How many of you feel tired, weary, or burdened?
As disciples of Jesus, we all carry a huge responsibility—to follow Jesus, spread the Gospel, and change the world.
This is an incredible mission, but the pressure can get to us and many of us can grow weary and tired…
Why? Did Jesus feel the weight of his mission?
Contents
Jesus’ Answer
Pay close attention to what Jesus says here,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Jesus invites the weary and burdened to learn from Him.
He promises rest for our souls if we take on his yoke and learn from him.
Jesus does an autobiographical statement here….”I am gentle and humble in heart”
So this means if we learn his gentle humble heart we will not be weary!
But how does that work?
A Humble Heart Depends on God
The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing…By myself I can do nothing.
John 5:19, 30
Jesus, the son of God who is fully capable, chose to rely on his father for everything.
Yet, we being fully human can find any excuse in the book to depend on ourselves and not God.
Jesus shows us that a humble heart leads to a total dependence on God.
We know Jesus was constantly in prayer…PRAYER IS THE LANGUAGE OF HUMILITY.
The truth is that everything we are being called to do is way beyond our ability to do successfully. Once you become convinced of that you will turn to God for your strength.
You might think, “I don’t know what I am doing!” Good, you are in the right spot!
Because that is when you will be forced to turn to God and fully depend on him and let go of control.
Questions To Ask Yourself
- Are you depending on God or yourself?
- How is your prayer life?
- If Jesus, God in the flesh, needed prayer to get through a day, who are we to think that we can survive without it?
A Humble Heart is Teachable
…At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-5
Characteristics of a Child
- Teachable
- Eager to learn
- Constantly asking questions
- Bent on investigation
- Hungry for knowledge
- Free from self-sufficiency and know they need help and ask for it
Remember the glimpses we got of Jesus staying behind in the temple just to sit and listen and ask questions of the teachers?
I imagine this happened because he did the same at home with his parents and in the synagogue…why else would he say to his mother?
“Why were you searching for me?”
He also asked, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
That is probably where Mary always found her missing son at home…in the synagogue
Jesus says unless we change and become like a child we won’t make it to Heaven.
Questions To Ask Yourself
- Are you teachable? Or do you think it is weak to ask questions?
- Are you open and honest about who you are? Or do you keep it between you and God and try to fix it on your own so that you don’t have to expose your weaknesses?
- Are you hungry to get trained? (How I got trained to teach the bible)
- Do you seek advice?
Your rate of spiritual growth is directly proportionate to how much you change and become like a child.
A Humble Heart is a Servant
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28
Are you ambitious? Competitive? Longing for praise? Looking to be seen as the best?
It is great to be ambitious for God and to long to do great things for him, but it is a pitfall to long to be seen as great.
Jesus was perfect, powerful, and great YET he was willing to be seen as the worst of criminals, seen as a blasphemer, if only to serve us and bring us to God.
His whole time on earth he focused on serving others and meeting their needs.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:1-9
If Jesus was focused on his own needs, and how people felt about him…would he have ever gone through with his mission?
Our culture tells us to focus on ME MYSELF AND I.
Let’s be honest, we can become so selfish and self-absorbed.
Jesus says we will be GREAT when we become servants.
Jesus says we are more blessed (Happy) when we GIVE than when we receive.
If we serve others like Jesus we will find true joy.
