All right, let's get after it. How you guys doing? Ready to roll? Okay. Ready or not, we're doing it. Uh, it's good to be back. I've been out of the pulpit for a while. It's been a lot of July. Preparing for our next book study in Ephesians that we'll start here in September. Um, but it's good to be back for, for this morning. Grab your Bibles, open up to Matthew chapter eleven, Matthew chapter eleven, and something I can say with conviction that I hope you can. Amen. With conviction is we don't want to be a church full of lukewarm people. Alright. Are you with me? Or some of you are with me on that. Um, I was hoping for better, but we got stuff to talk about that we don't want to just kind of go through the motions. Even in a large church, we don't just want to like celebrate attendance. We want to celebrate faithfulness. We want to really be engaged in what Jesus is calling us to do. There's a political term. When somebody calls somebody a rhino, you know, they're saying like, well, they're a Republican in name only. Like, you're not voting this way. You're just kind of name. We don't want to be Christians in name only. Right. We just don't want to kind of use that label, apply it to ourselves, but but not live a Christian life or answer the call of Jesus. We want to genuinely answer the call of Jesus upon our life. And I love this graphic. Somebody last week, it's like, what does that graphic mean? And every time I see it, I just want to say, like, Gondor calls for aid, but it's my Lord of the rings nerds. Got that one. But this is like old school, long distance telephone call right there. And we're not going like a long distance, but we're going a long way back in time. What are the calls from Jesus upon our life that are still a call for us today? And are we answering those calls? So we're going to we're going to take a look at some of those. But but a lot of you in this room, uh, perhaps, or a good portion of you in this room. You didn't grow up in the time before caller ID, right? You don't know. Just like the phone mounted on the wall with the long cord. And there's no screen. It's just buttons right now. Like, let me just be clear. You're spoiled. Okay? Like you get your screen telling you it's potential spam or it's somebody you may not want to answer like, ah, I'm going totally old man here in our day, like every time you answer the phone call, it was a risk you took, right? You didn't know who was on the other line. If this was going to be a telemarketer. If you're going to get roped into some conversation you don't want to be a part of like today, we kind of kind of select the the calls we want to answer. But imagine this. You get a phone call and it rings. You pull out your smartphone and on the screen it says that the call is coming from Jesus. Do you answer that call? Yeah, yeah, I know we're in church. So it's like, yeah, but Jesus had some pretty challenging calls, right? Is this going to be the hey, sell everything and follow me call? Because maybe we'll let that one go to voicemail. Like he had some challenging calls that he would give us. Um, and I, I don't know if we're really answering the call that he's giving us. And there's one particular call that we're going to want to answer that we're going to look at this morning. And it's a compelling call, but also it might perhaps be the most unanswered call among church people. So Matthew, chapter eleven, grab your Bibles. Look there, Matthew chapter eleven. We're actually going to get a running start because there's just like three verses we're really going to hone in on. But I want us to see the context around these verses. So Matthew chapter eleven, uh, the main part of our text starts in twenty eight, but we're going to start in twenty five to kind of get, um, a running start into this and don't get mad at me. I'm just going to read the Bible. Okay, here we go. You guys ready? Alright. Verse twenty five at that time, stop. Just some context. So what, what time? So Jesus is teaching, his ministry is unfolding. He's doing all kinds of miraculous things, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God. But other stuff are going on, and John the Baptist is in jail. His ministry got him in trouble. He sends some of his followers to Jesus to ask a very important question. Are you the one, or should we wait for another? Like, what do you mean you're the one like you. You proclaimed the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But but now he's in jail. So he's like, it's not playing out quite like I hoped it would play out. So are you really the one? And Jesus answers in kind of this poetic Jesus way, basically saying, yeah, I am. But then he turns to the audience and he kind of critiques them because it's like, you didn't listen to John, and you're not listening to me. Like you're just rejecting my message. And then he goes into these woes like, woe to you, like you who reject this message. Alright then he says this. At that time Jesus declared, I thank you, father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you. Now, just for clarity. Who's the you referring to here? God the father. You have what? Hidden these things. What things? This gospel message of who Jesus Christ is and the hope found in him. You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding. And what revealed them to little children? Yes, father, for such was your gracious. What. All things have been handed over to me by my father, and no one knows the son except the father, and no one knows the father except the son, and anyone to whom the son. What chooses to what? Reveal him. Okay. Did you did you get that? So this is kind of like, what did I just read here? You have God the Father hiding the gospel message of who Jesus is from some people and revealing it to other people. And no one's going to know the father through the son unless the son chooses him. And then he's going to give this extended invitation to everyone. So you see, like, there's like behind the scenes work that God is doing, but he turns and directs everyone and invites everyone because he's just about to say, come to me all, all who are heavy and heavy laden like you come to me. But yet there's this work of God behind the scenes, and here's what's going to happen. Here's what happened at this time. Here's what's happened ever since that time, and here's what's going to happen today. We're going to talk about the hope found in Jesus Christ. And some people in this room are going to respond, and they're going to get it and they're going to love it and they're going to embrace it. And some people in this room aren't, and they're just going to wonder what's for lunch and what's next, and it's not going to land. And if you find yourself, uh, open to the gospel message and responding favorably to the hope found in Jesus Christ, here's what I'm saying. Praise God, not yourself. Because because God is at work. But then what's this invitation that he extends to everybody? Here's what he says. Verse twenty eight, come to me. What's that word? All who lay. That was. You're like, he doesn't know that word. I knew the word. This was just like interaction. Okay, come to me. All who labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you what. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, before we get into this, and I want to get into it because this is an amazing, compelling call. Who doesn't want this rest? Want this rest? Okay. But before we get into that, I got some questions. It can seem like Christ is making two contradicting pitches. Like, on one hand, you get this. Uh, hey, you want to follow me? Take up your cross. We want to lose your life. Like this is difficult. Then you get here and it's like it's easy. Come on. Like, well, which one is it? Like, if you go just a few chapters back in Matthew chapter seven, he says this. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. So you think about easy. That's that's the wrong way. And those who enter it are many. So it's popular. It's easy, but it has a bad destination. And then he has this call. What he's offering and what he's offering here is the gate is narrow and the way is what hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. So which one is it? Is it easy or is it hard? I'm confused, but you got to pay attention to each of the calls because they're different. In one, he says the way is hard. And the text we're looking at today, he says his yoke is easy. So the way is hard, but his yoke is easy. Those are two different things. So let's try to make sense of this a little bit. Let's start with our text. On he says, take my yoke. We just don't want to kind of assume that everybody understands what a yoke is. My my youngest daughter asked me yesterday. She said, dad, what are you preaching on tomorrow? I was like, well, I'm preaching on Jesus's call to take his yoke. She kind of looked at me confused and she goes like an egg. I was like, pay attention, sweetie. Um, but a yoke was farm equipment. It was something you would put oxen and two oxen to pull a cart or to plow a field. And you would often put a younger oxen with an older oxen that, hey, you're going to learn and I'm going to set the, the pace and the work ethic and the directions. And this young ox was just kind of it was a learn as you go, but kind of take my yoke. So this is what he's talking about. This is the illustration that he gives. And a yoke is neutral. Yoke is not good or bad. In fact, yoke can be good or bad. It kind of depends who and what you're yoked to. Like in, in Jewish tradition, to embrace the law of God was to take his yoke. I want to learn from God. But in the Bible, yoke is also used to talk about foreign oppressors. The God is going to break the yoke of your oppressors. He's going to set you free. Jesus here is offering his yoke, which seems to imply there's other yokes you could be wearing, and he's offering himself as an alternative which might beg us to ask the question, What are you yoked to? And maybe an independent American spirit. You're like nobody. I'm my own man. I make my own choices. It's like, think of it this way. What is it that's having the most influence over your life? What is most influencing your actions and emotions and priorities? Like what's directing and guiding your life the most? Like, are you yoked to the world? Like we just got done going through first? John, when we looked at the, the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Like, are those things kind of influencing you heavy? Like whatever the world values you value, whatever the world prioritizes, you prioritize whatever the world's doing you want to do. Like, are you under the yoke of the world and probably would be an issue in a very secularized culture like our own. And if you are under the yoke of the world, the weight you probably feel is not living up to the things the world values like under that yoke, the weight you feel is you're not good enough. You're not pretty enough. You're not rich enough, you're not educated enough, you're not successful enough. And you feel that weight and you're striving in it. But Jesus wasn't talking to an over secular culture, although it was very pagan. His audience here is a very religious culture, and he's contrasting himself with the religious leaders of the day. In fact, you see this more clearly later on in the letter of Matthew. In Matthew twenty three says this. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat. So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do, for they preach but do not practice. They tie up. And this is kind of the imagery of the yoke that we see. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. So so this is what he's saying. Um, it's not that the Word of God is a problem. They sit in Moses's seat. So, so pay attention. But when you only have the law and you don't know what the law points to, you can't give any relief. Your only message is do better, obey better, obey more, strictly be more devoted. And that's just kind of adding weight. Like I just, I'm not, I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if I'm obedient enough. I don't know if I kept the Sabbath enough. I don't know if I've, you know, not lusted enough. I don't know if like, whatever, I don't know if I'm greedy and not greedy enough or generous enough. Like you're just kind of heaping on good commands, but it's not providing any relief. So Jesus comes along. And in this kind of contrast, he says, hey, well, come to me. I mean, they're putting heavy burdens on you and not lifting a finger. Not so with me. Come and take my yoke, I offer relief. I offer rest and light. And easy doesn't mean that it is void of any hardship or difficulty. It's light and easy because of who Jesus is. It speaks of his character. It says, I am gentle and lowly. In fact, before that it says for or because I am gentle and lowly in heart like this, this is who I am. He's kind. He's compassionate. He's caring. He's full of mercy and grace. Now, do you believe that about Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is really like that? Think of it this way. Imagine this. You've just blown it. I don't think you have to think too hard to kind of get in that situation. You've just sinned. You know you've messed up. What do you imagine the facial expression on Jesus is in that moment. Is it disgust, anger, frustration? Is it kindness, patience, grace, love? I mean, who do you really think Jesus is? Who is it that you're following? And how do you make sense of this? Hey. It's hard. I'm not going to lie to you. If you find it, you better take up your cross and follow me. And I'm gentle and lowly. And it's light and it's easy. God, how do those things go together? Here's what I want us to understand. Christianity is hard, but it's not heavy. Christianity is hard, but it's not heavy. Do you know what I mean when I say this? Like following Jesus is hard. He's calling us to die to ourselves. He's calling us to live countercultural lives. Following Jesus is not going to win you any popularity contest. You're going to face persecution, opposition, rejection. That is part of the gig. But it's not heavy. Like, it's hard. It's demanding, but it's not crushing. You're already loved. Like with Christ, you have nothing to prove and no one to impress. And yet he calls us on mission. Hey, you're to be Christ ambassador, imploring with others to be reconciled to God. And yet it's God who saves. Like you don't carry that weight. He just called you to that action, right? We're to be a light in the darkness. There's a lot of darkness. Yeah, but we win like he wins the battle. We're just called to represent him like we. We don't carry the burden of results, we just get the invitation of involvement. So yeah, following Jesus is hard, but it's not heavy. Like here's how Paul put it. I love this second Corinthians, for we are afflicted in every way. That sounds hard, but not crushed. It's not heavy. We're perplexed. Well, that's hard, but not driven to despair. Yeah, it's not heavy. We're persecuted. That doesn't sound fun. But not forsaken. Oh, so don't have to stress about it. We're struck down. Literally. That's rough, but not destroyed. Do you see the tension in his life? Hi, guys. This is. I'm getting beat. We're getting persecuted. We're getting rejected. But I'm all right. Like I'm good. We're not destroyed. Like we're under the yoke of Christ. In fact, you see it in Philippians four. Uh, you'll recognize the verse thirteen, probably misquoted on a tennis shoe or something. All right, here we go. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstances. Circumstance. I have learned the secret. Now learned. That's a word that gets used in our text that we're looking at. That's one of the commands here. So pay attention to this. I have learned the secret. Who doesn't like secrets, right? We're going to get in on something here. I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. And then you get to this one. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now, usually that verse is used as some kind of Christian motivation to accomplish great things. Like, I can do great things. That's not what Paul's saying. What Paul is saying is I can suffer because of Jesus. I know how to be brought low. I know how to suffer. I know how to face opposition. I know how to be mistreated. I'm good. I can do all things because I'm under the yoke of Christ. It's him who strengthens me. I'm taken care of. Like, this is a wonderful, freeing thing. But how do you actually lay hold of that? Like in ourselves. How do we have that disposition where the the troubles of this world don't seem to bother us so much? They're not devastating. We can go through hard things and it's like, yeah, but I'm not crushed. Yeah, this is difficult, but I'm not destroyed. How do we have that level of freedom? Where where do we get that at? Let's go back and look at our verses here, starting in verse twenty eight of Matthew eleven. You guys still tracking with me? Alright, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Doesn't that sound nice? Doesn't that sound like a call you want to answer? You get that phone call and caller ID says, Jesus. You're like, is this a sell everything call or is this a come take my yoke. It's a light and easy call. Like we're kind of in this panic, but this, this one is like, now we need to understand how those are connected. We'll get there. But how do we get this? That sound nice to have rest. Anybody feel tired, exhausted, worn out. Anxious. Fearful. Now, here's the thing. If you can identify with those emotions, you're like, yeah, I feel that. Doesn't that point out the problem? I mean, we're church people. We're Christ professing people. Are we seeing saying Jesus doesn't really give rest then? Are Jesus professing people, not expressing Jesus giving rest? Is there a lack of rest epidemic in the church, not just out there, because we know it's out there like anxiety is skyrocketing. We live in a world full of fear and worry and anxiousness and and all kinds of problems. But what about in here? Like, is that same problem exist in the church? Is this promise not true then? And it's true then how do I lay hold of it? How do I have it? How does that rest actually become my rest? And here's the thing. This may be true for some of you in this world. Maybe for some of you, you felt Christianity itself is crushing. You're just never a good enough Christian. You don't read your Bible enough. You don't share the gospel enough. You don't come to church enough. You don't do what you ought to do enough. Like you just kind of feel like, like, I just can't be a good Christian and you're just crushed by the Christian life. Or maybe for some people in this room, you're somebody you'd call yourself a Christian, and you've been a Christian for a long time. You've grown up in the church, you've sung the songs and everything. But when you start talking about this kind of rest, it's foreign to you. It's like, yeah, I've heard it, but I don't know if I've ever experienced it. I don't know if I've ever had. I believe in Jesus and I'm just plagued with worry and fear and anxiety all the time. I'm not at rest. If that's the case, perhaps you haven't actually come to Jesus. Maybe you've come to church. Maybe you've come to a connection group. Maybe you've come to religion, but you haven't actually come to Jesus. Maybe. And this is tricky. This is how church people can miss it and not even realize it. But what if the way you've got it wrong is you've invited Jesus to carry your yoke? It's not that you don't believe in Jesus. It's not that you don't even recognize your own condition of being tired and exhausted and heavy laden, but you've invited Jesus to come take your yoke, right? Come, come, come to me, Jesus, come, come here and take my burdens. I'll teach you my dreams. I'll tell you my plans. And I want you to bless my endeavors. Right? Come and be my personal Savior in my heart and be a part of my agenda. And you're frustrated because you haven't found rest. But that's not the call. That's not the call of Christ. He is not out there saying, does anybody got a heavy yoke? I'll take it. Just tell me where to go and what to do. What's the call? There's three commands in two verses. What does he say? Come to me. I'm just going to give you a little words. Come to take my yoke. Learn from. Like two letter words. Learn from me. That's what he's calling us to. Come to me. Take my yoke. Learn from me. Have you done that? I'm not saying. Have you come to church. I'm not even saying. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you done that? Like this? This is a call of like, surrender to him. It's a it's a compelling call of surrender. Come here. You're going to find rest. Even if you go back to Matthew chapter seven, a hard call compelling because where does that road lead life? It's like, yeah, it's hard. If you were going to find it, it leads to life. And if you take this one with it, and I'm with you, walking right beside you, and I'm making it light and easy, you're going to want to be on this road. Come to me, take my yoke, learn from me. And if we do that, what is the promise? We will find? What rest? The rest is probably something we can misunderstand. It's interesting because everybody wants rest. Everybody's out for rest. We're all looking for it. We want it, we're after it, we need it. But that doesn't seem like we're really successful at getting it. Like anybody that you look in this world as an example, because we look for it in the wrong places. We're looking like there's this discontentment in us, and it's like this hole we're trying to fill and the stress we feel. And if, if I just get into this relationship, then I'll be at ease. If I just get out of this relationship, then I'll be at ease. I've just been so worried. If I just can get away from this situation, then I'll be at ease. I'm just so got so many problems. If I just had more money then I would feel more at ease. But what does Jesus say here? Jesus is telling us that rest is something he gives. As in you're not going to find it any other place that he. He gives it. And Jesus is talking about a specific kind of rest that is the is at the root of everybody's unrest. What's he promised here? Rest for your souls. That's interesting. I don't think we tend to think about our souls when we think of rest. We can think about our bodies when we think of rest. We can think about our minds when we think of rest, but we tend not to think about our souls. But let me ask you this. What if your soul is tired? I mean, how do you even know? What if your soul is tired and you keep misdiagnosing it? You think you just need some time off? You think you just need a little bit more money? You think you just need a different, uh, different friends or a different relationship? Like, what if your soul is tired and you keep misdiagnosing it? How do you give rest to a soul? I mean, it's easy to misdiagnose it because the effects of a tired soul are so far reaching. But if your soul is tired, do you think a vacation is going to help? If your soul is tired, you think a nap is going to help. Maybe there's something deeper going on here. And here's something we need to realize. We were made for God. Your soul was made for God. And when that's off, so is no rest. There's an uneasiness to it, but it expresses itself in so many different ways. In fact, this is a. Well, let's go. Isaiah forty three. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for what my glory. AM I formed and made, saying you were made for God. This is why you were made. So go. Go to Psalm thirty two. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and whose spirit there is no deceit. Now why is this psalmist wanting and loving forgiveness so much? This is a psalm that David wrote, um, referencing his sin with Bathsheba. And he confesses here in verse three, for when I kept silent about his sin. Look at the impacts of this. My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. First day and night. Your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as the heat of summer. He's like, I'm not getting any sleep. I think he's exhausted here. And then he says, I acknowledge my sin to you. And I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. David was physically exhausted, but do you think he needed more sleep? Is that why he was physically his? He was not right with God and he's made for God. You and I are made for God. We belong to him. We are created for his glory, and our soul knows it. Even if your mind doesn't know it, our soul knows it. This is Psalm forty two says this as the deer pants for flowing streams. So pants my wat soul for you, O God. My wat soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God like you have this soul hunger for God. This is Psalm sixty three. He says this, O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My. What soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water like I just need God. I was made for God. And then you jump down to verse five, one of my favorite passages in all scripture. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food and my mouth don't judge. You like it too. And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night. Like I am made for God. You are made for God. And when you're not in right relationship with God, you feel that in a tired soul we need God. When we try to satisfy our soul with other things, it never delivers. It may distract. It may scratch an itch momentarily, but it doesn't satisfy because you weren't made for those things. You were made for God. Now let me let me point this out before we move on. If our souls were made for God and Jesus is saying he can give rest to our souls, what is Jesus saying about himself? Put your thinking caps on. Who is he? He's God right? Don't. Don't miss that. But here's the question. I want us to kind of huddle around here. How exactly does Jesus give us rest? Like, I want that rest. How do I lay hold of it? And not just how do I go to heaven when I die? But today, in the midst of cancer and job loss and marital strife and rebellious kids and all kinds of things, like how do I actually find rest through all those things? Now, I don't want to minimize solving eternal problems and make it seem like what we really need is like solutions to these immediate issues. We're feeling like that's not the point at all. You know, be like, okay, yeah, I'm separated from a holy God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I got cancer or I just lost my job, like, deal with these things. That's not the point at all. But what I want us to see is that solving our biggest problem, separated from our maker, who we were made for, is rest giving now. It gives rest now. It changes everything now. And when Jesus is offering rest, he's offering salvation. The writer of Hebrews talks about our future rest, that we are to enter into an eternal rest that is provided by Jesus Christ. But a lot of people want the forgiveness of Jesus, but they don't want the yoke of Jesus. They believe in Jesus for salvation someday, but not for rest today. And they're not making the connection between the two. So let's look closely at the commands and better understand the analogy, because there's meaning in the illustration. You got three commands and two verses. Come to me. Take my yoke. Learn from me. And each command gets a little bit more clear what he's asking. So he's like, come to me. Okay, well, what does that mean exactly? I think it's a command to believe, but it's like, all right, how do I come to you? Or what does it mean to believe in you? And he says, well, take my yoke. Alright. That's a picture. But you're speaking figuratively. Not literally. So what do you literally mean by that figuratively expression? Like, well, learn from me. Okay, I'm with you now. Learn what from you. And this is where the analogy completes the message. A yoke is for work. You put it on for to do labor, to do work. Now, don't you think it's interesting that the promise of finding rest is connected to a call to work? Isn't that kind of Paradoxical there. What is he getting at? Well, whose yoke is it? Jesus. So whose work is it? Jesus. And the call is to learn from him. Specifically learn of the work of Christ. And what is the work of Christ? I came to seek and save the lost. I came to save sinners. Matthew one twenty one. He came to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark ten forty five. He came to destroy the works of the devil. First John three eight he came to set us free from the fear of death. Hebrews two twenty five he came to die as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, to redeem us and restore us back to our maker. And he did that work on the cross. So. So here's what Jesus is getting at. Listen to me. To experience the rest of Jesus is to actually believe in the work of Jesus to experience the rest of Jesus is to actually believe in the work of Jesus. Are you with me on this? Because this isn't like I've heard it so many times that it falls flat, and you profess those things while you still just want Jesus to take your yoke and help you with your plans and fulfill your dreams, and you're in perpetual frustration because you don't find any rest, because your yoke is heavy and his yoke is light. So do you. Do you really believe in the work of Jesus? Let me put it this way. Do you live forgiven? Like, do you live your life believing you are actually forgiven? That every sin you've ever committed or will commit is cast as far as the east is from the west is thrown into the sea of forgetfulness. Big old sign that says no fishing. Like, do you truly believe that your sins have been completely covered by the blood of Jesus? Do you live your life as if you've been truly adopted into God's household, and that he is your father and you are a fellow heir with Christ? Do you live your life like you are actually loved by God? Do you live your life like no matter what happens on this, you know how it ends. And you have this hopeful confidence in how everything plays out. Is that you? Because that's what it looks like to live under the yoke of Christ. There's a there's a confident rest and peace no matter the situation. I mean, look at Paul's attitude. This is yoke under yoke, living attitude and action. This is Romans eight. What shall we say then to these things, these hard things in life, things that are against us, things that we suffer. This persecution that we face. If God is for us, who can be against us? Now it's rhetorical, but what's the answer to that question? Nobody. Nothing. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him, graciously give us all things? If he gave his son on the cross, you think he's just checked out? Then if he goes to that extreme to show his love, can't you be confident in his provision? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect again? What's the answer to that question? Nobody. It's God who justifies. And he has justified us on the cross. Who is to condemn? What's the answer to that question? Nobody. You know how this chapter starts. There is now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You have been forgiven. There's no condemnation to condemn you. Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? No one shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine or nakedness. That one's weird. Damage or danger, not damage, danger or sword says, as it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Now stop there. That sounds hard. Like we're following Christ and we're being killed all day long. Regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. That's hard. But is it heavy? What does he say next? No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do you believe that though? Like, do you live like that? Can you imagine if all of us lived with that level of confidence and peace in the work of Christ? But but maybe that's not you. You're full of worry. You're full of fear. You're anxious all the time. Or maybe that's such a foreign concept to you when it comes to Christianity, you are crushed under your version of Christianity because it's so performance based, and you never rest in the fact that you're a Christian, because you're always trying to assess whether you're a good Christian or a bad Christian, and you're always feeling like a bad Christian. Here's my invitation. Come to Jesus. Take his yoke. Learn about his work on your behalf, and stop assessing whether you are a good Christian or a bad Christian and ask yourself this is he a good savior or a bad savior? Is his grace sufficient or is it not? Did he die on the cross or didn't he? Was that a sufficient sacrifice, or wasn't it? Did he rose from the grave, or didn't he? You are not a great Christian. He is a great Savior. Your yoke is heavy. His yoke is light. Don't be obsessed with your performance. Be captivated by his performance. Because. What did he say on the cross? It is finished. What have we lived like that? That level of confidence in church. Let me just tell you, we're going to be a church that presses into practical holiness because the Bible talks about it. But we may we never be a group of people that loses sight of our positional holiness This that Christ accomplished on our behalf. I just hope we're in love with grace, and we would. We would not see practical holiness as some way to earn positional holiness. But positional holiness is given to us by Jesus Christ, and what he did on our behalf. And out of that flows our own devotion of practical holiness. But if you flip those, you mess up the gospel. And I know, I know myself, I'll go into like coach mode and it's like, we need to crank it up. We need to do better. We're going to challenge, we're going to say hard things. We're going to do that. Yes. And Amen. But, but I'm just honest. As one of your pastors, I want to get better at holding up to you the amazing grace of God. And just marvel at it because here's what's true. If you were a heavy yoke, you don't get much done. But when you put on a light yoke, the yoke of Jesus, That's light and easy. Work doesn't suffer. It increases. It's God's kindness that leads to our repentance. It's him being rich in mercy and lavishing us with grace that motivates our devotion. And I know you can go in all kinds of churches, and sometimes you just get this spirit of disgruntled ness. Somebody's mad at somebody and somebody's upset about something and they're angry. And can you believe how awful this world is? And you're just kind of angry. I hope anytime somebody comes into Veritas Church, even if they're like, I don't even know if I believe what they believe, they would see a group of people at peace. It would be the happiest group of people just at rest because we're under the yoke of Christ. And when we display the rest, we find in Jesus. That's one of the most evangelistic things we can do, because everybody in this world is looking for it. And it's one of the most God glorifying things we can do, because it's us saying, we trust you. You are a great and sufficient Savior. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I know there are people in this room that feel the weight. And they can't get out from under it. They never feel good enough. They never feel like they do enough. They're so aware of their failures. By your spirit, would you make them more aware of your grace? Would you call them personally now to take your yoke to learn about the work you have done on their behalf, and how you are a sufficient sacrifice to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and adopt us into your family. And I pray that we would live free, confident, at peace because of who you are. Pray this in your name. Amen.