Resting on the words of the King

Book of 2nd Chronicles, please, to start. Looking out over the audience, I see many faces that we saw in Cedar Falls. And that would mean that since the 6th of January, you've sat under probably roughly 10 weeks of gospel meetings.

That's a lot of gospel meetings. And if you're not saved after 10 weeks of meetings, I want to make sure you realize one thing. Maybe you've learned it, maybe you haven't.

But you just can't be saved when you want to. You just can't be saved when you want to. And so if you're having thoughts of salvation tonight, if you're having thoughts of eternity, if your sin is a burden to you, take those thoughts seriously because that is the Spirit of God speaking to you.

Those aren't your own imaginations. That is God seeking to get your attention tonight. 2nd Chronicles, please, chapter 32.

And we're going to read at verse number 6. We'll talk about the story of Hezekiah in a little bit. Verse number 6, for the sake of time. And he that is Hezekiah the king set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spake comfortably to them, saying, Be strong and courageous.

Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. For there will be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

Now this is the sentence that I want. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah the king. Turn with me to the Gospel of John.

John chapter 19, verse 1. John 19, verse 1. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him, and the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple robe and said, Hail, king of the Jews. And they smote him with their hands.

Drop down for the sake of time to verse 14. And it was the preparation of the Passover and about the sixth hour, and he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your king. And they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away.

Verse 19. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on a cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.

This title then read, Many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. And then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews.

Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. And drop down with me to verse number 30. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished.

And bowed his head and gave up the ghost. And the Lord will bless to us the reading of his word. Hezekiah was a good king.

He was a king that feared the Lord, and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord for the most part. And in the context in which we read, there was a great enemy coming, Sennacherib, the Assyrian. He had conquered all the other nations, and he was now closing in on the cities of Judah.

And Hezekiah did what he could do. He didn't take time to read it, but he took counsel with the princes and so on, and he stopped the fountains so that there wouldn't be a lot of water there. He did what he could do.

His confidence was in God, and it says we read that he spoke comfortably to the people. And then we read these words that have jumped out at the page at me this week, and the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah the king. What does that mean, that they rested upon the words of the king? It means simply this, that as he spoke comfortably to them, and as he reminded them that the Assyrians had the arm of flesh, that God was with them, they rested upon those words.

They believed him. They relied upon the king. Marvelous to think that they would do that.

Their life depended on it. They were in a place of great danger. They were in a place of certain war.

And yet as the king, in his confidence in God, he would speak to the people, and it says the people rested themselves. And the rest of the story is this, that Sennacherib sends messengers and tries to get the people to doubt the king. And he compares the living and the true God to all the gods of the nations that he had already conquered and had already destroyed.

But we never read that their faith was shaken. They rested upon the words of the king. As I read that this week, my heart just jumped.

I thought, what a picture of faith. What a picture of relying upon one in authority. Relying upon one in power.

But yet this king wasn't the ultimate authority. He wasn't the ultimate power. His hope and his defense was in God, the living and the true God.

But notice this as an example of what it means to believe. Rested upon the words of the king. Rested.

We read about the king of the Jews in John 19. We read about the one that is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And I would like just simply tonight in the Gospel, the first part of this meeting, is to look at his words simply, it is finished.

And it is my prayer that before we are done or even before now, there would be some soul in this meeting that would rest in the words of the king. Rest in the words of the Savior, the Son of God. Trust their eternity, trust their soul.

Upon the words of the one that cried from his own lips, it is finished. It is finished. I'd just like to take those three words and consider them together tonight.

It is finished. It's marvelous how many times he's referred to, I think we read all of them, might have missed one, in this chapter that he is the king. The king of the Jews.

The king that was rejected. The king that was mocked. The king that was crowned with thorns.

The king that was robed in a gorgeous robe. The king in mockery they bowed the knee to. The one with the superscription, this is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.

And I want you to simply contemplate what he says. You see, he is God, manifest in the flesh. He is the supreme authority.

He is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the one that came from the heights of glory. He is the one that is risen again from the dead.

Understand this tonight, that when it comes to the salvation of the soul, when it comes to the work of Christ, God is not expecting us to believe one that is still in the grave. He's expecting us to believe one and to rely upon one and rest upon the words of one that is alive forevermore and in indissoluble life. And this one that says it is finished from the cross of Calvary is the one that is alive tonight.

And having at God's right hand. Now if the people in Hezekiah's day could rest upon the words of the king, my friend tonight, can you not rest your soul, your eternity on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ? They rested upon the king. Let's look at these words just simply then.

These words are remarkable in their simplicity. It is finished. Really it is terminology.

It is vocabulary that even the youngest in the school system can understand that it is finished. Even before that, the young ones can understand that when mom and dad tell you to go do a work and you go and you accomplish that task and you come back and you say, Mom, it's done. What you just said is it is finished.

