Try This On For Size!
Sermon
A Long Time Coming
Cycle A First Lesson Sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany
I have a friend who is a millionaire. He just built a huge new home and furnished it with fine antiques. He even bought a $30,000 grand piano. When I last visited him my three-year-old girl saw that piano, and since most children like to bang on pianos, she quickly climbed upon the bench and began to plunk away. Needless to say, her father quickly put an end to that! Only a master can touch a superb musical instrument like that!
Another friend of mine has a 250-year-old grandfather clock which was handcrafted in England. It stopped ticking recently. Well, what do you do when a priceless heirloom is broken? Do you call in the neighborhood tinker? Of course not! You call for the best clock repairman around!
Let's suppose your wife is ill. She needs delicate open-heart surgery. Maybe you made an "A" in high school biology, and successfully dissected a frog once. Would you operate on your wife in the kitchen? Of course not! You'd seek out a specialist! You'd take her to the best!
But how about us? What about ourselves? When something goes wrong with our lives, to whom do we turn for help? Do we go to a professional, a specialist, the master? No! We go to Bob or Jim or Sue or Carol across the street. We trust some amateur or the astrological charts or Jean Dixon or Dear Abby or Congressman so-and-so!
Jesus said, "Come to me." "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When we depend on an organization, we get what an organization can do. When we depend on psychiatrists and doctors, we get the best medicine can do. When we depend on government, we get the best government can do. But when we come to Jesus, we get the best God can do! One of the things I regularly ask people who come to me for help is, "Have you taken your troubles to Christ?" And invariably most say, "I've talked to my mother. I've listened to my friend's advice, even seen a therapist, but no, I haven't taken it to God yet."
"Come to me! Come to me!" Jesus says. When your life is broken, when you are weary or hurting and in need of repair, come to Jesus. He is the Divine Physician who can heal. He is the Master Repairman representing your manufacturer. And he will examine your life and fix it. Yes, "Come to me," Jesus says. "Come to me." He is the Master. He is the way, the truth, and the life. "Come to me."
Are You Tired?
Jesus also says, "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
A German tourist was asked, "What impresses you most about the United States?" He answered, "The fact that you are a tired people impresses me a great deal. Clerks, wives, friends, teachers, youths, leaders, institutions -- you are all so tired!" Could it be that he was right? Is America tired? Have we worked and schemed only to win the badge of fatigue?
Just look at our homes -- count the divorced people around you. How many women are too tired to have a baby, so they abort? How many parents are too tired to rear their children? How many homes are no more than a laundry, a hotel, and a filling station?
The drugs we take also accuse us of being tired. "Pick-Me-Ups" are a morning must, a little "toddy-for-the-body" in the afternoon, and of course, the "tension reliever" at night. Did you know that it takes about eighteen million sleeping pills to put America to sleep each night?
Even our institutions are tired. Churches are lukewarm. They are becoming a "bless-me bunch" instead of a blessing. Our government is facing an energy crisis, law is tired and lax, art is tired and dragging, even our money is tired! The dollar doesn't do near what it used to do.
A more affluent society has never before existed. A healthier people has never lived. And a tireder race has probably never breathed. Listen to the words of a suicide note left by a young college boy:
Dear America,
I'm tired. Tired of puppets instead of people, of people with long hair and denim coats, pot parties and fraternity pins, people who drop soliloquies carefully labeled intelligence. I'm tired of people who play the dating game like tips at the race track. I'm tired of seeing people used because it's only a game, of people who turn love into a social grace and women into a piece of beef, of watching sincerity fester into smoothness. I'm tired of cynics who label themselves realists, tired of minds rotting into indifference, of people bored because they are afraid to care, of intellectual games of Ring-Around-The-Rosy. I'm tired of people who have to be entertained; tired of people looking for kicks with a bottle in one hand and a prophylactic in the other; of girls proud of knowing the score and snickering about it, of girls intent on learning the score. I'm tired of sophisticated slobs, tired of drunkards and dopeheads who are never more than spaced or tight, of people who tinker with sex until it's smut, of people whose understanding goes no deeper than "neat" or "cool" or "sharp." I'm tired of people who scream they hate it, but won't leave it because they are lazy, tired of people with nothing better to do than glue their days together with alcohol or dope. I'm tired of people embarrassed at honesty, at love, at knowledge. I'm tired. Yeah, very tired. So long.
Could it be that any of you are tired like the young man in this letter? How about you? Are you tired? Jesus invites you, "Come to me all you who are tired and heavy laden, I will give you rest." The Greek work for rest is better translated "relief." "I will give you relief." The Christian life is not a rest from any and all struggle, work, involvement. It is a gift or relief so one may devote his energies constructively.
