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Welcome to the Saints Church Glastonbury podcast! We are a local church network based in Alberta, Canada. We go to places no one wants to go and do things no one thought possible so that anyone and everyone can discover hope and life in Jesus.
This week, the sermon explores the importance of building a multi-generational church that honors God's design and embraces the diversity of worship, drawing on biblical teachings and the power of community to reflect heaven on earth.
Verses:
- Psalm 127
- Matthew 16:18
- Luke 18
- 1 Chronicles 28
- Exodus 3:15
- Acts 2:17
- 1 John 2:13
- Joel 1:3
- Ecclesiastes 3:11
- Deuteronomy 6
- 1 Chronicles 16:38
- Joel 2:28
- Malachi 4:5-6
If you need PRAYER, Text or call 587-400-2010
If you would like to join Saints Global, please visit saints.global
If you would like to give to our Heart for the House fund, click here
If you would like to tithe, visit saintschurch.ca/give
For more information and to stay connected, visit saintschurch.ca
★ Support this podcast ★
This week, the sermon explores the importance of building a multi-generational church that honors God's design and embraces the diversity of worship, drawing on biblical teachings and the power of community to reflect heaven on earth.
Verses:
- Psalm 127
- Matthew 16:18
- Luke 18
- 1 Chronicles 28
- Exodus 3:15
- Acts 2:17
- 1 John 2:13
- Joel 1:3
- Ecclesiastes 3:11
- Deuteronomy 6
- 1 Chronicles 16:38
- Joel 2:28
- Malachi 4:5-6
If you need PRAYER, Text or call 587-400-2010
If you would like to join Saints Global, please visit saints.global
If you would like to give to our Heart for the House fund, click here
If you would like to tithe, visit saintschurch.ca/give
For more information and to stay connected, visit saintschurch.ca
Creators & Guests
What is Saints Church Glastonbury?
A Modern Expression of a Timeless Tradition. A local church in the Glastonbury Neighbourhood of West Edmonton. Sr Pastor Brett Esslinger.
Are we ready for the word this morning? Psalm 127. Psalm 127. I'm going to read the whole chapter. Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with centuries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously waiting for food to eat, for God gives rest to his loved one at night, anxiously waiting for food to eat, for God gives rest to his loved one. Verse three children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hand. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates unless the Lord builds his house.
I'm considering this message today. Pastor Jeremy did an incredible job preaching an incredible message last week. I'm considering that. I consider that part two of Vision Sunday. This is part three of Vision Sunday unless the Lord builds his house.
Now, in Matthew 16, 18, it says Jesus says I will build my church. He says I will build my church and the powers of hell will not conquer it. In another translation says I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail. So Jesus is building his church. Notice the language. So in Psalm 27,.
This isn't actually a Psalm of David, it's a Psalm of Solomon. Solomon wrote this he's the wisest person on the earth. His wisdom is this If we try and do this on our own, he says, unless the Lord builds his house, if you try to do this on your own, you're going to find yourself burnt out, tired, exhausted. You're going to find yourself hurting, lonely. You're going to find yourself hurting, lonely. You're going to find yourself in a place where you're just tired and you're out of energy and you're out of breath, unless the Lord builds this house. The truth is, if we do this in our own effort, if we do this in our own way, if we do this in our own way, if we build it in our own pattern, we will get a man-made environment structure. But if we build this according to his plans and his purposes and his pattern, then he will bless it and he will build it. Where we step out of the way and we say Jesus, would you build this house?
Before we go any further, I need to dismiss Rally 6-7. Have they not been dismissed? We need to dismiss. No, we're not dismissing Rally 6-7. We are not. Pastor DeAndre says no, they're staying right here. Rally 6-7 is right here. Okay, we didn't miss anything. Okay, I was getting text messages. I'm trying to focus. Okay, do not disturb. Is on the iPad right now. Okay, now people are going to try and text me, but it's do not disturb, I win. Okay.
