M A T T H E W 11 V28/20
There must be very
few Christians or non- Christians who have not experienced some worry, some
anxiety.
We need hardly ask
whether worry harms,
it causes us to lose sleep, takes the joy out of living,
causes our hair to fall out or turn grey even leads to an
early grave.
There are so many fears
in modern life, young people facing life away from home for the first time,
the man in his 40s fearing redundancy, young managers worried
at having to achieve ridiculously high targets, the business man working such
hours he hardly has little time to see his family, the fear of marriage breakdown,
of serious illness, fear of losing someone dear. These are all perils faced by people every
single day.
As Christians we
need to ask, ‘what is life all about’?
So many people, especially the young, have no meaningful purpose. They have a hard outlook of, ‘live life to
excess, get what you can out of it by any means whatever’.
What is the answer
for the growing number of older people frightened to venture out of their homes?
The one parent abandoned by their
husband /wife. Wherever you look you
find sadness and heartache and despair.
The Bible says the answer is that life has no
meaning apart from God, but for many God is unreal.
The Bible says
that God is separated from us by sin.
Sin is not just immorality; it is an attitude of rebellion and
independence, saying ‘I go my own way’.
The Prodigal Son went his own way to be free and independent, but failed
to find any true purpose in life, and found he was cut off from the only person
who really loved him. Yet this is a
common situation.
God is willing to
pour His grace upon you so that you no longer need to fear if you repent of any
sin and turn to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
You can’t however
come to God except through Jesus Christ.
Not by Mohammed, Buddha, or anyone else. Jesus came, sent from God with
the sole purpose of bringing us into a living relationship with Himself.
Christ came to
seek and to save the lost, the fearful and the lonely, the worried and the
broken hearted.
To all who are
worried, afraid or anxious, Jesus says, ‘Come to me and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light’
It is said that
these are the most wonderful words spoken by our Lord, the very heart of Christianity. They speak of the failure of men and women to
solve the problems of the world.
Come, just as you
are; He is waiting. Jesus has said, ‘Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in and eat with him, and he with me’. But the door handle is only on
the inside, and it has to be opened from within, you are the one who can turn
it, in faith.
In the East to
receive an invitation to eat with someone was considered to be a most generous,
honoured and favoured act. Jesus is
ready to be faithful to His Word; we come at His invitation in a spirit of
simple trust. Jesus was brought up in
the East, and there the greatest act of friendship is to dine with
someone. Jesus is offering to dine with
anyone who invites Him.
So who can
come? All those who are weary and heavy laden with
care. This is a selective
invitation. There has to be recognised a
need and be prepared to admit it. The
problem may not be despair, it may be something quite different. All who are weighed down, to all these Jesus
speaks.
The Bible says, ‘there
is no distinction since all have fallen short of the glory of God’. It doesn’t matter what the past has been, if you
repent and turn to Christ, God is ready to blot out your sins and give you a
clean sheet.
We have all broken
God’s laws but if we are prepared to admit this, then Christ’s invitation is
for us.
What happens if
you come? Jesus said, ‘I will give you
rest’. These are words spoken by someone
who fulfils His promises. So many people
make promises they either cannot, or have no intention, of fulfilling. You can change your job or house, find new
friends, but if there is no inner peace, all the changes in the world will make
no difference. On the other hand, if
heart and mind are at rest, that is a priceless feeling. It is constant peace that Jesus is
offering. He says, ‘I can set you free
for I am the Way, the truth, and the life. He is able to do all He promises, and
is faithful and willing to do what He promises
The Bible tells of
men who went to Him blind, sick and poor.
Jesus gave them sight and riches beyond measure, releasing them from restlessness
enabling them to face the future.
Jesus said, ‘take
my yoke upon you and learn from me’. A
yoke was a wooden frame used to put over a pair of animals to enable a load to
be shared. Jesus is saying ‘let me help
you carry your burden. Instead of going your own way turn around and come with
me’.
The moment you come to Him is the time a
lasting and new relationship begins. But
it is not just mouthing words. It is
truly believing Jesus died on that Cross for your personal sins, and because of
that alone, you can be forgiven totally by God and earn your place in heaven.
It means putting Him as a priority. If we give preference to some other activity,
we are putting God in second place, and in the Commandments, He tells us He is
a jealous God and will not be relegated.
Jesus will welcome all, pardon any
failures, cleanse your heart and relieve your anxieties and cares, because of
the promise He made in John’s gospel, that whoever comes to Him will never be
turned away.
The Bible tells us that the love of Christ
goes far beyond human understanding, to break every barrier down. Only pride, fear or doubt can hold us back
You see it is not just being religious or
even coming to Church that brings peace and rest, or indeed makes you a full
Christian. A person can be baptised,
confirmed and be regular at Church and not be a true Christian. Many Church people are really unpleasant,
arrogant and very un-Christian. Coming
to Church should be a delight like sons and daughters coming to meet their
(heavenly)Father in complete harmony, as children go their earthly parents
home In far too many of our Churches
there are dominant personalities who, instead of looking for the good, want to
put their own interpretation on matters, such interpretation not always being
favourable. In such cases it is because
their own personal life is unhappy, disturbed or there is something lacking.
It may be someone’s life is in a mess, it
may be God seems far away, it may be after long time searching there is still a
reluctance to commit.
There are lessons for us to
learn from these verses We should be careful not to be proud in any form; pride
of intellect, wealth or goodness. Nothing is more likely to keep a person from
heaven, and stop them of seeing Christ, Try to seek humility, One of the
requests we can make is, Lord what would you have me do?
Secondly we see all power is
bestowed on Christ by His Father, and we see a perfect union. From these words
we find that everything in our soul’s interests. is placed in Jesus’ hands.
Thirdly, we see the breadth and fulness of the
invitations of Christ’s gospel. For two thousand years they have been a
blessing to the world There is a refuge for the weary, a rest of conscience and
heart, a rest flowing from peace with God. Jesus makes a simple statement, Come
unto me. We see how lowly He rates Himself as being meek and lowly of heart.
This invitation is for our
acceptance. If there sins to be forgiven, griefs to be removed, consciences to
be healed, here is this offer from Christ.
In the words of that great
hymn sung at every Billy Graham Crusade, come just as you are
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