Badenoch Free Church

Sunday morning 27th May 2007

 

The Spiritual life of the Lord.

Mark 1v35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

John 15v16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Intro :

WWJD - know the things he did. How was he able to do those things - because of his walk with the Father.

wanting to be like our idols - how do we do that.

Amazing to think that Jesus had a private spiritual life behind all his public activity. He could not have had the public life he did have were it not for his “devotional life.”

“John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

- where did he learn what the Father was wanting to teach and show him - in his private spiritual life.

“John 5:30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

- he judged only as he heard and he only heard because he kept a close walk with the Father.

- because of his close walk with the Father he was able to please the Father in all he did.

So the Lord kept a close walk with the Father. And following his example and instruction, we also must keep a close walk with God:

“John 15:5-9 ^{5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.}”

We are to remain in Jesus, to remain in his love. Then we will grow and bring glory to God! That is the key.

So often we wonder why we are not growing. Or we wonder why our spiritual life is so dry!

The answer is simply that we are not remaining in Jesus.

So the question is how do we remain in Jesus, how do we keep a close walk with God?

By doing the same things Jesus did in his personal devotional life.

Jesus was a master of the spiritual life.

He knew the practices to engage in in order to keep close to God.

All we need to do is follow his lead!

What did he do?

Mark 1v35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”

This is a summary statement of his spiritual life. What can we learn from it. What is its message for us today?

We see here Jesus prayed! - now that is obvious to all bible reading Christians.

Jesus prayed.

His prayer life was so impressive that the disciples asked him to teach them to pray! “Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach ”.

What we can learn from Jesus is how he went about his prayer life.

1^st of all we see that Jesus made time to pray! - got up early. At other times Jesus prayed through the night. “Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ” - this was the night before he chose the 12 disciples.

So he made time to pray! In other words he sacrificed in order to pray!

He sacrificed sleep in order to pray.

Why?

Because prayer did not make a difference.

Because prayer really does not matter.

Because prayer changes nothing!

Because keeping in close touch with the Father was thee most important thing for Him!

Remaining in the Father through prayer was his first priority!

Application:

Is that important to you? What is the most important thing to you? If remaining in Christ is not thee most important thing to you then the whole of your life will suffer for it!

Above everything else you are responsible for your own soul! How are you treating it?

Jesus made time to pray, you must make time to pray!

 

2^nd made space to pray!
He left the house to pray. He went to a solitary place to pray! (eremos - deserted place, uninhabited region, desert)

Solitude as a spiritual discipline has been practiced by all the spiritual Masters down through the centuries.

To be alone before God with no distractions may sound like a luxury that you can’t afford!

But Jesus did not view it as a luxury - more a necessity. If he did not spent time alone with the Father he would not be useful when ministering in the world.

Application:

Again the message for us is how important do we view our own soul care? Is it so important to us that we will go into solitude to look after our soul!

Getting solitude may take great effort.

The verse is very detailed in describing how Jesus got his solitude. It was a three point manoeuvre. He “got up”, “left the house” and then “went off / departed.”

The picture is of him actually carving out the space - doing all that he needed to do to get the space!

The Departing - is the hard part. The leaving others behind! How could he when there was so much for him to do? So many wanting him? So much need all around?

Yet the question is not how could he, but how could he not!?

He had to get solitude time and again. His soul needed it!

“Mark 6:46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.”

How much leaving / departing do you do to be alone with God?

If your family / work / church commitments - consume your time, so you have no time for solitude, then you need to change.

If your life is fully engaged all the time - then you need to disengage!

People may question your behaviour, but your main responsibility is your soul! If you don’t take care of that then everything else will suffer.

“Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

 

3^rd the final step is he prayed.

He made the time, he made the space and when that was done - he prayed.

How is your prayer life?

Are you struggling to pray?

Are you regular in your prayer life.

Maybe you need to ask are you taking the necessary steps to pray?

Jesus had to make all these steps to pray and he had to do that regularly!

John 15v16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Maybe the thing is we do not realize our great need to pray!

Look at our land - does it need to turn to God?

2Chron 7v14 “ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Are you in need of help?

“Psalm 50: ^{14 Sacrifice thank-offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me}." ”

Do we need more workers to bring in the harvest?

“Luke 10:² He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ”

Do you want to be like Jesus?

Have the kind of life and power he had?

You know what to do! Do it!

 

Sunday Evening 27th May 2007

 

 

One thing that the world spends so much time and money on: but yet never gets is true love.

The one thing the world needs more than anything else: is true love.

The one thing that the human soul cries out for is true love.

