Transcript & Slides: Ready to Die

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Ready to Die
By David Feddes

What if you just found out that you had a terminal illness? What would you do if you knew that this was your last year? There are some songs and some movies that deal with that premise, and it's also a question worth thinking about for us.

If you happen to be a country music fan, maybe you recall the song Live Like You Were Dying. A guy in his early 40s finds out that he has terminal cancer, and he's asked how that made him feel and how he responded to that. He says, “I was finally the husband that most of the time I wasn't, and I became a friend a friend would like to have. And all of a sudden, going fishing wasn't such an imposition, and I went three times that year I lost my dad. Well, I finally read the good book, and I took a good, long, hard look at what I'd do if I could do it all again. And I went skydiving. I went Rocky Mountain climbing. I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu. And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness that I'd been denying.” And he said, "Some day I hope you get a chance to live like you were dying."

If you don't listen to country music, maybe you watch movies, and you might remember The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. In The Bucket List, there are two men who find out that they have terminal cancer and they're in the same hospital. The character played by Morgan Freeman is a mechanic. The other one, played by Jack Nicholson, is the owner of the hospital—a multi-billionaire. And somehow or other, they decide that they're going to do some things in the time that they have left, knowing they've got this cancer. So they have a bucket list—what they would do if they could before they "kick the bucket."

The mechanic had a bucket list but he didn't have the means and the money to do some of those things. But having made friends with this billionaire, they go and do some of this stuff together. And of course, the billionaire can pay all the bills. But it turns out that it's not just doing all those items that seem kind of exciting and fun to do that you want to do before you kick the bucket—before you die. They both have some issues in their own life with people close to them, and it turns out that those are the things that are most important for them to deal with before death comes.

Not to be a spoiler, but one dies of that disease and the other one goes into remission and lives a pretty long life. Either way, having had to evaluate, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” can be a very helpful thing. Whether you had three months to live or whether it turned out you still had three decades to live.

So whether you're listening to music or watching movies, it can be very profitable to say, “What's on my bucket list? What do I want to experience or accomplish while I still have life? What would I do? How would I live if I knew I were dying—to live like you're dying?”

Well, in our psalm that we're reading today, it says, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days” (Psalm 39:4). It's a prayer for God to help me face death squarely and know that my days are numbered—and then evaluate, “How do I go from here? How would I live in the knowledge that I'm dying?” How would I live if I were going to try to pursue things that are on the bucket list that I have?

This is written by David at a time when he's going through some illness—and a very serious illness evidently—and in a situation where he knows that he has not been a great guy, where he's very conscious of his sins, and where if God just gives him what he deserves, he's going to die—and maybe worse. And he's also got some of God's enemies around. And so he has to be very cautious what he says around them because he doesn't want to make God look bad. So he goes to God himself and talks to God about the situation:

¹ I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” ² So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; ³ my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. ⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

⁶ Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

 ⁷ "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. ⁸ Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. ⁹ I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. ¹⁰ Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. ¹¹ You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth—each man is but a breath.

 ¹² "Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. ¹³ Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more." (Psalm 39:1–13).

Live like you were dying. Be ready to die. What does that involve? I want to highlight five areas. 

Ready to die

• Face reality of death
• Prepare for eternity
• Arrange to bless heirs
• Love and reconcile
• Make your time count

One is simply to face the reality of death and not avoid thinking about it as kind of a depressing topic. Another is to prepare for eternity, because after death we enter into eternity and must deal with God's judgment. And when we die, we leave people behind. What about them? So we make arrangements to bless those whom we leave behind. We arrange to bless our heirs. And in order to be ready to die, there may be relationships that need patching up—not just our relationship with our Creator but also relationships with other people. So, to love the people who are in our life and to reconcile with those from whom we've been divided. And finally, simply make your time count. Don’t waste your life.

Face reality of death

In this psalm, the prayer is this: “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You’ve made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure” (Psalm 39:4–5).

Some folks don't want to think about death. They find it a very depressing topic and so they avoid it as long as possible. Some of them are even doctors who are caring for dying patients and don't want to tell them they're dying. Some are family members who have heard the bad news about somebody else in their family, but we’d hate to bring a depressing thought to them, and so we’re going to kind of pretend that things are more okay than they are. But it's very important for dying people to know they’re dying. And all of us are dying people. So it's important for all of us to pray that prayer: “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days” (Psalm 39:4).

Psalm 90 has a prayer of Moses, and Moses says, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty if our strength endures... Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10,12). The Scriptures have many situations that warn us to keep on thinking about the fact that we don’t last forever, that our life is but a breath.

