 My sermon comes from Matthew chapter 11 verse 28. If you have your Bible, you can open that scripture up and it says like, Jesus says this. He says, 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. New King James version says it like this. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, to help explain what Jesus is really talking about, I wanna demonstrate it. Sal, can you run up here to the stage? Sal is gonna be my victim. Come quickly, run, run, run, run, run. You know, when we read this scripture, sometimes it's very hard to understand what Jesus is really talking about. And so we're gonna demonstrate it. So Sal right here, he has a backpack on and can we bring the other stuff too? Go ahead, put that on, put that, don't worry about it, don't worry about it, just put it on. So I want you to see what Jesus is talking about. You're gonna have to clip that on. This is a picture of what Jesus is showing us of a man that is going on this journey. He has a backpack on and he's gonna be loaded up with heavy burdens. First burden, it's called self-righteousness. Next one, stress, anxiety, worry, fear. Let's get a bigger one, the black one, huh? What does it say? Cares of this life, you know, the cares of the world. I mean, come on, the burdens that we all carry, you know, pay your bills, mortgage, get a job, get married, all that stress of life. The burden of poverty, curse, you know, some of us that make bad decisions or maybe some of us that inherited things from our parents, burdens, real burdens, financial curses, relational curses, whatever it may be. Sorry, Sal. And then we have one that's called being in charge of your own life. That's a heavy one, you know? Something that, you know, you have to, you're trying to figure out how to do life on your own. And then the other one is rejection. You know, one's rejection from a father from a mother or from a loved ones. Those, some of those are very, very heavy. You know, some of those, especially the ones in rejection, you know, it's easier. It's better to get like physically beaten than being rejected because those hurt deeply on the inside. And then last but not least, this big old one. This one's called sin. Sin, addiction, guilt, shame, and condemnation. Leo, can you close that? Now, Sal, be honest. Just because you're on the stage doesn't mean you're in your lie. Sal, hold on, let's finish that one. Yeah, yeah, it'll fit, it'll fit, it'll fit. Now Sal, do you feel it? Do you feel it? If, how far do you think you can walk with all those burdens? Like how far? A couple of kilometers? A couple, a couple. But I want you to see this picture. This is a man, he's loaded up with heavy burdens, but the journey that he's traveling, he still has so far to go, okay? He has still so far to go and he's already loaded. But more than that, Jesus is saying, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. So, let's bring up the other stuff. Come on, come on. So, not only does he has heavy burdens, yeah, let's put that belt on him. Yeah, let's get his shop chopped up. So, he has heavy burdens upon him and he has been laboring. You know, he's been trying to figure out solutions for his life, he's trying to figure it out on his own. He's been working, he's been trying to get answers and he's on his journey, but he's so exhausted, tired, but he still has so far to go. And Jesus is saying, he says, come to me all you who are weary and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble and hard and you will find rest for your soul, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, what is Jesus saying when he says, come take my yoke upon you and learn from me? Church, I wanna say this. Jesus is not talking about eggs. Jesus is not talking about eggs over easy yoke. Jesus is not offering him breakfast. You see, back then they had a yoke, if we can bring a yoke, come on. Now, this is a yoke, back then they had agriculture and they farmed and they would yoke couple oxen in here and it would plow the field, you know? And so Jesus is saying, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Now, how is this yoke gonna help him ease his burdens and give him rest? The only way to do it is to find out. Let's put the yoke upon him, you ready? Leo, come over here, he's gonna need some help. Let's put the yoke upon you. Okay, I'll strap it up a little bit. Okay, can you breathe? Amen, God is good, huh? It's okay, you're at church and God's gonna help you with them burdens. But since back then they had agriculture and they had animals, we're gonna need another animal. Come, quickly, quickly, quickly. So this is what I want you to see, what Jesus is saying. He says, come to me, all you who are weary in laboring, 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. See, a yoke is a wooden beam that joins the heads of two animals, such as oxen. You know, one ox, if a yoke is hooked up to one ox, that ox can only plow