- Lorie Hedgepeth
Part 3...."Come Unto Me..."

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”Notice with me this morning these words in our text: “and ye shall find rest unto your souls”.
Outside of a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ…. peace may be sought but, it can’t be found. The Word of God validates the truth of that statement: “But the unsaved are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” (Isaiah 57:20-21 )
Without God, without trusting in Jesus as Savior, there is no lasting peace to be found. Paul said in Ephesians 2:14 that “He is our peace”. In Colossians, Paul said that He (Jesus) made peace through the blood of His cross. Our works, our list of what we don’t do that others do, nor our membership with a church can bring one moment of peace with God. Every child of God has a peace that passes all understanding because of his/her faith in and acceptance of what Jesus did on Calvary’s Cross. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Peace over our past… peace about eternity. It is that message that forever makes God’s Church relevant to a Christless culture. In a world where people are bombarded by confusing and conflicting religious beliefs—we have a message of peace.
It is imperative that we learn how to “rest” in God. We are ever aware that we are in a spiritual battle, a warfare that can cause you to become weary. We can become weary from the constant pull of an unsaved world. We can become weary from the weight of carrying out day-to-day responsibilities.
The unkindness of people can make the best of us weary in well doing. Although we wrestle not against flesh and blood, we do wrestle against the powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places—a warfare from which there is no reprieve. Jesus told the disciples, “come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile”. God is concerned that you and I learn to step back and rest in His Presence.
Perhaps this Monday morning finds you weary from worry over a situation that you can’t change or a problem you can’t solve. Perhaps you are literally tormented by a feared outcome of what is happening around you. The words of our Lord reverberate through time and eternity to right where we are: “Come unto me ALL YE that labor and are heavy laden (loaded down) and I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”