 Here we go. Matthew chapter 26. We'll begin by looking at verses 31 through 35, and then I'll move on into verse 36 and conclude today at verse 46. So let's begin. Matthew chapter 26 at verse 31. I'll read to verse 35, and we'll get into our study. Then Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered and said to him, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. And Jesus said to him, shut up. No, Jesus said to him, assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And so said all the disciples. Now as we begin this, we need to pick up in the last verse that we left off in last time we were together, which is verse 30. I want to use that as the introduction to the verses that we'll be looking at this morning. Because in verse 30 it said, when they had sunk a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Now Jesus is speaking of his betrayal and his death. It's interesting when you note verse 30 that the supper ended, but the supper, the Passover supper, the supper ended in song and not in sorrow. And you ought to note that in your own heart. The supper ended in song and not in sorrow. You see, on Passover night they would sing the Psalms of praise that you find in the book of Psalms, Psalm 115 through Psalm 118. And those Psalms provided what would be called a proper conclusion for the Passover supper. I'll read a few verses from Psalm 18 and show you what I mean. In Psalm 118 verses 5 and 6, I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? Psalm 118 verse 8, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118 verse 13, I was pushed back and about to fall. But the Lord helped me. Psalm 118 verse 24, this is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Those are the Psalms of praise. Those are the Psalms that declared that God was with them. So even though there was a time in the supper that Jesus is saying, these things are about to take place, I am going to die. I'm going to be buried. I'm going to be raised from the dead. And the men could be in sorrow as they're hearing this. The supper actually ends with a song. And because when God is on your side, there is a song in your heart just as last Wednesday as we're going through the book of Acts chapter 16. And we looked at the story of Paul and Silas and they had been arrested and they were placed in stocks in a Philippian jail. And the Scripture says after they had received many stripes, they were beaten with rods and received many stripes. And when you look at that passage, when it speaks of the receiving of the stripes, it's a description of somebody that was beaten not just on their back, but they were beaten all over the body. And I was sharing with the church just Wednesday night how that they were stripped naked to be humiliated. And then they were beaten. And then they were incarcerated. And I was sharing with them that this would be a time when people normally today we would be saying things like, this is unfair. This is unjust. What has happened to me? I'm just preaching the gospel. How come this happened to me? And it would be understandable that we would be feeling somehow that we've been abandoned by the Lord. How did He allow this to take place in my life? And yet it simply says that Paul and Silas sang songs at midnight and the prisoners heard them. There's just something that the Lord does in your soul when you have a relationship with Him that even though you're going through certain things, there's still the sense that my help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And it can put a song in your heart and that's what's taking place on Passover night. Jesus is about to go to the cross. He's going to be fully betrayed. He's going to be beaten. He'll be scourged. He's going to be mocked. He's going to be placed on a cross and yet they're singing songs because their confidence is in the Lord. So after singing here in verse 30, after singing, they went out to the Mount of Olives and they had to cross over a valley. The valley is the valley of Kidron. In John 18 verse 1 it says, when he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Mount of Kidron Valley. On the other side, there was an olive grove and he and his disciples went into it. You see, to remain in the upper room any longer would be dangerous. Judas could very well show up. And so for that reason, Jesus and his men went to this garden that they went to quite often, called the Garden of Gethsemane. And so these verses tell us what took place on the way to the garden. No longer are there 12. Judas has abandoned them. They are now the 11. It's later in the evening. It may be close to 11 p.m. And while they're on their way to the garden, Jesus begins to speak to them. Notice verse 31. Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night for it is written I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. All of you will be made to stumble. That word stumble speaks of putting a stumbling block in the way upon which someone may trip and may fall. And the word is used to be a picture of someone who has been trapped or ensnared. And so what Jesus is saying to them simply put is, you will be lured into the sin of denying me. This will be occurring because they think too highly of themselves. Their self-confidence is way too high. They thought themselves to be steadfastly loyal. And that put them in the danger of failure. If you take notes 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12, you might want to note that if you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. Jesus had just told them that this would occur because he was preparing them. In John's gospel chapter 16 verse 32, it says, the hour comes. Yes, it is now come that you