Rest Or Wrest??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #391

Just a few thoughts today that I pray will challenge us to consider our ways!  Will we rest in The Lord Jesus or keep trying to wrest things out of His hands and do it “my way”?  Jesus again and again called the people around Him to come; but He also made it clear that only those who heard the voice of His Father would truly come!  Let’s consider a few things that He shared and see where we land.

“At that time Jesus answered and said,

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.

26 Even so, Father:

for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 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.

28 Come unto me,

all ye that labour and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

29 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.

30 For my yoke is easy,

and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:2530                   (See 1 Corinthians 1)

Jesus called us unto Himself, those who didn’t “know it all”!  Those who “knew it all” were ever standing against Him.  The same is happening today—as it has since the beginning; we can go all the way back to Genesis chapter 3!  Adam and Eve thought what Satan said made more sense than obeying God!  Cain thought if he got rid of Abel, he would be better off, for Abel obeyed and Cain did it his own way (which is never acceptable to God!) Jacob took some 20+ years to find out that God’s way is always right and best!  How about you and me?  Are we taking on the yoke that Jesus calls us to or doing it on our own—for surely ‘my ways’ are more efficient, more productive, more beneficial, more lucrative, more fun…you fill in the blank…than God’s ways!

We find that even in His own ministry, Jesus watched people come and go, even those of His closest circle.  Don’t expect any less, Jesus told us it would be so.  I implore you to consider all that you hear and see and compare it to God’s Word not simply what you see and/or hear.  And let me preface what we’re going to look at by simply reminding you that “speaking the truth in love” is not hateful; if I show you biblically that something is wrong, I am trying to save you from heartache, pain or even hell!

“These things I command you,

that ye love one another.

18 If the world hate you,

ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world,

the world would love his own:

but because ye are not of the world,

but I have chosen you out of the world,

therefore the world hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you,

The servant is not greater than his lord.

If they have persecuted me,

they will also persecute you;

if they have kept my saying,

they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do unto you

for my name’s sake,

because they know not him that sent me.

22 If I had not come and spoken unto them,

they had not had sin:

but now they have no cloke for their sin.

23 He that hateth me

hateth my Father also.”  John 15:18-23

And backing up a bit in the timeline of Jesus ministry, there came a time when He began to teach harder and harder things for the people to comprehend, let’s see what some of the response was to our Lord Himself.

“Many therefore of his disciples,

when they had heard this, said,

This is an hard saying;

who can hear it?

61 When Jesus knew in himself

that his disciples murmured at it,

he said unto them,

Doth this offend you?

62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man

ascend up where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth;

the flesh profiteth nothing:

the words that I speak unto you,

they are spirit,

and they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not.

For Jesus knew from the beginning

who they were that believed not,

and who should betray him.

65 And he said,

Therefore said I unto you,

that no man can come unto me,

except it were given unto him of my Father.

66 From that time

many of his disciples went back,

and walked no more with him.”  John 6:60-66

So, as simply as I know how, I want to ask each of us to consider our ways.  Are we going to wrest things out of God’s hands again and again; or are we willing to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me”?  Do we want to “find rest unto your souls”? Or will we continue to wrest things out of God’s hands and take the wheel for ourselves?  I’ll simply close with Jesus’ own declaration!

“Jesus answered them,

I told you,

 and ye believed not:

the works that I do in my Father’s name,

they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not,

because ye are not of my sheep,

as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice,

and I know them,

and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life;

and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them

out of my hand.

 29 My Father, which gave them me,

 is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them

out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again

to stone him.”   John 10:25-31

Are your hands folded in prayer or about to throw rocks?  It’s your choice but choose wisely there is a test.

Amen and Amen!!!