“Do not be a Burden”
Travis Wofford
9/17/2007
Jesus saw the best in the worst of people. You have heart the saying find something good in every one. Jesus did not focus on the person that made the mistake. He dealt directly with the sin. He was the answer.
Let’s look at the example of the woman that was caught in adultery. (John 8:1-11)
1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
The religious leaders wanted to make an example out of her. (vs. 3) They were so worried about the law and not love. Jesus always looked to love and compassion. This is one way to hate the sin and love the person. We do not have to fix every problem for our friends. We just have to know where to take them to find the right answers. (Psalms 55:22) and (Psalms 120:1)
22 Give your burdens to the LORD,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
1 I took my troubles to the LORD;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
We need to lift each other up in prayer. The burden is too heavy for us to carry on our own. (Ex. 17:9-13)
9 Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. 11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. 12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. 13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
This is the story where Moses could not carry the burden alone. This is how we are to carry each others burdens. (Gal 6:2-3)
2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
It is not about us and our needs. This says we should share. This is another example of the law of Christ. Love God and love your neighbor as your self. (Luke 10:26-28)
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[A]
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
Paul finishes the thought for us. (Phil. 4:10-14)
10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, [a] who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.
Even when someone looks on the outside or thinks that they have it all together, it is still important for us to stand with them in unity. Five can put a hundred to flight, but a hundred can put ten thousand to flight. If you do the math it should take 500 to get results of 10,000. Put God in the mix and you have creative math.
We must bear each others burdens, not be a burden.
