Solitude, Silence, and the Kingdom of God
Solitude, Silence, and the Kingdom of God
- Greg Waybright
- Mark 6:30
- This Too Shall Be Made Right
- 43 mins
- Views: 955
Pastor's Letter
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 12
Do you know the famous story of The Hare and the Tortoise? The hare was fast but easily distracted. The tortoise was slow but unshakably disciplined. In the end, the tortoise won the race. The story is an allegory teaching us that the quickest solution isn't always the most effective. Sometimes, the reality is that the more haste, the less speed.
Do you know the famous story of The Hare and the Tortoise? The hare was fast but easily distracted. The tortoise was slow but unshakably disciplined. In the end, the tortoise won the race. The story is an allegory teaching us that the quickest solution isn't always the most effective. Sometimes, the reality is that the more haste, the less speed.
I'm not sure whether Jesus ever heard that fable. Still, I'm very sure that he would have been in agreement with it. Jesus had a race of his own to run. As the Messiah, the goal before Jesus was nothing less than to change the world. Jesus came to change each of our lives individually into all God that created them to be. And, he came to bring this entire present evil age we are in to an end and to inaugurate the sovereign rule of God into all creation. When God rules fully, everything about us and our world will be right.
It's hard to imagine a more radical mission. The Apostle Paul would even refer to it as a "new creation." Even if Jesus had designed to take the world apart atom by atom and reconstruct its constituent elements, he could hardly have spoken of a more seismic upheaval. Why do I say that? It's because the roots of our human resistance to God's authority over our lives go deep, right back in fact to the earliest days of human origins. Evil isn't a superficial rust that adheres to the surface of our beings. Sin cannot be easily eliminated. Evil is an intractable virus imbedded in the genes that shape our human nature. The big question Jesus-followers have always had is this: How will Jesus ever be able to bring about this total shift in the entire cosmos, taking us from being under the rule of evil to being under the rule of God?
If you and I had been given such a formidable Messianic mission, I suspect that we would have adopted the strategy of the hare. After all, there are a lot of people on this planet. There is no way we will ever reach them all if we go slowly. Anyone who wants to change the world must be sure to have an impact on the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time. In other words, if you want to change the world, convert the masses.
But, today, we see Jesus pull away from the masses simply to be with a few people. This is something Jesus seemed to do quite often. But, how is this policy of withdrawing from the crowds in any way consistent with his calling to change the world? CEOs might say that this was an awful business strategy. But, significantly, it seems that Jesus thought that this would be effective. What we see is that Jesus chose to invest his time and energy by making an investment in a few people and then sending them out.
He does the same today.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 12 - Study Notes
I would guess that all of us have heard the famous story of The Hare and the Tortoise. The hare was fast but easily distracted. The tortoise was slow but unshakably disciplined. In the end, the tortoise won the race. The story is an allegory, of course, teaching that the quickest solution isn't always the most effective. Sometimes in life -- the more haste, the less speed.
title="English
Solititude, Silence, and the Kingdom of God
Mark 6:30-32
I would guess that all of us have heard the famous story of The Hare and the Tortoise. The hare was fast but easily distracted. The tortoise was slow but unshakably disciplined. In the end, the tortoise won the race. The story is an allegory, of course, teaching that the quickest solution isn't always the most effective. Sometimes in life -- the more haste, the less speed.
I don’t know whether Jesus ever heard that story -- but I'm very sure that He would have been in agreement with it if he had. Jesus understood the wisdom of the tortoise very well. That brings us today to our Scripture text in Mark 6 in our series entitled This Too Shall Be Made Right. We’ve been saying that Jesus had a race of His own to run. He had a goal to reach ‑‑ and an exceptionally ambitious goal it was. The opening verse of Mark’s gospel tells us Jesus was God's Messiah. As the Messiah, Jesus’ goal was nothing less than to change the world. Jesus came to change each of our lives individually into all God created them to be. In fact, Jesus came to make right everything that is wrong in the world. Jesus called his mission “the kingdom of God”. When God rules, everything about us and our world will be right.
It's hard to imagine a bigger or more difficult mission. The Apostle Paul would even refer to it as a "new creation". Jesus’ mission to transform the lives of people, in my view, was even more radical than taking the material world apart atom by atom and reconstructing its constituent elements. Why do I say that? It's because the Bible tells us that the roots of our human resistance to God's authority over our lives go deep – all the way back to Genesis 3 and the earliest days of human origins. What’s wrong in human lives isn't just some superficial rust that adheres to the surface of humanity. We can’t just scrape off what’s wrong with us as human beings. No, evil is an intractable virus imbedded in the genes that shape our human nature. The big question Jesus-followers have always had is this: How will Jesus be able to bring about this total shift in all our lives freeing us from living under the rule of self and the world to living under liberating rule of God?
If you and I were given such a huge mission, we probably would do what the hare did. We would think: “There are a lot of people on this planet. And, there is a lot of work to be done in each life! There is no way we will ever reach them all if we go slowly. If we will change the world, we have to have an impact on the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time.”
And, the Bible certainly calls us to action. We see that in Mark 6:6-13 when Jesus sent his 12 closest out into the mission to bring the healing, liberating power of the gospel to their nation. But, there was something else Jesus did in Mark 6 that was counter-cultural to the way many of us think. The disciples experienced great success in vv. 12 -13. But, there was enormous opposition still in the world in vv. 14-29. In fact, the ruler of their people put John the Baptist, the great forerunner of Jesus, to death by beheading. Still, crowds were flocking to hear and see Jesus. I’m quite sure that if we were the ones leading the battle against the evil in the world, we would have said, “People – this is not time to stop. Let’s move forward!” Yet, as he did so often, instead of Jesus saying “Charge!”, he said, “Let’s stop for a while.”
So, we have to wonder: Why did he do this? Why did he call his followers to withdraw from the crowds when he had come to change the lives of everyone in the world change the world? It doesn't seem we can do that by ignoring the throngs of people. But, significantly, it seems that Jesus thought that we can. He knew, like Aesop, that the speed of the hare might promise success in certain situations. But He knew that there are other matters for which we have to stop, be restored, and be directed by the Lord if we are going to move in the right direction. This strategy seems so slow. I believe most of us would have thought: “Nothing can come out of this strategy.” But, praise God, it has. We know it has -- for the gospel has reached to us.
Mark 6 teaches us that God's rule to our world will not happen over night -- but it will happen! It will happen one life at a time. And some of the people God uses will appear so insignificant. It's hard to imagine a less impressive bunch than Jesus started with: little education -- little financial strength -- little political influence. But these few became the seedbed in which the kingdom of God would grow to reach the world.
Mark 6 brings together three incidents which, all in different ways, illustrate this slow tortoise‑like manner in which Jesus worked with these few people -- gradually changing them into the nucleus of the church that God has been using to change the world. We’ll only look at the first of those today.
A lesson about life’s most important relationship -- Disciples must spend time with Jesus (6:30‑32).
Vv. 30-31. This is a fascinating piece of information. I imagine the disciples being a bit like children having been sent out by their father to do something that, previously, only he had been able to do. And they had success! We might say, “Look what we did! We healed people. We cast out demons! Yes, King Herod is still fighting us but look at these crowds coming, Jesus! Let’s keep going!” But, Jesus saw that something else was more important. They had to be strengthened or they would burn out. And, more than that, they needed to stop and be “with Jesus”.
#1 Two Problems: Perfectionism and Self-focus
The Problem of Perfectionism
There are some of us who actually feel guilty whenever we actually have to sit down. Some of us can't seem to stop. There is always something "I've just got to do while I have a second."
Many things can lead to that. I think the main cause I’ve observed is perfectionism -- the inner sense some of us have had since childhood that makes some of us feel we always have to perform – that we have to find some way to earn people’s acceptance. Some of us haven’t ever been sure whether our parents have loved us simply as we are. So, we feel we have to earn that love. It’s so hard for us to grasp that God loves us with an everlasting love. We can hardly fathom the Bible’s message that, before the world was created, God had a plan to adopt you and me into his family. We don’t have to earn God’s favor. His is overjoyed to have us in his family. God has deep pleasure simply when we spend time in his presence.
