Real Talk Friday: Pastor Rob Urban

Welcome to another exciting episode of Real Talk Friday, Episode 6! In this special episode, we are thrilled to feature an insightful conversation with the esteemed Senior Pastor of our church, Pastor Rob Urban. In this engaging interview, Pastor Rob Urban opens up about his remarkable journey from his early life to his calling in ministry. He shares intimate details about how he felt God's call on his life and the transformative experiences that led him to become a dedicated leader. Beyond his personal story, Pastor Rob discusses his pioneering work with United World Ministry, a visionary program he initiated to foster global unity and compassion through faith. His passion for this initiative is palpable, and he offers a glimpse into his ambitious plans for its future and how it aims to make a significant impact worldwide. But that's not all! Pastor Rob also delves into his personal life, sharing the heart-warming tale of how he met his wife, Chantal Urban. Their love story is a testament to their shared faith and commitment, adding a touching and personal dimension to the episode. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this heartfelt and inspiring episode of Real Talk Friday as Pastor Rob Urban shares his journey, vision, and the love that fuels his life and ministry.

Logan City Christian Church is a vibrant growing church committed to serving and meeting the needs of our community and beyond through the various ministries within. We as a church welcome you to come visit this Sunday and be part of an active, excited team reaching the world one day at a time. Sunday Service | 9:30am Friday Youth Service | 6:30pm Thursday Prayer Meeting | 7pm Address | 13 Watland Street, Springwood Qld 4127 Church Website | www.logancitychristianchurch.com United World Ministries | www.unitedworldministries.com Instagram | @logancitychristianchurch Facebook | @logancitychristianchurch

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Real Talk Friday with your hosts Rohan Das and Gus Urban.

(00:13):
In this groundbreaking podcast segment, we delve deep into the lives of individuals whose
journey has been profoundly transformed by their faith.
From the trial of adversity to the triumph of redemption, we explore real stories, real
people whose encounter with God has reshaped their existence.
Join us as we embark on a candid and enlightening journey where authenticity meets spirituality

(00:35):
every Friday on Real Talk Friday, part of Logan City Christian Church.
Hello and welcome to another episode of Real Talk Friday.
I'm glad you guys are joining us and today is a special episode, Gus.
No, it definitely is.
It's been a long time coming, but yeah, we're very, very excited for this special guest

(00:57):
to be on our show.
Yeah.
It's amazing because we've been always wanting this special guest to come on our show.
We've never had that opportunity and today was the day.
So I'll let you introduce our special guest, Gus, because I think he's also special to
you.
Yeah.

(01:18):
Well, today we have Pastor Rob, AKA Dad.
So Dad, I bumped it.
Dad, welcome to the show.
Thanks, guys.
Yeah, so like we said, it's been a long time coming.
There's been a lot happening and we've been very busy, all of us.
So to try and make two calendars, find a date for it to work is trickier than usual, but

(01:42):
it's very, very good to have you on.
Yeah, that's good.
I mean, I had to sacrifice my golf and fishing, but we're here.
That's great.
So Pastor Rob, I've known you for quite a while, not as much as you, Gus, but it's truly
been a blessing to have you in my life, ministering to me in many ways and of course you too,

(02:05):
Gus.
Yeah, definitely.
And I feel like there's such a big ministry calling that you have and of course the church,
Logan City Christian Church.
You're the senior pastor here and you're doing such an amazing job.
A lot of people who I bring to church tell me that they relate to so many of your message

(02:25):
and they feel like God's actually planted you at the right place and that's undoubtedly
planted you at the right place and they're so blessed by your message.
What do you have to say to that?
That's a tough question.
Well, I think it's encouraging because you always want to be effective as much as possible

(02:52):
and I guess bringing across a message that is relative to where we're at, but not only
that, that so many people go through so many different situations in life and it varies
from one person to the next.
I guess it's only the Holy Spirit who can give you the right message for the day and

(03:15):
you just got to trust that and run with it.
But it is, it's very encouraging.
Yeah, amen to that.
But it was not always like this.
Because I know a little bit about your story and that's what we want to talk about.
We want to see God's blessing in your life and how God brought you from place A to place

(03:35):
B.
And we're really keen to hear your story and I'm sure our viewers are too because of
you, your ministry and what you're doing, this podcast is available to all our viewers
and we're able to do this podcast because of your calling, your blessing towards this
church too.

(03:56):
We are here, me, Gus and many other people who contribute towards this podcast is because
of you and we're so grateful.
So we want to really, like this is the best interview I feel that we've ever done in
Real Talk Friday.
Oh good, no pressure.
Because I feel like we have Real Talk Friday because of you and we want to hear your story

(04:19):
and we're all ears now.
Yeah, well I've been avoiding this for as long as I could obviously.
It's really interesting when God calls you, you look back when you're surrendered to the
call you look back and you're, you know what, God was calling a long time before I ever

(04:40):
really realised it and you know that's one thing that I look back at and I guess it's
another thing that you know God's not a respecter of persons and so what it is is that for me
how I see it, what he did with me he does with everybody and so I know out there all

(05:01):
the viewers is that you know you may not feel a call of God on your life but there is definitely
a call there and the amount of people that will be blessed on the other side of your
obedience and surrendering to it will just be amazing.
It'll be amazing but we all don't have like that perfect start to life and well I had
a pretty good one really but you know some of us had really big challenges and you know

(05:26):
starting in life and then thinking that you know some of your friends they find out oh
you're a Christian now and oh and you're pastoring now, oh you do missions now, you?
You're doing that?
Yeah, yeah.
You know it's quite funny.
They remember who you used to be.
That's right.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah the carpenter's son so you know but just good.

(05:48):
Yeah.
Amen to that.
So tell us a little about your childhood, your upbringing and how was it in a Christian
environment or and how did you meet Christ you know or how did he meet you where you
were?
Okay.
Yeah well yeah I'm one of six siblings.

(06:11):
Mum and Dad have always been really good parents.
Always been very close with my dad that you know he taught me a trade and was a mechanic
and a lot of people used to call me little John however my dad would stand I'd stand
the same and you know when I was younger driving down the road you know dad would spit out

(06:32):
the window so I'd do it too and he used to say certain things to women drivers and I'd
do the same and but it would all be very challenging when I'd be in the car with my mother so I
would do the same things but yeah I really had a good upbringing with my parents you
know we moved around a little bit from time to time which got really challenging because

(06:56):
when you go to a new school or a new suburb there's always the especially one suburb we
moved to it was the rough part of town and as soon as you're there the boys in on the
block want to challenge the new kid and you know it's not always easy but you know I look

(07:20):
back at that and I see that God was already starting to develop things in me back then
and so you know I always say that I'm really grateful that I'm a black belt in Middle
Eastern karate and that's called I ran I learned to run very fast but there were some
times you just couldn't run and you had to you know face up and unfortunately I developed

(07:46):
a bit of an anger problem now that's not quite accurate I developed a really bad anger problem
and you kind of like lean on your anger to get you through things and unfortunately I
carried that into the first few years of Christianity and even in the first couple of years of

(08:08):
ministry and I learnt very quickly it doesn't work it's so counterproductive to the way
God operates so there were a lot of challenges along the way but no I had a I would say I
had a very good childhood there were many challenges in the midst of it but yeah.

(08:30):
Yeah now that's really good because you know when I look at you right now I would have
never ever thought you are a person that have anger issue because you're just so calm and
no matter the turmoil that's going around you just so calm I think that's only something
the Holy Spirit can work on you to do.

(08:51):
That's right.
So talk more about that like I want to I'm really keen to you know hear how God met you
where you were at you know how God changed that anger into something calmness you know
that you have right now I want to hear that because I always find it fascinating that

(09:12):
how God can change from a person A to a person that B and just be like no I cannot imagine
you being this person at all like you know it's just you completely transformed.
I recently watched a movie it's called The Forge which is I think in cinemas right now
and it talks about mentoring someone and how a person who didn't have a greatest relationship

(09:37):
with the father the single mother who you know was there in his life and he had a lot
of problems in his life he was angry with God who is angry with himself and there was
this mentor who came into his life and completely transformed him and when he got baptized in
the spirit he was like a different person and it's a story it's a beautiful story and

(10:02):
recommend everybody to watch it but that is what I see in you like that's what I'm imagining
because I don't know how you were before but I can see you now and I cannot imagine you
were a person like that.
Well I guess a short answer to that is I was aware that there was a problem there was no
question about that but I had no idea in regards to the severity of it and how it can affect

(10:30):
a family and also a ministry and I was at a conference one day and a minister there
who I knew quite well he pulled me aside he said Rob when are you going to deal with this?
And I said what are you talking about?
And he said this anger problem and I said I don't have an anger problem you know it's

(10:52):
just sometimes it's so obvious we don't see it and so he said to me why don't we meet
and we'll talk so we did made an appointment after the conference and we sat down and he
prayed for me and discovered that there were some things that some inner turmoil that was
still there from my younger years and a lot of discouragement and times where bullying

(11:19):
was a big thing and I was not a very good product of that and I guess that's where a
lot of it came from and when we began to move around a lot that seemed to follow me it just
seemed to like I had a big target painted on me.
And so you know you tend to lean on what you can do and are good at but it's not always

(11:44):
right and so he sat with me in about a three hour session and prayed for me and I began
to forgive people over the years and because he said to me he said you know we're going
to forgive all those people that hurt you and I said well how long do you have?
You know this is a you know for me at that time a whole life of you know this sort of

(12:06):
thing happening and so what happened was he said well he said the Holy Spirit will just
reveal it to you as you go and he did.
I was surprised the amount of people that I hadn't thought of in years that were coming
back and you know let me tell you that when I thought of them well that thought came back
oh I just felt like yeah but then he led me through a prayer of forgiveness and releasing

(12:32):
these people and then at the end he prayed for me and he said do you have appointments
after this meeting?
And I said yeah I do he said cancel them.
I said why is that?
He said because you're going to get very tired after this.
I thought oh yeah so I walked out and I felt really good I walked out and driving home

(12:52):
I started getting so tired I went home and I slept from about I don't know it was mid
to late afternoon right through the night till the next morning I think Shanto must
have checked my pulse to see if I was still alive but and I rang him up and I said what
was that?
The tiredness?

(13:13):
He said all your life you've been like a guitar string that's wound up so tight and he said
the slightest thing triggers you.
He said now you've been wound back to the right tension and he said and your body's
going to start relaxing with it.
And that was an incredible thing it was an incredible experience.
Very much so.

(13:34):
I guess one of the things you said earlier about how when he addressed an anger issue
and you're like well what anger issue?
You think of being saved of how much and we'll get into that your salvation experience because
it's really good.
When you get born again and you know the old is gone you as come you feel different you

(13:55):
see things different there's such a big change I guess sometimes we can feel like well I'm
good now.
I guess maybe sometimes on that journey and this is the important thing with discipleship
is when someone's born again and they feel renewed they possibly might think that everything's

(14:17):
okay now whereas this is where great men and women of God need to be in a church to step
in or other ministries.
That's right.
And really help with discipleship.
Yeah.
So to help us in the little things that may was it the little foxes?
Spoil the vine.
Spoil the vine.
Yeah.
And so we can have this massive transformation but sometimes it can be a lot of little things

(14:40):
that may stop a person moving in the fullness of the call of God.
Absolutely.
So I just found that really interesting when you were saying that that's what come to me.
Yeah it is and discipleship is everything.
You know we're born again and we've been justified as if we'd never ever sinned once in our life.
What a great thing.

(15:01):
But you know there's something in between justification and our glorification when we
go home to be with Jesus and that's sanctification and that's now that we are saved now we go
through a process of being cleansed.
Yeah.
And you know that anger thing was a big one for me and I look back at that and I see how

(15:24):
much actually hinges on that because it does it can affect every area of your life.
Absolutely.
And the thing that I noticed that once when I had that when I was set free from it that
I this peace that it's just everything's going to just chill man you know.
Yeah.
It was just like oh is this what life's like.

(15:45):
You know it was just and my prayer life went deeper you know the relationship with God
went deeper and everything.
Everything just went deeper.
Yeah.
You know.
I guess the other thing is when some people are born again we've heard different people's
stories some of their issues in life get fixed straight away like there was a guy talking

(16:08):
to he had a massive drug problem and he said the day he got saved it just went.
Whereas other people I've heard where that had the same problem it was like a process.
One guy it was him and his wife are both on drugs they got saved at the same time hers
went straight away and his was such a thing like a it was like a working that took time

(16:33):
in his life.
And so I guess there are things that drop straight away that we've got we've lost the
appetite for and there are other things where yeah we just get set free from and yeah I
don't know.
What have you noticed in that sort of.
Well I experienced some really incredible things.

(16:59):
One of them you know smoking weed and things like that.
It was I wasn't like over the top with it but it was part of my life and that went very
quickly.
Yeah.
It was I just didn't miss it.
But the alcohol just seemed to you know after I got saved like I'm speaking within the first

(17:24):
three months.
Yeah.
Being born again and I remember this one day I prayed one of my first prayers I said Lord
from today whenever I drink I want you to make me sick.
And that night I had a fair bit and which normally would not have affected me.

(17:46):
I was sick as a dog the next morning and I thought it must have been something I ate
or you know it's and anyway the next few days I had probably only about a six pack of beer
full strength you know and I felt as sick as a dog because I used to sometimes drink
a carton of beer a day and I just don't understand how you can do that.

(18:09):
I mean no normal person does that you know.
So one night I only had two light beers and I was sick as a dog the next day and I went
outside and I said Lord we need to talk.
That prayer that I prayed we cancelled that out.

(18:30):
I wasn't real and that one there because the alcohol just seemed to have something in me
and but a prayer like that but yes some people do and I think sometimes we can be emotionally
attached to an addiction and I think for me what I've seen in the ministry sometimes we
focus so much on a person's addiction to alcohol or drugs whatever it might be or even pornography

(18:55):
with some people.
The problem we can do sometimes is address the problem like the addiction.
The fruit.
Well yeah what we should be doing is what's the emotional attachment.
Yeah wow.
What are you going through in your life?
You know and deal with that you know like with pornography the statistics are really

(19:16):
very clear that if a person's going through depression or hopelessness or whatever it's
a quick fix for them to get bring them up on a higher.
Alcohol is the same.
I mean it's all interrelated in many ways so an emotional attachment is usually a big
part of the deal.
Yeah wow.
So deal with the emotion.

