AN INFINITE GOD BECOMES PERSONAL TO FINITE MAN - PART 1

AN INFINITE GOD BECOMES PERSONAL TO FINITE MAN- PART 1

Don Phillips- March 2, 2011

As I enter into the twilight years of my life, (upper 70’s), I have an increasing desire and passion to know God more personally and intimately and to make Him known to others. These words from the Amplified version of Philippians 3: 10 express my heart.

“[For my determined purpose is] to know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His person] more strongly and more clearly. And that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection and that I may so share in His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness] even to His death.”

A DREAM WORTH SHARING

Recently I was invited to be on the leadership team of the “Radical Men’s Summit” sponsored by Green Valley Church of Watsonville, California, pastored by Dennis Smith. The main Speaker was Rich Wilkerson, Pastor of Trinity Church in Miami, Florida. It was truly a Holy Spirit –encounter week-end. I was personally refreshed and renewed in my spirit.

Before I woke up Sunday morning of the Summit, I had a dream and I shared it with the men that morning. I dreamed there was a large black board and I saw a hand holding a piece of chalk. The hand was drawing different sizes lines. At the top of the board the hand drew a long line and the line kept going off the board into infinity. Then I saw the individual lines merging into the longer line at the top of the board.

When I woke up the dream was still fresh in my mind and I wrote it down and began to pray in the Spirit for further revelation. The Holy Spirit helped me to see that the individual lines represented each follower of Christ and the measurement of their spiritual maturity and commitment. The line going off into infinity represented God.

As further revelation began to come to me, I saw that God’s infinite love and grace was drawing each believer to Himself to experience a deeper more profound relationship with Him.

Those individuals who responded were now experiencing the fullness and completeness that God wanted them to have. I asked the Holy Spirit to give me Scriptural verifications to confirm what I was seeing and He did.

Scriptural verifications

Here are a few of them: (From the New Living Translation)

Ezekiel 40: 3-4 “As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring rod. He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”

John 3: 34 “For he (Jesus) is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God’s Spirit is upon him without measure or limit.”

Ephesians 4:11-16 “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.

Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

God holds our faces in His hands

This dream reminded me of another spiritual picture God gave me several years ago when I was in an early Morning Prayer meeting at our church. I saw a large wheel with God at the hub of the wheel. Each believer had their own private channel to God. God was lovingly looking into the face of each believer, cupping their face in His hands. He was saying to each believer, ”I love you more than you know and I want a deeper more intimate relationship with you. Please come closer to me.”

I saw that people were at different proximity to God, some were very close and some one fourth of the way to Him and some three fourth and others at the rim end of their channel. I could see one person at the rim end of his channel representing many other believers. He was pacing back and forth in the shadows to the things he had erected between himself and God. He would peer around the stuff and wave at God and say “Yes, God, I know you love me and want a closer relationship with yourself but right now I am not there. I saw that person get so disgusted and angry with where he was and depressed about how he had gradually let things come between himself and God.

Then I saw this man confess and repent for allowing those things to come between himself and God. He began to throw the “stuff” aside and make his way to the Father. His life became less complicated and cluttered as He got closer to God. As he was making his way closer to God he was encouraging others to do the same.

Application

I pray that God will help us all to heed and obey the Holy Spirit as He calls us to examine our lives and allow Him to help us to MEASURE up to all He desires for us to be and do.

“Let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:22-25 NLT)

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LifeCoachDon@att.net           http://www.drdonphillips.com/



GOD'S CHILDREN NEVER DIE! DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

CHILDREN OF GOD NEVER DIE!    DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

By Don Phillips - January 28, 2011

“You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives, believing in me, does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25, 26) (Msg.) Emphasis added.

My Oncologist said to Ruthanne and me; “Don, you have stage 2 lung cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The tumor is close to the lining of the lungs and your heart, and there is a possibility the cancerous cells will get into the blood stream and spread Cancer throughout your body.”

We have strong faith that I will live many more years here on earth to serve Him. We deeply appreciate our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are praying for us.