shall be scattered. Every man do his own and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. You will scatter. You'll leave me alone and yet I'm not alone. The Father's with me. So they need to learn that they're not as strong as they think they are. They need to learn that. Here's something for you. The path to spiritual strength begins at the acknowledgement of your own weakness. That's the path. It begins with an acknowledgement of your own weakness. In John 15 verse 5, Jesus said, I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. We need to understand that. I combine those two two verses, John 15.5. Without me, you can do nothing with Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And so Jesus is teaching his disciples a lesson that we modern day disciples need to learn also. That we should not rest in our own strength, our own abilities, but we need to humbly yield ourselves to the Lord and rest in his strength to put our confidence in him. And these men are about to learn this lesson because he needs to warn these self-assured disciples. Notice in verse 31 how he said, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. All of you will stumble. All of you will desert me out of fear of being associated with me and not a single one of you will remain loyal. It is written in verse 31, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. And so Jesus interprets rather Zechariah 13 verse 7 as stating that God will strike down his shepherd. The point he's making when it says I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, I will. That point when it says I will strike actually points out that it's God who initiates salvation. Like it says in Isaiah 53 verse 6, we all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 10, it please the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. It please the Lord to bruise him. In Romans 8 32, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? He who did not spare his own son. So salvation is initiated by God. It's initiated by the Father. And Jesus is about to die on behalf of all. 1 John 2 verse 2, he is a propitiation for our sins, not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And so he says this is initiated by my Father. It is written I will strike the shepherd. So salvation is coming through the hand of the Lord. It says also in verse 31, the sheep will be scattered, which occurs in a short while, even as Jesus said. Then he moves on in verse 32 to say, but after I've been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. So he reminds them of what he's been telling them all along. You're going to see some things that are going to cause you to just really, really lose hope. You're going to lose so much because of what's about to happen. But I want to remind you, I will die, yes, but I will be raised and I will go before you and I will meet you in Galilee. So my death isn't the end of the story. Hold on to your faith for me. My death isn't the end of it. It's the beginning of it. My resurrection is going to give you so much strength and faith because after the resurrection, Jesus will send his Holy Spirit and the church will be birthed into a reality, will become the temple of the Spirit of God. God will dwell within us. So he's saying, don't let this get to you. You need to understand it's part of the process. Hold on to your faith. In Romans 6 verse 4, we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. And so Jesus is encouraging them and he says, I'll meet you in Galilee, which we'll see in Matthew chapter 28. So as all of this is taking place and you have to picture this, Jesus is speaking to them as they're walking and all and ministering to them and they must have been so normal because that's how they would very often receive from him on walks and talks and all. And you can see Jesus stopping for a moment and highlighting a point and emphasizing in this and that. So as this is taking place, verse 33, Peter answered and said to him, even if all are made to stumble, because of you, I will never be made to stumble. I will never be made to stumble is something that he had said earlier that evening. At the Passover, I want you to remember this with me. Jesus had prepared this beloved disciple. In Luke chapter 22 in verses 31 through 33, Jesus speaking to the apostle Peter said this and I'm going to develop this with you for just a moment. Jesus said, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. But he replied, Lord, I'm ready to go with you to prison and to death. Now, when you look at that, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you by repeating Simon's name. Jesus is revealing deep concern for his beloved apostle. It's like in Luke 10, 41, when he said Martha, Martha, or when he was speaking Jerusalem, Jerusalem in Luke 13, 34, he was saying something with great urgency. Remember with me that when he had called him, he gave him a new name. He called him Cephas. Cephas means a stone. So he had given him a new name. And as he gave him the new name, he was showing him something that would occur in his life, how he would be fashioned into a man of strength. But here, he's using his old name to emphasize the weakness of his flesh. Simon, he says to him, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. So even as violent action separates the wheat from the chaff, you will be severely shaken. And this test that you're about to endure will shake you to your very core. Satan specifically singled you out and he received permission to sift you. Satan can only tempt in this fashion when given permission and Satan is restricted by God. You see that in the case of Job and how God worked that out for good because Satan