Jesus Christ Our Rest

Introduction

There have been two times in my life where I can distinctly remember a desperate need for rest.

The firs time was when I came home from a trip to Italy.

Up until that point I had never really experienced jet lag. But I did after that trip.

I got home late in the night and slept until the next night.

I needed rest.

The second time was after Jess and I flew to our honeymoon location.

We went to sleep around 9pm and woke up at 2pm the next day.

We needed rest.

There are times in life when we just need rest.

Sometimes that need is not physical.

We are in need of spiritual and emotional rest.

In those moments, what do we do?

Scripture reveals that we can come to Jesus and find rest in our time of need.

Are you in need of rest?

Today we will discuss the source and experience of rest.

What we learn will equip us to find rest in our hour of need.

Life goes better when we rest in Jesus.

When it comes to rest we need to know two things.

First and foremost. We need to know that…

1. The Source Of Rest Is Unshakable vv. 25-27

Have you ever been sleeping in a vehicle or something and had a turn or shift cause you to flop over and jerk awake?

In order to be able to rest well, we must have something stable to rest on.

As believers in Jesus Christ our spiritual need of rest is no different.

To rest well we must understand that our source of rest is unshakable!

This forces us to ask the question. “What is the source of our rest?”

The passage we will consider today comes after Jesus has addressed the reaction of people to John the baptist and their reaction to His own ministry.

He then speaks of the judgment that will come to the cities that reject Him comparing it to the judgment seen in Sodom and Gomorrah.

The talk of rejecting His ministry and the judgment to come would, understandably, make people nervous.

But that is not all that is in view here.

Jesus is going to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom in the next few chapters. Then He will begin to reveal His own identity as the Son of God.

All of these things are centered on who God is and who Jesus is.

Jesus is going to talk about rest.

Before He does He wants to make it clear that the source of our rest is never changing and unshakable.

The source of our rest is…

The Father Who is Lord of heaven and earth vv. 25-26

Matthew 11:25–26 NKJV

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

Thanksgiving is on Thursday. Jesus here expresses His thanks that the Father hid the mysteries of salvation from those who seek them through human means.

The mysteries of salvation are revealed to those who have the Holy Spirit.

We have clearly seen in 1 Corinthians that it isn’t the wise, talented, or rich who gain understanding of Spiritual things.

Only those who trust in Jesus understand Spiritual realities.

Jesus is thankful that Spiritual truth is revealed by the Father to Spiritual people.

We too can be thankful for this reality.

Through Jesus Christ we have access to every Spiritual blessing.

The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth!

The things of the Spirit of God have been revealed to us.

We say with Jesus, thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.

He has considered it good to reveal truth to us.

What a blessing.

He is the Source of our rest.

What does that mean?

First of all, He is the Father.

I don’t know what experience you may have had with your earthly father.

What I can tell you is that our Father God is the ultimate place of safety and security.

He is the ultimate protector.

He is able to be that safe place, able to be that protector because of who He is.

He is Lord of heaven and earth.

“Lord” is the Greek word Kyrios and it means master.

God the Father is the master of heaven and earth!

This deals with His sovereignty.

He is Lord! He is master! He is in control!

That is the source of our rest.

We can have rest because we know who is in control.

But that isn’t all.

The source of our rest is…

The Son Who reveals v. 27

Matthew 11:27 NKJV

27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

The Lord of heaven and earth has given all things over to the Son.

The Son reveals the Father to us.

Want to know what God is like?

Consider Who the gospels reveal Jesus to be.

The Son, Jesus, reveals the Father.

You cannot know the Father until you know the Son.

You cannot know the Son without the Father.

The Father, Lord of heaven and earth, is in control.

He has given all things to the Son.

Our rest is secure.

The sovereign Lord of the universe and His Son who died to redeem us offer us rest.

This means that there is never going to come a moment when rest is not possible.

What do I mean?

We absolutely can have rest because Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in control!

God doesn’t change. Therefore the source of our rest is unshakeable.

Things may seem chaotic.

We have nothing to fear.

Life may be uncertain.

We know the one in control.

Personal challenges may threaten to overwhelm us.

We are safe in the hands of our sovereign Lord.

Sing with me

#409 “I Know Whom I Have Believed”

Aren’t those words powerful?

There are many things we don’t know.

There are many uncertainties in life.

But we know the one in whom we have placed our faith!

We know that He will keep us until He calls us home!

The source of our rest is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, our rest is unshakable.

Know that. Believe it.

Now, there is a second thing we need to know.

We need to know that…

2. The Experience Of Rest Is Risky vv. 28-30

Have you heard the expression, sleep with one eye open?

This is typically said because the area in which someone is sleeping is unsafe.

The other day several of us were talking about how we can teach ourselves to wake up at the slightest of sounds.

The rattle of a door handle, the whisper of our children; we can learn to wake up at the smallest sound.

The difficulty with doing that is it interrupts your rest.

To rest and relax completely can be difficult when we have trained ourselves to be on the alert.

What Jesus offers to us is a rest that is risky.

Why?

Because it is a rest that gives control over to Him.

In these verses are 5 directives we must obey to experience rest.

Directive #1…

Come v. 28

Matthew 11:28 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

There is a very important point here that I don’t want us to miss.

If we are going to come to Jesus as He describes here, there is a very difficult task we must do first.

We must identify and admit to our burdens.

Jesus invites those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him.

Sometimes we are unwilling to admit that we are heavy laden.

We try to convince ourselves and others that we have everything under control!

