JRM Sison Chapter - Teachings

     Before a person can hold on to the promise of God, he must have the promise. Before he will have the promise of God, he must be blessed. Before he will be blessed, be must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Let me ask you, who was the most blessed person mentioned in the Bible? It was Mary (the mother of Jesus) for the following reasons:
          a.     The angel, Gabriel, came to her and declared it (Luke 1:28).
          b.     The Holy Ghost filled Elisabeth that she spoke out with a loud voice (Luke 1:42).
          c.     She was a woman and women during those times were not treated equally with men.
          d.     She was the carrier of the prophesied Saviour.
          e.     She conceived by the Holy Spirit yet remaining a virgin.

     Let us consider Mary’s life, an unusual, supernatural yet prophesied event. She was blessed among women. Let me direct you to the word blessed. What does it mean to be blessed? We know that Mary obtained God’s grace that she was favored among other women. But at to what extent was she blessed on this area? According to Scripture, Mary accepted the Child as God’s Only Begotten Son. She knew that what she was carrying is the promised Saviour. She knew that the Father of the Child was God through the Holy Spirit.

FACTS ABOUT MARY AND CHRISTIANS ALIKE

I.     Denying Jesus Unknowingly
          Mary nurtured the Child in her womb with the help of her husband, Joseph. She gave birth and God has blessed them still. The favor of God and man was with them.

          We don’t have any biblical account what happened between the years since the birth of Christ to the baptism by John the Baptist aside from the one found in Luke 2:42-49; where Jesus was found with the doctors (of law) of the temple, questioning and answering. Mary, when she found Jesus after three days of searching, made one terrible mistake; she denied the deity and ministry of Jesus. She spoke that she and His father (Joseph) were seeking Him. Jesus rebuked and reproved her that He was doing His Father’s business.

          In the span of time, Mary forgot who Jesus was. She forgot why she was blessed. She forgot what the angel, Gabriel, told her.
          We are like Mary, who received Christ as our God and Saviour. But in the span of time, as the years have gone by being Christians, what have become of Jesus in our lives? Have we diminished His godhood in our lives that we treat Him as an ordinary person? Note that even if Jesus was Mary’s Son, He still is God’s Son. And even if Jesus is our Friend, He still is our Lord.

II.     Tempting the Lord
          In John 2:1-11, Jesus attended a marriage in Cana of Galilee with His mother and disciples. When the wine was all-spent, instead of going to a wine-shop, she turned to Jesus. Was Jesus a drunk that He knew where to buy wine? Was Jesus a wine’s master or wine-seller because Mary said to Him, “They have no wine”? Was Jesus a delivery boy or a distributor of wine?

          These passages demonstrated Jesus’ first miracle that was not timely; for Jesus Himself have said, “Mine hour is not yet come”. It is like Jesus was telling Mary, “It is not yet My will”. But instead of listening to Jesus, she made Him make wine.

          Sometimes, in time of difficulties and stress, we pray to God and ask of Him not according to His will but our will. We forgot that Jesus had things under control. What we see is quite different from what God sees. Thus, we begin to become impatient because our wine is all-spent and we need that refill immediately; we begin to hurt our Lord. We begin to become His masters rather than His servants.

III.     Abuse of Authority
          Luke 8:19-21 illustrates about the mother and brethren of Jesus. The situation was this; Mary and her children desired to see Jesus in the middle of His ministry. But what Jesus said have amazed me, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”

          As Christians, we become arrogant and boastful sometimes because of our position with God (sons of God and friends of Jesus). We begin to exert our authority and forgot the important things that must be done. Like Mary and her children, we forgot to hear His words but if we do hear His words, we have not done them.

IV.     Believing Unbelievers
          In John 7:1-5, Jesus was persecuted not only by the Pharisees or Sadducees that sought Him but also by His brethren. Verse 5 was very clear about the faith of His brethren (For neither did His brethren believe in Him).

          We, as Christians, sometimes persecute Christ unknowingly. We question Him wrongfully. Just because He treated us not as servants but friends, we begin to speak biblical things that become thorns and thistles on Jesus. Unknowingly, Christians are flogging Jesus using words of God used in selfish ways. Instead of loving Him, we begin to hurt Him.

                                                                         WHAT THEN MUST WE DO?

     We were trying to define the word blessed awhile ago. In Luke 11:27, a certain woman lifted up her voice and said “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked”. She was pertaining to the mother of Jesus, Mary. But Jesus answered in v. 28, “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it”. Thus, blessedness is about hearing the word of God, and keeping it (doing it). Mark 12:29-31 clearly states the commandments of Jesus. Verse 29 talks about knowing God; it speaks about our devotion, our communion with God. Time and time again, I have stated that you can never trust someone you don’t love; you can never love someone you don’t know. Thus, to be able to trust someone, you have to know him more. The reason why devotion is very important is we aim to know God; to love Him more. The more we love Him, the more we trust in Him. Verse 30 talks about our daily walk of worship with the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:31 states that whatsoever we do, we do it all for the glory of God. Thus, loving God is abiding in His presence and His word (John 15:7). Verse 31 talks about loving our neighbors. But how could we love them? Matt 28:19-20 illustrates our Great Commission. We GO, PREACH, BAPTIZE, & DISCIPLE. But before we could ever do that, we need to let our light so shine before them, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

     Brethren, we are blessed by God if we hearken unto the commandments of God. Don’t be deceived by the enemy who sends wrong information to divert our faith. Keep on going on… Keep on keeping on. Fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Remain steady on your devotion. Know God, love God, trust God and remember…

                                                                HOLD ON TO THE PROMISES OF GOD!!!

                                                                                Have a blessed day…