Come, Take, Learn
Matt. 11: 28-30.
This is one of my favourite passage. From the time I got saved and each time I have difficult problems, I find comfort in them. These verses has been one of the most beloved verse in the New Testament according to Ryrie and I agree with him. Who would not love these verses? Today we are going to talk about it and see what the Lord would want us to know and how can we apply this to our life. This invitation of Christ implies His deep, conscious willingness to bless all men in all ages. He knows every need of man, and He alone can give what is really missing. He sees a void space in our hearts and only He can fill it.
I. We are invited to come to Him for much needed Rest.
A. The invitation is “Come to me” not “Come to God or Go to God”.
B. He knows that He is the only way (Jn. 14:6) and if we don’t go to Him, we will not find God. This invitation is also an invitation to salvation.
C. We all need rest. Spiritually we are bankrupt. Physically, we are all exhausted from all these earthly labours.
D. We are burdened with sins and its consequences, financial, health, family, social, moral, religious, safety, sorrows, as well as environmental and political problems. These are all natural to life but too great for human strength to bear.
E. Jesus gives rest from guilt, from the fear of death, and the dread of judgment. He gives it as an actual, conscious possession. When you come to Christ salvation is yours.
F. This rest is for heavy-laden ones, whether they be saints or sinners, weary workers, disappointed and downcast because of fruitlessness of their labour.
G. On the other hand there is no rest to the wicked, who are like the troubled waves of the sea; and those who bow in the future beast and his image will have no rest from their torments day nor night for ever and ever. Isa 57:20-21; Re 14:11.
H. Entrust yourself to Christ and you will have the rest He is offering
I. The rest is not cessation from toil (you still have to work) but peace, peace beyond understanding, fulfilment and a sense of being put right.
Rest in Six Aspects
Creation rest, broken by sin Genesis 2:2, Redemption rest, secured in Christ Zeph. 3:17, The sinner’s rest, by coming to Christ Matt. 11:28, The saint’s rest, in communion with Christ Mark 6:30, Paradise rest, present Rev. 16:13 and 2 Cor. 5:1-8, Eternal rest, future Heb. 4:9; Rev. 22:5. From the Book of 750 Bible and Gospel Studies, 1909, George W Noble, Chicago.
Jesus Example of Rest
Edwin R. Roberts of Princeton Seminary once sat under a pastor who concluded his announcements; I am not going to take a vacation this summer: the devil never does.
Roberts went home and reread the Gospels to see what Jesus’ attitude is. He found that of His three years active ministry, there were mentioned 10 period of retirement! This was an addition to the nightly rest and the Sabbath rest. Whose examples are we following? The devils?
II. We are invited to serve.
A. “Take My yoke upon you.”
B. The yoke is used in the Bible as an emblem
(1.) Of bondage or slavery, Lev. 26:13
(2.) Of afflictions or crosses, Lam. 3:27.
(3.) Of the punishment of sin, Lam. 1:14.
(4.) Of the commandments of God, as in this verse
(5.) Of legal ceremonies, Ac 15:10; Ga 5:1.
C. The yoke was a wooden collar that ran across the shoulders of a pair of oxen and enabled them jointly to pull enormous weights.
D. In Judaism the yoke is applied to the Law. He invites the weary and the burdened not to go to the Law but to come to Him.
E. The yoke of Christ which I will call Christ’s commandments is gentle and less demanding than Judaism. It is the yoke of service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
F. In some ways it is really demanding but it is the yoke of love, not of duty.
G. You will experience that there is joy in serving the Lord. Millions have done it and have enjoyed it. Indeed serving Christ is very rewarding.
Willing to do Little Things
A good many are kept out of the service of Christ, deprived of the luxury of working for God, because they are trying to do some great thing. Let us be willing to do little things. And let us remember that nothing is small in which God is the source.
I Will Serve God without My Eyes
In his book 70 X 7, The Freedom of Forgiveness, David Augsburger tells of General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, who had lost his eyesight. His son was given the difficult task of telling his father there would be no recovery. “Do you mean that I am blind?” the General asked. “I fear we must contemplate that,” his son replied. The father continued, “I shall never see your face again?” “No, probably not in this world.” “Bramwell,” said General Booth, “I have done what I could for God and for His people with my eyes. Now Shall do what I can for God without my eyes.”
III. We are invited to Learn.
A. “Learn of Me.” To learn of Christ we must get close to Him. To get close to Him we must needs be yoked with Him. In other words we must be his disciple.
B. The yoke of service comes before spiritual wisdom. We learn best while in the yoke. Paul had to cry out, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9. 6) before he received his divine commission.
C. In the school of suffering and testimony for Christ the deeper things of God are learned. The reason why many Christians make no progress in grace and heavenly-mindedness is because they are ashamed of Christ’s yoke; and not keeping company with Him, they cannot be taught by Him.
D. In Christ we learn to be patient in suffering, to walk humbly, to trust implicitly, to love intensely, and to rejoice exceedingly (Eph. 4. 20-23).
E. By His words, works, character, as made known in the Bible we learn of Him and by the truths He now imparts to the human heart through the Holy Spirit.
Cradles of Eminence
In 1962, Victor and Mildred Goertzel published a revealing study of 413 “famous and exceptionally gifted people” called Cradles of Eminence. They spent years attempting to understand what produced such greatness, what common thread might run through all of these outstanding people’s lives. Surprisingly, the most outstanding fact was that virtually all of them, 392, had to overcome
very difficult obstacles in order to become who they were. God teaches us and purifies us in the furnace of afflictions.
Conclusion:
The invitation of Christ is for everyone. Saved and sinners can all come to Him and find rest. When you come to Christ, salvation is yours, service to Him then follows. The thing is you will find that there is joy in serving the Lord. In learning of Him we will encounter tribulations and sufferings but you are not alone to bear it. He is with us all the way, that’s why His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Come to Christ now. Don’t delay.
