“Living Among the Giants”

 

TOPIC:‌“God's Favorite Word”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Matthew 11:28

 

‌‌“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and

‌‌I will give you rest”

 

‌Dr. Clarence MacCartney, great preacher of past years, once wrote these words: “The word “Come” is God's favorite word in all of the Bible.” He could be right for it is found more than six hundred times in the Word of God. It started way back in the book of Genesis where God said to Noah: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark” (Genesis 7:1) and it continues right up to the last chapter of the Bible where we read these words: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come, And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come” (Revelation 22:17).

 

‌As used in Genesis chapter 7 verse 1 this is the first occurrence of the word “come” in the Bible and it embraces the basic meaning of God's gracious invitation to sinful man. God is encouraging man to avail himself of the perfect provision He has made for man's preservation. And the divine invitation by God was always given in a time of overwhelming judgment and doom.

 

‌For the next few moments I want us to consider how the word “come” is used in several different ways in the Word of God. Let's begin our investigation.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, first of all, the “come” of SALVATION. Let me read again the words of Jesus in our text: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I like the way Phillips renders these words: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and over burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

‌Here we have the new message of Jesus. The rejected King now turns from the rejecting nation Israel and offers not the Kingdom, but rest, and service to all in need. The “rest” mentioned here refers to the spiritual rest of the soul. Jesus is the rest giver. It is an eternal rest from all of the fear and anxiety of the world. It is God's very own rest that we are invited to enter  and that we read about in Genesis chapter 2 verse 2 where we read: “On the seventh day, having  finished his task, God rested from all his work” (NLT). Listen to the words of the writer of Hebrews: “So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God's . . .