Your Spiritual Legacy

I was on the street one day. One of them looked pretty down, almost on the verge of tears. And his friend asked him, what's wrong? He looked so down, so forlorn. What's life been treating you like? And the man said, well, three weeks ago my uncle died and left me $40,000. His friend said, wow, that's a pretty big sum of money. He said, well, two weeks ago a cousin who I never even knew died and left me $80,000.

His friend was really pretty surprised by that. He said, wow, sad things, but what a blessing you've received. He said, well, wait a second. His friend said, you don't understand. He said, last week my great aunt passed away and she left me a quarter of a million dollars, $250,000. Now his friend just was very confused. He said, well, I don't understand. Why are you so sad then? He said, well, this week, nothing. Now the reason I tell that story is not just hopefully getting a laugh, but to pose the question, what will you leave for an inheritance?

What will you leave as a legacy? What heirloom will you pass on to your family? What will you leave behind and hand down to your family, to your friends, to your congregation? Now when the world thinks of an inheritance or a bequest or a memorial, a will, what do you think normally comes to mind? Money. Money normally comes to mind.

And a legacy is, if you were to look it up, it kind of explains it in that way in the dictionary, something that's left behind, money or property, something that you bequest or you hand down to someone else. But what will truly prolong your influence? What will really cause you to be remembered? Now most think of power or wealth, things that you accumulate now in this life, and somehow you'll leave it behind and leave that legacy.

But you know the Bible says some pretty specific things when it comes to property and money, and the idea that that's going to carry on after us. If you notice Ecclesiastes 2, verse 18, it spells out pretty clearly the world's concept of what a good legacy is all about. Let's notice Ecclesiastes 2, verse 18.

Notice what Solomon writes. He tried it all. He tried to leave an important legacy behind him. And notice the conclusion that he came to. Verse 18, chapter 2 of Ecclesiastes. He said, "...I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me." You see, he knew his life wasn't going to last and someone else would take over. So verse 19, he says, "...and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool.

Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled, in which I have shown myself wise under the sun." He says, "...this also is vanity." And so Solomon's frame of mind, verse 20, "...I turned my heart in despair of all the labor which I toiled under the sun." He said, "...for there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill.

Yet what happens? He must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it." This is vanity and great evil. And so when you think about the heirloom and the inheritance that we pass on to those beautiful children that came up on stage today, is that what we're about?

Is that what we'll leave behind? What Solomon feared? That it would end up gone, useless, nothing really concrete left. Because the Bible is pretty clear if that's our focus, if that's our only intent, we're really fighting a lost cause.

Over in the Psalms it says something similar. Psalm 49, look at verse 10. Psalm 49 verse 10 describes a similar thought to what Solomon had. What is it that would really prolong influence? What is it that truly would be remembered? Is it just accumulated wealth, power, something like that? Well, chapter 49 verse 10 in the Psalm says, "...for he sees wise men die. Likewise the fool and the senseless person parrot." Everybody's going to die, in other words.

They leave their wealth to others. Verse 11, their inner thought is that their houses will last forever. They're dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man, though in honor, does not remain. He's like the beasts that perish. In other words, you try to name some building after you. You bequeath all kinds of money to some foundation and they erect a monument to you.

He says, that's foolishness. That's not going to last. You want to build some big business and somehow that will be what's recognized after you die. Some institution that could carry on your name after death. See, the Psalm says, wait a second, history is filled with the accounts of individuals, powerful men and women who tried to do that very thing and live on through a monument or live on through some great tomb. How many pharaohs of Egypt can you name?

Probably not too many. Oh, I know there's some monument over there, some pyramid over there, but I don't know who it's to. Some guy. But we don't know. And so great stories of grandeur and wealth and power still aren't recalled. They're mostly forgotten. It doesn't last. Monuments are destroyed. Tombs, they get robbed. The stories are forgotten. But you can have an impact that outlasts your life. There is a way that you can leave a legacy. You can leave a spiritual influence that will positively affect the lives of others, really, for all eternity.

