Compassion Sunday 2026

Beloved family.

My name is Steve.

I've been at Red Door since 2020 just before COVID came at just the right time.

I love it.

I've been at Compassion for nine years.

Love that too.

We've got Rozy, my wife, gimme a Wave, Rosie.

We've got three kids who love red Kids, who loves red.

Kids like their kids just love it.

Yeah.

Come on.

Swing your arms a little bit.

It's compassion.

Sunda.

Yeah.

My kids love it.

They love Inni.

They love Inni.

They love Inni.

Who loves Inis.

Oh my goodness.

We got so many good people that are all kids.

Ah, everything you said Dale, is just what I feel on my heart today.

I'm just, uh, I just feel like God's breaking the church a fresh.

When I think about the church in Australia, I think we are just too

comfortable because we haven't known God's heart for what's happening in our city.

And because we really have looked for a moment at what God at, at what's happening

in our city and what's happening overseas.

We've looked at it for a moment when God didn't even look away.

God just kept looking and kept looking and kept looking.

He's like, Steve, come here and look at the pain.

I see.

Feel the pain.

I feel like, Lord, I've seen enough.

Now I've got my.

Solutions and God's like, come back, Steve.

Come back.

Church in Australia.

You want to be uncomfortable.

You want your heart broken.

You want to be moved, you want to get off the couch and move in my fullness.

If you wanna move in the fullness of my love first, look and see the.

Pain and the suffering that I see.

It's like God saying, come and know my burden.

Again, Australia, come and know my pain.

Come and know why Jesus went to the cross.

So, uh, day.

Thanks for sharing that.

The way this is gonna go is I'm gonna share a little bit about the

what of compassion and the why Red Door and Compassion are partnering.

Then we have a video from Levi who just went to the field with

a crew from Red Door to Thailand.

They're gonna do a. Panel and just share some stories of what happened.

We've got Kristen here.

She's from the East coast.

She's come over to do the panel.

She's a trip leader for Compassion.

So good to have her.

She'll be hosting that.

Then after the panel, I'll come back and I'm gonna just share from

the Bible why we are responding to these children in poverty.

So let's start with something really wonderful, red Dorians.

We are sponsoring this many children.

Are you ready?

Yes, 378 children.

Every child,

every child who was surrounded by poverty.

I dunno who Jesus is.

Do I have clean water?

Are malnourished, there's exploitation around me.

Poverty.

Do I have school fees?

My parents can't read or write.

How am I gonna learn now?

Surrounded by Red Dorians saying We love you.

We write you letters.

We pray for you surrounded by the local church.

Reigning the Compassion program saying Here's nutritious food, here's education.

Here's all your school.

Here's fees paid for.

We're gonna tutor you after school whenever you need tutoring.

Here's your dentistry.

You can go to and get medical support whenever you need.

The red Dorians are covering it.

Here is the name of Jesus.

Here's the gospel every week.

Here's the one who is your freedom from the depths and the

deep and the pain of poverty.

His name is Jesus.

And here's a person who's gonna mentor you from the local church.

Run the compassion program.

They're gonna disciple you and mentor you all the way till you

finishing the program, maybe 15 years of one-to-one discipleship.

They're gonna visit your home once a month and invite your family to church

so they can also know about Jesus.

And once you turn 12, from 12 to 20, we're gonna do leadership training with you.

So everything God called you to be, to break the poverty in the city where

you live, we are gonna help you rise up in Christ and be the school teacher

God's called you to be, to be the minister God's called you to be, to

be the leader God's called you to be, to be the mom God's called you to be.

It's not just 378 children.

I believe it's the potential of 378 leaders to transform the places where

God has placed them to be the answer.

Thank you.

Red door.

Thank you, because 378 is way above anyone's expectations of what a

church our size can do, but because we are broken for these kids, we

have this incredible response.

What's so special about Red Door?

There's so many here, including the pastors and leaders who

are just sponsoring so many kids because one's not enough.

They're sponsoring 10 or 12 or just amazing response towards

the poverty that surrounds a child to see Jesus transformed,

but it's more than sponsorship.

We are sponsoring in the area of, we have two main regions we are focusing on.

The first region is in the Philippines.

Kabalan and what's so wonderful about Red Door is this area Kabalan,

where we sponsor, uh, compassion.

Uh, we love to open new churches to run the Compassion program and

that costs a lot of money to set up a new church to run the Compassion

program and Red Door have set up.

Two new centers giving us generous gifts in the Philippines.

We also are focused on ot, on the border of Thailand and Myanmar and just to

the north of that region, uh, one of the churches had a real passion and

they were sending the compassion kids up to this region to share the gospel.

To this unreached region and, uh, they wanted to plant a church there.

So Red Door gave $30,000 so we could plant a church in this region where the

compassion kids had been doing these mission trips to the North 40 kids

at a time going up there and sharing the gospel and that they'd planted

these like 10, 15 house churches.

And then Red Door helped them plant a whole compassion center there.

And now, uh, the team have just been there and come back with great news.

Also just this last year recently, uh, red Door, our, our community gave a generous

gift towards disaster relief because that affects so many kids in the Philippines.

So that's the what, that's how much impact we're having together.

And every letter you write is more and more impact.

Every letter you write, every prayer you pray, every time you open your

fridge and you see that child's face and you just bless that child, it's

more and more impact that we are having.

I heard this story this week.

