Rest for Weary Souls: Matthew 11:28-30

Caleb's future wife's parents. We went to meet the Blakes, Judith and Woods Blake.

It was a great trip. We were going up to, you know, all these, I didn't realize, forgotten how many details there are to planning a wedding, but we were going to look at places for rehearsal dinners and that kind of thing. But Dr. Blake is a neonatologist. He works at several hospitals in Chattanooga, and he's in the NICU, the newborn intensive care unit. And we were asked, would you like to see the NICU? And we said, sure. But when we got there, it brought back a lot of them easy memories about 35 newborns there in those bassinets and we began to go and look and see those tiny tiny tiny bodies attached to machines and i remember all the smells the sounds began began to come back watching the monitor how's the heart rate how's the breathing and it was even more difficult to see parents there in the room huddled over their newborn.

Some were feeding their newborns. Have you seen the little bottles they used to feed those newborns? I mean, you can hold them literally in one hand and they had these little tiny bottles and they're there feeding them. And all the fears I could sense, the hopes and the fatigue as for many for weeks coming back to that NICU seeing those little tiny babies. Louise and I both had tears rolling down our face before we left and I could sense the burden that so many were bearing and I just wanted to be able to take those parents and hug them and I wanted to make all those babies well.

But you know, we live with burdens, don't we? We have tired souls who are fatigued and wearied by many burdens, and I love the words of Jesus Christ. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Today I want to talk about rest for tired and wounded souls as we conclude this series. Let's pray as we begin. Lord, this day I pray for all who are tired and weary and burdened. And I pray this day we may find the answer. The answer where there is rest and hope and peace and comfort.

Guide our thinking. Let us not be unchanged by what we hear. For it's in Christ's name we pray. How do we find rest? That's the question I want us to answer today.

How do we find rest? Here's the first answer. We must first acknowledge our problem.

And the problem is we are weary and burdened. In this passage in Matthew, and Matthew is the only gospel writer that records these words of Jesus. But in this passage, Jesus gives an invitation.

But it's an invitation to those who recognize that they have a problem.

The question I ask you today is, are you weary? Or are you burdened? if you don't recognize that you carry some burden or if you don't sense that you have some burden this you don't need this lesson you can get up and go ahead and leave

but if you have a sense of weariness or being burdened then jesus appeal is for you today but so many don't even recognize they have a problem so many won't admit that they are tired so many won't admit that they have a burden.

So I think the first step to finding genuine rest is to admit that we do have the problem, that we do have the burden. The weariness of which Jesus speaks in this passage can come in different ways. Sometimes that weariness is a spiritual weariness. We feel spiritually drained. Our spiritual lives are dry and parched.

and there's a sense of spiritual weariness. Sometimes that weariness is emotional. We're emotionally drained, and I could sense that among those parents in that NICU that we visited this weekend. Some of you are discouraged, mentally distraught, mentally fatigued from those things that you are dealing with. And then some of you are weary physically.

You have this sort of ceaseless striving, constant working, constant effort, constant attempts to make ends meet. And you're just weary physically. So spiritual weariness, emotional weariness, or physical weariness are all things that we can experience as human beings. And this weariness comes because we're carrying burdens.

and Jesus wants us to recognize the burdens that we are carrying so that we will then recognize the need that we have for him and I'm going to list here nine burdens I sat here and tried to think of nine burdens that we carry there may be more and you can go to the next slide a couple more how do we find rest and here are the burdens that we are going to that we carry We carry the burden of sin. And this isn't going to be on the slide up here. So look at your handout there. The burden of sin. This is the most fundamental burden that we carry.

It is the burden that separates us from God. It is the burden that gets us into so much junk. Because we go our own way rather than God's way. Sometimes we are affected not by our own sin, but by the sin of others. Some of you are dealing with difficult stuff in your life because somebody else has gotten into sin and that affects you.

But even though you may not be the one that did the sin that's causing you the problem, you're still burdened by the sin that somebody else has committed. So it can be our own sin or the sin of others that burdens us. We also live with the burden of others' expectations. When Jesus spoke to the Jews of the day who heard his words, many were weighed down by the burdens of the Pharisees. The Pharisees had so many little extra laws they stacked on the people that they expected them to live by.

So sometimes we're burdened by others' expectations, the expectations the Pharisees had. Maybe for us that burden is the expectation that somebody else has for us. We're trying to meet or get the approval of somebody. Maybe it's our spouse.

Maybe our spouse doesn't appreciate us as much as they should and we feel the burden of trying to measure up in their eyes. Maybe it's the burden of measuring up in our parents' eyes. Some go their whole lives feeling like they never measure up in the eyes of their parents. else for you. Another burden is the burden of senseless striving. Senseless striving.

