LUKE 22:39-46 – And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
THEME OF THE DAY: NEVERTHELESS, HIS WILL NOT OURS Each day in the Christian life we are in an intense spiritual war. Yes, we fight against a world seeking to draw us to invest more in self-interests than the Lord and His interests. And yes, we fight against a crafty devil who constantly wants to get our eyes off Christ rendering us ineffective in the reason we are still on this earth; the work of the Gospel.
Yet in all spiritual warfare, the chief objectives of our foes are to capture our wills. Not that the world and devil may again bring us into their bondage of sin and selfishness. No, thank God we are secure in Christ. We will never again be held captive by a sinful world and malicious devil. However, they still fight tooth and nail to tempt us toward our wills over the Lord’s will. And if we don’t fight them daily, win they will, and, though, our salvation is sure, our Christian life will be one of misery and ineffective for the Lord. The only effective, contented and joyous Christian is the one fully given over daily to obedience to the Lord’s will.
In today’s scripture, we find the Lord Jesus in intense spiritual battle. Remember, our Lord was human and knew emotional, physical, and spiritual agony, yet, without sin. And He knew what was before Him. The Holy Son of God anticipated the horror of drinking to the fullest the cup of God’s wrath and He cries out, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.” What love! What submission! What an example!.
Friends, here is the place we either grow in the Lord Jesus, maturing as a believer, and have impact in our homes and communities, or we discredit the Gospel, remain spiritual infants and too often let out “spiritual temper tantrums” when we don’t get our way. For Christians, we have two choices. Do intense battle to deny our wills and obey God’s or try the impossible – hold to His will and ours.
Sadly, way too many of us who profess to know the Lord Jesus struggle with abandonment to His will which is a call to complete self-denial to include suffering, persecution, and a life not of ease, but sacrifice. And as if the struggle itself wasn’t bad enough, our compromise of wanting our wills and His, actually drives us away from what we truly crave – a close walk with the Lord experiencing more and more His joy and love. The spiritual reality we must confront is this; there is no intimacy with Christ where resistance to surrender all of life to His will is present. Remember, Jesus doesn’t lower the bar in knowing and following Him. He is either Lord of all or not Lord at all making the Christian life one of continual submission, total submission, to His always good, perfect, and loving will like He did in all of His earthly life.
PRAYER: “Father, may my life reflect a growing passion and practice to live out Your will over mine.”
QUOTE: “The daily battle in the Christian life is for two things; the heart and the will away from self and on to the Lord.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim