May 9, 2025 • 21 mins
Pastor Jay Dennis usually takes your questions on Friday mornings. He took the day off today and that opened the door for pastor/former professor from Moody Bible Institute, Dr. Ron Sauer, to join us for your Christian living questions. Ron has a big heart for God and for you, too!
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:00):
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:07):
We love having pastor J. Dennis from City Central Church
in Lakeland with us. Every Friday. We just we open
up the phones and you have a chance to, uh,
to bounce some things off of him, ask him questions.
Could be about the Bible, could be about something you're
dealing with as a follower of Jesus. And, uh, he
has a huge pastor's heart. Uh, he took a day off.
(00:28):
And another one of our favorite people. I smile because
I love Doctor Ron Sauer. Yeah. He was a professor
at Moody Bible Institute for decades, one of the faves
among the students. And he's been a pastor as well.
And he's had to deal with some difficult times in
his own life, which does indeed give you empathy as a,
(00:51):
you know, as a pastor. And, uh, you know, we
ask him, we're like, Ron, oh, Ron, can you can
you fill in for Jay on short notice? And I
was so happy when he said, yes, I know.
S3 (01:01):
And you know what? This is by no accident either.
I think God really appointed this time because he was
the perfect guy to have on this morning.
S1 (01:10):
We see in the animal sacrifices a foreshadowing of God's
plan and Jesus coming being the sacrifice for our sins,
the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. You
can see Jesus all over that book of Leviticus, can't you?
S4 (01:25):
Oh indeed. And remember Jesus said the Old Testament spoke
of him. So you're right about that. All of these
animal sacrifices foreshadow they are types of Jesus. Uh, Jesus
will do perfectly what these animal sacrifices did, imperfectly and
only ceremonially.
S1 (01:43):
Can you imagine what it was like if you were
working in the the temple, for instance, and you were
responsible for these animal sacrifices? Um, man. But it's supposed
to be right, Ron. It's supposed to be a tangible,
visual reminder of how serious sin really is.
S4 (02:03):
That's right. And I would not have wanted to be
a priest back then. Because you're taking all of these
animals and you're slaying them, or the donor is slaying them.
You're dealing with blood and internal organs all day and
burning them. And that's just not for me. But one
(02:23):
of the things that would tell me is how disgusting
and destructive sin is. Yeah. It just destroys a person's life.
It ruins his relationship with God. It it hurts other people.
And so it's a graphic warning to you and me
to stay away from sin. Um, I had cancer. I've
(02:44):
had cancer three times, and the doctor said cancer makes
mush of healthy tissue. Well, sin makes mush of a
healthy life. It's destructive. And if we're prudent, we'll. We'll
flee from sin.
S1 (03:00):
You know what, Ron? I didn't realize you've had battles
with cancer like that. You've never mentioned that before.
S4 (03:05):
Oh, yes. I've always been kind to me. I've battled
cancer three times, and so far I've come out on
top by the Lord's grace.
S5 (03:15):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Curtin Cate Mornings podcast. We always welcome
a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel
free to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (03:27):
Good morning. Anonymous. So glad you called.
S6 (03:31):
I called more like to ask you guys if it
would be possible for you guys to pray for me. Um,
I'm actually in a pretty difficult situation right now, and I.
I don't really know where to go from here. Um,
I have a big decision to make, and, um, I'm
(03:52):
scared to to make a mistake. Um, recently, I lost
my husband and I was left with four minor daughters, and, uh,
I just I don't have a job, and, uh, I,
I make I need to make a decision if I
(04:15):
should stay here or move to South Carolina. Um, I
don't have no family here. Only, um, my husband's family.
But there's been a lot of issues, and I. I
can't rely on them for any help, and, uh, I
don't have no family here. Um, I, I was debating
(04:40):
whether to go back to Mexico, where my family is,
but there's been a lot of violence there, so I'm
afraid if I go back, something could happen to my daughter,
so I don't really know what to do. Um, I
was planning to move to South Carolina with my brother was.
(05:02):
But like something happened and he had to move to
North Dakota, so now I, I don't know what to do. Like,
I'm afraid if I go there, then I'm not going
to be able to find a job or find a
home or like, I don't.
