It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish!

John 7:1-2,10,25-30 © They would have arrested him, but his time had not yet come Jesus stayed in Galilee; he could not stay in Judaea, because the Jews were out to kill him. As the Jewish feast of Tabernacles drew near, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, but quite privately, without drawing attention to himself. Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’ Then, as Jesus taught in the Temple, he cried out: ‘Yes, you know me and you know where I came from’

So, what does this mean to us? Quite simply, it means that it doesn’t matter where we a from, it doesn’t matter whether your are families are supportive or unsupportive, if you’re rich or poor, you can be anything you want to be. Do not let yourself be defined by where you started. Be defined by where you end. That can be easier said than done though. Often we are held back by fear: ‘But I don’t have expensive clothes to wear to an interview…’ ‘What if they make fun of my accent…’ ‘None of my family have gone to university so I probably don’t have what it takes to get a degree….’ Only You can hold yourself back. It easy to make excuses to not do something and not unusual to fear the unknown. But you can be anything you want to be with a bit of courage and a lot of hard work. Watch me!

What holds you back? Class discussion: What holds you back – why? If you don’t think you have anything that holds you back then what do you think might hold others back and why?

Class discussion continued… Someone write all of the reasons people feel held back on the white board Looking at all of the reasons that you as a class cam up with as to why people feel that they are held back, what practical solutions could you give?

Dear God, you know my heart and you know that I love you Dear God, you know my heart and you know that I love you. I’m trying to do my best, but sometimes I get tripped up. Sometimes I lose focus. Sometimes I forget who I am and start looking to the world to tell me who I am. On the days when my confidence is fading fast, build me up again. Remind me of the simple truth that confidence can only be found in chasing after you. I can walk around confident knowing I am loved. I can walk around confident knowing I am enough. I can live knowing I have been rescued, free and called to do great things. Help me remember these things. Amen.