What Do You Want?

I want you to consider this question: What do you want your legacy to be?

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke exhort with complete patience and instruction. For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside myths. You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day – and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Take a look at what it says in verse 3, “because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.” Insatiable by definition means: (of an appetite of desire) impossible to satisfy. Now, re-read verse 3 like this: because they have a curiosity that is impossible to satisfy.

The questions remains: what do you want? I wanna discuss three points pertaining to legacy

I. What is a Legacy?

A legacy by dictionary definition is an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. I believe that when the song The World Was Wide Enough from Hamilton says, “What if this bullet is my legacy? Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me. America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference. A place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up.” displays a better view of what a legacy is.

I don’t know exactly what my legacy is; however I have some vague ideas about it. Although I may not know what my legacy is, I do know that I’m not throwing away my shot. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me. America, this great unfinished symphony has sent for me, and is letting me make a difference.

II. Why Leave a Legacy?

Psalms 78:1-8 gives great reasoning as to why you should leave a legacy. Furthermore, the great poet Maya Angelou also gives good, sound reasoning as to why we should leave a legacy.

“I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come, and since I wasn’t satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut a new path.” ~ Maya Angelou

So, there are are four reasons why you should leave a legacy. Number one, leave a legacy so people remember who you were. Number two, leave a legacy to give future generations better. Number three, leave a legacy to change the world. And last but not least, leave a legacy so that “One generation will praise your deeds to another, and tell about your mighty acts!” (Psalms 145:4)

III. How to Achieve Your Legacy

You can NOT achieve your legacy by piggy-backing off of someone else’s. In 1 Corinthians 12:1, it says that you should not be uniformed in regards to your spiritual gifts. Let’s go deeper. Think about the relationship of a shark and Remora fish (sometimes called suckerfish). Remora fish latch onto sharks and feed off of the leftover of what a shark eats; they survive by doing this, but you cannot survive nor leave a legacy with such relationship, you cannot suck someone’s legacy into you.

You can NOT leave a legacy by building walls. If you want to leave a legacy, you must be an open book to an extent. I mean come on, what good has ever come from building walls. The only person who left a legacy by building a wall was the person who built the Great Wall of China.

You can achieve your legacy by going after what you want and being persistent. Look at these lyrics from The Election of 1800 (Hamilton). Hamilton: “You’ve created quite a stir, sir!” Burr: “I’m going door to door!” Hamilton: “You’re openly campaigning?”
Burr: “Sure!” HAMILTON: “That’s new.” Burr: “Honestly, it’s kind of draining.” Hamilton: “Burr–” Burr: “Sir!” Hamilton: “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” Burr: “No. I’m chasing what I want. And you know what?” Hamilton: “What?” Burr: “I learned that from you.”

Lastly, your legacy can NOT be achieved by sitting on your hind-end and doing nothing.

IV. Results of a True Legacy

So, what are the results of a true legacy? Some of the results of a true legacy are people remember who you were, future generations are given better, you change the world, and “One generation will praise your deeds to another, and tell about your mighty acts.

“The true legacy of a servant will not be determined by what he has done but what others do as a result of what he has done.” ~ Wayne Cordeiro (founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii)

WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE?