Luke 5:16 (NKJV) So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Jesus had a habit of withdrawing from the crowd to pray alone in the presence of the Heavenly Father. His ministry was very busy, and everyone sought Him once His fame had spread throughout the villages. There will never be an end to ministry time, and there will always be many needs that demand attention. However, the tyranny of the urgent did not dictate Jesus’ actions— He had His priorities right. Therefore, He chose to leave the crowd, the endless crying needs of mankind, and withdrew Himself to be in God’s presence to pray alone. Jesus practised this discipline frequently by intentionally withdrawing from the crowd into the wilderness.
Choosing to be alone with God is a deliberate decision. Our tasks will never be fully completed, so we must prioritise what is truly important: to be God’s presence. If we let our busy schedules dictate when we have time for the Lord, we will never find the time. Likewise, we need to intentionally set aside moments to be with the Heavenly Father regularly, as this begins in the quiet place—our closet—where we meet with God and He meets with us. No longer will you only hear about others’ encounters with God, but you will have a genuine and personal experience with Him.
The Lord is calling us away from our preoccupation with ourselves and our busyness to focus solely on Him. He reveals the things He has stored for us in the secret chamber. He will speak to us.
We all need God’s wisdom on how to handle various situations and the people we work or interact with, but we must first listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us before we speak out or act on what we have heard from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 10:20 (NKJV) for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
In the above Scripture, Jesus was referring to the abilities of the Apostles after His resurrection because the Holy Spirit would not come until He had ascended to be with the Father. The new era in which we as New Testament believers find ourselves now is for all His children to be led by the Spirit of God. This was also something new to the Apostles because they no longer had Jesus with them after His resurrection.
We are used to operating in the realm of the soul, which comprises the mind, emotion, and volition. Our natural mind cannot understand spiritual matters unless it has been renewed with the Word of God. If our mind is not renewed, it will hinder us from receiving from the Holy Spirit that which is spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit within us communicates with our spirit man. Therefore, we must learn to tune in to His voice by prioritising being in God’s presence.
Sermon Series： The Norm in the New Era
专注聆听祂的声音
路加福音5:16 耶稣却常常退到旷野去祷告。
耶稣有一个习惯，就是从众人中退出来，在天父面前独自祷告。祂的事工非常繁忙，一旦祂的名声传遍各村庄，就会有许多人来寻求祂。事工的时间永远不会结束，人类的需求也总是层出不穷。然而，紧急事务的压力并未左右耶稣的行动——祂清楚自己的优先顺序。因此，祂选择离开人群，离开人类无尽的呼求，退到神的面前独自祷告。耶稣经常练习这一灵修操练，故意从人群中退到旷野。
选择独处与神同在是一个刻意的决定。我们的事务永远无法完全完成，所以我们必须优先考虑真正重要的事情：与神同在。如果我们让忙碌的日程安排决定何时亲近主，我们将永远找不到时间。同样地，我们需要刻意预留时间，定期与天父相会，这一切都从安静之处——我们的「密室」开始，在那里我们与神相遇，神也与我们相遇。届时，你不再只是听别人分享与神的相遇经历，而是将拥有与祂真正、个人化的亲密经历。
主正在呼召我们离开自我关注和忙碌，将焦点完全放在祂身上。祂要向我们显明，祂为我们预备的隐秘之物。祂会对我们说话。
我们都需要神的智慧来处理各种情况，以及与我们共事或交往的各类人，但我们必须先聆听圣灵对我们的说话，然后再根据所听到的圣灵指引去说话或行动。
马太福音10:20 因为不是你们自己说的，乃是你们父的灵在你们里头说的。
在上述经文中，耶稣所说的是指复活后的使徒们的能力，因为圣灵在祂升天与父同在之前还未降临。如今我们作为新约信徒所处的新纪元，是为所有神的儿女预备的，让我们被神的灵引导。这对当时的使徒们来说也是全新的，因为复活后耶稣不再与他们同在。
我们习惯于在魂的层面行事——包括心智、情感和意志。除非我们的心智借着神的话语更新，否则自然的心智无法理解属灵的事。若心智未被更新，就会阻碍我们从圣灵那里领受属灵的分辨。内住在我们里面的圣灵与我们的灵交流。因此，我们必须通过优先与神同在来学习专注聆听祂的声音。
讲道系列：新纪元的常态