The Burden of God - Part 2 by Gehard Dutoit (Hungarian) — Gerhard Du Toit

The letter is longer, from the 5th part to the end of the 13th verse. Let's listen to the prayers standing up. Does anyone among you suffer? Pray. Is there joy for anyone? Sing praises. Does anyone among you have a disease?

Call to yourself the people of the congregation, and pray for him, and give him oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer from the cross keeps the sick, and the Lord helps him, and the sin is forgiven.

Sing praises to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. For it is useful indeed to humble the righteous. And there was a man of nature like unto us, and he prayed with prayer that there should be no rain, and there was no rain on the earth for three days and six months.

And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. My Father, if anyone among you is misguided by the truth, and someone condemns him, let him know that he who condemns the sinner by his misguided way saves his soul from death, and he forgives many sins.

Amen. Let's take the place.

The Burden of God and the Prophet's Response

This morning, in our time together, I said to you that what we want to do was try to explore the burden of God. In the prophets of the Old Testament, you often come across this statement that the prophet would say the burden of the Lord was upon me.

And that's what we are talking about. So this Hebrew word, Masah, is a wonderful word in Scripture. And in the New Testament, we discover some wonderful concepts of that. Especially in the life of Christ, in the early church, and in the epistles of the Apostle Paul.

And when you study that in the New Testament,.

You discover three aspects of this burden of God.

So it's based upon revelation, the revelation of God,.

And the revelation of the need of the people. And that's what happened to Moses. So Moses was caught between these two. And Moses had to respond. He had to answer. And there is something that I want you to try and understand.

Ministry Flows from Intimacy with God

Our effectiveness for God in the Christian life is always determined by the way that we respond to the brokenness of God.

You understand that? Because ministry flows out of intimacy.

Intimacy with God doesn't flow out of ministry. It's always the other way around.

Now in North America, where I live, 98 of the time they would say to me, intimacy with God flows out of ministry. So I say to them, which Bible are you reading?

Because that's not what I discovered. That's why E .M. Bounce, has any of his books been translated in Hungarian? Not really. Andrew Murray, one of my heroes, is very strong in this thing. That God is more concerned with the worker than He's concerned about the work.

Because the effectiveness of the work is determined by the workings of God.

And that's why Andrew Murray wrote 48 books.

And if I ever can help to translate books into Hungarian of Andrew Murray, these would be the books. First one, Absolute Surrender. Classic. Second one, The Power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. Classic.

Third one, The Work of the Holy Spirit. Classic. Fourth one, With Christ in the School of Prayer. Wonderful book. Fifth one, The Prayer Life. Sixth one, Abide in Christ. Seventh one, The School of Obedience.

Eighth one, Humility. Absolute classic.

Ninth one, The Quiet Time. Alone with God. And the last one, the holiest of all.

Andrew Murray, if you read his 48 books, you know I have an iPod. I gave Adrian one. Tell him he can give it to you now. You want to be my friend? Then maybe I can give you one. I think he's my friend.

27 books of Andrew Murray. I listen to them.

They just break my heart. Because his whole emphasis.

Is that the presence of God flows through a life that has been purified.

And cleansed. That's what we need.

In our Hungarian Baptist churches.

Clean pastors, separated pastors, spiritual pastors, word-centered pastors, pastors who've got a passion for souls. So the burden of God,.

That's what it is. How does the burden of God affect us?

Like you've sat here this morning.

And you said, I want God to break my heart.

Brokenness, Sin, and the Need for Purity

So the burden of God is doing a number of things.

And if you study the Old Testament saints and you follow this theological explanation then you discover this is what happens to me when this comes to me. And we've dealt with that in a sense. So what does he do?

He brings brokenness. Now brokenness has got two parts to it. A negative aspect and a positive aspect.

And if you study brokenness in Scripture.

This term, brokenness, speaks of a goat in the Old Testament whose horns have been broken. It speaks of a sheep that's gone astray.

And sometimes the shepherd.

