Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Finding Rest in Christ (Matthew 11:28-30)
13 Plays3 months ago
We are almost to Labor Day. The Bible affirms work and condemns laziness and idleness. As a matter of fact, there is. Liberty University publication that lists 43 different occupations found in the pages of Scripture. There is nothing wrong with good, ole fashion work.
There is something wrong, however, with those who would attempt to work and try to earn salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 remind us that we are saved by grace through faith not by our own works and efforts. This is repeated in Titus 3:5 where it says, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy…”
This is why in honor of Labor Day I would like to direct our attention to one of the most beloved passages of Scripture in all of the Bible, Matthew 11:28-30.
Spurgeon is reported to have given 12 different messages from Matthew 11:28-30 across the span of his lifetime. Once he was asked why he would preach from this same text again, he replied, “One cannot preach too often on this text!”
You are going to like what the Lord has to say to you today through His Word. Get ready to grow in grace! Let’s talk about the rest we discover in Christ.
1. Illustration of a Yoke – “take My yoke upon you”
2. Invitation to the Yoke – “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden”
3. Inspiration from the Yoke – “and I will give you rest.”
4. Installation of the Yoke – “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me”
5. Information about the Yoke – “for I am gentle and humble in heart”
6. Investigation of the Yoke – “and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and burden is light”.
___
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Growing in Grace Ministry
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, FBCColumbusTX.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
Finding Rest in Christ: Exploring Matthew 11:28-30
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Growing Grace. I'm so glad you're with us today. I have a word that I think is going to really cause you to find the rest that you that's available for you in Jesus Christ. ah that The actual title of today's devotion is Finding Rest in Christ. And the passage is Matthew 11, 28 through 30. We're almost to Labor Day.
00:01:10
Speaker
The Bible of affirms work, and it condemns laziness and idleness and so forth. But as a matter of fact, ah Liberty University put a publication out there that listed 43 different occupations that are found in the pages of Scripture.
00:01:30
Speaker
I mean, it's just amazing when you read through this list of all these different ones from carpenters to potters and all this thing, but you know that it's got the verses right there. But all through the Bible, there were men and women who were working, working hard to take care of their families. And so I'm glad we have a Labor Day when we can stop and actually give thanks to God that we have a job.
00:01:56
Speaker
Give thanks to Him for giving us the abilities to feel that job, and so forth. But as good as work is, there is one thing that we cannot work for. We're never going to be able to attain it, and that is salvation. Ephesians 2, 8, 9 reminds us that we're saved by grace through faith.
00:02:19
Speaker
not by our own works, not by our efforts. As a matter of fact, Titus 3.5 says pretty much the same thing. It says, He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy. Wow.
00:02:38
Speaker
That's why I think in honor of Labor Day, I would like to direct our attention to this ah probably one of the most beloved passages of Scripture in all the Bible. I don't have any facts to substantiate that or prove it, but I believe it is. Matthew 11, 28 to 30 is heartwarming.
Salvation as a Gift of Grace
00:02:58
Speaker
As a matter of fact, it's so profound in its simplicity and just how concise it is that the great preacher from London, England, Spurgeon, he's reported to have preached on it 12 different times ah across the span of his lifetime.
00:03:15
Speaker
And one time someone said, wait, I think you've already preached on that text before. And his reply was, one cannot preach too often on this text. And so I think you're gonna understand what he's talking about. You're gonna like what the Lord has to say to you today through his word. Get ready, because we're gonna grow in grace together. So let's talk about the rest that we discover in Christ. Let me read the passage first. It says,
00:03:44
Speaker
come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
00:04:09
Speaker
Is that surprising to you? Well, there may be other principles that we're going to dig up in this passage, but I guarantee you when all of it is said and done together, you and I are going to find rest in Christ.
The Yoke Metaphor and Religious Burdens
00:04:24
Speaker
So let's get started. The first thing I would like to point out is the illustration of a yoke. Did you hear Jesus say, take my yoke upon you? So Jesus has a yoke.
