Imminent Attack

Virtuous Woman • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

0 ratings

· 2 views

Notes

Transcript

Pray

Well, it’s good to be back with you this morning. As many of you know, I had the privilege of attending a conference earlier in the week in Myrtle Beach. And I also had the chance to connect with several pastor friends in the area and simply just hear from the Lord.

And Kim and I took our 3 oldest kids with us and also of course, enjoyed some time of refreshment and warm sunshine.

But here’s where I want to take us for a brief moment this morning. Not so much on the trip itself. But more so on what took place after the trip. You see has anyone ever taken a care ride before of any length of time? Maybe 3, 4, 5 hours or more?And what happens when you go on car rides with your kids? You stop, 17 times for bathroom breaks, you stop one place for lunch, and 15 minutes down the road. Someone has to go to the bathroom. You stop for gas, and after you stop, you go 15 minutes down the road and what… someone has to go to the bathroom. And so, in the midst of taking what should have been a 10-hour trip back from south Carolina. We managed to turn this into an all-day, 12-hour expedition.

But this wasn’t the real problem… Set in at about 11 O’clock in the morning, when the words, you don’t want to hear as a parent came out of my 6-year-old boy’s little mouth. As he proceeded to tell me: “Dad, I think I’m going to be sick.” Now mind you, at this moment, I’m driving 75 miles an hour down a 3-lane highway, and my copilot, Kim, is sound asleep on my side. So certainly, I can’t turn around to tend to him, while also tending to our 4,000 lb. family SUV… No, his mom better wake up… we have a major problem on our hand. A

And so, I shake Kim… and yell, “Wake up.” (and she looks over at me and in a halfway sound asleep voice says: “why are you shaking me?” “I was sleeping!) and immediately I told her we had a problem on our hands. That our boy was sick, and I didn’t want a mess on our hands (or in my case, running down the back of my neck as carter was right behind me.) and so…Kim proceeded to give carter a plastic grocery bag, and a few moments later, cater was throwing up… ever so, not gracefully just feet away from my head. All the while, I’m getting passed by semi-trucks as now, I’m in the slow lane trying to figure out what to do.

In the wake of this moment, I thought… this will make a great sermon illustration. There’s something to be learned here. And so, here’s the point, for your sake, I’m glad you weren’t there. I’m happy that you missed out on this moment. Although as a parent, you’ve probably experienced similar messes with your kids. But here’s where I want us to go for a brief moment… the idea of throw up.

You see, when you start to feel sick… what happens? Your stomach starts to turn, you start to sweat, maybe your heart starts raising a little faster… in these moments, you’re keenly aware of the possibility that in the next few moments… you may be vomiting…. Everywhere… We’ve all been there. Right? And then the next thing you know, it’s no longer a thought…. What you’ve been feeling comes to life. You see, we all know what’s it’s like to be sick.

But here’s the key… when your sick… you can tell the attack is imminent, and you have to deal with the matter at hand. You see when you’re sick, you can’t ignore it. But literally, you have to get something up out of your stomach through your chest and your throat.

This morning, it would have a been a lot more convenient to preach the sermon that was already prepared a few weeks ago when the power went out… but the Holy Spirit, put something on my chest.That I’ve got to get out of my heart, and it’s on the topic of Spiritual warfare and specifically prayer.

In fact, in going away with God. My experience has always been that he speaks a divine word to me, each and every time… and I want you to know, this week, the message was specifically on spiritual warfare and prayer. and so, this message is for me… But this message is for you…

And the question, is what do we do in an imminent attack?: If you have your bibles turn with me to Matthew 26:36-38 1. Watch. 2. Pray. 3. Persist

1. Watch

36 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.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

In this scripture, we understand that right around midnight of Thursday leading into Friday. Jesus goes to the place called Gethsemane, which mean “olive press” and It’s at the foot (or the base of the mount of olives.) and he takes his what now would be 11 of his 12 disciples with him. And he tells most of them to sit here, which in my studies, this location would have likely been the entrance to the gate of the garden… so he tells them to sit there in that location. So that he can go about a stones throw away, roughly 50 yards or so… and pray. And in these moments, he takes Peter, and the 2 sons of Zebedee (that being James and John) along with him, so that he can go and pray.

