Our Rule of Life - Crisis

Right, so yes, I have some, uh, very special, very special

guests with me this morning.

Oh.

That's nice.

Some of you might be wondering, why are people clapping?

Um, and maybe that's 'cause you're new to these parts, and you don't

know who these two are, but they're practically part of the furniture here.

They're certainly a part of the furniture of mine and Ad's life for

the past almost three decades now.

We have done some time together.

Very much so.

We have had some adventures of all shapes and sizes.

How did that all go in?

No, no.

So this is Cleon and this is Jodi, um, for those of you who may not know them.

And, uh, so in the history of Red Door, uh, these guys were youth

pastors here for how many years?

Eight years.

Did young adults as well, and yeah, well, yeah, womens and mens, and

built our offices upstairs, and, you know, all manner of things really.

Uh, they also have a ministry out in Poppininning called The Paddock.

Who's been to The Paddock?

All right, a good portion of you.

Who's never heard of The Paddock?

Okay, a few.

Okay, a few hands there.

All right, so Paddock is where we do our family camp every year.

And, uh, so how long have you guys been doing The Paddock for now?

Oh, it'll be 20-odd years.

I think when we have that storm- Yeah

it was about five years before that.

Oh, yeah.

So that was back when Mighty Men's South Africa were here.

Yep.

So it'll be about 20-odd years it'll be.

Yep.

So yeah, and that's a journey in itself.

What's that in human years?

Probably about 500, I think.

Yeah.

Um, so just explain to us what The Paddock is, Cleon, and the

vision for it and all of that.

Uh, The Paddock's evolved.

So the, the name The Paddock is a campsite, but we really don't

run under The Paddock Ministries.

So what we've realized over time, um, the, the campsite's

just one part of what we do.

Um, and so we just run under The Paddock Ministries.

But the paddock itself is 180Ks from Perth.

It's in the Wheatbelt.

Um, it's where I grew up.

Um, I saw the campsite just slowly get demolished with white ants and

wind and storm over many years, no one using it, and God gave us a

crazy vision back in Riverview days to restore the place and, and make

it really a safe haven for families.

Um, and then through that journey, it's evolved into youth groups and

mens and sons and daughter camps.

And, and, and this year the women are going out to the, the paddock I hear.

So yeah, it's just a, it's a safe place.

And it's… the biggest thing about it, you can, you can disconnect.

Um, as much as it frustrates society when they get out there, they're

running around with their phones above their heads- … chasing reception.

Um, and I could be really kind and put in these new Starlinks

and everyone would be very happy.

But the beautiful thing is your battery runs flat within about f-

45 minutes, 'cause it's searching so much for a signal, that you

actually can legitimately disconnect.

You can actually get out there and disconnect then- Um, so yeah,

it's, that's what it's about.

It's just a, a safe place to come and hang out, so.

Yep.

And so come October, uh, we'll be doing family camp out there again.

Yep, family camp will be there.

Yep.

And then the Kingsmen this August.

Oh, yeah.

Kingsmen as well.

Tell us about that.

Just show of hands, guys, who's been to a Kingsmen?

Oh, more than I would have thought, but there's still a lot that haven't been.

I kind of had a laugh, 'cause I'm involved with the men's, uh, ministry still at

church here, even though we've been a bit absent for the last year, which

we'll, we'll get into a little bit later.

Um, but when, um, Luke advertised the Men's Connect, I reckon

I saw three blokes take their phone out and take a shot of it.

Um, as guys, we don't love to really get deep and connect.

Guys, we're very good at the superficial talk.

We're very good at saying, "How you going?" and, "Where you at?"

Even we have this thing called OKAY Day, and we've got it down pat now.

We say, "Yeah, we're doing great," but we know we say that for a day,

but truth of the matter is, we're all probably busting inside and,

and, and don't really share it, and we've got to get better at it, guys.

We really do.

So the Kingm- Kingsmen was birthed out of the One Event.

Who's been to the One Event out of the guys here?

A few more of those.

So One Event started that would've been about 12, 13 years ago.

It's just a prayer event at the start of the year.

You would have heard it advertised at church many times.

The Kingsmen was birthed out of that to create a space for men to

come and just be, um, and y- and you hear testimonies of other men.

Now, it's over, and this is what I always get asked.

It's over-- It starts Thursday night, and it goes through till Sunday morning.

If you have to rush back, that's what finishes sort of Saturday night, but you

have to rush back to be part of church.

It's done that so even pastors can come along and be part of it.

Um, but I've realized blokes need a set of time to actually start to let their guards

down and start to make true friendships.

And we'll c- we'll go to a business deal, we'll go to a house investment

deal, we'll go watch West Coast lose 1,000 times, we'll go…

You know, we will.

As blokes, we'll do these things, and we see it's improving who we are.

But we won't go the extra mile and actually book time off work and go

and hang out with a bunch of blokes.

And you know what?

We need them now more than ever.

And so the Kingsmen is a weekend.

It's coming up.

If you wanna see me, it's easy to send out the link.

It's actually free.

We felt God put on our heart this year to do it totally free.

Donations taken, please.

Um, but, um, no, no, we, we, we've been blessed with a, with a business

God started when we left church.

That's another story.

Um, but no, we really felt God wanted to make it free, so no one has to miss out.

Like, and it's fully catered for, so you don't have to even-- So you can't even

ex- have an excuse of spending money, um, 'cause you get-- The biggest expense

will be driving out there, which will cost you about 50 bucks there and back.

And it's a weekend where we just hang out, we hear other

guys share their testimonies.

We've got some great musos coming this year.

Guys bring their cars, bring their motorbikes.

Um, we bring a couple trucks and park up there for guys that are looking at trucks.

We even had tractors turn up before.

Um, but it is.

I wanna encourage every guy.

I know most of yous are turning off probably right now, but it is one of

the greatest events, and it's growing.

We started with about 50 blokes, and last year we had 135, and it's

growing every single year, and it is really, really impactful.

So if you wanna know any more about that, come and see me.

Can I have your address?

Yeah, you certainly can.

Can I, I just wanna quickly add wives and mothers and whoever else is

influential on the men in this world.

Um, can I encourage you, really get your men along to this event.

Encourage it big time.

We have heard so many testimonies, like honestly, so many testimonies from

this event of lives being transformed, and not just transformed for a day.

Um, even last year, one of the men had the most transforming… On a, phenomenal,

and it has transformed his whole life, his children, his wife, his marriage.

Um, there's been story after story of these happening.

And so wives, can I encourage you, get along, support your

men to get along to this event.

Um, it truly is a life-changing event.

Just wanted to add that in from a girl point of view.

Yeah.

Just, just learning from past experience however, it's best to

do that in an encouraging way.

Oh, yeah.

Not a- Don't nag … "You need to go to this." Go on, fucking go.

Discovered in, you know, course of being married that that approach

isn't always super helpful.

But the encouraging one, yeah.

Um, oh, that's great.

Okay.

All right, so let's transition a little.

Sorry, what was the dates for Kingsmen again?

20th.

20th of August.

Starts, yeah.

Okay.

2021. Beautiful.

All right.

Men, folk, get that in your diaries.

And yeah, have a chat to Cleon afterwards if you need.

All right, let's do a little bit of a transition, shall we?

Okay.

So, last Sunday, uh, we talked about fasting.

That was fun, wasn't it?

Yep.

Very good.

