His Yoke and Burden
Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
Introduction: Welcome to another week of Speaking Scriptures as we learn at His feet.
🙏 His words will fall upon our fertile hearts in Jesus name.
▶️ We are closer to the end times as religious deceptions are on the increase. Most ministries in the church of Christ are frolicking with the world as methods of transacting business are not different. For example, you are given target in the business world and if for whatever reason the target isn’t met, you are either demoted or fired.
❗In the church today, target are given to win souls for Christ or rather bring souls into the local assembly or get demoted or fired. Promotion to higher level in the Church of Christ is now determined by income generated by tithes and offering and increase in membership.
🤔 I have seen and heard of workers in the business world developing high blood pressure as a result of pressure from money deposit target in banking industry and also pastors developing high blood pressure as a result of target for souls into the Church that belongs to Christ.
Running from the business world to the Church of Christ for succour in the Living words of God this end times is futile because the same management styles are being used to achieve financial goals.
▶️ Comparing lectures from management class in finance world and lectures on church growth during workers retreat in the Church are exactly the same. Church of Christ has become church of Man.
🛑 What is prevalent now is that most Churches have become business venture that targets financial gains rather than gaining souls. No more unity in the body of Christ but competition among various ministries as they strive to acquire souls for different ministries rather than winning souls into the body of Christ.
🤔 In those days during evangelism, we were told that after preaching Christ the Saviour, we should direct souls won to any bible believing Church closer to the convert and NOT to enforce the convert to come to our church. It is NOT so now, even parishes from same ministry compete among themselves because there is target.
The Church or Temple of God has become trading company for sales of anointing by merchants (Pastors) and den of thieves.
Jesus dealt with those merchants at His first advent and is also coming to purify His Church someday.
Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
▶️ Church has gone astray by employing human efforts in bringing souls to the Church that belongs to Christ. Human effort brings human yokes and burden to Christian that are ignoramus.
🛑 ONLY the Spirit of God can draw men to Christ NOT Human efforts.
John 6:63-65(NLT) It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you don’t believe me. ” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, ” That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me. “
✍ Let us examine key words of Jesus Christ from our text today;
1️⃣ Coming to Jesus Christ
📢 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
❓Do we go to Jesus Christ as we attend the Church in our local assembly? Are we looking unto pastors, General overseers or founder for rest or relief?
Hebrews 12:2a (GNT) Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.
🛑 Any Christian who wants rest for his/her soul MUST keep on fixing eyes on Jesus Christ by the word Who is the Ancient path to good way.
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
⚠️ Jesus is the good Shepherd whose only voice brings rest to souls of men. Voice of man brings threats and fears. Let us consistently hear from the Shepherd of our souls by searching the Scriptures daily.
2️⃣ Yoking with Jesus Christ
📢 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.
To yoke is to be tied to someone. Many Christians are tied to pastors and spiritual leaders to the extent of seeing nothing wrong in spiritual directions prescribed by them even when it is not in the written words of God.
▶️ Yoking with Jesus Christ makes Christians to hear and do His words thereby having foundation on Solid Rock to stand in stormy times.
Matthew 7:24-25 (MSG) “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit–but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
▶️ Yoking with pastors and spiritual leaders makes Christians to be foolish thereby building on earthly foundation that cannot withstand storms of life.
📢 Matthew 7:26-27 (MSG) “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
⚠️ Jesus calls us to yoke with Him and learn from Him for rest or relief NOT any other that brings unrest or pains for self-aggrandizement.
3️⃣ Carrying Burden of Jesus Christ
📢 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
▶️ Burden of Jesus Christ is very light and easy. Spiritual leaders capitalise on Christian’s laziness in bible study and lack of knowledge to put unpleasant burden on followers as they misrepresent God in their messages, saying what God has not said.
There are pastors who give monetary reward to whoever brings someone to church in order to meet targets NOT burden for souls.
When my wife was in the banking industry, an elderly customer insisted on collecting interest above what the bank offered and my wife paid the difference in order to get the fixed deposit so as to meet her target. She was greatly under pressure and fear at every Monthly Progress Report (MPR) meeting throughout her stay in the bank.
⚠️ Exactly the same style is now adopted in most Churches especially big ones that do not want decrease in financial income through tithes and offering. Income increases as members increase therefore targets for souls are given to pastors while spiritual leaders hide under the pretence of evangelism. We MUST be careful as we applaud churches with large attendance. Motives are known to God.
1 Corinthians 4:5(NLT) So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.
Someone in trying to justify actions taken against pastors that are yet to meet targets told me to ask my wife about MPR meetings. I was sad to hear that from a spiritual leader. I can understand my wife because she didn’t want to loose her job and all of us went through that in the secular world but I don’t understand why the Church of Christ will experience the same. Who has bewitched us?
❓Is it the position given in the church that pastors are afraid to quit or what? Is position more important than eternal life?
🛑 Obviously Christians started in the Spirit and follow after the Flesh or Human nature in the church of Christ as they follow spiritual leaders rather than Jesus Christ.
Hear letter from Paul to Galatian church who were operating through Human efforts;
Galatians 3:1-3(AMP) O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom–right before your very eyes–Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified? Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
▶️ The Burden of Christ for us is to preach the Gospel without enforcement or enticement of men.
❗Conversion of souls is the work of Holy Spirit NOT by Human efforts or target.
John 6:63,65 (NLT) It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Then he said, ” That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me. “
Hear what Jesus told His Disciples while going on evangelism;
Luke 9:5(NLT) If the people of the village won’t receive your message when you enter it, shake off its dust from your feet as you leave. It is a sign that you have abandoned that village to its fate. “
▶️ When Samaritans did not receive Jesus Christ, His Disciples, James and John wanted to call down fire to consume them but Jesus knew it was the work of Flesh as they didn’t know how Holy Spirit operates.
Luke 9:54-56 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Jesus Christ has not come to destroy lives through burden and fear but to save lives.
✍ Finally brethren, let us stand fast unto Christ and reject yoke of bondage from anyone.
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Commandments of God are NOT grievous nor burdensome at all. Whatever brings fear and burden does not come from God.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
✋ Maranatha
