When You Are Wore Slap Out

Well, tomorrow is Labor Day, and that was started to celebrate those that labor and

to give them a working man's holiday at the end of the summer.

It was intended to be there for those who were wore slap out.

Well, and somebody yawned as soon as I said that.

We all need a break sometimes, especially when you wore slap out.

You know what that means?

You know what it means to be wore slap out?

Now, when a dog's tired, it lays down.

But when a dog's wore slap out, his tongue hangs out sideways,

his heart's racing on the floor when he's laying there,

and he won't move even if a squirrel goes right by his nose.

That's when you wore slap out.

When I played football, I used to come in from football practice.

Couldn't even eat.

I was so tired and worn out.

I'd just go get a cup and put a couple of scoops of ice cream in it

and some whole milk and a couple of eggs and a banana

and some Joe Weider weight gain because I weighed 155 pounds,

praying for 170.

Some things never change.

I'm praying for 170.

Not really.

I was skinny once.

I said I'll never be skinny again, but I meant it apparently.

What I didn't read on that package was,

Joe Weider weight gain is time release.

And about five years later, it kicked in.

And it ain't let up.

It's serious.

I worked lawn maintenance for a summer between college and seminary,

and I could not wait to get back in the truck

because you could sleep from one stop to the next.

War slap out.

If you're wore out, you want to sit down.

But if you're wore slap out, you don't want to move.

Now let me just ask you, have you ever been worn slap out?

I don't mean from the yard.

I mean in life.

Maybe your life is just too hectic.

It's too busy.

Maybe your marriage is not honoring God like it needs to be,

and it's wearing you out,

and not honoring each other, and it's wearing you out.

Maybe your children are rebelling,

scaring you to death, going in the wrong direction,

wearing you out.

Maybe you feel dry inside,

spiritually sapped,

worn out.

It could be that your finances are horrible.

It could be that your debt's growing.

It could be that your bills are piling up.

Maybe it's because you have the weight of a sin

bearing down upon you.

Maybe habitual sin in your life weighing down upon you.

You are unclean, and you are miserable,

and you are worn slap out.

Sometimes it seems like there's not an end in sight

when you feel like that.

So what do you do?

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

How do you survive when you're worn slap out?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Because today we're going to take a break

from the stories that Jesus told,

the parables in Luke,

to hear a request of Jesus

that I believe we all need to hear,

at least from time to time.

It's in Matthew chapter 11,

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 28.

Jesus said,

come to me.

All who labor and are heavy laden,

I'll give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart,

and you'll find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy,

and my burden is light.

Come to the Lord and rest, folks.

Thank God he invites us to come.

1 Peter chapter 5 verse 7 says,

1 Peter 5:7

cast all your anxieties on him

because he cares for you.

Now Peter's not just saying,

give him your worries one by one

as they come up.

No, that's not what he's saying.

Peter is saying,

commit your life

to cast your burdens upon the Lord.

I heard from a man

that led Orlando Wilson to the Lord.

Orlando Wilson, a famous fisherman,

TV shows and those things.

And he asked Orlando Wilson,

asked his pastor,

he said,

will you teach me about Jesus?

And he asked Orlando,

will you teach me how to fish?

He said, I will.

Sounds like a deal.

He said they went fishing

and he cast out of line.

And Orlando said,

no, that's not how you do it.

You don't just throw it out there.

If you want to fish,

if you want to fish,

when you cast,

you cast it out there.

Throw it out there.

That's what that word means.

That word means sling it.

Sling it down at the Lord.

Give it to him.

I like the way the Amplified Bible puts it.

It says this,

casting the whole of your care,

all your anxieties,

all your worries,

all your concerns,

once and for all on him.

For he cares for you affectionately

and cares for you watchfully.

Too many times we want to care for us,

but we want him to care for us,

but we still want to carry it.

Three generations ago,

there was a guy coming down the road on a cart.

There was a man on the side of the road

with a big old bag on his back,

weighed down,

wore slap out.

The cart stopped to pick him up.

When the man got on the cart,

he sat down,

but he kept that bag over his shoulder,

continued to be weighed down by that bag.

And the man driving that cart said,

why don't you just lay that down?

And the man said,

oh no,

it's good for you to carry me.

I couldn't expect you to carry my burden as well.

That's about how silly we are sometimes, folks.

When we continue to carry stuff

that the Lord has told us to give to him.

Don't pick it back up.

Cast it upon the Lord.

Come to the Lord and rest.

Listen to the Lord and follow.

Listen to him and follow.

It says,

Jesus says,

for my yoke is easy.

Literally,

that means,

yoke means to walk alongside

and learn from.

It's the name for that wood

or iron frame

that joins two oxen together

or draft animals together

to pull a plow

or a cart

or a load.

