What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?

Well, thank you, Mr. Kester, and thank you to all of you for the fine music. You're all in very fine voice, and it is very much appreciated having the opportunity to praise our God together in song. Well, some of you—I'm looking at those of you that are a little bit older—some of you may remember the commercials from the mid-1990s for Tombstone Pizza. How many of you guys remember the commercials for Tombstone Pizza?

There's a few of you. For you young people, commercials, they're a thing that like— you have a show, and then every now and again they would stop that show, and they would try to sell you things on the TV. Those are called commercials, and that was when you would use them—that was your bathroom break. You'd go running, and then your brother or sister would go, it's almost back, and you'd sprint through the house and jump over the couch. Commercials. Nowadays, you don't really have commercials—that's not true, I guess. Some of the streaming services, the lower tiers of the streaming services, still have commercials pretty regularly on streaming things. For us, it's Limu-Imu insurance and a bunch of pharmaceuticals, it seems like, so maybe, I don't know, maybe they think we're older than we are.

Who knows? But all of the Tombstone Pizza commercials, they followed 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. The executioner kind of approached the condemned man and asked him the standard questions before the sentence was carried out. Asked him if he has any last requests. The man looks at the executioner and says, no. He asks the man if he wants a blindfold and the man defiantly responds, no. No, I do not.

Finally, the executioner leans in very close and very quietly asks, what do you want on your tombstone? And after a moment's thought, the man replies, pepperoni and cheese. And then it's, you know, they try to sell you the pizza at that point. It's a clever ad campaign and it probably helps sell a whole lot of frozen pizzas over the years, but that's not the original context of the question.

The original context of the question is, what do you want recorded as an epitaph on your gravestone? That's the question really being asked. And while it might be really easy to choose your pizza toppings, trying to sum up a person's life in a few short sentences is anything but easy. The epitaph on a tombstone is an attempt to put into words the life of the person that is interred in that spot. Epitaphs, tombstone, writings on tombstones, have been around for thousands of years. The Greeks, the Egyptians, other ancient cultures marked their burial places to their dead and inscribed memorials upon stones, marking their resting place.

And interestingly, this doesn't appear to be something that necessarily is a new invention in that sense. Today, a tombstone has the individual's name, has their birth date, has their date of their death, and usually some short message or a picture maybe that was meaningful to them while they were living or might be meaningful to those who survived them. Sometimes they're designed to be humorous. Merv Griffin, for example, his gravestone reads, I will not be right back after this message. It's kind of creative, given Merv Griffin's career. Sometimes they're sad and they make you think. One of them records how terrible it is to love something that death can touch.

Perhaps you've never considered it, but what would you personally want on your tombstone? What would you want in your tombstone? I know it's not something that we necessarily want to meditate on. It's kind of morbid to think about in a way, but what sort of words would you want written about your life?

Sort of words would you want written about your life? The final summary, so to speak, or the postscript of the time that you spent on this planet. A few years back, John's got his figured out. A few years back, I came across an article that caught my attention, and it got me really thinking about this topic.

Perhaps some of you may have seen the article. The article discussed an obituary that had been written in Texas for a man who had recently lost his battle with cancer. His daughter wrote the obituary, and what the article was most notable for was not the obituary itself, or I guess the words of the obituary itself, but it was the vitriol with which she wrote the words that she wrote. The obituary was actually ultimately removed from the funeral home page that it was written on.

I'm going to read some excerpts of it today. I can't actually read it all. I cannot read it in a church audience. It was that vitriolic. But I can read some of it, and the name will remain redacted for the individual. Not like any of us know him, but I mean for his sake, will redact the individual's name. So-and-so—we'll call him so-and-so from this point forward—so-and-so was born in Galveston on November 20, 1942, 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—blank—and daughter—blank—along with six grandchildren and countless other victims, including an ex-wife, relatives, friends, neighbors, doctors, nurses, and random strangers. At a young age, so-and-so 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 is more of a plea deal to escape sentencing on criminal charges. So-and-so was surprisingly intelligent. However, he lacked ambition and motivation to do anything more than being reckless and wasteful, squandering the family savings and fantasizing about get-rich-quick schemes.

