Ep 186: Proof God Loves You Is Not A Feeling (Part 2)

"Fear, cancer, and suffering collide as Pastor Tom Jencsik shares how God transformed a lymphoma diagnosis into a testimony of hope. How can fixing our eyes on Jesus change the way we face pain, fear, and uncertainty?"

Today we talk about what it means to keep praising God when life gets painful, and how real hope holds up when the world feels unstable. We share how Scripture on stage, suffering in the body, and Jesus as our mediator all point to the same steady truth: God is present and still at work.
• Bringing the people and events of Scripture to life through Plays on Word Theater & Radio and why people often see before they hear
• Finding yourself in Peter’s story and letting that produce hope instead of shame
• Holding onto Christian hope amid global conflict and cultural chaos
• Living with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and learning to say “this is the Lord’s”
• Praying with credibility when you can honestly say “I was there”
• Jesus as the High Priest and mediator Who understands suffering firsthand
• Discovering ministry opportunities even during treatment and hospital visits
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East Gate Calvary Fellowship: https://eastgatecalvary.org/

'Jesus Won' Mets jersey

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Transcript

Facing Diagnosis With Faith

SPEAKER_02 0:00

You know, listen up is the best.

SPEAKER_03 0:07

I'm in my walk for a while now, getting diagnosed with uh noncoxious lymphoma in 2011. Now, the first thing you think about, I'm probably gonna die. That's the first thing you think of. But then the second part was okay, I know where this is gonna lead me, so I'm just gonna go along and see how God uses me through this. But through that whole journey, it never was about me. It was about how God wanted to use this situation.

Welcome To Plays On Word Radio

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Hello and welcome to Plays on World Radio, where we discuss, analyze, work, and play on the word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion today. Let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Keddy Jr., the founder of Plays on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.

Scripture Performed So People Can See

SPEAKER_03 4:18

When when when you get that that feeling, right? That feeling, that you know, like the fresh feeling. And I love that because each time you do that performance, it's a fresh feeling for I probably for you and for people there that are sitting there. And I would encourage any any person that knows about them your ministry that they they should at least make an attempt if you're in the area to go and witness this scripture come alive. It's a beautiful thing, it really is. Because sometimes, you know, because sometimes for people, they see things before they hear things. You know what I mean? They see, they see, and then they're hearing, and then they put that together. And I think that's what uh you know, that's another great part of that your ministry. Yeah, that is that that's vital. It's vital.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

You were at you were at some of the very first man. I remember vividly. I mean, when we did Jersey Shore, we did Pete and we did Genesis Joe. They those were I think that was like the the third time we did Genesis Joe, and like the second time we did Pete was at Jersey Shore at the time. I remember you were there, man, and I really appreciated that. And subsequently, you've come to to a bunch after. We've even we did one outside in the park for you. Yeah, that was awesome.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

Yeah, that was awesome. That was the outreach there, you know. That was great, man. And that was great.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Yeah, how how did that work? That was um just an outreach for the church. We came and did it, and you were just reaching out to the people from the area just came as it came out. We did it in the in like the band shell section of the veterans park, yeah. And we had a time of worship and praise before, I believe. Yeah, your daughter-in-law sang, right? She sang, yeah. And we had, I'm trying to remember that who else played. I I don't know if Roy played or not. Roy and Greg, maybe I don't remember. I'm trying to remember. I'm going back.

SPEAKER_03 6:11

Yeah, I can't remember either.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

But it was good, man. That was fun. And and there were a couple people I think that gave their life to the Lord. I at least, at least prayed, you know. Like I said, it's not a magic prayer. I don't, it's people put too much in that prayer, but it it's a I think it's a good first step of turning towards the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Absolutely, absolutely. I'd rather have them do it than not do it. Yeah, absolutely, brother. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

So and now how about the how about the Pete play? I think I have some pictures with you with the net or something, with me and you in the net, but anything specific about the Pete play? We talked about Genesis Joe, but the Pete play. You you saw that early on, too, man.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Here's what I remember about the Pete play. I said, I said this. I said, that's me. That's me. That's that's me. Amen. Amen. Just some of the obviously some of the dialogue, and we know the scriptures and the way you portrayed those scriptures. It's like I think almost every one of us can see when you see Peter and we hear those and we sell and that performance, you you do see yourself in it, and you go, if that's if that's one of God's main men, right? Maybe I can be that there's hope.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

There's hope for me, man. Well, yeah, the scriptures are there to give us hope, bro. The scriptures, thank God for the for the knuckleheads in the scripture because it gives us hope.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

Hope, but you know what? Hope is abounding right now. It has to be, and especially, you know, in in the world we're in right now. Yeah, my god, my gosh. Yeah, if you don't if you don't have hope. I mean, that's what I see with all a lot of things that are going on in the world right now, and people are scratching their heads, and even sometimes Christians against Christians with the going, and you just sit there and you go, stop. We know what's what's going on here. We where where is our you we have hope. Our hope is not in this world. We know, hey, look, we know the plan, we know what God has put forth going going ahead. So that's what I'm saying is I'm relating this now to hope. That's our hope to keep going. In other words, to keep going, to keep going when you don't feel like it, and when all the things of the world come upon you, and you sit there and go, What's the point? Well, the point is Jesus in me, and now I I want to bring that hope to a lost and dying world, yeah. And I'll tell you what, you know what? The world is in real precarious place right now, yeah. And we we are the light of that world holding things together because of who we are in Christ. And I think you know, for you to keep going on in that ministry and keep bringing that light to wherever God leads you, you and King.

Hope In A World Of Conflict

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Yeah, we I just recently saw a stat that said there are more, there's more wars and conflicts right now at this period of time than there have been since World War II. Like there's there's more than there were during World War II, there's more conflicts around the world happening than there were, and that that was World War II. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's uh some people make the argument world war three is actually underway right now, but you know, it's who knows? Well, we do know the end from the from the beginning. We don't have all the details, but we do know the end. We know that God wins, which is which is good, and we're we're with God, we're with him, we're on his side, and he wins.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

So he wins, he does win. You know, I'll I'll give you this little funny story here. I hate to admit this, but I'm a meth fan. Baseball, I love baseball.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Oh, you've suffered so much.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

Oh my gosh, so plus persecution, much persecution. Oh my goodness. But what I'm relating to what you're saying because the players, some of the players now, there's some there's some Christian boys on that team, and when they get interviewed, they're wearing these shirts now in the Met colors, which is orange and blue, and it says Jesus won. I love it, and they're in front of like you know, national media local. Good for them, and and it's not just one player now, because I'm noticing I'm going, hey, there's another one. Hey, there's another one. Jesus won. That's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

I love it, man. I love it, man. I uh I I need to see if I can find it, man. It's and it's in Mets. Oh, here it is. Yeah, I see it.

SPEAKER_03 10:34

Yep, yeah, Jesus won.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Oh, look at that. Oh man, I'm gonna have to.

SPEAKER_03 10:39

By the way, that statement is the only hope us Met fans have right now.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah, you know what? You're right, Jesus one, Jesus, right. That is that's it. Because as as Met, I know a guy that's a Mets fan and a Jets fan. Oh gosh, and boy, he's this poor guy's suffered unbelievably. He's just he understands suffering, he he he knows what suffering's all about.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

That's funny.

Living With Cancer Without Losing Hope

SPEAKER_02 11:04

That's funny. All right, so speaking of suffering, you talked earlier, you said you talked about you know praising God, and yeah, even from a from a difficult place. When I first met you, man, I remember you had you were like in the midst of some health issues, man. Yeah, and and praise God, you're still here.

