Rest a characteristic of God This word rest does not mean
to sit down and believe for the best, as some would think. God's rest represents a power given to us by God to interact
with Him daily and it gives us the power do the works He created for us to do from the beginning. We are not talking about
running to the Lord when we are only overburdened with the cares of the life. This is a way of life, where we live in a constant
awareness of a union and fellowship with God, through the Holy Spirit. It's absolutely vital we allow the Holy Spirit
to search our hearts and show us if, we are really committed to walk in this type of relationship with Christ.
In the Greek, the word for rest is ana-pausis, ana-pauo. It means to come to an end of one self and
to direct the gaze of your eyes upon and take comfort and able to stay in this condition. The prefix of these words starts
with ana. This gives the connotation that rest creates a desire that gives us an intense and a repetitious hunger after God.
It also represents a word or gift distributed by God to every man individually and if it is accepted and sought after, there
is no end to its supply or the useful function of its use. It is a gift that if it continually flows through our lives, it
will handle and heal every need that we have. It is given to each Christian, but it has to be discovered and become real and
personal to each one of us in our experiences with the Holy Spirit. We also must be going through this process at all times
with great passion.
Our attitude in receiving this gift, or to function in it
or any of God's gifts, should always be a constant awareness that we need to be learning God's thoughts and then doing
His works. This process must always be taking place in this order. We will be learning God's ways for eternity. God's
ways and thoughts are higher then ours and we need to discover what a privilege and delight it is for Him to share His life
and friendship with us.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, "Come to me all you
who are labored and heavy burdened and I will cause you to rest. I will ease and refresh your soul. Take my yoke upon you
and learn about Me. I am humble in heart and you will find relief and ease for your souls. For My yoke will make you healthy
and comfortable. It will not make you feel that I am harsh, hard or forcing you to do anything. My yoke is light and easy
to carry."
We see here that Jesus says, "We have to come to Him to receive
this rest." This word come, does not mean coming to the Lord once in a while when we feel a need for it but a command
to follow Him. The word come means to seek, come under His leadership, to closely observe and imitate His ways. Now before
we define how we are to come. We need to realize that we are coming from a prior condition that we are in and He is directing
us to come out from that condition to His way of thinking.
The word of God says,
"All have sinned and come short of God glory." (Past tense if you are born again) We all need to come to God and
confess that we have broken His laws and ask Him to save us and take over our life. Once we have confessed that we have sinned
because; all were born with a sinner's nature and become born again by the miracle of salvation; we become the saints
of God. Our sinner's nature to break God's laws died at the cross with Jesus and we were raised as He was to a new
life in righteousness. Unless the Christian understands how totally he was forgiven; he will never be able to rest in Jesus
finished work at the cross. However; after salvation, none of us are living in the total freedom of the abundance that God
had given us the day we first got saved because; it is the Holy Ghost who brings us to spiritual maturity. We are a work in
progress.
We need His direction so we can continue to live and function in His
blessing, favor and abundance. He also says, all can come with no exception. The choice of our coming or not coming is the
difference of living a life of great abundance in all areas verses a life of being an ordinary person. This choice of our
coming must be on a voluntary basis, without a fear of the consequences if we choose not to come.
We must now yield ourselves and let God point out those areas in our lives that hinders us from all God has
for us do to our ignorance of His ways. Sometimes the acknowledgments of these things are painful for us to see. I have met
too many Christians over the years that have lived in unresolved issues, with people and all kinds of un-forgiveness. They
are also caring scars and rejections of all sorts. Some of these hurts have been buried for years in their souls. These things
keep us cripples in our every day experiences between God, others and ourselves.
This
scripture defines these conditions as we being labored and heavy burdened or loaded down with them. The word burden takes
on many applications. It means worry or caring responsibility that God does not want us to carry. It also means ideas we have
about God, others and ourselves that are not based on sound Christian doctrine. This happens because, we have not rightly
understood or were not taught sound scriptural teachings. Basically, we are unlearned in the ways of God. The word of God
defines this condition as us being simple minded. When we experience these burdens, it makes you feel like something or someone
you cannot see is driving you. There is a spirit of obligations we carry in our relationship with God and others that at times
just wears you out. There is also, if we are honest with our feelings, a questioning of how much God really loves us, because
of some of the conditions and trials we are encountering and what we are observing in others.
God is trying to
give us rest for our soul. It's our thinking and the way we reason in our mind, that controls our emotions. When we became
born again believers in Christ, our spirit became alive and for the first time we became aware of Christ being alive in us.
If we are to grow up to be like Christ Jesus, we need to do what Paul the Apostle told the Christians in Rome.
Paul begged them that, "in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of
their bodies. Giving to God all that they were, with all their strength and being, and set themselves apart and be devoted
to God, which was His, desire for them? This is a reasonable request and do it as an attitude of spiritual worship to Him.
Do not conform to the worlds why of reasoning by adapting to superficial customs. (Mans ways of dealing with his every day
chores and endeavors.) Be changed by having your mind renewed, by having new ideas which brings with it new attitudes of reasoning
and understanding. Therefore, with this change going on, it will give you a sure conviction within yourself and a rock sure
confidence of knowing your in God's perfect will. It will also make you realize how loved and especially unique you are
to God for yourself alone."
This process can only be accomplished by receiving
God's unearned favor. (GRACE.) We must constantly be made aware that, we receive God's favor without measuring up
and that, there is nothing we can do to get it in our own strength. It only comes by our brokenness and us realizing that
we have to seek God because of necessity. Meaning that, we have an intense hunger and thirst in us for His friendship. Only
the humble needy people receive God's grace.
The part of this scripture that
states in the view of all God's mercies means, the Holy Spirit has to be the one to show us and give us a continual understanding
of how God embraces, acknowledges and tells us how proud He is of us daily. That's what mercy is all about. This is not
something we can take for granted and conjure up in our own mind. Living and functioning in the gift of rest not only shows
us His mercy but it gives us the intense hunger we need to keep chasing after God. If we are going to stay open and flowing
in this life style, we must abandon ourselves to God and have Him train our spiritual ears to hear His voice. Simply put.
We have to go to God to be (schooled by the Holy Spirit daily.)
The next part
of this scripture says. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." The word yoke means a joining of God and man. Well
how does this happen since we already recognize that, we can't do this because; we have no power in ourselves to accomplish
this task. We have to continually remind ourselves that, when Christ died on the cross and we received Him into our hearts,
we were spiritually adopted into God's family and we received a down payment of our salvation. I said a down payment,
meaning a beginning. That is our first encounter of taking on God's yoke. This word takes means to lay hold of, to choose,
to accept into a relationship with oneself and to become friendly with by an association. In the Greek concordance, it says,
to be lifted or raised to a higher condition or position.
Can you be raised to
a higher position then becoming a child of God?
We had to make a freewill choice
to take God's invitation to become His child. It didn't cost us a thing. God loves us unconditionally and He gave
us the best love gift He had when He gave us Jesus His first and only Son, to die for us and restore us to a relationship
with Him. Therefore, this new life and this new beginning starts when we become a child of God. An example of this is, when
we came out of our mother's womb. We became a living person. We now had to be trained by our parents and matured to become
responsible and capable people to live in society. In turn, God our Father has to now train us (through the Holy Spirit,)
to learn how to function in the Spirit world with Him. Jesus says, "You need to learn of me."
When we flow in a learning attitude; we gain knowledge, acquire skill and stay informed. Now here
is a key principle of real life in Christ. We know and have been told by hundreds of teachers and preachers to read the bible
daily and even I have said this. The word of God was written as a standard or role model for doctrine, correction and instruction
so we can correctly live the Christian life. In spite of all this sound scripture and truth, I don't believe that this
is what Jesus was talking about here when He said, "You have to learn about (Me.)"
I believe that there are many of us who just love God and are trying to do all the things we believe we're
suppose to do. This makes us feel that we are accepted by God and our fellow believers. Meaning we live in a comfort zone
of mediocrity. This condition comes about because of what we have been told or shown to be the Christian norm.
