Legacy 2026: | Ps Miles Paludan

isn't what we build for ourselves. It's

what we leave behind for others. Every

year, our church sets aside a season to

refocus, to steward what God has placed

in our hands and to give it forward. We

call it legacy. It's a journey of

faithful generosity, a posture of trust

in our God who causes us to dream

audaciously big. A choice to invest in

something we may never see for the sake

of people we may never meet in a world

that desperately needs more of Jesus.

Because what God builds through his

people is never just for us in the here

and now. It's for our future church,

city, nation, and world. This month we

step in for the year ahead to pray, to

give, to trust God for more than we

could build alone.

Welcome to Legacy.

>> Welcome everybody. Sydney Harbor Bridge,

the location for our message today on

legacy. Can I honor Sanjie and Jocelyn

today? our location pastors. What an

amazing job they're doing. Loving

people, loving the Lord. I also want to

honor all of you for making room for new

people. As we've gone to two services,

God is filling up those services. We're

seeing people getting saved, lives being

changed. It's just wonderful to see what

God is doing in Hills. And it's because

of you, your sacrifice, your love for

God, inviting people, giving, praying.

God is moving at Hills. Thank you. God

bless you all. Today we're going to

start with our word for the year, which

is make room. And we get this from

Isaiah 54:2. The word of God says,

Isaiah 54:2

"Enlarge the sight of your tent." The

amplified says, "Make room for more

children." In Isaiah 54, God is speaking

prophetically to Israel. And he's using

the image of a barren woman. God calls

her to step out, enlarge her dwelling

place for children she does not have.

It's amazing that she would make room

for kids that she doesn't have. That's

faith. In fact, Hebrews 1:11 says,

Hebrews 1:11

"Faith is the confidence in what we hope

for. It's the assurance about what we do

not see."

We all have examples of making room in

our lives. Whether it's you're in love

and you think she's the one and you

start saving for the big rock to ask her

to marry you and she hasn't said yes

yet. Or maybe you're pregnant and you're

starting to renovate and you haven't had

the child yet, yet you're coloring the

walls and buying furniture and getting

people to hand their secondhand stuff to

you. Uh or maybe you need to buy shoes

for your kids. You take them to Kmart

and you put the shoes on and the kids

say, "Mom, these shoes are too big.

They're two sizes too big. And what do

you say, Mom? It's okay. You'll grow

into them.

We're making room for the future. Our

legacy series this year is about

building something for the future.

Making room for the future. Why do we do

this every year?

Why does this matter? I mean, what's the

point of this legacy series every year?

Well, if we only focus on the here and

now, legacy seems excessive. But we're

not actually living for the here and

now. We're not building for the here and

now. We're actually living and building

for the future. We're actually living

and building for eternity. And as we

give financially to legacy, we're

literally making room for the future.

We're making room for future generations

to know and follow Jesus Christ. That's

that's why we do this. So, how do we do

this? How do we make room and build for

the future? How do we enlarge our tent

as Isaiah 54:2 says? Well, in this

Isaiah 54:2

series, we're going to learn from a

great man of the Bible. His name is

Joseph. and he made room for God in his

life. Even after a rocky start with his

brothers that wanted to kill him, he

actually ended up rescuing an entire

nation. This series is actually for

everybody. Doesn't matter your age,

doesn't matter how long you've been

following the Lord. My prayer is that

God will move in your life as you make

room for him. As you pray and seek the

Lord, what you can give over and above

your normal giving to legacy. Here's

what I'm believing that God will speak

to you that he'll encourage you that

give you the faith to do what he's

asking you to do. So here's my dream, my

goal, my prayer at the end of the day.

As we make room for God, our faith will

be enlarged. We'll be drawn closer to

him. That's the win.

God, we long for your presence

to fall on this earth.

We bring our repentance,

surrender to you.

We lay down distractions,

agendas remove.

We just want your spirit.

So we're making room.

We need a fresh outpouring

of your spirit.

Lord God, our hearts are burning just to

know you more. You alone are worthy, oh

we're longing

for. Come have your way. Spirit, come

out your way.

Spirit of the living God, breathe on us.

You're all we want. Fireful

once again. Holy Spirit, come on in.

Spirit of the living God, breathe on us.

You're all we want. Firefall

once again. Holy Spirit, come on in.

Holy Spirit, come on in. Holy Spirit,

come on in. Holy Spirit, come on in.

We need a fresh outpouring

of your spirit.

Lord, God, our hearts are burning just

to know you for you alone are worthy all

we're longing

for. Come have your way.

Come have your way.

Genesis 37.

It all started with a dream.

One night, Joseph had a dream. And when

he told his brothers about it, they

hated him more than ever. Listen to this

dream. He said, "We're out in the field

tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly, my

bundles stood up

and your bundles all gathered around and

bowed low before mine." Probably not

something the brothers are going to want

to hear. Verse eight, his brothers

responded, "So you think you're going to

be our king, do you? Do you actually

think you're going to reign over us?

They hated him all the more. They

already had a problem with him because

he was the favorite. But now they hated

him all the more because he's telling

them they're going to bow down to him

because his dream and the way he talked

about them." Uh, this dream that Joseph

had changed his life. He was never the

same. It set him on a path that would

actually end up making him the second

most powerful person on the planet. He

would rescue his family and an entire

nation of starvation. And furthermore,

future generations and wealth were

secured. All because of a dream. It all

started with a dream. So today, what's

your dream? What's your dream? Maybe

it's time to dream again. Maybe it's

time to resurrect a dream that God had

placed in your hearts many years ago.

Maybe it's time to seek the Lord for a

dream. It all starts with a dream. Now,

the Sydney Harbor Bridge is one of the

most iconic structures in Australia.

It's instantly recognizable from all

over the world. It took eight years to

build, was completed in 1932 with a cost

of over a billion dollars in today's

value. In the first year, 11,000

vehicles crossed it. That's less than 7%

of its capacity. Remember that. Today,

not 11,000, but 169,000 vehicles cross

it every day. 480 trains. So, here's

where the story becomes amazing. And

here's the point and the reason why

we're highlighting the Sydney Harbor

Bridge. In 1930, there were only 169,000

private vehicles registered in the

entire state of New South Wales. The

Harbor Bridge was built with a far

greater capacity than was needed at the

time. They were clearly building for the

future. That's legacy.

In the story of Joseph, we see God is

playing the long game. Problem is, we

don't play the long game. We see the

immediate, but God sees generations.

Living a life of legacy is about the

long game. It's about generational

impact. It's actually not just for what

we leave people. It it it's also what we

leave in people. Let me say that again.

It's not just what we leave for people.

But it's what we leave in people, what

we deposit in people that goes beyond

our life into future generations. For

Joseph, legacy began when he had a

dream. When Joseph saw what God wanted

him to do in the future, this sermon is

about dreaming. Godsized

dreams. Getting hold of a God-sized

vision, God-sized dream. Holy Spirit

inspired dream. So what is a godly

dream? Well, a godly dream is simply

anything that builds the kingdom of God.

Two thoughts today on a godly dream.

Number one, godly dreams bring

opposition. Yeah, that's the bad news.

It's probably why we don't dream as much

as we should. Genesis 37, here comes the

dreamer. They said that's the brothers.

Come on, let's kill him. We'll throw him

into one of these systems. That that's a

well in the Old Testament. And then we

can tell our father a wild animal has

eaten him. And then we'll see what

becomes of his dreams. The brothers,

they tried to kill the dream. Talk about

a dream killer. Have you ever had a

great idea?

You ever had a dream and you're so

excited you told someone and they

laughed at you? They they kind of were

like Joseph's brothers. They were dream

killers. When I told my family I was

leaving being a builder and I was going

to become a pastor uh with five little

kids, they weren't excited. They're

actually horrified. I was excited. I

thought I'd heard from the Lord and

instead of being encouraged, I got

ridiculed. I'll never forget what one of

the family members said. It still haunts

me to this day. Why on earth would you

do that? Those words have just rung and

echoed when things are going tough,

things aren't working out. Oh my god,

did I really hear from you? Dreams need

to be protected.

They need to be nurtured. They need to

be able to grow. We see in Matthew 7:6,

Matthew 7:6

Jesus says, "Don't throw your pearls to

pigs. They'll trample the pearls, then

turn and attack you." And Jesus said

this so that we would use discernment,

recognizing that not every heart is

ready to receive what we have to say.

And as believers, we're called to share

truth and our dreams and wisdom into

prepared hearts that are open and

humble. So, Joseph finds himself at odds

with his brothers to the point where he

wanted to kill him. Now, no doubt Joseph

could have been wiser, more mature in

the way he shared his dreams. And our

talents and our knowledge that they come

from God. And so, it's always more

appropriate to thank God for them rather

than brag about them. So, every time,

every opportunity, always give God the

credit. So, Joseph faced opposition.

He's 17 years old when he dreams this

dream. Next, sold into slavery, spends

years in prison after being falsely

accused. 22

years later, his brothers come to get

grain and bow down before him. The dream

is fulfilled.

