Copyright 2010 Theresa Harvard Johnson
The Lord talks to me often about legacy. Why? Because that “little by little” that Father speaks of grows out of the foundations of the Word, that root of Jesse. You see, Father gave us a powerful principle to live by.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 puts it this way, “I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, only God who makes things grow – planter and waterer are the same.
Take a REALLY good look at this scripture. Meditate on it hard. We are JESUS SEEDS! Get a visual picture of that if you can. Take that picture with you all the way back to the Garden of Eden if you can, and consider it as you read the first six or seven chapters of that book by the Spirit of God.
You and I ARE JESUS seeds!
Our garden is made up of the people we have been ENTRUSTED by God to sow these JESUS SEEDS into. Our role in th earth is to plant and water those JESUS SEEDS so that “in due season” Father will MAKE them grow. You and I are the results of a GOOD HARVEST from a Garden in which some man or woman of God somewhere have tended and nurtured — whether up close and in person, through a book or CD series, through intercession and prayer, spiritual counsel and guidance, or what have you.
Legacy IS NOT leaving some material something behind. Legacy IS NOT leaving some cool stories about the Lord in someone’s heart, writing a book or leaving a long line of pastors in your lineage. If that was so, we’d see the genealogy of Christ speak only of the tangible GOOD STUFF and ONLY of wealth and possession. Legacy, as Father reveals it to us, is so much more. It’s about making godly deposits in the realm of the Spirit that are so strong that they cause tremors down through generations and implants a FEAR OF THE LORD that is so strong that the fire chases offspring right into His arms.
My brothers and sisters, think about this for a minute. Look at the patriarchs who’ve gone before us. What type of legacy did they leave? Yes, the Jewish people left a legacy of wealth and prosperity in the natural. Yes, there is a legacy of breakthrough — yokes destroyed, burdens lifted. But there is also a deep rooted legacy of the FEAR OF THE LORD — that reverential kind of fear that demands the obedient heart of the Sons of God! That reverential kind of FEAR that causes a man to constantly ponder OVER THE GOD WHO sentences and judges. That reverential fear that causes a man’s heart to skip beats at the very thought of the vision the Apostle John had of Christ’s return!
Father is looking for generational imprints CHISELED OR ENGRAVED on the hearts of men — that demand that we fear Him. It’s time people of the Most High God that we come out of the earth’s way of thinking and into Heaven’s plan for eternal life. It’s TIME to PURSUE the KIND OF LEGACY Father wants and the ONLY type of legacy that he consistently and constantly speaks of through His word.
This type of legacy BRINGS the Fear of the Lord! Are you living that kind of legacy with your life as a living Epistle.
Joshua 3:1-5 says, “Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Joshua was planning a seemingly impossible journey. We know it was a journey that would have been impossible WITHOUT God. The task at hand was to get the people of God across the Jordon River — Jurden as my mama used to say. For us, this journey represents the walking out of the promises of God. It paints a visual picture of our freedom from bondage and captivity according to Isaiah 61. While it represented those things for Joshua and the children of Israel also, they had to walk this thing out in the NATURAL, giving us a powerful trail to blaze upon today. Before taking the steps into this promised land they had to follow the Lord’s plan — exactly. They couldn’t just RUSH across the Jordan because they “came to it.” They had to wait three days (a picture of Jesus), they had to watch for a sign (a pattern for the fulfillment of promise), they had boundaries to observe (for their own protection), and most importantly their was a call to sanctification and holiness that they were required to observe.
My brethren, as long as we have breath in our bones, we exist in preparation.
The scriptures continue the story of their journey of obedience. This is important because TRUE SPIRITUAL LEGACY is not leaving behind what you WANT to leave behind; but it is leaving behind what is of sacrificial important to God. Again, it’s the imprint of the LIVING EPISTLE that you walk out. It’s that image of holiness and righteousness that leads men into the very presence of God where they FEAR HIM. Follow me along this journey.
In Hebrew, the word for SPIRITUAL LEGACY is morreshet or morrasha. There really isn’t a word in Greek or Western culture to capture what these words mean. Legacy is about as close as you get. In Hebrew, words are are walked out — meaning they demonstrate something through their application in one’s life or service. Legacy really refers to the preservation of heritage from a spiritual perspective. The Hebrew root of these words literally mean “the possessions of my heart.”
WOW! For those who are bible scholars, this should send all kinds of light bulbs off in your mind and sounds in your heart. It gives new meaning to the word MOTIVES and why Father covets the heart of men. It gives us valuable understanding concerning His jealousy toward the idols we raise above Him. When Father talks about legacy, he is literally talking about the POSSESSIONS OF A MAN’S HEART. We are still on this journey, so walk with me.
In Joshua 3:5, Father promised Joshua and the children of Israel that if they obeyed him he would DO WONDERS among them on the very next day. In Joshua 3:7, he also promised Joshua that he would MAGNIFY him in the sight of all Israel for HIS GLORY. Now, I want to stop right here for a minute. Many people are making names for themselves in the body of Christ. They are marketing themselves instead of the Father, pushing personal agenda’s and making idols of their possessions, themselves and others. When people behave this way, it is a magnification of the secret desires of their OWN hearts.
There’s nothing like allowing Father to magnify you. There are two ways he can do this. You will be magnified through judgment as a result of sin, or magnified in HIS GLORY as you live for Him. Truthfully, we want him to magnify HIMSELF through our temples — temples that are being prepared to USHER IN HIS GLORY for generations — not just to usher one person before a crowd of people. Instead of seeing yourself as a person, see yourself as his intricately designed cup or a wood wind instrument. When He fills the cup, you see it’s intricate beauty in the King’s hands, but it is what is inside the cup that you’re after. While the King may use the saxophone to make the sound, it is the SOUND blowing from that saxophone that has the impact.
In both instances, what fills the cup and what flows through the instrument is what is glorified! My God! If we can just get this as a people… and stop moving in our own strength.
What “we” do is just a vapor in the eyes of God. But when he is preparing to MAGNIFY YOU FOR HIS SAKE, it is for a generation of people. It is to engrave HIS WORD on men’s heart. It is PREPARATION for a testimony that will not soon be forgotten. He is PREPARING US to leave a legacy of the FEAR OF THE LORD.
People of God, the mingling and mixing of the world with the WORD is constructing sandcastles in our sanctuaries. People are walking away with messages of comfort and complacency concerning their condition INSTEAD of walking away trusting in the refiners fire. We can only trust in His fire — the ongoing, continuing process of refinement at His feet. The kind of legacy Father seeks after is rooted in FEARING HIM…
In part two, we will bring this home.
