Reset Purpose

Focus Statement

Spending time with God enables us to start our year with intention.

Centered living comes from understanding God’s purpose in this season.

Point of Relation

In Junius Dotson’s book, Soul Reset, he shares the importance of touching the bag at first base when playing baseball.

If a player gets a hit and runs all the bases, but misses the bag at first base, it doesn’t count.

Nothing else matters.

Dotson says the same is true for the Christian life.

Staying close to Jesus is the first bag,

the most important step.

We can do everything else but if we miss the first bag,

we have not gotten anywhere.

I personally know the importance of remaining close to Jesus.

Truth be told, all pastors struggle with maintaining their Spiritual Disciplines...

Amid hectic schedules, stress, family life, and other things.

That’s why it is so particularly frustrating to me when people say they don’t have time to go to church...

Or they don’t have time to read the Bible...

Or they don’t have time to step up and participate in hands-on-mission work.

The running assumption of most people,

is that pastors are kinda like monks...

Sure, they can get married and have kids...

And they are engaged in the community rather than locked away in a cloister.

But, most people think that when pastors aren’t at church or in the community...

They clearly are locked in their rooms reading scripture and praying for hours on end.

Folks, that is no more true for me than it is for you.

And pastors can easily fall short in maintaining their spiritual disciplines

And find themselves distanced from Jesus.

Granted, that is not an ideal thing to happen…but it is really not ideal for any of us to have that happen.

Do you see my point?

Now, you may be wondering how a pastor falls into such a trap. Should they know better?

Absolutely. Every one of us who has been a part of the church should know better…not just pastors…but everyone.

How does this happen...

Simple…because Pastors, like everyone else…get caught up in the daily bump and grind...

There are tons of stresses that are unique to pastors…things that keep a pastor on edge, worrying about this or that.

There’s all of the administrative work…along with pastoral work...

Then there’s the commitments to the larger community, like Rotary and other community events the pastor should be at.

And let’s not forget about family, kids schedules...

You know, the whole nine yards.

What’s more, a pastor has to at least engage with Scripture when writing sermons and other things...

So, often times, it can feel like you are engaged in reading Scripture, praying and whatnot...

But the pastor isn’t in a way that is good for her soul or her spiritual well-being.

And then, of course, is the no-so-obvious one...

The pastor is always leading worship…and seldom getting to full worship in a way the congregation is.

It’s perhaps hard to understand...

but there is a difference to leading worship…being responsible for the service running and flowing smoothly

and simply worshiping.

Yes, pastors are indeed worshiping as much as can be during each service...

But there is so much running through their heads that they cannot be solely focused on simply worshiping.

All of this is not me complaining…not at all…I love what I do…but every pastor knows how hard it is to remain spiritually disciplined.

Things to Consider

Truth be told, we all get caught up in our work, family life and other pressures.

Sometimes, we forget our main purpose, or maybe we never stopped long enough to figure it out in the first place.

Jesus himself shows us the importance of pausing to spend time with God

and rediscover our current purpose.

What Scripture Says

Understanding God’s purpose for us, our “why,”

comes from time in prayer and enables us to grow in our trust of God.

In this story, we see Jesus working really hard at serving those around him (see verses 32-34).

Then, in verse 35, we see Jesus take time away from his disciples

and the crowd to rest and to pray.

He dedicates this time to being with God.

Jesus does this several times throughout the gospels –

it is not an isolated event!

In verse 36, we learn that Simon and his companions looked for Jesus while he was away praying.

I want us to pause and consider how different translations of the Bible phrase this

For example, our reading from the New Living Translation says that they “went out to find” Jesus.

In the NRSV they “hunted for him,”

In the Amplified Bible, they “searched everywhere, looking anxiously for Him,”

In the CEB they “tracked him down”).

For the disciples, they were concerned about the gathering crowd...

And this concern troubled them more than Jesus need to spend some alone time with God.

For Jesus, the disciples concern must have made him feel hunted or tracked down...

Unable to get any downtime…or any time to find rest and solace for his soul.

The pressures we face sometimes make it feel like we are being hunted or tracked down

and it is hard to set apart time just for God.

When Simon and his companions find Jesus and begin to make demands on him (verse 37),

Jesus sets clear boundaries about what he will or will not do.

Because Jesus has taken that time apart to pray, he is able to live intentionally with the purpose God has given him

and trusts God to handle the rest.

God gives us a purpose in each season of our lives.

We’re not called to do it all,

but we are called to live with purpose.

Jesus knows what his main purpose is

and that gives him the discernment and courage to say “no” to the disciples’/crowd’s expectations

and to say “yes” to God.

Note that what the disciples were asking Jesus to do was a “good” thing

(keep healing the people of Capernaum),

but Jesus knew it was not what he was meant to be doing any longer.

We can often be busy doing good and worthwhile things too

and still miss our purpose because we are not taking time to reset and recenter on God.

By taking time for prayer, Jesus “resets” his purpose to keep the big picture in mind

(proclaiming the message to the neighboring towns, too).

What This Means for You

Jesus knows his main purpose. I now want to invite you to reflect on your own main purpose and what the priorities are in this season of your lives.

[Henry plays reflective music]

Is there a balance between time set apart for God and time spent “doing”?

I could offer you a whole host of ideas, but you know what setting time for God means...

Worshiping regularly, not just on Sunday but through acts of piety and acts of mercy…aka serving Jesus in community and witnessing to your faith in Christ.

Connecting with others and growing in your faith through small groups and Bible Studies.

Partaking in the Sacramental life of the church.

Studying Scripture daily.

Praying regularly...

And that’s just the basics.

I must emphasize, though, to the importance of listening for God

amidst the voices of the world around us that place demands on our time and energy.

What This Means for Us

When we understand our purpose, it’s easier to establish and maintain boundaries.

We have a calling and purpose God has given us to address the world’s grief,

but we don’t need to do it all.

For instance,

Our Treasures of Hope Thrift Shop ministry...

serves the community through fellowship, heavily discounted prices and free clothes and other items for those in need.

It also raises money that go toward supporting the ministries of our church as a whole.

The Weekend Bag Program Food Barrel…and Manna House…missional opportunities...

Serve the hungry and food insecure people among us with healthy foods and necessary toiletries.

Our Bible and Book Studies all serve the purpose of connecting people to a small accountability group, helping them discover growth in their faith...

and build up leaders through Christian education.

Our church’s ministries are working toward making disciples of Jesus Christ

for the Transformation of the world.

When was the last time you “checked in” with God?

What steps are you going to take to reset your purpose back to that of fully dedicating yourself to Christ?

Let us all reflect on that as we move closer and closer to Lent. Amen? Amen!