We're getting there, church.

We're getting there.

Baby steps, right?

Baby steps.

Anyway, the reason why I mention that, because one of the, the… I guess the

place that I grounded that conversation around fasting in was this idea of

we fast to hold fast to God, right?

And so I spoke from this scripture here that, uh, is in Deuteronomy 30, uh, which

says, so this is God speaking through Moses to the Israelite people, preparing

them to enter into the promised land.

He says, "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you,

that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses. Now choose

life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the

Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is

your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to

your father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

And then I used this image last Sunday as well, um, this one here.

Just this image of holding fast to the one who holds fast to us.

Now, about 12 months, just a sh- slight bit over 12 months ago,

uh, Jody and Cor Leon's world was fairly turned on its head.

Um, some of you know the story.

Maybe, uh, it's unfamiliar to you, but Jo got, um, pretty brutal cancer

diagnosis and, uh, it was a pretty dramatic shift, understatement.

And

I guess as, as being one of their friends who've had a fairly, um, I guess, up-front

seat to watching them journey the last 12 months, and one of the things that I

so deeply love and appreciate about this couple here is that literally everything

they do is about seeing His kingdom come.

So you heard about the paddock.

I mean, they have a trucking business as well, right?

And everything about this trucking business is about seeing His kingdom come.

And even this cancer journey has been with that in mind.

Their faithfulness to the Lord through this season is such

a testimony and a witness.

Sorry to start this way.

Um, but the reason why I wanted or I, I asked them if they would share

this morning is because what I have watched unfold over the past 12

months is I have watched them hold fast to the Lord through this season.

And I wanted to sh- to give them an opportunity to share what

that has looked like for them.

Why?

Because it's interesting?

No, not really, although it is.

Um, but so that through their testimony you may be encouraged.

So we ask that we hear hold fast to God.

Well, how do I hold fast to God?

Well, there are all these spiritual practices that we've been talking

about is how we hold fast to God.

And so there's been some really key ways that these guys have done just

that, that the Lord would be glorified through their journey, through their

trial, through their suffering.

They have devotedly held fast to him.

And so we're gonna explore a little bit of what that has looked like for

them in these coming moments together.

Just before I share this.

Yeah, yeah, share away, Kleon.

Just, just to set a bit of a scene, and I'll try to hold it together.

You don't have

to.

Make it messy, it's fine.

We were.

So just so guys who don't know me, um, I dealt with this journey with

my mother when I was 21 and lost her at, when I was 21 years of age

And then this comes into your world.

And like Dale said, I've based my whole life on the word of

God since a k- since a kid.

I don't know without it.

Everything.

My businesses, my camp, my kids

My marriage

Things become very real when you've gotta test the word of

God to physical circumstances.

And I know there's people out there that have been in the same situation.

But when you're going through it with a second round and another 30 years on your

age, and a lot more runs on the board, it becomes even more real in a sense,

do I really believe what I've preached?

I was a pastor for eight years.

Can I really stand on the word of God that I've preached and taught and lived…

I've based my whole life on this thing.

And so as you hear our story, hear it from that perspective-

Yeah … because I had to dig real deep.

And you know what?

I've learned a hell of a lot here in 12 months.

So.

Yeah.

That is so good- Start to my tears … Cleon.

Yeah, just Cleon's journey with his mum, I mean, yeah, I mean, Jo, you know, as well.

It's, um, it just added a whole other layer to, to this moment and, uh, yeah.

All right.

Let's dive into this, shall we?

Yep.

Jo, early on in this journey, I remember you saying that you had a really strong

awareness that you were not to try to stir anything up, that you would resist

the temptation to make, to try to make anything happen by twisting God's arm.

So can you speak into that a little more?

And what do you think God was saying to you through this?

What was his invitation through this?

Yes.

I clearly do remember this.

So yeah, like Dale said, our world turned upside down.

It actually got, um, diagnosed the night, the day after we had

done our last women's event.

Um- Yes … that was on the Thursday night, and the next day-

Yeah … was when this all broke.

So it was, yeah, very confronting news to, to receive.

And at the beginning of the journey, you, I, I definitely felt a numbness.

Like, there is just a very surreal numbness that anyone who's

probably experienced this, and I can see people who I know have

gone on this journey in the crowd.

Um, and, and then, of course, you know, fear is lurking pretty much at every

door, and that was just right here.

And I know at the very beginning of this journey, there is this

tendency, I think in the back of my mind, I had a subconscious

plan 101 when disaster strikes.

You know, I'm gonna go into this planning like we're gonna,

you know, we're gonna fast.

We're going to, you know, read scripture.

We're going, you know, do all of these things.

But what it was being driven from, which I now realize, was from this

more spirit of fear and control to manipulate and twist the hand of God.

And- Or try to … uh, try to, you know what I'm saying.

This is what, you know, you kind of can be motive- mo- motivated from.

And very early on in this journey, I felt God say I want to teach you to rest in me.

That faith is a journey of rest.

And who knows, faith and fear can look very similar.

Mm. Very, very similar.

They actually, fear can mask faith many, many times.

And, um, and that sounds really strange because they're completely opposing.

Um, but early on in this journey, I realized God told me from the very

Beginning, he said, "I don't want you to Google. I don't want you to look at

anything." And it, you know, those who know me, I have a medical background.

I am, was quite happy to sort of, you know, go and find some information

out, and it was as clear as clear.

Zero.

No Googling, no looking, no researching.

Now, early on, I… There was a gray area, right, in this little bit

where I technically didn't Google.

So technically I was not being directly disobedient.

This is, like, within the first kind of week we're talking here.

But through another gray area, I won't go into details, I was able

to kind of get some information.

And I remember going in and getting prompted, and I f- clearly

felt God saying, "End this.

I want you to end this.

Do not keep going down this." And I was like, "One more, one

more question." Just, you know.

Mm. And literally that night I had that w- actually in that moment, I felt fear

enter on a whole new level, and it was so consuming, and that was one of the

first nights where I just couldn't sleep.

I was really restless.

I was like, "Oh, my gosh," and I felt this, it was really, you know, full on.

And but God is so gracious, so unbelievably gracious.

And that next morning He woke me up early.

I finally did get to sleep.

Woke me up and He said, "Come and sit with me." And it was as clear

as clear, and He… I got my Bible, and He gave me this scripture.

He gave me a number of scriptures which I c- have written in this

book which I take everywhere with me, actually, to my appointments.

Um, but He gave me this scripture, and it was so specific, and it was so beautiful,

and it was so life-giving, um, to me.

And He said, "Sit with me." He goes, "This is where I want

you to run when you feel fear.

This is where I want you to run when you have questions.

This is where I want you to run and come.

I want you to come to me.

I want you to run to me.

I want you to… You know, this is the place of rest.

Come to me.

Don't run to Google.

I don't want you going to medical, um, doctors for…" I mean, I've gone on a

very big medical journey, but He meant don't go to them for my, um, yeah, for my

answers, for my support, for the f- you know, finality of what a diagnosis can be.

He goes, "Come to me." And I remember at that time, like, it was the most

transforming and f- you know, fear, um, faith really entered my heart, and

it's been an ongoing journey of them.

But at that time I was like, you know, the, the, um, following days

thinking, "God, how, how do you speak?

How are you gonna speak to me in, you know, when I'm actually

really experiencing a question or a, you know, that real fear?

