Resting in the Sovereignty of God
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: Matthew 11:25-30
Intro: Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen Jesus advancing the Kingdom of God and claiming and demonstrating his sovereignty over every aspect of life. We’ve seen him command the waves and wind, heal the sick and lame, command demons with a word, assert his authority and sovereignty over doctrine and what we’re supposed to believe, and even equate himself with God. Matthew is showing us in his gospel that there is no area in God’s creation over which God’s sovereignty does not extend. Today, though, we’re going to see Jesus extend his claim of sovereignty a little further, into even your heart and your choices.
I’ll warn you right now, this passage gets deep really quick, and it gets into some controversial topics, and it may raise more questions than I can answer today. I’m not going to claim to have all the answers. But, I’m not going to sidestep the hard questions and gloss over them either. I am under obligation to preach the whole counsel of God and I am not free to shy away from proclaiming what Scripture has clearly revealed. As always, test what I say against the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures for yourself, not relying upon your own logic and understanding but upon what God has revealed to us in his Word.
What I want you to see today is the glory of the sovereignty of God, because I believe that when you understand and embrace the sovereignty of God over every aspect of your life, it brings peace and true rest like Jesus has promised us.
25 At that time 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;
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
27 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.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Most of the time when this famous passage is preached, people cut out verses 28-30 and just preach that part because it’s easier and avoids the messy business of verses 25-27. But, what I want you to see this morning is that the promise of rest and peace in verses 28-30 flows out of the truth in verses 25-27. So, first, we’re going to look at verses 25-27 and see how God is sovereign over salvation. Then, we’re going to look at verses 28-30 and we’ll see the implications of God’s sovereignty and how that enables us to truly rest in Christ.
Christ is sovereign over the revelation of the Father.
Christ is sovereign over the revelation of the Father.
27 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.
Christ sovereignly chooses to reveal the Father to some.
Christ sovereignly chooses to reveal the Father to some.
This is often referred to as the doctrine of election, which simply means “choosing.” This is a common Scriptural theme throughout the Bible. To say that someone is “elect” does not mean they’re special or better than others, it simply means that God has chosen, or elected, to reveal himself to that person.
We are only going to scratch the surface of this doctrine today, because this would take several sermons to unpack.
This sovereignty ultimately rests with the Father:
25 At that time 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;
But this authority is delegated in part to the Son as well:
27 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.
The things which are revealed are the spiritual truths that point to the Father and the identity of the Son and truths that lead to repentance and faith.
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
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.
Simon didn’t come up with this on his own, it was revealed to him by the Father.
Christ sovereignly chooses not to reveal the Father to others.
Christ sovereignly chooses not to reveal the Father to others.
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding...
What is happening here is not that Jesus is somehow “blinding” people or taking away their will, but rather simply that he is leaving them to their own devices.
In Scripture, this process is often referring to as hardening, and it happens in two primary ways:
In Scripture, this process is often referring to as hardening, and it happens in two primary ways:
First, sinners actively suppress what has been revealed to them about God.
First, sinners actively suppress what has been revealed to them about God.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
And it’s not as if they have no revelation of God, because Paul says that God has revealed some truths about himself through his creation, even some of his divine attributes!
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
But, sinful men suppress this knowledge because they don’t want to submit to God. This suppression of truth leads to a cycle where their thinking becomes polluted and their hearts darkened.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
This is the natural state of every human being, except Christ. This is what it means when we say that we have a sinful nature. It means that, if left to our own devices, we are incapable of desiring God and bringing ourselves to repentance and faith.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
God does not have to do anything to such people, he merely leaves them to their own reprobate desires.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
So, when God “hides” the truth of the gospel, in Mt. 11.25, in some cases he merely leaves them to their own devices. God’s hardening or “hiding” in this case is simply him giving the sinner what they most desire.
There are only two classes of people: Those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God finally says, “Thy will be done.”
C. S. Lewis
While I don’t agree with everything that CS Lewis states on this topic, he’s absolutely correct that no one will be in Hell who did not earn their place there and demand it through their willful rejection of him.
Second, Satan hardens sinners by blinding them, distracting them, and sowing lies.
