Gateway Church Australia
Joshua from PNG - The Jesus Way
For now, I did want to actually introduce to you and have a short chat with Pastor Kiapp. So, Pastor, would you like to come up? We say that we're brothers from another mother, so he was born in the sun, so him brown, and I was born in the shade, that's why I'm white. And my grandchildren, when they first met him, they were a little bit unsure, and he said to them, "Just think of me as chocolate center." True, huh? He said this, not me, he said that. Not me, he said that, right? So, my grandchildren sometimes say, "Oh, Pa, are you going back to visit chocolate center?" And I say, "Yeah." True, true. And then they want gifts or something, I don't know. Confusing for them. So, you'll see some pictures rolling around our school. This is Pastor Joshua and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is Kiapp's daughter. And, yeah, they're doing amazing job. I'll talk about that in a minute. But, Pastor, some people have known you for a long time, coming to this church now for a long time. But may not know that you've been in ministry a long, long time. So, close to now 40 years, and you started with the Baptist church in Papua New Guinea, and you were a chaplain at the hospital in Bia River. And then you were a national supervisor for the Baptist Union, going around the country, helping pastors. And then you came to Port Moresby in about 1989 or 90 to study at the Bible College. 90. Yeah. And that's, we had connected before that by letter. This man writes like the Apostle Paul, amazing letters. And I was so convicted, I said, "I have to go and visit this man." So, I went and visited you once, and we struck up a friendship, and you invited me to come back for Gateway to help. So, what is the help that Gateway gives to you? And why is that important? Gateway, a morning, a morning, a gateway, sorry. Yeah, yeah. All right, and Gateway is important to me is they stay beyond of me, support and preach the gospel to the poor in Port Moresby and other parts of the country in P&G. And they always there for me. So, that's important, and also the Children's Fund, which you can see on the screen, that's important for me and for the people of P&G. Yep. And then culturally, as I understand, the Melanesian culture, really important for relationship to go ahead of anything that's having to be done. And I know you've said many times to the teams that we bring from here over there and to our pastors and leaders that we keep coming back like we don't forget about you. You know, we have made a commitment as a church to Papua New Guinea forever. And we are going to honour that commitment. And I know that you appreciate us coming and thinking about you, praying for you, that's Pastor's Church there in Port Moresby, which was built with some funds from Gateway Church, so special. And the Children, did you notice a difference in the settlement before we came and now, what's the difference with the children? Children's Fund is a child development project, which has been started, and that's a very big help to the family. And that child development project is reaching out to poor children in the settlement that reaches releasing the children into the property, from poverty and giving them education and medicine and food. And that really helped the family. And so, which is important for the family. And yeah. I remember when you came to Port Moresby first time, you, after college, you worked for the Baroque Baptist Church, which is one of the biggest national churches in Port Moresby. You were their assistant pastor, but you had a heart for the people, literally living down the hill in the settlement. No one was going to them, so you came and asked us, would we help you to help those people? And so we sent resources and prayers and some staff, and I came and went and came and went. And you established a church at a settlement called Vadavada, which was the worst place by their description in the country, highest murders, rapes, robberies, drugs, kidnapping, all sorts of bad things. And so this man was the only influence in that settlement. Amazing. When I first went there, when I first went there into the settlement, they tried to tear up me. There were two boys gone with the gun. The two boys, you remember Francis and John, they were sitting on the hill, and they said to him later, we were figuring out how we should shoot you and steal your boots. And then you led them to Jesus. I still wanted to shoot you, but you led them to Jesus. That's right. No, no, I'm joking. I'm making jokes off. But the gospel influence in that place is just quite amazing, and you did that for so many years. That church is no longer there. It's got a very mobile community. But we have established the church here at the school in Wataka. There's all of our school children. The buildings, you know, Kiav wanted them painted bright colours because the rainbow in the Bible is a symbol of hope. And so we say that we are out post of hope in Papua New Guinea. And as we said, many of those children, they'll be lucky to have one meal a day. They wouldn't go to school running around the streets. They're the future thugs of PNG. But Kiav with his workers and with Monica and the teachers and now Joshua really making a difference. And so many people say to you, Kiav, you know, how much a difference and encouragement that you coming. And can I just say, we probably don't realise this as well. Kiav is a cross-cultural missionary in Port Moresby. Because the people in Moresby are multiple people. And you're anngen man. So you left your country in the highlands and came down to the urban city to do urban mission amongst people that didn't speak your language. But you brought the love of Jesus to them. I think that deserves a round of applause. Is there anything that you would like to say to us? Yeah. Without your support, thank you for your prayers and support. And without your support, I think nothing happened. What is happening now? So thank you for your prayers and support. And with you, we can change and make a difference in Port Moresby. So thank you once again. With you, we give you hope to family and children in Port Moresby and in PNG. So if some of you are new for this children's fund, you're enjoying with us. And then you will be part of GEDO Children's Fund. And we can make a difference. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. [APPLAUSE] This is a little small group of children was Pastor John's wife, Bevelin. With the new school we have in the highlands, just a small group. And then the next slide, guys, was our teaching staff. Nathan on the front there on the right, he's our head teacher. And so there's all our lovely teachers that work in the school, all trained, properly trained, educated people, that they work with the poorest of the poor. And we don't just take anybody. We often say, if a man comes, drives up to the gate with their child, we say, oh, your child can't come to this school. Because he's a rich man, he's got a car. So that's-- oh, no, it sounds hard. But we take the poorest of the poor children. And there's Jacob scaring the children in Papua New Guinea. You see the fright on their faces. We were over there recently just doing some fundraising. Kiaap, the married man to UNGEM, has three daughters, Princess Elizabeth, who is married to Joshua and Mary. And there's my Mary. There's Marcy, also scaring children there. And Princess is the manager, so their apartment block there, which we rent out to raise funds for the school. There's some of the worship people at Kiaap's church. On the left there is Deborah. She's been with them all the time. She's a wonderful elder and preacher in that country, in a country which doesn't usually recognize women leaders. Deborah has always been recognized. And UNGEM in the front, I see there, is the white dress here. So is that UNGEM there, Mum, right? I think I was right. Yeah, OK. So anyway, so I just want to honor Kiaap. He's an amazing man. And we are about to meet the new improved version of Kiaap. [LAUGHTER] Kiaap's current leadership team, as you can see. But we're about to meet Joshua. And I'll introduce him and explain why he's here. But Pastor, thank you. Bless you. And we hope you enjoy conference. [APPLAUSE] This is Pastor John when he was a young man. He's the first baptism in Giroca with Gateway Church. When you were there as a youth pastor, yeah, yeah. So while I was there that day, and I just happened to take that photo, you know, lup in what happened. You've got no hair now. What happened? He got old or something. But we love John. He's a very lovely, lovely man, very privileged to have you and Bevelin in Giroca as the second church for Gateway. And I know Joshua and Kiaap and John have plans to plant more churches in Papua New Guinea as well, and they need our help to do that. So prayers and finances are so important. OK, so I have the privilege of introducing you now to Kiaap version two or something like that. Not really. He's a good man in his own right. I wanted to introduce you to Joshua. Joshua is married to Elizabeth, who is Kiaap's daughter. He is a man from lay from another part of the country. But he comes very well accredited to us. He is a graduate of the National Bible School in Papua New Guinea. He has been a youth pastor and assistant pastor in the assemblies of God, an apostolic movement in Papua New Guinea for nearly 15 years. He was previously an assistant to Kiaap a few years ago, but then had to go back home because his mother was dying and he needed to look after the family. So he and Elizabeth went back to lay for some time. But they've just come back to become the assistant pastor for Kiaap. And probably in some years, Kiaap will hand over to Joshua to be the senior pastor. Kiaap, he's not going anywhere. He's not going to die or something. That's what you say. So he will continue to help with national supervision of other churches and things. But just a strengthening to that is just so important. Joshua and John, it's their first time out of their country. First time in Australia as well. Now let's encourage them with that. [APPLAUSE] I originally thought that Joshua would come and he would see one service and get a bit adjusted. And then maybe next week, he would preach, but it didn't work out. So I said to him, brother, you need to preach this week. And so he will tell you the story about him not sleeping and wadi something. But we're so proud of you, Joshua. And Elizabeth, thank you for coming and strengthening pastor. I know the future for gateway is in good hands with you. And yeah, I just thought for him to come and preach, he's a good preacher, and knows the gospel. So how about you come, Joshua, and preach for us? [APPLAUSE] Good day. I'll go straight to what I have. It's a privilege to be here among you all. Hopefully you hear my English well. I'd like to talk about caring for the vision. Caring for the vision. We came on Friday, and I didn't sleep well. The longest flight ever in our country is one hour from one place to another. But here was six hours of flight. So when the plane stopped, everything within me kept on moving. So I tossed, and I turned, and all night, until four or five in