Well, it's a good thing from
time to time that the Lord should prevent us from gathering together
with God's people. That we might be reminded of
the preciousness of the fellowship of the saints of God. It is a true thing that men my worship of the lord individually
and well they should to call upon him when there's no one
around but that cannot in any wise replace the blessedness
of coming together with those of like mind and faith to praise
and worship the lord and to hear others Praise Him. I was extremely blessed today
in hearing the children's voices lifted up in praise unto the
Lord. And they might not know or understand
these things completely, but let everything that hath breath
praise the Lord. It's our requirement. We don't
have a choice in the matter. And vain is the man who thinks
that he will pick and choose when or if he will praise the
Lord. All men shall praise him. Well, we've been looking here
in the book of Mark, and we had looked at down through
about verse 27, the last time that I was here, which seems
a long time ago, but really wasn't but about a week ago, two weeks
ago, I guess, counting those times. So we'll look at verse
27. And Jesus saith 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 am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But
Peter said unto him, although all shall be offended, yet will
not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily
I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the
cock crowed twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake
the more vehemently. If I should die with thee, I
will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. And they came to a place which
was named Gethsemane. And he saith to his disciples,
sit ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter
and James and John and began to be sore amazed and to be very
heavy. And saith unto them, my soul
is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here and watch. And he went forward a little
and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me, nevertheless
not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh and findeth
them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst thou not watch one hour?
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly
is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away and prayed,
and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found
them asleep again. For their eyes were heavy, neither
wist they not what to answer him. And he cometh the third
time and saith unto them, sleep on now and take your rest. It
is enough. The hour is come. Behold, the
son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up and
let us go. Lo, he that betrayeth me is at
hand. And immediately, while he yet
spake, cometh Judas, one of the 12, and with him a great multitude
with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes
and the elders. And he that betrayed him had
given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same as he. Take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he
goeth straightway to him and saith, Master, Master, and kissed
him. And they laid their hands on
him and took him. And one of them that stood by
drew a sword and smote a servant of the high priest and cut off
his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, are you come out as against a thief with swords and with
staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple
teaching and you took me not. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him and
fled. And there followed him a certain
young man having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. And
the young man laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth and
fled from them naked. And we'll stop right there. And
this is a most sad and sorrowful account that's
given to us here, but well it should be. because the Lord was
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And it was necessary
that these things occur as they did. Now we have often each one
thought that had we been there in the garden with the Lord,
knowing what we know, we would have been faithful and we would
have prayed and watched with Him. We stood with him, but keep
in mind, this is exactly what all of the disciples confessed. Peter was the main one, stepped
up first, because the Lord told them, he said, you're all gonna
forsake me. And it was necessary that they did because it was
prophesied in scripture that such would come to pass. And
the Lord was pleased to do that. And of course we know and understand
that the Lord is a solitary Savior. He does not depend upon men in
any wise to aid Him in the redemption of His people. It's impossible
that a man could add anything to that which Christ has done.
It's impossible that a man should take anything away. from that
which Christ has done. Because He came into the world
for the purpose of saving His people. Now we live in a day
and age when you hear the term saved, it's usually associated
with something that men have done. And the question usually
goes like this, are you saved? And what they mean by that is,
have you made a decision to be saved and have you asked the
Lord to save you? And that's what men call salvation. God's people do call upon the
Lord. God's people do cry out to Him
for salvation. But salvation is that which is
wrought completely by the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
doesn't have anything to do with men whatsoever. See, the Lord
saved his people. He is the Savior, that very term. I'm amazed often as men speak
of the Savior as though he tried to do something. He wanted to,
he would, but men just wouldn't let him. And that's kind of the
way it's presented, is it not? That, well, you know, the Lord
would save everybody, but he just can't because men won't
let him. Well, let me tell you, the Lord saves whom he wills.
He came seeking to save that which is lost. And he will save
everyone whom he intends to save. He'll save everyone for whom
he shed his precious blood. Not one drop of his blood will
go in vain, but it has accomplished that which He has undertaken
for it to do. And so it is that it was necessary
that the sheep be scattered. It was necessary that none stand
with Him because none could. I mean, that which the Lord undertook
to do, no man could participate in. It's impossible. He alone was fitted to be the
Savior of sinners. Peter said, Lord, not me. I will never be offended in you.
