All right. Well, hey everybody, welcome to Valley Creek. Hey, wherever you're at, let's go ahead and join in and welcoming all of our campuses together. Hey, it is good, good to be with you here today. My name is Dave. We have been deep into a series called 60 Days: Songs of Life, and it has been a good series.

See, if you are anything like me, I'm sure this series, it has inspired you. I'm sure in your own ways, it's probably challenged you. See, really my hope, my prayer all along is that this series has been good for your heart. See, I pray that it has given you opportunities to like, look back and reflect at different aspects of your life. And at the same time, I pray that it has given you new perspective on doubts, and struggles, and fears, and things that you're working through. And I would just say to you, just right off the bat, that if any of that, if any of that's been the case, well, then that means it's a good series, right? It means that God's been moving in your life; that regardless of what's going on around you, it's been a good summer for you. See, and we've been saying about this series, we've been saying about the Psalms in particular that they are full of real things, real emotions, right? They are the cries of humanity, the songs of life. And I think what we see is as we sink ourselves into them, as we give ourselves permission to be vulnerable, what we find is that they lead us on a journey of the heart.

See, we've been learning during this series that really we all have a dominant song that our heart sings. See, think of it like a song of the heart, if you will. And I think we know this is true because we see it, we experience it, we pick up on it in others all the time. In fact, I think probably the easiest way to think about it is like this. Like, have you ever been around someone who was singing a song and somehow that song, it just gets inside of you? Like it's funny, right? Like you weren't thinking about this song, you maybe didn't want to sing this song, you might not even have liked the song, but somehow just being around them, you find that you're singing the same tune and see the thing is, that's the songs of our mouth. But it's not just that. The same thing is true of the song of our heart. See, everyone has a dominant song of the heart and what happens is when we get around them, when we spend time with them, whatever song that's in them, we find that it gets in us.

In fact, I bet if you took your parents, for example, I bet every one of us right now we could tell each other the song of our parents' heart. See, every one of us we can give an answer for the song that their mom or dad is singing because, again, that song it gets in us and we either loved it and we want to keep singing it or maybe we hated it and we've spent our whole life trying to get it out of our head. See, some of these songs, they're really good. They're songs of sacrifice and faith and love, and we want to keep seeing them to carry on their legacy. But again some are. And some of these songs that they could hurt deep down, they could hurt. Maybe they are songs of addiction or regret, and you desperately want to get them out of your head. See, that doesn't mean you don't love your parents. You could love your parents but despise the song that they sang. The point is those songs they stick with us; they stick with us because we always remember the song of their heart.

So as we get started today, let me just ask you the question, like what would people say about the song you're singing? See, is that the song you want to be remembered by? Is it the song that you want others to pick up and sing for themselves? In fact, think about the life of David if you will. See, as we look back on his life, like what do we think of? See, I'd suggest that we don't primarily think of his mistakes. We don't think of the lust or the betrayal or the brokenness. And yes, he had those things. And yes, we read about those things in the Bible. But when we look back on his life, what comes to mind is that David was known as a man after God's own heart. See, we remember that at the end of the day, his life is saying a song that pointed people to the heart of God. And perhaps nowhere do we see this more clearly than in the Psalm that we're going to focus on today. That's Psalm 145. See, Psalm 145 is special. It's the last of the Psalms that are actually attributed to David. And as you read it, I think you could look at it in a lot of ways, like the summary of his life.

It's the song that his life sang, and in it you get this beautiful, beautiful song of praise to God. See, he sings about the attributes of God. He sings about his unsearchable goodness and greatness. He sings about how faithful He is and how full of love He is. In fact, he starts it off much in the same way that we just sang this morning. He says, "I will exalt you, my God the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom." See, I'd suggest to you that that is a song of somebody who knows God, who loves God and who has experienced God's heart for himself. See, and he continues this theme all through the Psalms. He sings of His Majesty and His power and His compassion and His kindness. And in the midst of this Psalm, in the midst of this Psalm, is one particular verse that has always captured my heart.

