1 Kings 2:1-9 | The Legacy of a Godly Man

This morning, I want to share with you about something important that I think is appropriate for Father's Day, but appropriate for any time that we are considering men. And that is the legacy of a godly man. The legacy of a godly man. And you know, you may be thinking, maybe you're in the room and you're thinking, but I'm not a man. We have a number of women. We have young teenagers, some perhaps still in the room. We have young women. And you're thinking, well, how does a message called the legacy of a godly man help me as I sit here this morning? But, you know, the truth is there's a number of principles that are going to cross over. There's a number of principles as we talk about the legacy of a godly man that will apply to everyone. But also, if you are a young man, you will one day be a man, you will one day have a grey head, a crown of glory. And so you need to prepare yourself for such a legacy. If you're a young woman, at some point, you're going to perhaps be considering marriage. And you need to know what a godly man is. It's an absolute tragedy when women of faith look outside of the people of God for their partner. Something is really missing when that happens. We need to know what a godly man looks like. Maybe you're a married woman. You are married to a man, I hope, a godly man. And you need to know, what does a godly man look like? What is it? I need to be praying for my husband? What do I need to be praying for him so that he can be the godly man that the Father intends him to be? I know many men will testify to this the same way as me. But if I am anything today, my wife had a great deal to do with him. We look to our wives for so many things. In public, of course, we declare that we are men. We stand on our own two feet. But the reality is that we get where we do because of good women. And so if you're a woman today, you, you know, as we talk about the legacy of a godly man, you might be seeing something of a blueprint, that you might bring it into the prayer room that you might look at those areas. Because I know myself as a man, I hope I'm a godly man. But there are many areas where I fall short. There are many areas where I need to grow and I need to mature. And so I hope my wife is pretty, praying for me to grow in those areas. I hope she's standing with me as I grow in those areas. So the legacy of a godly man. You know, legacies are being built all the time. Legacies are always being built. Legacies are being built by us as a nation. Legacies are being built by us as individuals. We have no choice in that. We will leave a legacy. The question is, what kind of legacy are we going to leave behind when we're gone? That's the question. Will it be a good legacy or a bad legacy? I don't know about you, but my family was never perfect and my forefathers were never perfect. But here's the thing. My great, not my great grandfather, my grandfather. I never knew my grandfather. My grandfather had some amazing stories. My grandfather spent some time in Ghana and in Kenya. And I seems to have followed without even planning it that way. I seem to have followed suit in some ways. But my grandfather did some amazing things. My grandfather got a job in Ghana as an explosives expert. My father knew nothing, my grandfather knew nothing about explosives. But he did know how to get through an interview. And so he got a job as an explosives expert. And he made sure that on his way to the airport he bought a book on explosives and he read that on the way over. He was also a hunter in Kenya. And I have a picture at home of him with a lion that didn't fare well under his sportsmanship. And you know, you'd say what an amazing man. But I never met him. But one thing I knew about him was he had the most awful temper. He once had a disagreement during a dance match during which he knocked a man unconscious for spring, speaking out of turn. I never met him. But it might not surprise you that when I grew up, I had a terrible temper. I continued to have a terrible temper. It's just the grace of God and a good wife that has gradually brought me to the place where I don't think I'm a bad tempered man. But that's a legacy you see. And we see that time and time again. We leave legacies in different areas. We leave material legacies. Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance, A righteous man leaves an inheritance, his children. There's material inheritance, the land we buy, the wealth we accumulate, the things we lay aside so that when we're gone, that becomes a legacy for our children. There's also an actual legacy written into our DNA. You see how I had certain traits of my grandfather, though I never met my grandfather. And do you know what things like trauma get hard coded into your DNA so that your Children and future generations, actually, you'll find that they carry trauma that they never expect experienced. It's your trauma passed down. Isn't that amazing? There is a spiritual legacy. What you are living now, what you are laying up now in the kingdom of God, your walk with God, the decisions that you are making. There is a spiritual legacy. Today we are looking at David in chapter two of First Kings. In his dying moments, he is speaking to his son Solomon. And David was a man who left a legacy. Not all of that legacy, by the way, was good. We think of David as a great example. But David left much that was good, but also much that was not ideal. And we can learn an awful lot from these last moments of David's life as he shares a few words with his son Solomon. I hope we're going to learn something from that today. But I hope one thing we won't learn is to make a hit list. You see, David left his son Solomon with a hit list. Man, it is not your job when you go to leave your sons with a hit list. That was something to do with justice, to do with his dual role as, as both the father of Solomon, but also head of state. Well, stay away from that. I would not advise hit list to be made or vengeance to be carried out. But there's still some things that we can learn from what David had to say to his son. Let's look at verse one. It says, when the time drew near David for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon, his son. Verse 2. He says, I am about to go the way of all the earth. The first thing is this. As we consider the legacy of a godly man, we're going to consider the building blocks, the things we are doing now that build that legacy. Some of us are younger. You had many years to build a legacy. Some of us are older and we're just realizing now that we were stupid when we were young. And so we're playing catch up as we build our legacy. But the first thing we realize from David is that godly men know that their days are numbered. Godly men know that their days are numbered. Psalm 91 says, Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. That's powerful, isn't it? What is David saying here? Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. He's saying that when we begin to truly realize our mortality, there's a kind of wisdom that we will get. It's amazing how much focus we get. I don't know all the middle aged men in the room. But there's a focus we get as we get to middle age that you don't have at other stages in your life. When I was in my 20s, I never got a call from the doctor. Now from time to time, I get a call from the doctor. Why? Because I'm not young anymore and so things don't always function quite as they should. Although I recommend leaning on the Lord for healing and good health and long life. But nevertheless, we come to a place as we get older where we realize that life has an end, that life has an end for us. I don't think we really always realize that when we are young, we kind of vaguely know that we also die, but it doesn't really hit home. And yet it says here in Psalm 90:12, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of. Of wisdom. Hallelujah. Psalm 39, 4, 5. Show me, Lord, my life's end and the number of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth. The span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath. Teach us to number our days. Let me know. A godly man knows this reality. He lives his life with the knowledge that he doesn't have forever. He lives his life with the knowledge that I only have a certain amount of time to build a legacy, to prepare something for, for the next generation. Our days are set. It says in Psalm 90:10. Our days may come to 70 years or 80 if our strength endures. Yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass and we fly away. That's a reality that all men have to face. But facing it is an important building block if we are to be godly men who leave not just a legacy, but a good legacy. Psalm 103 says, the life of mortals is like grass. They flourish like a flower in the field. The wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. Remember that your days are numbered. Well now, when we talk like that, sometimes someone will say, you know, you don't have to be morbid. Let's not think about such things. You know, if I talk about my mortality, someone will say, well now, don't speak such words over your life. Listen, death is an inevitable thing, but there's good news. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has placed eternity in the heart of man. You know, we are, as far as I know, we are the only creature on the earth that is capable of understanding something like our own mortality. I've had the occasional pet dog, and I don't think my dogs have ever gone around considering the nature of life or the brevity of life. They just want to know, what can I eat? Or something of that sort. Are we going for a walk? But we are the only creature on the earth that can actually consider the fact that we have mortality. We. But thank God, because he hasn't just put into us that knowledge of our mortality, but According to Ecclesiastes 3 here, he has put eternity in the heart of man. And that means this, that we are capable of knowing that there is more than this. And generally speaking, when I speak to people around, most people seem to have a grasp that there is something. Something outside of this existence. There is something more. I watch a lot of podcasts. I don't know about you, but now one thing they're talking about a lot is, are we living in a simulation? The answer is no. We can move on. No more need to make any more podcasts. We are not living in a simulation. We are living in a world that God has made. But why are people asking questions like, are we living in a simulation? Are we just part of some big video game that someone has created? Why do people ask those kind of questions? Well, they ask them because God has put eternity in the heart of man. And men ask themselves this question because they know there is something more. There's something more than what we see. And so we have these two things side by side. One is the sense of our own mortality. And most people deal with it by avoiding it. Hebrews 2:15 tells us that, you know, people, that Jesus saved us, but we've been in bondage or our lives through the fear of death. Most people deal with that by burying it. If I say to one of my unsaved relatives, talking about life and just say, you know, have you considered, you know, the brevity of life? They'll say, oh, we don't think about those things. You need to just live your life. Don't be morbid. Push that aside. That's how the world deals with. With the reality of their mortality. But a godly man looks it in the face and says to himself, I have just a few years. I have just a short time. And he can face it, because God has put eternity in the heart of man. He realizes that there is more than this, and he has discovered what it is. He has discovered that that something more is Jesus. He has discovered that that something more is a God who loves us. And he has realized that there is something that comes next, that there is more than just