Israel Folau broke down in tears while giving a sermon at his local church on Easter Sunday.
The Wallabies star, 30, became overwhelmed as he spoke at the Uniting Church in Kenthurst, north west of Sydney.
He gave the emotional sermon the week after his Instagram post calling homosexuals sinners caused outrage - and he appeared to be struggling with the criticism he faced.
Folau, who faces a hearing on Saturday to find out if he will be sacked from the Wallabies, preached about figures in the Bible who stood up for their beliefs.
The Wallabies star (pictured with his wife), 30, became overwhelmed as he spoke at the Uniting Church in Kenthurst, north west of Sydney
He said: 'At some stage, each and every one of us will face our own fiery furnace, and some of us may have already faced that.
'In your workforce, if they're telling you something that will compromise your faith, this is a test of faith in which you're going to be put in a challenge, and the question is "What are you going to do?"
'With these guys, they were challenged and it was a matter of life and death, physical death. But they understood their treasures were stored up in heaven, not here on Earth.
'As the scriptures say, don't set your mind on things below, but set it on things above.
'We all know as born again believers in Christ, that everything we have here is all temporary.
'And it says in the word, 'For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and lose his own soul?'
It was then that Folau began to break down in tears, requiring a member of the audience to bring him some tissues to wipe his eyes.
The emotional sermon came a week after his Instagram post calling homosexuals sinners caused outrage
Folau began to break down in tears, requiring a member of the audience to bring him some tissues to wipe his eyes
But the full-back of Tongan descent, who grew up a Mormon, regained his composure and carried on with the sermon.
'This life that we live in is pretty hard,' he said.
'The God of this