the morning, I went and took a bath. And then I slept until 11. So that was something. I was stunned by how big I told I had Australia figured out with stories and movies and pictures. But the place blows your mind. I need a new CPU to process things. Yeah. Culture shock. Even yesterday night, Saturday night, I was praying and I was mad at yesterday. Why? Why? I came to receive. Why did he put me on the podium? Because it's easy for me to preach to my people, and I can lie to them with the English language. I make mistakes. But with you, you can pick it up like, man. So it's been around 12, 13, 14 years of full-time ministry preaching every time I get up on stage to preach, wherever I get nervous. Because it's not a call of man. It's the call of God. And my father always say, it's a pulpit. It's a very dangerous place for any son of mad at him to stand upon. And it's a privilege, and it's a honor. But I realized, you know, preaching at Gateway HQ, and with all of you here, I couldn't sleep yesterday. I was up, and I was thinking, and I see these two fathers, Pastor Rick and Pastor Kia. And I was thinking, they, you cannot see their fingers, but they got their fingers crossed. Like 35 years of relationship with these two people, and Pastor Kiab, as I told me, as a priest, or any paponeganese and priest, the first time for any paponeganese to preach here. And probably because God is fingers crossed, son, make me proud. And probably Rick just don't mess this up. And I also got my fingers crossed. Surprisingly, that I'll be still breathing at the end of this message. Let's pray. Only Father, maybe everyone also has their fingers crossed about something. And, oh, yes, Jesus, you have your fingers crossed also. Realizing the work, the law that, yes, there is upon us to finish the race. And Lord, we thank you for today. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. So I'd like to acknowledge thank you, Pastor Rick and Massey, for the privilege and honor of being here, a gateway board, and Pastor Kiab, for the privilege for us coming here. Listen, my wife, Pastor Kiab's daughter, she's been here before if we have, yeah, but 10 years ago. So she sends her love and greetings. Deep appreciation. And congratulations to Bethany and Rick for joining the team carrying on the vision. So carrying forward the vision, carrying forward the vision. I have just four points this morning. There's a quote by someone he said, "When God wants to drill a man, drill a man, and kill a man, when God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part, when he ends with all his heart to create so great, and bold a man that all the world shall praise. Watch his methods. Watch his ways. Vision. Vision is given by God to a man. A man that is willing. A man that is available. A man that is ready for God to use him. When we think about the story of Noah in Genesis chapter 6, God came to Noah and he gave him a vision of the hak, of what would happen to the people, to the place of the flood and everything. Noah understood the vision. It was not about meeting. It was not a big show. It was just Noah, this one single individual and God. And Noah captured the vision. The vision was planted in the heart of this man. With his limitations, with all his, with where he came from. He saw the reality. He saw the finished product of the vision in his heart. And he believed the vision. And that is so important. That he believes in the vision as reality. And he was walking in that vision. He was living in the vision. And maybe people, maybe misunderstood him. Many people probably didn't know what was going on inside him. But the vision was planted in his heart. I talked to some of our youths and leaders back in P&G. And I said, you see the schools just like we saw. The church, everything, all that is in the man. You embrace the man. The vision is there. Before those things came about, those things were in somebody's heart. They saw it. They dreamt about it. They prayed about it. They believed that it existed. But it had to take time. And it had to come through situations and circumstances. And all these factors coming together. Noah was a man who was pregnant with a vision. But who was faced with his shortcomings and the reality that was before him. He had to go through criticisms. He had to go through experience, misunderstanding, rejection, all these things. But he was faithful to the vision that God gave him. It was adamant that it would come to pass. Many things can happen. But God said it, I believe it. And that settles it. He does the rest. Many people can question the vision that is in the heart of the Father. God gives vision to the Father's, and we carry on that vision. Gateway is a good ship, a nice ship, built with careful precision according to godly specifications as outlined in all these scriptures. I admire these two men. I've been with Pastor Keop, approximately twice, very close, and I see him. It's not about the money. It's not about the positions. It's not about the things. Yes, I tried this. His bones. He does not sleep. Well, yet he goes out. He believes in hard work and not free and doubts. I cannot understand this guy with his condition. And many people far away, they see him. He's got a white man beside him. Maybe the white man gives him money. Maybe he's there, and people see. But they don't understand what's going on inside. And when you get closer to people with vision, people with dreams that God has given them, you begin to understand their heart, understand their sacrifice, and feel that. And people partnering with God's vision, they embrace God's vision. Not a lot