March 23, 2026

🌊 Living Water Vineyard Devotion

Monday — 13 Days Until Resurrection Sunday

“Building for What God Is Building” (15-Minute Version)

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🔹 Opening — Let Me Tell You What Happened

Before we jump into Scripture today…

I just want to take a moment and talk about what happened yesterday.

Because something significant is happening in our church right now.

Many of you know—we’ve been praying about a building.

And this past week, about 50 of you walked through a property at:

👉 3164 F Rd.

Not just to look around…

👉 but to pray.

And if you were there—you felt it.

There was something different.

There was weight in the room.

There was faith in the room.

There was expectation in the room.

And what has stood out to me the most is this:

So many of you came up and said,

👉 “I feel like God has already been speaking to me about this.”

Before we even walked into the building.

That matters.

Because that’s how God works.

He prepares hearts before He opens doors.

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🔹 Looking Back — God Has Led Us

And when we look back over the last 14 months…

that’s exactly what we see.

👉 God has led us every step of the way.

We haven’t forced anything.

We haven’t pushed doors open.

👉 God has opened them.

Even the space we’re in right now—the Oasis—

has been a gift.

But we’re starting to feel it.

We’re bumping up against capacity.

Most weeks we’re between 180 and over 200 people.

And there’s a principle in church life:

👉 When you get around 80% full…

you start making it harder for new people to come in.

Not because anyone is unwelcoming…

but because there’s just not space.

And we are a church that believes:

👉 there are more people coming.

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🔹 The Opportunity — Making Room

This building in front of us would seat around:

👉 420 people

But this isn’t about numbers.

It’s about people.

It’s about:

   •   families who don’t know Jesus yet

   •   people who are hurting

   •   people searching

   •   people who will walk through those doors

👉 and encounter God

So this isn’t about building something impressive.

👉 It’s about making room.

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🔹 A Personal Story — When It Didn’t Make Sense

And as I’ve been praying about all of this…

I couldn’t get away from a story in our own lives.

This was almost 22 years ago.

Tamar and I felt like the Lord spoke clearly:

👉 “You’re supposed to adopt your youngest son.”

And it wasn’t one of those “maybe” moments.

It was clear.

It was strong.

It was one of those moments where you just know:

👉 “God is asking us to do this.”

But then reality hit.

We already had six people living in a three-bedroom house.

And during the adoption process, we were told:

👉 “You can’t have that many kids sharing one room.”

So we had two options:

👉 Buy a bigger house

👉 Or build an addition

And I was a brand new pastor.

On a pastor’s salary.

There was no path forward financially.

And I remember thinking:

👉 “God, You told us to do this… but we can’t do this.”

Have you ever been there?

Where God speaks…

but the math doesn’t add up?

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🔹 The Turning Point — Honest Need

I remember being in a small group.

Just sitting there, being honest.

No big faith speech.

No polished answer.

Just:

👉 “We don’t know how this is going to happen.”

And that’s where everything started to shift.

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🔹 When God Starts Moving

There was a man named Tom in that group.

He ran a ministry that distributed donated goods.

Right in the middle of our conversation…

his phone rings.

It’s Lowe’s.

They had leftover lumber.

👉 2x4s, 2x6s…

And it was exactly what was needed to build a room.

Before I could even fully process that…

our neighbor—who worked for a gravel company—said:

👉 “We’ll donate all the gravel and concrete.”

A contractor in the group said:

👉 “I’ll draw up the plans and cover the permits.”

A retired electrician said:

👉 “I’ll upgrade your electrical and install everything.”

A guy from my Friday men’s group—

who did concrete for a living—

came and poured the entire foundation and slab.

Another man—professional drywaller—

provided and installed all the drywall.

Guys from Canyon View showed up and built the roof.

One piece at a time.

One person at a time.

👉 God built the room.

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🔹 Pause — Notice the Pattern

And here’s what’s important:

God didn’t drop a finished room out of heaven.

He moved through people.

Through skills.

Through generosity.

Through willingness.

Through a community that said:

👉 “We want to be part of what God is doing.”

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🔹 The Outcome — More Than a Room

What should have cost over $20,000…

ended up costing us:

👉 time

👉 meals

👉 and a lot of gratitude

And when it was finished…

there were close to 100 people in our backyard

who had played a part.

Our senior pastor dedicated that room to the Lord…

while we stood there holding our newly adopted son.

And in that moment…

it wasn’t just a room.

👉 It was a testimony.

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🔹 Bringing It Back — This Feels Familiar

And I share that because…

👉 this moment feels the same.

Now, this building?

It’s bigger.

It’s going to take more.

It’s going to stretch us.

But it’s the same God.

And just like that room made space for a child to come into our family…

👉 this building will make space for people to come into the family of God.

For people to be found.

For lives to be changed.

For sons and daughters to be adopted into His kingdom.

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🔹 Scripture — David’s Heart

And this is why I keep thinking about David.

David had this desire:

👉 “I want to build a house for God.”

Not because God needed a building—

but because people needed a place to meet with Him.

And God told David:

👉 “You won’t be the one to build it.”

But David didn’t step back.

He leaned in.

He gave generously.

He prepared everything.

And then he invited others in.

And the people responded:

👉 freely

👉 willingly

👉 joyfully

Because they knew:

👉 “We get to be part of this.”

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🔹 What Is the Church?

And this is where we need to understand something.

The church is not a building.

The Bible uses the word:

👉 Ekklesia

Which means:

👉 a gathered people

👉 a called-out community

In Acts 2, the early church met in homes.

They shared meals.

They prayed.

They learned Scripture.

And God was there.

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🔹 You Are the Temple

Scripture says:

👉 “You are God’s temple, and His Spirit lives in you.”

God doesn’t live in buildings.

👉 He lives in people.

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🔹 So Why a Building?

Because of what happens when people gather.

We create space for:

   •   worship

   •   teaching

   •   prayer

   •   community

And most importantly:

👉 encountering God together.

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🔹 What We Saw Yesterday

And this is what moved me yesterday.

After service…

so many of you came up and said:

👉 “I want to help.”

And I immediately thought:

👉 this is exactly what happened in David’s day.

People stepping forward.

Not because they had to…

👉 but because they wanted to.

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🔹 The Invitation

So here’s the invitation:

👉 Ask God:

“What part do You want me to play?”

For some, it’s prayer.

For some, it’s giving.

For some, it’s using your skills.

But for all of us, it’s this:

👉 “God, I’m in.”

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🔹 Final Thought — This Is About People

We are not building for ourselves.

We are building for:

   •   the people who aren’t here yet

   •   the families who will walk in

   •   the lives that will be changed

   •   the stories that haven’t happened yet

Just like that room…

👉 this is about making space.

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🔹 Closing

And if God is building it…

👉 we want to be part of it.

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🙏 Prayer

Lord,

Thank You that You are the one who builds Your church.

Thank You for Your faithfulness in the past…

and Your provision in the present.

As we step into this moment…

give us faith.

give us unity.

give us willing hearts.

And remind us—

this is about people.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

📺 If You Missed Yesterday’s Service

If you missed yesterday’s service, you can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/live/jjwBzVj6fTQ?si=FNoPcBD_-Fefsvjr