All of them have left a legacy. This legacy is one that's written down. If you want to find out about King David, what made him great; and about how he fell and failed - it's written in the book. God's grace and mercy to him - it's written in the book.
Without direct connection with anyone, God provides for us the Bible - a huge resource of people that you can learn from, and grow in your life; and leave something from your life to come into the lives of others.
The Holy Spirit will help you to apply what you learn from those people into your life - so we have a coach to help us.
2) People we are in relationship with.
When you sit in a meeting you are taught something; but when you share life with someone - you catch something (or something is caught). So we can either be taught and we get information; or we can be catch something - it can be caught from people. God's plan is that you catch things from people.
You need real life living models, to show you what it looks like when someone is walking with God. Every one of us needs that. People we connect with, who are walking with God; who can show us how the life of God works out in real life - in marriage, family, relationships, finances, the workplace - we need examples.
We can Google information; but to apply it to my life - I need to draw from people with wisdom, experience and vision - to help to get direction for my life; to help to apply what I'm learning. I need to see it, and have it imparted to me - otherwise it's just information; and I can't work out what works in my life, and how to make it work. I need connection with people for this to take place.
So this group of people are the ones that you have a direct relationship with. They could be a father, mother, grandparent, teacher, or someone who's your leader in some area of life – a pastor, or leader of a small group. It could be some person that God has put into your life - a coach or a mentor.
God wants you to be connected to people; and in a place where you are receiving from them for your own life. The purpose is that you ultimately will give out to other people.
Usually in those kinds of relationships there is a bonding, a connecting of some kind - and there's vulnerability. The very same father or mother that you are bonded to, and vulnerable to, can make a huge impact - positively or negatively, in your life. In some families the impact is so negative, and the legacy so destructive, that it can take years for the person to recover; unless they encounter the power and presence of God.
So families always leave a legacy. You've just got to decide what to do with it. No matter what has been left to you - God can turn it for your good, and use it to get you where He wants you to go anyway. God can take the rubbish, and bring life and resurrection out of it; and use the very failure, or the pain or problem to get you where He wants you to go
Hebrews 13:7 – “Remember those who rule over you or who lead you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct or their lives”.
My own life has been deeply impacted by men of God - both positively and negatively.
It says to “hold in mind” people God has positioned in your life, to bring God's word to you; and it says ‘follow’ (or imitate). That word ‘follow’ meant literally ‘mimic’ or ‘imitate’ - not to imitate them, but imitate their faith. Imitate the life they have in God - that's what we're called to imitate.
God doesn't want you to be a clone of some other person - He wants you to be absolutely unique; but we are called to imitate (or to model) - to use people that we see walking with God, to apply what we see in their life to our own life.
It says: copy their faith; their trust; the life they have with God. It tells you what to look for. Don't look for the gifting or charisma. It says: considering the outcome of their life.
If you're weighing up someone whose faith you want to follow, consider the outcome, or consequence, or outworking of their life. Consider their marriage, family, finances - how they are living out their life in community with people.