Slow Down: Packing What Matters for a Summer With God

This past week, my wife and I spent most of our time in Florida. We went there for a theology conference. So us fosters really know how to live it up on vacation.

We spent the majority of our time sitting through lectures and seminars. Q and A. And it was really was a wonderful time. And just so you know, it was Becca's idea that we go to the conference, not mine. So.

But the funny thing about vacations is you have to pack for them. As much as I would love to just show up at a place and buy an all new wardrobe, okay, I don't use the word wardrobe, but I would just like to buy new clothes because it makes it simpler. I can't do that. I have to pack. And in order to pack, I need a list.

And in order to make sure that I follow the list, I need someone to help me assure me that I've packed the right things. Because the last thing you want to do on vacation is run to Target early in the morning to get socks, because you forgot socks.

And so packing lists are good. They're helpful. And with tomorrow being Memorial Day and being the unofficial start of summer, many of us are going to go on vacations. Some of us are probably leaving right after service, some of us are already there, and you're watching online. Either way, summer is the time for vacation.

And so we want to make sure that we pack our bags correctly. And so for today's slowdown Sunday, I want to give us a packing list for this summer, I want to give us a packing list for as we enter into the summer months, making sure that we don't accidentally leave God out of our lives in all of our activities.

So as I walk through these next three practices, for us, they're rooted in three different portions of scripture. We can go into a lot more scriptures if we wanted to. But for this morning, it's not to overwhelm, it's for us to slowly walk through. So as we engage these practices, we will find ourselves recognizing God's presence in our lives. It's not that by doing these practices, all of a sudden he shows up and we're like, oh, hey, thanks for joining me, God.

But rather, he's already with us. He's already working on us, he's already working through us. But these, these habits or these practices are typically ways in which we can become more aware of God's presence and care for us. And so the first practice is that of silence and solitude. And so as I hear or as I say that, I imagine there are probably multiple people who groaned inwardly at the thought of silence and solitude.

And those are the extroverts. The introverts are like, I'm already doing that. Let's move on to the next one.

But the silence and solitude that we're talking about is recognizing God's presence with us. And so before we go deeper into that practice, I want to read from Mark Chapter one. So if you have your Bibles, turn to mark chapter one. We'll begin in verse 35, or you can follow along on the screen. As we find ourselves in Mark 1, Jesus had begun his earthly ministry.

We see that in the previous parts there was Jesus baptism, his temptation by Satan, and then various people in which he healed and ministered to. And so as we come to this portion of Mark chapter one, we'll begin reading. In verse 35, it says, 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. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, everyone's looking for you.

And Jesus said to them, let us go on to the next town, that I may preach the Gospel, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. So just a few short questions or observations. Excuse me, a few short observations about this passage. Jesus rose early before the events of the day began.

It seems like Jesus understood the importance of. Of spending time with his Heavenly Father before the busyness and the events of the day.

Our days have a tendency to become hectic, and Jesus's days were very hectic when he walked the earth.

But maybe a better way of saying it than he just got up early is saying he planned his day with his Father.

He didn't just make time, he ensured the time.

He didn't say that he was going to meet with his Heavenly Father at a coffee shop. I don't think they had those then, but, you know, let's say that they did. He didn't do it on his commute. He didn't do it right as he was laying down at night. As the only way he planned time with his Father, he planned it early and he planned it to be undistracted.

But I also recognize that for you and I, there are days and seasons where going to a coffee shop on our way to work and late at night is beneficial for us. And it may be the only time that we have. So I'm not saying we can't do that. I just want. I don't want to make something prescriptive that the text is only descriptive about.

But what I do want us to pay attention to is that we can go prolonged seasons where it's just the busyness or little bits and pieces and we begin to dwindle. So I know that for myself, whenever I have those seasons where it's just a quick time at a coffee shop and I pray or I pray right before I go to bed, those are the seasons where I'm hurting the most because I'm battled with busyness and I'm battled with tiredness.

My time with God looks a lot more in those seasons, like me telling him what I want rather than making time to look, listen to what he has to say to me.

And you must do what is best for you in your season. But we must recognize that silence and solitude are important. It's modeled many times in the Gospels by Jesus. All of church history points to silence and solitude.

And I, though I'm not great at it, seek to have times of silence and solitude because I recognize, along with church history and scripture, that silence and solitude is beneficial for our spiritual health. So just as Jesus rose early in the morning to spend time with His Father, we too should find ways to spend time with him. Summer is busy. Vacations, camps, fun activities, and they're all wonderful things to enjoy. They're gifts from God to be enjoyed.

But we can end up being so busy with even good things that we miss out on the best things. And so something that we want to begin to wrestle with is how will we begin to plan time with God this summer in the midst of increased activity? When Jesus prayed, he had a purpose and there was an aim. He was busy. He had a lot of activities, but there was a purpose and aim.

