Matthew 11:28 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.
Jesus said, “Come to Me.”
He did not invite people to a church or group. Nor to a teaching.
Jesus said, “Come unto Me”, and, in the next verse, “learn of Me”.
The promise “I will give you rest” is to those who come and learn.
No one else can give you His rest. He said, “I will give you rest.”
You cannot earn that rest. The rest is a gift from Jesus. He said “I will give you rest.”
If you are a born-again child of God then you have already “come” to Him at least once in your life. The moment you said, “Jesus, I cannot save myself. I trust in Your death on the cross to save me from my sins and their punishment. Jesus, be My Savior and Lord,” in that moment, you entered into His rest. You stopped trying to be your own savior. Most believers know that it was settled from that moment on. You’re saved and you know it.
That is a good beginning. But Jesus’ invitation didn’t stop there.
Jesus said, “Come to Me” and “learn of Me”.
Since the day you came to Him, Jesus continually invites you, saying, “Learn of Me.” That is a learning process.
Every day we come to Jesus, we hand over something else, and trust Him in it.
What happens in many Christian lives? They struggle with sin, and with their feelings, their worries, their fears. They experience many defeats and very few victories.
Can we trust Jesus to give us rest from these things as well? If we can trust Him and believe Him for salvation, can we trust Him for victory?
But that is exactly what He invites you to experience. His rest is for every aspect of our lives, not just salvation from the penalty of sin.
But when we have entered into His rest we no longer worry about things. Outside of Him there is plenty to worry about; but when we come to Him, and stay in Him, He gives us rest. Rest is incompatible with worry. A worried person cannot sleep, cannot rest. A person who is resting in the Lord does not worry.
Mark 3:14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
Jesus called His twelve disciples to BE with Him, that He might send them out to preach. We are eager to go out, to be used, to go to work; but Jesus is more interested in the relationship, in our being with Him, learning to rest in Him. Remember to rest with Him, before you get out into the doing.
Churches have kept members doing, doing for God. But just as Sabbath alternates with the work week, so there needs to be a time of rest between times of doing, a time of just being with Jesus.
That’s a teaching, an invitation, a command. But how many are able to do it?
If they’ve realized that the churches give their members no rest, they come out of church, and before you know it they start a home church, or they go looking for fellowship with others, or they get restless and end up going back to church. After all, being in a church feels more familiar.
Are you content to just be with Jesus? Is Jesus enough? When Jesus is enough then you are resting. We you feel something more is needed, and you start looking outside of Him, you become restless.
Are you happy to just be with Jesus. If you see I am lacking something, I trust you to bring it. But I am not seeking anything outside of You. That includes fellowship with others, ministry, spiritual experiences, or anything else. If Jesus sees you are lacking something, you can trust Him to bring it. And that is the life of faith, of trust, of rest…
Bibloscope 