Sermon by Bri Sherman

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Please remember that sermon notes are meant to act as a guide and may not be exactly what was preached.

Matthew 26:36-51

• We all know what comes next – greatest moments
• This moment in the garden was the calm before the storm. I’m sure there was a sense of apprehension in the air.  Jesus had just shared what would be His last meal with them and spoke some confusing and difficult truth.  Something about betrayal and that He would have to die, that PETER would deny Him!… I’m sure the disciples felt a bit of unease.  And Christ, He knew something big was coming, something monumental, something that would change the course of eternity for human kind.
• Describe the storms: Smaller storms that come first – thunder, lightning, and wind included. But then everything dies down.  Eerie silence.  No chirping birds, no buzzing insects, not a sound.  Sky becomes an odd greenish/grey color.  The atmosphere changes and the air feels different, as if it is heavy with what is to come.  It’s ominous and unsettling.
• The nature of people really starts to show:
• These moments in the Garden, the stirring before the storm. The atmosphere had changed, something was coming, It caused a great unsettling.  And the true nature
• We see three responses to the unsettling caused by Kingdom movement:

1. Submission (Christ)
2. Apathy (disciples)
3. Betrayal (Judas)

1. Submission – “accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.”
   • Not easy – verse 38, the word used here is that of an all-consuming sorrow, this word has the strongest link of any in the NT to that of what we understand depression to be today.
   • Christ struggled through the process of submission!
   • Greek word for “Gethsemane” – “Gat” “Shmaneem” – “press of oils”
     • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVENKLP82X8 end at 2:17
   • If an olive knew – immense amount of pressure THREE times. – Christ prayed THREE times
   • He was under so much pressure that He even sweat blood! It was here that the Lord…
   • SO THAT the oil of anointing, the oil of forgiveness, may flow from Him to all of humankind.
     • Isaiah 53:5 – Crushed because of our iniquities
     • Paul Hanssen – So many of us want His anointing, but we don’t want the crushing that produces the oil!!
     • Painful process.
   • Christ even asked that this burden, this act of obedience, be taken away from Him.
   • But submission comes in the resolve, “Yet not as I will, but as you will…”
     • Our flesh may struggle, but we must submit to the cup we are given if we want His anointing, if we want to join Him in advancing the Kingdom.
   • God’s answer
   • 46 – Rise and let us go!
2. Apathy / Indifference
   • Apathy – feeling indifferent or lacking emotion
   • Indifferent – having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned
   • Hypothermia story
   • How long ago was it that He woke from a slumber for them? And even though He was frustrated with their response then, He STILL did what they asked. (Matthew 8:23-26)
   • Notice how Christ treats their apathy:
     • The first time – reprimand and warning
       • IF Peter had stayed alert…
     • But the 2^nd time …
       • Not sympathy, consequences
       • Sleep on now, take your rest…
       • This should chill us to the bone…spiritual slumber
         1. Terminal
         2. Own Punishment
         3. Unprepared, Caught off Guard
            1. Picture this…Peter

• “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” – Albert Einstein
  • Romans 12:21 – Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil by doing good.
  • Micah 6:8 – Mankind, He has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with the Lord your God.
  • James 4:17 – So it is sin to know the good and yet not to do it. (13-17)
  • Revelation 3:16 – So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.
• If they had known…
  • What about me?

3. Betrayal
   • Expose to danger by treacherously giving information to an enemy
   • The definition from Bait of Satan, “seek our own protection or benefit at the expense of someone else.” In the Kingdom of God, this comes when it is at the expense of another believer.
     • “betrayal of trust”
     • Bait of Satan – “How sad that we can find example after example of offense, betrayal, and hatred among believers today. It is so rampant in our homes and churches that it is considered normal behavior. We are too numb to grieve when we see minister taking minister to court. It no longer surprises us when Christian couples sue one another for divorce. Church splits are common and predictable. Ministry politics are played at an all-time high. It is disguised as being in the best interest of the kingdom or the church. “Christians” are protecting their rights, making sure they are not mistreated or taken advantage of by other Christians.”
       • Philippians 2:3 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
     • There are many that betray Christ with a kiss and “hail master” who under the pretense of doing Him honor, betray and undermine the interests of His kingdom.
       • How many of you…

4. Hope
   • How does this story end??
   • Notice in verse 50, “friend
   • If we have…we must….
   • If we are apathetic, if we are spiritually asleep – it is time to WAKE UP!!
     • Are you still sleeping?? The hour is at hand!!

5. Application
   • In the bulletins and here on the front pew …On the back, I want you to take time RIGHT now, to write down 2 things:
     • How you have specifically been apathetic or have betrayed…
     • How you need to submit
       • What is the cup He has placed in your hands?? Examples…
         1. Write it down!
       • When you go home, hang it…
       • For now, I would like you to take a look at what you wrote. Come to the altar this morning and submit.  Leave it at His feet.
       • Father, thy will be done.

Rosh Hashana – Festival of Trumpets – to celebrate Creation.  It’s the Jewish New Year.

For non-messianic Jews – Yom Kippur is 10 days away.  This is the Day of Atonement or the day of Judgment.  They believe that each year, God seals the book of judgment during this time for the coming year and with it, your fate is sealed until the following year.

So at the coming of Rosh Hashana, the preceding 10 days are spent making sure that their judgment is a good one.  If Christ were sealing your fate in 10 days – how differently would you live NOW??

Traditionally, at the opening of service for Rosh Hashana, the shaufer is blown, and a rabbi speaks, today, I will leave you with those words: Wake up!  Yeshua, our God and King, is coming soon!  Wake up!