00:04:37
Speaker
But why would he even choose this whole idea of a yoke? Well, he was speaking to the people who were alive at that time. He was speaking to them of the scribes and Pharisees. And these men were looking at God's word, but something caused everything to go wrong. They began to go off track and became legalists. And so here's what Jesus says about the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and verse 4.
00:05:08
Speaker
He says, they tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. That's from Matthew 23.4, but in Acts 16.10, the Apostle Peter, he thunders.
00:05:31
Speaker
out quite loudly in the Jerusalem Council and quite clearly, and here's what he says, now therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
00:05:53
Speaker
You see, what was happening at that time, the people were trying so hard to keep the 615 different Old Testament laws. They were trying, but it was very difficult.
00:06:06
Speaker
But what made things worse, the scribes, they came up with something called the oral tradition. And the oral tradition began in their eyes to be just as important to keep it as, well, the Old Testament laws. So you got 615 Old Testament laws. That's not enough. So they're going to add an oral tradition on top of that. And they thought that was going to help things. Wow.
00:06:34
Speaker
You do recall that a yoke is like a wooden instrument that is placed on two oxen, and so the first oxen that was placed in the yoke was older, seasoned ox. This one was trained and hardy. The second, though, was usually a younger ox with potential but was inexperienced. And so the older one trained the younger one, and the experienced one pulled harder and bore the majority of the load. The younger one didn't have to wonder, what do I do in this thing called a yoke as we're pulling this plow? All he had to do was just walk alongside of the older one.
00:07:20
Speaker
You know, somebody said, I think it was just a legend. It's definitely not in scripture, but legend has it that Jesus, being a carpenter, that around Nazareth, he was known as the best maker of yolks that were used for oxen. So maybe that's why, if that were true, that would be why he chose this particular particular analogy or illustration or metaphor.
00:07:50
Speaker
But let's move beyond that and let's get started because there's something wonderful that he says. He says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. I want secondly to talk about not the illustration of the yoke, but the invitation, the invitation to enter his yoke. Come to me, he says, all who labor and are heavy laden.
00:08:17
Speaker
You know, if you think about it, what a simple invitation that is. He didn't make salvation complex. He actually simplified it. And it as a matter of fact, oftentimes he would say to his disciples, follow me.
00:08:32
Speaker
But on this particular occasion, since he is speaking to people who are trying so hard to keep all of these laws, and they're unable to keep them all, he simply says to them, all I want you to do is just come walk toward me. Just come to me. You see, really, Christianity is not about a religion. It's not about a bunch of rituals and rules.
00:08:59
Speaker
When it really boils down to it, Christianity is about a relationship, a personal relationship. And notice that he included me, he included you, and he included everybody because he says, come to me all.
00:09:18
Speaker
Man, I love that word, all, because that word tells me that his invitation, it's global, it's universal. It can apply to anybody, any race, any walk of life. It doesn't matter what what occupation you are involved in. It doesn't matter how many is in your family. It doesn't matter where you live. It doesn't matter how much money you have or how much money you don't have.
00:09:42
Speaker
He says, I want all of you to come to me. And notice how he really offers an incredible invitation with these words, all who labor. Originally, that word in the Greek meant beaten down.
00:09:59
Speaker
It's the kind of person who simply said, you know what, I'm never i'm never going to measure up to the demands of all of this this religion, all these laws and all these rules that the Pharisees are just requiring of me. And so think about how soothing that invitation would have been when Jesus said to them,
00:10:22
Speaker
Come to me, all who labor, all of you who feel so beaten down.
Jesus' Unconditional Promise of Rest
00:10:28
Speaker
But then he goes on to add another descriptive word. He says, come to me, all who labor.
00:10:34
Speaker
and are heavy laden, heavy laden. It's sort of like a cargo ship that has been overload. Or perhaps if you fly a lot, then maybe you know what it's like when you get ready to check in your bags. And now you've been told you have excess baggage. you know You're over the the amount that you're allowed to take on the flight. And so what's going to happen?
