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Caraballe OCTOBER 17, 2023

Instructor: Dr. Rafael Carado

HOMILETICS 1
Textual Sermon Script/Word for Word

TITLE: CHREST
AUDIENCE: Congregation (All age)
KEY TEXT: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
(Mat 11:28 KJV)

PROPOSITION: How to enjoy resting in Christ?

INTRODUCTION:

A pleasant morning to everyone. As we commemorate God’s word today, I invited

everyone to pray with me. How grateful I am to be with you today as we further study
God’s word. As you listen to this message, some of us right now are undoubtedly
feeling exhausted. After working or studying nonstop for six days, you might nearly
feel exhausted or burdened.

Today, wherever you are, I just want you to relax and listen to his words.

If you have the Bible with you, my friend, open it. In Matthew 11:28, I will read it in
the King James Version, where it says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mat 11:28 KJV).

To further study our key text today, I just want you to go through a little background
on the work of hours of labor on the Old and New Testaments.

According to the commentary by Adam Clarke in his book, Clarke's Commentary on

the Bible, he says, "The working day, among the Jews, was from sunrise to sunset; and
as the year was divided into twelve equal parts, called hours, each of which contained
sixty minutes, consequently, the hour must have been of different lengths in different
seasons of the year. At the equinoxes, the hours of the day and night were each of
twelve hours; at other times, each of them was somewhat more or less."

Take note, my friend. Laborers in the old and New Testament times worked longer
hours than they do now. Just imagine your situation today or what people did in their
time. How can they find rest in their time with so much work?

Indeed, a lot of events we had in the past years were invitations to come, but today,
join me as one person invited us to be part of his big event in our lives.

Our message today will be focused on what we read a while ago, found in Matthew
11:28. This verse will guide us into a peek of the mountain where we can see who’s
invited us and what the invitation is for.
 Today, I will give three points based on the Matthew 11:28

FIRST MAIN POINT

Know who is calling.

1. Who exactly invites? It's Him, Jesus Christ, and for whom is the invitation? It's for us,
for His people.
2. This verse talks about how we must do something; we must come to Jesus. God invited
us; who have we declined? Accept wholeheartedly the invitation.
3. We responded to his invitation.

The first point is “come to me”. Clearly, we can say that this phrase is an invitation. But who
exactly invites Matthew 11:28?

First subpoint: who’s exactly invited to this verse? It’s Him, our only savior, Jesus Christ.
Indeed, that Jesus Christ phrase “come to me” in this verse reminds us how
compassionate He is, and by just inviting us to him, it feels comforting in our lives. His words
convey a sense of empathy and understanding towards those who are struggling in life. His
words here, my friend, are very gentle and caring, as he reaches out to provide solace in our
souls.

Second subpoint, my friend, the phrase “come to me” talks about how we must do
something "conditional.”
We must what? Yes, we must answer his invitation. What is our answer to his
invitation to us? It’s a yes. Basically, our God, Jesus Christ, invited us from the start of our
lives to be with Him. As I said earlier, Jesus Christ extends his hand towards us to offer
comfort, to provide peace, and to provide relief in our lives.

The last subpoint for my first point, my friend, is: if God invites us towards him, how can
we respond to him? Is it in the simple word “yes, I’ll come?”. Before we go to the
second point, here is the step: how can we respond to Him?

1. Acknowledge our weariness and burdens.

Right now, think about what the weariness and burdens in your heart are, as in the song
"Take the world but give me Jesus."
2. Seek Jesus as the source of rest and salvation.
to continue the song when we seek him: “All its joy is but a name, but his love abideth ever.”
3. Surrender our burdens and trust in His care.
We can respond to him not just by acknowledging our own sins and burdens, but we can
clearly respond by simply surrendering our life to him. By surrendering our life to him, it’s
also surrendering our burdens. Surrendering does not mean your lost but surrendering is to
trust.

In the end, the phrase “come to me” of Jesus Christ, assuring us that the person who
exactly invited us is a friend, is a redeemer and a comforter of our lives. It is a calling
that our belief or being a Christian is founded on having a relationship with Jesus
Christ.
SECOND MAIN POINT

Take heed to the invitation.

1. All (the Greek word pas) means "every kind of."
2. Labor (Greek word kopio), derivative of kapos, means to feel fatigue (to work hard).
3. Heavy Laden (Greek work phortizo), it's from the word phortos; figuratively, it means
spiritual anxiety.