this life. There is a new beginning in a new creation. And that what we do in this life is simply building a legacy. Godly men know that their days are numbered. They consider that they don't just close their ears to it. You know, one of the things that I noticed when I was in Kenya a lot when you attend someone at their deathbed is you would literally see someone physically trying to fight off death. Have you ever seen that? Someone literally in their last moments trying to fight off death. Because it is so terrifying to them, it is so terrible to them, Refusing to face it, refusing, with no ability to embrace that reality that life has an end. But the godly man knows, and he faces it square on because it becomes part of the truth that informs your decisions. Again, I watch way too many podcasts, but now I saw a man the other day and he was talking on a podcast. He was a doctor or something of that sort. And he was saying. He was saying to the man that was interviewing him that now they are considering that death is just another disease and that given enough time, they'll be able to cure it. We know that that's not true. Why do you think they're trying to live forever? Because they don't know what a godly man knows, that a man is destined to live once. And then the judgment that what we do in this life counts more than you could possibly imagine. Because actually, life is not short, it's actually long. There's this earthly life, and then there's something else that comes after that. And what that eternity is going to look like depends on our choices now. But what are we going to leave behind? What legacy? You see, Paul said that right now we are building. All of us are building a legacy. God will be the judge of that legacy when the end comes. And so he says that in that day it will be like fire, that what we are building, if what we are building is like straw, it will just be burnt up. But if we are building something proper, precious and resilient, then it will survive. What legacy men are we building? A godly man knows that his days are numbered. Secondly, look at verse two. We've read it already, but just let's look at it again. He says, I am about to go the way of all the earth. He said, so be strong. Act like a man. Godly men stand strong. Godly men stand strong. Let me tell you, we live in days when there's talk of things like toxic masculinity. You've probably heard that phrase. It's a very common phrase. Now, I want to tell you that there really is such a thing as toxic masculinity. There is a very wrong view of what it is to be a man. And there are influences out there that are pushing back against the idea that there can be toxic masculinity. They're trying to show what men are. They feel that they are oppressed and they want to fight back. There are young men in today's world who are really struggling to question what is my role as a man. These are very real questions. Young men are struggling with that. But just because there is such a thing as toxic masculinity doesn't mean that there isn't such a thing as a godly and a strong man. Bible tells us in Joshua 1:9, have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 1 Timothy 6, 11:12 Paul says to Timothy, but you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Have I not commanded you be strong and very courageous? Hallelujah. There's more to this story because you could be quite discouraged. Can you imagine? I don't know if any of you have been maybe for a bit of counseling or you've been to see someone just to help you through a tough period. Imagine if they said to you, oh, you're struggling with anxiety. Do not be afraid. Thank you. Pay on your way out. Do not be discouraged. Problem solved. You'd be discouraged by that. It's more complex than that. I wish I could just flick a switch. I wish I could just say, you know, right. Don't be afraid anymore. But again, there's another side to the story. Because a godly man doesn't get his strength from his testosterone. A godly man doesn't get strength from just simply declaring, I am a man and I will do what I'm going to do. Love that Facebook post. I always chuckle at that. The one that says, I'm a man. I'm in charge in my house. I will call the shots. I will make the decisions. No one tells me what to do. Oh, quick, she's coming. No, that's not where the reason God could say to Joshua, don't be afraid. Don't Be anxious, be courageous is because when God says something, it comes with batteries included. You get what I mean? It comes with batteries included. Well, when God says something, that command comes with empowerment. And look at what it says. Look at what he says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7. He says, for the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline. That's the batteries being installed right there. That's the power coming in right there. God doesn't expect us to do it on our own. Isn't it amazing how I thank God that in this generation, or rather among Gen Z's, do you know that Gen Z's, Gen Z men are the most consistent when they start going to church? They are more consistent than their male counterparts in other generations. Do you know that? They are reliable and consistent in their church attendance? Now we need to get more of them in the kingdom. We need to get more of them saved. But they are consistent. They come to church. But you see, why is it that generally men in the past have not come to church? Because men have viewed church going as something for the weak. Oh, that's where women go. And so they happily send off. Joyce told you this morning of her father, didn't she, how he would not go to church, but he would tell her, why are you not in church? Let the women go to church, pray for me. And then the men have their Sunday football or whatever. I'm not going to go down the football rope this morning. But you know, they think that's for the weak. No, I'm a man. I don't need to go and sob in church or cry out to God. I'm a man. I stand on my feet. I am strong. A godly man's strength doesn't come from there. A godly man's strength comes from his reliance on, on the Holy Spirit and cultivating a relationship with God through his Holy Spirit says in Isaiah 40, 29:31, he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. A man's strength, a godly man's strength comes from being able to say, I am weak. I am struggling. I don't have strength. God help me, God, fill me with your spirit. I need you, God. But as men, we can struggle with that because men are strong, men are powerful, and so we won't turn in our weakness to God, but to Timothy. We read it, or rather Isaiah, sorry, we read it. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth, even young men grow tired and weary young men stumble and fall. But those that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not fear. It is our dependence on. A godly man knows that he is weak. And because he knows that he is weak, he knows how to turn to God. And because he knows how to turn to God, that godly man stands strong. Let's look at two more. A godly man is strong through faith. Love. Hebrews 11, the passage of faith. There's a lot of men in that passage. In Hebrews 11, and from verse 32 it says. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to talk about Gideon, a man. Barak, a man. Samson, a man. Jephthah, a man. And David and Samuel and the prophets. Mostly men. Who. Who through faith, conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised. Who shut the mouths of lions like my grandfather, quenched the fury of the flames and escaped the edge of the sword. Whose weakness was turned into strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. How? Through face. Through faith. Godly men stand strong because they know how to lean on one who is stronger than they are. Acts 4:13 says, when they saw the courage of Peter and John, they realized that they were unschooled ordinary men. And they were astonished when they saw their courage. They were astonished. And they took note that they had been with Jesus. A godly man stands strong. Why? Because he has been with Jesus. That command, be strong and very courageous, is meaningless if you don't know how to be with Jesus. Who was commanded that? Who? Who was it who was commanded to be strong and courageous? It was Joshua. Yes. What do we know about Joshua? Joshua had a good spiritual father. His name was Moses. And Moses used to go outside of the camp to the tent of meeting and spend time beyond what the rest of the congregation did in the presence of. Of God. And Joshua saw that. And it says, after Moses left, Joshua lingered. Joshua was a man who knew how to spend time in the presence of God. He knew he was weak. He leaned on God. And so when God told him, be strong and very courageous, he wasn't just a command to do something out of your own strength. It was a command to a man who already knew what it was to be in the presence of God and to draw on his strength. So a godly man stands strong. Hallelujah. Well, here's another one. Godly men know that their first business is with God. Godly men know that their first business is with God. Matthew 6, Matthew 22 from verse 37 says to us that Jesus replied, love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. All your strength, all your soul, all your mind goes. Godly men know that first of all, we deal with God. In Matthew 6:33, it says, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. He understands his first business is with God. I know when I was in Kenya, you could miss a man in church for a week, but do a business seminar. And they were there because they knew we are men, we do business, we generate income, we support our families. But they didn't understand that our first business is with God. If you spend more time on your business than you do nurturing your relationship with God, I want to tell you there's a legacy you're building, and it's not necessarily a good one. God first. Matthew 6:24. No one can serve two masters. I feel like that's. I just want to dwell there because I feel like this is speaking to someone in the room right now. Let me just pause for a minute and say this. No one can serve two masters. God is convicting somebody right now. No one can serve two masters. Who are you serving in your decisions? Who are you serving in your life? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money men. I know we have responsibilities, but before any other business, God's business. Hallelujah. What did God say to David? Because you have that desire to build my house, I will build your house. Right? If you take care of God's business, I want to tell you, God is going to take care of your business. Amen. What does all this have to do with legacy, by the way? Well, all these things are the building blocks of legacy. All of these things. Godly men know that their days are numbered. That's the start of it. That gets you the. That gets you oriented. That gets you directed towards the right path. Knowing that, and then you stand strong in the Lord. That's another building block. And this here is another building block that God. We do business with God first before anything else. Proverbs 3, 5, 6. Trust in the Lord. You probably memorized this at some point in your life. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, Submit to him and he will make your paths straight. You want to build a legacy. You want to build a legacy not just for your children, but for your children's children from generation to generation. You want to do that? Well, it begins here, trusting in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding, your own wisdom, but lean on him and God will make your path straight. Says in Colossians 3:1,2. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your heart on things that are above. I want to tell you, man, God wants you to leave a legacy in generations to come. He wants your children to. To talk about the Father that loved them and the Father that taught them how to be godly, the Father that gave them an example. We don't need another generation to have a legacy of absent fathers and unspiritual fathers who taught them nothing about what it is to be a man of God. We need to show future generations what it is to be a man of God. You know, a legacy is built on the decisions that you're making today. Okay, next one, Verse three. Verse three says, and observe what the Lord your God requires. Walk in obedience to him and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the law of Moses. Godly men know that obedience is the path to success. Obedience is the path to success. Joshua 1, 7 and 8. We were reading earlier where he's telling Joshua, be strong and very courageous. He says, be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. And then it goes on to say, then you will be prosperous and successful. Now, we're not a prosperity church, but even if we're not a prosperity gospel church, even if we're not going down the root of that craziness, and we. We spend a lot of time preaching against that kind of thing. Let me tell you, there is a clear link in biblical passages between obedience and prosperity and success in the things that God has called you to and the life that he has given you. Walking the path of obedience. A godly man knows that obedience is the path to success. I want to tell you, there's been times in my life when I've had a plan. See, I have plans. I have very good plans, very fixed plans. The reason I have those plans is that my wife and God need more laughter in their life. I have plans. But there are times when God has spoken into my plan and said no. There's something about me that thinks that I know better than God. Sometimes there are times when I come with my plans and God says, no, that's not for you. And that is a hard thing to swallow. That is a hard thing to to hear. But that's the key when we obey his ways, when we build a life upon his commandments. Let me ask you, man, I don't know. In the workplace. I was speaking to Daniel this morning, and Daniel was telling me about, I think some training you're doing. That's a good thing, isn't it? To upskill in the workplace? We need to do that. If you're doing a business, you need to spend time learning about that business. You know, one of the things I've seen in business and businesses that people do is that the people who continue to learn succeed. There are some people who think they already know it all. They've got it locked in. They don't want to learn anymore. You know, maybe you run an electrical business or. Or a carpentry business or a business in it or something like that. And you went to college and you learned all the skills. But you're not upskilling. Let me tell you, you won't go anywhere if you're not a learner. But alongside that, there's learning to be a godly man. That is a lifelong learning process. How much time do you spend investing in your development, in your vocation, in your workpl, in your business compared to how much time you invest learning how to be a godly man? Let me tell you, it's good to read a Bible verse in the morning, but that is not investing in your development. That is literally. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if I woke up in the morning and I had two blueberries for breakfast and that's all I ate for the whole day? Do you know that blueberries are good for you? Anyone know that blueberries are a power, a real power food. So can I eat two blueberries in the morning and survive life like that? So, yes, read the Bible verse. It's good for you, but it's two blueberries. How much are you investing in developing as a godly man? Are you not just reading your Bible, but are you buying materials alongside that that help you to grow, help you develop? How much time are you spending in the presence of God saying, God, teach me and lead me to be a godly man? How much time are you spending listening to God? A godly man knows that obedience is the path to success. It's good to learn, but obedience is the path to success. It's good to hustle if you have to, but obedience is the path to success. He understands that. He understands that There is a real benefit in walking in the ways of God. Verse 8 and verse 9. Verse 8 and verse 9 tells us something. And remember, you have with you Shimei, the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him, by the Lord, I will not put you to death by the sword. But now do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom. You will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood. What are we going to learn from this man? Godly men understand the power of words. Shimei, I'm sure, was a man who came to regret his words. Godly men understand the power of words. We all know Proverbs 18:21. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Words matter. James 3, 5, 6. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole mouth and sets the whole course of one's life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. Strong words. Watch your mouth. Watch your destiny. Your destiny is often tied up in this mouth. And what you say. Anyone ever said something and then you look fine, you walk away, and then you're like, oh, my goodness, what did I say? Words are powerful. See, as Christians, we need to understand the power of words is not just it's in the spiritual, but it's also in the natural as well. You see? You see, as Christians, we tend to spiritualize a lot of things. And so we decree and we declare and we say. That's the power of words. No, the power of words is how you talk to somebody who has the power to elevate you. I've been in the room with people that I have spoken to, only to find out later who they are. You know what I mean? Just to find out later who I was talking to. Sometimes you'll be talking to someone, there's holes in his jeans and he's wearing a tatty old T shirt. And you'll disregard him, not realizing you're talking to a millionaire tech