Our addictive natures can become rampant and violent when the love that we seek never comes. We are never satisfied so we seek a bigger kick, or a higher high!

All the time we are looking for love!

 

 

“1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,

Behold - i;dete / Look / marvel

What amazing love the Father has given to us. Lit: what kind of love is this?

To give - a verb, a giving of love 

To get something is great. To get love is wonderful.

Who has this love been given to? Us!

The love of God is a giving love!

That is the message from the text God’s love gives!

This is what we are to behold! To wonder at! To marvel at!

The love that we see mostly today is a very selfish love.

People want things for themselves! The love of most has grown cold!

In stark contrast to that is the love of God - a giving love!

See :

“John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

In our world of mass confusion about love, Gods love stands out as the ultimate and best form of love.

Love that just says “I love you” - is not good enough!

Love that says “I love you” - and proves it by actions, that is true love.

Tragedy is that so many are stuck in the false love of the world.

The world says “I love you” - but it never really satisfies!

Always leaves you empty and unfulfilled!

Whose love are you relying on today? Money / mother nature / husband, wife love

 

What is the consequence of Gods giving love according to our text?

that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

The result of Gods great love is that we are called children of God!

 

Whose child are you really?

The theme here is Adoption. God has given us Adoption into his family.

What does this mean?

It means everything!

We have all the rights and privileges that the Lord Jesus Christ himself has!

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--

If we have received the Lord and believed in him we have all the rights of children. We are in the family of God! We are royalty! We are privileged!

Rom 8v17 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

 

“WCF 12.1 All those that are justified, God guarantees , in (and for) His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption:(1) by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God;(2) have His name put upon them,(3) receive the Spirit of adoption;(4) have access to the throne of grace with boldness;(5) are enabled to cry, Abba, Father;(6) are pitied,(7) protected,(8) provided for,(9) and chastened by Him as by a Father;(10) yet never cast off,(11) but sealed to the day of redemption,(12) and inherit the promises,(13) as heirs of everlasting salvation.(14) ”

Do you believe that!

The people that John was writing to might have thought he was going a bit to far! “children of God! Surely not.”

But he is adamant “and that is what we are!” “kai. evsme,nÅ” the NKJV does not translate it for some reason.

John wants his readers to be sure of their true position so he underlines his statement by saying “and we are!” - just in case they thought he was speaking about somebody else!

 

Whose child are you really? You really are God’s child!

Nothing can change that!

If you have sinned, if you have let God down, if you have doubted, etc - nothing / no-one can change your adoption! God will not unadopt you.

 

Remember his love is the giving love - not the taking away love!

Our adoption explains the worlds anti-Christian stance.

The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Why, we wonder, do people not accept us?

If the world does not accept Jesus then it will not accept his brothers and sisters.

In our context we don’t feel the full force of the rejection of the world.

In our society, because of its Christian heritage we still have freedom of religion and we still show great tolerance.

 

But it is not like that all over.

3 were recently killed in turkey, 18^th April:

 

“In Turkey it is not illegal for Christians to share their faith; however, Christians who are active in evangelism, or are linked to evangelism such as through the publication of Christian literature, are constantly harassed, including by the police. In addition, Turkish media has for many years portrayed Christians as “enemies of Turkey”, or as agents of foreign governments trying to weaken Turkish society. There is fervent nationalism within Turkey, which includes Turkish ethnicity and the Islamic faith, and Malatya is a town with a reputation for strong nationalist feeling. The Christian community in Turkey, who make up less than 1% of the population, have recently seen a rising level of harassment and pressure, stemming from this increased nationalism and Islamic fervour within the country. In the climate of fear and uncertainty, Christian leaders have spoken out about the constant lies and misinformation about Christians in Turkish media, which continues to whip up anti-Christian hatred in the name of Turkish nationalism and its close links with Islam. ”

 

We know who we are - children of God - but the world does not know us!

In some senses the world is afraid of us because we are an unknown quantity!

Most of us have a fear of the unknown.

The world fears us because it does not know us!

 

We can take two things from that:

1: comfort. When people don’t understand us, don’t take it personally. Don’t be offended if you are miss treated or despised! The world does not understand! The world did not understand Jesus, it will not understand you!

2: challenge. We are to help people understand us, and our Lord! If a child can’t understand her homework we try to help her the understand. So when the world can’t understand us we help them understand.

We show that we are here to help, to do them good. Not to condemn or control them.

We keep on doing good. We persevere in our love for them.

But we can’t do that in our own strength.

We need to understand our Adoption first in order to love others properly.

You can put up with a great deal when you know you are a son or daughter of God.

And that is what we are!