Some of us work and work and work wanting to please people failing to realize that the people we want to please might rather spend time with us than have us do something for them! Jesus wants to be with us. When we spend time with him, it brings him great joy. And, of course, we desperately need to spend time with him.
The Problem of Self-Focus
Therapists and counselors of all sorts have long taken notice of this problem of perfectionism. And, it is a huge problem in our society, a problem that leads many to eating disorders, cutting, and especially to serious depression. But, the solution offered to the perfectionism often is to turn inward – to live more fully for ourselves. We’re told, “Do something for yourself. Focus more on yourself. That’s what you need.” Even in churches, this has had a huge affect. I’ve rarely heard as many people in churches saying that we need to get away from pleasing anyone other than ourselves. It’s led to a church in which, when we hear Jesus say, “You need to stop for a while”, we think he means that we should watch more television, play more video games, or go out drinking more. The Bible is consistent in teaching us that we find our lives when we spend them in service to God and others.
Let me say something clearly: When our lives begin to focus more and more on self, we will descend into emptiness. Charles Williams addressed this in his classic book in which he said that a life focused on self is, as his book is entitled, a Descent into Hell.
Jesus’ solution to our performance orientation, our exhausting ways of life and our empty pursuit of joy through self-centered living is to spend time with him, to be aware of his presence, to bask in his love for us and to find joy in serving him.
#2 The Command: Find Rest with Jesus
Jesus indicates that we are to serve him and his mission sacrificially – but not in a way that we begin to think that we have to earn his favor, that we are the ones who determine the best way to go forward, or that the mission is dependent on our efforts. Jesus knows that we need to stop regularly from activity – even important ministry activity -- to be with him. These disciples had been involved in a very demanding evangelistic task. See 6:7ff. It had all been very exciting. When they returned, we're told in v.30, they were full of what had happened to them. But, as is often the case with human beings, success only breeds stomach problems. "So many people were coming and going that they didn't even have a chance to eat."
I want to be very clear about this: There is nothing spiritual about ever-increasing stress levels. Often, we hear about Christians who are physically devastated by the affects of exhaustion: ulcers, high blood pressure, nerve problems. We might think, almost piously, "He's burned himself out for God." Maybe so -- but I doubt that God would regard that as something to be praised. God has told us to stop to spend time with him on a regular basis. This, of course, is the heart of the 4th Commandment. God has mandated a Sabbath. God may not give us more than we can bear -- but we sometimes take on more than we can do in 6 days.
Self‑destruction is not the pattern of life God want for us. Our bodies and minds are the temples of the Holy Spirit. God’s Word teaches us we need to develop healthy rhythms. The world has made martyrs of Christians often enough without Christians feeling we have to make martyrs of ourselves. Do you remember the words that Jesus once spoke to that workaholic Martha? "Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. You complain about Mary sitting idly at my feet but she has chosen better than you." What was better was that she spent time with Jesus.
There is a vital lesson for our society here. Jesus is concerned that we need to spend regular time with him.
#3The Clues: Jesus, Christian Community, and Quietness
First, Jesus said, “Come with me.” They needed food – but the main thing they needed was to be with Jesus. They needed to rest in the fact that Jesus had called them, that Jesus wanted to be with them and that Jesus was the one who would bear the stress of the success or lack of success of the mission.
When we become weary or discouraged, we sometimes think that the main thing we need is a vacation. And, sometimes, we do need a vacation. But -- not a vacation from Jesus. We need a vacation from being occupied with self or with endless activity – but we need to be with Jesus. When we are with Jesus, when we take out the Word and read about him and take the time to acknowledge his presence, we see who he is.
We see he is God. And, when we see that he is God, we know he must be in control of our lives. But, this sets us free from thinking that everything is dependent on us. We see he is God and that he is holy. He will call us away from sinful ways of life. But, he is a holy God who came to the world for us, who wants to be with us, who is pleased when we set aside time to be with him, and who loves us even before we love him. We need to spend time with Jesus to hear all this over and over and…
Second, Jesus said, “Come away with me by yourselves.” It’s interesting how Jesus says this. It’s clear to me that there is tremendous value in being alone with Jesus. All Jesus-followers have drawn new strength and guidance for those times that we are alone with Jesus and spend time in God’s word and in prayer. But, it’s also clear that much of the guidance and renewing strength Jesus means for us to have comes from worship and fellowship together with our church family. “Come away with me by yourselves.”
