House of Hope Online

September 17, 2023

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In 2005, the office supply retailer, Staples, Inc., began a marketing campaign based on the idea that your office work would be so much easier if you purchased their products.  The ads featured a trademarked Easy Button, a battery-operated button that spoke the phrase “That was easy!” in a funny voice whenever the button was pressed.

Back in March 2006, early in the life of the House of Hope, the Lord gave me a word entitled, “Jesus Is Our Easy Button.”  The word of the Lord was, as we struggle in this life, Jesus wants us to press into Him for our help, instead of pressing an Easy Button of some sort.  The scriptures teach us to lean into Him for all our needs.  As we do that, we move from self-reliance to Christ-reliance, and we will find a much easier way to overcome our challenges, both in natural realm, as well as in the Spirit.

Today, I want to revisit the lessons learned from that word and review the scriptures that teach us that Jesus stands ready to make our lives easier.

Our Provider of Rest

Jesus anticipated that we would struggle in this life when He spoke the following in Matthew 11:

Matthew 11 (Jesus Speaking):

 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

 30 “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” (NASB)

Walking with Jesus should be easy.  Part of the reason we struggle is we try to do things on our own without His help.  He is inviting us to come to Him, and He promises us rest if we come. 

Rest is key to our attitude and decision-making.  When we allow the stress in this life to weigh us down, we can become weary and heavy-laden.  Overwork and overplay can deprive us of sleep, and sleep deprivation causes, among other things, impatience, mood swings, poor decision-making, and increased risk for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  If the stress in our life is causing weariness and problems resting, we need to come to Jesus and give Him these worries.  His words will breathe life into us and give us rest.

Verse 29 says we will find rest for our souls.  Our soul is comprised of our mind, our will, and our emotions. Think about that for a minute: is your mind tired of dealing with issues in this world? Do you find yourself emotionally drained?  If the issues in this life are weighing on you, He will give you rest, and He promises that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. 

The phrase “My yoke” in verse 30 refers to the mechanism by which two are joined to worked together.  In contemplating this verse, most think of the analogy of oxen yoked together to carry a heavy load.  While some in your life may burden you, Jesus promises not to, and this word should be a litmus test for whether you are hearing from Jesus.  He is not a burden to us.  When we are joined together with Him, His yoke is easy, and His load is light.

Our Doorway to Abundance

In John 10, Jesus encourages us to press into His presence to seek abundance through Him.

John 10 (Jesus Speaking):

 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have [it] abundantly.

Jesus is our Doorway not only into eternal salvation, but also to liberty and provision in this life.  He says we will go in and out (liberty) and find “pasture.”  A pasture is a place where we, the sheep, can rest and eat.  When we stress over a potential job loss, a poor economy, the auto workers’ strike, higher prices, and the potential for lack, we ignore the Doorway to pasture, and the Doorway to abundance in verse 10.  When we forget that He is our Doorway to abundance, we move from reliance on Him to self-reliance, which leads us to fear when job prospects decline.

Now I am not suggesting that you should not care about or work hard at your job or appreciate your employer.  In fact, the scripture tells us to do everything as unto the Lord, so we should strive for excellence in our work life.  But the devil can steal, kill, and destroy our jobs and our joy if that is our source of self-esteem.  Therefore, we should not develop a soul tie to our jobs.  If our mind, will, and emotions are tied to our current job, or any person, pastor, or mentor, or anything else, then we have soul tie and a strange god before Him, in violation of the first commandment.  And we are ignoring our Doorway to abundance.

Instead, we should press into Jesus and make Him the top priority in our lives, more important even than our source of income.  In verse 10, Jesus promises an abundant life – that is, a life of abundant provision and abundant joy.  Many of us have the provision but not the joy.  Learn to trust Jesus with this area because He can use any company or any creative idea to prosper us. 

He is the Doorway, and anyone who enters shall be saved, and shall find abundant life, liberty, rest, and provision.

Our Root of Fruitfulness

We saw in Matthew 11 that Jesus wants us yoked to Him.  In John 15, He wants us connected to Him as a branch is connected to a vine.

John 15 (Jesus Speaking):

 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you, unless you abide in Me.

 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.

 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

 8 “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and [so] prove to be My disciples.

 9 ¶ “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

A key to becoming productive and fruitful in our lives is acknowledging that we can do nothing apart from Him.  He is the vine, and we are the branches.  A branch that is disconnected from the vine cannot bear fruit.  Therefore, Jesus is instructing us to abide in Him for fruitfulness in all things.  When we bear fruit, our Heavenly Father is glorified.

