1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,520 I guess as we begin and get going in this new year and new decade, many of us are feeling 2 00:00:07,520 –> 00:00:11,920 more than the usual level of uncertainty about our lives. 3 00:00:11,920 –> 00:00:18,059 Pressures on the economy always increase, the sense of anxiety that we experience, our 4 00:00:18,059 –> 00:00:20,420 own sense of vulnerability. 5 00:00:20,420 –> 00:00:24,100 What will happen in your life this year? 6 00:00:24,100 –> 00:00:31,139 None of us knows what the future holds and our sense of uncertainty seems to be heightened 7 00:00:31,139 –> 00:00:33,959 in these unusual days. 8 00:00:33,959 –> 00:00:39,240 And it’s really for that reason that I felt that it would be helpful for us to focus on 9 00:00:39,240 –> 00:00:44,720 what we really know for sure, what we can be certain about in an uncertain world. 10 00:00:44,720 –> 00:00:49,259 And I’ve called this series, therefore, Rock Solid, Seven Promises that Christ Makes to 11 00:00:49,259 –> 00:00:50,759 You. 12 00:00:50,820 –> 00:00:55,000 Because we can have absolute certainty and confidence that when Jesus Christ makes a 13 00:00:55,000 –> 00:00:59,040 commitment, He always does what He says. 14 00:00:59,040 –> 00:01:04,379 So I hope you’ll open your Bible then at Matthew 11, verse 28. 15 00:01:04,379 –> 00:01:07,919 We want to focus in on this one scripture, we are not going to be going anywhere else 16 00:01:07,919 –> 00:01:14,180 but I want you to see its words and for the Holy Spirit to apply these words into all 17 00:01:14,180 –> 00:01:16,220 of our lives. 18 00:01:16,220 –> 00:01:24,180 The Lord Jesus Christ said, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will 19 00:01:24,180 –> 00:01:25,980 give you rest. 20 00:01:25,980 –> 00:01:35,059 There’s the promise, I will give you rest. 21 00:01:35,059 –> 00:01:41,580 Now back in the fourth century, as many of you know, there was a man by the name of Augustine. 22 00:01:41,580 –> 00:01:43,620 He was raised by a godly mother. 23 00:01:43,620 –> 00:01:47,980 Her name was Monica, and she prayed for him very faithfully. 24 00:01:47,980 –> 00:01:54,199 Augustine was a restless kind of a guy and he left home early in life and threw himself 25 00:01:54,199 –> 00:01:57,300 really into a very profligate life. 26 00:01:57,300 –> 00:02:00,139 He says in his confession, it’s a very interesting thing. 27 00:02:00,139 –> 00:02:07,459 He says, I was in love with love and I hated safety. 28 00:02:07,599 –> 00:02:13,600 He threw himself into profligate relationships, and he wanted to live on the edge. 29 00:02:13,600 –> 00:02:17,380 He was tired of his conservative upbringing. 30 00:02:17,380 –> 00:02:19,600 I hated safety, he says. 31 00:02:19,600 –> 00:02:27,179 I wanted to get out, break out, do what my parents would never have done. 32 00:02:27,179 –> 00:02:34,279 And as he followed the passions of his own heart, he found that these passions made him 33 00:02:34,279 –> 00:02:35,279 a slave. 34 00:02:35,380 –> 00:02:38,699 So, he became a slave to his own passions. 35 00:02:38,699 –> 00:02:44,240 His mother, Monica, who wept over him often, prayed for him faithfully. 36 00:02:44,240 –> 00:02:47,539 That’s a whole story in itself. 37 00:02:47,539 –> 00:02:53,899 And after some years, Augustine wonderfully came to faith in Jesus Christ. 38 00:02:53,899 –> 00:02:58,059 A mother’s prayers were heard and wonderfully answered. 39 00:02:58,059 –> 00:03:02,880 Augustine wrote a line that has really come down to us in history. 40 00:03:02,899 –> 00:03:04,759 It’s really out of one of his prayers. 41 00:03:04,759 –> 00:03:06,119 He said this, 42 00:03:16,440 –> 00:03:19,160 Now, Augustine knew that from his own experience. 43 00:03:19,160 –> 00:03:21,000 He found that in his own nature. 44 00:03:21,000 –> 00:03:24,960 And we know that from our experience, too. 45 00:03:24,960 –> 00:03:28,699 The human heart is full of longings. 46 00:03:28,699 –> 00:03:31,179 We want to be loved. 47 00:03:31,179 –> 00:03:33,759 We all want to succeed. 48 00:03:33,759 –> 00:03:35,500 We all want to be happy, 49 00:03:35,500 –> 00:03:38,360 to make the best of our lives. 50 00:03:38,360 –> 00:03:40,820 The prevailing desires in our hearts 51 00:03:40,820 –> 00:03:43,039 will differ from one person to another 52 00:03:43,039 –> 00:03:47,039 and may change over the course of the years of our life. 53 00:03:47,039 –> 00:03:49,880 One person wants love. 54 00:03:49,880 –> 00:03:52,279 Another person wants revenge. 55 00:03:53,520 –> 00:03:55,520 One person wants to be independent. 56 00:03:55,520 –> 00:03:57,399 Let me alone. 57 00:03:57,399 –> 00:04:00,940 Another person would do anything to avoid being alone. 58 00:04:01,740 –> 00:04:04,220 One person wants to be where the action is. 59 00:04:04,220 –> 00:04:05,740 Let me get in the thick of it. 60 00:04:05,740 –> 00:04:07,940 Another person is tired of the rat race 61 00:04:07,940 –> 00:04:09,800 and says, let me get out of it! 62 00:04:09,800 –> 00:04:11,619 I want some peace and some quiet. 63 00:04:11,619 –> 00:04:14,820 One person is desperate for security. 64 00:04:14,820 –> 00:04:17,380 Another person is tired of security, 65 00:04:18,260 –> 00:04:20,179 which is where Augustine was when he said, 66 00:04:20,179 –> 00:04:22,679 I hated safety. 67 00:04:24,059 –> 00:04:25,899 The longings that drive us differ 68 00:04:25,899 –> 00:04:28,260 and they may change over the course of our lives, 69 00:04:28,299 –> 00:04:33,299 but all of us are moved by the desires of our hearts. 70 00:04:34,079 –> 00:04:37,100 And Augustine says, and we recognize this, 71 00:04:37,100 –> 00:04:41,399 our hearts are restless, 72 00:04:41,399 –> 00:04:43,500 which is why we live with questions all the time. 73 00:04:43,500 –> 00:04:45,619 For some of us here it’s, 74 00:04:45,619 –> 00:04:47,179 you know every day you’re asking this question, 75 00:04:47,179 –> 00:04:48,380 it’s in the back of your mind, 76 00:04:48,380 –> 00:04:49,839 am I a good mother? 77 00:04:50,980 –> 00:04:52,899 And that just runs and runs in your mind, 78 00:04:52,899 –> 00:04:54,920 there’s a restlessness in your heart 79 00:04:54,940 –> 00:04:58,980 that just keeps producing that question. 80 00:04:58,980 –> 00:05:02,380 For someone else, it’s can I really cut the mustard? 81 00:05:02,380 –> 00:05:05,320 Can I deliver what is expected of me? 82 00:05:06,440 –> 00:05:09,279 For someone else, it’s does anybody really care about me? 83 00:05:10,579 –> 00:05:13,600 For someone else, it’s what I am to do next? 84 00:05:14,959 –> 00:05:18,239 And that restlessness sort of churns within us. 85 00:05:19,299 –> 00:05:22,279 It’s the nature of human experience. 