When Jesus Left The World: The dilemma of saying 'Goodbye" to friends

When Jesus Left The World                                  by Kelly Durant 4-30-17

Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

2. Have you seen a new advertisement about a web company, a site where you can post things to sell called, ‘Let Go’? You might see a person holding on to some old amplifier or machine taking up space in the house for years not being used and then it is offered for sale and then someone out of nowhere comes to buy it.

This simple commercial represents many things in life. Sometimes we hold onto too tightly to many things but then there comes a time when we have to just ‘let go’ and accept the fact that we no longer can keep holding onto the past.

As humans, we tend to hoard and collect too much stuff. We also as humans have a hard time moving on to seeing new horizons. Are you familiar with the phrase that says something like this, ‘In order to see new lands you have to be willing to say goodbye to the shore you are leaving’?

3. This is a difficult subject. Everyone by now knows we have a new appointment and that we are leaving Hialeah and it is not easy at all! It is easier to let go of stuff that it is to let go of people! But always remember that every time God knows what he is doing when a change comes. We love you and will miss you!

Changes are difficult and we are reminded that we are not always in control of everything. Do you recall this verse, Matthew 5:36 ‘Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black’? No matter how hard I concentrate my hair will not change back from grey to brown, so whether we like it or not we cannot stop all that happens to us in this life. We live in a fallen, decaying world and kids grow up, and people pass on to the next life.

I think I must have been 2 or 3 years old when I found out that no matter how loud I yelled and cried in the store, if mama wasn’t going to buy ice cream for me there was nothing I could do about. All our lives we discover over and over that some things may go as we want and others will not. God has His plans for us, and we have our plans for ourselves, and others have their plans for us, but life can only be lived well by allowing God to take us where we need to go. And many times we do not understand it at all but we will one day, if not on earth in heaven.

4. My wife and I have had to say goodbye to our loved ones and friends too many times in our lives! Remember that even before the Salvation Army we moved around a few dozen times. We do have deep holes of sadness and joy in our heart remembering our friends in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Atlanta, and many places. We would love to have them and you with us all our lives but it is not possible.

What is wonderful though is that from time to time we are able to see a few friends in Atlanta or at some camp, but it is not the same, it is hard to catch up on years gone by when you only have a few minutes to chat. Thank God for heaven because there we will be able to spend eternity together and we will finally be able to hear the complete story of everyone’s life, not just parts, and that is fascinating to me. I thank God for your lives and how we know you.

I remember very well the first shepherds or pastors I had in Oklahoma that helped me learn the Bible and prepare me for mission work. I only knew them for about 9 months but when I had to say goodbye to them to go to the mission field I cried a lot as they prayed over me saying goodbye. I use to never cry but the experience of being loved, and the fact that one has learned to love by someone teaching you God’s word, is invaluable! It is emotional. God’s love takes away our stone hearts and gives us a heart of frail flesh that can feel love and give love!

5. So at age 21 I got my first taste of what it is like to have to say goodbye to your mentors, to your brothers and sisters in Christ. And I said goodbye to my mother! I was afraid, I thought I would not make it, but what I discovered is God will always put good people in your path. In God’s work I have never lacked for friends who loved and cared for me and my family. No matter who you have close to you, you always learn to get along and do the mission God has for you.

Do you ever wonder what happens to your friends after you leave a place? There is nothing more satisfying than to hear that one of your friends went on to do good things for God and others. Some of our kids in Atlanta are Cadets now! Not everyone has the calling to move around, not everyone can be Officers or missionaries, but we always respect what everyone can do for God. Each person has great value when living governed by love and holiness. We are always made happy remembering our friends that we got to share at least a few years together.

Each of God’s children are important to him and God wants you to do great things for Him. Never think that the mission is over just because you have to say goodbye to your Captains or pastors, it only means that your mission is just starting! New is always different, but we adjust and then all becomes well.

6. What did Jesus say right before he ascended into heaven? 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. There is nothing more I could add to that!

What Jesus is saying, and all of what we can say when we say goodbye is that we hope that our legacy is this, that we taught you do obey God’s Word to do the mission God has for you. And this verse is very meaningful to me because what Jesus saying to you and me is that ‘He is with you and me always, even to the end of the world.’ That means not just until we die, but until the very end of everything!

Jesus is absolutely real; when we pray, when we are in danger, when we study God’s Word, it is then we can sense His presence still here. He is still here and alive and His Holy Spirit moves in us. It really doesn’t matter that this world is degrading into hell, Jesus is with us to the very end and He has the salvation of our souls in His power and all that really matters that He saves and has a heavenly place for us. There is a line in the hymn of “A might fortress is our God” that says, ‘Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever!’ These words are powerful!

7. One way we experience the love of Jesus is by loving each other. That is Jesus legacy.  John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” It really does change you when you are loved by someone! I have given love and I have been loved back hundreds of times by so many, no matter the culture. Jesus in us is powerful when we connect by His love!

If there is a take away from what we have taught everyone, we pray that it is obedience to Jesus: that you learned how to love, you learned how to be humble, to get hit on the cheek and roll with the punch, and that you learned of your importance to God so you serve Him and others with all your heart in holiness.

I was thinking about it, in 8 years if you multiply an approximate 50 times a year you have heard me and my wife preach, it means that you have heard an approximate 400 sermons! And the amount of hours spent together on Weds., Fridays, Sundays, and at camps or on visitation implies a few thousand hours of our lives spent with most of you! All of this time, and the experiences through the good and bad times, is an unforgettable treasure we are very thankful for! 

8. Here is something to consider, that you and I are never alone, Jesus brought God’s Spirit into the world in His absence, and everyone can receive from Him and we all share that together. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

I have found it amazing that so many times when you are witnessing to someone, counseling, or praying, it often seems like God puts the words in your mouth. You are amazed thinking, where did that come from? How did I remember all of that to say? Wow, that’s God’s wisdom in me! It comes from the Holy Spirit! So many times we experience Jesus guiding you and me, agreed? We get guidance direct when pastors are not nearby to rely on, so this is a great advantage.

So no matter who your pastors are, Jesus is there, the Holy Spirit is there, and you are never alone in this Christian life. That is what I always have loved about serving God; you are never alone, someone will be there for you, at least a few.

9. Everyone deserves our love and respect and we have given it and received it! We forgive as Jesus taught, and you do as well. You know as time goes by one usually forgets anything bad about the person, and all you recall is the good, or at least I am that way. How amazing is our God of love, amen?

Real friends who love one another as Jesus taught have the supernatural Holy Spirit with them all the time. Real friends never forget the good and remain friends all their lives! If we get to see you again 6 months from now, or only 6 years from now, we trust that our love and connection will be as it is today!

Memorize this beautiful promise of Jesus Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Jesus will return for us all and we all will share heaven together! I can’t wait for the day we are united with Jesus and all our loved ones!