How does a Christian react in the face of death? Are we filled with fear or does the gospel sustain us? Martyrs like Huss and Jerome sang when facing death. Do we only have an intellectual knowledge of the gospel or has the gospel transformed our hearts and lives and given us a living experience? What part of the gospel story has so captivated your heart that, despite life’s challenges, including death, you will agree with the Apostle Paul when he says, “None of these things move me”?

ASI 2017: Called. Chosen. Committed.

<p>How does a Christian react in the face of death? Are we filled with fear or does the gospel sustain us? Martyrs like Huss and Jerome sang when facing death. Do we only have an intellectual knowledge of the gospel or has the gospel transformed our hearts and lives and given us a living experience? What part of the gospel story has so captivated your heart that, despite life’s challenges, including death, you will agree with the Apostle Paul when he says, “None of these things move me”?</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Steve Dickman

Plenary

The Curse of Meroz

Andi Hunsaker

One Hour to Live. The Gospel

James Rafferty

Have You Prayed for the President

Todd Guthrie

Window of Opportunity

Members In Action

Julian Archer

The Cross-Eyed Christian

Elias Baquero

Bob Hunsaker

Justin Kim

Lyndi Schwartz

The Priority of the Promise

Shawn Boonstra

Called. Chosen. Committed.

Mark Finley

Charles Sarr

Ted N.C. Wilson

ASI Marks 70th Anniversary

Kyle Allen

No Applications, Only Commitments


To my knowledge, I have not faced imminent death. However, about a year and a half ago, I did walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death with my friend and colleague during her battle with an aggressive form of leukemia, a battle which she lost 3 months following the day of diagnosis. Because of the severity of the diagnosis, she was hospitalized from the moment of diagnosis until 3 days before she died when she was released home to die. Being hospitalized in the same hospital in which we both worked allowed me to visit her every day. And our visits became sort of like Tuesdays with Maury, I said it was every day with Beatrice.

She was an English woman, crisp, very stoic, raised Catholic but not particularly religious. And initially our conversations were very general, things like work, her children, things like that. But about a month before she died, it became increasingly obvious that she was not going to make it. And our conversations turned to more serious topics, topics like heaven and God, what is he like, and death. How was she going to face this death that was unexpected?

These visits always ended with my praying with her. As I turned to go, she would always say, Andy, please come back. I enjoy your visits. About 2 weeks before she died, she looked me straight in the eyes and she said, Andy, Have you considered what you would do if you were facing imminent death? I hadn't.

And taking in the look on my face, she said, you should. And about the same time that I was going through this experience with Beatrice, I was studying the book of 2 Timothy, the last book Paul ever wrote, his swan song. He was facing imminent and certain death at the hands of Nero, and on this backdrop, the book of 2 Timothy was written. And it is a window into how he faced death, and I was reminded of a quote made famous by Sir Isaac Newton. If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

And today I would like us to stand on the shoulders of giants, giants like the apostle Paul and see not further than they saw, but what they saw as they faced death. In 2 Timothy, Paul is writing with a chilling urgency to Timothy. He says, Timothy, be diligent to come to me quickly. And when you come, bring my cloak and my books, especially the parchments." Why the parchments? Well, the Bible commentaries tell us that the parchments were his copy of the Septuagint and early copies of the words of Christ.

Paul in his final hour, in this urgent message, uses a very interesting phrase in 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. He says, Timothy, Grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. Some translations say before the world began. For several years, that phrase, scriptures that contain that phrase, before time began, before the beginning of the world or from the foundation of the world, have arrested my attention and captivated my imagination. And for the Apostle Paul to use this phrase in this Urgent letter means that this is not just some poetry, some vague theory, but 1 with profound gospel implications.

And Proverbs 8 helps us understand that. And it was not until I read a paper by Andrews University Seminarian, Dr. Richard Davidson on Proverbs 8, 22 to 31, that this took on significance for me. Proverbs 8, verse 30 is very well known to us because it describes the relationship of God and Jesus that they had in heaven before Jesus came to this earth. He says, then I was daily His delight.

I was beside Him, Rejoicing always before Him. And we acknowledge that it's Jesus that is saying these words. But it's interesting because verse 30 has a context, and the context is verses 22 to 31. There's a story being told in verses 22 to 31, which incorporate us as human beings. Verse 22, it's the dawn of creation.

And someone identified as wisdom is speaking in the first person and telling a story. That person is identified as wisdom. But it's not just any old story, it's his own story. And it's obvious from the surrounding text that there's not just a personification of wisdom but an intelligent person telling a story. And that person is the son of God himself telling his own story.