So-and-so's hobbies included being abusive to his family and fishing, which he was less skilled at than the previously mentioned hobby. So-and-so'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 so-and-so'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. So-and-so's passing proves that evil does, in fact, die and hopefully marks a time of healing and safety for all.

The pain and the anger in that obituary is palpable. It is raw. It is raw even after so many years. It's raw. And it seems apparent, I mean, you look at that obituary, it seems apparent that there was pretty significant abuse in the family throughout the years, and it sounds like a relief to a degree from those that remain that that abuse was now over. When his daughter was asked by a journalist as to why she wrote the obituary in the way that she did and didn't leave 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. I'm not sorry for standing up for myself, for someone that knew him and family members that knew him, and to see something on there that was a complete lie would have been an insult to everyone that he did bad things to. Now, the obituary shocked a whole lot of people when it was posted, primarily because this level of vitriol is typically not found in an obituary. You know, it's typically not found in an obituary. More often than not, when you read someone's obituary, it's a short summary of their lives. Honestly, it's a highlight reel, in a sense, of their lives.

It's a highlight reel. The uncomfortable parts are swept under the rug. They're remembered only by those to experience them, but what this woman did was different. She lay bare the shortcomings of this gentleman for all to see.

Brethren, what would it be like if our obituaries did the same? What would it be like if our obituaries did the same? If they didn't gloss over the shortcomings and memorialize the sterilized parts of our lives, but instead put those shortcomings in stone for the world to see? He was angry all the time. She was greedy. He was not a loving father. She was. He was. This, that, whatever. Now, obviously, none of us want to be remembered for our shortcomings. You know, we don't want to be remembered for those things. We don't want to be memorialized the things that we struggle with and that we're working with in this Christian life. But if you were to boil your life down into a short phrase or a statement that would last beyond this mortal coil, 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 on your tombstone? Those are like titles. That's the title of the message today. What do you want on your tombstone? In 1888, Dr.

Alfred Nobel found himself in this very place asking this very question. You might be familiar with this story. Alfred Nobel's brother Ludwig had passed away, and as Alfred sat and read the paper, he turned the page and was surprised to find his own obituary. Turns out the journalist misunderstood that it was Ludwig Nobel who died and not Alfred, and Dr. Nobel had an opportunity that not many people get in life. He had a chance to read his own obituary and see what the world had to say about Alfred Nobel. The obituary read, The merchant of death is dead. And it continued, Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.

Dot, dot, dot, and then on it went. Some of you may be familiar with the story. You may not. Alfred Nobel made his fortune through the invention of dynamite.

Hey, dynamite, you know, it's a safe and stable way to kind of harness the explosive power of nitroglycerin. Highly explosive, but unstable originally, nitroglycerin. But what he found was if you take nitroglycerin and you mix it with diatomaceous earth and sodium bicarbonate, you stabilize the nitroglycerin and it makes a pace that can kind of be formed and transported.

Patenting that discovery made him a very, very wealthy man. Dynamite made massive building and infrastructure projects possible throughout the years, but as often happens with human inventions, it wasn't long before someone figured out the best way to use it to inflict harm upon other people. Alfred was appalled at how his life was perceived. When he read that obituary, he was appalled at how that life was perceived. And he had an opportunity that very few people have.

The chance to see how he was remembered and what his legacy would be, and then not only that, have an opportunity to change it. To change that path going forward. Not long after that moment, after he read that obituary, Alfred set aside the majority of his extensive fortune and established something you might also be familiar with, the Nobel Prize. There's a Nobel Peace Prize. There's a Nobel Prize for Science. There's a Nobel Prize for Literature. There's a Nobel Prize. And it is the pinnacle, the most outstanding achievements in literature, peace, economic, science, and medicine. And they were created as a way for Nobel to be remembered for something more, something beneficial to mankind. What if we had the same opportunity? What if we had the same opportunity? What if we had a chance to examine and to think about and reflect upon how we're seen by others? A chance to change the trajectory and determine and influence the end result. Oh, brethren, the reality is that we do. Each and every day we have that opportunity. Let's begin today by turning over to Ecclesiastes 9. Ecclesiastes 9, we'll pick up here on the contemplations of King Solomon on this topic of death and remembrance.

