"SHARING GRACE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT FINDING REST FOR OUR SOULS"
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Taken from today's reading in "The One Year Bible”.
1. Jesus invites people to come to Him, especially those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
"Come to Me" That is the invitation.
The invitation is given to anyone who is bearing a heavy load, and who is laboring.
Jesus is reaching out to those who ware weary and carrying heavy burdens.
What a wonderful Lord we have to invite us to come to Himself.
The Word come, means to come here, to come now, and to follow.
2. Jesus makes a promise of giving rest to the weary who come to Him.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Notice what Jesus says He will do for the persons who come to Him.
"And I will give you rest”.
Or "I will rest you" In other words, He actually promises to change our burdened souls into restful souls, and promises to do it Himself.
The word rest means to refresh, to take your ease.
That is what He will do.
3. Jesus explains what those who come to Him are to do, and how it will bring rest to their souls.
Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Now Jesus explains how all this works.
We come to Him by faith, trusting Him.
We also take His yoke, or let Him lead us, or surrender our wills and souls and lives to His loving hands.
We come underneath His leadership if you will.
He then asks us to "Let Him teach us”.
He also explains that He is a humble and gentle person.
The result of our coming and taking etc, is rest for our souls.
Jesus also has a word or two about His yoke.
He says My yoke fits perfectly, it will not have splinters in it as it were.
It will not hurt to place ourselves under His leadership.
Finally, His burden is light.
The burden that He gives in return for the load we bring to Him is light.
How delightful.
Some Questions:
1. Isn't it such a pleasant blessing to hear the Words of Jesus Christ?
2. Would you agree that we continually forget just how loving and caring He really is about us?
3. And, I'm certain we can all agree that the load of life gets to be pretty darn heavy at times.
4. Are you going through something right now that fits the words of Jesus in these verses?
5. Will you take just a moment to bow your head and heart and reach out to Christ?
A Prayer:
Father, thank You for reaching out to us in our times of need, and offering to help us. We so desperately need it.
Jesus, You are the wonderful Savior and Rest giver. Thank You that You will receive us as we humble ourselves under Your loving leadership. And thank You that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. What a difference from the yokes we can find ourselves under and the burdens we can be squashed down under. Lord, we come to You right now, either for ourselves, or for others we may know. Would You please pour out in a measurable way, and a way that can be felt and not missed, Your wonderful grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
