Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20011118.htm
REST FOR THE SOUL IN THIS LIFE Part II: Escaping Abuse "Baggage" To Find Rest In Christ's Oversight (Matthew 11:29)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

When one believes in Christ's death on the cross for his sin, he POSITIONALLY in Christ becomes a "new creation" so that "the old has gone, the new has come," 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV.

However, in the believer's EXPERIENCE, "the old" does not always disappear due to "baggage" of former abusive treatment:

(1) According to an article in the Torrington, Connecticut Register-Citizen several years ago, the "U.S. Surgeon General has labeled battering as the leading cause of injury and death for women, more than rape, auto accidents and muggings."

How may an emotionally and mentally scared spouse overcome the OLD "baggage" of such abuse to live a NEW life of REST as a follower of Jesus Christ?

(2) It has been repeatedly documented from different sources that divorce has a negative effect on children. Well, in a kindergarten class one year in an area elementary school, I was told the vast majority of the class daily returned to homes where only one birth parent of each child lived! The scars of DIVORCE even in OUR area are widespread and deep, and CHILDREN who come to Christ in our VBS programs need help finding solutions to these scars! HOW are they going to find REST with such "baggage"?

(3) AP Writer, George W. Cornell once reported on a support group for victims of clergy sexual abuse. He cited Jeanne Miller, president and executive director of Victims of Clergy Abuse Linkup, or VOCAL who claimed of such abuse: "It reaches further into the psyche than any other kind of breach because it's an exploitation of power that gets its authority from a higher place."

For women and children who have been thus abused by CLERGY they once TRUSTED deeply in their souls, HOW do they ever get OVER it as BELIEVERS in Christ?

(4) Probably every American has suffered some form of mental and emotional "baggage" from terrorist attacks beginning September 11. How can any American find REST from this "baggage" today?

BEYOND just finding "refreshment" upon coming to Christ as He says in Matthew 11:28, IS it possible for people SCARRED by abuse to find REST to the SOUL in THIS life?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I know that to START to find inner rest, I must trade the expectations and efforts I or others have of me for Christ's. Yet, I bear baggage' from abusive overseers' deeds that I can't just trade' away no matter what I do -- can someone like me EVER find rest?!"

1. After promising rest for all who came to Him (Matt. 11:28), Jesus focused on giving rest to ABUSED people, Matthew 11:29a.
1. Jesus called His listeners to take His "yoke" of learning upon them to find "rest" to their "souls" in Matthew 11:29.
2. That "yoke" of learning reminded His Hebrew listeners of the "yoke" the Pharisees commonly mentioned that referred to learning and submitting to their oppressive legalistic rules allegedly to gain God's blessing, Edersheim, Life & Times Of Jesus the Mes., ii, p. 142-143.
3. Thus, Jesus spoke of growing in rest gained by being educated under HIS oversight's teaching in CONTRAST to the legalistically oppressive schooling offered by Israel's abusive religious overseers!
2. In picturing His SCHOOLING PROCESS, Jesus said He OFFSET the HARMFUL and STUNTING effects HIS students bore from PAST ABUSIVE OVERSEERS so they could SHIFT from UNREST unto GROWING REST in the inner man, Mtt. 11:29b,c:
1. Opposite the tension-building abusive oversight of overseers in this world, Jesus is harmless so His learners can relax, Matthew 11:29b:
1. The Greek word, praus rendered "meek" (KJV) or "gentle" (NIV) is used to accent a harmless gentleness, cf. T.D.N.T., VI, p. 645.
2. It is used to describe Jesus' riding into Jerusalem, offering himself as Israel's Messiah King on a foal of a donkey in Matthew 21:5.
3. Significantly, that Matthew 21:5 passage quotes Zechariah 9:9 where the Hebrew word describes the Messiah as praus in the Septuagint Greek translation of Jesus' day, and that context STARKLY CONTRASTS the harmless offer of Messiah as her King with the entrance of Alexander the Great into Palestine as a threatening, aggressive ruler, Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Zec. 9:9.
4. The immediate context of Matt. 11:29b also STARKLY CONTRASTS Jesus' harmless offer as teacher-overseer to that of the oppressive Pharisees, Ibid., Edersheim.
5. Thus, Jesus is HARMLESS opposite the Pharisees of His day and opposite Alexander the Great of Israel's past, and that means His learners can afford to RELAX opposite what they would experience under such godless, abusive overseers in the world.
2. Opposite the squelching "put-downs" of the world's abusive overseers, Jesus is a humble Teacher so His learners have room to develop as THEMSELVES, Matthew 11:29c:
1. The Greek word, tapeinos rendered "lowly" (KJV) or "humble" (NIV) is a self-imposed subjection to others, T.D.N.T., viii, 1-26.
2. Thus, opposite the Pharisees or Alexander the Great, JESUS accepts His students' individualities so they have room to flourish as THEMSELVES in His schooling of them!
3. Remarkably, as Jesus is the CREATOR (John 1:1, 3; Col. 2:9), Jesus as GOD thus uses a SELF-IMPOSED HUMILITY that gives room for ANY disciple to BE HIMSELF in GROWING!
3. In this way, Jesus' oversight leads His students to a "rest to the soul!"

