I really had in my heart as we consider you know Mission Sunday comes around every year what are we about uh that this year God was stirring us just to take another step by faith that um whatever your season might have been been about you know as a church we've been through a season that I think we'd all agree has had its moments of struggle and Challenge and and difficulty and what can happen because Of that is you can end up kind of sitting down and just watching everything go past and where you once maybe
had faith and expectation of what God would or could do sometimes you think oh maybe that is for someone else maybe my time has been and gone but I don't believe that I believe God is stirring every one of us that there is a new step of faith that is calling us to collectively as a church across Australia and around the World and we are linking again to all the locations all around the world can we just put our hands together say hi to everybody and uh I'm just praying your faith gets stirred today maybe
you're already taking steps man I just pray that Faith builds in your heart for some of us it's like like God is going to speak to us and remind us to get up and take another step by faith and so uh let's pray and then We're going to together be really encouraged and inspired by a beautiful story of Faith uh connected to the mission that God has for our church so let's pray father we just thank you that we can be here together uh right around the world uh United in uh our passion to serve
you Jesus to grow in our faith to grow as uh men and women of Christ to be people who are uh purposeful Jesus followers Lord that we would follow after you with a Deep purpose and Lord today we would be encouraged inspired stirred uh Lord to take another step according to the mission you've called us to in jesus' name we pray and everyone said amen amen you may be seated and let let's have a look at the [Music] screen whilst on the Journey of life we often find ourselves searching to understand the [Music] World and
our part in it unfilling the maps of life we find past roads ways we walked with ease and those that left us bruised line by line we add and arrange connecting the dots of what we know to be sure we take in the depths and shades of our progress we've come so far learned so Much and yet our map is [Music] incomplete I am Daniel Wood originally from Fiji born in Su hello everybody my name is Sana and I'm from sua born and raised in sua we met at sana's Best Friend's 21st and her best
friend was married to my cousin I instantly fell in love with her after 3 days I knew she was the woman for me we got married in 2007 we have two daughters Aila Joy who is 16 Years old and Addison Grace who is 13 years old I studied Aeronautical Engineering I did a PhD in Aerospace structures I was very career- driven all I wanted to do was you know climb the ladder and be as good as I could be as an engineer and get exposure to some really great projects and so I applied for a
job back in Melbourne end of 2011 we said okay Lord you know we're just going to say yes to whatever you have in store for us We moved to Melbourne we were just looking for where are we going to fit in Daniel's sister actually messaged and said hey Hill song is coming to Melbourne there was an expression of Interest out on the website we went for this first connect group and started walking around introducing ourselves and there was a lot of excitement in the air by the end of that night we had found a host
and we were the connect group leaders and that was our first connect Group and we had no idea what we were doing i' never done it before I think there's kind of that Blissful ignorance of just like yeah let's let's do it you know we'd be like trying to recruit for our connect group you know where do you live where do you live and do you live out west at the time I was really just fitting Church in where I could if work came up I would sacrifice any responsibilities with church to go and Work
and so an opportunity came up a sment for Boeing to go to Seattle to work on the new trip 7 we were in Seattle for 2 and a half years we came back from Seattle to Melbourne in 2016 we kind of just went back into our church as well we started a connect group Again by this stage I think my focus was Far More on Church than it was on work I was no longer in this season of chasing after career I think I'd kind Of learned some lessons along the way it was more about
a season of significance now it's like hey how can we help our children how can we look after our community better we had just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and we were just praying and just listening to what God was going to say about that year different words were coming through church through prayer night just Fiji Fiji Fiji Fij San is a GP and there was a doctor who had an extensive patient list and she was wanting to hand it over to Sana and so there was that opportunity and I had a stable job it
was good and we were really at a Crossroads we went to Tim cuz he was our pastor in in West and we said hey Tim we're thinking we're going to head back to Fiji and that's when Tim kind of blew my mind and he said hey Hillsong Fiji and we're like looked at each other and Like gosh how does that even work um we started to contemplate all of our friends and family back home in Fiji and what it could mean for their communities and for them to have a church like Hillsong being planted in
in Fiji and I remember we were lying in bed together and I was just looking up and thinking God didn't bring us to Melbourne for Boeing God revealed to us that we were learning about church how to do Church how to love on people and just how to Lead which is what we're so thankful to God for it felt like are this purpose hey yeah we get a chance to do something that none of us have ever done before you know we were kind of bubbling away but we had no idea how it was going
to [Music] happen as we go over where we have been our eyes catch at the edge of the map we do not know what lies Beyond past the Horizon it's daunting to explore again yet there is a tug at our heart to Uncharted lands an undeniable pull towards the mystery his voice calls us his Spirit ever ready to guide us nudging us deeper towards the unknown and so we move we Dare we take a [Music] step we moved back to Fiji and it was like hey we need to start connect groups and who are our