James writes, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:14–15). Because your life is a mist, you always have to live with that reality—that every schedule can be changed, that every plan can be canceled in a moment if the Lord intervenes in some other way.

And those who find it a little easier to avoid thinking about it will have the reality thrust upon them in one form or another—when a loved one gets very sick or dies, or when you yourself do. So the first thing to do to be ready for death is just to face the fact that either you’re going to die or Jesus is going to return and you're going to face him face to face. You do need to face that reality.

All of us, at one point or another, maybe have a close call. I remember when my son Joel was three. We were out on vacation in Montana, and I just ran out with Joel, going to go for a little ride on the four-wheeler. I started it and took off from behind the van that was parked beside the road—pulled right in front of a car that was coming along—and smack! Got smacked. I heard a screeching of tires. I grabbed Joel and bang. I might not be here. Joel might not be here. But we’re here. That’s how life is. You have one careless moment and it can all end.

It’s better to face that reality than just pretend and pretend and pretend and suddenly have death come and claim us. “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Once we face the reality that we’re going to die, the next step is to face the fact that eternity is what lies beyond death.

Prepare for eternity

Some of you have been seeing a lot of ads about Jesus lately—and they’re good ads. They say that Jesus was a refugee or that Jesus experienced injustice at the hands of an unjust system, and so on. The tagline is “Jesus: He gets us.” That’s an emphasis in Hebrews also. It says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

He gets us. That’s all true—but it’s not the only truth. It’ll be interesting if the ads move on to say, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26), or “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41).

Jesus—he gets us. The ads are good as far as they go. They may be incomplete, and a 30-second ad can’t do everything. But all I’m saying is when you look at Jesus in the light of eternity, there are some things you have to consider besides the fact that Jesus was one of us and understands us. We have to understand that he came into the world to save us from damnation, that he came to give us eternal life.

He said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:38–40).

He came to give us eternal life. When we lose focus on what eternity holds, we’re just being fools. Jesus told that story about the man who planned an early retirement and had lots and lots. He decided that the solution to having too much was to build even bigger storage, and then live off the proceeds. But God said, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (Luke 12:20).

You’re not ready to die if you’re not ready for your soul to face your Maker.

The Bible emphasizes that again and again. We can be ready for eternity only when we’re covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, only when we have the life of God implanted in us by his Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50).

We need the imperishable, eternal life of Jesus Christ in us right now by the Holy Spirit. That life of Christ makes us ready to face Christ. Christ within us enables us to face Christ outside us. The death of Christ makes it possible for us to inherit the eternal life of Christ.

To be prepared for eternity, we need to hear the voice of Jesus. We need to hear the voice of the Scriptures that says, “It is appointed to man once to die, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). So we need to face the reality of death and then prepare for eternity.

If you haven’t prepared for eternity, don’t keep putting off those unpleasant thoughts—that you’re going to die someday. You are going to. And the fact is, beyond that lies either a horrible future and an unending future, or a beautiful and glorious future. There’s nothing more important than being prepared for eternity and to have received eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Make arrangements to bless heirs

You enter eternity when you die. You also leave this life behind, and that’s another important dimension of being ready to die: arranging to bless your heirs and even taking practical steps to do so.

Scripture says—at one point the apostle Paul says this, and it’s not his main point, but it’s just something he says as part of his larger argument—“Children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2 Corinthians 12:14). If you’re a parent, you're aiming to help your children, and you don’t send them a bill. I’ve married off a number of kids now, and there’s something economically very grim about that—just about the time they finally are able to make a little bit of money, they say adios and you don’t get to send them a bill.

But as the Bible puts it, children aren’t obligated to share for their parents, but parents for their children. “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). There’s just something about it—where you want to bless the next generation if you have a healthy love for them and a healthy walk with God.

Sometimes you see the bumper stickers—and I hope most of them are tongue-in-cheek—“I'm spending my kids’ inheritance.” But some people really are. They aren't really that interested in leaving much to those they leave behind. They just want to make sure they have a blast while they last.

There are some parents too who—sometimes through no fault of their own, but sometimes through fault of their own—don’t really keep their kids in mind, or even their own future in mind. So you see another bumper sticker: “I am my parents’ retirement plan.” They didn’t plan for their future years. They didn’t plan for the time when they couldn’t earn anymore, and so their kids are going to be left holding the bill.

