Built To Last - Week 4 - Damon Moore - May 17, 2026

Welcome to the City Place Church podcast.

My name is Josiah Williams, and here is my challenge for you.

As you're listening to the message, I challenge you to remove as many distractions as possible, to write out a few notes and things that stand out to you, and afterwards, share what you've learned on one of your social media outlets.

We level up by giving a level 10.

Thanks again, and enjoy the message All right, if you're ready for the word, say let's go.

Let's go.

Look at the person beside you and say, "Are you ready?" Are you ready? Wait for a response.

What did they say? What did they say? Did they have the look like they ready? Yeah.

Do we, do we need, do we need to do any sort of locker room motivational speech? You ready? I heard somebody say, "We're ready, we're ready."

Awesome.

Psalms 127, Psalms 127 is where we're gonna be today.

Uh, we have been in a series called Built to Last, and, uh, if you've been here since the start of the year, we've declared that this is the year that God moves us from cautious to courageous.

And we said that there's two things that the Lord is gonna have us do.

The first thing is is that God's called our church to go after the one.

Like, we're gonna be focused on going after the person that needs to have an encounter with God or maybe building your life to the fullest.

And we said that we've been praying and asking God for the 1% of Southeast Orlando within the five ZIP codes around us within 10 minutes, 15 minutes' time.

And so we've been saying, "God, give us the opportunity.

Prepare us enough to where the lost person can be found, and the found person can be made free, and the free person can be equipped, and then all of us that have been equipped can be mobilized."

So we asking God for the one.

And then the second thing that we're- the Lord dropped in our heart and our spirit was that this would be the year that we would take a courageous step to pursue a permanent home for Cityplace Church.

Yeah.

How many of y'all are like, "Yes, Lord.

Yes, Lord" Amen.

Yeah, yeah.

And so we started casting vision, uh, well into- at the start of the...

I'm s- I'm making it seem like we're in December.

Well, at the start of the year.

Like it was just two months ago, right? But, but, uh, during the month of March, we, we were casting vision.

And we leaned into For the One, and then we talked about how God had given us vision for a property, and we started dreaming.

We said, "Well, we could buy a property.

We could renovate a property, or if God gave us the opportunity, we could find land and buy land and build."

And so we started dreaming.

And we said that there would be a moment where the Lord wouldn't just have us dream, but He would also have us commit.

And so we've been praying and asking God, "God, what would be our part? God, what would be our next step?" And we said, "What would it look like if 100% of us took our next step in transformation, we took our next step in worship, and we took our next step in generosity?" And so we put a date on the calendar of May 17th, that as a church, we would commit to the Lord what we would do to pursue our property.

I wish I could tell you, y'all, that we had one on the radar.

But what we decided was that we weren't gonna wait for a property to show up.

We would be prepared.

Come on.

Yeah.

And so this morning, this is our Sunday to do that.

Let's go.

You are actually making history today.

Yeah.

I feel like I wanna quote something from, like, Hamilton.

It's the greatest time in...

Right? I was, I was about to, but that's not this platform No, but all of us have an opportunity to make a mark today that someone else will step on a little bit later.

And so I can't wait to share that moment with you.

We're gonna involve our students, we're gonna involve our kids at the...

towards the end of our service.

But I felt like as we were preparing, the Lord stirred this in my heart because He's showed us what we should dream about in our property, and I felt like this week as I was preparing, the Lord was like, "Hey, Damon, that's the natural thing.

But I wanna tell CityPlace the spiritual thing that needs to be in the foundation as well."

That's the first thing.

The second thing the Lord told me is to remind everybody that as we are building His house, He's also building your home.

And so as we preach today, this is not just a commitment Sunday that we will commit financially, but God's gonna ask you to commit to allow Him to build you today.

I have no clue what the Lord is up to, but I do know He's up to something.

I do know He's up to something.

And so I want your heart to be postured, because sometimes when you start having moments that involve finances, people check out.

Please don't check out on the Lord.

Pl- please don't check out on the Lord.

Please don't check out on what the Lord would say to you, what God wants to do in your personal life, how God wants to build your family.

This is gonna be a r- a commitment for our whole church.

If I had enough time today, I would take you through scripture where whenever something monumental was happening for a nation, God always asked the people to commit.

Whether it's going and taking land or whether it's giving towards the tabernacle being built or the temple, God always asked the people to, to commit because the vision is not just for a leader, it's for a body.

And God asked the people to commit so that someone else a little while later can grab the baton.

I don't wanna preach y'all right now, but can we pray? Father, in Jesus' name, we're grateful for this Sunday morning.

God, thank you that we are not shy about our worship and our praise.

Thank you, Lord God, that our praise reflects the overflow of our heart.

God, we've given You what we have on the inside of us today for you.

Not for a show, not because the band sounds amazing or the words on the screen are there for us to sing, but because it's all about you.

So now as we come around Your Word, God, I ask that Your Word would do what You said it would do, that it would sharpen and equip, that it'll pierce joint, marrow, soul and spirit, that it will be a discerner of our thoughts and the intents of our heart this morning.

I pray that Your Word that's spoken today, that You've been, uh, speaking to us even privately, God, that something will be said that changes our lives.