Ecclesiastes 9, and we'll begin in verse 1. And Solomon here kind of circles on this theme that he begins to address in about the midpoint of verse 8. So Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 8. Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 8. He kind of returns to this idea of the inevitability of death. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 8. I'm sorry, 9 and verse 1. Let's start in verse 1. We'll circle back to the rest of it.

Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 1. It says, For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People known, either love nor hatred, by anything that they see before them. He goes on to say, One event happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner, he who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. Verse 3. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the Son of Man 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, he says, is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, and the dead know nothing. They have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. So Solomon talks about this concept of death and how it is coming to all. That in this life, whether you're good, whether you're evil, whether you're righteous, unrighteous, clean, unclean, death will come. Death is no respecter of persons. It doesn't care how much money is in your wallet. It doesn't care how much you've stored up. It doesn't care any of those things. What happens to the pauper happens also to the king. Some have said over the years death is the great equalizer. It is the thing that makes all men equal. And so one might conclude, kind of as Solomon's playing with this idea and thinking about this idea, one might conclude that because of this fact, it doesn't really matter what you do in life. Death's coming for us all, so 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 Solomon also says in verse 4, that to him who is joined to the living, so those who are still alive, those who are joined to the living, there's hope. There's hope. He says a living dog is better than a dead lion. At least for those who is alive, they still have hope. In a sense, those who have died, they have none at that moment in that state. The living have the ability to change their trajectory. They have the ability to contemplate their mortality, to course correct. The dead do not have that same luxury. They don't have that same luxury. The gentleman in the obituary that we began with, he didn't have that luxury. What he had done, his life work, it was set in stone at that moment. There was no changing it. There was no maneuvering. If you want to go over just to the final couple of passages here in Ecclesiastes 12, we'll see what all of this contemplation leads to and what it's all building to here in Solomon's concepts and Solomon's thought. As he contemplated life, as he contemplated death, as he contemplated kind of the purpose of it all, we'll see his final conclusion here in Ecclesiastes 12, verse 11 through 14. Ecclesiastes 12, and we'll begin in verse 11. So again, Solomon, throughout this entire book of Ecclesiastes, is rattling these ideas around. He's putting them to paper. He's thinking about them. He's discussing them, so to speak, with himself and with wisdom and kind of rattling these ideas around in his head. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 11, we begin to get his conclusion. He says, The words of the wise are like goads, G-O-A-D-S, goads, and the words of scholars like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. Further, my son, be admonished by these, of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Then he gets on in verse 13. 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. So Solomon describes the words of the wise. He says wisdom, these things that we see contained in Scripture. The words of the wise, they're like goads, not goats, goads, right? They're intended to provoke us. They're intended to kind of poke us in the right direction, so to speak, as that shepherd kind of nudges us in the right way. He says the words of those scholars are like well-driven nails.

They're intended to provoke us. They're intended to prod us. They're intended to get us to move. In Solomon's conclusion of the entirety of the book of Ecclesiastes, and some, you know, might argue the conclusion of his life after all of the mistakes, after all the shortcomings, he comes back to what is truly important, to fear God and to keep his commandments. God will bring every work into judgment, every secret thing, whether good or evil. So Solomon recognized that there was an impending judgment. There was something coming where 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 don't have in chapter 9, the living do have a greater hope in that sense than those who have died. Because the living have the opportunity to examine their life and make course corrections. That again, the dead do not have that same opportunity. One of the biggest course corrections that we make in our life is the repentance of our sins and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Savior during the process of baptism. That's one of the biggest course-corrects we take. In our life, we recognize we're going contrary to the way of God. We're not following the way that we should. We sin. We have these issues. We commit ourselves to God. We commit ourselves to repenting of those things and ultimately accept Jesus Christ's blood on our behalf to forgive those sins. If you would turn over to 1 Corinthians, we're going to see an example that took place here and ultimately of the change of those individuals in Corinth. Keeping in mind, Corinth was primarily a Gentile church. It was located a Gentile area primarily. It had some proselytes in it as well, but ultimately this was a Gentile church. But we see an example of the change that resulted in the conversion of these individuals in the church in Corinth. Now Corinth was not a church that was without its issues. You know, Corinth had some problems. Corinth had some serious, serious challenges. In fact, the chapter before the one that we're going to read—we're going to pick it up in 1 Corinthians 6—the chapter before the one that we're going to read is a scathing indictment of the congregation's acceptance of sin in their midst. It's an escaping indictment that Paul puts upon them. And the first part of chapter 6 is admonishing them over taking their brother to court. So there were challenges. There were issues that the individuals in Corinth had. But if you turn over to 1 Corinthians 6, we're going to go ahead and pick it up in verse 9. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9, we will see the kind of change that takes place in this process of conversion—what the Spirit of God is capable of doing in a person, what God is capable of doing in a person through that calling, through that repentance, and ultimately through living that way of life. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9 says, Right? Full stop is what God says. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