had come and actually challenged God concerning his servant Job and had obtained permission to put him to the test. And James in chapter 5 verse 11 later refers to that when he says, you have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. Satan had opportunity to sift Job and the end result was a greater faith on the part of Job and a deeper knowledge of God. Remember with me that after the testing and everything when it's almost to the conclusion in the book of Job, Job speaking to the Lord says, I heard of you with a hearing on my ear but now I see you with the scene of my eye. I have worshiped you. I have walked by faith and not by sight. I didn't have a personal knowledge and experience with you of any great depth at all. I just knew of you and I worshiped you with the knowledge that I had received. I didn't have a Bible to read. I didn't have stories to read. I just knew because I had received this through the handing on of the off of these things through generations previous to me. But I walked and I followed you. I heard of you with a hearing on my ear. I walked by faith and not by sight but after all of this testing and all of this trial and all that I've gone through, you have purged me and you've made me into that person. You wanted me to be all along and that's what happens, by the way, with trials. The trying of your faith is intended to be purified, purifying your faith in order that you might have more of a Christ likeness. So when we have these trials that we do go through and the Apostle Peter speaks of them as fiery trials because fire has a tendency of burning. When we go through these things it's not so that God can destroy you, it's so that God can form you. And if you've ever said to the Lord, make me like you, you need to remember that He is holy and God has a way of purging from you those things that don't belong in a person who is holy. And so as this is taking place here Jesus said, you're going to be sifted like the violent action that causes the chaff to fall from the grain, Satan will be sifting you. But I want you to know something and this is so encouraging to me. Jesus said, I have prayed for you and you will not be completely lost. I have prayed for you. In 1 Corinthians 10-13 no temptation is overtaken you except such as its common demand. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. God will not allow you to fall. God holds you up. God has made a provision for you. And the beautiful thing about this is even as Jesus said, Satan has obtained you that he might sift you. Jesus went on to say, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. And after that, I know the King, I memorized the King James verse here, and after that I'll be converted strengthen thy brethren. When you regain your footing you will be a strength to others. You know, Peter had said, I'm not only willing to follow you to prison, I'm willing to follow you into death. And that's why it reveals that he obviously hadn't believed the Lord. And that's why Jesus is repeating this warning to him. Again, Peter truly believed that he'd be completely loyal to Jesus Christ. But as he's protesting, he's revealing weaknesses. Let me show you a couple of things here. As he protests, one, he's reacting to the words of the Lord with unbelief. Jesus had said, all of you will be made to stumble. But he said, not me. So in essence he's saying, Jesus, I'm sorry, but you have it wrong. You forget who you're speaking to. I'm the apostle Peter. I'm the rock. I'm rocky. And you are thinking that I am weaker than I actually am. So he's actually correcting the Lord here. And in his correction of the Lord, he's reacting to Jesus' words with unbelief. Jesus was not condemning him. Jesus was simply telling him, this is what's about to happen. But he's saying, that is not true. Jesus had said, all of you will be made to stumble. He said, but not me. You must be speaking about the other guys. I'm sorry, Jesus, you have it wrong. A second thing is, he's treating his fellow disciples with disrespect. Even if all are made to stumble, he says, I won't. Why? Because I love you more than they do. You know, I love you more than them all. Great mistake. He disrespected them. And third, he's trusting in his own strength. Again, he thinks himself to be stronger than he actually is. And Proverbs 16 verse 18 says, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before fall. It's interesting when you look at Luke's account of what was taken place that night, they were there at the supper and that a certain place there, it's found in Luke chapter 22 verse 24, at a certain place in that supper, they began to argue amongst themselves as to who should be considered the greatest. When you have rivalry amongst Christians, you will definitely be put in the place of stumbling and failure. Definitely, definitely. One of the biggest mistakes that Christians make today is we act as if we don't need other people. We don't need a community, a family of believers. I can do it myself. I don't need other people in my life. I'm strong enough by myself. That's where we make the biggest mistake. We need one another. The eye can't boast against the ear saying I don't need you and the hand cannot boast against a foot and say I don't need you because the body is many members, hands, eyes, nose and all. But it's one body and the body has to work together. And what would happen if my right hand began to fight against my left hand? I'd never accomplish anything. What would happen if my right foot and my right leg wanted to rebel against my left? I'd never be able to walk anywhere. You need to have a unity. You can't be arguing amongst yourself as to who's the greatest, especially in the night when Jesus is saying I am going to die. Especially in the night when he's saying the one who dips his hand in the bowl with me is the one who's betraying me in the midst of all of that, in the midst of all of that real life stuff that's going on that night. They're arguing amongst themselves who's to be preferred. And in the midst of that is the apostle Peter who's thinking though all be made to stumble and all be offended I never will. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. One of the wisest things you can learn to do is say God be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. I am very capable of betraying you. I am very capable of denying you. Listen it's not always it's not always when soldiers come with lanterns and swords to take you that it's going to provoke you to fall. It's when you're with friends or family and they're all putting down Christians and you keep your mouth shut because you don't want to be looked at as being one of them. It's when you're denying the Lord through the small things the little things acting like everybody else on the job and in fact you know that you're not like everybody else you've been born again you've been bought at a price and yet you don't open your mouth you don't share you don't live for Christ it's you're a chameleon Christian and yet you sense in your heart this isn't right but you make excuses saying well I need to survive. When I was a young believer and I was going to secular college in the first day of class that I had opportunity to I made a practice as a young man as a young believer I made a practice of professing my relationship with Christ. I didn't stand up and pull out a Bible and preach to the class I did on one occasion but normally I didn't what I would simply do is I would say I'm a follower of Christ because it made me accountable for my life in that class. I needed to stand up for my profession of faith. A lot of people don't do that. There are a lot of silent Christians all around. You wouldn't even know they were believers because they're always so quiet. Peter on the other hand said oh no I'm greater than all the rest of these and he's looking at the other guys there's 11 of them now and you can almost see them looking at the hall of these guys well yeah I could figure that they would deny you look at them I don't even know why you have them here it's just you and me it's just you and me you're going to build the church I mean aren't you I mean it's that way that mentality that that got him in trouble but he's not the only person who can think like that and Jesus has to speak to me says listen Satan has obtained you he asked for you and obtained you that he may sift you even as wheat is sifted he's going to put you through the greatest struggle you've ever had you are going to be banged up and bruised over this he said it's going to happen he has asked for you and he's obtained permission to sift you but I want you to know something I have prayed for you that your that your faith doesn't fail and after you've been converted this will be something that you'll be able to use to strengthen your brethren because you're going to be a model of repentance and restoration well as this is all taken place he doesn't want to hear anything about that in verse 34 it says assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows you will deny me three times you will most certainly deny me before the rooster crows now if you take notes that's one of the four divisions of night you had evening that would be from six o'clock to nine o'clock then you had what is called midnight that was nine o'clock to twelve o'clock rooster crows is actually from twelve uh midnight to three a.m and then morning would be from three to six so he's saying peter in a few short hours you're going to deny me and peter couldn't tolerate the thought of that in luke 22 31 and 32 the lord said simon simon satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat i pray for you and he wouldn't have nothing of a said no i i'd go to jail for you i would die for you there's no way i will not deny you i will die with you so in a fit of misguided passion he again emotionally professes his loyalty to christ i will die with you if necessary again relying on his own strength and proudly affirming his inability to fall but in a few short hours he did exactly as jesus said he would but he wasn't alone notice this verse 35 so said all the disciples all of them well jesus had prayed for him that he might turn back and then he would strengthen his brethren from the vantage point of experience psalm 119 verse 71 says it like this it is good for me that i've been afflicted that i might learn your statutes and a second thing about this when jesus said i have prayed for you hebrews 725 says he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to god through him since he always lives to make intercession for them not only was jesus praying for the apostle peter but today he's praying for us he prays for us in verse 36 jesus came with them to a place called gethsemane and said to the disciples sit here while i go and pray over there and he took with him peter the two sons of zebedee and he began to be sorrowful deeply distressed and he said to them my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death stay here and watch with me he went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed saying oh my father if it is possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as i will but as you will then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to peter what could you not watch with me one hour watch and pray lest you enter into temptation the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak again a second time he went away and prayed saying oh my father if this cup cannot pass away from me unless i drink it you will be done and he came and found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy so he left them went away again and prayed the third time saying the same words then he came to his disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and resting behold the hour is at hand the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners rise let us be going see my betrayer is at hand so they came to a place called Gethsemane this is called the garden of Gethsemane it was what would be called we would call it an enclosed orchard when you're there in Jerusalem you can see the garden of Gethsemane you actually leave a gate we go to the garden of Gethsemane we've been there many times it goes beyond what is called the Brooke Kidron it's at the foot of the Mount of Olives it's about three quarters of a mile from the eastern walls of Jerusalem and that's where Jesus went to pray somebody said this there's no record in scripture of Jesus's laughing but there are numerous accounts of his grieving his sadness and even his weeping he wept at the grave of Lazarus and wept over Jerusalem at the time of his triumphal entry Jesus knew sorrow upon sorrow and grief upon grief as no other man who has ever lived but the sorrow he experienced in the garden of Gethsemane on the last night before his crucifixion seemed to be the accumulation of all the sorrow he had ever known it's in this garden that we understand Isaiah's description of Messiah Isaiah 53 verse 3 says it like this he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not when it says that he was acquainted with grief the word acquainted in the Hebrew language means to know something by experience Jesus by experience knew what grief was and this is what we see taking place here notice again in verse 36 how he goes through this place called Gethsemane John 18 verse 2 tells us that Jesus had often met there with his disciples more than likely this garden that we're looking at was owned by a disciple and lent to him so as they enter into the area verse 36 Jesus says sit here while I go and pray over there and what he does is he stations eight of them at the entrance to the garden which is securing his privacy while they're at the entrance they're to be in prayer and they're to be praying for themselves because Luke 2240 says when he was at the place he said to them pray that you enter not into temptation the temptation to completely lose hope when you see what is about to happen now he had taught them again that he was to be betrayed and crucified and this is about to take place and he had also said all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night so they were at a time of crisis but they still were trusting their own strength they're spiritually unprepared for what is about to occur we need to remember that spiritual battles require spiritual weapons and that's why Jesus says you need to be in prayer so as this is taking place in verse 37 he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee the two sons of Zebedee are James and John Luke tells us that he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast which is 50 or 60 feet and he knelt down and he prayed Peter James and John were members of what Jesus would call we would call his inner circle along with Andrew they were leaders amongst the apostles and Jesus is about to teach the sons of Zebedee lessons that they can communicate later on and the lesson that they're going to be taught is how to face and overcome strong temptation and how do you do that? you know you do that through prayer independence on God I had guys say you know I I fell in sin I my girlfriend and I this is a phrase I hear fairly often I fell with my girlfriend you fell does that mean you were walking and you tripped and fell into the bed and somehow you saw her there too I mean is that how it happened you just tripped and oh my goodness what did we do I don't think so you know because as a guy you know when you're moving to the place where you are reaching that line that you are about to cross over you know that you know that you're moving in a direction that's going to consummate in physical activity you know that no man is surprised at that that's the plan for most men is to get to that point and then they come and say I fell no you didn't you yielded there's a difference there's a difference because you entered into sin volitionally I can I can resist but sometimes I choose not to sometimes the craving of my flesh is so strong that I desire that more than anything else and that's what happens it's not it's not a condemnation it's an awareness of the fact because sometimes we enter into things because we allow ourselves to and we're not heeding the warnings true story of a man who met a woman at a dance or a bar took her home to his house engaged in physical activity the next morning he wakes up she had fallen asleep next to him in the bed the next morning he wakes up she's gone he goes to his bathroom she had taken her lipstick and she had written on the mirror welcome to the world of AIDS welcome to the world of AIDS what would happen what would happen as a man if you picked somebody up took them to your house and you were about to engage in physical activity sexual intercourse you were about to engage in sexual intercourse you're ready to do it you're going you're committed and she says to you I need to warn you I'm HIV positive would you continue in the act or would you say uh I'm I'm sorry I no it's the fear of AIDS that keeps you from fornicating but not the fear of God and that's