of people do that. Only few men, few women in the story of Noah, we see. Only few people understood God's vision. That this man, they carried. They understood, and they worked with it. They believed. And it affects their lives. They see this man. They don't see all these things, the structures, the buildings, the projects. But they see the life of the man. There is something different about him. There is something that he carries. The way he lives, the way he works, the way he talks, everything. He believes it, and it's a reality. And when they connect to him, it affects their life. It influences them. It's life that is connected to God comes and overflows into their lives. And they want to be part of the vision and what God is doing. Carrying on the vision or the mission, the next generation. And we look at Moses, Genesis of the 50, verse 25. Moses came into the picture a little bit later, the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then Joseph, they were in the land of Egypt for 430 years. And the promise was that one day, one day after four generations, they would have gone out of that slavery and entered the Promised Land. That promise was there. And Joseph, he lived under the 10 years in Egypt. And he passed away. Now the mantle has been passed down to someone by the name of Moses. And Moses now was carrying the vision, which is now translated and become reality into a mission. And now the mission was there. And Joseph, in Genesis of the 50, verse 25, he made the children of Israel promise that when God takes you, and he will surely take you to that land, when he takes you to that Promised Land, make sure you take my bone with you to that Promised Land. And we see in Exodus up to 13, verse 19, the promise came to pass. Now they were moving out. They were on their way to Promised Land. And Moses got the bones of Jacob. Our excited Jacob Master. Joseph Master had been up there watching on the monitors. Yes, finally. My bones are moving. Finally, Moses, be careful. Don't mess this up. This is the day. For 320 years I have been waiting, expecting, accident, thinking, what will happen? When will the bones be moved to the Promised? When will I see the realization of that? Then now, he comes in the picture of Moses, and he's moving the body, the bones of Joseph. What an amazing time for this man, Joseph. Imagine if Moses decided to tell his brother Aaron and sister Miriam, we got a good idea. Every life is nice and smooth in Egypt. Why carry the burden of another person? Why go out to the desert where you put your family in arms danger with the sun's heathen, where there's no water, where there's no stars, where there's no-- not a lot of luxuries and privileges out there. Why go? Let's get a piece of land. My brother, my sister, come. Let's stay. Just forget about the Hebrews. They can worry about themselves. But Moses took the bones of Joseph and brought it to the Promised Land. Carrying on the vision, the generation, the next generation, imagine if Esther, in the Bible, Esther chapter 4, was what it was for such a time as this. She decided to tell a uncle, Mordecai. She was an orphan. I am the queen. We got all everything that we ever dreamed of. Forget about the Hebrew people. Uncle, come. Enjoy the best of the kingdom. Come be somebody. Forget about the Hebrews. They can fight their own fight. Why worry about another people or persons problem? We are slavery. Imagine if Esther had done that. Imagine if the Lord Jesus had said something similar. I will not give up my throne. I have a good idea. I am in the God had Trinity, let them do it on their own. It came to a point where it felt that if there's a way, take this cup away from me. I can feel the way, feel the bed, and it's not going to be easy. Imagine if Esther does that. I pray to these two men that I am worthy enough that God would entrust me with their spirit, their heart, and their vision for what they have. I pray that God finds me. Then when I say me, I am talking about the next generation. I pray that God finds me worthy to entrust me with the noble heart, spirit, and vision of this humble fathers. All these things that are carried in the belly of this man, big shoes to fill, that after their time is up and when my generation comes in, that we will not run off and do our own little thing. But that God, you will find us faithful and still on the mission, carrying on the legacy. And surely one day, we will proudly report to Papa Joseph that your bones has arrived in this final resting place. Last week, a apostolic missionary over 30, 40 years in P&G up in the Highland Swabek, they took his ashes back. It was his dying wish and request. Joseph died after 110 years in the foreign land and wished for his bones to be rested in the land. God had promised to give him his descendants and to become their permanent dwelling place. And waited another 320 years to finally celebrate the homecoming of his bones to be rested. Can you imagine Joseph observing closely and watching cheering on Moses saying, come on son, I'm with you. Don't mess this up. Bring on my bones. Faithfulness to the call about the next generation. Joseph made the sons of Israel Swab saying, Genesis 15, 25, God will surely visit you and when-- and you shall carry my bones from here. Joseph made the Israelite swear and owed and said, God will surely come to your aid. And then you must carry my bones up from this place. And when you see Exodus 13, verse 19, that promise came to pass. That promise came to pass. Sound a bit similar to what the leader said later on in Acts 1, verse 4. On one occasion while he was eating with