What Do You Want on Your Tombstone?

Thank you, Mr. Buchanan, and good afternoon again. I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't welcome Mr. and Mrs. Kelly to the webcast. Everyone else has, it seems like. And all of our webcast listeners, and actually all of our visitors today, we certainly appreciate it, and we're glad you're here. Brethren, you may remember a series of commercials from back in the early 90s for Tombstone Pizza. You know, how many of you guys remember those commercials? I do. They all consisted of a very similar and, frankly, pretty predictable formula. One such commercial involved a man who was standing before an old-time firing squad. His hands were bound, and the executioner approached the condemned man to ask him, you know, the standard questions near the end of one's life, and he ended by asking if he had any last requests, to which the man looks at the executioner and says, no. Then he asks the prisoner if he wanted a blindfold. The man kind of defiantly looks at him and says, no. Finally, the executioner leans in close and quietly asks, what do you want on your tombstone? And after a moment's thought, the man replies, pepperoni and cheese. It's a clever ad campaign. Probably helped sell a ton of frozen pizzas over the years. But that wasn't the original context of the question. The original context of the question being asked is, what do you want recorded as an epitaph on your gravestone? Well, it might be easy to choose your pizza toppings. Trying to sum up a person's life in a few short sentences is anything but easy.

You know, the epitaph upon the tombstone is an attempt to put into words the entire life of the person who is interred in that spot. Epitaphs, tombstones, grave markings, they've been around for thousands of years. The Greeks, Egyptians, other ancient cultures, marked burial places of their dead, and inscribed memorial stones that either told of the exploits of the person who was in that particular place, or sometimes just very simply recorded, who was under that particular rock. Interestingly, in ancient Israel-like culture, this doesn't seem to really be much of a thing until about the rabbinical period. Many of the patriarchs are placed in caves without much fanfare or marking or any other thing, despite the names of some of the caves and the real important ones being remembered. Today, a headstone usually has the individual's name, birth date, date of death, and a very short message or picture that was meaningful to them while they were still alive, or might be meaningful to those who survived them. Sometimes they're funny, such as Merv Griffin's gravestone. Many of you know Merv Griffin, who his gravestone simply reads, Merv Griffin gets his birthday and death date, and then says, I will not be right back after this message. I will not be back after this message. Sometimes they're sad and they make you think. One of them reads how terrible it is to love something that death can touch. Perhaps you've never considered it, but what do you want on your tombstone? I know it's not necessarily something that we like to meditate on. I know thinking of our impending death is not something that we want to consider per se, but what sort of words would you want written about your life? The final summary, or postscript, if you will, to the time that you've spent on this planet. I came across an article this past week that caught my attention and got me thinking about this particular topic. Some of you may have seen it. The article discussed an obituary written for a man in Texas who had recently lost his battle with cancer. His daughter wrote the obituary, and what the article was most notable for was the obituary itself, which was ultimately removed from the funeral home website that it was posted on. I'd like to read some excerpts from it here today. I actually can't read all of it, and I will redact the individual's name as I go through it, as it's not really important to what we're doing here today. It says, name redacted, was born in Galveston on November 20, 1942 and passed away January 30, 2017, which was 29 years longer than expected and much longer than he deserved. He leaves behind two relieved children, a son and daughter, along with six grandchildren and countless other victims, including an ex-wife, relatives, friends, neighbors, doctors, nurses, and random strangers. At a young age, Blank quickly became a model example of bad parenting combined with mental illness and a complete commitment to drinking, drugs, womanizing, and being generally offensive. Blank enlisted to serve in the Navy, but not so much in a brave and patriotic way, but more as part of a plea deal to escape sentencing on criminal charges. Blank was surprisingly intelligent, however he lacked ambition and motivation to do anything more than being reckless and wasteful, squandering the family's savings and fantasizing about get-rich-quick schemes. His hobbies included being abusive to his family and fishing, which he was less skilled with than the previously mentioned. Blank's life served no other obvious purpose. He did not contribute to society or serve his community, and he possessed no redeeming qualities besides quick-witted sarcasm, which was amusing during his sober days.

