Gordon Rumford Ministries

Over a year ago I was preaching at a family camp in southern Ontario and met a fine young Christian worker and his family who were vacationing and receiving my daily ministry. It was soon discovered that we were kindred spirits and a wonderful friendship soon developed.

The young man adopted me as a mentor and father in the faith.

Over the succeeding months a strong bond developed and many visits took place. Several times over the succeeding months we met for fellowship.

Not long ago I received a distress call from him. From the sound of his voice on the phone it was evident he was in trouble. He did not want to tell me the detail of what was troubling him on the phone so a time was set for him and his wife to come and visit me in my office.

When he came he poured out his heart. He had just lost his position in a Christian organization over an indiscretion and was bewildered. What should he do now? Where could he go from here? I listed patiently to him tell the detail of his failure.

He was right in immediately resigning from his position and confessing. But how was he to rebuild his broken world? How was his wife to receive help for the pain she was suffering? Where were they to go from here?

When such a thing happens there are no set rules for what to do next. Many questions need to be answered before a plan can be instituted.

Carefully we went through the detail of what the organization wanted to do in the situation and how he could cooperate with them in their wishes.

It is a hard road for someone in leadership when they fail. If they are truly repentant some will wish to forgive and see restoration take place.

Others become bitter toward the offender and refuse to show mercy. Occasionally leadership of the organization will split over how to handle the situation.

It is difficult to have a common plan for all instances of such an event.

Sometimes there is a denominational office with personnel to move in and give counsel to the organization or the worker. Other times the leadership will call on leaders from sister groups to come and sit in counsel with them.

In this instance I was the resource person the Lord’s servant chose to help him and his family. We quickly consented to assist and numerous long distance phone calls and face-to-face visits have taken place.

A daily Scripture and other literature reading program has been instituted and he is making good progress in recovery from a sad situation.

It is heartening to see how his wife has supported him through the difficulties and is seeking to assist in restructuring his life to accommodate the new realities. Susan’s minister to her is greatly appreciated.

We thank the Lord that we are available to help such people who fall on hard times and do not have someone to turn to in their time of need.

Once again I have been able to help the hurting through being a pastor to pastorless people.

Your prayers for us that we would have wisdom and discernment in counselling such needy people is greatly appreciated.

These people are precious in the sight of the Lord and are worthy of our best efforts to come alongside and help bear the burdens they carry.

As the year ends and we look forward to the new millennium and all it has in store for us, it seems a bit eery to realize that we are on the threshold of a new century and also a new millennium. There is something rather daunting about it all.

As we review the past and close the door on the year, the century and the millennium it is a good thing to take stock and consider what we did right, what we did that was wrong, and what we plan to do to improve our situation in the new year.

Taking pencil and paper in hand to note the failures and successes of the past can really help us to concentrate on how to make the new year the best ever for ourselves and those we love.

Here are some guidelines that can help you plan for the future:

• Do everything with the conscious knowledge that the Lord is right beside you taking it all in.
• Do everything with the idea that at the end of each day you are going to offer it all to the Creator as an act of thanksgiving and worship.
• Always bear in mind the good of those around you and make your decisions so that they will profit from your actions.
• Do even the smallest, the least noticed act, with an enthusiasm and energy that only comes when we are enjoying the presence of the Lord.

Follow these simple guidelines and you will have the very best year yet!

It was Friday morning October 2, 1999, and I was busy studying about heaven.

Monday and Friday are days I leave totally clear to study and prepare for Sunday. So there I was immersed in jottings, books and commentaries piled high on the table when the phone rang. As usual I had no idea of who it would be or what they would want when I picked up the receiver.

The voice on the phone sounded weak and frail. He told me his name and then commented that he had occasionally attended a church I pastored many years ago.

The present pastor of the church apparently would not visit someone who was not a member of the church so he did not have a minister to call on.

He said what many people do when starting to tell their story, “I don’t know where to begin.” Then he went on, “Basically I’m dying. The chemo didn’t work. The cancer has spread everywhere. I’m kinda left to die and it’s hard to do. Can you come and say a prayer over me?”

