House of Hope Online

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Last time we talked about the Staples, Inc. Easy Button, and how Jesus wants to help make our lives easier.  We saw in our keynote passage of scripture, Matthew 11:28-30, that Jesus wants us joined together with Him because His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.  He promises to lift our weariness and to give us rest.

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.

In John 10, we saw He is our Doorway to abundance, and in John 15, that our productivity (fruitfulness) in this life is tied to our abiding in Him as the vine.  We learned that abiding in Jesus has an element of waiting, as opposed to the idea of an Easy Button, or the quick fix.  The Greek word for “abide” means to stay in a given place, or relationship, and in a state of expectancy (faith).  Abide also means to endure or tarry.

In addition, we meditated on Jesus as our Protector from stumbling and our Counselor via the Holy Spirit (John 16).  Finally, in John 17, we saw Him in action as our Chief Intercessor when He prayed that we would have the same unity with our Almighty Father that He had. 

Today, I want to continue with the Easy Button Word by stressing that Jesus is:

1. Our Source of Strength
2. Our Pathway to Avoid Sin, and
3. Our Worthy One

1. Our Source of Strength

As we strive with the issues of this life, we tend to ignore Jesus as our source of strength.  It is a natural, fleshly instinct to want to be self-reliant as opposed to Christ-reliant.  I know I was that way before I accepted Jesus in my heart.  In fact, that was the key to my salvation experience – Jesus stepped right in and solved a complicated problem I was having in my professional life.

None of us wants to admit that we have weaknesses that require help, but the Apostle Paul learned his weaknesses were a good thing because they caused him to humbly seek the power and strength of His Lord and Savior, Jesus.

2^nd Corinthians 12 (Paul writing to the Corinthians):

 7 And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me–to keep me from exalting myself!

The Greek word for “thorn” in verse 7 indicates Paul had some sort of painful condition or physical disability.

2^nd Corinthians 12:

 8 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Notice the important principle for us in verse 9.  Paul was praying for healing, but the Lord told him that rather than heal Paul, He would provide sufficient grace to withstand the weakness.  And, God said His power is perfected in our weaknesses.  So, when our prayer appears unanswered, perhaps God is saying: “My grace is sufficient, and my power will manifest.”

Paul reacts to the word of the Lord by welcoming weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, and other difficulties because they keep him humble and because they cause the power of Jesus to manifest in his life.  Think about that for a minute – have you ever said “welcome” to your pain and weaknesses and distresses because they bring His power to bear in your life.  That makes me rethink my tendency to complain and resent when I feel insulted or persecuted!

The powerful spiritual principle at work here is that when we come to that humble place where we realize that only He can do it, then His power manifests in our circumstances in reaction to, and out of compassion for, our humility.  He responds to our faith, not our fears.

Are you trying to overcome difficulty or distress in your life?  Start boasting of your inability to overcome it, and become content in your weakness as Paul did, so that the power of Christ may dwell in you.

There are other passages of scripture that encourage us to rely on Jesus as our Source of Strength.

Psalm 127:

 1 ¶ Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved [even in his] sleep. (NASB)

Psalms 127 is one of two psalms authored by King Solomon.  In it, he emphasizes the need to rely on the Lord for everything we do; otherwise, we labor in vain.  And we reach a struggle and a frustration level when we attempt things in our strength. 

I love the end of verse 2: He gives to His beloved even as we sleep (rest).  There’s an old joke that members of ministry tell: “Whether you raise the dead, or take a nap, the pay is the same!”

This is not to say we shouldn’t work hard, but it means we rely on Jesus as we work, and we acknowledge that without His help and grace, we labor in vain.

David is a shining example to us for relying on the Lord to overcome life’s challenges.  In 1^st Samuel 17, King Saul and Israel’s army were dismayed and fearful of the giant Philistine, Goliath, and fled from him.  But when David saw the situation, he told King Saul in verse 37 he would fight Goliath because “… the Lord…will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”  And David spoke to his problem, Goliath, and said “…I come to you in the name of the Lord…the God of the armies of Israel…” (verse 45).  David went to battle not relying on his own strength but on the strength of Almighty God.

