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The Gospel Through Sickness

Hello! My name is Robert Nacci and I’m a Pastor in Sayre, PA. This is my testimony of how the life-changing Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can be seen in every area of life, including even the darkest of times such as our sickness.

In 2008, I was still living at home in Philadelphia, about to graduate high school and go off to Bible college to study and pursue my degree in Pastoral Theology. My first semester classes were all set, and I was ready to go! Then I got the news no one wants.

“Robert, you have cancer,” the doctor would say.

More specifically I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, which simply put is a cancer of the blood in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Leukemia may also affect red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

It was due to this battle with cancer, and the effects of the chemotherapy, that I also would develop, and continue even to this day, to battle End Stage 4 chronic kidney disease, as well as Polycystic Kidney Disease—an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within your kidneys, causing your kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time. These cysts are noncancerous round sacs that contain fluid. The cysts vary in size, and they can grow to be very large. I had been born with one bad kidney, and this would now affect the good kidney I had left and cause me to have need of Dialysis much earlier than someone my age usually does. In 2019, at just 29 years of age, I would begin Dialysis.

Dialysis is defined as the clinical purification of blood, as a substitute for the normal function of the kidney. Dialysis is needed when your kidneys fail. Dialysis keeps your body in balance by removing waste, salt, and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body. It keeps a safe level of certain chemicals in your blood such as potassium, sodium, and bicarbonate. It also helps to control blood pressure. Dialysis, simply stated, cleans the blood.

It is with this thought in mind that I would like to speak to you about blood. It has always amazed me that so much in life can be traced back to the blood and the importance of the blood.

Blood plays a very important role in each of our lives and tends to have either a positive impact or negative impact on us.

Think about it …

When our blood counts are low, we receive a blood transfusion. What happens? Our blood counts should improve and hopefully, Lord willing, we will feel better.

When we have a cancer of the blood such as ALL, we receive chemotherapy. What happens? Lord willing, we go into remission, and the cancer of the blood goes into remission.

When our kidneys fail, we must go on Dialysis. What happens? Our blood is cleaned!

The blood is amazing! not just physically, but spiritually as well!

The Bible tells us in Leviticus 17:11,

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

And in Hebrews 9:22,

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Sometimes our blood needs to be cleaned due to a sickness such as cancer or kidney disease, and that can be done with the miracle of modern medicine through chemotherapy or Dialysis.

Yet, there has only ever been one Man’s blood that can clean and cleanse our souls from sin, and that is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

We have recorded for us in the Bible, which is the very Word of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that tells us just what we must do to have the blood of Christ applied to our account and have our soul cleaned and cleansed from sin. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us,

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Believing unto Salvation, as described in the above Verses, is as simple as the following…

RECOGNITION:

A person must recognize that he or she is a sinner. One must recognize that God, in His mercy, has done something about their sin by giving Christ to die on the cross. A person must recognize that Jesus loves them, wants to save them, and is able to save them.

REPENTANCE:

Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). To repent means to have a change of attitude and mind toward sin and toward God. Sin is a loathsome thing that was shown in its hideousness at Calvary, when Jesus died. That bloody cross tells us what God thinks about our sin. We must take sides with God against sin if we are to be saved. We know a sinner does not possess the power to forsake sin himself, but they must be willing to take the attitude toward sin that God takes in Acts 17:30. The Bible says God “commandeth all men every where to repent.”

RECEIVING:

We must by faith accept Jesus Christ into our hearts. In John 1:12 we read, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” To receive Christ means to confess our sins and invite Jesus to come into our hearts and place complete confidence and reliance in Him to save us as He promised.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Dear friend, as you read these lines, maybe you or someone you know has been affected by a sickness that affects the blood. But whatever the case, if you are not saved, let me urge you to repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Saviour today, and have His precious, pure, spotless blood applied to your heart today!

“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

Your Friend,
Pastor Robert Nacci
First Baptist Church, Sayre, PA

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