Title: Come Unto Me
Text: Matt. 11:28-30

There is a favorite Hymn written by Charlotte Elliott that says:

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And as Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God I come, I come.

These words are a response to the call of Jesus to come to Him. Throughout the pages of Scripture there is a call for all humanity to come to the Lord.

Quoting the Lord God in Isa 45:22, Isaiah wrote: "Turn to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. (NAS)

In the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah in chapter 55 verse 1-3, it is the Servant of the Lord, the coming Messiah who calls: ". . . Every one who thirsts, 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 do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, {according to} the faithful mercies shown to David. (NAS)

It is Jesus who calls in Matt 11:28-30, our focal passage this morning:"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 shall find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." (NAS)

Men and women are always asked to respond to His call by coming to Him? In Matt Jesus calls those who are weary and heavy-laden to come to Him and not just find, but be given rest.

There has been much speculation spiritually about the attack on the Word Trade Center and the Pentagon. Many people are asking why a loving God would allow such to happen and some wonder ans speculate whether they were acts of judgment on America.

I had a pastor once who was very fond of using the phrase "for what it's worth." I thought I would use it and for what it's worth give my own opinion on whether it was an act of judgment or not.

I believe it was a wake up call to the church and to the nation. It was a call to the church to reexamine her purpose and mission in this world as salt and light and determine if in fact she is being obedient to that mission and purpose. I believe it was a wake-up call to the nation to turn back to God and reexamine her moral and spiritual climate. But, as terrible as it was I believe it was far too minor to be God's judgement on America.

There can be no doubt that the underlying cause of what happened was sin. You see our greatest gift from God (outside the gift of salvation) is also our greatest curse. That is the gift of a free will - the ability and freedom to make choices.

God has given us the ability to choose to do good, or choose to do evil. This one thing we know beyond a shadow of doubt, with absolute certainty those who were responsible choose to do evil and many people suffered as result of their choice. God could have taken away their free will, but he would have to take ours away as well.

It is precisely because of our volition, our ability to make choices, that Jesus extends His call to come. The call to come is a call to believe. Jesus Christ, The incarnate Son of God, is the revealer of the invisible God Col 1:15; he is the Logos, the image of the unseen God, He is the one who makes God know in a personal relational way. The call to believe is a call to recognize Jesus is both Lord and Savior; to believe He alone can give eternal life; He alone can forgive sin redeem sinners and reconcile all of creation to a place of fellowship with the Creator. Jesus said in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (NAS) In John 14:6 He said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" .(NAS) To come to Jesus means to believe He is who He claimed to be.

The call to come is a call to a relationship. We not only believe He is who He said He was, but as individuals we personally place trust Him to be that and to do that in our lives. To admit we are lost and in need of forgiveness and turn to Him for eternal life. Jesus came in order that all people, every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every race would be able to become a part of God's family and experience the blessings of God in their lives. That experience comes only through personal, relational trust and faith in Jesus.

His call is also a call to fullness of life. In John 10:10 Jesus said: "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have {it} abundantly. (NAS) Jesus wants us to experience wholeness of life.

Jesus calls those to come to Him who are weary and burdened. These terms reflect the daily struggles of life that weary and burden not physically, but spiritually and emotionally. The biggest of these is the burden of sin. Sin always takes it's toll especially emotionally and spiritually.

One of the words experts used in profiling the Sept 11^th terrorist was a sense of hopelessness. They see themselves as having no hope in this life that their only hope is in eternity. Unfortunately without Jesus Christ there is no hope in eternity either. Even their own religion teaches that their actions only bring about a hopeless eternity as well.

Many people today experience feelings of hopelessness. Hopelessness because of personal sin in their lives and they feel unforgivable. Hopelessness because of the sins of others that have affected their lives. Hopelessness because they don't meet perceived cultural expectations in many areas of their lives. These feelings of hopelessness led to despair and depression lead to spiritual and emotional weariness. People need hope to experience the fullness of life. Hope that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

To those who respond to His call, Jesus promises to give rest. Rest is not only the absence of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, despair and hopelessness it is also the presence of peace in both mind and heart.

In the Old Testament the psalmist wrote in Ps 125:1: "Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever." (NAS) Isaiah wrote in 26:4 "Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, {we have} an everlasting Rock." (NAS) God is pictured as a strong and mighty fortress, The peace He gives brings stability and endurance.

In the New Testament Jesus said in John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (NAS) And in John 16:33 He said: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (NAS)

In this world we have tribulation and we have seen and experienced it, but Jesus said He has overcome the world and the peace you experience in Him passes all understanding. In a changing, unstable, confusing world the one constant the one certainty is the unchanging, immovable, everlasting God and the peace He gives through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We talked last week about having an eternal perspective of life. But, how do we develop this eternal perspective and how do we experience this peace? The call to come to Jesus is a call to discipleship and fellowship. When Jesus calls us to come He also calls us to take His yoke upon us.

Taking the yoke is a Jewish metaphor for discipline and discipleship. The yoke allowed the oxen to share the burden and more easily pull the plow. The yoke Jesus asks us to take is His own, he becomes the one who bears the burden.

In order to gain an eternal perspective of life and to experience the peace of God we must fellowship with. It is only when we take this yoke upon us that we become truly acquainted with God. It is only through fellowship with Him that we can His character and His purpose. Christ alone is the Teacher who by his person and work can instruct us regarding the Father, and bring rest of soul which is the very essence of true spiritual experience, a rest involving removal of sin's guilt and the possession of eternal life.

It is only by being yoked together with Jesus that we learn to live by faith. We have to learn how to trust God rather than in ourselves or our circumstances. We want to walk completely by sight and not by faith. Jesus wants us to see, but to walk by faith. We want to plan our own way and have God ok it. God wants us to follow His plan. Jesus is our example of how to accomplish all of those things as we fellowship with Him we draw closer to God and walk more by faith.

It is in being yoked with Jesus that we learn to love. Most of us live self-centered, selfish lives with our own wants and desires always at the center. We confuse love with lust. Jesus taught another way. His life demonstrated a constant spirit of good-will towards others even those who opposed and persecuted Him. He wants us to live by that same principle and the only way we can live that way is by becoming intimately familiar with Him.

And finally it is only by being yoked with Jesus that we learn the importance of total obedience. Jesus was obedient to God at all times and in every way sought to fulfill God's will in His life, even to the point of dying on the cross. Jesus sought to instill in His followers the desire to love God to the point where they were always obedient to the commandments of God. The fulfillment of the purpose of God in the world is dependent on the obedience of believers, to be salt and light and to go into all of the world and make disciples.

Jesus said: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." Matt 11:28-30 (NAS)

Let me ask you, have you heard God's call to come? His call to come for salvation, His call to become disciples, His call to find rest? And if you have heard His call have you answered? If you have heard the call we invite you to respond today to come and place your trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus calls us to come to Him Just as we are and be forever transformed by His grace and love. Will you come today? Christians have you heard His call to discipleship and fellowship, a call to walk with Him and share His ministry in the world? We come the same way, just as we are and He equips us to go in His name. He calls us all to come to Him, will you come today?