March 3, 2008: In The Garden

Sermon Transcript

Scripture reading: Matthew 26, vs 36 - 46:

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.

So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" (NIV)

"The Worst day of your life"

Wow – isn't that a great way to start a sermon?

Think about that – the worst day of your life.

Now – for me, I'm thinking it was when my brother and my sister and I had to meet and decide about the care of our mother, who was bed–ridden, and aging at the age of 95. We had to decide what we were going to do; my sister could no longer take care of my mother. We decided that day that we needed help. We needed professional care for my mother. So the three of us went in to her room, and gathered around her bedside, and told my mother that we would have to move her to the nursing home.

We wept, and we prayed together as a family that day. I think one of the things that added to our agony was the realization that it was the beginning of our saying “Goodbye” to our mother.

Bob Prince of Winnetka, Kansas said that's the kind of day that Jesus was about to have. A “Worst Day”.

Great Images

We have these great images of Jesus when hear His Name. We have these great images of Jesus holding up the lost sheep above His head and rejoicing because He's found the one that was lost. Or reaching out with compassion in hand and touching someone with an act of healing. Or inviting the little children to come to Him. Or calming the waves and the wind of the storm. We have these great images of Jesus.

We hardly ever, when we hear the Name of Jesus, get this image of Him confessing to His disciples, “I am overwhelmed in my soul, to the point of death.” And the picture of Jesus on his face, on his face on the ground, calling out to God, “God! If it is possible in any way, let this cup pass from me.”

We can only imagine the kind of agony he suffered in the next few hours as he was betrayed, arrested, and beaten so severely that you couldn't recognize him. He was mocked; his best friends abandoned him and betrayed him and denied him, and then – He was crucified.

And what is Jesus doing at this hour? He's only being open and honest, here in the garden, with His colleagues, with His friends, with His disciples; “I'm being overwhelmed with agony,” He confesses to them. He's only being open and honest with His Father in Heaven – “Oh God! My Father in Heaven – if you could only let this cup pass from me – then let it be so.” He's only being open and honest.

Open and Honest

When was the last time you were open and honest with those whom God has put in your life to help carry your burdens? Or are you still pretending? Are you still putting on an act? That you can do it all by yourself – you don't need the help of others?

When was the last time you were open and honest with God about the agony and your struggles in life that you are experiencing? Are you pretending with God – are you putting on an act with God? “Oh – I don't need you, God – I can do all this on my own.”

Jesus is giving us an example – if He, the Son of God, is this open and honest in the garden, then He's inviting us into the garden to be with Him... to be open and honest also.

I like the Psalms. And I think that one of the reasons I like the psalms is because that guy is open and honest. Did you ever notice that? Boy – is he open and honest. Psalm 22: my God, my God why have you forsaken me? Does that sound familiar? Psalm 23: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... Psalm 28: Hear my cry for mercy as I call for help; Psalm 28: there is no help in my body, my bones have no soundness, my guilt has overwhelmed me; Psalm 54: save me O God: strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life. Psalm 51: have mercy on me, O God, for I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.

The day after the worst day of my life, I was in a meeting with colleagues in the ministry, and I determined I had to be open and honest, and in a quiet moment in that meeting, I confessed, “Yesterday was the worst day of my life.” They stopped that meeting and they prayed with me and for me and the fellowship of their prayers gave me strength to survive my struggles.

“Oh what peace we often forfeit / oh what needless pain we bear / all because we do not carry / everything to God in prayer.” [Attribution: What A Friend We Have In Jesus]

Jesus is open and honest – He's inviting us into the garden with Him, this morning, to be open and honest about our needs.

An Invitation to Pray with Christ

“Stay here”, He says. “Keep watch” is the request of Jesus. “Keep watch and pray with [me]”. At this point He is asking His disciples – His best friends – to keep watch and pray with Him in His time of great need. Doesn't it blow your mind – absolutely amaze you – that Jesus Christ would invite you and me (because we are his disciples, today, amen?) – He would invite you and me to come into the Garden with Him, and to keep watch with Him, and to pray with Him in His hour of greatest need – in the hour of the greatest challenge in His earthly ministry – that He would ask you and me – doesn't that absolutely amaze you? That our prayers would be of such great value to Him?

The next time you pray for someone who needs healing in their broken life, or deliverance from bondage in their life, or when you pray for the salvation of a lost soul – picture yourself in the garden with Jesus Christ, keeping watch with Him, and praying with Him.

He's inviting you and me, this morning, into the garden with Him, to keep watch and pray with him, for the causes that He's come to this earth to battle for. He thinks that much of your prayers.

