Built To Last - Week 5 - Jacob Entinger - May 31, 2026

Thank you for joining us today.

We hope God speaks to you.

We hope dreams come alive and faith is ignited so you can impact the world and those around you.

For God's kingdom.

Enjoy the message.

If you're ready for the word, say let's go.

Let's go.

I love the passion.

Hey, let me highlight a couple of things happening, uh, at CityPlace Church, uh, this summer.

Um, we've got some things for you that's just gonna be life-giving for you.

And so can I just share a couple? All the ladies in the house say, "Hey."

Hey.

Now listen, next Saturday we've got tea...

Not me, I'm, I won't be there.

You- you've got Tea and Testimony happening at CityPlace headquarters, and if you haven't signed up yet, you wanna sign up, you can sign up on the church app and, uh, just, just get plugged in.

We've got that for you.

So all the ladies say, "Hey."

Hey.

Next Sunday is our summer kickoff Sunday.

And, and I love...

Anybody love, like, ice cream and frozen treats? Yeah.

We've got that for you next Sunday to kick off summer, because summer's gonna be exciting.

Oh, you got soft music.

Give me some piano and something, like, jazzy.

Or else- summer may not seem so exciting.

So we're kicking off summer, uh, next Sunday, and we wanted to highlight that for you.

Uh, all of our young adults, like myself, 18 to 30, make some noise.

Ha.

Listen, listen, we've got something happening for you as well, literally throughout the month of June.

If you are 18 to 30, you've got to fill out that connection card and just put on there, "I am still young."

Josiah, raise your hand.

Brianna, raise your hand.

Right over there.

Actually, stand up.

Josiah, Brianna, they lead our young adults.

Come on.

Y'all are moving slow.

Y'all are too young to move that slow.

They lead our young adults, and so find them.

If you haven't plugged in yet, we've got stuff for you.

They can tell you when that's happening.

Uh, all the men in the house say, "Yeah."

Yeah.

That's what I'm talking about.

Let...

Listen, we just gonna stay there.

All the men in the house say, "Yeah."

Yeah.

Listen, we've got multiple things for you, and this is where I'm gonna spend the majority of my time today.

No, listen, we've got stuff for you happening on the 13th of June, and then we've got Man Cave Sunday during Father's Day weekend.

We just celebrate all of the men.

We want you to get plugged in.

We got stuff for every single person.

Anybody love fitness? I love how half of the room loves fitness.

Half of the room was like, "Yes!" The other half was like, "Bacon."

I love it.

Don't worry, like, we, we've got fitness classes for you so that you can stay healthy.

Um, all right, all right, how, how, how many of y'all, at times, your money has acted funny? Nobody? Some, how, how m- how, how many of, of you at times you've had more month than you had money? Amen.

Well, listen, listen.

One of the things that we said that we were gonna do, because we talked about moving from cautious to courageous, and we said that as we step out and we start planning and committing for CityPlace's permanent home, we said that we also wanna pl- uh, position ourselves to grow personally in our finances.

And so on June the 20th at CityPlace headquarters If you're here for the first time, this is happening now for three weeks in a row.

If you ever see anyone dragged out, uh, we have security here for situations and people like the one to my left.

Don't be alarmed, it's a part of your protection.

Okay.

No, listen, listen.

Uh, we, we've, we've got a class just for you.

We got, we got a Navigating, uh, God's Finances Your W- uh, Your Way.

Navigating Your Finances God's Way.

And so, uh, Miss Anj- uh, Mr.

Andre and Miss Lisa are gonna be teaching that.

Here's the thing.

It's worth your time to have biblical principles around your finances.

And so there's so much other stuff happening.

We've got, like I mentioned, the Man Cave.

We got other classes for you.

We've got Flip Flop Sunday.

Last year we donated over 400 pairs of shoes.

This year we're doing, uh, Flip Flop Sunday again, where you get to wear flip-flops, Crocs, whatever you want to church, and we're gonna ask you to donate your favorite pair of shoes to someone else in our community.

We've got ECYC Youth Camp.

If you have middle and high schoolers, you can sign them up today.

Registration is open.

And then last but not least, we've got our in-city missions trip called Impact Week.

We take five days and we serve our community, and we give and we sow and we serve and, and we encourage every single person to give at least one day or one part of your day to serve in our community.