For all eternity. And that is your spiritual legacy. Your spiritual bequest. Or you could say your spiritual endowment. Because the Bible is very clear, there is an inheritance that a good person leaves to their children. In fact, the same man that wrote Ecclesiastes wrote about it in the Proverbs. Proverbs 13, verse 22 spells it out. Proverbs 13, 22, you probably recognize it. You may know this particular passage.

It talks about leaving something to our children. And further than that, even to their children. It says, a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. A good man, I think it applies to a good woman as well, leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Now, is that talking about money? Is that talking about property?

What could be more important than a monument or a property or an institution or some type of monetary inheritance? Or maybe some special heirloom or jewelry or something like that? You see, I think the important thing that the Proverbs is talking about here is passing on a legacy of eternal value. Something that will never lose. Something that will never wear out. Something that would never be forgotten. In fact, one translation of verse 22 says, that good life gets passed on to generations. A good life, it's not talking about physical things. There's so much more than just a temporary inheritance of money or property that must be passed on to the next generation.

We saw that even this afternoon as those little ones came up on stage. Those ones who have memorized God's Word, who have put those accounts to mind. And shouldn't our children, shouldn't our grandchildren really be the ones who are the target, you could say the number one target, for a legacy that is well spent, for an eternal inheritance?

There was a wise man who once said it should be faith first, family second. Well, then he said football was third. Okay, it was Vince Lombardi who said that. He had it right that God's way has to come first. Our family must be second. That must supersede our jobs. It must supersede what's most important. The two highest priorities we must have in life is loving God and loving our neighbor. Isn't that what it is when we talk about faith and family? We love God first and we love family.

We love the church. We love humanity as well. Highest priorities. They must be that if we're going to leave the kind of legacy that God expects us to leave. The famous Christian writer C.S. Lewis once said, Christianity if false is of no importance. He said if it's true, it's of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. Sometimes our faith fall into that category of just moderately important. You see, we cannot leave the kind of bequest, the spiritual sense of a legacy that God intends if it doesn't become our passion, if it doesn't become what our life is all about.

So how do we do that? How do we fulfill the importance of leaving something that will last to our children and to our grandchildren? The kind of inheritance that the Proverbs talked about. How do we do that very thing? Well, I think it first of all has to come down to our commitment. We must be committed.

And that's something that doesn't happen accidentally. You don't accidentally raise your children to follow God. We have to be as parents, grandparents, fully and completely dedicated and committed to following God no matter what. And we have to raise those children to follow God, to follow Him with all their heart, to follow Him no matter what, to love them and to train them and to teach them good character. Because we know that doesn't happen all by itself.

It doesn't happen by osmosis. It doesn't happen by just showing up at church once a week. That does not happen. It means we take care of them. We love them. We care for them. We discipline them when it's needed. And we instruct them in the Word of God. We teach them to love God. We teach them to love the church. And we demonstrate it. Because we are so committed that we are going to strive to live that way, to show that way, and be an example of that way to them every hour of the day, 24-7.

Because one of the worst teachers is being a hypocrite, is saying one thing and doing something different. And of course, the good news is that even though it may seem like we're not getting through, that it's not working, that never-ending effort does pay off. It does pay off. Because that single most important inheritance that we can leave our children is loving and serving God. They will notice that. And if that is our priority, can they help but be encouraged by that?

Can they help but be inspired by that? I believe they can be motivated by that, so that it not only stops at their generation, but it continues to carry on. Carry on beyond your life and even beyond their life to those that will follow, to those that they come in contact with. In fact, the Apostle Paul told Timothy much the same thing. If you look over at 1 Timothy 4, verse 8, I wonder if the Apostle Paul, who was the aged man by this time as he wrote to the young minister, Timothy, I wonder if he didn't have that in the back of his mind.

What would truly carry on beyond life, beyond the Apostle's life? What would continue to thrive and grow, an inheritance that would never die? Maybe he had that in the back of his mind as he wrote to Timothy, the young minister. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8. Notice the importance that he puts on what really matters. 1 Timothy 4, 8, it says, bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. So working out, getting in shape, being buff, like some of us are.

