LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS #5

Solitude

The Sun was setting and people had been coming and going all day long. By the Power and Authority that Jesus had, being One with God the Father, as God the Son, he had just rebuked the fever that Peter’s mother-in-law was suffering from.

There is no other explanation for what happened that day in Peter’s home except for the fact that People came from all over, bringing their loved ones who were ill and demon possessed to be freed from the evil in their lives. We Note in this passage that “Jesus is the Power and Authority over ‘All’ things!”

Please Stand and listen together as we read from

Meyer Briggs - Introvert/Extrovert

Alone time to recharge/people time to recharge

After a long Ministry day, where Jesus Power had been usurped by the demands of the people and the evil in this world, Jesus went out to a solitary place. In we read

Luke 5:16 NIV

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Why did Jesus withdraw to lonely places? First it is important to understand what Solitude is. Webster defines Solitude as … A largely uninhabited regions. The Greek word means “Wilderness, desert, being alone… A place without others. I like how one pastor described it...

Biblical solitude is the intentional, temporary absence of human activity in order to more fully know God.

The interesting thing about Solitude is that when you are seeking to get away and be alone, you really are not alone.

The Night in which Jesus told his disciples about how they would turn away from him because of his upcoming arrest by the Romans and crucifixion to follow, he said to them:

“…a time is coming and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

“…a time is coming and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

Even though His disciples would not be with him, God would. Jesus would never be left alone.

The Same is true for us. We are never alone! Jesus had told his disciples at another time,

John 14:6 NIV

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:16 NIV

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Again in

Matthew 28:20 NIV

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When we are alone, we are never really alone… God is with us always. I love the promise God gave to Joshua in the OT

Joshua 1:5 NIV

5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

In Solitude you are never really alone… But it is important to Intentionally absence yourself from the presence of human activity so that you can more fully know God. Jesus sets the best example of what it meant to get away to a lonely place; a place of solitude.

Back to our original question… why did Jesus want to get away and be alone.

Due to the purpose: Mission in which he came as we read in and what we read in our text for today Jesus was a very busy man and the work was draining.

People were in need. When they discovered that Jesus had power to heal; to deliver them from evil, they came to him by the groves, time and time again.

If you are a committed follower of Jesus you know what he has done and is doing for you every day … He has delivered you from the penalty of sin, which is death and he progressively speaks to you about living a Holy life that please Him.

If you are uncertain of who Jesus is and what he has done and can do for you, He is the Only one who can free your from the penalty of sin and deliver you from living an UnHoly life.

FOCUS on JUST how tired Jesus was from ministry…

In we read about Jesus having fallen asleep after a day of healing. A storm arose and he was fast asleep. Jesus was both God and man… Physically he was drained. Spiritually power had been take out of him… Not draining him of power, but knowing that power had been used up; taken.

In , Jesus was in a crowd and a woman who had been ill for 12 years touched the edge of his cloak and was healed. Jesus “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

Application: If Jesus the Son of God needed to refresh by being alone, why do we think differently? If he was drained of power, we too will lose the power of His influence in our lives if we do not recharge with him!

We live in a culture where we just don’t have a whole lot of solitude, and even when we do, we tend to immediately fill the quiet with something. Our day usually begins with the ring of an Alarm Clock. And from that point on our day is filled with activity and noise.

I heard a podcast this week and the heading was this: “We Need to Slow Down our lives.” Even People in the technology world call it a “Secular Sabbath” because technology has accelerated our lives so much so that they feel there is an urgent need to ‘Slow Down.’

Jesus set the example of us…

we need time to be alone.

In Marks Gospel we read

Mark 1:35 NIV

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Jesus got up early and he prayed!

Let’s talk how we begin our day… How do we begin our days? Do we plan to start our day with God? Or do we plan to end our day with God? Do we plan to include God at all? I had one person tell me that he always ended his day with God, because then he would be ready for the new day ahead.

