His Retirement Plan
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. [1]
I. Rely
A. Labor
B. Laden
II. Receive
A. Load
B. Learn
III. Rest
A. Leave
B. Light
Introduction: Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. [2]
The psalmist wrote about what it is to be blessed. The psalmist wrote about where to find rest. This is Labor Day weekend. We commemorate those who toil by remembering them in a special time each year. It coincides with the season change from extreme hot summer to when we have more and more days of milder outside temperature where we can go outside and rest in the beauty of nature without looking for a way to stay cool. It is getting easier but soon after it will get so cold that again we will be looking for a place to come inside to comfort again. But for now, we can rest in this moment. Isn’t that what He created us for after all?
Last Sunday morning as Jerry was talking of revival, he took a side trip into a place where he mentioned retirement. He posed a challenge that The Spirit answered right away for me. Jerry pretty much said, show me in the Bible where you can find His retirement plan. Well Jerry, here it is and it is straight from Jesus about the time as He was preaching to a multitude of people by the Sea of Galilee.
Scripture: The scripture is Matthew 11:28-30. When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.
Prayer: Please be seated
Message: For those folks who believe that the preacher decides to preach at you, you are giving me way too much credit. I only preach what He gives me to preach which is His message to me first. For those of you who believe that the preacher decides to preach at you. You are taking too much credit for yourselves. He has given us His written word and He knows it will not return void. If you have decided not to listen to this message than the devil has done his deed and he has won with you.
This message is how to retire. If it was pointed at anyone it is pointed to that guy back there in that little room because he asked for it last week and I heard these words right then and there.
Have you ever seen a plaque with this neat little saying, “I was tired but now I am retired!” What is it that you are relying on? What is it that you consider labor? What is it that is a burden which you are laden with?
In the introduction, we heard from Psalm 33 what it means to be blessed. When I was 47 years old, CP&L was in the process of merging with Florida Progress. My headquarters was in the big white building on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh. For some weird reason, somehow I was over the Electrical Engineering group who oversaw electrical and control system for all the power plants that weren’t nuclear.
How I got there I do not know. They paid me to get a degree in Engineering but I didn’t finish my studies. I lacked about two credits when my brother Jack got sick with cancer. Jack was a Civil Engineer and had a firm outside DC in Alexandria Virginia. While Jack was in the hospital up there in Arlington, I myself had an appendix attack down here and wound up in the hospital. After my surgery, against the doctor’s orders, I drove up to Arlington to be with him and wound up dehydrated when I got back home. That time Rachael had to get an ambulance to put me back in the hospital. I never finished college and never got a degree in Engineering. Instead, they started grooming me for management and I was promoted anyway. Somebody saw something in me that I didn’t see in me.
Years later computers came and replaced the control systems. Somehow I just understood how they ticked so somebody decided to send me to a bunch of schools and I would up designing and overseeing the installation of control systems so they moved me away from good old Cape Fear Plant. Now I was over the engineers who had more degrees than I. I thought I was blessed.
Retire! Man I was having a great time flying my own plane and jumping on airliners literally flying all over the world talking about what God had equipped me to do. I was blessed.
Then at 47 years old, CP&L made a deal with a company they were taking over. Part of the deal was that if Florida Progress became part of what used to be CP&L, then their contractor Engineering firm would take over what CP&L’s internal engineers used to do. They contracted out their engineering. The other company would have failed if CP&L had not taken them over but CP&L decided to turn over their engineering and do what the failed company had done. WHAT!
At 47 years old, I was retired. I had been so ready to leave. Computers came natural to me and I enjoyed what I knew how to do. I never wanted to be an overseer. I still don’t! Ya’ll hear me???
Years before, I knew that I could rely on God. Anger controlled me and I ran out on that which I know He called me to do. Now I was doing things that were laborious for sure. I wanted out but I wanted out on my terms. I didn’t want to be retired at 47 years old. I wasn’t ready for rest.
So low and behold as they say, Progress Energy helped Rachael and me to start our own corporation. If you ever look at the website where you can find these sermons and other stuff what’s going on with Merry Oaks Baptist Church, www.intelecs.com, you will see the history of our little consulting firm. Progress Energy hired us to assist with their large control system retrofits and installations. I was so happy that I was beside myself.
I had more than I thought I wanted. I forgot about my time taking classes at Seminary wondering what God had for me to do. I had enough to do, more than enough.
God took me away from that which I didn’t want to be encumbered with. That which he put in me, those talents that I didn’t search for, those things will always be with me; but the heavy laden is gone and now finally I am relying on God. At least that what I made myself believe.
I really thought that I had found joy. I had it all. Then came another awful distraction! I loved my sister Janice but addictions and demons prevented us from having a relationship. I prayed that we would but now she was dying with cancer like our brother Jack had died from.
One day I flew down to Topsail to be with Janice when she asked, “When is it enough?” They retired me at 47 and helped me to start a business with folks in several plants. I was busy flying our plane but somehow found time to fly down at least once a week to be with Janice because the folks that worked for us were really busy doing that which I loved and used to do. Finally I got it. Yeah Janice, it’s enough. Thank God for my sister Janice who asked me that which I wasn’t ready to hear but I heard. Here I am Lord! Finally!
