We come to Matthew chapter 11, dear friends, and our text is found in verses 28 to 30. Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest. unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light our lord jesus christ said and dear friends this morning our subject is we could say god's invitation or simply you are invited It can be called a divine invitation. I'm sure if you have attended a place of worship, a gospel-believing church, this passage would have been preached upon many, many times. And you've heard of this royal invitation or a heavenly invitation, the greatest of the greatest of invitations. But as you think about this, this is so simple, and it is so direct, what the Lord Jesus Christ says here. And that's what I want you to hear this morning, this wonderful message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why, friends, if you are Christians, we invite you to invite others, family, friends, relations to come on this Lord's Day morning to hear the gospel. This is why we want to preach it clearly every Lord's Day morning, that no one can say they never heard it. Even if one person comes once a year, we want them to hear. what God has done. But here is such a wonderful text. The Lord Jesus Christ is saying to all sinners, all sinners who are burdened here this morning, men and women, he says to us, come unto me. And as you know, there are so many invitations. There are so many types of invitations. And we don't have time to give you a list of all these various invitations in the Bible. But definitely this specific and special invitation is a matter of life and death. It's the gospel invitation. And by the gospel, we mean good news, good news. We live in a world of bad news. You see the headlines. What is it telling you? Not very positive news. But here is Jesus Christ giving us a gospel invitation, which means good news invitation. And so we are here this morning thinking about this, this matter of life that Jesus Christ gives. And as we read earlier on from Romans chapter six, that by sin, death comes into this world, that the wages of sin is death. We are all familiar with the inscription, RIP. I hope you don't use it, but people do use it, RIP, rest in peace. When a person has died, the opportunity is over. We may wish them many things, but the opportunity is over. People think that the person who has died, they wish them to be at peace wherever his soul may be. And the thought of rest and peace for most people is something to postpone indefinitely or something which should happen after death. But according to the Bible, dear friends, according to the scriptures, rest and peace can be known while we are still alive, while we still breathe, while we are still on this earth. We may have the peace of God, you see, and know about it. That's the difference. So I am at peace. I don't want to be merely in later rest in peace, but through Jesus Christ, I have peace with God. And by his grace, peace with my fellow men as well, but not peace with sin. I'm at war with sin. I'm at war with my own heart, which is deceitful and sinful above all things and desperately wicked. I'm at war with that, but I'm at peace with God. And that's a blessed thing. Dear friends, we don't need to wait for after death. We don't need for somebody to be praying after death for us in order to know where we will spend eternity. Because for sure there is a life after death, yes. People are immortals in one sense. You are going to be forever be living in a certain place after you die. So rest is not a sort of a vain wish. It's a reality. We can know it now. So having said that, looking at what the Lord Jesus Christ says, this great invitation or this royal invitation, there are just some aspects that I would like to touch on because it is so rich. There's so much we can see by looking at these verses, but here it is. I have two main points. The first point is to look at the invitation itself. And the second is to look at the instructions that the invitation gives, which will make us understand the invitation. Why is it so important? And in the invitation, there are four aspects that I would like to look with you. And then in the instruction, I want to look at two things. So there are a number of, a couple of headings and a few subheadings under each. And it is so important for us to take these things in. I know you have heard this before. Just a couple of weeks ago, you heard this passage preached from but it must go deep into our hearts. We must not simply know it in our heads, but we must experience this unburdening of soul and this dealing with our sin by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you don't want to just listen to another sermon. So we might ask the question. And at the end of the message, I'll ask you these questions again. When and how Can I have this rest and peace? When and how can I have this peace? When and how can I have that relation with the only living God? So let us look at this. First of all, the invitation. Looking at this invitation, first thing that I would like to mention is to consider the person who is inviting, not the invitation itself, but the person who is inviting. Who is this inviter who says, come unto me? The person, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior himself, the creator of heaven and earth. Did you know that? It's Jesus Christ who's created all things. All you need to do is to read the gospel according to John in chapter one. It will tell you just in the first few verses that it was through Christ, the Word made flesh, that this world was created. He is the one who so kindly, so sympathetically invites us. Normally, this holy God should crush us, crush us down. By nature, you and I, we shouldn't have any relations with the Lord. But here He is. Here, this is what He says. You, He says. You, come unto me, all ye, all ye. Who are these people? These are people who are laboring, who are heavy laden. There are people who are being crushed under a great weight upon them, this spiritual weight. And this is all of you. Isn't there anyone here who says, I am so without any kind of burdens, without any kind of concerns, without any kinds of sins, without anything to be forgiven. Now all of us could say, we fit into this text, this invitation. And he says, come unto me. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who came to die on the cross. Imagine that, God manifest in the flesh, comes to die to bear the sin of many, the scripture says. So the invitation and the inviter is the Lord himself. So he says in verse 27, We read about this, that Jesus, he received from his father all authority to save sinners. And he says, he will make the decision who, to whom he will reveal these things. And that's an amazing thing. It's a mind boggling thing. He says that, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. But then he goes on to give this invitation. anybody who is sensing their guilt and sin. And this is important not only to save sinners, but to reveal God to sinners. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ does. So you want to know who God is, you go and find out more about the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want God to be revealed to you, you need the Lord Jesus. So when he speaks about God, what is the Lord doing? Jesus Christ is always speaking about himself, and he's speaking about God, because he is God. He is the king of kings, and because he is in that position, he takes the initiative to invite sinners, to invite his creation, to invite the people that he has created, and these people have rejected him. He came even to his own people, the Jewish nation, and they received him, not the scripture says. What is this telling you? That the Lord Jesus Christ, this God man, he feels for us. And so this morning you might think to yourself, you're abandoned by all. And you may be, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who feels for sinners like you and me. And this is something wonderful about him. He feels for us. That's why he came. This is why he became a man. No one from the Old Testament, from the past life or to the New Testament, to the present, to the future, no one has ever come to know God without the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one. And you read of all those saints in the Old Testament. How did they come to know God? It is through Jesus Christ. That is how. So again, the Lord Jesus Christ is not just one among the many, as society would have us believe, as the many religions in this world, that they say, well, it's just another religion, it's another idea. It's just a prophet, we are told. He's a great example, he's a great teacher. But it's impossible, dear friends, to have relation, to have that fellowship with God, unless by the Lord Jesus Christ. And as Jesus Christ himself said, no one, no one knows the father. No man knows the father, except the son to whom, to whomsoever the son would reveal him. So we may go everywhere in this world. You may travel all kinds of places, but there is no way to be saved or to know God without coming to bow before the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior. He's the Prince of Peace. He's the Prince of Life. So you have these verses before us, verses 28 to 30. They actually give us or put us in the very heart of the person of Christ. He can speak about our needs because He knows everything. He knows everything. He knows everything about us. He knows all of our feelings. And so at this moment in time, sometimes it is, sometimes children, you talk to them and they want to tell you something that's in their heart, but they can't tell you. And your best of friends cannot fully know how you are feeling. But the Lord knows. The Lord knows. And the Lord is the one who is knowing all of those things, the good and the bad, the wicked things in your life, the secret things and the open things. He knows all of these things. He knows your intentions. And he comes and he says to you, come unto me. And I read somewhere a proverb in another country that says this. God is able to see a black ant on a black stone in a black night. And so it is with us. The Lord sees us in the darkest of places you may be. And you might think to yourself, that's it. I'm done. It is the end for me. The Lord sees all. Nothing is hidden. And friends, The Lord Jesus Christ knows all of these things. He understands our feelings. He's called the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was tempted in all points as we are in every way without sin, the scripture says. And so he is able to succor us. He is able to secure us. He is able to save us. We remember his brothers, his own brothers mocked him. We remember one of his friends betrayed him. We remember how he wept over the whole city, the whole city of Jerusalem, who was an unbelieving city. They didn't want to believe in him. They had rejected him. And what was he doing? Was he cursing them? No, he was weeping over them, over that city. But we also remember how he was falsely accused. He was falsely accused and forsaken and finally crucified on the cross. All of these things part of God's sovereign plan. But death could not hold him. So they put him in a tomb. They put a stone over him. They even sealed it, the scripture says. So it couldn't be opened