Sunday Morning Sermon Series - Pastor John Franklin (Date: 10/31/2021)

Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel, it wasn't their military size, it wasn't the type of people they were talking about.

I've been talking to you guys since we've been back, and today

I want to talk a little bit about trust. Because I know each and every one of us in here is dealing with something that we're struggling with, right?

Something that is weighing on our shoulders. You know,

I was so happy to be able to come back to Whitton. Things were going well for us.

For many of you that may not know, Melanie and I came here for a long time. I graduated from the MIT program and went out to preach at Hamilton Baptist Church in Faulkner, Mississippi, and was out there as their pastor for about six years, roughly.

And things were going well out there, and things were going well for us. But with Pastor Gerald and Casey's health both declined and we had moved back to Memphis, things were still going well.

I had gotten a new position at the hospital on May 7th. May 7th

I got a new position. The downside of that position was it's five days a week. I wasn't going to have time to prep three services, so I'd already tendered my resignation at Hamilton, had already talked to Pastor Jeff about us coming back here at least temporarily, if not permanently, to be with the family while we decided what

God wanted for us, because God had laid this on our lap. We had a family vacation planned.

I hadn't taken a two weeks off since I'd started at St. Jude. That was 15, 16 years ago.

We had a family, a two -week vacation. We were going to drive and see the Grand Canyon. I've never seen the Grand Canyon.

I promise I'm never going to try, I told Melanie I'm never going to plan another trip because every time something happens for me to go see the

Grand, God does not want me to see the Grand Canyon, because the first time he threw my back out.

The second time, we all know what happened. That's really what I'm going to talk to you about today. I'm going to give the testimony of how

God got us through the ordeal. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 say, trust in the

Lord with all your heart and lean not into your own understanding. Think about Him in all your ways and He will direct your path.

The things were going great, right? You know, at Hamilton I would preach, kind of like we do on Wednesday night, through a book of the

Bible at a time, and I was preaching my last series on James, which is one of my absolute favorite books of Scripture, it really is.

You know, I always joke with them, say whatever book I was preaching on, well this is one of my favorite 66 books of Scripture.

But James truly is one of my favorite books, because anytime I'm struggling, I go to James. And you know,

God had a plan for me to live out James, He really did. James 4, verse 13 says, come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make profit, you don't even know what tomorrow will bring, what your life will be.

For you are like smoke that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you should say, if the

Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. Witton, I'm here to tell you, we lived that out.

Like I said, life was going good, we had things planned, my last day was there, we had a trip coming,

I was going to start my new job, things were good. But then

Melanie got sick. She had gone to the Women's Retreat, and like many of them, when she came back on May 13th,

Melanie tested positive for COVID. And guys, I'm sorry, for six years

I preached at Hamilton and I didn't shed a tear once from the pulpit. I'll probably do one or two from here today. Melanie tested positive for COVID on the 13th of May.

I tested positive on the 13th of May, because when she called me

I had to tell my job, and they had me go get tested, and I was positive. But Paul says to the

Philippians, do not worry about anything, but with everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Not that the answer you want, pay attention

Christian, not the answer you want, but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

And guys, I'm here to tell you, and I've said it many times during that whole ordeal, I've been shot at.

When I went to Honduras with the army, I got shot at. I was more nervous during this than getting shot at.

I was more scared during this time than getting shot at.

And if I may take a little side note, Christian, this very reason is why you need to do, as Scripture says, and study before you get into trials, you know.

It says in Romans 540, for whatever is written in the past was written for our instruction, so we may have a hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the

Scriptures. Guys, it's not when you get into the trial that you need to go to the

Word of God, it's before then. That's why it said to Joshua, this book of instruction must not depart from your mouth, you are to recite it day and night, so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.

For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Having I commanded you to be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged, for the

Lord your God is with you wherever you go. And Christian, if you have not prepared yourself for trials ahead of time, when you're in the middle of them, you're not going to call those verses to heart.

