Ever felt like you're in freefall, spiraling in the hurricane of life with no one to turn to? It's okay, you're not alone. This is a conversation about finding a reliable go-to person in times of upheaval and transition, a beacon of stability when the world around you is moving too fast. However, this isn't just about personal mentors - it's about recognizing that technology doesn't have all the answers and the importance of human connection.
Imagine if your go-to person was always accessible, always available and guaranteed to give you the rest you need. Sounds too good to be true? This is where we turn to the scriptures in Matthew 11:28-30. Here, Jesus extends an invitation to everyone carrying heavy burdens, offering rest and support. Regardless of the spiritual upheaval in Israel during his time, Jesus' words remained a solace for many. Can they be the same for you?
In an era of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it's crucial we remember the value of discernment. Who do we turn to for guidance when life throws a curveball? Tune in as we explore the idea of Jesus as the ultimate go-to person, gentle and lowly in heart, offering rest for our souls. Let's re-frame our belief system, especially when it comes to life, faith, and our ultimate purpose. Let's find our go-to person in Jesus - after all, there's no connection more human than that.
Ever felt like you're in freefall, spiraling in the hurricane of life with no one to turn to? It's okay, you're not alone. This is a conversation about finding a reliable go-to person in times of upheaval and transition, a beacon of stability when the world around you is moving too fast. However, this isn't just about personal mentors - it's about recognizing that technology doesn't have all the answers and the importance of human connection.
Imagine if your go-to person was always accessible, always available and guaranteed to give you the rest you need. Sounds too good to be true? This is where we turn to the scriptures in Matthew 11:28-30. Here, Jesus extends an invitation to everyone carrying heavy burdens, offering rest and support. Regardless of the spiritual upheaval in Israel during his time, Jesus' words remained a solace for many. Can they be the same for you?
In an era of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it's crucial we remember the value of discernment. Who do we turn to for guidance when life throws a curveball? Tune in as we explore the idea of Jesus as the ultimate go-to person, gentle and lowly in heart, offering rest for our souls. Let's re-frame our belief system, especially when it comes to life, faith, and our ultimate purpose. Let's find our go-to person in Jesus - after all, there's no connection more human than that.
Hi, it's Pastor Jonathan, and thanks for downloading the FBC Elderado Sermon Podcast. We hope today's message will challenge and help you take the next step as you follow Jesus. Well, good morning. If you brought your Bibles with you I hope you did I want you to open them to the gospel of Matthew, to a passage that will be familiar to many of you chapter 11, verses 28 through 30. And while you find that text, let me say that through the years, I've always looked forward to the opportunities God has given me to stand here and preach at First Baptist Church Elderado. I have told you before it is one of my favorite churches in which to preach, and I have told you why. I will not do that today. However, when Jonathan called me a few weeks ago and asked me what I come and preach in his absence today, and explained why, I knew that my assignment today would be different than some of the other times that I have stood here. I knew that I would be looking into the faces of some folks with some heavy hearts, maybe filled with some questions about what now? What next, as Jonathan shared the news with you last week that it seems that God is moving him to another field, and so I wanted today's message, as soon as I agreed to come, to be more personal than normal, and so it will be.
Speaker 1:Most of you are familiar with the term my go-to. We use it informally to refer to favorite things. It could be my go-to dessert. I am very sad to tell you that my go-to dessert is peach milkshakes from Chick-fil-A, and I'm sad to tell you that because they no longer serve them until next summer. Now it's a seasonal thing and so I'm very sad about that, but that's my go-to dessert in the summertime is a peach shake. I will drive out of my way to go buy a Chick-fil-A and get a peach shake.
Speaker 1:You may have a favorite dessert, your go-to dessert, your go-to meal. Maybe it's a burger and fries from a particular place. That's your go-to meal. Maybe you have a go-to book or go-to movie that you like to watch just over and over and over again. Maybe you have a go-to destination. It's your favorite vacation spot. You like to go there because somehow it refreshes you and invigorates you like no other place on earth. It's your go-to spot. Some of you have a go-to quiet place, that place that you find yourself closer to the Lord than at any other time it's your go-to place. Well, today I want to talk to you about my go-to person Because I have found him, through personal experience, to be incredibly helpful during the transitions of my life. And when you get to this point in life, you've had a few transitions to experience.
Speaker 1:When someone is a go-to person, it means they are reliable, it is someone that you can turn to and do turn to, somebody that you think about. And when you face a problem and you need help, it's a person that helps you. It makes things better. Before I go on, is this bothering y'all? Yeah, it's bothering me. I don't know what to do about it. I'll put it out. Does that help some? Maybe Can you hear me? Okay, all right, we'll do it like that. Thanks.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you just got to just say what's obvious to everybody else in the room. Right, quit pretending that. But you know, a go-to person is that person that you know. When you're faced with a problem or you're faced with a dilemma, it's the person you immediately think to. I need to go talk to that person, I need to have a conversation and I need to meet with that person. I need to talk to them. Now you can have a variety of go-to persons, your life, depending on whatever kind of assistance that you need. Different kinds of go-to persons for different kinds of problems.
Speaker 1:For instance, mark Evans and was mentioned a moment ago. He was the founding pastor of the church at Rock Creek in Little Rock and he and I have served side by side for almost 25 years. I love him as much as any man on the earth. He has been an incredible friend to me and, even though he is 10 years my junior, he is one of the wisest people I know and so he is one of my go-to persons. When I need to process my thoughts, when I need to make a decision, when I'm faced with a dilemma, I just sit in his office or he comes and sits in mine and we visit together. He's my go-to person and I'm facing major decisions because of the wisdom that he has exhibited and I've experienced through the years. But he's not my go-to person for technology. I stay as far away from him as I do from a rattlesnake. I've gone in his office and having problems with my computer and I believe, believing I must be a genius when it comes to technology. I was unaware that anybody could be so slow in terms of technology as me. But trust me, he is. You'd never know it as much as he's on television and does all those things. But technology's not his deal. I don't go to him for that.
Speaker 1:Now, the moral of that story is that you need to choose your go-to person carefully, and that has never been more important than it is today. And I'm not talking at this point. Let me just clarify I'm not talking about choosing a pastor at this point. I'm talking about you choosing a go-to person in your life, and that has never been more important than it is in these days in which we find ourselves living. The point is, you have to find that person that you turn to, that you rely upon, that you trust in times of transition in your life and we all have them. So what I want you to do somewhere. If you've got a scrap of paper or a pen, I would like for you and this is not a rhetorical question I want you to write down.
Speaker 1:And if you don't have any means of writing down, you can just mentally make a note of a go-to person in your life. When you're faced with a problem, you're faced with trouble, it's somebody that you want to talk to. It's somebody you want to call. It's somebody you want to meet with. It's somebody that makes you feel better, that helps you process all of the information and data that you are faced with, so that you make a good decision. Who is a go-to person in your life? It could be your husband, it could be your wife, it could be your pastor, it could be your neighbor, it could be your mom or your dad, it could be a friend, it could be a tech guru. It could be any number of persons who could be a go-to person in your life, and I want you to just make note of that person, because they play an important role in your life. They are a resource that God has brought to you for a reason.
Speaker 1:Now, the context, one of the nuances, if you will, of a go-to person is that they almost always are someone you turn to in a time of trouble or turbulence in your life, when you're filled with stress or disappointment, you have a problem or you feel overwhelmed. So when's the last time that you had to ask someone for help? Who did you turn to? Who did you call? Who was your go-to person? We all have them. You may not refer to them as a go-to person, but we all have them, that person that's on our speed dial, that person that we call, that person that we want to talk to, we all have them. So when's the last time you had to call them?
Speaker 1:Let me transition into specifically this message this morning by sharing a story that that I first heard years ago when I was early in ministry. It's a story that's still applicable today, especially for this moment in time. It's a story of a Sunday school teacher teaching a group of six-year-old kids. They're focused on the creation story out of Genesis, and so she's trying to get her students engaged, to get their thought processes thinking. So she begins by asking a question. He says all right, I want you to listen, I want you to give me the answer. What has four legs? A bushy tail climbs trees and jumps from limb to limb and eats nuts. No child has said a word. They didn't say anything. They were afraid to open their mouths. For some reason they didn't. And finally, one little boy sheepishly raises his hand and calls the teacher's name and says well, it sounds like a squirrel to me, but I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, and I could have described a go-to person any way I wanted to, but you knew this morning that the name of that go-to person is Jesus and he is the ultimate go-to person and that's today's message I want to show you and visit with you about. He checks all of the boxes.
