Let's Build a Church for the Generations

You You You Any Christians brought your Bibles to church today any Christians love the Word of God you can open up and put a marker in Deuteronomy 5 I'm sorry, Deuteronomy 6 and Exodus 35 You put a marker in those two spots Deuteronomy 6 Exodus 35 in a few moments. We'll We'll get to the word It's beautiful seeing the images behind of the history of our church You know, there are certain moments in life when you realize that you are part of something bigger than yourself Bigger than your preferences bigger than your comfort Bigger than your own lifetime These moments are rare But when they come they have the power to change everything One Of those moments happened in the life of a man Named Walt Disney anybody heard of him before? Yeah, many people know Walt Disney as a dreamer and a visionary What fewer people know is how the idea for Disney World actually began? the story goes that Walt would often take his daughters to local parks and Walt noticed something. He knows that the parents would mostly sit on benches and watch The kids were having fun. The parents were waiting and Walt thought to himself. There has to be a better way He identified a need He saw a problem that most people simply accepted and then he began to imagine a solution Walt envisioned a place where parents and children could experience joy together A Place where generations could laugh together dream together create memories together The challenge is that the vision was in his mind, but nobody else could see it At first when he bought a large piece of land

All people saw was empty land. All people saw was cost. All people saw was risk All people saw were obstacles But vision always sees what others cannot yet see vision sees tomorrow while everybody else is staring at today and Those who eventually helped Walt Disney build that vision they had to do something important They had to catch the vision They had to embrace and own the vision Because before there were castles there were blueprints Before there were crowds There was construction before There was Disney World there was a lot of dirt It took enormous sacrifice It took tremendous resources and vision and it took years of planning and preparation It took countless people working together towards something larger than themselves And if you would have walked on to The Disney property during those construction phases at the beginning when nothing existed you might have wondered What in the world is this supposed to be? But today Millions of people can see what the visionary saw long before anybody else saw. Funny story was, somebody interviewed Walt Disney's brother after Walt Disney passed, before Walt Disney was completed, Walt Disney World. And they asked the brother, Disney's brother, they said, isn't it sad that Walt never got to see Disney World? And his brother said, oh, you're mistaken. If he never saw it, it wouldn't be here. Church, I believe this is how God works. He gives a vision. He invites people to become part of the vision. And I believe that we are standing in one of those moments right now here at Vertical Church.

For those of you who are new or maybe didn't know the story, in 1993, my parents stepped out in faith and planted this church as a Spanish speaking church called Iglesia Buenas Noticias de Fe, Good News of Faith. There was no guarantee, no massive resources, no perfect conditions, just faith, prayer, sacrifice, and a deep burden to reach people with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for 33 years as a church, God has been faithful in this place. We have seen salvations, baptisms, restored marriages, healed families, transformed lives, miracles, freedom, disciples raised up, leaders developed, and we have seen generations impacted here in our church. And then in 2015, we stepped into a new chapter. Now as Vertical Church, Iglesia Vertical, one church, two languages, united around this mission to help people know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference. And we've been in this building that we're in right now, in this unit of the Broward Lakes Business Park. We've been in here for 20 years. We own these units. We're not renting here. We own these. And now God has opened the door for us to purchase right across the street, nine acres with six buildings. Only God can do that. Only God can do that. But this is no small thing. This is a massive undertaking. The more we approach it, the more massive it appears. City approvals, eventual demolition, construction, renovation, finances, faith. This 7,000 square feet unit to over 80,000 square feet in all the buildings. Our initial phase, as I've mentioned before, our initial phase is a $20 million phase.