I mean, have we not all resolved from time to time, Lord, we're
going to be faithful? Only to find that, well, it didn't
work out so good. We kind of fell by the wayside
from time to time. And the Lord said to Peter, even
as the gospel says that all of the disciples confess the same
thing, and Jesus said unto them, verily, before this night is
over, you will deny me three times. And we know that that came to
pass. We will see that it comes to pass, but we know, having
looked at these things in times past, we know that that is what
happened. Likewise said they all. And then they came to a
place which was named Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples,
sit here while I shall pray. Now we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ came into the world as a savior to fulfill a purpose
for which God gave him to do. He came as that one upon whom
the sin of his people would be laid. But there was a moment
in time when this burden of sin was laid upon him in a manner
in which heretofore it had not been. Now he always came with
the same purpose in mind, but it was necessary that at a point
in time he undergo that for which he came into the world to do.
In other words, the Lord decreed that he would be the Savior.
He told He sent the angel to tell Joseph, you shall call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And
as he was that babe in the manger, he was as much the savior then
as he would become. But there was a point in time
when it became necessary. that this sin be laid upon him.
Just as there came a time when it was necessary that he go to
the cross. Now most men think of the sufferings
of Christ in a physical fashion. And they consider that what happened
to him on the cross was the most greatest suffering that a man
could bear. Now I will surely say that no man ever suffered
as our Lord did, even physically. But the physical sufferings of
the Lord Jesus Christ were the result of a greater suffering
that came upon Him, that we see poured out upon Him in this moment. When He came into this garden
and He said, I am exceeding sorrowful. He was a man of sorrows. But
here, dear brethren, he became exceeding sorrowful. So much
so that the scripture says that he sweat, as it were, great drops
of blood. I mean, he was wrought upon in
a fashion that he had not been up until this time. And the weight
of our sin was laid upon him And he went forward a little
and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. Now some have made the mistake
of thinking that the Lord was getting second thoughts, that
he was a little weak in the midst of this. That's not at all what
was occurring. I mean, it's necessary to understand
who he was to understand the sorrow that he bore and to understand
the anguish of heart that was within him. Because he came here
to this place as one who loved his heavenly father above all
things. He loved him perfectly. And the
thing that he wanted to do more than anything else in all the
world was to please his father. And yet this was the hour in
which the sin of his people was laid upon him. And he was there
before his father as a guilty sinner with the weight of his
people resting upon him. See, the scripture says that
he became sin for us. Now, he knew no sin. Neither
was God found in his mouth. And I'm a poor one to begin to
enter into trying to set forth how this is or how it could be,
but I see it as we see it illustrated. As he prayed, Father, let this
hour pass from you. I'm being crushed beneath this. This is more than I can bear.
And yet, for our sakes, he bore that. Now think about that. You know, how many is the time
we've been involved in something and we would have, we had all
intentions of carrying on, but when the pain got strong enough,
we decided, well, that was enough, you know, we quit. But the Lord did not, even though
it was a crushing time for him. He fell on the ground. He prayed
if it were possible that this hour might pass from him. And
he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take
away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt. Now, what was the cup? The cup
was that he would become sin for his people. in that moment of time when he
desired more than anything else to please his father. Yet the
only way that he could become pleasing in the father's sight
was to become displeasing in the father's sight. Now that's
what we call being between a rock and a hard place. That's a place
that's impossible for a man to enter into. It requires one who's
not only man, but as God as well. And so he came there and he desired
to do that which the Father would have him to do, but he was crushed
beneath the weight of doing that, which the Father would have him
do. And then, to add insult to injury,
I don't know if you've ever really depended on somebody to do something
for you. to help you in a time of need,
only to discover that they didn't do what you expected them to
do or warned them to do. Now magnify that many fold and
consider the Lord in the position that he's in, crushed under the
weight of the sin of his people, even his disciples, and he comes
and he finds them asleep. They couldn't even watch with
him for an hour. They couldn't help him at all. Now, on the
one hand, we understand that he was not expecting them to.
