Mark 14:26-42

That's what I said, I did request those first two songs and I was almost kind of scared to request a song because the last time I requested a song he made me come up here and sing it with him so I didn't know but but those two songs that were first played are two of my favorite songs and I will get a little bit more into that here in a second.

But first just to introduce myself, my name is John Hoffman. As you've heard I am an apprentice here, one of five that are currently going through the apprenticeship and I've been coming to Christ's family, it'll be a year next, next week.

So prior to that I was a police officer down in Griffin, Georgia for a number of years and for the first 21 years of my life I was an atheist.

I didn't believe in the possibility of the existence of a God and I was one of those that would say there should be no prayer in public schools and take the Ten Commandments out of the courthouse.

And then God was so gracious that he opened my eyes and granted me repentance and has made me a new creature in him.

Since then I left law enforcement because I was convicted that I had made an idol out of my career and I came up here to Cleveland to Truett McConnell College to study theology.

And my roommate's the one that brought me to Christ's Family Church and the first time I walked in I just thought to myself,

okay, gotta go, gotta go, there's too many college kids.

But this last year has been incredible and one of the main reasons, one of the main things that God has used this last year in my growth and my walk with Christ has been a lot of college students.

I have grown so much and I have come to love many of you.

And so I'm very thankful to be here at Christ's Family and I am honored and privileged to be given this opportunity this morning.

And so with that I invite you to open up your Bible to Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 14 as we continue our verse-to-verse exposition as Nathan has been so faithfully leading us for the last while.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

We come now to Mark chapter 14 and last week we saw how the Last Supper was taking place.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

And today we will start right at the end of the Last Supper scene.

And so our text for this morning is going to be Mark chapter 14 verses 26 through 42 verses 26 through 42.

Mark 14:26–42

And beginning in verse 26, God's inerrant and infallible word that is sharper than any two-edged sword and is active and living reads to us as such.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

And Jesus said to them,

You will all fall away for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Peter said to him,

Even though they all fall away, I will not.

And Jesus said to him,

Truly I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

But he said emphatically,

If I must die with you, I will not deny you.

And they all said the same.

And they went to a place called Gethsemane.

And he said to his disciples,

Sit here while I pray.

And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.

And he said to them,

My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.

Remain here and watch.

And going a little farther,

he fell on the ground and prayed that,

if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

And he said,

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 this sleeping.

And he said to Peter,

Simon, are you asleep?

Can you not watch one hour?

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

And 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 taking your rest?

It is enough.

The hour has come.

The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this time together, Lord.

And Lord, we thank you for Christ,

for what he has done for us.

Father, as we look at this night,

where this huge battle was fought in the garden,

and Lord, I pray that we will all walk away with something today.

Lord, that we will be further conformed to the image of Christ.

Lord, that your spirit will work, will fall.

Father, on us, in this place.

Father,

I just, I thank you for this opportunity.

And I pray that you will speak through me, Lord.

That you will work through me this morning.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Here's Mark Twain, the popular author and humorist.

Christ in the 1800s who once said,

the two most important days in your life

are the day that you are born

and the day that you find out why.

And I would certainly agree that there is some truth to that statement.

However, allow me to propound the reason why every one of us was born.

For the reason is the same for you as it is for me,

as it is for the person that is sitting next to you,

as it is for the seven billion plus other people living here on this earth.

For the reason why every one of us was created

was that we may worship the one true God.

A.W. Tozer,

a pastor and author from the early 1900s,

writes in his book,

The Purpose of Man,

quoting,

God's supreme purpose in making man

was to have somebody capable

to properly and sufficiently worship him

and satisfy his own heart.

Man fell by sin

and is now failing to carry out that created purpose.

He is like a cloud without water.

It gives no rain.

Like a sun that gives no heat

or a star that gives no light

or a tree that no longer yields fruit.

A bird that no longer sings

or a harp that is silent

and no longer gives off music.

Close quote.

Because of sin entering this world through the fall,

every one of us would be utterly incapable

of ever fulfilling our created purpose

had it not been for one man

who fulfilled his created purpose

for coming to this world

which was to give his life as a ransom

for many.

