Sermon 9-2-07 the business of God Mt 11:25-30
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
We rest so that we can have peace in our souls.
People get in the way of Rest and Peace, Jesus offers us peace.
Woman praying in church. Priest comes up and asks if he can help her. “no thanks, I ‘m getting all the help that I need”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peace is a gift,
We cannot create it, but we can dispose our hearts to receive it.
2 Yokes
The yoke of the world
Hard work, heavy, wears you out
So busy so busy that we cant find our keys, our check book. We are not living in the moment, we are living in where we need to go next.
The day that you stop, you will arrive.
What is the yoke of Christ
Easy, light, you will find rest
You cannot carry the yoke of the world and the yoke of Christ
You know, you have those moments where you go
“stop” something impt is happening……..you put on the mantle
of Christ
Lay them burdens down
finding peace
you cant enter the garden if you are carrying your burdens
you cant even see the garden if you are carrying your burdens
lay them at the feet of jesus,
songs celebrate our need for Jesus
are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows, are you tired of spinning round and round---pack up all the cares of your life, at the feet of Jesus lay them down
if you had the choice, which would you choose? The granting of your petition or the grace to be peaceful whether it is granted or not?
the serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time;Enjoying one moment at a time;Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;Taking, as Christ did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things rightif I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with HimForever in the next. Amen. ----Reinhold Niebuhr
We never rest until we let go of the outcome.
Once upon a time a man was visited by a dragon. Man was visited nightly by a 12 foot dragon with 3 heads. Terrified, he went to the psychologist who told him. I can cure you but it will take years and costs thousands of dollars. The man said, ok, never mind, I will just go home and make friends with it.
We find no rest because we continue to fight our dragons. We continue to resist our thorn in the flesh.
If we can grow accustomed to the fact that some of this isn’t going to get better, the we can get our mind off of our pain and onto the person of Christ and the joy of life.
My dragons-
My kids are growing up, they don’t need me anymore
My wife is gone a lot- I am lonely
I am aging- physical changes associated with that…….
Chronic benign lung problems, arthritis, eye problems
We never rest until we let go of the outcome and seek only the face of Jesus.
Maybe we meet Jesus in The Garden
When we come to the garden, what are we looking for?
Rest not= not about stopping, not about praying, not about taking a break, or a vacation, = rest is found when we begin to see the world as it is, and value it as we should.
A man told his friend about the beautiful sunset. The friend came out to join him. Hey, I see the sun, the sky, the clouds, but where is the beauty? Rest is not found in things, it is found in a way of seeing things
What does jesus say to you in the garden?
Nothing until you lay your burdens down…you cant hear him until you do
Who do you say that I am?
Fear not, it is I
Your sins are forgiven
Peace
Come unto me and I will give you rest
Do you love me?
Come follow me
Conclusion
Rest is found when we discover the timeless one, Jesus Christ.
When we are totally disconnected from all considerations of personal loss or gain.
Prayer
I seek you lord, the source of refreshment. I lay it all down. I seek you. Your sustenance and your healing. In solitude and silence, give my self back to me. Make me whole again. Energize me by your love, until I see me going out in love to friends, and to all those in need. Fill me Lord, I desire nothing but you.
Psalms------songs, peace peace wonderful peace
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
We rest so that we can have peace in our souls.
People get in the way of Rest and Peace, Jesus offers us peace.
Woman praying in church. Priest comes up and asks if he can help her. “no thanks, I ‘m getting all the help that I need”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peace is a gift,
We cannot create it, but we can dispose our hearts to receive it.
2 Yokes
The yoke of the world
Hard work, heavy, wears you out
So busy so busy that we cant find our keys, our check book. We are not living in the moment, we are living in where we need to go next.
The day that you stop, you will arrive.
What is the yoke of Christ
Easy, light, you will find rest
You cannot carry the yoke of the world and the yoke of Christ
You know, you have those moments where you go
“stop” something impt is happening……..you put on the mantle
of Christ
Lay them burdens down
finding peace
you cant enter the garden if you are carrying your burdens
you cant even see the garden if you are carrying your burdens
lay them at the feet of jesus,
songs celebrate our need for Jesus
are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows, are you tired of spinning round and round---pack up all the cares of your life, at the feet of Jesus lay them down
if you had the choice, which would you choose? The granting of your petition or the grace to be peaceful whether it is granted or not?
the serenity prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time;Enjoying one moment at a time;Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;Taking, as Christ did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things rightif I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with HimForever in the next. Amen. ----Reinhold Niebuhr
We never rest until we let go of the outcome.
Once upon a time a man was visited by a dragon. Man was visited nightly by a 12 foot dragon with 3 heads. Terrified, he went to the psychologist who told him. I can cure you but it will take years and costs thousands of dollars. The man said, ok, never mind, I will just go home and make friends with it.
We find no rest because we continue to fight our dragons. We continue to resist our thorn in the flesh.
If we can grow accustomed to the fact that some of this isn’t going to get better, the we can get our mind off of our pain and onto the person of Christ and the joy of life.
My dragons-
My kids are growing up, they don’t need me anymore
My wife is gone a lot- I am lonely
I am aging- physical changes associated with that…….
Chronic benign lung problems, arthritis, eye problems
We never rest until we let go of the outcome and seek only the face of Jesus.
Maybe we meet Jesus in The Garden
When we come to the garden, what are we looking for?
Rest not= not about stopping, not about praying, not about taking a break, or a vacation, = rest is found when we begin to see the world as it is, and value it as we should.
A man told his friend about the beautiful sunset. The friend came out to join him. Hey, I see the sun, the sky, the clouds, but where is the beauty? Rest is not found in things, it is found in a way of seeing things
What does jesus say to you in the garden?
Nothing until you lay your burdens down…you cant hear him until you do
Who do you say that I am?
Fear not, it is I
Your sins are forgiven
Peace
Come unto me and I will give you rest
Do you love me?
Come follow me
Conclusion
Rest is found when we discover the timeless one, Jesus Christ.
When we are totally disconnected from all considerations of personal loss or gain.
Prayer
I seek you lord, the source of refreshment. I lay it all down. I seek you. Your sustenance and your healing. In solitude and silence, give my self back to me. Make me whole again. Energize me by your love, until I see me going out in love to friends, and to all those in need. Fill me Lord, I desire nothing but you.
Psalms------songs, peace peace wonderful peace
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