All of those things are there for us to grow together in community, but also impact our community.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Amen? Amen.

Have you, have you heard enough from me? Yes.

Are you ready for the word? Yeah.

Look, that, y'all thought that was a trick question, like, "I don't know what he's gonna say after that."

No.

Hey, listen, today, today is, is, is a exciting day for, for, for me, uh, because, um, I get to introduce, uh, s- one of the people that impacts our church, and they impact your students.

And, um, so often, uh, Jacob is pouring into your students, but you haven't heard him preach yet.

Oh, yes.

Come on, Jacob.

Woo.

And so, and so...

I didn't introduce you yet, Jacob This was like Ka- when Kanye ran up on the stage Yeah when Taylor Swift won the award, bruh.

Give me a break, bruh.

Give me some margin.

Give me some margin.

Give me some margin, man.

No, but, uh, I asked, I asked Jacob to, to speak today, um, because your students have been poured into.

And at CityPlace Church, whether it's kids ministry, our nursery, our students, our young adults, these are not just hangouts.

These are encounters with God for every generation.

And we've been in our series Built To Last, and I said, "Jacob, this is the season for you to encourage this church."

Amen.

And so, uh, what I want you to do is I don't want you to sit back and miss what God wants to say to you, nor do I want you to compare to any other communicator that's been on this platform.

Uh, PD's not preaching.

Ty's not preaching.

Whomever's not preaching.

This ain't that.

This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and if you were here during Commitment Sunday, we visibly showed that we're passing the baton.

Yeah.

Because if we don't, then we'll stay stagnant when God wants to build His house.

And so there's room for every generation in this house.

Yeah.

Amen.

And so I want you to lean into what God has to say to you, because this could be the moment where the presence of the Lord is in front of us, and we need to leave where we are to go to where He's going.

And so I want you to position your hearts.

I'm gonna pray for Jacob, and then we're gonna see what God has for us this morning, because I'm ready to receive.

I can't wait to pull out my own pen this morning.

Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you for an atmosphere to where we've worshiped you with our voices, and we've set an atmosphere.

God, I pray that now, as we lean into your Word, that your Word inspires, it changes us.

Mm.

It corrects us.

It gives clarity.

I pray, God, that there's a fresh anointing on Jacob this morning to declare your Word.

I just pray, God, that he moves aside, and that your Spirit moves through him.

God, I pray that our church will never be the same because of the anointing of God that will flow this morning.

We are ready to receive what you have to say.

In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray.

And if you're ready, say amen.

Amen.

Will you welcome Jacob this morning? Well, thank you for the, the warm welcome, church.

Uh, honestly, I l- I love every chance I get to come up here and speak in front of you guys, whether it's just for a few seconds when we only have the kids up here, uh, or sharing a message that the Lord has placed on my heart.

Um, it truly is an honor.

And, and like PD said, uh, normally I'm either in kids church or way back down at the end of the hallway, uh, with our students.

But, uh, I, I just, I love every opportunity the Lord has given me to pour into to you guys or our students.

Um, and so like PD said, my name is Jacob.

I lead our students here.

Um, been doing that for about six years.

We got kicked off right before COVID, so that was a fun little adventure.

Um, but man, God has just been moving over the last, uh, six years or so in our student ministry, and I'm, uh, honestly in our church as a whole.

Uh, and I'm really excited to continue our series Built To Last.

Um, but before we go any further, I'm up here, so I get to give a shameless plug.

Uh, I just wanna say, uh, my dad is in the room, and he turned 60- this weekend.

So I told him, I was like, "Man," I was like, I was like, "Uh, you gonna come see me preach for your birthday, right?" I was like, "We, we planned that perfectly."

Um, so no, love you, Pops.

Um, as PD said, uh, we also have a really big opportunity coming up in July, uh, for our students.

It's called ECYC.

It's at East Coast Believers, uh, over in Oviedo.

And so we take a few days, uh, out of July to go to that conference.

And, uh, I mean, it's been transformational every year, but God just keeps building.

Like I said, he has been moving in our students, and so every year we see God just do, uh, exceedingly and abundantly, right? We see the scripture come to life, um, not only in us, uh, like our, uh, lives as leaders, but in our students as well.

And we've seen them step up, uh, into leadership roles as well.

