'Come ye yourselves into a desert place, and rest a while.'
Mark 6:30-32
Come Ye Apart
.
From "Essentials of Revival," by Diane S.
Dew
Copyright © 1974, 1997
INDEX OF
BIBLE STUDY
TOPICS
Abortion
Adultery
Affliction
The
After-Life
Angels
Backsliding
Blood
Atonement
Chastening
Covetousness
Creationism
Deity of
Jesus
Deliverance
Depression
Discernment
Divine
Healing
Drunkenness
Environmentalism
Euthanasia
Evolution
Faith
False
Prophecy
The
Family
Fasting
Forgiveness
Fornication
Freedom
from Fear
Gambling
The
Godhead
("Trinity")
Gossip/Backbiting
Guidance
Hell
Holiness
The Holy
Spirit
Homosexuality
The
Humanity
of
Jesus
Inspiration
of
Scripture
Intercession
Jealousy/Envy
Knowing
God
Laying on of
Hands
Loneliness
Lying
Marriage
The
Ministry
of Music
Miracles
Obedience
Occultism
Old
Age
Pleasing
God
Pornography
Prayer
Repentance
The
Resurrection
Revelation
Salvation
Satan,
Demons
& the
Powers
of
Darkness
Second
Coming
Seeking
God
Sex,
Extramarital
Signs &
Wonders
Spiritual
Growth
Spiritual
Warfare
Suicide
Temptation
The
Tongue
The
"Trinity"
Unanswered
Prayer:
Why?
Visions &
Dreams
The
Weather
The Will of
God
Words of our
Mouth
Worship
The Written
Word
...&
more!
.
One day "the apostles gathered themselves together
unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they
had taught." All Jesus said to them, apparently not very impressed, was:
"'Come ye yourselves into a desert place, and rest a while' -- for there
were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And
they departed into a desert place by ship privately." (Mark 6:30-32)
In this day of instant-everything, it is
a real challenge to come aside from the pleasures and influences of a
20th-century society to spend time alone with the Rock of Ages, Creator of
it all.
Even within Christendom, many ministers have
wearied themselves in their "coming and going." Instead of coming "apart
into a desert place" to be with Him, they busy themselves with the externals
of religion. God is so gracious, he allows us first to taste of the fruits
of our own efforts, bitter as they are. Then, when we find ourselves
coming apart, because we have failed ourselves to "come apart," He receives
us again with open arms, back to our Restingplace. There He remained, steadfast
and always the same: right where we left Him.
The Lord may remove us far from the business
(busy-ness) of our ministry to man, that He might reveal to us a higher
realm of ministry. People sought out Jesus (Mk 6:33) because He spent time
alone with the Father (Mk 6:46). Truly anointed ministry is not the result
of personal effort or education, but merely an overflow of one's relationship
and meeting with God (Mk 6:34). When Moses came down from the mount, there
was no question as to where he had been or with whom he had spoken; the words
he had received were the very words of God. (Exo 19)
Jesus' ministry was a reflection of the relationship
He had with the Father. He did "nothing of Himself" (Jn 5:19) but spoke and
did only those things which He heard and saw the Father say and do. (Jn 14:10)
That is why He could say, when asked to "show us the Father," that "he that
hath seen Me hath seen the Father." (Jn 14:9) He was not the Father but was
such a perfect image and reflection of His Father's character and nature
in all that He said and did, that to see Jesus was to behold the Father
Himself.
It has been said that we become like those
with whom we spend time. People took note of the early disciples, "that they
had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13) His presence was evident and working in
their lives. Really spending time alone with God will change us: "...
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, (we) are changed into the
same image..." (2 Corin 3:18)
When we enter the Presence of One so holy
that He cannot behold sin (Hab 1:13), we see ourselves as we truly are. When
Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord upon His throne, the angels crying "Holy,
holy, holy," he at once became aware of his own unworthiness: "Woe is me!
for I am undone; because I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips:
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isa 6:5) However,
God did not leave him in a state of despair or self-consciousness
but changed his heart and life to such a degree that Isaiah became personally
concerned and involved with the purposes of God in the earth. "Then said
I, 'Here am I; send me.' And He said, 'Go, and tell ...'" (vv 6-8)
Many today have settled for religion without
a relationship. The external aspects of Christianity (prayer, bible-reading,
and Christian witness) have lost their vitality and have become a drudgery
to them -- while inwardly, still struggling and striving to fulfill their
self-imposed laws and regulations, they long for the spiritual rest and freedom
they once knew in Christ. One of the strongest paradoxes of Christianity
is that we must "labor (strive) ... to enter that rest" (Heb
4:11). Many have found themselves aimlessly trapped in a merry-go-round of
religious ritualism: constantly doing and going, but getting
nowhere.
Let us go on," the writer of Hebrews exhorts
us. Change costs. We cannot cling to past experiences and at the same time
reach out for more of Him. We must forsake all (even our preconceived ideas
of His best for our lives) and come to Him empty-handed and with willing
hearts. Only then can He impart to us the fullness of His grace and mercy.
Only then can He change us into what He wants us to be.
From "Essentials of Revival," Copyright
© 1974, 1997 by Diane Dew, available at cost (a ministry
to the Body, not a money-making venture)
Ordering
Information
Complete, printed and bound copies of studies (75 topics, 600+ pages, 5 vols.) may be obtained, at cost, at ...PUBLICATIONS...
Diane S. Dew, PO Box 340945, Milwaukee, WI 53234
(This is a ministry to the Body, not a moneymaking venture.)
