Mat 4:1-11; Being Alone with God in the Quiet Place.

Thursday February 29, 2024

Idea: The Lord purposely and frequently went into the wilderness to be alone with God. Shouldn’t we? 

Being with God in solitude and prayer must be based on the word of God. The spiritual infant needs the milk of the word more than anything, but once he has had enough milk, he must explore adult things with God.
 

Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness (eremos) Mat 4:1.

Jesus would later, during His ministry, of His own accord, go into the wilderness to be alone with His Father (Mat 14:13, 23, Mar 1:35; Luk 5:16; 9:10; Joh 6:15; 11:54). 

Luk 5:16 - Greek, “And He was withdrawing into the wilderness and praying.”

He instructed us to go into our inner closet and shut the door when we prayed (Mat 6:6).

In the midst of a life in the service of God, the believer must, at times, remove himself to a quiet place and pray, and be with God. 

Mar 1:14-35 - after a very long day of ministry, Jesus purposely woke early enough to go away into the wilderness and was praying there.

Praying, perhaps meditating, being with His Father. (v. 35). This is a clear manifestation of someone who seeks God. Deu 4:29

Not prayer only, but also being present to God. Then you will learn to be present to other people, present to good and beautiful things in the world, and even present to your own soul. Take the time to be quiet with God.

That He seeks God and not popularity from people; Mar 1:36-39. 

The worshiper of God seeks solitude with Him and prayer with Him. 

No condemnation, but if Jesus is our image, how can this not be true of us? 

Believers can be easily fooled into thinking that Christianity is a part time occupation. 

Believers have to resist the allure of living for recognition and advancement.

Find your need for success, recognition, joy, etc., in God alone. You have to seek Him (Mat 7:7-11). 

Go to God in times of tragedy, Mat 14:13. 

We can find ourselves seeking the world’s remedies for pain and suffering and loss, justifying it by our need of fast relief. But we are to cast our burdens on the Lord. 

Application: Go to God in the quiet place on a regular, frequent basis. Discipline yourself, do not wait until you feel like it. 

People say they do not have time. The cost of not doing it is much more than the time you think you are saving by not doing it, in time and eternity. 

The solution is not more time. If you had a 34 hour day, you would be doing the same thing.

The solution is to prioritize the time you have. Accept your limitations. Learn to say no.

Did you ever imagine that you would get to your deathbed and then realize that in your life you missed the important things?

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life – all three. The truth about Him may get a lot of attention, but the way of Him is usually avoided from the pulpit.

There is a rhythm to your daily life. It should be an unforced rhythm of grace from God’s will, just like our Lord.

If the results that you have been getting are lousy – anxiety, stress, burnout, no sense of the presence of God, not much joy, then something in your routine is out of whack.