them, he gave them this command. Do not live Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised which you have had me speak about. Jesus means she was focused on the 12th. Started no church, reached no people, didn't went to another cultural language, never went international. The next generation did. His disciples. What if the disciples said, well, Jesus is gone now. That's our own thing. Guess it's over and went their way. Will the Holy Spirit still come? And finally, the success or the failure of the mission lies in the count of encounter the next generation has. The success or the failure of the mission lies in the kind of encounter the next generation has. What kind of encounter the next generation is Solomon, King Solomon, at an encounter with 700 wives, 300 concubands. Samson had an encounter with a beautiful young lady from another place. Moses had a bending bush experience. Esther had an experience with his uncle Mordecai, the disciples had an encounter with the tanks of fire in the upper room. The success or the failure of the mission lies in the encounter. This generation must have a Jesus encounter. We must have an encounter with the life-giving, living person of the Lord Jesus Christ if we are to carry the vision of our fathers. There are so many fathers. There are so many visions. There are so many things that are pregnant, that are in the arse. There are so many things that they have built. And the next generation cannot rise above. Cannot step up to the platform and stage and take on the vision of the Father, the heart and the vision. Yes, the facilities are there. The structure are there. We see all these material things. But the heart of the Father, that God has touched them, a generation, if we can touch, have an encounter with a living Christ, we can capture the heart of the Father. And we can move on. There are so many things that we can encounter in this world. There are so many places, so many other things that can border us, so many dead things, lifeless things. But if we can touch the living Christ, we can even encounter with Jesus. And it's so important. And it's so important. And it's so crucial. The mission is on us. And as these two fathers are sitting, I feel the weight of their heart and vision. And it's my prayer that the next generation we take up on that. And people will fight the next generation. They will criticize. And it's not going to be easy. Because when they see me partnering with the fathers and trying to understand their vision and working with them, they will think that I have seen. They will think that there's something to gain personally from that vision. And they will fight. They will try to come close. But the sacrifice that is in that is massive. They see the things. They will think it's all about the money. It's all about the cars. It's all about traveling and having that experience and living the best life. But it's more than that. It's beyond what the eyes can see. It's crying and wailing and praying that God, I am worthy and aware of them and with all the weaknesses and feelings. Am I capable with all my training and with all my experiences? God, you know me. People know me from afar and they see that, oh, it's a pastor. He can preach, he can do that. But God, you know how weak I am. How limited I am. And yet you called me to carry on the vision. It's a burden. It's a burden. King David's dynasty was threatened in kings. One kings of the 11th, 11th to 13th. Solomon did something terrible. He married a lot of wives, which a lot forbid he encountered. Dead things, lifeless things, unnecessary things. Things that hindered the purpose of God in his life. Things that God said. Don't touch. You will jeopardize. Undermine the vision. I don't want the buildings. I don't want the money. I don't want the car. I am supposed to be a doctor. I left my car. I left my big house because I want to carry on the mission. And if we are not careful, the next generation, we will drop the vision. And the Lord said to David, but out of respect, for your father, I won't do it in your life then. It's your son who will pay. I rip it out right with his scraps. Even then, I won't take it all. 12 tribes of Israel, only one in left Judah, he left with Solomon on his descendants. The 11 tribes were torn away. Given to his Sabote and the someone lower than you. God do not take away that vision. No. Let this generation not mess it up. There's all kinds of generation, millennials, generation X, but I want to be generation X, capturing the heart of the fathers, the vision, and now to do that is to encounter the living person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to be in a position of my fathers and not having their heart and vision. When I was traveling here and being here, I prayed and I said, Lord, I'm here in Australia, dream of many Papua New Indians. I'm here in a position where these fathers have given me to stand with them. But God, if I do not have a message, if I do not have your heart, if I do not have access to that place that brings life and creates all these things that leads your people. Then it's all a waste. It's all like nothing. Take all those things. Just give me Jesus. [APPLAUSE] Thank you. Nice. [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] I think we can uncross our fingers now. [LAUGHTER] All right? Yes, we can. You're a beautiful man. Thank you, Josh. And thank Liz for us that you are humble enough and brave enough to step up and help carry the vision. We love you. Thank you for sharing with us your heart this morning about the Jesus way. Without him, we are nothing. Thank you, brother.