We continue in our series through the fruit of the Spirit and focusing our attention upon the fruit of meekness. Once again, our text therefore is once again anchored in Galatians 5 verses 22 through 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness. And then I would have you turn with me as well to Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 through 30, where the Lord Jesus declares, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Jesus Christ did not set us free from the bondage of sin in order that we might pursue our own dreams, our own desires, our own successes, our own pleasures. The life of Christ within the Christian is not comfortable and pleasing to our own natural thoughts, nor unto our own natural ways. For the life of Christ within us is revealed in taking up the cross and dying to that which merely pleases us. The life of a Christian, the life of Christ in the Christian is that of denying ourselves that which is comfortable to our flesh at times. And following Christ in the paths of righteousness and truth which he has gone before us to blaze and to pioneer for us that we might walk in that path after Christ. You see, a soft, cushy, comfortable Christianity is not the Christianity of Jesus Christ. The Christianity of Christ, dear ones, is the way of the cross. That is the way of death to self. Christianity of Christ, dear ones, as well, is the way of the empty tomb. That is the way of living afresh and anew for Jesus Christ in our thoughts, in our desires, in the way we live and what we look at with our eyes. that which we listen to with our ears, that which we speak with our mouths. The Christianity of Christ, dear ones, is a new life. The old has passed away. The new has come. It's a new way of looking at marriage. It's a new way of looking at our work and our vocations. It's a new way of considering our recreations. It's a new way of looking at our suffering. It's a new way of looking at death. It's new. It's resurrection life. The Christian life to which Jesus calls us, dear ones, is not being without a yoke about our necks or upon our shoulders, but rather the Christian life to which Jesus calls us is exchanging the yoke of sin for the yoke of Christ. Dear child of God, are you rejoicing? in your deliverance from the intolerable yoke of sin, that is, the guilt, the penalty, and the power of sin, I certainly pray that you are rejoicing the removal and the fact that that yoke has been broken from you. But in addition to that, are you also rejoicing in the yoke of Christ to take up upon himself or herself in following him. Are you rejoicing in that yoke? The yoke of Christ? This is the yoke that Jesus himself wore. This is the same yoke that he bore upon himself as he submitted to the will of the Father. What is it that will give you the grace, dear ones, to bear the yoke of Christ in times of affliction, in times of heartache, in times of trial, as well as in times of health and joy and blessing? I submit to you, it is the fruit of meekness. It is the fruit of meekness that will grant you the grace to be able to bear that yoke of Christ. And as we shall see from our text this Lord's Day, the yoke of Christ is manifested and learned. We learn of the yoke of Christ through Christ's meekness, his lowliness of heart, when Jesus says, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. The main points from our text this Lord's Day are the following. First of all, the meekness of Christ in our justifying rest. Matthew 11, 28. And the second main point, the meekness of Christ in our sanctifying rest. In Matthew chapter 11, verses 29 through 30. So our first main point, the meekness of Christ in our justifying rest. Look with me again at Matthew 11, verse 28. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. As Matthew chapter 11 begins, Jesus has sent out his disciples into the various villages and cities, towns of Galilee, in order to prepare his coming to minister unto them. They've gone forth as forerunners of the king to preach and to bring this proclamation concerning Christ and his kingdom, to which Jesus then would follow up in his going to each of these towns throughout Galilee, his apostles having prepared the way before him. Well, that is the attitude I submit to you. That's the posture that ministers of Jesus Christ must have. We are mere forerunners of Jesus Christ. Therefore, look not to us, but look rather unto Jesus Christ, whom we represent. You see, He, Jesus, must increase. and we, his ministers, must decrease. Therefore, let the personality cults within and behind the pulpit die. And let Jesus Christ reign supreme in the preaching of his word today. Let us not glory in man. but let us glory in Jesus Christ and in his cross and in his empty tomb. Remainder of Matthew chapter 11 in that portion of Matthew 11, we hear the words of Christ commending the ministry of John the Baptist, but at the same time condemning certain cities in Galilee like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their unbelief, for their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as he came to proclaim And it's that rejection of Christ by these cities that leads the Lord Jesus to utter the prayer that's found in Matthew chapter 11 verses 25 through 27, where the Lord prays, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven. and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither knoweth any man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. In spite of the rejection of these cities, the Lord Jesus prays and expresses his thanksgiving for the sovereign wisdom and power of the Father who hides the gospel from the so-called wise of this world, but reveals the gospel to the so-called babes of this world. who become like infants in their dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ, clinging to Him, not looking at all to what they can do, but looking to what their Father can supply unto them. That's how we must approach the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how we must approach the Father if we are to know the salvation of God. And after this prayer, the Lord Jesus then extends this gospel message an offer, an offer of rest to all who labor and are heavy laden in Matthew 11, 28, which we just read. As we look at the sermon and the two points of the sermon today, I want you to see that there are two rests that are mentioned. There's a justifying rest in verse 28, and there's a sanctifying rest in verses 29 through 30. This first rest we find, which is here in Matthew 11, 28, as I said, a justifying rest. It is a once and for all judicial rest and cessation from the guilt and condemnation of the insufferable and intolerable burden of our sin upon us. This is such a heavy burden this burden, the weight of sin, the guilt, the condemnation, the power of sin upon the sinner, that that burden will drag that sinner down to hell itself unless that burden is lifted, unless that yoke of sin is broken by the Lord Jesus Christ. It will carry the sinner to the lake of fire. For our sins, both our original sin and Adam, and our own personal transgressions in thought, word, and deed of God's holy law, demand the just wrath and righteous judgment of a holy God as judge. In Romans 6.23, for the wages of sin is death. And not only physical death, but spiritual death, physical death, and everlasting death and separation from God. This justifying rest that we are speaking of here is a rest before the judgment seat of God. that forever declares us righteous on account of the obedience of Jesus Christ, on account of His imputed righteousness to us, that which He has credited to us, not that which we have earned, that which He earned, and then imputes to our account. That's what this rest is based upon, this justifying rest, as we come to Him. This rest from the yoke of guilt and condemnation of sin, dear ones, is absolutely complete. It's a complete, it's a perfected rest at the very moment of exercising faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our eternal salvation. Nothing can be added to the perfection of this justifying rest. Nothing can be taken away from the perfection of this justifying rest. Because it does not rest upon us. Because it is not based upon us. because it is based upon Christ and what He has worked. It is based upon His finished work, His perfect and completed work on behalf of believing sinners. As we read in John 5, 24, Jesus speaking, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. The removal of this awful yoke of the guilt and penalty of our sin by looking in faith to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is beautifully illustrated in the Pilgrim's Progress. written by John Bunyan, when Christian casts his eye, the heavy burden that has weighed him down, the weight of sin, as he casts his eye upon the cross of Jesus Christ. These words are recorded, Now I saw in my dream that the highway up which Christian was to go was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called salvation. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty because of the load on his back. He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending And upon that place stood a cross and a little below in the bottom a sepulcher. So I saw in my dream that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders and fell from off his back and began to tumble and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulcher where it fell in and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome and said with a merry heart, He hath given me rest by his sorrow and life by his death. Then he stood still a while to look and wonder, for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked therefore and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold, three shining ones came to him and saluted him with, Peace be to thee. So the first said to him, Thy sins be forgiven thee. The second stripped him of his rags and clothed him with change of raiment. The third also set a mark on his forehead, and gave him a roll, with a seal upon it which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the celestial gate. So they went their way. Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing, Thus far did I come laden with my sin, nor could aught ease the grief that I was in. till I came hither. What a place is this! Must here be the beginning of my bliss? Must here the burden fall from off my back? Must here the strings that bound it to me crack? Blessed cross! Blessed sepulcher! Blessed rather be the man that there was put to shame for me. That's the rest of which Jesus is speaking. A rest, a justifying rest. Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. No, dear ones, at this justifying rest, which Christ here promises makes no qualification of the troubled sinner weighed down by his sin except to come. Come unto me, Jesus says in Matthew 11, 28. To come, dear ones, is to come in faith. It is to come entrusting in Christ alone Jesus Christ here does not declare, Come ye who are obedient. Come ye here who are wise. Come ye here who are rich, who are members of a church, who have received the sacrament of baptism. No, He does not say any of that. He simply says, Come unto me. Come unto me. If you seek to come, dear ones, to Christ, looking to any such qualification in yourself, you will not receive this justifying rest It is, in fact, your very sin, the guilt of your sin, and that condemnation that weighs so heavily upon you that qualifies you to come to Christ today. Jesus didn't come to save the righteous. He came to save sinners. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. and I will give you rest, Jesus says. You see, what appears to natural man to disqualify you from coming to Christ, to receive his justifying rest, is that which actually qualifies you to come to Christ, to receive his justifying rest. Your sins do not keep you from coming to Christ. They qualify you. Christ came to save sinners. Paul says, of whom I am chief. We might not only look at the burden, the yoke and the burden, as that which pertains to sin's guilt, condemnation, and power, We might also look upon the yoke and the burden here as Jesus spoke about the tradition of the elders, of the Jews, traditions which are not found in God's word. They were not the commandments of God. They were that which was added to the worship of God by way of ceremonies, by way of holy days, which the Lord has not appointed. which incidentally, today happens to be one of those holy days that Jesus is not appointed. We are certainly at all times to remember the resurrection of Christ and God has given to us, Christ has given to us one holy day every week, the Sabbath, the Lord's Day, to remember that Jesus Christ is alive. In fact, today probably in churches throughout the world, one will find churches full when on every Lord's Day those same churches will be half empty or more. Isn't it interesting that when we follow the ceremonies and traditions of men, we do not fulfill the actual commandments of God, which we are to do every Lord's Day in coming to Him, worshiping Him, and adoring Him. Jesus said in Matthew 23, 4, and speaking of the scribes and the Pharisees, He says, for they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Dear ones, the religious ceremonies of the Jews, the religious ceremonies of the Papists, the religious ceremonies of many Protestants, in which many trust and believe that by doing them they will be saved. That is a yoke, a yoke of bondage that cannot justify anyone before God. You can make, dear ones, even any biblical duty that God calls us to actually perform. It may not be a tradition of the elders. It may not be a tradition of the church. that is not found in the word, but it may be actually something commanded by the Lord. But if we put our faith and our confidence in that, in keeping that to justify us, to save us, we will find that we do not have the justifying rest of which Jesus here speaks. Because the qualification is not to bring the commandments of God with us. but to realize we've broken those commandments, to realize we fall short, we are sinners, to realize that there's only hope in Jesus Christ and His obedience, and therefore we come empty-handed, looking to Christ in faith alone. And in doing so, Jesus says, I will give you rest. I will give. That is, this rest is a gift, a free gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, not something we earn or deserve. I will give you rest. Jesus simply calls you to come in faith. Even now, as you may hear the word of God going forth, to come to Him in faith. as unworthy sinners, burdened with your sin, the guilt and condemnation, the power of sin, simply to call upon Him and come unto Him. And He promises that He will break that yoke. He will cast away that burden. a justifying rest and everlasting rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. The meekness of Christ is herein