Home on Mission

Introduction and Welcome 

Good afternoon Restoration Church. Happy Sunday to you all. Welcome to those joining us online as well. We’re glad to have you.  

Today is our last week in our Kingdom Mission series. Over the past 7 weeks we’ve heard Jesus tell us that we are sent on mission and what we are to expect on mission.  

Most of what we’ve talked about until now has been about our engagement with others. Whether it’s making decisions on mission or hospitality on mission, or opposition on mission, etc.  

Our final look in this series is less about other people and more about us.  

Today, we are going to talk about Home on mission. 

This is not about being on mission at your house but rather it is about embracing what a home represents on mission.  

A home is one of the most basic needs for human life. A home represents alot of things but two things that I want to tie to our passage for today is the dependency and rest that a home provides.  

We depend on a home as a place of shelter from extreme weather conditions and from the dangers of the night. We depend on a home for safety. That’s why one of the worst emotions one can have is the emotion of not feeling safe in your home.  

We also depend on a home for rest. It’s where you go after a long day of work. It’s where you lay down to recharge your body. It’s where you sit on your couch with your feet up and just relax.  

This is the type of relationship that Jesus calls us to with himself. A relationship of dependency and rest. A relationship where being with him feels like home.  

Open your bible to Matthew 11:25-30.  

In our passage, we’re going to talk about dependency and rest.  

Let us read and then we’ll pray.  

Dependency – 11:25-27 

The big question for us to ponder on in 11:25-27 is who do you depend on?  

Jesus makes it clear that the depth of our understanding of God, the depth of our intimacy with Jesus depends on the depth of our dependency on the one who created the heavens and the earth.  

The reason people do not follow Jesus is because they don’t see a need for him. But for those who recognize that they need Jesus, their relationship with him is informed by that state of dependency.  

Jesus uses two extreme groups of people in this passage. Wise and intelligent, and infants. 

He is not referring to the literal wise and intelligent people or literal infants but rather to their general disposition. 

On one end is a group that believes they have it all together and they know it all. They have no need for other people but instead people have a need for them.  

On the other end is a group that is completely dependent and cannot do a single thing for themselves.  

On our car ride yesterday from Pennsylvania when we went to buy a new car to replace the one we lost in the accident, Modesta said to me that she wishes we could remember what it was like as infants. At that age you had no worries, you just say “ahhhh” and someone comes running to feed you or change your diaper. Everyone is at your beckon call not because you’re lazy but because you can’t help yourself.  

Both groups place themselves in the center of God’s universe but with different attitudes.  

The wise see themselves as the ruler of the universe while the infants see themselves as needing the ruler of the universe.  

Dependency is the difference between seeing all that God has revealed through Jesus for your sake and not seeing them at all. 

Dependency is the difference between loving Jesus just a little bit more and living him just a little bit less.  

Dependency is the difference between saying to Jesus I’ll call you when I’m in trouble and I’ll call you at all times.  

Dependency is the difference between I’m ride or die with Jesus and I’m ride until it’s time to die.  

Dependency is the difference between having a personal relationship with Jesus and having a religious experience with him.  

When Jesus says “I thank you Father for you have hidden these things,” they’re not hidden from the perspective of something being kept secret but they are hidden from the perspective of not fully grasping what is in front of them. 

They saw the miracles, they heard the teachings, but they didn't fully grasp what was in front of them. 

When our dependency is not on Jesus, we miss what he’s showing us.  

You can’t be on mission while your dependency is not on Jesus.  

The truth is we’re all on a spectrum between wise, and infants.  

And where we want to be is closer to the infant end of the spectrum.  

It is when we are there that we get to know God in a way that’s cuts way deep into our soul. 

In a way that we can say we know God not because we read about him but because we’ve experienced him.  

As an example, I can tell you some fun facts about Augusta but I don’t know her like Bernadette does. Bernadette even calls her by a different name than I call her. I can tell you how many kids she has, I can tell you where she works, I can tell you how old she is but I can’t tell you the about pain and regrets she’s experienced, I can’t tell what made her cry this week, I can’t tell you her what is keeping her up at night but Bernadette probably can.  

I know Augusta but Bernadette knows Angela. That’s because Augusta has placed herself in need of Bernadette’s counsel, friendship, and listening ear.  

Want to know God more? Want to grow in your relationship with Jesus? Want to love Jesus more? Place yourself at his mercy. Lean into your dependency on him so it feels like home. 

Lean not on your own understanding as Proverbs 3:5 says, but trust in the Lord with all, not some, not most, but all of your heart.  

This new season of life for us as a church will require us to lean into our dependency on God until it feels like home.  

Here’s the second thing Jesus talks about in our passage. Rest. 

Rest – 11:28-30 

Along with dependency, Jesus calls us to find rest for our souls in him. He calls out to those who are needy, and now he calls us to those who are tired and feel burdened.  

Life is hard and burdensome and Jesus does not want you to go through it alone.  

Between navigation the demands of work, family, and cultural expectations, it can be hard to feel restful. But Jesus extends an invitation for us to find rest that comes from a place of dependency on him.  

He promises rest for the soul that is weary and burdened. He promises rest for the soul that is tired of being tired. He promises rest for the soul that is burdened by its failures and inadequacy. He promises rest by offering his yoke.  

Here’s what a yoke looks like. It is used to cause two animals to move an item together. What one animal cannot do by itself, two can do together. 

Imagine if one animal tried to move the item by itself, it would struggle without making significant progress.  

Jesus offers his yoke to us so we can learn from him how to navigate through life with him.  

You may have tried it by yourself without much progress.  

Jesus is offering to be with you in your disappointments, in the unknowns of life, in your waiting, in your pain and sorrow, in your anxiety, in your guilt and shame.  

You don’t have to pull through on your own.  

There are some people you don’t want help from. You don’t want help from them because they use it against you. They use your weakness to manipulate and abuse you.  

Jesus is not like that. He is gentle and humble in heart. In his being, he is not abusive nor arrogant. He won’t denigrate you and mistreat you.  

It is easy to put his yoke on. It takes only faith. And the burden of the yoke is light or insignificant because he carries most of it.  

Invite Jesus into your mess. Let him help you and give you rest because rest in Jesus isn’t a hotel stay, it is coming home 

Conclusion 

Home on mission is to be dependent on God and embracing the rest he provides.  

As we wrap up, everything that we've talked about in this series rests on what Jesus is telling us today.  

If you have yet to place your faith in Jesus, he is calling out to you today. Accept his offer of dependency and rest. 

He’s inviting us all to a life of dependency and rest with him. I wasn’t there when my house was built but I trusted the builder and the government who oversaw the work,  

How much more would I trust in the master builder and the who is sovereign over all things? 

What could it look like for you to lean into seeing your need for Jesus and accepting his invite into your mess? 

Maybe the first place is to spend some time in solitude with Jesus and asking him to reveal areas in your life where you are resisting his yoke? Areas where you are actine like a wise person instead of an infant? 

Then invite him into that area that he reveals to you. Pray and ask for his help.  

This season of life for the church is also a great time to put this into practice. Especially for me.  

I pray that the Lord of the heavens and earth will strengthen and sustain us to find our dependency and rest in him.