in any way. It couldn't be tampered with. And yet, We read in the Scriptures, death could not hold him. He rose from the dead. Having loosed the pains of death, he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. So the resurrected Redeemer is the one who invites us. You're not being invited just by a mere king. It's not the Queen of England inviting us, no. You're not being invited by the highest person in authority. No, how we would be so enamored by that, how we would be so thankful and think, well, oh, I'm being invited by such and such a person. And we would tell people about it for the rest of our lives. But the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the God who fills heaven and earth, He says to us, frail as we are, frail and sinful as we are, He's able to say to us, come unto me. That's the first aspect. And so we must consider, dear friends, the invitation. We must also consider the person who is inviting us. And I want us to think about the simplicity of this invitation. That's the second aspect, the simplicity. There's nothing too hard. that you need a dictionary to find out what the Lord Jesus Christ says. It's very simple. A child can understand it. Come! You know, when our children were young, and they were crawling, and all you had to say was, come! And they would come, smiling, coming. It's so simple. And the Lord says, uses this kind of a language as well. Come. And what is that telling you? God is saying to us, God is so concerned about our spiritual state or condition that he must invite. He's so concerned about it and so he says to us, come. He doesn't say go, he says come. And this kind of a language, this kind of a invitation is all over the Bible, if you were to look at it. Even from the verse one of the Bible, in Genesis chapter one and verse one, which is the book of Genesis so important, we have to take it as it is. And in Genesis chapter one and verse one, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. What is that telling you? God is inviting you to know him. God is saying, without me you know nothing, but you can know me. There is a God. And so he's inviting us to believe on him. He's telling you who has created you. You haven't been brought about by nothing. So it's an invitation to know that you need that fellowship, that you need that close communion with the living God who is the creator. And unfortunately, I can't believe it, how so many people are saying that there is no God. Who created you? Why are you here? Where are you going after this life? How do you wake up in the mornings? Day after day working and enjoying yourself and smiling and doing your sports maybe, doing your reading, doing your studies, doing your hobbies, eating and so on. And are you still thinking that there is no God? How is that possible? But on the other hand, like so many countries in this world, in Muslim world or in the Roman Catholic world, or many who claim to be Christian, they say, yes, there is a God. Yes, I believe in God. But as I said earlier on, James tells us, James chapter two, he says, you believe in God. Yes, you do, you say you believe in God. And he says, that's good. It's good that you believe, but make sure your belief is not like the devil. He says, he believe in God, but the devil also believes in God. And the demons tremble before God. So again, that is why in preaching the gospel to all of you here and those who are visiting with us and our guests, In preaching the gospel, we don't just want to say God, we just don't want to say you must believe in God. But this God is the only true God. There's only one God. And this God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. And this is why the Lord Jesus could say, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me, he says. If there was another way, the Lord would have said. God would have revealed that. He would have shown it to us. If there was another way, I could tell you about it, but there is no other way. And the Bible doesn't give us another opportunity. There is no other door. There is only one door, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So God is so concerned about us. Is the world concerned about you? In a certain way, yes. The world around you is concerned about you too. The world would invite you to certain things. The world would say, well, there is no God. We can't know God. It is too arrogant to say that there is a God. It's too hard to understand these things they say. But here we are, the Lord Jesus tells us, come unto me. Not to assist them, not to simply help them, not to go through some sort of a ritual and to say some prayers and to sort of believe certain kind of a dogma or creed. No, no. He's not saying come unto me and do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that. It doesn't say that. He says come unto me because he himself is God. He's not someone who is telling people, come unto me, then I will do my best to lead you to God. No. No, he says, come unto me. Because each time, every time he speaks about God, he's speaking about himself, because he's the very of the very God, no other God. So look at the text again. came to us, He came so that we may be able to come to God. It's like a dialogue, come to me, come unto me and I will give you, take my yoke and I will give you. You see, there's a kind of dialogue here. So cordial, so sympathetic. There's a compassion in this invitation. And we are relieved from our burdens. We are not saved by something, but we are saved by somebody, the Lord himself. We are saved by the person of Jesus Christ. And maybe you are here saying to yourselves, well, how can I be saved from my sin? How can I