I am happy and thankful for the great things that God is doing in our lives; and for causing men and women who have been reading this column to come out of the power of darkness into the marvelous light of God. This week, I would like us to look at the scripture from Matthew chapter 11 verse 25: “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes”.
It is a dangerous thing to become wise before God. The world is full of wise men that are foolish – foolish wise people. There are many wise people reading this column. Some people think that they are wise because they have read everything about every religion. They have studied all the theologies, mysticism, esotherism, metaphysics and everything about life; and they seem to know everything apart from the truth about God’s word in the Bible. That is the foolish wisdom that Jesus is talking about.
These kind of people know so much about every other thing apart from the Bible, which is the real revelation about God. If you are that kind of person, you have no chance of seeing God because God always hides the truth about Himself from people like you. But, even if you are like that, for a moment, forget about your wisdom and consider what Jesus said.
Friend, do not be a foolish wise man and at the end of this life, you go to hell. If you end up in hell, you are a fool. You have the opportunity now to fix all opportunities that you have blown all your life.
Jesus said: “I thank you, Father that you have hidden this from the wise and the prudent but have revealed it to babes”. You have to humble yourself and be like a baby. Many of us are so proud and full of ourselves. I do not know why we should be proud. God hates and resists the proud; but He gives more grace to the humble.
The kingdom of God is for those who are lowly, meek, gentle and those who want to learn and understand; not people who are full of themselves. Some people do not want to get into the things of God because they do not understand and are too proud to humble themselves to come down low and learn. Often, they say: I do not do what I don’t understand. You do not need to understand fully. There are many things that you do not understand yet you use them, like your television, electricity, telephone, etc. Why do you have to understand God before you accept Him? Walking with God has to be by faith. Just believe and follow Him.
In verse 28, He says: “Come unto me…” This is an open invitation. Jesus is inviting you to the greatest party on earth. You know how it is when an important man is throwing a party. Everybody is hustling for an invitation card to the president’s or the governor’s party. But here, Jesus is inviting whosoever will. This is the most important invitation. You do not need to fret yourself over invitations to parties that are outside of God. You really do not need all that because it is a matter of a short time, it will be over. However, it is okay to attend parties when you are invited, but seek first the party of God.
Jesus is inviting you to the real party. He says: come to me … He is talking to you because He knows what you are going through. He is God, He sees eternity from now. He sees the end from the beginning. He is telling you to stop running up and down, wasting your time and money looking for solution to your issues. There is no rest or solution any anywhere, but in Christ. He is calling you to Himself. Any other person will fail you, including your brothers, sisters, father, mother, husband, wife, children; even your pastor or Imam will fail you. Man is bound to fail; but Jesus never fails. He says: “Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He is promising you rest and solution to your issues. If you come to Jesus and find no rest, you can go. But I assure you that if you come to Jesus you will find rest.
Life is full of problems and people are going through hell and they are running up and down looking for knowledge to solve their issues. Friend, just come to Jesus now. Tell Him that you are tired of seeking help outside of Him. Some people are close to Jesus, but they do not want to go all the way. You have to throw in all that you have and follow Him like a child. People may laugh at you, but at the end you will find that you have done the right thing.
I remember when I gave my life to Christ; people thought I was stupid. My friends were laughing at me and they said all manner of things about me. I even thought I was stupid because initially I did not understand what I was doing. All I knew was that I was tired of the way I was living and I needed something new. Thank God I wasn’t ‘wise’ enough to reject Christ. I was humble enough to follow Jesus; and since then, I have never regretted any day with Jesus.
You may be doing all kinds of things to get somebody’s attention, but God Himself is seeking your attention. You have tried everything. You are heavy laden and you are under so much pressure from issues – your husband is messing you up, your wife is failing you, your children are disobedient, your business is going down and you are losing money. Do not kill yourself. You may be down, but you are not out. There is still hope. Jesus says: “Come to me.”
Come to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the King of kings and Lord of lords; the one who died two thousand years ago for us to live. He says He will give you rest.
Verse 29: “Take My yoke and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.” Rest for your soul is what you need today. You ought to rest even before you die. Most people write: Rest in peace when people have died. It is not possible to rest in peace when you are in hell. Your soul cannot find rest in hell because there is no rest there. But you can rest in peace before your death. It is that peace and rest that Jesus wants to give you when you come to Him. When you have Jesus, you will be in control and you know that God is your Father, you know that He is on your side; you know that He died for you.
Friends, it is time for you to give your life to Christ and run to the One who is inviting you. Come and say yes to Jesus. Say: Lord Jesus, be merciful unto me, a sinner. I am a sinner. Today, I give my life to You. Please Lord, write my name in Your book of life. I say yes to Jesus. You died for me to be saved. Right now, I receive You into my life. Thank You Lord.
That is the most powerful prayer in the world. It is the only prayer that can take you from hell to heaven. If you prayed that prayer, you have become a Christian.
Three things I say to you:
1. Get yourself a Bible; begin to read from the book of John
2. Pray in the name of Jesus
3. Look for a good Bible-believing church and begin to attend. Take part in church activities and serve God well.
NB: First published August 2014