Something will be said that confirms what You've already been speaking.

Something will be spoken this morning from Your heart to our ears that will shake the foundations and establish Yours This church belongs to you, and you said you'd build it.

So Jesus, we're ready to partner for the present and for the future.

In the mighty name of Jesus we pray.

Can you say amen? If you're ready, say let's go.

Let's go.

Thank you, Jamaris.

Can y'all celebrate Jamaris? Jamaris' boy be like la da da da da da da.

I'm like, "Jamaris, I need to just record you playing."

Right.

Right? We should do that Look at now, now he's like, "Ha ha, you haven't seen this."

Psalms chapter 127.

Psalms 127 · chapter mention

Psalms chapter 127.

Psalms 127 · chapter mention

It says this, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

It's vain to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for He gives His beloved sleep."

Unless the Lord builds, we build in vain.

Yeah.

The Lord was really dealing with me about our personal lives this week, and I had to dive a little bit deeper.

Uh, let me pause really fast.

I gotta give a shout-out to my wife, Taisha, who brought the house down last Sunday.

Girl, you, you preached that message, and I'm actually stealing some of her notes from last week 'cause it was so good.

And if you haven't seen it, it's available, uh, right now.

But, uh, there's a couple of things that she talked about, and I'm gonna remind us here in a second that as we're talking about moving from cautious to courageous is that, uh, courage is just God-centered strength.

She said that last week, and so, uh, we're gonna be thinking about that as we move forward this Sunday.

But, uh, uh, here- here's the thing.

When it comes to the Lord building the house, like, and, and I said this the last few weeks, is that the builder always has a set of the original architectural plans.

Yes.

Like, God has all of the plans.

Yes.

Yes.

God sees the end from the beginning.

He has put in you what He wants you to walk out, who He has called you to become.

The thing is, is that you and I have to walk through the process, walk through and read the plans, and continually go back to Him to see what He's saying and what He wants to reveal.

And so unless He's building, we're working for nothing You ever feel like you're walking in quicksand? Have you ever asked why? Like, unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.

I looked up the word build because sometimes, and I love the, the reason why I referenced Taisha was 'cause she brought a, a clarity to courage so that we don't just think courage is defined by Webster's.

Yeah.

Come on.

And it says, "Unless the Lord builds the house..."

Look, look, y'all, I put up a definition here.

This is what it means.

It means to build, to rebuild, to establish, to cause to continue.

To build a house, establish a family, to make permanent.

Unless the Lord makes it permanent, you're laboring in vain.

Yeah.

Unless we make space for the Lord to rebuild or to establish, we're laboring in vain.

Yeah.

Like, would we give him permission to establish the architectural design and plans that he has for our life? Right.

Like, it becomes even more clear that God's working here.

Yeah.

Like, he's not just instructing here.

Yeah.

Like, he's working for us so that we can become who he created us to be.

That's right.

Yeah.

I know sometimes if you're like me, you're like, "God, are you doing anything while I'm praying?" Unless the Lord builds the house.

That's right.

We labor in vain that try to step in front of him and grab the hammer and the screwdriver and the saw.

No, let him build- Yeah because he's got the plans.

Yeah.

And then house.

I looked up the word house, y'all, because I wanted to know.

And this is literally what it means.

A house, a dwelling habitation, a shelter, your human body, a place, a home containing a family and descendants, household affairs, inward, the temple, and within.

Unless the Lord is building you from the inside out, you working too hard by yourself.

Come on.

That's good.

Unless the Lord is building you and your legacy, you working too hard by yourself.

That's good.

Sometimes we trying to get ours, and God is trying to get yours and theirs too.

Like unless he builds it completely, we're laboring in vain.

God's not just thinking about the natural thing, he's dealing with the spiritual thing.

He's not just thinking about you and your neighbor, he's also thinking about his house.

That's right.

Yeah.

Like, he's also thinking about the temple.

I started thinking about how God communicates with us, with us naturally.

He wants to build you.

He wants to build your house.

He wants to build God's house, but then God wants to build his temple.

Yeah.

That's right.

Like, God is so detailed and yet complex.

Yeah.

He's working from so many different angles, and sometimes I'm looking through my s- my limited purview.

Yeah.

And God's like, "What you don't see is that I'm building you, establishing you, rooting you, rebuilding some other places, not just for you, but for those who will come later."

Yeah.

Can we stop saying stuff like, "I'm gonna spend all my money before I die"? That's right.

What if we think legacy, because that's kingdom? Yeah.

Come on.

That's right.

What if we not be selfish with that testimony? That's right.

This morning, Sean referenced, uh, Gabby, who gave us a testimony, and she pulled back the secret places during the team huddle, the painful places, the grief that she's walked through so that somebody else could be blessed.

Yeah.

That's right.

Amen.

She got emotional, but somebody else was able to walk in strength and healing.

Why? Because unless the Lord builds it- Yeah.

That's right you labor in vain- Yeah who try to build it.

So I wrote this down because everybody over the last few weeks have been filling in their blanks And I'm realizing here If you don't mind, those of you on the count of three, just one, two, three.

Spirit.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Amen.

