Come and Find Rest: Obtaining Rest in a Restless World

Today's episode of a new beginning is brought to you by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn more@harvest.org and while you're there, browse our library of free e-books designed to help you grow in your faith in Jesus is all I read more Jesus message differ from the world religion is just fine. No, it's not a drinker storm is a mixture of harsh discordant sounds being stuck in the New York City traffic our lives what confirmation sounds discordant on such a coalition of priorities and urgencies that we just need to why today on a new beginning.

Glory shows us where their phone. Read this article in the paper recently but it is no visual research shows that dogs are more intelligent than okay so you have to just deal with the scientists at Oxford University from the size of an animal's brain determines that because dogs are more social brains are larger. Makes total sense. Let me just think about the way a dog treat you in the way a cat treats you when you come home. Maybe after being gone all day they go you are greeted by a dog living there. Just beside themselves with excitement.

The babies over here you know they're jumping up and they want to lick you and you they welcome you when you come THERE now that you left in the first place. Another School.

Rogers don't you when you talk to a dog you ever noticed that sometimes a kind of tilted her head will think they're trying to understand what you're saying and talk to them and telling me looks of you walks off it just like me the courtesy of the and you know when you're sad. A dog will try to comfort you Don't care how you feel, as long as you know, with a can opener is when you take a dog for a ride there beside themselves with excitement. They want to be right next to you whether heading out the window. They have their own private basket or they won't go at all and try pulling out a lease. What is a dog do they are so happy they're going to go on a walk level lease you think a cat would let you put a leash on it. Let me just ask you this question. Have you ever seen anyone walking a cat. It doesn't happen, as is the way things are. Speaking of taking dogs for walks things that go so well for tax to the basset hound. This is a true story.

According to the Tacoma Washington newspaper tattoo did not plan on going for an evening run when his owner struck the dog's leash and the car door and took off for a drive. Attached is still outside to be a goal. He had no choice. The article said a motorcycle officer noticed a passing vehicle was something drug dragging behind it. I'm not laughing.

This I am laughing I am something fascia behind it become of the poor basset hound was picking them up and putting them down as fast as he could. Basset hounds, the little Lord of the ground in their legs a little smaller so imagine for Ted to bouillon the soapy trying to keep up. So the officer chased the car down to his resting. He was fine, but the car had reached speeds up to 25 mph and at times tattoo got dragged to little bits. Have you ever felt that way drug through life like to add to the basset hound were picking them up and putting them down is fast as we can. And there's all this pressure to do so many things you find yourself saying things like, I'm ready to throw in the that's right I'm at the end of my that's right, I'm just upon the love my life is falling while you guys are mess, listen to you planing in the middle of a sermon I met my way to see what I'm saying we can sum up our lives this way.

Hurry worried Barry and there's so much pressure to do so many things so let's think about the words of Jesus for a few moments and I think are so relevant Matthew chapter 11 starting in verse 28 come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now these verses are often quoted when we want to tell someone how to come to Jesus and that is a completely appropriate use of them, however they are not limited as an invitation to the nonbeliever only these words of Jesus are to any person that is stressed out any person that is under pressure. Any person that is carrying a burden of any kind.

An expanded translation of the statement of our Lord from the Greek goes as follows come here to me all of you are growing wary to the point of exhaustion and your loaded with burdens in your bending beneath your way.

I alone will cause you to see from your labor and take away your burdens and repress you with rest so I think come here to me and by the way, that is not an invitation to lazy people are Christian should be the hardest workers of all affect. The Bible tells us in first Thessalonians 311 settle down and get to work and earn your own living.

Do not grow weary of doing good so it's not to a lazy person next to a wary person. Why are they wary will presumably because they been working hard in practice carries the idea of someone who was at the point of utter exhaustion. You're not only exhausted but your heavy laden, your loaded down with way that a description of you today. Maybe you come here with a bird of some, maybe it's a burden of the sin that you been struggling with.

Maybe it's the burden of physical pain. Other burden of problems in your family or the burden of grief, Jesus says come to me and what will happen to the person who comes to him.