See, this is the verse that we're going to really dive into today. Still singing of God, he says, "One generation commends your work to another. They will tell of your mighty acts." See, I think it was David's heart that this song of praise, that it would be picked up, and it would be passed on from generation to generation. And I think really we have to understand David's motive in this. See, David of all people, he knew how dangerous it is to lose sight of God. He had his own season of apathy, right? He knows what happens when our thoughts of God become small and familiar. And I think it's because of this that he purposed this life to live this way. See, he purposed his life to live in a way that if you knew David, if you knew his story, what it would do to create a sense of awe and wonder and just a downright reverence for God. See, if you knew David, if you knew his story, if you looked at him, it was basically the same as looking up and experiencing the heart of God for yourself.

And see, at the end of the day, what it's saying is David knew that his life mattered. See, David knew that his life mattered because people remember the song that you sing, and the same is true for every one of us. See, David understood God's intent. It was always for one generation to pour into the immediate next, that it would be the older generation that would teach the younger generation how to follow God and how to trust in Him. In fact, this is a theme, we see it all throughout Scripture. Last week, we looked at this verse as we were really being reminded not to forget again. It says, "Don't forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live." That's where we stopped. See, remembering not to forget, remembering all God's benefits. That's like the starting line, right? We have to get there. But then once we do, it goes on to say, "Teach them to your children and to the children after them." See, we see it again in Psalm 89. It says, "I will sing at the Lord's great love forever. I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."

How about one more, writer of Psalm 78, it says, "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his powers, and the wonders he has done." Again, it's a theme. We find it all throughout Scripture. And the reason we do is because songs translate, they cascade. See, this is often how the ancient people, they would pass things on from generation to generation. They would sing of their history with God. And they would do it so that the younger generations can pick that up and build upon the foundations of their fathers. And what I appreciate about David, he doesn't just draw our attention to this, he doesn't just draw our attention to what we find all throughout Scripture. He actually tells us specifically, like what we're to pass on. And so as we go back to Psalm 145, he says that each generation is to tell of God's mighty acts. See, when David wrote this, God's mighty acts, it would have likely reminded the people of the Exodus journey.

It would have reminded them of that time when like God stepped into history and He freed them from slavery and bondage in Egypt. It would have reminded them of how he appeared to them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It would have reminded them of how he led them into the Promised Land and gave them victory over their giants. And today, I would say we have an even greater display of God's mighty acts, right? We have the gospel, the good news of Jesus. We have our own story of how God's changed our life. We have this story that says we're no longer slaves to sin. We're no longer bound to death. We have the promise of the Holy Spirit working in us, so he tells us what to pass on. And he also tells us how. See, he doesn't just say that we're to impart this to the next generation. What he says is that, "One generation commends your work to another." See, other translations will actually use the word praise or declare here. Basically, the takeaway, it's more than just a transfer of information.

David wasn't writing about or singing about theology. He was talking of experience. See, David wasn't somebody who just knew about God, like he knew him. And he didn't just know about God's attributes, he experienced Him, he walked with God through the highs and lows in life. So we have to ask ourselves, like, can we say the same thing? And are we walking in a way that we could see these things about God? Are we learning to be dependent on Him? Are we even giving ourselves an opportunity to experience His goodness and greatness at work? See, the words we pass on, they'll communicate something. But our passion for God, how we depend on God, in other words, the song of our heart, if we're not careful, it could communicate something altogether different. And when it comes to passing things on to the next generation, to leading our students and young adults, see, the point is, you can't fake it. I mean this generation, they value authenticity. So how we live our lives, it's actually more important than the words we say.