Thank you.

No, wr- write this down, and someone remove Shawn from the front row.

Just, just quietly.

I mean, I need military people to do that.

Pew.

Shawn was there.

Where is she now? We don't know.

Now write this down, write this down, write this down.

Before God asks you to build something for Him, He's going to build you Before God ask us to build something for Him, He's going to build you.

I realize, and I'm a little bit appreciative because we've been wanting a property for a long time, but could it be that the Lord was building us? Could it, could it be that the Lord was waiting for you to come through the door because now He's like, "Now you're ready"? Yes.

Could it be that the Lord was waiting for this season of your life to grow a certain aspect of your life Because he was trying to build you Let's look at a couple of scriptures.

Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you."

Acts 1:8

Ooh, so does that mean that I don't have power without Him? No.

You see that? Like, could it be that the power that I need to walk in spiritually is only unlocked when the Holy Spirit is unlocked in me? Yeah.

Yeah, next Sunday we, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, where the Holy Spirit came.

Like, so, so if, if, if the Lord is gonna ask me to do something, He's gonna build me first.

That's right.

So if I need to walk in power and pray for the sick, that means that the Holy Spirit has got to be unlocked in me to do what He can only do, so that when I stand in front of people and declare how good God is, it's not Damon, it's the Spirit of God coming out of me so that lives can be changed.

Yeah.

Are you with me? Yeah.

Can I be loud and crazy? Yeah.

I'm probably gonna be that way anyway.

Yeah.

Like, so before God asks us to do something for Him, He's gonna build us Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, Jesus has a conversation with Peter, and he shifts Peter's identity.

Matthew 16:18

Yes.

He was called Simon, but when Jesus had asked, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter, who was Simon at the time by name, goes, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Yes.

And then Jesus looks at him and goes, "Wait a second.

Your name is now Peter."

Yes.

"And b- upon this rock," watch now, "I will build my church."

Yes.

Before the church grows, I'm gonna build you Before you do anything that is to be written about, it's you and me.

Yes.

You are no longer who you were before you encountered me in this season.

Yeah.

You used to be Simon, and when people saw you, they thought one thing.

But me, Jesus, I'm redefining who you were.

I'm rebuilding who you are.

I'm establishing who you are, and I'm making permanent that I am building my church on you, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Come on.

Before we do something for him, he wants to build you.

That's good.

Yeah.

Could it be that the frustration and the delay of the seasons of your life was to get you to this moment because now he's like, "You're rooted and you're establishing me.

If you would've gotten it too soon, it would've crushed you.

But now you know that I'm faithful.

Now you know that I will provide.

Now you know that I will heal.

You have prayed, you have fasted, you've been bold, so now when I give you XYZ, you can hold onto it.

You won't take no credit.

You will point it back to me, and you've allowed me to build."

Good.

Yeah.

Y'all good? So here, if God's gonna build something in us, that means that God is intentional to build the spiritual first.

God is intentional to build the spiritual first.

I love the aesthetics.

It's, it's like God shows us the things that's the aesthetics, and he doesn't show the process.

But as we said way back when, that the clarity is made clear in the pursuit, that the more we pur- pursue Him, the more clear the vision becomes, purpose becomes, because He's my focus.

If He has the architectural blueprints, I can't get the answers no place else.

Yeah.

No podcast, no pastor.

The only one that can give it to me is Him.

Yeah.

I can hear a word from the Lord from someone to confirm it, but I still need Him to tell me clearly what He's asking of me So God is gonna be really intentional to build the spiritual first.

Do you know what that means? That, that means that you and I are going to need to embrace prayer.

That's right.

We're going to need to embrace fasting.

We're gonna need to embrace listening.

We're gonna need to embrace searching the scriptures of, in God's Word.

Listen, we're gonna need to embrace removing idols We're gonna need to embrace removing the things that distract us from His presence.

Come on.

Yeah.

Sometimes binge-watching the Netflix shows will not draw you closer- Yes to the Lord.

Yeah.

That's right.

Notice I said sometimes? Yeah.

You could be watching a biblical documentary I think they have one or two of those on there.

Rated MA for mature.

Listen I won't give us the benefit of the doubt because I'm guilty too.

There's just certain things that we allow on purpose And God would tell us if we would go to his blueprint that that actually needs to be kicked out I wonder if the frustration of our lives would be silenced if we did our part to remove the thing that's blocking what God wants to do So write this down there.

If we, if we're gonna build this to last, we gotta partner with God.

If we're gonna build it to last, we gotta partner with God Like, God, God invites us to journey with Him.

I've been in seasons where I'm like, "Okay, God, you need to change that in me.

God, you need to change that in them.

God, you need to change this whole situation."

And God's looking at me going, "Hey, partner with me, and I will build you."

Like let, let me build you spiritually and intentionally, but there will be some things like Paul says, "Lay aside every weight."

You're fully aware, Damon, right? So why don't you set that aside? So we're gonna need to partner with God.

I love this verse, y'all.

This is one of my favorite verses in scripture, and I have a lot.

Matthew 4:18.

Matthew 4:18

It says, "Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

Then Jesus said to them," watch this now, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."