Verse 28. I will give you rest. This word rest means to be refreshed or robot will kind of rest, is that one for starters, this would be the resident comes with the assurance of salvation. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ never should you doubt the bad you are right with God and that you are going to have the Bible says in Romans five, having been justified by faith we have peace with God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we need to rest in the finished work of Christ that he accomplished on the cross, which we will be remembering that a few moments at the communion table that our Lord went there and shed his blood for every sin that we have ever committed. And God's righteous demand have been met by Christ and therefore we can rest in that finish work so you don't have to sweat the small stuff.

Sure, you, as Christians will have your problems and your challenges in your trials, but you know that your saving in your safe in the Lord's protective care others for the Jesus uses here in Matthew 11 for rest is an interesting one, sometimes in the New Testament. It is used for change falling off someone for change falling of someone's hand so it carries the idea of being released from any kind of bondage, the child of God should not be under any kind of legalism, or any kind of by Jesus as I will give you rest. And really this word that Jesus uses for rest is also used to describe a person who is in financial debt so I will give you rest from financial debt. Others, not a literal statement necessarily the Lord can provide for our needs but it really is a statement about our debt of sin and the repercussions of it that because we put our faith in Christ. The Bible says we been justified and that word means that our sins of been forgiven in the righteousness of Christ is now been placed into our account and finally in Greek literature. The word rest is used, to describe a door that you can't quite open and then suddenly flies open and sort of like getting access to something so once I've come to Christ.

What shall I then do this is very important. Jesus is you that are exhausted using our wary you that are burden with way. Come to me and I'll give you rest. I'll forgive you of the spiritual debt that you have. I will put my righteousness into your account. I will break the chains off of you and I will give you free access in the my presence.

Okay, now what very important verse 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 soul and maybe if we were to update this today. It would be like Jesus.

A give me the steering wheel. I don't know about you but I don't like to be driven by my what now my wife is a very good driver. She's very careful but I the worst backseat driver that has ever lit turn right. Given the rightly given the right, like getting a no no no no okay don't hurry Google run the person walking up that's how I am social just take you just drive a car.

Yes, you know, and usually I am driving the carbon casing of she's picking me up somewhere.

She'll have to put up with me for the time to think, to get me from ADP and I think she just found it easier to say here, you just drive the car okay and a lot of times we can be that way with the Lord is just giving the steering wheel. I would think Lord speed up speed up to write no more. Get out of the slick don't like the phone like Jesus and he wants to be in full master Greg Laurie will have the second half of this message just a moment, everybody Greg Laurie here. You know my uncle Fred Jordan that one of the first Christian TV programs out there. It was called church in the home.

I remember watching it as a little boy when I was living with my grandparents we have church in the home for you every weekend is called Harvest at Home.

You can find it@harvest.org we have worship in a message of God's word.

So join us this weekend for harvest of home harvest.today Pastor Greg is showing us how to find rest right based on the Lord's words. Take my yoke on you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.

Take my yoke upon you, what was a yoke had nothing to do with an egg.

By the way yoke was made of wood was hand hewn to fit the neck and shoulders of the animal that was to where it in order to avoid pain or discomfort.

So back in the ancient culture, the yoke was an expression that is used to describe submission when you said someone was yoke to something or someone they communicated the idea that you were submitted to that when the auction is yoked to the cart under the direction of the driver. They have submitted themselves to that power. So Jesus is. Take my yoke upon you and means submit yourself to Christ every day and every way limited to one that comforts me a little bit out.

Are you suggesting that to really follow Jesus. You are to serve and obey him exactly what I'm suggesting that's exactly what Jesus is saying, but before you bristle at that idea.

Consider this, everyone is yoked to something or someone. Maybe another way to explain would be to say here in sync with something there are people that you're in sync with. There are ideas you are in sync with. There are relationships that you are yoke to so I guess the question is who or what do you want to be yoked to some are yoked to the power of sin there under its control. I want to be in about power to you. That is why you were told in Isaiah 1027 that the Lord can in the bondage of his people and bring the yoke of slavery. Some are yoked in a relationship to non-believer, but the Bible speaks very specifically to that and says in second Corinthians 614 do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness or light with darkness.

