Matthew 12:1-21 – Three Essentials for a Flourishing Soul
Pastor Jim Thomas
- Rest – quiet confidence in Christ vs. minutiae of our sabbath observances
- “For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” (v. 8)
- “Come unto Me… and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28-31) 2.
- Worship – treasuring God’s presence more than any building
- “Something greater than the temple is here.” (v. 6)
- Hope – trusting all outcomes to the one who is trustworthy and sovereign over
redemption history- “Battered reed… smoldering wick… in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
“Come unto Me all you 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 will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-31
“Let but your mind be like the mind of Christ, and you shall find rest unto your souls: a deep rest, a growing rest, a rest found out more and more, an abiding rest, not only which you have found, but which you shall go on to find.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living, whereas tradition is the living faith of the dead.” – Jaroslav Pelikan
“Pharisaic righteousness was an outward conformity to human traditions; Christian righteousness is an inward conformity of mind and heart to the revealed will of God.” – John Stott, Christ the Controversialist
“One of the great dangers for Christians and for the world is that we are far, far too religious. We go to religious movies, we read religious books, we associate with religious people, we eat religious cookies, and we wear religious underwear that is far too tight. Don’t get me wrong. I’m religious too. The problem is that the Holy Spirit isn’t.” – Steve Brown, What Was I Thinking?
“We make a great mistake if we do not encourage the very first movements of a soul towards Christ. Let the ignorant world scoff and mock, if it wants to; we may be sure that ‘bruised reeds’ and ‘smoldering wicks’ are very precious in our Lord’s eyes.” – J.C. Ryle
How long beneath the Law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toiled the precept to obey,
But toiled without success.
To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.
– William Cowper