Living on a Prayer

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It's hard to believe, but 12 years ago today, I got a new life. And when I say that, I mean in a physical sense. The doctors had all but given up hope with me when Dr. Blue of Roper Hospital downtown had an idea. But I get ahead of myself...

How did I get to this point? It began on a Sunday morning like any other. I woke up, spoke to the Lord, read the Word, and left for church at Oceanside Baptist Fellowship. We were meeting at the Movies at Mount Pleasant, and I went early to help set up and get my heart and mind prepared for preaching that morning.

Just before the church service began, I began to feel really strange. I looked at my wife, Kelly, and said three simple words, "I need help." In moments, I was on the floor, eyes were blank, and I was gone. I was straining to breath and turning blue from the neck up. My son, Ivey, rather than panic began to give me mouth to mouth. While everyone was screaming for him to give me compressions, he refused saying I was breathing so it was unnecessary. That was the difference between life and death for my body that was hanging on a thread between life and death.

Moments later, the EMTs arrived and were given permission to transport me to Roper. Once there, the doctors were baffled. They couldn't find a pulse anywhere. They were ready to "call it" when one doctor, Dr. Blue, gripped my ankle, felt a slight pulse, and immediately pushed my gurney down to the CAT scan. There, he discovered a pool of blood around my heart because my aorta had ripped lengthwise for 2 1/2 inches. The term was an "ascending aortic dissection." It was the worse case scenario. Very few ever survived. And those that did were blind, crippled, dumb, and lived on breathing machines. The doctors told my wife that they could probably save my heart, but the prognosis was bad. And if my son had given me compressions I would have bled out instantaneously. Thank God for a son who used his knowledge to calmly do what he should instead of doing what everyone else was yelling for him to do. I am forever in his debt.

Then God's people began to pray. The Lord heard from heaven and at that very moment began to restore my body and my brain. Kelly's words to Dr. Blue were, "Save his heart, and we'll worry about the rest later."

Dr. Blue called one of the leading experts on heart surgery in the nation, Dr. David Peterseim. He had recently moved from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to Charleston, SC. He was in church on Sullivan's Island. Blue asked Peterseim, a cardio-thoracic surgeon, if he wanted to come and do his best to save my heart. His answer was, "Yes. And please keep him alive until I get there. I've never seen anyone alive before with an ascending aortic dissection."

By the time the operation began, some say that hundreds had gathered in the waiting room singing, praying, and asking God to save my life. Within hours, Dr. Peterseim had done all he could do to save my heart. In his own words "It's all up to God now."

Now, 12 years later here I am writing about it. God truly does answer prayer. He is still in the miracle business. I am forever grateful for all of you who chose to pray for me and help me and encourage me over these last years. I will always be grateful that you didn't give up on me.

What miracle do you need God to do in your life today? God can do it for you. Pray and trust. You'll never be the same.

And yes, I am "Living on a Prayer."

 

 

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Fabulous Phonecalls

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How can Oceanside Church reach East Cooper? What would be the best way to do it? Do people really have home phones anymore? What about seeing if we could get a mission team to come down and help us? Pastor Ivey and I asked ourselves these questions about 4 or 5 months ago hoping we could get someone to really help us by making 100's of phone calls in a single week. We knew it was going to be a daunting task and didn't really know where to start.

First, I challenged several churches to help us. Then we had to find some kind of list of phone numbers other than just calling down the 35,000 or so numbers in the phone book. Then we had to get a list of workable survey questions. Finally, we had to plan an appropropriate date on the calendar to make it happen.

With God's help and a little ingenuity, we got all of the logisitcs together still having no idea if this would work. For those that don't know (as I didn't), getting 8% of the people to do our survey was the figure we were going with. That was what most churches got when they called. From that we should get 10% of those to be prospects. That means, if we could make 800 phone calls, we should get 64 people to answer our survey and of those, we should have a list of 6 homes that would be good prospects for our church.

Thanks to a small but motivated mission team from Common Ground Church in Eutawville, SC and a list of 1968 new movers we were able to get hold of, we set to work beginning this past Sunday night. We soon found out that people (male and female) like to speak to sweet southern ladies. The people we called were also very open once they agreed to answer our "community needs" survey. Finally, we could make around 30 phone calls an hour per caller.

Once we were finished, our percentages were higher that I was told we would get. 11% answered surveys. I'm just hoping we can get higher than normal percentages with the church attendance as well. As it stands, that means over the next months we should see 9 household join us. So, pray we can beat that percentage as well. God can do anything. He just wants us ready and obedient.

Here are the 5 questions:

• What do you think is the greatest need in our area?
  
