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Part 13 of 16
Cross to Commission
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A young brother from our productions team, no older than 23 or 25, was in a car crash this week that crushed his lungs. He's in ICU right now, and his family is preparing to make difficult decisions about his care. This week, my team and I have been praying and fasting for him.
I mention this brother for several reasons. First, that if he comes to mind, you would join us in prayer—asking God, if He is willing, to perform a creative miracle in that hospital room. But I also mention him because of a deeper truth: tomorrow is not promised to anyone. We make plans for next week, next month, next year—vacations, goals, dreams—yet we may not see next year. This is why we urge the unbeliever: today is the day of salvation. When you feel the Spirit of God drawing you, that is the moment to surrender your life to Christ.
No person is prepared to die apart from Christ. You are not strong enough, rich enough, or moral enough to save yourself. Money will not keep you out of hell. Fame will not. Morality will not. Church attendance will not. There are good people burning right now. There are wealthy people burning right now. There are poor people burning right now. There is no safe departure from this life apart from a relationship with Christ.
We must stop preaching a Western gospel—that lie that says if you come to God, He will make everything perfect or make you perfectly happy. That is a lie. The gospel is not about happiness; it is about righteousness. The gospel is for all people—the wealthy and the poor, the famous and the unknown—because all people need their souls saved before a holy God.
We have been studying the book of Matthew, written by a man who was an outcast Jew in the first century AD. Matthew worked for the Roman government until the day Jesus walked by and said, "Matthew, come and follow me." He left everything and followed. That singular decision changed his life. He went on to write the book that bears his name.
We have now come to the final three chapters of Matthew—chapters 26, 27, and 28—the apex of the entire gospel. Our series is called Cross to Commission, in which we study the final days and hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
I want to emphasize something important: Jesus was not a spook. He was a real man like you and me who lived in the first century AD. He cried. He wept. He ate. He went to weddings. He hung out with friends. He sipped wine. He ate food. He laughed. He loved. He felt pain. He got hungry. He got tired. He was a human being like you and me.
Now He has come to the final hours of His life. He is in a private place with His followers—12 of them in one room. One will leave that night and betray Him, bringing Roman soldiers to arrest Him. On that night, He shares His final teachings with them. He shares His final meal with them. He has His final moment of corporate worship with them. And Matthew—a young man in that room—recorded what we are about to read: the lowest point in the life of Jesus.
If you have ever been stressed, depressed, or in a circumstance that crushed your heart so low that you did not want to get out of bed—if you have ever wished for death or been suicidal—this is where we are right now with the life of Jesus Christ.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." (Matthew 26:36)
It is the middle of Thursday night, probably after midnight. They are walking through the streets toward a place called Gethsemane. I want to point out something I reflected on as I read this text.
There are attributes that you and I share with God—called communicable attributes. God has emotions, and He has given human beings emotions. God can see, and He allows us to see. God can hear, and He allows us to hear. But God also has non-communicable attributes—things in His nature that you and I do not share.
One of them is omniscience. Jesus, when He was alive, was all-knowing. Everything that is happening and everything that is about to happen, He already knows. As He walks across that courtyard toward Gethsemane, He already knows He is hours away from being betrayed. He already knows He is hours away from being abandoned. He already knows He is hours away from being beaten within an inch of His life. He already knows He is hours away from carrying a cross beam to the top of a hill. He already knows He is hours away from being crucified and executed—for you and for me.
And I marvel at the text because He spent three years with these men—eating with them, traveling with them, doing ministry with them, hanging out with them, teaching them, loving on them. He knew this day was coming. And yet, you cannot find anywhere in the record of Jesus' life where He mistreated them knowing this day was coming. You cannot find anywhere where He had any pretense in His life, knowing this day was coming.
I mention this to help you marvel over the love of God. He knows every time you are going to make a mistake. He knows every time you are going to betray Him. He knows every time you are going to hurt Him, offend Him, walk away—and still He loves you unconditionally. The Lord knows your failures next year, next month, next day—and still He loves you anyway.
Never once did He treat them differently knowing this day was coming. There is no pretense in His love because the love of God is steadfast. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with His character and His nature.
You might say, "Oh, I want to know everything." No, you don't. If the Lord gave you omniscience—if you knew all things from the beginning—that level of knowledge would crush you. You would not be able to enjoy life.