In order to prevent the sheep.

To go astray.

Breaks the sheep's leg and he will not go astray.

Now our problem is.

We're saturated with the depravity of sin and we come short of the glory of God. And in order for God to use us and for God to deal with pride God consistently needs to break us.

So there's a negative aspect but there's a positive aspect. The negative aspect.

Is sin. It's where the world is. And there are three things that we need to understand. We need to have a right conception of sin we need to see what sin has done to the world we need to see how sin has affected us.

And as a Christian you need to understand what the difference is between the guilt of sin.

And the guilt of sin. And you see as a Christian.

God is able to cleanse us from sin. You say which sin? Sin in my life as a Christian. You say how far? How much? This is what you need to understand in Scripture.

The sin that I'm conscious of not the sin that I'm not conscious of.

You see that's why in 1 John chapter 1 the Apostle John said if we walk in the light as God is in the light what happens to us? We have fellowship one with another and we have fellowship with God. And when that happens the Apostle John said the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son and the structure of the language.

It's ongoing.

It keeps us cleansing us.

From sin. So here's the issue. As a Christian I don't know about you. I want to walk with God.

And I don't want you to misunderstand me but I often say to my wife the day when I know that I'm walking with God it's a very dangerous day because I would not realize how much I need God. But you see Jesus said every branch in me that is bearing fruit he said I purify it.

I cleanse it. Why am I doing that?

So that it will grow and bring more fruit. So brokenness. We need to see the awfulness of sin and see what sin has done. And then there is the positive aspect of brokenness. You know my father-in-law and mother-in-law are wonderful people and I deeply love them.

Brokenness Expressed Through Compassion for the Lost

And my father-in-law for 25 years was standing on the corner of a street.

In the city of Vancouver every Friday night and he preached the Gospel.

And I love that but he is very strong. I don't know if there is a word like that in Hungarian. Hellfire and Brimstone. Is there a word like that? It doesn't sound right. That's my father-in-law and you can't say that in Hungarian.

Just very strong. And so we were together a little while ago. We talked about theology and my father-in-law said to me do you preach about hell?

I said yeah. I do he said. How do you preach about hell? My heart is broken I said you really want to know?

He said yes I said dad. I preach about hell with tears streaming down my cheeks. I don't want to see people going to hell and to know brokenness.

It's got a positive aspect to it. People need to see that they are lost. I just led a man to Christ in South Africa.

He is a German 89 years old. He was in the Second World War.

Was shot three times with a machine gunner.

350 Russian soldiers were storming and all his platoon was shot and Hans kept firing and they called him Uncle Bell and everyone was killed. And when the Russians came on him he died underneath dead bodies for hours lying under the blood.

So my wife and myself were walking down the road and this little car came and here was this German. Opened the window and he said who are you? And I recognized the German accent. I said I am Gerhard. The Germans like Gerhard.

And he said I am Bell, I am a German. You know what I said to him? I could smell you. We got to talking. He has not been to a church since 1964. I talked to him about God. Oh no he said I want to marry my wife.

She was my girlfriend. We went to the Lutheran church. We said to the priest will you marry us?

The Lutheran priest said are you practicing Lutheran?

He said yes and he said are you a paying Lutheran? He said no and the minister said I won't marry you.

So he just walked out. If he had a machine gun he would have shot the minister since 1964. Nothing to do with God.

And so we talked and I said I am preaching he said. In a church? I said no, in the town Christians are coming together.

Oh no we talked and talked.

And I said just come. And he said ok. That night we picked him up. He sat in the service. He didn't understand a word nothing. We drove back. I said how are you doing? Not good he said. I said why not?

He said I wasted my time. I said why?

He said listening to you. He is a German you see. You know what happened?

Next morning we walked. There is his little cottage I said to my wife I want to go and pray with him and I walked in the cottage and here is uncle Bell 89 years old he said Gerhard.

I said what is it? he said I want to talk. I said why do you want to talk? he said I couldn't sleep last night.