How is the word of God, you know, written all those thousands of years ago, gonna

meet me in that, that moment?" Can I tell you there has been so many rhema words of

God in this journey at the exact point.

There is one, um, specific case.

I've, I've got so many, but I will share one in particular.

I had some- scans and, um, you know, they were really kind of important scans

and the oncologist had warned us that the results might not be very good.

And anyway, so I was having an appointment coming up in, this was back in April,

and, um, and I remember I was feeling just like, "God, I just, you know, this is,

I'm feeling quite anxious about meeting with the oncologist and how this outcome,

you know, what the outcome is gonna be." And, you know, and I was kind of just

letting it go and then I felt God say, "I want you to read the Book of Daniel."

And I was like, "Daniel. Okay, well that's kind of a book of faith," you know?

And so I went and I read the first six chapters and, you know, I mean,

Daniel's a really encouraging book, but I was like, "You know, I know these

stories." I was a little bit, yeah.

And I left it and then a f- it was like a day or two later I felt God say, "I

want you to finish the book of Daniel.

Read it." And I'm reading along and I got to Daniel 10 and it says, I don't

know, in the NLT version it specifically says, "On April 23rd," um, you know,

April 23rd, and it was when, um, Daniel got the dream, he got the vision of

the angel that came to him and it was, you know, some interpretations say it

was Jesus or, you know, but this angel came and it was saying, um, it was

when he, 30, he'd, you know, he'd been praying and fasting I think 21 days.

And, and he said, "I was delayed, you know, in spiritual warfare, but the

moment you prayed, I began my journey and I'm here now to tell you that God

has heard your prayer." And it was just like… And anyway, April 23rd

was the day of my appointment, right?

It was literally on April 23rd that month that I was having the

appointment with the oncologist.

I had a number of appointments.

And it was just this little tiny moment where I'm like, "God, you

know, you told me to read…" I didn't even know there were dates

in the Bible like that, you know?

And it was just in those moments, and I've had so many where it's so

specific, where it's like, "I see you.

I hear you.

Your prayers are being answered.

I'm, I'm meeting you in the detail." And it was just like, "Oh, my gosh,

God." The word of God, when it says in Hebrews 4, "Is alive and

powerful," like it's alive, church.

The word of God is alive.

And so that has become literally bread to me in this season.

Can I also say in this, when we started this, 'cause I said we based, we based

our whole family life on the word of God.

And I w- as we all would say, we've read the Bible, and we've heard things and

read things in the Bible that we don't see happen in our, in our day to day.

And so I've been blessed or, I know you call it blessed, but I've, I've

had the opportunity to do all sorts of prayer for all different people, even

try to raise the dead a couple times.

And I haven't been scared to step out in faith to do it.

And I said, "God, at this point in my journey, it's, it's all up against the

wall." Like you're standing on the cliff.

I said, "God, all I want to do is teach me. Just teach Joe and I. Or

on this journey, just teach us what we're missing." And that's been

our prayer for the last 12 months.

No matter what hurdle comes in front of us, no matter what comes back, what

might be said, we said, "God, teach us in this. Teach us what we're missing,"

because he is the God of the universe.

And I'll pass back 'cause then I'll start to preach.

But yeah.

Did you have anything else you wanted to… Yeah, I just thought,

um, like if the idea of, you know, Joe uses this phrase, rhema word,

if that's not a familiar concept to you, I just thought, you know, just

quickly explain what that means.

And so you have, you know, the word of God, and you study it,

and you read it in context.

But then there are these moments, and this is when you use a phrase

like a rhema word, where, you know, the, the spirit will direct you to

a passage of scripture that is so specifically for you in your moment.

And it's not like Jody is now gonna create a whole theology

around the 23rd of April, right?

Um, but that was specific to her in her moment.

And when you are able-- See, see, one of our challenges when the poo hits the

fan and the storm hits, right, if you don't know the word of God outside of

the storm, if you don't know the voice of God outside of the storm, this is

why these spiritual practices are so important, so that when the storm hits,

you know the voice of the shepherd, and you are able to hear and be directed.

So these guys knew his voice.

So Joe was able to be directed and trust that voice.

And when you get that word in those seasons when the storm is raging

and fear is screaming at you, when you get that word from the

Lord There is peace in the storm.

That is your boat with Jesus in the storm.

When you get a word from the Lord, you can pretty much endure anything when you know

it has come from the heart of God for you.

And so this is why these things are so important.

Otherwise, a storm hits and you don't know His voice, and

you can just be so left adrift.

And now He is gracious, and He is kind, and He's still there, and He's still

holding you in the midst of all of that.

But these guys put the yards in, in just the journey with the Lord.

And so when it hit, they could hear.

And so when they, they were able to hear those words and be directed and

be woken up and come and sit with me and, uh- To even be directed to such

an extent that, you know, Joe and I have some similar tendencies, and we

can both be a little bit controlling.

And, um, and, you know, and things like Google can really serve

that need quite well, right?

Just, uh, let me just get all the information that I can on this

particular issue, and then I will have a sense of control over it.

And so to even have the, um… just that relationship with the Lord where you're

able to trust, oh, I can lay that down.

I don't need that.

I don't need to pick that up.

I can trust in you and your voice is so, so good.

All right.

So we've talked a lot about the word of God already.

Uh, um, through this series that we've been in, we've been exploring a bunch

of different spiritual practices, which like I've touched on already, these are

different ways that we hold fast to God and allow him to hold fast to us as well.

And so what are some of the other ways perhaps that the

Spirit has led you to hold fast?

'Cause I know, you know, there has been fasting for you guys.

Yes, the word we've talked about, but there's also been, like, seasons of

confession and repentance and forgiveness.

So- Yeah.

Yeah, it's been, that's been huge.

So in the beginning when it was like, God, you're saying, "I want you to rest in me.

I want you to-- and I will prompt you.

It'll be through my leading when to fast, when to, you

know, when to do these things.

Um, but I want it to, I want you to be really discerning and just listen to

my voice, because then it will be done in rest and not in striving." And so

there were times when God said, "Okay," um, you know, and called us to fast.

And, um, and there was a real grace upon it because I'm

obviously going through treatment.

And so it was, you know, there was, there was beauty in, in

the fast, believe it or not.

I remember one time I was called to a fast and I was on steroids.

I don't know if anyone knows steroids.

They increase your appetite like crazy.

And, and um, and I remember thinking, oh, is this even wise?

But it was, there was a real grace over it just for, you know, just a few days.

And so there were times at that, and then God really-- and I just could feel

him so close and just speaking and, you know, being that real, you know, like you

said, he's the bread of life, you know, and, and being that for us in that time.

Um, confession and repentance, that was a h- you know, a

huge season throughout this.

And I had developed a, um, like for me, confession and repentance

is one of the most beautiful gifts that we have as a Christian.

And for some people you're like, "What?

What does that even mean?

How can you say it's a gift?" Um, but I realized to be able to become before

a holy God who also is our Father And bring all of our muck and bring our

fears and bring our, just, like, our rubbish or different things before

Him, and then be made right before God.

Like, I, I do not understand people that have this mentality of a, you know,

"I've come to Jesus, repented once, and I never have to repent again." I'm going,

"I don't even understand that," because there is beauty in the relationship of

being really real before God and going, "God, this stuff has come up in my heart."