(19:36):
Bring healing in the life there.
You don't need the substance to make you feel good.
Yep.
Yep.
No that's very good.
That's a very important point that you've brought because you know I think the devil
really uses that to put a hold on you like take hold on you and it says Jesus is all
about freedom.

(19:57):
God's all about freedom.
Yeah.
He wants to give you that freedom you know that authority over your life and the answer
is through him you are set free.
Yeah.
And I love that.
I love because what you've addressed is a real world situation real world issue that
everybody faces to some extent in their life might not be pornography or might not be alcohol

(20:19):
but it might be many other things you know like social media is now a big addiction too.
Yeah that's right.
It's even saying looking at some medical papers that talk about how there's some areas or
parts of your brain that light up while you're so addicted to social media that are similar
to someone who are consuming drugs or alcohol like the same kind of addiction which is crazy

(20:46):
to think about.
Yeah.
And these are just certain things now the devil uses to put hold but you know we're
called to be free or given that freedom.
Yeah.
Well talking about that it's sort of like a legal drug of social media.
Yeah.
And kids are spending so much time on every day could you imagine if it has similar effects

(21:09):
yeah like there's kids that are addicted that are in bondage.
Yeah.
So this is actual bondage we're talking about.
No yeah true.
Yeah they have no say well when I say they have no say they are there's an impulse for
them to do certain things.
So yeah when we have a next generation that's addicted to something from their childhood

(21:34):
upwards that's a lot different to my childhood and I guess yours where we were out on push
bikes hanging out with friends you know doing all these different things there was no addiction
out there at all.
There wasn't I mean I didn't even know to calculate it we had an abacus I think.
I don't know if you can get addicted to one of them but.

(21:54):
High tech.
High tech weeds.
No but that's that's very good and so yeah like coming back to this church you know it's
the ministry that you're currently doing and it's so amazing I see UWM which is United
World Ministry which is also part of this church a lot of mission projects and you're

(22:17):
a very visionary man and I really adore that.
I see the projects that you're leading in South America in Africa in many other countries
Asia and especially Kenya because I dear to my heart Kenya is dear to my heart and so
is Kenya dear to your heart.

(22:38):
Yes.
And the projects that you're doing in Kenya is just amazing and you know God's given you
such a great wisdom to do such amazing work there that you know with the current projects
you're doing and you know you've come up with a great kind of plan of how you want to empower

(22:59):
the youth there to do such amazing job for Christ and not only that just go further into
education in Kenya which is amazing.
I don't want to talk more about it I'll let you talk more about it because that's your
project that's what God gave you that vision but before we talk about that let's talk about

(23:20):
this church I want to know the early part of this church how did it start and you know
how did God put that in your heart like you need to go and start Logan City Christian
Church in Logan.
Talk about that.
Okay it's been a real journey it's been exciting I mean every journey has its mountains and

(23:46):
it has its valleys and it has its storms and it has its sunny days as well and but I think
probably I'd need to go back to what Gus you asked me about the salvation experience because
some of that there are keys in that that led to where we are now and I just find it quite

(24:07):
amazing because we really didn't grow up in my family with my parents and siblings we
weren't what you would call a religious family we didn't really even do the Easter and Christmas
church thing so anyway so religion was not a part of our existence if you like but it

(24:33):
seemed to be wherever we moved to wherever we lived there were Christians either neighbors
or one house up somewhere there and when I went to a new school for some reason I'd always
sit next to a Christian and I started developing a resentment toward them because I could see
that they had I just knew they had something that I didn't have I didn't know what it

(24:56):
was and it was always this thing I really wondered what it was and as you know got older
some of my friends that I went to school with and friends that I made after school were
not your average law abiding citizens very well and I mean I had this thing in me probably

(25:26):
because of how my dad raised me there was a limit and I had like a limiter that I'd
go no that's going too crazy if you and some of the guys ended up in jail I would have
no doubt joined them if I followed them but there was just that part of me that would
say no that's going too far yeah that's that's that's that's not right you know we had a

(25:52):
lot of fun there's a lot of times that I bailed out or things that were going to do like robbing
a bank was one of them that they were going to do and they had all the weapons organized
and I walked in there one day with a carton of beer on my shoulder and I said so what's
on the weekend today boys are we gonna rob a bank and go what wow and so I said no you

(26:14):
can do that on your own and you know as an old saying that says show me your friends
I'll show you your future yeah and you know that's our responsibility we've got to really
choose who we hang around and the influences and so what happened was one particular time
I was in a place where they did something that was very illegal dangerous and I was

(26:42):
oh by association I was implicated if you like and it was soon discovered very quickly
with the police that I had nothing to do with it but it really scared me and that was a
turning point in my life that I realized I just can't keep messing around with this you

(27:03):
know because if you hang around a creek one day you're going to slip and fall in and so
I knew that I needed to make a clean break from this and so I got home this particular
night and I was still living with my parents and I went down the back paddock and I looked
up into the sky I said God if you're real I had no intention of doing that I said God

(27:28):
if you're real I want you to show me yourself reveal yourself to me now what we didn't know
what I didn't know at the time my mum worked at a Shell petrol station as a console operator
but there was a mechanic there that was my dad's friend Henry I knew him very well because

(27:54):
my dad's workshop I used to bring cars for wheel alignments and so when he would do a
wheel alignment I'd sit there and talk with him and just you know hang around and wait
and we got to become very good friends a Belgian guy with a French accent yeah and he used
to smoke his white ox tobacco I mean it would kill a horse this stuff but let's still smoke

(28:17):
it because I liked him and anyway this one particular day we were standing in the workshop
and I noticed this girl walking past with a school bag over a shoulder and I said to
Henry I said who's that and he looked at me he said that's my daughter yeah that was very

(28:40):
good and anyway what happened was is that Henry and my mum because they worked in the
same place he told her and they had a good laugh about it and they organised a family
barbecue oh wow yeah so the two families the two families yeah so I see that it was not

(29:03):
wasn't a pre-arranged marriage but it was pretty close to it but I see it was done in
God because I asked the Lord if you're real show me who you are and you know all this
because being next to Christians growing up all your life you hear a lot of things but
I wasn't feeling it I wasn't getting it yeah and I wanted to know how to get it yeah you

(29:26):
know so so short story of that is is that we ended up going out and we got married and
you know here we are today but Chantelle was a Christian and I thought my goodness we went
to a church service there one time big big church it was Garden City Christian Church

(29:46):
after Reg Climinoch was preaching and yeah and so anyway it was a big experience for
me and so when we went home I dropped Chantelle off I went home and I said I thought to myself
I'm just gonna have to tell her look you can have your Christianity but you won't get me
it's I'm not into that and that sort of thing and the next morning she rang me up and she

(30:09):
said because I had this spiel already worked out you know forget it it's over I want you
I don't want your church you know she rings me up next morning and she said how you going
I said yeah good she said did you like church I went yeah yeah she would you like to go
again tonight yeah yeah so we did and and then anyway I just fell away from it so what

(30:40):
happened was I meant to say that when we got married the pastor they wouldn't marry us
unless we were equally yoked and I'm trying to think of his name now he was excellent
man of God pastor Jim anyway so he led me to the Lord then but I kind of like refuted

(31:04):
it as I was saying it I was like you know and I realized later that after nine years
later that when I really did get born again I just thought I missed out on all these years
of you know all this junk that happened in the middle but yeah you know I do remember
when when I was really starting to really ask the Lord myself in my heart because Chantelle