He says, do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetousness, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Individuals who are practicing these things, who are not in a repentant state, who are not repenting of these things, actively working with Christ and the Holy Spirit of God in us to overcome these things. Verse 11, he says, Paul brings out to those here in Corinth, he says, take a look in the mirror.

He says, take a look in the mirror, Corinth. You guys came out of these things.

You were transformed. You started out unrighteous. You started out unable to inherit the kingdom of God. But because of that baptism that they'd undertaken, because of the acceptance that they received as a result of the blood of Jesus Christ, they were washed. They were sanctified. They were justified in the name of Christ and in the Spirit of God. And we recognize baptism's a beginning of that process, right? It's the first of a step on many steps down that road as we go through and we live this way of life and it results in a fundamental change in who we are. But it is a lifetime of course corrections to even approach the standard that's been provided for us. It's not a one and done. It's a consistency of course corrections taking place throughout our lives. If you want to go over just a few pages over the book of 2 Corinthians, the book of 2 Corinthians, we'll see Apostle Paul's description here to those in Corinth in his second letter.

And he kind of expounds on this idea of conversion of faith in Christ in chapter 5 beginning in verse 17. So we'll kind of go to 2 Corinthians 5 here. We'll begin in verse 17 because he begins this idea and this concept of what does it really mean? What does it really mean for us to be converted? For us to have faith in Jesus Christ? What does it really mean for us to enter into this covenant of baptism? To enter into becoming, you know, this process of coming to the standard of Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5 and we'll begin in verse 17. He says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new. Notice the words he chooses to use here, Paul.

He says, a new creation. This is not the same person with a little of the rough edges knocked off. This is not somebody being put onto the sander and kind of smooth over those rough edges. This is somebody being created in the very image of Jesus Christ. That through that process of repentance, through that process of conversion, we are becoming more like him, right? It's not a renovation. We're not putting some new siding on the old house, changing the windows and slapping some paint on it. This is a demolition. We are breaking this down and we are ultimately taking apart and destroying the old in order to build the new. The symbolism of the waters of baptism is the death of the old man. Death. We are symbolically putting our old selves into a watery grave. We're not just renovating the old man. We're not just knocking off a couple of rough edges and smoothing out some dents. All things are becoming new. A new life. A new thought process. A new person. Paul continues in verse 18. He says, 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, verse 19 kind of describes this, 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. It gives us the ability to have that blood forgive our sins, ultimately for us to be able to bridge that gap that is formed between us and God as a result of our sins. We personally cannot cross that gulf that we've created through our sin by any other means but the blood of Jesus Christ. That's it. We can't build blocks. We can't build a bridge out of anything else. There is no other thing that is going to get us there. That is it. Only God can reconcile us to himself. God sent his Son to die for us that we may be reconciled to him.

And so, as such, what Paul describes here is that we have been provided a ministry or service of reconciliation. We've been given, if you will, the responsibility to reconcile others to God through Christ, others to God through the gospel of the kingdom of God. Reconcile us to ourselves, us to others. In fact, he goes on and he states in verse 20, he goes on 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20, he says, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. He says, as though God were pleading through us, right, as we go out to this world it is like God himself with us in his hands is going, please, please hear these words. Please stop what you're doing. Like God is using us in this process as we are ambassadors. He says, implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God as we go to the world, as we interact with people, with our example, with our words, with our thoughts, that God is speaking through us in that sense, giving opportunity for others. Verse 21, he says, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. This requirement, brethren, for us to become new is crucial, because if we are going to be ambassadors for our God, if we're going to be representatives for him here on this foreign soil, so to speak, if we think about the kingdom of God and this being foreign soil, us as ambassadors on that foreign soil, kingdom again is not of this world, as such we are here as ambassadors for our Heavenly Father to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.