Like Psalm 139, I think I just prayed that over my life so much, and those last

few verses are, you know, "Expose in me, God, anything that offends you." Like,

I actually… It builds such intimacy because we're not just coming to God

in a place where it's like, "Great, now I feel all this rubbish and feel all

of this, you know, pain and wounding."

We don't just sit with it.

As He- as things get exposed by the Holy Spirit, that's because we get to

bring it and lay it down at the cross.

It's, you know, it's that amazing, beautiful exchange.

It's not suddenly we now get revealed all this stuff, and now we have to sit

with it and be like, "Ugh," you know.

No, we get to hand it over and be made righteous, um, by Christ and

what He has done at the cross.

And so in this season where it was like, "Okay, God, I just wanna be made

right before you. Like, if there's anything in me this time of, you

know, of, um, repentance," and we did this together s- you know, so much.

Um, you know, and it was actually so much beauty in it.

And I've got a prayer group and, and Bec, my sister over there, she's been a massive

part of this, huge part of this journey.

And so many times sitting with Bec and, you know, we would just be

praying and stuff would come up and, um, but there was beauty in it.

It was like, yes, brokenness gets revealed, but then there's the,

you know, through the Holy Spirit, we get healing in our hearts.

And so that to me has been a massive part of this journey and a beautiful part, as

has fasting and what are the other ones?

Worship.

Oh, can I just… Worship is, uh, we had, I had that on, I think, 24/7,

um, in the beginning just creating that atmosphere, worship music where

I got introduced to this artist.

I was driving along, never heard of her before.

Hope Sast.

If anyone is going through a season, her songs and her lyrics are just beautiful,

and that ministered to my heart just in the everydayness of life and having,

you know, that worship music playing.

I'll also say when we're doing this, and I think it's important to share because

it's a probably epiphany I've had through this journey of Joe and I with confession,

um, the accuser's very good at, um, I wouldn't say twist the word, but he can

use the word against where we're at.

And I think this is important to share, um, when we talk about

confession and, you know, um, getting our hearts right in front of God.

Salvation, when you accept Jesus as-- truly as your Lord and Savior,

that can barely ever be broken unless you p-physically renounce God again.

Okay?

When we come together as, as a couple or wherever in, in friendships and

we start confessing our sin, that is actually healing for us as an individual.

So as Joe's saying, it's a beautiful thing.

But what Satan will do is he'll make you think, oh, the more you sin, yes, it, it

distances us from God, but it doesn't ever say that we're gonna lose our salvation.

But Satan will make it feel like that in your heart, so then you get more

scared, so then it's driven back to fear.

Oh, I've done this.

So it's like a tick list, tick list, just so you can stay saved with Jesus.

The blood of Christ is washed over you.

When you come-- Once you-- And this is a-- If it's a genuine--

I'm talking about someone who's genuinely encountered the Holy Spirit

and given their life to Christ, you don't literally doubt your faith.

It's one thing you don't doubt if you've had a real encounter.

But you'll doubt your confessions and your healing and whatever

it may be you're asking God for because of your sin for Him.

No, when we go to God now and confess, it's for us.

It sounds so crazy.

God's pure, holy.

He's, he's man.

He could go on-- He could actually just demolish all of us and go and create

another world, like realistically.

But the accuser will make it like-- It would-- He would make it like if

you don't do these, tick these boxes, oh, you've missed the boat, mate.

Don't, don't try.

You know, you, you've missed it.

You've sinned too much.

It's not worth it.

It's not gonna happen.

But when you get a revelation every time you come before Christ and you're

confessing what's broken in you, it gives Him more part of who you are.

It's actually for you.

It's actually for you as an individual, so you can be free to

walk in whatever journey you can have.

Now, I know we often talk about the hardship journeys, but there's

times that God wants to be walking with you on the blessing side as

well because He's got more for you.

Does that make sense?

And so I just wanted to distinguish between-- That's been a real epiphany

for Joe and ourselves in that journey, how the accuser will come and try to say,

"Oh, y-y-you know, you're a bad person.

You haven't got it.

Oh, you're really disappointing God." Yeah, we do in a

sense, but the truth matters.

God is so loving and so beautiful, is actually the forgiveness is

about you as an individual, so.

Oh yeah, forgiveness you were saying about.

Um, yeah, just kind, and I had, I had walked, I had developed that in, you know,

in my life of this journey of God, you know, prompting, um, anything in my heart

and, you know, being quick to forgive.

That had been something, um, but it was amazing how some things were brought up

in my life from, you know, even childhood and, and, you know, different things where

he took me on a journey of forgiving, um, of forgiveness in those areas,

and it's just that element of freedom.

It's just a, it's a beautiful journey.

It's not a scary journey, people.

And you don't have to be in the depths of despair to go on it.

I would encourage I would encourage everyone, press in.

Press in on the mountaintops, hey.

Yeah.

Press in in the, in the valleys.

Press in on the slope up and the slope down.

Um, you know, God wants to meet us in every season.

It's not just in these deep, dark seasons.

He wants to be celebrating with you on the mountaintops as well,

and he's got stuff to say to you.

I'm just gonna go a tiny bit off script.

Yeah.

Um, but I just, as I think about, you know, your… 'Cause it, it really did, I

th- I, I feel like, um, just watching you guys over the last 12 months, just that

real, um, the care towards this space of confession, repentance, and forgiveness.

And I guess the way I understood it or interpreted it was it was a part of your

spiritual warfare, um, in this season.

Totally.

Yeah.

And that you knew your heart needed to stay soft- Yes … 'cause th- this

is where forgiveness, confession, repentance are so important.

You can't be walking in un-repentant sin.

You can't be walking in unforgiveness and expect to hear the voice of God.

Like, your heart, it just sears your heart.

It… And so yeah, as I watched, I s- the, yeah, the lens I was

really seeing it through was this is, this is spiritual warfare.

You know, we think spiritual warfare, it's all about, you know, casting out

demons and, you know, taking the enemy on and whatnot, but it really starts- Yeah

in this place of the heart, doesn't it?

Yeah, big time.

Yeah.

Do you wanna talk anything about that?

Yeah.

Um, one of the scriptures that I had was, um, for those of you who

know Mark 11:24-25, it's a very probably familiar spirit, I mean,

Mark 11:24–25

familiar scripture . Familiar spirit.

Um, I, you know, and it says, "I tell you the truth.

You can say to this mountain may you be lifted up and thrown into

the sea, and it will happen.

But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've

received it, it will be yours," right?

And so we all claim that.

We're like, yes, you know, this is amazing.

And sometimes we forget the very, very next verse, um, just continues on,

"But," it's not even … "But when you are praying, first forgive anyone

you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will

forgive your sins too." And it is like, oh my goodness, when you start

reading passages on forgiveness- Mm

and, you know, like, so God will forgive you.

You're like, "What, God? So when I'm holding on unforgiveness, that

prevents you forgiving me?" And we kind of forget these powerful scriptures

that are, are just associated with, you know, just little bit further on-

Yeah … with the promises that he gives.

And that's, and like Cleon said, you know, living with unforgiveness

is so destructive for us.

You know, living with bitterness, living with, um, you know, anger, all of these

things, it's so destructive for us.

God doesn't just, you know, put these things in, in his word

because it's a good idea or because it's is about- all about him.

He is saying, "This is freedom for you, freedom for your soul, freedom for

your body, freedom for your health."

