Philippians 1:12-18

So this morning sees us head into part two, and as I was going through this

passage, that we're

going to read in a moment, it's name come, came to mind and I thought,

Oh, I could get up here and preach on this passage again, quite passionately

because there is much, much, much to preach on from this passage or.

I could lean into our good friend Ahmet who in so many ways embodies

the truth of, so many truths of what this passage declares.

And I could get Ahmet to bleed

on us all, what he

carries that so is, is so deeply connected to, what the apostle Paul

talks about in this passage, which we're going to read in a moment.

So we are, the big thing for this series is around the theme of joy.

And so what

I guess what

the framework, part of the framework for this series is it's allowing the apostle

Paul through this book of, Philippians to be our mentor in this space, to mentor

us because one of the Striking things about the book of Philippians is the

context from which it's written, right?

So it's a it's a this little letter, but Paul speaks so much of joy, calling the

church to joy, testifying to his own joy.

And yet the context of it is that here he is grounded in a prison with this

uncertain future facing him and he's in this It's in the natural, this incredibly

hopeless, joyless looking environment, yet what Paul declares through this letter

is this unspeakable, unshakable joy.

And it's quite mind blowing.

One thing, though, I think we've got to remember, though, it's like, as we

speak about joy through this series, it's not just joy for joy's sake.

You know, I'm actually entirely uninterested in just encouraging

you to be more joyful people in the world for your own sake.

Like, whatever, you know, go watch something entertaining, go have a glass.

If you just want that kind of joy, this is a very specific joy we're talking about.

We're talking about joy in the pursuit of of the advancement of the gospel.

We're talking about joy in the face of a life that is committed

to and surrendered to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

I mean this is all framed under this framework.

So when we're talking about joy here, I'm talking to people

who I am assing have devoted

their lives to the followership of Jesus Christ and to the pursuit

of partnership in his mission.

in whichever way, shape or form that might look like for you.

And so I think that framework and that perspective and that context is

really, really important because if it's not there, if I, if you're just

sitting here going, oh yeah, Dale's going to give me some tips on how to

be a more joyful person so I can live a better life in this world, you're

going to be disappointed, right?

This is for those who have a kingdom perspective in mind, whose whole

life is orientated around this.

Actually, could I just quickly, Sabrina, not go to the first

slide, but to the second one?

The one that has Philippians 1 verse 1 and verse 11?

Philippians 1:1

The end of verse 11.

Okay, so this is just a touch on what we, a little bit of

what we covered last Sunday.

But Paul begins his letter, Paul and Timothy, servants, slaves of Christ Jesus.

And he ends the passage we looked at last week with these words,

to the glory and praise of God.

So all of what we're talking about with joy here has to do with this.

Are you a servant of Christ Jesus?

And is your life lived to the glory and the praise of God?

And if it's not, my friends, this morning is for you.

Right?

This morning is perhaps a moment for you to recalibrate, if the

mission of your life has drifted.

If you would say, I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus, yet these two

things are irrelevant for you in how you live your life, how do you order

you, how do you, how you order your life, well this morning is a moment for

you to recalibrate and come back into line, with who it is that you have.

called, being called to be.

Because to be a Christian, all right, isn't one that just comes to church.

To be a Christian isn't one who says, oh I believe in Jesus, all right.

Demons believe in Jesus.

Doesn't know what James says in his letter and tremble, all right.

It's not belief in Jesus, it's followership of Jesus.

It's life submitted to the person, to the calling, to obedience, to the

ways, to the mission of Jesus and it's Really, it's all contained there in,

in those two little parts of, of the first verse and the eleventh verse

in the first chapter of this letter.

All right, let's have a look.

And our passage for this morning.

Now, I want you to know brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has

actually served to advance the gospel.

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace garden to

everyone else that I am in chains for Christ and because of my chains, most

of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the

more, to proclaim the gospel without fear.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,

but others out of goodwill.

The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here

for the defense of the gospel.

The former preached Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely

supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.

But what does it matter?

The important thing is that in every way, whether from false

motives or true, Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice.

So one of the things we learn about joy from this passage is a

source of Paul's joy, and one of the greatest sources of Paul's joy

is his confidence in the gospel.

He has this unwavering confidence that produces an

overflowing amount of joy in him.

Unwavering confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Remember last week, for those of you who were here, we asked that

question, well, what is the gospel?

Because I could probably probably ask everyone here and maybe get a

slightly different answer, but I want to frame the gospel in this way.

The gospel is the good news that the risen Jesus Christ

is Lord and King of the world.

That is the gospel.

