24 Hours: In the Garden Mark 14:32-42 02/28/10

Feb 28, 2010 24 hours: in the garden Mark 14:32-42

32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36"Abba,[e] Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 39Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"


series – 24 hours that changed the world – the garden

this is not a garden where tomatoes and peppers grow.
we often think of the garden of Gethsemane as a place of sorrow
but gardens are not places of sorrow
This is/was a beautiful garden. A place of peace. A place of love.

For Adam and eve it started in a garden. A place of love
For Jesus, some of his last hours are in a garden of love.

surely in the garden he faces the
• Agony of facing death
• Agony of frustration that people did not accept him
• Agony that he was reaching out in love and is rejected

the deep sorrow of love’s circle not completed

so he is with his best friends
Friends in time of need
Sometimes they hold you up
They tell you everything is ok
This is what we do for our kids
So you tell your friends.
Sometimes your friends are going to let you down.
At any rate, Sometimes you have to face the fire by yourself.

And so Jesus prays
Overwhelmed with Sorrow in prayer- to the point of death
Rejection: at the heart of every person isn’t simply a fear that we will be rejected by other people, but ultimately that we would be rejected by god.

Abandonment: Jesus experienced such abandonment,
but did not flee from it
ok, pain, is this the worst that you can bring to me? I still trust in God

many ask me, what is lent?
Lent is defined, discovered in the garden: we leave behind our world of joy and find the interior horror show of our world.
Who am I really, what are my sins, what are my fears
What is this cross about?
Can I follow this god even unto death

amazingly, Jesus gets past himself and is praying for others…………

This is Not just a place for him
James stanfield myers in the garden of Gethsemane. [picture]
Many gathered outside and wanted in, but were kept out.

On the night he was betrayed Jesus prayed for
John 17 – unity, for disciples, for those who will come to believe in him, for all of God’s children.

Probably The most famous of prayers -Not my will
Echoes, “into thy hands I commit my spirit”
Some have said, this is The only true prayer

If you only were allowed one prayer, what would it be?
God bless me.
God give me.
God help me.
God please fix my [fill in the blank].

How about:
"Not my will but thine be done." or "into thy hands I commit my spirit." or "let me love you with a pure heart" or "thank you."

God got tired of a mans continual requests……3 wishes granted…..my wife is dead. I want my wife back. [demello 33]
Ask for money, health,
5 years, ten years go by, God you choose
I choose that you learn to be happy no matter the circumstances

Not my will but thine be done…….
Spiritually developed people are willing to release their comfort and personal preference for the sake of the mission.

so what do we take from the garden……….
Maybe you have faced a time of crisis
A time of instability in your life or your world
Lost income-Divorce-Teenagers-Sickness-Death

Some do well in such times, others don’t --Why?
Trust

What does it mean to trust in God?
It means to let go of the outcome

We humans are unhappy when we don’t get or aren’t getting what we want. What if we could stop wanting and just enjoy life with God?

Knowing u and being with u is more impt than me having what I want.
I went out with m y love, I ate food that I hated, listened to music that was bad, but I was with my true love, so all was well.

We don’t have this kind of relationship with god because we still think that he is Santa clause.
That he is there primarily to solve my problems and make my life easier.

God does care about yr problems, and we can pray to him about them, but when we learn to abide in him, we ask for very different things.
We become those who are able to love god for who he is,
not what he does for us.

And in the worst of times, we can rest in him because we truly have found a friend in Jesus.

Conclusion:
Jesus gets up from this gut wrenching time of prayer, faces his accusers and prepares for a journey unto death on the cross.
Knowing god, walking with god can do this for us as well.

Yea, tho I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.