S7 (05:20):
Know. Sorry.
S1 (05:21):
So sorry you're dealing with this anonymous. Um, you know,
our hearts are breaking for you. Thank you for calling.
You've come to the right place. Uh, Ron, what would
you like to say to our to our friend, our
sister in Christ?
S4 (05:36):
Okay. Thank you so much for telling us what's on
your heart. And I want to say several things. Firstly,
I want to remind you of acts chapter 27. When
Paul is on a ship in a storm and the
sailors have lost all hope that they're going to survive,
(05:57):
they are in a hopeless situation. And Paul says, I
strongly urge you sailors, to d. And the last word
they expected Paul to say is the word cheerful. I
strongly urge you sailors to be cheerful. Um, now I
(06:19):
want to say this, that often it happens. And this
anonymous caller has a problem. And it often happens that
when a person like this caller has a problem, friends
around her will say, don't worry, everything's going to be okay.
And she may ask, well, how do you know where
everything's going to be? Okay. And they say, well, I
(06:40):
just think it will be. Now that's the hope of
the world. It is groundless. There is no basis for, uh,
for the advice of everything will be okay. Now, Paul
gives the reason why he's urging the sailors to be cheerful.
An angel appeared to me last night, and he assured
me not one person on this ship. Life would be lost,
(07:03):
and we're going to lose the ship and all the cargo.
But all of our lives will be safe. That's the
Christian basis of hope. It is the promises of God.
So what I want to say to anonymous here is this.
You're in a basically difficult, if not hopeless situation. And yet,
because of the promise of God, I want to urge you,
(07:26):
like Paul did those sailors to be full. Now why?
You have a you have important decisions to make. And
if you're a Christian, if you're a child of God,
you have a wonderful shepherd. Sheep cannot lead themselves. Sheep
are good at doing one thing, going the wrong way,
(07:47):
making bad decisions. Yeah. And the Lord has not left
you down here for you to make these decisions by yourself.
We're not capable of making good decisions, and we don't
have to. We have a shepherd. I want you to
count on Jesus Christ, who is very experienced. He's led
his saints down through the centuries. He is competent. And
(08:10):
if you will be dependent upon him and cry out
to him to lead you, he'll take you by the
hand and lead you in your decision. Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and don't lean only to
your own understanding. In all your ways, in all your decisions,
in all your undertakings. He will make clear and smooth
(08:34):
the path he wants you to tread. Now, I would say, um,
I like Proverbs 2024 only from the Lord come the steps,
the decisions, the circumstances of a person. Uh, God has
a plan for your life. He is in the process
of opening it up, unfolding it, and establishing and implementing
(08:55):
your plan. And the last thing I want to say
is this. Please don't make this decision by yourself. If
you know 1 or 2 godly people, wise people like
a good pastor, go to those people and bounce your
decisions off them and get their input. Proverbs six says,
wisdom is to be had in the counsel of several plans,
(09:19):
take shape and are matured by the advice given to
us by godly people.
S5 (09:25):
Mm.
S1 (09:26):
Anonymous. Uh, we hope that, uh, that your eyes are
fixed on the Lord. And, Ron, that is great. I
say amen and amen. But we want to pray for you, anonymous.
I don't know where you are. Uh, don't know how
soon you need to get off the line, but would
it be okay if we just stop right now and
prayed for you?
S8 (09:45):
Yes. Please.
S1 (09:46):
Ron, why don't you lead us.
S4 (09:48):
Okay. Lord, thank you so much for this dear lady
who called in and is humble enough to lay her
situation before a large listing of all. Now, Lord, you
know her. You know where the hair on her head
you count and care about every insignificant hair on her head.
And Lord, you know the situation she is in. It
(10:10):
sounds difficult, it sounds desperate, it sounds hopeless. But, Lord,
I'm asking that you would. You would implant in her
soul a sense of optimism, cheerfulness. I pray, Lord, that
this will be a time that she clings to you.
Lord Jesus, you're the one who said, come to me, anonymous.
(10:34):
I want you to take Jesus up on his invitation.
