Matt Beaney

Aug 31, 20214 min read

#427 - COME TO ME AND FIND REST - (31/8/21)

During this LEARNING TO HEAR series I’m taking a different approach to these devotionals. I want to us work harder at searching the scriptures for ourselves. We will use the ‘Come to Jesus Daily’ method below to help us with this. It’s well worth the hard work involved!

TODAY’S TEXT

‘“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

I’ve included my reflections on today’s text below. However, I encourage you to pray and spend time reflecting (writing can be helpful) using the 5 questions below before reading my thoughts.

i. †GOSPEL - 'Gaze on the cross'- What does this text reveal about salvation through Jesus?

ii. UP – What does this text say about God – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?

iii. IN – What does this say about me, the church and how we are to relate? Is there a promise to believe, command to do, attitude to have, something to avoid, is there forgiveness to seek or give?

iv. OUT – What does this say about my community and mission?

v. DO - This has two components. Firstly, list as many possible ways that you can think of that one might apply the text (actions or attitudes). Secondly, hear - Pray about how the Holy Spirit is leading you, specifically, to respond.

MY REFLECTIONS (BASED UPON A CONTRIBUTION IN OUR SUNDAY MEETING)

1. †GOSPEL

Often, we take this text as an invitation to Christians to come to Jesus and receive fresh blessings. Of course, this is true, but, principally, this is an invitation to those who don’t know Him yet. This is an invitation to the weary and burdened without God in their lives; Jesus is calling to those without the forgiveness of their sins; to those who are yoked to the world, to guilt, to false religion, to sin… All that is in these verses are yours if you’ve come to Jesus for salvation.

2. UP

God is concerned for our welfare. He is concerned for those who are burdened. He is ‘gentle and humble in heart’. He has immense stores of kindness and healing for anyone who will respond to His call.

3. IN

What are you expectations on coming to Jesus? How are you responding to this invitation to come to Jesus for the rest and relief of our souls? Are we coming to Him with greater devotion and expectation than we have in regard to other sources of relief?

Are we celebrating the rest and relief that we have in Christ? Celebration of the gospel is a key to entering into the rest and relief that we have but maybe are not currently experiencing.

Jesus is promising that you can come and meet with Him. He’s alive. He’s available. He’s present in the Spirit. Come to Him in faith of meeting and being refreshed again.

4. OUT

This invitation remains active. Jesus’ words are to ring in our ears and fill us with faith so as to make the invitation on Jesus’ behalf.

Let’s be active listeners to God and the people that we meet with each day. Let’s be ready to hear of people’s burdens and offer the relief that is only available in Christ.

5. DO? - Here are a few examples of application that I’ve come up with:

This is a rich text that will enrich anyone who will meditate and pray out of it. Take the phrases and thank God for what you have in Christ and pray as you feel led by the Spirit.

Do we come to Him with great expectation of the kinds of things promised in this text?

Let's be ready to offer this invitation to others on Jesus' behalf.

Is there a brother or sister in the church that you could remind of the promise in this text?

HEAR - Pray about how the Holy Spirit might want you to respond.

COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY

During this LEARNING TO HEAR series we are going to take a different approach to learning from the Bible together. We will use the ‘Come to Jesus Daily Method’ together (Gospel, Up, In, Out, Do) - you will have to do all the work!

1. Icebreaker - How has God spoken to you from the Bible this week? (During this LEARNING TO HEAR series, we are seeking to develop a culture of listening to God out of His word)

2. Select a text of scripture. (You could use the text from Sunday’s message or something of your choice.)

3. Read and recall. (Read the text and ask each person in the group to put it into their own words.)

4. Please go through these questions together:

i. †GOSPEL - 'Gaze on the cross'- What does this text reveal about salvation through Jesus?

ii. UP – What does this text say about God – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?

iii. IN – What does this say about me, the church and how we are to relate? Is there a promise to believe, command to do, attitude to have, something to avoid, is there forgiveness to seek or give?

iv. OUT – What does this say about my community and mission?

v. DO - This has two components. Firstly, list as many possible ways that you can think of that one might apply the text (actions or attitudes). Secondly, hear - Pray and share (if it’s appropriate) about how the Holy Spirit is leading you, specifically, to respond.