With Blank's passing, he will be missed only for what he never did, being a loving husband, father, and good friend. No services will be held. There will be no prayers for eternal peace and no apologies to the family that he tortured. Blank's passing proves that evil does in fact die and hopefully marks the time of healing and safety for all.

The pain and the anger in this obituary is palpable. When you read this particular obituary written by the daughter of this man, it's wrong. Even after all these years, it's wrong. And it seems pretty apparent from what was written that there was probably significant abuse within the family over the years. And it appears that there is relief, to a degree, for those who remain that the abuse was now over. When his daughter was asked why she wrote the obituary in the way that she did, and didn't lead the past in the past and try to honor his memory, she responded, I told the truth. I'm not sorry for telling the truth, and I'm not sorry for standing up for myself. For someone that knew him and family members that knew him, to see something on there that was a complete lie would have been an insult to everyone that he did bad things to.

You know, this obituary shocked people when this was released. And of course, news outlets got ahold of it, and that's where I came across it. It was on CNN. That's how I ended up seeing it. But it was shocking because of the level of vitriol that is typically not found in an obituary.

More often than not, when you read a person's obituary, it's a short summary of their lives, and to be honest, it's a highlight reel. The uncomfortable parts are often swept under a rug, and they're only remembered by those who experienced them. What this woman did was different. She laid various shortcomings for the whole world to see.

What would it be like if our obituaries did the same? If they didn't just gloss over the shortcomings and memorialize the kind of sterilized parts of our lives, but instead put those shortcomings in stone for the world to see? Maybe it might read, he was angry all the time. She was greedy. He was not a loving father. She was, he was.

Now, obviously, none of us want to be remembered for our shortcomings. We don't want to be memorialized on the things that we struggle with and are working on in this Christian life. But if you were to boil your life down into a short phrase or statement that would last beyond your mortal toil, what would you want it to be? What would you want others to say about your life?

What sort of legacy would you want to leave behind? What do you want in your tombstone? Or in 1888, not 1988, that's too recent, but in 1888, Dr. Alfred Nobel found himself in this very place asking this very question. His brother Ludwig had recently passed away, and as Alfred sat and read the paper, he turned the page and was surprised to find his own obituary. They had mistakenly misunderstood that it was Alfred Nobel who had died and not Ludwig Nobel who had died.

So he had an opportunity that not many people get in this life, and that was to read what other people had written about him. He had a chance to read his own obituary. The obituary read, The merchant of death is dead. And then it went on and continued, Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill people faster than ever before, died yesterday. Many of you may already know this, but for those that don't, Alfred Nobel made his fortune through the invention of dynamite.

He was the guy who kind of figured out a safe and stable way to harness the explosivity of nitroglycerin in a stable package that could be transported, mixed it with diatomaceous earth and sodium bicarbonate, and put it all together. You could form it, you could paste, kind of make a paste out of it that could be transported.

Patenting the discovery made him millions and millions and millions of dollars. Now, that dynamite made massive building and infrastructure projects possible. I mean, think about all the stuff that was done during the 1930s and 40s with all of these huge infrastructure projects. It all required dynamite. A lot of it required dynamite. But it was long before somebody figured out how best to use it to inflict harm on other humans.

While Alfred read his obituary, he was absolutely appalled at how his life was perceived. He was absolutely appalled at how his life was perceived, and he had an opportunity that few men have. A chance to see how he would be remembered, what his legacy would be. Not long after this moment, Alfred set aside the majority of his extensive fortune and established the Nobel Prizes. You might be more familiar with the Nobel Prize. Presented for outstanding achievements in literature, peace, economics, science, and medicine, they were created as a way for Nobel to be remembered for something more than just dynamite.

