SPEAKER_00: Earlier this year, my family and I had the opportunity to go to Florida down to the Florida Keys.
SPEAKER_00: I'd never been to the Florida Keys before, but we were invited by my wife's older sister and her family.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I should tell you, my brother-in-law Matt grew up going to the Florida Keys, and they go there almost every year, which means like we didn't fall into the tourist traps.
SPEAKER_00: They knew all the spots, they knew all the places to go, and we had an incredible time.
SPEAKER_00: We were snorkeling and swimming and fishing, and there was really good food and really good people, and we had a ton of fun.
SPEAKER_00: And like true Midwesterners, we all got really sunburned because we're just not used to that sun.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things we did is we went to this channel that connects the Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean.
SPEAKER_00: And this spot is like off the grid, man.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody knows where this spot is.
SPEAKER_00: We would have never found it.
SPEAKER_00: But my brother-in-law grew up going there.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that's interesting about this spot is there's a decommissioned bridge that goes over the channel.
SPEAKER_00: It's about two stories above the water.
SPEAKER_00: And people go there intentionally to jump off of the bridge into the channel.
SPEAKER_00: Now, believe it or not, I did not have jumping off a bridge in my 2026 bingo cart.
SPEAKER_00: So we went there.
SPEAKER_00: I had no desire to jump.
SPEAKER_00: My mama, you know, used to say to me when I was a kid, if all your friends jump off a bridge, you're gonna jump too.
SPEAKER_00: And under immense peer pressure, two sons.
SPEAKER_00: Like this was a lot of pressure.
SPEAKER_00: I was like being taunted, and I had to prove to them.
SPEAKER_00: Like I had to prove to them that dad still has it and dad's not afraid.
SPEAKER_00: And so I climbed up to the bridge.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is really the only reason I did it, is because while we were there, the fire department was running safety drills.
SPEAKER_00: So the fire department was actually repelling off the bridge to practice saving people.
SPEAKER_00: So I had a conversation with one of the guys and said, hey, if something happens, you'll get me, right?
SPEAKER_00: And he said, We would love to perform a live rescue today.
SPEAKER_00: Which didn't build my confidence at all.
SPEAKER_00: But I'll never forget the moment I willingly crossed over the bridge, curled my toes over the edge, and then jumped.
SPEAKER_00: And it felt like I fell forever.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you ever had that experience, but you're like, this is taking too long.
SPEAKER_00: And then I finally hit the water, and the first thing, the first thing that came to my mind was, I am still alive.
SPEAKER_00: Like I made it.
SPEAKER_00: And then you do the thing, I don't know if any other people my age do this.
SPEAKER_00: You start to wiggle your toes, wiggle your knees, and you're like, and I I'm not even hurt.
SPEAKER_00: Like I made it, I did it.
SPEAKER_00: And that was a one and done.
SPEAKER_00: I will never ever do anything like that again.
SPEAKER_00: But man, we had such a good time, so many good memories and great opportunities.
SPEAKER_00: And isn't that the thing about invitations?
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's some invitations that change your schedule.
SPEAKER_00: There's some invitations that change your weekend.
SPEAKER_00: There's some invitations that change your whole week.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we even experience invitations that change our whole lives.
SPEAKER_00: And I would absolutely love it if you have a Bible with you, or if you have your phone, you want to turn on your Bible this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go to Matthew chapter 11, starting verse 28, because I think this is one of those invitations.
SPEAKER_00: I think Jesus gives you and me one of those invitations that has the potential to absolutely change our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what he says He says, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
SPEAKER_00: Now I love this because the invitation that Jesus gives us is not to just simply believe in him.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's an invitation to come.
SPEAKER_00: It's an invitation to be near, to take his yoke, and to actually learn from him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's a couple things that Jesus assumes about you and me when he gives us this invitation.
SPEAKER_00: He assumes that you and I are already carrying a yoke.
SPEAKER_00: Like you notice the invitation to those of you who are yokeless, to those of you who are considering taking on a yoke.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus assumes you're already attached to something.
SPEAKER_00: There's already something informing the affection of your heart and the attention of your mind.
SPEAKER_00: There's already something that's directing you and leading you.
SPEAKER_00: And what he gives us is the opportunity to exchange the thing that we're yoked to for the better yoke, which is Jesus himself.
SPEAKER_00: He says this everybody is attached to something, right?
SPEAKER_00: Hey, exchange the yoke.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us are attached to success, some of us are attached to approval, some of attached to achieving, some to money.