And a sneak peek, we might have some of our students up here this summer as well.

Um, as PD said, making space for the next generation.

So, uh, looking forward to that.

As PD said, uh, if, if you guys would like to sponsor a student, you guys can do that through the app.

Uh, but otherwise we're just looking forward to how you guys support us and see the, the fruits of, of that venture.

All right, so let's get into it.

We are in Built to Last, and this series is so important because everything that we do in the Kingdom of, of Heaven should be with an eternity mindset.

God is a God who builds to last, and honestly, uh, as PJ said, like I-- I know, I think I've said that, like, 10 times already.

Uh, I get to follow up some amazing, amazing communicators.

Pastor Damon himself.

Sean came up here last week for Pentecost Sunday and absolutely brought down the house.

I mean, Sean, you touched on some, like, heavy topics, like good and powerful topics.

The, the Trinity within the church, the difference between the indwelling and the active filling of the Holy Spirit.

Uh, and today, uh, I'm gonna be continuing that.

Um, but since the, the start of 2026, Pastor Damon has kind of been leading us, uh, through the Book of Joshua, uh, and, uh, specifically with the scripture Joshua 1:9.

Joshua 1:9

And, uh, I actually, I would love for all of us to declare this together.

So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Joshua chapter 1 verse 9 Because we're discovering how to go from cor- uh, from cautious to courageous.

Joshua 1:9

Y'all all know we are in this journey to find our building, but the building is, is just another step.

When we get into a building, there will be things that we are cautious about that we need to take a next step to.

And so we are building principles in our life through scripture, uh, and through our practices now that will prepare us for when we have that building.

Um, all right, so you guys hopefully are at Joshua 1:9, and I want you guys to repeat this after me.

Joshua 1:9

It says, "Have I not commanded you?" Be strong and courageous.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid.

Do not be discouraged.

Do not be discouraged.

For the Lord your God- For the Lord your God- will be with you- will be with you- wherever you go wherever you go.

Uh, let's just pray really quick.

Father God, we just give up this morning to you, Father God.

We give up our own desires.

We give up our own selfish ambitions for coming to church, Lord.

Whether we were seeking something from you today, Father God, let us set that aside and just be receptive to you, Father God, to offer you praise and thanksgiving for the richness that is in your scripture.

In your holy name we pray, amen.

Amen.

All right, so for, uh, my time today, I want us to focus in on, on this question: Am I built to last? Am I built to last? A- and really, how would we even know if we got there? Ooh, that's good.

And so for, for my time today, I've been studying through, uh, Pastor Damon's messages and, and everybody else's what the boldness of Joshua looks like in my life, right? And Pastor Damon introduced this topic to us through the courageousness and the boldness of King David.

As he is taking his life, and he's giving it to God, he's building a kingdom, and he says, "There needs to be a little bit more.

We have been moving, and we have been shaking," right? And he, he wanted to establish a permanent home for the Lord here on the Earth.

He said, "The Ark of the Covenant...

No, no, no, no.

Our God needs more than just a tent."

And so he set himself to the task of building a dwelling place for the Lord.

And yet, as he's nearing the end of his reign and the end of his life, he's looking around, and he's like, "Oh, no, this, this is not my task to complete.

I've merely started it."

And so he's looking ahead at the kingdom that he's built, at the kingdom that God is building, and his own family, saying, "No, there's something to build here beyond myself."

Yeah.

"There is something that we can build to last here in God's people."

And so David ends up finding himself leaving the fate of his kingdom in the hands of his son Solomon.

And I don't know about y'all, but that's some big shoes to fill.

Yeah.

Right? I would be absolutely terrified.

We just...

We had some recent graduates.

Shout-out, shout-out to Riley and, and David and, and, uh, so many others.

Um, but they're, they're approaching, right? They gotta take over from Dad.

And yet it's not just a business.

It's not just the, the goals and the dreams that Dad had for, for Solomon as his son.

He was going to be the next king of an entire nation.

Yeah.

And not only that, but he said, "Hey, I've actually got things for you to do, which is to build the house of the Lord," right? And there are so many different things that Solomon could have done, uh, at this, at this, at this time.

If, if you go on to read, so many kings did it wrong, but Solomon stopped, and he said, "Okay-" I am being charged not only by my father, but by God in heaven to build something that's, that will last.

