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Dead In The Garden
,
The Garden of Gethsemane.
What a beautiful and poetic place in our minds, literature, songs, and all these last 2000 years.
The name Gethsemane comes from the root Aramaic word for “oil press”.
It is filled with Olive Trees.
Having been to Israel, and spent time in multiple Spanish locals, Lisa and I learned to love Olive Trees.
They are such interesting trees.
They go down into the ground and come back up from the roots over and over, year after year, which creates very gnarly interesting looking trunks.
They produce beautiful wood, and of course the olive, and the oil.
The Garden of Gethsemane contains trees that still could be 2000 years old or more.
They could be the very trees, or offshoots from the roots of the trees that Jesus would have prayed around and under.
It would seem that this place, this holy place, this quiet place, was a common place for Christ.
We know it as the place where he prayed, and the place where he was arrested
(Caravaggio painting)
The Garden of Gethsemane was not just the place that Jesus was betrayed, or the place where he was finally caught.
The Garden of Gethsemane gives us the picture and example of HOW to deal with the battles of Life.
Notice something that jumps out at me from this painting …
Judas, center, has just kissed Jesus on the cheek, the signal to arrest our Savior.
John is on the left, running from the scene, but being held back by a guard.
Caravaggio, the artist, has placed himself on the far right, holding a lantern.
There, center left is Jesus.
What I want you to see about Jesus is his posture.
He is passive.
He is not fighting, he is not fleeing.
Then notice, the light is falling on his hands.
His hands are clasped, fingers intertwined, I see a resoluteness in his hands.
He is committed to the task.
He is dead to himself
He is dead to death
He is already dead!
How do we fight the battles of obedience to complete the tasks of God?
How do we seek God's face and come out victorious?
How do Face even the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and find the strength and courage to go into it resolutely?
The Garden of Gethsemane was, in my opinion, the final battle that Christ faced on this earth.
The fake trial, the beatings, the mocking, the taunting, the cross, were NOT a battle for Christ.
Of course, they were Physically demanding and painful, but there was NO doubt that he would continue and finish what he set out to do.
Look at his hands …
The key to that Resolve was the Victory that was won in The Garden.
Christ had shared the Passover meal with his disciples.
Then he made the late evening walk with his disciples giving them his final teachings on The Vine and the Branches, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
He prayed in their presence for Unity of his people.
Then he goes to The Garden.
READ
and
What is the Battle that you face Today?
The Garden is the Place to fight the battle.
Our time with the Lord gives us the power for the battles of life.
The battles are NOT won on the playing field, on the contrary, they are won as we wrestle with ourselves, and with God, and gain the victory and resolution to go on in obedience to his will.
When we've surrendered to his will, we will not give in to defeat, discouragement, or the devil.
Jesus and his disciples were BOTH in the Garden
They were BOTH to be praying … but the disciples SLEPT …
What was the difference?
1) Understanding God’s Plan – Jesus didn’t go into the garden wondering what to do.
He knew because he had been in the garden before.
He knew the plan.
So, in the garden, now, he was praying for strength and certainty, NOT deliverance.
Oh, the flesh wanted deliverance, “Father If …” but the other difference, Jesus had
2) A Strong Spirit and a Strong Flesh – We want to cop out and say, “oh, I’m just not strong enough … but the strength of the flesh comes from strengthening and committing the Spirit to the God-revealed plans.
The disciples were weak because they had NOT spent the time in the Garden BEFORE.
They were driven by selfish desires and felt needs.
They were driven by what THEY wanted, an earthly kingdom, notoriety, etc.
They didn’t know the plans and purposes of God.
What is the Garden?
The Garden is a Place of Passion
"fell face down"
"sweat drops of blood"
The Garden is a Common Place
- "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives … 40 on reaching the place …"
This was NOT a just because he knew that he was going to die tomorrow.
This was common action, common place, common practice for Christ.
It was common when he faced critical decisions, it was common when he had a battle to face, it was common for him to relate to the Father through passionate prayer and surrender.
With God, in prayer, is not the last resort, it is the first and common place for us.
The Posture of the Garden is one of Surrender
- for Jesus we know that he knelt, we also know that he ended up on his face.
Those are postures of humility and surrender to a Sovereign.
They are postures of great anguish, and deep desire for gracious favor of our Sovereign.
- For the disciples, he told them to pray, but in the lateness of the night and their exhaustion, they fell asleep and so he told them to "get up and pray".
- if the posture you are in is causing you to struggle in prayer, find another position, it's not as much about the posture, but it is about surrender.
- if kneeling or being on your face causes you to surrender to sleep, then stand, walk, pray out loud, but take a position where you can surrender to God.
says Jesus - "offered up prayers … with loud cries and tears … and he was heard because of his reverent submission".
He wasn’t heard because of position, but because of passion.
The Garden is a Place - where we Recognize God’s Power and Position
- where we Recognize His Power - "… all things are possible"
- Where we Recognize His Position - "Abba, Father" –
Not My Will But Yours, You Are Boss,
You Are Leading, I Am Following
Abba - (Aramaic) was the personal intimate way to relate to Father, i.e. "daddy"
Father - (Greek - pater) The formal address to the parent, ancestor, source of being, prototype, priest
We could amplify this phrase more Fully here,
"My Dearest Daddy, Father from whom I have my physical life, my spiritual being, whom I recognize as the source of everything I know, and the final authority on all matters, …"
When you Come to the Garden, bring Your Desires, but Be Prepared to Surrender to HIS
Ok, this is nice inspirational stuff, pastor, but …
So, What Do WE do in the Garden?
IN THE GARDEN …
1.
The Armor of God is Put On
(CSB)
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.
13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.
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