Haunted By Pressure

Big Idea

Jesus doesn’t add to your pressure — He invites you to rest in His presence.

Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

The Pressure Trap

Does anyone else feel like life’s a never-ending performance review?

Sports tryouts

ACT scores

Friend groups

Social media

Appearance

Your spiritual life

Everyone expects something from you.

The message we hear: “If I just do more, I’ll finally feel okay.”

But Jesus gives us a completely different invitation — not “do more” — but, “come to me.”

Tonight — we will see what Jesus means — and how His words free us from being haunted by pressure.

The Weight We Carry

“all who are Weary and Burdened”

Observation: Jesus starts by naming our condition — He assumes we’re tired.

weary — worn out from labor — like you’ve been grinding but getting nowhere.

burdened — loaded down by something someone else put on you

expectations

comparisons

guilt

Illustration — Your Backpack

Every day — more gets thrown in

grades — drama — college decisions — social media pressure

even — trying to be a good Christian

You start to feel the weight.

Jesus doesn’t scold you for being tired — He sees you — and invites you to move closer to Him.

Application

What’s in your backpack right now?

What’s the pressure that’s making you feel like you’re never enough?

Before Jesus takes away your pressure — He invites you to bring it to Him.

The Invitation — “Come to Me”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Observation: Notice Jesus doesn’t say — “go figure it out” — or “try harder.”

He says — “Come to Me”

Every other voice — “Earn rest”

Jesus says — “Receive rest”

The rest Jesus offers — isn’t a vacation or a nap — it’s rest for your soul.

The Message of Matthew What Essentially Is Jesus’ Claim? (11:25–30)

‘Come to me—I have come to seek you out.’ What grace, that God should come to seek his rebel subjects with no word of condemnation on his lips, but an invitation, ‘Come’! That one word shows us the very heart of God. That is his attitude to sinners.

Illustration — Treadmill

A treadmill looks like progress — but goes nowhere.

Some of us are sprinting in faith…

reading more

serving more

striving harder — but still feel stuck

Jesus steps onto the treadmill — turns it off — and says, “Walk with Me instead.”

Application

Coming to Jesus means trading activity for intimacy.

It’s not about doing less for Him — but being more with Him.

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary VI. Confusion and Opposition (11:1–12:50)

If life is weighing you down—if the burden you’re carrying is too much to bear—come to Jesus. Why? Because only he can give you rest. In view here is the invitation to salvation. To rest is to put your burdens in God’s hands and enjoy his provision of forgiveness and eternal life.

The Exchange

Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

A yoke — a wooden harness that linked two oxen together.

One was the stronger, leading ox

The other followed its pace.

Jesus is saying — “Yoke up with Me — Let me carry the weight — and set the rhythm.

Illustration — Carrying a Couch

Imagine trying to carry a heavy couch alone — it’s possible for a few steps, but you’re exhausted fast. Then someone stronger grabs the other end and says, “Let’s carry this together.” The weight doesn’t disappear — but it suddenly feels light.

That’s the difference between pressure and partnership.

When you walk with Jesus, the load doesn’t crush you — it grows you.

His yoke doesn’t restrict — It frees!

Application

Where are you walking alone right now?

What would it look like this week to actually match pace with Jesus — not run ahead, not drag behind?

The Promise — You Will Find Rest for Your Souls

Jesus’ promise isn’t shallow relief — but soul rest.

The world offers temporary escapes — doom scrolling — sleep — distractions.

Jesus offers peace that reaches the parts of you anxiety can’t touch.

You won’t find soul rest bye escaping pressure but by anchoring in Presence.

Application

Rest is found not when everything around you slows down — but when everything inside you surrenders.

Jesus isn’t calling you out of life — He’s calling you into life with Him.

Haunted No More

When Jesus says, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” He isn’t saying life will be easy — He’s saying He’s strong enough to carry what’s crushing you.

“When you finally rest in Jesus, the haunting voice that says ‘Do more’ gets drowned out by the voice that says ‘It’s finished.’”

Next Steps

Name the pressure.

Write down one thing that’s been weighing on you — school, family, image, faith, whatever.

Say it out loud to Jesus tonight.

Trade it in.

Pray a simple prayer this week:

“Jesus, I’m tired of carrying this alone. I want to walk with You.”

Set your pace with Jesus.

Choose one daily rhythm of rest — 10 minutes before bed to pray, read Scripture, or listen to worship — not to earn peace, but to enjoy His presence.

Tell someone.

Share what pressure you’re trading with a friend or leader who can remind you of truth when pressure creeps back in.

Final Word

“The gospel doesn’t remove all pressure from your life; it replaces the wrong kind of pressure with the right kind of peace.”

Masks

- In Jesus' day, He got really upset with a group of people that were really good at wearing masks.

- He called them hypocrites.

- The mask of hypocrisy.

- "hypocrite" - same word as "actor" in Greek.

- "the person who wears a mask, or a pretender."

- A pretender

- you think you have everyone fooled.

- Come to church and act like you have no problems -- but your sin is eating away at you.

- You are dealing with...

- lust

- pornography

- anger

- forgiveness

- lies

- etc...

- It's time to take off the mask of hypocrisy and find the freedom that can only be found in Jesus.

Take Off Your Mask

- Stand up if:

- You have lost a loved one to cancer.

- You have lost somebody close to you suddenly.

- You have ever hidden the fact you felt depressed.

- You have felt pressure to be perfect.

- You have cried yourself to sleep at night.

- You have acted differently at church or youth group than you do at home or school.

- You have been bullied.

- You have done something you knew was wrong just to try to fit in with a group.

- You have struggled with a certain sin that you feel like you can't overcome.

- You have lied when someone asked you if you were ok.

- You need to take off a mask tonight