Glad to see everybody made it
safely this morning. The weather's a little bit of
a problem out there. Hopefully it'll be over by the
time we finish services this morning. All right, let's all
find our seats and we'll open the service this morning with
a familiar hymn number 21 from the Gospel Hymn Spiral hymn book,
The Covenant, Ordered and Sure. Number 21, let's all stand. God the Father and the Son and
the Spirit, three in one. In eternal ages past, Made a
covenant sure and fast, God my Father chose His own In the person
of His Son, And ordained that I should be One with Him eternally. God the Son agreed to come in
the flesh to bring me home. He would keep God's holy law
and retreat me from the fall. Christ in love so willingly stood
as my great surety. For my price He offered blood
to appease the wrath of God. God the Spirit, heavenly dove,
promised to come down in love, bringing life and peace and grace
to the chosen, purchased race. He seeks the lost, heals the
lame, and He brings us to the Lamb. By His sovereign call,
God's elect are gathered all. This poor sinner is secure, for
God's covenant will endure. It is sealed by God's own word,
by His Spirit and His blood. Blessed Holy Covenant God, I
am yours by tithes of blood. Ties of grace and ties of love
hold me to my God above. Please be seated. My favorite hymn is always the
one that I'm singing at the time, but that right now is my favorite
hymn. The whole gospel's in that hymn.
I'm so very thankful for that. Thank you, Tom. Good morning. Let's open our Bibles together
to the 14th chapter of Mark, Mark chapter 14. I think most of you all have
met Scott and Christine McMinn. They have relocated to Orlando
from California. So we're so very happy to have
them here and have them a part of our fellowship. Those of you that have been with
us for a while remember Laverne and Wayne land and the Lord took
Laverne home on Monday this past week. There's actually a little
article in your bulletin I think that will be an encouragement
to you if you get a chance to read it. Pray for Wayne. Wayne's very
frail. And Laverne did a lot to take
care of him. So he's worried, you know, that
he's not going to be able to care for himself. But they have
family members that will be there to support them. So six weeks from today, we'll be
coming to the end of our conference meeting. So remember to pray
for Todd and for Chris and for Angus, who will be preparing
to come and bring the gospel to us. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
in singing that hymn, we are reminded of David's last words
when he said, although my house be not so with God, Lord, our
houses are not as they ought to be. In the house of the Lord
Jesus Christ, His church, we know better than all that it's
not as it ought to be. Yet, He has made with me an everlasting
covenant. Lord, that's our hope. confess that this was all his
salvation and all of his desire. That covenant that was sure and
complete. The covenant that was ratified
by the shed blood of thy dear son. Lord, we pray this morning
that you would send your spirit and power and enable us to find
our comfort and our hope and all of our salvation. in the
glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his accomplished
work of redemption. We do pray for our brother Wayne
and we ask Lord that you would comfort his heart in the grief
of his loss and Lord that you would provide for his every need.
We thank you for the hope that we have that we grieve not like
other men. We have the hope of knowing Lord
without without saying peace, peace, when there is no peace,
that we truly have the peace of God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. For it's in his name we pray,
amen. If you have your Bibles open
to Mark chapter 14, I'll remind you of a verse that we looked
at last week in verse 19. When the Lord told the disciples
there at that last supper that one of them was going to betray
him and having some understanding of the weaknesses of their own
flesh, one said, is it I? And then another said, is it
I? And all the way around the table,
they wondered if they were the one that the Lord was referring
to. Of course, we know that it was
Judas, and I don't doubt that Judas, knowing that he was going
to be the one, probably joined in with the other disciples in
saying, is it I? Now, we find ourselves just maybe
an hour or so after that experience, the Lord has led his disciples
from the upper room to the Mount of Olives, and they are at Gethsemane. And verse 26, and when they had
sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. And Jesus
said unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this
night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep
shall be scattered. But after that I'm risen, I will
go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although
all should be offended, yet not I." Not I. Peter went from, is it I, to
not me. He'd have been a whole lot better
off if he'd have kept the first opinion of himself, wouldn't
he? But what an example of our experiences. We have moments
where we think, you know, Lord, I'm completely dependent upon
you for your grace. If you don't keep me, if you
don't sustain me, if you don't save me, there's nothing I can
do for myself. And then we turn right around
the next breath. How am I going to do that? And Jesus said unto him in verse
30, Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night,
before the cock crows twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And
he spoke the more vehemently. Now Peter's problem is that he's
not listening to what God's saying. This is God speaking to him.
