A retreat is pulling back away from the busyness of life long enough to restore our energy. Someone once said, “If you don’t come apart to rest; you will come apart.” That is true both in our physical lives as well as in our spiritual lives.

Jesus’ disciples had just completed their long team evangelism preaching trip. They needed a break. Jesus ordered a retreat. Our text today describes their retreat with Jesus.

Transition

This morning I want us to look at three reasons we need frequent retreats with Jesus.

The first reason we need frequent retreats with Jesus is for …

Reflection

  1. The disciples reflected on their mission trip (v.30)
    1. They reported what they had done.
    2. They reported what they had taught.
  2. Spiritual reflection is good for us too.
    1. We should review our relationship with Christ.
      1. Take a good look at your profession of salvation. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5)
      2. There ought to be clear evidence of change in your life and of a desire for spiritual things. If that is missing, stop deceiving yourself. Seek spiritual help.
    2. We should review our walk with Christ. Can you truly say that you have been abiding in Christ, walking in God’s light, and in fellowship with the Spirit?
      1. (1John 2:6) “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
      2. (Gal 5:25) “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
      3. Can you say with the Psalmist, (Ps 42:1) “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
      4. Are you walking closer to Christ now than you were a year ago? Or a month ago?
    3. We should review our spiritual diet
      1. Do you desire to spend time in the Bible as a tiny baby desires his milk? (1 Pet 2:2) “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
      2. Do you daily pray with the Psalmist, (Ps 119:18) “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Are you learning from your Bible study and applying it to your daily life?
      3. Is your time with God in prayer meaningful or has it become rather mechanical?
        ² Reflections are needed to keep us from getting stuck in a rut. Some of the roads we used to travel in PNG were deeply marked with ruts. These ruts often led through deep holes that must be avoided. Getting out of a rut is not easy but necessary. This is true spiritually as well.
        The second reason we need frequent retreats with Jesus is for …

Rest

  1. Jesus ordered a restful retreat (v.31)
    1. Life had been busy and tiring.
      1. Leisure was scarce even during meals
      2. Mt 14:13 implies that Jesus was also getting alone to grieve John’s death.
    2. They headed for a secluded place to rest (v.32)
      1. The word “desert” simply refers to a lonely place or a place deserted by people.
      2. This is not the only time Jesus ordered a rest break. We saw it also in Mark 3:7.
    3. Jesus saw the need for rest and we should too.
      1. We live in a time when many people work far too much and relax very little. This is hard on our bodies.
      2. God wants us to take care of our bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
  2. Take the Lord on your restful retreats
    1. The disciples did not leave Jesus behind during their restful retreat and neither should we. Holidays are a break from work but they should never be a break from Bible reading and prayer or even from church. If anything, time with God should increase as we rest. If you are in a location far from a good church, take audio sermons with you and set aside Sunday for the Lord as usual.
    2. Jesus had compassion on the crowd and ministered to them, even on His holiday retreat (v.33-34).
      The third reason we need frequent retreats with Jesus is for …

Renewal

  1. Jesus renewed his disciples spiritually.
    1. Perhaps the disciples’ carnality was showing when they asked Jesus to send the people away to find food (v.35-36).
    2. Jesus pointed out their inability. He said “give ye them to eat” (v.37). They were shocked as that would cost 200 pennyworth (i.e., 200 day’s wages).
      1. He asked, “How many loaves have ye? (v.38) No doubt they saw the 5 loaves and 2 fish as totally insignificant, just a lad’s lunch. (John 6:9) “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”
      2. By testing their ability, Jesus was showing his disciples that they needed to depend on him. Sometimes we forget this too.
    3. Jesus built up their faith
      1. He commanded them to have the people sit down and prepare for a meal (v.39-40).
      2. He multiplied the little lunch and sent them to pass it out to the multitude. Matthew tells us that the crowd was well over 5,000. (Matthew 14:21) “And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.” If there was one woman for each man and just two children per couple the number would be 20,000. Certainly this must have built the faith of the disciples!
      3. This spiritually renewed the disciples.
  2. We too need spiritual renewal.
    1. We need to see ourselves more clearly.
      1. Reflecting help us see our strengths
      2. It also helps us see our weaknesses.
    2. When God reveals a need, we ought to address it. (Ro 12:2) “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The word “renew” in Ro 12:2 means to renovate or remodel. To do so, we must tear out the old and put in the new. Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us to put off the old, being renewed, and putting on the new.
      ² When Melody and I were first married I worked for a carpenter doing renovations. We tore out old walls, ripped out old fixtures and replaced them with new. That is a type of what God is telling us to do spiritually.
    3. The Psalmist identifies one of the key things God will use to renew your life. (Psalm 1:1-3) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Conclusion

Are you due for a retreat with God? How long has it been since you reflected on your spiritual condition? When did you last review your salvation? Has your walk with Christ become distant? Is your spiritual diet lacking? Have you lost your spiritual zeal?

If your walk with God is not what God wants it to be, you need a Retreat with Jesus. Get alone with God this afternoon. Review and renew your walk with Him. Throw out the sins that have crept in, ask God to renew your spirit, and build up your closeness to God. Don’t wait. If you don’t come apart for renewal, you will come apart.

Song: All for Jesus – 386
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A Retreat with Jesus
17 September 2017 AM – Mark 6:30-44 – Mr17 – Scott Childs