He says, the Lord possessed me at the beginning of his ways, before his works of old. I've been established from everlasting from the beginning. Before there was an earth, I was brought forth. Strange words, strange language, language which can be misconstrued as someone being created. However, the Hebrew is helpful here because in the Hebrew, those words actually mean anointed to, appointed to a new office, set up or installed into a new role, a new job.

It has nothing to do with someone being created. It is the dawn of creation. And they are about to do something risky. Create man. Thinking self-willed man with the ability to choose.

The ability to choose to accept and love them or the ability to rebel. This being the case, they make a decision. 1 of us needs to step down into a new role, that of a savior. And so in this passage, the divine second person in the Godhead, the Son of God Himself, is describing for us in this short autobiography, his formal installation into a new office, a new role, that of a son, a faithful and obedient son who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, came in the likeness of men and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Before time began, The Lord cared about us.

The cross was manifested not just at Calvary, but before time began. John the Revelator says it this way, that he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But I don't want you to miss Proverbs 8, verse 31. It's my favorite part of this passage. It says, And my delight was with the sons of men.

They did this because they delighted in us. Even though they knew that we could rebel, they delighted in us. And the fullness of the times he shows up in Isaiah 9 verse 6, it says, for unto us a child is born. At Christmas time, many of us like to participate in or attend performances of Hannah's Messiah. And there's 1 of the best choruses, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government should be upon his shoulders.

It's some with a triumphant jaunty lilt. The choir continues, soaring in emphasis, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. But have you considered the first few words, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." What did that cost? What did that cost heaven? Zechariah describes their relationship this way.

He says that they were friends. He said he was his companion. He says he was his best friend, his best beloved, the 1 who stood close to him. Most of you know that I have an identical twin sister, Lindy, who I love very much and to whom I'm very close. And before Bob and I got married, we underwent premarital counseling.

And our pastor gave us a questionnaire. He knew Bob and me, but he also knew the relationship I had with my twin sister. So he added a question, true or false, your family comes before your spouse. Tough question. God the Father and God the Son were even closer than my twin sister and me.

Nevertheless, God, the Father, agreed to separate from His best beloved and give him to us. And 1 day, like a poof, he was gone from heaven. And there was a long period of silence when there was no communication between them because he was in the womb of Mary. Absolute silence. Someone who was your best friend, your best beloved in the bosom of the Father.

Now absolute silence. A loss was sustained in heaven that day, the incarnation cost daily. The Godhead was radically changed, but not just for 9 months, but forever. He was given to us, willingly, even though we rebelled. And then, it's time.

He thinks back to heaven, When before time began, a plan was laid, and now he's in Gethsemane, and he trembles. He remembers 3 days before when the Greeks came to him, and he said, Father, what should I do? Save me from this hour? He says, no, I can't do that because for this reason I came into the world. And he says to disciples, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. How did he know that? How did he know that? Most of us interpret that as being a teachable moment for the disciples. He's giving them a lecture.

But I want to submit that the divine Son of God was speaking from the flesh that He took when He joined Himself to us and became 1 with us and was telling them, Listen, my spirit is willing, but the flesh that I took, it is weak, and I'm trembling at this hour. Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup from me. I want to go home. But praise God as the Lionel Harris song says, when he saw in full just how much his love would cost, he still ran the final mile between me and heaven so I would not be lost.

In February of 1990, 12 years after its launch, Voyager 1 reached the edge of the solar system and was commanded by NASA to turn around and photograph Earth, photograph the planets rather. They returned several photographs to Earth, and 1 of them was this 1. You probably cannot see that very well. It's circled here for you. It's called the pale blue dot.

And my clicker is not working very well. Carl Sagan, the late great Carl Sagan, reflected on that dot in a lecture given at Cornell University in 1994. And he said this, look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.

In our obscurity, all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. That is 1 man's opinion, but I want to submit to you that as the Godhead looked on that pale blue dot, the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill. And they made a decision, save man at any cost to themselves. This is what the apostle Paul saw, the giant the apostle Paul saw. He saw that there was a God who before time began loved him, even though he was the chief of sinners.

He saw that there was a God who before time began decided to save man at any cost to themselves. So he turns to Timothy and he says to Timothy, Timothy, Grace was given to us before time began. And then he says in verse 10, and is now been revealed at the appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God, Emmanuel, God with us. This media was produced by Audioverse for ASI, Adventist Laymen's Services and Industries.

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Plenary

One Hour to Live. The Gospel

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The Curse of Meroz

1h 57m

One Hour to Live. The Gospel

1h 27m

Have You Prayed for the President

1h 27m

Window of Opportunity

1h 27m

Members In Action

1h 57m

The Cross-Eyed Christian

1h 26m

The Priority of the Promise

1h 28m

Called. Chosen. Committed.

1h 42m

ASI Marks 70th Anniversary

1h 36m

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58m

Sound Doctrine