The Greek word for “abide” means to stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy; to continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, or tarry.  Notice there is an element of waiting involved in abiding in Jesus.  This is where our spiritual easy button differs from the concept in the Staples, Inc. commercials of old.  We must remain steadfast in Jesus, which means we must live in the word of God and cling to it, not compromise it.  Staying in relationship with Jesus means staying steadfast in His Word.  Abide means staying in a place of expectancy that His word and promises are true.

In verse 7, Jesus promises if you abide in Him and His words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  Note He says “…it shall be done for you” and not by you.  That makes it easy.

He is the vine and our root of fruitfulness.  Without Him we cannot bear fruit.

Our Protector and Counselor

Jesus’ words make a tremendous difference in our lives.  In John 15, He explains why we experience persecution in this life.

John 15 (Jesus speaking):

 17 “This I command you, that you love one another.

 18 ¶ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before [it hated] you.

 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

 21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.

John 16 (Jesus Speaking):

 1 ¶ “These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling.

Jesus wants us to understand that persecution comes from the spirit of the antichrist.  It comes at us through unbelievers, but it is directed at Him.  We should not react with the indignation of a self-righteous attitude, but instead should have compassion on those who do not know Jesus or the One who sent Him.  This is part of loving our enemies.  John 16:1 is a warning to us.  He does not want us to stumble because of the persecution.

He goes on in John 16 to explain, if we remember His words, they will keep us from stumbling, even when the attacks come from within the church.

John 16 (Jesus Speaking):

2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.

 3 “And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Me.

 4 “But these things I have spoken to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

 5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’

 6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

In this passage Jesus is explaining to the disciples that He is going to be crucified and will go to the Father, and His disciples will become outcasts in the Church.  I believe this warning applies to us today as well.  As the spirit of the antichrist increases in our world, the word of God is under attack and is being compromised in some churches.  This puts us at risk of becoming outcasts even in the synagogue as we stand steadfast in His Word.  Verse 2 even says those who persecute us will think they are doing a service to God.  Do not stumble over this.  Instead, have compassion for them.

The good news is He will send us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to counsel us and prevent us from stumbling.

John 16 (Jesus Speaking):

7 ¶ “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;

 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;

 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

 12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now.

 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

 14 “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose [it] to you.

 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose [it] to you.

The role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity is to convict (convince) the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.  He also guides us into all truth and discloses to us what is to come.  This is why it is so important that we allow the Spirit of God to move in our worship services.  Remember this is all coming to us amid persecution of God’s word and those of us who proclaim it.

Verse 14 is important – the Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus.  If any word or proclamation does not bear witness to Jesus as King and the only way to salvation, it is a counterfeit word that should be rejected.

Remember this promise, that the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sends to us, will guide us through the persecution and will disclose what is to come!

Our Intercessor

We have been talking the last few weeks about intercession and how Jesus is our chief intercessor before the Father.  We defined intercession as praying on behalf of another, with nothing to gain for ourselves, and seeking the will of God for a situation. 

Here is an example of how Jesus goes to the Father on our behalf every day.

John 17 (Jesus interceding for His Disciples):

 11 ¶ “And I am no more in the world; and [yet] they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, [the name] which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We [are.]

 12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

 13 “But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves.

 14 “I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 15 “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil [one.]

Notice that Jesus prayed in verse 11 for us to remain in His name and to have the same unity with each other as Jesus had with the Father.  Many in the church call for unity of the mind, but Jesus is praying for unity in the Spirit.  The only place we are unified is when we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who draws us to Jesus.  When we soak and worship in Jesus, we can attain unity in our spirit which will lead us to like-mindedness.  Unity is possible only in the Spirit.

Nancy and I have been involved in a few churches and denominations over the years and we have seen the lack of unity that comes when people are not in the Spirit.  I have worked for and with several businesses in my career and have seen how disunity can be destructive.  We are all witnessing the effects of disunity in the United States of America, where the citizens are deeply divided on many important issues.  As Christians, we need to intercede as Jesus did for unity and for God’s will to be done in our lives and in our land.

Also note in verse 15 that Jesus prays that the Father would protect us from the evil one.  Again, He is acting as our protector.  So, as evil increases in the world around us and fear of evil sits at our door, rest assured that Father God is heeding the prayer of His only begotten Son, and He will surely protect us from the evil one, who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.  Praise Jesus, our intercessor!

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for the yoke of Jesus, and for the rest and abundant life, liberty, and pasture that comes with it.  You are Our source of income and prosperity.  Help us to avoid soul ties to our jobs, or any person, pastor or mentor, or anything else that may become a strange god before you.  We praise Jesus, our Vine, and our Root of fruitfulness.  Help us to abide in the Vine and to remain steadfast in relationship with You, in expectancy that it will be done for us, not by us.  Protect us from the evil one and strengthen us even as we are made outcasts in this world.  In Jesus’ name, we ask.  Amen.