He knew what was in their hearts. But as a man, at the same time,
the disappointment and the grief of having friends that would
not stand with you. Even as when they fled from me,
he prophesied that they would. He prophesied it to Peter. He said, Peter, you're gonna
deny me three times. That did not lessen the pain
that he felt when Peter denied him. In fact, John, I believe it's
in John's gospel, as Peter denied him the third time, and the cock
crew, and the scripture says that the Lord looked upon Peter,
and Peter went out and wept. But you see, the Lord was already
weeping inside. Not simply for it, not for his
own sake. You see, not for his own. The
Lord didn't weep because Peter denied him from the standpoint
of the fact that he was disappointed in Peter. But he was bearing
Peter's sin. You see, even when Peter was
denying him, the Lord was carrying Peter's sin. And it's the sin of God's people
that broke the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. It wasn't his consideration
of his own suffering, but it was the fact that his people needed him. And he hated the sin that he
died for. He never embraced it, but he
gladly took it upon himself. If he cometh and findeth them
sleeping, and he saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst
thou not watch one hour? Would you not think that this
might have pricked the heart of Peter, who so boldly, just
a few moments before, had said, Lord, I'll stand with you in
spite of all. And again he went away, and prayed,
and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found
them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy, neither wist
they what to answer him. They had nothing to say, no excuses,
nothing would do. And he cometh the third time,
and he saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest, it
is enough. The hour has come, and behold,
the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up,
let us go, and lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. The spirit, he said, is willing,
but the flesh is weak. Oh, that we might be mindful
that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. And the greatest
declarations that we make, the biggest boasts that we have don't
really amount to anything. Because without the power and
presence of the Lord to help us, we'll each one fail. We'll each one turn aside. We'll
each one have no consideration of his goodness to us. Let us go, he that betrayeth
me is at hand. Each time that we take the Lord's
Supper, we usually read that passage of scripture in the same
night in which he was betrayed. That ought to serve to us as
a beacon as to what man is by nature. There's nothing good
that dwells within us. Now I know that's not a popular
message today. It's not psychologically sound,
as the great psychologists of the day would tell us. We shouldn't
tell people such things as that. But yet the scripture does. And
so if the scripture says there's none good, No, not one. There's none that seeketh after
God. Then we must declare that to be true, regardless of what
the psychologists tell us or how much we may be taught not
to speak negative things. Dear brethren, we live in a negative
world. This is a world that is set against
the way of God. We see it unfolding before our
very eyes day after day. Now, the things that we see in
our society as we look around us and we see the fabric of society
falling apart, this is not something that just began. See, this is
something that's as old as man is. It's just something that
the Lord's allowing us to see more clearly. Oh, that we might,
as we look upon our society, that we might not lament our
society so much as we lament what we are by nature. Because
what we see played out in our society is just a picture of
what we would be except for the mercy of God. Except for the
grace of God to keep us back. I mean, which one of us would
not embrace all of those things that the world says are right
and good, except that God in his mercy did teach us different
and show us the truth. Oh, that he might conform us
to the ways of Christ. that we might behold Christ's
suffering in the path of sinners. Because you see, that's what
the gospel is. Christ set forth an example,
but Christ didn't go to the cross as an example. Christ went to
the cross to pay for the sins of his people, to satisfy the
claims of a broken law. And that's exactly what he did.
And He is the Savior. And all who come unto Him shall
be saved. How do we know that? Because
He said so. See, that's not some formula or whatever. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Why? Because those who call upon
His name recognize that He is the Savior. Lord, save or we
perish. Oh, that the Lord might give
us a heart and mind today to call upon his name, for he is
not far from those who do. The bruised reed shall he not
break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench until he brings
forth judgment and the victory. We're thankful today that we
know that the Spirit of God still is at work in this world, and
he's calling his people unto himself. moment by moment, day
by day, here a little and there a little. It's not always quite
apparent what the Lord is doing, but in His own time, He will
do that which He set out to do, for He is the Savior, the Redeemer,
that one who has paid the price for His people's sin.