Come to me. I want you to go to him
and pour out your heart. And then, Lord, I'm asking
that you would fill her with peace, and that you
would give her 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 wise,
godly people who can be used of you to give
her good, helpful, practical advice. Jesus, I'm asking bottom line.
(10:58):
You take this woman, your child, by your by her hand,
lead her in making the right decisions, and again, give
her a sense of cheerfulness, optimism in this difficult situation.
In Jesus name, Amen.
S9 (11:14):
Amen. Amen.
S8 (11:16):
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
S1 (11:19):
Appreciate it. Thank you. Anonymous. Maybe you're dealing.
S3 (11:22):
With.
S1 (11:22):
Yes. And maybe you're dealing with a similar situation. Do
you see how these spiritual principles that Ron's talking about,
these promises of God, all of this, this truth from God,
this is applicable in many different situations. Your details may
not be like our good friend who just called us
her details. Your crisis may not be the same in
(11:46):
terms of details, but it's still a crisis to you.
And what Ron was sharing is something that you can
stand on as well. As a follower of Jesus. Let's
go to Sharon in Bonita Springs. Hi, Sharon. Good morning. Welcome.
S10 (12:00):
My challenge is I live with intractable pain for 40 years,
and it's so difficult to live with that amount of pain.
And doctors now are not treating people like myself. And, um,
but I do want to testify that, um, I have
had six spinal surgeries. The last one, I almost died.
(12:22):
I lost all but one pint of blood and no
one was with me but God. I felt God's presence
so much more than I ever have in my life,
and I felt like he was holding my hand the
whole way, even though the biggest thing that was really
tough there was when they intubated me. I was fully
awake when they took it out of my throat and oh,
(12:45):
that was the worst ever. I kept praying and praying,
but God has gotten me through six spinal surgeries and
two shoulder replacements and a knee replacement and he's been
with me. I look back at the things, um, and
I had a lot of, uh, trauma. Childhood. And, um,
(13:05):
he's got me through everything, and I'm in a pain
group and at church, and, um, they tell me you
need to write a book about all the things that
God has gotten you through. But, uh, the difficult part
is the pain is so bad, and people like myself,
I've never had a problem with the opioids, but there's
(13:27):
it's only one side that they're telling. They're not sharing
the side of what? People's lives are wrecked because of
intractable pain. And every day I feel suicidal and I
just pray to God and please bring me home. And
all I want is to be with Jesus in heaven.
But I keep keep going through the Holy Spirit. He's
(13:51):
just gotten me through everything.
S1 (13:53):
Sharon, uh, I'm so glad you called this morning, Ron. Um,
our sister in Christ, she. She's dealing with this. This
chronic pain. That is when you are in pain. It
affects everything in your life. Everything. And she's just I
we can tell that she's just weary of this. And
the Lord has sustained her up to this point. And
(14:16):
I praise his holy name for that. But but speak
to if you could, uh, Sharon, as well as others
who deal with a similar type of situation where the
pain just doesn't go away.
S4 (14:27):
Okay. Let me say here let me say a number
of things here. Um, it is amazing how well you
have been responding to all of this adversity. It's obvious
that God is at work in your life. And one
of the things I want to say is God means
(14:49):
to use this pain for your benefit. If he didn't
mean to bring good out of this. He never would
have allowed it to come into your life in the
first place. And remember, Christ is very sympathetic. He had
pain of body, and I really don't think Jesus enjoyed
one minute of his pain, and I think he was
glad when it was over with. And if there's one
(15:12):
person in all the universe who can sympathize with you, Sharon,
it is that Jesus who himself had pain in the
flesh and you are an overcomer. The Lord is enabling it.
Christians are supposed to be overcomers to adversity, pain, difficulty, persecution, etc. etc.
(15:33):
and it sounds like the Lord has been enabling you
to overcome. And I think that some of the greatest
blessings God brings to us people are not in times. Smooth. Easy. Comfortable,
but in times of difficulty. Because we're aware of our
weakness and we're we're aware of how much we need
(15:55):
the Lord. And we tend to be more dependent upon him.
Another thing I want to say, Sharon, is you're thinking
about writing a book. Don't take the lessons and experiences
that you're learning to the grave with you. Your pain
and experiences are your credentials that will open the heart
of others and their adversity. And the reason they'll give
(16:18):
you a hearing is they know when you tell them
the adversity and the pain and the difficulty that you've
been through. Now they're all ears. They know you're not
speaking in theory, but from experience. So please, seriously think
about writing that book. You can say things to some
people that we pastors cannot say to them, because not
(16:40):
all pastors have been through such adversity as you're going through.
And I want you to count on the Scripture. The promise,
as your days are so will be your strength. God
will sustain you. That's his responsibility.
S9 (16:57):
Yeah.
S10 (16:57):
That's beautiful. Thank you.
S7 (16:59):
Yes.
S3 (17:00):
Thank you for.
S1 (17:00):
Calling. Thank you for calling, Sharon. I do know we
have a a guest who is going to be joining us. Mark. Uh,
I know we booked a guest who might be, uh,
someone that Sharon wants to, you know, well, connect with, because,
of course, whenever we have a guest, folks can call in, right? So, uh,
(17:21):
you know where I'm thinking of, right?
S5 (17:22):
Yes. Yes. Uh, Monday, May the 19th at 8:00. Uh,
we have an interview scheduled with Doctor Ewan Gallagher. Um,
and he's with the University of Toronto. He has an, uh,
an article that he's written, uh, that comes from a
book also. But the name of the article is Ten
Arguments against Physician Assisted Suicide. And so this is just
(17:42):
a wonderful conversation that we're going to be having about
the value that we have in the eyes of the
Lord and how he uses our suffering. So, yes, definitely
want to tune in for that conversation. Monday, May 19th.
S1 (17:53):
Yeah. That's great. And Sharon, you know, the whole thing
of suicidal thoughts and all of that, don't listen to
the enemy. I know it's easy for me to say
because I'm not experiencing the pain you are. But as
your brother in Christ, don't buy into the lies that
he is putting into your to your brain, that it's
better if you just end it all. And you know what?
(18:14):
As we as we land this plane with Iran, um,
God opened the door, so I'm going to walk through it.
I'm going to ask you this question. What if we
have folks who are truly entertaining, uh, suicidal thoughts? They
are thinking, this is a very viable solution to my problem,
(18:37):
whatever it may be. What do you want to say
to them this morning?
S4 (18:42):
Okay, I would say this. I want you to think
of the people who know you, who care for you,
who love you, and who will be influenced by you.
Statistics tell us that if a person commits suicide, his
family members, his friends are more likely to do the
(19:02):
same thing. I want you to think about the pain
that you're going to inflict on those people around you
who care for you. This past Thursday was the 22nd
anniversary of our 24 year old daughter's death by suicide.
Sue and I still hurt intensely over that. Now the
(19:22):
pain gets better as the years pass, but it never
goes away. And I want you to remember that when
a person commits suicide, he walks through a door that
slams shut and there is no doorknob on the other
side that a person can open and walk out of
suicide back into life. And I want you to remember
that the people who commit suicide. I think that when
(19:46):
they get to heaven, they must be the most humble
souls up there, because they're going to be they're going
to rub shoulders with people who endured great adversity far
greater than what they had, and God enabled them to overcome.
And the same God is in our life. For a
person who knows the Lord, there is always hope. Hope
(20:10):
meaning that things can improve. That a bright future lies
ahead of you. You just need some help from Christians
close to you, around you to know how to put
your hand on and obtain the blessings that God has
for you. Please listen to Psalm 3119. How great, O Lord,
(20:31):
is the goodness that you've stored up for those who
fear you, which goodness you dispense to them in the
sight of others. God has a bright future for us,
not just in heaven, but in this lifetime on this earth.
And we want to count on that and anticipate God
bestowing those blessings on us. And I think the person
(20:51):
who is hopeless. He needs to be reminded that in
Christ there is enormous hope. The prospect of things getting better.
And that person just needs to go to somebody who
can help him learn how to better walk with God
and anticipate and get his hands on those blessings that
(21:12):
God has for him in this life. And Kurt, you're right.
No one should listen to the devil, because the devil
speaks to us and urges us to like Jesus, jump
off the the wall of the temple.
S1 (21:24):
Yeah.