We sometimes talk about three essential connections in our church – three connections that will further God’s work in and through us: worship together, community, and service. Jesus teaches us in Mark 6 that our service will only be tiring unless we worship together and find a smaller community of believers with whom we seek God. Here at LAC, we will help you find a smaller group of believers at the end of the service if you have not yet found one. If you have never experienced a Christ-centered small group, you won’t believe what an encouragement and support it can be.
But, I also am praying that our gathered worship services will be times in which we meet with God together – hear his voice, re-surrender our lives to him – and find new strength and hope. Most of us spend the week with so many other things trying to get into the center of our attention. But, when we come to worship together, let’s cast our eyes on the Lord in worship and remember who he is – the king over all kings who has power over demons, over politics, over disease, and even over death.
A few weeks ago, your spiritual leadership, the Ministry Council, met in keeping with this passage. We went away with Jesus by ourselves to seek rest and guidance. Mostly, we spent time in prayer, worship and fellowship. We sensed the Spirit of God speaking to us and giving us this message for our church:
We are sent ones, intergenerationally:
- Worshiping in unity
- Learning in community
- Progressing toward completion in Christ
- Serving God's mission
You may think that there is nothing new in this message. But, I believe it is counter-cultural. We are committed to LAC turning away from the usual tendency of American churches to give in to consumerism. For too long, we have said in many of our churches that, if you want something in your church, we’ll give it to you. Marketing surveys have been done to find out what people want – and then churches have redesigned their energies to give people what the market results have revealed. But, it’s clear that such things lead away from a Christ-centered and Christ-directed church to one that fits the changing whims of society. Church is not about us – but about Jesus. We gather to hear from him so that we can all be sent – sent to our schools, sent to our places of work, sent to our families and sent to our world to love and serve as Jesus directs us. We are sent ones!
And we know that our world is divided in countless ways: age, ethnicity, economic standing and even in matters of music preference. This year, in particular, we want to tear down the wall of generationalism. One of the great resources God has given LAC is that there are many, many people here who have walked with Jesus for a long time. And, at the same time, we have people new to the church coming to worship! We have young believers becoming a part of our fellowship! We are seeking to find ways to worship, learn, grow, and serve intergenerationally. We ask you to join us and to follow God’s leading in these commitments.
Finally, Jesus says, “Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place – to a desert place…” Jesus is referring here to how God took his people into the wilderness in Exodus after they had experienced the great delivery from slavery. They had to learn God was present by seeing him in the cloud by day and the fire by night. They needed a place away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds to learn that God was always with them. And we need time away from the texting, the Facebook messages, the sound of traffic, the clanking of machinery, the buzz of conversation, the screaming of the children (or the parents) ‑‑ these things, we now know, add to stress in our lives. We need to be quiet and acknowledge that God is with us.
When you read Mark 6, you see that the disciples had very little time to be silent and alone with Jesus. In vv. 33-34, the people saw them in the boat and pursued them. That’s the way life is, isn’t it? This is incredibly real-to-life reporting. But it seems that this brief time with Jesus was enough to strengthen them for what was ahead.
I too am trying to find moments in the middle of busy days – moments to stop and acknowledge that God is here, that God is God and that I can rest when I know he is with me. Chris and I recently bought a picture by artist Susan Savage at Westmont College. It’s called Hallowed. The painting seeks to portray that God is present in the midst of any space in this world and any time in which we live. It seeks to enable us to know, that no matter what is happening around us, when God is present and when we acknowledge his presence, that space and that time is hallowed. I find it to be unbelievably encouraging.