get this burden of guilt that I'm carrying to be removed? How can I do this? And well, I could give you my testimony about this, but my simplest of answers is if God can save anybody, anybody and somebody like me, he can save anybody. So he came from heaven in order to come for us and inviting us, he says, come unto me because he's God. No, He's not just one among the many. He's a special one. He's the only one we can trust Him. And without the Lord Jesus Christ, dear friends, the sinner is restless. Maybe that's the state of your heart this morning. If you're not a Christian, that would be the state of your heart. Restless, not having peace, says the Bible. That's the description of the unconverted. There's no peace for the wicked, the scripture says. Our hearts will never be in rest until they rest in God. There is that emptiness. There is that nothingness, that vanity in the heart. And that heart will never find itself until God comes and dwells in the heart of a sinner. And God must do that. God must enter in. God must open your heart. Or we may try many things as people do. We may try jobs and paying for this and that and getting this and that. We may try pleasures and family and friends. And maybe that is what you've been doing. And you're engaging yourself. Maybe some of you young people, you're engaging yourself. If I just do this and if I pass this exam and if I get onto this course and all of these things are bothering you and you're not at rest about these things. And it is good to study, it is good to be focused about these things, about your life and seeking to do your best, not for yourself, but for the glory of God. But you ask, you ask people around here afterwards, you ask them and ask, are they doing what they were studying to do? All the stuff that they did, are they right now doing or have they throughout their years done stuff that they were all stressed about? Oh, have I done this? Did I get these marks and so on? And they would tell you. Many, many people would say no, and yet they would tell you, but I know I am doing the will of God right now. I am at peace with the way the Lord has led me. So the greatest thing for you is to make sure you're right with God and you seek him with all your heart and everything you do, you do it for his glory. And so at the end of the day, whatever results you might get and wherever you may end up, you can say, I did it for God's glory and he has led me to here and I praise him for it. And he has many things to teach me in good things that has happened and in bad things that has happened. They are friends. the world itself, that detaches itself from the mercy of God and from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, is always without peace and rest. And that is why the Lord Jesus, the great Inviter, says, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And there's a scope here. The scope, so we've talked about it, is the simplicity of it, and here is the scope of this invitation. And that's very important for us. It's the most direct and extensive invitation. It's very extensive. How do we know? Well, it says, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So if you are having this spiritual burden upon you, if you are having this great trouble, spiritual trouble that you see already upon you, it says you fit into that. It's all of those people. If you're trying to brush it to one side, how will you receive this invitation? This invitation is not for those who are rejecting these things and who are saying, no, I don't have any burden, so I just carry on in my own way of life, no. I want to tell you, every single person, if they begin to think seriously about their soul and about their life, they would realize that they are burdened. that spiritually they're in great, great need. So all who sense this, they may come, the Lord is saying. He invites then all, it doesn't matter your family background, your culture, your color of skin, in that sense, it's all inclusive. But there is this thing, you must be burdened. you must sense this heavy load of sin upon you. And friends, that's something that is important for us because he doesn't say to us, well, most of you, come on to me, most of you, come on to me, 50% of you, come on to me, only this group of you. No, no. And you see, dear friends, all of us are in need of this invitation so that we would be given the grace to take it and obey it, obey this invitation. Because you see, from our toes to our heads, every part, the scripture says, is sick. The heart is desperately wicked and it needs salvation. It needs reconciliation with God. And so there is no way we can do it. This world will never give us that rest. And actually, yes, the world invites us, the world invites us, attracts us, but then it assassinates us. It would seek to murder us. It's like a spider's web. It catches us. You'll be dangling forever in that state. The world says, come, but it doesn't show you what will happen to you when you come to it. But with the Lord Jesus Christ, we come and we know what will happen to us. And that's a wonderful thing. In our spiritual condition, without Christ, sin has become such a burden to us. This is what happens. Sin has made us a burden itself, and we may push it away, we may deny it, but we will always come back. There is this broken heart, there is this bitterness, there is this jealousy, there is this disappointment, there is this tongue that we don't know what to do with. This heart that begins to think about all kinds of evil things, and we think, what shall I do with it? We are carrying this heavy load of guilt in our conscience. And I say with great respect, we are carrying a heavy load like a horse, like a camel, like a donkey. We are this burden bearer. And life is so heavy because of our guilt, because of our sins. And there is no way to find rest in this world. We may try different solutions. We have this DIY sort of religion, but at the end, it doesn't work. It gives us no success. And you've heard these things many, many, many times, but the Lord says to us, come, come unto him. It is also sufficient. This invitation is sufficient. You see this in verse 28 again. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So there is this promise. And I will give you what? I will give you rest. You shall find rest. So it's a promise, if you want. This is the gift of the Lord. It's the gift of Jesus Christ for everyone who is burdened like this, who would come to him. A free gift, which is given to people who are coming to him. Elsewhere, the Lord Jesus said, whosoever cometh to me shall never be hungry. Or whosoever comes to me shall never be thirsty. And by the way, the word rest, it means relief, relief from above. To rest is a gift and it is a very personal one. Here, dear friends, I'm saying this gift gives you purpose for your life. It gives you life itself. So this rest speaks about salvation freed from loneliness. Rest for your soul. Take my yoke upon you. It is the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ that goes, as it were, in the world, in the farming world, the yoke would be put on the shoulders of oxen. brings them together, helps them to work together. And this yoke brings us with God, works that we might work with God and live with the Lord and for the Lord. And so it brings us close with God, communion with the Lord. Speaking about fellowship, this yoke, and I don't want to miss this, a few years ago, In France, there was a major survey done. And in that survey, it was said that it believed that about 4 million people have only three conversations during the whole year. I couldn't believe it when I read this, that the four million people who had filled in this survey had said that they only had three conversations in one year. So during 365 days, they have 120 days before they get one conversation. And I believe, you don't need me to tell you, even in this country, one of the biggest problem of people is loneliness. But when we come to Christ, we are a member of a large family. We are a member, part of the body of Christ, most alive family I trust. We are the member of this body, of the biggest family in the world. And so wherever you go, you find a Christian. You are straight away at one with them. Oh yes, you might differ with them on certain things, but in terms of when they love Jesus Christ and they love the word of God, you're at one with them. It's as if you've known them for most of your life. That's a wonderful thing, dear friends. And here the Lord Jesus is saying, come unto me. And he's saying, take my yoke because I'm bringing you into fellowship with my father, with others in my family, too. I must move on as time is going to. But let me say a few things about the instruction. The second thing, instruction. in verses 29 and 30. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And there are two aspects to this. He says, take my yoke. I've already spoken of this. Take my yoke, the Lord says. You see, man-made religions, man-made religions, they say, give me, give me. But the Lord Jesus Christ says, take, take from me, he says, take of me. And as I said, the yoke joins people or the oxen together. It helps them to lift the heavy weights together. So the Lord Jesus Christ joins us with himself. We are united with him. It is like Jesus, he says, let's trade. Let's trade because a changed life is an exchanged life. I give my life to Jesus Christ and I receive his life. Stakes changed because all religions, if you look at them, atheism included, every system, every cult, they put a heavy yoke upon the necks of the people. They crush the people down. But this is not the case with the Lord Jesus. He gives us his yoke because his yoke is lighter. And that yoke that he gives us is to compensate what we have lost. That's what it is. So the yoke of sin is removed and replaced by the yoke of forgiveness. It's replaced by the yoke of obedience to the living God. It's a delight. It's a refreshment for our souls to be forgiven and to have our sins removed. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Not because of what I did. Not because I have done something to deserve this, I've done something nice, I've been a good person, no, no. But because of Jesus' blood that he shed upon the cross. That's the whole message of salvation, that Jesus Christ paid for our sins by dying upon the cross. And those who trust in that work, not in their work, will be saved, the Lord says. He shed his precious blood for that. So it doesn't depend on you or me. And so you come, you find that rest. What a difference. You know, the world invites you, as I said. And you think about this. The world invites us. When the world invites us, we come and let's say the world invites you to a banquet. Come at eight o'clock. Come to this banquet. And then it's over. There's a time that you'll be thrown out if you carry on staying. Everything in this world comes to an end. There's an end time to it. But this invitation, Christ takes you to the kingdom of God and you stay there forever and forever. The invitation will never be over because Christ cares for us. He's prepared the kingdom for us. And He knows that now you belong to Him. And His promise will never fail. So that's the first aspect of the instruction. Take my yoke. But the second thing is this. Learn