I said why couldn't you sleep? he said. I was trying to remember what you said.

He said say it again. So I said it again and when I was finished he said you have a service tonight? He said yeah. He said can I come? He said yeah. He said do I need better clothes? I said no. He came that night.

I dropped him off Gerhard tomorrow morning. I want to talk.

Next morning I came and he brought a picture of his wife and he began to cry. I said what's wrong? he said she prayed for me.

I said what did she pray for? He said she prayed that I will be converted. She was a Christian so I said so? He said do you think God can save me? And I led him to Christ. Do you know what happened?

He got through to God I mean really through. He got up, he went into the room.

He opened a safe and he brought cyanide capsules that Nazi Germany gave him.

To take his own life he said what do I do now?

I said we are going to throw them in the toilet.

Because God saved him it's the most wonderful thing.

When we can lead someone to Christ and you see when we speak on brokenness it's not just the sin.

But there is the positive aspect of brokenness. You say what is it? It's the life of Christ.

The Life of Christ as the Pattern of Surrender

You know how you will discover brokenness?

Because there is a balance God needs to deal with us.

And God wants to work with us and here is the life of Christ. You say where will I discover the positive aspect of brokenness?

Go to the Gospel of John.

879 verses 19 ,900 words. Go to the life of Christ. See what he said about the father. See what the father said about him.

And right in the middle you discover the beauty of brokenness and this is what he said.

The son can do nothing if he doesn't see the father doing it. You know what he said? My father worked up to this point and he said so do I and you discover this oneness of surrender of his life. So what does brokenness do?

It brings purity. 99 passages in the New Testament speaks of purity.

The blood the effect of the blood upon my life.

It's beautiful. You know what else happens when God purifies us and you see the Holy Spirit. He is so precious.

The Holy Spirit, Prayer, and the Will of God

You know when I was memorizing Ephesians because it's so precious because you remember in the book of Acts Paul came to Ephesus there were 12 disciples and he said to them have you received the Holy Spirit since you believe?

And do you remember what they said? They said we did not even know that there was a Holy Spirit and so the Bible says Paul prayed for them.

And in Ephesians in every chapter.

There are two references to the Holy Spirit and it's wonderful.

And when he said to them after you believed he said you were sealed.

With that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of your inheritance. Then he said to them in chapter 4, grief not the Holy Spirit.

It's a wonderful verse because the context.

Is speaking about the deity of the Holy Spirit he said the Holy Spirit is God and in chapter 5 he said you must be full to the Holy Spirit.

And in chapter 6.

He said put on the armor of God and he said when you put on the armor of God he said now this is what's going to happen the only way you're going to move forward.

And here comes the Holy Spirit with prayer and supplication in the Spirit of God.

And here is this reality.

Brokenness, purity the life in the Spirit and so the Spirit of God he becomes precedent in my life. I want to ask you this morning are you hungry for God?

Spiritual Hunger and Feeding the Church

You know I showed Adrian and his wife and their daughters last night some pictures of my family. We have a beautiful place there in Canada that God gave us.

In a big backyard my wife and myself we love flowers and plants.

And fountains and water and birds. We have many different kinds of birds coming to eat and in Canada we have a little bird.

It's called a chickadee. Do you have them here?

Poor Romania. We have a chickadee, just a small little bird so we make little nests and when the spring comes I put some things out there. They pick it up and they build nice nests and then they lay the eggs for 17 days.

They sit on those eggs and we watch them when the babies are born. You should see this hour after hour after hour all that mother and father does is picking up food feeding the babies and I look in there you know what I see?

Food. And I say to my wife what's wrong with the church?

We see people coming to Christ and they're hungry and we're not giving them food. I mean you should see those birds they're just giving food. And then suddenly one day we sit there something happens and here's the little one and he comes out because his mother has been feeding him.

You see this is the thing now here is brokenness.