That includes the purchase of the property, which was 15.1 million. And I am confident that God has not brought us to here to leave us dry. We have an opportunity. We have an opportunity to be a part of it. We have an opportunity to be a part of something together that will extend God's kingdom and impact lives and families for generations and generations to come in the future. By faith, I declare it. I know something about you because I know this about every human being. Deep down, everyone wants their life to matter. We want purpose. We want legacy. We want meaning. And one of the greatest privileges in life is being part of building something with eternal value and eternal impact. Businesses matter. Careers matter. Homes matter. But the church of Jesus Christ impacts eternal destination of people. Buildings by themselves do not change lives, but what happens inside those buildings absolutely does. As you saw videos of the beginnings of our church and the years of moving from one storefront to another and trusting and believing in faith that God would lead us to where he wants to lead us so we can reach more people, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus, by faith, that in that property, in that campus, children will worship there. Teenagers will encounter God there. Families will be healed there. Marriages will restore there. Broken people will find freedom. And we will raise up future pastors, missionaries, leaders, business people, entrepreneurs, craftsmen,

people that will impact and positively contribute to society and to our community. I believe that will happen long after we are all gone. Lives will keep being transformed there until Jesus comes back for his church. And just like those who helped Walt Disney's, build Walt Disney's vision, they had to catch the vision. and become part of it, I believe God is inviting you. If you're a member of this church family, he's inviting you to catch the vision, his vision, and become part of what he wants to do through this church. So the big idea today is this. We are not building for ourselves alone. We are building a place where future generations can encounter the presence, the power, and the purpose of God. The title of today's message is Let's Build a Church for the Generations. Can you say it with me? Let's build a church for the generations. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this moment. I pray that you would open up our hearts and allow us to hear your word, allow us to take in the principles and the truth from your word, apply it in our lives. And Lord, we wanna be a part of what you are doing, a part of what you've called us to. Speak to us, Holy Spirit, we ask in Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

I wanna unpack a few points today. Number one, simple statement, God will build his church. Can anybody say that with me? God will build his church. There's an interesting interaction where Jesus is talking with his disciples. He asks a question. Peter gives a really good answer in this specific occasion. And Jesus responds, and he says in Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Now, when Jesus makes this statement, I will build my church, he's being very clear that he is the master builder. I think an important question that we should ask is what exactly is the church? When a lot of people hear the word church, they think of a building or a place. Biblically speaking, the church is much bigger than a building or a place. In fact, the word that Jesus uses in the original Greek in Matthew 16 is the word ekklesia. Everybody say ekklesia. Ekklesia or ekklesia means the called out assembly or the gathered people. So let me clarify, church is not a building we walk into, but rather a family we belong to. Every believer who has put their faith in Jesus Christ and been adopted into God's family is part of this family. The church is God's family, God's people,

God's kingdom, community here on the earth. That means that church is not an organization we attend, it's a family that we belong to. And this is why the church is so important to the Lord. Ask me why, ask me why. Because the Bible says the church is the bride of Christ. You know how meaningful, how significant and special a bride is to a groom. The Bible says that the church is the body of Christ. Anybody care about your body? Christ is the head, we are his body. The Bible says that the church is the family of God. Anybody love your family? Yeah, it means a lot to Jesus. It says the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So think about that. Jesus doesn't merely love the church, he identifies himself with the church because the church is his bride, his body, his family. Acts 20 tells us that Jesus purchased the church with his own blood. That means that the church matters deeply to God because people matter to God. The church is God's chosen instrument to bring the gospel into the world, to make disciples, to care for people, to worship him and to demonstrate his love and power here on the earth. Now it's interesting, Jesus didn't say, you will build my church.

He actually made the statement, went on record and said, I will build my church. So ultimately, who is the one responsible for building his church? Jesus. Now we have a role to play. We pray, we serve, we give, we disciple, we obey. Who is the master builder? Jesus. Throughout history, kingdoms have risen and fallen, empires have come and gone, governments have changed, cultures have shifted, yet for over 2,000 years, the church has continued to advance because Jesus keeps his promises. The church is the only organization that Jesus personally promised to build. And notice, Jesus didn't say that the gates of hell won't fight against the church. He did say that the gates of hell will not prevail. They won't overcome it. Because the church is not a fragile institution struggling to survive, the church is a spirit-filled movement advancing the kingdom of God. And for more than 33 years, we have watched Jesus faithfully build his church here at Vertical through this local church, not because we're great, but because he is great. As we step into the next season of property and renovating and preparing for the future generations, our confidence is not in our resources