It's senseless because you can strive all you want and even if you get what you strive for, it doesn't really satisfy. So why do you keep striving for it if it's not the kind of thing that satisfies? But so many are senselessly striving for success, for wealth, for status, for position. I read some statistics in preparing for this lesson that says that U.S. workers on average work more hours per week than any other nation in the industrialized world.

Compared to 50 years ago on average we sleep two and a half hours less each night and on average work 10 hours more each week than we did 50 years ago. We work so hard, we strive so much We're now called the tens generation, the T-I-N-S generation. Have you heard that term? Two incomes, no sex. We're striving so hard after stuff, we don't have even time for the closest, most intimate relationship with our spouses.

So maybe for you it's the burden of senseless striding. Maybe it's the burden of self-importance.

Protecting your self-image, pride. when any other person doesn't give you the respect that you are due or treat you in the manner that you feel you deserve. So you carry this burden of always protecting your self-image and your pride with that person. That's a heavy burden. And it causes so much weariness in life to always be protecting that self-image.

Maybe it's the burden of self-reliance. You're one of those people who think you should be able to handle everything everything and you take the whole world on your shoulders to try to make things right you don't think you can depend on anyone else you feel completely alone you're unwilling even to acknowledge that you need help because that would be an admission of weakness and you are self-reliant what a heavy burden maybe it's the burden of doubt

doubts about your faith doubts about your relationship with God maybe doubts about yourself whether you are worthy maybe it's the burden of fear

fear about the future fear about your health there are many who are struggling with health issues The future course of that illness causes them fear. Maybe it's fear for your children. Maybe it's fear about your financial status. There are all sorts of fears that burden us. Maybe it's the burden of insignificance.

You feel like your life ought to count for something. But when you look at it, your life feels so meaningless. and so you suffer with this burden of insignificance. There's so many insignificant things that drain our lives. Some other statistics I read preparing for this lesson.

By age 72, most Americans will have spent 12 years watching television. By age 72, most Americans will have spent 3 years shopping. By age 72, most Americans will have spent eight months opening junk mail.

Those things are in many ways insignificant, and we get burdened because we are caught up in so much insignificance that we can feel insignificant. Maybe it's the burden of ceaseless searching, ceaseless searching, always searching for the right answer. life than you've been able yet to find but you are just burdened by the constant searching for the right answer.

If none of those nine burdens apply to you would you please come talk with me after class. I want to talk with you further but I imagine that most of us have a sense of burden in at least one of those areas and Jesus appeals to all of us or any of us that carry any of these particular burdens because he says I have the answer for your burden I have the answer it's a bold claim but if you want to find rest after you recognize acknowledge the problem that you have that you are weary or burdened in some way. You must, in order to find rest, follow God's plan. That's letter B. We must follow God's plan.

And I think I left you three blanks in the next three items. One, two, three. Every blank is Jesus. Come to Jesus. Take Jesus' yoke.

Learn from Jesus. And I want to say a word about each one of those. if you want to deal with the burden that you're carrying you must follow god's plan so many of us have devised our own plans to deal with our burdens rather than listening to god's plan to deal with our burden and god's plan as set forth in this passage is a three-part plan the first part is come to jesus it is an imperative command in the text in other words option for us if we want to deal with the burden it is an essential step it requires affirmative action on our part we must come to Jesus we must go to Christ it is an act of repentance to come to Jesus has the sense of you got to leave something else in order to come to Jesus so this coming to Jesus is leaving something behind or turning away from something So that we can go to something that is more positive. It is also not only an act of repentance, this coming to Jesus, it is an act of trust. Why do we come to Jesus?

Because we believe He is the answer. There is no reason to go to Christ unless you understand that He is the answer to our deepest needs. It is he and he alone who can carry the burdens for us that we are now trying to carry ourselves. We Americans are familiar with the words, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. Statue of Liberty, right?

I want to tell you, the answer is not America. The answer is not the Statue of Liberty. The answer is Jesus Christ. We must come to Jesus if we want to deal with the burdens we carry. We must secondly take Jesus' yoke.

What is a yoke? Most of us aren't farmers or using oxen and cattle each day, but a yoke is a wooden harness that is placed around the necks of animals so that they can then pull heavy loads. You attach, put the wooden yoke on, and then that yoke can be attached to a plow, to a wagon, so that it can be pulled. it's a picture of the yoke is a picture of putting something on in order to take a burden again this taking Jesus yoke is an imperative command it's not an optional step if we want to deal with the burdens that we are carrying and it is an act of submission the putting on the yoke is a picture of an act of submission to Jesus his yoke on ourselves we take his burden now i'm going to deal in a minute it's kind of a if you don't sense it right now it's a paradox isn't it to get rid of the burdens that you're carrying you must put on a burden if you want to get rid of the weariness that you're experiencing by the burdens you're carrying jesus says you got to take on a different burden do you get rest by taking on a burden? I'm going to deal with that in a minute.