Yeah.

But how do I do it? What do I do? So if, uh, if you guys can, it'll come up on the screen, but I want you guys to turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 1, because we're gonna see Solomon's first step.

2 Chronicles 1 · chapter mention

As, as King David passed off his kingdom to his son, Solomon said he recognizes that, "I don't have it.

I am not that guy.

I cannot do this on my own."

And in 2 Chronicles 1:1 it says this.

2 Chronicles 1:1

It says, "Solomon, son of Dable- David, established himself firmly over his kingdom.

For the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great."

If you skip down to verse seven, we're gonna continue there.

It says, "That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, 'Ask for whatever you want me to give you.'

And Solomon answered God, 'You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place.

Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?' And God said to Solomon, 'Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for the long life, but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have, who I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given to you.

I will also give you wealth, possession and honor as no king who was before you and ever had and none after you will have.'"

And so we see Solomon saying, "I don't have what it takes," and we are starting to see a, a picture painted through scripture of what it takes to shift our mind from something that is temporary to something that is lasting.

And the beautiful thing about scripture is that we get to see this play out.

Solomon starts his journey here by saying, "God, I need you to guide me.

I need you to teach me and give me wisdom on how to build this kingdom and govern your people."

If we look to Psalm 127:1-2, we see Solomon continue down this path where he says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, he labors in vain."

Psalms 127:1–2

Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman labors in vain.

And so Solomon was really keyed in on this.

He took that wisdom and ran with it, and he continued to tell not only his people but us as the future generation that if we don't have the Lord at the center of it- Yeah it's gonna fail.

Yeah.

We can build buildings, but those buildings will crumble.

Yeah.

We need the Lord at the center of it if we're going to build something that lasts.

And Solomon discovered what we sometimes so easily forget, which is that God is the architect and the builder.

Amen.

He gotta give us the plans, and He's gonna put the stones in place.

We are here to care for it and see the vision executed that God has placed, uh, in our hearts and on our, in our pastors' hearts as they're leading us.

And so we can partner with God and see something last, or we can try to do it on our own and watch it fall through our hands.

Yeah.

That's good.

Right? Yeah.

And again, following along Solomon's life, we see him, again, in, in 2 Chronicles, we see him take this challenge of finding wisdom to build something that lasts.

We see him putting it into practice in Psalms, and then we get to Ecclesiastes.

Now, Ecclesiastes is one of five books that are considered to be, uh, either a book of poetry or a book of wisdom, and this particular book is believed to have be- been written by Solomon.

And this perspective of his life is he is now ending his li- His, his life is coming to an end.

He's in the same position his father was when he was passing his kingdom off to his son, and we find Solomon, the author, looking back and saying, "What really made a difference in life?" He says, "I have pursued so many things.

I have pursued wisdom."

Says he pursued, uh, we'll call it entertainment.

He, he, he, he dipped his toes into the party life.

Uh, although I love Solomon 'cause he says, uh, "I pursued folly, but I made sure to do it with wisdom."

So students- students take note of that, right? We can do, we can, we can do it well.

And he says, he says, "I've, I've, I've looked to see what life has to offer."

And he's basically saying, "Let me tell you the few things that I have learned."

Right? And so we know that Solomon learned from his father and that he was committed to building something was, that would last.

And yet, of all the observation that the author makes in Ecclesiastes, the thing that sticks out is that he's talking about all of these pursuits, all the things that he's see- that he's seen and observed, and he delivers a message that says it's all kind of, like, f- fleeting.

Yeah.

It, it's here one day, and it disappears the next.

And, and if we're not careful, if we're just skimming through, through the Bible, right? This is why we search the scriptures.

We can take the message and say, "Well, what does it matter?" If, if I go out and I pursue great things, or I try to do certain things to, to...

E- even if I'm doing something that, that builds the name of the Lord, does it all make a difference? Yeah.

Right? On the surface, that's what we're getting, but if we dig a little bit deeper, we can actually see the wisdom of a man who has pursued God in his life.

And he has seen what happens if we pursue things without God and eternity on our heart, if we pursue things that are not built to last.

Because there is, there is a perspective, there is a wisdom to life where we can build the things that last and set aside the things that may be a little bit temporary, right? And so this is exemplified, I think, in Ecclesiastes 3:9-14.

