The Last Word (2)
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THE LAST WORD
• by Steve May
Have you ever been in a discussion or debate — or even an argument — with a person who was determined to get in the last word? Some of you will be quick to respond, "Yes, I have. This morning. With my spouse. He or she must always have the last word. The discussion, debate, or argument doesn't end until then."
Some people just feel the need to always get in the last word, no matter what.
A friend once told me, "When I got married, I made it clear to my wife that in any disagreement, I get the last word ... However, I have to admit that most of the time my last word is, 'Yes, dear. Whatever you say.'" But at least he's getting in the last word, isn't he?
Another friend told me a while back about a service problem he was having with the cable company. The service wasn't working properly, they couldn't repair it, or wouldn't repair it, and they wouldn't make an appropriate adjustment of his bill. They told him, basically, whether you like it or not, we're not budging a bit.
So I said to my friend, "I guess they told you."
He said, "No, I told them. I said, 'Cancel my account; I'm switching to satellite.'"
I said, "So you got in the last word, after all."
He said, "No, actually, they got in the last word. Turns out they own the satellite company, too."
We like to get in the last word because we think it means that we've won the battle, if not the war ... but it usually means nothing of the sort.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
I was reading earlier this week about the famous last words of famous people. Some of them were touching and tender, some humorous, some angry, and some tried, with their last words, to get in the last word on the inevitable.
Edmund Gwynn, who played Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street, was asked by someone close to him if dying was tough. He said, "Yes, it's tough. But not as tough as doing comedy." Those were his last words.
When Karl Marx was at the edge of death, his housekeeper asked him if he had any last words. He said, "Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough." Those were his last words.
When General John Sedgwick, a Union Commander, was told that the enemy was stationed not too far away, he dismissed the report and said, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..." A bullet prevented him from finishing the sentence. These were his last words.
Lady Nancy Astor awoke briefly in the final stages of her terminal illness. When she saw that she was surrounded by friends and family, she said, "Am I dying? Or is it my birthday?" These were her last words.
As Joan Crawford — Mommie Dearest — lay on her deathbed, her maid began to pray, and she stopped her and said, "Don't you dare ask God to help me!"
We have this need to get in the last word, but often times the last word gets us.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
We live in a world that thinks it has gotten the last word, but I'm here today to tell that it's not true — for a very good reason. Today is Easter. Or, as it can be called, Resurrection Day.
Today is the day that we celebrate the fact that almost 2000 years ago, our Founder, our Leader, our Lord and Savior, did something that has never been done before or since. After dying a violent death on a cruel Roman cross, he was laid in a cold dark grave. All his enemies believed, at that moment, that it was over, and that theirs was indeed the last word.
But nothing could have been further from the truth. That's because on the third day, the stone securing his tomb was rolled away, and Jesus of Nazareth emerged alive and victorious.
That's why we're here today. It's not to honor a dead man, or merely remember a good teacher. It's to worship the living Son of God, the Lord of Lord and the King of Kings.
Easter morning is proof that all those things that we thought might have the last word in our lives, don't have the last word at all. And it's all because of the resurrection.
Today we'll look at some verses in , in which Paul talks at length about the significance of the resurrection of Christ.
In the ancient world, most of the people believed in a pseudo-spiritual type of after-life, in which our disembodied souls lived on in another plane, but in their view, what happened in this life was not connected in any way to your experience in the next life, it was just another realm of existence. This kind of thinking made its way from the culture into the church.
There were some who did not believe in the possibility of a bodily resurrection. They would insist that Jesus didn't physically rise from the dead. They would say it was just a spiritual "ghosty" type of resurrection, in which he moved into the next realm, as we all will do. This, of course, is no resurrection at all.
Paul said, in effect, that's not how it happened. He emphasized that Christ physically rose from the grave. On Friday his body was dead, as dead as it could be. And then on Sunday his body was alive again. Not a spiritual body. Not a phantasm or a ghost. But his physical body that still bore the wounds of his crucifixion. It was a body that could be seen and touched. With this physical body he walked along the road and he ate fish with his friends.
