The Revolutionary Gospel
Galatians 6 – Don’t Give Up
October 24, 2021
Growing up, my parents never let me quit. If I committed to a team or a project, I had to finish.
Today, it seems quitting is a pandemic. We quit friends, our churches, our commitments the moment any of it becomes difficult or inconvenient.
Galatians 6:7-9 NIV
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
1. We reap what we sow.
Our bodies are the product of the food we’ve eaten and the exercise we’ve given it.
Our spiritual beings are also the product of what we’ve consumed.
No one loses weight overnight. It takes months of no bread and no sugar.
The hardest part is always the waiting.
The kingdom of heaven is more like a stew than a drive thru.
2. We can become tired while doing good things.
Doing the right thing with no encouragement is exhausting.
“To be sane in a mad world is bad for the brain, worse for the heart.” Wendell Berry
Luke 5:16 NIV
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
By choosing sabbath, we’re protesting our innate desire to trust and worship our self-sufficiency.
When God sets us on a path, there are plenty of rest stops but very few exit ramps.
3. We have more strength than we know.
v.9 - for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Story of the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp… April 1945… the Allies are coming… the Reich is crumbling… and so SS officers in the camp start hauling prisoners away to execute them before they can be liberated… the prisoners realize this is happening and send an SOS via Morse code (they had built a short wave transistor radio out of junk they found in the camp) to the Allies… the Allies respond, “Hold on. We are coming.” … emboldened by that knowledge, the near-to-death prisoners overthrew the guards and took the camp… when the Allies arrived, the gates were open and the prisoners were waiting for them…
What if we have more strength than we know? What if we’re already free enough to do the hard thing?
1. We’re made of the stuff of heaven.
2. We’re people of the resurrection.
3. Help is on the way!