(31:30):
we were married a couple of kids Gus and Emily were born I really wanted to ask Chantelle
but I was too proud to ask if you know what I mean she'd been praying for me for nine
years for my salvation and then this one particular night I said to her I said look because we

(31:55):
had a really good chat and I said look if you if this if I still feel the same way in
the morning I want to give my life to Jesus and she said oh great you know she was really
excited and that night I had a demonic encounter and this creature you know I wasn't fully
asleep I thought I was dreaming but you kind of like in that state where you're nodding

(32:20):
off and you're not quite there and and this creature it was a horrible thing most horrible
thing that you could ever ever imagine and it had a an odor to it it really stunk and
the the body of it the torso was like off a man but it had like hands like of a lion

(32:41):
a club hand sort of thing and and it was like it was freshly skinned it was very unusual
looking thing but I tell you this thing had some power because when it grabbed me in my
bed and it was threatening me that if I was to receive Jesus this is what I'm going to
get so it was trying to trick me and so I didn't want anything to do with Jesus obviously

(33:07):
you know so close and oh yeah yeah so this this went on for quite some time kids Chantelle
was like thinking what turned you off and I didn't want to tell her because I thought
I was going nuts yeah so during this time I hadn't smoked anything I hadn't had much
to drink at all I thought I was hallucinating and and this thing kept coming back and for

(33:30):
the next six months or so it might have been longer this thing would visit me just without
warning and I would sense it that it was coming yeah and the crazy thing was that sometimes
I'd be wriggling around in my bed and this thing would have been every time you struggle
its power would increase in multiples it was just supernatural it's the strength and so

(33:53):
it really dominated me and then I told and Chantelle would reach over and she just touched
me and this thing would go yeah wow and I'm just thinking man that that's that's very
humiliating for a guy you know anyway I told her what would had been happening and she
says oh that's the devil doing that she said that's easy fixed and and she said you really

(34:15):
need to give your life to Jesus and I said I'll think about it so it would have been
a short time later I had this really serious attack it was really bad it almost that I
remember dragging me trying to drag me out of the bed it was so forceful and it was a
really bad night and Chantelle woke up she now she didn't see it but she saw the state

(34:40):
I was in and it was that night I think it was 2 a.m. in the morning that I surrendered
and gave my life to Jesus I just remember this little well Chantelle's not little lady
but you know what I mean this smallish lady with such power she just said if that thing

(35:02):
ever comes back now that you have Jesus in you you have the authority to rebuke it in
Jesus it has to go and I just thought man she seems like she really knows what she's
talking about so I thought okay but the next morning after I got saved that was the night
I got saved and I walked outside we had a palm farm selling palm trees and that sort

(35:24):
of thing and and I walked outside it's just like wow the trees are actually green and
everything's so nice and I watched a spider spin a web I just thought how long has this
been here yeah it's just totally new anyway so two weeks later I said to Chantelle so
this is amazing this thing's never come back you know it's just should have done this years

(35:47):
ago that night I was laying in bed and I knew it was coming you could feel it and she dozed
off she was asleep and it came and it was furious and I remember sitting up like where
the bedhead is and I'm pointing at it and I'm saying Jesus there it is get him get him
Jesus get him and this thing was just coming for me and I just knew some for some reason

(36:12):
it was not going to be good and then I remembered what Chantelle was saying you have the authority
now you have the power in the name of Jesus to rebuke this thing and sitting there as
a two week old Christian I just said oh I like sheepishly almost I rebuke you in the

(36:34):
name of Jesus this thing just stopped I thought hey this does work and then I said it again
and the last time I said it it was like yeah let's do this yeah and this thing it kind
of like exploded into billions of particles like a dust and there was an inverted like

(36:56):
a tornado you know it's the thin part at the bottom this was the other way around and it
went up and it disappeared and Chantelle woke up at this time and the curtains there was
a wind in our room and the curtains were being blown and papers being blown off a wardrobe
and it settled and there was a piece so I had a really early introduction into the demonic

(37:20):
realm which was preparing me for the missions and for ministry and that sort of thing and
to know at a young age in Christ the authority we really do have and to see it with your
own eyes the fear the transference of fear from that thing to me it actually went back
to it it was like the fear on this creatures this demon was just it's just a perfect picture

(37:47):
that's cool of the power of Christ you know and so it was it was amazing that since that
day we'd be going out you know in the shops or whatever and walking down the mall or wherever
and someone would walk past and I'd feel that same sensation I look around and the person
would look around back at me and snarl or something and so that kind of like has stayed

(38:11):
with me throughout my entire ministry this discernment whether there's demons or demonic
activity and so yeah that was an incredible incredible thing because in in my teens probably
13 to 15 I would say there was a period in church every Sunday night we had people coming

(38:34):
in that were demon possessed and there'd be so much deliverance going on it was it was
normal to see demonic deliverance yeah and yeah like like what you said having that early
encounter prepared you for a lot was going to take place in this church but also on the

(38:56):
mission field as well absolutely and yeah it's incredible like how it says how God will
work everything for good and so that was that would have been such a not tragic but such
a traumatic experience but then God was able to turn it around and he's like now I'm going

(39:18):
to use it yeah in you against darkness for many other people so true it's just incredible
it is love how God works yeah so we're in training in life yeah for ministry it's it's
it's what what we can see and extract from it and use for usefulness in his kingdom but

(39:39):
you I believe life is a big training ground huge yeah it's you know yep no definitely
can we go into now the start of missions for you I remember that time that was not long
after that period where there was a lot of demonic deliverance taking at church and then

(40:02):
not long after that I believe was it then mission started opening up was that was I
can't really remember was that how it worked yeah yeah I'm trying to think of the timeline
myself but that was an incredible time and and it's come in waves at times in the church
at four different times we've experienced God beginning to move more than more than

(40:30):
the average you know and just moves of God it's just like a wave of it and sometimes
it'd be three months once it was about eight months like when it when I say subsided it
wasn't like the church was dead I was still very alive yeah but it's it's way over and
above the I think that's how it should be and how it God had intended to be like the

(40:54):
book of Acts yeah the book of Acts is a story of church and revival yeah it's just how it
is you know and and I believe that it's coming again and to churches around the world a move
of God without a doubt yeah but yeah what happened was I was at a conference and a lady

(41:14):
from Uganda she had a ministry there with her husband who was a bishop wanted to do
a youth conference and so they invited me to go over and I didn't want to go because
I don't like traveling I don't I don't like airports and planes I like being at home like
being in the local church and and and so anyway I just had this knowing that I had to go and

(41:38):
there were a couple in our church that did mission work in Kenya and so we were going
to go at the same time so we decided to go together and then that way I would help them
and see what they do in Kenya and then they will come with me to Uganda and we do it that
way and that's how the missions started because I met in Kenya pastor Samuel Komodo who's

(42:02):
one of our ambassador or the our ambassador in Kenya at the moment for now he's he's just
an and will be forever as far as I'm concerned just an incredible man of God yeah but when
we got to Uganda we were doing the youth conference and I noticed by the second session that there
was something really wrong you know you talk about that demonic presence I felt it in a