And because of the atoning sacrifice

of Jesus Christ,

those of us who are Christians,

those of us who are born again

by the power of God's living and abiding word

can now begin to fulfill

our spiritual worship

which is to worship God in spirit and in truth.

And as Christians,

Romans chapter 12 tells us

Romans 12 · chapter mention

that our spiritual worship,

more specifically,

is that we may present our bodies

as living sacrifices,

holy and acceptable to God.

To not be conformed to the things of this world,

but to be transformed

by the renewal of our minds.

We are called to live a life of humble submission

to God's will.

To wage war against the desires of our old nature.

To become more like Jesus Christ.

And in our text this morning,

that is what we will discover

as we look at the most important night

in the life of our Lord,

which is in fact the last night

that He lives through

before He gets crucified.

This is a night that is filled with

a variety of emotions.

So much drama,

betrayal,

disbelief,

arrogance,

pride,

fear,

sorrow,

action,

and the greatest war

with the highest stakes

ever hanging in the balance

between two possible choices

presented before the Lord,

Jesus Christ,

on this night.

And as we look at this text before us,

the most important thing

that we all need to walk away with

this morning

is that we all need to be

more like Jesus

in our submission

to God's will.

And for us today,

I speak particularly

of that part of God's will,

which we are told in

1 Thessalonians 4,

1 Thessalonians 4:3

verse 3,

which states that

His will is our sanctification.

And so what I mean by

submission to God's will

as pertaining to us

is that we must,

as we are called to do,

work out our salvation

in fear of trembling.

We are to wage war

against our flesh

and the desires therein

and walk in the Spirit.

And in our text,

we will see both

a perfect example

of this type of summation

and the complete opposite.

And so I've divided this text

into four headings,

and the first heading

is encompassed by

verses 26 through 31.

Verses 26 to 31.

And in these verses,

I want you to first notice

Peter's prideful resistance.

Peter's prideful resistance.

Beginning in verse 26.

And when they had sung a hymn,

they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Now, we initially find ourselves,

like I said,

at the end of the Last Supper,

in the upper room.

Mark moves very quickly

through this scenario.

So I just want to give you

a quick glance,

if you would,

at the scene presented before us

through the lens

of the other gospel accounts.

before we go any further.

The amount of emotions

that are running

through the upper room episode

are just profound.

It starts with Jesus

reclining at the table,

telling his disciples

how he earnestly desires

to eat this Passover meal

with them.

They begin the celebrations,

and they are all reclining

at the table and eating.

When Jesus suddenly drops

the bombshell

that he will be betrayed

by one of them.

And as they are discussing

amongst themselves

who that one is,

they begin to argue

over which one of them

is the greatest.

They go from being grieved

and asking Jesus,

or surely not I,

to arguing about

which one is greater.

Jesus then gets up

from supper,

shows them what it means

to be a humble servant,

and washes

the disciples' feet.

Jesus then announces

once again

his soon-to-come departure,

foretells Peter's denial

for the first time this night,

and we will get back to that

because the foretelling

that is in our text

this morning

is the second time

that he foretells

Peter's denial

on this same night.

And after all this,

Jesus expressing

his love for them,

pouring out his troubled spirit

that he will be betrayed.

The disciples' anguish

over the betrayal,

the self-exalting argument

over which one of them

is the greatest,

Jesus washing their feet

and making them feel

as small as they really are,

Jesus giving them

a new commandment,

that commandment being

to love one another

just as he has loved them.

After all of this,

Jesus comforts them

as he tells them

in John 14, verse 1,

John 14:1

Do not let your hearts

be troubled.

Believe in God.

Believe also in me.

He tells them in Luke 22,

Luke 22:28–30

verses 28-30,

You are those who have stayed

with me in my trials,

and I assign to you

as my Father assigned to me

a kingdom,

that you may eat and drink

at my table in my kingdom

and sit on thrones

judging the twelve tribes

of Israel.

He declares to them

that he is the way,

the truth,

and the life.

And he tells them

that from now on

they know the Father

and have seen him

because they know the Son.

He says to them,

Peace I leave with you,

my peace I give to you,

all of this happens

during the Last Supper.

