Hospital Visitation (Part 2)

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,.

But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, 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 isn't for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Serving the Sick as Serving Christ

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth. I don't know why I'm having a hard time speaking today, but I've had to start the show about three times already. Instead of saying something about visiting sick people, I said visiting sixth people.

Six people. I just kind of got to get lubed up a little bit. I need some WD -40 on the creases of my mouth, and I think I'd be better off. I began to talk last week about visiting the sick, ministering to sick Christians.

Of course, you can minister to anyone who's sick, but especially Christians visiting other Christians, and maybe even Christians visiting unbelievers. If you are a Christian, you have a hospital ministry.

You have a sick ministry, and you're either really good at it by the grace of God, or you're on your way, or you're failing because you somehow think that you're not supposed to visit people who are in the hospital and who are sick.

Oh, it's easy to listen to radio shows. It's easy to go to church on Sunday. It's easy to go to Bible studies on Wednesday. But it's kind of difficult, at least initially before you get over the hump, to go to a hospital where some of the rooms smell like urine, some of the rooms smell like blood, some of the rooms smell like hospital antiseptic, wires everywhere, tubes everywhere, sick people everywhere, a reminder of your own mortality because you go there and you think to yourself, I might be healthy now, but I'm going to be sick one day.

I'm going to die one day. And so sometimes people have a hard time visiting those in the hospital. So if you're one of those folks that do not like to go to the hospital, refuse to go, don't go serve folks who are sick, maybe even at home or maybe in long care centers, maybe you're afraid to go to the rest home or an old folks home, I want to talk specifically to you today.

If you're not a Christian, I still think you have a duty to your parents, to honor your parents and to go visit those in the rest homes. It's been said that parents who don't spank their children and discipline their children are put in rest homes when they're older by those very same children who have grown.

I don't know if that's true or not, but what I would say is this, there are certainly reasons to put grandparents in rest homes because they need extra care or they need some IV fluid or something like that.

But if you've got some loved one in one of those folks, an old folks home, you ought to visit. You ought to regularly visit. Now it might be a little bit different, but when my wife is in California during the summertime, I know she goes every single day to visit her grandmother.

Every single day she goes and takes the kids and visits. And it has become a wonderful ministry for the Abendroth kids and for Kim as well, not just a minister to Grandma Evie, but also everyone else who was stuck in there.

And several of the ladies that we have met, basically their family doesn't want to have anything to do with them anymore. They are a burden to them, they think. And then they just put them in the rest home and they might see them once a Thanksgiving, but that's pretty rare too.

So then we get to love on them. The kids understand what it's like to love people who maybe in their eyes are unlovely, with hair growing out of their nose, and hair growing out of their ears, and then you should see the men, they're even worse.

Yeah, yeah, there's always truth behind the humor, isn't there? Anyway, it doesn't matter what people look like or smell like. We have the privilege of acting like Christ Jesus. We saw last time that Jesus is a great example of someone who loved people who were sick and ill, and of course he ministered to people, even dead people, and he would raise them from the dead, and then he'd say, you know, that young girl needs something to eat.

We do not worship a God who is like the heathen gods, who is like the pagan gods, who are bloodthirsty, mean, ravenous. No, we serve a gentle Savior, a meek Savior, a Savior of the brokenhearted. I think of Isaiah chapter 42, a bruised reed, he, the suffering servant, will not break.

A dimly burning wick he will not extinguish. And so I want you to be able to feel comfortable to go visit people in the hospital and to serve them. If you love me, Jesus says, you will keep my commandments.

And keeping the commandments means that you will go serve other people like you serve the Lord, as unto the Lord. I often ask people this question about ministry and service. If the Lord Jesus Christ was physically right in front of you now, would you serve him?

And I can't push the analogy too far because it would break down, but if Jesus was in the hospital somehow, he's not affected by the fall or sin or sickness, therefore, but let's just say he was in the hospital, would you go and visit him?

You call yourself a Christian, you're redeemed by his precious blood, would you go visit him? See, we're even messed up with time because this would mean this is pre-crucifixion, etc., but you get my point.

If he was at the hospital, I think you would go, and I think you would go with bells on. I think you would go with some food. I think you would go with a happy heart, a heart of anticipation, a heart of privilege, a heart of duty, a heart of delight.

And so, since Jesus isn't on earth now physically, you should serve his body, that is, other people who have been redeemed by his blood, with all your heart, soul, mind, energy, strength, fortification, and determination.