You're not going to bring them back to mind. Prepare now for the struggle you're going to have.

Because like I said, we both tested positive on the 13th, and any of you that know

Melanie, know Melanie when she gets sick, she wants to go full force, right? So on May 15th,

Melanie's oxygen level dropped, and it dropped low enough that it worried me, because I wasn't going to be able to take care of her, because I was sick myself.

I didn't have the energy hardly to get up. So I told Katie, take her to Methodist Germantown, because I was positive too, so I couldn't drive her,

I couldn't function well enough to drive a car at that time. So I said, take her to Methodist Germantown. They took her and admitted her on May 15th.

For 10 days, I sat at home, and the only information I had were phone calls from the nurses, once, twice a day, giving me little reports on Melanie, oh she's doing this, she's doing that.

And the morning of May 25th, I got a horrible phone call, her oxygen levels dropped that night, and we got to intubate her.

For those of you who don't know, intubation, they take a long tube, about this long, and they put it down the throat and hook it to a machine, so that the machine will breathe for the person.

So on May 25th, my wife, 26 years, was placed on a ventilator with the disease that me being in the medical field for over 30 years now, and the messages we're getting about it, pretty much meant she was not going to do well.

And as I said, God decided I was going to live out James. James 1, verse 2 says,

Guys, I'm telling you, it was hard to experience joy on that morning.

But it keeps on going. Whoops, I jumped in my note.

Endurance must do its complete work, so you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Guys, we can consider it joy when we experience various trials, because that means God is still working in your life.

If you are doing smooth sailing and you haven't had any ups or downs, then you need to worry. That's when you need to be concerned,

Christian. If everything is going smooth and you've had no ups and downs, because James said, consider it a great joy when, not if.

When you experience, meaning you're going to. And on May 25th,

I experienced one of the biggest trials of my life, but I didn't know worse was to come. Because things went from bad to worse.

Because on June 3rd, I got a call saying

Melanie was coughing up blood through the ET tube. And they were worried about a pulmonary embolism.

Now, for those of you who don't know what a pulmonary embolism is, it means a blood clot that has gone to your lungs.

And statistically, you have about a two -thirds chance of surviving a pulmonary embolism if they catch it quickly.

But I'll tell you, in my experience of 30 years, I can probably count on my fingers the number of patients that I've taken care of that have had pulmonary embolisms and have survived.

But again, we can consider it joy because on June 3rd, they took Melanie out of isolation and I was able to go into the hospital and see her.

And on the very next day, they decided to do what's called a pulmonary washout where they take fluid and they instill it in the lungs and they pull out some of that stuff that's clogging up the lungs.

And they say, okay, we don't think she had a pulmonary embolism now. Good news, right?

We can start having some joy again, right? The morning of June 6th,

I got one of the worst calls of my life. I got a call from the nurse saying they were in the room coding my wife.

And at this point, from May 15th when

Melanie was dropped off at the hospital until June 6th, my daughter, who had driven her, hadn't been able to see her mother because of the rules at the hospital.

But they said bring her because they didn't expect her to live. Again, just to educate you, if someone has a cardiac arrest, there's about a 5 % chance you're going to get them back.

And they called me saying that Melanie was coding and that we needed to hurry up and get there.

And by the time we had gotten there, they had said they had gotten her back but they were in there coding her again.

That's twice. And they got her back then.

And while we were there and while my daughter was finally in the room, Katie doesn't realize this but I'm looking at the monitor and I see what's getting ready to happen.

So that's when I kind of ushered my daughter out of the room. Because my wife coded a third time.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not into your own understanding.

Guys, my medical knowledge, she should be dead right now. 5 % chance of coming back from one code and with each code it's less.

And then my own understanding says if she comes back, she's not going to be the same.

The devastation from having to go through that on your body, it's not going to be the same. But I started thinking, on the ride to the hospital, and I'm so proud of her for this.