Yeah.

Like, so he's like, "Hey, partner with me, and guess what? I'll build you."

Yeah.

Y'all see that? Yeah.

Like, he invites us to partner, and then he says, "Guess what? I'll teach you how to do everything I'm gonna ask you to do."

Yeah.

Like, what if we made space to partner with God in every aspect, watch now, of our home life, our family legacy, God's house, and then here Like, I mean, I mean like for real.

Like what if we gave God permission into that frustrating attitude that we keep all the time? When we say stuff, "Well, you know that's just me."

You say anything like that? 'Cause we say it too.

"Oh, that's just Samantha.

You know how she is."

What if Samantha was like, "Lord, change that"? 'Cause I know how I am.

Right? Like, there's some places where if we would just allow Him to build, we would actually be moving closer to His architectural design.

Yeah.

So you and I are gonna have to partner with God.

First Peter chapter two verse four says this: "As you come to Him, the living stone rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus."

You are being built up as a spiritual house.

So what if we let Him build? Y'all still trending? Yeah.

Write this down.

Write this down.

Building anything that lasts requires courage Building anything that lasts requires courage, and this is where we lean into what Ty was talking about last Sunday.

She said that courage is not a leap from fear to bravery.

It's not just this Superman leap of, "Once I got an instruction, here I come to save the day," sort of deal.

It's like, no, it's just God-centered strength.

It's where I make room for God to build and release in me at the same time.

It's where I'm 100% dependent upon the Lord.

It's where my eyes start seeing things that I didn't think I could do, but because I've spent time in pursuit of Him, I'm starting to see the impossible, and it feels like it's my normal She said that biblical courage empowers us to act obediently, trust deeply, and live boldly for Christ despite fear, difficulty, or danger.

She wrapped up service by saying biblical courage is an ongoing practice, not just a single demonstration We read the verse, or Sean, uh, mentioned the verse earlier, Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and courageous.

Joshua 1:9

Do not be afraid or dismayed for the Lord your God is with you," watch now, "wherever you go."

That means that you will be moving.

That means that you will go from here to there, and he will be with you wherever you go.

So no matter where you go, courage is going with you It's a, not a single demonstration.

It's gonna be something that we choose to walk in.

Are you here? Yeah.

Write this down.

Write this down on your notes.

Fill in that blank if it's there.

How, how am I doing so far? Just so, just- Great.

Doing, doing good? Doing good? No complaints, Sean? Okay, here we go.

If life is built to last, if life is built to last, it's gonna require courageous devotion.

It's gonna require courageous devotion It's gonna require courageous devotion.

We said it like this, and even, uh, Ty mentioned it last Sunday, is that God meets us in our comfort.

And the first step that we normally take is a cautious step.

But as we remain connected to Jesus, it becomes a consistent step.

And as we keep that connection, it becomes a committed step.

And as long as we're not trying to uproot ourselves, remember, if he's building it, that means that eventually, because of our commitment to him and connection to him, we become courageous.

Yeah.

And it's like that in every aspect of our life.

You name it, it's the same rhythm where God pulls us, every aspect of our life.

I promise you, God's gonna challenge you in every phase of your life- Yeah.

Mm-hmm until you and I become complete and whole in him.

Yeah.

Come on.

I promise you, he is not gonna allow us to sit comfortable when we have to impact the one, and the legacy that you will leave has to be made foundationally strong So write this down, write this down, write this down.

As God is building you, he will ask you to partner with him to build someone else He, he, he's, he's gonna build you, and then he's gonna ask us to partner with him to build somebody else.

Matthew 28:19 or 18 through 19.

Matthew 28:19

It says, "And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.'"

Then look at the instruction.

"Now go therefore and make disciples," partner with me, "of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.

Lo, I am with you always," that's my partnership, "even to the end of the age."

God builds you.

He says, "Partner with me so that you can impact somebody else."

He's like, "I've built you so that you can begin to pour out to others."

Like so God builds us before he asks us to do anything.

Then as he's building us, he's like, "Now here's what I want you to do.

I want you to go and build others."

Everybody in this room is equipped to help someone around you take one next step.

That's right.

Everyone in this building, no matter where you are in your walk with God, can look at someone beside you outside in the community, and you could go like this.

Watch this now.

"Will you come to church with me?" Will you come to man cave small group with me? Guess what? Our students meet on Sunday mornings.

You wanna come? Nothing complicated.

One simple next step.

Yeah.

No, no pastor has to do it.

Guess what? Guess what? Because we won't be in the environment that God called you to be What God asked me to build is different than what God asked you to build.

Yeah.

I am not qualified to build what God asked you to build.

You're right.

But you are I took note of this as well.

Partnering with God and others is a part of our building process.

Partnering with God and others is a part of our building process I read the verse several weeks ago in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

It says, "For we are co-workers in God's service.

You are God's field, God's building.

By gra- God's grace He's given me, I've laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it.

But each one of us should build with care."

Partnering with God and others is a part of our building process.

I was thinking about it this week.

I was like, when we partner with God and others, we position ourselves to build something that's eternal Over the last seven years, Cityplace, for those of you who have been trusting the Lord with your tithe and your offering, we've been given 1% or more of our kingdom finances, uh, as a seed to the nation of Israel.

