Episode Transcript
You wouldn't think it right now, it's what, 37 degrees outside. I've come prepared, I brought my
little fan, not a fan to cheer me on, a fan to keep me cool, but the air conditioning is doing that.
Praise the Lord. So good to see you all. Like Pastor Levi mentioned today, today is family
lunch, come on. So one of my love languages, not just eating, it's actually cooking as well. So
yesterday I woke up, at what time did I wake up, about 5.30, 6? And I got the smoker going and I
made some slow cooked brisket for all of you to enjoy. But first in first serve, because you know,
it's all gonna go. Please don't fight each other for it. But no, look again, the heart of it is so
excited to be able to do family lunch again. And the heart behind that is community. So even if you
didn't bring anything, you've brought yourself here today. It would be our honour, our privilege
to have you fellowship with us afterwards as well. And if there's one thing that I've learned,
there's never a time that we've gone without. So really looking forward to spending time with you.
And you know, I'm excited about next week as well. We've got across all our locations,
who are going to be streaming, Pastor Wayne Alcorn, who's going to be sharing the heart
for where this year is going. I won't give anything away. We had a bit of time with him
on Thursday as staff, and we got together on the Thursday night. And you know, I'm excited about
the journey of what God is doing in this season for us as well. And as we progress into the year,
you heard from Pastor Levi, we may not have new discipleship this month, but we can still get
together and do life. So can I encourage you, reach out to someone in your world. If you're not
connected with anyone in the life of the church, come and see us. We would love to organise an
opportunity for you to meet and connect with one another. But let's just pray now for the word.
Lord, Heavenly Father, I just thank you, God, that your word, Lord, is in season and out of season,
Lord. I thank you, Lord, that your word is the same yesterday, today and forevermore, Lord.
God, I pray today, Lord, that as you minister through your servant, Lord, may it be your words,
Father. May the words be like seeds in people's hearts, Father, that over time, Lord, will blossom
and grow into something, Lord, that will bring value and worship to you, God. I pray you bless
this word in Jesus' name. Amen, amen, and amen. And so today, I want to speak to you on the subject of
knowing when it's time to go. It's an interesting one, isn't it? Knowing when it's time to go.
Hebrews 11.8 puts it this way, by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place
which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going.
How many of us know that in seasons of life, no matter whether it be in the natural, like in
Melbourne, we have the four seasons in one day, in one hour. I think we're going to walk out into
thunderstorms later. Every single thing in life has seasons.
And when I think about the life of this church, you know, I can't help but think even the forefathers
of this church, I think of the story of A.C. Valdez. He was one of the two that pioneered the church
that is now known as Numa Church. We celebrate 100 years this year. And I think about his journey,
and I was reading on his story. And in 1924, A.C. Valdez was a man that had the honor and privilege of
being able to witness the miracle at Azusa Street and seeing all the things that God had done. And
he was a man that was always willing to go where God would lead. And then one day in 1924, when he
was living in Modesto, California, he gets a knock at the door, answers the door, and he hears his
interesting accent. G'day, mate. This woman from Bundaberg, from Queensland, was at his door and
says these simple words to him, the Lord has called you to go and preach to Australia. And he's sitting
there, he's like, okay. Not taken aback by it, because just before then, the Lord had prompted
his heart about going to preach in Australia. This bold and courageous woman. How awesome is it?
Even for generations, we've had prophetic men and women that have obeyed the call of God and gone and
speak out what God puts on their heart. This courageous woman from heaven, Queensland. I'm a
beach guy. I love, even though I'm Victorian. Anyway, obeyed. He received this word. And shortly after this
word, he has a dream. And in this dream, he sees a ship. And it's got this weird name. I'm going to
try to pronounce it, but Mongunewi. And he writes it in his book, M-O-N-G-U-N-E-W-Y. And he's like,
what's that about? Anyway, just carrying on with his life. A few days later, another knock on the door.
He's given a love offering. A love offering that will not only provide him passage to come to
Australia, but it also allows his family to go with him. See, back then in 1924, we didn't have
those virgin sails or the United Airlines sail $900 return. No, you have to go by ship in those days.