His body, Christ's body, is on earth now. Not his legs and his arms, literally, but figuratively, his body is on earth, and when you serve his body, you are serving him. Listen to what Jesus himself says in Matthew 25.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, are thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, are needing clothes and clothe you?

When did we see you sick, are in prison, and go visit you? Verse 40, Jesus concludes, the king will reply, and we know who this king is supposed to represent, the king will reply, I tell you the truth, who whatever you did, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

Let me say that one more time. I tell you the truth, says this great king, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. And so as Hendrickson the commentator said, whatever was done for Christ's disciples out of love for Christ is counted as if done for Christ.

That should motivate you to go serve. Philippians 2 .30, because he, Epaphroditus, almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help or service you could not give me, Paul says.

So when I talk to you today on No Compromise Radio Ministry, you can write us at info at nocompromiseradio .com, WVNE 760, we're here every day, Monday through Friday, 3 .30. Today I'm trying to talk about a subject that hopefully isn't that controversial.

I like provocative thinking, I like controversy, I like biblical, I like all those kind of things, because it stirs my mind to think properly. And after all, as the book says, the book title says, ideas have consequences.

And here's the idea, that you need to serve people who are sick and needy, whether they're in the hospital, the rest home, or whether they're at home or someplace else, you should serve them with the same energy, with the same enthusiasm, as you would serve Christ Jesus if he were on earth today.

If he were in one of those places, to what degree would you serve him? Would you say, I'm too busy, I can't do it, I don't have enough time, I've got soccer practice, football practice, I've got some Nintendo to do, I've got some shopping, I've got to go get the latest bargains down at TJ Maxx, I don't think you'd do any of that.

So my question is, why do you do that now? If you have people in your church that are in the hospital, you ought to go visit. Well, you don't maybe have to go visit everyone, but you sure could. Say, I want to have a ministry, a ministry of compassion and love, and the church needs to be more loving.

Well, friends, if you don't visit those in the hospital, you need to be more loving. Yeah, you. You who are sitting there listening to the radio. It's easy to listen to the radio show, oh, I listen to the radio all the time, I listen to ten sermons a day.

Well, what are you going to do about it? Get to the hospital and visit some folks who are needy, and you will find great satisfaction, great joy in serving other people. The hardest part is just getting there.

What a great ministry, when you do something for other people with the motive that you're doing it for the Lord, it's counted as if you did do it for the Lord. A .T. Pearson wrote, whatever is done for God, without respect of its comparative character as related to other acts, is service, and only that is service.

Service is, comprehensively speaking, doing the will of God. He is the object. All is for Him, for His sake, as unto the Lord, not as unto man. Hence, even the humblest act of humblest discipline acquires a certain divine quality by its being done with reference to Him.

The supreme test of service is this, for whom am I doing this? Pearson is right. If you serve in the nursery, if you mow the church's lawn, if you make copies for the Sunday school, if you set up the chairs, if you clean up afterwards, if you preach, if you teach, if you work on the website, if you work in the recording area, if you work in the sound ministry team, if you say, for whom am I doing this?

You will find that serves as a catalyst to greater service, better service, more unique service that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ. For whom am I doing this? Pearson goes on. Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all.

If we are doing this for Christ, we shall not care for human reward or even recognition. Our work must again be tested by three propositions. Is it work from God, as given us to do from Him, for God, as finding in Him its secret of power, and with God, as only a part of His work in which we engage as coworkers with Him?

A .T. Pearson. So, from God, for God, with God. That's how you serve in any ministry, including this ministry. By the way, if I ever give you a quote on NoCompromiseRadio .com, and you would like that quote, you send me an email at info at NoCompromiseRadio .com, and say, Mike, you were doing the show on hospital visits and sick and all that, and you quoted A .T. Pearson.

Could you send me that quote? And I would be glad to send you that quote. For whom am I doing this? Remember, three propositions. From God, for God, with God. And if you want that quote, I'll be glad to send you that quote.

Service, Prayer, and Scripture in the Hospital

So, people that don't want to serve the body seem to me to be like people that Job was addressing. Job 21. Yet they say to God, leave us alone. We have no desire to know Your ways. Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him?

What would we gain by praying to Him? We don't really know who He is. He's not that great. Who is He? We don't know. We don't care. We don't want to serve Him. And so, we just learned through the words of Jesus that if you serve other people as if you're serving Him, you are serving Him.

