Our Legacy

What is our legacy?

Another word for legacy is an inheritance - The portion of possessions that transfers to an heir upon the owner’s death.

So, what are we going to leave to others upon our death? Or better stated, what will others remember us for? Will we be known for our kindness, our compassion, our faith, our community service, our stubbornness, our disagreeable attitude, our contrariness?

I would hate to think that upon my death someone would STRUGGLE to find words to describe me as they speak over my casket.

Now, let’s take it in another direction. What will our CHRISTIAN legacy be when we are gone? What will our CHRISTIAN legacy be when we are gone? Will we be known as faithful, true, obedient, workers, doers, followers, disciplers or will people struggle to find words to describe your Christian life?

Has anyone heard of The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis? It should be familiar to some. It goes something like this:

I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend He referred to the dates on the tombstone From the beginning...to the end He noted that first came the date of birth And spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years For that dash represents all the time That they spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved them Know what that little line is worth For it matters not, how much we own, The cars...the house...the cash. What matters is how we live and love And how we spend our dash. So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left That can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough To consider what's true and real And always try to understand The way other people feel. And be less quick to anger And show appreciation more And love the people in our lives Like we've never loved before. If we treat each other with respect And more often wear a smile, Remembering this special dash Might only last a little while So, when your eulogy is being read With your life's actions to rehash... Would you be proud of the things they say About how you spent YOUR dash?

Christian, WHAT does YOUR dash look like? WHAT does YOUR dash look like? You see, we all know the date of our birth but none of us know the date of our death. But we are all living our dash right now.

Paul, as he recognizes he has lived the vast majority of his dash reminisces as he speaks to his young protege Timothy. He is encouraging this young preacher to stay strong in his faith, and to simply preach the Word. To be ready - in season and out of season. To defend his faith - reprove, rebuke, and exhort. And to do so through teaching with complete patience. He was encouraging Timothy to live a good, long, fulfilling dash.

Paul knew his life would be soon coming to an end. Most believe 2 Timothy was written as Paul was in prison in Rome awaiting execution. So, maybe he had grown nostalgic, maybe he was trying to impart as much knowledge as he could before he would die. Maybe, just maybe, Paul was using this letter as a platform to tell Timothy to never give up. He refers to himself as a drink offering that was “already being poured out”. Paul knew he had poured as much as he could out of himself as a sacrifice to God. He presented himself as a living sacrifice, as one who had done all God had called him to do, and was faithful to his Savior…even up to the point of his death. You see, even in prison Paul saw the jailer shackled to him not as a burden but as an opportunity.

I want us to look in Acts 16:24

Paul and Silas find themselves in prison for casting out the evil spirit from the slave girl. Now, the owner who used her for profit telling fortunes didn’t like what had happened and they literally beat them half to death before putting them in prison.

Acts 16:24 ESV

24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Notice the opportunity Paul takes during a “God moment”. There is an earthquake, the shackles are released, the doors opened, and the jailer is scared to death everyone has escaped and is ready to take his own life. Paul spoke truth to the jailer - we are all here. There is no need to harm yourself, we are all here!

Acts 16:29–31 ESV

29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

In prison, the (truly) enslaved was set free that day.

Conversion and conflict follows in the preceding cities, and eventually he winds back up in Jerusalem where more conflict occurs - he is arrested again. For another two years he would be imprisoned. Awaiting his appeal to Caesar. Continuing to testify and spread the gospel to whomever would hear.

It was at this time, when he is sitting in a Roman jail, that he pens this second letter to Timothy. Paul, regardless of his circumstance, was leaving his legacy. His mark. What he would be remembered for throughout the years. It is here in 2 Timothy 4:7 that we find these precious words from Paul. Not words of defeat, but words of victory. Something I would hope we all would strive for. He simply states:

2 Timothy 4:7 ESV

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Today, I want us to look at the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith.

