Grace & Glory June 2020

At the core of every man should be his desire to leave a legacy for the next generations. As a Spiritual Leader, I have seen several families experience the pain from the loss of a loved one during this COVID-19 pandemic. The most disheartening thing has been seeing many of them unprepared for death spiritually, emotionally and financially. The man is the foundation of every family and has the responsibility of establishing his family’s legacy. Now, we clearly see why there is such a blatant genocide against men in society today, and in America, especially against black men. There was a time when a man knew that his family’s name meant everything to him. However, his passion for legacy has dwindled and has affected the family in this generation.

One of the mandates on my life and ministry is to see men restored in his God ordained place in the family and community. Having experienced many challenges as a young child growing up in New York, and as an adult experiencing financial devastation, a marital divorce and Dr. Kenneth & Lady Lenyar Robinson. family breakup, I can tell you that the road to restoring a man is not easy. However, with God it is possible, and is very much a part of His end-time plan. In scripture, Jerusalem and surrounding communities experienced many of the same societal ills that we see today; violence in the streets, proliferation of drugs, increase of marital divorces, false prophets and preachers, children straying away from homes and the absence of fatherhood. However, God spoke through the prophet Malachi and said, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the

prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6 NKJV

According to this passage, there will be a restoration of fathers with their children in the last days, in other words, daddy is coming home.

DreamLife Men's Fellowship When we fast forward to the New Testament, Jesus shares a profound parable about a prodigal son who leaves his father’s house. (Luke 15:11-20) At the heart of this story, Jesus uses the relationship of a Father and son to describe His redemptive grace despite our ability to stray from Him. This is a story not only of the unconditional, unfailing and redeeming love of our Heavenly Father but also about His power to restore a family legacy. What was dead and lost? His legacy.

Here are (4) four profound truths that every man should know about legacy:

The Principle of Legacy - Originates and comes from God. It’s a God thing given to man to carry out His purposes and glory on the earth.

The Promise of Legacy - It’s what God sees in every human. Every human has the ability to create legacy.

The Problem of Legacy - It was stolen from people of African descent and many have never recovered because they don’t know how to recover.

The Power of Legacy - God only needs ONE man willing and obedient to allow Him to reestablish legacy.

When we define legacy, it capsules the components of faith, finances and family.

DEFINING LEGACY

• A gift by will, especially of money or other personal property. • An amount of money or property left to someone in a will. • Something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past writings. (Intangible values; spiritual inheritance, wisdom, education)

You should observe that a man’s legacy involves his faith in God, financial stability and solvency and family inheritance. Let’s look a little further into this idea of legacy.

WHY IS LEGACY IMPORTANT?

Legacy is fundamental to what it is to be human. Research shows that without a sense of working to create a legacy, men lose meaning in their life. ... Being reminded of death is actually a good thing, because death informs life. It gives you a perspective on what's important.

Family legacy

means the beliefs, actions, accomplishments and guidance you demonstrate in your life – that carry forward to future generations leaving a pattern or trail for family members to adopt and adapt

Dr. Ken, Lady Lenyar, daughters Chloe & Gabby which allow those family members to make their lives meaningful and fruitful.

Living legacy is a way to capture life stories, lessons,

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sentiments, memories, and traditions. Legacies convey what we want remaining generations to know and understand about our life experiences. They help us to remember and heal as we carry on important traditions. I can recall when my dad, having not seen his father since childhood, decided to look for his father in his 50’s. His dad, who deserted his mother and three small boys and fled to New York City for the big lights caused years of dysfunctions in his family. Yet, none of this stopped my dad from wanting to trace his family lineage. When he finally found his dad, it was the most beautiful thing you would have ever seen. There was much healing and restoration in our family’s legacy and my dad was with my grandfather the last years of his life.

Personal

Legacy is more than simply a statement of how you wish to be remembered after you pass on. It is something that enriches your life and reveals you and what your life is about to your family, friends, and your community. Any man who chooses to live his life with this legacy principle at the core of his existence and purpose will find explosive power in his life. Every man must make this declaration over his life, “LEGACY IS BIGGER THAN ME”.

The real essence of the story of the prodigal son was the father’s pain in his potential loss of his legacy. The son wanted to have legacy apart from a relationship with his father, who is a picture of our Heavenly Father. Consequently, he discovers that his finances are affected by his faith. So legacy is built on relationship with God and should result in financial stability. This is a picture of a man’s life void of God and His wisdom. The scripture says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” (Proverbs 13:22 NKJV)

WHAT WE LEARN FROM THE PRODIGAL SON ABOUT LOST LEGACY IS THE FOLLOWING:

• Wasteful living destroys legacy (wasting time being idle, not doing anything productive) • Money (finances) without a maturity can destroy legacy

• Dishonor can destroy one’s legacy, not respecting your elders • The absence of a long-term financial plan can destroy a legacy • A lack of self-discipline can destroy a legacy

• The absence of a father-figure can destroy a legacy • Poor company (selection of friends) can destroy a legacy

YOU MUST LEAVE CHILDHOOD AND BECOME A MAN TO LEAVE A LEGACY

You are a man when you no longer need the pockets of your parents. When you Dr. Robinson Book Signing decide to stop the blame game and take full responsibility for your life; the good and the bad. You can begin to see it all as God’s plan to make you into His own image and likeness. Jesus could not leave a legacy as a child; a child was born but a son was given. Sonship positions you for legacy. (Full grown or maturity) GALATIANS 4:1-4

WHAT DID THIS YOUNG MAN LACK? KEY INGREDIENT TO LEAVING A LEGACY PRUDENCE Definition of

prudence. 1: the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. shrewdness in the management of affairs. 3: skill and good judgment in the use of resources. 4: caution or circumspection as to danger or risk.

The word comes from a contracted form of the Latin prōvidēns from the verb "to foresee." To act according to what you FORESEE...proper vision for his future.

In my conclusion, a man’s legacy begins with a relationship with God. Why? because Legacy is God’s idea for every man, especially fathers. Family is restored by returning to Him, your Heavenly Father, just where you are in life. Lastly, without God you have no wisdom, without wisdom you have no prudence and without prudence you have no legacy. My prayer for every man that reads this, is that the passion and fires of legacy would be ignited and that he would start to rebuild his

Dr. Robinson & Motivational Speaker Les Brown

legacy today. 2: sagacity or

Dr. Kenneth O. Robinson Jr.

DreamLife Worship Center Worldwide Randallstown, Maryland

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