“Mums the word”

The Disciplines of Christ - Part 11

The Art of Silence

Intro: Silence is golden, a proverb used since the ancient of times. It means that there comes a time when circumstances are such that the best thing to do is not speak. We’ll see that in this week’s story as Jesus demonstrates this discipline with divine control. This discipline of silence plays off last week’s discipline of Rest because usually this discipline is linked with Solitude. But as you will see today, the true SELF-DISCIPLINE of SILENCE is most difficult to practice when in the company of others. 

The Discipline: Silence for the purpose of Godliness.

The art of Silence

It should be no surprise that this discipline can be a struggle for those who love to talk. However, even for the man of few words this discipline can be difficult. For whether you’re more of a talker or a listener, there are often occasions in life when we must bite our tongue, sometimes so hard we need a kleenex to dab the blood as it drips down the edge of our mouth.

As this discipline pertains to Solitude and Rest, many practice this to attain certain spiritual goals…goals like seeking God’s will on a major decision in life. Or perhaps one’s life has gone astray and therefore they might use this discipline to help get back in tune with God. Therefore, they may also read scripture, pray, and meditate during their quiet times. Hopefully by now you are seeing how the disciplines overlap.

Now for the sake of this lesson, the D90X version of the art of silence comes from all the Godly mothers who have ever walked this earth. Momma’s advice, " if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything all". While we’ve all heard it before, don’t knock this as sound spiritual advice. It’s been my experience that most Christians don't practice this discipline too well. This Bible says this discipline will help keep you from sin. Proverbs 10:19 (NLT) -Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

As you will see in today’s story, this discipline is more than just biting your tongue, but it’s also learning when to speak and not to speak. Consider the warnings of James, “ ⁵Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell ^{James 3:5-6}. So take heed of James warning, and look for the wisdom of God in this week’s story.

The Story - King of the Jew vs king of the jews. (Luke 23:7-12^NIV)

 

 

 ⁷ When he (Pilot) learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹ He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

Questions to Consider: Why do you think Jesus didn’t answer Herod? What do you learn of Herod’s character in the text above? In light of this, how does the following proverb pertain to Jesus situation? Proverbs 26:4-6 (NIV) - ⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

 

Helpful Commentary: Jesus has never met Herod, but the readers of Luke have – several times. We meet him when he beheaded John the Baptist, all because of a drunken promise to his teenage step-daughter whose lewd dance delighted his perverted guest. We meet him again when he confessed Christ to be a mysterious miracle worker with the power of the beheaded Baptist. Another time we learned that he wanted to meet the Master. Some Pharisees warned Jesus about his intentions, and Jesus called him an insignificant she-fox. The general tenor of these Herod texts is that Herod is dying to meet Jesus and Jesus will likely die if he does.

Herod Antipas is only one of four Herod’s of Luke’s two volumes (Acts in v.2). The first is Herod the Horrible. He tried to “meet” Jesus too, but his parents stole him away to Egypt. The other baby boys of Bethlehem were not so fortunate. The second is Herod the Antipas, already mentioned (the murderer of John the Baptist). The third is Herod the Agrippa of Acts 12. He is the one who killed the first apostolic martyr. Under his cruel devices James lost his head and Peter only narrowly escaped. From these first three we learn that whenever Jesus or his associates stand before a Herod they die.

Luke is the only writer to record this Herod encounter. Clearly he is drawing parallels between Jesus and Paul in his Gospel and Acts. He is showing that the trials of Jesus mirror those of Peter and Paul. By extension, they also give us a model to follow in our own suffering. In other words, what Jesus goes through, we can also expect to endure. How he handles himself is a pattern for our own actions. Most striking along this line is Jesus’ silence. He chose not to defend himself, like a lamb before its shearers (Isa 53:7). The King of the Jews refused to talk to the king of the jews. He chose faith in God above personal vindication. This may not mean that we never speak out on our own behalf. But it certainly means that the pattern of our lives is faith in God rather than manipulation for our own advantage.

            ^{Mark Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 191-193}

Further Reading:  Habakkuk 2:20; Mark 6:31

   The Application Questions:  

1)    How can the discipline of Silence and Solitude teach you tongue control?

 

2)    What people do you find it hardest to hold your tongue with?

 

3)    Tell a story of a time you stuck your foot in your mouth.

 

4)     GROUP DISCUSSION:   Take a census of the group, who is talkative and who is not. For those who struggle with talking a lot, TALK about your struggles to bite the tongue. For those who seem to be quieter (less talkative), are there any situations where you find yourself having trouble holding your tongue?  Most people who have trouble talking in groups or in public usually won’t find it hard to talk up at home.  If so, do you find yourself ever ridiculing your spouse/family or snapping at them when you should have just kept silent?

 

5)    Some people who might not be vocal publically find a new courage to speak up with social media. The same principles of the integrity of silence should be practiced here. How have you abused social media in this way or how have you seen it used?

