Famous Last Words

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All right, you ready? I came across a post the other day about David Cassidy. You probably haven't heard that name in a while and some of you may not know who. David Cassidy, teen heartthrob from the Partridge family. Feathered hair, bell bottoms, and I think he had a fan club bigger than the entire population of Delaware. I mean, this guy was just everywhere back in the day.

Well, he would have turned 75 last Saturday, but sadly he died back in his 60s after years of battling alcohol and drug addiction. But what really struck me about the story wasn't just the tragedy of his life, which is really sad, but it was the report of his last words. According to his daughter, his final words were, so much wasted time.

So much wasted time. And it's hard, doesn't it? And it got me thinking, and here we are, Easter, just days away, when the most famous last words in history were spoken. Jesus on the cross as he gave his life for us said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And that contrast stopped me in my tracks. I mean, you know, one man's last words were filled with such regret and the other with resolve and reunion.

So here's my question for you. If you had the chance, because, you know, sometimes we don't, but if you had the chance to choose your last words, what would you want them to be? And I wanted to share a few that have been documented over the years by some famous people and just look at the contrast, look at what some people did.

Steve Jobs, for example, founder of Apple. His sister said that his last words, oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. Kind of mysterious, isn't it? I mean, you know, it kind of makes you wonder what he was thinking about. Leonardo da Vinci, he said, I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.

That's rather, wow, I mean, that's Leonardo da Vinci. Winston Churchill, still being Churchill at the very end, said, I'm bored with it all. Karl Marx, the one who gave us communism, he said, I think it was to his housekeeper, go on, get out. Because she had asked, she knew he was close to death and asked, do you have any last words? He said, go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough. And Frank Sinatra, the chairman of the board, tonight, he said, I'm losing it.

I'm losing it. But I want to read to you some last words from some Christians. William Tyndale, you know, he translated the Bible. He was burned at the stake. And as he was dying, he cried out, Lord, open the King of England's eyes. What an amazing prayer in the same heart that Jesus expressed when he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

Here, the King of England is burning this man at the stake and he's praying for him. Lord, open his eyes. D.L. Moody, do you know what he said?

How telling of D.L. Moody. Earth recedes. Heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet.

Isn't that amazing? That just gives you chills. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this is the end for me, the beginning of life as he was being executed by the Nazis. John Wesley, the best of all is, God is with us. He repeated it twice. The best of all, God is with us. Those were his last words. And one of my favorites, are you ready? You better sit down.

Are you sitting down? Charles Spurgeon. He said, Jesus died for... I can't even hardly get it out. He said, Jesus died for me. Those were his last words. Stunning, isn't it?

Look at the contrast. Couple more, Groucho Marx, who I've loved his comedy. He said that last words, allegedly what he said was, Die, my dear.

Why, that's the last thing I'll do. Oscar Wilde, who was a playwright and quite witty, said, either that wallpaper goes or I do. And he supposedly died in a rundown Paris hotel.

James Dean, right before his fatal car crash in 1955, he was 24. He said, that guy's got to stop. He'll see us. Those are the last words he spoke.

But then, let's switch gears back to men of faith. John Newton, who gave us amazing grace, that wonderful hymn. You know what his last words were? I am still in the land of the dying.

I shall be in the land of the living soon. Thomas A. Kempis, who's the author of The Imitation of Christ. His last words, Lord, I place myself entirely in your hands. Charles Wesley, John Wesley's brother. Charles Wesley, who was one of my all-time favorite hymn writers. He wrote, Love divine, all loves excelling, and can it be that I should gain.

I mean, just some of the best hymns ever written. And he said this, his last words were, I shall be satisfied with thy likeness. Satisfied.

Satisfied. And then, Stephen, the first martyr. You remember that story? And he said, they were stoning him. And he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried out, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Again, the same thing Tyndale was praying for the King of England for his eyes to be opened. Stephen's praying for the ones who were killing him to don't hold this against them, Lord.

Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. We're talking about last words. What do we want our last words to be? What do we want people to remember as we leave this place? Have you ever given this any thought?

I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. We'll be right back. Truth Talk Live! You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. I am Peter Rosenberg. Glad to be with you today. If you'd like to weigh in, the number to call is 866-34-TRUTH.

That's 866-348-7884. And today's topic, what we talked about in the last block, famous last words. And of course, you know, what got me thinking about this was Jesus' last words on the cross. As we reflect on Easter this week and he said into my hands, I commit my spirit. And that was after he had said a few other things, particularly of note is, Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing. He said to the thief on the cross. He extended grace.

He said, today you'll be with me in paradise. He said to John to take care of his mother. Mother, behold your son.

Son, behold your mother. By the way, on a side note, I remember doing an interview many years ago with a reporter and it was not a Christian article. But for whatever reason, the reporter asked me, what would Jesus do as a caregiver? And, you know, I'd do a radio show for caregivers. I'd write books for caregivers. I said, what would Jesus do as a caregiver?

And I responded, I don't know what he would do. I know what he did do, which was he saw to the needs of his mother, even from the cross. He stayed on mission for what he was called to do and sit here to do by his father.

But he saw to the needs of his mother. And that's always struck me as how poignant from the cross. And then his final words, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And, you know, I can't help but contrast that with things that I've heard from documented accounts of well-known people before they passed away. And as I said in the last block, I read this article about David Cassidy, the teen heartthrob, and his last words were reported by his daughter to say, so much wasted time. Now, we don't always get to pick what our last words are going to be. I mean, sometimes things happen so quickly and, you know, people don't know. I look at Todd Beamer, for example, but look at his last words on Flight 93 on 9-11, let's roll.

And his last words were a call to action to save the lives of people he would never meet, at least not on this earth. And it's astonishing to see kind of where people's, what comes out in moments like this. I asked Gracie this the other day before she went into surgery, and this was her, I mean, she's had now 94. She said, we've been here in the hospital for three months.

She's had at least six surgeries, they start to run together, and a lifetime surgery now of 94. And I asked her, how do you feel? Now, when you go under anesthesia that many times and you've had what she's had, you don't take for granted that you're going to come out of this thing. And so the word or words that she would utter would have great significance. And you know what she said?

I said, Gracie, how do you feel? And she said, she looked at me and she went, resolute, which is an extraordinary thing. And the week before she'd had surgery and I had prayed, I said, Lord, 91 is too many.

This was going in for 91st surgery, she had three more since then. I said, 91 is too many. And she said to me after we prayed, she said, no, it's not. It's however many he decides. What he thinks is necessary. Those are pretty powerful words, aren't they? And I thought, you know, we don't get to pick and choose this, but at the same time, if we are thinking of the things of God, as Paul said in Philippians, remember when he said, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2, 5, I believe. And if that is ever present in our mind, I don't think we have to worry about what our last words are going to be. Because if we're thinking kingdom thoughts all the time, I think it's just going to be an extension of us. I think if scripture alludes to this and then the testimony of so many others who have gone before us, prove that.

Spurgeon, for example, as I said in the last book, I mean, I get choked up thinking about it. That's his last words on this earth was, he died for me. I mean, what a testimony. And I think the challenge for me is to learn from that, to say, you know, if this is something that is ever present on my mind, will that come out in the valley of the shadow of death? Will that come out in a sick bed or going to your 94th surgery when Gracie looks at me and she said, I'm resolute and no, this is not too many surgeries.

It's whatever he decides. It's incredibly thought provoking to see these things and to see, do we have that heavenly view of the kingdom view of life? Or are we embroiled in worldly matters?

We're called to not be a part of this, to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And I would I would think that that would be the foundational truth that would anchor us when things hit us, when we are faced with stuff. Now, you never know.

Like I said, you never know. You may not have a moment to gather your thoughts. But scripture teaches, it seems so very clear throughout scripture that our minds need to be shifted upwards on the things of God. And if that is our constant thought process of coming back to that, when we get off track, when we realize, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, we're not thinking as God thinks, we're thinking as man thinks. Is this God's view or is this man's view? Is this kingdom view or is this world view? And once we see the delineation there, then no matter what comes our way, even when we get frightened or scared or dismayed or whatever, that we will be anchored back in scripture. Is this your experience?

Is this something you're seeing? And I'd like to hear your thoughts on that if you want to call in 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. And also, while I'm on the subject of Gracie, I would also encourage you to go out to the Web site, PeterRosenberger.com, read our latest blog about why I didn't call in sick. And I think you'll find it very meaningful. It's she's been doing a regular blog series on my page about pain, about just dealing with chronic pain. She ought to know. She's been dealing with it for 42 years. And I think you'll find it to be a very insightful piece.

And then I've got while you're there, you can click onto my Substack pages right there on the page there as well. And you'll see an article about what her physical therapist wrote on her whiteboard. You know, patients, when you're in the hospital, they put a they often have a whiteboard right in front of you. And it tells the nurse's name that's on duty for that day and the CNA and so forth and sometimes even put the calendar day.