Okay, maybe not all of us on stage, but some of you. Okay, there's something too that's good to be healthy, it's good to be strong, that's not a bad thing. But spiritual exercise, that's something that doesn't get old. That's something that doesn't get flabby. That's something that doesn't have to take off its belt and put it on the next notch. Right, this exercise is valuable in every way. Many translations put it that way. It's valuable in every way, profitable for all things. Because living God's way is an eternal value. It's something that cannot wear out, because God's way is eternal.

And of course, we know the opposite is true. The physical isn't going to last. It's not going to be there. And so, I think Paul is telling Timothy this wonderful spiritual, godly lifestyle will have a profound influence. And he's telling Timothy that he needs to be determined to leave that kind of legacy, to live that kind of godly legacy, godly living in his way. Because that will impact beyond your influence at the moment.

That will, like he says here, even to the life to come. The life that now is and that which is to come. So that's a powerful thing. You talk about an endowment that continues to give and give, a gift that doesn't come to an end, a trust that never wears out.

I think we have to ask ourselves, what is our legacy? What is the word that comes to mind when someone mentions your name? Is it something that's associated with living God's way? Is it a synonym that stands for the commitment and the love and the passion that we have to serve the living God? It should be.

Because, like Paul told Timothy, this is an awesome thing. This is an awesome thing that will profit forever, forever. And yet we live in a world that emphasizes just the opposite. And sometimes within our family, within our congregation, we miss the mark a little bit. We don't value and live it the way that we should. I was reading a book a while back and it was talking about lost sons. And they did a survey, the author had done a survey, and they asked men to describe in one word how they remembered their father.

Just one word. Can you imagine the words that these grown men used to describe their father? In a sense, the legacy that their dad had left to them. The author listed a lot of the words. You know how they went? Absent, detached, busy, drunk, honest, yeah there's a good one, but there was also immoral, cheat, crowd. There was a caring in there. Hard, angry, abusive, unreasonable, a tyrant. You see the difficult descriptors were much more frequent than the godly ones. That's a sad thing because that is how our world seems to operate, isn't it?

And we can get taken in by that. In fact, these same men were also asked to choose a word that they would like their children to describe them. What word would you want your children to describe you as, whether a mother or a father? You know what the most common word was? Loving. I got to thinking about that. If we're remembered like that, that's not an accident, is it? That doesn't just happen. Especially if we're godly and we're loving in a godlike way. That's a matter of faith. That's a matter of purpose. That's a matter of choice.

And that is a choice that's made not just one time, but you consistently make that choice over your lifetime. You make decisions, maybe even every single day, to be a loving mom or a loving dad. You make that choice to be a person of faith, to be dedicated and committed to God because it's not automatic, it's not by osmosis, it's not just showing up at Sabbath services once a week that makes it happen.

But it's a conscious, deliberate, intentional choice. It has to be. And it's a daily choice, so often times. Because the challenge is, the opposite choices are always around us. And they try to infect us and influence us. And we get off track sometimes because this life can seem, well, it can seem like it's real. It can seem like this is what it's all about. And it can fool us and deceive us to thinking that somehow it could carry on. It could last. But Peter wanted us to be sure we got the point.

Over in 1 Peter 1, look at verse 24. 1 Peter 1, 24. And maybe this is the most challenging to grasp when we're younger. As we get older, I remember talking to the ABC class this year, earlier in the year, and we were talking about God's kingdom, and I was talking about how excited we should be for God's kingdom coming. And the kingdom in Christ's return will be amazing and awesome, and how inspiring that is.

And one of the students raised their hand and said, well, yeah, you think that because you're old. Well, that's probably true, at least in some ways. But as young people, do we really think this will last? Or do we have God's perspective, the biblical's perspective? Here's what Peter said. 1 Peter 1, 24. All flesh is as grass. And that doesn't mean you have to mow it. It means it's not going to last. It says, all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

What happens? The grass withers, its flower falls away. I was just talking to my mom on the phone yesterday. She was telling me about all the beautiful lilacs that are blossoming in Wisconsin. Where are our lilacs? They're gone. They've already bloomed and blossomed, and the lilacs here are gone already. And she was just telling me how she's enjoying them up there. But it won't be long, and they'll be gone again. And so that's the point. It lasts for a little while, and then it's gone.

