Get Some Rest, Part 3

Feeling tired today, like you can't get ahead? It's time for you and me to get some rest. For us to exchange our unfruitful and constant activity and to turn our attention to all that Christ continues to do for us. Praise for us constantly.

He's in our corner, forgiving us at the instant we bring before him our wrongdoing. But we must come. Exhaustion has many causes. Sometimes it's physical, other times mental. But there's another source of weariness that comes from spiritual striving and working overtime to impress God with our good deeds. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that our self-inflicted fatigue, while well-intentioned, is better served when we simply give up the fight and submit ourselves to God. Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Let's turn now to Matthew chapter 11 as Chuck continues his message titled, Get Some Rest. What are the inviting words? Look at verse 28.

Come would be one of them. Next verse, take, that's a word inviting us to do something, take something from him. And then learn, learn from me. See it right here in verse 29? So come and take and learn would be words that invite. How about words that expose? And by this I mean expose our condition.

Where would they be? Well look again at verse 28. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, you who carry heavy burdens. These are followed by words that describe. Look at this statement, I am gentle and humble in heart. And then there are words that promise. I will give you rest and later you will find rest.

And finally there are words that relieve. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. First there are words that invite. Come. Verse 28 begins, Jesus said, come.

Come to me. And so once we have come, please observe there's something we take and he invites us to do it. Take my yoke upon you. Be ready to be fitted for the yoke. And that leads me to the third word of invitation and that is learn from me. Don't miss the whole statement.

Learn from me. Accepting Jesus' invitation to come and then having him fit us with a tailor made yoke invites us to begin a lifetime of learning. When we learn from Jesus, we learn about ourselves. He says, all who are weary and heavy laden, those carrying heavy burdens. I think that would first describe those who have never met Christ and their living under the weight of sin. The disappointment in oneself, the inability to accomplish what one desires, the sense of satisfaction that's never gained and the weight that brings to us.

But there's more there I think. In our case and certainly in the case of the crowds would be those who had to cut their teeth under teaching that was laborious and demanding. Jesus said, come to me all the laboring having been burdened. Come to me all the laboring having been burdened. It's a perfect description of those still working for their salvation.

Still laboring under the legalistic demands of the law. Knowing nothing of grace. Only knowing there's more and more and more you must know. You must do. You must earn. You must achieve to win God's favor.

Fourth, words that promise. I'll give you rest. In fact, interestingly, verse 28, rest is a verb. It's been added, I will give you, but literally the verse reads, I will rest you. In other words, the ability to rest is in him and he will cause that to occur in us. We'll gain an ability to live our lives at rest. Not striving, not neurotically connected to the demands of life. We can rest through life. It doesn't mean we spend our lives leaning back doing nothing or sitting alone and contemplating infinity. It's not this kind of rest.

It's free of worry, tension. The synonym would be to refresh and revive. I will refresh you. I will revive you. Let me show you something. Let me show you life beyond the grave. Look at Revelation 14, 13.

Please turn ahead. Revelation 14, 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this down. And then there's a beatitude. Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit. They are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their labors.

Isn't that a beautiful expression? For their good deeds follow them. They passed through the gates of death, who have gone through the grave, are at rest. There's no striving.

There's no worrying. They rest from their hard work, their good deeds follow them. But those are the dead. Hebrews 4 says there remains now a rest for the people of God.

Different verb, but it's nevertheless the same concept. You will find rest. I will rest you. You will enter into a world of rest.

What a magnificent promise. How rarely do we get a phone call and someone says to us, hey, what are you doing? And we answer, I'm resting.

I can't remember the last time I said that. It's a concept that's foreign to us. Now again, you can be actively engaged in what you do, but it rests within.

That's the idea. It's a thought of being tranquil, at peace, relaxed, confident in Christ's plan. By coming to Christ, yoking up with him, learning from him and what he has to teach us, we will enter into a rest like we never could know otherwise. Doesn't mean I'm through, but fifth and finally, the words that relieve, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. Sounds almost oxymoronic, doesn't it? How can a yoke be easy? How can a burden, it's a burden. How can it be light? It's true because we exchange all of the irksomeness of humanity and we rely on him.

