JRM Sison Chapter - Teachings - It's Hard to Say Goodbye

There is a song that says, “The Trouble with Hello is Goodbye.” For the first time I heard that phrase, I thought to myself, “What a ridiculous line!” But if we analyze it well, oh how true is its meaning. Truly that the hardest part of hello is goodbye. Let us explain it with some examples. If a man will take a wife, they have to leave their parents (Gen. 2:24). Both of them have to say hello to married and independent life then say goodbye to their dependent life. Another example would be a family that is moving to another province, leaving their comfortable home. They have to say goodbye to their former place in order to say hello to their new place.

TWO KINDS OF LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

I.     Believing the Faith

          A.     Carnal Living - The perfect example here would be Lot’s wife. God planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to their sinful living. God tried to save the remaining family of Lot (his wife and two daughters) by allowing them to escape before He rained fire and brimstone from heaven. The problem: Lot’s wife (whose name was Edith, according to Jewish folk lore) looked back and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Lot’s wife couldn’t say goodbye to her carnal life; she was used to it and leaving Sodom was like leaving a part of her life.

     Most Christians act this way. They believed Jesus Christ as God and Saviour but just couldn’t leave their sinful nature. They go to church every Sunday, attend prayer meetings and other church activities but couldn’t throw their sinful habits aside. We call them carnal Christians.

          B.     Proud Life - Judas Iscariot was chosen to betray Jesus. But even though he betrayed God’s begotten Son, he was allowed to return to his faith. But he maintained his life of betrayal. He allowed himself to be corrupted and lived a life of misery. He was too proud to return. If he acted like how Peter acted then it would have been a different ending for him, instead of having a horrible death (Acts 1:18) he could have lived serving God.

     Christians often fall like Judas Iscariot. When they start feeling that they are causing others to stumble with their faith, they began to shrink away from their own faith. They start to believe that they are hopeless and that no matter what they do, they just couldn’t make things right. We call these kinds of Christians as proud Christians.

          C.     Riches versus Sacrifice - Matthew 19:16-24 tells of a rich man who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. When Jesus said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. He couldn’t sacrifice his riches over service. He wanted to have both. But Jesus has clearly stated in Matthew 6:24, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Thus, to follow Jesus is to live a life of sacrifice. But isn’t it that Jesus wanted to give us a more abundant life (John 10:10)? Yes, but the Lord doesn’t want us to glory with our riches in every victory but glory in His name. Once we give Him glory, once we honour His name, once we bless Him then riches, and honour, and life will follow (Proverbs 22:4).

     There are Christians who attend the church but shy away from responsibility because they felt that their riches and position are being threatened by fulfilling their ministry. We call these kinds of Christians as greedy Christians.

II.     Living the Faith

          A.    Leaving Comfort (family, finances, security) - One perfect example would be Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). God ordered Abraham to leave his father, his country, and his kindred. Abraham was ordered to leave the comfort and security of home. And what did God offer? It was a promise. God never presented it to him as a tangible thing but God as a promise, a promise of hope. God promised Abraham four things:
               ·     he will be a great nation
               ·     he will be blessed
               ·     his name will be great
               ·     he not only be a channel but also a source of blessing.
Abraham followed God’s order because he doesn’t believe on his faith but he lives on his faith. He knew that God will see him through. He knew that through leaving his past could he gain his future.

     God has special plans for us. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jer 29:11)”.

     Peter is also a good example. While Judas Iscariot lived in his decision of betrayal, Peter returned to Jesus from denying Him thrice. It is fascinating to note that Peter was a big talker but a big sissy. He was a coward in every angle. If you trace his fellowship with Jesus, he was the one with the most talk but the least faith. Though he was a coward, he became bold in his ministry upon his return. He said goodbye to his past life and said hello to his life with Jesus Christ. He became so bold that when he first spoke to a huge crowd, three thousand souls were saved (Acts 2:41). Note the power of saying goodbye to one’s sinful life; how it transforms a man of shame to a man of honour.

     “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12)

          B.     Leaving Position (royalty, nobility, honour) - In the book of Exodus, there is one character that was used by God not because of one’s fame and fortune but on God’s wisdom. God had chosen Moses to become the tool to save Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Moses lived a life of peace and happiness in the land of Midian, with his wife (Zipporah) and family, living a life of a shepherd. But God had chosen him. And for Moses to be used fully by God, he has to say goodbye to the comfort of Midian and say hello to a life of servant-hood. And because of his faith, as stated in Exodus 7:1, “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” Truly that through living a life of faith, God’s image and likeness will be reflected in our lives.

          C.     Leaving Everything - The only perfect example here would be God’s begotten Son, Jesus Christ. If we try to imagine it, the Son was living a life of grandeur, joy and peace. Then God asked the Son, “Can you go to earth and stay there for thirty-three years? And after that can you be crucified for their sake?” If you were in Jesus’ shoes, what will you do? Will you leave everything and live a life of simplicity, hardships, sorrow, tears, pain, rejection, crucifixion and death? Will you subject yourself to your own creation; be mocked by them, insulted, hurt and rejected? Will you allow your creation to bring you lower than their level? Can you leave a life of eternal comfort, to trade it with thirty-three years of misery and pain?

     Jesus did. He said yes to His Father and was obedient till death. He lived a life of mortality, denying His life of comfort. He lived a life of service, denying a life of being served. He lived a life that physically dies at the cross. God was manifest in the flesh to take away the sins of the world. God was manifest in the flesh to be beaten, scourged, crowned with thorns, humiliated, and rejected. God was manifest in the flesh to drag a heavy cross in a near-death state. God was manifest in the flesh to be nailed at the cross, pierced at the side. God was manifest in the flesh to save you and me. Who else can do that except our Lord Jesus Christ? He left everything for you and me.

     Brethren, we are invited by God to be with Him. It is time to say hello to God and goodbye to our sinful nature; allow the Holy Spirit to move in your life and let us follow Jesus; let us leave everything in His hands and allow Him to move in our lives, our families, our jobs, our businesses, our everything. God blesses those who bless Him. Let us honour God by subjecting ourselves to Him and claim that we are no longer children of the world but we are already children of our living God.