A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of September 27-October 1, 2021
MONDAY
Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
He promises to give us rest. One who gives you rest would in some way lighten your load. Jesus bore the penalty of sin for us. He took our infirmities and carried away our sicknesses. The weight of sin is so heavy that it makes man sick in his body. Jesus is saying that if you are sick in your body, you can come to Him and receive rest from that sickness. He has taken the pain and every aggravating symptom away from us. He will give you rest and relief from sickness by healing you. We need to find out how this is done. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Come unto me?” How do we come to the Lord?
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Exodus 23:25-26 ~ So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
September 27: 2 Samuel 23, Galatians 3, Ezekiel 30, Psalms 78:38-72
September 28: 2 Samuel 24, Galatians 4, Ezekiel 31, Psalms 79
September 29: 1 Kings 1, Galatians 5, Ezekiel 32, Psalms 80
September 30: 1 Kings 2, Galatians 6, Ezekiel 33, Psalms 81-82
October 1: 1 Kings 3, Ephesians 1, Ezekiel 34, Psalms 83-84
October 2: 1 Kings 4-5, Ephesians 2, Ezekiel 35, Psalms 85
October 3: 1 Kings 6, Ephesians 3, Ezekiel 36, Psalms 86
TUESDAY
Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
He promises to give us rest. One who gives you rest would in some way lighten your load. Jesus bore the penalty of sin for us. He took our infirmities and carried away our sicknesses. The weight of sin is so heavy that it makes man sick in his body. Jesus is saying that if you are sick in your body, you can come to Him and receive rest from that sickness. He has taken the pain and every aggravating symptom away from us. He will give you rest and relief from sickness by healing you. We need to find out how this is done. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Come unto me?” How do we come to the Lord?
WEDNESDAY
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.
Matthew 11:29
Jesus gives the instruction here. We are to take His yoke and burden upon us. A yoke is a hitching device that connects two oxen together. The yoked oxen were needed for particularly heavy and difficult tasks. When oxen were yoked together, it was known that a great deal of work or heavy work was to be done. The yoke lightened or evened out the load between the two animals, so that one was not pulling more weight than the other. The yoke was also the symbol of hard work, or heavy burdens, but the sigh of relief came when the load was shared by two animals. This meant that each animal would only bear half the burden of work. Jesus yokes Himself up with those of us who are weary and heavy laden. He brings that yoke to us who have been pulling the whole load all of our lives. He is our burden bearer. But how does His burden give us rest? This seems a contradiction in terms. We have a burden that brings rest. Jesus is telling us that He has work for us to do, but it is not burdensome. It is not at all like the natural burdens we have borne in the past.
THURSDAY
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.
Matthew 11:29
Jesus wants us to take His yoke upon Him and learn of Him. His yoke is a learning yoke. That’s what makes it easy. While we are learning, or being trained under His yoke of Divine discipline, we find that He is not a hard taskmaster or a strict grading teacher, nor does He grade on the “curve.” Instead, He is meek and lowly of heart. As we yoke up with Him, we, too, are meek and lowly in heart, and become more teachable. When we learn of Jesus, we find that His burden is to serve and love humanity. We actually release ourselves from the heavy burden of our sin-sickness when we learn that Jesus teaches us to love. Love is kind. Kindness is an easy burden. Love is patient, which is easy, also. When we exchange our burdens for the yoke and burden of Jesus, we find rest for our troubled minds. Our emotions become healthy, and we are able to love, just as He loves.
FRIDAY
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:30
When we seek to learn about Jesus, we will find that He does all of the work in everything that He gives us to do. He says, “Lean on me…I’ll show the way.” When we lean on Jesus, His light yoke carries us to the right places. We break free of the sin that so easily besets us, and we walk in love, because He is love. This learning yoke of Jesus teaches us to love. It teaches us to be concerned about the salvation and comfort of others. We seek to bring the same rest to others that He has brought to us. This learning yoke camouflages the fact that the work of the gospel has eternal consequences, and makes the work of sharing Christ with others exciting, joyful and rewarding. The “work” becomes easy because of the anointing. The anointing destroys the yoke of the heavy burden of our lives, and at the same time connects us to the light, learning yoke of Jesus. The burden of Jesus is to walk in love and consistent service to humanity. Hook up with Him. You will find rest.