Katie kept repeating the scripture over and over. Jeremiah 29 .11

For I know the plans

I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for your welfare, not disaster.

To give you a future and a hope. And guys, you understand that a lot of us say that scripture is great for tough times, right?

But you don't truly understand unless you understand the context of that passage. God told that to the

Israelites when they were getting ready to go into slavery. When they were getting ready to go into the worst, darkest times of their life.

That I know the plans that I have for you. I know what you're getting ready to go through. But it's for your welfare, not disaster.

On June 7th, I was supposed to report to my new position at the hospital. The very next day.

Now the sad thing is, I didn't have my boss's phone number. I didn't have any way of contacting the office to tell them

I couldn't come in. So I had to go the day after my wife coded to report to my new job.

Because I couldn't afford... Because again, my own understanding says I have to plan for my future. My wife, who if she comes out of this is probably not going to be able to take care of herself.

I have to have a way to take care of her, right? I have a way to take care of my daughter. I have to have a way to take care of her parents.

So I show up to work the next morning. And guys,

I had to stay there an hour. One hour. Because my boss was late because she had to drop her kids off somewhere.

And she walked in, I walked into her office as soon as she got there. And I told her, I said, what are you doing here? Don't come back until she's better.

That your job is secure. Don't come back until she's better.

And to back up a little bit, I want to thank those ladies that surrounded my daughter on that June 6th.

Because rightfully so, she could only stay up there and see her mother in that state for so long. And she was picked up at the hospital and brought here and surrounded by love of family.

But guys, it's not all bad. Constantly through this, people are asking me, what can we do for you?

How can we help you? And honestly, people, when you're going through that, you don't know what people can do.

But I'll tell you this. Again, someone I'd like to publicly thank, Karina.

Because one of those things in the back of my head, for those of you who may not know, Katie's homeschooled, always has been.

There was one year she went to public school. But Melanie's taking care of that, and I have no clue how that side of the world functions.

But Karina and one of our family friends, Heather, I didn't know if Melanie had turned in Katie's grades from the year before.

And Katie's a senior this year. I couldn't mess up her senior year. So I'm worried about that, but I'm worried about Melanie.

And Karina took it upon herself to make sure Katie's grades were taken care of. That she was registered for this year.

So God is still in control. Trust in Him. Because as I said, my boss told me, don't come back until she's better.

And the relief that gave me. Because then I could be at my wife's side. And on June 10th, the doctors tell me they believe that the damage to her lungs has stopped.

And that they're starting to heal. And we start seeing,

Melanie would squeeze my hand when I'd ask her questions, and she'd open her eyes and answer me yes or no.

So again, things are getting better. So as things are getting better,

I start to think about what's coming up. And as you know, Melanie's already spent a large amount of time in the hospital.

I still know there's more to come. So I start thinking about the next steps, right? Like all of us would.

How am I going to pay for this? Not that this doesn't need to happen, but it's an honest...

Vicki, you're shaking. How am I going to pay for this? Hospitals aren't cheap. So I'm on the phone with the insurance company about something else.

And just ask them, what percentage of this am

I going to have to pay? Just so I can start planning for the future. Guys, the first words out of this woman's mouth after she said, give me a second to look up your policy, because again, we weren't talking on the phone for that, was wow.

She's like, sir, you don't have to worry. I said, St. Jude's insurance is so good, you have a maximum annual amount that you have to pay, no matter how much it costs.

And guys, that amount was $2 ,000. $2 ,000. So my wife spent two months in the hospital, is still receiving rehab, $2 ,000.

But guys, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not into your own understanding. It gets better from there.

Because that staff that I had been leading on the floor at St. Jude had been in contact with me too during all this time.

And one of them calls me, my primary contact there, because I had one there just like I had a carrier here, kind of informing everybody, but they had taken up a collection form and they wanted to drop it off.

