Jump Start # 814

Galatians 6:9 “let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”

Yesterday in our Jump Start we took a look at the faithful few in Sardis who the Lord called worthy. They were not dead like the rest of the church. When we think about the few who are doing what they ought to do, our verse today comes to mind. Paul was encouraging the Galatians to stay with it and to keep doing good.

There are two expressions in this verse that are worth looking at:

First, losing heart. Paul said, “Let us not lose heart.” Luke uses this expression when he wrote, “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). Losing heart means to become discouraged. We might say, ‘my heart is not in it,’ or, ‘I just don’t feel like it.’ Those doing good can get discouraged. They can ‘lose heart.’

Secondly, Paul uses the expression, “weary.” Most understand that word. Tired. This is not so much an outside tired as it is an inside tired. A person who works hard all day will be tired. If you helped someone move and you haven’t lifted much in a while, you feel it the next day. A good night’s sleep is usually the solution to the outside kind of tired. Paul is referring to an inside tired. Weary in heart. Tired of doing good. Tired of always being the one called upon. Tired that no one else seems to step up.

This kind of tired is often called burned out. The toll, stress and energy of working with problems and problemed people wears on some. Leaders need to recognize this among themselves. Elders get tired of chasing after sheep who want to stand next to dangerous cliffs, eat poisoned food, and go a different direction than the flock. The phone calls, the one on one visits, the encouraging, the pleading, the teaching, the reminding, the late nights, the weekends, the many, many hours wears upon them. They become weary in heart. They lose heart.

Preachers can get this way. They wonder on some days if anyone ever listens to what they are saying. They wonder if they are doing any good. Weary to the bone and losing heart fast, some look for quick solutions. Move to another church? Quit?

Parents can feel this way. You work and work with your kids to point them to Jesus. Those sweet little voices that sang, “Jesus loves me,” and said those cute little prayers, can grow up to be sassy teen-agers who think that they know everything. Some of their choices may not be wise, or godly. You teach. You show. You try. You grow weary. Some days you lose heart.

Those that are engaged in the spiritual work of God experience this. This is why Paul wrote this verse. It happened then and it happens today. God’s people get tired on the inside. God’s people lose heart. When those who are engaged get that way, it’s a frightful thing. Who will encourage them? Who will help them? If the preacher gets discouraged, who helps him? Who helps the shepherds when they feel like quitting? Who helps the parent when they want to resign?

Some do quit. Others keep going, however, the intensity and energy is not the same. They are weary. They have lost heart. They do it because there is no one else to take their place. If Mom quits, who will be a mother? If dad says, “I had enough, I no longer will be a dad,” then who takes his place? Paul’s words were intended for the brethren to recognize these things and to remind them that they were making a difference and that their labors were not in vain. Some never see the good that they did. You plant a small tree, you may never enjoy the shade from it, but someone else will.

There is an example we learn from David when he was being chased by king Saul. David had 600 men with him. They returned home to find their families had been kidnapped. That took the heart out of all of them. The men turned against David. Things were bad. There is a passage that states David strengthened himself in the Lord. David did that. He didn’t have someone else encourage him, he encouraged himself.

We do that through prayer. We do that through reading the Scriptures. We do that by reminding us that it is not about us, we are just a tool, it is about the Lord. We do that by seeing the big picture of why we are doing what we are doing.

There are times that there is no one to encourage the parent, the preacher or the shepherd in God’s church. Strengthen yourself. Find ways to overcome the weariness and find your heart again.

Here are a few suggestions that works for me:

• Take a one day vacation—I don’t mean go to Disney. Just take an afternoon off, to get away from things and catch your breath and get back in the fight of things. Coaches rest players so they can be there to finish the game. We need that mentally and emotionally. Take a drive on a nice day…go to a movie…go golfing…do something that takes your mind away for a short time to rest it and to rest yourself. I’m not a nap person, but that works for some. Not everyday. Not for long periods of time. But you know when you are getting weary. You can tell when you are getting discouraged.
• Connect. First with the Lord. Pray about what is going on. I then usually read something from the Gospels. I read about Jesus going to the home of Zaccheus. That was a good thing He did and He got all kinds of grief for that. Jesus seeing the bent over woman in the synagogue, He saw what no one else saw. Spend time looking at Jesus. There is no better battery charger than Jesus.

