Download March 22nd, 2009 Sunday Morning Message Speaker: Alfred Lo

March 22nd, 2009 Sunday Morning Message
Speaker: Alfred Lo
Hymns 62 It Was Alone the Saviour Prayed
384 Lead Me to Calvary
These songs we sang are about examination. This is our theme for meditation today.
The most agonizing decision ever made had to be Jesus' decision in the Garden of
Gethsemane. In Mark, he showed us this is the most difficult choice Jesus had to
make for His disciples. He chooses to expose Himself to unimaginable horrors to reveal
His unimaginable love for us. We want to look at the decision He made for not only His
disciples, but also for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Read:
Mark 14:32-43
Matthew 26: 31-54
What is the journey that Jesus had with His disciples? They just left the meal in which
they had intimate fellowship and He shared the bread and cup. Then, they leave
Jerusalem behind and head east to Kidron Valley. In a spiritual sense, Jesus
descends into death where no one's gone before while knowing this fact. What does
"Gethsemane" mean? After He descends into Kidron Valley, He walks up Mt. Olive. In
Hebrew, Gethsemane means "Oil Press" and it's most likely where an olive press was
located. At that time, He remembered what was prophesied in Isaiah 53 that the
Father will crush Him... in the process, the olive is also crushed. Like an olive, in the
doors of the press, Jesus is at the verge of being crushed for the sin of humanity,
bringing forth a much more valuable oil: of the Holy Spirit that is given to all that believe.
This outpour of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled at Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was
poured down onto 120 people and the church of Christ was formed.
As Jesus journeys through this path, it is a similar path David has gone through as he
was fleeing from Absolon who was trying to kill and take kingdom from him. David left
Jerusalem, through Kit valley, and climb Mt. Olive with all his men and fled to safety.
Just as David left Jerusalem with his men, Jesus did likewise. In a way, He's walking
the footsteps of David. As Jesus was pursued by Judas, He arrives at Gethsemane.
This is the crucial time for Him to speak to His father. To an extent, Jesus lives out
David's story but He goes much further. David fled to safety but Jesus remained in
Gethsemane to go where David never went before. Jesus took His 3 closest friends
with Him to the Garden: Peter, John and James. He left them there so He can seek the
Father alone. He had to do this alone. In the Garden, Jesus spoke with the Father.
In the beginning, God placed men in the Garden of Eden. That garden was where God
dwelled with men but Adam and Even failed the test. They chose the lies of the
serpent and ate the forbidden fruit. They were driven out from the Garden because
they rejected God: the fall of man. Through Adam, sin entered into the world, and
death through sin, and death to all man because we all sinned. This time, God has His
only begotten son in the Garden of Gethsemane . In the future, there will be another
Garden prepared (Rev 21-22) in New Jerusalem where people of God will dwell with
God together. Whether anyone gets there hinges on Jesus' decision here in the
Garden of Gethsemane. In this Garden, Jesus often withdraws and prays and
communes with God. This is the Garden of God where He seeks His destiny. This is
the hour of decision.
What happened in this Garden? Jesus was very distressed, troubled, and grieved to the
point of death. He was forced to the ground in agony and prayed fervently and His
sweat became like drops of blood. He could have died in the Garden because He was
in such great distress. Because of this, an angel appeared to strengthened Him
because He could have died from the distress. The question is: what is it about this
cup that causes Him to tremble to terror? In the Garden, the Lord prayed that if it be
possible for the cup be removed from Him (but not according to His will but the father's).
We know this cup is the cross, which means He will die a brutal, lonely, shameful death
where he's ridiculed by enemies, abandoned by friends, and even worse. Jesus who
knew no sin would become sin at the moment He hangs on the cross. This innocent
man who never knew guilt will now feel the guilt of the whole world on the cross. He
absorbs every sinner's wickedness: from the greatest sinner, tyrant, murder, haters of
God, greedy, to every little sin such as our white lie. Everybody's sin would fall upon
His shoulder. Does the Lord not know that this is the hour He's been waiting for? That
He has to drink this bitter cup? Sometimes we wonder what Jesus finds most horrifying
about this cup. He told his disciples that He'd take this cup before but at this critical
moment, He asks whether it's possible if this cup be removed from Him.
We know that at the 9th hour when He was on the cross, He cried, "My God, My God,
why has Thou forsaken Me?" Gospel of Mark recorded this saying. In the Garden of
Gethsemane, He addressed to God as "Abba Father". All along when He shared and
prayed, He addressed to God as Father. He did so on the Cross too. Yet, on the 9th
hour as He hangs on the cross, He cried "My God My God". He changed how He
addressed the Father to "God" because He was bearing the sin of mankind, standing in
the position as a sinner to be judged by the righteous and Holy God. He was no longer
the beloved Son. He was made sin on our behalf. After, as He was about to yield His
Spirit to His father, He referred to God as the Father again. God is Love. The father
has never been apart from the Son but at the Son's hour of greatest need, the Father
would have nothing to do with His son and in a way forsook Jesus. Not only that, His
disciples all fled. There is a crack in God the Father's and God the Son's relationship.
