The Best Rest for the Stressed
Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Intro: Do you ever get weary, tired, worn out? Do you feel like you are running on empty? Do you ever feel burdened to the point of exhaustion? Some of you who have been caregivers – whether to a family member, or to someone else – know what it takes out of a person to be on call continually. There are a lot of things in life that can bring us to this point. We’ve got hectic schedules. Sometimes it’s just tough getting from one place to the next throughout the day.
-A Tahoma, Washington newspaper carried the story of Tattoo the basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut the dog’s leash in the car door and took off for a drive – with Tattoo still outside the vehicle, he had no choice. Motorcycle officer Terry Filbert notice a passing vehicle with something dragging behind it. He commented that the poor basset hound was, “picking them up and putting them down as fast as he could.” He chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued. But not before the dog had reached a top speed of 25 miles per hour, falling down and rolling over several times.
-Maybe you’ve been living like poor Tattoo, picking them up and putting them down as fast as you can – rolling around & feeling dragged through life. (Jim Botts, sermoncentral.com)
-We all have responsibilities that must be carried out: kids to raise, a family to lead and provide for, school, jobs, things that need fixed around the house, bills, debts. We have expectations from people all around us of what they would like us to do for them. Sometimes financial pressures can press in on us causing our stress levels to climb. Experts say financial problems are one of the leading reasons that couples divorce. 60-80% of divorced people report that financial problems were the leading cause of their marital demise (http://www.stretcher.com/stories/03/03nov24f.cfm and other studies).
-Now, in addition to all of these other pressures, sometimes we add to our emotional stress by taking frequent guilt trips because we have failed to live up to standards or ideals we have either set for ourselves, or allowed others to set for us. Perhaps we even imagine that God must be so disappointed in us because we have failed in so many areas. We may be living under the dark cloud of disapproval from someone in our life who must surely know what he or she is talking about. If only we could measure up and achieve something great, then maybe our burdens would lift and we could start enjoying life. We could prove the people wrong who disapprove of us and get the last laugh and the last word!
-Well, Jesus knew what it was like to be weary, burdened, rejected, and ridiculed. He knew what it was to feel like He was on the outside looking in. It is likely that Jesus grew up labeled as an illegitimate child – as if there were such a thing as an illegitimate human being. Jesus knew what it was like to never be able to measure up to the expectations of religious leaders who enjoyed heaping rules and regulations on people but weren’t willing to help them walk through the difficulties of daily life.
-So, when Jesus spoke these words from Matthew 11:28-30 to the common people listening to Him, He spoke as one who knew how weary they were and how burdened they were. Many of them were likely poor and faced a challenge just to feed themselves and their families. Several of them likely experienced the brutality of Roman soldiers as taxes were levied against them which tax collectors doubled or tripled to make themselves rich. Others in the crowd had no doubt been ripped off by the High Priest and his thugs who would reject the lamb they would bring for a sacrifice, forcing them to buy one from the temple at twice its value. Jesus loved the common people and helped them out at every opportunity. These verses give us a glimpse of Jesus speaking life and hope and true rest and peace to people who were hurting and tired and beaten down by life. Jesus extends the same invitation to each of us! And that is what I’d like to talk about today for a few minutes.
-Prop: Those who come to Jesus and do life with Him will find rest for their souls.
How do we do this? Well, since Jesus issued an invitation, we need to RSVP. Let’s look at a few responses on our part that will help us find rest in Jesus!
1. Come to Jesus
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
ILL.- Two men rested at the top of a high mountain. The first man said to the second, "What brings you up here so often? It’s such a rough climb." The climber replied, "Well, it’s like this. All my troubles and heartaches are down in that little valley, and when I’m down there, they seem pretty big. But up here they seem pretty small."
-Many of us live our lives under the tyranny of the urgent. There are so many demands made upon us that we just jump from one to another, putting out fires and trying to keep people happy. Unfortunately, this leaves us very little time or energy to invest in what is really important. So much of our energy is spent on things with no lasting value – things that bring no lasting satisfaction. We forget that we are spiritual people. We aren’t just physical, mental, and emotional beings. We have a spirit that needs to be fed! How have you been feeding your spirit lately?
