In Galatians 6:9, we are admonished, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” If we are going to enjoy a harvest, we have to have strength and stamina to make it all the way to, and then through, the harvest season.
We can gain some insight into how to maintain our stamina by looking into the lives of Jesus and His disciples. They experienced an extreme amount of pressure in their ministry — so much so that Jesus realized that the disciples needed a little vacation.
And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart 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)
The disciples had just returned from an extensive mission trip and had come to Jesus to report on their adventures. However, so many people continued to come to them for ministry that they couldn’t even take time for a simple meal. The Master realized that they needed a break. He knew that they had to “come apart” before they “came apart,” so He suggested a picnic in a deserted area on the shores of the Galilee. However, the plan didn’t quite work.
And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. (Mark 6:33)
As you would expect, Jesus’ heart of compassion overruled His hungry stomach and weary body.
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. (Mark 6:34-36)
The disciples, on the other hand, seemed to be a little less heavenly minded about the matter. When they suggested that Jesus send the people away, it was likely a subtle way of reminding Him that they had come to the deserted place for a picnic; but now the time had passed, and they still hadn’t had their break. The only problem is that their scheme didn’t work. Instead of getting rid of the people so that they could rest, the disciples wound up having to feed the multitude.
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. (Mark 6:37-44)
Since there were about five thousand men plus their wives and children present, the crowd must have certainly added up to at least twelve thousand people. This means that each disciple had to single-handedly serve a minimum of a thousand people. Then, they had to clean up after the event. The biblical record is that there were twelve baskets of fragments, meaning that each one of the disciples collected a full barrel of trash.
And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. (Mark 6:45)
On top of the unexpected serving that they had to do for this picnic which had turned into the world’s most famous banquet, Jesus commanded them to get directly into the boat and start rowing across the lake. They didn’t even get a chance to sit down before He forcefully made them board the vessel and begin to row the ship the long direction across the sea. They were busy changing hats from waiters to busboys and then to oarsmen.
And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. (Mark 6:47-48)
These poor disciples toiled at the oars from evening (just after sunset) until the fourth watch (the last watch just before daybreak). In other words, they rowed all night under very adverse conditions due to a violent storm which arose. Remember that all this was after having catered and cleaned up after the big banquet — and that they had just come off an intensive ministry schedule which had not even allowed them the leisure to grab a bite between appointments! Finally, they had what they thought would be a moment to relax; but they wound up spending their whole day — and now the whole night — laboring without the rest Jesus had offered them.
Most ministers find themselves — pardon the pun — in the same boat with these disciples, continually giving out to the needs of others. They often, like Jesus’ disciples in the above story, are never able to stop for a simple break or vacation. As a result, ministerial burnout is becoming an increasing problem within the church. It has been estimated that a minimum of seventeen percent of America’s clergymen suffer from long-term stress or “burnout.” In fact, second only to maternity benefits, the largest proportion of ministers’ medical claims goes to treating stress-related illnesses. One minister described his burnout as a result of more than a quarter century of tirelessly serving as preacher, teacher, minister, counselor, fundraiser, and administrator that resulted in “subconsciously navigating into the age-old walking on water syndrome — the notion that, because you’re a preacher, you can accomplish anything.”
Bingo! The statement brings us to the core of the matter — walking on water. It was precisely in the context of the story we are studying that Jesus did exactly this: He walked on water. Notice that Jesus didn’t seem to be stressed out at all by the vacation which didn’t happen. That is because He had a different source of strength. In John 4:34, He expressed it this way, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” Jesus knew the secret of taking a vacation from what he was doing while realizing that He could never take a vacation from who He was. He promised us that we could also come to the place that our ministry is really who we are, not what we do. Notice in Acts 1:8 that He promised that we would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses — not to do witnessing. Have you ever noticed that we always identify ourselves by what we do rather than what we are? If that’s the way God had intended us to live, He would have labeled us as “human doings” rather than “human beings.”