The prophet Isaiah (40:28-31) was speaking to a tired people when he said:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Where are those in our community who are old but who have come to Jesus, who have waited on the Lord? I'm thinking of Moses leading the Exodus in his eighties; a man like the burning bush, he was ever burning but never consumed. I'm thinking of middle-aged Dorcas, the woman who did so much with her needle and thread. Where is she today? And there is David, the young shepherd boy with a slingshot. And where is young David today?
Yes, it does look like America is coming and going to everyone and everything but Jesus. And we are a tired people. And that's why Christ's words are so relevant. But Jesus isn't for everyone. He doesn't call for everyone. He only calls for the tired and heavy-laden. He's not calling for the self-sufficient, for those who can get along quite well without him. He calls only for those who feel a need. "Come unto me all who are tired and heavy laden," he says. "I will give you relief."
The Yoke
Jesus also says, "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."
Notice that Jesus gives two commands and a promise. The commands, "Come to me," and "Take my yoke," are what make the promise, "I will give you rest," come true.
Also notice that Jesus says that we must be saved from something to something. This should not surprise us. God saved Israel from Egypt to the promised land. He saves us from the flesh to the Spirit. Jesus says we need to be saved to his yoke. How about you? Are you saved from your sins? But better still, are you saved to the yoke of Christ?
When Christ spoke of his yoke, he was speaking as a skilled tradesman. He was flashing back to his boyhood days. You see, Christ was a carpenter for twenty years or more before he turned preacher. His father Joseph taught him the trade. Together they ran a little shop in Nazareth. It was located in the poor side of town, down some inconspicuous, dusty little avenue. But it was a pleasant shop, well kept and nestled beneath the shade of olive trees. From it could be heard frequent peels of laughter amid the sound of hammering and sawing. The smell of fresh cut lumber filled one's nostrils as one entered the vicinity. And out front, legend has it, there hung a sign which read, "Our yokes fit well."
According to tradition, Joseph and Jesus made the best oxen yokes to be found. Even though their shop was inconspicuously located, people came from villages all around just to have their yokes made by Joseph and Son. They would tie their big oxen to a tree, step inside for a few moments, and soon emerge with a young boy. The lad would walk over to the oxen and take careful measurements. Then a lightweight wood was chosen; carving and filing was done. Finally there would be trial fittings. The yoke must fit just right. It could not be too tight, too rough or heavy because it would gall the animal's neck. And that would never do! Such suffering would inhibit the oxen's work. With Joseph and Jesus, you see, it was a matter of reputation, a matter of quality. The yoke must fit perfectly.
And now in the later years Jesus no longer fashions yokes for animals. He now makes them for people. And likewise, these yokes fit well. They are smooth and light of weight. In fact, they are tailor-made!
Remember all those hand-me-downs you wore when you were growing up? Recall the second-hand shoes that pinched, the dress that almost fit, and the shirt that was too tight? Well, God will never treat you like that. He'll give you a tailor-made yoke! Here, try this on for size!
God has a plan for every individual's life. He has a job for you to do. And better than anyone else, you are qualified to do it. In fact, if you don't do it, it won't get done, or it will be done second best.
What is your yoke in life? What is your calling, your ministry? Ask God! Seek him! If a man really wants to know God's will, then the Lord will surely find a way to show it to him.
Consider the man Saul. He'd taken upon himself the yoke of Phariseeism. But God sought to remove it and place on him the yoke of Jesus. Saul resisted. And on the road to Damascus Jesus blinded him and said, "Saul, it is hard to kick against the goads, isn't it?" To realize what God was saying to Saul one has to know that behind each ox team were sharp pointed sticks called goads. When an ox tried to kick his way out of the yoke he hit the points of the sticks and very quickly settled down. And likewise it was hurting Saul to resist the yoke God was placing on his back. But when Saul finally accepted God's yoke he became Paul and was given a life that fit him just right! He became the Apostle Paul, missionary to the Gentiles from Israel to Rome.
Many of you have found it hard to kick against the goads as you resist Christ's yoke. You are tired; you're weary. You've been saved from your sins but you haven't been saved to anything. "Take my yoke," Jesus commands. "Learn from me! For my yoke fits well!"
Saved From/To!
Did you hear about the young dog that was spinning round and round in circles? An old dog sauntered up to watch. "What are you doing?" he asked. "I'm chasing my tail," the young dog replied. "You see, happiness is in my tail. When it wags, I'm happy. When it droops, I'm sad. Happiness is in my tail! If I can catch it, I'll always be happy!" So again he spun round and round trying to catch his tail and bite hold of it. Finally, all out of puff, he sagged to the ground, tired out. The old dog, still watching all this, said wisely, "You know, I used to chase my tail. But one day I found out that if I just went about my business, happiness followed along right behind!"