• Do you actively attend a church?
  
• Why do you think most people don't go to church?
  
• If you were looking for a church to attend, what would you look for?
  
• How can we best pray for you?
  

Here are our findings:

1. For every 2 people that answered the phone, 1 would take our survey.

2. Most people do not actively attend church.

3. They said that people don't attend church for 5 major reasons (in order):

1) No time

2) Other beliefs or religion

3) Too tired

4) Boring

5) Not sure why

4. They said that they would look for these things in a church (in order):

1) A good worship service (33%)

2) Youth ministry (22%)

3) Children's ministry (7.5%)

3) Bible study (7.5%)

3) Friendly congregation (7.5%)

5. The prayer we asked for told us that there are lots of hurting people out there. We were able to pray with many of them right there on the phone.

We also took the time and effort to be as gracious as we could by sending thank you notes to everyone who finished our survey and asked them to join us for worship this Sunday morning. No matter the cost (even blisters on my writing finger), it was worth it to touch the lives of so many people in such a short time.

I also want to thank all of you that prayed. Believe me, wothout God's people praying, I'm sure we would never have made as many contacts. God will honor you for praying for us.

There are many people who are searching and hurting and without Christ. many are our neighbors. We pray as we follow up, there will be many who come to know the Lord and serve Him over these next months.

God is doing something great, and I'm just glad to be a part.

Because of the love of Calvary,

Pastor Trey Rhodes

Coming Soon to Oceanside...

the Strength Team and the Kinetic Festival

October 19-21, Under the Cabana nightly.

MyOceansideChurch.podbean.com - Oceanside's latest audio message.

www.MyOceansideChurch.com - for information, direction, pics, and more on Oceanside Church

www.OCAnnounce.info - for latest news and information about Oceanside Church

 

 

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Gadaffi Is Dead...Is the Fight Over?

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This summer began with the overthrow of former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak We were told today early this morning that the 42 year dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed (more here from Reuters) after being attacked by NATO jets. Conventional wisdom tells us that the war is now over. Everything is now fine. Libya has been released from the hold of a ruthless dictator so, "Now that the war is over we must give up our weapons and the children must go to school," according to the words of Mansour el Ferjani, 49, a Benghazi bank clerk and father of five. But I have to ask, is that all there is to it? Is life just going to get back to normal, just better? Isn't there more to do? Of course there is. In the weeks and months and even years ahead, there will be more work and more sacrifice than they can imagine. I hope the best for this country as they now change their fight from an armed conflict to fighting through the messiness of moving to a free and democratic lifestyle.

A large concrete pipe where Gaddafi was allegedly captured (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/879169-picture-of-dead-gaddafi-as-former-libya-leader-is-shot-by-fighters#ixzz1bLtgJCYQ

You don't have to stretch much to make a application to our Christian walk. We may have won the war, but there are battles ahead. The Israelites didn't quite get it, though. They thought that everything was going to be handed to them. The leaders of Joseph's tribes, who went from wandering in the wilderness to having their own land, complained to Joshua, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley area have iron chariots" Joshua 17:16 (HCSB). They wanted more to be given to them Joshua's answer was to tell them to get to work. He got back with them by telling them that their land included, "a forest; clear it and its outlying areas will be yours." Then, if they wanted even more land, they could fight more battles and have everything they wanted. That's why Joshua told them that, "You can also drive out the Canaanites"
Joshua 17:18 (HCSB). Yes the was is over, but there was more work and more fighting ahead.

When God gives us our Sun Stand Still prayer, He expects us to go to work. Somehow, we think that God answers, and He does everything else. We don't have to do a thing. Nothing in the Bible, nor the Christian life gives us any such expectation.

Don't miss the opportunities that God has for you because of work. Thomas Edison said it this way, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls&looks like work."

So, here's four opportunities given us now that God has answered our Sun Stand Still prayer:
1. Maturity (Joshua 15)

The leaders of the Israelite tribes were inheriting the land not just for themselves, but for those generations who would follow them. A huge mark of maturity is doing some things that you will never get to see the results of. God for believers who will step up and put themselves ahead of others. You say, but I'm not old enough to be mature. You are an elder to someone. When I was in 1st grade, I thought the 6th graders were so old and had it together. By the time I go to 7th grade, I thought a 10th grader was incredibly mature...and so on. Take the opportunity today to be mature for someone. God will use you. God is calling each of us to be "fully mature adults" (Ephesians 4:13).

2. Prayer (Joshua 15 &17)

We have a good and a bad example of asking in these chapters.

First, there was Achsah who asked for springs to be able to water the dry desert of the Negev. She was granted was she asked for even though it was bold. What she needed was a way to help her family thrive in a harsh environment. God (through Joshua) said, "It's yours."

Second, there was Joseph's descendants. They wanted everything given to them on a silver platter. Joshua's answer to them was, "Sure, but get to work!" They asked, and they received as well as long as they were willing to accomplish the job by their own effort.

God answers our prayer as well. We've got to be ready to get involved for the fulfillment.

3. Activity (Joshua 18-19)

The Israelites were sitting on a prime piece of real estate. It was theirs if they could divide it up among themselves. They wouldn't even do that. Joshua told them "How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, gave you?" Joshua 18:3 (HCSB). 

God wants to give us so much, but we have got to willing to get involved in the middle of it. 

• If you are praying for patience, be prepared for God to give you an opportunity to show patience. 
• If you are praying to get your family back, be ready to get yourself right.
• If you are praying for someone to be saved, be ready to witness to them yourself.

Get involved whenever God answers your prayer. Never be content to sit back and relax.

4. Protection (Joshua 20:1-9)

God offered His protection from vigilantes. It was the responsibility of each family to avenge the death of their loved one. There wasn't a police force in those day and certainly no CSI

We have also been protected by God. Our city of refuge is Jesus Christ. As we turn from our sin and run to Him, we find life. He is our high priest and will never die, so we are safe in His arms forever. How does that happen? It happens when you ask Christ into your life. When you ask for His protection from death and hell through His death on the cross. That is protection of the very best kind. Run to Him and ask Him to place His protection around you today.

Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside

• Worship on the Deck, Sunday morning, October 30th. Because of ScareMare and also to enjoy the beauty and coolness of the weather, we will be having worship on the back deck. for the service, everything will remain the same. In addition, there will not be a Saturday night service that week. 
• ScareMare, October 29-31, After dark. If you would like to be involved, we need you. From crowd control to parking attendants, from actors to actresses, from make-up artists to carpenters, you are all needed. As a reminder, the purpose of ScareMare is to contrast death with abundant and eternal life. This is not for the faint of heart. I would not recommend for your children either. The basis of ScareMare is, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" Deuteronomy 30:19 (HCSB). We are praying for them to choose life. For more, please go to our ScareMare website.
• Harvest Trunk or Treat, Monday Night, October 31st. One of Oceanside's best outreach activities is our Harvest Trunk or Treat party. This year it will once again be in the front yard of our church. We will have decorated car trunks, food, candy, games, and the GIANT slide. If you can get together a trunk, it would be awesome. Everyone can do something. Make sure you're a part.

Looking for opportunities from God,

Pastor Trey Rhodes

The Pursuit of Amanda Knox

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Pursuit is for one of at least two reasons: 1) You really want what you're going after...like a boy pursuing a girl (or vice versa); or 2) You want to catch what you're going after. Like a defensive tackle pursuing the quarterback. The story of the week echoes both of those reasons. We have seen it played out in the media over these last few years as Amanda Knox endured incessant pursuit by the Italian prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini. As you should know by now, Knox was acquitted by an Italian appeals court because of shaky evidence based on what now seems to have been a coerced confession after a 50 hour non-stop grilling by 14 or more Italian police officers. More here from the UK's Mail Online. Their pursuit was relentless as they were trying to convict and convince a jury of her alleged crime of murdering Meredith Kercher. I'm sure they felt as if they left no stone unturned in their pursuit of the one they thought murdered this defenseless girl. I just hope that if Amanda Knox is not guilty, which it looks like she was not, that they now pursue with the same intensity whomever it was that committed this violent, heinous murder.

Amanda Knox in custody of Italian police during her trial for Meredith Kercher's murder 

You pursue that which you want. In this case, the pursuit was because the prosecutor truly believed he could get a conviction that stuck. Now, let me ask you, what are you pursuing? How big are the goals for your life? Are they large, extra-large, or maybe even God-sized? Those are the things you should be pursuing. Things that really matter. 

It will take a God-sized goal for you to be the father God wants you to be (See this Blog: I'm Tired of Being a Good Father) It will take a God-sized goal for you moms to raise your children as world changers. It will take a God-sized goal for you to share Jesus with those you know at work or at school or with your friends. These are all things that God must intervene if you are to make an impact that will last for all of eternity. Aren't you tired of the same old same old? Isn't it time you left the mundane part of life to someone else. Are you ready to step off into the great unknown and watch God use you in ways you could have never imagined? That is Pursuit of the Impossible. What is impossible with us, is possible with the all powerful God. Making things possible is all about power, and we don't serve a powerful God. We serve an ALL-POWERFUL God. That's why whatever might seem impossible in your life, is possible with the God of the Bible, our God.

