The central theme of this discourse revolves around the imperative notion that persistence is a manifestation of faith in action, encapsulated in the exhortation that we must not relinquish our efforts, for our harvest is assured at the appointed time. The narrative draws upon the metaphor of a farmer who, despite experiencing frustration and doubt during the seemingly barren months, ultimately forfeits his impending bounty merely days before its emergence. This serves as a poignant reminder that patience in the face of adversity is not futile; rather, it is a necessary period of growth and preparation. The discussion further elucidates biblical examples of figures such as Abraham and Joseph, who endured prolonged trials, underscoring that time is not the adversary, but rather the act of surrendering hope. As we delve into this message, we are encouraged to recommit to our aspirations and to steadfastly declare, "My harvest has a due date."

Takeaways:

• Perseverance in faith is essential; our commitment to not quitting is paramount.
• The waiting period is an opportunity for growth, developing resilience and maturity in our faith.
• Every testimony of triumph is birthed from trials, as preparation precedes the promise.
• Understanding that God's timing is perfect helps us remain steadfast during periods of waiting.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up.

Galatians 6:9 last week we established this Anything is possible.

But it starts with asking God.

We learn that prayer is the door.

Vague prayers get vague results.

And the prayer you don't pray is a miracle you don't receive.

In this message, in this series, anything is possible.

We take the next step because asking is not enough.

You also have to hold on.

I want you to think about a farmer who plants his seed in October.

November comes nothing.

He checks the ground, he waters.

Still nothing.

By December, he is now frustrated.

His neighbor Yao tells him, man, maybe those seeds are no good.

Maybe you wasted your money.

So the farmer takes a spade and digs up the ground, and he pulls out the seeds.

Two weeks later, the neighbor's field is full of green shoots pushing up through the soil.

The farmer is standing in an empty field.

He abandoned his harvest three days before it was about to appear.

That farm has many of us, brothers and sisters.

We prayed, we believed, we planted, and then right before the breakthrough, we quit.

The miracle you're waiting for is being built in the waiting.

Let us not become wary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up.

Galatians 6:9 tells us this now.

Paul is writing to people who are tired, people who started well but are running out of steam.

He does not tell them their harvest is cancelled.

He tells them their harvest has a proper time and due season.

The harvest is not gone, the harvest is not lost.

The harvest is growing underground where nobody can see it yet.

James 1, 3, 4 takes it further.

He says, the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance has to finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

In other words, the waiting is doing something in you that the blessing alone could not do.

Persistence is not just endurance.

It is an act of faith.

Holding on is how you tell God, I believe their harvest is coming.

Some may say, I've been waiting for years.

How long is too long?

At some point you have to be realistic.

Now, Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac.

Joseph waited 13 years from the pit to the palace, and David was anointed king and waited over a decade before the throne was his.

None of them experienced a delay that cancelled the promise.

Time is not your enemy.

Quitting is your enemy.

Identify one area, brothers and sisters, where you have been tempted to give up this week instead of quitting.

Double down, pray about it again.

Speak the promise over it again.

Hold on now.

Here are some main points for this.

Persistence.

Persistence is faith in motion.

Point 1.

Persistence is faith in motion.

When you keep going in the face of resistance, you are not being stubborn, you are being making a declaration.

I trust God more than I trust my circumstances.

Persistence is not wishful thinking.

It is active, deliberate, faith filled endurance.

It says, I have prayed, I have planted and I will not leave this field.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Now, a student who studies every day for an exam they have not written yet is not delusional.

They are persistent.

They are investing in a result they cannot see.

That is practically what persistence and prayer looks like.

Persistence is not weakness pretending to be strong.

It is faith refusing to fail.

2.

The test before the testimony.

Nobody gives a testimony about something that came easily.

Think about it.

Every great testimony in the Bible came through a great trial.

The trial is not punishment.

The trial is preparation.

God is building your capacity to steward the blessing that is coming.

You cannot carry a harvest if you're not strong enough to hold it.

James 1, 3, 4.

Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Before a surgeon operates, they train for years.

Before a pilot flies, they do hundreds of simulator hours.

The difficulty before the destiny is what prepares you for the responsibility of the destiny.

God is not torturing you in the waiting.

He is training you.

Can I get an amen?

The test is not the end of your story.

The test is the beginning of your testimony.3.

Prosperity has a due season.

Galatians 6, 9 says at the proper time.

The word proper in the Greek kairos it means the appointed, a strategic perfect time.

Not your time.

God's time.

And God's time is not always exact.

The harvest is not early and it's not late.

It is due when the kairos moment comes.

What you have been holding on for will come in a volume you cannot control.

Ecclesiastes 3, 11.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

A woman who is nine months pregnant knows the baby is coming.

She does not know the exact hour, but she does not go to the hospital and say, I have been carrying this child long enough.

I am going home without a baby.

She waits because she knows the due date is real.

Don't quit.

Your harvest has a due date.

Some of you are one prayer away from a Breakthrough.

Some of you are one week away from the shift.

Some of you are one faithful step away from the harvest.

But you are thinking about quitting today.

Don't give the enemy the satisfaction of watching you walk away from your own miracle.

Not maybe it will happen, but at the proper time it will happen.

Not if you endure, but when you endure.

Not perhaps a harvest, but a harvest guaranteed for those who do not give up.

How many of you have been waiting longer than you expected?

How many of you are tired but still believing?

How many of you have almost let go, but something inside you says hold on.

Here are some applicable lessons for us.

Write down one thing you have been waiting on and right next to it.

My harvest has a due date.

Refuse to make permanent decisions about temporary delays in moments of discouragement.

Read the stories of Abraham, Joseph and David.

Let their patience teach you and let their patience preach to you.

Find someone who is also waiting and encourage them.

This week your words are persistent.

Things may be exactly what they need.

Guard your mouth.

Stop declaring defeat over a harvest you have not seen.

Here's some reflection.

More reflection.

Questions for us.

What have you been close to abandoning that God has not released for you from do you believe God's timing is better than your timing?

Or just in theory?

How are we stewarding the season of waiting?

Are you growing or shrinking?

What would it look like to hold on in a practical sense this week?

If God were to grant the breakthrough tomorrow, would you be ready to steward it this week?

Recommit to the thing you were close to abandoning?

Write a declaration.

I will not quit before my harvest comes.

Galatians 6:9 Every morning speak it over your situation.

And when the enemy whispers, nothing is changing your answer.

My harvest has a choice due date and I am not leaving this field.

Let us pray.

Father, we are tired, but we are not finished.

We come before you today to renew our commitment to the promise you have spoken over our lives.

Forgive us for the moments we doubted you.

Forgive us for the times we almost quit.

Today we choose to hold on.

We choose to trust the due season.

We say to everything we have been believing.

We are not walking away from you.

God sustain us in waiting.

Build our character through the process.

And when the kairos moment arrives, let us be ready to receive everything you have prepared.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

You know what the enemy's favorite word is?

Quit.

He doesn't need to beat you, he just needs to convince you to walk off the field.

As for the final, don't give him the game that way.

Now somebody say due date.

Just say judith.

That's not the pregnancy.

That's a faith.

Your miracle has a due date if it's in God's calendar right now.

It's in God's calendar right now with the circle around it.

And we have more patience for Netflix buffering than we do for God with Will.

Watch that little loading circle for five minutes without moving.

But if God doesn't answer in five days, we're questioning everything.

Let's have Netflix faith.

It's loading.

It's coming.