Almighty God, Our Father; I thank You, for giving Your Son to die for us.
I can't imagine the depth of Jesus dying in our stead.
Your Love for us is without measure.
Jesus, bore the nails that we should have borne.
He hung upon the cross so mercilessly.
His body was scourged without mercy, to obtain mercy for us.
They spat in His face. They buffeted Him.
He was drained spiritually, emotionally, and physically in Gethsemane.
He wept so bitterly.
He cried aloud; so painfully.
He shed His blood plentifully. He shed it for us; pitiful sinners.
He suffered death unquestionably.
I give my mind in thankfulness.
I give my tongue in praise.
I give my hands in service.
I give my feet, to run errands of mercy.
I give my lips in praise.
I give my eyes to watch for Our Lord’s return.
I give my all, to Your glory.
Now, Father God, I commend myself to Your love. You commended Your love towards us, while we were yet sinners.
I surrender myself, to the power of Your passion, to the depths of Your endless mercy.
Father, in your immeasurable pity,
keep alive within us, the memory of Your Son's bitter death.
Keep alive within us, the memories of His holy wounds,
so that in sickness and in health, we may remember His mercy.
Father, defend us from all danger,
and keep us; so that we may stand before You in joy.
Bless our souls, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thank You Lord, for accepting the blood of Jesus, as a ransom for our sins.
Amen.
Good day, my brothers and sisters. I hope that this day finds you blessed and in a good state of mind.
Our message today comes from,
Luke 22:39-46
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying,
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
The title of my message today, is;
Prayer, Under Pressure
What a scene this was! Here is the most tragic scene that earth has ever endured.
I invite you to remove your shoes and journey with me, upon this morsel of holy ground. Our Lord is about to deal with His most fierce trial, in a Garden call, Gethsemane.
No one is exempted from the crushing pains of Gethsemane. Gethsemane in Hebrews means olive press or oil press. Gethsemane can be almost anything that presses us.
The name Gethsemane, is only fitting, since olives are crushed to make the best oils.
Cancer, depression, sorrow, disappointments and even death; are all Gethsemanes that we must all face. Many of you are in Gethsemane; right now. You're battling sickness. A family member has suddenly turned up sick. The constant violence is frustrating you. Bill collectors are harassing you. Someone, is disrespecting your intelligence. Your husband, your wife or children are acting up. Life has become, oh; so frustrating.
This is a Gethsemane age. My friends, we're all in Gethsemane; one way or another.
Come now, let's peep inside.
Let's walk quietly; behind Peter, James, John and Jesus.
It's eerie dark. I can hardly see my feet.
But His word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I am watching the rhythm of every step.
I see God's Son. But the natural sun is hidden behind the quilt of darkness.
But I see the only Son, I need to see. He's bruised and battered.
The clouds are so behaved. The dark and the light ones, are all still. My friends; no cloud is moving.
I am watching Jesus.
He keeps falling down and getting up. Now it looks like, He's down for the count!
But oh my God. It looks like He's praying.
The grass is so soft and inattentive.
There's a bright Lily that's smiling amid, this mysterious and dark garden.
The wind is blowing with a silent ease.
But Oh, My God!
Peter, James and John are sleeping.
I can't believe my eyes. How could they? How could we? Everything seems so still.
The clouds are hesitant to move.
The lake is listening. The cricket is hushed.
Even, the frog has stopped croaking. The grass is prostrated. The olive trees are bowed before our bowed Lord. The stars are waiting to blink. They are on edge! They can't wait to burst forth.
Oh, but humanity, is sleeping.
I must remain attentive, to see what our Lord is teaching us.
May I pause to say; Jesus, I love You! My friends; I can't help myself.
No one should ever forget the pain of Gethsemane. No one should ever have the gall to reduce the suffering of our Lord to an Easter egg hunt or a chocolate rabbit.
Considering the great war that our Lord was in the midst of!
How can we commit such a horrible injustice?
Note, how Jesus faced His most horrible trial!
Should not we do the same? He goes to a solitary place; a place of prayer. He goes to His war-room to pray. He seeks not simply seclusion but inclusion with both: His Father and His friends.
He was oppressed with great grief and overwhelmed with terrible anguish. But prayer remains, His most formidable option. It was a peculiar change from the fellowship of the supper, to the loneliness of the garden.
The mountain naturally leads to the valley. It is the rhythm of human life. Sometimes we’re up and sometimes we are down.
Let us ease closer, as we enter the holy place where our Savior’s sweat poured out, like great drops of blood.