If you knew the person next to you was going to betray you in three years, you wouldn't be able to enjoy them right now. If you knew ten years from now your husband was going to walk out on you, you wouldn't be able to enjoy him right now. If you knew twenty years from now the person you love most was going to abandon you, you would not be able to enjoy life right now. If you knew everything that was going to happen to you before it happened, you would not be able to enjoy life. You would have guards up all the time. You would be looking at people crooked all the time.
Thank God for the things He has shielded your mind from. You cannot handle knowing everything because I tell you, you would not treat people the way God treats you. I am so thankful God does not treat us the way people treat us. If I knew everybody in this room who was going to do me dirty a year from now, I might look at you funny tomorrow. I would pray, but I might not bring you to the house. I might not hang out with you. I might put a wall up between you and me.
But the Lord—never one time in the gospels do you see Him treating them differently knowing this day was coming. He knows how you are going to hurt Him next year and still loves you anyway.
The Lord knew David was going to stumble and still blessed him as a king. Still blessed his throne. Still made him wealthy. Still raised him up knowing David was going to stumble. The Lord knew David's son; He gave him all wisdom and blessed his house. When Solomon built that house for God, He sent glory from heaven on top of that house—knowing that when Solomon got to the end of his life, all of his women would lead him into idol worship. Although the Lord knew that Solomon would abandon Him, yet He still sends glory upon his house.
You and I don't get down like that. Is anybody thankful God doesn't treat you the way people treat you?
You say, "That doesn't sound theological. You can't hurt God." But you have not read Ephesians 4:30: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." That word grieve in Greek means to emotionally wound. So we can hurt God, and we can disappoint God, and we can let Him down. And He sees us do this to Him all the time and still shows up the next morning with grace. You still wake up. You still have activity in your legs. He still loves you. He still gives you food. He still blesses your business, your bank account, your 401k. He is still taking care of your house and your children—knowing what you are going to do to Him next year.
The Lord is not confused on this night. He walks across that valley knowing these men are going to betray Him. He knew this all along. Watch where He goes in this stressful moment: He carries his heart to the presence of the Father.
The Lord had a consistent life of prayer. Look at the text and you will find Him on a mountaintop praying all night before He comes down and chooses 12 men to be His apostles. He prays before He makes life decisions. We see Him praying before He performs miracles—getting power from the Spirit of God. We see Him praying before He walks on the sea of Galilee to meet His followers on a ship in the middle of the sea. Jesus had a consistent life of prayer. He lived dependent upon the Father.
But notice where He went: Gethsemane. This is the remaining garden of Gethsemane—these ancient olive trees are thousands of years old, the same trees that were there when the Lord prayed in that garden.
The word Gethsemane means "olive press." It was a place of crushing—symbolic of the fact that the Lord would go into that place and on that night He would be crushed. He would be crushed in His spirit. He would be crushed in His emotions. He would be crushed in His heart. He would be crushed by betrayal. He will be crushed by abandonment. He will be crushed by arrest. He will be crushed by the perfect will of the Father.
And on the backside of that crushing, He would be highly exalted because powerful things come on the other side of crushing.
You have Christians that talk about wanting to be anointed. You want oil, but you don't want to be crushed. You want power, but you don't want to be crushed. You want platforms, but you don't want to be crushed. You want platforms without process.
I am talking to some of you right now. There are people listening to me right now who find yourself in a Gethsemane season—like I am in right now—where you are going through some hardship, some trial, some issues, some pain, some deep insecurities. You are praying. God is not moving. And what He is doing right now is crushing you in that moment.
And what comes on the other side of crushing? Greater character. Greater strength. More wisdom. More knowledge. That is why I say pain should pay you. You should never go through something and come out with nothing. If I go through pain, it has to pay me. You go through a hard season, it should pay you. You should never go through a hardship and come out with nothing.
In that garden, the Lord will be crushed that night. But what comes out of that? He will be exalted by the Father. And on the backside of that—I am telling you right now—don't give up. Don't throw in the towel. On the other side of your season of pain will be a greater man, a greater woman. If you submit to the process of crushing, watch.
There are people right now going through a Gethsemane season. This is where you are right now in your life. And you think the Lord is not hearing your prayer. And you think He is unkind. And you think He has abandoned you. He will never abandon you. He is in the garden with you. He is just not pulling you out as fast as you want.
All right, I am talking to myself. I have been dealing with hell for 11 months. I have been living here for 11 months. I set up camp here for 11 months. I have been doing work from that garden for 11 months.