evidence that out of His meekness and His undeserved kindness and gentleness for sinners, He calls you as an unworthy, laboring sinner. who was crushed beneath the burden of your sin, to come in faith to Him, in order that that terrible and awful yoke might be broken from off of your back, that you might receive His justifying rest. In meekness at the present time, Christ calls you to come. But if you do not come, when Christ calls you in meekness to come, there will come a time in righteous judgment that he will declare, go. Go, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. Go into the lake of fire. So come now, as Christ in his meekness invites you, offers this justifying rest. Come to him and receive of that rest. The second main point from our sermon, our text this Lord's Day. The meekness of Christ in our sanctifying rest. Look with me at Matthew chapter 11 verses 29 through 30. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me For I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. We may be very familiar with the concept of rest as a justifying rest. We may be familiar with our weekly Sabbath rest. that is resting from our daily works and recreations in order to enjoy the Lord each Sabbath day. We may even be familiar with the eternal rest that we have in heaven, that eternal Sabbath rest in which we will rest from all our sins and rest from all temptations and rest from all pain and all heartache and all tribulation and all affliction and tears and sorrow in order to enjoy the Lord forever without interruption. But how familiar are we with our sanctifying rest? How familiar are we with that rest? You see, Jesus distinguishes here our justifying rest in Matthew 11.28 from our sanctifying rest in Matthew 11.29-30. Whereas the qualification to enjoy our justifying rest is simply to come in faith, trusting alone in Christ alone. The qualification to enjoy our sanctifying rest is this, according to Christ, take my yoke upon you and learn of me and ye shall find rest for your souls. It's not that we stop trusting in Christ, stop believing in Christ at this point, having secured by God's grace justifying rest, now we no longer need to trust Him, now we no longer need to believe in Him. We simply take His yoke. No, it's not that. We continue to trust Him. We continue to believe Him. And how do we know we're trusting and believing in Christ? Because we, as now justified, take His yoke upon us and learn of Him. The taking of the yoke and learning of him is evidence of our faith, our continued faith and trust in Jesus Christ. James says in James 2.20, faith without works is dead. Justification, dear ones, without sanctification is a dead justification. A justifying rest that does not lead to a sanctifying rest is no true rest at all. Every Christian that has had the yoke of sin broken in order to enjoy God's justifying rest will also take the yoke of Christ upon him or her and learn of Christ in order to enjoy God's sanctifying rest. Where there is no yoke of Christ in one's life, there is no sanctifying rest. Where we refused to take the yoke of Christ upon our shoulders and to bear it, For the sake and cause of Jesus Christ, there is no sanctifying rest. It is possible to so emphasize the casting away of the yoke of guilt and condemnation to which we were bound, that we forget or at least minimize the truth that as justified Christians we have exchanged one yoke for another. The yoke of bondage to sin for the yoke of Jesus Christ over the power of sin. As those who trust alone in Christ alone for our justification before God, we are not free to wander about in any direction or path that we choose. We are not free in Christ to love this world or the things of this world. The Lord does not give us the freedom to love this world and the things of this world, which is worldliness. The Lord Jesus Christ does not grant us a freedom to love the wisdom of this world, to love the philosophy of this world, to love the fashions and the tastes of this world, to love the riches of this world, to love the approval of this world, to love the pleasures and the entertainments of this world, or to love the immoral standards of this world. We are not free in regard to a love for the world or the things of this world. We are in the world, indeed, but we are not of the world. Dear brothers and sisters, We will only find rest for our souls, a sanctifying rest for our souls as we grow in the meekness of Jesus Christ and take upon ourselves the yoke of Christ and learn of His meekness in submitting to the yoke that the Lord God, that the Father gave to Him to bear. It is not only to learn of Christ's doctrine, to bear the yoke, to take the yoke of Christ is not only to learn of Christ's doctrine, but it's also to learn of Christ's meekness, to learn of Christ's heart, to learn of Christ's affections, to learn of His example, to learn of Him, You see, to learn only of Christ's doctrine will make our orthodoxy dead and lifeless. But