(42:28):
in a youth conference and I asked the Lord I said what's what's going on here and he
just made it very clear to me that there's so much sexual immorality within this because
there was I'm guessing eight nine hundred youth there and and Lord said to me he said
you know you shouldn't be doing a conference you should be doing a crusade so I spoke to

(42:54):
the the organizers and they said well that's exactly why you're here that's why we got
you here because we don't know what to do with the level of sexual immorality within
the youth groups with leaders and so forth and so I said to them you know I'm going to
stay up through the night and pastor Samuel Komodo was with me and we stayed up through

(43:18):
the night and just seeking God and yeah we had to do a crusade and so a crusade it's
like if you if you're saved and you're in this kind of sin there's going to be some
nice strong messages to help you get out of this and if they're not saved well you're
going to get saved you know and so that's what happened and it was such an incredible

(43:41):
moment we had I don't know how many hundreds of youth saved it was just amazing the water
baptisms in Lake Victoria there were just bus after bus like mini bus lining up and
there was just hundreds of water baptisms and it was such a good time but something
that stands out to me that was just so amazing was at the end the second last session I spoke

(44:07):
about the baptism of the Holy Spirit because obviously the power of the Holy Spirit gives
us strength you know and you know and so there were hundreds I wouldn't know how many all
at the same time received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and no one really got to pray
just finished teaching on it and called those out the front who want to receive the baptism

(44:30):
of the Holy Spirit and I could see like a cloud in this auditorium if you've ever been
in a swimming pool there's a lot of chlorine yeah and your eyes go milky the foggy eyes
it was like that it was just but you see it moving and it was incredible and after that
we had a deliverance session and it was there was a guy filming it and I asked him to turn

(44:54):
it off because if that was me being filmed and delivered after I wouldn't want me to
be shown to anybody yeah and so it was incredible the ministry in Kenya saw incredible miracles
and a lot of deliverances as well and a man in a wheelchair or he wasn't even in a wheelchair
he's brought into a church service in a wheelbarrow yeah and and the Lord got him up and walked

(45:20):
and he lived the rest of his life totally healed yeah and so yeah the missions was really
amazing because there was a few preachers that came to the first church I was in I was
associate there in the end but they would call me out and say an incredible just incredible

(45:42):
thing they say God's calling you to the missions but the missions will come to you first I
thought how does that work and the last person that said that was Donna McCallum some people
listening will know Donna McCallum and very good ministry and she said the same thing

(46:04):
I'll think of me that's three people now said that you'll go to the to the nations like
the missions and nations but the nations will come to you first I thought how is ever that
going to work yeah and as you know we were involved with the church in the early days
or even not that long ago help settling refugees into Logan and so what happened was with the

(46:28):
settlement of that and they ended up coming to church many of them many of them getting
saved and found out that they came from a church that was struggling back in their hometown
and that's where we made the connection and started helping and that's how the international
ministry started so the nations came to us then we went to the nations yeah it's just

(46:50):
I mean you can't work that out I mean God God just has it planned from the beginning
yeah you know but it is it's just it's just growing so much in fact that it's growing
so quickly we've had to try and slow it down now that may not sound right but sometimes
you can grow growth is good but growth can actually be the thing that causes you to fall

(47:13):
too that's right and it can cause you to what we call donut you know a ministry can donut
and that means you grow out too fast and you leave nothing in the middle and it'll die
out so you know good management and that is is essential but we're at that place now like
the the training school in Kenya and those sorts of things that are going on you know

(47:35):
at one time before covered we're in 26 nations we're not at the moment because we've had
to manage what we can properly we still keep in touch with the others obviously but yeah
so the missions are something that really just took took off but it was God all along
you know the the nations will come to you then you will go to the nations and there

(48:00):
was a fulfillment of prophecy incredible wow as you said you don't want to be a donut
and I don't see see UWM as a donut I see it managed so well just recently we saw a video
of you know pastor Francisco and him talking about El Salvador mission and what the church

(48:22):
that was built there through UWM too and the training you provided to pastor Francisco
before he went into this whole you know to plant the church there that was through UWM
and the training you already provide to the pastors that are through you know through

(48:43):
UWM the training you already provide to the pastors who are currently in Kenya and many
other countries and that's just so incredible to see that happen because I feel like UWM
is that place where people find that foundation to build the churches to get the basis right

(49:04):
of mission because it's not always easy to do mission work you know we might have a heart
for the nations we might want to do so many things but I think there's a period that God
needs to work on us and there's lots of sacrifice and a lot of things that we need to actually
understand what missions all about and you know it's it's easier said than done and I

(49:30):
feel like UWM is doing such a great job giving that training and I'm sure like the project
that's happening in Kenya is one of the biggest I don't know if that's one of the biggest
projects that are being done by UWM I'd like to talk more about that because I feel it's

(49:50):
it's great that was a very good training center you want to open and and I really want to
talk more about that because and I really want the audience also to know the projects
you have in mind because it's such a great when I heard about it I'm like wow this is
so great because there's nothing like that at the moment in Kenya and I think that project

(50:12):
you have is really great and want to talk about that. Thank you Rohan it's I kind of
like look you know back and and see how things were and where they are now and you kind of
like you know that it's just God that's doing it it's he just needs people to trust in what
he wants to do because we are his hands and feet and his mouth and his wallet and everything

(50:37):
here on earth and if we just simply obey those things and those promptings and those impressions
it leads us to where we are today you know and but you mentioned about El Salvador mission
to me that to me is probably has always been it was the first mission and it's been I guess

(50:59):
the closest one to our heart because what happened there was just supernatural and pastors
Francisco and Celia are just incredible people so I know that God always calls and appoints
the right people for it and they're definitely the right people for it 100% and what they

(51:21):
have accomplished there is just incredible you know they left Australia with a few suitcases
and zero in their checkbook and to see what's built now you see that a calling or a vision
already has the finances needed in the vision I mean God's saying if you go I'll provide

(51:41):
you know the the provisions in the going it's not in the sitting and waiting and I remember
I speak helping a different ministry another ministry that he wanted to go he felt called
to go to a nation and he was told by his organization that you need to save up it was over $100,000

(52:03):
and when you do that we'll manage it for you and then we'll measure it out and you can
so five or six years later he's still here and I said what are you still doing here he
said well saving up the money I said you don't need to you need to be on your mission field
did God really call you or didn't he I mean if he did call you and he's given you a vision

(52:25):
and the vision was very simple but very effective and I said your finances are going to come
when when you actually are in the doing yeah stepping out stepping out and that's what
I really admire about pastors Francisco and Celia just incredible people of faith and
you know faith is what really has built that there's a calling but there needs to be a

(52:46):
corresponding faith to to go with that and you know God will supply all of our needs
the last time I checked heavens not broke you know that heavens not relying on election
results that who gets in or who's who doesn't get in heaven just the economy of heaven runs
so independently from the economy here of earth and praise God for that because through

(53:11):
covert you know God bless this ministry yeah bless united yeah God was just so so good
so and that's not a boast on us that's a boasting God is just you look back and you go how did
you do that yeah yeah how did you do it because he knew that there was more to do in the mission
so so that's what they did and you know they they are really honorable people but the the

(53:39):
plan the mission the training school is for in Kenya that's been Kenya's been used as
the base for the model to be built once the model is built and running then we're going
to use that model and take it from nation to nation to nation yeah as it turns out now