partners on this journey so we organized a dinner and uh we said hey guys guess what we've got a great opportunity to plant Hill song Church potentially here in Fiji and so we kind of did our first connect group leaders training and we said hey let's start getting people Together that's kind of how church started it was just stepping out in faith and just whoever we ran into we just like invited along you know by the end of 2018 we were ready to to kind of start meeting him we got together and we just Linked
In and we woried for the next year or so to the screen we're totally blessed with beautiful leaders volunteers who have come and they've just been plugging in and serving you know we're part of this Big family yeah to move from live stream all we started to do was we had a worship team and then an MC then eventually we started preaching so you know multiple steps along the road and we developed confidence as we kind of caught the heart of church amidst the Wilderness and unknown we follow his call step by step we move
into his rhythm into his Path the uncertainty of the terrain and what lies ahead is eclipsed by the assurance and direction of our guide as we cross from what has been to unfamiliar lands as we walk the hard roads and cross through the valleys it is then that we start to see the full map [Music] the lines and threads of his great Work in us and through us he calls us onward into his purpose his commission his glory [Applause] [Music] we really took it on ourselves in the last couple of years to evaluate how can
our church impact our community we believe the church can love people better than governments can albeit we're A relatively small church but man there's so much talent and love and passion within the people in our church we've got people that work with street workers taking coffee and praying for them and listening to them and going back every two weeks we've got some amazing Champions within our church that go into schools and speak to young women about their future about their identity about finding their identity in Christ we have reading with Rocko Rocko is a Beautiful
mom in church she runs a reading program in her house so you can have about 20 to 40 kids there after school that's just amazing about what God is doing in the doors that he is opening and everyone just being obedient to step out into what he has already the open it's amazing what God is doing in SAA what God is doing in Fiji the church is active the church is alive we're United and we just have to keep saying yes to whatever God has put in front of Us it's really just about empowering those
around us and unlocking so much potential that a lot of them don't realize that they've got you know we always used to say hey what's your next step what has God got in store for you because if he can take an engineer and a doctor who know know nothing about planting a church to where we are and we're still on that journey I think there's so many more steps for us to take but man it's so rewarding it's been Been the Journey of a lifetime we've always prayed that we would be the right people in
the right place at the right time stepping into what God has for us and at the same time he has met us with people who are gifted who are talented who are graced and who he has purposed for this season so this is also an encouragement for those who are worried or nervous about stepping out just being faithful with what God has placed in front of you just stepping You out in obedience and the Lord will always go ahead and he is faithful [Applause] amen I love that isn't that amazing Daniel and serana's story and
you guys no doubt I'm sure are joining us in Fiji banaka to everybody there and uh I love it I hope to get to Fiji and see our church Community there at some stage in the future hopefully tie it into when uh Fiji dreu are playing the warar in the rug rugby uh you know you just got to Plan these things properly don't you we are linked to 124 locations in 36 countries around the world isn't that amazing praise God for that praise God for the journey so far but like I said right at the
start I believe that God is calling us to take another step I love Daniel and serana's Story I mean here is Daniel who is a a a PhD a doctor in I think aeronautical science and he feels called to go back to Fiji with his wife Serana who's a doctor to plant Church Yes he has studied and has a career but he senses something deeper in his heart and in his Spirit maybe for you it is with regard to a career and and and building a business and and those things whatever it might be what
I love about about Daniel and serana's story is that they had the courage to be obedient to God and it required a whole lot of faith I want to read to you from Joshua chapter 1 and uh and verse 7 through to verse 9 It says be strong and very courageous this is God speaking to Joshua and I believe God is speaking to us in a similar way today be strong and very courageous be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you do not turn from it to the right or the left
that you may be successful wherever you go keep this book of the law always on your lips meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it then you will Be prosperous and successful have I not commanded you be strong and courageous do not be afraid do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you you wherever you go what a beautiful promise and then in uh 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 it simply says this for we walk by faith and not by sight
that's right we walk by faith and not by sight Joshua had to make a choice that if he's going to walk into what God had called him to the promised land out of The Wilderness walking for him was going to be by faith because by sight if you read the story in the Old Testament it was fraught with all kinds of danger anytime you take another step of Faith anytime you get up and say I'm taking a step it has to be by faith because when you look at it in the natural it can look
kind of scary special shout out as well to Belinda neelson who I thought was like a female Indiana Jones there on the screen [Applause] she was walking by faith and not by sight you're called to walk by faith and not just by sight not just by what you see around you not by just what has happened in the past has been but by faith according to what God is speaking into your heart uh a little while ago um we got on a zoom lucra and I excuse me with some of our lead pastors from around