00:11:02
Speaker
I want to share with you something incredible that I read one time from the book of Isaiah way back there in the Old Testament. Pointing ahead to the days of Jesus, Isaiah the prophet says in Isaiah 53.4,
00:11:18
Speaker
that He bore our burdens. Did you know that? Did you know that Jesus already on the cross? He already took all of our punishment. He took all of the responsibility for making sure that we can be in the Father's family and that we can go to heaven when we die. And so I just think to myself, is it really that simple that He would simply say, all I want you to do You're tired, you're heavy, laden you're you're beaten down. All I want you to do is just simply come to me, all of you. Just come to me. Wow. To me, I find great inspiration. But I also find great inspiration in the third thing I would like to point out, and that is when he said, and I will give you rest. Wow.
00:12:13
Speaker
Why should we walk towards somebody who's saying, I want you to come to me and take my yoke upon you? you know i mean That's not something that you would use if you're wanting to be like a you know typical salesman. you know He's not going to tell you something that would sort of repel you right away. Why should we yield to his yoke? There's two incentives given here. Listen to what he says.
00:12:38
Speaker
I like the fact that it starts out here saying, and I will give, and I will give. Wow, man, and I will give you rest. Think about something, how he offers us an unconditional promise.
00:12:54
Speaker
you know He doesn't say, if you will do everything I want you to do for the rest of your life, then you're going to be saved. If you will always obey me every single day of the rest of your life, then I'm going to let you into heaven. He doesn't say that. He says, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you something. Wow. To me, that unconditional promise reminds me so much that salvation It's by grace, friends. It's by grace. Let me tell you why it's by grace. Why it's by grace through faith, because if it was any other way,
00:13:35
Speaker
you and I would never be able to have assurance. Because if you've got to work for it, if you've got to achieve it in order to receive it, well, you're never going to be able to measure up. Neither would I. We would never know, did I do enough things today? Or was I short yesterday? I can't remember. Oh no, I lost my temper in that traffic jam.
00:13:57
Speaker
Oh, no, I was selfish the other day when I went into that business deal, whatever it might be. All I know is I'm so glad that he says, and I will give you. Wow. To me, that's that's powerful by itself just to think about that offer of of an unconditional promise. He doesn't say, I might. I'm going to think about it. He said, I will. But also, he offers us An incomprehensible peace. An incomprehensible peace. He says, and I will give you rest. That word rest means, you know, where we don't have to work for it, of course. But it also includes these ideas ideas of restoration.
00:14:46
Speaker
of being replenished, being renewed and refreshed.
Continuous Learning and Maturing in Faith
00:14:50
Speaker
All of those things are packed into this one word here called rest. Boy, to me, that's inspiration. That's incredible. thats That motivates me to want to walk toward His yoke. But let's say that you decide today, you know what? I didn't realize that about Jesus. I thought it was just saying yes to a whole bunch of you know rituals and religion and all that, and that's just not who I am. But let's say that you're ready.
00:15:21
Speaker
Well, you need to know the fourth principle that is included in these verses, the installation. The installation under this yoke, he says it's all based on a decision that we make upon what he's already done. And so he says, take my yoke upon you.
00:15:41
Speaker
There's something personalizing about those words. Take my yoke upon you. I believe there's something that we have to do. That's where faith comes in. That's where repentance comes in. So we have to say, am I at the point right now where I'm willing to receive His gracious offer that I don't deserve of salvation in His Son?
00:16:04
Speaker
And if I am, then I have to take his yoke upon me. Have you ever done that? Have you ever personally turned from sin? Have you ever personally said, Jesus, I need you to save me? He's so we ready to help you if you have. But you know, it's interesting how salvation is not about just one decision. It's not all about just one little decision. I think that salvation also includes this process of maturation, where I'm maturing, I'm growing. Yes, I'm completely saved by grace, but I'm also expected to grow in grace. I'm also expected to keep on moving forward. It's sort of like an apprentice, the next thing that he says. He says, take my yoke upon you,
00:16:58
Speaker
and learn from me. Wow. So am I still learning from the Lord? Let's say that you trusted Christ personally as your Lord and Savior many years ago. That's wonderful. Thank the Lord for that.
