Rest for the souls Matthew 11

 Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30   Relief and Rest for the Soul

    I had been searching all week through the Scriptures ( in particular the Gospel for today),  and then while I was refilling the bird feeder with seed on Sat morning, it hit me.  Who is the Head of the Church?  Who do we go to with our concerns, our problems and our difficulties?  Hmmmm....that is our problem...Listen to the ARP confession of faith, ch 25 for this : "

The catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the 

whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into 

one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the 

fullness of him that filleth all in all. Eph. 1:10, 22-23; Eph. 5:23, 27, 32; Col. 1:18"   

Eph 1:22-23 " And has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church....which is His body"

---Our Lord talks about this after passing judgment on the unbelieving towns. v 20-24 of Matt 11.

The Reformed Baptist Charles Spurgeon in England talked about going through trials, "  When you go through a trial, the Sovereignity of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head."

We too can rest in God's direction through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Matthew 11:27 " All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

1. Come to Me  Matthew 11:28  This is a command in the orig language, imperative .

" All those toiling and being burdened and I will give ( pause, relief, rest) to you."

The Pharisees were laying heavy burdens " by demanding meticulous obedience not only to the law itself but to their own intricate elaborations of it,

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph.

When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen.

That's the yoke Jesus invites us to take. Do not be misled by the word "easy," for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were "well-fitting." The yoke Jesus invites us to take, the yoke that brings rest to weary souls, is one that is made exactly to our lives and hearts. The yoke he invites us to wear fits us well, does not rub us nor cause us to develop sore spirits and is designed for two. His yokes were always designed for two. And our yoke-partner is none other than Christ himself.

Running throughout all scripture from the beginning to the end is the theme that ours is a burden bearing Christ. He is not just a Lord whom we burden, and we do, but a Lord who actually solicits our burdens. I want to think with you this morning concerning that thought. He who would be effective must first be free from his burdens. And, it is Christ who frees us. Frees us from...

1. The burden of sin

2. The burden of self-righteousness.

3. Our burdens. So we can bear the burden of others."

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2.  Retreat, and rest in Him for He calls us to Him to rest.  All of our trials and troubles are there for Him to take on Him, not us.  Our health is in His hands.  Our futures are there of course.  

Learn of Me---that means to what? Original word - mathētḗs, "a disciple") – properly, learning key facts; gaining "fact-knowledge as someone learns from experience, often with the implication of reflection – 'come to realize"   

I call this an aha moment.  Have you had one of those lately?  I was out again , and this time I took the cat out to sit on my lap to hear and see the birds.  Then something aha happened.  A humingbird came to the wildflowers.  What a beautiful moment.  These moments should bring us and catch us with deep breaths and we say, " Aha."  Now I get it.  The stress and strains of life are taken.  We rest in His providence and love.  No one but God can produce these moments.

Conclusion- Have you found this rest for your soul?  " Certainly Jesus does not promise His disciples a life or inactivity or repose, nor freedom from sorrow or struggle, but He does assure them that, if they keep close to Him, they will find relief from such crushing burdens as crippling anxiety, the sense of frustration and futility, and the misery of a sin-laden conscience."   RVG Tasker, The Gospel According to St. Matthew