LUKE 22:35-46 PREPARE YOURSELF2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 22:35-46 Prepare Yourself

So, I went to Costco yesterday, and I was not quite prepared. Have you ever done that? Go to Costco on a Saturday afternoon at lunchtime.

And not be prepared for what you are going to experience. It was right about lunchtime. I hadn't eaten yet yesterday when I went. And well...

You know what's coming, right? The samples. But before I get there, I hadn't eaten yet, so I'm hungry. And I'm not necessarily, you know, in the best state of mind like you've ever seen me before. And so I hit the parking lot, and guess what? On Saturday afternoon, or right around lunchtime, Costco is packed, right? So the parking lot's a mess.

And I was not prepared for the battle in the parking lot. I wasn't prepared for the massive people, you know, trying to get across, the cars trying to take the parking spot away from you. I wasn't prepared for the battle that took place there in the parking lot. But I finally found a spot. It was many aisles over and all the way at the end. And so I began the long journey, you know, down to the entrance. And I walk inside and, man,

It's crowded. There's people everywhere. And, you know, they have the hugest carts you've ever seen in your life, right? So they take up the aisle. They're blocking the aisle. And trying to find the things that I needed was difficult because, well, there was people in the way all over the place. I'm still hungry. And, of course, they have samples. And that's an exciting part about Costco, except when it's busy like that.

Because then everybody crowds around the sample and you can't get through the aisle. So you can't get to the samples, which I would have liked, but I couldn't. And I couldn't get past them to get to, you know, the stuff I needed to get off the shelves. And so it was a very frustrating experience as I was unprepared for shopping at Costco on a Saturday afternoon. The aisles were crazy. The checkout lines were crazy. And if you go to Costco in such a manner, if you don't prepare properly,

It will cost you. And I don't just mean the frustration, but then the things in the cart add up and you're like, well, I wasn't prepared to pay this price when you get to the checkout at the end. And then the final, you know, the last straw, right? I pay for my stuff, I get out the door and I head to the far aisle, I get down to the end of it

and I realize I'm parked on the next aisle over. But all the cars are parked close together and the baskets are so wide I can't fit through, so I have to walk all the way down to the front and then go back around to get the groceries to the car. Obviously, I was unprepared, right?

Well, this morning as we look at this passage, it has nothing to do with shopping at Costco, but the title is Prepare Yourself. And I want to encourage you to be prepared for what is ahead. And I was not prepared. I didn't really, you know, think through what was going to happen as I went to Costco yesterday. But when we think about our lives and what God has in store for us,

And what the enemy has in store for us, the battles that are ahead, the challenges that are ahead, the opportunities that are ahead, there needs to be some preparation on our part. And we need to think ahead. And we see this kind of preparation happening in our passage this morning. With Jesus seeking to prepare his disciples, but also he takes time to prepare himself for

for the hours that lay in store for him. And so we begin looking at this passage this morning in verses 35 through 38. We have the first of three points. The first point is prepare yourself for

practically. When we talk about preparing yourself for what lies ahead in this life, challenges, ministry opportunities, there's some practical preparation that needs to take place. Check it out in verse 35. He says to his disciples, when I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?

So they said nothing. So Jesus now is having this discussion with his disciples and he reminds them about the two times previous to this that he has sent them out. You can look at it in Luke chapter 10 and Luke chapter 9. He sent out the 12 disciples and then later on he sent out the 70 disciples.

And both times as he sends these groups of followers out, he gives them very specific instructions. He says, do not take any provisions when you go out. He sends them to the nation of Israel to preach the gospel. But he tells them, don't take any money. Don't take a change of shoes. Don't take, you know, extra clothes. Don't bring a suitcase. Instead,

Just go and trust God to provide. And so they went out and God provided through the generosity of the people that they were ministering to. As they went throughout Israel, people were inviting them to their home and they were feeding them. They were providing for them and meeting their needs. And so twice before when Jesus sent them out to do this ministry, they

He gave them this instruction to not bring any supplies, any preparation, anything like that with them. But now things are changing. Now they're heading into a different season. And so Jesus says in verse 36, it says, He said to them, But now he who has money bag, let him take it. And likewise in knapsack. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garments also.

and by one. So Jesus is preparing his disciples. He's indicating to them things are changing. There's a change in the ministry that you're called to. A change in the environment where you're going to be ministering. There's a change in the call that I have in your life. Things are different now. It's not the way that it was before. I'm continuing to send you out

But this time it's with different instructions. Before you relied upon people's generosity. But now you will need to provide for yourself. Before it was safe for you to preach. Because I was sending you just to the house of Israel. Just to the nation of Israel. But coming up in the future you're going to be going into all the world.