 

Strengthening your discipline of Silence:

1)    Minute retreats: Think about the moments of silence you have available every day to you, being put on hold, standing in line, waiting in traffic, ride in the elevator, etc… SO take those minutes--those moments and use them as an opportunity to embrace the silence. Take a few deep breaths, acknowledge your Creator, and seize the moment of peace. Try that instead of surfing Fb or the web on your phone.

 

2)     Quiet Places: Follow Jesus example ( Mt, 4:1; Mt 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42).  Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place for prayer, silence, and solitude. Establish times and place to withdraw for quiet time. However, keep in mind, sometimes you don’t need solitude, you just need a place that is quiet. The local library or coffee shop or bookstore usually are good options.

 

3)    Noise: List the noise in your life, job, TV, social media, family, kids, etc… And list the amount of time you spend with these noises. OK, now you’ve made your list, take a day a spend it without all of those noises in your life.

 

4)    Trade off responsibilities: If you’re married, trade off on responsibilities to make sure each of you has time and space for quiet time.

 

5)    Prayer and journaling: Jesus was able to hold his tongue because all the time he spent in solitude with God. If you struggle with holding your tongue, if you struggle with your temper, there is no substitution to “being silent before your sovereign Lord”^{Zeph 1:7}. Use your prayer time to address these struggles with God and ask for his help. Journal about your progress in this so you can monitor your progress.

Praying through today’s discipline:  For today’s prayer time, go back and read through the supplementary text in today’s lesson and then highlight some words/phrases that speak to you and meditate on them. Get somewhere quiet and make no request of God except this, “Lord give me ears to hear your Spirit speak to me now”? And then just meditate on his words is silence and listen.

“On the Seventh Day…”

The Disciplines of Christ - Part 10

The Art of Rest

Intro: I’m beginning to write this week’s lesson 30,000 some feet in the air. I’m on my way to a Pastor’s retreat to learn about the very thing I’m writing about it. Of all the disciplines this is not one I am good at, even when I try to rest, I can’t seem to. Here I am on a plane, supposed to be “off work” and yet I find myself working. So I’m just going to write this introduction and the rest of this lesson will hopefully reflect what I learn in my next few days of my rest.

So before we continue you need to take time to do this next activity. Don’t read on. You need a piece of paper to write some things down.

 Rest Assessment:

1)    List ten things (activities/responsibilities) that drain your battery. (Think of things that carry a stressful responsibility, they’re not necessarily bad, they just take a lot of energy. Keep in mind people can be draining on you as well.)

 

2)    List ten things that charge your battery (think about things you love to do or people you love to be around)

 

I mean it, do this right now!!! Take some time and think about this. What drains your battery and what charges your battery? If you are going to live a disciplined life for Jesus, if you really want to travel the road of Godliness, then you need to know and track these activities. Because what happens when we try to live our lives on empty? Eventually, you break down. And when you are called by life’s circumstance to respond to a need, you can’t because you are out of gas.

The Discipline – Rest for the purpose of Godliness.

 The Art of the Rest

Genesis 2:2 (NLT) - On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.

 

If God rested on the 7th and if Jesus often withdrew to rest, why don't we take rest seriously? I just got back from a retreat. The trip to and from Denver was not actually relaxing. Layovers and 2 hr drive into the mountains where I about puked isn't restful. During my few days I went on a couple trails in the mountains, I trout fished, but walked a couple mile to do so. I stayed up late every night chatting with new friends. All in all I didn't get a lot rest, I got home exhausted, but one thing I did do was rest my mind.

 

Out of all 10 commandments, Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy is the only commandment that is not specifically reaffirmed in the New Testament. However, it can be said, that Jesus is now our Sabbath (Mt. 11:29); therefore, Jesus doesn’t do away with the principle of the Sabbath, but enhances it. It’s almost like every day is some sort of Sabbath because we have Christ with us always. 

 

So now when it comes to practicing the discipline of rest, we keep the OT Sabbath in mind. A true Sabbath consisted of 3 main things:  A Celebration of Remembrance (of what God had done), Honoring God by ceasing any work (making profit), and finally physical/mental rest. If we take these three principles we can simplify them into three things: (1) Ceasing Work and resting, (2) Connecting with your Creator (3) Celebration.

 

So here are some keys to explore in order to experience a true rest for the purpose of Godliness.

 

1)    Explore the difference between creating a restful space as opposed to just flopping on the coach and doing nothing.

2)    In connecting with your creator, explore the discipline of solitude. There is a big difference between isolation and solitude. One is done to withdraw from God and others and the other is done to seek God and better understand ourselves.

3)    As far as celebration goes, go back to your list at the top. Look at the things you love to do that fill you up and give you energy. But be careful, you must know the difference between experiencing pleasure and overindulging. Overindulging is usually done to cover up pain, while true Godly pleasure (whether it be with food, sex, games, hobbies, exercise, etc…) brings a joy and peace that energizes and satisfies.

  

 The Story –  Jesus visits Mary and Martha    (Lk. 10:38-42^NLT)

 

³⁸ As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹ But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴² There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

Questions to consider: What does Jesus call out Martha about? What specifically does he say her problem is? Is this lesson about not working? Does Jesus say claim the work Martha is doing is wrong? What has Mary chosen? Why is it better than Martha’s choice?

