Successful Christian Living

SUCCESSFUL CHRISTIAN LIVING

His Yoke Fits Well 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." [NIV]

28 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." [NLT]

What a wonderful scripture! These words are not a command, but an invitation; they are the words of our caring Saviour. He had previously been denouncing the Pharisees for placing unbearable loads on the shoulders of the people, but here He is asking His followers to willingly take His Yoke, which He said would ‘fit perfectly’, but to do this they had first to come to Him! Here is the secret of ‘Successful Christian Living’. Success does not come from the amount of work we do, but from our drawing near to the Lord, getting linked up with Him, and getting to know Him better! From our close relationship with the Lord, there comes a true sense of purpose and direction.

I want to look at three key-words in this scripture, they are ‘come, ‘take’, and ‘find’. Keys unlock doors, and an understanding of how these words relating to this scripture can unlock truth for us that will help us know compelling ‘Successful Christian Living’.

First of all we see

1. A PURPOSEFUL DIRECTION,

THE WEARY ARE OFFERED HIS REST

COME

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (“I will refresh you”).

This is an encouraging promise in the midst of a tiring, demanding world. The word ‘weary’, in the Greek language has the thought of ‘to feel fatigue’. Have you ever felt like that? If so the answer is to respond to the invitation of the Lord to ‘Come’. He has promised to refresh us if we will simply come to Him. One thought contained in the Greek word for ‘rest’ is ‘to repose’. Can you just picture the scene? Instead of fretting and being agitated, here we are in the company of the King of kings, reclining in an attitude of total relaxation!

The more I look into this, the more I find that this is what the Lord is wanting for us. Hear the words of a commentator named Gibson,

Come unto me It is no longer "Enter ye in at the strait gate;" it is not even, "I have come to call sinners to repentance;" it is the cry of a loving, yearning heart, "Come unto Me." [Gibson]

I sense a link with the Shepherd of Psalm 23,

Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet water.

You can almost feel the quite rest and the refreshing as you read those words!

We need to link this with the words of the Lord through Jeremiah, and we will see that there is a choice to be made.

Jeremiah 6:16. Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

I found this marvellous comment as I was preparing this ministry,

Rest from labour develops into rest in labour, or it is not the full rest which Christ gives. Rest for the conscience is attained when we have known that the work of Christ is what God accepts, and has accepted, as justifying us before Him. Therefore He gives rest. [Eclectic Notes]

That is just the first part of our text. We are asked to come and willingly take the yoke that He offers. Instead of bearing our burden alone, we can now share it with the Lord Jesus who will be yoked with us! What an incredible thought is this. The Creator willingly being linked in yoke with His creation! As we take up the yoke, the burden becomes bearable, and in sharing the closeness of being yoked together, we are able to learn at first hand how to deal with the problems of life. The Lord will ensure that there will be no chaffing from the yoke; it will be a good fit – it is made to measure! The yoke is offered to us, but we need to accept the offer and take it! We will find that this leads to