I hear somebody crying. He is catching those tears. I hear you whimpering. He knows exactly where you are. He put you there. See, and as you grow in Christian maturity, you don't just thank God for mountaintops. That is bottom shelf Christianity. You get to the point where you start thanking God for the things He used to break you, hurt you—because they transform you.
Check your resume. You have been shaped more by the things you survived than by the things that you have been blessed by. I am telling you right now what I know: You are wiser because of pain. You are smarter because of pain. You are stronger because of pain. The Lord has done more in you through the garden than He has through mountaintops.
I am wired like this because of stuff I have survived—in the streets and in the Kingdom. And for as much as you be trying to rip those stories out of your life, just check your past. The Lord has done more in you through what He has crushed you in than just making life feel flowery all the time.
There be people who got everything on the outside, all the trappings of worldly success, and still crushed on the inside. The Lord won't change that yet. Why? He is using that to keep you just dependent enough to call on Him, because He will never create for you a life that makes Him unnecessary. You could be wealthy and He will leave a little insecurity. You could be wealthy, He will leave a little brokenness. You could be bubbling, He will leave a little bit of drama. He leaves just enough in your life to make you realize you can't do this on your own.
We only think we are strong until a trial comes that breaks us.
Now, I want you to notice something in the text:
He said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." (Matthew 26:36)
This is a very important detail. In verse 36, He says to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Look at the next verse:
And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to the point of death. Remain here and watch with me." (Matthew 26:37-38)
Look what the Lord did. He goes to the front of the olive grove with 11 men. He tells eight of them to stay. Then He takes three men—Peter, James, and John—and says, "Y'all come with me." He takes them into the garden. And when He gets alone with Peter, James, and John, He says:
"My soul is sorrowful unto death." (Matthew 26:38)
The Lord confesses the brokenness of His heart—not to all 11 men. Watch: The Lord pours out the deepest parts of His heart, not to all 11 men. The only three people that ever heard Jesus say, "My soul is sorrowful unto death," were three men—Peter, James, and John.
I point that out to you in the text because I want you to see: the Lord gives us permission to have relational boundaries and not to apologize for them. We never see the Lord trying to explain to the other eight why they cannot come in. We don't see Him apologizing for that. We see the Lord using wisdom and creating relational boundaries. He knows who to be intimate with and who not to be intimate with. He knows who to be vulnerable with and who not to be vulnerable with. He knows who to share His heart with and who not to share His heart with.
This is important: Everybody cannot handle your vulnerability. Everybody cannot handle your humanity. There are some people you will tell something intimate from your heart, and they will change the way they treat you the next day. There are some people that have your last name that cannot handle the intimacy of your heart. There are people in your family that don't have the humility to handle the humanity of your heart. You cannot trust them with who you really are. You cannot tell them what you are going through. They will judge you the next day.
This is the Lord modeling for you and me the wisdom to know who can handle my vulnerability, who can handle my humanity, who can I be truly honest with about the things in my heart—and who will not betray me with that information.
The Lord saw in those three men something that He trusted they could handle His humanity.
Now, this generation—we don't use filters for vulnerability. You air all your business on social media. So we always know when you are down. We always know when you are broken. We always know when you are upset. We know every time you go through a breakup. We know every time you struggle. We always know because you use social media as your filter.
Some of us think that just because you have acquaintances, they have the right to your soul. Let me tell you: You owe people love. You do not owe everybody access. Access must be earned over consistency. I need to see that I can trust you with one piece of intimacy and see how you handle that afterwards. You put my business on Instagram? I know I cannot trust you. I love you. I cannot trust you. I love you. I cannot talk to you. I love you. You will never hear the deepest parts of my heart ever again.
I am just trying to help some of you have the courage to take inventory of everybody in your life and know: I can trust this brother with my heart. I can trust this sister with my heart. Cannot trust them. Love them. Cannot trust them.
So the Lord sets a relational boundary between the men. He leaves eight outside, takes three in. He is vulnerable in their presence. Not to mention, this is not the first time He has been vulnerable with these men. The Lord has been testing them over time. These are the same three men He takes to the top of a mountain and shows them that He was God in the flesh. So He trusted them with His glory. Now He trusted them with His sorrow. These are the same three men when He went into a man's house to heal his daughter—He told the other disciples, "Y'all stay outside." He took Peter, James, and John into the room and raised a dead girl from the grave. These are the same three men when the Lord is gone, He would trust them to lead the church.