And, um, and so that has been an amazing, amazing journey, which I

knew, and, you know, I've done lots of, you know, prayer ministry, and I've,

I've journeyed so much with Caroline Roach, um, you know, in all of this.

But can I encourage you, if this is a place where you are struggling with,

with bitterness or unforgiveness or resentment and holding onto these things,

um, there, it can seem really scary and very vulnerable to be like, "But God, can

I actually really trust you with these depths, with these wounds, with these

places in my heart that are so hurt?"

And, and we can say the answer is yes.

Like, you know, we go, automatically someone will go, "Of course you can." But

when it comes time to hand that over to him, that's often where the doubt will

creep in, where the fear will creep in.

Um, can I say, I'm going off script too now.

No, you go.

Um, one thing that was shown in, throughout this journey, and me and

Bec were actually journeying a lot of this quite closely, was, um, I

mentioned earlier fear and faith can mask really quite similarly, right?

And so in this journey, God showed me, you know, in t- in Timothy where it says, "For

God has not given us a spirit of fear." Okay, so fear is actually a spirit, right?

Um, and when you stop and you think about that, in our culture,

we have, you know, um, fear has become such a part of our culture.

It's actually almost considered really acceptable.

Mm. Really, actually, if I am worried about you, it means I love you.

I'm concerned about you.

I worry for you.

I fear for you.

I, you know, I have all these things because that's acceptable

part of the way I show love.

You know, when you stop and you say, and you think, actually, that's

really Yeah … you know, we, we kind of just do it so naturally.

Instead of, um, and then when, you know, so with this spirit of fear, we

had a picture, and together we actually had this, this picture of, um, the

spirit of fear is a demonic spirit.

And so each time I entertained that demonic spirit, each time I entertained

and said, "Yes, I will allowed you, allow you to comfort me, to protect me."

Mm. I actually had this picture.

I was entertaining a demonic spirit of fear, and that can be quite

confronting when we say it that way.

But it was very, um… it had, I had such an awareness of it that

I would be like, "No way. I am not entertaining that spirit of fear. Get

away from me." You know, it says in, um, in James, you know, um, resist

the devil and he will flee from you.

And so that became a big journey of spiritual warfare for us,

but in the most beautiful way.

It didn't have to be scary.

It didn't have to be this whole big… It was just really acknowledging the

journey of faith and rebuking that spirit of fear and saying, "No, I

will not allow you to falsely comfort me with worldly wisdom and with ways

where the world says this is wise."

And it's actually, it's, it's just fear.

It's so fear-driven.

And, um, yeah, it was really… Perhaps that makes sense.

Yeah.

I don't know if I explained that very clearly.

No.

That's great, Jo.

So good.

So early on, and it's, it's like Jo's saying, becomes part of our life.

So we would keep each other accountable that we would go to appointments.

We wouldn't expect the worst.

You know, people say, "I'm, I'm, I'm expecting the worst, so I'm

prepared." You know what I mean?

So that's just a lie coming in.

So, but we had to be, in the, in the first few stages, we had to be

really accountable to each other.

No, no, we're reading the word of God.

God has spoken this rhema word over Jo.

You know, it's for her season.

And just on that rhema word, we went and bought a devotional,

I felt, to do it together.

We'd done a lot of our, you know, in our prayer rooms or quiet times

individually as a couple, unless we're speaking together, then we come together.

But I really felt at the start of this, when we left Jo's first major appointment,

I said, "Babe, we're going straight to Koorong, and we're gonna pick a devotional

that we'll just do together every day.

Just a short, not a big long study, just a quick one we can do before the morning,

and then I can head off to work or do whatever." And those have been at Koorong.

There was umpteen- And, and a bloke, a bloke who's not a big reader,

I'm thinking, "Well, what I'd even pick?" Anyway, I said I'll pick

that-- I thought of Adam on this.

I, I-- Yeah, we'll pray.

But I saw this nice, pretty leather red book, and I thought of Adam

picking this nice-looking book.

I said, "Jo, I want that one." Because I wasn't gonna read through all of them.

And in saying that, God's grace, it has been the most amazing that we're on the

second round of it already, and it has been the most amazing for the exact day.

Now, that's a Rhema word.

I don't go and say, "Everyone go buy this devotional," because it

w- it's not for-- it was for us.

It was God's timing for us.

But so through that journey, we kept each other accountable.

We're not going to expect the worst.

We're just gonna read the Word of God.

We're gonna stand on-- as hard as it sometimes can be, 'cause we--

I've had many, many failures.

I've had cousins die of heart transplants, and also I can go on list and list,

where we can live in a theological point of view of disappointment, and

so we'll always think of the worst.

So we can-- l- like, well, the accuser's telling us to believe that,

so we don't go in with the faith.

We don't go back in with the faith for the…

And it was so many times we're driving in, and we had to stop each other.

And the, the drive from home, we're very blessed in that.

The-- Jo's appointments were really for treatment were 10

minutes away, like from home.

And so we had 10 minutes to really get our hearts right before we

walked into the, into the hospital.

And we would just re- recheck with each other.

No, we don't know the outcome, but we're standing on the Word of God.

We're not gonna believe the accuser and going in.

And praise the Lord, every, every time we've gone for major, like,

scans or whatever else, the, the medical side would say, "No, it's,

it's probably not gonna be great."

You know what?

God's been awesome.

Now, we haven't been told, we can't sit here and say we're 100% clear.

Well, we are-- we're a lot-- we're nearly.

We're, we're 1% off.

But we-- every time they were thinking the negative, the medical system

were pushing the negative, God came through with a lot better result.

So just be mindful in anyth- And this is-- We're talking about Jo's journey here

now, but once again, this can be anything.

This can be any part of your life, and you just, just start

asking yourself questions.

I suppose, and this will be relevant to some people, I would see myself as

a guy that always sees the glass half full in, in general circumstances.

Through this journey, I've noticed, 'cause when Jo and I would do these confessions,

I think, "Oh, I'm okay in this area," because I always see the glass half full.

But then that's the accuser as well.

You don't start examining your own heart.

And then all of a sudden I've been saying, "Okay, there is… Yeah, okay." And then

all of a sudden the list-- Not that you want to list, but you start realizing,

oh, there are brokenness in my life.

Even though I'm thinking it full and being positive of where we're

going, there's still stuff I need to confess to get it right.

And then to journey that as a couple has been really interesting for myself

because I always wanna go, "Babe, we've got this. We're going. We got this."

But I've got to respectf- be respectful of where she's at on her journey.

So-- But just be careful that don't Don't, don't always just think of the

worst, 'cause it's-- if you get a better outcome, it's gonna be better for you.

God wants the best for you.

Don't believe the accuser that you're always gonna have the worst outcome.

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

Did you wanna add anything else?

Okay.

I just thought just something I'd, um, highlight from what you just shared,

which I think is really, really helpful in this idea of spiritual warfare,

uh, is that we can often have this caricature of how the enemy works,

and that it'll be obvious, right?

And it'll be obviously a demonic attack on us because it will be so

discouraging and, um, so clearly opposing to the nature of God.

But actually, you know, scripture says he manifests as an angel of light,

and he's, he's an ancient being.

He's very smart, and he knows how to be so seductive.

And, and, and, and what he will whisper to you will have the appearance of

such wisdom, and it can just be so close, just one or two degrees off.

But it is enough to send you spiraling into the pit, into bondage.

