Come to Me

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 1st of September, 2024 - Labor Day Weekend.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, tomorrow is Labor Day, the day established as a national holiday to recognize and honor the contributions and achievements of the American worker.  For many, it represents a paid day off.  Banks will be closed, non-essential governmental offices will be closed, our church office will be closed.  For a lot of folks, though, it's just another day of labor, with police and fire departments and first responders all going strong, and pretty much every convenience store open for business.

Traditionally, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the last vacation of the year.  Many folks will be at the beach or the mountains or on the lake, or just in their own back yards grilling hamburgers and hot dogs with friends and neighbors.  And if my memory is correct, Labor Day is the time when you should stop wearing white pants for a while.

Today I’d like to look at a time when Jesus talked about our labors.  John the Baptizer was sitting in prison and probably getting a bit anxious about the way things were going.  Didn’t Isaiah say that the Messiah, the Christ, was supposed “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound”?  Yet here he sat.

So he sent two of his followers to ask Jesus if He was indeed the Christ, or should people start looking for another to come.  Jesus told them to return to John and tell him of all they had seen there, how He had healed people of illnesses and infirmities, even raised the dead.  And then He turned and addressed the crowd regarding the many signs He had performed and how there was still so much disbelief.

Please listen and follow along as Jesus rebukes those who refuse to repent and then calls us to service, calls us to Himself, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 11 of his Gospel account, verses 20 through 30, and I’ll be reading from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

20 Then He began to reprimand the cities where most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who is exalted toward heaven, will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.”

25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to infants. 26 Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.

27 “All things are delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son, except the Father. And no one knows the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

--Matthew 11:20-30 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for choosing us to follow Your Son Jesus.  This is truly an undeserved blessing.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always do the work Jesus left for us to do.  We know that we need to reach out to the non-believers around us, but too often we hesitate to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the will to worship You with our proper service.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of Glen Pierpoint notes that, “Our labor for the Lord is: 1) a labor of love (I Thes 1:3); 2) a labor not in vain (I Cor 15:58); 3) a labor known by Christ (Rev 2:2); 4) a labor God does not forget (Heb 6:10); 5) a labor which is to be done together (I Cor 3:9); 6) a labor for eternal things (Col 1:28-9); 7) a labor which is to reward (I Cor 3:8); 8) a labor done to be accepted by Him (II Cor 5:9); 9) a labor which doesn't have an end (Luke 10:2).”

Usually, when we think of doing labor, we’re thinking about our jobs – when we had one – or about doing some necessary chore.  So we generally associate “labor” with hard work, possibly as a heavy burden to bear.  Jesus calls those who feel overly burdened to come to Him for rest.  But I think He also calls us to labor again, maybe after a brief rest, and to labor in a different way.

Mr. Pierpoint gives us some very good examples of what it means to labor for our Lord.  I asked Dama to include this in your bulletin so you would have all the reference scriptures to look up and read at your leisure, and I would encourage you to do just that.

We serve our Lord out of our love and respect for Him, and it is not done in vain, for it is known by Christ Jesus and accepted by Him.  It’s something that we can do together, supporting one another in our mutual efforts.  It is a labor that is seen and remembered by God and for which we are richly rewarded, not in earthly things that rot and decay, but in the eternal things of heaven.  And it is a job we can keep doing right up to our last breath in this life.  Let us take up the call to labor for our Lord, for His burden is light and our compensation will be great.

I like to say my boss is God since by virtue of my chosen occupation I work for the Lord.  But pastors and preachers aren’t the only ones who labor in God’s fields.  The good people who man the soup kitchens and food banks and clothing closets and all the folks helping the needy, the poor, and the homeless are actively doing God’s work.

Remember that Jesus said that “as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me”.  It really doesn’t require much of us to labor for our Lord.  The main thing is commitment, doing what we know is right, and for the right reasons.

There was a point fairly late in His ministry when Jesus asked His disciples who they say He is, and Simon answered "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".  Jesus blessed him and gave him his new name, Peter.  Then Jesus told them about what was to come, about His arrest and execution and His resurrection.  Peter actually rebuked Jesus for saying this, so Jesus had to set him straight.  Hear what happened next, as recorded by Matthew in the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 23 through 27…

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men.”

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man shall come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man according to his works.”

--Matthew 16:23-27 (MEV)

You may be wondering what this passage has to do with laboring for the Lord.  Well, first off, Jesus scolds Simon Peter for thinking in the manner the world thinks, rather than keeping the things of heaven in mind.  When we place too much value on worldly things, when we work too hard for them at the exclusion of other more important matters, we tend to look at what our efforts can bring to our benefit rather than the benefit of others.  Jesus reminds us that we won’t profit anything at all if we gain the whole world but lose our eternal soul.

From this passage, we see that to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, deny the world, and take up our cross.  There are all action words – deny, take up.  Now, denying ourselves and denying the world doesn’t mean that we should run around naked and sleep outdoors.  It means that we should not obsess about the things the world thinks are important, or even essential.  We do need the things of the world to survive in the world because we do live in the world.  But we don’t need to make these things our highest priority, placing their acquisition ahead of serving our Lord and doing the work He assigned us.

We must take up our cross, roll up our sleeves, and do the work that Jesus started and left for us to carry on.  And remember: Jesus will return, and when He does, He will repay every one of us according to our works.  So let’s get to it – there’s much to be done.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the best example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for blessing us so richly.  Among our many blessings is Your inspired word saved over the centuries for us in our Holy Bible.  It contains the instructions and insights we need in order to know You and Jesus and to live a righteous life.  Thank You for seeing to our needs, including our need to do what is right in Your eyes.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we ignore those insights and instructions and set out to do things on our own.  We think our way is better.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we stray from how we know we should live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave us a job to do, and it truly is light work, a light burden, just as You promised.  Lord, we really do want to carry on Your work and do the mission You gave us.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us and we slip up.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  Forgive us our hesitation.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us as we go about spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.