Ministry to the Sick

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on

the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, ìBut we did not yield in subjection to them for

even an hour ,î so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isnít for

you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial.

Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as weíre called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and

glory of her King.

Hereís our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

My name is Mike Abendroth.

I have not talked a lot today.

Thatís kind of weird.

My breathingís really pretty good, and then all of a sudden I get on the radio and I canít talk.

You can write me, Mike, at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

For those that want to support the show, I think we have 10 Patreon supporters.

We used to have 12.

Weíre down to 10.

And I guess if I cared more, I would have PayPal linked to the show too, but

it is what it is.

It is today, in real time, Wednesday, January 26th,

2022.

We are supposed to get a couple feet of snow this Saturday.

That means we have to have what we call around here a snow Sunday.

Well, there will be snow, thatís for certain, but also that means no Sunday

school.

Church starts a little later than normal, so people can dig out from

Snowmageddon, and then no Sunday night service.

The Sunday night service, maybe thatís wise anyway, since there are a couple football games on, and

sometimes people have a hard time getting out on Sunday night, do they not?

I wonder if your church has a Sunday night.

We used to do Sunday nights every Sunday, then we started to backslide.

Well, today we have a variety show.

You know how you like variety shows on late -night TV?

Too bad I canít watch any of them because theyíre all just too sleazy or left -wing.

But if you had a variety show, oh, weíre having a talent show here at the church, thatíll be good.

Thatís something that we have in the wintertime thatís usually hilarious.

I drive separate cars in case I just want to go home.

In front of me today, I have the Book of Common Prayer.

The Book of Common Prayer, an administration of the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the church

according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Cambridge, published by James Potten Company.

This one here, I certify that the edition of the Book of Common Prayer has been compared with a

certified copy of the Standard Book as the canon directs, and that it conforms there to Samuel Hart,

January 1893.

Well, thereís an older one, and I think thereís a newer one.

Iím not an expert on the Book of Prayer, the Common Book of Prayer, Common Prayer.

But it was interesting to me as I was talking to a friend today, heís thinking, he was very

sick, and now heís thinking about being a chaplain because he realizes how important it is to have Christian

chaplains, evangelical Christian chaplains, evangelical Protestant Christian chaplains.

Everybodyís kind of just, you know, their own person now, for every belief,

one chaplain fits all.

It reminds me of that old ER show where thereís that guy demanding the chaplain because heís going to die and he doesnít

want a new age chaplain.

Very dramatic scene.

Excuse me, well, this has a section on visitation of the sick.

It has other sections too, but the section on visitation of the sick, ìA prayer for a sick person when

there appeareth but small hope of recovery .î Now, we could get into a big argument

on rote prayers, written prayers, memorized prayers, the Lordís Prayer.

Is it a template?

Could you ever just read it, pray it?

Of course you could.

Scott Clarke just did a good show on prayer and the Lordís Prayer and how God accepts prayer and how

God accepts our weak, frail, sinful prayers because He accepts us.

Good show.

I recommend the Heidelcast.

But this is thoughtful.

This is something that I think you could just probably pull up online someplace for free.

Just listen to this prayer for the sick person and youíre not sure theyíre going to make it.

And there are several of these, but I want to read this one.

ÌO Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need,

we fly unto Thee for succor in behalf of this Thy servant, here

lying under Thy hand in great weakness of body.

Look graciously upon him, O Lord, and the more the outward man decayeth, strengthen

him, we beseech Thee, so much the more continually with Thy grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man.

Give him unfeigned repentance for all the errors of his past life

and steadfast

faith

in Thy Son, Jesus, that his sins may be done away by Thy mercy and his

pardon sealed in heaven before he go hence and be no more seen.

We know, O Lord, that there is no word impossible with Thee, and that if Thou wilt, Thou

can even yet raise him up and grant him a longer continuance among us, yet

for as much as in all appearance the time of his dissolution draweth near.

So fit and prepare him, we beseech Thee, against the hour of death, that after his departure

hence in peace and in Thy favor his soul may be received unto Thine

everlasting kingdom through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son,

our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Pretty moving.

