"7 Times Jesus was Alone with God"

ILL: Sometimes I like to take my daughters on these little dates. I try to make it a big deal. I’ll ask her where she wants to go and we make plans to go. When it’s time to go I’ll dress up nice and I’ll bring her a flower and take her somewhere. Just me and her. I don’t get on my phone. I give her my whole attention. Sometimes I take both older girls. Sometimes I just take one of them.

And what makes it special is justing spending some time. Just me and her.

As a child of God, it should be important to you to spend some alone time with God!

This sermon is titled:

“7 Times Jesus was Alone with God”

Are you spending time with God?

Are you putting God first in your personal devotion?

(Prayer)

Tonight let’s examine The Example of Jesus.

Jesus would often spend time alone with His Father

I want to look at 7 times Jesus was alone with God and what we can learn from these moments with God.

1. Alone to Pray

[Mat 14:23 KJV] 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

Spend time alone with God in prayer

[Mat 6:6 KJV] 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

2. Alone Before Temptation

[Mat 4:1-4 KJV] 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

We will all face temptation every day

[Jas 1:14-16 KJV] 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

[1Co 10:12-13 KJV] 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

Make sure you pray that you will overcome the temptation

3. Alone to Fast

[Mat 4:1-4 KJV] 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

[Mat 17:16-21 KJV] 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Be willing to fast

4. Alone After a Victory

After the 5,000 fed:

[Luk 9:18 KJV] 18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

Often times it is easy to put our guard down after God provides a victory.

Be prepared:

Sometimes the biggest battles come after the biggest victories.

5. Alone with God Despite Pressing Needs

[Mar 1:35-37 KJV] 35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.

[Luk 5:15-16 KJV] 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

We all have pressing needs!

Dog needs to be fed, house needs to be painted, the kitchen needs to be cleaned, the kids need a bath, the laundry needs cleaned, the job needs that report, the bills must be paid, etc....

It’s important that we make time alone with God!

“You make time for what’s important to you.”

6. Alone with God before an Important Decision

[Luk 6:12-13 KJV] 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Jesus spent time alone with God and prayed all night before choosing the apostles!

Have any one of us spent an entire night praying?

Be sure to spend some time with God before an important decision must be made!

7. Alone to Rest

[Mar 6:30-32 KJV] 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

God wants you to be a hard worker.

God wants you to diligently labor in the fields of the harvest

But there is a time of rest.

Exodus 34:21 - Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

ILL: Pastor Paul Chappel -after many years of serving the Lord was working 16 hour days, church, college, etc… was starting to break down. (heart, stress, etc…) took a 4, 5-month hiatus in 2010.

God knows you need rest.

Make sure and take time to rest in Christ.

[Mat 11:28 KJV] 28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

It’s important not to burn out! Make sure you spend some time resting and waiting on God.

BTW God has designed your bodies to rest! Most of us adults need 8 hours! Kids need even more! Amazing how many kids stay awake all hours of the night on their video games! Not good!

7 times Jesus was alone:

To pray

Before temptation

To fast

After a victory

Despite pressing needs

Before an important decision

Alone to rest

Jesus spent time alone with God.

Don’t you think we should as well?

(If time) One more time Jesus was alone…but this time it was with the disciples:

“But without a parable spoke He not unto them; and when they were alone He expounded all things to His disciples” (Mark 4:34).

Our text gives us some keys to learning the Word of the Lord. Here Christ spoke in parables to the multitudes, but did not explain the parables to the multitudes. However, He explained the parables to His disciples. The Bible is often a closed book to many folk. They complain they do not understand it, and because of that fact they often ridicule the Bible and conclude it is not practical to man. However, there are others who delight in the Word of the Lord and do not criticize the Bible but exalt it. They understand it. The Bible is not a dark book to them. The reason for this condition is that they have met the conditions for understanding the Word. In our text the vast multitudes were left in the dark about the Word of the Lord but Christ’s disciples were given a first hand explanation of the marvelous truths which He spoke. Why did the disciples learn while the multitudes did not? We learn from our text some reasons why the disciples learned but the multitudes did not.

Understanding God’s Word

FIRST—DEVOTION

I. Being Devoted to Jesus

“He expounded … to His disciples.”

To be disciple of Jesus Christ required that you have much affection for Christ.

The disciples loved to be in the presence of Christ. Because they loved Him, they kept company with Him.

The great inspiration for the great commission was that the presence of Christ was promised in it (Matthew 28:20).

Because the disciples loved the Lord, they were present with Him and able to hear the explanation of the parables which He taught. Christ does not illuminate those who do not love Him.

You can go to school, seminary and what all for years and the Bible will be a dark book to you until you love Him.

If you walk in the dark when it comes to the Bible, check your devotion and your affection to Jesus Christ.

A. They Followed Him

B. They Listened to Him

C. They Obeyed Him

II. Being Alone with Jesus

SECOND—DESIRE

“When they were alone [with Him].”

If you want to learn in any area of life you must demonstrate desire.

The disciples desired to know Divine truth and were frequently asking Christ to explain things to them.

If the Bible is a dark book to you, it may be that you are not interested in it.

Our ignorance of the Scripture reflects more out disinterest in the Scriptures then it does our deficiency academically.

III. Being Away from the World

THIRD—DENIAL

“His disciples.”

The disciples could have been doing something else but they sacrificed many things to be with Christ.

Some sacrificed their job as did the disciples, who were fishermen, and Matthew, who was a tax collector.

Others gave up their pursuits of life to follow Jesus.

Lack of sacrifice will make a spiritual ignoramus out of you.

The reason many do not understand the Scriptures is because they will not deny themselves any desire or wish in order to learn from Him.

If there is no sacrifice, there will be no learning of the Word of God.

It cost to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

A. No to time spent elsewhere

B. No to

[Jhn 6:15 KJV] 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

[Luk 4:42 KJV] 42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.