I WILL GIVE YOU REST

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I WILL GIVE YOU REST Last week I told you that many people, maybe men more than women, think that religion is little more than an attempt to control people through guilt and shame. But I told you that’s not Jesus. And that’s not us. Guilt doesn’t change people; grace does. Shame doesn’t transform hearts; only love does that. A similar complaint is that religions have too many rules. There are too many thou shalt nots and oh, no you don’ts. Too many boring and seemingly foolish things you have to do. And too many fun things you’re told not to do. Here’s a Clip from The Original Kings of Comedy where Steve Harvey talks about going to church as a child. Clip: The Original Kings of Comedy Do this. Don’t do that. Go to a lot of boring meetings. Don’t go to places you like to go.

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That’s what many people think of as religion. But that’s not really what any man wants. Men want a challenge. Men want an adventure. Men want a cause to live for that brings out their best. Not a bunch of rules and restrictions. And so did Jesus. And the promise we’re going to look at this morning speaks to that. One of the great joys of my life is that I get to work with men. And I get to listen when they talk to me about their lives. And one thing I have learned is this: Many men are very different on the inside than they are on the outside. Around people, they are positive, energetic, and project an air of confidence. They talk how about how good things are going, and how happy they are. But when they’re by themselves, when they slow down, if they ever get quiet and still, they often feel worn out and weary. They wonder if they’re going to make it. They’re not sure what they’re doing really matters. They feel like no one fully understands or truly appreciates all they do. They do the best they can and even if they take some time off, they often don’t feel truly renewed.

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Here’s something funny. Today Americans have more wealth. more stuff, and better health than at any time in history. Yet we are more stressed out, depressed and anxious than ever before. And deep down many men feel like they’re missing out on life, at least what life could be and should be. But one thing they’re sure of is that the way to the life they want is not the way of more rules and restrictions. In this series we are looking at some of the great promises God gave us that we can depend on and that will lead us into the abundant life that Jesus came to bring. Promises that are unfailing because God is faithful to his word. Jesus made this promise to men who feel the way I just described. Matthew 11.28-29: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus is speaking to whom in this passage? Men who feel weary and burdened. Men who want more out of life than they’re experiencing. Men who are wondering why everything has to be so hard and who want to be renewed in their spirits and find rest for their souls. In Jesus’ day, a man’s life was controlled by hundreds of Old Testament laws. Just knowing them all was an overwhelming task. Trying to follow them all was practically impossible.

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But the teachers of the Law told the people, “Obey the law, fulfill all of its requirements, work hard enough at being righteous, prove yourself worthy, and God will accept you. Tying to follow all of the Old Testament rules and regulations, over 600 of them, the rabbis spoke of that as putting on the yoke of the Law. It was a heavy burden to carry. That’s who Jesus was talking to in this passage. Men who felt that instead of being an adventure life had become a burdensome list of have-to’s and thou shalt not’s. And what does Jesus say to men who find their existence arduous and unfulfilling? Men who are wondering, “Isn’t there more to life than another day of trying to follow all the rules, and doing everything just right? Isn’t there a way to experience joy and hope even while I’m still imperfect and broken? Isn’t there some way for my life to change and the spirit inside of me to come alive?” What does Jesus say to such men? He says he understands. He says he cares. He says, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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Men carry a lot these days. We always have. We feel responsible for our families. The physical and the emotionall well-being of our wives and children. And rightly so. We live in a capitalistic society which has produced an incredibly high standard of living for those of us in this room. It has also created a way of viewing life which says that the bottom line is – the bottom line, and that people are worth what they produce. And so the pressure is always on to produce more. And in our time, we are expected to produce more with less. There is little or no corporate loyalty, so men live worried about their jobs, afraid to slow down and take the time they need to enjoy the fruits of their labor. On top of that, technology means we can now work from home. Which means we are expected to work from home. And on the weekends and on vacation. The wonderful little devices that keep us connected allow us to receive phone calls and texts in the car, at the movies, when we’re out with our wives or with our kids. And so we do. Honest. Raise your hand.