Of this girl and, um, every morning when she's says sponsor with compassion.

Every morning when she opens up her Bible and does a devotional, she has

a little tin of letters and she opens up the tin and she reads one of the

letters because there's so much hope on the person who from, for the person who

writes the letters every day, she reads a letter again and again and again.

What are you writing?

To the children, to these 378 kids.

Write Letters of Hope.

Bring Christ, bring the love of God.

We're not sponsoring 378 kids.

We're discipling and loving and caring for these kids.

Why we believe God's going to use them.

We believe that.

So keep writing hope and speak life to these kids 'cause they will dream

from the words that you write to them.

So why a compassion and red door all in together.

I believe this.

I believe poverty is the kingdom of darkness, coming to steal,

kill and destroy a child.

I believe that.

I believe that poverty comes at a child and does not slow down.

Evil does not slow down.

For a child, it comes even harder.

Both Philippines and Thailand, where we are focusing are the global

centers of sexual abuse, especially in online sexual exploitation.

I read this new report this week.

A recent study that just finished last year from UNICEF found

that in the 12 month period, an estimated 400,000 youth in Thailand.

Have been victims of online sexual exploitation.

This is 9% of the children in a country.

And what's so sad about it is normally when a child is exploited online,

it's the family and it's the, it's the, the distant cousins who are

exploiting and receiving money for the exploitation of these children.

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

And if we weren't, if we will just look at this for a moment.

We'll walk away and we'll, maybe our response will be how long

we looked at the pain of what these children are going through.

But if we would see with the father and be shaken out of our

comfort, we could so rise up in Perth for the children in Perth.

Rise up for the children in Thailand.

Rise up for the children in Philippines, that for these children,

it's not a once off exploitation.

It's over and over and over again.

Poverty isn't a moment.

Poverty was never a moment.

Poverty was never just, it happened and then I had trauma.

Poverty was their whole life, and then their children's life, and then their

grandkids life, and it went on and on.

But when a child was sponsored, it was their life transformed and loved.

It was their children's life transformed and loved.

It was their grandchildren's, and it goes on and on.

Such is the seed of the kingdom of God.

In a child's life.

Our, uh, national Director of Compassion in Thailand, she said this, no child

should endure the trauma of exploitation.

And so Compassion and A 21 are partnering together in Thailand,

and this is our strategy.

And Adam, this is so much like what happens in Perth, like Red Door.

We organize these collaborations, right?

And then Movement Happens.

Compassion and A 21 are collaborating to Equip 2000 youth,

168 of our church leaders and 500 mentors from local churches and

communities across Thailand with.

Comprehensive knowledge, practical skills, prevention resources on

exploitation and human trafficking.

These change makers will be prepared to serve as catalyst to lead a

youth driven movement towards community safety and transformation.

Listen to me, we are not just releasing 378 children from poverty.

We are raising up a movement of leaders to break poverty in the nation, to

break it in the nations around ti Thailand, like Cambodia and Myanmar.

This is what we're doing.

I, I read you the, the stats of what's happening in Thailand, but Philippines

is probably the epicenter of this, where we also sponsor most of our children

in Philippines.

There's about 2 million children.

Who are exploited through online sexual exploitation, and it's

about one in five children.

So Compassion is collaborating with International Justice Mission.

Every single one of our 450 church partners running our

program is trained by IJM.

So all of our, our churches are trained and then they're training all the

families how to break poverty in the area.

How do you do it?

Through the church collaborating and God raises up the leaders

who change the communities.

I believe this just on Friday, I was interviewing, uh, uh, uh, for a role

for we want someone who can, uh, do an alumni movement, the Compassion Kids in

the Philippines who finish the program.

We're hiring someone who can start a movement of the alumni

discipling across the Philippines.

And we're interviewing this girl and we said to her, tell us your story.

And she said this to me, she starts crying

and she's near Negro where we sponsor most of our kids.

And she said this to me, hear this sentence because she said it with tears.

I'm not just released from poverty, but I'm released from the bondage of poverty.

The bondage of poverty is real.

It's deep, it's holistic.

But the response of the church is deep.

It's real, it's holistic.

She said this next sentence, compassion is about holistic love

and an experience that you can really feel from the people around you.

The core reason is the love of Christ.

She said in this interview, it touched my life and the rest of

my family around me, and it still motivates me to be a better person.

Red door, these 378 children, I'm believing that God's gonna

use them in the Philippines and Thailand for great purposes.

See every letter you write, every time you are sacrificing to give

for a child every prayer you pray.

No, it's not wasted.

It is the most wonderful thing you could do.

This is pure and true and holy love.

For children.

This is Christ in us to the most darkest places.

Now let's change this subject from a little bit more to a little bit more joy.

I'd love to go into the pain and then let's like come back out

and have a good time as well.

We are now gonna watch a video that Levi put together.

Levi so loved.

He's done heaps for my own son, mentoring my and son.

He put this video together, watch this video, and then after that

we're gonna have a panel who are gonna share about their trip.

Some great people on the panel sharing.

Here's the video.

Thanks Levi for doing, putting that together.

Um, yeah, you can clap.

It's okay.

This is Kristen.

K, everybody.

Hey, big welcome.

Say hi, Kristen.

Hi everybody.

Thank you so much for having

me.

Chris's the first time in Perth.

You ever been to Perth before?

I love it.

And Christian was our team, our team trip leader, um, in this recent Thailand trip.