So the first thing he did with his love offering was he went to book a ship. And the only ship that
was available was a T-S-S, Manganui. M-A-U-N-G-A-N-U-I. In his dream, obviously, he spelt it a
little bit different. But there was confirmation there. There was a random word put on his heart
and then gone to see the ship with something very similar. He travels on his way to Australia.
Now, this ship, funny enough, only sailed from San Francisco down to New Zealand for three years and
just happened to be one of the years that he stepped out. So he goes to New Zealand and he's
there for six months and sees God move in incredible ways. And he's loving what he's seeing, but he's
got a holy discontent because, Lord, you called me to Australia. So he goes to Australia and C.L.
Greenwood tells a story that was shared by AC Valdez where one day he's just out on his front yard and
he's just praising God for sunshine because he kept hearing the word sunshine. So he assumed it was
sunshine. And so his wife came and said, what are you doing, silly? Us Latinos, man, we're a little
bit slow to the upkeep there. But she's like, what are you doing? The Lord said, sunshine. Yeah,
there's a suburb called Sunshine. Ah. So he makes his way to Sunshine, not knowing where he's going.
And as he walks, he sees this man standing out of this gospel hall by the name of C.L. Greenwood,
who just comes up to him and says, we've been waiting for you. Then prayer meetings start and
the building gets filled out. And before you know it, revival breaks out. They can't contain the
amount of people in that one space. So they move to the Paran Town Hall. Then they buy the Richmond
Theatre that becomes Richmond Temple. And a hundred years this year, Numa Church was birthed.
See, I love the verse that talks about Abraham's faith because what it shows is that sometimes you
don't know what the destination is. You know, something a little bit closer to home, I think
about what tomorrow means in the life of my journey here in this great church. Do you know that tomorrow
was 11 years to the day that I walked through the doors as an employee of Numa Church? And the story
behind that was as a youth worker, in all honesty, I felt my whole life, my whole calling was youth work.
I was working in that space. I love that space. But in a drop of the hat, the Lord said, lay it down.
And like, what would I be doing, Lord? Teaching. I'm like, teaching? I just realized Habakkuk was a
book in the Bible, Lord. Are you sure you want me leading that ministry? Trust me. And so for me,
I see a lot of in that, that in that unknown, you step out and you trust in God. And so the reality
is in our lives, calls are certain, even when circumstances seem uncertain. And so I'm going
to unpack from a helicopter view, Abraham's story in this verse. But I'm also going to give you a
little bit of insight on how I do a devotion. It's kind of like two in one. I love that because often
I get asked the question, well, how do you spend that time? It's incredible how much gold you can
get from one verse. And so I'm going to unpack this whole verse for us today. Is that okay?
Okay. Awesome. For the three people that said it's okay. Again, I read that scripture,
by faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive
as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going.
See, the very first thing that we see is the very first line in that verse. Each point is a line in
this verse. The first one being, by faith, Abraham obeyed. See, earlier on, Hebrews 11, one says,
faith is the substance of things hopeful, the evidence of things not seen. We live in a world
that says, show me and I'll believe. Faith says, I believe, even if you don't show me.
And so Abraham's obedience wasn't conditional on what he saw. In fact, we read it, I'll read it a bit
later on in Genesis 12, one, the Lord appears to him and just says, Abraham, go, I'm taking you to a
land. I'm promising you a great, I'll make you into a great nation. Now, here's a funny thing where he
lived in Hebron, where he stayed. There wasn't really much, you know, happening for him that he
was 75 years old, you know, getting ready for retirement. And it's like, well, God, that's great.
But here's the thing, God, I love that you want to make me a great nation, but I don't actually have
any kids. God's word, God's promises are not subject to the laws of humanity and what happens,
which is why Abraham obeyed. See, he believed that God knew better. His plan and his destination,
God's plan and God's destination was greater than anything that he could think up for himself.