 

Helpful Commentary

After frantic preparations, the day finally arrived. The guest filed in and filled the room with laughter, jokes, and stories. The kitchen is kicked onto high gear. The guests were treated like royalty. Plates of sumptuous food were presented on platters. The appropriate articulations of “ooohs,” “aaaaaahs”, and “mmmmmms” rewarded Martha for all her hard work. The best was yet to come. Jesus had begun to teach. Martha had provided the setting. It was all so satisfying. While she shuttled between kitchen and dining hall, she caught snippets of his wisdom on the fly.

It was perfect …except for one thing. When Jesus began to lecture, Mary took a seat. She sat there wide-eyed, oblivious to the obligations she was neglecting. It was outrageous! She abandoned Martha to do the work herself. What’s worse was that she was sitting where she didn’t belong.  A woman student? It was presumptuous, irresponsible, and out of place. With each trip to the banquet hall Martha glared at Mary, trying to catch her eye and rebuke her with a glance. Mary was riveted to Jesus. Martha got angrier and angrier, until she finally erupted.

“Jesus, Mary has abandoned me to do all this work alone. Tell her to do her fair share!” Now that is a reasonable request if there ever was one. You would expect, after all, for Jesus to support a Judeo-Christian work ethic. He does not. Rather, he rebukes Martha. “Martha, Martha, you are upset and agitated about too many things.” Now isn’t that appropriate for an AMERICAN biography?! We’ve got soccer games and appointments, workout schedules and taxes, email and bills. It all seems so significant. Our Day-Timers loom large over our daily grind. It is easy enough to look back at Martha and see how foolish she was. She had God-incarnate in her living room, and she was worried about tea and crumpets! Yet stand beside her for a millisecond and will recognize the resemblance. What we fret over is no more significant. Indeed, we too have an intimate access to God that we neglect for trifles. We tinker at our worship and work out our worry. We scurry instead of dance, labor instead of listen, we plan instead of adore. How appropriate Jesus’ words still are, “Mary has chosen the better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

DEAR CHRISTAIN MARTHA, Jesus never asked for a meal; he craves a companion. He’s not impressed with your labor but with your obedience. He would rather have your ear than your programs, your heart than your hands. Certainly we’re not called to sedentary (inactive) discipleship. But the work we do must come from the overflow of being at his feet. Our work begins with Sabbath; our labor is an overflow of listening.

^{Mark Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 119-120}

                                                           

                                                          Further Reading:  Mark 6:40; Mt. 14:23; Jn 6:15

 

  The Application Questions:  

1)    Are you more like Mary or Martha? Why?

 

2)    Have you ever experienced burnout from a job, from your spiritual life, from relationships? If so, have you ever considered it’s because you never refueled. Looking back, how could you have done things differently to avoid the burnout?

 

3)     GROUP DISCUSSION:   Review the list you made above. Take time to discuss your list of what fuels you and what drains you. Everybody is different, but you might get some ideas from the group about how to better be disciplined with your rest.

 

4)    Finally discuss this next verse: Matthew 11:29-30 (NLT) - ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” What does it mean to enter into HIS rest?

 

 

Strengthening your discipline of Rest:

1)    You need to schedule your rest. It has to be intentional. True rest will refuel you. And if you are not intentional with your rest stops, you’ll pass by those opportunities and sometimes you get lucky and there is a rest stop right when you need it, but sometimes you miss the gas station pull off and there is not one for miles. You missed it because you didn’t make plans to stop. THEREFORE, it’s time to take action…take a look at the rest assessment answers you wrote down before you started. Think about how much time you spend refueling. Is it really enough? What is your needle at right now? Are you full and well rested? If you’re honest with yourself you probably run on empty more days than you think. So sit down with your calendar and schedule some refueling days and times.

2) Once you have identified things that drain you (even people who drain you) put the necessary boundaries in your life that keeps you from running out of gas. Likewise, protect the things you have identified that fill you up (again, remember to spend enough time with people who energize as well.)  It’s simple, you need the proper balance in life so that you can run in the black. The human body/soul is not designed to run on a deficit. The country can run that way, but a human can’t, it will shut down and if you do it often enough and long enough, there can be severe consequences physically, relationally, and spiritually

3) Learn what drains and fills your spouse’s tank. This can save you from a lot of arguments and sleepless nights on the coach.

4) Have someone keep you accountable (like your spouse) to not overwork and neglect God and family.

5) When choosing a career or new job, don’t choose one that will kill you. Vacations and days off are important. If those days are few and far between, be intentional with them. Don't blow off your spiritual refueling either. Your Creator created you to work, but don’t ignore your Creator. Remember Jesus is your true rest. He’s the refuel that can keep you working through the highs and lows of life.

 

Praying through today’s discipline:  For today’s prayer time, get somewhere quiet and watch the following video. Ask God to clear your head and begin to speak to what your true priority in life should be. Seek His rest and not the rest of this world.

 

 

 

Blessings,

Jason