Second, Satan hardens sinners by blinding them, distracting them, and sowing lies.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So, Satan is active in this process of hardening. Satan is actively blinding sinners from the truth of the gospel.
We will also see this in Matthew 13 in the parable of the sower:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
So, when Jesus says that God has “hidden these things,” these are two of the ways that God “hides” the truth of the gospel from some. Neither are God doing something that removes choice, in fact, it is simply God allowing the sinner to have his own will.
Ultimately, however, God is sovereign over both the revelation of the gospel and its concealment.
Ultimately, however, God is sovereign over both the revelation of the gospel and its concealment.
Without divine intervention, we are without hope. Scripture describes sinners as being dead, blind, and hardened, completely unable to rescue themselves.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved
Dead men can’t make themselves alive again. It says “God made us alive”
At this point, most people would object. “If we’re only able to come to faith or repent when God intervenes, but God doesn’t intervene for some, then that’s not fair!”
Our natural objection to God’s sovereignty over salvation: “That’s not fair.”
Our natural objection to God’s sovereignty over salvation: “That’s not fair.”
Underneath this claim is a belief that “everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone deserves salvation.” But we don’t.
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
If we got what we deserved, we’d all be in hell! The scandal of grace is not that some are saved and others are not, it is that any of us are saved at all.
As we saw in Romans 1, the creation itself is enough to point to the existence of God and even to some of his divine attributes. This alone makes us culpable or responsible before God if we refuse to believe.
Paul answers this objection head on in Romans 9:14-24
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
People try all kinds of theological acrobatics to get out of the plain meaning of the text of Romans 9 but it just doesn’t work. The point is clear: God is free to give mercy to whomever he wills, and to withhold mercy from whomever he wills.
The definition of mercy is that it is UNDESERVED. To say that “everyone deserves mercy” is a contradiction, and leaves no room for the justice of God upon sin.
No human being deserves forgiveness. No human being deserves salvation, grace, or mercy, because those are undeserved by definition.
I can contribute nothing to my own salvation, except the sin from which I need to be redeemed.
William Temple (bishop)
Salvation belongs to God and is a gift he freely bestows upon whomever he wills. There is no injustice in God.
Now, what does all this mean for us and what does it have to do with rest? Let’s connect the dots from verses 25-27 to verses 28-30.
God’s sovereignty is the fountain of our rest.
God’s sovereignty is the fountain of our rest.
How does God’s sovereignty give us rest?
After all this talk about God’s sovereignty, Jesus extends an invitation into his rest. And the image that he uses is, of all things, and instrument of work? Why?
A yoke was a wooden harness that was placed over the necks of a pair of working animals, usually oxen or donkeys. A plow would be attached to it so that as the animals walked forward, the plow would dig into the field and break up the hard ground to prepare it for planting. The modern day version of this would be a tiller.
How in the world is a tool of work supposed to encourage us to “rest”?
But here’s what we often miss—You’re already under a yoke, the yoke of slavery to sin.
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
The offer that Christ is holding out here in Matthew 11 is not to go from freedom into the burdensome yoke of Christianity, because if you’re not a believer, you’re not actually free!
The fact is that you are bound in a yoke of slavery to sin, and sin is a brutal taskmaster. No matter how hard you try, you’re never good enough, you can’t ever break free from the chains of sin. You can never be good enough to earn God’s favor. But the good news is that you don’t have to be, because Christ has done the work for you.
The invitation is to take off the yoke of slavery to sin and step into Christ’s yoke.
And notice that it’s not your yoke, it’s his yoke. He doesn’t invite you to pick up your own yoke, but to join him in HIS yoke.
29 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.
When you were a kid, did you ever offer to help your dad carry something really heavy? Probably your dad smiled and said, “sure, come on.” But the fact is that what he was carrying was far too heavy for you to actually contribute anything, and he had it under control on his own anyhow. So, you weren’t really contributing anything (in fact, you might have been more of a hindrance than a help!), but you wanted to participate and your dad wanted you to participate, so you stayed and put your hands under it anyhow. The fact is that if he had stumbled, you could have never carried it on your own. And, he had it fully under control. You really didn’t “help” at all, but you still got to participate.
