Living a Godly Legacy
Nehemiah 1-8
This is the last Sunday of 2012. When it was October 11, 2012, my kids said, "This is the last 10/11/12." Then one daughter said, "No. October 12, 3012. But we won't be around to see it."
We are here today, and there will be days in the future we will not see. Here's a good question: "Will our being here today result in a better, same, or poorer future for others?" Will those living in 3012 be worse off, the same or better off because of the way we lived in 2012?
We're not talking about new year resolutions. We are talking about living a legacy. Jim Rohn said this, "Those who came before leave us the world we live in. Those who will come after will have only what we leave them. We are stewards of this world, and we have a calling in our lives to leave it better than how we found it, even if it seems like such a small part."
Young people, don't wait until you are old to consider what you will leave behind. You can't make choices carelessly today and expect to correct them in the future. One college student said, "Pray for me to live sexually pure." And I replied, "Your future wife will thank you for your current pursuit of purity."
Retirees, don't think you're done. You're not done until your eulogy is read at your funeral. Let your eulogy echo that of the Apostle Paul's, " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7)." Finish well.
Sometime ago, I was talking to my mentor about leaving a legacy. He said, "Dana, you can't leave a legacy. You live a legacy. Your legacy is the life you are living now."
This morning, I want to share with you two components for living a legacy from Nehemiah 1 through 8. Pastor Steve and Pastor John already covered chapters 1 through 7. I won't re-teach these chapters. I'll draw one component from these seven chapters and a second component from chapter 8.
Nehemiah records the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Chapter 1 records Nehemiah receiving the disgraceful news that the Jews in Jerusalem were unprotected by broken walls and burned down gates. Chapter 7 records the completion of the walls and gates around Jerusalem.
Here's the first component of living a legacy: Construct for God's glory.
Living a legacy involves building for God's glory. Nehemiah 2:11-12 read, " I [Nehemiah] went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem...." Nehemiah didn't just rebuild the walls and gates because he was a Jew, but because God put it in his heart to do for Jerusalem. He did it for God's glory.
Three construction workers were at a building site. When the first one was asked what he was doing, he replied, “Can’t you see I’m laying bricks?” When the second person was asked what he was doing, he replied, “I’m working to provide for my family.” When the third person was asked what he was doing, he beamed and replied, “I’m building a apartment complex for God to bless many families.”
I sometimes hear from student leaders, campus ministers and parents about the problems their teens are giving them. Without being glib, I respond with, "That's why you're there. If your teens were perfect, you would be unnecessary."
After studying Nehemiah, I am changing my encouragement to, "Remember, we're doing this for God's glory." Colossians 3:23-24 read, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Sometime ago, Pat Lim told me about a missionary with Overseas Missionary Fellowship, who said, "My goal is to serve Christ in the mission field and be forgotten." He understood. D; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." God remembers the work we do for His glory. His reward far outweighs anyone else's.
Let's bring this to where we live, today. Construct for God's glory. To construct means to build up. What areas of our lives do we sense God calling us to build up for His glory?
What has God put in your heart to build up in yourself and / or your family? Is it faith in Jesus Christ? Is it godly character? Is it loving relationship? Is it compassion to serve others? What has God put in your heart to build for your family?
Some may build from scratch. Others may build from a mess. Some may be fortunate enough to build on a good foundation laid by your parents.
Prayerfully identify what God put in your heart to build for your job, your church and your community. How do you want your eulogy to read? What contributions for God's glory? Take time before January 2013 to write your eulogy and live your legacy.
Here's the second component to live a legacy: Instruct with God's Word. We see this in Nehemiah 8 (READ).
Nehemiah didn't just build up the walls and gates of Jerusalem. He built up the Jews in Jerusalem. They grew in ownership of their faith in God and their lives with God. But without Ezra's teaching the Jews to obey God's Word, their faith and lives with God would soon crumble, even if their walls and gates stood firm.
There is a familiar saying, " Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Constructing for God's glory gives the next generation a fish. Instructing with God's Word feeds the next generation for a lifetime.
This is why Christ's legacy has lasted 2000 years. Jesus commission to His disciples read, " Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).”
God's Word, the Old Testament and the New Testament contains people in history, poetry and parables to serve as either examples for us to follow or warnings for us to avoid. These people’s experiences in worship, work, interpersonal relationships, celebration as well as lament provide guidance for living our lives today. Life is too short to learn and live by trial and error alone.
Let me do a mini-commercial for T2, our church's young adult mentoring ministry. T2 comes from Titus 2, where Paul commissioned Titus to teach older men and older women to live according to God's Word and ways. And in turn, the older men can teach younger men and the older women can teach younger women.
Our next T2 session will be next Sunday, January 6, 9:15 am to 10:45 am. The topic is biblical manhood. Mature members of our church serving as mentors will share and discuss what it means to be a man according to the Bible. They'll also share their struggles and encouragement to becoming a man of God.
The church is responsible to teach the congregation God's Word. Then we in the congregation are to teach our children, classmates and coworkers God's Word. Not through lecture, but through our conduct and conversations. By our conduct and conversations are how we live our legacy.
Nehemiah and Ezra started with broken walls and broken lives. Together, they constructed for God's glory and instructed with God's Word. Constructing for God's glory ensures future generations will experience God's blessings. Instruction with God's word ensures future generations will pass on God's blessings.