And that's where our problem begins, isn't it? We don't listen,
we don't hear. The Lord's making it just as
clear and plain as he possibly can. Now the cock crowing is
a reference to midnight and sunrise. And so that was a message of
something that was going to happen at midnight. They called it the
cock crowing and that's something that was going to happen at sunrise.
And so the Lord's making it very clear to Peter, Peter, between
midnight and in the morning, you're going to deny me three
times. And Peter speaks more vehemently.
He gets louder and he gets more defiant and more dependent on
himself. And he says, if I should die
with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. And the influence
that Peter has on the other disciples, likewise also said they all. Is it I? or not me. It's been said that you cannot
preach man low enough, that you cannot preach Christ high enough,
and that you cannot preach grace free enough. And I do believe
that. And those are the three things
that the unbeliever doesn't believe. He doesn't believe himself to
be a sinner. He'll say with Peter, with vehement argument, not me,
not me, I'm not going to do it. The unbeliever does not believe
that Christ is absolutely sovereign in salvation. They don't believe
that salvation is of the Lord. They don't believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished the work of salvation. They will
speak of things like accepting Jesus and giving your heart to
Christ and making a decision as if God is voting for all men
to be saved and the devil's voting against all men to be saved and
man is the one who cast the deciding vote. He breaks the tie. Man
puts himself on the throne of God. He exalts himself far above
where he is and he and he denies the glory of Christ in salvation. And the unbeliever doesn't believe
that grace is free. No, they call it grace, but then
they redefine the word grace and they make a work out of grace.
They'll have some contribution to make in order for what the
Lord Jesus Christ did as an offer of salvation to be made effectual
for us. We've got to do something to
make it work. And they call it grace. But free will's not grace. Works is not grace. If it is
of grace, it can no longer be of works. Otherwise, grace is
not grace. You can't mix grace and works.
Either God did it all, or he won't do it at all. He gets all
the glory for salvation, amen? So it is true that man cannot
be preached and believers love being told they're sinners. They
love because they, because they like the disciples are prone
to say, not me, not me. They like the disciples are prone
to think too highly of themselves. Listen to what Paul said in Romans
chapter 12. I had someone tell me one time, they said, you know,
the first 11 chapters of Romans are just sort of a preamble to
the real meat of the book which begins in chapter 12. And the
first 11 chapters of Romans are the most glorious, complete definition
and declaration of the gospel that is to be found anywhere
in all of scripture. And then Romans chapter 12 turns
to this is the outcome of that. And Romans chapter 12 begins
with, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God
that you present yourself a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto
God. This is your reasonable service
in light of what all he's done for us. and be not conformed
to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind
in Christ Jesus that you might know what is the good and acceptable
and pleasing will of God." So he's admonishing us in light
of the gospel to look to Christ and to reject the philosophy
and the values of this world. And then in verse 3 of Romans
chapter 12, he says, I say through the grace given unto me to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought. So the Lord's speaking to every
one of us and reminded us how proud and self-righteous and
independent and and self-sufficient we are prone to be. Why? Because that's where the world
is. That's what he's saying when he said, don't be conformed,
pressed into the mold of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. And he goes on to say, but think
soberly according to the faith which God hath given to each
one of us. Think soberly about yourself. So the disciples now are not
listening to what the Lord says, and that's where our problems
begin. We're listening to everything else except for what God says.
And I know that's why you're here this morning. You want to
hear what God has to say, don't you? And we're just saying what
God says. Because, Lord, I need to hear.
I need to hear. Lord, you've got to get me ears
to hear the Spirit and the Bride. say, come and let him that have
ears to hear, hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Lord,
give me ears to hear. Faith is what I need. And faith
comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. Now
these disciples, when they went from is it I to not me, were
backing up and losing sight of who they were and who Christ
was. They had too high a view of themselves
and too low a view of Christ. And you and I do the same thing,
don't we? Don't we? Oh, Lord, remind me. Remind me
of my inabilities. Keep me dependent upon Thee.