because we don't have enough. Our confidence is not in our ability. because we don't have all of the ability. Our confidence is in Christ because he is the master builder. And he sustained us for 33 years. We believe he will sustain us until he comes back. Second point today. So God will build his church. Number two, his church includes his people. I've already mentioned this, so let's emphasize this a little bit more. It's not just about building, it's about people. Here's another line. The church is a multi-generational family of faith. By the way, if we're gonna build a church for the generations, we must understand one of the most important passages in the entire Bible regarding multi-generational faith. Let's go together to Deuteronomy chapter six. In Deuteronomy chapter six, we're gonna read verses four to nine, which is known as the Shema. Everybody say the Shema. The Jewish people know this as the Shema. Question, Deuteronomy, is it in the Old Testament or the New Testament? Old Testament. It's actually one of the first books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

It's book five. It's the fifth book in the first five books known as the Pentateuch. Anybody know who wrote the Pentateuch? Moses, Moses. And so, Deuteronomy six, verses four to nine, we're gonna read what the Jewish people know as the Shema. I'm gonna explain a little bit about that. Pay attention, it says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Check it out. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and talk about them when you walk along the road and talk about them when you lie down and talk about them when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Let's stop right there. The Shema, God's blueprint for generational faith. Now, the word Shema actually comes from the first word that we read here in Deuteronomy six, verse four, where it says, Hear, O Israel. The word Shema literally means in Hebrew,

hear or listen or pay attention, the combination of these. Because in Hebrew, the idea or the thought of Shema wasn't just listening with our ears, it meant listening with the intention of obeying. That's Shema. In other words, to hear God was to obey God. Now, for thousands of years, faithful Jewish families have recited the Shema every morning and every evening. It became the foundational declaration of their faith and identity. Why? Because God understood something that we must understand today. It's very important to understand this. Faith is always one generation away from extinction. In other words, if you don't transmit your faith, if you have the faith, to your children, the faith will be extinct there. It's always one generation away from extinction. Every generation must intentionally pass on the faith to the next generation. So the Shema wasn't simply a personal devotion, it was a family discipleship strategy. God's blueprint and plan for multi-generational faith. I don't have notes on this, but I'm gonna just share a few thoughts about the Shema, regarding the Shema. Faith must first be personal before it can become generational.

We read that in the first verse in five, actually. Love the Lord your God with what? With all your heart, all your soul, with all your strength. Notice where God begins. Not with children, not with programs, not with strategies. He starts with the hearts of the parents. Ask me why, ask me why. Because before faith can be transferred, it must first be possessed. One of the greatest mistakes that parents can make is trying to pass down a faith that they themselves are not actively living out. Now, God is not looking for perfect parents, he's looking for authentic disciples. Our children don't need perfect parents, they need real examples. What do they need to see? What do our children need to see? They need to see mom praying. They need to see dad worshiping God. They need to see parents who repent and ask for forgiveness when they're wrong. They need to see parents and families who go through difficult things, but they trust God and have faith in the midst of those difficult things. Because faith is often more caught than taught. I'm gonna make a statement here, which is very, it pulls out some passion in me. The greatest gift we can leave our children

is not wealth, but a living faith in Jesus Christ. Can I tell you something? In all my years of pastoring that I've never heard, I've never sat down with one father or mother who sat down with tears in their eyes to tell me, Pastor, I wish I would've taken my son to more soccer practices. Never once have I sat at a desk or at a coffee with a mother or father who said, I just wish I would've had 100 more. And I wish I would have had more volleyball practices and I wish I would have had more tournaments. Not once. But I can count, looking at my calendar just in the last calendar year, how many times I've sat with parents to tell me, Pastor, we dropped the ball somewhere. My kid has no faith. They don't believe in anything. And the problem is that the kids didn't come to VSM because they had soccer. They didn't really come to church because they had tournaments. And you know, volleyball can forgive your sins. And the soccer coaches, man, they can provide eternal life. And I'm not against any of those things. I played soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis. I did everything growing up, but my parents, they made one thing clear, not only to me, but to my coaches. Hello, coach. Hello, coach. Birch, don't come on Sunday. In those times, I think sports, they respected Sundays a little more than today. But I'll just say this. That wasn't even a possibility. And I thank God for parents who prioritized priorities. Imagine that. I know that's nobody here, but so you can share with all the parents out there. Because I know none of nobody here does that. Of course not. And I'm not trying to bring condemnation. I'm just trying to speak truth and love. Because some of you have them young enough where you still have a decision to make. And by the way, you pay for them to play.

