The Last Words of Seven Great Men of God

Looking back over the last 60 years, I began about 60 years ago to study the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. I studied about 18 or 20 of those before going to Ambassador College.

And right out of high school at the age of 18, I did get on a Greyhound bus and went all the way across these United States three and one-half days from eastern North Carolina, where I grew up, all the way to Pasadena, California. And going to Ambassador College for four years, I would not trade that experience for anything. Wonderful years. Serving in the ministry of the church then, in Washington State and Oregon, Florida and Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia. Over 50 years, I've seen many ups and downs in the Church of God. Much trying and testing.

I think many of us will remember. Some of us go back to the 1950s and 60s. Our roots go back about the same time. And much trying and testing on the people of God. Any of us will remember. I know there was talk of father and son not really walking together and going separate ways. And I said to thought to myself, well, no, that can never happen. And yet it did. In the late 70s, many of us will remember that. Trying and testing. And the receivership that came upon the church, of course, earlier, the son had been told not to come to services for a while for personal things.

Then Mr. Armstrong had also a heart attack, and he recovered from that and came back strong for about six years around 1979 to 1986. He died in early 1986. He began the weekend, though, in 1985.

Fatih was on the plane, as I understand, heading toward a festival site when he said, turn around and go back. He did not go to the feast in 1985. I believe he did speak from Pasadena, but he did not come to the feast, as he had planned to do. His health was failing in 1985 in the fall, and then he died January 16 of 1986. Many of you will remember this. I'm going back a little bit in our church history because I think sometimes it's good to go back and remember things that happened a long time ago. After the death of Mr. Armstrong, the successor came on with great enthusiasm. He really had a church to help him do the work of God, and he could head this up.

Things seemed to be okay for a while, but many began to wonder in the late 1980s exactly what is going on, and by the early 90s, some were even saying, well, these folks don't even really believe in the Sabbath. And I thought to myself, well, no, they believe in the Sabbath, holy days. That would never be questioned, some of those things. Lo and behold, in late 1994, early 1995, a sermon was given, and it was sent to all the churches to be played, and many of you will remember that, stating that the Sabbath then, if a person had to work on the Sabbath, it was okay.

Holy days not really required. The tithing not required. And as far as cleaning unclean meats, you could eat unclean meats as well. Many of us will remember that. These are some of the ups and downs that we have been through, some of the trying and testing.

And even in United, during the 20 years that we have formed as an organization, we have been tried and tested in United as well, in different ways. Our first president did not stay with us. We were sad. I was sad about that, and he could have stayed with us, and should have stayed with us, I believe. But we all remember going through that and then other things that happened, including ones who separated from us around five, four or five years ago. So we've been through much trying and testing in the Church of God, the United Church of God, those of us who are here this afternoon.

We have been tried and tested in many ways. Of course, the trying and the testing is now over, right? There won't be any more trying and testing. Oh, no. I'm glad you're laughing, because... And how might trying and testing come at us? It's always been from a way that's unexpected. Who would ever have thought in 94, well, even the late 80s, things begin to happen in the early 90s. Who would ever have thought, though, that there would be a denial of the need to keep the Fourth Commandment? I never saw that coming.

I was really surprised about that. And then some of the other things which have happened as well have been things that came from an unexpected direction. So our trying and testing could very well come from a direction that we don't suspect.

It could even come from the moral decline of our country. Something happened yesterday. Of course, our president and vice president already had set the stage a few years ago in stating their belief in gay marriage. And then the Supreme Court backs this up in a decision yesterday. Further, it further shows the moral decline. The social fabric of our country is just very rapidly deteriorating. And it could come from further collapse of our country in social ways.

How might this affect the Church of God? This remains to be seen as far as our stance on biblical marriage versus what this world now is coming to accept as marriage. We could be tried and tested in economic ways. We could come to the place that there is a major financial collapse. And so we'll have to wait and see just exactly where the next trying and testing will come from.

But be sure that there will be trying and testing of the people of God. Well, it's been great. Looking back over 50 years, I have had the honor of working with some of the greatest people, people that God has called out of the world to be a part of His Church.