But he says these key words to them. In verse 38 we’re told: “38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Now in this one verse, there is a lot that we could unpack. And we won’t look at every detail. But I want us to notice a few things. First of all, we see that He is overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death. And Jesus, being God, knew the very real pain and torment that in the coming hours he would have to face. He knew that he would be crucified, and have nails tear through his skin as he would humbly die on the cross in the coming hours. He knew the humiliation that he would endure, and the torture he would face.

But above all of this, he knew ultimately that he would be forsaken by his Father. That He would have to bear the sin of the world upon himself and be the sacrifice for our sin. And in these moments, The book of Luke 22:44 tells us: 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

By the way this event, has a term, which Hematidrosis. This is a rare, but very real, medical condition that causes one’s sweat to contain blood. The sweat glands are surrounded by tiny blood vessels that can constrict and then dilate to the point of rupture, causing blood to effuse into the sweat glands. The cause of hematidrosis is extreme anguish.

So, we glean this sense, that Jesus is experiencing extreme anguish. And here we see both his divinity, as God… but also, his humanity… and his anguish. But he speaks to his inner 3, that being peter James and John and tells them: “Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Now I do want us to understand that there are moments in life, where we as believers need to look to others to help us.

About this instance, John MacArthur Explains: God expects believers to encourage and strengthen one another, and that is an essential means through which He builds up His Children. (then he goes on to write) bur there are times when only direct, intimate communion with the Lord in intense prayer can provide the strength to meet their desperate needs.

And so, Jesus has these 3 with them, and they’re his friends, and close companions. But it won’t be long before they’re sleeping. And of little help. And so ultimately, them being here is for their benefit. You see, despite their closeness to him. Jesus will model to them, that they’re no help… and really, this whole moment comes down to the need for prayer with the Father.

But yet he tells them to stay there and keep watch.

The word Keep Watch, being the word: Grēgoreō give strict attention to be cautious, active.

You see I think of the USS Cole, the ship I was stationed on at the age of 19. And what you might not know is that USS Cole was bombed on October 12, 2000 just one year before 9/11. And in this attack, the USS Cole was anchored in Yemen harbor, and a small boat came alongside the port (or left side) of the ship… and blew a massive 40-foot hole in the side of the boat, killing 17 sailors. Several years removed, I would go on to serve my first deployment onboard the USS Cole as a young fireman. And we would return to Yemen for the first time since the Coles bombing. And my job as a young sailor was to stand the sound and security watch.

And this job is really designed for entry level sailors. But your job is to go from one engine space to the next. Inspecting for fire, smoke, water in the ships bilge, or anything that would pose harm to the vessel. And if something is detected, your job is to report it immediately so that it can be dealt with. A small explosive device in a ships hull can be catastrophic, a leaking pipe even, In the bottom of the ship, has the potential to capsize the vessel.

But here’s the key. You have to be aware of the potential for danger, or attack, so that you can deal with the problem before you capsize.

Here, Jesus is with his disciples. And he tells them plainly “Keep Watch!” “Don’t take your eyes off the enemy.” “Be vigilant.”

You see I’m reminded of David this morning. As the philistine army came against the army of Israel, the bible tells us: 1 Samuel 17: 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

Goes on to say… 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Here’s the point church. The battle is the Lords. It’s not by might, nor by power, but by his spirit…but make no mistake… we must be aware of the devil’s attacks.

1 peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”

Church, it’s not that we fear the enemy. The Lord hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. But we must be alert. We must not be naïve. We must recognize, his desire is to sift you. We must keep watch over ourselves and household… we must be vigilant!

2. We must Pray

As we look at the text Jesus prays to the Father “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. In other words, if there’s any other option… Let’s go with that… (like I know I’m plan A, but if there can be any other way, let’s go with that!) but ultimately, being God, Jesus knew his death was necessary for the forgiveness of sins. And so, he says. Yet not as I will, but as you will. (or Not my will but yours be done.)

