Last Words

Last Words
sermon by Manfred Schreyer

2 Timothy 4 (NIV)
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The reason I selected this passage is because these are one of the last words from the Apostle Paul.

He had done well. He had given all he was able to give for the Glory of God.

When I heard these words, I was thinking of last words that I heard of individuals who had observed in their last minutes.

During my internship as a minister I visited with a congregation member her mother at a nursing home. She was very sick and her funds were all used up so they placed her in a nursing home to await her death.

The concern of the daughter was that she had never given her life to Christ and she begged me each time to please to make it clear to her mother that she must believe in Jesus Christ so she will reach eternal life.

I visited the mother with the member numerous times and every time the conversation came up about salvation she was not interested at all to hear about it.

But than, on her last day of being on this earth and after I had almost given up, she turned to me in her blue night cover, her lips were shrunk, her voice was hardly recognizable but she said that she does believe that Christ died for her and if we could pray for her. Later that afternoon she died.

In January of 1975 my sickly father was found with lung cancer that had spread to other area of the body as well. The doctors had told him that he only a few weeks to live. Although I never had a very close relationship to my father, I felt very bad for him. It was hard because just the previous fall I was accepted to leave for America as an exchange student. I would be leaving in July and I would be gone for a year.

He knew about it because he had signed the papers. I still remember the endless nights he laid in bed where he twitched under the enormous pain in his body. I remember my mother who had become weak from taken care of him and I remember his eyes often staring toward the ceiling without saying a word for hours.

I remember how he refused later to eat even small amounts of food and I remember the doctor’s words when he checked on him during his visits every two days.

On March 16^th, ten days before his birthday I sat in the living room across from the room where my father lied. I could see him through the two doors which were wide open so we could see how he was doing. By now he was mostly (which seemed) a deep sleep. He sweat and when he uttered words the sentences were badly broken up.

That afternoon I was sitting in that room, I heard his voice clearly as he said: "Mother - Father please open the door I am coming." I was stunned. . . .I yelled at him, because he was very hearing impaired: "What did you just say?" And he replied; "Don’t yell so loud. They are trying to open the door." And then he leaned forward, he looked at me and he said: "They are letting me in."

His body sunk backward and that was it! My father was no more.

Last words!

When we read the story of Jacob, Joseph, and we read about their last words they tell the story of being faithful and to await the promise given to hem by God.

In both of the cases I feel as if promises were fulfilled as well. In my father’s case I have no idea if he was a faithful man, we never talked about it. But I know when he talked about himself he knew this was not the life which was meant to be. On rare occasion ee talked about his struggle in life the scares the wars left on him. The time of hunger that had destroyed his childhood, the war that had destroyed the family, the playful moments that every child deserves. He talked about the bomb that exploded in the neighbor’s house and partly destroyed his hearing. And then he mentioned things of a better life. I had no idea what they meant.

Did he run a good race? Did he win the race?

I had a business colleague who was also a friend from Richmond Kiwanis Club. His wife was getting ready to leave with her parents for a vacation. Her parents celebrated a wedding anniversary and they were excited to go. They never made it.

On May 11, 1996 they left with a ValuJet DC-9 (Flight 592) near Miami, FL.