The work that you sent me to do, I have accomplished it. I have finished it. It is done.

And so they're easy for us to understand. They're remarkable in their simplicity. They speak of the Scriptures being fulfilled.

Everything that was prophesied concerning Calvary, everything that was prophesied about the life of Christ, even His death, it was finished. It was finished. It was fulfilled.

It speaks of suffering that is ended. When the Lord Jesus Christ there in His own body on the tree, He bore our sin. He suffered the judgment for our sin.

His words say this, It is finished. The suffering was ended. It speaks of the fact that the sacrifice for sin is over.

It is over. He gave Himself a sacrifice once for all for sin. And the sacrifice is over.

It is finished. And it speaks of a satisfied throne. The throne of God being satisfied.

The work that Christ was sent to do, He did it perfectly. He did it completely. He did it marvelously.

It is finished. And the sacrifice there of Himself being made sin, suffering for sin, has satisfied God's throne as far as sin is concerned. And that throne now is satisfied.

What does that mean for us? It means that God can save us tonight. That the work has been finished to the point of God's supreme satisfaction. Nothing was lacking.

Nothing was missing. And when the king said this, it is finished. It is just that.

And I can rest my soul on those words. It is finished. It is finished.

They're remarkable in their simplicity because they're conclusive. They bring things to a conclusion. It is finished.

What is finished? What is He speaking of? We just talked about four things that He's speaking of. The sacrifice, the once-for-all sacrifice for sin is over and it's been accepted. It is finished.

Does that mean anything to us in this meeting tonight? What does the work of Christ mean to you as an individual tonight? What do these words that you've heard so often from this very platform, it is finished, what do they mean to you? What do they mean? I can see in the eyes of some that are saved, they mean everything. And I can see in the eyes of those of you that are yet in your sins and you're lost and you're wishing that they would mean everything. You are really wishing that it was true, that it was finished.

My dear friend, understand this tonight that whether you believe it or not, it is true. Whether you accept it, whether you receive it, whether you rest upon it for eternity, it is true whether you take it or not because it is finished. It is the words of the King Himself.

It is words of the Savior Himself. And so they're remarkable in their simplicity. They are a rebuke to self-righteousness.

Self-righteousness. You say, what does it mean to be self-righteous? It means that when the person is wanting to please God and the person is wanting to do something to show God that they're sincere for being a sinner maybe and that they're sincere in pleasing Him, people oftentimes return to their own works and they try to do something to satisfy God. It's just human nature, by the way, isn't it? That if we have wronged someone, certainly we need to make it right.

And so these words are a rebuke to self-righteousness. Those of us that have tried to please God understand this, that the Bible says all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. That's how God sees them.

For those who are trying to add the finishing touch to the work of Calvary, trying to add to the blood of Christ, if you will, understand what Christ has said. It is finished. That is a rebuke to self-righteousness.

That is an absolute rebuke. It kills the argument from the cross itself. Anyone seeking to add to the blood of Christ, anyone seeking to add to His finished work, it's a rebuke.

It is finished. It is finished. You say, well, I think there's something I need to do.

My friend, there's nothing you can do because it is finished. There's nothing that needs to be done because it is finished. There's nothing that God will accept from you because He has accepted Christ and it is finished.

And so they're just simply a rebuke to self-righteousness. And this world is full of the religions of men that are seeking to add to the work of Christ. And God cannot accept Christ plus something else because then it wouldn't have been finished.

But it is finished. And they rested on the words of the King. They rested.

Thirdly, I'd like to look at these words as a revelation to sinners, a revelation that is concrete. These words actually are words that give life and peace. They actually bring salvation.

I don't know how many in this room have been saved through these three words. I know of at least two people in our home assembly that have been saved through these words. It is finished.

They actually bring life and peace. They actually bring salvation to the soul. They actually bring about the new birth.

When a person can rest upon these words, when they rest upon the words of the King, it is finished. It is a message that brings life. It is a message that brings peace.

It is a message that brings satisfaction. It is a revelation to the sinner. What do these words mean to you? I wasn't saved through these words.

But I read these words the night that I was saved. You see, when I was saved in my bed there at the age of 17, I was reading the Bible. I thought I had heard someone in their testimony that said they decided to read their Bible all night, and they were saved in the middle of the night.

And I thought, you know, I'm going to try that. So I went home and I tried to read my Bible all night, and I fell asleep in the middle of the night. Woke up and the batteries and the flashlight were dead.

Still in my sins, miserable. Went to school that Friday morning. Came back.

Went to the meeting. Our Lord preached on the coming of the Lord. In my mind, He was coming that night.

And I went home and I started reading my Bible. Ten o'clock came. You know, you can't get saved when you want to get saved.

It just doesn't work that way. You young people know that, don't you? You've been trying for 18 years. Maybe 20 years.

