Don’t Give Up!
Galatians 6:9
March 9, 2008
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT USED IN MY MESSAGES IS BORROWED FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING
FOR A CHANGE."
Introduction
William Wilberforce was a politician in England during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. He served in Parliament during a time that would impact not only England, but the world, including the United States.
During his time in Parliament he was introduced to the horrors of the slave trade.
He met former slaves and saw the scars from the whips and branding irons.
He went aboard slave ships and saw the conditions in them. The slaves were stuffed inside them by the hundreds and many millions died just on the journey and thrown overboard.
He saw the “civilized” British Empire exploiting and profiting from the sale of human beings.
It didn’t take too long before he came to the realization that God was leading him to do something about it.
He had recently given his life to Christ, and he was struggling with the question of whether he was to serve God or his country through Parliament.
While he struggled with that question, one lady said something to him that charted his destiny for the next almost 50 years: “I would suggest you should do both.” And so he did.
Wilberforce served God and the cause of abolition of slavery relentlessly, and he lived long enough to see slavery abolished in the British Empire.
It was a long and weary fight, and in the end it cost him his life – he died three days after the abolition of slavery passed.
Me: We’re in an election year, and I’ll be honest with you. I hate election years. I hate almost everything about them.
Over the next 8 months, we’re going to be swamped with campaign ads for politicians and issues.
Our phones will be ringing off the hook as the politicians have their people call us to convince to vote for them.
Isn’t it a bit ironic that politicians passed a bill that allows us to block telemarketers, but doesn’t block politicians?
Now don’t get me wrong. I think that in this great country, we have a political system that outshines all others in the world. A system that allows the greatest number of people to participate and have a voice.
But I also think that more people are in it for themselves than for the betterment of our country.
We: I think it’s safe to say that most of us here get tired of all the politics.
But when we’re faced with the fact that we have to operate within the political system in order to see things happen, then it’s time for the Church to step up and be involved.
And in South Dakota, we have another opportunity to have our voices heard for the sake of the betterment of our country, and in particular for the sake of the unborn.
God: I’m not going to share a verse about how God creates every person and that that’s why we should work for the unborn.
Actually what I want to address is the fact that even with good causes like this, we can become tired, and we can be tempted to just be quiet and not make waves.
And the passage I want to use is Galatians 9:6 –
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The abortion industry and its supporters will tell you that South Dakotans are tired from the last election, and don’t want to deal with this again, especially so soon.
But here’s my answer, and it’s what I want you to take away from this today, even if you don’t remember anything else I have to say:
It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing!
William Wilberforce worked for 19 years to see the first anti-slavery law passed, outlawing the slave trade in the British Empire. Slaves could not be bought, sold, or shipped in or out of the Empire.
It took another 26 years for slavery to be totally abolished in England.
That’s 45 years of relentless effort on the part of one man and those who believed as he did that all men are created equal, regardless of color or station in life.
Why did Wilberforce continue for so long? He was hated by many, and he faced physical challenges to his health.
He didn’t give up because the job wasn’t done. And he was convinced that God wanted slavery to end.
He was convinced that it was never the wrong time to do the right thing.
When another bill to outlaw abortion was introduced in the legislature this year, I wondered if it was too soon. I bought the lie that weariness was a good excuse to just let this go this year. I say that to my shame.
But then I heard one of the legislators say what I’m telling you today: it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
Would any Christian deny that it would be good for abortion as birth control to end? May it never be!
I know that there are some Christians who would disagree, but I say that you will find no justification in Scripture for such a thing. None!
I’m not even talking about those instances of rape and incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.
I’m only talking about when abortion is used as birth control.
Did you know that only about 2% of abortions in South Dakota are done because of rape, incest, or the because the mother was in danger?
And so we continue to work and to pray that God would end this practice.
We continue because we’re not to become weary in doing good, and because we believe that one day God will let us see a harvest of righteousness and the saving of babies, not only in South Dakota but around the US and the world.
We continue to do it because it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing!
“But Brian, this is politics! We shouldn’t let religion and politics mix!”
And I say to you that unless your faith impacts every area of your life, including your level of political involvement, then your faith isn’t all that much of a priority.
Nothing in Scripture allows for us to pick and choose the areas of life where our faith impacts it. Rather, Scripture is abundantly clear that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.
Scripture says that we are to surrender our entire beings to His lordship.
Thank God that the church didn’t buy the argument that religion and politics shouldn’t mix when it came to slavery!
