Northside Church - Sydney
3 Easter Questions: Week 2 – Can't You Stay Awake?
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Well, the night before. What do you like the night before surgery? What do you like the night before a final critical exam? What do you like the night before a very important interview? What do you like the night before anything that's going to determine your destiny either in the short or long term future? Some of you are saying, "Well, I'm pretty cool. I'm pretty relaxed. Sleep like a baby." Others of you are saying, "Well, I'm pretty apprehensive. I'm pretty nervous the night before those sort of events." Others of you are thinking, "I'm a total mess on the nights before those events." Well, Jesus Christ, the night before his crucifixion, he's in the garden just outside the walls of Jerusalem. And yes, he was praying. Praying was such intensity. That Luke's gospel says that his sweat was like drops of blood. Now, I've thought of that. I know there's a medical explanation for that. I still can't get my head around that level of prayer intensity, but it was part of Jesus pleading with his father that this cup of suffering might pass from him. Now, this location, as Jeff has beautifully introduced, this location of Gethsemane has understandably always been viewed as a sacred site by Christians. And going back to the very early centuries, there have been churches located on this particular site. So the pilgrims from around the world could come to worship, to pray, to ponder. Today, there's the beautiful church of all nations that's located at the base of the Mount of Olives where it's believed the Garden of Gethsemane was located. This building goes back to the early 1920s. It's built on the foundations of two previous churches, one from the fourth century, one from the 12th century. Like I say, there have been churches here for quite some time. And then adjacent to this church, there's a fenced off area. That is, it's a beautiful garden as Jeff has vividly described. And it's believed, it's believed that this is what the garden may have looked like during the time of Jesus. Now, look friends, whether that's the case or not. Although in Jerusalem, you've got to be careful with some of the original sites. But this one would appear to be the real thing. It's at the base of the Mount of Olives. It's overlooking the city. It all fits. When you walk around that garden area, as I and a number of others here have, the sense of God's presence is absolutely palpable. You just get a strong awareness. Something special happened here. And it's a very beautiful experience. But sadly, sadly, it's clear from Mark's gospel that the disciples, far from being overwhelmed, they were singularly underwhelmed by the events that took place in Gethsemane on that night before our Lord's crucifixion. We know that because they kept falling asleep. So like no great sense of awe and wonder on their part, that's the extraordinary thing about this Mark 14 passage, despite the pleadings of Jesus for them to support him, to stand in solidarity with him, just to be there. This trusted group of disciples, this inner group of confidants, Peter, James and John, they all fell asleep, not once, not twice, three times. It's just amazing. It's hard to believe. And we can sense the frustration in the voice of our Lord as He asks, "Can't you stay awake? What is wrong with you guys? Can't you see what's happening here?" Well, here's the humanity of Jesus coming through in a very pronounced way. Hey, that's us here, isn't it? I mean, most of us lean on close friends, don't we, when we're going through a crisis? It's just great to have maybe one, two, three, those special people that you can be sure of during a really rough patch. Those people who know what to say, more importantly, because of the knowledge of you, they know what not to say, the buttons not to press. These are the people you want to round you in a time of really difficult circumstances, in a time of anxiety, grief, loss, in a time of great uncertainty. Friends, I've got to say, I think one of the reasons, one of the reasons why Northside has experienced success and effectiveness over the years in our ministry, and we have, is because pastoral care is one of our core values here. We endeavour to be there for people in times of crisis. We try to develop strong relationships within our connection groups, and that's the front line of our pastoral care ministry, and the availability of our staff, if we know about your situation, we want to be there. And certainly the work that's done by Helen Solomon, our pastoral care coordinator, and her team, it's just phenomenal. Now, some of you experience what I'm talking about. If we have known about your issue, if we have known about your challenge, if we have known you are undergoing some kind of crisis, we endeavour to be there for you. It's one of the reasons why people know that we can be dependent on. I'm not suggesting that we get it right every time, but it's a core value of this church. Many of you have experienced this, like I say. Well, the disciples, despite all the, all they'd seen and the modelling that they'd seen from Jesus in this area, somehow they fail to appreciate the deep significance of this moment when the divine, yet human, Jesus, son of God, was experiencing the most difficult test of his entire life, and his pleading was, "Look, stay awake. Watch, pray. Just show a little care. Just show a little sensitivity for me in this hour." Well, what's the explanation? Why were these guys incapable of standing in solidarity with Jesus at this critical hour? I mean, were they really suffering from acute sleep deprivation? I mean, had they sort of accidentally taken a few Tamazapan or something when they thought they were taking something else, I don't know, tic-tac. Had their, it could happen. I mean, had their celebration of the Passover sort of gone on a little longer than they'd expected and their suffering from the after effects of a little bit of overindulgence, I think these sort of factors could have contributed to the physical reasons as to why they couldn't stay awake. But friends, I think there's something more here. I really believe that the inability of the disciples to stay awake was symptomatic of a deeper problem. And it's a problem