“Rest for the Weary Soul” By Jesse Rairdon January
21st,
2018 Don't stop on my account; continue to praise
Him. He's worthy of
our praise. Worthy is the Lamb, it says in Revelation, that was slain.
Worthy
is the Lamb that came broke the seal, and opened the Book, so that we
could
have eternal life. None is worthy but God. Not is worthy but the Lord,
Jesus
Christ. Please be seated. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Today's message is “Rest for the Weary Soul”.
The theme for this
month is, “Learn of Me.” And our Scripture from the month comes from
Matthew,
chapter twenty-eight, or Matthew, chapter eleven, twenty-eight to
thirty. It
says: Matthew
11:28-30
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. In the first week, Chris talked about going to
God—we have to go
to God—and how we need to look to God for that hope. A lot of people
were
coming to this country and the first thing they seen was the Statue of
Liberty,
and that Statue of Liberty was hope for them. Hope that they could have
a
better life for their families. Hope that they could come to a place
where they
could be free, from where they were oppressed. And today we look to God
for
that hope, and how we have to labor to enter into His rest. And the
second
week, Parrish talked about that yoke of God. How we need to learn of
God, and how
we need to kind of light up the world with the Gospel, and how we need
to have
Revival. The three areas I'm going to cover today is: 1.
Rest
from
Our Labors 2.
The
Way To That Rest 3.
Renewal
And Revival Part
1: Rest
from Our Labors Genesis
2:1-3 Thus
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And
on the
seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the
seventh
day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh
day, and
sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which
God
created and made. God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, why?
Because He rested
from all the work which He had created and made. Let me ask you this
question: do
you think God needed to take a nap? Do you think God gets tired and
needs to
rest? Or, from the beginning, was this for us? An example for us?
Something for
us to look forward to? My daughter don't think— she's three and a half
now,
going on sixteen—she don't think she needs to have naps. But, you know,
Mom and
Dad are there to kind of keep convincing her. Yes, you need to take a
nap. And,
the more we tell her, the grumpier she gets. Finally, she will go up
there, reluctantly,
and almost forcibly, sometimes, and take her nap, but she feels so much
better
after her nap. I've got to confess to you, too, every once in a while,
I like a
little nap. This weekend, even as I was preparing for the message, and,
sometimes,
as you know, those of you who prepare to serve people, you stay up late
at
night, or early in the mornings, I was getting a little grumpy with my
family.
It's true. I'm sure my wife could tell, and she's very patient with me.
I said,
I need to go take a little rest. And, I found a place in the house
where my
daughter couldn't find me, and I took a little rest. I kind of hit
reset, and
then I got up and continued to help with things in the house, and meet
the needs
of the family, and continue to pray and seek God about the message. So,
yes,
God has a purpose for rest. But, God doesn't need to take a nap. He
doesn't get
weary and tired; He's not flesh like us. The next Scripture, Chris used in his first
week, and, normally, I
don't go and try and repreach somebody else's message, or use
Scriptures that
somebody else used, in a prior message. He used a group of Scriptures
in the
first week, but I just kept coming back to it, and God just wouldn't
let me let
it go. So we're going to go to Hebrews, chapter four, and we're going
to read
one through eleven. And I'd like to ask Brother Chris, if he wouldn't
mind—I’m
putting him in on the spot a little bit—if he wouldn't mind coming and
reading
that for us. Hebrews, chapter four, verses one through eleven: Hebrews
4:1-11 Let us therefore fear,
lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you
should seem
to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as
unto them:
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them
that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he
said, As I
have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the
works
were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a
certain place
of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from
all his
works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Seeing
therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom
it was
first preached entered not in because of unbelief: again, he limiteth a
certain
day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To
day if ye
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given
them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, he
also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same
example of
unbelief. God has a purpose for His labor. When His labor
was done, He had a
purpose for rest. He wants us to stop laboring and enter into His
labors and
rest in Him, as we labor for Him. The works of God were completed on
that sixth
day, and on the seventh day He rested. We can't go back and recreate
the world
and recreate all that was in it; God did the work. That's why we have
to come
to Him, and learn from Him, take His yoke upon us, so that we can take,
and
learn the things of God, and take on His labor, and cease from our own
labors. “Take
my yoke upon you, learn of me, for My yoke is easy and My burden is
light.”
