Burden Bearers: How To Bear Burdens

Introduction

You may wish to be turning in your Bibles this morning to the fifth chapter, or maybe I should say the sixth chapter, rather, of the book of Galatians. Galatians chapter six will be our opening text here in just a few moments. To those who are visiting with us, and we do have many visitors with us today, we thank you for joining us again as we have come together to worship our God, to praise his name, and now to go to his word. We have many who would be with us, maybe even this day, because of what we have celebrated in this country as Mother’s Day. We thank you for joining us. And if the only reason you’re here today is because of Mother’s Day, then let us hope and pray that you’ll return and join us again, even when it is not on that occasion, as we come together, not only to celebrate our love for our earthly family, but to celebrate our love for our heavenly family and the great God and Father that we all have.

What a wonderful blessing that is. Certainly, even in our congregation, we remember mothers who are no longer with us. I know even today is a sad day on the part of many. That you think of those who have been so important to you. But hopefully we can all cherish those memories. Of course, today’s lesson is not about Mother’s Day. We’re continuing on some thoughts that we’ve been having about the matter of burden bearers. Of course, this is all tied to family, though. Family is important. And if you do have a loving mother and a loving father, you know just how important that is, that they can help you. Well, we are God’s family. And as God’s family, we are called upon to bear one another’s burdens in Galatians chapter six and verse two, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Well, we’ve been noting even last week as we began this discussion of what it means to be a burden bearer. It’s first of all, we know that there has to be an attitude that is there. Now, when Paul talks about those who are to restore others who are caught in a trespass, it is those who are spiritual we read in Galatians chapter six and in verse 1. That idea of those who are spiritual depicts the attitude of those who can really help restore and to bear these burdens. And going back into the fifth chapter, we notice that those who are spiritual are those who, according to chapter 5 and in verse 13, they recognize that while they are free from those obligations and the commandments and the curse of the old law, they are not free from following and serving God.

And therefore they are not free from loving each other. Furthermore, those who are spiritual are those who are led by the Spirit. They’re not led by the flesh, but what the Spirit wants, what the Spirit commands, and putting on those fruits of the Spirit that we read beginning in chapter 5 and in verse 22, the first and foremost of those being love, and then following on from there with joy and peace and patience and all those things. Those who are spiritual are those who are going to be led by God. That’s the ones who can bear these burdens. But today we want to focus on the matter of practical application. Well, how is it that we do this? How is it that we as a family can actually help each other?

How is it that we as brothers and sisters in Christ can actually help bear those burdens, those burdens that are threatening to crush those who are under them? Those of the congregation would know that earlier this week, I sent out an email and requesting some help with this sermon. A little survey, if you will, of questionnaire, where there were three questions that I gave you. How have brethren helped you when you had a burden? The second question was, in your experience, what helped you the most? And the third question was, are there some things brethren could have done that would have helped? Received many responses. And let me just say at the onset here that they were overwhelmingly positive. And what that tells me, and hopefully what this would tell all of us is that there is a lot of good going on by a lot of people.

1. It’s Not About You, It’s About Them

A lot of good that you and I, we don’t know about it because it’s done in secret. It’s done by brothers and sisters who love and care for each other. It’s done as it should be done by those who love. And so there’s a lot of really good things going on. And so I tried to take what you fed me, the feedback you gave, and combining that with the scriptures to find ways, practical ways which we can, in fact, help bear one another’s burdens. So let’s begin. And I’m going to go back again to begin with this morning, back to a matter of attitude. Because that’s really the thing that came across in many of your messages. Was that if we’re really going to bear one another’s burdens, then we have to first of all know that bearing burden is not about you.

Bearing others’ burdens is a part of God’s law for me. Again, bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ, that is an obligation that I am under and you are under. As a Christian, as a child of God, I am under that command to literally bear your burden. But bearing burdens not about me. Bearing someone’s burdens is about the other person. And I have to realize that. I have to recognize that first. That it’s the other person who’s important in this matter. That they are the one who is in danger of being overwhelmed by the burden that they bear. And what is required of me is the very attitude that Jesus demonstrated here while on this earth. The humility, the humbleness to serve.