And this is why, you know, scripture says, "Be wise." Be wise to his schemes

because like Joey said, you know, these lies can feel so comforting that he wants

to sow, uh, but there's no life in them.

None.

Uh, there is no life in them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And this is where deep, deep wisdom, godly wisdom, godly wisdom is required.

And I think that is the blessing of doing these things in community too, right?

'Cause when you've got trusted, godly people around you who can

sometimes be that voice when you're struggling to hear yourself.

Yeah.

Um, and now you've, you've mentioned, um, you know, Beck and Paul as

well, and you know, there's no shortage of, um, good, godly people.

Oh, I've got it.

Oh, you're on?

Hello.

Yeah, I'm back.

Um, I've got amazing, um, people that I can share with and are journeying

with me, and I'm so, so thankful, you know, in Dale and Bec, and I

mean, there's, you know, Selby here.

There's, there's been a, a bunch, Carolyn, I don't know if… Is Carolyn,

I don't know if Carolyn's even here.

She's here.

And, um, you know, and I've got a, a prayer group of intercessors that are

praying for me and, you know, that's been absolutely, um, the support has

been phenomenal and I'm, I'm so grateful for, for that prayer support as well.

And yeah, I was just saying that story.

Yeah, yeah, you go.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, that's what I was going to, so, you know, really skillfully

segue into, Jo, as I just did.

So as I skillfully segue, the story.

Go.

Yeah, so when we're talking about, like, you know, the kingdom, worldly

kingdom, godly k- you know, heaven's kingdom, worldly kingdom, they're,

they're really quite opposite.

Hey, we often say God's kingdom is upside down.

I think it's probably the other way around, really.

God's kingdom actually is quite correct in the right way up, and the world's

kingdom is completely upside down, but this is the one we're immersed in.

And so I have a, a real, you know, clear example of, of how this operated.

Um, I was reading a book and I, you know, and this, um, it was an amazing book.

It kind of came across my path in a, you know, one of those weird,

wonderful ways as they often do.

And, but it was really encouraging me, and they, I found out that this

place where the book came from, they did conferences, right, in America.

And, um, so it was in the States and I kind of, you know, it was about a

month or two ago, I had this prompting of going, "Hey, maybe, you know, I want

to invite you to go to a conference."

Like, I felt God almost with this invitation.

And I'm like, you know, I'm in treatment mode.

I've… There's just a lot going on, and I'm like, I don't even

know how this is going to, to work.

It just seems so impractical.

Anyway, um, some stuff happened with my treatment that allowed for

this gap where I thought, "Oh, I could actually, you know, go on this

conference, um, and go to this."

So I, you know, presented it to Cleon and he was like, you know, I

said, "I really feel this invitation from God to go on this conference,

you know, over in America." And, um, and it seemed, you know, in

all man's perspective, a bit crazy.

Um, and so we're just praying about it and, you know, and then he's like,

"Yeah, no, I f- I feel this as well."

And I actually had, you know, the prayer, the people that were praying

for me, I mentioned it to them and, um, they also thought it was a good idea.

We did say going to America wasn't any better for Jo's healing.

I would, I would just, yeah.

'Cause it just, I said that to Jo straight away, I'm more than happy to go, but

God can work here as great over there.

They haven't got a special thing over there, but just wanna make that clear.

Just, just because it's, yeah, yeah.

Anyway, you get where I'm coming from.

But that's our, that was our relationship.

We weren't, Jo wasn't offended by that.

Like, we're at a point in our journey now where all the cards are showing.

Like, there's no- There's nothing.

So I could actually physically go and say to Jo there was no offense

taken- Yeah … in that journey.

And I, and I remember saying, yeah, 'cause I thought that too.

I thought, "Holy Spirit, you're here. You're just as much here as you are

in America. Maybe a bit more." No.

Joke, joking.

Sorry.

But, um, but, you know, so I'm like, "Do I really have to go across to

America?" But it was more, like I said, it was an invitation.

It wasn't this angsty kind of fear-driven need of that's where I

have to go in order for, you know, for healing or anything like that.

It was… And so anyway, so the lead up to this was, okay, we

decided this would be a good idea.

I went and had an appointment with my oncologist, who thought it was a very,

very bad idea, and she was very Jodie might be an oncologist's worst nightmare.

I tell you, faith and oncology just, they don't go together.

Yep.

But, um, you know, and so she thought it was a very, very bad idea, and very,

very insistently told me how terrible it was, and she would not endorse it at all.

So I was like, "Okay." Fear driven.

It was very, it was very fear driven.

And so I felt, I was like, "Okay, God, you know, this is worldly, you know- Mm

… from a world's point of view, I should be listening to my doctor." Like, you know,

I'll lay this trip down, we won't go.

And I felt God, but I felt his prompt and I felt him say,

"No, I want you to go on this.

This is my invitation for you and for Cleon, and I want you to go.

There's blessing in this." And I was like, "Okay." Um, so I came, you

know, I came out of that meeting- And yeah, I was pretty flat actually.

And then I'm like, "Well, God, you're gonna just have to really

show me if this is, you know, if this is really what you want me to do.

Please, I'm throwing the fleece out here." And so that, it was either that night or

the next night, I rang the conference.

And I had rung them previously, um, they're on opposite times 'cause it

was in Atlanta, Georgia, and, um, they're exactly 12 hours different.

So here I am chatting to them at midnight.

And, um, and I said I had rang them previously, and they said this

particular conference, which was first up, had been fully booked out, all the

accommodation, and they were running two.

And the second one, I thought, well, it was a bit later on, and the reason

the oncologist was very upset, it was gonna delay my treatment, okay?

She wanted me to be starting the next round, and she's like, um, "I think

it's fair and wise for you to delay it." So I thought, "Okay, I'll try

and get into this earlier conference," and I knew they were booked out.

And so I rang them that night and I just went, "Okay, God, this is over

to you now." And I rang them up and I said, "Look, I'm looking at coming

along." Ah, I get emotional now.

But, um… And they said, "Oh, look, we've just had a cancellation and,

you know, so there's a cabin available and, yeah, if you wanna book it in.

We've had one cancellation, otherwise the whole thing was booked." And I went, on

the spot, "Okay, I'll book it in." And I just went, I booked this spot in this

conference, I booked the accommodation, and I just went, "Whoa, that just

happened." And then I, on the Sunday morning, um, that happened on a Friday.

On the Sunday morning we decided we would go to extend it by

a few days and go to Canada.

Can I just say with all this, remember the first prayer, God teach us?

Yeah.

Teach us.

So I said to Jo when we left, 'cause we had no idea other than the book that

Jo had read and a little bit of, we were allowed to research on Google on

that one- … um, what they were like.

'Cause we didn't wanna travel all the way over and we could walk, but we had really

no concept of what we're walking into.

So I said to Jo, "You know, babe, do you trust me if we sit down for the first m-

session and I just think this, the Holy Spirit, just this is just not for us.

Do, do you trust me enough to walk out?" And we'd come at an agreement, 'cause

we were walking to something we had no, really no idea of what we're going to.

We just felt the prompting to go.

So we weren't going expecting to walk out after the first session, but we had

to be honest with each other because we did wanna make sure the deceiver's

not lying to us on the way through.

But the whole thing about this journey is God teach us.

Yeah.

Teach us.

And, and so we went and, and yeah, the journey got a little crazier.

