1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,667 2 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:02,375 Pastor Mark here in Jerusalem. 3 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:07,208 Just over my shoulder, you'll see the wall of Jerusalem. 4 00:00:07,333 --> 00:00:10,667 And on the other side of what is presently that wall, 5 00:00:10,708 --> 00:00:14,250 in the days of Jesus, would have been the temple. 6 00:00:14,333 --> 00:00:17,708 The centerpiece of the temple was the Holy of Holies, 7 00:00:17,833 --> 00:00:22,250 the place where God literally dwelt amongst his people. 8 00:00:22,333 --> 00:00:24,750 It was the place where the high priest would go 9 00:00:24,833 --> 00:00:26,500 one day a year 10 00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:28,542 to atone for the sins of the people. 11 00:00:28,667 --> 00:00:31,500 They called it Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement. 12 00:00:31,500 --> 00:00:35,417 Many just simply refer to it as, quote, "The Day." 13 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:41,000 It was the central day for God's old covenant people. 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,542 And what you will see behind me is actually 15 00:00:44,667 --> 00:00:48,417 a 2,000-year-old tree from the time of Jesus, 16 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:54,167 in a place that you will hear of as the Garden of Gethsemane. 17 00:00:54,167 --> 00:00:59,375 I will read for you exactly what happened at this very place, 18 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:03,833 beginning in Luke 22:39. 19 00:01:03,875 --> 00:01:07,875 "And he," that is Jesus, "came out and went, as was his custom, 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,167 to the Mount of Olives," which we are at the base of, 21 00:01:11,208 --> 00:01:13,167 "and the disciples followed him. 22 00:01:13,167 --> 00:01:14,875 "And when he came to the place," 23 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,042 that would be this place, the Garden of Gethsemane, 24 00:01:17,167 --> 00:01:19,542 "he said to them, 'Pray that you may not 25 00:01:19,667 --> 00:01:21,500 "'enter into temptation.' 26 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:24,875 "And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw," 27 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,875 to here, to this place, the place that the other gospels 28 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,708 will call the Garden of Gethsemane. 29 00:01:31,833 --> 00:01:33,500 "'And he prayed.'" 30 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:35,542 So, Jesus came here. 31 00:01:35,667 --> 00:01:38,542 He knelt down among these 2,000-year-old trees, 32 00:01:38,667 --> 00:01:41,917 at present, and he prayed, saying, quote, 33 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,208 "'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. 34 00:01:45,333 --> 00:01:49,042 "'Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.' 35 00:01:49,167 --> 00:01:52,042 "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, 36 00:01:52,167 --> 00:01:54,542 "strengthening him. 37 00:01:54,667 --> 00:01:59,833 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat 38 00:01:59,875 --> 00:02:03,917 became like drops of blood falling to the ground," 39 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,250 this ground. 40 00:02:06,333 --> 00:02:09,875 "And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples 41 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,500 "and found them sleeping for sorrow, 42 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:15,208 "and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? 43 00:02:15,333 --> 00:02:19,833 Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.'" 44 00:02:22,333 --> 00:02:37,333 [music] 45 00:02:56,333 --> 00:03:00,875 The first man brought sin into the world; 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,542 Jesus Christ, the God-man, atoned for the sin of the world. 47 00:03:06,667 --> 00:03:10,875 The first man turned from God the Father in a garden; 48 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,375 Jesus Christ, the God-man, 49 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:18,542 turned to the Father in a garden. 50 00:03:18,667 --> 00:03:23,375 The first man brought us thorns, 51 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:27,042 and the God-man wore a crown of thorns. 52 00:03:27,167 --> 00:03:30,917 The first man was naked and unashamed, 53 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,167 and Jesus Christ was stripped naked and bore our shame. 54 00:03:36,208 --> 00:03:41,875 And the first man sinned at a tree, 55 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,500 and the God-man bore our sins on a tree. 56 00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:50,000 And all of human history and all of Scripture 57 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:55,250 has been culminating to the place where Jesus 58 00:03:55,333 --> 00:03:59,167 is going to shed his blood. 59 00:03:59,167 --> 00:04:02,167 We find ourselves in this place today, 60 00:04:02,208 --> 00:04:06,542 in Luke 22:39-46, 61 00:04:06,667 --> 00:04:09,667 where Jesus sweats blood. 62 00:04:09,708 --> 00:04:13,250 This is where his bloodshed begins. 63 00:04:13,333 --> 00:04:16,750 It's our 93rd sermon in Luke, 64 00:04:16,833 --> 00:04:20,500 and the scene has gotten very dark, 65 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:25,375 as we are within hours of the execution, 66 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:30,000 the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 67 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,667 And Luke picks up the story 68 00:04:33,667 --> 00:04:37,333 in Luke 22:39-41. 69 00:04:37,375 --> 00:04:39,708 "And he came out," that is Jesus, "and went, 70 00:04:39,833 --> 00:04:43,000 "as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, 71 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,875 "and the disciples followed him. 72 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,542 "And when he came to the place, he said to them, 73 00:04:47,667 --> 00:04:50,167 "'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.' 74 00:04:50,208 --> 00:04:53,542 "And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, 75 00:04:53,667 --> 00:04:57,500 and knelt down and prayed..." 76 00:04:57,500 --> 00:04:59,667 Jesus has, at this point, 77 00:04:59,708 --> 00:05:04,542 been betrayed by Judas Iscariot, 78 00:05:04,667 --> 00:05:10,333 who has gone to get the soldiers to arrest Jesus. 79 00:05:10,375 --> 00:05:14,000 Jesus knows that his death is imminent, 80 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,000 that Judas will be returning, that he will be arrested, 81 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,375 and flogged, and beaten, and crucified. 82 00:05:22,500 --> 00:05:27,542 And so what Jesus doesn't do is what many of us do under duress 83 00:05:27,667 --> 00:05:29,208 and in stress. 84 00:05:29,333 --> 00:05:31,542 He doesn't hate God. 85 00:05:31,667 --> 00:05:33,542 He doesn't run from God. 86 00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:35,375 He doesn't argue with God. 87 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:38,667 He doesn't permit himself to sin. 88 00:05:38,667 --> 00:05:42,000 "If I'm going to suffer, then I have the right to sin." 89 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,042 Some of you will do that with drugs, or alcohol, or sex, 90 00:05:45,167 --> 00:05:48,167 or food, or shopping, or whatever it is. 91 00:05:48,167 --> 00:05:50,167 "If I'm going to have to suffer, 92 00:05:50,208 --> 00:05:52,250 then God owes me a bit of sin," 93 00:05:52,333 --> 00:05:54,542 which is untrue. 94 00:05:54,667 --> 00:05:58,542 Instead, what Jesus does is he prays. 95 00:05:58,667 --> 00:05:59,875 He prays. 96 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,667 And so we have the record, that will be forthcoming 97 00:06:02,667 --> 00:06:04,667 in just a moment, 98 00:06:04,708 --> 00:06:08,750 of a prayer that Jesus uttered in his darkest hour, 99 00:06:08,833 --> 00:06:11,708 his most difficult day. 100 00:06:11,833 --> 00:06:14,750 And I want to say a few things about prayer. 101 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:17,500 Prayer is communication with God. 102 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:18,875 Right? 103 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,042 God speaks to us through Scripture; 104 00:06:21,167 --> 00:06:23,042 we speak to God in prayer. 105 00:06:23,167 --> 00:06:26,667 That's how the relationship with the living God of the Bible-- 106 00:06:26,708 --> 00:06:29,208 he is alive, he is a person. 107 00:06:29,333 --> 00:06:32,667 He can hear, and he can speak, and he speaks through his Word, 108 00:06:32,708 --> 00:06:34,542 and he hears us in prayer. 109 00:06:34,667 --> 00:06:37,250 That's how a relationship with God is cultivated. 110 00:06:37,333 --> 00:06:40,500 God is not a person like we are, but he thinks, and feels, 111 00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:42,250 and acts, and he's alive. 112 00:06:42,333 --> 00:06:44,875 He's not just an impersonal force. 113 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,167 And when we pray to God, we're not just delivering information, 114 00:06:48,208 --> 00:06:49,875 but we're building the relationship, 115 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,167 because when we pray, we're not telling God anything 116 00:06:52,208 --> 00:06:54,042 he doesn't already know. 117 00:06:54,167 --> 00:06:55,917 "God, I had a very hard day." 118 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,875 "I had no idea." 119 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,208 God never is surprised at what we tell him, 120 00:07:01,333 --> 00:07:04,875 because he knows exactly what is happening. 121 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,333 Instead, prayer is about building 122 00:07:07,375 --> 00:07:10,875 the relationship with God. 123 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:16,417 And Jesus' prayer is perfect prayer, 124 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:20,000 and Jesus' prayer is model prayer, 125 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,917 and Jesus' prayer is in the midst of great trial, 126 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,542 and trouble, and tragedy; which means, when life gets hard, 127 00:07:29,667 --> 00:07:32,208 it's helpful to run to God. 128 00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:34,375 And as we pray, a few things happen. 129 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:38,000 Number one, who we truly are is revealed. 130 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,375 Right? 131 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:43,875 I can almost tell you with a great degree of certainty 132 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:45,833 who is and who is not a Christian 133 00:07:45,875 --> 00:07:48,250 by just hearing them pray. 134 00:07:48,333 --> 00:07:51,500 People who know the Lord, they talk to him like they know him. 135 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:55,375 People who don't know the Lord, they speak to him differently. 136 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:57,250 It reveals who we are. 137 00:07:57,333 --> 00:07:59,000 What you talk to God about, 138 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:00,542 that's probably what you care about. 139 00:08:00,667 --> 00:08:02,208 What you're constantly begging God for, 140 00:08:02,333 --> 00:08:04,500 that's probably what matters most to you. 141 00:08:04,500 --> 00:08:06,667 So, in prayer, who we are is revealed. 142 00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:09,375 Number two, sometimes prayer does move the hand of God. 143 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:12,167 God does hear and answer all prayer, 144 00:08:12,208 --> 00:08:14,167 and sometimes his answer is yes. 145 00:08:14,167 --> 00:08:16,750 And God answers all prayer in one of three ways: 146 00:08:16,833 --> 00:08:18,833 yes, no, later. 147 00:08:18,875 --> 00:08:21,167 Just like a parent. 148 00:08:21,167 --> 00:08:22,750 A child comes to a parent. 149 00:08:22,833 --> 00:08:24,667 The parent says yes, no, or later. 150 00:08:24,667 --> 00:08:26,042 We are like children. 151 00:08:26,167 --> 00:08:27,708 We come to God as a Father. 152 00:08:27,833 --> 00:08:30,000 God answers our prayers: yes, no, and later. 153 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:31,917 Prayer sometimes moves the hand of God. 154 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,167 He says, "Yes." 155 00:08:34,208 --> 00:08:38,750 Number three, prayer changes us. 156 00:08:38,833 --> 00:08:42,250 It brings us into alignment with God's will. 157 00:08:42,333 --> 00:08:46,542 It brings us into agreement with God's plan. 158 00:08:46,667 --> 00:08:49,208 So, a lot is happening as we pray. 159 00:08:49,333 --> 00:08:53,042 And as we hear the prayer of Jesus, we see that who he is 160 00:08:53,167 --> 00:08:56,542 is revealed, and we see that he and the Father's will 161 00:08:56,667 --> 00:09:00,417 become perfectly aligned through prayer. 162 00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:02,208 And what we read, as well, 163 00:09:02,333 --> 00:09:04,667 is that there are some aspects to Jesus' prayer. 164 00:09:04,708 --> 00:09:06,208 There's a place of prayer. 165 00:09:06,333 --> 00:09:09,750 It says he goes to this garden, the other gospels speaking 166 00:09:09,833 --> 00:09:12,500 of the same event, call it the Garden of Gethsemane, 167 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:14,000 which means olive press. 168 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,750 And it says, "As was his custom," 169 00:09:15,833 --> 00:09:18,542 meaning Jesus often went to this place to pray. 170 00:09:18,667 --> 00:09:20,375 Here's my question to you. 171 00:09:20,500 --> 00:09:23,167 Do you have a place to pray, 172 00:09:23,167 --> 00:09:26,667 a place that is not distracting, 173 00:09:26,708 --> 00:09:30,750 and not filled with hurry, worry, and busy, 174 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:33,250 the gods of this world? 175 00:09:33,333 --> 00:09:36,542 Jesus went to this place frequently. 176 00:09:36,667 --> 00:09:39,917 It's important for you to have that kind of place in your home 177 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:41,333 or near your home. 178 00:09:41,375 --> 00:09:43,333 Maybe on a day of silence and solitude, 179 00:09:43,375 --> 00:09:45,333 you get away to be with the Lord, 180 00:09:45,375 --> 00:09:47,333 you have another place that you go to. 181 00:09:47,375 --> 00:09:49,333 This is one of Jesus' places of prayer. 182 00:09:49,375 --> 00:09:51,875 Number two, he has partners in prayer. 183 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,875 He tells his disciples, "Please pray for me." 184 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,875 And Jesus doesn't ask this a lot, and so when he does, 185 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:58,417 it's important. 186 00:09:58,500 --> 00:10:00,333 Two questions for you. 187 00:10:00,375 --> 00:10:02,875 Who are your partners in prayer? 188 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,542 Number one: Are you failing them? 189 00:10:06,667 --> 00:10:09,667 Jesus' partners in prayer fail him. 190 00:10:09,708 --> 00:10:12,750 He tells them to pray, and they fall asleep. 191 00:10:12,833 --> 00:10:15,833 They're not there when he needs them. 192 00:10:15,875 --> 00:10:17,500 Who are you failing in prayer? 193 00:10:17,500 --> 00:10:19,875 People that you said you would pray for them, 194 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:21,542 you're not praying for them. 195 00:10:21,667 --> 00:10:24,542 Or you pray for them, but you're not following up with them. 196 00:10:24,667 --> 00:10:26,000 "How's it going?" 197 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Text, e-mail, phone call, a cup of coffee. 198 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:29,375 "Let's sit down. 199 00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:30,875 "How can I pray for you? 200 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:32,250 What's going on?" 201 00:10:32,333 --> 00:10:34,917 How many of you, you tell people you'll pray, you don't? 202 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,917 You don't have a list. You don't put it in your phone. 203 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,333 You don't write it down. 204 00:10:39,375 --> 00:10:41,167 You don't put it in your journal. 205 00:10:41,208 --> 00:10:44,000 And as a result, you see them, and you feel like, 206 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,500 "I failed you. I said I'd pray, and I didn't." 207 00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:48,042 Who are you failing in prayer? 208 00:10:48,167 --> 00:10:49,917 Number two: Who's failing you in prayer? 209 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,417 Some of you say, "I have the worst Christian friends." 210 00:10:52,500 --> 00:10:54,875 No, you just have Christian friends. 211 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,500 Christian friends don't pray well. 212 00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:04,000 Jesus' Christian friends didn't pray well. 213 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,167 He had a place of prayer, he had partners in prayer, 214 00:11:07,208 --> 00:11:09,750 and then he had a posture of prayer, right? 215 00:11:09,833 --> 00:11:12,042 Luke records it, that he knelt, 216 00:11:12,167 --> 00:11:16,667 and this is a statement, correct? 217 00:11:16,667 --> 00:11:18,750 Is this not a statement? 218 00:11:18,833 --> 00:11:22,875 See, in that day, God's people typically stood to pray. 219 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,208 I generally stand to pray. 220 00:11:25,333 --> 00:11:31,000 I'm not a guy who sits in a chair for hours while praying. 221 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,375 I like to prayer walk, some fresh air, sunshine, 222 00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:36,208 go for a walk. 223 00:11:36,333 --> 00:11:39,542 I have places that I like to go to pray, 224 00:11:39,667 --> 00:11:42,750 and I tend to pray walking. 225 00:11:42,833 --> 00:11:44,833 Well, in that day, most of God's people, 226 00:11:44,875 --> 00:11:48,417 they prayed likewise while standing. 227 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:50,917 But in this occasion, Jesus kneels in prayer, 228 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,167 and that's significant, because, again, in prayer, 229 00:11:54,208 --> 00:11:56,542 who we are is revealed. 230 00:11:56,667 --> 00:11:58,667 If you were to see someone kneeling, 231 00:11:58,708 --> 00:12:03,042 that tells you maybe they're a soldier who has surrendered 232 00:12:03,167 --> 00:12:05,375 to a greater authority; 233 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:09,042 or maybe they are someone who is a guilty criminal, 234 00:12:09,167 --> 00:12:11,042 who has acknowledged that 235 00:12:11,167 --> 00:12:14,167 and is now before legal authority, 236 00:12:14,208 --> 00:12:18,917 submitting themselves to whatever they deserve; 237 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,250 or they're a Christian who belongs to God and knows 238 00:12:23,333 --> 00:12:27,375 that they are surrendering, and they are guilty, 239 00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:29,750 and that's what they're demonstrating 240 00:12:29,833 --> 00:12:34,000 in their bodily posture. 241 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,250 There's humility, there's submission, 242 00:12:36,333 --> 00:12:39,667 there's surrender in the posture of Jesus, 243 00:12:39,708 --> 00:12:43,042 which tells us a lot about how he views God the Father 244 00:12:43,167 --> 00:12:45,667 and how he comes to God the Father in prayer. 245 00:12:45,708 --> 00:12:48,000 When's the last time you knelt in prayer? 246 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,000 It's interesting, sometimes, as kids, we do that; 247 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,333 and as we become adults, we don't. 248 00:12:52,375 --> 00:12:58,750 And sometimes it's good; it's good to have our bodies prepare 249 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:02,875 our souls for a conversation with God that is yielding 250 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,667 and humble, and that's exactly what Jesus is going to have. 251 00:13:05,708 --> 00:13:07,875 He's got a place in prayer, partners in prayer. 252 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,667 He's got a posture in prayer, and then he prays. 253 00:13:10,708 --> 00:13:13,167 He actually does pray. 254 00:13:13,167 --> 00:13:16,542 And as Jesus is praying--I want to explain this to you-- 255 00:13:16,667 --> 00:13:19,875 he is talking to God the Father. 256 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,208 So, this is the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, 257 00:13:23,333 --> 00:13:27,875 speaking to the first member of the Trinity, God the Father. 258 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,417 And the teaching of the Bible is and the history of the church is 259 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:34,375 there's one God, three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. 260 00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:36,667 They're coequal, coeternal. 261 00:13:36,708 --> 00:13:38,542 They share all the divine attributes, 262 00:13:38,667 --> 00:13:42,833 and they live together with communication in community. 263 00:13:42,875 --> 00:13:47,167 So, before you and I existed, the God of the Bible was loving, 264 00:13:47,167 --> 00:13:51,500 in relationship, in community, friends. 265 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:54,000 When we're made in the image and likeness of God, 266 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,917 that's why we communicate, and we have community, 267 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,500 and we want friends, because we're made in the image 268 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:01,167 and likeness of that God. 269 00:14:01,208 --> 00:14:03,708 And so the Father, Son, and Spirit have been talking 270 00:14:03,833 --> 00:14:06,875 to one another for eternity. 271 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,167 And as Jesus, the second member of the Trinity 272 00:14:09,208 --> 00:14:11,708 enters into human history, he takes upon flesh. 273 00:14:11,833 --> 00:14:14,250 He becomes a human being. 274 00:14:14,333 --> 00:14:16,542 So, now God becomes a man. 275 00:14:16,667 --> 00:14:21,208 And as he is praying, we have this eavesdropping opportunity 276 00:14:21,333 --> 00:14:22,750 to listen in. 277 00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:25,333 What does it look like when God has a conversation 278 00:14:25,375 --> 00:14:29,875 within his own Trinitarian community of friendship? 279 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,333 And so we're eavesdropping today. 280 00:14:32,375 --> 00:14:34,042 This is a sacred moment. 281 00:14:34,167 --> 00:14:37,167 This is a significant and special moment in the history 282 00:14:37,208 --> 00:14:43,042 of the world where we get to listen in on God conversing 283 00:14:43,167 --> 00:14:45,667 in Trinitarian community. 284 00:14:45,708 --> 00:14:52,500 And Jesus tells us elsewhere to pray to God as Father. 285 00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:54,750 And here he begins his prayer--and you'll read it 286 00:14:54,833 --> 00:14:58,250 with me in just a moment-- to God as Father. 287 00:14:58,333 --> 00:15:00,500 And this is really important. 288 00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:03,167 In the history of God's people in the Old Testament, 289 00:15:03,208 --> 00:15:05,500 over the course of more than a millennium, 290 00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:07,750 they rarely refer to God as Father-- 291 00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:12,250 perhaps just over a dozen times in more than 1,000 years-- 292 00:15:12,333 --> 00:15:13,667 and every single time, 293 00:15:13,708 --> 00:15:16,833 it is speaking of the people of God, nationally and corporately, 294 00:15:16,875 --> 00:15:19,042 never individually. 295 00:15:19,167 --> 00:15:21,500 So, when Jesus, as one person, refers to God 296 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:25,667 as a personal Father, that's revolutionary for prayer. 297 00:15:25,667 --> 00:15:28,250 And John Calvin says, rightly, that sometimes when God 298 00:15:28,333 --> 00:15:32,750 teaches us, he does so in what Calvin calls baby talk. 299 00:15:32,833 --> 00:15:35,917 If you're a parent, you've got kids, and they're little, 300 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,750 you're trying to explain how to teach them something 301 00:15:38,833 --> 00:15:41,708 that's complicated, you talk baby talk. 302 00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:46,000 You try and find language that they can relate to, 303 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,167 so that the difficult concepts 304 00:15:48,208 --> 00:15:52,042 become accessible to them, right? 305 00:15:52,167 --> 00:15:57,417 And so when God reveals himself as a Father, that's baby talk. 306 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,917 And when Jesus Christ is revealed as the Son of God, 307 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,375 that's language that he's the firstborn. 