WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.700 But I'm going to invite you to go with me to 00:00:01.700 --> 00:00:12.199 the book of Luke, chapter 22 and verse 39. Amen. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:18.320 Chapter 22 and verse 39. If you can maybe give 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:23.600 me a little more here, that would be great. Amen. 00:00:33.549 --> 00:00:36.090 How many of you are there? It's probably not 00:00:36.090 --> 00:00:38.450 going to be on the screens, but maybe they'll 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:41.250 be able to get the verses up. But if not, that's 00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:43.090 okay. That's why you've got to bring your Bible 00:00:43.090 --> 00:00:46.829 or have it on your app. Amen? In Luke chapter 00:00:46.829 --> 00:00:51.270 22, verse 39, it says as follows. Coming out, 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:57.130 he went to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed. 00:01:00.049 --> 00:01:03.630 As he was accustomed. So this was a... This was 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:08.849 a routine of Christ. And his disciples also followed 00:01:08.849 --> 00:01:13.390 him. When he came to the place, he said to them, 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:16.090 pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:01:18.150 --> 00:01:21.829 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's 00:01:21.829 --> 00:01:25.709 throw. And he knelt down and prayed, saying, 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:31.209 Father, if it is your will, take this cup away 00:01:31.209 --> 00:01:37.969 from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, 00:01:38.250 --> 00:01:44.950 be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:48.909 strengthening him. Notice that the angel came 00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:52.489 and strengthened him upon praying this prayer. 00:01:53.709 --> 00:01:57.310 And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. 00:01:58.209 --> 00:02:04.799 Then his sweat became like Great drops of blood 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:10.699 falling down to the ground. Amen. Somebody say 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:17.979 amen today. Somebody say amen. If I had to put 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:22.060 a theme or a title to this in the moment, I just 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.879 want to maybe speak for a few moments on thy 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:30.099 will be done. Someone say thy will be done. Now, 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:32.319 I know I read the New King James Version where 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.979 it says your will, but I kind of like the King 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:39.280 James Version of the Bible where it says, has 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.439 all the these and the thous. There's just something 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:45.840 about thy will. It just sounds a little more 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:47.819 prophetic and apostolic, you know, a little more 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.539 anointed. Amen. Why don't we pray right now and 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:53.099 let's ask God to speak to us. Father, we thank 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:57.259 you for your presence in this place today. God, 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.090 we have come to worship you. We've come, God, 00:03:00.229 --> 00:03:02.889 with thanksgiving in our hearts, praise in our 00:03:02.889 --> 00:03:05.250 lips, and we thank you, God, that you have met 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:08.789 us here for such a time as this. And now I pray, 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:13.210 Lord, that as we lend our ears to what the Spirit 00:03:13.210 --> 00:03:15.030 is saying to the church, God, that you would 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:17.830 anoint us to receive this word. Anoint my lips 00:03:17.830 --> 00:03:21.710 of clay today, God, as I do my best to be obedient 00:03:21.710 --> 00:03:25.770 to the move of your Spirit and allowing you to 00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:29.219 shift things, God. For reasons only you know, 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:32.020 God, someone needs to hear this message today. 00:03:32.139 --> 00:03:34.840 So I pray right now, God, that you would empower 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:39.180 me and enable me to deliver this word. And I 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:43.080 ask all of this right now in the name of Jesus. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:47.960 Someone say amen. Amen. You can be seated in 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:54.919 the house of God. I have preached on this several 00:03:54.919 --> 00:04:02.030 times before. It is a moment that in our Bible 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:04.990 reading and our learning of the life of the ministry 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:12.009 of Christ seems to capture our attention for 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:17.069 obvious reasons. This was right on the precipice 00:04:17.069 --> 00:04:24.649 or on the verge of Jesus being betrayed and eventually 00:04:24.649 --> 00:04:29.569 going to the cross. To fulfill his ultimate mission. 