Famous Last Words

Intro

Famous last words. Sometimes they can be funny, sad, ironic. Famous last words are the words that people rarely get to pick. It’s the total randomnness and chance of what people say, especially when they don’t realize that the end is near. I looked up several quotes of famous last words and here are some of my favorites:

17. When Harriet Tubman was dying in 1913, she gathered her family around and they sang together. Her last words were, “Swing low, sweet chariot.”

19. Leonardo da Vinci was also overly modest, saying, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” I guess the Mona Lisa isn’t good enough?

21. Drummer Buddy Rich died after surgery in 1987. As he was being prepped for surgery, a nurse asked him, “Is there anything you can’t take?” Rich replied, “Yeah, country music.”

Murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request. He replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”

Football coach Vince Lombardi died of cancer in 1970. As he died, Lombardi turned to his wife Marie and said, “Happy anniversary. I love you.”

John Wayne died at age 72 in L.A. He turned to his wife and said, “Of course I know who you are. You’re my girl. I love you."

I really love those last couple of quotes. As we scan Scripture we discover all kinds of famous last words. If you read Deuteronomy you’ll see that Moses’ last words made up an entire book! Collectively all of the “famous last words” of Scripture start to sound a lot like God saying, “Happy, Anniversary. I love you.” We can turn to any page in this book and and peer into a love letter that was written just for us. In fact Scripture itself has it’s own “famous last words” section that I want us to turn to first in . *read *

Famous Last Words of Scripture

Revelation 7

We’ve just been painted a picture of heaven. It’s fitting that this is one of the last things God gave us. As John is painting this picture of the throneroom of heaven, it’s like coming to the end of the love letter and the person writing says, “Okay! I have to go now, but before I go here’s what you can look forward to when we meet again!” It’s beautiful. It’s hope. Every Christian, from every corner of the world worshipping the King in all of his glory. If you’ve been paying attention over the last couple of years you’ll know that I reference this passage a ton. Not just because of how diverse it shows the Kingdom of God as being, but because this is the goal. This is the hope we have. My friend Conner and I were talking the other day about what happens when we die. As I began to explain to him what I think heaven will be like I said, “Most people think heaven will just be singing forever. And they don’t like that. They think it’s boring. But to be honest, if the worst thing I have to do is praise Jesus for an eternity, I’ll be okay with that.” He laughed! And I get it. The kingdom doesn’t seem all that appealing to those who are outside of it. But when we see this image, and we read the rest of Revelation, how can we not be excited? Actually, how can we not be relieved? If this is what it means to enter “God’s rest”, count me in!

But this is the destination. We are living in the here and now. Right now we have a mission. This mission will ultimately lead us to . Today we’re going to look at the famous last words of Paul and Jesus, and I want you to pay attention to how they relate to the overall mission, and then the commands that they give us, to accomplish that mission. But before we go any farther we have to understand what exactly the mission is. The mission is simple: the mission is the Gospel. And what is the Gospel? The Gospel, the Good News, is that Jesus has risen from the dead! Through this, our sins have been forgiven, and we have access to true life! And now our mission is to live that out. Remember that! Now Turn with me to

But this is the goal.

Famous Last Words of Paul

, , 22-26

Here we find the famous last words of Paul. He’s in Rome, awaiting execution, and he writes this one last letter to his son in the faith - Timothy. Here’s why I think these words are important: Paul wasn’t only speaking to Timothy, he was speaking to the church. Pay attention to the mission in Paul’s words here.

The command: You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Paul is telling them that they need faithful men and women who can teach the gospel to others. But there’s a cost: they must “share in the suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” He then gives three examples - a soldier who doesn’t get involved in civilian affairs, an athlete who focuses on nothing else but their sport and it’s rules so that they can be crowned, and finally a hard-working farmer who aught to get the first share of crops.