Interestingly enough, we have a great example of that kind of belief that leads to prayer, that led to a great win for God and His people.The leader was Joshua, the event was a battle that was impossible to win, and a victory only possible if God suspended His laws of physics...talk about impossible. Regardless how impossible it seemed, Joshua pursued God for the impossible and then was audacious enough to pray for God to do the impossible. So, God did just that. If that is possible for Him, it is certainly possible for each one of who claim the name of Christ.

Here's three ways to get us to be able to accomplish the impossible in our lives.

Recognize that you need...
Help (Joshua 10:6-7)

The Gibeonites were now calling in the favor that they had asked of Joshua and the warriors of Israel, "PROTECT US!!" Here they are caught in between a rock and a hard place. They has chosen to place their trust in these new-comers instead of their age-old friends. Those who were their closest allies are now their worst enemies. There was no doubt that unless they got the help of Joshua, his army, and ultimately, his God there was no chance that they would survive the next 24 hours. They needed help. They couldn't do it on their own.

Let's look a moment at these pagan people. They had enough sense to call on a savior, Joshua (which means YAHWEH saves), to deliver them. These were people who were complete heathens, but knew who to call on for help in a time of crisis. Christ-followers, learn a lesson: when you need help, call on God. There is no one else who is able to help us in our time our trouble more than our very own Savior, Jesus. That is why we are told to

approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time. Hebrews 4:16 (HCSB)

Then you will be able to become audacious when you
Pray (Joshua 10:8-15)

Joshua and his soldiers marched all night to get to the 5 city-kingdoms they were called upon to defend the Gibeonites from. So, what was impossible, defeating the armies of 5 city-kingdoms at once, was now made more difficult with their weariness, but his strategy worked. The armies of the enemy were routed. There was only one problem: there was not enough time in the day to defeat all the enemy. Many had been destroyed, many had not. They were fleeing and would be around to fight another day. So Joshua recognized that and realized he also needed God's help in the pursuit. So he prays one of the most audacious prayers in history, "sun stand still." This was a simple prayer but an incredible act took place. According to both the Bible and another non-bibilcal text called the Book of Jashar, "So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day" (Joshua 10:13b). So you see, God does do the impossible. It doesn't take much faith to believe what God did. That's history. Your faith is really tested when You audaciously ask God to do it in your life. That is pursuing God to do the impossible.

Once you get to that point, I don't want you to miss this important part of pursuing the impossible:
Involvement. We've got to get right into the middle of what it is we are asking God to do. Otherwise, it's just wishful thinking. Joshua prayed. Then Joshua pursued. He got involved. That's what God wants you to do. If you aren't willing to get involved, then don't pray. We pray, God does what only He can do, so we can do what He wants us to do.

Then we can experience what it's like to see God
Win (Joshua 10:16-26)

God did the impossible. Joshua defeated the enemy. The Gibeonites were protected. And God purposes were accomplished. God won! He is a winning God! Deuteronomy 20 :reminds us:

God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win. Deuteronomy 20:4 (MSG)

Here's a word of encouragement, never leave enemies around to come back and defeat you later. That's why God answered that prayer without hesitation. It was His will for the Israelites to possess Canaan. He promised they would. He keeps His promises. He did the impossible.

Our enemies aren't nearly so tangible. And in many ways aren't as easy to fight. Jesus fought them all in the desert against the most formidable opponent ever, Satan. Jesus won. We can too. Our enemies are the world system, the flesh and its appetites, and the pride of our station in life. It's what 1 John defines precisely for us:

Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him 1 John 2:16 (MSG)

These are our enemies. These are the things that want to destroy us. Trust in the winning God, the One who does the impossible to relentlessly pursue the enemies of our life, abundant life and utterly destroy them. That will truly be a Sun Stand Still moment.

PRAY AUDACIOUSLY, LIVE RECKLESSLY, and PURSUE RELENTLESSLY for GOD.

Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside

•  Saturday Night Worship and Coffee - "A new time for this generation." We are asking the Lord to bring people to our Saturday night service. It begins at 8:00 p.m. We provide an open and casual atmosphere. We encourage people to bring their iPads, laptops, and smart phones to worship in order to provide feedback and prayer requests during the service. We are committed to a one hour service, although people can come early and stay late if they'd like. That's where we need you to be involved. Invite, invite, invite, invite. Some people can't make it Sunday morning and this is a great opportunity for you to invite them to Saturday night. You might need to go and get them and come with them to worship. You can make a difference in their life for eternity. Don't give up. Keep asking. Keep praying. Let's watch our God do a new thing.
• Scare Mare - The days rapidly approaching. We are praying to have a large crowd attend, and that means we're going to need your help. If you're not involved, please do. We want to tell them that de3ath is real and salvation in possible with Jesus as their Savior. Begins October 28th and goes through 31st. Scare Mare, the scariest house you'll never forget!
• Trunk or Treat - This year, we want to make a big deal of Jesus while providing a great opportunity for fun for the kids. Many of you have signed up to help and provide booths and candy and food and fun on October 31st. Let's keep providing this amazing event for our community and give them a REAL reason to celebrate.

In HOT PURSUIT of the Impossible, 

Pastor Trey Rhodes

It's All about What You Have

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Possessions are a good thing. Most of us like to have stuff. The problem comes in when we like stuff more than people and our Lord. Note that Jesus never said that money is the root of all evil. He said the love of money is the root of all evil. So, there is to be a balance in most of our lives. I think one philosopher once said, we are to love people and use things; we should never love things and use people. Whether we are keeping up with the Jones's or keeping up with our mortgage payments, we can all fall into the trap of working to get, so we can work, so we can get, so we can work...and the vicious cycle goes on. I have to ask...is that what life is all about?

Yet, there are some incredible things that every Christ-follower possesses. Not because we deserve it or worked for it, but because our God gave each of these wonderful, luxurious items that help us make it in a world where we can feel unwanted. What are these incredible gifts? Let's go to 1 Peter 1:8-12.

The first luxury item
1. We Are Given the Opportunity to Worship Jesus, 1 Peter 1:8-9
You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls
To us, we think of worship as a time and place we go to church. But it is so much more. It is experiencing God. When we worship God, there is a connect that creates in us a passion and pleasure found only in God. It is true love and pure joy.
We should relish every moment we can spend time worshipping our Lord and God. When you truly worship Him, you will never be the same.

The second luxury item
2. We Are Given the Full Understanding of Christ, 1 Peter 1:10-12a
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you.
The prophets longed to know what you can be fully aware of. What they saw in their prophecies were the mountain peaks. We see all of Jesus and know who He is and what He did. That is a gift that so many longed for for so many years. Now that is available to you. We know all that God wanted us to know about His Son, Jesus. We know it because it is in that wonderful, supernatural book, the Bible.

Are you getting to know the God of the Bible? Take time to study this week. Use a pen or pencil. Jot down what you are learning or what God is saying to you. Some of you use the margins of your Bible. Some of you use a journal. Whatever you use, write it down. Another simple way to study is to use the cross references your Bible has built into it. Study is how we can begin to understand what God is up to. That is something the prophets tried to do, but we never successful at. That kind of knowledge is yours for the reaping.

The third luxury item
3. We are Given More Access than the Angels, 1 Peter 1:12a
These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.
Doesn't say that the angels will look into these things...but that they want to. We have access directly to the Father because the Son lives in us. The angels cannot boast that kind of privilege, therefore they cannot have that kind of access. The Psalmist wrote that were created a little lower than the angels. However, that was 1000 years before the resurrection of Jesus. We have more than even the angels have. They long to know and experience what we have been freely given. 1 Corinthians 4:9 tells us, "We have become a spectacle to the world and to angels." They can only experience redemption through what they see in us.

Our access to God is made possible through the Son living in us. Avail yourself of that kind of incredible access to God as you boldly approach His throne. Pray this week to your heavenly Father. He so wants you to access Him. He is available to you.

You see, through Jesus Christ, we are not only aware of these things. We possess and are possessed by these things. That's what you as a Christ-follower have. Lay hold of all that God has given you.


Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside

-I am excited about the upcoming block party at Seagull. How can you best be involved? We need greeters, people that will head up games, people that can sign up our guests, chefs, and anyone who has a servant's heart. We want those people to see Jesus flowing through us. That will be Sunday, August 28th at 6:30 p.m.

-How is your child doing? How are you doing with your child? John Rosemond can help you with "Parenting by the Book". That book is the Bible, and it works. Our child rearing seminar will be Saturday, September 24th. You need this if you have children, toddlers, babies, teens, or grandchildren. Registration is now open. See Kelly Rhodes for more information.

-Your giving continues to be wonderful. This Sunday, we are making a card reader available for your convenience. Because so many of you use debit cards rather than checks, you have asked about the possibility. All you need do is swipe your card, type in the amount of money you would like to give, and sign your name. No registration necessary. In moments, you will have given to your Lord and His church all using this wonderful technology.

Living in His luxury,

Pastor Trey Rhodes