Book: Matthew Print ( PC Only ) Matthew 11:28 Peace of Mind I. A wonderful invitation, "Come unto Me." A. The one who made the invitation is the Son of God. 1. He has just declared that the Father has delivered all things to Him, and that no one really knows the Father but the Son and whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. 2. The Son of God is inviting you to come unto Him. B. To whom is the invitation made? 1. All that labour and are heavy laden. a. Sooner or later we will find that the trials of life are heavier than we can bear. b. I sometimes wonder if man was designed to live such a fast paced life as our modern society demands. c. I think that we have all dreamed of living a simpler life moving to Oregon, Washington or Idaho getting a few acres, and planting a garden. d. Life on the Prairie doesn't seem that bad. e. For me it has always been a South Pacific Island to which I have mentally escaped. 2. We think that our culture and society has brought us much, but I sometimes wonder. a. We work hard all year looking forward to the two week vacation. What is it we then plan for that two weeks? A time in the woods next to a stream with beautiful trout. I'm just going to relax and fish. We will cook our food over an open fire. The kids can swim all day in the stream, and catch lizards. b. That's how people live in primitive cultures all year long, so how much have we really gained. c. A psychiatrist would not be able to make a living among natives of Irian Jaya, they do not know what manic depressive, or job related stress is. As far as that goes they do not know what a car is, or 8 to 5, or rent or mortgages, banks or interest. 3. In our present day society it is only a matter of time until a person is forced to reach out for someone stronger or wiser to help them. a. That is the critical moment of life. For where you reach can either make you or break you. b. It is at this point that many reach for the bottle, or other addictive drugs. c. Here Jesus stands, He declares what you need is to find the Father who loves you and wants to help you. Come unto Me and I will bring you to the Father. C. The invitation is twofold. 1. Take My yoke upon you. a. The yoke was that wooden harness that they put upon the oxen so that they could pull the plow. b. Basically Jesus is saying to you, I have a work for you to do, and I want to take the reins of your life. c. I think that it was Frank Sinatra who used to sing, "I Did It My Way" I am afraid that we all have sung that song. d. Our way can often lead to a lot of misery and pain. e. The load can get so heavy that we wonder if we will be able to bear it. 2. "Learn of Me" a. Without a question, Jesus Christ of Nazareth has had a greater influence upon our Western Culture than any other person in history. b. We recently celebrated what we called New Year, it is now 1994, 1994 what? 1994 years since He came into the world. c. He is the central point of history. We divide history into B.C. and A.D. Before Christ, and the year of our Lord, anno Domino. d. I am amazed how little people really know of Jesus. e. Many times the only information they have comes from His enemies, who have never really met Him, and are only aping what they have heard other of His enemies say. f. How can you learn the truth about Jesus? 1. Read it for yourself. Study the gospels. 2. Reference the prophecies in the Old Testament that spoke of His life. 3. Get all the facts, and then make your determination. g. I will promise that the more you learn of Him, the more you will be convinced as was Peter, that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. h. The more you know Him, the more you will live Him, because you will learn of His great love for you. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man will lay down his life for his friend." You will discover that He laid down His life for you. II. The claims of Jesus concerning Himself in the text. A. That the Father has delivered all things to Him. 1. No man really knows the Father but the Son. a. Man's religion has done more to hide the truth about God. b. This has always been so. c. Man makes up rules, and regulations and declares that they are God's rules. d. Man begins to think of God as mean, vindictive, cruel, hard and condemning. 2. Jesus revealed to us that He was loving, forgiving, kind, compassionate, gracious, merciful. B. He declared that He was meek and lowly in heart. 1. The great men of the earth soon become unapproachable. 2. They are surrounded by their public relation experts, who are continually seeking to hide from the public the true nature of the person, and to persuade you that they are honest, good, ideal people, one that you would love to have for a neighbor. 3. The world leaders are so often proud and arrogant, just the opposite of what Jesus said of Himself meek and lowly in heart. C. He claimed that His yoke was easy and His burden was light. 1. Every man bears a burden, the burden is how to please himself. a. All the things that he does are to please himself, he is seeking to find satisfaction in life. b. We watch him as he is pursuing wealth, pleasure, possessions. These become the yokes about his neck. c. This can become a very heavy burden. 2. Jesus lived to please the Father. His burden was to please the Father. a. His first recorded statement in the Bible, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" b. He said, "I came not to do My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. c. Again He declared, "I do always those things that please Him." d. He now declares that His burden is light, it is easier to please God than it is to please yourself. 3. I often hear people speak of the heavy burden that the Lord has put on them. If the burden is heavy, you had best discover who put it on you, yourself? others? one thing for sure, it wasn't the Lord, He said that His burden was light. III. The promise, "And you will find rest for your souls." A. The soul is related to the mind of man. Thus, you shall find peace of mind. 1. We are all familiar with the mental torture that our minds can bring to us. 2. How that at night we wake up and our minds will not rest but are rehearsing over and over a pending problem. B. This is the first thing that Jesus promises to you who come to Him and learn of Him. "You shall find rest for your soul." 1. You will hear Him say, "I know, I care, and I will take care of things for you. Trust in Me and I will watch over you and the whole situation that is troubling you so much." 2. When you finally submit your life to Jesus, the very first consciousness is that of a great peace, the heavy load is gone, and you are finally resting. |