SAMPLE COME UNTO ME. Matthew 11:28-29

Transcription

1 PLE SAM

2 COME UNTO ME 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. Matthew 11:28-29

3 LIFE CAN SEEM SO UNFAIR Things don t always go the way we hope they will A promise is broken. A relationship ends. A job is lost. Financial pressures take us to the breaking point. At any given moment, we can face a dozen situations that make us wonder, Does God Care?

4 DOES HE CARE ABOUT ME? In my early twenties, I met a girl You know how it goes. We dated. Things went well. I started to feel feelings, think thoughts, make plans, dream dreams about the future. I went out of town for a few days, and when I returned, she had a conversation with me that snuffed those dreams like a dying candle. I hurt like crazy. A few nights later, I hurt so badly that I went for a midnight walk. I found myself out in a field blaming God for my pain. You might describe it as a spiritual temper-tantrum. I was looking up at the sky, shaking my fist. Why God...? How could You...? After a few minutes of this, I noticed the stars. They were amazing that night! A blue background, crisp air, few clouds, and stars everywhere. And the smells! I was near a nightblooming jasmine, and it too was amazing. The smell jerked me back to reality, and I realized that I was surrounded by natural wonders. It occurred to me that God must have cared a lot about this world to go to the trouble of packing so much beauty into it. And so much variety! The flowers smelled different than the grass; the trees carried their own brand of fragrance. God could have made one taste, one texture, one tone, one temperature; but He didn t. Why? Because, like a father, He wanted to give great gifts to His children, not mediocre ones. As I retreated from my pity-party, it occurred to me that I had been blaming God for something that wasn t His fault. God hadn t broken up with me; my girlfriend had. He hadn t broken my heart. In fact, I suspect He was doing things to prevent my heart from breaking.

5 GOD DID CARE Not only did God hint at how much He cares by packing beauty into the world; He put His feelings for us on full display by sending His own Son to earth. According to the Bible, God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son (John 3:16). During His time on earth, Jesus proved God s love in an up-close and personal way. If you d like to see God s care, look no further than the back of your hand. One time, a man with leprosy looked at the back of his hand and despaired of life. In Jesus day, leprosy was like a death sentence. The minute the L-word was pronounced, the diseased person had to leave the village, live on his own, and shout, Unclean! whenever anyone came near. He or she was forbidden to touch anyone or anything that would come in contact with other humans. This particular leper met Jesus one day and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing, He said, Be clean! (Luke 5:12-13). It s a great story with a great ending. But what makes it a really great story is the part in the middle, the part just before Jesus healed the man, the Jesus reached out his hand and touched him part. Why would Jesus touch a leper who was still unclean? It was risky, it was against the law, and it was unnecessary. Why did He do it? To show He cared. He wanted to prove that no matter how ugly, how diseased, how outside-the-law you are, God cares. Jesus knew He wouldn t be physically present in every place, in every age. But He knew that by touching a man with leprosy, He could communicate across generations that He cares.

6 GOD DOES CARE It s all well and good that Jesus did things to care for people back in the day, but does God still do things to care for people today? I have a friend named Steve who experienced a dark night that was murkier than you d ever want to imagine. He came home from school one day to find the house empty, with a message that he was to join the rest of his family at the hospital. Steve arrived to find that his father and brother had died in a traffic accident. A younger brother had survived, but lost one-third of his brain. In the fourteen years since then, this brother endured twenty surgeries. What keeps Steve going? Two things: God s care, and the care he and his family receive from their church. Understandably, Steve struggled with trusting God after the loss of his father and brother. But Steve has also personally experienced Jesus love. Like the leper, he felt Jesus touch. It s a mystery how this happens, but it does. Steve and his wife now care for his younger brother. They receive help from their church, which is another way God shows that He cares. Why would people who live busy lives, aren t related, and have nothing to gain help care for a disabled younger brother? This, too, is a mystery, but a partially-explainable one. Like Steve, the members of his church have discovered and experienced God s love. When that happens to a person, it makes them want to extend love to others.

7 HOW DO I EXPERIENCE GOD S CARE? An experience with God s love is only a prayer away. Jesus said, 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. - Matthew 11:28-29 If you d like to come to Jesus and find rest for your soul, simply pray a prayer like this: Dear Jesus, I come to you today. I believe that you died on the cross for me. I know that you did it so my sins could be forgiven, and I could become your son/daughter. Thank you for loving me and dying for me. I now accept you into my life. I admit that I have done many things wrong and ask you to forgive me. Lift my burden, and show me your care. Live in me, and lead me as your child from now on. Amen. This prayer will begin a relationship between you and God. To grow in your relationship, find a local church where you can also give and receive God s love Outreach, Inc. Text by Hal Seed

8 PLE all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 SAM