And it has been certainly a privilege. I've enjoyed being your pastor in this area for the past 20 years and certainly will always have fond memories. I've never spent this many years in one area, usually about five or six, and that was about it. But 20 years, my wife and I appreciate these years. We carry with us many, many memories. My wife has been right there beside me. In recent years, the last couple of years, she's not been able to travel as much, her health situation. But she's been right with me down through the years, my chief confidant and counselor and encourager.

And certainly appreciate very much that. We both appreciate them being your pastor and your wife. If we have offended anyone, then please forgive us. We have not wanted to offend anyone. And I certainly have nothing in my mind against anyone no longer being your pastor, but we've been very, very pleased, in fact, with the church. And we do plan to move to the state of Georgia. That's where our children are, our grandchildren. We feel like it is the right thing to do at this phase in our life. But we're going to miss all of you, and we will certainly leave with a tear in our eye and a lump in our throat.

But we're going to be like that bad penny. It keeps returning, right? So we'll see you again. It may be at a feast, or it may be up this way, or maybe down that way. But, again, it's not goodbye. It's just until we meet again. You know, what does a minister say in his final sermon as the pastor in a congregation? Are there some final words? After so many sermons he's given, what else can he say? You know, I'm going to say some things I've not said before in this sermon. And yes, there are some final words. And this title of the sermon is The Last Words of Seven Great Men of God. I want us to look in the Bible and see the last words of great men of God.

We'll begin with David. David will be the first one. Let's turn, well, let me first of all say a thing or two about David. David was king of Israel for 40 years, and David was a great man.

When Saul was no longer obedient to God, God said that he was seeking a man that was after his own heart. And of course, Samuel was called upon to anoint David as the next king of Israel, a man after God's own heart. You know, that's something to think about, exactly what is a man after God's own heart. It's one that wants to do God's will. It's one that wants to be close to God, one that that whose heart is right with God. David made many mistakes. We know about Bathsheba and Uriah.

David was human, but at the deepest level, David really wanted to obey God and do God's will.

You know, I hope that defines you and me as well. That we are human. We make many mistakes, but at the deepest level in our heart, we want to do what is right. We want to walk with God.

We, too, want to be like David, a man after God's own heart. So David was a great man, and he served as Israel's king for 40 years. And we find his last words in the book of 2 Samuel 23.

2 Samuel 23. We'll read about the first four or five verses of this chapter.

2 Samuel 23, beginning in verse 1. Now these are the last words of David. Ah, here they are.

These are the last words in this man's life. Thus says David, the son of Jesse.

Thus says the man raised up on high. He was just a lowly sheep herder, a herder, watcher of sheep.

The man raised up on high by the great God, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. I wish I could hear some of David's music on cassette tape.

That'd be nice, wouldn't it? So these are the last words of David. Verse 2. The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, and so something that God said, or among the last words of David, the God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spoke to me, He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

You know, the last words of David have something to do with rulership. You and I are being trained to be rulers. We're going to be a king and priest, and we're going to rule over men. And how are we going to rule? We're going to be fair. We're going to be just. We're going to be righteous. And we're going to rule in the fear of God. It's important that we be learning that concept and the way we deal with people that we are fair and just and righteous in our relationship with them, always relating to them in the fear of God. And how wonderful that is. Look at verse 4.

He shall, the person that does this, that is ruling justly in the fear of God, he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds. That is a beautiful thing, isn't it? To look out and see the rays of the sun peeping over the horizon. The person that rules in the fear of God and this just is like that. Like the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear, shining after rain. So the last words of David have to do with something that's important for us and that is that we learn just rulership, ruling in the fear of God. Some, pardon me, Proverbs 29 and verse 2 says that when the righteous are in power, the people rejoice.