My heart went out to him as I heard the earnest, pleading tone in his voice. I assured him that I would come and a time was set for me to go to his modest place of residence which basically consisted of one room and a shared washroom in the basement of an old house. It was not that far from my home and I knew the district fairly well.

When I entered his room he was in a hospital bed with an IV hooked up to his left arm. He seemed genuinely glad to see me and we got into a serious conversation immediately.

He had been raised in a Christian home and knew the Gospel well. However, he lacked assurance of his salvation and was anxious to get right with God before he died.

We discussed some things in 1 John and he seemed to gain some insight into his own standing before God. I asked him to read 1 John during the next week and I would come back to visit again.

I then offered a prayer for him that the Lord would enlighten him and draw him to Himself.

Next week I went back and it was wonderful to see how the study of God’s Word had helped him. It was soon evident that he was a Christian and he expressed his thanks for our help.

During that visit his mother came and I met her. She indicated they were taking her son home to a town in western Ontario where they could be close to him and visit him in hospital. He was not married, so his parents were his primary care givers during his final days.

I never saw the young man again. Only two visits, but what a wonderful feeling to know that we had ministered comfort to one who was so needy.

Now he is in glory and enjoying the immediate presence of Christ and is free from all the suffering and sorrow that he had experienced in this life.

The Bible calls on all of us to examine ourselves to see what possible evil lurks beneath the surface of our skin.

For example Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:28 “A man ought to examine himself.”

In Hebrews it says “See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (3:12)

Paul even calls on Christians to “…examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” 2 Cor. 13:5.

So we ought to check and make sure we are even Christians.

Then the Bible even goes farther in our responsibility to check up on ourselves.

Sometimes we may hear someone say this to us when we have suggested that their actions are not right. They become defensive and tell us off with this statement. In one sense they are perfectly right. We are not an other person’s judge. We have enough to do judging ourselves in the light of God’s Word, the Bible.

We hear people in the Bible calling on God to examine them. This certainly removes any thought of going easy on ourselves. We must judge ourselves carefully and honestly, without missing any detail.

In Psalm 26:2 the Psalmist says, “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.”

Again in Psalm 139:23 we read, “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me…”

What a challenge. Imagine inviting God in to our most intimate thoughts and feelings and asking Him to make a judgment call on what He sees! Have you ever thought of being so bold as to ask God to do this? It takes a humble person to do any such thing. It also takes a person who knows his sins are forgiven and his iniquities are blotted out.

Make no mistake there is One Who is the judge of us all, and judge He will. Who will plead your case before His court?

The Bible calls on us to retain Jesus Christ as our Advocate. He alone is qualified to plead our case.

If we confess our sins, forsaking them, and receive Jesus Christ as our Advocate, we shall be acquitted of our sins. If we do not, we shall have to plead our own case and the Bible tells us we shall lose the case and be left out for all eternity.

Seek Him while He may be found.

Call out to Him while He is near.

It was a clear, crisp night, Sunday November 30, the end of a wonderful day.

In the morning I preached at an assembly in Hamilton, a place where that I had not been for a few years. The subject was prayer, from Matthew 6, and the Lord’s voice was heard. Susan and I came home thrilled with the way the saints responded.

The afternoon was spent in prayer and preparation for the evenings teaching on John 17, as well as writing an article for a brother who wanted to know why Jesus said that the “violent take the kingdom by force.” in Matthew 11:12. I wanted to give him the article that evening.

The Lord blessed the evenings work and I came home with a delicious feeling of exhaustion from this exciting, though strenuous, day. Arriving home about 9:00pm, I picked up the messages on my study line.
Bill had called and in a quiet voice left this message; “Gordon, Joyce wants to see you. She’s low and would appreciate a visit tonight or tomorrow. I am sorry to trouble you.” Susan and I quickly got the children organized for bed and went to the hospital.

When we arrived, Bill and his children were sitting quietly with Joyce. Joyce was well known to me, I first visited her 16 years ago after her cancer surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She and Bill had occasionally tried over the years to come and hear me preach, but the symptoms of Joyce’s disease seemed to interfere with their plans every time. Notwithstanding, they always regarded me as their pastor and they welcomed every visit.