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:33.430 The very purpose he came into the world. Which 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.509 was to seek and to save. That which was lost. 00:04:37.110 --> 00:04:41.550 To die on the cross. That was the mission of 00:04:41.550 --> 00:04:44.769 Christ. Amen? I said that was the mission of 00:04:44.769 --> 00:04:49.329 Christ. He didn't come simply to preach. He didn't 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:55.990 come simply to host evangelistic. ministerial 00:04:55.990 --> 00:04:59.029 gatherings to heal the sick, raise the dead. 00:05:00.009 --> 00:05:04.990 He didn't come just to be a moral authority or 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:09.310 a good example for others to follow. Even though 00:05:09.310 --> 00:05:14.949 he was all of those things. To be a model citizen 00:05:14.949 --> 00:05:20.149 or a religious man, a man worth emulating your 00:05:20.149 --> 00:05:23.589 life after. He was all of those things. He came 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:28.110 to show us how to live. Amen? But more than coming 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:31.709 to show us how to live, if anything, He came 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:37.649 to show us how to die. Because His whole purpose 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:43.629 for coming was to go on that cross and to shed 00:05:43.629 --> 00:05:48.910 His blood in order to wash away our sins, to 00:05:48.910 --> 00:05:54.079 be our substitute. to take our sins and nail 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:58.819 them to the cross. And then, of course, not simply 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:04.800 to die, but to be buried and to raise again on 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.540 the third day. That is the gospel. That is the 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:12.500 purpose for Jesus' coming. And that purpose is 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.120 something that Christ lived with, I think, from 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:18.819 the moment that he had complete understanding 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:22.829 growing up. Because he lived as a man, not only 00:06:22.829 --> 00:06:29.829 was he 100 % God, he was 100 % man. And as early 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:34.389 as he was able to be fully aware as a man what 00:06:34.389 --> 00:06:39.410 his purpose was in life, he lived always knowing 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:43.730 that the day would come, the hour would come, 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:47.790 the moment would come that his mission would 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:54.350 have to be fulfilled. So he lived with that understanding, 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:58.670 that goal in mind. Even at the start of his ministry, 00:06:58.949 --> 00:07:01.769 his public ministry, when he began preaching 00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:08.230 and assembling himself, a group of followers, 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:12.490 12 disciples who would accompany him as students 00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:16.829 along that journey. He never lost sight of what 00:07:16.829 --> 00:07:21.370 his ultimate purpose was. It was with him. But 00:07:21.370 --> 00:07:25.769 I think that there was probably moments in time 00:07:25.769 --> 00:07:28.589 throughout his life and throughout his ministry 00:07:28.589 --> 00:07:33.930 where that ultimate goal or that final ending 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:36.850 was not always front and center in his mind. 00:07:36.930 --> 00:07:40.589 I think as a man, he must have gotten comfortable 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:45.529 with just earthly living and the relationships 00:07:45.529 --> 00:07:48.629 that he was forming, the life that he was living. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:54.740 And the lives that he was impacting. Like any 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:58.639 man, I'm sure he felt what we would feel when 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:03.579 we are being praised and acknowledged and admired. 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.220 We have a following. I mean, when someone just 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:10.199 likes one of our posts, I think there's like 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:12.779 a chemical reaction that happens in our brain, 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:16.259 right? I said, man, that felt good. I hope more 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:21.540 people will like it. Right? Or maybe a picture 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:24.920 that gets liked or people comment. Jesus was 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:28.079 no different than us in that regard. And that 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:33.340 when he received praise, attention, love, hospitality, 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.940 it must have made him feel good. It must have 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:42.379 done something to his humanity to be received 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:45.480 that way, to live that way. And so through... 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.450 As you see His ministry beginning to build and 00:08:48.450 --> 00:08:50.870 the narrative of the Gospels, certainly there 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:53.570 was a point in which they were shouting and singing, 00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:57.990 Hosanna! Right? Hosanna! Like when He came in 00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:00.429 to the city of Jerusalem riding on the donkey 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:02.789 and they were laying down those palms. See, what 00:09:02.789 --> 00:09:05.029 I'm doing here is I'm just painting for you a 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:10.149 picture of how, as a man, Jesus would have experienced 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:16.970 the highs and the euphoria. The joy, the excitement 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:20.610 of knowing that he has found favor with people 00:09:20.610 --> 00:09:25.529 and his popularity was at an all -time high. 00:09:26.409 --> 00:09:29.830 But as we know, those days wouldn't last forever. 