Come, Take, Learn
Today more than ever. We are experiencing. Cultural Wars in this country. There's, there's digital deception in this digital deception is just a continuous series of events. The social dilemma. Special that was shared at leftover Netflix about what's happening with social media in our country and how it's impacting, our children. Are you, our families, our society, and other countries? The Facebook controversies that are happening. The algorithms that are out there trying to influence people to hate one another to divide us so someone can attempt to gain a little bit more power. All the current studies now are saying that there's a risk of people suffering from more depression and anxiety and loneliness and people are actually seeing side effects from all these people are in a state of self-harm. People are even having more Suicidal Thoughts. And in in in suicides them self or increasing. And we're going to place where these political ideology is it. We're surrounded by or trying to redefine us. Trying to pressure wash in infiltrate the body of Christ herself. The church in the society are more divided right now than ever before. And if we're not more, deliberate will continue to be even more divided. And help active to a culture that it's our responsibility to influence with God's answers. We see the impact of the Coronavirus. We see our Healthcare System. Overloaded it times. Healthcare workers are leaving the system in large numbers because they're simply overwhelmed at the Paradox. That was happening before them as children and teenagers and families parents husbands and wives healthcare workers in front-line workers, pass away. Families are in a state of confusion and it continues to inject more Division and Chaos into the communities. And the fact of the matter is, whether we want to face it or not. It's impacting the nation as a whole. And the world is pain and suffering all around us. And we're burdened down with struggling with. This battle between the humanities self-righteousness and what God has done to actually make us righteous. We're struggling with our need to be righteous on our own. Versus accepting the grace of God coming together. We can see this through the legal isn't. It's happening all around us without relationships. We can see it creating more chaos, and we can see the religious the battle between the religious laws. The large self. Even though God has made available to us more Grace by faith. So, how these things are creating a trend. Now we see Trend in the trends in the sports arena and basketball. Tennis so forth, what people are saying? Hey, I'm having mental health challenges. I'm in a mental health crisis and the fact of the matter is where we're going to spiritual crisis, and that's why we're experiencing all this tension, stress anxiety, or there's more worries, and is more concerned. So, how do we find a sustainable way to unload all this worry, all this concern, all this confusion, all these, paradoxes of life and how do we become released from the back hatch of the burden that we carry every day? How do we find? A solid way to get refreshing. Our Spirits are mine and I bought in her soul when we're surrounded by so many personal challenges and confusion and Chaos in the culture wars. Where can you, what? I find a perfect rest and insurance in life regardless of the tensions and obstacles. We encounter
Matthew 11, 28 to 30 the scripture. There says, 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 like,
The gospel of Matthew is written is written somewhere around 70 AD. And it appears that it was written and produced in two to three stages. By scribes were fragments found corded back in Egypt in the second and the third Century that attests to the fact that the Book of Matthew is actual real history documented by extra biblical sources, as well as biblical sources, and these fragments are referred to the day is p64. You can go out and investigate and see the fragments and study them and read for yourself and decide for yourself about the authenticity of the documents.
It chapter 1 and 2 of The Gospel of Matthew. The writer is placing emphasis on the coming of Jesus as God's Messiah. In chapters 3 225, he then shifts his emphasis on. The ministry of Jesus. He shares about the baptism of the Temptation, how he called the disciples. In verses 3 and chapter 3 and 4, rather. He talks about The Sermon on the Mount. Ellen, in chapters 8 and 9, the authority of Jesus is established, and its established by God demonstrating through Jesus, his divine power to heal. His divine power to forgive, to reconcile. In chapter 10, he sends out the 12 disciples. And then we moved to chapter 11 which which is what we're going to discuss today in the emphasis is on the coming of the Kingdom. Jesus here began to deal with the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew about their inability to discern the presence of God. And the fact that the kingdom of God was coming had come and was in their very presence.