(54:01):
this training center is primarily for students that finish form for which I think is great
10 here in Australia yeah I think form for is great 12 great 12 yeah that's the okay
well there's a group under that so I don't understand form one is great nine okay from

(54:21):
two great ten from three great eleven great twelve is for okay so it works right so what
we do we offer opportunities for students to learn a trade that trade is the teachers
trades people obviously they give of their time to teach a very basic understanding of

(54:44):
that trade as an entry level to get into polytech one of the colleges like a type like a type
yeah so what's happened what happens is that we discovered is that there are many many
youth not just in Kenya around the world they are struggling to get that hand up that step
into that process yeah many of them don't have the money they don't have the resources

(55:10):
they don't have the encouragement at home whatever it might be and so what we're doing
is is helping them opening it up that they come in the first thing that'll happen is
they'll sit with a guidance officer or a career officer someone that can help guide their
pathway career pathways and things like that to find out what is really in their heart

(55:33):
to do because we can find out what is really in their heart to do then that's where one
step into the process and so then they go through the registration of it all once they've
passed done the registration then they do a compulsory character development course

(55:53):
which I think is essential for every nation yeah character character is a big deal you
know our character is so important you know how how we handle life and how we treat others
and you know we look at ministries you know as a pastor my ministry doesn't would not

(56:18):
fall based on the anointing or any person like a ministry doesn't fail because of the
anointing it fails when character is not developed that's right and character is is everything
yes you know we can be born again spirit fills speaking tongues and prophesy all that

(56:38):
but if we got poor character it really undoes so many things and it only lasts so long it
only lasts so long and it hurts a lot of people so that's what we're looking at is character
development it comes back to discipleship again I mean that's come up a few times today
and so once they pass through the character development class then there's another ministry

(57:00):
with pastor sandy richie and I can't remember his last name Larry Larry can I think his
name is they've developed a really really good program youth development as well it's
called lifted lyftd and it's about developing youth as well it's excellent you can go on

(57:21):
their website and check it out so we're working in partnership with them because from them
leaving school or they've left school and are wandering around aimlessly in life not
knowing what to do they can come into this program it's all free of charge they go through
the development they sit with career path you know what do you call them that they're

(57:46):
setting their future for the yeah yeah yeah then they go through you know the secondary
stage of character development so then once they have passed all of that they get they
graduate they have have a graduation at the end of each stage so it's their small steps

(58:07):
achievable steps and it's going to be a great motivator for them as well so they'll graduate
in those two different stages the one of them being the first set of character development
training and the second set through lifted and then what we do is is that by this stage
the guidance officer and career path officer will already have their information and while

(58:29):
they're doing the character development the guidance office already sorting out teachers
to say they want to be mechanic they're getting mechanics coming in they're going to give
their time to give them a basic training like an induction sort of thing and that goes through
all and so we've got many many teachers that are ready because the problem is is what happens

(58:50):
is many that have learned to trade or they've succeeded been through university because
the money is greater overseas they travel overseas and take their trade and their skill
sets with them so the country's no better the country hasn't changed much and so we
had a meeting with the governor I think you know him know of him Rohan when he heard this

(59:12):
he was very excited because he said what you're saying is what we were talking about in government
just recently how are we going to keep the young people here so part of the process is
is that once they qualify and the trades people whatever if we can get them to not force them
but an agreement that for five years a minimum of five years that they will reinvest back

(59:34):
into their nation by replicating reproducing after themselves we believe we'll see it
change and so once they finish the they go through the basic training then the guidance
officers have already got them pre-placed into TAFE so that TAFE I believe costs in

(59:56):
Australian dollars $150 a year so we're already organising sponsorship because sponsors to
sponsor them is a big deal because they don't have a lot of them don't have the money to
do that and so when they heard that there would be sponsorship it's suddenly like I
can do this there are no obstacles all the way to the finish line so it created a real

(01:00:20):
buzz for them you know and it's so much so the word got out that we had a meeting with
government officials and you know the whole lot was there was very good meeting that there
were youth attending the meeting so I sat with them before the meeting and I said do
you guys know what meeting this is they say we do I said well tell me what is it and they

(01:00:42):
said this is our opportunity to get ahead in life I said what's going to be taught here
they said oh the training centre I said how do you know about the training centre he said
everyone knows about the training centre yeah so I stole the the meeting because we were
set to start then and I asked Pastor Sam can we wait I just want to sit with these guys

(01:01:04):
I want to get information for them that I might be able to relay into the meeting and
so I there's one guy that was quite he was the talker he was talking on behalf of the
others and I said to him tell me your story and he said this is my story he said I was
the top student in all my grade at school and he said I was going to go all the way

(01:01:29):
I said what is it you want to do he said I want to be a professor of mathematics oh god
who would ever want to do that goodness me you got calculators man what do you want to
do that for anyway so he said that his mother died and then his father passed away so he
had to cease all kind of schooling and part-time employment to look after his siblings and

(01:01:55):
then try and find more meaningful employment and he said my whole future has died he said
this is what I believe is going to get me back to where I know I can get to and he said
it with tears you know just it really really got me so that's one thing that I guess in
this project the big area that with a big step of faith is the student sponsorship

(01:02:21):
because United World Ministries now in Kenya is about to expand quite rapidly with churches
round about in Kenya I think there are about 380 now or 400 somewhere there it's going
to quadruple in this next year and what's happening is the majority of these churches

(01:02:43):
are going to open up as training centers so we already have I think about 400 students
that are registered to start just in one district and you multiply that by all the districts
that it's going to be thousands of students so student sponsorship is but hey look God

(01:03:04):
gives the vision God pays for what he orders and we just got to make sure it's what he's
ordered and I know it is and I know who come through yeah amen to that yeah for sure you
know when you were saying $150 a year I was just thinking about my Netflix subscription
it's like $15 a month how many cups of coffee yeah if you think about it's just three cups

(01:03:29):
of coffee even less sometimes so thinking in that perspective like $15 a month for someone
to sponsor a child it's not much considering what we earn here that's right compared to
Kenya of course yeah it's a very very achievable amount and you know we are so many if 400

(01:03:51):
of us sponsor one child that's a whole district we're taking care of and that's a future for
so many you know so many people in Kenya like it's it's it's amazing to think that way and
that's a great vision and and yeah that's something I really really yeah because I have
a heart for Kenya and the people of Kenya and I feel like people there they really have

(01:04:19):
they really want to learn they they want to grow in life and they just you're just waiting
for that opportunity yes and that's what UWM is giving them that opportunity that's right
and once the opportunity is given to them they're going to flourish and I know that
because I know the people of Kenya growing up there I definitely know that what we lack

(01:04:42):
there is opportunity and the same thing for me you know when I came to Australia I just
needed that opportunity to be where I am in my career and and that's for many of us in
Kenya that's the opportunity we need it's quite funny you know we're saying that how
God prepares you you know in in life what's coming and and equipping us and but the one

(01:05:05):
thing that caught me totally off guard school was like a prison for me I hated school I
never read a book in my life until I got into ministry and and and here I am a kid that
used to intentionally wag school when the exams were on I mean if you're gonna wag school

(01:05:27):
that's the time to do it and because I always struggled academically big time and so I'd
be present in class but I you know lights on nobody home and so now I look at God has
given me a mandate to write a curriculum for a training school yeah and just like are you