The gospel is that the risen Lord Jesus Christ is king of the world.

That is the good news.

And it's that message, it's that news that is the source of Paul's

defiant and unshakable joy.

And as we seek to allow Paul to mentor us in this space, may we all come to

that same posture that Paul demonstrates through the way that he writes, hey?

So throughout Paul's letter he both calls us to joy, but also reveals both directly

and indirectly the source of his joy.

Okay, so just a couple of notes through this before I get armoured up.

Can I have that next slide?

Thank you, Sabrina.

So he says some really interesting things through this passage that I

just wanted to quickly highlight.

And bring to bear on our hearts and minds.

What has happened to me has served to advance the gospel.

What has happened to him, he's been

imprisoned.

He's, he

doesn't know how long he's going to be in prison for.

He may, in Paul's mind, he may never leave this prison.

He does not know.

It's uncertain.

And yet he's really not bothered by this.

So to the natural eye, Paul's situation seems like a disruption

to his goal and calling.

He's on this second missionary journey, right?

And you would think this is a massive disruption to his mission.

But it's not, in his mind.

This is actually advancing what he is all about.

So that's a reframe for some of us, right?

You might be in a place right now, you're going, my gosh, how could possibly, how

could God possibly use me in this place?

Man, open up your imagination.

You know, with man this might be impossible, but with God

all things are possible.

And it comes so much to the promise of Romans 8.

28, we can have joy because God can work all things together for

our good, and for the advancement of his purposes in and through us.

All right, next one.

Because of my chains, most have become confident in the Lord and

proclaim the gospel without fear.

That's pretty mind blowing, isn't it?

Again, in the natural, look like it, look like it should be a really

discouraging situation for everybody even observing what's happening for Paul.

Well, here's this supposed to be this mighty man of God,

and now he's stuck in prison.

You would think people might lose confidence in his mission and who he

is, but quite the opposite is happening.

It's stirring confidence.

This persecution that Paul is facing is, is, is stirring confidence

in the people and in the church.

And so I think the message that they're hearing is Paul can do it.

If Paul can endure it, if he can have joy in the midst of it.

In the midst of suffering and persecution, perhaps we can too.

And maybe you need to hear that this morning.

If Paul could have joy in the midst of his suffering, maybe I can too.

Maybe you need to allow that imagination to stir in you, that your situation,

seemingly so hopeless and difficult.

That if Paul can have joy, you can too.

If Paul can have confidence in the midst of it all, you can too.

To the unpersecuted, the mentions of persecution in scripture, and we

are largely the unpersecuted, right?

Compared to the persecution against the church that rages across the

planet, we are the unpersecuted, despite how we might feel sometimes.

So sometimes as the un persecuted, the mentions of persecution

in Scripture can cause fear.

But for the persecuted, they are words and means of deep encouragement.

In God's hand, fear is crucified through persecution, it's not amplified.

Ooh.

In God's hands, fear can be crucified through suffering and difficulty

and hardship, not amplified.

That's a mind blowing concept.

That I think many of us would be greatly encouraged by renewing our mind to, hey?

You know, we can have joy because God, in God's hands, persecution actually won't

enslave us to fear, but free us from it.

Wow, that's another mind blowing truth to renew our minds to, isn't it?

Alright, next.

Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but what does it matter?

The important thing is that Christ is preached, you know how much energy,

focus, attention is spilt over the church bickering and arguing over who's

doing it right, and who does it better.

Oh my gosh, this should not be, if this is something that you lose your

mind over, that you spend so much time YouTubing and podcasting about, right?

Yes, we have to be on guard against false teachers, but at the end of

the day, Listen to Paul's words.

If the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it has a power of its

own, is being preached, you leave the motives of the person to God.

So long as the true Gospel is being preached, yes, if it's a distorted

Gospel, we've got a problem.

But if it's a true Gospel, don't worry.

Leave the motive of the person preaching it.

Leave that up to the Lord.

Let's not get so overly distracted.

The important thing is every way, whether from false motives

or true, Christ is preached.

Some of you do not like this at all.

And you are sitting there and you're not happy with this.

Don't, don't get annoyed at me.

I didn't write it.

Paul did.

Okay?

And so take it to the Lord if this is something that really like,

oh, it's got to be done right.

Oh, it's got to be done right.

And you know what?

I can say that, and I can really push back on you, because I've been that person.

And I know the fruitlessness at that place of worrying so much about how the

other person down the road is doing it.

Just don't.

It's a waste of time.

You've got better things to do with the mission that God has laid before you.

And then finally.

Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice.

There is great joy to be found in the giving of one's life for

the advancement of the gospel.

And that is where true adventure and life and joy is discovered,

if your faith is boring, church.

You know, the other morning I woke up, and I just had this sense of malaise,

and going, Oh, gosh, another day.

Is this what my life, you know, it was a little bit.

Sad, sad.

And I just felt this little tap on my shoulder and the Lord going, is my

mission not exciting enough for you Dale?

All right, okay, reframe, reframe.

Because life with the Lord should never be dull.

You know, his mission, there is no higher calling in this world.

than to be one who participates in the advancement of the

good news of Jesus Christ.

In, you know, there's not like, this is not like, you know,

you can only do it this way.

There's a narrow band of how this mission is done.

You are all unique.

You're all uniquely gifted and called by the Lord.

We've just got to stir our imagination for the different spaces that we

occupy and how that might look.

Alright?

So again, you know, I

often pick, I often pick

on Vinnie, but the reason why I pick on Vinnie, right, is because

I know him really well, so I know he's a safe person to pick on, okay?

So Vinny does family law, right?

Family law.

It can be like a moral wasteland, can't it?

Vin Right Now, one of the reasons that Paul writes to this church is

he wants them to shine like lights.

That's what he says, like stars in a really dark sky.

He wants the church to stand out in that way.

And in the landscape, which can be a bit of a, you know, a dark

place of, of family law, Vinny and his practice shines like a light.

Why?

Because he practices family law, according to what we talked about

at the beginning here, as a slave of Christ and for the glory of God.

So get your imaginations going.

It's not that you've got to quit your job and become a pastor, but

what about the space you occupy?

How do you advance the gospel in that space?

And you might be thinking, oh, what could, what could I possibly have?

Offer up your loaves of fish.

Okay, and just let him do the rest, but it's that posture of willingness.

Alright, Arma, you want to come up?

Come on up, my friend.

Everybody make Arma feel welcome.

Okay, so Arma's been on some adventures, because let's just

say, Arma's life is not boring.

Is it, my friend?

Nope.

Hello, family.

This is so good.

I've missed you all.

So, as I said, I've invited Amit up here because I think in many

ways he embodies this passage of scripture we just looked at.

But also too, Amit's a part of this church family and it is really good

for you to be encouraged by Amit.

Being able to hear, what he's been up to.

The missions for the good Lord that he has been on recently.

And, it's important that we share these stories with one another.

Because we are family, right?

And so this is a way of also us just

getting, you know,

to hear what's been going on in Ahmaud's world.

And it just so happens that it dovetails so beautifully with this message as well.

So, what have you been up to recently, my friend?

So before I answer that I was sitting there this morning and I just wanted

to say a massive thank you to the team for leading us the way they have.

My goodness me.

Yep.

So beautiful.

And then I was like, Lord, what are you up to?

What's going on this morning?

And I've just, just

had this, this image

of like a, a family dining table.

And so I don't know what happens in your family, but I love coming home

from a day at work or whatever's going on, whatever work looks like.

And then just hearing from the kids, like what's been,

what's a highlight of the day?

What's a low light of the day?

What is something you've learned?

What's going on?

And just sharing in that family time together.

So that's, that's, I just want to frame this conversation this morning as our

Red Door Community Church dining table.

Where's the curry?

And we're just going to just share in this moment together, if that's all right.

So please, I am no one special or ordinary.

I am ordinary.

I serve an extraordinary saviour.

Okay, so what have we been up to recently?

So, I've divided this up into local and global.

And I've made some notes, I don't want to miss anything.

So, locally, StudentNet, there's this ministry that a bunch of families are

involved with right across our city.

Serving young heroes of the faith.

I'm talking like 11 year olds that are leading prayer movements in their schools.

14 year olds that are leading, that are leading like Bible studies with their

year 12 and year 11 cohort colleagues.

People that are leading their year 7 science teachers to the Lord.

Like students.

Oh man, I'll tell you what, I've got so many stories but limited time.

So, the StudentNet is a project locally that we are serving.

We've got about 40 young students, primary, secondary and

university age.

That we are

discipling and working with.

There is the work, and I just saw Moira there.

How are

you, mate?

So Moira

and I and Aunty Barb and a few others are involved in some of the

pastoral care work, out at the South Metropolitan Health Services.

So we work at, Frio Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Peel Health Campus.

And then recently, I've been given the opportunity to come and work,

I'm gonna get my bearings wrong, just over here at Nidikobin Arc.

There's at Bethesda, there's a big private facility, but that didn't really work out.

So the government have taken that on and that's set up three levels

of 25 beds each, specifically for mental health and eating disorders,

focusing on youth and young adults.

