Kingdom Priorities Mark 1:35-39

Kingdom Priorities

Mark 1:35-39

Introduction: We didn’t have any idea that Pastor Jim Beliasov’s Sunday School class last week would be the last time we would be blessed by our brother’s teaching (actually his last class, which he had already prepared, will be presented in Sunday School today, in his honor!).  Jim loved God and he loved people. One of our young mothers said this week, “I feel like Pastor Jim still had more to teach me!” Jim never retired, he stayed faithful and engaged in the ministry right up to the time God called him home. He knew God saved him for a purpose and he sought to be faithful.  One of his teachers was Dr. Charles Ryrie who published a book called Balancing the Christian Life. I think Jim impacted so many of us because he kept balance in his life, he prioritized loving God and loving people, always encouraging and serving others. He tried to fulfill the calling of being a disciple-making disciple (2 Tim 2:2). We’ve been framing our study of Mark in terms of three questions: Who is Jesus? Why did He come? What does it mean to follow Him? To follow Jesus includes taking Him at His Word and learning from His example. This passage points to the priorities Jesus had, as revealed by his example. We need to have the right priorities to have proper balance in the Christian Life. Some in our church are hunters so will relate to the following story…

A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck.

     "Where's Harry?" he was asked.   "Harry fell and broke his ankle looks like. He's a couple of miles back up the trail."

     "You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back?"

     "Well," said the hunter, "It was a close call, but I figured no one was going to steal Harry."

Sometimes our priorities can be a little off! There are a lot of things that demand our time and attention today. How do we keep first things first, and keep the main thing the main thing? A disciple learns from the Master. Let’s look at this little scene in Mark 1, and see what Jesus is teaching us by His example.

The Maine* Idea: Jesus showed the priority of prayer and of faithfulness to the mission, rather than striving for “popularity.”

I. Devotion to Prayer and Time with the Father: Jesus prioritized prayer, so should we (35)!

³⁵ And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 

     First of all, Jesus’ prayer was planned – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark…” The four verbs in this one sentence underscore the purposeful action of Jesus: He arose early, He departed, He went out, and He prayed. There is no confusing the fact that Jesus was intentional about getting up, very early, and going out to a deserted place, to spend time with the Father. C.S. Lewis spoke of the urgency of prayer at the beginning of the day,

The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.

Have you been there? Through the night, or first thing in the morning, your schedule for the next day is being played over and over again in your mind. At the start of the day you can schedule time with God that will not be interrupted (usually!). The Psalmist said in Psalm 5:1-3…

Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.  ² Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.  ³ O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

That kind of seeking God, is intentional, it is planned.  The language Mark uses is a little redundant for the sake of emphasis, “…very early in the morning, while it was still dark…” It would have been the last watch of the night, between 3-6 AM. After a busy day of ministry Jesus didn’t sleep in, he arose early, planning to spend time with the Father. H.A. Ironside said, “Prayer was to Him, as Man in perfection, the very delight of His holy soul as He talked things over with Him who had sent Him.” Prayer to the Father was not a burden or an obligation, it was a blessed privilege!  

       It is said that Andrew Bonar, a great man of prayer, had three rules: (1) Not to speak to any man before speaking to Jesus; (2) Not to do anything with his hands until he had been on his knees; (3) Not to read the papers until he had read his Bible. Ok, for us it might be e-mail or Face Book, but the principle holds! What are our priorities? We have to be intentional, planning time with God. Bonar confessed in another place,

"We have not been men of prayer. The spirit of prayer has slumbered among us. The closet has been too little frequented and delighted in. We have allowed business, study or active labor to interfere with our closet-hours. And the feverish atmosphere in which both the church and the nation are enveloped has found its way into our prayer closets..."

Prayer expresses our dependence on God, and our faith in Him. If it was important to Jesus, how much more does it need to be a priority for us?

     Notice also that His prayer was private – “…He went out to a deserted place…” Mark reports a few instances like this, we see more in the other gospels (especially Luke), when Jesus withdraws, and goes alone into a deserted place, to spend time with the Father. Those “quiet times,” times of solitude, between Jesus and the Father were important to Him, and such times are important and necessary for us. We are so “connected” with our network of friends and contacts, you are never alone it seems, unless you are intentional about it! There are so many distractions, we need quiet times when we can be still, and talk with our Father. I read a story this week, from the days before modern refrigeration, when “ice houses” were used to store ice that was cut out of lakes in the winter and packed in sawdust…

One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile.
       A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
       "I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking."
       Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear.

We need planned times, apart with God. If you are too busy to be still and spend time with God, you are too busy NOT to be still and spend time with God!  Jesus seemed to annoy the disciples a little by going off by himself before they awoke. He is teaching them, and us, by His example. We need quiet “alone” time with God. I read this week a story of how one group of early converts in Africa learned to spend personal time with the Lord. They…

 …were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

What about you, brother, sister, does the grass grow on your path? Are you neglecting your quiet times with the Lord?  One of the emphases of the WOL Olympian Ministry is encouraging kids to develop a regular habit of daily, private time with God. What a blessing if they can learn to prioritize time with God now!

