Pastor Pat Edwards 10/29/2006
Grace Baptist Church in Bountiful, Utah

Today we continue our series on the invitations of Jesus. Today’s invitation is:

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11

Anybody here want some rest? The latest George Barna poll reports an interesting but not surprising fact to those who keep their finger on the pulse of the nation.

Americans look forward to a variety of things. While one might guess that it would include travel to exotic locations or seeing the latest movie, by far the most alluring possibility is the simplest: getting a good night of sleep! Seven out of ten adults (71%) said they look forward "a lot" to having a refreshing snooze.

"Among the most common complaints people have are the struggle to cope with the busyness of their lives, the pressure of family and job responsibilities, and their seemingly unquenchable thirst to be entertained," commented George Barna. "It's interesting that people who have young children in their home were no more likely to want a good rest than were people without children in the house.

According to Barna we want sleep, we want a good night’s rest, but we don’t choose it when we can. Barna’s research indicates "appealing opportunities..., the unquenchable thirst to be entertained" are primary culprits in our "rest - less" lives. In other words we make poor choices when faced with options. The TV program is fascinating so we stay up late to finish it even though we have to be up by 6 AM. I think of all those people on the east coast watching the World Series until after midnight who have to work the next day. And those in the stadium can probably subtract another hour or two from their night of sleep. Or we get hooked playing a game on the computer or games with friends or finishing the latest and greatest novel.

What else keeps us from finding rest? Certainly the stress and demands of daily life play a big role. Many of us turn out the light, lay our heads on the pillow, close our eyes only to discover our mind or body won’t shut down. Our minds replay the events of the day analyzing everything that happened and what could have been different. Or they jump ahead to what needs to be done tomorrow and we begin to worry about how we’ll get everything done. Or we find ourselves worrying about our children, or our parents or our spouse or our job or, or, or. And even if we get our mind to go into neutral that may not help because the body begins to demand attention through illness or injury or various other demands and cravings.

Between the opportunities we have and the pressures we face most of us discover we need rest, physical and emotional rest, and to that Jesus says, 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."Matthew 11

A yoke is a device usually made of wood that links two draft animals together to enable them to pull heavy loads. A well-made yoke is individually fitted to the animal so it fits comfortably allowing the animal to do its job without harming itself. It is a blessing because it makes the necessary work easier. While at my mother’s last week I read an article that described how just over 400 men picked up a barn in Nebraska and carried it 143 feet. They were able to do that because the farmer’s son figured out the weight then the kind of bracing, supports and handles that would be needed to lift it. With everything figured there was enough room for that number of men to gather around the barn and each lift a little over fifty pounds and walk the required distance. That’s how a well designed yoke works.

Since a yoke typically is designed to harness two animals together Jesus is not inviting us to change places with him but to join him in order to discover the blessing of life lived with him. The truth that so many people fail to understand is that fulfilling the law is easier on us than breaking it. Working with Jesus is always easier than working alone. In the Old Testament the unequal yoking of animals was forbidden otherwise the bigger and stronger animal carried the burden of the work. Yet Jesus does that for us by inviting us to be yoked with him. His yoke is easy for us because of what he carried and still carries. So why then does his yoke seem hard and heavy? Why does he allow people to carry such heavy burdens in this world? There’s only one answer if we believe God is good - he allows it because he knows it will bring the greatest good. Because we don’t understand how these things work we struggle with believing that is true. We look at the suffering and trials in our lives and the lives of others and we doubt that enough good comes to outweigh the pain. And we also hold onto our burdens. We refuse to let go of them. We don’t believe the Lord can lift the weight of them from our lives and we remain wearied and exhausted rather than finding rest.

For Jesus’ listeners the things that wearied and burdened them may have been "the heavy load of rules and regulations placed upon their shoulders by scribes and pharisees." Later in Matthew’s gospel Jesus would warn his listeners, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Mt 23.2-4

Some of us struggle with misunderstanding what the Lord asks so we resemble those who listened to Jesus. But other areas of struggle include loneliness, physical suffering, the meaning and purpose of life’s challenges, broken relationships, unfulfilled expectations and shattered dreams. You marry Prince Charming and don’t live happily ever after, the dream job turns into a nightmare, your hopes for your children die in drugs and promiscuity, cancer or a drunken driver takes a loved one - the reality of life wearies and burdens you. For some this kind of struggle seems endless, for others it’s an occasional valley in the journey of life. But regardless of the frequency or length of our toil and exhaustion Jesus offers rest. He invites us to come to him and find rest for our souls.

The only question is will we respond appropriately. To do that we first have to acknowledge we’re weary and burdened and need help. That may seem obvious but for many it’s not. We think if we just try a little harder we can get through this or worse, we don’t want to bother Jesus with our petty problems. Our initial response needs to be one of humility. "Jesus, I’m in over my head and I need you. And even if I wasn’t in over my head I would still need you. In fact, if I’m honest with myself, there’s never a time I don’t need you on the other side of the yoke."

Second, we need to trust, to believe Jesus wants what is best for us. When doubts about the Lord’s love or concern arise we need to remind ourselves that Jesus has already proven his infinite and eternal love for us on the cross. In those times of doubt or despair we have to trust and obey despite what our emotions and thoughts tell us. Obedience is always a part of trust; we must do what we say.

Third, it’s a learning process - not something we master overnight. That’s because head knowledge isn’t enough. People often respond to my advice with "I know!" My response to them is, "Well, if you KNOW, then why aren’t you doing it?!" But I already know the answer to that question. It takes time for gravity to pull what’s up here, in that thick skull or our’s, through the bone and down into our hearts. I know that’s the way it has worked and still works in my life. So we need to be patient and learn from Jesus and that happens the more we spend time with him.

Finally, since Jesus doesn’t lie and doesn’t fail, if his yoke seems hard or heavy it means we’re missing something. It may be in the area of understanding or trust or obedience. But again, are we humble enough to admit it and continue to ask for help?

I’m going to conclude with one practical example of Jesus’ yoke. God created the Sabbath day to give people a day of rest. As Jesus explained, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." But how many of us actually take the Sabbath yoke on our shoulders? How many of us actually take a day of rest as the Lord intended? In his comments on the survey I quoted at the beginning of this sermon, George Barna believes this about the problem of rest. The issue is... how we choose to fill our schedule, the development and implementation of boundaries in our lives, and our willingness to forego some pleasures in favor of physical and mental health. We're not busy because somebody makes us busy and stressed; we're that way because we have not learned to say `no' to appealing opportunities, or to accept the notion that we do not need every experience that's accessible. We voluntarily exhaust ourselves and then wonder why life doesn't seem satisfying. This is one reason why God instituted a day of rest, rather than a day for catching up or gorging on pleasurable activities."

Most Christians think of Sunday, the Lord’s day, as the Sabbath day as well. But how many of us are going to accept the rest the Lord offers us on this day? I would guess not many. We shop, we work on home projects or in the yard, we busy ourselves with hobbies or recreation, we catch up on job responsibilities, we plan demanding social events - in other words we stay busy, busy, busy. We refuse the yoke of the Sabbath and the rest it was created to bring into our lives and then complain about our burdens and weariness.

I know some of you are thinking, "Pastor Pat, you don’t understand what my life is like." You’re right, I don’t but I try to. But it’s not important if I understand; what’s important is that Jesus knows your burdens and weariness and he cares. So don’t waste your time explaining the demands of life to me or others. Instead go to the Lord and find that yoke he promises you. Don’t quit until you do. Remember Jesus invites you to come and find rest and he is gentle and humble in heart. He will not fail you. That is his promise, not mine.