Legacy
Chuck Sligh
June 16, 2019
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
The basic skeleton is borrowed from Gerald Flurry’s sermon, “Leaving a Lasting Legacy” found on Sermoncetral.com; the meat on the skeleton is all my fault.
TEXT: Proverbs 13:22 – “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”
INTRODUCTION
What will you leave your children when you die? Our text deals with leaving an inheritance to our children, which is a good thing. But if all you leave your kids is a MATERIAL inheritance without leaving them a SPIRITUAL legacy, they will be impoverished, no matter how large the inheritance.
Illus. – One day in 1954, my older brother was electrocuted to death. This horrific tragedy led to a dark, dark time for my parents, but eventually was what drove them to seek the Lord in their lives.
I was just two years old when both my Mom and Dad put their faith in Jesus Christ. When Dad and Mom turned to the Lord, they never looked back.
I shared with you on Mother’s Day how my mother, who went to be with the Lord in 2003, was such a wonderful example for my siblings and me to follow. Dad was an equally wonderful mentor and guide. I saw in him a man who was totally committed to Christ; who was faithful in all things; who would not compromise on his beliefs; who had godly convictions; who loved his wife and his kids.
Dad has Alzheimer’s now and I don’t know how many more years he has on earth. When he passes away, he won’t leave my siblings and me much in the way of a material inheritance, but he will leave us something that money can’t buy—a godly legacy.
A legacy is defined as something passed down to the generations that follow us. Men, you should seek to leave a lasting legacy of godliness for those who follow you. How can you leave a godly legacy to your children? As I pondered that question, I thought of three things:
I. FIRST, LIVE A LIFE OF GODLY CHARACTER AND CONDUCT,
Proverbs 22:1 – “A good name (literally “character”) is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
We live in an age of moral decline, so it seems like character hardly counts anymore. You can cheat on your taxes, cheat on your spouse, smoke dope, cheat on your taxes, and hardly anyone cares anymore. Live and let live; let it all hang out; do your own thing.
Sadly, this general lack of character and proper behavior has crept into Christianity. The character and behavior of believers is often hardly distinguishable from that of people in the world today. That’s a blight on the testimony of our Lord.
Peter teaches us to have character in 2 Peter 1:5 – “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue (which means moral excellence or character)…”
In Ephesians 4:1, Paul says, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.”
Our character and conduct should be so exemplary that Paul says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Illus. – Men, your character and your conduct will impact generations to come, as is shown by a study done by A.E. Winship in 1900 of two men who lived and died in the 18th century.
• The first, Max Juke, was an athiest and married a girl of the same opinion. From this union came 1,026 descendants. A study of this man’s descendants showed that 300 died prematurely; 100 were sent to the penitentiary; 190 sold themselves to vice; 100 were drunkards; and the family cost the state of New York $1,100,00.00, which was an astronomical figure in 1900!
• Another man, the great preacher Jonathan Edwards, believed in God and married a girl of like character. From that union 729 descendants were studied. They discovered that 300 were preachers, 65 were college professors, 13 were university presidents; 6 authors; 3 U.S. congressmen and 1 was vice president of the United States.
One man left a tragedy; the other left a legacy!
Which will you leave when you die? Will you be like Max Juke, or will you be like David who left a legacy to his son, Jehoshaphat to follow, as we read about in 2 Chronicles 17:3-6a – “And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments,…And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD…” Jehoshephat walked in the ways of God because of the path tread first by his dad.
Men, your character and your conduct speak volumes to your kids. Chances are, they’ll seek to be like you:
To get his good night kiss he stood beside my chair one night,
And raised an eager face to me, a face with love alight.
As I gathered in my arms the son God gave to me,
I thanked the lad for being good, and hoped he’d always be.
His little arms crept around my neck, and then I heard him say
Four simple words I won’t forget, four words that made me pray.
They turned a mirror on my soul, on secrets no one knew.
They startled me. I hear them yet. He said, ‘I’ll be like you.’
II. THE SECOND CONDITION IS TO STAND FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE.
Six times in the New Testament Paul tells us to “stand fast.” My favorite one is 1 Corinthians 16:13, where Paul says, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men [or literally, “act like men” or “man up”], be strong.”
The great Bible expositor, William Barclay, says that these four simple commands “have a military background and are like a commander’s orders to his soldiers.” All four commands would make a wonderful sermon in themselves, but today I want us to just focus on the commands to “stand fast in the faith” and to “act like men.”
• To “Stand fast” was a term commonly used to describe the proper response when soldiers were under attack.
It means to dig in and stubbornly refuse to give ground. In this verse, it means to have some strong convictions about what you believe and not to fold in the midst of peer pressure from the attacks of the ungodly.
Dictionaries usually define conviction as a fixed or strong belief. But conviction is really much more than that. Your convictions include your values, commitments and motivations. I like the great Bible teacher Howard Hendricks’s definition of conviction: “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!”
Men, are there some spiritual and moral convictions that you would die for? Are there things you believe so strongly that nothing can sway you? Are there things you believe with such moral force, that you feel you MUST pass them on to your children?
These are important questions because our convictions determine our conduct. Our convictions motivate us to take a stand; to act according to our values; to stand against the moral morass of our day.
• You’ll never do that if you’re a lilly-livered, pusillanimous wimp, which is why Paul says “ACT LIKE MEN!”—Dude, MAN UP!
The problem is that most people today put their finger to the wind to see which way it’s blowing rather than take a bold stand on the Word of God.
> They’re more concerned about the CROWD than CHRIST.
> They’re more concerned about PEER PRESSURE than PRINCIPLE.
> They’re more concerned about what their GROUP thinks than what GOD thinks.
What we need today are men who will stand for God and truth and righteousness even if it means they lose the world’s applause.
Illus. – Athanasius, early bishop of Alexandria, stoutly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being. Hounded through five exiles, he was finally summoned before emperor Theodosius, who demanded he cease his opposition to Arius. The emperor reproved him and asked, “Do you not realize that all the world is against you?” Athanasius replied, “Then I am against all the world.”
Are you willing to stand for what you believe; and to live it out even if it’s unpopular?
Illus. – My dad had strong convictions about God and the Bible and serving God and faithfulness to church, and he stood fast for those convictions without wavering. One of his most deeply held convictions was that Christ came FIRST before EVERYTHING.
One application of that in our family’s life was that unless him or any of us in the family were about to croak or HAD to work, we were going to be in church. If one of us were sick, Mom or Dad stayed with the sick child and the other one took the rest of us to church—Sunday School, AM, PM or Wednesday night. If Dad had to work, Mom took us to church. – No exceptions.
One instance that stands firmly in my mind was when he gently explained to me why I couldn’t go to be at the first part of my team’s final regional championship Little League tournament game because it was on a Wednesday night during Prayer Meeting.
You say, “That’s a little extreme, isn’t it? I don’t know; maybe. But Dad felt it was a way to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” And you know, it didn’t embitter me. It made me respect my dad all the more. I saw that my dad would not compromise his beliefs for anything. By the way, I got to the game in the last four innings and hit a home run.
In contrast to that strong commitment to the church, listen to this little poem I found:
Daddy had a little boy; his soul was white as snow.
He never went to Sunday school, cause Daddy wouldn’t go.
He never heard the Word of God that thrills the childish mind,
While other children went to class, this child was left behind.
As he grew from babe to youth, Dad saw to his dismay
A soul that once was snowy white became a dingy grey.
Realizing that his son was lost, Dad tried to win him back.
But now the soul that once was white had turned an ugly black.
Dad even started back to church, and Bible study too;
He begged the preacher, “Isn’t there a thing you can do?”
The preacher tried, failed, and said “We’re just too far behind;
I tried to tell you years ago, but you would pay me no mind.”
And so another soul was lost that once was white as snow;
Sunday School would have helped, but Daddy wouldn’t go.
I believe the single most profound influence on my life in favor of Christ and His church was the intense, unswerving convictions of my dad and mom, and their consistency to practice what they preached, not simply mutter empty religious platitudes.
III. THE THIRD CONDITION FOR A GODLY LEGACY IS TO DEMONSTRATE GODLY LOVE AND CARE.
Paul said in Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”
And in Ephesians 6:4, he commanded, “And fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
We need parents who demonstrate love.
Paul says in Titus 2:4 – “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.”
In Colossians 3:19, he instructs, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”
One of the main reasons people hold false perceptions of God is the human tendency to project onto God the unloving characteristics of our parents, and particularly of our dad. People tend to believe that God, whom we’re taught is our “heavenly Father,” is going to treat us as our own dads did, since that’s the primary prism through which we see a father.
