You ever notice that growth never feels like growth while it’s happening?

When I was a kid, I was the smallest in my class. Too short for the carnival rides. Too short to feel “grown.” I even remember going to bed without a shirt one night because someone told me that’s how you grew taller. (Spoiler: it didn’t work. Still 5’9”.)

Whether you're going from adolescence to adulthood or trying to make gains at the gym, growth is gradual. It sneaks up on you.

In our home, we had a measuring stick on the wall. Every few months, we’d line the kids up, mark their height, and date it. And even though we lived with them every day, we were always surprised. We didn’t notice the change until we measured it. The growth had been happening all along.

That’s how spiritual growth works too. You don’t always feel it. You don’t always see it. But if you keep showing up, keep saying yes to God, keep building brick by brick—one day you’ll look back and realize the small steps were actually steady gains.

And that’s what legacy really is:
Not what you build fast, but what you build to last.

As Eugene Peterson famously wrote,

“Discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction.”

We live in a world of instant gratification—instant results, instant feedback, instant everything. But you can microwave a meal; you can’t microwave maturity. Legacy requires longevity. Faithfulness. Consistency. Daily decisions that build tomorrow’s blessings.

Nehemiah: A Brick-by-Brick Builder

Nehemiah was part of a generation that inherited ruined walls, burned gates, and compromised faith. Yet instead of accepting the rubble, he decided to rebuild it. Brick by brick.

When he heard that Jerusalem’s walls were broken and its gates burned, it broke him. People had returned home from exile. The temple had been rebuilt. Worship had restarted. But without walls and gates, the city had no security, no definition, no protection.

They had church services—but no boundaries.

Nehemiah’s response was simple but powerful:

“Send me.”
Put the bricks in my hand.

He surveyed the damage, identified the broken places, and started the long, grueling work of rebuilding the city God loved.

And in his story, we discover three truths about building legacy in our own lives.

1. The Boundaries You Build Today Shape the Blessings You Live In Tomorrow

Walls weren’t just protection—they were definition. Without them, everything bleeds together. People lose their sense of where they end and the enemy begins.

Dr. Henry Cloud says:

“Boundaries define what is me and what is not me.”

Many of us are living spiritually “boundary-less” lives.

• Always saying yes to everyone
• Feeling stretched thin, resentful, anxious
• Carrying what God never asked us to
• Letting fear, comparison, shame, or temptation walk right into our hearts

Walls matter.

If you want relationships to be blessed—build boundaries around them.
If you want your family to flourish—set limits that protect it.
If you want peace—learn to say no now so you can say yes later.

“No” is a wall word.
A legacy word.

Some blessings only grow in the soil created by boundaries.

2. What You Give Access To Will Shape What You Hand Down

Walls define the boundary. Gates decide the access.

Nehemiah didn’t just rebuild walls—he restored gates and appointed gatekeepers. Because legacy isn’t just about what you build; it’s about what you protect.

A city with walls but open gates is still vulnerable.

So is a life.

What gets access to your:

• Heart

What you love shapes who you become.

• Mind

You cannot live a positive life with a negative mind.

• Mouth

Words shape worlds. Criticism, contempt, and sarcasm tear down what love is trying to build.

• Relationships

Dr. John Gottman identifies four “relationship destroyers”:
criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.

If we don’t guard the gates, the enemy doesn’t need to tear us down—he can simply walk in.

Guarding access is not about fear.
It’s about intentionality.

Close the gates to the enemy so you can open them to blessing.

3. You Must Stay in the Work to See What God Is Building

Rebuilding Jerusalem didn’t happen overnight. It took time. Sweat. Resolve. Resistance. The enemy mocked, threatened, lied, and tried to lure Nehemiah into distraction.

His response?

“I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down.” — Nehemiah 6:3

That’s the heart of a legacy builder.

You’re doing a great work in your marriage.
You’re doing a great work in your parenting.
You’re doing a great work breaking generational patterns.
You’re doing a great work building faith in your home.
You’re doing a great work serving God and loving people.

Don’t come down.

The enemy loves to attack builders.
But God loves to bless them.

And if you’ll keep placing bricks—showing up, obeying, loving, forgiving, guarding, growing—God will build something through you that future generations will thank you for.

Brick by Brick, Your Legacy Is Being Built

Maybe you’re living in the ruins of someone else’s decisions.
Maybe you’re rebuilding what was broken in your family.
Maybe you’re the first in your line to follow Jesus.

Hear this:
You can be the one who reverses the curse.
You can be the one who rebuilds the walls.
You can be the one who hands down blessing instead of brokenness.

Legacy isn’t loud.
It’s steady.
Faithful.
Brick by brick.

God is building something in you that will outlast you.

So pick up your brick.
Guard your gate.
Stay on the wall.
You’re doing a great work.

And what you build today—someone you love will live inside tomorrow.

Want to hear the full message?
🎧 Catch “Brick By Brick” from our Love What You Leave series on the Genesis Church podcast or YouTube channel.

By Pastor Rory Chance – Genesis Church