See, if our words if they're not words about God, if they're not infused with reverence for God, they're not going to connect. They won't transfer. And this is why we say effective discipleship, it always involves information but also adoration. See, our words, they have to match the song of our heart. So again David, he tells us what to pass on. He tells us how, where to pass it on. And he also helps us understand why. See, he says that as one generation commends God's works and tells of his mighty acts to the next generation, that they in turn will "celebrate his abundant goodness and joyfully sing of His righteousness." See, in other words, they will begin to like pick up on the song that's in your heart. They will begin to worship God for themselves. In fact, if you've ever wondered, like, why are we so passionate about worship here and the next generation, I would tell you this is it. See, it's worship that keeps the song of our heart healthy, and we have a responsibility to help our students catch that.

We want them to catch that. So instead of singing the songs of this world, they could sing the songs of God's Kingdom. So parents, like, do you long for this with your kids? Do you, do you long for them to celebrate God's goodness, to joyfully sing of his righteousness? Right, because I think when we think about it we certainly long for a lot of things, right? We desire for our kids to grow up and be healthy and do good in school and we hope they find great friends and go on to get a great education. We hope that they have a great job, a great spouse, a great family, to live a nice life. And those are great things, but again, do we long for them to be worshippers at heart? Like David, do we long for them to be passionate about the presence of God, to have a deep reverence for Him, a healthy fear of the Lord? Do we desire that the relationship with God is the most important relationship in their life? And here I would say, if not, then it probably just reveals that we don't value those things enough for ourselves.

See, I would say it's great to say that we want more for our kids and it's great to say that we want them to live a better life than we did. It's why we say all the time that like our ceiling, it's actually meant to be their floor. But it's really hard to launch our kids deeper into the Father's heart if we're not desperately seeking it and chasing it for ourselves. See, we say that we are a church for raising up generations of hope carriers. Well, if we really want to raise up generations of hope carriers, really it just starts with looking in the mirror and saying what's the song of my heart? See, if I could just take a minute and really just speak to my generation and maybe the generations that have even come before me, so what we have to catch is that our lives, they matter, they're not neutral. See, how we live our lives, it actually leaves an impression on our kids. And when you think about that word impression, if you get to the root of it, you find impress.

What that's saying is that, that how we live our lives, it will actually, like, press into our kids. It will shape, it will mold and it will form who they become. So think about that when we go home at night and we fight with our spouse, it shapes them, right? When we're harsh with our words and we refuse to apologize, it shapes them. And if we spend more time on a job or a hobby than we do our family, it shapes them. When we're here but we're checked out in worship, when we go home, but we don't talk about what God's doing in our life. When we don't make it a priority to engage in the mission of God, it shapes them. See, it shapes who they become because not only do they remember the song you sing, it ultimately becomes the song that they sing. So we have to ask ourselves, like are these the songs we want our kids singing? And if not, it just means we have an invitation to do things different. See, every one of those things it could just as easily be turned for good, like when we honor our spouse that shapes them, right?

When we're quick to forgive and apologize, it shapes them. When we put the needs of others above our own, it shapes them. And if your kids, if they see you getting up early to engage the word of God, if you refuse to live beyond your means, if you are here and you go home and you talk about what God's doing in your life and where you're struggling and how you're going, it shapes them. Those become the songs that they sing. And isn't that what we want, right? See, don't we want our kids to be quick to forgive, quick to repent, to have a deeply formed character, have a deep love for God? See, we have to catch that there is no greater privilege, no greater responsibility than partnering with God in shaping and molding the lives to come. And it's a privilege. See, 3 John 4, it says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." See, what this is saying is it's true joy, true Joy is found when we lay down our lives to help our kids experience everything that God has for them.

See, even Jesus tells us it was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross. And so it is a privilege, but it's also a responsibility. See Deuteronomy 6, it says, "These commandments that I give you today, they are to be on your hearts. They were to impress them on your children." There's that word again. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. The point is we're to never stop. And the totality of our life is meant to shape and form who our kids become. And it's not just our kids. It says, "For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so that the next generation might know them, even the children not yet born, and they in turn will teach their own children." That's a lot of kids. Basically, it's saying it's our kids, but it's also our kids' kids. And it's the generations and those yet to be born. The point is how we live our lives, it's meant to shape generations to come.

