Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply stating where in the world you are based- I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Herman Abrahams,
Cape Town, South Africa.
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Acknowledgement.
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I first prepared this sermon in December 1995 and gleaned some thoughts from an article in GOSPEL HERALD & SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES – not sure of the date of the publication.
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December 1995
LEARNING TO ABIDE IN CHRIST (MATTHEW 11:28-30)
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden (NIV - weary and burdened), and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28 KJV)
There is a church building where this verse can be read on the front wall of its sanctuary. To those who enter that building on Sundays, the words of the verse are a comforting reminder on the believer’s day of rest. Reading these words, one is reminded of the presence of Christ as He invites us to leave our cares at His feet and rest in Him.
In the quiet of the Sunday morning sanctuary, one finds it easy to let go of daily burdens for a while. The hard part is Monday morning, when all the cares of the workaday world crowd in again and we pick up our burdens once more.
In today’s world, many of us face many pressures on a day to day basis. We are often expected to find a satisfactory balance in making time for friends, family, ministry, job and ourselves.
It is easy to become frustrated and exhausted. How can we learn to experience the rest to which Christ lovingly invites us?
God’s intention is for us to experience rest for the whole person, including body, soul and spirit. This can come only from completely trusting Him and truly surrendering to Him all our burdens. We must choose to lay our burdens at His feet and leave them there.
The Psalmist was persuaded of God’s ability to satisfy the need of his soul when he said,
(Psalms 62:1-2)
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken."
He encouraged his own soul,
(Psalms 62:5-6)
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken."
St. Augustine, a bishop in the early church said,
"Our hearts are restless o’ Lord, until we find our rest in thee."
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1. "MY YOKE IS EASY" (Matt 11:30) _______________________________________________________
In order to fully understand this concept of rest, we need to also examine Matthew 11:29-30, which says,
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"
It is Jesus’ invitation to take his yoke upon our shoulders. He uses an example from farming, so familiar to his disciples, to illustrate His teaching. In commenting on this text, William Barclay wrote,
’He says "My yoke is easy." The word easy is in Greek chrestos, which can mean well-fitting. In Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood; the ox was brought, and the measurements were taken. The yoke was then roughed out, and the ox was brought back to have the yoke tried on. The yoke was then carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and would not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yolk was tailor-made to fit the ox.’ (The Gospel of Matthew, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Page 19).
Jesus’ yoke (his commandments) fits us well. The life that he gives us to live is not a bitter, heavy burden; rather, it is a life-style that is made to measure to fit us.
The yoke was a wooden frame used to harness together a pair of oxen at their necks so that they could pull a plough or some other load. It was a balancing device. Sometimes a younger ox needed to be taught to work and thus was paired with an animal of more experience. This beautifully illustrates our relationship with Christ. As we walk by his side, sharing the yoke and burden, the load does not disappear but is made lighter.
Christ once walked the earth and therefore understands our problems. He is like an experienced yokefellow from whom we can learn how to handle our problems. He shares freely with us; with Him by our side, we find the strength to be overcomers.
In fellowship with Jesus, we learn that His yoke is not harsh and oppressive, but reasonable. Jesus gentle company brings us peace and comfort, and He enables us to keep going. That’s why the Apostle Paul could say;
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil.1:6)
How can we learn to experience Christ’s presence in a way that brings peace and comfort? How can we truly share our burdens with Him? Our part is to maintain a moment-by-moment relationship of fellowship with Him. This will require a determined, conscious effort on our part as we seek "to work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12). After we accept Jesus into our hearts and lives, as we are invited to come to Him and find rest (Matt 11:28), the next step is to accept His yoke of obedience and let Him help us (vs 29). As we learn from Jesus, we are taught to abide in Him.
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2. "ABIDE IN ME" (John 15:4)
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"Abide in me, even as I abide in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit in its own strength, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me." (John 15:4).
What is meant by abiding in Christ? Let us look at it in a simple way by taking a human analogy.
Assume that a person is by himself a weak person. Assume he has actually fallen to temptation and has made a mess of things and is fast sinking further and further into a degenerate state of mind, heart and body. Now suppose that this person has a friend who has a strong, lovely and loving nature; and suppose this strong friend rescues this person from his degraded situation. There is only one way in which the weaker person can retain his reformed state and keep himself on the way. He must keep contact with his friend. If he loses that contact, all the chances exist that his weaknesses will overcome him; the old temptations will rear their heads again; and he will fall. His salvation is dependent on the his friend’s strength and continual contact with that strength.
Abiding in Christ means something like that. The secret of Jesus’ life was his contact with God. Again and again he withdrew into a quiet place to meet with God. Jesus was always abiding in God. it must be so with us and Jesus. We must keep contact with Him. We cannot do that unless we take deliberate steps to do so. There must be no day wherein we do not think of Jesus and are not conscious of His presence.
When one becomes a Christian, you invite Christ into your life and Christ becomes a part of you. Just as a branch draws all its life from the vine, so we must abide in Christ and live our life through Him. In such a way we will be able to say with the Apostle Paul,
"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
(...........)
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3. ABIDING "UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY" (PS.91:1)
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"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Ps. 91:1).
The Hebrew name for "Most High" is Elyon. This name stresses among other themes, God’s mighty strength as high and exalted.
A key word might be the "control" of God as the exalted Ruler. The psalmist confidently stated that the person who dwells "in the secret place of the Most High" (Ps. 91:1) will experience his calming control, even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.
The psalmist stressed the need for dwelling in this secret place. This is the same underlying truth of abiding in Christ that is expressed in John 15:4. This can be the daily experience for every Christian. The Apostle Paul had found this way of life. He
summarised it as follows,
“For me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21), and
“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 3:1-2)
Through the grace and strength of the risen Saviour, and, as has been mentioned earlier, through a conscious effort by ourselves,
we can be of those believers who dwell in the secret place of the Most High and can determine the level of fellowship that we enjoy with our Redeemer.
Psalm 91:1 goes on to declare that the one who dwells in fellowship with the most High God “shall abide (‘will rest’ NIV) under the shadow of the Almighty” (KJV). ‘Almighty’ in Hebrew is Shaddai which is sometimes combined with El (see Gen. 17:1). The full name El Shaddai stresses the strength of God, His permanence, and His stability. Wheras ‘Elyon’ conveys God’s control, El Shaddai sets forth the constancy of the living God, who does not change.
As the God of constancy, He offers His protection and rest from and during the storms of life. *