If you want the rest that Jesus offers you have to admit that you need it!

After the admission comes the decision to take your burden to Him.

When we do. He promises rest.

This is an interesting word.

Rest – ἀναπαύω (anapauō) revive; rest; remain quiet. to cause to rest v. — to cause someone to take a break from their activities in order to be refreshed.

Rest – ἀναπαύω (anapauō)

It does not mean a cessation of activity. There is a different Greek word for that.

The idea here is to be revived and refreshed.

When laboring under a heavy load we come to Jesus and He provides the renewal we need.

If you are burdened, come to Jesus.

Directive #2…

Take v. 29a

Consider the first 5 words of this verse.

Matthew 11:29 NKJV

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.

Does that sound like rest?

This is where we start to question, right?

Jesus. I know your the Son of God, maybe rest means something different to you.

Yes. It does mean something different.

Rest is not the absence of work.

Rest is having joy, fulfillment, and purpose in our work.

If we are going to have the rest He offers, we must take His yoke.

This requires something very important of us.

There is only one way to have rest.

We must trust in Jesus.

Rest only comes when we take His yoke. But to our human reasoning a yoke sounds like work.

This is where faith comes in.

We must trust, we must believe that the rest Jesus offers is real and that it involves work.

Though that sounds contradictory to us, we must trust Jesus.

If you are laboring and heavy laden, take the yoke of Jesus.

Directive #3…

Learn v. 29b

Matthew 11:29 NKJV

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.

We take His yoke and we learn from Him.

Why?

Because He is gentle and lowly in heart.

Jesus is meek, humble, and kind.

His yoke will not feel laborious. His yoke will not seem a heavy burden.

Rest requires action on our part.

We must learn from Jesus.

What does this mean?

It means we read His Word and discover Who He is and how He lived.

Then, we imitate Him.

Jesus was blunt and direct when the situation called for it.

Jesus was able to weep in times of sorrow and rejoice in times of joy.

Jesus held children, He touched lepers, He spent time with the undesirables of His day.

Jesus placed relationships over stuff and poured His life out for others.

Jesus never compromised.

Are we living like Jesus?

If you are weighed down, learn from Jesus.

Directive #4…

Find v. 29c

Matthew 11:29 NKJV

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.

When we come to Jesus, when we take His yoke, when we learn from him; we find rest.

Again.

Rest is not the absence of work, it is joy, fulfillment, and purpose in the work.

Rest is something that we find.

To find it you must be looking for it.

This is an active term.

Rest must be sought.

However, this is not physical rest.

This is rest for our souls.

There is a difficult part to this directive.

We must rest in Jesus.

That might sound obvious so let me explain.

How many of us have ever lain our head on our pillow only to have our thoughts race and keep us awake?

That is not rest.

If we want to rest in Jesus we must actually rest in Jesus!

Stop taking your burdens back from Him!

Stop picking up what He has promised to carry!

Come to Him. Take His yoke. Learn of Him. Rest in Him.

If life has you pinned under a heavy load.

Rest in Jesus.

Directive #5…

Serve v. 30

Matthew 11:30 NKJV

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This is the rest Jesus offers.

He offers an easy yoke and a light burden.

This is in contrast to the labor and the heavy load in v. 28.

What Jesus offers is not an absence of work.

What Jesus offers is an achievable goal.

We are tempted to think that rest is doing nothing.

Rest, true rest, is doing the right kind of work.

When we work on our own in our own strength, it will always be more than we can bear.

The only way to have rest is to do the right work.

We must work for Jesus.

Are you burdened?

Jesus is offering you rest!

He is offering you the chance to do work that has meaning, and purpose, and that will bring you joy.

His yoke is easy.

His burden is light.

Sing with me

“Blessed Be Your Name”

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

This is a time for believers to remember the price that was paid. To be reminded of the penalty of sin. Taking part of communion does not save you. This is simply a way for us to be reminded of what Christ has done. If you know the Lord as savior this morning, please join us in bread and juice as we remember Jesus Christ. These are only symbols, they represent the body and blood of our Savior. Examination – verses 26-32

1 Corinthians 11:26–32 NKJV

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

OBSERVANCE OF COMMUNION

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

The Bread (His Body) vv. 23-24 #203 “And Can It Be” (Verse 1)

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 NKJV

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

The Cup (His Blood) v. 25 #203 “And Can It Be” (Verse 2)

1 Corinthians 11:25 NKJV

25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Conclusion

Do we know what it means to have rest?

Jesus is offering each of us the opportunity to find rest.

He is offering the opportunity to be refreshed and revived!

Do you need that this morning?

I do.

In our personal lives we are laboring. We need the rest that comes with an easy yoke and a light burden.

We have friends. And we have talked to them about Jesus, but they don’t want anything to do with Him. Do we trust our sovereign God? Do we trust the make of heaven and earth? Rest in Him.

How many of us parents are anxious, frustrated, and worried? Come to Jesus! He offers rest! Take on His yoke. Trust Him with your children.

Marriage is hard work. The only way to have a marriage that glorifies Christ is to rest in Him. He promises that when we learn from Him, we will find rest.

Commitment: ____________________________________________________________________

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His yoke is easy.

His burden is light.

To experience the rest Jesus offers we must take action.

Come to Jesus.

We labor.

We carry heavy burdens.

He offers rest.

Take His yoke.

Learn from him.

Serve Him faithfully.

Find rest.

Wearied, wounded, battered, broken, at the end of the rope, and at rock bottom.

Come.

Jesus offers rest to everyone who seeks it.