What do You want on your tombstone?
"What do you want on your Tombstone?," an executioner asks a condemned man. "Cheese and pepperoni," the man replies in a memorable television commercial for the fastest-growing frozen pizza manufacturer in the United States.
Listen to these phrases on some tombstones:
1. “Here lies Anne Mann. Who lived an old maid, but died an old Mann.”
2. “Beneath this sod, a lump of clay lays Arabella Young; who on the 21st of May began to hold her tongue.”
3. “The children of Israel wanted bread, the Lord sent them Manna. Old Clark Wallace wanted a wife, the devil sent him Anna.”
4. Here lies Johnny Yeast- ‘Forgive me for not rising.’
5. “Here lies Butch, we planted him raw. He was quick on the trigger but slow on the draw.”
6. “Under the sod and under the trees, lies the body of Jonathan Peas. He’s not there, there’s only the pod. Peas shelled out and went to God.”
from a sermon by Chuck Swindoll.
These are all pretty funny, but if you had to boil the essence of your life down to a phrase on your tombstone what would it be? He was greedy. She was an angry person. She loved animals. Enoch has the grestest of all in my mind - "He walked with God." Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 5:21-24.
When I mention walking with God what thoughts and feelings come to mind? Is it desireable? That will depend upon how you view God. If you think he is a divine killjoy than it will not be attractive to you at all. Many view God this way. They think God will take all the fun out of life if I walk with Him. Let me lay down some biblical truthes you must believe if walking with God is desireable for you.
1. God is good.
2. Every good gift comes from God
3. He will keep nothing good from us. (by his rules)
4. God richly provides everything for our enjoyment.
5. In his presence is fulness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore.
I What does it mean to walk with God?
a. Walking by faith 2 Cor. 5:7
-The results are not always evident immediately
Fishing or Drinking ill.
1. Believe that God exists
2. Believe He desires to be found 1 Chron. 28:9, Jer. 29:13
3. Believe everything He says is true.
b. Walking implies Agreement Amos 3:3
1. Going the same way, the same speed, in harmony
Man and his wife arguing in the store ill.
2. Must agree with God you are a sinner in need a Savior.
c. Walking implies Holiness
1. God walks on the Highway of Holiness
2. 1 John 1:5-7
3. Be ye holy for I am holy 1 Peter
4. How? Control Your thought life
-By restricting your intake
-By controlling previous intake
Keep your Private Life Right so not just people but God can say of you - They walked with God.
d. Walking implies a desire to be together (time alone)
e. Walking means communion or fellowship
-The Hebrew word for walk means "Be conversant"
1980 Strongs Concordance
1. Talking - Or Prayer
2. Listening - For the voice of God
3. Thinking about the loved one and what they said. (Meditation)
4. Reading love letters - The Word of God
f. Walking is Progressive
Your spiritual life is like being on an escalator
if you are not moving forward you are going backward.
-We are not walking around the block with God we are going to a destination.
g. Walking must be Perpetual - Keep on going
1. Enoch started at 65, at the birth of his son
2. He walked with God 300 years.
Conclusion: I want you to reflect on your walk with God. Many of your have walked with God over several years. Write down the lessons you have learned in your walk with God. Email or give it to me next week.
I had about 10 written down. One example is - Keep your conscience clear because it is the way God deals with you.