Ecclesiastes 3:9–14

It says, "What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

He has made everything beautiful in its time."

That's nice.

He has-- But He has also set eternity in the human heart.

We are always looking beyond.

"Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.

That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all of their efforts.

This is the gift of God.

I know that everything that God does will endure forever.

Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it.

God does it so that people will fear Him."

And so you'll see there are 12 chapters in Ecclesiastes, and again, many of the times the chapters or the verses will end, and the author's like, "I pursued folly.

I saw wisdom," and it come- the, whoever pursues wisdom comes to the same end as, as the fool.

And yet he comes to this scripture in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and he reframes our mind and delivers this wisdom that at the end of the day, what God builds is what lasts.

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

That's so good.

And that is what we should pursue.

That's good.

Right? And so for the rest of today, we're gonna turn to scripture to understand how we can be built to last.

That's good.

So- That's good how does God build to last? If we're going to, to try to lean into the wisdom of God, we have to understand what He does, both in the spiritual and here in the physical, to build something that goes beyond just Jacob or just any of, anybody else in the audience.

And so if you've got your notes, uh, there are gon- I've, I've got three things that, that God does to, to help us build something that lasts.

And here in 2026, right, this, this all connects.

This is, this is why I love God, 'cause as, as in scripture, as in our life, right? And so everything connects.

Pastor Damon has been leading us on this journey through Joshua to help us move from cautious to courageous.

To move from cautious to consistent, to committed, to courageous, and this is exactly what we're gonna do if we h- are going to build something that lasts.

Amen.

We have to be able to take a step from cautious to say, "I'm not really sure what the right move is.

I'll go do this.

I'll go do this."

And that takes us into an area where we're just trying things, but there's no intention behind it, and we know that God brings intention into everything that He does.

Yes.

Yeah.

And so when we're looking at what God does and how He builds us to last, I want us to turn to John 1:15, 5-8, and you can write this on your notes, but God connects us to the vine.

John 1:15

He starts to establish a picture for us of what it's like to, to build something that lasts.

And, and, and this verse says, it says, "I am the vine, and you are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; and apart from me you can do nothing.

If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers.

Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

And so this is Jesus speaking to his disciples, and he is telling them, he's like, "If you want to be a part of the kingdom that lasts, if you want to be a part of what comes next and have something that goes beyond just you, you have to remain in my presence."

I don't know about y'all, but it's summertime.

The rains are here, so I'm cutting my yard, like, twice a week now.

And so it's, it's, it's something that we can picture in our mind where if we pull away from God, if we clip ourselves off of that vine, we're gonna wither up.

Y'all, I don't, I don't know about y'all.

I got three dogs, and so it's, it's ru- My backyard is like a dirt pit.

Um, but the thing about my backyard is my soil is terrible.

It's just sand.

And so even if I didn't have dogs, if we go three days without rain, the grass, like, shrivels up, and you can just see it kinda crying a little bit, and it's just like, "Give me more water."

And it's the same way in our spiritual lives, right? It was the same reason why God in Exodus had the Israelites throw away their manna at the end of each day because he said, "You need something fresh from me every single day."

If we are going to abide in the Lord, it has to be every single day with intention All right, so how else g- how else does God build us? Turn to Matthew chapter 7, and in verse 24 it says, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on sand.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

And so your second point that you can write down is that when God is building something that lasts, He builds us on the right foundation.

Amen.

We have to be on the right foundation because y'all, I don't know about you, but I have dreams.

I have goals.

I got a wife.

We're believing to build our family through adoption.

I've been, uh, blessed to be trusted with a ministry with students and for kids, right? I've got a career where I, I hope I don't get fired, right? Gotta make a living.

And there are so many things that I have believed God for in my life that I don't want it to just come crashing down.

Yeah.

I don't know if you guys have ever b- like, had that drama moment in your life where all of a sudden it's just like the ground beneath you falls away and you're like, "How did I even get here?" I don't want that to even touch the things that I am building in my life.

I am trying to build a house that lasts, and if I am not careful and I try to do it on my own, which is this sandy foundation, y'all, the minute life comes at us, and life, y'all know life will come at us, it will all call, uh, uh, all come crumbling down.

Yeah.