the world and we ask them what are you Excited about when it comes to 2025 what is it that God's stirring in your heart as we head toward the mission and I thought it'd be really cool for us to hear from some of our lead pastors around the world because they are amazing men and women of God doing incredible things across the Earth and so I thought it'd be really cool just to hear for them for a brief moment so let's again have a look at the screen well great to uh be with every One
of you guys we we are just so encouraged by all that God's doing in our church all around the world as we head into this year really I feel in my heart just a defining thought around taking another step take another step that God is stirring our hearts to take another step by faith and that unbelieving is going to be felt and encouraged and stirred in all our different congregations around the world you know for you guys what does that Stir in your hearts when it comes to the courage to take another step of faith
I believe like the next steps for us um this side is to really bring a conciliation in terms of like where people have been and what has happened in their lives VI has been doing such a dirty work in people's lives in our country and all we have to do is go back and recover recover People's Health and just build them into this fabric of what a healthy Church looks like that they Can actually function be what God has called them to the [Music] I was thinking the other the other day about purposeful Jesus followers
and taking a step and there was a lady who took that step to get baptized last year we prayed for her and we asked what is it you like us to pray for she said I'd love to pray for my family they don't know Jesus by the end of the year her daughter was baptized two grandchildren Were baptized son-in-law was baptized and I'm believing to to see families become purposeful Jesus followers and for that to perpetuate everyone person that is a part of our community has a sphere of influence that is another person and another
person and when one heart is set on fire for the Lord that takes that one step it starts to catch on and and we know that that's the way God wants to move is just in our families in our Communities one step at a time one heart at a time I feel really stirred um I'm quite convicted because I think on Sundays at church we talk often about reaching the world and Sam and I have been talking recently about reaching our street so yes we're going to reach the world but I'm going to take a
step and I'm going to reach my neighbor and for me what that what that looks like is actually being equipped and ready so what is my story do I know the gospel Cuz you might just have a moment Revival is coming and so are we ready to present the gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus and actually be the workers for the [Music] Harvest I believe for this year for our church more young people in church because I think the Young Generation waiting Revival that's where my head's been at it's where my study's
been at is how do we pull the gifting of God in Young people and kids how do we help them now take that next step in their gifting and I think when they do that when we do that it advances the church into what God has called her to do and to take her place within the world there is a story there's a longing for okay God we're we're here and we're ready what are you calling us to you got young people crying out for God having prayer meetings and rallying together saying God would you
use us in our high schools And I love that there is a courageous people rising up that say God would you use us as individuals but also across our church I just have this uh this hunger and this belief that we can to see the power of God move open doors the way only he can we can take around and see the Holy Spirit really move in people's lives through all of us as a body of Believers just living in that Matthew 28 Great Commission we all fit in that it Allows room for everyone to
grow have faith together but also individually we do believe that there's breakthrough coming because we believe that the power of the Gospel is just so incredible that there's going to be change and people are going to turn to Jesus because he is the answer I love steps because sometimes we're often trying to figure out the whole picture but God often works just in Steps there's just this desire to see real connection and all of us have this capability in our hand to create Community we just have to make the decision are we going to be
obedient when we hear the prompting of God there's so many times we get the prompting call someone pray for someone do we obey B that prompting to pray cuz sometimes we worry about what if nothing happens but what if something does happen I believe that as a church we are Called to disciple people we are called to help them Reach their potential but sometimes we tend to stay in our comfort zone but when we take that step of faith we will see Miracles and we will see you know our lives go forward what would our
church look like if everybody would take that step of faith [Music] isn't that wonderful so encouraging I love I I love what Lucy said there at the end what what would it Look like if everyone in our church took that step of faith and so I just want to encourage us with that today you know uh your story will be different from Daniel and serana's story and and and from the person next to you story but your story matters and I believe today God wants to encourage you to take another step by faith and so
I'm going to share a a few things around that uh we read from Joshua and to me what's interesting is that Joshua God spoke to Joshua after The Israelites Israelites God's people had been in the wilderness uh for 40 years they'd been in the wilderness but that was not not where their final destination was uh you know they're wandering around they're following after God but God had something more for them they had a another step if you will another season there was a deeper and greater purpose for them and maybe for some of us we
felt a little bit like it's been a bit of a Wilderness season Well I want to encourage you today I want to encourage our church today that there is a purpose and a whole lot more uh that God is wanting to lead us into and so how what do we need to do in order to to step into that well just a couple of thoughts that I want to share with you and hopefully if you're taking notes you can write these down and they can just encourage you you uh on your journey the first one
