TEXT: Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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Charles Spurgeon said, �Can there ever be rest to a heart which has sinned? Answer, yes. The believer rests from the guilt of sin because he has seen his sins laid upon Christ, his scape-goat, and knowing well that nothing can be in two places at one time, he concludes that if sin were laid on Christ, it is not on him; and thus he rejoices in his own deliverance from sin, through its having been imputed to his glorious Substitute. The believer in Christ Jesus sees sin effectually punished in Christ Jesus, and knowing that justice can never demand two penalties for the same crime, or two payments for the same debt, he rests perfectly at peace with regard to his past sins.�
John Piper once told a story that he said captures finding rest in Christ: �This is John Paton, the missionary to the New Hebrides in the Pacific in the nineteenth century. It illustrates of how the yoke of Jesus, the word of Jesus, the promise of Jesus, once you put it on, leads you to do some pretty crazy things � such as going to be a missionary among cannibals.
Having served on the island of Tanna, the natives have been mobilized against them. There are hundreds of them even � with muskets and knives. They are trying to find him and kill him. He needs to get on a boat and escape quickly. He has one man that he can barely trust who says, �Climb up in that tree, and stay there while they go underneath. I will lead them down this path, and then you can go down that path when they�re gone.� He had no idea whether he could trust this man. He climbs up in the tree. And years later here�s what he describes:
The hours spent there live all before me as if it were but of yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the Savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul, than when the moonlight flickered among those chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Savior�s spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship.
Then he closes by looking us in the eye and saying, �If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all alone, in the midnight, in the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then?�
I tell you, when I first read that I said, �Jesus, I want that kind of friendship like nothing else.� That�s our question, do we have a Friend that will not fail us at every moment when we feel restless and anxious? He�s right here, saying, �Come to me. I will give you rest.�
If you want rest and peace in your life in life you need to come to Jesus. This passage is about coming to Jesus and finding rest and peace in Him. If you are struggling under the burden of sin and life you can come to Jesus and find rest in Him. You find rest by coming to Jesus and learning from God.
Second God has hidden things from those who think they are smart and are conceited. The passage reads, �At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent.� This doesn�t necessarily mean people with a high IQ or a high grade point average. There are many people of great intelligence who are devout Christians and who have dedicated their lives to God. Many have followed Jesus and some even helped write the Bible. Jesus is referring to people who trust in their own intelligence over the word of God. Jesus dealt with this a lot with the Jewish religious leaders. Tim Maas said, �Jesus made this statement right after condemning cities such as Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, which the passage from Matthew describes as the places where Jesus had performed most of His miracles, such as healing the sick. Jesus said that if He had performed the same miracles in other cities or regions that God had previously destroyed as a judgment against their sin and wickedness (such as Tyre, Sidon, and even Sodom), the people of those cities would have long before repented of their sin and turned to God, and thus been saved. Nevertheless, those who had witnessed Jesus’ miracles had largely remained unrepentant, unbelieving toward Jesus, and unwilling to turn to God. And those who rejected Him were often those (such as the Pharisees and scribes) who thought themselves superior to others because of their learning, worldly wisdom, and pride, and not in need of God’s forgiveness and salvation. By contrast, those who repented and responded to Jesus’ teachings were those without pride and pretense (similar to the humility of little children), who were able to recognize their own sinfulness, and their need for the forgiveness and salvation that He offered. Thus, the “hidden things” to which Jesus was referring were not things that Jesus Himself was hiding or keeping from people, but things to which those who rejected Jesus were willfully blinding themselves, through their refusal to recognize that they were as much (or more) in need of forgiveness and salvation as the “common people” whom they looked down upon.� The people Jesus is talking about do not follow Proverbs 3:5-6 �Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.� How about you?
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Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death�”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved� For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
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