So the question is God, what do you want to build here? What do you want to do at Saints Church? Because I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in just doing what I want to do. I want to do what he wants to do, because I know if I do what I want to do, it might look nice, it might look put together, but it won't be his plan, his purpose, his way, and the breath of God will not be on it. If we build after his pattern, his desire, what he wants this house to look like, then he will pour his spirit out in a mighty outpouring. And I don't know about you, but I'm not that interested in going through the motions of church. Church is great, it's fun, but if it does not have the breath of God, if it does not have the power of God. It's a bunch of religious people doing religious activities for their own good. That's not what he's called us to build. That's not what he's called us to be. He says we are living stones and he's assembling them and he's putting us together. The church isn't a building, it's a people. We are the church, so we live lives that are surrendered to him and we say okay, how do you want us to put this thing together? I got three thoughts for what the Lord wants to do here. Think of this as a blueprint or a roadmap for what we are building here. Are you with me? First thing we're building a house for the next generation. We're building a house for the next generation. Luke, chapter 18.
One day, some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples let the children come to me, don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. We're building a house for the next generation. Why? Because Jesus loves the children. He loves our kids. He loves our youth. He loves young adults. He loves every generation youth. He loves young adults. He loves every generation.
But at times we can be so consumed with what happens here that we forget about what happens everywhere else. Right now, there's hundreds of kids up there, second floor, that are learning about Jesus. They're learning about his love. They're learning about his plan for their life. There are hundreds of kids upstairs. You're like there's hundreds of kids. There's hundreds of kids upstairs. We can barely contain it literally. And when they hear about Jesus, though, it's age specificspecific and it makes sense and it's an environment tailored for them. There is no junior Holy Spirit. There is no junior Jesus. They experience the wholeness and fullness of His Word and you know what. They do a better job than we do most times at hiding His Word in their heart. Now they get candies for it, but we can arrange that down here too. If you would only, if you would only read this word, we'll get you candy. If that's what it takes and the truth is, if that's your price, my God.
I want us to flip back to the Old Testament, to 1 Chronicles 28. Maybe an obscure passage, but I think there's a principle here that we could grab hold of. 1 Chronicles 28, verse 2. King David end of his life. David rose to his feet and said my brothers and my people, it was my desire to build a temple where the ark of the Lord's covenant, god's footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it. Just hold it right there. I made the necessary preparations for building it. He said listen, I have a dream. My dream is to build a house. My dream is to build a house for his presence. This is my dream. I've made all the plans. I've purchased the things. I brought in the laborers. I made all of the plans. I put the plan together. I did all that I could do so I could build a house.
There's a moment in scripture where David, he's shocked and he's shook when he looks around at his palace and he goes look at the splendor that I live in. And yet God lives in a tent and he purposes in his heart to build him a house. It's his dream. Watch this verse three. But God said to me you must not build a temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood. But, god, I have a dream. God, I want to do something really nice for you. But, god, I want to do something really nice for you, god, I've made all the plans, I've spent all the money. God, what do you mean? What do you mean? I can't build it. This is my dream. This isn't anybody else's dream. I'm a king, don't you know?
Scripture describes David as a man after God's own heart. Why are you just telling me this? Now, god? I've made all these preparations, I've done all these things, I've done all that. I know how to do to do this thing. It's for you. He goes. You can't build it. You can't build it because you're a warrior and you have shed much blood.
Now, sometimes we read the phrase and have shed much blood, and we think of David's sins. You may recall or this might be the first time hearing it King David, who's a legendary king. That's right same David who, as a teenager, killed Goliath with a sling and a stone, that David becomes the most celebrated king in the history of Israel. Literally, he wrote portions of the Bible. Most of the Psalms are penned and written by David, known as a man after God's own heart.
And yet David was overcome when he saw a woman called Bathsheba who was married to one of his generals and instead of just honoring their marriage, he decided to send his general to the front line. And then he pulled back all the troops. He made a command so that he was murdered on the battlefield so that David could marry that guy's wife. You're like, that guy's a man of God's own heart, correct he is, and you go oh the worrier part. But he shed much blood, like he essentially orchestrated a hit. He killed somebody. That's not why he was disqualified, you see, because David pled and asked for forgiveness and God is faithful to forgive, right? That's not why he was disqualified. He was disqualified because he was a warrior. He was disqualified because he won many battles. Get this with me, just track with me. David was disqualified because he followed the voice of God, because he acted in obedience, because he fulfilled God's plan for himself and for the nation, because he went to battle and did what God asked him to do.
