Our Life After Death: Leaving a Godly Legacy

A Godly Legacy and your goals and become the godly men and women that God wants you to be and to prosper in your life and to enjoy the goals that God will help you reach. So we do mourn Dr. Stanley's passing, but we celebrate his reception in heaven and his joy at seeing Jesus face to face. And though his life on this earth is over, the impact of his life of faithfulness to our Savior continues in the lives of countless people.

We have grown closer to Jesus through his devotion to God and his faithful preaching of the gospel. In keeping with Dr. Stanley's lifelong determination to help us understand how to let Christ in us live through us, we offer today's message, A Godly Legacy. When your life here on earth is over physically, how do you want to be remembered?

What do you want people to say about you? What difference will it have made that you even lived? And what will you leave behind that has an everlasting value?

What will you leave behind that cannot lose its value? Will there be anyone on earth left whose eternal destiny you had a part in changing, bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? You see, our life's going to keep living even after we're gone. And the title of this message is Our Life After Death. And when I think about so many verses in the Bible about death, let me just quote a few of them instead of you turning to several of them. And think about what Paul said in the very beginning about this whole issue of death. He says, the wages of sin is death.

That's what all started. Then you'll recall that he said, for those of us who are children of God, that death is like going asleep in Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean we'll sleep in the grave some thousands of years, but rather that we go to sleep at night, we wake up the next morning conscious of a whole new day.

That's the way it'll be when we pass away. Then you'll recall he said, when Jesus was talking to Martha and she was concerned about the fact that Jesus didn't show up on time to save her brother from death. Jesus said to her, even though we die, we shall also live. Then you'll recall in First Corinthians chapter fifteen there was fifty-eight verses, forty-six of them Paul spent in talking about our life after death.

He talked about the promise of our resurrection. So that all through Scripture, for those of us who are believers, death is certainly not the end of anything. Just our physical existence here on this earth, but not the end of our life. You're going to live somewhere after you die. And the truth is, one of those places you're going to live, that is through somebody, because of the life that you're living now. You're going to live through somebody even after you die. And the issue is, what kind of life are you going to leave? What will be the message of your life?

What kind of legacy are you going to leave? Because you see the truth is, life is a gift of God. Think about it for a moment. The very reason that you're alive is because God gave you the privilege of the gift of life. And He gave you a body, a soul and a spirit. He has equipped you with the skills and abilities and talents that you need to accomplish His purpose and plan for your life. He has a will for your life and that will is very clear. The problem is that oftentimes many people do not even begin to ask the question, what is God's personal will for my life? It's very clear in the Scripture what His will is for all of us universally. What is His purpose and plan for your life?

Why did He place you here? Somebody says, well, I was an accident. No, you weren't. Somebody says, well, I'm a nobody.

No, you're not. You're somebody in God's eyes. The question is why. What is God's purpose? And it's very clear in Scripture. And you'll recall that Paul said in Ephesians chapter two, eight, nine and ten, he says, for by grace you've been saved through faith, that not of yourselves.

It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Then he says, for we are His creation in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works, which He foreordained that you and I should walk in them. So one of the purposes of God in your life and mine is that we would live a life of good works. And then you'll recall he said to Timothy, he says, instruct those to whom you're speaking and tell them to be rich in good works. That is, God intends for every single one of us to live out our lives in good works.

What is that? That is living a life in such a fashion that the way we invest our life is in those things that bring honor and glory to God. And this is why he said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now oftentimes what we're concerned about most of all is how long we live. We think, for example, to have good works and to have a lasting legacy, we have to live a long time.

But if you notice in the Scripture, it isn't how long we live that God is interested in primarily, but it's how we live our life, not how long we live it. And so what I want to talk about in this message is simply this, our life after death. Because usually what we think about is what's going to happen when I get to heaven or if I miss heaven, what am I looking forward to out there or what's going to be my plight, eternal separation from God. I want us to think about your life after you've left this life that still remains in this life because all of us are still going to be here to some degree.

For example, what is a believer but a person who has received Jesus Christ as personal Savior and one through whom Jesus Christ is still living His life. He's living on the inside of us. Our life is an expression of who He is. And so when it comes to the length of life, it's not how long you live, it's how you live your life.

You're building that legacy. You're living it out. And so often we think about, well, when I die this and when I die that, the truth is what about right now. It's the life that you and I are living right now that really matters. And when I think about how long we live and think about just the few people that I know who lived a very short life and in spite of that, what they left behind has been so powerful, so penetrating, so life-changing, so awesome when it comes to the way it has affected their life. You say, well, but I'm not one of those persons and God couldn't use me that way.

Oh, yes He can. What we oftentimes do, we want to minimize who we are. Sometimes I think it's because we don't want the responsibility that we have of living a godly life. We don't want the responsibility of giving account for life and simply saying, well, you know, I don't have very many talents and I don't have much skill and not much ability and I don't have a lot of money and what could I leave?

