love me? I trust His Son. Yes, He loves
me. His love is what calls me to
trust His Son. I know that He loves me because
He's given me faith in His Son. Now, knowing that He loves me,
I'm at peace. I'm at peace. If God loves me,
everything's alright. If God loves me, whatever He
brings to pass is good. He that gave his Son, he who
spared not his Son, he will with him freely give us all things."
You do it. You do it. And any time I fail to enjoy
this rest, it's because I don't believe his love. Huh? That's just, that's where we
live every day. That's where we live every day.
Murmuring and complaining is just another word for unbelief. Griping, belly aching, just another
word for looking God in the face and saying, I can't really trust
your law. Can't really trust it. He gives rest to my mind. by
the assurance of his providential rule, peace. It's all right. Whatever he does, it's all right.
He does well. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Go through trouble and heartache.
Brother Russ Warner and I were talking last Wednesday Just riding
down the road, wanted to talk, so I just listened. He's watching his wife die. He
said, he said, I finally just walked one day, went for a walk.
And I said, and he wept as he said it, I
said, Well Lord, it's all right. It's all right. And that doesn't
take away the pain. That doesn't take away the pain.
But it's all right. You're doing good. You're doing
good. It is the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth him good. That'll give you some rest. That'll
give you some rest. He gives rest in my life. For
He's given me a law, a motive, and an object in life worth pursuing. And that object is Christ Himself. I never had it before. I never
had anything worth living for. I never had anybody worth living
for. I never had anything worth pursuing. I never had anybody
worth caring about. Nobody! Nobody! But He came and
made Himself known. And my soul cries, whom have
I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth
I desire beside thee. Oh, what rest. You find a man
or woman with a purpose in life and you'll find one who got some
rest. You find a man or woman with some goal, some aspiration,
something that governs them, something that motivates them,
something that drives them with joy and with zeal for this one
thing because he loves it. And you'll find one who has rest.
Oh, he'll labor like nobody else, but he has rest. He'll work like
nobody else, but he has rest. He zealously gives himself to
his cause, but he has rest. And that cause and that one is
Jesus Christ, our Lord and his glory. But there is also a rest
to be found. Our Lord says, come and I'll
give you rest. And then he says, take my yoke
upon you. and learn of me and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. That's what Russ did. That's
what he did. When he said, Lord, it's all
right. Picking up the yoke. Put it on his neck. Now I can
rest. Now I can rest. Now I can rest. Surrender to Christ in his will. You can rest in that. Consecration to his glory. I'll give you rest. Whatever
comes to pass, I've put his yoke on me. and I'm resolved, God helping
me, to live and give myself for his glory in this world. And doing this, pursuing this
one object, if it causes trouble with mother and father, if it
causes trouble with son or daughter, if it causes trouble with husband
or wife, if it causes trouble with family and friends, If it
divides brother and sister, I'm committed to the cause of His
glory, and that gives me rest. That gives me rest. It's not
a carelessness. It's just simply saying, let
the chip fall where they will. This is where I'm going. Come
what may, cost what it may, no matter who likes it, no matter
who doesn't, I'm headed in this direction. Come go with me if
you want to, but this is where I'm headed. This is the direction
which my life is going. This is the goal. This is the
object. Now, I'm sorry if you can't go along. I'm sorry if
you don't like it. I'm sorry if it offends you. But your offense won't disturb
my rest. I'm pursuing Him. I'm pursuing
Him. And rest is obtained and found
by trusting his providential rule. Savior, teach me to trust your rule. Your wisdom, your goodness, your
purpose, your grace, to trust your rule. Fourthly, look briefly at the
instructions which guide you. Do you want this rest? Do you
want salvation and eternal life? Do you want Christ? Then hear
and obey his plain instructions. He tells you to do three things.
He says, come to me, come to me. How do you do that? He's the priest. You have to
come to him. You have to come to him as your
priest. That is, you must trust him.
That's what it is to come to Him. Oh, I would to God this
generation would hear me. I wish I could take everybody
and gag their mouths and tie their hands and bind their feet
and tack them down to a seat and say, now come to Christ.
Come to Christ. You understand what I'm saying?
These false prophets throughout the world are telling you to
come down to the front of the church. Christ isn't found there.
You don't come to Christ that way. They tell you to come to
the baptismal pool. You can be baptized so often
that every tadpole in the creek knows you by your middle name.
That don't get you anything. That don't get you anything.
Somebody said, well, say a prayer. Well, saying a prayer doesn't
do anything. Anybody can say a little prayer. Somebody taught
me a prayer when I was a kid. I don't know who I learned it
from. Now I lay me down to sleep. You all learn the prayer. Everybody
can say prayers. Everybody can. God is great. God is good. Let us thank him
for this food. Why, they write them out on papers.
In a restaurant, they had a Jewish prayer and a Buddhist prayer
and a Catholic prayer and a Protestant prayer. They had all kinds of
prayers written out in the restaurant just in case you forgot what
you were. Anybody can say a prayer. It don't take anything to say
a prayer. To come to Christ is to trust Him in your heart. That's what it is. Right where
you sit, right where you are, come to Christ. Come to Him right
now. All who are labor, come to Him.
