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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 4^th 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