But just recognize that we must take Jesus' yoke if we want to deal with our burdens. Taking Jesus' yoke is an act of submission. It is an act of self-denial. And it's an act of willingness to serve Jesus. Putting on the yoke, it's an act of submission.

it's like the ox serves the ox owner and when we put on Jesus yoke it is the picture of us bending the knee to Jesus Christ

denying ourselves and saying we will follow you and serve you so putting on the yoke is an act of submission an act of self-denial and an act of willingness now let me make this clear The yoke that Jesus calls us to put on is not anybody's yoke other than His yoke. He does not ask you to put on the yoke of a particular denomination. He does not ask you to put on the yoke of a particular religious tradition. He does not ask you to put on the yoke of some particular pastor. He doesn't ask you to put on the yoke of the expectations of other people.

He says, put on my yoke. only yoke that we have to carry. It is the only burden that he calls us to take. Some of you are weighed down because you're pulling the yoke or have on the yoke of others. Jesus says you don't need any others and in fact you got to get rid of every other yoke if you want to deal with your deepest problems. You've got to put on my yoke and my yoke alone.

Putting on the yoke is really a picture of discipleship. This act of submission to Jesus Christ. Everybody got the picture of the yoke? The third thing we must do is we must learn from Jesus.

We learn by listening and we learn by following examples. So if we want to learn from Jesus, we must first listen to his words. In other words, there's the sense here that if we want to deal with our deepest burdens, we must be students of Jesus Christ. We must learn from him by listening first to his words.

Have you listened to Jesus' words lately?

if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink have you listened to Jesus words lately I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through me have you listened to Jesus words lately enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction he enter through it but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it listen to jesus and his teaching he says if you want to deal with your deepest burdens you must listen to me you must learn the world offers to you a broad way that seems appealing i offer to you a narrow gate but trust me walk through the narrow gate because at the end of the road

is life. So many of us who have been in church all our lives have heard the words, but we haven't learned the words. We haven't learned in the sense that we haven't taken them to heart so deeply that we will step out in faith and trust that what Jesus tells us is true. We listen to too many other competing voices rather than listening to the one voice that is so important. The second way we learn from Jesus is by observing his example.

So we listen to his words and we follow his example. Christ has given us an example that we should follow in his steps. It's easy to learn from Christ because he's gentle and humble, the text tells us. He's patient when we stumble and fall.

he's there for us to help us along when we're not doing too well so in that sense it's easy to learn from him because of who he is but he is our example as he is gentle we should learn to be gentle as he is humble we should learn to be humble the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many and when we see christ example of serving even to the point that he gets down on his knees and washes his disciples feet we learn by seeing his example don't we

if we would watch christ example and live as he lived so many of our burdens would dissolve away We create so many of our problems for ourselves when we don't follow his example. So come to Jesus, take his yoke, and learn from him if we want to deal with our deepest burdens. The last point, we must embrace the paradoxical promise. By coming to Jesus, taking his yoke, and learning from him, we will find rest for our souls. this is a, the part of the passage in Matthew that says you will find rest for your souls is a quote of an Old Testament passage, Jeremiah 6, 16,

which says this, listen to these words. This is what the Lord says, stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, walk in it and you will find rest for your souls. It's a picture of standing at the crossroads. If you want to find rest, you've got to choose the ancient path,

which is the ancient way that God has told us to follow. It is to follow the Lord's way rather than the world's way where we will find rest for our souls. Let me deal with several points here about this paradoxical promise that by taking on Jesus' yoke, we will find rest for our souls. The first question is, what is rest? What is rest?

The Greek word here for rest is a word that has the idea behind it of relief, of finding relief from something because we have found a resting place. relief is spelled J-E-S-U-S.

If you want to find rest, that is if you want to find relief from your deepest problems, the answer is Jesus. It is relief from the crushing burdens we so often experience, from the frustration and anxiety of life, from the futility. it is in Christ and Christ alone that we find this relief. It is in Christ and Christ alone that we find spiritual, emotional, and yes, even physical rest or relief. It is the kind of rest that is a present reality.

We can experience relief now, but it is also the kind of rest that has a future component. And in one day we will have perfect rest, perfect relief. when we get to eternity.