The story of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

John Bradfield, he was the chief

proponent and lead lead engineer of the

Sydney Harbor Bridge, faced significant

opposition on multiple fronts. For

decades, governments debated whether the

bridge was even necessary. Critics

argued it was too costly and it was not

needed, that the fairies were fine. The

Great Depression intensified

opposition. Many questioning the

spending during economic hardships. Uh

people feared it would disrupt the

harbor. It would be unsafe and that the

bridge would fall into the water. There

were concerns that the steel monster

would ruin the visual impact of the

Sydney harour. Engineers and architects,

they disagreed over design options. Some

said it needs to be candle lever. Others

said it needs to be an arch. There was

confliction between local and overseas

designers. Some critics argued that

Australia lacked the expertise to build

it. 23 years of wasting time, delays,

approvals, redesigns, and negotiations

before building even started. Dreaming

brings opposition.

In fact, if you aren't facing

opposition, you're probably not dreaming

the way God wants you. Don't be

discouraged.

Don't allow the setbacks of your dream

to take you off course. Allow the

message of Joseph to keep you on track,

on purpose. That dream may be a small

seed in your heart, but write it down.

Nurture it. Pray over it. Talk to people

who can encourage you. Don't quit on

your God dream. Number one, godly dreams

bring opposition. Number two, godly

dreams draw us closer to God. So, Joseph

sold into slavery and he ends up in

Egypt. In chapter 39:E1,

Joseph was taken to Egypt by the

Ishelite traders. It's after his

brothers had thrown him in the pit and

he was purchased by Piper, an Egyptian

officer. Piper was captain of the guard

for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So,

Joseph ends up in a foreign land. He's

away from family. And at this point, it

seems his dreams are further away than

ever. Yet, we find he's closer to the

Lord than ever.

Strange how in the hardship and the

distance of his dream becoming a

reality, he actually draws closer to

God. And that can happen for you and I.

Even in the hardships and the

difficulties, the opposition, there's an

opportunity for all of us that we can

draw closer to God. We see in chapter 39

alone. Three times the words are used,

the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was

with Joseph. In verse three, Piper

noticed this and realized that the Lord

was with Joseph, giving him success in

everything he did. Then Piper's wife

tried to seduce Joseph and when he

refused, she falsely accused him in his

throne in prison. Next verse 21, the

Lord was with Joseph. Again, those words

are said in the prison and showed him

his faithful love. God is faithful to

us. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite

with the prison warden in the worst

possible place, the prison where it

seemed like the dream had died. His life

was over. We find Joseph is close to the

Lord, which brings favor on his life.

Finally, verse 23, the warden had no

more worries because Joseph took care of

everything. No more worries, mate. Bit

of Australian in scripture in the

Hebrew. No more worries. The Lord was

with him and caused everything he did to

succeed. You know, maybe it seems that

you are farther away than ever from your

dream or where you hoped or wanted to

be. Maybe you wanted to be married. You

wanted to have children.

You wanted to own a home.

You wanted to have a career.

And like Joseph, you feel trapped maybe

in a prison or in a pit. Can I encourage

you today? You're not alone. Someone

needs to hear this today. You're not

alone. You're not alone. In the

desperation

for Joseph, all alone in the pit in the

prison, he drew close to the Lord. The

Lord was with him. Today, God is with

you. You may not see it. You may not

feel it. But the truth is, you have not

been forgotten. God has not passed you

by. You may feel you've been put on the

shelf or abandoned or misunderstood or

taken advantage of or been a victim or

bullied or hurt. But God never forgets.

God always remembers. Hebrews 13:5, he

Hebrews 13:5

says, "I'll never leave you. I'll never

forsake you. When things go bad, there's

nowhere to turn. God is with you. He'll

never leave you. He'll never forsake

you. Even when everyone else does, God

will never leave you. And my prayer,

this legacy series, you'll draw close to

God as you pursue him and pray and think

and dream. You will draw closer to him.

Let God draw you closer to him in this

series to trust him, exercise your

faith, to depend on him.

If you can do the dream on your own,

it's probably not a God-sized dream. So

the Lord was with Joseph and made a way

for him. In chapter 40:39,

Pharaoh said to Joseph, since God has

revealed the meaning of the dream to

you, clearly no one else is intelligent

or wise as you are. Verse 40, you will

be in charge of my court and all my

people will take orders from you. Only I

sitting on the throne will have a higher

rank than you. God

supernaturally

allows Joseph to interpret Pharaoh's

dream. God made a way and God made a way

for his dream to come to pass. I had a

dream when I was maybe 25

um years of age. I was newly married,

first year of marriage, and we went to

this little church in Canes, and the

pastor was having a fundraising program

for a building. We didn't have any

money. We're broke, mate. We're just

married, you know, spent all the money

on the honeymoon to Bali and came back

with nothing. And I was just stirred in

my heart to give, but I didn't have any

money. Well, part of my job was I got

bonuses on the projects. I was a project

manager, a builder, and if there was

profit left over, I would get a profit,

a share of that. So, I was looking at

the job in the following year and and

there was a chance I would make 20K um

as a bonus. And so, I said to Bonnie,

"Look, let's let's pledge and commit

some of this money." So, what we said

is, "Let's give half to the Lord uh

$10,000."