Ruthanne and I were very blessed as we attended the recent Minister’s Fellowship International Regional meeting in Oakland, California. Many of our fellow minister friends told me that they and their church were praying for me to be healed of Cancer. They asked how I was doing and I reported that I haven’t had pain in a month. That night in our hotel room I was awakened several times with severe pain and Ruthanne and I prayed each time and the pain subsided.

That was on a Sunday night and Monday during a time of prayer, several people laid hands on me and prayed and I haven’t had one moment of pain since then, praise God!

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart and He is mine forever. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” (Psalm 73:26, 28) Emphasis added

“O Lord my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me and restored my health.” (Psalm 30:2)

We are also fervently praying now for many of our dear brother and sisters who are facing health challenges. Among them are Mario and Linda Solis, their family and especially their grandson Alex who is bravely battling cancer. We receive the updates on his condition and are inspired as we see the strong faith of Alex and his family during these critical days. We are joining our faith with theirs and others who need a miracle of healing.

Linda and Mario recently sent this note to me and with their permission I am including it here because I believe God wants to use it to build greater faith in all of us:

"Because of our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ who was risen miraculously from the dead and because of the power of His Name, we continue to pray and believe in miraculous healings and have witnessed many in our family over the past several years and continue to see them on a regular basis. This is due to our faith in a God who heals. Our peace is knowing that whether He chooses to heal us here and extend our life on earth or to heal us as we enter heaven...we win either way! We will continue to pray in faith asking for an earthly miraculous healing. We rejoice in Him always no matter what His final answer for ultimately through it all we draw closer to Him and understand the peace that only He can give us! We hope you will each join us in faith for healing and peace for Don and Alex and the many others battling cancer. Trusting always in our loving God, Linda and Mario Solis"

How is a Christian supposed to think and act in times like these? May I share with you what the Holy Spirit put on my heart during my devotional time a few mornings ago?

As I was praying for Alex and others who are facing major crises in their lives, The Holy Spirit took me back to 18 years ago when Ruthanne, our two sons Rod and Denny and I stood by our daughter Donna’s hospital bed and watched her peacefully slip from our arms into the arms of her loving Savior. Through our tears, Ruthanne and I softly said “Hallelujah!” We knew she had just received her ultimate healing and was now pain free forever and we would see her again in a much better place.

The night before she died, I was reminded of another father who had to release his child to God. Abraham was told to offer his son Isaac to God as an offering. I have tried to exercise that same kind of obedience Abraham demonstrated. Right at the last minute before Isaac was to die; God intervened and provided a substitute in the form of a Ram.

Praise God! Jesus became the Lamb of God to take away our sins and sicknesses. Through faith in Him, we have perfect access to God and His eternal home. Through our faith in Christ and His death on the cross we will never die! Worthy is the Lamb to receive, praise and worship through all eternity!

As we watched Donna die, we knew that she was not dead but more alive now than we were. We knew that, because of Donna’s faith in Jesus Christ, she would never die. No we were not, nor are we now, in denial. We knew her body was dead but we are convinced that her spirit and her soul, her true self, are alive with God in Heaven.

Children of God, those who repent of their sin and put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ, DO NOT DIE. They just go to sleep and wake up in the arms of God.

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? If you don’t then perhaps you need to examine your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and do what others have done. Maybe you need to repent and invite Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord, and then you will never die.

You may contact me at:  (408) 363-9547 LifeCoachDon@att.net You can read updates from my blog on my web site www.drdonphilliips.com or go directly to my blog: http://drdonletterofencouragement.blogspot.com/

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

by Don Phillips

"You are seen as bright lights, shinning out clearly in the dark world,

holding out to and offering it the Word of Life.” (Phil. 2: 15 AMP)

God faithfully provides His light to encourage and lead us out of the darkness into His marvelous light. It is in times of darkness that we can experience some of our greatest victories and growth. I am convinced that when Jesus is our Savior and Lord, we have the Light of the world (Jesus) residing within us. No strategy from Satan can extinguish that Light. Satan cannot hold us hostage because he was defeated by Jesus on the cross. May God help us to not let fear rule over us and cause us to doubt in the darkness what God has promised. God will continue to shine in our darkness until it is overcome.