He could not build his dream. Can I tell you something? David's dream was not only intended to be his dream, it's a generational dream. What the plan was? God's plan was that a prince of peace would rise, named Solomon, who would become king, and that king, who only knew peace as a picture of Jesus, would build the tabernacle, the dwelling place for the presence of God. David's job was to make a preparation, to put together the plans, to put together the right team at the right moment so that the next generation could step into the plans and purposes that God has. It is possible that there are dreams that you are carrying in your heart that are not intended to be fulfilled by you, but are intended to be fulfilled by the next generation, because God is not just thinking about one lifetime in one era, he's thinking about all of time. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11, says God has made everything beautiful in his own time and you cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So we build a church for the next generation. But to build a church for the next generation, we need to first build a church for every generation.
I'm going to run through some scriptures. I want to show you what I mean. I'm going to run through some scriptures. I want to show you what I mean. We're building a house for every generation. Look at Exodus 3, verse 15. Should show up here. God also said to Moses, say to this people of Israel Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, three generations, acts 2.17. You'll notice, as it pops up on the screen, that there are three generations listed 1 John, 2, verse 13,. You'll notice that there are three generations listed In Joel 1, verse 3,. You'll notice that there are three generations listed.
If we're going to build a house for the next generation, we have to build a house for every generation. Build a house for every generation. It doesn't matter what demographic, what age category you are in. God has a plan and a place for you. God has a plan and a place for you. Cool, we're good with him not doing anything here then. No, no, let's just take a moment. There are dreams that are to be fulfilled. There's a plan and a purpose for this house. The chances are, the plan and the purpose for this house extend beyond the generations. They extend beyond this living generation. They extend beyond some of our lifetimes. The plans and purposes that God has for Saint Church how he wants to impact the city, how he wants to impact the region, how he wants to impact the globe is gonna outlive some of us, but that, even if it outlives us, it doesn't mean that we're not called to make preparation. It doesn't mean that we're not called to make preparation. It doesn't mean that we're not called to rally, that we're not called to assemble, that we're not called to build this house, because we're building a firm foundation so that every generation can reach those that they're called to reach.
Pastor Kevin Gerald has this concept. He says we need to think three. We need to think three. We think of parents and we think of kids, but you know what? The most valuable generation that we often miss in the conversation? We need to talk about grandparents, because you grandparents I'm going to talk to the grandparents for a moment you are the embodiment of pure love. That's why it causes so many problems for us parents, because you're like yes, we love. You. Do what you want. It's fine. Stay up, eat candy, it's fine. Go back to mom and dad, it's fine. It's fine. Go back to mom and dad, it's fine. But you are the embodiment watch this of the love of God.
Every time you wrap up your grandchild, you're not just wrapping them up in your arms, you're wrapping them up in the arms of your heavenly father and you have an opportunity to speak life and truth and destiny into them in a way that mom and dad can't at this stage, because mom and dad got to keep the ship on the rails. I just mix in metaphors. That's how off the rails I am. You don't keep ships on rails. That's my current status. That's why we need grandparents. I can't even make the right metaphor. That's my current status. That's why we need grandparents. I can't even make the right metaphor. But you have an opportunity to speak it Now.
Look at this in Deuteronomy 6. It says and you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I'm giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you're at home and when you're on the road, and when you're going to bed and when you're getting and when you're getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. Think about it. Talk about it. Think about the things of God first. Talk about the things of God. Share, share your stories. Share your moments. Talk about the faithfulness of God that has walked you through, that has carried you through. Share it so that they have an understanding of who God is through you.