But what lasts? What's the legacy that continues on? What's the inheritance and the heirloom that will not come to an end? Well, Peter said very clearly, the Word of the Lord endures forever. That's an endowment that lasts. That's a trust that continues on. That's not just the flavor of the day. That's not just a nice little trend, because believe it or not, trends come and go, don't they? Music comes and goes, doesn't it? I know you remember it wasn't very long ago. The Harlem Shake was everything. Now you do the Harlem Shake.

That's not cool. What's that? You know, no doubt, dubstepping is going to fade away. Not going to last, right? Because what happened to the Watusi or the Alamond? Nobody remembers the Alamond. We go back quite a ways, right? We don't. The only thing that lasts is Sweet Caroline. That's going to fade too.

I hope so. I can't wait. That's going to be gone. The way people talk. Trends, they come and go. My grandmother always used to say, now that's cooking with gas. It's like, what's that supposed to mean, Grandma? I don't get that. Well, that was before you had gas. You had to bring in the sticks for the stove. That's unbelievable. They don't say that anymore, right? Things used to be all messed up, all gobbledygook. Nobody says that word anymore either, do they? But some of you do say, sock it to me. No, you probably don't either. You're in trouble if you did ever say, Groovy, though.

Things change. They don't last. What's up, dog? Dude? You see, those things will change. That, hey, I don't have to get back to my crib and try this out on my mates. I don't have to do that, because it will change. Hashtag dopey.

It'll change. It won't last. It seems like those things will go on and on and on, but they won't. They won't. Those cultural patterns, the way we talk, the words we use, the governments that are of this world, they come and go. But there's one enduring thing, one thing that brings sense and order to it all. Peter says it's the unchangeable Word of God.

And so what is it that we'll leave behind? What is it that we will leave to our children and to our grandchildren? What is the heirloom that we will pass on, the gift and the inheritance that they will remember us by? I'd heard a story about the Smith family. They had always been very proud of the fact that their relatives had come to America on the Mayflower. And so they thought about leaving a legacy to their children by having some author write up their family history. They had to research it, write it up in a book, and they could pass that on for their legacy. Well, as the author started to get into their background, the family was horrified to find out that one of their great uncles, good old great uncle Clarence, had been executed in the electric chair because he had murdered someone. So they were horrified by that. Well, the writer came to them with the information. He said, well listen, I can handle this. It won't be a problem. We can still put good old uncle Clarence in the book and it'll be just fine. So they were really concerned about how this would come out. Guess what page they flipped to first? They flipped to Clarence's page.

The author wrote, great uncle Clarence, he occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution.

He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties.

Here's the worst part. And his death came as a great shock.

Okay, we don't want to pass some bad joke on to our inheritance, do we?

The Proverbs are pretty amazing when it comes to talking about the spiritual inheritance that we must pass on. If we flip back to the Proverbs once again, look at chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4, in a way it's written to all of you who came up on stage today.

Not only the children that were in the Sabbath lessons, but also of us as teachers. It applies to us as well. Look what it says here. Look what it says to our children. Okay, children, are you listening? Here it is. Proverbs chapter 4 verse 20, it starts out, My child, pay attention to what I say. Well, good parent says that. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them and healing to their whole body. Those kinds of words that are lived out, as an example before our children's eyes, they are the words, they are the example that penetrates deep into our hearts and into our minds. Solomon was pretty amazing here, because in a way, he's saying, listen, I want you to understand this. If there's one thing I want you to know, this is it. Now, if somebody has ever said that to you, your ears perk up and you start to listen. I really want you to understand this one thing. What is this? What is this one thing that I should...

Well, then he goes on to express these words of love and encouragement, words of wisdom.

And many, unfortunately, don't. Many, unfortunately, don't listen to that one most important thing.

