Luke 6:12: My Time With God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Read Luke 6:12-16
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
In this passage we see that Jesus is about to choose His disciples and he’s going to name the 12 apostles
This is a big decision making moment in the life of Jesus
And because of that, Jesus takes time to pray
I’d like for us to take some time to focus on prayer and it’s importance in our lives
If prayer was important to Jesus, then obviously, it should be important to us
I’d like to say that no one ever feels like they’ve “mastered” the discipline of prayer in they’re lives
No one ever feels like they pray enough
But what we can know is that we should pray more and pray better
This should be a discipline that we constantly develop throughout the rest of our lives
We should learn it’s value, importance and power
It’s interesting to note that Jesus always took time away from people to pray
We see a vibrant prayer life throughout the gospels
Jesus started His ministry with prayer Luke 3:21
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Jesus would take time away in the midst of His ministry Luke 5:16
16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
Jesus prayed in the mornings Mark 1:35
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Jesus prayed on the mount of transfiguration Luke 9:28-29
28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
Jesus prayed for His disciples Luke 22:21-22
21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
Jesus prayed for His disciples before going to the cross John 17:9
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
We see that prayer is especially important for Jesus in:
Times of transition
Beginning something important
Making important decisions
While He was busy
In the mornings
At night
Prayer was esencial in Jesus’ life and it should be in ours as well
Here we see that He has an important decision to make for the future of the gospel and God’s ministry here on earth
We see that His opposition is growing
Jesús knew that He was starting a new stage in ministry
Jesús knew that Judas was going to betray Him John 6:64
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
And though many books have been written about prayer and we could take weeks or months to talk about prayer, today we will see three principles that we can learn in this passage from Jesus’ prayer life.
1. Time With God Is Time Alone
1. Time With God Is Time Alone
Jesus went to the mountain to pray
He went to an isolated place
His work was among the multitudes
He always had people around Him
But Jesus needed time alone
He retreated to the mountain to be away from people
He needed some time in quiet and solitude
Jesus even tells His disciples to pray in private Matthew 6:6
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Jesus understood that to be able to spend time with His Father he would have to spend less time with others
One of the reasons that we don’t have time to spend with the Father is because we spend too much time with others
Some people are even afraid of the silence, the solitude, the idea of spending time with no noise or distractions
I’m not saying that it is wrong to spend time with others, but it is wrong to fill all our time with so many other things that we don’t spend time with God
To be able to spend some time with God we will need to not spend time with others every now and then
And in these times being alone doesn’t just include avoiding direct contact with other people but it also includes indirect contact with people and information
Sadly, I believe that our cel phones, social media, technology, the news, entertainment takes away from the time that we could be spending with God
We are so distracted by all that we have around us that “we never have time” to pray or spend time in God’s word
If we were to measure the amount of time that we invest in social media, videos, memes or cel phone games each day we would realize that there is no excuse to not pray or to not read our Bibles
Our failure to pray is not because of a lack of time but a lack of priority
How many times do we try to get away from people or public settings to spend a little time on our cel phones watching videos, reading the news, laughing at a picture or meme, playing a game?
How many times to we get away from people in order to read a few verses of the Bible or to spend a little time in prayer with God?
What do we do with our free time?
Spiritual Leadership, Spiritual Discipleship, Spiritual Maturity Set of 3 Sanders books 12. The Leader and Time
Each of us has the time to do the whole will of God for our lives.
Do we have some “mountain” or place that we go to pray?
Is there a special place where you take some time apart to meet with God?
Is there some time in the day, week or month where you intentionally spend time with God?
Is time with God a part of your daily schedule?
Do we have a schedule to read God’s word and pray?
How often do we have the desire to feed from the Word of God and spend time alone with the Father?
2. Time With God Is Focused Time
2. Time With God Is Focused Time
It’s so interesting that Jesus spent all night in prayer to God
The person that knew more about God spent all night talking to God
The closest person to God spent all night praying to God
The perfect person without sin spent all night praying to God
The busiest of all people spent all night praying to God
Let’s not lie to ourselves by thinking that the more we know about God the less time we need to spend with God
Let’s not believe that since we are closer to God we need less time with God
Let’s not think that because we are right with God and free of worries that we need less time getting to know His heart
Let’s not think that being busy is a justification for neglecting our relationship with the Lord
In this passage we see a tremendous amount of dedication
In His prayer we see discipline - He prayed all night
This means it took focus, effort and discipline in His prayer life
In His prayer we see sacrifice - He prayed all night
Sleep and rest is one of the God’s greatest gifts to man
But Jesus sacrificed that special time because spending time with His Father was more important than sleep, rest or energy
Sadly, our attitude about prayer is that it should be quick, simple and immediate
We think that by asking God for something “in passing” es enough for Him to respond or to give us the answer
It’s impossible for us to get to know a person and their desires without spending time with them
No relationship works like that
It is impossible to have an extensive relationship with someone you do not spend time with
It will require us to sacrifice time in other areas of our lives to be able to spend time with Him
It will require disciple to decide not to do certain things so that we might enjoy more time with God
This doesn’t mean that certain things are bad
It doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy pleasures in this life
Instead it means that being in His presence is more joyful, more pleasant, more beneficial y more desirable than any other thing Psalm 84:1, 10
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
How often have we decided to sacrifice a little free time or some rest time to spend it with God?
Do we have any type of consistency in our relationship with God?
Our relationship with God is not only measured by our morality or the things we do or the tings we avoid doing
Our relationship with God is measured by the time spent with Him, knowing Him, loving Him y being in His presence
We should reach a point in our spiritual life where we long to get away to spend some time with Him without it being a burden
3. Time With God Is Time With The Father
3. Time With God Is Time With The Father
Jesus prayed “to God”
I believe this is the key element in our prayer life with God
I know many times we have asked the question “What did they talk about all night? What did God talk to God about all night?”
But we would never say that about our relationship with our earthly parents
We would never say that about our relationship with our wife
Instead we just enjoy each other’s presence
And when we are with them we talk about nothing and everything at the same time
It isn’t a burden to be around the person you love
It’s pleasant and enjoyable to spend time with your loved one
We see that throughout Jesus’ prayers the title mostly used by Him to address God is “Father” Matthew 11:25-26; 26:39, 42, 53; Luke 23:34, 46
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
When Jesus talks about God He calls Him Father
The importance of prayer is found in the relationship
Many times we consider prayer to simply be a wish list that we want done in our lives
But in fact prayer is spending time with the Father
Jesus calls his Father “Abba” or “Dad” in Mark 14:36
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
This is a term of endearment between Jesus and the Father
Jesus’ relationship with the Father is close and intimate
And it’s that same relationship that we have with the Father thanks to the Holy Spirit Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Talk to your Father
Talk to your Father
I heard a preacher say that many times we want to put rules and conditions on prayer
We want to define the rules and forms of prayer
But it honestly begins with a conversation with your Father
Every child talks to their father differently
And, honestly, all we have to do is just start talking to the Father
We have to stop viewing God as a distant person and view Him as a close Father
We should stop asking ourselves “how to talk to the father” and simply begin talking to the Father
We can keep an open conversation with Him 1 Thessalonians 5:17
17 Pray without ceasing.
We can share our day with Him
We can share our joys, failures, worries, complaints, thoughts and fears
Share your needs with your Father
When you talk to Dad he makes sure to take care of you
I’m sure Jesus spoke to His father about:
Who the apostles would be
The road to calvary
The multitudes and their demands
Judas and his betrayal
I can only imagine all the things they talked about that night
How interesting would it have been to hear the Son talking with the Father?
And it is also interesting to hear His children talk with their Father
Maybe you’re not a son and your first prayer should be one of salvation
it isn’t the prayer that saves you but the grace of God
You must receive His grace through faith
It’s believing that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to give you access to the Father
It’s recognizing your sin and that salvation is only through God’s son, Jesus