Rest-ology (Part 4)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. Mike Abendroth here, Michael E. Abendroth. Funniest mail I received, junk mail, that�s the word I was looking for, Mike Haferhorf. Now, my first name has no A in it, it�s M-I-C-H-E-L, but it�s pronounced Michael.

You don�t want to pronounce that phonetically. My last name is pronounced Abendroth by me, but it�s phonetically Aben, Abendroth, Abendroth, Abendroth, A, Abendroth, A, A, A, A, A, Haferhorf. You know when somebody calls you, �Is Michelle ever offered here

Dial tone, bing. I think they�ve got these new programs that they want to hear your voice first, so if I don�t know who it is, I just answer it, but I don�t say anything, and so if it�s just blank, I already know, so there�s my special insider scoop for you, info at nocompromiseradio .com.

You know I don�t get that many emails, maybe five a week, at least those that Spencer passes over to me, maybe some of those he just fills on his own, and we don�t have too many people who are trolls.

I guess we�ve had a couple, and so Spencer just deletes those, so here�s the thing. If you�re the troll, kind of an inappropriate person with your attitude, and certainly that doesn�t mean that you can�t disagree.

You can disagree, you can ask questions, you can be kind about it, but when you�re off the deep end, then they never get to me. Isn�t that amazing how that works? They never make it to me. We�re talking about rest.

Rest as Spiritual, Not Merely Physical

I think this is restology number four on No Compromise Radio. We are thinking about not temporal rest, although that sounds good. I could take a nap right about now. Ever since I had the radiation therapy, man, I could just take naps all the time.

When I first got the radiation, I would take three naps a day. They didn�t have to be long naps, but they were naps nonetheless. Now, I don�t know, I probably take a nap four days a week. Sometimes I don�t even want to take a nap.

I�m too busy. Like now, I could put my feet up on the desk and take a little 10-minute nap. You know the kind of nap that Socrates would take? He�d put a plate down below by his feet that was metal, and then he�d have a spoon, a metal spoon, and he�d just kind of lean over, holding on the spoon.

And when he fell asleep, his body would relax, and he would lose the grip of the spoon, and the spoon would hit the tin and wake him up. That�s all he needed, just that one second, few seconds. Anyway, rest.

Israel was looking for physical rest. When we�re looking at the text in Isaiah, excuse me, Psalm 95, there�s a physical rest. They were looking forward to getting into the Promised Land. I mean, how long can you camp before it�s a hassle?

For me, glamping would be a problem, glamour camping, that�d even be a problem. If everything was all set up and I just kind of sauntered in, I�d like that, but that�d still probably be a problem. But for us, we�re talking about spiritual rest, the confidence and trust and faith that God has done everything.

I mean, after all, we couldn�t do anything to get ourselves saved and have spiritual rest, could we? Because everything we do is tainted with sin, and we could never have 100 perfect motives and be 100 sincere in our devotion to God and neighbor.

So, someone has to do it for us. It�s called salvation. And God gives us rest, and when you look at the book of Hebrews, you see a lot of rest. Hebrews 3, �They won�t enter my rest. Hebrews 4, �Basically, let us enter into this rest using Israel as a backdrop.

So, I�ve been thinking a lot about rest, and of course, Matthew 11 talks about, �Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you� what? �Rest. He talks about rest for your souls.

So I thought, you know what? Let�s look at Matthew 11, because if you see it in context, it�s just better than if you don�t see it in context, right? 11 .28 is a great verse, don�t get me wrong. So is 11 .29 and 11 .30.

They�re all great verses, but they�re in a context, and lest we make the error of just memorizing random verses that have no context, I mean, I�m glad for those memorization verses, but things mean something.

So, if you don�t have the right meaning, you don�t have the right verse. You could memorize a verse, but if you don�t understand what it means and you�ve got the wrong meaning, it doesn�t do you any good now, does it?

I�m sure I�ll get emails for that from the trolls. Jesus, in Matthew 11, tied His ministry to John the Baptist. John the Baptist was more of ascetic. Jesus was more a person fellowshipping with tax collectors and sinners.

The leaders didn�t like either of those approaches, and Jesus condemns cities with people in cities. You know, I never really figured out when people say, �Well, Romans 9�s about nations. Okay, let�s just say it is.

Let�s just grant that, that there�s no singular pronouns used. Well, aren�t nations filled with people? What�s worse than a person, if God is going to damn a person or a nation? What nation is this amorphous, nebulous, floating around, you know, thought or something?

No, it�s full of people. Nations have people. I don�t think you could have a nation without a people, could you? A nation group, a people group, a national people group, nation, national. Jesus says, �Tyre and Sidon, if they would have had the miracles performed in you, Capernaum and Bethsaida and others, they would have repented.

Here Jesus, the omniscient one, he knows that, and so he condemns them because they won�t listen to John, they won�t listen to Jesus, they won�t see that signs point to authenticate the message and the messenger, right?