This is the Lord modeling for you and me to have enough discernment to know who can handle your humanity and who cannot. Who can trust your vulnerability and who you cannot. This is Him setting relational boundaries.
And going a little further, he fell on his face and he prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)
So He sets another boundary. He leaves 11 men at the door. He leaves eight men at the door. He takes three men into the garden, then goes a little bit further from them, and talks to God alone. This teaches you and me that there are some things only between you and God. There are some things you keep to yourself. It is just you and God working this out in private.
Now, look at what He is saying to the Father. This is so powerful:
"Lord, if it is possible, please let this cup pass from me." (Matthew 26:39)
What is He saying? "God, if it is possible, let me not go through what I am about to face." He is being tempted, looking for an option out, trying to find another way to fulfill the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption.
The Lord knows what He is about to go through. So He is praying for another way to handle that. He says, "Can this cup pass from me?"
What is the cup? In the Old Testament, the cup represents wrath. It represents judgment. It represents hardship. What is inside the cup that night? Inside that cup is the fact that He is about to be betrayed. He is about to be crucified. He is about to be put to death. But what is at the bottom of the cup? What is at the bottom of the cup that He is most concerned about?
He is not the first person to be martyred. He is not the first person to face death. He is not the first person to give his life for Christianity. There is something at the bottom of the cup that He is most concerned about.
The fact that this human being who had never made a mistake, this human being who was sinless, for the first time now, He was about to come in contact with sin. For the first time in His entire life—past and present—He was about to come in contact with sin.
Why? Because on the cross when Christ dies there, He absorbs all of your sin and all of my sin and takes that all upon Himself on the cross so you could be set free from the wrath of God.
Now watch—I say that to some of you and it means nothing, right? It only means something to those of you who have been fed up with yourself at some point in time. Come on, man. Like, "Why am I always watching pornography? Why am I always masturbating? Why am I always angry? Why am I always jealous? Why am I always covetous?" Has anybody ever been mad at yourself? Like, "Why do you keep doing that? Why do you keep dating the same people?" It is the same problems in different legs. The hips don't change the behavior.
Am I the only one that has ever been in a moment and said, "Dang it, Philip. What is wrong with you?" Has anybody ever felt that before? Even one time? Has anybody been mad at yourself just one time?
Like, "Why did I mess up that business deal? Why did I lose that opportunity? Why did I lose that woman, that man?" Has anybody ever been mad at yourself?
You are mad at yourself because you are a sinner. That is yours alone. Imagine carrying the weight of yours and every human being that ever lived—past, present, future. How is that for weight?
And He knows for the first time He will be separated from the Father. That is why on the cross He cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" For the first time, the Father and the Son will be momentarily separated because of sin. The Father will have to turn His back on the Son and not stare at the Son. The Son now on the cross becomes a massive lump of sin—carrying all of your mistakes, your shame, your failure. All of that is strapped to Him and the Father has to back away from Him in that moment.
And so Jesus, not wanting to be separated from the Father, seeks for another option.
Okay, watch. I want to help some of you that be praying real shy—you know what you want and you tiptoe around God as if He does not already know. I am trying to help some of you watching to just be bold about your struggle.
This is the Lord giving you permission to tell God: "I am struggling with your will." "I know you are calling me to do this, but I am struggling with this. I know you are calling me to leave, and I am struggling with this. I know you are saying, 'Move to Atlanta to be a part of 2819,' but I am struggling with this." This is the Lord giving you permission to tell Him you are struggling with what He is asking you to do.
I am just trying to help some of you stop condemning yourself. He can handle your honesty.
And he came to his disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me for one hour?... Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41)
He comes back from prayer. He walks over into the garden. He sees Peter, James, and John sleeping. He leaves James and John sleeping. He taps Peter specifically.
"So, could you not stay up with me and pray for one hour, Peter?" (Matthew 26:40)
It is singular in Greek, not plural. "You, Peter, alone. You could not stay up with me for one hour in prayer." He did not talk to James and John. He left them sleeping. Watch—this is going to make sense in a second. "You, Peter, I am talking to you by yourself."
Then He says:
"Pray, Peter, lest you fall into temptation." (Matthew 26:41)
Now pay attention. He is talking to the man who in an hour from now is going to deny Him three times. He is talking to a man who in an hour from now is about to face the trial of his life. Watch. And because the Lord is all-knowing, He already knows the hell that Peter is going to go through when he walks out of that garden.
