[Biblemat] B> Gospel Observer 12/31/06

[tedwards at onemain.com]

____________________________________________________

                 THE GOSPEL OBSERVER
____________________________________________________

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).
____________________________________________________

                  December 31, 2006
____________________________________________________

                 The Great Invitation
                  by W. Frank Walton

    What is the greatest invitation ever given? Hear the profound 
words of Jesus: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 shall find rest for your 
souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light" (Matt. 11:28-30, 
NASB).

    1. The Great Invitation Is Given To All, Without Distinction Or 
Exception. This invitation is universal and timeless in scope, 
available to anyone at anytime. To be "somebody" in Hollywood or a 
"bigwig" in politics, you must be at all the right parties and 
functions to be with all the right people. When Prince Charles and 
Lady Di recently visited Washington, D.C. and a social gala was 
given in their honor, the hot topic was, "Who will be invited?" The 
"have's" get an invitation; and the "have not's" don't. Haven't we 
all felt the sting of being left out when others were invited and 
we weren't? On the school yard, who wouldn't have felt a little 
insignificant if picked last when choosing up sides for a ball 
game?

    Jesus calls everyone who will respond, regardless of your name, 
your past, your accomplishments, where you live, how much money you 
have in the bank, where you work, what you look like, your 
education or the color of your skin. No one is insignificant! 
Everyone is important, whether great or small. To God, you are just 
as important as anyone who has ever lived. Jesus plays no favorites 
(Acts 10:34).

    2. The Great Invitation Centers Upon Christ. The combined 
philosophies of the greatest, most brilliant and powerful men who 
ever lived cannot answer life's greatest questions, "Who am I? 
Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is the purpose of 
life?" Only Jesus can say with authority, "Come to Me" and "learn 
of Me." He alone boldly proclaims to be the one and only answer in 
life's quest for meaning (Jn. 14:6). He is unique -- the Jesus of 
history, the Christ of salvation and the Lord of life. He will be 
the standard and Judge of human conduct on that final Day (Acts 
17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10). Apart from Him, there is no solution to the 
problem of sin.

    In coming to Jesus, it's much more than just intellectual 
agreement to a series of religious facts, but it ultimately focuses 
upon complete loyalty to His person (Jn. 14:15; 15:14). He is the 
center of this living relationship. Sin is a personal betrayal of 
our allegiance to Him. So, we must trust and obey Him in view of 
all that He is: Immanuel ("God with us"), the Lamb of God, the 
Prince of life, the Lord of glory, the Bread of Life, the Light of 
the world, the First and the Last, the Resurrection and the Life, 
and the King of kings and Lord of lords. What an exclusive and 
exhaustive relationship this is!

    3. The Great Invitation Solves Man's Greatest Problem. Jesus 
summons the "weary," those fatigued by exhausting struggles and 
toils. "Heavy-laden" conveys the idea of those overloaded with 
crushing burdens too heavy to bear alone. Such refers to the bitter 
fruit of sin.

    Sin is man's greatest problem. It's the only thing God hates. 
It's the only thing that can forever condemn one to hell. It's the 
only thing that caused Jesus to be crucified.

    It basically means "to miss the mark," which conveys falling 
short of God's glory (the potential good for which God created 
man). It's an addicting, cruel enslavement to Satan. We're held in 
"the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his 
will" (2 Tim. 2:26). Satan (Gr. satanas. "an adversary") seeks only 
our harm. He works to blind men to their true spiritual condition 
or to be inflated with pride over their "learning" or 
self-importance.

    For example, Jacque Monod, a Nobel prize winning molecular 
biologist and an evolutionist, echoes the "enlightened" elimination 
of man's eternal dimension. What's man's origin? He says, "Our 
number came up in a Monte Carlo game." What does this mean? "Man 
must at last...wake to his total solitude, his fundamental 
isolation. Now does he at least realize that, like a gypsy, he 
lives on the boundary of an alien world. A world that's deaf to his 
music, just as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his suffering 
or his crimes" (quoted in The Complete Works of Francis A. 
Schaeffer, 1:359). Such a world-view that man is an accident of 
blind chance which arose from the slime and not the sublime, taken 
to its logical end, leads only to despair. There's no standard to 
determine the ultimate meaning of life. Bertrand Russell, agnostic 
philosopher, said, "We stand on the shore of an ocean, crying to 
the night and the emptiness; sometimes a voice answers out of the 
darkness. But it is a voice of one drowning; and in a moment the 
silence returns."