So it's not like I'm sorry they can't come. It's okay. They're going to be okay missing a practice. They might not be okay missing their Savior. All right, I'll move on. I'll move on. I'll move on. The Shema. Faith must be intentionally passed down. It says these commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Have you ever impressed something on something? Have you ever seen something impressed on it? Like impress is powerful. It carries the idea of stamping or repeatedly pressing something into a surface. God says don't casually mention faith every once in a while. He says intentionally shape your children. Faith isn't transferred accidentally. Parents don't wake up and say, oh my gosh, what happened? My kid loves Jesus. Said nobody ever. Because that's never accidental. It's only intentional. Someone invests. Someone teaches. Someone prays. Someone models. Someone sacrifices. Someone worships. Someone leads. This is why the church and the family must work together. The church can reinforce faith, but the home must cultivate faith. Not the other way around. We're trying to do miracles with one hour if you even bring them on Sunday. If you don't bring them to youth, imagine one hour, one and a half hour, maybe two hours a week compared to discipleship with you at home. You have a big role to play, parents. Also the Shema teaches us that faith is meant to be woven into everyday culture and everyday life. It says talk about these things. Talk about the word. It says talk about the word when you sit at home. When else? When you walk on the road.

When else? When you lie down. When else? When you get up. In other words, what? All the time. All the time. I remember telling my mom, mom, you already prayed for me. Dad, we already read that Bible verse. I already know it by memory. I'm so thankful for that. If your kids aren't complaining about how much you're praying and how much you want them to be connected to God, then I think maybe you're not doing it enough. It's the Shema. It's God's blueprint for multigenerational, intergenerational faith. In modern language, God is saying talk about God at the dinner table. Talk about God in the car. Talk about God before school. Talk about God before bedtime. Talk about it in victories. Talk about it in difficult moments. One of the dangers of modern Christianity is that faith can become compartmentalized. When we have church on Sunday, but then don't talk about God from Monday to Saturday. And then wonder, what happened? He went to church all his life. Yeah, but he never modeled anything. He never got connected. She never got so connected as she was over there. Something was missing here. And again, I am for sports, by the way. I love sports. I play sports to this day. But I am for Jesus because Jesus saves me. I'm for my kids for Jesus because he saved them.

Faith flourishes when it becomes part of everyday conversations. Lastly, regarding the Shema, faith must be visible to the next generation. It says tie them as symbols on your hands and forehead. heads, write them on your door frames of your house, on your gates. The point wasn't like superstitious stuff, the point was visibility. God wanted his people to constantly be reminded of his truth by visible examples. Today, our children are surrounded by messages from social media, from entertainment, from culture, from influencers, from schools, from advertising. The question is, what visible reminders are we putting in their lives that remind them about God? I mean, think right now about your 13 year old. Think right now about your 17 year old. Think right now about your 20 year old. What are you visibly putting in front of them or living in front of them to remind them about God? Do they see prayer, genuinely? Do they see faith? Do they see worship happening? Do they see generosity? When's the last time you got together and said, hey, son, daughter, let's come, let's pray for this tithe or this offering that we're giving today. We're giving to the Lord. God is so faithful. Everything we have here, he has provided. That's what we give to God in our church.

