"They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He *said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. And He *came the third time, and *said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"
Good Morning my beloved,
I know in the minds of some, especially those who insist that God wants you to be healthy, wealthy and happy, they simply cannot resolve the issue of God being good and loving God, a God Who controls everything, and a God that could allow His people to face such horrendous suffering and persecution. Deuteronomy 32:39 clearly says "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand." The fact that God's love for His children will not prevent a single one from suffering, sorrow and suffering has always been a part of the Christian life, it is an an unavoidable reality in the life of the Christian, in a world where unmitigated evil exists, where evil is not just present, it is pervasive. You need to understand that God has a purpose for evil, therefore, He sometimes allows suffering to demonstrate His power and at the same time, unmask the reality of evil in a world where Satan has a temporary reign over the world. However, as we learn in the book of Job, and in Luke 22:31, when Satan demanded permission to sift Peter like wheat, Satan cannot do anything with God's permission, because He is absolutely sovereign over all.
It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand." The fact that God's love for His children will not prevent a single one from suffering, sorrow and suffering has always been a part of the Christian life, it is an an unavoidable reality in the life of the Christian, in a world where unmitigated evil exists, where evil is not just present, it is pervasive. You need to understand that God has a purpose for evil, therefore, He sometimes allows suffering to demonstrate His power and at the same time, unmask the reality of evil in a world where Satan has a temporary reign over the world. However, as we learn in the book of Job, and in Luke 22:31, when Satan demanded permission to sift Peter like wheat, Satan cannot do anything with God's permission, because He is absolutely sovereign over all.
If you're having trouble accepting the sovereignty of God over everything that exists, you have a warped theology, a wrong view of God. Personally, I’m grateful that He is in charge, because it removes all cause for worry. Evil is not a disruption in God’s purposes and plans, it's actually part of it, He wills evil to exist and takes full responsibility for the evil we see unfolding in the world today. The righteousness of God is displayed when He punishes unrighteousness, that's never been more evident than on the cross. God ordained evil for His own glory. If you don't understand that, then you do not understand the righteousness of God. I won't belabor the point, you can read more in Romans 1:18 and following. It has often been said to me, "You're so dogmatic, so firm on your stance on Scripture. How can you be so sure?" Because God reveals Himself in Scripture. Scripture is His self-revelation. That's what makes the Gospel is so offensive, it's absolute Truth, whether you choose to believe it or not is completely irrelevant! As I've stated many times before, you don't get to reinvent God to try and make Him fit your standard or accommodate your sin. Therein lies the problem with the modern church, they have been so busy over the last several decades, trying to find ways to remove the offenses out of the Gospel, they've created a pseudo-Christianity that is completely void of the Truth, a sinner friendly message that won’t create any hostility or rejection from the hearer. God is God, He will do as He pleases and He certainly doesn't require man's approval.
The next thing you need to understand, is persecution is the means by which the Lord build His church. There is a very long list of those who have successfully built a false church, an organization that says it's a church, that is essentially nothing more than collection of the tares with a little bit of wheat mixed in. If a church does not acknowledge the authority of Scripture, if it does not obey Lord, it's not a church regardless of it's claims. If we look at John the Baptist, he preached a very condemning message with confidence and authority, a confrontive message of repentance with urgency that did not change depending on his audience, it was always the same message whether he was speaking to the people of Israel, the religious leaders or king Herod. The early church preached the same message, "Repent, repent, repent! That kind of a message preached with authority will get some people to sit up and take notice, but for the masses, it's going to be offensive and unacceptable. Acts chapter 4 is a good illustration of that, thousands heard and believed, while the religious rulers had Peter and John arrested. Contrary to the popular notion today, persecution does not hinder the growth of the true church, because it grows by the power of God, not the skill of men! Look at Saul of Tarsus, who relentlessly led the persecution of the early church with fury, it failed, it didn’t stop the growth of the church. He was stopped cold in his tracks on the road to Damascus by the Risen Lord saying "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" The Lord had a plan to grow the church and even Saul of Tarsus was unable to escape it. After his conversion, Paul went on to become the most enthusiastic missionary, writing thirteen books of the New Testament over the span of his ministry to the glory of God.
As Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest, most influential
preachers of all time, once so eloquently said, "The same sun which
melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to
repentance hardens others in their sins." There are many in the church who I have known for years, of whom I have often questioned the reality of their salvation, though they outwardly identify with Christ, there is no visible manifestation of that truth in their lives, they have continued to openly live in the same pattern of sin as they always have. For the true Christian, life is all about change, the deliverance from sin to righteousness is the unparalleled work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is the evidence of a justified soul. We don't hear much about deliverance from sin today, instead we hear a lot about tolerance, affirmation and acceptance, to embrace all claims to Christianity, even if those claims are self-defined. I wonder if people even know what the word deliverance means anymore. I believe in the theology of deliverance from sin because that's what Scripture teaches, a person is a Christian because the Holy Spirit has delivered them from sin and death, I realize that puts me at odds with the theology of the modern church and the whole man-centered doctrine of today and the spirit of our age. True salvation is revealed by the manifestation of a new birth, a dramatic change in the life of a sinner, a new spirit of obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit. No one can be a Christian unless he has first been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness, the error of false doctrine into the kingdom of Light, the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the doctrine of salvation. In 2 John 1:9, John makes it very clear, "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." It is unthinkable to me that God would sacrifice His Son on behalf of sinners only to leave them in the same sin that damned them! You can’t be saved unless you believe the Gospel, embracing the Truth regarding the Person and work of Jesus Christ, there isn’t any other way.
In John 8:34, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin." And in
Romans 6:17-19, Paul writes, "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification." A slave is somebody who is under the authority of someone else, he does whatever he’s told. When you are a slave of sin, Satan is your master as a result, you find your joy and your fulfillment in sin. When you become a slave to righteousness, Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master and there is a dramatic change, you now find your joy and your fulfillment in righteousness, obedience from the heart becomes the dominating force of your new life. In other words, you were delivered out of disobedience into obedience from the heart, not that that you’re perfect, but obedience becomes the dominating force of your life. If that's not true of you, if you have not been delivered out of disobedience into obedience from the heart, a you're not a Christian, regardless of what you claim. True salvation changes everything in your life, your thoughts, your voice, your speech, your actions from the inside out, that's what it means to have a new heart and a new Spirit.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Word, thank You for the clarity with which Your Word speaks, so rich in Truth. Bring Your Truth to bear heavily on our hearts, so that we would rightly examine ourselves to see if we truly belong to Christ, that we might not deceive ourselves, help us to renew our commitment to embrace the Truth of the Gospel in all its glory. Lord, if there’s not understanding of the Truth, grant us wisdom and discernment, so that we may be people of the Truth, holiness and righteousness. Thank you for the deliverance from sin and death, the deliverance produces a changed life by Your great grace. If there is any hearts among us that hasn’t been changed, that hasn't embraced the Truth of the gospel, Lord open their hearts and grant them genuine faith and repentance. We ask and pray in Christ's Name.Amen
Today's Message: Praying Under Pressure
Open your Bibles with me, if you would, to Mark chapter 14, verses 32 to 42. I trust that you will follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. This is a very important, well-known passage, found in all four Gospels, with a precious insight into the heart of our Lord, with many valuable lessons for us about the importance of prayer and a better understanding of what it really means to do the Father's will. So, let's open our hearts and our minds
to hear what the Spirit of God will say to us today. Mark 14:32-42.
"They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He *said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. And He *came the third time, and *said to them, "Are
you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come;
behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"
Let's look at verse 32, "They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." As many of you know Gethsemane is a peaceful grove of olive trees, which
means "oil press." Like most olive groves of the day, was probably surrounded by a small wall with a
gate. This is a private garden, to keep the crowds from disturbing Jesus as He prayed,
His disciples would sit at that gate, as Christ goes off alone to prepare Himself, in anticipation for the cross and the reality of His impending crucifixion, drinking the divine cup of God's wrath with prayer. Given everything He had just said to them earlier that evening, warning them that He would soon be arrested, that they would all fall away, that Peter would deny Him three times and that Satan
had asked to sift him like wheat, knowing He is going off to pray, it seems like the logical thing for them to do would be to pray, asking God to give them strength to triumph in everything that would soon happen. In Luke's account, he tells us He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." How many times our Lord has told us that if we depend on our own human strength to overcome temptation and evil, we will surely fail. We need God's grace to be victorious. If our Lord Himself needs to pray, how much more do we need to pray, as we face the darkest moments of our lives? I suppose, much like the disciples, we often learn best by failure.