     His prayer was prolonged – “…and he prayed…”  The verbal tense is the imperfect, it has the sense of an ongoing action in the past: “…he was praying…” We need to pray without ceasing, throughout our day, asking the Father for direction and help of course. But we also need extended times of intentional seeking and fellowship with Him. Here, we read that Jesus “…was praying…” It doesn’t give the impression of a quick “text message” sent to the Father, but ongoing, prolonged communion. E.M. Bounds wrote and reflected a lot on prayer. He said,

“The central significance of prayer is not in the things that happen as results, but in the deepening intimacy and unhurried communion with God at His central throne of control in order to discover a sense of God's… [will] in order to call on God's help to meet that need…”

It is true at a human level right, the more time we spend with someone we love, the better we know them, the deeper our love grows.  That is even more true in the relationship between humans and God. Because as we know Him, as we get a deeper and fuller sense of who he is, of his holy character and divine attributes, of the depth and purity of His love for us, our minds are being “renewed,” transformed, and we begin to think God’s thoughts after Him. We learn God’s will, at least the things that He has revealed, and we pray “…thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” We discern God’s will as we spend time with Him. Jesus did. He showed the priority of prayer and of faithfulness to the mission, rather than striving for “popularity.” One priority was prayer, another was...

II. Dedication to the Mission: The priority of the mission trumps popularity (36-39).

³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,  ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you."  ³⁸ And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out."  ³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

       The disciples had a “plan” for Jesus’ ministry (36,37).  The disciples woke in the morning, no doubt ready for another exciting day of healing and casting out demons. Maybe they wondered how big the crowd would be this day, as the word got out about yesterday! And then they noticed Jesus was gone, and they went searching for Him. They had plans, expectations for His day! Do you ever have well intentioned people who “love you and have a wonderful plan for your life?” We need to guard against imposing “busy-ness” so that people can deal with the business of knowing God and serving Him! It is like the disciples were saying, “What are you thinking Jesus? You don’t have time to get off alone and spend hours in prayer! There are people to heal, demons to cast out!” Have you ever felt that you have too much to do to spend time with God? “I’d like to pray more…. I just don’t have the time!”  Are you busier than Jesus? Are there more demands on you than there were on Him? If you are so busy that you don’t have time to pray, you don’t have time NOT to pray! This to me is reminiscent of the story of Philip in Acts 8. Philip was engaged in fruitful ministry in Samaria…

 “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12).

Like Jesus, who was “successful,” Philip obeyed the Father, and he was called to leave what was “good” to continue his part in God’s mission (38).

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place.  ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship  ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." (Acts 8:26-29).

Think about what God did. Philip was involved in the conversion of the Samaritans—many heard and believed the Gospel.  Many were being added to their number. But… God had a plan. And a lone official, a eunuch at that, was returning to Egypt. God sent out a missionary, a witness, to “intercept” him. He was available, and obedient. God had a plan, and the Gospel gained a witness, and ultimately a foothold, in North Africa.

       Things were seemingly going great in Capernaum. The crowds were big at least. But it seems that many were coming exclusively because they had heard of the miracles, and they sought the physical healing that Jesus could give. As we read the gospels, we see that the Jews were enamored by miracles. But they were not an end in themselves. They did give a preliminary “glimpse” into the future and the blessing of the kingdom. They were signs, validating Jesus’ words, and proving His identity. Remember the heart of Jesus ministry earlier in this chapter,

“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,  ¹⁵ and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1:14,15).

       Jesus came preaching the Gospel, proclaiming the “Good News” that the Kingdom of God was near, because He, the King was on the scene! Remember earlier in the chapter, John’s ministry pointed to the greater need of humans: the problem of sin. Sin entered into the world through Adam, and sin brought death, the curse, and separation between humans and God. The gospel was “good news,” because in Christ it would be possible for humans to be reconciled to God. Remember Paul’s words to the Galatians, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son… to redeem those who were under the law…” God’s justice demands that sin be punished. Jesus came to bear our sins in His body on the tree. Now, as His public ministry was beginning, He was calling the people to hear Him, to follow Him, to recognize who He is.

       Jesus continued to reveal the truth through His works and words (39). “And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”  Though it doesn’t mention healing here, it surely continued as well see in subsequent verses. The emphasis is on the spiritual healing that has happening. He preached in the synagogues, correcting and preparing the people to respond to His person and message, and ultimately to His death and resurrection. Even the disciples didn’t get that yet, they would only understand afterward, when he “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus showed the priority of prayer and of faithfulness to the mission, rather than striving for “popularity.”

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?  As we read the gospels, it seems to me that we are invited, along with the disciples, to follow Jesus, and to learn from His words and from His example. There are so many conflicting time demands that we face, it is easy for us to yield to the “tyranny of the urgent” and to neglect the essential, foundational aspects of our relationship with God, and the call to follow Him. We need to keep first things first, and we need to keep the main thing, the main thing. Until his last day Jim was engaged!

       Have you incorporated a daily quiet time into your life? It is a way to express your faith, and your dependence on Him. It is also true that it will deepen your relationship with Him, and more and more, His priorities will become your priorities. Like those people that God has providentially put in your life. Praying for them, and as God gives opportunity, seeking to point them to Jesus. They need to know Him. We’d like to work together to help you reach those people God has put in your life: family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, schoolmates. We have a lot of invitation cards we’d like to hand out or mail out over the next two to three weeks, leading into Palm Sunday and Easter.  Let’s see what God will do.  AMEN.