VICTORY GARDEN

VICTORY GARDEN Matthew 26:36-44 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; John MacArthur, The Murder of Jesus; Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails; Anne Graham Lotz, My Heart's Cry; Warren Wiersbe, Qualities of an Authentic Christian; Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline March 3, 2003 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory A lot of people are talking about the impending war against Iraq. Those who are wise are praying about it. Some of the talk about the imminent war centers on the finances of our country and how much this war will cost us. When World War II put pressure on the resources of the nation, a new and unique campaign was mounted. It was widely promoted by the government and industry as the perfect way for all Americans to help in conserving resources for the war effort. It was called "Victory Gardening". The idea was that individuals and their families should take responsibility to produce at least a portion of their own food, by gardening. It caught on rapidly by Americans, many of whom had come from farming families and had become city dwellers during their generation. The name "Victory Garden" was selected in order to encourage Americans to proudly take part in a victorious war effort. Most Americans quickly forgot about farming their own home gardens as the war closed. They found it was just easier to go to the local grocer for all their food needs. And slowly the term Victory Garden has now come to symbolize the very best gardens with the highest yield. That is, if you have the very best or biggest flowers or vegetables, yours is considered the "victory garden". So the term victory garden has evolved in its meaning over the past 65 years from referring to the hard work serving a great cause to being the proud gardener of the best. Today I want to talk about another garden, and what happened in it one thousand, nine hundred and seventy years ago. It is the garden where the incarnated Son of God did His hardest work, in fact He sweat blood there. In that garden He wrestled demons and dread and disappointment, self-will and sacrifice, fear and forsakenness, desertion and despair. But because He did, He made Gethsemane our victory garden. Let's consider for a few minutes together this climactic event in the life of Jesus, recorded at Matthew 26:36-44, and some of its implications for us. The church for two thousand years has referred to this time in the life of our Lord as His Passion. Passion Week began in glory as Jesus rode the donkey into the city to the praise and adulation of the crowd. Zechariah had prophesied this event 550 years earlier, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9) But now, just a few hours, a Passover Meal, a couple of hymns and a short teaching later, the exalted king finds Himself face down in the dirt, agonizing in prayer. What was it that made the Gethsemane experience so traumatic for Jesus that He would cry out in such anguish? What was going on to make Him so disappointed in his slumbering brothers? And why was He exerting such effort that the capillaries under his skin ruptured and He sweat blood? Tomorrow's Pain You know, it's one thing to suffer in a sudden crisis. But it's quite another to know that pain is coming. Hence the fear and irrational behavior before the root canal. It's why your kids don't like doctors' offices (needles!). Anticipation does little to alleviate the concern over pain. Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up and blown over. The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "sssopp!" Chippie got sucked in. The bird's owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie-still alive, but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who'd initially written about the event contacted Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore-he just sits and stares." It's not hard to see why. Sucked in, washed up and blown over . . . that's enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart. (from Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, p. 9) It's one thing to get surprised by trouble and pain. It's altogether different to be put into a situation where you are anticipating it. Patti faced it a couple weeks ago as she lay in the cold, sterile environs of pre-op at Barnes Hospital. As He and the disciples walked up to the Mount of Olives singing the traditional hymns, Jesus knew what He was about to face. By prophetic faith and divine insight He could already feel the pain that was awaiting Him. John 18:4 reports that Jesus knew everything that was about to befall him. Several months and ten chapters earlier in Matthew's gospel it says, From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." (Matthew 16:21) In case you forgot, let me remind you that Jesus was in every respect fully human. In the course of His thirty-three years of incarnated humanity He experienced fatigue (John 4:6), hunger (Matthew 21:18), thirst (John 4:7), sadness (Luke 19:41), anger (Luke 15:4-32), as