And, brethren, if that gospel message is lost as a result of our actions, or our example, or our words, the way that we live our lives, brethren, we have failed at the task we've been given. We failed. It is critical. It's a crucial aspect of this calling. Interestingly, the word ambassador, as it's translated here, is presbio, which translates as senior, like an older person, basically, or someone who acts as a representative. It's used two times, only by the Apostle Paul, so he is the only one that uses it in the entirety of the Greek translation of the New Testament. He uses it once here, and he uses it once in the book of Ephesians.

Where it gets kind of interesting is it's the word that comes from the root or the base word presbyteros, which is where we get the word for elder, which is where we get the word for someone who is older, or the office of an elder, in a general sense, referring to someone who is senior, someone who is older, or someone who is selected or chosen to be a leader. When Revelation refers to the 24 elders that surround the throne of God on the 24 thrones, it's referring to the 24 presbyteros. When Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders in every city, it's the word presbyteros. Elders, in a general sense, leaders, people of spiritual maturity. So we are to be as ambassadors, or to be as representatives, as leaders, in a general sense to the world around us, kind of setting an example by our conduct of whom we serve, that that example, that example, the way that we live, the way that we act, the things we say, the things we do, should serve as a shining light in a darkness of this world. It should be illuminating, should be inviting, should be something that people want to move towards, like a moth to the flame, so to speak, right? It should be that that kind of way that we want people to be interacting. Let's go over to Titus 1. Titus 1, we'll see the conditions on who's instructed and chosen to be appointed in this way. Titus 1, we'll pick up the account in verse 5. Again, this concept of presbyteros, this concept of elders, in this case describing in Titus a certain office, but generally referencing the idea of elder or older person as well, says here, verse 5 of Titus 1, for this reason I left you in Crete, talking to Titus. Paul says, I left you in Crete for a very specific purpose. He says, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking. So Paul said, when it comes to Crete, we got some holes. We got some things that need to be put into place here, Titus. And he goes, I've left you here this so you can set those things into order that which is lacking. He says, I want you to appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. Okay, here we're talking now about an office, not necessarily elders in a general sense, but he says, appoint elders in every city as I command you. And here are the criteria. It says, if a man is blameless, beyond reproach is the term. Blameless, someone who's beyond reproach.

The husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop or an overseer, it says here, must be blameless.

As a steward of God, not self-will, 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 to convict those who contradict. So those are characteristics that we see laid out by Paul to Titus for those who would be chosen as seniors or leaders or elders, we might say, or by extension again the word ambassador. People who would be chosen as ambassadors, be chosen to represent him daily in our lives. And if we are a professing Christian, if we're somebody who professes Christianity, or somebody who a follower of God, they know that we are a follower of God, our example is being watched very, very closely. Because the one thing that this world absolutely loves to do is point out hypocrisy in Christians. They love it. They love finding a Christian and going, ha! See? Look! Told you! Just like me! Just like me! See? Look! Right? They love that kind of thing and that's where you have the opportunity to say, yeah you're right, I'm working on it, right? I'm working on it. We represent God, not the State Department. We're not an ambassador in a political sense. We represent God. We don't represent man's politics or man's government, man's ideologies. Where they line up, fantastic. There's an awful lot in those things where they don't. Where they don't line up. Instead, what we see is that we need to represent God in all that we do. He goes on instructing Titus in Titus 2 and verse 1. Titus 2 and verse 1. He says, but as for you, as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. So speak the things here which are proper for sound doctrine. That the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience. The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed.

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded. In all of these things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, right? So he tells Titus here, you be the example, Titus. You be the pattern of good works that they should follow.

Says, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, showing yourself in all things to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say to you. Exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Says, let no man despise you here. He says, let no man despise you. He goes on in verse 11, 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, 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, speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one despise you. Again, that idea of not letting anyone despise you, not giving anyone a reason to speak ill of you. It implies a character that is beyond reproach. So Paul here tells Timothy, a younger minister, in one of these epistles, that a servant of the Lord should not be quarrelsome, but should be patient, should be gentle. It's also admonished him to be an example to the believers in word and conduct and love and spirit and faith and impurity.

