Part 3 - The Partnership With God
Matthew 11:28 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.
Intro: One of the
worst things in the world that a person can experience is loneliness. Someone once said that loneliness is the
worst poverty. People today are
suffering from a loneliness that is indescribable. God didn’t intend for his crowning
creation to be alone. One of the greatest truths that accompanies our theme for
this year WITH GOD is the fact that we can have a Divine Partnership with the
Creator.
With God means we are not alone.
With God means we have Someone that is bigger than us and
wiser than us to be with us.
I. The Desire of a Partnership With God
From the beginning of the world, God had a desire to be with
man.
God wanted to spend time with us and be with us and be loved
by us.
Imagine leaving heaven behind to come walk with Adam in the
garden in the cool of the day.
NOTE: Sinful man doesn’t have that desire.
·
Genesis
3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the
LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Even men of God in the Bible in a time of sin and disobedience
– fled from the presence of the Lord!
·
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from
the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going
to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with
them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
We read in Exodus
25:8, 9 that God – even knowing the carnal and wicked state of the nation
of Israel – had a desire to be with them.
Notice verse 22 – I will
meet with thee; and I will commune with thee…
In our text, Christ is issuing an invitation – Come unto me
Throughout the Scripture – God has invited sinful man to
COME unto Him.
NOTE: He already came to us!
·
Luke
19:10 For the Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost.
But He will only come so far.
Not it is up to us to answer that invitation.
·
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come
to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
By the way – it is a choice! Man does have a choice.
·
John 5:40
And ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life.
The worst rejection ever known is when sinful man rejects a
personal invitation from God.
He stands at the door, and He knocks!
II. The Dictates
of a Partnership With God – take MY yoke upon YOU; and learn of ME
The problem with a lot of people is they want God to come
and take on THEIR yoke, and learn of THEM!
The conditions of a partnership with God is we have to come
to Him – take His yoke upon us, and learn of Him.
See – He already knows us. He doesn’t have to learn of us.
And he knows that without Him, we don’t have a life.
·
Ephesians
2:12 That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Without Him, we don’t have answers.
Without Him, we don’t have any hope.
Without Him, we can do nothing.
·
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
III. The Delights
of a Partnership With God – I will
give you rest; ye shall find rest.
Twice in these verses, Christ emphasized the joy and the
blessings of become a partner with Him – on His terms.
He understand that there is not a partnership anywhere in the
world that can produce the peace and rest the He does.
Relationships many times very difficult to maintain and the
end result is more rejection and disappointment.
A relationship – a partnership WITH GOD will yield a life of
assurance, acceptance and awareness that He really loves you.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD never produces disappointment, or
frustration, or rejection, or heartbreak. It is REST!
·
DEFINITION
OF REST - to cause or permit one to
cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength;
to keep quiet, of calm and patient expectation
The whole of Hebrews Chapter 4 deals with the rest – both now
and the future rest in Heaven – that is available to us.
The only thing preventing people from ENTERING INTO HIS REST
– is their unbelief.