that has affected countless numbers of Christians down through the years. And even to this day, it's one of the primary reasons why we, people like you and I, are robbed of the joy and the victory that God wants us to experience in Jesus Christ. Here's the problem, low level endurance, low level endurance, the tendency that exists within all of us under the right circumstances to give up too easily and too quickly when the going gets tough, when life becomes too hard, when we convince ourselves that God is no longer hearing our prayers. I say it's a tendency within all of us because most of the key biblical characters had moments when their endurance was put to the test. Some came through beautifully and went on to be stronger, others really floundered and never fully recovered. One of the most stunning revelations of a test of endurance is on the part of Moses. Now, we kind of know about his struggles out in the desert, but here's a passage that you may not have looked at for a while if ever. It's in Numbers chapter 11 and verses 10 to 16. Get a sense of what this guy is going through and look at the way it's expressed. Numbers 11, verse 10, Moses heard all the people complaining as they stood around in their groups at the entrances of their tents. Try to get a picture here. He was distressed because the Lord had become angry with him, or rather with them, with the people. He said to the Lord, "Why have you treated me so badly? Why are you displeased with me? Why have you given me the responsibility for all these people?" I didn't create them, or bring them to birth. Why should you ask me to act like a nurse and carry them in my arms, like babies, all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Some of your leaders can identify, I'm sure, with carrying your staff, like babies, when they have their moments. Where could I get enough meat for all these people? They keep whining and asking for meat. I can't be responsible for all these people by myself. It's too much for me. If you're going to treat me like this, take pity on me, kill me, so I won't have to endure your cruelty any longer. You get the feeling that Moses is really having quite a severe test of endurance here, and I guess in today's modern scene he'd probably be diagnosed with maybe with some form of depression, I would think. First Kings, another quick reference. First Kings, here's Elijah. We drop into his life at a very low point. He's had success up on Mount Carmel, but now Jezebel's out to kill him, and he's feeling all alone as though God's given up on him. And in 1 Kings 19, verse 4, Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he could die. There's too much, Lord. He prayed, take away my life. I might as well be dead. He lay down under the tree and fell asleep, this sleep thing again. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, "Wake up and eat." Well, he too might have been a candidate for some prescriptions or sort of antidepressants, I would think. Friends over in the New Testament, there are many examples of characters that had their endurance put to the test. One of the least known is a colleague of Paul, and his name is Demas. And we read about him in the second letter of Paul to Timothy. Chapter 4, verse 9, Paul says to Timothy, "Do your best to come to me soon, Demas fell in love with the present world and has deserted me." Going after Thessalonica, Christians, or rather, Christians went to Galatia and tied us to Dalmatia. Only Luke is left with me. So here's Paul. And he's got a few of his inner group who couldn't take it, couldn't take the rigors of being on a missionary journey. And you sense the sadness in Paul's words at that point. Friends, I guess in just about every case where there's been a crisis of endurance, it's fair to say people have had to face their Gethsemane moments. You see, Gethsemane, that word has become synonymous in Christian circles with suffering. With anguish. With wrestling with God. With emotional and spiritual upheaval. Gethsemane, isn't any wonder Jesus craved the support and the understanding of his closest friends at this critical hour, but these friends proved to be a great source of disappointment. You see, the disciples were supposed to be supporting someone going through a Gethsemane experience, but complacency and lack of vigilance would contribute to failure when faced with their own Gethsemane. And their Gethsemane was only moments away because soon, very soon, Judas and the crowd would appear and it would become apparent that for Jesus, the game was up. It was all over. That would have become apparent very, very, very quickly. This encounter with the priests was more hostile, more aggressive than any previous clash that Jesus has had. The gospels talk about this one involving clubs and swords and things hadn't got as bad as that previously. And so this one, this encounter is very serious. And in verse 50, in verse 50 of Mark 14, we read how the disciples responded to their moment of Gethsemane. Have a listen to this, verse 50 of the chapter read earlier. Verse 50, here it is, short verse, then all the disciples left him and ran away. Now, you can read that in the context of a slab of verses, but let's just press pause for a moment. Think about that. There's the climax of three years of close association with Jesus Christ, three years of teaching, three years of seeing amazing things, three years of having the curtain pull back on future events, future world events, three years of very close intimate spiritual fellowship. It all comes down to verse 50, then all the disciples left him and ran away. Well, I've got a question. I've got a question this morning. Do you think the reaction from the disciples may have been different if they'd stayed close to Jesus, if they'd stayed close to Jesus during those final hours in Gethsemane? Do you think their spiritual strength and resilience may have been increased if they'd seen and heard the intensity with which Jesus was praying? Do you think they may have got a glimpse of the unfolding drama that was taking place as Jesus really was struggling with his destiny to die for the sins of the world? If they'd seen that cosmic struggle taking place, could these factors have strengthened their resolve to stay the course and not give up? Friends, I happen to believe