Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Okay. You're probably wondering already what footy and sheep have in common. Anyone see where I'm going with this or not? No. Well, footy's pretty big at our place.
[00:00:14] And I thought today that footy, or thinking about speaking that footy, is a lot like life, actually. I'll just make sure this is.
[00:00:28] So there it is. Footy.
[00:00:32] So even a footy has a purpose.
[00:00:35] And so does the footy team.
[00:00:40] Did anyone watch that big Carlton game last night?
[00:00:43] Yes. Any footy fans here today? Yes, a few.
[00:00:48] Cool.
[00:00:50] And I think about our boys. When they used to play under nines and they didn't score up at Prospect Orcs, it was just all about getting to know the team, getting to know the rules, getting to know where the goals are and what to do.
[00:01:08] But even on the way home, the conversation in the car was the boys knew exactly who won, how many goals, how many points and who was best on ground.
[00:01:22] So even then, children knew even though they didn't score, they knew what they had to do. They knew the rules of the game, so they had a purpose.
[00:01:35] So here's some coaching.
[00:01:39] So in footy, you need a good coach. A coach guides the players, sees their abilities and puts them into suitable positions.
[00:01:48] The ruck, the centre, full forward.
[00:01:51] All those other positions that I have no idea about.
[00:01:56] Not everyone does the same thing. So a good coach leads well and the team, and they follow the coach and listen to him and follow his direction. And they all have a purpose, a common purpose.
[00:02:11] So our next one.
[00:02:15] So Jesus would explain his teachings with parables, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, just so they understood what was going on.
[00:02:27] And the Bible tells us that Jesus is the good shepherd and he gave his life for us.
[00:02:34] And people knew exactly what a shepherd did then. It's a bit different now with sheep.
[00:02:41] He lived with the sheep. He knew every sheep and he protected them from wolves. He searched for the lost and he loved and cared for them.
[00:02:51] And like a coach, prepares his team in training, exercise, and they build fitness.
[00:02:58] They learn disciplines and learn by their mistakes. And the coach corrects them, he encourages them, and they build a great team.
[00:03:08] And there's another coach. Ted had a great time coaching his boys. They had lots of fun.
[00:03:13] They learned a lot and respected him.
[00:03:16] And when he pulled them up, most of the time that was okay.
[00:03:23] Some were there just for social reasons only, though. So that was a bit of a battle.
[00:03:30] Yeah. With not many skills.
[00:03:34] Jesus tells us that he knows us and calls us by name. He sees and knows our purpose before we do the greatest purpose we can ever discover begins by hearing the shepherd's voice and following him.
[00:03:49] And that the God of the universe knows your name.
[00:03:54] So have you ever wondered, what is my life purpose?
[00:03:59] What's the point? Has anyone ever wondered that? Yeah, I have. It's like you go through stages of life and you think, what, what's next? What could this possibly be about?
[00:04:11] And I think as you get older, you reflect a little bit more and things become more important. Family relationships and doing what God wants you to do is more important than anything else.
[00:04:29] And this one, there's one for everybody.
[00:04:33] If you like, you can do whatever you like, eat, sleep, and then do something else and then repeat it. But to me that looks pretty boring.
[00:04:42] I don't know about you, but it's just, yeah, not really doing it.
[00:04:49] So weeks turned into months, months turn into years, and you're doing the same old stuff.
[00:04:57] So is there more to life than this? Does my life really matter?
[00:05:02] And the good news is, yes, it does.
[00:05:05] Jesus didn't come and say just that you could survive this life or said he came so you could just get by.
[00:05:15] He came that we could have life to the full and abundantly.
[00:05:21] And abundantly is pretty huge.
[00:05:25] It gives us a rich, satisfying life that the world cannot give.
[00:05:30] He wants us to be happy and fulfilled.
[00:05:34] He gives a deep peace, joy, and an eternal purpose found only in Jesus.
[00:05:42] So then we go to a footy player.
[00:05:48] So we're just imagining, because he was the most confused looking photo that I could find.
[00:05:53] Just pretend that he doesn't know the rules.
[00:05:56] He's got a guernsey on, but he doesn't know what to do.
[00:05:59] He doesn't have a position, doesn't know why the goals are there, but he just has to run around and pretend he knows what he's doing for the whole time.