Speaker 1:Now, before we go to that text that you've opened to in your Bible Matthew 11, let me tell you up to that point so you have the context of Matthew 11. Up to this point in the gospel Matthew, everything has been smooth. There's been no trouble, no problems. It's really been a pretty tranquil story. At this point you have the family tree in the opening chapters of Matthew and the genealogy of Jesus, and that seems boring to us, but it's really a very important part of the gospel, and one that's a message for another day, but it's an important part. And then we have the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist and the wilderness, and then, from that point, jesus moves into the wilderness where he has tempted 40 days and 40 nights to Satan's trying to derail his mission, and then he successfully resists Satan and then they go to the begin, the launch of the public ministry, and he performs all kinds of miracles and teaches and begins to draw disciples to himself. He calls Matthew, who wrote these words that we're about to read in a moment, and ask him to follow him.
Speaker 1:It's relatively smooth up to this point, but then we arrive at chapter 11 and there's trouble. There's a crisis that has emerged in Israel. It's not a political crisis and it's not a physical crisis, and it's not a agricultural crisis. It wasn't a food shortage Everybody who still had plenty to eat. It's a spiritual crisis. So, just before Jesus speaks these words that we're about to read, he said woe to you. Now. Every time you see that word woe in scripture, it is a word of warning. It's a word of warning saying you need to be aware Judgment is coming, there's a problem emerging. Woe to you Now. Who did he speak that word of woe? Woe to those who were rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, as the Savior. That's the words he spoke. And then he speaks these words that you can follow along in your copy of God's word.
Speaker 1:As I read Matthew 11, verses 28 through 30. Jesus says come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, that's an incredibly familiar and popular passage of scripture. It's popular primarily because of the tone of Jesus' words there. It's a passage of scripture that's popular to us and well known, because it's one that we turn to for comfort when we find our self stress or going through a tough time where burdened because of something that's happened in our life. And all of that is an appropriate application, because Jesus is adequate for our comfort in those kinds of moments.
Speaker 1:But specifically here he is talking to those who are burdened by religion. They are burdened by religion. The idea of religious weariness should be obvious to us. It is works based. The people were working really hard to win God's approval. They were doing everything that were lying upon themselves instead of relying upon God. That's why it said woe to them. And then he says come to me and I will give you the rest that you're looking for. I will give you what you are looking for. It's exhausting, with no real payoff, to live a religious life. And so he is inviting them, offering them an alternative, a go to person. Jesus is the ultimate go to person. He checks all the boxes and I'm gonna give you three boxes to check A, b and C A. He is accessible. He is accessible. Jesus said those first three words come to me Almost every time you see the word come in the New Testament. It's an invitation. Jesus is here, inviting us to come. He's available. He's accessible. He says you're not a bother, he's asking you to come Now.
Speaker 1:When you're looking for a go to person, one of the first things that's important is that they're accessible. I mean, doctors take a huge hit all the time. I'd like this. I can never get in to see my doctor when I need him. I can never get in to the doctor. I can never get in to doctors when I need to see her. You've said it, we've all thought it. If you didn't say it, we'd like to have a doctor. We could just pick up the phone and call, right, we want that kind of relationship. Jesus says come to me. It's an invitation, he's accessible. He says you're not a bother, you can come to me, I'm here for you Now.
Speaker 1:There are a couple of implications here in this whole invitation to the religious people. Number one implication is they were doing their religion without him. He's saying come to me. Obviously they weren't with him. They were doing their religion without him, and the second implication here is that his invitation tells them he wants them to come. They're not a bother. A go to person is someone you can always go to when you need help. They're accessible, they're never a bother.
Speaker 1:On Tuesday this week I'll be doing a funeral for a man who died this past week. I met with his wife yesterday and she was telling me the story. A mutual friend of ours daughter was dying in Children's Hospital a few years ago and our mutual friend called the man whose service I will perform on Tuesday and ask him at 10.45 at night, could you go get Anna a Monte Cristo from Benegans? She's wanting one. Anna would never come home again, she was going to die in that hospital room and she wanted a Monte Cristo sandwich from Benegans, and it was almost time for the store to close. And so that dad, not wanting to leave his daughter, called his go to person because he knew, even at 10.45 at night, that person would not mind one bit going down to Benegans and picking up that sandwich, which he did. That's what a go to person does. They're accessible. 10.45 at night, 2 am, it makes no difference. That's the go to person you want and that's the go to person Jesus is.
Speaker 1:Now there are some who it's amazing to me as people interpret scripture how they read into things. But some, as I studied this passage of scripture actually read where suggested that Jesus tone here because he was aggravated with this religious crowd who was trying to do life without him. That Jesus tone was more. It wasn't so he come over here. It was like get over here. I don't know where such interpretations come from. The very tone from which Jesus is offering a brief here is that harsh tone. But you don't have to take my word for it. Look at what he says next in verse 29, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. Now, if you're into writing in your Bible, circle those words gentle and lowly. I chose that from the King James version because it's the title of a book by Dan Gortland, who someone gifted me that book earlier this year. And in that book Orton points out that this is the only passage in any of the four gospels where Jesus references his own heart.
Speaker 1:Now we learn a lot about Jesus reading Matthew, Mark, luke and John. We learn about his birth, we learn about his miracles, we learn about his teachings, we learn about his prayer life, about his disciples, and we learn about his arrest and his crucifixion and his death and his resurrection. We learn a lot, but only one time, and all four of those gospels, that Jesus ever make a reference to his own heart. And it is right here in this passage of scripture. Now, when you find the word heart Old Testament, new Testament makes a little difference. It is not confined only to an emotional state. The heart is the nerve, center of all we do. In biblical terms, it is not part of who we are, it is the center of who we are.
Speaker 1:Our heart and Jesus says my heart, the center of who I am is gentle and lowly. Are you kidding me? Who could have ever thought up a savior like that? Gentle and lowly. Take a look at those two. The word gentle that describes why Jesus was never trigger happy. It explains why Jesus was never irritated or harsh and reactionary. He's the most understanding person who ever walked the earth. Ortland said the positive, the posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms. That's why he's the perfect go-to person.
Speaker 1:But look at the next word, lowly. The meaning of lowly overlaps with gentle and together conveys a single reality that Jesus heart. The Greek word actually translated here, lowly, is translated other places as humble, and it's not talking about a virtue of humility, it's talking about a lifestyle. He lived a humble life. Paul used the word when he tells us not to be haughty, not to think we're better than we really are. In Romans, chapter 12, verse 16, he said for us to associate with the lowly, and he's referring to, he's referring to the socially unimpressive people, and I love again what Ortland says here about that. He says those who cause the host to cringe when they show up. And you know there were those. There were those religious leaders in Jesus day who cringed when Jesus showed up Because he usually had a crowd with him and they were a crowd who had not been sent an invitation to show up. He hung out with the lowly.
Speaker 1:Now the point in saying Jesus is lowly is to make it clear how accessible he is. He's not intimidating, he's accessible, he's approachable. He's not one of those high I could never. I could never bother him. I could. He is God. And yet Jesus himself said of himself that he is gentle and lowly. He is accessible. It's what makes him the ideal go to person. John 6, 37. Jesus said whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Jesus is saying anyone of you who are weary, anyone of you are hurt or burdened or troubled or ashamed, you just come to me, I want you to come to me. In fact, it seems it is our very flawed fall that he is most attracted to the people that the, the religious leaders, always held at arms length the prostitutes, the lepers, the tax collectors. Jesus would approach them. And is it interesting that as he approached the unclean, he himself never became unclean, they became clean. Jesus ministry on earth was one of restoration. He's accessible. He's accessible makes him the great go to person.
Speaker 1:The second thing is B. You got to have. A go to person needs to be someone you can believe in. That's what the B is. It's somebody you believe in. We don't choose someone as a go to person unless we have confidence in them. That's why I don't go to Mark for technological issues. I want to go to somebody who I have confidence, who I believe in, who can help me. Jesus is someone you can believe in.