But it wouldn't have been easy. But I love that when you read, and from Genesis 12 to around Genesis
19, you read the story of Abraham, but in Genesis 15, 6, it talks about because of Abraham's faith,
God credited him righteousness. Interesting, Pastor Levi read that scripture before, seek first the
kingdom of God and its righteousness, and the rest will be added. But there's a side note here.
I love that the Bible is full of stories of imperfect people being used by a perfect God.
We look at Abraham, the father of many nations, and he didn't always get it right. He lied about his
wife, saying that was his sister, and the king at the time was like, okay, you get pretty cozy with
your sister, mate, but sure. And then the Lord's like going to smite him. He's like, oh, what's going on?
Then there's a promise that, hey, you're going to be a father of many nations. I don't have any kids.
Sarah, you know, is barren. She's older in years, so I'm going to make it happen. And he did.
But that wasn't God's promise. But yet God still used his obedience to change the world.
And the writer demonstrates here in Hebrews, the point that the writer makes is that legacies of
obedience last a lifetime. You're not going to be defined by the mistakes that you make in life.
You think about throughout many of the people in the Bible, David, a man after God's heart,
you know, goes into adultery and sets an innocent man to die. You see throughout how
many times God takes the brokenness of humanity and can still restore it to change the trajectory
of our lives. It's a hard word, trajectory. I can't say that one. Life is not defined by
the moments you get it wrong. But things change when you obey a call of God. See, obedience
is a choice. Freedom is a responsibility. And what I've come to find is that the greater trust
that you have, the greater reverence that you have, the greater respect that you have
for Father, the easier it is to obey when He calls. It's like that relationship of a child
and its parents. You know, for me over these last, well, Judah turned eight last week and
Lexi's turning 10, going on 25. I'd love to see just their faith that they have in us.
You know, last week we went to one of my favourite spots, the beach, which is why I'm a little
bit tansy, the tan marks there. And over time, you just see Judah, particularly. Lexi, she'll
just jump in. She's got all faith. But no, she's got to sometimes just have a bit of that
wisdom of when's time. Judah's the other way around. Over the years, we've seen Judah touching
the water, freaking out, to just getting up to his ankles, to then on Monday, him saying,
Daddy, can I come to you? Yeah, come. Come, the waves are here, man. Come, come. And seeing him
step out in trust, because he knows that his father's not going to drown him. His father's
going to be, we'll probably throw him in the water. We'll jump in together. But he is safe.
See, when I said to him, come, my son, he took those steps. When Father asks us to come,
he's not setting you up for an evil prank. He's saying, trust me, I got you. Yeah, you're going to
go through trials, but I've got you. It may be unknown to you right now, but I've got you.
Will you obey the call? You know, again, we don't plan what we talk about with those who
are hosting, but Pastor Levi speaks in Matthew 6. From verse 25 to 33 to 34, rather, it's about
not worrying. Do not worry. Because what the Lord does, you know, he clothes the lilies of
the field. He feeds the sparrows in the air. How much more valuable are you to him? It would
be completely counter-cultural if God takes you to harm you. Now, hear what I'm not saying.
It doesn't mean we're not going to go through trials. Again, you know, we don't plan these
things. Pastor Sonia, during worship, spoke about Psalm 23. Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, it's not even if I may have to walk through it. No,
we will. We're going to go through trials, but his rod and his staff will guide us. We will
go through storms. Luke 8, we'll go through storms, but Jesus is going to be in that boat with
us. He's probably going to be having a good nap. Now, I wish I could get some of that
from him that I could have a nap through noise. I hear one little bird chirp and I'm awake
and I'm ready to go. But hey, Lord, we'll talk later. See, obedience is saying, okay,
Father, I follow you. Take the lead. And opportunities to obey come through proximity. Our rhythms
of grace in seasons are going to change, but our God's faithfulness remains the same. Witnessing
what God is speaking, not only in the quiet time, but also as you see what's happening around
you, that leads you to knowing when you're called to go. I'm going to read Genesis 12.1
just for context for the scripture. And so what we see in Genesis 12.1 to verse 4,
now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's
house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and
make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse
him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram questioned
the Lord. No, it says, so Abram departed as the Lord had spoken and Lot went with him. And
Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. See, God spoke to Abraham. And I've often
wondered, how did Abraham know when God was speaking? See, we read it here, right? Like
we got to understand that like there's a significant chunk of time that's unaccounted for when we read
things. We read from one chapter to the other, but we're talking sometimes decades. How did Abraham
know that it was God speaking for him to say, hey, leave everything you have ever known for a place
that I'm going to give to you that's going to bless you and I'm going to bless you, bless those who bless
you, curse those who curse you. How does he know, okay, that's you, God, let's go. It's an interesting
one. If anyone has the answer, tell me. But what I love when you read the scripture, particularly in
Abraham's context, but again, throughout, you read that there was regular visitations. There was a
regular visitation time between Abraham and God, not just random encounters. So when we read that
scripture, and again, I'm only going on as a helicopter view. For those that know the story,
if you don't, I encourage you to read from Genesis 12 onwards in your own time. You know, you read when
God comes and says, hey, you know that son that I promised you? You know that fulfillment of promise
that I gave you and your son? I want you to sacrifice him. And Abraham goes to that very level
to do that. That comes from a place of proximity and knowing, well, God, you've not let me down,
so you will not let me down again. I know you will provide. That doesn't come from a random worship
night or a random morning or random podcast. That comes from month after month, year after year of a
daily appointment with father. And what I love about God's relationship with Abraham was that God
felt comfortable enough and confident enough to physically meet with Abraham. Genesis 18, Sodom and
Gomorrah is going to be destroyed. And the Lord speaking within themselves, like, should we let him
know of our plans? Goes to Abraham. He's like, hey, this is what we're thinking of doing. And Abraham's like
thinking of his nephew, wait a second, Lord, but there are good people in that place. And the great
negotiation takes place. And God negotiates with the man, his creation. He doesn't lord it over
him and say, be compliant, young man. No, he listens to Abraham's faith. They converse, they commune.
These are the days before the Holy Spirit was sent out. We have that opportunity every day to
converse and commune with God, to co-author what he has for our lives. And so if obedience comes from
faith and trust, then recognizing and instruction comes from proximity. Abraham encountered through visions,
dreams and in person. Abraham heard. But what I love is that God allowed Abraham to speak.
How do you hear from God? Do you make room? Do you make time to hear from God?
This is one that challenged me. Would the Lord be confident in going, I'm going to come and sit with,
put your name there. And I'm going to chat with them about something that I want to do and ask for
your thoughts on a world-defining moment. So he was going to destroy all of Sodom. But Abraham's like,
no, there are good people in there, Lord. And it talks about how the Lord relented. Yes, he did destroy
it, but he did save those that were faithful. What can you do to intentionally create space
to commune with Father? You know, 2016 was an interesting year for us in terms of ministry and
what God was doing. God's sense of humor. I love it. You know, I'd been in the training role for
three, four, going on to the fourth year. And I was just getting this stirring in my heart that time
was up. And I processed it with people, you know, I processed it with Sonia as my wife and key leaders.
And it just seemed to not make sense, but it seemed right. And one day I have this image,
this vision from God. It's a picture of a trapeze. It's like, you know, trapeze is in a circus where
you've got the people swinging and then they let go and they catch each other. And I felt the Lord
say, your window of opportunity to let go and trust that I will catch you is shrinking by the second.
Will you trust me? So September 2016, I walk into my then Oversides office. And again, we've been
journeying for months. And I said to her, 2017 is my last year as training pastor. And at that point,
I go, consider this my 15 month notice. She's like, what are you going to do? I'm thinking, yes,
back to youth work. I go, yes. 10 months later, I had no clue. 10 months later, we were asked to
lead Newman West. See, in that period of unknown though, I wasn't trying to make things happen.
I was trusting God, you will lead the way. Because every single day we have that encounter, God,
Father, what are you doing? It's my life that's yours, but it's your will through me. It's that exchange.
See, knowing when to go is the first of three key steps. For Abraham, he had heard the call,
just like many of us are going to hear in our lives. The next step is going to the place of
inheritance. See, there was a place marked as an inheritance for Abraham. I've come to learn in my
life that the bridge between hearing a call and receiving the inheritance is faith and obedience,
which is evidenced by doing. Often we sit and we wait. The inheritance sounds amazing.
The journey, not so much. We want the inheritance, but are we willing to go when called upon?
When we sing those beautiful songs that have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back,
do we not turn back? Or do we go, Lord, I'm following you. I'm following you.
It's happened to me many times. The Lord has an inheritance marked for each and every one of us.
The beautiful thing is we are one church, we are one family, but you are a beautiful individual
brought here by the grace of God. And you've got, he's got his own plan for you. He's got a will for
you and a purpose for you. I love that. 1 Corinthians 12, when Paul is talking about the body of Christ,
he doesn't tell us what many of us sadly believe in church in this day and age. Paul doesn't tell us
that the ultimate is the platform. Paul doesn't tell us that the ultimate goal to serving God is
to be the preacher, the worship leader. No, he says that we are one body with many parts. We're not all
called to be hands. We're not all called to be feet. We are called to be uniquely positioned by the
grace of God to operate in, through, and out from the church. But if you do not hear and obey,
you will remain stuck. One thing that I've learned and continue to learn is that the journey teaches
key lessons that are outworked and are critical once that inheritance is received. If received too
prematurely, we can miss it. I've just moved away from my notes. If I move too premature, I'll lose
myself too. And I've read many articles and it breaks my heart when you see it. And I remember,
and again, you know, no judgment in this, but I remember walking, you know, through the supermarket
once and I saw that there was like a Powerball. It was going to be like 60 million, some ridiculous
amount. And you see all these people lined up using their hard-earned money for a hope to win a lottery.
But then you read, you know, articles of people that regret winning the millions of dollars because
what happens is relationships fall apart. Some, you read, end up losing their lives. Others lose it all.
And turn to vices. And that's not to say that money is evil, but the point is when you're ill-equipped,
when you're not equipped to handle something of a great magnitude, you'll default to what's normal
today. And so the journey teaches us humility in the process, humility in the trust. So when that
moment comes for inheritance, you recognize that it is God's grace to you and you're able to steward
that in worship back to Him. Many of us are waiting for tomorrow to come, but if our heart posture
doesn't change, you would say, when I get there, I will. But if the now, we're not there, there's never
going to come the way you think it will. So in this particular part, this particular point, the key word
here is go. Where is God asking you to go? For Abraham, it was somewhere other than where he was.
He didn't know where he was going, but he knew where he couldn't stay anymore. And so he went out,
not knowing where he was going. On a word, on a command, Abraham obeyed. I can only imagine the
journey. Thank God at that point, Isaac wasn't born because imagine kids, we drove an hour to the beach
last week and we'd barely left Hopper's Crossing. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Daddy, are we
there yet? Man, I said 50 minutes, might have exaggerated an hour and 10 behaved. Blame it on
traffic. Are we there yet though? I told you two minutes ago, man, does it look like the beach outside?
Do you want to go and swim in the bushes over there? Feel free, you'll probably find a snake.
No, okay, you'll get there, you'll know. So I can just imagine, you know, Abraham's servants,
hey, Abraham, we there yet? I don't know. What does there look like, Abraham? I don't know.
How come your Google Maps is showing nothing? Because I literally don't know where I'm going,
man. But he had faith that the Lord would provide. I love this line because it's a confusing paradox,
paradox, but it's true. When you know, you know, even if you do not fully know.
Say that again. When you know, you know, even if you do not fully know. That's the true peace of God.
It's not about comfort. We hear that line. And I've said it many a time. I just don't feel the
peace of God in this. But the reality is, what I'm saying is I just don't feel comfortable about
stepping out. I like where I'm at right now. Again, another one of those paradoxical lines.
The peace of God makes sense in circumstances where the circumstances themselves don't make sense.
Let me say it again. The peace of God makes sense in circumstances where the circumstances
themselves don't make sense. Luke chapter 8, they're on a boat. There's a storm. We're going to die.
