A LONG MESSAGE BUT A GOOD ONE - ABOUT BURDENS

[Guest guest]

Hi All: I thought very hard about sending the following. I know my beliefs are not the same as everyone on here and that is their privilege - Thank God. He gives us that choice. However it is said in the Bible that if I am ashamed of God then He will be ashamed of me on my judgment day. I don't want Him to be ashamed of me!!!

I got this message from a minister whom I don't even know. He is a black minister in the Bahamas. He got my email address from a Christian site that I used to belong to. I got it and I knew if I didn't want to read it I could just hit that handy little button called DELETE. However, I read it --- and I thought it was a very good message and I wanted to share it on this Sunday afternoon.

I certainly don't want to offend anyone but I'm not ashamed to spread this word to the ones that WANT to read it. It is there to read and agree with or disagree with - it's OUR CHOICE. It is a long message but after all it's Sunday afternoon. -- Shirley from Southern Illinois

Subj: What Do We Mean When We Say That Jesus Is a Burden Bearer? 

Date: 6/25/2006 10:02:32 AM Central Standard Time

From: DrMarshallWoodard@...

To: sbrown857@...

Sent from the Internet (Details)

What Do We Mean When We Say That Jesus Is a Burden Bearer?

11:28-30

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.

Subject: What Do We Mean When We Say That Jesus Is A Burden Bearer?

Some  time  ago, and I would imagine that it was probably some time before you or I were ever born; and I would also surmise that it occurred some time during or shortly after the days of slavery; the Holy  Ghost moved through one of our brothers or sisters in Christ, and inspired them to sing an old familiar gospel tune, one that we

still sing to this day. The song starts out:

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Since I laid my burdens down.

Glory, glory, hallelujah

Since I laid my burdens down.

I  know somebody in here has heard this powerful song before. Can I get a witness? But in putting this song together, the songs creator didnt  just  stop there, for he went on to sing a second verse that says:

I feel better so much better

Since Ive laid my burdens down.

I feel better so much better

Since Ive laid my burdens down.

I know that there is somebody besides me in here who, just like the songs creator,  has  been  able  to lay down some heavy burdens in their  life.  And  you  understand  how good it feels to get rid of those burdens. Can I get a witness? But I guess that it got so good to  the  songs  creator,  that he had a revelation, because I heard somebody sing his words saying:

Im going home to live with Jesus

Since Ive laid my burdens down.

Im going home to live with Jesus

Since Ive laid my burdens down.

This most powerful and uplifting song signifies and identifies that the  songwriter  has  let go of the burdens in his life and at this point  he  is praising the true and living, all-wise GOD because he has  been  able  to,  he has been blessed to, he has been guided to laying his burdens down. Can I get a witness? And we, right here in

the  church  of  today,  often  sing this same song, for these same reasons. Am I right about it?

We have a tendency of singing this song with great feeling. We sing it  with  conviction.  We sing it with passion. We sing it until we just  get down right ugly with it. Come on somebody, yall know what Im  talking  about.  We  sing and our faces just get all turned up, bent  up,  and frowned up. And as pretty as some of the ladies come in here with the make up and lipstick put on with utter perfection, this song can make you forget all about how you are trying to look, because  it has a way of affecting the way that you feel. Can I get a witness?

It  has  almost  become a cliché that you can tell when a person is singing  from  their  heart  because they just forget all about how good  they  are  looking on the outside and just let their face get just ugly with it. Yall know what Im talking about.

We  sing  this  song  Glory,  Glory,  Hallelujah  since Ive laid my burdens  down  and it seems like it just does something to us, like the  spirit  just  gets  to  moving and just tears us up all on the inside.  But  my  brothers and sisters, its sad to say that despite how  often  we  may sing this song, despit how often it may make us feel  good, the truth of the matter is that many of us have not yet begun to lay down our burdens. Can I get a witness?

Weve not yet begun to turn over all of the problems of our lives to the  Lord. Well come right up to altar call and pray our hearts out to  GOD, asking that he remove all of our problems from us, that he remove  all  manner of sickness from us, that he remove the weight and  stain of every sin and every burden right from our lives. That

he  build us up where were torn down. That he put food on our table and  clothes  on  our  backs. That he give us a love that runs from heart   to   heart.  That  he  allows  us  to  meet  our  financial obligations. That he give us a resting place when were through down here.  Oh yeah, well pray and well pray and well pray until we have

covered all of our bases, and have put on the table all of those things that  we want GOD not only to bless us with, but also those things  that  we  would like for Him to remove from our lives. Am I right about it?

But  just  as  soon  as  we lay down our bag full of burdens at the Throne  of  Grace,  we  turn right around and pick them back up and throw  them  back  up on our backs, and carry them back off with us out into the world to deal with those same old problems, those same old  burdens, those same old things that we supposedly just gave to GOD.  I  know somebody in here should be praying with me, because I know that Im not the only one that has done this before.