So there's others that are there in age group as well, but specifically for that.

And so the South Metro Health Services have essentially said for

me, actually, can you go and set up some pastoral care work there?

So that's what we're doing.

So we're working with youth and young adult groups, and ministry teams

from several churches across our city.

Been having the chance to work

with Call and Carrie.

These guys are awesome, the way they're leading our youth ministry.

And these, these one youth events across our GeoNetwork

and other GeoNetworks happening.

There's some creative projects we're doing to engage local youth.

In fact, this past week just received 20 grand in pilot funding to run, a

program that's going to use urban art to engage at risk students in school.

So watch this space.

I've been doing some consultations with some, Aboriginal schools in some country

regions and then I got invited to go and spend some time with six different

government agencies in Kalgoorlie to see how they can improve their youth work.

And that was a very interesting conversation that's led to nothing.

Because, because, wait, I didn't hold back.

Yeah, I know that might sound a bit surprising, but I sat with these

government agencies and they were all sharing their stories and they were all

sharing about their funding structures and their legacy programs and everything else.

And after listening to them for 54 minutes of our 60 minute session,

no, and I did that deliberately, I had 6 minutes left and so I just I

said, if I only get six minutes with you folks, please listen carefully.

Oh yeah.

I said, the reason nothing is working in this community is because the

two greatest killers of progress are competition and duplication and it's

all I've heard for the last 54 minutes.

So until you guys can figure out how to play together nicely, you're not

going to reach the youth of this city.

You're all chasing the funding from the same pockets.

You're all saying you're serving the same government agencies.

You're all, you are all talking the talk, but in the end, the kids are bored

because you're all fighting with each other and they don't get any service.

I haven't been called back yet.

I've been

lecturing with, with WAN

specifically on the character and nature of God as part of their, DTS program.

I've been doing some relief teaching to get some extra money for the family.

And then, we've also set up a charity, established a board, and we actually have

now our tax deductibility DGR status.

So that's, that's amazing, that's the local work.

So globally, That's just

locally,

friends.

In July, last year, my son Nathaniel and I got invited to go and do some,

Evangelistic work with a mission agency called Steiger and they do their works

focusing on reaching secular youth culture Specifically through the music scene.

So that was very very insightful.

Please pray for them at the moment There's about a hundred and fifty of

their work has been mobilized in Dallas Texas at the South by Southwest music

festival and just this morning they were leading about 90 Feminists to Christ.

So that was the testament that came through this morning.

Just amazing outreaches that are happening there.

Steve and I, so Steve Scrimm, Steve and Rose are part of the church family here

as well.

Steve and

I were given the privilege of hosting a new video series produced by Global

Leadership Smit NextGen

for Australia and New Zealand.

And that's reached over 10, 000 students this past year.

And they've asked us to do the same again.

So we'll be doing some filming in May, which is very exciting.

Adam and I got to go to Chicago in August last year where I

was speaking at the Global

Leadership Smit at Willow

Creek Church there for the youth.

In September, I got invited to meet with 150 key leaders in Singapore with the

goal of reaching 500 Asian cities by 2033.

There are five families and foundations that control a lot of the

funding that goes into that region.

We're talking the tune of about 6 billion per year.

Five families.

One of the families, I won't mention his name, but this guy is phenomenal.

He stood there in front of the 150 leaders and said, Look,

here's the business that we run.

Very, very successful business in America.

And they said, we've given our kids their inheritance.

They know what they're getting.

They're not getting a cent more.

But all this money keeps coming through.

Can you please make sure that my wife and I leave planet Earth with

our zero bank account balance?

Because it can't be for us.

So get

to work.

Then, in September

as well, I was invited to the Lausanne Conference in South Korea.

So it was the largest global gathering of Christian leaders in the world's history.

It was five and a half thousand people from two hundred

nations, and it was phenomenal.

In January this year, Kalia and I got to go and spend some time with the

Youth Alive team in Hyderabad in India.

Man, they wanted to do baptisms.

So keep in mind, in India, it's a very hostile nation towards the Christian

faith, but some regions, not so hostile.

They run these winter camps in the non hostile cities.

But there's kids that come from all over the nation to these camps.

So there were 500 students that came to Hyderabad, and Kalia and share and serve

them during the week that we were there.

Some of these kids and their stories My goodness me.

So they wanted to do these baptisms, which in some parts of India, if

you were caught doing anything like that, it would just be a bullet to

the head and questions afterwards.

Literally.

And so we've been praying in the lead up to this with the leaders that were there

for these baptisms that they wanted to do.

