Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
In this message, I walk through Galatians 6:9 and ask the question: why do people lose heart and give up? I share five powerful reasons to keep going — not for our own sake, but for the sake of a world desperately in need of freedom, healing, and the love of God. There are a billion souls waiting, and that's a billion reasons not to quit.
Carter Conlon presents a weekly 24:55 program, encouraging and equipping a generation willing to pray, willing in God’s power to rise up and plead for mercy on behalf of others. Carter says: “As God’s people we have a responsibility to believe God for the power to find the full purpose that He has for our life!”
Introduction: The Call Not to Faint
I want to bring to you a message I've entitled "A Billion Reasons Not to Give Up."
Galatians 6:9 — just one verse, where the Apostle Paul says, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
The original King James says "if we don't faint." It carries the connotation of somebody running a race — perhaps they get halfway, two-thirds of the way through this long-distance race, and then they just quit. They just stop. Maybe it's pressing through the exhaustion or the pain. There are times that we feel pain and we're exhausted, and we have a tendency to want to draw back from the work that God has entrusted into our hands.
But there's an incredible promise given to us. First of all, there's an admonition: don't grow weary in doing good. For in due season — in the proper time, in God's timing — we will reap if we don't lose heart.
Why Do People Lose Heart?
So the question arises: why do people lose heart? Why do they faint? Why do they quit? People who knew the redemption of Christ. People who have been given the Spirit of God. People who know the truth of God's Word. People who have at least a sense of what our commission is on the earth.
We're not here to live for ourselves any longer. As we teach here in our Bible school, the purest expression of the Christian life is found in living for the benefit of others. That's what our Savior did for us, and we've been commissioned to do that for the sake of others. And while we are on that journey, Jesus Christ promises that he will give us all that we need. He'll give us comfort in times of sorrow. He'll give us his strength in times of weakness. He'll give us his encouragement in times of discouragement. He'll keep us going. He'll keep us running for a divine reason — reaching those that are lost, because that is the mission of Jesus Christ on the earth.
Reason 1: No Vision for the Future
People lose heart because they have no vision for life in the future. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no vision, the people perish. The King James says they cast off restraint. They turn to self-focus, or they become disillusioned. Where there's no vision — what is my life? What is the purpose of my life? What is the purpose of God? Help me to understand why I'm here. When we lose the vision of God for the future of our own lives, it is inevitable that we are going to lose heart.
Reason 2: Constant Complaining
People lose heart when they fall into constant complaining about the present. Psalm 77:3 — the psalmist says, I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.
If you want to sink your own boat — if you want to drill a hole in the bottom of your own boat in the middle of the ocean — start complaining, and your boat's going to fill and you're going to go down. We have to learn not to complain.
Listen, it might be tough, but you're not going to hell. I'm talking to the Christians. It might be tough. I used to say to the choir in New York City: if you're going through hell, just be thankful you're not staying there. You're going through. You're going to come out the other side, and heaven is your eternal home.
There is no guarantee in the Word of God that everything is going to be easy. You're going to be opposed. You have an enemy in this world. There are going to be things said, things done. There's going to be exhaustion, all kinds of things coming your way. But don't fall into complaining. A complainer not only sinks his or her own boat, but they sink everybody else's boat around them.
To me, complaint is the opposite of faith. Complaint is the absence of seeing God. I would rather be an optimist. I would rather live on the side of "it's going to work out," because that's what God says is going to happen.
The Bible does say all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Not some things, or just the things that I like. All things work together for good — the things I like and the things I don't. The day I get up and I feel twenty years old, the day I get up and I feel two hundred years old — all things are still working together for good because I love God and I'm called according to his purpose.
Reason 3: Pain
People lose heart because of pain. Psalm 55:6 — the psalmist says, Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
The pain of betrayal. The pain of constant enemies. The pain of just the difficulties of life in general. Something can come into the heart and say, "God, I want out. I don't want to do this anymore." And we end up on the sidelines. As Paul says to the Galatians, we lose heart. And because we lose heart, we don't reap. It's pretty hard to bring a Savior to somebody else that you don't necessarily want yourself.
Reason 4: Regret
People lose heart because they faint because of regret. Psalm 42:3 — the psalmist says, My tears have been my food day and night.
They regret the life choices they made. They regret the things that were done to them or things that they did to others, or the way they lived or what they did.
I just thank God for the testimony of this young lady. There's no regret there at all. It's just: I'm going on with God. My sins are washed away. My past is buried in the sea. And God put a sign on the shore that says "No Fishing." Nobody can come there. Nobody can dig it up. Nobody can drag me through it. It's gone. It's dead. It's buried. It's over. I walked out of that grave, and I'm living a new life now in Jesus Christ.
Yes, we've all made mistakes. I've made mistakes. You've made mistakes. And if I choose to live there in my mind — if I choose to live with the regrets of the things I did say or didn't say, did do or didn't do — then I'm going to lose heart eventually. I'm not called to live there. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I have a new birthright. I have new life. I have a new future. I have the presence of God dwelling inside this earthly body. I refuse to live in regret for the past.
I did for a season, as a young believer, before I understood that we don't have to live there anymore. I used to make daily crying a part of my prayer. You get to feeling it as holy after a while — going in and just hanging your head and talking about all the things you did or didn't do — until one day the Lord spoke to me.
I was going through my regular crying, and the Lord told me, "Stand up." And I stood up, and He said, "Your tears are an accusation against my faithfulness."
I knew it was the voice of God because it wasn't in my mind to think that way. He said, "I'm going to show you some things in the future. And if you get on your knees and weep one more time over this, I'm going to take that as an accusation against my faithfulness to you."
You're not called to live in regret. You're not called to live in the past. You have a new future. You have a new hope. You have a new life.
Five Reasons Not to Give Up
So people would say, "What can you tell me that would give me a reason not to give up?" Well, I have a billion reasons. I'm not going to tell you the whole billion, but I'm going to give you five, and you can fill in the rest.
Reason Not to Give Up #1: You Know the Truth
Here's why you shouldn't give up: because you know the truth. John 8:32 — Jesus said, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
You know the truth. The freedom might not come in one hour. It might not come in one week or even one year, but it's coming your way. You know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
There's a man called Michael who sent in a prayer request this week. He said: "I need an encounter with Jesus. I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be delivered from besetting sins." For the sake of Michael, and every other Michael in this world who needs to encounter Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be delivered from things he can't get free from — you have a reason not to give up. You have a reason to keep going for Michael's sake and for everybody like him.
Reason Not to Give Up #2: You Know the Healing and Restoring Power of God
Next — you know the healing and restoring power of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
That's the verse that actually won me to Christ. That's the verse that changed my heart and changed my mind. If it were possible to have a new life, if it were possible to get out of this way of thinking and living and doing — God, if that's possible, then I would be a fool to turn this down.
Somebody wrote in a prayer request today anonymously and said: "My son hates me and doesn't care about me. He thinks I don't love him. I love my son dearly. Pray for his salvation and the restoration of our relationship."
You know the healing and restoring power. If you've been walking with God any amount of time, you know it. And in due season, you will reap in bringing that freedom to others if you do not lose heart.
You have to determine in your heart that no matter what comes against you — not for your sake, but for somebody else's sake out there who needs to be saved, whose family is fragmented, who needs to find forgiveness, who needs to know that if they come to Christ they become a new creation — for their sakes, I'm not going to give up. For their sakes, you must not give up. Because in due season, you shall reap if you faint not.
Reason Not to Give Up #3: You Know the Love of a Father
Next — you know the love of a Father. John 3:16 — God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
You know the love of a Father. Whether or not you had it in this world through a natural father, you now know the love of God. And your heart is growing in the grace and knowledge of that love. That perfect love is casting out fear. That perfect love has placed you in the hand of a caring heavenly Father who, Jesus Christ said, will not release you to any power of hell or darkness, but will hold you there until the day he deposits you at the throne of eternity.
But a little girl — a six-year-old called Ruth — sent in a prayer request just yesterday. "Ruth needs to know the love of Jesus and to feel love from those who are in her life." A little six-year-old girl essentially saying, "I need to know that somebody loves me." I can't even fathom a six-year-old writing a prayer request like that.
But I'm telling you — for the sake of every Ruth in this world, I'm going to go forward. I'm not giving up. I'm going to run this race that God has set before me. And I'm going to bring the understanding — not just from my mouth, but from the way I live, from stopping to talk to a child, from caring for these little ones that maybe we sometimes think are just there to be babysat. They're here for much more than that. There are so many children coming into the church of Jesus Christ who are desperate to know: does anybody love me?
In due season, we shall reap if we don't faint.
Reason Not to Give Up #4: You Know Jesus Has the Power to Break Addictions
The next reason is that you know Jesus has the power to break addictions. Luke 4:18 — he said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim liberty to the captives.
You know he has that power. You know he can break every chain. You know he can open every prison door. Yes, there are struggles here and there, but that doesn't change what you know. The power of God sets free from every captivity that can come your way in this world.
A man called Jerry wrote in and said: "Please pray for me. I'm bound by pornography and lust. It's happening every day and it has gotten inside of me." Jerry is now in a place of addiction in his mind and in his life, and he can't get out. But we know there's freedom in Jesus Christ. We know it. And for the sake of every Jerry in this world who is captivated by the things of darkness — we shall reap if we don't faint.
I remember when I was a young police officer. They started asking me to go out and share my testimony. I was asked to go to a prison one time, and I wasn't given much detail about where I was supposed to go. When I got there, I found myself in a room with 700 sex offenders. It was a place I didn't naturally want to be. There was a personal revulsion for some of these things.
And yet I brought the message that there's freedom in Jesus Christ. That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. I told the men in that room: "What you've done is not right, and I'm not trying to make light of anything that brought you into this place. But I'm telling you — if I hadn't found Christ, we all go to the same hell, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." I was able to share that as Christ has forgiven me, so too can you be forgiven.
