There are times in everyone's life, when things are just too big too handle and we need someone to come alongside us and intervene. Thankfully, we serve a loving God who did not leave us to ourselves. Those who are humble enough to seek help from God will find it through Jesus Christ. He will come alongside us and help us with our time of need. It's comforting to know we do not need to carry our burdens alone.
Much of Matthew's Gospel has been very heavy, too difficult for some to handle. In our last message, Jesus pronounced judgement against those who did not believe and repent. Our last message was a message of warning. Jesus came to earth to save sinners from sin, from judgment and from wrath, to save them from eternity in hell. That is the purpose of His incarnation. In Luke 19, He said "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Today's message is a message of hope as Jesus moves from the condemnation of the towns who did not believe to speaking to His Father, in a moment of prayer.
Today's Message: God's Great Invitation
Isolation, loneliness and lawlessness have become a hallmark of our society. Mass quarantines, social distancing, all in the hands of corrupt government leaders working for the enemy of Christ. Deeming the Church as non-essential, church leaders have become silent, sticking their tales between their legs at a time when the Gospel is needed more than ever. Coast to coast, in both rural and urban areas, among the poor and the rich, the young and the old. Violence, murder, overdoses and suicide rates are spiraling out of control, never before seen in our lifetime. Isolation breeds loneliness, a major factor behind
hatred, anger, fear, questioning and depression, which in turn can set people on the road to
confusion, violence and self-annihilation. It's really doesn't take much to set people off these days, a look or a wrong word can spark outrage without warning.
I believe this creates an even greater opportunity for God's people to present the message of hope and eternal life. Whether they realize or not, and most don't, people desperately need Jesus! All of these things are curable, why are not churches reacting on this knowledge? Why are we Christians not shouting out from the roof tops, inviting people to come to Christ? Shouldn’t we, of all people, have a message that invites people to find meaning in Christ the Lord? Are we not called to call the outsiders and outcasts to life in the Risen Savior, the Son of God?
Our society is being literally bombarded with the lies of the culture! I believe God has more for those who are confused, dissatisfied with their biological sex and feel uncomfortable in their birth gender. Why are not hearing these truths from the church? Rather than preaching and teaching the Truth, the church has taken to affirming sin, embracing the lies of Satan telling them God’s Word is outdated and misinterpreted. They no longer have to take up their cross, deny themselves, and their sinful desires to be a Christian.
Like the culture, the church has become more confused now than ever before! Love, acceptance and tolerance have taken precedence over the Truth's of God. Let me be clear, God hates sin and when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
In Romans 6:1-3 Paul writes, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?"
And, in verses 10-12 he says "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts."
Yet, tragically, as the culture continues to speak louder and louder on the issues of sin, the pastors and churches are becoming more and more silent. Acting as if they are ashamed of Christ! Many feel helpless, even desperate, to have the backup of their churches in speaking against the atrocities of sin. More and more pastors are willing to overlook the Truth's of God's Word on all forms of sin and sexual immorality. Fearful they might offend or turn people away from Christ if they tackle the controversial issues that now plague our culture. So in order to keep the message of salvation open to all without tackling the divisive issues of sin, they preach lies, deception and half truths, there by damning the souls of the lost who are seeking salvation. Sin is by no means trivial. In fact, it's a matter of life or death!
And so, the self-proclaimed people of God are left without an true biblical understanding of God’s perspective on these serious issues, and go in the way of their flesh. The time has come for the church speak up, we can longer afford to sit in silence. We have to make a choice in either standing for Christ or falling for the lies of the enemy! Believe it or not, Jesus Christ is going to return, whether the church is ready or not! I believe we must pray, preaching and teaching the Truth; reaching the lost and deceived, now more than ever!
Today, Christ is inviting people to come. There's no price for salvation, it's given freely by the grace of God. Coming to Christ and believing on Christ are synonymous, as are obedience and discipleship. In John 8:12, He said "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." I often wonder if we who walk with Christ understand the fullness of this marvelous statement of Truth.We can’t understand Christ's invitation, unless we can define it's meaning.
Many today claim they believe, but they will not commit themselves in submission to the Lordship of Christ. You must have the right view of God, you must have the right view of
Jesus Christ and you must have the right view of the Holy Spirit, or you simply can't be a Christian. The reality is if you are enslaved by some habitual sin, and you
knowingly and willfully continue in that sin, you cannot truly love God.
Sin is pursuing your own desires, rather than desiring to please God.
Sin is lawlessness. God hates sin. Sin is living the way you want rather
than living as God's Word commands.
Hebrews 3 says "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. "Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’"
Unbelieving people, ignorant in the ways of God, who always errs in his heart, who resist the Truth's of God do not enter into His rest. Rest is the equivalent of salvation. They have not become partakers of Christ, because of their unbelief. That's what keeps you from rest. As we learn to rest in His all consuming grace, we rest from self-righteousness and sin, because we're settled there, in His presence. To enter into rest means to trust that He supplies our needs, so we depend on Him for everything.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Notice the striking similarity to Luke 10:21-24, "At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Turning to the disciples, He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them."
Let's look at verse 25, "At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants." At that time, the obvious question is what time is that? It the Greek word "kairós," derived from the word "kara" which means head. In other words, the reactions to Jesus were starting to "coming to a head." At that time in which His Galilean ministry was coming to a climax. There was no other conclusion that could be made than that He was God incarnate, the Christ, the Messiah. Yet, people rejected Him and His message. Though they are willfully denying their Savior, He still offers a personal invitation, those are bearing heavy burdens to come to Him. Jesus is praising the Father. Notice that He is praising Him for something specific, for revealing the deep truths of the faith to infants. By the way, this is not a comparison between educated and uneducated, the wise and unwise. Jesus speaks of those who are helpless, humble, they have no resources, they're utterly dependent upon Jesus and His grace.
The things that are hidden from those who are self-proclaimed to be intelligent and wise, the natural man who imagine that truth can be known through the human mind can’t understand them by intellectual rationalization. They're minds are closed to the revelation of God; it's foolishness. That was the problem with the scribes and Pharisees, who thought they already had attained to human wisdom. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. It's the same today, people think they're so smart that they don’t need the Truth of God, so they willfully reject it. So, God will blind their eyes, harden their heart. God confirms them in their unbelief. It's not intelligence that keeps people out of the Kingdom; it is intellectual pride. You know, intellectual pride keeps many men from salvation.
Verse 26, "Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight." I believe this is basic to any presentation of the gospel, and the invitation to come to Christ, there must be a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Whether the response to the Gospel is negative or positive, you have to believe in your heart that ultimately God is in control of everything. His plan is right on course, even if the anticipated response is less than desirable. Jesus is praising His Father that His plan is working out as it seemed good in the Father’s sight. It is the good pleasure of the Father that the kingdom of God would be revealed and manifested to those who are in need of Jesus. It is well-pleasing to God, when we come alongside someone who desperately needs help and someone to care. God's good pleasure it displayed through us. There are people out there, lost, helpless, cringing in a dark corner, shamed to lift up their head to even ask for help. I believe we need to pray to be sensitive to the needs of others.
I've encountered so many people who take it personal, they feel the are somehow responsible if people rejected the invitation to come to Christ. If I looked at it that way, I would go out of my mind. God is the one who determines that, not me. I'm just His messenger trusting in God’s perfect will. Whatever happens is out of my control. You would not believe some of the messages I've preached had people tell me it moved them to give their life to Christ. It isn't my best or worst sermon that brings people to Christ, it the outworking of the Holy Spirit that moves within a person's heart. It's not some mathematical, scientific or philosophical formula that does that. Every message I teach is pertaining to the Kingdom of God. A call to obedience and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, righteousness and salvation. Because that glorifies God, that is the supreme reason for everything I do.