Maybe there's a dear loved one in the audience tonight and you're up in years and you've heard the Gospel off and on for 60 years. And you're not saved tonight. And there I was and I wanted to be saved.

And it come to me like this that I must have missed my opportunity and I'm just going to have to go to hell. And I closed my Bible and I put it up on the dresser and I picked up those tracks and I was going to put them up on the dresser and the one track on top was upside down and there was a verse on the back that said this, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. And that word saved jumped out at me.

And I thought, well, how could He have ever saved me? And just like that, it dawned on my soul. I believe it was a revelation from God to my soul that when He died at Calvary, He died to save me. He died just for me.

And I thought, that's too simple. And so I read the verses that the preacher gave me and in His finish was one of them. And you know what it said? It said the same thing as Isaiah 53.

He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment for our peace was upon Him and with His strength we are healed.

For while we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. They were all saying the same thing. What were they saying? Christ died for me.

It is finished. It is finished. A revelation to the sinner.

It is finished. Rest upon the words of the King. Rest upon the words from the lips of the Savior Himself.

It is finished! A revelation to sinners. You know, it actually gives us a message to preach. We can go to the heathen.

We can go to the idolater. And there we see the dear man and the dear woman bow down before their false god, before their idol. And we can say, Dear man, dear sir, dear ma'am, what are you doing? And they're saying, I'm offering sacrifice to my idol.

We can tell them, Dear soul, have you not heard that it is finished? Dear soul, have you not heard that the living and the true God cried through His very lips that it is finished? There's nothing needs to be done. There's no other god to offer to. There's no other god to worship.

The one that is risen from the dead. The one that is alive in the power of endless life. His own lips have said, It is finished! And we can go to the heathen.

And we can go to the idolater. We can go to the false priest who daily or weekly offers a sacrifice for the living to the dead. And we can say, Dear priest, what mean you by this service? Christ Himself said, It is finished! Why seek ye to crucify Him again? It is finished! Rest on the words of the King.

It is finished. It is finished. We can go to the protestant.

And we can say to the dear man, with his confirmation and with his baptisms and his rituals, and we can say, What are these things for? My dear friend, the Savior said, It is finished. It is finished. And in Hezekiah's day, they rested upon the words of the King.

They rested there. You know, you can trace the theme through your Bible of different places where God rested. And you come into the garden in Genesis chapter 2 and there on the seventh day God rested.

It wasn't that He was exhausted from His work, but His work was good. It was excellent. It was very good.

And He rested. And you come to the little book of Zephaniah in chapter 3 and you read there that He rested in His love. That God rested in His love.

And that word rested is an interesting word there. It has the idea of one that is plowed or one that is engraved. One that has done a great work.

And doesn't that not speak of Calvary? Where there the Lord Jesus, He rested in His love because we just read together that He bowed His head. He didn't flop His head in weakness, but He bowed His head. And there we read that God rested in the garden from His labor.

He rested in His love. And He rested at last. How could Christ bow His head in all authority and all power? And there at Calvary, He rests.

And He rests at last. You see, that moment was anticipated before the foundation of the world. That Christ would come.

That He would go to the cross of Calvary to be the sacrifice for sin to satisfy God. And there He bowed His head and He rested at last. The work was finished.

He couldn't have rested if the work wasn't finished. He had to finish the work. And before I sit down and give way to my brother, I want to notice one more thing.

Two more things. We can go to the sinner tonight and all of their sin and all of their agony and all of their soul trouble, and we can say this to them. It gives a message for the sinner tonight.

It is finished. It is finished. Sometimes people hear the Gospel and they're waiting for a feeling and the feeling never comes.

And they're waiting for the flash of light and the flash of light never comes. And yet God speaks and God churns and God plows the soil of the heart. Rest in the words of the King tonight.

It is finished. It is finished. But one more point.

It's remarkable in its simplicity. It's a rebuke to self-righteousness. It is a revelation to sinners.

And I want to look at them in a way tonight that's a relief to the struggling. Maybe there's a dear soul here tonight and you're struggling with doubts and you wonder if you're saved at all. These words are a relief to the struggling.

It is finished. To rest upon the words of the Savior to rely upon the words of the King to depend entirely upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is alive forevermore. I don't know what it must have been like for that thief that day, the one that was saved.

I don't think I would have had the faith that he had because there he is nailed next to the Lord Jesus and he's looking at a man that is dying the same death that he is dying. He's looking at a man that is suffering in his mind the same that he is suffering. It would be hard to put faith in one that seemed to be as weak as me.

But that man rested on the words of the King. What word did he get? Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And that was enough for that man.

The Lord Jesus Christ was enough for the one that was dying right beside him. Absolutely satisfied that man. 100% satisfied as he died that day.

He rested on the words of the King. My dear soul tonight, in all of your agony, in all of your wanting to be saved, in all of your trying to figure it out, in all of your works of righteousness, rest upon the words of the King. It is finished.