And they gave Katie a gift. Bath salts, stuff like, girly stuff.

But because I worked with a bunch of women, I knew these were not inexpensive things that they had gotten her.

Gift card to Barnes & Noble was what, $50? $150. Plus a huge basket of just pamper yourself stuff.

And then the lady that brought it to me said, I'm going to transfer this on your Venmo and you're going to be surprised.

And I didn't look until I got home. But they transferred $1 ,800.

I had just been told that morning, $2 ,000 was the most you were going to pay. And they transferred $1 ,800.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. On June 16th, the doctor says she's had the tube down her throat long enough, we need to put a trach in.

They tried to pull her off sedation meds, but as you guys know, Melody suffers a little bit from anxiety at baseline, and they just couldn't get her calm enough to transition her off the ventilator.

So, they're going to put the trach in. And on June 16th, Melody gets a tracheotomy. For those of you who don't know, that's where they actually cut the hole in the throat and put the tube in so that there, so it's a little more comfortable as they're waking up.

They don't feel it down their throat like they do the ET tube. And Melody's stable enough that I finally get to go back out to Hamilton and I feel comfortable enough that I can go back out to Hamilton and preach.

Because I told them before that June was going to be our last month.

And I had already missed all this time. But you know, just like you guys are family, they'd become family.

So I went out there to preach. Or wait, back up a day or two. When I finally decided

I'm going to go out there and preach, my truck starts acting up. And at first I'm thinking, okay, hopefully this will just be something minor.

I put it in the shop and it's not minor. I honestly cannot remember exactly what it was that they said was wrong with it, but they said,

Mr. Franklin, it's going to be about $1 ,500 to repair your truck.

Now part of me is still happy because I'm thinking, okay, remember, rejoicing your trials, right?

Okay, $1 ,500, it could be worse. They could say it's totaled and I've got to get a new truck, right? And Melody's obviously not using her car, so I can afford for it to be in the shop for a little while.

When they said $1 ,500, I'm like, dang, that's a lot of money. But I go out to Hamilton to preach my next -to -last service out there.

And guys, Hamilton couldn't afford to pay me a lot. They can't.

They're a small country church. Before COVID, we averaged about 20 people on a

Sunday. But at the end of that service, they said, Brother John, we love you.

We know you would have been here during all those weeks when you were gone, but you couldn't because of Melody, so we want to go ahead and pay you for all those weeks too.

And the check that they gave me was, guess what? $1 ,500. Guys, trust in the

Lord with all your heart. Lean not into your own understanding, because again, my understanding when

I was thinking about insurance was how am I going to try to pay for months of hospital stays and rehab and whatever else she's going to need when she finally wakes up.

Because again, my understanding in 30 years of the medical field, coding three times the deprivation of oxygen to the brain, she's going to have devastation.

And God said, don't worry about that. Then my truck breaks down and God says, don't worry about that.

I got you covered. And then there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

And on June 23rd, Melody is transferred from Methodist Germantown to Region 1 long -term acute care facility to hopefully be weaned off the ventilator.

Now guys, I'm here to tell you that during that time that Melody was at Methodist, since her tracheotomy, as I told you before, she was squeezing my hands, asking questions.

There was none of that from the day of the tracheotomy until this day. No movements that were purposeful.

And me, my own understanding says she probably had a clot in the brain because that's what my medical experience, my medical knowledge tells me is going to happen, right?

We get over to Region 1 and she stops.

She starts responding again like almost immediately. And on the 30th of June, my wife was taken off the ventilator.

And on July 8th, July 8th, the tracheotomy was reversed, which means they took it out and they let the hole close up.

And she's completely breathing on her own, talking, not very loud, but she is talking. And on July 17th, almost two months to the day,

Melody came home. Not devastated like she should have been.

Not dead like coding three times should have left her. She walked home. Well, she didn't walk on my driveway, but she walked from the car into the house under her own power, not with a walker, not in a wheelchair, under her own power.

