Scripture: Matthew 11: 28
Hebrews 4: 1-10
John 10: 27 -30
Sermon: "And I Will Give You Rest"
Good Morning…Well, today we come to the last part of this scripture in Matthew that has been our focus over the last few weeks.
“Come unto Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
Little did I know that this verse would spawn three sermons when I started looking at it! It has been very interesting to me, and I hope to you also, to dive into the depths of this verse.
The title of my sermon today is, “And I Will Give You Rest”.
The promise of rest for those who labor…what a comforting thought. It’s always so good to be able to sit down on my deck swing after working hard in the yard, or walking in the front door of my home after a long day’s work and then finally, at night, to lay down in my bed, exhausted and let sleep come over me.
The word, ‘rest’, is another one of those words that have a lot of meaning and we express it in so many ways. I looked in my Thesaurus and this is just some of what I found for the word ‘rest’…
Sleep, slumber, doze, repose, lie down, let down, ease off, recuperate, rest up, take a break, take a load off, lean, recline, relax, unbend, settle down, dream, drowse, take it easy, be comfortable, stretch out, nap, nod, snooze and chill out.
This idea of resting has expressions in every language on this earth…the idea of letting down, ceasing the exertion, the effort…distancing ourselves from the battle of everyday life and problems we constantly face. Man desperately seeks to find this peace.
In this verse of Matthew, Jesus is saying to us…come to me and let me help you find this peace your looking for…let me give you some rest and some peace for your life. And all He is asking us to do is to believe in Him… and to Trust in Him.
Man has, through the ages, desperately looked for this inner peace that will give him some rest from the world he lives in. He urgently needs to find something to believe in that will give him the rest he must have to continue to exist in a world that is sick and lost…a world that doesn’t know what to believe in.
As I researched our scripture this morning, Hebrews 4: 1 to 10, I found that the word rest in Hebrew is Katapausis, and it is used in several different ways in the Bible in order to show us the value of what God is offering us. Just like He offered the invitation to “Come unto Me”…He is offering us His Peace, also.
In Genesis 1 and 2…in the beginning, we find God laboring as He creates the universe and everything in it. From day one through day six, He works from morning until evening. But on the seventh day He rests.
There is a strange fact here. On the first six days of creation, it is said that morning and evening came, that is to say that there was a beginning and an ending to each day. But on the seventh day, if you look closely, the day of God’s rest, there is no mention of evening at all. It has been suggested that since this day had no ending, that ‘God’s rest’ is ongoing and available to all who seek it.
Just the idea that God knows what it means to need ‘rest’ is an amazing fact…He knows that after a good labor is done, that there should be a time of rest and restoration…a time of strengthening and recuperation. God’s rest is there for us…but we need to avail ourselves of it…we need to trust that He will give it to us.
But did you know we could miss it? Just like the Israelites. They missed their chance at God’s promised rest. In Number 13 and 14, we read about them. These chapters tell how the children of Israel came to the borders of the Promised Land, how they sent out scouts to spy out the land, how ten of the twelve scouts came back with the verdict that it was a good land, but the difficulties of entering it were too great, how only Caleb and Joshua alone were for going forth in the strength of the Lord, and then how the people hearkened to the advise of the cowards, and how the result was that this generation of distrusting cowards were debarred forever from entering into the rest and the peace of the Promised Land.
They did not trust the Lord to bring them through the difficulties that lay ahead of them and therefore they never enjoyed the rest that could have been theirs in that Promised Land.
Here, today, we have three scriptures that tell us of the rest and security that is promised to the believer through Jesus and our Father, Yahweh. All three scriptures tell us of the security and rest that is available to us…
In John 10: 27 – 30, where Jesus says,
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my Hand.
Jesus promised these three things to those who would accept him…
· He promised Eternal Life. A life, that if they accepted him and became members of his flock, all the littleness of this earthly life would be gone and they would know the splendor and magnificence of a life with God. Listen, learning and believing in what Jesus was teaching would expand their thinking to a realm outside the earthly boundaries and give hope to all.