When the righteous are in power, the people rejoice. And so we do want to be, then we want to learn from these last words of a great man, King David, about principles of rulership. Because one day we will be ruling over men and it must be just and done in the fear of God. Okay, the second great man of God, we want to consider his last words. I think you'll be surprised what his last words are. The second great man of God is Moses. Now Moses lived quite a while before David would come along several hundred years, but Moses was a great servant of God. He lived to be 120 years of age. Between the age of 80 to 120, he led Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. They received the Ten Commandments. He went up and received them on tables of stone. Actually, two times he went up. And then they came onto the border of the land and the spies went out and came back. And ten of them said, oh, we can't do it. They lacked faith. And so all the people began to complain and murmur. So God says, you're not going to go in. No one of 20 years of age and above is not going to go in. And your children are going to grow up and go in instead. So 38 years, they wandered around in the desert between the southern border of the land of promise and Mount Sinai, that big desert area. The leadership, of course, during this 40 years was offered by Moses. He was at the top of it. But what, did you ever wonder, what did Moses do during those 38 years that they wandered around? Was he ruling? He was the top ruler. Is that all he did? No, it was not. There's something that is most important that he was doing. He had rulers of tens, rulers of hundreds, rulers of thousands. He had a structure organized for governing over the nation. And so Moses had some time on his hand. What did he do? He did something most important, and we should really appreciate it. He wrote the first five books of the Bible.

God inspired, he began to inspire his word to be written down for us with Moses. If he were to look at the book of Genesis, you will find at the heading, the first book of Moses called Genesis, and then the second book of Moses called the Exodus, and then the third book of Moses called Leviticus, and then the fourth book of Moses called Numbers, and then the fifth book of Moses called Deuteronomy. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. And I believe during those 38 years then, he used all that education that he had received in Egypt because he was being prepared to be the next Pharaoh. He was Pharaoh's daughter, given the finest education that Egypt had to offer.

And God used all that education then that Moses had. He wrote the book of Genesis first. That must have taken some time. Where did he get all those genealogical tables from? How long people lived and died? All the succession of who begat whom, but you'll find he must have had some extant records that he could draw upon, or else God simply inspired him word for word if he didn't have something that he used. Very likely he had some information that he used, and God inspired exactly what extant records he would use that would become a part of the inspired Bible. But God does want us to have those genealogical tables from Adam right on down to Noah, right on down to Abraham, that you'll find in the first 10 or 12 chapters of the book of Genesis. So Moses then spent some time writing Genesis. Then by that time they had come on, well they had already come to Mount Sinai and received the laws of God, so he wrote Exodus. The second book he wrote would have been Exodus, and then a Levitical priesthood had been set up, so he wrote, and all the instructions that went along with it, he wrote the book of Leviticus. And then they began their journeying from Mount Sinai onto the land of promise in the book of Numbers. He wrote Numbers during those 38 years. Finally, we come to the last year of Moses' life, and guess what he did? And here we will find the last words of Moses. He wrote his fifth book, the book of Deuteronomy. So let's turn to that book now, Deuteronomy chapter 1. And I want you to read, first of all, the heading for it. I believe this is in the Hebrew manuscripts. I've not checked, confirmed that, the heading. Notice what it says, the fifth book of Moses called Deuteronomy. Here it is. Now Deuteronomy just means second law, the second law. It's really a repeat of the laws of God that you'll find given earlier in Exodus and Leviticus. In Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 1, let's read a few verses, and we'll see exactly what this book of Deuteronomy is. These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness. Okay, this is on the eastern side of the Jordan River before Israel crossed over into the land of promise. It was the 11 days journey from Horeb. Horeb is Mount Sinai by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Varnayah. It came to pass in the 40th year, the last year of Moses' life, the first day of the month that Moses spoke. He spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them. We're going to find that Moses in the book of Deuteronomy just speaks over and over and over about the laws and the commandments of God. Exhorting Israel, keep the commandments of God because you will be blessed if you do. In verse 5, on this side of the Jordan, and again that would be the eastern side of the Jordan River and the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law. Now notice verse 6, saying, the Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, Mount Sinai. How many of us have a new King James Version of the Bible? Do you notice there are quotation marks? Verse 6, all right. How many have the King James Version? All right. Do you find any quotation marks?

