I remember about 10 years ago I was helping to load a full length flatbed trailer with haybales. I was on the ground with two of my boys while the farmer was on the truck. I hadn't worked that hard physically in quite a while and by the time we were on the top layer, my arms felt like jelly and I found myself with my head sagging. I no longer looked up, I just kept picking up the next bale and tossing it on the elevator. The only thing that kept me going was a little pride, a sense of duty, and most of all, the knowledge that the end was in sight.
Can you relate to times like that, when you can barely keep going and it was only the knowledge that there was an end in site that kept you going? What about those times when you don't see an end? What about those times where the struggle goes beyond physical? Maybe it is emotional or psychological. Maybe it is spiritual and impacts all of your life. What keeps you going?
In Revelation 3, we find the letter to the church of Philadelphia. Not PA, but ancient Philly in what is now modern day Turkey. They were a small, faithful church that knew what it was like to be opposed while doing good, but so far, they hadn't given up. God sent a message to them that encouraged and strengthened them. He gives them hope for the now and told them what was in store for the future. His message to them has much in it for us today, also. I trust you will find it encouraging as we study it together in this message.
