What to Do With Your Burdens | Part 2

Adrian Rogers: We will all bear burdens in this life, but we don't have to bear them alone. There are the burdens that we willingly take up when we bear one another's burdens. There are the burdens that we faithfully stay under when it says every man must bear his own burden. There's one more burden, and that's the burden that we gladly lay down. Those kind of burdens we have to cast them upon the Lord, roll them on the Lord.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the dynamic lessons and teaching of Adrian Rogers. Galatians 6 shows us what to do with our burdens. Some we share, some we bear, some we lay down. In part one of today's message, we learned that as believers we're called to take up the burdens of another brother or sister who's hurting. A Christian who has backslidden in their faith is like a broken place in our net of believers. We're called to love them back into fellowship with God and mend the broken place in the net. If you have your Bible, turn now to Galatians chapter 6 as Adrian Rogers shares part two of What to Do With Your Burdens.
Adrian Rogers: Everybody has burdens sooner or later. If you don't have burdens, really the problem is you're probably not a thinking person. For the Bible says man that is born of woman is full of trouble as the sparks that fly upward. But thank God we don't have to bear our burdens alone. Saved or lost, we're going to know burdens. There are three kinds of burdens I want to talk to you about today. There are burdens that we willingly take up, there are burdens that we faithfully endure, and then there are burdens that we wisely lay down. First of all, there are certain burdens that you're not to try to escape. As a matter of fact, there are burdens that you are to take up. What are those burdens? Those are the burdens of another brother, another sister when somebody is hurting. The Bible is talking about somebody who's gotten away from God and somebody who needs to be restored. Notice the word restore. It's saying here's a person who was once in fellowship and now that person has gotten out of fellowship. Why? Because he's been overtaken in a fault. This is not the person who is not saved. It's not the person who is running to sin. Actually, here's a person who was endeavoring to get away from sin, but sin overtook him. When you get saved, that doesn't mean you can't sin anymore. Amen. You know that to be true. When you get saved, it doesn't mean that you cannot sin anymore. Sometimes we're overtaken in a fault. The difference between my life before I was saved and after I was saved is that before I got saved, I was running to sin. Now I'm running from sin. But we can sometimes stumble and fall, so the Bible is talking about brothers. It says if a man be a brother, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, that is run down by Satan, trapped, ensnared by a fault, then we are to restore him. A brother can be restored. That's good news if you've gotten away from God. Our God is a God of a second chance. If you know somebody who's been overtaken with a fault, the Bible says you're to restore him. Look at that word restore. Restore such a one. Do you know what that word means? It's a technical word. It literally means to set a bone that has been broken. And it literally means to mend a net that has been torn. It's restoration, putting back in place that which is broken or that which is torn. What do we do when a brother fails? Do we say it's none of my business? It is your business. He is in the body. If you condemn him, then you're condemning yourself. He's a part of you. Christians have a way of crucifying living saints, worshipping dead saints, and shooting wounded saints. What do we do when we have a brother who is wounded, a sister who is wounded? Do we report him to the church? They don't need a lecture. They need love. If you know somebody like this, I am here to tell you today that that person is your responsibility. My job is to teach you to minister so that you can be a minister of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You say, "Pastor, that's well and good. That's just not my gift. I'm not qualified." Maybe you're not, because let me show you the qualifications. Look in chapter 6 and verse 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one. If you say that's not my gift, that's not my calling, that's not what I'm inclined to do, that's not what I'm supposed to do, you're saying about yourself, "I'm not spiritual." If you are a spiritual person, a person who loves God, a spirit-filled person, then you're going to have all the qualifications you need to restore such a one. I've talked about the ministry of restoration. Let me talk about the manner of this restoration. If you say, "All right, Pastor, I'm going to do it. I have somebody right now in my heart and in my mind," let me tell you how you're to do it. First of all, you're to do it very gently. Look in chapter 6 and verse 1. Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. When you're setting a broken bone, what do you need? Gentleness, isn't that right? In a spirit of meekness, tender loving care. You can't restore somebody if you're harsh and overbearing. You've got to be gentle. You should also do it humbly. Look at this passage. Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. There are three persons in your seat this morning. The person you are now, the person you could be for holiness and good in God, and the person you could be for debauchery and wickedness if you take your eyes off of Jesus Christ. You say, "Well, it won't happen to me." Did it happen to Jonah? Are you better than Jonah? Did it happen to Elijah? Are you better than Elijah? Did it happen to Simon Peter? Are you better than Simon Peter? Did it happen to John Mark? Are you better than John Mark? The Bible says let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. And so when we are there to restore somebody else, not only should we do it gently, that is with meekness, but we'll do it humbly, considering ourselves lest we also be tempted. A third way that when you do this restoration that you need to do it is you need to do it sympathetically. The Bible says in verse 2, "Bear ye one another's burdens." If a person is truly a child of God, not a person running to sin, but a person who was running from sin who's been overtaken, if he is truly a child of God, you can put it down big, plain, and straight. If that person is truly saved, truly born again, and is out of fellowship with God, I can tell you he's carrying a big burden. If he's not saved, he's