We booked it in, and then on the Sunday we decided to add, um, to, you know, go

visit him, his family in Canada, which we'd been trying to go for 12 years

and we just hadn't been able to go.

And we were meant to go the year before, but then I got diagnosed, and

so we decided we would just add that on for five days, and it was amazing.

You know, um- And there was a wedding on and we, you know, there was… Anyway,

it was just the timing was beautiful.

And, and so we're like, "Okay." And then we literally booked tickets on the Monday.

I wrote a letter to my oncologist, didn't see her again.

Wouldn't talk to her face to face.

I just emailed her and went, "Thank you very much for your advice, but

we've decided to go on this trip."

Anyway, and, and, um, respectfully, yep, we'll be heading off on Friday.

To give, I think, I guess a little bit of perspective- No … and I won't,

I won't go great detail, but 'cause Jo's, Jo's medical, she's medical.

Here I am just a country bloke who lives life and runs hard.

So I'm listening and just trying, and I'm from a, from a p- p- a protective

point of view, I was arcing up in my flesh, but I had to stay quiet because

what this lovely lady was portraying to my wife, because it was going against

everything that God was saying to us.

So I just kept very quiet.

I eventually said to her so we could actually make a wise decision, I just

said to her, I said, "Look, I'm a little bit confused." I said, "I'm

sitting here listening to you and then listening to my wife, and I'm hearing

that you both have a medical background, but I'm confused on two levels."

And so she looks at me and I said, "Look, hearing what you're saying, we

shouldn't be going away because, you know, the writing's on the wall. If

we prolong this treatment any longer, the chances of Jo making it is gonna

be slim. But then I'm hearing from a perspective of that's the case-"

Well, Jody's feeling really good now.

Why aren't we enjoying these last months, years of our lives,

um, and going on this trip?

And s- and I, so I threw it back at her to say, "Look, this is not making sense

to me, sitting here listening to t- you two talk about this." I said, "Surely

two weeks isn't gonna…" And she was adamant it was, but we felt at peace.

So we didn't go, we didn't just go willy-nilly.

I just wanna confirm that to people.

If a person decided to stay, all, great, all power to you.

Be obedient to the voice of God.

Yeah.

And we weren't just making a rash decision to go on this holiday and go and see

my family 'cause it was all about me.

You know, I wanna go see my family after 12 years.

No, it was- No, it was- Yeah … very much God's prompting, and we prayed.

And like I said, I spoke to the intercessors, and they were

praying and, and people I trusted, and everyone was on board.

We actually didn't have anyone who was prayerfully praying about this come and

tell us, "I don't think you should go."

Everyone that was prayerfully praying about this and seeking God

all confirmed that we should go.

And so we, um, so we booked it in on the Monday, and then, um, and then I

had to do… And, and that was amazing.

Even the tickets, the way we got them all, it was just, it was a miracle.

Um, and then on the Wednesday morning, I had to do bloods, which was a routine

thing that I always did, and then I was, we were flying out that Friday, okay?

So we booked tickets on Monday.

We're flying out Friday morning at 8:00 AM, and I knew I had to

get blood results on Thursday.

Um, I'd had gone and seen a, a sec- got a second opinion from an

oncologist who a doctor had referred me to, and, you know, he was great.

And he actually said, "I think you're okay to go," so, you know, went totally crazy.

Um, and, and then, um, but he rang me on Thursday night, and he goes, "Hey, I've

just got your blood results back, and your hemoglobin levels are dropping."

And I just was like, "You're joking." I'm like, "I'm flying out on Friday

morning." He goes, "Okay, I think, um, I think you're good to go, but I just

want you to know that, um-" "Are you experiencing any internal bleeding?"

And I's going, "Well, not that I know of." Like, hopefully not, you know?

And he's going, "Well, um…" Okay, well, he goes- He wasn't

gone … "That's good that, that you're not openly…" Like, I probably

wouldn't be chatting to you if I was.

But, um, you know, and so, "I need you to know, though, that if you

experience any internal bleeding, you need to seek medical, um,

medical attention straight away."

Now, also, which I hadn't, hadn't told really anyone except Cleon was

I had tried to get insurance, medical insurance, and I was uninsurable.

So I had zero travel insurance.

And I was like, "Okay, God, you know-" It's okay 'cause medical

care's really cheap in America.

Really ch- I'm like, "I'm going to the States." I have no medical insurance

because I had just denied, denied, denied.

And I'm thinking, "God, this is getting ridiculous.

Like, really?

Should I be going?

In the world's eyes, this is looking crazy." And I felt God say, "I've got you.

I'm not inviting you to come to this.

I've got you." And I said to Cleon, "Look, I can't get insurance." And he's

like, "Well, you know…" Well, I could be covered for any accidents, just not

anything related to my treatment, right?

And so then I get this call on Thursday night going, "Your hemoglobin

levels are dropping. They've dropped really suddenly in one week." Um,

I just, you know, and I'm thinking, and I'm about to go on Clexane.

I don't know if anyone knows that.

They're blood thinners for flying, which, you know… And I'm thinking, "I'm about

to take a bunch of needles because I am fly- you know, to thin my blood, and now

there's this risk of internal bleeding."

And, um, and I went, "Okay, God." And so I had Beck and Paul over.

Paul… Everyone's cringing.

Sorry for freaking everyone out here.

But, you know, I'm here.

We survived.

Um Um, no, the… And then literally, um- Um, um, my parents were over, Paul

and Beck were over, and Sam was over, and we prayed, 'cause I did all that

I could do, and I'm like, "Well, God, okay, we're gonna come to you and pray."

I felt this peace to go on this, uh, you know, to go on the trip.

Um, and, um, and then I felt God say, "I want you to Google, very specifically,

what hemo- what fasting does to hemoglobin levels." And I had fasted

on Monday and Tuesday, and I'd had my bloods taken on Wednesday morning.

I quickly Googled it, it came up and it said, "Fasting will drop

your hemoglobin levels quite quickly, um, for a short period of

time and then will self-resolve."

And I felt God say, "I've got you.

This is nothing to worry about.

I don't want you worrying about internal bleeding." I got that and

went, "Yep, I am trusting you, God." I jumped on that plane on Friday morning.

I Clexaned up with my needles and literally we went on this trip, and

from that moment on, I had no fear.

I literally just left it.

I thought, "God, I am trusting you. You've invited me on this trip. This

is with you." I had such a grace.

We got upgraded.

I had the best sleep.

I was in premium economy.

We got to sleep on the plane.

I had the least amount of jet lag I've ever had.

We did 11 flights in two weeks.

We traveled, um, to Atlanta, then to Winnipeg, to Canada.

We did a conference for four days.

It was intensive.

It was amazing.

God spoke to us.

We took so much from it.

It was timely.

We got to see, um, Cleon's family.

It was the most beautiful experience.

They were s- you know, so excited to see us.

We surprised them all, so it was super exciting.

Um, and there was just a God grace over that whole trip, and I looked at how the

enemy tried to rob me at each point, and it was him attempting to rob through fear.

It was this, that constant thing, and what it was was fear.

And from the world's eyes, do you know what?

It looked crazy, me jumping on a plane on that Friday morning, going on this trip.

And if I didn't know the voice of God, I would've just, you know,

and seriously, given into that.

But God had clearly said each step of the way, "Trust me, Jo, I've got you.

Trust me, I've got you.

