LIFTING LIFE’S BURDENS—Matt. 11:25-30
Propositions: Jesus is the one who can lift your life’s burden and give you peace and an inner rest.
Objective: My purpose is to challenge anyone with a heavy life’s burden to fully trust Jesus with their all their burdens.
INTRODUCTION:
Illus: In the Philippines a local pastor used the following parable to illustrate Christ’s offer of rest (Matt. ll:28) and the response of people who won’t trust Him completely: The driver of a caribou wagon was on his way to market when he overtook an old man carrying a heavy load. Taking compassion on him, the driver invited the old man to ride in the wagon. Gratefully the old man accepted. After a few minutes, the driver turned to see how the man was doing. To his surprise, he found him still straining under the heavy weight, for he had not taken the burden off his shoulders.
1. A Spanish proverb: “No home is there anywhere that does not sooner or later have its hush.”
2. “Burdens comes sooner or later, some are seen and the deepest
are unseen.”
3. People’s weariness comes from enduring their burdens, probably the burdens of sin and its consequences. By placing themselves under His yoke and learning from Him, they may find rest for their souls from sins’ burdens.
4. A mission Sunday School teacher read, “My yoke is easy.” She asked the children, “Who can tell me what a yoke is.” A little girl responded, “It is something they put on the neck of animals.” “What is the meaning of God’s yoke.” The four year old stated, “That’s when God puts His arms around our necks!”
5. Now, in Palestine yokes were made out of wood. The oxen would be brought in and the carpenter and, very likely Jesus made yokes as a boy in his carpenter’s shop in Nazareth, and so He knew about this. The oxen would come in and they would measure the oxen, they would carefully mark out the wood and they would carve it and then the ox would be brought back later for a final fitting because it was important that the yoke fit perfectly so that it didn’t chafe and harm the animal. And it was the token of the submission of the animal to pull a load, to carry about a responsibility, to take orders, to be directed by someone, to plow a field, or to pull whatever they were to pull. And the same thing was transferred over into the Jewish thinking so that a pupil who submitted himself to a teacher was said to take the yoke of the teacher. It was a yoke of instruction. I am glad that Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." There is no reason for you to struggle with burdens that are too heavy for you. If you will turn to Jesus, He will help you carry your burdens. And there is no burden too heavy for Jesus.
I. AN INVITATION FOR ALL BURDEN BEARERS “Come…Take… learn”-- Christ is the Source of the greatest invitation extended to man, and He offers this invitation at great cost. Paul said, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich (II Cor. 8:9).
1. Seeker (to look for; to search for) “Come to Me”-- The basic word means to: come hither, come here, come now! This is one of the sweetest passages in the New Testament. It shows the willingness of the Lord care and provide for His own. The kings and earth and the great are usually difficult of access, while Jesus is not only willing, but invites us, to come to him. Note how gracious the invitation is! The invitation is to all who are needy. "Come" means to believe or receive and has the idea of “come here” with the “here” implied. It is like John 6:35, when Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” The point is, "I alone can give knowledge of the Father; come to Me, and receive the instruction." Come--To come means to believe (Acts 16:31); to receive (John 1:12); to eat (John 6:35); to drink (John 7:37); to look (Isa. 45:22); to confess (1 John 4:2); to hear (John 5:24-25); to enter a door (John 10:9); to open a door (Rev. 3:20); to touch the hem of His garment (Matt. 9:20-21); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). The object of faith is not a church, a creed, or a clergyman, but the living Christ. Salvation is in a Person. Those who have Jesus are as saved as God can make them.
2. Submission “Take My yoke upon you”--He shows us how to come. This means to enter into submission to His will, to turn over control of one’s life to Him (Rom_12:1-2). Jesus says, "Become my students, submit yourselves to My instructions and learn from Me.” He invites us to come and submit ourselves to Him. We cannot do that without humbling ourselves and trusting Him. To all these burden-bearers Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you." What, resume the road again? Yes, they are to bear His yoke. To take His yoke meant to accept His strength, His wisdom, His method, of living and laboring!
3. Skillfulness (a specialized ability) “Learn from Me”-- As we acknowledge His lordship in every area of our lives, He trains us in His ways. To learn from Him is to be His disciple. People can trade their heavy, tiring burdens for His yoke and burden (“load”), which by contrast are easy and light. To serve Him is no burden, for He, in contrast with those who reject Him, is gentle (cf. 5:5) & humble.
II. INDENTIFICATION OF THE BURDEN-BEARER “the weary and heavy laden”--Therefore Jesus issued a call to all. They feel heavily the burdens of life, of sin and sorrow.
1. The struggle “who labor” & “who are weary” (“those tired from hard toil”)-- They grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil or burdens or grief) and to labor with wearisome effort, to toil with body labor.
2. The suffering “and burdened” (“those loaded down”; “load”)-- The "burdened" is a state of weariness meaning one is overwhelmed by fear, anxiety & despair. Jesus is describing those “who have been loaded with burdens & are bending beneath their weight.” The Jewish Law & the oral commandments dictated every action & activity of Jewish life. These were a massive burden for the sincere religious person to carry. Jesus alone can come along side & lift the load & cause you to rest. There is a sweet restfulness when we yoke up with Jesus Christ. He invites us to take His yoke upon our shoulders. We are to come to Him. People’s weariness comes from enduring their burdens, probably the burdens of sin & its consequences. Rather, they should come & yoke themselves with Jesus.