-We can find spiritual rest and inner peace when we respond to the invitation of Jesus. He said, “Come to Me.” Who are the recipients of this invitation? All who are weary. All who are weighted down with burdens. Burdens can be anything that stresses us. Burdens are things that suck the life out of us, leaving us empty, weak, and weary.
-One of the burdens the people were dealing with were the requirements of the law. Luke 11:46 “… you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” These scribes would interpret the Bible and add their own rigid requirements to be sure that people would not even come close to breaking God’s laws. It sounds noble but it bypassed love and mercy. They were more concerned about accuracy and exactness in the details of the law than they were about real people around them.
-So how do we come to Jesus? Well, if you are sick or hurt, how do you go to your doctor? Some of us just try to suck it up and avoid doctors, but some things you just can’t handle on your own. If you need to go to the doctor, you contact her or his office and figure out how soon you can meet with him or her.
-First, you have to realize that you need help. Second, you have to decide to seek help. Jesus says, “If you need help, come to Me!” Sometimes that first step is the hardest. We have to get past pride and what it might cost us personally.
-When a person comes to Jesus, the Bible tells us that a couple of things are needed. Hebrews 11:6 says, “… anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” So we come to Jesus with faith that He is who He claims to be and that He will give us the rest He promised when we answer His call to come to Him.
-Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We approach through prayer – just talking to the Lord, asking Him to help us. Well, along the same lines, but a step further is making and keeping a connection with Jesus.
2. Connect with Jesus
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you….”
-A yoke was a type of harness that connected a pair of oxen. A yoke was also used as a metaphor for one to join himself to a rabbi. In NT times when someone took the yoke of a rabbi that meant they were becoming a submitted pupil of that teacher.
-When a student was invited or called to study with a rabbi and decided to take their yoke, they really committed to do life together with that rabbi for the next several months or years. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He was doing what a rabbi in that day would do – share life with a group of students who would literally follow Him around and learn how to interpret and apply the Bible to everyday life.
-So, in a figurative sense this yoke was a commitment to closely follow the example and teachings of the rabbi. It meant developing a connection with the rabbi and getting to know him to such a degree that you could live as he lived and pass on what He taught.
-That is what Jesus is inviting us to do! Commit to do life with Him! Follow Him closely. Read about how He interacted with people. What gave Him joy? What made Him sad? What made Him angry?
-I am continually humbled (and occasionally humiliated) in my role as a Dad. I love my daughter very much and am watching for opportunities to teach her something about God - what He has to do with us and what we have to do with Him. She is so eager to learn new things and hangs onto every word I say. I know I should just enjoy it while it lasts, but it both thrills me and scares me at the same time. Because I know that she is watching me just as closely when I’m tired and grouchy and irritable. Sometimes I may not present a very good example to her, yet I am her rabbi – so to speak! And so are many of you, whether you realize it or not. You are the mentors and models to the people around you. Your life is a textbook, showing them how to live. How’s that for giving you a burden to carry?
-It all comes back to us staying connected with Jesus – taking his yoke, doing life with Him, following Him closely. When we do that we can rest assured that our example will be worth following! Staying connected with Jesus will bring rest to our souls.
3. Learn from Jesus
Matthew 11:29 “… learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart…”
-This really fits under that previous point of staying connected with Jesus, but I want to restate it for emphasis.
A. We can learn from the record of Jesus – the Bible! Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are called the 4 gospels. Gospel means good news. So, you can read the news archives about Jesus – how He lived and what He taught. You can study His life and clearly see what His mission was on this earth. He came to serve others, to seek and save the lost; He came to do the will of His Father in heaven. Read all about Him and follow Him around as He taught people, and healed all who came to Him, and drove out evil spirits who were ruining people’s lives. We have an accurate record of how He lived life. Let’s make good use of it!