I've got you.

I've got you." It was pretty constant in those final few days just prior to jumping

on that plane, and I am so glad that we trusted Him, and the trip was amazing.

And here we are to tell the testimony of it.

And here you are, with no internal bleeding.

You go.

What do you got, Clem?

I was just gonna say, like on this journey, and I wanna encourage anyone

that is on a journey, you know, on, on treatment with the medical system,

we are very blessed in our state or in our country to have what we have.

Now, you hear us saying we- we're not saying anything against the medical

system, but when this was going on, I said to Jo, "Who's our healer?

Who's our protector?" Our oncologist is not that.

She's a very smart lady, and God has gifted her to be a very smart lady.

You know, and as much as chemo's a poison going into your body, it's,

it's there and it does-- Our, our, our naturopath tells us she will

not treat us without chemotherapy.

As much as it does damage to your body, it's a proven fact it can kill cancer.

So I'm just saying you've gotta get the balance.

So through this journey, Jo and I have been saying, "Lord, we trust you above

anything, above any situation, any circumstance, and unless you write it

on the wall, we will do the treatment that you've blessed people with,"

'cause that's a miracle in itself.

You know, you, you talk, to take cancer out of the picture, they can

pull people's hearts out, drop it on the table, fix it, and drop it

back in, and you walk out the…

I mean, if that's not a miracle, I know human beings are doing it,

but if God hasn't given that doctor or that person that ability to do

that, that's just wild in itself to even picture that in your brain.

You know, but what I'm trying to say is, 'cause you'll get some people that

get really strong, "No, just trust God.

Throw the doctor away.

Just, uh, go God." Now, if God has called you and put the writing

on the wall for that, awesome.

We've heard testimonies of that happening.

That's not our story, you know.

So I wanna encourage you, 'cause sometimes you can hear these stories and you

think, "Oh, I've got no faith. I've been going to the doctor for everything."

That's not the case, okay?

We have prayerfully asked God on different situations where we should go, what we

should do, how we should go through it.

We have an amazing medical system, okay?

I just wanna confirm that to people out there.

God has said no to certain things, but he's also said, "Just continue

to do what they've told you to do."

We've got another six-month journey on, on oral chemo, and if God says

stop halfway through, we will.

If he doesn't, Jo and I will continue to take this journey.

So I just wanted to confirm that, 'cause there are a lot of people

here, and you're all going through different things, and we're not saying

to throw the medical system away.

You know me, but God, at the end of it, is the orchestrator of, of Jo's

life or my life, so we trust him above all, and that's why we could take that

trip, 'cause we, we threw the fleece.

We had three or four different confirmations, so w- And from

a worldly perspective, we were doing the dumbest thing ever.

No insurance, we, we could've lost the house or everything if, I

mean, we're pear-shaped in America.

Ser- On a serious matter, like we don't-- That's how blessed we are.

We haven't paid a cent for Jo's treatment in 12 months.

If we're in the US, we would've mortgaged the house by now if we

didn't have private health cover.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, so good.

All right.

Well, we better land this plane, hey?

But I just want to thank you guys for being so vulnerable and, uh, for

sharing with us, 'cause I think it has been profoundly encouraging and

hopefully helpful to many of you as well.

And just by way of landing the plane, I think as you zoom out, you know,

God is the God of redemption, and what he is doing in these guys isn't

just about bringing them through this situation, it's what he is forming in

them, um, and what he is equipping them.

So it's not a matter of saying, "God caused this."

No, not at all.

But God will take it- Yep … and he will use it, and I am profoundly expectant

of the ministry that will come from what these guys have had formed in them

through this storm and through this fire.

And my deep hope and expectation that it is, uh, that it will result in a

profound healing ministry, and that all of what I have seen them journey

through and the breadcrumbs that they've followed with the Lord, it's all of

him equipping them in this space, 'cause who knows, man, we need it.

Right.

And just the, the wisdom that they have now and this beautiful

holistic approach to it all as well.

It's just like, watch this space, people.

Um, and be pray- praying for them as well.

Because like I said right at the beginning, everything about their lives

is about seeing God's kingdom come, and that will explode out of all that

they have learnt and, you know, had formed in them, and this will be God's

blessing, um, through all of this.

Amen?

Adam, did you want to add something?

Um, you're looking twitchy there.

No, I just, um… Oh, I love these guys.

And they've referred to, um, that scripture, you know, "Submit yourselves

to God, uh, and resist the devil and he will flee from you." Sometimes

what we'll do is we'll submit to fear and then try and resist the devil,

and we don't see anything happen.

So it's submit yourselves to God and then resist the devil

and he will flee from you.

And I'm just gonna, wanna ask Claire to pray for us in relationship to that fear

space, that there would be a sense that fe- that we would have a supernatural

capacity not to submit to fear.

But I think when we say that, we also, uh, we've got to identify when we are.

Does that make sense?

We've got to see when we are, and then we can identify, "Oh, yeah, we're not

gonna submit to that." And then pray that, you know, we would actually

submit to God, uh, and resist the devil.

Is that okay?

Let's all stand.

And if you feel comfortable, just put your hand on the shoulder

of the person next to you

Lord, this is a crazy journey for all of us living in this world that you created.

But Lord, it hasn't quite turned out exactly as you planned.

But you are the answer.

Father, you are the answer.

I pray right now, Holy Spirit, come and just fill every person right where

they're at, that you are the answer

Father, that fear has no right.

The accuser has no right to use fear, Lord, to control our

environment and our situations.

I pray the spirit of fear goes, whereas, God, you tell it to go

right now in everyone's life.

It goes, disappears in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Lord, you know.

We don't have to do an individual prayer, Lord.

You know every single person here, how they deal with fear,

Lord, and where it's coming in.

I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, you say in your name you'll move mountains.

I pray in the name of Jesus right now, you will move the spirit of fear.

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

And Holy Spirit, come and fill that void.

Yeah.

Holy Spirit, come now.

Fill every person.

Fill that hole where the accuser's had hold of for so long.

Fill that hole right now, Father God, and bring a peace, a peace

that you've shown Joe and I when we've journeyed step by step.

And Lord Far, th- where there's fear on a generational base, Lord,

I pray this is just the start.

I pray, Lord, that you are prompting people right now to actually start dealing

with this from a generational perspective.

There's fear in people's life, a spirit of fear controlling people's life right now.

They don't understand where it's coming from.

That can come in three or four generations prior.

Lord, it's not for an individual to work out what it is.

If they feel it, Lord, we just need to get rid of it.

Yeah.

And so, Lord, we ask for your grace, Lord God, on those families right now.

Expose, Lord.

Expose where it may come from so they can deal with you and deal with the situation.

You're a good God.

You want the best for every single soul on this earth.

And Lord, we trust you.

That's what we've got.

You've given us Jesus.

You've given us the Holy Spirit.

You've given us the Word that we can stand on.

So Father, come now.

Lord, I pray this will be a defining point in people's lives, that they'll push back.

And Lord, it's a journey.

It's, we're in a warfare, as we've said.

Fear will try to sneak back in, but we can resist.

And every time we re- resist, that void gets smaller.

Every time we resist, it gets easier.

But Lord, we have to allow you, Holy Spirit, to come and fill and lead.

So Father, we pray right now that you come, have your will,

have your way, and we thank you for this opportunity to share.

In Jesus' name, amen.