And it's going to be much more dangerous. And so you're going to need provision. You're going to need to be able to provide for yourself. You're going to need to pack your suitcase. And you're going to need...

To be ready to defend yourself. If you don't have a sword, he says, sell a garment or sell your garment. Now, it would have been cold at night if they didn't have their outer garments. But Jesus is saying it's better to be cold at night than to not be prepared for the battle that is ahead.

One commentary described it this way. Jesus is saying you are going forth not as before on a temporary mission, but now you're going forth. It's going to be a continued and severe trial. And so your methods must be different. And now your money is going to be needed for support and you will need the usual means of defense.

And so Jesus is indicating to his disciples here, they're heading into a new season in their walk with God and in their call to declare the gospel message. This new season comes with new instructions. As we consider this for ourselves, we also can recognize that there are different seasons in our lives. There are different seasons in the way that God is working in us. There are different seasons in what God is calling us to do.

And there will be seasons where he has us here... ...and then the next season he'll move us over there. He'll have us serving in this way... ...and then he'll have us serving in a different way. He'll use us in one manner and then use us in another manner. He moves around and continues to work in our life in a variety of ways. But I would ask you to consider that as you see those seasons of change... ...and as you come to the end of one season and begin a new season...

Remember that these new seasons often come with new instructions. The first time he sent them out, he said, don't take anything. But this time he gives them new instruction and says, now you need to provide for yourself and bring these things with you. There's a lot of times in our lives that we enter into a new season. Things are changing, but we enter into this new season thinking,

With the mindset as if it's going to be the same as where we just were. And so we head into the new job, perhaps, thinking, yeah, no problem. I got this because, well, I was this way in my old job. And so it's going to be that way in this new job. But as you can recognize, when you get a new job, whether it's a new position in the company or a different position at a different company, you're going to be in the same

There's a lot of change that happens. There's different responsibilities. There's different co-workers. There's different bosses and therefore different ways that they want you to approach things.

you know, kind of from the Christian perspective, then also there's different people around you and different ways that God wants you to minister to them. And so if you do get a new job, you really shouldn't approach it just like, hey, it's going to be the same as my old job. No, you need to spend time with the Lord and see if there's some new instruction for how he wants you to handle the new environment, the new people, and the way things are going to be.

Since it's Father's Day, you could also consider this as a father or as a parent. And many parents, you know, have commented and observed throughout the years that children are not the same as each other, right? Every child is different. And so when you have a new child, you can't relate to that new child the same way that you related to previous children because, well, that new child is different.

Their temperament's going to be different. Their tendencies are going to be different. Their hobbies are going to be different. Their talents are going to be different. Their favorite things are going to be different. Their grumpy things are going to be different. I mean, everything's different. And so you have to, well, you have to get new instruction from the Lord on how to minister to this child and how to raise them in his ways.

You could bring this over into, you know, opportunities to minister. Maybe it is, you know, mission trips that God's going to be sending you out on or new opportunities to serve. Or maybe, you know, you served in one capacity and you haven't for a while, but you're going to serve in that capacity again. And there's a tendency to think, you know, I've got this because I have some experience. I know what it's like. But Jesus is reminding his disciples and I think reminding us this morning, those new seasons are

bring new instructions. And so we need to take time to hear from the Lord about the instructions that he has for us and then make the practical preparations that he gives to us. So for example, maybe he wants you to get some extra education or training where you think, hey, no, I'm good. I've got this covered. But maybe he says, no, no, this time you need to maybe shadow someone for a

You need to spend time in this way or you need to do that. You need to get a second job so that you can fund this next season and what I have for you. It could be different instructions depending on what the Lord has for you. But the point is, it's the Lord who's giving this instruction to his disciples and it's the Lord that we need to go to to get the new instructions for the new season. They were not aware of what was about to happen and so Jesus is trying to help them to prepare.

They didn't understand that things were going to get rough. In verse 37, Jesus goes on and he says, For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in me. And he was numbered with the transgressors for the things concerning me have an end. Here Jesus quotes Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12. And this is a powerful passage, Isaiah 53, that speaks of the suffering of the Messiah.