Wilberforce was a Christian who was driven by a conviction that slavery was anti-Christian.
He mobilized not only Parliament, but the church as well, and when God’s people finally got the backbone to tell the politicians that God’s will was more important than being politically correct, things happened.
Abortion on demand is a moral issue, not a political one. The only reason it’s political is because the politicians are the ones who make the decisions in congress.
But let me ask you this: do you really want politicians to do your thinking for you on any issue, much less one where innocent lives are at stake?
I’ve got faith in our system, but not that much!
You: Six things we need to do this year to see the unborn protected:
1. Pray.
Pray that the Church will be mobilized to do something about this issue this year.
Pray that the spirit of complacency will be replaced with the spirit of valor and determination that there is never a wrong time to do the right thing.
Pray that God would put a fire in the bones of His people so that they cannot help but speak out and act.
2. Register to vote and sign the petition.
We need just under 17,000 signatures before April 1 to get this on the ballot.
Actually, in order for us to get the signatures to the right place in time, we need to get these petitions signed and notarized by the 19th of this month. So we have today and next Sunday to get as many signatures as possible.
This Saturday, March 15, a door-to-door petition drive will be happening from 9 AM to 1 PM. We’ll be meeting at Aberdeen Christian Fellowship, across the street from United Building Center to pray and go out, then I think we’re meeting there afterward also.
If you can help with that at all, either by going door-to-door or helping behind the scenes, or any other way, it would be great.
3. Pray.
Pray for those women who have been lied to by the abortion industry and who carry the scars, physically, emotionally, and spiritually because they’ve had an abortion as birth control.
Many of these women are hurting. And they need to see the church offering unconditional love while doing all it can to help prevent other women from falling for the same lies.
Pray for the fathers who have lost their children to abortion, either because they coerced the women to have them, or because the woman had the abortion without consulting them.
This isn’t just a woman’s issue – the men are profoundly impacted as well.
4. Refuse to let the abortion industry do your thinking for you.
Folks, why is Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry working so hard against laws protecting the unborn?
Because it’s a business for them. They make money from killing unborn children. It’s a multi-million dollar business.
In the fiscal year of 2005-2006, Planned Parenthood alone raked in a profit of $55 million dollars. And they received over $305 million dollars in federal taxpayer dollars.
In other words, your taxes and mine are going to fund the slaughter.
They have a vested interest in convincing you that abortion on demand for the purpose of birth control needs to be available.
5. Pray.
Pray that God would move on the hearts of His people throughout South Dakota in such a way that this vote would pass overwhelmingly.
Pray that the abortion industry would be shocked speechless, and that God’s people would be able to rejoice mightily and loudly at His moving.
6. Speak up.
Speak up for the unborn. Speak up for women who are being lied to on a daily basis.
Speak up for the notion that it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
Speak up for the sanctity of human life, especially for those who cannot defend themselves.
We: The Wesleyan Church takes a pro-life position in no uncertain terms.
I’m grateful to be part of a denomination that is unafraid to speak out and make its voice heard for the sake of those who cannot speak for themselves.
But this isn’t a denominational issue. It’s a biblical issue – because the Scriptures declare the value of human life in the womb. And because it’s a moral issue, it demands that the people of God act.
Will you join us? Or will you say, as so many Christians do, that this isn’t your battle?
Please don’t do that. Evil wins when we default on our responsibility.
I believe that the abortion bill of last year failed because Christians bought the lies of the abortion industry or simply stayed home.
May it never happen again.
May God grant an end to this evil, just as He granted an end to legalized slavery in America.
And May He give us the guts and the willingness to do what we can, trusting in Him for the results.
Conclusion
It’s never the wrong time to do the wrong thing.
And if we will not give up in doing good for the unborn, then I believe we’ll see the day that we’ll reap the harvest of the end of a holocaust that takes the lives of almost 1.5 million babies every year.
I’m gonna end in just a moment, and we’re a bit earlier than usual. Please take this extra time to sign the petition if you haven’t already.
If you want, you can take petitions with you to have those you know sign it. Just make sure they’re registered voters in South Dakota and make sure you witness the signature, because we have to have these notarized saying that we witnessed the signatures.
We need to be totally above board on this – we don’t want signatures voided because they weren’t collected in the right way.
Folks, this is just too important of an issue to ignore and push aside. Don’t let the pressure of others keep you from standing up for the unborn.
Stand strong in your belief that God honors the efforts of His people for the sake of righteousness.
Stand strong – and show the world that we serve a God who cares for the smallest among us. Let’s pray.