In verse 6, the King James does not insert quotation marks. Now this is important as far as the last words of Moses. The part here about the quotation marks. The new King James translation adds quotation marks. Now quotation marks are something in the English language or that we and I'm sure other languages use it as well, but Hebrew didn't have any quotation marks at all. But yet these, for the new King James translators to insert quotation marks, is not a wrong thing to do. It helps to identify that these are actually words spoken by Moses. And also, there are two other translations, at least two others, that insert quotation marks. And that would be the new or the new American Standard Bible in ASB and the Revised Standard Version. So those two, and the new King James Version, insert the quotation marks so that we'll know that these are words that are spoken by Moses. And the reason I bring this out is that we're going to find that probably over 90% of the book of Deuteronomy, if you have the new King James Version, you can, or a Revised Standard Version, or the New American Standard Bible, you can verify this, you will find that most of the book of Deuteronomy is in quotation marks. For example, look on down in chapter 1, verse 7, quotation marks, 8, 9, 10. Right on down, you'll find quotation marks. Look at chapter 2, quotation marks. Go ahead and look at chapter 3, quotation marks, chapter 4. And so we're going to see all the way through the book over 90, I believe over 90% of this book is in quotation marks. And this is, these are the final or the last words of Moses given to Israel. And what was Moses concerned about in his last words? Well, look at chapter 4 in verse 1. Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. All right, this is Moses continuing to speak to Israel. Verse 2, you shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. So we're going to find that this is what Moses is busy doing. He's just reminding Israel, listen to God's law. Keep the laws of God. Don't add to it and don't take away from it.

Look at chapter 6 and verse 1. Quotation marks, and now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess. So on and on it goes, chapter 8, every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to your fathers. In chapter 9 here, O Israel, Moses then speaking these words, you are to cross over the Jordan and possess, dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. So you can go right on through the book, chapter after chapter, you're going to find in these particular versions that the translators have inserted quotation marks for the words of Moses and most of the book of Deuteronomy written near the end of Moses' life, reminding Israel that they are to obey God's laws and commandments. Look at chapter 28. We know what that chapter is, the blessings and the curses chapter. Well, guess what? They're words spoken by Moses, verse 1, Deuteronomy 28, and verse 1, it shall come to pass if you diligently harken, or diligently obey, rather, the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all his commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you on high. All these blessings will come upon you. So the blessings and the curses are the last words of Moses given to the Israelites. So you can go right on through. Finally, the words of Moses are over. Let's go to chapter 32. Actually, he did have one final blessing in chapter 33, but I want to read here from chapter 32 beginning in verse 45, Deuteronomy 32 in verse 45. Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel. He finally came to the end of, you know, what he had been telling Israel. He finished speaking all these words, and he said to them, set your hearts, he kind of summarizes what he had been telling them, set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall proclaim your days, or prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess. So, brethren, look at this. What are the last words of Moses that we should obey God's laws? Be careful. It's how we will be blessed. We will be prospered. It is our life, he said. It's not a futile thing. And so, I say to us too, let us continue to obey God's laws in God's ways. I would like for my last words to be the last words of these great men of God. Again, virtually the whole book of Deuteronomy would be the last words of a great man of God, Moses. Let's go to the third man, the last words of Joshua. Okay, turn to the next book, Joshua 23 and 24, and we'll find here the last words of Joshua. What was on Joshua's mind?

In chapter 23 and verse 1, it shall come to pass, or it came to pass a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about. That's when Joshua had led them in, and they had conquered the land, and they had rest. So after a long time, Joshua was old, advanced in age, and Joshua called for all Israel, for the elders and their heads and judges and officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in age. He reminds them of what God had done, and that they then should in verse 6, therefore be very courageous. In verse 8, you shall hold fast to the Lord your God.

In verse 11, therefore take diligent heed to yourselves that you love the Lord your God.

So it reminds them of what Moses had brought out, actually, that they should be very careful to obey God's laws. Chapter 24 is an interesting chapter. It'd be good to read that all sometime, but Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel for their heads and their judges and their officers. He went into some of the history of the nation, how God had called Abraham and the family to the land of Canaan and led them to this land that he had promised. In verse 15, and in the latter part of Joshua 24, Joshua is going to challenge the people whether they can will be obedient to God after he dies. He says in verse 15, if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, the gods of your father that your father served, the other side of the river, the pagan gods, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. The people said, far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.

Oh no, we won't do that. And the last part of verse 18, the people said, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God. But Joshua challenged them whether they could serve God or not. Verse 19, he said to the people, you cannot serve the Lord. He's a holy God. He's jealous. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins if you forsake the Lord and serve other gods. He will turn and do you harm and consume you after he has done you good. People said to Joshua, no, we will serve the Lord. I think Joshua must have been challenging them so that they would be determined to obey God. He tried to set their will to obey God after his death. He even set up a stone, a large stone, in verse 26. Did it work? You know, it did work. Joshua died 110 years of age. Verse 29.