Cause me to not think too highly of myself, but to think soberly
according to the faith that Thou hast given me. Faith is an acknowledgment
of our weakness. That's what it is. People talk
about faith as if it's some sort of character trait that they
can boast among men and talk about how faithful they are,
but faith is my acknowledging my totaled Lord. Is it I? That's
faith. Not me? That's not faith. Is
it I? That's dependence. Not me, that's
independence. Is it I, that's humility. Not
me, that's pride, isn't it? And we just keep, because we
have these two natures, that's the cause of it. Rich, you read from Romans chapter
seven in the study this morning, where Paul said, to will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. I know
that the law of God is spiritual, but I'm carnal. I'm carnal. I'm
sold under sin. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? Or when I look
at myself, is it I? Is it I? I say through the grace given
unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself
more highly. than he ought." That's our problem,
isn't it? We think too highly of ourselves. Verse 32, and they came to a place which
was named Gethsemane. Now, Gethsemane translated means the oil of an olive pressed out. So there was an olive press there
in Gethsemane where, and there was an olive grove on the Mount
of Olives. And so they would harvest the
olives and bring them down to the olive press. And that's where
the oil was pressed out of the olives. And what a appropriate
place for our Lord to be pressed out. He tells the disciples in
the Garden of Gethsemane, that I am nigh unto death, I am greatly
sorrowful. And he encourages them to pray
with him, doesn't he? And he goes on to say, the spirit's
willing, the spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak. The spirit's
willing, is it I? But the flesh is weak, not me,
not me. They went to Gethsemane and he
said unto his disciples, sit ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter,
James, and John and began to be sore amazed and to be very
heavy. And he said unto them, my soul
is exceedingly sorrowful unto death. Tear ye here and watch. Be on guard. Watch. And he went forward a little
and he fell on the ground and he prayed that if it were possible,
the hour might pass from him. No other way for the covenant
to be fulfilled. No other way for sin to be paid
for. No other way for righteousness to be established. No other way
for justice to be met. The Lord's crying out to the
father. Now, you know, if there was any
other way, the father would have found another way. Father, if
there be any way this cup can pass, what was the cup? What
was the cup? It's our sin. It's the bitter
dregs of our sinfulness that he drank dry on Calvary's cross. Father, if there be any way this
cup can pass from me, let it be. Nevertheless, not my will,
but thy will be done. And he cometh and findeth them,
verse 37, sleeping, and said unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Oh, Simon. Simon. Can you relate to Simon? Can
you relate to Simon saying, in your pride and self-righteousness
and independence? Not me. Not me. I can handle
this. That's the problem. Now, Simon's
going to have a great fall, isn't he? And the only difference between
Simon's fall and Judas's fall, but basically they both did the
same thing that night, is that the Lord said to Simon, Simon,
Satan has asked to sift thee. I'm so encouraged by that. Satan
can't get to me until he goes through God. He can't, but the
devil's God's devil. And just like he gave, the devil
permission to afflict Job. So the Lord gives the devil permission
to afflict his children, to prove them, to prove them. Because
the Lord said, Peter, be of good cheer. I've prayed for you. I
didn't pray for Jesus, I prayed for you. We have an advocate
with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one who ever lives
to make intercession for us. He's praying for us. That's the
difference. We're just like everybody else. We would be just as unbelieving
as anybody else. We see that in the moments, in
those times when our flesh and our pride says, not me. We see
the potential that we have, don't we? And the good thing is that
that's the old man. That's the old man. And when
Jacob and Esau were born. The Lord said the younger, the
older, the older, which was Esau, shall serve the younger. The
older shall serve the younger. Now Esau is a picture of the
flesh in every way of his life and Jacob's a picture of the
new man created in Christ Jesus. There's your hope, brethren.
And yeah, you, the spirit wars against the flesh and the flesh
against the spirit so that we cannot be what we would be. If
we didn't have this flesh, we'd be perfect. We'd be, well, one
day we're gonna know what it's gonna be without this old flesh. And if we didn't have the spirit,
we'd be total devil, completely unbelieving anything that God
has to say. So now, and we don't know we
have the new, we don't know we have the old man until we get
the new man, do we? The unbeliever doesn't know that he's got an
old sinful nature. He doesn't know that. Only the
child of God, after we receive the new man, now all of a sudden
the new man shines light on the old man and God says, that old
man, he's going to serve the new man. Because every time he
rears his ugly head and says, not me, then he's going to cause
the new man to see Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I? Lord, I need you. I don't know
anything to do but bow before you. Look how sinful I am. My
sin is ever before me. Isn't that what David said? It's
the way God designed it, to grow His children in grace and make
them dependent upon Him. as we're just as self-righteous
and independent as Peter was when he said when he denied vehemently
what the Lord said he was going to do. You know he did it. You
know he did exactly what the Lord said he was going to do.