You’re familiar with the passage in John chapter 13 when Jesus literally washed the feet of his disciples. And you may recall even how that began to unfold, and the disciples were shocked at this that here is the master who is going to bow down and wash their feet to place himself under them. What they did not realize is this was just a picture of what Jesus had been doing all along. And the ultimate picture of what he would do as he died on the cross, serving all men. But the command that he gave to his disciples on an occasion after that was, you call me teacher and lord, and you’re right, for so I am. If then I then, the Lord and teacher, washed your feet.

You also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I gave you an example that you should do as I did to you. I’m serving you, I’ve humbled myself before you. I am counting your needs as more important than my own. This is what Jesus has commanded us to do. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 12 and verse 10 that we are to be devoted. Note that. Devoted to one another. We think of devotion as that which maybe a husband would have for his wife or a wife would have for her husband. This idea of full commitment. And the apostle here is saying that in the family of God, you are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in love.

It’s not about you, it’s about them. What do they need? That principle is important for several reasons when it comes to application. Go again to the sixth chapter in verse 1. The first instance of really what we’re talking about with this idea of bearing burdens. And in chapter 6 and in verse 1, it’s the matter of a spiritual trespass. He says, brethren, if anyone is caught in any trespass and will hasten to add again, this is not someone who’s just going out and practicing iniquity and has no care. This is one who is caught. They were not looking to sin, they were not intending to sin, and yet, as the world goes, they sinned. They fell short. They were caught in this trespass. And so he says, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted.

We talked about this at the conclusion of our last lesson. That when it comes to the attitude of those who are spiritual, ego has to be left at the door. And here’s why. Because your brethren are weak. Just as you are weak. And your brethren sin. Just as you sin. And the point here is not to compare and contrast. The point here is not to judge them because they committed this sin, which is sin you never would commit, or how dare they even think that you would ever do something like that. That’s not the point. The point is they were caught. They became entangled in this. And you can help them. Don’t judge them based on, well, I never did that, or I would never even think about doing that.

You help them based on the fact that they are a brother or sister who is in need, and they are taught. It’s not about you, it’s about them. We’ve got to be able to apply that. That they are the ones who are in need. And I need to help them. Secondly, and of course we would understand this as well. That when we talk about it’s not about you, it’s about them. Bearing burdens is going to require some sacrifice. It is going to require commitment. It may even require of us to do some things that we would not wish to do for a variety of factors because of the time involved, because of the sacrifice, even monetarily involved. It’ll require us to do some things. Well, put it bluntly, it’s just going to require us to give ourselves.

And there’s no mistake that the very first fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 and in verse 22 is love. This love that we are to have, this regard that we are to have, this active seeking for the well-being of others, is the very first manifestation of whether or not you’re being led by the Spirit of God or whether you’re submitting to the desires of the flesh. It is this love that Jesus talks about that when he talks about, he gave his life for his friends.

That he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for their brethren. Let’s not minimize what he’s saying there. He’s saying that just as Jesus viewed you as being so important that he would lay down his life for you, you ought to view your brethren as so important. It’s about them, it’s not about you. As so important that you would give your life for them. He goes from the extreme to perhaps the more relevant or maybe the more applicable standard of what we find in everyday life. Whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? If your love for your brethren should extend to even being able to give your life for them, and yet you will not give your goods for them, how could you say the love of God is in you?

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. How are you going to bear someone’s burdens? You have to place the emphasis and the focus on them. And one final note that I’ll add on this. When we’re talking about helping one another with our burdens, whether it be about the physical distresses that we may have in life, the spiritual distresses, or even the sin that we can become entangled in, I’d apply this principle to this as well. This is not the place for curiosity. We’ve been talking about being open with one another, of helping one another. And we do want to be that, but it is not the place for me to pry. Someone may decide to divulge information, someone may decide to open up, but it is not the place of me to ask the questions that may cause them more pain.