The point being we live in the knowledge of (dead words of instruction, behavioral antics and places
of congregational meetings,) but we have never grown in our empathy and fellow feelings of Jesus' commitment to His Heavenly
Father, who is our Heavenly Father. Nor have we learned the empathy and the love and commitment He has for us by dying on
the cross. Not even yet talking about the feeling that He has for us to grow up to really know Him as a! LIVING FRIEND! The
scripture goes on to say that, we have to learn what Jesus said about Him self. He said, "He was humble of heart."
What did He mean? How was Jesus humble?
Philippians 2:5 States, "Let this
same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Let Him be your example in humility. Who being
in the form of God (Meaning He possessed the fullness and all the attributes and characteristics which makes God all that
He is.) He did not think this equality He had with God was something to be eagerly grasped or to be held on to.
However, he stripped Himself or made Himself to have no reputation and took on the form, attributes,
and characteristics of a Servant. He did this by becoming a human being. After He appeared so people could see Him in the
flesh, He further humbled Himself and carried His obedience to the extreme by dying on the cross. Because He stooped so low,
God has highly exalted Him and has given Him a name above every name."
When
I first became aware of this scripture, it boggled my mind in thinking, what or who is this God or person, who stepped out
of heaven and who shows us His awesome power of having no beginning and no end. Who brought the world and life into existence
by His spoken word? Spoke to Moses in a burning bush. Parted the Red Sea to save the Israelite people. Walked in the Garden
of Eden with Adam and Eve as a whirlwind and a roar, weaving His Spirit in their fleshly bodies. Had mercy and kindness for
Adam and Eve, when they had to leave the Garden, and made coats to cover their nakedness. Threw Satan out of heaven because
of his sin of pride. Led the children of Israel in the wilderness with a fire by night and a cloud by day. Had fire come down
from heaven to destroy the altar prepared by the prophet Elijah. Created the plagues on Egypt so pharaoh had to let His people
go. Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked ways. Gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Stood in the fiery
furnace with Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego and protected them from the flames, to the point that their garments didn't
even smell of smoke. Ascended on Jesus as a dove and as John the Baptist was baptizing Him, he heard a voice from heaven say
"this is my Son in whom I delight in."
I could go on and on. The point
being, He is the sovereign God over all and there is to be no other Gods before Him. He is the absolute and all that life
is and will ever be! Amen. That's why we see the description of the twenty-four elders in the Book of Revelation described
as falling down in worship to Him. Now unless we have a spiritual awareness of what I have said, I don't know how we will
understand what Christ give up to become a man and why He did this when we were born breaking His laws.
In 1John1-3 John the Apostle said, "I am writing about the word of life, who existed from the
beginning and we have heard and seen Him with our own eyes. We have not only seen Him but we have touched Him with our hands.
This life being because of His countenance, He expressed the sovereigness of God Himself. This was revealed to us and we knew
that we were beholding eternal life. I am telling you this so that you can have the same relationship with Him as we have.
The distinguishing mark of all Christians is that, we have fellowship with the God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ."
Now having an idea of the position Christ Jesus had from the beginning of time,
let's look at some of the servant hood positions He went through and how He humbled Himself in His actions as He interacted
with us.
In John chapter 13, we have the encounter that after the apostles and
Jesus got through with dinner; Jesus took a towel and began to wash the Apostles feet. When He came to wash Peter's feet,
he complained and said to Jesus, I should be washing your feet. You can't wash my feet. Jesus went on to say that unless
you allow me to wash your feet, you cannot continue to walk with me as your companion. When Peter heard this, because of his
desire to walk with the Lord, He was taken aback and said, if that's the case please wash my hands and head also.