Now, this was a passage of scripture that they had access to. This was in the Old Testament. They knew the scriptures. They studied the scriptures. They taught the scriptures in the synagogue. But when it came to the Messiah, the Jews in general held on to, emphasized the passages about the Messiah that spoke of his glory and his kingdom. And they kind of just passed over this.

The passages and the scriptures that talked about the suffering of the Messiah. They didn't get that and they weren't really looking for that. We've seen over and over and over again as we've been going through Luke, the expectation of the disciples was that Jesus was going to set up a kingdom right then.

He was going to throw Rome out. He was going to set up his kingdom. And they were going to rule and reign with him. In fact, it was just a few moments earlier before this passage where the disciples were arguing about who was going to be the greatest in that kingdom. When Jesus, you know, sits on the throne, which of us is going to be right next to him, the highest rank in his kingdom? That was their expectation. That was their mindset.

And Jesus is trying to open their eyes so that they understand. It's going to get rough. You're not thinking about things the way they are actually going to happen. What you are anticipating is completely wrong. And you're headed into a trial and you're not ready for it. You're headed into a rough season. You're heading out to rough waters, but you're not prepared. And he says, all the scriptures are going to be fulfilled.

Kind of emphasizing, you know, this is one of them that's going to be fulfilled. And so it's not just your favorite scriptures that will be fulfilled, but all scriptures. Even the ones that talk about the suffering of Jesus. Even the ones that promise suffering for all of his followers. The tribulation and persecution that follows. All scripture will be fulfilled. Not just the ones that we prefer, the ones that are our favorites, the ones that we write on our walls.

So he's seeking to open their eyes that they would prepare. Well, they respond in verse 38. It says, So they said, Look, Lord, here are two swords. And he said to them, It is enough. Some people get pretty worked up over this idea that Jesus says, If you don't have a sword, buy a garment and, I mean, sell a garment and buy a sword. And some people really wrestle with this.

And they say, well, Jesus can't mean this, like, for real, like, really go by a sword. Because, you know, he tells Peter later on, if you live by the sword, you're going to die by the sword. So it must be spiritual. He means the word of God. Make sure you get the word of God. And, you know, try to take the sword of the spirit from Ephesians chapter 6. There's other ways that people try to deal with this as well.

I think it's really not necessary to try to do gymnastics and bend it in certain ways. I think Jesus is saying what he's meaning to say. That there's a need for a sword from time to time. That there's need for defense. That there's need for, and it's appropriate for there to be a sword in place. Now, they were thinking that Jesus was talking about this very moment. And so they said, well, here's two swords.

And Jesus said, that's enough. It's not that that he was talking about. He was looking further ahead towards his ascension and then their mission to go into all the world and make disciples. So he wasn't saying, you know, the soldiers are coming and you guys got to defend me. He was trying to prepare them for the new season of ministry that they were heading into. And that was going to involve some dangerous situations because there are many who are opposed to the gospel.

That's what Jesus is saying, that he would be numbered with the transgressors. He would be counted as a criminal. Not everybody is going to be all excited and receptive to the message of Jesus Christ. And there will be strong opposition and you might need a sword. It was a few years back, I was at the pastor's conference. And there was a pastor who was sharing about his ministry and his involvement in the work that God is doing in the Sudan.

Now, I'm sure you've heard, you know, the area of Sudan. It's a really violent area. There's a civil war going on. There's all kinds of battles going on. And there's great persecution against Christians in the area.

And so he goes and ministers in that area and it's very dangerous. And one of the things that he does when he's there is he's training up pastors. He's training up ministers in the Sudan to minister to the Sudanese people. But he was explaining that when he does that, he can't just go and teach them how to give a Bible study. That he also has to teach them and help them to learn how to fight. Because they have to teach them

It's your job to defend the women and children. Because the raids will come in and they will run off with the women and children. And they have to teach the men to fight. They have to teach the men to defend those who cannot defend themselves. And so they have to teach them to fight. They have to give them a sword. And they basically say, you have to be willing to give your life

To protect these women and children. That's your job. That's your role. And so it's these kinds of things that I think Jesus is talking about when he says you have to be ready with the sword. That there's going to be strong opposition to the things of God. Not that you're to go on the offensive. He's not saying go to battle. But he's saying be ready because there's going to be physical attacks. There's going to be real battles. And so prepare yourself.

I'm not really talking about right now, guys. I'm not saying you should try to deliver me from the soldiers that are coming. But in the work that you have ahead of you, there's going to be some real battles. And so you need to get ready. It's better to be cold than to be defenseless. And so Jesus here is giving his disciples some practical instruction for preparation that they would be ready.