And as the church, like you may not like this, but as the church we are here to partner with you and to support you and to equip you but you have to catch that the primary responsibility of raising up the next generation, it's meant to be owned by you. And if you struggle with that, if that causes you to get uncomfortable in your seats, man, if it stresses you out, let me just say, it's okay. Like that doesn't say that we have to be perfect. It doesn't say that we can't make mistakes. It doesn't say that we can't have a history. It doesn't say that we can't have this thing right now that we're dealing with. See, David had all that. We all do. What it's saying is we just have to be quick to repent, that we have to be willing to be honest with ourselves and say, hey God, there's parts of the song that I'm singing that just aren't good. See, if you find yourself where you need a new song in your life, well then ask God. The Psalms tell us, he will put a new song in your mouth.

And trust me, like I know this. I know this because I've experienced it. I know because, man, in my own ways, like I'm walking through it right now. You see, a little bit about my story for 15 years before I transitioned on staff, I sang the song of career and travel and climbing the corporate ladder. And I'm not saying that everything in that season was bad. There was a lot of that season that was actually good. Man, that season played a role in actually bringing us to Texas. That's a good thing. It played a role in bringing us to the church. I mean, we are grateful for that. But I found myself in this place where, like God was putting this new song on my heart and I didn't have the space or the margin in life to sing it. And if you've been there before, you know, like, that is difficult, that is hard. That is frustrating. And we're at this crossroads and we had to make the decision like, am I going to continue to sing the song I've been singing or am I willing to follow God in a new direction for life?

And ultimately, it brought us to a point as a family where all we could do was surrender it back to Him. But since that time, He has been leading us in a way that He's bringing the song of my heart more into the alignment of the song that He has for me, and I am so grateful for that. But even now, like as I was preparing this message and spending time with the Lord, like He put it on my heart. He showed me that like even today there are way too many days where I go home tired and exhausted, where I am empty and I have nothing left to give my family but leftovers. That's not okay. That's not fair to my family. That's not God's best for my life. And what you have to hear in this, that has nothing to do with the fact that I do ministry for a living. It has nothing to do with the people in my life. It has nothing to do with God himself. It has everything to do with my heart. But I know God's good. I know that He is patient. I know that He doesn't give up on me. I know that he is full of grace. And I know that He will continue to lead us into becoming the healthiest versions of ourselves so long as we're willing.

Man, He will lead us in a way that He will help us sing the songs we want to sing. So that's my story. Just a little piece of it. What matters, though, is what's yours? See, really I think there are three simple barriers that keep us from singing the songs we want to sing. And it's insecurity, it's the culture around us, and it's time. So insecurity, in other words, like it's just this notion we don't know how, right? Maybe we never had parents. Maybe we never had a mentor. Maybe we never had a previous generation that did this for us. Nobody showed us how to follow Jesus for ourselves. Nobody showed us how to live a life that would glorify God. So I would say if that's you, well, then your invitation is to create a new legacy for your family. See, check out 2 Chronicles. It says, "Don't be like your fathers or brothers who are faithless to the Lord God. For if you return to the Lord, if you repent, then your brothers and your children will find compassion." That is a great promise to hold onto.

See, what that says is we don't have to have it all figured out. Man, we just have to be willing to repent, to turn to God, to start following Him for ourselves. And I would tell you that as a parent, as a spiritual parent, the best place you could ever find yourself in life is when you are desperately dependent on God to show you what to do. See, this is what Jesus was talking about when he says that, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Being poor in spirit, it just means that we've realized, like, we can't do anything of eternal value without God's help. Being poor in spirit, is really what it is. It's the opposite of pride and self-reliance and that's a great thing. And when we depend on self, what happens is it breeds worry and anxiety in our life. But when we depend on God, what He will do, He will allow your life to become a fork in the road. You can think of it like a new branch on your family tree that allows those that are following behind you to actually move forward and grow in a new direction, away from the misses and the mistakes and the mess of the previous generations. So create a new legacy for your family.