Do you see the thread that connects all three examples? It’s suffering: the good soldier, she doesn’t get involved in civilian affairs because she is on the front line protecting others, enduring suffering and even death. The athlete breaks his body to achieve the crown, and the “hard-working” farmer indicates one who strives, struggles, and toils for his crops.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Paul uses himself as an example of what it looks like to live out our mission: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,” Don’t miss it! That’s the MISSION right there in big flashing lights!! “for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal” and then he gives these words of encouragements: “11 The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

12  if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

13  if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Paul is telling us that we must live out our Mission no matter what, even if we suffer for it. Like the soldier who obeys, and the athlete that never gives up, and the farmer who works to get the best crop, we must keep going. But Paul doesn’t just leave us with the mission, he then gives us commands on how we can live out right here in church.

Here is my first command then from you:

READ 14-16

He then gives examples in Timothy’s church of where this was already happen and warns of it’s dangers, “They are upsetting the faith of some.” Last month we looked at what faith looks like, remember? Faith is allegiance. If what you are saying is disrupting someone’s allegiance to Christ, then you have a very major problem, and you need to stop and you need to repent.

He goes on in verse 22:  So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness.

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

12  if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

13  if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Ti 2:11–13). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Under “Having nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies” may I add, that also includes sharing ridiculous fake pictures and news on Facebook? I’m friends with many of you on there, I see what you post, and I love you all, but some of that stuff is just ridiculous, obviously fake, and does exactly what Paul says, its breeds quarrels. I promise you, Muslims aren’t taking over the country, and it wouldn’t matter even if they were. It doesn’t matter if there are 100 statues standing, or if they were all torn down. It doesn’t matter if Republicans or Democrats run the government. It doesn’t matter if Trump is in office, or Obama is in office. None of these things matter and when we engage such foolish controversies we end up being just like the rest of the world: divided. But we are called to be different. We are called to be unified in Christ. That is our mission. To live out the Gospel right here.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Paul continues though,

If we can’t live out the Gospel right here, living as new people with new life because of the death and resurrection of Christ - then how can we expect to live it out there? Because living out the Gospel right here impacts what we do out there. Turn with me to Matthew 28:19-20.

Famous Last Words of Jesus

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:1

Matthew 28 ESV

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28

Turn with me to . Here we have the last recorded words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. Hopefully you all have heard it before. We call it the great commission. This is where our mission started, but where Paul gives us commands on how to live out the Gospel in church, Christ is telling us how to live out the gospel in the world.

English Standard Version Chapter 28

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The mission is simple: make disciples of all nations. The command: go! Get out of here and go! Hornet this is the biggest thing I want to remind you of. Your mission isn’t to stay in here, it’s to go out there! Your mission field is Hornet and Seneca. Over the last 6 months or so we’ve been praying that God would bring more people to our church, but God didn’t say, “You sit tight in the pews and I’ll bring them to you.” No, he said, “Go out and get them!” This is your community, and over the last 5 years I’ve been able to see just how many broken and lost souls there are in this area. Most of them are the parents and families of our kids - whom after 5 years I’ve never met! They don’t care about church, and the only reason their kids show up on Wednesday’s is because we bus them in. Maybe they are ashamed, scared, or hurt. Whatever reason it is, these people are your neighbors. So go to them! Take them to lunch. Offer to watch their kids. Mow their lawn. Pray with them. Talk with them. Don’t just bring them to church hoping that whoever is on this stage can change their lives with a sermon. Sermons change lives sometimes - relationships change lives every time. Jesus didn’t preach a sermon to his disciples to get them: he spent three years building relationships with them. So Hornet Christian Church, go and do likewise.

Conclusion

If there is one thing that you have learned from me over the last couple of years I hope it’s this: Keep your eyes on heaven, and the best way to do that is to always keep your eyes on Jesus. When we keep our eyes on Jesus the mission becomes simple: live out the Gospel. Live the Resurrected life. The command: Go, and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son , and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything I have commanded you.” Do you see it? You are disciples making disciples. When you live out the Gospel, others around you will too. So pray without ceasing, that Holy Spirit would send you out into the Harvest Field, and then go! Charles Spurgeon once said: ““If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” Please, Hornet Christian Church, don’t forget mission. Do not forget all the people around us who haven’t met Jesus yet. The only thing worse than an eternity without Jesus, is a life without Jesus. So go!

*prayer*