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 Sermon > Friday All-night Service |
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Title |
Prayer in Gethsemane |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Luke 22:42 |
Date |
2010-04-02 |
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Scripture
Luke 22:42
[22] saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
We observe Good Friday in remembrance of the day of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
While Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot betrayed and sold Him out. Jesus was then examined, severely flogged, and mocked.
After this strength exhausting night, He took the heavy cross, and walked up to Golgotha where He would be crucified.
As He was nailed on the cross in Golgotha, He had to suffer from extreme pain for about 6 hours.
The weight of His body tore at His nailed hands and feet all t he more, and bugs after His blood stuck to His body.
Since all His blood was being drained from His body, His throat was burning with thirst.
The Lord Jesus suffered from this extreme distress until He died at around 3 pm.
To Jesus, who was hung on the cross, the greatest pain was not His torn flesh, or nailed hands and feet.
He suffered mostly for the souls who didn't know the love of God the Father. He was suffered for the souls who didn't understand the heart of Jesus, who was dying on the cross for them, and for the souls who would still live in sin even after He took the punishment of death for them.
His heart was hurt in thinking of such souls, and He shed tears.
Even at the moment He drew His last breath on the cross while shedding all His blood, He was not think of Himself in His heart.
It was only God the Father and the souls that were in His heart.
Right before He was arrested, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane shedding tears.
The completeness of this heart of Jesus was contained in His prayer.
As I tell you what kind of meaning was in Jesus' tears, I hope you can also feel the heart of the Lord.
And I pray in the name of the Lord that you may become the children who truly love God the Father as the Lord does.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
The tears that Jesus shed in Gethsemane were the tears in thinking of the love of God the Father.
Jesus understood the heart of God the Father very well and understood why God had created the world and human beings (to populate it).
He also knew the many tears that would be shed by God the Father as the process of His beloved Son dying on the cross unfolded before Him.
Jesus deeply understood the heart of God who loves and treasures souls to the point of taking such great suffering.
Sensing this kind of love of God the Father, Jesus offered up a prayer something like this:
"Father, my beloved Father, there is no end to Your love.
How can Your love be expressed in words?
There is no one and there is nothing but You who has been from eternity and who reaches into eternity. Who else could dare to accomplish such love and who else would dare to ever talk about it?
Since it is only You who has such a huge and enormous love in Your heart, it is You who created mankind.
As Your love that You want to give them is so huge, despite all these things You've been through, Father, You are still only love.
Your love has brought mankind an awakening to what is real.
Thanks to such love, they are now given a way to come before You as true souls.
Father God! Father God, who is in search of Your beloved ones
My Father who would be pleased with such souls in Your love for them, and who would be glorified by them
If only they could understand Your love, if they could just feel Your love, if they could only recognize Your love, then change and life would come to them.
Father God, now may You open up the Way, and as You accomplish Your will one step at a time along the way, may you receive all the glory!
My heart is so greatly inspired thanks to Your heart of love.
As I am looking up to the sky tonight and thinking of Your love, I cry out to You.
How great is Your love that I can open My lips to talk about such great love of Yours!
This place will know. All things in this place will know. Even the smallest weed here will know Your love.
They will understand Your endless love, My dearest Father."
Dear brothers and sisters.
Jesus confessed that even the weeds in Gethsemane would understand the love of God the Father.
It means that the love of God the Father is so huge that it can be understood by even the least part of His creation.
Even right before Jesus took the cross, He remembered such great love of God the Father again and again, and shed tears.
Even before the cup of suffering that He was about to take, He rather gave praise to the love of God the Father and comforted God the Father,
Just as our Jesus said, whoever truly understands such great love of God the Father will change.
He can cast off sin that God the Father is sad about.
They will be the true children who think of God the Father first, no matter what difficulties or hardships they may encounter.
Now, how much do you feel the love of God the Father?
In the name of the Lord, I encourage all of you to become the children of God who can wipe away tears of God with full measures of faith.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
The tears that Jesus shed in Gethsemane were the tears of love for the souls.
Jesus earnestly wished that souls would understand such great love of God the Father and the love of Jesus.
As He came down to this earth, however, He met so many souls who couldn't understand such love even though He helped them realize.
Though He did only goodness there were still people who tried to persecute and kill Jesus. There were even people who changed their mind and left Jesus after following Him for awhile.
Moreover, there was a man like Judas Iscariot who betrayed and sold Jesus, His master. He sold out His Master who had given him only goodness and love.
