[0:11]
I'm actually not that young I bet Toby doesn't know my age but um it's it's my pleasure to reflect on one more passage as we go home because as we wrap up the conference if you're anything like me you're starting to think um how far will this conference take me once I'm back out there how much go will all this talk of Glory give me how many pipelines and Pathways can I execute and endure how can I make the challenge of

[0:42]
loving God deeply that we've heard so clearly this week make sure it has legs to keep running Beyond this conference will we have the endurance to do it can I actually can I share with you my greatest feat of endurance um I don't know if anyone here has been rejected by a girl before but um I dated my high school sweetheart for 5 years and when we we were dating five years a long time a Godly couple our church challenged us to consider marriage seriously so my girlfriend my high school sweetheart considered seriously and decided dump me

[1:13]
right now it's fair to say that one of us got over a little bit quicker than the other person but I thought you know what after a year maybe I'll take another crack at it so I said hey I'll ask her out again maybe it's a case of You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone that sort of thing and she said oh thanks Alan but uh no thank you uh but who gives up after one try so I waited another year and I asked her out again Alan now I'm good thank you very much another year goes by Third Time Lucky maybe well not for

[1:44]
me she said no again and you know what you'd think by the fourth year you know all my mates are saying Alan you need to have some self- respect right it's painful to watch but you know what I asked her at again and she said no again now the fifth year comes around right the 50 comes around and I finally come to my senses you know what everyone is right I need to wake up and

[2:14]
I finally decided you know what no I'm not doing this anymore right and you know the moment I stop talking guess who starts texting me back right and of course this is the time to play it cool to get revenge I'm just joking I jump straight back on the train right you know let's get together yeah yeah and of course I married the girl right um you know relationships aren't about winning but I won you know I almost gave up you know I almost gave up what kept me going is it

[2:47]
love am I a stalker I'm not sure but I almost gave up but imagine if I had the assurance that grand and glorious vision of how it would all end of course it would have changed everything you know this week we've been reminded of how God is at work in our hearts in his church both to Will and to work for his good pleasure and Glory we've seen all the different ways that God has done that in eternity past in Father and Son how he does that now so I just want to use Philippians 2:14 to18 to to use that to

[3:20]
encourage us as we go back out there how we'll work all this out with fear and trembling in awe of God's glory in The Humbling embrace of God's love and to ensure that we don't only do that in the presence of the rich Australia conference but also in the absence of the rich Australia conference so two responses I want to draw out of Philippians uh 14 to8 as we go home the first thing we'll see here is that we to do it without grumbling the grittiness of ministry that that is awaiting you

[3:51]
outside is the arena for God's glory and it will not dim and it should not be destroyed by our grumbling and the second thing we'll do positively is that we'll do it with gladness and rejoicing it is in the pouring out of our Lives to reach Australia that God gives us further and deeper possession of his glory and we get to do it with a smile do you believe that we get to do it with a smile so I'm going to quickly pray again as we come to God's word father strengthen Us by

[4:21]
your word as we reflect on how your spirit has worked in and through us this week lift our eyes one more time to see your glory lift our hearts one more time to so that in your love before we go and lift our hands in the Harvest field in Jesus name we pray amen you know you've had a week in the greenhouse now it's time to go back in the jungle you know get put your roots back down out there it's time to shoot up but you and I both know it's thorns and thistles out there whatever you left on your desk whatever problem was awaiting you on Monday afternoon when you drove up here it's still waiting for you there right

[4:53]
Ministry is always greedy it's never smooth but you know that because that's the Christian life because that's God how God often works God often shows his glory in those things and through those things and so we need to do all these things in light of God's glory rather than without grumbling you know Paul explains that to us from verse 14 do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the

[5:24]
word of life so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that did not run in vain or labor in vain see we hear a lot about the crooked and twisted generation that we work in don't we right we Grumble and Grumble wouldn't it be easier a whole lot easier to be blameless and blemishless innocent children of God if it just wasn't so crooked and twisted out there it's crooked in in the cultural craziness that we have to Wade through you know even those beautiful places we saw last night you know boxill and black town all

[5:54]
these beautiful people there you know it's a crooked place with crooked Hearts praise God God that people are going out there to make straight the way of the Lord but you know what has struck me this week in this conference cuz we're going to be honest it's even harder the even harder thing is in here and in here it's twisted right you know M's talk I really appreciate it you know as he showed us that heart it really was like a a knife Sab to my own heart this devastating dissection of of what's Twisted in my own heart I have a heart