And I want you guys to understand this principle of generosity that opens the door to so many blessings. Let's pray and give God thanks for this. That could be a visible way of saying, we love Jesus. He is not an afterthought. He is a priority in our life. They need to see service. Do your children see you serving the Lord? How are you serving the Lord? How are you serving others in the name of the Lord? Don't expect to see them doing it if you're not doing it. And if they are, and you're not doing it, consider it miraculous. They need to see integrity. They need to see a love for God's word. Because I guarantee you, they're not gonna see that necessarily out in the community unless they're connected to the right people. This is why building a multi-generational church matters. The Shema reminds us that God's plan has always involved generations walking together. Grandparents passing down wisdom to their grandchildren. Parents modeling faith to their children. Young adults embracing purpose. Children learning truth. We're building not just buildings, we're building space where Deuteronomy 6, the Shema can continue to happen. As we said a few weeks ago, we will not hide these truths from the next generation.

We will proclaim God's praiseworthy deeds to the next generation. Spiritual family where every generation helps the next generation know, love, and follow Jesus. Here's a good line. Every generation must become a bridge, not a barrier. That leads me to the third and final point today. God will build his church. His church includes people. Number three, his church includes his house. His church includes his house. Yes, God is everywhere. Yes, God is not limited to a building. But throughout scripture, physical places mattered because they became gathering places for worship, for discipleship, for ministry, for prayer. A family has a home where they live. A spiritual family also needs a home where they live out that spiritual family connection. This is why it matters. Here's a sub point. We are called to build God's house. I want you to go with me to Exodus 35. There's a beautiful picture in scripture of God's people coming together to build God's house in this case specifically the tabernacle which was a portable temple for the people of God. It was a portable sanctuary where God's presence would dwell among his people. Now I want you guys to follow me for a second

and consider this. Moses is the leader. God is giving instructions to Moses as to what they are to do and how they are to build this tabernacle, this church, this temple. And in Exodus 35 verse four it says, then Moses said to the whole community of Israel, this is what the Lord has commanded. Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord. And he lists a big list. Gold, silver, bronze. And if you have your Bible open it's a big list of all kinds of materials and offerings and resources. Now what's fascinating, how many agree with me that God is God? How many agree that if God is God, God can do anything? All right, so you know what God could have done? He could have been like, everybody move out of the way. Now coming from heaven is now your new tabernacle. Look at it, it's beautiful. It's coming down, it's coming, right? He could have done that. But no, no, no, no, it's fascinating that God didn't simply perform a miracle and drop the tabernacle from heaven. He invited his people to participate. He invited them to pray.

He invited them to, don't say it pastor, give. He invited them to serve. He invited them to use their skills, their resources to build something greater than themselves for the purposes of God. I believe, church, the same. God who invited his people to build then is inviting his people to build today with us here at Vertical Church. Three little points here. A, their hearts were stirred. Their hearts were stirred. I want you to notice that the participation was voluntary. Exodus 35, 21, it says, all those whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the tabernacle. Notice the language. Who brought the stuff? Who brought the stuff? All of them whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved. Check it out. God didn't force them. Moses didn't manipulate them. It wasn't figuring out how to get them to do something. Their hearts were stirred and their spirits were moved. Verse 22, both men and women came. All those whose hearts were willing,

they brought to the Lord their freewill offerings. Okay, pause. Over and over again, the emphasis here is not on obligation, but rather willingness. Ask me why, ask me why. Because God has always been after our hearts before he asked for our hands. Great moves of God begin with hearts that are stirred before hands that are stretched. As I think about our future campus at Vertical Church, my prayer is not that people feel pressured, any of you feel pressured. My prayer is that you and I feel that our hearts are stirred and that our attitude is, I gotta be a part of this. I am called to this family and I wanna put my fingerprints on what God is doing. I want future generations to know Jesus and I wanna help build God's house if this is the family he's called me to. Letter B, letter B. Everyone brought what they had. I'll add, and everyone did what they knew how to do. All right, it's remarkable that not everybody brought the same thing. Exodus 35, if you read it, it talks about some brought gold, silver, bronze, jewels, fabrics, wood, oil, spices, all kinds of stuff. Now check it out, check it out, check it out. Others brought something different.

