MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: Galatians 6:5,2; Psalm 55:22
ILL. After hearing & reading all the health warnings in the media, someone wrote the following:.
Brace yourself. Somewhere, they’re plotting the scare of the week.
Air is polluted; water is too. Fish that swim in it are not good for you.
Fresh fruits & vegetables, "Delicious," you say?
Don’t eat them. They’re loaded with pesticide spray.
Avoid dairy products. Say ’no’ to red meat.
Cholesterol levels must go in retreat.
The rays of the sun will certainly fret you.
Stay in the house, & radon will get you.
If you walk in the woods, you can really get sick.
Lyme disease is spread by a pinhead-sized tick.
If one thing won’t get you, another one will.
But don’t worry; be happy, because worry can kill.
(Bob Joyce on Sermon Central)
An old proverb says, "There is no home anywhere that does not sooner or later have its hush." Sooner or later every home, every person, every one of us, finds our self with burdens that seem too heavy to bear.
The Bible has 3 interesting statements about our burdens. One is found in Galatians 6:5, "Each one should bear his own burden." Now go back to vs. 2, where it says, "Bear each other's burdens, & in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Sounds contradictory, doesn't it?
Finally, in Psalm 55:22, we are told, "Cast your burdens upon the Lord, & He will sustain you." That is what the Bible says about our burdens, & maybe those three verses say all that need to be said.
I. EACH ONE SHOULD BEAR HIS OWN BURDEN
First of all, Galatians 6:5 tells us that "Each one should bear his own burden."
A. There are burdens that we alone can bear.
No one else can do our duty for us. And the apostle Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:10 (LB), "God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings."
We have no excuse. There is a job for each of us to do. There is a place for you to fill. There is a life for you to live, separate & distinct from others in the world.
Nobody can believe in Christ for you, nor can anybody repent of sin for you, nor can any one answer for you at the judgment bar of God. Each one must give an account of himself to God.
B. That means that nobody gets lost in the crowd. There is no hiding behind others, or behind organizations.
ILL. Jonathan Edwards, a great preacher of colonial days wrote in his diary these two resolutions: "Resolved, first, that every man should do right, whatever it costs. Resolved, 2ndly, whether any other man does right or not, I will, so help me God."
That is the supreme business of every human being, for "Every one shall bear his own burden." God knows us as individuals, & His eyes are upon us. So, "Whether anybody else does right or not, I must. Whether anybody else is true or not, I will be."
The highest contribution you will ever offer this community & this world is to offer it the right kind of a life. The most beautiful portrait we have of Jesus is given in 5 little words: "He went about doing good." (Acts 10:38) And so should we!
ILL. British Prime Minister Gladstone never tired of saying: "One example is worth a thousand arguments." Think about it! Ten right¬eous men would have saved Sodom & Gomorrah. Twelve men turned the world right side up.
The best contribution that we can ever offer is setting the right example.
II. BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS
A. The Bible also says, "Bear one another's burdens, & so fulfill the law of Christ." Burdens oftentimes should be shared with others.
It is always important to check the context of any passage of Scripture. Many of the problems in religion have come about because the Scriptures have been taken out of their proper setting. We need always to look at the Scriptures in their proper setting, & let the Scriptures say what they mean to say.
Notice that the verse immediately preceding this verse says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)
Then he says, "Bear one another's burdens, & so fulfill the law of Christ."
"If a man be overtaken in a fault," criticize him? Throw stones at him? Talk about him? No, we should seek to help those about us who have gone astray. We are told by this Scripture, to go out & seek to reclaim, to recover, to restore, those who are going wrong.
B. But this Scripture says more than that. Not only are we to do our best to restore people who are going wrong, but we are to reach out to help the people around us, whatever their burdens may be.
There are burdens of responsibility, of sorrow, of pain, of decisions too difficult to make alone.
All about us are people with heavy burdens. Do not make it hard for those in places of trust & responsibility to serve & to lead. Make it easy, with the right sort of co operation & the right sort of burden bearing.