A question that you might ask yourself is, what is the purpose of prayer for you? Is it to tell God all that you have going on? Is it to ask him for the many needs that you have in your life? Is it to spend time with your Heavenly Father? Those are all good and right things to do in prayer.

And the practice of silence and solitude helps you to carve out space, to create space, to sit in the presence of God, knowing that he looks upon you in love and care. Pastor Kevin several months ago had an illustration or shared a story about what do you think crosses God's mind when your name is mentioned to him, when he thinks of you? And I have not been able to get that out of my head.

And part of the reason for that is because so often in silence and solitude, I think, oh, God, I'm just supposed to do this. And yet the more I spend time with the Lord, the more I'm around Him, the more I get to know him deeply, the more I recognize he's not frowning at me, but that he's smiling, that I am his beloved in Christ.

Do you know that you are God's beloved in Christ? And when you sit in silence and solitude, you can experience that this practice allows us beautiful, uninterrupted time with God. Think of a loved one, or even a group of loved people. Maybe it's your life group, maybe it's your family, but one of the best experiences that we can ever have is uninterrupted time with that person.

A few weeks ago, I was able to take tea to some friends of ours in the church. And the whole point was, I'm going to just set it here. Thank you, I love you. It's a treat. And go on.

And they invited me in and for the next hour I just sat there and I got to share stories and they get to share stories. And it's one of my favorite memories. And I know it's recent, but it's going to always be one of my favorite memories because it's uninterrupted time. They loved me and I loved them.

And if that's how it is with people, how much more so with your Heavenly Father?

While we don't see it in Mark 1 explicitly, we know that silence and solitude allows God to speak to us as well. We see that Jesus is speaking or spending time with His Father. We don't hear in Mark 1 if God says anything. But we know from other portions of Scripture that God speaks to us. And how does God speak?

By His Word and through His Spirit. God impresses upon our souls the truth according to His Word and His Spirit when we spend time with him and His Word. What is it that you have been desperately needing to hear from God? Especially as you go into a busy season? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe summer is a lot more low key for you.

But. But as I mentioned earlier, I don't even have kids and summer's busy. And so I can only imagine the increase of activities that everyone has. And so what is it that you need to hear from God that you may not be hearing because you're busy?

I've learned not just because of Scripture, but my experience with God in Scripture, that God's voice, though booming, breaking the cedars of Lebanon as the Psalms tell us, but his voice is also small and quiet as he speaks to the prophet Elijah in First Kings 19.

And so if we're always busy, we can't hear from God because that small still voice is probably being drowned out by the busyness of life.

Silence and solitude demonstrates our true desire to spend time with God.

And I know because I've had to do this multiple times in my life where I've taken a time audit. And I say, I'm way too busy.

Really. It's not that I'm busy, it's that I'm not prioritizing my time. And so for us, how are you spending your time? How am I spending my time?

If I truly want a connection and a relationship with a person, I need to make the time.

You see, as I mentioned earlier, we were in Florida, but for one afternoon, we drove up to St. Augustine, which was about a two hour drive from Orlando where we were staying. And I have a friend that I met through a parachurch ministry that she and I are involved in, and she and her husband live there in St. Augustine. And she told us, hey, y' all, come out.

Go, you know, spend some time at the beach. It'll be great. Then y' all can hang out if y' all want to. And I would love to make y' all dinner. So Becca and I go up there and she goes, we live close to the beach.

I was like, okay, cool. Makes it simple. That was an understatement. It was across the street from the beach. That's where she lived.

It took me no more than five minutes and to walk, and it would have been even less time, but they were doing beach revitalization. And so we had to. We had to walk a little bit further. My goodness. But Julie and her husband Jamie, they opened their home.

They made. They made some wonderful fresh shrimp scampi. And we just ate on their porch and we just spent time with them. And they poured into us and they spoke words of truth and encouraged encouragement, and it was beautiful. And so that's the hope and goal, in silence and solitude, that you would find yourself not only speaking to God, but hearing from Him.

And so let me give us three questions for us to sit in silence and prayerfully consider for a few moments.

One, what does silence and solitude with God look like right now for you?

What does silence and solitude with God look like right now for you? Two, how do you plan on it growing if Jesus made it a priority and planned it? We too need to. And then what do you need most from God during that time. Let me invite us to sit for a few moments.

Maybe you want to work through all three. Maybe you only need to work through one. But invite God into this. This is not just contemplation for the sake of contemplation. It's contemplation with the Holy Spirit inviting God to reveal to you what you need as you slow down this summer.

So let's spend just a few moments in silent reflection.