Now the disease was entering the final stages and Joyce reluctantly acknowledged her time was short. Joyce was a fighter and through the years her wonderfully cheerful disposition and that irrepressible sense of humour won everyone’s heart who visited her. Even now, when she was so desperately weak, she sought to cheer us up, and succeeded!

I went over to the bed , took her hand, kissed her on the cheek and sought to minister grace to her. We spoke of the Good Shepherd and how tenderly He cares for the lambs. I assured her that she would be heard if she simply asked the Shepherd to embrace her.

She assured me again and again that she had asked the Lord to receive her as she was, weak and frail. I responded that He certainly had received her and would carry her all the way to His eternal home. But all she would say in that soft accent was, “I’m hoping’ He will.”

Her faith was very tentative and would not allow her to speak with confidence of being embraced by the Lord Jesus. With a few words, I sought to comfort her in the truth that the faintest cry for help from any of us brings the Lord alongside.

I recalled the imagery of Scripture which said of our gentle Saviour, “A bruised reed will He not break, nor quench smoking flax.”

I spent a while in the hall with Bill and his children chatting about what was happening. One of the children was not ready just yet to acknowledge the reality their eyes saw. They struggled to realize that the one who gave them life was losing hers.

As we stood in the hallway Susan assisted the nurse in shifting Joyce into a more comfortable position to relieve some of the pain. When we reentered the room, Susan’s head was laying on the bed rail only inches from Joyce, and face to face they talked about the simplicity of salvation – “If you ask Him to come, He’ll come.”

Stroking Joyce’s head Susan assured her that the Lord Jesus is near to all who call to Him and that He had certainly heard her prayers. Joyce relaxed and seemed to be at peace. After an hour or so, Susan and I once again assured them of our love, embraced each one, and left.

Now, as we drove home we were really tired! But what a glorious feeling it was. There we were on the doorstep of eternity with a dear one who was in profound need.

The Lord was pleased to use us and we rejoiced in the context of sorrow that we had such a precious Saviour to offer and that we were involved in a “ministry of hope for those who hurt.”

The next morning we went back to check on our dear friend, and we were only in the room a moment when she asked me to pray.

Later as we said good-bye Joyce whispered to Susan, “Everything came together last night, everything’s okay”.

Eternity dawned for Joyce a couple of weeks later. It was peaceful and triumphant.

The family were thrilled to witness such a gentle departure of their loved one.

Isn’t it interesting that we all have things we do that we hope everyone will notice and then some things we trust no one sees.

For example, when we do something very generous to a needy person, a little recognition for our efforts is very pleasant. All of us like a little praise and recognition now and then. I am not being critical of such actions.

I know Jesus said we are not to let our right hand know what the left is doing and I agree. But, somehow, as sinners, it is nice when people stumble across our generosity and recognize us for it.

But, I am thinking of other and darker things we sometimes do. For example, the hateful feelings we can easily feel towards someone who has embarrassed us in public. That smarts!

No one wants to be shown as inept or foolish in public. We want to be seen in he best light.

Or, what about the covetous or lustful thoughts that we willingly entertain in our minds at times?

I know that we cannot help bad thoughts from entering our heads but what we do with them is our responsibility. We can reject them and avoid sin, or we can take secret delight in them and thereby commit sin.

Jesus said that people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The things we do or think that are wrong, we hope no one sees.

But it does not matter if anyone sees us or not. God sees and He takes note of our thoughts and deeds.

In 1 Kings 8:39 it says,”…deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men). This truth is comforting to those who hurt. “God knows all about my suffering,” says the hurting person.

Somehow it helps to know that God sees our inner pain and sorrow. But, on the other hand, this truth is discomforting to those whose deeds do not measure up to the mark.

Hence the Bible says in 1 Chronicles 28:9, “…Acknowledge God… serve Him with whole hearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him He will reject you forever.”

Make no mistake God sees you.

Seek Him while He may be found, call out to Him while He is near.