00:09:30.809 --> 00:09:36.669 And ultimately, the time would come, the seasons 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:42.169 would change, and his mission would have to be 00:09:42.169 --> 00:09:49.730 fulfilled. Think about the kind of war or battle, 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:53.009 because we're in a series about the battles that 00:09:53.009 --> 00:09:54.809 build us. And I really believe that this message 00:09:54.809 --> 00:09:57.629 falls right in line with that. The Holy Ghost 00:09:57.629 --> 00:10:04.269 is all in to what he put in my heart to share 00:10:04.269 --> 00:10:08.870 at this moment. Think about the war that must 00:10:08.870 --> 00:10:13.370 have waged within Christ being a man. Not just 00:10:13.370 --> 00:10:16.690 God, but being a man. Realizing that all of the 00:10:16.690 --> 00:10:22.470 popularity, accolades, attention, love that he 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:28.309 was receiving, admiration and respect as a man. 00:10:28.409 --> 00:10:31.070 Think about the difficulty and the battle it 00:10:31.070 --> 00:10:34.330 must have been at a time where he's receiving 00:10:34.330 --> 00:10:39.389 all of that to know that now he has to lay that 00:10:39.389 --> 00:10:45.620 down. Now he has to be willing to let go of that, 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.440 which is something that is so difficult for us 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:55.580 to do. To walk away or to lay down or to surrender 00:10:55.580 --> 00:10:59.419 or to submit or to let go at a moment where it 00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:05.139 feels like, man, things are going so well. Things 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:07.720 are going good. That's a very difficult thing 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:10.519 to do, even in our lives, you know. That's why 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:13.559 some people have a hard time retiring from a 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.700 successful career. In the sports world, it's 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:19.220 really hard for somebody who's at the top of 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:24.200 their game to exit stage left, you know, and 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:29.100 to leave when they're at the top. I think Michael 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:33.379 Jordan did that, yeah. Walked away. And then, 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:35.059 oh, maybe not, because then he came back to play. 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:36.639 But even when he came back, he was still pretty 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:41.360 good, you know. Then he walked away. He never 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.279 just sat on the bench, and then finally they 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:45.259 had to say, hey, man, they had to cut him further. 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.960 He never got cut from a professor. He went out 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.220 on top. He went out on his terms. But that's 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:57.440 not the case for a lot of other successful athletes 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:03.370 or entrepreneurs, career -minded people. Because 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:06.309 it's hard to let go. It's hard to lay those things 00:12:06.309 --> 00:12:09.669 down, to put ourselves in check and realize that 00:12:09.669 --> 00:12:13.370 perhaps it's time to move on to something else. 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:18.049 Something else that I'm supposed to do. Jesus 00:12:18.049 --> 00:12:22.230 was at that moment when we read here about that 00:12:22.230 --> 00:12:25.450 garden, the garden of Gethsemane, that he goes 00:12:25.450 --> 00:12:31.389 and he begins to pray, realizing that even though 00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:34.909 He was at the top of his game, even though things 00:12:34.909 --> 00:12:37.730 were going good, even though things were, in 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:42.090 a way, couldn't be better. He realized that ultimately 00:12:42.090 --> 00:12:45.710 his life was not about becoming famous in this 00:12:45.710 --> 00:12:51.590 world and amassing followers and building upon 00:12:51.590 --> 00:12:55.009 his popularity, but he understood that he had 00:12:55.009 --> 00:12:58.490 a divine purpose to fulfill. And sometimes... 00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:01.629 Your divine purpose that God has on your life 00:13:01.629 --> 00:13:06.509 will directly contradict and fly in the face 00:13:06.509 --> 00:13:10.450 of what others are telling you and what the world 00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:13.850 is telling you. Amen, somebody. And what life 00:13:13.850 --> 00:13:17.509 is telling you and what opportunities may be 00:13:17.509 --> 00:13:21.090 telling you. And it takes a great deal of discipline. 