Simply teaching the Bible, simply

Following on from last week

As the disciples return they find Jesus surrounded by multitudes. The natural tendency, born from their enthusiasm, would have been to carry on and minister to this crowd that had gathered – after all, wasn’t that the reason given in the synagogue in Nazareth as to why Jesus had come? “to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” Luke 4:18-19

Jesus takes the disciples aside, for now, they needed to rest, physically no doubt, but needed to renew their strength. In the spiritual realm that can only be done by coming apart from the busyness of life, from the urgent pressures and demands, and to spend time alone with Jesus – “they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength” Isa 40:31

Jesus speaking to His disciples said, “Come ye yourselves apart to a desert place, and rest a little.” Mk 6:31 A ‘Quiet Time’ is a place to “come apart” from the world and rest in Jesus. “Jesus knows we must come apart and rest awhile or else we may just plain come apart!” Vance Havner. When the Bible becomes a part of you, you’ll be less likely to come apart! To be much like Christ, we must be much with Christ

“Attachment to Christ is the secret of detachment from the world. And so although we must live in the world, we must draw our strength from outside the world. As Charles Hummel wisely said, “Adequate time for daily waiting on God… is the only way I can escape the tyranny of the urgent.”

Notice what happens when the disciples did the counter-intuitive and stopped their labours for a while: The crowds came to them

The natural says we must keep at it, we must keep serving to make the most of every opportunity! The Spiritual says we must not! If we are to make the most of every opportunity it will only be done through waiting on the LORD, only moving in His time. We are always in such a hurry, Jesus was not. Jesus accomplished more in 3 1/2 years than most of us will in a lifetime, yet He was never flustered or anxious

After feeding the 5000, we see the disciples in the midst of the sea again, this time Jesus comes walking on water. Surely the disciples realised they were safe? That the Lord had called and chosen them and watching over them? But no! How quick we forget the LORD’s miraculous provision and think that it is now up to us. On this occasion – although Mark doesn’t record the fact – Peter stepped out of the boat, walked toward Jesus on water! Oswald Chambers comments:

The wind was boisterous, the waves high, but Peter did not see them at first. He did not reckon with them, he simply recognised his Lord, and stepped out in recognition of Him and walked on water. Then he began to reckon with the actual things, and down he went instantly. Why could not our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves as well as on the top of them? Neither could be done saving by recognition of the Lord Jesus

We step right out on God over some things, then self-consideration enters in and down we go. If you are recognising your Lord, you have no business with where He engineers your circumstances. The actual things are, but immediately you look at them you are overwhelmed, you cannot recognise Jesus, and the rebuke comes: Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognising Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him

The theme throughout this study is we need to get our eyes on Jesus and keep them there! We cannot solve our problems ‘in the flesh’ (by our natural resources). We do not have sufficient resources to carry on the fight on our own. Enthusiasm is not to be confused with calling