Application: To find COMPLETE REST in the SOUL as a party with "baggage" from past abuse, one goes BEYOND trusting Christ for salvation (John 3:16) and heeding Scripture in a general way (the last sermon); rather, (1) the BELIEVER with such "baggage" VOLUNTARILY submits to be SCHOOLED by JESUS as his OVERSEER. He will find (a) Jesus as an Overseer is HARMLESS unlike painful abusive parents, spouses, Church, business, school or governmental overseers he has known; he then RELAXES with Jesus so he can LEARN. (b) He also finds Jesus is HUMBLE unlike "degrading" abusive overseers (parents, spouses, business, Church, school or government leaders); that causes him to FLOURISH in being HIMSELF as he spiritually develops so he can attain FULL REST in the inner man! (2) As ALL Scripture reveals the mind and will of Christ (John 1:1,14), in PRACTICE, this all means (a) AS a believer decides to treat Scripture as fully AUTHORITATIVE in his life, (b) he finds God interacts with him IN LIFE in great HARMLESSNESS and gives him the LIBERTY to BE HIMSELF just OPPOSITE what he knew with abusive overseers, Jn. 14:21, 27! He thus RESTS from abusive "baggage"!

Lesson: Full "rest to the soul" for all with past abuse "baggage" comes by their finding in CHRIST healing for the oppressive and inhibiting effects of harmful, demeaning abusive relationships (in marital, family, Church, government, business or school settings); JESUS creates the opportunity for a "rest" to occur for such TROUBLED disciples as they submit to HIS harmless, humble reign and flourish as THEMSELVES.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

While wondering what to write here for this closing illustration, I was experiencing a nagging memory of a very trying conversation I once had years before with a friend. I had then been put into the position of declining a request since what I was being asked to do was unbiblical! To my dismay, the friend turned negative and later parted company with me! So I was mulling the event over in my mind, wondering if I could have done something different for better results.

While this mind game was in progress, Mike Terwilliger drove up in his truck with Billy Sangster to talk briefly with me. Just before leaving, Billy in jest pointed at my tummy and said, "Get your hiking boots on -- we'll take some of that stuff offof you!"

I accepted his comment as a very friendly gesture and looked down at my midsection in mock wonder while they laughed and left.

About five minutes later, Mike called on his cell phone to say just after they had gone out, Billy had told him about me, "I can't see how anybody can say anything bad about that man! He's a nice guy!"

Now, I am not the nicest person on earth -- I have been around me far too long to be fooled about that -- believe me! But, the timing of Billy's statement in light of how I had been struggling with the mind game "guilt" issue before Mike and Billy had come up revealed to me how the LORD was active applying this sermon to encourage ME!

Later that very day, while preparing a Sunday evening message out of 1 Samuel 1:26 where Hannah recalled having prayed for a son at a certain spot, the same spot where she eventually gave Samuel to Eli when God had given her a son, I recalled I had first seen Mike's pickup drive up out in the same spot in the hall where years before the Lord had encouraged me to take another stand on another issue where relationships were at risk! God was ministering to encourage me in regards to these relationship-sacrificing STANDS of mine! He was indicating that HE supported me IN them so I was not to feel BAD over the harmful reactions I had received in TAKING them!