As we observe what is happening in our World today, we could conclude that these are dark times. We are entering into what many believe to be the end times when Jesus will return. What the prophets said would be the signs of the return of Christ are being fulfilled daily.

 As we face dark times we must remember who we are and Who He is. We, through faith in Jesus Christ, are the children of God and we must believe that He has everything under control. We must not allow doubt and confusion to minimize our faith in a loving, providing and all sufficient God. It is true that God wants us to use what we learn in our dark seasons to bless others. "What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light;and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetop." Matthew 10: 27

Are you going through a dark season?

Perhaps you are experiencing a dark season emotionally, in your physical body, marriage, family or finances. I encourage you to let God use your dark times to bring you closer to Him. I encourage you to let His light shine brightly in you for His glory and for the benefit of others.

God enables and empowers us to overcome the darkness. May God help us to let the stress and pain  draw us closer to Him and each other. Satan, the prince of darkness, wants to cause you to fear and doubt, which will ultimately lead  to unbelief. We must decide who we will follow during our dark times. Prayer, the Holy Spirit and God’s Word will help us overcome those dark seasons in our lives.

We who have experienced or are experiencing a dark season can discover an overwhelming sense of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit serving as a light guiding us through our dark times. As Ruthanne and I are going through a current personal challenge, we are greatly encouraged as we read Psalm 119: 105 in The Message Bible: “By Your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path."

Our Journey from darkness to light

Several months ago I was diagnosed with Stage two Lung Cancer. Ruthanne and I met with the surgeon who specializes in lung cancer surgery. He recommended immediate surgery. He said even with surgery he could not give us a positive prognosis. He described the surgery procedure. He would have to go in and spread my rib cage and collapse my left lung. He would then remove the lower left lobe where the cancerous tumor was located. He said recovery would be long and require Chemo therapy and Radiation. He said we could get a second opinion if we wanted to.

As we drove home from the Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara, we both were silent for a while and a feeling of darkness began to come over us. After several minutes we began to pray and talk. We both recognized that this was another dark season for us but we knew that God would shine His light in the midst of our darkness as He has done through previous dark experiences.

A promise from God

God reminded me of a message He gave me a few days before. “Don, you will be going through another storm but the Son of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings.” We both were encouraged to trust God more than the doctors. After I received that word from the Lord, Ruthanne reminded me that it was from Malachi 4: 2. We read verses 1-3 in several versions and were greatly encouraged. May you be encouraged as you read these words of light and hope in the midst of your dark season.

“Count on it: — a black day. But for you, sunrise! The sun (Son) of righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name, healing radiating from its wings. You will be bursting with energy, like colts frisky and frolicking. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.”  (Malachi 4: 1-3 The Message) (Emphasis mine)

God gave us a “second opinion”

We rejoiced that God had given us a “second” opinion through this and other promises. We were overwhelmed with the assurance that we could go through another dark season without doubting or wavering. After prayer we felt God didn’t want me to have surgery, Chemo therapy or radiation. We were convinced that God wanted us to use the natural path for healing. God led us to a great Naturopathic doctor who has treated me for the past several months. Even though I have periodic pain, in many ways I feel better now than I have in years. I still have my Oncologist and he informed me that my last test showed the cancer has not grown or spread. Praise God!

We talked about the other dark times in our lives and how God was always faithful to let His light shine on our pathway and give us light and hope for our future. God always proved Himself to be so very faithful. The more we talked and prayed the light got brighter and our faith began to rise and the darkness began to flee.

The darkest season of all

We talked about the darkest season of all when we had to watch our daughter Donna die a slow painful death, what a dark night of the soul that was for her family and friends. She was 36 and the wife of our wonderful son-in-law Richard and the mother of our awesome grandchildren, Abby, Jeremy, Rachel and Ruth. We were so grateful for the love and prayers from so many in the body of Christ. Through it all God’s light broke forth and gave all our family and friends the power to let Him use that dark season for our good and His glory.

We are so grateful for the way God has blessed Donna’s family. Here is a current update: Richard is still a man of the Word and prayer and has organized some of the men in our family who live in the area to meet with me on a regular basis. I appreciate my "stretcher bearers," Richard, Jeremy, who recently returned from Marine duty in Iraq; Danny, Abby's husband who is on the pastoral staff at Calvary Chapel in San Jose;  Pete, Rachel's husband, who assists Danny with the youth at Calvary, and Solomon (11), Abby’s oldest child, who is becoming quit a prayer warrior and Bible scholar. 

I am so blessed as we come together and share God’s Word together. They all fervently pray for me as I deal with cancer.

Abby and Rachel  bless us as we observe how they love and serve God and their husbands and children. They both are married to dedicated men of God. Jeremy is a committed follower of Christ and is married to Rachel who is a dedicated woman of God. Ruthie, Donna's youngest, is single and is growing in her faith. Donna would be so proud of her family and grateful for the way God has answered her prayers concerning each of them. Donna was a godly wife and mother and would be an awesome grandmother to Solomon, Naomi, Michal Donna, Judah, Jonah and the others who will come in the future.

We are in the process of making a DVD of Donna’s memorial service and a pictorial DVD review of her life. We want her powerful Christ-centered legacy to live on and influence her children and grandchildren and others to give their all to Jesus as she did.

Another dark season

About one and one half years ago Ruthanne received a call from the Trauma Department at Valley Medical Center in San Jose. They told her that out 50 yr old son Rodney was involved in a serious motorcycle accident and had been taken by helicopter to their facility. They said we should come immediately but they couldn’t give any more details over the phone. As we drove to the hospital we felt we were experiencing another season of darkness. As we made our way to the hospital we prayed for Rod and called others to pray. There came to us a sence of God’s light shining through the darkness and giving us faith for his recovery. God marvelously answered prayers and Rod has fully recovered. Praise God!

God’s light conquers cancer

Ruthanne and I are still in facing some unknowns as we continue to do battle with this “giant” called Cancer. We are daily being lifted by the prayers of our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the World. We deeply appreciate the outpouring of love and faith. As His light continues to shine upon us we experience great hope and faith that I will have many more years to love and serve Him on this earth as long as Jesus tarries.

We are praying that God will use what is happening to us to bless and encourage others who are going through their own dark season. We strongly believe that what Satan intended for evil, God is turning around for good. We want the message God is writing on our heart to be used by Him to help others have hope and embrace His light to lead them from darkness into His marvelous light

Let the light of His Word lead you out of the darkness!

I pray the following Scriptures will encourage and bless you, as they have us, and light up your pathway as you deal with your own season of darkness.

“Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining, that you may show yourselves to be blameless in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation among whom you are seen as bright lights, shinning out clearly in the dark world, holding out to and offering it the Word of Life.” (Phil. 2: 14-16 AMP) (Emphasis mine) Paul encourages us to let His light shine in our darkest hours. Remember, he was writing this from a dark prison cell.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8: 12 NLT) (Emphasis mine) Don’t curse the darkness but follow the “Light” above all lights.

“We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1: 3-7 NLT) (Emphasis mine)

“We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin”  ( I John 1: 3-7 The Message) (Emphasis mine)

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.” (Prov. 4: 18-19 NLT) (Emphasis mine)

The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travelers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces. (Prov. 4: 18-19 The Message) (Emphasis mine)

“My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you but an old command you have had from the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. But also I am writing a new command to you, and you can see its truth in Jesus and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. “(1 John 2: 7,8 NCV) (Emphasis mine)

“Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.” (I John 2: 7-8 NLT) (Emphasis mine)

“My dear friends, I’m not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you’ve known it from day one. It’s always been implicit in the Message you’ve heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!” (I John 2: 7-8 The Message) (Emphasis mine)

 “Daniel said, ‘He (God) gives wisdom to the wise. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.’ ” (Daniel 2: 20-22 NLT) (Emphasis mine)

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If you would like to respond, please do so. LifeCoachDon@att.net   http://www.drdonphillips.com/



DON’S MOST RECENT UPDATE ON HIS BATTLE WITH CANCER

November 15, 2010

Thank you for praying for Ruthanne and me as we battle this giant called cancer. Your love and prayers help us to keep our gaze and focus on Jesus as our ultimate source for healing and strength during this time of testing.