And so, we hadn't made the money, but we

made this commitment. So, here's what

happened.

Every day from that day on, I was

praying, "God, come on. Help me to run

this project better. God, bring your

favor on this project. God, I draw close

to you. I'm in there praying. I'm

believing. Uh I'm I'm asking for God's

favor. Great subbies, help us to buy

materials at a discounted cost. I'm

praying. I'm believing. I'm going for

it. What it actually did, it was a

turning point in my life. It drew me

closer to God. Um I it wasn't a billion

dollar bridge. It was only 10K. It was

it was massive amount for me at that

time. But looking back, that dream

impacted my relationship with God. It

was instrumental in me putting God first

in my business and my life.

I'm not sure I'd be here today

without that dream. I'm not sure I'd be

pastoring today. It put a dependence. It

put a trust. It it tied me closer to the

Lord. And I just wonder, what does God

want to do in your life through a dream?

What does God want to birth,

a trust, a faith that you're here on

this planet for a purpose, something

greater than yourself, that God wants to

do something through you that will

impact generations for eternity. You

know, that little bit of money that

Bonnie and I gave, we ended up able to

give that $10,000 to that church. It was

actually instrumental in them buying a

building, the very building where Ken's

location meets today, where hundreds of

people hear the gospel. I wonder what

God wants to do through you. First, I

want to share about God's dream for you.

And God's dream is that you would be

saved, that no one would perish. This

dream actually sent God to send his son

Jesus Christ to this earth to be saved.

And his dream is no one would perish.

And I want to ask you today, do you know

Christ? Have you surrendered your life

to him? Is he your Lord and your Savior?

God's dream is you would be saved. God's

dream is you would have a relationship

with God through Jesus Christ. God's

dream is that you would live for him on

purpose on mission. And so with eyes

closed and heads bowed, if that's you

today, you want Jesus Christ to be your

Lord and Savior. You want to surrender

your life to him. You want to respond to

the dream of the father in heaven that

loves you and knows you. Would you say

yes to him today with eyes closed and

heads bowed on the count of three? If

that's you, you want Jesus to be your

Lord and Savior. You want him to save

you and rescue you. Would you say yes

today? Eyes closed, heads bowed, and the

count of three. One, two, three, just

raise up your hand. Just say, "Yeah, I I

want to be saved. I want Jesus to be my

Lord." I want to say just raise it up

high all across the auditorium. That's

you. This is why you're here. God's

dream. The Holy Spirit is drawing you.

He knows you. He's calling you. Would

you say yes to him? Would you raise your

hand right wherever you are? Say yes to

the Lord as we see hands going up all

over the place. Can we all pray this

prayer together out loud? Jesus, say it

with me. Jesus,

forgive me of my sins. be my Lord and my

Savior.

Change me. Help me to follow you and to

serve you all the days of my life. Come

on, church. Can we celebrate with those

people that made that decision today?

Well, we have a dream and that is in

legacy to preach the gospel. In fact,

Jesus says, "I must preach the good

news." Personally, I'm driven to preach

the gospel. Uh, I I live to preach the

gospel. Um, I I was born to preach the

gospel. I'm compelled to preach the

gospel. In fact, Paul says this in 1

1 Corinthians 9:16

Corinthians 9:16. Yet, preaching the

good news is not something I can boast

about. I am compelled by God to do it.

How terrible for me if I didn't preach

the gospel at Elevation. We want to

preach the gospel. And that's really the

driving force for a legacy this year in

our church, our city, our nation, and

our world. And so let's look at our

church. In our church, we want to be

debtree so we can secure the gospel

being preached for future generations.

We want to provide training and

development for our staff so they can be

more effective in leading people to

Jesus Christ. Uh we want to invest in

outreach opportunities to see more

people come to church, to see more

people hear the good news of Jesus

Christ. In our city, we want to share

the gospel to the homeless. We want to

give those suffering domestic violence

hope in Christ. We want to help those in

financial crisis, the widows, the

orphans, the foreigners. As we take care

of their physical needs, we can then

take care of their spiritual needs by

preaching the gospel. in our nation. We

want to preach the good news in primary

schools, high schools and universities

to religious instruction, chapency and

red frogs. And we want to plant more

churches including a dream in Paramata

so the gospel can be preached in our

world. We want to preach the good news

in our barley orphanages. We want to

train pastors to plant churches in the

South Pacific through our Solomon Island

Bible College. And finally, by sending

spirit-led,

godanointed,

gospeldriven worship to the four corners

of the earth through our worship

ministry, Southland. 1 Timothy 6:17,

1 Timothy 6:17

command those who are rich, let's face

it, we're all rich. Command those who

are rich to do good, to be rich in good

deeds, and

be generous and willing to share. God

bless.