It is a nonsensical double talk. This is a true and actual relieving statement. Apart from the finished work of Christ, you cannot know what it is to truly handle the burdens with ease and pull the yoke and find it easy.

My burden is light. I love the way Doug Webster wrote about this yoke being easy. It's in his book, The Easy Yoke.

His yoke is neither cheap nor convenient. The surprising promise of the easy yoke was meant to free us from self-serving, meritorious, performance-based religion. It is easy in that it frees us from the burden of self-centeredness, liberates us from the load of self-righteousness, and frees us to live in the way God intended us to live. He goes on, apart from the grace of Christ and the saving work of the cross, it would be impossible to convince people that the easy yoke is doable, but who in his right mind would go back to the gods of self, money, lust, and power? Who would return on bended knee to the shrines of pious performance and judgmentalism? Is not love better than hate, purity better than lust, reconciliation better than retaliation? And is it not better, really easier when measured in character rather than convenience, rest for the soul rather than selfish pride? So true. Now, so much for the words ancient and true, but now it's our turn.

If we want to emulate these things, we must take them personally. It's time for you and me to get some rest, for us to exchange our unfruitful and constant activity, and to turn our attention to all that Christ continues to do for us, prays for us constantly. He's in our corner, forgiving us at the instant we bring before him our wrongdoing. But we must come. Notice the invitation.

Come. One man admits this in his testimony. I was a freshman in college and I was full of myself. I don't think anyone at the time would have said so.

And I didn't think so. But now in retrospect, I know it was so. Every choice I made revolved around pleasing me. Pride was my mother, if you will. And I did whatever she said to do. I had reason to be proud. I was an honors student, straight A's, Mr. Smart.

Smarty pants is a better way to put it. I had a nice looking girlfriend. She was tall, blonde and athletic. I was also athletic. One of two freshmen playing on the varsity basketball team at a Division three school. On a team that was so good, it would finish second in the nation.

The other freshman on varsity, so skilled that he would transfer in a year to a Division one school. I had all of that going for me. I had the grades, the girl, the prowess, and I believe Jesus was who the church said he was. That's just how I was raised religiously. Son of God, sure.

Rose from the dead, fine. Died for my sins, very good. I believed in my brain, but not deep in my heart. And because I didn't believe down there, I played by my own rules.

No need to put some yoke on this boy's back. I wanted freedom. Freedom that comes with me deciding what's right and what's wrong. But do you know what my yokeless and Christless living never brought? It never brought rest.

This is an honest man. It never brought rest. However, when Christ chose to befriend me by his gracious will, first destroying all my idols and then pressing down my peacock feathers, I lost everything that made me proud. When he made me humble enough to see straight, I was then willing to put Jesus' yoke on. There was a new yoke and a new burden I now carried, but you know what? For the first time in my life, I felt restful.

There were all these new ways of thinking and speaking and living. Each time I walked forward in faith, it felt surprisingly light, even easy. Even today, it still feels like my body and soul are designed to carry this.

So take him up on it. I'm serious, he adds. Come on.

How heavy is all that junk you're carrying on your back? Has sexual immorality brought you rest? Has partying every weekend brought you rest? Has that perfect girl or guy brought you rest? Has your great education brought you rest? Has climbing the corporate ladder brought you rest? Has any of that stuff you keep buying, the house, the car, the vintage sports car, the vacation home, the home entertainment center, the hot tub, the box of Twinkies, any of that brought you rest?

Has any of that brought you rest? Following Christ is the hardest thing you will ever do. There's a yoke. You must follow his rules. There's a burden, the stuff he wants you to carry, like persecutions and trials and tests. But I tell you, it works. This Jesus is right. He brings the rest every human being longs for that comes only by being in the right relationship. So get rid of the pride. Come to the sun and find that rest you've been longing for both now and in the life to come.

Does that describe anyone listening right now? Years ago, I learned it in these words. I'd walk life's way with an easy tread. I'd travel for pleasures and comfort led until one day in a quiet place I met the Master face to face. With station and rank and wealth for my goals, much thought for my body, none for my soul, I'd enter to win this life's mad race when I met the Master face to face. I built my castles and reared them high till their towers had pierced the blue of the sky. I'd sworn to rule with an iron mace when I met the Master face to face. I met him and I knew him and I blushed to see that his eyes full of sorrow were fixed upon me. I faltered and fell at his feet that day while my castles melted and vanished away. Melted and vanished and in their place, nothing else could I see but my Master's face. My thoughts are now for the souls of men. I've lost my life to find it again ever since that day in a quiet place when I met the Master face to face.