something that the church needs to be aware of because the church makes excuses for our behaviors and then blames it on stumbling or tripping or just we call it falling no I am not condemning anyone because it can sound that way even as I'm saying this I'm thinking boy that sounds harsh let me pull this back a little bit you stinking sinner no let me pull this back because I get so intense I'm sorry just damn I'm I'm concerned for you I was telling Marie this the other day I said you know honey I can come off like I'm angry and I'm not I'm just passionately concerned in some areas and it comes off like I'm judging and I'm trying not to forgive me if it comes off that way it's in a in a way it's like a dad talking to his his loved one that's the way it is with me and forgive me if it comes off harshly I just I know that God I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I know that I know that I can overcome because of him I know that but why don't I sometimes because I don't pray because I don't ask because I'm not aware and I fail and I fail watch and pray lest you enter into temptation the spirit indeed is willing that the flesh is weak that's true for all of us the spirit is willing I want to do the right thing the will is present with me Paul said but the ability to perform that which I desire is not I need help that's Christianity you see Jesus is warning his men he's already told him enough how much more can he say and yet as he's doing so they're entering right into the trap and Jesus is saying in verse 38 my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death I am surrounded by sorrow and as he's there praying and all he says stay here and watch with me and so he went a little farther fell on on his face prayed saying oh my father if it's possible let this cup pass for me nevertheless not as I will but as you will his agony is unequaled he's very distressed he's very heavy he's troubled he's in anguish why well Judas had betrayed him Peter would soon deny him three times his disciples would soon forsake him he was about to be unjustly accused and tried he would be beaten he would be cursed he would be mocked he would ultimately suffer crucifixion as he took upon himself the sin of the world he would soon become the sin offering Isaiah 53 4 says he has borne our griefs carried our sorrows we did not esteem him yet we had steamed him stricken smitten of God and afflicted so he goes a little further according to verse 39 he fell on his face and he prayed he was already a stone throw away from the other eight disciples he moves a further distance away from Peter James and John and he says in verse 39 if it is possible let this cup pass from me the agony of becoming the sin offering moved him to ask if there's another way I was in the garden of the Gethsemane many years ago now and Pastor Chuck Smith was giving a teaching in the garden of Gethsemane and when Chuck was teaching I'll never forget his voice as he was speaking and he said Jesus said if there be any other way and then Chuck paused for a moment and he said but there was no other way but there was no other way he was here to die as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world please may we all understand that today disobedience by Adam resulted in death Jesus's obedience resulted in life in Romans 5 18 and 19 just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men for just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous let this cup pass from me what cup the cup of wrath the cup of judgment Psalm 758 says in the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices he pours it out and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs the cup of wrath not as I will but as you Luke tells us in chapter 22 43 and 44 there appeared an angel to him from heaven strengthening him being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground this is the agony in the garden where the pressure about what he's about to do is so intense that he has sweat that is tainted with his own blood as this is taking place he comes to the disciples and he finds him asleep Luke tells us in chapter 22 verse 45 when he rose up from prayer and had come to his disciples he found them sleeping from sorrow sleep for some is a way of escape they may have been confused even depressed and he begins to rebuke and he says could you not watch with me one hour spiritual vigilance is not occasional spiritual vigilance is constant you need to be awake and you need you need to be aware here's something for you and I don't know how deeply we've understood this yet worldwide the church is under attack there's a spiritual onslaught against the faith that you hold as a Christian we know that don't we not only worldwide but we're seeing you here in the beloved United States that we live in we're seeing that onslaught against the church you can refer to yourself today as pretty much anything you can have a confused gender identity and everybody will say that's okay you can refer to yourself as somebody who is a follower of of the the muslim faith and people say that's okay you can say i'm a buddhist people say that's fine you can say i'm an atheist and people will say yeah that's fine you have a right to not believe but tell someone you're an evangelical christian tell somebody that you believe the bible is true and see what happens they don't you know give you a parade in appreciation for that because there is a onslaught against your faith that's one of the reasons why many have become quiet because they don't want to be looked at as being ridiculous or not part of the crowd if there's ever been a time for the church to come out of the closet it's now if there was ever