2. Not Everyone or Every Burden Is the Same

Oh, how did that feel? What was that like? Because that’s only satisfying my need for information, and it may not be helping them at all. Remember. It’s not about you, it’s about them. And if they build up a relationship with you and they can confide in you, then that will happen. And it’s not the place for me or for anyone to try to make it happen. We all know that doesn’t typically work anyway. Secondly, not everyone or every burden is the same. This goes back really to the first point. People experience things in life differently. People experience their trials differently. And even though most of our burdens are different, if we will look at any of the burdens that we share in common, there are a variety of factors that make those things different, and certainly how I handle those or respond to those is different than how you may.

And that’s very relevant and very practical. You have a brother or sister who’s dealing with the loss of a loved one. That’s not the place to go and say, well, when my brother died.

We’re talking about their loss and what they’re going through. And your life experience at that time may be radically different from what they’re going through right now. We’re talking about an illness. You know, I was once at the point of death. Well, okay. And we praise God. But what about what they’re going through right now? Again, it’s not about you, it’s about them. We’re going through a spiritual struggle. You know, here’s how I handled that. Well, that may help. But it may not. Because you’re dealing with someone who’s in a different set of circumstances. Now, I’m not saying there’s never a place to share personal stories. Those, in fact, may be very helpful if you relate your experiences and tips that you found. But the point is, what has helped me in my life may not be what helps you in your life.

Because you are different from me. And your burdens are different from me. Now, here we get to the main point, though. How are we going to help each other if we’re all different? How are we going to help each other when our burdens are different and our situations are different and our circumstances are different? How are we going to actually do that? Well, here’s the application. You’ve got to get to know each other. I should say we have got to get to know each other. You go back to the earliest days of the church, and we talk about Acts chapter 2 and in verse 46. And this picture of the church, note what it says. Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house.

They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. What do you have here in this early church? What is the picture here? Brethren spending their time together in worship. Now, you will not establish a close relationship with a brother or sister just because you worship together. We’ll talk about that in a little bit more. There’s only so much going back and forth that we’re going to have here in the foyer. But do not think that our time together is unimportant. Do not think that our worship together can be forsaken just because, well, I’ll be there later. No, these brethren, they were coming day by day, and they were spending their time together. Because this was the focus. This was what they really had in common their love for God and for Christ.

And they came together. And so they’re building that bond. But Al Hisma’ab was also in this passage. Their coming together was not limited to them coming together in the temple, was it? Day by day, they were going house to house. Now, if we’ve got 3,000 who are now converted to Christ, which we know from Acts chapter 2, there are no houses in Jerusalem that are going to host 3,000 people. Why it seems that we have smaller groups of Christians coming together on a frequent basis, on a daily basis, and they were coming together and they were enjoying each other’s company. They were praising God together. There is no substitute for hospitality. There can be no substitute for hospitality. We are in fact ordered, if you want to look at it that way, in Romans chapter 12 and verse 13, to practice hospitality.

It’s there. Because the only way I’m going to get to know you, and you’re going to get to know me, and we’re going to get to know what makes each other tick and what struggles we have and the situations we have and the circumstances in which we live is if we spend that time together. So if you want to take away, and we talked about this recently, if you want to take away an application for today, resolve to show some hospitality. Resolve to invite someone, whether it be in your home or to a restaurant or to a coffee shop, whatever it may be, or just to sit on a park bench together. You can do that pretty cheaply. Resolve to be hospitable to one another. I’ll put a word in for our groups, too.

That this is just another effort for brethren to come together, to spend some time together, oftentimes with a spiritual focus. But to break bread together at a table. That’s what the church was doing in Acts chapter 2. And if we’re going to bear burdens, and if we’re going to appreciate the individuality that we all have in this collective body, then there is no substitute for actually coming together and getting to know each other. Of course, another aspect of that would be that we need to as well develop close relationships. In talking about this matter of opening up to each other, several have responded, and I and I wholeheartedly understand where you’re coming from. That it is not within all of our personalities to open up. And that is not what we are mandating here.

We are not mandating some open up confession before the church. We are not even mandating that you open up to an individual. But we are stressing that this is the spiritual principles that God wants us to live by. And so I would say, even if you don’t become close to a lot of people, you need to have someone. Or when Paul says in Romans chapter 12, rejoice for those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. You need to have someone within the spiritual body of God that knows what you’re going through. That can literally rejoice with you when you’re rejoicing, and that can weep with you when you are weeping. You need to have someone in your life, in your spiritual body that you can help fulfill James 5 and verse 16 with.

