Golden Plains Baptist Church · Pastor Robert Carlson

The Man With a Burden

February 24, 2026·44 min·3 clips

The preacher bought a septic business to avoid God's call to be a missionary — then sat in the dark emptying a sewer, asking himself who would reach the lost.

1. Golden Plains Baptist Church hosts a sermon titled 'The Man With a Burden,' drawn from Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 1. 2. The preacher, who identifies himself as a former congregant of Pemina Valley Baptist Church who trained at Canadian Baptist Bible College under a Dr. Cook, is the sole speaker. 3. The sermon's core thesis is that contemporary Christians in Canada lack the same burden for evangelism and national spiritual need that Habakkuk carried for Judah on the eve of Babylonian captivity. 4. Habakkuk is introduced as a minor prophet — minor only in length — who warned the southern kingdom of Judah during the reign of King Jehoiakim, a contemporary of Jeremiah, that the Chaldeans would come and take them captive to Babylon. 5. The preacher cites Habakkuk 2:4 — 'the just shall live by faith' — as the book's major theological contribution, arguing that faith means believing and obeying what God has said. 6. He recounts King Jehoiakim cutting Jeremiah's scroll with a penknife and throwing it into a fire, paralleling it with Canada's current movement to pass laws limiting gospel preaching. 7. The preacher confesses he spent years resisting God's call to become a missionary to Mennonites in Mexico, eventually lying to his pastor — telling him 'God's taken that burden away from me' — to get approval to buy a septic business in Altona. 8. He describes purchasing the truck, parking it at his church, stepping out, looking back at it, and immediately knowing he had not made a mistake but had 'rebelled.' 9. While working alone at night on the east side of Altona, financially strained and spiritually empty, he heard what he understood as God asking, 'Who's going to reach the lost souls of the world?' 10. He challenges the congregation by contrasting how intensely he lost sleep and appetite over his business debt with how rarely Christians lose sleep over the spiritual state of lost family members. 11. He references 1 Timothy 2:1-2 — praying for 'kings and all that are in authority' — as the practical answer to despair about Canada's spiritual condition, calling intercession more useful than criticizing politicians who are 'lost and without Christ.' 12. He quotes Habakkuk 3:2 — 'O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years... in wrath, remember mercy' — as a model prayer for personal revival available to any individual regardless of national conditions. 13. He recalls the COVID lockdown period, describing church members bringing baked goods to the building just to have an excuse for brief contact, as evidence that humans are created for fellowship and that deprivation creates a 'heart cry' for revival. 14. He cites the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 — 'my grace is sufficient for thee' — as God's response to Paul's request to remove a 'thorn in the flesh,' arguing that Paul had to learn dependence rather than relying on his education and experience. 15. He quotes Job's statement that trials come so 'I come forth as gold' — framing God's chastisement not as punishment but as a refining process, citing his own past backsliding as evidence that God corrects those He loves. 16. He reads Habakkuk 3:17-18 in full — the fig tree not blossoming, olive harvest failing, stalls empty — followed by 'yet I will rejoice in the Lord,' presenting it as the posture of victory available even when outward conditions are catastrophic. 17. The sermon is a traditional expository Baptist message delivered in a pastoral, confessional style; the speaker draws on personal autobiography extensively and uses direct address to challenge the congregation. 18. Tone is earnest and self-implicating throughout; the preacher repeatedly applies his own failures as illustrations rather than setting himself above his listeners. 19. Best suited for listeners in evangelical or Baptist church contexts who are examining their own engagement with prayer, evangelism, or missionary calling. 20. Listeners seeking topical, non-religious content or those outside Christian faith contexts will find little utility here.

As heard by us

A plainspoken call to obedience, revival, and a God-given burden.

The sermon opens in Habakkuk and stays close to the book's burden: holiness, warning, and mercy offered before judgment. From there it moves into the present with a plain appeal for revival, obedience, and spiritual wakefulness in both churches and the country.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When you want Habakkuk framed as both a warning and an encouragement.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Golden Plains Baptist Church