You know, there's a saying that I've heard a little bit around church and since this isn't still death to churchianity, I didn't think I could say it, but I'm just going to say it anyways. There's a. Let me say it this way first. First, I need to honor a generation in this house that is carrying this house and we as a team we're looking at. You know who's serving where, who's doing what, and we were kind of trying to understand who is serving and what we have discovered is that the largest percentage of our volunteers are young adults, that they're the ones carrying children's ministry, that they're the ones carrying all the little areas of service that a lot of people don't see, and that's an incredible, incredible thing. So I've got to take a moment. If you're like 18 to 29 year olds are rolling up their sleeves and say you know what? This is our house and we're here to build and we're here to serve.
But I've heard this phrase and it kind of can get into our heart and it can kind of get into our soul over time. It says you know what? I can't serve in this area because I served my time. Is this a prison sentence. Are you hoping to get off the team for good behavior? It's an honor to serve in the house of the Lord. Last time I checked. It's an honor to serve because Jesus laid a template of servant leadership.
When his disciples you know they asked for promotions in places of honor, he just said you're not going to be able to sit there. And then he rolled up his sleeves, he got down on his knees and he began to wash their feet and they were appalled that Jesus was trying to serve them in this way. And that's what he's called us to See. We're creating a space and a place where anyone and everyone can discover the hope and life that's found in Jesus. And it's going to take everybody to do that, every generation, every household. It's going to take every single person that we can create spaces and places where people can encounter Jesus. You just heard an incredible story today of Jesus Christ at work.
Don't tell me that the presence of God doesn't change everything. But for us to create that place, it requires a team and it requires a structure and it requires a system and it requires you and it requires a structure and it requires a system and it requires you and it requires me. Psalm 84, 10, says a single day in your course is better than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. I want to point out somebody to you and I want you just to read it on your own later.
I want to point out somebody named Obed-Edom, who is the most underrated character in all scripture. And he's not a character, he's a person. His name is Obed-Edom. Obed-edom when King David was moving the Ark of the Covenant, which is where the Holy Spirit dwelt in the Old Covenant and the Old Testament. If you don't understand what I'm saying, I'm gonna teach you more about that at another time. But that's where in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit dwelt in one place. In the New Testament, in the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit's poured out on all people. That's what Holy Spirit Sunday's about we're gonna was there. It sat in a place called the mercy seat. There's this box and there's these wings of angels, and that's where the spirit of God was.
And King David wanted to move it into Jerusalem and they moved it in the wrong way. They didn't follow God's plan or his pattern, they just thought they would innovate, they thought they would do it in their own way, and things happened. And we, and things happened and we don't have time for me to tell you all the things that happened. But this is the cart breaks, somebody dies and they get scared and they go what are we going to do this thing? And so they see Obed Edom's house down the road. They're like can we park the Ark of the Covenant, can we host the presence of God in your garage? He's like sure. And so they put it in there.
And scripture said that for those couple of months his household was blessed, everything that he put his hand to was blessed, that his family was blessed, that his kids were blessed. Imagine this that when you find yourself in the presence of God, that everything changes for you, obed-edom, when they finally figure out how to move the ark, they move it into Jerusalem. He decides you know what? It was two months, but those were the best two months of my life. Better is one day in his course than anywhere else. This is what he does. First Chronicles, 16, verse 38. It's obscure, but you're going to love it.
His group included Obed-Edom, son of Jeduthun, hossa, and 68 other Levites as gatekeepers. Obed-edom moved his family to another city so he could stand and hold the door, so he could be near the presence of God, because his life was so marked. Because his life was so marked. See, when I look across this room, I see a room full of gatekeepers who are so passionate about the presence of God that they'll do anything to get into proximity. Better is one day in your court than anywhere else. And I get the honor of holding the door open that anyone and everyone might be able to taste and see that God is good. Taste and see that he is faithful, taste and see that his presence changes everything.
Here's what I need you to know today. Here's what I need you to know today. There's a place here for you. There's a place here for you, whether it's in a group, it's on a team. And here's what we're working on. We're working on creating more room and more spaces, because there's so many incredibly gifted people in this room that we want you to be able to put your hand to what God has gifted you with. And, let's be honest, we also need people who are willing to put their hand to whatever they're not gifted with, to just get the job done, but there's a place here for you.