[00:06:09] So how do you think he's going to feel at the end of the game when the siren goes? He goes, well, what?
[00:06:19] What's going on? What was that about? I think he'd be pretty dissatisfied and frustrated and maybe even a bit bored. He'd just get sick of it.
[00:06:29] So life without a purpose, you can be busy but not fulfilled.
[00:06:39] And I think a lot of people love being busy but going nowhere. Active but not abundant.
[00:06:49] And Jesus doesn't give us just something to do, he gives us someone to follow and a purpose to live for.
[00:06:56] The good shepherd sends his sheep into the pasture to grow, not kept in the pen.
[00:07:03] And that's what we're to do, grow in a relationship with Jesus. Tell others the good news and live a life of purpose.
[00:07:13] Back to the footy. A good coach doesn't keep his players on the bench the whole game. They might need a rest.
[00:07:20] But he encourages them and sends them out to play with purpose.
[00:07:28] And Jesus doesn't call us to be comfortable. He leads us to places where our faith is lived out.
[00:07:36] And purpose isn't about finding the perfect career, earning more money or being famous. And yes, you can have all those things, but our purpose is to put Jesus first. And it begins the moment we say yes to Jesus and we've all been given one.
[00:07:57] So God gave me a purpose. And I had seven years in chaplaincy at Mowbray Primary and Brookes High School.
[00:08:05] And I remember the first day I drove home and I said to Ted, I feel like I've driven to a different planet and not in a good way.
[00:08:14] I couldn't believe that children live such horrifying R rated lives.
[00:08:22] Abuse, overdoses, suicide attempts, prostitution, children working after school, children to help pay the rent.
[00:08:33] And these are just conversations of the weekend.
[00:08:38] And a parent or brother going to jail is just something that it's just so normalised.
[00:08:45] Children supporting parents through depression is huge and broken relationships.
[00:08:52] And I had a little boy and he said, I just wish my dad would love me.
[00:09:07] Behind every news story, and it's when you watch the news or you read the paper behind that headline is a child and children who've rung the ambulance, called the police and then expected to go to school the next day.
[00:09:34] So this is what God placed on my heart to start this school program where these children could be loved, accepted and given a sense of belonging.
[00:09:47] Show them the love of Jesus and give them hope.
[00:09:53] Now these are my dear friends Jan and Dennis and they helped me begin it at this church because the church here is on the way to school. So we had this school traffic, so prime real estate in Newnham, this is Georgetown Road.
[00:10:12] So now we've set it up. It started in a barbecue in the car park but now it's more, more cafe style inside.
[00:10:22] And our we have a volunteer from City Baptist who is a chef. Our chef, James, we call him our master chef there he is helping out at Scripture Union Camp.
[00:10:36] And so we've gone from sausages to nachos, loaded wedges, pancakes, toasties, just yes.
[00:10:43] And they love it because some of those children haven't eaten since the night before.
[00:10:50] So one of the highlights last year was Youth Revolution has talent.
[00:10:56] They love that.
[00:10:58] There's basketball games.
[00:11:00] We served 143 children in term two.
[00:11:05] So that's pretty amazing. It was.
[00:11:11] Yeah, the numbers are going up all the time. So we had a rough number of 15 there for a while. So it's been going up to sometimes 25 a week. So children are getting used to coming in and like being comfortable with this, which is awesome.
[00:11:29] And we encourage our children to go to Scripture Union camps. Here's Miller again, ready for game of laser tag.
[00:11:37] And we had sponsorship for seven students from Olive Road in Hobart to go to camp just this last holiday. So.
[00:11:50] And it's getting expensive. It's $200 a child to go to camp for two days, two nights and three days.
[00:11:58] But these guys probably the strongest attendees that we have at Youth Revolution.
[00:12:11] And then this week, Wednesday, we have Alpha Youth starting, which people familiar with Alpha Youth.
[00:12:21] Yes, it's a great way to introduce the Christian faith by having young people introduce it. And so we're having kicking it off with a party this week. So that's exciting.
[00:12:38] And then last year, God gave me an incredible vision to build in the northern suburbs a youth resort for these children that I've talked about.
[00:12:51] It's a long term vision to create a safe and supportive community where young people can find belonging, develop life and employment skills, and build hope for a better future.