Why are signs there? When you look at Moses� signs and wonders, when you look at Elijah�s signs and wonders, when you look at Jesus and the apostles, if you think of the word �authenticate�, you are going to be thinking correctly.

And the authentication is for both the message, yes, this message is true, and the messenger that says it is true, right? They go together, especially with the Lord Jesus Christ, authenticating the message.

Jesus has a message, and it has been authenticated as he, in Capernaum, heals the centurion�s servant. He heals Peter�s mother-in-law, the mother-in-law of Peter. If you just talk long enough, I�s going to get this right sooner or later.

I�m sure the grammar Nazis have stopped listening to NoCo some time ago, but that�s okay. It just goes to show you that even I, even me, even I can be used of the Lord. It is I, it is me. Oh, objects, object, objects, objects.

Jesus then prays to the Father after he condemns these cities, and that�s where we are now. Left to ourselves, we�d be like Sodom, we�d be like Chorazin, we would not recognize the work of God, we would be condemning John as messenger, forerunner, we�d be condemning Jesus as the unique Messiah.

So asking yourself this question, how can anyone ever be saved? Because isn�t this not the heart of man? What about Adam�s fall? Left to ourselves, what do we do? God has let us just be out there of our own volition and free will, and whatever we decide, that�s what we get.

Or has he saved, has he initiated, that�s the right question. And in Matthew 11 .25, that�s where we are now, that�s all introduction, Jesus declared, �I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.

Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Wow. Thankful for that verse, those verses, because without them, and what�s going on behind the scenes there with the triune God, the Spirit of God, he is not mentioned here, but we know he exists, and of course he is helping the Son in his ministry.

Here we just have the veil is peeled back a little bit so we can see, here�s the Father and the Son in communion, the Son is praying to the Father, and the only way you�re not going to be someone like in Sodom or Chorazin or Bethsaida, turning your back on Jesus and his work and his forerunner, John the Baptist, is when God reveals himself to you by his own, what, gracious will, or good pleasure, verse 26.

That is fascinating. Specific revelation that people can receive from the triune God so that they will believe. See, this part comes before the command and the offer, repent, believe, come, trust. In this particular case, of course, in Matthew 11, it�s come, come unto me.

I thank you, Father, that you�ve hidden these things, that�s amazing, and revealed them, both hidden these things and revealed them. The people that think they�re so smart and so wise and so full of understanding, hidden.

Children who have no self-sufficiency, who don�t think they contribute, we�re not talking about kid kids, we�re talking about those who are like children, revealed them to little children. That is fascinating.

Instead of revealing to people who are wise, smart, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, he gives them to little children, humble, humble people, that�s the idea. Do you notice that the Father and the Son are equal here, right, of course, by essence and nature?

And this is very convicting. Whether God the Father is revealing or hiding, the Son is praising, that�s amazing. You know, we love to praise God for His saving work, revealing Himself, drawing people to Himself.

But can we praise God for the other? Remember, everyone should be getting justice. No one is sinless, and they all deserve justice. And God can do whatever He wants with creatures, can He not? The answer is yes.

And here we see Jesus praying to God as Father. And something that�s interesting we don�t see very often, Lord of heaven and earth. He is Father, He is not tyrant, but He is still Lord. And since He�s Lord, He can reveal or hide, can He not?

He can reveal to none, He can reveal to all, or He could reveal to some. That�s called the Lordship of God. He is free to reveal as He wills, as often as He wills, to whomever He wills. And He�s revealed these things.

Maybe the context here with the miracles, as He�s revealed who�s actually doing the miracles and authenticating. This, friends, is a great motivation for evangelism, a great motivation. Why? Because without the Father�s revealing work, no one�s ever going to believe.

But with the Father�s revealing work, even a person like me, who has bad grammar at times, those people can be saved. Why? Because it�s a work of God. Salvation is a work of God. We are just spokespeople, we are ambassadors, we are proclaimers, we are preachers, we are evangelists, we are couriers, we are heralds, we are the PVC pipe, as it were, to deliver the message.

We are not the message, and we don�t live the gospel. I mean, think about it, if you did, how are you doing today, how did you do yesterday? Salvation doesn�t depend on how wise you are, how educated you are, or how clever you are.

That�s not salvation. Wise, clever people, as rich people are trusting in their riches to deliver them on the day, wise people, they trust their wisdom as well. But children, they have to be humble, they have to trust, they have to trust someone else.

They know they don�t contribute anything. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 22 -24, �For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Woes go to the generation that trust themselves, that say, �I�m not going to believe in Jesus or his forerunner.

Woes are the ones who, woe to the ones to whom God says, �You know what, you�re self-sufficient. Here we have God, he initiates, he reveals and conceals. Remember, I�ve said it before, but I�m going to say it again, this is, he�s dealing with sinners here, they don�t deserve anything, God doesn�t owe concealing to him.