Speaker 1:Look at what he says in the next verse. Take up my yoke and learn from me. Now, I know that this terminology of yoke it doesn't mean much to us in America this day, but it was common in Jesus day, and to be yoked with someone meant that you were in partnership with them, you were linked up with them. You were a disciple and a teacher and you were one and you were hooked together. You were a team. You become cohorts with Jesus. That's what it means when he becomes your go to person and that's what Jesus is invited. He doesn't promise a painless life. He doesn't tell us it's going to be free of trials or pain. He's just saying you go with me, I'm going to show you the ropes, I'm going to show you the way. Learn from me. That's the key, what you learn from me.
Speaker 1:Somebody you can believe in, talking about someone you can believe in. He doesn't stand in some ivory tower although he had ever right to. He didn't stand in an ivory tower and look down in a condescending way and bark orders. He invites you to yoke yourself with him, to come and be with him. In this context, he's saying something very important to us.
Speaker 1:There's this exchange, the yoke of religion we lay aside and we yoke ourself up with Jesus. But, guys, this wasn't just a first century problem. We're still doing it. There's so many more people have a religion than have a relationship with Jesus and I will tell you, religion will wear you out. It's exhausting, and Jesus said woe to you. Something not good is gonna happen unless you make this exchange, unless you come and you yoke yourself with me and take on my yoke, and I will give you rest.
Speaker 1:The word learn is a key imperative in this text. Jesus is offering to teach us, to impart wisdom to us that make life better. Look at another passage of scripture so often familiar to us John 14, verse one let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. I told you I'd say more about this moment. Believing in Jesus has never been more important than it is today. There are plenty of people today who will give you a religious pass for a faith that leaves Jesus out of the equation. It's fine for you to go to church, it's fine for you to own a Bible. Just leave Jesus out and you can get along well in the world. Biblical prophecy warns us that in the final days, there will be those who will come claiming to be Christ, claiming to be the Messiah and not just claiming to be the biblical Messiah, but claiming to be the Savior, claiming to be the answer, claiming to have what we need in terms of politics or social ills or economic problems and challenges. We'll come with an answer Anytime we fail to realize that the kingdom of God is the story of reality. It's not our kingdom, it's not yours, it's not about me and it's not about you. It's about him.
Speaker 1:I had a friend tell me something. I'm just all the time I'm amazed at what's going on in the world right now, but you know, there's all of this stuff about AI, now artificial intelligence, and had a this is sort of a two-part story had a friend who was concerned about an athlete that goes to Benton, who's a very good athlete, and he had missed church on Wednesday night. For whatever reason or no, he hadn't missed church, he had gone to sleep in church. Okay, well, some of y'all are all still awake right now. He had gone to church on Wednesday night with all the students and he had fallen asleep. And so, my friend, he doesn't come. This guy doesn't come from a very good home. And so he asked me. He said why are you so tired? He said, well, I was up to 3 am this morning talking to my AI, talking to somebody on the computer, and we continued to talk about that.
Speaker 1:And then I had somebody tell me, like two days later, about this AI called ChatBotJesus ChatBotJesus, and you can get online, just like some of us have Siri or we have Alexa, and we talk to somebody and you ask them questions, they'll talk. I mean, you can carry on a conversation. You know that. I've done that, I confess, but there are people that are needing advice for relationships, for decisions, for marriage, for jobs, for morals. Going to something called ChatBotJesus and getting off of that conversation and thinking they had a conversation with Jesus, I'm telling you guys, it has never been more important than it is today for you to choose wisely who your go-to person is. It needs to be somebody who's accessible AI's fit that bill, don't they? But it also needs to be somebody you can believe in.
Speaker 1:And this is what Paul said. Is he found himself constantly battling these false prophets? This is what he said in Romans 8, 34. Christ Jesus is the one who died, not, but he is the one who died, but even more, has been raised. He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. No one checks that box but Jesus, no one. Jesus is interceding for you Even right now. He is on your side pleading on your behalf. He is the ultimate, best go-to person. Because he's accessible, because he's someone you can believe in and see. It's because he cares. He genuinely cares for you.