And I want us to experience just a few moments of that truth together today as we go to prayer.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Chinese
要與主同在
馬可福音6:30-32
我猜大家都聽過有名的龜兔賽跑的故事。兔子跑得很快,卻容易分心;烏龜很慢,但很能堅持。最終,烏龜贏得了比賽。這則寓言告訴我們,最快的解決方案並不總是最有效的。有時在我們的生活中,欲速則不達。
我不知道耶穌是否聽過這個故事——但我清楚地知道,如果耶穌聽過,祂應該會贊同這一點。耶穌非常了解烏龜的智慧。今天我們來看"這也將被糾正"系列中的馬可福音第六章的經文。我們曾經說耶穌有祂自己做事情的速度。祂要達到一個目標——並且是一個非常偉大的目標。馬可福音的開篇經文告訴我們,耶穌是彌賽亞。作為彌賽亞,耶穌的目的就是來改變這個世界。耶穌來改變我們每個人的生命,使我們成為神起初造我們的那樣。事實上,耶穌要讓世界上的錯誤得到糾正。耶穌稱祂的使命是"神的國"。當神來掌管時,我們和世界的所有一切將得到糾正。
很難想象有比這更大或更難的使命。使徒保羅甚至稱它為"新的創造"。 在我看來,耶穌這一改變人生命的使命,比把物質世界以原子的形態分開再重組更徹底。為什麽我這樣說呢?因為聖經告訴我們,人類對神在我們生命中的主權有一種抗拒,這種抗拒根植在我們內心深處,這種抗拒可以追溯到創世記3章和人類最早的祖先。人生命中的錯誤,不僅僅是附著在人性表層的銹跡。作為人來說,我們不能僅僅是要除去人類所犯的錯。不,罪惡是一個棘手的病毒,它根植在我們的基因裏來塑成人的本性。耶穌的追隨者常問的一個重大問題是:耶穌怎樣才能實現這一翻轉,才能將人類從自我和世界的轄制中釋放出來,進而由神來掌管我們的生命?
如果你和我接受這樣的一個大使命,我們也許會像兔子所做的那樣。我們會想:"這個星球上有這麽多的人。在每個生命上,都有很多的工作要完成。如果我們走的慢,我們就不能趕上他們。如果想改變這個世界,我們需要在最短的時間裏去影響最大數量的人。
聖經當然要我們采取行動。我們看到馬可福音6:6-13中,耶穌派遣12使徒出去醫病,並將福音的能力傳到整個國家。但是,在第6章中,耶穌也做了一些別的事情,這些事與我們慣常的想法相矛盾。在12-13節中,門徒經歷了大的勝利。但在14-29節中,我們也看到了來自世界的巨大的阻力。事實上,統治者把施洗約翰——耶穌的預備者,砍了頭。人們一直聽耶穌所講、看耶穌所行,我相信,假如我們正在領導一場與世界的邪惡所進行的戰爭,我們也許會說。"各位,這不是停下來的時候。讓我們繼續向前。"然而,耶穌並不總是讓大家"沖鋒",祂常說,"讓我們停一會兒。"
我們也許會驚訝:祂為什麽這麽做?為什麽祂要追隨者從人群中退回,祂不是到世上來改變人的生命嗎?我們似乎不能把群眾放在一邊。但值得註意的是,看起來耶穌知道我們能做到這一點。祂和伊索一樣,知道兔子在通常情況下一定會得勝。但是祂知道,在有些事情上我們必須停下來等待。我們若要走向正確的方向,必須由主來引導。這個策略看起來很慢。我相信多數人會想:"這種策略什麽也做不成。"但是,贊美主,它能做成。我們知道它已經做成了——福音已經到我們這裏。
第6章教導我們,神的管理不會在整個晚上都發生——但即將會發生!它將在某個時刻發生在某個生命裏。神讓有些人看來無關緊要。起初耶穌所使用的是一群沒有什麽影響力的人:他們沒受過什麽教育,沒有財力,也沒什麽政治影響力。但是這些人卻成了福音走向世界的發源地。
馬可福音第6章以不同的方式講述了三件事,來說明耶穌如何把這種"慢烏龜"方式應用在門徒的訓練中——祂一步一步地把他們轉變成教會中的"核子",從而神可以通過他們改變世界。我們今天來看第一個例子。
一個關於生命中最重要的關係的教導—門徒必須花時間和耶穌獨處(6:30-32)
vv. 30-31 這是一個動人的信息。我想像門徒們有點像是孩子們被父親派出去做事,這些事原來只有父親可以做。而且他們做得成功! 我們可能會說," 看看我們做的事呀!我們又能醫病又能趕鬼!是,希律王還在反抗我們,但是耶穌你看,人潮湧來!我們繼續吧!"但是,耶穌看到更重要的一些事。他們需要加添力量不然會累垮。不僅於此,他們需要停下來"和耶穌一同。"
#1完美主義和自我注重
完美主義的問題
我們中間有些人實際上一坐下來就感得內疚。有些人根本就停不下來。總是有些事"只要有一秒鐘就要做。"
許多事情可以導致如此。我觀察最主要的原因是完美主義的情結—我們有些人從小養成習慣需要表現的一种內在感覺—試圖找到贏得人接納的方式。有些人甚至不清楚自己的父母是不是照著我們的本相來愛我們。所以,我們覺得必須要贏得那份愛。對我們來說很難認識神用永遠的愛來愛我們。無法想像聖經的信息中,比如世界是神的創造、神有個計劃,將你我領養進入祂的家庭。我們不須要掙得祂的愛。神對我們回到祂的家充滿了喜悅。我們只要花時間在祂的同在神就已深深的悅納。
因此,我們將自己無力感埋在無盡的事務當中。甚至有些人總是重新再吸一次地板,給汽車再上一道油,草地一定要整出完美線條,出席沒完的會議。結果是,人疲憊不堪—我們還不能被人接受。我們覺得要做的更好-出更好的成果—工作更加賣力。有些人不停地做,要討人的喜歡,結果發現人只想要和我們在一起,並不想要人給我們做什麽!耶穌想要我們和祂在一起。我們花時間和祂獨處,給耶穌極大的喜悅。我們更是格外的需要花時間和耶穌同在。
自我注重的問題
各種各樣的治療師和諮詢師很久以前就注意到完美主义的問題。在今天的社會中這個問題更加的突出,導致許多飲食紊亂,特別是嚴重的抑鬱癥。對完美主義癥治的辦法很多是朝向內在醫治—充實內在。我們听說," 為自己做點什麽,看重自己,就是你需要的。"甚至在教會都能感受到這種影響力。這使得教會在讀到神說:你需要停下來,我們以為神叫我們要多看看電視,玩玩電子遊戲,或者是出去喝喝酒。然後,我們無法應用聖經經文中許多呼召我們盡力,盡資源來推進神在世界和他人生命中的工作。
我需要更清楚的說:當我們生活越來越趨向注重自我時,也就是越來越滑落進入空虛的時候。查爾斯威廉在他的一本經典著作中寫道一個注重自我的生活,就如同他的書名一樣是"滑落深淵"。
耶穌對傾向表現的人的解決辦法是,我們疲憊不堪的生活方式和通過自我中心來尋求快樂生活方式的空洞唯有通過花時間和耶穌同處,意識到祂的同在,沉浸在祂對我們的愛中,并在服事祂的當中找到喜樂。
#2 命令:在耶穌里安息
耶穌指的是我們要付出犧牲來服事祂和祂的事工-但是方式不是像我們想的那樣來贏得祂的喜愛, 而是我們定意以最佳的方法往前行,宣教有賴於我們的努力。耶穌知道我們必須有規律的歇下手中的工作-甚至是重要的事工活動—來與耶穌同在。這些門徒參與的是高要求的宣教任務。看6:7節。看來很激動的事,但是他們回來的時候,你看到30節,發生這麼多的事。不幸的是對人來說,"成功同時孵出問題"這麼多的人來來往往他們連吃的時間都沒有。
我們中間有些人知道得很清楚。調查表明,很多家庭從來沒有在一起就餐過。另外一部分人,每當我們坐下,不是有人敲門,就是有人來電話,要么,就是收到別人發來的短信。就像我一樣,就餐時間通常成為主要的會面機會,因為我們不想浪費時間。當使徒受到眾人的壓力時,耶穌看到了其中隱藏的長遠危害。我們每個人都有一個承受壓力的極限。
我想清楚地指出:承壓能力的增長並不是屬靈的表現。通常,我們會聽到基督徒因為疲憊而身體出現了故障:潰瘍,高血壓,神經衰弱。我們可能會認為他們精神可嘉,"他是為了神的事工在竭盡全力。"可能是吧,但是我不認為神會認為那樣的狀態值得稱讚。神告訴我們要從我們的繁忙中停下來,定時地花時間與祂同在。這,也是摩西十誡中第四條的核心。神要求我們守安息日。神不會加給我們所不能承受的,但是,我們往往自己加給自己多於六天所能做的工。
