Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

pray

For the past several weeks we have been in the Fan or Follower series, and we have defined wether or not you fan of Jesus or a follower of Jesus, by looking at 2 Peter 1:1-11.

Now, we are going to look at specific aspects of Jesus followers.

Certain traits that all followers should have.

Each message will be kinda like a break-out session.

Today is..

A follower is prayer (pray-er).

Before we dive into the text, especially since our scripture text is a little heavy, I will start with an illustration.

I spent some time working in the transportation industry.

For a while I was in operations management.

Operations has to look at the big picture.

There are consequences to decisions made here locally that can affect people a long way off.

There were people above me, that were looking at things outside of my area.

Although I worked in a city here in Minnesota their people that looked at the whole Midwest; and even others that looked at the whole country.

Often the people above us were facing challenges, that we could not see.

Often they would give us directives that we did not want to follow because it interfered, or interrupted our preferred way of of doing things the way we wanted to do them.

When we recieved those directions often people ran to management and wanted answers.

Why are you doing this?

What is behind this?

Now, what worked best was when leadership explained the big picture to us.

Then it was easier for us here on the local level to submit to their decisions.

It was even better for us, when they came back and checked on us, to see if we were following the suggestions.Surprisingly today’s text from Mark is a little bit like that.

Jesus is the leader of a group of followers.

Jesus is dealing with a big problem up here, at a level far beyond the everyday followers.

The things Jesus is facing is outside of their full understanding.

Jesus explains to them what they should be doing, and why, and comes back to check on them to see if they are implementing the solution.

If we are following Jesus, we should see what Jesus does, how Jesus prays to see what we can learn from it.

A very famous text on praying is found here in Mark chapter 14, verses 32 through 42, in the garden of Gethsemane.

This text is extremely ominous.

When we think of the garden of Gethsemane we are submerged in a flood of dark emotions over us.

It is known as the agony in the Garden, because it is here that the wrath of God begins to poured out on Jesus for the sins of men.

In this passage, in verse 34 Jesus says, that his soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

Our first reading was from Psalm 42.

Psalm 42 describes the feeling of a troubled soul.

The Psalmist asks the question, why are you so downcast my soul why so disturbed within me?

Jesus suffered in his soul more than we will ever know, but we do have times when we need God.

We have times when we suffer, we have times of pain of loss, we have feelings of loneliness or abandonment, or worry.

Followers will at some point in time have a longing for help, divine help, help from Jesus, we need it we long after it.

We do not always know the reasons God has for doing what he does.

We don;t why we have an illness or why are business or family is failing, but in here in our souls we feel that something is wrong, and we don’t like it.

Or we sense some sort of disconnect with what we are doing and what we should be doing.

So in our souls is a longing, or a disturbance.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 42, verse 1.

When a follower, has a need for God in their soul, their soul pants for God. the Psalmist says my soul pants for God like a deer pants for water.

A follower is thirsty for the living water only the Lord can provide.

When that happens, the Holy Spirit is drawing us closer to God.

God the Holy Sprit draws followers to prayer.

God the Holy Spirit is draws followers to Him in prayer as needs arise.

As we go through life in our relationship with Jesus Christ sometimes God, by the the Holy Spirit calls us to Him in prayer.

To find relief for our souls.

To drink from the stream, to seek after God.

When we are being drawn to God, we need to get to a place to meet with God.

We need to go and get with God.

That is the first thing that we notice about the passage today in Mark 14, at verse 32.

Jesus purposefully, goes to this specific spot to pray.They were just at the Last supper, they were in the upper room of a house in town.

Jesus is very purposeful about this Olive Garden.

The name means oil press.

Like under pressure.

The place seems very purposeful, he is ordering where people are.

Sit here while I pray.

He took the three closest disciples, the inner circle a little farther.

He left the larger group, separated these three.

Jesus is “deeply distressed and troubled” the wrath of God for men’s sins is beginning to trouble His soul, and Jesus leaves those three, and goes on farther.

Overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death, instead of staying with his closest follower Jesus goes off even farther, by himself, and prayed.

As the Psalmist said, why are you downcast oh my soul why so disturbed with me.

Ultimately, this prayer, this time is between the Son of God, Jesus the God man, and God the Father.

It is as if at that moment, He is entering the heavenly.

That is our next point.

A follower needs a place for prayer

Now, this is not to say that we don’t pray continually to quote 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

I do that.

I was talking to someone on Friday who does that.

If you do that don’t stop.

That is what we should be doing, but there comes a time for a purposeful place for prayer.

There is a time when your soul is downcast, or when your soul pants for God.

As in the song we sang last week “Blessed be Your Name” , when we are found in the desert place, and when we walk through the wilderness.

When the Holy Spirit presses in upon your heart to the point where you can almost physically feel the need to pray, we need to purposefully, find a place for prayer.

I talked to someone else last week who talks about her daughter going into the woods to pray.

Sometimes we need to go the woods, or beside the lake, or into our prayer closet like in Matthew 6:6, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Maybe it is in the morning, maybe at night by your bed, maybe in the car, or at the park , in an empty chapel.

Sometimes we need to step into the heavenly just us and God, and fall to the ground in prayer and we to satisfy our thirsty souls like deer by a cool stream drinking in the living water of the living God.

This is a sacred time and an important time between us and God.

Not that we don’t pray in a group, this is just in addition to that.

In this place it is between us and God.

No one else.

This is a sacred time set apart for us and God, a time to enter the heavenly.

A follower sometimes needs a place for prayer.

Moving on.

Jesus, troubled in soul overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, is facing something that you and I cannot imagine.

He is the Son of God, and he is talking the wrath of God for all of the sins of mankind upon him, and this is horrible.

Father Jesus says, in an intimate way, Father everything is impossible for you, and I don’t want to go through this, but Father it is not about what I want it is about you want.

Prayer is less about getting God to do what we want as it is about getting us to do what God wants.

I get it.

We have needs.

We need things.

And God does tell us to ask.

right James 5:16 "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.

If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

and Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”