1 LIFE TO LIVE SERIES: LEAVE A LEGACY

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”
Psalm 90:12.

No matter how long you’ve labored to build a sandcastle, or how big you were able to make it, when high tide comes, the water will bring it all down to ground level. Many people work long and hard to leave a mark of their existence, but in reality, only a few are remembered. What are you trying to build with your life? What legacy would you like to leave behind?


LEGACIES WE LEAVE BEHIND:

1. A GOOD NAME.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold”
Proverbs 22:1

Dr. Alfred Nobel was an innovator, chemist and engineer who discovered the dynamite. In 1896, a newspaper mistakenly published an obituary of him that read:
"Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."

It was then that Alfred Nobel realized that he was leaving a negative legacy that he dedicated the rest of his life helping other people. In his death, he left about 9 Million dollars to a foundation that assists scientists, researchers and scholars now known as the “Nobel Peace Prize.”

2. WEALTH AND INHERITANCE.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous” Proverbs 13:22.

It is good to store up for our children so that we can leave an inheritance for them and their children as well.

3. LASTING GENERATION.

Having a good name and leaving wealth are good inheritance but they can also be temporary. The legacy of a lasting generation is in the relationships we leave behind. On what foundations are our relationships built on?

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put it into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand”
Matthew 7:25-26.

What foundations are we building a legacy on? Are we building on Godly foundations that are eternal or are we building on Worldly foundations that are temporary?

James Ryle, President and Founder of TruthWorks Ministry lived as an orphan at the age of 7 and was imprisoned in Texas Penitentiary at the age of 19.

When he was able to meet with his father after he was released from prison, he learned that his father, who was an ex-convict, was one of those who built the very same cell block that he stayed in in prison.

On the other hand, Joe Martin, Pastor of an Every Nation church in Trinity, Dallas preaches on a stage and platform that his father built with his own bare hands.

How you live today determines your legacy tomorrow. Every generation either builds a prison or a platform for the next generation.

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds”
1Corinthians 3:10.

4. LEGACY OF A NEW LIFE.

“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”
2 Timothy 2:2

There is nothing bigger than leaving a legacy of a relationship with Jesus. The people whom who you have shared the gospel to will be eternally grateful.


LIFE IS SHORT. LEAVE A GODLY LEGACY.

Jesus walked the earth for 33 years making each moment count. He left us a lasting legacy which is the Church that we know today.

1 LIFE TO LIVE: LEARN HUMBLY.

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”
Psalm 90:2.

“Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
Matthew 11:28-30.

Life is a learning process. Not everything in life is fair. You can draw the wrong conclusions out of certain experiences in life and it can hurt you for the rest of your lives. Jesus teaches us that to learn, we must come to him.

How you position yourself in learning in life is so critical for every age. Many people find themselves bitter because they did not learn what they needed to learn from their circumstances. The challenge is to veer away from Identity theft.

“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”
John 10:10.

Jesus’ purpose in our lives is always fulfillment. God had invested keys in our lives so that we will find our fulfillment.


GOD-GIVEN KEYS TO FULFILLMENT:

GIFTS.
God has given each of us gifts. The enemy will always try to rip us of these gifts. We must learn and draw from the Savior on how to take care of these gifts and use them.

PASSION.
God has given us passions to accomplish His purpose. What brings real pleasure in your heart?

STRUGGLES.
God has allowed struggles in our lives so that we can learn more about Him. Satan wants to steal the purpose of these struggles; he wants to steal the fruitfulness that comes out of these struggles.

“…who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God”
2 Corinthians 1:4.

God stays with us and gives us comfort in all our struggles and He positions us to be with other people who may be going through the troubles that we have gone through that we may be with them to give them the same comfort that God has given us Himself.

Real difficulties happen when we think we can do things by ourselves, when we think that we do not need God, His purpose and His plans.

“Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus tells us to come to him, to learn from him and be yoked with him even in our struggles to find our real purpose in life.

God sees our purpose and our fruitfulness. He longs to see our fruitfulness in our working environment, in our relationships, in our families and so forth.

TO FIND YOUR REAL PURPOSE IN LIFE, LEARN HUMBLY

Read Matthew 13:3-23, The Parable of the Sower.

“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”
Matthew 13: 23.

The Lord’s goal for each of us is true fruitfulness.

1 LIFE TO LIVE SERIES: LOVE COMPLETELY

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”
Psalm 90:2.

“It was just before the Passover feast Jesus knew that the time for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love”
John 13:1.

