Thank you for joining me for this week's edition of the sermon. I hope that you are all doing well and are in good health. I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to post the message today.
Last week, we began a short series of messages on what I call my favorite verses in the Bible. These are verses or short passages that have had a lot of meaning for me in my life. The passage that I would like us to focus on today is Matthew 11:28-30. Here is what Jesus says, "Come to Me. all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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. For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
This verse speaks to me for a number of different reasons. First of all, this verse tells me that Jesus will accept anyone who comes to Him. Come to me all who are weary. That is about everyone that I know. Jesus wants people to come to Him and find new life. He wants people to come to Him and find release and forgiveness from the burdens of sin and guilt. Whoever is willing to come to Jesus in repentance and faith, Jesus will accept them. He will not cast them out.
I find comfort in this verse because it speaks to me of the fact that Jesus is there for me when I am facing difficulties in life. Throughout my life, I have faced some difficult times. At these times, I have been able to make it through because Jesus is with me. When I am troubled and in distress, I can go to Jesus and find rest from all of the trouble that is in the world. We told us that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will be with us always throughout eternity.
Matthew 11:28-30 tells us that we can be free from the baggage of sin and the baggage of this world that besets us. It is a heavy load that pushes us down. With Jesus as our Savior, Lord and Friend, we can be freed from the burdens of sin and the burdens of this world. We can take up His yoke. That means that He leads us and He guides in the way and in the path of love. He is gentle and humble. He leads us in such a way that we become more like Him each day so that we can show others the path of the Lord and how it can be of benefit to their lives.
One thing that I want to emphasize in this passage that is important to me is that Jesus wants us to learn from Him. He wants to be our teacher. He wants to show us the way that we can have an abundant life. Jesus said that He came to bring life and life that is more abundant.
One of the ways that we learn from Jesus is by studying what He said and what He did while He was on this earth. I encourage everyone to thoroughly study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Here, you will find what Jesus wants us to do. Here, we will see how Jesus acted while in this world as an example of how we should also act. In the Gospels, we have the answer to the question, what would Jesus do?
We also learn from Jesus when we spend time with Him in prayer and meditation. When we are still in the presence of the Lord, we can allow Him to speak to our hearts so that we will know His will for the situations that we are facing in this life. It is at these times in particular that I feel the great comfort and the presence of the Lord Jesus within my life.
I want to close the message today by reiterating the fact that Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to have a relationship with everyone. His love is available to all. I invite you to come to Jesus and find rest for your soul today. You will find that knowing Jesus and having Jesus as Lord is the best thing that ever happened to you in your life. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I want to thank the Lord that the heavy rain that we had last week did not cause any problems in my area. We need to continue to pray for those in Louisiana and throughout other parts of the US that were affected by the storms. Please pray that those who are in need will receive the help that they need. Please reach out to help others as you are able.
Continue to pray for Afghanistan. There are many still in that country that would like to get out. Pray that they can leave soon. Pray for the refugees as they are seeking a new life.
Pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Libya, Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia all need our prayers.
Please continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. In my state, many have not taken the vaccine. Please pray that people will get vaccinated in order to help themselves and others. Pray for those who are sick that they may recover.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Bangladesh and Jordan. Pray that many will come to Jesus and find rest.
Next week, I will post a message about another of my favorite verses. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will have a midweek post. May God bless you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment