Sermon #42                                                           Series:  Isaiah

 

          Title:       The Glorious Rest Of Our Redeemer

          Text:       Isaiah 11:10

          Subject:  The Rest Of Christ And His People

          Date:      Sunday Evening - April 15, 1990

          Tape #

 

          Introduction: 

 

          Everything in our text speaks of our blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is “the Root of Jesse.”  He is “the Ensign of the people.”  He is the One to whom God’s elect from among the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, are gathered.  Christ is the One whom we seek.  Let’s gather around him tonight and ask the Spirit of God to teach us the meaning of these words:  “His rest shall be glorious.”

 

          Without question, the glory of his rest is in complete harmony with the glory of all that he has done as our Mediator, Substitute and Redeemer.  The man who labors hardest enjoys rest most.  His labor in the day prepares him for and makes his rest in the night sweet.  And the glorious rest of our Redeemer must be connected with the work he performed before he entered into his rest.  Christ himself is glorious.  His obedience to God as a man was glorious.  His death was glorious.  His resurrection was glorious.  And now his rest, the rest which he has won, the rest which is the crown of his glorious work, is itself glorious.  Indeed his rest is his glory!  If you read the marginal translation of our text in your Bible, you will see that the text might be read - “His rest shall be glory.”

 

Propostion:  The Lord Jesus Christ has entered into a glorious rest and he graciously gives a glorious rest to all who seek him.

 

Divisions:  I will give you my message tonight under three points.

 

 

 

 

1.   The Rest Which Christ Has Obtained Is Glorious.

2.   The Rest Which Christ Gives To His People Is Glorious.

3.   The Rest Which Is Symbolized In The Lord’s Supper Is Glorious.

 

I.      First, I want us to see that THE REST WHICH CHRIST HAS OBTAINED IS GLORIOUS.

 

          There is a rest which belongs to Christ personally as the result of his work of obedience, which he rendered unto God the Father as our Mediator, Substitute and Surety.  And that rest is glorious.

 

A.  The first rest which our redeemer obtained was the rest of his suretyship  engagements on our behalf - (Zeph. 3:14-17).

 

          All the promises of these verses are covenant promises made to the people of God before the world began.  They were made in anticipation of Christ’s obedience to God as our Substitute.  Read the promise of God and rejoice -

 

1.   “The Lord hath taken away thy judgments.”

2.   “He hath cast out thine enemy.”

3.   “The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee.”

4.   “Thou shalt not see evil anymore.”

5.   “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty.”

6.   “He will save.”

7.   “He will rejoice over thee with joy.”

8.   “He will joy over thee with singing.”

 

Now look at this one closely - “He will rest in his love.”  What does that mean?  It means that when the covenant of grace was ordered in all things and sure, when the matter of our salvation was firmly fixed and accomplished in the purpose, oath, decree, and covenant of God’s grace, knowing that his purpose of grace would be infallibly carried out, God our Savior rested in his love (Rom. 8:28-30; II Tim. 1:9).

 

          Eternal love had devised and settled the matter of our redemption and salvation.  And God our Savior rested in his love from eternity, being assured that “he will rest in his love” in eternity.

 

1.   The objects of his love will never change.

2.   The purpose of his love will never fail.

3.   His rest in his love will never be disturbed.

 

          God is not anxious about the salvation of his people.  He is resting in his love!

 

B. When our Lord Jesus had finished all His work in this world as our Substitute, his body rested in the grave (Ps. 16:9).

 

          He did not rest until his work was finished.  He had come to do the Father’s will.  And he would not rest until it was done.

 

1.   He fulfilled all the righteousness of God for his people.

2.   He went to the cross to make satisfaction to God’s offended justice on our behalf.

3.   He was made to be sin for us.

4.   He died under the wrath of God as the greatest sinner who ever lived, to make satisfaction to divine justice as our Substitute.

 

          For three days his body laid in the tomb in an unjustified state, as the scapegoat bearing our sins away.  But in those three days he rested in hope of his resurrection - (Ps. 16:9-11).  And on the third day, oh, glorious day, our blessed Redeemer was “justified in the Spirit” (I Tim. 3:16).  He was raised up from the grave without sin!  The sins which had been imputed to him, the sins which he bore in his own body on the tree, all the sins of all God’s elect were taken away!

 

C. After that our Redeemer was received up into glory, and there He enjoys a glorious rest at the right hand of the majesty on high (Heb. 10:12-14; Isa. 45:20-25).

 

          He is taking his rest now, for his work of redemption is all done.

 

1.   Righteousness is Established.

2.   Redemption is Accomplished.

3.   Satan is Conquered.

4.   God is Glorified in the Man who is God.

 

D. When the end has come, Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to the Father, and He shall forever rest in His glory (I Cor. 15:24-28).

 

          This will be the final climatic act of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Mediator in fulfillment of the covenant he made with the Father as our surety before the world began - (Heb. 2:13; Eph. 5:25-27; Jude 24-25).  Truly, “his rest shall be glory!”

 

II.   Secondly, I want you to know that THE REST WHICH CHRIST GIVES TO HIS PEOPLE IS GLORIOUS.

 

          I have tried to show you the glory of Christ’s rest as our Mediator.  But I want each of you to know the glory of that rest which Christ gives to all who trust him.  The rest I am talking about now is the rest of faith in Christ.  It is the glorious rest which is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sabbath (Heb. 4:3-11).

 

          By faith in Christ we find rest in the grace of God and the providence of God.  It is…

 

A.  The rest of complete forgiveness (Isa. 44:22).

B. The rest of relief from earthly care (John 14:1; I Pet. 5:7).

C. The rest of our Lord’s presence, power and provision (Phil. 4:4-7).

D. The rest of a satisfied heart (Ps. 73:25-26).

E.  The rest of freedom from the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15).

F.  The rest of everlasting glory in heaven (Heb. 4:9).

 

          Truly, the rest which Christ gives to those who trust him is a glorious rest.

 

III. And, thirdly, THE REST WHICH IS SYMBOLIZED IN THE LORD’S SUPPER IS GLORIOUS.

 

          We are gathered here tonight around the Lord’s Table.  And everything here is a picture of rest.  The bread and wine represent the body and blood of our Divine Redeemer.  They symbolize the accomplishment of our redemption by Christ.

 

          The Jews ate the Passover with their staff in their hand and their coats on their backs, in haste, because they were about to enter into a long conflict - But we eat the Lord’s Supper sitting at his Table, resting, because our warfare is accomplished, and we have entered into rest.  Sitting here, at this table, everything is peaceful, restful.

 

A.  We sit at the Lord’s table with the sweet rest of knowing we are one with Christ - (Eph. 4:32).

B. We are the sons and daughters of Almighty God - (I John 3:1).

 

·        Lazarus.

·        Mephibosheth.

 

C. Our Lord has made complete provision for our eternal welfare - (Rom. 8:17).

D. Our Savior will soon come again to receive us unto Himself - (John 14:1-3).

 

Application:  Matthew 11:28-30.