Here is the most recent update regarding what the doctors call Stage 2 Lung cancer located in the lower left lobe of my lungs.

The cancer has shrunk slightly but the tumor has moved closer to the lining of my lungs and my Oncologist is concerned the cancer cells will get in the blood stream and spread. I will go back for more testing in a few months.

I praise God that I don’t cough as much now and rarely do I feel pain. My strength is gradually coming back and I feel better most of the time.

Many of you have phoned us, emailed or spoken words of great comfort and encouragement as you assured us of you love and prayers. I regret that I am not able to respond to each of you but be assured that we love and appreciate each of you standing with us in faith. One of our dear friends and sister, in the Lord, Mary Bishop, sends us “Holy Spirit” selected Scriptures each morning. This morning, November 15, 2010 she sent; "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." From Romans 12:12.

Before I opened her email this morning, I had my devotional time in the Word and prayer and I wrote this in my prayer Journal:

“Thank you Father for the joy and peace you give me as I see the cancerous tumor in my lungs shrinking and going away. Thank you for what you have been teaching Ruthanne and me as we battle this giant of cancer. Help me, Father to be patient and trusting so You get all the glory and praise for all you are doing in my life. Thank you Father, when my Oncologist and primary physician discover that You have healed me, and all of us will give You the glory, praise and worship You deserve.” (My primary physician and Oncologist are Christians)

Some of you have faced, or now facing, your own “giants.” You have inspired us by the way you have let God work in your life and situations.

God is teaching me that Faith is the gaze of my soul upon my loving, saving and healing God. I am learning to keep my spiritual eyes more on Jesus than my problems.

The Word of God has inspired and encouraged us during this time of testing. I especially appreciate Hebrews 12: 1-15 in the Message Bible

1. Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.


2. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.


3. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!


4. In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed!


5. So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either.


6. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.


7. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training,


8. the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God?


9. We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?


10. While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.


11. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.


12. So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!


13. Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!


14. Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God.


15. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.

                                                                                                                                                               

I would appreciate your email response, even though I may not be able to respond to each of you.

Please use this email address: LifeCoachDon@msn.com. My phone number is (408) 363-9547 and my web site is www.drdonphillips.com

If you wish to see the video, “If this were my last sermon” I shared at Christian Community Church In San Jose, last June. Click on this address or copy and paste to your browser: http://www.blip.tv/file/3943817/

IF THIS WERE MY LAST SERMON

DON’S LAST WILL AND TESTIMONY

GIVEN AT CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH, SAN JOSE, CA JUNE 27, 2010

(The full  sermon will be available soon via You-Tube and/or other streaming services)

Ruthanne and I are so blessed to have you here today. Your love and prayers for us mean more to us than you know. There is nothing like family, especially when our blood family is a part of the larger family of God. If this were the last opportunity I have to share with you, which I don’t believe it is, here are some things I believe God wants me to share with you and the body of Christ at large.

Before I do that I want to make a few comments. Thank you for your love and support for Ruthanne and me as we face this battle with cancer. As most of you know I have been diagnosed with stage 2 Lung Cancer and the medical team’s prognoses is not encouraging. After much prayer and research we have decided to trust God for healing through the alternative medicine approach rather than surgery. We feel at peace with this decision.

As I prayed about what to share today the Lord has led me to personalize many of Paul’s writings to express what is on my heart. Through the years I have done this with Scriptures. In my devotional times, I will journal the Scriptures into personal prayers and declarations.

First I will express my personal feelings and convictions by using some of Paul’s writings from Philippians, starting with the first chapter verse 3.

 “Every time I think of you I give thanks to my God.” So many of you have had such a significant part of my life. Time would not be sufficient for me to express to each of you who are here today, my heart-felt gratitude to God for bringing you into my life.

 I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. We receive Christ’s strength to do everything that needs to be done. We have deeply appreciated the phone calls, emails, cards and other expressions of love.

 Whenever I pray I make my request for all of you with joyful anticipation. As I pray for you I am full of faith that what God began in you a long time ago, He will complete. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind, in spite of what you may show me, I am convinced that God will keep after you and bring His work in you to a flourishing finish.

