Leaving a Legacy
Genesis 10:6-13
Intro: Who knows what a Nimrod is? The meaning of this term or name has changed throughout history. Bugs bunny kind of brought this word out of hibernation. In one of the first Bugs Bunny cartoons, Bugs called his nemesis Elmer Fudd a nimrod. The website Reddit says this about the word nimrod.
“ Bugs Bunny accidentally transformed the word nimrod into a synonym for idiot because nobody got a joke where he sarcastically compared Elmer Fudd to the Biblical figure Nimrod, a mighty hunter.”
. When Bugs called Elmer a nimrod, he was making fun of his hunting prowess but people didn’t get the sarcasm because most had never heard the word before and assumed that he was calling Elmer a fool or an idiot.
. That meaning for the word has evolved in that way ever since.
. The term is used in a very derogatory way.
The Dictionary of American slang says this:
. Nimrod, a simpleton; a nerd
. Example; Johnny is a total nimrod. He does dumb things.
. It would be wise to avoid being a nimrod.
. We are back in Genesis this morning.
. We have come to what I call the second begats. The first begats are in Genesis chapter 5 outlining the descendents of Adam and Eve and the second begats here are outlining the descendents of Noah’s three sons Shem Ham and Japheth.
. Lets look at Our scripture this morning.
.Genesis 10: 6-12
6The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
7The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.
9Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.”
10He built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.
11From there he expanded his territory to Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah,
12and Resen (the great city located between Nineveh and Calah).
.What is the one thing that sets all people apart from someone else.
. What is personal that belongs to you?
. The one thing that no matter what, nobody can take away from you.
. Your name. It is how we are identified isn’t it. A few weeks ago we talked about names and the way or names that Christians are identified.
. Names are important in the Bible. If they were not, God would not have chosen to list so many.
. All throughout this chapter, we get name after name after name. Then we see Nimrod. Why single out Nimrod.
. I studied this scripture and read commentaries and other sermons. Many say that Nimrod is singled out here, among all the other people because of his name.
. You see, Nimrod means rebel and they see him being singled out as being rebellious against God.
. I see no evidence of that in my studies.
. Verse 9 in the KJV translates this way.
. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said , Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
. God told us about Nimrod because of his heroic actions.
. The previous heroes and famous warriors had all been washed off the face of the Earth in the flood.
.Nimrod was and is being he held up as an example of what one man can do and also he is a historical record.
. He became the hunter and builder that people looked up to.
. People loved to be compared to Nimrod.
. Look at verse 9 again.
9Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.”
. God is showing us that one man can make a difference in the world.
. Look at what Nimrod did.
10He built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.
11From there he expanded his territory to Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah,
12and Resen (the great city located between Nineveh and Calah).
. Nimrod was also a mighty builder.
. He built the cities of Babylon and Nineveh. Great cities of the Bible.
. Babylon is still standing today in the country of Iraq.
. Nimrod built and left a legacy.
. Like Nimrod, we all leave a legacy in some way or another.
.There are many other names listed here as well.
. Look back at verse 6.
. 6The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
. We talked about Canaan a few weeks back. Canaan also left a legacy.
. Canaan’s legacy was one of sin and sexual debauchery.
. The legacy of all Ham’s sons was that they were the most hostile neighbors that the Nation of Israel had then and even now.
. Even today, the descendents of Ham are located in Egypt and Syria and Palestine and Libya. I’m sure these names sound familiar to almost everyone here.
. They are still to this day, hostile to the nation of Israel.
. Their legacy is a history of animosity and hatred for the Jewish people who are by the way, descendents of Shem.
. If you trace Shem’s lineage you see that he was an ancestor of Abram, later known as Abraham, the Father of the Hebrew Nation and an ancestor of Jesus Christ.
. Japeth’s descendents were the ancestors of the sea faring people, the Europeans.
. Each of Noah’s three sons have a legacy that they leave.
. God is giving us a record and a glimpse of who the worlds ancestors were here in this chapter.
. Many times we wonder why God would include all of this in the Bible.
. These folks names were important because they all left a legacy in some way or another.
. We all leave a legacy with how we live our lives.
. Like them, we are all important and we will all leave a legacy with our lives.
. How do you want to be remembered?
. Do you want your name to just be a blot in history or do you want to leave a legacy.
. How do you want to be remembered?
. How will your friends, loved ones, family remember you.
.What is your legacy?
. Many of us want to leave our children and grandchildren monetary legacies.
. I submit that the most important legacy we can leave this world is our commitment to our faith.
. How we passed our faith on to our children, our friends our loved ones.
. How we passed our faith on to all who would hear about the faith hope and love of Jesus Christ.
. I place all my sermons and notes on line in a cloud account to leave for anyone who wants to know about me can listen and read who I am in Christ Jesus.
. I don’t do this out of vanity. I am a mediocre preacher at best. I want my legacy though to be that I served the Lord.
. I want as many generations as possible to be able to look at what I did with my life and realize that the most important thing in my life was my God and sharing and teaching others about him.
. What kind of legacy do you want to leave.
. I have heard many say that they just want to be remembered as a good person. That is a lofty goal.
. Why not be remembered as a good person who served the Lord. One who loved people and cared for their well being but most of all, cared for their soul.
. You can do both.
. What kind of personal legacy do you want to leave.
. How do you want to be remembered?
. I challenge you this day to resolve to leave your faith as a legacy for those that come behind you.
. As I was getting ready for this sermon God brought to my mind a song that I have not heard in years. It is a song by Ray Boltz titled Thank You.
.I had them play it for the offering time this morning.
. Here are just a few selected words from the song we heard.
I dreamed I went to heaven
And you were there with me
We walked upon the streets of gold
Beside the crystal sea
And he said, "Friend
You may not know me now"
And then he said, "But wait
You used to teach my Sunday School
When I was only eight"
. He sang about praying a prayer of repentance and salvation and then he sang these words.
Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am a life that was changed
Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am so glad you gave
. What a legacy, working to change a life, eternally. Not just here on Earth but for eternity.
. Christian, what is your legacy?
. Not only do we as individuals leave legacies, institutions leave legacies also.
.I think of Truitt Cathy who just passed away. He most certainly left a personal legacy but the company he founded also is leaving a legacy. One of commitment to the principles that are biblical.
I believe that churches have legacies also. Sadly many don’t have and will not have legacies that impact the world for the Lord.. They turn inward and only serve the needs of those within the church.
. Folks, our church must build a legacy also. One of sharing the love and the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.
. Our church must be more than these four walls, more than these three buildings here on Mtn Crk Church Rd.
. 2015 is very quickly approaching. We need to make 2015 the year of revival here at the creek.
. The year that we as a church re-committed ourselves to the command of Jesus to make disciples.
. The year that we take this mission statement to heart and actively work to fulfill that statement.
. The year that we take the legacy of the creek to a new and exciting level.
. We have two revivals scheduled for next year.
. The first one has a firm date, Jan 11&12. Sunday morning, Sunday night and Monday night. You will hear more details later.
. All of you that have these smart phones with your calendar in it need to put these two days on your calendar before you leave here today.
. This first revival is what I call an internal revival. Everyone is welcome of course but I want us, as a church, to commit to this revival and use it to revive ourselves to begin this legacy building process.
. You will hear more about the second revival early next year.
. Folks, we as a church must be about God’s business. We must build a legacy of a church that is faithful to the commands of Jesus Christ.
.Enoch built a legacy that is still talked about today as a mighty warrior and hunter.
. The others listed here in Genesis 10 all in their own way built their own legacies.
. What will your legacy be?
. What will our legacy be?
. Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