Since Jesus knew so well about foolishness and weakness of souls, worries about the souls never left the heart of Jesus.
And so, before He took the cross, He asked God the Father to favor His disciples and followers He would leave on the earth.
And He fervently prayed for the souls who believed and followed Jesus.
He even prayed in tears for the souls who didn't understand the love of Jesus but rather stood against Him.
Among them were those who would nail Jesus on the cross, and those who would mock Jesus while He was on the cross.
Jesus prayed that God might show mercy on them so that they could believe Jesus who came to this earth as the Savior and reach salvation.
Jesus earnestly prayed to God like this so that God the Father would hold of all the souls.
Let me introduce a part of such a fervent prayer.
"Father God of love, Your love is so vast that You created all these people and You have unfolded the beautiful works of this world before their eyes.
However, they won't open their spiritual eyes, and they won't accomplish the heart of spirit, and thus they don't understand such deep spiritual love of Yours.
Even though they don't see and understand, please show them Your mercy, and let their love for You and faith in Christ the Lord flow from their lips and hearts so that they can have ever increasing confidence in salvation.
Father, I think of My disciples.
They heard Your words through Me, they were diligent in understanding Your love, and they tried by all means to help Me and together with Me they worked hard for Your kingdom.
They have not yet accomplished great faith or hearts, so Father, please keep hold of them and don't let them go.
After I leave them, please keep them in Your heart and be with them so that Your will for them may be completely fulfilled.
Let them receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit and let them give only glory to You. Help them receive and pile their rewards according to their duties, and let them think only of You, Father, in Your strength.
May what they do lead many souls to salvation.
In My name, with My honor and authority that You give to them, may many souls receive salvation and call You Father. I believe in this work. May You receive all the glory."
It was like this, that the heart of Jesus was burning with love for the souls.
And He also believed in the love of God the Father for the souls.
Thanks to such love and faith, Jesus looked at all the souls only through the eyes of faith and hope.
Just as Jesus prayed in tears, so many souls have now received salvation and reached heaven.
Except for Judas Iscariot, the remaining 11 disciples of the Lord walked the way Jesus walked.
They taught the teaching of the Lord to many souls, and most of them died in martyrdom. Thanks to their blood, countless souls have reached salvation.
In addition, many saints have overcome the persecution of the world, and won the good fight, and acquired the glory in heaven.
The tears that Jesus shed were the tears for all the believers like you and me and others until today.
Even when facing trials and persecutions, saints have been able to overcome them thanks to His prayer and tears.
The tears of Jesus were also the tears of mourning for the souls who persecute the saints and hinder the kingdom of God.
Thanks to such tears, many souls can turn from their evil way and reach salvation.
Now, check your heart whether such tears of mourning that Jesus shed were for you or not.
You should not settle down with the weak faith any longer; you should not make the Lord worry about you.
You should put off foolishness and weakness, and stand firmly on faith.
I urge you to become a true child who completely departs from evil.
You should definitely save many souls and give glory to God; you should become a spiritual worker who will enjoy great glory in Heaven.
You should pray in tears for the souls who commit sin and run toward death just as Jesus did.
You should remember the prayer in Gethsemane that Jesus asked us to God in tears.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you may become a confident worker who gives peace and joy to the heart of God the Father.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
The tears that Jesus shed in Gethsemane were the tears in thinking of the work of the Holy Spirit in the end time.
Jesus prayed in Gethsemane and He would soon go back to Heaven.
At such a point of time, Jesus prayed thinking of what would take place in the future.
He knew the Holy Spirit would come to the earth after His resurrection and return to Heaven. He also knew well that the Holy Spirit would accomplish the providence of human cultivation.
After Jesus came down to this earth, He sensed how much this earth and the hearts of people changed since the time man was created.
Jesus felt the pain in His heart as He saw the devastated earth and how the hearts of the people had become so stained by sin.
He also knew sin would prevail all the more on earth, and that people would be stained by evil all the more.
After He entered Jerusalem to take the cross, He told His disciples about the signs of the end time.
He said that as the end of the age approaches, love would cool down in the hearts of men, and that many disasters would take place such as earthquakes, famine, and conflicts.
The Lord also said in Luke 18:8, "When the Son of Man comes (when the Lord comes), will He find faith on the earth?"
Just as He said, as the time of Lord's return draws nearer and nearer, more and more people deny God.
More and more of them forsake faith, and embrace the world.
Many people are denying the living God, and they stand against our Lord.