308 00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:05,000 He's preeminent. 309 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,667 He's our big brother. 310 00:16:06,708 --> 00:16:08,417 He comes on behalf of the Father. 311 00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:11,833 He says and does what the Father asks him to say and do. 312 00:16:11,875 --> 00:16:14,542 He represents the kingdom of the Father. 313 00:16:14,667 --> 00:16:19,042 He is in every way in loving relationship with the Father 314 00:16:19,167 --> 00:16:23,375 like a father and son, but a perfect Father and Son. 315 00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:26,542 And some of you will really struggle in prayer. 316 00:16:26,667 --> 00:16:28,875 And let me tell you this. 317 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,333 The key to growing in prayer is not to focus on prayer. 318 00:16:32,375 --> 00:16:34,667 That's actually the way to be someone 319 00:16:34,708 --> 00:16:36,667 who struggles with prayer. 320 00:16:36,708 --> 00:16:39,375 Have you ever noticed that when you're driving, if you say, 321 00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:41,375 "I don't want to cross the yellow line," 322 00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:44,042 and you keep looking at it, guess where you're going to drive? 323 00:16:44,167 --> 00:16:45,417 Right over the yellow line. 324 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:47,833 The key is to look down the road. 325 00:16:47,875 --> 00:16:49,208 So it is with prayer. 326 00:16:49,333 --> 00:16:52,208 If you just look at prayer, you're going to get off course. 327 00:16:52,333 --> 00:16:57,167 Instead, you look at God, and you get to know him as a Father, 328 00:16:57,208 --> 00:17:01,250 a loving, gracious, available Father. 329 00:17:01,333 --> 00:17:03,917 And as you get to know God as Father, 330 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,375 you will find yourself talking to him. 331 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:10,542 Let me say, for example, there was a child who was in 332 00:17:10,667 --> 00:17:13,167 a foster care system or something of that nature, 333 00:17:13,167 --> 00:17:15,000 never had a father. 334 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,667 And all of a sudden, they were adopted by a father 335 00:17:17,667 --> 00:17:19,042 into a family. 336 00:17:19,167 --> 00:17:20,875 Their father was amazing, and loved them, 337 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,833 and available to them, and would be interrupted at any point 338 00:17:23,875 --> 00:17:25,833 to hear anything they wanted to talk about, 339 00:17:25,875 --> 00:17:28,750 and always answered every request, and was present, 340 00:17:28,833 --> 00:17:31,042 and loving, and available. 341 00:17:31,167 --> 00:17:34,250 The more that child gets to know that father, 342 00:17:34,333 --> 00:17:38,250 the more they're going to talk to them. About the good days: 343 00:17:38,333 --> 00:17:40,000 "Dad, you'll never guess what happened." 344 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,833 Those are prayers of rejoicing. 345 00:17:41,875 --> 00:17:43,500 As well as the hard days: 346 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,167 "Dad, it was really hard today, and I need your counsel," 347 00:17:46,208 --> 00:17:47,542 or "I need your help," 348 00:17:47,667 --> 00:17:50,542 or "I need your comfort. I don't know what to do here." 349 00:17:50,667 --> 00:17:53,042 The key to prayer is not to focus on prayer, 350 00:17:53,167 --> 00:17:55,042 but to get to know the Father. 351 00:17:55,167 --> 00:17:58,667 And Jesus, here, is going to pray to the Father, 352 00:17:58,708 --> 00:18:00,750 and we're going to read it for ourselves, 353 00:18:00,833 --> 00:18:02,750 as we eavesdrop on the conversation 354 00:18:02,833 --> 00:18:04,750 that the Trinity has. 355 00:18:04,833 --> 00:18:06,417 Here's how it reads. 356 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:08,375 Luke 22:42-46. 357 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:10,500 "'Father, if you are willing--'" 358 00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:12,333 There's the word "Father." 359 00:18:12,375 --> 00:18:14,542 "'If you are willing, remove this cup from me. 360 00:18:14,667 --> 00:18:17,667 "'Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.' 361 00:18:17,708 --> 00:18:20,167 "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, 362 00:18:20,208 --> 00:18:21,542 "strengthening him. 363 00:18:21,667 --> 00:18:23,542 "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; 364 00:18:23,667 --> 00:18:25,708 "and his sweat became like great drops of blood 365 00:18:25,833 --> 00:18:27,250 "falling to the ground. 366 00:18:27,333 --> 00:18:29,333 "And when he rose from prayer, 367 00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:32,917 "he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 368 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,250 "and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? 369 00:18:35,333 --> 00:18:38,750 Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.'" 370 00:18:38,833 --> 00:18:41,542 So, here's Jesus praying to God the Father. 371 00:18:41,667 --> 00:18:44,375 He has his prayer partners, who are failing him, 372 00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:46,875 and also an angel who is comforting him. 373 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,375 We'll look at everyone who is involved here. 374 00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:54,167 First of all, there are Jesus' friends. 375 00:18:54,208 --> 00:18:56,833 They are to be partners in prayer, 376 00:18:56,875 --> 00:19:02,750 and they fail him in his most difficult, arduous season, 377 00:19:02,833 --> 00:19:06,208 moment of life. 378 00:19:06,333 --> 00:19:09,167 And I know that for some of you, this is where church 379 00:19:09,167 --> 00:19:11,708 is difficult, or Christian friendships are difficult, 380 00:19:11,833 --> 00:19:14,167 or signing up for a Community Group is difficult, 381 00:19:14,208 --> 00:19:16,708 because perhaps in the past, you've extended yourself, 382 00:19:16,833 --> 00:19:19,250 and God's people have failed you. 383 00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:23,667 Let me say that on behalf of Jesus, I'm sorry. 384 00:19:23,708 --> 00:19:25,333 We're sorry. 385 00:19:25,375 --> 00:19:28,542 And I know that there are people who would say that about me. 386 00:19:28,667 --> 00:19:29,917 "Mark failed me." 387 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,375 And so I'm not without guilt, as well. 388 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:38,167 But one thing I do love is, though Jesus' friends failed him, 389 00:19:38,167 --> 00:19:43,542 you'll see later on in Luke, Jesus remains friends with them. 390 00:19:43,667 --> 00:19:46,667 He continues to love, pursue, forgive, 391 00:19:46,667 --> 00:19:52,250 and to work on the friendship, to work on the friendship. 392 00:19:52,333 --> 00:19:55,208 How many of you, right now, are really failing somebody 393 00:19:55,333 --> 00:19:57,000 who needs you? 394 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,875 They're in a season of real trouble and trial. 395 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,333 It's a dark day for them, and maybe you're too busy, 396 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:05,667 or at least that's the excuse that you use, 397 00:20:05,667 --> 00:20:07,708 or perhaps they're just depressing, 398 00:20:07,833 --> 00:20:10,542 because of the season they're in. 399 00:20:10,667 --> 00:20:16,042 The Puritan Matthew Henry used to talk of swallow friends, 400 00:20:16,167 --> 00:20:19,708 meaning they leave when winter comes. 401 00:20:19,833 --> 00:20:21,708 Are you that kind of friend? 402 00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:23,542 "Boy, your life is really hard. 403 00:20:23,667 --> 00:20:25,250 "Let me know when you're through it, 404 00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:27,833 and I'd love to see you again." 405 00:20:27,875 --> 00:20:31,500 Those are Jesus' friends in his darkest day. 406 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:34,667 In addition, there is an angel that God sends to minister 407 00:20:34,667 --> 00:20:37,167 to him, and angels do two things: 408 00:20:37,208 --> 00:20:40,042 they are messengers and ministers, primarily. 409 00:20:40,167 --> 00:20:43,417 God created angels. 410 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:47,542 They are spirit beings, and they are agents 411 00:20:47,667 --> 00:20:51,542 of messages and ministry. 412 00:20:51,667 --> 00:20:55,833 So, early in Jesus' life, when it was announced 413 00:20:55,875 --> 00:20:58,875 that Mary would give birth to him, 414 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,167 an angel showed up as a messenger 415 00:21:01,208 --> 00:21:04,167 and declared that, we read in the opening pages of Luke. 416 00:21:04,208 --> 00:21:06,750 We also saw, I believe it was in Luke 4, 417 00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:10,000 when Jesus was tempted by Satan, that after he resisted 418 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,250 that temptation--40 days and 40 nights of fasting 419 00:21:14,333 --> 00:21:17,333 preceded it--he was weak and weary, 420 00:21:17,375 --> 00:21:21,167 that angels came and ministered to him and comforted him. 421 00:21:21,208 --> 00:21:23,833 We believe in the supernatural. 422 00:21:23,875 --> 00:21:27,042 We believe that there are angels created by God. 423 00:21:27,167 --> 00:21:30,500 We also believe that there are demons who started as angels, 424 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:32,667 but rebelled against God. 425 00:21:32,708 --> 00:21:35,042 That is the teaching of the Scriptures, 426 00:21:35,167 --> 00:21:38,542 from beginning to end, and some of us live in a day where 427 00:21:38,667 --> 00:21:41,417 we disbelieve in the supernatural, 428 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:43,542 and the Bible knows nothing of that. 429 00:21:43,667 --> 00:21:47,042 Others of us only believe in the good supernatural; 430 00:21:47,167 --> 00:21:48,875 angels but not demons. 431 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,167 The result is we can give ourselves over to spirituality, 432 00:21:52,208 --> 00:21:55,167 which may, in fact, be the most deadly, damaging, 433 00:21:55,167 --> 00:21:57,500 devastating thing that we do, 434 00:21:57,500 --> 00:22:00,542 because not everything in the spirit world is good, 435 00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:04,167 just like not everything in the physical world is good. 436 00:22:04,167 --> 00:22:06,375 There are people who are trustworthy. 437 00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:08,208 There are people who are dangerous. 438 00:22:08,333 --> 00:22:12,000 As it is in the physical world, so it is in the spirit world. 439 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,042 And Hebrews tells us that some of us have entertained angels 440 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:18,000 and didn't even know it, because sometimes they will appear 441 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,875 like people who come to deliver a message or to serve us 442 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,875 in a way of ministry. 443 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,667 And here comes an angel to serve the Lord Jesus. 444 00:22:26,667 --> 00:22:32,375 Now what about the Father? 445 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:37,542 Sometimes, it is wrongly stated, 446 00:22:37,667 --> 00:22:41,000 as if God the Father was the mean one, 447 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,542 and Jesus was the nice one, 448 00:22:43,667 --> 00:22:49,042 and God the Father got angry, and so he punished Jesus. 449 00:22:49,167 --> 00:22:51,667 The truth is that in eternity past, 450 00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:56,750 God the Father and God the Son agreed that the plan 451 00:22:56,833 --> 00:23:02,167 for the forgiving of human sin would be the death 452 00:23:02,208 --> 00:23:05,750 of the second member of the Trinity. 453 00:23:05,833 --> 00:23:08,667 This is where Jesus says elsewhere, 454 00:23:08,708 --> 00:23:13,000 "No one takes my life from me; I lay it down of my own accord." 455 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,667 What he's saying is, "I'm not just a victim. 456 00:23:15,708 --> 00:23:18,250 "I agree to the plan. 457 00:23:18,333 --> 00:23:20,667 I agree to the plan." 458 00:23:20,667 --> 00:23:24,917 And just as Jesus is grieving, so in that moment 459 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,250 God the Father is grieving. 460 00:23:28,333 --> 00:23:30,042 Jesus says elsewhere, "If you've seen me, 461 00:23:30,167 --> 00:23:32,500 you've seen the Father." 462 00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:36,000 He is the exact representation of the Father's nature, 463 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,417 Colossians tells us. 464 00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:41,375 So, when you see Jesus, assume he's mirroring, he's reflecting, 465 00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:43,708 he's imaging God the Father. 466 00:23:43,833 --> 00:23:46,500 So, if he's grieving, the Father is grieving. 467 00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:50,542 If he is in agony, the Father is in agony. 468 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:54,042 They are having this intimate, painful, 469 00:23:54,167 --> 00:23:59,042 heartfelt, devastating discussion, 470 00:23:59,167 --> 00:24:03,208 and it goes something like this. 471 00:24:03,333 --> 00:24:05,750 "We're here. 472 00:24:05,833 --> 00:24:11,708 "We're here at the day that we've always known would come. 473 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:17,500 "They're on their way to arrest me. 474 00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:20,042 "They're going to beat me, and scourge me, 475 00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:23,542 "and physically destroy me, 476 00:24:23,667 --> 00:24:27,667 "and then they're going to crucify me. 477 00:24:27,708 --> 00:24:33,000 "And, Father, I want you to know, right now, 478 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,875 "I have great anxiety about that. 479 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,250 "I have great distress about that. 480 00:24:40,333 --> 00:24:45,542 "It's not that I am unwilling, but I want to have 481 00:24:45,667 --> 00:24:50,833 one final conversation with you before we proceed forward." 482 00:24:53,667 --> 00:24:58,042 Regarding this account in Mark 13:34, it says he was, 483 00:24:58,167 --> 00:25:02,542 quote, "deeply distressed." 484 00:25:02,667 --> 00:25:06,708 Hebrews 5:7, it speaks of Jesus' prayer life while on the earth, 485 00:25:06,833 --> 00:25:12,833 as including, quote, "with loud cries and tears." 486 00:25:14,833 --> 00:25:19,500 We just read in Luke that he was in agony. 487 00:25:26,208 --> 00:25:29,500 What I love about the Bible is its brutal honesty, 488 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:32,542 particularly in the darkest moments. 489 00:25:32,667 --> 00:25:36,167 See, if this were written by purely religious people, 490 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:38,875 they would just give us a theological answer 491 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,250 and move on, 492 00:25:40,333 --> 00:25:42,042 because that's what religious people do. 493 00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:44,750 "Oh, God works out all things for the good of those 494 00:25:44,833 --> 00:25:47,250 "who love him and are called according to his purpose. 495 00:25:47,333 --> 00:25:48,667 "No need to cry. 496 00:25:48,708 --> 00:25:50,667 Let's move on. Go get crucified." 497 00:25:50,708 --> 00:25:52,208 Some of you are religious people, 498 00:25:52,333 --> 00:25:55,000 and you don't know what to do with people when they're 499 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,042 hurting, weeping, bawling, crying, suffering, dying. 500 00:25:57,167 --> 00:25:59,000 You don't know what to do. 501 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,208 You immediately just want to quote a verse, 502 00:26:01,333 --> 00:26:03,208 go to a theological category and move on. 503 00:26:03,333 --> 00:26:05,750 You need to be there with them in that moment, 504 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:08,542 and that's exactly what's going on here between God the Father 505 00:26:08,667 --> 00:26:12,042 and God the Son. 506 00:26:12,167 --> 00:26:17,167 Yes, it's all going to work out; but, no, 507 00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:19,750 it's not going to be easy. 508 00:26:19,833 --> 00:26:22,667 Yes, we believe in the ultimate providence of God. 509 00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:25,167 God works out everything. 510 00:26:25,167 --> 00:26:29,333 But along the way, sometimes it is just really brutal 511 00:26:29,375 --> 00:26:32,750 and painful and horrific. 512 00:26:32,833 --> 00:26:34,208 We're in agony. 513 00:26:34,333 --> 00:26:35,917 We're deeply distressed. 514 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,542 We have loud cries and tears. 515 00:26:39,667 --> 00:26:42,542 And the Bible never guarantees that we'll see it all worked out 516 00:26:42,667 --> 00:26:44,000 in this life. 517 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000 Much of it won't be unpacked until eternity. 518 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,000 And between here and there, there are a lot of days 519 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,000 that are difficult, and dark, and dire. 520 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:57,500 Some of you are in those days, today. 521 00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:59,667 For those of us who have an opportunity 522 00:26:59,667 --> 00:27:02,167 to minister to those who are struggling, and hurting, 523 00:27:02,208 --> 00:27:05,708 and suffering, and weeping, and dying, 524 00:27:05,833 --> 00:27:09,167 you've got to sit with them. 525 00:27:09,208 --> 00:27:11,333 You know, the Father doesn't tell the Son, 526 00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:14,000 "You just need to toughen up and get through it." 527 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,667 That's not what he says. 528 00:27:15,667 --> 00:27:17,167 The Father doesn't tell the Son, 529 00:27:17,208 --> 00:27:19,167 "Hey, you know how it's going to end. 530 00:27:19,208 --> 00:27:20,542 "It's going to be fine. 531 00:27:20,667 --> 00:27:22,333 Just keep the big perspective." 532 00:27:22,375 --> 00:27:24,667 The Father doesn't look at the Son and say, 533 00:27:24,708 --> 00:27:26,042 "Hey, remember Nehemiah 8:10? 534 00:27:26,167 --> 00:27:28,042 "'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' 535 00:27:28,167 --> 00:27:29,500 "Just fake it. 536 00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:30,875 "Be happy, pretend. 537 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,250 Have a good attitude, positive self-thinking." 538 00:27:34,333 --> 00:27:39,417 No, the Father and Son sit together in a sacred moment, 539 00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:43,750 and Jesus says, 540 00:27:43,833 --> 00:27:47,917 "This is killing me. 541 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,833 "What I am about to experience 542 00:27:50,875 --> 00:27:55,917 has me in great distress and agony." 543 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,000 Dear friend, if you are suffering, 544 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,875 or when you're suffering, Jesus gives you permission 545 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,917 to just be honest. 546 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:04,417 Now, here's what he doesn't do. 547 00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:05,833 He doesn't curse God. 548 00:28:05,875 --> 00:28:07,333 He doesn't, "Is there a God? 549 00:28:07,375 --> 00:28:09,167 Does he love me? Is he sovereign?" 550 00:28:09,208 --> 00:28:11,167 He doesn't go to any of those questions. 551 00:28:11,208 --> 00:28:13,667 He just says, "Father, I respect you." 552 00:28:13,667 --> 00:28:15,667 He demonstrates that by kneeling. 553 00:28:15,708 --> 00:28:22,250 "This is very difficult, and I want to talk about it. 554 00:28:22,333 --> 00:28:24,417 I want to talk about it." 555 00:28:24,500 --> 00:28:27,167 And the Father hears him. 556 00:28:27,208 --> 00:28:32,917 And Jesus' prayer is in the context of agony. 557 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,667 Luke, who is a physician recording this, 558 00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:40,000 says that Jesus is actually sweating blood. 559 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,917 This is a very rare medical condition that is precipitated 560 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,750 by the most extreme duress. 561 00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:54,167 You have to be in absolute agony, complete anguish, 562 00:28:54,208 --> 00:28:58,667 to all of a sudden be sweating blood. 563 00:28:58,708 --> 00:29:02,250 Very rarely does anyone get to this place physiologically. 564 00:29:02,333 --> 00:29:04,167 Jesus got there. 565 00:29:05,167 --> 00:29:07,042 Jesus got there. 566 00:29:07,167 --> 00:29:08,667 He was stressed. 567 00:29:08,708 --> 00:29:10,667 He was distressed. 568 00:29:10,708 --> 00:29:12,875 It is late at night. 569 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,250 He cannot sleep. 570 00:29:14,333 --> 00:29:16,542 The disciples all fall asleep. 571 00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:19,500 Have you been there? Are you there? 572 00:29:19,500 --> 00:29:21,917 You know what is about to happen, 573 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,375 and it seems inevitable, that it cannot be avoided, 574 00:29:26,500 --> 00:29:29,917 but you don't know how you're going to brace yourself 575 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,833 to endure it. 576 00:29:33,875 --> 00:29:35,208 You can't sleep. 577 00:29:35,333 --> 00:29:36,833 Your mind is racing. 578 00:29:36,875 --> 00:29:38,667 Your heart is racing. 579 00:29:38,708 --> 00:29:43,250 It's where the Lord Jesus is. 580 00:29:43,333 --> 00:29:46,417 See, we have a God in Jesus Christ 581 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:49,833 who has been there. 582 00:29:49,875 --> 00:29:53,375 Have you been there? 583 00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:55,542 "It's cancer." 584 00:29:55,667 --> 00:29:59,917 "No, don't say that." 585 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,042 "They're dying." 586 00:30:02,167 --> 00:30:04,417 "No, not that." 587 00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:06,375 "They're dead." 588 00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:09,750 "What?" 589 00:30:09,833 --> 00:30:11,917 "I want a divorce." 590 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,750 "No." 591 00:30:14,833 --> 00:30:18,000 "Mom and Dad, I don't want to be a Christian. 592 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,167 I'm going my own way." 593 00:30:20,208 --> 00:30:22,000 "No." 594 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,708 "You're fired." 595 00:30:25,833 --> 00:30:29,500 "I never want to see you again." 596 00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:32,708 "I'm ashamed of you." 597 00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:39,167 "Will you marry me?" 598 00:30:39,208 --> 00:30:41,000 "No." 599 00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:49,042 "Was it adultery?" 600 00:30:49,167 --> 00:30:51,500 "Yes." 601 00:30:56,500 --> 00:31:01,833 Loud tears and crying. 602 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,375 And in those moments, dear friend, is it, 603 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:12,542 is it reasonable to go to God and say, 604 00:31:12,667 --> 00:31:15,833 "I don't know if I can get through this. 605 00:31:15,875 --> 00:31:19,417 "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. 606 00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:23,167 "I'm devastated. 607 00:31:23,167 --> 00:31:25,708 "I have verses. 608 00:31:25,833 --> 00:31:30,500 I don't have answers"? 609 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:32,042 Jesus did. 610 00:31:32,167 --> 00:31:36,500 In his full humanity, that's what he did. 611 00:31:39,167 --> 00:31:42,042 And then he has this remarkable statement: 612 00:31:42,167 --> 00:31:46,375 "Not my will, yours be done." 613 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:49,542 This is perfect submission. 614 00:31:49,667 --> 00:31:54,167 When the Bible uses the language of submission--and it does-- 615 00:31:56,500 --> 00:32:02,208 it means when you don't necessarily agree. 616 00:32:02,333 --> 00:32:04,750 When you agree, you're not submitting. 617 00:32:04,833 --> 00:32:07,250 "I want ice cream." "I want ice cream, too." 618 00:32:07,333 --> 00:32:08,667 Well, okay. 619 00:32:08,708 --> 00:32:10,500 I'm not going to submit to that. 620 00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:12,375 We agree. 621 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:17,667 Submission is when you're having a hard time coming to agreement. 622 00:32:17,667 --> 00:32:20,167 So, when a parent looks at a child and says, 623 00:32:20,167 --> 00:32:22,750 "I'm your parent, and I need you to submit to me," 624 00:32:22,833 --> 00:32:26,167 it's okay for the child to say, "I want to talk about this. 625 00:32:26,167 --> 00:32:28,250 "I want to tell you how I feel. 626 00:32:28,333 --> 00:32:30,250 "I want to tell you why I disagree. 627 00:32:30,333 --> 00:32:33,750 "I want you to hear me out, and I want to reason with you, 628 00:32:33,833 --> 00:32:36,667 "and I either want you to consider my appeal and change 629 00:32:36,667 --> 00:32:39,667 "your mind, or I want you to inform me and instruct me, 630 00:32:39,667 --> 00:32:43,250 so that I can agree with you, so we can proceed forth together." That's submission. 631 00:32:43,333 --> 00:32:46,250 And here in his humanity, Jesus is coming to the Father, saying, 632 00:32:46,333 --> 00:32:48,250 "I know the plan that we've agreed to, 633 00:32:48,333 --> 00:32:50,250 "and I'm willing to go through the plan, 634 00:32:50,333 --> 00:32:52,042 "but I just need to double check. 635 00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:53,500 "Is there any other way? 636 00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:55,000 "If not, your will be done. 637 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,500 "My will will be your will. 638 00:32:56,500 --> 00:32:58,375 "We will proceed forward together, 639 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:01,500 "both shedding tears and devastated, 640 00:33:01,500 --> 00:33:05,500 but in agreement as to what has to happen next." 641 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:08,042 I want you to see submission is strong. 642 00:33:08,167 --> 00:33:10,000 Submission can be vocal. 643 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,167 Submission can be emotional. 644 00:33:12,208 --> 00:33:17,500 Submission can be honest, and it can still be submissive. 645 00:33:23,167 --> 00:33:27,042 Here's the question. 646 00:33:27,167 --> 00:33:32,333 Why is Jesus Christ so grieved in a garden? 647 00:33:32,375 --> 00:33:34,375 Why is he in distress? 648 00:33:34,500 --> 00:33:38,667 Why can he not sleep? 649 00:33:38,708 --> 00:33:41,542 I feel inclined to tell you this. 650 00:33:41,667 --> 00:33:45,875 Some of you want to know what's going to happen next. 651 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,167 Let me tell you, even if you knew, 652 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:51,250 it wouldn't make it easier. 653 00:33:51,333 --> 00:33:53,333 Does Jesus know what's going to happen next? 654 00:33:53,375 --> 00:33:54,833 Yes or no? 655 00:33:54,875 --> 00:33:56,375 Yes. 656 00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:58,375 Does it seem easy? 657 00:33:58,500 --> 00:34:01,167 No. 658 00:34:03,375 --> 00:34:07,000 Why is Jesus Christ so grieved in a garden? 659 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,500 Luke 22:42. 660 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:12,875 "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." 661 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,000 His anxiety, his agony 662 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,500 is all in relation to some cup. 663 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:24,875 Sort of use this as a mental image. 664 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,333 The Father, God the Father, God the Son, 665 00:34:27,375 --> 00:34:29,875 the first and second member of the Trinity, 666 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,000 imagine them sitting down together, 667 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000 and there's a cup that's sort of perched on a table, 668 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,417 and they're both looking at that cup. 669 00:34:39,500 --> 00:34:41,875 And the Son of God says, 670 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,875 "Father, I know from history past, eternity past, 671 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,042 "we have agreed that I will drink that cup. 672 00:34:51,167 --> 00:34:54,250 "Now that we're here, I'm asking you, 673 00:34:54,333 --> 00:34:56,875 is there any other way?" 674 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,875 And God the Father, I could just see him, devastated, saying, 675 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,375 "You know there's not. 676 00:35:03,500 --> 00:35:08,708 Were there, we would consider that." 677 00:35:08,833 --> 00:35:10,542 Pushes the cup over. 678 00:35:10,667 --> 00:35:14,500 "Son, I need you to drink that cup." 679 00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:16,667 The Son, looking at the cup, 680 00:35:16,708 --> 00:35:21,875 "Father, I'm willing, but I'm struggling." 681 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,500 What is that cup? 682 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:29,750 Why is there so much distress, and aguish, and agony? 683 00:35:29,833 --> 00:35:35,333 Why can Jesus not sleep, but he can sweat blood? 684 00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:42,667 That cup is filled with the wrath of God. 685 00:35:42,708 --> 00:35:45,000 I'll give you three places in the Old Testament. 686 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,750 There are more that connect the cup with the wrath of God. 687 00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:51,750 Ezekiel 23:33 speaks of 688 00:35:51,833 --> 00:35:54,667 "a cup of horror and desolation." 689 00:35:54,667 --> 00:35:56,667 Isaiah 51:17 speaks of, 690 00:35:56,667 --> 00:35:59,167 quote, "the cup of his wrath." 691 00:35:59,208 --> 00:36:01,875 Jeremiah 25:15 speaks of 692 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,167 "the cup of the wine of wrath." 693 00:36:05,208 --> 00:36:09,542 I want you to use this picture that the Bible gives. 694 00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:13,000 You are a sinner. 695 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,250 You are a sinner by nature, 696 00:36:15,333 --> 00:36:18,500 and choice, word, thought, deed. 697 00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:24,500 Commission, you do wrong; omission, you do not do right. 698 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:30,542 And if you disagree, you're more sinful than perhaps anyone else, 699 00:36:30,667 --> 00:36:33,542 and you're filled with haughtiness, and pride, 700 00:36:33,667 --> 00:36:37,667 and self-righteousness, and you have been puffed up by a culture 701 00:36:37,708 --> 00:36:42,000 of self-esteem and me-ism, and the hard, 702 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,667 cold truth is you will not die and stand before a mirror 703 00:36:46,667 --> 00:36:50,000 to give an account for your life. 704 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,375 You will stand before the God of the Bible and give an account 705 00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:55,667 for your life. 706 00:36:55,708 --> 00:36:59,333 And every day that you and I sin, 707 00:36:59,375 --> 00:37:05,500 it is like a drop into a cup, 708 00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:08,875 and it is being collected. 709 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,750 And we pour the sin in. 710 00:37:11,833 --> 00:37:15,667 And then commensurate with the sin that we pour in, God, 711 00:37:15,708 --> 00:37:17,708 at the end of this life, 712 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:23,667 pours out commensurate wrath, wrath. 713 00:37:25,667 --> 00:37:29,875 And so the cup is the cup of the wrath of God! 714 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,000 And Jesus is looking at this cup, 715 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,917 and this cup is filled with everyone's sin 716 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,042 in the history of the world! 717 00:37:40,167 --> 00:37:43,208 With tears in his eyes, he looks at the Father, and he's saying, 718 00:37:43,333 --> 00:37:45,667 "Is there any option but for me to drink 719 00:37:45,708 --> 00:37:49,208 every drop in this cup?" 720 00:37:49,333 --> 00:37:53,250 And with tears in his eyes, the Father says, "Son, 721 00:37:53,333 --> 00:37:59,500 "we both know that if there is to be salvation for anyone, 722 00:37:59,500 --> 00:38:03,167 "you must drink that cup, 723 00:38:03,208 --> 00:38:07,833 every single drop." 724 00:38:12,833 --> 00:38:17,167 People don't talk about this anymore, 725 00:38:17,208 --> 00:38:21,167 because you're all way too intelligent to believe 726 00:38:21,167 --> 00:38:25,250 in some sort of primitive justice like that. 727 00:38:25,333 --> 00:38:27,042 And you're not that bad. 728 00:38:27,167 --> 00:38:28,667 You're good people. 729 00:38:28,708 --> 00:38:30,542 You're nice people! 730 00:38:30,667 --> 00:38:32,208 Some of you are well educated. 731 00:38:32,333 --> 00:38:35,375 Some of you are nice neighbors. 732 00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:38,750 Some of you are better than the Christians you know, 733 00:38:38,833 --> 00:38:42,000 morally speaking. 734 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,875 Some of you have studied enough philosophy, 735 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,167 you have a way to argue around this, 736 00:38:47,208 --> 00:38:50,417 like an attorney on the run. 737 00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:54,333 Some of you have studied enough psychology that you find a way 738 00:38:54,375 --> 00:38:57,500 to emotionally say, "Well, yeah, some people believe 739 00:38:57,500 --> 00:39:00,167 "in a mythical Father figure and justice 740 00:39:00,208 --> 00:39:03,417 "because it gives them peace, so that they can live their life 741 00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:06,667 with emotional stability." 742 00:39:06,667 --> 00:39:09,833 Some of you say, "Yes, this is the problem with religion. 743 00:39:09,875 --> 00:39:12,000 "It's so primitive. 744 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,167 It wants things like justice." 745 00:39:14,167 --> 00:39:17,167 And might I say, when someone breaks into your home, 746 00:39:17,167 --> 00:39:20,333 so do you. 747 00:39:23,667 --> 00:39:26,667 It's the wrath of God. 748 00:39:26,667 --> 00:39:28,542 And immediately, some of you would say, 749 00:39:28,667 --> 00:39:31,167 "No, no, no, no, the love of God. 750 00:39:31,208 --> 00:39:34,167 Pastor Mark, preach the love of God!" 751 00:39:34,167 --> 00:39:37,167 "No, the wrath of God." 752 00:39:37,167 --> 00:39:40,042 Do you know the wrath of God is mentioned more than 753 00:39:40,167 --> 00:39:42,250 the love of God in the Bible? 754 00:39:42,333 --> 00:39:44,542 Do you know that the wrath of God 755 00:39:44,667 --> 00:39:46,042 is mentioned with 20-some words, 756 00:39:46,167 --> 00:39:51,542 Old and New Testament combined, over 600 times? 757 00:39:51,667 --> 00:39:54,750 I did an interview this week--last week--some week, 758 00:39:54,833 --> 00:39:56,875 for a documentary. 759 00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,250 The guys who did the documentary, "Expelled," 760 00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:02,042 they're doing a documentary on hell. 761 00:40:02,167 --> 00:40:04,542 So, I got interviewed for that. 762 00:40:04,667 --> 00:40:08,375 A big part of our conversation was this. 763 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:10,167 They said, "Well, isn't God loving?" 764 00:40:10,208 --> 00:40:12,833 "Yeah, 1 John 4, God is love, God is love. 765 00:40:12,875 --> 00:40:17,375 But love is not God, and God is not only love." 766 00:40:17,500 --> 00:40:19,750 When it speaks of God in the Bible, 767 00:40:19,833 --> 00:40:22,042 it speaks of him in terms of attributes. 768 00:40:22,167 --> 00:40:25,167 He is loving and just. 769 00:40:25,208 --> 00:40:28,750 He is merciful and holy. 770 00:40:28,833 --> 00:40:31,667 He is forgiving and righteous. 771 00:40:31,667 --> 00:40:37,500 And what people like to do is take one of God's attributes, 772 00:40:37,500 --> 00:40:42,750 elevate it above the rest, and/or ignore the totality of 773 00:40:42,833 --> 00:40:44,542 what the Bible says about God. 774 00:40:44,667 --> 00:40:46,750 Someone says, "God is love. I like that one. 775 00:40:46,833 --> 00:40:48,167 "I don't like the rest. 776 00:40:48,208 --> 00:40:51,500 "How about I ignore those, or I find someone educated beyond 777 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:55,042 "their intelligence with a few degrees, who wrote a book, 778 00:40:55,167 --> 00:40:57,667 "and tells me that the word 'wrath' in the Bible 779 00:40:57,708 --> 00:41:00,167 "really means lollipop, and the scholars have got it wrong 780 00:41:00,208 --> 00:41:04,375 for 2,000 years." 