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How many of you regularly check your phone while you’re standing at the urinal? There’s little time to truly disconnect but at the same time that’s exactly how we feel. Disconnected. And agitated. And driven. Because we’re men, we place expectation upon ourselves that we should be able to handle the pressures of job, marriage, kids, and the rest of life on our own. Big boys don’t cry. Real men play hurt. And we sure don’t talk to other men about our weaknesses or our fears or our failures. And like Cain after he killed his brother, we feel condemned to walk the earth alone. We may not follow the 600 Old Testament laws, but there are unwritten laws that every one of us knows. Unwritten laws that tell us this is what you’re supposed to do, this is who you’re supposed to be, and this is how you’re supposed to live. Only these rules don’t cause us to live. They don’t bring joy, they don’t bring peace, and they don’t bring life.

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WHAT DOES JESUS SAY TO MEN WHO WEARY AND BURDENED?

1. COME UNTO ME. Here’s the most important thing I’m going to tell you this morning. Inner peace, inner strength, real, abundant life – it all begins when you come to Jesus. We look to all kinds of things out there to make us right. A drink, a drug, a promotion. Money. Success. The admiration of others. A bigger, better this or that. But our problem is not an “out there” problem” – it’s an “in here” problem. And there’s only one reality that can make us right in here. And that is a relationship with the One who created us to know him. Great men who have known God have explained it in different ways. The 5th century theologian and philosopher St. Augustine who was converted to Christianity after giving into all the desires of the flesh wrote in his autobiography, speaking to God St. Augustine: Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.

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The seventeenth century mathematician and philosopher wrote: Blaise Pascal: There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.

And in the early 20th century Indian Christian missionary Sundar Singh: In comparison with this big world, the human heart is only a small thing. Though the world is so large, it is utterly unable to satisfy this tiny heart. Its capacity can be satisfied only in the infinite God. As water is restless until it reaches its level, so the soul has not peace until it rests in God. Rules don’t bring rest to your soul. Religion doesn’t fill the vacuum within. Material success doesn’t make us complete or fill the emptiness within our hearts. We are human beings made in the image of God. We have a spiritual nature, and whether we recognize it or not, the restlessness within us, the “in-here” yearning that we try to satisfy with an “out-there” solution, is a longing for not for something, but for Someone. One of the beauties of our faith is the truth that the universe is inherently relational. Before there was anything physical, there was one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sharing life together. And at the heart of who you are, there is a relational need greater than any earthly thing or any human being can fulfill.

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So, Jesus says, come unto me – and I will give you peace. A few of you may remember the reporter David Bloom. Bloom was a national debate champion in college and an avid hockey player. Type A to the max, he was a highly respected journalist and an up and coming star in the world of news. He was sent to cover the war in Iraq in 2003 by NBC and was imbedded with US troops as they invaded. Clip: NBC and David Bloom Bloom was the first reporter to die in Iraq. He wasn’t killed. He died of a pulmonary embolism, most likely caused by blood clots that formed in his legs as he sat cramped in a tank as he did his reporting. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s in Manhattan. Everybody was there. Governor Pataki. Mayor Giuliani. Tom Brokaw. Katie Couric. Matt Lauer. Tim Russert. Bloom was 39 years old. He grew up in a Methodist home. But it was only a couple of years before his death that he came to a saving faith and a real relationship with Jesus.

