Jump Start # 3474

Matthew 11:29 “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.”

Our verse today is commonly called the Lord’s invitation. His invitation is wrapped around two actions on our part. First, is the taking of the Lord’s yoke. The verse before this says, “Come unto Me…” That’s a call for us to move. We must move close to the Lord. So many want the Lord to come out to them. Forgiveness was extended to the prodigal, but he first, came home.

The other action call is for us to learn. The learning is specific. We learn from Jesus. And, what we are to learn is to be gentle and humble. We learn that as we see Jesus. Gentle and humble were His nature. And, we need to learn that. Many have been hurt by the cruel and insensitive things people, yes, even disciples, have said to others. It makes one wonder if some believe in Jesus, but they have never learned to be gentle and humble.

Consider the quality of the Lord’s humbleness. He was God on earth, yet He was humble. In a culture that is all about self, self-pity and being the victim, Jesus was humble.

You don’t see Jesus bragging. You don’t read about Him going into a village and saying, “You won’t believe what I did in the last place. It was amazing. You should have been there. There is nothing I cannot do. I’m the greatest.” His works pointed to who He was, but He allowed those miracles to speak for themselves.

It is the insecure and the proud who must always tell others what they have done. They are seeking praise and approval. Not knowing what the right hand and the left hand are doing, as Jesus said, is something that  doesn’t fit well in our times. Why do it, if you are not going to get a shout out from the pulpit or a pat on the back. You won’t find Jesus doing that.

You don’t see Jesus playing the victim. Oh, He could have and He would have done it well, but He didn’t. Imagine Jesus sighing heavily and saying, ‘I can’t believe I have to do all this for you guys. You don’t do anything for Me.’ Or, ‘Can you imagine that I have to go to the Cross. And for what reason? Not Me, but because of you. I’m doing all of this for you.’ And, with an attitude like that, the loads of guilt would have been more than the apostles could have handled.

Jesus was humble. It’s important for leaders to be humble. A true leader will share the victories and the praise with everyone and take the responsibilities and the blame for the failures. That’s a true leader. What we see many times is just the opposite. Those in charge want the credit for what is working and they look to throw someone under the bus for the failures.

Learning from Jesus. Learning to be gentle. Learning to be humble. Those things do not come automatically. They are not in our DNA. We must learn these things and we learn them from Jesus.

The humble leader will realize that he doesn’t have all the right ideas. He’ll listen to others. He’ll learn from others. One doesn’t have to have a title to bring forth a good idea. Humble leaders create an atmosphere where ideas are welcomed and wanted. And, when an idea is pursued, the humble leader, like a scholar footnoting a reference in a research paper, will give credit for where the idea came from.

The humble leader realizes that he will make mistakes. He wants to do his best but he realizes that he will sometimes fumble the ball. Seeing this in himself will help the leader as he works with others. We tend to expect perfection in everyone but ourselves. The humble servant recognizes his shortcomings. He learns. He tries to do better. When others criticize him for not being perfect, he takes it quietly. He knows.

Our culture pushes us away from gentleness and humbleness. Who is the best. Who is number one. That’s the talk of our culture. We must realize that we need each other and we learn from each other.

Come, learn from Jesus. It will make you a better you if you do.

Roger

Jump Start # 3371

Matthew 11:29 “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.”

Our passage today comes from the Lord’s wonderful invitation. He calls not the good, the best, as the old Marine recruitment ad boasted. Jesus calls the weary, the burdened, the tired. And, it’s not a physical tired from staying up too late. It’s a spiritual, emotional and mental burden that comes from guilt, shame and brokenness. The thrill of sin quickly passes. And, like a sudden Indiana tornado, what remains is the ruins that accompanies wrong choices and bad decisions. The mess takes a long time to clean up. And, without Jesus’ help, there is no forgiveness.

Within our verse today is the tiny expression, “Learn from Me.” Learn from the best. Learn from the One who was always right. Learn from the One who knows. And, how we learn is by opening the pages of the Bible and looking deeply into the stories about Jesus. His love. His compassion. His faithfulness to God’s word and His mission speak clearly and loudly.