But the Lord is so clear that if we put Him first- Yeah right? If we put Him first and build Him as our foundation, that when those moments come, we will not be shaken.

Yes.

The things that you have intentionally built in your life will not come crumbling down.

All right.

The last thing for, for how the Lord builds in our life, we're gonna turn to Matthew chapter 13, and in verse, uh, uh, i-in this where we're gonna read verse eight and then skip down to 23.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

But, uh, there's more to read here, so go, go ahead, take that, take these verses home, read the whole parable.

But Jesus is talking to a crowd, He's talking to His disciples, and He's describing how the Word of God takes root in our life.

And He uses the example of a farmer who's spreading seed along, along his, uh, his, his farm.

And Jesus goes on to tell three different ways that, that seeds can be sown, and the result is less than favorable, right? It gets thrown among thorns, it gets thrown among bad soil, among the rocks, right? Other ones, it, it, it gets thrown where the birds can eat it, and none of these are ideal.

But Jesus goes on in verse eight to say, "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, 100, 60, 30 times what was sown.

But the seed falling on good s-" Oh, sorry, and then skip down to verse 23, where we see Jesus explaining it and He says, "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it.

This is the one who produces a crop yielding 100, 60, or 30 time what was sown."

And this is where we want to find ourselves.

We don't want to be the seeds that dry up.

We don't want to be the seeds that are plucked up by little birds.

We don't want to be the seeds that are choked out by thorns.

And again, this is such a good parable for you guys to go and study on your own.

But we want to be the sown that is thrown into the good soil.

And here's the thing, guys.

God does not sow in chaos.

Amen.

This is not God sowing seeds.

You are-- There is no reality where you are a seed where God throws into bad soil.

We are the ones sowing out here.

We take the Word of God, and we choose whether we plant it inside of us- Yeah give it back to God and let Him water, or if we take the seeds that God has given us.

Remember, Pastor Damon preaches this scripture all the time.

God gives us seed to sow and bread to eat, and so we are the ones taking what God has given us and throwing it out and seeing where it lands.

Yeah.

So we must do the work of pursuing God and taking the seeds that He has given us and planting it in the soil that He has given us.

And so from these three things, right, we see God building with intention.

It is very clear that God builds with intention, right? He didn't just start the universe and just say, "Ah, what happens happens."

No.

He had a very, uh, specific purpose and a plan.

When he was going through and separating the land from the water, and then creating the animals of the earth and the birds of the sky, and eventually into man, he did everything with intention and purpose.

Yep.

You guys can write this next point.

God builds everything to last.

That's good.

There is not a single thing that God does not build to last.

That's good.

It is we who take things and we say, "Eh, maybe I could do a little bit better.

Eh, maybe I'll do it a little bit different."

That's good.

"I can't hear the Lord.

I can't see the Lord.

I'll just do what I can while I can, and I'll-- we'll just see what happens, and maybe the Lord will bless it."

Right? And so when we, when we take a step outside of what God builds to last, that's where we, we look back to Ecclesiastes, and we see a man who had pursued wisdom his whole life, and he's got this great perspective.

He's like, "Yes, there are temporary things.

Yes, there are things that we pursue, and they don't always turn out great."

Or it doesn't matter what we pursue because we all e- reach the same end.

And if we stop there, if we are not building to last, we will stop there with that same perspective.

And we will not realize what true glory and true eternity we can bring here onto this earth while we are here.

Yeah.

If we're not careful, we will miss the perspective and God's vision for building to last.

Yeah.

And so I've got three things.

Uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do...

I got like three things of three, which is honestly pretty biblical, so it's kinda cool.

Um, for, for h- for things that may shift our perspective from built to last to, to be built to, to not last, right? And the first of those things is that we can chase after material things.

I don't know about y'all, but there are a lot of cool things in this world.

There are things you can do, there are things you can see, there are things you can collect, right? I don't know if we have any collectors in here, but for a while before, uh, my frugal self stopped, uh, I collected, uh, these little Pop figures, which, uh, for all the older crowd, you might not know what they are, but essentially, they're like bobbleheads, right? Uh, and it touches like all sorts of different like fandoms.

They're really cool, really nerdy.

Uh, and I started, Becca and I started collecting them whenever, uh, they were cheap.

Uh, when they first started coming out, they were like eight, nine bucks a pop.