in this is this Trust In God's Presence Not Your Own Strength you you know over this last season there have been times when I've felt a bit weak and a bit overwhelmed and you know when that usually happens is when I'm forgetting about God and trying to do it all myself and and I try and rationalize things or work things out in my own mind and then I realize actually I'm not in control but God is and I've got to keep trusting him last year uh one of the main verses we shared from on Mission
Sunday was Exodus 33:15 thank you someone got excited about it it says then Moses said to him if your presence Moses speaking to God if your presence does not go with us do not send us up from here and last year I really felt like it didn't matter uh where we would go or what we would do what really mattered was that we just made the call God we want your presence more than anything else we don't want to just do something for you we want to know you and still that's right at the Center
of everything that we are and and right at the center of what God speaks to Joshua and and reminds Joshua keep my presence at the center of everything in Joshua uh 1:9 it sayso not be afraid do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go God is with you do you realize that are you aware of that God is with you in your University God goes with you in your home life God goes with you in your place of work and your career God goes With you God is with
you his presence is with you you may be facing some big decisions you may be dealing with some challenges can I encourage you to lean on God and allow him to guide you and strengthen you and give you wisdom and not just on your own ability sometimes we are so limited by what we see comparative to having the ability spiritually to get in God's presence and see by faith one of the best things you can do and and I Encourage you it's so simple but something that I do to the best of my ability is
start each day just in prayer in God's word saying God speak to me don't let my my mind get clouded and distracted and caught up in the things of this world no doubt there is a whole lot of times when Joshua felt really unqualified Joshua you know do you you really God you think I can do this and and and and God says you're you're the one I'm entrusting with this we can all Feel unqualified that's pretty normal I've definitely uh felt unqualified kind of still do Castle Hill High School graduate shout out I mean
it sets you up for a win but still feel like I need God a lot more than my qualification from from my HSC from Cal high school anyway let's move on alumni if you're out there what I'm learning is to remind myself that God is with me and God is With you every day last year I shared and I want to put this back up on the screen again Mission people who are mission people people on mission mission people are people with a deep conviction we we've got a deep conviction in our hearts about what
we're called to we are united in community we don't do this on our own and we're fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit we're not fueled by what we have what we've achieved we're fueled by The power of the Holy Spirit and let me remind you that's that's what you need more than anything it's great to to get qualifications and you know Daniel and Serana are both Highly Educated qualified people but they relying on the Holy Spirit more than anything else and I love that I'm so encouraged loved hearing their Story number two obey
God even when it doesn't make sense I know you got to chuckle at these ones don't you if you read the story Again of Joshua the first uh battle uh is one where God says okay this is how you're going to win this you're going to March around a city called Jericho seven times and then the walls will come down this is not a good battle strategy but but the lesson we learn from Joshua is obey God even when it doesn't make sense there are times when trusting God taking another step does not necessarily make
sense in the natural but you know in your spirit in your heart God is Calling you and leading you towards that sometimes God calls us to act in ways that don't make sense to this world but we've got to trust his Direction even if it requires patience or a little craziness because a little craziness with God can go a long way I'm looking down at the Sam Way's family here and I'm going to get emotional they're they're on a journey they're they're waiting for their visas to come through and then they're going to be heading
to South Africa and God's going to be with them and it's a crazy journey and it's a journey in some ways I'm sure doesn't make sense but I know that God is going to with be with them and bless them abundantly and bless the Church greatly in South [Applause] Africa and shout out to everyone joining us from our church in South Africa you're going to love these guys you know them already but when they finally Arrive they're even better in person well KY is sing um they're beautiful people and they're going on a crazy journey
and God takes us on crazy journeys of faith it doesn't always involve ministry as such with the with church ministry it could just be in your in your career it could be to to study it could be as we heard Courtney uh on the screen talking about LA and saying hey we don't not just called to reach the world we also feel called to Reach our neighbor may maybe it's the courage to reach our neighbor and it sounds a little crazy but to do something to bless them is what God's calling us to number three
face challenges with courage not fear fear is always going to be there in Joshua 10: vers 8 it sayso not fear them for I've given them into your hands I don't know about you but over this last season there's been times when I have been fearful there are still Times if I left let my mind run in a certain way I can get fearful fear can hold us back from fulfilling our purpose it could be fear of failure it could be fear of rejection uh fear of the unknown so many different ways that fear tries
to rob us what I what I'm reminded of is that courage isn't the absence of fear it's moving forward despite fear trusting that God is in control and there's many times when Lucer and I have taken steps of obedience even with a level of fear in our hearts yet knowing that God was with us and seeing breakthrough when he acted on our obedience I talked about Sanger and Ketty and their move to South Africa I remember in 2008 when Lucin and I with our young family made that call that we are moving to Cape Town