I sat in the hospital room for 16 days, denying remdesivir, accepting the

oxygen steroids, blood clot shots in my stomach twice a day, I think, Lovenex,

I called them my love shots.

And the first few days, I didn't really think it was that bad because I was only on

oxygen 2, then 4, then 5, then 10.

Once we got up to 15, and then that wasn't enough for my blood saturation, oxygen saturation,

then I started to worry a little bit more.

Once you have the high flow come in, and it's 60 liters, four times more than what they can

get out of the wall, I'm starting to think this way.

Now supposedly, I could have received a chaplain visit

in my room.

Now I was in one of these negative pressure COVID rooms, the staff didn't really like to come in very much.

Doctors would call you, not every doctor, but some doctors would call you ahead of time, talk to you for a while,

then gown up, then come in, listen to your chest, and then leave.

They didn't want to be there talking, they'd rather talk on the phone.

And so I supposedly could get a chaplain.

I could have probably said yes, and

had some company, but I didn't really want to fight, I didn't want to disagree, I didn't want to hear platitudes,

I didn't want to hear ohm, I didn't want to do all that, I'd rather just sit there by myself.

Now I tried to make it so that Kim could be called a minister, right?

Minister just means servant.

So whenever I send Kim to the hospital to visit a lady maybe, I will say to her,

this is pre -COVID days, if it's late in the evening and the front doors are shut and you have to go into

the ER, just say you're a minister from Bethlehem Bible Church.

And that's all they really need to know.

It's not a capital M, it's not an office of deacon, I don't believe deaconesses,

it's not an elder, it's not a bishop, it's not an episkopos, it's, you know, you're just a minister, you're just a servant,

and then that'll get you in, right?

Because the hospitals don't care if it's male, female, 1 Timothy 2, et cetera, Titus 1.

But what if some chaplain would have come in, Anglican, come and

book a prayer, and prayed that prayer over me?

I don't mean over in some weird way, but just prayed the prayer, came in, held my hand and prayed that prayer.

Maybe they didn't memorize it, maybe they had to read it, right, from this common prayer book.

That would have been awesome.

That would have been great.

Here's another one, a commendatory prayer for a sick person at the point of departure.

The first prayer I read, we're not sure this person's going to make it, it doesn't seem like it.

Here we're moments away.

You're on hospice, the morphine's dripping, and that breathing,

that morphine breathing is getting slower and slower.

You think they're deceased, but then they take that breath again, many seconds in between breaths.

Oh, almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after they are delivered

from their earthly prisons.

We humbly commend the soul of this thy servant, our dear brother, into thy hands.

As into the hands of a faithful creator and most merciful savior, most humbly

beseeching thee that it may be precious in thy sight.

Wash it, we pray thee, in the blood of that immaculate lamb that was slain to take away the

sins of the world, that whatsoever defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and

naughty world, through the lust of the flesh or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done

away with, it may be presented pure and without spot before thee, through the

merits of Jesus Christ, thine only son, our Lord.

Amen.

And one of the things that these have is they have a

stability and a foundation that comes from scripture.

I can read sections or hear sections of scripture when I read this about the

faithful creator who does what's right.

I'm thinking 1 Peter, are you not?

I believe chapter 5.

I think about the merciful savior, rich in mercy, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4.

Precious in thy sight, I'm thinking about, I think it's Psalm 16, the death of the godly is precious in

the sight of the Lord.

I'm thinking about the lamb that was slain to take away the sin of the world.

I'm thinking John 1, 29.

I don't have these verses in front of me.

They just are so common.

This is important.

And who knows if this is just of interest to you or maybe makes you want to dive a little deeper to some of these things.

People love the Valley of Vision prayers, those Puritan prayers.

I wish I could figure out the ones written by Richard Baxter just so I could expunge them.

But regardless, people like me, it's

hard.

We kind of pray the same thing.

Dear Lord, we thank you for this beautiful day.

You know, and it just starts off and that's just kind of what we say.

Well, what are we going to do when we have to pray for folks like this in those situations?

Very, very deeply rooted in scripture are these prayers.

Here's a prayer.

I was going to just read a couple of these and then do something else today.

But we'll save this something else for tomorrow.

