01 What Do You Want? (Introduction)

11:24

01 What Do You Want? (Introduction)

by Mark Gladman

Rated

5

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

160

Jesus repeatedly asks people questions about what they want, what they are looking for, what they desire, and whether they want to be changed. We often assume spirituality means learning to suppress desire. But I think Jesus was inviting us to something more difficult: to become honest about our desires. Not every desire is from God, not every desire should be acted upon, but neither should every desire be silenced. Our desires can reveal wounds, fears, loves, attachments, our vocations, and sometimes beneath all of that, the movement of God within us. This series is not about getting what you want, but about learning to answer honestly when you are asked "What do you want?" In this introductory episode, we lay the groundwork of understanding desire, and preparing to honestly come before God with an answer that requires us to also be completely honest with ourselves.

Spirituality Self Discovery Desire Christianity Emotional Healing Inner Peace Personal Growth Spiritual Journey Desire Exploration

Meet your Teacher

Queensland, Australia

Meet your Teacher

Queensland, Australia

Transcript

Hello friends. This is Mark Ludman, Also known as Brother Frederick James, Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks. Welcome to this new series. Over the next few episodes, We're going to sit with a question that Jesus asks several people in the Gospels. It's a very simple question, But I think it's probably one of the most confronting questions Jesus ever asks, If we're really honest about what it requires of us to respond. And that question is, What do you want? Or in some of the other encounters, The question comes in a slightly different form. Things like, What are you looking for? Do you want to be made well? What do you want me to do for you? They seem like simple questions, But imagine Jesus asking you one of them. You know, Not asking. What you think you want or what your family wants or what your church expects. Or what would make you look right. But just what do you want? And even to the point of not being cliche about it, What do you want? I want world peace. I want to know my purpose. All those things. Really? What do you want? That's what we're going to explore together. Now, If you've listened to some of the more recent series, You might notice that it sounds a little bit familiar. I did a series recently called The Questions Jesus Asked, Where we explored some of the extraordinary questions that Jesus puts to people throughout the Gospels. And there'll be a little bit of overlap here. We're going to meet some of the same people, Hear some of the same questions, But this series is going somewhere completely different. In the questions Jesus asked, The question itself was the doorway. We were interested in what Jesus' questions reveal about God, About faith, About discipleship, And about ourselves, But this time. . . We're going to take one particular theme and go much deeper. And that theme. Is desire. What is it that we really need? Want because I think People who see themselves on a spiritual journey can sometimes have a really complicated relationship. With desire. We can be suspicious of it. We can think that wanting things is somehow selfish. Quite often we're taught to deny ourselves, To surrender our will, To want what God wants. There's some truth to all of that, But I sometimes wonder. . . Whether we've gone too far. Because to be honest, Jesus doesn't seem particularly interested in just getting rid of people's desires again and again. He brings them into the light. He asks people to name it. What do you want? He asks them what they're looking for. He asks them whether they really want to be made well. He asks them what they want him to do for them. And sometimes what people want. Is confused. Sometimes it's mixed with ego. Sometimes it's mixed with fear. Sometimes it's wounded. Sometimes it's about status or recognition, But sometimes underneath all of that There's something beautiful, A deep longing. A desire for freedom, A desire to see, A desire to belong. A desire to love and to be loved. A desire for our lives to matter. And ultimately a desire for God. Maybe some of those desires. Are places where God is already at work. And maybe they're things that God wants to utilize somehow. So this isn't just going to be a series about following your heart. Because our hearts are really complicated places, Not every desire. Is a good one that every desire should be acted upon. Some desires need healing. Some need to be surrendered. Some of them need to be challenged. Some of them need to be purified and some maybe even need to be given permission. To come alive and we're going to do this together. And we're going to learn how to listen. We're going to become curious. About our desires and ask ourselves what's lying underneath them to notice what they reveal. About us and eventually to discern. What they might be leading us to. Because there's a big difference. Between asking, What do I want? Why do I want it? And there's another question beyond that too, Isn't there? What kind of person will I become? If I follow this desire. How might it affect my life? How will it change me? And am I ready for that? So that's where this series is going. We're going to meet people in the Gospels. Who want very different things. James and John want greatness. Bartimaeus wants to see. There's a man beside a pool. Who has to confront the question of whether he really wants to be made well. We'll meet a rich young ruler who wants eternal life, But finds out that he also wants to hold on to what he's got. Will meet a woman at another well who carries a thirst that goes deeper than the water she comes to draw. And Peter, Oh my gosh Peter, After everything that's happened to him. Peter has to discover. What he wants now, Different people, Different desires, Different lives. But the same Jesus. Maybe as we listen to these stories. And listen to our own hearts as we think about them. We'll begin to hear Jesus asking the same question to us. So before we begin properly. I'd like to invite you to do something. Don't try and answer the question yet, Just let it sit with you. Think about your life as it is right now. Okay, Not your Instagram life, Not the life that you think you have or you ought to have. Not the life that you've imagined you'd have if you'd done something different. This is the life that you are truly living right now. What's moving? Underneath that? What are you longing for? What are you reaching towards? What are you tired of maybe? What are you hoping will happen? What do you keep coming back to? What do you imagine? When you allow yourself to dream. And maybe beneath all of those things. There's one deeper desire, One thing that your heart needs. Has been trying to tell you. Because Jesus might not begin by telling you what you should want. You'll probably begin by asking you to become honest enough to discover what's already there, So. . . Let the answer and the question. Sink deeply and come slowly. Hear what Jesus said. Is asking you, What do you want? And maybe underneath that question is that more searching question. What do you really want? Want. Let's pray. God, You know us more deeply than we know ourselves. You know the desires we speak about, The desires we hide. You know what we say we want? And what we actually long for. You know the places where our desires have become tangled with fear. With ego, With disappointment, With wounds. With the expectations of others even. You know the deepest desires within us that maybe we've barely dared to name. And so we begin this journey. Asking that you give us courage to be honest. Help us to not be afraid of our own hearts. Teach us to listen. Without immediately judging what we find. Give us wisdom to recognize what needs healing. What needs surrender. What needs to be purified. And what needs to be brought more fully to life. And above all, Teach us to trust that you're not frightened by our desires. You're already there, Meeting us in the deepest places of our longing. So as we walk through these stories over the next few days, Ask us the question again and again, Slowly and gently and honestly, What do you want? And as we listen to you ask us that question and begin to discover the answer, Give us the courage to bring it to you. And may grace, Peace and love be with us as we take this journey together today and always. Our journey begins tomorrow, Friend. Until then, May grace and peace be with you. Be with you. Bye for now.