86 00:05:22,279 –> 00:05:24,640 It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden 87 00:05:25,320 –> 00:05:27,959 when Satan made two false promises. 88 00:05:28,980 –> 00:05:30,739 Remember when Satan the serpent came 89 00:05:30,739 –> 00:05:33,799 into the Garden of Eden, he said two things 90 00:05:33,799 –> 00:05:35,880 to Eve and to Adam. 91 00:05:36,980 –> 00:05:40,940 He said you won’t die, that was a false promise, 92 00:05:41,959 –> 00:05:45,920 and he said you will know the difference 93 00:05:45,920 –> 00:05:49,839 between good and evil, he will know the difference 94 00:05:49,839 –> 00:05:52,640 between good and evil. 95 00:05:53,640 –> 00:05:56,559 Now, with these promises, the serpent enlisted 96 00:05:56,559 –> 00:05:59,640 the man and the woman in his rebellion against God. 97 00:06:00,559 –> 00:06:02,399 And you remember what happened next in the Bible story, 98 00:06:02,399 –> 00:06:05,480 that God came into the garden and when the man 99 00:06:05,480 –> 00:06:08,399 and his wife, who had believed the false promises 100 00:06:08,399 –> 00:06:09,959 of Satan, you won’t die and you will know 101 00:06:09,959 –> 00:06:11,959 the difference between good and evil, 102 00:06:11,959 –> 00:06:13,640 they hid in the trees. 103 00:06:14,559 –> 00:06:17,160 And suddenly, this marvelous paradise 104 00:06:17,160 –> 00:06:18,880 in which they had known nothing but joy 105 00:06:18,880 –> 00:06:21,720 and harmony together and fellowship with God 106 00:06:21,739 –> 00:06:23,700 and fulfillment in their work and provision 107 00:06:23,700 –> 00:06:26,720 for all their needs, this garden which everything 108 00:06:26,720 –> 00:06:29,200 had been right, became a place of fear, 109 00:06:29,200 –> 00:06:31,279 it became a place of hiding, it became 110 00:06:31,279 –> 00:06:32,559 a place of shame. 111 00:06:32,559 –> 00:06:35,519 Can you imagine a man and a woman hiding 112 00:06:35,519 –> 00:06:38,799 in the trees in order to keep a distance 113 00:06:38,799 –> 00:06:40,839 from the God, who is the source of every good 114 00:06:40,839 –> 00:06:43,799 in their life and Adam’s heart is beating 115 00:06:43,799 –> 00:06:47,119 and Eve’s palms are sweating and their thinking, 116 00:06:47,119 –> 00:06:51,179 we don’t want God to find us, they’re scared of God. 117 00:06:52,200 –> 00:06:55,040 And these two, who had lived in such marvelous peace, 118 00:06:55,040 –> 00:06:59,279 are now experiencing turmoil, oh the serpent 119 00:06:59,279 –> 00:07:02,459 says I will not die, but God says I will die. 120 00:07:04,160 –> 00:07:05,920 What happens when I do die? 121 00:07:07,359 –> 00:07:09,100 The serpent says I’ll know what’s good 122 00:07:09,100 –> 00:07:11,079 and what’s evil, but it seems right now 123 00:07:11,079 –> 00:07:14,200 as I’m hiding here in the trees, this isn’t very good. 124 00:07:14,200 –> 00:07:17,359 I’m experiencing fear, I’m experiencing shame. 125 00:07:17,359 –> 00:07:19,940 Why am I hiding, why am I so afraid? 126 00:07:21,959 –> 00:07:24,119 And suddenly the first man and the first woman 127 00:07:24,119 –> 00:07:28,640 experience the draining and the exhausting 128 00:07:30,820 –> 00:07:34,019 experience of a restless heart, 129 00:07:35,200 –> 00:07:37,059 and that’s been our experience ever since. 130 00:07:37,059 –> 00:07:40,859 It’s the human condition searching after something, 131 00:07:42,000 –> 00:07:47,000 driven, and then Jesus comes, and he says come to me. 132 00:07:47,480 –> 00:07:52,720 All you who are weary, all you who are burdened, 133 00:07:52,720 –> 00:07:56,559 and I will give you rest. 134 00:07:56,559 –> 00:07:57,540 That’s the promise. 135 00:07:59,239 –> 00:08:01,760 Now, I want us to see three things today. 136 00:08:01,760 –> 00:08:05,040 The first is for us to grasp more clearly who Jesus is, 137 00:08:05,040 –> 00:08:07,640 because this is such an extraordinary promise. 138 00:08:07,640 –> 00:08:11,820 Only the son of God could make this promise to us, 139 00:08:11,820 –> 00:08:14,720 and in order that we may believe the promise better, 140 00:08:14,720 –> 00:08:16,700 I want us to come to know more clearly 141 00:08:16,859 –> 00:08:18,980 who it is that gives it to us. 142 00:08:18,980 –> 00:08:20,579 So I want us to see who Jesus is. 143 00:08:20,579 –> 00:08:23,380 Second, I want us to hear what it is that he says, 144 00:08:23,380 –> 00:08:25,859 because there is something for us to do here 145 00:08:25,859 –> 00:08:29,160 in order to experience what he offers. 146 00:08:29,160 –> 00:08:30,619 And then that will lead to the third thing. 147 00:08:30,619 –> 00:08:32,820 I want us to receive. 148 00:08:32,820 –> 00:08:34,859 We’re not here to talk about theory. 149 00:08:35,719 –> 00:08:40,719 I want us to receive more of what Jesus Christ says 150 00:08:41,260 –> 00:08:44,880 he will give to us, what he promises to give to us, 151 00:08:44,880 –> 00:08:48,679 and to do that even here today. 152 00:08:48,679 –> 00:08:51,719 So let’s begin, then, by looking at three qualifications, 153 00:08:51,719 –> 00:08:54,359 learning better who Jesus is. 154 00:08:54,359 –> 00:08:57,500 Let us see what it is that puts Jesus in the position 155 00:08:57,500 –> 00:09:00,679 where he is able to make this promise to us. 156 00:09:00,679 –> 00:09:02,719 Obviously, any promise is only as good 157 00:09:02,719 –> 00:09:05,320 as the trustworthiness of the person making it, 158 00:09:05,320 –> 00:09:09,039 and the credibility of this vast promise that Jesus makes 159 00:09:09,039 –> 00:09:14,039 rests on his capacity to fulfill what he says. 160 00:09:14,119 –> 00:09:16,960 Now in verse 27, we learn in three ways 161 00:09:16,960 –> 00:09:21,619 why Jesus is able to deliver this remarkable promise. 162 00:09:21,619 –> 00:09:23,840 The first thing we learned here in verse 27 163 00:09:23,840 –> 00:09:26,940 is that God always works through his son. 164 00:09:26,940 –> 00:09:31,940 Notice Jesus says all things have been committed to me 165 00:09:32,760 –> 00:09:35,559 by my father. 166 00:09:35,559 –> 00:09:40,359 All things have been committed to me by my father. 