Verse 33, "And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled." It stands to reason that He would leave the eight by the entrance and take Peter, James and John along with Him deeper into the garden, since they were the closest to Him, and the three main leaders of the group. He wanted them to experience first hand how He faced temptation and how dealt with His own spiritual struggle in what would be the darkest, loneliest moments of His earthly life. They needed to learn the lesson of how important it is to pray, so they can teach the others, because this is the last time He will meet with them there.
Verse 34,"And He *said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." This is grief and suffering beyond our comprehension, this is divine conflict, a supernatural struggle, unlike anything He has ever experienced, the weight of bearing the cross, the loneliness and the impending wrath
of God for all the sins of all time and the painful death He would face. He has never known sin, the wrath of God or experienced alienation from His Father. Even the thought of all this is beginning to accumulate and take it's toll on Him. We struggle with sinfulness, to do what is right because of our compelling impulses of our fallen nature, His struggle is not like ours, it the exact opposite because of His sinless, holy nature and what God was asking Him to do, to become a sin-bearer for millions of sinners and receive the wrath of God. This struggle was so immense that He was literally drowning in His grief to the point of death. Allow me to point out, that none of us are exempt from grief and sorrow, it's how we handle those feelings in prayer, drawing closer to Him that will make the difference. Until we are tried, we will never know just how much faith we have. That's why James tells us "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." What a tremendous Truth! I know from my own experience, it was during some of the most difficult times in my life, that my faith was strengthened most.
Verse 35, "And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by." Luke says, "He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, kneeled, and began to pray" falling on flat on His face. This is humble submission, He's asking His Father if there's any other way to accomplish the redemptive plan other than to drink the cup of God’s full wrath, not to avoid it altogether, as some have suggested. What our Lord is experiencing is excruciatingly painful for Him, enough to cause Him to sweat drops of blood. You can actually die from such extreme distress so great it can cause blood vessels in the skin to burst, and blood starts coming out the sweat glands, it's called hematidrosis. His suffering was so severe that it's affecting Him emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically. His suffering, it is so great that Luke tells us God sent an angel from heaven to Him to strengthen Him, preparing Him to continue forward with the divine plan of redemption, resting in the perfect will of His Father. There is tremendous power in prayer, we can pray asking God for deliverance, to spare us from something we don’t want
to go through, however, He will not remove anything that has a divine
purpose or is intended to transform you. He will provide sustaining grace to help in our time of need. The only way to discover for yourself what God says is true about His sustaining grace, is to experience suffering firsthand.
Verse 36, "And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." While all things are possible with God, He didn't want to remove it because it has a divine purpose. In spite of what we often hear today, God's Holiness demands that He punish sin. We know if Jesus
didn’t go to the cross, there would be no forgiveness of sins. No salvation means Satan wins. Even though the thought was more than He could bear, He's willing if the Father wills it. What a picture of perfect obedience, even unto death on a cross. Because the church has become the world, it has adapted the philosophy that living without restraint is acceptable to God, the church today doesn’t want to hear that obedience to the Lord is expected, it is rejected as legalism. Yet, in John 14:15, Jesus said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." And, in Matthew 7:21, He said "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." I do not believe that there are any mysteries in terms of how God expects His people to conduct themselves, it is very clearly defined for us in Scripture. It doesn't matter what the culture does, the way we are commanded to conduct ourselves doesn’t change. I believe this is very important for the modern church to recognize and understand, the issue is the condition of the heart. That's what I’m most concerned about, doing the will of God from the heart, that's why sin must be dealt with, it’s difficult to speak the Truth to this generation. I can't imagine anything being more of an embarrassment, more shameful to Christ than a bunch of professing Christians running around flaunting their sin. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul wrote, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Verse 37, "And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?" Notice that He called Peter by his old name, he was acting like his old self, with a complete lack of awareness of their desperate need for God's help to face what was coming. Luke tells us they were "sleeping from sorrow," things were not going the way they had planned. Sleep is an escape. Have you ever been to depressed that all you wanted to do is sleep? I don’t know about you, but I'm not one of those people who can escape a crisis with
sleep. If I’m in the middle of some great spiritual
conflict, that battle takes over and I'm wide awake. Sleep in nowhere to
be found. When I'm facing a spiritual struggle, I pray until the grip of that struggle is loosened. If Jesus needed to pray not to fall into temptation, for God's will to be done, what makes you believe that you're strong enough to resist Satan's temptation? I'm here to tell you desire and determination are not good enough, because the flesh is weak, it's important to recognize how desperately we need God's grace! William Cowper, one of the most popular poets and hymn-writer of his time rightly said, "When we don't pray, we quit the fight. Prayer keeps the Christian's armor bright. And Satan trembles when he sees. The weakest saint upon his knees." I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that Peter, James and John fell asleep, after all, they fell asleep at the transfiguration.
