Familiarity Breeds A Feeling Of Contempt And Worthlessness.

That is a lot of anger, yet suddenly they stopped. Verse 28 tells us that Jesus simply “walked right through the crowd and went on his way”. It must have been a mass deliverance, an expulsion of evil to achieve that.

Jesus, calmly walked on his way and I am sure Jesus must have had eye contact with them “on his way”, which said, “I am the Messiah; get used to it”.

Here we see the great son of God in his most human form by allowing his own kind to reject him, and carry him off to his death, … yet when Jesus needed it most; his father intervened and protected him; for no other reason than to live out the scriptures of prophecy where Jesus was to die, taking the sins of the world with him, and not simply die by being thrown off a cliff.

Can you see how brutal your own kind of people can be, as soon as you achieve success? It took me years to accept this; in fact your own people can be your worst enemies in disguise.

I know many ministers, yet I do not know any who are preaching in the town they were brought up. There are many times I feel I have been a failure, but then recognise that I have done just that, and it makes me feel blessed. Yes, God took my sins and forgave them; but he also made me face up to them; by bring me back to Ayrshire instead of allowing me to run away.

Facing up has been the most painful part of my life, and yet I know God has not finished with me. You have to be careful what you ask for, for example, there are hymns which say things like, “purify my heart” or “refine me as silver” or such. Think about it, how do you refine silver? … As an engineer I know you heat it up until it is red hot, then your bash it about, and then cool it, then heat it up again and bash it and continue doing this until it is pure.

Sometimes God can only heat us up by putting you in the furnace of our childhood, and present us with our past; and only then he can mould us, and form us by putting us in with our old flames.

But notice, (and to finish), God had a plan for Jesus, and that plan did not end on that cliff. I just hate it when people say, what are your goals in life? Where do you see yourself in 5 years time, because that question suggests that you are in charge of your own destiny, and that you are ultimately responsible?

No, the bible is very clear, God is in charge of our lives and he has a plan for us. We are to do his bidding, and we are not to do what we want, and use God’s methods to achieve our goals; just like some Victorian father or some Jim Jones.

It is not what we want, but it is what God wants for us. Fortunately through the refining fire, God aligns our desires to his desires, and that way, when we are doing his will, it is a pleasure.

I do not know what it is, but God has a very definite plan for my life, and I have never, at any stage asked to be in this church; and yet I know this is where I am meant to be; and this is where I am going to stay until He says otherwise. … That is why I love taking this service, and why I love this church. I see it as a pleasure and I am grateful for the opportunity.