to learn of Christ's meekness will make our orthodoxy alive and vibrant in our lives. And notice that Christ does not say here that we are to merely passively bear the yoke that He has placed upon us. Though that is true, we are to bear the yoke He has placed, but that's not what Christ says here. Christ rather emphasizes our active and voluntary taking the yoke of Christ upon us. just as He voluntarily took upon Himself the yoke of His Father's will. It was His meat to do the will of His Father in heaven. When He was asked, Aren't you hungry? His disciples asked, Aren't you hungry, Lord? My meat is to do the will of my Father who is in The meekness of Christ is exemplified in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in submitting, taking that yoke, voluntarily taking that yoke upon himself. We find these words in his prayer, not my will, but thine, be done. That's taking the yoke. of Christ upon us, not my will, not my pleasures, not my exaltation, not my successes, but thine be done. Beloved, our freedom in Christ, therefore, is not to be unyoked from Christ and His commandments. Our freedom in Christ is not to be unyoked from Christ and our suffering. Our freedom in Christ is not to be unyoked from Christ and our heartaches, or our persecutions, or our pain, or our afflictions, or the hatred we receive from others. But rather, our freedom in Christ is to be yoked to Christ and the gospel yoked to Christ and His commandments. Christ and His will, Christ and His suffering, Christ and the way of the cross and denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him. Notice the reason in Matthew 11, 29 that Jesus gives for taking up His yoke and learning of Him. You see, Jesus was not some kind of a free spirit or a wild ox, going about to do his own pleasure, to do his own will, to glorify himself. But rather, Jesus was as an ox that was yoked to the will of his father, even to the point of bearing his father's righteous indignation and wrath against our sins, that which he dreaded the most, not the mere physical pain, but bearing the wrath of God for our sins. He did not throw off that yoke. but cried, not my will, but thine, be done. You have likely heard some professing Christians who describe their freedom in Christ as a freedom from God's commandments, from Christ's law. Dear ones, that is not freedom at all. That is rather bondage that leads to destruction. That so-called freedom is like a train that is broken loose from the tracks and is heading perilously for the cliff over which the train will be crashed in utter destruction. The end of such so-called freedom is not rest, but is restlessness. is bondage and is destruction. Dear ones, you take Christ's yoke upon you and learn of Him in a very practical way by surrendering yourself and all that you have entirely to Him, completely to Him. Whatever Jesus wants for me, is what I want for me. Surrendering all is taking the yoke of Christ. You take Christ's yoke upon you and learn of Him by surrendering yourself without complaint to whatever He brings into your life in order to train you in love, in order to train you in meekness, that you might serve Him and serve others. You know, when I reflect, I pause and reflect upon the suffering that many who profess Jesus Christ have suffered in the past and even in the present. Many are suffering, that are enduring by way of imprisonment, cruel beatings, beheadings, crucifixions, rape, and dismemberment. I'm ashamed of the ways in which I have not surrendered my comforts and the pleasures of this life to the Lord Jesus Christ. When I reflect upon those brothers and sisters that we pray for throughout the week, who are suffering intense and chronic pain, and have perhaps no known remedy, I am ashamed of the ways in which I have not surrendered my loved ones, my health, and my strength to the Lord. A meek Christian, like Moses, counts the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. Dear ones, it is only as you take Christ's yoke upon you and learn of His meekness in taking the Father's yoke upon Himself and surrendering His life to the cross that you will find a sanctifying rest for your souls. For you see, dear ones, the sanctifying rest will be yours as you take the yoke of Christ upon you. Submit in meekness to the yoke of Christ. Surrender all that you are and ever hope to be to Jesus Christ. And then only will you find that sanctifying rest from all anxiety, That sanctifying rest from the worries that plague you. That sanctifying rest from the fears that weigh you down. When you come to the place that you have nothing to lose, because everything belongs to Christ. When that is the place that you finally come to, I have nothing to lose. Everything belongs to Christ. You can finally Take a deep breath. It all belongs to Him. Lord, do with it as Thou dost please. Then that sanctifying rest that surpasses all understanding will be granted to us. When we are cast into a fit of worry about family, about