Does God owe concealing? Does God owe revealing? That�s the real question. He doesn�t owe them anything, and so he probably should conceal, but since he�s not like me, he reveals to many people, millions of people.

God gives generously, graciously, and we see that here in this prayer. And then, it says in verse 26, �Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Jesus doesn�t say, �I cannot believe you hid this from some people.

Listen, you�re hiding it from some people, and I�m here to die for all the people. No, no, that�s not it. Jesus will die only for those that the Father is revealing to, right? See where this is all going?

When you know the Trinity, you�re going to understand limited atonement, particular redemption. Do you also notice here, �Whatever the Father is pleased to do, the Son is pleased in the Father, as the Father does it.

That�s rich, that�s rich. �Yeah, but what about this? What about that? What about man�s responsibility? What about free will We�re not talking about that now. We�re looking at this prayer with the Father and the Son in communication, and there�s praise and good pleasure.

And it�s fascinating to me, one commentator said, �The positive thought of revealing to babes the things pertaining to salvation is uppermost in Christ�s mind when He mentions the Father�s good pleasure.

So, when you think of the good pleasure of God, and what gives Him delight and pleasure, what do you think of? Well, here it�s revealing Himself and revealing His Son. Now, when you take God�s good pleasure as a noun, delighting in people for Himself, you can see, �Glory to God in the highest on earth, peace among those with whom He is well pleased Luke 2, 14.

You can see the concept in Ephesians chapter 1, �He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.

That�s the idea there, well-pleased. Fascinatingly, as a verb, when it comes to be well-pleased, �This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased the voice came from heaven at the baptism. Paul, in Galatians 1,.

�But when He who had set me apart before I was born called me by His grace. That concept there, I�m trying to find the Greek word there, it doesn�t seem like it�s got �pleased� there. Must be. Colossians 1, 19,.

�For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Pleasing, it pleased God. That�s pretty amazing. How can anyone become a Christian? Well, you have to look at divine will. What do you do when you say, �Well, some people aren�t very smart, some people are smart, and who�s going to get in

Some people are rich, some people aren�t. It has nothing to do with the object of God�s pleasure. It has to do with God Himself. He reveals, He conceals. Well, if you look at the agency of the Son in verse 27, �All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

That�s amazing. All things. Authority to rebuke Satan, authority over demons, authority over sicknesses, authority over the water, right, the waves, authority over life and death and disciples and judgment and salvation, all authority given to me in heaven and earth, Matthew 28.

And no one knows the Father, the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. The power and dominion and authority handed over. Now maybe what�s going on here, the scribes and the Pharisees, there was tradition and it was handed over, and it was wrong, and this is handed over.

This is the right kind of handing over. Maybe that�s what�s happening here. The Jews reject John the Baptist. The Jews reject Jesus. Guess what? You�re rejecting the Father as well. Isn�t that sad? The only way people are going to not reject is a revealing.

Remember what happened in Matthew chapter 16 verse 17, �And Jesus answered him, �Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Revealed.

In Luke 10, a parallel passage, to know who the Son is, it has to be revealed. How do you know who the Son is? It has to be revealed. And when the Son is revealed to you, and you understand that all fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, and all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, and that in Him you�ve attained fullness, Colossians chapter 1 and 2, then it makes sense when the call from Jesus is, �Come unto me.

Doesn�t it? If God knows everything about you, and He knows you won�t respond to Him unless He does something about it, and since He�s loving, He is compelled to act on His love and His grace and His will, and then the response for us is, �Amen, I believe it.

I�m coming to Jesus. This is by faith, that�s the idea. Chorazin didn�t, Bethsaida didn�t, Capernaum didn�t, they didn�t really feel like they were burdened down by sin or knew who God was. They thought they knew who He was, but they didn�t really know who He was.

But there are people who are burdened, and the burdened sinner needs to come to Jesus. Then we come to the verse. See how much better it is when you just work through it? �Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden.

That�s not Chorazin, right? They don�t feel the weight of sin, and I will give you rest. If you feel the weight of sin, it�s nice to have rest. �Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The wise and learned, no. The heavy, burdened, and weary, yes. You know you need a Savior when you realize the weight of your sin. �He who comes to me John 6, �will in no way get hungry, and he who believes in me will in no way get thirsty.

The easiest thing to do is to say, well, there�s a lot of ways to talk about coming to faith in Christ Jesus, and here is to come. To come. And believe. You could just say, �Believe. It�s the same thing.

It�s an invitation, that�s the point. And so, it�s been decreed, it�s been revealed, and then there must be a response. Rest is given. �Come to me. You can never get this rest unless God gives it. You can never discover if it�s not been revealed.

This is fascinating, isn�t it? Trusting in Christ, personally. How can I talk about this without asking you the question, �Do you Eternal rest for those who get forgiveness of their sins. All the legalism and burdens trying to earn your salvation, like these Pharisees and others.

No, to have relief from toil and rest. Go to Jesus. Jesus says, �Come unto me.

Jesus says, �Come unto me.