Carriers

Evanglism Part 3
Andrew K. Fox
Year of alignment

Introduction

• This will encourage those already doing it
• This will inspire those who want to do it
• Challenge those who used to do it but have decided not to do it

What God has to say to you must first be conceptual before it becomes practical. We believe with our hearts but we behave from our heads so for a way of life to be established your thinking has to be fully convinced. Sometimes that means rethinking old and familiar functional words: anointing, gifting, calling or vision. Even positional words: father, son, mother, daughter, family, colleague, employer, employee, pastor and church. This was the challenge of Moses and Israel. The Promised Land was in their hearts but not in their heads. Throughout their journey they behaved like the Promised Land did not exist.

How many have said 'I've had enough; let me out of here' concerning your marriage, family, employment, friendship or church? The most probable reason for that outburst is the same as Moses. What was missing was the ability to carry the burden or as Moses said, "…carry them around…" "…carry them all the way…" Wives tend to feel they are carrying the burden of their family alone because the husband is not. Parents feel they are carrying the burden of their children's education without the cooperation of the children. Employees feel that other coworkers are not carrying their weight. Moses did not feel alone or without friends and relationships but in carrying. Not all who come into contact with a burden are actually carrying the burden but they look like it. They carry the title but it describes their responsibility not whether they are actually carrying it. Eli carried the title of High Priest but he was not carrying the burden allowing his own sons to abuse Israel. Judas carried the name of disciple but he was not carrying the burden. Absolom carried the name of a king's son but was not carrying the burden of the throne. People may call you by title mom, dad, husband, wife, employer, employee, grandma, grandpa but are you carrying the burden of that title? What about being a follower of Christ in the house called City Church? Do you carry the burden or do you look like you are carrying it?

During and after the industrial revolution you could tell what a man did by the way he walked. His posture and composure told you the story of his life. But now we live in a post-modern age with the information highway it is not so easy to discern anymore. It is the same with church where those who took up their cross and followed Christ were easily distinguished in the community. Now it is difficult to discern not because of a lack of faith but a principle of living vicariously appearing to carry the cross but only through someone else. What you carry governs your time and slows you down because it is hard work and the most challenging part of the journey. This is why people don't want to be carriers because they know it will change the way they walk. You can only travel as fast as the burden will allow you.

• When Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and sheep the image of a lamb is a father carrying a child on his shoulders. It will affect the way you walk when carrying someone young in the faith. I have carried my kids on my shoulders and forgot about the responsibility walking through a doorway hitting their head on the frame. Christ referred to them as 'my little ones' not wanting any of them to be lost with a clear warning to anyone who causes his 'little ones' to sin. The New Believer's class is a burden to carry.
  
  
• When a firefighter is rescuing someone from a situation they have a burden on their back that will affect the way they walk. When you are rescuing someone from a situation it is not their comfort for safety that matters or they will take you down with them like a drowning swimmer. When Lot tried to argue with the angels who came to rescue his family they grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out. In the same way we have be rescued from the fowler's snare.
  
  
• When a laborer is carrying material for construction it is a burden that affects the way they walk. One of the main reasons for wearing a hard hat on a building site is that people forget the burden on their shoulders by dropping in one you from a great height. I have lost count on how many projects were launched and never completed because the burden was dropped affecting other people.
  
  
• When a mother is carrying a baby on her back or front it affects the way she walks. If she is not careful to remember the burden she carries her shoulder or hip or back can be injured. A healthy baby will always cause some pain.

Sometimes I pick the kids up from school and observe what takes place as kids approach their parents. They hand over to their parents what they don't want to carry. Everything gets transferred to mom and dad so the kids can be free to play. Backpacks, coats, books, papers, arts and crafts. This is what happens in church where the responsible and mature carry things they are not even responsible for. War can break out in any home with children at a moments notice. My children have chores after every meal. One removes everything from the table, another cleans the table and the third sweeps anything fallen on the tiled floor. Sometimes this breaks down. I will ask, 'whose cup is this?' All three kids will argue over whose cup it is rather than just dealing with it. Churches are overstaffed with people who are employed to pick up cups when the cup is everyone's responsibility. Like a home, the church has more cups in the cupboard than people in the house, because hospitable is part of its nature.

What is important to God is not the appearance of the vessel but its usefulness in carrying the burden. My mom used to have a china cabinet full of bone china. It was to be used on special occasions and admired in the display case when there was no special occasion. I cannot remember ever using the bone china for anything because the golden rule was, 'if it is special it will stop being special if it is used.' The golden rule Paul taught Timothy was, 'everyone is not special, and God needs you to carry the burden instead of being admired through a china cabinet.' After all, we are made in the potter's hands for a purpose not display.

People who do carry the burden very rarely see the stain in the carpet not because they are blind but because it is not their responsibility to do anything about it. I am not talking about a literal stain. But people who carry the burden notice the garbage blown onto the front and pick it up even though it is not their responsibility. They notice waste, excess, carelessness and sloppiness effortlessly. Carriers see the big picture all the time but have an ability to see the stain on the carpet. Carriers of a burden are awesome and awful. By the time Christ launched his ministry of revealing the Father he noticed every stain from Nazareth, Galilee to Jerusalem without losing the plot of the big picture that was the cross. It was difficult to be with Christ because at any moment he would accuse you of having little faith repeat the question three times, 'do you love me more than these' or even call you Satan. You can only be a carrier when you see what a carrier sees.

God took what Moses was carrying and put it on the shoulders of others so eyes were opened to the stain on the carpet. They stopped coming out of school and dumping everything on mom and dad just so they could play. They stopped breaking out into war over whose cup it was left on the table. They came out of the china cabinet and mixed with the common ceramic mugs because they came from the same potter's hands.

If you would like to see previous transcripts you can find them here.: