Your Greatest Invitation
DIVINE INVITATION
"All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father. No one knows the Father except the Son, and those whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Therefore come to me all who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart. You will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
People today are looking for peace, comfort, satisfaction, freedom, for their soul. In a world that is filled with materialism, secularism, humanism, spiritism, and all those other "isms", none of them is able to fill the void that is in a persons heart. They only act as pain killers and their effectiveness last only a little while and when it is gone, the pain returns. Paschal, a French scientist once said these words; There is a vacuum in every persons heart that can only be filled by God Himself".
The passage above is very a interesting one for here the Lord Jesus sounded some very deep truths that prompt us to think. The public at large in Palestine at the time were the Greeks (who were always searching for the ultimate truth), the Jews (who were searching for a messiah), the Romans (who were searching for more power, and the Barbarians (who were uncivilized, lost and looking for a new world). The followers of the Lord Jesus too at the time can be classified into 04 different groups; The Crowd (who were looking for miraculous acts), The Restored (who felt obligated to follow because of what the Lord had done for them; The Sinners (who followed because they found someone who accepted them as they are), and the Disciples (who followed because they heard the Lord Jesus called them and responded obediently to following him).
The Lord Jesus Came and said "All things have been committed to me by my Father". What is the Lord trying to tell them; - he is saying 'All that you're looking for are now all with me, Truth, Power, Freedom, and a new World. I have them all with me. they have been given to me by my Father who created the universe. He has no beginning and no ending. I know Him well because he is my Father. He knows me well because I am his Son. And it is up to me to decide who to make him known to".
The Lord here in the opening statement of vs 27 is appealing to all the 04 categories of people then, Jews, Romans, Greeks, and Barbarians, that if they really want to attain what they are looking for then they must accept His invitation to "come"
THE THREE PRONGS OF THIS INVITATION
1. The Lord's invitation to REST
The Lord Jesus said "Come". He did not say, "Go to God". He said "come to me" for I am the one whom I claim to be (John 8:28). This is an invitation to the weary, those who are tired for toil, those who are tired form hard labour donkey's work with no result, those who have been working hard and not bale to save anything to see or experience the fruit of their labour.
This is an invitation to those who have been tired form searching for the truth and knowledge and have not found anything to satisfy their curiosity and doubts that arise from the deep recesses of their hearts.
This is an invitation to those who are searching for poer, to come and learn what real power constitutes and where real power comes from.
This is an invitation to the lost and those who are still searching for the light but are still walking around in the dark.
This is an invitation to the burdened who have been carrying heavy lods of sin and its consequences, financial commitments, work commitments, family commitments, marital commitments, and those who are loaded down with all kinds of problem and sin. Those who have been searching for a solution and there seems to be no answer. Its was then an invitation to them; Now it is an invitation to us.
The Word REST constitutes 03 things
1. Relief (Peace, Comfort)
2. Release (Freedom from any form of bondage)
3. Replete (Well provided satisfaction for the soul)
This invitation is an old one that was echoed by the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah (Is 55:1-2) "Come all you who are thirty. Come to the Waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen. listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."
"Come" to the Lord Jesus - and the resulf is REST (This is Rest level 01). To all, by coming to the Lord Jesus in faith - will have rest. The first pre-requisite to this rest is to accept the invitation, leave everything and worries behind and come to the Lord Jesus.
2. THE LORD'S INVITATION TO FELLOWSHIP
Take my yoke upon you"
Now the Lord is asking people then and even us today to move to another level - from coming to doing something. This something will create fellowship. But he is not going to force this fellowship onto us. If we really want fellowship then we will have to accept and obey what he is asking or rather urging us to do.
Here is a picture word or phrase of the Lord in service; as a "working bull". One who is working to please the Master. One who knows how to guide younger bulls in bettering their style, skills, and techqniques of doing "bull work". One that is very experienced that his great power and strength under control and he moves only according to the master's will. Here he speaks of him as one with a yoke and waiting to be in partnership with someone who is willing and not someone who is under compulsion.
The yoke is for bulls to plough. Farmers do not pair 02 young bulls together. An older experienced bull is usually paired up with a younger bull. The younger one will have to learn from the older one the techniques of working, obedience to the master's words and having his great strength under the master's control.
The yoke creates 04 things
1. it creates companionship
2. It creates togetherness
3. It lightens their burden (workload)
4. it creates intimacy
I believe that this was why Paul said in 2 Cor 6:14 that we are not to be yoked together with unbelievers because it will create these 04 things above and in relation to marriage from which context Paul was speaking; you have nothing in common and you will only be having the devil as your Father in Law.
Fellowship come from the Greek word "Koinonia" which Lit' means "sharing in common". The strongest bond of any fellowship is the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Lord is calling us to fellowship with Him. Not only are we to come to him as a responce to him call; we are to be yoked with him also; Don't just come BUT come and be yoked".
The Yoke symbolises 05 things
1. A life and strength under control
2. A life and strength under submission
3. A life and strength under authority
4. A life of Obedience
5. A life of Humility
To take up the yoke of the Lord Jesus and putting it on your shoulder is "the response of the liberated, and not the duty of the obligated". This fellowship may be demanding because the Lord Jesus said in Mark 8:34 that if anyone wants to come after him, he MUST DENY..., but it is a gentle and loving fellowship. It comes after the first level rest.
3. THE LORD'S INVITATION TO DISCIPLESHIP
"And learn from me for I am gentle and Humble in heart"
Here the Lord Jesus presents himself as one who is capable of teaching those who come to him and putting his yoke on them. His credentials of gentleness and humility are not just something that he learnt from somewhere, infact these are his attributes, his personality. He is gentle and humble. In good time or bad times he does not change with season but remains that way because that is who he is. What he will teach you will be those of the highest quality and have the capacity to take you to greater heights. The discipleship school of the Lord is the Leadership School every Christian Leader should be in because gentleness and humility are 02 essential characters of Leadership.
Luke 9:48 says "He who is lest amonsgt you is the greatest"
There are 05 things we need to know about being a disciple
1. It gives a person the opportunity to be instructed
2. It gives a person the opportunity to be taught
3. It gives a person the opportunity to be corrected
4. It gives a person the opportunity to move from the known to the unknown
5. It gives a person the opportunity to be prepared for the future.
Humility and gentleness does not mean weak but they mean "strength under control".
You can trust the Lord's yoke. It will not hurt you. He is gentle. His yoke is easy and light and in the actual sense, it is as if the Lord himself is carrying everything for us and we are just there to witness his power in action. Psalm 68:19 "Praise be to the Lord who daily bares our burdens.
What do we have to learn?
We have to learn the Lord's lifestyle (obedience, faith, trust in God, and service to the people.
FINAL CHALLENGE
Accepting this 03 prong invitation denotes a five things
1. faith
2. submission
3. change of direction
4. change of allegiance
5. change of view
The result is a double portion of rest - but this double portion rest only comes when we take the yoke and learn from Him. Majority of Christians have been consumed with the first level rest and do not realise a greater rest ahead available to those who follow and learn from the Lord. The Lord Jesus desires that we all move to Rest DOuble Portion.
It is very sad that a lot of people today have come to the Lord and experience that rest but have not taken up the yoke to learn from him and experince Rest Double Portion.
W.L. Maloveretaki