That’s what Christ’s yoke is like. Christ, in his sovereignty and power, has it all under control. He bears the weight of your sin and your salvation. He’s pulling the plow.
Ephesians 1:4–5 says that...
4 ...he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will...
That means that if you are saved it is because from eternity past, God chose you and had made a plan to save you. He is the one that orchestrated the events of your life to bring you to that point where all of the sudden your eyes were opened to the beauty and the truth of the gospel. He drew you to himself, not because you deserved it or were somehow worthy, or because he thought you’d be a hard worker, but simply because it made him happy to bless you. Because he loved you.
Whatever may be said about the doctrine of election, it is written in the Word of God as with an iron pen, and there is no getting rid of it.
To me, it is one of the sweetest and most blessed truths in the whole of revelation, and those who are afraid of it are so because they do not understand it. If they could but know that the Lord had chosen them, it would make their hearts dance for joy.
Charles Spurgeon
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from trying to earn our own salvation.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from trying to earn our own salvation.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved...
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
God raised you to life when you were dead in your sins. Even the faith was a gift of God.
A lot of people think they have to get their lives straightened out before they can come to Christ because they don’t feel worthy. Well join the club! None of us are worthy! None of us were chosen because we were smart or hard working or honest or good. In fact, Scripture is pretty clear that God delights in choosing those that are outcasts, uneducated, rejects so that he might be glorified:
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
So, if you’re sitting here today and you think you’re not worthy to be here, then you’re exactly the kind of person God would call. You don’t have to earn it. You couldn’t if you tried. All that remains for you to do is to surrender your life and trust in him.
7 ...“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.
9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Christ wants to give you rest. Rest from your striving, rest from trying to earn your keep, rest from trying to be good enough. Come find rest for your soul in Christ.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest because it reminds us that we were not saved because we were worthy, and we do not continue to be saved because we continue to be worthy.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from the burden of the lost.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from the burden of the lost.
Christ bears the weight of eternity on his shoulders; we do not have to carry that weight.
This doesn’t mean we forsake evangelism—it means the opposite! Far too many people are afraid to share the gospel because they think they will mess it up.
But you can’t mess it up, because you’re not the one pulling the plow—Jesus is! Resting in God’s sovereignty gives us the freedom to simply obey Christ and trust him for the results.
It frees us from the crushing weight of guilt and anxiety over loved ones who don’t know Christ, because that responsibility does not rest upon our shoulders. Of course, we’re still burdened for them, but since we know that the power to change hearts rests with God alone, we take them to the Lord in prayer and leave it with him.
But, being yoked to Christ does mean that we get the privilege of working alongside Christ. We get to be a part of what he is doing.
If you are exhausted from the weight of trying to bear your loved ones to heaven, rest in the sovereignty and grace and the goodness of God. Christ is the King of the Universe, but he is also gentle and lowly and his burden is light.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from the anxiety of the future.
God’s sovereignty gives us rest from the anxiety of the future.
Some of you are trying to carry a burden you were never meant to carry. You’re worried about the future, about finances, health, politics, your country, your friends, your family, what college to go to, what major to declare, what job to pick...
But, God is in control. And whatever comes into your life has come from the hand of a loving Father. If you belong to him, all things work together for good.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Do you want to see something amazing? This promise in Rom. 8:28, this beautiful promise that everything works together for good for believers? It is rooted in God’s sovereignty. Look at vv. 29-30:
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now that’s rest. If we know that, we don’t have to worry about anything!
Conclusion:
Struggling with fears of losing your salvation? You can’t lose what you never earned or maintained. God holds you.
Feeling inadequate or unworthy?
Reflection Questions:
Reflection Questions:
What does it mean when Jesus says that God has hidden things from the wise and revealed them to little children?
In what ways can understanding God's sovereignty bring peace and rest to your soul?
How does this passage challenge common perceptions of justice and fairness in relation to salvation?
In what ways can understanding our identity as 'chosen' by God influence how we view ourselves?
What does it mean to be 'yoked' with Christ according to this passage?
How can knowing that God is sovereign help you deal with peer pressure or anxiety about the future?
