Christmas and end of year are often time of reflection and contemplation as we gear up for the New Year. I have some major plans in the pipe line so I have been meditating on my time here at Harvester and what I have learnt during and after coming to LOCBI (now MBC) in 1998.

I left my job, started a new company and headed for the great adventure of life with Christ. I came to LOCBI with all sorts of ideas, plans, ambitions, drive and a whole bunch of baggage.

What I am going to share with you today is simply what Esther and I have learnt during this journey so far. They are in no particular order or ranking.
Albert Einstein said

'Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.'

So after going through 3 years of lectures, learning numerous memory verses, writing many tests and exams, then teaching and preaching for many more years what remains after I have forgotten what I learnt?

1. Replace your agenda with God’s agenda.
As I said when I came to LOCBI I have my own agenda and my own plans. The plan at that time was to start a ministry and head into Africa with some type of work. I had the vision, I had the drive and I was going to make this happen. Wrong! This really was the first thing I learnt here was to get rid of my agenda and my ambition and replace it with Gods’ agenda.

You know the little analogy that evangelist love to use when they ask if God is a passenger or the driver of you God. They will say things like “who has got the steering wheel of your life, you or God?” and you are supposed to feel all fearful if God don’t have the steering wheel of your life. Well to be perfectly honest He does not have the steering wheel of my life.

I have the steering wheel of my life, because I have to live it not Him. Yet He is my navigator, He is my GPS (God positioning system). How did I work? Quite simple actually because proverbs 16:9 says “a man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” The Lord has directed my steps on numerous occasions to places and ways that I could not have worked out.

I you have ever watched a rally on TV you will notice it is the navigator with the map that knows where they are supposed go and the driver just follows instructions. I know as I have done both jobs in the Ambulance service. The navigator watches the map and gives instructions. “Next road should be apple street, then the reply yes, next peach, yes then take next left, then first right into rose circle” so the conversation goes.

That way I drive according to His agenda. If God has the steering wheel of your life then who is living your life? Who is navigating? When something goes wrong whom do you blame? Just a thought

God has the map of my life in His hands I know this from Psalm 139:15 + 16

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

So when you give up your agenda and accept His agenda what you are actually doing is saying God I want to live according to my book that you have written for me before I was born. Then you accept that each step is planned. Each crisis is not really a crisis because it is also planned. It is more of a fatalistic, pre-destination approach than go and do something great for God approach to life, but I have found greater peace and joy in this approach.

It also means my achievements are actually His achievements because I just followed the plan and it is not my doing, but His.

Proverbs 27:1 says

Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

James 4:13

13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

We teach here that we are lead not driven.

Gal 5:25
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Over the break at the holiday house my sister was reading a book about knowing your personality type. We go into a discussion and one of the personality types is a reformer, but there definition if very different to ours. The book wanted you to analyse yourself according to how you where not how you are I refused because I said I am not interested in the past I am.

That lead to a more discussion and some said no you need to find out what drives you, my reply was “I am lead, not driven” which killed to conversation. Cattle are driven sheep are lead.

I found some very interesting quotes while searching for the one about educations they reflects mans inability to predict the future.

Margaret Thatcher, 1974
It will be years–not in my time–before a woman will become Prime Minister.

She became Prime Minister in 1979…

Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977
There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.

I have 4

Western Union memo, 1876
This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.

Let’s stick to pigeons.

Hewlett Packard excuse to Steve Jobs, who founded Apple Computers instead.
We don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.

Just think there could be no Apple Mac or iPods. I will leave it up to you to decide if that is a good or bad thing!

2. Trust in Him.

It’s all very well having a navigator, but you go to trust Him.

I left my work on a promise of a contract that never came off. Yet for 3 years I worked from 12:30 – 18:00 and made enough money to live and pay the bond etc and still studied at LOCBI.

I would be lying if I told you it was easy, no it was not, it was darn difficult. There where times when I did not know which way to turn so I turned to the word and each time I would get a scripture like.

Is 57:13

13 Let’s see if your idols can save you
when you cry to them for help.
Why, a puff of wind can knock them down!
If you just breathe on them, they fall over!
But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.”

My favourite one is this line.

Luke 8:50

50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”

You see there are times when the Devil will throw everything he can at you to stop you doing what you are called to do. In this story Jesus is on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter and He got stopped alone the way to heal the lady with an issue of blood.

Now the devil wanted Jairus’ to believe that it is too late and that all was lost, Jesus’ reply is “only believe” there where times when I had to do just that believe. I had to believe that there would be money at the end of the month to pay what needed to be paid. When you work for yourself it is never easy.

I was never prepared to accep