Something that was beneficial to mankind. What if we had the same opportunity? What if we had a chance to examine and to reflect upon how we're seen by others? A chance for us to change our trajectory and really determine and influence the end result?

Well, the reality is, we do. Each and every day, we have an opportunity to examine and course-correct. The title for the message today is, What Do You Want? on your tombstone. Let's start by turning over to Ecclesiastes 9. Ecclesiastes 9. And we'll begin today picking up the contemplations of King Solomon on this topic of death and remembrance. Much of the book of Ecclesiastes is related to life as a whole and death and what goes on in between.

Ecclesiastes 9. And we're going to go ahead and pick it up in verse 1. Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 1. And this is kind of breaking into this midpoint of an idea that he's had that started kind of in the beginning, middle part of verse 8. Pardon me. But he circles back in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 1 to this inevitability of death.

Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 1 says, This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But for him who is joined to all the living, there is hope. For a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

Solomon discusses this concept of death coming to all, this inevitability of death. That in this life, whether you're good, whether you're evil, whether you're righteous or unrighteous, clean or unclean, the death will come. Death is no respecter of persons. And he points out that what happens to the pauper, what happens to the least, happens to the greatest.

Happens to the pauper, happens to the king. As we have sometimes maybe heard, death is the great equalizer. Ben Franklin once said, there's one certain thing in life, right? Death and taxes. Everybody's got to pay taxes, from the poorest to the richest. Death's the same way, from the poorest to the richest.

Everybody's going to be called on in that way. And so one might conclude as we look at this, well, because of that fact, what's it matter? What you do in this life? What does it matter? Death's coming for us all, so why be concerned with living well?

Why be concerned with living well? Why be concerned with what others think, or be concerned with being righteous? After all, all men die. But he also says in verse 4, he also says in verse 4, But for him who is joined to all the living, there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Even the least who is alive, even the least who is alive, still has hope.

Where he who has died really has none at that point. The living have the ability to change their life, they have the ability to contemplate their mortality, and they have the ability to course correct.

They have the opportunity to change. The dead don't have that same luxury. They don't have that same luxury. They did while they were alive. The gentlemen in the obituary that we opened with didn't have that luxury.

If you turn over to the final couple of passages in the book of Ecclesiastes, we'll see what all of this contemplation was building towards. So the entirety of the book of Ecclesiastes is really building towards this last final moment that we see in Ecclesiastes 12, verses 11 through 14. Ecclesiastes 12, 11 through 14.

Ecclesiastes 12, verses 11, says, The words of the wise are like goads. Not goats. Goads. Make sure I pronounce my D there. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. Twelve, and further my son, be admonished by these, of making many books, there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Verse 13 kind of picks up the big conclusion to the whole concept. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. It brings up the idea that the words of the wise are as goats. The words of the wise are as goats. They are intended to provoke us.

They are intended to push us. They are intended to move us out of where we want to stand. If you think of a goat when you are working with animals, it is kind of a sharp pointed stick that you kind of go, move, go, get. And that is what He is saying here.

The words of the wise are like goats. They are intended to provoke us. They are intended to prod us. They are intended to make us move. Solomon's conclusion of this entirety of the book of Ecclesiastes, and honestly, I might argue, his entire life, even after all of his mistakes and all of the things that he had that were shortcomings, his conclusion was, despite all of it, fear God and keep His commandments.

For God would bring every work into judgment, every secret thing, whether good or whether evil. Solomon did recognize there was a coming judgment. There was a coming judgment. That God would bring every work, every action, every activity into judgment. So when he references this idea of the living having hope that the dead do not have, back in chapter 9, verse 5, those who are living do have a great hope, because they can analyze, they can examine, they can look at their lives, and they have the time still to course-correct.

