Jesus Obeys His Dad

Mark 14:32-52

Psalm 42:5 (The Message)
⁵Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God— soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God.

In this text, I want to ask three questions that will help us follow God’s will for our lives.

What we learn about Jesus…

1. He prays (14:32, 35, 36, 38-39)

Abba Father (Relationship to God)
All things are possible for you (God’s Power)
Remove this cup/may this hour pass (Honest request)
Not my will, but Your will (God’s Plan)

2. He wanted some friends for support (32-34, 37, 40-41)

3. He is distressed/troubled/grieved to the point of death (33-34)

4. He is obedient to God’s will (41-42)

5. He fights with different weapons (48-49): Scripture and Prayer

What do we learn about the disciples?

1. They are still following Jesus until the arrest (32/50)

2. Sleeping (37, 40, 41)

3. Dumbfounded—Didn’t know what to say (40)

Application: Prayer Notebook.

Do you want a tool that will help you watch and pray? Here are some suggestions to help you stay focused in your prayer time:

Try writing out your prayer requests daily in a notebook. It is hard to fall asleep when you are writing. Plus, by writing your prayer requests you have a written record to track the work of God in your life and the lives of others.
Take seven sheets of paper, one for each day of the week, and put particular requests down that you want to pray for throughout the week. Some areas you may want to pray for are: family, friends, non-Christians, wisdom, church, missions, government, non-Christian groups…
Have another sheet of paper that you write down requests when you hear about them in the course of the week. On this sheet of paper, write down requests that you hear at church, Bible Study, friends, etc. Pray over these requests daily for a couple of weeks. Then, get a new paper and start fresh. You may want to transfer some of the requests over to the new sheet of paper.

What do we learn about ourselves?

1. Have we been so determined about particular area of God’s Will that we prayed so hard that it hurt?

2. How many times do we yield to the flesh instead of being in tune with the Spirit of God?

3. Have we been obedient to the call of God in our life, knowing if we are obedient it will hurt?

4. Have we bailed on Jesus when things got frightening?

Bottom Line: Jesus obeyed His Dad. Aren’t you glad that He was obedient? In closing, I want all of us to pray that God will reveal one action that we need to take this week that will be in accordance with His will. Then, by next Sunday, follow through on what God reveals to you. You may need to make a phone call, write a letter, or send an email to someone you have offended or who has offended you. Pray about it, and then obey your Dad.