well as joy and friendship (Luke 7:34. I prayed at the hospital bedside of Beth Butler as she faced exploratory surgery. She had served as a school nurse, and had researched her symptoms meticulously through medical sources. She told me through frightened tears she wished didn't know so much. Most of the time, we'd just as soon not know what was coming, wouldn't we? How many times we've heard the elderly say, "I hope I just die in my sleep." We'd rather not face tomorrow's pain. Let it surprise us, but don't let it worry us. Jesus left His disciples in the "outer court" of the garden and He went on to the priestly place of intercession, surrounded by olive trees, moonlight and the cold night air. Playing on the screen of His heart, like a some horrible series of coming attractions, were: • His betrayal and arrest (which would be carried out within the hour, He knew), • the three frustrating scenes of an all-night kangaroo court, • the beatings at the hands of soldiers and scribes, • the abject degradation of wearing the crown of thorns and the spit of the Roman guards, • the impertinence of high priests, governors and kings whom He Himself created, • the soul-searing pain of restraining himself from breaking free of His bonds and becoming man's hero, but God's disobedient • the crushing weight of the cross, • the excruciation of spikes being driven through flesh and tissue, • the unimaginable horror of being hung from these meat hooks, • the dread of facing hours of breathlessness and collapsing lungs, • but most of all, the unbearable prospect of being absolutely separated from the Father. Is it any wonder that He prayed, "Let this cup pass from me"[webmasters note: Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42] in the face of tomorrow's pain? But there was also Sorrow's Pain. Sorrow's Pain Jesus suffered great sorrow in this hour of His life. And it tempted Him to give up. "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (verse 39) "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (verse 42) And "…he prayed a third time, saying the same thing." (verse 44). John tells us that Jesus often met in Gethsemane with His disciples (John 18:2). They were His only real friends--three of them His closest friends. This was the night when He needed them the most--their nearness, their understanding, and their prayers. He admitted His need to them. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." [webmasters note: Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34] But they didn't. Our very definition of "friend" is someone who will be there for you when the going gets tough. Hear His words, not to the twelve, but to His three closest companions: "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?" "Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." "Are you still sleeping and resting?" (Matthew 26:40-41, 43) And what was just about to occur? One of the same group of friends was going to betray Him to His enemies. And He did it with a kiss! There is no pain like the pain of betrayal. But it wasn't just Judas, was it? As soon as He was arrested they would all scatter. Verse 56 says it clearly, "Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled." Anne Graham Lotz, in her powerful new book, My Heart's Cry, writes: [Jesus] had poured out His heart to His closest friends. He had . . . encouraged them with the hope of His Father's house, taught them about humility by His own example of service, explained the necessity of abiding in Him in order to be fruitful, revealed He would dwell in them through the person of the Holy Spirit, warned them that the world would hate them as it had Him, and promised He would answer their prayers . . . After pouring His life into these eleven men (Judas was now gone), after teaching them all they would need to know before he left them for the cross, after preparing them for the life-jolting trauma they were about to experience-the Son of God, the Creator of the universe, the Jehovah of the Old covenant, the Messiah, the Lord of glory-JESUS PRAYED! Anne G. Lotz, My Heart's Cry, p. 214 Jesus found it necessary (not just helpful, or nice-necessary) to pray in the face of sorrow's pain. "What a Friend we have in Jesus-all our sins and griefs to bear; What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, O the needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." (Song: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" vs. 1, Joseph Scriven) What is bringing you sorrow these days? Are you emotionally drained? Are you hurt by someone or something you were sure you could trust? Are you disappointed by a failed relationship, surprised by the depth of pain, decimated by things out of your control? Pray. Prayer is the Victory Garden for the Christian. • You don't have enough time? But you have enough time to talk with others about your problems! "If you have so much business to attend to that you have no time to pray, depend upon it, you have more business on hand than God ever intended you should have." -D.L. Mood. What's