167 00:09:40,359 –> 00:09:43,559 Now, it is a fundamental principle of leadership 168 00:09:44,020 –> 00:09:47,219 that if you commit something 169 00:09:47,219 –> 00:09:48,479 to someone on your team, 170 00:09:48,479 –> 00:09:50,059 you delegate that responsibility, 171 00:09:50,059 –> 00:09:51,820 you say now you’re in charge of this, 172 00:09:51,820 –> 00:09:54,500 you commit it into their hands, 173 00:09:54,500 –> 00:09:57,960 you may then work with them in it, 174 00:09:57,960 –> 00:10:00,320 but what you don’t do is that you don’t then go off 175 00:10:00,320 –> 00:10:01,880 and independently do the very thing 176 00:10:01,880 –> 00:10:03,479 that you’ve trusted into their hands 177 00:10:03,479 –> 00:10:04,979 on your own without them. 178 00:10:06,320 –> 00:10:09,200 If for example, we’re involved in a project, 179 00:10:09,200 –> 00:10:12,039 we’re remodeling a room together, 180 00:10:12,039 –> 00:10:15,320 and one of the guys on the team, let’s call him David, 181 00:10:15,320 –> 00:10:16,159 we said to David, 182 00:10:16,159 –> 00:10:17,599 now David, you’re in charge of everything 183 00:10:17,599 –> 00:10:19,440 to do with the painting. 184 00:10:19,440 –> 00:10:20,840 All the decisions about the colors, 185 00:10:20,840 –> 00:10:22,080 all everything to do with painting, 186 00:10:22,080 –> 00:10:23,640 you’re in charge of that. 187 00:10:23,640 –> 00:10:25,719 We committed to David. 188 00:10:25,719 –> 00:10:28,239 Now if we are on the team, you’re the team leader, 189 00:10:28,239 –> 00:10:30,239 you may work with David in the painting. 190 00:10:30,239 –> 00:10:32,200 We may all pitch in, 191 00:10:32,200 –> 00:10:34,039 in this area that has been assigned to him 192 00:10:34,039 –> 00:10:34,880 in one way or another, 193 00:10:34,880 –> 00:10:36,320 but one thing we will not do 194 00:10:36,320 –> 00:10:39,440 is go and engage in the painting independently of David, 195 00:10:39,440 –> 00:10:40,960 because it’s committed to him. 196 00:10:42,559 –> 00:10:44,080 Now what is it, 197 00:10:44,080 –> 00:10:46,559 I’m asking you to respond to here from this text, 198 00:10:46,559 –> 00:10:49,760 what is it in this text that we are told 199 00:10:49,760 –> 00:10:53,280 the father has committed to the son, to Jesus Christ? 200 00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:55,400 What has been committed to him? 201 00:10:55,400 –> 00:11:00,400 All things, not some things, all things. 202 00:11:03,640 –> 00:11:06,159 What that means is that the father 203 00:11:06,159 –> 00:11:10,640 always works through and with the son 204 00:11:10,679 –> 00:11:15,400 and never without the second person of the Trinity, 205 00:11:15,400 –> 00:11:20,400 the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 206 00:11:22,679 –> 00:11:24,400 Wait a minute, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, 207 00:11:24,400 –> 00:11:25,799 born into the world Christmas, 208 00:11:25,799 –> 00:11:27,739 you’re talking about the New Testament, 209 00:11:27,739 –> 00:11:29,400 that just starts after Christmas, right? 210 00:11:29,400 –> 00:11:34,400 No, God has always been father and son and Holy Spirit. 211 00:11:36,479 –> 00:11:38,960 And what our Lord Jesus tells us here when he says 212 00:11:38,960 –> 00:11:41,679 all things have been committed to me by the Father, 213 00:11:41,679 –> 00:11:43,479 the Father always works through the Son, 214 00:11:43,479 –> 00:11:45,919 that has always been true and always will be true. 215 00:11:47,520 –> 00:11:48,739 That is why even if you think 216 00:11:48,739 –> 00:11:50,159 of the creation of the world, 217 00:11:50,159 –> 00:11:51,119 do you remember what it says 218 00:11:51,119 –> 00:11:53,080 at the beginning of John’s Gospel? 219 00:11:53,080 –> 00:11:54,760 In the beginning was the Word, 220 00:11:54,760 –> 00:11:56,739 that’s the second person of the Trinity, 221 00:11:57,599 –> 00:11:59,880 the Word was with God and the Word was God, 222 00:11:59,880 –> 00:12:03,760 all things were made by him, 223 00:12:03,760 –> 00:12:05,280 the second person of the Trinity, 224 00:12:05,340 –> 00:12:09,039 and without him nothing was made that has been made, 225 00:12:09,039 –> 00:12:12,159 that’s John chapter one and verse two. 226 00:12:12,159 –> 00:12:14,840 See, the Father has committed to him all things, 227 00:12:14,840 –> 00:12:18,080 and so even the creation is the work of the Father 228 00:12:18,080 –> 00:12:20,500 through the Son and never without the Son. 229 00:12:21,359 –> 00:12:23,440 You say, well, what about all the Old Testament Scriptures 230 00:12:23,440 –> 00:12:26,320 where there were prophets speaking the word of God, 231 00:12:27,539 –> 00:12:30,919 have you ever noticed in 1 Peter chapter one in verse 11 232 00:12:30,919 –> 00:12:32,919 when Peter is describing what it was 233 00:12:32,979 –> 00:12:36,859 that the prophets said in the Old Testament period? 234 00:12:36,859 –> 00:12:37,700 He says this, 235 00:12:37,700 –> 00:12:40,880 that the Old Testament prophets were searching diligently 236 00:12:40,880 –> 00:12:42,960 to try and find out the circumstances 237 00:12:42,960 –> 00:12:44,520 to which they were being pointed 238 00:12:44,520 –> 00:12:49,520 by the spirit of Christ in them. 239 00:12:51,799 –> 00:12:53,239 That’s 1 Peter 111, 240 00:12:53,239 –> 00:12:55,780 the spirit of Christ 241 00:12:55,780 –> 00:12:59,080 was in the Old Testament prophets 242 00:12:59,080 –> 00:13:02,520 pointing them towards that which would be fulfilled 243 00:13:02,520 –> 00:13:05,840 in the birth, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ. 244 00:13:07,359 –> 00:13:08,179 In other words, 245 00:13:08,179 –> 00:13:10,000 when you read the Old Testament scriptures, 246 00:13:10,000 –> 00:13:11,320 you are reading the word 247 00:13:11,320 –> 00:13:13,359 of the second person of the Trinity, why? 248 00:13:13,359 –> 00:13:16,320 Because the Father always works through the son, 249 00:13:16,320 –> 00:13:17,340 never without him. 250 00:13:18,520 –> 00:13:21,520 That’s why, when you come to salvation. 251 00:13:21,520 –> 00:13:23,119 What do we read in the scriptures? 252 00:13:23,119 –> 00:13:25,159 God so loved the world, that He did what? 253 00:13:25,159 –> 00:13:27,479 He gave us His one and only son, 254 00:13:27,479 –> 00:13:29,179 that whosoever believes in Him 255 00:13:29,179 –> 00:13:31,340 shall not perish but have everlasting life, 256 00:13:31,340 –> 00:13:34,739 and even when you come to the final judgment, 257 00:13:34,739 –> 00:13:38,119 Jesus says this, John chapter five in verse 22, 258 00:13:38,119 –> 00:13:41,059 the Father judges no one. 259 00:13:42,179 –> 00:13:46,840 He has entrusted all judgment to the son. 260 00:13:48,659 –> 00:13:49,739 So here’s the principle. 261 00:13:49,739 –> 00:13:52,099 God always works through His son. 262 00:13:52,099 –> 00:13:54,440 Always has, always will, 263 00:13:54,440 –> 00:13:59,380 all things have been committed to the son by the Father. 264 00:14:02,059 –> 00:14:05,280 Then Jesus says something even more remarkable 265 00:14:05,280 –> 00:14:07,359 He tells us that the son has exclusive 266 00:14:07,359 –> 00:14:08,619 knowledge of the Father. 