Salem Conference 2012 - Pastor Joseph P. Sugrue Saturday PM Part 1

 

Pastor John did an excellent job describing the imagery of the yoke. The yoke is made for two and in Matt 11:30 our end of that yoke is described by our Lord as easy and light.

 

The old yoke with you on one end and the OSN on the other is described by Him in verse 28 as heavy laden which makes you weary, which means that the sin nature isn’t bearing anything.

 

MAT 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 

MAT 11:29"Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. 

 

MAT 11:30"For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

 

Well, if I’m free then why is there any yoke at all on me? We’ve already seen that we need a Master. We need a leader who will guide us. And though that Master has given us a side of this yoke that is easy and light it is a load none the less.

 

As Pastor John shared love is the key to bearing this load just like love is the key to following His commands.

 

1JO 5:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

 

LUK 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

 

The cross is a yoke and here we have two men carrying it as a beautiful picture of Christ and His Church. The individual believer bears the easy and light yoke of representing Christ on this earth and overcoming sin, evil, and human good. Why is it easy and light? Christ bears almost all of it.

 

Simon was laid hold of. Sometimes God thrusts us into situations that we would never voluntarily take on. That’s not violating your free will. You can still choose to conquer the situation or be conquered by it.

 

I chose to do this conference. I had no idea what would occur in these few days in my soul. And I know why those challenges arose. I would never choose to put myself through some of these challenges, yet here they are. Will I thrust them onto the shoulders of my Lord or will I attempt to bear them in my human strength?

 

This is why no one likes change or likes to be challenged.

 

1. Slaves: privileged servers under grace

2. Free: privileged self determination to exploit grace

 

 

3. Friend:

 

Everyone needs a friend.

 

 JOH 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

 

JOH 15:15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

The friendship with Christ is conditional to application of doctrine. The third class condition in verse 14 reveals that not all believers qualify as doers of the word.

 

JAM 1:25

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed [happy] in what he does.

 

God’s not in the pity business. True friendship is true friendship.

 

John 15:15 further describes this friendship as a slave that knows what the master is doing.

 

Rather, his point is that a slave obeys his master’s orders without understanding his master’s motives and plans; he has no intimate knowledge of his master’s purposes.

 

So then, because Jesus has disclosed to his disciples a full knowledge of His Father’s secret counsels (John 8:38), they cannot any longer be “called” slaves. A friend has the intimate knowledge that is denied a slave.

 

We have been given the opportunity for intimate knowledge of the mind of Christ that was denied to the OT saints, the mystery doctrine of the Church.

 

True friendship is based upon a great understanding of the other person’s priorities, motivations, and personality. Knowing Christ motivates submission to Him.

 

 1JO 2:3

And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

 

JOH 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;

 

JOH 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

 

JOH 15:15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

The truth is that all believers are slaves of Christ, but there are certain ones that He calls friend due to their intimate knowledge of His purpose and plan. He still addresses Himself as Master.

Also notice that we are not calling Him friend. He doesn’t ask us to do so. Instead:

JOH 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

Would ya please call Me friend? [too relaxed around friends]

This is not to say that the Father or the Son is unfriendly, or that when you reach friendship status that the friendship is not in both directions to you and from you, but that each remains a Lord to be obeyed, not a colleague to be befriended. Let Him call you friend and you call Him Teacher and Lord.

1. Slaves: privileged servers under grace

2. Free: privileged self determination to exploit grace

3. Friends: privileged learners under grace