They then sing a hymn

praising God,

and they leave the upper room

and start to make their way

to the Mount of Olives.

The day here

refers to the disciples

in Jesus minus Judas,

who already left

the upper room

shortly after Jesus

calls him out

as the one

who will betray him.

Now it's also important

to keep in mind

that everything

that Jesus teaches

in John chapters 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

16,

and 17,

which include

the teaching on

abiding in Christ,

using the metaphor

of the vine

and the tree branches,

the working of the Holy Spirit,

and Jesus'

high priestly prayer,

all take place

in between the time

that they leave the upper room

and the time

that they make it

to the Mount of Olives.

And I mention all this

just to show the gravity

and the vastness

and the greatness

of the substance

of the teaching

and the warnings

that they receive

from our Lord

right before

this great spiritual battle

takes place

in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And so after

the high priestly prayer,

they cross the Kidron Valley,

which is on the eastern side

of the city,

and it separates

the Temple Mount

from the Mount of Olives.

And they make it

to the Mount of Olives.

But now before

they reach

the Garden of Gethsemane,

which is on the slopes

of the Mount of Olives,

we read in verses 27 and 28,

And Jesus said to them,

You will all fall away,

for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd

and the sheep

will be scattered.

But after I am raised up,

I will go before you

to Galilee.

This is Jesus

in His omniscience

saying,

This will happen.

And listen to what

the disciples

all said to Jesus

right before,

just a few minutes

before they reached

the Mount of Olives.

In John 16, 30,

the disciples,

all in agreeance,

say to Jesus,

Now we know

that You know all things

and do not need anyone

to question You.

How quickly

they changed their minds.

It's incredible.

And Peter here

reverts to his old ways,

sets his mind

not on the things of God,

but on the things of man,

and drunk in his own

self-exaltation,

notice now Peter's

prideful resistance

in verses 29-31.

Peter said to Him,

Even though they all fall away,

I will not.

And Jesus said to him,

Truly I tell you,

this very night,

before the rooster crows twice,

you will deny me three times.

But he said emphatically,

If I must die with you,

I will not deny you.

And they all said the same thing.

And as I said before,

this is the second time

Jesus warns Peter

of his coming denial.

The first one actually took place

in the upper room

during the Last Supper.

Please turn with me

as we read in Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

In verses 31 and 34,

this is in the upper room

during the Last Supper.

And Jesus says,

starting in verse 31,

Simon, Simon,

behold,

Satan has demanded permission

to sift you like wheat.

But I have prayed for you

that your faith may not fail

and you,

when once you have turned again,

strengthen your brothers.

But he said to him,

Lord, with you I am ready to go

both to prison and to death.

And he said,

I say to you,

Peter,

the rooster will not crow today

until you have denied

three times that you know me.

Now there are a few things

I want to point out here.

Behold,

Satan has demanded permission

to sift you like wheat.

The imagery here portrays

almost a violent shaking.

Almost as it's described

in Amos 9.9

where it says,

For behold,

I am commanding

and I will shake

the house of Israel

among all the nations.

as grain is shaken

in a sieve,

but not a kernel

will fall to the ground.

And also,

something else

I want to point out here is,

where else

in Scripture

do we see Satan

demanding permission

to sift

an upright,

God-fearing man?

One example is

in the book of Job.

In Job chapter 1,

Job 1 · chapter mention

we see Satan

entering the throne room

of God

and is given permission

to test Job's faith.

And that is exactly

what is happening here.

As Jesus tells him

that Satan has demanded

permission to sift you,

this is a test

of Peter's faith.

It is a trial.

And so also,

let me state that

at this point,

Peter

was in fact

already

a believer.

He was no longer

dead in his sins

and trespasses.

He had a new nature,

capable

of loving

and obeying God.

And I prove this to you

for the sake of time,

simply by

stating

what Jesus says

in verse 32

here in Luke,

But I have prayed

for you

that your faith

may not fail.

For those

who are not

of God

have no

God-given

faith.

And so as a believer,

Peter had a choice

to make.

To either

submit himself

to the will of God

and put to death

the deeds

of the flesh

or pridefully

resist

and give

into his flesh.