The dead don't have the time to course-correct. The living do. They have a chance to examine their lives and change it. They have a chance to move forward in newness of life. One of the biggest course-corrections made in our life is the repentance of our sins and our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Savior during baptism. Let's turn over to 1 Corinthians, and we'll see an example of the change that resulted in the conversion of the people in the church in Corinth.

So 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, sorry, 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. If you go to 2 Corinthians, it's not going to work. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, we'll pick it up in verse 9 and really get an idea of the kind of change that occurs in this particular conversion process. As we know, you know, Corinth was not a church that was without its issues. Corinth had problems as a church. I mean, they really had some issues. In fact, the chapter previous to this one outlines a major one, and it is like a scathing rebuke from Paul in the chapter previous to this, saying, look, you guys know this isn't right.

Fix it. Chapter 6 kind of gets into this idea of not taking your brethren to court, not suing your brethren, but then it kind of moves down a little bit into verse 9, and it kind of changes topic just a little bit. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9 says, Now he takes it one step further than that. He says, And such were some of you. Kind of a little bit there with the dagger in the side, maybe. As such were some of you.

But notice, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. It tells him, look, as such were some of you, unrighteous, unable to inherit the kingdom of God. But because of the baptism that they'd undertaken, they were now washed, they were now sanctified, they were now justified in the name of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God.

We recognize that baptism is the beginning of a process. Baptism is not the final step in the process. And sometimes I think we put it off, and we put it off, and we put it off, and we put it off because we're like, well, not quite ready.

You're never going to be ready. You're going to get close. You're going to get to that point where you're ready to commit, and that's where you're at. But it's this idea that, well, I have to do all these things first. It's the beginning of the process.

God's Holy Spirit helps us work with the rest of the issues that we might have. It is the beginning of the process, but it does create a fundamental change in who we are, and it gives us an opportunity over a lifetime to continually, of course correct, to continually make little adjustments, kind of change that rudder a little bit to get us closer, heading in the direction that we need to be heading. Let's go over a few pages to the book of 2 Corinthians. So we'll go back just a little bit to 2 Corinthians, and we'll see the Apostle Paul's description within this second letter to the Corinthian church expounding on this concept of conversion and faith in Christ in chapter 5, beginning in verse 17.

So 2 Corinthians 5, and verse 17. Again, this concept of becoming a new creation, having faith in God. 2 Corinthians 5, and verse 17, reads, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new. A new creation. Note, not the same person with the little rough edges just kind of knocked off. A new creation. This isn't a renovation where we're putting some new siding on the house, changing the windows, and putting some paint on it. This is a demolition.

We're taking it apart, and we're rebuilding it new. The symbolism of the waters of baptism is a death of the old man. It's a death of the old man, symbolically putting our old selves into a watery grave. We're not just renovating the old man, we're not knocking off a couple of rough edges and smoothing out some new events.

All things are to become new. A new life, a new thought process, a new person. Paul continues in verse 18 of 2 Corinthians 5, Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ enables us to be reconciled to God. His blood forgives our sins. Only God can reconcile us. Only God can reconcile us to himself. We can't cross that gulf that we've created with our sins on our own. God sent his son to die so that we might be reconciled to him. And as such, we've been provided with a ministry of reconciliation, a service of reconciliation, a responsibility, if you will, to reconcile others to God through Christ and through the gospel of the kingdom of God.

In fact, he goes on and states in verse 20, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God, for he hath made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The only requirement to become new is crucial.

Because we are to be ambassadors for our God. We are to be representatives for him on foreign soil, so to speak, as we are here on this earth. Our kingdom is not of this world. As such, we are here to be ambassadors for our Heavenly Father. We are here to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. And brethren, if that gospel message is lost in our actions or in our example, we have failed at the task we have been given.

If the message is lost because of our actions or our example and someone sees us and what we do and says that guy couldn't possibly be... we've failed. It's absolutely crucial that we be new. Interestingly, the word ambassador, as it's translated here, is and you can write this down and look it up later if you'd like if you have fairs or strongs or whatever your favorite dictionary is, it's G4243. That's the Strong's number.

