Stress Management 101 - The answer for Life's Burdens

[0:00] Our message today is about burdens, having a burden and worries you could say. And no worries! is a familiar Aussie expression isn't it? No worries! Aussies like to say that don't we?

[0:14] ! And we all battle though with worries let's be honest we all face worries of one kind! or another worries of one kind or another the cares of life. It's interesting what people worry about you know. It's been reckoned that people worry about for example 40% of people worry over things that will never happen. 40% 30% worry over things that have happened in the past and cannot be changed. They worry about what's happened you can't do anything about it. 12% worry about criticism from others usually it's untrue anyway. And then 8% only 8% worry about real problems that they may face. So when you get it in context we worry about a whole lot of stuff that we needn't worry about. A lot of worrying that people do is just doing them harm. You know some people worry about worrying. You know there's a proverb that says worry often gives small things a big shadow. Sometimes it's just we're over the top isn't it? We worry about that which really is not much point. We can worry about money, about our jobs, worry about our health, about loved ones, about our relationships. Our Lord tells us not to worry.

[1:31] Not to worry. The word worry actually means to strangle, to seize by the throat. It's a horrible thing when you actually consider what worry is doing to us. It's strangling us. Our Lord tells how in Luke 8.14 how as in the parable of the sower he talks about the strangling of the weeds, of the thorns and he says that some are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.

[2:08] They're choked with the cares, the riches, the pleasures of this life and they bring no fruit to perfection. Brothers and sisters this morning, stresses and worries can paralyse you as a Christian and they can make you unfruitful. Something to deal with before the Lord isn't it? How can we get on top of this? How can we beat this? This problem of worry. Worry as has been said pulls tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine. You should live one day at a time. We all will face times of worry. It's not to negate that. Worry is real. We know there's real issues, there's real problems, there's real concerns in life and some face more of that than others. And it's not to discount you might be going through some, something even today, right now, that's got you feeling concerned. There's that anxiety.

[3:06] Sometimes we get that feeling in the pits of the stomach about something bad could happen here. We worry about how we might suffer, about our health, about things that we might face, about loved ones who are likewise not well or injured, sick people in our circle. And you know, sometimes we can get so worried that we literally make ourselves sick with worry, can't we? You can get sick with worry about things that can hurt us. Worry is one of them that can hurt you really. And Proverbs 17, 22 says this, it says, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dryeth the bones.

[3:49] We don't want a broken spirit. We don't want to be caught up in and overwhelmed with that burden of worry, of stress, of concern. Now some, they can stay up all night worrying, end up with ulcers and high blood pressure, that stress impact. And worry can be a direct cause of stress in our lives. It's a reality.

[4:13] We can get stressed. Maybe there's bills to pay. We're not sure how we're going to pay them. How are we going to manage? We can get under pressure, worried about meeting a deadline. Maybe there's that assignment that's due or whatever it be, something they've got to meet a certain deadline and you're not sure how it's going to happen. Friends, we have an answer from the Word of God about our worries.

[4:34] I want to assure you and give you something that will help you to hang on to when you're facing something that's hard, something that's overwhelming. When you're feeling that heaviness, it talks about in Proverbs 12, 25, that there can be a heaviness that makes us kind of stoop under the load of it. It makes me think really of Pilgrim's progress, of John Bunyan's Pilgrim, of how he was stooped over with that weight of sin. Now that's the ultimate burden that weighs people down, isn't it? To know that we are lost, we're hell bound, to know that we're under God's wrath and judgment. The weight of our sin is the heaviest weight of all. But even as Christians, we can have burdens. We face burdens. All of us, I put to you. Could be our personal cares, worries of our health, of our family, of our future, of our finances. Worry can rob us of joy, of peace. And we know that our

[5:37] Lord doesn't want us to stay in that miserable state, but the devil wants you to stay there. He wants you to camp there. He wants you to put the pegs down and camp there and stay there for a long, long time.

[5:50] To stay in that miserable state of worry. At the heart of it, worry is really a lack of faith, of trust in our Lord. Really, faith is the answer to it. And our Lord gives us many answers that we can hang on to his promises about. Many blessed promises from his word that we can take to heart today.

[6:17] And here we have, really, God's answer to stress and worry is in these pages. The answer for every worry or any concern of life, it's in the word. And God's answer, really, we see it in Proverbs 4.23.

