"Closed On Sunday" Pt.1

Hi, this is John Ozanting, lead pastor of Evolve Church, and this is the Evolve Church Podcast.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

We hope that you find today's message encouraging and full of hope for wherever you're at.

You like?

I like.

You know, I've had a few people notice today that I'm repping Adidas.

And uh I got a little bit of branding going on here today.

Anyone notice?

Anyone think Pastor John is looking particularly fresh this morning?

Are you just laughing at me?

Truth is, uh, I was in the United States this week in Fort Myers, Florida, and some representatives from Adidas saw me and they said, Wow, you look like an athlete.

Can we endorse you?

Can we sponsor you?

And I was like, Well, I mean, I I don't sure, right?

Actually, uh, my 14-year-old daughter addressed me today.

So whether you like this or hate it, if you got any issues, go see Julia after service.

She's looking after your kids.

She's probably giving them fashion advice right now.

But I blame this on her.

I like to run, let's be honest.

However, I am not a runner.

There's a difference.

I like to run.

I haven't always liked to run.

Matter of fact, I used to say I hate running, and then I started running, and then I began to like running.

I like to run, but I'm not a runner.

These are runners.

Okay?

These are runners.

This is not a runner.

What are you laughing at?

Okay, just leave that picture up there for a second.

I do you ever see people like that?

Like, are you ever sitting on a patio somewhere sipping a cappuccino and then those people run by?

You ever see these people?

Maybe you're like in your bathrobe, staring out the front window, sipping some tea, and then those people run by your house, and you're like, I like to run, but I'm not a runner.

Maybe one day I could become a runner.

You're like, I want that.

I want to look that good in spandex.

Uh you thought it, don't judge me.

I want to look that good in spandex, right?

I want that 1% body fat.

One day.

One day, I'm gonna I'm gonna be a runner, not just like to run.

Meanwhile, you know, you're up late watching another episode of Treadstone on Netflix or Amazon Prime, snacking on a bag of hard bite chips.

Those people are going to bed at 8:30 after having dinner on celery in a glass of water.

Come on.

You're like, I want to be a runner.

Just one more, yeah, skip intro, one more episode.

You know what I'm talking about.

The reality is I want the life of the runner, I'm just not willing to adopt the lifestyle of a runner.

Right?

I want the life, I'm just maybe not willing to adopt the lifestyle.

What is it that convinces me that it's not worth the pain?

Because there's pain attached to that kind of life.

I know it.

Muscle pain, time pain, there's pain.

And what is it that convinces me that even though I want the life, that lifestyle is just gonna be too painful?

What pattern of behavior or thought impacts and keeps me stuck?

Because I I want that 1% body fat.

I have a pair of spandex, I just don't wear them in public.

Phew.

I run, but I'm not a runner, right?

What keeps me from becoming a runner?

One more deadline at work, one more fight with my spouse, one more project around the house, one more episode on Disney Plus, or two episodes, or three, or seven, one more mindless scrolling session on the gram, looking at other people's lives, one more evening in the car, driving my kids everywhere, one more assignment due at school, one more level to beat on Candy Crush, one more, one more, one more.

Maybe I'm just too busy to become a runner.

Maybe that's it.

Anybody in the room here too busy today?

Just me?

A few people.

I'm just too busy to become a runner.

If you know the Xantings, if you've spent any time with Nicole and I, you actually know that we hate the word busy.

We don't even like to use the word busy.

And you'll never hear me say, I'm too busy.

You might hear me say something like, My life is really full, or actually, I've said yes to something else already.

But I never I never like to say I'm too busy.

Even though busyness isn't a bad thing, if you're busy about the right things, but if you're busy with mindless, hopeless, wasteful things.

Corey Tenboom said, if the devil cannot make you bad, he will make you busy.

If the devil can't make you bad, as your pastor today, I want you to know I'm not addicted to any substances, not even coffee.

I could give it up.

I regularly do.

I regularly do.

I set it aside for four hours and then I'm not, there's no, there's no hidden sin in my life that you're gonna find out about on CNN.

Not because I'm perfect, but because I'm in process.

But I I do fall prey to the sin of being busy.

If the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy.

So this, I I run, but I'm not a runner.

Do we feel that way about Jesus in the room today?

Do we feel that way about our faith journey?