Ancient words, ever true, changing me, changing you. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes just for a moment. Let's just rest. Let nothing else interrupt. Do a little soul searching. You've heard the words, words that invite and expose and describe and promise and relieve. But what are you going to do about them?

I suggest you go back to that very first one and you come to him. Just don't try to fake it any longer. I know you're strong.

I know you think you can make it on your own. When you breathe your last, you won't be on your own. So let's get ready for that now. Before you stand before him who made you, it's an awfully good idea that you prepare for that by trusting in Jesus. Just turn to him, come and take his yoke. You'll find the yoke is easy and the burden is light. You'll be forgiven.

You'll be given a whole new purpose for living and you will for the first time in your life be at rest. Now's the time. Come to him. Let us hear from you if you choose to do that.

Let's give this belief a moment to take root. Let's make certain you really mean business. Not just words, but you really mean it. Then let us hear from you.

Tell us you want to start a whole new life. We'll help you get there. Thank you, Father, for these words that don't seem to be so ancient.

They seem as though they were written yesterday or spoken today. Address whatever may need to be addressed to stop us right now to turn our attention to you. We do come.

Warts and all, scars and all, the mess we've made of things and all, we come. Confident that these statements you've made will change our lives. Thank you for teaching us today. Now help us to learn what has been said from the Lord Jesus himself, in whose name we pray. Amen. Paraphrasing the words of Jesus, Chuck Swindoll titled today's study, Get Some Rest.

He asked some important closing comments to add, so please keep listening. To learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. At Insight for Living, we understand that some of your best moments with God occur when you're alone and have some rare quiet time to read and reflect. In these moments of stillness, it's easier to hear God's voice and to feel His presence. Well, in addition to your Bible reading, let me recommend a helpful book Chuck has written that complements our studies in Matthew 11 this week. We're confident the biblical teaching in this book will cultivate calmness and a renewed confidence that God is with you. The book is called Finding God When the World's on Fire. If you're looking to rekindle your passion for God, even in the midst of unsettling circumstances, the Bible teaching in this book will guide you. Again, it's called Finding God When the World's on Fire. And you can purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org slash offer or give us a phone call.

If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888. At Insight for Living, we remain committed to bringing hope and rest to people who are weary and without hope. In fact, we resolve to take Insight for Living far beyond our own borders, where men and women have little access to Bible teaching. It's a mission to bring the hope and light of the gospel to all 195 countries of the world that we're calling Vision 195. Chuck?

Thanks, Dave. Personal holiness is rarely the result of legislation. Now, don't get me wrong. I truly believe our country should establish and enforce laws that uphold biblical values. But genuine transformation in the heart sweeps across a country when Christians begin to think and act biblically. The Reformation, for instance, was ignited by Martin Luther in Germany, but the torch was carried by zealous believers who burned with passion for the unadulterated truth of God's Word. For that very reason, Insight for Living Ministries is fully devoted to making disciples and equipping listeners just like you to think biblically so that you are prepared to act biblically in this culture with its back turned against God.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul put it this way. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Our financial year ends June 30th, and I'm calling on every listener, and that includes you, to do your part in fulfilling our calling.

Jesus' mandate was clear. Go and make disciples of all the nations. Together, God can use you and me to accomplish something phenomenal for Him. Together, you and I can ignite a fresh, worldwide movement by making disciples, one listener at a time. The only thing that stands in the way of our mission is the financial resources that are required.

That's where you come in. We urge you to stretch yourself and give generously today. Please ask God what He wants you to give and then obey by responding to His leading.

Become part of something phenomenal. Let's impact our country together and our world by equipping Christians to think and act biblically. Choose one of several ways to respond to Chuck Swindoll. The quickest and most convenient way to give is to follow the simple instructions at insight.org slash donate. You can also speak with someone about giving a donation by calling us directly. If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org. Chuck Swindoll draws a contrast between what he calls our Sabbath Lord and religious nitpickers. Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Get Some Rest, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.