The Good Fight

I have fought the good fight. What is a good fight? Paul uses military terms, he was a faithful soldier. You see, Paul had been drafted. Not by Uncle Sam, but by Father God. He had volunteered to serve. We all know the background story of Paul - a religious man, a Pharisee, who sought to rid the world of Christianity. Until he met his recruiter - Jesus Christ - on the road to Damascus. This meeting with Jesus changed his life eternally! He fought the battle against tradition, against preference, and against humanity for the rest of his life. Oh, but this time, he was playing on the winning team. He had fought well, but it had not come without a price. He had been threatened, he had been beaten, he had been imprisoned, he was facing death.

Now, I don’t know about you all, but many of us today give up when we don’t get something exactly the way we want it or when we want it. We are not USED to fighting, we are not USED to the battle, we are not USED to sacrifice. But Paul saw the need of a lost and dying world and NOTHING would stop him from telling others about the one who CHANGED HIS LIFE. Notice, he was not petty, he was not argumentative, he was not compromising, but he was faithful. The word here for good is kalos - good, fair, worthy, honorable. The battle against Satan had been one that had made Jesus proud. As a result, Paul could victoriously declare “I have fought a good fight”.

Will we be able to say, I have fought the good fight? Will we be able to say, we have fought a good, fair, worthy, and honorable battle? Will we be able to be called “good and faithful servant”? Not only did Paul fight a good fight, but he finished the race.

Finishing the Race

Do we remember what words Jesus spoke from the cross at the very end? IT IS FINISHED. Paul is victoriously declaring his race was FINISHED. He had faithfully completed the race God had laid out for him to run in his life. He had not slowed down, he had not taken a break, he had not quit. He took a steady pace, ran the course, and now was coming upon the finish line.

Notice WHEN Paul declared He had finished. It wasn’t until God was done with him! How many of us would still be telling others of the salvation offered through Jesus Christ if we had been beaten, mocked, ridiculed, imprisoned?

Shucks folks, many of us can’t even make it out to Sunday morning service without making an excuse, let alone keep our faith when we are faced with life’s hardships!

What is our reaction to adversity? You see, many of us have never had to run in this race! Most of us are sauntering along, dragging our feet, and watching as OTHERS move towards the finish line. I have a question to ask you today - do we even know where the finish line is? Are we even pointed in the right direction? Are we running the race. Better yet, are we running the race well?

And finally, Paul says through all this adversity and ridicule, he has kept the faith.

Keeping the Faith

Let me encourage you today. No one here today will ever fully know the struggles you face. No one here today will ever have to face YOUR life’s challenges but you. But…God will faithful see you through.

Let me say it in another way. It doesn’t matter HOW this life treats you, we have been given a promise by God that He will never leave us, nor will he forsake us - as a follower, a believer, of Jesus Christ we have a promise we will NEVER be left in our situation without Christ being right there by our side. This weekend, Dr. Rick Rigsby used Job to ENCOURAGE us. Now, most of us understand Job is about loss, it is about devastation, it is about hopelessness…even to the point Job asks God to give him an ANSWER to why He allowed these things to happen to him. And then…God speaks. He asks Job where he was when the world was created.

Job 38:4–5 ESV

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

Job - I do not owe you an explanation, I only require you to have faith in the process. Paul trusted God’s process, Paul kept the faith.

Closing

Church, can I encourage you this morning? Trust God’s process, and keep the faith. We may not understand why life has decided to declare war against us. But through the battle, I encourage you to fight the good fight. We may never understand why it seems every race is up the steepest hill. But I encourage you to finish the race well. We may have everything we have and have known ripped from us. But I encourage you to trust God’s process and keep the faith. You see, we cannot give up. We have to live a dash worth living.

You see, Paul goes on to say it WILL be worth it in the end.

2 Timothy 4:8 ESV

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Today if you are burdened, if you know people who are burdened or in need of encouragement, if you need to step back into the battle, or even if you need someone to help set the pace of the race - I ask you to come forward. The altar is open. Keep the faith. Fight the fight. Finish the race.