Leave a Legacy for Your Neighbor
To Leave a Legacy for Your Neighbors
Sacrifice for Others (Acts 4:36-37)
Be Slow to Judge Others (Acts 9:26-27;15:36-39)
Spiritually Influence Others (Acts 11:22-24)
Work for the Success of Others (Acts 11:25-26)
Slide 1
Jim -------- Illustration.
A couple of weeks ago, Jim ------ shared about a guy named Joe that he works with that always has a huge smile on his face. Every where he goes and whenever anyone would see him, he would brighten up the room with his huge smile.
Slide 1 Jim asked somebody about it once and they said he was a Christian.
Jim had wanted to talk to Joe and finally the other day, he saw him. Jim was finishing up in the washroom when Joe walked in and Jim said
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you.” I want to ask you a question.
What is the reason for the hope you have inside you and why are you smiling all the time?
Joe responded and asked if he really wanted to know.
Jim said yes and Joe said because he had the peace of Jesus Christ in his heart.
Jim went on to tell Joe about the impact he had on Jim’s life just by being around His big smile and how it convicted him of not taking joy in Christ through some difficult circumstances.
Joe was having an impact and leaving a legacy just by being who he was.
He wasn’t even overtly doing anything to influence other people, just enjoying the goodness of the Lord and letting that come out of Him in living his life.
How are you living your life around others?
Are you being a godly influence on others by the way you live your life?
We have interaction with people every day.
Is the way we are living in front of them leaving a legacy of godliness for them to follow?
I want to take a look at Barnabas today and see the impact he had on those around him and I want us to see the things he did to help leave a legacy to his Neighbors that far surpassed his lifetime.
Slide 2
We will be looking at Several Scriptures in Acts that talk about Barnabas. The first place we will look is in Acts 4:36-37 (p. 773)
Acts 4:36-37
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Slide 2
We find here that Barnabas’ real name was Joseph but he was known by his nickname which meant Son of Encouragement.
This guy was an encourager so much in the way he lived that his nickname reflected it.
What if the way you acted often became your nickname?
Would we have people being called Bar-Whiner?
Or Bar-Complainer?
Or how about, Bar-Negative Attitude?
Is the most dominant aspect of our life a positive or negative? In Barnabas’ case he was an encourager.
It is those with a dominant positive aspect that will leave a positive legacy that impacts many people.
So, here is this great encourager and what is one of the first things we see him do? We see Him Sacrifice for others. He sold his field and gave the money to the apostles to be used for other people in need.
Slide 3
To Leave a Godly Legacy for Our Neighbors we need to
Sacrifice for Others
Slide 3 Nobody ever left a positive legacy without sacrifice.
Parents sacrifice for kids
Soldiers sacrifice for their country
Neighbors sacrifice for one another.
Jesus told a parable about being a neighbor and it involved personal sacrifice.
Luke 10:30-37 (p. 735)
30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ’Look after him,’ he said, ’and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Are you willing to sacrifice?
In the workplace, are you willing to help a fellow coworker get something done by shortening your lunch or staying later?
Are you willing to help a neighbor with yard work or shoveling snow?
Will you make a meal for a family who is going through a difficult time?
Would you be willing to help out financially one of your neighbors or in your church who had a need but to do it would mean sacrifice for you?
Those are the things that get remembered and those are the beginnings of leaving a legacy. As James tells us a true faith will produce action in our lives.
Slide 4
Moving along in Barnabas’ life we turn to Acts 9:26-27 (also Acts 15:36-39)
Acts 9:26-27 (p.778)
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
Slide 4
Here we see that Barnabas was slow to judge Paul by his past actions. He was willing to give him a chance.
He did the same thing with John Mark. After deserting them on their 1st missionary Journey, Barnabas was slow to judge Mark and was willing to give him another chance as opposed to Paul.
You can read about that in Acts 15:36-39.
This is what we need to do to.
To leave a godly legacy for our neighbors we need to
Be Slow to Judge Others
Slide 5
We need to be slow to in coming to conclusions about others.
We need to be willing to give people second chances.
Slide 5 Because Barnabas was Slow to Judge both Paul and Mark, these men were
later able to be used greatly by God.
Paul wrote 13 books of the New Testament
Mark wrote the gospel of Mark. Tradition tells us that Mark accompanied Peter and that the things Mark wrote where basically the preachings of Peter.
Later on, Paul even was glad that Barnabas was slow to judge Mark, because Mark helped out in Paul’s ministry too.
2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
Are you willing to give someone another chance after they may have failed you?
What about in the workplace? Someone who may have let you down before, are you willing to help them to get another chance?
What about in church? Are you willing to give someone another chance to minister who has failed in the past?
Be like Barnabas. Let the legacy that he left help you in leaving a legacy to others.