781 00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:06,750 And then just, "God is love. 782 00:41:06,833 --> 00:41:11,000 "And what that means is God's not God, but love is God. 783 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,042 "And now I get to create a god that I wish existed, 784 00:41:15,167 --> 00:41:22,000 "which means I'm god, and I declare good and evil. 785 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,167 "And I go back to the foundational problem 786 00:41:24,208 --> 00:41:26,375 "in Genesis 3. 787 00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:28,167 "I want to be God. 788 00:41:28,208 --> 00:41:31,875 "I don't like the real God, so I vote myself in as god to declare 789 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,250 "what is good and evil, and I judge the God of the Bible, 790 00:41:35,333 --> 00:41:37,875 "and then edit him so that he's more palatable 791 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,333 for the modern-day market." 792 00:41:40,375 --> 00:41:41,875 I love you. 793 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,000 And I have to tell you the truth. 794 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,917 My job is to tell you the truth. 795 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:48,333 Your job is to make a decision. 796 00:41:48,375 --> 00:41:52,167 There inevitably reaches a point in a church like ours 797 00:41:52,208 --> 00:41:56,875 where the weight is so heavy to lie, that I, and you, 798 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,250 and we are in danger. 799 00:41:59,333 --> 00:42:01,750 We started with ten people in a living room. 800 00:42:01,833 --> 00:42:05,000 By the grace of God, we'll have over 10,000 people today. 801 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,375 That means more eyes on it, more ears tuning in, 802 00:42:08,500 --> 00:42:12,542 more critics picking apart, more media looking for an error, 803 00:42:12,667 --> 00:42:16,042 more people walking away, more dollars, 804 00:42:16,167 --> 00:42:23,167 more frustration that could be created by telling the truth. 805 00:42:26,667 --> 00:42:28,833 If you're going to be a Christian, 806 00:42:28,875 --> 00:42:33,333 I want you to really be one, not just another Judas who hangs out 807 00:42:33,375 --> 00:42:37,167 with the team and then hangs himself. 808 00:42:37,208 --> 00:42:41,542 To do that, you need to know who the real God is 809 00:42:41,667 --> 00:42:46,000 and how the real God feels. 810 00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:55,167 Some of you, God hates you. 811 00:42:56,167 --> 00:42:59,875 Some of you, God is sick of you. 812 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:03,000 God is frustrated with you. 813 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,500 God is wearied by you. 814 00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:11,708 God has suffered long enough with you. 815 00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:15,375 He doesn't think you're cute. 816 00:43:15,500 --> 00:43:17,042 He doesn't think it's funny. 817 00:43:17,167 --> 00:43:21,375 He doesn't think your excuse is meritorious. 818 00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:23,750 He doesn't care if you compare yourself 819 00:43:23,833 --> 00:43:25,500 to someone worse than you. 820 00:43:25,500 --> 00:43:29,333 He hates them, too! 821 00:43:29,375 --> 00:43:32,750 God hates, right now, personally, 822 00:43:32,833 --> 00:43:36,750 objectively hates some of you. 823 00:43:36,833 --> 00:43:38,542 He has had enough! 824 00:43:38,667 --> 00:43:40,000 He is sick of it! 825 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,250 There's no sense of urgency with you, 826 00:43:42,333 --> 00:43:47,375 but the cup is filled to the rim for him! 827 00:43:49,500 --> 00:43:55,208 The Bible speaks of God not just hating sin, but sinners, 828 00:43:55,333 --> 00:44:00,250 because sin is of our nature. 829 00:44:00,333 --> 00:44:03,333 Sin is not just a mistake that we make. 830 00:44:03,375 --> 00:44:05,875 It's not that we're good people, down in our heart, 831 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,167 who had a bad moment. 832 00:44:08,167 --> 00:44:11,042 In our worst moments is the truest revelation 833 00:44:11,167 --> 00:44:15,667 of who we really are at the deepest level. 834 00:44:18,833 --> 00:44:22,042 You will struggle mightily with this, 835 00:44:22,167 --> 00:44:26,750 but it is the beginning of freedom. 836 00:44:26,833 --> 00:44:29,500 For if we do not diagnose the problem, 837 00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:33,375 how in the world can we present the solution? 838 00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:39,708 You are the problem, not the solution. 839 00:44:39,833 --> 00:44:43,042 You and I are sinners, and we are, by nature, 840 00:44:43,167 --> 00:44:45,250 objects of wrath. 841 00:44:45,333 --> 00:44:48,750 That's a quote from the Bible. 842 00:44:48,833 --> 00:44:50,750 I'll give you three examples. 843 00:44:50,833 --> 00:44:55,500 Psalm 5:5, "You," speaking of God, "hate all evildoers." 844 00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:58,167 And, again, you can find a Christian on the run 845 00:44:58,167 --> 00:45:01,000 when they start doing word studies. 846 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,667 "Oh, it means he hates this sin, not the sinner." 847 00:45:03,667 --> 00:45:06,250 That's Gandhi, not Jesus. 848 00:45:06,333 --> 00:45:07,875 Gandhi is not in the Bible. 849 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:09,875 Gandhi is not close to the Bible. 850 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:11,250 I'm not the judge. 851 00:45:11,333 --> 00:45:13,542 I don't decide who goes to heaven or hell. 852 00:45:13,667 --> 00:45:15,542 I'm not saying where Gandhi is at. 853 00:45:15,667 --> 00:45:21,167 I'm saying, apart from Jesus, I know exactly where he's at. 854 00:45:21,167 --> 00:45:23,667 God doesn't just hate what you do. 855 00:45:23,708 --> 00:45:27,875 He hates who you are! 856 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:33,500 My job is to tell the truth; your job is to make a decision. 857 00:45:35,667 --> 00:45:38,417 Psalm 11:4-5, "The Lord is in his holy temple; 858 00:45:38,500 --> 00:45:40,417 "the Lord's throne is in heaven; 859 00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:42,250 "his eyes see . . . the children of man. 860 00:45:42,333 --> 00:45:47,250 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked." 861 00:45:47,333 --> 00:45:49,542 How in the world could a good, just, 862 00:45:49,667 --> 00:45:52,167 holy God look at the earth and say, 863 00:45:52,208 --> 00:45:55,667 "Good people with good hearts"? 864 00:45:55,708 --> 00:45:58,042 How could God wait thousands of years, 865 00:45:58,167 --> 00:46:00,667 one generation to the next, look down and say, 866 00:46:00,708 --> 00:46:03,000 "With this, I am well pleased"? 867 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,500 He doesn't. 868 00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:10,000 Hosea 9:15 speaks of a place. 869 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,042 He says, "There I began to hate them. 870 00:46:12,167 --> 00:46:14,167 "Because of the wickedness of their deeds 871 00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:16,208 "I will drive them out of my house. 872 00:46:16,333 --> 00:46:20,333 I will love them no more." 873 00:46:20,375 --> 00:46:25,042 God hates you, 874 00:46:25,167 --> 00:46:29,208 and there is wrath for you! 875 00:46:29,333 --> 00:46:34,333 The wrath of God is being stored up for you! 876 00:46:34,375 --> 00:46:38,000 You cannot believe in the personal love of God 877 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:42,833 and not believe in the personal wrath of God. 878 00:46:44,833 --> 00:46:48,542 Some of you are in grave danger. 879 00:46:48,667 --> 00:46:50,750 You should have a sense of urgency. 880 00:46:50,833 --> 00:46:54,250 And as I speak, don't let that small attorney 881 00:46:54,333 --> 00:46:58,500 in your conscience come to your defense. 882 00:46:58,500 --> 00:47:01,500 It's as if you were in the path of destruction, 883 00:47:01,500 --> 00:47:04,542 and I am trying to warn you, and you're arguing, 884 00:47:04,667 --> 00:47:07,917 rather than running. 885 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:11,167 It's as if I knew that when you return home today, 886 00:47:11,167 --> 00:47:13,250 a plane was going to lose an engine 887 00:47:13,333 --> 00:47:15,542 and crash into your home, and destroy you. 888 00:47:15,667 --> 00:47:17,000 And I'm telling you. 889 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:23,000 And rather than running, you're arguing. 890 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:28,208 Old Testament, Psalm 7:11. 891 00:47:28,333 --> 00:47:29,917 "God is a righteous judge, 892 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:35,042 a God who expresses his wrath every day." 893 00:47:35,167 --> 00:47:38,667 Ephesians 5:6, "Let no one deceive you with empty words." 894 00:47:38,708 --> 00:47:42,542 Don't say, "I read a book, and I consulted a theologian, 895 00:47:42,667 --> 00:47:46,042 "and there's some guy in the New Testament class 896 00:47:46,167 --> 00:47:48,875 "at my college, educated beyond his intelligence, 897 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:50,875 "who says this is all very primitive. 898 00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:53,250 "And the God of the New Testament is nothing 899 00:47:53,333 --> 00:47:54,833 "but hugs and muffins, 900 00:47:54,875 --> 00:47:57,875 "and we're all going to go to heaven, except for maybe Hitler, 901 00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:00,042 but it's a coin flip for him, too." 902 00:48:00,167 --> 00:48:04,333 "Let no one deceive you 903 00:48:04,375 --> 00:48:07,667 "with empty words, 904 00:48:07,708 --> 00:48:10,250 "for because of such things God's wrath comes on those 905 00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:12,250 who are disobedient." 906 00:48:12,333 --> 00:48:15,542 Colossians 3:5-6, "Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly 907 00:48:15,667 --> 00:48:18,833 "nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires 908 00:48:18,875 --> 00:48:21,000 "and greed, which is idolatry. 909 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:24,750 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." 910 00:48:24,833 --> 00:48:28,750 The wrath of God is coming on those who have rebelled against 911 00:48:28,833 --> 00:48:33,750 God and those whom God hates! 912 00:48:33,833 --> 00:48:36,708 And there is active wrath and passive wrath, 913 00:48:36,833 --> 00:48:39,708 and some of you would say, "This whole concept of wrath, 914 00:48:39,833 --> 00:48:42,000 I think you're just trying to scare me." 915 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:45,833 I am. 916 00:48:45,875 --> 00:48:49,375 But some of you would say, "Where is the wrath of God? 917 00:48:49,500 --> 00:48:55,167 "Pastor Mark, the list you just read, I did that last night, 918 00:48:55,208 --> 00:48:57,875 "and I slept in, and I had my breakfast, 919 00:48:58,000 --> 00:48:59,833 "and now I get to be yelled at. 920 00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,917 "This is as close to the wrath of God as I get 921 00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:04,333 is you yelling at me. 922 00:49:04,375 --> 00:49:06,042 Where is the wrath of God?" 923 00:49:06,167 --> 00:49:08,042 The wrath of God is in two forms, 924 00:49:08,167 --> 00:49:10,750 the Bible declares: active and passive. 925 00:49:10,833 --> 00:49:14,917 In this life, most of us experience passive wrath. 926 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:17,250 It says this a few times in Romans 1, 927 00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:19,708 that God handed them over, God handed them over, 928 00:49:19,833 --> 00:49:21,167 God handed them over. 929 00:49:21,167 --> 00:49:23,167 It's passive wrath. 930 00:49:23,167 --> 00:49:27,667 It says that the wrath of God is on those who suppress the truth. 931 00:49:30,375 --> 00:49:33,250 Imagine if I looked at one of my children, and I said, 932 00:49:33,333 --> 00:49:35,667 "Go do whatever you want. 933 00:49:35,708 --> 00:49:40,542 "I've begged, I've pleaded, I've tried to save you from yourself. 934 00:49:40,667 --> 00:49:43,000 "You are determined to be who you want to be. 935 00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:47,417 "You are determined to do what you're going to do. 936 00:49:47,500 --> 00:49:49,875 Go do it." 937 00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,250 That's passive wrath. 938 00:49:53,333 --> 00:49:55,833 That's just letting you have what you want 939 00:49:55,875 --> 00:49:58,875 to your own destruction. 