My family and I had gone to a beach resort in Mexico on a fishing trip. The day we had reservations for the deep-sea fishing boat, we woke up to very poor weather conditions and very choppy seas — just perfect for seasickness, which we all got! I spent most of my time throwing up. I wasn’t a very good fishermen, but we did a fairly good job of fishing for men. I was wearing a T-shirt from Nicaragua which says “Jesus is my best friend” in Spanish. Well, while I was hanging over the gunnels of the boat throwing up into the sea, the captain read my shirt and asked if I knew what it said. When I told him that I did, he replied that he didn’t think that Jesus was his best friend. He said that he didn’t want to go back to the Catholic church because of all that was happening with the Catholic priests these days. He wondered if he should go to the Mormon church. I, of course, told him “No” to that idea. Between bouts of throwing up over the edge of the boat, we talked a lot the rest of the day. He prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked us to write it down so be could pray it again later. I got him to give me his address so I could send him some literature to read. Later that next day, we stopped in a drug store for sun burn lotion because our son had gotten a really bad sunburn on the boat. Noticing an open Bible on the pharmacist’s counter, I asked the girl if she were reading it. When we discovered that she was a Spirit-filled Christian, I got the address of a church to send to the boat captain so that he didn’t have to try the Mormon church!
The secret to why He was able to walk on water and not be overcome with the stress of the ministry is found in the one verse we skipped over in our reading. Look back at Mark 6:46, “And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.” Jesus knew that to be able to give anything to the people and not to exhaust Himself in the process, He must have a renewed source from the Father. He had to separate Himself in prayer so that He would have God’s love flowing through Him as a pipeline. Even Jesus Christ Himself was not sufficient to meet the needs of the people. He could only give out as much as He received from the Father. In His own words, Jesus described His limitations:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19)
Before we look into Jesus’ little stroll across the Sea of Galilee, let’s take a quick look at this great body of water itself. The Sea of Galilee is fed by the upper Jordan River that originates at Mount Hermon. The water from this mountain first flows through the Sea of Galilee and then through the length of the country to its final destination in the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee teems with life; however, the Dead Sea — as its very name depicts — sustains nothing in its waters. The difference between these two seas is that the Galilee receives and gives — it is a pipeline. The Dead Sea has no outlet — it is only a taker. Because it is not in the ministry of giving, it is dead. We can learn a lesson from the Dead Sea: our lives will also become barren when we cease to give into other’s lives. On the other hand, the Galilee is a constant giver. From this living lake, life-giving water is pumped throughout the state of Israel to irrigate crops and service the cities.
Several years ago, during a visit to the Holy Land, constant rains made our trip rather uncomfortable. The locals insisted that we not complain, saying that without the showers, we would not have showers. The water level in the Sea of Galilee was so low due to a long drought that the intake valve for the pumping station was sticking out of the water. Every day without rain meant that the pumping system was taking out water that was not being replenished and getting closer and closer to shutting down. Without these rain showers, our hotels would soon run out of water and we would be without showers. From this sea, we learn a lesson on the other end of the spectrum: we must have a source of replenishment if we are to remain viable and vibrant ministers.
I once read a survey that indicated that the average pastor spends less than seven minutes a day in personal time with God. By personal time, I mean time spent in prayer, Bible study, and meditation totally unrelated to his ministry. Bible study while preparing sermons doesn’t count — nor does interceding for the needs of the church. Only time spend with God because He is your lord and the lover of your soul qualifies.
As we’ve already noted, Jesus Himself readily admitted that He could do nothing unless He was able to pattern it after what He saw in the person of His Father. We often mistakenly think that Jesus somehow knew everything about the Father intrinsically; however, this is not the case. Luke 2:52 explains that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, implying that He had to develop an understanding of God and that His life became increasingly more favorable to God as this understanding grew. The same is true in the life of every believer; as we expand our knowledge of God, our faith grows. This is why the Apostle Peter admonished us that grace and peace would be multiplied unto us through our knowledge of God. (II Peter 1:2) Interestingly enough, the Greek word which Peter uses here means “an all-encompassing knowledge.” In other words, we must know everything there is to know about God if we expect to live in His grace and peace.
It was in His private time with the Father that Jesus was able to see and understand the nature of His Father and obtain the pattern for His own ministry. In His personal time with the Lord, Jesus understood that God the Father was concerned that the people were like a shepherdless flock.
Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. (Numbers 27:17)
Jesus was also moved to address this need among the people.