But  you see my brothers and sisters, if we look at what our Bibles have  to say, we will find that Psalm 55:22 says to Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. So lets stop here for a minute. If we have the  opportunity  to  get  all of our burdens off of our backs, and

just turn them over to GOD, and GOD has promised to sustain us, and to  provide  for us, and to give us whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus,  then  my  question  to the church today is: what is our problem? Why is it that so many of us are still walking around with our  burden  bag securely fixed upon our backs. If we wont turn our burdens over to Jesus, then what exactly does it mean when we say that Jesus is a burden bearer?

In  our  text,  Jesus  says to come unto me, ye that labour and are heavy  laden  and I will give you rest. Jesus understood and wanted us to realize that we can not get any rest if we are walking around too burdened down to worship GOD. Can I get a witness?

We  have to be able to give of our whole self, of our whole hearts, when  we  praise  GOD.  In other words, we cant fully praise GOD if weve  got  distractions  going  on  in  our  lives.  In many verses throughout the Psalms, declares that GOD should be worshipped with our whole heart. He said in Psalm 119:2, that Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.

If  we are worried about where our next meal is going to come from, then we are not going to be able to fully worship GOD in his house. If  we are worried about, how we are going to keep our lights on or our  gas from being turned off, then we are not going to be able to give  all the glory and praise to GOD the way he wants us to. If we are  worrying  about  that  child  of  ours  thats out there on the streets  full  of crack cocaine or marijuana, or alcohol, its going to  be mighty hard for us to give our whole hearts to the uplifting of  GODs  kingdom. If we are worried about when we are going to get our  next  beating  from that abusive wife or that abusive husband,

then its going to be mighty hard to come to church and give all the honor and due reverence to the Lord.

But  Im  here  to  tell you today, my brothers and sisters, that we dont have to walk around here burdened down, because Jesus promised that if you come unto Him, He will give you rest. He didnt say that he  could  give you rest. He didnt say that he might give you rest. But He said that He will give you rest. Can I get a witness?

So  what  we  must  understand is that he didnt make that statement with  a  condition  attached  to  it. He didnt say Im only going to handle  the money burdens, or Im only going to handle the emotional burdens,  or  Im  only  going to handle the physical burdens, or Im only  going  to handle the spiritual burdens, but what he is saying to  us, even today, is that regardless of who we are, regardless of what our burdens might be, I know that you have been labouring with your burdens, I know that you are laden down with your burdens, but if  you will just take the time to come to me, Im going to give you some  rest. Im going to give you some peace. Im going to bring some joy back into your life. Im going to put a smile back on your face.

Im going to remove your burdens and place them all upon me. And all you  have  to  do  is  go  and lay down and rest for a little while because  Im  going to be your burden bearer. Can I get a witness up in here this morning?

The  next thing that weve got to understand is that there are three distinct types of burdens. Three different kinds of burdens. First, there  are  public  burdens.  Public Burdens. These are the burdens that  are  known  to  everybody and every one around town. You know what  Im  talking  about.  You  can always tell when somebody has a public  burden  because when they come walking around, folk will go to  whispering:  have you heard what he or she did? Ooh child, well let me tell you. And it seems like no matter where you go, somebody knows about your burden and somebody is going to talk about it. Can I get a witness?

And  not  only are they going to talk about it, but every body will try to give you their solution for fixing up your burden. Folk will hunt you down and find you, no matter where you are, to offer you a solution for fixing your burden. Some people just cant wait to find out that somebody they know has a public burden. Thats  when  theyll  pick up that telephone and call up that person carrying  a  burden  at  their  house, even though theyve never the first  thing  theyre  going to¼ called them before, and you know how they do say is well if I was you. If  I  was  you, I would just leave him cause he aint no good. If I was  you, I would just go out and buy me my own car; why should you have  to go through changes trying to finding a ride. If I was you,

would find me another church cause those people dont care nothing about you. If I was you Id take him back to court and get some more money for child support. If I was you. Oh yeah, theyll let you know exactly¼.If I was you¼If I was you ..they were you.¼what they would do IF

And  once you take the time to listen to them and do what they say, youll  find  yourself  without a husband or wife, over your head in debt,  no church family to turn to for support, paying out money to your  lawyer  even though the judge says youre already getting more than enough. You need to know right up front that these people dont care anything about you. If they did they would leave you alone and keep their mouths shut.

They  enjoy  seeing you down and out. They enjoy seeing you suffer. They  enjoy seeing you carrying that burden on your back. Thats why if  you  want  your burden taken care of you better stop looking to every  Tom,  Dick,  Harry, or Jane and take them straight to Jesus. Can I get a witness?