Pray to Avoid Temptation

“Watch and pray, that you do not fall into temptation.” That's what He says the next time. Remarkable! Remember the whole list of things that He's going to have to face in the next few hours? And yet – as an example of unselfish concern – he's concerned about your spiritual welfare. He's concerned about you and me and our welfare. “Keep watch,” He says, “and pray, that you not fall into temptation.” He knows that our spirit is willing, but He also knows our weaknesses. And He is aware of all the temptation that we will face in this world: lust, greed, pride, the temptation to put God in a lower priority than our own selfish interests. He understands all those temptations that we face. He understands that we are against the evil one – against Satan – who has more power than you or me, who prowls around this world, like a lion ready to devour us, to deceive us, to destroy us. He (Jesus) knows we are all up against that – “Be on guard, watch out! Because the evil one is out to deceive you and trick and destroy you and catch you within his snare.”

So people, we need to pray, “Holy Spirit, guide me, protect me, give me the heart to know what is evil and what is good and to always to choose the good.” Keep on our knees, keep watch, be on guard, and pray.

Jesus is inviting us into the garden today, that we would receive help to overcome the temptations of this world. Only the kind of help that the Holy Spirit of the Living God can give.

The Ultimate Example of Holy Submission

“My father, not as I will, but as you will.” Someone wrote that Jesus is the ultimate example of holy submission. Jesus faces agony as no one has ever faced – and yet, Jesus empties Himself – He pours Himself out for the cause of the Father in Heaven, for His will.

Tracy Rushing writes that he grew up in the home of a song evangelist. He was always on the road with his mom and dad, and he was always in revival. Can you imagine being in revival every week of your life? That was Tracy's life as a small boy, because he grew up in the home of a song evangelist.

He said there was no problem giving his heart to the Lord as his savior – salvation was never a problem for him. But sanctification – he just battled sanctification. Because somewhere he had heard that if you were sanctified you would be called to be a missionary in Africa – and he didn't want to go to Africa! I know people today who put the decision of commitment to Jesus Christ off because they are afraid of what God will ask them to do – and that's what he was – he was afraid to make a commitment – to be sanctified – because he didn't want to be a missionary in Africa.

And then – some wise counselor told him, “No – it isn't being a missionary in Africa – it's about total submission to the will of God.” Today, no – he's not a missionary in Africa – he's a song evangelist – he and his wife are in a music ministry of their own.

Many days I wake up and say, “Holy Spirit, guide me – this day is yours,” and then things go south. Then things go wrong. Have you ever had one of those days? You feel like a salmon going upstream. Even the traffic on the roads seems to be going against you. And things don't go your way, and God has the audacity to rain on your parade – and then, you have to say, “It's still about your will – my life is still committed to your will, O Lord.”

I think those are the kind of decisions that Jesus was making at this point. It's not about me – it's about God's plan of salvation, and Jesus is a significant key and part of that, and He's going to have to go to the cross – that's all part of God's salvation. Right there He decides – you know, He could have called ten thousand angels, like the song says – He could have bailed out, but He doesn't! He says “not my will, but Your will be done.” He's the ultimate example of holy submission to the will of God.

A Glimpse of Victory

On Easter morning we celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ at the resurrection. The Book of Philippians says that one day God the Father will exalt Him to the highest place – that all knees will bow and all tongues confess that Jesus is Lord. That will be a moment of great victory. And where does that victory begin? I am a firm believer that that victory begins in that garden with Jesus saying, “not my will, but your will be done.”

Jesus is inviting us to His victory party. Can you understand that? He's inviting us this morning to His garden, to be open and honest about our needs, to watch and to pray with Him, and to submit our will to His will. Because God has a plan for our life, too, always to glorify Himself. He's inviting us into the garden.

Our altar is open – just consider it a garden this morning, and Jesus Christ is there and He's inviting you forward, to submit to His will, to pray for help, and to be open and honest about your needs.

Jesus, Thank You

Jesus, we thank you for inviting us into the garden with You. At first we are concerned that You would be in such agony that You would fall on your face to the ground. But then we see that it is all part of God's plan – and we see a glimpse of the victory that we too can experience through You, Jesus Christ. So Jesus – we gladly go with You into the garden. We pray that we can always be open and honest before You about what we need in the struggles in our life and the storms we are going through, about our worst days, and that we would always have the wisdom to watch and pray with You – that we wouldn't fall into temptation – [to pray] for Your causes that you have come to have victory in – and that we would always be wise in submitting to Your will, our Father in Heaven, as Jesus exemplifies for us.

Help us now to step into the garden.