What To Do With Life's Burdens

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

(PowerPoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com & request #334.)

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.