And the spread of the gospel there, I think it's less than 3% of the whole nation are Christ followers.

They're still waiting on the Messiah.

And so, so often they resist the purity of the gift that Jesus has given.

And so over the last years, we've been sowing financially into ministries in Israel so that the one can be found.

And, uh, we've been partnered with an organization called Firm, and when we celebrated our 10 years, they sent you a message so that you can know the impact that you've been making.

Take a look at this Pastors Damon and Taisha and all of our friends at CityPlace Church, it's Michael and Vanessa coming to you from Jerusalem, and we just wanted to congratulate you on an exciting 10 years.

What an amazing milestone.

I remember when we first met Pastor Damon and Taisha and, uh, getting to travel around Israel together and right at the beginning of your church.

And to celebrate 10 years, it's a really big deal.

We've also just celebrated 10 years as a ministry, and we've been so grateful to partner so many of these last decade with so many of you as you've invested in transforming lives all across Israel through the love of Yeshua.

So we've done amazing things together, and right now especially as we're praying that God would help us heal our land physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

You guys have been with us on the front lines month in, month out, and we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

And we just pray a massive blessing over your church, over your families, over the city of Orlando, because we know, as it says in Matthew 5, you are the light.

So continue to let your light shine.

Many blessings to you from Jerusalem.

Isn't that cool? Yeah.

Jerusalem sending messages.

Here's the thing, is that we committed early on that we were gonna partner with others as God is building us.

Why? It's because the spread of the gospel has to continue.

Like, there'll be a legacy of kingdom impact well after all of us are standing before the Lord, but it had to begin somewhere.

Yeah.

And today is Commitment Sunday, and we've d- declared that this would be the year that we would pursue God in courageous ways.

And all I could think about over the last few weeks and months is just what God is gonna do through us as a church.

I wrote this down, that what we build together must reflect his design and his heart.

Now, we've dreamed practically.

I don't know how many of y'all were here when we showed y'all some pictures of the, of the building.

I don't, I don't know if we still have one of those, but, like, we dreamed of what, what God's house could look like.

Jarrell, who's, who's a part of the building team, sketched that, and I've been like, "Oh my gosh, I wish that we could hurry up and get in there."

Yeah.

Like I, I've been in that building already.

No lie.

Y'all probably think I was on something.

I'm not gonna lie.

But like, I've been like, uh, dreaming because this started off as a conversation.

We were like, "Jarrell, we don't know what the Lord will do, but we need vision so that in those moments where it seems like it's taking too long, we still have a faith builder."

Come on.

Yeah.

Like some of you have had vision, but you just didn't have it tangibly.

Come on.

Can I tell you that the Lord's building before you get the building? Yeah.

Yeah.

Right? And so we said that we wanted a, a, a house that would be seven days a week, where the community can come and find life, and we would get the benefit, yes, of worship, but man, the next generation can thrive as well.

Yeah.

We said that we saw a church that would have an atmosphere full of worship and passion and praise, and missions would happen locally and globally.

And we didn't just see hundreds, we saw thousands of people impacted because of this seven-day-a-week property that was a pillar in our community.

We saw playgrounds and classrooms, and I love it because, listen, God has given us just a little glimpse by giving us City Place HQ.

Do y'all know where that is yet? That's our office complex, where we've got fitness classes happening for you, a finance class happening for you in June.

We've got, uh, tea and testimonies happening for the sisterhood.

Like, we're trying to create a space where God goes, "Yeah, if people come, I'm gonna build them there."

And so as I was thinking about that, the Lord just reminded me of this Not only am I building my house, Damon, but I'm building the people of Cityplace as well.

Yeah.

I'm building their household, their present, and their legacy, and I will build my church.

So there were some spiritual elements that the Lord wanted us to take as we build, and I'm gonna give them to you.

Because I have...

Can you put that list up again that was practical from the playground and the food trucks? Like, as I was praying, the Lord was like, "Damon, I-- you, you have that, but there's some spiritual things that I want as a foundation in our lives and in this church as we move," and I want you to write these down.

In 1 Chronicles chapter 29:1-24, I'm not gonna read it all, but David is talking to the assembly of the people, and in verse one he says this.

He says-- it says, "Then King David said to the whole assembly, 'My son Solomon, to whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.'"

And the worship team can come up.

"The task is great, because the palatial structure is not for man, but for the Lord God."

Here's the first thing the Lord spoke to me, is that as we are building our life and as He is building our life and as we build this, this church of Cityplace and God builds this permanent location, is watch now, we will always have to acknowledge His lordship and His ownership First and foremost, it's His lordship and His ownership.

This building does not belong to CityPlace.

This is God's house, okay? Your life, He created you for a purpose.

You belong to Him.

In fact, 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 says, "Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price.

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Therefore, honor God with your bodies."

Remember one of the things that God said He would build? And your house would be your human body.

Remember I read it to you, Psalms 127.

So the first thing that we have to acknowledge is if God is building our house, I acknowledge Your lordship and Your ownership.

The second thing is that we will have and we must be a place of devotion.

Come on.

