Rest On Us

When you follow Jesus, you will find real rest.

[Scripture Reading]

1)For today’s message, let us turn to the Gospel of Matthew 11:28-29. Let us all rise and recite the scripture together on the count of 3. 1, 2, 3.

2)28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Amen.

[Sermon]

Good morning PW. Welcome to the 2nd Sunday worship service of November 2024 and the 2nd week on the theme of 3)Take a Bow. Let’s all greet one another. Let us turn to our neighbors and say, 4)“I am humbled to see you.” Amen. I am especially humbled every week when I see you all passionately worshipping and praising God. The purity that you all show in praise makes me think about my worship towards God. When I am humbled like this, I realize that it changes how I see worship. I make that commitment, “I should worship God like PW.” That is why we need our humbling moments. Why? For it changes us. In these humbling moments, God will lift us up. When we humble ourselves before God and others, God will fill us with his strength and abilities. And that brings change and strength that no man can bring. So, I truly pray that this humbling worship be filled with the grace of God for us all here today.

5)Has anyone ever seen or used this pen? 6)It is called the Monami Bp 153 pen. This pen is the Korean version of the BIC Roundstick. So whenever you go somewhere like the post office or any public office, you will see these pens lying around. It is cheap, and it does its job. It is light and mass-produced, so you can easily buy them. But before it became the Korean national pen, there was a story about how it got its name.7)Especially the number 153. If you read the Gospel of 8)John 21:11 it says, “11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” This happened just after Jesus was brought back to life. After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to the disciples who were fishing. Jesus told them, 9)“Throw the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” After listening to what Jesus said, they caught 153 fish. There are many translations of this number, but it shows that Jesus has called the disciples. When Jesus first called Peter, he told him to cast the net into the deep. As Peter obeyed Jesus, he caught so many fish that the nets started to tear. So, this 153 fish reminded the disciples that Jesus called them. It was a way of showing the disciples that he was the savior who called them to be the fishers of men. That all the disciples were to spread the gospel. So, the owner of the Monami put in the number 153 to ensure that he utilized his business to live life as a disciple of Jesus.

But guys, this story has nothing to do with today’s message. 10)The only thing I wanted to talk about was this pen. The black tip and white body of this pen. Like how I said, it is all over the place. They are like clones. So, whenever someone talks about this pen, everyone first thinks about this design. Black tip with a white body. 11)So, the images that this pen has are of its color blocking and numerous quantities. In 2015, 12)Monami Look was in fashion. White shirt and black pants. 13)Everyone, and I mean everyone, was wearing their clothes like this. 14)This place in the photo is famous, where everyone meets their blind dates. Look at them. They are all wearing the same thing. Monami Look was like the Monami Pens. Black and white and also large in numbers. Quick question. 15)Q. Did Pastor John follow this fashion trend? The answer is 16)yes, he did. Why? Because I hate to be left out. I always wanted to follow the main trend, and I did not want to fit in with everyone.

Not only this Monami look, I followed all the fashion trends of my time. When I was in high school, we had this weird fashion trend of growing our hair like wolves. 17)The hairstyles were called Shaggy cuts and wolf cuts. And I grew my hair like this. I would wear my school uniform like a Japanese gangster. We would purposely buy a smaller size of the Sports jacket and wear extra large pants. The only trend I couldn’t really follow was the skinny jeans because I couldn’t find any jeans that would actually fit me. I tried, but I failed miserably. But why would I do that? Why would I go through so much trouble and spend so much money looking like everyone else? 18)I would be like the stormtroopers in a Star Wars movie, looking like clones on the street. Because I thought that if I did not follow the trend, it would seem like I did not fit in. It felt as if I was left behind. The world is moving in a direction that everyone is following. But if I don’t follow this trend, I will be left behind. As someone who wanted to be successful, as someone who wanted to look successful, that was something that I could not bear at the time. I would do my best not only in fashion but also in following the trends of the time. Games, memes, sports, etc. If you ask me anything about the trends of mid-2010, I will know it.

I was busy following all these trends. Because of my broad interests, I barely had enough time to do anything else. Because I wanted to be so in the world, I wanted to be part of everything. What this world thinks of me is important, and I wanted this world to think that I am one of them.

Aren’t we all in some sense like this? You guys might not have a broad interest like me, but don’t you want to fit in to a group where you think is important. I don’t know what you all follow, but you all follow some trends. It might be a K-pop idol. It might be a trending game. It might be a trending sport or an athlete. We all follow some trend that you find yourself in. Why? Not only is it the trend but the main reason is that you all like it. Because you value that community and want to fit in. So we do our best to fit in. But guys, I will say this confidently. These trends and preferences never last forever.