But he couldn't see it in himself. Could you not? Peter are you
really sleeping? Peter don't you Haven't you heard
what I've been telling you? I'm going to die. They're going
to crucify me. One that is among you has already
denied me. And they're about to come and
arrest me. Peter must have seen the travail
that our Lord was going through. One of the Gospel writers said
that he sweat as great drops of blood. So now he's got this
blood infused sweat that's coming down his brow as he's agonizing. This is where the passion begins
of our Lord. This is where sin begins to be
put on Him. Right here in the garden. This
is the beginning of His sufferings. And His disciples were so spiritually
dull. Can you relate? Can you relate? Oh, I can. We just lose sight of that which
is important. Get so caught up. Well, they
had just eaten a big meal. You know what happens after you
eat a big meal? And the belly in the scriptures is used as
an analogy of the flesh. That the false prophets are always
feeding their bellies, the scripture says. That's just a picture of
our flesh. Peter, could you not pray with
me for one hour?" Now here's the second problem. Number one,
they did not listen to what the Lord was clearly saying to them.
And that's where our problems begin. We listen to everything
else except for what God says. And then second of all, we don't
pray. We don't pray. He tells them, he says, pray,
lest you fall into temptation. It's the remedy for your For
your hope and your strength and your ability to resist the devil,
you're not going to be able to do it without prayer. Prayer
is essential. You know, people say, well, you
know, there's nothing left to do but pray. The only time that
you and I ever really pray about anything is when prayer is the
last resort. That's the only time you really
pray. when it's the last resort. Because prior to that, you may
be offering some prayers, but you're also offering some things
that you're trusting in to make it happen, aren't you? And real prayer only happens
when you can't do anything. When God makes your sin so real
to you that, Lord, I can't deal with this, I can't do anything
about it, I can't put it away, I have no strength in myself,
I have no ability, then and only then do you pray. Now James says
you have not because you ask not, and when you do ask, and
I can relate to this, you ask amiss that you might consume
it upon your own lust. How much of our prayers are praying
for our circumstances, our physical needs. The Lord says when you pray,
pray for wisdom, pray for faith, pray for knowledge, pray for
understanding, pray for those spiritual things that will put
all the other material and physical things in life Those things will... Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness and all these other things will be
added unto you. Isn't that what the Lord said?
Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. Oh, we're just like these disciples.
One minute In humility and submission, Lord, is it I in the next minute?
Not me. Not me. The spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak. This conflict, we're a contradiction
to ourselves, aren't we? We really are. Look at what Paul
says to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians chapter 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians
1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians
1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians
1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse 15, Ephesians 1 verse
15, Eph Lord, reveal to me the glory
of Christ that I might know Him, the power of His resurrection,
the fellowship of His suffering. This is what I need more than
anything else. I so oftentimes pray amiss that
I might consume the things that I'm asking for with my own physical
desires, the lust of my flesh. The eyes of your... Look at verse
18, that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened Oh Lord, crack
the windows of heaven and cause the light of the gospel to shine
in my heart in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what
I need. This is what Peter needed. And
they didn't pray. They didn't pray. They were spiritually
asleep. Then the Lord recorded this for
me and you. Lord, that's me. I'm just like
him. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his
calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
and the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty
power. Lord, I have no power. When Peter
said, not me, vehemently, Lord, I'll die for you. He didn't have
any idea how weak he was. Go back with me to Mark 14. Pray for rest, rest in Christ. Pray for understanding, pray
for faith. men make a work out of prayer
and that they want other men to see their their prayers. The Pharisees did that. The Lord
said, you see them there? They're on the street corner.
They're wearing their phylacteries and they're bowing, they're praying
these long flowery prayers. But when you pray, go into your
closet and your father Which heareth you in secret shall reward
you openly." Don't let the right hand lower the left hand's doing.
Boasting how much you're praying for folks and different things.
You know, Lord, I... Verse 38, Mark 14. Watch ye and pray lest you enter
into temptation. Lord, teach us to pray. And the
Lord said, when you pray, pray like this, our Father, which
art in heaven. Lord, you're in the heavens and
I'm upon the earth. Hallowed be thy name. You're
the one that's holy. You're the one that's all powerful. Watch and pray lest you enter.
Lord, lead us not into temptation. Lead us not into temptation.