That you are confessing your false one, and that you are praying for each other. We’re not going to mandate that. We can’t mandate that. But we can say this is what God wants for us. That God knows we need brethren. And so I’ll add this. If you feel that you’re alone on an island and you’ve had a hard time connecting with someone, then look to those who are serving this congregation. Go to a deacon or an elder, and I’m not saying they have to be the one that you connect with. I’m saying they may be able to help you find someone that you can connect with. Let them help you in that. Let them help match you with someone who can talk with you and you can study and pray together.

3. We’ve Got to Really Forgive

Because we recognize that you are your own person. You are different than anybody else in this congregation. You have needs and perhaps perspectives that no one else here has, but that’s important. And God wants you to have someone that you can open up with as well. Not everyone or every burden is the same. The third point, this would go back again to those matters of the spiritual trespass. If we’re really going to bear one another’s burdens, then we’ve got to forgive. And we have really got to forgive. If I had time this morning, I would take us back to Matthew chapter 18, and we would read the entire chapter. Because Matthew 18 is a wonderful chapter. Matthew 18, I’ll start in the beginning, in the middle, rather.

In verse 12, beginning, you have that parable of the 99 sheep who were safe and one was straying. And what’s the point of that parable? Why did Jesus come? To bring back the one who was straying. He brought him back and he restored him to the flock of God. And it is not coincidence, and the very next verse in verse 15, after Jesus has made this point about himself and what he came to do, he says to his disciples, if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. And if he listens to you, you have won your brother. The point being that Jesus came to restore those who are lost. Now he is passing that commission on to his disciples. There are lost among you, and if your brother sinned or even sinned against you, go and find him.

But the last point of this chapter was when Peter comes to him and says, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother? Up to seven times? No, but I say unto you, up to 70 times seven. And of course, from there, he gave the parable of the two debtors. The one who had been forgiven by the king, by the master of this debt that could never possibly conceivably been repaid. And yet he forgave them. And that very same debtor goes out and finds a man who owes him a hundred denarii, you might say a third of a year’s wage, a real debt, but he will not forgive him. And of course, then judgment comes back on that first debtor because of his unforgiving attitude. The point Jesus is making here to Peter and to all of us by extension is you’ve got to forgive.

I came back, Jesus is saying, to restore the lost. And in doing that, they are going to receive God’s forgiveness. You have got to restore the lost. And in doing that, they have to know that they are receiving God’s forgiveness. And the first way they experience that is they receive your forgiveness. That’s how people receive God’s forgiveness. That’s how they acknowledge it, how they even think about it is what are my, what is my family doing? Are they forgiving me? I’d also say that when we go to Galatians chapter 6 and then verse 1, when it talks about this brother or anyone that is caught in a trespass, and we are exhorted to restore such a one. What does it mean to restore? Brings them right back to their current, I mean their former status, doesn’t it?

We’re not talking about here’s someone who’s gone astray. Well, I’m going to forgive them, but I’m going to make sure they recognize and remember here’s the wrongs they’ve done. That’s not restoring. Restoring is bringing someone back to the position and the relationship with God that they once had. And also the relationship among God’s people that they once had. This is what we oftentimes talk about with the forgiving and forgiving. Okay, we understand that in our brains and our minds, yes, there’s still the knowledge there, but it’s an attitude of we are moving forward. You are restored. You can experience that. We are moving forward now. And this has to be our attitude among each other. We have to forgive, really forgive. Because if we’re not willing to really restore something, then we’re not bearing burdens at all.

4. There Is No Substitute for You

We’re adding two burdens. And we’re not fulfilling the law of Christ. Fourth point would be there is no substitute for you. Burdens are not about you. We talked about that already. Burden bearing is about the other person. It’s putting their needs, their wants, their desires, their struggles in front of your own. But there is no substitute for you in the process of burden bearing. I would love to just sit and read to you the responses that I received this week, how encouraging they were. Time and time and time again, brethren expressing how much love they have felt and received when they were struggling, whether it be in a financial circumstance or in a spiritual circumstance, whatever it may be. The love they felt, and the sacrifices that were made on their behalf.

Whether those were time commitments or financial commitments, or whether it was just brethren who were studying with them and praying with them, over and over again, you had the same thing coming across. And what you can tell from that is there was no substitute for the individuals who are doing that. In the religious world, the idea of minister has been reserved for a select few. In Christ’s church, the word for minister is reserved for all of God’s people, that we are to minister to each other.

And what a minister does is he does the work of the one who sent him. When we talk about we are ministers to each other, we are actually saying that I am God’s minister sent to you. That if I am helping you in this burden, am I helping you whether, whatever way it is? This is God’s help that’s just coming through me because I’m God’s minister in this. I’m ministering to you. There is no substitute for us in this. That’s why God made us a part of this family. The Hebrew writer says in Hebrews chapter 10, I believe it is. I’m sorry, it’s Hebrews chapter 6 and in verse 10. In Hebrews chapter 6 and in verse 10, God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward his name in having ministered and instill ministering to the saints.

Brethren, our God will never forget the ministering that we do either. And there was a past test you have ministered, and a current you are ministering. And God’s plan for helping each other. Divine aid comes through human hands. His help oftentimes comes through us. What that means for us is if we’re going to be serious about burden bearing, I’ve got to give myself. I’d hearken back to what Brother Greg said this past Wednesday night in his invitation about the time. Are we going to give that to God and give that for each other? There is no substitute for it. If we become a part of this family, there is no substitute for my efforts. For the financial help that I can give to those who are poor.

For the spiritual uplifting conversations that I can have, for the prayers that I can offer, for the time spent in just listening, or providing rise or food or whatever it may be, there is no substitute for it. The final point that I’d make this morning.

5. Ask for His Aid Too

As I said, there’s no substitute for me. But if we’re doing this because of our relationship with God and because we believe in this great God, then why wouldn’t we ask for his aid too? Let me say that was again overwhelmingly in the responses. What brethren were thankful for the most were these spiritual conversations that they could have. Even sometimes just brethren saying it. They did not have the time to actually pray with that person for that brother or sister just to say, I am praying for you. I am here for you. And that brought more comfort to more people than anything else because they know that we’re in this together and we’re in this with God. Several brethren mentioned that they received help from brethren just pointing them to the word of God.

Let me add even if you don’t know a brother or sister’s struggles or their own personal circumstances, you’ll never go wrong just by pointing them to the word of God, to really what he says. If there’s a brother or sister who’s struggling with sin, then they need to know that God forgives. They need to know what 1 John 1 and verse 9 says. And he is faithful and just to forgive those who will confess to him, those who will repent. They need that positive message because they’re in the mire. They’ve had the negative part, they’re living the negative part. Now they need to know God says restoration is possible and he wants to forgive. They need that. Those who are struggling with illness andor death need to know.

And just be reminded. They know this already, but they just need those reminders that this isn’t all there is. Paul makes that point in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 19 and 20. And speaking to those in Corinth, even those who are denying the resurrection, he says, if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. Reminding brethren of what God has said. That we know you’re struggling, and your struggles are different than mine. Your illness is different than mine. You are dealing with a death differently than I may have. But this principle is timeless and true. Christ died. And he is the firstfruits of those who’ll be raised.

This isn’t it. This isn’t all there is. Keep their mind, keep their focus on what God has promised. Those who are weighed down with the burdens of this life. This needs a simple reminder sometimes of the glory that awaits. As Paul says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 18, that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that has to be revealed to us. Are they struggling? Yes. Are those struggles real? Yes. Do I know exactly what they’re going through? No. Does this remain true? Absolutely. But I’m going to hasten to add here. We do not need to misquote God. It can be very beneficial and very helpful to bring people to the Word of God, to remind God of the promises that God has made.

But let us not misquote God. Give you two examples this morning. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful.

