A Father's Legacy

Title: A Father's Legacy

Scripture Joel 1:1-3

Focus Scripture v3

Intro

A Legacy of Wisdom and Knowledge

A Legacy of Moral Compass

A Legacy of Conviction

Reflection

Prayers

Discipleship

Benediction

Ref: Mathew Henry Commentary; King James Study Bible

#Christianity

#Faith - Based

#Spiritual growth

#Yahweh's  Word

#Bread of Life

#Spiritual nourishment

#Food for the Soul

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Transcript

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Welcome, welcome, welcome to Breakfast with Jesus. Speaker Evangelist Linder Teresa Benjamin. Heavenly Father, speak to me and through me to your children. Let me diminish. Let them see you and hear you. Amen. The devotion today is a father's legacy. Coming from Joel chapter 1 verses 3. Today I want to tell you about a father's legacy. Merriam Webster Dictionary states that legacy is a gift from an ancestor that is passed on as an inheritance. Therefore, my question to fathers today is what legacy are you passing down to your sons and daughters? And I am not speaking about material things. As you reflect on that question, let us turn to Joel chapter 1, verses 1 to 3, which reads, The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Petula, hear this, ye old man, and give air all ye inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days or even in the days of your father? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children and their children another generation. Now the scripture tells us that the word of God came to Prophet Joel, the son of Petula. The name Joel means the Lord is God, and he was one of the minor prophets in Judah, the southern kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem. God's word came to Prophet Joel with a proclamation for elderly fathers to listen and take heed to the word of God. He wanted the fathers of all nations, young and old, black, white, yellow, pink, green, whatever color, to wake up and see how the nation, the people of Judah, had drifted so far away from God that they are incurring his wrath. Brothers and sisters, this is the legacy our Heavenly Father, God gave us to gave to us, and his legacy is his Sus. A legacy of repentance, purification, and restoration, a legacy of grace and mercy, a legacy of being joint heir in the kingdom of God, because of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because God gave his only begotten Son to die on carbon cross for our sins and the sins and your sins and mine, so that we can have eternal life. A legacy of unmerited love, everlasting mercy, and unfathomable grace. That is the legacy our Heavenly Father gave to us. Now, fathers, God has charged you to leave a legacy for your children. He gave you a pitcher of sin, judgment, repentance, and restoration. How can you use this pitcher to convey a legacy for your kids? My devotion today is to give you three foundational legacies that you can model for your offspring. One, a legacy of wisdom and knowledge. Two, a legacy of having a moral compass, and three, a legacy of conviction. Elderly fathers, you have a treasure trove of knowledge in your memory bank. You have experienced the Great Depression and endured prejudices and conquered them all. You have faced segregation and survived them all. But have you teach your children the lessons you have learned? Have you taught them your survival skills? Have you modeled your faith in God during these trying times? God said to the prophet Joel, charge Judah to tell their children of the plague of Egypt that they experience because his wrath this time will be worse. God says, Tell your children about his wrath on sin, but tell them about all about his mercy and his grace. Psalm 78, verses 6 to 8. Yes, fathers, you are the salt of the oath, and you must give your children a legacy of wisdom and knowledge. For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You must impart spiritual knowledge to your children by walking with God as Jesus did. The only begotten Son of God did that. You must walk with God as Enoch, the great grandfather to Noah. You have to walk with God in fellowship and with faith, believing. Because Hebrew 11 5 tells us by faith Enoch walks translated that he should not see debt and was not found because God has translated him. For before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. Fathers, to pass on the legacy of wisdom, you must fear God. Know God, obey God, and please God. Proverb 9, verses 10. Tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy things is understanding. Fathers, the fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom, because it means you are holding God in reverence and in awe. The knowledge of holy things results in good judgment because you are accepting water baptism, partaking in holy communion, and teaching your children its work. Dear fathers, these are a few of the necessities in the legacy of wisdom and knowledge. For Deuteronomy 11, verse 18 to 19 tells us to teach our children God's word while we sit at home, while we are walking, lying down, and rising up. We have a job to do, a legacy to carry on. Secondly, fathers, you must have a legacy of moral compass. You must teach your children to have a moral compass. For God speared not the old world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. Noah lived in a very sinful city, but he maintained his piety and his walk with God. So he found grace in the eyes of God. For by grace are we saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You must promote piety and obedience to divine law and encourage the principle of divine government. Brothers, we must listen to the word of God and act on his word. Noah did just that and built an ark that saved his family. He gave us a legacy of togetherness and hard work, which he and his family did for 120 years. He gave us a legacy of commitment and consistency, valuable qualities you can pass on to your sons and daughters. Thirdly, brethren, we must have a legacy of conviction. When I say conviction, I mean belief and principles. I am saying you must be incorruptible and courageous and a mighty prayer. You must have the legacy of the father of the faithful Abraham. We can say that Abraham wins the profile in courage because he left his entire family and country, for he looked for a city which had foundation, whose builder and maker is God. We have to have our foundation on Jesus Christ. He is our solid rock. He was courageous because he separated himself from family and nation. Likewise, we have to separate ourselves from sin, separate ourselves from for salvation, conduct yourself. And can you do that, fathers? Can you do that for your children? Can you conduct yourself? Can you converse rightly? Can you do stay away from evil customs? Are you walking right? Are you doing things right to leave a legacy for your children? God is a mighty God. And we have to learn to pray. That's another legacy you need to leave with your children. Teach them how to pray when they are still young. Because God sees light in darkness, and because of his magnificent grace, we have to have intercessory prayers. We have to pray for our children. Just as our parents pray for us, we need to pray for our children. Pray for each other. For the word of God is like a two-edged sword which cuts sin and Satan asunder. We need to pray for each one for one another. Because God is good. He is Jehovah Jairah, our provider. He is Jehovah Salam, our peace. He is Jehovah Rapha, our shepherd. He is Jehovah Rapha, our healer. He is our heavenly father, a God who is great and is worthy of our praise and is worthy of our prayers. We have a heavenly father who is truth and faithful and almighty. What are you doing today, brothers and sisters? Are you leaving a legacy for your children? Please contemplate on that, reflect on what legacy are you leaving for your children? What legacy Father's Day is coming up? And think of the legacy that you are leaving for your children. Oh merciful and gracious God. We come before you this hour, asking you to guide the steps of our children, lead them in the paths of righteousness. Talk with them in the still hours of their night. Uplift them on every side. Bring them in contact with people who will uplift them and not break them down and destroy their lives. Oh Heavenly Father, we know that you are a friend to the friendless. We know that you are father to the fatherless. Father Day is coming, blessed Lord. Be a father to the fatherless children. Let them feel your presence. Touch them in a mighty special way. Oh mercyful and gracious God, we ask all this in no other name, but in Jesus' almighty name. Brothers and children, sisters in Christ, they say when you hear the word of God, hide not your heart in the day of provocation. But accept the Lord your God as your Savior. Confess your sin to Him. Acknowledge Him. Tomorrow is not promised to you. Let today be the day that you accept our Lord and Savior. And may the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide now and forevermore. Amen.