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LASHed to Christ Part Two “Admit your need to Him” Matthew 11:28-30
One of the classics of ancients literature is the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer in his 8th century account of the great warrior Ulysses [Odysseus], he is seen plugging his sailors ears with wax so that they would not be drawn to destruction by the irresistible songs of the Sirens. Ulysses however had himself lashed to the mast so he could hear them and yet not be able to be drawn into their deadly presence.
LASHED what a great way to describe Matthew 11:28-30. Lashed to Jesus Christ is the only way to keep from crashing on the rocks of the world.
This morning let’s look at these three verses and with the four letters of that word L-A-S-H see how Jesus wants us to be victorious in Him.
1. LISTEN to Christ’s Message “Come…and I will give…” 2. ADMIT there is a Need “all who are weary” • Why do you labor for that… Isaiah 55.1-2 • See as Christ sees/knew hearts • Turns and looks at Peter Lk 22.61 • Rev 2:1-5 piercing eyes
3. SUBMIT to Christ “take my Yoke” “take my yoke…” = Surrender to His purpose and plan for your life.
4. HOLD on to Him “and learn of Me…” = Surround yourself with His true Word. Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them against injustice. Thus, meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time. (Is. 41:17, Lu. 18:1-8) Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to selfassertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will. (Gal. 5:23)
“and ye shall find rest…” = Soak up Him, He is Peace.
“On 12/14 1600 [the same year Shakespeare wrote Hamlet and the first crude telescope was invented in the Netherlands] a Spanish galleon named the San Diego , hastily outfitted for war, sailed from Manila Bay before dawn in an attempt to repel two Dutch intruders. The Dutch vessels, Mauritius and Eendracht, had no plans to attack the Philippines, a Spanish possession since 1565 – forty years after Magellan landed and died there. Their mission was to find trade routes and to plunder incoming ships…. it should have been an easy victory for San Diego and her companion ship San Bartolome. They carried more than 500 freshly armed men against barely 90 Dutch sailors…in only six hours the San Diego was at the bottom of the South
China Sea with 350 of her sailors.”1 Why? An archaeological dive solved the mystery of four centuries ago…the San Diego was OVERLOADED. The captain had loaded in 100 cannons, hundreds of barrels of gun powder and a vast treasure of gold and silver. He lost it all and his own battle for life because of OVERLOAD.
One very gifted writer2 has expressed modern society’s problem as OVERLOAD. Let me explain what he meant.
Think with me where you show up on a diagnostic test that detects this deadly condition called overload. Do you have any of these symptoms?
1. ACTIVITY OVERLOAD – we book our lives weeks into the future and often in the desire to be more efficient we book several things into the same time period. “Activity overload takes away the pleasure of anticipation and the delight of reminiscence.” • God says be still and know Me…Ps 46:10
2. CHANGE OVERLOAD – “nothing defines our age more than the furious and relentless increase in the rate of change,” summarizes historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. For thousands of years of recorded history change came in a slow, controlled and understandable rate, now we are brutally jerked forward at warp speed whether we like it or not. • God says seek out the old paths where you find rest for your soul …Jer 6:16
3. COMMITMENT OVERLOAD – Most of us make more commitments than we have time to give them. In his great book Balancing Life’s Demands Dr. J. Grant Howard says, “Some people can’t say no. They take on too many relationships and too many responsibilities. They enroll in too many courses, hold down too many jobs, volunteer for too many tasks, make too many appointments, serve on too many committees, have too many friends. They are trying to be all things too all men all at once all by themselves!”3
• One thing have I desired of the Lord…Ps 27:4
ended 8/14/94
4. CHOICE OVERLOAD – “In 1978, there were 11,767 items in the average supermarket; today [1992] the number is 24,531.” This includes over 186 different choices of breakfast cereal you can find at your grocery store. A satellite dish can serve you up 1,500 movie choices per month. Futurist Allan Toffler warns, “We are , in fact, racing toward ‘overchoice’ ”. • God says seek Me first and most Mt. 6:33
5. COMPETITION OVERLOAD – it’s part of the American dream. To compete is American and it’s constantly emphasized in school, business and athletics…but is it spiritually healthy? • Jesus taught a non-agressive, non-self asserting, non-self promoting lifestyle for His children in the Sermon on the Mount…
6. DEBT OVERLOAD – from the White House to the bungalow on your street most of America is awash in red ink. It is debilitating and unbiblical! 1 National Geographic, July 1994, p.37 ff. 2 This section adapted and quotations taken from Margin by Richard Swenson, pp. 83-87. 3 (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1983), p.144.
• Owe no man anything…Rom 13:18
7. DECISION OVERLOAD – “every day we have more tough decisions to make and less time to do it in. The trivial ones are objectionable just because of how many there are [what flavor, which topping, mint or tartar control, low fat, low sodium, diet or regular…] But we also are facing new choices generations past never dreamed of: whether or not to wait to have children; whether to move and change jobs; whether both dad and mom should work outside the home; whether we should put grandma in the home or not. Too many decisions trivial or not in too short a time is vintage overload.” • If thine eye be single…Mt 6:22
8. EDUCATION OVERLOAD – each decade the education level of the general populace rises. While agreeing education is important, we must ask the heretical question: how much is enough? • Solomon said Ecclesiastes 12:12
9. FATIGUE OVERLOAD – we are a tired society. Even leisure is often exhausting. With our generator indicator flashing discharge it’s little wonder our batteries are drained. Our weary, withered state is not God’s plan. It’s not the fault of activities or friends, it’s the result of overload. • Jesus said rest for our souls…
10. HURRY OVERLOAD – “haste is a modern ailment. It is also fashionably American. Our lives are nonstop, lived at a breathless pace. We walk fast, talk fast, eat fast and then excuse our selves by saying, ‘I must run.’” Alexander Solzhenitsyn accusingly said, “Hastiness and superficiality – these are the psychic diseases of the 20th century”. • Wait patiently for the Lord…Psalm 25:5; 27:14; 37:7,9,34; 62:5; 123:2
11. INFORMATION OVERLOAD – a single edition of the NY Times has more information than a seventeenth century Britisher would have encountered in a lifetime…
12. MEDIA OVERLOAD – 98% of Americans have TV; the average US home has 2 and both are on 7 hours a day…
13. POSSESSION OVERLOAD – We have more ‘things per person ‘ than any other nation in history. Closets are full, storage space is used up, and cars can’t fit into garages. Having first imprisoned us with debt, possessions then take over our houses and occupy our time. This begins to sound like an invasion. Everything I own owns me. Why would I want more? • Jesus said care of things makes your heart grow cold…