to plant our Hillsong Church there again that there was a whole lot of reasons why that shouldn't be the case I had people Coming up to me saying you know there's crime in South Africa are you aware of the crime in South Africa and I'd say don't worry my relatives were all convicts I'll just get reacquainted with my criminal people come on you got to really see things a bit different ly just from how everybody else does don't let doubt stop you from taking action where God is calling you and I believe where God is
calling us amen as a church we got to Keep taking steps of faith I believe this year there are new Endeavors new opportunities that God is leading us into as a church all around the world don't let fear hold you back step forward in faith like Joshua this week just this week I received a message from a friend friend of mine in South Africa and he was getting his car uh cleaned and detailed from a mobile cleaning service and he got chatting to the guy whose name was Marvin and they found out that they both
attend our church and then he goes on and he has to send me this message because he goes I started to get to know Marvin and then Marvin tells me it was six years ago that he started his mobile detailing business cuz he was in church and God stirred him to take a step of faith and start his own business and now six years later it's thriving and he's been winning Awards and uh he's one of the Best guys in that business in in Cape Town and and and my friend had to send me this
and I was so encouraged because I realized the power of the church to stir people to take a step of faith in really practical ways for Marvin it's changing his whole family because he had the courage to say maybe God could use me to build this business what whatever it looks like for you I just want to encourage you sometimes we get so caught up in all the doubt and all the fear Whatever that may look like in areas of ministry or uh all kinds of places business and the like I got another friend I
was speaking to recently in Switzerland Switzerland and he was telling me about the courage to start a business to take on this business many years ago and and now how God has blessed that and and enabled him to be a cont significant contributor back into our church uh in that part of the world and and and you hear these stories of How God is at work when people take these steps of faith and it's never just easy there's fear in it but keep going keep taking that step of faith and let God strengthen you as
you do number four if we're going to do this we got to lead by example not just words you know know Joshua had to lead by example in Joshua 24:15 Joshua makes a do bold declaration where people are uming and aring and going well you know are we still going To follow God you know it's getting a bit tough and we've had to face a few battles and I don't know and maybe we just compromise a little bit and you know maybe we've done that maybe we just settled down and Joshua in Joshua 24:15 very
clearly boldly proclaims as for me in my house we will serve the Lord amen hallelujah I like that come on as for me in my house listen we have a world out there that is looking for people who are genuine in their faith Not compromising but following Jesus and living for him and as for me in my Heth we are going to serve the Lord may that be our declaration and may it not just be words but May It Be by our example I pray as part of Hillsong church that we would be people who
would live lives of Integrity faithfulness and perseverence that we would live lives of honor where we would serve others where our our words and our actions and our Behaviors would line up we're not perfect people but we're people who live by our conviction and we would serve our communities in our cities that in our family our workplace our community we would live in a way that honors God and brings blessing to those around us our church all around the world is made up of incredibly faithful men and women and I want to encourage you if
you're a parent maybe you're mentoring someone if you're a Leader your faith and your actions will influence others sometimes more than you even realize more than you even realize you don't realize what can happen just by the words that you speak and the way you choose to live number five one thing that Joshua had to deal with Excuse me I've had a little kind of cough this week but I'm getting over it remove sin and Disobedience quickly you know what Joshua had to not Just face the external challenges he had to face the internal challenges
which we all do as well in Joshua chapter 7 you can read it for yourself it talks about Akin and the fact that he sinned and it led to Israel's defeat and Joshua had to confront the situation can I tell you there are always things that we've got to watch out for in our lives personally we want to take another step by faith and and and and to do that sometimes requires us To look internally and go God where do I need to deal with things in my own heart and my own life see When
sin or Disobedience or areas of negativity enter our life if we don't if we if we ignore them they can really affect us and others around us sometimes God's word challenges us within ourselves and we have to say God I want to be obedience to you I give this over to you be willing to make hard but Necessary decisions at times to align your life with God God's Will and again I want to encourage us as a church let's be people who are making good decisions about how we live good habits attitudes and relationships and
keep growing together in faith Joshua had to make some hard and tough calls but he did it because he knew there was a mission that they were called to and he was committed to going after it and God blessed the people who followed with Obedience I want to encourage us to do this same like Joshua we are called to walk in faith to lead courageously to obey God and to trust in his promises so here's my final thought for us maybe you feel a bit intimidated about taking another step maybe you've been a bit discouraged
maybe you took a step and something failed maybe it looks a bit Scary can I remind you Joshua didn't win every battle Joshua suffered some failures along the way Joshua and just like all the examples of men and women that we read about in the Bible they all were real people who faced real challenges and I'm encouraged by the words of Jesus and I've been encouraged by these words for some time and I want to speak them over you again today in John 16:33 he says I told you these things so that in me you