Learn from Me. Last week, I was with a church about an hour and a half from where I live. I once preached in that community when I was in a training program, trying to understand this life called preaching. The folks at that congregation asked me to come up on a Saturday and conduct a workshop about shepherding God’s people. The elders wanted to learn. They wanted to do better. They knew I had studied that topic passionately and invited me to come. Several others were in the crowd. We spent a long time talking, sharing and understanding the Biblical concept of shepherds. And, I saw something remarkable in that workshop study.

First, there was an eagerness to learn. Nearly everyone was taking notes. They were asking questions. They were looking deeply into passages. And, what a refreshing and wonderful spirit they carried among them. They came to learn. They had the heart to learn. There were shepherds from other congregations that traveled to learn.

As elders or preachers, we must never stop learning, growing and doing better. A heart that is willing to look, listen and consider, is a heart that will continue to improve. I have run into the opposite spirit of this as well. I had one elder in another place boldly say, “I’ve been doing this 35 years. Do you think there is anything you can teach me?” I told him, “yes.” He walked away disgusted with me.

Second, there is an thought from leadership studies that says the followers never exceed the leaders. If the leaders quit growing, there comes a time when everyone else stops growing. Stagnation takes over when that happens and the church will just drift. Growing shepherds is a healthy sign. As they improve, learn and get better, so will the congregation.

Third, there are times that we are so busy with life that we don’t have the opportunities to spend a day looking deeply into things that will help us. Learning to communicate better. Learning how to recognize hurting hearts. Learning how to connect better. Those would be great and powerful studies to have among the shepherds in a congregation. Have their own studies. Have their own times to talk things through and learn.

To learn, one must open his heart. To learn, one must want to learn. Most of us have been in school classes that we didn’t want to be in. The topic was required in order to graduate or get a degree. Learning was hard because our hearts weren’t in to it. We counted the time when the class would be over. We learned little.

But what a difference it is when one wants to learn. As a disciple, we must always be growing. We must always be looking into God’s word. We will never reach the bottom of the depth of things we may learn.

Learn from Me, Jesus said. Oh, the things we have learned, and the things we can still learn.

Roger

Jump Start # 3197

Matthew 11:29 “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.”

Our verse today is often called the Lord’s great invitation. It begins, in the preceding verse, by asking, or inviting ALL who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him. Jesus has something that the weary need. Jesus can provide what the weary are looking for.

We often look at this passage for what we receive from the Lord. We look at it from the upside of following Jesus. But in here, the Lord paints a picture of Himself. He is gentle. He is humble. This is how He describes Himself.

I was dabbing into some old histories the other day and in the late 1800’s a controversy arose when preachers started referring to themselves as Reverends. This became a very touchy point, some in favor of it, and many who were not. And, as the lines of division took place between conservative thinking and progressive thinking, the use of Reverend became common among the progressives. And, one of the arguments used to stop that tide of progressiveness, was our verse today. Our Lord was humble. He claimed it. He showed it. He was an example of it.

Some thoughts for us:

First, human nature wants to be recognized and appreciated. Little kids will show off to get attention. Big kids, us, will brag to get that attention. And, this comes in many forms. Sometimes, it’s name dropping. Sometimes it showing off what we have. Sometimes it’s tooting our own horn. All of this comes down to “notice me” and “compliment me.”

This is something that we have to fight against. The corporate world and our culture is all about self. Years ago there was a newsstand magazine called, “Me.” And, that rather tells you where our culture has turned. Being humble is not just something that happens in the church building. It is to be a manner of life for us. The humble heart understands that God knows. He doesn’t have to tell others. He doesn’t have to strive to be the best. He only has to be his best.

We preachers can have ego issues. It can get to us. When a visiting preacher comes, people think he’s the best. That can hurt the feelings of the local preacher. But, when we preachers get to go to other places, we can sure get our egos inflated. The reason why most church buildings have double doors is not for the crowd. It’s to get the preacher’s head through it. After a Sunday sermon, and he hears all the wonderful comments, he begins to believe he can walk on water. Be careful. That head, like an overfilled balloon, will pop if not careful. Just do your job the best you can.

The Corinthians were sure beating up on Paul. They didn’t think much of his appearance, his preaching or much about him. I think if I heard that, I’d go home and put the covers over my head. Not Paul. He kept going doing the best that he could. Paul didn’t need the praise of others to know that he was doing right.