possessions, about health, about our homes, about our jobs, it is because, dear ones, it is because we are sinfully not submitting in meekness to the yoke of Christ in our lives. We are not at the point of learning about the meekness of Christ, the lowliness of Christ, the submission of Christ, the surrender of Christ. We are not yet at that point of surrendering, dear ones, all under the yoke of Christ. When we are bearing the worries, the anxieties, and the fears, when we are carrying those around with us wherever we go, Therefore, that sanctifying rest at such times takes flight and flies away like a bird. Sanctifying rest and peace is the fruit of submitting in meekness to the yoke of Jesus Christ. Notice that Jesus states for our comfort the following words as he closes out that particular declaration in Matthew 11 30. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Yes, the yoke of Christ is easy and his burden is light. But oh how we make the yoke of Christ very difficult. and his burden so very heavy. What makes Christ's yoke easy and his burden light? Well, let me suggest to you three graces. First of all, a meek and lowly heart. A meek heart does not aim at being honored by others. It bows the shoulder to the yoke and realizes that is how meekness grows and bowing the yoke to the shoulder. Living to serve rather than living to be served. A meek heart makes Christ's yoke easy and is burden light because it does not consider any service, any work, any A suffering that does not consider anything for Christ or for others to be beneath it or too good for it. A second grace, a loving and affectionate heart. A second grace that makes Christ's yoke easy and his burden light. A loving and affectionate heart. A fervent love for Jesus Christ, dear ones, that is kept alive, that is fanned day by day and throughout the day, makes the work easier and the suffering lighter. We will do, dear ones, anything for those that we truly love, even to the by way of pain, heartache, affliction, whatever it may be, our love for Jesus Christ will make Christ's yoke easy and will make that burden light. The growing Christian, dear ones, falls in love with the cross of Jesus Christ and counts the burden light. and so finds rest in his service or her service, rest even in suffering. The third grace that makes Christ's yoke easy and his burden light, a thankful and appreciative heart. Thankful and appreciative heart. When we know, that is when we really know in our heart of hearts with a heart filled with gratitude, the depths of Christ's love and sacrifice for us. To take Christ's yoke upon ourselves will be viewed by us as the very least that we can do to express our undying gratitude for what he has done for us. No doubt many other graces that we could add, those three. But what makes Christ's yoke difficult? On the other side of the coin, what makes Christ's yoke difficult and is burden-heavy for us? Mention three graces now, three vices. First of all, a proud and self-centered heart, where everything is about me. What I'm suffering, what I'm going through, when it's all about me, I'm going to feel as if I cannot bear the burden. I can no longer have this yoke upon my neck and on my shoulders and this burden upon my back when it's all about me. It isn't about you. It isn't about me. It is about Christ. It is about the cross of Jesus Christ. It's the proud spirit, dear ones, in fact, that gets tired of doing good if it finds its labors not appreciated. If one does not receive the commendation, the approval, the pat on the back, the proud would give up. because that's what they're looking for. That's why they are doing what they're doing, is to receive the pat on the back. It's all about them. It's the proud heart, dear ones, that will shun what is uncomfortable and belittle what it thinks to be beneath it. A second vice that will make Christ's yoke difficult and is burden heavy. A despising and scornful heart. A heart that is filled with anger. A heart that is bitter and resentful at the trials, at the suffering that one has experienced. When one looks to the blessings of others, the proud and self-centered heart becomes all the more angry. Just as a loving heart makes the burden work easy and makes the yoke easy and the burden light, so a scornful heart will make the yoke hard. and the burden very heavy if there is work at all on the part of one who is despising and scornful, resentful and bitter and angry. The third vice that makes the yoke of Christ difficult and is burden heavy is a complaining and discontented heart. It is, there was harder to bear the yoke of Christ, the burden that Christ gives to us to bear for him. It is also harder to bear when there is any looking back over our shoulders at what we have at one time enjoyed, that which we once enjoyed by way of comforts and that which we once enjoyed by way of blessings but no longer have. If we look over our shoulders and look back, we will find that we will be filled with complaining. We'll find that we are filled with discontentment looking back. Or if we look to the side, not just looking back, but we look to the side and see this person and that person having what we so much want. We'll consider whatever the yoke and the burden Christ has laid upon us to bear, to be unbearable. We'll despise it, we'll hate it. We'll be discontent. You see, when we look back behind ourselves, we not only expose ourselves to grievous risk of falling away from Christ, but also we make everything so much harder to accomplish. If you're not looking forward, but looking backward, you're going to run into all types of obstacles. And that's what we do when we look behind ourselves and try to walk the Christian life. We're bouncing off every obstacle. We're falling on our faces. We need to be looking forward to Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith, who has gone before us and borne the yoke of his father without complaint, with contentment of heart. It is a snare of the enemy to think, if only my lot in life were more favorable, then I would find rest and peace. If only this were different in my circumstances, then I would find the sanctifying rest and peace of Jesus Christ. Dear ones, do not fool yourselves. Those are outward, external circumstances. The problem is with our heart. It's not those circumstances that alter and change those circumstances into something that we can use to grow the fruit of meekness. But dear ones, it is in fact what is on the inside and how we view those circumstances by way of meekness, trusting in Christ. If we cannot find the rest of Christ in our present circumstances, we hope in vain, dear ones, to think we can find it in different circumstances. The issue is that we are not submitting to the yoke of Jesus Christ in surrendering everything in meekness and humility to Jesus Christ. And finally, this last word as we close. The yoke of Christ is indeed easy and his burden is indeed light for another reason. because we do not bear the yoke alone, but because Him to whom we are yoked, even the Lord Jesus Christ, that even when we fall flat on our face, that yoke remains because Jesus Christ is yoked together with us. and He lifts us up, bears us up. And because He continues to take us forward by His grace, we continue to move forward in meekness and bearing the yoke of Jesus Christ. You are yoked to Christ so that you are absolutely assured that this sanctifying rest which Jesus here speaks is yours in Jesus Christ. You are yoked to Christ. He's not going to drop the yoke. And therefore, by his grace, by his power, by his strength, you will not drop the yoke. And you will have that sanctifying rest. How can it not be that that is the case? That you will have that sanctifying grace if you are yoked to Jesus Christ when the very one to whom you are yoked is the one who spoke this world, this universe into existence by the mere word of His power, who upholds and sustains everything in this universe, every moment of the day. from the smallest creature to the largest galaxies, sustains it by the word of His power. And do you actually think that He will not apply that same power in sustaining you? In causing you to bear His yoke that you might enjoy? His sanctifying rest God forbid, God forbid. Will he uphold the universe and not uphold you? For whom he suffered the excruciating torment of the cross. Hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest. unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light amen let us stand together in prayer our heavenly father how we praise thee for our yoke fellow the lord jesus christ who bore the yoke all by himself which no one else could bear for him in order to secure our justifying rest and our sanctifying rest and our everlasting rest. We praise thee and thank thee that he is the one who now comes alongside us and is yoked with us and we are yoked with him and therefore oh lord we are encouraged take this yoke of Christ upon us, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly in heart. O Lord, our God, lift up, Lord, the hearts of those this day who are broken, those who are discouraged, those who are wearied, those, O Lord, who are faltering, Those, O Lord, who have never been yoked to Christ, who are still yoked to the great burden of their sin, the guilt and the condemnation of their sin, O God, let them hear and let them respond to the words of Christ, Come unto me. Let them unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith even now, that that yoke may be broken from off their shoulders, that yoke of sin, the guilt and the condemnation of that sin. For we ask, O Lord, these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Still Waters Revival Books is now located at PuritanDownloads.com. It's your worldwide online Reformation home for the very best in free and discounted classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, mp3s, and videos. 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