THE GREAT INVITATION
by Jerry Vines
Scripture: ACTS 15:10-11, EPHESIANS 2:8-9, I PETER 2:24, ISAIAH 53:6, ISAIAH 57:20, JOHN 1:29, MATTHEW 11:21-24, MATTHEW 11:28-30, MATTHEW 12:10-16, MATTHEW 12:42-43, MATTHEW 23:3, PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7, ROMANS 5:1
THE GREAT INVITATION
Matthew 11:28-30
The Lord Jesus, as lowly jewish peasant, stands before the
entire world and He says,
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest (verse 28).
For Jesus to say words like that, at best are absurd or at worst
are blasphemous if Jesus Christ is not able to do what He says He
can do. If Jesus is not able to give rest to all of those who
come unto Him, for Him to make this kind of claim would be a
blasphemous claim. If Jesus Christ is not God, if He is not eve-
rything thing He says He is, then for Him to stand and invite the
world to come and find rest is an absurd thing to do. It is an
interesting statement when you look at it from that perspective.
It is also a very appealing statement because He is talking
about something in these verses that everyone of you are interest-
ed in. Jesus has said, if you will come to me I will give you
rest. You may say, "Well, I really do need some rest! I put in
60 hours this week and I've worked real hard. I haven't slept
very well. Boy, I sure could use a day's rest or even a two week
vacation." I don't doubt that you may be in need of rest for your
body but the Lord Jesus is talking about a different kind of rest.
In this invitation, Jesus says you will find rest unto your souls.
He's not talking about physical rest, as important as that is. He
is talking about a rest of the soul, which is a need of every
person in all of the world. I agree with the words of Henry David
Throw when he said that "the masses of men lead lives of quiet
desperation." I think that is true. I believe that in every
heart there is an inner restlessness. In every soul there is that
inner turmoil and desire to find peace and joy, contentment and
rest in the heart. Alot of people don't know that is really what
they're looking for. The need for inner rest - rest of the soul,
creates alot of social problems in society. For instance, a
couple gets married and ...
Matthew 11:28-30
The Lord Jesus, as lowly jewish peasant, stands before the
entire world and He says,
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest (verse 28).
For Jesus to say words like that, at best are absurd or at worst
are blasphemous if Jesus Christ is not able to do what He says He
can do. If Jesus is not able to give rest to all of those who
come unto Him, for Him to make this kind of claim would be a
blasphemous claim. If Jesus Christ is not God, if He is not eve-
rything thing He says He is, then for Him to stand and invite the
world to come and find rest is an absurd thing to do. It is an
interesting statement when you look at it from that perspective.
It is also a very appealing statement because He is talking
about something in these verses that everyone of you are interest-
ed in. Jesus has said, if you will come to me I will give you
rest. You may say, "Well, I really do need some rest! I put in
60 hours this week and I've worked real hard. I haven't slept
very well. Boy, I sure could use a day's rest or even a two week
vacation." I don't doubt that you may be in need of rest for your
body but the Lord Jesus is talking about a different kind of rest.
In this invitation, Jesus says you will find rest unto your souls.
He's not talking about physical rest, as important as that is. He
is talking about a rest of the soul, which is a need of every
person in all of the world. I agree with the words of Henry David
Throw when he said that "the masses of men lead lives of quiet
desperation." I think that is true. I believe that in every
heart there is an inner restlessness. In every soul there is that
inner turmoil and desire to find peace and joy, contentment and
rest in the heart. Alot of people don't know that is really what
they're looking for. The need for inner rest - rest of the soul,
creates alot of social problems in society. For instance, a
couple gets married and ...
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