[6:32] Proverbs 4.23, it says, Watch over your heart with all diligence. You know, keep your heart, guard it. You know, that heart is the kind of the battlefield, isn't it, of life where our heart is torn and stretched and there's a conflict, there's a battle going on over our hearts and minds. And the Bible says, Keep your heart with all diligence. You can know an internal peace, an eternal peace, an internal peace that's beyond any external circumstances of life. That inner joy, it's in our control. God tells you you can have it. And you can let go of your fears and lay hold of faith, faith in God. Wonderful promises. I want to assure you today, try to write some of them down so you can follow me because I'm not projecting it on the screen. But just you might want to take a notice of some of these promises from the scriptures, because it's what the scriptures say that matter. And it's what the scriptures say we can hang on to. And I'm hopefully communicating some of that encouraging, comforting scripture. The Bible says it's given for our comfort. The word is given for our comfort.

[7:43] In other words, for our encouragement. These words are given to uplift us and to set us on track, to give us that uplift of heart and soul. And we can take heart in the word of God. These promises are for you and for me. These promises are yay and amen. These promises are true. And we can hang on to them even in this 21st century. And it says in Matthew 6, 33, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. He talks about how, you know, the, not one sparrow falls without your father. You know, he knows the hairs of your head. And he's got less and less to count of mine, but he knows the very hairs of your head. He knows every intimate detail about your life. He knows you through and through. He knows your state, your standing. He knows your very thoughts. And it says that he values you. He cares for you more than a sparrow would be cared for. Yet our Lord even cares for the sparrows. How much more? For his children.

[8:42] So place your focus on the Lord today. Let him be your focus, the focal point. Trust in the Lord. Trust in his care for you. Trust that he does care for you. Trust his plan. Even though at times it seems you can't fathom it. What is God saying? What is happening for me? You know, when your life gets turned upside down, when troubles come, trust in the Lord at all times it says. At all times.

[9:08] It's been said that idle hands are the devil's workshop. And you could say idle minds too. Sometimes when we, when we got time on our hands, we can, our thoughts can overwhelm such that they magnify and amplify. And yet if we were activated as a Christian, maybe this, the things of God can occupy us such that we won't be so preoccupied. Amen. It's been said that a wise man said he didn't have time to worry.

[9:38] He was too busy during the day and too sleepy at night. Now, sometimes if you, if you're busy in the Lord, you, if you, if you occupy your mind with the things of God, with the things that, you know, God wants us to be about, then you'll have less time for worry, for other things that would make you concerned. And we can all carry different burdens through life, can't we? As mums, as dads, as, as husbands, as wives, we've got different responsibilities. We've got different roles. We've got the burdens sometimes through life of sorrow, of pain, of tragedy, of hardship, sometimes of decisions that we face.

[10:19] We just don't know what we're going to do. What is it that we are to do with our burdens? I want to give you some scriptural keys here. Where can you go when you have a burden? There is one sure place to go to. One surely, one who surely truly cares for your soul. It says, and this is one I'd like to dwell on somewhat, Psalm 55, 22. A blessed, reassuring scripture, if ever there was one. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

[11:02] What a blessed assurance that one is. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. Do you know that you, believer, have a sustainer? When you feel like you can't handle what's happening, when you're feeling overwhelmed, when you can't sustain the pressure, the enormity that is facing you, there is one. It says, he shall, he shall sustain thee. That's personal. You know, the Bible says, no, we should know that God is. He that cometh to God, we should know that God is. He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Know that God is. God will sustain you. That's his promise. Why?

[11:49] Why would he sustain me? Because God is Father. He is provider. He is shepherd. He is saviour. He is Lord.

[12:04] That's why. He is our sustainer. He promises to sustain you. And sure enough, you might feel like, I just can't handle what's happening right now. There's times, maybe it's not now, maybe it's tomorrow morning. I can't handle what's happening now. I'm falling to pieces. He can carry your burdens. He can.

[12:26] All of life's problems, he can sustain you. Why? Because he is strong. He's so big and so mighty, isn't he? He is strong. As the chorus goes, he is big and mighty, the mighty God, the mighty one, the almighty, the all-powerful, the mighty God. He is able. He is able. Amen? He is able. He is well able.

