COME UNTO ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST
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In the name of the Father; Son and Holy Spirit!
Today Jesus Christ; the conqueror and Savior of the world is calling and inviting everyone saying: “Come to me all who are weary and burdened.” Jesus promise saying, “come and I will give you rest.”
…….halleluiah
Matt 11:25-30
25 At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and did reveal them unto babes:
26 yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
27 All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knows the Son, save the Father; neither do any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will to reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Dear friends: from the drama between NII and EDINA it is possible for me to think that; everyone else is managing if not struggling with his or her own disappointments to the best of their ability and capacity.
Understand that as long as we are in this sinful world, we are bound to suffer disappoints…I have lots and lots of disappointments in my life; I go through daily struggles and sufferings too, so I know very well how it feels.
Sometimes one has to break protocols and traditions in order to make it… one has to take the bull by the horns. We worried about uncountable things and events… don’t we?
Each time you seem to make some progress; unseen obstacles come your way and set you back… you take one step forward then two steps backwards; that is what I term “backward matching”; this backward movement destroys every bit of joy and happiness in our lives.
In the state of our affliction, we look for help and we can’t find one…no one wants to help us…because they are also dealing with their own challenges too… we become so hopeless.
Let me mention but a few: our bank Accounts, our salaries and allowances, our retirement life are things we worry about! Business people think of their financial position and market share in a global economy? Friend; our state of Riches or poverty contributes to our disappointments.
Considering Maslow’s theory of needs: we are disappointed when it comes to Love? Now let me ask, “Are you appreciated for who you are by relations and friends?”… “Are you respected by coworkers and neighbours?” … let me stress that: to be remembered by those who matter, means a lot to elderly people… just as we heard in the opening drama: On the other hand; to be respected means a lot for those who are young.
Dear listeners: as I speak, I don’t know your specific personal issues in life,…however I am here to encourage you in this world of uncertainty…so I ask: What are your disappointments? Before I proceed, I must state that: I am fully aware that, Most of us carry our burden secretly and we don’t want to disturb people with them…, In our businesses and places of work, even in our homes, we suffer many challenges.
Yet we don’t want our neighbour to notice anything… after all, there is nothing they will do to help; if care is not taken, we will become laughing stock or subject of ridicule… so our challenges remain as it is! Isn’t it?
We get to point of desperation and we wonder if something can be done?
At this moment: Someone is inviting you to come for help… before responding to the invitation; let’s take a lesson from Jeremiah in Chapter 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: “Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and make flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord”!
Do note that: an invitation from men means carrying our own burden…
Invitations from men do not give our hearts happiness; it does not give our souls rest…
All of us worry in one way or the other worry, because we are sinful … As sinners, we have done things wrong. We have sinned against God and man and the life that He wants for us has disappeared.
Not that weariness is a condition of the heart, the conscience, and the soul…by extension Jesus means all of us..No matter what you are; we are to come to Him in faith. He pledges to take our worries; manage our affairs and give us rest.
Because we have sinned and continue to sin daily, our days, our lives, our futures are all out of order. In panic, we try to do something good, something kind, and we get abstracted. We try to do what’s right, and we end up doing something wrong.
My dear friends: We can’t help ourselves…because there are lots of bugger-wires on our way…it is a pity that sin has recoiled, rewired and short-circuited us.
This is where Jesus comes in with His unconditional invitation.
There is an invitation from one Man who is God Himself: Jesus the God-Man promise to bear our burden for us… Jesus in His invitation says, “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus makes an overwhelming promise, that when we come to Him: “He will give us rest.” Halleluiah!
Jesus’ promise: “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” is indeed His commitment. In Matt 11: verses 30 then 29 Jesus says, 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls…. Amen!
God, our all-loving Father, knew that it was impossible for us to change ourselves. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t be perfect, we can’t live, think, act, or speak perfectly… No, it takes the grace of God!
Friends: I will make a controversial statement…God hates sin but He loves sinners!.. God in His compassion, will not see the sinner die; does He took matters into His own hands. Actually, The Father put things into His Son’s hands. He said, “Jesus, I want You to pay the penalty for humanity’s rebellion.” Unbelievably and unexplainably, Jesus did exactly that. Jesus did what needed to be done.
Jesus left heaven, He left all the comfort and glory, all the honour and respect that He deserved, and became one of us, to be born of a woman. Jesus has to go through humiliation to be born a man; otherwise, He couldn’t pay the ransom price. Jesus was born a true Man and a true God. Jesus had to be God; otherwise, He couldn’t have done the things that had to be done.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judean and lived in Nazareth. From the manger to the cross, Jesus did everything right. He fulfilled every law that sinful man has broken…
Now having done all this, you might think that people would applaud and appreciate Him. They didn’t. They hit and hurt Him. They lied about Him, they laughed at Him. They struck Him and spat on His face, they condemned and crushed Him…Oh my God was crucified, and His disciples fear for their lives. The good news is; Jesus knew it would happen. He knew very well that things will happen that way it did… long before He became flesh. Knowing in advance, Jesus could have chosen to escape… but he did not.
Instead, He took your sins, my sins, all sins of the world with Him to His cross. On the Bloody Blood Cross; Jesus hanged on nails, suspended between heaven and earth. On the Cross Jesus erased every wrong and evil that we have ever committed; He wiped out every sin we have ever thought of or done with His Blood.
On the Bloody Cross, all was finished; Jesus died for us. We didn’t work for it… it was a Godly gift. When all was done, Jesus was exhortation through the grave to resurrection and beyond. Jesus came back to life three days after and proved to the world that God the Father had accepted His sacrifice… Hallelujah!
On that account; all believers by the power of the Holy Spirit can pray and say, “Jesus be merciful to me a poor miserable sinner,” By Faith Christ has been our substitute in death and our sin is gone; by faith, our worries, our weariness, can also disappear. Just as Jesus said, “I will give you rest … my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In summary I will read John 6:37-40
37 All that which the Father gives me shall come unto me; and him that comes to me I will never cast out away.
38 For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Verse 39 and 40 confirms Jesus commitment to us: it reads…
39 And this is the will of him that sent me that all which he hath given me I should lose none, but should raise him up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father that everyone that beholds the Son, and believe on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.
The word of God!
Friends: That is the invitation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which He extends to everyone listening to me: “Come to Jesus all who are weary and burdened and He will give you rest.” … May His name be praised now and forevermore…Amen.
The Lord bless you and keep you and your household safe throughout this period of COVID-19 and beyond;
The Lord make His face shine upon you and open doors of goodwill before you and bless your businesses;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His everlasting peace, which surpasses all human understanding…
In the name of God the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
Amen! Amen! Amen!!