And she sits right there today. And guys,

I'm here to tell you, is she 100 % what she was before? No. You have to endure so that someone coming after you, you can be a witness to and teach them.

But I promise you, God has a reason for what you're going through right now. I can't tell you why, but I can tell you to trust in Him.

I can tell you to have faith in Him. So I got three questions for you today, church.

That was a long introduction, wasn't it? I think I even beat Pastor Jeff. But as I said, it's been a few months since I've got a chance to preach, so you're going to have to listen for a little bit longer today.

The first one is, where are your thoughts? Because if I would have left myself to my thoughts, when they were pushing me to sign that do not resuscitate order when

I arrived at that hospital that day, my wife would not be sitting here today. And I promise you, they were pushing for me to sign that.

Because everything in the medical textbook says, if someone has coded three times, they're gone.

And what you're going to get back, if you get it back, is not the person that you had.

My thoughts should have left her laying on that bed. Do not worry about anything, but with everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Guys, I had a peace when I decided, God, I'm going to leave it up to you. And that day when they were pushing for me to sign that code,

I said, God, it's all in your hands. I'm not going to do it. I know my medical mind says to, but tomorrow morning, if you haven't done anything and shown me anything,

I'll sign it, but not today. And God answered that prayer.

Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6, this is why I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.

Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky.

They don't sow or reap or gather into barns that your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they?

Christian, you're worth way more than all this stuff here. To God, you are

His child. You're His son. You're His daughter. He has said, you are mine.

And He promises never to let you go. So trust in Him that He's going to care for you, right?

1 Peter says, To humble yourselves before, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so He may exalt you at the proper time.

Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you. God, I promise you, my thoughts, if I would have left them to my understanding, instead of casting them at God's feet, would have left her in that bed.

But because He cares, I can give my cares to Him. And that peace that He promised us in Philippians can give you a calm.

And that's why Paul in the letter to Philippians, right after he says to not worry about anything, he says this in verse 8 of chapter 4 of Philippians, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, if there is any praise, dwell on these things.

Because you know where all those things are found? In Christ. Not in us.

Because what's true is Him. What's honorable is Christ. So that's the first thing.

Where are your thoughts today? Are you worried about what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear?

Are you worried about what's happening tomorrow? Are you thinking about what you're going to do right after here?

It's time to focus on Him. The second question

I have for you is where's your trust? You say you're a

Christian, you say you want to follow God, but then you want to try to rule everything. And I understand,

I'm a control freak myself. I spent 23 years in the army,

I was second in command of a 350 person hospital company. I'm used to having my way. And I want my way.

The scripture tells us to deny ourselves, right? To pick up our cross daily, right?

It says that we must decrease so He can increase. Right? So where's your trust?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Right? Psalms 44 says,

How happy is a man who puts his trust in the Lord and does not turn to the proud or those who run after lies.

Guys, when you're struggling, when you're hurting, when you're not sure what to do, trust in God. Confide in those you know who are

His children because James says, To confess our faults one to another so we may be healed.

Right? So if we are struggling something, it's good to have accountability, but trust in God to fix it, not man.

Man's not going to heal our land, man's not going to heal our hearts, man's not going to heal our relationships, man's not going to fix our problems at home, but God can do all those things.

You just have to trust Him. You don't have to understand why. Now James does tell us again,

I love James, it says, If any of us lack wisdom, we can ask God. Right? And He'll give it to all. So we can ask

God why, but trust in Him for the answer because His ways are higher than our ways. Right?

His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He knows the plans that He has for us to give us that future and a hope.

Jeremiah 17, 7 says, A man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence and deed is in the Lord, is blessed.

He will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out towards a stream. It doesn't fear when heat comes and its foliage remains green.

It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit. Which is why

I said at the beginning, plan now to seek after God. Get in His Word now so that in those days of trial you can rely on Him.