A place of devotion.

In verse 3, David says, "Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God, I now give from my personal treasures."

He let it be known, "I am devoted to God's house."

I'm devoted.

I looked up the word devoted, and it li- literally meant affection.

CityPlace, as we move into our permanent location when God said it's time, but as God is building you and He's building your legacy, we want to have our lives, I am fully devoted.

You have my 100% pure affection.

I love Psalms 122 verse 1.

Psalms 122:1

It says, "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'"

Psalms 23:6 says, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of the, of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalms 23:6

Psalms 26:8 says, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells."

Psalms 26:8

I wrote this down in your notes as a, as something that we have to note, that if we are gonna be fully devoted and be affectionate towards Him as He's building our lives and building His church and building a home for CityPlace, then you and I are gonna have to embrace His spiritual authority and the discipleship that He wants to give us.

We're gonna have to embrace the fact that He is our spiritual authority He is in charge, and He is trying to grow us and build us and put us in life-giving communities like CityPlace Church and, and, and city groups.

And at the end of service today, we're gonna be talking about the vision of, through, in our Next Steps class.

God puts us in those places so that we can grow, which then leads to number three.

You and I have to commit to a life of consecration David in First Chronicles 29, he's sharing about how he's given in one season of his life from the treasuries, and then he says, uh, "I'm devoted to God's house, but I'm giving over and above to the work of God's temple."

And then by the time he gets to the end, he looks at the people and he says, "Hey, now listen."

He says, "Will you also consecrate yourself with me?" Like, there are gonna be times in your life where us just rolling with the group, it, it, it's good to be in a group, but there are gonna be times when you and I are gonna have to pull away, set ourselves apart, and go, "God, I am seeking you and you alone."

I love the fact that we wake up at 6:00 o'clock in the morning on Wednesdays.

No agenda, just to go after Him.

Just to pray.

Just to seek His face.

God, what do you have for CityPlace Church? Because if we do it in the natural, we will be building in vain, but if we can win in the spiritual, man, He's setting a strong foundation.

And so we have to live a life of consecration.

I looked up the word consecration there, and it meant to be filled, to be full, to be accomplished, to be ended, to have a full hand, to be armed Exodus twen- 32:29 says, "Then Moses said, 'Consecrate yourselves today, that the Lord may bestow on you a blessing this day.

For every man has tried to oppose his son and his brother.'"

He says, "Set aside.

Consecrate yourself so that the Lord can lay his hand of blessing on you."

The other thing Cityplace is gonna do, write this down, is that we are going to excel, and we are challenged in our own personal lives to excel in the joy of kingdom generosity We are charged to excel in the joy of kingdom generosity I know for some of us, it's hard to give.

I know for some of us, it's hard to be a blessing to somebody else around us.

It's hard to be a blessing to God's house because it's our money.

Can I tell you that it's not? It's not.

Hebrews chapter 3 says, "Everyone wants to build, but the Lord is the builder of everything."

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

Scripture says that the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

It says that He is the one that provides, and you and I are charged with stewardship.

He's the owner, I'm the manager.

And so if we're just like God wants to build us because we reflect His heart, then that means that we want to excel in the joy of courageous kingdom generosity.

David says this, "Hey, everybody, I want you to know," and David gets specific, "I've got this much of gold, this much of silver.

I've got turquoise.

I've got stones for the builders.

I've got everything, and I want you to know that I am reflecting what God has already done in me, and I am going to excel in courageous generosity I want you to read that in 1 Chronicles 29:6.

1 Chronicles 29:6

It says that the leaders of the families, the officers of the tribes, the commanders of hundreds and thousands, and the officials in charge of the king's stuff, they all gave willingly towards the work of the temple.

And in verse nine it says that the people rejoiced at the willingness of their leaders, for they had given freely, wholeheartedly to the Lord, and David rejoiced as well.

Like, something becomes contagious when you and I live courageous.

That was a really good rhyme.

New York hip hop, come on.

Like, something becomes contagious when we allow Him to build and we start moving in the rhythm that God sees Y'all, since in 2026 alone, you guys have invested financially, those of you who give and, and sow into CityPlace, uh, we Embrace with...

Uh, we've given to Embrace Grace, a pregnancy center here, UMOM, New Image, Vapor Ministries, which impacts nations in Africa.

You supported teachers at multiple schools during teacher appreciation.

You've supported families locally here at CityPlace Church, whether it's through benevolence and celebrations.

You've helped plant churches.

You hosted over 500 plus people for Easter, giving away over 10,000 Easter eggs.

You have been a part of CityPlace's, uh, headquarters renovations.

You've hosted free after parties.

You've given away hundreds and hundreds of gifts and snacks to guests, families, and kids.

You've resourced God's house operationally, like covering the school expense, and utilities, and equipment for God's house.

Like, you've been generous.

But can I tell you? That's the impact of only 32% of our church.

32% of our church is giving as if we were ready to do even more.

What would happen if we were first Chronicles 29, where the leaders of thousands and hundreds was like, "Let's go"? And everybody in this room was like, "For the kingdom cause, I'll build it," and there was a joy.

Guess what? We'll have that moment here in a second.

