Heart
to Heart
Text:
Matt
11:25-30
At
that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed
them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me
by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know
the Father except the Son, and the one
to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
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."
NKJV
Introduction:
As
I read verse 30, this thought comes to mind; I don’t find this to be true. There
are times in my life where I carry very heavy burdens. There are times where
life just seems to weigh me down. I have days where my heart’s cry is come Lord
Jesus; I’m tired and worn out.
Now
it seems to me, I have one of two options here.
1.
The
first option is that God is lying. I quickly dismiss this option as the Lord has
never done this before. The Word says God is not a man that He can lie, and in
all my experiences with God, I have never known Him to me untruthful in
anything, so I quickly dismiss this option.
2.
The
second option is that I have missed it somewhere along the line. I find this to
be a much more viable option, since this would not be the first time it has
happened.
30 For
My yoke is easy and My burden is
light." NKJV
This
is the life I desire. This is the life I believe God yearns for us to
have.
This
morning we are on a quest. We are on a quest to discover from God’s Word how to
find rest for our souls, how to put on an easy yoke, and how to have our load
lightened.
Transition:
The
hypostasis we are going explore this morning is; quality of life is determined
by healthy relationships.
My
contention this morning is, if our yoke is hard and our burden is heavy, it is
not a sin problem, it is not a satanic attack problem, it is a relational
problem. The thought being a sin problem stems from a relational problem. If our
relationships are right everything else will fall in line.
The
older I become and the more I learn about the Lord and His Word, it is becoming
evident to me that everything in life is relational. The very core of our being
is relational.
In
the Garden of Eden when humanity was created, let’s ask ourselves this question,
why were we created?
·
The
answer is we were created to have an intimate relationship with the Lord.
·
You
and I are unique in the entire universe. There is not any other being in
existence like you and I.
·
Illustration
of creation.
Job
38:4-74 "Where
were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations
fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy? NKJV
·
In
the last verse of chapter three in the book of Luke there is a genealogy of
Jesus, this is what it says, “the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of
Adam, the son of God.
·
The
reality is you and I are the offspring of God. We are unique. I do not say this
with arrogance I simply state it as a fact.
·
We
are created for one purpose and one purpose only. We are created to be in
imamate fellowship with God Almighty. We are created to be the dwelling place,
the abode, the temple, the house of God. More than any place else this is where
God desires to dwell.
·
When
Jesus died on the cross the Bible tells us that the temple veil was torn in two.
A lot of scholars believe this signifies that people now have access to God.
But, I think it goes a step further, God says I am moving out, I have a new
place to live. I am getting ready to move into my dream home. I am getting ready
to live in the place I have longed for. And about 40 days later there were
gathered 120 believers in the upper room. The Bible says there was a sound of a
rushing mighty wind that filled the whole house. Then there were divided tongues
of fire that rested above each one of them. God was moving in, hallelujah.
·
The
essence of the cross, when everything is stripped away. When you go past the
fact that Jesus died for our sins and caused us to be justified before God. The
heart of the cross is reconciliation. A Holy God making a way for His children
to have an intimate relationship with Him.
·
Let’s
look at the two Great Commandments, Luke
10:26-28 He
said to him, "What
is written in the law? What is your reading of
it?"
27 So
he answered and said," 'You shall love
the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind,'* and
'your neighbor as
yourself.'"
28 And
He said to him, "You
have answered rightly; do this and you will live." NKJV
·
Notice
that they deal entirely with relationships; the two great commandments are
totally relational.
o
There
is not any of the Ten Commandments listed here.
o
Love
the Lord your God with all your heart
o
God
is not looking for a mind connection; He is not looking for someone to go
through religious rituals. God is looking for a heart connection.
o
The
truth is love comes from the heart. There are a lot of people in illicit
relationships trying to find love through another person’s body, but true love
comes from the heart.
·
We
have it all wrong, our mentality is if we do the right things if we don’t do
this or if we do that we will be spiritual and God will be pleased. The truth is
if we fall in love with Jesus, if we connect to God heart to heart everything
else will take care of itself.
Col
2:20-23 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual
powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world,
such as, 21 "Don't handle! Don't taste! Don't touch!"? 22 Such rules are mere
human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may
seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe
bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person's evil
desires.
·
God
is looking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and truth. John
4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and
those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
NKJV
o
In
the Bible the word spirit and heart are interchangeable. The definition of both
is the innermost being. The very core of a person. 1
Cor 2:9-12 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no
ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love
him." 10 But* it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his
Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. 11 No one can
know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know
God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. 12 And we have received God's Spirit
(not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely
given us.
·
Illustration:
When my parents were dating in High School. My mother took my Dad’s car without
telling him she was taking it. I believe it was a Mustang but I am not sure. My
Dad’s friends told her when Jimmy finds out you took his car he is going to be
really upset with you, so she worried about this all day, and you know how nice
some friends can be, they could not wait to tell him. The moment they got a
chance to tell him they did, Cathy took you car today. He just shrugs his
shoulders and says, “that’s okay” and they are shocked.
o
My
question is why was he not upset when my mother took his most prized possession?
o
The
answer is this was not his most prized possession anymore; it was his
relationship with my mother.
o
I
believe this is what happens in our text: 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."
NKJV
o
The
cares of the world don’t go away the problems are still there, but Jesus is so
in love with you, and you are so in love with Him the things of the world no
longer weigh us down.
Conclusion:
·
There
is not anything in all creation that God desires more than you and I.
·
The
Bible says He is jealous for His people, or another way to say it is God is
passionate about His children.
·
God
says, “You are my greatest treasure, you are my most prize possession, and there
is not anything in this world that means more to me than you
do.”
·
Then
God says, “I want to be your greatest treasure, I want to be your most prized
possession, and I don’t want anything in this world to mean more to you than I
do.”