A horrible fracture in time. This is a horrifying thought. All through Jesus' 33.5 years
in the ministry, the Father was with Him every moment. It was only during this moment
that the Father turned away from Him. All of us have either experienced the loss of
loved one or observed someone suffer such a loss. The grief is excruciating. We
move pass it but we can kind of understand the kind of grief Jesus experienced on that
cross.
Why does Jesus ask why God forsaken Him? As if He doesn't know? At one time, He
knew He'd have to give His life as ransom for many. At the feast, He told his disciples
that His blood is the covenant but He seems to be confused at this moment. When He
bore the sin onto his shoulder, sin disoriented Him and at this moment, He may not
know why He's hanging on the cross or why the Father rejected Him. In a way, we can
see that the prayer in the Garden showed His humanity. He said, “Abba, Father, all
things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will,
but what You will" even though He is the Son of God. He became nothing and became
a servant in the likeness of a human being. As a human being, He has His own
preference and that preference is to not take up the bitter cup. However, He trusts the
Father. Still, He wants to know whether it must be that way.
How did the Lord get His answer? The Heavenly Father answered His prayer through
the 11 disciples. In the Garden, He prayed 3 times and immediately afterwards, He
goes to His disciples 3 times. He's looking for something, an answer to His prayer.
God gave these men to Him and He's devoted His life to them, His life is bound up in
theirs and the answer will come through them. Each time He comes to them, He finds
that they need a Saviour. Jesus told them to watch and be watchful. Watchful means
to pay attention to the reality. In this situation, the reality is not only that Judas would
betray Him, the guards will arrest Him, or any outward circumstance. To be watchful is
to look into the spiritual reality of the situation. In college/ career Sunday school, we're
studying Abraham. He's told to live in Canaan but there's a famine so he went down to
Egypt instead. What is the reality in Canaan? Yes, there's a famine but that's only the
surface circumstance. In Abraham's case, he has to look beyond the outwards
situation to see what exactly God has planned for his life. God called Abraham and
now there's a famine. Is it God's plan for him to go to Egypt? No. He was not watchful
and only saw the surface and made that decision on his own. Refer to: "The lamp of
the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of
light." Matt 6:22. and "He who has ears to hear, let him hear! " Matt 11:15 (or
Rev?). We are spiritually blind when we are not watchful and we disconnect from
spiritual reality and eventually lose God's reality and will for us if we're not watchful.
Jesus found the disciples sleeping. Why are they so sleepy? Luke explains that their
eyes were heavy because of sorrow. Jesus just told them disturbing things, that one
would betray Him and that He's leaving them, and that all the disciples will fall away
from Him and Peter will even deny the Lord 3 times. They hear all this bad news and
they are not sleeping as a result of normal weariness. They have been rocked by the
reality and cannot take it. They choose not to be watchful and to disconnect from
Jesus' word. They reason is if life is this hard, God cannot be trusted and it's better to
sleep than be watchful. They choose spiritual blindness. In this case, they need a
Saviour. Jesus shared with them about the death of agony but these disciples were
too consumed by their own sorrow to stay up with a friend in need. In this case, they
need a Saviour.
What does Jesus say to his disciples on 1st return? He tells Peter to keep watching and
praying so he may not succumb into temptation. The temptation is to choose our own
will over God's will. How are we to avoid this mistake? Jesus' advice is to keep
watching and praying. Peter demonstrates that he wants to distance himself and give
up dependence on God. In the end, he denies the Lord. This is not an accident. He
was not watching and praying in the Garden. The Lord found him like this 3 times and
it's no accident that he denied Jesus 3 times. When confronted with the reality of
following Jesus, Peter crumbled. He needs a Saviour. What happened in the 2 and
3rd time He comes to the disciples? On the 2nd time, Mark notes that the disciples
didn't know what to answer Jesus. They need a Saviour. On the 3rd time, Jesus asks
if they're still sleeping. He knows the answer to His prayer will come through His
disciples and after all this prayer, Jesus found them still sleeping and that they all need
a Saviour. Jesus received His answer. He said, "the hour has come". He came to
the Garden to see if the hour may pass Him by but the answer has come. He tells his
disciples that He's to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. At that time, we can see
that the disciples left Him and fled. They need a Saviour. This time, in the Garden of
God, the Son trusts and obeys His father to drink that bitter cup. This is a big turn
around. This is the difference with this Garden and the Garden of Eden. The Son
does not back down and obeys to take the cup. He did it out of love for His disciples.