267 00:14:08,619 –> 00:14:11,979 No one knows the Father except the son 268 00:14:11,979 –> 00:14:16,020 and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him. 269 00:14:16,020 –> 00:14:18,039 No one knows the father except the son. 270 00:14:19,179 –> 00:14:20,619 This is amazing. 271 00:14:20,619 –> 00:14:24,340 Many people know the president of the United States. 272 00:14:25,679 –> 00:14:28,640 So many people can tell you about 273 00:14:28,640 –> 00:14:31,280 the president of the United States. 274 00:14:31,299 –> 00:14:33,340 Many people could if they wanted to 275 00:14:33,340 –> 00:14:37,239 introduce you to the president of the United States. 276 00:14:38,640 –> 00:14:40,380 But what Jesus is saying here 277 00:14:40,380 –> 00:14:42,640 is that with God it’s different. 278 00:14:43,940 –> 00:14:48,280 No one knows the Father except the son. 279 00:14:49,859 –> 00:14:52,340 Now, this is so important 280 00:14:52,340 –> 00:14:54,760 because when we get to this promise today 281 00:14:54,760 –> 00:14:56,380 you know, Jesus says, come to me 282 00:14:56,380 –> 00:14:57,820 all you who are weary and burdened 283 00:14:57,820 –> 00:14:59,900 and I will give you rest. 284 00:14:59,900 –> 00:15:02,400 It would be very easy for us postmodern people 285 00:15:02,400 –> 00:15:05,080 to hear that promise like this. 286 00:15:05,080 –> 00:15:07,159 We might hear, well you know, 287 00:15:07,159 –> 00:15:09,919 some of you here are tired and weary 288 00:15:09,919 –> 00:15:12,500 and if you feel a deep need within your heart 289 00:15:12,500 –> 00:15:14,460 it’s a wonderful thing that you can come to Jesus 290 00:15:14,460 –> 00:15:16,619 and Jesus is going to help you 291 00:15:16,619 –> 00:15:19,559 and that, of course, is true 292 00:15:21,400 –> 00:15:24,859 and our postmodern world would like 293 00:15:24,859 –> 00:15:26,780 that to be the only thing that’s true. 294 00:15:28,039 –> 00:15:29,479 Because what that leaves you with 295 00:15:29,539 –> 00:15:31,260 is a sort of take it or leave it Jesus. 296 00:15:31,260 –> 00:15:33,659 If you feel your need of Jesus you can come to him, 297 00:15:33,659 –> 00:15:34,960 if you don’t feel your need of Jesus 298 00:15:34,960 –> 00:15:37,320 hey, you know, get on with life your own way. 299 00:15:38,799 –> 00:15:40,960 I want you to understand from the scriptures today 300 00:15:40,960 –> 00:15:42,840 that the great New Testament reason 301 00:15:42,840 –> 00:15:45,919 for coming to Jesus Christ is not 302 00:15:45,919 –> 00:15:48,900 if you happen to feel some great need in your heart. 303 00:15:50,080 –> 00:15:51,760 The great reason, the great argument 304 00:15:51,760 –> 00:15:54,380 for coming to Jesus Christ in the New Testament 305 00:15:54,380 –> 00:15:56,159 right here is this, 306 00:15:57,119 –> 00:16:01,320 that without Jesus, you don’t know God, 307 00:16:01,320 –> 00:16:04,619 you can’t find God, you don’t have God, 308 00:16:04,619 –> 00:16:05,640 and on the last day 309 00:16:05,640 –> 00:16:09,159 you will not have a hope in hell before God. 310 00:16:10,500 –> 00:16:12,880 That’s the reason for coming to Jesus Christ. 311 00:16:14,080 –> 00:16:17,239 Because no one knows the father except the Son. 312 00:16:18,520 –> 00:16:22,400 And there is no other way into knowledge of the father, 313 00:16:22,400 –> 00:16:25,719 into relationship with the God of heaven and earth 314 00:16:25,719 –> 00:16:27,400 except through the Son. 315 00:16:27,400 –> 00:16:29,619 Because the father has committed all things to the Son 316 00:16:29,619 –> 00:16:33,119 and no one knows the father except the Son. 317 00:16:33,119 –> 00:16:35,419 Then Jesus says this, 318 00:16:35,419 –> 00:16:39,260 that He can reveal the father to us if He chooses to. 319 00:16:39,260 –> 00:16:40,880 Notice what He says in verse 27, 320 00:16:40,880 –> 00:16:42,599 no one knows the Father except the Son 321 00:16:42,599 –> 00:16:46,679 and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. 322 00:16:46,679 –> 00:16:47,820 So what He’s saying is this, 323 00:16:47,820 –> 00:16:50,119 I have exclusive knowledge of the Father 324 00:16:50,119 –> 00:16:52,599 and all things have been trusted by the Father 325 00:16:52,599 –> 00:16:55,359 into my hands, but if you will come to me 326 00:16:55,359 –> 00:16:56,400 I invite you. 327 00:16:57,340 –> 00:16:59,119 If you will come to me, 328 00:16:59,119 –> 00:17:00,940 he’s saying I can bring you into this 329 00:17:00,940 –> 00:17:01,780 knowledge of God, 330 00:17:01,780 –> 00:17:03,960 I can bring you into a relationship with God, 331 00:17:03,960 –> 00:17:06,119 He is saying to you what no one else 332 00:17:06,119 –> 00:17:08,079 in all of the world can say. 333 00:17:09,560 –> 00:17:11,079 Now that’s who Jesus is. 334 00:17:12,780 –> 00:17:15,640 Let’s look secondly at what it is that 335 00:17:15,640 –> 00:17:18,000 the Son of God says to us. 336 00:17:19,020 –> 00:17:21,900 There are two things he invites us to do here. 337 00:17:21,900 –> 00:17:24,719 There are different ways of saying the same thing 338 00:17:24,760 –> 00:17:26,780 but there’s clearly something for us to do 339 00:17:26,780 –> 00:17:30,260 and it’s important for us here to hear what Jesus says. 340 00:17:31,500 –> 00:17:35,119 Come to me and I will give you rest. 341 00:17:36,599 –> 00:17:38,800 Take my yoke upon you 342 00:17:40,180 –> 00:17:44,060 and you will find rest for your souls. 343 00:17:44,900 –> 00:17:47,560 Now I want you to notice that if we are to receive 344 00:17:47,560 –> 00:17:52,099 what Jesus offers, there clearly is something for us to do. 345 00:17:52,939 –> 00:17:55,880 and we need to hear this clearly 346 00:17:56,979 –> 00:17:58,380 because what we experienced 347 00:17:58,380 –> 00:18:01,800 or what we do not experience from the Lord Jesus Christ 348 00:18:01,800 –> 00:18:05,619 clearly relates to whether we are doing these things 349 00:18:05,619 –> 00:18:07,900 that he tells us to do, invites us to do 350 00:18:07,900 –> 00:18:09,380 or whether we are not doing them. 351 00:18:09,380 –> 00:18:11,579 There are things that you can do today 352 00:18:11,579 –> 00:18:13,280 that some people will do today 353 00:18:13,280 –> 00:18:15,380 and some people will not do today 354 00:18:15,380 –> 00:18:17,280 and our experience will differ 355 00:18:17,280 –> 00:18:21,540 because there’s a part for you to play here 356 00:18:22,239 –> 00:18:26,760 but satan sows unbelief in the hearts of many 357 00:18:27,660 –> 00:18:29,619 whenever the word of God is preached. 