So because you can get very disoriented. Believe me, when you spend three months in the hospital, you can lose track of where your days are. And I have a calendar that I put on the wall. It's the caregiver calendar that I made. It's pictures of where we live in Montana.

It's extraordinarily beautiful. And I put one for every season and the one that's on there now for April. And you can still get these if you want and go out to the website and find out how the one that's on there for April. I took on Good Friday of last year and it says his scarred hand holds my scared hand. But then her physical therapist wrote something for Gracie to do. May surprise you on her whiteboard. And I'll give you a hint.

It's not about physical therapy, at least not in the conventional sense. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. If you want to be a part of the program, give us a call.

We'll be right back. Truth Talk Live! You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com Welcome back to Truth Talk Live! I am Peter Rosaburger, glad to be with you.

If you want to be a part of the program, the number to call is 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. And I was reflecting on, again, all these things going on with Easter, a lot of celebrations going on and people get excited. For me, on Saturday, after Good Friday and before Easter Sunday services, I'll take time to watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. And I usually watch it alone. And it's difficult to watch. But it captures so magnificently what happened. But you can't help but reflect on it. And I think about these last words. Of course, this was inspired when I just saw a mention of David Cassidy and his last words were so much... I don't want that to be mine.

I have no idea. I hope that my goal is to flood my mind with the things of God so that I'm not having to scramble at the last of what to say. That I've been saying it all along. You've heard the old joke of, hey, y'all watch this. That's not what I'm talking about. And there are always those comedians and so forth of people. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're tragic, sometimes they're weird. But I think as people of faith, in that moment, are we preaching still at that moment?

And you think about Stephen and being stoned and saying, Lord, don't hold this against him. Lady Jane Grey. I don't know if you know her or not. She was 17 years old and she unwillingly took the throne and then married a tutor that had her executed.

Unfairly. It was a real tragic story. 17 years old and she was standing on the scaffold. And she said, I die a true Christian woman trusting in the blood of Christ and none other. 17. And she put her head down on the block.

That's pretty powerful, isn't it? Perpetua. She was in the third century and she was executed in the arena. And there was a soldier that came up and was to stab her. She didn't say anything to him. And the legend has it, and I believe it's a pretty accurate story, that the soldier tried to stab her because when the animals were out there eating them, if they left them there unattended and they were bleeding out, the soldiers would sometimes go out and stab them. But anyway, she was out there and the soldiers, and he got real nervous and he kind of missed.

And she stood there, she calmly, she took the blade and she put it against her throat and looked at him in the eye. Never. I mean, what courage. And I think about that a lot, those kinds of things, and we don't see that kind of courage being modeled in today's world in our Western culture, but I think about our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who've been butchered as of just in the last several months. This pastor down in South Africa, they got him back safely.

I don't know if you've been following this or not. He's from Tennessee, from Merrillville, Tennessee, I believe, and 34 years old. And a rescue group went in there and got him and they were out to kill all the assailants, but he was taken away at gunpoint. Wife and a bunch of little children, and they took him away in shock and they're terrified.

And he's back safely, and I imagine we're going to hear a lot of his story coming up. But I look at that kind of intense moments. Where does our mind go? And then, as I said in the last block, Gracie's got the calendar, the caregiver calendar that I made, and for this month, it's that picture I took last Palm Sunday.

I remember driving home, I mean, Good Friday, I mean, and it was a year ago, and I saw the sunlight beaming down over the fields there, the horses were out there, and I looked in the hills, and it just, it was a beautiful shot. And I put a phrase that I coined 10 years ago in my book, Hope for the Caregiver, and it's, his scarred hand holds my scared hand. His scarred hand holds my scared hand.

It's not how tight I grasp him, it's how tight he grasps me. That quote is one of several that will be in a new book that I've got coming out this summer, it'll be out in August, and it is, it's called, excuse me, it's called a Caregiver's Companion. And what we've done is we've just collected a bunch of different quotes and things I've said over the years in my books, in my writing, in my show, and I married those with a scripture or a hymn, stanza, that I felt like punctuated what that was all about, and that this book will be out very soon, in August, I believe, and I, if you want to find out more about that or be notified when it comes out, I'd love for you to go out and take a look at it, and it's at caregiver.com.

You can sign up for our e-letter, and you'll get notifications like of Gracie's blog that I mentioned. I've got a piece in foxnews.com this Saturday that hits about Easter, and I think you're going to be very proud of this piece and to share it with people because I really want you to have an understanding of Easter from a believer's point of view. There are a lot of people who look at Easter and just look at it as kind of just another holiday, we go out and have Easter egg hunts and bunnies and all that kind of stuff, but for us, I mean, this is it.