SPEAKER_03 11:22

Yeah, man. You know what? That's uh again, you're referring to it was back in 2011. Now, I'm I'm in my walk, you know, for a while now, you know, and uh, and that that comes alongside of this, where getting diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2011. Now, the first thing, the first thing you think about, even you know, I I said, Well, you know what? I'm probably gonna die. That's that's the first thing you think of. But then you then the second part was, okay, all right, I know where this is gonna lead me, so I'm just gonna go for the go along and see how God uses me through this. And from that point on, from 2011 to where we are today, I'm still I still take a drug that helps keep this blood cancer at bay. But but through that whole journey, and still going through that journey, it was always not it. This this may sound crazy, but it it never was about me. It never was about me. The disease whether this this demon inside of me wasn't about me, it was about how God wanted to use this situation. I I didn't understand it quite at first, but then I started going through different scenarios and meeting people. And when you can look someone in the eye and tell them that you look someone in the eye who's going through something similar. And this is why I truly believe sometimes we go through hard times that you can look through somebody in the eye and say, that's going through a similar circumstance or a similar type of scenario you're going through, and say, I know what you're going through. Yeah, I want to pray for you, I want to pray for you. And that prayer that that comes that comes from a deep place that someone might relate to. Instead of sometimes, you know, I hate to say this sometimes, but it's academic. It's academic for some people.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

It's like I read about it in a book. I I understand where you are because I read about it. It's different when somebody says, I understand where you are. I was there. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

Yeah, that that's it. I was I've been through, and you know what? Here's what I can tell you. I mean, uh here's how what I could tell you how God is is getting me through this. And you know what? It's you, you don't look the bottom line is do I want this? Do you want to go through hard times of persecution and health issues? No, nobody does. But when you take the you get into that place where, you know what, Lord, it's in your hands. It's in your hands. You know, I heard a story. It was a funny story, not a funny story, but I think it was Poncho Warez, his wife got cancer. I think it was Poncho, and he was went into Chuck Smith's office, and he obviously told Chuck that his wife had cancer, and I need to I want you to pray for her. And this always struck me when I heard the story. And Poncho says, Yeah, Chuck says, Oh, sure, I'm gonna pray for you. And he just turned to Poncho, and I guess I'm gonna paraphrase it, but I think this is what he said. He said, Lord, take this cancer, this cancer is yours, and that was it. That was it, and that's how I kind of when I heard that story, I said, Well, you know what? That's this is not mine, but this is the Lord's. He'll but however this ends up, he's gonna he's gonna be with me through all this, and that's been the case, and it's given many opportunities, so I don't like it. You know, I still go, I still go every three months to you know to the oncologist. Hey, and he's hey, by the way, you'll appreciate this story. He was a young man when he started taking care of me, and he was a Jewish man, and I always told him, I said, I I said, you know, doc, I said, you are uh like a Levite priest. I'll just tell you his name had that had that part in it, his name. And I said, You're like a Levite priest. And he looked at me, he goes, What? I said, Yeah, you know, doc, when you turn 50, you can retire. He looks at me, he goes, What? But what I'm saying is it opened up a dialogue. And now he knows now he knows I'm a pastor now. So he's he's gone through he's gone through this whole journey with me. See, I didn't even I didn't even know this young man. And we've gone through and he looks at me now and he goes, you know what, you've been coming here longer than some of the people working here. And I look at him. I go, yeah. I said, Doc, you you know where that comes from. And he goes, Yeah, yeah. He goes, Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

You're you're a walking testimony.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

And you know what? We all are in some aspect. We are, but how had to identify that because again, like I said, we all you know, you people think, yo, I'm a Christian. That's good. Hey, I'm good. Yeah, you are good, everything's good, but you're still in this world and you're gonna suffer the things that you know that will come upon us, whether however that is, but it's how you get through it, yeah, and and how God will use you through that. And it's it's again, I'm not saying it's not easy. It's but it would the cross wasn't easy. Uh the cross wasn't easy. Jesus is being scourged wasn't easy, Jesus being spit on and his hair pulled out of it wasn't easy. So I that's why I love that's why I love where it says Jesus is the God man. The God man. He's God, yeah, but he's man, he understands everything about now. I'm bringing this up only because of how you opened this door for me with this this cancer.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