358 00:18:30,800 –> 00:18:33,319 Here’s how he might do it with this verse with you, 359 00:18:33,319 –> 00:18:34,739 he might already be saying to you 360 00:18:34,739 –> 00:18:38,280 Jesus says you can have rest, you don’t have rest, 361 00:18:38,280 –> 00:18:40,859 therefore this is all talk, this is all, 362 00:18:40,859 –> 00:18:42,099 you know, nothing to it. 363 00:18:43,060 –> 00:18:44,060 Heard it all before. 364 00:18:45,880 –> 00:18:48,339 But actually you’re not hearing what Jesus says. 365 00:18:48,339 –> 00:18:49,880 Jesus says, come to me. 366 00:18:50,640 –> 00:18:54,880 Take my yoke upon you, there’s something I want you to do 367 00:18:54,880 –> 00:18:58,020 in order for you, weary as you are, 368 00:18:58,020 –> 00:19:03,020 to experience what I am promising to give you. 369 00:19:04,359 –> 00:19:06,319 Really need to hear this clearly, then. 370 00:19:07,680 –> 00:19:09,239 What is it that Jesus says we’re to do? 371 00:19:09,239 –> 00:19:10,479 He says, come to me. 372 00:19:12,319 –> 00:19:14,520 Now I find just sometimes that it helps 373 00:19:14,520 –> 00:19:17,880 to sharpen my understanding of what our Lord is saying 374 00:19:17,880 –> 00:19:20,800 when I put it alongside what He didn’t say, 375 00:19:20,800 –> 00:19:22,640 it just clears it up a little bit for me, 376 00:19:22,640 –> 00:19:25,339 so let me just do that in two ways very briefly here. 377 00:19:25,339 –> 00:19:29,000 I am so glad that Jesus said come to Me 378 00:19:29,000 –> 00:19:33,319 and that He did not say practice spiritual disciplines. 379 00:19:33,319 –> 00:19:35,119 You glad about that? 380 00:19:35,119 –> 00:19:38,000 You know, when I get really weary, 381 00:19:38,000 –> 00:19:40,500 when I’m feeling that I’m at the end of my rope, 382 00:19:41,520 –> 00:19:43,020 I don’t want to hear a message 383 00:19:43,020 –> 00:19:46,239 that basically is saying to me, try harder. 384 00:19:46,239 –> 00:19:49,239 Do more, you know, up your effort. 385 00:19:50,119 –> 00:19:52,359 Now I’m exhausted, that’s not gonna help me. 386 00:19:54,319 –> 00:19:56,199 Thank God Jesus says come to Me, 387 00:19:56,199 –> 00:19:59,520 He does not say practice more spiritual disciplines. 388 00:19:59,520 –> 00:20:01,160 And I say this because 389 00:20:01,160 –> 00:20:04,079 Jesus was speaking to people whose faith 390 00:20:04,079 –> 00:20:06,300 in itself had become a burden to them. 391 00:20:07,280 –> 00:20:08,239 Jesus was speaking to 392 00:20:08,239 –> 00:20:10,160 perhaps the most religious, faithful people 393 00:20:10,160 –> 00:20:11,380 who’d ever lived. 394 00:20:12,359 –> 00:20:14,020 People who were pouring everything 395 00:20:14,020 –> 00:20:16,359 into living a moral life 396 00:20:16,359 –> 00:20:18,140 and who were praying regularly 397 00:20:18,140 –> 00:20:21,500 and reading and studying the Torah and so forth. 398 00:20:21,500 –> 00:20:23,939 They were doing their best to live godly lives 399 00:20:23,939 –> 00:20:25,579 as many of us are. 400 00:20:25,579 –> 00:20:27,339 But they felt crushed. 401 00:20:27,339 –> 00:20:31,260 Crushed by their own attempts to please God. 402 00:20:31,260 –> 00:20:32,520 Defeated. 403 00:20:34,300 –> 00:20:36,219 In an attempt to do what is good. 404 00:20:39,719 –> 00:20:42,459 James Denny says there are plenty of men and women 405 00:20:42,479 –> 00:20:45,400 who get nothing out of their religion. 406 00:20:45,400 –> 00:20:46,239 Is that you? 407 00:20:47,699 –> 00:20:50,160 It troubles, perplexes, and impresses them 408 00:20:50,160 –> 00:20:52,780 and they simply do not know what to do with it. 409 00:20:54,160 –> 00:20:57,300 And Jesus is speaking to these moral 410 00:20:57,300 –> 00:21:00,939 disciplined folks 411 00:21:00,939 –> 00:21:03,319 who are pouring themselves into trying to live 412 00:21:03,319 –> 00:21:04,800 a good, right life 413 00:21:06,140 –> 00:21:07,699 and they’re exhausted. 414 00:21:09,060 –> 00:21:10,880 And He does not add in 415 00:21:11,239 –> 00:21:13,119 another set of spiritual disciplines. 416 00:21:15,199 –> 00:21:17,199 He didn’t say sign up for another class. 417 00:21:17,199 –> 00:21:19,500 Didn’t throw us into another process. 418 00:21:22,319 –> 00:21:23,359 This has come to me. 419 00:21:25,439 –> 00:21:27,060 And I’ll give you something. 420 00:21:27,060 –> 00:21:28,640 I’ll give you something. 421 00:21:30,079 –> 00:21:32,180 You feeling that you own a treadmill 422 00:21:33,579 –> 00:21:36,319 of life that is exhausting to you? 423 00:21:38,119 –> 00:21:40,760 You, day after day after day 424 00:21:40,760 –> 00:21:44,479 trying to live up to a standard of godliness? 425 00:21:44,479 –> 00:21:49,479 You’re weary and you are burdened with good things. 426 00:21:52,079 –> 00:21:53,380 Jesus says, come to me. 427 00:21:56,020 –> 00:21:59,060 You can study your Bible a lot and never come to Christ. 428 00:22:00,500 –> 00:22:03,500 You can even turn from sins and not come to Christ. 429 00:22:04,819 –> 00:22:05,660 Come to me. 430 00:22:07,359 –> 00:22:10,380 Then it’s helped me just to reflect on this, 431 00:22:10,400 –> 00:22:12,280 that Jesus says come to me. 432 00:22:12,280 –> 00:22:15,540 He does not say, follow the impulse of your own heart. 433 00:22:16,979 –> 00:22:20,140 The reason I just make that contrast is this 434 00:22:20,140 –> 00:22:23,439 that if the traditional conservative wisdom 435 00:22:23,439 –> 00:22:28,439 is that you find rest by a moral life 436 00:22:29,079 –> 00:22:32,300 and by following disciplines of faith, 437 00:22:32,300 –> 00:22:33,540 I think that is the case, 438 00:22:33,540 –> 00:22:36,979 that the conservative, traditional wisdom around us 439 00:22:37,140 –> 00:22:40,579 is that you find rest by a moral life, 440 00:22:40,579 –> 00:22:43,699 by pursuing the disciplines of faith. 441 00:22:43,699 –> 00:22:48,699 If that’s the case, then the contemporary liberal wisdom 442 00:22:48,739 –> 00:22:50,380 is that you will find rest 443 00:22:50,380 –> 00:22:53,239 by following the impulses of your own heart. 444 00:22:54,140 –> 00:22:56,479 And you will find a thousand counselors 445 00:22:56,479 –> 00:22:58,780 who will basically say to you, 446 00:22:58,780 –> 00:23:00,260 follow the impulses of your own heart, 447 00:23:00,260 –> 00:23:02,520 what is your own heart telling you here? 448 00:23:03,660 –> 00:23:05,780 And the idea that we can basically find rest 449 00:23:05,859 –> 00:23:09,459 by following the impulses of our own hearts 450 00:23:09,459 –> 00:23:12,599 rests on the massively flawed assumption 451 00:23:12,599 –> 00:23:14,680 that your heart actually knows what is good 452 00:23:14,680 –> 00:23:16,500 and can distinguish it from what is evil, 453 00:23:16,500 –> 00:23:18,099 which is precisely the lie 454 00:23:18,099 –> 00:23:20,000 that Satan perpetrated in the Garden. 455 00:23:20,000 –> 00:23:20,959 That’s what he said. 456 00:23:20,959 –> 00:23:22,199 He said you’ll know what’s good. 457 00:23:22,199 –> 00:23:23,040 You’ll just know, 458 00:23:23,040 –> 00:23:24,660 you’ll just know what’s good from what’s evil. 459 00:23:24,660 –> 00:23:26,219 Your heart will tell you. 460 00:23:27,719 –> 00:23:29,560 Follow the impulses of your own heart 461 00:23:29,560 –> 00:23:31,500 and your life will always be restless, why? 462 00:23:31,500 –> 00:23:33,739 Because our hearts are restless. 463 00:23:34,739 –> 00:23:39,739 So you won’t find rest in spiritual disciplines. 464 00:23:42,560 –> 00:23:45,839 You won’t find rest in pursuing the impulses 465 00:23:45,839 –> 00:23:47,459 of your own heart. 466 00:23:48,699 –> 00:23:51,359 But Jesus says come to me 467 00:23:53,000 –> 00:23:57,040 and I will give you rest. 468 00:23:59,140 –> 00:24:02,599 Now as we think about what Jesus is inviting us to do here, 469 00:24:03,319 –> 00:24:05,000 come to me, why does he say come? 470 00:24:05,000 –> 00:24:06,400 Why does he say believe 471 00:24:06,400 –> 00:24:09,079 which of course is said in other places. 472 00:24:09,079 –> 00:24:10,579 I want you to notice that the Bible 473 00:24:10,579 –> 00:24:14,060 uses a spectrum of language 474 00:24:14,060 –> 00:24:17,560 to as it well, well fill out or color in 475 00:24:17,560 –> 00:24:19,540 what a dynamic relationship 476 00:24:19,540 –> 00:24:21,439 with Jesus Christ really looks like. 477 00:24:21,439 –> 00:24:23,839 And the word come particularly helps us 478 00:24:23,839 –> 00:24:26,400 because it reminds us that there is movement. 479 00:24:27,400 –> 00:24:30,160 Like the prodigal son who at one point 480 00:24:30,160 –> 00:24:32,439 decided I’m going to go to my father, 481 00:24:32,439 –> 00:24:34,400 there’s movement. 482 00:24:34,400 –> 00:24:36,000 Not simply believing certain things. 483 00:24:36,000 –> 00:24:37,699 There’s coming. 484 00:24:37,699 –> 00:24:39,839 There’s movement towards Jesus Christ 485 00:24:39,839 –> 00:24:42,000 with all the burdens that you are carrying 486 00:24:42,000 –> 00:24:44,319 and bringing of them to him. 487 00:24:45,719 –> 00:24:47,959 Jesus speaks about our relationship with him 488 00:24:47,959 –> 00:24:50,359 in terms of believing, in terms of following, 489 00:24:50,359 –> 00:24:53,319 in terms of coming, in terms of receiving. 490 00:24:53,319 –> 00:24:55,000 I want you to notice in verse 29 491 00:24:55,000 –> 00:24:56,520 he describes it in another way. 492 00:24:56,520 –> 00:24:59,239 He says take my yoke upon you 493 00:25:00,239 –> 00:25:02,079 and learn of me. 494 00:25:02,079 –> 00:25:03,680 Now that is saying the same thing 495 00:25:03,680 –> 00:25:05,680 as come in a different way. 496 00:25:05,680 –> 00:25:09,520 It’s filling out what is meant by coming to Jesus Christ. 497 00:25:09,520 –> 00:25:10,560 We know it’s the same thing 498 00:25:10,560 –> 00:25:12,219 because Jesus makes the same promise. 499 00:25:12,219 –> 00:25:14,359 Verse 28, I will give you rest. 500 00:25:14,359 –> 00:25:16,699 Verse 29, you will find rest for your soul. 501 00:25:16,699 –> 00:25:18,880 It’s the same promise and therefore 502 00:25:18,880 –> 00:25:21,479 when he’s describing what we are to do 503 00:25:21,479 –> 00:25:25,599 he is describing the same thing in two different ways. 504 00:25:25,599 –> 00:25:28,300 One way of saying what we have to do 505 00:25:28,300 –> 00:25:31,280 to find rest is that we are to come to Christ 506 00:25:31,280 –> 00:25:32,900 another way of saying the same thing 507 00:25:32,900 –> 00:25:35,079 is that we are to commit to Christ 508 00:25:35,079 –> 00:25:38,420 or to take his yoke upon us. 509 00:25:38,420 –> 00:25:39,939 Coming to Christ in other words 510 00:25:39,939 –> 00:25:42,680 involves taking his yoke upon you. 511 00:25:43,680 –> 00:25:45,660 These are not two different things 512 00:25:45,660 –> 00:25:47,900 that could be like separated as different stages 513 00:25:47,900 –> 00:25:49,119 on the Christian journey. 514 00:25:49,119 –> 00:25:50,660 There are two ways of expressing 515 00:25:50,660 –> 00:25:52,640 what Jesus is inviting us to do 516 00:25:52,640 –> 00:25:57,300 in truly embracing him by faith today. 517 00:25:59,260 –> 00:26:01,180 Take my yoke upon you. 518 00:26:01,219 –> 00:26:03,680 Now, the yoke of course was simply a wooden beam 519 00:26:03,680 –> 00:26:05,400 that tied two animals together 520 00:26:05,400 –> 00:26:08,439 typically when they were dragging a plow 521 00:26:08,439 –> 00:26:10,780 and in order to ensure that the two of them 522 00:26:10,780 –> 00:26:12,160 worked effectively together 523 00:26:12,160 –> 00:26:13,859 the beam of wood that was shaped 524 00:26:13,859 –> 00:26:16,260 for the neck of the two animals 525 00:26:16,260 –> 00:26:17,959 was placed upon both of them 526 00:26:17,959 –> 00:26:21,660 to ensure that they worked in tandem, yoked. 527 00:26:22,760 –> 00:26:27,760 By the way, be very careful who you get yoked to 528 00:26:32,060 –> 00:26:37,060 because what lies in them will lay itself on you 529 00:26:39,459 –> 00:26:41,599 and you will feel its weight. 530 00:26:43,339 –> 00:26:47,219 This is very important in friendship. 531 00:26:47,219 –> 00:26:49,400 This is very important in business. 532 00:26:49,400 –> 00:26:53,880 It is supremely important in thinking about marriage. 533 00:26:53,880 –> 00:26:58,880 You ask the question what am I tying myself to here? 534 00:27:02,060 –> 00:27:07,060 Now Jesus says take my yoke upon you. 535 00:27:08,500 –> 00:27:10,739 Bind yourself to Me. 536 00:27:11,859 –> 00:7:12,880 Walk with Me. 537 00:27:14,540 –> 00:27:19,540 Coming to Christ means taking Christ’s yoke upon you. 538 00:27:19,780 –> 00:27:22,540 In other words it’s not just a passing experience, 539 00:27:22,540 –> 00:27:24,260 it is an enduring commitment. 540 00:27:24,260 –> 00:27:26,520 It is a way of life. 541 00:27:26,520 –> 00:27:28,800 It is to walk with Jesus Christ. 542 00:27:28,800 –> 00:27:30,219 It is to live in partnership. 543 00:27:31,160 –> 00:27:33,420 He says it this way, it is to learn of Him. 544 00:27:33,420 –> 00:27:35,680 It is to pace yourself by Him. 545 00:27:35,680 –> 00:27:38,339 To follow the pattern of His life. 546 00:27:39,920 –> 00:27:44,920 By the way the idea that you can have Jesus as your Savior 547 00:27:45,119 –> 00:27:48,040 without Jesus being your Lord and in some way 548 00:27:48,040 –> 00:27:50,640 you can come to Him and have an eternally secure Future 549 00:27:50,640 –> 00:27:53,319 in Heaven but that it can make no actual practical 550 00:27:53,319 –> 00:27:57,520 difference to your life is a figment of the imagination 551 00:27:57,520 –> 00:28:00,040 that does nothing other than make unrepentant sinners 552 00:28:00,040 –> 00:28:03,040 more comfortable in their continued rebellion against God. 553 00:28:04,239 –> 00:28:07,040 It appeals, this idea that Jesus can be your Savior 554 00:28:07,040 –> 00:28:08,000 without being your Lord. 555 00:28:08,000 –> 00:28:12,239 It appeals to the self obsession of the boomer generation. 