00:17:13
Speaker
But the thing is, are you walking with him in daily fellowship? How is your fellowship with the Lord? How is your daily devotions? Are you taking time to talk to him about those things that are weighing heavily upon you? I'm sure he would want to hear about it. As a matter of fact, think about what he's telling us in the next few verses. I think that the yoke that he describes here is informational. it's It's like he's going to give us revelation about who he is. What kind of Savior is Christ? Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and lowly in heart. I'm gentle and lowly in heart.
00:18:01
Speaker
You see, we can trust him because of his character. You see, his character is, he's gentle and he's humble. The words actually would refer to someone who's easy, easy going, and someone who's lowly. So you can write relax and allow him to control your life. You don't have to worry about stepping in to that yoke with him.
00:18:28
Speaker
Listen, he's going to be so good to you. You're going to be singing his praises one day about the goodness of the Lord and the grace of the Lord and the provisions of the Lord and all of those kinds of things. But you can also trust him because of the comfort that he gives. It's okay to surrender hint to him because what he really wants for you is rest for your soul. Rest for your soul.
00:18:55
Speaker
I like where this whole passage sort of takes us and where it ends because it ends at a really great place. And that is with this investigation that ends with a wonderful discovery. He says, you will find.
00:19:13
Speaker
It's like a promise. You're going to find something. And that word find there is the word we get our word eureka from. And so it offers the discovery of this wonderful resolution to all the problems that sin has caused in our world. He said, you're going to find Rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Wow, what ah what a wonderful ah discovery we make when we discover his rest. And I say rest because he describes his yoke here for us. Is it harsh? Is it is it very heavy, difficult to bear, like all the Pharisees were loading on all of these things on the common people?
00:20:02
Speaker
No, actually, you know what? He says it's easy and it's light. It says my yoke's easy, my burden, it's light. You know, ah it says here that the word easy means well-fitted. It means tailor-made. It means useful. And so just think about how God has made his yoke where it fits on you just right.
00:20:29
Speaker
And I love 1 John chapter 5 verse 3 because it gives us a little more definition and description of why His burden is light. Why is His burden light? Listen to 1 John chapter 5 verse 3. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome. Wow! So he's definitely saying, they're not heavy, they're light. Why could that be that they would be light?
Christ's Easy Yoke and Light Burden
00:21:03
Speaker
Whoa, wait a minute. We have to remember, what was the analogy that he chose at the beginning?
00:21:10
Speaker
He chose the yoke. Remember what I said about the the two different the two oxen that were placed in the yoke? One was seasoned and the other one was inexperienced. And the seasoned one was gonna be the one pulling most of the load and all the the inexperienced one and the younger one had to do, just walk alongside that seasoned one.
00:21:35
Speaker
That's why his ah burden is light, because from now on, he's in there with you. He's helping you. That's the difference with the Pharisees, because they were putting a heavy burden upon the people, but they weren't lifting a finger, Jesus said, to even try to lift those burdens themselves.
00:21:56
Speaker
You know, there's something similar that is written in the Old Testament in Jeremiah chapter six and verse 16. Listen to what he says. Thus says the Lord, stand by the roads and look and ask for the ancient paths where the good way is and walk in it. And here it comes. And find rest for your souls But they said, we will not walk in it.
00:22:32
Speaker
Isn't that sad? That the people in Jeremiah's day were already being told there's good news coming. There's good news coming. All you've got to do is find that way and walk in it. You know, Jesus would later say in John 14.6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. And so it's so clear. He's the way.
00:22:58
Speaker
This is who Jeremiah the prophet was talking about when he said, stand by the roads and look and ask for the ancient paths where the good way is and walk in it and find rest for your souls. You see, we still have to make that decision.
