Podcast Audio:

We’re back into the Gospel of Mark. So far in Chapter 6 we’ve talked a lot about what happens to people who are faithful about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. First we saw Jesus rejected and almost stoned to death in his hometown. Then as Jesus sends out the twelve to heal people, preach repentance, and announce the Kingdom of God. In His commissioning speech He reminds them to stay dependent on God because though there would be some that would accept their message, there would be others who wouldn’t. And then we read the story of when John the Baptist telling the king to repent before God. The king respected John but his wife was offended and conspired with her daughter to have John killed out of spite.

So it goes even today for believers who are willing to stand up in Jesus’ name.

A Hard Road Lately

Dealing with suffering and stress has come up more and more over the past few weeks.

When we talked about our Mission Statement, we were reminded of how important it is that we work together and stay obedient to the Word of God, because this world is conspiring to tear us apart and is giving us every excuse to abandon the faith. After that was Kid’s Sunday where we were reminded how seriously Jesus takes ministry to kids and how important it is to raise our children to love Him and His church so they will have a firm foundation in this shaky world.

Then came the murder of Canadian soldiers and the attack on parliament, which made the entire nation pause for a moment and ask the question, “What’s going to happen now?” Because of the rise of ISIS and militant Islam throughout the world, Christians were especially concerned because they recognized the religious overtones of the situation. Then came Remembrance Day which reminded us of the current reality of war and the world’s history of martyring Christians.

The past while been hard on everyone, and our church is no exception. As I thought about it, it’s almost as though we’re getting a taste of the four horsemen of the apocalypse! We’ve felt the sting of antichrists who seek to steal people away from the church, we’ve felt the touch of war, we’ve seen sickness and sadness, and we have witnessed murder.

Christmas is right around the corner, but many of us are being pressed upon by many stresses. Some see the coming of Advent and the holidays as a wonderful thing, a much needed break (or at least distraction) from the troubles of the world, while others are readying themselves for a time of loneliness, frustration, worry, pressure and even more stress.

Some have felt the darkness of depression and anxiety press into their souls in a deeper way over the past little while. I’ve noticed that more and more health issues have come to the forefront as our families and friends have been inundated with serious physical crises.

Some have felt the sting that Jesus felt as He was rejected by those from his hometown, people that He knew and loved for a long time – as your own loved ones turn their backs on you, said unkind things, got more and more angry, and pushed you away.

Some have felt the anxiety of the disciples as they were sent out on their mission. Before you is a huge task, a difficult season; something bigger than you can handle standing in your way, testing you like never before. You know that you’re need to move forward in faith, but you have no idea what’s going to come.

Some know how John the Baptist felt as he said the right thing, did the right thing, shared the message God gave him to share, but was arrested, tied up and thrown into prison. For you, life feels pretty unfair right now. You feel like Job – sitting around one day happy and content only to have Satan come in and run roughshod over your life. You’ve done the right thing, and there doesn’t seem to be a reason why things should be getting worse. You don’t feel like you deserve all this mess, it’s not your fault – and yet there it is. Angry, wicked, selfish, manipulative people have set themselves against you – and their winning. You’ve been treated unjustly, and there seem to be no forthcoming miracles to make it all better. All that’s left, it seems, is for them to finally offer up your head on a silver platter.

So much frustration on the shoulders of so many people these days.

Getting Away

Remembering all of that, let’s read Mark 6:30-32,

“The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

Contrary to my usual method, I only have one point to my sermon today. The message I have is a simple one, but one that a lot of people don’t understand. Or, even if they do understand it, they don’t practice it. I want to talk about the importance of getting away.

Remember what’s happening here in the story. There’s been a lot of action up to this point, and there will be just as much to come as Jesus grows more popular and the people opposing him get angrier and more desperate. But here we read about a very important moment in the life of the disciples, something we read about Jesus doing more than once – and that’s getting away.

Busyness as Virtue

We don’t put much stock in stopping these days. Getting away sounds too much like quitting, and so we don’t want to admit that we’re doing it.

Busyness is a virtue! If you ask someone how they’re doing, you will likely hear the words, “Oh, I’m busy!” and we think, “Uh oh, I better tell them I’m busy too.” And then we can have a “busyness competition” comparing schedules to see who’s busier. Or some people will say, “I’m keeping busy!” in almost a pleading or apologetic tone trying to justify their own existence.

What’s the first question you ask someone after a holiday or a vacation? “So, what did you do on over the holiday – what did you do on your vacation?” If the person says “Nothing. I did nothing at all.”, isn’t there something in the back of your mind that either doesn’t believe them or considers that some kind of failure? “You holidayed wrong!”

The “family meal” where the whole family sits down together to eat is almost a thing of the past. Having everyone at home, at the same time every day, for more than an hour, to eat a home-cooked meal that took an hour or more to prepare, is seen as basically impossible. We’re too busy to do that. Our schedules are far too full. What we are doing is far too important to interrupt it with a long dinner that requires everyone to be at home at the same time.

Forget about  praying with your kids, there’s not enough time and we’re all exhausted.

Forget about having a conversation that doesn’t start and end with “Did you get all your stuff done today? How much more stuff do you have to do?”

Forget about the idea of spending personal time in prayer and reading the bible every day – that’s something we can do in the car on the way to places. And absolutely forget about quiet meditation – that’s just not going to happen.

Forget about sleeping too since most are jacked up on caffeine and sugar, spend the evening staring at a glowing box, and are so stressed out that we can’t close our eyes except out of sheer exhaustion.

We’re even doing it to our children. Kids don’t play at the park anymore – they don’t have time. We sign them up to more and more and more things.

For two reasons: One, both parents’ calendar is so full that they just don’t have the time to care for their children, so they need nurseries, schools, and activities to baby-sit them from morning to evening. And two, the culture of busyness has so seeped into our minds that we actually feel guilty when our children have time off. (Tweet this)

The Jones’ kids are in soccer and hockey, taking extra credit classes, and are part of three different after-school clubs – therefore we feel shamed and inferior when we have to admit that our kids actually have evenings with nothing on their schedule. So we go sign them up.

Statistics Canada says that millions of people now suffer from “extreme stress”. One article I read this week talked about how messed up we really are. Instead of not wanting to be stressed out, we are actually

“more inclined to boast about how much [we] can shoulder. We feel proud of our ability to keep all the balls in the air, believing stress is synonymous with success. But relentless busyness is nothing to brag about: The consequences of chronic stress range from annoying — that cold you just can’t kick — to downright dangerous (research has linked it to an increased risk of cancer, depression, heart disease and diabetes, and a tendency to overeat, smoke, drink and take drugs).”

We are so afraid to be called a sloth that we now perceive slowness as weakness, resting as quitting, stopping as evil, wanting time off as a personality fault. But it’s not. It’s a sign of strength.

It Comes from Sin

It all comes down to sin. 1 John 2:15-17 says:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

That’s where our business comes from. We love the world. We think like the world. We want to look more impressive and compare ourselves to others – that’s pride. We want to get more stuff – (that’s desires of the eyes). We want what the world wants us to want, and we sacrifice peace, quiet, meditation, contemplation, silence, solitude, worship, our prayer closet – all the most important things that divines throughout the centuries have said are so very important to the health of our soul. It’s foolishness and sin.

Satan knows that we are stronger when we are connected to God through His word and through prayer. We are wiser when we spend time reading the Bible, listening to good teaching, and meditating on what we have learned. We are stronger when we have taken time to put on the Armour of God and draw from the One who gives life. We will start to realize that the world is passing away and that the will of God abides forever, and our priorities will straighten out. Satan knows that we have a better attitude when we are thankful and worshipful. He knows that we will see more clearly when we see through God’s eyes.

He knows that we will be less angry, less prideful, less envious, less frustrated, when we have our hearts, minds and souls fill up with the words, actions and promises of Jesus. He knows that just as a person needs to care for their bodies, so they need to care for their soul. And so he works double-time to make sure that we are tempted to do anything and everything else.

The Neglect of Our Souls

In my own devotional life I’ve started calling it, the “neglect of my soul”, and it’s something I repent to God for regularly.

AW Tozer once said, “The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.” (Tweet This)

Jesus said it this way, “What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

A puritan author named John Flavel gives this helpful illustration. Imagine,

“a master who commits to his servants care, the child and the child’s clothes. It will be a poor excuse for the servant to say, at his master’s return, ‘Sir, here are all the child’s clothes, neat and clean, but the child is lost.’ Much so of the account that many will give to God of their souls and bodies at the great day, ‘Lord here is my body; I am very grateful for it; I neglected nothing that belonged to its contents and welfare; but as for my soul, that is lost and cast away forever. I took little care and thought about it.”

That seems like an extreme example, but I believe it is absolutely biblical. Let’s push it one step further. “Thank you so much for my children Lord, for my wife, my husband, my church… I am very grateful for it. I taught them how to care for their bodies. I helped them take care of what they ate and made sure they got a good education. I held them accountable to be good workers. But as for their souls, I didn’t take the time. I didn’t much care about the condition of their souls. I didn’t even think about it.”

When Paul is speaking to young Timothy about how to make sure he can face the trials and tribulations of the Christian life he said,

“…train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Think back to that list of troubles I gave at the beginning and consider how you’ve been facing them. Here’s some truth: it’s not about being strong enough or smart enough to face all of the difficulties that are coming at you. It’s not enough to train your body and mind to be able to deal with all the stresses life is going to throw at you – too keep all the balls in the air.

It’s not enough to make bigger and bigger piles of money so you can feel secure. It’s not enough to surround yourself with good people. It’s not enough to build a strong bunker to escape into. No matter how physically or mentally strong you are, no matter how rich, no matter how prepared you think you are, your ability to deal with the trials of life is going to come down to the health of your soul.

You can sit in your bunker, with your friends, surrounded by money – and still be absolutely undone if you have neglected to cultivate and care for your soul. No matter what you have set up around you, no matter your own strength, it will fail and you will crumble. The only thing that won’t is Jesus – therefore, you must ensure you are connected to Him and His strength.

