The Joy of Cancer @ Resolved '06
The morning began with what will likely prove to be the most impactful event of the conference. With a beautiful, unplanned real-life illustration of faith to count trials joy, Rick Holland placed a call to Ryan in Florida. Yesterday we learned that Ryan recently found out that he would not be able to attend the Resolved Conference this year due to a diagnosis of cancer, an extremely aggressive form of leukemia. The call this morning was placed in order to encourage Ryan and pray for him; little did we know that the tables would be turned. The 2500 of us sitting in the auditorium likely walked away from the encountered more impacted and more blessed than Ryan and as Ryan prayed for us tears streamed down both my cheeks splashing onto my jacket. When Ryan answered the phone call in answer to Rick's question of "How are you doing?" He answered calling the cancer a blessing and saying that the experience of the cancer was cool. Rick Holland then asked him what we could specifically pray for. Ryan answered with two things: (1) His family that they could see God's good and righteous providence and (2) For us, here at Resolved, that God would speak through the preachers and would bless the hearing of His Word. As Rick noted what was glaringly absent from that prayer request, his voice cracked revealing that he too was in tears: Ryan did not even consider asking for prayer that he would be healed, but was just longing to see God glorified and others blessed through this conference.When Rick Holland began making the call, I thought, "What a blessing this will be for him. I'm glad that we're doing this for him; how hard it must be to be in a hospital." In one phone call, probably the most effective sermon - albeit it a spontaneous one in an unconventional form - my pride was turned on its head. The blessers became the blessed because the one whom we hoped to bless was so thoroughly familiar with the blessings of God that were already his. I have no doubt that Ryan's phone call will be what stays with me longest from this conference. No better object lesson could exist. The same illustration will likely be cited for James 1:2-4 (a verse which Ryan quoted to the 2500 at the conference: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."), but it could never have the effect that God graciously, in his providence caused this to have on us. God, in order to sovereignly prepare us all for the message that followed, gave us the perfect object lesson of having joy as we trust God in the midst of trials, joyfully accepting hard circumstances hoping in "a better possession and an abiding one (Heb 10:34)" even Jesus Christ himself.
As we hung up, we were prepared to hear Rick Holland bring us the story from Genesis 22 of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. In the face of a command to do something that did not make sense except through the eyes of faith, we learned the 5 choices of faith:
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To choose to trust God
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To choose to prioritize God
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To choose to believe God
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To choose to obey God
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To choose to fear God.
If you are interested, you can read my notes from Rick Holland's message .
My other Shepherd's conference notes can be found here:
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