They could not watch or pray, and their spirit was willing but their flesh was weak. He
loved them and drank that cup for them and for us.
How does the disciple's condition in the Garden apply to us today? Peter represents not
only the disciples, but also us. His condition and situation is also ours. He represents
us. Who among us has remained watchful and prayerful out of love for Christ? Who
among us can stay spiritually awake, submit, and connected? Who has not sought to
distance from God due to lack of trust? Who has not dreamed up an alternative reality
where we enthrone ourselves? Because we think we can make better decisions than a
God that we think deprive us from good things we think we need, one that allows misery
and demands from us? Who has not acted upon self-dependence because we feel
God's undependable? Who has not yielded to the impulse of our flesh? Or closed our
ears to Jesus' words because they're too hard? Who stayed up with Jesus in the dark
hours and followed Him into the heart of darkness? No one. Not even one of us. As a
result, we need the Saviour. Here it is. This is our Saviour. He chose to expose
Himself to unimaginable horror, even the horror of being forsaken by God. He asked
the Father for another way and He found His answer in us. He sees that we were not
watching and praying, that we couldn't stay up with Him, and that we have no ability to
rise up to go with Him. He saw we need a Saviour so He went alone. He did so
because He loves us. He drank that bitter cup for you and me. Where do we find
such love? In the Garden of Gethsemane. This is your Saviour.
What is the consequence of making that decision in the Garden? As a result of
choosing the Father's will over His own, there's a term that describes His humility: "They
led Him away". In other words, He stretched out His hand to be bound and led away by
His created being. He's like a lamb led to slaughter. How humble. His hands are
hands that created the whole universe, put stars in the sky and created our galaxy. He
created all visible things including the human race, including you and me. These
hands were bound by His created beings. He allowed them to do so not because
these people could do anything to Him, but because He allowed them to insult, accuse,
spit on, slap, mock and strike Him. All the while, Peter watched his master's
humiliation. Then, they led Him to face Pilate who found Jesus to be of no fault. Then
they led Him to face Herod where He faced contempt. He went back to Pilate where
He was sentenced to death by crucifixion. They placed a twisted crown of thorn onto
His head. This is our Saviour. Jesus is not only the Saviour of unbelievers, but
especially of those that believe. He's Saviour of Christians.
Alfred shares a poem. It was too fast to get it down. Please ask him if you would like a
copy:
Three crosses stood on Calvary...
This is the unimaginable price he paid for you and me.
I want to finish this with the testimony of the writer of "10,000 Angels". I still remember
the impact of that song. Ray Overholt. He's a celebrity in the music business. He left
his TV show (an entertainment show). After his show was done, he went into the night
club circuit and drank heavily. He began to think there must be a better life than being
a musician or living through night clubs. In this case, he was trying to look into the
spiritual reality. He was so intended on changing his lifestyle that he told his wife he'd
quit smoking, drinking, cursing, and will clean up his life because he could not keep
living like this. He thought that someone must have been praying for him. One day he
told himself that he's written so many secular songs and now he'd like to write a song
for Christ. He was not even a Christian and he knew very little about the Bible. He
turned to the passage about the Garden of Gethsemane and how Peter put away his
sword. When he read all this, he suddenly saw that Jesus could have asked the Father
to send angels to deliver Him. He continued to read how Jesus died to save mankind.
The more he read, the more he was drawn to what Jesus did for him. One night while
he was at a club, the Lord impressed upon his heart to write this song. He wrote the
1st verse and put it into his guitar case. He gave his notice to the club that he's
quitting. As he was putting his guitar away, someone saw his writing. He explained
that he's writing this song for Christ. The guy said to him that this song will not go
anywhere. Later, this song became a mighty song the Lord used in many gospel
meetings. He finished all 3 verses and had it published. He sang this song at a
gospel meeting and then a message was given. On that day, he gave his life to Jesus
and he became a traveling singer and preacher for the Lord.
Ten Thousand Angels
Words and Music by Ray Overholt
They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thro' the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, "Crucify Him; He's to blame."
Refrain
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.
Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns;
They laughed and said, "Behold the King!"
They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name
All alone He suffered everything.
Refrain
When they nailed Him to the cross, His mother stood nearby,
He said, "Woman, behold thy son!"
He cried, "I thirst for water," but they gave Him none to drink.
Then the sinful work of man was done.
Refrain
To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry.
The cross of shame He took alone.
And when He cried, "It's finished," He gave Himself to die;
Salvation's wondrous plan was done.
Refrain