One of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and this community over the next few months is being in one of our Epic Groups. There tend to be four reasons that can keep us from being a part of one:

• I don’t have time – we all make time for what matters. And this matters.
• I don’t need anyone else – Jesus needed His people…so do you.
• I can’t trust anyone – You shouldn’t trust everyone, but you must trust someone.
• I can’t let people know the real me – Please care more about the real you than the you everyone thinks you are.

I’ll never forget the first time I had an employee take time off for a “self-care” day. I’m thinking, a what? Is there something wrong with you? Don’t you love your job and this calling that God has given us? And I literally had this thought – this person must not care about the mission as much as I do. And now all of you are thinking, “I don’t ever want to work with this guy.” But thankfully I’ve learned this:‍

If you really care about the mission God has given you, you’ll need to take care of yourself.‍

I had to ask this question that I want to ask you as well:‍

How much damage have you done to yourself and to others because you haven’t adequately cared for yourself?

But self-care isn’t an end in itself. It is a means to living the life and accomplishing the purpose that God has given us. So, how do we make sure that we take care of ourselves, while also making sure that we don’t become obsessed with ourselves? I’m calling this message, “Self-Care or Self-Obsession”.

As we walk into today’s moment between Jesus and his disciples, we really need to know what’s been going on. Jesus has sent his disciples out to preach, drive out demons, and heal the sick. They have obviously been doing a lot. And during this time, John the Baptist has been beheaded. You can only imagine they are exhausted and grieving. That’s a brutal combination and it’s something we’ve experienced much of over the last couple of years. ‍

Mark 6:30-34 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. ‍

Following this moment, Jesus is going to feed 5,000 plus people. I’m going to save this part for February 13th – the day we literally turn 11 years old as a church. I’m going to call that message, “More than Enough”.

The disciples are telling Jesus about all they have done and taught. But the people are still coming to them. And they don’t even have time to eat. Jesus recognizes this and He knows something must be done. 

Have you been in a season where you don’t have time to eat or to go on a date/trip with your spouse?  Or play with your kids? Or catch up with a friend?  Or even to pray?‍

Jesus knows He must sustain us if we’re going to fulfill our mission over the long-term.‍

I don’t know about you, but it’s so easy for me to derive my value from what I produce and accomplish. And you can imagine the disciples wanting to please Jesus. I mean, who doesn’t want to please Jesus? But Jesus knows that too much is too much. So he invites them to disengage, even from the mission He has for them to accomplish. And as we hear his invitation to his disciples, I want us to receive it as His invitation to us.‍

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”‍

Come with me – This isn’t just about downtime or time to relax. This isn’t just about solitude. It’s about being with Jesus.

‍Are you being with Jesus or only doing for Jesus?‍

By yourselves – If your vocation includes impacting people – coworkers, customers, groups of people that you lead within Epic Church – it will be tempting to think that you can’t be away from people. After all, they are your calling. But I have found that getting away with Jesus by myself is the only way I can actually give the people I serve the best of me. It’s counterintuitive. It’s like the couple who doesn’t think they can have a date night because they can’t be away from their children. If you do date nights right, you’ll be a better parent to your children.

To a quiet place – We live in a noisy world and it’s easy for us to bring even more noise into our lives. But there are some things that can only happen in the quiet places. As we talked about during a message on solitude, Jesus knew He had to go to quiet places as well.‍

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.‍

How are you removing the noise? How are you removing yourself from the noise? Change your relationship with your phone. If you have no boundaries when it comes to your phone, I can promise you you’re not fully living into God’s vision for your life. In the morning, don’t touch it until a certain time or until you’ve spent time alone with Jesus. At night, put it to bed early. ‍

Psalm 131:1-2 My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.‍

We need to stop concerning ourselves with all the things, all the time. Let’s wean ourselves from the things we’ve been depending on. Bring calm and quiet into more of your life.

And get some rest – This pace isn’t sustainable. God gives sleep but we can ignore it. God offers us the Sabbath but we can neglect it. ‍

“In such demanding contexts, unless we are deeply sustained by the resources which only Christ can give us, we are all too likely to lose our way, and perhaps even our vocation.” - Ian Cowley, The Contemplative Minister‍

What rhythms do you need to put into place to sustain your mission in life?‍

At first, this can seem self-serving…but it shouldn’t. Shauna and I love what God has given us to do – raise four teenagers, write books, lead this church, do a podcast, and more – all in the fascinating city of San Francisco. We accept these assignments, but we are also honest about what we need to sustain ourselves so that we can make a difference in the lives of others. We need to observe the Sabbath weekly. We need date nights. We need time away – as an entire family and as a couple. We need a home that feels like a refuge. We need close friendships. And we need boundaries. What do you need to sustain what God has called you to give your life to? ‍

If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. But if your purpose in life only involves taking care of yourself, you’ve missed the point of your life.‍

Jesus takes the disciples to a remote place. When he arrives, a large crowd is already there. What is He going to do? The whole point of going to this location was so no one could find them. How do we know Jesus wasn’t making self-care an end in itself?

When he saw a large crowd, Jesus wasn’t frustrated or angry. He had compassion on them. If his self-care was about self-obsession or self-absorption, compassion would have been the last emotion He would have had when seeing the crowd of people waiting for Him.

They were like sheep without a shepherd. They had no one to lead them or guide them. Look at this connection between what having Jesus as a shepherd means for us.‍

Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.‍

Though we see Jesus deny himself rest to take care of this crowd, even He knows He can’t operate in that way forever. So after he feeds 5,000 plus people, notice his next move.‍

Mark 6:45-46 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.‍

He MADE his disciples disengage from the crowd, the ministry, the miracle moment. And then Jesus left the crowd. He disengaged. He was alone, but not to simply be alone. He was alone with His Father…knowing this is the only way to sustain the mission of His life.

We’ve looked at how we should have compassion for others just like Jesus did. But what is Jesus showing us for how we should approach Him? He’s showing us that He isn’t too tired or overwhelmed for Him to have compassion on us.

This is such good news. You aren’t a bother to Jesus. He wants to be your Shepherd. He isn’t wanting to get away from you. His heart is going out to you. He isn’t in your life because He has to be…but because He wants to be. This is what good shepherds do. ‍

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”‍

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Even when he’s tired. Even when he’s hungry. Even when it leads him to a cross. He sacrifices Himself to provide for the sheep. To provide for you. Have you placed your faith in Him? You can right now. Hands. Card.

How’s your current pace? Are you telling yourself it’s only for a season, when in reality, it’s become your life?

Practices – care for sake of mission. Not for sake of self.

“Come away with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest. This is how we’re going to sustain the mission I have for your life.”

Communion: Jesus has laid down his life for us. We want to remember that today through the experience of communion. In a moment I’m going to pray and the band will begin playing. If you are a follower of Jesus, you’re invited to the communion table. You can come pick up the elements and then wait for me to lead us through this moment. As we take of the bread and the juice, let’s thank Jesus for laying down His life for us and for caring for us. And then let’s tell Him because He cares for us, we are able to fulfill His mission for our lives.