And that is verse 31. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel. Yes, it worked. Joshua, they responded to that challenge that they would obey God and do God's will.

So the last words of Joshua would be some, I say to you that I challenge us to obey God and not to go off to the right or to the left. And that we determine that we are not going to forget God's laws and God's ways. So we've had the last words of David. We've had the last words of Moses. We've had the last words of Joshua. Let's go to the next great man of God, who was also the Son of God. He was the Son of Man as well as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The last words of Jesus Christ. Where do you find them? Well, we read them every passover, don't we? John 13 to 17. So let's go and read just a few verses from these four chapters, four or five chapters. What was on Jesus' mind the last day that he was a human being on this earth? The day he died. I'll tell you, words of instruction to his disciples, words of encouragement, to his disciples, words of exhortation. So I would say, let this be my last words, too. The words of Jesus that instructs us and encourages us and exhorts us. In John 13 and verse 34, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

So Jesus wanted his disciples to love one another deeply and fervently as he had demonstrated himself. And you will find this mentioned several times. And in his prayer in John 17, he prayed that his disciples would be one, just as he and the Father are one, that we would be one.

You know, we've not always been one in the Church of God, but it does seem to me that in recent years we have become more one than ever. Can we continue to be one? Can we continue to be united and one in heart and mind? You know, I think that is a challenge that we should make to ourselves, that we will love one another and we will support one another and we will be one. Jesus then encouraged his disciples. He told them they would have the power of the Holy Spirit to help them. He told them to be a good cheer. They were not of the world. They had been chosen out of the world. All these are things that we know. And so he encouraged them. He encouraged them to carry on forward and exhorted them to be faithful and true to the way of life that he had lived and demonstrated for them. So Jesus' last words were directed toward his disciples and we are his disciples today. Let's let his last words inspire us as well and encourage us. Okay. Number five, the Apostle Paul, the last words of the Apostle Paul. Where did we go for that? 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy is a book that the Apostle Paul wrote shortly before he would be martyred.

Apparently he was martyred. He was, well, he was in Rome, yes, and he was martyred shortly after writing these words. He wrote these words to Timothy, an evangelist or one that he had taught like a son. And we find in 2 Timothy words of instruction, we find words of encouragement, we find exhortation. One major exhortation is that Timothy would continue to be faithful to what he had been taught. For example, chapter 3 and verse 14. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14. As for you, you know, even before that he said that in verse 13, evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. So he foretold that there would be those who would go their own way.

But verse 14, as for you, Timothy, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. From a childhood you've known the holy scriptures, which are inspired of God and profitable. So encourage Timothy then to be true to God's Word.

Chapter 4 and verse 1. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead. It is appearing in kingdom. Preach the Word. I tell you, after all the apostasy back in the mid-90s, one minister said, hide behind the scriptures. That's a good place to hide. Preach God's Word, and you won't be preaching your own ideas. I hope all those who do speak will strive to do that. Hide behind the scriptures. Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Good times and bad times. Be ready. Convince. We need to be convincing. And sometimes there is rebuke or correction. Exhort. That means to encourage with all long suffering and teaching. The time will come that they will not endure sound doctrine, but have itching ears and turn their ears from the truth into fables. Verse 5, you be watchful in all things. We need to do that.

Endure afflictions. There will be afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Of course, this is directed to a minister, but we all, as members of God's church, benefit from it. Fulfill your ministry. We all minister and serve, even if we're not an ordained person, we still serve and minister in many ways. So Paul's last words, he would very shortly after that, he says in verse 6, I'm already being poured out. I've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith.

There's laid up for me this crown of righteousness. So the apostle Paul's last words were words of encouragement to Timothy. To be faithful to God's Word. And we too must be faithful and we must endure.

Okay. We've had David. David's last words. We've had Moses' last words. We've had Joshua's, Jesus. Paul's last words. Number six. Peter's last words. Peter was a great man of God. And he wrote something shortly before he died. Let's read it. In 2 Peter... Let me add at this point that I'm giving the last words of these men and they died shortly afterward. I don't have such plans. However, we never know, do we? We never have any guarantee for tomorrow.

