THE LOWLY HEART
Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I’ve been working hard this year to get at our hearts- your heart and mine.
I am going to change that course and speak of One whose heart is not our own.
He has “a lowly heart.”
Perhaps the most important thing we can learn about the heart is that:
· Jesus has one and
· It is lowly
You and me, we can desire to be humble.
· We can seek to have a contrite spirit.
· We can strive to fill our heart with the right things so that the wrong in them has no place to stay.
But the truth be known, we’ll still be poor sinners,
· In trouble
· In need and
· In debt to the blessing of the Lord
If only we could look to Jesus!
If only we could get our eyes:
· Off of ourselves
· Off of others
· Off of our problems
· Off of our offences
· Off of the things we have lost
· Off of the things we wish we had
· Off of our past failures
· Off of our current complaints
And once and for all see Jesus.
The earlier ministry of Jesus Christ is often called His “year of popularity.”[1]
The earliest part of His ministry saw multitudes upon multitudes of people following Him.
· Some out of curiosity – would He perform another miracle?
· Some out of craving - would He give them another free meal?
· Some out of creed – would He restore the kingdom to Israel?
The first half of His ministry is an offer of the Kingdom of God to the Jews.
He is their Messiah and He could have given them the promised kingdom.
Consider the Sermon on the Mount.
It seems an almost impossible standard, doesn’t it?
It won’t be in the Millennial Kingdom of God.
John the Baptist and Jesus Christ both preached the Kingdom of God.[2]
In Matthew 11,
Jesus referenced the ministry of John the Baptist
Matthew 11:7-10 (KJV)
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Jesus referenced their rejection
Matthew 11:16-19 (KJV)
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Jesus pronounced a curse upon their cities
Matthew 11:20-24 (KJV)
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
Jesus turned His attention elsewhere
Matthew 11:25-27 (KJV)
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
I do not mean to imply that God has forsaken the Jews. But He has set them aside for a new, peculiar people.
Verses 28-30 is your invitation to become part of that people.
I try to practice what Jesus did in this passage, every time I extend an invitation at the end of the message.
I try to tell the audience what to do.
Notice Jesus provided for them three actions.
First,
I. COME
Matthew 11:28 (KJV)
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
You understand that not everyone does come.
· Some are too busy with their own things
· Some are too satisfied in their current circumstances
· Some are too angry at the people around them
There are a lot of reasons that people to not take up Jesus’ invitation to come to Him.
· Some people, frankly, have never heard the invitation
Jesus put that task on you and me.
Acts 1:8 (KJV)[3]
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
It is not at all difficult to come to Jesus.
You simply accept His invitation.
But I have discovered that everyone who has ever come to Jesus had one thing in common, they knew they needed to.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden….
I have met more than a few people who came out of curiosity, like the multitudes who came during the year of Christ’s popularity, but they turn away as soon as their curiosity is satisfied, or they get bored.
Those who are saved, know there is nowhere else to go.[4]
The second action is
II. TAKE
Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Notice that Jesus did not say,
· Take my glory
· Take my power
· Take my influence
· Take my popularity
· Take my throne
· Take my crown
He said, “Take my yoke.”
It’s an act of submission.
A yoke binds two together.
· Two oxen
· Two horses
· Two people
A marriage, for instance, is a yoke.
You have agreed together to become one.
The thing is, two, bound as one, can do so much more than two can do individually.
It’s called, synergism.
“the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.”[5]
But here’s the thing. In order for the two to be one, they cannot be two.
In order for two horses, yoked together, to do more than they could do apart, they have to work together.
They have to surrender their own will to the will of the whole.
When you take Jesus’ yoke, you surrender your own will.
· You will go a different way than you would have gone before
· You will work in a different field than you would have worked before
· You will pull a different load than you would have pulled before
This is why so many Christians struggle.
They are trying to get Jesus to pull their load.
They thought when they got saved, they could still do what they always thought they would do, but Jesus would bless what they do now.
Jesus said
Matthew 11:30 (KJV)
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
He doesn’t make your load easier.
He gives you a different load.
Action number three
III. LEARN
Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
This reminds me again of the Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The word “teach” is in there twice.
Living for Christ is a life of learning of Him.
· We learn about Him
· We learn from Him
And one thing I know about learning is, it takes time.
It’s a process.
Isaiah 28:9-10 (KJV)
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Anita has been a teacher since before the first day I met her.
One of the things I have learned from her is that teaching is a process.
Children learn in steps.
The teacher teaches them a thing.
· If the teacher goes on to the next thing before the student has really learned the first thing, they won’t be able to learn that next thing.
· If the teacher keeps moving them on before they get the steps before, they will never really learn what the teacher wanted them to learn.
I want to inform you, there is a lifetime of learning to really know Jesus Christ.
You can fast track growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord.[6]
You can’t skip steps. Not if you really want to learn of Christ.
You won’t like every step.
But if you don’t get every step, you won’t ever be able to learn of Christ and walk with in in that yoke.
That’s why you don’t really want a pastor who will
· Make church easy
· Make the Bible easy
· Make being a Christian easy
If you never learn to walk with Jesus, you will never learn that HIS yoke is easy, and HIS burden is light.
You’ll spend your whole life fighting to get that lowly heart of Jesus to carry your burden.
And that’s not easy.
[1] His three year ministry has been divided into 1. The Year of His preparation, 2. The year of His popularity, 3. The year of His passion.
[2] Mark 1:14 (KJV)
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
[3] It occurs to me that both this passage and the Great Commission begin with power. Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
[4] John 6:66-69 (KJV)
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
[6] 2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
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