05.11.22 Your Will Be Done (Prayer on the Mount of Olives)

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Church Camp

Main Point/Theme: The character of Jesus Christ and Your Will Be Done

Bible Text: Luke 22:39-46

Luke 22:39–46 NIV

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Introduction

Is there an illustration/image that can be used to help people understand?

The idea we are speaking of this evening is the Character of Jesus Christ and desire to do the will of God in His life.

Jesus Christ was in a situation where He did not want to face it as we see in verse Luke 22:42

Luke 22:42 NIV

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

and Jesus Christ is looking to God to be delivered from dying in the cross.

You see that is isn’t easy for Jesus and is not meant to be. Jesus was facing agony in this, but also knew what He was supposed to do in these moments no matter what it meant for His well being.

We are face trials and situations in our life and Jesus Christ didn't bypass this either. He didn't skip trial and the crucifixion. He went through the emotions and suffering in the human flesh. But what He did do was face this with the strength from God to face what was coming up.

I do not know of anyone who willingly faces trials in their lives that doesn’t look for a way out or for some other thing to happen to take our place. But what it also shows is the difference of our mindset at times in our lives. You see Jesus went though these same feelings as us, but instead of finding a way out, he asked for the situation to be taken from Him only if this was in the will of God. Jesus is asking if there is another way, but because their isn't, he took this on for our sins because most of us would not face this trial the same way.

Jesus in these final moments show his character. Jesus was dependent on God and the will of God and through this he was given the strength to do the will of God. He was quick in prayer to ask for this to be lifted from Him, for another way to be found, but because this was the only way, Jesus Christ also accepted this.

The truth is that you WILL face trials in your life and you will want to find a way out, but if you seek the Lord and seek the will of God then you will also be given strength in those situations and not be left alone.

Luke 22:43 NIV

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

You may be sitting here saying that why should we suffer at all and if God is all powerful, then why cant we live in a way that we don’t need to go through trials. One because of our sin and the world we live in there will always be challenges and trials, because the world is a sinful place apart from God.

And you also may say that because you are young you aren't going through things in life right now that are really that trying and hard. But lets be honest just because you are young doesn’t mean you are not faced with trials in your life. There are so many things you are faced with right now in your lives that I didn’t need to worry about at your age and it seems like every year the list gets longer and longer and younger and younger people are faced with unimaginable situations. So right now is a perfect time for you to really start understanding what God can do for you in those moments so you are not caught off guard.

But because God knows this world is the way it is, He provides the opportunity for you to come to Him and be strengthened just the same way Jesus was when He was sent to the cross.

Jesus Christ is showing the love and compassion He has for us all through what He is being faced with. This also reveals that in times of need God will provide you with strength in the way the angels did for Jesus Christ.

So because of what Jesus Christ did by following the will of God, we are all able to sit here with the freedom to choose God in our lives or not. We are also able to know that through the trials we face, God will be there for those who earnestly pray and seek out the wisdom of God in their lives.

We began this passage with the seeing how Jesus is seeking this task to be taken from Him and then we see Jesus trusting in the will of God. But we are also seeing that during this time the disciples fell asleep after Jesus told them to pray to not fall into temptation and through our own sinful desires we can see that they easily fell into the temptation so fall asleep through their own sorrow. We see an example right here of why Jesus was doing what He was doing, because we cannot do it on our own in the same way the disciples simply couldn’t follow this one command from Jesus Christ.

We will go through suffering in our lives and through this we will also need to come to God with our concerns and fears. If Jesus Christ needed to go to the Father in this type of moment (The Perfect Man) in order to get the strength needed, what makes you feel you can do this on your own?

This passage shows us why we need to come to God in our lives.

1. Because we cant do this on our own and the disciples show us this through their own inability to do the simplest task.

2. Because in order to know the will of God in our lives, we need to continually seek the will of God and ask Him what this looks like in our lives.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we have the ability to live this way and trust in the will of God in our lives .But first we need to acknowledge Jesus Christ in our lives and what He did on the cross for us.

Remember we previously talked about distractions in our lives and the things that are keeping us from that relationship with God. We also need to understand that when we are faced with trials in our own life that we need to have the same mindset as Jesus Christ and bring it to God and ask what the will of God is in the situation. Through this process we will have moments when God will deliver us from situations or will give us the strength we need in order to go through this trial in our lives.

Jesus loves you so much that He followed through on a painful and humiliating death all because He knew that we would not be able to do it on our own.

So we see that through these actions of Jesus Christ that He took this situation from us and delivered us from the fate of being separated from Him because on our own we would not have the strength to follow through in this.

The more the world throws our way, the more distracted we are for what is right in front of us. The Word of God, the example of Jesus Christ are all things we have the ability to know, but the world throws things to get in our way and very successfully distracts us.

You need the ability to go to God with your desires and concerns. You need this in your life and without it, you are facing all this on your own.

The life of Jesus Christ as I have said before is the example to follow and this situation is no different. We have the Word of God at our fingertips and this will guide you on how to live life. Then we also have the life of Jesus Christ showing us how to live our lives. We do not have an excuse to live any different way. We can make the choice to not follow God, but we cannot say that we also didn't have the ability to learn of God in our lives, unless you live somewhere will you will be persecuted for believing in God. But this isn't the case in America so here we do not have an excuse.

In this passage we see who Jesus Christ is once again. A selfless person who wants the will of God to be fulfilled and through this save your life through His death on the cross.

Remember: you will go through things in your life that are tough and you will want to look for a way out. Through a relationship and communication with God you can seek for this to be delivered from you and if the will of God will be fulfilled through those situations, you then have the ability to rely on the strength of God in your lie to overcome that obstacle.

All you need to do now is make the choice. Will you follow God or will you do it on your own. Will you trust in the will of God, or will you only trust yourself? But if you choose to trust in God he will give you the strength to go through the things in your life. God will provide that help for you. Yes you will still face things and sometimes you wont pass the situation over and will need to endure it yourself, but God will give you the strength to do these things if you live with Him in your life and pray to Him.

Let’s Pray

Dinner Talk questions:

Thursday

In a time of trial, How do you feel you would react? would you face it or run from it?

Friday

Jesus asked God to take this burden from Him but trusted the will of God. What does this mean?

Saturday

How can I trust my life more in the hands of God? What can I do to be sure I am following the will of God? Am I currently?

Sunday

Jesus shows His character through His actions and willingness to follow the will of God. Is there something I am struggling with the I need to trust the Lord in?

Monday

What in your life is distracting you or holding you back from seeking the will of God in your own life?

Tuesday

Can you see how Jesus Christ took on this burden for your life to be spared? Do you acknowledge what Jesus has done through His death?

Wednesday

Am I living a life that is fulfilling the will of God or do I need to seek Him more in my own life? How can I do this?