Come Unto Me!
Memorial Day • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Let me give some context here:
Chapter ten, Jesus gives a charge to the twelve disciples to go out and preach the gospel, but not to the Samaritans or the Gentiles, just to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”
He give them everything they need to accomplish this task - power to heal, power over demons, even power to raise the dead and He sends them out.
The most remarkable thing about Jesus sending them out is when we come to chapter eleven, He went out too! Matthew 11:1 “1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.”
As we read these verses, if we had time we would see He chose the most difficult area to minister in for Himself.
Along the way He is confronted by some disciples of John the Baptist, and answers their questions and turns His attention on the crowds and chastises them for their rejection of what should have been plain!
Look at Matthew 11:7-14
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
What was right before their eyes, as plain as day....they missed! Read Matthew 11:18-19 “18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”
“Wisdom is justified of her children” = “The proof is in the pudding”
They refused to believe what was right before their eyes and so they rejected what was right in front of them!
Jesus then does the unthinkable…he gets angry. I’m glad that Jesus loved these people enough to be angry over their sin!
I want you to know that if Jesus came into our churches today and preacehd the way He did on the streets of Galilee, He would not be welcomed back!
I’m glad Jesus loved them enough to be angry at their sin, to condemn their for their failure see what was before their eyes and to hear what was being said in their very presence.
This is just context. Here is the message. I don’t want you thinking that Jesus was hateful in His anger, because right here at the peak of His anger, His compassion comes out. See this is the remarkable truth about God so many are missing today: God, in His holiness, hates our sin, but God by His mercy and His grace loves us beyond anything we can imagine. Right as He was condemning them for their rejection, He gives the most compassionate invitation recorded in Scripture, Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Do you know what those He was preaching to needed more than anything else? Peace. They did not have peace, because they rejected the Prince of Peace.
Maybe today you’re asking, “How can I find peace in this world?”
There is only one way to have peace in this world and Jesus says it in just three words: “Come unto Me”.
If you are going to have peace then you MUST...
Cast Your Burden on Jesus
Cast Your Burden on Jesus
Two things Jesus instructs us to do in order to have peace...
Lay your burden down
He calls those that labor and are heavy laden to lay their burden down
To labor is to be fatigued, to point of utter exhaustion
To be heavy laden is to be, literally, overburdened
Today, I want you to know that if you find you do not have peace, if you feel exhausted as if you cannot go on, then I say to you, you need to come to Jesus and lay that burden down!
I don’t know what you are laden with today, I do not know what it is that has you weighted down, but I know Jesus is calling for you to lay it down!
Maybe you’re troubled by an unpleasant medical diagnosis and you don’t know if you can carry on. Lay it down.
Maybe your finances are tight and you’re stressed because you don’t know how you’ll pay your bills…I’m not saying that God is going to cancel your debt or make you rich or any other lie the prosperity crowd teaches, but God could be using your situation to get your attention that you need to trust Him....lay it down.
Maybe there is a lost loved one that is weighing heavy on your heart…lay it down
Maybe you are burdened by the guilt of your sins…lay it down!
Maybe its something that I didn’t mention, whatever it is…lay it down!
Listen to me, Jesus is calling you to come unto Him and to lay your burden down, but, listen to me, laying your burden down is not enough for you find peace, to to that you must lay your burden down, and...
Walk away
Laying the burden down is the easy part...
Walking away is the hard part.
Too often when we feel the pressure of the load we carry we come to Jesus and we will lay some of the load down.
That is not what Jesus says for us to do. He says, Matthew 11:29-30 “29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
A yoke is beam laid on work animal such as an ox, it represents servitude
In this particular case it is a double yoke…Jesus is saying “Your load is not your load, its our load, but more than that, Its my load”
I love that phrase, “Take may yoke upon you” couple that with verse 30, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
I ask, “Is anything to hard for God?”
NO!
Are you lacking peace in your life? Then take Jesus’ advice and “Come unto Him” and lay your burden down. See those three words, that invitation to “Come unto me...” That is where it all starts. Maybe that is where you need to start today, you need to...
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
My friends, you can have peace if you will simply come to Jesus!
You say, “I’ll come when I have all my act together”, Jesus says, “Come as you are”
You say, “I’ll come when I’m older”, Jesus says, “Come now” Proverbs 27:1
1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
You say, “I’ll come when I’m ready, Jesus says, “Come unto me”
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Listen to me, you will never have peace in this life until you come to Jesus!
Those people Jesus was preaching to that needed to repent, they were looking for answer anywhere and everywhere but the one place they could find them, and Jesus was saying to them, “Come unto me!” He is saying the same thing to you today, “Come unto me!”
Conclusion:
Why don’t you come to Him today?
Are you burdened down with the cares of life? Does it seem like you can’t possibly go on? Are you tired, exhausted, and ready to give out? That is because you are carrying a load that was not meant for you to carry! Give it to Jesus, lay it down and walk away.
Are you lost with no direction in your life today? To you today Jesus is calling, “Come unto me...”
“What if I come to Him? What does He want from me?”
Forgiveness of your sins - Romans 3:23 “23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
A new life in Jesus - 2 Cor. 5:17 “17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
A home awaiting you in heaven - John 14:2 “2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
A promise to be reunited with your saved loved ones - 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 “13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
How can I come to Jesus? Simple - John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