So, it's a paradox, but if you want this relief, our text tells us we must take on Christ's yoke and his burdens. Everybody knows what a paradox is, don't you? It's a statement that sounds contradictory at first, but is in reality true. How is it that by taking on Christ's yoke, we find rest or relief. Well, the text gives us some hints to this, but let me try to deal with that question.

Here's my first way of dealing with that question, this paradoxical promise. The reality is we all wear a yoke of some sort. The question is, which is the best yoke? In other words, all of us serve someone or something. The question is, which yoke is the best yoke to deal with all the burdens we carry in life?

The text, in essence, assumes everybody's got a yoke of some sort. But the best yoke is Christ's yoke. so it is in that sense that christ yoke is easy christ yoke is light or his burden is light particularly when you compare the yoke he gives you versus to any other yoke you try to have it's interesting in the greek text the word for easy and i think i put it in your handout is krestos. Do you see that? The word for Christ is krestos.

There's only one letter difference. You want easy? You want krestos? You need krestos.

And I don't want to minimize here. Let me say this very plainly. Christ makes significant demands on our lives.

But his yoke is easy to bear or easy to wear because his yoke is the yoke that deals with all the other burdens we carry.

In him and him alone are found the answers to the deepest issues of life. So while we take his burden in a sense by putting on his yoke, once we put that yoke on, all those other burdens that I listed suddenly have an answer for them or a way of dealing with them through Jesus Christ. So the first point of dealing with this paradoxical promise about taking Christ's yoke but finding the answer to our deepest problems, that is Christ's yoke is easier light, is that we all bear some sort of yoke. The question is which is the best. the second point is that it's easy to wear christ joke because christ is gentle with us he's lived among us he knows what we have experienced he cares for us he is patient he is kind he sticks with us when we stumble and fall it is also easy to wear christ joke because his yoke is beneficial for us his yoke deals with the deepest burdens in life and it lightens all burdens that we experience in a way that no other yoke or burden can. So let me deal with those burdens that I listed initially and let me show you how Christ, taking on Christ yoke and learning from Christ helps us deal with each of those burdens. The burden of sin, does taking on Christ yoke deal with that deepest burden i submit that it does because christ died for us that we might have eternal life and when we take on his yoke when we come to him and take on his yoke we then can inherit eternal life and overcome the burden that sin presents does taking on christ yoke deal with the burden of others expectations i submit that it does because when we take on christ yoke we now have only one voice that we must please.

We have an audience of one. So we no longer have to worry about others' expectations. We only have to worry about the expectation of Christ. And if we please Him,

that's all we need to worry about. So what your mama wants you to do, mama's expectations, daddy's expectations, Christ's expectations, those are all secondary to pleasing the master. The reality is once you please the master, you're going to please a lot more people a lot better than you ever have. But the burdens of others' expectations are dealt with when we realize we only have one master that we need to serve. How about the burden of senseless striving?

Christ has made it clear if we will listen to him that we can't serve God and mammon. he says quit worrying about what you eat or drink or wear if he takes care of the birds and the lilies of the field he will take care of you he is strong enough and powerful enough to supply all of your needs in vain do you rise up early and go to bed late thinking that your safety and security is dependent on you your safety and security is dependent on him. Christ deals with the burden of self-importance. In fact, Christ makes it very easy to deal with this issue of self-importance by telling us it's not about you or me, it's about him.

So Christ says just set aside this notion of pride and set aside this need to be number one. Remember, it's the meek who will inherit the earth, not the self-important or the proud. So if we'll listen to him and learn from him, we suddenly don't have to be worried about status or position or power or influence. We can live more easily and freely. We don't have to be scrapping like the pagans do at work to get that position or get the best office.

because it doesn't matter to us anymore. That stuff is meaningless. In the long term, it is worth zero. You can't carry your title to heaven.

Except the title that I am a child of the King.

The burden of self-reliance. Jesus says you are not self-reliant. I am your shepherd. I will take care of you you are dependent the burden of doubt Jesus if we will listen to him we need to hear what he said to his disciple Thomas stop doubting and believe I have given you all the evidence you need to see the truth of what I have proclaimed to you and I have given you my spirit to guide you to that truth so stop doubting and believe Jesus deals with the burden of fear because he says fear I am with thee. I am El Shaddai. I will walk with you through every dark valley. I am your helper.

You need not be afraid. If you want to deal with your fear, be sure you're holding on to the shepherd who is the almighty. He also deals with the burden of insignificance because he tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He knit us together. In fact, he calls us his artwork, his poiema and he deals with the burden of ceaseless searching because he says there's no one higher greater better gentler kinder than i am quit searching your search is over i am the answer to the search so i think if we will listen to christ and learn from him and take his yoke he has answers for each of the burdens that we experience the difficulty we have is being willing

or to give ourselves up in a sense and not worry about self-importance, pride, etc.