Verse 38, "Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." It's sad that they didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of what was coming, so Jesus literally spells it out for them, prayer is essential to overcoming any battle. Even as Jesus was battling the greatest temptation of His life, He interrupts His prayer, because He's concerned about their vulnerability, He knows they cannot do it on their own. And neither can we! Peter finally got, I believe he has this in his mind when he writes in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Verse 39, "Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words." I imagine He agonizingly repeated those same words over and over for hours, still wanting to be obedient to the will of the Father, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." I believe we can all learn a valuable lesson from Jesus, prolonged prayer is where we can always find the spiritual strength to overcome any battle. The disciples failed to pray and they didn’t have the spiritual strength to overcome, they were overpowered by Satan's devious tactics. It's worth mentioning, in Jesus' first temptation He turned to the Word, and in the second greater temptation, He turns directly to God in prayer. I have personally witnessed God strengthening many people through the power of prayer, to overcome just about every kind of temptation of sin. I don't claim to know what sin you may be struggling with, but I do know you have no power to resist it on our own for very long, none of us do. If you want triumph over temptation, keep your eyes open and keep praying until the temptation to sin is replaced a new affection for God's Word.
Verse 40, "And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him." Unbelievable, even after He warned them to stay awake and to pray, He found them sleeping again. I cannot stress this enough, we must learn to understand our own weakness. They had no excuse, no wonder they did not know what to answer Him. What could they possibly say?
Verse 41, "And He *came the third time, and *said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners." Matthew tells us that He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time and here we see a third time He found them asleep. Shocking, isn't it? It's makes you want to ask, "Are you really so wrapped up in your own self-pity that you are completely unaware what you're about to face?" You can really feel His frustration with them, "It is enough; the hour has come." It is enough, because the last temptation is over, He is resolved to do what His Father has asked Him to do, He knew from the beginning He must die on the cross and suffering for our sins, that we might be forgiven. "The hour has come;" meaning the hour of redemption has come, it's here. "Behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners." Notice He uses the word is, that because He sees them coming up the hill and Judas is leading. Obviously, they do not notice. The lesson here is if you're not aware of what's going on around you, the enemy is going to catch you off guard.
That brings us to verse 42, "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" He isn't running the other direction, He's ready to confront His foes head on, going toward them, not as victim, but as Victor. He has overcome temptation with strength! Jesus went into the garden grieved to the point of death, and He emerges strengthened, ready to go to the cross. What a dramatic contrast to the weakness of the disciples. How do we know He went towards them? John 18:4, "So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, "Whom do you seek?" He went to meet them face to face. And in verses 5-6, "They answered Him, "Jesus the Nazarene." He *said to them, "I am He." And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground." The effect was far more than most people realize, all of them fell to the ground at the sound of His voice. Does that sound like someone ready to flee for His life? As a footnote, a Roman cohort typically consisted of about 600 men, there were 10 cohorts in 1 legion, which consisted of 6,000 men. However, that number varied depending on the situation. Anticipating some sort of revolt, a negative reaction from the crowds due to His popularity, there may have been as many as a thousand of them or more, that's why they came with swords and clubs, plus Judas, who was betraying Him and the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, all the officials.
By the way, I believe that Jesus gives the same command to "sleepy saints" today; "Get up, let us be going, it's time to start witnessing!" Gethsemane reminds us that Christianity isn't about self-fulfillment, it's about surrender, sacrifice and self-denial, for the sake of the Gospel and the One Who would rather go through Hell for you than go to heaven without you!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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