SPEAKER_00: Like some of us are yoked to shame, some of us to fear, some of us are yoked to religion, some of us are simply yoked to lies that we've believed for years.
SPEAKER_00: See, the problem is when we are yoked to the wrong thing, we end up carrying heavy things that we were never meant to carry alone.
SPEAKER_00: Like every single one of us in a room this size, there's pressure, expectations, regret, fear.
SPEAKER_00: Like we're we're just trying to keep our marriages together.
SPEAKER_00: Like we're just trying to raise our kids well.
SPEAKER_00: We're just trying to make ends meet, and we're just trying to hold everything together.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes with duct tape and a prayer, but we're still just holding everything together.
SPEAKER_00: Into a world of weary people, Jesus extends this beautiful, life-giving, rest-producing invitation.
SPEAKER_00: Now there's a progression.
SPEAKER_00: Like the first thing that Jesus says is, Hey, come to me.
SPEAKER_00: And I love this because the beautiful thing about the gospel is that Jesus came to us so that we could actually come to him.
SPEAKER_00: That he removes the barriers.
SPEAKER_00: That he's like, hey, there's nothing that could prevent you from coming to me because I came to you to make a way for you to come to me.
SPEAKER_00: And I love this because it means the answer to our deepest need is not another idea, it's not another self-help strategy, it's not a new life hack.
SPEAKER_00: The answer to our deepest need is a person.
SPEAKER_00: And his name is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And he invites people like you and me to come to him.
SPEAKER_00: No matter what you've done, no matter where you're from, no matter what people say about you, no matter how you feel about yourself, Jesus says, Hey, you, come to me.
SPEAKER_00: See, the beautiful thing about Jesus and the good news of this gospel is there is more grace in Jesus than there is sin in you.
SPEAKER_00: There is nothing too big.
SPEAKER_00: There is nobody too far gone.
SPEAKER_00: That Jesus comes to you so that you can come to him and that he would have relationship with you, that he would fully save you, fully forgive you, fully accept you, and fully adopt you as a son or daughter of the Most High God.
SPEAKER_00: Like a little over 2,000 years ago, when Jesus hung on the cross, I mean, if we just think about this, Jesus, who is God in the flesh, he's innocent, pure, spotless, blameless, as the scripture says, He who knew no sin hung on the cross in our place as our substitute to die in our place for our sin.
SPEAKER_00: And when Jesus cries out, it is finished, what he means is it's finished.
SPEAKER_00: And that through faith, by grace, when we say, Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are, I believe that you have done and you will do all that you've promised, that when we say, Hey, Jesus, I'm gonna claim that promise you made for me, that it's finished, it's actually finished.
SPEAKER_00: That your sins are fully forgiven.
SPEAKER_00: You become a child of God, and that you can truly come to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And the way we say this in my church is we say this almost every single week.
SPEAKER_00: We say, because of who Jesus is, and because of his life, his death, and his resurrection, the good news of the gospel is that you and I can become fully loved, fully accepted, fully forgiven, fully adopted, sons and daughters of the Most High God, and that is the greatest news on the planet, and it is still available to people like you and to me today.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus isn't done yet.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's good news, but he goes, hey, come to me, but then I want you to take my yoke.
SPEAKER_00: Now, for many of us, that seems strange.
SPEAKER_00: My guess is most of you don't have a yoke in your garage.
SPEAKER_00: A yoke isn't probably something that you use all the time, but in Jesus' time, a yoke was a wooden beam that would tie two animals like oxen together.
SPEAKER_00: And the yoke is a tool that connects them.
SPEAKER_00: The yoke actually allows the master to guide them.
SPEAKER_00: It actually allows two animals to pull the load together, to combine their strength.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of trying to pull something separately, it actually united their strength toward one purpose.
SPEAKER_00: Now listen to what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, Come to me and then take my yoke.
SPEAKER_00: Now, before a yoke is about productivity, a yoke is actually about a partnership.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Hey, come to me and then be attached to me, be close to me, be partnered with me, be joined with me.
SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus is not saying, here is another burden for you to carry.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, come be close enough to me, be joined with me, so that we could actually combine our strength.
SPEAKER_00: So we could actually come together in purpose.
SPEAKER_00: And oh, by the way, you might have to let go of some things you're carrying because you weren't meant to carry them in the first place, but I'll help you also carry the burdens you were meant to carry.
SPEAKER_00: And like Jesus invites us into this beautiful relationship.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, be close with me, walk with me, let me lead your life, let me help you.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus doesn't just invite us to walk with him so that we're close to him.