[12:51] Yes, he is. So if we've got that in our thoughts that we believe, yes, God is. He is mighty. He is the almighty. What are we to do? Simply yield. Simply yield to his control. He'll carry your burden, your heavy burden, whatever it be. What are we to do then? What does it say? In here, Psalm 55, 22, does it say, cherish your burden? You know, you might have, oh, that's my little burden. I'm going to pat it and mind it and look after it and just show everybody, look at my burden. Look at my burden. My burden.

[13:32] You can cherish your burden, maybe. You can carry your burden yourself. You know, oh, I'm just trudging along through life and yes, woe is me. Woe is me. Look at my burden. Feel sorry for me. You can keep your burden. You can keep it through a lifetime. It might have been a childhood thing, but you're still keeping that burden, whatever it be. Some sad memory, some difficult moment of life. It's impacted your whole life, decades after the event. Does it say cherish your burden? Does it? Does it say carry your burden? Does it say keep your burden? No, it says what? Cast. Cast thy burden. Cast thy burden.

[14:20] Where will we cast it? Now, casting, of course, I could illustrate that by saying, I know, yeah, the burden. And you can cast it. It means to throw it. And you throw it to someone who knows is going to catch it. Cast it, it says. Where are you going to cast it? It means to throw it.

[14:46] That's what it means. Where will we cast it? Cast thy burden upon a therapist. Cast thy burden upon the pastor. Cast thy burden upon a doctor. Cast thy burden upon a psychologist.

[15:04] Maybe you could say, cast thy burden upon Dr. Phil. Or cast thy burden upon Oprah. Cast thy burden upon religion. No. Where must we cast it? Cast it upon the Lord. Cast it upon God. Cast thy burden upon the Lord.

[15:23] Trust that God can carry your burdens. Amen. Simply that. These are simple things. Simple truths, yet we miss them. We miss them. We miss them. We might call the help line rather than call the prayer line.

[15:42] That's open 24 by 7. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. Trust that God can carry your burdens. He can. Know Him. Know Him. Come unto Him. Call upon Him. Trust in Him. Have faith in God. And throw them.

[16:01] And throw them and leave them there with Him. Know that He is with you. Some people think, well, God is with me. When I feel like it. When I feel Him. When I'm feeling religious. When I'm feeling spiritual, holy.

[16:17] When I'm in church. When I'm in church. Or whatever it be. Know that He is with you even through the fire. He is with you there. Through the flame. Through the loss. Through the heartache. Through the grief.

[16:32] Through the trials. Through the troubles. Through the very shadow of death. He is with you. Through sickness. Trust Him there. Trust Him there. Trust Him there still. Trust Him.

[16:47] Trust Him. Now we'll all face dark valleys. This is not to discount. And, you know, sometimes I almost, I mean, trepidation when I preach a sermon like this because maybe I'll be tested on what I'm preaching to you today.

[17:01] You know, maybe I'll be tested that, you know, you're going to put this into practice, Pastor. Or is it just talk? Is this just waffle? Is this just some theoretical treatise? Some lecture?

[17:14] That when the rubber hits the road, we all have dark valleys, don't we? We all have those moments of the hard times of life when we're stretched and hurting and it's hard.

[17:28] What are we to do? It says, cast your burden. It means to throw it upon. And the word, as I say, it carries this idea of trusting the one that you're throwing it to, that they are going to handle it.

[17:44] We know God, we can trust Him. We know we can trust God with anything that we can throw at Him. Anything. God is able. He's able to deliver.

[17:54] Able to hear our prayer. Able to strengthen. Able to lift you. Able to comfort. Able to guard. Able to keep. There's nothing in our lives that God is not able to handle.

[18:07] If you have money problems, throw it at the Lord. He can handle it. If you have marriage problems, throw it at God. He can handle it. If you have health problems, throw it at God.

[18:18] He can handle it. Jeremiah 34, 17 says there's nothing, nothing, no thing. Too hard for God. It might be too hard for you, but nothing, no thing is too hard for God.

[18:37] Take it to Him. Whatever is your burden, here, throw that on the Lord. Think of life, of life's tests, of trials, of troubles, of situations.

[18:50] All your discouragement, throw it at God. All your discontentment, throw it at Him. All your questioning, all your pain, all the suffering, all the trials of life, all your questioning.

[19:01] Because you can trust in Him. Others might let you down, but you can trust His love, His faithfulness, His everlasting love, His power, His wisdom, His keeping, His sustaining.

