http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-291260448288310701

This video is the personal testimony of John Farese, a Christian gentleman who suffers from a congenital illness that has left him dependent upon the care of others for his entire life.  He speaks eloquently about the great comfort he finds in God’s sovereignty while facing a condition that many would curse God for, even identifying his illness as a blessing.

John ends his printed testimony with these words:

“One of the psalmists wrote, Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me’ (Psalm 66:16) - and I gladly do so.  He has turned my mourning into laughter and my desolation into joy.  He has made my heart rejoice with ‘an inexpressible and glorious joy’ (1 Peter 1:8). When I struggled to escape from his grace, he drew me to himself.  I bear witness that never servant had such a master as I have, never brother such a kinsman, never spouse such a husband.  No sinner ever had a better Saviour than Jesus, no mourner a better comforter.  I want none beside him.  In life he is my life, and in death he shall be the death of death.  In poverty, he is my riches, in sickness my health, in darkness my sun.  Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no falsehood:  and of truth and grace he is full, infinitely full.”

My, how inspiring John’s testimony is. What a great testimony this man is to the saving power of God, considering his lifestyle prior to salvation, but he is clearly thoroughly converted in his faith if he can rejoice in his suffereings. Here is a portion of his printed testimony:

I"n light of my physical condition, I am often asked the age-old question, ‘How can an all-powerful God of love allow you to suffer in this way?  Surely the Bible says that God always does what is right?  Yes it does - and he does!  I have come to see that suffering is one of the many ways in which God demonstrates his unfailing love to those who have come to put their trust in him.  Writing out of his own painful experience, the Psalmist says, ‘It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees’ (Psalm 119:71) - and I gladly endorse every word of that testimony.

Among other things, suffering empties us of pride and self-dependence, and makes us realize our complete dependence upon God.  When we reach the point where we have nowhere to turn except to God, we begin to get a clearer view of who and what he is.  Day by day, I am discovering more and more of his wisdom, love and grace.  I am also finding that God’s power is made perfect in my weakness, and that ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Jesus went through appalling suffering, physical, mental and spiritual, yet at the end of it all he was to ‘see the light of life and be satisfied’ (Isaiah 53:11).  I count it a privilege to experience in some small way ‘the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings’ (Philippians 3:10) Although I am bedridden, struggle to breathe comfortably, and often have to contend with painful bed sores, I count them as ‘light and momentary troubles’ (2 Corinthians 4:17) For all the difficulties they cause, I know that they are achieving for me ‘an eternal glory that far outweighs them all’ (2 Corinthians 4:17) How trivial they will all seem in the light of the eternal bliss that awaits God’s children in the world to come!

One of the psalmists wrote, Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me’ (Psalm 66:16) - and I gladly do so.  He has turned my mourning into laughter and my desolation into joy.  He has made my heart rejoice with ‘an inexpressible and glorious joy’ (1 Peter 1:8). When I struggled to escape from his grace, he drew me to himself.  I bear witness that never servant had such a master as I have, never brother such a kinsman, never spouse such a husband.  No sinner ever had a better Saviour than Jesus, no mourner a better comforter.  I want none beside him.  In life he is my life, and in death he shall be the death of death.  In poverty, he is my riches, in sickness my health, in darkness my sun.  Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no falsehood:  and of truth and grace he is full, infinitely full. 
--------------------------------------------------------

This is especially inspiring to me tonight in light of our recent trials. Thanks Greg for posting this.

Stan

He puts things into a little more perspective, doesn’t he?  John is the epitome of what a regenerate Christian looks like who lives his life to glorify God out of gratitude for his guarantee of salvation no matter the less-than-ideal circumstances, even seeming to rejoice in his afflictions. 

How many of us can recite Philippians 3:10 and really mean it the way this man obviously does?  What an amazing and truly inspiring clip.  Thanks, Greg.

Stan and Aaron, thanks for your observations.

For all his infirmities, the faith expressed by John Farese is what I consider to be the ultimate in Christian “success”.  Mr. Farese truly needs nothing–not even physical health–because he has everything he needs in Christ.

I listened to a John Piper sermon yesterday and he remarked that the United States is probably the most difficult place in the world to be a Christian, since we have so many physical comforts to distract us.  In other countries where there is hardship or persecution, faith in Jesus is the most treasured possession for believers and life is unbearable without it.  I see this faith in John Farese and I am humbled by his witness.

Greg

For those of you who drink Starbucks coffee, you may be familiar with their practice of printing short quotes from various sources on the side of their coffee cups.

This morning, I received a cup with the following quote:

“Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help?  As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance?  Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome?  After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.” -Bill Scheel (Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada)

The contrast between this quote and John Farese’s testimony are profound.  I wonder how Mr. Scheel would approach life if he found himself disabled and totally dependent upon others to care for him?  Would he find “power to overcome” by searching inside himself?  Something tells me he would not.