Jesus is sleeping, man. Like, really? This is, he doesn't care about us. And they're like waking him up.
Jesus, we're going to drown. And she's like, I was having a beautiful nap, man. This is a great
siesta. Come on, you guys of little faith. Hey, storms, calm yourselves down a little bit. And
they calm down. And they're sitting there like, who is this that even the winds, the storms, the
elements obey him? You know, David puts it beautifully in Psalm 119, 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path. Sometimes the lamp to the feet is all we have. And, you know, there are times
where, I don't know, like, I'm usually the early bird in our house and it's pretty dark and I don't
want to be turning lights on. So I'll put the torch and I'll put the torch on my feet so I don't smash
my toe in something. Because I hear that's close to childbirth, but in pain. The man flues up at the
top still, but cool, but I'm going to get things thrown at me. Please don't. Sometimes that's all we
have, but that's all we need. And in time, he will light up that path. And so these last few months,
you know, in what I felt God share has focused on key themes. We've spoken about the talents.
What's your talent? What's God entrusted you with? There is not one person that God has created that
he has not graced with a gift or a talent to change the world. What is your talent? We spoke about David
not trying to fit into Saul's armor, but picking up his own stones. Again, using the discontent. I'm not
going to see people mock my God. There is something that is stirring my heart and I'm going to use what I
have to make a change. What has God stirred in your heart? How will you be prepared? And when the call
comes, will you be ready to obey? You know, the old adage is we've got to learn to practice what we
preach. For preachers and the Word of God, preaching the Word of God is no exception. And I'll be honest
with you, there is often a greater expectation from someone who preaches. In all my life, in these last
four months, I've never felt such a weight in the words that the Lord has asked me to preach. And at
times it's felt that I'm preaching to you, but let me tell you, the toil in the months leading up to that
moment in time, the Lord has been preaching it to me. And so this message becomes that climax for it.
It becomes that bit, that thing that the Lord stirs. And it becomes the message of my life.
There has never been more of a time that the Lord has asked me to practice what I preach.
In fact, this message is specific today because I want to let you know that after 11 years,
I've made the decision to take a four-month sabbatical, but I've made the decision to step
down as Numa West location pastor. I'm just going to let that sit for a few moments.
March the 2nd will be my last service, and I'll be taking four months off, and I'm going to unpack
logistically what that's going to look like. And I'm not looking at you because I'm an emotional guy.
I'm not looking at my wife because she makes me cry all the time.
Before I unpack the logistics, I want to unpack the heart of how we got to this point.
2021 July, we're in a room with our location pastors. I'm not looking at you.
And our senior pastor at the time said, you know, I see all the hard work that pastors do.
We're going to start counseling. And there was a seed that was birthed in my heart.
And I didn't know what that meant. And I would hear the vision at the time that we want to plant
200 churches, and my heart would break. Who's looking after the 200 leaders? During that time,
we heard about Carl Lentz in New York. We heard about pastors that committed suicide. And there
was a discontent in my heart. Who's reaching those people? But then Corona went on. We came back to church
in 2022. I had the privilege of heading up to Numa, Bangkok for a weekend.
And as I was there, I was watching the worship team. And I felt the Holy Spirit say,
well, at that point, it was one thing. I want you to pick up what I asked you to lay down.
When I first walked through the doors of this church in 2009, I felt the Lord say,
I want you to lay down worship. I used to be a worship leader. That's what I did. That was the
main thing I did at the old church. And I'm like, cool. Well, I'm going to keep that to my secret
place. But the Lord had asked me to pick that up. And that's why you, not because we're short on teams,
but that's why you've seen me step into that space. But then July 2022, around the same time,
I remembered that very meeting. And I'm like, nothing had eventuated. There was no counseling
for pastors. And I'm like, Lord, have you forsaken us? Careful what you ask the Lord.
Because his response was, what are you going to do about it? I'm going to go and complain, Lord.