A new ox

is always

a yoke

to an experienced ox

and they pull that cart together

so he can teach the younger one

and to share that load.

But when he talks about yoke here,

it's also talking about

the yoking of students

to a rabbi.

Ancient rabbis

saw their role in the community

as one of studying,

discussing,

and interpreting

the revealed word of God

and for them at that time

was the Old Testament.

They were to help people

understand that text

and they were to live out

that text before them.

For instance,

what does it mean

when the text says

to remember the Sabbath day

and keep it holy?

How do you do that?

Well, my mama told me

growing up

it meant you didn't go

to the movies on Sunday.

That's one way you do it,

you know.

There's different interpretations

of how you handle that.

Well,

the rabbi

would make that determination

and some would say

that

if you walked over a mile

in one day

that it was considered work.

And so therefore,

and remember,

we're not talking about folks

who did it for exercise,

we're talking about people

who did it to get around,

that if you went more

than a mile,

then it was work

and you were not

keeping the day holy.

Another one said

you can walk

a mile and a half.

It was different interpretations.

Now,

some of those interpretations

depend on how far

they live from the synagogue.

Because if the synagogue

is a mile and a half away

and you can't walk

but a mile a day,

you can't go to the synagogue

on the Sabbath.

And so there were interpretations

that were different

for each one.

One would say

you could do this,

one would say that.

Different ones had

different set of rules

and they added

to the word of God

their rules.

One rabbi's set of rules

or his list of interpretations

was considered

his rabbi's yoke

is what they called that.

And he would invite

young men

to be trained by him

to become a Talmud

or a Jewish scholar.

And if that young man

accepted that invitation,

he would leave his family,

he would leave his village,

he would leave all that he knew

and from that day forward

he was devoted

to the rabbi,

not just teaching,

not just learning

his teachings

but becoming like him

in every way,

going wherever he went,

doing whatever he was doing,

teaching whatever he taught.

It was a total life commitment.

It was taking on his yoke.

It means you see how he walks

and you walk the same.

You commit to him

and let him lead.

And then one rabbi said,

my yoke is easy.

And his name is Jesus.

And when you commit

your life to Christ,

you're taking on

as an unexperienced sheep.

You're taking on

the yoke of the Lord

for him to train you,

for him to walk with you,

for him to interpret life

through his word to you,

and for you to have

total commitment

to follow him.

Jesus didn't drag

folks down

like a rabbi would.

Jesus don't belabor you

with a bunch of rules

like the Pharisees did.

Matter of fact,

Jesus spoke against them

again and again

in Matthew 23.

But he said

in verse 4 particularly,

he said,

they tie up

heavy burdens,

hard to bear,

and lay them

on people's shoulders,

but they themselves

are not willing

to move them

with their finger.

I know preachers

like that.

I do.

Deacons may be like that.

Church leaders

may be like that.

Church people sometimes

will look down on you.

But I want to be clear,

whatever your path

has been,

that is not of God,

and that is not

what God does,

and that's not

his message.

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:1

verse 1 says,

there is therefore

now no condemnation

for those,

thank God,

who are in Christ Jesus.

No condemnation.

In reality,

it was the Pharisee type,

it was the hypocritical

church aristocracy

that Christ

was offering

relief from

when he said,

my yoke is easy.

He's talking about

those that have

loaded you down

with rules and regulations

on your shoulders,

and some people

make it their mission

to sap the joy

out of your salvation

completely.

I mean,

if you're enjoying it,

it must not be of God,

right?

There's a Greek word

for that,

it's baloney.

Some people have

a persistently

negative tone

to what they say.

I want to be clear

this morning,

that's not of Christ,

thank God,

that's not the gospel.

Christ came to give us

freedom,

not for riotous living,

Christ came to give us

freedom as a standard

to be lived by,

rules to guide

your life by,

but all of them

are for our own protection.

We see people

abandon them today,

we see ourselves

abandon them today.

We go our own way,

we make our own decisions,

we sin against God,

don't say,

preacher,

look at me,

because I've got news for you,

the word of God

says we all do it,

and the reality is

to keep us right

with God

where true freedom

and wholeness

and fullness

is found,

we need to listen

to Him

and follow

Him.

Now let me be clear,

when you take

that little

cup

that has the bread

and the juice

in it

and we participate

that in just a little bit,

you know what you're saying?

I commit my life

to you, Lord.

Your body was given

for me,

your blood was shed

for me,

and I've committed

my life,

I've taken you

in,

I've digested

what you gave me.

Be sure

to come to Him

and rest

and listen to Him

and follow

and trust the Lord.

Trust Him,

He's easy on you.

He said,

my burden

is light.

He's not harsh,

He's not overbearing,

He's not oppressive,

His yoke is easy,

His burden is light,

not because His standards

are less,

but because He

carries your burden,

because He

trains you up,

because He

sends you out,

because He

accompanies you

in all of your way.