I was reading a little article about a counselor that was being interviewed. They asked the counselor what was the most common thing that he had seen while talking to different people and counseling them throughout the years. Well, he had said he had worked with hundreds and hundreds of people, and the most common denominator that he saw was about their dad, about their father. And he always would ask the people that he counseled, do you believe that your father was proud of you?

So he'd ask those that he was counseling, do you believe your father was proud of you?

And he said almost everyone would say, I'm not sure, or I don't know.

Most would answer in that way. It just kind of hit me, is how tragic that would be.

How tragic to answer in that way. And for many of us, and I think especially us men, it is hard to communicate emotions and feelings. It's not necessarily a guy kind of thing.

And I think we have to work intentionally. And sometimes we have to be a little more creative when we translate those feelings, those thoughts, those emotions into words.

Solomon was doing that. That's exactly what he did. He said, if I had one thing to tell you, this is it. And so how generous should we be with the words, I love you.

I care. And I say, well, that's... won't they just know? I mean, they know that I love them. I mean, I try to provide for them. I try to give them the things they... they should know that I love them.

Well, should we express that? Should we be assured that they know?

As the fact that we do care and that we do love them penetrated their heart. So there is no doubt, as moms and dads, they know that we are, in a way, a living representation of God, that there is no doubt that God loves us. We know beyond the shadow of a doubt He loves us. He gave His only Son for us. We know that. He cares for us. He proved it. Have we proven that and expressed that to our children, to our grandchildren? And when I said that's not very manly, it doesn't sound very manly to say, I love you. But what did Christ do just before He was arrested, tried, and crucified? What was the example that He set? He told them they had some responsibilities. Remember over in the book of John? Maybe we could flip over there really fast.

John chapter 15. Christ didn't, even though He had lived with them for all those years, He wasn't going to leave it to any doubt. There was going to be no confusion. They were going to be absolutely assured, not just by His example, but also by His very words, that they would know.

They would know without any doubt. Look at verse 9 in chapter 15. As the Father loved me, I also have loved you, abide in my love. And so here's Christ saying that same thing. If there's one thing I want you to know, one thing to carry with you, even though I'm about to be sacrificed and crucified, I want you to understand this. And so if we only had a little bit of time to live, if we were near the end of our life and we understood that, if we had that opportunity to speak the most important words to those that we love, to our family, to your spouse, to your church, to your children or your friends, how would you finish that sentence?

Above all else, I want you to know this. You see, Christ was very clear.

I think not only do we have to be committed, but we have to live it. We have to say it.

And we say it by what we do, but we also have to speak it as well. Because life, I think, demands it.

Because all too often, you're not going to get that opportunity. You're not going to be on your deathbed and be able to call all the dearest ones to you right there and utter these last words.

I've seen many people die over the years, and it doesn't happen that way most often. So you better do it now. You better do it now while you have that opportunity. You better live that opportunity now and be committed to God first and foremost, and be committed to His family and to your family. Because that love that not only you're expressing, but that you've expressed it in your example will continue on. It will outlive you. Because it's not just our immediate family that we leave the spiritual legacy to. We leave it to all, don't we? We should leave it to all.

The book of Matthew describes that. Matthew 5, verse 15, it's not a selfish thing that I'm just going to write this book for my own family. I'll try to cover up. I had an Uncle Clarence who came to a shocking conclusion. But by being committed, it also is a reminder that that legacy carries on far beyond just our immediate families. It should carry on to our spiritual family. It should carry on to the church. It should carry on to others, even beyond that. Look at Matthew, chapter 5, verse 15. Christ said, they don't light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand.

What happens then? It gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. So there you have it. That's beyond our own families. That's beyond those who are just closest to us. There is a way that we can leave that inheritance to everyone by letting that godly light of faith shine through us, by the things that we say, by the things that we do. Are we leaving a legacy of kindness? Are we leaving a legacy of love and service? Because if we are, that's defining who we really are then. Then we really, truly are not just someone that does good deeds, but we're someone who is a servant.