tycoon. Sometimes you'll be speaking to someone because sometimes, you know, we all expect powerful people to be, you know, to be arrogant. But the truth is, many times there are many powerful people who are humble, you'll just meet them, you'll disregard them and not know who you're speaking to. Words have power. And the words that we invest in our marriage, in our families also have power. I am the product of a legacy. I said this earlier on. I shared about my grandfather. But I'm also a product of a legacy that was built on the words that my parents and others spoke over my life, the things that they said to me. I wonder if you know the power that words have on your wife when you get mad and you just say divorce, divorce, divorce. Some people say that word very easily. Have you noticed that I'm mad. Divorce. You just get angry, Divorce. And then you make up and you think everything's fine. No, that word has just gone into your wife and it has taken her sense of security and safety and well being and torn it up. And something in her heart now says, my husband is no longer safe. My husband is no longer a place where I can look to for security. He might leave any minute. You just threw a word in anger and you've torn up 20 years of trust. You say to your kids, you'll amount to nothing. You say something like that, you're sowing a seed in their heart. You know. You know, you say something like that to your child, you say to your child, you know all sorts of things, God will judge you or something of that sort, or you'll amount to nothing. You're not studying hard enough and you think you're motivating them. No. Years later, that child who was told God will judge you goes into church. And I tell you from my own experience because of the things that were said to me. And he'll hear about the love of God, but he'll find it next to impossible to receive it because of the picture that you've given them with your words of what a father is and what God is. And so he'll hear about the love of God, but he won't be able to. He won't be able to grasp it. He won't be able to. And so he will go through his Christian walk talking about a God of love, but his heart only knows the God of judgment because he was told God is angry with you. That other son will go somewhere, he'll go into business, and he won't understand why it is that some people in his business, in his workplace, are able to just almost unconsciously command respect of their colleagues. They have this ability to just project confidence and reliability. And people look to them and he will say the Same things and do the same things, but not understand why people are not looking at him, not looking at him in the same way. It's because something you sowed in him that you will amount to. Nothing is working inside of him, and he's projecting something. And people can sense things that. I remember that when I became a Christian, I was full of rejection. And I don't want to dishonor my parents, but they were young, they were in their 20s. They didn't always know what they said and what they did. And things got into me, and I was full of rejection. And I came into the church and I would be like. I would literally, I would walk up to. I was always at the altar when I first got saved, constantly at every altar call I was there. Even if they were calling for women for something, I'm there because, you know, I'd be at the altar every time. But here's the thing. I knew no one wants to pray for me. And sure enough, when I got to the altar, we had a big prayer team, and we. One would go this way and one would go that way. And I'd just be standing there waiting. And sometimes I'd just walk away, only to realize later it's not them. There was a rejection in me. And that rejection is like a Jedi force field. It begins to push other people away because of something that's got in you, because of the words that people spoke. Men, we have words of power. Power. And you can either speak into being a legacy of children that have confidence and ability or a legacy of rejection and insecurity. What are you going to. Your words have power. And with your words, you are building a legacy. You are building a legacy. Amen. Well, the fifth one. Let's look at this. Godly men understand that the end matters as much as the beginning. I tell you guys, I've learned this. I have learned this. When I was a young man, I would start things. This is where legacy comes in. I. I come from a family of starters. Oh, gosh, we start things. I did it. My dad did it. My grandfather did it, probably my great grandfather. We're just a family of start. We get so excited about something. We get so, oh, this is amazing. I'm going to start this amazing thing. And I would start things, and then. Then, you know, I get tired, and I'd move on to the next day. I was always starting, always starting. I'd start a business. I'd start a hobby. I'd start something. And every single time, this was the thing that was Going to change my life. Anyone else like that. This was the thing that was going to change my life. And it could be something big. I'm going to start a business. I'm going to be a millionaire. That was. That was one of them. I'm going to be a millionaire. And I'd start a business. But another time it was, I'm going to start keeping a fish tank. I'm going to have the most amazing. It was whatever at the time got my attention. I was just constantly starting something new all the time and never finishing. And then I got to a certain age and suddenly that thing kicked in. The first point we, you know, the first one, A godly man knows that his days are numbered. And I thought, oh, see, until then, our life is like a video game, you know, I don't know if anyone in your house plays video games. They play video games and it's game over, right? There's that point where it's game over. Okay, you start again. That was my life. Okay, game over on this one. Start another one. Off we go. But there's a point where you realize that