And leading up to this Sunday night, was it 26 or 27 young people had

committed to like, I'm going to step into the waters of baptism as a step of

obedience in what Jesus has called us to.

And we were like, there's more, there's more.

Seven hours later.

83 baptisms have taken place.

There were two pastors that literally came out looking like Sultanas.

They were in the waters of baptism for seven hours straight.

Every single student that came were given the microphone.

We got to hear their testimony.

We were live streaming family members in where it was safe to do so.

We were just hearing their stories and testimonies.

And this is why I have decided to follow Jesus and there is no turning back.

And when you hear 83 of these testimonies of these young people who recognize that

that public declaration could result in one of those in their forehead,

and they're like, they don't care.

He's worth it.

Man, it's inspiring.

One of these students that got baptized shared with me in his region, and we

hear nothing about this in the news.

There were 350 churches in his community last calendar year that were burnt down.

Majority of those burnings took place while the services were in action.

This is how opposed to the hope of the gospel our broken world can be.

And yet we've been called to take it to them.

This past week and a half I've been in Albania.

I've recently been appointed to the Global Youth Commission for

the World Evangelical Alliance.

A group that represents 600 million Evangelical Christians across the globe.

They've got, a respected voice, especially with bodies like

the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the UN.

I don't like those groups per se, but in regards to what is the voice of

the, the Christian demographics in the world, this WEA group get given

an audience with these global leaders.

And so, I get to be a part of that.

In a couple of weeks time I'll be in Papua New Guinea meeting

with some leaders there.

Can you believe this?

In Papua New Guinea the government have asked some specific leaders to help

them shape future economic decisions based on principles in scripture.

The government of Papua New Guinea are saying what we've been doing up

till now hasn't really been working so let's just give this a shot.

I don't know what advice I'm going to bring, but I'm going.

And then, and then, Steve and

I

also, we, have got

a project that we're working on, calling it The Father Story.

We're going to be setting up tables across multiple countries in Asia

and listening to the generations.

What's been, what's currently happening, what do we prayerfully sense is to

come, and we're going to be compiling these conversations and getting them

out for people to, to learn from.

So.

That's some of what's been going on.

Wow.

Alright.

I share this all.

My story is your story.

We're family, right?

So this is the family dining table.

So all of the victories and experiences that we are having, they're yours.

In the same breath.

All of the challenges and needs that we're facing, they're yours.

We're in this together.

Very good.

Yeah, on that note, cause as

you can hear, like, this is,

like, What, is involved

in the opportunities that come his way, I just Nothing short of mind

blowing, right?

Please, please,

please pray for Ama and Sky and their family because it is, as you can see,

it's a lot.

But it's

so good.

And so please be praying for them and please also consider

perhaps how you might support them

practically.

I know this

wasn't scripted, but, you know, you can financially

contribute to the, like, we, what

we call, it's kind

of like an urban missionary, although he's not just urban, he's kind of like,

everywhere, but, yeah, and

if, so if that's something on your, on

your heart, you know,

please come let him know too,

because, okay, Adam's

coming.

So sometimes when you listen to these massive stories, would you

agree they're kind of massive?

Would you sit here going massive?

Sometimes what you can do is when you're listening to that, it can be so large

that it feels, in some ways, intimidating.

Is anyone feeling that tension?

I want to let you know, Ahmad and his family are not

trying to lift up themselves.

They really aren't.

But recognize that one of the things we get privileged to is hearing these stories

is our worlds get a little bit bigger.

Does that make sense?

I want to challenge all of us to have an enlarging vision about our world.

Our world is not just your street.

It's important, but our world is larger.

The world of the generous gets larger and larger, the world of the stingy gets what?

Smaller and smaller.

So there's a reality that, as we listen to these stories, be of the posture

saying, God, show me how big this world is, and show me with eyes that see how

much opportunity there is for the gospel to make a difference in this world.

So may these stories not cause you to shrink back and feel intimidated,

but to rise up and go, Wow, how much opportunity is there before us?

Does that make sense, church?

And we're privileged to hear these today,

so please, don't take

that lightly.

Thanks.

Can I just pray for this guy real quick?

Father, thank you, God, for all that you're doing.

And we as a church family don't want to stand

by idly, just listening

like spectators.

We want to participate in the kingdom work that you are doing.

Father, for all of us, ignite the fire.

For all of us, ignite the fire of what a part we play, what

piece of the puzzle we fit into.

And God, I pray for Ahmed, for Sky, the family, the children.

Lord, that his efforts would be fruitful for kingdom, the kingdom of God's glory.