But one person up in Roanoke said, you know, does that mean you plan to kick the bucket pretty soon?

You know, no, I don't. Don't plan that. But again, you never know.

I'm giving these last words because it will be my last words as your pastor.

And I think they're very fitting last words for me and for you.

The Apostle Peter wrote these words shortly before he was martyred.

Notice what was on his mind. He talked about growing and adding different things to their in their godly character development in the earlier part of the chapter.

So in verse 11, an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Verse 12, therefore I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth. Brother the minister does a lot of reminding and stirring by it.

I think it is right as long as I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you.

So it's good to hear things over and be stirred up by a reminder, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent. It was going to be martyred just as our Lord showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. We believe that this means Peter gathered up some of the books that would go into the New Testament.

He gathered them up. John would finish, be the one that God used to finish the canon of the New Testament. So Peter was busy gathering up some things that would be in the New Testament Bible. In chapter 3 and verse 1, beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder. So I guess I'm just reminding us this afternoon of things as well and hoping it will stir us up and hoping it will exhort us. And Peter's very last words, let's read verse 14, therefore beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless. And skipping to verse 17, you therefore beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. Yeah, we could lose our steadfastness. Could that happen? You know, could the wear and the tear, could trying and testing in some way weaken us? Could lack of prayer and study cause us to let down? It could. So we must not let that happen. So he says to beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. And the very last words of Peter are words we often turn to, verse 18, but grow, yes, grow spiritually in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. So Peter was there exhorting the people to grow, exhorting them to go right on forward and not to fall from their steadfastness. I would encourage us. You know, we have been steadfast, we've been tried and tested. We've got to keep on going.

Keep on going. Endure to the end. You know, we've covered then six great men of God, haven't we, in the Bible. David, Moses, Joshua, Jesus, Paul, Peter. Six great men of God. And we learn, we learn from their last words. They exhort us. They exhort us to learn just and right rulership, to diligently obey God's law. It is our life, the challenge that we won't let it slip either, as Joshua brought out. And as Jesus said, to be close to one another, to love one another, as he had demonstrated, as Paul brought out in Peter, to be faithful to God's word, faithfully endure until the very end, continue growing. I wanted to read the last words of one other great servant of God. And I would like to read most of the last coworker letter that Herbert W. Armstrong wrote to members of the church. This letter is dated January 10, 1986. Many of you received this letter. If you were a member of the church and it came to you, I have saved my copy of it. Dear brethren and coworkers, Mr. Armstrong, these would be his last words.

Six days later, he would die on January 16. He said, Dear brethren and coworkers, this is my first letter to you in 1986 and could very well be my last. We have here the last words of Herbert W. Armstrong. What are they? Interesting. What are his last words? Now, in my 94th year, I am in a very physically weakened state, enduring severe pain and with virtually no strength whatsoever. It may be that the work God has given me to do is complete, but not the work of God's church, which will be faithfully doing God's work till Christ, the true head of this church, returns. Remember, brethren, this is not the work of Herbert W. Armstrong. It is the work of the living Creator God. The greatest work lies yet ahead. Jesus said, John 4.35, Lift up your eyes. Look on the fields. They are white already to harvest. Mr. Armstrong, what is he writing about? The work of God. He often said, We are only as converted as we have our hearts in the work of God. That's true, isn't it? We have our hearts on physical things here and now, and we're not very converted. But God's work is that spiritual work that will endure. And never before in the history of the church has it been possible to reap so great a harvest. It has been made possible through modern technology, the printing press, radio, television, rapid mass transit, and mass communication. Mr. Armstrong doesn't mention the Internet. Why? Internet was not around.

That came on the scene. I wonder what he would think about that. What a powerful source. He says, I personally have seen nearly all of these technological advances in my lifetime, starting in the last century through the horse and buggy age to the current space age.

