Mt. 11:28-30
Your life is a lot like a Rubber band
Some stress is good b/c it tends to motivate us, but too much stress will break us altogether. Key is knowing when to allow the band to rest from the stress.
Apostle Paul said it this way
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
What did Paul do right so as not to snap?
Stress is a normal part of our fallen world, yet we can easily add to stress of life by making wrong decisions in the administration of our lives (study of Kings).
Illustration: Friend who pushed the limits in almost every area of life:
lack of family time,
taking on debt,
Significant investment in ministry,
considerable risks in business.
“Hanging off a limb.”
Can’t do that in every part of your life. He “hit a wall” and his rubber band snapped.
Several years ago I was in a high stress situation
• Working full time counseling
• Finishing my master’s degree w/ night classes
• Working on my dissertation for a PhD program
• Adjusting to the challenges of parenthood with a active toddler at home.
• I my spare time, I was pastoring a small church in need of energy and forward momentum.
When I look back I wonder, how did I make it? How did my family make it? What did I do differently in that scenario that allowed me to rest & find refreshment to press on?
What is the difference between the person who encounters high levels of stress and finds the place of rest before it is too late and the person who doesn’t?
Jesus speaks directly to this issue
You can find his words in Matthew 11:28-30
Background:
1) "Cities of opportunity" (Korazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum) missed their opportunity for Jesus
2) B/c Jesus is God’s son, there are eternal consequences of not taking the opportunity Jesus offered them (Woe, it will be better for Tyre/Sidon & Sodom & Gomorra)
3) Earthly consequences of not taking Jesus up on his offer (unnecessary weariness & burden)
Jesus explains exactly how to rest your soul from stress you can predict and the stress you cannot predict.
"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 in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me
• Jesus knows how life, stress, & rest works (he is the revealer of God/the image (logos)
• “I” in “I will give you rest” is emphatic: “I as opposed to others give rest/refreshment”
• First Jesus offered rest/salvation to the Jews (Mt. 10), now to all those who are weary & burdened.
Weary
You would think that the weary would easily come to Jesus, but coming to Christ is difficult when you are trying to do all the work yourself.
Our desire to control things leaves us exhausted and the sad truth is that according to Jesus nothing can give us the kind of rest that he can.
We can look for the answer in
• A Church
• A small group
• A vacation
• A bottle of alcohol
• A plate of food
These are wells that can never satisfy our thirst (Idols). We are left weary and thirsty.
Weariness speaks of activity but the word Burdened speaks of passivity
To place a burden upon
• Yoke of the Rabbis (extra commandments, rites, unwanted precepts saddled to faithful).
• These were man-made obligations based on the Law of God
Pastor/teacher Joe Stowell
“If Christianity is dull and boring, if it is a burden and not a blessing, then most likely we are involved in a project, not a Person, - a system, not a Savior, rules rather than a relationship.”
Have you come to a religion or a person? Jesus didn’t say come to Christianity…come to a set of theological principles…come to a bunch of rules.
Story of the Prodigal Son who asked for his inheritance early and spent it partying. When he returned to the Father’s house he groveled and the Father received him. But his older brother did not accept him back.
• Pastor Tim Keller points out both were lost
• Older brother b/c of his “damnable good deeds.” He was more concerned about the work he had done for the father than a relationship with the father.
• Younger brother b/c of his wayward deeds
• The point: Father loved them both no matter what and made an invitation for both of them to come to a feast to celebrate. Same invitation that Jesus gives “Come to me.”
o Do you see yourself as the younger brother burdened down w/ mistakes that have brought more stress into your life. Come to Jesus today.
o Perhaps you see yourself as the older brother stressing yourself out so you can gain God’s favor. Come to Jesus.
o Perhaps your that Christian who professes Jesus with your lips but ignores him during tough times opting to do it all on your own.
"Come To Me"
• Students/parents anticipating start of school
• Parents anticipating start of school
• Some of you are in financial stress
• The next time you start to feel stress welling up, why don’t you turn that stress over to Jesus right away?
Transition Statement
When we come to Jesus, he has a plan for us.
Take my yoke
• My yoke is easy: “well fitting” or tailor-made for us.
1 John 5:3 His commands are not burdensome
• A yoke is intended to ease discomfort & distribute the load comfortably.
• Yoke speaks of obedience & responsibility. Jesus isn’t opposed to our effort as long as it is in cooperation with him. Jesus is saying “Do life alongside me; be my disciple.”
• The strength to bear the load is supplied with the yoke of Christ; it is called the Holy Spirit. This is unlike the yoke of the Pharisees; they supplied no power to help the people with the heavy man-made burdens.
• Jesus’ yoke helps us carry greater weight than we could otherwise. This is how we can look back and wonder how we did it. We weren’t the ones doing it.
• Missionary Hudson Taylor
It matters not how great the pressure is, only where the pressure lies. As long as the pressure does not come between me and my Savior, but presses me to Him, then the greater the pressure, the greater my dependence on Him.
• It is in that dependence on Christ’s yoke we find a deeper rest.
But we often have a hard time resting b/c saying “yes” to Christ’s yoke & rest often means saying “no” to other people or things.
Take My Yoke
• Some of you are at that place where you need to determine what it is that you need to say “no” to.
• Some of you are wondering how the trials you are experiencing can possibly be turned to triumph.
• Next time to start to feel stress welling up in your life, why not ask Jesus where he is at work in the situation and ask if you can take his yoke and join him in that place.
Transition statement: When we come to Christ and take his yoke that isn’t enough. This isn’t a onetime thing. There is a process involved as well.
Learn from me
Jesus: “I am gentle and humble in heart”. I have been brought low w/ grief & depressed.
Jesus knows about stress, distress and troubles.
(ministry, rejection, the garden, the ultimate stress of the cross).
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Mark 14:33-34
The 1st Rest is given (I will give you rest)
2nd Rest is found (you will find rest for your soul as you learn from me)
This second rest is like Re-creation
Learn from me: how to work, what to work at, what to work for, whom to work for
Jesus simplifies a complicated life to one thing (learning from him; nothing else matters).
God’s goals for us often conflict with our goals for ourselves. The blessed moment is when they merge.
John 8:29 I always do the things that please him.
Our problem is not that we don’t have any agenda, but that we often have too many agendas.
We need to learn from Christ about our limits.
What are you like when you are pushed to your limits? The opposite of Jesus, right?
When we take on too much we become rough and proud instead of gentle and humble.
Learn from Me
Stress often comes in the form of change, conflict, criticism, concerns, crisis.
Do you think you could learn from Jesus in any of these areas?
The challenge is to see every stressful situation as an opportunity for you to learn from Jesus. Ask, “What can I learn from you, Lord, through this?”
Some of you have learned a great deal through the years and are ready to pass on what you have learned.
These last words were inspired by Max Lucado’s book “Traveling Light.”
Jesus the Good shepherd wants to make you to lie down in lush green pastures. He has cleared the rough, rocky land. He has torn out the stumps and burned the brush. He has irrigated and cultivated.
He has finished the work and wants you to enjoy it. With his own pierced hands, he has created a pasture for your soul.
He invites you to rest there. Can you imagine the satisfaction of the shepherd when he sees you resting in the tender grass? Nestle deeply until you are hidden, buried, in the tall shoots of his love, and there you will find rest from your stress.