And if you're not serving other people, then that means what's the deduction? What's the logical conclusion? You're not serving Christ. Now, I'm not saying that you, if you never darken the doors of a hospital except for your 50-year-old colonoscopy, that you're not a Christian.

I'm not saying that you aren't a Christian if you don't do that. I'm just saying that if there are people in the church that are in the hospital, and you go to that church, would you want them to visit you?

The answer most likely is yes, and so you ought to go and visit them. Plan an hour and a half out of your day and get down to the hospital. You say, well, I'm not adequate. Well, Paul says, you know, our adequacy in 2 Corinthians 3 comes from God.

If you say, you know what, I'm too weak, I don't know what to do, 2 Corinthians 4, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. So those really aren't good excuses, those are great reasons to let Christ's greatness shine in spite of your failings and weaknesses.

So what do we actually do when we go visit? Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry, today is part two on how to make hospital visits. Why to make hospital visits? Why should you go help sick people?

What about encouragement and cards and calls and meals and, you know, you have somebody at the church and they've got a brand new baby and you make food and drive it over to their house. What about that?

This is very practical and it's very important for all of us to be able to serve the body of Christ in the hospital. Who is my neighbor? Neighbors anybody that you know who has a need. So when it comes to the actual visit, let me give you some updates, let me give you some, not updates, some suggestions.

Practical Guidance for Visiting Patients Well

First thing I would do if I were you is I would bring somebody else, and I would bring your family, I would bring your friend, I would bring your companion. If you've got a buddy or something that you want to have go along with you or a sister in Christ.

If you're a woman, find somebody to go with to say, we might as well go minister together and you can talk on the way there. You could pray on the way there. You could talk about things when you're done.

Maybe when you don't know what to say in the room, the other person can kind of fill in. That's why I have Steve in here on Tuesday. Pastor Steve Cooley on No Compromise Radio, because when I get stuck for words, he amply supplies any kind of dead air.

He gets rid of any kind of dead air quite successfully. I'm trying to think of some kind of joke about Steve to do, but that wouldn't be very nice now, would it? Okay, back to the point. Find out when the visiting hours are.

Sometimes it's difficult to get in late at night, and so if it's around seven or eight at night, you might want to call and find out visiting hours and be cognizant of the fact that people in the hospital usually try to get some sleep, and when it gets dark, they sometimes sleep.

You walk in to the hospital. Make sure you remember where you parked. You can actually bring your ticket stub in if you'd like. See how practical this is? And you go up to the front counter and smile, and you say, hi, I'm here to visit so-and-so.

Do you have the room number? Yes, room 506. So write down 506 and write it down in your bulletin that you have in your Bible. So you've got your Bible with you, some little pocket Bible, iPhone Bible.

I use the ESV app in my iPhone Bible these days because it's got light behind it. Some hospital rooms are very difficult for me to read small print now. You want to make sure that you've got your Bible and you write it down, and then off you go.

You might want to go into the restroom and use the restroom and wash your hands, make sure you're clean. You don't want to bring any bugs in. If you're sick, you might want to just send a note in or a call because you don't want to go make the patient sick.

So you dress appropriately, your hair's combed, your fly is up, your tie is tied. If you've got a tie on, you don't have a low-cut dress on, you've got some breath mints because you are representing your church.

Oh, much more than that. You're representing Christ Jesus. You're going to go visit somebody as if you were visiting Jesus, so that should help you as well. Smile at the nurses, and you go up to the door, and then you knock.

People in hospital rooms need to use the restroom, they have to use a bedpan. They might be throwing up, they might be getting a shot in a spot that exposes them to some degree. They might have something being done to them where they've got that short gown on that might reveal something that would not be appropriate for you to just walk in.

You wouldn't walk into somebody's bedroom without knocking. And so knock on the door really loudly. You knock and say, hi, this is Mike Ebendroth. If they know who you are, just say the name, and then they'll say, okay, fine.

Come in, or just a minute, the nurse might say, just a minute, please. And then, if they don't know who you are because you're visiting somebody new at church and they don't know who you are, hi, my name is Mike Ebendroth and I attend Bethlehem Bible Church and I just wanted to try to encourage you with a visit.