We read the stories of Jesus, how he walked with joy in every circumstance, in every season, at every turn.

Jesus carried this resolute peace, even through uncertainty.

He had this unanxious presence about him.

We read his stories and we go, I want that.

I want that kind of life.

I don't want what I have, I want the kind of life that Jesus, this relaxed manner.

Everywhere Jesus went, he was present in the moment.

Even in the middle of interruptions, life and death emergencies, he would pause and just be real and be there and be at peace.

We want that.

Jesus talked about this easy yoke that he carried, this open invitation to every single person in the room, whether you're following Jesus or not, an open invitation to what Jesus called a life to the full.

Soul rest, deep peace.

Heck yes, I want that.

Sign me up.

And so we fill out the cards and we check the boxes and we do the things and we go to the places.

In reality, we want the life of Jesus, but are we willing to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus?

We want the life that we read about, but are we willing to commit, embrace, and adopt the lifestyle of Jesus?

Pastor, I got one more deadline of work, one more fight with my spouse, one more project around the house, one more hour of Netflix, one more mindless scrolling session on Instagram, one more evening in the car, driving my kids to soccer practice, one more assignment due at school, one more bit of homework, one more level to beat on Candy Crush, one more, one more, one more.

I'll do devotions, I'll pray, I'll join a small group one day.

I want the life of Jesus, but am I willing to lean into the rhythm and the rest and the peace and the lifestyle of Jesus?

Pastor, I'm just too busy to level up my faith.

I want to, but I'm just busy.

I got so much going on.

I'm not sure I have the time to spend.

I'm not sure it's worth the cost.

In the words of the contemporary theologian Kanye West, closed on Sunday, you're my Chick-fil-A.

Closed on Sunday, you're my Chick-fil-A.

Hold the selfies, put the gram away, get your family.

Y'all hold hands and pray.

When you got daughters, always keep them safe.

Watch out for vipers, don't let them indoctrinate.

Closed on Sunday.

You're my number one with the lemonade.

I don't know what that means, but raise our sons, train them in the faith.

Through temptations, make sure they're wide awake.

Follow Jesus, listen and obey.

No more living for the culture.

We nobody's slave.

Closed on Sunday.

Can I get an amen?

If Kanye can do it, so can we.

But is it worth the cost?

Because I'm busy.

I've got lots going on.

There is a cost.

Not gonna lie, in Jesus' case, it's worth the cost.

We give back actually way more than we have to give.

That reciprocity, that exchange with Jesus, it's like, I don't even, how do I describe it?

It's like giving you a gummy bear and you giving me a million dollars.

The exchange with Jesus, there's a cost.

I still have to give you the gummy bear.

But what we give back in return is so much richer, so much fuller.

In our faith, there's a cross, there's death even, there's a cost.

But after death always comes resurrection.

Always in this faith journey of following Jesus.

After the price is paid, there's resurrection.

In the way of Jesus, death is always followed by resurrection.

You missed a great place to give me some kind of like verbal noise that you're awake out there.

Listen, over the next few weeks, I believe that God wants to bring some things in our life to death.

Okay?

So that we can see some resurrection and some new life.

I believe it.

And this message is something that I just I'm gonna use the word it's corporate.

It's something on our hearts right now for us as a church family, as a community.

And if you're in the room for the first time today, that includes you.

If you're in the room today and you haven't been here for months, that's okay.

This includes you.

You're in the room.

And in this room today are people who would call themselves Christians, but also some people who wouldn't.

And that's okay.

You might say that you're searching or curious or questioning or in process.

Here's the good news the first century church, they weren't called Christians.

Did you know that?

Like right after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, this rag tag group of crazy faithful people, they didn't call themselves Christians.

Do you know what they said?

You know how they identified, you know how they were known?

Those people, they're a part of the way.

They're a part of the way.

Say that with me.

The way.

You gotta do this with your right hand, though.

The way.

Beautiful.

The early church wasn't called Christianity, it was simply referred to as the way.

And if you were a first century human who had been deeply impacted by the life and the teachings and the convictions and the miracles and the death and the burial and the resurrection of this Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, your life would have been summed up in full by this statement.

And if you're taking notes today, write this down.

I am living in the way of Jesus.

I am living in the way of Jesus.

There's this deep, steady conviction that to live as an apprentice of Jesus meant that you simply followed his way.

