A Burden Worth Carrying - Sheldon Pryor

Two monks were walking through the woods when they came

upon a woman standing by a stream. She asked the question,

“Please, sir, would you kindly help me across the stream?" One

monk silently nodded his head, hoisted the woman on his back,

and walked across the stream with her. She bowed, thanked him,

and walked on. The two monks watched her walk out of sight and

then continued on their journey. Many miles and hours later the

monk who had not carried the woman said, “I’ve been thinking,

how could you have touched that woman? You know our order

frowns on touching women.” The other monk smiled and said, “I

put her down a long time ago. Why are you still carrying her?"

There are some burdens that are not worth carrying. There

are some burdens that are not worth your time, ministry, nor

anointing.

There are some burdens that look light on the outside, they look

like a little thing… A little offense, a little jealousy, a little

misunderstanding, a little worry, a little doubt, but if left

unresolved, they will cost you everything.

Paul after presenting the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 talks to the

modern-day believer in Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:1 – “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about

with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with

patience the race that is set before us,”

What doth so easily beset you Pentecostals of Orange

County? What burdens do so easily hinder us from revival?

What are you holding on to today that you should have left

behind last month?

The time for setting aside these ungodly burdens is now. We

don’t have time to waste carrying the weight from our wait.

God is wanting us to press into our destiny now. There is some

baggage that will not make it to your destination.

The Bible talks about two types of sorrow:

- Godly Sorrow

- Worldly Sorrow

2 Cor. 10:7 – “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation

not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death”

There is a thief called worldly sorrow.

Worldly sorrow comes to steal your joy through the burden

of disappointment, kill your ministry through the burden of

offense, and destroy your calling through the burden of sin.

Heaviness of mind and body are elements of worldly sorrow. We

all know those people who walk around burdened by the cares of

life. Distracted by the devastation of the world around them.

Weighed down by financial trouble, relationship issues, the safety

and well-being of their family… They walk around humped over;

eyes pointed downward.

No hope, no joy.

Somewhere along the way they picked up some burdens that

they never laid on an altar.

Don’t just shake your head tonight, don’t just brush off what I’m

saying tonight… Be very careful of what you’re picking up on this

journey called life.

If we’re not careful however, instead of the church

triumphant we can become the church unduly burdened.

We can walk around with a cross on our back that we were

never meant to carry. With our focus on comfort over

mission. Security over the salvation of a soul.

I’m not worried about this pandemic; I’m not concerned about the

outcome of this election (the king’s heart is in the hand of the

Lord); I’m not fearful of natural disasters.

There is however one burden that weighs heavily on my

heart tonight.

It’s been preached about over this pulpit, we talk about it in

conversation, we teach on it in connect groups, it has its own

hashtag that is used across our social media platforms…

I want to speak to you tonight about a burden worth carrying,

a burden for others.

Nehemiah 4:16-17

16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my

servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both

the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and

the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.17 They which

builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that

laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and

with the other hand held a weapon.

Often times we preach on the two classes of laborers, we

separate them from one another. Yet, I would like to pose the

question tonight– Could it be that these are actually two

sides to the same coin?

What if the burden bearers are the builders in this last day of

revival?

There are many churches today who are trying to build a church

without a burden for others. They build great church buildings,

service plans, and events. Yet, they’ve lost the most important

thing of all… A burden for others.

If it takes others with a burden to build a wall, we are

misguided to believe we can build a church without a burden

for others.

I believe that the foremost calling of a 21st-Century Christian

is to be a burden-bearer.

Galatians 6:2 – “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the

law of Christ”

Paul was alluding to the custom of travelers in that day, who,

when the weight of their baggage would begin to way heavy on

their shoulders, would relieve one another by bearing the burdens

of the weak or fatigued.

Today we find ourselves amidst a society of weary travelers. The

world weighs heavy under the baggage of this past year.

Yet, I have come to remind you that present circumstances of life

do not disqualify eternal calling.

There is a mission before us tonight. There is a burden for

others waiting for some burden-bearers tonight.

You have to understand this one thing – That the road to the

completion of the wall in Jerusalem was not without opposition.

The people of Israel faced the taunting, teasing, and tempting of

their adversary.

The potential for enemy attack was so great that it was imperative

Nehemiah have men who could fight a moment’s notice. So it was

that the burden bearers held the weight of the bricks and mortar in

one hand, and a javelin in the other.

Being well armed to counter the attack of the enemy is a mark of

excellent governmental leadership. Nations who fail to establish a

high level of military preparedness are only asking for trouble.

Likewise, the people of God, must arm ourselves spiritually. You

cannot carry another’s burden if you have not secured your own.

You cannot expect to be a burden bearer without the resistance of

your adversary.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this need of being armed in

Ephesians 6:11 – Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be

able to stand against the wiles of the Devil

Nehemiah had to learn to balance the building with the

battling. The burden with the warfare.

When you put yourself in the position of a burden bearer, you’re

going to have to face the fiery darts of the wicked, you’re going to

have to walk through afflictions of your faith, fight for the salvation

of those around you, and stay planted in the midst of trial and

tribulation.

The people of Israel faced great affliction. Their enemy did

everything they could to stop the work of building the wall.