自我毀壞不是神希望我們有的生活方式。我們的身體和意念是聖靈的殿。神的道教導我們要培養一個健康的生活節奏。如果有人借給你一輛好車,而你卻還他了一輛引擎報廢的車, 你說,"對不起,我忙著做好事,但是我忘了給你的車加油和保修。"如果換作是你,你會高興嗎?你肯定會很生氣的。
同樣地,如果我們因為服侍神而精疲力竭,在忙忙碌碌大公司工作的基督徒可能會認可並讚賞我們,但是我質疑是否神會嘉獎我們。這個世界成就了許多為耶穌獻身的的殉道士,而我們卻將讓自己成為自己的殉道士。你還記得耶穌對工作狂的馬大說的嗎? "馬大,馬大,你為許多的事,思慮煩擾。但是不可少的只有一件。馬利亞已經選擇那上好的福分,是不能奪去的。" 那上好的福分指的是馬利亞花時間和耶穌在一起。
這是我們當今社會的緊要功課。耶穌關心的是我們花時間和他常常在一起。
#3 索引:耶穌,基督徒社區,和平靜
首先,耶穌說:"同我來。"他們需要食物—但是更需要的是與耶穌同在。他們需要休息,因為耶穌呼召他們。耶穌想要和他們同在,因為耶穌是替代他們承受壓力的那位:不管是成功所帶來的壓力,還是事工不成功所帶來的壓力。
當我們疲倦或是氣餒時,我們可能會想我們需要度個假。我們有時的確需要一個假期。但是,不是一個沒有耶穌的假期。我們需要一個遠離自我和無止盡的忙碌的假期,但是我們需要與耶穌同在。當我們與耶穌同在,當我們拿出聖經,讀到耶穌並承認祂的存在,我們了解了祂是誰。
我們了解到祂是神。當我們認識到祂是上帝,我們就知道祂主宰了我們的生命。這讓我們意識到不是所有的事都取決於我們自己。我們了解到祂是聖潔的神。祂能夠將我們從我們的罪中釋放出來。祂這位聖潔的神來到我們的世界,祂想和我們同在,祂為我們能花時間和祂同在而高興,祂在我們愛祂前先愛了我們。我們需要不斷地花時間和耶穌同在。
第二,耶穌說,"你們來同我。。"耶穌這麼說很有趣。對我來說,這裡清楚地表明和神獨處的巨大價值。和耶穌獨處,花時間學習神的道,並向神禱告時,所有跟隨耶穌的都從祂那裡得到了力量和指引。但是,我們也很清楚,很多的指引和力量的更新是從崇拜和團契中來的。 "你們來同我"
我們通常講到我們教會的三個聯絡要素–三個聯絡會促進神在我們生命中做的工:一起崇拜,團契,和服侍。耶穌在馬可六章中教導我們,除非我們一起崇拜並一起在相同信仰的團契中尋求神,我們的服侍會很累人。在"湖邊教會,"如果你還沒有找到一個一起尋求神的團契,我們會在崇拜結束後幫助你。如果你從來沒有加入過一個以基督為中心的團契,你可能想像不到團契對你的鼓勵和支持將會有多大。
但是,我也祈求,我們聚集敬拜時一起遇見神 - 聽祂的聲音,再一次將我們的生活交給祂 - 並找到新的力量和希望。我們大多數人一周裡花了許多時間在許多其它的事情上,每件事似乎都要花許多注意力。但是,當我們來到一起敬拜,讓我們把我們的眼睛專注在我們的主身上,敬拜並且記得祂是誰 - 是萬王之王,擁有權柄勝過惡魔,勝過政治,勝過疾病,甚至勝過死亡。
幾個星期前,爲了遵守神的這段話,你們的屬靈領導,事工委員會一同聚集。我們獨自與耶穌通往,得以休息并尋求帶領。大多數時間,我們花時間來禱告,敬拜和團契。我們感覺到神的聖靈對我們說話,賜給我們教會這個信息:
我們是被差派的一群,超越各個年齡階層的:
- 在合一中崇拜
- 在社區中學習
- 朝著基督里的完全
- 服務上帝的使命
你可能會認為這一信息沒有什麽新意。但是,我認為這是反文化的。我們致力於要使得LAC和一般美國教會通常慣於向消費主義屈服的傾向掉轉方向。長久以來,在許多教會中我們說過,如果你在你的教會裡想要什麼東西,我們就會給你什麽。以市場調查的方式,找出人們想要什麼 - 然後教會重新投注他們的精力,跟據市場結果顯示的東西來給人們。但是,很顯然,這樣的事情,從一個以基督為中心,以基督為導向的教會,變成一個不斷跟據社會變化而改變的教會。教會不是以我們為中心 -而是以耶穌為中心。我們聚集來聽祂的話,按照耶穌的引導,被差派出去-差派到我們的學校,差派到我們工作的地方,差派到我們的家庭,差派到我們的世界來愛與服事。我們是差派的一群!