Others brought what they knew how to do, including the women. It says in verse 25, Exodus 35, 25. All the women who were skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine linen cloth. They started sewing groups, everybody. And it talks about, in chapter 35, it talks about how all the craftsmen, all the skilled laborers and workers, they brought what they knew how to do. Verse 35, chapter 35, verse 35. The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers. And it goes on to describe how all of these people came to give resources, to give their craftsmanship, to give their labor, to give their leadership, to offer their creativity, their expertise. The point is, everybody had something to contribute. God never asked us to bring what we don't have. He asked us to surrender what we do have. Now it's powerful for our church today. Here's what I know, all of us, all of us can give something somehow. We can give financially. All of us can pray if we learn how to pray. Every person has something different that God can use

and I am believing with all my heart that God has called us as a spiritual family and as a church to help him build his church. He's the master builder but he's called us to participate. He has a vision, he's called us to capture that vision, to embrace and own that vision with him. And today I specifically and especially wanna talk to some people because I was praying about this for a few months as we're approaching this massive project and I just couldn't shake off the idea of, goodness, who are the people who should most wanna be a part of this? Us. And the more I thought about it, the more the Holy Spirit put on my heart, birds, you need to make a call. You need to make a call to the church and find out who knows how to do what, who has what company, who, because what greater story can we tell than to say we built this with God's help, we did. And so I was praying and the Lord put on my heart, birds, you need to make a call to the church. We need to find out who has experience in this season, in construction, roofing, plumbing, electrical, painting, demolition, flooring, HVAC and air conditioning, mold remediation, we got some mold in some buildings, people, engineering, architecture, project management, interior design, audiovisual technology, materials, people that have connections with book,

materials. and resources and all the areas related to all these things. And I'm here to tell you, church, this is your opportunity to help build a church for the generations. And like in Exodus 36, where the people responded to God's call, I am praying for and believing that a lot of you are going to say, pastor, count me in. Pastor, we're in. Pastor, count our company in. Pastor, I know some people, we're in. So we have a QR code that I wanna share because we're gonna be doing a meeting in a few weeks. And I wanted at least two weeks to be able to cast this vision for anybody who has area. You could use your phones right now if you can get that code. Anybody who has experience in any of these areas that I've mentioned or anything that you think might be helpful in the development of this property, which is a massive property and a massive project. And I am believing, I am believing that some of you are gonna leave your fingerprints on this project. I was talking to a pastor this week. It brings tears to my eyes. He's been praying for me. He's been praying for Justlane. He's been praying for our church. He's a South African pastor who lives in Colorado, but he was here for some projects, for missions. And he started telling me, Pastor Virg,

I've been praying for you, and I've been praying for your project. I've been praying for the property. And he told me, I've been praying that the Lord would lift up the people from within the church. And I said, tell me more about that. He says, I believe there are people in your church that are called to help build the church. And I said, wow, what a concept. This is exactly what we see in Exodus 35. And he said, Pastor Virg, I think that there are people that when you take them across and you show them the building that's gonna be Vertical Kids Ministry, they're going to say, I want to donate all of the flooring because I want my fingerprints on this, and I want my future generations to know that we did something here. And somebody might say, Pastor Virg, I wanna pay for the roof for that building. And I wanna, I don't know what it is that you're gonna do, or what it is that you're actually gonna do because you know how to do it, but I'm just praying that if you are part of this church family and the Lord puts it on your heart, that you would capture this vision. Because it's not visible yet, but I can see where the Lord has taken us. And so, I am praying, please, if you know somebody who is in this realm and they're not here today,

please share that link with them, because we're gonna be communicating with everybody who communicates, who gives us their information. We're gonna be communicating shortly in the next couple of weeks about a meeting to cast some vision and see how maybe the Lord's gonna move your heart. Some of you will probably give resources, some of you will give labor, some of you will give expertise, some of you will give time, but we're all gonna build together. And those of you who say, Pastor, I don't do construction, there will be time where we're gonna need hands and feet and sweat. And when that time comes, I know that you guys will be on board too. In the meantime, help us pray. In the meantime, help continuously giving. I just want you to know, as of December 1st, we're responsible for that mortgage. Since December 1st, so December, January, February, March, April, May. We can't even use it, but we're paying for it. God is faithful, he is with us. So your faithfulness in giving, in serving, in helping to build the church while we're here, waiting to get to the promised land, is very important for us.

