~ Which Load Are You Bearing? ~
Yoke Of Sin (the
sinner’s slavery) ~ “Because you did
not serve the Lord your God with
joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall
serve your enemies, whom the Lord will
send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of
everything; and He will put a yoke of
iron on your neck until He has destroyed you” (Deuteronomy
28:47-48). “For the ways of man are
before the eyes of the Lord, and
He ponders all his paths. His own
iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he
is caught in the cords of his sin.
He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly
he shall go astray” (Proverbs 5:21-23).
Yoke Of Christ (the
sinner’s burden) ~ “The yoke of my transgressions was bound; they were woven together by His hands, and
thrust upon my neck. He made my strength
fail; the Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to
withstand” (Lamentations 1:14). “All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Yoke Of Bondage (the
saint’s legalistic religion) ~ “Stand fast
therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled
again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). “Why do you test God by
putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear? But we believe
that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they” (Acts 15:10-11). “Then Jesus spoke to
the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit
in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they
tell you to observe, that observe
and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not
do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders;
but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers’” (Matthew
23:1-4).
Yoke Of Obedience (the saint’s submission)
~ Jesus said, “Come to Me, all
you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My
yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Yoke Of Service (the servant’s fellowship)
~ “And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with
Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of
Life” (Philippians 4:3). “Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count
their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His
doctrine may not be blasphemed” (1 Timothy 6:1).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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