But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you’ll be able to endure it. Wonderful passage. True passage. But sometimes that passage is made into this. God will never give you more than you can handle. Is that what the passage says? God will never give you more than you can handle. Alright? Paul wrote that in 1 Corinthians 10. Know what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia. That we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we have the sins of death within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a peril of death and will deliver us, he on whom we have set our hope, and he will yet deliver us.

Paul’s saying, I have been burdened more than I can handle. Why did this calls me to do? Trust more in God.

1 Corinthians 10 is about our sins and temptation to sin. And no, you have the faith and the confidence that God’s not going to pass, put a temptation before you allow a temptation to come before you, and you cannot handle. But when it comes to the burdens of this life, oftentimes we are pressed more than we can handle. And that’s why we need God. That’s why we need greater faith and trust in God. That’s why our hope always needs to be in Him. If we could just handle everything, then we wouldn’t really need God, would we? That’s not what the passage says. Romans 8 and verse 28. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

Oftentimes has been translated as this. Everything happens for a reason. This is God’s part, this is part of God’s plan for you. Tell that to the parents for the sick child or the child who dies. Happened for a reason. God’s plan for you. Tell that to the spouse who lost his or her spouse. Everything happens for a reason. Just God’s plan for you. See how much that helps. It won’t help at all. Oftentimes what I’ll do is make them bitter toward God. What do you mean this is God’s plan for me? God’s plan that my child has cancer? God’s plan that my best friend died in that car accident at the hands of a drunken driver. That’s God’s plan? That’s what you mean to tell me.

This just happens for a reason in some kind of great cosmic tragedy. What’s Paul saying in Romans chapter 8? Turn back with me.

Romans chapter 8. I don’t mean to say that Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 cannot be of great comfort to people. It can be of great comfort to people. Let’s just say what God said here. You go back in Romans chapter 8. And I would start back in verse 18. Where Paul says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time, again, as we’ve already said, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Then you go to verse 31 after we read verse 28. There we read, if God is for us, who is against us? Verses 37 through 39. And all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I’m convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Everything happens for a reason. No, in fact, there are some things that are lied against God in this passage. What is Paul saying? For the one who trusts in God, it does not matter what happens in this life. You can overcome, and you will not be separated from the love of God. That’s how things work out for good for God’s people. Not that God mandated, okay, so you’ll learn to love me more. Let me kill your child.

We have to recognize that God can use bad things that happen in life to his glory. It does not mean he created the bad things. It just means he can use them to help us understand him and appreciate and love him more. Let’s point, brethren, to scripture. Let’s point them to what God has said, but let’s make sure we are saying what God said. And not just something we heard. And then finally, more and more said, prayer. Brethren, praying with them, brethren, praying for them. James 5, verse 16, in action in life. Because if we think that this is our God, and if we believe what Paul says in Romans and verse 28, that if God is for us, who can be against us? That brethren, just being able to come together and praying with and for each other help the most.

Conclusion

We’re in the business of burden bearing. And God gave us what we need. If we will submit to one another, give ourselves to each other, recognize we’re not all the same, really forgive when wrong has been done and repentance is made. Give myself to the task, and then bring God’s help into it. Burdens will be bared. Born, I should say. And brethren can press on. Knowing that it does not matter what is arrayed against us, we will overwhelmingly conquer. We’re not going to do it on a solo mission. We’re going to do it together, each of us bearing one another’s burdens, and we will not be separated from the love of God. As we end this morning, though, we’d be remiss not to mention the great burden that was taken off of us.

The sacrifice of God’s Son. That the only reason that any of this is possible or deserves our time and effort is the fact that God gave Himself for us. So that we would not die. Yes, we may die physically, but spiritually, we would not die. And we could be with Him. He bore our burdens. And He took them to the cross. And now God’s plan, God’s will is that you have those burdens lifted, that you have sin removed from your life. And God said He would put that on His own Son. That the blood of His own Son would forgive that. Would you receive such forgiveness? Would you believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God? Repent of your wrongs, and allow God to remove that burden from you.

Be baptized so the blood of Son, the blood of His Son may forgive you and cleanse you. Can we aid you in some way? Won’t you come as we stand and as we sing?

What will be?