The spirit of God he takes me to the scriptures he makes me hungry he makes me thirsty he wants to walk in my life he wants to break me. And you know what he does? He gives me a spirit of prayer and he makes me hungry for God.

And this spirit of prayer you know what it's doing to me? It's taking me to the will of God.

That's when prayer becomes effective and so when we pray in the will of God.

You say where do I discover the will of God? Right here.

The will of God for me the will of God for my life as a husband the will of God for my wife as a woman the will of God for my children the will of God for my church the will of God for the ministry the will of God for my country.

This is where it is.

And so I discover it and it becomes part of my life.

And as it becomes part of my life I pray the scriptures.

And I bring the scriptures to God and I pray his word back to him and I pray for the church. You know I mentioned this morning this name Robert Merrimack Chain. He was a pastor in Scotland and he used to spend about 8 hours every day 5 days a week.

In the place of prayer.

I don't know when he prepared but he went into his church.

He was in a village in Scotland. About 1100 people in the village.

And about 900 people came Sunday morning after Sunday morning. This is what they said of Merrimack Chain.

In the mornings he would go into the church.

And he would kneel where the people sit and he would pray the scriptures and he would claim God's word.

For these people and he would pray them through to God and Sunday morning.

When he get up to preach the people would say when he stand in the pulpit.

And he opened his mouth and he looked at the people.

You know what they said. They said. We felt so vulnerable we felt that he knew us so well that everything that we were thinking about this last week that he must have known about it he didn't but he knew.

God. Have you ever asked God to give you a spirit of prayer. Have you discovered the spirit of prayer.

Waiting Upon God in Prayer

In the life of Christ have you discovered the spirit of prayer.

In the life of the Apostle Paul when Paul said pray without ceasing he was doing it you know. And when he said to the church at Ephesus he said I pray that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.

He really meant it you know you say what was it.

It's a spirit of prayer you know. I just talked to a man a few weeks ago.

A very godly man.

God has given me a group of men that challenge me.

They ask questions and this man is 78 years old.

And I asked him. We talked about prayer.

And he said to me.

I will never be able to tell you that I spent hours and hours in prayer and he said even if I do that he said Gerhard I won't tell you that I said so what will you tell me.

He said I will tell you.

That I seldom go through an hour without praying. I said really he said I will not say I spent hours and days in prayer but he said God has worked in my life. That seldom goes an hour by. That I don't become quiet and I spend time alone with God.

Can I ask you. Have you ever asked God for a spirit of prayer. You see it comes to rest upon us. You know I've got a book. I wish I can get this book to be translated in Hungarian.

You can't, it's out of print and there's a chapter there on what does it mean to wait upon God.

And the man who wrote this book is in Scotland and when I was teaching in Scotland we asked him permission because he was a scholar of languages. Theologically he was very deep but spiritually he was always fresh and we went to him.

We said Dr. Thompson can we print your book. And he said no. So every country I go to I try to find this book and last time in New Zealand I found six. You say will you sell this for one thousand dollars.

No, two thousand.

No, it's so precious. And there's this one chapter on waiting upon God and you know what he does. He takes eight principles that comes out of the teachings of Christ.

As it relates to prayer.

And he takes you to the Old Testament and he takes you to what we call the canon of scripture. That is what Jesus said about the Old Testament every time when Christ spoke. And he brought an Old Testament passage of scripture.

And when we bring all those passages together he said there are eight principles that came from the lips of Christ.

That spoke about prayer.

And he takes you to eight Old Testament Hebrew words and it all has to do with waiting upon God.

Oh, it is so deep.

I want to tell you something this morning and brother I don't want you to misunderstand me but you know the greatest thing in my simple Christian life.

Is to get up in the mornings take a shower make sure you're awake go into my corner and I wait upon God.

And I just want him to come. You say has there been a morning that he didn't come. No.

Has there been a morning that you were not conscious of that. Yes where was the problem. The problem was me. You see he wants to come and I want to ask you today have you got a place like that brings a spirit of prayer.