(01:05:50):
kidding me yeah so I spoke to a pastor that I said to him I said you reckon this could
be right I reckon if ever God's gonna make a mistake it'll be this one and but it's it's
it's almost done it's almost completed and yeah so it's going to be a great project it's

(01:06:14):
it's so so amazing the the impact it's already having and it hasn't even started it's just
you know it kind of like balances you out a little bit at times because you you think
there's no there's no room to fail here we cannot not that we would but there's always

(01:06:34):
that on the back of your mind it's just like back in 2009 because United World Ministries
helps pastors and churches around the world to you know give them a hand up give them
resources friendship you know all the rest of that sort of thing and and it's just dynamic
and this conference I was there Chantelle wife Chantelle was with me and in the middle

(01:06:57):
of this conference I and I was sowing the vision for United World Ministries just out
of my mouth it came and by this time next year there's going to be a free Bible college
that's going to start in this church and I thought why'd I say that if I could have

(01:07:19):
sucked your words back in I would have done it gladly yeah and I thought but it's out
there now and they were jumping up and down swinging their coats around and they're really
rejoicing we get back to where we were staying and Chantelle says to me she said where's
this Bible school coming from I went I don't know so all the way home on the plane I'm

(01:07:42):
sweating because I don't want to let them down no that's right you make a promise you
keep it yeah it's that's just how it is and and I think ministry's built on that that
integrity you know if you're going to do something you say you do it you do it you just don't
make excuses and so anyway I'm thinking well I've made a big mistake so I already had a
speech plan that you know next time I go back I'm sorry blah blah blah but then something

(01:08:04):
started resonating inside of me no it's going to happen so I rang a pastor by the name of
Barry Follett and he's gone home to be with the Lord now great man of God yeah and very
well connected with ministries around the world and I said told him what I did and I
said I deeply regret it what's the best way to fix this up and he's laughing his head

(01:08:27):
off he said I'll send you the details of a pastor in Texas in Houston Texas he's got
a free Bible school and he may be able to help you out so I tried ringing but his phone
wasn't it must have been switched off and so I sent an email and I no longer sent the
email and I got a reply from him he goes Rob he said you wouldn't know it I'm actually

(01:08:52):
in Kenya now oh wow I said you kidding me he said where is it where's the place I gave
him the details the phone number of that and he connected it and so Pastor Mark Brown actually
was there went and saw Pastor Samuel said okay we're going to because he didn't have
any more curriculum there because it was all done on videos and little books and he said

(01:09:14):
but we're going to post it all to you and you'll have it in about six months and it
took a bit longer for various reasons but do you know a week before that one year was
up when I said by this time next year a week before they had their first class of the Bible
school and they had in six years just a six-year bracket because that's how we broke it up

(01:09:38):
to just for you know data managing all that sort of thing they had over 1200 senior pastors
go through two years of Bible school and it's transforming churches that's not including
associate pastors and leaders it's it's just dynamic it really is and when I've been gone
back I've noticed the churches that were churches of 40s and 60s they're 200s 300s now and

(01:10:04):
you know it's just growing and I asked them one day I said to Samuel I said you know all
these churches that have been pastors that have been through how many people do you reckon
have been saved or he said look we'll find out it took him three months he came back
he said we can't give you a figure he said it's as simple as that but he surveyed he
asked the pastors to give their estimates and they added all the data up and collected

(01:10:29):
it added it up and he said we don't know how many are first-time commitments how many are
recommitments and that but he said he said to me he said you're sitting down and I said
yeah he says in the six years anywhere between 18 and 22 thousand people so when God does

(01:10:52):
something that's a lot of people yeah and the good thing is that we didn't do it yeah
we gave them resources they use the resources exactly and they did the work and you know
what a motivator that is and so when we go back as much as we can when you get there
we have a good time because the places Christ is transforming and we're not the only ministry

(01:11:14):
there are heaps that do better than us you know I just meet up with some ministries there
that I look at what they do I think man that is a real step of faith to do that and they're
doing it yeah so there's so many of us out there in the different nations that are doing
things that we could never do in our own and one of them I was speaking to over there he

(01:11:35):
said we were talking and he said to me he said so what did you do for for crust meaning
what did you do for you know work before so I was a mechanic he is I was a painter and
I said oh yeah and he said did you ever think you'd be doing this I said no and he said
yeah me neither he said I used to be so heavy on drugs and I used to steal this and that

(01:11:59):
and he said now he said look at us yeah so God can use anybody yeah if you if you if
you're available make yourself available and you're you allow yourself to be mentored and
trained yeah you know I've had some great mentors still do in my life yeah really good
mentors and we all need a mentor we all need to be under authority absolutely and to respect

(01:12:22):
authority yeah you know that's probably the biggest thing in society that's lacking now
huge yeah huge I'd say that's our biggest problem as a country you see it in schools
everywhere yeah so yeah the one thing that we actually need society's rejecting that's
right yeah but hey UWM is changing the world sorry for my negative yeah but thank you

(01:12:49):
so much you're welcome and unfortunately we have to come to the end of this interview
but you know we have so much more to talk about because this is just the start of something
and it's just the beginning and I know people our audience who's watching that they would
really want to know more about you know what the projects we're doing and as UWM and also

(01:13:14):
Logan City Christian Church within the community around here and for sure like if you if you
see your screens you have popping out UWM and the ways you can support us it's all coming
down on the screen and if you would like to give to the UWM and get to know more about
the ministry you can definitely reach out to the email address and everything and love

(01:13:38):
to hear from you and your thoughts and maybe you can also give us some ideas you know we're
always open to sure yeah people pitching in you know they some people have great ideas
and undoubtedly great support to the ministry too sure thank you again what we like to do
is you can spend some time in prayers but just before that we encourage you to give

(01:14:02):
a message to the viewers and you being a senior pastor of this church and you know with the
wisdom God's given you what would be something that you would like to share to our viewers
and you can look at us or look at the camera up to you but something that you want to share
to our viewers that's something in your heart and it could be anything something that really

(01:14:23):
does stand out to me is just to overcome discouragement because when you get given a calling or you
have a calling and God gives you a vision that vision will never go unchallenged and
I look at Joseph you know yeah wow that's the best look what you know and it didn't

(01:14:51):
did he make a mistake sharing it with his brothers that's always the million dollar
question but look at where it led him and the character development in the process but
discouragement is a big thing that I speak into different missionaries and people in
ministry where they want to just quit because of discouragement you can't quit you know

(01:15:15):
something I found in ministry there are no exit clauses there are none and usually if
we're feeling like we're wanting to quit is because we haven't got something in right
alignment with the Lord or where you know it could be a number of things but I think
a little story if I got like a couple of minutes just to share an encounter what happened because

(01:15:40):
this first church that I when I got saved Chantelle and I went to a church and it was
a great little church and I got along with the pastor very well we'd go fishing together
and I needed that sort of thing and but what happened was I shared my testimony back then
and you know in probably too much detail and what happened was that the pastor and his

(01:16:06):
wife wanted to retire and he ordained me as associate pastor which threw a cat amongst
the canaries because people started saying we don't want a you know a druggy alcoholic
a thief and all that sort of stuff as a pastor and it and it really really affected me and

(01:16:26):
so I went away from that just thinking well I'll just quit I was so discouraged and I
just thought I'm not that anymore yeah you know what I mean it's so was it the fault
of the people no it was just the devil trying to use something yeah to discourage me because