00:13:21.409 --> 00:13:25.169 Hear me today, church. A great deal of eternal 00:13:25.169 --> 00:13:29.289 and spiritual. understanding and perspective 00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:35.769 and maturity to turn off and turn away from whatever 00:13:35.769 --> 00:13:41.830 those voices whatever that pool is and say there 00:13:41.830 --> 00:13:44.700 is a higher calling There is a greater purpose 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:48.000 that God has for my life. And even if it means 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.659 losing popularity with man and the world, if 00:13:51.659 --> 00:13:54.580 I gain the applause of heaven, then that's what 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:59.740 it's all about. Amen, somebody. At the end of 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:03.000 the day, we need to make up in our mind, whose 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:08.240 applause am I living for? My God. Can I preach 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:11.399 like I want to today? Amen. Whose applause am 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:15.620 I living for? Whose recognition, whose reward 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:19.580 am I living for? Am I living for the approval 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:27.220 and the applause of man? Or is my life oriented? 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:30.620 Is my life being lived for the approval and the 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:35.019 applause of heaven? Now sometimes, I'll be honest 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:37.860 with you, sometimes it seems like all the stars 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:40.940 align. And you have both the applause of heaven 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:44.740 and of man. But those are very short intermediary 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:48.279 seasons of life. Because more often than not, 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:53.820 you're either receiving the applause on one end 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:58.799 or the other. More often than not, one is silent 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.899 and the other isn't. More often than not, you're 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:07.590 serving one or you're serving the other. And 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:09.649 this is a difficult thing for us to wrestle with 00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:12.149 in our generation and our, if I could put it 00:15:12.149 --> 00:15:18.389 this way, our me first generation. Can I just 00:15:18.389 --> 00:15:21.769 tell you that we live in such a me first world? 00:15:23.330 --> 00:15:29.570 A me first world, a consumer driven world, a 00:15:29.570 --> 00:15:35.259 world that is constantly telling us that We are 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:40.100 the center of the universe. That it's all about 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:46.600 me, myself, and I. We live in a world where every 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:52.759 message we seem to hear is about you and I. It's 00:15:52.759 --> 00:16:03.200 not called a WePhone. It's called a... They understand. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.179 that the moment you believe as a consumer that 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:10.399 it's all about you, again, there's kind of the 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.600 chemical reaction in the brain that says, you 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:16.840 know, it feels good, almost feels like worship. 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:22.940 It feels incredibly good when it's all about 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:26.960 you. And that's the world that we live in. And 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:31.500 I could go on and on. I don't want to do an analysis. 00:16:34.509 --> 00:16:38.950 Of the me first consumerism that we are seeing 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:41.470 in our world right now. I don't have those facts 00:16:41.470 --> 00:16:46.429 ready for you. But just a bit of awareness. If 00:16:46.429 --> 00:16:49.590 you have two eyes and ears and you hear and see 00:16:49.590 --> 00:16:51.070 what's going on. That is the message that the 00:16:51.070 --> 00:16:53.629 world is sending us. Now here's the problem. 00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:56.850 The problem is not so much that the world is 00:16:56.850 --> 00:16:58.909 self -centered. The problem is not so much that 00:16:58.909 --> 00:17:01.370 the world puts itself or people in the world 00:17:01.370 --> 00:17:05.660 put themselves. First, they make themselves the 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:08.920 center. They make themselves the center of the 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:12.920 solar system. They make themselves first and 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:18.480 foremost. Me, myself, and I. It's not so much 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:21.119 that the world, I'm not here to hark on the world 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.960 because the world is what the world is. That's 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:29.759 the mentality. The problem, the problem is when 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:36.210 that mentality creeps into the church. And more 00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:40.630 than ever, we're starting to see, I mean, to 00:17:40.630 --> 00:17:43.230 a certain degree, it's always been there. It's 00:17:43.230 --> 00:17:45.410 always been there, but perhaps now more than 00:17:45.410 --> 00:17:51.369 ever, we're seeing that me first mentality take 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:54.569 hold of the hearts and minds of God's people. 00:17:55.609 --> 00:17:57.970 I hope you're hearing what I'm saying today. 