Welcome! This is John peter a simple servant of God, want to focus on the message of God’s Word to us an individual committed christen and as the Church.
Galatians 6:2, 5- Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ… For each one shall bear his own load.
The world is in a mess, and God has given us the exact remedy the world needs: the Good News about Jesus. We believe in that remedy. We preach that remedy. And yet we see so little result so little success. The overall picture is one of decline- decline among ourselves and decline in every church. Why is that?
No doubt these are many reasons. Most of the bible is in the first instance addressed to Christians and to the church and both Old Testament and New Testament are full of God’s words of warning and judgment to Church. Therefore ill becomes us to be so critical of the world around us while at the same time being so uncritical of ourselves: “judge not lest you be judged” “if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment” it is not the world that God will hold accountable for the failure to evangelize Asia and India- it is his Church, of which you and me is a part. Do you agree with Word of God?
So now I want highlight just one unique reason: Individual responsibility.
We are told that carrying each other’s burdens fulfils the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? There no doubt about that “A new commandment I give you: love each other as I have loved you” John 13:34; OK, How has Christ loved us? And how does He love us still?
He bore our burdens (our sins) “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”. 1 1peter 2:24; this absolutely unique He, and he alone, made atonement for Sin. But this also has a relevance to us loving as he has loved us.
Negatively: we must not increase the burdens of sin and guilt of others. Jesus said of religious leaders in his day, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them” Luke 11: 46. This can be done by adding to Gods word as the Pharisees did- making people feel guilty over things neither commanded nor forbidden in the Bible.
Positively: Sin is a great burden and repentance, forgiveness and restoration lift that burden, we are in the business of lifting burdens- we have Good News! Every sermon, all our activities must major on the Grace of God. We must be over whelmed and delighted and amazed by God’s love.
In addition, Jesus relieves us of our burdens: “surely he has bore our grief and carried our sorrows” Isaiah 53:4- Matt 18:17; “come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” Matt 11:28; “cast your cares on him, for he cares for you” 1 peter 5:6.
Many are bearing burdens of anxiety and care- not only individuals, but churches and their pastors and office bearers. This can be true in small, isolated, struggling churches. We have put pastors into these conditions and we have said to them and to their church- “Get on with it! Go on yourself! This is utterly unrealistic.
In India about 2% of the population may attend churches among 0.5% people are active, there is not even one minister for one million people- there are many pastors have no initial support- like permanent place of worship/prayer and regular bible classes. So can we expect an independent pastor or evangelist and their small group of people have a viable Church! It is cruel! This is over burdening.
Jesus relieves our burdens. We must imitate him. We must be his instruments. He is concerned for us “He was moved with compassion when he saw the crowds harassed and helpless” Matt 9: 36, “He sympathizes with us in our weakness” Hebrews 4: 15; we must be concerned about those who are helpless and over burdened.
In addition, he lived among us: “he was tempted in all points as we are” Heb 4:15, he lived in our shoes. If we lived for one day in the shoes of the pastors or churches we may be critical of, we might realize the burdens they are carrying.
Jesus also listens to us. He hears our cry. We too must listen to what people are saying. Jesus acts for us. He works for our good. This is so often where we fall down. We must act before it is too late- act to help and relieve the burdens “Let us do good to all people especially to the family of believers” Gal 6:10.
What can we do? The answer I believe is in team ministry- in the sparsely populated highlands and rocky lands as well as in the cities, major towns and neglected remote villages. It is Biblical Jesus got a team together- the twelve. Paul didn’t work on his own.
Team ministry does not just pastoral teams; we need administrative workers and other individual professionals in the Churches with their time, money and prayers.
So there is an obligation on us to love as Christ loved- to lift burdens, not increase them by neglecting. The Christian churches around the world must have the responsibility of supporting, specially the churches in western countries with the smaller churches. “Bearing each other burdens” “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality” 2 2Corinthians 8:13.
Paul also emphasizes on individual responsibility:“Each one should carry his own load”(v.5)
Human individuality derives from the fact that we are made in the image of God. Each life is precious and significant. We have amazing gifts and capacious. We also have individuality.
It is revealed that the persons of the trinity have individual characteristics: the Father begets the Son (Father Hood); the Son is begotten (Son ship); the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son. Each person has an individual role: the Father sends the Son into the world; the Son achieves our redemption; and the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of redemption. Human beings are created in the image of this God- the God of individuality.
It follows that we have personal responsibility. What we do has significance, and God holds us accountable. One day we will have to answer- “a man reaps what he sows” (v.7) the old spiritual goes: so take up your responsibility- we are to act as Christ acted. “To love as he loved” He loved us by taking personal responsibility for the burden that the Father had given him. No one else could do that. It was up to Him.
You too must take responsibility. You must take responsibility for your salvation. Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve”. Jesus asked “but who do you I am? Paul said, “Let a man examine himself”. You must also take responsibility for your service of Christ. Jesus replied to peter’s query about John, “what is that to you? You follow me!”
And so “Each one should carry his own load” (v5) Jesus gives us a personal load to carry: “Take my yoke… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” matt 11:30;
There is a certain proper pride (v5). In discharging one’s responsibility- a glory, not a false pride (thinking himself something when he is nothing)
One of our commonest human faults is not taking responsibility. Ever since Adam blamed Eve, and Eve the serpent, we have been adopted at passing the buck! “It wasn’t me! We can ever use our communal responsibility “bearing each other’s burdens” as an excuse. Because every one is responsible, nobody does anything.
There’s a little story about four people called- Every body, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody: “there was an important job to be done and everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Any body could have done it, but No body did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was every body’s job. Every body thought anybody could do it, but no body realized that every body wouldn’t do it. It ended up that everybody blamed some body when No body did what any body could have done.
We can’t pass the buck! You can not blame others for every thing! So often we say “the Church” or “the committee” or just “them” it’s some body’s else’s fault!
We have to grow up and shoulder our responsibilities. We are here facing great challenges in the church and persecutions out side the Church, and all these challenges to the continuing viability and effectiveness of the Church in India itself. We must rise up together to those challenges by each individually taking responsibility for your or my part.
Inaction is killing us. It may come from disillusionment, false humility, and false theology or just down right laziness! May be many are overburdened, but others are under-burdened and perhaps we are all under-burdened in some ways!
If you agree that the present situation in the Church of India is intolerable, then you must take necessary action. “In particular frame of responsibility God has given you, you are the Church! Just do it! And don’t give up! In this as in every other area, our Lord is our example. “Love each other, as I have loved you”. Amen.
The Faith Ministry Team would like to raise the total cost of the Church building project, if churches and individuals continue to give generously toward the “Living Faith Church building Fund” the upwardly estimated target figure seems achievable.
Any surplus funds will be donated to the general fund of “Faith Ministry team” to needy pastors and Evangelists afford a Christian education for their Children.
The estimation cost for the Church building
1) Plan approval, and Foundation level cost --- c. £5000/-
2) Raising up walls & up to C.C. slab.-- c. £5000/-
3) Wooden works & floor.- c. £5000/-
4) Furniture & compound wall.- c. £5000/-
5) Sound system & Instruments.- c. £5000/-
Total c. £25000/-
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