It said, whose confidence and deed is in the Lord, He will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out towards a stream. Go ahead and have yourself rooted in Christ.

Because come the drought, you're not going to be able to have the strength to do it if you're not already there.

Psalms 125, 1 says, Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be shaken.

It remains forever. Guys, I promise you, I'm not going to promise you your life is going to be great because, again, it says we're going to have trials.

Right? Things are going to be tough for us. It says the world is going to hate us.

Things are going to get a lot worse for us. I promise you that. But if your trust is in God and not in man, you can persevere through it.

Because the worst thing they can do here, the very worst thing that this world can do to us is kill us.

Right? But as Obi -Wan said, for those of you nerds,

I'm going to talk mostly, if you strike me down, you only make me stronger. Right?

Because what Scripture says, be absent from the bodies, beware, present with the Lord. Right? So the worst thing this world can do to you is take away your life.

And if you're securely in the hand of God, that means you're immediately with Father.

So trust in God. He knows what He's doing. And guys,

I'm a little aside. There's some days, go ahead. Because the trials of this life can wear you down.

But trust in God to get you through it. And the last question I have for you today,

Christian, where's your faith? Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding. Think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right path. In order to allow someone to guide you, you have to have faith that they know what they're doing.

Hebrews tells us what? What is faith? Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the evidence of what is not seen.

Right? Guys, I'm going to tell you, that day, they wanted me to sign that I had to have faith in God.

Not just put my trust in Him, but truly have faith in Him. So where's your faith?

You say you trust Him. Because I can say I trust... Jeremiah, can you come up here?

He didn't know I was going to do this. I can say that I trust this young man, right? I can truly say

I trust Him 100 % that you can catch me if I fell, right?

Yeah? I can say I trust Him all day long, right?

But saying it doesn't mean a lot, does it? It's only if I actually do that to actually put faith in what my words say.

Okay, thank you. You have to put that trust and that faith into action.

If you truly say you believe God, then you actually have to step out on that leap of faith.

You actually have to take that next step. If you truly believe God is Lord of your life and Master, not just your

Savior, not just your life preserver to keep you out of hell, then you have to take that next step and put that faith into action.

We have to serve Him and not us. Jesus said to His disciples,

I assure you, if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can tell this mountain to move and it will. It doesn't take a lot.

It doesn't take much. But, Christian, you got to put that faith into action. So where's your faith today?

Because if you truly love God and you truly want to serve Him, remember these words.

All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Remember these trials, these things you're struggling with right now, this weight that you're feeling of the world today.

It's all going to work to God's good. It's all part of that sanctification process that's bringing you closer to Him.

So trust in Him. If He's nudging on your heart to do something, we're going to go ahead and get hundreds to start coming on up.

If He's nudging on, if He's saying, I want you to take that next step in your walk with me, listen to Him.

Because to say, I trust you, God, but to stand still means nothing. To say,

I believe in you, but I'm not going to let go of this means nothing.

What matters is what you do with it. You see, Christian, we're told that we're going to be judged just like everybody at the end of the world, right?

But our judgment's different. Our judgment isn't based on our sins. Our judgment is based on what we did in the body, whether good or evil.

Right? What did you do with the grace that God gave you? So my three questions to you today.

Where are your thoughts? Are they on things of the world? Or are they on things of God? Where's your trust?

Are you trusting in yourself? The government? Your neighbors? Your friends?

Are you trusting in God? And then are you putting that trust and acting out in faith that He's going to sustain you?

Because the answer to any of those is I'm trying to do it myself, you're going to fail. If the answer of any of those is

I'm not putting it in God, I'm putting it in me, you're going to fail. And the trials are going to weigh heavier and heavier.

But I promise you today the outcome may not be the one that you expect, may not be the one you asked for, but I promise you that peace of God will be there because you know you're following Him.

As we stand up today, search your hearts, search your soul, and if you need to, come up here today.