The K-pop idols you like, are going to get old. Games are going to get boring. The soccer teams you follow, one day will lose their prime form. Look at Manchester City. Nothing in this world lasts forever. So you might try to find comfort, you might try to fit yourself into some trend, but they will end up betraying you. Not only are the trends going to change, but you, too, will change. For that reason, we say nothing lasts forever. However, in the book of 19)이사야 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”” The word of God lasts forever. And what does today’s scripture tell us to do? Let’s read Matthew 11:28-29 one more time. 20)마태복음 11:28–29 ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

This word of God is telling us this. No matter what you do to fit in, no matter how much you want to feel at rest with what you love, nothing can give you all that you want. But the only thing that will give you rest is Jesus Christ. He is going to take that yoke from you. Why, for he is gentle and humble. So what does this mean? We shouldn’t follow the trends of this world. Don't follow what you want. Don’t follow what you think you love; instead, follow Christ Jesus. That is where we are going to find rest. That is where you will fit in, for that is a place where it never changes. You might change, the world may change, but Christ Jesus never will. He will not ask for our effort, for he is our comfort; we do not need to geek out. That’s what it means when Jesus is going to take that yoke off your shoulders.

My father has been very influential in building my Character. In middle school, he would describe me as the nail that stuck out. This means that I would be a person who would stand out from the crowd not for being talented but because I would make a fool of myself. So, my father would tell me, 21)“튀어 나온 못이 제일 먼저 맞는다.” If I translate this, it means, “The nail that sticks out gets hit first.” He is telling me to just fit into the crowd. Don’t do anything that grabs other people’s attention. He would say this over and over again like any other parent would. But when I was deported back to Korea in 2004, my father’s words seemed more real. I was going to Korea, where I knew no one, no friends, and nothing. But if I made a fool out of myself and started off the new chapter of life on the bad side, then it would be a hard time for me in Korea. So, instead of being outgoing, I chose to be introverted. I would seclude myself from others and be very careful when building relationships. Like that, I did all I could to fit into the Korean society.

But it was so hard. Everything was different. It was so hard to keep track of the trends at the time. Language and culture were so different. Life was exhausting. Even though I did nothing, fitting into the world was difficult. I got to a point where I was so sick and tired of what was happening around me, so I just let go of my life. I did not study; I was like, my life is ruined; let's go with the flow. Just living by desires, living to the values of this world. I thought I would be happy. I thought I would be free from my hardship if I let go of my life. But it made my life more miserable. The more I tried, the more I felt like a loser. I would try to geek out on things. I played music. I played games. I did things that high schoolers shouldn’t do. The more I tried, the more miserable I became.

But my life changed again on the summer retreat in my 10th grade. Through prayer and worship, I encountered Jesus. I saw his strength in my life. I felt his presence through the scripture from 22)시편 24 . Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.”

No matter what, God was my king. The king to open up my gates and my life. I felt at rest. No peace and rest that this world could give was given to me in the word of God. Through this scripture, God promised me, “Look, John, I am going to take care of your life. I, the king of all things, will take care of everything.” My life changed. I didn’t need to fit myself into Korea. But naturally, God led me to friends and communities that accepted me for who I am. I didn’t need to try for God was taking care of my life.

No matter what this world says , we can only find rest in God. When we seek Jesus, he will give us rest. So follow Jesus. When we do, he will take care of our lives. He will pull us through our miserable lives and make us new. We say, “My spiritual life isn’t going well.” “My life is miserable.” God is telling us. Seek me and find rest in me!

Today, God is reaching out to us. Find rest in me! Nothing in this world can give you rest. Only me. I want to ask you all these questions. Who wants to follow Jesus and find rest in God? Let us hope for this truth here today. We all need rest and like what Jesus said in the book of Matthew, Jesus is going to give you rest for he is gentle and humble. Come who are tierd and weary for God will give you rest. I want us to pray. I want everyone to put their hands on their hearts and pray. Lord God, I need you in my life, I need rest. I don’t want to follow the trends of this world. I only want to follow you Jesus. Let us pray.

Dear heavenly father we thank you for your word and for your grace and for telling us that you will give us rest. Lord, there is nothing in this world that could give us rest but Christ Jesus. As we confess this truth let this truth set us free and live a life filled with your humility. Lord thank you and in Jesus name we pray amen.

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