The way some people talk and act,
you would think this scripture reads, "come unto Me, all ye that have no
problems, and I will burden you down with all the problems and cares of life;
then you will be able to suffer for Me."
People think we have to be burdened down in life in order to please God.
But Jesus even told His disciples to pray that it be on earth, as it is in
heaven. Here in Matthew 11:28, these words also came out of the mouth of Jesus:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden (heavily burdened), and I will
give you rest. This is God's idea of
good news. Sometimes, men's tradition turns the good news into bad news.
Custom-Made Yoke
Matthew 11:29 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.
Most people today don't
understand much about yokes. But in those days, people used a wooden yoke
around the neck of oxen. It made their work easier, because it was handmade to
fit the oxen. And if there was a knot in that yoke, it would rub those oxen raw
in a certain place. I can imagine, when
Jesus was saying this to His disciples, they were probably standing under an
olive tree next to the workshop, watching a man work on a yoke that wasn't
fitting properly.
Jesus, observing, said, "If
you'll just come to Me, My yoke is custom-made to fit you. Take My yoke upon
you - for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Burden Not From God
People who are always burdened
down with a heavy burden have not learned to take His yoke. Most of them
believe God gave them that burden. But Jesus said, "For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
So many people take on burdens
that God never intended for them to have.
Many people who go into the ministry take upon themselves all the
burdens of others, instead of casting them on the Lord. Jesus had some good advice, "Take my yoke
upon you...My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
While we are on that subject,
let's look at what God had to say about burdens in Jeremiah twenty-three.
Jeremiah 23:33-34 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask
thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt say unto them, What
burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and
the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man
and his house.
I know you have heard people say,
"I have this heavy burden from the Lord."
But Jesus said, "I will give you rest - My yoke is easy and My burden is
light." Actually, the word burden means
"job task." It's not a heavy load, as most people think of a burden. Then here
in Jeremiah, God says, "I'll punish you for saying a burden from the Lord."
God does not lay heavy burdens on
people, but the devil does. Sometimes we have joined up with the devil and
said, "These heavy burdens are from the Lord."
Burden of the Lord Mention No More
Jeremiah 23:36 And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more; for
every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the
living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.
I didn't say it, God said it. God
wants to un-laden you of your heavy burdens.
God wants to get the heavy load off of you - not put it on you. It's the
problems and circumstances in life that burden you down. Religion will even
burden you down if you don't rightly divide God's Word.
Ye Shall Not Say, "Burden of the Lord"
Jeremiah 23:38-39 But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus
saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have
sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; Therefore,
behold, I even I , will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the
city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence.
We have all had the wrong idea
about burdens. This was meant to be good news, not bad news. But it's like
Jesus said to the Pharisees in His day, "The traditions of
men make the Word of God of none effect." Mark 7:13
I want you to know that God is on
your side. God wants to help you. God is trying to un-laden you of your burden
- not burden you down. I think one of
the major problems with some people, especially ministers, is that they take
all of the burdens of their people on themselves. They can't handle it. Some of
them get out of the ministry because of it. A few even end up in an
institution. There are ministers in institutions today because they took the
burdens of all their congregation on themselves, instead of praying about them
and releasing them to God. God doesn't want you to play God, you can't handle
it but God can.
I Peter 5:7 Casting all of your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Learn to Cast All Your Cares Upon Jesus
God never intended for you to
take the burdens of other people on yourself.
In fact, the New Testament admonishes us to cast all our cares upon Him.
This is God's will and God's purpose.
Perhaps you are burdened down
because you have been taking all of the cares and burdens of everyone who came
to you with a prayer request. You prayed with them, but took the care on
yourself. You didn't cast it over on the Lord. If you will cast it over on the
Lord, you won't be burdened with it, but be thanking and praising God for the
answer.
Sometimes people come to me and
say, "Would you pray for me about a certain situation?" We would pray, and I thought we were in
agreement. The Bible said, "If two of you shall agree, it shall be done." But
when we are through praying, many of them will say, "Brother Capps, just keep
praying for me." No! I prayed in faith,
and I'm through praying about it. When I released my faith, it's finished, as
far as I'm concerned. I won't take that care on myself. When I said "Amen," I
was finished with that and I am ready to pray about something else.
If you take all these cares on
yourself, in a short time you won't be able to help anyone. You will have more
burdens and problems than you know how to handle and you will need help
yourself. That's why Jesus said, "Come unto Me...My yoke is easy and My burden is
light." He said, "I'll teach you My way. Take My yoke. It is custom-made. It
won't rub you raw."
When you say, "Amen," if you
prayed in faith, you ought to be through with it.
Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive.
God's Thoughts and Our Thoughts
Let's look at Isaiah fifty-five. Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
These verses have become sacred
cow scriptures to some people, and they are held in bondage by them. You hear
people quote these verses and then say, "Yes, God's thoughts are higher than
our thoughts. God's ways are higher than our ways."
That is what I call a false
truth. I mean, it is in the Bible. But we must keep it in context, or it can be
very misleading. For if God's ways are higher than our ways, and we can't
attain to God's ways, that is bad news.
The Wicked Man's Thoughts
Isaiah 55:6-8 Seek ye the Lord
while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways myways, saith the Lord.
When God says, "My thoughts are
not your thoughts." He is talking about the wicked man's thoughts. He is not
talking about a born-again, Spirit-filled believer. He's talking about wicked people who refuse
the Word and will not repent. Now you
can understand how the devil takes good news and perverts it. These verses were
written to set you free. But if they are quoted out of context, they actually
hold you in bondage.
Truth Is Revealed in Context
It takes time and meditation to
understand the scriptures. Certainly, you can find all kinds of scriptures that
seem to say almost anything, if you take them out of context. But if you keep
them in their context, they will reveal truth.
Notice that Isaiah goes on to say:
Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater; So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God's Ways Can Be Your Ways
In this chapter of Isaiah, God
actually says the exact opposite of what most people thought He said. He is
saying, "The Word I sent is like rain which comes down from heaven, and it
causes the earth to bud, and causes it to bring forth fruit, and furnishes seed
to the sower so that you can operate My way. I've sent you the seed of My Word.
Put it in your mouth and sow it. My ways will work for you, and you can operate
in My ways." That is good news. But
men's religious ideas make the Word unfruitful.
Hold fast to the truth, and the Word will produce for you. God's ways
will work for you, if you work them. God
will teach you His ways. Jesus said, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect (Matthew 5:48).
Paul said, Be ye
therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children. Ephesians 5:1
To imitate God, we must operate
in His ways. Yes, God's ways are higher than the ways of the wicked. But
the righteous can walk in God's ways.
Charles Capps
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