Introduction

Although a very common word, in the context of Matthew “rest” means the opportunity to enjoy the perfect, unshakable confidence of salvation in our Lord in this life as well as in the life to come. When we rest in God we have absolute trust and confidence in his power meaning there is no reason to fear any situation or any man. Tonight I will show you how to enter this place of God’s perfect rest. Let us read from Matthew 11:25-30. (Scripture quotations are taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org)

1. You gain “REST” by receiving the Gospel like a Child

Read Matthew 11:25-26

(A) Jesus’ reference to his disciples as children in this verse is an indication of the humble response they demonstrated towards the Gospel (not age). The Bible says, that the disciples obeyed immediately without asking any questions when Jesus asked them to follow him. (Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:27-28)

(B) Children believe unconditionally which is why they are convenient victims in every society. It is not so with God because he has said his plans are not to harm us but to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11). God is pleased with people that accept the gospel like children (not childish). He reveals himself to such people. (Matthew 16:16-17)

(C) Jesus thanked God for hiding the Gospel from the wise and the intelligent and revealing it to uneducated fishermen like Peter, (Matthew 11:25). Does this mean it is wrong to be intellectual and knowledgeable? Does this mean God does not care for the learned and the educated? Certainly not. But the problem lies within the attitude such men displays toward the Gospel. The learned man has two basic approaches to the gospel.

(I) The Scientific and the Rational Approach

This approach attempts to prove the existence of God using scientific and rational methods. It attempts to verify the authenticity of God’s great miracles using puny psychological principles or physics. Unfortunately, science can be used only to explore the creation and it cannot be used for exploring the creator. Psychology and Physics are inventions of man and cannot be used for probing the supernatural ways of God.

(II) The Religious & Philosophical Approach

This approach attempts to define God through religious and philosophical principles. Followers of this method attempt to understand God through foolish debates. For them, belief in the invisible God is just blind faith. Needless to say, God does not reveal himself to such people. Anyone that wishes to enter into God’s rest must become God’s fool.

Implications

Childlike faith is a theme repeated over and over again in the Bible. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 18 verse 3, Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Once again in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 verse 14, Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

The Bible frequently refers to people that did not benefit from the Gospel because they refused to believe in Jesus (Matthew 13:55-57; Matthew 13:58). It is important that we receive the gospel wholeheartedly, like little children. It is the first step to receiving rest from weariness and burdens.

2. You gain “REST” by surrendering your life to Jesus

Read Matthew 11:27

(A) A person that truly represents a higher authority possesses the power and the authority of the person that sends him. Likewise, Jesus is God’s representative. He said that God has handed over all things to him. The bible reconfirms this (Philippians 2:9-11).

(B) The man was created as a perfect being. He enjoyed the presence of God in every second of his life. He found fulfillment and rest through fellowship with God. After he sinned however he lost fellowship with God which resulted in an inner spiritual vacuum. His restlessness stems from nothing but this. He cannot fill it unless he reconnects with God. Hence for centuries, he has been pursuing God. Religion, philosophy, cult, and occult actually are the result of his quest. None of these can reconnect him with God, because these cannot take his sin away. Jesus alone is capable of taking his sin away.

(C) Perfect rest does not flow out of an absence of weariness and burdens. Perfect rest flows only when I fully surrender myself to Jesus. Unfortunately, most of us surrender only our burdens to Jesus. Not ourselves. We are very uncomfortable with the idea of surrendering ourselves. The problem lies with our natural understanding of the word “surrender”. On the battlefield, if you surrender you lose. Likewise, we are afraid of surrendering because we are overwhelmed by the fear of losing our false sense of rest and security. But in the Kingdom of God, you cannot become a winner unless you surrender. When you surrender you can exchange that false sense of rest and security for the real rest and security that Jesus alone could give.

Implications

I must surrender every area in my life to the authority of Jesus Christ daily. Some of these areas are finances (tithing and giving); Time (Prayer and meditation of God’s word); Labor (ministry) and passions (goals, plans, desire, etc.) When I do he will give me rest in all of these areas.

3. You gain “REST” by becoming a Disciple of Christ

Matthew 11:28-30

(A) Finally, I’d like us to consider a great and famous Bible text. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Underlined is the key phrase of this entire chapter. Many sermons have been preached out of this verse but all of them have two common mistakes.

(I) Misinterpretations

Many other sermons on this verse ignore the preceding verses and miss the actual meaning. (This is why I started my sermon all the way from the 25th verse.)

(II) Target Audience

Out-of-context interpretations give the impression this statement was aimed at unbelievers. Actually, Jesus’ statement here is not an invitation to receive salvation. It is an invitation to discipleship. In other words, Jesus is asking people that are already saved to become his disciples.

(B) Being saved doesn’t make us disciples. To be saved we only have to believe and repent. But being a disciple means doing everything that Jesus taught us to do (Matthew 28:19). It has a cost (also see my sermon: The threefold Cost of Discipleship). The gospels indicate not everyone that believed was a disciple. (John 6:14-15; John 6:25-71)

(C) The weary and the burdened are actually God’s own people that were burdened with the oral tradition of the Pharisees throughout the centuries (Matthew 23:4). Not the unsaved or the working class. The “yoke” is a metaphor used to describe the discipline of discipleship. (A yoke consisted of a wooden crossbar laid across the necks of a team of oxen and attached with leather straps.)

Implications

Although we are not burdened and worn out by religious formalities today, we live in a world whose only religion is money, power, and sex. (The world looks for everlasting rest in these). Being a faithful disciple of Jesus and living in this world is not easy, because often its religion challenges our Christian faith and lifestyle every day and pressures us into becoming its disciples. But Jesus said his yoke is light and easier because he is an ever-presented help in times of temptation to compromise.

Invitation

People attempt to find their ultimate place of rest in many things. Alcohol, drugs, wealth, fame, and sex are just a few common examples. These things do give you a sense of rest but it’s not real and doesn’t last long. Finally, you come to a place where you find yourself trapped in them. If this is your situation tonight I want to invite you to come forward so I can pray for you.

If you found this content helpful, I kindly ask you to leave your feedback in the comments section below. Sharing it with your friends and family through email or social media would also be greatly appreciated. Your feedback not only encourages me but also contributes to the growth and edification of the Church. In order to promote meaningful and respectful dialogue, I request that you use your full name when commenting. Please note that any comments containing profanity, name-calling, or a disrespectful tone will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding and participation.