Let’s look at verse 27, He says "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
I believe this is the heart of our faith, that Jesus is God. This is a statement of His deity. The people in Jesus day knew exactly what He saying.Though Jesus never said the exact words "I AM God," He certainly stated that fact in many ways. In fact, the gospel begins with the fact that Jesus is God. Though some false religions today continue to deny that reality. Jesus is saying, "I hold the power and authority of the kingdom of God." The Father has handed all things over to the Son, Jesus determines men’s eternal destiny.
In Matthew 28, He said "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." In John 8 "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." And in John 10, He said "I and the Father are one." Everything pertaining to the universe, deliverance from sin and divine life is under His sovereignty.
Verse 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." I find these to be the most beautiful words. In this world of trouble, who doesn't need rest? People are literally wearing themselves out, carrying such incredible burdens, physically and financially, frantically seeking rest. In Matthew 23, in speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, He said "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger."
How then to we come to Christ to receive His rest? Repentance. This is a call to repentance. Repentance is what brings men to Christ. The meeting of a humble, helpless heart and a gracious, forgiving Sovereign God. Christ's invitation then, is to the helpless, humble and dependent people, who recognize their brokenness. Christ's invitation is not for the arrogant, but to the humble. That’s why it’s so difficult to reach those who believe they are good enough on their own, prideful and self-sufficient, seeking glory for themselves. Most will reject, they turn it down. There’s no place in God’s Kingdom for that kind of individual, no matter who you think you are. Unfortunately, some people never learn, they think they’ve got it figured out, and are wise and intelligent all on their own, thinking they can somehow force their way into the kingdom. Jesus is saying "Repent! Stop all that sinning and be converted. Come to Me, I'll give you rest."
Upon giving my heavy burdens to Christ, I entrusted them to Him and never looked back. I have not lost a moments sleep worrying as He has continued to provide my families needs. Praise God for those whose hearts are sensitive to God's voice speaking. The Lord consistently works through the people of God to provide for those in need. I have known many people who found themselves in unimaginable circumstances and lacked for nothing. I absolutely love seeing the hand of God move in people's lives.
Sadly, there are some today who unable to differentiate between what they need and what they want. Christ never promised to give us all the desires of hearts, though I've heard some pretty far reaching "preachers" claims that all we need to do is remind Him of His promises and demand He fulfill them.
In this world of chaos, we need rest from broken homes, broken churches, broken hearts, broken governments, broken relationships, broken minds, broken lives. We need rest for our souls. In His grace He takes the brokenness of our lives and makes us look more Christ-like.
In verses 29 and 30, Jesus says "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jesus is saying there is a submission to His Lordship involved in salvation. "Take My yoke," means to have a submissive heart, the yoke is the means which causes submission. "And learn from Me," involves acknowledging and submitting to His Lordship. That’s how we obtain God’s salvation, in submission and repentance. Being yoked to Jesus creates a new reality in our lives which changes everything. The burdens of this world are light and easy compared to the glories of Christ.
In Closing..
In persuading people to follow Jesus under false pretenses, for all the wrong reasons then you’ve led them to the path of their own destruction. That’s the danger of seeker friendly preaching. I believe that it's imperative we must preach the same Gospel Jesus Himself preached, we must not change the message, even in the midst of persecution, in opposition, and in the face of death! We must preach Christ as both Lord and Savior and there must be a willingness to turn from your old life to Christ, having Him take control of your life. In taking on the yoke of Christ and you walk in obedience, then there’s rest for our souls.
Salvation is by grace alone but in order for you to truly respond to His grace there has to be a willingness to submit and obey to His Lordship. Then you shall rest for your souls. Today, Jesus is still offering you salvation but you must be ready to receive it on His terms. Willingly submitting your life in obedience to His Lordship. Forsaking walking in the old paths of life and walking in the good way of His eternal grace.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen