Sermon Tone Analysis

! I. Title: The Savior’s Tender Invitation

!! A.   Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV) 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29 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.

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”*[1]*

!

II.

In verses 25 and 27, Jesus revealed his relationship with God the Father.

He is showing how the character of the Father was revealed in himself and how he, as the Son, represented the Father’s sovereign authority.*[2]*

!! A.   Jesus thanks his heavenly Father for revealing spiritual truth to the childlike and for hiding it from those who think themselves wise.*[3]*

!!! 1.

In Jewish tradition it is not those who are wise in their own eyes and lean on their own understanding that are genuinely wise; the truly wise are those who simply start with the fear of the Lord.

!!!! a)     Proverbs 3:5-8 (NIV)5     Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;6     in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.a7

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

8     This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

*[4]*

!!!! b)    Psalm 111:10 (NIV)10     The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise.

*[5]*

!!!! c)     Jesus declares that true discipleship can be enjoyed only by those who come to Him in childlike faith.

!!!!! (1)  God, in His good pleasure, had hidden the great mysteries of His wise dealings from the wise and learned (the leaders of that day) but had revealed them to little children.

!!!!! (2)  This was possible because God the Son and God the Father know each other perfectly in the intimacy of the Trinity.*[6]*

!!!! d)    It is the prayer of every pastor, preacher, and teacher that the message would penetrate the hearts of the hearers.

We surely hope that we are the communicators that we need to be, but there is also a special dynamic in the case for the Gospel.

!!!!! (1)  1 Corinthians 1:21 (NIV)21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

*[7]*

!!!!! (2)  We must lay aside the wisdom of the world to hear the simple truth of the Gospel.

!! B.   Jesus continues to describe the uniqueness of the relationship He has with His Father.

!!! 1.

He says that only He can fully know His Father.

!!!! a)    The Greek word “/ginó//̄skō//” means to know fully through experience; to recognize a thing to be what it really is.

/

!!!! b)    The only way Jesus could fully know the Father is to have been with the Father, which Jesus has always been.

!!! 2. Based on this unique relationship, Jesus is qualified to offer the invitation to receive rest and have burdens lifted.

!!! 3.

More exactly, He is the only one who may offer such an invitation.

!

I. Introduction

!! A.   Illustrations

!!! 1.

A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a houseplant.

\\ They had used their own money to buy it and she was thrilled.

\\ The older of them said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet at the flower shop that we wanted to give you.

It was real pretty but it was too expensive.

It had a ribbon on it that said ‘Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.

!!! 2. I love the “Peanuts” characters and comic strip, probably because I can so easily relate to Charlie Brown.

In one of his strips, Charlie visits Lucy at her psychology booth, and she gives him this advice: “Life is a lot like a deck chair.

Some place it to see where they have been, and some so they can see where they are at the present.”

To which Charlie sighs, and says: “I can’t even get mine unfolded.”

\\ Do you feel a little like that today?

Burnt out?

Used up?

Worked over?

\\ Someone recently said: “Much of our activity these days is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.”

\\ And another put it this way: “The trouble with life is that it is so daily!” \\ James Dobson calls the daily grind – the straight life.

He describes it this way: \\ “The straight life for a homemaker is washing dishes three hours a day; it is cleaning sinks and scouring toilets and waxing floors; it is chasing toddlers and mediating fights between preschool siblings. . . .

The straight life is driving your station wagon to school and back 23 times per week; it is grocery shopping and baking cupcakes for the class Halloween party.

The straight life eventually means becoming the parent of an ungrateful teenager which I assure you is no job for sissies.

(It’s difficult to let your adolescent find himself – especially when you know he isn’t even looking!)

\\ The straight life . . . is pulling your tired frame out of bed, five days a week, fifty weeks out of the year.

It is earning a two-week vacation in August, and choosing a trip that will please the kids.

The straight life is coping with head colds and engine tune-ups and crab grass and income-tax forms.”

\\ It wears us out even thinking about how much there is to do, and how little time to do it.

I’m tired just thinking about it.

How about you? \\ All of this stress leads many of us to adopt other alternatives to satisfy us and give us some relief.

!! B.    We are very much like the story I read about a Richard Armstrong and Edward Watkin tell the story of a biologist’s experiment with "processional caterpillars."

On the rim of a clay pot that held a plant, he lined them up so that the leader was head-to-head with the last caterpillar.

The tiny creatures circled the rim of the pot for a full week.

Not once did any one of them break away to go over to the plant and eat.

Eventually, all caterpillars died from exhaustion and starvation.

The story of the processional caterpillars is a kind of parable of human behavior.

People are reluctant to break away from the rhythmic pattern of daily life.

They don’t want to be different.

We must break away from the crowd, however, if we are to accept Jesus’ invitation of rest for the soul.

--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited  

!! C.   Charles Spurgeon said “The message of our gospel is the gentle word, "come."

Our Lord says, "Come unto me and I will give you rest."

The law says, "Go and do."

The law says, "Go and take heed to your path in which you walk.

Break the commandments and perish; keep them and live."

The law drives men with a whip; Christ draws men with bands of love.

The law repels; the gospel attracts.

Christ is the good shepherd who goes before His sheep and says, "Come, I will give you rest."

!! D.   In the text for our study today, we find a wonderful invitation extended by Jesus.

!!! 1.

These are words that have brought comfort to the millions and millions of people who have answered this compelling invitation.

!!! 2. I would like for us to examine more closely this invitation that Jesus is making here and consider several thoughts about this invitation.

!

II.

Who is invited?

!! A.   It is offered to “All who are weary and burdened.

!!! 1.

The most important word is the smallest.

The word “all” means there are no exceptions.

It indicates that the invitation is offered to everyone.

!!!! a)    It means that there is no sin that He will not forgive.

!!!!! (1)  Jesus absolutely hates sin to the max.

!!!!! (2)  Jesus absolutely loves the sinner to the max

!!!!! (3)  Romans 5:8 says, Romans 5:8 (NIV) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

*[8]*

!!!! b)    It means that you cannot be bad enough that He will not love you.

!!!! c)     It means when all the world has turned its back on you, Jesus will never.

!!!!! (1)  God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Heb.

13:5

!!!!! (2)  Jesus knows what it feels like when the world turns its back on you, it happened to Him on the Cross.

!!! 2. The invitation is for all who will recognize and admit that they are hurting and are weary and tired and beaten down.

!!!! a)    To admit that you need help is a problem for many people.

!!!! b)    To admit that you need rest is a problem for many.

!! B.   The Greek word for “weary” means “to be beaten.”

!!! 1.

The idea is that a person is worn out from the demands of work and toil.

!!! 2. Have you ever been so tired that you couldn’t even rest?