S4 (21:25):
And the devil urges us to end our life. Don't
do it. It will. You will. A person will forever
regret the decision of suicide, and it's going to hurt
others around them.
S3 (21:36):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
on the Moody Radio app.
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:07):
We love having pastor J. Dennis from City Central Church
in Lakeland with us. Every Friday. We just we open
up the phones and you have a chance to, uh,
to bounce some things off of him, ask him questions.
Could be about the Bible, could be about something you're
dealing with as a follower of Jesus. And, uh, he
has a huge pastor's heart. Uh, he took a day off.
(00:28):
And another one of our favorite people. I smile because
I love Doctor Ron Sauer. Yeah. He was a professor
at Moody Bible Institute for decades, one of the faves
among the students. And he's been a pastor as well.
And he's had to deal with some difficult times in
his own life, which does indeed give you empathy as a,
(00:51):
you know, as a pastor. And, uh, you know, we
ask him, we're like, Ron, oh, Ron, can you can
you fill in for Jay on short notice? And I
was so happy when he said, yes, I know.
S3 (01:01):
And you know what? This is by no accident either.
I think God really appointed this time because he was
the perfect guy to have on this morning.
S1 (01:10):
We see in the animal sacrifices a foreshadowing of God's
plan and Jesus coming being the sacrifice for our sins,
the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. You
can see Jesus all over that book of Leviticus, can't you?
S4 (01:25):
Oh indeed. And remember Jesus said the Old Testament spoke
of him. So you're right about that. All of these
animal sacrifices foreshadow they are types of Jesus. Uh, Jesus
will do perfectly what these animal sacrifices did, imperfectly and
only ceremonially.
S1 (01:43):
Can you imagine what it was like if you were
working in the the temple, for instance, and you were
responsible for these animal sacrifices? Um, man. But it's supposed
to be right, Ron. It's supposed to be a tangible,
visual reminder of how serious sin really is.
S4 (02:03):
That's right. And I would not have wanted to be
a priest back then. Because you're taking all of these
animals and you're slaying them, or the donor is slaying them.
You're dealing with blood and internal organs all day and
burning them. And that's just not for me. But one
(02:23):
of the things that would tell me is how disgusting
and destructive sin is. Yeah. It just destroys a person's life.
It ruins his relationship with God. It it hurts other people.
And so it's a graphic warning to you and me
to stay away from sin. Um, I had cancer. I've
(02:44):
had cancer three times, and the doctor said cancer makes
mush of healthy tissue. Well, sin makes mush of a
healthy life. It's destructive. And if we're prudent, we'll. We'll
flee from sin.
S1 (03:00):
You know what, Ron? I didn't realize you've had battles
with cancer like that. You've never mentioned that before.
S4 (03:05):
Oh, yes. I've always been kind to me. I've battled
cancer three times, and so far I've come out on
top by the Lord's grace.
S5 (03:15):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Curtin Cate Mornings podcast. We always welcome
a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel
free to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (03:27):
Good morning. Anonymous. So glad you called.
S6 (03:31):
I called more like to ask you guys if it
would be possible for you guys to pray for me. Um,
I'm actually in a pretty difficult situation right now, and I.
I don't really know where to go from here. Um,
I have a big decision to make, and, um, I'm
(03:52):
scared to to make a mistake. Um, recently, I lost
my husband and I was left with four minor daughters, and, uh,
I just I don't have a job, and, uh, I,
I make I need to make a decision if I
(04:15):
should stay here or move to South Carolina. Um, I
don't have no family here. Only, um, my husband's family.
But there's been a lot of issues, and I. I
can't rely on them for any help, and, uh, I
don't have no family here. Um, I, I was debating
(04:40):
whether to go back to Mexico, where my family is,
but there's been a lot of violence there, so I'm
afraid if I go back, something could happen to my daughter,
so I don't really know what to do. Um, I
was planning to move to South Carolina with my brother was.
(05:02):
But like something happened and he had to move to
North Dakota, so now I, I don't know what to do. Like,
I'm afraid if I go there, then I'm not going
to be able to find a job or find a
home or like, I don't.
S7 (05:20):
Know. Sorry.
S1 (05:21):
So sorry you're dealing with this anonymous. Um, you know,
our hearts are breaking for you. Thank you for calling.