For several years Susan has been praying for a missionary lady who struggled with cancer. She and her husband worked in Quito Ecuador for HCJB. From time to time she would be back in Toronto for treatment and we would have the opportunity to meet with her.

In June she came home for the last time and entered Princess Margaret Hospital for experimental treatment.

Because her husband is from Winnipeg the four boys and the husband did not have a place to stay in the Toronto area. We volunteered our home as our girls were away in Cape Cod for the summer and it meant we had spare bedrooms.

They moved in and stayed with us for almost a month. Because the husband was so far from home he did not have a spiritual mentor to assist him. That is where I came in.

During this time we were able to minister in temporal and spiritual ways to the family including the patient in hospital. It meant our home was a busy place as we housed, fed and in other ways looked after five extra people.

The four boys ranged in age from 9-17 and were typical delightful young men. Because we had planned to be on holiday during this time our schedule was open and we were free to devote ourselves to the care of our guests.

After several weeks of unsuccessful treatment the lady slipped into a coma and finally went to be with the Lord. It was a sad business as the husband never gave up hope for an arrest of the cancer and an extension of his wife’s life.

It is such a difficult matter to know when to shift one’s thinking from hope for a cure to the realization that death is inevitable and may as well be faced. To take away hope for a reprieve seems cruel, and there never seems to be an appropriate time to face the fact that death is coming soon.

All one who helps can do is to be there and quietly keep vigil with the family. That is what we did.

We are grateful that the Lord has given us a home that can be used to shelter people in need and where they can retreat from the cold realities that face them to be refreshed and comforted. Also we are thankful that the Lord’s people minister to our material needs in such a way that we are in a position to help the hurting in this manner.

Perhaps the Lord will encourage some of our readers to offer their homes for hospitality to the needy. Some have grown children who have moved out leaving room for someone to come for a few days respite from the wearying battle with adversity.

It does not take a lot of skill to extend hospitality to an individual or family on the short term.

A little love goes a long way to easing the suffering of others and it is good stewardship of our temporal resources.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Isaiah 40:1

A number of years ago, in a time of personal struggle, a very fine and mature Christian brother drew alongside me and ministered grace. He was full of compassion and love as he led me through a maze of problems. I became very close to him because of his ministry to me.

This same person also drew alongside Susan within hours of her late husband’s death. Once again he was a “father in Israel” to her. His warm and loving manner did much to comfort and strengthen Susan in her very lonely times.

A verse of a poem he left with her was carried by Susan everywhere she went for months after the death. Each time she became upset and fearful, she would pull the piece of paper out of her pocket and read it.

After a short while she would only touch the paper in her pocket and the words of the verse would come to mind. The words he gave her were as follows:

I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see-
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand,
And follow Thee.

Recently this same person became terminally ill with cancer. Susan and I visited him and his wife and received much more comfort from them that we were able to minister.

The very organized and thoughtful way he set his affairs in order is an example to us all. He assembled all his wishes regarding every detail that needed a decision in the days and weeks before and after his passing in an “ultra” organized file.

In this way he ensured that his family would be able to follow his wishes, and his wife would be able to grieve, without the pressure of the many decisions that have to be made when someone dies. His concern for his family will comfort them for many years to come.

It was my privilege to assist at the memorial service and help the family in that way. It was a very hot summer day, and at the graveside there was a lovely tall and shady tree for the many people to gather under as we committed his remains to the ground.

We were very grateful for the tree that protected us from the blazing hot sun. It seemed as though the deceased thought of that detail too as he selected the resting-place. As we sang two choruses of his choosing – “I love you Lord” & “He is Lord” – a gentle breeze began to blow and it was as if all the angels of heaven were singing with us.

In the weeks since the event, Susan and our late friend’s widow have come together by phone and in person to share together the special sorrows of a widow. Susan has been used in this manner often as she calls on her own experience in this matter.

It seems that Susan’s work in the ministry is as effective and important as mine and it’s so good to be a team together as we go on seeking to help people in pain.