We're someone who is a servant. Now you might say, well, who's going to remember that sort of stuff?

Does that really carry on? Well, you might just write down Matthew 26. You can write down verse 13.

That's where Christ told the story about the woman who anointed his feet with oil.

Do you remember that story? It's something you could review later. But look up that story. Read about the lady who anointed Christ's feet with oil. What did he say about her?

He said, let me guarantee you this. History will remember this woman. In fact, more than history, when the gospel is preached, he said, they're going to remember what this woman has done.

They will remember she was a servant. She did amazing things, but she was defined by who she was, by being a servant. And so there she is right there, right in the book of Matthew, living to this day by who she was, by what defined her, her legacy carries on.

Same thing with Tabitha, or Dorcas, or Giselle. I like Giselle, that's a beautiful name, isn't it? I like that a lot better than Dorcas. Beautiful. But her legacy carried on after her death as well.

She's over in the book of Acts, chapter 9. You could write that one down. Read about her life. She was full of good works and charitable deeds, is what Acts 9 talks about.

So when she was dead, that's what people were discussing at her visitation. That's what we'd call it today. At her visitation, they talked about the things that she did, the kind of person that she was, the servant of God that she exhibited far beyond her own family. She made beautiful articles of clothing for so many, so many, and it carried on after her life. So are we leaving a legacy to those beyond our own immediate family? I think there's no doubt. I think there's no doubt.

Paul even told the Ephesians. Maybe we should turn over to that example. Acts, chapter 20, verse 18.

Let's take a look at the example that Paul left the Ephesians. Yeah, he lived with them. He stayed there. They knew him. You could probably say pretty much in and out. They knew how he lived. They knew how he talked. They knew how he worked. They knew how he rested. They understood his example. Acts, chapter 20, verse 18. He writes about that. They came to him and Paul said, You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you. What did he do? Verse 19. Serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful but proclaimed it to you. He wasn't afraid to speak it. He wasn't afraid to say it. He wasn't afraid to live it. He says, I taught you publicly from house to house, testifying to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, verse 31, watch and remember for three years I didn't cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Now, the big wimp? I don't think so. I don't think so. He's talking about heartfelt emotion. He wasn't afraid to show it. He wasn't afraid to express it because sometimes the sins of this world, it does bring you to tears, doesn't it? It does. And so Paul passed that on. He said, brethren, verse 32, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. So that's the legacy that Paul understood. He was passing on not just to his immediate family, not just the church, but to all. And that legacy continues to live on even today. So what is it that will continue to live on after we're gone? You know, some people write funny things on their tombstones, thinking that that would somehow live on after them. You know, different epitaphs that are written on gravestones. I had read one. I saw that there's a site that has all kinds of different gravestones and all the epitaphs. You can look at them. There was one that's in Nova Scotia and it says, here lies Ezekiel Eichol, age 102. Underneath it says, only the good die young.

Not a nice thing to be remembered by, is it? There was a lawyer's epitaph in England.

His name was Sir John Strange. Epitaph read, here lies an honest lawyer.

Underneath, now that's strange.

So what would be on your tombstone? What is the epitaph that would be written about you?

I was reading a column by Dave Berry. He's kind of a humorist, columnist, and he was writing a little bit about that idea, about his funeral plans. One of his readers replied to it what he thought he would like to do. He said he was toying with the idea that at his funeral beside the register, the guest register for those that would come to the funeral, that they would display his urn of ashes. And then he wanted a small mound of those ashes right next to it in a dish with a small spoon with little snack-sized Ziploc bags right next to it. So you can imagine that scene.

And he wanted a little saying put right there by the ashes. He wanted it to say, you say that George will always be in your heart? Well, here's your chance to have him in your purse or your wallet, too. Scoop up your own little ashes and take them along. Weird.

Not a good legacy to leave behind. But what about a legacy of servanthood?

Is that something that would carry on more than wealth or prestige or power?

Is it true that faithfulness would be forgotten or good works would be ignored?