But you know, it's it's that journey. And I can if I can look at if I can look at Jesus and see what he went through, uh it it says I say to myself, well, if that if God went through that for me, I can do that, I can get through this some way, somehow. Yeah, you know, but it's something you live with, and it's something when I leave here, we'll be all forgotten. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'll be in we'll be in glory one day. And that's that's all part of it too.

Jesus The Mediator Who Understands

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Hebrews says, We don't we didn't we don't have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are with yet without sin. And I I tell you, man, and then it goes on to say, let us let us confidently draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy. And that that passage, that just the idea that we have we have a high priest, it's not something he read about on Google or asked Chat GTBT about when it comes to suffering. He suffered, man, and so he's one of those people. He's the God man, theanthropos, he's the god, he's the the he's the mediator between God and man, and he that very mediator can say, listen, uh I understand, I understand where you are right now. I I get that, I get it. And that brings great comfort, man. It's you know what I mean? Because if it was just if it was just God and and and our we had no mediator, like someone to go between us, because God is unattainable. He's just uh he's not uh uh it's not that God doesn't understand because God understands everything, yet the fact that we have a mediator that is both God and man is is of great value. And I think the book of Job actually pictures that in a in an excellent way because Job Job threw out his book, he's like, Oh, if there was just somebody who could plead my case, or if someone could lay their hand on me, and Job ends up becoming that very mediator. At the end, God says to Job's friends, You go to my servant Job, he'll pray for you, and I'll hear him. And he becomes the mediator between God and man. And Job is the one who said, I know that my redeemer lives. Praise the Lord, and in the end, he will stand on the earth, and I'm gonna see him with my own eyes, not somebody else's, my own eye, my own, how my heart yearns and burns within me. Because he knows he knows, man. And we have a we have a mediator. I also say, Thank God for God, thank God for the Lord. I just thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

A new covenant.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

That's it. Yes, we have a covenant, amen. Amen. Praise God. We live in that, we live in that, we live in that new covenant, operate in it, amen. And that's what great comfort we have when when when you can know that somebody, you know, when you can know that your shepherd, the person that's leading you, understands where you are. I've worked for a bunch of people in my life, and many times the supervisor or manager, whatever, it's it becomes very uneasy when you're like, this dude, this this dude knows nothing. He doesn't even know what he's doing. This guy has this is like his first job, man. What you know, what kind of experience does this guy have leading people? You know, he doesn't even understand what I'm dealing with, and that's it, but that's not the case with with the Lord, with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's like, follow me, trust me. Uh, I got this, I got this, and as far as your suffering, I want you to hold on and just keep here with you in it through the valley of the shadow of death. I'm with you in it. And yeah, you know, and so there's much. So I haven't, I just man, I I really appreciate you, bro. I appreciate because I remember that also made made an impact on me. I was like, here, this dude, man, he's suffering, and he's just he's praising God all out, man. And he's he's still going through because I think when I met you, I think you were still going through something. They were doing some kind of treatment or something.

Ministry In The Treatment Room

SPEAKER_03 21:15

Oh, yeah. I was, I mean, for a while there, I was getting infusions at the at the at the hospital, and I would meet people, and again, I would sit there, you're sitting there with people, and the nurses would always tell me, Tom, she says, You're good with people. Uh I I go, yeah, yeah. So he goes, go go when you get a chance, talk to that person over there or whatever. They point to someone because you'd be you'd be in a situation, people you could look around and you know people are are in serious trouble. And I would just try to always encourage So wait a second.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Are you tell are you telling me that like you went for for your treatment, either chemo or whatever it was, just sitting there and and the Lord had ministry for you in it? Yeah. Come on, man. That's amazing. You're still on it, you're still on his clock, and you're there for treatment for yourself. And yet he's got you, he's got good works for you lined up, even in the midst of a difficult situation. Hallelujah, man. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