So I ask you, “When is it enough?”
When are you going to stop doing that which is tearing you down? When are you going to receive that which will take your addiction away? Janice finally surrendered before she left here and I surrendered my anger towards her. Somehow I am still very angry at that which took her away from me. He is still working on me…
In Christian Counseling we learned from the apostle Paul as he wrote to the Ephesians in 4:20-24, “But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and truef holiness.” [3]
In order to leave that thing which is controlling you, that thing that is destroying you, you have to really receive Christ and learn from Him. Stop receiving from those who would rather have you join them in a pity party. Throw that load off and learn from Jesus. Take His yoke upon you and learn of Jesus. He is not an over bearer! He is meek and lowly of heart. Retirement! Rest from that which is tiring you out! That which is tearing you down!
But wait there’s more. How can you put on Jesus while you still have that burden you refuse to unload? It is a twofold proposal. Put off and put on. Before I lost my position with CP&L, I put off smoking. I put on something else. See it? Yeah I know, I got fat and now I am going to a nutritionist getting encouraged to put this off. What I did put on was that which I had known but through anger I walked away from. I got back into His written word. I fell in love with the Bible again. Through my anger I walked away and it took me years of thinking I was in control before I finally learned to put off that which was burdening me down.
Danny and I went to chapel at Southeastern Seminary Tuesday morning. I went there when I was a very much younger man but anger led me away. When are you going to stop letting others anger you away from God’s plan for you? From time to time, He has to remind me that others can still lead me who I allow to anger me. Stop it! Put it off!
He is meek and lowly in heart. He doesn’t need to be the first one counted. He is the first one counted. Stop it! When is it enough? When will I take His load and throw mine down? Promised rest? Until you leave yours behind, you will not be able to take His yoke upon yourself. Leave it! When you do you will find that someone else. That one who will pick that up which you think you must do and they will take that which you envisioned and they will make it a reality. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He left so that we would pick up and do that which He envisioned for us to do. That is a leader! That is Jesus.
I was once the Fire Chief for Moncure and one of the first EMTs in this state. Taking care of sick folks was as important to me as taking care of their property. I’m still hauling sick folks. Maybe taking care of them instead of property really is more important to me. Peter was still a fisherman. God will not take away that which he equipped you to do but He will give you something that you love even more than that thing. He will give you Himself!
Folks thought my attention to EMS was greater than my attention for being Fire Chief so they voted me out and I got bitter. Here I am years later seeing a Fire Department that is fully accredited with ambulances and paramedics working alongside the firefighters. Now I am the chaplain. I pray for the chief because I once carried his load but I see that which God put in my vision and I would rather serve those who serve. I have learned how to rest because I have retired from that which was a burden. Still hanging around firefighters, firetrucks, and ambulances but I am at rest. My burden is light now because His burden is light.
So how did I lose my bitterness about CP&L, Moncure Fire Department, church, and those other things that used to be such a burden? His light! He enlightened me when I finally put off the notion that unless I do it myself it can’t be done right.
His light will illuminate the truth that God absolutely is in control. You can rely only on Him and if you try to rely on anything other than Him, that burden will break you down. When once you truly receive Jesus and take His load of loving others more than wanting to do what you want to do, when you learn that from Him, then you will finally once and for all be able to retire from that which has been a burden for so long. Now you are able to have the joy that he wants to give you. That is His retirement plan for you. Peace. Joy.
By the way, I went to the nutritionist again Thursday morning. As they were checking me in, the receptionist asked, “So are you retired?” I said no, I am a pastor…
Prayer:
Invitation: This message today has seemed to be more about my life and it was an answer to prayer. You see, I do hear and understand that some folks believe that the preacher is talking about them so they quit listening. So I asked God to bring this from my perspective because truthfully, even this old preacher can get his feelings hurt when folks miss the truth. Even this old preacher can be affected so that the message gets diluted with my hurt feelings.
It is a lot more fun being part of the flock saying nah, nah, nah than the shepherd that tries to lead the flock out of the darkness where they are and toward His light.
Sheep break flock to leave and follow those who want what has always been when the Shepherd is not able to lead. If I don’t speak for the Shepherd, the sheep will not hear the Shepherd’s voice.
The invitation today is this, pray for your pastor. If I am not that for this church, if I am not able to move this flock, pray that God will move me. I will not get in the way of the Shepherd.
If you believe that I am the pastor that was called to this flock, pray that the Holy Spirit opens the hearts of the sheep in this flock so that you are His flock. I pray that the devil will leave and stop distracting from the message so that when His family is brought into this place that they will know that they are home and can stop searching for a place where their family will finally welcome them home.
If there is a revival in this world then we must be ready to retire from that which is encumbering us so that we can pick up His burden to bring in the lost and love them as He loves us. I pray that you want what He wants and that you will find that promised rest! Are you ready for that retirement? Come to Him as we sing…
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (1995). (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., Mt 11:28–30). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] ibid., Ps 33:12–22). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
f true...: or, holiness of truth
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (1995). (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., Eph 4:20–24). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