• Surround yourself with encouragers. That’s what I do. I have a few dear, dear friends that I sometimes just call and we chat. They have a wonderful way of saying the right thing in the right way. Encouragers do just that, they encourage. They build up. They blow the air into your soul that keeps you going. We need them.

• Take a look at what is being done. Reflect. Consider. Good is being done. Remember the people that have been helped. Remember the lives that have changed. In the midst of a battle we tend to forget the big picture of the war. The war must be won. We are fighting for God.

I don’t know if these things will help you, but they do me. Don’t lose heart. Don’t get weary to the point of quitting. Hang in there…

Roger

Jump Start # 528 

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary”

  Doing good is the hallmark of God’s people. One of the core characteristics of Christianity is thinking of others and then engaging in helping others through good deeds. This was first done by Jesus Christ. The Gospels tell us that He went about doing good. So many people benefited from Jesus Christ. The blind were able to see, some for the very first time. The crippled were able to walk. The demon possessed where able to return to a normal life. The lepers were cured. Some even witnessed their dead coming back to life. Many received hope. Many tasted the goodness of God’s grace and were forgiven. The amount of good that Jesus did can never be fully calculated. To this day, we are still talking about it.

  Most people do good to a circle of people—first, their immediate family, and then a few friends. This is common decency of human beings. We babysit, we help others move, we loan, we share, we are there for them. Anything less than that simply isn’t being a nice person.

  Paul’s words extends that circle. The next verse shows that. In verse ten Paul says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially those of the household of faith. All men. Not just the immediate family. Not just my close friends. All men. Neighbors, co-workers, cousins, church members, folks that don’t go to church—all people, any people, every people. Do good. That’s us, do gooders.

  There is something special about touching the life of another. We can spend a few moments doing good for someone that can have a life long effect upon that person. They can be changed, forever, by what you do. I know this, because it happened to me a long, long time ago.

  More than 33 years ago, I was just a young puppy at preaching. I was single and working with a church about an hour away from where I now live. I had less that a dozen sermons under my belt and was trying to learn all this preaching stuff from an older preacher. That church had a guest speaker one Sunday afternoon. It was the only time I met this person in my life, and I do not know if he is even alive today. He had been to Nigeria. He had slides and talked about the work being done there. I was spellbound. I had never thought about such things. I had never heard of such a thing as American preachers going overseas to preach. It was all new to me. I was totally amazed that afternoon. The guest preacher left. I couldn’t get Nigeria out of my mind. Within a week I wrote the guest preacher and asked him for the names of some native Nigerian preachers that spoke and read English. He sent me a list. Most of the names I could not pronounce. One man’s name stood out—his first name was Sunday. I liked that. I wrote Sunday. He wrote back. For more than 33 years we have been writing back and forth. I have sent him dozens and dozens of books, money and anything else that I thought would help him. I have arranged for churches to support Sunday financially. Through Sunday, he has introduced me to many other Nigerian preachers. We have written and I have found ways to help them the best I could. One even named his son after me. I have never been to Nigeria. I tried to go twice but political unrest over there made the trips impossible. Sunday is an old man now. We still write. He has thanked me beyond measure for what I have done through the years. He doesn’t understand that it’s not me, it was some guest preacher a long, long time ago that touched the heart of a very young preacher. Someone opened my eyes and touched my heart. That person did good to me. I never thought that one Sunday afternoon lesson about a far away place called Nigeria would change my life for ever. I never dreamed I would devote all that I have through the years to a people and a place I knew so little about. One Sunday afternoon changed me forever!

  The way things are looking, I probably will never meet Sunday in this world. We have shared pictures with each other. We’ve grown to know and love each other. It doesn’t bother me anymore that we won’t see each other face to face, because I know we’ll meet in the next world. We’ll have a lot to talk about.

 I share this with you, not to boast about what I have done, for it’s really not much, but to illustrate to you that the good you do can change the lives of others. I know as parents we get weary. Keep doing good. I know for some Christians, it seems that you are always inviting folks to your home, you are always teaching classes, making food for others, helping others out. It’d be nice to get a break, but you keep doing it. You get tired. Some things can get costly. But deep down in your heart, you realize that you are doing good. You are making a difference to the life of someone else. Our passage says, “let us not lose heart…” That means, do not get discouraged. Don’t stop. Don’t ever quit. Some won’t thank you. Some may not appreciate it. Some may think you are doing this for a false motive. You know. God knows. And somewhere along the line, you will probably touch a heart that may make a difference for ever. You may never know about it—but it’s there. Most preachers would admit that one reason they decided to preach was that they were influenced in a positive way by an older preacher along the way. That’s just the way these things work.