In a similar way, the Lord wants to give us some instruction for some of the practical steps that we can take. And it's not unspiritual, it's not a lack of faith to take some practical steps and prepare ourselves for what God is calling us to do. Over the years, you know, we've seen different things happen in different people's lives. And there are times when people are really excited about an opportunity.

They're excited about, you know, this next season. God told me, here's what I'm going to do. And as they go, they find out they really didn't prepare. It never crossed their mind that it might be hard. And so they found themselves in a really difficult situation, unprepared for what they felt that God had called them to do. We need to be careful not to be unrealistic in our expectations for ministry. It was reminding me,

of the time right before Kim and I were about to be married. We, you know, were engaged. We were preparing for our wedding. I had proposed on a Wednesday night, you know, at church. So everybody knew we were getting married. And so people would begin to ask us questions like, well, so what's the plan after you get married? Where are you going to live? Now, remember the timeline, okay? We got married. We went on our honeymoon. It was on our honeymoon when Pastor Tom shared with the church that

That the Lord had called him to Okinawa and that I was going to be taking over the church. And so then when I came back from my honeymoon, then is when I began to pastor the church. But the days before the wedding, the congregation as a whole didn't know that that was the plan. And so we weren't at liberty to say where we were going to live in because we were going to move into Pastor Tom's house because he was leaving.

And so we couldn't tell people where we were going to be living, but people were asking us all the way up to the day of the wedding, where are you going to live, by the way? Like, what's your plans? And now, of course, we can't lie about it, right? We can't say, well, you know, we have this plan, we have that, you know. So we resorted to say things like, we just know that God has it under control. And people would look at us like,

Are you absolutely insane? I mean, you're getting married. You're going on your honeymoon. You're coming back. You have no place to live. What's wrong with you? And they really thought that we were being quite foolish. Now, of course, we weren't. We, you know, it was prepared. God had set it up ahead of time. But from an outsider's perspective, you couldn't see that.

But you know, sometimes that's how people approach things in ministry. Sometimes that's how people approach things in life. Where it's like, you know, I haven't figured out where I'm going to live or what I'm going to do. But you know, I'm just going to go. I'm just going to do it. I'm just going to get there. I'm just going to start this and I don't know how it's going to go. Now that's okay if that's what the Lord instructed. Like Luke 9 and Luke 10. Right? God says, go, don't prepare, just get there and God's going to take care of you.

If God tells you to do that, then follow his instruction. But don't expect that that's always how it's going to be. God also will have the instruction for you to prepare. And there's savings accounts that he's going to want you to build up. There's training he's going to want you to get. There's clothing he's going to want you to buy. There's going to be some practical things that he's going to want you to do to prepare you for the next season, whatever that might be. At home, at work, in ministry, on the mission field, whatever it might be.

We need to make sure that we hear from the Lord and receive that instruction that he has for us that we would be prepared in those practical areas. Well, as we go forward now in verses 39 through 44, we come to our second point, and that is we need to prepare ourselves spiritually.

So yes, there are practical steps to take many times that God wants us to do. But always there are spiritual things that we need to do to prepare ourselves for what is ahead. In verse 39 it says, Coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed, and his disciples followed him.

Now if I could remind you of the context here. This is the night of the Last Supper. He has spent this time in communion with his disciples. Again, he washed the disciples' feet. They argued about greatness. You know, he's teaching them about preparation. And now they go to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is there on the Mount of Olives. And he's going to be spending some time in prayer. It says, as he was accustomed to.

During this final week in the life of Christ, because it's this evening that he's about to be arrested and then tried and then crucified the next morning.

And during this week, as he's been in Jerusalem, he's been spending his days in and around the temple. And then in the evenings, he's been going over to the Mount of Olives. And it was his custom then to also get away in the evening to go and spend time in prayer there in the Garden of Gethsemane. So verse 40, it says, So Jesus, after the dinner, brings his disciples there with him.

Because they needed to spend time in prayer as well as he did. So he brings them with him and he says, pray that you may not enter into temptation. Now we're going to come back to this idea because Jesus also says the same thing to them at the end of our passage. So we'll come back and deal with the disciples. But the point is that Jesus needed to get away and spend time in prayer and he brought his disciples along with him. He was preparing himself.

For the hours that lay ahead. For the things that he was about to endure. But he made sure to bring along his disciples. Because they were going to need some time in prayer as well.