5. SIV - Finally, it would be helpful to talk and pray about how we are doing in regard to Serve, Invest and Invite. Do you have any encouraging stories or any plans in this regard? How do you want to pray in regard to our mission?

#427 - COME TO ME AND FIND REST - (31/8/21)

During this LEARNING TO HEAR series I’m taking a different approach to these devotionals. I want to us work harder at searching the scriptures for ourselves. We will use the ‘Come to Jesus Daily’ method below to help us with this. It’s well worth the hard work involved!

TODAY’S TEXT

I’ve included my reflections on today’s text below. However, I encourage you to pray and spend time reflecting (writing can be helpful) using the 5 questions below before reading my thoughts.

i. †GOSPEL - 'Gaze on the cross'- What does this text reveal about salvation through Jesus?

ii. UP – What does this text say about God – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?

iii. IN – What does this say about me, the church and how we are to relate? Is there a promise to believe, command to do, attitude to have, something to avoid, is there forgiveness to seek or give?

iv. OUT – What does this say about my community and mission?

v. DO - This has two components. Firstly, list as many possible ways that you can think of that one might apply the text (actions or attitudes). Secondly, hear - Pray about how the Holy Spirit is leading you, specifically, to respond.

MY REFLECTIONS (BASED UPON A CONTRIBUTION IN OUR SUNDAY MEETING)

1. †GOSPEL

2. UP

God is concerned for our welfare. He is concerned for those who are burdened. He is ‘gentle and humble in heart’. He has immense stores of kindness and healing for anyone who will respond to His call.

3. IN

What are you expectations on coming to Jesus? How are you responding to this invitation to come to Jesus for the rest and relief of our souls? Are we coming to Him with greater devotion and expectation than we have in regard to other sources of relief?

Are we celebrating the rest and relief that we have in Christ? Celebration of the gospel is a key to entering into the rest and relief that we have but maybe are not currently experiencing.

Jesus is promising that you can come and meet with Him. He’s alive. He’s available. He’s present in the Spirit. Come to Him in faith of meeting and being refreshed again.

4. OUT

This invitation remains active. Jesus’ words are to ring in our ears and fill us with faith so as to make the invitation on Jesus’ behalf.

Let’s be active listeners to God and the people that we meet with each day. Let’s be ready to hear of people’s burdens and offer the relief that is only available in Christ.

5. DO? - Here are a few examples of application that I’ve come up with:

This is a rich text that will enrich anyone who will meditate and pray out of it. Take the phrases and thank God for what you have in Christ and pray as you feel led by the Spirit.

Do we come to Him with great expectation of the kinds of things promised in this text?

Let's be ready to offer this invitation to others on Jesus' behalf.

Is there a brother or sister in the church that you could remind of the promise in this text?

HEAR - Pray about how the Holy Spirit might want you to respond.

COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY

During this LEARNING TO HEAR series we are going to take a different approach to learning from the Bible together. We will use the ‘Come to Jesus Daily Method’ together (Gospel, Up, In, Out, Do) - you will have to do all the work!

1. Icebreaker - How has God spoken to you from the Bible this week? (During this LEARNING TO HEAR series, we are seeking to develop a culture of listening to God out of His word)

2. Select a text of scripture. (You could use the text from Sunday’s message or something of your choice.)

3. Read and recall. (Read the text and ask each person in the group to put it into their own words.)

4. Please go through these questions together:

i. †GOSPEL - 'Gaze on the cross'- What does this text reveal about salvation through Jesus?

ii. UP – What does this text say about God – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?

iii. IN – What does this say about me, the church and how we are to relate? Is there a promise to believe, command to do, attitude to have, something to avoid, is there forgiveness to seek or give?

iv. OUT – What does this say about my community and mission?

v. DO - This has two components. Firstly, list as many possible ways that you can think of that one might apply the text (actions or attitudes). Secondly, hear - Pray and share (if it’s appropriate) about how the Holy Spirit is leading you, specifically, to respond.

5. SIV - Finally, it would be helpful to talk and pray about how we are doing in regard to Serve, Invest and Invite. Do you have any encouraging stories or any plans in this regard? How do you want to pray in regard to our mission?

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