I think God's Word teaches us something entirely different. A repentant, godly person will be remembered. And most importantly, let's notice how that comes about. Psalm 112, verse 6. Psalm 112. Beautiful Psalm. It's a short one, but a powerful one.

Psalm 112 starts with, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.

Talks about a physical inheritance, about descendants, but what's most important?

Look at verse 6. It says, surely he'll never be shaken. The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. You see, most importantly, we find that those committed and dedicated to God that carry on and leave that legacy to everyone will have an everlasting remembrance.

Because, guess who doesn't forget?

God says he's never going to leave us. He's never going to forsake us. He's never going to forget those acts of kindness that we did dedicate ourselves to serve and to give. And so there is an everlasting remembrance. Remember, Christ talked about that as well, that we are to store up treasure in heaven because that cannot be destroyed. A thief cannot steal it. It's an endowment that would never come to an end. Paul talked about the crown of righteousness that's laid up. It's waiting there in God's hands for us. So fight the good fight, he said. Be committed.

Live that example to all and commit to action. I think that's what we must do. If we're going to be committed and we're going to leave that legacy to all, we better put it into action. We better allow that passion to live in us and live through us. In fact, I should have had you hold your place there in the book of Acts. Look back at Acts 20, verse 24. Acts 20, verse 24.

Paul more than likely had that in mind as he was inspired. He says, None of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself. He had a different perspective than society and the world around him. It wasn't who has the most toys when he dies wins. It wasn't that at all. He said, I want to finish that race with joy and the ministry which I've received from the Lord Jesus. New Living says this in verse 24, My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work God's given me. Sometimes we put Paul up on a pedestal thing. Well, he had a big work to do, but I don't have any big task ahead of me. God really hasn't given me anything specific that I'm supposed to be doing. But wait a second. You know, Paul's saying here, unless I do the job God's given me, then life really doesn't have much meaning.

But I think we do need to ask ourselves, what's the job that God's given you?

What task is it that you must complete? Is there an unfinished assignment that you haven't quite gotten around to? What job does God want you to accomplish?

I was reading the story the other day of a guy named Blake Mikoski. You've probably never heard of Blake Mikoski. But maybe you've heard of Tom's Shoes, or maybe you've heard of the guy that was on the Amazing Race with his sister a number of years ago. Blake Mikoski was his name.

And he owns Tom's Shoes. What's the big deal about Tom's Shoes? Well, it was started about eight years ago or so, because this young man was visiting Argentina. He was a tourist, touring around basically as a student. And he came to see a need. There were children all over the place that didn't have any shoes. They had no shoes whatsoever. He came back to the United States after touring down in Argentina. And he started a business. Guess what business it was? It was a shoe business.

And he had a business agenda. His business theory, his business idea, or I guess you could say the premise of his shoe business was very simple.

One-to-one. You know what that meant? For every pair of shoes that he sold, he would donate one pair of shoes to a child that needed it in Argentina.

And so his company was named Tom's for tomorrow's shoes, because he looked forward to a better tomorrow for those children. And so today, if you were to look at Tom's shoes, even within, I think it was the first five years, he donated over a million pairs of shoes to those that are underprivileged in Argentina, in South Africa, in Haiti, all those difficult places in the world. You think Blake Mycoskie is leaving a legacy?

Absolutely. He's not even 40 years old today. He's not even 40 years old today.

And that's... but what was the difference? He was just a kid touring in Argentina. So what? What could he do? He was just one guy. But he made a commitment. He decided that he could do something about it. The interesting thing about Blake, they asked him, well, what was the difference in your life? What made you as a student want to come back and do something like that?

You know what he said? He said it was my grandmother. He said my grandmother gave me a sense of duty and a sense for shoes. She liked bright things. She liked outrageous things, and she made people happy and made her more approachable. And so it's amazing that a parent or a grandparent can even leave a legacy... if it wasn't for grandma, Blake probably wouldn't have been able to donate those millions of shoes to those who need. Well, can we leave a spiritual legacy? Is there a job that needs to be done that we have a vision for? Maybe you're in the middle of a job. You know that God's given to you. Finish it. Finish it. Maybe you're doing something that this isn't what I want to do. What is it? What has God called you? Do we need to take a step of faith?