And I think it's a good reminder, especially, you know, as we think about the fathers today, dads, listen, you need to be spending time with the Lord and preparing yourself spiritually, but also make opportunity for those that God has entrusted you to join with you, to bring them aside so that they can spend time with the Lord as well, because they need it just like you need it.

Well, in verse 41, it says, and he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed. So he brought them into the garden. He brought Peter, James, and John a little bit farther, and then he separated from them and went off by himself a little bit farther to pray. And verse 42 records his prayer. It's an awesome prayer. He says, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me.

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And so he prays to the Father. He says, if it's your will, take this cup from me. This is an amazing prayer. We have some great insight here into the heart of Jesus and into what he was going through at this time as he was facing these final hours before the cross.

And ultimately, you can see here that Jesus was fully submitted to the will of the Father. He was fully submitted to the Father's will. He says, take this cup away if it's your will. Now, when he refers to the cup, it's a reference to his suffering. You can see this all throughout the scriptures. The cup speaks about the judgment of God, the wrath of God being poured out.

And Jesus was about to receive the judgment of God for sin. Although he was sinless, he was perfect. He was going to receive the judgment for sin that you and I deserved. And that was going to involve a lot of suffering. It was going to be very painful. Physically, spiritually, emotionally. It was the most extreme thing that anybody has ever experienced.

And so Jesus here is saying, this isn't my favorite thing to do. If I had a choice, in fact, in the other gospels, it says, if there's like another way, if there's another way for people to be saved, if there's another way of salvation, if people could be saved by doing good works, well, let's do it that way, Father. If people could be saved by, you know, this religion or that religion, well, then let's offer them that instead of this cup of suffering.

But Jesus is submitted to the will of the Father. He says, not my will, but yours be done. And so Jesus is committed to be faithful and obedient to the Father's will. Now, this is an area where we see the triune nature of God. And it's difficult for us to understand, of course. But as we understand the triune nature of God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, they're one God. The Bible is very clear about that. Yet they're distinct from one another. Jesus is not the Father.

He's not talking to himself. He's speaking to the Father. But then also there's order within the triune nature of God in that Jesus is submitted to the will of the Father. And so there's order. There's distinction. It's a great mystery, the God that we serve. But his humanity is seen here as he is in agony, wrestling with this, but submitted to the will of the Father. Now this isn't a surprise.

From before the foundation of the earth, Jesus knew this day would come. And he was willing. He chose to create us anyways. He chose to come to earth. He chose to become a man for this purpose. And now it is here. I kind of liken it to my mind, to skydiving. I've never been. And one day my wife asked, do you think you'd want to do it someday? And I said, well, I think I would like to do it, but I would need somebody...

Who'd be able to talk me into getting out of the plane once we're up there. I'd be fine if I'd pay and I would sign up. I would make the choice. I'm going to skydive. But then when I got in the plane and got up there, well then I also have to make the choice to jump out. And I might need some help with that final step. And that's kind of where Jesus is at. He made the choice. He created us. He made the choice. He became a man.

And now is the time where he's about to jump out of the plane. And he's saying, Father, I'm going to submit to your will. I'm going to do what you've called me to do. But what I'm about to go through is going to be excruciating. Well, then in verse 43, it says, And again, we get to see the humanity of Jesus here.

I don't usually think of Jesus in this way because, well, I tend to emphasize, you know, in my own reading of the scriptures, my own walk with God, I tend to emphasize that Jesus Christ is God. And I'm sure you've heard that a lot as I teach. But although Jesus is God, we also know the scripture shows he became man. And I don't often think of Jesus as needing strength. That's not often how I would picture him in his ministry.

But at this point, he needed strength. And an angel came alongside and ministered to him and strengthened him. Now this is interesting too because the father heard the prayer of Jesus and he answered the prayer not by changing the plan. Not by saying, okay, we're going to find a different way for people to be saved. Well, because there was not another way for people to be saved. So he didn't change the plan, but instead he gave Jesus strength.

Many times that's how God works in our lives. We want him to change the plan. Lord, get me out of this situation. Keep me from going through this situation. But there's a lot of times where the Lord answers that not by removing the difficulty, but by giving us strength that we may endure.

And so this angel ministers to Jesus and then he goes back into prayer. In verse 44 it says, So Jesus is in this very intense time of prayer. He's praying, he's wrestling, he's submitted to the Father. The angel is strengthening him.