SPEAKER_00: He's actually inviting us to be close to him because there's something that he wants to do in our life.
SPEAKER_00: Like there's actually something that he wants to accomplish in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: But see, intimacy is the beginning of transformation.
SPEAKER_00: See, what Jesus says is, hey, come to me, receive the good news, see who I am and what I've done to you.
SPEAKER_00: Come to me and then be yoked to me.
SPEAKER_00: Like, no, be with me, be so close that I can lead you and direct you and be involved in the details of your lives that we could carry the load together and do life together.
SPEAKER_00: Because he does more than offer us forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: He offers us a better way to live.
SPEAKER_00: He offers us a better way to work, he offers us a better way to carry the burdens of life.
SPEAKER_00: So he says, Come to me, take my yoke, and then learn from me.
SPEAKER_00: See, there's a lot of people who know a lot of information about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And listen, man, I've dedicated my whole life to studying my Bible and preaching the word.
SPEAKER_00: But there is a huge difference between knowing information about Jesus and actually knowing Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Like it is entirely possible to know the Bible stories, to learn the Christian language, to be able to have deep theological debates, and there's nothing wrong with all of those things.
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes information and experience is the difference between looking at a picture of the bridge that I jumped off of, and actually curling your toes over the edge and diving in.
SPEAKER_00: See, one's just information, the other one is actual experience.
SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah, we should study our Bibles, I'm all for that.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we should have Bible studies, I'm all for that.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you should study theology, I'm all for that.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus isn't just inviting us to get more information, he's inviting us into a deep, living, life-giving, rest-producing relationship with him.
SPEAKER_00: And we can't do that from a distance.
SPEAKER_00: Like we can't do that from far away.
SPEAKER_00: Like what Jesus is inviting you and I to do is to be so close to him, to know him so well, the image that he would use is be yoked to me.
SPEAKER_00: So that not only could we combine our strength, but we would actually begin to learn from him.
SPEAKER_00: That would actually see how he walks, but see what he does.
SPEAKER_00: And his life would actually begin to shape our life.
SPEAKER_00: The great pastor and theologian Dallas Willard says it this way.
SPEAKER_00: He says, We can become like Christ by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, you know how you know how you become like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know how we get continually transformed into his image and his likeness from one degree to another?
SPEAKER_00: Is we have to be near him, but then we have to walk like him.
SPEAKER_00: Like we have to allow him to transform us from the inside out, which requires intimacy, which requires closeness, which requires taking on his yoke to be near him, to learn from him so that we can actually become like him.
SPEAKER_00: So that's the invitation that Jesus gives all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, walk with me.
SPEAKER_00: Like, watch how I lived, watch how I trusted my father, watch how I was filled with the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Watch how I loved people, some who seemed unlovable.
SPEAKER_00: Look at how I forgave people.
SPEAKER_00: Watch how I responded when I was misunderstood or even opposed and abused.
SPEAKER_00: Watch how I carried burdens.
SPEAKER_00: Watch how I rest.
SPEAKER_00: Watch how I pray and learn from me.
SPEAKER_00: Like go and do the same.
SPEAKER_00: Not by your strength and not by your power, but by the strength of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit that we would actually become like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And he's not just showing us what to believe, he's actually showing us how to live.
SPEAKER_00: He's actually inviting weary people like you and me into a completely different way of living.
SPEAKER_00: See, the goal isn't simply to get Jesus into your life.
SPEAKER_00: The goal is to allow Jesus to actually shape your life.
SPEAKER_00: Like, could you imagine?
SPEAKER_00: No, here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: I have to do this at my church sometimes too.
SPEAKER_00: No elbows and just keep facing forward because you'll offend people.
SPEAKER_00: But could you imagine if you looked more like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Like, could you imagine what your life would look like if you looked more like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if people say, man, that person is so filled with love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and self-control.
SPEAKER_00: Now keep looking at me.
SPEAKER_00: Could you imagine what your life would look like if the person sitting next to you looked more like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Like if you're like, man, when I talk about my spouse, when I talk about my kids, when I talk about my neighbor, I talk about my best friend, man, that person is so filled with love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and self-control.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, this is how we change the world.
SPEAKER_00: Is individually and corporately, we continually become more and more and more and more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, in Jesus' time, one of the things Jesus was called quite a bit was a rabbi.
SPEAKER_00: And that was like a cultural thing.
SPEAKER_00: In the Jewish culture, a young man would want to get accepted by a rabbi.