What would you do if you realize that you only have one month to live? Who would you spend your last days with?

Jesus, in his last few days on earth, didn’t spend his remaining time preaching or performing miracles, rather, he spent it with the people who mattered the most.

We are created by God to be relational beings. We are both created and commanded to love. Our purpose is to love, to receive love and give love every single day.

CREATED TO LOVE.
We need one another. None of us can live in isolation. We are social creatures created for relationships and communities.

“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him”
Genesis 2:18.

COMMANDED TO LOVE.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”
John 13:34-35.

Jesus referred to loving one another as a new command even if it was mentioned because giving love was no longer natural. Sin caused people to self-preservation, pride, selfishness and vanity.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:30.

Jesus summed up the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament with these two commands on love. He tells us to love others unconditionally just as he has loved us— without expecting anything in return. He also teaches us to love God with everything that we are.


LIFE IS SHORT. LOVE COMPLETELY.

How do we love completely? WE COMMIT TO LOVE. Love is a commitment. It’s a choice. We choose to love the people God has put around us. To show love to the people who matter to us is in the way we spend time with them.


HOW TO COMMIT TO LOVE:

1. Act now.

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions”
1 John 3:18.

2. Forgive.

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”
Colossians 3:13.

Many times, we hold on to bitterness and resentment because of hurt. In relationships, when we let go of these bitterness and resentment, both sides win.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” John 15:11.

1 LIFE TO LIVE SERIES: LIVE WISELY

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”
Psalm 90:12.

What would you do if you realize that you only have one month to live? How would you live the remaining days of your life?

Every single day is a gift from God. Life is short and each of us has an appointment with God.

“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath”
Psalms 39: 5

Psalm 90 was a psalm written by Moses who was a man of God. He walked his life filled with the Spirit and had witnessed 10 major miracles of God and had seen manna and quail fall from the heavens, and yet he humbly asked for God to teach him to number his days aright. What can we learn from Moses?

LEARNING FROM MOSES (What Moses asked from God).

1. Teach us.
   Moses asked God to teach him about life. God is the author of life and He is the author of time. God existed even before time began. God started time so that we can measure our days.
   

   “Be very careful , then, how you live—not as unwise, but as wise”
   Ephesians 5:15.
   

   Are you living your life on the right priorities? Are you doing what God wants you to do? Or are you just filling your life with schedules?
   
   
2. Number our days.
   In an average of 75-85 years in a life span, we only spend 5 ½ months worshipping God while we spend years and years on other things such as eating, sleeping, working, entertainment, etc..
   
   Our days on earth are numbered, but we are not victims of time. Time is one of the few things that are consistent in life. How do we value it? Do we take time for granted by simply doing lifeless routines?
   
   
3. TO GAIN.
   What do we seek to gain from this life? Do we seek eternal wealth? Wisdom? Relationships? Moses asked God to give him the basic understanding and knowledge of God. He sought to have a relationship with God. Moses sought after eternal life.
   

   “What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?”
   Matthew 16:26a.
   

4. A Heart of Wisdom.
   Having a Heart of Wisdom is having the ability to identify what truly matters most in life and pouring one’s passion in it, making every moment count.
   

   “Be very careful, then, how you live –not as unwise, but as wise making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”
   Ephesians 5:15-17.
   

Even when we are not aware, whatever we do with our families, relationships and finances will echo in eternity. Are you merely existing or are you really living?

LIFE IS SHORT, LIVE WISELY.

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men”
Ecclesiastes 3:11b.

“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”
John 10:10.

Jesus lived all his 33 years here on earth by making every moment count.**

Love

WHY CHRISTMAS? LOVE.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” 1 John 4:7-12.

Christ appeared to give us eternal life, freedom and victory. But above it all, God sent His son to demonstrate His love for us. This good news is for everyone (Luke 2:10).

The world has come up with many popular definitions of love. Noted poet, Robert Frost defines love as a desire to be irresistibly desired; Philosopher Plato defined love as a desire for the perpetual possession of the good. However, real love is from God and not from the world (1 John 4:7).

Only those who have been borne of God are capable of loving others the way God loves. Every part of God’s being is love. In fact, the bible clearly states that God Himself is love (1 John 4:8).

God did not only define love; God demonstrated His love for us.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” 1 John 4:9 .

In His love, God sent His only begotten Son to become man. He showed Himself tempted and yet had no sin. He offered Himself to die on the cross to free us.