You've come to the right place. Uh, Ron, what would
you like to say to our to our friend, our
sister in Christ?
S4 (05:36):
Okay. Thank you so much for telling us what's on
your heart. And I want to say several things. Firstly,
I want to remind you of acts chapter 27. When
Paul is on a ship in a storm and the
sailors have lost all hope that they're going to survive,
(05:57):
they are in a hopeless situation. And Paul says, I
strongly urge you sailors, to d. And the last word
they expected Paul to say is the word cheerful. I
strongly urge you sailors to be cheerful. Um, now I
(06:19):
want to say this, that often it happens. And this
anonymous caller has a problem. And it often happens that
when a person like this caller has a problem, friends
around her will say, don't worry, everything's going to be okay.
And she may ask, well, how do you know where
everything's going to be? Okay. And they say, well, I
(06:40):
just think it will be. Now that's the hope of
the world. It is groundless. There is no basis for, uh,
for the advice of everything will be okay. Now, Paul
gives the reason why he's urging the sailors to be cheerful.
An angel appeared to me last night, and he assured
me not one person on this ship. Life would be lost,
(07:03):
and we're going to lose the ship and all the cargo.
But all of our lives will be safe. That's the
Christian basis of hope. It is the promises of God.
So what I want to say to anonymous here is this.
You're in a basically difficult, if not hopeless situation. And yet,
because of the promise of God, I want to urge you,
(07:26):
like Paul did those sailors to be full. Now why?
You have a you have important decisions to make. And
if you're a Christian, if you're a child of God,
you have a wonderful shepherd. Sheep cannot lead themselves. Sheep
are good at doing one thing, going the wrong way,
(07:47):
making bad decisions. Yeah. And the Lord has not left
you down here for you to make these decisions by yourself.
We're not capable of making good decisions, and we don't
have to. We have a shepherd. I want you to
count on Jesus Christ, who is very experienced. He's led
his saints down through the centuries. He is competent. And
(08:10):
if you will be dependent upon him and cry out
to him to lead you, he'll take you by the
hand and lead you in your decision. Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and don't lean only to
your own understanding. In all your ways, in all your decisions,
in all your undertakings. He will make clear and smooth
(08:34):
the path he wants you to tread. Now, I would say, um,
I like Proverbs 2024 only from the Lord come the steps,
the decisions, the circumstances of a person. Uh, God has
a plan for your life. He is in the process
of opening it up, unfolding it, and establishing and implementing
(08:55):
your plan. And the last thing I want to say
is this. Please don't make this decision by yourself. If
you know 1 or 2 godly people, wise people like
a good pastor, go to those people and bounce your
decisions off them and get their input. Proverbs six says,
wisdom is to be had in the counsel of several plans,
(09:19):
take shape and are matured by the advice given to
us by godly people.
S5 (09:25):
Mm.
S1 (09:26):
Anonymous. Uh, we hope that, uh, that your eyes are
fixed on the Lord. And, Ron, that is great. I
say amen and amen. But we want to pray for you, anonymous.
I don't know where you are. Uh, don't know how
soon you need to get off the line, but would
it be okay if we just stop right now and
prayed for you?
S8 (09:45):
Yes. Please.
S1 (09:46):
Ron, why don't you lead us.
S4 (09:48):
Okay. Lord, thank you so much for this dear lady
who called in and is humble enough to lay her
situation before a large listing of all. Now, Lord, you
know her. You know where the hair on her head
you count and care about every insignificant hair on her head.
And Lord, you know the situation she is in. It
(10:10):
sounds difficult, it sounds desperate, it sounds hopeless. But, Lord,
I'm asking that you would. You would implant in her
soul a sense of optimism, cheerfulness. I pray, Lord, that
this will be a time that she clings to you.
Lord Jesus, you're the one who said, come to me, anonymous.
(10:34):
I want you to take Jesus up on his invitation.
Come to me. I want you to go to him
and pour out your heart. And then, Lord, I'm asking
that you would fill her with peace, and that you
would give her 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 wise,
godly people who can be used of you to give
her good, helpful, practical advice. Jesus, I'm asking bottom line.
