Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20011125.htm

REST FOR THE SOUL Part III: Blessedly STRETCHING God's REST Unto OTHERS (Matthew 11:29-30)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In the sermon series out of Matthew 11:28-30 we have been covering the last two Sundays, we found WE ourselves can find "rest to the soul" by faith in Jesus Christ and His Word.

However, the vast majority in the world has NO such rest, and knowing that fact can cause our OWN "rest to the soul" to seem restricted!

(1) A missionary to the Middle East recently handed us a paper on what the average Middle East Muslim woman faces as to FEAR in living. She fears evil spirits to such an extent she may even dress her son up as a little girl since evil spirits are believed to target girls less than boys. She may eats or drink Koranic verses on pieces of paper, or pay a sheik to pray for her to win God's favor. She has to guard her moral reputation fiercely, for if just a rumor of immorality about her reaches her family's ears, she may be killed by them to protect the family name. As millions of the WORLD'S MUSLIMS live in the Middle East, HOW can so MANY Muslim WOMEN ever get "rest to the soul," and HOW are WE to "REST" if knowing so many women live in FEAR without our DOING something about it?!

(2) Jehovah's witnesses come to our doors to make converts of us to their faith. Lest we think this is easy for them, keep in mind that they are taught in their Kingdom Halls that to gain eternal life, they MUST come to our doors this way!

So, how may THESE people find Christ's "REST to the SOUL," and how can WE "rest" knowing they are under such bondage to DEEP and legalistic error?

(3) During the last stock market downturn, Louis Leigh told to me he had heard a fellow Christian businessman express worry over his ignorance of knowing God's will on investing. The man had been frightened by the latest bear market, and told Louis, "I've been praying for the last several weeks for God to lead me to some Christian who can tell me what God's will is on investing!"

How can such a CHRISTIAN find "rest to his soul," and what can WE do to HELP him for our own peace of mind?

For that matter, HOW can the "rest to the soul" WE have be STRETCHED to include others around the world?

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

Need: "From these lessons, I've enjoyed learning to find rest to my soul in Christ and His Word. Yet, so MANY I know live restlessly, and KNOWING that fact often causes me UNREST! How can the rest I have found in the Lord be EXTENDED to aid THEM?!"

When Jesus urged people to find rest to their souls in Him, His call included an OBTAINABLY PRODUCTIVE LIFE, Matt. 11:29-30:

Jesus mentioned His disciples needed to take His yoke upon them and learn of Him en route to finding "rest" to their souls, Matthew 11:29.
Christ's hearers would have known His reference to a "yoke" pictured the Pharisees' call for their followers to bear the oppressive "yoke" of learning and applying errant Pharisee rules to living, cf. Edersheim, The Life And Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. ii, p. 142-143.
However, in contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus said His "yoke" was easy and His "burden" pulled in His "yoke" was light, Matt. 11:29 NIV.
Jesus thus claimed His we could have an obtainably productive life.

This OBTAINABLY PRODUCTIVE LIFE includes LEARNING to BE LIKE CHRIST so as to BE a DISCIPLER of OTHER people!

Since finding Christ's "rest" is coupled with "learning from" Christ and His Word, one who learns from Jesus not only finds rest, but also learns to become LIKE Jesus Himself, cf. Acts 4:13; Acts 11:26c.
When His disciples become LIKE Jesus as described in Matthew 11:28-30, His "rest" extends to disciple the world (as follows):

First, abused people are attracted to Christ to heed Him, 11:28-29:

The word, "gentle" translated from praus in Matthew 11:29 is used of Jesus in Matthew 21:5 to describe His riding on the foal of a donkey into Jerusalem to offer Himself as Israel's King.
This event fulfilled the Zechariah 9:9 prophecy of Christ's gently entering Jerusalem in contrast to Alexander the Great's terrorizing conquest of the lands, cf. Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn.
As Jesus is also contrasted with the Pharisees in Matthew 11:29, Jesus as a gentle Leader is starkly contrasted to the abusive rulers of Alexander the Great and the Pharisees!
This idea of Jesus being non-abusive is amplified by His also being portrayed as "humble," a word rendered from tapeinos meaning self-imposed restriction where others feel free to be themselves without being mistreated, T.D.N.T., viii, p. 1-26.
Thus, the needy who suffer abuse in life come to Jesus at His "call" to find "rest" to their "souls," Matthew 11:28-29!

