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"Dying
Out Loud"
Message summary: Today let us renew our mission in serving Christ and remain faithful to His supreme cause to the very end, no matter the outcome on this side.
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“Be
faithful unto
death, and I
will give you
the crown of
life”
(Revelation
2:10).
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
We are blessed by testimonies: living examples of how God is working in people’s lives. Many testimonies are about conversion: what the person was like before they turned to Christ, how they came to Christ and how their lives changed in conformity to God’s transforming power. Other testimonies are about the way God works out a troubling matter in one’s life. Testimonies build faith and remind us that “God’s not dead, He’s still alive” as an old song goes.
Ben
Sasse is a
former senator
who is dealing
with terminal
cancer. We
read this
article about
him "Come
watch Ben
Sasse give the
most
Christ-centered
take on death
as he stares
down terminal
cancer". (*
link below) He
is using his
likely final
days on this
earth to
testify for
Christ and the
Gospel. He
demonstrates a
remarkable
faith-filled
poise. We also
include a link
to his
interview with
Jim Daly on
Focus on the
Family.
His story reminds me of another similar testimony from over ten years ago. Stan and Ann Steward, along with their two children had left the states for missions service in Turkey eight years earlier. Prior to that they lived in southern California where Stan was a police officer in San Diego.
As
an adult he
responded to a
call from God
to become a
missionary, a
call that he
had received
many years
earlier as a
child. Stan
and Ann wanted
to go where
there was a
desperate need
for a witness
for Christ.
This
desire/calling
led them to
Turkey and
along the
Iraq/Iranian
borders, a
very
inhospitable
spot for
sowing the
seed of the
Gospel.
They built
friendships
and saw people
healed in
response to
their prayers
but had not
witnessed a
single
conversion to
Christ. The
family was
praying
desperately
about this
matter when
Stan was
diagnosed with
terminal
cancer. The
Stewards
remained in
Turkey,
determined to
allow the Lord
to use them in
the midst of
this most
difficult
trial of their
lives, as they
considered how
they might be
witnesses to
the Turkish
people while
dealing with
Stan’s
terminal
disease.
While living
there Stan
went to be
with the Lord.
His dying days
are chronicled
in a book
titled “Dying
Out Loud”
which
expresses the
goal of very
publicly
demonstrating
his faith in
God through
the dying
process. Stan
states, “God
whispered into
our hearts,
‘live this
dying out
loud’.”
Acts 20 and 21
record the
Apostle Paul’s
trip to
Jerusalem,
where he felt
compelled to
go even though
he knew danger
awaited him.
The first
passage is
from a message
to the
Ephesian
elders. It is
an astounding
expression of
personal
commitment
regardless of
the cost of
discipleship.
All through
the church age
there have
been believers
demonstrating
a resolve like
Paul who
wrote, “I
consider my
life worth
nothing to me”.
A more
contemporary
example of
such resolve
is Dietrich
Bonheoffer who
was martyred
for his faith
during the
final days of
World War 2.
The second
daily text
speaks of the
time that Paul
had left
Ephesus and
was en route
to
Jerusalem.
When he
arrived in
Tyre he sought
out a group of
disciples who
“through
the Spirit
urged Paul not
to go on to
Jerusalem”
(Acts 21:4).
Then he went
to Caesarea
where a
colorful and
demonstrative
“prophet
named Agabus
came down from
Judea. Coming
over to us, he
took Paul’s
belt, tied his
own hands and
feet with it
and said, ‘The
Holy Spirit
says, ‘In this
way the Jewish
leaders in
Jerusalem will
bind the owner
of this belt
and will hand
him over to
the
Gentiles.’”
The prophetic
warning from
Agabus,
accompanied
with the
visual
effects, still
didn’t deter
Paul!
His life’s
mission was “to
finish the
race and
complete the
task the Lord
Jesus has
given me—the
task of
testifying to
the good news
of God’s
grace.”
Today let us
renew our
mission in
serving Christ
and remain
faithful to
His supreme
cause to the
very end, no
matter the
outcome on
this side.
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, You
are our light,
our strength
and our song.
You are the
Cornerstone of
our faith and
the solid
ground that
holds us firm
through the
fiercest
drought and
darkest
storm.
From our first
cry to our
final breath
You command
our destiny
and no enemy
can thwart
Your plan for
our lives. We
stand in Your
power and walk
in Your
strength
through Christ
Jesus our Lord
in whose name
we pray. Amen.
Prayer adapted from lyrics of “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
*
"Come
watch Ben
Sasse give the
most
Christ-centered
take on death
as he stares
down terminal
cancer".
Ben
Sasse
Interview with
Jim Daly of
Focus on the
Family: I
(Brooksyne)
watched this
interview on
Sunday and was
deeply moved
and to hear
Ben speak so
courageously
about his
final weeks
here on earth
(short of a
miracle). I'm
accustomed to
listening to
Focus on the
Family but
this was a
video where
you can
actually watch
Jim interact
with Ben.
Tomorrow's
message will
be about one
aspect of the
interview and
great
theological
truth.
“Dying
Out Loud: No
Guilt in Life,
No Fear in
Death” is
available here.
It is written
by Shawn
Smucker who
happens to
live here in
Lancaster
County and is
related to a
family-run
business we
worked with
for many years
as chaplains
(S.S. Smucker
& Sons).
Here’s the
description:
Dying Out Loud
is the story
of Stan, his
wife, Ann,
their children
Elle and
Stanley, and
their
dedication to
following God
no matter the
cost. They
traded the
comforts of
suburban
Southern
California for
the crowded
cobblestone
streets of
Istanbul. They
explored the
border regions
of Turkey that
snake along
Iran, Iraq,
and Syria.
They prayed
with nomadic
tribes people
in the
Triangle of
Terror, and
they brought
the light of
the gospel to
those living
in the Dark
Canyon. But
none of those
adventures
compared to
where God led
them next: a
journey of
visions,
revelations,
and sorrow. A
journey into
stage-four
colon and
liver cancer,
and a journey
that beckoned
them to walk
the shrouded
path through
the Valley of
the Shadow of
Death. Yet
even there
they
discovered
peace, grace,
and a new hope
for the lost
around them.
Here
are the texts
from today:
“And
now, compelled
by the Spirit,
I am going to
Jerusalem, not
knowing what
will happen to
me there. I
only know that
in every city
the Holy
Spirit warns
me that prison
and hardships
are facing me.
However, I
consider my
life worth
nothing to me;
my only aim is
to finish the
race and
complete the
task the Lord
Jesus has
given me—the
task of
testifying to
the good news
of God’s
grace” (Acts
20:22-24).
“After we
had been there
a number of
days, a
prophet named
Agabus came
down from
Judea. Coming
over to us, he
took Paul’s
belt, tied his
own hands and
feet with it
and said, ‘The
Holy Spirit
says, ‘In this
way the Jewish
leaders in
Jerusalem will
bind the owner
of this belt
and will hand
him over to
the Gentiles.’
When we heard
this, we and
the people
there pleaded
with Paul not
to go up to
Jerusalem.
Then Paul
answered, ‘Why
are you
weeping and
breaking my
heart? I am
ready not only
to be bound,
but also to
die in
Jerusalem for
the name of
the Lord
Jesus.’ When
he would not
be dissuaded,
we gave up and
said, ‘The
Lord’s will be
done.’ After
this, we
started on our
way up to
Jerusalem”
(Acts
21:10-15).
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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