00:17:58.029 --> 00:17:59.970 I didn't come to beat anybody up today, by the 00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:02.569 way. That's not... I had a whole other message, 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:05.329 but God flipped the script on me because evidently 00:18:05.329 --> 00:18:07.869 there is something that God wants us to consider, 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:10.109 that God wants us to come to terms with, that 00:18:10.109 --> 00:18:12.170 we need to pray about, that we need to check 00:18:12.170 --> 00:18:14.809 our own hearts and spirits. There is a war going 00:18:14.809 --> 00:18:17.730 on, and oftentimes it's a war between what pleases 00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:21.410 me and what pleases God. There's a war between 00:18:21.410 --> 00:18:24.490 what puts me first and what puts others first. 00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:28.930 There's a war between my preference and others, 00:18:29.029 --> 00:18:32.269 between serving myself and serving others, between 00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:36.670 serving God and serving myself. And so this war 00:18:36.670 --> 00:18:41.519 comes to... The forefront here in the text where 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:44.180 Jesus is sitting in the garden and he's praying. 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:47.579 And of course, there's that me firstness that 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:49.720 exists then because we've always been human. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:52.619 This has been a part of the human psyche from 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:55.779 the first garden of Eden. So this is woven into 00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:59.039 our humanity. But Jesus is there in the garden 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.859 and he's praying. And he's having now to look 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:06.839 at a cross, a rugged cross, an excruciating cross, 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:11.029 an agonizing cross. A bloody cross. And he's 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:13.630 having to come to terms with the fact that in 00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:16.490 order to go to that cross and to fulfill the 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:19.569 mission that I have on my life, I've got to be 00:19:19.569 --> 00:19:22.450 willing to put myself second. I've got to be 00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:26.289 willing to say, not my will, but thy will be 00:19:26.289 --> 00:19:33.289 done. There is the crux of Christianity, my friend. 00:19:33.349 --> 00:19:36.920 There is the crux. It's not that we need brighter 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:40.180 lights. It's not that we need more of this and 00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:42.940 more of that. What we need is less of ourselves 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:51.819 and more of God. The greatest competition that 00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:53.940 you will face in your life for the things of 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.180 God is not with the devil. It's with your own 00:19:56.180 --> 00:20:05.660 craving to put self first. As Jesus prayed in 00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:09.160 the garden, he wasn't fighting the devil. Your 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:12.140 greatest fight is not with the devil. Pastor, 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.519 man, I really went toe to toe with Satan this 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:16.519 week. Man, he got me good, but then I got no. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:18.960 If you're fighting the devil week after week, 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:24.019 you got a lot to learn about Christianity. The 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.839 devil is defeated. You ought to be walking on 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.900 him, not fighting with him. Jesus already defeated 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:36.160 the devil. Amen. Your greatest conflict is not 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:40.539 with the devil. It's not even with other people. 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:44.980 If that one sister would just leave me alone, 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:49.400 we would have revival. My co -worker is just 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:51.240 getting on my last nerve. I'm about to step off 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:59.140 the cross and lay hands. Sometimes we feel like 00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:01.200 doing that, right? But thank God the Holy Ghost 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:04.470 is in us. Got the fruit of the Spirit, self -control. 00:21:07.609 --> 00:21:11.269 But then that's what it's about. It's about us. 00:21:11.390 --> 00:21:15.529 The greatest fight, the greatest battle is not 00:21:15.529 --> 00:21:22.650 with the enemy. It's with ourselves. Jesus prayed 00:21:22.650 --> 00:21:31.569 in the garden. He prayed not against the enemy, 00:21:32.269 --> 00:21:35.529 He wasn't rebuking the devil. He wasn't coming 00:21:35.529 --> 00:21:41.730 against him. It was with himself. That's where 00:21:41.730 --> 00:21:44.369 the struggle was. That's where the fight was. 00:21:44.509 --> 00:21:47.809 That's where the battle was. Where he was conflicted. 00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:52.970 Because even the Lord Jesus himself. knowing 00:21:52.970 --> 00:21:55.430 what his purpose was, knowing it was the cross, 00:21:55.690 --> 00:21:58.089 knowing that's the end game, that's what it's 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:00.990 all about. If I don't fulfill that, then everything 00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:03.650 I've done here is for naught. He understood what 00:22:03.650 --> 00:22:06.609 it was all about. And even the Lord himself was 00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:09.490 struggling with the idea of, do I really got 00:22:09.490 --> 00:22:14.309 to go through with this? Do I really got to pay 00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:17.450 this price? Do I really got to lay down my flesh? 