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He started attending a Friday morning Bible study in New Canaan, Connecticut, with other men, and there his faith became real and his life was changed. Hours before his death he sent his wife Melanie, whom he called Mel, an email. Here’s part of it. David Bloom: I can’t wait to be home to be with all of you. You can’t begin to fathom, cannot begin to even glimpse the enormity of the changes I have and am continuing to undergo. God takes you to the depths of your being until you are at rock bottom and then, if you turn to him with utter and blind faith, and resolve in your heart and mind to walk only with him and toward him, picks you up by your bootstraps and leads you home. I hope and pray that all my guys get out of this in one piece. But I tell you, Mel, I am at peace. Deeply saddened by the glimpses of death and destruction I have seen, but at peace with my God, and with you. I know only that my whole way of looking at life has turned upside down here. I am, supposedly at the peak of professional success, and I could frankly care less. Yes, I’m proud of the good job we’ve all been doing, but in the scheme of things it matters little compared to my relationship with you, and the girls, and Jesus. There is something far beyond my level of human understanding or comprehension going on here, some forging of metal through fire When the moment comes when Jim or John or Christine or Nicole or Ava or you are talking about my last days, I am determined that they will say he was devoted to his wife and children and he gave every ounce of his being not for himself, but for those whom he cared about most, God and his family. Please give the girls a big hug; squeeze ‘em tight and let them know just how much their daddy loves and cares for them. With love and devotion, Dave. Jesus promised, “Come unto me, and I will give you peace.” David Bloom came to Jesus and he discovered that the promises of God are true.

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“I tell you, Mel, I am at peace. Deeply saddened by the glimpses of death and destruction I have seen, but at peace with my God, and with you.” If you’re not at peace, the question is: Have you come to Jesus? Have you come to him to accept him as Lord and Savior? If you have, and you’re not at peace, have you come to him with whatever it is that you’re facing? Have you come to him, sat in his presence, and said, “Lord, here I am. Give me what I need. Give me wisdom and strength. Give me your presence and give me faith to hold onto your promises”? To come to Jesus, you have to come honestly and openly. You have to get real with yourself and with him about your needs, your motives, your desires, your weaknesses, your fears. You have to bring yourself, your real self, when you come to him. And then sit in his presence and receive his Spirit. And he will meet you and he will bring you peace.

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After Jesus says, “Come unto me,” he says

2. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU. YOKE -- that is a symbol, a metaphor for the duties and the obligations and the responsibilities a person takes on to fulfill. In the Old Testament and in Jesus’ day, that was the Old Testament law. We don’t live under the laws of the Old Testament any more, but men do tend to put a yoke upon themselves. Here are some different yokes that men take upon them. And with one exception, they are yokes that weigh us down, burden our souls, and make peace difficult if not impossible. A. The yoke of the prover. Men who wear this yoke are always working at something to prove themselves. They feel this need to prove something to themselves or to someone who said they’d never amount to anything or to some voice in their head that says they have to gut it up and measure up because that’s what it means to be a man. Clip: Days of Thunder: Provers have to do more, be more, achieve more, and/or have more than other guys –

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because they think then they will be worthy of respect or happiness or their father’s blessing. Or then they’ll be able to love themselves, or believe that God’s loves them – whatever it is that they’re really looking for. The problem is no matter what the prover does. it’s never enough. There’s always more that he has to do. Always something else he has to prove. And he will never know what it is be at peace and at rest. B. The yoke of the pleaser. If I just do enough for others. If I just run myself ragged doing what others want me to do, fulfilling every request, never saying no, never taking time for myself. If just jump through enough hoops, people will love me. The only problem is, I don’t want to jump through hoops. I’m not a trained seal. I’m a human being. And eventually I feel like I’m being used. And I quit doing tricks for the treats of applause and praise. And I find myself worn out, burdened and resentful.

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C. The yoke of the rescuer. It feels good to be told, “we can’t do it without you.” It feels like I’m important. It feels good to be told, “we’ve thought about it and prayed about it, and you’re the only one who can do this.” It feels good to see a problem, and to think we’re the only one who can see it or who can do what needs to be done. It feels good, to put on our cape and sing, “Here I come to save the day.” I feel like I count. I feel like I matter. Until I’m no longer rescuing and then I don’t know who I am. Or until I face a problem I can’t fix. Then I feel like a failure and a nothing. D. The yoke of the selfer. This is the yoke that says: I live for me. My pleasures my plans, my happiness, me and my world come first. All I can tell you is this: selfers end up alone and miserable. You were made for a world whose horizon is bigger than a self-embrace. And if the world of a self-embrace is big enough to make you happy, you are a very tiny man indeed.