And Lord, protect him, keep him safe, and when he's in those meetings,

give him words, give him wisdom, give him insight on what you, Father, are

doing in those moments and places.

In Jesus mighty name, we bless him, and everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Well,

just to, I guess leverage

out of what ad just shared, and also to bring it back to the book

of Philippians, you, we've got these different characters, right, that,

that are reflected through this letter.

So we've got Paul who's writing it, but he talks about Timothy as

well, who's buddy who's with him.

But one of the reasons he's writing is because of this guy called Epaphroditus,

who has been the one that the Philippian church has sent to bring aid to Paul.

Right?

And so who's, who's a papus, well, other than some dude who carried some aid.

to Paul.

That was actually desperately needed, right?

The reason Paul was actually still alive to be able to write this letter was

because of the aid that, because you don't get fed in Roman's prisons, right?

The Epaphroditus.

So we've all got our part to play, okay?

We're not all called to be Paul.

We're not all called to be Timothy.

But Epaphroditus is no less significant in the work and the advancement

of the kingdom than Paul was.

And so don't be sitting here going, Oh, I could never do what Amit does,

therefore I'm not going to do anything.

Maybe you're in Epaphroditus, right?

It's like, it's knowing that and having that assurance about who you are in

it and not feeling condemned because you can't be, like, arm it, or not

doing anything because it all just seems, you know, I couldn't do that.

What can you do?

Let's remember that.

But let's be encouraged because we can all have the same heart.

You can outwork in different ways.

So on this heart level, my friend, what motivates you to do all these things?

Because this is, your life is big and, and it's, this comes at a cost, right?

There is a cost in you to do this and yet you still go, right?

And so what fuels you?

What motivates you?

I think for Skye, and Skye's my wife if you haven't met her,

she's with the two boys at our state athletics championships at

the stadi this morning,

but she sent her greetings.

For Skye and I, the constant conversation for us is redefining success.

So we could not care less in regards to CVs and achievements and accolades.

Success is obedience.

Success is obedience.

And so, what we want to make sure that we do is whatever we sense

God leading us towards, that's just what we have to be obedient with.

Now folks, I'm saying this really sincerely and honestly, we could

have all of this completely wrong.

We could be making mistake after mistake after mistake.

We could.

And we could look back maybe in 6 12 months time and be like,

What on earth was that all about?

That may be the case, but with what's in front of us and with what's

in our hand, we're just doing the best that we can to be obedient.

So please continue to be gracious

with us.

So that's

a big part of our motivation, is a desire to be obedient to

King Jesus.

Second thing is, it's one

word.

Mobilise.

It's all I want to do.

I want to mobilize others.

I want to, I want to see each of my family members in this space mobilized

for their kingdom assignments.

And I'll unpack a little bit of what I mean by that shortly, but guys, wherever

you are, you are nothing less than a full time minister of the gospel.

I don't care your age and I don't care your stage in life.

You are nothing less than a full time minister of the gospel.

Are you intentional with every breath that you have?

And so that's the other thing that motivates us is that that sense of

urgency and I think for me personally, my cancer journey has really brought

a depth to that sense of urgency because I just don't know how much

longer I'm going to have breath for.

But what I do know is that while I have breath, it's not mine to keep for myself.

It's all for the glory of King Jesus.

So everything I do with my family, outside of our family.

locally or globally.

The kingdom of God knows no geographical boundaries.

It all belongs to Jesus.

It doesn't matter that that's a big part of our motivation.

Okay, so you're clearly very

motivated.

But you are also one thing that's very striking about both you and Steve as well.

You're both So, I mean, driven's a loaded term, right?

It can be, right?

But there is.

You are driven to see God glorified and His Gospel advance, and we've just

talked about the why, but where does the confidence, because you both have what I

experience to be highly passionate, yet a

beautifully hble and grounded

confidence.

Where does it come from?

I'm reminded constantly by my family and close friends of how

Far short, I continue to fall.

I'm just being legit because I do fall short a lot.

So far from having it all together.

Seriously.

Who am I?

Even to be sitting up here with Dale and just to be sharing the, who am I?

Man.

Are you sure?

But it's not about me.

My confidence isn't in my anything.

It's in Christ.

I don't want that to sound like a trite answer, like genuinely,

my confidence stems from Jesus.

And so if he, if we sense him calling us to something, he's got

to have a reason for it, right?

I don't need to know the reason, I'm just going to be obedient.

Because that's what success is, success is obedience.

All I can do is be obedient, all I can say is yes Lord, I'll bring all of my rubbish

with my yes, and you do what you will.

That's all I can do.

So, whatever unfolds from that point, believe you me, it's not about,

it's all, it's all him.