Bring Him your labors. He'll take care of them. All
who are headed laden, come to Him. Bring your burdens with
you. He'll take care of them. Oh, come to him, come to him. Come just like you are. Hardest thing on this earth for
man to do. Hardest thing on this earth for
you to do is to come to Christ. That is, trust Christ as an absolute
savior with nothing in your hands. It's impossible. You can't do
it. You can't do it. No. Give it a try. You can't do it. Some of you
have been trying for years. You've been trying to trust Christ.
You've been trying to figure out a way to trust Christ. And
I know what your problem is. I know exactly what your problem
is. You keep coming to Christ trying to get hold of him like
this. You're holding on to your righteousness, or you're holding
on to your feelings, or you're holding on to your sins, or you're
holding on to your guilt, or you're holding on to your worth,
or you're holding on to your nothingness. You're holding on
to something. Let go and hold on to Him. That's what it is to trust Christ.
Just trust Him. Drop everything and get hold
of Him. Get hold of Him. Oh, God helped
you to get hold of Him. Now, if God will help you, you
can trust Him. If God will help you, you can trust Him. He says, take my yoke upon you. That is, bow down to my dominion. Takes that too. That's what faith
is. When you come to Christ, you
trust him as your great, sin-atoning, justice-satisfying high priest. Got to have that. And when you
come to Christ, you bow to his dominion as your sovereign Lord. That's what it is. Be obedient to my commands, bow
to my will, take up your cross and follow me. If thou wilt, thou shalt confess
with thy mouth. that Jesus Christ is Lord, thou
shalt be saved. What does that say? Read it for
yourself, Romans 9. You mean preacher? Faith in Christ isn't just sashaying
down the aisle, smiling and saying, I want to go to heaven when I
die. I believe Jesus will take me. No, it's something more than
that. It's something more than that. It's trusting the merits of Him
who sits on the throne, committing yourself to Him, committing yourself
to Him. That's the problem. That's the
problem. Most everybody, most everybody
wants Jesus' blood and Jesus' righteousness. Most everybody
does. Most everybody wants to be pardoned
of sin and taken to heaven. About everybody does. Not many
folks want somebody to rule their lives. I'm talking about somebody to
rule their business. and to rule their time, and to
rule their house, and to rule their hearts, and to rule their
conversation, and to rule their motives, and to rule their goals,
and to rule their bank account, and to rule their children, and
to rule their wives, and to rule their husbands, to rule everything. That's what it is to bow to Christ.
Here I am, Lord. Whatever I have in my hands,
it's yours. It's yours. That's what it is.
And he says, learn of me. That is, believe my word. He's
saying this. He says, come to me. I'm the
priest. He says, bow to me. I'm the king. He says, learn
of me. I'm the prophet. I'm the prophet. You must not rationalize, but
learn. You must not argue, but learn.
You must not imitate, but learn. Learn by heart and learn of me. Fifthly, here's the appeal given
to persuasion. Knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord, we persuade him. Now, how can I put some pressure
on your heart and get you to come to Christ? Say, Pritchard, would you do
that? Oh, if I could, I would put some pressure on your heart,
get you to come to Christ. Well, our Lord does it this way.
He reasons with us, telling us that he's a tender, compassionate
Lord and Savior. Listen to this. He says, come
to me. I'm meek and lowly in heart. He's long suffering and
patient. He knows our infirmities. He
forbears our failures. He forgives our sins and he restores
our falls. That's the kind of Savior he
is. I can tell you that's kind of he is. Oh, he's patient, meek,
old man, long-suffering, compassionate, gentle, kind, tender. He's more
tender than any man who represents him. He's more compassionate
than any man who speaks for him. He's more long-suffering than
any who know him. He's the savior. Come to me,
he says. He's an easy master to serve.
My yoke is easy. I'm calling for you to surrender
to the dominion of Jesus Christ. I'm calling for you to take his
yoke on your neck. Just like obstinacy, I'm calling
for you to do just that thing. But I want to tell you something.
That's the easiest joke you'll ever bear. It'll never gall you
down. It'll never make your back sore.
It'll never hurt you, but it'll give you rest. I never knew rest
till I bow to his dominion. I never knew peace till I took
his yoke on me. I never knew what it was to live
without turmoil, till I bow to the rule of my master. Come,
bring your ear. Stretch it out. Pierce it. He's a good master. He's a good
master. I recommend everybody serve my
master. I recommend it. I recommend you be bond slave
to my master. He's a good master. And his burden
is light. Oh, you come, you're going to
have burdens to bear. You're going to have a cross
to carry. But whatever burden he places upon you, he'll make
it light. It will cause you to come to
him. And coming to him will cause
you to find rest for your soul. That's the reason he puts the
burden on your back. Hear the gospel call. Come unto me, all
you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in
heart and you shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light." Samuel Rutherford said there
are many heads resting on Christ's bosom. Oh, there's a bunch of
them. Many of them right here in this
room, resting on his heart, resting on his bosom. Many around the
world, multiplied thousands upon thousands upon thousands, resting
upon his bosom. Millions in heaven's glory resting
on his bosom. But there's room for yours there.
Room for yours there. Somebody said there are no empty
places in heaven but there's plenty of room. There's plenty
of room. There's no empty place around
the Savior's throne, but there's plenty of room. There's plenty
of room. There's no wasted grace, but there's plenty of grace.
No wasted blood, but plenty of blood. No wasted mercy, but plenty
of mercy. There's room for you. Yeah, room
for you. Come unto me, all you that labor
and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Oh, may God
make you calm, for Christ's sake. Amen.