But then that's not the end of the story. It's not like, okay, angel strengthened me. Okay, good. I'm good. I'm good. Let's go. No, the angel strengthened him. And then being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. The angel strengthened him and he went back into prayer with more intensity. He received strength from God. And so he dug in more in prayer.

This idea of being in agony, the word agony is the idea of combat or a contest or like a wrestling match. And it's used to describe the trembling, the excitement, the anxiety that happens right before a match, right before a fight. If you could perhaps, you know, think about a time when you've been entering into a competition and you're right there about to enter in.

You're going to step in the ring or you're going to step up to bat or step up to the volleyball net or whatever it is, you know. And there's that tension. There's that adrenaline. There's that fear but excitement and it's all this, you know, pressure going on. This is the idea of this agony. It's this wrestling, this battle. And the way that it's constructed in the Greek, the idea is that it's building in intensity, right?

The struggle has grown and grown and grown. And now he's struggling so greatly that he prays more earnestly. His agony amplified his intensity of prayer. And as he's praying, he's sweating. I mean, you can just get the picture here. This is not, now I lay me down to sleep. You know, this is intense. This is probably the most intense prayer that has ever been prayed.

And Jesus is sweating greatly. Luke says his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. There's some discussion about what exactly that means. Some would say that his sweat, you know, was just falling in great big drops. And so it was like blood falling to the ground because there was just so much sweat, so much intensity in his prayer. Others look at this and suggest, you know, there is a medical condition called hematidrosis where blood vessels actually burst out

Under great extreme pressure. It's very rare. And so then the blood mixes with the sweat. Because the vessels have burst. And then it becomes bloody sweat. And that might be what Luke is describing. Either way. You see this great intensity. This crushing. Even as Jesus is there in Gethsemane. Where they would crush the olives. Jesus is experiencing that pressure. It's been said that the victory of the cross. Was won in the garden.

The victory of the cross was won in the garden. The idea behind the saying is that the cross is what we look to. That's where we have salvation. That's where Jesus defeated sin and death. But it was in the garden where he made that decision to be faithful, to endure, and to go to the cross as the Father desired, as the Father's will. And so the victory was won here. Jesus was preparing himself in the garden

For the hours that lay ahead of him. And as great as the difficulty he was about to endure. He gave that same level of intensity into his time in prayer with the Father. And so he provides for us an example. To prepare ourselves spiritually. To invest ourselves in times of prayer. In times with the Father. That we would be able to have victory in the things that lay ahead.

Listen, if you want to have victory in your life, you must prepare yourself. Victorious Christian living, it doesn't happen without preparation. It's not, I'm not talking about works, and I'm not saying it's all your responsibility. No, your responsibility is to prepare yourself spiritually by spending time with God. You must spend time with God or you will not have victory in your life.

You must spend time in prayer or you will not have victory. You must spend time in the word or you will not have victory. Spiritual disciplines like prayer and spending time in the word, spending time in fellowship, exercising our faith. These spiritual disciplines are the training ground. They're the training ground for the real battle. Pastor Tom last week was encouraging us to stretch our spiritual muscles, right?

We need to do that. And that's not just doing more things, but it's developing our relationship with God, developing your faith, developing your spiritual strength. Imagine for a moment if I came up to you and I said, you know, I've decided I'm gonna run a marathon. And you say, well, that's great. What's your training plan? You know, how often are you training? Do you train every day? Oh, no, no, no. I don't really train every day. Just a couple times a week.

And you think, when's the marathon? A couple times a week, that's probably not enough training. Well, what kind of training are you doing when you do train for the marathon? Well, you know, I don't go all the way or anything. You know, I usually quit after a couple miles because it gets hard and it's hot and stuff and I go back home. But yeah, I'm really excited. I'm going to go run that marathon. And you would look at me and you would say, you're not going to make it. If you can't handle the training...

You can't handle the marathon. The training is less. The training is preparation for the marathon. In the same way, listen, the spiritual disciplines that God calls us to, that's the training. That's the preparation. The Garden of Gethsemane was the training, the preparation, so that Jesus would then have victory through the cross.