(10:58):
You take this woman, your child, by your by her hand,
lead her in making the right decisions, and again, give
her a sense of cheerfulness, optimism in this difficult situation.
In Jesus name, Amen.
S9 (11:14):
Amen. Amen.
S8 (11:16):
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
S1 (11:19):
Appreciate it. Thank you. Anonymous. Maybe you're dealing.
S3 (11:22):
With.
S1 (11:22):
Yes. And maybe you're dealing with a similar situation. Do
you see how these spiritual principles that Ron's talking about,
these promises of God, all of this, this truth from God,
this is applicable in many different situations. Your details may
not be like our good friend who just called us
her details. Your crisis may not be the same in
(11:46):
terms of details, but it's still a crisis to you.
And what Ron was sharing is something that you can
stand on as well. As a follower of Jesus. Let's
go to Sharon in Bonita Springs. Hi, Sharon. Good morning. Welcome.
S10 (12:00):
My challenge is I live with intractable pain for 40 years,
and it's so difficult to live with that amount of pain.
And doctors now are not treating people like myself. And, um,
but I do want to testify that, um, I have
had six spinal surgeries. The last one, I almost died.
(12:22):
I lost all but one pint of blood and no
one was with me but God. I felt God's presence
so much more than I ever have in my life,
and I felt like he was holding my hand the
whole way, even though the biggest thing that was really
tough there was when they intubated me. I was fully
awake when they took it out of my throat and oh,
(12:45):
that was the worst ever. I kept praying and praying,
but God has gotten me through six spinal surgeries and
two shoulder replacements and a knee replacement and he's been
with me. I look back at the things, um, and
I had a lot of, uh, trauma. Childhood. And, um,
(13:05):
he's got me through everything, and I'm in a pain
group and at church, and, um, they tell me you
need to write a book about all the things that
God has gotten you through. But, uh, the difficult part
is the pain is so bad, and people like myself,
I've never had a problem with the opioids, but there's
(13:27):
it's only one side that they're telling. They're not sharing
the side of what? People's lives are wrecked because of
intractable pain. And every day I feel suicidal and I
just pray to God and please bring me home. And
all I want is to be with Jesus in heaven.
But I keep keep going through the Holy Spirit. He's
(13:51):
just gotten me through everything.
S1 (13:53):
Sharon, uh, I'm so glad you called this morning, Ron. Um,
our sister in Christ, she. She's dealing with this. This
chronic pain. That is when you are in pain. It
affects everything in your life. Everything. And she's just I
we can tell that she's just weary of this. And
the Lord has sustained her up to this point. And
(14:16):
I praise his holy name for that. But but speak
to if you could, uh, Sharon, as well as others
who deal with a similar type of situation where the
pain just doesn't go away.
S4 (14:27):
Okay. Let me say here let me say a number
of things here. Um, it is amazing how well you
have been responding to all of this adversity. It's obvious
that God is at work in your life. And one
of the things I want to say is God means
(14:49):
to use this pain for your benefit. If he didn't
mean to bring good out of this. He never would
have allowed it to come into your life in the
first place. And remember, Christ is very sympathetic. He had
pain of body, and I really don't think Jesus enjoyed
one minute of his pain, and I think he was
glad when it was over with. And if there's one
(15:12):
person in all the universe who can sympathize with you, Sharon,
it is that Jesus who himself had pain in the
flesh and you are an overcomer. The Lord is enabling it.
Christians are supposed to be overcomers to adversity, pain, difficulty, persecution, etc. etc.
(15:33):
and it sounds like the Lord has been enabling you
to overcome. And I think that some of the greatest
blessings God brings to us people are not in times. Smooth. Easy. Comfortable,
but in times of difficulty. Because we're aware of our
weakness and we're we're aware of how much we need
(15:55):
the Lord. And we tend to be more dependent upon him.
Another thing I want to say, Sharon, is you're thinking
about writing a book. Don't take the lessons and experiences
that you're learning to the grave with you. Your pain
and experiences are your credentials that will open the heart
of others and their adversity. And the reason they'll give
(16:18):
you a hearing is they know when you tell them
the adversity and the pain and the difficulty that you've
been through. Now they're all ears. They know you're not
speaking in theory, but from experience. So please, seriously think
about writing that book. You can say things to some
people that we pastors cannot say to them, because not
(16:40):
all pastors have been through such adversity as you're going through.
