Ninety Days After Surgery

Debbie had a doctor's appointment today. Her 5th chemotherapy treatment is tomorrow. All of her blood work was good. Her CA 125 count is down to 23. She is feeling very good. She says, "almost normal." Thank you for your prayers.

Please pray for Debbie has she endures another treatment. It is hard for a cancer patient to go in for treatment when they either already feel terrible or they feel really feel good. The treatment only makes you feel alot worse if you already feel bad and it is like infecting yourself with the flu or worse if you really feel good. Debbie is my heroe for many reasons. She is the mother of my eight children. I can add to the list her attitude as she faces a debilitating treatment. Pray for her strength to be renewed quickly after the treatment. Pray for protection from destructive side affects for the organs in her body. Pray for the chemo to find the cancer and kill it.

Our little friend Joel Morris is battling for his life. Complicatons have caused him to go into a deep coma. For updates on his condition go to..... http://weloveyoujoel.blogspot.com/

Below are sermon notes from my most recent message to our church. I think you will enjoy the story about Debbie and her $100.00.

He keeps Me Singing!

Isa 50:10
10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
KJV

On December 12, Debbie and I were driving to the hospital. Debbie was going to receive her third chemotherapy treatment. Debbie had been praying for a particular sum of money to use as a Christmas gift for a friend. As we were driving down interstate 35, I heard her gasp. She had just opened a card and enclosed was a gift of $100.00. This was the very amount for which she had prayed. Debbie was able to give this gift a few days later. The following Sunday, one of our faithful members approached Debbie. He said that he and his wife had been praying about giving her a gift. He then handed her $100.00. My birthday was the next week. And Debbie was able to use the money to buy gifts for me. It is always more meaningful to Debbie when she can buy me a gift for me from money that I have not earned. Debbie bought me several gifts for my birthday which was on December 22. After my birthday but before Christmas Debbie was opening a card from a friend in Yukon and inside the card there was a gift for $100.00. I asked Debbie what she intended for that $100.00 and she said that she wanted to do something fun with for all the kids. And that is what we did. A few days later, on December 26, Debbie was opening our mail. One of the cards was from friends that live over seas. When Debbie opened the card, enclosed with the card was a gift for $100.00.

I guess you are wondering what Debbie is going to do with this $100.00. We have taught our children that you cannot out give God. I believe there is a return on every gift we give to the church or to others if our motive is right. Several of our children offered to be the next recipient. Debbie is still praying about what to do with this $100.00.

I love to tell these kinds of stories. We have seen the hand of God upon our lives in so many ways this last year. And we are so grateful for every one of you that has been His hands and feet to us.

When you are walking in the darkness; when you are praying for God to change your circumstances but heaven is silent and you cannot see any light, it can appear that God has forsaken you. Even though God does not always change our circumstances the way we want Him to, He is always faithful to let us know that He is there and that He cares. And so many times He uses the body of Christ to reveal to us that He is there.

Our greatest challenge when we walk in darkness is to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon our God.
Isa 50:10
10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
KJV

In the last 5 weeks, we have learned these names for our God.
He is Lord
He is Father
He is Savior
He is Redeemer

This morning I want us to focus on…. He Is Comforter!

Isa 51:3
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
KJV

Comfort means to sigh or breathe strongly. It is what we do when we feel sorry for someone because they are suffering. It means to pity or to console.

God is a comforter! He is a person with a personality. He is not indifferent to our sufferings because He knows the outcome. Our tears are important to Him and they move Him.
Ps 56:8
8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
KJV
I have never felt such pity as I have felt for Debbie. To see her lose her health and her strength has been so painful. The comfort I can give her is so limited. I can be there for her. I can sigh and breathe strongly. I can cry with her. But I know that my consolation is not all that she needs.

She needs to know that her heavenly Father also feels sorry for her. She needs to know that He is not indifferent to both her emotional and physical pain. She needs to know that He can really identify with her.

And He can! Jesus is the Son Of Man who has been touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Heb 4:14-16
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
KJV

We feel the most lonely when we think no one understands how we feel. And we feel especially lonely when we think that those who could change our circumstances do not understand how we feel.

He always understands because He has been there.

Isa 53:1-4
53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
KJV
And if we believe He understands our pain because He has been there, we will be comforted.

He is comforter!

But this truth is not the only way that He comforts us. He comforts us by giving us promises that no one else can give us.
Isa 51:3
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
KJV

A promise gives us Hope. And where there is Hope There Is Life! And our greatest promise is the resurrection of the dead.

God’s promise for Zion in Isaiah 51:3 will not be fulfilled until the final restoration of all things.
Rev 21:1-5
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
KJV

When the dead are raised and the last judgment is past, this is His promise; no tears, no more death; no sorrow; nor crying; no more pain; for the former things are passed away.

When those we love are walking in darkness, we would like to comfort them by giving them assurance that there will be light and that there current circumstances will change.
We must be very careful that we do not promise anything that God does not promise. We must avoid kindling our own fire in our efforts to comfort others.
Isa 50:11
11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
KJV
We may pray that God will change their circumstances.

But we should only offer those promises that He offers. Men’s promises can leave you disillusioned and damaged as they leave you behind in heap of false guilt. God’s promises are always true. And that is why…

He is Comforter!

But there is another way that He comforts us. He comforts us by giving us His Spirit.
John 14:16-18
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
KJV

There are places in the darkness where only God can walk with us. One of those places is the darkness of death. Our loved ones can walk with us through many trials. And there presence is very comforting. But only God can walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death.
Ps 23:4
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
KJV

And He gives us His Spirit so that we never have to be alone.

He is comforter!

Isa 50:10
10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

I would do you a disservice if I did not tell you that what lies before you. There is a trial in which you will have to walk in darkness. You will pray for God to change your circumstances but heaven will be silent and you will not see any light. It will appear that God has forsaken you.
Ps 22:1
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
KJV
You will be faced with a choice. Will you trust in the name of the Lord?

Let us know God by knowing His name! Let us trust in His name! Let us stay upon Him because…
He is Lord
He is Father
He is Savior
He is Redeemer
He is Comforter

How do you need to know Him this morning? He stands at the door of our heart and knocks.
Rev 3:20-22
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is great reward if we will trust Him in the darkness.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
KJV