The Burden That Is Holding You Back |01.26.25| Your Best Yes pt.4

This last week I was talking to someone who is wintering down south, and it got me thinking about the last time Megan and I went on a trip where we had to pack bags.

Because I’m convinced that there are two types of people when it comes to packing bags: the one who fits everything they need into a single carry-on…

…and the one who is trying to bring a little bit of everything they own. You know, “just in case…”

And I’m aware that there are many good reasons to pack large bags, and now that Megan and I have three little kids, we’re usually packing MULTIPLE bags, but you can’t deny that the “just in case” packers have a harder time travelling, because their bag is just…heavier.

And even though they are struggling a little more to get to where they want to go because of the huge heavy burden they’re lugging around, they keep holding on to it because, “What if…”

What if I need this stuff? What if I can’t replace it? What if the world shuts down and then I become the main supplier of extra toothpaste for the survivors?

And if there were no problems or issues that you run into when you’re travelling, a big bag wouldn’t be a problem, right? But, of course, there are ALWAYS issues or problems that you run into.

And so the size of the bag becomes a problem when you run into a crowd, or a set of stairs, or you get to the luggage check counter and realize that your bag is too heavy. And now you have to figure out how to lighten the load.

Do I move my extra underwear to my backpack or my wife’s purse? Do I fully throw away some of this stuff?

And before we know it, the things we’re clinging to are crushing the joy right out of the trip.

And this is true of us even when we’re not travelling, because all of us cling to heavy burdens in life. We all have heavy baggage we carry around with us, “just in case,” whether it’s out of fear or just familiarity, because that’s what we’re used to carrying.

But as we’ll see today, when we clutch too tightly to what we’ve always held on to, sometimes we miss the opportunity to exchange them for something better.

[2 Scripture Reference]

And in today’s Jesus story, we’ll see that Jesus is trying to get us to accept what he’s offering, but sometimes that involves putting down what we’re carrying already. So let’s open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 11, which can be found on p8 of the NT in the black, seat-back Bibles.

And as you’re finding that, this passage picks up with Jesus after he’s already gained quite a following with his teachings and miracles. He’s been travelling around and helping lots of people, but there are many more to still help, and so he has commissioned his twelve disciples to go out ahead of him into the surrounding towns to proclaim his message and prepare the people for him to get there and minister to them.

And he tells them to pack light for the journey, so that they won’t be weighed down and so that they will learn to rely on him for what they need. And then they make it back to their base of operations in Capernaum and Jesus is teaching his disciples about how to keep their eyes on him, no matter what crazy stuff might come up in their life, and then they get some guests from Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. Let’s read:

[Matthew 11:2-6, 20-24, 28-30]

[3 Matt 11:2-3]

You might remember that John is Jesus’ cousin, and had a very important mission from God to prepare the way for God’s savior to arrive, the Messiah. And then John got linked up with Jesus, baptized him in the Jordan river, and saw heaven open up and God’s blessing land on Jesus. This is clearly the guy!

Well, time has passed, and John has been thrown in prison, and he’s been keeping a close eye on Jesus, and maybe he’s a little confused. Because, he hasn’t heard that Jesus has marched into Jerusalem and taken over yet. He hasn’t heard that Jesus has set up a renewed religious system to make sure everyone is obeying the temple rules better.

Had he gotten it wrong? Is Jesus really the one they’ve been waiting for? So he sends some of his followers to go ask.

[4 Matt 11:4-5]

And Jesus answers, not with a direct yes or no, but by telling them to go back and report what they’ve seen and heard. Jesus wants to show that he’s more than just talk. He’s more than just plans and goals.

Jesus is all about action, and the effects of his actions are clear:

The blind see. The lame walk. Those with contagious skin diseases like leprosy are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised!

It’s a complete REVERSAL of pain and misery and hurt. And he finishes by saying that “good news” is being proclaimed to the poor. As in, this isn’t just for a select few. It’s not just for a certain type of person with ailments. Jesus isn’t a healer for hire who only helps upper class people or those who can afford to pay for it.

Jesus is bringing good news and healing and restoration to EVERYONE. Poor, rich, proud, humble, educated, ignorant and everything in between.

And as they go back to report to John, he asks those listening what they think of John and his ministry because he’s about to make a point. And so he asks them if they went out to see John just because they had heard it was a good show, or because they were looking for something real that might bring real change for their lives.

[5 Matt 11:20]

Then we skip down and Jesus starts to call out the cities that he had been working in where people had been attracted to the “show”, but hadn’t made any change in their lives.

They saw the incredible signs and works of the power of God, and they didn’t repent, they didn’t turn from their way of life to follow Jesus’ way of life. They experienced the grace and compassion and healing POWER of Jesus…and they CHOSE not to be changed.

And we’ve seen how unchanged hearts have been described in other parts of the Bible as hearts of stone, hard hearts, stubborn hearts. Maybe even now you’re thinking of someone you know that has experienced some incredible grace from God, but they’ve remained unchanged.