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)
He also saw that the Father not only gave the people His living Word, He also supernaturally provided for all their human needs.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Jesus responded by not only teaching them but also began to minister to the people’s physical needs.
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. (Mark 6:41-42)
Jesus was so intent on following the Father’s pattern that He had the people sit down on the green grass beside the Sea of Galilee in accordance to the Father’s action of causing His flock to lie down in green pastures beside the still waters. But what did Jesus discover about the Father during this night which He spent in prayer on the mountain? I believe that He must have been brought to the revelation that His heavenly Father walked on water and also calmed angry storms at sea.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. (Psalm 29:3)
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. (Psalm 77:19)
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: (Psalm 104:3)
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. (Psalm 89:9)
If the Father could do it, Jesus knew that He could also walk on the raging waters and take authority over the stormy sea. In like manner, any minister who wants to pattern his life and ministry after the character of God must spend some quality time with the Father, getting to know His personality.
Let me ask you to give an honest, soul-searching answer to the question of how much personal prayer and Bible study time is in your daily schedule. I’m afraid that we would be surprised as to how many pastors — if they gave a truthful answer to this question — would have to say, “None”! I once asked a good friend of mine who is the wife of a former pastor why her husband left the ministry. Her answer was straight forward, “In all the years he was in the ministry, I never saw him open his Bible except when he was preparing for his sermon. He preached great sermons with real insight into biblical truth, but he never read the Bible for what it could say to him personally.” This former minister now works a very demanding secular job which takes at least sixty hours of his life every week and leaves him too exhausted to do anything else during the few hours he does have at home. He never goes to church and rarely spends any time with his family. His children have grown up and escaped from his life as he recuperated in front of the television and napped on the sofa after his hard day at work. He lost not only his ministry, but also his family — and possibly his own soul — because he fell into the common trap of neglecting his personal time with God. But why would a man of God willingly cut himself off from the very source of his life and ministry? Perhaps we find the answer in the very opening pages of the Word of God.
When Adam and Eve lived in innocence in the Garden of Eden, the highlight of their day must have been the daily walk they took with God. However, that all changed the instant that they ate of the forbidden fruit. As soon as they sinned, they began to try to find ways to cover themselves and to try to find places to hide when the Lord showed up. What had been the most important part of their day became the thing they dreaded and recoiled from.
In our lives, we may not be quite so blatant about our reluctance to meet with the Lord, but the same principle holds true: if we love Him, we will relish every opportunity to be with Him; if we have welcomed other things into our hearts, we will be negligent and casual about coming to Him. For example, if a person is committing adultery, he won’t want to read Bible or pray because he knows that he’ll run across the commandment that says not to commit adultery and that the Holy Spirit will reprove him for his sin. In similar fashion, the busy pastor can let the ministry become his “mistress” to the point that he will become afraid to come face to face with God because he knows that he is cheating against the God who requires that he love Him with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27) — with a love that makes any other relationship seem like hatred (Luke 14:26).
Other than Jesus, only one man is recorded as having walked on water. We know the story of how Peter failed in his attempt once he looked at the waves and took his eyes off Jesus. Just like Jesus could walk on water because He responded to the Word of God, Peter walked on the water as a response to the word of Jesus, “Come!” But first, the disciple cried out to Jesus, asking Him to tell him to come; he was drawing himself to Jesus, seeking to hear from the Master. In our own lives and ministries, we must realize that we will seldom hear the Lord’s voice if we don’t first make the effort of drawing ourselves to Him. Then we must act on and trust in His word. In Peter’s case, he began to sink as soon as he began to pay attention to the storm rather than the Master. Likewise, we will falter in our ministries if we move our focus off of our personal fellowship with the Lord. Let me suggest several integral elements which can help us develop an effective personal time with God and will prove to be a life source for our personal lives and our ministries.
