Apr. 06, 2025

Background:

• Every Christian is going to experience spiritual warfare
• A struggle against evil and temptation will plague us until we die
• Sometimes we will loose the battle and sometimes we will win the battle
• There will be battles
• Evil and temptation will be there at the door
• We need to be prepared when they come
• Knowing that there is spiritual warfare, why don't more people come out to prayer meeting?
• We do more complaining than praying
• We must be ready because the enemy is coming (Ephesians 6)
• Men ought to always pray and not faint
• Jesus had a place to pray
• Jesus had friends in the midst of trials and tribulation preparing the upper room
• In the midst of his trials, he had an oasis
• All of us need to have a private, personal and guarded place to go and pray
• Everyone can't go with you on your journey

Key Sermon Points:

1. Jesus was in deep sorrow

• We may experience sorrow while here on Earth, but one day sorrow will be no more
• Sorrow means to be distressed, pained, or be constant with heaviness of heart
• Jesus had taught the disciples and showed them that He was the Messiah, and could speak to the Storm and open the eyes of the blind...yet they were still struggling to see who He really was
• Jesus was grieved and distressed (Matthew 26:38)
• Jesus wanted Peter and the others to watch while praying because we have an adversary (1 Peter 5:8)
• Even though there is a roaring lion, God will deliver us from temptation...which is why we must pray (2 Peter 2:9)
• We don't know how much we have in us until we are pressed
• Jesus asked the disciples to watch so that he would not be disturbed in the garden
• Jesus' heart was sorrowful because He knew that they wouldn't be able to keep their allegiance to him

2. He went a little further

• How far would we go in our sorrow to pray?
• Jesus went further by prostrating himself before God
• The reason that a lot of our prayers are not answered is because we have not gone far enough (fasting and being prostrate before the Lord)
• Jesus cries out and says "O My Father..."
• This shows us that Jesus was human and divine
• He cries out to the Father because he does not want to be separated from his Father
• Jesus had to experience something that he had never experienced before...separation from His Father
• Jesus could not find the help from his disciples
• Jesus understood the power of the enemy, which is something that we underestimate
• Jesus retreated to prayer while the disciples retreated to sleep
• They ought to have been praying, but they were sleeping
• Everyone that is sleeping is not sleeping because they are tired...some sleep because of depression or trouble that we don't want to face
• The cup symbolizes the divine wrath against sin (Jeremiah 25:15-17)
• Being separated from the Father was too much to bare (Isaiah 55:10)...but Jesus said "...not My will, but Your will be done"

3. Jesus was trying to encourage them to pray

• It's ok to pray privately, but we need to pray corporately as well
• Jesus prayed the same prayer 3 times
• So many times we pray the same prayer and are then ready to give up
• Jesus gave us the example of praying consistently
• We need to keep praying until we get an answer
• Jesus wasn't trying to embarrass them, but was trying to encourage them because temptation and evil was coming
• When Jesus came back, he found them sleeping instead of praying (3 times)
• He didn't let their prayer life affect His prayer life
• We have to have a relationship with the Father and pray ourselves
• Luke tells us that Jesus' prayer was so intense that His sweat was like drops of blood
• The Father sent his angels to minister to him
• God's grace is sufficient

4. Jesus was strengthened by His prayers

• When we pray and are faithful in our prayers, God will strengthen us
• Jesus wasn't worried about the enemy because he went to the Father in prayer
• Jesus acted out in the spirit, but Peter acted out in the flesh because he was sleeping instead of praying
• We have to check-in with the Father!
• When we are in the Spirit, we move in the Spirit
• When we are in the flesh, we move in the flesh