SPEAKER_00: It would completely change the trajectory of his life.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the compliments a disciple or an apprentice of a rabbi could get was this is someone would say, The dust of your master is all over you.
SPEAKER_00: Now to us that sounds gross, like take a shower, bro.
SPEAKER_00: But what they mean is this, is they mean is hey, you follow your rabbi so closely that the actual dust that he kicks up when he walks is all over you.
SPEAKER_00: What you're saying is this is you look like your teacher.
SPEAKER_00: Like you're actually being transformed.
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, one day soon we won't know the difference between the two of you because you'll be so similar.
SPEAKER_00: Your life is being so shaped by your rabbi that his dust and his life are all over you.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what Jesus is inviting us to.
SPEAKER_00: The people would look at us, and instead of seeing us, they'd actually see the characteristics of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The people would actually look at you and be like, I don't know what's changed about you.
SPEAKER_00: And you would, you'd be like, the dust of my rabbi is just all over me.
SPEAKER_00: See, that's what Jesus is inviting us to: to come to him, to be saved by him, to know him, to take on his yoke, and then to learn from him, to be transformed by him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, those are the three invitations that Jesus gave us, but then there's one product of these three things.
SPEAKER_00: There's these three things lead to this result, and it's this.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, and you will find rest.
SPEAKER_00: Now I know I'm new around here, like I'm just traveling through.
SPEAKER_00: But can we be really honest?
SPEAKER_00: Isn't this what we're all looking for?
SPEAKER_00: Aren't we all looking for rest?
SPEAKER_00: And not just a vacation, not just time in front of the TV on the lazy boy.
SPEAKER_00: Aren't we looking for that deep rest in our souls?
SPEAKER_00: There's two types of people that I've never met.
SPEAKER_00: Never ever.
SPEAKER_00: I've never met an over-encouraged person, ever.
SPEAKER_00: I've like never had a conversation with somebody and said, hey man, how you doing?
SPEAKER_00: Be like, dude, I am so over encouraged and I'm sick of it.
SPEAKER_00: Like people keep telling me nice things.
SPEAKER_00: People keep cheering me on, and I'm so tired.
SPEAKER_00: I wish somebody would say something mean to me for once.
SPEAKER_00: I've never met that person.
SPEAKER_00: I've also never met a person that was over-rested.
SPEAKER_00: Like, how you doing, bro?
SPEAKER_00: I just have so much rest in my soul.
SPEAKER_00: It's sickening.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I look at the world and I look at what's going on in my life, and I'm just like, oh, I wish I had some turmoil, but I'm just so rested.
SPEAKER_00: Never met that person.
SPEAKER_00: If you're one of those people, I'd love to talk to you afterwards.
SPEAKER_00: You should write a book and teach the rest of us, but I've never met that person before.
SPEAKER_00: And see, part of the problem is we spend so much of our lives looking for rest.
SPEAKER_00: We just look for rest in all the wrong places.
SPEAKER_00: See, we think, man, I'll rest when the kids are older, you know, when things settle down a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: Man, I'll rest when work is better.
SPEAKER_00: I'll rest when I reach retirement.
SPEAKER_00: I'll rest once all the bills are paid.
SPEAKER_00: Which you haven't caught on yet.
SPEAKER_00: The bills ain't all ever paid.
SPEAKER_00: Man, I'll just rest when life gets easier.
SPEAKER_00: I'll just I'll just rest when we get through this season.
SPEAKER_00: I'll just rest when my life looks like this or like that.
SPEAKER_00: But have you noticed this thing about life?
SPEAKER_00: That usually as soon as one burden disappears, another one takes its place, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Like that's the thing about our lives.
SPEAKER_00: There's always a mountain decline.
SPEAKER_00: Like we're always going towards something.
SPEAKER_00: We're either coming out of the storm or in a time before the storm or headed right back into the storm.
SPEAKER_00: And see, Jesus makes this promise.
SPEAKER_00: And I will give you rest.
SPEAKER_00: Because this deep, supernatural rest is not found in changed circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: It's found in a changed relationship.
SPEAKER_00: And see, only Jesus can make this promise.
SPEAKER_00: Because he does not just offer us rest within itself.
SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus, the one who conquered Satan and sin, Jesus who defeated death, Jesus who overcame the grave, what he's saying is, I will be your rest.
SPEAKER_00: And if I can handle Satan's sin and death, if I can use a grave like a promtux, just need it for three days and I'll return it, then I can handle the burdens of your life.