Needless to say, this is why a believer does not want to become romantically involved with a nonbelief.

Why, because chances are they're going to pull you down more than you're gonna pull them up and I know that many people thought that they're gonna go out and win people to Christ and I remember when I first became a Christian. About a week or so afterwards I felt a very strong call by God to share the gospel with pretty girls that someone's gonna reach him and I'm the God no in the Lord showed me that was not what I was supposed to be doing. But you know you might evolve to state this personal one of the Christ.

We know the reality is they may drag you down because it's easier for you to go backwards and it is for them to go forward. Don't be unequally yoked together with the nonbeliever so your go to someone your go to something.

Why not be yoked to Jesus. So what is this mean practically well he says take my yoke upon you and learn of me, how my going to learn of him will were told in Scripture low in the volume of the book.

Yes, it is written of him. So I'm going to learn of Jesus by studying this book and by the way that's not just the red letter that you might have one of those Bible that has all the words of Christ in red so when you get to the sermon on the Mount. You can hardly read it. I just read pages, but all the words in Scripture are inspired by God, not just the sermon on the mount, not just the words our Lord spoke when he walked this earth. There is inspired in Genesis and Exodus and Isaiah and Jeremiah and right on through the Old Testament into the New Testament into the epistles right up to the book of Revelation.

So take his yoke upon you, I want you to notice something else.

He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light really know what I mean about yoke. I don't think of something that is lights but a better translation would be well fitted you see the carpenter would custom-designed the yoke for the animal that would use it in the same way God when he gives you the yoke when you're committed to him and submitted to him that it's not burdensome affect first John 53 says this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome, yes, and we will send a crystalline visit drag fishes onto rules and regulations. I don't like to live by the commandments of God really which ones are you struggling with are you bummed out that you can steal kill my order people without something you would've done otherwise don't. The commandments makes sense when you stop and think about them years ago I was looking in the backyard and I saw this brightly colored little bird nestled in the grass, shaking looked very afraid. That's probably because my fairly large German Shepherd was looking right at and I think the bird knew that no it was good to be curtain since I walked out with this bird come from. It looked like someone's pet bird actually in. I kneeled down and I put my finger out and the little bird jumped right in my indexing so I walked in the house and Kathy's cooking set in the kitchen. I think Kathy look what I just let it averaging took them through it on the panel he aided very I in one sermon. Talk about dragging dog Berg subject so I saluted this little bird that I found she supported to pilot it was in the backyard. I think it someone's pet. What we do the will.

I don't know and and Jonathan said with as a little girl on the street that as a birdcage or bird die so I get I think young running get it. So he runs down the street brings the cage back. We set it on the counter. I opened up the little door of the cage of birds, my finger. I bring my hand over the cage door and he jumps right in. I did not question if he jumped and got up on the perky swinging back and forth. Happy days are here again. He liked me and indicate that it goes against conventional wisdom.

Some say he mentally put the animals in the cage is okay set them free. This bird was about to be an appetizer. Provide all he didn't see the bars of that exchange as a prison keeping them in. He saw those bars as walls of protection.

Keeping predators out so we can look at the commandments of God in the same way all you you can say all its it's, you know, constraining and makes my life miserable. Or, you can see them for what they are there, a barrier of protection to keep your predators your enemies your adversaries out his commandments are not burdensome. He says my burden is light and my yoke is easy, take my yoke upon you and learn from. Then number four I am to just come to him when I'm burden when I'm overwhelmed with worries. I need to come to Jesus you know there's really nowhere else to go. Jesus did not say when you're burden or overwhelmed with weight that you should go to counseling an organization just go read a book or even go to church or even go your sermon. Though those things are all good and I'm preaching a sermon right now our time, but I know ultimately the answer is to go to Jesus. I just talked to a father whose daughter died just the day before Thanksgiving and he said what words help you so well.

I don't know what words help me. I just know who helped me and I know were I needed to turn and I know where I need to turn you know it's not so much that you need words. You need the living word you need Jesus when you're under pressure. You need Jesus. That's really big up.