And I want you to count on the Scripture. The promise,
as your days are so will be your strength. God
will sustain you. That's his responsibility.
S9 (16:57):
Yeah.
S10 (16:57):
That's beautiful. Thank you.
S7 (16:59):
Yes.
S3 (17:00):
Thank you for.
S1 (17:00):
Calling. Thank you for calling, Sharon. I do know we
have a a guest who is going to be joining us. Mark. Uh,
I know we booked a guest who might be, uh,
someone that Sharon wants to, you know, well, connect with, because,
of course, whenever we have a guest, folks can call in, right? So, uh,
(17:21):
you know where I'm thinking of, right?
S5 (17:22):
Yes. Yes. Uh, Monday, May the 19th at 8:00. Uh,
we have an interview scheduled with Doctor Ewan Gallagher. Um,
and he's with the University of Toronto. He has an, uh,
an article that he's written, uh, that comes from a
book also. But the name of the article is Ten
Arguments against Physician Assisted Suicide. And so this is just
(17:42):
a wonderful conversation that we're going to be having about
the value that we have in the eyes of the
Lord and how he uses our suffering. So, yes, definitely
want to tune in for that conversation. Monday, May 19th.
S1 (17:53):
Yeah. That's great. And Sharon, you know, the whole thing
of suicidal thoughts and all of that, don't listen to
the enemy. I know it's easy for me to say
because I'm not experiencing the pain you are. But as
your brother in Christ, don't buy into the lies that
he is putting into your to your brain, that it's
better if you just end it all. And you know what?
(18:14):
As we as we land this plane with Iran, um,
God opened the door, so I'm going to walk through it.
I'm going to ask you this question. What if we
have folks who are truly entertaining, uh, suicidal thoughts? They
are thinking, this is a very viable solution to my problem,
(18:37):
whatever it may be. What do you want to say
to them this morning?
S4 (18:42):
Okay, I would say this. I want you to think
of the people who know you, who care for you,
who love you, and who will be influenced by you.
Statistics tell us that if a person commits suicide, his
family members, his friends are more likely to do the
(19:02):
same thing. I want you to think about the pain
that you're going to inflict on those people around you
who care for you. This past Thursday was the 22nd
anniversary of our 24 year old daughter's death by suicide.
Sue and I still hurt intensely over that. Now the
(19:22):
pain gets better as the years pass, but it never
goes away. And I want you to remember that when
a person commits suicide, he walks through a door that
slams shut and there is no doorknob on the other
side that a person can open and walk out of
suicide back into life. And I want you to remember
that the people who commit suicide. I think that when
(19:46):
they get to heaven, they must be the most humble
souls up there, because they're going to be they're going
to rub shoulders with people who endured great adversity far
greater than what they had, and God enabled them to overcome.
And the same God is in our life. For a
person who knows the Lord, there is always hope. Hope
(20:10):
meaning that things can improve. That a bright future lies
ahead of you. You just need some help from Christians
close to you, around you to know how to put
your hand on and obtain the blessings that God has
for you. Please listen to Psalm 3119. How great, O Lord,
(20:31):
is the goodness that you've stored up for those who
fear you, which goodness you dispense to them in the
sight of others. God has a bright future for us,
not just in heaven, but in this lifetime on this earth.
And we want to count on that and anticipate God
bestowing those blessings on us. And I think the person
(20:51):
who is hopeless. He needs to be reminded that in
Christ there is enormous hope. The prospect of things getting better.
And that person just needs to go to somebody who
can help him learn how to better walk with God
and anticipate and get his hands on those blessings that
(21:12):
God has for him in this life. And Kurt, you're right.
No one should listen to the devil, because the devil
speaks to us and urges us to like Jesus, jump
off the the wall of the temple.
S1 (21:24):
Yeah.
S4 (21:25):
And the devil urges us to end our life. Don't
do it. It will. You will. A person will forever
regret the decision of suicide, and it's going to hurt
others around them.
S3 (21:36):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
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