And they'll say, get lost, or they'll say, okay, come on in. And you knock on the door, you walk in, say who you are, you walk in. Now many times there are many people in a room. That is to say, you could have two people, some old hospitals would have three people in a room, so the first person you walk by, the first person there might be the person you visit, or it might be in the second.

So there's a curtain, you walk by, without staring at somebody's tubes up their nose or some kind of tumor on their forehead, you can look over and just smile if you'd like to the person in the first room, and the family if they're there, hi, how are you, smile, and then go into the other component.

You'll see probably the curtain there, and there might be a TV on or something like that, and just say, hi, my name's Mike Ebendroth and I'm here to visit you, or they'll just see you and they'll go, oh, hi, Pastor, how are you?

Don't look around and see all the smells and listen to all the bells and see the tubes, some kind of disfigurement, you just smile and don't worry about that. You want to make sure that when you go, that you ask them about them.

If they're able to talk, talk to them about their walk and their situation, what can you pray for them about. Don't go in there to somebody who's just had an appendectomy and tell them how you had to go through a double appendectomy, you had two appendices, appendix, and they had to take both of yours out in some kind of bilateral fashion through your nose, and this person's not going through anything difficult because you had it much worse.

Don't talk about yourself. Don't talk about what you had and show them your scars, and oh, I had a double tonsillectomy and they pulled it out through my foot and, you know, all these kind of other things.

Just talk to them, and before you walk in, have something in your mind that would be good to read to them. So have maybe your little post-it note in your Bible, Psalm 103, Psalm 46, you could say, could I read something to you from the Bible?

And most of the time they'll say yes, even unbelievers sometimes say yes. And then you say, okay, I'd like to read Psalm 103 or Psalm 104. Psalm 46, maybe you could say to them, what would you like me to read?

All of a sudden, then there's some big interruption. Somebody has to come in to take a test. Just smile. Don't be ashamed of your Bible. Quick, put your Bible away. No, just pause, and when they're done, then you continue, smile.

You can help them focus upon the Lord, not necessarily why is this trial, and you want to bring cheer and love and hope. Can I get you anything? Magazines? Can I mail a letter? What about the children?

Could I pray for you? And you pray for them. You can hold their hand when you pray. It's a public place. There are certain places to touch a patient and certain places where you ought not to touch a patient.

If people have been in a rest home for months and years, the only people that touch them are the staff and the nurses. And so I think it's appropriate. Even if you're a man, you could hold a lady's hand, the doors open, the screens back, and you could hold her hand and just talk with her and pray with her.

Or sometimes I put my hand on someone's shoulder because everything's got tubes and IVs everywhere else. Of course be appropriate, but that's a good way to show sympathy, to show kindness. Ephesians 4, be kind to one another, tender-hearted.

Ryle said, if you can live in a sick and dying world and not feel for others, you still have much to learn. So it's the same thing there. You represent Christ and you pray for them and you're with them.

Don't stay too long. Don't be all concerned about exactly, you know, talking the whole time. There can be some times of silence. You don't want to give false hope to people. I think if you've got little tiny kids, you ought not to bring them.

There's usually rules, and so think about that ahead of time. If some of the people in the hospital are tricking the patient and he's terminal but they won't tell him, I don't think you go along with that lie.

Figure out a way to tell them they're going to die and meet God. That's what I try to do, or call me and then I'll go help. I think afterwards, after you say goodbye and smile and you're kind and sweet, you ask yourself, was that honoring to the Lord?

You kind of evaluate yourself and you say, oh, what a blessing that was for me. It wasn't even a blessing for them, although it probably was. It was a blessing for me. Can you imagine 1 Corinthians 15, 58?

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. And God sees that, and he sees that you care, and you can tell, I know I've been affected by the gospel because I kind of cared before, but now I really care for these kind of people.

Start up a ministry that you can just go visit people in the hospital. It's interesting that you see all kinds of other things spin out of that, where you talk to doctors, you talk to nurses, you talk to other patients, that there's this spillover for those that want to go out and minister and have the motivation to serve Christ Jesus.

It is my desire to make sure people in the hospital are served. That's why we have chaplains, although you know what now? Chaplains are 95 times out of 100, they don't even know the gospel. And so you do, you've been trained.

And so go and serve people in the hospital, and in rest homes, and in their homes, like you would serve Christ Jesus. Well this is Mike Abendroth today, talking about visiting the sick and the needy. Call your pastor and say, who's in the hospital, I'd like to go visit them, and off you go.