As we confront problems and challenges in our life, we need to do so in the name of the Lord, and in faith that He will deliver the victory for us.  Here’s the rest of the David’s well-told story:

1^st Samuel 17:

48 ¶ Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung [it], and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.

Do you think David was thinking:  That was Easy!?  The key point in this story is that the army of Israel was relying on its own strength and fled the giant Goliath, but David in verse 48 ran toward his problem in the strength of the Lord.  When we rely on Jesus, we can run toward and not away from our struggles.

2. Our Pathway to Avoid Sin

Another area where many of us struggle is avoiding sin.  In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul admitted to, and discussed, the battle with sin we all face.

Romans 7:

 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Wretched means deeply afflicted or distressed, miserable, woeful, grievous, hatefully contemptible, despicable, very poor in quality or ability, inferior.  Paul admits to sinfulness in the flesh but acknowledges that only Jesus can set him free of that battle with sin.  Instead of condemning himself, Paul continues in Romans 8 to declare the truth of the Gospel that there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:

 1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God [did:] sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and [as an offering] for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

 4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so];

 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Notice that Paul does not condone sin.  His point is if we strive to avoid sin in our own strength, we will fail.  This is why God sent His only begotten Son into the world.  He knew the weakness of our flesh.  The only pathway to avoid sin is through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus has sent to us.  If we try on our own to avoid sin, that is a mind set on the flesh, which can never please God.  The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, but the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.

Paul goes on in Romans 8 to emphasize that we need the Holy Spirit to crucify our fleshly nature and experience life through Jesus.

Romans 8:

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

 10 ¶ And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

 12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–

 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (NASB)

Verse 11 shows us the Pathway to avoid sin: The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus gives life to our mortal bodies, as opposed to the death of sin.  The Holy Spirit sent by Jesus convicts us and empowers us to crucify the flesh and overcome sin.

3. Our Worthy One

Closely related to our tendency to try to avoid sin on our own is our desire to be considered worthy of our salvation.  We want to feel worth the price that Jesus paid for our salvation.  We want to be thought of as righteous, especially in the eyes of God, but that desire is actually prideful and leads to self-righteousness.  Moreso, the desire to be worthy leads to a judgmental spirit regarding others we deem unworthy.

Interestingly, Revelation 5 addresses this tendency of our fleshly nature.

Revelation 5:

 1 ¶ And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.

 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”

3 And no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look into it.

4 And I [began] to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it;

In John’s vision, he saw into heaven and the need for the book of life to be opened, which is essential for the coming Great White Throne Judgment.  Those whose names are written in the book are saved; those excluded are judged and condemned to eternal damnation.  Verse 4 speaks to our fleshly nature because John was feeling unworthy himself and he felt no one was worthy to open the book.  He failed in that moment, as we often do, to leave judgment of others to Jesus.

One of the elders in the vision corrects John.

Revelation 5:

5 and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

6 ¶ And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

 7 And He came, and He took [it] out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Of course, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, and the Lamb who had been slain, is Jesus, who is the only One worthy to open the book.  And He alone will judge.

As a church, we are striving in our own strength to be found worthy, and the truth is none of us is worthy.  But we worship a Worthy One, whose grace is sufficient for us.  We serve a Worthy One who sets us free from sin, and in whom there is no condemnation.

Conclusion

It is no joke.  Jesus is our Easy Button if we would only ask Him and abide in Him.  I believe Him when He says His yoke is easy, His burden is light.  He is our Strength, our Pathway to avoid sin, and our Worthy One.  Press into Him and allow Him to lift you from your struggles, your burdens, your fears, and all the things that make you heavy-laden, and He will give you rest.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for Jesus, our Source of Strength, our Pathway to avoid sin, and our Worthy One.  Help us to realize Your grace is sufficient and to boast of our weaknesses because by them Your power is perfected in us and manifested in us.  Empower us by Your Holy Spirit, as You did David, to run toward and not away from our problems.  Crucify our flesh as we set our minds on Jesus.  And help us, Lord, to refrain from self-righteously judging others, knowing that Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, is the only Worthy One.  In His name, we pray.  Amen.