[19:19] He is the sustainer. It's not like, you know, I've had occasion where I've bought some solar powered products and the battery just doesn't go the distance.

[19:31] God goes the distance, amen. He goes the distance from the cradle to the grave, from the womb to the tomb. God goes the distance, amen. He is the sustainer. What He starts, He's going to finish.

[19:45] He that began a good thing will complete it. He is, it's comprehensive cover. And there's nothing, no thing too hard for God.

[19:56] Whatever is your burden, whatever your trial or test, are you going to keep carrying it? You can. You might choose to just, this might just not sink in today and you might just keep carrying that.

[20:13] Will you carry it or will you cast it? Cast it. How can we cast it? Go to God in prayer. Go to God in prayer.

[20:26] Trusting, believing, knowing His keeping, His sustaining. His shoulders are wide and broad. One day the government shall be upon His shoulders.

[20:38] Go to God in prayer and place your burden upon the shoulders of God. Place it on God's shoulders. Pray, pray through. Brother, sister.

[20:50] Psalm 61, verses 1 through 2. David cries, hear my cry, O God. Attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee.

[21:03] When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Life can overwhelm.

[21:13] There are situations that we just feel like we're drowning. It's like heavy stuff. One can help you.

[21:25] The one who holds the universe together. It says in Him all things consist. He's the very binding power of the atom. In Him all things consist.

[21:36] He holds all things together. And He will hold you fast. He'll hold you together when it feels like you're going to fall apart. He will hold you together. He'll hold you fast. He'll hold you in His embrace, His tender embrace.

[21:49] And He'll hold you as John lay upon the bosom of the Saviour. But you can have that closeness to Him today. That closeness to Him. And that will not change.

[22:01] By faith you can have that sustaining, that closeness. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. You are grounded and strong because you have His promise that He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

[22:24] We're planted. We are planted in the Word. We are grounded in His love. We are sustained by His power. And He shall never, never suffer the righteous to be moved.

[22:39] So what will God do with your burden? Now He will either take it away or He will sustain us through it. He will keep us by His power. Feel free to grab a seat, mate.

[22:51] God bless you. Take a seat. He will either take the burden away or He will sustain us through that burden. He will give us increased grace. He will give us increased grace as He did Paul and his thorn in the flesh.

[23:03] You know, sometimes we know that at times of prayer, we can pray and pray and say, Lord, take it away. Take it away. Like with Paul, he had this thorn in the flesh, something that was irksome, that was bothering him, that was discomforting for him.

[23:22] Please come in. Welcome. God bless you. He will either take that burden away or He'll sustain us through it. Like with Paul. Paul had this thorn in the flesh and God said, I'll give you the grace to get through this.

[23:36] He said, I'll help you. I'll give you the strength to get through this. He says that my grace is sufficient for you to get through this. And friends, you know, through life, no matter how dark the night looks, remember that the morning is coming.

[23:50] Amen. The morning is coming. We see that the morning will bring a time of rejoicing. We hear at Psalm 30 verse 5, it says that in part it says, weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

[24:05] You know, you might feel, I'm in a time of weeping right now. This is a time of darkness, of night. Everything's clouded and everything's grey and I'm overwhelmed.

[24:16] It says that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Know that the sunshine will follow the shadow. Know that God is in control and that the sunshine will come.

[24:28] It surely will. Do we really trust God when life gets anxious? Really, the answer to our burdens is trust, is to trust him.

[24:39] And we're back here now. Just this is another one. I really wanted to highlight this one. In 1 Peter 5, chapter 5, verses 6 through 7. 1 Peter 5, verse 7 in particular, it says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

[24:59] And then it says this, verse 7, 1 Peter 5, verse 7, it says, Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. So like that one we saw there, Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee.

[25:15] This is saying again, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. What are we to do with our burdens, with worries, with those things that overwhelm?

[25:25] Cast them. Cast them upon the Lord. What does it say? It says, cast them. Now, am I ready to catch it here? No, he missed it. Now, God is not like that catcher.

[25:38] When you cast your burden upon the Lord, he will catch your burden. He will take your burden. He will hold your burden. He will help you with your burden. And it says, cast them. Cast all your cares, it says.

[25:51] Now, sometimes we think of life, that we just give God a portion of our cares and we keep some for ourselves. We just give God a part of our life's worries and hurts and hardness.