 So it is right that I should feel at I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. You have been there for Ruthanne and I as we have faced our trials and you are here again as we face this challenge.

 So this is my prayer for you: That your love will overflow more and more and that your will keep growing closer to God and in your knowledge and understanding.

 I pray you will understand what matters the most to God, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.

 I know that as you pray for me, and the Spirit of Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. I am confident that I am healed, it just a matter of convincing my body of this fact.

 I trust that your lives will bring honor to Christ, whether we live or die. For me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live I can do more fruitful work for Christ. I am torn between two desires, I long to be with Christ, which is far better for me. BUT FOR YOUR SAKE IT IS BETTER I CONTINUE TO LIVE.

 I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. Through the years God has blessed me to let the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit flow through me to touch many lives for His sake, and I praise him for it.

 Above all you must live as citizens of Heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news about Christ. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him. May God help us all to trust Him when suffering comes so we will bring glory to Him.

 Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, and working together with one mind and purpose. I believe the Holy Spirit is breaking down dividing wall among God’s people. The prayer of Jesus, “that they may be one,” is being fulfilled today as God’s people are coming together like no other time in history so we can complete the great commission to God into all the world and preach the gospel.

 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others better than yourselves. Don’t look to your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. The more we know and love Jesus the more we know we are loved and accepted my Him. The more we allow God’s unconditional love to saturate us the more we are able to let that same unconditional love flow through us to touch the broken hearted and the disenfranchised.

 You must have the same attitude that Jesus had. When He appeared In human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminals death on a cross. We must take up our cross daily and follow Him. God gave me prophetic picture, years ago, of people coming into my office on crosses, they hopped in and leaned against the wall, in pain and grieve. In my love and compassion, I saw myself taking the nails out and lowering them onto the carpet, cleaning their wounds, comforting, encouraging them. The Lord rebuked me and said, “Don you are prolonging the inevitable. They will be of no real use to me until the die and my resurrection life can flow through them.” Now I encourage the hurting to “hang on there, let death of self be complete so God’s resurrection power will flow through you.”

 For God is working in you to give you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. One of my mission statements is from I Cor. 2: 1-5. “As I come to you my brothers and sisters, declaring to the testimony of God, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom. My passion and desire is to present Christ and Him crucified. I come with much, weakness, timidity and trembling. I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I DID THIS SO YOU WOULD NOT TRUST IN HUMAN WISDOM BUT IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

 We have received God’s spirit, (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

 Each of us did ( and are doing ) the work God gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Appollos watered it, BUT IT WAS GOD WHO MADE IT GROW. Through the years I have ministered partnership with so many who have sown into the lives of those to whom I am ministering. I get to make whatever contribution the Holy Spirits leads me. BUT IT IS GOD WHO DOES THE WORK.

 “My determined purpose is that I may know Him ( that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly), and that I may in the same way come to know the power out-flowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers. And that I may share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness, even to his death.” (Amplified)

 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to posses that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing; forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ, is calling us.”

 “Let all of you who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. BUT WE MUST HOLD ON TO THE PROGRESS WE HAVE ALREADY MADE.”

 We are citizens of heaven and we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power in which He will bring everything under His control.

 Chapter 4:

 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord, I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my and the crown I receive for my work.

 Always be full of the joy in the Lord. Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.

 I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. We receive Christ’s strength to do everything that needs to be done. We have deeply appreciated the phone calls, emails, cards and other expressions of love.

DON'S UPDATE REGARDING HIS BATTLE AGAINST CANCER

We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and prayers from our many brothers and sister from various parts of the World. Your demonstrations of love and faith mean more to Ruthanne and me than we can express.


I would like to respond to each of you personally but that is not possible at the present time, so I must use my blog and other ways to communicate with you.

My surgeon called to tell us that the cancer is still contained in the lower left lobe of my lungs and has not spread to the brain or other parts of my body as he suspected. Praise God for answered prayer! He wants to schedule me for surgery next week. I told him that we were Christians and believe in a God who heals and will trust Him for healing. Surgery is not an option for us at this time.