And he chooses

the latter.

As he arrogantly

almost

tells Jesus,

you are wrong.

I would never

deny you.

Peter did not

heed

the countless

warnings

given to him

like the one

in Luke

Luke 21:34–36

chapter 21

verses 34

to 36

where Jesus

tells them,

Be on guard

so that your

hearts will not

be weighed down

with dissipation

and drunkenness

and the worries

of life.

And that day

will not come

on you suddenly

like a trap

for it will come

upon all those

who dwell

on the face

of all the earth.

But keep

on the alert

at all times

praying

that you

may have

strength

to escape

all the things

that are about

to take place.

And like Peter,

you and I

have that choice

presented

before us

probably

more often

than you're

aware of.

And we

ought to

learn from

Peter's

mistake

and we

should

be on

guard

and not

let our

hearts

be weighed

down with

dissipation

and drunkenness

and the

worries

of life.

So we

ought to

resist

and fight

our fleshly

desires

and temptations

and we

can learn

much

from the

example that

our Lord

Jesus

has left

for us.

And so

as we

begin to

look at

the example

that Jesus

has left

for us,

please notice

our second

heading

this morning

in verses

32-36

of Mark

Mark 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

And our

second heading

is Christ's

humble

submission.

Christ's

humble

submission.

Beginning

in verse

32,

And they

went to a

place called

Gethsemane.

And he

said to his

disciples,

sit here

while I

pray.

Now,

in Luke

Luke 22:40

chapter 22

verse 40,

we're also

told that

at the

same time

he also

tells them,

pray that

you may

not enter

into temptation.

Now,

back in

Mark

verse 33,

we continue

and he

says,

And he

took with

him Peter

and James

and John

and began

to be

greatly

distressed

and troubled.

And he

said to

them,

My soul

is very

sorrowful

even

to death.

Remain

here

and watch.

Have you

noticed the

military-like

tactical

undertones

here?

they all

go from

a steep

valley

across

the

Kidron

Valley

to the

slopes

of the

Mount

of Olives.

They go

to higher

ground.

They then

enter the

Garden of

Gethsemane,

which probably

had a wall

enclosure.

He leaves

the majority

of the

disciples in

one place,

perhaps at

the entrance,

where they

can have a

good view

of the

valley and

the eastern

wall and

of any

possible

approaching

enemies,

hostiles.

Then Jesus

goes further

in with

Peter,

James,

and John,

the leaders

of the

disciples,

almost like

in old

battles where

the warriors

would be

formed and

ready for

battle towards

the back,

and a

handful of

the higher

ranking

officers would

go into

the battlefield

to meet

and discuss

with the

enemy before

fighting

commenced.

And Peter

and James

and John

are here

told what

the details

of the battle

are to be.

When Jesus

tells them

of the

conflict

that is

within him,

that is

bringing him

to the very

threshold of

death,

and he

then gives

them their

orders,

remain here

and watch.

much like

a command

that would

be issued

to a

soldier.

But then

Jesus goes

in a little

further,

and on

his own

fights the

greatest war

that he

has ever

fought,

with the

greatest

consequences

hanging in

the balance

of the

outcome of

a choice

between two

options,

to either

humbly

submit to

God's will

or to

resist it.

And that

which was

hanging on

the balance

of those

choices

tonight,

on that

night,

was our

eternal

security.

And this

war,

with such

eternal

consequences,

it's an

internal

battle that

Jesus fought.

It was a

battle against

his own

human

nature,

a battle

against the

greatest

temptation

that he

ever faced.

For not

even the

face-to-face

temptations

from Satan

in the

desert

begin to

scratch the

surface

of the

temptation

that he

went through

in the

garden.

John Calvin

writes on the

temptation in

the garden,

we have seen

that our

Lord formally

contended with

the fear of

death.

But as he

now fights

face-to-face

with temptation,

such an

attack is

called the

beginning of

grief and

sorrow.

Hence we

infer that

the true

test of

virtue is

only to be

found when

the contest

begins.