But notice with me verses 40-41 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. In other words, these guys have one job to do. And that’s to stay awake and keep watch. Jesus says:

41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Now I want you to think about something with me for a moment. The disciples have one job… its simple, stay awake, and pray, keep watch. And yet of all the disciples none of them could keep their eyes open. They’re asleep.

I think of the classic idea of the youth group van. Maybe going to Beulah beach or an overnight lock in. And yes, in the early hours of the morning, 2,3, 4 am… some of these kids are sound asleep on the church pews or floor… but in every group, there is a Kade, or a Devon, or a tommy… every group, has at least one student, that has bought 4 monster energy drinks or red bulls, and stinky Dorito smelling feet and all, this kid is determined to stay awake. Here, Jesus turns to these disciples, and not one of them is awake. And the question is WHY???

They have a problem with the Flesh… You see, this is Jesus… he’s perfect, he never sinned. Yet He would rise early in the morning, he would make prayer a priority.

In fact, if you think about it… after the last super… Matthew 26:27 tells us:

27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

And in the coming moments, Judas would betray Jesus… Did you ever think about why Judas knew to look in the Garden?Think that to yourselves for a moment… How did Judas know where to find Jesus? I mean there isn’t a long account of Judas and the group of soldiers having to search for Jesus. How did they know where to find him?

The answer is, the garden was a common place of solitary retreat and prayer. I found in my studies, that much like the owner of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, or the owner of the upper room where the last supper takes place, the owner of Gethsemane would likely be a nameless friend, who would allow Jesus to use it as a place of retreat and prayer.

And here in these moments, Jesus would turn to his disciples and tell them: that they need to 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

You see, unlike Jesus, who was perfect, yet who prayed. Apart from Jesus, we’re simply flesh… The only good thing about us is Him.

Church… we have to watch, and we have to pray.

I heard a story this week from Johnny Hunt who was influential in the life of Orlando Wilson. And if you don’t know who Orlando is… he was a professional angler, and the host of the television Fishin' with Orlando Wilson.\

But Johnny explain that he led Orlando to the Lord. And one day, Orlando was talking with this Johnny, and told him the key to bass fish. You see, Orlando was recognized as a Top Ten of the BASS Tournament seven times from 1979–1998 and he would make his own fishing lures. And he told Johnny that the key to bass fishing is you have to hide the hook. That you can have the best lures in the world, but the hook has to be camouflaged. To work properly.

Orlando then went on to explain a story about a 10-pound bass. Who had a fishing bed. And this wise bass was difficult to catch, because he remained close to home in his bed. Orlando explained that the goal of the lure was not to try to get the bass to eat it in his bed… instead, the goal was to district the bass, by using the lure… so that the bass would leave his bed, and then, out in the open… you had a chance of catching him.

Church, this morning: 1 John 2:16. Tells us: For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

And sometimes, this bait looks good. In fact, call it coincidence or divine revelation. But I was driving back Friday night and saw this sign over at the Mt. Victory Drive through. “We now have Live bait” Satan’s crafty. He’ll do whatever he can to lure you away… he’ll use whatever bait necessary… Our Job is to pray.

3. We must be Persistent

39 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.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 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. 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

We won’t spend a ton of time on this point. But here’s what I do want us to see. Jesus was persistent. He didn’t give up. He didn’t throw in the towel. The bibles says three times, he returns praying. And 3 times his disciples are sleeping.

But I want us to notice something for a brief second. Go back with me to verse we’re told: 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed…

Do you notice that posture of prayer? He’s literally lying prostrate with his face flat on the floor. And he’s in agony, and emotional pain… and yet… in these moments, what is he doing? He’s crying out to God. 3 x’s he cries out… He doesn’t give up… He doesn’t say a quick, drive by prayer… He stays the course.

I’m going to call Lisa back up at this time

You see I don’t know about you, but I’m well aware that life will have trouble, and sorrow. Difficulty, hardship and pain… and we can choose to look to our friends, we can choose to look to anything something that will provide temporary comfort or relieve… or we can choose to look to Christ.

What’s in your heart this morning?

What do you need to pray about?

What spiritual warfare are you facing?

Pray

Related Media

Related Sermons