Let me draw our attention back up here for just a few minutes. I hope that those questions are a helpful starting place as you consider how silence and solitude would be beneficial for you to take with you this summer. But the second thing that we need to pack for our summer with God is Sabbath. A true resting or ceasing from our work. And I must admit I'm not good at Sabbath, at least not as good as I would like to be.

There have been some seasons where Beck and I have taken a full 24 hours to rest from our jobs, rest from housework, rest from those things where we're tempted to put our identity and our value, where we try to work these things out.

But there have been other seasons where we can't disconnect.

We can rest in God's goodness and our identity in Christ, knowing that Christ Himself has purchased true rest. And so Sabbath should not be a legalistic activity. It should be something that we joyfully consider doing.

Because in some seasons, such as the current one that we find ourselves in, we've been saying yes to everything, and it doesn't feel like there's a day off. So for us to actually go to Florida and disconnect for a few days was a big thing for us. So I want to turn our attention to Mark, chapter two to help us see the value of sabbath. Mark, chapter 2, verse beginning in verse 23 through 28, it says, One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields. And as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.

And the Pharisees were saying to him, look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? And he said to them, have you never read what David did when he was in need and was hungry? He and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar, the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priest to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him. He said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man Is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Again, let me offer just a few quick observations and encouragements from this passage. First, the Pharisees were being legalistic about the Sabbath. For those familiar with the Bible, this does not come as a shock. The Pharisees, as the religious elite of the day, were making Sabbath something it was never intended to be, even in something as good as rest. They used it to demean and oppress people who didn't do it their way.

So the Pharisees were angry with Jesus disciples because they were plucking heads of grain. Jesus response to the Pharisees show the intention, the reason behind Sabbath. And that's for humanity to rest from their work, because God did so himself. Jesus is saying that Sabbath was made so that people can rest from their work. Just as God rested from his work.

Sabbath didn't pre exist humanity. Sabbath was not made on the third day. Sabbath was made when God himself rested from his work. And because Sabbath didn't pre exist humanity, the Sabbath is not something we should worship by doing it correctly. Rather, we follow in God's example.

You may remember this last year or so, we did a series in the Ten Commandments. And so in Exodus, chapter 20, verses 8 through 12, Moses writes, Remember the Sabbath day. This is God's commandments to the nation of Israel. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor to do all your work.

But on the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work. You or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

God commanded that the Israelites take a weekly Sabbath. Sabbath is meant to be a delight and not a burden. How does it impact you knowing that resting from your work is not something that is a privilege to be earned, but a right and a commandment that God has given us? For me, it's joyful. For me it's freeing.

If I'm being honest, I have a hard time disconnecting from work. And while I'd love to say it's because I love you all so well, I do love you all. If you never hear those words from me, I want you to hear them today. I do truly love you. I want to see the Lord work in your life, and I want to see you built up in Christ and I want to see you walking in the ways that he has for you.

I love you. But I also have a lot of insecurity, and I have a lot of fear. And sometimes that speaks more to me working than loving y' all. And I'm just being honest. And the reason I'm being honest is because it's an attempt to help keep me accountable to resting.

If your growth in Christ and your experience of worshiping him is dependent upon my work, then I've done something wrong. Any pastor has done something wrong. If your growth is fully dependent upon one of us. And so instead of operating out of insecurity, saying that I have to do everything for you, I really need to step back and to rest knowing that he is at work in your life without me having to do something because I hate. And it's so tiring to just fight to justify myself.

Please love me. Please think I'm needed. That's just whiny. Y' all don't need that, and I don't want to be that. And so I have to learn to rest from that.

And honestly, maybe you're the same way. Maybe you have a hard time disconnecting from work. Maybe it's not for the same reasons, but maybe you have a hard time disconnecting from work because work's not just the things that you get paid for, but it's the things that you do to make your sphere of influence move forward. Those things that you do around the house, in the home, with your family, with your friends, it's your job, your housework, your parenting, your serving. You're striving to make things happen, and you need to stop and you need to rest.

And the great thing is, Sabbath isn't just an individual practice. It's a communal practice as well. The more rested I am, the better the community will be, because I'm not striving and putting my identity in the wrong things.

And the healthier I am, the healthier the community will be. The healthier the community will be, the healthier the greater community will be. It impacts everyone and everything. So rest is a good and godly thing.

But what does it mean? What is rest? What is Sabbath? Well, it's rest. But what kind of rest?

Joyful rest. It means doing the things that separate your work in life and rest in all the joyful graces that God provides for you. For some, that spending time with friends and hosting a dinner would be Sabbath rest. For others, it's staying inside and reading. Maybe for some, it's going on a walk a run, a jog or bike somewhere.