Brethren, as leaders that have been chosen by God and selected by God at this time to be ambassadors on this earth, to bring others to him through the gospel that we preach through our words and our actions, ultimately bringing them to him and to his Son Jesus Christ, there's an expectation that's placed upon each of us, a standard in which we must work toward. We see an example of this in Revelation 20, if you want to turn over there. Revelation 20, we'll see a passage here that illustrates a coming time of judgment that Solomon referenced in Ecclesiastes 12. Solomon talked about this in Ecclesiastes 12. Revelation 20, we'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 4 for the context. Revelation 20 in verse 4, it says, In the first resurrection, over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

1 Corinthians 15, if you want to turn over there, you can, add some additional information.

1 Corinthians 15 adds some additional information. It talks about how there's an order to this.

First Christ, after that, those who are Christ's at his coming, those who are dead in the grave, and then ultimately those who had not yet slept, would be transformed and be changed.

That's in 1 Corinthians 15, roughly 20 to 24. We see in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 16, again, there's an order to these things.

And that we ultimately can comfort one another with this understanding of what is taking place once we die.

So we see, scripturally, that there are some that are brought up at the beginning of the millennium, when Christ returns.

They'll live, they'll reign with Christ for a thousand years as spirit beings.

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

So we see two resurrections here. We see a resurrection of those that are in Christ, and then ultimately a second resurrection, or a general resurrection, however you want to term that.

But ultimately, those individuals that did not yet know Christ, or had no opportunity to know Christ.

Skip down a few pages, or passages rather, to verse 12. Revelation 20 and verse 12.

Pardon me. Revelation 20 and verse 12.

And we can see ultimately what the process is for the rest of those dead after the thousand years of the millennium, after the earth gives up its dead, after the sea gives up its dead, after all those who ever lived have had their opportunity to understand God and his way of life. We see this reference in Ezekiel 37. You can jot that in your notes if you'd like. We see a description of how the sinew and the muscle and the skin comes back on bone, how breath is placed in these individuals, and there is a physical resurrection back to physical life. Right? That's what we're talking about here when we look at Revelation 20 verse 11. Revelation 20 verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.

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. Verse 13, the sea gave up the dead who were in it. 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, and this is the second death. Anyone found, not found, written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Then we see the men judged according to their works, according to the actions that sprung from their belief. We think about works. Where do works come from? It's belief in action, right? That is our works. It is our belief in action. It says, books were opened. Scriptures were opened. The life was compared to Scripture. The record of their life from the book of life is compared to the standard provided, and it says those who were not found written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. Not speaking about a group of individuals at a later place in a later time, those who never understood Christ in this second resurrection. What about those who know Christ now?

What about those who understand His truth, understand His teachings today? The Apostle Paul records a passage in the first epistle—I'm sorry, Apostle Peter records a passage in his first epistle that should give all of us pause. It's 1 Peter 4 and verse 17. 1 Peter 4 and verse 17.

1 Peter 4 and verse 17.

Peter writes the following.

It 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 become, or has begun now at the house of God.

Those who understand the truth, those who know what Christ expects of them, whose actions and works back up their faith and their belief—they are being judged now. Every action, every word.

And brethren, what that means is that if we don't get it right in this life, and we understand the truth, we might find ourselves in a very difficult place on the day of judgment. This is a big deal.

This is serious stuff. Okay, this is not something to wink at. This is not something to, you know, thumb our nose at. What we do in this life impacts what comes next. Our actions, our words, our belief, our faith—all of those things now, as ambassadors of God, matter. They matter.

They matter more than we probably even fully understand, as we consider the example to those around us. The example of Jesus Christ is the standard that we've been provided, and the question is, brethren, are we growing towards it? Will we ever achieve it in its fullness? No, not in this life. No, not in this life. But are we continuously growing towards it?

If your obituary were written today, would you be content with where you are?

If your life stopped tomorrow and you had no additional opportunities to make any more changes, because it's set now in stone, would you be content with where you are right now?

Should we be content with where we are?

Power of our example to others cannot be understated.

Turn with me to Proverbs 13. There's a principle here that is, at least in Proverbs, provided from a standpoint of a financial aspect.