Come to me just come to my teaching zone includes that, to me, you that are laboring and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest again to quote the verse I cited earlier come to me all of you were growing weary to the point of exhaustion and loaded with burdens and are bending beneath their way. I alone will cause indices from your labor and take away your burdens and refresh you with the rest psalmist cried out in Psalms 61 to from the end of the earth. I cry out to you when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than on for you have been a shelter for me.

The strong tower from the enemy. Notice that Jesus does not say learn of me or take my yoke upon you. First, before that, he says just commenting it doesn't say make those changes in your life and come to meet know just come to me.

Modern culture would say something different with a will and you can just get that promotion. If you can just get that house if you could just take the application, then you will find rest, materialism would say build it up you'll find rest, pleasure, media would say live it up and you'll find rest religion would say keep it up and you'll find rest and Jesus says come to me and you'll find rest, having been justified by faith we have peace with God. I'm reminded of the statement of Corrie 10 boom, which he said look within and be depressed look without the distress would did Jesus and the deed towards rest today. Pastor Greg Laurie with a message called common find rest. You're on a new beginning that we realize.

Sometimes interruptions happen as you listen to the studies, but you can hear what you miss by going to our website today.

Small broadcasters available there. It's called common find rest in fact you can even download an MP3 and listen at your convenience are web addresses harvest.org Pastor Greg were talking about your new book, Billy Graham, the man I knew yes now Billy died just shy of his 100th birthday and I was marveling at how many decades his ministry spanned. It started around World War II and grew up to the time of the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the turbulent 60s, the 70s with the Jesus movement really all the way up past the dawn of the new millennium trip and I know you have some surprises you're revealing to us drawn from your new book, including the fact that he was really good at seeing where cultural trends were headed. He really did you know there's an amazing video out there.

You can Google it were billing spoken Silicon Valley to many of the top technology, people, and he took that opportunity to speak to them in because he was so well-respected we all gathered to hear what he had to say and as always he shared the gospel with them. But Billy was always an early adopter of new technologies. I've mentioned the fact that he was on television and radio and making films that have the gospel in them long before anybody else was doing it and Billy also understood that the Internet was a powerful tool use that as well. Way back in 1971 Billy made this statement and I quote there will be worldwide lawlessness still be an over emphasis on sex, though be an acceleration of technology", that sounds a good description of what's happening right now and he understood these things were coming any always look for opportunities to use these platforms to reach more people with the gospel. So this is just one of the many things that bring out my new book called Billy Graham the man I knew the reason I wrote this book was to introduce Billy to a younger generation. You know, a generation of people that have heard his name, but they have no real point of reference.

He doesn't seem like a real flesh and blood person, but I think after reading this book, you'll feel like you met Billy Graham even spent some time with him and I think you'll appreciate and understand why God used him in such a singular way so I'll send you a copy of this book, Billy Graham, the men I knew for your gift of any size tour ministry.

Whatever you send. It will be used.

To reach more people with the teaching of God's word and the proclamation of the gospel. You know that here in a new beginning were one of the few ministries that actually throw the net as I like to say which means we invite people to come to Christ in many do. Thanks to your prayers and thanks to your financial support. So whatever he can do to help us. It's appreciated. I will send you your copy of Billy Graham, the man I knew, yet it's a unique look and evangelists look at the life of history's greatest evangelist is a celebration of a remarkable life again.

The title is Billy Graham, the man I knew can be sent to copy your way as pastor Greg said we're making it available to thank you for your donation of any size. And please know there are no churches or large organizations covering all the expenses notes only through the investments of listeners that these insights can come your way. Each day, so thanks for being a partner with us and with your donation today. Be sure to ask for Billy Graham, the man I knew and today is our last opportunity to mention this, so get in touch right away.

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That's a 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300 or just go online to harvest.org well next time pastor Greg points out the need for spiritual renewal.

When our land and how believers are called to serve.

But we'll see if God sends us to do a job. He gives us the tools to get it done.

Learn more next time you beginning and everybody thinks or listening beginning. This is a podcast made possible by harvest partners. So for more content that can help you know God and equip you to make him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a harvest partner. Just go to harvest.org