B. We can also learn by relationship and interaction with Jesus. Jesus is not limited to the pages of the Bible, but wants to be included as the central figure of your everyday life! You can’t do life with a book, but you can with a person. Get to know the One who is gentle and humble in heart! Jesus promised that He would always be with His followers. You may not see Him, but He is near. Talk to Him often, or as Paul said, “Pray without ceasing.” Let Him know what is on your mind, and ask Him what He has in mind for you. Ask Him what you can do for Him.
-The more we learn from Jesus through the powerful words of the Bible and from a personal relationship with Him, the more our souls will find rest. Two things from the Shepherd’s Psalm (Psalm 23) come to mind: The Lord my Shepherd is with me, and He restores my soul. Jesus is with you and He will restore your soul as you learn to do life with Him!
4. Rest in Jesus
Matthew 11:29-30 “…you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
-If you will connect your life with Jesus, you will find rest. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll sleep well – though I hope you do. This is rest for your soul. Soul and spirit are often used interchangeably in the Bible. So I believe Jesus was speaking to a deeper restlessness here. Physical exhaustion can often affect us spiritually, but I believe that Jesus was addressing the exhaustion that comes from hopelessness and despair.
-Today, I believe Jesus would tell you the same things He told others in the Bible. He would say, “I’m not here to condemn you, but to save you! I’m not here to make your life more difficult, but to give you freedom and hope and a future! I am here so you can do life with God!”
-It is interesting that when Matthew wrote his gospel that immediately after these words of Jesus where He offers rest to those who come to Him and connect with Him, we find Jesus being accosted by Pharisees who accuse His followers of breaking the Sabbath rest by eating grain off the plants as they were walking through a field. Again, they were only concerned about policy, not people. They weren’t interested in people growing closer to God, just keeping the rules. God made the Sabbath so man could rest. But the rest that Jesus gives doesn’t come by simply following rules. It comes from relationship with Him!
-Jesus certainly doesn’t throw out all the rules, but neither does He allow them to trump His grace and mercy. He doesn’t invite people to just come learn the rules! He invites people to come to Him and find rest – true rest – for their souls! Rest is found in Jesus!
ILL.- A young man by the name of Joseph Scriven lost the woman he loved in death. The woman he was engaged to be married died by drowning. Scriven was for some time unable to cope with her death. Finally, after months of bitterness he came out of it by writing a hymn. "What a friend we have in Jesus." Even through bitter, soul-wrenching grief, he found rest when he responded to the invitation of Jesus who said, “Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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.”
Close: A strong young athlete was wading waist deep in the shallow part of a recreational lake. Unknowingly he stepped off an underwater ledge and plunged fifteen feet beneath the surface of the water. After several seconds he bobbed to the top of the water flailing his arms and gasping for breath. The lifeguard attentively watched the situation from a nearby bank. A friend of the struggling young athlete grabbed the lifeguard by the arm and cried out, "Bob can’t swim, you’ve got to help him." The lifeguard remained unmoved as Bob continued kicking and splashing wildly. The young man’s friend furiously yelled at the lifeguard, "If you won’t go after him, I will." Calmly but firmly the lifeguard said, "No one can help him yet. I’ll help him when he’s ready for my help." After a couple more minutes the young athlete stopped his struggles, as his body became limp. The patient lifeguard suddenly dove into the water, swam out to the young man and brought him to shore for a successful rescue. Later the friend asked the lifeguard, "Why did you wait so long to help my friend." The lifeguard responded, "As long as Bob was trying to save himself there was nothing I could have done for him. If I had swum out to him he would have grabbed me and pulled me under with him. Only when he was weak, exhausted and had given up was I able to save him." (sermoncentral.com)
-Maybe you have reached a point of weariness because you have been trying to do it all on your own. You haven’t really come to Jesus much lately. In fact, even though you may be a Christian, maybe you really haven’t been doing life with Him. Whether that is you or not, His invitation stands: Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest – rest for your souls!
-If you need to come to Jesus today, I’d love to help you do that right now. Let’s all bow for a moment. If you need to come to Jesus today, it starts by simply talking to Him. Tell Him what’s on your mind. Ask Him to help you. If you need forgiveness He will forgive you. He doesn’t want anything from you – He just wants you – all of you!