Greg

[quote author="Aaron"]...glorify God out of gratitude for his guarantee of salvation

I don’t want to take anything away from this man’s situation or his hope in God through Christ, but I have to take exception to the idea expressed above of Christians having a guarantee of salvation. It’s an especially odd view to express in the context of God’s sovereignty because in asserting a “guarantee of salvation” the Christian basically robs God of any sovereignty at all. The Christian basically takes it upon himself to claim God’s promise for himself and determines for himself that on the basis of such a promise, that he is saved eternally, no matter what. Shouldn’t God have a say in this? Can anyone just appropriate a promise of God’s and apply it to themselves? Certaintly anyone can do so, but ultimately it will be God, in His sovereignty Who will decide who gets eternal life and who doesn’t. Right?

(note: I haven’t watched the video; I can’t get it to play from my computer--I’m just basing my comments on Aaron’s statement above. I’m just making a general statement on one’s asserting their right to eternal life). 

Glenn, see if you can view the video on YouTube at this link.

Your question about God having a say is a good one.  He does indeed have a say.  Like the wind, the Spirit blows where it wishes (John 3:8 ), but in the same way you can feel the wind, those who are saved know when it has happened.

Remember the sermon by Charles Spurgeon, The Question of Questions?  In that sermon, Spurgeon recounted a story of a preacher who became converted while preaching a sermon, and the preacher (and his congregation) knew that it had happened:

“I know the good preacher, and love him right well, who, when he was himself preaching, as he had done for years, was saved through the personal application of his own sermon. He is a minister of the Church of England, but he did not know the Lord. While he was preaching, the Lord applied to his heart with power a gospel truth, which so affected him, that he spoke with the accent of conviction which is natural to the renewed man. At last a Methodist, who was in the church, shouted out, ‘The parson’s converted; hallelujah!’ and all the people broke out with cries of praise. The preacher himself joined in the universal joy, and they sang together, ‘Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!’ Oh, what a mercy it is, when the waiter at the Lord’s feast is himself fed!”

Glenn, I agree with you that some Christians seem to follow a formulaic approach to salvation and their life does not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.  For these folks, Christianity is merely another check box on a long list of life’s accomplishments.

Greg

EDIT: Along the lines of the Spurgeon quote, some more examples include John Wesley, the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:25-34) and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40).

Even if you can’t view the actual video, his printed testimony is striking:

“Jesus went through appalling suffering, physical, mental and spiritual, yet at the end of it all he was to ‘see the light of life and be satisfied’ (Isaiah 53:11). I count it a privilege to experience in some small way ‘the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings’ (Philippians 3:10) Although I am bedridden, struggle to breathe comfortably, and often have to contend with painful bed sores, I count them as ‘light and momentary troubles’ (2 Corinthians 4:17) For all the difficulties they cause, I know that they are achieving for me ‘an eternal glory that far outweighs them all’ (2 Corinthians 4:17) How trivial they will all seem in the light of the eternal bliss that awaits God’s children in the world to come!”
---------------------------------------------------------

This man is not claiming the cheap grace doctrine that is so prevalent. This man experienced a true powerful, and complete conversion. When I first viewed the video i was moved to tears.

I took a part of the afternoon today to sit out by the ocean, and just contemplate the majesty and sovereignty of God, and of course relating my thoughts to what we have been through with my wife’s illness over the last few weeks, and the recent setback. I am more convinced than ever of the truths of God’s Word. If my Calvinism belief is just a head belief, then it is worthless. In times like this my faith is being tested as never before. But a high view of God’s sovereignty has given me a peace beyond all understanding. He who controls the waves of the sea, controls all of the events in the lives of those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28-38)

Stan

Glenn,

I’m sorry to have been offensive by my comments.  I was only making reference to the joy John Farese so clearly shows in his life despite living with physical circumstances that very few of us could ever relate to, circumstances that would cause many people to be angry with God and the hand they’d been dealt.  John did refer to himself as saved in the video which led me to believe that at least some of this joy is most likely borne out of this confidence in his standing with God.  The guarantee I referred to was based on the promise made to those in Christ:

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.  Eph 1:13-14 (NKJV)

And also:

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Cor 1:21-22 (NKJV)

According to John (the Bibical author, not Farese ) we can be confident in our salvation (1 John 5:13) and we shouldn’t be afraid to proclaim it (Psalm 107:2).

Like John Farese, as a believer and child of God, I don’t see claiming the promises of God and believing in the sovereignty of God as being mutually exclusive concepts.  In the clip, John mentioned a passage that harmonizes nicely our security in Christ with God’s sovereign choice:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Eph 1:3-6 (NKJV)

Greg and Stan, thanks for your input and once again, I apologize if my post was offensive to some.

Thanks so much Aaron for that well written post affirming the great truths of the Reformation faith.

It is this faith that is sustaining me at this time, and has sustained so many others throughout history.

Stan

Aaron,

You’re post wasn’t really offensive. I just think talk of being “guaranteed” salvation can sound kind of flippant and presumptious. I do think we can rest assured that God is a righteous and merciful judge.