Keith Battle - Margin - Part 1

I’m starting a new series today, so if you have a Bible, turn to Matthew, chapter 11, the first book of the New Testament. Matthew, chapter 11. I’m going to focus on verses 28 to 30 today. If you’re at one of our physical locations, or if you’re at home and just feel like participating with us, I want you to stand in reverence of God’s Word as we read it today: Matthew 11:28–30. Yes, Lord! I’m going to read this passage from the Easy Translation, and here’s how it goes: it says, «Come to me, all of you who are tired.» Woo! I landed right on that word, tired. Is anybody listening to me tired? I saw some phones go up. Yeah, like tired! And I’m not just talking about physical exhaustion. Does anybody know what it’s like to just be, «Man, I’m just tired, I’m tired»? You can’t even say to the person next to you that you’re tired, 'cause that’s who you’re tied to. Let me get all these jokes out now before somebody gets mad! I’m tired. If you’re tired and watching online, just put it in the chat for me—just say, «I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m tired.» I have a word for you: you are like people who work for a long time. You can be 18 and be tired. Don’t let old people make you feel bad because you’re tired as a teenager. They say, «Your back hurts? You don’t have a back; you’re just young!» Old people can be tripping, thinking you’re too young to have problems. No, you’re not! You can get tired at any age; it’s just that you feel like you’ve been working a long time. You are like people who carry heavy things. Here’s what Jesus says: «Come to me. Come to me! If you do that, you’ll find a place to rest.» Somebody say, «I’m coming, Lord, I’m on my way!» If that’s what you’ve got, I’m on my way. Verse 29: «Do what I teach you to do.» This is so important, y’all—"Do what I teach you to do. Listen to my message and learn from me what is true.» I know you’re listening to a lot of things, a lot of people, and a lot of places, but listen! Jesus said, «Listen to me; I’m very kind, and I do not make myself important. I will help you. Then you will have peace in your mind.» Do you understand that being tired takes peace out of your mind? Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Verse 30: «I will not tell you to do things that are too difficult; I will not tell you to carry anything that is too heavy for you.» That’s so good it doesn’t even seem true! Wow! But I’m going to show you how true it is. You may be seated. I’m tired! This series was inspired partly because of a message I received on X, which used to be called Twitter. I don’t know if the person is here, but somebody tagged me on Twitter, and they sent me three words. Put your hand up if you’ve got a seat near you. You got them, Pastor Kevin? I see you; you look taller out there! I’m only joking! Amen, amen! When you’re that height, the Lord doesn’t have to humble you; you’re just already humble. I walk in this—I walk in this! There are some seats over here too! Aren’t those VIPs over there? Amen! Why you got your purse on the seat? If you got your hand up, you can’t do both now! I got a message: somebody tagged me on Twitter, and they only added three words. They said, «Pastor, I’m tired.» And when I saw those three words on Twitter, I felt it! «I’m tired, Pastor,» and I’m not saying this to try to be spiritual to y’all. I stopped what I was doing, and I prayed for the person. I said, «God, I don’t know what they’re going through, but give them strength for every moment.» I wrote them back and said, «I just prayed for you that God would give you strength moment by moment.» Now, when I saw them say, «Pastor, I’m tired,» what I really wanted to say was, «Me too! Me too!» 'Cause I was, and I knew I was tired, but the exchange just accentuated the reality of it. So, before I give you the content for this message, I’ve got a theme song— we’ve got a theme song for this. So, I asked we assign music. Can y’all go back to 1982 when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five dropped this classic? I want them to give it to you to make sense of it. So we assigned music—give it to ’em! «Hey, don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge! I’m trying not to lose my head.» I can’t lie; sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep it going under. It’s like a jungle sometimes; it makes me wonder how I keep it going under. Now, I know y’all thought that was «Girls» and «Players» too. How many of y’all remember the original? All that stuff Beyoncé did not write; you make me happy? That stuff y’all got from us! Now, how many y’all remember what we just hit? I need my old-school people to get with this, man! Drop the track and play it from the top! «Hey, 'cause y’all ain’t singing this, get on up! You gonna sing for me, Russ? Y’all ready? Don’t push me one more time! Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t push me; don’t push me ’cause I’m tired!»