Then, as these followers of His "learn" from Him, they become LIKE Him, and in turn attract other abused associates by their non-abusiveness akin to Christ's, and these "second generation" disciples in turn "learn" from them about Christ to find "rest"!
The "second generation" believers "learn" of Jesus and become attractive like Him, and so the "rest" keeps expanding worldwide!

Examining this BLUEPRINT'S DETAILS in Scripture, we see how FULFILLING this discipling effort is IF it is done Biblically:

First, to FIND a true "rest" that attracts oppressed people, one BELIEVES in Christ as personal Savior from sin to end his search for "rest" regarding his eternal welfare, John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9.
Then, he lives in God's spiritual POWER just to be able to live "restfully" in righteous blessing from God, for only God can live a godly life in a restful way in a Christian, Galatians 5:16 with 2:20.
Once thus empowered by God (Acts 1:8a), a believer learns from the Bible, Christ's Word, to use the spiritual gift God gave him at salvation to edify others in the local church, Romans 12:1-2, 3-8.
As he does so, God meets every other need he has so he can continue to do that ministry, Philippians 4:19.
When one keeps learning from Christ and ministering this way, he attracts others to an ever-growing, non-abusive, refreshing Christ-like character God grows in him, and so equipped disciples others for Christ in an expanding circle of contacts, 1 John 2:17.
The more this process continues, the deeper becomes the believer's "rest to the soul" as he anticipates heaven and its eternal reward!

Application: For God's "rest to the soul" to be found in its HIGHEST sense, (1) WE trust in Christ to find eternal rest with our OWN eternal destiny, Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9. (2) THEN, we FOLLOW God through applying His Word to our LIVES and find Him leading us to BECOME MORE like JESUS in HIS power (Eph. 2:10). (3) In doing so, OTHERS are ATTRACTED to the non-abusive Jesus living IN us as WE were attracted to Christ, and they in turn are discipled THROUGH us in ever widening circles of blessing! This produces the ultimate "rest"!

Lesson: To see the "rest to the soul" WE have found in Jesus and His Word STRETCH to OTHERS, we must CONTINUE to "learn" from Scripture and APPLY it in living; GOD then MAKES us MORE like JESUS so WE can ATTRACT and DISCIPLE others with great joy!

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

As you know, Louis Leigh has put a lot of work into getting our Church messages onto our Internet web site. One of the lessons that took much work to install for its especially trying layout was a lesson from Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 on investing in the stock market.

Also, Marshall Klimasewiski has worked extensively with Louis and me on the hardware and services needed for this ministry.

I had also put three years of work into that lesson -- work in Hebrew exegesis, research in several town libraries for the application of that insight besides many hours of writing and rewriting the work.

Yet, Louis, Marshall and I were each one motivated to do our tasks: though our labors were extensive, we EACH knew how much WE OURSELVES felt WE needed the Scriptural material for our OWN welfare, let alone for the welfare of OTHERS, so our efforts seemed "easy" as a result!

Then, as we mentioned in the beginning of this message, Louis met the man who testified of his prayer for God to bring some believer across his path who knew something from Scripture on investing! Louis then had the joy of going to a computer near him, of tapping into our Church web site, printing the investing lesson out and placing it down on the desk in front of the needy believer just minutes after he had testified of his need for it! One look at the lesson title, and all he could say was, "I can't believe it!"

I know I also speak for Louis and Marshall when I say our COLLECTIVE effort of being USED of GOD to put that lesson in front of that believer has become IMMENSELY fulfilling!

Time would fail for me to tell of the many ways OTHER people in this Body are being used of God to minister God's "rest" unto others! I see it in the Men's Retreat, in our Sunday School, on the bulletin board decorations, VBS, Choir, Youth Ministries, besides many others. It happens in fellowship hall, over the phone and by letter. It happens to far-off corners of the world by the missionaries we support and by personal witnessing to our friends!

That's the way God wants the "rest to the soul" to be spread about -- by HIS power working THROUGH US to do HIS will BY US unto OTHERS, and that with an EASY yoke and load!