he Gets us - Exhaustion

He Gets Us - Week 2 Exhaustion - Matt 11:28-30

Connect: Introduce self and sermon series. Include details of last week.

Read: Matthew 11:25-30 CSB

Express: The best remedy we have as people who might feel like we are always moving and exhausted, is to come to Jesus.

PRAY

Tell: Here’s what we have to understand about exhaustion. Exhaustion isn’t just something we feel physically, but something we feel mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well.

I thought I’d share some things that exhaust me in these areas of my life.

1. Mentally - any type of administrative work. I do not like doing things like emails, spreadsheets, organizing documents, anything with paperwork is just not fun for me.

2. Physically - My Babies. I love my babies but they are work. Late nights soothing the crying, playing non stop hide and seek with my 3 year old daughter, staying home when they get sick.

3. Emotionally - Sad news. Either things I see online happening in the world or things happening locally with our young people like their mental health and home situations.

4. Spiritually - mistaking ministry work as just a task on my job description rather than an opportunity to serve Him in a great way.

All of these things are what takes a toll on me and makes me feel like I have no energy.

All of us have different experiences causing us to feel exhausted, maybe similar to mine or it could be much different. It might be countless hours of work, the increasing amount of info you try and keep up with, marital problems, severe health problems, family issues, or mental health problems.

Unfortunately there is no great escape from the feelings of exhaustion and the remedies we need in this world are endless and repetitive causing us to be dependent on substances and processes and it doesn’t seem like any amount of sleep we get will actually solve anything.

Explain: The one thing that gives us some hope even in our most exhausted moments of our lives is that our God gets us. He Gets Us.

Shift:

There are many examples of Jesus himself being tired, worn out, and exhausted because of His work. Matt 8 - He fell asleep on a boat. John 4 - He was exhausted and went to a well. Mark 6 - He even asked his disciples to go away with him together to get some rest.

If Jesus himself needed rest, it’s important to understand that we need it too.

But the way we need rest might be different than how we want rest.

True rest is not just the sense of peace and tranquility we get in the chaos of life, it includes the quality of relationship we have in Jesus Christ and our dependence on him.

Transition back to Matthew 11:28:

Let’s read Matthew 11:25-30 again, and see exactly what Jesus is inviting us to.

Context: This follows a passage in which Jesus pronounces woes on the unrepentant cities of Galilee, and comes before there is a series of controversies and conflicts with the Pharisees (see ch. 12). Chapters 11-13 really focuses on the rejection of Jesus and his message, but in the process he then gives a saying about the revelation he gives and who can accept it (v. 25-28). Even though there is going to be rejection by this generation (11:1-24), Jesus still offers hope.

V. 25 -hiding from the wise and showing to children is a reminder of the upside-downness of the gospel. It is not our social standing but rather our posture towards Jesus that is most important

V. 27 - all things have been handed over, shows who Jesus is and his authority

Vs. 28

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

To come to Jesus is to find true rest

We have to understand that Jesus was speaking mainly to a Jewish audience here and Jews knew that there was a day set apart for them to experience rest which was the Sabbath.

When you study the Sabbath, we learn that the Sabbath isn’t just about God’s people being idle and sleeping all day, it was a celebration of God’s creation (Genesis - the 7th day), and of the redemption they experienced from slavery in Egypt (Deut 5:12-15.)

But the people of Israel also were under the burden of the law and the traditions of the elders. 613 commandments written in the law and on top of that traditions in addition to those laws for people to obey to ensure those laws weren’t broken.

And if they did break a law, there was a prescribed mode of redemption so they could be forgiven of their sin. And of course, it had to be repeated over and over and over again if they continued to sin if they acknowledged it or not.

Jesus knew what kind of rest His people needed, and that isn’t found in another law, it is found in an intimate relationship with Him.

Gospel Moment - Because of Christ, Sabbath rest is no longer about taking a day off, it’s about celebrating what Jesus Christ has done on calvary. It is a celebration of the redemption we have in Him by saving us from the punishment of sin that we deserved. The greatest exhaustion experienced was that which Christ experienced where he took your burden, your sin, your guilt, and shame and He hung it with Himself on a splinter-filled cross and died. But when you trust in the fact that on Sunday Morning He rose again to give His people eternal rest, then you will experience a new life where despite the chaos in your life, despite the hours of work you put in, despite the lack of sleep you get, He provides rest for your souls.

He made it so that Sunday is not more of a Sabbath than Thursday. He made it so that your day off of work is not more of a Sabbath than a day where you work 9 to 5. If you are in Christ, you get to experience Sabbath rest daily.