[26:07] But he says to give him a double L. Now, in the Greek, a double L means all. That's what it means. All means all.

[26:18] All means everything. It means everything. Give him all, all your burdens. It's plain simple English, isn't it? All means all. Cast them all.

[26:28] All your cares, all your burdens. Cast them all upon him. All that weighs us down. All that concerns. Whatever it seems of life that seems to overwhelm us.

[26:40] He says to you, cast it all. All of it upon me, he says. When we are in trouble, he cares. When we are sick, he cares.

[26:51] When we're in sorrow, he cares. When we're in difficulties, he cares. When we're lonely, he cares. Cast all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.

[27:02] Think of how much he cares. His care is not confined or restricted. His care is wide and full and free.

[27:15] His care is the open arms of Jesus. He cares so much as he cared, as he laid his life down on the cross. That's how much he cares. His care is wide open.

[27:28] Think how much he cares for you today. He cares for you so much while you are without strength. It says he died for you. While you are still a sinner. While you are still unrighteous.

[27:39] While you are still a long way off. He cares so much. He cared so much. That's Calvary care. I don't think that's the name of an organization. But there's Calvary care.

[27:50] There's the care of Calvary. There's the care of the cross today. The care of Calvary extends far and wide. Eternity wide. Humanity wide. He cares while you are even living your own life.

[28:03] While you are an enemy of God. He cared so much. And he cares still. And it says because he cares, cast him all your cares.

[28:15] Your cares. Your worries. Cast him. Give him all your cares. All your troubles. All your fears. Your worries. As I say, some people only transfer part of their burdens.

[28:25] But rather let us trust God with all things. With all our life. He knows our pain and hurt. Lay it down. Hebrews 12 verse 1 talks about this setting of an arena.

[28:38] Of a race. Of athletes on the track. And he says, Wherefore you are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. He says, Let us lay aside every weight. And the sin which does so easily be set.

[28:51] And let us run with patience the race that is set before us. It's got the sense of this running track of these athletes. You know, stripping off anything that's kind of cumbersome. That's not needed.

[29:02] To be slim and trim. And ready for that race of races. And it's a picture for us. It says lay aside every weight.

[29:12] Imagine running down that running track with your overcoat on. With multiple layers. You know, you want to get that off. You want to be not encumbered.

[29:25] You don't want to be held down by any such weight. Lay aside every weight. Again, every.

[29:36] Is there something you're holding on to that's making you slow in your Christian race? Is there something that's slowing you down in that Christian walk? That you know you should let it go.

[29:48] Leave it off. Lay it down. Lay aside every weight. Every bit of it. Whatever it is that's stopping you from being a strong Christian. Lay it down. Let it go. Leave it off.

[29:59] And trust in God. We want to be running that race with patience, with perseverance. And knowing that that race is set before every one of us. We want to be running well.

[30:11] Running well. Not hindered. So another one here is Hebrews 13, 5 through 6. It says, let your conversation, your way of living, let it be without covetousness.

[30:21] And be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.

[30:32] And I will not fear what man shall do unto me. He's saying, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's personal again. He will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

[30:42] So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The Lord is my helper. Can you say that?

[30:52] The Lord is my helper. We may boldly say. We may boldly say. The Lord is. The Lord is my helper. Let's try that again. It says we may boldly say.

[31:04] Let's hear some bold people this morning. We may boldly say. The Lord is my helper. Friends, that's what we can confess, can't we? Can you confess that? Every day, every moment.

[31:16] The Lord is my helper. He said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Here's your help and strength. Here's your source, your resource, your fortress, your king. The almighty God.

[31:28] We may boldly say. The Lord is my helper. Glory. And we see that Philippians 4 verses 6 through 7. It says be careful. In other words, don't be full of care for anything.

[31:40] He's saying. Don't be full of care for nothing. He says. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

[31:52] And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It's saying that someone has kind of paraphrased it.

[32:04] Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. That's a good motto, isn't it? Pray about everything. It's talking about supplication, which means, Lord, supply my need.

[32:14] You're asking God to supply. It talks about being thankful with thanksgiving. And it says, let your requests be made known unto God. Now, God says, tell me what you want.

[32:26] Let your requests be made known unto God. Now, of course, God helping us, there'll be godly requests. There'll be requests that are in accordance with his will. And then it says, the peace of God which passeth understanding, all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[32:42] You know, friends, we're talking about burdens and how to get rid of them. What to do with your burdens? The greatest cure for worry is prayer.