There's also a couple people who came as well on the trip.

Alana, are you?

Yes.

Christelle, please wave as well.

Um, it was a wonderful trip because we didn't just have.

Red door people.

We had a group of different people.

But Kristen, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Tell us what you get up to.

Yeah.

Hi everybody.

Um, it's such a, it's such a God-given blessing, um, to be here with you today.

Um, as Adam said, I've never been to Perth before, and on the trip they

kept asking me, have you been to Perth?

And I was like, no, never.

And I did not think that six weeks later I'd be here with you.

So it's a blessing.

Thank you for having me.

Um, I live in a place called Shell Harbor, um, which is.

I got one.

Woo.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Thanks.

Um, very close to me.

Um, and so I have been with Compassion for about five years, so I had the

great honor, um, and just blessing of taking this group and, um, some others

from your church over to Thailand.

Um, and from that video you can see we just had such a. Joy filled trip.

Um, we had moments of inspiration, we had moments of heartbreak.

Um, and the Lord I think just did something in all of us.

So thank you again for having me.

It's great to be here.

Um, I'm gonna ask a few questions, uh, to our panel members.

And so, um, yeah, I just want you to hear a little bit more about.

Our trip and what we experienced just from everyone's perspective.

So I'm gonna start with Adam.

Um, during the trip we visited, um, Uum, which was that, uh, center up in the

mountains that Steve was speaking about.

And Adam, you visited that church about six or seven years ago before Red Door had

launched, um, a church partnership there.

Can you tell us a little bit about.

The impact and the, and the change you saw in that church

and community after seven years?

Yeah, sure.

I actually got a photograph of seven years ago of the building, um, which

this is this sort of driveway and, um, the next one, it gives you a

bit of a spot of where the spot is.

It's an amazing location 'cause on top of a mountain, and as you

can tell, can you sort of see how it's quite new in construction?

You know, it's quite seven years later.

Um.

I haven't got a sort of a similar photo, but I've got a, a

photo of just the people there.

Um, and I think what was most interesting to me is the nature

of consistency and proximity when people decide to go the long haul.

So the pastor there and the program.

To who is there, they are still there seven years later.

And you pick up on just the passion doesn't wane.

It seems to get more.

And you know, that's a sign that something really healthy is going on in that place.

Um, the other little, little, uh, secret.

Observation that I tend to have discovered is I watch the young adults

in the community there and I watch them, whether they are serving the

young ones or whether they're not, and if they're serving the young ones.

I know there's a healthy pathway of, of, uh, of, of discipleship

actually in that, in that place.

And so what I saw was this willingness of the young adults in that community.

Just be sort of, you know, serving in a way that was selfless and

that was very precious to see.

So they've gone from a very small amount of, um, kids there to, I

think there's, I think, I think 500.

I had a number here somewhere.

There we go.

568 kids sponsored in that one location.

But one of the interesting things about that spot is because you've

got the mountain and it's so mountainous around, not especially

in wet seasons, there's no way.

You're gonna get to the top of that mountain.

So everyone has kind of little compassion centers in the local villages

that are scattered around the joint.

I saw a map and they were sort of showing me all the little spots.

Um, yeah.

But just be so encouraged that the thing that we got such a

privilege of just investing into is bearing such incredible fruit.

Um, that's what's a real joy.

Um, and you go there and.

It's like you're best friends, like you've known each other forever.

And it's just because they know that we are for them.

Does that make sense?

Like it's, it's, it's hard for the brain to just, it boggles my mind.

Um, so it's a real privilege just to watch what's God's doing in that community

and through that community at a tomb.

Yeah.

Very interesting name.

Um, can't tell you where that name comes from other than the fa the

rad story that I like to tell was, 'cause it was, it was a cemetery down

the road from where that church is.

It's kind of around the corner.

And what, what happened was they built the church there and no one before

that used to drive on the road or go down the road because the evil spirits

of the cemetery would get 'em right.

And then what happened is people started walking down the road and then they

discovered, why are you doing that for, like, he goes, oh, the church is here.

We don't need to worry anymore.

I was like.

That's real people like that's real.

So I just love that aspect of the, the atmosphere changing over time in a space.

Yeah.

So that's my, that's my observation.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah.

One thing about that church is the leadership of that church are

so filled with the spirit of God.

They, they prayed for us at one point and I felt like.

The Holy Spirit praying over me like I've never felt before.

That was, it was just an incredible group of people.

Um, and they love the children in their community so much.

They are working tirelessly to change children's lives in that community.

So,

yeah.

Is that the one when we prayed for 'em, they all dropped to the floor.

They just dropped to their knees.

I've never, I've never seen anything like it, it, oh.

Never seen face like that.

Yeah, it was beautiful.

Um, my second question is for Sue and Sue, this was your second compassion trip.

First time was to the Philippines.

Um, could you share something with us that you learned during this trip that

you didn't know about Compassion before?

Um, oh, I've got so much to share and only so little time.

Um, I just think compassion.

The more I see of it, the more I'm convinced it's okay

to invest in compassion.

Some people say to me, oh, you know, but they only use 81

cents per dollar, blah, blah.

It's all safe guys.

Your money's good.

Um.

The organization, Kristen was wonderful.

We had 14 people.

I only knew Summer and Adam.

I didn't know anybody else.

And of course I questioned whether I'm still yet too old and still ignored it.