556 00:28:12,239 –> 00:28:14,500 You won’t find anything like it in the Bible. 557 00:28:16,479 –> 00:28:19,459 I was reading this week, I thought he stated it so well, 558 00:28:19,459 –> 00:28:23,959 Dr. Jim Packer, he was writing in 1991 559 00:28:24,859 –> 00:28:26,400 and he says this, 560 00:28:26,560 –> 00:28:31,560 if 10 years ago, you had told me that I would live 561 00:28:33,560 –> 00:28:37,040 to see literate evangelicals, some with doctorates 562 00:28:37,040 –> 00:28:40,119 and the seminary teaching record, 563 00:28:40,119 –> 00:28:44,420 arguing for the reality of an eternal salvation 564 00:28:44,420 –> 00:28:48,359 divinely guaranteed that may have in it no repentance, 565 00:28:48,359 –> 00:28:51,339 no discipleship, no behavioral change, 566 00:28:51,339 –> 00:28:54,540 no practical acknowledgment of Christ as Lord of one’s life 567 00:28:54,540 –> 00:28:56,599 and no perseverance in faith. 568 00:28:57,459 –> 00:28:59,239 If you told me 10 years ago, he says 569 00:28:59,239 –> 00:29:02,500 that I would live to see that in evangelical churches 570 00:29:02,500 –> 00:29:06,459 I would have told you you were out of your mind. 571 00:29:06,459 –> 00:29:08,199 And then he adds a bit I liked. 572 00:29:09,140 –> 00:29:12,540 Stark stirring bunkers is the British phrase 573 00:29:12,540 –> 00:29:14,079 I would probably have used. 574 00:29:15,859 –> 00:29:19,280 But now the thing has happened 575 00:29:20,280 –> 00:29:22,319 and he has one word. 576 00:29:22,319 –> 00:29:24,500 He says wow. 577 00:29:27,040 –> 00:29:32,040 How in all the world could you get from the Bible 578 00:29:34,439 –> 00:29:38,599 to a widespread belief in evangelical churches 579 00:29:38,599 –> 00:29:40,400 that you can be eternally saved 580 00:29:40,400 –> 00:29:43,719 without it making any practical difference to your life. 581 00:29:43,719 –> 00:29:44,780 Wow. 582 00:29:45,619 –> 00:29:47,380 If anyone, Packer says, had told me 10 years ago 583 00:29:50,819 –> 00:29:53,599 that literate evangelicals believe such a thing, 584 00:29:53,599 –> 00:29:54,699 I would have said there, 585 00:29:54,699 –> 00:29:57,260 start staring bonkers. 586 00:29:59,560 –> 00:30:02,780 Take my yoke upon you. 587 00:30:05,380 –> 00:30:07,219 Now you may be saying at this point, 588 00:30:07,219 –> 00:30:08,540 whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. 589 00:30:08,540 –> 00:30:11,420 This is now beginning to sound like it’s going to be tough 590 00:30:11,420 –> 00:30:13,380 and you might be saying 591 00:30:13,739 –> 00:30:15,500 i connected a few moments ago 592 00:30:15,500 –> 00:30:17,219 when you were talking about weary and burden 593 00:30:17,219 –> 00:30:18,060 and heavy laden, 594 00:30:18,060 –> 00:30:20,099 now it sounds like you’re telling me 595 00:30:20,099 –> 00:30:22,800 that Jesus wants to put a great yoke around my neck. 596 00:30:25,380 –> 00:30:26,219 Let me ask you, 597 00:30:26,219 –> 00:30:29,060 do you think your life would be easier without Jesus Christ? 598 00:30:31,020 –> 00:30:34,380 Do you really think that the God of heaven and earth 599 00:30:35,619 –> 00:30:37,300 wants above everything else, 600 00:30:37,300 –> 00:30:40,180 to lay a massive burden on you? 601 00:30:40,219 –> 00:30:43,380 Is that what you think about God? 602 00:30:46,819 –> 00:30:48,699 Friend, if that is what you think about God, 603 00:30:48,699 –> 00:30:50,540 you have never seen the glory of God 604 00:30:50,540 –> 00:30:52,099 in the face of Jesus Christ, 605 00:30:52,099 –> 00:30:53,819 who comes to lift burdens. 606 00:30:56,119 –> 00:30:57,979 And if you think that somehow your heart 607 00:30:57,979 –> 00:30:59,939 would be more free if you were not yoked 608 00:30:59,939 –> 00:31:01,420 to the Lord Jesus Christ, 609 00:31:01,420 –> 00:31:03,140 if you somehow have the idea 610 00:31:03,140 –> 00:31:04,339 that you would find more rest 611 00:31:04,339 –> 00:31:05,839 if you did not bear this yoke. 612 00:31:07,339 –> 00:31:09,040 I want you to hear what Jesus says, 613 00:31:09,099 –> 00:31:10,660 he says, take my yoke upon you 614 00:31:10,660 –> 00:31:12,739 because I am gentle 615 00:31:13,760 –> 00:31:15,420 and I am humble in heart 616 00:31:16,880 –> 00:31:19,020 and my yoke is easy 617 00:31:19,020 –> 00:31:21,339 and my burden is light. 618 00:31:23,199 –> 00:31:25,359 It is the way of the sinner 619 00:31:25,359 –> 00:31:26,500 that is hard. 620 00:31:28,439 –> 00:31:30,020 And think about this, 621 00:31:31,040 –> 00:31:34,800 if you are yoked to the son of God, 622 00:31:35,680 –> 00:31:37,079 what that means 623 00:31:37,079 –> 00:31:42,079 is that he pulls your burden with you. 624 00:31:44,280 –> 00:31:46,280 And can you imagine anything greater 625 00:31:46,280 –> 00:31:47,599 when you think about the weight, 626 00:31:47,599 –> 00:31:50,400 the load that you’re carrying in your life right now? 627 00:31:50,400 –> 00:31:51,800 Can you think of anything greater? 628 00:31:51,800 –> 00:31:53,160 Can you think of anything better 629 00:31:53,160 –> 00:31:55,540 than to be yoked to the son of God? 630 00:31:57,660 –> 00:32:00,459 And so, we come to this great promise, 631 00:32:00,459 –> 00:32:01,319 come to me 632 00:32:02,239 –> 00:32:04,219 and I will give you rest. 633 00:32:05,060 –> 00:32:10,060 Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your soul. 634 00:32:13,739 –> 00:32:15,979 Now, by the way, rest doesn’t mean sleep. 635 00:32:17,140 –> 00:32:18,459 Some of us need sleep, 636 00:32:18,459 –> 00:32:20,099 but not all of us, 637 00:32:20,099 –> 00:32:21,500 and certainly not all of the time. 638 00:32:21,500 –> 00:32:24,140 So we’re not talking about Tylenol PM here. 639 00:32:24,140 –> 00:32:26,020 That’s not what’s at issue. 640 00:32:30,020 –> 00:32:32,239 Christ calls us to an active life, 641 00:32:32,540 –> 00:32:33,260 an active life. 642 00:32:34,439 –> 00:32:35,640 He’s not sending us to sleep. 643 00:32:35,640 –> 00:32:37,619 Here’s what he’s saying. 644 00:32:37,619 –> 00:32:40,280 He’s saying, now, you bring your wounds. 645 00:32:40,280 –> 00:32:41,839 You bring your hurts. 646 00:32:41,839 –> 00:32:42,959 You bring your fears. 