A LIFE OF REST
Another principle of the kingdom is in Matthew 11:28-30. Once we forsake our wisdom and intelligence, we will know the Lord Jesus and have a real enjoyment of Him. After this we will have rest. The kingdom life is not only a life of enjoyment; it is also a life of rest. If you will apply the first three principles revealed in Matthew 11, all of your burdens will be lifted. If you try to be wise and intelligent, you will be heavily burdened. You need to be unloaded. Who are the ones that are the most heavily burdened? It is the wise and intelligent ones, the religious ones, and the cultured ones. The kingdom people, on the contrary, are the unloaded ones. Brothers and sisters, are you loaded or unloaded? If you will be simple and single instead of religiously wise and intelligent you will be unloaded, and you will have rest. The yoke you bear will be very light. This is the kingdom life. The kingdom life is a life of feasting, a life of enjoyment, and a life of rest.
Whenever you lose your rest, it is an indication that you are not experiencing the kingdom life. Whenever you are not in the kingdom life, you will certainly be heavily burdened. Your yoke will be the yoke of slavery. However, when you exercise the principle of forsaking your religious wisdom and intelligence and of being simple, you will be immediately unburdened. You will be released and emancipated and completely at rest.
Sometimes people come to me and say, "Brother Lee, you have many burdens. How can you bear them?" I answer, "Brothers, I have no burdens. I only know how to do a little work. After working, I go home and rest." This is the kingdom life—some work, but no burden. There is a yoke, but the yoke is not heavy. Actually, the yoke is also a kind of rest because without it we might depart from the Lord’s way. If we would attempt to depart from the Lord’s way, we would find that the yoke is there. This is the kingdom life.
Please bring all of these matters and principles to the Lord and pray over all the verses. The Lord Himself will reveal something more. You will know the kingdom life.
Matthew is a book of the kingdom. Our leprosy is gone, and faith is here. We are enjoying and we are resting. Let the religious people persecute and let the enemies oppose. We should be violent to enter the kingdom by force. We have no outward regulations, and we have no burdens because we do not exercise our religious wisdom and intelligence. We are simple. We do not care what other people say about us. We only care for the rest in Christ. When we are heavily burdened, Satan is happy; but when we are resting, he trembles. This is the kingdom life.
(The Kingdom, Chapter 22, by Witness Lee)