He's looking out

for you,

He'll give you a peace.

You don't have to worry

about life

or where He may take you,

peace is resting

in Him

because He's worthy

of it.

You can rest in Him.

Don't worry about tomorrow,

today has enough

of its own,

tomorrow worry about itself.

God's already there,

folks,

you can rest in Him

with that.

He'll give you

the restoration you need,

He'll give you

the rekindling you need,

the nurture that you need,

He'll give you the power

that you need to face,

whatever comes tomorrow.

And He says,

I am gentle.

In other words,

He comes with a loving

and gentle spirit.

He says,

I am humble.

Philippians chapter 2

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

says He emptied Himself.

He became a servant

for us.

He became obedient

even to the death

on the cross.

He's not,

He's not going to

one-up you.

I want you to hear me

this morning.

Jesus died

for you.

He died for you.

And He definitely

lives for you.

He's making intercession

for you.

And He loves you dearly.

I heard about a photographer

who took pictures

at school

on picture day.

First graders lined up

to get their picture made.

And in order to get

that picture made

with a first grader

that don't want to get

their picture made,

you got to make small talk

and all that kind of stuff.

I don't want to be

a first grade photographer.

He asked one little girl,

what are you going to be

when you grow up?

She said,

tired.

How many of you

are there today?

If that's the way you feel,

come to the table

of the Lord.

Refresh yourself

with a fresh reminder

of what He's done

for you.

Confess your sins.

God will save you.

Just commit your life

to Him.

And if He has saved you

and you know that,

recommit your life to Him.

Commit to this church today

as God leads you.

Rest in the Lord today.

What's that burden

that you have

upon your heart today?

You leave it with God.

He can handle it.

He already knows

how it's going to turn out.

We just need to rest it

in His hands.

With every head bowed

and every eye closed,

I want to ask you

this morning,

if there's ever been

a time in your life

when you've surrendered

your life

to the Lord Jesus Christ,

you've ever confessed

your sins to Him

and agreed with Him

that you're a sinner,

needing a Savior,

knowing that you're

separated from God

due to your sin.

If you've never done that,

today's the day

for you to do that.

Today's the day

for you to say,

Lord,

I want you to save me.

I want you to change me.

I want you to make me

what you'd have me to be.

And I want you to know

there's a lot of things

we're going to do

in the next few moments,

but there's nothing

more important

than the opportunity

that you have

to surrender your life

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you've never done that,

I encourage you to come.

In just a few moments,

when we stand to sing,

you come.

I'd be happy to guide you

in that process.

Maybe you have done that

and you know you're a Christian,

but you know

that you are wore out

probably from your own mistakes,

but maybe from somebody else's.

And today you need to be clean.

The Apostle Paul said that,

told the church in Corinth,

he said,

some of y'all are sick

because you've come

to the table of the Lord

with unconfessed sin

in your life.

Because you've not acted

appropriately toward each other.

Because you're not clean

before him

and take part in that.

It's making you sick.

That's what he said.

God takes it seriously, folks.

And so if there's matters

in your life

that you need to confess,

repent of today,

you do that

before you take

this bread and this cup.

It is open for all

who've been saved

and baptized

to take today.

If you're a child here

and that's never happened

to you,

your parents do something,

it's not snack time.

When you leave here,

I encourage you

to ask them about.

Ask them about

what they did today

and what that means.

Parents,

that can cause

a wonderful gospel conversation

to come in the home.

Maybe you're here

and you're not a kid,

but the reality is

you've never given

your heart and life

to the Lord.

Are there's hindrances

in your life

even as a Christian

that cause you

from being everything

God would have you to be?

Scripture tells us

to be clean.

And so I would tell you

today to repent

and make it right.

You can do that

where you are,

you can do it

at this altar.

That's what it's here for.

You just obey God

and do what He tells you to do.

Maybe God's drawing you

to be a part of this church.

God's doing a work

in this church

and I'm thankful

to be a part of it.

If God's drawing you

to be a part of that,

there's no need

for you to hold that off.

So I encourage you to come.

We'd love to guide you

in that process

of what it means

to be a member

of Pickens First.

Maybe you've been saved

but never been baptized

as a believer.

That's the first step

of obedience

and it's a hindrance

in your life

if that's not happened.

So I encourage you

to be obedient

and follow Him today.

We'll be happy

to guide you in that.

We're not doing it today,

but we'll be happy

to guide you

and set that up for you

because we do plan

to do it in the near future.

I don't know

what God's telling you folks,

but let's get right, okay?

Let's do this thing right.

Let's do exactly

what God tells us to do.

Lord Jesus,

I love you

and I thank you, dear God,

for your love for us.

Lead us right now

to be obedient

to follow you

as you lead.

In Jesus' precious name,

amen.

Amen.

Stand up.