For then the

weakness of

the flesh,

which was

formerly

concealed,

shows itself,

and the

secret feelings

are abundantly

displayed.

thus,

though God

had already

tried his

son by

certain

preparatory

exercises,

he now

wounds him

more sharply

by a

nearer

prospect

of death,

and strikes

his mind

with a

terror to

which he

had not

been

accustomed.

Close quote.

He also

goes on to

quote

Cyril,

an old

saint,

saying,

having been

made flesh,

he allows

the flesh

to feel

what belongs

to it.

And therefore,

being truly

a man,

even

Christ

himself

has the

sufferings

and fears

which belong

to

a man.

But the

word

who is

united

to

him

raises

him

to a

fortitude

which is

worthy

of God.

Close quote.

Now back

to verse

35,

we read,

and going

a little

further,

he fell

on the

ground

and prayed

that if

it were

possible,

the hour

might pass

from him.

And he

said,

Abba,

Father,

all things

are possible

for you.

Remove

this cup

from me,

yet not

what I

will,

but what

you will.

And here

is the

question

that we

should all

know the

answer to.

what was

in that

metaphorical

cup.

Because

whatever it

was,

whatever was

in that

cup,

is the

thing

that made

the Lord

of Lords

and the

King of

Kings

tremble

and seized

him with

anguish

and affected

him with

grief

and sorrow

almost to the

point of

death

that he

sweat great

drops of

blood

while in

agonizing

prayer

as he

asked that

it may

be taken

from him

because in

that cup

was the

pure,

holy,

earth-shaking,

mountain-melting,

nation's

obliterating

wrath

of God

the Father.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 23:32–33

chapter 23

verses 32

to 33

says,

Thus says

the Lord

God,

You shall

drink your

sister's

cup that

is deep

and large.

You shall

be laughed

at and

held in

derision,

for it

contains

much.

You will

be filled

with drunkenness

and sorrow,

a cup of

horror

and desolation.

Isaiah 51

17

Wake

yourself,

wake

yourself,

stand up,

O Jerusalem,

you who

have drunk

from the

hand of

the Lord

the cup

of his

wrath,

who have

drunk to

the dregs

the bowl

the cup

of staggering.

Jeremiah 25

15-16

and 27

Thus the

Lord,

the God of

Israel,

said to me,

Take from

my hand

this cup

of the

wine of

wrath

and make

all the

nations to

whom I

send you

drink it.

They shall

drink and

stagger and

be crazed

because of

the sword

that I am

sending among

them.

Then you

shall say

to them,

Thus says

the Lord

of hosts,

the God

of Israel,

drink,

be drunk

and vomit,

fall and

rise no

more because

of the

sword

that I

am sending

among you.

These are

just to

name a

few.

The

cup

was the

total

summation

of the

wrath

that we

all

deserve

for our

sins.

And Jesus

made the

choice

that night

to drink

it on

our behalf

as he

submitted

himself

to the

perfect

will

of the

father.

Please

turn with

me to

psalm

89.

Psalm

89.

Psalm

89.

Psalm

89.

And let's read verses 38 through 48.

38 through 48 in Psalm 89.

For some theologians have said of this psalm that it is prophetic of the agonies of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.

And so, as we read, try to imagine Jesus as He is in the garden.

And try to imagine as if these are the very thoughts that were going through His head as He is in His moment of agony.

Beginning in verse 38.

But now you have cast off and rejected.

You are full of wrath against your anointed.

You have renounced the covenant with your servant.

You have defiled His crown in the dust.

You have breached all His walls.

You have laid His strongholds in ruins.

All who pass by plunder Him.

He has become the scorn of His neighbors.

You have exalted the right hand of His foes.

You have made all His enemies rejoice.

You can see here,

this is Jesus feeling that separation that is part of that cup.

The separation that He felt as the wrath of God poured over Him on the cross.

We continue.

You have also turned back the edge of His sword.

And you have not made Him stand in battle.

You have made His splendor to seize and cast His throne to the ground.

And just a little bit ago,

we read how He just threw Himself on the ground in the garden to pray.

You have cut short the days of His youth.

You have covered Him with shame.

How long, O Lord?

Will You hide Yourself forever?

How long will Your wrath burn like fire?

Remember how short My time is.