Our next stop in the life of Barnabas is in Acts 11:22-24 (p. 780)
Slide 6
After Stephen’s death, people scattered and were preaching the gospel to others. Now some started preaching to Greeks. And now we pick up in
Acts 11:22-24 (p. 780)
22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Slide 6
Barnabas influenced these new believers in their spiritual walk
To leave a godly legacy for our neighbors we need to
Spiritually Influence Others
Slide 7
We need to understand that we are all going to die one day. To truly have a lasting legacy we need to be a spiritual influence on people.
We need to
Slide 7 help our neighbors come to put their trust in Christ
Then you will have had an eternal impact and left an eternal legacy, one that you will be able to rejoice in NOT just in this life, but in the life to come also.
But being a spiritual influence is not just about sharing the gospel with those around you.
It is also about helping people grow in their relationship with Christ
Barnabas “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” (v. 11:23b)
Here is where each of us can have an impact.
What are you doing to be a Spiritual influence on those God has placed in your life?
Here is where some of our more mature believers can have a great impact on leaving a legacy.
Help those who are younger in the faith to grow.
Mentor them.
Spend some time with them.
Put forth some effort at sharing your life with them.
Set an example in life.
For those in our church who have raised their kids who are saying how can I leave a legacy, here is how you can have an impact right now in someone else’s life.
Ladies, find another lady to be in a mentoring relationship with.
This is what Paul wrote Titus to do in
Titus 2:3-4
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,
Men, Paul wrote to Timothy saying the same thing for men.
2 Timothy 2:2
2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Find another person and mentor them. Each of us needs to be doing this.
We need to be building into the lives of the next generation.
Maybe you are sitting there saying, I can’t do it all. I have so many things going on that I can’t add another thing into my life.
You aren’t responsible to do it all. But you are responsible to do what you can do. Sometimes it may seem what we do doesn’t have an impact at all on the world around us.
Star fish Illustration
"Years ago, early one morning, a man was walking along the beach. He was a writer and drew his inspiration from the beautiful sunrise and the peaceful solitude.
On most days, since it was before dawn, the beach was deserted, but today was slightly different. Today, he saw a figure that seemed to be dancing in the distance. The dance had a beautiful flow, so his curiosity got the better of him and he hurried his pace to quickly get a closer look.
He smiled to himself at the thought of someone expressing his or her feeling in such a free and joyous way. But as he approached, he saw that the figure was that of a young man and what he was doing was not a dance at all.
The young man was reaching to the sand, picking up small objects and then tossing them into the ocean.
"Good morning! May I ask what you are doing?" asked the writer.
The young man paused, looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
As with a perplexed look the writer asked, "Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die."
The writer had walked along that beach a thousands times and never once thought about the starfish that were lying there.
So he said, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!"
But as the young man picked up another starfish and threw it into the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
I am asking you and the Lord is asking you to make a difference in someone’s life. Make a difference where you can and don’t worry about the areas where you can’t.
Slide 8
Moving on through Barnabas’ life we see the very next verse
Acts 11:25-26
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Slide 8
Barnabas made efforts for those whom God put in his life. Barnabas made an effort to go and get Saul because he knew that Saul would be helpful there and it would continue to help Saul grow.
To leave a godly legacy for our neighbors we need to
Work for the Success of Others
Slide 9
As you Spiritually Influence those whom God has put in your life, you need to help them to grow even beyond you. You need to have a heart of humility.
Slide 9 This could be one of the biggest stumbling blocks to people leaving a Godly
legacy. They let pride get in their way and don’t want to see people succeed
beyond themselves.
Each of us want to see the people we help succeed, but we really don’t want them to succeed beyond us.
I think some of us think it would be unfair to have people that we have mentored and discipled to become greater tools in God’s hand than we are.
Barnabas did not have that problem though.
Barnabas was looking for ways to help Saul grow. And later as they set out on their first missionary journey, you see it was Barnabas and Saul but somewhere in the midst of this Paul grew beyond even Barnabas and we see it is Paul and Barnabas.
Barnabas was an effective tool for the kingdom because he was not out for himself.
Ask yourself this question,
Who am I out for?
Am I looking to be used by God or
am I looking to raise other peoples view of me?
When we work for the success of others in God’s Kingdom and allow ourselves to be used regardless of how great we become, we leave a legacy that will far outlive our own lives.
We need to have the attitude of John the Baptist toward Jesus.
He must become greater, I must become less (John 3:30)
Conclusion
So it all boils down to this. In all of your dealings with people are you setting an example in all that you do.
Are you putting a desire in others to follow what you do?
As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1
1 Corinthians 11:1
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ
That is the what Barnabas did. That is what we should be doing.
To Leave a Legacy for Your Neighbors
Sacrifice for Others (Acts 4:36-37)
Be Slow to Judge Others (Acts 9:26-27;15:36-39)
Spiritually Influence Others (Acts 11:22-24)
Work for the Success of Others (Acts 11:25-26)
I want to close with a song that Nichole Nordeman wrote. It is called Legacy.
Here is the chorus to the song.
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
Ask yourself those questions as we listen.
Legacy Slides
Play Nichole Nordeman - Legacy
Pray