[32:53] The greatest cure for worry is prayer. Faith will arise if you pray. God will help you to have more faith.

[33:04] And it's through prayer that we renew our trust in God's divine plan for our lives. It's through prayer that our faith gets strengthened and stronger. And it's through prayer the peace of God will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[33:19] Jesus, beloved child of God, lean on him. Lean on him. And you can receive mercy. You can receive grace to help in time of need.

[33:33] Brother, lean on him. Lean upon him. Sometimes it's really so simple that it's just, how did I miss that?

[33:45] How could I miss that? There's a story told of a man along the shores of the Dead Sea. He lost his balance one day. This is, you know, in Israel, the Dead Sea, the salty sea.

[33:56] And he fell into the water at this point. And it was rather deep and he hadn't learned to swim. And he was panicking. And in desperation, he was thrashing his arms and legs and thinking that he would drown and sink into the waters.

[34:09] And at last, completely exhausted, he just felt that he could do no more. He cried out to God for help and he prepared for the worst. And what a surprise awaited him. As soon as he relaxed, the water carried him.

[34:23] As soon as he relaxed and rested, the water lifted him up. And he had forgotten that the Dead Sea is so full of salt and other minerals that if a person lies still, the surface of the water can easily hold him.

[34:37] It can easily float there. And he will not drown as long as he rests in the buoyancy of the water. You know, it's a bit like learning to swim, isn't it?

[34:48] Sometimes as little ones, if they lie on their back and they just do the minimal movement, the water will hold them. But it's when they're thrashing that they go glug, glug, glug.

[35:01] And sometimes it's like that with our worries in life, isn't it? We can be glug, glug, glug when just rest. Just lean back on the everlasting arms of God. Just trust in his promises.

[35:13] Rest in his keeping. Rest in the one who says, I am your sustainer. And you can say boldly, the Lord is my helper. The Lord is my helper.

[35:23] It says the everlasting arms will uphold us. As we just rest, as we cease from our strivings and our own desperate helping ourselves, just trust, pray.

[35:37] What a comfort. What an assurance we can know. If we just rest on the everlasting arms of God and know the everlasting God, the eternal God is our refuge.

[35:49] Our never failing help. As we flounder in the sea of life at times, if only, if only we would just lean back and trust him that he has us in his hands.

[36:05] You might say, preacher, I'm hearing all of this, but I'm just fainting. You don't know what's happening for me right now. I'm fainting under this load. This heavy load is so heavy.

[36:15] It's so hard. Psalm 27, 13, 14 is a good place to go. Psalm 27, verses 13 through 14. You might say, it's so heavy for me right now.

[36:28] The psalmist says this, You know, sometimes we're just in too much of a hurry, aren't we?

[36:42] You know, sometimes we're just in too much of a hurry, aren't we?

[36:55] Lord, I need an answer. I need it right now. You know, give me patience. I need it right now. But sometimes we've got to wait. Wait on the Lord. Wait upon him.

[37:06] Be patient in your faith. Be persevering. The answer will come. Rest in his promises. I had fainted unless I had believed in the goodness of the Lord.

[37:19] Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. There's much promises here. Now, these are just scratching the surface, really, of the scriptures we can hold dear and recall.

[37:39] Lay them in your heart. Write them on your fridge. Wait on the Lord. Rest in him upon his promises. Pour your concerns at his feet and leave them there.

[37:54] You know, when you cast that thing, you cast it and you, here you go, ready to catch it? Come on. Diane, here you go. Right.

[38:06] It says, cast it on the Lord. It says, cast it upon him. I'm not meaning to be kind of flippant here or use too much levity here, but it's a simple action, isn't it? To throw it. Hold it.

[38:20] Release it. Let it go. It's gone. It says, cast thy burden upon the Lord. He shall sustain thee. It says, casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.

[38:31] You know, maybe it feels for you, you know, like things are pretty hard going. What are you to do? Come to the feet of Jesus.

[38:45] Come unto him. The one who commands. He commands you. Come unto me. And he's saying it because he loves you. He says, come unto me. All ye that labour and are heavy laden.

[38:56] That burden. Oh, it's heavy. He says, come. I've got the answer. He says, come to me. If you're feeling like you're heavy laden, you're burdened down, I will give you rest. Take my yoke, my yoke upon you.