Labor Day Reflection: Gratitude for Christ's Sacrifice
00:23:16
Speaker
It says, but they said we will not walk in it. Friend, don't walk away from Jesus and away from his yoke. Man, I encourage you.
00:23:27
Speaker
walk toward His yoke." I remember when Philip didn't know the way, and he told Jesus, he said, I don't know the way. And Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth of the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. Do you know the early Christians were even called the way.
00:23:46
Speaker
But I just want to encourage you to take some time over Labor Day when you don't have to go to work. You know, if you're like me, I'll probably be out there at the grill. I had the other day a friend of mine brought over some redfish. So more than likely, our family is going to be out there cooking those redfish. And I love that.
00:24:07
Speaker
But when you're not working, when I'm not working, why don't we just pause? Why don't we just take a little time and just say, thank you, Jesus, that you did all the heavy lifting. You did all the work for my salvation. The work that Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, you know what it was? It was perfect. It was flawless. And that's why whenever Jesus finished his work on the cross, you know what he said?
00:24:35
Speaker
He said, it's finished, it's finished. That's why now our part is turn from our sins and repentance, place our faith and our trust in His finished work, and we will be saved. Wow, if you don't know who Jesus is, I encourage you to get to know Him. He may not be anything like what you presumed that He would be like, because what He says here is, He said, get to know me.
00:25:04
Speaker
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and I am really looking out for your best interest, because I want you to have rest for your souls. One last anecdote from my personal life.
00:25:16
Speaker
Before coming to First Baptist Church, Columbus, Texas, I used to serve as a missionary in Japan. For 12 years, I was in the Tokyo area, Tokyo and Yokohama. But I remember when I would be walking sometimes to language school or walking to a train station, I would often walk by these man-made altars.
00:25:40
Speaker
where the Japanese would be offering up bowls of rice, where they'd be offering up some vegetables, perhaps some green tea, ah all those kinds of things. But they were offering up to them up to dead ancestors, hoping that they would be accepted and blessed, protected, and received, all those kinds of things.
00:26:02
Speaker
But I would often think to myself, you know what? I'm so glad. I'm so glad that I don't have to work for it. I remember how they would take their altars through the streets of Tokyo. And it was like a celebration. But it took, I don't know, maybe there was 10 men on each side. But it was a big, heavy heavy altar shrine.
00:26:25
Speaker
And they'd be jumping up and down and carrying that altar on their shoulders. And I know it must have been heavy. I know it must have they must have been sore the next day and so forth. But I think to myself, I'm so glad. I don't have to carry my God. That that God carries us. That when Jesus went to the cross, we were in his heart.
00:26:47
Speaker
He paid the price for us. That's why the work that He expects us to do is to trust Him. And then after we're saved, after we become a Christian, then we gladly serve out of the overflow of gratitude and joy, out of the surplus of grace that He gives us each and every day.
00:27:09
Speaker
Well, listen, you have a blessed, blessed Labor Day weekend. Hope you have a great day with your family. Let me just close in prayer for us. Let's thank the Lord for our rest that's available to us in Christ. Lord, many of us who are probably listening to this,
00:27:28
Speaker
We've already discovered the grace that is available, the rest that is available in Christ.
Closing Prayer and Encouragement
00:27:34
Speaker
Thank you so much, Lord, for sending your son. ah We do not deserve such a wonderful gift, and yet you gave it. And so we're so thankful for that. So Lord, thank you for going to the cross and paying the price for our sins. You were the one that lifted all the heavy burdens off of us. And now you simply say to us,
00:27:57
Speaker
cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you. Thank you so much, Lord, for the rest that's available to us in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, thank you so much for listening today. One last thing, if you wanna know more,
00:28:14
Speaker
about the rest that is available in Christ, I encourage you to read through the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. It refers a lot to our rest in Christ. God bless you. Have a great weekend.
00:28:34
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.