Burden Bearers

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The Burden Bearers

Burden bearers come to know Jesus better than those who do not respond to that call. The more we bear the burden of others, the more we feel the weight and horror of sin, and thus the more we sense the price our Lord pays for our continued existence. Until we begin to experience suffering for others, we cannot fully appreciate His eternal gift of redemptive suffering for us.

Brothers, jf someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself or you also may be tempted Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.. ..Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load

Galatians 6:1,2,4 MV

We are all to bear one another's burdens, but some are especially called by the Lord to do so. This lesson discusses the gift of burden bearing, and explores the character and experience of the burden-bearing personality, including the wounding that occurs when the gift is misunderstood or misappropriated.

The Law

"A new law I give you: Love one another. As I Have loved you, so you must love one another" John 13:34 NAS

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12,13 NAS

Jesus bore our pain and intercedes for us.

Surely our grief he himself bore, and our sorrows He carried... Isaiah 53:4 NAS

Hence, also He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25NAS

Our participation with Him

Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

Romans 12:15 NAS

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it...

1 Corinthians 12:26

Burden bearing is a part of intercession

Intercession is a unique form of prayer. Every other prayer may begin with man: petition, thanksgiving, etc. Intercession begins in the heart of God, who sees what is needed and prompts people to pray and invite God to act. God needs man' ~ prayer to make things happen on this earth. Intercession is necessary because of free will. God needs to be invited to act.

Burden bearing is the work of the Lord

The Lord sees when someone's trauma binders the ability to think clearly and to pray. Jesus then wants to draw enough of his pain through you to His cross to restore free will, rationality and prayer.

The Lord will call upon the burden bearer to come along side and help the wounded one by helping to carry some of that burden, but only as far as the cross The PDM is to give it to Jesus. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"

Galatians 6:5

We are used by the Lord to help lighten the load enough for the client to be able to
receive from God. "For each one should carry his own load" Galatians 6:5 Burden bearing is light when the Lord does it in us, and we only share in what He is doing.

Burden bearing is not something that we do

It is accomplished through the Holy Spirit working in us. It is not man taking Jesus place, nor doing His job, rather, we are offering our bodies as "living sacrifices," to allow Jesus to draw the hurt of others through us to Himself. .Romans 12:1

Burden bearing becomes heavy and harmful when WE do it

Burden bearing is a gift, given at conception, and like the gifts of music, art etc., we have it naturally, before we know the Lord. The spirit leaps to burden bearing on its own. However, without the Lord, His understanding, and instruction, natural burden bearers can find life to be sad and heavy. Their own gift destroys their joy for life.
"My people perish for a tack of knowledge.
"Hosea 4:6 NAS

Our flesh can get in the way of our calling

We live in a defiled world. Sin sent shock waves throughout the world .Romans 5:12. What one person does affects others, as when Achan sinned arid the Israelites were defeated.
Joshua 7; Genesis 26:10

Some respond to this defilement like the Pharisees, who shun "sinners," stuck in the Old
Testament concept that they are responsible for their own sins. Jesus says that we are all
affected by the sins of the body.

We are all responsible for one another's sin
Galatians 6:2

The burden bearing personality

Some are called specifically to be burden bearers, and given this gift from conception. The sensitivity that predisposes them to the gift also leads them to be too involved, bearing burdens in their flesh. They automatically leap to carry burdens, even before they know the Lord.

Wounding occurs when the gift is not properly developed and disciplined. When the burdens are carried without the Holy Spirit the burden bearer will collapse under the weight of every body's troubles.
Matthew 11: 29-30 NIV

The personality of a Burden Bearer

They easily sense what others feel.

They are unusually empathetic.

They are usually highly creative.

They are sensitive to environments and places.

They occasionally know what a friend is feeling
across a space of miles.

These gifts can become temptations

Some non-Christians are tempted to develop psychic gifts

Some Christians are tempted to make idols of empathy/supernatural discernment.

