Building a Legacy

My goal is to get you to think and pray to focus more upon Christ and His Word to see what legacy you are creating—and hopefully it will be one of Hope and one that shows your life means something, that you touch people, and that you know our Lord and seek to love and grow in Him. Hopefully, your life can be about something much greater than yourself; that it is and was all about how to glorify God and enjoy Him so your life is an impact no matter what has happened or will happen. You can live a life of hope because what you have in Christ is so much better than anything else you have or could have lost.

What is a Legacy?

A legacy is what we hand down to our children and others whose lives we have touched. In the legal arena, it is mainly property and assets, but it is also theme and character, like a dynasty of a family formed by its patriarch, or the founder of a school or sports team or a great coach. For us as Christians, it is all the above—the assets we have in Christ, our character, and the theme that recognizes our spiritual growth from our trusting confidence and identification with Christ. The wake our life will leave is formed by what we are doing now. This is spelled out in our dependence on and obedience to Christ—of believing and trusting in Him, then obeying His precepts so we can have faith and confidence in that faith. In addition, a continual warning is at hand against apostasy, so we must take our responsibility of being a Christian seriously! This is the true legacy that we leave and also the assets that will echo into eternity.

As we have seen, life is not fair; we are not always dealt a good hand nor do good things and situations always come our way. So, our hope must be placed in something more tangible and greater than money or physical assets because we have so much more to lose that mere money or reputation. We need to be saved and we need to grow. We are full of sin; we are unable, on our own, to heed His call or receive His rest. So, we must make every effort to progress on to maturity and go deeper with God (Gen. 14; Psalm 110; Heb. 5:6; 7:1-10).

Christ is the One who saves and points us to our eternal inheritance that we do not deserve, yet do receive by the grace of our Lord and Savior. Our salvation is something we can never obtain by our own efforts, power, wisdom, or time; it is purely and solely a gift that is given because Christ intercedes on our behalf. Even though
Jesus never succumbed to temptation, He deals ever so mercifully and gently with us who do; this is a great attribute of His grace and an attribute we are called to extend to others too. Of course, this must be done with discernment, proper boundaries, and in the Fruit of the Spirit.

What is Your Legacy?

You can be the example of faith and stewardship of what we have, which always comes from somewhere we did not make or refine. God is the Great Maker and Refiner; we give to Him and we become His representative as a show of gratitude and devotion. We can show character in adversity and in power that resounds though time and history long after we are gone. Character ripples with an incredibly strong effect; it is needed and it is timeless. The question is does it flow from you? Do you look for it in others and encourage them to let it flow too? If you want a safe and comfortable place to know and worship God or to raise a family in a hostile world, God’s Word and our character of response is what God calls for and is ever so needed.

This legacy is what we leave when we pass on into heaven and God’s wonders, rest, and rewards—how we live and how we hand down hope by the way we lived and how we touched others. However, as I have done this sermon over the years, I could not help noticing and even be convicted by the Holy Spirit that this is also about building a successful church with a legacy of hope that impacts His people in the world in which we live—the touch we leave that glorifies His Kingdom.

Read this adapted sermon, place your name in the _blanks_ and ask yourself these questions in prayer:

• How is your life’s legacy and call doing? How can you build it better?

• How can you lead a life of Hope for others who so desperately need it?