The way that Jesus lived.

Are there any tradespeople in the room today?

Electricians, carpenters, mechanics, hands up, real high, a few of you.

I'm curious, anybody in the room ever do an apprenticeship?

You had to apprentice your trade or apprentice your craft or apprentice your skill.

I want you to just be open today in the room here to including that word in your language, in your faith journey.

Do you see yourself as an apprentice of Jesus?

You say I'm a follower of Jesus, I'm a Christian, you might even say I'm a disciple of Jesus.

But do you use the word apprentice?

And if not, I'd like you to be open to start using that word.

You're apprenticing under Jesus.

This deep, steady conviction to live in the way that Jesus lived, has our modern Western faith forgotten or perhaps even neglected that conviction?

And here's why I ask: um, we we're quick to talk about things like ideas in Christianity.

We might call that theology, okay?

We're quick to talk about rules, sets of do's and don'ts.

We might call that ethics.

And ethics and theology are both very important in our faith journey, but they're not the only important things.

They are important, and I'll be honest, growing up in church, I heard a lot about the ethics of Jesus, the do's and don'ts, and I heard a lot about the ideas that Jesus taught, the theology of Jesus.

But I didn't learn a lot about the way of Jesus, the way that he lived, the lifestyle of Jesus.

I didn't hear lots about it.

In these things of theology and ethics, it's way more than that.

It's actually a way of life based on Jesus himself.

Little to nothing is said about the lifestyle of Jesus, but we want to talk about the lifestyle of Jesus over the next few weeks.

Because that's where the money is, that's where the life is.

John 14, verse 6.

John 14:6

You may have memorized this in Sunday school.

Here's what it says Jesus explains I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.

No one comes to the Father except through union with me.

Notice the language of Jesus.

I'm the way, I'm the truth, and I'm the life.

But he's the way.

We like to talk about the truth of Jesus.

We're even okay hearing stories about the life of Jesus, but if those stories don't transfer into a revealed understanding of the way of Jesus, we're hooped.

We're shorthanded, we're missing something.

Eugene Peterson, who passed away last year, just a beautiful man.

He he rewrote the Bible into a translation called the Message.

Does anybody read the Message translation of the Bible with Eugene Peterson?

Here's what he said about John 14.

The Jesus way, wedded to the Jesus truth, brings about the Jesus life.

The Jesus way, married, wedded to the Jesus truth, is actually what brings about the Jesus life.

Jesus as truth gets a lot of airtime in Christianity.

Jesus as the way gets the back seat, even the cold shoulder.

Why?

And it's this every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets.

Every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets.

What are the results of your system?

What are the results of your life today?

If you were to be honest, not judging yourself by your intentions, but by the actual fruit of your life up till now, what are the results of your system?

Because if the results you are getting in life are lousy, anxiety constantly at a simmer, mild depression, high levels of stress, chronic emotional burnout, little to no sense of the presence of God in your life, an inability to focus your mind on the things that make for really good life, an inability to recognize and hear the still small voice of the Savior and teacher Jesus.

If the results you are getting in life are lousy, then the odds are very good that something about the system that is your life is off kilter.

And I don't speak that over this room today from a place of being physically and emotionally and spiritually higher than you.

Because as I read that list, I go, check, check, mm-hmm, check.

There are lousy things in my life that aren't even, I haven't even spoken yet today.

Right?

So this isn't from a place of judgment or I'm better than you.

This is a will you invite the truth and the life and the way of Jesus to open your eyes to who you are and who you're becoming in this season.

Maybe it's just the way that you've organized your morning routine or your evening routine.

That's a conversation we've been having a lot in our home lately.

Maybe the results of your system are broken because of your schedule.

Maybe it's because of your budget.

Maybe it's because of your lack of budget.

Maybe it's because of your unique intimate relationship with your cell phone.

Maybe it's how you manage your resources of time and money and attention.

Something's off kilter, something's out of whack.

The way that you and I live our lives equates to our lifestyle.

The rhythms, routines, patterns, habits of our day-to-day living.

It becomes the sum of what our lives are known for.

Your reputation, who you are.

Do you ever play out that exercise of like picturing yourself lying dead in a coffin?

This got dark, right?

This got heavy.

And like everybody that you know, everybody that says they love you, they've gathered around.