These, These are scribes and Pharisees had evidence, and they saw first-hand account many of them of the personhood of Jesus. They knew the principles that he would practice. They saw his power. He demonstrated the word of God. He didn't just speak about it. Meet the eyes of the blind people were open and the lane were able to walk, the death were hearing relationships with being reconciled. And in Jesus did not hesitate to speak. Absolute truth, directly to the power. He was trying to place emphasis on the fact that the law of loan. Can I say? Without a saved without God's plan being executed. Self-righteous people would reject the wisdom and the grace of God. And so we see here that Jesus was teaching in a variety of ways. The need for us to be changed to have a change hard. So yes, we need the law. We need good laws. We need a water, but no law can change human heart. Only. God can do that. There was evidence for these leaders and they could see that Jesus was a righteous man. Yet, they wanted to resist and reject them out of their own self-righteousness, self-righteous people repel others. Jesus was demonstrating for the leadership. The the need for us to reach out to others, connect with others. To heal to have compassion. To share Grace. To forgive. But self-righteous people repeal others, they look down on others. Self-righteous people parade, their good works in here. The scribes and the Pharisees were parading their good works. Before the people. They were showing their deep understanding of the law. They were wielding their power. But it was not something that was impressive to God. So, the order of things in the nature, things have not changed, very much. What happened then in the Book of Matthew, what happened in which describes the Pharisees is still an issue with human nature. We still suffering from the same tensions. That's why our opening was so intense about all they were going through it because God wants to share in his word that the nature of things exist in every generation. They don't change. We will always need him. We cannot live in our own self-righteousness. We could never do enough. Good works on our own. Self-righteous people, uncompassionate. And the scribes and Pharisees were uncompassionate to the people many of them. They cheated them out of their money. He scammed them for sacrifices. Many of them. They had them pay for ritual baths. They overcharge them. It turned into a business. And their self-righteousness, they became extremely uncompassionate people. They could not. Do what the law required yet? They insisted. That they had earned a relationship with God. Self-righteous people hate and condemn sinners. And they didn't like the fact that Jesus embraced centers. Jesus ministered to Sinners. Jesus related to Sinners, Jesus heals sinners.
He led them to a state-of-art change and show them that they can go directly to God for help. Did everything could be corrected and reconcile? If only we choose.
Self-righteous people. Love the approval and the praise of men. Get in Jesus ministry. He focused on getting the approval and praise. Of God not meant.
self-righteous self-righteous people list their good works and Brag about what they do with their faith. Jesus. Get it. He didn't talk about it. He showed us how to be a Christian. Not say where Christians.
Self-righteous people, reject correction receive here in the Book of Matthew that that is Jesus announces the kingdom delivers, the evidence provides the wisdom, share the information. The people that would be a loss, would be people who would choose to just reject correction. Jesus knew. Who would believe who would not believe it? Cuz God is all-knowing. And he was 100% man. And 100% God. Yet, even still. He came to reconcile, anyone. Wouldn't reject correction. Hear the scripture says, come the Greek word here. Come means not just,. It means to follow it means to model or behavior. It means to learn a new, a new lifestyle, a new way of life, that will help us overcome, all these challenges and all these burdens all these. Heavyweights. We have to carry it. God had put in place a plan for us that allows us to come to him to follow him. He says, listen, you can come. And I'll give you something that you can take away, you can come and I'll give you a new way of thinking being and doing the kingdom of God is at hand that you can take off that, you can pick up that you can put into practice. And then he says, learn of me. He wanted he wanted Believers then and now he wanted Humanity then and now to gain knowledge of God. And to gain a skillful knowledge of God.
Benny says, hey, you can come in it and when you come to me, my yoke is easy. When you come to me, I will lighten your burden. Here. He's saying I will balance the scales. Why? Because God had sent the Messiah as wisdom from God. He knew that we would need wisdom. He knew that we would be self-destructing if we live based on our own self-righteousness. I knew that would be tempted to try to be our own Gods. And he knew that that would that would that would destroy us. So he sent his son. He says here, my yoke is easy. My burden is light, if you just come. Except. My leadership, except my lordship life will not be so hard. If you just allow me to lead you. Submit to me. If you want to live a balanced and peaceful life. And he's and he's telling us today. We need to come to him. It and no one is exempt. It doesn't matter your color, your class. Your economic status. He saying come to me. All anyone everyone. Everyone, that's weary everyone that's over waited with too many challenges. Everyone that's been abused and abandoned. Everyone is carrying the burden and I will give you rest. Pick up my yoke upon you and learn of me. Make the learning something integrated into your lifestyle. You'll see that he's gentle. You see that? He's humble in heart. You will find Rest For Your Mind. Body, Soul, and Spirit. He said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
So I challenge to you today is are you going to stay in the tug-of-war of of self-righteousness? Are you going to stay involved in the tug-of-war? The following, the ways of the world even though God has made available his own wisdom for us in God through Jesus who he sent. Or has he was made to be sin for us and any issue is simply means that there's a barrier between us and God, but God had put implant a place this in Jesus show that that barrier could be eradicated. The struggle could be dealt with. Yes, we were born into the world slave to sin. But Jesus came to free us from that slavery. He came to free us from the curse of the law and the law of sin and death. Will you come? Right in the middle of your challenge. Will you come? Right in the middle of your pain. Will you come?
Right in the middle of all the confusion. Will you come? Right now, while you're struggling with the thoughts of suicide. Will you come? He said, come to me. Alhambra Court.