Stay The Course Sermon Vi: To Leave Or Not To Leave A Legacy? Yes! Series

TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE A LEGACY --- IS OR IS NOT THAT THE QUESTION?

Did you, or did you not, experience a mid-life crisis? If so, at what age? If not, why not?

And someone says, "Now you've quit preaching and gone to meddling!"

Most such "crises" occur as folks move from one decade to another-from the 30's to the 40's, from the 40's to the 5O's, from the 5O's to the 6O's.

Mine happened when least expected - the day after my 50th birthday - as it dawned on me that a half century had gone by and that, in all probability, the completion of a second half century would not be mine to celebrate.

Fifty years and counting! Had my life amounted to anything? What about my children? Had they learned valuable lessons that carried over into their lives . . . acquired moral values that stand them in good stead as they make their way through the mazes of an ungodly world?

Dissatisfied with answers given to myself by myself, no time was lost by me in reflecting on my life up to that point, then writing down valuable lessons learned in life, plus moral values to live by - and to hand down from one generation to the next.

To leave or not to leave a legacy is not the question! The real question is: What kind of legacy will mine be?

That said ,"legacy" is not my favorite word to use at funeral services - due to the mixed connotations the term implies to some folks. The definition of legacy - something left behind after a person has passed away - means different things to different people - so a simpler way to put it would be:

“Legacy is more about sharing what we have learned, not just what we have earned, and bequeathing values over valuables inasmuch as material wealth is only a small fraction of one’s legacy."

The point to be made by this last in our series of studies about the reforms made by King Asa of Judah (reforms made during the first three and a half decades of his reign) is: One's manner of living (way of life) impacts others (present and future) in one way or another - hopefully and prayerfully, for the better!

In this lesson: We learn that Asa's faith and manner of living (way of life) had a positive impact on his son whose influence, along with his father's, would be felt by future generations.

The death of King Asa (the reformer) brought great sadness to Judah. King for four decades! The people loved him; they honored him! But, as is inevitable in all families, whether of royalty or not, "influence" is passed on to a new generation - 2 Chronicles 17:1-13 ... "Like father, like son"!

For much of his reign, Jehoshaphat's leadership substance and style were very similar to his father's and his ancestor David's! Thus, he was ascribed that distinct honor and privilege as was Jesus: "He was of the house and lineage of David”.

Whether we like it or not - who our ancestors were, where we came from, what we've come through to get where we are now, speaks volumes about why we are the way we are.

While some folks feel honored by their ancestry and others feel ashamed, Jehoshaphat - like Jesus, like me - delighted in his ancestry and desired to follow in the steps of his forefathers - insofar as he should and could, for, like it is in all families, there are positive and negative traits, good and bad habits, righteous and unrighteous ways.

Comes to mind a couple of ways one might talk to a youngster looking forward to becoming a man - "Boy, you're gonna grow up to be just like your daddy!" "Boy, you wanna grow up to be like your dad"! One is a warning, the other a yearning!

Evidence suggests that, in his heart, Jehoshaphat harbored both warning and yearning¬ to be like his father before his father's downfall ... to be like David except for his grievous sins.

Four ways this new king satisfied the yearning in his heart to be the leader he ought to be . . . while heeding the warnings in his head to avoid the pitfalls of his predecessors:

(1) Jehoshaphat bought into the honorable ways of those who went before him. For example: He followed through on his father's wishes by strengthening those fortifications at Ramah (the border city) to protect his nation from enemy nations.

(2) Jehoshaphat sought a personal relationship with the God of his Fathers -

so that he and the nation might walk in paths of righteousness. For example: He followed in his father's steps by continuing spiritual fortifications to protect the people from evil forces.