SPEAKER_00: I can handle your weary soul.
SPEAKER_00: I can handle the things that bring you unrest.
SPEAKER_00: If you would just come take my yoke and learn from me, I would give you rest for your souls.
SPEAKER_00: Because this rest, this peace that Jesus promises us is not the absence of problems.
SPEAKER_00: Like, listen, man, I'll always tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Most of us, the problems that we walked in with today, we'll walk out with today.
SPEAKER_00: Like for most of us, that the problems that we have are still waiting for us in the parking lot.
SPEAKER_00: But listen to the words of Jesus in John chapter 6, verse 33, he says, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace, because in the world you will have tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: That's just a biblical word to say in this world you'll have trouble.
SPEAKER_00: He says, But take heart.
SPEAKER_00: I have overcome the world.
SPEAKER_00: See, this rest that Jesus offered is the confidence of knowing that you and I aren't really in control.
SPEAKER_00: That you and I don't have to carry the weight of everything on our own.
SPEAKER_00: It's the confidence of knowing that because of Jesus, his life, his death, and his resurrection, that God loves you, he is with you, he still has the whole world in his hands, and he's even got you in this moment and in that circumstance and in that situation, and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can take you out of his hand.
SPEAKER_00: So some of us, we came in this morning exhausted, not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's because we've been carrying things that Jesus never asked you to carry alone.
SPEAKER_00: Like trying to control tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Like I love that Jesus says the Sermon on the Mount, like, and what is anxiety being anxious about tomorrow do for you anyway?
SPEAKER_00: And we're all like, nothing.
SPEAKER_00: You've never met someone and said, Man, you look so beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: You're healthy, your how like your hair is healthy and bouncy and shiny, and you have a glow about you.
SPEAKER_00: What have you been doing?
SPEAKER_00: Anxiety.
SPEAKER_00: Just staying up late at night, not sleeping, worrying about tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: You've never had that conversation.
SPEAKER_00: She's like, hey, you don't have to control everything.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, you don't have to fix everyone and everything.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to keep trying to prove that you're enough.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe stop searching for rest in an unrestful world.
SPEAKER_00: And see, maybe Jesus today isn't asking you to carry more.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe what he's inviting you and to me to consider is that we would carry things differently with him.
SPEAKER_00: See, that's the beauty of this invitation.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus never promises that our lives will suddenly become easy, but he does promise that we'll never have to walk through it alone.
SPEAKER_00: And as long as the tomb is empty, then God's presence, God's promises, and God's power are still available to us through Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So fierce.
SPEAKER_00: Don't chase rest.
SPEAKER_00: Chase Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you come to him and you take his yoke and you learn from him, you and I will discover, and many of you already have discovered, that what your soul has been searching for this whole time is found in him and him alone.
SPEAKER_00: And see, the invitation that Jesus gave us here is still available.
SPEAKER_00: There's not an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: His invitation is still the same.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, come to me.
SPEAKER_00: Take my yoke and learn from me.
SPEAKER_00: And you will find rest for your souls.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Father, we come before you in the great and mighty name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And Father, I just pray by the power of the Holy Spirit that you would work in our hearts and our minds right now.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that you would break the chains and break the yokes that are different than you.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, that you would break the yokes to things like anxiety and success, into trying to be good enough, being yoked to this world, Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I pray that we would come to you and be yoked to you and you alone, because you are gentle and lonely, and only you can guide us and lead us to the rest that our hearts and our souls desperately need, both now and forever.
SPEAKER_00: So, Jesus, do whatever you must in this place, in this room, and online, so that we could see who you really are, and that we could respond in a way that would give you all the glory and all the honor and all the praise forever.
SPEAKER_00: And actually be for our good.
SPEAKER_00: So, Jesus, we pray this in your name, the name above all names.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Hey Fierce Church, it's a pleasure being with you today.
SPEAKER_00: May the dust of your master be all over you.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, folks, that's all the time we have, but thank you so much for listening to this sermon.
SPEAKER_01: If you got a lot out of this, feel free to share this with somebody who might need it.
SPEAKER_01: Also, there's a ton more content on our website, on our YouTube channel, on our Instagram channel, on our TikTok channel.
SPEAKER_01: Feel free to check all that kind of a thing out.
SPEAKER_01: Also, if you're interested in leadership type stuff, go ahead and check out another podcast or any other blogs or videos or anything over at BibleLeadership.com.
SPEAKER_01: And whatever else you do, make sure that you believe God for something big today.