“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.” (Matt. 11:28-30 NIV)

There are a number of wonderful benefits mentioned within this passage.

First – there is an invitation to “come to Jesus”. Yes, He is available and waiting for you!

Second – there is an answer for those who are “weary and burdened.” No matter what you may be facing, He is the answer!

Third – there is the promise of rest from burdens. You can give them to Him.

Fourth – you are invited to take His yoke and learn from Him. He not only has the answers, he is the answer!

Fifth- He is humble of heart. You won't face a harsh judge, but he is very kind and attentive to you.

Sixth – you will get rest for your soul. So relax and receive.

Seven – for His yoke is easy. You don't have to work to get it, so reach out to Him.

Eight - and His burden is light. It won't be too much to carry, He has made it a promise!

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)

You must be a member of God’s family to hear Him.

“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:47 ESV)

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 ESV)

The Spirit speaks what he hears the Father say

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13 ESV)

When you hear the Word, you must Mix it with faith to profit from it.

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Heb. 4:2 KJV)

“God sets the solitary in families…” (Psalm 68:6 NKJV)

God determines boundaries of our dwelling places

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” (Acts 17:26 ESV)

God adopted us into His family

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Eph. 1:5 NLT)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2 NIV)

A hope and a future

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11 NIV)

It's good and pleases God

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim. 2:3-4 NIV)

In all circumstances

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:18 NIV)

 “Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NASB)

Prisoners are forgiven! 

When I was a new Christian seeking to serve God, I visited prisons with my friend, Harley Goodwin, who had a prison ministry to what he called, “the forgotten men.” I watched him reach through the bars and touch these broken people, as he prayed earnestly for them. He often opened the Bible to Isaiah 1:18, and then he would point to the passage and ask the prisoner to read it out-loud. He would then say to them, “No matter what you have done, no matter how bad or ‘red’ your sins are, God will forgive your sins completely, and make you brand new and ‘white as snow’”. I often saw these men break down and weep for joy as they prayed with Harley to receive Christ, and know they were completely forgiven.

Freedom for prisoners!

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” (Luke 4:18 NIV)

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” (Heb. 13:3 NIV)

 “You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.” (Psalm 4:3 NLT)

If you have received Christ as your personal savior you are then set apart and made godly by the Lord for Himself! What does this mean? It helps to define the words “set apart” and “godly”.

Set apart: is to set someone/something apart to make someone or something different and special. 

Godly: is believing in God and in the importance of living a moral life.It is to be dedicated, devoted, committed, loyal, faithful, staunch, genuine, firm, steadfast, unwavering, sincere, wholehearted, keen, enthusiastic, zealous, passionate, ardent, fervent, active, in your relationship with God.

Knowledge of the truth leads to godliness

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.” (Titus 1:1 NIV)

“…and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,” (2 Peter 1:6 NASB)

 “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” (Matt. 4:24 NIV)

By His wounds you have been healed

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (2 Pet. 2:24 NIV)

The old order has passed away

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev. 21:4 NIV)

Healing of every disease and sickness

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (Matt. 9:35 NIV)

 “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10 NIV)

I overheard someone say they hated their job!

It was obvious from their conversation that they were unhappy and hadn't found what they were created to do. Someone has said, “if you are doing what you love to do, you will never work a day of your life.” I'm not sure if that's entirely true, because every job has some kind of downside, but I think I know what they mean. If you are doing what you love to do, what you are gifted at, and what you were created to do, you will not hate doing it. I believe life is too short to continue doing something you don't love doing. And, you don't have to! Ephesians 2:10 says God has created us to do something He has prepared in advance for us to do. That's good news! We are all gifted in different ways to be able to be good at doing certain things. And, that's what we should be doing!

What to do? Ask God for wisdom and knowledge!

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov. 2:6 NIV)

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” (James 1:5 NLT)

"When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27 NIV)

Jesus took care of His mother! 

Just before He died on the cross, Jesus makes sure his mother would have proper care and so He passes on that responsibility to the Apostle John, who took her is as his very own mother. It's interesting to note that Jesus now refers to Mary as “woman” and not mother, since she also needed a Savior. Jesus was more than Mary’s Son; He was (and is) Mary’s Lord and God and Savior, as He is ours.