You know what? God has a purpose and a plan for your life. And He intends to live it out through you. And He intends for you to live a legacy that will affect people long after you and I are gone.

Remembering Dr. Charles Stanley. My grandfather was a preacher and he was an evangelist and I didn't see him but a few times in life. And I went to see him the week before, about two weeks before I went to college.

I just wanted to talk to my granddad. So, I spent a week with him sitting on the screened-in back porch in Silas City, North Carolina. And I just had lots of questions. In that week, he laid down four principles that he didn't even realize. He told me four experiences that God had worked in his life that absolutely set the stage and the direction for my life. They've been four basic principles that have governed my decision-making process, direction of my life. I could never, never thank him enough. And I never had the opportunity to do so because I think I didn't quite realize the impact he was having. But if someone said to me, and I mean this sincerely, if someone said to me, Would you take a million dollars or the four principles your granddad laid down, there would be no comparison to me.

Those four principles have been the most awesome legacy he could possibly have left me. Think about this. Let's say you live to be eighty years of age, which was a good age, maybe ninety-five or a hundred, who knows? Then you turn around and you look at your life.

God's blessed you here and answered prayer and so forth and then you're going to die. This is why I say to you over and over again, write it down. What I wouldn't give, in fact, you can't stack up enough money for what I would give.

If I had a day by day or even week by week running account of my grandfather's relationship to Jesus Christ and how God worked in his life, there is no amount of money that you could put over here that would cause me to choose that versus that one book. Think about this. God's answered your prayer, met your needs, worked in your life. You never wrote it down. You never penned it. Somehow it wasn't important enough to you to recall it, to take the time to write it down or whatever it might be. Think about this.

Do you realize what you have cheated your children and your grandchildren out of? Imagine them, listen, picking up, picking up a book or two books or as a fellow stopped me right at the first service, he said, See this? As she denotes, he said, I've got twenty years of notes from your sermons.

Think about what you would leave your children, your grandchildren, and all you've done is put a date on it and said, Here's what God did for me today. He's answered my prayer. I'm going through a very difficult time. I feel down today. And they find out how you felt, how they feel.

They say, Well, that's the way I feel. God answered his prayer, her prayer. Maybe he'll do that. You see, you can't afford to just soak up the blessing after blessing after blessing from God and just ignore it. Forget it. You're leaving a legacy. You're leaving a legacy.

Now, whether you want to or not, you're leaving it. And the question is, what will it be? What are you going to leave your children? What are you going to leave your grandchildren? What are you going to leave your friends, people who know you, people who watched you from a distance that you never knew were watching you? Your life is going to live on after you're gone. And sometimes it's going to live on for generation after generation after generation, depends on what it is. Sometimes it'll end out there quickly because nobody will want to repeat what they've seen or what they've heard. The question is this. You're going to leave something.

What is it? And remember, you're building it now. And the legacy you leave will be a reflection of the life that you lived. Selfish, self-centered, generous, free, godly, compassionate, love, and concern for the world who needs Christ. Tell me anything any more impacting than leaving a legacy that not only is a good testimony to your children and grandchildren, but leaving a legacy that helps to promote the gospel generation after generation after generation after generation.

Because you made yourself available under good works for the kingdom of God. In the very beginning, for example, when Andy and Becky were very small, in fact, before they even understood what I was talking about, I'd get out of the bed at nighttime, and I would say to them, now, we want to ask God to show you His will for your life. Well, they didn't even know what the will of God was. But I wanted to be sure that in their little mind, they could never remember the first time I ever said, we want to find out what God's will is for your life and you to be obedient to God and find out what His will is. And at night after night after week after month after year after year, and you know what? When they were teenagers, I'd still get out of the bed and we'd still talk about and pray. And you know what? I've left them something I don't ever have to worry about.

I know that they're both walking in the will of God. That's what they heard from me. I didn't talk about money, except to be wise with money later on. But the first thing they heard from me is to find out what God's will is for your life and to be obedient to God. It'll always turn out best for you. So if I left them nothing else, couldn't leave them anything any more valuable than that. When I think about how many singles there are out there, how many young couples, you're looking at your life and looking at your future, tell me, how can you build a greater legacy?

How can you invest your life? Listen, any more powerfully than to say, Lord, here we are. We'll go where you want us to go, do what you want us to do, be what you want us to be. But God, we're not willing to waste our lives. Think about this. God said He created you and me for the purpose of good works that will bring Him glory and honor.

This city is full of singles. I think about the awesome potential for the missionary outreach to the whole world. Somebody says, well, but I'm sixty years of age. You know what? You make the best kind of missionary. What do you know at twenty years of age?