Speaker 1:Verse 29,. Matthew 11 says For I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Some versions translate Jesus' words here as I will give you rest. It is his gift to us. Jesus' desire for you is that you find rest. This is who Jesus is. He's tenderhearted and wants the best for you. But notice the rest he promises. It's not that rest from that weariness of working a 60, 70, 80 hour work week. That's not the weariness that he's offering. Rest from it's rest. He says specifically, it's rest for your souls, the deepest part, those RPMs that are just constantly going in the depth of who you are, trying to figure out why you're here and what your purpose is and what your identity is. He says I can settle that turbulence, I'll give you rest. I can answer those questions. And what we see Jesus claim here in verse 29, we see him prove again and again and again as we read the gospels, as he heals the lepers and he gives sight to the blind and he cures the disease and he gives forgiveness to the woman at the well and the adulterous woman.
Speaker 1:Do you have times when you wonder if anyone cares? If anyone it really matters what you're going through? I love the picture of how the prophet Isaiah depicted Jesus centuries before he was even born. Isaiah 42, verse three, describes Jesus this way. I want you to listen. He will not break a bruised reed.
Speaker 1:Have you ever thought about that? All right, guys, dear, hunting is coming. Some of you already been in the woods getting ready. Maybe bow hunters you already there? Have you ever just walked through, walked through the woods, walked through some place of a lot of greenery and you've noticed a blim that's been broken, for whatever reason. It's broken. It's not detached, not severed completely, it's just broken and it's dangling and there's enough light there that there's still green. Has it died yet? Probably will, but hasn't yet. And have you ever walked through and saw one of those things? And you just finished the job, you just went ahead and you tore it off and dropped it to the ground? I have you have Didn't seem to be a big loss.
Speaker 1:The Bible says Jesus was already broken, right. The Bible says Jesus will never do that to you. He will never do that to you. You can be broken barely hanging on and he'll never finish that job. A bruised reed, he will not break. Peter in 1 Peter 5.7, says cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you. But this is not who Jesus is indiscriminately. He isn't that to everyone, he's only that to those who answer the invitation. Come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He offers to be your best go-to person, but you have to answer the invitation. You have to come. He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What does that mean? Does that mean your life's gonna be easy? Nope, doesn't mean that the yoke is easy. Here, in the terminology of the first century world is they would custom make a yoke to fit an animal. That's what it meant by an easy yoke. It would be custom fit for that animal. Yeah, you know, we all got different body types.
Speaker 1:I just got back from going to Disney and there's a long story about why I went to Disney without my grandkids, but anyway, I went to Disney without my grandkids just Keely and I celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and we went to Epcot because there was this food festival going on and you could just gorge yourself all day long. It was wonderful. But there was a new ride that they have at Disney called Tron and it's like a motorcycle that you ride and so I had Keely. Keely wasn't gonna get on it, but I was getting on it. I'm showing off for my grandkids, we were taking pictures, we were sending them. They're all pop pops, got a little bit more left in the tank and so before you get on Tron, they have a model out there and you're supposed to get on it and make sure that you can ride it, because you have to get on there and you have to lean forward and you get locked in that position because you're gonna go upside down and sideways and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:And it's a sign there that says this ride does not fit all body types. It's true, that's what it says. It doesn't fit all body types. Some people can't ride Tron. Their body it's just not gonna work. They can't do it.
Speaker 1:But there is not one person in this room that God cannot custom make a yoke that fits your type. My yoke is easy. It's custom fit. I'm exactly who you need. I am your go-to person because I'm accessible, I'm someone you can believe in and I really do care about you. Would you bow with me as we pray together? Father, I thank you for Jesus, I just thank you. I thank you for that passage of scripture that tells us about Jesus' heart, gentle and lowly, and I thank you for the invitation to come. And so, god, I pray for this church. I know some hearts are heavy, some people are confused, some people want to begin to think what can we do to come up with all kinds of human devices and strategies? God, I pray that this church, as they seek your plan for their life, would find Jesus as their go-to, because the people in this room who are the church will find Jesus as their go-to, and I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.