Now they're like 12, 15.

You got the collectibles, you got people reselling, and I'm like, "I can't afford that."

But right, there, there's all sorts of things that we can focus on in this life, things that we chase, things that we try to amass, right? We wanna leave, uh, a good life for our children, and so we, we try to amass our wealth, right? Leave them something.

David did it for his son, right? Yep.

And yet, when we shift from eternal to temporary- Yeah we can, we can begin to lose focus and perspective for what God can do with the things in this world.

That's good.

Thanks.

Luke 18:18-27, uh, paints this picture of a young ruler who comes to Jesus, and he's like, "What can I do to follow you?" And, uh, in verse 18, it says, "A certain ruler asked Jesus, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inter- i- inherit eternal life?'" And Jesus, uh...

Luke 18:18–27

It says, "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered.

'No one is good except God alone.'"

He says, "'You know the commandments.

You should not commit adultery.

You should not murder.

You shall not steal or give false testimony.

Honor your father and mother.'"

And the, uh, the, the ruler says, "'All these things I have kept since I was a boy.'

And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing.

Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come follow me.'

And he said when he had heard this, he became very sad because he was very wealthy.

Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

And indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle f- than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.'

Those who heard this asked, 'Who then can be saved?' And Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible for God.'"

You see, this rich, young ruler Wasn't quite cuing in on the perspective of something that lasts.

He just wanted Jesus to tell him that he had everything he needed.

He didn't want to let go of the material things that were so temporary because Jesus said, he's like, "Hey, those things are nice and your wealth is great, but I have a greater wealth and it is eternal."

Yeah.

Right? So we can chu- we can chase material things.

We can also chase meaning and purpose, and we see this exemplified in Ecclesiastes 2:4-11, where the author again is, is talking about the amazing things that they have done in their life.

Ecclesiastes 2:4–11

It says, "I, I undertook great projects.

I built houses for myself.

I planted vineyards.

I made gardens and parks and planted all kind of fruit trees in them.

I made reservoirs to water groves, to flourishing trees.

I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house.

I owned flocks and herds more than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces.

I acquired male and female singers and a harem as well, the delights of a man h- a man's hearts.

I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

In all of this, my wisdom stayed with me."

See? He puts that little caveat in there.

He says, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired.

I refused my heart no pleasure.

My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for my toil.

Yet when I surveyed all that my ha- hands had done and all that I have achieved, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Nothing was gained under the sun."

And so again, if w- if he had not kept that focus on wisdom, if he had not kept his focus on what he was trying to build beyond just pursuing all these things, it would've all been for nothing.

Those singers would've left his house.

His, his kingdoms eventually would pass away.

He had no clue that Israel would, would leave God's presence and be destroyed.

All of those things would be meaningless had he not said, "I am trying to build what God has envisioned on my heart."

The third thing we can chase is fame and accolades, right? Again, we can, we can chase that meaning and purpose, but sometimes, y'all, it's, it's actually a little bit more insidious when we just say, "It's about me.

I want my name to be great."

And that, that simple shift in, in, in, in the phrase s- says we're not gonna focus on God, we're gonna focus on me.

James 3:16 says, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."

James 3:16

And so we can find ourselves in some pretty dangerous spaces when even it doesn't even look that bad, right? Especially for those of us that pursue careers, uh, are, are students who want to pursue sports, or if you wanna be on a stage.

That element of pride is so dangerous because you can say, "God got me here."

And then you look and you say, "Ah, yes, this is my stage.

This is what God has given me.

Everybody look at what I can do."

And you hear those sh- those subtle shifts, right? And how we take the attention from God and what He is trying to build to what we are trying to establish here on this earth But all glory to God because the story doesn't end there, or it doesn't have to end there for us because we have all of this beautiful scripture to hold onto.

And when we lean into God and to submit to His Word, we know that He will build something that lasts in us.

Yes.

And so the band can come up as I begin to close.

But we've got how God will build us to last.

We know the things that can kind of shift our perspective into us building into the temporary.

But now let's see God's ultimate building plans because, again, He does everything with intention.

Yes.

The Lord is establishing something for the kingdom of heaven.

He is establishing things that the church will hold onto until the second coming and into all eternity.

The first of these things that the Lord wants to build is wisdom.