And in fact, there were people from all around Australia and another

couple who was older than me.

Praise God.

And.

I would just encourage all of you, we are doing an amazing,

we're a very generous church.

Um, but don't just stop at here because it does make such a difference.

Um, and seeing, uh, I think a couple of things really struck me.

One was that, um, you know, coming in today, um, you know, break.

Break my heart for what breaks yours.

I remember bridges here from Riverview, you know, going to the Ukraine and singing

with the Ukrainians on the beach, um, singing that song in different languages.

The same here in Thailand.

Coming to worship together, singing the same, same worship songs.

Different languages, you just realize this is what Heaven is gonna be like.

You know, we can all do it.

It doesn't matter where we come from.

Um, but the difference compassion makes is amazing.

Uh, one thing I took from it personally myself is don't be complacent in

thinking, oh, you know, I went to the Philippines, so I understand poverty.

Thailand was a very, very different picture of poverty.

Um, the Philippines was amazing because the people generally have a Christian

background in whatever capacity.

There's so much hope, there's so optimistic.

It's not to say that the Thai aren't, or the Karen people, but their

level of poverty is so different.

And so what I deeply admire is the work that Compassion is doing

in, um, being there regardless of whether they're Christians or not.

There are so many that are not.

And so we need deep prayer for that.

Um, but they're doing the work regardless in faith, knowing that sooner or later

we're praying those people come to God.

But in terms of everything else we saw, um, you know, just, uh, the

organization, uh, it's so, so well formed.

Um, I'm just yeah.

Convinced by it.

So I'm not sure.

Oh, a couple of quick things.

Um, Kristen will speak into this, but I asked her lots of questions, you know, um.

Like one of the families with this couple, they sponsor 19 children.

Um, if you can't sponsor, if you can't sponsor children, you know, can you help?

Well, she was saying one lady, uh, writes a thousand letters.

She doesn't sponsor children, but she writes a thousand letters a

month, two children, you know.

So we don't have to have the budget necessarily to still

meet the needs of poverty.

Um, and another one who was sponsoring, I think 17 children, you should.

To share that.

Um, but never wrote a letter at all.

But we can say from the alumni what a difference the letters make.

And yes, you know, you know, um, what is it?

Jeremiah 29 11, God has a plan for your life.

If you say nothing else, God has a plan for your life.

And young men get into it 'cause it's all women.

But it was so good to have Levi on board too.

It worries.

Thank you, Sue.

That was awesome.

Um, summer.

Mm-hmm.

Could you share, um, a story of, of something or somebody that you met during

the trip that has continued to impact you?

Yes.

Okay.

Uh, so, uh, I first just wanna explain our shirt.

So we actually got gifted these at, uh, where went a tomb.

A tube.

Yeah, a tube.

So we went there and then they gifted these shirts to us.

Um, yes.

So it was very fabulous of them.

Yes.

And uh, anyway, it's a Karen shirt.

It's the same at the front and on the back.

So when, um, yeah.

So you are the same as you are to their face to the back.

Is that correct?

When you are, when you're away

from, when you're away from them.

So yes.

Yeah, it was a really lovely gift.

Mm, it was,

yeah.

Um, so something that really impacted me was, um, oh,

there was so many good things.

Like there were, like, I could just, you know, go on and on and on.

Um, but I won't.

But, uh, one thing that was really good, so we had one day,

uh, we went to a compassion site.

So it was after we went to Atune, we atune, we went to, um, this other

place, can't remember the name.

It was in Thailand.

Um, it was on the border of the Burma and, uh, Thailand River.

So it was that river that just divides, uh, the two countries.

Uh, Burma is, uh, unsafe.

So it's unsafe for people, um, to live there.

And, yeah.

It's just, yeah, I don't know.

It's unsafe.

Anyway, so a lot of people actually come from Thailand, uh, no, from

Burma to Thailand, and they just live on the border because they're trying

to, you know, um, get to safe ground.

But then it's actually really hard for them to live there because they

don't have, you know, IDs or, um, they don't have the paperwork, so

they just, they're just living there.

And, um, so they're actually relying a lot on compassion to actually, you

know, give them the chances, right.

Give them to take care of them.

Um.

Yeah, so we, so my, uh, compassion child that I only have just started,

uh, sponsoring a couple of months ago, so I got to meet her and it

was so, it was just fantastic.

Um, but she's from Burma.

Her dad still lives there.

Um, and she actually lives on uh, a com, like compassion dorms.

They have dorms there.

So that's where she lives and she sees her dad once or twice a year.

So that's it.

Um, uh, her mom has passed away, so, and she has older siblings,

but she lives just in Thailand.

She goes to school in Thailand.

Um, so you know, her, her friends and the compassion

community have become her family.

So compassion, you know, when people in poverty, um, it's

lack of relationship as well.

Yeah, so it's um, that's the video that we watched before we went.

It's this lack of relationship that people are in poverty, like all of us here.

Like if, you know, a house got burnt down, it's just like, you know, how

quickly could you find somewhere to live?

How quickly could you find food?

Like, pretty easily, because you know, you have relationship with people, but

that's where these people are struggling.

So.

Compassion really offered that relationship.

So we got to meet, um, uh, a mom as well and, uh, she was living

like richly right on the river.

So like from her kitchen view, you could see the river there and you know

that you, she still went across to her family's farm where they made rice.

Um, and she brought it back.