We're going about to bear all these kind of things in our soul,
cumbersome, so
hard, so difficult, but God, all along, is saying, I can make it a lot
easier
for you. You don't have to live this life this hard. Yeah, we struggle,
and
deal with the things of this life, and please keep my wife and her
family in
prayer, as Omar had passed away, yesterday. Many of you were praying
for him,
he was stung by killer bees last Sunday. We were praying for a week for
him,
and he was laid to rest. He's done. His labors are done, and ceased on
this
Earth. So, continue to keep my wife and her family in prayer, as they
mourn the
loss of Omar my brother-in-law. And the family would like to put that
thank you
to all that have been praying, putting words of sympathy and
encouragement out.
Amen? So, if I seem a little heavy hearted, that's just on my mind
today, but I
have a message to preach. Second Corinthians, chapter twelve, verses seven
through nine: 2
Corinthians 12:9-10 And
he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: [This is Apostle Paul, here, when
he was dealing with his thorn In the flesh. He asked God to remove this
thorn,
several times, three times, the Bible says. That's what we do, we go to
God in
prayer and we keep asking, we keep asking, and we get our answer. And
this was
his answer:] And he said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of
Christ may rest upon me. [Take My yoke upon you; the power of
Christ may
rest upon you.] Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when
I am
weak, then am I strong. When we take the grace of God in our lives upon
us, these burdens
are much lighter, much easier; our heavy hearts become lifted. The
things that
we've been carrying with us in our soul become a lot easier to bear.
No, in
this life, we're not going to have all our tears wiped away; that's
going to
come at the end. You know, for me, a lot of people look forward to the
streets
of gold, and all that's nice, and beautiful, walls of jasper, I like
that stuff
too, but when He's wiping away those tears from my eyes, and all the
sorrow,
and the suffering in this life; that to me is more precious than
anything else. So, Paul the Apostle was asking God to remove
this thorn, and God's
answer was, “Take my yoke upon you. Take my grace upon you. My Grace is
sufficient for thee.” As I was praying for this message that was laid
on my
heart, I contacted Cedric Christian to see if he had a poem about rest.
Usually
I don't do that, but it was just so, you know, and he said, “Yes, I
have a
couple of poems.” And one of them that really got my attention was, “A
Beautiful
Rest.” So I'm going to share that one with you and I pray that it
ministers to
you. “A Beautiful Rest.” Many of you know brother Cedric, he was
baptized here.
He was shared with by Vince Stepchuk, his neighbor, and he was sharing
with him
baptism, he was baptized many years ago, and now he's down in our
fellowship in
Jacksonville, Florida, helping lead the fellowship there, and encourage
the
Saints there. So, this is a poem that he wrote, and he put it in his
first
book, it's called a beautiful rest. BEAUTIFUL
REST After
God created Heaven, Earth and living forms, He looked upon the holy
neighborhood and
considered all that He made in a time called six days not only as good,
but
very good. This
work included day, night, Heaven, Earth, plants, the sun, the moon, and
the
stars. He
added life to water and sky, creatures to land, and a touch of souls,
minds and
hearts. Our
Maker set us up for beautiful living but someone darker slithered in
with a
terrible lie and
made it pretty enough to distract us from living forever and settle for
a time
to die. You
and I are here for reasons that are set apart to lead us into one most
high
pleasure. It’ll
be a time of rest from all that wasn’t meant to be in this habitation
only God
can measure. What
has happened to that holy neighborhood? Generations
have tried discoloring it with sin. Yet,
Jesus showed up to remind us all to hold fast to why He came unto the
very end. He
has made us to be partakers of a heavenly calling; to hear God with a
soft
heart. If we
don’t believe a time is set aside for holy rest, then that place won’t
be our
ends to His start. Christ
has brought us the only good news that no bad news can keep from coming
to
pass. Take
a look at what’s going on around us:
this world we live in is deteriorating fast. Give
in to God and not flesh, pain, evil, sin, death or its sorrow – He is
who is in
control. Trust
yourself in His hand, follow Him in Christ, and you shall find this
beautiful
rest for your soul.
