Matthew 11:28 MSG - “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Matthew 11:29-30 NLT – “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.” Jesus isn’t offering an escape from life. He’s offering equipment for life; a way of turning a burden into a weight… What’s the difference? In Jesus’ day, ‘yoke’ meant ‘way of life’; you could also call them ‘spiritual practices’ Today: the Spiritual Practice or SOLITUDE & SILENCE There’s a right & wrong way to do solitude… One way DEPLETES our soul. The other way not only REPLENISHES & INCREASES the life of our soul Let’s check out how Jesus practiced… #1 - POST-BAPTISM Matthew 3:17-4:3 NLT- And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came… #2 – AFTER HIS 1ST DAY ON THE JOB (also his BUSIEST ministry day)… Mark 1:35 NLV - In the morning before the sun was up, Jesus went to a place where He could be alone. He prayed there. #3 – WHEN HE STARTED TO GET FAMOUS… Mark 6:31-32 NTE - ‘All right,’ he said, ‘it’s time for a break. Come away, just you, and we’ll go somewhere lonely and private.’ (Crowds of people were coming and going and they didn’t even have time to eat.) So they went off privately in the boat to a deserted spot. Mark 6:33-34 NTE - And . . . crowds saw them going, realized what was happening, hurried on foot from all the towns, and arrived there first. 34 When Jesus got out of the boat he saw the huge crowd, and was deeply sorry for them, because they were like a flock without a shepherd. So he started to teach them many things. Mark 6:45-47 NTE - At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and set sail across towards Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. He took his leave of them and went off up the mountain to pray. When evening came…he was alone on the shore. ***Luke 5:15-16 MSG *- Soon a large crowd of people had gathered to listen and be healed of their ailments. As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. Let this sink in: JESUS NEEDED time in the quiet place SOLITUDE – being alone WITH GOD & YOUR SOUL SOLITUDE = ENGAGEMENT ISOLATION = ESCAPE SOLITUDE = SAFE PLACE ISOLATION = DANGEROUS PLACE 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 MSG - Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. SILENCE – 2 KINDS; we need BOTH; one creates space for the other EXTERNAL - NO NOISE INTERNAL – NO MENTAL CHATTER What will we discover in the SOLITUDE & SILENCE? SO – HOW DO WE DO THIS?