not carrying any burden at all. But if he is truly saved and out of fellowship with God, he is carrying a big burden. The most miserable man on earth is not an unsaved man. The most miserable man on earth is a saved man out of fellowship with God. That is absolutely true. David, when he got out of fellowship with God, said to the Lord, "Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation." He didn't say, "Lord, restore unto me salvation," but "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation." What is the burden that we ought to have sympathy for with these people? First of all, they have a broken relationship with almighty God. David prayed in that penitential Psalm, "Against thee, and thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight." This person who once walked in sweet fellowship with God, that fellowship with God is broken. One of the most wonderful parts of my life is the fellowship that I have with God. When I wake in the morning, my first thought when my eyes open is, "Good morning, Lord. I greet you, Lord. I bless you, Lord." Just the fellowship with Him to be able to sing it and say it, "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. He walks with me, he talks with me, he tells me I am his own." That person who's gotten away from God, that person who's backslid, that person who's been overtaken with a fault, he has a burden because that relationship with God has been broken. He also has a guilty conscience. David prayed in Psalm 32, verse 4, "For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture is turned into the drought of summer." That is where it used to be spiritually full of joy, now he's dry as dust. Then there's the satanic accusation that comes to a person. You know what the Devil does to a person who gets away from God? The Devil becomes his accuser. Before that person sins, the Devil says go ahead and do it, you can get away with it. After he does it, the Devil says you'll never get away with it. And the Devil points his finger at him and says, "Look at you. You call yourself a Christian. You're not fit to live. Those people have lost all confidence in you. There's no way back for you. You'd be better off dead." That's what Satan does. That's not Holy Spirit conviction, that's satanic accusation. Here's a man away from God. I'm telling you, he's got a burden. There's a broken fellowship with God, there is a guilty conscience, there's the accusation of Satan, and many times there's public shame. These people say, "I don't dare show my face at church anymore. If I were to come down there, everybody knows what I did, where I've been. They wouldn't receive me." Friend, we'd better receive them. We'd better let them know they are loved and they are welcome, and come on home. Now, why do we do it? Why do we restore such a one? First of all, he's our brother. Notice how this begins: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one." Not only is he our brother, but we are members of the same body. When any member suffers, every member suffers with it. So why should we restore such a one? We are brothers, we're sisters. Beyond that, we're members of the same body. But let me show you the main reason that we do it. Look in verse 2: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? You can find that in Galatians 5, verse 14. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." That's the law of Christ. It's love, genuine, Christlike love. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Look at that fallen individual, that person who is burdened, and understand that you are to love him as you would want somebody to love you if you were in the same situation. By the way, only a spiritual person can do that, for the Bible says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Yes, it may be firm love. Yes, even though it's gentle, it may be firmness. But love says we'll go to those who have fallen. Love says we will go humbly. Love says if possible we will go privately. We will go prayerfully. And we will restore him, and we will fulfill the law of Christ. Why don't you right now ask God to lay somebody on your heart? Why don't you say, "God, this week I will do that"? And if you're that person who's gotten away from God, I want to tell you, you can be restored. You can come on home. Don't let that failure make you bitter. Let it make you better. You may have failed, but it's not all over. You may have lost the game, but there's still a season out there. Now listen, there's another motive. What are the motives we've talked about here? He's our brother, we're in the same body, there's the law of Christ. There's another motive. Remember that I told you that the word restore has a twofold meaning? It has the meaning of mending a broken bone, it has also the meaning of mending a broken net. Do you know what God has put us together to be? A network. When Jesus called His disciples, what were they doing? They were mending their nets. And He says, "You come after me, I'll make you to become fishers of men." Do you know what a broken brother is? A broken sister? He or she is a hole in the net. They're a hole in the net. Did you know that there are people we can't win to Jesus here at Bellevue because of some brother, some sister who's backslidden? Maybe they live right up next to somebody that we're witnessing to and they've seen that person away from God. And because they've seen that person away from God and seen their lifestyle, they have no confidence in the ministry of this church. Did you know if people would start living right on Monday, people would believe what I preach on Sunday? Did you know that? The greatest testimony for Jesus and the greatest testimony against Jesus is the life of a Christian. The Bible calls us living epistles. How is the gospel according to you? If all of our members were right with God, what an awesome net this would be to bring souls to Jesus Christ. There are the burdens that we willingly take up where we bear somebody else's burden. Are you willing to do that? The Bible says bear one another's burdens. There's another kind of a burden. There's the burden we faithfully stay under. Look now in verses 4 and 5: "Let every man prove his own work. Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden." That's not a contradiction in terms. On the one hand the Bible says bear one another's burdens, and then the Bible says every man shall bear his own burden. Is that contradictory? No, it's complementary. The key to this is two different words that are used for burden. The first time the word for burden here means a heavy load, something onerous, something that weighs you down, something like being out of fellowship with God. It's a heavy, heavy burden. It is a crushing load. When somebody has a load like that, we're to come and bear that burden and lift that burden from him. That's a burden we willingly take up when we bear one another's burdens. But the word for burden here, *phortion*, is a different word altogether. It has the idea of a soldier's weaponry, or a backpack, or a knapsack strapped to your back. Something that is necessary, something that is not burdensome, but something that is useful, something that will make you useful, and something that may even save your life. God does not want us to live lives of ease, but God wants us to live disciplined lives. And so God lays burdens upon us and God expects us to bear those burdens because these are burdens that we are to stay under. What does it mean when it says that every man must bear his own burden? That means there's something that you cannot let anybody else do for you. There's something that you cannot relegate or delegate to anybody else. What are some of those things? Nobody can repent for you. Nobody can trust Christ for you. Nobody can love God for you. Every man must bear his own burden. I wish sometimes when I preach I could go out there, sit in your seat, come forward, and give my heart to Jesus on your behalf, but I cannot. There are certain things that are our responsibilities and will become our blessings if we will take them. There's no such thing as proxy religion. One of the burdens that we need to take up and bear is the willingness to relieve a brother, to bear his burden. A fallen or a broken brother is not a call to gossip, it's a call to prayer. That's a prayer burden. Nobody can take that for you. There are the burdens that we willingly take up when we bear one another's burdens. There are the burdens that we faithfully stay under when it says every man must bear his own burden. There are certain responsibilities that are ours that nobody, nobody can do for us. There's one more burden, and that's the burden that we gladly lay down. Put in your margin Psalm 55 and verse 22: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Do you know who wrote that? A King David who'd had his burden lifted when he was restored to God, but he had other burdens. He was a king. He was wealthy. When he wrote this, he was godly because he was a writer of the Psalms. He was aged. What do we learn from this? That burdens come to the high as well as to the low. They come to saints as well as sinners. They come to the old as well as the young. Do you have burdens? Yes, you do. You have burdens. What do we do with our burdens? If we have those kind of burdens, we have to cast them upon the Lord, roll them on the Lord. Do you have a broken heart? Is there a child that has ripped your heart out? Is there a husband who has forsaken you? Is there a physical malady that is gnawing away at your body? Is there a problem that is perplexing you? The Bible says you are to cast your burden upon the Lord. We have a wonderful, wonderful Savior. You say, "Pastor, I have a burden today. Why do you think I have a burden?" It may be that God has given you that burden to bring you to Him. Somewhere I read about a man who had a beautiful dog, and he had that dog, it was maybe a Labrador or some of these dogs that love the water, and the dog was swimming out in the water in a lake. The man wanted to go home and he called the dog, but the dog was having such a great time the dog would not come. Do you know what the man did? He picked up a stick from the shore and threw it out in the water. And when this dog saw the stick, he remembered what he'd been told. The dog swam to the stick and got it, came back to his master and laid it at his master's feet. I wonder if the burden that you have has not been given to you by God to cause you to come to His feet. Cause you to come to His feet. Maybe He's called you other ways and you wouldn't come. And maybe just the burden is what God is using to bring you to your master's feet. Cast your burden on the Lord. He loves you. You say, "Pastor, if I've gotten away from God, would He receive me?" Oh yes. Yes. Pastor, if I've never known the Lord, can I be saved? Oh yes, you can. Come to Jesus. If you have a special burden, roll it on the Lord. He may not lift the burden, He may not solve the problem, but the Bible says cast your burden upon the Lord, He will sustain you. He will. He will see you through. He will. Cast it on Him. And if you want to be saved, let me invite you to pray a prayer like this. Just pray it right now out of your heart. Dear God, I know that You love me. I know that You want to save me. Right now, like a child, I open my heart. I receive Jesus Christ who died for me, who paid for my sin with His blood on the cross. I receive Him now, this moment, as my Lord and Savior. And Lord Jesus, because I trust You to save me, I'll not be ashamed of You. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Guest (Male): Amen. And if you prayed to receive Jesus just now, let us celebrate with you. Go to our website to our Find God's Love page. You'll find answers you may need about your new-found faith right there. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Find God's Love. Welcome to His forever family. Let us hear from you today.
Cary Vaughn: Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD, that's 1-877-LOVEGOD, or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry, and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the Word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.
Guest (Male): We love reading a note from a teacher in New Zealand who shared this: "During devotions this term, I am teaching the students about God's names. I just came across the pictures of God's names on your website. I just wanted to let you know that I plan to print and hang them up in the classroom, and I really appreciate that they are readily available." At Love Worth Finding, we are honored to be able to share these timeless teachings and the exciting new resources we develop to help you flourish in your faith, no matter your age. That's why when you donate to the ministry right now, we want to send you our 30-day devotional called Calling God's Name. Do you know God is Jehovah Jireh, your provider, or Jehovah Rapha, your healer? This devotional guides you through the names of God and what they reveal about His character. Request it when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD. And thank you for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.