But if you have a fair that's linked to that, you can look it up that way, too. It's pronounced presbuo. Presbuo, which translates as senior, or by implication, someone who is acting as a representative. It's used twice, only by the Apostle Paul, once here in 2 Corinthians, and once in the book of Ephesians. It's the only two times it's used in the entirety of Scripture. Where it gets really interesting is the word...where this comes from, the root of this word that gives us presbuo is the word presbuteros.

Presbuteros, which is G4245. I promise I'm getting somewhere. I know this is a lot of Greek stuff like booring. I promise you it's...give me a second. Which is translated in Scripture as elder. The places where this is used, presbuteros, is translated as elder in a general sense. Someone who is senior, someone who is older, someone who is chosen as a leader of an area. When Revelation refers to the 24 elders that surround the throne of God upon the 24 thrones, it's referring to the 24 presbuteros.

When Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders in every city, the word is presbuteros. Elders in a general sense, leaders, people of spiritual maturity. So we are to be as ambassadors, representatives, or leaders in a general sense to the world around us. Setting an example by our conduct of whom we serve. That example should be a shining light in a darkened world. It could be a beaver of a light.

In a darkened world. It could be a beam of light in a darkened world. Let's go over to Titus 1. Titus 1. And we'll see the conditions that, kind of upon whom someone was chosen, these are the conditions that were placed upon that person in order to be chosen. Titus 1 pardon me, came down the sick middle of this week. I actually texted Mr. Jackson this morning. My voice held. I couldn't pull it off. I was afraid it was going to start doing that whole crackly up and down thing that happens when you get one down in here.

So, Titus 1, we'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 5. Titus 1 and verse 5. Titus 1 and verse 5 says, For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint presbuteros in every city as I command you.

Again, that's the root from which the word ambassador comes from, is the word presbuteros. But then we see the conditions that are put on those individuals who are chosen. Verse 6, If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination, for a bishop, that's a different word there, it's episcopose, must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

These are the kinds of characteristics of those who are chosen to be seniors, to be leaders, or we might say by extension, ambassadors. It's the same root word. We might say ambassadors. We represent him in our daily life. And if we are a professing Christian, a follower of God, our example is being watched very closely, very closely, because people are always looking for the hypocrisy. They're always looking for somebody to step outside of that little boundary that they've placed on themselves that says, I'm a Christian, and therefore I go no further than here. And they're always looking for that everywhere you go.

We represent God, not the State Department. We are not U.S. ambassadors. We are ambassadors of God, which means we represent God. We don't represent man's politics. We don't represent man's government. We don't represent man's ideologies. Where they might line up? Awesome! But they don't always line up. It doesn't matter which part you're for, they don't line up. America's two-party system, they just simply don't. Instead, we have to represent God in everything that we do. We have to represent God in everything that we do.

He goes on to instruct Titus in Titus 2. Let's go over just one more spot there. It should be on the same page, hopefully for you. Titus 2, we'll pick it up in verse 1. As we see the things that Titus was told to speak and to preach to the people of Crete, Titus 2 in verse 1 says, For say, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. And how much more in the modern age? You know, this was written quite a few years back. But it's just as applicable today as it was then. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Paul finishes here with, Speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, and let no one despise you.

Let no man despise you. Or we might say, let no man have reason to speak ill of you. Let no man have reason to speak ill of you. We call that a character that is beyond reproach. A character that is beyond reproach. Paul tells Timothy, another younger minister, in his epistles, that a servant of the Lord should not be quarrelsome, but should be patient and gentle. He also admonished him to be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.

It was leaders chosen by God to be ambassadors on this earth to bring others to Him through the gospel of the kingdom of God and through His Son Jesus Christ. There's an expectation placed upon our conduct. There's an expectation given, a standard which must be worked towards.