And you might think, "Hey, that's kind of, that's kind of odd."

But we see through scripture that wisdom is so important to God.

And I believe just as Solomon showed us in a c- in 2 Chronicles, it's that the starting point of building something to last is wisdom.

Yeah.

In Proverbs chapter 8, which was again written by Solomon, we see in verse 22 and 23, and this is a personification of wisdom, so he's not talking about a, a person but, but wisdom itself.

Proverbs 8 · chapter mention

It says, "The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works.

Before his deeds of old I was formed long ages ago at the beginning, at the very beginning when the world came to be.

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my door."

Sorry, skip down to verse 34.

"Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord."

Y'all, wisdom is so important to God.

It is so ingrained in who He is that it was established as a foundation before the world was even formed.

Like literally before it says, "And, and God spoke and, and existence became," right? He said wisdom was there.

Wisdom was with God.

And so that's why I believe it is such a beautiful thing that Solomon has mirrored for us which is that before he said, "Lord, anything for my kingdom here on earth," he said, "Let me have your wisdom."

Yeah.

"Show me how to build something that lasts," because wisdom has been around and will be around until the end of everything.

The second thing that God will build is love.

And it's so cheesy, but it's so true.

I've actually been stuck on this scripture.

Uh, for those not in a small group, get in a small group, uh, because this is where life happens.

And this scripture spoke to me during one of our small groups for couples.

Uh, if you're married, go to the small group.

It is phenomenal.

Uh, but in sec- or sorry, First, 1 Corinthians 13, uh, the Apostle Paul is talking about the importance of love.

And there are so many good scriptures in there where he, you know, he talks about if I do so many amazing things, if I can speak in tongues, if I go see so many people saved, if I open up the church to do so many things for the community, if I've done it all without love, it's all meaningless.

And he gets to the end of this chapter in verses 12 through 13, and he says this.

He says, "For now we only see a reflection as in a mirror.

Then," talking about the, the end of times, it says, "Then we shall see face to face.

Now I only know in part, but then I shall fully know, even as I am fully known now.

And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love."

And y'all, Jesus was so intentional.

When he was pressed by the Pharisees, they said, "What are the most important commandments?" And Jesus replied to them, "Love G- love Lord your God, and love your neighbor."

Right? Love is the key, because y'all, when we're in heaven with the Lord, faith and hope go away.

Everything that God has promised, everything that we have looked forward to, has been fulfilled.

And so the Lord, one of the things that he is building to last inside of the church is love.

And it seems like such a simple concept, because in our society, right, we, we like to love bomb a lot.

We say, "Oh, I love this thing," and, "I love that thing," or, "I love these people."

And yet to show true love, we know through Jesus, is to sacrifice your life for the, for your neighbor.

And it's not an easy challenge, but that is what God is building to last, so that when you reach eternity, Pastor Damon relays this all the time.

Because we sow seeds, and one day we will go to heaven and somebody will say, "Thank you.

Thank you for, for listening to God's voice in your life."

But g- we do not wanna miss out on the t- opportunities that God has us because we were unwilling to love those that were next to us.

And lastly, what does the Lord wanna do but build His kingdom? That's why we're here.

1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light."

1 Peter 2:9

God is establishing us as the church.

We are the body of Christ that will go from glory to glory to glory.

And if you are in this room and you have not surrendered your life to God, we don't want you to miss out on that chance because God is building us to last.

And my question to, to, to close down today, CityPlace Church, is are we building something to last? Are we taking our steps to go from cautious to consistent to committed to courageous, where we say, "I'm gonna shift my focus off of the temporary, and I want to look to what God is building"? And that requires hard work and sacrifice.

It means believing and stepping out in faith to provide for it, to build something for a building that we don't yet have, to, to build into something where the people are not even in the room yet.

But in order to get there, we all have to take a first step, and that is surrendering to God.

We have to say, "Yes, Lord, I want you to build something that will last in my life."

And so in a moment, we're gonna take a second to take that first step because God wants to meet everyone where they are in this room.

And we, as CityPlace Church, we are here to be a life-giving church and to provide that opportunity where we can build dreams, ignite faith, and establish leaders here in Orlando.

We are building something that lasts today A thi-- so church, as you go today, take one step from cautious to courageous.

Thanks so much for joining us.

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