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The Amish Voice 4
planeload of people soon after takeoff. A voice comes on the
plane’s intercom, “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome aboard. We are climbing to our planned
cruising altitude of 39,000 feet. All of the plane’s systems are
working perfectly, and we expect to land at our destination
on time. This is a fully automated plane. There is no pilot or
copilot. Everything is guided and monitored by a computer.
We want you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Nothing
can go wrong...can go wrong...can go wrong....”
Do not put your trust in man and his abilities, not even in your
own. As you well know, we all fail...we all fail...we all fail—
far, far too often. Place your trust in Jesus Christ, for He never
fails.
4. FOURTH, BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDEN (v.2).
The law of Christ is the law of ministry and love.
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom
for many” (Mt.20:28).
Christ gave and sacrificed Himself to reach out to man. He
bore the sins of man
for man
. We, of course, cannot bear the
sins of men; but we can bear the burdens of each other, for we
all suffer under the weight of sin—whether the sins are known
or not. We can…
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with
them that weep” (Ro.12:15).
5. FIFTH, CONFESS YOUR OWN NOTHINGNESS
(v.3).
This is the reason so many fallen brothers are locked out of the
fellowship of believers and churches. They are looked upon as
being…
This attitude, of course, is contrary to the Spirit of Christ. Note
the words, “When he is nothing.” Christ came to save
“nothings,” that is, sinners. All men are sinners whether they
know it or not. Even believers, after they are saved, are
sinners. This is too often forgotten, yet believers are both
saved and kept
by the righteousness of Christ and not by their
own righteousness. We must always remember this, for the
only acceptable approach to God is through the righteousness
of Jesus Christ.
The point is this: no person is better than any other person, not
in righteousness and godliness. All men stand before God as
sinners; in fact, they stand as totally depraved sinners. There is
not a single man who is righteous, no, not one—not today, not
tomorrow, not ever. If a man, believer or unbeliever, wants to
stand in God’s presence, he has to come by Jesus Christ and
his righteousness alone. Therefore, there is absolutely no place
among God’s people for...
super-spirituality
spiritual snobbishness
spiritual pride
There is absolutely no place for feeling superior or spiritually
better than others. Only one person can make that claim: Jesus
Christ. Within the church and its believers, there is to be only
one attitude: that of confessing our nothingness before God—
that of confessing our total dependency upon the grace of
God—that of confessing the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Note that any other confession is a deception. If we think
otherwise, we only deceive ourselves.
When a believer understands this truth, then he is ready to
reach out and help restore the erring brother. He knows he is
no better; he has to approach Christ just like the erring
brother—as nothing, for he is nothing. Righteously and godly,
he stands on the same footing as the fallen brother: neither one
of them has any righteousness or godliness to offer God.
QUESTIONS:
1. Have you ever said, “I’ll never do this or that,” but you
did? Why did you think you were not capable of falling?
2. Pride has a way of producing blind spots in people. What
kind of blind spots does pride produce in you?
3. What can you do to strengthen your ability to resist falling
into sin?
be compassionate
encourage
pray
forgive
be warm and tender
share the promises of God
sympathize
empathize
QUESTIONS:
1. What was the heaviest burden that you had to bear that
belonged to someone else? Why was it so heavy? What
was the final outcome?
2. How do you feel when someone comes along side of you
to bear one of your burdens?
unfit
less capable
weaker
less spiritual
too tarnished
insufficient
3. Briefly describe the greatest burden that you are carrying.
What has to happen before it crushes you? Can you carry
it alone and remain spiritually healthy? Why or why not?