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None of those yokes brings peace or rest. And none of them brings life. In fact all they bring is striving, insecurity, weariness and resentment. E. The yoke of Jesus. Before I describe it to you, do you see whose choice it is which yoke you wear? It’s your choice. You decide whom to go to for life. You decide which yoke you’ll take on. Whether it will be the yoke of a prover, a pleaser, a rescuer, a selfer. Or whether it will be the yoke of Jesus. What does it mean to put on the yoke of Jesus? Bottom line, made simple. The yoke of Jesus is the yoke of love. It’s a yoke that says life is about relationships. It’s a yoke that says the greatest commandment is to love God with all you are and the second most important is to love others as yourself. It’s a way of life that grounds us in the deepest aspects of reality – it says that what’s worth living for is what will remain when this world and everything else is gone – God and people. The rest that Jesus gives us is not the rest that has no responsibilities and nothing to do. It’s not the rest of being at the beach for two weeks and all you have to do is wait for the cabana boy to bring you a margarita and your wife to rub oil on your back.

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It’s the rest at the end of the day when you’ve exhausted your talents and your energies for the good of others and for a cause you think really matters. When you’ve given your all and you’ve done it with brothers you love, and you’ve done it for people who needed to know the love of God, and you fall into bed exhausted and tired, but your heart is full and your mind is at peace. And you can’t wait to get up and do it again, because life has never been so good. I don’t ever give you guys an assignment. But I’m going to this week. Each day, do one thing to love God and do one thing to love another person. Love God? How? Let’s don’t make it hard. Spend some time with him. That’s how my sons bring me the most joy. Pray. Listen to a praise song or a great hymn and then tell God what he means to you. Take a short walk and tell God you want more of him in your life. Make a special gift to help the poor. List all the blessings you are grateful for and thank God for being so good to you. Decide you’re going on a mission trip or try out prison ministry

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Love someone else? Think of someone you know who’s going through a tough time and send a card or write an email. Get lunch and ask how he’s doing. Pray for someone. Spend a few minutes extra listening to someone and look at them like you’re really interested in what they have to say. Do a chore for a neighbor. Invite someone to church or to Quest. Take your wife to dinner and tell her how much she means to you. Compliment someone at work, but give it enough thought that it’s personal and fitting and is more than a compliment – it’s a blessing. Thank someone who made your life better recently or in the past. First question next week – one thing you did to love God and one thing you did to love others.

3. LEARN FROM ME. Jesus says here that he will teach us how to live in love. That means we won’t always get it right. We’ll make mistakes. But Jesus says that’s to be expected and that’s ok. When a disciple followed a rabbi, the main goal was not simply to learn what the rabbi knew. The disciple’s intention was to learn how the rabbi lived so the disciple could live the same way.

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The disciple wanted to see the world the way his rabbi did, relate to people the way his rabbi did, respond to problems and know God the way his rabbi did. And when you committed yourself to following a rabbi and learning his way of life, it was referred to as putting on that rabbi’s yoke. We’re called to follow a Rabbi to learn his way of life. And that will be a process. We will have to make mistakes and learn from them. And do we need to fear when we fail? No. Why? Because – look at our Rabbi; look at what Jesus said about himself. Matthew 11.29: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart …

Jesus is not a harsh judge but a gentle encourager – kind with our failings, not lording it over us, but patiently lifting us up to a new way of life.

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Here’s the final part of the promise. Matthew 11.29-30: … And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

“Easy” here means it fits well. “The life I call you to,” Jesus says, “you were made for it and it was made for you.” “My burden is light.” Jesus says “I’m not in your life to make it arduous. I’m not here to give you more rules, a long list of have-to’s that will weigh you down and take life from you, leaving you weary and demoralized. My burden is simply the commitment to love. And when you learn to love God and others; when you put down the other yokes you have tried on; when you learn to live in love, you will find rest and you will know peace.” Pray