We actually can see an example of this in Revelation 20. Let's go ahead and turn over to Revelation 20. And we'll see a passage that illustrates the coming time of judgment that Solomon referred to in Ecclesiastes 12. Revelation 20. And we'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 4 for context.

Revelation 20 and verse 4.

Revelation 20 and verse 4 gives us a little bit of context here. It says, But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. In 1 Corinthians 15 adds some information to that. We're not going to turn there, but if you'd like to jot it down, there's an order to this. You know, Christ first, and then after that, those who are Christ's at His coming. It tells us specifically in 1 Corinthians 15 that not all will sleep, but that all will be changed. So not all will sleep, but all will be changed. We also can see in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 16. Go ahead and put a ribbon here in Revelation 20, and let's go over to 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 16.

This one I wasn't going to turn to either, but I've got a little time.

If I can find it. I actually had... I don't know if you can hear the crinkle up here sometimes, that noise. I had my cat knocked over some water on my Bible, and now it's all wrinkly in one spot. And so every time I open it, it opens immediately to here now, which is Daniel. So that really helps when trying to get to Thessalonians.

Okay. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 16. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 16. We'll pick it up in 15 for some context.

2 For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means proceed, those who are asleep. 3 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ, who will rise first. So we can see that some are brought up at the beginning of the millennium when Christ returns, living and reigning with Jesus Christ for a thousand years.

But we also see, too, in verse 5 of Revelation 20, in sort of a parenthetical statement that the rest of the dead, implying those that were not Christ's at his coming, did not live until the thousand years were ended.

Skip down a few passages to verse 12 of Revelation 20. Revelation 20 and verse 12. And we'll pick up the process of the rest of those dead after the thousand years of the millennium. We see the earth gives up its dead, the sea gives up its dead. All of those who have ever lived have their opportunity to now understand God and his way of life.

Ezekiel 37 references this physical resurrection back to life. The sinew and the muscle and the skin and the breath of life coming back into these bodies as they rise.

This is a physical resurrection back to life. Revelation 20, verse 11, illustrates what comes next. And, you know, the timing on this is not 100% on how many years between this and that and all of this. But Revelation 20, I'm sorry, verse 11, says, And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. So the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up its dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to their works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. We see the men were judged according to their works, according to the actions which sprung from their belief. Books were opened, the Scriptures were opened, the book of life was opened, and their life and the actions of their life was compared to the standard provided in the books.

And then the question was asked, did you meet it? Did you come close? Were you actively trying? It says those who weren't found written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. What about those who know Christ now, who understand the truth and His teachings? The Apostle Peter records the passage in his first epistle, which should give all of us pause.

1 Peter 4 and verse 17 tells us what happens to those who know the truth now. It tells us what's happening at this point in time. 1 Peter 4 and verse 17 says, For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Judgment has begun at the house of God. Those who understand the truth, who know what Christ expects of them, whose actions and works back up their faith and belief, are being judged now. As we go about our daily lives out there amongst everyone else, our actions, our words, how we treat one another, the love that we show, as Mr. Janisic mentioned today, how we treat complete strangers.

It's being looked at, being weighed, being measured, being written in that book of life. Every action, every word. Someday we have to give account for every word and every action. Which means if we don't get it right in this life, if we don't get it right in this life and we understand the truth, we may find ourselves in a very difficult place on the day of judgment. The example of Jesus Christ is the standard that we've been provided. The life that He lived while He was here on this earth is the standard that we've been provided. Are we growing towards it? Are we growing more in the direction of that full stature of Jesus Christ? If your obituary was written today, would you be content with where you are?

Should you be content with where you are? The power of our example to others cannot be understated. If you turn over to Proverbs 13, we're going to look at a passage that, for some of us we've seen a lot lately, we're doing a financial peace class here in Salem. It's one of those passages that Dave Ramsey touts out pretty regularly. Proverbs 13, and we'll pick it up in Proverbs 13, verse 22.