But, you know, there, there's mines, you know, planted in Burma.

So it's, you know, that risk as well.

Um, but you know, she goes back and gets the food and, but it's just, I think

the relationship was really impactful.

So, uh, you know, we sat down, we talked with her and we

had to talk through the, um.

The translator, but it's just like, you know, we got to just ask those

nice, you know, questions that we normally have those chats about, right?

We are like, oh, you know, how'd you meet your husband?

And you know, she told us the love story of that and it's like, you

know, he came over to Thailand to find her 'cause they grew up in a

school together and you know, so we sort her out and then they, you know.

Uh, fell in love and had children and so it was really beautiful that we got

to kind of, you know, experience those conversations still, that it's not

just like, oh, are they feeding you?

Okay, that's good.

It's like, no, let's actually have a chat.

And so it was just really impactful sitting with her in her home and you

know, her showing us what she does to.

Uh, make money and, um, she, uh, makes kind of shirts and scarves and

so I got to actually do that as well.

She showed me how to do it and, um, but it was just, yeah, it was just

so lovely, um, sitting with them that was, that was the cool thing.

And that, you know, you can't talk to them, but you can play with them.

Right.

So I was like, play is this international language.

So with my compassion chart, I just got to, I was like, what games do you play?

And like, you know, we did just some drawing, but then she showed me the game

that she plays with her friends, which is like throwing five stones up in the air

and catching them and you know, that game.

And so it was just, yeah, it was pretty impactful that it

was just like you can just have relationship with them and, yeah.

Awesome.

That's good.

Thank you.

Alright.

Um, and just a general question I wanna ask each of you, um,

quickly, now that you have.

Being on a trip, um, and you have seen the work of compassion for yourself.

Um, what would be your biggest takeaway of how Compassion's work

is impacting children's lives?

Hmm,

hugely.

That's all I can say is hugely, having been a supporter of

compassion for many, many years, I've seen various children grow up.

Um, and as I said before, you see them going into the alumni groups.

They are leaders.

You know, they're not just, they understand the gift that

they've been given and then they bring it and pay it forward.

So yeah, absolutely massive self-confidence.

Um, a joy.

I mean, the children here that we visited virtually had nothing.

We said to one, you know, what do you do for fun?

They go out and collect wood.

I mean, that's how serious it is.

But at, on the other hand.

Just so thrilled to actually have people come from across the world

and know that they are valuable, know that they are valuable to God.

And so, yeah, it makes a massive difference.

Someone's gonna answer.

Um, what was the question?

Say it again.

Um, what's your biggest takeaway of how compassion is impacting lives?

Cool.

That's good.

Um, well, it was with, yeah, sitting with the alumni, right?

And, uh, they're telling their story and.

How compassion is inter impacting their life is not just, you know, taking care

of their needs, but actually taking care, like, uh, giving them hope, right?

So it's like setting them up for future work.

Um, I think, you know, they're giving them so many opportunities for a future,

not just feeding them now, but actually sew into them spiritually as well.

Like doing Sunday school, doing church with them, and then also like giving them

opportunities like to be in a girl band.

There was these girl bands like this, you know, girls rocking out on electric

guitars and drums and you know, and then we had this guy, um, I think

his name was far the mushroom guy.

Yeah, he like, he was like growing mushrooms in a tent

mushroom guy

and it was just, it

wasn't a mushroom.

He was, he was growing mushroom.

His name was

mushroom

guy.

Yeah, we caught him Mushroom.

Mushroom guy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So like, but he had this like, you know, they set up a tent and they

were growing these mushrooms and you know, for eating and it's just like.

That's so awesome.

Like, you know, they've given him these tools and, um, so it's just,

it's a opportunity after opportunity.

Like, you know, how to grow vegetables and, you know,

they had a recording studio.

Well, how, but

how he was talking about it was, he was the so proud part, wasn't he?

He was like, because he had all these US in front of him and he is

like standing there explaining the mushroom process to everybody and it

was all very formal and very organized and it was straight up and down.

It was awesome, wasn't it?

Yeah.

Oh, it was so good.

But I think, you know.

They, they're given an opportunity and God is using compassion

to actually impact Thailand.

Um, so he is using the Thai people to actually help get people out of poverty

in Thailand, if that makes sense.

So it's like they're raising them up to then make an impact.

It's not like, oh, let's get some people from Australia to

come over and keep, you know.

Feeding us and doing that, it's just like, oh no, let's actually

raise up leaders in our community to actually go and make the difference.

Um, so I think that was really cool to see that.

Yeah.

We, we went to the um, Thai compassion head office and there

was this one lady, I dunno if you remember this lady who was upstairs.

Um, and I asked her 'cause she had a bit of an accent.

Yeah.

And she works for compassion.

I was like, what's your story there?

Anyway, she was a compassion child and so much was the advancement out

of poverty that she's had worked in Europe for like four or five years.

In Malta.

Thank you.

I couldn't remember where it was.

And now she's come back to Thailand working for compassion because she wants

to invest into her origin story, you know?

I was like, wow, that was amazing.

And I think that's probably the greatest impact I've seen

is kids who don't have dreams.

Or a sense of vision about what their future could be is suddenly they've

been given an opportunity to dream.

Like the, the idea of building a a dream is for us as we sit here in Perth, based

in Australia, we, we'll be here all day if we had everyone to, to share their dreams.

But it's a two second conversation when you're in poverty

'cause you've got no options.