But it means a lot more than just finances. When you think about how this is laid out in Proverbs 13, verse 22. Proverbs 13 and verse 22. It's one of Dave Ramsey's favorite scriptures, Proverbs 13, 22. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Babylon Bee. They've been talking this week about 50-year mortgages, and someone sent me a meme that said, Dave Ramsey in critical condition, as he hears about 50-year mortgages. It's like poor Dave's like, oh, come on, don't you dare. Proverbs 13, verse 22. Proverbs 13, verse 22. It says, A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Dave talks about this from a financial principle, which it is, but spiritually it's true as well. We leave an inheritance to our children.

We leave an inheritance to their children by our spiritual example.

If we have a solid relationship with God, and if we're doing the things that God has asked us to do, there's a passing on of those things to our children. Our children see those things.

They experience those things. They begin to live those things themselves.

Now, that calling is ultimately their own. They make their own decisions. We can't make it for them.

But spiritually, the chances are far better for our children and our grandchildren to stick with it. If our example is solid, then if it is not. Some of you are children and grandchildren of individuals who set a good, solid spiritual example in your life. You've experienced that.

But as we looked at recently, the Bible also talks about how the sins of the Father is passed on to subsequent generations. And we talked about how that doesn't mean that children are being put to death for the sins of the Father. That's not what it's talking about. But it seems to indicate that things such as abuse, alcoholism, depression, or other negative impacts within a family unit tend to run generationally. So we see the contrary is also true. Not setting a good example, or perhaps creating a home full of stress can leave an inheritance to their children and their children's children. You know, the man that we began with today in his obituary, he left an inheritance to his children. You look at the words that are included in that obituary, you've got somebody that's just short of celebrating that this person is dead. It was not quite celebratory, but it was pretty close. That individual left an inheritance to his children. It was not a good inheritance.

It was not a good inheritance at all. In fact, it sounds like there's an awful lot of emotional baggage that is going to have to be sorted through. And I'm going to guess, based on the vitriol of that, that the grandchildren of that gentleman are probably affected too. Because if you can think about the kind of vitriol that that daughter is living with, you can't tell me those kids aren't impacted by that as well. Very raw feelings that have not yet been fully processed.

That individual will be forever remembered as a man with incredible failings. Someone who didn't care for his family or his children. Someone who was abusive and angry and had no redeeming qualities. I have to think, if he had a chance to see his obituary before he died, what would have been written about him by his children? That he would have tried to make changes. But maybe not.

Maybe not. He'll have his opportunity, along with the rest of the world, to know what's right.

To have the chance to choose, just like everyone else, whether or not he'll be a part of God's kingdom or not. Brethren, what would you like to be remembered for? When it comes time to sum up your life in a short summary of all of your years, what do you hope is recorded?

I'd like to challenge you this week and encourage you this week to take some time with a little notebook at your kitchen table and a cup of coffee and contemplate that very thing.

What would you like to be written on your tombstone? The summation of your life in a short phrase and a short term? What do you hope is recorded? Write it out. Write out your own obituary and then live a life worthy of those words. There's a scene that closes the movie Saving Private Ryan, and you've heard this before. I apologize, I ended up spoiling it.

If you haven't seen it, it turns out they save him. It'd be a pretty depressing movie if they didn't, really. I mean, go through everything they went through and then he gets killed, too.

But as a much older man, he's standing before the gravestone of his commanding officer on the mission to bring him home, Captain John Miller. Captain Miller and a number of the other men on the mission give the ultimate sacrifice. These men die in order to bring him home. And John Miller does as well. John Miller dies there in the process of bringing him home, and before he dies, he employs kind of employs, implores Ryan to live his life well, implores him to live his life well. And in the scene that closes the film, Ryan standing before Miller's gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery, his family standing behind him, and his wife stands, kind of walks up and stands next to him. He turns to her with tears in his eyes, and he says, tell me that I've lived a good life.

He says, tell me I'm a good man. He implored his wife and his family to describe his life to him, that this sacrifice that these men made was worth it, that he was worth saving, that he lived a life worthy, so to speak, of their death. Brethren, we have been bought at an incredible price.

We have had a price that is beyond precious paid for each and every one of us. Are we living lives worthy of that sacrifice? Are we living a life worthy of that sacrifice? If we are stark, and we take a stark, honest look at our life right now, what would that obituary read? Would it read what you want it to read? What legacy will we leave? How will we be remembered? Brethren, what do you want on your tombstone?