may have peace In this world you will have trouble but take heart I've overcome the world Jesus is with you he's with me he's with us in these moments and so a couple of final thoughts if you have felt like you've kind of been knocked down and it's like man I want to get back up but it it it feels hard here's a couple of thoughts just to help you to take another step if that's where you've been number one remember failure is not final it's not you may have failed it doesn't have to Be
final in Proverbs 24:16 it says the righteous may fall seven times but they Rise Again falling down is not the problem staying down is some of us need to get back up and get going again God is not done with you yet there's some of you that have had a word from God and you've put it on the shelf and it's time to get it back into your heart and say God I'm believing this year I'm going to take a step Towards that come on and it might just be one step that you take and
then another and you see how God is at work as you just take those single step one after the other trusting God your failure is not final number two simple but keep growing in Courage and confidence again God spoke to Joshua and said be strong and courageous do not be frightened for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go fear is a liar it Makes things worse than they seem doesn't it we all know that's true and and and fear can come in and Rob us we know it if you're a parent uh
you know it with your kids who come in uh at night because they're afraid of something or when you were younger and you used to be afraid that there was something on the bed so you didn't want want you to put your hand down did anyone have those moments it's like there's something under there I better Not let my hand but there was nothing under there occasionally for me my younger brother was under the bed trying to freak me out ah siblings see here's the thing God is with you right now even in your struggle
I I put this in my notes you don't have to feel strong to act in faith strength comes as you take steps forward strength comes as you take steps Forward you don't have to feel strong to act in faith sometimes you may feel weak but you can still act in faith number three God's plan is always bigger you know as we watched Daniel's story you could see how God had a bigger plan for Daniel and Serana than maybe he even thought was possible and what God has for fij is even greater than what you guys
are seeing right now we have no doubt about that in Romans 8:28 it says for we know that God causes everything To work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them sometimes a season of struggle is part of your testimony that God is actually doing something inside of you I've learned that God shapes us through the challenges and the difficulties in fact last year I wrote this uh and and I want to remind us of it again my question on Mission Sunday is not just What
are we doing but who are we becoming who are you becoming in the process we can celebrate and achieve a whole lot of things and go isn't that great what's happening all around the world but who are we becoming in the process are we becoming people who are more uh fruitful in regard to the fruit of the spirit are we seeing more of that in our lives are we being people who are trusting God at a greater capacity are we being people who are more Servant-hearted more Christlike because those things matter as much as celebrating
the big things in fact really in God's economy they matter more yes God wants you to achieve great things but who are you becoming who was Joshua becoming in all that God was taking him and calling him into through the struggles failures and challenges you actually grow in faith God has a way of teaching us lessons through his creation and I just I I was Thinking about this and you may have heard this analogy but but it's so true a a caterpillar has to spin a cocoon and then be in there for a season before
it becomes a butterfly and if you've ever seen the Cocoon struggling with the butterfly inside don't try and help it because if you try and help the butterfly out of the Cocoon guess what you do you wreck the butterfly you stop it from actually having the strength to be able to fly And sometimes God's saying you just got to go through the struggle because it's going to strengthen you so when you finally break out of that thing you'll be able to fly the way I intended you to fly and so allow the struggle to make
you who God has calling you to be number four you you've got a new identity in Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:17 never forget that your identity is not tied up in your failures your past your Successes any of that it's in Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person the old life is gone and New Life Has Come and number five pray always hey you can't do this without prayer you may feel like you've been knocked down a bit start to pray in Philippians
4:6 it says don't worry about anything instead pray about everything tell God What you need and thank him for all he's done then you'll experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand his peace which guards your hearts and Minds as you live in Christ Jesus prayer brings peace even when circumstances don't change your Mir immediately it reminds you that God is with you and God is at work in your life I'm going to invite my wife in a moment to come and to pray for us but there's a few exciting things that are happening
Around our church uh and I just wanted to share them with share some of them with you and there is so many things that God is doing excuse me and and and I don't have time to go through all of it you know there's things at a local level at every one of our locations that are so exciting and then there's things at a global level that are exciting and it's just not time to go through all of it I I just wanted To share what I feel in my heart that all of us are
called to take another step of Faith there are some exciting things happening firstly uh let me tell you last week I was in Portugal where our hillstock Portugal uh Team have just moved into a brand new facility and uh it was an absolute Miracle to be there and that's the mayor on the left and Mari Amelia and uh we were there celebrating the opening of this beautiful facility they have not had Their own space they've been renting uh packing down setting up on a Sunday uh for years and now they've moved into a space which
was an Old Post Office Distribution Center an ugly old building that in 3 months they have converted look at that into a beautiful space I think it seats 1100 people and we are cheering you on and it's a space that looks out over the city it was just so good to be there with them they've got space for Youth and there have got space For uh where where literally they're going to be able to help those who are homeless and living on the streets putting showers and the like in in this space and and it's
just incredible they got an amazing V Village uh vision and it was just so exciting to be a part of it and see what God's doing and then in barley guys God is at work in barley uh they are launching a second location in sanua because they can't fit everybody in and last week a week or so ago they Had their first worship night and the place was absolutely packed uh and they couldn't fit more people in that's just their first worship night in senu and so they're launching out and we're excited about what God's
doing there these are just some of the things that are happening around the world uh and then and and you know this I've been sharing this but to our whole church uh Hillsong conference in London happened for the first time in 5 years which again praise God for all of those involved because that was a big deal our London team had not put on a conference for 5 years and when we were there there were churches and church leaders from all across Europe that were so impacted by what God was doing and and again we
want to be a church that can be a blessing to the greater Church community and so putting on this conference after 5 years was amazing and seeing what God was doing there and you know what we are more than Ever and I know we say this and I loved hearing from some of the guys our lead pastors around the world we are more committed than ever uh to the Next Generation I believe God wants to raise up a gener and he is of young men and women who are serving him uncompromisingly who are fully radically
committed to Jesus and and what we're starting to establish is these Hillsong leaderships all around the world and these leaderships are an opportunity for Us to develop young leaders we've got one uh here some of the crew in Argentina how cool is that uh and we have one in South Africa and then there in sou Paulo and uh and up in uh here in Sydney yes uh and then in in Portugal we're establishing a Hillsong Leadership Academy and there they are in Spain and this opportunity we have around the world to develop young leaders for
life and Ministry and we're going to see that more and more I believe there are Thousands and thousands of young leaders young men and women that we are going to train and develop some will go into building Church some will go into workplace other areas of Ministries but God is at work and I'm so encouraged by it and then we're all about you know as one of our mission pillars significant sustainable social impact and we've been seeing God that work in all kinds of ways in the uh social impact space both locally and globally uh
and in South Africa uh we've been developing The Innovation Hub in Johannesburg teaching digital skills to previously disadvantaged young people uh it is a very costly course that we run and fund the whole thing ourself uh provide a meal for everybody these young people look at them all graduating I think there's something like 70 students that we could we could put the course together we provide everything for them can I tell you how many applied Almost 3,500 applied because that is the need and right now we're looking after 70 and of that 98% of them
either got into another course or got a job out of their um going through this program that we do it's a 12mon program that connects them to a digital economy so it's not just dependent on the economy in South Africa and we would like to expand this across Africa and even around the world because there is a Digital economy uh that can help to lift the lives of people who often have uh potential but don't have opportunity and we want to give them opportunity and so there are some of the exciting things that we're going
to see more of also Chris Mendes has a very exciting announcement so let's have a look at the screen and hear from Pastor Chris from Latin America hey Church in 2015 as a family we took a step of faith and moved to Latin America and started Hillsong Church in Buenos adus Argentina in 2016 we took another step of faith and started in so poo Brazil in 2019 we started in Monteray Mexico in 2022 we took another step of faith and started in Monte Vio Uruguay and also a second campus in soolo well in 20125 it's
time to take another step of faith we are going to Colombia where we will be starting Hillsong baranga baranga is an amazing city a city that is filled with so many people That we want to reach for Christ so we're excited about pioneering again planting again and we can't wait to see all that God does in our midst isn't that exciting Colombia hola [Applause] Comas doly do how exciting is that and we will be launching more Hill song churches uh we have a commitment where even within Australia we're excited about what the future's going to
hold when it comes to launching of uh campuses and locations uh but we're also just trusting God for the right time uh and to have the right people and the resource to do it really well and uh you know there are also uh various couples who are saying hey our hands up we'd like to lead a Hillsong church somewhere around the world and uh and I get so encouraged by that uh God wants to build his church and there are A lot of great churches around the world but I'm so encouraged uh that that people
are saying hey we want to be part of what God is doing in Hillstone church and seeing uh you know the beauty of our church uh you know that is all about seeing people come to know Jesus and growing in healthy community and making an impact socially we want to see that expand uh where possible and so we're going to see more of that and we'll be announcing more of that but again guys To me it's not about announcing places it's about us growing into all God's called us to and whether that's a church location
whether that's a social project all of us have a part to play and I want to encourage all of us this year guys let's take steps of faith we are grateful for our history we've had a few struggles and a few challenges but we are moving forward in faith with expectation amen that God is with us and I'm so excited about it can I invite my Wife to come up I'm sorry we've gone a bit over time Mission Sunday uh tends to be a little bit like that but my beautiful wife's going to come and
pray for us and then if the worship team wants to come and join also how amazing church I wonder if we could all stand together across our church and this morning I actually I actually didn't want to just come and say a prayer because I know I always miss things or always think I Wish I had said that or I wish I included that or I wish I hadn't said that so I've written a prayer and I would love to read a prayer um I would love us to pray together but I have written it
and I would love I would love to read it to you so I wonder all across our church everywhere if we could just close our eyes and if we could fix our attention on the Lord Jesus I would love to pray this for our Church dear Lord Jesus I thank you for the word of God that has gone forth today and I pray that it will accomplish everything that you have intend it I thank you Father God for AC our church across the world today and I thank you that you have purposed and plan for
us individually and corporately to Bear great fruit this coming year I pray this year for our church that we will always seek the kingdom of God first and seek to live in a close friendship with Jesus I pray that God will continue to awaken our hearts to the fullness of who he is I pray that we will be strong and courageous and continue to possess all the promises that you have for us I pray that we will be careful to obey you in all that we do I pray that we will be people who put
the word of God first place and first Priority this year I pray that our church will always be known as a House of Prayer and I pray that we continue to take bold Steps of Faith in the exact direction that you are leading us and I pray that Psalm 86 would be our portion that you would teach us your ways and that we would live in your truth and that you would grant us purity of heart so that we would honor you with all of our heart we praise you oh Lord Our God and we
give you glory we give glory to your name forever and ever and everybody said amen God bless you church and God bless God bless our 2025 and we give it all to him and we ask him to go before us and to go behind us and to bless us in the name of Jesus Christ amen amen God bless Behold the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world There's No One Like Jesus and that's what we're all about can we just Have everyone bow their heads and close their eyes and before we conclude
the service I know it's Mission Sunday but I just believe it's so important to give people an opportunity to respond to God and maybe you're here maybe you're at one of our locations and you're say you know what I'm away from God Phil and I I don't want to live like that anymore I want to know him I want to begin to walk in the Mission of purpose that he has for my life you know my friend that begins with a simple prayer a prayer of surrender a prayer that says Jesus Son of God would
you forgive me and give me a brand new start and I believe that's exactly what he'll do so I'd love to pray with you love to pray with you a simple but powerful prayer and if you want to be part of this prayer what I'm going to do with heads bowed and eyes closed I'm going to count to three when I get to Three if you want to be part of this prayer you just lift your hand and we'll see it and wherever you are you can just pray where you're at God's going to meet
you right where you're where you're at today and I believe God is speaking to the hearts of people here and right across our church God's speaking to your heart you need to have the courage to respond to him leave the past behind may maybe you're kind of Walking with God in the past but you've gone from that place And you know you you need to come back in the right relationship with him I'd love to pray with you so if you want to be part of this prayer when I get to three you just lift
your hand we'll pray with you right where you're at one he loves you two have the courage to say yes to him today three just lift your hand wherever you are that's that's you thank you thank you thank you thank you God bless you thank you thank you thank you thank you beautiful hands raised all Around the auditorium at every location if that's you you just lift your hand if your hands raised we we're going to pray this prayer and as a church family we're all going to pray it together just repeat this simple prayer
after me from your heart to him dear heavenly father dear father thank you for your son Jesus thank you for your son Jesus thank you for everything he's done for me thank you for everything he's done for and right now now I open my heart my heart And my life everything I am everything I am and I give it to you I give it to you I thank you I thank you from this moment this I am forgiven I am I'm a Child of God a child I'm leaving the past behind leaving the and I'm
walking forward walk for into my future into my future with Jesus as my Lord as my as My Savior as my friend amen amen God bless you and uh if you prayed that prayer uh man we we we believe in that decision so much It's just the beginning but it's the beginning of Walking with God your heavenly father and knowing Jesus and we'd love to give you this to help you on that Journey it's caught our good news guide book and there's a whole lot of our team who will have these lanyards on and uh
they'll have these they'll be waving these as you leave at all our locations we'd love to put one in your hand and uh really it's 21 pages and that can represent 21 days just read one Page a day and it's got a whole lot in there about what it means to know God and to follow him and understand Jesus and Bible verses and things just to help answer questions and to help you grow on your spiritual journey so please grab one and if you give us your details the only reason we asked that is cu
we're a church and again we want to let you know what we do as a church to help you grow and move forward on your spiritual journey so hey why don't you grab one as You leave but God blessed can we congratulate everybody one more time [Applause]
