JRM Sison Chapter - Teachings - God Finishes What He Begins

Trust is an easy word to cross and say but a hard one to keep and to tend. The preaching for today focuses on trust, not only to God but also to others and especially oneself.

In all our lives as Christians, we ask and pray to our God our petitions and declare to God and to everyone the things that we are expecting. But what if somebody will say to you, say your spouse or a loved one, that God has spoken that you will receive what you are expecting/declaring/raising to and from the Lord. What will be your reaction?

Let’s focus on the Bible. Many characters in the Bible that you will see expects greatly from the Lord. One of them is Abraham who with Sarah expects to have a child. Another is Elizabeth who asks for a boy. Another is Hannah.

Open your Bibles in the book of Judges chapter 13. On that chapter, the Israelites were delivered unto the hands of the Philistines (due to their unholy acts upon the Lord). Let us, for this moment, immerse in that chapter and dwell on the situation on the characters that we will know. There is this certain man whose name is Manoah whose wife is barren and unable to bear a child. Consider that these couples are God-fearing children of God and they were praying to have a child. Why did I say that they were God-fearing? Due to the fact that the angel of the Lord appeared to the wife and told that she will have a son and he even instructed the woman about the things she will do.

Now, as the angel left, she rushed toward her husband, Manoah, and told what happened. But Manoah didn’t believe what his wife told him. Why? Because they prayed again to God if they could meet with the angel again and that he himself will see the angel, hear what he has to say, talk with him, and feel his presence. Because God has chosen them for a purpose higher than our thoughts and theirs, He allowed the angel to come back and meet with them.

The angel met with Manoah’s wife for the second time. But Manoah was not there. So, she asked the angel to wait for them because she will fetch her husband. The angel agreed and waited while she rushed to the fields to get her husband.
As they met with the angel, Manoah (still with his doubt) asked if he was the same angel that talked with his wife. He also asked what was the instruction he gave her. And he even asked the angel’s name. (Talk about pure unbelief.)

After giving the burnt offerings and the meat offering, the angel went back to heaven. And Manoah, instead of rejoicing, feared what will happen to them. He believed that they will die because they have seen God and that nobody can see God face-to-face else they die because of their sins. His wife rebuked him. In verse 23, But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. She was telling Manoah that what God started, He will finish.

In Philippians 1:6, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. God who has begun a good work in us will finish it till the day our Lord Jesus Christ’s return.

THREE TRUTHS ABOUT GOD’S WORK

Salvation is only a beginning.
     In Ephesians 2:8-10, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. It means that we were saved by God for a purpose. When we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we were saved and we know where we will go if we die right this very moment. If it is the will of God to save us only, then the moment we received Jesus Christ He should have taken us to heaven immediately. But that was not the case. We were saved to do something. And what is that something? To do good works for God. Salvation, thus, is God’s purpose for us that we might do something for Him.

Events of Life are only the beginning.
     Ever thought why in the events of our lives, we are still alive? Can you think of a situation where you were in an accident and you survived? Or in a situation that you will die but managed to remained unharmed? Brethren, God wants something to give you. But remember, if much is given, much is expected. We survived disasters, accidents for the fact that God wants us to do something for Him. There is a purpose for our survival. The mere fact that we wake up every morning, God still has a purpose. Surviving the storms of life is only the beginning.

Learning is only a beginning.
     Matthew 4:4 states that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This means that our spiritual food is God’s Word or the Bible. Have you ever thought why we eat plenty every morning and eat less during evening? The fact that we are going to need energy to fulfill our daily activities, we need to eat more so that our bodies can burn some fats. If we don’t eat then we become weak. But on the other hand, if we don’t work when we eat too much, we still become weak. If you keep on reading the Bible and keep it to yourself, you are no different with a pig that eats and sleeps and don’t do anything else. The reason we need every word from the mouth of God is because we need it and we are GOING to need it! Let’s put it plain and simple, we learn more about God to tell about God. Our purpose of learning is not about bragging but about evangelizing.

     My friends, remember that if God has began a good work in you, he is going to finish it. And note that in Proverbs 10:22, The blessings of the Lord, it maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow with it.

     God bless…