And the second barrier, it's culture. And it's this sense that there is just so much right now working in the world against us, that like anything that we tried to impart in our kids, that we tried to impart in our students, that it just gets undone the second they leave the house, the second they go to school or turn on TV or hop on to social media. And what happens when that is, is we get discouraged. We get discouraged and we give up trying. It's also this sense that like we are in a constant, just, battle for the hearts of our kids. And here's the sobering reality, we are. Right, we don't like to give him a lot of attention. He's not worthy of it. But there is a real enemy and he seeks to kill, steal and destroy all that's good in our kids' lives. So your invitation here it's to fight. See, check out Ephesians 6, it's a familiar passage. It says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, like, put on the full armor of God."

See armor, it is not just for protection, it is for battle, so we have to be willing to fight for the things that we love and value the most. But we also have to catch that we don't fight the way the world does, right? Really, what this is inviting us to is to pray, is to contend for our kids like never before. It's believing that the one who is in us is greater than the one who's in this world. This is learning to partner with God in the spiritual realm. It's learning to pray that our kids would love God, that they would have a hunger for His word, right? It's praying for their health and their heart and their purity and their relationships. It is speaking the promises and blessings of Scripture over their life. And if you're sitting there saying, I don't know how to do that, well then it starts just saying, God, will you guide me as I try to guide them? Will you lead me as I attempt to lead them?

And God, for all the ways, I don't know how, will you fill in the gap and take care of them on your own? See, partner with God. He loves your kids. He adores them. So fight for the things you value the most. And the final barrier is time, right? There's no question that, like, time, it's one of our greatest idols in life. We say it all the time, that it's the hardest thing to give away because it's the only thing you can't get back. You can either invest it or you lose it. So your invitation here is to invest your time wisely. Ephesians 5 says, "Be careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but wise, making the most of every opportunity." See, one of the most important decisions you will ever make is how you spend and steward your time. But let's be honest, like, in this season, like we all have our own stuff that we're working through. And we have people to see and places to go and things to get done. And I think we think to ourselves, if I just had more time. Man, if I didn't have so many other responsibilities, if I didn't have my own junk that I was trying to get free from, then I would pour into the next generation.

Then I would focus on singing the song that I really want to sing. But the truth is, you won't. See, Scripture tells us whatever we do with the little, it's what we're going to do with the much. So you don't have enough time and you're never going to have enough time, but you always have time for the right thing. And if I could just encourage you for a second, see, you have to believe that God has entrusted, really, the generations to come to you because He believes in you. And He's not expecting you to do it on your own. See, Scripture, it tells us that God has chosen us. He has equipped as. He promises to be with us. So really learning to lead the next generation, what it is, it's just learning to come alongside and partner with the work that the Spirit is already doing. And it's learning to be humble to walk with a childlike spirit for ourselves so that we could approach our next generation with love and curiosity. Really, like, what it is, it's the old adage that we could teach what we know, but we'll reproduce who we are, because they'll always remember the song you sing.

So again, that's my generation. But now, students and young adults, let me speak to you and just say that there is no question that there is an incredible call on your life and your generation; it is special. There's never been a more influential generation that the world has ever seen, and I'm not talking about Sunday. I'm talking about, like, today, right now, you are being invited to participate in a monumental move of God, and history has shown us every great movement, it always starts with a passionate next generation at its core. See, so the question I have for you is, do you value those who've come before you? Like, do you position yourself at their feet with a desire to learn and grow? Or are you desperate for inheritance? Or maybe, do you see their lives as irrelevant? And I ask, and I know that's a pointed question, but there is a spirit of independence that's at work in the world today.

See, this is a spirit that will cause you to want to do things on your own without the help of others. It will create a tendency to believe that the world is so different today, that the previous generations don't have anything to offer, that there's no way that they can understand or really contemplate what you're experiencing. So instead of choosing to lean in and to learn from them, that actually it causes you to pull back, to tune them out, to see them more as a hindrance than a help. And the world celebrates this, man. Like the world, it celebrates a spirit of independence. But the problem is that's never been God's design. See, what a spirit of independence does, it actually, it widens the generational gap and it robs you of the covering of the inheritance that's supposed to flow into your life. So really, for you, your invitation, it's one of humility and hunger.