First is your Bible. This book is the divinely inspired Word of God. Unlike any other religious book — the Koran, the Pali Canon, the Bhagavad Gita, or even your favorite daily devotional — it is God’s direct word to you. This is the word which you must hide in your heart if you desire not to sin against the Lord. (Psalms 119:11) I call it the owner’s manual for our lives because in it we find all the instruction necessary for every area of living. Because the answers may not be categorized and listed in the index for easy reference, we need to study the Bible and become familiar with its truths. Therefore, I recommend that the Bible be read systematically. Set a planned program of reading through the Bible so that you have a chance to expose yourself to all that it says. Three chapters a day and five on Sunday will take you through the entire book each year. Reading even one chapter a day — as long as you are consistent — is a workable approach to familiarizing yourself with the full counsel of God’s Word. Next, I would rush to say that the Bible must be read devotionally. Yes, it must be read with the accuracy of a scientific or legal document because it is the precise truth upon which the entire universe stands and functions, but it is also a love letter — the very heartbeat of a gracious God for His treasured children. We must read it with the expectancy and excitement that we would read a personal message from our lover, dearest friend, or closest relative.
Of course, the important thing about the scripture is that it must be read with intent to apply it to our everyday living. Principles, truths, and concepts are no more than good thoughts unless put into action. The Bible is actually spirit and life, and it becomes spiritual life inside us as we internalize it by meditating on it day and night as God commanded Joshua to do. (Joshua 1:8) We must become so full of its truth that our entire world view and core belief system are determined by biblical principles. We should be so filled with God’s Word that we automatically have a verse which rises inside us for each situation we meet.
A clever little acrostic to help us note the proper attitude we must have toward the Word of God spells out the word “word”: Worshipfully — read the Word with reverence
Orderly — read it systematically
Regularly — read it daily
Directionally — read it with the intend to follow its instructions
The second element in developing a daily fellowship with the Lord is prayer. True prayer is communication with Him: not just talking to Him, but talking with Him — letting Him talk back. There are many different kinds of prayer and many different patterns for developing a lifestyle which incorporates all of them into our daily prayer life. Remember that prayer is not just a shopping list, nor is it just spiritual warfare, nor is it just a time to speak in tongues; it is a time of personal fellowship with God. Address Him not only with the respect He deserves as Creator of the universe, but also with the intimacy He desires as Redeemer of your soul; then listen for His response with the readiness you show to your employer and the rapture you experience with your most cherished loved one.
Faith is the third element I’ll discuss, though it may well deserve to be in first place. Without it, it is impossible to even come to God. (Hebrews 11:6) I know that when we mention faith, all sorts of fireworks start exploding in our minds. We all have pictures and images in our minds of “faith.” For some, it is getting great sums of money miraculously; for others, it is seeing diseases suddenly disappear before their very eyes. But let’s be a little more down-to-earth if we can. The scriptures teach that we all have been given a measure of faith; and since we aren’t all seeing our water bottles suddenly change color, there must be another definition for faith that we can apply to our lives. My personal favorite is found in Hebrews 11:11 where it is recorded that Sarah had faith because she believed in the faithfulness of God. What a wonderful way to understand our faith life: just believing that God is a God of integrity who will do what He said He will do. Of course, believing entails more than just giving mental assent to a concept; it means banking your life on it! If we know what God has said from our time in the Bible and know that He has said those things to us individually through our time in prayer, then we simply apply our faith and live like He is really going to do what He said!
Books, tapes, and sermons can play an important part in our daily fellowship time with God. However, I have opted to list them fourth because they are second-hand, predigested truth — truth that someone else has fed off of and then passed on to us just as a mother does when she breastfeeds a baby. The mother eats the meat, extracts the nutrients, and passes them on to her baby. This is, of course, a wonderful form of nourishment for the baby. Not only is it delicious and nutritious, it is also comforting. However, just as we come to a place in our physical lives where we learn to eat our own solid food, the same is true in our spiritual lives. If you saw Stephen Spielberg’s The Last Emperor, you may remember a scene where the young adolescent emperor turned to a wet nurse for milk. I’m certain that you were as repulsed as I was. However, the Bible says that all too many Christians are just like that oriental potentate — we don’t know when to give up the milk. Hebrews 5:12-14 uses this exact metaphor to challenge us to mature in our understanding and application of the scriptures. Just as we would not settle for a long-term relationship with our closest friend through only second-hand communication, we should not settle for hearing from God only through other people’s revelations in books, tapes, and sermons.