Jesus says in vs. 29-30 take up my yoke and learn from me. Because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus lightens the load

Yoke is a symbolic term of being under submission. The yoke the people had on them was the yoke of the Pharisees and traditions. There were too many laws and traditions for them to stay aware of which was too heavy for them to carry.

But the yoke of Jesus was light because His yoke was simple: Come to me.

SHIFT - We

We have to understand that everyone here has a yoke. And that yoke is what makes us the most exhausted. But our yokes can also be our made up solutions to what makes us exhausted.

Solutions - Our solutions are things like expensive vacations that just make us more tired, working more hours to save up more money because we might trust that our resources make us feel better. Escaping to social media and spending countless hours looking for some sort of entertainment or posting pictures to find gratification because when we feel liked by people we feel better.

But the truth is all of those solutions are temporary, they fade away and you're back to square one, having to do it all over again.

Not only is the cause of our exhaustion a yoke, but our solutions can be too.

The only way you and I can truly experience rest is when we accept the invitation of Christ, to come to Him.

It’s important to be honest. Sometimes the Christian life doesn’t seem to be an easy yoke to carry. It involves picking up your cross to follow Him. It involves dying to your flesh daily. It involves being hated by those around you for the sake of the name of Jesus. It’s called the “narrow gate” for a reason.

To those who Love the Lord and are passionate about following Jesus, the load truly is light. But to those who are careless about their faith and dont take His Word seriously then of course it will seem like a great burden.

But if you live in the world’s way under its yoke, there is no everlasting joy or everlasting peace. It may not feel easier at times, but it is so much better to be in Christ, and trust in Him for rest.

Shift - YOU

I want to give you a couple of things to try out throughout your life to help you find rest in the chaos of your life.

Seek Rest

I know there might be some people that have very good work schedules that get a few days off of work, but I also know there are some people that find getting a day off of work difficult or near impossible. What you need to do is determine what gives you the most rest. Is it reading, praying, sleeping, walking? Determine what makes you feel the most rested and carve it out in your day. Even if it is just 15 minutes a day to intentionally rest, that could help you more than having no time at all. Jesus modeled this well by going off by himself often to rest and be with the Father. So we must be intentional about seeking rest in our daily lives.

Change the quality of your Rest

If your rest is only about sleeping, and being idle, that’s a good start, but it should also include connecting with Jesus in some way. The purpose of the Sabbath was a celebration of creation and redemption, not just a way to escape the realities of a chaotic world. So on your next day-off or vacation, take your Bibles, take your notepads, and make time to celebrate Jesus in His word and in prayer.

Be honest about your exhaustion with someone.

Numbers 11 - Moses was fed up with Israel because he felt like he was dealing with all of their problems by himself. He complains to God and God says to bring him 70 men carry the burden with him so it wasn’t all on Moses. Who can we invite in our lives to help us carry our burdens. Not so we can give people our burdens, but so that we can carry them with others to the feet of Jesus asking Him to provide rest for our souls in every season of chaos and exhaustion.

Prayer of Reflection:

Instruction - For the next 5 minutes I want us to reflect on where you feel the most exhausted. Is it mental exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion, or even spiritual exhaustion?

Some prompts will go up on the screen, and give you instruction on what to reflect on and what to be praying for.

Afterwards, I will come up and I just want to pray for you to be healed from what exhausts you the most.

1. How do you feel the most exhausted in your life? Take time to reflect on each of these

Mental Exhaustion - Experiencing too much mental activity from things like mental health symptoms, studying, dealing with daily responsibilities.

Spiritual - The overwhelming feeling of a lack of connection to the Lord. May even fall into sin without the feeling of conviction.

Physical - Experiencing a lack of bodily rest after participating in physical activities or as a result of physical illness.

Emotional - Experiencing too much emotional activity such as grief, anxiety, sadness, or irritability resulting from external or internal factors.

2. Take time to pray for Jesus to bring healing to the different areas of your unrest. Invite him into the most exhausting parts of your life to be your resting place.

3. What are some things you should stop doing in your life that cause you to feel burnout and exhaustion?

4. Reflect on this passage: Psalm 62:5-8

5 Rest in God alone, my soul,

for my hope comes from him.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold; I will not be shaken.

7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.

My refuge is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times, you people;

pour out your hearts before him.

God is our refuge.

Final Prayer - pray for healing for causes of exhaustion

Blessing Ephesians 3:16-19

Ephesians 3:16–19 (CSB)

16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.