· He also promised a life that would know no end. Death would not be the end, but the beginning; they would know the glory of indestructible life. This was the Good News that Jesus brought to us…that there was more to our lives than this earthly moment…that there was a promised eternity…an eternity that would outshine anything we could imagine here in this life.
· And he finally promised a life of security. Even in a world crashing down around them, they would have the serenity of knowing the Lord and be conscious of the everlasting arms underneath and around them. The knowledge of knowing that God was on both sides of the Grave and that He was in control. That was a very comforting thought. They would now know the rest and peace of God.
The Allstate Insurance Company has a captivating slogan. In their advertisements, they claim, “You’re in good hands with Allstate”. This statement attracts people, for there is within every human being the need and desire for security. People want their houses, cars and especially their lives to be protected. They want to rest, assured that someone will take care of them and theirs.
In the part of the verse, “and no one can snatch them out of my hand”…the Lord gave a graphic illustration of security here, when he pictured the believer resting in the hands of the Heavenly Father. It’s a double guarantee that the believer can rest assured that they are protected. Not only can no one snatch you away from Jesus…but you have the assurance that no one can snatch you away from God. You are doubly safe. And if you truly believe that God is the one who is greater than all, you should have all the comfort that you will ever need!
But there is more to this passage than just rest and security…there is still an active element in our rest.
I think about the time that I was laid off from Raytheon for nine weeks. It really was a pretty restful time. I would be able to sleep in and get up at my leisure…take my cup of coffee out to the deck and sip it slowly, while watching the activity of nature that surrounded me. But as I would be sitting there contemplating everything, I would look at my deck and say to myself, “well if I would knock off the side of this existing deck and build a series of steps down to another deck, it would increase the actual living area of the back of my house…and that would be so “cool”…Or I would be thinking, that I really need more storage space. How can I afford to build another shed? Well, to let you know “the rest of the story”…I now have built another deck on the back of my house and I also have a new 10 X 30 foot shed for storage…and all because I was sitting there resting, drinking my cup of coffee on a beautiful day.
This is like our rest in God…God does not put a person in his hands just to save them…he intends to use that person.
In our bible there is the story of Elisha performing one of his many miracles, that illustrates this very idea…
2 Kings: 6 – 7
They went to the Jordan to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water. “Oh, my lord,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!”
The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there and made the iron float. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
This man of God didn’t save the ax head so that it could be put on a shelf…no, he saved that piece of iron so that it could be put to work again and serve it’s master. And so, just like this story illustrates, God saves each of us to be able to put us to work in order to further His Kingdom…to stand firm and help others come to know The Way…The Way of Jesus.
There was a time when we were not in God’s hands…when we didn’t believe…when we didn’t know the Peace of God. For those who refuse to submit to the Good Shepherd, they stand outside His fold. People who want to take over their own lives and live as they please, rather than as God wants them to live. Like rebellious sheep, people have, through the ages, looked at the mirage of greener pastures, only to find that they have alienated themselves from God, walked the wrong path and lost the blessings that might have been theirs through Jesus. Their lives have become troubled and lonely…without foundation or anchor…without rest or peace.
When we respond to Jesus Christ in faith, God begins a great work within us. He says, “I am the door; if anyone enters by Me, he shall go in and out and find pasture”…green pastures where there is rest and security…peace and love.
Are you willing to put yourselves in God’s hands?
It’s like the party of inexperienced mountain climbers when they faced the yawning crevasse that had to be crossed, if they were going to reach the top. Their guide jumped over expertly. Reaching back, he asked each member of the climbing party to give him his hand. One man came repeatedly to the edge, and each time he retreated. Finally, the guide reached for the man’s hand once more and said, “For thirty years I’ve been helping men and women across this gap, and I’ve never let one go yet.”
God is reaching out for us, too, asking us to make that leap of faith…that leap from living life on our own…anxious, rebellious and lonely…to a life of security, protection and resting in His hands. He hasn’t let one go yet!