[39:08] And learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

[39:23] But you say, preacher, I'm in a long, dark valley right now. Even now. Maybe it feels to you like it seems at times, is God even there? Well, that's a lie.

[39:34] Because he is there. He is there. Yes, he is. The Lord Jesus, he may not immediately deliver you from the valley, but he will never leave you in it.

[39:46] As we've read before, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. We've got a personal saviour who feels our hurts. Now, this is not some god of stone or some statue of silver or gold or some carving of wood, some dead idol or some dead god of some fake religion.

[40:12] This is the living God we're talking about, the living God. And he was such a living God that he came and lived in a human frame, yet without sin.

[40:25] The perfect man. And we have, you have, a personal saviour who feels our hurts. He's acquainted with our grief. Isaiah 53, 3 to 5, it says, He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.

[40:46] And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised. And we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

[41:01] Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him.

[41:15] And by his stripes we are healed. Friends, it's saying that he was acquainted with grief. He came to the tomb of Lazarus, his friend, and he wept tears. He beheld the city and he wept over it.

[41:28] He saw the unbelief. And friends, he knows grief. He knows hurt. He knows the very hurting heart of God. When man reject and despise and deny him.

[41:45] Despised. And we esteemed him not. The rejected one. Yet he invites you to receive him today. If you have yet to trust him. I urge you that.

[41:56] And friends, believers, can you trust him? Can you trust him? Simply trust him. I'm not saying to trust as the world would say.

[42:08] I trust a brand or trust a salesman. I trust some offer of man. This is the offer of God. You cannot lie.

[42:20] You can trust him. If there's no one else you can reckon you can trust. There's certainly one. One you can trust. And he fully knows what's happening. He knows what it feels like.

[42:31] And he promises you his grace. It says of him that he's a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. This is Hebrews 4.15. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

[42:43] He is not moved. He's not touched. He cannot be. He's not one who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. So in other words, as God in Christ, he went through every extremity of the feelings we feel.

[43:06] Of the temptations we suffer. And then it says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

[43:18] Friends, there's a place you can go. There's a place you can take your burdens and you can leave them there at the mercy seat. Amen. And it says, come boldly. Pray.

[43:30] Pray through. There are times when those valleys of life, they can seem to go on forever. And it's those nights that seem never ending. That load that seems so heavy, you cannot bear it.

[43:43] And he wants you to let it go. He wants you to throw it unto him. You cast it upon him. And friends, we see 2 Corinthians 4, verses 16 through 18. Paul says, we faint not.

[43:59] Though our outward man perish, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. Sure enough, this outward frame is going to be less and less able as time goes by.

[44:09] And some of you will say, yes, amen. But thank God the inward man is renewed day by day. There's an inward man that's renewed day by day. And it says that this affliction is but for a moment, it's just light.

[44:24] And it's going to be an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Just around the corner. It says, while we look not at the things that are seen, the things that are not seen. We look for those things.

[44:35] Not the temporal, but the eternal things. And it says, one day, you can be assured our present affliction will give way to glory. Oh, won't that be good when you get that brand new body?

[44:48] Mind you, some of you have pretty good specimens. But it'll be an even better body than you've got now. Amen? Amen? Much better. Because it will be forever. And Paul says this.

[44:58] He says, the sufferings of this present time, they're not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. So it's getting it in that eternal perspective, isn't it?

[45:09] It's saying that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them with a court according to his purpose. You can know that whatever happens, whatever tragedies and hardships and difficulties, nevertheless, all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the court according to his purpose.

[45:34] That's his promise for you. Amen? Amen? He's with us even through the worst of times. He doesn't say that I will sometimes leave you or forsake you.

[45:46] He says I will never leave you nor forsake you. It kind of, it's like a double emphasis there. And he says in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, So think of this one, this morning.

[46:02] I want the spotlight upon him today that you would look unto him, that you would look unto him, that you would trust him, trust upon him, trust his supply. He's carried your griefs.

[46:13] He's carried your sorrows. He's born it all. And if you've got a burden, whatever it be, and maybe it's tomorrow morning you're going to get one. God forbid, but whatever it be, if you have a burden, if you have a face, a weight of life, something that's weighing you down, there's one you can go to.