Today Christ's invitation goes out to any of you who've been chasing your tail and are worn out. You need only come to Jesus. He will give you rest. He will save you from your sins to your yoke. And when you go about the Lord's business, happiness follows along right behind!
Another friend of mine has a 250-year-old grandfather clock which was handcrafted in England. It stopped ticking recently. Well, what do you do when a priceless heirloom is broken? Do you call in the neighborhood tinker? Of course not! You call for the best clock repairman around!
Let's suppose your wife is ill. She needs delicate open-heart surgery. Maybe you made an "A" in high school biology, and successfully dissected a frog once. Would you operate on your wife in the kitchen? Of course not! You'd seek out a specialist! You'd take her to the best!
But how about us? What about ourselves? When something goes wrong with our lives, to whom do we turn for help? Do we go to a professional, a specialist, the master? No! We go to Bob or Jim or Sue or Carol across the street. We trust some amateur or the astrological charts or Jean Dixon or Dear Abby or Congressman so-and-so!
Jesus said, "Come to me." "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." When we depend on an organization, we get what an organization can do. When we depend on psychiatrists and doctors, we get the best medicine can do. When we depend on government, we get the best government can do. But when we come to Jesus, we get the best God can do! One of the things I regularly ask people who come to me for help is, "Have you taken your troubles to Christ?" And invariably most say, "I've talked to my mother. I've listened to my friend's advice, even seen a therapist, but no, I haven't taken it to God yet."
"Come to me! Come to me!" Jesus says. When your life is broken, when you are weary or hurting and in need of repair, come to Jesus. He is the Divine Physician who can heal. He is the Master Repairman representing your manufacturer. And he will examine your life and fix it. Yes, "Come to me," Jesus says. "Come to me." He is the Master. He is the way, the truth, and the life. "Come to me."
Are You Tired?
Jesus also says, "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
A German tourist was asked, "What impresses you most about the United States?" He answered, "The fact that you are a tired people impresses me a great deal. Clerks, wives, friends, teachers, youths, leaders, institutions -- you are all so tired!" Could it be that he was right? Is America tired? Have we worked and schemed only to win the badge of fatigue?
Just look at our homes -- count the divorced people around you. How many women are too tired to have a baby, so they abort? How many parents are too tired to rear their children? How many homes are no more than a laundry, a hotel, and a filling station?
The drugs we take also accuse us of being tired. "Pick-Me-Ups" are a morning must, a little "toddy-for-the-body" in the afternoon, and of course, the "tension reliever" at night. Did you know that it takes about eighteen million sleeping pills to put America to sleep each night?
Even our institutions are tired. Churches are lukewarm. They are becoming a "bless-me bunch" instead of a blessing. Our government is facing an energy crisis, law is tired and lax, art is tired and dragging, even our money is tired! The dollar doesn't do near what it used to do.
A more affluent society has never before existed. A healthier people has never lived. And a tireder race has probably never breathed. Listen to the words of a suicide note left by a young college boy:
Dear America,
I'm tired. Tired of puppets instead of people, of people with long hair and denim coats, pot parties and fraternity pins, people who drop soliloquies carefully labeled intelligence. I'm tired of people who play the dating game like tips at the race track. I'm tired of seeing people used because it's only a game, of people who turn love into a social grace and women into a piece of beef, of watching sincerity fester into smoothness. I'm tired of cynics who label themselves realists, tired of minds rotting into indifference, of people bored because they are afraid to care, of intellectual games of Ring-Around-The-Rosy. I'm tired of people who have to be entertained; tired of people looking for kicks with a bottle in one hand and a prophylactic in the other; of girls proud of knowing the score and snickering about it, of girls intent on learning the score. I'm tired of sophisticated slobs, tired of drunkards and dopeheads who are never more than spaced or tight, of people who tinker with sex until it's smut, of people whose understanding goes no deeper than "neat" or "cool" or "sharp." I'm tired of people who scream they hate it, but won't leave it because they are lazy, tired of people with nothing better to do than glue their days together with alcohol or dope. I'm tired of people embarrassed at honesty, at love, at knowledge. I'm tired. Yeah, very tired. So long.
Could it be that any of you are tired like the young man in this letter? How about you? Are you tired? Jesus invites you, "Come to me all you who are tired and heavy laden, I will give you rest." The Greek work for rest is better translated "relief." "I will give you relief." The Christian life is not a rest from any and all struggle, work, involvement. It is a gift or relief so one may devote his energies constructively.
The prophet Isaiah (40:28-31) was speaking to a tired people when he said:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Where are those in our community who are old but who have come to Jesus, who have waited on the Lord? I'm thinking of Moses leading the Exodus in his eighties; a man like the burning bush, he was ever burning but never consumed. I'm thinking of middle-aged Dorcas, the woman who did so much with her needle and thread. Where is she today? And there is David, the young shepherd boy with a slingshot. And where is young David today?