Second, humbleness is a chosen attitude that is based upon confidently knowing that you are walking with the Lord. It doesn’t matter what others think. What matters is what Jesus thinks. The humble person realizes that there are always others that can do things better than he can, but he’ll jump in and do what he can. The humble person understands his limitations. He doesn’t try to be everything. He knows he can’t. He realizes there are things that he simply does not know how to do. He’s not afraid to ask for help. He knows that he needs others.

In my life, I have known several very wealthy and successful businessmen. I’ve known many who had PhDs. Some of them told you about it. Some liked to brag. Others, were so humble you would never know. It took getting to know them to know their story. And, the reason is, most humble people don’t talk about themselves. They’d rather hear your story. They’d rather listen than talk. A person can be successful and humble. A person can have multiple college degrees and be humble. It’s a choice. It’s an attitude.

Third, we learn how to be humble when we look to Jesus. Come learn from Me, is what He invites us to. Jesus was God on earth. Immanuel, God among us, is what He was called. Yet, He didn’t use that position to cater to His needs. He served. He helped. He pointed people to His Father. You don’t find Peter running to get some ice tea for Jesus. But you do read of Jesus feeding the multitudes. You don’t find Jesus telling the disciples to get Him a blanket so He would be comfortable. But you do find Jesus calming the storm and then calming scared hearts of the disciples. When hungry, Jesus didn’t use a miracle to feed Himself. When hurting, He didn’t stop the pain. When bleeding, He didn’t close up the wounds. He didn’t make the nails painless. He didn’t make His death quick. The humble Jesus was about others.

And, when we learn this, we start dropping expressions like, “I don’t feel like…,” or, “I want…”. Those words didn’t come from the lips of humble Jesus. But how often do they fall from our lips? I want a church that offers what I want. I want something for my kids. I want services to last only so long. I want to sing songs that I like. I want. I want. I want. And, much too often, when that person doesn’t get what they want, off they go, looking for another place that will serve them.

I was watching on TV these firemen that had gone into a very unsafe structure. They were wearing special protective gear. When they came out, they were hosed down to get all the bad stuff off of them. That’s what we must do mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Our culture is demanding. Our culture is stuck on self. So, we must spray ourselves and get all that bad stuff out of us. Unless we do that, it will hurt our marriages and families. It will ruin congregations. And, in the end, we become like the world around us.

This world is not my home…let’s not forget that. The humble Jesus asks, “come, learn from Me.” Oh, there is so much that we can learn from Jesus. He will help you, change you, and open your eyes to a wonderful world of being a humble servant.

Roger

Jump Start # 2047

Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in hear; and you shall find rest for your souls.”

Come, learn from Me. What a welcoming and inviting invitation from Jesus. There are some great lessons that we can pull from that very statement.

First, God wants us to know Him. He is not standoffish. He is not distant from us. He is not seeking privacy and shelter. There are some people, especially high profile ones, that you never can get close to. They don’t want you to get close to them. They are very secretive and very private about their lives. Jesus is not like that. For three years the Holy Spirit reveals the conversations, the interruptions, the travels and the life of Jesus’ ministry. We see Jesus before massive crowds. We see Jesus alone with people like Nicodemus, the woman at the well. We see Jesus with people who are at their worst moments. A frantic father, whose daughter is dying. He pleads with Jesus to come. We see Martha, upset and bothered because she is left to serve alone. We see the curious Zacchaeus up in a tree. We see the twisted Pharisees, plotting a trap to expose Jesus. And, we see Jesus in all of these situations.

Second, this generation can learn so much more about Jesus. At our finger tips are multiple translations of the Bible that in times past had to be purchased and many were not available. Most of these are free on Bible apps. And, that is another amazing way to learn from Jesus. We always have our phones with us. We never go anywhere without our phones. And right there, with us everywhere can be the word of God. Don’t know where to start? There are dozens of Bible reading schedules on apps. We are never without the Bible. I sat with Jeremy Dehut of Appian Media yesterday. He and Barry Britnell, along with a crew of Christians have filmed a 10 episode series called, “Following the Messiah.” The DVD’s are inexpensive and many of the episodes are on Youtube. What they have done is gone to Israel and professionally and Biblically brought the story of Jesus and the background together. Most will never get the chance to travel to Israel. Some have seen still pictures, but here in brilliant color, sitting in our living rooms, we can see what the Jordan River, the sea of Galilee not only looked like, but here preachers explaining things from the text that we would never know. This was not possible, nor affordable in earlier generations. It brings accuracy to the text and it brings it alive in our hearts.