I mean, it's because of the resurrection and what that means. And so I've got all these quotes in there, and I think you'll enjoy this, but sign up for that e-letter. We only send out one a month. We're not going to hit you with a bunch of stuff in your inbox here because that's too much work for everybody. So we just want to be able to notify you when things are going on. And I've got, like I said, a different thing.

I'll give you one of them. Here's a quote I've been saying this for years. Be well, be safe, behave. Be well, be safe, behave. And then I put a scripture with that from Titus, which it says, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. Be well, be safe, behave.

That's pretty good advice for any situation, isn't it? And so that's the kind of thing that's going to be in there. And I will give you, I'll go ahead and tell you what this is.

You can go out to the page and look at my website and just click on the Substack page. You'll see the article I mentioned about what's on your whiteboard. But Gracie's physical therapist wrote this because she saw, Gracie is a singer. She's been a singer since she was just a little girl, in public doing this, and she's a very good singer. And her physical therapist saw that Gracie needed to have that direction to go, and she wrote on the board, sing, three times a day. And she's been pretty much stuck in a hospital. She gets up a little bit, but now she can't even wear her left prosthesis for another three weeks.

I don't think we'll have to be down here that long. She can't do it, but she can sing. And her voice is a little scratchy because she's had seven surgeries in the last three months. But she's doing it, singing, lifting up her voice, even from her sick bed. And that's pretty good advice for anybody, isn't it? And it's amazing that her therapist saw that.

Her physical therapist, who's been really great to work with, she's worked with her for the last four years, and she's gotten to know Gracie pretty well, but she saw that's what drives her, that's what pushes her. That's what lifts her eyes. What lifts your eyes? What lifts your head? You know that scripture, lift up your heads, oh, to the coming king. Are we seeing it at man's level?

Are we looking higher? And all these quotes that I've been giving you from all these different people, it was because of, this is what's, they saw something greater. And it sustained them, for some of them, in just the most horrific of circumstances. What does that for you?

What lifts your head? What scripture comes to mind? What hymn text? What floods through your mind with all things? I was talking to someone who had just an incredible disappointment. I mean, his whole world just collapsed on him. And in that moment, he told me later, he said, deliver me this news. He said, the only thing that came to my mind was, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul. And I said, when the worst news possible comes at you, you're going to be okay.

How about you? 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884 will be right. Truth Talk Live! You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com Welcome back to Truth Talk Live! I am Peter Rosenberger and I am very glad to be with you. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884 if you want to be a part of the program. I wrap all these things up that I've been saying to you today about last words.

And this is why. There's a verse in Hebrews, don't ask me to source it right now, but I will if you force me to. But it says, remember those who spoke the word of the Lord to you, and when appropriate, imitate their faith. Remember those who spoke the word of the Lord to you, and when appropriate, imitate their faith. Well, these people that I mentioned, I mean, I never met any of these people.

I didn't know any of them. But I've studied a lot of their lives, particularly those in Scripture. And, you know, you look at Paul, I am poured out like water. Jesus, Father, forgive them. Into thy hands I commit my spirit.

Stephen, the same thing. And I just go through line after line of those, and then you look at the martyrs, Justin's book of martyrs, if you ever get a chance just to peruse that. I know it sounds kind of morbid, but what I draw from the strength that these people had, and the conviction of who their Savior was and is, and so they were able to face, you know, astonishing things. And I do believe that through His word and even through His providence of people that we encounter in our life, that God will bring people across our path, whether through Scripture, their testimony, or physical encounters, who are people of faith worth imitating.

Look through your life. Who has come into your life whose faith was worth imitating? And I think that's what I look for on these things when I see these things, when I see Charles Wesley and John Wesley, when I see these things about Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Aquinas and all these others who were stalwart, titans of the faith, and it gives me great courage, and I borrow some of theirs.

And when appropriate, Scripture says, imitate their faith, I would think it'd be appropriate. You know, there was somebody that did that for my wife when she was a little girl, and she came into my wife's life and met her through kind of a chance thing. She was staying at a friend's home near where Gracie grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and her aunt said, we're going to go take a Christmas gift to this lady. She's a very special lady who's staying over at a friend's home.

Come and bring it to her. And Gracie was six years old, and so she put on the nicest dress and nice shoes and all of her Sunday stuff. You know, she just looked darling. And she got in the car and went over there, and she met this lady, and she had a very strange accent to Gracie. And she looked at little Gracie, six years old, and she said, is Jesus your friend?