So if you had a strong and loving dad, you probably have a healthy view of God. But if he was a jerk, or overly-controlling, or overly demanding, or failed to protect you as he should have, or cut you down verbally, or even worse, physically or sexually abused you…you’ll naturally tend to project this distorted view of “fatherhood” unto Father God.
Men, that’s why it is so very important to demonstrate love and nurture to your children.
Sometimes Army guys have a little bit of problem with this, but guys, if you want to leave a legacy your children will cherish, then LOVE them by being affectionate with them; by always being loving and gentle and edifying in your words to them; by being patient with them; by NEVER being demeaning; by ALWAYS being self-controlled when you discipline them; by spending TIME with them; by LISTENING to them; by PLAYING with them; by laughing and goofing off with them; by being at their ballgames and concerts and ballet performances and plays.
Illus. – To be honest with you, if you were to ask me this question before I had time to ponder it: “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I mention your Dad?,” it wouldn’t be his military rank; or how many awards he received; or that he received a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam; or his post-military ministry, or that he is known by pastors and missionaries and Christian workers all over the world; or that he was the best soul-winner I ever knew, and a pretty darned good preacher, to boot!
To be honest with you, it’s not even that he was such an example to me of a man of God, spiritual leader in our home, teacher of God and spiritual mentor.
Do you know what the FIRST thing that would come to my mind if you mentioned my dad?—It would be that he was my high school basketball, baseball and volleyball coach and every day we would hang out and he would tease me and goof off and just be fun to be with!
Most teens I know wouldn’t be caught dead around their parents. I idolized mine because they bathed me in love. And because they loved me and showed it in such wonderful, practical ways every day, it made what they taught about God something I truly wanted too. THAT’S the greatest legacy of Allen and Norma Sligh on this preacher.
CONCLUSION
Men, I want you to leave a legacy for your kids too.
I’ve told the story of our friend, Susie Redmond, who had crippling arthritis, which finally took her life in her early fifties after years of pain and suffering. I use her as an illustration of how to respond to trouble and pain in this life. This week Susie’s father died and her son, Ben, posted this on his Facebook page about His home-going to heaven:
My Pappaw (that’s the way we say grandpa…) passed away this morning. Monday afternoon I got the opportunity to hold his hand and say goodbye. As I reflect on his life and my feelings this morning, I am struck by one word: Legacy.
Pappaw died surrounded by his family. His wife tearfully holding his hand and kissing him...his children taking shifts staying nights by his side...his grandchildren traveling and rearranging plans to come say goodbye...people who couldn’t come calling in and letting him hear their voice. In the coming days there will be a funeral. At this celebration there will be a long line of people who will stand up and say that their lives were changed because of an encounter with Pappaw. We are talking about hundreds of people impacted by this man’s life. As I stood at the end of his hospital bed and took all of this in, I had one question: How?
How did an 84 year-old man with no fame or fortune build a legacy like this? How did Pappaw have a life that ended so well? I’ve reflected on this question for the last week, and here is my answer: He was faithful to the little things.
This was a man who just did the right thing...period. It didn’t matter if anyone saw it, it didn’t matter if anyone did it with him...he just did right. He treated his wife with absolute devotion, love, and respect. He loved his children and continued to do so even through dark times. He was the spiritual leader of his family, instilling faith in three generations. He called his grandchildren on birthdays and after big events. When one of his children or grandchildren came and visited, he dropped everything to spend time with them. He worked hard, and managed his life with integrity and character. He was a man who was faithful to God and to His family.
The result of this faithfulness is profound. He died with everything he could possibly want. He died surrounded by family...he died in the arms of his wife...he died with a priceless legacy of faithfulness.
So here’s the challenge for the rest of us: (and this is mostly me talking to myself!) What you are doing today will determine what you have when it is all said and done. Your legacy isn’t built at your deathbed, it is revealed there. So take a cue from one of the best men I have ever known: Be faithful. To God...to your family...to what you know is right. You won’t regret it.
Though I’ve tried this morning, I couldn’t have said it better. May God help you to live a life of godly character and conduct; to stand for and live out godly convictions; and to demonstrate godly love and care to those you love.