Well, you know what? Because that that's that's for all of us who have this call, call on our our lives for Christ. And whether however that may be, whether you're in a church, whether you're out in a mission field, whether you're doing well, both, you're you're doing both, but it's that calling, and then and then by the way, that calling, and sometimes they, you know, not that I not that I struggle with that word calling, but to understand that here, here's what it is ultimately. It's it has nothing to do with me anymore. It's I uh I always say this to myself I say, Do I love me? Especially when I'm going through some times where I think I'm pretty good guy. Do I love me more than I love Jesus? Wow. Much how much how much of my time am I focused on me instead of Jesus? And you know what? Sometimes I'll go through, and I think a lot of us go through this. You know, you go through a whole day, and sometimes you'll go, Yeah, oh man, Lord, I was thinking too much of myself here.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Then I'd bring you in the mix, you know. But and that's kind of during that whole process, that's where I had that's where I had to go. I had to go there. Otherwise, I I don't think I I don't think, and by the way, a loving family, a loving wife, loving children that that were by my side. And you know, that that was a major that, by the way, that was the major blessing too of all that, you know. But yeah, yeah, to see my family go through that, and now they just look at me and go, uh, you're okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Yeah, right, right. Hey man, I'm so so so grateful that you are still here with us and and not just here, just existing, but being effective, man, and uh in the the I want to say Bayville area, Baville, Berkeley, Berkeley, Bayville area, yeah, Jersey, Tom, south of Tom's River, New Jersey. Basically, yeah. And yeah, man. So I'm just so grateful that you're able to finally be on plays on Word Radio. We we need to get Debbie with you at some point. Yeah. We'll we'll talk about her artwork and stuff like that. We'll we'll do that.

SPEAKER_03 24:36

You know what? You gotta do that because uh she's getting gaining a heart for that again, yeah and ministry.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Well, let's get you let's get you guys scheduled. We'll do another interview.

SPEAKER_03 24:46

Okay, that'd be awesome.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

Can you close us out in prayer,

Closing Prayer And Final Blessing

SPEAKER_02 24:49

sir?

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Yeah, man, yeah, man. Absolutely. Father God, Lord Jesus, we are just we are just number one, Lord. We're grateful, grateful for who you are and what you've done for us, Lord, and what you continue to do for us, not just for us, but Lord, for the people that you put in our lives, the ministries that you've that you've actually given to us, Lord. It was nothing that we that we received on ourselves. It was you that gave it to us, Lord. And we take that serious, Lord, in our hearts and our spirit, in our minds, Lord, that we can go forward in this life, Lord, with trust and and belief and the hope, actually, Lord, in a faith, hope, and love that we can go forward in this life, Lord, and continue on in that journey, Lord, and know that you are with us in every step and every every action, every word, and every situation that you put us in, that you're there with us, Lord. And I pray, I pray for all the people where Ted is right now and his community and his church and his life. And I pray for our community here, our lives here in New Jersey, Lord, that you would use us in, and you know what, Lord, not in the in a mighty way. In a mighty way, Lord, in in the gifts that you've given us. And I love this, Lord, that you do this, that you've given us by knowing who we are and using that in the gifts that you give us, Lord. And uh, that is an awesome thing. And Lord, keep us upright, keep uh, Lord, keep us true to who we are in Christ, and keep us true to the word, and let the Holy Spirit come from the inside out, Lord, bringing the light into the darkness in Jesus' name. Yes, and all God's people say.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

Amen. Amen. Well, thank you, my brother, for being on the on the plays on the word radio. Yes, brother. You know how I say this? The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and uh be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

This program was made possible by the Plays on Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at plays on Word.org.