And we need to have that kind of spiritual discipline to spend time with God, to develop ourselves, to get to know the Word, to spend time hearing from Him, so that we can have victory in our lives. And if you can't handle the spiritual discipline, you will not have victory. You're not going to finish the race. You're not going to be victorious. There is a need for us to prepare ourselves spiritually. It's proportionate to your call,

It's proportionate to the difficulty that you're about to face. It's proportionate to your effectiveness for the kingdom of God. So prepare yourself. Sometimes we have insight into what's ahead and what God has called us to. Sometimes we don't. And so we need to be prepared. We don't know what's ahead. You don't know the ministry opportunities that God has set up for you. You don't know the challenges and trials that you're about to face. But the time to prepare for them is now. It's the training ground.

There's a phrase that we often use to encourage one another. It's to be prayed up. When we talk about being prayed up, you can look at Jesus here in the garden as the example of what's really meant by that. To be prayed up is to be connected with the Lord in this way. To have spent time with Him, invested in Him, agonized with Him, so that we're then ready for whatever the day may bring. We need to develop in our spiritual disciplines. And that's why we encourage you.

To join with us through the Bible in three years. It's not like it's a magic schedule. It's not like with the three years it's the perfect time frame. You know if you do it in three years it's way better than any other time period. No, no, no. The emphasis is not because of that. The emphasis is because what we need is that daily. That consistent. That regular time in the word. We need that. It's preparation for us.

And we will not last. We will not have victory without spending time with God. And so prepare yourself spiritually. Well, the final point in verse 45 and 46 is the opposite of point number two. And that is, lack of preparation brings failure.

And here we're looking not at the example of Jesus, but now the example of the disciples. In verse 45, it says, when he rose up from prayer and had come to his disciples, he found them sleeping from sorrow. Now remember back in verse 40, Jesus told them to pray lest they would enter into temptation. In Matthew 26, we have a little bit more insight into that instruction. Jesus said, watch and pray.

Because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He's telling his disciples, you guys, your flesh is weak. And so you need to pray because you're not prepared. And if you're not prepared, well, you're going to fall in the midst of temptation. And so he told them in verse 40 to watch and pray. But instead he comes back and he finds them sleeping from sorrow. I think it's interesting that it says that they were sleeping from sorrow.

It's clear as you read the scriptures around this, the disciples didn't yet have the complete picture of what was going to happen to Jesus. They didn't really know what was going on. But I kind of liken it to, you know, like a kid in a situation where the parents are really upset. And the kid doesn't understand what they're upset about, but they can tell. The air is tense. The expressions on the face, the tone of voice. There's great intensity. There's a great struggle going on.

And a kid can recognize that. I think that's how kind of the disciples were. They didn't really know what was going on, but they knew enough to be sorrowful. And instead of allowing this sorrow to draw them near to the Lord and cause them to be diligent in the instruction that the Lord gave them, they allowed that sorrow to bring them to drowsiness. You know what it's like. Sometimes you're sad, you're depressed, you're overwhelmed.

And it's just like, I just want to go to sleep. Let's just lay down and close our eyes. It's so hard. Well, that's what they did. Instead of being disciplined in their preparation, they fell asleep. Verse 46, Then he said to them, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Why are you sleeping? You need to be getting ready. Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Now this idea of entering into temptation...

I think it kind of misleads us the way it's translated a little bit. Because when we read this and we think, okay, temptation's here, but if I rise and pray, I'm going to go around it. I'm going to escape it. But that's not really what Jesus is saying. I like the way the New Living Translation puts it better. He says, get up and pray so that you will not give in to temptation. And so the idea is, you know, the testing is coming. The temptation, the trial, you're going to go through it. But you need to rise and pray now,

So that you won't give in during that time of testing. Two weeks ago we looked at the different parts of a trial. We saw Jesus' part, God's part, the enemy's part, your part. There's all these different elements that are going on in every trial, every test, every temptation that we face. And they all have their appropriate place. They all have their right part.

They're about to enter into one of these trials and there's going to be these things at work. God is for them, providing them strength. Jesus is praying for them, but the enemy is trying to destroy them and they're about to enter in, but they're not ready. They're not prepared. And Jesus is trying to, I just kind of imagine, you know, him coming back and they're sleeping and I'm kind of like kicking them awake, like, get up. What are you doing? You need to get ready. You don't understand what you're about to go through.

It's different than Jesus. Jesus knew what he was about to go through. He was spending time with the Father, preparing himself because he knew what lay ahead. But we also need to prepare ourselves for the things that we don't know are coming. The trials, the difficulties that we don't know about. The surprises that will happen. They will happen in our lives. We're going to lose people close to us.