Our gifts must become our "Isaac." We must be willing to place them on the altar and die to them. The Lord will give them back to us refined and purified.
Isaiah 42:19

History of a burden-bearer

This would be the typical, but not the definitive burden-bearer. Because of sensitivity in the womb, they sense defilement in the world, and sometimes resist or resent birth.

They have suppressed their emotions, as well as those they pick up from others; thus,
they haven't learned to distinguish one from the other.

They are often the family's emotional outlet

Often picked on, or undercut
The black sheep

The weird ones
The ones to be concerned about

The ones who are not quite "with it"

Often they have a deep distrust of God

To the extent the child in us has not trusted God with our own wounds, we will not trust God with the wounds of others,
and will try to become their savior.

By the teenage years or soon after, the burden-bearing personality may begin to exhibit the following behavior:

The inability to deal appropriately with anger, resulting in
Complaints of chest pressure

Continual depression
Minute criticism, usually in the guise of concern for others

Frequent illness

Unexplained mood swings

Inability to deal with anger can lead to psychological dysfunction. Inappropriate burden bearing can worsen the following conditions: compulsive behaviors, addictions, fears and phobias.

Easily drawn into dysfunctional relationships

___Can be rescuers and enablers

Often blame themselves for others' shortcomings

___Peacemakers at any cost to the point of giving up their own rights/ needs Often misunderstood

___Lean toward dependent relationships

At worst, they tend to live a hermit's existence

Often shy and tender, but if they are driven and dominant, their sensitivity will give them an advantage in areas of manipulation, shrikism, plus rigid domination, which would include rules, regulations, and schedules. They will keep a tight rein on the unpredictable
emotions of those around them.

The wounded burden bearer often resists healing. They feel they have no right to take up God's time with their problems when so many others are hurting. They tend to be obsessed with the
question of why God allows suffering. T
hey hate hypocrisy and they tend to lack
a sense of identity.

Ministry to wounded burden bearers Recognition /teaching

Help them to distinguish between their hurts and the hurts of others.

Help them to understand why some burdens seem heavier than others (they carry the emotional weight of earlier wounds)

Teach that repressing emotions creates festering wounds childhood hurts need to be dealt with.

Intercession training: They are neither to carry burdens God hasn't given them, nor to carry them longer then God asks.

Accountability: help them to distinguish between their own and others' responsibility.

Prayer

Bring the gift of burden bearing to death on the cross. God will give it back with the Holy Spirit operating it.

Release the burden bearer from any guilt
that is not his/her own.

Pray to discern whose burdens are being carried, and bring them to death on the cross.

Pray protection from false burdens.

Pray to lift away any residual burdens from childhood (burdens of mother, father, etc.)

Pray for the unscrambling and harmony of spirit, mind and emotions, so that while burdens are carried, there is always
some part at rest.

New disciplines and lifestyle changes

"Depressurize" by telling God about everything.
Jeremiah 20:7, 10-12

Enjoy a balance of activities; vent energies
through exercise, and play.

Die to self-importance, the need to be needed,

Practice daily spiritual hygiene.

Continue to pray for the proper separation of The functions of the soul and spirit so no part is overworked.

Don't allow feelings to be in control, pray, and get on with life.

Join a prayer group, in which intercession is shared, along with balance and wisdom
Hebrews 4:12.

Learn to pray in the spirit to release burdens.

Develop hobbies, which refresh the spirit.

Don't neglect the Sabbath and Rest!

Recommended reading Healing the Wounded Spirit; chapter 14

The Blessing of Burden Bearing

If soul and spirit are properly settled into separate functions, then our Lord can lay a burden into our spirit and we are not torn up everywhere all at once. Our own emotions and thoughts remain undisturbed, and we maintain sufficient detachment to identify, pray and remain in balance. Our hearts and minds may grapple with a problem, but our spirit, aligned with God, is at peace.

On him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
II Corinthians 1: 1 0-11.

While not all of us are "burden-bearing personalities," burden bearing is still the first calling and primary labor of every Christian, and key service through which we may come into the fullness of relationship with God. This lesson focuses on the joy we can receive through the gift of burden bearing and intercession.