And maybe it's not starting a shoe company or something like that. It's probably not for most of us. Maybe it's more in relationships. Is there someone maybe very important to you?

But right now, it's not good. The relationship isn't right. You know it. What are you going to do about it? You're just going to let it go? Try not to think about it? Or is it possible to take steps to work toward healing? Is it possible? Or will we look back and then regret that we didn't step out in faith? You know, maybe we're aware of some needs. And we've been meaning to do something about it. We've got what it takes. We've got the resources. We've got the time. We just have to do it. We have to make it an action. Maybe we haven't done anything about it yet, but now's the time.

You see, now is the time. Now's the time watching these beautiful children come up on stage. Now's the time to teach those children, train those children, to be a mom and a dad that God inspires. Now is the time to be a congregation that loves those children and cares about those children and shows by our relationships with each other that we love God and we love His way. And there is no better way to live than the way of God. We can do that. That's part of our calling. That's the work that God, I think in all ways, has called us to complete so that we can leave a godly legacy and do the things that God has led us to do. Because God designed us for that very purpose. As Christ Himself said, we're commanded to. If you love me, keep my commandments.

So we've been given that commandment of love. In fact, Christ also said there, there's no better inheritance. There's no better heirloom to give than to lay down your life for your friends. To lay down your life for someone you love. There's no greater love, is what Christ said, because He did that very thing. And if there's someone in your life that left an impression that you remember, that you admire, I'll bet there's no doubt that they laid down their life for you. If they left a mark, I'll bet they did. Can we do the same thing?

Christ set the example. And it wasn't just because He was a nice guy, or a good son, or a good teacher. It wasn't that. It was because He lived it. And He died for all of us.

He died for all of us. So we could ask ourselves, am I laying my life down for anyone?

Am I doing that? Am I following in Christ's footsteps? We're told pretty clearly in Philippians, we're to esteem others better than ourselves. That's the same thing, isn't it? Because most of the time, it's for me and what I want in my self-advancement, my selfishness, and my status, and how good I can feel. But see, God's called us to set that aside, because it's not about my abilities, or my time, or my resources. It's about doing things His way, because any of those things all come from God. God's given us whatever we have. And so are we going to use it for ourself in such a way that our life is an honor to God, lived for the good of others, so that it becomes an endowment that lives on.

Well, if we live it, then it will look like we're laying down our lives for our friends. Well, what does that look like? Well, when we support each other, we build each other up. And it doesn't matter what I give back. It doesn't matter what other people say. It doesn't matter if somebody else gets the credit. None of those things matter. But to encourage and to support and to build, no matter what. That's better than a college fund, isn't it? Isn't that better than an inheritance or retirement? Because those are the things that are permanent. It's not our accomplishments. People will forget those things. But when we lay down our life for others and we put our selfish interests aside, we put those things aside, the nice things. And we think about, what is it that I really love?

What is it that I really care about? What is it that I really support? What is it that I'm really modeling in my example? You see, I think the ones at last are the ones from people who have decided to lay down their lives for someone else. So Christ said there's no greater love. No greater love than that. We can do this because it's not dependent on us. It's dependent on our submission to God, isn't it? As we submit ourselves to God and we allow Christ to live in us and through us, we can build our lives on that never-changing Word of God. When we get ourselves out of the way, we can devote ourselves through God's Holy Spirit to impact our families, to impact our children, to make a difference in our grandchildren's life so that they can know God, so that they can serve God. We can learn to be more passionate about becoming a servant of Jesus Christ. We can have that life-shining effect on the church and on others as well. And we can grow in faith so that there's no doubt others will be touched by our example. And we can love God and His people so that we could do everything within our power so that it makes a difference. Can you imagine someday? Because as we do this, imagine someday someone saying to you, my life, my family is different. My family is better because of who you were, because how you lived, because what you stood for, because how you gave and how you loved like Christ. So in the days ahead, let's really determine to do everything we possibly can to leave a powerful spiritual legacy.