We're going to experience loss. We're going to experience disease. We're going to experience destruction. Finances are going to fail. There's going to be calamities. There's going to be destruction. It's going to happen. It's part of life. And we usually do not get foresight into that. And so like the disciples, we're asleep. But if we do not prepare, we will not survive in the trials ahead. The disciples didn't prepare themselves. And so it says they forsook the Lord and fled.

When he was arrested in the garden. We know the story of Peter. The account of Peter. We'll see it again next week. As he denied the Lord. Because he was not prepared. Lack of preparation brings failure. They didn't know they were heading into a time of testing. Jesus tried to warn them. But they didn't listen. In the same way. You and I. We need to be prepared. You need to prepare yourself.

Not only for the ministry opportunities, not only for the new seasons of work that God wants to do, the new things, great things, good things He wants to do, but we have to prepare ourselves because we don't know what trials we will face. And if we do not prepare, we will fall. For Jesus, the victory was won in the garden. And in the same way for us, we win or lose depending on our preparation.

The victory for your next trial, be it short or long, heavy, weak, whatever. The victory for your trial, you're going to experience next, whatever it might be, is one in your preparation ahead of time. Are you spending time with the Lord?

We need to develop that spiritual discipline to spend time with God. To be faithful to spend time with God even when it's hard, even when it hurts, even when it costs us. Because as we're diligent to spend time with the Lord, He's preparing us for what's ahead. The things we don't know about, the things He tells us about. He's preparing us. Sometimes people come in perplexed. I can't understand why all of a sudden in my life I'm

really struggling in this area. I've got this issue of sin and I'm just giving in to the temptation. Last week it wasn't a problem, but all of a sudden this week I'm trying, but I just, I can't resist. I don't know what's going on. The battle is won ahead of time in the preparation. And so we need to prepare now. And it's going to change. There are different seasons. There are different, you can kind of think about like sets of waves that come in. If

in a variety of ways. The enemy is circling around. He's trying to figure out what is the weak spot. He's poking here, poking there. He finds one that sticks. Oh, here's a good one. Let me hit it again, hit it again, hit it again. As we spend time with the Lord and He works and shores up that area, then He looks for something new. And so it's going to change. The way that you spend time with God needs to change according to your relationship with Him. Yeah, last week you were spending 15 minutes a day with God. You were spending time in prayer and the Word. It was great.

And that was great. That was good. That's what God wanted you to do. But maybe this week he wants to change that up. Maybe this week you need more preparation than that because you're about to go through some things that are, well, more intense than you're going through this week. And so you need to prepare for that. And so he's telling you, he's prompting you, hey, spend a little bit of extra time. Oh, no, no, I'm busy. I got a lot of things going on. No, when the Lord prompts your heart like that, you need to be responsive. Spend time with him. He prompts your heart. Hey, you need to be there at service.

then be there at service. He prompts your heart to encourage and minister to people around you, whatever it might be. It's preparation because the Lord knows what you need. The Lord knows what's ahead and he wants you to be ready. Lack of preparation brings failure. And so this morning, I want to encourage you, prepare yourself. Don't be caught off guard. You know the enemy's out there like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.

So prepare yourself. There's trials ahead. There's going to be attacks. There's going to be battles. Also prepare yourself because you know God's good and merciful and gracious and he wants to use you in his kingdom for his glory. He wants to send you out. He wants you to make disciples. He's given you a call and a commission. So you need to prepare yourself that you would be effective in the doors that God opens before you. Prepare yourself. Get ready.

Because God wants to work in your life and he wants to work through you and use you to impact his kingdom for eternity. So prepare yourself. Spend time with God. And as you do, as he gives you instruction about those practical things, then take those steps too. Because he wants you to be ready. He wants you to be effective. He wants you to have victory in your life. Let's pray. Lord, I lift up all of our hearts to you this morning and I pray that you would help us

To not fall asleep like the disciples did. Lord, as you're calling us to prepare, I pray that you would help us to heed the call, to hear the urgency. Lord, I pray that you would strengthen us, that you would help us to be diligent and faithful to spend time with you, to prepare our hearts for the battles ahead, for the ministry ahead, for all the things that you know are coming and that you want to do. I pray, God, that you would give us great strength

Even as you sent your angel to minister and strengthen Jesus, Lord, I pray that you would strengthen us. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. That we would be empowered by you to do what you've called us to. Help us, Lord, to win the battle by spending time with you and investing in our relationship with you. By drawing near to you, by worshiping you, and by magnifying your name.

Lord, we pray that you'd be glorified in us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.