I like that, bring all of your rubbish with your yes, because I

think that stops a lot of us too.

I've got to deal with the rubbish before I can bring my

yes, and, just bring

your rubbish with it and trust him.

He's really good at, Making beauty from ashes and gold from

rubbish.

Alright,

so you've touched on some of the stuff that you've been up to.

In terms of this bigger

picture, because Paul

touches on here about the gospel advancing.

Despite him being in chains, despite him being in prison,

he's seeing the gospel advance.

How are you seeing the gospel advance?

The, the blood of the martyrs makes for the most fertile soil.

I know often we, we try and pray

against, suffering

or against

persecution.

But one thing

that I'm seeing more and more is in those very spaces, there's, you

can't hold the kingdom of God back.

You cannot.

I wish there was another way.

I think it's what Jesus maybe was referring, no, just, you know, if this

cup can be taken from me, like, there can be another way, but your will be

done.

So I'm seeing

the gospel advancing through suffering in beautiful ways.

And I pray

for the, the strength

that our brothers and sisters show to be evident in

my life.

The other

thing that we're seeing more and more is This

recognition that, the models

of attraction and entertainment specifically in regards to how

we engage young people with what it means to be a disciple

of Jesus, it's falling

short.

And to be perfectly honest, you just can't compete with Netflix and YouTube.

So you shouldn't bother trying.

And what Jesus is calling us to, it's so beyond being entertained.

It's so beyond that.

And so there's a genuine recognition that actually disciples are not

mass produced, they're handcrafted.

And so we're seeing more and more people leaning into

actually, maybe fewer is better.

Maybe less is more.

And they're trying to lower their eyes from

the stadi gatherings

to actually, who are those one or two?

Who's sitting by themselves?

Who's walked into Red Door Community Church this morning alone, and not had

anyone to sit with during communion?

Who's gonna walk out sensing that, even in a place like this, all of my heaviness,

I just can't share it with anyone.

Let that not be the story for our church family.

Everyone is welcome to our family dining table.

Everyone is welcome.

And again, there's a love for others.

Instead of trying to win the masses, people are just focusing on what

does it mean to love their neighbour.

And I'm seeing the gospel being mobilised in profound ways as

we just focus on one another.

These are not anything new, right?

This is all stuff through scripture, folks.

It's almost like there's a recalibration within the body

of Christ that is happening.

It's like Jesus is almost saying, are you done yet guys?

Are you done?

Because what I'd written from the start actually does work.

So when you finish playing your games, just let me know.

Oh, didn't we not say this on Friday night?

Then we were hearing testimonies 10 and year 11 students, who for the last

four years have been on their knees at recesses and lunchtimes praying for

revival to come to their public schools.

And they're starting to see things happen.

It's beautiful.

Ah, anyway.

I don't know if that answered the question.

Romans 8 has been a massive encouragement for me during this whole time, folks.

For those who live in accordance with the flesh and have their minds set on

the flesh, that leads

to death.

But those who live in accordance with their spirit and have their minds set on

the spirit, that leads to life and peace.

The Lord knows what our world needs is genuine life and genuine peace.

That's what he's needed.

So that's what we need to focus on.

Very good.

Indeed.

All right.

One of your words for the past few years has been this word commissioning.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

So, do you wanna

talk to us a little bit more about what this desire is in you that

you believe God's put in you?

Oh, yes, I

do.

Dale.

All right.

Yes, I do.

Yes.

. So,

commissioning, . Oh, Jesus . Jesus.

Jesus,

our Jesus, our Jesus did not go to

the cross.

Enduring all that.

That was in despising.

Its shame for your comfort and security.

That's not what he went to the cross for.

He went to the cross so that all of creation, including you and me, could be

restored in relationship with the creator.

So he endured the cross and despairs his shame for the joy that was set before him.

And that is the joy folks, that all of creation, that every knee

would bow and every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And you and I have been invited into that mission.

Your life is not about trying to attain comfort and security for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

All you have is the present.

So I ask you, in the present moment, does Jesus have your yes?

Tomorrow will look after itself.

Why worry about the problems of tomorrow?

Doesn't today have enough problems?

I was working with Maya this morning, and we nearly broke some jip rocking.

And that was a big problem, wasn't it, Poppy?

It was, but we fixed it, didn't we?

We couldn't worry about tomorrow's problems because this

morning's problems was Jiprock!

Folks, we can't be too concerned about what's next.

Just be fully present with what's happening right now.

Now, my dad used to run an air conditioning company.

And whenever he would have all these new elaborate structures all set

up, he would talk about how we have to go and commission this new unit.