Those are some of the dynamics that go into it when parents aren’t really interested in leaving an inheritance for their kids or even in providing for themselves in their senior years. If you're a parent, the fact that you're dying and that you're going to get old and in failing health is just something you have to keep in mind. If possible, save more than you think you need to save for your own future. And hey, if you don’t spend it all, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if your children and grandchildren were blessed by what you leave behind.

There is also, of course, the opposite problem: the kids in the basement in their 30s who are still living off of their parents. They could put this bumper sticker on their cars: “I’m spending my parents’ retirement.”

One attitude is the older generation isn’t really planning or trying to help out the younger one. But you can also have a younger generation that—even if their parents are in a pinch—are the ones putting their parents in a pinch. If they were self-sustaining, their parents would be able to save more than they currently are. But the kids aren’t pulling their own weight, and that can be a problem too.

Whether it’s through the parents’ own fault or not, there are some parents who just do reach senior years and didn’t have much of an income, and they just weren’t able to save adequately for their years when they were in failing health. Then children have to do something to help out their aging parents.

You can’t just say, “Well, didn’t it say in the Bible that parents are supposed to save for their kids, but not kids for their parents?” Well, if you’re the kid, you might want to keep this in mind. The apostle Paul, when he’s writing about taking care of widows, says the church really shouldn’t take care of widows who have Christian relatives, because their relatives should be doing that: “If a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family... Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:4,8).

So yes, ordinarily, if you’re able as a parent to provide for yourself in your latter years and then for your children—do so. But there may be situations where you’re part of that sandwich generation. You’re looking after your kids, and you’re helping to pay for or care for your parents. And then don’t begrudge it. Seek God’s help and help those who are truly in need. Because that’s just part of it—we live a life where we don’t know how long it’s going to last, we don’t know how much health we’re going to have, but “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Some specifics about blessing your heirs. If you say, “Well, I want to be ready to die and face eternity, but I also want to make sure that those I leave behind are in as good a shape as I can arrange for,” then here are some things—some specifics to pay attention to.

Make arrangements to bless heirs

• Buy life insurance for dependents
• Grow assets for old age, inheritance
• Make will: executor, guardian for kids
• Bypass probate: set beneficiaries for each asset, or create a living trust
• Directives for healthcare, finance
• Instructions for organs, body, funeral

First: buy life insurance for your dependents, for those who need your income when you’re gone. If you’re a young parent, or even if you’re just married, you don’t know what your life holds. If you’re married and you leave behind a child and a spouse with no stream of income, you’re leaving them in a very, very difficult position. For very little income, you can buy a ton of insurance when you’re in your younger years—so do so.

Some people say, “Well, you should just trust the Lord.” Well, you don’t trust the Lord by making no provision and no plan for if the Lord takes you out of this life. Because, as the Bible says, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). So plan for that possibility. If there are people you love who count on your income, make sure some of that income is still there if you’re out of the picture.

Another area of planning to bless your heirs is simply to grow your assets—for old age and for an inheritance. If some of your money lasts beyond your old age and you die before the money’s gone, that involves saving. That involves learning about investing and how to do that wisely and well. Grow your assets, because it takes quite a bit of money to be old in today’s society. Sometimes medical expenses are quite high; there are other aspects that can be very high.

You can’t plan for every eventuality. You can’t always make sure every base is covered. You always do need to keep on trusting in the Lord from day to day, and not spending all your time worrying or obsessing: “Oh, what could go wrong? What’s possibly wrong?”

I was doing some of this planning myself recently, and my kids were wondering, “Well, Dad, is something wrong? Are you sick?” No, I’m healthy as a horse. But some plans need to be made. Part of those are financial—plan so that you will have enough to live on yourself, and so that you don’t, if possible, have to depend on getting money from your children. And then it would be glorious if you can leave them a little something to help them out after you’re gone.

Then there’s the paperwork side of it. Make a will. If you are making a will, you need to say, “Who do I want to manage my estate after I’m gone?” You choose an executor in your will. You choose a guardian for any children that aren’t old enough to take care of themselves and make their own decisions. That’s one of the most important things in a will—picking a guardian for who would be in charge of your children if you weren’t around, and if your spouse weren’t around. Those are some of the most important things of a will.

A will also can leave your estate to people, but it's usually not the best way—at least in our state and in our society. A will is not the best way to handle the money part of it. Although your will will say, "What I have I leave to my spouse" or "I leave to children," and so on—your will can say that—but the next important thing is this: bypass probate if you can.

Because if it's just in your will and you leave a lot of assets, the first thing that happens is it goes to probate court. And they hold the assets—sometimes for a good long time, or a bad long time—and they charge a substantial percentage of your assets for holding it in probate. I wasn’t very aware of this. I thought, “Hey, I got a will—that’ll cover it all.” But the fact of the matter is, you don’t want a major asset like your house going into probate. You don’t want major savings going into a probate court.

There are ways to avoid that. I’m no financial advisor, but I will just say this: you don’t want it in probate. Your financial accounts—there are ways to set each account up so that it directly goes to beneficiaries without running through that kind of process. There are ways to leave your property behind—such as a transfer-on-death deed or something similar. Or those who create a living trust just leave their property and designate that their assets are going to go into that living trust and then be divided up as their executor wishes or directs, without going through probate.

Now you say, “Well, why are you talking about that in a sermon?” Well, because you do need to think specifically: what arrangements? When the Lord shows you your life's end and the number of your days (Psalm 39:4), and you’re trying to plan for your heirs, you can’t just say, “Well, I hope something good happens for those I leave behind.” Make arrangements so something good happens for those you leave behind, so they're not stuck in probate court for a bunch of years, not able to get the assets you intended for them.

Another aspect of blessing your heirs is making your wishes known. How do you want to be cared for if you're in failing health? And who do you want making that decision? Those are the two questions that are answered by a health care directive: who is going to be in charge of making medical decisions if I can't make them myself, and what would I want done with certain kinds of medical treatments?

You need to choose a person to do that, and you can give them at least some general guidance of how you would wish that to be handled. Do you want to be put on a respirator if it’s already been determined that you're terminally ill? That’s the kind of question you might want to address in an advance directive.

What if you can’t manage your finances anymore? Then you want to have a financial power of attorney directive for somebody else to be able to do that. Because again, you're leaving your heirs or your spouse in a very difficult position if you're incapacitated and nobody has the authority to manage your stuff.

So those are all part of blessing your heirs: making the arrangements. And if you haven’t done these things, take a shot of the slide on your phone and deal with the list, okay?

There’s also just the question of: who else are you going to bless? And what is going to happen to this physical body of yours? For some people, you might choose to bless people by donating organs. That can be a tremendous help to people who need that.

You can give directions for what you want to happen with your body after you pass away. You can give instructions for how you want your funeral to go. Or you can just say, “Well, whatever happens, happens.” But you're blessing people if you actually give some guidance on that.

I was glad when I was getting ready to do my mom’s funeral a year ago that I had some instructions from her. She had all the songs that she wanted, and we joked. And she had the Bible verse she wanted me to preach on, and so I preached on that Bible verse: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3–4). That’s the verse she wanted me to preach on.

She wanted certain songs. And she said, “Sing all the verses.” She was a pianist and an organist. “Sing all the verses.” And we joked, “Well, we’re going to skip one verse just to spite her.” But we sang them all. She wanted us to sing, in particular:

Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all,
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so,
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my friend.

And she said, “That’s my testimony.” She had it all typed out: “Here’s how it’s supposed to go.”

Now some of you may say, “Well, that’s taking it a little far. I’ll just let the preacher worry about that.” But you can bless the people you leave behind by saying, “This is my testimony.” You can leave behind words that you want to communicate to your children and grandchildren and friends: “This is what mattered to me most in life. I hope you noticed while I was living, but if you didn’t get it, I want to say it one more time to you after I’m gone.”

However you do that, don’t just leave it up in the air. Don’t leave it to your kids to guess what you might want during your last days in terms of medical care—just tell them.

And this involves some awkward conversations. Sometimes family members don’t like to talk about money with each other. Aging parents and their children or grandchildren sometimes feel very uncomfortable talking about finances. But you need to. You might feel awkward talking about, “Well, what should we do if you’re in really bad shape?” That seems kind of impertinent—“Hey Dad, what do you want to do when you're dying?” That feels like a rude question.

But a way to bless your heirs is to make it as clear as you can: “Here is what I want. Here are the arrangements I’ve made.” And once you’ve made some of these arrangements, make sure you have them in a place that your executor and children can find, so that it can benefit them and they can use your plans.

There’s an old story about W.C. Fields, the comedian, who didn’t trust banks. So he made sure that all of his money was in a whole pile of different banks—not in any one bank. Then he died. And there was only one little problem—his heirs had no idea where the money was. And so most of it was gone because they didn’t even know which banks to contact.

So keep good records. Keep them in a place that your heirs know—and they will be blessed.