Perhaps music should not be mentioned this far down the list. Certainly it deserves to come some place further up the list. After all, David did say that it was with music that he entered into the very presence of the Lord. (Psalm 100:2) It is likely that the repetitive nature of music reaffirms the truths of the lyrics by the same principle that meditation solidifies the truths of the scriptures as we repeat and recite them. Music seems to actually be spiritual in its very nature. In fact, the very origin of music is described as having been incorporated in Lucifer, who was at that time the anointed cherub who covered the very presence of God. (Ezekiel 28:13) So again we see music closely associated with the intimate presence of the Lord. On a side note, it seems that when Lucifer became the devil, he perverted the quality of music and turned it into an instrument to bring his servants into closeness with him. Music — both sacred and diabolical — gets into the human spirit and also sets the atmosphere — either for the Holy Spirit or demonic spirits.
The next suggestion I’m going to make may surprise you: bring a pen and paper with you into your private time with the Lord. God spoke to the prophet Habakkuk and commanded him to write down the revelation he received. (Habakkuk 2:2) When you are quiet before the Lord, your spirit man is at his most dominate point, ruling over the soul and flesh. It is then that you have the clearest channel through which the Lord can speak. Surprisingly, many of the things He will tell you will be very mundane — not the least bit spiritual. Don’t be surprised if He reminds you of errands you need to run and business matters you need to settle; He is the God who is concerned about your total well being, and He wants to see that you are in control of every detail of your life. Jot these little reminders down so that, like a good steward, you can handle them as soon as you get back to your work-a-day schedule. Once He has taken care of all the petty business, He will begin to bring you into His private confidence where He begins to disclose new revelations to you. Mark down these truths for further study and meditation. This reflection will allow you an opportunity to analyze the thoughts and give the Holy Spirit occasion to solidify and clarify the message.
My last thought concerning spending time alone with God is going to seem rather out of place at first: get involved in corporate worship. The book of Hebrews admonishes us not to fail to assemble ourselves together for group worship. (Hebrews 10:25) In Old Testament language, iron will sharpen other iron. (Proverbs 27:17) We will be challenged and buoyed by others as they draw close to God. In like manner, we will also draw others into the presence of the Lord as we enter in. In scientific terms, it is synergism — the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. The biblical illustration is that if each of us can individually chase one thousand, two in unison can put ten thousand to flight. (Deuteronomy 32:30) There is also safety in numbers in that we lift one another up if we fall or falter. The element of accountability keeps us from pursuing extremes which can so easily allure us if we spent excessive time alone — even if it is in prayer and study. Accountability also protects us from failing to be responsible to uphold our commitment to regular personal time with God. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
I know that it seems that we’ve strayed pretty far afield from the story of the disciples as they crossed the Sea of Galilee, so let’s go back and finish the passage.
But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
Notice the explanation which is given as to why the disciples had difficulty: their hearts were hardened. If you will remember, the whole premise of our present study is that ministers are often driven to exhausting extremes because of the goodness of their hearts and the heart they have to serve the Body of Christ. It is amazing that when we get to the conclusion of the story we find that these individuals who had such servant’s hearts are said to have hardened hearts — a condition which prevailed in them even until after the resurrection. (Mark 16:14) In a quick survey of the Bible, we will discover that hardness of the heart is associated with not being willing to listen to and obey the voice of God. In some cases, hardness comes from outright rebellion. Probably the most well documented case of a heart hardened by rebellion was the Egyptian pharaoh who repeatedly refused to hear the oracle of God spoken through Moses. (Exodus 7:13, 8:15) King Zedekiah refused to hear the words of Jeremiah which he spoke from the very mouth of the Lord; his action which was labeled as “hardening his heart.” (II Chronicles 36:13) Ezekiel accused the nation of Israel of this condition because they were unwilling to hear the Word of the Lord. (verse 3:7) Jesus labeled the people of His time as being subject to this malady, saying that it was a work of the devil to keep them from salvation. (Mark 10:5, John 12:40) Unfortunately — as we have learned in the case of these well-meaning disciples — a hard heart can be the unexpected by-product of a heart of compassion which has allowed its focus to get off target by concentrating on the work of the Lord rather than the Lord of the work.
The very familiar story of Mary and Martha may help us bring the whole issue into perspective. Martha busied herself trying to serve the Lord while Mary disciplined herself to sit at His feet. Of the two, Mary was commended as having chosen the one necessary thing whose benefits cannot be taken away: personal fellowship with God. (Luke