Please continue to pray that God will give Ruthanne and me wisdom as we seek God’s will. We are researching and exploring all our options and are seriously considering alternative medicine. Through this battle, God is giving us peace and a deeper intimacy with Himself and each other that is so precious.

We recognize that this is a spiritual battle. Often when I am counseling those who are going through serious challenges, I will read and quote Ephesians 6: 10-18 from The Message Bible and the NLT. These words are of great encouragement to us as we face the giant called “Cancer.”

I want to personalize this passage and put into a prayer.

“My dear loving, awesome and faithful Father, help us to be strong and faithful during the warfare against the forces of darkness. We appropriate everything you make available to us to win this battle against Satan’s strategies. We understand that this is no afternoon athletic contest that we will walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. We understand that this is a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and his angels.


Father, help us to be prepared, knowing that we are up against far more than we can handle on our own. We gratefully receive every weapon you give us, so that when it all over but the shouting we will still be standing on our feet shouting praises to the God who heals.


Your Word and our praying in the Spirit are indispensable weapons in this ongoing warfare. Help us to encourage one another to stay in the battle to the finish so no one falls behind or drops out. Pray that, in the midst of the battle, God will continue to use us to be a healing agent for many and through the power of the Holy Spirit set captives free. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we pray, Amen.”

LifeCoachDon@att.net    http://www.drdonphillips.com/

DEFEATING THE GIANT CALLED "CANCER"

Recently God spoke to my heart in a dramatic way and said, “Don you are going to go through another storm, but be at peace, I will be with you and The Son of righteousness will arise in your heart.” That “storm” has arrived through a confirmed diagnosis. I have stage 2 lung cancer and they say it will require major surgery.

It is not my intention to be heroic, philosophical or preachy. I just want to be obedient to God and share with you how God is helping us face this giant called Cancer. He is doing this through His Word, the power of the Holy Spirit and the faithful prayers of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.

The Holy Spirit is leading me to share with you often as Ruthanne and I go through this part of our journey. I want to keep you informed as to where I am and how Ruthanne and I are dealing with this challenge.

Shortly after we received this unwelcomed message that I had cancer, the Holy Spirit gave me 2 Samuel 21: 15-17 as a promise that others would be willing to fight for me to help slay this giant called Cancer. Many of you are aggressively fighting this giant and I know we are going to win. What peace and confidence Ruthanne and I have as we are being uplifted by your prayers of faith.

King David was facing another giant who had threatened to kill him. David was tired and exhausted and unable to defeat the giant. One of his faithful mighty men named Abishai, took on the giant and defeated him. I thank God for the many Abishai’s God is rising up to fight this battle against our enemy.

I am writing this on Monday evening May 31, 2010. Tomorrow I will have an MRI. Wednesday we meet with my Oncologist and Friday I will have a PET scan. After that they will schedule me for surgery. We are praying that the PET Scan will show that God has performed a healing miracle and surgery will not be necessary. If I do have to have major surgery we are trusting God that they will get all the cancer and I will not have to have Chemotherapy or Radiation.

Early this morning in my devotional time the Holy Spirit led me to Philippians 1: 19-26. I will paraphrase it for you in my word and make it personal and put it in present tense.

“I know that as you pray for me and the Holy Spirit helps me, this will lead to my healing. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Holy Spirit, He will accomplish everything He wants to do in and through me.


For I fully expect and hope that I will continue to live and be bold for Christ, as I have tried to be in the past sixty seven years as a follower of Christ. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better because I will get to see my loving Savior face to face and will see our precious daughter Donna and all our other loved one’s who have preceded me.


But most days, because of what many of you are going through and how God may use me to help you grow in your love and faith in our loving Father, I plan to be around awhile.


And when I get through this part of my journey, we will have even more reason to rejoice in Christ Jesus because of what He is doing through us. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other and

Love and Peace in Christ,
Don
Note: If you want to learn how we have fought other “giants” in our lives, you may want to get my book; “HEALING BROKEN LIVES AND RELATIONSHIPS”  It can be purchased on line at www.drdonphillips.com