Keys to Continuing Legacy

“Generation after generation will declare more of your greatness and declare more of your glory.” Psalm 145:4 (TPT)

Growing up in church, I’ve often heard this phrase “new breed,” hearing it applied to the fact that God is raising up a new type of people with new songs that sound a bit unorthodox, or a message that wasn’t as popular or accepted in previous seasons. Although I understand some of what they’re saying (and that God loves to do new things), I want to challenge our thinking a little. Maybe instead of God always raising up a “new breed,” He wants to raise up a continued breed. In other words, if God has to start all over again in every generation, we very well could’ve missed what He wanted to do in the previous one. 

The Father doesn’t want to have to start over with each generation. He wants to continue the blessing of Genesis 1:27-28 from one generation to the next, growing in the mandate to “be fruitful, multiply, subdue and fill the earth.” He wants this generation to continue testimonies that the coming ones will sing and revel in (see Psalm 40:3; Psalm 51).

As I think about the Lord continuing legacy in each generation, there are 3 keys I see as necessary. 

KEYS TO CONTINUING THE LEGACY 

1. Cultivate friendship with Jesus

We can’t give what we don’t have, and it’s crucial that we tend our personal fire in order to see a larger fire spread into this generation and the next one (see Colossians 2:6; Psalm 40:3). This is why I believe the first and foremost thing we can display to a generation is friendship with Jesus. 

I love the story of Exodus 33, where Joshua (under the leadership of Moses) was brought up in the presence of Yahweh—dwelling in the glory was his disciple program. It says that when Moses would leave the tent of meeting, Joshua would stay (Exodus 33:11). The hunger that Moses had for God’s presence that was passed on to his young assistant, and interestingly, it was Joshua who would come to lead the people in possessing the land. This tells me that the ones who cultivate friendship and a hunger for God’s presence will be the ones who take land for their King. 

“Devotion to prayer and intimacy with God is the only setting in which we can completely step into the fullness of God’s purposes.” -Bill Johnson

In James 2:23, the writer recalls the account of Abraham receiving the righteousness by faith. He goes on to call Abraham a “Friend of God.” Inside of his functioning friendship with the Lord, God released a massive promise (Genesis 12, 17), restoring the blessing of Genesis 1 in his lineage—descendants who would carry the original blessing into the rest of the earth. The Lord restored His promise through His friend.

Friends of God become a landing spot for the promises of God—for their family, their city, and the nations of the earth. The best thing we can display to this generation and the coming ones, is friendship with the Lord. 

2. Invest our lives (time, energy, money)

“For your heart will always pursue what you value as your treasure.” Matthew 6:21 (TPT)

In the world, we hold on to things that we value and treasure—we store them in steel safes and fortified banks. In the Kingdom, what we value we give away. The way of reproduction in God’s economy is by reciprocation.  

“Give generously and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! Your measurement of generosity becomes the measurement of your return.” Luke 6:38 (TPT)

You show me a mans calendar and his checkbook, and I’ll show you where his heart is. If we are going to see generations of sons and daughters mature in the ways of the Kingdom, we must be willing to surrender our time, energy, and our money to building generational legacy. 

The time and energy we spend pouring into this generation pays great dividends, as we share our own God-stories and take time to develop theirs. We have to be willing to be patient as we pour into one another—understanding that the process may sometimes be costly and complicated, but it will be worth it. David’s mighty men were distracted and discouraged, but David saw something of value within them that he was committed to pulling out (see 1 Samuel 22:2; 1 Chronicles 11:1-3, 10-11; 12:1, 2, 22). The investment paid off! 

3. Develop long-term vision

Having an eternal vision requires us to think beyond ourselves, extending into this generation and the next one. The process of God is sometimes a seemingly slow one. This is why Jesus often referred to His Kingdom in terms of seed and yeast—these are elements that take time to develop and blossom. More importantly, they are elements that continue to spread, given the right conditions (see Matthew 13:31, 33).

Soon after Noah built an altar, he planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:20). While the altar related to his relationship with the Lord, the vineyard spoke of his ministry in the earth. Like Noah, from the basis of friendship with God, we are to reproduce the affection of friendship into this generation. It takes time, patience, and long-term vision to plant a vineyard, but once the harvest begins, it has lasting and dramatic effect. Soon that harvest releases a staggering potency that dramatically effects peoples and cultures. As we commit ourselves to long-term vision of planting a vineyard, I believe the walk of a generation will be visually seen (see 1 Corinthians 3:9).

While long-term thinking is kingly thinking, short-term thinking is the opposite—it is poverty thinking. We can see the contrast in the life of two kings: King David and King Hezekiah. 

• King David thought in terms of generational legacy, as he passed along his treasure to his son, Solomon: “David said, My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it. So David made extensive preparations before his death” 1 Chronicles 22:5. Although David wasn’t allowed to build the temple and Solomon was, the man after God’s heart refused to be jealous or envious of his sons calling. Instead, he made all the preparations necessary for the building to be a smooth transition. David was thinking long-term.

• King Hezekiah on the contrary, thought in terms of immediacy (Isaiah 39). While David laid up treasure for his son, Hezekiah displayed his to the enemy. In efforts to reveal his own glory and the glamour of being king, he shows all the treasure of his house to the envoys of Babylon. We know the act of showing off to the opposing enemy would release a national curse, yet Hezekiah wasn’t concerned about that. Instead, he was merely concerned with the welfare of his own immediate life: “At least for me, there will be peace and security in my lifetime” (Isaiah 39:7).

May we think beyond our own lifetime and into the coming generations. May we begin to think more like kings, making preparations for those kings coming after us. As I once heard it said, “May our ceiling be the next generations floor.” 

-RA