or only carry this much weight, his own weight, that's all he can carry. But if he's hooked up to another animal, they can carry three times the amount of weight that one ox can carry. So what does Jesus mean when he says take my yoke upon you? Can we strap his a little bit too? You see, often new animals, church catch this, often new animals would be yoked to a seasoned animal, an animal that has been mature, that has been bigger, he's been trained, he went through the process. They yoke him with a bigger animal, so the big animal would often carry the burden while training the younger animal to carry the load. In other words, the younger animal often had a lighter, easier yoke during the training years. Since the bigger animal has already learned the work required of them, this helps the younger animal to learn more quickly. The bigger animal also knows the right paths to take and where to avoid stepping into holes. By yoking him to a younger animal, that animal is protected from harm. What Jesus told his disciples to take his yoke upon you was the idea that he wanted to convey to them. He wanted them to be trained by him, to be submitted to him, to go where he leads. Church, when Jesus says, take my yoke upon you, he's not wanting to put more yoke, he doesn't wanna put more burden upon you. Actually, church, what Jesus is saying, he's saying, I am that second animal, I am that seasoned animal, I am that bigger animal that is gonna plow ahead of you to lighten your load. Jesus is saying, I'm not here to give you more burdens, I'm the opposite, I'm here to help you, I'm here to assist you with your load. Now, church, I want you to see that Jesus never tells you or tells me to do something that he himself doesn't do first. Jesus is the biggest gentleman. I'm still learning, honestly, I have a long way to go. My wife will tell you that. But before Jesus asked us to fast, he himself fasted 40 days. Before Jesus asked us to give, he himself gave first. Before he asked us to pray, he himself prayed first. Before he asked us to be baptized, he was baptized first. Before he asked us to lay our hands on the sick, he laid his hands on the sick. Mark 10, 32 says this, and they were on the road going to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking ahead of them. Matthew 26, 36 says, then Jesus said to his disciples, then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane and he said to them, sit here while I go there and pray. Sit here while I go there and pray, just seeing that bigger animal taking the lead. Matthew 26, 32, after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. Matthew 16, 24, then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. Now, Jesus was the first one that carried the cross. You see, church, if we, are you good there? Are you sure? Okay, let's do this, let's do this. Let's go ahead, just take this off, yeah. I mean, it is heavy, guys, don't kid you right. I put it on, I tried it, it's, even though he's big, I mean, I chose him because I didn't want to put that weight on somebody that it would kill. It's okay, he can labor with this. You gotta feel at least a little bit of it. I don't have a lot of time, I gotta go in my message. But I want to say, Jesus was the first one to carry the cross. Before he told his disciples, you carry it, Jesus carried it first. Now, if we understand what Jesus did, that bigger animal on the cross, we will find life, we will find rest, and we will find peace. Isaiah 53, I love this passage, I go here a lot, you know? Even yesterday to preparing for this message, I went to Mel Gibson and I watched The Passion of the Christ, it's a brutal film. But this is what Jesus has done for us as the bigger animal. And if we can go to Isaiah 53, we'll just read it real fast. And it says, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or communeness, and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he borne our griefs, borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed. You know, those of you that were receiving healing today, that was because what Jesus Christ has done for you and for me more than 2,000 years ago. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers silent. So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare of his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. What did that bigger animal do for that younger one to have life? You know, we need to get this revelation as a personal revelation into our heart because it's very easy for us to say, oh, well, he did it for that person. He did it for that person. He did it for that person. No, no, no, he did it for you. He did it for me. Jesus, as that bigger animal, the Bible says that he was sinless. There was no blemish within him. He did not need it. This one needed it. This one needed it. Can you say you would need it? I needed it a lot. When you got that much burden on you, you're gonna need it. You know, First Corinthians 118 says this, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Now what did Jesus do on that cross? You see, church, Jesus took our minus and made it a plus when Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from the glory of God. They had to carry their own weight. The weight of shame, the weight of guilt, the weight of condemnation, all that junk, it was put upon them. They were separated, a big minus. When that bigger animal came, which is the Lamb of God, on the cross, he made it a plus so that you and I can be reconciled back to God. The Bible says he was bruised for our iniquities. You know what that means? When they struck Jesus and they bruised him, inside it became blue, it became wounded inside, not on the outside, on the inside. That means the problems that we carry on the inside, he received it, the punishment on himself. Iniquities, you know, things that you cannot change. The Bible says he was wounded and pierced for our transgression. A wound is a break in the skin. When we break God's law, Jesus had to be broken. You know, those weights don't come off because a person wants them off. Only the blood of Jesus can forgive and cleanse. Only the blood of Jesus. Church, we need to understand what Jesus did for us. You know, time does not heal and even the blood of goats and animals cannot cover sin. It was only a type and shadow of the good things that are already here, which is representation of Jesus. His blood, his blood can only offer this younger animal forgiveness. The Bible says his feet and his hands were nailed and each nail was about six to eight inches long. That speaks of addictions. You know, the things that you and I, sometimes we voluntarily choose to be addicted, like drinking sometimes, drink water. But addictions are real. Social media addictions, lustful addictions. The things that your hands, your feet, you cannot stop doing that. And he was nailed, plowing ahead that you can receive those bondages broken off of your life. And then it was a crown of thorns. That younger animal, he had a crown of thorns. This speaks of curses, be financial curses, relational, all kinds of curses. The Bible says, cursed it is the ground because of what Adam and Eve did. And they had to work hard. They had to sweat hard to make a living. Thorns and thistles, it will produce for you. And Jesus took it upon himself, not that he wanted to be cursed, but he was taking minds and yours cursed so that this younger animal could have life. And then Jesus, he took minds and yours rejection. You know, the sin of the world, the burdens of the world was upon him. And one thing that Jesus said on the cross, he says, Father, why did you forsake me? You know, one thing I believe that Jesus really didn't want to experience, I, this is my personal opinion, is he didn't want to be separated from his father. You know, intimacy with God is, it was the biggest thing for Jesus. Relationship with his father was huge. He says, I and the father are one. And when Jesus had all this stuff upon him, his father turned away because Jesus became sin on the cross. Jesus took, absorbed everything upon him and his father had to just turn his back when all that stuff was going on. And he says, Father, why did you, you forsaken me? Jesus knew what it means to be rejected. So that maybe when you are rejected, you can be clothed. You can be clothed with his love. You can be clothed with his mercy. And Jesus was naked on the cross. He was naked, literally, that you and I can be clothed. I love this. Isaiah says that he was, he was as a lamb to the shears, he was silent. He was silent. He didn't, he was quiet. Now, it's very interesting. He was quiet. He didn't open up his mouth. You know, he had all the rights in the world. When all this punishment was happening to him, Jesus had all the right in this world to say, what are you doing to me? I am innocent. He had all the right. Even Pilate, when he was looking at Jesus, he wanted to release him and let him go. But do you know why Jesus didn't open his mouth and defend himself? It's because if Jesus opened up his mouth and defend himself, that means you and I, when we get loaded up with those burdens, we wouldn't be able to open up our mouth. So he was silent, taking the place of this one. Knowing I have to absorb it in order for this one to have life. Because if I open to myself and I say, don't do this, I am innocent. No, no, Jesus was just silent so that when you and I get in trouble, we can say, God, I need you. Forgive me, cleanse me. And his blood and his power can come upon us and wash us and set us free. That's why he didn't open his mouth. He had all the right in the world to do so. And the Bible says that the punishment that brought us peace, that brought us rest was upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed. By his stripes, we're healed. You know, when they whipped Jesus, it wasn't 39 