Living Legacy Part 2
Notes
Transcript
The Power of Living Legacy
The Power of Living Legacy
In every culture throughout history there are legends. Legends often turn into heroic figures with powers and abilities that far exceed average human capacity. But most often they are embellished through the ages.
There is a difference between legend and legacy. Legend is defined as unverified stories handed down through the ages or folklore and myths that have become popular for their inspirational value. Examples include those such as Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Johnny Appleseed.
But legacy is defined as a gift handed from one generation to another. This is what we are to give our children and their children. If you are waiting until you die, your children will not inherit the most valuable thing you could give them through a will or beneficiary deed. You must pass on to them the power of Truth today. And it does not come cheap or easy. You do not need an attorney to pass it on. You already have an advocate in Jesus Christ.
A.W. Tozer said, “To know the truth is the greatest privilege any man can enjoy in this life, as truth itself is without doubt the richest treasure anyone can possess. Truth is not a thing for which we must search, but a Person to whom we must hearken.”
In the book of Acts we see the legacy of Christ in action to those who received it.
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Stephen, along with the other young men listed here, were Hellenists. Hellenist were considered half-Jewish as they were Jews who had, through the years, adopted portions of Greek culture. But Stephen and these had encountered Yeshua and set their lives in Christ Jesus.
Though not much more is known of Stephen, the legacy he leaves is powerful enough for us to emulate. His message is a detailed account of the plan of God from Abraham to Yeshua. We find his opening statement in Acts 7:2
And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
Stephen points everything to “The God of Glory”. This is a reference to Deut 5:24
And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live.
Stephen in that moment was so immersed in the Spirit of God that the religious demons could not stand it. Stephen took from the Scriptures that a man has not or truly cannot live until he has encountered God Almighty. Look how Luke describes Stephens countenance in Acts 6:15
And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
The same glory of God that was on Moses was now upon Stephen. It was more than radiance but perfect peace and trust in the Lord. But Stephen brings this plan of God full circle back to the heart of the matter in Acts 7:51-53
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
Even though they are very spiritual outwardly, he points out that the legacy you leave comes from the inward man. And even if outwardly you seem spiritual, but inwardly you are unrighteous, your inward unrighteousness taints your outward spirituality. Your real life may be hidden from others, but it is neither hidden in Christ nor from Christ.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Pastor Lindell Ballenger once said, “THE LIFE STORY OF A PERSON IS THE STORY OF THE DECISIONS THEY HAVE MADE, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD. YOUR CURRENT LIFE SITUATION IS LARGELY THE RESULT OF THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ALL THE DECISIONS YOU HAVE MADE BOTH GOOD AND BAD. ALTHOUGH SOME THINGS ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL… WE ARE IN CONTROL OF HOW WE RESPOND… OUR RESPONSE IS A DECISION WE MAKE, WHICH REVEALS OUR TRUE SPIRITUAL MATURITY AND AFFECTS OUR FUTURE.”
Stephen knew the consequences of speaking the truth. His motive was to redeem a people who even hated him for who he was. A people who believed that those like him could not be redeemed. Stephen had made his decision and counted the cost. And look at his response to their reaction in Acts 7:54-56
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
It did not stop there. The situation turned costly for Stephen in Acts 7:57-58
But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Notice where they laid their garments? At the feet of Saul. He who later became the Apostle Paul. I believe that not only the testimony of Stephen account of God plan, but Stephen’s final reply, Stephen’s passionate prayer with his last breath made such an impact that the power of his legacy lived in that moment was a key part of the Gospel of the Christ that continues to show us how to live to this day. Let’s look at it:
And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen did not die a legendary superman. But his life left a supernatural legacy. As Stephen fell asleep in the hands of the Lord, the church had to awaken to the need for the supernatural power of Truth (David Guzik). Have you embraced the power of the living legacy of the Christ today? That power has a name and His name is Holy Ghost received through the life of Jesus Christ. Can you say that you have that same power living in you as Stephen if you were to be faced with his circumstances today? Would you like to leave that kind of legacy?