Yes, it does look like America is coming and going to everyone and everything but Jesus. And we are a tired people. And that's why Christ's words are so relevant. But Jesus isn't for everyone. He doesn't call for everyone. He only calls for the tired and heavy-laden. He's not calling for the self-sufficient, for those who can get along quite well without him. He calls only for those who feel a need. "Come unto me all who are tired and heavy laden," he says. "I will give you relief."
The Yoke
Jesus also says, "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."
Notice that Jesus gives two commands and a promise. The commands, "Come to me," and "Take my yoke," are what make the promise, "I will give you rest," come true.
Also notice that Jesus says that we must be saved from something to something. This should not surprise us. God saved Israel from Egypt to the promised land. He saves us from the flesh to the Spirit. Jesus says we need to be saved to his yoke. How about you? Are you saved from your sins? But better still, are you saved to the yoke of Christ?
When Christ spoke of his yoke, he was speaking as a skilled tradesman. He was flashing back to his boyhood days. You see, Christ was a carpenter for twenty years or more before he turned preacher. His father Joseph taught him the trade. Together they ran a little shop in Nazareth. It was located in the poor side of town, down some inconspicuous, dusty little avenue. But it was a pleasant shop, well kept and nestled beneath the shade of olive trees. From it could be heard frequent peels of laughter amid the sound of hammering and sawing. The smell of fresh cut lumber filled one's nostrils as one entered the vicinity. And out front, legend has it, there hung a sign which read, "Our yokes fit well."
According to tradition, Joseph and Jesus made the best oxen yokes to be found. Even though their shop was inconspicuously located, people came from villages all around just to have their yokes made by Joseph and Son. They would tie their big oxen to a tree, step inside for a few moments, and soon emerge with a young boy. The lad would walk over to the oxen and take careful measurements. Then a lightweight wood was chosen; carving and filing was done. Finally there would be trial fittings. The yoke must fit just right. It could not be too tight, too rough or heavy because it would gall the animal's neck. And that would never do! Such suffering would inhibit the oxen's work. With Joseph and Jesus, you see, it was a matter of reputation, a matter of quality. The yoke must fit perfectly.
And now in the later years Jesus no longer fashions yokes for animals. He now makes them for people. And likewise, these yokes fit well. They are smooth and light of weight. In fact, they are tailor-made!
Remember all those hand-me-downs you wore when you were growing up? Recall the second-hand shoes that pinched, the dress that almost fit, and the shirt that was too tight? Well, God will never treat you like that. He'll give you a tailor-made yoke! Here, try this on for size!
God has a plan for every individual's life. He has a job for you to do. And better than anyone else, you are qualified to do it. In fact, if you don't do it, it won't get done, or it will be done second best.
What is your yoke in life? What is your calling, your ministry? Ask God! Seek him! If a man really wants to know God's will, then the Lord will surely find a way to show it to him.
Consider the man Saul. He'd taken upon himself the yoke of Phariseeism. But God sought to remove it and place on him the yoke of Jesus. Saul resisted. And on the road to Damascus Jesus blinded him and said, "Saul, it is hard to kick against the goads, isn't it?" To realize what God was saying to Saul one has to know that behind each ox team were sharp pointed sticks called goads. When an ox tried to kick his way out of the yoke he hit the points of the sticks and very quickly settled down. And likewise it was hurting Saul to resist the yoke God was placing on his back. But when Saul finally accepted God's yoke he became Paul and was given a life that fit him just right! He became the Apostle Paul, missionary to the Gentiles from Israel to Rome.
Many of you have found it hard to kick against the goads as you resist Christ's yoke. You are tired; you're weary. You've been saved from your sins but you haven't been saved to anything. "Take my yoke," Jesus commands. "Learn from me! For my yoke fits well!"
Saved From/To!
Did you hear about the young dog that was spinning round and round in circles? An old dog sauntered up to watch. "What are you doing?" he asked. "I'm chasing my tail," the young dog replied. "You see, happiness is in my tail. When it wags, I'm happy. When it droops, I'm sad. Happiness is in my tail! If I can catch it, I'll always be happy!" So again he spun round and round trying to catch his tail and bite hold of it. Finally, all out of puff, he sagged to the ground, tired out. The old dog, still watching all this, said wisely, "You know, I used to chase my tail. But one day I found out that if I just went about my business, happiness followed along right behind!"
Today Christ's invitation goes out to any of you who've been chasing your tail and are worn out. You need only come to Jesus. He will give you rest. He will save you from your sins to your yoke. And when you go about the Lord's business, happiness follows along right behind!