[46:31] And that throne of grace is available 24-7. It's available all the time. And his burden is light. If he gives you a burden, it will be a light one.

[46:42] But if you're carrying a burden that's not light, it's not his burden. Cast it upon him. He will supply. He will sustain. He is our helper. And he will send his help.

[46:55] In time, it says, Philippians 4 and 19, it says, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. All your need.

[47:06] And he will send it in time, in his time, the right time. And so someone has put it like this. From where my Lord sits, my need has already been met.

[47:17] He saw tomorrow while today was still tomorrow. And when today is yesterday, the Lord will know all my tomorrows and will already have made provisions for anything that I face.

[47:29] He's outside of time and space. And he says he will supply all my need. He will take your burden.

[47:41] Or he'll help you shoulder it. He'll help you bear it. He'll give you grace to sustain you. You who are overburdened and overwhelmed, come to this one.

[47:52] The great burden bearer. He's the great burden bearer. Now you think, you see, you know, some mighty strong men who can pull semi-trailers with a rope through their teeth.

[48:05] He's stronger than them. He's mighty. He's mighty. Mighty, mighty, mighty. He's big enough and strong enough to take hold of whatever it is that's on your back. That's pulling you down.

[48:16] That's pulling you back. And, friends, the worst and most awful and dreadful burden is the burden of sin. If you don't know the Savior, this is the burden that will send you to eternal hell.

[48:32] The burden of sin. He says, come unto me. Cast your care upon me. Know his saving. He is the one who says he was wounded.

[48:43] He was bruised and he died for sin, for sinners. So we can be saved. And it says if we believe in Jesus as Savior, that we have his promise.

[48:58] You have eternal life. And that's the greatest burden of all that I urge you today. If you've yet to trust him. You know, we've met some folk in our witnessing times.

[49:10] And it's just trying to narrow it down. Because some people think, oh, I've got to have faith plus. Faith plus baptism.

[49:24] Baptism's good, but it's not faith plus. It's faith. Then the believer is baptised. Follows on. Some think it's faith plus works. I've got to work really, really hard.

[49:36] Be a really, really good Christian. Yes, you should be. But that doesn't save you. It's the faith that saves. Faith in Christ saves. Eternity is ahead of you.

[49:48] Then you want to labour. You want to serve. You want to love. You want to be godly. You want to live holy. You want to live righteous. You want to carry a cross. You want to serve and be a full-on Christian.

[49:59] But it's that faith that saves. It's faith that takes the burden. Believe on him today. Trust in him. Find that rest. Just lie back in the arms of God.

[50:10] And know, yes, you shall sustain me. Your salvation sustains me. And you can know you can cast your burden upon the Lord. And believe it. Keep on doing that.

[50:22] You know, you might cast your burden. Then another burden comes out of left field. Or sometimes we can go back. Where's that burden? I want to take it back. No. God's taken it.

[50:33] He's taken that burden. Don't go picking up your burdens again. Where's that burden again? No. Don't go looking for your burden again. He's got hold of it now. You've given it to him in prayer.

[50:44] He'll start. Don't start carrying your burdens again. Throw it and leave it there in God's hands. Whatever it be. It's really a call to prayer, really. This message, in effect, is how you get rid of your burdens.

[50:55] Pray. Pray through. Yield unto the Lord. Let God take your burden and rest in his promises. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you. You keep your promises.

[51:06] You keep your children. Lord, we know that we're in the everlasting arms. We thank you for everyone here. Lord, that each one might have that rest in Christ. The rest, as it were, of lying back on that buoyant waters of the Dead Sea.

[51:20] That we cannot drown. We cannot fail. We cannot fail. Because you're holding us. And our rest is in that.

[51:31] That keeping and sustaining power of God. It says, We want to confess that, Lord, and believe that and make it a reality in our own lives.

[51:48] Lord, we pray if there's any present hearing this, that know you're not, that they will simply trust you now. Trust you now. Trust that everything was done at the cross. Trust that we know you're in the world.

[51:59] Trust that we know your forgiveness of our sin. We know your cleansing of our hearts. We know that nearness of life. It's all made possible because of your precious blood shed at the cross for us.

[52:12] And our faith is in that, that alone. And knowing that, Lord, help us to know the burden of sin is gone. And know even the burden of daily worries and needs of life, that you sustain us through our walk until that light affliction gives way to glory.

[52:31] We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.