anybody who witnessed that conversation between Jesus and his heavenly Father, anybody who witnessed that first hand would have been transformed forever. I mean, you would have seen such compelling evidence that Jesus was all who he claimed to be the son of God about to die for the sins of the world. You couldn't miss it. Sadly, sadly, these guys missed the opportunity. Went to sleep. Well, not once, but three times. And when their Gethsemane moment hit, as it did a few minutes later, there was nothing in the tank, nothing in the tank. Everybody scatters. One of the many things I love about Easter, and there are so many things I love about Easter, one of the many things is that the major themes of Easter have to do not only with this compressed period of time we call Easter, but they have to do with your Christian life and my Christian life 52 weeks of the year. Every day has Easter elements to it when you're a follower of Jesus Christ. This is especially so in relation to Gethsemane because you see at the bottom line, effectiveness in Christian discipleship comes down. If we can have that slide up, please die in effectiveness in Christian discipleship comes down to our ability in God's strength to endure the Gethsemane experiences of life. And guess what? There's no shortage of them. There is no shortage of the Gethsemane moments of life. And a large slice of my week, and a large slice of the weeks of anybody involved in pastoral care, is spent with people trying to handle his appointments, trying to handle their losses, trying to handle their setbacks, trying to handle their confusion and their bewilderment about God's will, what's going on, trying to handle their unanswered prayers or apparent unanswered prayers, trying to handle their doubts and fears. These are the Gethsemane moments, and they come to us with monotonous regularity, and they threaten to undermine our faith. In some cases, they threaten to destroy our faith. But one of the great joys of ministry, and it is a joy, and we experience it here at Northside all the time, is to see the way in which people face their Gethsemanes with faith and strength and resilience. It's fantastic. In that sense, Gethsemane moments are not to be feared or even avoided. They are to be faced and embraced because they represent opportunities for accelerated spiritual growth. They represent opportunities for accelerated spiritual growth. That's why Paul said Romans 5-3, "We rejoice in our sufferings." Hello, why would you say that? He goes on to say, because trouble produces, is anybody out there? Trouble produces endurance. That's in my good news Bible, endurance. Endurance, other words in other translations. Now friends, I'm not talking, this is not, we're not talking about some sort of masochistic yearning to always be in a crisis. You know, the person who can't survive unless they're in a crisis, oh, you'll never guess what's happening now. You know, I mean, I'm not talking about that kind of, I'm not talking about the permanent poor me victim mentality. No, we're talking about a realization that the Gethsemane experiences of life are part of our journey. They're part of the journey. They are not a sign of God's disfavor. They are not a sign of spiritual weakness. They are not a sign of lack of faith. They are simply part of the reality of life. And I've said this before from this pull, but I respect your integrity too much as people to say, as a Christian, you shouldn't be having problems. As a Christian, you should be just cruising through life. That's what Jesus promised. You shouldn't have any difficulties at all. I've got too much respect for your integrity to say that because that's not how life is. That's just not how it is. Maybe you're passing through what you would consider to be a Gethsemane moment right now. I know some of you are. Some real Gethsemane moments unfolding in our church right now. I've got a word for you and for all of us over this Easter. Let the Holy Spirit wash over you this Easter. Just let him wash over you this Easter and provide you with the strength and the inspiration to keep going and not give up. Let him lift your spirits by the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who when he faced his Gethsemane, what did he do? He went to a quiet place. He got a few friends around him. He poured his heart out to God. Nothing was left undisclosed. And ultimately, he relaxed in God's will. It's not a bad formula for handling your Gethsemane moments. It could be the basis of another sermon altogether. As Hebrews reminds us, Jesus did not give up because of the cross. That's what we're seeing in this Gethsemane moment of his. Friends, the important thing when going through Gethsemane is to stay awake. That's the important thing. Stay awake. Stay receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who's been there and done that. Don't become bitter or jaded. And above all, remember the promise of Jesus given to his original disciples, and he gives his promise to us, "The person who endures to the end shall be saved." Friends, my prayer for Graham Agnew, this Easter, is that I'll be wide awake and I'll stay awake. And not miss one thing that God wants to reveal to me about Gethsemane moments, about sacrifice, about resurrection, about all those themes that hit us every day of our lives 52 weeks a year. That was their problem. Couldn't stay awake. Miss the significance of the moment. Gethsemane came. Nothing there. It's bound prayer. Well, if you have any father, thank you, even though it's painful to read these verses of these man whom Jesus should have been able to depend on. It's painful to read how they just totally missed it. Goofed off. Couldn't stay awake. But Lord, before we become overly critical, help us to see ourselves in these men on more occasions than we probably prepared to admit our sleep and slumber when you are doing so much around us, when you are showing us so much of your love and grace. And we miss it. And when Agnew, 70 moments come, we wonder why we're left floundering. Lord, keep us close to you this Easter and every day. Help us to stay wide awake and ever vigilant in terms of our receptivity of all the things you want to show to us and give to us All the ways you want to strengthen us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.