a time for the church to stand up and say we believe in jesus christ it's now if there was ever a time for us to walk in the power of the holy spirit it's now we need to do that we can't remain silent i'm not saying to be belligerent i'm certainly not saying we should be pugnacious but we ought to be ready to give an answer concerning the hope that lies within us we ought to be prepared because it's time for the voice of the lord through his church to be spoken the word of god needs to be once again rightly divided and presented because the church today is asleep in the light we have a tendency of wanting entertainment rather than exhortation we want to feel good when we walk out of church but we need to understand that the first way to feeling good is to understand that we're not good and it's god who makes us good and if we don't understand that then we're going to be pursuing what we think is good all the rest of our life i was reading something that was written by a well-known man who was an atheist an inventor steven jobs and he was saying that he he achieved everything before his death he said i achieved everything that a man could want a multi multi multi-millionaire a man who lived with as much opulence as a man could live he had everything he wanted he said and these are the last words that i have i should have cut him out and paste it and they should have used him today as a warning to us because he said i had it all he said but i have discovered too late in my life that the things that matter are the things that i did not value i have the money but i don't have the joy i have the money but i don't have the things that really matter i don't have peace i don't have love i don't have any of those things i pursued success and i ended up successful and i discovered they're all empty because the only things that matter are the things you get for free and those are the things that we as the church know that they really weren't free god paid the price to give them to us that's what makes us grateful that's what makes us thankful to god thank you i don't deserve it thank you so jesus is saying listen watch and pray you're going to enter into temptation the spirit indeed is willing the flesh is weak and he goes to his father if there's any other way and there is no other way i have to take upon myself jesus could be saying the sin of the world so that i can set you free from its bondage that's called christianity it's not a philosophy alone it's not just a way of living alone it's a mindset that produces fruit activity that demonstrates that we know god that's how that works and it requires god's power to live faithfully for him again he goes and he prays the third time and the hour is coming it says again in verse 45 he came to his disciples said to them are you still sleeping and resting behold the hour is at hand and the son of man is being betrayed in the hands of sinners rise let us be going see my betrayer is at hand the hour came and they were unprepared jesus went out to meet his enemies instead of allowing them to approach him after his season of prayer he was ready to meet the enemy head on but as we will soon see his disciples were not jesus was ready and they weren't and we're about to see next week how the flesh reacts to these kinds of circumstances god help the church to wake up god help us to value the things that matter god help us we need to wake up forgive me here i go i'm just i'm just speaking my heart in conclusion to you but it's true when my children were small i would say to them i don't want you to have my testimony one of them said to me dad you have your testimony but i'm forging mine i said you may be forging yours but you need to understand something i'm trying to raise you so you don't have the pain that i've experienced i'm trying to raise you in a way to help you to avoid the decisions i've made that have hurt me and others i have an intensity about me obviously you guys see it but why because i have seen a lot of pain and i have caused a lot of pain i've experienced a lot of things that i wanted my kids to never know i have a knowledge of things i never wanted them to have a knowledge of i didn't want them to know the things that i to this day can be reminded of things that i've done people i've hurt i didn't want them to have that and yet even as jesus is saying watch and pray and they're falling asleep could you not watch for even an hour they're sleeping for sorrow they they're avoiding having to deal with the reality that's that's why i speak the way that i do and maybe i'm out of step i'm beginning to think that maybe i'm just out of step with the world maybe i don't know how to communicate the things that matter but they do matter they do you want to be blessed by the lord watch and pray you want to be blessed by the lord realize that your flesh is weak you want to be blessed by the lord become dependent on him you want to be blessed by god avoid sin does it make you perfect no but at least it puts you in the right direction be quick to ask for forgiveness learn to yield to the spirit and love one another see that we're living in the last days and the enemy is like a lion seeking whom he may devour resist him steadfast in the faith lift up the shield of faith take out the sword of the spirit gurgle yourself with truth put on the preparation of the gospel of peace on your feet and put on the helmet of salvation and stand and watch him flee because god has equipped you not to lose but to be victorious in christ keep that in mind and together we will rejoice at what god has done the servants who are willing to understand we are in a battle but we are victorious in christ we need to understand that