• Tractor Pulls And Yokes

  Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2013 (message contributor)

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  Scripture:  Matthew 11:28-30

  Tags:  Discipleship

TRACTOR PULLS AND YOKES

Some people like going to events called Tractor Pulls. This is when they cover the floor of an arena with dirt and guys in souped-up tractors compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads. That’s nothing new because long before the internal combustion engine, farmers were competing with animals to see which one was strongest. They still have competitions in which workhorses compete. The beautiful Clydesdales breed has always been one of the strongest horses. Long before the Budweiser wagon, Clydesdales were pulling heavy loads. In these competitions, competitors made an interesting discovery. A single horse could pull a heavy load, but when yoked with another horse, together, they could pull more than the sum of the amount that each horse could pull alone.

For instance, let’s say a single Clydesdale can pull a sled holding two tons of weight. And another Clydesdale can pull three tons. You would think that when yoked together, the most they could pull would be five tons. But in reality when these two horses are yoked together, they can actually pull seven tons! You may think that’s not possible, but this phenomenon has been proven many times. It’s called synergy. Two pulling together can accomplish more than the sum of the two parts.

Now apply that principle to the yoke of Christ. You can try bearing the heavy load yourself, but Jesus invites you to join Him inside His yoke. Think about how much strength He has! He’s the strong One and I’m the weaker partner. Remember that first song you learned as a child? "Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so; little ones to Him belong, they (we) are weak but He is strong!"

(From a sermon by Davied Dykes, Taking His Yoke is No Joke, 8/16/2012)