"Take My Yoke Upon You"

Matthew 11:29

This is something we must do. We must bow to and slip upon ourselves the yoke of Christ our Lord and Master. This is not something that is done once and forgotten. We must, day by day, put ourselves into the Master's yoke. There is no other way for believers to find peace. You will find rest for your soul, my brother, my sister, only as you voluntarily wear the Savior's yoke. What is the yoke here spoken of?

IT IS THE YOKE OF HIS PROFESSION. You must confess Christ before men. The believer's confession of faith begins in baptism. Being buried with Christ in the watery grave, you identified yourself with Christ and his people. Rising from the waters of baptism, you professed your allegiance to him, to walk in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4-6). But our profession does not end in the ordinance of baptism. As we go through this world, we are to be his witnesses to all men.

THIS IS ALSO THE YOKE OF HIS PRECEPTS. His Word alone is our rule of faith and practice. The believer is a person whose life is ruled by the Word of God. OUR DOCTRINE is the doctrine of Holy Scripture. The opinions of men, the theories of science, the "enlightenment" of the age has no influence upon our faith. "Thus saith the Lord," is our first and our final authority. OUR LIVES are governed by the revealed will of God. Collectively, as the church of God, we seek to govern all our practices, all our ordinances of worship, all our deeds by Holy Scripture. Personally, every believer seeks to mold his life to the Scriptures.

THE YOKE OF CHRIST IS THE YOKE OF HIS PROVIDENCE. Trusting him, the believer submits to his wise and good dispositions of providence, saying with Eli, "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good." We recognize that our Savior is the sovereign Governor of the universe, and that he governs all things for the eternal, spiritual good of his people and the glory of his own great name. He who loved us and gave himself for us will do us good. We trust him not because we are forced to, but because we want to, because we have been made to realize that what he does is best. Simple as it sounds, it is true –

"Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Don Fortner