00:22:17.670 --> 00:22:20.970 And so he prays, Father. He said, Father, if 00:22:20.970 --> 00:22:28.609 it is your will, take this cup from me. The cup 00:22:28.609 --> 00:22:31.529 in his hand was the cup of pain. It was the cup 00:22:31.529 --> 00:22:35.910 of sacrifice. It was a bitter cup. It was a painful 00:22:35.910 --> 00:22:40.809 cup. And he's looking at his life. In the cup, 00:22:40.829 --> 00:22:44.069 and he's saying this cup represents the misery, 00:22:44.069 --> 00:22:46.230 it represents the suffering that I'm going to 00:22:46.230 --> 00:22:50.329 have to endure. And so God, is there any way 00:22:50.329 --> 00:22:53.170 that I can, and there are times in our life we're 00:22:53.170 --> 00:22:55.990 looking at the cups in our own lives and we're 00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:58.430 saying, God, is there any way I can have what 00:22:58.430 --> 00:23:02.099 you want from me without this cup? Come on now. 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:05.680 Is there any way, God, that I can get from point 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:08.619 A to point B without this cup? Is there any way, 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:11.680 God, you can use me without this cup? Any way 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.460 you can bless me without this cup? Any way we 00:23:14.460 --> 00:23:17.759 can have revival without this cup? Any way we 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:21.099 can grow our church without this cup? We're always 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:25.920 looking for an out cause. That doesn't require 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:30.589 us to drink from the cup, Brother David. And 00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:33.109 I'm here to tell you that if you ever fight with 00:23:33.109 --> 00:23:37.289 the cup in your life, you're not alone. My goodness, 00:23:37.390 --> 00:23:46.170 we all do. Jesus did. Jesus did. Is there any 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:50.289 way we can go around this? Is there an alternate 00:23:50.289 --> 00:23:56.069 route we can take to redeeming mankind? Can I 00:23:56.069 --> 00:24:00.349 just preach a better sermon next Sunday? Can 00:24:00.349 --> 00:24:03.970 we just sing the latest song? Can we just refresh 00:24:03.970 --> 00:24:06.170 our website? I mean, do we really got a drink 00:24:06.170 --> 00:24:10.710 from the cup? Come on now, somebody. Can I get 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:15.210 through this? Taking the path of least resistance, 00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:19.150 the path that requires the least out of me? And 00:24:19.150 --> 00:24:24.289 too often, what happens is that people are asking, 00:24:24.490 --> 00:24:29.019 not how much can I give? They ask. What's the 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:32.900 least I can give and still have the blessings 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:36.740 of God? What's the least I can surrender and 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:42.940 still make it to heaven? But when you're really 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:46.359 in the will of God, when you're God's child, 00:24:46.660 --> 00:24:48.839 how many of you, we are the children of God, 00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:52.920 amen? When you're God, when you're really God's 00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:57.900 child, you'll have a cup in your life. And that 00:24:57.900 --> 00:24:59.700 cup is going to look at you, and you're going 00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:01.740 to look at it, and you're going to have kind 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:06.660 of a staring contest. Remember those? Who's going 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:10.119 to blink first? You have a staring contest, and 00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:13.500 it's like, it's not going to just go away tomorrow. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:17.059 You wake up Monday, and guess what? The cup is 00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:20.170 still there looking at you. Here comes Tuesday. 00:25:20.309 --> 00:25:22.069 There's the cup. And you can't get rid of it. 00:25:22.069 --> 00:25:24.670 You've got a staring contest with the cup. And 00:25:24.670 --> 00:25:27.029 some of us here today, maybe not everybody, even 00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:28.970 if this is just for one or two people today, 00:25:29.069 --> 00:25:31.450 but there's a cup in your life. And you keep 00:25:31.450 --> 00:25:33.029 trying to figure out. You're trying to maneuver 00:25:33.029 --> 00:25:35.509 your way around it. You're trying to look beyond 00:25:35.509 --> 00:25:37.369 it, trying to get under it. You're trying to 00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:39.930 say, is there any way that we can have what God 00:25:39.930 --> 00:25:42.589 wants for us without this cup? Because this cup 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:45.109 right here is going to require something of me 00:25:45.109 --> 00:25:47.509 that's going to change my lifestyle. That's going 00:25:47.509 --> 00:25:51.009 to bring pain. That's going to inconvenience 00:25:51.009 --> 00:25:53.849 me in some way. And so is there some way, God, 00:25:53.990 --> 00:25:57.069 that you can let this cup pass from me? And the 00:25:57.069 --> 00:25:59.369 cup is just so stubborn it doesn't want to move. 00:26:01.109 --> 00:26:03.490 Can I tell you that it is a rite of passage? 