By
Cedric A. Christian [Genesis
1:31/3:1-11; James 1:17-18; Revelation 4:11/21:1-7; Mark 8:34-35;
Philippians
3:8-15; Hebrews 4:1-11; Luke 21:33-36; Matthew 11:27-30] Luke, chapter ten, starting at verse
thirty-eight: Luke
10:38-40 Now
it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village:
and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a
sister
called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But
Martha was
cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou
not
care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that
she
help me. I can just see a pause in Jesus' teaching. Luke
10:41-42 And
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and
troubled
about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that
good
part, which shall not be taken away from her. Come and learn of me. Come and learn of me. Sit
at my feet. Nothing that I give you can be
taken away from
you. Our work brings us worry, and doubt, and anxiety, and stress, and
fear,
depression, and all those things, but when we take on the yoke of
Christ we
bear the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness,
goodness, meekness, faith, against such there is no law. We have to
sometimes
go boldly to that throne of grace and find help in time of need. But,
we go,
sometimes, to all these other devices. The world tells us to go, “Oh,
just go
sit and watch the news, or go sit and watch all these talking heads, or
go
watch a movie to relax and unwind.” And all along He says, “I'm here.
Take My yoke
upon you and learn of Me.” Chris and myself were discussing this on
Friday
night at Men's prayer, about, before we had the grace of God in our
lives, our
souls couldn't find that rest. And, he, even gave kind of a description
to me,
about how he would see himself in so much anguish that his teeth were
like
knocking together, strained. And, then, when he came to get saved
later, he saw
that there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. His soul was just in so
much
anguish, and so much torment, it was almost like being in a hell on
Earth. All these fears, doubt, and depression,
sometimes leads people to
suicide, because they think they have no hope. That's why suicide rate
is going
up so high, especially teenagers, and Veterans, and different things
like that,
different groups of people. Because they feel like, maybe, the
government is
going to give them help, but they can't give them help. They feel like
their
family is going to give them help, but they can't give them help. Only
God.
God's grace will lighten their load, make it easier to cope, gives us
rest to our
souls. And, Paul, again, in his letter to the church at
Corinth says; in
First Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verse ten, said: 1
Corinthians 15:10
But
by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed
upon me
was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not
I, but
the grace of God which was with me. God wants to make your load a lot lighter. He
wants to make it
lighter. Stop trying to be religious and take the load on yourself.
Stop trying
to do what man tells you to do; do what God is trying to put in your
life.
Don't hide and sit on those talents like those sisters were sharing.
Let your
light shine. Have you ever just prayed for wisdom in a situation? Or
you had
such a heavy burden at work, and all of the sudden, that load was just
lifted?
He's there. He's willing to help. We’ve just got to go to Him. Part
2: The
Way to That Rest The way to this rest. Jeremiah, chapter six,
verse sixteen: Jeremiah
6:16 Thus
saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old
paths, where
is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls. But
they said, We will not walk therein. God has always provided a way for rest to souls,
but they said,
“We’re not going to do that; that can't be right.” Sometimes, like that
child
that doesn't want to take a nap, we don't want to take God's rest. We
don't
want to receive God's Grace in our lives. Just think, He wants to give
it to us,
we just choose not to, sometimes. Isaiah
28:9-12 Whom
shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? [Learn of me, learn
of me] 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: for
with
stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To
whom he
said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and
this is
the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
All the time, God is trying to bring us to this
rest, bring us in
like children that are lost, like sheep that are lost, trying to bring
us into
his bosom and give us rest. “Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me.
Learn of Me.”
That is the rest, learning of God. Just sitting, and listening, and
learning to
God, and then going out and doing what He tells you to do. Obedience. John, chapter fourteen—We can't get to that
great rest on our own;
only God can give rest to us. Jesus is saying here: John
14:1-4 Let
not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In
my
Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also.
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. The way to the rest—He didn't just leave us
hanging after He left
the Earth. He came back to show us the way. He says we're going to know
the
way. Without a doubt, we're going to know that it's Him that showing us
the
way. He wouldn't have told us. There is a way to that rest. Jesus is
the way
the truth and the life. Galatians, chapter three, starting at verse
twenty-six: Galatians
3:26-27
For
ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That's where you first put on the Grace, the
yoke of God in your
life, is in the obedience to the Gospel. Galatians
3:28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus. Sisters, you are of value, and you are
important. You all have
your part. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, everybody has a
part. We
are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians
3:29 And if ye be Christ’s,
then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Heirs according to that rest. Many people say,
well, baptism is a
work. It's not a work; baptism is an obedience. It's obeying what God
tells us
to do. Putting into action, taking that yoke upon us. Many of you,
sometimes, are
wrestling with that. You've been here a long time, struggling with
whether or
not you should get baptized. Put that to rest. Learn of God, take His
yoke upon
you. Let today be the day of salvation. Let today you find rest to your
souls.
Stop anguishing where you don't need to anguish in the things. And stop
worrying about the things of this life, and putting off your own soul’s
salvation. You don't have to wander about in the wilderness anymore,
there is a
place of rest where God wants you to come to; come there today. You
have to put
away that old man. You don't need to live with that sin anymore, you
don't need
to live with that doubt anymore, you don't need to live with that fear
anymore.
“Take my yoke upon you, learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.”
He's
begging us, all through the Scriptures, He's begging us to learn, to
just sit
and “learn of Me,” just learn. Will you find rest for your weary soul?
Will you
listen to Him today? Part
3: Refreshing
and Revival Parrish talked a lot about how you don't have to
wait ‘til Sunday
to come to church to get your Revival. Anytime of the day or the week.
That
really inspired me a lot, too, because I've, you know, kind of been
going
through some challenging times in my life, and, so, I've been set on my
knees
more, and praying, and seeking God more, and worshiping more. And, I'll
tell
you what, I feel alive, and recharged like never before, you know? You
ever
start going through life, and situations in life, things that are
burdens in my
life, but, the Revival of God is so refreshing, it's like a cold drink
of water
in a hot dry desert sometimes, you know? Isaiah, let's go to our last
Scripture.
As Andy prepares to come up and wrap us up. Isaiah chapter forty verses
twenty-five
through thirty-one: Isaiah
40:25-28 To
whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Lift up
your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that
bringeth out
their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of
his
might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest
thou, O
Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my
judgment is
passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that
the
everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not,
neither is weary? [So
God doesn't get tired; He’s not weary]
there is no searching of his understanding. “Learn of Me.” You've got to learn from Him. You
can study the
Bible your whole life, and not come to the knowledge of the Truth.
You've got
to learn of Him. I know when someone first shared with me, baptism, I
said,
I've already been baptized a few times. I don't need to get baptized
again. But
I didn't take the time to learn of Him. When someone gave me those
Scriptures
and I went home—Joe, you were there in Norfolk at that time when I got
baptized,
a few years back—and in the middle the night, God woke me up, and said,
“You're
not saved. You’re not a new creature. You need to get baptized. You
need to get
born again. Learn of Me.” Back to verse twenty-nine: Isaiah
40:29-31 He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth
strength. [This
is for us that have been around, the faithful. He's going to give you
more
strength. He's going to give you Revival; he's going to increase your
strength.] Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord
shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run,
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Why? Because we have the rest of God, we have
Revival in our life.
We have the Spirit of the Living God in our life, we have the rest, the
yoke
upon us, in our life. We're not going to get weary; we're not going to
give up.
We're going to wait on God. We’re going to give that time to Him, and
learn from
Him. We're going to take that, and let our light shine. God bless you.
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