Second thing I need you to know it takes every generation. Joel 2, 28. Then, after doing all those things, I will pour my spirit out upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see vision. Number three, third thing I want you to know God wants to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers. This is Malachi 4, verse 5 and 6.
Look, I'm sending you the prophet Elijah, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse. The Lord is turning our hearts towards the next generation. Yeah, we're building for every generation, but he's saying listen, if you want my spirit to pour out, if you want to build what I'm calling you to build, I need your hearts to be turned towards you and, in the same way, for the younger generation, that our hearts would be turned to those who have gone before us, to understand that they have paved a way, that they have made a sacrifice, that they have carried the freight that we could stand on their shoulders and do what they've only dreamed of. That's God's plan for this house. It's going to take every generation.
Can I tell you about my dream for this house, pastor DeAndre? Can I tell you, praise God when I think about the hundreds of kids upstairs and kids students that would come to youth ministry, come to drop in? I'm going to speak to the men for a moment, the men for a moment. My dream is a kids ministry filled with godly men Prepared to love and lead a fatherless generation, that there would be a wave of men from every generation that says this next generation deserves to be loved, not because they've done anything but because they were created by the creator of the universe and he loves me and he loves them. And they need to know that they are loved, they are called, they are chosen, that somebody cares.
And I understand that it's not a natural fit for many of us to go upstairs or to show up at Friday or Thursday for drop-in or for youth on a Friday night. It's not a natural fit. Like, does anyone want dads around? The truth is there's a whole generation that is desperate for dads to be around, because the statistics are staggering and the truth is the percentage is only growing that the kids and the people that we are reaching statistically have a higher chance of having no father in a home than having a father in the home. You have an opportunity, I have an opportunity to serve in a way that doesn't always make sense in the natural mind but has the potential and the possibility to shift an entire generation.
One last thought we're building a house for the next generation. We're building a house for every generation. One last thing we're building a house for every nation, for every nation. I want to give you a picture of the end Revelation 7, verse 9. After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hand. That's a picture of the end. It's a picture of heaven. Every tribe, every tongue, every nation bow their knee to Jesus Christ, worship with all that they have. I want to build a house that looks like heaven Psalm 22, 27. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you Psalm 86, 9. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, o Lord, and shall glorify your name. We're building a house for every nation.
In the last year, we've seen an incredible shift, as the nations have started to come and worship here, and I need to just say two things. One thing for those who are new to Canada or who moved here from another country we love you, we honor you. God has a plan and a purpose for you. He called you here for such a time as this. We need you. You're a part of the fabric of our community and you're going to become a greater part of the fabric of our community and you're going to become a greater part of the fabric of this house.
And I'm going to take another moment to give some permission, because I think we come from different cultures and we come from different places and we do things in different ways. But can I tell you from a homegrown Edmontonian from Alberta, canada, who was born here, is probably going to die here, and I've come to terms with it we need what you bring. This is your church, this is your house, this is your place. You need your house. This is your place. You need to worship with your whole heart. It might not look the way that I worship. I can't dance the way that you dance. I just kind of move my feet back and forth. That's it. That's all I got. Maybe I jump every once in a while, but I'll probably blow a knee out or something. So I stopped doing that. But we need your uniqueness and the beauty of the way that you've experienced the presence of God to come here so that God is building a church that's reflective of what we're all going to step into in heaven. So worship passionately.
Don't be a polite Canadian. We've got enough polite Canadians. We've got it. We've got our spots. When we're standing like this, it's okay for you to just bring a hanky. Keep the tambourines at home, but bring a hanky. Keep the tambourines at home, but bring a hanky. It's okay to shout. It's okay to laugh. It's okay to stand. It's okay, it's okay. It's okay. You're at home here, it's okay, it's okay. And if it looks different than the way that I do it, thank God, because he's weaving us together. I don't know if you noticed, but the world is coming to Edmonton, the world is coming to our communities and we're building a church where every age, nation, demographic can come and experience the powerful, life-changing presence of Jesus Christ, because when he walks into the room, everything changes, everything changes.