Now it seems strange to have all that nitty-gritty financial and planning and healthcare and such “unspiritual” stuff in the same sermon as “Prepare to meet your Maker.” But what death does is it takes you into eternity, and it leaves your heirs in this life.

So be ready for both. Be ready to meet the Lord; be sure that he’s your Savior already in this life before you leave it. And then bless your children and heirs as much as you can as they carry on in this world. Arrange to bless them.

Love and reconcile

One of the most important bucket lists you can make is: before I kick the bucket, who do I need to make up with? Who do I have an unsatisfactory relationship with, and how can I make it better?

“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26)—that’s what the Bible says. Don’t wait till you’re dying. Don’t wait till sundown. Keep very short accounts with the people in your life. “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13). “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Now it’s true that it doesn’t just depend on you. There are some people you can’t live at peace with because they are still aggressively hostile and nasty and cruel. So you need boundaries where you just don’t see very much of them. Sometimes that’s the case. But as much as it depends on you, if there’s something you could do to make it better, take that step.

Jesus himself says that if you’re offering your gift at the altar—so obviously that’s about as important a thing as you can do, you're doing an act of worship—he says, “Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). So if you’re supposed to drop your act of worship in order to go and be reconciled, certainly there isn’t any other business that’s so important or pressing that you say, “Well yeah, I’ve got to do that and that and that—and if I get around to it, then maybe I’ll reconcile.”

I’ve been at the bedside of people who were dying, who were alienated from loved ones, from family members. And the loved one comes in at the last minute, and that person is on a respirator, can’t even speak. Their loved one is crying, and the tears are falling on them—and they can’t even talk anymore. Now, that’s still better than nothing. At least they were there before death came. But do you really want to wait that long?

You just don’t want to leave unfinished business. So one of the most important things on any bucket list is: who am I at odds with, and what can I do to get back into a good relationship with them? And then do it.

Make time count

Finally, make your time count. Don’t waste your life. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). “However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all” (Ecclesiastes 11:8). “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

There may be things that you want to do—and they’re legit things. Well, start doing some of them. There is some value in a bucket list so that your days don’t just dribble away and dribble away, and you run out of days and still didn’t do some of those things that you were hoping to do, that were exciting and that would bring you joy. There may be experiences you were hoping to have—well, pursue some of them. Follow the way of your heart.

There may be things you wanted to do—important things—but they keep getting put off and put off, because somehow it always seems that the urgent crowds out the important. And sometimes it’s not even the urgent. Sometimes it’s just: okay, the phone needed some tender loving attention for another two hours today. And then the TV really did need some kindness and excitement. And oh, by the way, there were those video games that I just had to do. And boy, there really was another shopping expedition that I couldn’t afford not to go on—I couldn’t afford to go on it either, but anyway.

There are a lot of time killers. And the Bible talks about redeeming the time, or “making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16). “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). If you’re living in a God-oriented way, then you’re not going to be wasting your life.

That passage goes on to say: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come...” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Then it goes on into a poem about how your teeth start falling out, and your hands start trembling, and you're arthritic, and you stumble a lot, and your hair turns white. So that poem in Ecclesiastes gives you your options: you could either get old and die, or you can die young. You like those options? Well, those are the options. And so we need to be ready to make our time count right now.

I preached not long ago on this passage: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:21–22). What is your fruitful labor? If you want to make your life count, what is fruitful labor? What are the important things that you want to do while you're in this life?

Some of them may be just things that you would like to do with your children. There may be fun times that you say, “Boy, if I had a year to live, I’d make sure I did this and this and this.” Well—even if you live a very long time—I’ve got news for you, and I’ve been through it a few times: your kids have a way of growing up all of a sudden. There are some things—you’re not together as often as you used to be. There are some things you can’t do as much as you could.

So if you say, “Boy, how do I want my family to remember me?”—ask yourself that question. How do I want my kids and grandkids to remember me? Well, then start making those kinds of memories now.

How do I want to be remembered? Then I’m going to make it a point to try to develop things we do together and joyful times together—to make those memories now.

If you died tonight, what have you not done with dear ones that you wish you had done? Well, then do some of those things.

So again, ask that question: if you knew this year were your last, what would you do differently? Start doing it. It could be your last. And if it isn’t, you will have gained a heart of wisdom by counting your days—and you will have begun to make a big difference.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Make your time count.

This all fits. I preached a whole series on total fitness, and I thought, “Well, I should add this one to the series,” because even though I kind of hint at it here or there when talking about total fitness, this readiness to die is so very important for many dimensions of total fitness.