00:26:05.390 --> 00:26:09.930 Everyone who is called of God has a cup that 00:26:09.930 --> 00:26:16.269 they must drink from. And when you drink from 00:26:16.269 --> 00:26:20.369 that cup, And when you accept whatever the cost 00:26:20.369 --> 00:26:27.049 is, saying this is what is required of me for 00:26:27.049 --> 00:26:30.910 God to do what he wants in my family, to see 00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:35.099 the restoration. And the revival of my loved 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:38.759 ones to see the manifest presence of God greater 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:43.220 in my life. To see souls won through my ministry. 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:45.920 To see the glory of God released through me. 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:49.279 To see blessings both physical, spiritual, and 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:54.000 financial. I've got to come to terms with this 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.579 cup. I've got to drink from this cup. And so 00:26:56.579 --> 00:27:00.299 he prays. Father, but if there'd just be any 00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:02.000 way to get this thing out of here, if we could 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:06.859 just bypass it, that would be great, God. But 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:10.599 as he's praying, he already knew the answer. 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:17.539 He already knew that there was no getting around 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:24.880 it. And I have a choice to make. Did I go through 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:29.369 all that I've gone through? Did I... Endure all 00:27:29.369 --> 00:27:32.450 that I've already endured. All the lessons I've 00:27:32.450 --> 00:27:34.829 already learned. All the seasons that I've already 00:27:34.829 --> 00:27:37.789 survived. Did I go through all of that to come 00:27:37.789 --> 00:27:45.970 to this point just to walk away? And Jesus, as 00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:48.670 he's praying, he's saying, God, is there any 00:27:48.670 --> 00:27:55.710 way he realizes that I've come too far to turn 00:27:55.710 --> 00:28:03.079 back now? Someone say, I've come too far. I've 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:06.700 come too far. Jesus was wrestling with a voice 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:09.700 in his mind, a voice of God that was saying, 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:18.460 you're already here. You're already here. This 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:20.359 is the point of no return. This is the point 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:24.000 in which you have to decide whether you're going 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:27.799 to fulfill your purpose in Jesus. Under the weight 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:33.079 of that responsibility. He's praying and he feels 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:35.500 the heaviness of the call. He feels the crushing. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:38.720 If I had more time today, I could tell you that 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:44.920 the place he was praying, Gethsemane, that word 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:51.980 Gethsemane means olive press. Olive press. That's 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:55.759 where the olives are pressed to produce an oil. 00:28:56.390 --> 00:29:01.730 to light candles and to treat the sick. Can I 00:29:01.730 --> 00:29:07.069 tell you that there is no anointing without affliction. 00:29:07.170 --> 00:29:11.109 There is no anointing without a cost. We want 00:29:11.109 --> 00:29:13.829 the oil, but we don't want the pressing that 00:29:13.829 --> 00:29:18.210 comes before it. But he's in all the press and 00:29:18.210 --> 00:29:21.849 he's feeling it, the pressure, the intensity 00:29:21.849 --> 00:29:24.509 of the call on his life and what it's going to 00:29:24.509 --> 00:29:28.299 require. of him, just like we today are feeling 00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:32.740 the down press of the word of God on our hearts 00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:36.039 and our souls. You're feeling. As these words 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:37.759 are going forth, there's areas of your life that 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:39.519 realize that there's a cup and there's a press. 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:42.339 And God's trying to squeeze something out of 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:45.460 us. He's trying to squeeze something into existence. 00:29:45.819 --> 00:29:49.059 And so we ought to pray like Jesus today. God, 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:51.319 it's okay to say God. Is there any other way? 00:29:51.400 --> 00:29:54.539 But at some point you realize this is the path 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:57.440 that God has chosen. And so Jesus, as he's praying, 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:01.240 he's saying, God, if it's your will, take this 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:03.920 cup away from me as the keyboardist comes in. 00:30:04.809 --> 00:30:07.029 Will take this cup away from me. But he says 00:30:07.029 --> 00:30:10.769 nevertheless. Somebody say nevertheless. Come 00:30:10.769 --> 00:30:12.890 on. Everybody say. Somebody say nevertheless. 00:30:14.190 --> 00:30:17.190 He said nevertheless. You know what we need today? 00:30:17.349 --> 00:30:22.140 A nevertheless in our spirits. We need to get 00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:25.279 to a nevertheless in our walk with God. A nevertheless 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:28.839 in our prayers. A nevertheless in our ministries. 