more-God doesn't even require an appointment. In fact, He says He prefers you would just "drop in" on Him in the garden any time, all the time. • You don't have the energy? You spend more energy in worry and anxiety than you would in prayer! In fact, Philippians 4 tells us that prayer is the antidote to anxiety! "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) • You don't know how to pray? What better time to learn-it's simple just pour out your heart-how you honestly feel-to Him who loves you! Listen, the God who already knows your heart and your thoughts (even better than you do) is requesting that you join Him in the garden. There He will listen to you and you can say whatever you need to say, without fear of offending Him or being rejected by Him. • You feel silly or foolish trying to pray? And you don't feel foolish crying your eyes out in hurt, stomping your feet in anger, wringing your hands, overeating, chain smoking, getting drunk, being mean to those you love? Release your hurts and struggles in a healthy way, for a change! Come to the garden, and find victory. Gethsemane was the Garden of Victory for Jesus. There He wrestled with His decisions; there He struggled with the will of God; and there He found what He needed to acquiesce to the Father's will and the strength to carry on in faithful obedience. The Garden was His deliverance! He did win the victory-for you and me. Was His struggle worth it? Now, Hebrews 7:25 says, "Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Now the Garden is your deliverance as well-if you will go there and sincerely pray. Or . . . you can sleep. But, it's so hard! Look at the suffering Jesus went through in that garden! It seemed to make His sorrow worse! Besides, Jesus didn't get an easy answer! He prayed for the cup to pass, but it didn't. Let's look for a couple of minutes at Jesus' Victory Garden prayer and notice the elements that we should emulate whenever we are facing tomorrow's pain and sorrow's pain. 1. Intimacy - What melts the heart of any parent or grandparent is when their child voluntarily sits down beside them and snuggles up close. It just makes you feel great, doesn't it? At least until you hear those fateful words, "Dad, can I have $10, please?" The reason it feels good to be close to your kids is because God invented fatherhood. The Bible is perfectly clear that it pleases the Father when we are in close fellowship with Him. "Come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:8) "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." (Psalm 145:18) Did you notice how Jesus speaks to His Father in this Victory Garden prayer? In verses 39 and 42, He says something He never says in any other prayer in the New Testament. He says "My Father". Mark adds that He said, "Abba, Father" (Mark 14:36), which is another very strong term of endearment. These are intimate, childlike expressions of trust and affection. Brothers and sisters, this is how our Father wants us to come to Him in the Garden. When you humbly pray, in your times of greatest need, you will most naturally come to Him saying something like, "Oh, Daddy, I am so troubled. I need your help so badly." 2. Honesty - Jesus poured out His human heart to God on the hard ground of that garden spot. I know some say that He wasn't really tempted to not go to the cross. But I will remind us this morning that Jesus struggled with something that night! Hebrews 4, "We have a high priest. . .who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Hebrews 5 says of Jesus, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…" (Hebrews 5:7-9) When I read this text, it sure looks to me like Jesus was struggling as a man to remain faithful to the calling he received from God. He is passionately begging the Father to find another way to get His will done besides "this cup". Jesus admitted fear and apprehension, asking for an "out". Psalm 51:6 "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts…" When you pray to the Heavenly Father, don't try to pull His leg; don't try to impress Him; don't try to manipulate Him. He knows you. In Matthew 6, while He was teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus said that a lot of religious people like to use and re-use flowery words, but it doesn't impress God. He said, "Don't be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6:8) If there is anywhere in the universe where the maxim "Honesty is the best policy" is most useful, it is in the Garden with God. 3. Submission - You know, just praying is an act of submission. I have a good friend who says that prayer is the ultimate act of faith. If you don't believe in Him, to whom are you praying? But you and I know that there is faith, and then there is FAITH. Faith, in its simplest definition, is TRUST. The more faith you have in God, the more you trust Him. How much do you suppose Jesus trusted His heavenly Father? Well, He trusted Him enough to come to Him with a request that honestly stretched the limits of His expressed will. Jesus had admitted several times to His