Another person pointed out to me that he began his day with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. As he would read the paper, he found himself engulfed by the things of the world and God was soon push out of his thoughts. His thoughts were captivated by the influence of what he read in the paper He intentionally made a choice to begin to change that habit to the reading of God’s word and prayer first. It drew him into a joyful relationship with God and Jesus became more real to him than ever.

How do we begin our days? Do we plan to start our day with God? Or do we plan to end our day with God? I had one person tell me that he always ended his day with God, because then he would be ready for the new day ahead.

I read the story of a pastor who would spend 4 hours with God each day. God blessed his ministry and many people came to know the Lord Jesus as Savior. As the church grew, his time with God became less and less. One day he was mowing his lawn and from across the fence his neighbor wave and motioned for him to stop and come over. So he did. The man said to the pastor, I have no idea why, but I feel as if God wants me to tell you something… there was a pause… He said to tell you, “I miss you.” It was at that time he realized his relationship with Jesus was no longer what it once was… it wasn’t bad, but they had been much closer and Jesus wanted to continue to be close, like they had been

I was at a leadership summit several years ago and the CEO of a secular company spoke. He share how God had helped him start his business. Then he said something I will never forget… From the get go, he has told each and every one of his employees to use the first 30 minutes of their day, to spend time with God. So from 8:00 am to 8:30 am every door will be closed and each person is spending time with God before they begin their business day.

A friend of mine who worked for Motorola once said to me, I try to get to the office every day by 5:00 am because that is the only time I can actually get any work done. By 8:00 am everyone is there and there is no time for myself to learn and reflect.

I tell you these things because… first, Jesus sets an example for us. he understood the business of life and he understood the importance of maintaining a strong, healthy relationship with God the Father.

Now, weather you begin or end your day with God doesn’t matter. The important thing is that God is always a significant part of your day.

Mark 6:31 NIV

31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

In , Jesus encouraged his disciples to get away and rest… Listen to His words:

In , Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”

Mark 6:32 NIV

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

In

In

Psalm 46:10 NIV

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Here is what one pastor wrote about this particular verse...

It was likely written during the reign of King Jehoshaphat when the nation of Israel was facing the armies of Moab, Ammon and Edom.

It was written to encourage the people of Israel to trust in God as they faced their enemies.

The command “be still” literally means to stop or to cease. In fact the NASB translates it “Cease striving...”

To His enemies God says “stop” trying to attack my people because I am their refuge and strength and it is futile to fight against me.

To the people of Israel, God says cease trying to fight this battle in your own strength. I am your refuge and strength. and it is futile for you to try and stop your enemies without me. By the way, it is this Psalm that inspired Martin Luther to write “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”.

What God is saying to us is we need to cease from our frantic going to and fro and to take time to rest and to trust in Him.

Bill Gaultiere, the founder of an organization called “Soul Shepherding” which ministers to pastors, wrote this in a recent blog post:

In solitude and silence you’re learning to stop doing, stop producing, stop pleasing people, stop entertaining yourself, stop obsessing — stop doing anything except to simply be your naked self before God and be found by him.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster puts it like this:

Solitude is more a state of mind and heart than it is a place. There is a solitude of the heart that can be maintained at all times. Crowds, or the lack of them, have little to do with this inward attentiveness.

Remember the quoter earlier… Biblical solitude is the intentional, temporary absence of human activity in order to more fully know God.

We have to be intentional in our time alone. If what Richard Foster says is true, “Solitude is more a state of mind and heart than it is a place, it is important for us to set our minds on Christ and find rest in him in all things. The purpose in Solitude is to More fully know God…

We can’t know God if we are constantly on the move. We need to give our mind and body rest. We need to be intentional about how we do that.. we need to create time… expend energy to let go of things and focus on things that really matter.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. As a grandparent, i’ve learned the value of just lying on the floor with my grandchildren. Sometimes we talk; sometimes we play; sometimes we even fall asleep.