I love it.

CityPlace God moves us from comfort.

We had two goals and our students are coming forward.

Y'all can have your seat wherever.

I love it.

Look, 'cause they ready too.

They're ready too Listen, we had two goals, and I think we have the slides.

Our first goal was that we wanted to have 100% participation in our generosity movement.

100% participation of every single person taking their next step.

100...

Come on, students.

You can come in.

You, you can sit on the floor, wherever you want, I don't care.

We wanted 100% participation.

And then our second goal was that we wanted to save $1.5

million over the next two years.

Why? So that we could have 20 to 30% down.

We wanted to have carrying costs of three to six months.

We wanted to have the design and the renovation fees covered, and we wanted to be able to furnish the building.

We had a building team of seven people pray, seek the Lord, and go, "Okay, God, what does this look like?" Here's the amazing thing, CityPlace, is that as we're here today, through the stewardship of CityPlace Church, you've already been preparing.

Can you show that slide? We've already saved organically, through your giving, $375,000.

And, and over the last few weeks I told you that that, that $100,000 had been committed.

As I stand here before you today, $300,000 has already been committed, and we haven't even had a commitment Sunday yet.

So look, we're not starting at zero because as we've been preparing since day one, God's been like, "I'm building.

I'm building.

And before you can do something great, I gotta build something in you."

So we're not starting at zero.

God's like, "Listen, the launchpad starts at 675."

So we're not starting at zero.

Like, CityPlace has been stewarding for when God said go.

I wish God would'a said it, it was go time in year number one.

But God was like, "No, 2026.

Year number 10.

The year when the people that are designed to be in God's house, they'll be there The other thing, and where's Annabelle? Will you come up, Annabelle? This is Annabelle.

And I don't know if we have City Kids.

I think City Kids might be coming in, too.

But look, write this down on your sheet of paper.

A courageous life builds a courageous legacy.

A courageous life is gonna build a courageous legacy.

Because God's house, and you can write this down in your notes, will be a sacred place.

This will be a house of prayer.

Remember, God builds you.

He builds your legacy.

He builds His people, and He builds His church.

This is going to be a house of prayer.

This is gonna be a house of worship, and this is gonna be a house of praise.

Joel chapter 1 says, "Consecrate a fast.

Joel 1 · chapter mention

Call a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry out."

We're gonna cry out for the 1%.

We're gonna cry out for you.

We will be a house of prayer, of worship and praise, and so shall we be individually.

Jesus was frustrated because when He got there, God's house had become a house of promotion and selling goods and products, and He flipped over a table and says, "My house shall be a house of prayer."

House of Prayer Y'all, when you read First Chronicles chapter 29 verse 10.

1 Chronicles 29:10

Come on, kids, you can come forward and have a seat because we gonna do this, uh, thing together.

This is not just the adult moment.

This is a church moment We got space right here in the front for you Look, David has this, David has this moment with the Lord because the people have already given, and David turns the moment in front of the people into a praise party.

Listen, it says this in verse 10.

It says, "And David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying: 'Praise be to the Lord, to the God of our father from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the majesty, and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.'"

Like, David turns a moment of corporate generosity into a moment of sacred moments of prayer, of praise, and worship.

David says, "This is not about us.

This is all about God."

So sacred places will become encounter places.

The other thing our church will be, and I encourage you to be, because this is what God would call you to be, is to be a place that equips and empowers the next generation to thrive and carry God's vision in God's house.

I, I, I, I asked Jacob if he would have, uh, Annabelle represent our generation, because this is the way the Lord showed it to me and for you all, is that this moment was not a moment...

I was talking- This moment is not a moment.

Crazy things happen.

This is why I used to get in trouble in school.

But the Lord showed it to me this way, was that we weren't actually supposed to wait till the building was built to show everybody here what it looks like to make space.

And so I said, "Jacob, can I use Annabelle?" Because, uh, Annabelle and some of the other young leaders has been rising.

They've been praying and giving challenges in the huddle, and teaching in class.

I, I got, I got word that some of the, the young leaders, like Layla, was giving challenges in student ministry.

And I'm thinking, "What?" The adults are getting out of the way, making space for the next generation.

So I thought, "What if we did that on Sunday morning as well?" So I asked Annabelle, I said, "Annabelle, we're gonna show the church on this Sunday that publicly we're gonna start handing the baton off, and we're gonna run with you so that the purpose of God can be made sure, so that the vision of God doesn't die with us in here.

But that what God is doing in kids church, and what God is doing in you, and, and you, and you all over there, like, you have space and you have room.

And so you will pray over these adults, and you will pray over each other, and this church is gonna catch a fire because we're not gonna hold onto the baton.

We're gonna give it to you But then I thought about you.

I thought about the kiddos.

I thought that you should know what the vision looked like.

The vision started with a kaleidoscope vision that God gave us of people bumping into each other, and they, they weren't dreaming.

They didn't want a relationship with the Lord.

They had walked away from God when they just needed Him.

And so today, as you leave Kid Church today, you're gonna carry the vision as well.

There's a little kaleidoscope for you to start praying over your family, praying over your friends, because the vision is not gonna stop here.