GOD’S DEMONTRATION OF LOVE.

1. God made a decision to love us.
   

   “ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” 1 John 4:10.
   
   “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.
   

   Before we became Christians, we did not honor God with our words or with our actions and yet, God already loved us. He loved us even before we lived changed lives. He loved us even when we were sinners and unworthy of His love.
   
   
2. God freely gives his love to us.
   

   “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” 1John 4:9.
   

   In the ancient days, ancient Israelites and Canaanites worshipped a sun god named Molech, to whom sacrifices of humans, including children, are offered. Our God chose to give Himself freely as a sacrifice so that we may live through Him.
   

   “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6.
   

WHY CHRISTMAS? BECAUSE OF GOD’S LOVE.

One of the attributes of Jesus Christ is that He is the Prince of Peace. We can never have peace if we are incapable of loving others in the same way that Christ loved us.**

Victory

WHY CHRISTMAS? VICTORY.

“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.” 1 John 3:8

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

According to the bible, the devil has been sinning from the beginning. In Genesis 3, satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and to desire to be independent of Him. Adam and Eve chose to be independent of God which resulted in every man being borne to sin.

The bible also states that war has been declared against the devil from the beginning of time (Genesis 3:15). This is the reason why we perpetually find ourselves fighting against the temptation to sin.

The good news is that Jesus Christ has already won the victory for us on the cross.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.

His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God” Revelations 19:11-13.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” John 1:14.

The apostle John who wrote both the books of Revelation and the book of John referred to Jesus Christ as the “Word of God” who won the victory for us.

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” Colossians 2:15.

Victory has already been won for us in the past by the cross. You and I have the victory of Christ because Jesus won over the devil by the cross.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” Romans 16:20.

“Merry Christmas!” is more than just a greeting, it is a declaration of war. We are declaring that we can celebrate, not only because Jesus was born, but because He came to give us victory by the cross.

THE VICTORY WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

1. When Jesus Christ comes in the life of a Christian, he is a free man.
   The bible says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He steals our joy, hope, faith and the Word of God in our hearts; He kills our dreams and our visions; He destroys marriages, families and finances. Jesus came to destroy the enemy.
   

   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10.

2. The Christian has the power and authority over the enemy.
   

   “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" Matthew 16:19
   

   The devil’s weapons are temptation, deception, condemnation and accusation. We do not have to fear the devil nor fall for his traps because Jesus has given us the authority against him and his schemes.
   
   
3. The devil cannot come near the Christian because of the Presence of God.
   When a Christian spends more time with God and nurtures his relationship with him, the devil cannot come near him because the Presence of God protects him.

WHY CHRISTMAS? WE CAN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS BECAUSE JESUS WON THE VICTORY.**

Freedom

WHY CHRISTMAS? Series: Freedom.

Gift giving is the most significant event that happens during Christmas season. In Bethlehem, in the first Christmas, gift giving was also done.

In the birth of Christ, Magi came to visit him and offer their gifts of gold, frankincense (a gift given to acknowledge deity) and myrrh (symbolizing that the present King will give up His life to save His people).

History recalls that the Jews suffered so much affliction that they anticipated the coming of the mighty King, a royalty, who would redeem them from their suffering. Jesus Christ, unlike how the Jews expected, was born quietly in Bethlehem with only hay for His bed, and among commoners such as the shepherds and magi.

“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” 1 John 3:5-6.

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins'" Matthew 1:20-21.

Jesus was the most significant gift that was given in Bethlehem. He was God’s gift to us so that when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, we have the gift of Freedom. In Him, we have freedom from sin (John 8:36), freedom from bondages of destructive habits (Romans 12:2) and the freedom from the consequences of sin: guilt, fear, shame, bitterness and offenses (Romans 6:23). We now have the freedom to live a full life.

FREEDOM WE HAVE IN CHRIST:

1. Freedom to believe. With Christ, we have the freedom to believe for His will in our lives.
   

   “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2.

2. Freedom to give. We give because He gave first (1 John 4:19).
   

   “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" Luke 6:38.

3. Freedom to live. With Jesus, we have the freedom to live an abundant life. With Christ, in whatever circumstances we are in, we have peace.
   

   “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” Romans 5:17.

JESUS CAME TO SET US FREE. Our relationship with God is not about the do's and don’ts but about the freedom with Jesus Christ on the basis of the blood He shed on the cross. We are free to live lives pleasing to Him.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1-2.**