A prayer for persons troubled in mind or in conscience.

Now, there's all kinds of counseling books galore everywhere.

I'm not necessarily anti -newthetic counseling, nor am I pro -newthetic counseling.

Where it's biblical, I like it.

Where it's not, I don't.

It is pretty law -heavy to me.

You have to be motivated by the personal work of Jesus.

He is our motivation.

Sanctification is monergistic and we respond with good works.

There's not this cooperation type of synergism that is

more Arminian than my liking.

But we can talk about that another day.

Well, a lot of things we could learn are put into newthetic counseling.

A, B, C, D.

What's it called?

A, B, B, C.

A, B, B, A, Abba.

Did they make a comeback?

I just call it A, B, C, B.

That's all I do.

A, B, C, D.

A, B, Abbedroth.

What do you do if somebody's troubled in conscience?

It could be for a lot of reasons.

I mean, there are a lot of people I know that are troubled in conscience.

Oh, blessed Lord, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

We beseech thee, look down in pity and compassion upon this, thy afflicted servant.

Thou writest bitter things against him and makest him to possess his former iniquities.

Thy wrath lieth hard upon him and his soul is full of trouble.

But, O merciful God, who has written thy holy word for our learning, that we, through patience

and comfort of thy holy scriptures, might have hope.

Give him a right understanding of himself and of thy threats and promises, that he may neither cast

away his confidence in thee, nor place it anywhere but in thee.

Give him strength against all his temptations and heal all his distempers.

Break not thy bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.

Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure, but make him to hear of joy and gladness,

that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Deliver him from the fear of the enemy and lift up the light of thy countenance upon him and give him

peace through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

That is so good.

Maybe you want to argue a little bit about wrath of God, lying hard against him, and Jesus' sardeous wage

for the wrath that this person deserves.

Okay.

But the rest, I'm just thinking, give him strength against all temptations, heal his

distemper.

That section right there, break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.

Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure, but make him to hear joy and gladness.

I just think that's rich, biblical, encouraging, very, very important.

Now, something else happens, and I stand as convicted with you.

When we're in a pickle, when we're in room M17, a med

-surg room, Lemonster Hospital, 16 days, and you pray,

that's understandable.

That's right.

That's good.

But when you get out, what kind of prayer is there then?

The prayer of thanksgiving, gratitude, joy, answered prayer.

Here in the Common Prayer book, there's a thanksgiving for the beginning of a

recovery.

Somebody's turned a corner.

To this day, I will not forget when David Petullo, Dr. Petullo,

walked in my room and said, you're in

a turn for the better.

Wow.

And we're going to take you off a high flow.

We're going to put you back down on the wall at 15 liters of oxygen.

Here, even in the Common Prayer book, we see insight into thanking God and

praising him for what he's done.

Great and mighty God, who bring us down to the grave and bring us up again, we bless

thy wonderful goodness for having turned our heaviness into joy and our mourning into

gladness, by restoring this our brother to some degree of his former health.

Blessed be thy name that thou does not forsake him in a sickness, but does visit him

with comforts from above, to support him in patience and submission to thy will, and at

last did send him seasonable relief.

Perfect we beseech thee, this thy mercy toward him, and prosper the means which shall be made

use of for his cure, that being restored to health of body, vigor of mind, and

cheerfulness of spirit, he may be able to go to thine house, to offer thee in oblation with great

gladness, and to bless thy holy name for all thy goodness toward him, through Jesus

Christ our Savior, to whom with thee in the Holy Spirit be all honor, glory, world

without end.

That's good, isn't it?

That is so good, that he could go to his house to offer in oblation with great

gladness, and to bless thy holy name for all thy goodness toward him.

That is excellent.

Well, my name is Mike Abendroth.

This is No Compromise Radio Ministry, and today, along with many other days, I've thought about

prayer and being sick, and what do you do?

How do you pray?

Is there any instruction in things that are written in the past?

I have another one here in front of me, and when it comes to sick, visitation of the

sick, here it says, a prayer for a sick child.

Hmm, okay.

They realize life and death and what happens, and here we have a child that's sick.

How do you pray?

Well, there's nothing wrong with just saying, God help.