But the wall kept going up.

Nehemiah 4:21-23 – So we laboured in the work: and half of them

held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars

appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let

every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the

night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. 23 So

neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the

guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving

that every one put them off for washing.

So we laboured in the work…

The people of Israel served, sacrificed, and assisted one another.

They diligently stood guard day and night. They laid aside their

own agendas, schedules, and responsibilities for others. The only

time they removed their clothes was for the purpose of washing

them.

The only way to get your mind off of 2020 is to get your mind

on others.

Phillipians 2:4 – “Look not every man on his own things, but every

man also on the things of others.”

Get your mind off of your problems, your limitations, your

insecurities and get your mind on others.

There’s coming a day where you’re going to be asked where

you were in 2020. What you were doing in 2020.

Let it be said of our church that 2020 came… So we labored in

the work.

When the church doors re-opened… We found innovative ways

to reach the world.

When guests started walking through the doors again… We

pushed aside our own schedules so we could take them out

to coffee.

When God moved on our Orange Campus… We didn’t let our

fears hold us back from pushing our way into the altar.

When opportunities to serve were presented… We got involved

in the work.

Let it be said of this church that 2020 came… But we didn’t

stop building. We didn’t stop bearing the burden of others.

That the world went into quarantine…. But we didn’t quarantine

from the world. We didn’t quarantine from our purpose. We

didn’t quarantine from our mission.

I know you’ve got 99 problems and COVID is just one of

them, but you can either choose to bear the burdens of

worldly sorrow or rejoice in affliction like Paul,

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (NIV) – I have worked much harder, been

in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been

exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from

the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten

with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was

shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have

been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers,

in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger

from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in

danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have

labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have

known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have

been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the

pressure of my concern for all the churches.29 Who is weak, and I

do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Paul did not let his affliction get him off mission.

Paul was a burden-bearer. Paul knew it was like to bear the

crushing weight and responsibility of an others-focused life.

Despite the many moments in his life that threatened to cripple

him, he knew how to carry a burden for others. He knew how to

intercede for others. He knew how to make time for others.

I think it’s time that the church be the church again.

Can I be real for a moment? I want my church back.

(Insert things you want back here…)

I want to tell you the story of Jim Thorpe.

This is Jim Thorpe. Look closely at the photo, you can see that

he’s wearing different socks and shoes. This wasn’t a fashion

statement. Jim Thorpe is a legendary American athlete. Jim

Thorpe was an Olympic runner competing in the 1912 Olympics

Track & Field. In the middle of the morning he gets up and in the

middle of the night someone had stolen his running shoes. He’s

looking, he’s asking around, and nobody has extras. He’s digging

through the trash can and he finds two random shoes of different

sizes. One is a loafer and the other looks like a bowling shoe. The

bowling shoe is way too big and so he puts on whatever socks he

can find to fill it up. So here is the great American representation

of the 1912 Olympics track and field with two mismatched shoes

and some horrible socks. He went to his events that day and he

won a gold medal in everything that he ran in those shoes.

Jim ran his races in just what he had. It was not ideal. Nobody

going to the Olympics dreams of that being the vehicle that takes

you to gold.

Jim had two choices: give up, or run anyway

I know 2020 may not look like you thought it would. 2020 may

not be ideal for you.

You may feel like your life is mismatched.

COVID-19, earthquakes rattling California, wildfires ravaging our

lands, hurricanes slamming the coast of Louisiana and if all that’s

not enough…

They say there is an asteroid heading towards Earth one day

before the election. They’re fairly certain it “might miss”.

I know it seems like 2020 may not be conducive for harvest. Life

is a little harsh right now. Life is a little mismatched right now.

But I’ve come to tell you tonight… It’s time for you to run the

race that’s set before you…

You don’t have time to care about whether you’ve got on the right

shoes are not.

The mission is too important. The burden is too valuable.

Others are watching you. Others are waiting for you.

There are 3.1 million people in Orange County that just need a

runner… They just need a burden-bearer…

Are you going to give up or run anyway?

Nehemiah 6:15-16

“So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month

Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass that when all our

enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us

saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes;

for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”

I’m telling you… When the church decides to start acting like the

church in 2020… When we get over our mismatched shoes…

When we start laying aside our fears, doubts, and anxieties...

Then God will do “this work”! A work that even the Devil can’t

deny was of God.

But it starts with a burden… a burden for others.

So we labored.

The waves crashed overhead… So we labored.

We had some mismatched shoes… So we labored.

The world was crying out… So we labored.

I’m looking for some people tonight that are willing to say my

burden and my circumstance may be mismatched right now, but

I’m going to run anyhow.

Things may be a little mismatched right now, but Costa Mesa

needs a church plant. Placentia needs a church plant. Seal Beach

needs a church plant. San Clemente needs a church plant.

Sign me up baby!

I may have on some mismatched shoes but One Student Ministry

needs a burden-bearer, KidZ needs a burden-bearer, this church

needs a burden-bearer.

I may not have a lot to give, I may fill outside of my element right

now, but I’m going to give all that I have! I’m going to bear all that

I can.