我們知道,我們的世界以無數的方式來隔離我們:年齡,種族,經濟地位,甚至在對音樂的偏好中。特別是今年,我們希望拆毀年齡隔閡的城牆。神給LAC的一個偉大的資源是,在這裡的有很多很多的人與耶穌同行很長的一段時間。而且,在同樣的時間,我們有新的來到教會崇拜的人!我們有年輕的信徒,成為我們團契的一部分!我們正在尋求可以跨越年齡階層的方法,來崇拜,學習,成長和服事。我們要求您加入我們的行列,在委身中遵循上帝的帶領。
最後,耶穌說:"你們來,同我暗暗地到曠野去歇一歇。"耶穌在這裡指的是在出埃及記中神把祂的人民帶到曠野,在他們已經經歷了奴隸制的解脫後。他們必須學習在白天看見祂在雲中,晚上看見祂在火中的同在。他們需要一個遠離喧囂的人群的地方,可以學習,神时刻與他們同在。而我們需要時間來遠離手機的短信,Facebook的消息,交通的噪音,叮噹作響的機器,談話的嗡嗡聲,尖叫著的孩子(或父母)。這些東西,我們現在知道,對我們的生活增加壓力。我們必需要安靜,並認識神是與我們同在的。
當你讀過馬可6章時,您會看到門徒們只有很少的時間來安靜,獨自和耶穌一起。在33-34節中。 人們看到他們在船上,就追趕著他們。生活就是這樣,不是嗎?這是令人難以置信的真實貼近生活的報告。但是,這與耶穌在一起短暫的時間似乎已經足夠來添加力量,可以面對將來接下來的事情。
我也是在忙碌的日程中尋求安靜的時刻,停下來,知道神在這裡。神是神,知道祂與我同在的時候我可以休息。Chris和我最近買了一幅畫, 由藝術家Susan Savage在韋斯特蒙特學院。畫的名字是神聖临在。這幅畫的目的是在表示,在這個世界上的任何空間,在我們的生活中的任何時間,神是存在的。它旨在讓我們知道,不管我們周圍發生了什麼事,上帝是存在的,當我們認識祂的存在,即空間和時間充滿祂的神聖。我覺得這是令人難以置信的鼓勵。
我希望我們今天祷告时能一起經歷這短短的幾分鐘的真理,- 然後共同來領圣餐。
祂的荣耀,
格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2012, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 12 - Study Guide
Solitude, Silence, and the Kingdom of God
Mark 6:30-56
- Read Mark 6:6–13 and 6:35–37. In both passages, Jesus called his disciples to service. Why was service important for their own growth?
- Why was service by the disciples important for the furtherance of Jesus' mission?
- Read vv. 30–32. Because Jesus had so much to do and so many people to help, many may think that Jesus' call to a retreat was a waste of precious time. Was it? Why or why not?
- Look carefully at vv. 31b–32. Specifically, what does Jesus ask his followers to do? What application does that have to us?
- What do we learn from Jesus' actions in 6:45–46?
- What do we learn about Jesus from the stories in 6:30–56? Simply list everything you see these verses teaching about him. What difference do these things make for those of us who follow him?
2012 Study Series • Copyright © 2012, Lake Avenue Church