Proverbs 13 and verse 22. And this is one of those passages that Dave Ramsey comes back to again and again and again and again and again. In fact, just about every lesson, I think, we've seen this one pop up. But Proverbs 13, verse 22, just very simply says, A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Now, Dave uses this as a financial principle, which it is.

It is a financial principle, but spiritually it's true as well. We leave an inheritance to our children and their children by our spiritual example, how we live our lives. If we have a solid relationship with God, there's a very good chance of passing that on to our children. Now, their calling is ultimately their call. You know, their calling, what they do with the calling that they've received, that is on them.

But they have a much better chance if they see a decent example in our life and they see the relationship that we have with God as they're growing up. Some of you are children and grandchildren of individuals who set a really good, solid spiritual example in your life. But the Bible also states in places that the sins of the fathers are passed on to subsequent generations.

This doesn't mean that the child is to be put to death for the sins of their father, but it seems to indicate that things like abuse, alcoholism, depression, and other negative impacts within a family unit tend to run generationally. They tend to be passed on generationally from family member to family member given the background in which they were growing up in. So the contrary is also true. Not setting a good example can also leave an inheritance to our family, to their children, and to their children's children. You know, the man that we saw in the obituary to begin with today, he left an inheritance to his children.

Absolutely he did. It may not have been financial. But he left them with an inheritance of emotional baggage, which it doesn't sound like got sorted through very well. It doesn't appear that it got sorted through very well. There were still very raw feelings that it appears have not been fully processed. He will be forever remembered as a man with incredible failings, a man who didn't care for his family or for his children, a person who was abusive, angry, and, according to the obituary, had no redeeming qualities.

I have to think that if he had a chance to see his obituary before he died, while he still had time to make a change, that he would have tried to change. Maybe not. I don't know. Maybe not. But he will have his opportunity, along with the rest of the world, to know what is right and to have the chance to choose, just like everyone else, whether he will become a part of God's kingdom or not. What would you like to be remembered for? Your legacy. When it comes time in your life to sum your life up in a short summary of all of your years, what do you hope is recorded?

I'll share mine with you today. It's a little personal, I suppose, but I'll share mine with you today. And I hope that you'll take time this next week to sit down and think about your own. Very simply, I would like mine to say, husband, father, servant of God. If I do those three things well, I can call that a success.

I don't care if I'm remembered for my teaching abilities. If I don't ever win a crystal apple, if Salem-Kaiser has things, if I don't ever win a crystal apple, which is basically an Academy Award for teaching, I frankly don't care. I truly don't. Father, husband, servant of God. Now, there's a scene that closes the movie, Saving Private Ryan. I apologize, but I'm going to end up spoiling it. If you haven't seen it, they save him.

Just letting you know in case. So I apologize. If you were planning on seeing the movie, they save him. But as a much older man, he's standing before the gravestone of the commanding officer that commanded the mission to bring him home, Captain John Miller.

Captain Miller and a number of the men on the mission to save him gave the ultimate sacrifice. They died in the process of trying to bring him home. And before Captain Miller died, he pulled Private Ryan in close, and he said to him, Earn it. Earn it. In the scene that then closes the film, Ryan, an older Ryan, is now standing before Miller's gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery with his family behind him. And his wife comes to stand next to him, and he turns to her with tears in his eyes, and he says, Tell me that I've lived a good life.

Tell me that I'm a good man. And she kind of surprised, like, You're a good man. She didn't understand what he was really trying to get across. He wanted to know that he had lived a life that was worthy of the death of the men who had saved him. Brethren, we have been bought with an incredible price. We have been bought with an incredible price. And are we living our lives worthy of that sacrifice? If you were to take a stark and honest look at your life right now, what would you obituary read? Would it read what you wanted it to? What legacy will you leave? How will you be remembered? What do you want on your tombstone?