Um, and so I think that's the dynamic that I really appreciate.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Beautiful.

Yeah.

When we met, uh, I think her name was Ya, and when we met her.

We said, wow, talk about being released from poverty.

Like poverty is not, uh, even a thought in her life anymore, apart

from the fact that she wants to end it.

So yes, she was incredible.

Um, one last question for each of you.

If you could, um, say one sentence to somebody who is considering

sponsoring a child, what would you say?

Uh.

I think it's, uh, if you're considering sponsoring, um, know

that it actually makes a big impact that, you know, compassion kids

are in the compassion program.

Anyway, so my kid was in the Compassion program for six years

and I was her first sponsor.

So it's like, but uh, it's about the relationship.

It's about love.

It's about praying for them and just showing them that someone loves them,

that someone prays for them, and then, like Steve said, giving them the hope.

Um, yeah, very much do it.

And it's not just a one way relationship.

So I sponsor a number in, um, the Philippines and a number in Thailand.

And I know many of you don't just sponsor children through, um, red Door.

Like I don't think, like, I know Sharon sponsors eight kids, but I

think only four or through red door.

So, um, you know, I know many of you sponsor many children.

But the other thing is not thinking that, uh, arrogantly, like it might

have crossed my mind at some stage that I was doing someone else a favor.

Um, but also that it is that reciprocal relationship.

And so, I mean, last year I had a really hard year with mom dying

and a whole lot of other crap.

And not to put that on the children, but just even sharing that, you know, the

children across the age groups were able to write back and say, we are praying

for you and for the loss of your mother.

So it's not just me doing them a favor, as it were, um, but absolutely that

they can take ownership in praying for me, my family, our church, you know.

Um, so it's a reciprocal arrangement.

And so I would just encourage you, and I would encourage you only, I think

one point something percent of people go and visit their children, but if

you get the opportunity, please do because it makes all the difference.

Thanks, Sue.

Um, just to explain, um, so we have two areas that Red door partner with.

We have, uh, the, the area that we've talked about OT in, in Thailand,

and the area in Philippines, which is, uh, the island of Negros around

the kaka city of Kaka and city.

Um.

Um, and if you are sponsoring someone not in that, that's fine.

It's just that if we would like to sponsor in those regions that we partner

in, that's, that's how we kind of connect those numbers around how many

kids we're sponsoring in those regions.

I've been on six trips now with Compassion six.

Six or seven, I can't remember.

And I just wanna say, I mean, if you're not sponsoring, I wanna

let you know this is a significant work that the Lord is using this

organization across the globe to make a significant difference for his kingdom.

And I'd love you just to be a part of that.

Like, participate in some way.

Um, yeah.

Awesome.

I'm gonna get Steve to come back up and we're gonna, uh, bring this to a home.

Bring this home this afternoon.

So thank everyone here.

Thank you everyone.

Thank Kristen.

Use this one.

Awesome.

Oh, that was so good.

How good is Sue?

Sue, you are fire.

Oh my goodness, Sue.

Uh, the hero is not compassion.

The hero is not even the local church that runs the compassion program.

It's not even the mentors who actually spend 15 years with his

kids, loving them to discipling them.

The hero is Jesus.

It's him, right?

He transformed those local churches to love the kids.

He transformed our lives to sponsor a child.

It's him.

So now let's open up our Bibles.

You are gonna get the quickest red door sermon of all time.

Are you ready for it?

Here we go.

Matthew five.

Five says this, Jesus in his first sermon.

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

I tell you, this is a story of the history of the church.

This is a story of compassion.

Meekness inherits the earth.

To understand meekness, I'm gonna look at three interconnected stories,

but as I share these, let's look at the story of what God's doing

through us with compassion, but also what he's doing through us locally

in Coburn and Perth in Matthew 26.

Jesus is being confronted just before he is crucified.

In verse 59, it says this, the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were

looking for false evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death,

but they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally, two came forward and declared this fellow said.

I'm able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.

And the high priest stood up and he said to Jesus, are you not going to answer?

What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?

Now, these words, but Jesus remained.

Silent What?

Meekness from the King of Kings.

Why was he silent?

Because Jesus, in this moment, was releasing from him, from who he

is, from the DNA of the Trinity.

From the gentleness of Jesus, the meekness of Jesus, the gentleness of

the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father from Jesus at the cross, not just the

new creation was being unleashed, but of movement of the character of God.

Was being released through God on a cross.

They were accusing him and say, come down and let us accuse you.

And Jesus is like, no, I'll take your words.

I'll take your lies.

Because the truth is right now in the suffering that you're pouring against

me, I'm releasing a movement of God.

The next verse continues.

The high priest said to him, I charge you under oath by the living God.

Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.

Now Jesus speaks.

You have said so.

He replied, but I say to all of you, from now on, you'll see the son of man

sitting at the right hand of the Mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven.

What inheriting of the earth this will become.

Then the high priest told his clothes and said, he has spoken blasphemy.

Why do you need any more witnesses?

Look, now you've heard this blasphemy.

Why?

What do you think he is worthy of death?

They answered.

Now as I read this next verse, don't just look at it.

Feel this verse.

Then they spit in his face.

Jesus, who just said.

I'm gonna come on the clouds of heaven.

I am going to inherit the earth, the fullness of it.

They spit in his face, and right now we know he can release the angels of

heaven, but meekness comes forward next.