Matthew 11 verse 28 promises us so much…listen to it again now that we have studied it…”Come unto Me, those who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” We have the invitation…we have the command to labor for Christ…with the promise that if we do, we will come into God’s rest….in order to become restored for further service in His Kingdom.
It’s like the Parable of the Fig Tree. In Luke 13: vss 6-9, it says, “
“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and did not find it. He said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look you – for the last three years I have been coming and looking for fruit on this fig tree, and did not find any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the ground?’
‘Lord’, he answered him, ‘let it be this year too, until I dig round about it and manure it, and see if it bears fruit in the coming year.’
‘Well and good; but if not, you will cut it down.’
Just like us, this fig tree held a favored position. In those lands the soil was shallow and poor, trees were grown where there was enough soil for them to grow them.
The parable teaches us that uselessness invites disaster. When the Lord, our Savior, saves us into the Rest and Peace of God, it is to be restored and revived. The question becomes, ‘Of what use are we in this world?’ Are we to draw the strength and nourishment from the soil and in return produce nothing? This was precisely the sin of the fig tree. It’s owner came to it three times looking for fruit and found none. He was ready to cut it down.
In the last analysis, this parable illustrates that there are two kinds of people in this world…those that put in more than they take out and those that take out more than they put in.
In God’s Kingdom, we can be assured that we have a second chance…a chance to produce the fruit that our Lord is seeking…the souls of men and women.
The Hymn, Blessed Assurance, written by a blind woman, Fanny Crosby, expresses this understanding of resting in the love of our Savior and making His Story our own…
“Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long…
Are we filled with His goodness…are we waiting and watching…have we made His story our song? We need to submit and find that all is at rest when we praise our Savior all the day long.
Scripture says;
“Talk about (his commandments) when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. “
When you can do this…keeping your Savior with you “all the day long”, you will find rest and God’s peace and you will want to “sing His praises”
(Conclude with the whole verse…)
’Come unto Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’
Who would have known that in this one verse there spoke so much…who would have guessed that in one simple statement from Jesus he could teach us so much…giving to each of us…
1. First, an invitation to spend an eternity in his loving care…an invitation that is extended to everyone in his creation. We just have to accept it and then learn what his invitation means…to know that our Justification, our Sanctification and our Glorification are just waiting for us to accept them through his invitation.
2. Second, we realize that Jesus and God want us to be just like them…loving and caring…they want us to labor, showing the fruits of the spirit through our daily living…in our moment by moment living, so others can see the influence of the Christian Way and see that it is acceptable and honorable. He has given us the commission to go out and spread the Word…His Word…His promises of Love.
3. Thirdly, the promise that we too can have peace and rest in God’s Kingdom…that we are secure in his care. Nothing can snatch us away. We have the double guarantee that both Jesus and God hold us and care for us and consider us their children. We are a ‘child of God’s’
When next you pick up your Bible and you open it to a familiar passage…maybe one you’ve read and heard so many times…take some time to look at it closely…take some time to consider each word. Realize that God’s Word is packed full of meaning for you. Realize that this written Word has survived for over 2000 years…that it was divinely written by over 40 authors…that it has been banned, burned, blasted by the best of critics and it sits now in your lap for you to discover what it has to say to you. What an exciting thought that here, in these pages are the Words of God…given to man…given to you, so that you can learn how to live this life that God has given to you…and to live it to the fullest.
Don’t take it for granted…read it, talk about it, think about it and then write it on your heart, so that no man can take it away from you…more importantly, so that you will know better your God and Savior…know him well enough to know that He wants to have a loving relationship with you…to know that He wants you to help him spread this wonderful Word and then finally to have all this eternally with Him.
Today, take up your Bible and discover for yourself the depth and width and height of your Creator
God.
Amen.
Matthew 11: 28
“Come unto Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Hebrews 4: 1 – 10
“41Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith 3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, `They shall never enter my rest.’ "And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
John 10: 27 - 30
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one."