Maybe you’re even thinking of something YOU’VE experienced, but you just kept going with your normal way of life. Couldn’t be bothered to make a change.

Well, Jesus has a warning for these type of people:

[6 Matt 11:21]

He starts calling out the cities that he had been preaching and healing in: Chorazin, Bethsaida, even his home-base of Capernaum.

And he’s comparing them with other towns, Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, that were notoriously known as “bad” towns. We know the types of towns. The types that our family tells us, “Oh, don’t go there, it’s dangerous!” “I don’t visit there because of all the crime.”

Well, Jesus is saying to the towns that he’s been working in, “If I had spent time in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom, and given the teachings I gave to you, and performed the healings and helped people just like I did with you…THEY would have immediately realized that God was at work and they had better change something about their life.”

They would have repented. They would have accepted. They would have said “yes” to God.

But that’s not how these other towns responded. And so Jesus gives an alarming warning for them: judgment is real.

[7 blank]

And if we use the story of Sodom’s judgment to teach us something, it’s that judgment relegates you to only be remembered as a warning.

You might know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, and a quick note on that, they didn’t receive God’s judgment because of the crazy antics in the story about abuse and violent sexuality.

No, they received God’s judgment because there were no people left in the city that loved and feared God.

And when Jesus is speaking, the name Sodom is only remembered as a warning. The city had been destroyed hundreds and hundreds of years earlier. But it wasn’t remembered for anything good. It was only remembered as a warning of what happens when there is no one who loves God to help their community turn back to God’s ways.

You want to know what happens when there is no one left to help the community turn back to God? It’s lost to time, and only brought up in conversation as a warning.

Jesus is making it pretty clear: judgment is real. And choosing to say “no” to God is choosing death, judgment. It’s choosing to be forgotten, or only remembered as a warning.

Many of us have family members that are only remembered as a warning: “Don’t waste your life like so-and-so.” “Don’t be like Uncle you-know-who, who lost everything and his family along with it…”

Jesus is saying that when we experience God, when we see him moving in the life of someone, when we hear his wisdom…and then say “no” to him…then ignore the wisdom and DON’T change the direction of our life…

Then we’re choosing a lesser life, an aimless life. We’re choosing a life of carrying around heavy burdens that hold us back from the freedom and hope and purpose that God is calling us to.

Before Megan and I started dating, I had dated a couple different girls. And I had just been broken up with, and I jumped too quickly into the next relationship.

And I KNEW it wasn’t good. This girl was taking all my time, all my attention. My friendships were suffering, my studies were suffering, and we were going back and forth between being hot and cold with each other, so even when I wasn’t with her, my stress and anxiety was fixated on the relationship.

I knew it wasn’t working, but I didn’t have the courage to do anything about it, because I was too scared to make a change.

And I’m sure you’ve experienced something like that too. Maybe it was a relationship, or maybe it was a toxic friendship. This person was holding you back, keeping you engaged in vices or habits that you KNEW weren’t good for you, but you stuck with it because it was familiar.

Or you stuck in a job longer than you should have, because it was familiar. You wanted change, but the fear of the “what if” kept you trapped.

And that’s why Jesus ends with this incredible invitation:

[8 Matt 11:28]

“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” I will give you relief. I will give you a resting place where all the activity and the go go go and the heavy burdens of stress and expectation and aimlessness can be put down.

[9 What you’re clinging…]

Because Jesus knows that what you’re clinging to might be crushing you.

Because Jesus knows that one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is to burden us and distract us with things that keep us from God. Because then you’ll be too tired, then you’ll be ineffective as an apprentice of Jesus.

If the enemy can keep you weighed down with heavy burdens, he can keep you impatient and isolated. He can keep you in a state that is the OPPOSITE of what you were created for.

And we KNOW it! Some of the burdens or distractions that plague us are ones that we KNOW aren’t the best for us.

We know that unhealthy habits with our eating or alcohol consumption probably aren’t the best for us. We know that unhealthy media consumption probably isn’t the best for us.

We know that porn isn’t drawing us closer to Jesus. We know that certain friends in our lives aren’t helping us follow Jesus. We know that the vices we have with those friends, or the gossip that we engage in aren’t helping us follow Jesus better.

And Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you REST.” He isn’t just pointing out our burdens, he’s offering a way out.

[10 Matt 11:29-30]

He’s inviting us to EXCHANGE what we’re carrying for what HE wants us to carry. And this image of a yoke is from the world of ancient agriculture. Before combines and mechanical farming equipment, you would plow a field with the help of a strong animal, like a horse or an ox.

And even better when you could have more than one animal, but to keep them pulling in a straight line together, you’d use a wooden yoke to harness them together.

And a trick that farmers would use would be to yoke together an older, experienced ox with a younger, stronger ox. Because if you let the younger ox do it by themselves, they would pull super hard and tire themselves out in just a few hours, leaving the job unfinished.