source:	content:
TWR	Critter five ninety two, fly runway heading, runway nine left, cleared for takeoff.
RDO- 2	runway heading, cleared to go nine left, Critter five ninety two.
CAM- 1	** lights are on.
CAM- 1	bleeds are closed.
CAM- 1	set takeoff power.
CAM- 2	* power is set, we have ninety five, ninety four.
CAM- 2	* hundred knots.
CAM- 1	check.
CAM- 2	V one.
CAM- 1	check
CAM- 2	V r.
CAM- 2	positive rate.
CAM- 1	gear up.
CAM- 2	V two
CAM- 2	five.
TWR	Critter five ninety two, contact departure, good day.
RDO- 2	good day sir.
CAM- 1	flaps up.
RDO- 2	afternoon departure, Critter five ninety two's out of five hundred goin' to five thousand.
DEP	Critter five ninety two, departure, good afternoon. radar contact. climb and maintain seven thousand.
RDO- 2	seven thousand, five ninety two.
CAM- 1	slats retract.
CAM- 2	slats retract.
CAM- 2	following the Boeing straight ahead of us in a turn.
CAM- 1	OK.
PA- 3	and, ladies and gentlemen, captain Kubeck will turn off the fasten seat belt sign, just as soon she feels it's safe for you to get up and move about the cabin. until that time, please remain comfortably seated with your seat belts securely fastened. we also suggest for your safety that seatbelts be fastened even after the sign has been turned off. shortly we will begin our inflight service. we are pleased to offer you a variety of soft drinks, coffee, and juices. cocktails are available for three dollars. beer and wine are available for two dollars. as always, correct change is greatly,, greatly,, appreciating. for a complete listing of our complimentary beverages, they may be found on page five of our Good Times magazine. for now we just ask that you sit back and relax and enjoy your flight to Atlanta, Georgia.
DEP	Critter five ninety two, turn left heading three six zero.
RDO- 2	three six zero, five ninety two.
CAM- 1	three six zero.... climb power, climb check.
CAM- 2	power's set.
CAM- 2	gears up and checked, flaps up, lights out, spoilers, is disarmed, the ignition is off, fuel pumps are set, air conditioning shutoff is override, hydraulic pumps off and low, flood and logo lights at ten, and altimeters at eighteen.
CAM- 1	thank you.
DEP	Critter five ninety two, turn left heading three three zero.
RDO- 2	three three zero, five ninety two.
CAM- 1	three three zero .**
CAM- 1	six for seven.
CAM- 2	six for seven.
DEP	Critter five ninety two, turn left heading three zero zero. join the WINCO transition. climb and maintain one six thousand.
RDO- 2	three zero zero the heading. join the WINC at sixteen thousand, Critter five ninety two.
CAM- 1	*****.... clear left.
CAM- 2	[sound of cough]
CAM- 1	**. lets turn on the radar. ***.
CAM- 2	got something out there about eighty miles out.
CAM- 1	OK.
CAM- 2	that must be that thunderstorm.
CAM- 1	there's a break here like.. *.
CAM- 1	I'd hate to be in this thing at a hundred and eight thousand and in through this weather.

CAM- 2	yeah.
CAM- 2	[sound of cough]
CAM- 2	you don't want to hold them down for a while, did ya ?
CAM- 1	no, they're OK for right now.
PA-2	flight attendants, departure check please.
CAM- 1	we're turbulence **.
CAM- 1	what was that?
CAM- 2	I don't know.
CAM- 1	** ('bout to lose a bus?)
CAM- 1	we got some electrical problem.
CAM- 2	yeah.
CAM- 2	that battery charger's kickin' in. ooh, we gotta.
CAM- 1	we're losing everything.
DEP	Critter five nine two, contact Miami center on one thirty two forty five, so long.
CAM- 1	we need, we need to go back to Miami.
CAM-1	fire, fire, fire, fire [from female voices in cabin]
CAM-1	we're on fire, we're on fire.
CAM- 1	** to Miami.
DEP	Critter five ninety two contact Miami center, one thirty two forty five.
RDO- 2	uh, five ninety two needs immediate return to Miami.
DEP	Critter five ninety two uh, roger, turn left heading two seven zero. descend and maintain seven thousand.
RDO- 2	two seven zero, seven thousand, five ninety two.
DEP	what kind of problem are you havin'.
CAM- 1	fire.
RDO- 2	uh, smoke in the cockp... smoke in the cabin.
DEP	roger.
CAM- 1	what altitude?
CAM- 2	seven thousand.
CAM-1	OK, we need oxygen, we can't get oxygen back there.
CAM-1	ba, is there a* way we could test them? [sound of clearing her voice]
DEP	Critter five ninety two uh, when able to turn left heading two five zero. descend and maintain five thousand.
RDO- 2	two five zero seven thousand.
CAM-1	completely on fire.
CAM- 2	outta nine.
RDO- 2	Critter five ninety two we need the uh, closest airport available.
DEP	Critter five ninety two, they're gonna be standing standing by for you. you can plan....
DEP	.. contact Miami approach on, correction you, you, keep on my frequency.
DEP	American nine sixty turn left heading two seven zero, join the WINCO transition.
	END of RECORDING

What were the last words of the passengers on that flight?

Life is short and it becomes shorter when we are faced with our own death. We will never know what the passenger thought as their last thought or said as their last words.

What would our last words be in the moment when we are faced with our departure for this life?

Would we be able to say that we ran a good race, like the Apostle Paul says in the verse I quoted.

Does each one of us know our destination after we depart from this life?

What was the core message that the Apostle Paul spoke to us about? He talked to us about that we are sinners. That we inherently sin. If he had known he had stated that we have the genetic disposition of being a sinner.

But then he told his entire life that we can choose our destination: if we recognize that we need forgiveness and if we recognize God and His son (who gave his life for us) and if we are willing to repent from the bottom of our heart, we are promised that we will see eternal Glory.

If you have never given your life to Christ, can you hear God calling you right now. Can you hear the whispering voice of Christ saying: "I have died for your sins . . . come follow me."

When we utter our last words, I want us to know that we depart from this life, but that we retire into an everlasting life.

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Last Words sermon by Manfred Schreyer

Last Words
sermon by Manfred Schreyer