940 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:01,667 Some of you are living under the passive wrath of God. 941 00:50:01,708 --> 00:50:05,167 You're not getting away with anything. 942 00:50:05,167 --> 00:50:09,167 Every single time you fill a glass, 943 00:50:09,167 --> 00:50:11,750 remember the wrath of God. 944 00:50:11,833 --> 00:50:16,042 Every single time that you fill a glass, 945 00:50:16,167 --> 00:50:17,833 remember the wrath of God. 946 00:50:17,875 --> 00:50:21,208 "The wrath of God fills a cup," Jesus says. 947 00:50:21,333 --> 00:50:23,750 Just like you and I, we always fill cups. 948 00:50:23,833 --> 00:50:26,875 Well, there's another cup that we will not see until the end, 949 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:31,667 that we're all filling: sin, after sin, after sin, 950 00:50:31,708 --> 00:50:33,875 folly, after folly, after folly, 951 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:36,375 rebellion, after rebellion, after rebellion, 952 00:50:36,500 --> 00:50:39,208 arrogance, after arrogance, after arrogance, 953 00:50:39,333 --> 00:50:43,750 drop, after drop, after drop! 954 00:50:43,833 --> 00:50:46,750 And God lets us fill the cup. 955 00:50:46,833 --> 00:50:49,875 And all of our sin goes in, and then in the end, 956 00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,167 God pours out his wrath, 957 00:50:52,208 --> 00:50:57,542 and his wrath is commensurate with our sin. 958 00:50:57,667 --> 00:51:01,667 And so the days of passive wrath culminate in the day of 959 00:51:01,708 --> 00:51:08,167 active wrath, where you die, stand before Jesus, 960 00:51:08,208 --> 00:51:14,208 and the wrath of God is poured out forever on you. 961 00:51:14,333 --> 00:51:18,500 And the Bible uses words like, "grinding of teeth," 962 00:51:18,500 --> 00:51:23,000 and "the shedding of tears." 963 00:51:25,167 --> 00:51:28,042 Some of you say, "Well, thankfully, 964 00:51:28,167 --> 00:51:32,917 "Jesus is very loving, and Jesus wouldn't do that to people. 965 00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,500 That's why we like Jesus." 966 00:51:35,500 --> 00:51:39,000 No, this is what Jesus is going to do to people. 967 00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:44,542 Don't let your hippy, Hacky Sack Jesus 968 00:51:44,667 --> 00:51:47,167 be a replacement 969 00:51:47,167 --> 00:51:51,417 for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 970 00:51:51,500 --> 00:51:54,500 Revelation 14:10-11. 971 00:51:54,500 --> 00:51:57,542 It says, "He, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, 972 00:51:57,667 --> 00:51:59,250 "which has been poured full strength 973 00:51:59,333 --> 00:52:01,667 into the cup of his wrath." 974 00:52:01,708 --> 00:52:04,375 "He--" and that might be you, friend-- 975 00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:08,250 "will be tormented--" that's physical suffering-- 976 00:52:08,333 --> 00:52:11,667 "with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels 977 00:52:11,708 --> 00:52:14,375 and of the Lamb." 978 00:52:14,500 --> 00:52:18,042 In front of Jesus, who oversees hell. Satan doesn't rule hell. 979 00:52:18,167 --> 00:52:20,542 Jesus does. 980 00:52:20,667 --> 00:52:24,250 Satan is tormented in hell. 981 00:52:24,333 --> 00:52:26,208 How long will this last? 982 00:52:26,333 --> 00:52:31,667 "The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever." 983 00:52:33,708 --> 00:52:37,750 You are in grave danger. 984 00:52:37,833 --> 00:52:43,167 You are filling your cup of wrath. 985 00:52:43,167 --> 00:52:46,167 If you die apart from Jesus, 986 00:52:46,208 --> 00:52:52,708 he will pour out full strength the full cup of that wrath 987 00:52:52,833 --> 00:52:56,417 on you forever, and ever, and ever, 988 00:52:56,500 --> 00:53:02,333 and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever! 989 00:53:04,667 --> 00:53:11,500 But Jesus also drank a cup. 990 00:53:15,167 --> 00:53:21,750 Jesus drank a cup, 991 00:53:21,833 --> 00:53:24,875 the cup of the wrath of God. 992 00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:28,542 This is why he was sleepless. 993 00:53:28,667 --> 00:53:33,167 This is why he was sweating blood, 994 00:53:33,208 --> 00:53:37,542 that he exchanged places with us. 995 00:53:37,667 --> 00:53:40,667 Dear friend, I want to tell you about the love of God now, 996 00:53:40,708 --> 00:53:43,542 but first I need to tell you about the righteous hatred 997 00:53:43,667 --> 00:53:47,042 of God, so that when I tell you about the love of God, 998 00:53:47,167 --> 00:53:52,042 it's as loving as it truly is. 999 00:53:52,167 --> 00:53:57,417 See, at the cross of Jesus, there is hatred for Jesus 1000 00:53:57,500 --> 00:54:02,417 and love for us, so that when we die, 1001 00:54:02,500 --> 00:54:07,667 there would not be hatred for us, but just love; 1002 00:54:10,208 --> 00:54:14,542 that Jesus is God among us, that Jesus became one of us, 1003 00:54:14,667 --> 00:54:16,750 that Jesus lived the life we've not lived, 1004 00:54:16,833 --> 00:54:19,667 that Jesus died the death we should die, 1005 00:54:19,667 --> 00:54:24,167 and that on the cross, the wrath of God was poured out 1006 00:54:24,167 --> 00:54:25,542 on the Son of God. 1007 00:54:25,667 --> 00:54:26,917 To say it another way, 1008 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:30,833 Jesus took the cup on the cross and drank every single drop 1009 00:54:30,875 --> 00:54:35,167 of the wrath of God, and he endured it. 1010 00:54:35,167 --> 00:54:37,667 This was physical, emotional, spiritual, 1011 00:54:37,708 --> 00:54:41,167 mental suffering to a degree that is incomprehensible; 1012 00:54:41,167 --> 00:54:43,167 when God made him who knew no sin 1013 00:54:43,208 --> 00:54:47,000 to become the sin of the world, so that in him we might become 1014 00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:50,167 the righteousness of Christ. 1015 00:54:50,208 --> 00:54:54,542 Jesus died the death that you and I should deserve. 1016 00:54:54,667 --> 00:54:57,000 And the Bible uses one word to explain this. 1017 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:00,542 It's "propitiation," and it's a big word, 1018 00:55:00,667 --> 00:55:03,333 but it's an important word, and it appears four times in 1019 00:55:03,375 --> 00:55:05,875 the New Testament. And what it means is this, 1020 00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:08,250 that the wrath of God is upon us, 1021 00:55:08,333 --> 00:55:11,750 and Jesus steps in our place, and he takes the cup from our 1022 00:55:11,833 --> 00:55:14,667 hand, and he drinks it full strength, and he suffers, 1023 00:55:14,667 --> 00:55:20,750 and bleeds, and dies, that we might live in love and joy, 1024 00:55:20,833 --> 00:55:25,750 thereby propitiating, diverting, removing, 1025 00:55:25,833 --> 00:55:29,208 enduring the wrath of God on our behalf. 1026 00:55:29,333 --> 00:55:31,500 Theologians are arguing against this. 1027 00:55:31,500 --> 00:55:35,333 Large church pastors are bristling against this. 1028 00:55:35,375 --> 00:55:39,375 There's a whole movement to deny this, 1029 00:55:39,500 --> 00:55:43,000 but it's true. 1030 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:45,750 Romans 3:23-25, 1031 00:55:45,833 --> 00:55:49,667 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," 1032 00:55:49,708 --> 00:55:53,167 the best among us is not good enough, 1033 00:55:53,208 --> 00:55:55,667 "and are justified by his grace as a gift, 1034 00:55:55,708 --> 00:55:58,250 "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 1035 00:55:58,333 --> 00:56:02,500 "whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, 1036 00:56:02,500 --> 00:56:05,375 to be received by faith." 1037 00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:07,875 Hebrews 2:17, "Therefore he," meaning Jesus, 1038 00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:09,667 "had to be made like his brothers," 1039 00:56:09,667 --> 00:56:11,417 human like us, "in every respect, 1040 00:56:11,500 --> 00:56:13,833 "so that he might become a merciful and faithful 1041 00:56:13,875 --> 00:56:15,542 "high priest in the service of God, 1042 00:56:15,667 --> 00:56:19,167 to make propitiation for the sins of the people." 1043 00:56:19,208 --> 00:56:20,667 1 John 2:2, 1044 00:56:20,708 --> 00:56:23,250 "He," meaning Jesus, "is the propitiation for our sins, 1045 00:56:23,333 --> 00:56:26,500 and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." 1046 00:56:26,500 --> 00:56:30,000 It doesn't matter: male, female, young, old, black, white, 1047 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:34,167 rich, poor, brilliant or simple. 1048 00:56:36,167 --> 00:56:42,000 Jesus, alone, propitiates the wrath. 1049 00:56:43,000 --> 00:56:46,500 Jesus, alone, propitiates the wrath. 1050 00:56:46,500 --> 00:56:48,375 No other religion can. 1051 00:56:48,500 --> 00:56:49,917 No philosophy will. 1052 00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:54,875 And psychology may make you feel better until you are in torment 1053 00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:58,875 forever, and then there's not one thing that the therapist 1054 00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:04,167 said that will make that more bearable. 1055 00:57:04,208 --> 00:57:06,875 Some of you say, "But I thought God was loving, 1056 00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:08,667 "and where is the love? 1057 00:57:08,667 --> 00:57:11,500 This doesn't sound like a very loving God." 1058 00:57:11,500 --> 00:57:14,167 1 John 4:10, "This is love." 1059 00:57:14,208 --> 00:57:18,667 Do not begin with love and then import your definition of love 1060 00:57:18,708 --> 00:57:22,875 into it, thereby judging God through it! 1061 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:25,000 You can't say, "Well, God says he's loving, 1062 00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:26,375 and that's not loving." 1063 00:57:26,500 --> 00:57:28,542 You're not God. You don't sit on a throne. 1064 00:57:28,667 --> 00:57:30,875 You don't make the decision. You're not the judge. 1065 00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:33,542 Everything went south and sideways in Genesis 3, 1066 00:57:33,667 --> 00:57:38,875 when people decided they would judge God, rather than obey him. 1067 00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:43,208 "This is love, not that we have loved God," 1068 00:57:43,333 --> 00:57:47,042 that's the problem, "but that he loved us." 1069 00:57:47,167 --> 00:57:49,500 God loves you. 1070 00:57:50,500 --> 00:57:52,750 God loves you. 1071 00:57:52,833 --> 00:57:54,542 You say, "Sometimes I don't feel it. 1072 00:57:54,667 --> 00:57:56,375 "Sometimes I don't see it. 1073 00:57:56,500 --> 00:58:00,917 When I am suffering, I have a hard time believing it." 1074 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:04,917 "And he sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1075 00:58:05,000 --> 00:58:10,875 So, the cross of Jesus is where the wrath was poured out on him, 1076 00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:15,250 and the love was poured out for us! 1077 00:58:15,333 --> 00:58:18,500 So, when we look to the cross of Jesus, we say, 1078 00:58:18,500 --> 00:58:21,208 "God is holy and just. 1079 00:58:21,333 --> 00:58:25,167 "He does forgive, but not everyone. 1080 00:58:25,208 --> 00:58:31,375 "There is propitiation for sin, but it is in Christ alone. 1081 00:58:31,500 --> 00:58:33,875 "And if I am not in Christ, 1082 00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:37,375 "then I am simply filling a cup of the wrath of God 1083 00:58:37,500 --> 00:58:40,500 "that I will have to drink forever at the end 1084 00:58:40,500 --> 00:58:43,375 of my days on this earth." 1085 00:58:43,500 --> 00:58:47,375 And so you know that God loves you because of what Jesus 1086 00:58:47,500 --> 00:58:49,542 endured on the cross. 1087 00:58:49,667 --> 00:58:53,667 The cross of Jesus is where the love of God is most clearly 1088 00:58:53,708 --> 00:58:58,375 seen, and it is a damnable thing to then look at the cross 1089 00:58:58,500 --> 00:59:03,542 and ask, "Where is the love of God?" 1090 00:59:03,667 --> 00:59:09,167 There is the love of God, that God loved you so much 1091 00:59:09,167 --> 00:59:14,000 that he would pour out wrath upon himself, 1092 00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:17,500 that he would suffer and die in your place as a friend, 1093 00:59:17,500 --> 00:59:19,250 though you are an enemy. 1094 00:59:19,333 --> 00:59:21,167 That's the love of God. 1095 00:59:21,208 --> 00:59:23,875 So, on the cross, Jesus is being crucified, and he says, 1096 00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:26,708 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 1097 00:59:26,833 --> 00:59:30,417 That eternal, unbroken communion and union between the Father 1098 00:59:30,500 --> 00:59:33,042 and Son was momentarily severed. 