For what vanity You have created all the children of man.

What man can live and never see death?

Who can deliver His soul from the power of Sheol?

And as He is going through that agony,

through that temptation,

this is also what is going through His mind.

Who can deliver His soul from the power of Sheol?

Because He knows that only He had the power

to deliver us from the wrath to come.

And He had a choice.

The choice to drink the cup in our place

or to allow us to drink our portion

and be eternally and justly condemned.

Yet not what I will,

but what You will.

He made His choice.

Although He had every right,

every just excuse

to change His mind,

He fought temptation

to the point of shedding blood.

And He humbly submitted Himself

to the will of the Father.

Del Datus of Nevers,

a 7th century bishop,

writes of Christ's agony

that it was,

quote,

a purely natural desire

by which,

as a man for a short moment,

He apprehended and shunned death

and torments,

but quickly recalled Himself

to obedience

by deliberate will

to submit Himself

to God.

Close quote.

Could there be

a better example

for us to follow?

This reality

should be what drives us

to our knees

in grateful,

in passionate,

adoration and worship

and submission

to our Lord.

And we should keep watch

and be on the alert

and resist temptations

and be transformed

by the renewal of our minds

and not be conformed

to this world

in our idleness.

And we ought to do it

out of love for Him,

for what He has done

for us,

remembering what He suffered

for us,

and that He suffered

because of us

at the individual level.

John Flavel,

a Puritan from the 1600s,

writes,

Oh, what has He suffered

and suffered upon

your account,

your pride,

your earthliness,

sensuality,

unbelief,

hardness of heart

added

to the weight

of the burden

of His sorrows

in that day.

Close quote.

Because He did that for us,

we should wage war

against our flesh.

And to lead into that,

please note

our third heading

in verses 37 and 38

of Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

The war against the natures

affirmed.

The war against the natures

affirmed.

Beginning in verse 37.

And He came and found them sleeping,

and He said to Peter,

Simon,

are you asleep?

Could you not watch

one hour?

Watch and pray

that you may not

enter into temptation.

The spirit

indeed is willing,

but the flesh

is weak.

And here Jesus

affirms to us

that there are

two natures

within believers

that are at war.

the spirit

and the flesh.

Paul says in Galatians 5

Galatians 5:16

verse 16 and 17,

Walk by the spirit

and you will not

gratify

the desires

of the flesh.

For the desires

of the flesh

are against

the spirit.

And the desires

of the spirit

are against

the flesh.

For those

are opposed

to each other.

To keep you

from doing

the things

you want to do.

Romans 8

Romans 8:7

verse 7.

For the mind

that is set

on the flesh

is hostile

to God,

for it does not

submit

to God's will.

To God's law.

I'm sorry.

There are two natures

and submission

to God's will

is a key

distinctive

in identifying

which one

you are falling

under

at any given

point.

For one

submits

and the other

one

does not.

Listen to what

John MacArthur

says about

the two natures.

He says,

Every Christian

then

who has

a right

understanding

of his or her

nature

understands

that we live

in a very

dangerous

place.

Not just

the world

around us,

not just

the current

culture

that threatens

us,

but we live

as new

creations

in a very

dangerous

personal

situation.

For we are

contained within

our own

fallenness.

Therein

lies the

spiritual

struggle.

Close quote.

And here

back in our

text again

we see

Peter's

prideful

resistance.

He fell

asleep.

while he

should have

been waging

war.

And I

think that

it was

out of

pride.

The pride

has something

to do

with it

because look

at the

warnings

he gets

from

Jesus.

You

will

deny

me

three

times.

But he

arrogantly

professes

if I

must die

with you

I will

not deny

you.

And here

in the

garden

Jesus

tells him

watch

and

pray.

Why?

Why watch

and pray?

Verse 38

that you

may not

enter

into

temptation.

But Peter

already

believes

that he

is strong

enough.

He has

no need

whatsoever

to watch

and pray.

And

isn't it

interesting

that Jesus

comes and

finds him

sleeping

three

times?

And three

times he

will end up

denying

him.

He

was

given

the

opportunity

to fight

in prayer

for each

denial

that was

to come.

