Come to Me // A Time of Refreshing in My Life, Part 3

Have you ever noticed that people are busy racing around looking after Number One?  Very few of them ever stop to give us a hand.  In fact, when someone does, it can be so refreshing.

In this clamorous, competitive world that we live in (you know what I’m talking about), this world where everybody seems to be looking after number one as their priority one, two and three in life. In that kind of world, it seems so rare that we meet someone who, I don’t know, who just comes out of the wood work out of nowhere to help us, to lighten our load, to open doors. Not because of what they can get out of it, but just because they see our need.

In fact on the rare occasion that somebody just blesses us like that, out of the blue, it’s almost startling.

I don’t know about you, but with me when someone these days just gives me a leg up – for no other reason than the fact that I need a leg up, well, that speaks so deeply to my heart. It motivates me, it encourages me. It’s just so refreshing.

I was in the UK recently at a conference, and I don’t know how much time you’ve spent at conferences. This happened to be a radio conference, a Christian Radio conference. And conferences are not only about going and listening to the speakers and learning (I did that and it was great). But they’re also about building relationships, networking, talking to people during the breaks, finding out about what other people are doing, making connections, meeting people and getting to know them.

And actually three days at a conference is really hard work. It’s great opportunity, but it’s hard work. I met so many people at this conference, probably seventy or eighty different people (at some stage). But there were two that really stood out for me. One of them was called, Andrew; he is a New Zealander, a 'Kiwi' as we call them. The other one, Joseph, a young African man.

Andrew was interesting. He works in the UK. He’s a really senior guy with a radio network. And in the world's eye, in my eyes (well you know), he’s an important person. He’s an executive in a large radio network and yet somehow this Andrew made a point of connecting with me, of just encouraging me. We spent an hour and a half together. And he shared what was on his heart, what was his vision for his radio network, and he listened to me and after the meeting when we went our different ways. Andrew acted and because of him and because of what he did, one of our radio programs is now heard right across Europe just because Andrew was there and we connected.

The other one was this young man, Joseph. Joseph heads up a radio school and a media organisation in South Africa. I was really keen to meet his boss while I was at the conference. I wanted to connect with her and discuss some things, but she was really busy. She was talking for most of the conference, she was leading the television sessions and so we just couldn’t connect.

One morning (the last morning of the conference), Joseph and I ended up sitting next to one another at the breakfast table. I shared with him what I wanted to share with his boss, and he was so encouraging, so enthusiastic. He went back home to Africa (in Cape Town where he lives) and he sent me an email saying, “I really loved what we where talking about, I’m here for you, I’m here to make connections in Africa for you.” The guy follows me up; we talk regularly over the internet.

I mean what wonderful people – Andrew and Joseph are.

In contrast, so many of the other people that I met at the conference – everybody that I met, I got their business card and sent them an email and said, “It was great to catch up with you, nice to meet you.” You know some of the people didn’t even respond to that email! It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and yet Andrew and Joseph were the sort of people that said, “Look, come to me. Let me listen to you, let me help you. I’ll be there for you, I’ll push with you."

Wow! Those guys really stood out head and shoulders above the other people. That doesn’t mean there weren’t other people that where were just as clever or more talented than Andrew and Joseph. The point was that these two young men decided to connect with me and to help me, to serve me.

Jesus, 2000 years ago said:

If you’re carrying a heavy load come to me and I’ll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me and you’ll see I’m genuine. I’m humble of heart and with me you’ll find rest for your souls, because my yoke’s easy, my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

This week on A Different Perspective we’re looking at our need to have times of refreshing.

It’s fantastic to get away from the grind and go on holiday. As I said the other day, my wife, Jacqui and I are just about to go and do that. To have some time on a place called, Lord Howe Island, which is the most beautiful and idyllic setting. We need that.

But we can’t spend our lives trying to escape from reality, always wishing that we could run away. I believe we need times of refreshing right in the middle of life. We have this deep need for rest and for peace, for refreshment.

On the other hand, over 70% of people (at least) in the West believe in God. And yet somehow, a lot of us never make that connection between this deep need for rest and for peace, and for renewal and for refreshment; and the belief that we have in this person Jesus, this God who sent his Son to die for us. For Jesus the two aren’t separate.

For Him, He came to make a difference in our lives and with this statement, “If you carrying a heavy burden come to. Come to me and I’ll give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me and you’ll see I’m gentle. I’m humble and with me, you’ll find rest for your souls.” And Jesus is connecting this beautiful reality of God with the difficulties and the trials and the realities of what we go through in life.

Okay, He said that 2000 years ago and the world was a slower place. It didn’t have all the pressure and the speed and the hype and the travel and the entertainment gizmos that we do today. But they had their burdens. They had their stresses. They had their heavy loads – they live in an occupied territory. The Romans were brutal, sometimes in the way that they administered their form of justice. They lived a subsistence lifestyle; food, money, famine, poverty. You know, it turns out that the burdens in life – heavy loads – are timeless. They're global, they exist right around the world.

It doesn’t matter what our version, our brand of burden happens to be, like Andrew and Joseph in my life just a couple of months ago, who were so real and so practical and so decent and so loving.

Jesus said, “Come to me, come to me and let me help you. Let me give you some rest. Let me give you a leg up.” The picture of the yoke, He says, “Take my yoke upon you.” Here’s the picture, the picture is of two beasts of burden, two bullocks dragging forward a cart and Jesus says, “Look, come take my yoke. I’ll be on the other side. Let’s join together with this yoke and I’ll push in the same direction as you.” And when we do that, Jesus said that when we join in the same yoke, we’ll discover that He can teach us some stuff.

You know (traditionally), in that day when there was a new beast of burden being trained, they would yoke that beast with a beast that had been doing it a long time – with an experienced steady, strong bullock. And Jesus is saying, “Come on, I'll be on the other side of this yoke. That load that you’re dragging forward, let me give you a hand. Let me push for you too. And you’ll find some rests as you and I are yoked together, shoulder-to-shoulder and we experience one another in life. You’ll find rest for your soul.”

You know something, I don’t believe that it was a coincidence that Andrew and Joseph reached out to help me because these are both men who have a relationship with Jesus. And I believe that Jesus brought them to me and that through them He has helped me

It’s awesome!