lashes minus one. The Jews had that law, 39 lashes minus one. The Romans didn't have that law, 39 lashes minus one. Let me tell you, the Jews didn't have crucifixion. That's why we cannot credit it to the Jews that 39, I mean, that's why we cannot say the Romans, it was 39 lashes minus one. No, no, they beat them however much they wanted. They had no rule like that. The Jewish people, yes, they did, but it wasn't the Jews that executed Jesus. It was the Romans. And when they scourged them, Mel Gibson came close. But I want you to see what Isaiah 52 verse 14, verse 13, 14 says, And it says, behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished as you. So his visage was marred more than any man. Meaning his appearance was so disfigured. Another translation says his face was so disfigured. He seemed hardly human. He seemed to be hardly recognizable. Do you know what Jesus Christ has done for you and for me? He became a piece of me. When you go to Costco and you look for meat, literally, pretty close, maybe I wasn't there. But the Bible says that his appearance was so disfigured he can hardly recognize if this is a human or not. That's what this younger animal did for this. We're wrapping this up. Second Corinthians 5, 21 says, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin, that we might become the righteousness of God and him. You know, Yoke speaks of obedience. Jesus says, if you want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow after me. You know, church, a lot of us or we Western, Westerners, we have this mentality. Well, if I only believe in Jesus, that is enough. But they had, the first church had this, when they believed, they obeyed. Yoke speaks of obedience. It speaks of submission. I want you to see what Hebrews 5, 7, 2, 9 says. It says, during the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petition with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. And once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all those who obey him. To all those who are yoked to him. You want to receive the benefit of this? It's not going to happen, but you just mentally believing. No, no, no, you need to be yoked to Jesus. That's why the Bible says, don't be yoked, unequally yoked in marriage. This is what marriage kind of looks like. Yes, yoked. So we as a church, we must be yoked to Jesus, not just mentally believe in Jesus. No, no, we need to do what he says, because he says, learn from me. You know, yes, he took up, he took up everything for him to have his, his weights come off. We can take the belt off. Yes, Jesus did that. But Jesus didn't do that for him to go out, to go out and live his life on his own, to pick up more burdens, to live however he wants to live. No, no, no, Jesus says, stay yoked with me. I want to disciple you. I don't want you to go back into that mess where you pick up those burdens. No, no, no, I have something better for you. I want to give you grace. I want to give you the Holy Spirit, yes. I want to give you the power to overcome sin. I want to give you the power to overcome lust. I want to give you empowerment, but you need to be yoked to me. Wrapping this up, I want to, I want to say, read the scripture, Joshua 24, 15 says this, if you are not willing to serve or to be yoked to God, decide today whom you will serve, be yoked to. The gods of your ancestors that they worship in Mesopotamia, the lust of the flesh, pornography, different kinds of addiction, bondages, sinful passions, pleasures of life, various idols, or the gods of the Amorites and whose land you now are living. As for me and my family, we will be yoked to the Lord. We will serve the Lord. I love this scripture. John 6, 37 says, whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Are you loaded up with burdens? Jesus is offering you to come to Him. But you know what Isaiah 57, 20, 21 says? It says, but the wicked are like the tossing seat which cannot rest, whose waves cast up and who mire and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. Do you know why there's no peace for the wicked? A wicked one is the one that has a whole bunch of weights upon him. Do you know why there's no peace for the wicked? It's because their sins have not been forgiven of. If your sins are not been forgiven of, you're not gonna have rest, you're not gonna have peace, you're not gonna have life. That's why Jesus is inviting all of us, come to Him. But I want us to stand. Jesus is inviting us, come to Him, come to Him. The Bible says, God gives grace to the humble and he opposes the proud. So what we must do, we must humble ourselves, understand that we cannot do it on our own strength. Acts 4, 12 says, salvation is found in no one else for there's no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. So we must come to Him, repent and turn away from evil, cry out to God from our heart, not our head and have faith and become desperate for Him.