ILL. One of the endearing qualities of the movies made from Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” is the friendship, the camaraderie that develops among the various characters (hobbits, elves, dwarfes, & man) as they unite to help Frodo reach Mordor to destroy the evil ring which threatened the existence of all mankind.
The journey had been long & dangerous & very, very difficult. Frodo & his friend, Sam, had barely survived the dangers they encountered. And as they approached their goal, they were reaching their physical & emotional limits.
Now they were climbing the mountain, & as they struggled upward toward the cave where the ring must be thrown into the fire, Frodo collapsed, unable to take another step. All of Sam’s encouragement was ineffective because Frodo just didn’t have the strength to go on.
Since Frodo was the only one who could carry the ring because of its mysterious power to tempt & overwhelm whoever was wearing it, there was only one thing to do.
Sam said, “I may not be able to carry the ring, Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!” And he put the exhausted Frodo over his shoulder & carried him the rest of the way to their goal. (Clark Tanner on Sermon Central)
That is how we, as Christians, should be to one another. We can’t always literally carry one another’s burdens, but we can carry one another. We can lift each other up & make sure that no one gets left behind, feeling all alone & deserted.
III. CAST YOUR BURDENS UPON THE LORD
Now there is one more passage of Scripture, & it is the best of all: "Cast your burden upon the Lord, & He will sustain you." If you read the 55th Psalm, from which that great promise is taken, you will find that the one saying that wanted to flee.
"Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!" he cried, "I would fly away & be at rest." The burdens were so heavy, the problems so awful. "I will just quit. I'll get away. I give up. I will flee. I will not stay any longer."
Does that sound familiar? Who hasn't felt that way? "I've had as much of this as I can bear. I'll get out of it. I'll get away."
But that doesn't work, for when you get away, you still have your burdens, you still have your memory, you still have your personality, you still have yourself. You cannot run away from life's burdens.
So, what are you going to do? Where can you go? There is only one place. "Cast your burden upon the Lord, & He will sustain you."
B. But how will He sustain you? He will do it in one of two ways.
1. He may take the burden away. Sometimes He does. In our desperation we have prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me." And the cup was taken away, & we did not have to drink of it at all.
We prayed as we faced a great burden, & God heard, & the burden was taken away.
2. But sometimes we pray, yet the burden remains. What if God doesn't take the burden away? Then He has promised to come with divine re enforcement & help us to bear our burden & be victorious over it, no matter how heavy it is.
ILL. Paul had re enforcement. He had a thorn in the flesh. We don't know what it was, but it was something very painful. He called it "a messenger of Satan" sent to buffet him, & he said in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9,
"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" So Paul, no matter where you go, nor what shall come, "My grace is sufficient for you."
Never again do we read of Paul praying for God to take that thorn away. From that time on Paul said: "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
Paul was saying, "I had rather have my thorn in the flesh, plus God's grace, than to be without that thorn & miss that added grace from God."
What a wonderful promise! He will give us increased grace, if He does not take the burden away when we call to Him to take that burden away.
Whatever your burdens are, "Cast your burdens upon the Lord, & He will sustain you." Don't bear them alone. Don't fight your battles alone!
Take Jesus into your plans. Turn yourself & your burdens over to Him. God always comes to sustain those who place their trust in Him.
ILL. Annie Johnson Flint’s life on earth could never be described as a life of comfort & ease. Quite the contrary, from childhood on her body endured the onslaught of Rheumatoid Arthritis until she could no longer even get out of bed.
Over the years the affliction took a great toll, leaving her with no choice but to seek some comfort from sleeping & resting on soft pillows. Her body developed serious bed sores, & finally she suffered the ravages of cancer.
Yet her attitude through all the struggles with pain & confinement may best be seen in one of her great Christian poems that has been made into a hymn.
HE GIVETH MORE GRACE
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;
He sends more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He adds His mercy;
To multiplied trials, He multiplies peace.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His power has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth & giveth & giveth again.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His power has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth & giveth & giveth again.
(Contributed by Paul Fritz on Sermon Central)
Whatever your burdens of sin, or grief, or disappointment, or remorse, or fear, or failure dare to cast your burden, yourself, your all, today & forever upon the Lord.
INVITATION