  That good that you do may continue on and touch others that you will never know about. The good that you do can cross the globe to far away places. So don’t get weary. Don’t give up. The letters you write…the bulletins you mail to others…the sermon CD’s that you pass along…even these Jump Starts that you email to others…are doing good and they may go far beyond what you ever know or realize.

  Did I ever tell that guest preacher from long ago what he did to me and what I have been able to do because of his influence? No. I never did. I probably should have. God knows. Out there somewhere is a young preacher…a sweet teenager…a new couple…a new parent that can use your good. They need your help. You are the very one that can make a difference. Your example can change their lives forever. The good you do can lead someone else to doing a lifetime of good for others.

  It happened once, and I know it can happen again.

  Let us not lose heart in doing good…

  Roger

Jump Start # 351 

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” 

  Paul’s instructions to the Galatians is very helpful for us. It reminds us that in all that we do we need to make time to do good for others. The next verse in this passage says, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

  Christians are those that do good. In Titus we read that we are to be engaged in doing good deeds. Christianity is a roll up your sleeves and do good for others. This demonstrates our love for them and it shows that we are compassionate and care about others. I fear that many have turned Christianity into a thinking religion, where we talk and speculate and discuss and debate but in the end nothing much is accomplished. Doing good doesn’t have to be big and fancy. It can be helping an older Christian out of their car. It can be sharing your umbrella with someone as you walk into a building. It can be baking some cookies and taking them to a neighbor. It can be helping someone move by loading boxes in a truck. It can be taking a college kid out to eat. It can be visiting a patient in the hospital during your lunch break. It can be buying a Bible for someone who doesn’t have their own. The list of good that can be done is long.

  But in all of this we must realize that there is a proper way of doing good to others. First, when someone does good for another, they don’t have to tell others what they did. That’s bragging and that kills the spirit of doing good. Secondly, the person that you did good to should not feel like they are in debt to you now. The payment is a “thank you.” Thirdly, the motive of doing good, is simply to help. Jesus did good, and so should His people. Fourthly, do good on your own. Some can’t seem to do anything without getting a group involved, making announcements in church and making a big thing about it. Just go and do good on your own. Don’t ask the church to repay you for your expenses, that’s tacky and in some ways not even Biblical.

  Doing good takes time, money and effort on your part. It means I have to not be so busy with my life that I can help others. Most won’t ask, which means you have to have open eyes to see the good deeds that can be done. Some will walk right by things and others will see a need and get about it. Most of us have had others help us out some where along the way. And even if we haven’t, this is what God wants, and this is what Paul is writing.

  Now, there is one more aspect of doing good that Paul addresses in our verse today. Do not lose heart, later he states, do not grow weary. Both of those expressions carry the idea of being tired. Not tired from physical work, but tired on the inside. Emotionally drained. Discouraged. Jesus told the disciples not to lose heart and to pray instead (Lk 18:1). The good that we do can be ruined by the spirit we do it in. Some complain while doing good. Some want to give the person they’re helping a sermon, and generally it’s not a nice sermon. When that happens, the person has become weary. They need to stop, refocus, get their attitude in shape, pray to the Lord and then get back at it. Some get so weary that they quit. “I always do it,” they say, “and now I’m not doing any more. Someone else can.” That’s the voice of a weary person.

  Paul says don’t do that. We can be overcome by trying to do it all. No one can. We can take on too much and feel our selves pulled in many directions. But the heart of a church is the care, compassion and the good that is done by the members. This is how we feel connected. We need each other. We help each other. We are there for each other. It may be our turn to help this time. The next time, they may be coming to help me. That’s how it works.

  The Galatians needed to be reminded of these things. Don’t forget is what the apostle is telling them. There are things you can do. People need you. Get about it and do it with the right spirit.

  We, too, need to be reminded of these things. The ole’ selfish spirit rises up in us from time to time and we want to be served instead of serving. We must fight that. We must realize that the folks need me and I need to get busy at those things.

Roger