Pastor Jon Burgess
November 4, 2018 - W1844

[Video - Pastor Jon Burgess]

I am so glad to see you! I’m at St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Kalihi Valley (Oahu); and you’re the first people I’ve talked to in 24 hours—I just got off 24 hours of silence! For a person like me who likes to talk, that seemed like eternity!

Every year around my birthday, I like to pause at certain milestones in my life and read my journals to see what God had done in the past, and to discern how He spoke to me (the healthy patterns, as well as, the destructive ones). I want to learn from the lessons of the past, so I can look forward to what God wants to do next year!

The moment that I took my watch off and unplugged from the world around me, I began to get a tune in my head, and I got my guitar. It was a song from God’s heart for the lost—an instant connection for me! I’m hoping He’ll do the same for you as you go through the Closer series. I want to invite you to the simplicity of devotion to Jesus Christ…

2 Corinthians 11:3 AMP says, “But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.”

Paul is saying that if you don’t get intentional and simplify your life and get closer to God, you, too, will become distracted from your walk with God, as Eve did. So simplify your life…

Matthew 6:33 KJV says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”What’s first, determines what’s next.

When we set our heart to the pure and simple pursuit of God, everything else will fall into order. But when we pursue the world’s order that says: “I will seek other things first, and if there’s time, I’ll add in God,” you will fall into disorder!

Simplicity: The Decision To Reorder My Private World

I want to present two disciplines to simplify your lives to grow closer to Christ, not farther:

1. The Decision To Unplug From The World By Slowing And Silence 

Neither slowing nor silence comes naturally so don’t allow technology to run your life. Could our handheld devices keep us from being held by our Savior?

Isaiah 30:15-16 NIV says, “¹⁵This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. ¹⁶You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’”

There is a prayer labyrinth at St. Anthony’s Retreat Center. This is an opportunity to slowdown and forces you to pray; so I decided to follow the rock pathway, and returned to the tree where I began. I felt Holy Spirit saying, “Do it again.” When I returned the second time, He asked me, “What do you notice this time that you missed last time?” (We completely miss what God is trying to show us when we’re in our fast pace.) This time, I noticed the beautiful flowers—the vibrant colors, the textures of the trees, and the scents of the different plants around me. It was beautiful! I thought I had fulfilled my assignment and was ready to walk away when I felt the Holy Spirit say, “One more time.” So I walked around the third time: This time I noticed that my slippers were caked with mud, and my walk was more laborious! I couldn’t go into my room like this! I felt the Lord saying, “Go find some water.” There was a stream at the entrance of the Center—I walked down to the stream and put my feet in the water and washed my feet. I felt this was the point that God was trying to get to me!

I felt God saying, “Jon, if you want to get closer to Me, you must be clean.” As I was sitting there, God was showing me things in my life that I was not aware of: the stresses, worries, and fears—as I gave them all to Him, I felt them being washed away in the stream!

Cyndi and I are trying to teach our boys to journal and write prayers of repentance—that is our daily stream, being washed by the water of the word of God.

2 Chronicles 20:12-13 NKJV says, “‘¹² O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.’ ¹³ Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.”

Israel’s enemies had surrounded them and threatened King Jehoshaphat, so he called all to fast and pray and get quiet before the Lord—from the highest to the lowest, of every generation. And the people slowed down and got still before God, even in the onslaught of the enemy! I love that picture! I found out that when I slow down and get quiet, I hear God. In other words, when I stopped talking; I started hearing!

2 Chronicles 20:17 NKJV says, “¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 

God is saying, “I will fight for you. You just stand still; watch me fight on your behalf!” God is writing you a prescription for silence. This prescription is filled when you slow down and get quiet before God—what seemed so complicated and impossible will become absolutely doable through Him and His strength!

2. The Decision To Get Alone With God: Solitude

Technology keeps us from getting alone with God. If we don’t know how to be alone, we’ll be lonely! What if God wants to share something with us, and that the only way we can hear Him is to be alone with Him in solitude? Jesus modeled it for us in Mark … 

Mark 6:30-31 NIV says, “³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 

I believe this is the same invitation that Jesus is giving us: “I love you, you’re serving me, you’re working hard, and you’re caring for your family and friends. But I need you to come with me, to be alone in a quiet place, and to get some rest.”

I started walking around the Retreat Center and found stations, showing all the things that Jesus endured before heading to His ultimate sacrifice. It forced me to slow down and consider, with fresh eyes, what God had done. I started talking to Jesus about each of the places: where He was beaten and bruised, where Simon of Cyrene picked up the cross for Him, and where He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” As I walked to each of the station, I experienced His love for us—His love for me! This longing inside my heart, to be alone with Jesus, was calling me closer to Himself. I feel that if we slow down, we will feel that same longing—really a call from God: “If you will draw near to me, I will draw near to you.”

I came across a grotto: a beautiful picture of Jesus on the cross, a statute with a backdrop of a beautiful jungle behind it. It took my breath away! At the foot of the cross were rocks on which people had written their sins—I wrote out my sins and confessed them, and knelt before the cross. As I did so, I received His love and forgiveness, and felt His presence as I haven’t felt in a very long time. Intimacy with God is provided through what Jesus did for us on the cross. In that moment, He asked me a question that I want to ask you, “Will you live distant from me, or desperate for me?” Going deeper means getting desperate. If you want to step into the fullness of what Jesus provided for us on the cross, we must live deeper in the Lord—getting desperate for more of Jesus. What we had won’t work anymore. God wants to give us a fresh word; this series is about our desire to walk the straight and narrow road. Let’s get closer to Jesus NOW!

[End Video]

I was reminded of how much our God wants to talk to us! The whole reason He sent His Son is to have a relationship with us. The more I slow down and get quiet before God, the clearer I can sense the impressions (that little nudge of God) on my heart—above the noise of the world. Let’s practice stillness and silence, open your hands, and give Him all your fears, stresses, and worries.

Regardless of what you have prepared for the holiday season, the best present is His Presence! His Presence will prepare you for what life throws at you—the whiplash effect!

Mark 6:32-34, NIV says, “³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

The people were desperate and hungry for more of Jesus, so when they recognized them on the boat, they ran and got to where Jesus and the disciples would land. The disciples’ hearts probably sank as they saw the crowd because they were thinking of having some alone time with Jesus to rest, relax, and eat! But when Jesus saw the large crowd, He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and kept ministering—He did not rest!

In order to keep going, we must keep going back to the Lord. You may not have 24 hours—but maybe 24 minutes? During your commute to work, bike ride, etc., instead of turning on the radio, turn it off and tune in to what Jesus might want to say—then we would be able to handle the whiplash effect (from quiet to chaos; peace to panic; nice to massive need). That is life! 

We need to be able to pivot to where God is asking us to minister. If we are on empty, we will not have anything to offer; so take the moments you have, and make the most of them. It’s very simple—just unplug from everything and be ready for the collision—life is full of those moments. If we schedule times alone with God (during pockets of time), we will be ready to pivot when whiplash effects occur!

One of the ways to do that is through Life Journaling: a core part of who we are at New Hope—you will hear the voice of God and tune in to what He is saying! I want to encourage you to join a Life Group or start a Life Group, and we’ll give you a Journal. During the month of November, under the Ohana tent, we will walk you through the journaling process of the Word of God.

This is important because, I believe, God is bringing us into a season of harvest at New Hope! We may be tired and weary as the disciples were, but God is saying, “I want you to be a part of what I am about to do!” Nick Vujicic will be here to begin the first of a three campaigns to reach the harvest of the islands—we will host the first campaign next week, November 6-8, 2018. 

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. What was the purpose for Pastor Jon Burgess’ 24-Hour of Silence retreat?

2. What happened to him when he unplugged from the world?

3. Share one of the lessons you received from Life Journaling.

4. What are the two disciplines to simplify our lives and get Closer to God?

5. Explain the Whiplash Effect.