From the ministry archive
He Ain’t Heavy
“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not” (Job 14:1,2). Do you think that maybe Job was being pessimistic, or that this malady of mankind was only the case before Jesus came and provided true redemption and reconciliation for men? If so then just wait around a little while and you will have plenty of opportunity to reverse your thinking. Let me assure you my friend, that as long as we are in this world of affliction, turmoil and death, we are going to feel the effects of it all. Just ask Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, which twelve tribes will be written on the twelve gates of the new, heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12:). After a lifetime of being deceived by others, hunted for death, losing his beloved wife to a premature death bearing his youngest son, betrayed and lied to by his sons, and believing for twenty years that his favorite son had been killed and eaten by wild beasts; he said this to the Egyptian Pharaoh upon being introduced to him by Joseph: “And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage” (Gen. 47:9). Along with Job’s saying, those are the words of two of the greatest warriors of faith of all time. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here; I am living proof that we can be lifted above it all by the mighty power of God’s grace in Christ, and I am living proof that we can be healed of it all by the same means. Nonetheless it is certain that there is plenty to BE lifted above, and plenty to BE healed of, while in this life. Not only so, but being uplifted, delivered, and healed of the ills of this life is not always instantaneous. But don’t take my word for it, rather hear what the scriptures say about Jesus himself: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised , and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3). I believe he was firmly “in Christ” as it were, and he still felt plenty of pain and experienced an abundance of grief as a man. Yeah, yeah, I know that his pain and grief was for the fallen state of man which he came to reverse, but it was still pain and it was still grief. Not only so, but we as believers and followers of Jesus are called to walk that same path (Jn. 15:20; Philip. 3:10; Col. 1:24; I Pet. 2:20,21). The scripture is clear in saying “that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). So yes there is grief to be borne by being truly identified with Jesus, both in spirit and in doctrine. Yet there are many griefs and much pain in this life that have nothing to do with walking in the footsteps of Jesus, both for the believer and unbeliever alike.
The enormous difference between believer and unbeliever in these things is that the true believer and follower of Christ will not be defeated by the afflictions that this life dishes out, whether for righteousness’ sake, or for just this life’s sake. Victory in these cases means that there is miraculous comfort and healing for the believer, and he is left with no bitterness, resentment, or anger about the things that fall out to him; regardless of how or why they have happened. But I assure you that victories are not won without suffering much affliction in the process. Just ask Jesus, I believe he knows something about that (Do I really need to reference scripture?). So do you want to know the surest way to secure the victories that we so desperately need to achieve against the affliction of being in this word? It’s very simple really. Be your brother’s keeper. That’s right, when someone else is suffering from the adversities of this life, be a safety net for them. I’ve got news for you, that is the main reason we are all here together. I think the apostle Paul said it simply like this: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). If we’re going to be zealous of ‘winning souls to Christ,’ and zealous of ministry, leading worship, and operating in spiritual gifts; let’s not forget the focal point of the whole thing, which is what the apostle called FULFILLING THE LAW OF CHRIST in the above stated verse. For those who forget or neglect to maintain that focal point, he addressed that in the very next verse after that one: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Gal. 6:3). How’s that, is that straight-up enough for you? Listen friend, God created Adam and gave him dominion over everything in the world, and he could have just left it that way. But God is not a solitary God, otherwise he would never had begotten his Son before anything else existed (Col. 1:14-17). So God saw that it was good to give Adam a wife, and that she would be “a help meet for him,” which translates to simply mean “one who helps.” They also were ordained to bear children and multiply upon the earth. Why? Because God just loves the idea of seeing people be a help to one another. That is what really pleases him. It certainly doesn’t stop with husband and wife, but rather it is the calling of ALL MEN to be a help to one another. The problem is, if sin still prevails in a person’s life, they are virtually blind to that calling, and are inclined to 'look out for number one.’ But as children of God, born again by his Spirit, we should see and obey that calling, and we should understand that it is THE calling. Not convinced yet? Well, what did Jesus say about it? “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mat. 7:12). And once more: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mat. 22:37-39).
You may note in that passage that Jesus said the second commandment is LIKE UNTO the first one. That means if we claim to love God, and yet we are not bearing our neighbor’s burden when we see him under one, then we are merely hypocrites and liars. I mean, Dear God, the law of God even required the same care for the BEAST of one’s ENEMY: “If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him” (Exd. 23:5). And that was under the OLD TESTAMENT, when the “love of God [was not] shed abroad in the hearts” of God’s people (Rom. 5:5). My friend, we are without excuse if we fail to “fulfill the law of Christ” by helping our neighbor in his/her time of need, and that with genuine care and concern of heart. In such case we are worthy of death, and will surely achieve our worth except we repent. You may recall that the most detailed account of the day of judgment, which was given to us by Jesus, showed clearly that we will either be saved or lost according to how we have dealt with one another, and with our fellow man, in their time of need (Mat. 25:31-46). Go ahead, read it for yourself. In both cases, meaning for salvation and damnation, Jesus said very clearly, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it [or not done it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it [or not] unto me.” I for one will not argue with these things, but rather I will continue to keep myself in a condition that fulfilling the core of the Gospel is just the natural thing to do. Seeing that we “reap what we sow” in this life, it stands to reason that if we want to be upheld in our distresses, we should uphold others when they are in theirs. That is the only solution to the problem of being here in this world of affliction. Even at that however, we must be prepared to be upheld only by the love and power of Jesus, because it does happen that we may NOT have anyone to uphold us, even if we HAVE been there for others in their neediness. Jesus is the ultimate example of this as well: “When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them… Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psm. 69:10,11,10). I could say much more, but maybe I’ll write a book instead. I think I will do that in fact. I’ve written a number of posts similar to this one on this page in the past couple of months, and I can tell you that this article was written with the fire of God in my heart, and in my soul, and in my bones. I write and preach about what I see, and I see far too many trying to go way too far while leaving the core principals of the faith of Christ behind. You want to do the works of Christ? I challenge you then to DO THIS!! Amen!