A real thick accent. And Gracie kind of understood her, but she wasn't quite sure. She said, huh?

You know, what do you say? And she asked her again, is Jesus your friend? And Gracie, up to that point, had been asking around a lot about salvation and becoming a Christian. And she got brushed off. People were saying she's too young. We'll talk about it when you get a little older.

We'll just tell you God loves you. But they just kind of brushed her off. And so she blurted out to this woman, well, I want Him to be, but nobody's going to tell me how. And she said, it's a very simple child. It's very simple. And she sat down with her and outlined the plan of salvation using that. Do you remember that thing, the Book of Colors?

They used to do that. You know, beautiful little evangelistic tool. And she outlined that with Gracie and said, see? And Gracie, that day, asked Jesus to be her Savior. Eleven years later, Gracie's laying in a hospital bed after her wreck.

She woke up three weeks after her wreck, her body's in traction, forever broken, forever disabled for the rest of her life. And she thought about that woman and her great faith. She heard this woman spoke to her.

When appropriate, imitate their faith. This woman had faith worth imitating. She had seen horrors that are just indescribable. And Gracie remembered that God sustained her through the midst of the Holocaust. And she was willing to borrow a little bit of her faith to imitate that woman's faith. You know who that was? It was Corrie Ten Boom. You know who she was? She wrote a book called The Hiding Place. And she and her family hid Jews in their home in Holland.

And they were discovered by the Nazis. And Corrie, at age 50, she was a little over 50, went to a concentration camp along with her sister Betsy. Betsy never made it out in that concentration camp and kept pointing Corrie back to God. Her father died on the floor. He was a well-respected businessman on the floor of a little hospital. And they told him he could go back home, and he stood with the Jews.

Many of them were his friends, and he used to debate them and so forth with their weekly meetings, but they were friends. And here towards the latter part of Corrie's life, after all she'd been, she encountered this little girl named Gracie who would need faith worth imitating. She still does. So do I.

So do you. And that's why I look to these people who have done this, and I borrow a little of their courage. And that's why when Gracie goes into her 94th surgery, she says she's resolute and puts her scared hand in his scarred hand. And most importantly, his scarred hand holds her scared hand.

And she's resolute in this. As we go through this weekend, I hope you will take time. Tomorrow night, many churches celebrate a Maundy Thursday service. Take the time.

Many churches have a Good Friday service where they go through the last words of Christ. Stu's about his book with that, and Stu Everson will be on this program on Friday. Listen to it. Take the time. On Saturday, be reflective.

Read my article at foxnews.com. I think you'll be very moved by it. On Sunday morning, rejoice. And if you get a chance, you can go out to our website. Also, you can hear Gracie and Joni Eareckson taught us how to sing Bill Gaither's Because He Lives. It is an exceptional arrangement and version, and I think you will be quite moved by this to hear these two women with a hundred years of disability between them singing Because He Lives, We Can Face Tomorrow. We have been saved from something far worse than any of the deaths mentioned here on this program with these famous last words of people because of the famous last words of one man who said, It is finished. It is accomplished.

It is done. Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit. Because of those words, we can live. And we can deal with whatever comes our way, even to the point of death, as we have seen so many others who have done so.

My friend, that is how we do it. That is what separates us from this world. Jesus said, I came to give you peace, not as the world gives you. The world is not going to find peace in a concentration camp.

The world will not find peace going into the 94th surgery. And I don't know what you are carrying right now, but there is one who carries you, and he says his peace is available to you. He may not take away these things. He certainly hasn't seen to do so in our life.

But he has promised to be with us every step of the way. And he has purposed that all these things must according to the riches of God. It is called the doctrine of divine concurrence. What some mean for evil, God works his divine concurrence to use that sin sinlessly to do something amazing. We saw that with Joseph when he said to his brothers, what you meant for evil, God meant for good. And what they meant for evil when they nailed Jesus to the cross, God purposed that for our good. And we can trust him. That is faith worth imitating.

I have seen example after example after example after example of just that thing. And that gives me great courage. By the way, that verse is in Hebrews 13.7. So, remember those who spoke the word of the Lord to you. Somebody texted. I take credit for all that by myself, so somebody texted that. But that is truth.

And that's Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Would you take a moment, go out to the site, see the things that I have out there for you. PeterRosenberger.com. Sign up for that letter. We'll make sure you get all the information that's coming out. So we'll see you next time.