But let's hear his voice and work toward that. Let's put on his yoke so that we can give up these burdens, these other burdens. Let me hear my lessons for life. If you want true rest, ask the most important question first. What's the most important question?

Are you sure that you have come to Jesus and taken his yoke?

This is not an issue for grade school children. This is an issue for adults. And some of you may be like I was years ago, really coming back to wrestle with that question many, many, many years after I had first at least verbally said I wanted to give my life to Christ. Maybe it's time to reevaluate. If you feel the weight of the burden of sin, the weight of all these other burdens, maybe you need to come back and ask the most fundamental question first.

Have I come to Jesus? have I turned from all those other things that pull and buy for my attention and turn to him and him alone as the answer have I bent the knee have I bent the knee your master, your lord whatever you say I will do if you want relief, if you want rest you have got to bend the knee there will be no rest until the knee is bent our hearts are restless Until they find their rest in thee. I urge you. I urge you. I invite you.

I beg you. I implore you. Ask yourself this question. Don't leave today without being able to say, yes, I have come to Jesus. I have bent the knee.

He is my Lord and Master. He is number one in my life. I'm telling you, I've been there. Adults don't like to deal with this question because bending the knee means things will be different. But let me tell you, they will be better.

You cannot find the deepest answers in life without Jesus Christ. You will spend your whole lives wishing you felt satisfaction peace and you will not find it without Jesus Christ.

I cannot impress upon you strongly enough this issue. Listen to what I'm saying. Listen to Jesus. He is the only way.

Second, stop searching, waiting, doubting. The answer is here.

thirdly when the burdens seem the heaviest God is shouting to us the loudest I know some of you are hurting right now I know some of you are dealing with things that you don't think you will be able to bear

let me urge you to consider that that burden is there for a reason and one reason may be that Jesus is saying

Maybe the burden is there is to make you realize how much you need Jesus Christ. I hate it that you're going through the burden. In a sense.

But on the other hand, if it is the burden that brings you to Christ, praise God for the burden.

Today I praise God for the loss of Joshua. because that is what turned my heart to God ultimately.

Some of you may have friends who are hurting. Let's hug them. Let's help them. But let's help them in the deepest sense by helping them to see that they need Jesus more than anything else. Fourthly, no burden is too great for the great shepherd.

Fifthly, read your Bible daily. If you want to learn from Jesus, you've got to read what he taught us. to be reading your scriptures each day and then applying Jesus teachings to your everyday life practice applying Jesus teachings to your everyday life you need to start asking the questions what would Jesus want me to do in this situation and it is amazing often he hasn't spoken to the specifics of your situation but he has often given us principles that are very helpful in making decisions about very specific things in life the problem is sometimes

Learn the principles. And before you act, ask, what would Jesus want me to do? Is there something in Scripture that guides me? Now the greater problem is we often do know what Jesus wants us to do and we just won't do it. So you've got to be willing to submit.

But practice playing those. And lastly, it is not where we are that matters. It is who we follow.

We're all going to walk through dark valleys.

the question is, who's our shepherd? If it's Jesus Christ, trust me, you will be okay. Do you hear me? Those of you who are hurting, dealing with difficulty, if Jesus is your shepherd, in an ultimate sense, you're going to be okay. If Jesus is not, you will never be okay.

Scripture is very plain, folks, and I'm trying to be as plain as I can today. I don't know why I've got this sense to impress upon you the centrality of Jesus. I don't know, maybe it was Mark Cahill. Mark Cahill spoke to the youth Wednesday night. and he just made some very clear statements and plain statements there is no alternative Jesus is the only way come to Jesus come to Jesus come to Jesus and live

let's pray Lord I pray that I wish I could talk better I wish I was a better teacher

I wish I could reach down into each heart and each mind and persuasively say just the right words to change hearts and minds. Lord, I'm not eloquent enough to do what needs to be done. So I pray right now that you will do it. that you will take feeble words from a feeble person and that your spirit will take those words and somehow in the hearts and minds of every person here impress deep in their souls the reality of who you are, the reality of their need for you and let them not turn away from you. But I pray that they will each come to you, take on your yoke, learn from you.

And I pray they will find rest. Rest. The kind of rest that is relieved from the deepest burdens we experience in life. Lord, I want to wrap my arms around everybody here. And I pray that you will do that.

And just care for them and love them and help them through whatever they're facing. These things we ask in Christ's name and for his sake. Amen.