Burden bearing can be a struggle
Burden bearing can sometimes be tiring.

It can sometimes be painful as we actually carry the pain
of another as our own.
Lamentations 1:20; 2:11

But it doesn't have to be a dark cloud. The Lord has ways to keep burden bearing from becoming a burden.

Burden bearing is not a burden when we learn to let go of false comforts and spiritual pride.
Galatians 6:2-5

Unhealed, we don't trust God to carry burdens; we believe we must do so, for ourselves and everyone else.

This distrust leads to spiritual pride. "I have to bear this because no one else is able."

The blessed burden bearer trusts God to do it all.

Blessed burden bearing takes only that load which is our own. The only Load that we carry is what is given to us by the Lord and we only carry it as far as the cross.

The blessed burden-bearer stands and waits on God, helpless without His direction Isaiah 42:18-20.

Healed, our spirit, mind and heart are able to carry burdens separate from one another; thus, we are able to function freely and with out heaviness.

Healed we take burdens to the cross, and become instruments for God's comfort to be expressed through us to the person for whom we intercede. When we experience God's comfort, the pain takes on a rich sweetness. TI Corinthians 1:3-7

It causes scripture to come alive in our hearts. Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 12:1

It leads us to a personal relationship with the Father, and the privilege of living with God. John 1 4:21,23

Who can grasp the love "together with all the saints" better than a BLESSED BURDEN-BEARER? Ephesians 3:16-19

Recommended reading for this lesson... Healing the Wounded Spirit Chapters 9, 14

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 20~18 for the Lord had closed tip every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

Genesis 26:10 - Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

Joshua 7- Achan's unfaithfulness affects all of Israel

Psalm 58:3-Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

Isaiah 42:19 NAS - Who is blind but my servant,/ Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?

Isaiah 48:8 - You have neither heard nor understood; I from of old your ear has not been open./ Well do I know how treacherous you are;! you were called a rebel from birth.

Jeremiah 20:7ff - Jeremiah's complaint
O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived;! you overpowered me and prevailed.! I am ridiculed all day long;! everyone mocks me.! Whenever I speak, Layout! proclaiming violence and destruction.! So the word of the Lord has brought me! insult and reproach all day long.! But if I say, "1 will not mention him! or speak anymore inks name," this word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.! I am weary of holding it in;! indeed, I cannot,! I hear many whispering,!"Terror on every side!! Report him! Let's report him!"! All my friends! are waiting for me to slip, saying,,/"Perhaps he will be deceived;! then we will prevail over him! and take our revenge on him."
But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;! so
my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.! They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;! their dishonor will never be forgotten! 0 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous! and probe the heart and mind,! let me see your vengeance upon tern,! for to you I have committed my cause. !Sing to the Lord!! Give praises to the Lord!! He rescues the life of the needy! from the hands of the wicked.
Cursed be the day I was born!! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!! Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,! who made him very glad, saying,/"A child is born to you a son"'! May that man be like the towns! The Lord over threw without pity.! May he hear wailing in the morning,! a battle cry at noon.! For he did not kill me in the womb,! with my mother as my grave,! her womb enlarged forever-! Why did I ever come out of the womb! to see trouble and sorrow! and to end my days in shame?

NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew 11:29-30 - ".. .Take my yoke upon you and. learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Luke l: 4l-When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

John 13:34 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

John 14:21-23 - "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Then Judas [not Judas Iscariot] said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

John 15~2 - "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will
be even more fruitful."

John 20:21-23 - Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you~ As the Father has sent me, lam sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven"

Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...

Romans 8:17 - Now if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn
with those who mourn.

I Corinthians 12:26 - If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

II Corinthians 5:15-17 - And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard
no one from a worldly point of view.
Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come

Galatians 6:2 - Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Philippians 3:10 - I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in this death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Hebrews 4:9-11 - There remains, then, a Sabbath -rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit.

Hebrews 7:25 - Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

I Peter 4:13 - But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

I Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

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Site Last Updated:October 23, 2023