of me, or learn from me. By the way, the three words learn, the word there, learn, This is a word which we get the word mathematics from. This word learn. So which means you learn maths from the Lord Jesus. You learn to do things. You learn to calculate things. You must learn them from him. The Lord is saying that then you learn. What is it that I am teaching? You learn something from my word. You learn my commandments. You learn my will for your life. So to come to the Lord Jesus Christ is not also to change one religion to another one. This is not the point. But if you notice, the Lord Jesus is at the same time the lesson and the teacher. He is the lesson and the teacher. He's inviting us to enter into his university of life, as it were, free of charge. A university of life free of charge. You receive every education, every spiritual education. And look, he didn't say that to learn about me, and this is the problem with many people, They learn about Christ, they learn about facts, they learn about events and historical events and so on. But Jesus Christ, he said, learn not of me, just to have a big head, but learn of me, learn from me. Be my student, be my disciple. Be somebody who is at my school, as it were. And you find the rest for your soul. And to know him and to learn from him, it means to have fellowship with him, to have a close understanding of his person and his work and his nature. And you begin to learn that he's lonely, he's meek, he's gentle, he's humble. He makes you learn these things more and more and more in your life. And what you find in this school is that you begin to become like that teacher. You begin to become like the Lord Jesus Christ more and more in your life. Oh, learn of Him, dear friends. Maybe at the moment you are very bitter, maybe angry, maybe everything is going against you, and you have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible, and you are very upset about things, you are easily provoked and so on. Well, learn of the Lord Jesus. That's the solution. It's no amount of sermons you hear. You can read books about this. You can go and see a counselor about these things. But who can make you humble and meek? Only the Lord Jesus Christ. So the last part of the sermon is to ask you two questions. We have seen the inviter, we have seen the invitation, we have seen how simple it is, the scope of it, all of these things. We've seen how sufficient it is that we shall receive rest. But now may I ask you yourself, how? How is it possible to come or you don't need to go through some traumatic or dramatic experience. How can you come? It doesn't say you have to have all of these kinds of experiences. It is left open for God to deal with individuals as he wishes in terms of their coming and their experiences. But it is easy to come everywhere. God says to the seeker, the person who is seeking him, to the people who are looking for God and wanting to know him and those who want to be saved. He says, look, for example. Here it says, come, but elsewhere it says, look unto me and be saved from the guilt of your sin. We are looking to so many things, of course, in this world, but this is the best of looks that we must. The thing that deserves all of our attention, what we must be fixing our soul on, our heart and our conscience, is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. How just look and come and take and learn and then you get rest. That's an amazing thing. It is all our benefit. Come to him with a contrite heart, dear friend. Ask him, oh Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. Don't go or don't try morality sort of reformation or education or try to imitate other people, copying others. must come to him first, because he is the one who can give you that rest. And the second question is, when? When? When should I come? Come unto me, he's saying. Now, it's in present tense. Yes, it is imperative. It's a command to us. Come unto me. But it is in present tense. Now, I wonder why the word present in English language why the word present is present. When you, for example, give a present to somebody, it is called a present. Now, I'm playing with words here. Please recognize I'm not going into grammar here. But when you give someone a present, you don't say this is, you say this is a present. You don't say this is past or future. Because you must appreciate it now. You must appreciate this now. And of course, those of you who know your language, you know the word present, it comes from the old French or Latin, which has to do with offering. That's why it is present. But here it is in the, this come is in present tense. It means come now. You must appreciate this now. So the invitation here is, it doesn't say, oh, it's tomorrow. Come when you feel like it. Or come where you are and when you are in a better disposition, when you feel better. But the text says come now. No ceremony, no rituals, no sacred words, nothing to be repeating. and he will not cast away anyone who comes to him. The King of Kings is inviting you this morning, dear friends, and this is the sufficient warrant. So believe them, rest and peace are given to you. Receive and taste it now and taste it in the Lord Jesus Christ. So have you become so burdened and hurt by that burden and pained by it, by that sin? And what are you going to do about it? How can you get rid of it? You need a doctor for it to be removed. And it is the doctor, Jesus Christ, the great physician of our souls. Without him, you are still under the yoke of your sin. So come and listen to his words again. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Amen. Let us bow before the Lord in prayer.