3. The satisfaction “My burden is light”--Remember:
1). God’s presence Isa. 43:2;
2). Christ’s comfort 2 Cor. 1:5;
3). Spirit’s aid Romans 8:26
As afflictions abound, and are prolonged, consolations abound, and are prolonged too. Let this therefore reconcile us to the difficulties, and help us over the discouragements, we may meet with, both in doing work and suffering work; though we may lose for Christ, we shall not lose by Him.
Illus: Martin Luther said, "Christ’s burden is light because He helps us to bear it, and when it becomes too heavy for us He puts Himself under the load with us."
III. INFORMATION FOR ALL BURDEN-BEARERS “I will give you rest”-- When you hear the word "rest" what images come to mind? For me, the word conjures up images of me in my recliner, or of me stealing a few precious minutes on my "meditation sofa" in my study. For others, rest is a walk in the woods, or a few hours with a fishing rod in their hands. Still others rest by working in the garden and yard. For many, however, rest is an elusive thing. They do not know where to find it.
1. Personal “I will give you rest”--He is the Son of God who is able to help you and relieve you. He lived, He died & He rose again. He is coming again to receive to Himself.
2. Proposal “I will give you rest”--He is active & will meet every need that you have. Jesus speaks of the weariness of working hard. Are you “growing weary to the point of exhaustion?” Jesus says, “Come to Me all you who are exhausted.” The "weary" is the weariness of the heavy load of rules & regulations placed upon the people’s shoulders by the Scribes & Pharisees. The people were exhausted with the search for religious truth. Legalism always places oppressive burdens on people. The search for God always ends in Jesus Christ. “Come to Me all you who are weighed down beneath your burdens.” Is your religion a thing of endless rule and regulations, full of “Thou shalt not”? Come to Jesus Christ & be set free.
God understands your sorrow, He sees the falling tear,
And whispers, “I am with thee,” Then falter not, nor fear!
God understands your heartache, He knows the bitter pain;
O trust Him in the darkness, You cannot trust in vain.
3. Promise “I will give you rest”-- The word REST does not denote an end of the journey, but rather an intermission. Think of soldiers halting for a brief rest while on the march! The march is to be resumed, the campaign is not over. They are halting for the purpose of gaining strength for what lies ahead. The word REST refers to a resting-place. On ancient highways there were resting stones. Burdens were placed here and slid back on the carriers as the journey was resumed. Jesus was a carrier and could instruct as to the road to take.
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus , and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.
"I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun,
And in that Light of life I’ll walk,
Till traveling days are done.
--John B. Dykes
CONCLUSION:
1. His character “I am gentle and lowly in heart”
2. His challenge “Come to Me” He towers above all men as he challenges us.
3. His comfort “I will refresh you”-- Jesus’ promise is that He will refresh our souls when we come into His presence -and when we go forth - with Him - into the world, that He will replace the burdens that destroy and exhaust us with a burden, and a yoke, that will be life affirming and easier to carry.
What is the heavy load you are carrying? What is the pain, hurt, grief, guilt, burden that you bear? His invitation includes every thing in our lives. Will you hand them over to Him and as you do you receive His sustaining presence? He gives forgiveness in exchange for our guilt. He exchanges rest for our anxious worries. He gives peace in place of your tumult.
Illus: A good example of carrying a heavy burden was Brother Jack Holcomb, who lived in Waco, Texas. He is in Heaven now, but he was a great tenor. Someone tells this, “I don’t think he ever wrote a song, but he could pick up any songbook and start singing. He had a tear in his voice, but you could understand every word he sang. He would sing awhile, preach awhile, then go back to singing. One time while at my church he told about his little girl. One night after supper, but still sitting at the kitchen table, his little girl somehow fell out of her high chair, hit her head on the floor, and died. Before the funeral service, a tornado went through downtown Waco, killing many people and destroying many buildings, including the funeral home. Brother Holcomb said, ‘When the storm passed by, I went down to the funeral home. In the midst of all that wreckage and debris, I couldn’t find my little girl’s body. I bowed my head and prayed, ‘O Lord God, please, I know my little girl is safe in the arms of Jesus, but I sure would like to bury her body. Would you help me find her?’ ‘While I was praying, the Lord impressed me to get in the car, drive to the cemetery out on Interstate 35. When I got there, hundreds of others were there. Caskets of people killed in the tornado were lined up. I walked down that long row of caskets and found my little girl.’ As soon as he ended this story, he broke out singing: ‘Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.’”
As soon as he finished that song, he started singing: “Singing I go along life’s road; Praising the Lord! Praising the Lord! Singing I go along life’s road, For Jesus has lifted my load.”
With all Brother Holcomb had been through, he trusted the Lord and kept on singing. “Sometimes we think we have it bad. But look around. You will see folks who have it a lot worse.”
Prepared by: Gerald Steffy, 6206 N. Hamilton Rd.
Peoria, IL 61614, Phone: 309-691-3680
E-Mail grsteffy@yahoo.com for MY SERMON NUGGETS weekly