The second point that I want to emphasize this morning is: if God invites us, what kind of
character are the people invited? These people are “all of you that labor and are heavy-
laden.”

first subpoint for the second point, the word "all." In Greek, pas means “every kind of.”
All point out the universal significance of this offer. In Christ, God reaches out to the
whole world. Wherein his invitation is not just to a specific nation, tribe, or person, but to all
mankind. On his time, we can read in his ministry in the Bible that during Jesus Christ's
ministry for more than three years, he didn’t choose who he would minister with, but for
Jesus, the phrase “come to me” is for everybody, my friend.

Second subpoint: for the second point, the word “labor” in Greek is kopio, wherein its
derivative of kapos means to feel fatigue because of working hard.
Just imagine what kind of life it was like in Jesus’ time, where the slaves or workers
worked on their own time, as what my introduction tells about the working hours of Jews is
that their work was from sunrise to sunset. This is not just about working; it also
undoubtedly describes man’s fruitless efforts to deal with sin, its guilt, and personal
misery, whether by some form of religious legalism or by whatever method or human
strategy he seeks to deal with his emptiness and frustrations. (J. Hampton Keathley, III)

The third point for this second subpoint, the word “heavy-laden” in Greek, is from
phartos, where figuratively it talks about spiritual anxiety.
The term heavy-laden encompasses the human condition of being overwhelmed by
the consequences of sin, the demands of the law, and the brokenness of the world. It reflects
the weariness and exhaustion that result from trying to carry the weight of these burdens on
our shoulders.

Thus, Jesus Christ's invitation to the verse of our key text, Matthew 11:28, is seen as an
expression of His love and grace, offering a way to find peace through a relationship with
him.

Like in the Bible, there’s a woman who has been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve
years. Just imagine how much suffering she had for many years. Nevertheless, we all
know that through her faith, she healed. This woman knows from the start that Jesus
Christ can heal him from his sufferings. If we apply it to our lives right now, it really
hits us: will we come to Jesus if we suffer a lot? Nope, but as we experience happiness
and sadness, let us come to Jesus. May suffering be there, but when Jesus Christ is in
our lives, suffering will be erased.
THIRD POINT

Claim the guarantee of a rest.

1. Transformative effects of finding rest in Jesus
2. Cultivate rest in our daily lives.

The third point is about Jesus’ assurance of a rest. Wherein the "rest" that God will give to us
is not what the world has to offer; only He can offer unique rest in our lives. It is not a rest in
which He will take your life, but one in which He will renew it. Give you the energy you
need to contribute more to your work and ministry.

1ST subpoint: How cultivate the “rest” in our daily lives?

1. Prioritizing time with God in prayer and meditation

2. seeking healthy boundaries and managing stress.
3. setting support from fellow believers and finding community

Where do we go to simply get some rest when we are burdened? To Jesus

2ND subpoint for the third point is: what kind of transformative effects do we experience if
we experience rest in Jesus Christ?

1. He renewed strength and energy through His presence.

2. Freedom from the weight of guilt and shame
3. Peace and contentment amid life’s challenges.

Ellen G. White says this in the Review and Herald, April 25, 1899. “It is God who works in
you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. That good pleasure is to see you abiding in
Christ, resting in His love. Let not anything rob your soul of peace, of restfulness, or of the
assurance that you are accepted just now.”

Jesus Christ will give assured rest to those weary souls, that by lively faith come to
him for it; rest from the terrors of sin, in a well-grounded piece of conscience; rest
from the power of sin, in a regular order of the sou, and its due government of itself.
Thus, a rest in God and a complacency of soul

This is the rest that remains for the people of God; it started in grace and was perfected by the
glory of Jesus Christ
CONCLUSION

To conclude, the three main points in Matthew 11:28

 First, Jesus compassionate calling to us the lost soul here in earth, he called us to be
with him.
 Second, Jesus’ invitation is for all of you who labor and are heavy-laden where right
now we must come to him.
 The third and last one is Jesus’ assurance of a rest. Thus, the guarantee of rest

Right now, if we feel like our lives are burdened, if we feel alone, if we can't find somebody
to feel at ease with, or if we feel heavy-laden physically and spiritually, Jesus Christ calls us
to come to Him. Come unto me, says Jesus Christ. Your current state of exhaustion can be
transformed into enjoyment. Finally, as I titled my sermon “CHREST”, CH stands for Christ,
and REST stands for what Jesus Christ can give us if we come to Him.

(End with a prayer.)