Do you know the purpose of his call?

Preached at Glen Aros Christian Fellowship, Scotland on
Sunday 30th July 2006


The challenge to go on with Jesus!

We pray for revival, or restoration, whatever we call it.

Yet in the midst of revival you will still have to face the challenge, and the choice as to weather you will follow Jesus.

Jesus is the only man to follow.

Who are you following? Who are you following?

When revival comes, and it could come today, it will bring with it the challenge, and the choice to follow Jesus.

Revival comes with great activity, and with great excitement. It comes like a red letter day.

All that is desired, and prayed for suddenly comes together and you are standing in the midst of all that you have longed and hoped for. All your barns are suddenly full!

Let’s look at Mark 1:29 - 39

Mr 1:29

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.
37 When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
38 But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Let’s look at this passage.

V32 ‘at even when the sun had set.

It’s the end of the day.

The sick and the demon possessed! Came, in large numbers

V30 ‘Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever.

V31 Jesus ‘…took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her…’

One healing of one woman leads to all the sick and demon possessed coming in large numbers to Simon’s house.

Not only the sick and demon possessed,


Read V33 ‘The whole city was gathered together at the door’

V34 ‘he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons’

Wow! The whole city is gathered at the door of Simon’s house!

What a great night, what a great exciting, and eventful experience.

Eventually they got to bed, because in the next verse….

V35 ‘now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place… ‘

A great time of deliverance and healing, and excitement!

What a great night it must have been.

What do we find Jesus doing?

What is the example left to us by Jesus In the midst of a revival?

Jesus had risen a long while before daylight and went out and departed to a solitary palace.

Look at the end of V35

When Jesus went out and departed to this solitary place….

‘…there he prayed’


What a wonderful example!

Up late the night before, and power going out of him to heal and cast outdemons, all the city gathered at the door.

Revival had come to town.

Praise God for all the excitement that is coming to Dumfries


Praise God for the wonderful expectations building in the hearts of God’s people here in the city.

God will have his way among us, His word surely declares it. You must declare what God has said!

Lets look at Job 22:21-30

Job 22:21 "Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; you will remove iniquity far from your tents.
24 Then you will lay your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver;
26 For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows.
28 You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.
29 When they cast you down, and you say, 'Exaltation will come!' Then He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent; yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."

We know that these words were given to Job by Eliphaz, who thought Job to be a bad man and out of sorts with God. But still these words are relevant to any who would go forward with God.



V21 ‘acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace’

Acquainting yourself with God is of the utmost importance.

You must be at peace with God today. Never mind tomorrow, never mind the past, are you at peace with God today, and acquainted with his ways for you?

How can two walk together and not be in agreement?

Get to know about God, and be at peace with him! If you have difficulty with acquainting yourself with God, and being at peace with Him, then speak to Him, Pray!

V22 ‘Receive… instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart’

V23 ‘If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; you will remove iniquity far from your tents.’

V26 ‘then you will have your delight in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God’

V27 ‘You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you’


V28 ‘You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways’

What are you declaring for Dumfries? Do you know what you should be declaring for Dumfries?



V29 ‘When they cast you down, and you say, 'Exaltation will come!'

Or as is said in another translation; when there is a casting down, you will say that there is a lifting up and it shall be lifted up!

What great power you have in your tongue, brothers and sisters!

Going back to Mark 1: 36

Jesus is out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed.

Hallelujah for the solitary times of prayer.

But let’s look at what the disciples are up to while Jesus is praying. Most of them were asleep. Until Simon stirs them up!

V36 ‘Simon and those who were with Him, searched for [Jesus]’

V37 ‘when they found Him, they said to Him, ‘everyone is looking for You’.


What a great statement Simon makes!

Every one is looking for Jesus.

You may not know what you are looking for this morning,

But let me tell you,

You are looking for Jesus!

Jesus is the one you are looking for, Have you made your peace with God?

Have you acquainted yourself with Jesus?

Let me tell you when the revival comes you will have to be acquainted with Him.

Mark 2:1-12

Mr 2:1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?
10 "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" --He said to the paralytic,
11 "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Jesus introduces a connection between forgiveness and healing!

V9 ‘which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you.’ Or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?

Can you see the need you have to hear the voice of the living God?

There is much coming your way that you will not be able to handle unless you acquaint yourself with Jesus and you let His words sink down into your heart.

We are moving into a time when you will only be able to function by being led by the Holy Spirit.

V8 ‘Jesus perceived in His spirit’

Can you see that Jesus reasons in his spirit?
And the religious Pharisees ‘… reasoned about these things in [their] hearts?

We talk about the difference of the mind and heart, but look at this Jesus reasoned in his spirit, and the people in their hearts.

V6 they reasoned in their hearts.

God has moved on and he is saying even your heart will fail you in the days ahead.

You need to learn to be led by my Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 23:22 ‘But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings’.


V38 ‘But He said to them ‘let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.’

You see, Jesus, knew His purpose!

How did he know his purpose?

He had been in the solitary place, getting acquainted with what His Fathers purpose was for Him.

Some of you have never been to the solitary place, where you are alone with God.

Yes, you have seen it from a distance, and you have avoided going there.

Jesus was led of the Holy Spirit into the solitary place.

But hey, he came out in the power of the Holy Spirit.


Jesus came to the place where he was at peace with His Fathers purpose for his life.

This puts Simon and the disciples in a dilemma.

Are they going to get caught up with all men who have come to seek Jesus?

Or are they going to go on with Jesus.

You see how important it is to know His purpose, and Know what the father has called you to!

Simon, are you going to stay here, or are you going to follow Jesus.

If you are following Jesus, you need to know. You need to know God’s holy purpose, and

In V22 and V23 of Job 22 there is the exhortation from Eliphaz

Please receive instruction from [God’s] mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; you will remove iniquity for from your tents.

V21 Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace!

I love that statement in Mark 1:1 ‘it was noised abroad that He was in the house’


Oh that it would be noised abroad that Jesus is in this house!

In your house!

Why is it not noised abroad the Jesus is in the house?

Are you responsible?

George said last time he preached that he had thought maybe he should give preaching a rest!

No George, no rest, increase in your preaching, God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to save the lost, and build up the body.

You have a message that Dumfries and Scotland needs to hear.

This is not the time to be silent.

Jesus preached wherever he went.

What did he preach?

The things concerning the kingdom of God.

Jeremiah 17:5-6

Jer 17:5 thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.

On the other hand

Jeremiah 17:7-10

Jer 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

The lord searches the heart,

I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

1 Samuel 16:7

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

The lord looks at your heart.


Psalm 139:23,24.


Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Romans 8

Ro 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Ro 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Jesus knew the purpose of his call, because he was led by the Holy spirit.

My question to close is

Do you know the purpose of his call, are you being led of the Holy Spirit?

God bless you as you follow Jesus.