It’s hard to look on difficulty as a blessing when you’re in the midst of it, but in God’s sovereign providence we have been able to comfort others with the comfort God has given us.

2 Cor 1:3-4 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

The Greek word for forgiveness is pronounced Ôapse a miÕ. The word means to send away, to dismiss, to depart.

To forgive is to send away that for which there was a breach in the relationship.

When a person confesses their sin to us, we are to remove the offense from the relationship and receive the person back into our society. Clearly then, only the one who was offended can extend forgiveness and reinstate the offender in the relationship.

The Bible makes it clear that forgiveness is a possibility and is to be extended when the party who has committed the offense has repented.

In 1 John1:9, it tells us that when we confess our sins the Lord will forgive us. We, in like manner are told to forgive those who sin against us when they repent.

Luke 17:3 says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” The sequence then is fourfold. 1. An offense is committed. 2. A rebuke is given by the offended party. 3. The offender repents. 4. The offended person extends forgiveness.

In modern thought there is the teaching by many that we are to forgive even when the offender is impenitent. Usually no Scripture is offered for this teaching, but a lot of rhetoric has been dispensed around the subject.

It is uttered as axiomatic that we are to quickly forgive the offender regardless of the offender’s view of the situation. Dire warnings of psychological dysfunction are given if the offended party withholds forgiveness to an impenitent offender.

So pervasive is this teaching that people accept it as Gospel. If the truth were known, this teaching is the antithesis of the Gospel.

We are told that we will not be forgiven by God unless we forgive others unconditionally. The one Scripture that is often quoted is, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Matt. 6:12)

But what this passage is teaching is that just as we forgive the offender when they repent, so we ask God to forgive us when we repent. It is not saying forgive us because we forgive others, it’s asking that God forgive us on the same basis as we forgive others. It says, “Lord, just as we forgive others when they repent, please forgive us as we now repent.”

The passage goes on to indicate that if we withhold forgiveness when people repent, God will withhold His forgiveness when we confess to Him.

Some confusion seems to be in people’s minds because they equate a lack of forgiveness with a bitter spirit. However, that is simply sloppy thinking when we muddle such clearly different concepts. No one would accuse God of being bitter towards those whose sins are not forgiven, so why do we accuse those who have waited for the biblical order to be followed of being bitter?

If a person sees the clear teaching about rebuking an offender and waiting to forgive until the repentance is shown there is no reason to accuse them of being bitter. They may indeed be bitter and harbour sinful thoughts and attitudes, but that is a distinct matter.

The Bible is clear on how to proceed and the Lord gives us His pattern to follow. He does not forgive until the sinner repents and confesses the sin. Neither should we. It’s just that simple. Lets not try to be better than God in this matter. In our cleverness and our efforts to be racy and upbeat in our views of human relationships we muddle the plain teaching of Scripture and lead people astray.

Can you imagine the church at Corinth accepting this current teaching about forgiveness as regards the man who was sinning by living with his mother-in-law (1Cor.5)? The modern counselor comes to the elders of the church and tells them to ignore Paul’s teaching to cast the person from them. Forgive the person they are told, and pretend the offense has not been committed.

Do you not see how sinful it is to distort the teaching of the Scriptures where it is plainly taught that offenders are to be removed from our fellowship until the situation is sorted out?

Of course, when the sin is confessed we must forgive, we must restore the person to our fellowship, we must again treat them as a fellow Christian and give them full rights and privileges in the church and our society. This is not negotiable, it is absolutely essential.

But many Christians who talk much about forgiving when no repentance is evident are themselves the most unforgiving people in the world. Let a reformed rapist come into the church and see how welcome they are, let a divorced person come into the church and try to gain office among the saints. We quickly see that forgiveness is not only partial, it is sometimes not even given to those with a certain history.

Consider how we would have to rewrite the story of David and Bathsheba if this modern teaching on forgiveness is true. Nathan would then have to come to David and say, “Well David, God wanted me to tell you that even though you have clearly sinned against His law by committing adultery, and even though you have not confessed it, God wants you to know that He has forgiven you. God is not holding it against you and you are still in good standing with Him.”