The second kind of burden that we bare are private burdens. Private Burdens.  These  are  the most difficult kinds of burdens for us to bear.  We  wouldnt  dare  tell anyone about our private burden, not only  because we are afraid that they would become a public burden, but also because we would be too embarrassed and too devastated for

someone  to  know  what  the  private burdens are in our lives. Our private  burdens  could  be something that we did or something that was  done  to  us  many, many years ago. They are just too private, just  too  secret,  to share with anyone; not our husbands, not our wives,  not our best friends, not our pastors, not our doctors, not

our lawyers. Not anybody. And  most  of the time, we wont even share them with Jesus, because they  sting  us to the core of our existence. We are so embarrassed

by them that we try to walk around and act like they never existed. But  dont  you  know that GOD already knows what youve done or what was  done  to you? You may not be able to tell your friends or your family about it, but if you tell Jesus about it, he will deal with it  and  nobody will ever know about it. As one hymnologist reminds us  that youve got to surrender all to Jesus. And He will take away your burden and give you rest.

The  third  and  last  kind  of burden that we must bear today, are semi-private  burdens.  These  are the burdens that are secret, but somehow  and somewhere along the way, somebody else found out about it.

The  bible  tells  me  that  , the great king of Israel, had a semi-private  burden  that he had to deal with. For in the eleventh and  twelfth  chapters of second , we find the story of and Bathsheba. Can I get a witness?

had seen this beautiful woman that he wanted all for himself.

But  you  see  there  was one small problem. For the Bible tells me that  this  woman  was  another mans wife. Can I get a witness? But   was the mighty King of Israel and was used to having his own way.  So  the  bible tells me that he went unto her anyhow and knew her  as  if  she was his own. But you see, my brothers and sisters, every  thing  thats  done  in  the darkness will surely come to the light. For the Bible says that Bathsheba got pregnant. And it would have  been all right if she had been sleeping with her husband, but her  husband,  a  Hittite  named  Uriah,  had  been  out at battle, fighting for the kingdom of Israel. Can I get a witness?

So  the  Bible  tells me that King tried to get Uriah to take some  time  off  so  that he could go in and lay with his wife? But Uriah,  being  the  man  of valor that he was, refused to leave the sides of his at battle to enjoy some moment of relaxation that they wouldnt  have.  Wouldnt it be grand of all of GODs children were as faithful  to  the  cause  as  this  man  called  Uriah. Can I get a witness?

But  had many men in his army and many men under his control. He  had the ability to send men here or to send them over there. He could  put  them  at  the  rear end of a battle, or right up on the front  line  of  the  battlefield. So the Bible tells me that sent  Uriah  out  to the front line of battle against the people of Ammon,  knowing  that  he would be killed in battle. And when received the word, that Uriah was dead, he took Bathsheba to be his own wife. Am I right about it?

But  you  need  to  know  today, my brothers and sisters, that even though  you  may be able to hide what youre doing from your husband or  your  wife,  even  though  you  may  be able to keep your dirty dealings  from  your  brothers or your sisters, even though you may keep your momma and your daddy thinking that their baby is as white as  pure  snow, you cant hide what youre doing from the Lord. Can I

get a witness?

Just  when you think that youve hidden all the dirt from everybody, the LORD will send somebody unto you, with a message that it doesnt matter  who  doesnt know, because He still knows what you did. Am I right about it?

The  Bible tells me that the LORD sent unto to let him know  that his burden was not a private burden. This burden was not a public burden. But this burden was a semi-private burden, because the  LORD revealed it unto a messenger of His own. Am I right about it?

How  many  times,  have  you  thought that you had gotten away with something  that  had  you  burdened  down,  and  all  of  a sudden, something,  or somebody, brings it back to your attention. You dont hear me.

But  Im  here to tell you today, that Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy laden, and I will surely give you rest.  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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

And  you  need  to  know  right here today, that Christ has already borne  your  burdens.  Oh  Lord. He put them on His back one Friday morning,  in  the  shape  of  a wooden cross? Yall dont hear me. He carried  that  old  rugged cross not down hill, not on smooth, flat ground, but he carried it up a hill called Golgatha. Do you here me this morning?

When  they  took  that cross off His back, it wasnt to give Him any relief. For the Bible tells me, that they took His hands and nailed them  to  that  cross.  They  took his feet and nailed them to that cross. They took a spear and pierced Him in His side. Can U imagine the  agony  and  the  pain  that  my Savior suffered up on that old rugged  cross,  just  to  remove  your  lying,  your cheating, your backbiting, your back stabbing, your killing, your drug using, your adultery,  your  stealing,  your  dishonoring of your parents, your covetousness over what your neighbor has.

It  must  have  been a mighty heavy burden , because he didnt do it just  for  me. Oh no. He didnt do it just for you. But he did it to save  this  old  world. Yes he did. So he stayed there bleeding, he stayed  there  aching,  he  stayed there moaning, up on that cross, until  He  said  to His Father it is finished and hung His head and died. Oh Lord. But early. Early. Early one Sunday morning he got up with all power in His hands. Well brother preacher, how do you know he got up with all  power  in  His  hands. Well I dont know about you, but one day when  I  was still living out in a world of sin, Jesus reached down and removed all my burdens from my back and all of a sudden I could feel  how  light  my  load was to bear. Thats why I know today that

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is a burden bearer because he removed all of my burdens.

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