So to commission a new unit or a new setup means that he would need to go and

start turning everything on and testing all the connections that he's put in

place to make sure that it actually serves a purpose it was put there for.

Does that make sense?

In the same way, when you have to go and decommission something,

it's like, oh, it's not working anymore, we need to fix this.

Gotta turn everything off, make sure it's safe to be disconnected, and

then we start fixing things again.

So Dale asked me the question, what do I mean by commissioning?

What I mean by that is, I want to work with anyone, young or old, I

don't care what country or place you come from, I don't care what clothes

you wear, as long as you don't listen to country music, we can get along.

But what I'm focused on is working with you and saying, right,

what is the father crafted here?

What, what is he wired here?

Who is he created here before me?

What is the joy that was set before him with this brother

or sister here right now?

And so what does it now mean to turn them on for kingdom purposes?

For the very reason they were created, what is it?

What were they set in place for?

Why are they being placed where they are?

Why are they working where they are?

Why are they living where they are?

Why are they doing what they're doing?

What is it, Father, that you want this person to be involved with?

What does it mean for them to be focused on the kingdom?

What does it mean for them to not worry about tomorrow but be fully present today?

What does it mean for them to bow their knees to King Jesus?

What does it mean to bring all of their rubbish right before you and

place themselves on your pot as well and let you craft whatever you want.

And as we turn all of these different dials on, oh my goodness,

the stuff that we're seeing unfolding, folks, God is at work.

All you have to do, don't worry about achievements, don't worry about

wins, don't worry about victories, don't worry about any of that.

Just bring your yes, just be obedient to whatever God is calling you to.

To the young people that are sitting in this room, does Jesus

have your yes in your schools?

To those who are working, does Jesus have your yes in your

workplace?

For those who are retired, does Jesus have your yes with the time that you now have?

For those of you who are wealthy, does Jesus have your yes to your

credit card and bank account?

For those of you who are needed, does Jesus have your yes, even with your need,

that you'll continue to be obedient?

It doesn't matter where you're up to in life.

Does Jesus have your yes?

Does he have your yes?

So what I mean by commissioning is just a declaration that Jesus,

no matter what it is, you ask.

Yeah, I'm standing.

I'm here.

You have my yes.

So

I, sorry, d but what

if any of you are sitting here this morning.

And you're like, I need to stand and I need to make a public

declaration that Jesus has my yes.

Look, if that is you, can I invite you to stand right now where you are?

Come on.

Oh, what Jesus would do in the city of

Coburn with a surrendered heart.

What would he do?

What would he do in and through the Red Door Community Church

with an entire family who declared Jesus, you have my yes.

Your workplaces should not look the same.

Your streets should not look the same.

Your schools should not look the same.

We're not asking you to be perfect.

We're just asking you to be surrendered to King Jesus.

If you feel comfortable exactly where you are, please just raise your hands.

I'm not even Pentecostal, but I just like doing this.

Guys, just join me.

Just join me.

It's all good.

What do

they say?

Believe like

a Baptist and practice like a

Pentecostal.

Right.

Jesus,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

you split the seas so we could walk right through it.

Our fears are drowned in

perfect love.

You rescued us so that we can stand here this morning and declare that

we are children of the living God.

Jesus, we can't do any of this without you.

And even this sense of a kingdom assignment, what it is

we're being commissioned for.

Father, sometimes we're just not even 100 percent clear,

but we're not going to wait for clarity and for certainty before we act.

Father, we stand this morning as a public declaration that no matter what

it is you ask of us, you have our yes.

Holy Spirit, I pray that you would come and meet my brothers

and sisters right where they are.

Whatever stories they've walked in here with this morning, Father,

I pray for divine breakthrough.

Father, I pray for divine breakthrough.

Father, for those who are walking in victory, who feel that they,

it's just going really well, I pray that that joy and that boldness

would just spill out from them.

Onto those of us who are just not in that place right now.

And as family, we can journey through this together.

So Jesus, the bottom line is, whether you call us to our neighbour, or

to a neighbouring country, it don't matter, because it's all yours.

The ground at the foot of the cross is level, and that's where we find ourselves.

All of us, all of us,

Jesus is the only name we lift up.

Jesus is the only name that is given the glory.

Jesus is the only name that is exalted.

Jesus is the only one that we cast our eyes on.

Jesus is the only one that we lead.

Jesus is the only one that we bow our knees to.

Jesus is the only one that we ask for help.

So Jesus, help us.

Spirit, flow through us.

Father, be lifted up and glorified.

And we stand here together as family saying, send us.

We will go.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.