The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, April 2, 2025, we are studying the Betrayal of Jesus.  Jesus knows about betrayal.  He felt just what we have felt.  But He continued to love.  Join us for a positive and encouraging Bible study as we look at the many betrayals of Jesus!   Don't you need some mid-week encouragement for the soul?

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page - we go "live" at 6:30 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live at 6:30 p.m., you can always listen to the message later, either from Facebook, or here on our website.  Messages are posted the following day and you can watch a replay of any message anytime!  

If you want to keep some notes from a message, you can download the notes for a specific message from the "Past and Future Messages" page of our website.  There are many ways to be spiritually fed and encouraged.

March 26, 2025, was our first ever "Pajama Praise" night.  So we wore pajamas, got comfortable, and studied the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28-30: 

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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 will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Several times there, Jesus mentions a yoke.  That term would be familiar to people in His day, but no so familiar to us.  A yoke is a wooden bar which is harnessed around the necks of a pair of oxen to bring them under submission enabling them to do the work the farmer has for them.  It is also used for training younger oxen; a farmer would yoke them to older, experienced oxen. 

So if we take the yoke of Jesus – if we literally hitch up to Jesus and walk as a pair - what can we learn?  4 lessons:

1. We don’t have to worry.

We can’t change most of what we worry about.  Jesus can.  So we need to rely on Him and trust Him.  Where He is leading us will be good for us.  And He will take care of us along the way.  Just remember the words of Jesus from last week's message - Matthew 6, where Jesus tells us not to worry:  “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"  (Matt. 6:25-27).  Jesus wants us to remember that our Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need and will provide.  So quit carrying worry with you.  Trust in the One who can change the situation, others, and you.

2. We aren’t alone.  

We are paired with Jesus.  And that’s what He wants.   To walk together through life.  Some of the last words Jesus said to His disciples were: “I will never forsake or leave you.”  Though people have left us, Jesus never will.  You won’t be abandoned.  You won't be discarded.  He will always be with us.

So ask yourself, are you truly paired with Jesus or are you trying to go it alone?

And also ask yourself whether you are looking to other people to not feel lonely instead of allowing Jesus to be present in your life and close to you.  He is the one friend who will be "closer than a brother."   Prov. 18:24.  Sometimes we feel the absence of friends so we can be reminded that we need to be relying on Jesus.

3.  We don’t need to be afraid of life’s challenges.

Remember the story of the blind man?  There were questions about whether he was blind because of his sin or the sin of his parents.  But Jesus explained that the man was blind “so the power of God would be displayed” – John 9:3

And also when word was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was sick.  Jesus said,  “No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  John 11:4.

Jesus waited several days before going to Lazarus - on purpose.  And again, just before calling Lazarus out of the tomb,  Jesus said - John 11:40 - “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”  There are moments that happen in our lives that are solely for the purpose of allowing God to be glorified in our lives.  Why did Jesus delay going to see Lazarus?  Faith Jesus was building the faith of Mary, Martha, and the disciples . . . and us.  Whatever challenge you are facing in your life right now is nothing to worry about.  Jesus is with you, you are not alone, and if you will keep your faith on Him, God will be glorified through your circumstances.

Our problems are simply opportunities for God to be glorified.

4. We try to do too much on our own.

From the time we are teenagers, we begin longing for our independence.  We want to stand on our own, do things on our own, our own way.  But God has created us to be dependent on Him.  Life ought to remind us that we need Him, but if we are still living with the mindset that we need to try to figure out the result . . . we need to make it happen . . . it will be exhausting.  Life is not about our power, our will.  Jesus said in John 15:5 – “The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Whatever we set out to do . . . we need Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Remember that when you’re tired . . . you need Jesus.

Truth is - for all of us - we carry too many burdens.  They weigh us down.  Some are from life itself - the usual problems of living, but some are imposed by others.

Some translations of our scripture for this week use the phrase "heavy Laden – “Come to me, all who labor & are heavy laden.”

Heavy laden also refers to those oppressed by the religious legalism imposed on people by the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day.  In Matthew 23:4 – Jesus said, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.”

Jesus was upset by all the man-made rules . . . and those rules had nothing to do with love, the essence of God.

They had so many rules about not working on Sabbath, not being unclean or defiled.  But living in those rules meant showing no mercy for the sake of complying with rules.  They were so worried about the rules, they were not living in love. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is just one example that our rules can interfere with love - the purpose of religious faith.

Today's church, unfortunately, has created rules that interfere with living a life of love and purpose, and cause people to walk away from the church instead of coming to it, and Jesus, for rest.  

"Don’t disagree with the Pastor, that is being unloyal."  Hogwash.  That's about ego, not love.  

"Everyone in the ministry is called by God and must be trusted."  Nope.  That's why some have been abused in the church by priests and other leaders.

"If you speak about the problem out loud, you are the problem."  Untrue.  Recognizing a problem helps it get solved. 

"Women can’t be leaders… should not be pastors - elders - or be ordained."  Just be silent and don't lead.  Wrong.  Why should half the population not use the gifts and talents God gave them?  Many women have led countless people closer to Jesus.  Leading people to God is everyone's business, our purpose for living.  That's more important than worrying about complying the Apostle Paul's view of women - that they should be silent.  Jesus never told women to be silent. 

We get heavy laden with wrong concepts, too, such as: “You’re just not praying hard enough.”   Not true.  We have to remember that God doesn’t take everything away; sometimes He just gives us grace to handle it.  God told Paul, my grace is sufficient, and He did not take away that "thorn in the side" Paul prayed to be removed.  

And what about, "Give up your plans and opinions, unity means agreeing about everything.”  Nope.  Unity means loving even though we disagree. And it means doing it in a way that is not condescending. Like saying to someone, "I will pray for your spiritual health.”  Just because we have differing opinions does not mean someone is spiritually unhealthy.  We are not "Stepford Wives." We’re unique.  And that's just fine.  God created variety.

Last one - “Something is wrong with you if you doubt.”  Not true.  We’re complex people; we have to sometimes wrestle with things.  It's okay.  Church is where we wrestle with doubts & issues. 

Even the disciples had doubts.  Look at the story of The Great Commission – Matt. 28:16-17 – “the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.”

Jesus can handle our doubts and show us who He is . . . if we keep searching for truth, we will find it in Jesus.  He is the truth.  So we should encourage each other to explore their doubt, work through their unbelief until the Holy Spirit brings them to a place of assurance and peace.  Jesus is not upset or offended; He will prove Himself to you, just as He was proving Himself to the Disciples.  Jesus said, “I am gentle and humble in heart," so He is not angry with us.  He loves us.  In Him, we can find rest.  

F&M Worship is a safe place to deal with our doubts, our insecurities, our fears.  Join us as we walk together with Jesus.  We invite you to come here and get hitched with Jesus. 

Finally - can't close out this topic without a word on what Jesus Didn’t Say.  He never said that we won’t have any burdens if we hitch to him. Pairing with Jesus doesn’t mean no problems in life.

It means our burdens will be lighter even though circumstances haven’t changed . . . yet. 

Pair with Jesus – take His yoke and get hitched up. 

Lighten the load you carry!