(01:16:48):
some of the people that back then today we're great friends yeah you know they they probably
wouldn't even remember saying those things but it really affected me to the point that
I I actually verbally handed in my credentials to the Lord and say I'll quit that said I'm
finished I'm not doing this anymore and then I had this dream and in this dream I was fishing

(01:17:12):
in a dam that we had on our property and all of a sudden I hooked something and it's almost
trying to pull me into the water it was so strong and it was fighting that long that
I just couldn't I thought I'd just have to let go but I hung on and I could see the shadows
were getting long so you know it was all day it was late afternoon and eventually this

(01:17:34):
thing began to tire and I pulled it in I pulled it in and I pulled in this horrible looking
thing it was that look like a house brick about that big and it had two eyes on it like
a prawn you know or a lobster sort of thing you know those eyes that stick up and this
thing stunk it was horrible and I'm looking at this and I thought what on earth is that

(01:17:57):
and how could something so small be so strong so I got a stick and I began to poke it and
all of a sudden it started shaking and the exterior just fell off like this crusty exterior
and this tiny little bird came out and it was all these different colours like a little

(01:18:19):
finch sort of thing and it had all these colours and it stood in the sun what was left of it
and it was running its beak down its wings trying to dry it and it's shaking in that
and all of a sudden this is to do with discouragement I mean this really fixed me and I remember
this often when I'm discouraged and then this bird picked up some grass and hopped and went

(01:18:44):
into the dam disappeared under the water and it came back out got some more grass and it
was just doing this more grass and going in and so I leaned over and I looked and I could
see this bird was building this perfectly round nest in the water I thought oh that's
like dumb and anyway I woke up and the next day I thought well what does this dream mean

(01:19:13):
and the Lord spoke to me he said that thing that you pulled in was you when you came to
Christ there was nothing nice about you it was you know marred with sin and stunk like
it you know what I mean and you poked it with the stick and this beautiful little bird come

(01:19:38):
out he said that's the new creation he said it's not your fault that people see you as
the old they're failing to see what is the new and he said and I created you that was
that's that new creation and oh man that was just so healing for me in many ways more than

(01:19:59):
one and I said but what about this bird building a nest in the water he said the Lord said
I've called you to go back to where you come from and plant a church and that's how this
all started through someone throwing out just words of discouragement I really wanted to

(01:20:22):
quit and there have been times since I've wanted to quit but that one dream I think
about it I know that's who I was yeah that's not who I am yeah I'm a new creation in Christ
old things have passed away yeah be old everything's become you know the devil will try and discourage
you in so many different ways but you need to know who you are in Christ you really need

(01:20:44):
to have that revelation because if you don't the devil will find out and he'll he'll do
whatever he can to try and stop you but when we can overcome discouragement which we need
to learn to do the I believe we all will travel so far in ministry yeah I really do yeah discouragement

(01:21:05):
is a horrible thing you know it really is so just hope that that could bring some direction
and hope into some people watching today in their lives don't give up never ever ever
give up we've never been given a vision to quit quitting is not in in your in your vision

(01:21:25):
it's never it's not in there yeah you know and you just got to keep going you just keep
going the new day will bring fresh manner it always does and you just got to be there
you got to be there you know I think now about the what's happening in ministry in the incredible
people God has placed around Chantelle and I to keep encouraging us as well it's good

(01:21:48):
to be an encouragement to others but we wouldn't be seeing the fruit of the ministry today
and yet the devil so long ago 25 26 28 years ago tried to knock me out then yeah and we
wouldn't be sitting here talking like we think of the the ministry of Jesus getting right
to the end so where he's almost done wanted to quit in the garden and it was faithful

(01:22:13):
to the end yeah and the blessing that we have today as believers in Christ being born again
is because he did not quit he didn't give in the blessing that we have in in this church
and I've said this quite a bit but even myself as a person I'm so thankful that you never

(01:22:33):
quit you and mum never quit you kept on going and it's given me the the platform to be a
good husband father minister like just it's just broken the like broken the ice yeah like
there's a big icebreaker that broke the ice and I'm this little boat that can just sneak

(01:22:55):
in behind it's just made the way so much easier yeah for me and the blessing like you said
earlier the blessing in obedience it's I personally believe it's more than we'll ever know oh
yeah so yeah yeah it's just great it's really really good no thanks guys that means a lot

(01:23:17):
the father-son moment I don't want to I don't want to ruin that I don't want to come in
between that but thank you so much for thank you coming coming here to this interview you
know it was not easy getting you there was so much easier people in this season to get
and it was just a phone call away but we like ever since we started real talk Friday we

(01:23:39):
were like we really want to get pastor Rob in this and that was like we wanted to do
it from the season one yeah first episode but I think it's God's timing there's a reason
God God wants you at this time to be here yeah and yeah I'm not gonna argue to that
I'm just gonna yeah but thank you again for being on this show and all we like always

(01:24:05):
to do is for you to end with a prayer sure and yeah pray for our ministry pray for okay
this church and yeah and UWM of course yeah and yeah okay thanks Gus and Rohan Lord I
just I'm just so mindful right now of the the importance to acknowledge you in everything

(01:24:27):
that's been said today because Lord it's because of you you you did all of these things before
us so we could follow just like Gus said and we all need those role models we all need
those people to to pave a way and and you did that for us Lord and so we do acknowledge

(01:24:49):
you Lord you did say about to go out into all the nations and this is what the churches
of Jesus Christ are doing today here in Australia our own cities overseas but Lord we we we
pray Lord God that for your hand to be so mightily upon all the missions around the

(01:25:10):
world and the churches around the world and Lord for all the Christians Lord that in different
nations that may be suffering persecution we lift them up to you and Lord just the ones
that are so deeply persecuted father we lift them up to you Lord God and father we thank
you for them we thank you for your hand to be to be upon them but Lord right now I just

(01:25:35):
ask Lord because I just sense in my spirit there'll be people watching this that have
a sense in their spirit a call to missions a call into the mission fields or a call into
ministry Lord we pray for them Lord that they would respond to the call with great courage

(01:25:56):
in the name of Jesus father we pray a blessing upon Lord all that you are doing in their
lives as well in the name of Jesus and father we just thank you again we acknowledge you
Jesus for everything that you have done amen amen amen well thank you everyone for joining

(01:26:18):
us for another episode of Real Talk Friday we're so so glad that you could join us and
we encourage you to reach out to us you know comment on the comments below reach out to
us through email or always you know shoot us a message we really love that we really
love to connect and and there's great great resources available in our church website

(01:26:41):
and our also previous interviews and a lot of other stuff that are on our channel so
please feel free to check them out but thank you again and I'm sure we'll see you next
time in another episode of Real Talk Friday.
As we conclude our episode of Real Talk Friday we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our

(01:27:05):
listeners for joining us on this enlightening journey.
But our journey doesn't end here.
Join us every Friday as we continue to uncover the real stories of real people where authenticity
intersects with spirituality in profound ways.
Together we'll navigate the complexities of life, finding inspiration and hope in the
remarkable narratives shared within the walls of Logan City Christian Church.

(01:27:28):
Thank you for tuning in and until next time may your faith journey be filled with grace,
understanding and the unwavering presence of God.
Stay tuned for more Real Talk every Friday on Real Talk Friday.