They struck him with their fists.

They slapped him and they mocked him.

Who hits you?

Even in God's silence, his character inherits the earth.

Such is the potency of the love of God.

Such is the power and the unyielding strength of the humility of God.

What I want you to capture right now.

Is this movement of meekness that inherits the earth is so powerful that you can be

in a place at school, in your workplace, in your home, and you can be silent, and

you can be kind, and you can look like it's the most boring and plain thing.

You can be spat on and mocked, but as you respond with the character

of God, the earth is inherited.

It may take five years, it may take 20 years, it may take 40 years.

But every act of the character of God always inherits the earth.

What is God calling you to do?

Sometimes the most wonderful things a student can do is to go the

most lonely person and love them.

I remember in year 12, the most mocked boy in my school, God started

challenging me to hang out with them, and I would hang out with 'em.

I'd leave my group, and they're all drug dealers, and I was the

preacher boy amongst the drug dealers leading the school prayer meeting.

And then I'd go hang out with this guy who was so broken and rejected by everyone,

and I would just serve him meekness.

But this is what inheriting the earth looks like.

It looks like the character of God.

It looks like love.

It looks like foolishness to the world, but in the kingdom

it inherits the whole earth.

What?

Luke 23.

3 33. Let's continue on the story of the crucifixion.

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there

along with the pri, the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

And Jesus said these words, guys, you've heard these words, but right now, hear

these words, hear them right in you.

This is the character of God revealed.

This is the movement that Jesus started to cross that was always

in the love of the Trinity.

The Trinity were always moving in in this love, but it was poured on the earth in

this moment, and we are called to join in this love as they crucify Jesus.

He said this, father, forgive them.

They do not know what they're doing.

These ones who slapped him and spa on him and spared him and mocked him.

What beauty?

We heard about compassion.

It's not the, the, the beauty of compassion, the organization's compassion.

It's not the big C organization.

Compassion.

What's so wonderful about compassion?

It's the church moving with the compassion of Jesus.

It's his compassion through his church to a child unstoppable, unstoppable

against darkness, unstoppable against trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The love of God unstoppable, the character of God, unstoppable, beautiful.

Even in the most ugly, and they divided up his clothes by casting

lots, and the people stood watching and the rulers even snared at him,

and they said he saved others.

Let him save himself.

If he is God's Messiah, the chosen one.

They mocked him as he was releasing the movement of meekness, the movement of

love, the movement that we were called to get off our couches and run and join

to leave Netflix and pursue to sacrifice.

I believe that.

Biggest temptation of the Australian church is broken when we behold

the compassion of Jesus comfortable Christianity versus the compassion

of Jesus comfortable Christianity.

I'll look at poverty for a moment.

And then I'll look away.

Comfortable Christianity.

I'll look at that broken kid at school and I'll hang out with

them once and then I'll move on.

The compassion of Jesus is to stay, is to love, is to abide with them, is

to pour out and pour out and pour out.

I tell you this.

Is the unstoppable Gen Z generation.

Gen alpha generation.

When they catch the character and compassion of God and say, I don't

care what you say to mock me, I'm bringing that Jesus to this school.

I'm bringing that Jesus to this workplace.

I understand that you don't understand this is any good, but I know 10, 20

years from now, every act of love.

Every act of love, every act of love, whether it looks like you

are crucified, is unstoppable.

And so we're gonna now see how this unstoppable movement that started at

the cross that was really revealing the glory of the trinity that

came through Jesus at the cross.

This new creation, how beautiful it is, and how we are invited into it.

So Jesus praised those prayers and about three years later

there's a man named Steven.

And what did Steven Love to do?

He loved to serve the poor.

That was his thing with serving the poor.

And they, he's preaching the gospel and the, the Sanhedrin,

the Jews are so furious.

Listen to this.

They run at him, gnashing their teeth.

I don't even know what that means to national teeth and run at someone.

They must have been so angry and they run at Stephen.

But Stephen, for the Holy Spirit, this is what he does.

And this is the secret.

This is the secret right here.

Look, he said.

I see heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand

of God as they're running at him and gnashing their teeth at him.

He's not looking at their anger.

He's beholding Jesus.

He's beholding the one who was crucified for Stephen.

And Stephen's response is so beautiful because now he says the

very thing Jesus said on the cross.

The movement now has gone from Jesus into Stephen.

And Stephen says this as, uh, in verse 59, while there was stoning him,

Steven prayed, I pray this would be the church of Jesus Christ in Australia.

Lord Jesus received my spirit.

Then he fell on his knees and cried out Lord.

Do not hold this sin against them.

What they're stoning him, blood pouring down his face, mangled on his knees, but

he is beholding the character of God.

He's seeing the glory of God.

He's seeing who God is, and his response isn't just lifting his

hands and falling down and worship.

His response is selfless love.

Unstoppable love.

So what happens is they're stoning him.

There's a guy named Saul.

So we start with Jesus.

Let's just go back.

We start with the Trinity.

They've always been meek and humble and loving and gentle.

We see the baptism of Jesus, the Father saying, my beloved son, the spirit of

God coming on him, uh, like a dove.

The gentleness, Jesus saying, father, send me to the cross.

Oh, go.

And then Jesus on the cross showing the movement starts now then Stephen saying.

I am in.

I'm all in for this movement of selfless love.

I'm all in, even unto death.

I'm all in.