The vision is gonna continue all the way down to you The vision ain't gonna stop in here.

The vision's gonna continue.

So I asked Annabelle, because we're getting ready to enter into our commitment moment, because the last note that you have on there is that this house will be a committed house.

I asked Annabelle if she would pray over us so that we don't have to wait to schedule this.

Let's just start here right now.

David said, "Hey, Solomon's young.

He doesn't know exactly what to do, but I'm gonna run with, and I need everyone to as well."

Will you pray for this moment? Heavenly Father, 1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Do not overlook us just because we are young, but let us set an example for our fellow believers."

1 Timothy 4:12

So Father, I ask you that with my current generation and the generation that is rising, please continue to use us to speak life into not just the future generations, but to the generations that came before us, the ones that are guiding us, Father.

Use them to use us, Father, please.

Continue guiding them in your ways so they can continue to put their guidance into us, so that way we can grow in our faith for you, Father.

Do not have them overlook us just because of how young we are or how young we may seem, Father, because at the end of the day, there is no junior Holy Spirit, Father.

It is you and only you, so continue using all of us, Father.

And help us realize that we are not only committed to CityPlace, and we are not only committed to reaching these goals, but we are also committed to you, Father.

And everything that we are doing in here every single Sunday and outside of Sunday in your name is for you and only you, Father.

Because at the end of the day, the lives that we are living are not our own.

They are all for you, Father.

So continue using us to plant seeds in others and to guide others towards you, Father.

And in your name we pray, amen.

So kiddos, as you leave, here's what I want you to do, is we're gonna give you, as you head back to your class, we're gonna give you a vision stick.

Okay? And I want you to put it on your bedroom dresser or something, and every single day I want you to pray over your church and pray over your family.

Can you do that? Pray over your church, pray over your family.

All right, come on.

Can we celebrate our kids? Come on.

You guys can exit out to your right We're gonna have them go back into class.

Our students will stay here, but we wanna make sure that they, you can pick them up in a safe environment and not have to, have to chase them down.

Isn't it good to be a church that's for all generations? Yes.

And we make space.

Thank you, Annabelle.

So in this moment, this is our moment.

This is our moment to commit for the next generation and for the present.

And so over the last few weeks, we've been talking about what could that look like, and our team will put up some information.

We said, what if every single person took one next simple step in their generosity journey? What if one- every single person took one next step? So for some of us, that means that that's the church that we see.

This is what I was sharing with earlier.

This is the church that we see God doing.

But there's, there's a slide that we have for you that just says, "Here's your simple next step."

For some of us, it's becoming consistent.

For some of us, it's like, "Okay, God, I'm moving from being cautious to being committed.

I'm, I'm, I'm moving from being committed to being courageous."

And so our team is putting up some information right now of where the Lord would have you begin.

Our vision is that 100% of us are gonna participate.

And so Taisha's gonna get ready to lead us in a moment of prayer because we want you to pray around what the Lord would have you do.

Okay? We w- we want you to pray.

This is just an example.

For some of you, you're gonna begin to tithe today.

For others of you, you're gonna take that courageous step for us to grab hold of what God has for us.

And so we just gonna give you a couple of moments to just pray and ask the Lord what have you do in this moment.

Yeah, as we do that, you know that there's a card that's, um, there on the seat, and this is their moment.

This is the moment that courage is built for us.

So, um, and it's what a great opportunity for us to be able to do that all together as one body, completely unified, everyone here with the same opportunity granted.

Our family and I has been praying for a long time actually about the part that we would play.

And, um, and so many times in our lives we feel like we've given the Lord, uh, so much, or sometimes we even think, "Gosh, I don't have enough to give you."

But the cool thing about the moment that we're in now is that God says, "No, you actually have exactly what you need.

And in fact, if you're only looking at what you have, it's not enough.

That's not what I'm asking you to give.

I'm asking you to give courageously."

So I just wanna take a moment now and ask the Holy Spirit to protect this time, to give us clarity, to give us courage, to give us a partnership.

So please pray with me Holy Spirit, we recognize that you are the fast at work in this time.

You've always seen this moment that we would be in 2026, 10 years into the journey of CityPlace, but you've seen the moment that we are in.

You've seen us in the courage that we would have.

You would see us in the ways that we're beginning to make baby steps.

You would see us in the ways that we begin to be committed.

You would see us in the moment that we begin to embrace that courage is for us.

God, I just declare today that as your word has taught us and that we have studied even in the last few weeks, that courage isn't for somebody else, it's for us.

The invitation is ours to partner with a God who is endless and limitless.

The invitation is ours to play our part in the moment of history that you've called us to.

You could have had us to be anywhere.

We could have been orphans in a third word- world country, but that's not what you decided.

You decided that we would have a part to play right here in Orlando, Florida this moment.

So thank you, Lord, for clarity, for boldness, and for courage for your people.

In Jesus' name.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

We hope that you've been encouraged by today's episode, and we have one final challenge for you.

Take something that you've learned today or something that stuck out to you and share it with a friend or a loved one.

Spread a little of what I like to call that wisdom wealth with someone else.

Wherever you are, I hope that you have an incredible rest of your day.