The other thing about knowing God is not just to know about him, but to really know him. One commentator wrote: To know God is to feel what God feels; Feeling what God is feeling.

It went on to say: “We have plenty of information about God but what we lack is sensitivity to and empathy with God. We we know God the way the Psalmist writes it we ...

Feel sad about the things that make God sad

Feel angry about the things than impugn His character or eclipse His glory

Feel joy and excitement when we are in His presence

It means taking time not just to pray and have a God talk… It means to Pray and listen while having that God talk.

Here are some suggestions that one author wrote…

Some Tips for Incorporating Solitude

Daily

There are three different types of solitude that all of us should work towards incorporating into the rhythm of our lives.

Daily

We need to build intentional times of solitude into our daily schedules. I could make a pretty good case from the Scriptures that it would be profitable to do this at the beginning and the end of each day. We see that Jesus often began and/or ended his day with a time of solitude.

Retreats

There is certainly value in having some longer periods of solitude. Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. At the end he face one of his most sever attacks from Satan. But he had the weapon to defeat him - The Word of God. Most of us don’t have 40 days to give to solitude, but we can periodically take time for mini retreats… Some times it may be a half a day or even a full day.

One one particular occasion when I first began ministry, i went to Tut-hill park and found a bench, sat down and opened my bible and just read. I underlined a lot of things and from time to time I still go back to look at them. I also remember when I left the park that day, God made me keenly aware of just how fast our life is. As I drove down from the park on the hill, the traffic became heavier and louder. It was like someone was screaming in my ear. I have never forgotten that even just a short time of solitude is of great benefit.

We saw earlier that Moses had a 40 day period of solitude and we’ve also talked about how Jesus had a 40 day period of solitude before He began His earthly ministry. Most of us can’t do that, but we can periodically take a day, or even a half day to spend some time with God in solitude. I have done that at times in the past and I can personally testify to the value of those extended times of solitude.

Random

We need to take advantage of the “little solitudes” that we have throughout our day. Maybe it’s those few moments in bed before anyone else wakes up, or a quiet bath or shower when no one else is around, or even our commute to work, although a lot of times that isn’t the best way to find solitude. Maybe it’s just closing your office door for five minutes or taking a walk outside during your lunch time.

Chose a place

Find a quiet place where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of life. It might be a quiet place in your home or in your office where you know you won’t be interrupted. For me personally, when the weather is nice I like to find a place outdoors, sometimes on my back porch, sometimes on a bench in a park…

Make an appointment

For those daily times, put it on your calendar and treat it just like you would any other appointment. Same thing for those retreat times. And then resist the urge to interrupt that time to do something that seems more urgent.The time of that appointment is probably going to change during different season of life. I have found that morning is the best time for me… It has become one of the first things I do each day.

Minimize distractions

A lot of distractions can be eliminated by picking the right time and place. But even if we do that we may need to take some extra steps to make sure that we minimize distractions. I need to turn off my computer, phone and other devices, or even better, don’t even have them with me. I like to journal so that if something comes to mind, I can just write it down so I won’t forget it later. That way I won’t have to continue to think about it.

Listen

Most of us are not naturally good listeners, so this is going to be the hard part for us. And it is especially difficult because God is probably not going to speak to us in an audible voice. So at first, we are probably going to feel awkward about just listening instead of doing all the talking. That’s why it’s a good idea to start small. Practice listening for just one minute and then expand that to longer periods of time as you get more comfortable.Obviously the best way to start listening to God is to begin in His Word. But the idea here is just to let His Word speak to you and to quietly listen for His voice. Resist the tendency to fill the silence with words. Turn your thoughts toward God and let Him fill your mind with His thoughts. Let Him remind you that He is your refuge and your strength.

Biblical solitude is the intentional, temporary absence of human activity in order to more fully know God.

The interesting thing about Solitude is that when you are seeking to get away and be alone, you really are not alone. God is with you and he wants to have a God talk with you! He wants you to know Him, His Love, His Joy, His peace, His grace, His mercy.