Obviously, the spiritual fitness—being ready to meet the Lord and walking with him now—is supremely important. It also shows the limits of physical fitness. You want to take good care of your body so that you live as long as wisdom will allow and have as good a health as you can during the time you live. But there are things beyond your control, and you’re certainly not going to live in this body forever. So you need to be ready not just to make your body healthier but to be ready for that time when your body loses all health and passes away.

There’s definitely a financial aspect to being ready to die. There’s an intellectual aspect. If you’re always turning your mind to other things to keep from thinking about dying, then you’re not fully intellectually fit yet.

There’s the emotional aspect. Many people live in fear of death. One of the reasons they avoid thinking about it is because it induces such anxiety and terror. They can’t imagine what it would be like to die or to have someone close to them die. For emotional fitness, we need to be prepared. There are some ways, of course, that you’re never prepared until you go through the grieving and through the loss. You can’t just snap a finger and plan to go through the death of someone you love grief-free—or to face your own death in the same way that you will when you actually have it staring you in the face. But there is an aspect of emotional fitness where you say, “If I could face death with courage, then I think I can face most other things too. And I’m not going to live in anxiety and in fear anymore.”

Of course, the relational aspect is that part of your bucket list that says, “Who do I need to reconcile with? What relationships need to be renewed?”

And vocational—don’t waste your life. Some of you may have jobs that you need to reexamine and say, “You know, I don’t think I’d be working at that job if I was in the last two years of my life.” There may be things you say, “I think I could be serving the Lord better. I think I could be making better use of my skills if I were doing something else.” Or you may say, “You know what? I’ve got a job, and it’s been a job, and it pays the bills—but I haven’t been seeing it as a vocation. If I looked at it in light of the fact that I’m going to die, then I’d say, ‘While I’m alive, I’m going to do everything for the glory of God,’ including this job.”

It’s not just going to be a paycheck. I’m going to throw myself into it and be excellent and make myself a witness in my workplace. And whatever I do, I’m simply not going to kill time anymore. I’m going to face the fact that I have a limited amount of time on this earth. I’m going to get ready to meet my Maker and my Savior. I’m going to make the appropriate arrangements to bless those that I leave behind. I’m going to patch up the relationships and love people the way that God calls me to love. And I am going to make my time count for Christ.

Think about this list. Think about what God is laying on your heart today. And don’t merely be hearers of the Word—be doers as well (James 1:22).

Prayer

Father, we do pray that you will teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Show us our life’s end and the number of our days; let us know how fleeting our life is (Psalm 39:4). Show us how fragile we are. And then, Lord, help us to rest in your almighty arms, in the eternal power and life of Jesus.

We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have come, that you have destroyed the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). Help each of us live the rest of our lives in the light of eternity—being a blessing during our time here on earth and being ready for that day when you call us home.

Help us, Lord, to encourage one another, to bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), to make appropriate plans—and also to leave those plans in your hands, knowing that it all depends on your will and your purpose in our lives.

We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Ready to Die
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

Psalm 39

¹ I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” ² So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; ³ my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. ⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

⁶ Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

 ⁷ "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. ⁸ Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. ⁹ I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. ¹⁰ Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. ¹¹ You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth—each man is but a breath.

 ¹² "Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. ¹³ Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."

Ready to die

• Face reality of death
• Prepare for eternity
• Arrange to bless heirs
• Love and reconcile
• Make your time count

Face reality of death

Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (Psalm 39:4-5)

Our days may come to 70 years, or 80, if our strength endures… Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10-12)

Put your house in order, because you are going to die. (Isaiah 38:1)

Prepare for eternity

Fool! This night your soul is required of you. (Luke 12:20)

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37)

Make arrangements to bless heirs

Children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. (2 Corinthians 12:14)

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. (Prov 13:22)

If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household…  But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:4, 8)

Make arrangements to bless heirs

• Buy life insurance for dependents
• Grow assets for old age, inheritance
• Make will: executor, guardian for kids
• Bypass probate: set beneficiaries for each asset, or create a living trust
• Directives for healthcare, finance
• Instructions for organs, body, funeral

Love and reconcile

Do not let the sun go down on your anger. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:13)

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all. (Romans 12:18)

Make time count

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all… Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see.” (Ecclesiastes 9:9: 11:8-9)

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. (Philippians 1:21-22)

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Total fitness

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Financial
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Relational
• Vocational

Ready to die

• Face reality of death
• Prepare for eternity
• Arrange to bless heirs
• Love and reconcile
• Make your time count