March 10, 2010 The Cost 3

Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.

Good Afternoon, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Wednesday and that means it is Salvation Wednesday on this line. The day we pray for those who are unsaved and ask God to point them out to us so that we may work to get them to come to Jesus. Now while I have been writing this week about the costs of being a disciple or just a follower of Jesus, and folks, I like to say that I am both of them. Saying you are a Christian is nice but the name Christian has really gotten a bad rap. Christian means to be Christ Like and when I hear the language that comes out of the mouth of some who call themselves Christians it makes me want to put my dinner back on the floor (barf).

The Costs: James 5:13 - Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (NIV)

Tomorrow I will get back to some more costs and then Friday again I will hit on some rewards, but today, today, I am going to feature a note I got from my good friend Douglas Boyer who owns and operates Boyer Funeral Homes, one in Duncannon and one in New Bloomfield, both small Pennsylvania communities. Doug also is founder of Brotherhood Ministries which does a lot for our Native American Brothers and Sisters.

First and foremost our biggest reward for following Jesus and paying the costs of following Him and being a disciple for Him (and the costs that seem big are small compared to the rewards). Our biggest reward is our personal salvation through Jesus. Our being able someday to live in the mansion that is waiting for us. There we will get to walk on streets of gold, see our loved ones who knew Jesus and went before us, and see our loved ones who if they come to the Lord will be able to see us after they pass. And I will talk more about Salvation again as you know me. For when I am asked by others what kind of pastor I am, meaning United Methodist, or Church of God, or any other church, I just tell them, I am ordained in the Church of Christ, meaning to me I am a Salvation Preacher. My number one goal for Jesus is to see that people are fed, and I am not talking about the food from our food pantry, but fed the word of God so they can come to know Jesus...

We have many other rewards that we get while here on earth, one is healing, the healing from injuries and let me tell you, you know that there is not one doctor that can heal a broken bone. Oh they can set them, they can even pin them, but God and God alone does the healing of them, and God even lent the doctors their talents to work for Him. Ok, let me turn you over for the next part of the message to Douglas Boyer... In his words, just the way it came in. I did add the quotation marks...

"Hi Dan-

I hope this account of my illness will be an encouragement to all who read it. It is a testimony of God's faithfulness and mercy to me, a sinner saved by grace.

It was the 3:30 AM on the morning of November 14, 2009. Trying to get up to go to the bathroom, I was suddenly disoriented, dizzy, vomiting, double-vision and unable to stand or walk. My speech was unclear. I had had a stroke!

My wife tried to help me to the bathroom, but my body was clearly out of control as I fell to the floor and had to crawl.

We managed to get down the steps and to the hospital. My daughters work in the ER at Holy Spirit and they were expecting me. When we arrived they asked, "Can you walk?" It was then I realized that this was really a serious situation.

The ER folks, poked, prodded, ran a CAT scan, MRI and drew all my blood.
Finally the determination was made that I had a stroke. A blood clot that originated in my heart had lodged itself in my Cerebellum (that controls balance and vision) its located in the back or occipital region of the brain.

After several more days of testing I was sent to Health South for physical Therapy. To make a real long story short, God was with me continually, the prayers of the church, family and friends had stormed heaven and I was beginning to see clearly, I began to walk like I had been drinking and my speech began to become clearer. I was in Heath South for only a week and had improved enough that I was able to go home. (Praise God!)

When I was discharged they told me that I was the Poster-child for healing at Health South, and that I looked like a visitor not a patient. In early January my cardiologist closed up that hole in my heart that had harbored the blood clot.

I was always a miracle of God.....but now truly when you look at me, you are looking at a "Miracle of God!" thanks to the grace of God and his mercy.

We never know the day or hour that God will call out our name. Or whether it will be in the form of illness or death..... If today you are not sure where you would be if the Lord called on you, better get that straightened out now. Seek the Lord while he is near, call upon him and experience His mighty hand.

blessings to each of you, may the mercy and grace of God be with you all.
Doug Boyer"

Now we are back to me... Let's pray:

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for your healing hand on Doug and so many, many others and thanks for hooking him up with me back in 1984. Father, Doug has made me a wonderful brother in Christ helping me in our ministry, right down to this morning. We are thankful that you and you alone are in the healing business. Lord, we know that Your hands are on everything good and we are thankful for that. Lord, use us this day to help bring in the lost. Point them out to us and give us the knowledge and strength to get to this work for You. Father, we know that our work on earth for You will never end till we come home to You, and Lord, I for one am really thrilled about that. Lord, I love working for You and pray that others also find that love. Lord, I know there is nothing that I can do without Your help. I pray others find that also and call on You for all things. Thanks for dying for our Salvation... Thanks for dying, Jesus, so we might live... In the name of Jesus, I offer up our prayers and praise... Amen.

I would love to feature others who would like to tell me how God has worked in your life... just send it my way. Don't worry about spelling, for all of you can spell better than me... Now go forth sharing your blessings and your love of Jesus. Love ya, Pastor Dan.

Carry The Light Ministries.
16 Dewalt Drive
Mechanicsburg, Pa. 17050
Phones Home 717 691 8200 Cell 717 991 0754 AND YES YOU MAY CALL ME..
icarrythelight4God@man.com