But it's removing work and enjoying the graces and the gifts of God, not striving for anything, but just being so before we enter into a few moments of silence, let me suggest a few practices for your Sabbath. My brother in law tries to light a candle whenever he and his wife enjoy their Sabbath together. It's a marking of time that things are to go a little bit slower. Maybe you could light a candle or begin some other kind of practice that helps you recognize that you're resting from work. Like putting your phone away, putting them in a box, turning them off.

Maybe it's just planning ahead. What is it that gives you joy? Is it working on art? Is it building something? Is it just reading whatever it is?

Plan ahead.

What hobbies, friendships or activities can you participate in in that are life giving to you and help you rest? So let's spend just a few moments in silent reflection. Again in prayer, bringing the Lord into this asking and considering how are you resting weekly from your work and busyness?

How will you begin to rest weekly from your work and busyness? This is the planning part.

And what is God teaching you in rest? If you don't have time to walk through all of these, you may consider writing them down, taking a picture.

But just consider how are you resting weekly from your work and busyness? And what is God teaching you in rest? And maybe even consider how will you begin to rest? Spend just a few moments in silence.

In my few remaining minutes, let me give us a third and final habit to pack with us and take for our summer. And that simplicity in life. What is simplicity? It's just saying no to the things that clutter our lives while saying yes to a single minded pursuit of God. This is explained not only in Jesus life, but also his teaching.

So moving over to the Gospel of Luke, I want to highlight a passage in Jesus teaching simplicity in Luke chapter 12, verses 22 through 34. These words will help us to understand the discipline of simplicity as we draw out a distinction between simplicity and minimalism.

Luke 12:22 34 reads and he said to his disciples, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life.

If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith, and do not seek what you are to eat or what you are to drink, nor be worried.

All the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, give to the needy, provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also what does anxiety and concern have to do with simplicity?

It has everything to do with it because sometimes our anxiety and concern comes from places of wanting and desiring more and not recognizing God's provision. It's not a bad thing to want to have enough. We we need to be provided for. But oftentimes that's not the case. Our anxieties and our frustrations and our worries come from trying to keep up with our neighbors.

Simplicity teaches or reminds us maybe that God provides for all creation, especially those of us who are made in his image. Jesus question about adding an hour to your life by being anxious is a good reminder that we should seek God for provision. We can't add a single hour onto our life. And honestly, I'm kind of glad because at this point I think I live to about a thousand years old because I just. I tend to be anxious often and I have to remember it's not about getting all these things.

It's not about adding all these things. It's about a single minded pursuit of the Lord. So seek first his kingdom, pursue God and pursue being a kingdom citizen by loving God and loving others. When our focus is on God and on walking faithfully, we won't be as distracted by other things.

Simplicity is about pursuing Jesus, looking to him and him only. It's not Jesus and something else.

We can't do things on our own. We need God's help. We need his provision. So let us seek after God.

Jesus was obedient to His Heavenly Father. He's the only one to have ever lived, that will ever live, that did so in a perfect and obedient manner. So instead of trying to white knuckle your spiritual life, trust that Jesus will meet your needs in the midst of every circumstance that's going on. As I mentioned earlier, these practices, silence and solitude, Sabbath and simplicity, they're not about earning favor with God. Rather they're about learning to obey and grow in our faith as we're empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus died to save us and transform us, so let us pursue him throughout the summer. Let's not think that we can do a little Jesus here and do something else over there. Let us continue to pursue him again, not in a legalistic way, in a grace filled joy, joyful way. The Christian life is about worship of God through faith in Jesus as we're transformed by the Holy Spirit. There's no better day to start pursuing God than today, and we are.

That's why we're here. So let us joyfully encourage one another. So let's spend just a few moments considering these questions. What in your life is causing you to be overwhelmed? How is simplicity going to come about in your life?

What things are you going to say no to that might be distracting you from God? And what must you get rid of in order to be single minded about the kingdom? Let's spend just a moment in prayer.

I hope that this morning has been helpful. I hope it's helped you to slow down to consider where out of these three practices you would like to begin, what what you may be missing. And if I'm being honest, this should only be a starting place. Anyway, I would love to talk with any of you after the service or throughout the week if you have greater questions, if you desire accountability or you just want more ideas. Our men's Bible study a couple semesters ago did a study, a book study on the ruthless elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.

And I think there's a lot of helpful information in there. But let us always go back to scripture. And so I would love to talk to you more about the scriptures or about the book, but my heart behind all of this is for us to slow down and not go 90 miles an hour with our hair on fire. My hope and my joy is that Christ is walking with us every step of the way that we can experience him through these practices. Church can we pray together as we continue this morning?

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your example and your words that are found in the Scriptures. We thank you that you have called us to a life where we spend it with you. Through simplicity, through silence and solitude, and through Sabbath rest. I just ask that you would encourage us, empower us, and let us worship you as we engage these practices. God, we love you.

We pray these things in your precious name. Amen.