Leads me to the will of God in prayer but you know what happens to us.

Cleansing, Calling, and Hearing God's Voice

When we are there and it's such a sacred reality but God speaks to us.

You know that passage this morning from the prophet Isaiah when the seraphim came from the altar and took the coals from the altar.

And touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah so God purified. And the Bible says in the next verse.

Isaiah said now I heard the voice of God and the voice of God is saying who will I be able to send and who will be willing to go. And Isaiah said.

God here I am.

You know what Oswald Chambers said that voice of God it was there all the time.

Day after day it was there whom shall I send who will go for us. And he couldn't hear it until his lips were clean and the heart was cleansed and he said now I could hear.

I love his statement. You know Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and he said I will give them eternal life.

And he said.

No man shall pluck them out of my hand and we say that's wonderful. You know what. You know what the Greek New Testament says. My sheep.

They are in the process of listening to my voice. Present tense when I was in England.

I used to run a lot and I would run in the country roads.

In the winter it's dark and there's many sheep.

And so they would hear me and they think I'm the shepherd. And so as I would run I would hear them coming and they're all running down the hill because they think I'm the shepherd. Then I stopped and I whistled.

And when I whistled they all stopped because they know I'm not the shepherd.

You say what do they say. They say he's a dumb African he's not our shepherd. You laugh. Let me ask him where's the shepherd.

Praying Through to Breakthrough

Where's the voice. Where's the speaking word of God. Where is the breaking voice of God. When does a passage of scripture come. Grabbed you by the throat advanced upon your soul.

Tear you apart and say to you I want to come and sit in your life. I'm through last thing what is the burden of God. Do.

We don't have time. How do I step by step systematically break it apart. Because this is what needs to happen. Christ did this last thing. How do I know when I've prayed through. It's so wonderful today because some of you have come and said pray for me and it's wonderful to pray for one another.

And someone asked me how does this work.

And I said my understanding.

Is God needs to come because it's not the time we spend with God.

It's the time God spends with us so God needs to come and give us breakthroughs.

And I said my Christian life is based upon breaking through. And he said how does it work. I said the burden comes the vision comes.

The focus comes and understanding comes.

And so we began to seek God the promises come.

And so we're waiting upon God he said. What does that mean. We're climbing a mountain.

So we climb and we climb and we climb and then suddenly we break through. Answer has come. God has put us on the top of the mountain. Is that the end. No, now we need to conquer the land. Now we need to take big steps forward and so you see what happened.

Three things. It's reflection on the climbing what it has taken from me. Secondly it's an insight of what God has done in me. Thirdly it's a fresh vision so that we can climb. So let me ask you in closing are you stuck.

Pressing On Instead of Becoming Spiritually Stuck

I can't remember if I've ever told this here. Maybe I have.

But you know in Canada you've got a beautiful fish called pacific salmon.

They're born in the river 1500 miles up and when they are born God put something in their minds and they say if I want to grow I must go to the ocean. And the moment when they were born they try to get to the ocean millions of them.

And when they get to the ocean just little fish like that four years they become 40, 50, sometimes 65 pounds in four years. After four years something happens and they say we must go back to where we were born there we're going to die.

There we're going to lay eggs and there the young ones are going to be born. But you know what happens when the young one is born.

He needs to come down the river 1500 miles through lakes some of them are 90 miles long so this little fish is trying to get to the ocean.

And you know what happens. Some of them get lost because the lake is very big.

They get lost out of the school and they get lost in the lake. They never get to the ocean they only become about that size. We call them kokoni. Very nice to eat but you know what they never able to produce.

You know what happened. They got stuck in the lake.

Brother Joseph I don't want to get stuck in the lake just that size and his brother is just that big.

And his brother is going to have many children but his brother is going to die so that he got many children. But he he got stuck in the lake. Do you know what breaks my heart. I meet thousands and thousands and thousands of Christians they got stuck in the lake.

They never got to the ocean. Come and close for us in prayer.