What are they saying about you?

Uh he was really good at NHL on Xbox.

Yeah, it's true.

Man, do you remember John O?

He had such high engagement on his social media accounts.

Like people liked and commented on everything.

Right?

Do you ever play is that just me that plays this out?

Come on, let's get real for a second, church.

This is so are you okay?

Are you okay?

Right?

Yeah.

Thank you for your investment into this family.

You left the house early, you came home late, you were married to your job, and you tolerated your wife and kids.

Thank you.

Thanks for that.

The results that you're getting, can we invite the Spirit of God right into today?

We get a glimpse of the kind of life that's possible in Jesus.

We get that glimpse in a book or a gathering like this or listening to a podcast, we hear something, something says something to us in community in a small group, and we're like, yes, that's what I want.

And then we go home and we slip right back into the rhythms, patterns, routines of who we always are and what we always do, and what we always produce.

We get fired up about some new picture, and then when we slide back into that same old pattern, we're like, Pa, what am I missing?

Come on, God, where are you?

What am I missing?

Pastor and author, John Mark Comer.

He says this in his book.

The book is called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

He says, if you want to experience the life to the full of Jesus, his nonstop conscious enjoyment of God's presence in God's world, all you have to do is to adopt not only Jesus' theology and ethics, but also Jesus' lifestyle.

If the life you want in Jesus is the life you want, then it's more than just theology and ethics.

It's also about the life of Jesus.

Jesus' invitation to every human being in this room listening to this podcast, Jesus' invitation to every single one of us is to walk as one of his apprentices.

To apprentice under Jesus.

Come follow my way.

That's the invitation.

Take my life as a template for your own.

Take my habits, take my practices, take my routines, take my rhythms, take my disciplines, and then copy it.

But I want to be unique.

Come on.

In the time we have left today, I want to look at Matthew 11, verse 28 to 30.

Matthew 11:28–30

And here's what it says there.

Jesus says, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I'm humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

Now we read those in the 21st century from our comfy chairs in the rec room at South Common today, but I want you to hear these words.

Picture yourself as a first century Jesus follower, a disciple, an apprentice of Jesus, and your rabbi, your master, turns to you and says, Come to me, all who are weary, all who carry heavy burdens, I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I'm humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke, my yoke, is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

If you were alive in the first century as a contemporary of Jesus, you would have seen this guy as a rabbi, as a traveling sage, as a Jewish leader.

That was who he was known to be.

He was way more than that.

He was Messiah, he was promised, he was chosen one, he was all God and all uniquely man, but he was a rabbi, he was a teacher.

And like every other rabbi in the first century Jewish world, Jesus had two things.

Two things that every Jewish rabbi had.

Little history lesson, are you with me?

Okay, here's what Jesus had that every other rabbi also had, but Jesus had them too.

Number one, Jesus had a yoke.

In the Jewish tradition, a yoke was a rabbi's set of teachings on how to be human, on how to handle the crippling weight of life, on how to interpret the scriptures, on how to live out the message of the scriptures, to unpack and interpret the Torah, the Jewish language.

Every rabbi had a yoke, his way of living and interpreting scripture.

And his apprentices would follow after him and learn their rabbi's yoke.

And they would not just learn it, but they would copy it.

A cool example from the Bible is you remember the story of Jesus walking across the water?

If you grew up in Christian tradition, if you grew up in church, you might have read the story where Jesus literally starts walking out across the lake towards his apprentices who are in a fishing boat, and they see him and they're like, is that a ghost?

No, it's that's our rabbi.

What does Peter do?

Peter says, My rabbi's way of doing things is walking on water.

Because I'm his apprentice, I should be able to walk on water too.

And what does he do?

He steps out of the boat.

Right?

So that's a that's a crazy example.

But every rabbi had a yoke.

It's not unique that Jesus had a yoke.

What's unique is that Jesus' yoke was easy.

That's what set him apart.

Jesus wasn't just any Jewish rabbi, he was God in flesh.

He was the promised Messiah, and what set him apart wasn't that he had a yoke.

Every Jewish rabbi had a yoke.

It's that Jesus' yoke was easy.

And his invitation to learn and share in his yoke was that he was going to do all the heavy lifting.

And you would just walk beside him.

The second thing that Jesus had, that every rabbi had, he had apprentices.

