Last week we looked at Christ’s invitation “Come to Me…” and His subsequent promise “I will give you rest…” This week we are going to look at the result of our coming to Christ and resting in Him.

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

What is this easy yoke?

For many of us, the word submission is a dirty word. However, that is just what Jesus is calling us to in Matthew 11:29 but He says something different about this yoke of submission. He says, “My yoke is easy”.  He does not force it upon us He draws us in with such great love that once we taste it and take it in, we find delight in the easy yoke. 

Did you know that His heart runs out in love towards you? Have you thought about how true this is how much he truly loves you? Do you contemplate His love? He loves you and gave Himself up for you Galatians 2:20. He who knew no sin was made sin for you that you might be made the righteousness of God in Him 2 Corinthians 5:21. He loves you to the end which means forever John 13:1. He so values you that He will not lose you John 17:11. The depth of His love is unfathomable. He is righteous, good, and gracious and as a believer, you are full of sins, failings, and infirmities yet He hides them all, He covers them all, He bears with them all, out of His great love. Owen says, “He parted with the greatest glory, He underwent the greatest misery, He does the greatest works that ever were because He loves His spouse.”[1] He’s the only Good and Gracious King!

Have you gone to the Fountain of living water and taken in His great love? Have you found Him to be a pearl of great price? Do you look upon Him and admire and, worship Him, extolling every facet of His beauty? Have you bowed low before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and praised Him that He would see you as His child and as His friend? He is worthy!

What this easy yoke is not?

Pastor Murray shared with us in his sermon yesterday what the easy yoke is not, it’s worth repeating his thoughts.

• Jesus says His yoke is easy, but it is not one to be trifled with it is to be held to the greatest value and importance. Do you take it lightly or do you see the gravity and weightiness of this calling? Do you think you can sell your birthright as Esau did and return whenever you are ready to return Gen. 25:31-33, Heb. 12:16?

• His yoke is not easy when we are legal-hearted. Do you bargain with God putting conditions upon Him as Jacob did in Genesis 28 NKJV – 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 “so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God? Do you put conditions on God? Do you see God as a conditional God? Do you put conditions on others? If you do then you will not come under this easy yoke you will fight against it and stiff-arm God. You will harden your heart against Him and His people.

• His easy yoke does not mean obedience is subjective. Do you think you can determine what is right and wrong in your own eyes like Peter did in Gal. 2:11-21? We all sin and we do not teach perfection at Grace Church, but we cannot and should not excuse our sin away. We must be believing believers and repenting repenters. Are you quick to repent of your sins and seek to live in gospel obedience?

• His easy yoke does not mean a life of ease. 1Pe 1:6-7 NKJV – 6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Do you know that every single situation you face every day has been filtered through the loving fingers of your heavenly Father? There is no situation no matter how easy or difficult that you face that He has not allowed and is using for your good. The question is how you face each challenge or blessing. Do you reap blessings from God and fail to recognize that they come from Him? Do you face challenges and trials through faith in the strength and goodness of God or do you attempt to face them in your own strength? Do you recognize that both blessings and tribulations are the providential work of God? Or do you simply live a natural life and act as if you live by fate?

Come and live the happiest life possible when you learn from Christ.

Christ says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”

There is no rest for a weary soul until we learn to rest in Christ. He tells us that He is gentle and meek, He loves us. The mercies of God are dispensed to us through this gentle and meek heart of Christ and those mercies are new every day.

Christ laid open His disposition, He tells us that He is gentle and lowly in heart, and He calls us and compels us to rest in His work for us. Christ lived a life we could never live, He died a death we could never die, He was raised for our justification and He’s working in us for our sanctification Titus 2:11 – 14.

From what are we resting? We are resting in Christ’s finished work for us, and we can stop trying to earn God’s love and our salvation. We can finally get off the treadmill of works righteousness and learn to live in covenant with our God. We are also resting in His comforts through His Spirit in all our trials and tribulations.

What is He teaching us? He is teaching us to walk in the good works for which He prepared for us beforehand Eph. 2:10. Christ is at work in our sanctification compelling us by His infinite love as He teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, learning from His gentle and lowly heart to live a humble, meek life in Him.

I pray you are taught by and compelled to live in covenant obedience through Christ’s infinite, unfathomable, boundless love for you!

Good and Gracious King

I approach the throne of glory
Nothing in my hands I bring
But the promise of acceptance
From a good and gracious King

I will give to You my burden
As You give to me Your strength
Come and fill me with Your Spirit
As I sing to You this praise

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome, I lift my voice
To the King in need of nothing
Empty handed I rejoice

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome with joy I sing
By Your love I am accepted
You’re a good and gracious King

O what grace that You would see me
As Your child and as Your friend
Safe, secure in You forever
I pour out my praise again

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome, I lift my voice
To the King in need of nothing
Empty handed I rejoice

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome with joy I sing
By Your love I am accepted
You’re a good and gracious King

Holy, holy, Lord Almighty
Good and gracious
Good and gracious
Holy, holy, Lord Almighty
Good and gracious King

Holy, holy, Lord Almighty
Good and gracious
Good and gracious
Holy, holy, Lord Almighty
Good and gracious King

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome, I lift my voice
To the King in need of nothing
Empty handed I rejoice

You deserve the greater glory
Overcome with joy I sing
By Your love I am accepted
You’re a good and gracious King
You’re a good and gracious King
You’re a good and gracious King

Lyrics by CityALight; Jonny Robinson, James Ferguson, Michael Farren

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[1] John Owen, Communion with the Triune God, Edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor, (Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Publishers, 2007) page 254.