The physician calls this rare occurrence, hematohidrosis. It is a condition where a person excretes blood and sweat concurrently.
It usually occurs when a person is under great stress or possibly facing his own demise. It’s amazing what our Lord Jesus did for us. When life was at its worst: it should be noted that His answer was PRAYER!
Here are several things we can learn from the Master’s War-Room:
I. He Went to a Familiar Place to Pray.
(vs 36) (Jhn. 18:2)
All of us, should have a praying spot.
A. Place that relaxed Him.
B. Place that reminded Him of conversation with His Father.
C. Place that revived Him.
II. Note the structure of the prayer:
• Prayer of Separation-He went a little farther
• Prayer of Partnership-He took with him Peter, James and John. Here's a life lesson. Take only your closest friends to your prayer room.
• Prayer of Excruciation: He went from the mount of transfiguration to the garden of disfiguration.
• Prayer of Prostration-He fell on His face. There are times when life will drive us to our knees.
• Prayer of Paternity- Father...
He made the right contact. Amid His worst difficulty, God was stilled called; Father. God is Father, on the Mount of Transfiguration and the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Prayer with a Condition-If you are willing. All prayer must line up with the will of God. If prayer doesn't line up with the will of God; it's out of alignment.
• Prayer of Petition-Take this cup from me. If there’s another way. Allow me to take it. But if it's the only way, I submit to Your will.
• Prayer of Persistence-He prayed the same words three times. It may be that the value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us but that we will finally hear Him. My friends; pray on it. Pray over it. But, most of all; pray through it.
• Prayer of Submission-not my will, but Thine be done. Father, let Your will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. If God doesn't bless us as we will. It doesn't mean, He isn't blessing us as He wills.
III. He Took His Friends for Comfort. (vs 36-37)
A. He needed them to share His plight.
B. He needed them to stay within His proximity.
C. He needed them to absorb some of the pressure.
IV. Friends are Helpful When we are Under Great Pressure (vs 37)
A. Peter would promise his life.
B. John would pour out his love.
C. James would pursue the Lord.
V. He Shared His Thoughts of Pressure with His Friends. (vs 38)
A. Confided in His friends.
B. Collapse before their faces.
C. Connected them with His fragility.
VI. He Confronts God Alone. (38-39)
A. They can go with Him but not for Him.
B. He must be free to fight and focus.
C. They must see that pressure drives men to their war room to pray.
VII. He Understood His Friends Weariness. (vs 43) (Lk. 22:45)
A. They were fizzled.
B. Their were fatigued.
C. They were frightened.
VIII. He Received Strength from Heaven. (Lk. 22:43)
A. He confirmed the will of God.
B. An angel came down.
C. Heaven comforted Him.
Conclusion:
In the Eden, Adam took a fall.
In Gethsemane, Christ took a stand.
In Eden, man meets himself but in Gethsemane, man meets his Savior.
In Eden, the Serpent arrived but in Gethsemane, he was evicted.
The only way around suffering is straight through it.
Every suffering Gethsemane has its strengthening angel.
Whenever life is hard, remember we are not the first to ask; is there another way?
There are 4 gardens in the bible:
We’re in one of them..
There is the Garden of Eden (garden of sin),
The Garden of Gethsemane (garden of suffering),
The Garden of Golgotha, (the garden of victory)
The Garden of Paradise (garden of Eternal life.
Which garden are you in right now?
The only one that awaits us, is Paradise.
Augustine said;
“God had one Son on earth without SIN, but never one without SUFFERING.”
Mother Theresa said;
“A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt and must empty ourselves. Give yourselves fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His LOVE than in your weakness.”
Rev. Billy Graham said;
“Suffering is part of the human condition and it comes to all. The key is how we react to it, either turning away from God in anger and bitterness or growing closer to Him in trust and confidence.”
Now that we have visited the solemn place of our Lord’s suffering; what are we going to do?
I beg you, not to make light of our Lord’s sacrifice.
How can we reduce our Savior’s excruciating pain to bunny rabbits and mere frolicking? Selah…
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say THANK YOU?
Please pray for this godless world.
Please pray for our sons and daughters in the Military on the mission fields.
But while you pray; look up and remember that our joy is that deep settled confidence that lies within the inbox of our souls.
It is that bible given knowledge that the Holy Spirit awakens within us to be confident; and to know that God is in constant control of every area of our lives.
While in Gethsemane, keep praying.
When it's hard to pray, pray your hardest.
Prayer should be the key in the morning and the lock at night.
If life gets too hard to stand, kneel.
May God Bless and keep you in His Love….