Last two or three paragraphs, it was prophesied in Daniel 12 that in the last days, knowledge would be increased. This has been fulfilled. Yet with this awesome progress, we are experiencing even more appalling and continuous evils. And boy, how they do continue. Another beheading, what was it just yesterday, acts of terror on three different parts of the earth. It has now felt that we will be, and of course we've felt that way all along, but I've heard comments how this will strike our homeland. We're going to see this coming our way. Mr. Armstrong says, just before humanity would blast human life off this planet, God will once again send his son, Jesus Christ, power and glory as King of kings and lords, to rule and usher in utopian peace, happiness and prosperity. Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ? We need to think about that. In the very last paragraphs, these would be the final words of Herbert W. Armstrong. Each of you must commit yourself to support God's work. Again, he talks about us having our hearts in the work of God. To fast and pray, God's work must push ahead as never before. God is opening new doors. Help us walk through them. Praise and thank God and pray for his work. It shows he wants us to have a close relationship with God and pray for the work of God. Last sentence. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for me personally and deep gratitude and love. In Jesus' name, Herbert W. Armstrong. So, Mr. Armstrong was encouraging us to have our hearts in the things of God, the work of God. Brethren, these are the last words of seven great men of God. That's what we've looked at in the sermon this afternoon.

I hope that it's been beneficial. I'd like for them to be my last thoughts to you as well.

It's not that my life apparently, hopefully, will not end right away, but again, you never know.

But my final words and thoughts would be that we walk with God in these evil days that are only going to get more evil and love the Lord our God with all of our heart and mind and soul and being. That's the first great commandment, isn't it? And then, the second great commandment is to love one another. Be close to one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples. And then, maybe a third thing would be that we be busy doing the work of God. As Mr. Armstrong was so conscious of reminding us about, keep your heart in the work of God. Help to fulfill Matthew 24.14, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world. I was thinking on the way up to Roanoke this morning that, you know, we have a great product. If you want to look at it from a business perspective, a salesman in a business needs to be fully convicted that his product is good. He's not going to be able to be a good salesman if he's not convicted in his heart and mind. This is a good product. People need it. Well, we have a good product. We have the gospel of the kingdom of God. People need it. They need the hope. They need the way of life that brings life and good results. And, of course, we know that it's not just here and now, it's forever.

God's kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom of God. That's our product. Our product that we preach into the world is the gospel of the kingdom of God. And there isn't any other product that begins to compare with the product we have. Again, that's looking at it from a business, calling it a product from a business perspective. So we can really put our hearts into the work of God. All these years, I look back and busy striving to preach that message about the gospel of the kingdom of God. So let's continue being busy and have that in our heart to do the work of God.

So my wife and I do plan to be back next Sabbath, so we're not going to say farewell today, but we'll begin. Maybe if you're not going to be here next Sabbath, we will. Some of those from Charlotte. But I want to say in conclusion that I'm really very pleased and very proud of our congregation. We have ones here that have been tried and tested. I want you to take this in the right way, and that is not to cause it to not to let it cause you to let down.

John Wooden, the famous coach of UCLA when they won basketball tournaments, NCAA basketball tournaments, year after year after year, set records that will probably never be broken for consecutive wins. I can't remember exactly how many it was, but he would never let his players celebrate too highly after winning. That's an important concept because if you celebrate too highly, you are prone to let down next game. He knew that. So he never let them celebrate too highly. So when things are going well, let's rejoice. He let them rejoice, but he said, hey, we've got another game. We've got to be getting up for the next game. He didn't want them to just feel so good. And that happens in sports teams. A team is just hitting everything, just everything is going right, and then the very next game, they're flapped. That can happen in sports. It could happen to us, and we don't want that to happen. Not at all. We can learn a lot from coaches like that. Vince Lombardi had a philosophy as well of treating everybody the same. One of his players, he demanded this man, Lombardi, was a winning football coach for the Green Bay Packers. Any of us might remember back. And he demanded, he worked his players, but he won games. And the players respected him highly. One of his players wrote a book later and said, he treated us all the same. Now, that's an important thing. He treated us all the same, like dogs.

So, I tried to treat you all the same, but not like dogs. I tell you, you can learn a lot by the coach of the Duke basketball team, too. Hard work. I think one of the things that he really has done is hard work. And the respect of the players winning their respect, and they give their all for him. He's been a very winning coach. But as your pastor, and a pastor in a way is like a coach, I'm really proud of you. But don't let that cause you to let down. We've been through much trying and testing. There will be additional trying and testing. So, we will see you all next Sabbath for the final Sabbath here. But we certainly love everyone dearly. And as we do say farewell, not goodbye, because we're hoping to see you again, we just also wish that with all of us, may God be with us.