They hinder the works of the Holy Spirit.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit must be accomplished at this moment fulfill all the providences of God the Father on this earth.
As Jesus thought of such ministry of the Holy Spirit, tears welled up and fell from His eyes.
Jesus promised that He would soon send down the Holy Spirit, and He explained what kind of ministry the Holy Spirit would do in the future.
The Lord said in John 16:7-8, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment."
Just as He said, the Holy Spirit doesn't fail to continue making people realize sin and righteousness and judgment.
He also manifests the power of God, and tells the people that God the Creator is alive, and that there is a Heaven.
Jesus entrusted the ministery of the Holy Spirit to God and He prayed as follows;
Father, Your will doesn't change, and there is no limit in what You do. What You will do at the end of the human cultivation through the works of the Holy Spirit is so great and huge.
Father, the more sin prevails in this world, the more there are tears, and mourning, and the more there must be comfort, strength, and long endurance for many things.
However, I thank You for preparing the work of the Holy Spirit at the end time, and not forsaking the souls.
I thank You for opening the way for them to understand Your heart and will.
There will have to be long years of much mourning and suffering, but in the end they would not be sufferings, as all these would become glory to God the Father manifested for the souls by prayers and power, and so I thank You for this.
As I think of the matters of this world one by one that will take place, it is only easier knowing that there will surely be the groaning from the heart (of the Holy Spirit).
Father, may You consider the Holy Spirit's grieving, and may everything You are going to accomplish be done completely in Your will."
Jesus knew that, even though He took the cross, many souls would not overcome their weakness but live in sin.
And He also knew that the Holy Spirit would mourn and make petitions for such souls.
It is just as it's written in Romans 8:26, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."
And thus, Jesus prayed in tears in thinking of the souls who would live in the end time and for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Just as Jesus prayed, God is pouring down much more grace onto His children so that they overcome this world where sin and evil prevail so much.
God listens to the petition of the Holy Spirit, and shows His endless mercy and grace to His children.
He also pours down wondrous grace upon many souls so that they can receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit and experience the divine world of the spirit.
And so, it is written in Acts 2:17-18, which reads, "'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy."
Many people have been experiencing such an amazing work as this thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit.
God the Creator is preached throughout the whole world, and many souls are reaching salvation.
All these have been borne as fruit thanks to Jesus' prayer in tears.
How much do you put on the power of the Holy Spirit?
You should never make an excuse that it is difficult to live in the truth only because their world is in so much evil.
It is for us who would live in the world where sin and evil prevail, that Jesus prayed in tears.
It is also because in the heart of God the Father and of the Lord, the Holy Spirit is helping to heal the weakness of man.
May you receive such power of the Holy Spirit in your everyday life and win victory all the time, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today, there are so many people in the world, and many of them believe in God.
And many of them also call on the name of the Lord during their prayers.
But, how many people among them are praying with the heart of goodness like our Lord Jesus did?
Compared to the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane, what kind of prayer is yours?
What else comes from your lips that call on the name of the Lord?
What other things are your eyes drawn to that look up to the cross of Jesus?
What do you do with your hands and feet that Jesus was nailed through for you? Please check yourself carefully.
If you still speak untruths with your lips, and if what is not truth comes out of your lips, if you still turn your eyes to the things of the world, and if you still do evil with your both hands and feet, how sad will the Lord be!
Even though having received such great grace, there are many who forsake the grace as they face difficulties or temptations.
Even though they confess they love God, as they come across with those who are not in accordance with their self-righteousness and frameworks, they consider them evil, persecuting them and making their lives hard.
Some even begrudge God and complain against God when they undergo difficulties due to their evil.
Some change their hearts in pursuit of their benefit, honor, greed, and selfish motives.
Moreover, they even hinder the work of God's kingdom in their evil, and make the lives of other good people around them difficult.
How can they justly confess that they love God?
You should not just give thanks for God's grace of salvation, thanks for being healed or for receiving answers.
You should rather come out beautifully come pleasingly before God until God can recognize your goodness.
In such a wish, Jesus prayed so fervently to the point when His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.
Therefore, you should remember the prayer of Jesus who prayed for you in tears.
At the doorstep of death, Jesus prayed fervently for God the Father, for the souls, and for the future ministry of the Holy Spirit. You should also accomplish this goodness of the Lord.
And then, your prayer will become the aroma of prayer before God that is truly in goodness.
May the providence of God the Father be accomplished quickly through your prayer, and many souls be led to the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, I pray!
[Amen] |
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