Learn from Me. We have so much information today. It is amazing what we can know and learn.

Third, what we learn from Jesus is not trivial facts, fun facts, things to ask in game, but rather, the qualities of character. We see Jesus the servant. We see Jesus the faithful and dedicated follower of God’s will. We see the pure Jesus. We see the honest Jesus. We see the compassionate Jesus. Traits of a heart that is selfless and kind. Characteristics of a heat that is focused, dedicated and determined. This is what we learn from Jesus. The praying Jesus. The Jesus that always referred to the word of God. The Jesus that came to do the will of His Father. What the Gospels do not show is what did Jesus wear on this day or that day. Nor, what did Jesus eat on this day or that day. Those are the kinds of things that many would want to know, but that doesn’t show the heart and the will of Jesus. Learn from Me, is not about eating what Jesus ate. It’s about becoming like Jesus. It’s about thinking like Jesus. It’s about making righteous choices as Jesus did.

In learning from Jesus, we see that people disappoint and people let you down. In learning from Jesus, we see that Satan is always nearby, trying to trip us. In learning from Jesus, we see that showing people that you care is important. In learning from Jesus we understand that people are not in the same place spiritually. Jesus, by talking with them, understood where they were and He knew then where to begin with people. A Nicodemus, who was a teacher of the law, was not in the same place as the Samaritan woman, who didn’t fully understand worship. We learn how to connect to people when we watch Jesus.

Fourth, learning from Jesus, changes us. This is the central point of that thought. We really haven’t learned Jesus, when we are demanding, selfish, being a bully, and always upset and arguing with others. You may have learned that, but not from Jesus. Being too good to help others, is not something you picked up from Jesus. Spending time in the Gospels ought to more than smooth off our rough edges. It ought to rewire our house. It should change the way we think. It should open our eyes and allow us to see things as God sees them. When Peter and John were arrested, it was obvious that they had been with Jesus. The Lord had rubbed off on them. Worship, prayer, Bible study, fellowshipping with spiritual giants, ought to do the same for us. We are not the same any more. We’ve been to Jesus. It shows. It shows in our attitude. It shows in our words. It shows in what’s important to us. It shows in our trust of the Lord. It shows in how we worry less, complain less and are bothered less. It shows in the depth of our conversation. It shows in our obsession with the eternal. We have learned from Jesus. We have become like Him.

There are a lot of things we learn throughout our lives. That little baby comes into the world and it cannot speak. It doesn’t even know it’s name. By the time one graduates from college, there have been so many things learned. Some useful. Others, not so much. Many of the things we have learned will stay with us for a long, long time. Many lessons didn’t come from the classroom but from family and friends. We learn at an early age to be honest, or to stretch things and lie. Habits, often carried throughout our lives, are formed when we are young. Most smokers didn’t start when they were 50. By then, they are trying to quit. By then, they are dying from lung disease. No, most started very young. The same with drinking alcohol. The same with lying. The same with addiction to porn. Others, have learned from a young age, to worship God every week. Some have learned the value of praying to God every day. Some have learned to mold their thoughts, character and habits after the Lord. Some, from a very early age, have learned to share and be a servant.

There are lessons all of our lives. We are always learning. I heard a professor from George Mason University, an economist, make the claim that all the materials necessary to make a cell phone were available in George Washington’s day. I wasn’t sure about that. Chips? Plastics? His point was, technology and human ingenuity has taken the materials already on the planet to develop what is in our cell phones today. Man’s ability to know these things wasn’t developed in Washington’s time, but, the material was all there. Man learned.

The greatest lesson we can ever learn is about Jesus. Come, learn from Me. Our times would be much better, if we opened up the Bible and learned from the best. We become our best, when we learn from the best.

Roger