Introduction
The past several sermons that I have preached I have been talking about do-overs. I showed you from daily life, there are do-overs and I gave you several examples. And I used those examples to introduce you to the fact that in our Christian life, there are do overs. I pointed to a Scripture in HOSEA 14 in which God calls us to return or do over. Let me quote you that Scripture: Hosea 14:1 (NIV)
1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!
Now because I am a Christian and I love God, I do not want to take advantage of do-overs. I want as few do-overs as possible in my Christian life. I want to stay the course. I want to be able to say what the Apostle Paul said: “I finished the course; I kept the faith.” Do you know how I read that? Paul is saying that I uses as few do-overs as possible.
I want to be like that. And so, I ask God to show me how Paul did that. And I believe that I heard in the quietness of my heart- set your resolve. Just to make sure I knew what that meant I looked that word up in the dictionary. And resolve means to decide firmly on a course of action. So, I must set my mind to stay the course. I must set my mind to keep the faith. So, my next question to God had to be and how do I do that, and He pointed me to today’s Scripture which addresses the how to stay resolved. Turn with me in your Bible to Galatians 6:9-10. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Scripture
Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
POINT #1
DON’T LET THE VISUAL OUTCOME DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL OF RESOLVE.
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
This Galatian church started off doing all the right things. But over time they began to struggle, and they were not seeing the results that they were previously seeing. Some false doctrine had creeped in the church and Judaizers arrived on the scene making it harder to bring in the harvest. And what happens when things get harder and you are not seeing the results? You grow weary and want to give up.
Paul did not tell them to start doing good- what he told them is despite what comes against you and discourages you- do not grow weary.
Let us be honest, I learned this lesson in life, more often than not when you start something and before you get to the end of it you are going to be meet with resistance. Nothing is clearing sailing.
Walking with Christ is not an easy walk, it requires resolve. I have yet to find it clear sailing.
Point #2
DON’T LET THE “WHEN” DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL OF RESOLVE.
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I want to call your attention to the phrase “proper time”. That phrase appears 22 times in the Bible. And that term “proper time” refers to God’s timing. Let me give you a couple of examples to show that.
Zechariah was silenced by God for his unbelieve and God tells him that he will speak again at the “proper time.” Luke 1:20 (NIV)
20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." The proper time there was God’s time!
And then in 1 Thessalonians we are told that the man of lawlessness is being restrained upon the proper time. God is holding back the Antichrist until the “proper time”. The proper time is God’s time!
So, this Scripture up to this point has told me to keep doing good even if I had not seen the result is my timing because it is not about my timing but God’s timing.
So that begs me to ask to ask the question?
Have you given up praying for someone’s salvation or some prayer need because you did not see the results in your timing?
I wonder how many pastors have given up the pastorate and went to another occupation because they did not see the results in their timing?
In fact, we can ask that same question about Sunday School teachers, Vacation Bible School workers, in fact, anybody doing any ministry.
Did you give up on anything too soon? Resolve says that I see it to the end. And the end is God’s timing to determine.
Point #3
I NEED TO SURROUND MYSELF WITH GOD SERVING MAN AND WOMAN THAT WILL HOLD ME UP WHEN MY RESOLVE COMES UNDER ATTACK.
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I wish that I could tell you that I as a Christian is like the rock of Gibraltar- never losing resolve, constantly pressing toward the finish line, but I am not.
Let me tell you a story about the early years of Anne and mine’s Christianity. We were saved and hit the ground running. Anne and I started out with a bang in our Christian life. We were on several committees, at the church every time the doors were open, reading our Bibles, praying, and witnessing. And one day, we hit the wall and quit everything. Stopped reading our Bibles like we should; stopped attending church very regularly. And one day, our TV broke and the only person we could think to call was a guy in the church named Jessie Jones. He came over and fixed the TV but more importantly he stayed and ministered on us and got us back on the right road. I probably would not be standing up here today if Jesse Jones did not pump our resolve.
And that is what Paul is doing in this passage of Scripture- pumping up the resolve of this church that he help establish on his first missionary journey. He not there among; he is heading toward Jerusalem but takes the time to shore up their resolve.
And as he continues the letter emphasizing that there will be times, we need somebody to shore up our resolve.
Galatians 6:1 (NIV)
1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
I had Jesse Jones shore up my resolve; can you think of a person in your life that shored up your resolve?
Point #4
WHEN OUR RESOLVE FAILS TO STAY STRONG, WE WILL NOT SEE THE HARVEST THAT GOD WILL BRING ABOUT.
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
It is pretty plain to me: if you give up, you will not see the harvest.
Wouldn’t it be terribly if we discovered in eternity if I would have prayer for so and so just a little while longer that God was going to answer my prayer.
Wouldn’t it terrible if I discovered in eternity if I would not have giving up preaching a little too soon, I would have seen what God was going to do in Bala Chitto.
Wouldn’t it terrible if you discovered in eternity, if you had not giving up on your business to soon you would have seen God bless it.
Our resolve hinges on faith in what God can do. I like that Paul uses the word reap because reaping is all about faith. A seed in my hand does not involve faith. But when I place the seed in the ground it is all faith. I got to have faith that the soil has the right mineral to feed the seed. I must have faith that God will bring the rain. I must have faith that God will keep the bugs away.
When I sow good, I need to wait in faith (that’s resolve) until God brings the harvest.
Let us pray!