Can I get an amen? Check this out, let her see. Their generosity, the generosity of the people exceeded the need of God's house. This is crazy. Exodus 36, the next chapter, verse three. This is amazing. Moses gave them the materials, in other words, the workers, the construction, gave them the materials donated by the people of Israel as sacred offerings for the completion of the sanctuary, but the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. Pause, pause. Can you imagine this? Not one day, not one offering. Every single morning, the people would come with more offerings, with more donations, with more gifts, with more resources, with more materials. Why? Because they caught the vision. They realized they were building something that had kingdom implications, and something incredible happens. Look at verse four, look at verse four. It says, finally, the craftsmen, the builders, who were working on the sanctuary, they stopped working, and they left their work, and they went to Moses and reported, Moses, the people have given more than enough materials

to complete the job that the Lord has commanded us to do. So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp. Everybody, men, women, don't bring any more offerings. Don't prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough. So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete that whole project. And I'm thinking, could that be, Lord? Could that be? I mean, it's only 20 million, phase one. Remember I shared with you guys in December that the good news is we already have all the 20 million? It's just in all of our accounts, so we gotta figure out how we're gonna make this happen. He's gonna build his church, people. Can you imagine that? They had to interrupt Moses and say, the work, tell Moses, Moses, tell him to stop giving, because we have more than enough of what we need to build. the church, not because Moses pressured them, not because they were fundraising experts, not because they had unlimited resources, but because God's people caught God's vision and had faith and obedience to believe. When people catch God's vision, generosity becomes a joy and not a burden. And church, this is exactly what's inspiring me in this season.

We're not asking for just a few people to build God's house. We're inviting everyone who calls Vertical Church my home, my family, to participate, just like all the people of Israel and Exodus. Some will pray, some will give, some will serve. Some will bring professional expertise. Some will bring their company. Some will contribute materials. Some will help solve problems. Some will encourage others and everything in between. And when God's people unite around God's vision, amazing things happen. Because we're not simply renovating buildings. We're taking what used to be an old behavioral mental health hospital, we're turning it into a spiritual hospital. We aren't building a monument, we are building a legacy. Because this is for the Lord. Monuments celebrate people, legacies impact generations. And I'll finish off with this thought. The next generation is worth the sacrifice. Our kids, our grandkids, our future great-grandkids and beyond, they're worth the sacrifice. We will not hide these truths from our future generations. We will share and testify to God's glory. Somebody, the reason we're here right now, having church here right now, is because 33 years ago, some men and women sacrificed to start this. Some men and women gave.

Some men and women prayed. Some men and women served and stayed faithful for more than three decades. That's why we're here today. And now, we need to recognize that one day, there will be children on that property coming to know Jesus. There will be teenagers encountering the Lord. There will be families being transformed in those classrooms and in those auditoriums. People will receive Jesus and salvation there. And maybe, maybe, decades from now, somebody will say, 30, 40 years down the line, I'm so thankful that in 2026 and 2027, those people were faithful to build this property, build this church. Because that's why our family came to faith here in the year 2060 or until Jesus comes back. Big idea today. We are not building for ourselves alone. We are building a church where future generations can encounter the presence, power, and purpose of God. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word because it encourages us, it challenges us, it lifts us, and it inspires us. Lord, thank you because today, we are energized and expectant to the possibility of being part of something bigger than ourselves. Thank you for your faithfulness

throughout every season of this church so far, Lord. Thank you for every prayer, every sacrifice, every faithful servant throughout all these years. Lord, we declare that this church belongs to you. And we ask that you would build your church through us. You would unite our hearts. You would stir generosity and faith in us. Vision, let this new campus, this new property, become a lighthouse of hope and healing, of salvation and revival for generations to come. And use us to make an eternal difference in the lives of many. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen, amen.