me to stretch your thinking here, dear reader, because we serve the ultimate Big Thinker. No plans of yours even compare to His. Your heart’s cry for more has been answered with a chuckle and a grin from a Father’s heart that takes what you see and expands it into something you can’t see.
God can take every limitation that has been put on your life—by yourself or by others—and expand your heart and purpose in a way that is way bigger, way higher, way more effective than anything you could imagine.
I’ve seen it in my own life. I can testify to His faithfulness when it comes to more—more than I wanted, more than I dreamed, more than I ever thought I would need. I’m not speaking of simple material matters, of monetary things or things that can be counted or valued by earthly standards. I’ve watched as God has exceeded the dreams in my heart, the visions I’ve had for my own life and the lives of my family and those closest to me. I’ve experienced the “much more” favor of God when it comes to my marriage, leadership, children, and friendships.
For many years, while standing in one of our Hillsong Church auditoriums or by the side of the stage at one of our annual conferences, people have asked me, “Could you see all this when you started?” You know, I have always been a determined visionary, but in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined all God has done and is doing. I couldn’t have planned it, executed it, or dreamed of the days we are living in now. And I’ve stopped trying to. You can never out-dream God.
I’ve learned to trust God with the secret desires of my heart—the things I don’t know that I need and the things I thought I didn’t need. Many a time, I’ve discovered there is more to the valleys I walked through than simply the pain I experienced. There is more to learn in storms than what my eyes were fixed on in the natural. There is more purpose to my provision than simply my own fulfillment and enjoyment—so much more.
In fact, in the sentences preceding the glorious verse I already quoted (Ephesians 3:20–21), we are given a glimpse into the reason for our more:
I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (verses 14–21)
Filled with all the fullness of God. Glory to all generations.
This book is about exactly that: the character and nature of the God we serve and His desire to see each and every one of us experience that Ephesians 3 life—His desire to see us filled to overflowing with every good, wonderful, and perfect gift from Him, purposed to build the church, expand the kingdom, and echo His name throughout the generations. The following chapters unfold the purpose of our more, the source of our more, and the understanding that more is less about us, more about others, and all about Him. But first you need to understand that our heavenly Father sees more in you than you could ever see in yourself.
My prayer is that you will turn each of these pages and discover something new within the ancient text scattered throughout. I hope that regardless of the prayers you have prayed, the triumphs you’ve celebrated, the failures you’ve lived or perceived, you will come to understand that there is more grace, goodness, mercy, kindness, love, forgiveness, and favor waiting in your future. God’s will for your life—heaven’s perfect purpose—is indeed beyond your wildest dreams. And if you have ever asked for more and, like Oliver Twist, been met by angry words or an indifferent spirit, or if you’ve ever had your motives questioned or been unjustly assailed, I pray that through my personal experiences and revelation, you will find healing as you discover a little bit more about the true character of our giving God and His desires for your life.
There is always more to uncover—more to discover about who He is and who He says you are. There is more ahead of you than you’ve allowed yourself to dream or allowed yourself to believe. There is more room in your life for the things of God and the people of God than you even thought possible—more space to be made for God to make His presence known in and through you. And if for some reason you’ve stopped dreaming big things for your life, stopped imagining that your life is a story to tell or a legacy to be remembered, then this book is a good place to start again.
Seventeen. What did you dream about when you were seventeen? Did you dare to dream? Were you allowed to dream? Were you laughed at for your dreams? Perhaps family or peers were threatened by your dreams. Or are you the product of an environment where you were encouraged to think big and dream impossible dreams? And if you are not yet seventeen or are well beyond seventeen, what grand things do you dream about now?
I was a dreamer. You see, I came from a land that was then said to have three million people and seventy million sheep. That’s great if your life’s grand ambition is making woolen jumpers or Roquefort cheese, but it’s not necessarily a launching pad for dreaming of building anything with worldwide influence and impact. Interestingly, this small land in the Southern Ocean has produced (among many other fine endeavors) the first man to climb Mount Everest and the first man to split the atom. It is home to the famous landscape displayed in the splendor of the Lord of the Rings movies, as well as many world-renowned entertainers, actors, athletes, and businesspeople. Plus of course it boasts the world’s most successful and famed rugby team, the New Zealand All Blacks. So maybe, just maybe, humble beginnings are the perfect soil for a blossoming and fruitful life.
In the 1960s, my family lived in a state house, which was a government-owned, timber-lined dwelling that stood like a sullen soldier among all the other similar houses in Taita, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. It was a working-class suburb, with all the associated social problems, just outside Wellington.
Nothing in particular stood out about me as a child or teenager. I found it impossible to concentrate in school, and my long legs were more of a hindrance than a help when it came to the sporting field.
I have vivid memories of my journey home from Hutt Valley High School. I began my daily walk from the train station onto High Street before turning left past the Tocker Street Dairy, our local convenience store, where, if I had any change, I would stop to buy hokey-pokey ice cream (vanilla ice cream with small bits of honeycomb toffee throughout). Then I would veer right onto Reynolds Street, past Pearce Crescent, Molesworth Street, and Compton Crescent, before finally turning into Nash Street, and I would walk past three houses before arriving home at the corner of Nash Street and Taita Drive. And day after day, on that repetitious walk home, my young, shy, but adventurous mind used to dream and dream and dream. It was a dream that always seemed to follow a similar narrative.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to someday serve Jesus and preach the gospel. In fact, I cannot remember a time when that wasn’t what I dreamed of doing. I dreamed in the school classroom, I dreamed on that journey home, and I dreamed while sitting in church twice on a Sunday, every Sunday throughout my childhood.
It was then that I imagined speaking to big crowds or traveling the world, leading thousands of people to Jesus Christ and maybe one day building a great church. I would