I gave an altar call, and I can't even count the number of men who came forward to receive Christ as Savior — sobbing, shaking, crying, beginning to rejoice. There's a way out. There's a freedom. There's hope for my life. I don't have to live this way. I don't have to sit in this shame and captivity for the rest of my life. Because Jesus sent me in to proclaim liberty to the captives.
Reason Not to Give Up #5: You Know the Sufferings of This Life Cannot Compare to What's Coming
You know that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will soon be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 — The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Think about Paul for a moment — shipwrecked, beaten, flogged three times to the point of near death, betrayed, swimming in the ocean, all for the gospel of Jesus. Bitten by a snake. Betrayed by friends. Imprisoned and chained between guards. All for the cause of bringing you and me the freedom that we have today.
Thank God he didn't faint. Thank God the Apostle Paul kept on going. Thank God he wasn't somebody who would drop the baton two-thirds of the way through the race and say, "I've had enough of this — let the people find their own way." Even in prison, with maybe one free hand, a parchment, a quill, and some ink, he started writing to his friends. And thank God I'm reading his words. I'm reading the truth that sets us free.
Escaping Self-Focus: The Key to Victory
I have the benefit of escaping self-focus and living for the sake of others. That is the key to victory. It's when we escape ourselves — the desire for our own comforts, our own pleasures, our own aggrandizement, our own sense of success. When we finally escape ourselves, that's when we can begin to live for the sake of others. That's when the power of God comes into your life. It's not about you anymore. It's about the people. It's about the Jerrys. It's about the Ruths.
And it's about Jeremiah — the last person I'll mention — who said: "I am displaced from my son. I'm homeless and I need healing in my body. And I've given up hope and I fear that I might not have much time left." It's for every Jeremiah in this world who's out on the street somewhere, whether he looks homeless or not, who has no hope without you coming across his path.
I pray every morning: "Oh God, make me sensitive to the Holy Spirit. God, don't let me live my days concerned about myself only. Help me to hear your voice. God, you know what people were crying about in their beds last night. You know the tears. You hear the sighs. You know those who are turning to drugs and alcohol for some sense of peace. You know those who are crying out for help and hope. God, I don't — but you do. Would you help me to cooperate with you? Would you make me sensitive?"
I don't think we can hear that voice until we get out of the realm of thinking about ourselves all the time. It is the human dilemma. It's yours and it's mine. It's all about me, myself, and I.
I want to challenge you one day to just count the number of times the word "I" appears in your day, and count the number of times your conversation is about somebody else other than yourself. Just try it. Every time you say "I," "me," "mine" — put a checkmark. And every time your conversation is about somebody else, put a checkmark. It's truly, truly amazing.
A Billion Reasons — and a Billion Souls
Now I've given you five reasons. You have to fill in the 999,999,995 others — the names that are waiting for you to bring the light of salvation into their darkness. Those are the billion reasons why you should never give up.
We're part of a church where our senior pastor, Tim Dilena, has heard from God that the gospel is going to reach one billion people in our generation. That's the goal God has given to him. And let me tell you, the church is well on the way to achieving that. For those who think it's impossible — Billy Graham preached to an estimated one billion people in his lifetime, without the technology we have today.
There's a billion reasons not to give up. There's a billion souls waiting for you and for me. I'm speaking to those online as well — you're writing in prayer requests and I know you have needs, and I don't make light of those needs. But you have a higher calling than just being focused on getting out of your dilemma every week and every day. You have an ache in your body. Maybe you have a financial situation or a family situation. But don't let your mind be narrowed to the point where you're looking through a spiritual keyhole when God has an abundance of things he wants to do through your life.
One of the ways that you get out of captivity is to escape self-focus. When you get away from being focused on yourself all day, suddenly the world opens up. The spiritual world opens up, and you start seeing people all around you who have needs. It's no longer about you.
Don't Give Up — In Due Season You Will Reap
I want to challenge you with all my heart: don't give up. Don't faint. In due season you shall reap if you faint not. In due season. That means at the proper time. In God's time.
Your grandmother was praying for you — I don't know how many years — and when you went into your lifestyles, she probably continued praying. And she died believing that God was going to answer her prayer. In due season, your grandmother reaped because she did not faint. She believed that one day the seed she had sown and the prayers she had prayed would turn you to God. Hallelujah. And it did.
Don't give up. Something has to come into the human heart: "This is it, God — I'm not going to quit. I'm not asking for a life of ease. I know some things may come my way that are difficult. But God, I'm not going to quit. For the sake of others. For the sake of a billion people who need to hear that Jesus Christ died for their sin. For the sake of a billion people who don't have to face an eternity in hell without God — I'm going to go forward."
And the promise I have from the Bible is that I'm going to reap at the appropriate time if I don't give up.
Don't give up. Don't ever give up. Don't ever give in. We have a high calling of God in our lives on this earth. If you want that determination in your heart — coming forward today doesn't mean you're on the edge of giving up. But you will face it one day. If you're not facing it now, you will face it. There will come that temptation to drop the baton, quit the race, just fold in and try to survive to the end of your days. And yes, you'll make it home — you'll get to heaven. But the sad part of that is others won't — others who could have. Because realistically, it's not just about us. It's about others.
Don't give up. Don't faint.