Today’s church is crying out for men
and women who are burdened about something. We are in desperate need of people
who have a single passion and will be dedicated to pursue their passion with
all of their being. The eyes of the Lord are roaming the earth; they are
searching for those who are resolved to stand in the gap behalf of the nations. The world needs men and women who are
burdened for God and His glory. I fear that one will have more success finding
an oasis in the desert than finding people with a real burden. I fear that most
Universities and Seminaries are more concerned about producing students who have
conformed to a system than are passionately burdened about God’s work, lost
people and God’s glory. I fear we invest more in
programs than we are investing in people. I fear we are more burdened about
updating Facebook and our twitter feeds than in actually making the world a
better place. What our homes, churches and countries need are burdened people:
burdened for what God and his glory.
What does the bible say about the
need for burdened people? There is in my mind, no better place to begin than
the amazing account in Ezekiel 9. It
says at least one thing – God takes the absence of a burden among his people
seriously. It was this burden that made
Nehemiah do great exploits for God (Nehemiah 1:4). The oracles of the prophets are referred to
as burdens (Isaiah 13:1, 14:28, 15:1, 17:1, 19:1, 21:1, etc., Nahum 1:1,
Habakkuk 1:1, Malachi 1:1). We also see
this in Paul’s burden in Athens (Acts 17:16-17) and Jesus’ example also in
Matthew 9:36 were His burden for the people moved him with compassion.
Why is it that some people lack the
burden and others have lost it? The first reason people are not burdened is a
lack of an eternal view. They are only consumed by the affairs of the world and
all their energies are directed at amassing wealth, being entertained and
getting more educated that they soon lose sight of the majesty of God and forget
the reason for their existence. In other words they are living as though the
things of this world are all that matter in life. The second is a sinful life.
When you are living in sin you lack the desire to do the work of God and the
enablement to carry it out. And all you do is go through the motions like a
lifeless corpse. The third is when people are detached from the work of the
ministry. Whenever someone is not exposed to the needs, frustrations and
blessings of the ministry, they lack the burden. When all you have are theories
in your head of what should be done, and lack the exposure of what actually on
the ground, you will lack the burden that comes with such exposure.
“Men of the time, who discern the
signs of the time, the possibilities of the time, the potentials of the time,
as well as the seasons, movements, and dangers of the time become God’s
prophets to His people and the world. Instead of being cast into the mould of
history they make history. Instead of being frustrated by the storms of the
times they ride the crest of the waves triumphantly for God and His cause. Thus
the question is whether we are tradition bound or anchored fearlessly in such a
time as this. Men of the time are urgently needed. While others may survive,
these will triumph and lead the cause of Christ in the triumphs of our Lord”[1].
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