In the Bible, we call them disciples.

But the actual word is Talmudim.

Jesus had Talmudim.

And the picture of that, you might have read this in books or even heard this if you've studied Jewish tradition and that kind of thing, but the picture of a Jewish Talmudim is that he would walk behind his rabbi.

Okay?

And everywhere the rabbi walked, the Talmudim would walk right behind.

And the rabbi on the path on the road would kick up dust with his bare feet or his sandals.

And the Talmudim would walk so closely behind his rabbi that he would literally get covered in the dust that his rabbi kicked up.

He would get covered in the essence of the journey of his rabbi.

He would get caked in the dirt that his leader and his master and his rabbi would kick up because he followed so closely.

The invitation from Jesus in the first century and here today in the 21st century is twofold.

It's this number one, hey, son, daughter, my yoke is easy.

Would you let me do the heavy lifting?

Number two, would you follow closely?

Would you let the essence of my lifestyle and my story and my faith, would you let it cover your life in the residue of who I am?

Because you walk so closely.

To be a Talmudim, an apprentice of Jesus is to organize your life around three things.

Number one, be with Jesus.

Number two, become like Jesus.

And number three, do what Jesus would do if he were you.

WWJ D used to be a thing.

The people that are giggling remember the bracelets, right?

To say I want to be an apprentice of Jesus, not just I go to church, not just I grew up Christian, but I want to be an apprentice of Jesus means that you're gonna organize your life around these three statements.

Number one, be with Jesus.

Number two, become like Jesus, and number three, just do what Jesus would do if he were you.

So here's the big question as we land the plane today that I want you to think about this week.

I'm gonna give you some homework.

The big question is: am I living as an apprentice of Jesus or just an interested bystander?

Am I living as an apprentice of Jesus or just as an interested party?

Curious?

I inherited a faith.

My friends have faith.

No, the invitation is for you to follow closely, to learn his yoke, to walk in behind.

The whole point of apprenticeship is to model all of your life after the person of Jesus Christ, to recover your soul, to put the warped parts of your life back into shape, to experience healing in the deepest parts of your being.

Jesus called this life to the full.

John 10, 10 is a well-known verse.

In the NIV translation, it says Jesus came to give us life to the full.

In the message translation, it says Jesus came to give us real, eternal, more, better life.

In the New King James, it says Jesus came to give us abundant life.

If you want the life that Jesus promised, you have to walk the lifestyle of your rabbi, of your king.

Jesus came to save.

And in the Greek, saved is soteria.

When you read the New Testament and read that Jesus saved somebody, and then a few verses later you read the verse that Jesus healed somebody, soteria, it's the same word.

Salvation brings healing.

That's the freedom and the life that Jesus came to give.

Salvation means healing, salve.

Think of salve.

If you have a burn on your arm, you go to the store and get a prescription salve to put cover that injury.

That's the salvation freedom and life of Jesus.

It covers, it brings healing, it brings life.

This is what Jesus was all about healing people.

Jesus' go-to language for inviting people to follow him, inviting people to apprentice under him was come, follow me, be my apprentice.

Follow closely.

Do what I do.

Say what I say.

Live as I live.

Behave as I behave.

Build your habits as I build my habits.

Build your priorities as I build my priorities.

Are you with me?

Matthew 11, 28 in the message translation.

Come on, it says, Are you tired?

Are you worn out?

Are you burned out on religion?

Let's be honest, some of us in the room today, we say we're Jesus' followers, but that describes us.

We're tired, we're worn out, we're burned out, we're frustrated, we're upset, we're angry, we're anxious, we're worried, we're fearful, we're depressed, we're pressed in on every side.

Come to me, Jesus says.

Get away with me, and you will recover your life.

I'll show you how to take a real rest.

Walk with me, work with me, people.

Watch how I do it.

Learn, listen to this, learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me, and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

How good is that?

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

From the first century right here today to the 21st, Jesus' invitation has not changed.

For all those who are tired, exhausted, burned out, stressed, stuck in traffic, again behind on their to-do lists.

Jesus' invitation is to take up his easy yoke, to travel through your life with Jesus at your side and in front of you, learning from him how to shoulder the weight that life can bring, how to carry it, how to rise victorious through it, how to step out of the busyness of society and begin to move into the rhythms of unforced rest.

That's the invitation.

Jesus brings us under his easy yoke and invites us to reevaluate one more deadline at work, one more fight with my spouse, one more project around the house, one more hour of Netflix or two or three or seven.

One more mindless scrolling session on Instagram, one more evening in the car, driving my kids everywhere.

For what?

One more assignment due, one more level to beat, one more, one more, one more pause.

My yoke is easy.

Re-evaluate.

If you're busy with a purpose, cool.

If you're busy because you're trying to keep up with somebody else, re-evaluate.

Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens.

I will give you rest.

Take my yoke, my way of interpreting scripture, my way of living, my way of responding to God's word.

Take my yoke, the way that I carry the weight of this world.

Take my yoke upon you because it's easy.

I'll do the heavy lifting.

Let me teach you because I'm humble, I'm gentle.

You'll find rest for your souls.

So, this is what we're gonna explore over the weeks ahead.

The rest of our lives.

We're gonna lean into the invitation from Jesus to rest for the rest of our lives.

That's good, right?

As an apprentice of Jesus, how are you living your life in the entirety of our rabbi's way?

Here's the secret of the easy yoke.

If you want to experience the life to the full of Jesus, you have to embrace and adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.

If you're like, Pastor, that sounds good, but I don't know what the lifestyle is.

I want to know.

That's what we're gonna unpack.

We're gonna talk about things like spiritual distance, spiritual disciplines.

We're gonna talk about silence and solitude and sabbath and devotion and prayer tools that Jesus modeled for us all through his story of his lifestyle.

And here's your challenge.

We're closed on Sunday, week one.

Take a photo, write it down.

Here's your challenge this week.

I dare you, this week, to take ten minutes at the start of each day just to sit and be quiet with Jesus.

No music, no phone, no Bible, just to sit and be quiet with Jesus.

And then after those ten minutes of quiet, I want you to read out loud Matthew 11, 28 to 30, out loud.

Why out loud?

Because your heart, your spirit, your soul, and your brain always believe the words that come out of your mouth.

Did you know that?

You can read it quietly inside your head, but it won't change a thing.

Your own self needs to hear your own self declare, Come to me, all who are weary.

Ten minutes to pause and just sit quietly and then read out loud.

Whatever translation you lean to, I love the passion translation.

I also love the message translation, but pick one that you identify with.

Read out loud, Matthew 11, 28 to 30.

And then after you've read it out loud, I want you to declare with your own mouth so that your own brain can hear it.

Today I choose to live as an apprentice of Jesus.

It's a little bit of homework, but I want this to be your takeaway this week.

The invitation from Jesus has never changed.

Come follow me.

And I'm excited.

At the end of this series, Nicole and I were going to issue a 90-day challenge to a church community to begin to practice the way of Jesus, the lifestyle of Jesus.

And here's what I can't wait to see.

After those 90 days, how have we seen God move and work in us as a community?

How have we seen Jesus bring healing and life, not just to us, but through us to other people who need the hope that we carry?

We're gonna learn, you're gonna be challenged, you might feel stretched a little bit, but we're gonna do it together.

And at the end of this series, we're all gonna be like, that's it.

I'm closed on Sunday.

We'll get to that.

But let's pray.

Can we pray together?

Did you just bow your heads?

Close your eyes.

Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you for your spirit.

Not an obscure cloud floating around, but a life, a strength within us.

The essence of King Jesus made real for each and every person that chooses to follow an apprentice after him.

Thank you for your spirit present here in our lives today.

Thank you, Jesus, for your invitation to come to you.

That you'll give us rest.

We take your yoke upon us today.

We take your yoke, your way of representing the Father, your way of being human, your way of handling the crippling weight of life, your way of interpreting the word, the way that you shoulder the load for us.

We take your yoke upon us today.

Teach us, Jesus.

You are humble, you are gentle at heart, and we're confident that we're going to find the rest that we crave for our souls.

Thank you that your yoke is easy to bear.

And that the burden you lay on us is actually a light burden.

Jesus, we want to be apprentices of you.

Not just bystanders, not just people that go to church, but committed to your lifestyle.

We accept your invitation today.

We accept your invitation today.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you so much for listening to today's message.

If you're ever in the Edmonton area, pop by for a visit.

And if you need any more information, visit EvolveChurch dot com.

We hope to see you soon.