We see Jesus the night before He is to be crucified, in the Garden of Gethsemane going to pray to
His Heavenly Father for strength in His coming ordeal. He asked the Apostles to come with Him to pray and support Him in this
hour of anguish, as He wrestled with doing God's will by being crucified on the cross for our sins. It says that, He was
sweating blood because; His mental and physical torment was so great. In addition, it says an angel came to Him and strengthened
Him and the struggle was lifted and He was encouraged. When He went back to see the Apostles, they were all asleep and He
said to them, "Couldn't you support me for a while in my hour of need?" Right after this, the mob came to get
Him being led by Judas, who kissed Him to show them who it was he was betraying. The Apostles said "Lord we will defend
you and strike them with a sword, and one of them cut off the ear of the high priest." Jesus said, "No let them
take me and He healed the man's ear."
This shows me how much we have
to learn about being humble and putting ourselves in the hands of God to fulfill His will. We're either not humbling and
seeking God in prayer as we should or we are running around being religious, spouting our distaste's and putting judgment
and giving our opinion acting like fools, not understanding God's purposes and His ways. There is so much for us to learn
from Him, so we can become the people He always wanted us to be.
Hebrews 5:7 tells
us, "In the days that Jesus lived in the flesh on this earth. He offered up definite and special petitions for the things
that He not only wanted, but also needed and He begged earnestly with strong crying and tears to His Heavenly Father who always
was able to save Him from death, and God heard Him because of His reverence toward God. (His desire to walk in total obedience
to His will). He shrank from the horrors of being separated and being out of the presence of His Heavenly Father. He was God's
Son and He actively sought after and learned obedience through the things that He suffered." We have to have the same
passion that Jesus had if we're going to learn about Him and His servant hood.
When
there is no passion, there can be no crying and tears.
There is much more to say
on this subject because, we're talking about the life of Christ Jesus, the God Man.
The
book of Hebrews tells us that, "Jesus is our High Priest or mediator between us and God the Father." In Hebrews
4:15-16 it says, " we have a High Priest who is able to sympathize and has a fellow feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities
and understands our temptations, because when He was human, He was also tempted like us and it said He had the strength to
not sin or miss God's perfect will." If we understand this type of humility, it will show us how to fearlessly and
bodily draw near to God and we will be able to receive His mercy on those areas of our lives, which He wants to change in
us. When we allow humility to have its perfect way, we become meek meaning, submissive and compliant in our relationship with
the Lord.
In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek for they shall
inherit the earth." In my studies over the years, I read a meaning of meekness that means a lot to me. It helps me to
see if my attitude is alert and active in understanding God's ways. It goes like this.
"The
meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather, he may be in his moral life as bold as
a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled by himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his life.
He knows he is weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but even if this sounds absurd, he knows at the same time,
he has great worth in God's sight and that he is more important than the angels." Hanging out with God daily will
create this type of spirit within you.
As you can see, taking the gift of rest
is taking on the life of Christ Jesus Himself. His yoke is us taking on the same needs and weak vulnerability to human situations
and emotions that He had when he was in the flesh. This He encountered in His endeavor to fulfill His Heavenly Father's
will for His life. This was part of the servant hood qualities He took on to become a human being. It is necessary and normal
for us to feel threatened, when we encounter situations and peer pressure of all types. It keeps us dependent on God's
strength to over come these pressures.
Paul the Apostle in 11 Corinthians 12:7-10
had this encounter in his growing pains while being perfected in his walk with the Lord. He said, "To keep me from being
puffed up or prideful and being over concerned about keeping my reputation. There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a
messenger from Satan that kept me from becoming prideful. Three times, I called on the name of the Lord to set me free from
this condition. God's answer to me was my grace, favor, and mercy are enough for you, and it will give you all the power
you need, to handle your failures and short comings that you will encounter, and you will be able to bear up with it as a
man. My strength and power is made perfect, and is more effective, when you are in a weakened condition" When Paul understood
what God was saying, he said, "I am now more encouraged and can take heart in my infirmities, insults, persecutions and
distresses, for when I am weak in (human strength) then I am (truly) strong in (divine strength.)"
It's only with us having a passion and abandoning our lives to Him that will allow this attitude
in Jesus to become a reality in us. God help us to surrender to His ways of living the Christian life and learn how to give
Him our yokes that, so many of us have carried around for days and years. His yoke is light and easy to carry because He Lived
and Carried it and, He is still Caring for us right now.