See, you weren't meant to spend your lives, like, striving to figure out the same things that your parents did. You're not meant to build the same floors and foundations that they built. Like, you were meant to pioneer. You're meant to go places and do things and discover mysteries of the Kingdom that have never been discovered before. But that only happens when there's alignment of the generations, when you're open to receiving the things that they're meant to impart into you. So you're meant to take things that have been bought and paid for by others, and then steward them in a way that allows you to take them to a place of increase. So you have to start thinking, like, man, whose life do I want to align myself under so that I could share in their anointing? Whose wisdom do you want to learn from? Whose gifting do you want to grow in? See, this is what it means to receive an inheritance. But again, it starts with humility and hunger. And it takes humility to just admit that there are things that you want in life that you could only get from others. And it takes humility to serve somebody else's vision as opposed to pursuing your own.

And it requires a hunger, not for the things of the world, but ultimately for the things of God's Kingdom, to want to see His rule and reign established in every area of your life. Can we just try and pull these thoughts together this way? Really, at the end of the day, what I'm saying is as a younger generation, you need the older. And for everybody else who's part of the older generation, like, we need the younger. This has always been God's plan. In fact, this is even how He ends the Old Testament. Check this out. This is the very last book -- very last verse in the book of Malachi, and I'm telling you, I believe that this is a prophetic declaration for our house. It says, "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents." Man, this is what it's all about. Like God has always been about the alignment of the generations. He is looking for people who will live their lives, serve an example for generations to come. He's looking for people who allow their lives to join together and sing a song of praise that will reach the world. And I'm telling you, like, we can be that people.

I long for the day to see this fulfilled. So let me just wrap it up this way, with one final question: What song are you singing? And is it the right one? Is it the song you want to be remembered by? And is it the song that you want others to pick up and sing? And if you're sitting there and you think, man, yeah, I think it is, well then, great. And sing that song, sing it loud, let people hear it, let people pick it up for themselves. But if it's not, well then, my last question for you is like, what are you going to do about it? So, what are you going to do about it? Because it is never too late to change the song of your heart. And it is never too late to change the song that your life sings. Would you guys go and close your eyes. Let me pray for you.

So right now, let's just ask, what is the Holy Spirit saying to you? What is He saying about this song that your life is singing? Has it been a song of hope and joy? Is it a song that sings the goodness of God? Does it echo the anthems of heaven? Is it a song that you want others to pick up and sing? Or maybe today, do you find that the tune of your song is not quite what you want? You find that it's full of disappointment. Does it sound that you're agitated of life, again, for whatever you need to, I would encourage you to take that to the Spirit. Invite Him in whatever way that you can to put a new song in your heart. And together, we could sing a song of praise to the world. Thank you, Father, that you are the author of life.

I thank you that you have created us in a way that you have given us a specific and a unique song to sing. So I pray to God today that you would help us find that. I pray that you would bring us into alignment with that, that it would be our greatest joy to sing that out loud. I pray, God, that our songs would lead to lives of generational significance, and I pray God that within this house, that you would raise up more mothers and fathers and spiritual parents who want to lay down their life for our kids. And I pray that it would be our greatest privilege and joy to partner with you in the work that you're doing. And in our younger generation, God, I pray that they would have a value for who's come before them, that they would honor them, that they would be desperate for an inheritance. So God, would you just bless them? Would there be a covering over their life? Now, would you lead them in ways like you've let no generation before? God, I'm grateful for the generational calling that you have put on this house. I pray that we would be family on mission for generations to come. Would you join our hearts together?

If we sing a song of praise, would you remove the barriers in front of us? Would you empower us with your spirit, and would we glorify you in all that we do? It's in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.