disciples that this would be His final trip to Jerusalem, and that His days were going to end in brutal torture and death on the cross. Knowing that, He still came to the Father with the request, "Is there any other way?" To someone not so intimate and honest with God that kind of prayer might seem presumptuous, even impudent. But a child, who knows he is loved, and who deeply trusts his father's goodness, marches right past his father's bigness and asks for what he wants. Jesus' faith-filled prayer, though, was not for the cup to pass at any cost, as John MacArthur put it. "He asked to be relieved of the cup only if there were some other way to accomplish the plan of God…But there was no other way, and that is why the cup did not pass from Christ." (John MacArthur, The Murder of Jesus, p. 77) Submission to God's will is hard work for us who are bent toward our own wills. The Victory Gardens of the mid-twentieth century were the efforts of individuals for the sake of a common cause. I would suggest that our cause is the cause of the Kingdom. Jesus submitted in obedience in order to do the Kingdom work He was sent to do. That's a good enough reason for our submission to the will of God, too. Jesus' prayer closed with these words, "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (verse 39) and "…may your will be done" (verse 42). The ultimate statement of faith toward God in prayer is, "Lord here is what I want, and I am asking in full faith in your goodness and your ability to provide it. But there is one thing that I want even more than this-and that is what You want. So, if You cannot get Your will done while doing mine, I humbly defer to Yours." Why is the attitude of submission to His will important for us who meet Him in the Garden? First, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. You can't draw near to Him while proud. So prayers of intimacy, honest and submission are ruled out if you are not humble. When we say to God, "I want Your will more than anything else in the world," we are praying like Jesus prayed. Secondly, we simply have to acknowledge that our ways of thinking are far inferior to God's ways. Proverbs 16:2-3 - "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Philip Yancey made this poignant observation: "When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he did not get that salvation; he got instead the salvation of the world." While it is never wrong, and it is always right, to ask God for the things we need and want, we must remember we are prone to follow the flesh, and sometimes focusing on our immediate need blinds us to a greater purpose that God is working out. Anne Graham Lotz shares a delightful illustration: "Would you choose to be patient and simply trust Him? Sometimes God does not answer our immediate prayer because He has something greater in store for us. There are times God is like the father of two little boys who was trying to teach his sons this lesson when he returned home from a business trip. As he walked in the door of his home, his children rushed him, jumping up and down as they tugged at his coat, asking what he had brought them from his trip. He answered by telling them he had brought them nothing-he had decided to do something different. He was going to take them to the store and let them pick out what they wanted. So, after supper, he piled them in the car and took them to the local discount store with the instructions that he would get them whatever they wanted. Beside themselves with excitement, the little boys pounced on the first thing they saw-the candy counter. Pointing to the tin of jellybeans, they adamantly told their father this was what they wanted. The father agreed they could have the jellybeans but then suggested they keep looking to make sure that was what they really wanted. As they walked down a few more aisles, they cam to the sporting goods section, and their eyes fell on a football. Together they ran and grabbed the ball. 'Daddy, Daddy, this is it! This is what we want!' Again the father agreed but suggested they keep looking. The boys were a little doubtful. What could be more wonderful than a new football? But because they were having fun and enjoyed looking at all the stuff with their father, they agreed to keep going. One aisle over, they cam across the bicycles! 'Daddy, this is it! This is what we really want! We know this is it!"' And the father smiled, because he had intended from the beginning to buy the bicycles for his sons. Has your prayer for 'jellybeans' gone unanswered? Or your prayer for a 'football'? Could it be God has not given you what you have asked for because He has a 'bicycle' in mind? Conclusion Growing a Victory Garden of prayer is a real possibility. It requires intimacy with the Father, Honesty before God, and Submission to the Lord's will first and foremost. The whole reason for the Garden experience really was to win a Victory-a victory for you and me. "He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him." (Hebrews 5:9) He won that victory for you.     [Back to Top]