That September revival conference, Prophet Steve McCracken prophesies, the Lord is going
to promote you, but not in the way that you think. What is one step on a rung will be two
steps, but not in the direction of what you think. So I knew straight away, see, the kingdom
of God doesn't work like corporate. The kingdom of God, he can promote you down. You know what
I'm saying? Pick up your cross. Sounds beautiful until you have to pick up your cross. So I met at
the time with Pastor Raph, whom we're honoring next week. And we spoke about again, 2025.
And he echoed that. He felt that. But again, we just sat on it. So then we go to the Gold Coast.
There are worse places to hear from the Lord. And I went to visit a friend's church, and he asked
Sonia and I to minister at his church. And afterwards we were chatting, and he starts opening
up about all his life. And my heart broke. I'm like, bro, have you spoken to anyone? He's
like, yeah, I do. But I've got a lot of friends that don't have anyone. And I'm like, again,
what are you going to do about it? Come back, and I'm here with you amazing folk. This is why
it's taken four years, by the way, because you guys are amazing. January, I hear the Lord
say, it's time. I'm like, it's time. And I knew what he meant. So I enrolled to the Master
of Counseling. I should back up a little bit. When I first heard the Lord say, you know,
what are you going to do about it? I'm like, okay, I'll go back to study. And Alpha Cruces
have got a Master of Philosophy. I love philosophy. I love thought process. I'm like, Lord, is this
it? And I go, you can do it. I'm not in it. I'm like, okay. I'm not going to waste money
and time on something you're not in. But here it's like, it's time. So I enrolled. June
2023. And I want to paint the picture. So you see that it's a journey. And it's not always
like, yes, and me. We'll go. It's like, Lord, really? But okay, God. June 2023. You know,
again, it's still seed form. And I've processed it with close people and be praying about it
and, you know, have a chat with Pastor Ralph. And he's like, again, we should probably have
a chat with Pastor Corey, who was a senior pastor at the time. I'm like, yeah, we can do it
in months to come. It's two years away. Before I know it, two weeks later, I have a meeting
with Pastor Corey in between the two conferences. And he starts asking me 101 questions. Is it
like, is it a business? What is it? I don't know. I don't know where I'm going. I just know
where I can't stay. I remember saying those words before I read that scripture. And I shared
the heart. My heart breaks where I see pastors not finish the race because there's not
one to care for them. And so I will sit on that. And we both agree 2025. That Friday
night, for those who are at the Second Revival Conference, Ben Fitzgerald gets up and he shares
a message. And the whole crux of his message was how counselling was such an important part
for him to realign back to the call of God. And if it wasn't for him being able to see a
counsellor to work through that space, that he perhaps wouldn't be running the race that
he is. At that point, confirmation. I'm glad. I'm like, thank the Lord. Thank you, God, that
I had the conversation before. Because it wasn't a hype thing. It wasn't, this is the flavour
of the month. This is God. You're stirring something. Two months later, still 2023. I meet
with my course director and I tell her, hey, this is the plan to finish, you know. And she's
like, that's brilliant. That's great. And I said to her, then I want to, you know, ideally
it'd be great to work in this space for five years so we can supervise leaders. Because five
years, do you know that you can actually do that course at the same time and you can supervise
leaders and pastors? You don't need five years experience. You can do the course. I have to
then tell Sonia, hey Sonia, I need to study a bit more. And she's like, you know, hey, as
long as it doesn't interfere with us and the kids, I know that God's grace is on it and it
hasn't. So then we come to 2024 and we all know the year that we had. While navigating
the hurt personally, I still navigate the hurt on how people get to those positions
and why is there not enough people that are stepping out to help those that lead
others. So this is where I knew that the season was coming. Conference last year. The
Lord asked me three questions. I won't get into the other two. The very first one was, will
you lay west down? And reluctantly I said yes. So what these next few months are going
to look like, well, March the 3rd, it's not a holiday. It's hard work. I'm doing five
units. Five units of a master's degree. I did three last year full time and praise the
Lord. I've managed to get good marks through them. And so I'm going to be studying, finishing
my final semester of my master of counselling. I'm going to be studying my group supervision or
my professional supervision certificate. And I'm studying a graduate certificate in trauma
counselling. Don't know what that's going to lead. But what does that look like here?