Being Meek

Let’s come at this a different way. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5). To be “meek” means to be not easily provoked. In times of hardship, there is calmness. All over scripture we read about the importance of Meekness.

It’s a synonym of gentleness or humility. It doesn’t mean “weak”, no, meekness means “strength that has been turned over to a greater power.” Or more simply, “power under control.” It’s not only about a person’s outward behavior, but has everything to do with what is going on inside their hearts. People get this confused. They think that meekness and humility means that a person is weak and useless. But that’s not the case.

Jesus is called “meek” and he certainly isn’t a weakling – He had the infinite resources of God at His command. It’s considered to be a description of the Holy Spirit, and is a fruit of the Spirit for Christians. It describes someone who has listened to the word of God and submits themselves to it as their highest authority.

The Greek word is PRAUS and was used by the Greeks to describe a warhorse that was trained to obey the rider instantly and absolutely. The battle may rage around them, confusion, blood, bodies, distraction, fear and noise everywhere – but the horse wouldn’t bolt. It certainly had the power to throw it’s rider off and run away from the battle, but it didn’t. It had been broken by the rider and was now at his command. A small bit of pressure from the rider’s leg or knee and the animal responded immediately. Despite having immense power, the horse was meek. (Source)

Jesus says “the meek” are blessed.

It is a “meek” thing for one to stop their activities and turn to God.

It is a meek thing to step aside and rest because God has told you to.

Praying for help is a humble activity.

Taking a Sabbath rest requires believing that God will take care of things while we’re not working.

Walking away from responsibilities that have been heaped upon you so you can read the scriptures and meditate in silence requires incredible strength of character and humility.

Sometimes, it is not an act of weakness to walk away – it is strength and faith. The act of weakness is being too afraid, too stubborn, to prideful, too idolatrous to stop.

It means saying to yourself, “I’m not in control, God is. I don’t need to be there every moment of the day, because God is. I cannot do this without the guidance of God, therefore I will step away and be with Him. Or better – I will not do this without the guidance of God because otherwise I won’t be doing it right.”

Jesus said,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle [Meek] at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

and I think He meant it!

The World Won’t Change So We Must

I can tell you from personal experience what burnout is like. I know all about destroying my adrenal glands with anxiety, facing depression, getting the shakes, living with a constant stomach aches and physical pain in my joints, getting fatter and fatter, cycling between angry at everyone and too tired to care, and getting to the point where I just wanted to die. I know about. I’ve been there.

And I got there because I neglected to care for my soul. I learned for myself that life isn’t going to get any easier, Satan isn’t going to stop attacking and tempting, and the world isn’t going to be getting any better. And if I was going to wait for everything outside of me to change, I was going to wait for a long time. So the only thing that I could change was me – and that meant humbling myself before God. Doing things His way.

When I was most bruised and burnout, I met the Christ who is the one who says

“a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench…” (Matthew 12:20)

In our passage today we see Jesus kidnapping His disciples because He saw that they needed rest. It says
“He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

You know that feeling. Many people, things, responsibilities, troubles, coming and going – and you feel like you don’t have any time to take care of yourself. You haven’t prayed, or exercised, or rested – and the pressure is relentless. See what Jesus does. He takes them away.

Was everyone saved? Nope. Lots more people needed to be talked to. Were all the sick healed? Nope, there were lots more sick people. Was Jesus on an important mission? Of course. The most important! But what did Jesus do? He got them into a boat and sailed away.

He knew they needed time with Him. Jesus knew they needed to ask questions, take a rest, eat some food, and Sabbath – and I’m using that term technically now to mean “cease and desist from work – to rest” – with Him. That means you have permission to do the same. The world isn’t going to change, so you must.

Make the Time

There will never be a time when Satan relents and says, “Ok, go ahead and take care of your soul now. I’m done tempting you.” There will never be a time when the world says, “Ok, we’ll leave you alone now so you can rest in God and meditate on His word.”

• You will never “find the time”… you must “make the time.” You must make the time to rest. For some of you that is going to require a massive shift in thinking.
• This means you’ll have to look over your schedule (and your family’s schedule) and make some huge cuts to things that are good, so you can concentrate on things that are better.
• This means you’ll have to say “no” a lot more, and you’re going to feel an unholy sense of guilt – but you must realize that it’s not guilt from God, but from unrealistic and ungodly expectations you’ve imposed on yourself (or have been imposed on you by others).
• It may mean you have to quit some things and let some people down. I don’t mean breaking agreements – but maybe not signing up anymore, or not doing the job you normally do, because you need to concentrate on your spirit.
• This means you’ll have to let things go, and walk away in the middle of other things, because you need to spend time with Jesus. Just get in the boat with Jesus, even if it’s half done.
• And it might mean walking away, even from a sick and hurting person who needs you, so you can rest in God.
• This means you’ll have to start things later than you want to because you want to make sure you connect with God first.

And since we’re entering into the Christmas season, you might feel that this is a difficult time to do this, but this is actually the perfect time to start planning how you can make this Advent a time of waiting and remembering rather than stress and busyness.