What God gives you is to be passed on; and the process of passing on or expanding what God has given you is called Discipleship and Growth.
Jesus said: “follow Me, and I will make you”. If you'll pursue Me, you will grow; and in your growing, the things which make you unattractive, the things which turn people off, are going to be stripped away from you; and you'll become a person who actually can influence people positively, in a way that helps them change their life for the better. If you're not attracting people to Him, then who or what are you following?
It says that: “the legacy is for children”. That word ‘children’ there is an unusual word, meaning: “the builder of the family”. Inheritance or legacy passes through families from one generation to another; but from a biblical point of view, it passes on to those who are ‘sons’ or will ‘build the house’ or ‘build the family’ of God.
One important foundation for receiving and growing legacy in the things of God is that you are committed to become a builder - become a son. That means to have relationships. That can be a bit of a shock to the church, because we tend to think of church as a place we just come, attend, hide in the crowd and walk away; but actually for legacy to be imparted to you, and to grow - requires connection and relationship.
Have a look at the men in the Bible who received great impartations. Elisha inherited a ‘double portion’, but there was a unique relationship between Him and Elijah, and there was a spiritual discipleship going on.
Think of the apostles who went out - they were discipled by Jesus. Paul and Timothy: Timothy carried the same anointing, same mantle, same flow, same ways that were on Paul - Discipleship. Silas did too.
However, church in the 20th Century has often centred around meetings, rather than around the intentional exchange of life, and changing how we do life; doing life together, and shifting how we do life, so we start to impact people.
That's one of the big shifts that'll take place in the future, because a fatherless generation desperately has needs of fathers and mothers from the body of Christ to help them grow.
Legacy passes on. I have watched hands being laid on people over the years. The conclusion I come to is that, in the majority of cases, whatever they got is gone in less than a week. However, where there's strong connection and relationship, they tend to carry what was given to them - not because of the hands being laid on, but also because of the connection and the relationship.
Timothy had received a gift through the laying on of hands; but his gift had become dormant - and it was his relationship with Paul, which allowed Paul to speak into his life, which got the gift active again. Without someone speaking into your life, it's likely that the gifts in you will become dormant. Even if you receive, it's likely to become dormant without the stimulation of relationships in a small group, and being positioned so someone can speak into your life - so you are stirred in your walk with God, and stirred and activating what God has put in your life. That's how it works!
I've watched people come up (for laying on of hands) - and believe me, it's a great thing to come up and get the hands laid on; but I have seen over the years, very few carry what they went up for - and there's a reason for it. We want to try and overcome that reason, and we want to help you by sharing out of our own journey.
Legacy can be lost. Legacy that was purchased by parents, can be lost in the next generation. Esau lost his inheritance. He was the eldest son, and entitled to inheritance; and the Bible says he lost it, because he did not place a value on what was his by legacy.
I wonder if you understand what God has built into this church, and into our lives; that you could eat of, and take, and it could be your legacy - because if it's not valued, it is lost, just like that. The next generation has to discover it all again. That's a terrible thing to have happen. God wants for us, in our season of life - our greatest challenge is to be able to pass on, and have others carry the things we carry.