It was a physical body, and it was also more than a mere earthly body. It was a resurrected body, made alive by the Spirit of God — a body that will never again experience death.
And, Paul said, Christ was the first to experience this miraculous resurrection — and all who follow him will experience it too, someday.
The physical resurrection is a foundational doctrine in the Christian because of what it means.
It means first of all, that Jesus is who he claimed to be. He claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and he claimed to be the only way to the Father ... and he proved it by overcoming death. No other religious leader has done that.
The resurrection also means that there is nothing in this world whose power is greater than the power of Jesus Christ. Not even death can hold him.
When you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it changes everything about how you perceive the world around you, how you perceive the meaning of your existence, how your perceive your day-to-day life.
The resurrection changes everything, because it changes who really gets the last word.
Today, as we consider all that the resurrection of Jesus Christ means for us, I want to talk about three "last words" that turn out to be not nearly so "last" after all — and it's all because of Easter.
The first thing I want you to see is that...
1. Easter means that our troubles don't get the last word.
Paul said in his letter to the church in Corinth...
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Why would he say that? He's not saying that there's nothing good in this life, that we have no reason for joy or happiness or fulfillment in this life. He's not saying that we don't experience answers to prayer and see miracles take place or receive blessings in this life.
He is, however, acknowledging that the life of discipleship is often tough, and for those who are serious about following Jesus, there is a price to be paid. And sometimes it's a hefty price.
That's because we have struggles in this life that others simply don't have. We impose a standard on ourselves — or, at least, we should — that others simply don't impose on themselves.
Paul is saying that living the Christian life involves an investment now that does not fully pay off until we enter into eternal life.
For this reason, we make a number of counter-intuitive choices every day of our lives — because we live with an eternal perspective.
We forgive, when we could seek revenge.
We turn the other cheek, when we could fight back.
We give to those in need, when we could spend the money on ourselves.
We sacrifice for the good of others, when we could, instead, look out for number one.
We take a stand for what is right, when we could just stay quiet and blend in with the crowd.
We do these things because we're making an investment in eternity. If there is no eternity, then why make decisions that can only make life more difficult?
When we go through struggles, and toil, and turmoil, and pain, we need to remind ourselves that our troubles don't get the last word. Jesus does.
Even when life is at its worst, we can face each day knowing that this world isn't all there is, and this world doesn't have final say on anything. Jesus got the last word on Easter morning two-thousand years ago, and this is why we celebrate.
When you forgive, when you give, when you love, when you show mercy, when you obey, when you take a stand — there's nothing futile about it. Every day of perseverance is an investment in the future that God has planned for you, not only further down the road in this life, but light years down the road, in your eternal future.
Whatever trouble you may be facing right now, you can be sure that it will not get the last word.
That brings me to the second "last word" that isn't really "last" after all.
2. Easter means that sin doesn't get the last word.
Paul wrote...
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ reversed the curse that Adam brought on the human race through his disobedience in the garden. Now, whether you believe in a literal Adam, or whether you think that the story in Genesis is just an allegory, the results are the same: We have all made the same choice that Adam made.
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way... ( KJV)
There is none righteous, no not one...All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (, 23 KJV)
This is the human dilemma that none can escape. We have all sinned, and we have all been broken by our sin. And every life bears the evidence of that brokenness.
One of the presidential candidates [who now occupies the Oval Office, by the way] made news not too long ago when he said, after proclaiming that he's a "great Christian," that he has never asked God for forgiveness.
Max Lucado said that that's like a swimmer saying "I've never gotten wet," or a musician saying, "I've never sung a song." Recognizing our need for forgiveness — and asking for it — is right up there at the top of the list of things we need to do in order to begin a new life in Christ.
Most people don't try to deny that they've sinned, because they can't deny it. The evidence is all around them — the consequences of their bad choices. And they have no choice but to say, "All we like sheep have gone astray ... and that certainly includes me."
But I want you to hear how Isaiah finishes this verse.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ( KJV)
Here's what this verse means.
While Jesus was dying alone on the cross that late Friday afternoon, all the sins that have ever been committed — your sins, my sins, and the sins of everyone who has ever lived — were somehow, some way placed upon him. He paid whatever price those sins deserved. And any power that those sins may have had — any claim that they may have had on you — died when he died.