But

instead he

sleeps

and gives

into the

flesh.

The

reason for

Peter's

failure to

come is

found here

in the

garden.

Just as

the reason

for Jesus'

victory to

come is

also found

in the

garden.

The

war between

the two

natures

is real.

And the

disciples

instead of

fighting

slept.

They

rested.

They

relied on

their own

strength.

They did

not pray.

They did

not

agonize.

And so

they did

not

overcome.

Jesus

had just

finished

telling them

in John

16

24

until

now you

have

asked

nothing

in my

name.

Ask

and you

will

receive.

And once

in the

garden he

tells them

to ask.

All they

had to do

was ask.

But they

did not.

And that

leads us to

our fourth

heading this

morning.

In verses

39 through

42.

Our fourth

heading which

is the

strategy for

victory.

victory.

The

strategy for

victory.

Starting in

verse 39.

And again

he, meaning

Jesus, went

away and

prayed saying

the same

words.

Herein lies

the key to

victory against

temptation.

Here is the

greatest weapon

that we have

in our

armory.

Yet it is

the most

neglected.

Prayer.

Persistent,

humbly,

submissive

prayer.

And ignoring

prayer is

like deliberately

choosing to

take a knife

to a gun

fight.

Just because

a gun is

more complicated.

It might

take more

time to

learn to

use it.

Or because

it's more

dangerous.

And in the

end, that

state of

mind will

cost.

earlier this

week we

watched in

the news

as

terrorists,

a group of

terrorists,

went into

a

newspaper

organization

building

and they

killed a

number of

people.

And as

they were

coming out,

the first

two officers

at least that

responded to

the scene,

the first

two police

officers in

France had

no gun.

They had no

firearms.

And they

responded to

a group of

terrorists

murdering

people with

AK-47s.

They showed

up unprepared

and it

cost them

their lives.

Those two

officers were

killed because

they had

nothing to

defend themselves

with.

Prayer is

a powerful

weapon.

And as I've

heard it put

before,

every battle

in our

Christian lives

can be won

on our

knees.

The bending

of the knee

is the

caulking

of the

hammer to

the most

powerful

weapon that

the Christian

is armed

with.

And with

it we must

work out our

salvation in

fear and

trembling.

We must

discipline

ourselves for

the purpose

of godliness,

deny ourselves

and take up

our crosses

daily and

follow Him.

Brothers and

sisters, we

are without

excuse.

As the warning

had been given

to the

disciples, it

has been

issued to

us as

well.

And look at

the response

of the

disciples when

they were

confronted by

Jesus about

their sleeping.

What was

their excuse?

In verse

40 we read,

And again He

came and found

them sleeping,

for their eyes

were very heavy,

and they did

not know what

to answer Him.

They did not

know what to

say because

they had no

excuse.

The Spirit is

willing, but

the flesh is

weak.

But let's be

clear about

something.

The flesh is

weak, but

you who is a

new creature in

Christ are

not.

Martin Lloyd

Jones once

said, and I

quote,

If you are a

Christian, the

Holy Spirit of

God is in

you, and He

is working in

you, and He

enables us, He

gives us

strength, He

gives us

power, so

that the

Christian must

never complain

of want of

ability and

power.

For a

Christian to

say, I

can't do it,

is utterly

and entirely

wrong.

No Christian

must ever

say, I've

got no

power.

I've got

no strength.

It is a

denial of

the truth

concerning

himself.

Close

quote.

It should

be a joy

for us to

willingly fight

the battle,

to run the

race, to

wage in

the war, and

resist the

devil firm

in our

faith, to

humbly

submit

ourselves to

the Father's

will, and

to take

to heart

the lesson

that Peter

had to

learn the

hard way.

As he

warns us to

action in

1 Peter

1 Peter 5:6–10

chapter 5

verses 6

through 10.

1 Peter

1 Peter 5:6–10

chapter 5

verses 6

through 10.

He says,

Humble

yourselves,

therefore,

under the

mighty hand

of God,

so that at

the proper

time He

may exalt

you,

casting all

your anxieties

on Him

because He

cares for

you.

Be

sober-minded,

be

watchful,

your

adversary,

the devil,