You're so distraught, that's all you could say.

Often in the hospital, I couldn't, I didn't remember adoration, thanks, a confession, adoration,

confession, thanks, supplication.

I didn't, I just said help.

I just need help.

God help me.

Now I need to give him an oblation of thanksgiving at my own house.

Oh, the day that I went home, so exciting.

I had all the oxygen and all that stuff, but just to go home, I wanted to walk up those front steps and sit down in my own

chair.

Man, that was great to be home, see my wife and kids and a couple of their friends were there too,

keeping vigil, and it was just great to be home.

I mean, I thought, you know what?

I think I'm going to make it.

I can't believe this just happened to me, but I think I'm going to make it.

And then to stake a shower, sit in the shower for, I would have sat in there longer, but I was running out of oxygen.

Oh, to offer an oblation and thanks to God for that, for his, for thine goodness

to me.

Here's a prayer for a sick child.

Oh, almighty God and merciful father, to whom alone belong the issues of life and death.

Look down from heaven.

We humbly beseech thee with the eyes of mercy upon this child, now lying upon the

bed of sickness.

Visit him, oh Lord, with thy salvation.

Deliver him in thy good appointed time from his bodily pain and save his souls for the

mercies, for thy mercy's sake, that if it shall be thy pleasure to prolong his days

here on earth, he may live to thee and be an instrument of thy glory by

serving thee faithfully and doing good in his generation or else receive him into

those heavenly habitations where the souls of those who sleep in the Lord Jesus enjoy

perpetual rest and felicity.

Grant this, oh Lord, for thy mercy's sake in the same thy son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who

liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever one God world

without end.

Amen.

Very, very touching.

Very wonderful.

And lastly, a prayer which may be said in case of sudden surprise and immediate danger.

Oh, most gracious father, we fly into thee for mercy in behalf of this thy servant here, lying under the sudden

visitation of thine hand.

If it be thy will, preserve his life, that there may be place for repentance.

But if thou hast otherwise appointed, let thy mercy supply to him the want of the usual

opportunity for the trimming of his lamp.

Stir up in him such sorrow for sin and such fervent love to thee as may in a short

time do the work of many days, that among the praises which thy saints and holy angels

shall sing to the honor of thy mercy through eternal ages, it may be to

thy unspeakable glory that thou hast redeemed the soul of this thy servant

from the eternal death and made him partaker of the everlasting life, which is through Jesus Christ our

Lord.

Amen.

Well, all these come from the common prayer book, Anglican prayer

book that's used very often.

And here we have the one section, I've read almost every prayer in the section

of visitation of the sick, visitation of the sick.

And it is one of these, I guess there are more prayers,

said, when any person is sick, notice shall be given thereof to the minister of the parish who

coming into the sick person's house shall say, peace be to this house and to all that dwell

in it.

When he cometh into the sick man's presence, he shall say kneeling down, remember not Lord our iniquities, nor the iniquities

of our forefathers.

Spare us good Lord, spare thy people whom thou has redeemed with thy most precious blood and be

not angry for us forever.

Now, whether you want to do that or not, that's another question.

But in these days of Facebook and other things, sometimes I find it strangely odd that when somebody says, do you know so

-and -so sick?

I said, I didn't even know.

And they never called the church.

They never called me.

They never sent an email.

Since I'm not on Facebook, the whole world knows, but I don't know.

And if you need to have a minister visit, then it'd probably be a good idea to actually call that minister.

I try, especially with my wife's help.

She'll say, well, how so -and -so or how so -and -so, and I'll try to reach out.

How are you doing?

What can we do for you?

But if you're going to need prayer from a pastor, then we want to make sure you reach out and ask for that very thing and

not be shy about it, especially at a church where there are many elders, several pastors, maybe a couple of

pastors, and also other deacons that could help serve.

One of the things that I've been doing since I've been sick and not really at the top of my physical

game yet is not just asking elders, but asking deacons to begin to meet with people and disciple people.

And it's been working out great, not just for the people that need the help, but also for those men too.

Anyway, I'm just trying to fill the time here.

Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio.

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No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible -teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of

God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6.

We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by phone

at 508 -835 -3400.