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:33.759 A nevertheless and say, God, nevertheless. He 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:39.660 says, not my will, but yours be done. Lord, I've 00:30:39.660 --> 00:30:43.240 come to realize that it's going to be your way 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:46.259 or no way at all. I've come to realize, God, 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.940 that there are some things that are worth fighting 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:56.079 for. things, God. There are some things worth 00:30:56.079 --> 00:31:03.079 the sacrifice, the suffering, the inconvenience. 00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:09.099 Now thank God you and I don't have to suffer 00:31:09.099 --> 00:31:14.660 the way that Christ did. Amen, somebody. So thank 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:17.779 God you and I don't have to suffer. Thank God. 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:26.980 That whatever he's asking of you does not compare 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:32.259 to what he endured on the cross. God's not asking 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:40.859 for you to die on a cross. He's asking you to 00:31:40.859 --> 00:31:49.569 pick up a cross and to follow him. And to say, 00:31:49.569 --> 00:31:53.069 not my will, but yours be done. Would you stand 00:31:53.069 --> 00:32:00.789 with me today? Yours be done. The Holy Spirit 00:32:00.789 --> 00:32:07.809 is here right now. I feel him talking to us today, 00:32:07.890 --> 00:32:15.390 church. And what he's looking for is not a perfect 00:32:15.390 --> 00:32:19.200 man or a woman. He's not looking for someone 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:26.119 who is pretending. Someone who is going through 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:30.700 the motions. He's not looking for someone who 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:37.099 will just blindly say yes. Not even that. Because 00:32:37.099 --> 00:32:41.000 even Jesus shows us, it's okay to question. It's 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:44.559 okay to have a rebuttal in your spirit that says, 00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:49.759 God, but... But do I really have to? Is there 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.339 another way? But God is so good today, church, 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:58.079 that he doesn't disqualify us on the basis of 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:02.920 our objections, even our doubts. He doesn't disqualify 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:06.980 us on the basis of our misunderstandings, even. 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:09.440 He doesn't disqualify us on the basis of our 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:12.380 weaknesses, on the basis of our questions, on 00:33:12.380 --> 00:33:15.950 the basis of our struggles. So you can pray with 00:33:15.950 --> 00:33:19.829 God honestly today. You can come before him honestly 00:33:19.829 --> 00:33:25.069 today. But just know that in the end, the cup 00:33:25.069 --> 00:33:29.769 is still going to be there. In the end, there's 00:33:29.769 --> 00:33:32.190 got to be a submission in our hearts that say, 00:33:32.289 --> 00:33:37.369 okay, God, nevertheless, not my will, but thy 00:33:37.369 --> 00:33:43.170 will be done. I wonder if there's somebody that 00:33:43.170 --> 00:33:48.670 wants His will to be done in your life. Maybe 00:33:48.670 --> 00:33:51.910 that cup looks like ending a relationship that 00:33:51.910 --> 00:33:57.730 has been toxic and counterproductive in your 00:33:57.730 --> 00:34:03.569 life. Maybe that cup looks like obeying His word 00:34:03.569 --> 00:34:07.720 on giving and tithing. Maybe that tithe and that 00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:09.980 offering that you need to give is going to hurt 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:13.019 your budget for this month or next month, but 00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:15.900 you've yet to put that discipline into practice 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:18.219 in your life. And if you want God to bless you 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:20.300 more, he says, but what about that cup, though? 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:23.420 What about that cup? I'm not going to bypass 00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:27.000 that cup, that cup of giving, that cup of tithing. 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:29.119 Maybe that's it for somebody today. I don't know 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:30.960 why I just feel to say that in the Holy Ghost. 00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:34.289 That's the cup. But pastor, it's not easy. I 00:34:34.289 --> 00:34:36.070 got rent due next week. Who said it was going 00:34:36.070 --> 00:34:39.989 to be easy? But when are we going to trust God 00:34:39.989 --> 00:34:43.409 and say, if this is what I've got to do, then 00:34:43.409 --> 00:34:46.130 I need to drink from the cup because the end 00:34:46.130 --> 00:34:50.670 result is the goodness of the Lord. The end result 00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:54.230 are the promises of God. The end result are His 00:34:54.230 --> 00:34:57.389 glory being revealed. Oh, hallelujah. Maybe that 00:34:57.389 --> 00:35:00.110 cup. Looks like greater submission to authority 00:35:00.110 --> 00:35:03.289 in the church. Maybe that cup is forgiving somebody 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:06.829 whom you don't want to forgive. Someone who hurt 00:35:06.829 --> 00:35:12.889 you. Someone who used you. Maybe that cup is 00:35:12.889 --> 00:35:16.170 forgiving somebody whom you can never have a 00:35:16.170 --> 00:35:21.170 conversation with again. There's a cup. There's 00:35:21.170 --> 00:35:25.989 a cup. There's a cup. And you've got to face 00:35:25.989 --> 00:35:29.650 that cup today. so that you can say, not my will, 00:35:29.889 --> 00:35:31.349 but thy be done.