    Some turn to the fleeting fun of sin. But since we're built for 
another world, worldly pursuits can't satisfy the spiritual needs 
of man. It's like trying to run a diesel car on gasoline. Sin's 
deceitfulness is seen in its emptiness and self-defeating futility, 
being devoid of enduring satisfaction. Ernest Hemingway killed 
himself at the height of his literary powers. He said, "I'm as 
empty as a radio tube with no current and the batteries dead." 
Ralph Barton, a cartoonist, wrote, "I have difficulties, many 
friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, and from 
house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I'm fed 
up with inventing devices to fill up 24 hours of the day." This was 
from his suicide note. Is life worth living?

    Only Jesus can make life worth living by His offer: "I will 
give you rest." In Him, we discover the gift of refreshing rest 
from worry, uncertainty, and despair. He frees us from the tyranny 
of sin. He gives peace of mind, enduring joy and a satisfying 
purpose.

    4. The Great Invitation Gives Man Direction. Jesus says, "Take 
My yoke upon you." A literal yoke was a wooden frame placed upon 
animals' necks to help evenly distribute the weight of pulling a 
heavy load or plowing. In Jesus' day, the rabbis commonly used it 
symbolically illustrating assumption of the Law's total 
obligations. Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the challenging 
discipline of learning to be a disciple. Yoking with Jesus is to 
learn of Him.

    We Put Christ on at baptism (Gal. 3:27). We "learn" (Gr. 
Mathete) to be a "disciple" (Or. mathaw) as we look to Jesus as the 
model of what we can become (2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 4:19; Lk. 6:40). 
This life is the classroom for eternity. His yoke joins us to Him 
in an obedient relationship of personal devotion (Acts 11:23). Do I 
ask myself, "What would Jesus do in this situation?" Learning is a 
permanent change of behavior. Do I really have "the mind of Christ" 
or am I only outwardly conforming to a religious maze of man-made 
traditions or handed-down procedures while being devoid of true, 
inner spiritual change?

    Seeing His glory in the Gospels, I see how He dealt with the 
weak, the slow, the hurting, the misguided, and the false teachers. 
I learn the practical side of compassion, courage, kindness, 
understanding, and a forgiving heart. I see Him face and overcome 
temptation. I gain bold confidence as I meditate upon His powerful 
example, trusting the Father in face of great obstacles and 
discouragement. "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to 
walk in the same manner as he walked" (1 Jn. 2:6). Am I His 
co-laborer?

                      Gentle and Humble

    We enjoy this daily walk with Him because He's "gentle and 
humble in heart." "Gentle" or "meek" (KJV) means "power under 
control." His yoke doesn't chafe, nor is it an oppressive burden. 
He's not unduly harsh, but understanding and patient with all men. 
Being "lowly" or "humble in heart," He's not abrasive, intolerant 
or unforgiving. Although He has high standards, He won't give up 
easily on us. He always cares (Heb. 2:18). His humility shows us 
how to be a servant that God will exalt. He served others and the 
Father above selfish considerations in meticulous obedience (Mk. 
10:45; Jn. 8:29).

                      A New Way of Life

    By learning of Him, He promises, "You shall find rest for your 
souls." His rest isn't inactivity or exemption from difficulties. 
It's rest from struggling to "get ahead in life," anxiety over the 
future, frustration in circumstances, and the miserable futility of 
sin's gnawing cravings. His rest eliminates bitterness, hate, 
grudges to "get even," envy, ego battles, irritability, and stress. 
His rest is peace, joy, hope and love manifested in a radiant 
Christ-like lifestyle. Nietzche, the atheist philosopher, critiqued 
"Christianity": "They would have to sing better songs to me that I 
might believe in their redeemer: his disciples would have to look 
more redeemed!" Are we glad we're Christians? Let's inform our face 
about it! The world is watching.

    His yoke is "easy" (good, comfortable, pleasant, kindly). It 
fits well. It was custom-made by our Creator for man's good. 
Corporations pay millions for insight from expert consultants. Yet 
God's infinite wisdom for the better life is free. God's purpose 
for men is in the yoke of Christ. Trusting obedience is delightful, 
since this is how we're designed to work best. It yields the 
greatest quality of life known to man (Jn. 10:9-10). His load isn't 
a harsh burden but "light." We gain the needed strength in 
following Him as we're "renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). "His 
commandments are not burdensome" (1 Jn. 5:3). We grow in the power 
to change ourselves and the world when we take up the yoke of 
Christ. He can make us all we're capable of becoming.

    Jesus is offering us a challenging invitation. Will you accept 
it?

    -- Via Guardian of Truth XXX: 20, pp. 611-612, 631, October 16, 
1986
____________________________________________________

          MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
                 1022 Myrtle Street
              Denham Springs, LA  70726
                   (225) 664-8208
         Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM
                 Wednesday: 7:00 PM
    evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
            e-mail: tedwards at onemain.com      
    web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
____________________________________________________



-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.16.6/617 - Release Date: 1/5/2007