[6:26]
murmur when it comes to my mind my conscience has been count I ifying I I I have this I have high blood pressure when it comes to my will I have these arhythmic palpitations when it comes to what are my passions see I don't know how you spend your Saturday nights I'm not reading about Dutch revivals like I'm panicking CU I'm mopping up spaghetti after my kids I'm making sure everything's ready for the Sunday and the thing I I just remembered I forgot being drained of God's glory and love I tend to Grumble you know while

[6:57]
was raiseed exaltation example seeing I think so powerful so many people because we know all too naturally and all too often our lips Grumble rather than sing but we need a perspective change that we've gotten here this week cuz where else did we expect the glory of God the glory of his word to shine like stars where else was it going to shine except in darkness see when we're out there grumbling we need to remember we ask oh

[7:28]
grumbling am I running in vain when we turn to the glory of the word of Life who is crucified for a crooked world so when we're out there we're grumbling am I laboring in vain turn to the glory of the day of Christ imagine at the dawning of of the day of Christ you know all the the lost people you've engaged the dechurch people you've brought back and on that day of Christ you'll see Christ untangling every sin Twisted deformed heart you'd say it's worth working for

[8:00]
pouring yourself out for burning out for even see we there's going to come a time in the next week in the next month in the next year where you can feel gassed running this race laboring for the cause of Christ and may the glory of God overtake any grumbling or grief that we're experiencing it's a marathon isn't it you know I actually think marathons are quite stupid for some reason some of the smartest people I know are into marathons just running for no reason um you know I mean the only kind of marathon that makes sense to me movie marathons but

[8:31]
um but I'm sure there's some marathons you know like Ray was in the cycling marathons are the thing of today um you know they marathons Al you don't get it you know and and they mock me and rightly so because I'm a grumbling lazy Bumble with no idea of the glory of the this physical feat the Endorphin release that you get I have no sense of the joy that is in the task and you know sometimes I catch myself grumbling in the ministry as if I don't know know the glory of the Gospel the glory of God is

[9:03]
the prize in our in as our Pursuit is what protects our hearts and prevents us from grumbling it shows us how to shine by holding out the word of Christ it strengthens us to hold on to it day after day so there's two perspectives there's two responses as you go back out there there'll be so many things that might cause you to Grumble but we need to see that it's in those exact situations that this conference wants to teach you to exclaim Glory Glory so we pray open our eyes God to you know God

[9:35]
to your will and work that we might open our lips time after time to exclaim Glory hopefully you've had your eyes open to that over the course of this week and as you go back out there you'll see it right and of course we've all seen it before and you'll see it again just let me help you remember you know um in my circumstances I I remember there's just times and times again where my my elders I'm a presbyterian uh um my elders kept yeah um my elders just steamroll me time and time again and I

[10:07]
come home like oh B you can't I work so hard on this and you these guys don't know but you know what they steamrolled me when I first put on my first start steamrolled me when I want come when I want to come back from Co they steamrolled me for when I would launch two services and like no one wants to be a presbyterian anymore but um but you know what actually on all three occasions they were right they were exactly right and you know what instead of grumbling seen that God had brought super Godly men around me to show me the error of my way they come alongside me

[10:38]
and work towards me then if I if I knew I say Glory Glory you know I I when I led um the first lady in my congregation to meet the Lord you know I I it just impressed the point she had so many reasons to Grumble but she used that last year of her life to disciple her daughter one more time time just just impressed on her or that you must follow the lord Jesus no matter what instead of grumbling she showed me

[11:08]
Glory you know if you indulge me in a second it's the story of our church I'm actually not the person who planted Captivate the guy who did it had to step down after 5 months because of moral failure you know the the the sugar high and all the hype just went to Subzero overnight but here's a bunch of young people who had nothing else but the gospel to hold on to what one of the hardest situations to see a church Thrive and survive you know it's a it's a miracle I think but in that moment you know our

[11:40]
our vision same is captivated by God's glory compelled for his name they said you've come back are you going to change it all you get rid of all that branding I said no I don't think so cuz we've learned to say captivated by God's glory in a new way in a deeper way you had you had the chances to Grumble because life is so hard Ministry is so hard the Christian life is so hard but we've learned how to say glory in those moments see how have we been helped this week to remember that before

[12:12]
God if if we are to be used here as a people to reach Australia then we need to remember that God has reached into this world and put his glory into clay jars like us to use us and we need to see how God is working so what we we know how to say Glory instead of grumbling as we go back out into the realities of this world and you know with this conviction if I could move on to point two is this deep conviction that God is powerfully at work in the hardest of soils and the hardest of Hearts right that we learn and we find

[12:45]
the conviction to keep moving forward in reaching Australia and and I want to say here in in order to do this with gladness and rejoicing in order to possess God's glory and may really participate for ourselves the key action Paul gives us here is to pour it all out to pour our lives out in gladness and rejoicing here if I could read 17 and 18 for us even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith I am glad and

[13:16]
rejoice with you all likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me see what a privilege it is to follow our lord Jesus you know to give our lives for the sake of the faith of others right the Apostle Paul is saying he would gladly give his whole life pour out his whole life that Old Testament imagery pour out his whole life to nurture and to fight for the faith of the Philippians see gospel Ministry is always a whole life giving Affair you need to commit your whole life just look

[13:47]
at the the logic of Philippians 2 you know Christ gave his whole life and he's God himself gave his whole life and he's exalted you know and then he pour saying I want to give my whole life pour it out like a drink offering and you know maybe as we read that we go well look Jesus is the son of God you know like you know he can do things that we can't and then we look at Paul we go well Paul's just a bit of a psycho you know I I can't do what Paul's doing but just look here here's the logic of Philippians too you

[14:17]
know uh here look here's Paul's jenz Ministry Apprentice Timothy right verse 21 even Timothy gets it right he he he verse he's pursuing the agenda not even of the Philippians but of the Lord Jesus Christ he gives his life to it Paul has no one like him and and of course there's there's the next guy there's one more guy here look this guy has no platform no blog unpublished he is the godliest nobody in the whole Bible

[14:48]
epaphroditus none of you have named your kids epaphroditus right he is so concerned for the Philippians he gives his whole life even when he's sick to the at the point of death he's concerned about God's people and the sake of their Faith gospel Ministry is always a lifegiving affair in giving life to others you give your whole life to it see as we pour out our lives watering the faith of God's people God grows them isn't that incredible and in God's infinite kindness he grows us

[15:20]
he grows our gladness our rejoicing as we pour ourselves out so friends I want to say pouring ourselves out is the way to truly and fully participate in God's glory right when you go out there pouring your entire life out is the way to truly and to fully participate in God's glory you know I could use this as a bit of an example imagine this bottle is your is your life if you're a little bit like me you know you think about pouring out your life and it feels a little bit like this well first of all you know I got to take a sip

[15:53]
first right cuz you know you don't look after yourself you can't look after other people okay well you know but you know a PO bit out yeah he's my my church oh sorry um um you know good for my church family you know it's it's right it's my job oh my own family you got to look after my own family you know oh and of course it's it for me again for my my leaders my elders oh not too much not too much okay right is is is that how you think about pouring your life out right but for Paul

[16:25]
he's saying pour it all out pour it all out for the sake of Christ pour it all out pour yourself out give your entire life to Christ and it freaks us out doesn't it it freaks our families out it freaks our wives and our children's out it freaks anyone who cares about you in your church out in your congregation but what does it take to reach Australia dare I suggest that under God we need thousands of

[16:55]
churches thousands of pastors hundreds and thousands of God's men and women to pour their whole lives out for the sake of the Lost for the joy set before them for the glory of God so we need to figure out what we're pouring our lives out into this week has been about getting you to consider whether you think reaching Australia is worth pouring your entire life out into but you know what there's

[17:27]
there's there's another thing here isn't it this week has also been about getting you to consider whether you believe that as you do that God will pour His grace and Glory into your life such that you are dripping with gladness and rejoicing so are you going to pour your life out with joy and gladness you see is is it possible that God has designed our gladness to explode not just when we love our our our families and our children and our congregations but also our gladness

[18:00]
explodes when we pour ourselves out to reach the loss and when we invite our families do it we invite our church families to do it is it possible that God's designed it that way is it possible that God has made it so that rejoicing reverberates throughout our lives when we release ourselves from self-interest and consider the interest of others more significant than ourselves is it possible that rejoicing reverberates in our churches when we think about reaching Australia rather than just reaching into

[18:32]
the next thing that we want or need inside our buildings is it possible that the best thing to protect us from burning out or fizzling out is not ultimately balancing it out but holding out gospel fued Christ adoring Saint loving pouring out see the Gary not remind us that that is the way of the father and the son has the Glorious way of God not been shown to us this

[19:02]
this week in John 17 that in pouring his glory and his love out into the world that eternal glory and love that exists between Father and Son in pouring that out into the world to reach lost souls God has become even more glorious that his love is even more magnificent have you learned the way of your father and your lord and savior so will you pour yourself out for the for the sake of the same mission to see a world to see Australia

[19:33]
reach with the gospel so again do you believe that pouring yourself out in Christlike gladness is to truly and fully participate in God's glory you know I love the logic of the last two lines of our passage because not only are we filled with gladness and joy we get to invite others into the same grit and uring gladness in the same resilient rejoicing that never runs out

[20:03]
see when Paul invites the Philippians be glad and rejoice with me we know what he's saying now right he's saying be glad and rejoice With Me Maybe from a prison or from a Pew right whether you're crushing it or being crushed by it be glad and rejoice with me you know perhaps as we go back and there's lots of things to implement isn't there perhaps the best recruitment tool that you've learned this week is not a pipeline it's not a pathway it's not a pentagon but your smile in suffering in

[20:36]
sacrifice that points to the supernatural joy that you've learned aresh this week that will call the men and women in your churches to the challenging and the encouraging Mission field that we call Australia you want to do that don't you want to do that it's not always easy though isn't it because it is a big ask you know I think about when when we came to Captivate you know I it's a hard situation wasn't it actually I had lots of mentors who told me Al you're just a grad this is way above your pay grade

[21:07]
you know don't do it um and you know someone else was actually had had second thoughts about it it was my wife like look you should listen to these guys they know more than you um and they did they really did um and and we we we actually fought in for ages about which church would go after college and um 4 months in fact longest fight we've had in our marriage so far um but you know what one day she came home and you know we said we wouldn't move ahead until we were United cuz that's the most important thing we move here and she said you know

[21:39]
what let's go not because I trust you Alan I trust God but let but let's go let's go you know you know because we've been fighting so long about this you know like you know I'd be like okay fine we'll go do this one it's like don't you dare Alan now don't want you to resent me for rest of my life we've been just fighting about so she she didn't have a smile on her face that day but I just in trusting God I saw her gladness and rejoicing gr over the years

[22:09]
you know over the years she's never said I told you so she's never said see but I saw god grow in her a gladness and rejoicing in her suffering in her sacrifice because she wants to see God's Will and work be done we can cannot be we cannot afford to be apathetic in our hearts when there's 20 million people in our nation under judgment without the good news of Christ we just cannot afford to be

[22:39]
apathetic but nor do we need to be apologetic when we go back to our churches invite them come be glad and rejoice with me be when men and women who want to give your lives of the chief for cause of your lord Jesus Christ see there is a gladness that is always ours in Christ it's always ours when we return and remember that the highest way to honor God is to Humble ourselves to lower ourselves in Christ like Humanity This Joy is always ours when we return and

[23:11]
remember that the greatest praise we can give to our God is to pour our lives out like the Lord and in that moment God is glorified like nothing else you know I bet a lot of your congregation members gets this email every Friday star sends your people an email every Friday telling them that for 3:49 they can spend a week in barley and miss two Sundays um in my church all our people can go to Japan if the Yen keeps going down my church is also going down

[23:42]
um yeah it's terrible it's just isn't isn't incredible that the there just the the thought of paradise the thought of Glory just draws people away just you know they they'll use all their leave they they'll they'll change everything around just because it's so enticing you know what I I hope I hope this conference has done an even better job than that jet star email you know I love coming to this conference I look forward to every year because I can Bank on it to remind me of what it takes if if our beloved

[24:13]
Australia is to be reached with the gospel of Christ we need to give our lives to it that Relentless resolve we heard about earlier this week but you know what I also love leaving this conference I love leaving this conference because it reminds us that God has called us God has called us to see the Lost saved God has called us to see our Saints strengthened God has called us to see the church Prevail God has called us to see Christ exalted out there so you know what I want to pray

[24:45]
for us I want to pray that as you go back out there to reach Australia that God's Will and God's work would be made gloriously known in your heart in your church and in your communities let's pray father God we thank you so much for reminding us that you are a glorious God magnificence in all that you are and all that you do L we thank you that that has been distilled into a white hot laser

[25:18]
sharp message for us to Proclaim to this world all because of what Christ has done for us Lord please charge us as we go back out to our little patches in this nation or even in the world that Lord you would use humble vessels clay jars like us Carrying Your Glory and love that Lord would see that Glory fill our nation and the Earth in your son's name we pray amen