As Jesus died on the cross, he proclaimed, "It is finished." This phrase also means "paid in full." That's why we sing...
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.
There are some here today for whom sin has made a wreck of your life. Maybe you've left behind you a trail of damaged relationships, and pain, and failures, and broken promises ... maybe sin has long wreaked havoc in your life, but I want you to know that Easter means that sin doesn't get the last word in your life. Jesus does.
That's why, when John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching in the desert, he proclaimed...
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" ( ESV)
Through his death on the cross, Jesus destroyed the penalty of sin. Through his resurrection he destroyed the power of sin.
This means that however sin has tormented you in the past, you can be set free. That's why Paul made the promise...
Sin shall not be your master. ()
God forgives you of your sins, and then he starts you on the path to victory. You can experience increasing levels of victory in this life, and you will experience ultimate victory in the life to come.
I'm saying that no matter how much noise sin may be making in your life right now, and no matter how often you may be losing the battle right now, I want you to remember that Easter means that sin never gets the last word. Jesus has the last word.
This brings me to the third "last word" that isn't really "last" after all.
3. Easter means that no enemy will ever get the last word.
Paul says that Jesus will destroy every rule and authority and power...
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
Who are his enemies? Other people? No, his enemies aren't people. He loves people. He died so that all people — the world — might be saved.
No, his enemies are the real enemies of this fallen world: sin, evil, corruption, fear, sickness, pain, misery, jealousy, greed, violence, abuse, hate. Every ugly thing that you can think of — those things are the enemy. Eventually he will put them all under his feet. Paul goes on to say...
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Isn't that what we fear most? Isn't that what causes more pain than anything else? Isn't that what makes us feel most alone and afraid and helpless and vulnerable? Death, the final enemy, will also at last be destroyed.
To those without faith, life on earth may appear to be not much more than a sequence of random events leading us on an ultimately futile journey to the grave. And the fact is — and let's not pretend otherwise — we're all headed to the cemetery, there's no doubt about it.
But here's the good news. The journey doesn't end there. The graveyard is not your final destination. Death, along with every other enemy we face, everything else that is ugly and evil, doesn't get the last word. Jesus gets the last word, even over death, because through the power of the resurrection, he has conquered it all.
The Bible has so much to say about how we're to live in the "now-and-now" that I will admit I don't talk often about the sweet-by-and-by. But make no mistake. There is a by-and-by — and it's been promised to every believer. And I can assure you, it will be a wonder to behold.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ( KJV)
We've seen up close the destruction that cancer can do, that crime can do, that war can do ... but we must remember that they do not represent the final chapter of the book.
In fact, here's a spoiler alert. Let's look at the back of the book and see how this will all turn out.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. ( ESV)
Our promise is that when this life is over — and in spite of all, we know that it's a good life — but our promise is that when this good life ends, a better life begins. A resurrected life. A life of eternal peace and joy in the presence of God. A life in which...
Jesus gets the last word.
CONCLUSION
The question for you today, then, is who will have the final word in your life?
You remember what Joan Crawford said on her deathbed: "Don't you dare to ask God to help me."
Sadly, that's the way some choose to live their entire life.
And then there's Joseph Addison, an 18th century poet, playwright, and politician. His life wasn't always easy. Some close to him didn't treat him well. He was often criticized and even ridiculed by others. He struggled with health problems most of his life ... but he knew that this life isn't all there is, and that no problem and no enemy, not even death, has the last word.
Do you know what his last words were? Moments before passing into eternity, he said to those with him, "See in what peace a Christian can die."
Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, these same words can be your words when that moment comes.
And I'll tell you something more. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, while we all await that final day, our words can be "See in what peace a Christian can live."
That's because we don't have to live in fear of anything that life brings our way. Your trials and troubles and tribulations don't get the last word. Jesus does. Neither does sin get the last word in your life. Jesus does. And death — the so-called final enemy — it doesn't have the last word, either. Jesus has the last word over life, over sin, over death, over all.
For this reason I say: Give him the last word in your life today.