So He is telling him what to do to prepare him for that battle he is about to face.
I point this out to you in your text because I am trying to help some of you understand: When God gives you an instruction, He is giving you instructions to either prepare you for something that is coming or to protect you from something that is coming. That is why we got to learn to obey even if we don't understand.
The Lord already knew that what Peter needed was strength for his trial. He said to Peter:
"Your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41)
You know what He is saying? "You cannot trust this flesh." This skin that you and I are wrapped in has been infected by sin. That is why you are insecure. That is why you deal with shame. That is why you struggle with pornography. That is why you struggle with lust and masturbation. That is why you struggle with jealousy and greed. We all have been affected by sin.
And listen to me: If you don't put this thing under subjection, it will ruin relationships. It will destroy marriages. It will destroy friendships. It will ruin businesses. It will topple ministries if you don't put this flesh under subjection.
How do you do that? Prayer. Fasting. Bible reading. Community. This is why Paul said, "Put no confidence in your flesh." Why? This thing right here will ruin things in your life.
You don't believe me? We all can testify of relationships that got ruined. Marriages that got ruined. Business deals that got ruined. Jobs that got ruined. Opportunities that got ruined because of something we said or did in our sinful nature. This thing will shipwreck your life if it is out of control.
Peter is about to face the trial of his life. The Lord, who knows this, says to him, "Man, you better wake up and pray. You have no idea what is about to happen to you in an hour."
This is why you got to learn to trust Him even when you cannot trace Him. But when God is talking, you got to learn to trust it.
For example: My full-time executive leader who runs my itinerant ministry—when the opportunity came available for her to take that position, to travel with us on our travel team and run my office and handle all my itinerant ministry, she was working a corporate job. Watch, watch, watch. She felt the Spirit of God telling her, "Take the position with 2819." People around her were telling her, "Don't take the job. You cannot trust no church. You know, they selling chicken dinners. You don't know if you are going to be paying your bills. You cannot trust no church. You got a good corporate job. You are comfortable. Stay right there in your comfort."
She hears God telling her, "Take the job." She follows the Holy Spirit above the voices of men. She takes the job. Watch: Three months later, they are laying off people at her job. If it were you, you would be celebrating right now, right?
Three months later, her whole department is getting laid offs. She said, "Philip, I don't understand. The Lord was giving her an instruction."
Now watch. What if she did not obey? Now she is out two positions.
The Lord cares about everything you care about. He will speak to you about your business partners. He will speak to you about your business deals. He will speak to you about who to marry, who not to marry. He will speak to you about the person you are dating. He will talk to you about how to handle your finances. He will tell you, "Don't go. Don't take that trip." He will tell you "Don't date that person. Don't sign that contract." He will talk to you. And how do you trust? How do you not trust somebody that is all-knowing?
This is why we are wise to invite Him into every area of our life. Into our business, into our marriage, our dating, our parenting. We are wise to pray to Him about everything because He is all-knowing. He will tell you, "Don't put your name on that contract. Don't buy that house." He will tell you, "Leave that city and move to Atlanta to be a part of the fellowship of 2819."
Yes, He will. Yes, He will. "I feel the spirit of God telling me I need to move. I don't know if I should move or not. I don't know if I should move or not." Trust Him. Even when you cannot trace Him.
Peter, get up, my dude. Pray. You have no idea what you about to go through in an hour.
Whoever you are that is crying, listen to me. I do not know what that pain you are feeling is. I know my own pain. The Lord, He has already forgiven you for whatever mistakes you made. You need to take the wisdom you are learning right now and do differently starting tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, pray about everything and invite God into every area of your life.
"Lord, teach me how to parent. Teach me how to be a better leader. Teach me how to be a better businessman, a better businesswoman. Teach me how to date proper. Teach me how to be better in the community." Start inviting Him into other areas so you can hear Him protecting you and preparing you.
And again the second time he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)
Watch everybody. This is so powerful. I want to teach you something very important.
The first time he prayed to God he says, "If it is possible." So the first time He prays, He is looking for an out. Watch. The second time He prays, He accepts the fact He is not getting an out. He goes from saying, "If it is possible" to "Lord, if this cannot pass, your will be done."
Now listen to me carefully. In the parallel text in Luke, Luke writes that in this moment, when He prayed the second time, God sent an angel from heaven into the garden to strengthen Him in that moment.