Not much. But then you've had enough heartache, troubles, trials, your faith has been tested enough, now you know that He's the source of your strength. And it just may be, listen, that God's just primed you up and matured you to make an awesome, indelible impression upon others for Jesus Christ now that you're willing to surrender your total being to Him and see what He'll do. Somebody says, oh, but wait a minute. And I hear this all the time, people. When we come to talking about the will of God, they'll say, but I'm afraid.

Afraid of what? But suppose this and suppose that and suppose that. Let me ask you a question. Would Almighty God who loves you unconditionally call you to do anything He wouldn't equip you to do? No. Would He call you and never provide for you? No. Would His call upon your life be a mistake? No.

Would He be by your side every step? Yes. Provide every need? Yes. Show you exactly what to say? Yes. Show you where to go? Yes.

Make your life count? Yes. Bring Him glory?

Yes. Tell me one reason to be afraid of obeying God. Did He not say, I've not given you the spirit of fear, but of love, of power, and of a sound mind? I challenge you to ask God, Lord, how do You want to use me for the rest of my life? How do You want to invest our lives, husband and wife? How do You want to invest our lives for the rest of our life in such a way that Your precious Word will resound throughout this world? How do You want to use us in somebody's life, some people's lives, on the lives of many people to know Jesus Christ as their Savior? Answer that question. Here's what happens.

Watch this. The more intimate your relationship to Jesus Christ, the less selfish you're going to be, the less self-centered you're going to be, the less greedy you're going to be, and the more concerned and compassionate and loving and kind and sensitive you're going to be. What kind of person do you want to be? How do you want to either spend or invest your life that brings Almighty God glory and honor and magnifies His Son, Jesus Christ?

Celebrating the life of Dr. Stanley. Well, if you obey God, it's not always going to be easy. In fact, sometimes you think you just can't do it. But that's when you have to have the courage to believe that God is who He says He is and that He'll do what He says He'll do. And I've lived long enough and I've been a Christian long enough and a pastor long enough to know this, you can leave all the consequences that you face before God. And He will always be there to walk you through it. And I've been through situations and circumstances, if somebody had told me I was going to face them, I'd say no.

But by leaving all the consequences to Him, what you're saying is this. You're saying, God, I trust You. I believe that You're big enough.

I believe that You're loving enough. I believe that You have the power to take care of whatever happens as a result of my obedience to what You've told me to do. Now, you have to be sure that it's not just your opinion or what you want to do, but has God told you? Has God spoken to you? And so, the next question is, well, how will I know? Listen carefully. Anybody who is a believer, a follower of Jesus, who wants to know the truth, God will show you the truth and show you what to do. Now, if that becomes a habit in your life, it's only because He challenges you to listen to Him and obey Him, you do it.

If you fudge a little bit and say, well, I know. Whatever He tells you to do, do exactly what He tells you. And then think about this. You've obeyed God who controls everything.

He's in control of everything. You have obeyed Him and now you're trusting Him to be the God that He says He is in the Word of God, which you and I read and believe. If you'll begin purposely obeying God in a difficult time in your life, here's what you're going to discover.

You're going to discover this is the way to live. You may get disappointed, but it won't be because He didn't keep His Word. I don't think I'd change any major decision of my life since I learned that truth. I can't think that I would.

I don't, I can't name one that I would change. Because God is faithful and God is true to His Word. Trust Him. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. You can't ever go wrong trusting God. And that's my prayer for you.

So, let's pray. Father, we thank You for being who You are. Awesome, wonderful, encouraging Father.

I pray that every person who has watched this interview, if they take away nothing, let them take away that simple truth. You're a trustworthy God. Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, awesome, loving, heavenly Father.

You can be trusted in every single circumstance. May that truth sink deep in their hearts to recognize there is no better way to live than to live trusting You and believing that You'll always keep Your Word. In Jesus' name, amen. You're listening to In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. In times of heartache, it's easy to think that God has abandoned you.

But He is active even when you can't see direct evidence of His presence. So as you reflect on your life, remember and believe that you can't ever go wrong trusting God. I hope you'll stay with us to hear the answer Dr. Stanley gave to a poignant question at the end of today's program. Has Dr. Stanley touched your life? If you'd like to share a brief story, post your thoughts on our commemorative page at intouch.org. And that's where you can take a look at how we're celebrating his life in ministry and listen to this radio program again, intouch.org. Portions of today's program were taken from Dr. Stanley's message titled, Our Life After Death, Leaving a Godly Legacy. You can order that complete sermon without the interview segments at intouch.org. If you prefer, you can write to us at In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia, 30357.

Or call 1-800-IN-TOUCH. From an interview he gave in 2018, here's Dr. Stanley's response to the question, what do you want people to say about you after you're gone? Ah, you let me, you know, I hadn't thought about that necessarily. But, I'd want them to say he believed that the most important truth in his life was obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. And it appears from what we see and heard that's the way He lived. I'd like for it to be that way. In remembrance of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.