What does that mean for us as a church? See, I love that when God calls out, God calls up.
And sometimes it's left field. And other times like this one, it's actually beautiful because
to be honest, I've not actually seen this before. So we're actually going to pioneer,
I guess, in a way, in this stage. As the Lord was transitioning me to lay down a role,
He was actually stirring Sonia's heart to step up in a role. And so I'm pleased to announce
that March the 3rd, Pastor Sonia Fuentes is going to be your lead location pastor.
See, it can seem like, oh, well, nothing's really changing. But no, the Lord is actually
asking me to step back and champion her on, to support and submit. I mean, I already do.
I'm a good hubby, I don't know, everyone's in a while. Maybe when I don't clean well. But
to support and submit. And so what it's going to look like is obviously Pastor Sonia is going
to lead that space. But we don't lead alone, we lead by committee. We've got an incredible
five-fold team that have been such pillars, literally, but such pillars to us spiritually,
physically, and emotionally for the last four years. And so I know that the church is in great
hands. And it's going to be a bit weird for all of us. I mean, for me, I've got to understand,
right, this is a calling, but at the same time, it's a job. So in the long service leave,
it actually means that I'm going to be away for a season, because I need the church to
get used to Pastor Sonia leading the church. So you're not going to, it's not going to be
like, okay, March is sick, and then on the 9th, hey guys, I'm back. You're not going to
see me as much until the end of June. But I'm not leaving you my church. I want you to know
that. I've already told Sonia, unless you really need to share it, don't really want to hear
what's going on at church. Not because I don't care, it's just, I know what I get into.
I know who I am, you know. So I've got to learn how to balance that. For the first time
in 11 years, again, for those that, this is a bit of insight into the role in what we
do. You know, the average church attendance is once every three weeks. That's the last
census. As staff members of a church, you're only given four Sundays off a year. That means
that in 11 years, there's only 44 Sundays that I've had for holidays. So it's going to feel
a bit weird, but I'm going to get the opportunity to go and visit French churches
and be with, you know, friends and that, and family. But come June 15th, when it all
finishes, I know one, I know two things that are certain. I will be back, and not like
Arnold Schwarzenegger, I'll be back. And in the capacity that I'll be back is to support
Sonia and the team. And so some might go, yes, you're not going to hear me preach as
much. Yay! I don't have to prepare as much. I know, horrible. But this is home. So when
the decision was made, again, God knows timing. I didn't know last year was going to go the
way it was going to go. I had no clue, but the Lord did. And so come September last year,
when I officially let my leadership know, I did it intentionally before a vote, because
the Lord said, that's what I'm in. That's irrelevant to you. Do you trust my call for
you or not? Irrespective of an outcome, do you follow my lead? It's like, yeah, 100%.
So I just wanted to let you know that. And obviously, over the next couple of weeks, happy
to answer any questions throughout that. But this scripture gives me hope that even though
I don't know what tomorrow looks like, I can control what I have now and what God has given
me and obey and trust, lay down what I need to lay down to know that He will make it grow
and trust that what He has for me is better than I can ever hope, think, dare, dream or
imagine. So if you want to know what next season looks like, that makes two of us. All I know
is study, trust, pray, seek. And so I want to invite the band to come up. I'm going to pray
for you all before we close in worship.
You know, as the band comes up, you know, my heart is that my life will be an example
for you in this as well. That this isn't easy. You know, in fact, I was having a conversation
with someone about this. You know, the easiest thing to do and the good thing to do is to just
be where we are doing what we do. But I've come to learn in my life, I don't want to just
do the good if God's not in it. I don't want to do what's easy if God's not in it. And I
know things will go fine. You might be in a circumstance that the Lord is stirring something
in your heart, in your life that is difficult, that is challenging, that requires faith, trust
and obedience. But let me tell you something that when you step out in obedience, when you
trust what God has for you, like you see with Abraham, God comes good on his promises. God
fulfills his word in his promises. God's promises are not null and void. So I enter this next season
saying, Lord, I don't know, but here is what I have. You have my yes.