647 00:32:42,959 –> 00:32:44,199 You bring your burdens, 648 00:32:44,199 –> 00:32:45,199 You bring your load, 649 00:32:45,199 –> 00:32:47,400 You bring your regrets. 650 00:32:47,400 –> 00:32:48,780 You bring your disappointments. 651 00:32:48,780 –> 00:32:50,079 You bring your anxieties. 652 00:32:50,079 –> 00:32:52,640 You bring your inadequacies. 653 00:32:52,640 –> 00:32:53,780 You bring your pressures. 654 00:32:53,780 –> 00:32:55,239 You bring your perplexities. 655 00:32:55,239 –> 00:32:56,319 You come as you are, 656 00:32:56,319 –> 00:33:00,000 you bring the whole lot to me. 657 00:33:00,000 –> 00:33:02,280 Now, today. 658 00:33:04,900 –> 00:33:08,140 I will give you a peace that passes understanding, 659 00:33:08,140 –> 00:33:10,680 As you yoke yourself to me you will find 660 00:33:10,680 –> 00:33:12,000 I am yoke to you. 661 00:33:13,119 –> 00:33:15,020 And we will pull this burden together. 662 00:33:16,140 –> 00:33:20,180 And you will find rest for your soul. 663 00:33:20,180 –> 00:33:22,640 I will give you this rest, he says. 664 00:33:22,640 –> 00:33:23,640 I’ll give it to you. 665 00:33:25,780 –> 00:33:26,619 We live in a culture 666 00:33:26,619 –> 00:33:28,780 where everything seems to be a process. 667 00:33:29,699 –> 00:33:32,420 This isn’t a process, this is a gift. 668 00:33:33,800 –> 00:33:36,280 It’s not like a prescription, it’s not like a formula 669 00:33:36,280 –> 00:33:39,400 that you can get dispensed in a hundred different places. 670 00:33:40,359 –> 00:33:43,540 He’s saying you come to me and I will give you this gift. 671 00:33:43,540 –> 00:33:44,479 You draw near to me. 672 00:33:44,479 –> 00:33:49,160 You bring what is weighing on you to me today 673 00:33:49,160 –> 00:33:51,280 and I will give you my peace. 674 00:33:51,280 –> 00:33:53,239 My peace I give to you. 675 00:33:53,439 –> 00:33:54,439 Lord I thank you. 676 00:33:57,040 –> 00:33:59,280 And you notice he uses the word you will find rest 677 00:33:59,280 –> 00:34:00,099 for your souls. 678 00:34:00,099 –> 00:34:02,300 He’s talking experience here. 679 00:34:04,640 –> 00:34:06,280 One more quote and we’re through. 680 00:34:07,439 –> 00:34:10,199 Bishop Ryle is always so helpful. 681 00:34:10,199 –> 00:34:11,280 He says on this. 682 00:34:12,179 –> 00:34:17,179 Rest like this is the privilege of all believers in Christ. 683 00:34:17,179 –> 00:34:22,179 Some know more of it and some less. 684 00:34:25,479 –> 00:34:28,760 Some feel it only at distant intervals 685 00:34:28,760 –> 00:34:31,800 and some feel it almost always. 686 00:34:33,320 –> 00:34:36,340 Few enjoy the sense of it without many a battle 687 00:34:36,340 –> 00:34:39,360 with unbelief and many a conflict with fear. 688 00:34:41,320 –> 00:34:44,860 But all who truly come to Christ know something 689 00:34:44,860 –> 00:34:47,020 of this rest. 690 00:34:48,040 –> 00:34:51,820 Well I know something of it as you do 691 00:34:51,820 –> 00:34:53,239 if you’re in Christ too. 692 00:34:54,139 –> 00:34:56,959 I need to know a lot more of it. 693 00:34:56,959 –> 00:35:01,439 And probably you feel that you do too. 694 00:35:01,439 –> 00:35:04,800 And I cannot think of a better way for us 695 00:35:04,800 –> 00:35:09,800 to use the weight, the load, the burdens that we carry 696 00:35:11,080 –> 00:35:14,860 but to see them as a reason 697 00:35:15,780 –> 00:35:17,760 for coming to Christ, 698 00:35:18,979 –> 00:35:21,419 a reason for every day this week, 699 00:35:21,419 –> 00:35:23,419 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 700 00:35:23,419 –> 00:35:25,320 and every week and every month this year 701 00:35:25,320 –> 00:35:27,879 and on through the days that lie ahead of us 702 00:35:27,879 –> 00:35:29,919 for me to get up in the morning and to say 703 00:35:29,919 –> 00:35:33,139 I am yoked to Jesus Christ. 704 00:35:34,239 –> 00:35:37,239 I’m gonna walk in His ways with the help of His spirit. 705 00:35:38,679 –> 00:35:41,419 I’m going to seek to live and to walk and to move 706 00:35:41,439 –> 00:35:46,020 in a way that is in step with what He is doing in my life 707 00:35:46,020 –> 00:35:49,199 and I am going to be so thankful 708 00:35:49,199 –> 00:35:54,060 that He pulls this load with me 709 00:35:54,060 –> 00:35:56,979 because the greatest privilege of my life 710 00:35:58,219 –> 00:36:01,879 is to be yoked to the Son of God. 711 00:36:03,719 –> 00:36:06,360 So can you hear the voice of the living Christ 712 00:36:07,340 –> 00:36:10,159 whose word never changes and whose promise never fails 713 00:36:10,159 –> 00:36:11,719 saying to you today, 714 00:36:12,719 –> 00:36:16,060 you’re weary, you’re burdened, 715 00:36:17,000 –> 00:36:19,260 you’re carrying a heavy load 716 00:36:20,899 –> 00:36:22,540 so you come to me. 717 00:36:24,139 –> 00:36:27,199 I will give you rest 718 00:36:28,820 –> 00:36:32,600 and you take my yoke on you. 719 00:36:33,199 –> 00:36:34,679 And here’s what you’ll find, 720 00:36:35,879 –> 00:36:39,040 you will find rest. 721 00:36:40,179 –> 00:36:41,060 For you’re so. 722 00:36:43,600 –> 00:36:47,679 Father, our little faith feels like it totters 723 00:36:47,679 –> 00:36:51,840 before and staggers before the glory 724 00:36:51,840 –> 00:36:53,379 of this promise. 725 00:36:56,679 –> 00:37:00,560 So we fix our mind here that it is the Son of God 726 00:37:01,919 –> 00:37:03,459 who says this to us. 727 00:37:05,580 –> 00:37:07,120 And perhaps in this moment you would like 728 00:37:07,120 –> 00:37:09,459 to use this opportunity in the quietness 729 00:37:09,939 –> 00:37:14,679 to come to Christ, to bring what weighs on you now to him, 730 00:37:22,580 –> 00:37:27,459 to say to Him that you’re wanting to yoke yourself to Him 731 00:37:27,459 –> 00:37:29,320 and to thank Him that He, the Son of God, 732 00:37:29,320 –> 00:37:32,659 would be willing to yoke Himself to you. 733 00:37:33,120 –> 00:37:35,959 and to believe His promise 734 00:37:35,959 –> 00:37:38,600 that as He pulls this load with you, 735 00:37:39,959 –> 00:37:40,800 He’ll give you rest. 736 00:37:42,399 –> 00:37:46,239 You’ll find something that you have not experienced 737 00:37:46,239 –> 00:37:47,780 in that same way before. 738 00:37:50,000 –> 00:37:53,239 That is His blood-bought gift 739 00:37:55,679 –> 00:37:57,080 to all the children of God. 740 00:37:57,120 –> 00:37:58,500 All the children of God. 741 00:38:01,439 –> 00:38:04,239 Father today, knowing who Christ is more clearly, 742 00:38:06,479 –> 00:38:09,219 grant that we may come to Him more eagerly, 743 00:38:11,020 –> 00:38:13,159 bind ourselves to Him more fully 744 00:38:15,320 –> 00:38:18,020 and receive what He offers more abundantly. 745 00:38:20,719 –> 00:38:24,520 For we ask it in the Savior’s name, Amen.