1099 00:59:33,167 --> 00:59:35,833 The older theologians say that in that moment, 1100 00:59:35,875 --> 00:59:38,833 it is as if the Father turned his back on the Son, 1101 00:59:38,875 --> 00:59:43,000 and that was heartbreaking, devastating for both. 1102 00:59:43,000 --> 00:59:44,667 I have three sons. 1103 00:59:44,708 --> 00:59:49,417 I cannot fathom turning my back on my son. 1104 00:59:49,500 --> 00:59:51,375 My son would be destroyed. 1105 00:59:51,500 --> 00:59:53,250 I would be destroyed. 1106 00:59:53,333 --> 00:59:55,000 We would both suffer. 1107 00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:58,333 And to do it for our enemies, who are in that moment shouting, 1108 00:59:58,375 --> 01:00:04,542 "Crucify him, crucify him," and murdering him, that is love. 1109 01:00:04,667 --> 01:00:08,500 That is love for you and me, 1110 01:00:08,500 --> 01:00:13,042 from Jesus and the Father. 1111 01:00:13,167 --> 01:00:18,208 And in that moment, Jesus Christ took upon himself our sin. 1112 01:00:18,333 --> 01:00:21,833 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that he became our sin, 1113 01:00:21,875 --> 01:00:28,000 though he was without sin, and he died, spiritually died. 1114 01:00:33,333 --> 01:00:38,250 And then he says, 1115 01:00:38,333 --> 01:00:42,500 "Father into your hands I commit my Spirit." 1116 01:00:42,500 --> 01:00:48,542 And the greatest reunion in the history of creation, 1117 01:00:48,667 --> 01:00:51,833 beyond creation, occurred. 1118 01:00:51,875 --> 01:00:55,000 The Father and Son were reunited in joy, 1119 01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:58,042 and our sins were atoned for. 1120 01:00:58,167 --> 01:01:00,875 And then Jesus declares with a loud, triumphant cry, 1121 01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:03,542 "It is finished!" 1122 01:01:03,667 --> 01:01:07,250 It's all finished. 1123 01:01:07,333 --> 01:01:08,917 Let me close with this. 1124 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:11,917 There are only two kinds of people that are going to hear 1125 01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:16,042 this message: those who believe it and those who do not. 1126 01:01:16,167 --> 01:01:20,042 History is not divided into various religions, or races, 1127 01:01:20,167 --> 01:01:22,833 or ethnicities, or tribes, or tongues, or moralities, 1128 01:01:22,875 --> 01:01:25,250 or incomes, or intelligences. 1129 01:01:25,333 --> 01:01:30,042 Two kinds of people: those who believe, those who don't. 1130 01:01:30,167 --> 01:01:33,250 Those who believe, the wrath of God is lifted. 1131 01:01:33,333 --> 01:01:38,833 Those who do not believe, the wrath of God is coming. 1132 01:01:40,708 --> 01:01:43,500 Here's how the Bible says it. 1133 01:01:43,500 --> 01:01:48,042 John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." 1134 01:01:48,167 --> 01:01:52,375 Whoever believes, whoever, whoever! 1135 01:01:52,500 --> 01:01:54,042 That's you, friend! 1136 01:01:54,167 --> 01:01:55,417 Whoever! 1137 01:01:55,500 --> 01:01:58,542 Anybody, everybody, welcome to Jesus! 1138 01:01:58,667 --> 01:02:00,333 It doesn't matter who you are. 1139 01:02:00,375 --> 01:02:02,000 It doesn't matter what you've done. 1140 01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:04,250 It doesn't matter right now how bad you feel. 1141 01:02:04,333 --> 01:02:07,500 Whoever, whoever! 1142 01:02:07,500 --> 01:02:09,417 Yes, God is exclusive. 1143 01:02:09,500 --> 01:02:11,833 There's only salvation through Jesus. 1144 01:02:11,875 --> 01:02:13,375 But God is inclusive. 1145 01:02:13,500 --> 01:02:16,667 Whoever wants to come to him is certainly welcome to. 1146 01:02:16,708 --> 01:02:20,875 Whoever believes in him 1147 01:02:21,000 --> 01:02:24,667 has eternal life. 1148 01:02:24,667 --> 01:02:26,667 The wrath of God is lifted. 1149 01:02:26,708 --> 01:02:32,250 The love of God is given forever! 1150 01:02:32,333 --> 01:02:35,167 "Whoever does not obey the Son," 1151 01:02:35,208 --> 01:02:38,042 whoever does not believe, 1152 01:02:38,167 --> 01:02:44,500 "shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." 1153 01:02:45,333 --> 01:02:47,542 God hates some of you! 1154 01:02:47,667 --> 01:02:51,250 The wrath of God is filling a cup right now 1155 01:02:51,333 --> 01:02:53,500 with your name on it! 1156 01:02:53,500 --> 01:02:57,875 God's wrath is coming for you! 1157 01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:02,042 You are living in the path of the wrath of God! 1158 01:03:02,167 --> 01:03:05,875 You are in grave eternal danger. 1159 01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:08,250 You have picked a fight you cannot win. 1160 01:03:08,333 --> 01:03:12,167 You have declared a war that you will certainly lose! 1161 01:03:12,208 --> 01:03:15,500 You have offended a God who made you! 1162 01:03:15,500 --> 01:03:20,042 And after he has made provision to die for you, to save you, 1163 01:03:20,167 --> 01:03:23,542 to love you, to forgive you, to embrace you, 1164 01:03:23,667 --> 01:03:28,667 if you would say no, his anger against you is all the more 1165 01:03:28,708 --> 01:03:33,042 just, and there is no excuse. 1166 01:03:33,167 --> 01:03:36,000 My job is what? 1167 01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:37,750 To tell the truth. 1168 01:03:37,833 --> 01:03:42,750 Your job is to make a decision. 1169 01:03:42,833 --> 01:03:46,917 I pray this would be the day of your salvation, 1170 01:03:47,000 --> 01:03:51,667 that you would come to Jesus and receive the love of God and have 1171 01:03:51,708 --> 01:03:58,333 that great burden of the wrath of God lifted and that that cup 1172 01:03:58,375 --> 01:04:02,000 with your name on it would not be awaiting you 1173 01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:04,542 on your last day. 1174 01:04:04,667 --> 01:04:08,875 Father God, I thank you for this plan of salvation. 1175 01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:12,917 God, I know that this is a hard word, but, God, 1176 01:04:13,000 --> 01:04:14,542 I've said it for many years. 1177 01:04:14,667 --> 01:04:16,875 I believe that hard words produce soft people, 1178 01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:18,833 and soft words produce hard people. 1179 01:04:18,875 --> 01:04:21,917 In a world where we are told we are good people with 1180 01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:25,542 good hearts, and what we need is more self-esteem, 1181 01:04:25,667 --> 01:04:30,333 we receive the hard word that we are bad people with bad hearts, 1182 01:04:30,375 --> 01:04:33,500 who need a new heart, 1183 01:04:33,500 --> 01:04:36,417 that we are the problem, not the solution, 1184 01:04:36,500 --> 01:04:39,042 that we are the sinner, not the Savior, 1185 01:04:39,167 --> 01:04:43,000 that we are the object of wrath, not the propitiation of wrath. 1186 01:04:43,000 --> 01:04:46,917 Lord Jesus, you are amazing, 1187 01:04:47,000 --> 01:04:52,500 that you would endure all of that for your enemies. 1188 01:04:52,500 --> 01:04:58,375 Lord Jesus, it's overwhelming, 1189 01:04:58,500 --> 01:05:02,500 that the Creator of the universe 1190 01:05:02,500 --> 01:05:06,667 would suffer and die for his enemies, 1191 01:05:06,708 --> 01:05:09,250 to make them his friends. 1192 01:05:09,333 --> 01:05:11,167 Lord Jesus, that's love. 1193 01:05:11,167 --> 01:05:14,000 Holy Spirit, please apply this message to us. 1194 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:17,667 For those who are believers, give us a deeper joy. 1195 01:05:17,667 --> 01:05:21,167 For those who are unbelievers, I pray that they would come 1196 01:05:21,208 --> 01:05:27,167 to Jesus and not experience the wrath that is to come. 1197 01:05:29,500 --> 01:05:31,375 Amen. 1198 01:05:31,500 --> 01:05:34,750 Here's how we're going to respond. 1199 01:05:34,833 --> 01:05:36,667 For those of you who are Christians, 1200 01:05:36,708 --> 01:05:39,167 we're going to take Communion, remembering the broken body, 1201 01:05:39,208 --> 01:05:41,042 shed blood of Jesus. 1202 01:05:41,167 --> 01:05:43,167 He is the propitiation of our sin. 1203 01:05:43,167 --> 01:05:46,667 And as we take Communion, we are publicly saying, "I am a sinner. 1204 01:05:46,667 --> 01:05:48,542 "I deserve the wrath of God. 1205 01:05:48,667 --> 01:05:50,208 "I love Jesus. 1206 01:05:50,333 --> 01:05:51,875 "He took the wrath for me. 1207 01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:53,542 He gives the love to me." 1208 01:05:53,667 --> 01:05:55,333 And we're happy about that. 1209 01:05:55,375 --> 01:05:57,167 Amen? Amen. 1210 01:05:57,208 --> 01:06:00,167 I'm going to ask the deacons, as well, to open the door. 1211 01:06:00,208 --> 01:06:02,167 If you're here, and you're not a Christian, 1212 01:06:02,208 --> 01:06:06,875 you need to become a Christian today, right now. 1213 01:06:07,000 --> 01:06:09,542 If you're living in the path of the wrath of God, 1214 01:06:09,667 --> 01:06:12,167 I don't care what problems you're dealing with, 1215 01:06:12,208 --> 01:06:15,167 you have one problem that is bigger than all the other 1216 01:06:15,208 --> 01:06:18,875 problems combined, and that is that you are living in the path 1217 01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:20,500 of the wrath of God. 1218 01:06:20,500 --> 01:06:23,375 And you may have come here to deal with your problem 1219 01:06:23,500 --> 01:06:24,750 or problems. 1220 01:06:24,833 --> 01:06:27,500 Let's deal with the big problem first. 1221 01:06:27,500 --> 01:06:29,875 Let's get you connected to Jesus. 1222 01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:32,000 Let's get your sins forgiven. 1223 01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:35,000 Let's get you a new heart, a new mind, a new Lord, 1224 01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:38,375 a new eternity, a new life! 1225 01:06:38,500 --> 01:06:40,500 If you have questions about Jesus, 1226 01:06:40,500 --> 01:06:42,833 if you want to give your life to Jesus, 1227 01:06:42,875 --> 01:06:45,167 you just want to argue with me about Jesus, 1228 01:06:45,208 --> 01:06:46,667 we will be in the foyer. 1229 01:06:46,708 --> 01:06:48,167 We've got leaders here, pastors here. 1230 01:06:48,208 --> 01:06:49,542 We'll talk to you. 1231 01:06:49,667 --> 01:06:51,000 We'll pray for you. 1232 01:06:51,000 --> 01:06:52,667 We'll answer your questions. 1233 01:06:52,708 --> 01:06:54,917 And we want you to meet Jesus today. 1234 01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:59,333 And when people meet Jesus, they get baptized to show he lived, 1235 01:06:59,375 --> 01:07:03,542 he died, was buried, he rose for me. 1236 01:07:03,667 --> 01:07:09,000 And as water cleanses from filth, Jesus cleanses from sin. 1237 01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:11,042 And we love to baptize people. 1238 01:07:11,167 --> 01:07:14,000 It doesn't show us, but it reminds us of the one 1239 01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:16,167 who saved us, the Lord Jesus. 1240 01:07:16,208 --> 01:07:18,500 So, if you've also never been baptized, 1241 01:07:18,500 --> 01:07:20,250 we'd love to baptize you. 1242 01:07:20,333 --> 01:07:22,750 We've got a tank. We'll put it on the screen. 1243 01:07:22,833 --> 01:07:24,750 Everybody will cheer. It'll be awesome. 1244 01:07:24,833 --> 01:07:27,708 Earlier, we saw eight or nine people earlier this morning 1245 01:07:27,833 --> 01:07:29,375 give their lives to Jesus. 1246 01:07:29,500 --> 01:07:32,042 A guy walked in a Mormon, walked out a Christian. 1247 01:07:32,167 --> 01:07:34,167 Pray for--yeah. 1248 01:07:34,208 --> 01:07:37,875 [congregation applauding] 1249 01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:39,500 Pray for his wife. 1250 01:07:39,500 --> 01:07:42,500 They're having an interesting conversation right now. 1251 01:07:42,500 --> 01:07:44,500 Other people came to Christ. 1252 01:07:44,500 --> 01:07:46,000 People were bawling. 1253 01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:47,500 They were broken. 1254 01:07:47,500 --> 01:07:49,500 They were feeling that weight of their sin, 1255 01:07:49,500 --> 01:07:52,667 and then to see that lifted was a great celebration and joy. 1256 01:07:52,667 --> 01:07:55,667 And some of you say, "I don't have a change of clothes." 1257 01:07:55,667 --> 01:07:57,042 We do. 1258 01:07:57,167 --> 01:07:58,750 "I don't have a towel." We do. 1259 01:07:58,833 --> 01:08:01,167 Some of you say, "I wasn't planning on this." 1260 01:08:01,208 --> 01:08:04,167 God knew if he told you in advance, you wouldn't show up. 1261 01:08:04,208 --> 01:08:05,542 He snuck up on you. 1262 01:08:05,667 --> 01:08:07,000 He got you here. 1263 01:08:07,000 --> 01:08:10,500 Let this be your day, where you hand that cup of wrath to Jesus, 1264 01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:12,167 and you take that cup of love. 1265 01:08:12,208 --> 01:08:13,542 Amen? 1266 01:08:13,667 --> 01:08:15,042 We'll meet you in the foyer. 1267 01:08:15,167 --> 01:08:17,167 Go ahead and stand, go ahead and stand.