one day there will be a final game over. And what is your legacy? It matters how you finish. It's good that you started, but how are you finishing? What are you building towards? Ecclesiastes 7, 8 says, the end of a matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride. Hallelujah. Let me tell you, there's two things out of that. There'll be two types of people in the room right now. There are some of us. That are just starting out. And I want to tell you, if you're just starting out, work towards that end. The end matters. Work towards a goal, Stick at it. Have some stickability with God. Stick that thing out. But there's some of us, we got halfway there. Everything is failing. We're thinking the clock's running. Like me, you're saying, you know, how far away is retirement? Guys, there's so much I want to do. There is so much I want to do. Inside here. I'm still 18. I'm still 18 in here. There's so much I want to do, but I can see there's so little time. I want to encourage you. Even if you have just had, like a string of failures men, I want to encourage you. It's how you finish. Make it the best finish that you can. Even if it's not the finish that you dreamed of when you were 15, 16, 17. Maybe you don't, but make it the best finish. You can make a decision now. You're going to stick at it. You're going to finish it. Because the end of a matter is better than its beginning. 1 Corinthians. 9, 24, 27. Listen to this. This is Paul speaking. He says, do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Let's run the race. Let's make it a good finish. Matthew 24:13 says, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Hallelujah. Galatians 6, 9 talks about resilience. Really? It says, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Hallelujah. Brothers and sisters, it says in Philippians 3, 13 brothers and sisters. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. One thing I do. Forgetting what is behind, straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Jesus Christ. Godly men understand that the end matters as much as the beginning. I want to say the end matters more than the beginning. Godly men understand this. Godly men understand the power of words. Godly men know that obedience is the path to success. Godly men know how to stand strong. And godly men know that their days are numbered. Listen, we're all building a legacy here. Even if you're not a man in the room today. We're all building a legacy. A legacy of godliness or ungodliness. A foundation for future work in the kingdom. Or a foundation for future evil to be done. We are the ones that are building a legacy for our family and a legacy for our nation. Are you not tired of the devil winning? That's why I stopped watching Nollywood. The devil always wins, doesn't he? Why is it? Have you ever watched that? Anyone watched a Nollywood movie? I used to watch Nollywood movies. My friends here are looking at me like, what's a Nollywood movie? Check it out. It always goes that way. Right at the end of a Nollywood movie, the devil wins. And then the credits come up and the words to God be the glory. What glory? What glory is there? No, we are all building a legacy. And your life is like a Nollywood movie sometimes. Do you know that, See, some people live incredibly ungodly lives. They leave a legacy. I've been to a lot of funerals. They leave a legacy of. Of chaos in the house. They leave a legacy of children that are broken. They leave a legacy of debt. They leave a legacy of ungodliness. No one in their house has learned how to walk with Jesus. They leave a terrible legacy. And we all gather together for the funeral and what do we say? To God be the glory. Suddenly we become universalists. He's resting in the arms of Jesus. To God be the glory. But we're building a legacy. Are you building a legacy that is going to see godliness continue? Because make no doubt about it, whatever comes next, they're building on the legacy that we leave. So make a decision today. Watch back over this. It'll be online. Watch back over these points. Look into it. What legacy are you building, man? What legacy are we building? I know we know how to be men, but do we know how to be godly men, Young men or young teenagers? I don't know if they can hear me from here. One day that's going to be you. You're going to be a man. You're starting to build your legacy. Now, young women, when you are considering a marriage partner, someone to spend the rest of your life with, make yourself a. See, we have this, don't we? We have this question. What is your type? Well, he has to have a nice smile, quite like abs. I do like someone who goes to the gym and works out. That rules me out for 90% of women. He has to have a good job. You know, a man has to take care of me. What about godly attributes? Have you ever sat down and listed the attributes of a godly man? What does he look like? A godly man going to church is not a godly man. Amen. See, I can tell you a lot of men that go to church. There's a lot of men and a lot of women for that matter, that go to church. If you don't make it for church and you want to find them, go to the local bar or somewhere. You'll find them there on Friday night because it's not Sunday, they're not in church. There's a lot of men that go to church. I'm talking not about a church going mad, but a godly man. Now, a godly man will most likely be going to church. Most likely he will be having fellowship of some kind. But not just a church going man, a godly man. A man who is living according to those principles. Make your list wisely. Make your list wisely. And young men, as the ladies are making their list of the attributes of a godly man, study the list, be that man. Otherwise, you know what you'll get. You'll be a church going, ungodly man. And you'll find yourself a church going ungodly woman. And as the song goes, there may be trouble ahead. I want to pray for you men. I want to pray for you because we need godly men in our generation.