00:00Hello everyone, it's a blessing to be here with you all today and look into the wonderful Word
00:04of God. I'm not going to waste no time. We're going to go ahead and dive into the text. If
00:09I
00:09had a title for today's message, I would call it The Pain of Goodbye, When Love Doesn't End
00:16the Way You Hoped. Oh, have you ever had a relationship that you loved or someone that
00:24you really cared for? And it didn't end the way you hoped it would. One of the hardest
00:30lessons in love is learning that you can care deeply about someone without having the power
00:36to determine whether they stay. In our text today, we're looking at people that love Paul.
00:46Paul was preaching in Ephesus for three years, ministering in Ephesus for three years. He was
00:52around them while preaching and teaching the Word of God. And they had affections for Paul,
00:58but their affections could not prevent Paul from departure. Paul told them that he was about to
01:05leave them and these believers wept because Paul mattered. And they accompanied him to the ship
01:11while he was leaving. Sometimes genuine love means expressing what is in our hearts while allowing
01:19another person to continue on your journey. I want to express to you what you mean to me,
01:25but I will let you continue on your journey. I really wish you could stay, but I do understand.
01:32Hallelujah. I want to talk about the posture of farewell today. And when he had thus spoken,
01:39he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore and fell on Paul's neck and kissed
01:45him,
01:46sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they should see his face no more. And they
01:53accompanied him unto the ship. So I want to talk about the posture of farewell. The Bible said that
02:00they prayed together. I got to calm down. When he had thus spoken, he knelt down and prayed with them
02:07all. Oh, this farewell was marked by prayer. Oh, before they separated, they turned their attention
02:15unto God. Oh Lord, in the middle of my farewell, I will turn my, we will turn our attention unto
02:21God.
02:21A farewell is a very sacred moment, but a farewell is also an act of worship. Oh, I want to
02:29worship
02:29God at this moment in this farewell. Oh, these believers could not control the circumstances,
02:35but they can still bring that moment before God. I can't control what's going on, but I'm going to
02:41bring it before God. Prayer reminds us that even when our hearts must release someone, our hearts can
02:49still be directed towards God while I'm releasing. I'm direct my heart towards you, God, while I'm
02:55releasing. Loving someone deeply is not wrong, but we must remember God is our refuge when human
03:03companionship changes. Ah, God, you steal my refuge. Oh, I really wanted them to stay with you. My
03:10refuge, I'll fall back on you. What we have in this text is evidence of affection. The Bible says that
03:16they wept and embraced Paul. It says, and they wept sore and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him.
03:23These believers did not conceal their emotions. Oh, oh, you don't have to be spiritual. It can
03:28conceal your emotions. They wept. They embraced Paul and they kissed him because his departure
03:35mattered. Your departure mattered. And I want you to know that your departure out of my life
03:40did matter. I want you to know that you did mean something to me. These believers were not weak.
03:47Their tears were evidence that the bond was meaningful. I want you to know that this bond we
03:52share. It meant something to me. Hallelujah. Sometimes we judge our grief too harshly. We wonder
03:59why does it hurt like it does? We wonder why would that, why when I said goodbye to them, it's
04:07still
04:07in my mind. We wonder why we can't move on without this sadness inside of us. This is not evidence
04:16of
04:17unhealthy attachment always. This doesn't mean that the attachment that you have with that person was
04:21unhealthy. Sometimes it's a natural response to loving someone deep. And that's just how it goes.
04:27If you're going to love when they depart, you're going to hurt. A goodbye hurts because companionship
04:35was meaningful. A goodbye hurts because hopes that I had were genuine. I had hope for our relationship
04:41that won't happen. A goodbye hurts because the people accompanied a real place in your heart.
04:48That's why it hurts. It's natural to hurt. Nothing wrong with hurting. The challenge of separation.
04:54There's challenges where you got to say bye. Oh Lord. It's so hard to say goodbye. They accompanied
05:00Paul to the ship. The Bible said they were sorrowful because Paul had spoke that they won't see his face
05:05no more. That's why they were sorrowful. They had love for Paul and it was expressed not only in tears
05:12but also in embrace but also in accompanying him to the place of departure. They wanted to walk all the
05:19way to the end with Paul. I want to walk all the way unto the end. We've come to the
05:24end of the road
05:25and I know you got to get on the ship Paul. I know, I know, I know. But as you
05:32depart, I want to see you all.
05:35Goodbye. Oh God, help us today. Sometimes love must walk with somebody to the end of the season.
05:43This season was over. It was a blessed season. Hallelujah. Their affection for Paul did not
05:48eliminate that separation was ahead. Even though I got affections for you, separation is still ahead.
05:55We can accompany people through seasons but cannot guarantee that we'll accompany them through every season.
06:06Sometimes the most loving response that we can offer is a blessing and allowing somebody to go.
06:13I want to bless you. I'm going to kiss you goodbye because you meant something to me.
06:20Before I do, I'm going to bless you. Oh, how do we say goodbye? There's pain. There's a pain to
06:26goodbye.
06:26How do we deal with it? When love did not end the way you hoped it would, it didn't end
06:33like I thought it was.
06:35Don't argue. Don't argue. Don't do none of that. Don't be the man that you should stay right here with
06:41me.
06:41Don't be doing any of that. Don't say, don't test their love talking about if you really love me, you
06:46say no.
06:46Sometimes it's God calling them on. Be kind. Even when you cannot preserve the relationship, still be kind.
06:56Still be loving. Still let them know. Oh, do it right the first time. I got to get off that
07:02point.
07:03Don't hold back your emotions because you might regret that. Get it all out. Praise God.
07:08A painful ending does not mean that your life is over. A painful ending does not mean that your calling
07:16is over.
07:17A painful ending does not mean that you are without a future. A painful ending does not mean that your
07:24purpose has ended.
07:25Paul still had things to do. Still had people to talk to. They still had life to live.
07:30Oh, Lord, help us. So what do we do? We need to pray when we got to say goodbye.
07:35Oh, we got to give our hearts time to grieve. Oh, Lord.
07:39And we got to release every expectation because it did not happen like I thought it was.
07:45Release every expectation. We need to know that there is still life after this.
07:50Hate to see you go, but there is still life. And on top of that, what else, Will?
07:55There is still a God that I got to serve.
07:59And on top of that, there's still something else. What else is there, Will?
08:02There is still a future that I got to entrust in its hands.
08:06Oh, even though I had to say goodbye.
08:09There is still a life I got to live.
08:12There is a God that I got to serve.
08:15And a future I got to trust in his hands.
08:18May God help us. Help us with the pain of goodbye.
08:21Help us, Lord, when love does not end the way we hoped it did.
08:26God bless you all. God bless you all. God bless you all.
08:32God bless you all.