And as he's saying, this blood pouring down him unto death.

There's a young man named Saul and he's holding the clothes of those who

are stoning him, and he's loving it.

S Stone him take him down.

Hate pouring from him.

But what happened to Saul is Saul, the same thing happened

that happened to Steven.

Soul encountered Jesus.

He saw Jesus.

And once you see Jesus, you see his character, his holiness, his

humility, and you want to abide in it.

And so now, 12 years later, after this, Saul was preaching the gospel

and the Jews start stoning Paul.

He dies, comes back to life.

Raised back to life.

And then 10 years later, he wrote these words, and this is the second

verse I said to you is like a verse that's so hard to understand.

10 years later, he's writing in the book of Romans and he says these words.

For, I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the

sake of my people, those of my own race.

He's saying these people who stoned me, like I saw in Steven,

he was like, forgive them.

I was holding their clothes and he was like, forgive them.

And I held their clothes and I mocked Steven, but then I behold Jesus,

and now I wanna be transformed.

And now these people who stoned me, I'm like, Lord Jesus, you can take

my salvation and give it to them.

I would love that.

No man, no woman can say that unless they have beholden the character of

God who would say, even unto my death, even unto me losing my salvation,

these ones who, who would persecute me.

This movement of love is so precious because it.

It is the character of God.

It is the face of God.

It is the heart of God.

And when he invites us into this, he's inviting us to the cross.

He's saying, come and be crucified with Christ.

This movement is unstoppable, but you must give everything I want.

Everything I want everything I want.

Everything I want.

Everything.

Because what I'm bringing through you is heaven on Earth, the

character of the Trinity on Earth.

Very good, sir. And now we come back.

I'm gonna finish with this.

Jesus.

Three years later, Stephen.

12 years later, Paul stoned.

10 years later.

Lord, take my salvation for them.

And now 70 years ago, 1900 years later, a Presbyterian evangelist is in Korea.

Some kid steal his jacket.

And he chases these kids down like a good evangelist, hunts

them down and gets his jacket.

And under the jacket that was nicked off him by these kids as freezing kids.

Freezing cold, forgotten, abandoned.

And this Presbyterian evangelist the next day wakes up and he sees a truck coming

towards him and he realizes that they're throwing the dead bodies of the children

who died the night before onto the back of the truck, like they are rubbish.

And he leaves.

He leaves Korea and starts compassion.

70 years later, 2.3 million children sponsored 9,000 churches running

the program, 380 something kids from Red Door and us in this moment.

And we look back and we see that the earth was never inherited by the strong,

by the greatest leader in your school.

The head boy is not the greatest leader in your school.

They will not make the biggest impact.

Not the head girl, not the faction captain, not the CEO of your organization.

I tell you this, the greatest impact in your organization, in your school,

in your family will always be the one who joined the movement of meekness.

The movement of compassion, the movement of humility, the movement of the character

of God, when he invites us to the cross, he invites us into his character,

and this movement is unstoppable.

Would you give your life for it?

And so my two questions of this.

Number one, what is the movement of compassion God's asking you to

be part of right here in Perth?

Give everything for it.

Give everything.

Get off the couch.

Lay down your life and give everything, men.

Give everything.

Women, give everything.

Young people.

This is your future.

Give everything.

What does he called you to do locally?

Take up your cross.

And number two, Asia has more non-Christians than there

are people in the rest of the world and has so much poverty.

What has God called you to do globally?

Lay down your life if it's to sponsor another child with compassion.

Or three children or five children do it.

If it's to pray, if it's to write your first letter, if it's to see

God and start praying for a nation every day, pray for that nation.

Whatever he's calling you to do, do it and do it with all you are.

Don't do it with 10%.

The cross and the movement that inherits the earth requires everything.

Let me finish with a little bit about compassion and then I'll close in prayer

and pass it back to Kenzie or Adam.

To sponsor a child is $13 a week.

It's tax deductible, but it completely transforms a family.

Why?

It brings them into the movement of the church's love.

It surrounds them with the love of God.

It goes from, I've been surrounded by the enemy.

To have been surrounded by the movement of selfless love and who gets all the glory,

it'll all come back to Jesus, who, for the joy set before him endured the cross.

Let's pray.

Father in this room.

We pray, release your army of young people across the earth, whether it's the

kids we're sponsoring with compassion, the 380 kids we're sponsoring Jesus.

Release that army of young people.

Father, if it's the young people of red door, we join together

as one family in this church.

And we pray for our young people.

If you could just join me and just, uh, point your arms out

to the young people over here.

Let's just pray for them.

Father, we pray for our young people.

Father, we pray for them.

Release them like an army of the meek.

Like a humble army of peacemakers.

We're behind them.

We love them.

We believe in them.

We know God's gonna use them.

Our youth, our young adults, our children, God put your hand upon them

that they would go love the lonely.

They would go start the prayer, meaning they would be the evangelist.

They would run the alpha course.

They would go and hang out with that one who was broken with suicidal ideation.

But our young people would be ones who love.

For we pray this in Jesus' name and we pray for our church that everything

you've called us to do in this movement of the cross of meekness, whether it's

Adam with the geo networks, whether it's compassion, whether it's other

parts of our or so many in our, in our church, are doing so much kingdom work.

So much kingdom work in this church and through fostering and love and, and

so many families pouring out teachers, God release your meekness and humility

through our church more and more.

In Jesus' name, amen.