But when you yoked the younger ox to the older ox, the younger one couldn’t pull the older one faster, so they would eventually learn the slower, more sustainable pace of the older, experienced ox. And that yoke would feel much easier, the burden would be much lighter because of learning the PACE of the one you were yoked to.

And Jesus is saying, WHY are you carrying all that by yourself? Number 1, half of that isn’t something I told you to carry, and number 2, it’s too heavy to carry by yourself anyways.

Come learn from me. Exchange what you’re carrying and only take on what I’m inviting you to carry with me. That will lead to rest. That will lead to life.

[11 blank]

Because some of what we’re clinging to is crushing us. And some of the burdens we’re carrying are things that we don’t even realize we’re carrying.

How many of us are carrying the pressure to prove ourselves? We’re striving for validation, we’re striving for recognition because that’s what we think we need to feel worth.

Who do you know is carrying unforgiveness or resentment? You’re carrying around past hurts and wounds “just in case…”

Who is carrying the need to control, where you’re trying to manage outcomes, or manage people, or manage the future? Or carrying perfectionism, leaving no room for grace for yourself or others?

Some of us are carrying the fear of failure, which leaves us paralyzed because we don’t want to make a mistake and not measure up. Or we’re carrying around people-pleasing, trying to earn the approval of others instead of learning how to please God with our lives.

Jesus is saying, put DOWN that burden, and connect yourself to my way of life. I will give you rest. I will give you healing. I will give you LIFE.

But sometimes we clutch things that crush us.

Some of us are carrying around materialism or financial security, because we think that STUFF is the source of safety or happiness.

Some of us are carrying around the burden of hustle or busyness. We’ve got an overloaded schedule, because we believe that our worth is tied to our productivity.

Wow, that one feels very real to me, and I’ve got to tell you that you have some amazing elders who serve on leadership here at New Life, because even in the last few weeks, they have blessed ME with their discernment and wisdom and care. Telling me when I’m carrying too much. Helping me know that I’m not supposed to burn myself out.

They were being the voice of Jesus to me, saying, “Take Jesus’ yoke and learn from him, for he is gentle and humble in heart. He wants to give REST for your soul.”

Because I had been carrying the burden of unrealistic expectations, trying to BE everything for everyone.

Maybe you realize you’re carrying some of these. Maybe you’re carrying the most common one of all: guilt and shame, because you’re refusing to LET GO of sins and habits that God has already forgiven, hurts that he is trying to heal you of.

What you’re clinging to might be crushing you.

And when Jesus shows that to us, when we hear God speak to us through his Word, through our brothers and sisters in the church family, we have a choice. We can choose to listen, to accept, to say YES to God, put down our burdens at his feet, and trust him to give back only what we’re supposed to carry.

Or, we can hold on to what we’re used to. We can keep moving forward with our life. We can keep carrying all this stuff…just in case. And if we do that, we’re saying NO to God’s invitation. We’re saying NO to God’s freedom.

We’re saying NO to a life of purpose and light, and instead choosing a life of aimlessness and heaviness.

But Jesus wants more for us. Jesus’ invitation isn’t about earning his love or proving yourself. He says, “Come as you are, bring the mess, and let me give you rest.”

[12 Message]

I love the way the Message translation puts it: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Keep company with me, and I’ll teach you how to LIVE: freely and lightly.

That’s one of the reasons we’ve been engaging in this season of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, because the idea of fasting – saying NO to something that is a distraction or a burden – is a tangible way to make space to say YES to God’s way of life.

And I’ve been really encouraged to hear from a few of the people who have responded to my messages these last two weeks. Some people have given up sugar, one person has given up checking the stock market first thing in the morning, others have given up facebook and social media.

And in their place, they’ve made room for God to speak. For God to reveal areas in their life he wants them to address, or press in closer to him.

One person said they reflected on the idea of what is the “purpose” of their life three different times in three different places over the course of a day or two. God was speaking to them.

[13 Reflection Questions]

And he’s speaking to us today, too. He’s trying to show you something that you’ve been carrying that he’s inviting you to lay down. What is something that is holding you back from God’s presence? What is something that is burdening you and making it difficult to follow Jesus in your day to day?

Maybe something just popped into your head, or maybe something has been beating down on your heart this whole time, but the invitation is to take it, whether it’s a fear, a habit, or a distraction, and lay it down at Jesus’ feet today so that you can say “yes” to rest, renewal, and purpose.

Jesus gives us both a warning and an invitation through our scripture today. Rejecting him leads to exhaustion and spiritual death. Saying YES to him leads to peace, purpose, and rest.

The choice is ours, and it’s a choice he gives us each and every day. Because the enemy will keep trying to burden us, but God will never give up on inviting us to connect with him, let go of the burdens we shouldn’t be carrying, and saying YES to the full, abundant, true LIFE he offers. Isn’t that good news?