Okay? So He is praying for God to deliver Him from a circumstance. The Father will not deliver Him, but the Father sends Him supernatural help. This is you learning that there are some things you are praying about that the Father will not change, but the Father will give you supernatural help.
This is us seeing the unseen realm. In the unseen realm there are things you will be going through. You could be crying, praying, stressing, struggling, depressed—and God is helping you in that unseen realm. This is you crying in the middle of the night because God will not answer a prayer. He may not take you out, but He will send you help in the middle of what you are going through.
This is me being loved by half the country and hated by half the country, and they looking at me and saying, "But that is my son." This is me going through 11 months of hell and the Lord not changing my circumstance but helping me in my circumstance. "That is my son. I will help him. That is my prophet. I will help him. That is my mouthpiece. I will help him. That is my soldier. I will help him. He will not be removed from this trial until I am ready. But I will give him strength in the middle of this trial."
This is me telling some of you: Some of the things you survived, you were not strong enough to survive. But the only reason you survived is because in the unseen realm, the Father heard your cries. He did not take you out. But He sent you supernatural help. Is anybody thankful for a God that sends supernatural help?
When you have been through hell, the Father has sent many of you supernatural help. I see tears falling over there. I am telling some of y'all: You were not strong enough to survive some of the things you have been through. This is important for you to know.
Watch this. Who is the one praying? Jesus. Let me ask you a question: Did he ever make a mistake and sin? No. But did the Father not answer His prayer?
Watch. The Father did not answer the prayer of a perfect man. What am I explaining? He did not answer His prayer because the Lord did anything wrong. He did not answer His prayer because it was not in accordance with His perfect will.
This is me helping some of you who the Lord has not answered some of your prayers and you did not do nothing wrong. He is not mad. He is not angry. He is not upset. He is just not answering that prayer because it goes against His perfect will. This is you being freed from self-condemnation, from beating yourself up and tearing yourself down and saying, "What is wrong with me and why He is not answering my prayer?"
No. Sometimes the unanswered prayer has nothing to do with the person praying. It has everything to do with what you are asking God for—it is outside of His will. Watch. So although the Lord is asking for something outside the Father's will, the Father will not take Him out of that. But the Father sends Him help.
The Lord did not heal my father. He is not alive to see what happened with his son. But maybe in those last six months of his life, maybe God sent my father help that he could face his death with courage.
He finds the disciples sleeping again. They look to me like the American church sleeping when they should be about their Father's business.
You know what is happening right now in the UK? They are mandating a chip—an identity chip. They are mandating that in 12 months, everybody in the UK has to have an identity chip. When the scripture says in the last days, everybody will have to take a mark in their hand or on their forehead—and without that mark, they cannot buy or sell. They have to have some kind of identity chip to function in society. And they are about to mandate that in the UK.
I only point that out to you because I keep telling you that time is running out and Jesus is coming back very soon. And people are playing church and we don't have all that much time left.
And he came and said to the disciples, "Sleep and take your rest." ... (Matthew 26:45)
Look, since y'all are so tired, sleep. Take your rest. You know what that is called? Grace for your weakness. The Lord doesn't even flex on them. He sees their weakness. He sees their humanity. He says, "You know what? Grace, sleep. Take your rest."
Look what He says next:
"The hour has come. The Son of Man is now betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, and let us be going. See, my betrayer is coming." (Matthew 26:45-46)
He sees them sleeping. He looks out at the backside of the garden. He sees torches and lights in the middle of the night. Here comes Judas. Here come Roman soldiers. Here come the final hours of the life of Christ. By the next morning at 9:00 a.m., He will be nailed to a cross.
I want to leave you with something before I close. Whatever you are going through right now—whatever mistakes you have made, whatever failures you have experienced—everything in life will either be a classroom or a coffin. It will be a coffin that buries you or a classroom that teaches you. It is your choice.
Every mistake, every failure, everything you have done—you either make it a coffin that kills you or a classroom that teaches you. You are no different than the person with the microphone. I got things I regret. I cannot go back and change them. So now I got to make a choice with all my failures that are behind me: I am either going to let it be a coffin that buries me forever, or I am going to let it be a classroom that teaches me to be better as I go forward.
I am a better man not because of my mountain tops but because of the things I have learned from my mistakes and my failures. That make sense?
Be encouraged. We all make mistakes. But in life, your problems and your failures will either be a coffin or a classroom. It is your choice.