Can you imagine that being the message of the prophet to David? That’s exactly what he should have said if we are to forgive impenitent people.

Take another situation in the Bible. Can we imagine Jesus on the cross, turning to the unrepentant thief and saying, “My son, I forgive you also even though you have not confessed your sins. And, because I forgive you your unconfessed sins, you too will be with me in Paradise today.”

Is it not clear that to forgive when no repentance is evident is ungodly? Can we not see that Satan wishes us to be lulled into thinking that we should pretend everything is all right, and behave as though nothing is wrong, when in fact sin has been committed and needs rebuke?

Satan wants the world to believe the lie that God forgives everybody and does not “hold grudges”. After all, nobody is perfect, we are only human. How convenient to think that God will let everybody through on Judgment day and will not be so unkind as to not forgive people.

This teaching about forgiving when there is no repentance is exactly what godless people are banking on when it comes to answering to God for their evil ways.

The hard way is the godly way. When you are sinned against, it is difficult to confront and point out to the person that their behaviour is unacceptable. Such an action takes moral courage and it’s just simpler to keep quiet and let the offense slip away unnoticed and unaddressed.

Many people abdicate their responsibility to confront because of the unpleasant fallout that may come from such an action. They fear the wrath of the offender and so keep quiet. “Why cause more problems?” they ask. “Isn’t the situation bad enough as it is?”

Such reasoning tugs at sympathetic hearts and we recognize the additional grief that may come as a result of doing it God’s way. We sympathize with the offended person, but in the back of our minds there is the nagging thought that Jesus confronted sinners, He did not back away from further conflict simply to try and make peace.

A very dramatic example of confronting the offenders is seen in the life of John the Baptist, Matt. 3:7-10. Some of those who came to be baptized were clearly suspect and John sent them away unbaptized telling them to get a track record of repentance, then consider baptism. It was not just some words of repentance that John demanded before accepting them, he wanted some action commensurate with the confession to back it up.

In our day and age, we are so shallow in these things, we simply get some quick nod of the head about repentance and baptize them immediately. We would never do what John did, and I venture to say that many Christians are extremely uncomfortable with the fact such action on John’s part is even included in Scripture. It is an embarrassment to many fine Christian people that John did such a thing, and they secretly wish that it had not been recorded.

God expects us to take the right course of action even though it is difficult.

His name was Billy and he lived near Orillia, Ontario. However, he was now in the oncology unit of Sick Children’s Hospital.

I was visiting him at the request of his mother. She was a single mom and had to work during the week, so could not visit her only child, Billy until the weekends.

I had taken a hand held ham radio in to the unit with me to play with him and allow him to talk to some people around the province. He was fascinated by the fact the short little antenna could send a signal that people could read a hundred miles away. We had some fun and he enjoyed himself.

Billy was in the final stages of his illness and seemed very calm about things. I dearly wanted to talk about heaven and what he could expect to see and experience when he got there.

But Billy was not giving me an opening that particular day until he asked me, “Mr. Rumford, are there dogs in heaven?” Other children have asked adults this before, but here I was confronted with the question myself. What do I say?

The Bible does not give us a lot of detail about heaven although it does give us a glimpse of some wonderful things. It says we shall be with Christ and that is far better than anything here.

We are assured we shall be free from all suffering and will be comforted and live purposeful fulfilling lives. We shall occupy some sort of official position in the universe, and we shall be feasted and entertained.

Billy missed his pet dog and was lonely for him. But what was I to say? The Bible does not refer to pet animals in heaven.

Well, what I did was to take Billy’s question as a question that was asking if he would be “at home” in heaven and would there be things there to please him.

What was I to say, that I could give a reassuring “Yes.” So I told Billy that there were dogs in heaven and he would be very happy there.

I told him some other things as well and he seemed satisfied. I have never forgotten that visit though it occurred many years ago.

You see, Billy was sure of going to heaven because he had trusted in Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

When we turn from sin and trust in Christ to forgive us, we are absolved of all guilt and declared righteous in God’s sight.

Billy trusted Christ, I have, what about you?