Urgency pt7

Urgency pt7 Ryan Abernathy / General Urgency / Mark 6:45-52 The presence of Jesus is our reassurance in the midst of the storms of life, but we only really experience His presence fully when we know Him well. This passage comes on the heels of the feeding of the 5000. In other Gospels, it gets a much longer narrative, but in the Gospel of Mark the focus is all on Jesus, not on the disciples. I think we often fail to think about how much Jesus relied on His time with the Father when He was on earth. Several passages talk about how He would slip away to pray and be alone with God. He never apologizes for it. He never makes excuses. He is urgent about it. And this time is no different. (Read Mark 6:45-47) The urgency here initially is to get the disciples on their way so that He can retreat. He dismisses the crowd and goes up on the mountain away from everyone to pray. I want you to stop and think for a moment. When was the last time you drew away from all the distractions in your life to just spend time with God? We have so many things going on that the very thought of that act might give you heart palpatations. The idea of stopping everything and giving time to just focus on God seems impossible. Yet it is essential. Why do I say it is essential? Because Jesus did it all the time. If the Son of God, who knew exactly how limited and valuable His time was, made the time to spend alone with God, how much more should that be a non-negotiable in our lives? The Message of Mark 3. Jesus Walks on the Water (6:45-52) Jesus also needed the communion of prayer with his heavenly Father. The Gospel according to Mark The "I AM" in the Midst of a Storm (6:45-52) Having dismissed the crowd, Jesus retreats to the hills to pray. The mention of prayer in this context is a further clue of a messianic groundswell, for Mark notes Jesus praying at only three points in his ministry (1:35; 6:45; 14:35-39). Each prayer is at night and in a lonely place, each finds the disciples removed from him and failing to understand his mission, and in each Jesus faces a formative decision or crisis. Following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus reaffirms by prayer his calling to express his divine Sonship as a servant rather than as a freedom fighter against Rome. Over and over again in church history, great movements of God both in individual lives and in corporate expressions start with spending time focused on God alone. We struggle with this concept, because it seems so difficult to do. Yet, it is really not. The real issue is for many of us it seems like a waste of time, because to concentrate on God, means to neglect something else that seems far more urgent. (the real struggle with working from home for me) Yet what could be more urgent than hearing from the God of the universe? What seems daunting to many of us is getting started. What does it look like to spend concentrated, intentional time with God? There is no tried and true formula, but let me give you some suggestions for getting started. First, set aside an intentional time- based on your life and rhythm. Some people- like me- get up early. But you may be a night person or your mornings may be far too frantic. So plan a time when you can commit to be focused and intentional. Second, set a place. Make it consistent. And make it a place where you can be in relative peace and undisturbed. You may need to work with your family or friends to make sure the time and place are respected. Third, keep your tools at that place. Mine are currently- my journal and pen, my devo book, my reading glasses, and my phone. They are all right there at 5:15 by my chair. Fourth, have a plan. And start small. Don't try to lift 500 pounds, Start with 5. I suggest starting with 15 minutes. Bible reading. Meditation and prayer. Write. That's it. If it goes shorter or longer so be it. As you become comfortable with that routine and want to expand- do so. Over the years I have added scripture memory, a devotional book. And various other practices that have come and gone. The goal is NOT to impress anyone. It is to be with God and hear from Him. And why do we need to hear from Him? Because life in a broken world is busy and if we do not pause we will think we are not hearing from God, even though He is speaking constantly! And let's face it, a lot of us are pursuing the wrong things and relying on the wrong saviors, because we are so overwhelmed and in the midst of the crisis of the day we forget who is in charge. (Read Mark 5:48-52) That is where the disciples find themselves. While Jesus is spending time with God, the disciples are dealing with life. They are rowing against the wind and starting to take on water. They are making headway "painfully." Sound familiar? And in the middle of all of that, Jesus is crossing the sea on foot. And they see Him, and rather than being comforted by His presence, they are terrified! They do not recognize Him amidst the storm. The Gospel according to Mark The "I AM" in the Midst of a Storm (6:45-52) In storms, adversities, and defeat, human self-sufficiency is revealed for what it is-human in sufficiency. When the defenses of human pride are breached, people sometimes see God's presence among them-even if it at first appears in troubling and perhaps terrifying ways. That's why we need to be spending time with Jesus! When we fail to know, when He shows up, we don't even see Him! We think we are seeing a ghost rather than God! How many times have you been in the midst of a crisis and not recognized God's hand guiding you and delivering you until after the storm had passed? I don't want to be that person! I want to be the person that recognizes Jesus in the midst of the storm. Who is not surprised by the deliverance but knows it is coming, because I know Jesus! The Gospel according to Mark The "I AM" in the Midst of a Storm (6:45-52) Whenever the disciples are separated from Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, they fall into distress. So the key to not being overwhelmed is to know Jesus well! In order to know Him, I have to spend time with Him! The Gospel according to Mark The "I AM" in the Midst of a Storm (6:45-52) Only when Jesus joins the disciples in the boat does the storm abate. Being with Jesus (3:14) is not simply a theoretical truth; it has practical and existential consequences, one of which is the safety and peace of disciples How does Jesus reassure them? 1. His voice- v50- He speaks to them! 2. His presence- v51- He gets in the boat with them 3. His deliverance- v51- he stops the storm The Message of Mark 3. Jesus Walks on the Water (6:45-52) When he made himself known by more normal means, the word of comfort, the command not to fear, the physical presence in the boat, they calmed down, as did the storm (50-51). But they were still amazed Here is what Jesus wants to do in your life- He wants to have your time, so He can speak to you so often that you recognize Him, even in the midst of calamity. And when the deliverance comes, you give the glory where it is due- to the One who speaks and the waves obey. Mark 16. The Walking on the Lake (6:45-52) In any event Mark probably recorded another instance (cf. 4:39) of a stilling of a storm to reassure his church that Jesus could give them peace in their troubles. Jesus wants a RELATIONSHIP with you- remember the woman in the crowd last week? Same deal. The Gospel according to Mark The "I AM" in the Midst of a Storm (6:45-52) Mark again (3:20-21) reminds us that faith is not an inevitable result of knowing about Jesus, or even of being with Jesus. Faith is not something that happens automatically or evolves inevitably; it is a personal decision or choice. In the Gospel of Mark it is more often than not a decision that must be made in the face of struggle and trepidation. Discipleship is more endangered by lack of faith and hardness of heart than by external dangers (3:5; 4:41; 5:17). What is standing in the way of that relationship today?