I made this comment, I think, last Sunday. Lord, if I'm tempted,
I know I'm going to fall. Don't let me be tempted. Lead
me not into temptation. Deliver me from the evil one. I have no strength to withstand
him. The Spirit, verse 38, the second
part of verse 38, the Spirit truly is ready. Oh, and the Spirit is ready.
The new man wants to serve God. He wants to please God. He wants
to believe. And he's carrying about this
old dead flesh with him. The Spirit's weak. I mean, the
flesh is weak. The Spirit is willing. The Spirit
is ready. But the flesh is weak. Now that's where the unbeliever
has no... he doesn't believe it. The unbeliever
thinks that he can accomplish things in the power of his own
flesh. He thinks he can accomplish his own salvation by his own
will and by his own works. Only the child of God knows that
the flesh that which is of the flesh is flesh, and the flesh
profiteth nothing." Nothing. Now what Paul said in Romans
chapter 3, in me, or in Romans chapter 7, in me, that is in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And then in Romans chapter 3,
there is none that doeth good, no not one. The unbeliever thinks
he's got something that he can accomplish with his flesh. The flesh can accomplish fleshly
things. You can build things with the
flesh. You can do things in the power of the flesh. Men do it
all the time who don't have the Spirit of God. All they've got
is the flesh and they're accomplishing fleshly things in the power of
the flesh. But to accomplish anything spiritual, we're never
going to make any contribution to any spiritual thing with the
power of the flesh, are we? This passage of scripture just
is such an encouragement to me and that it reminds me that I'm
just like Peter, I've got two natures. I've got this old man who says,
not me. Proud, self-sufficient, independent,
believes in himself, confident, and then the new man who says,
Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I? And the new man's the only one
that can identify the old man. He's the only one that can do
it. They stand in such contrast to one another. It's light and
darkness, opposite opposites, life and death. The new man's
the only one that can recognize the old man. So the Lord prays Again, he went away and prayed,
verse 39, and spake the same words. Now, I'm encouraged. Sometimes you don't know what
to pray for, and you don't know how to pray. And here we have
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, praying the exact same
words the second time and the third time. If all you know to
pray is, as we're going to see in the next hour, Lord, save
me, just keep praying that. Just keep praying that. The Lord
Jesus Christ prayed the same prayer. Same prayer. And when he returned, he found
them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Neither wist
they what to answer him. They didn't know what to say.
God rebukes. The Lord Jesus Christ is rebuking
the disciples. Couldn't you stay with me for
one hour? Couldn't you pray? When you're rebuked by God, you
don't know what to say. When God rebukes you, he shuts
your mouth. You know, if a man rebukes me,
I'm going to defend myself. Isn't that the way we are? God rebukes you, you have no
defense. Truth Lord, I don't know what to say. You're right.
You're right. My flesh is weak. And he cometh
the third time, verse 41, and saith unto them, sleep on now
and take your rest. It is enough. The hour has come.
Behold, the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise
up, let us go. Lo, he that betrayeth me is at
hand. And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judith,
one of the 12, and with him a great multitude, the swords and staves.
From the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, And he
that betrayed him had given him a token, saying, whomsoever I
shall kiss, that same is he, take him and lead him away safely.
And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him and
said, master, master." Oh, what hypocrisy. And he kissed him. And they laid their hands on
him and took him. And one of them stood by, that was Peter.
John tells us it was Peter that took off Malchus's ear. And he
laid his hand, took a sword and smote the servant of the high
priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, are you come out among as against a thief with swords
and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple
teaching. You took me not, but the scripture must be fulfilled.
You could have taken me an open and you didn't do it. And they
all forsook him and fled just like he said they would. And
there followed him a certain young man having linen cloth
cast about his naked body. And the young man, a young man
is a reference to the Roman soldiers. The young man laid hold on him
and he left his linen cloth and fled from them naked. Now there's
been people that have been presuming about who this young man, scripture
doesn't tell us who he was. Is it John? Scripture doesn't
say. Maybe it's someone in a house near the garden of Gethsemane
that heard the commotion and came out of his bed. It's in
the middle of the night. And they took his garment from
him and he fled naked. And that's where most men are,
just fleeing from God naked. And they led Jesus away to the
high priest and with him were assembled all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off. Now we know what's going to happen
to Peter. Peter's going to cave in to the accusations and with
cursings, he's going to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he didn't believe what
God said. He didn't pray. And he followed
from afar off. Let's take a break.