Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A Gethsemane Disciple……..


May the God of peace,
who brought back the great shepherd of the sheep,
our Lord Jesus, from the dead by the blood of the eternal covenant,
 equip you with every good thing to do his will,
by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory forever and always. Amen.”    Hebrews 13:20-21 CEB

Gethsemane not only shows me how to overcome fear, but how to succeed in my Christian walk. 

In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed a prayer, “Not My will, but Thine be done.”  On Calvary, Jesus shouted in triumph, “It is [satisfactorily] finished [completed].”  (Luke 22:42, John 19:30)

It was in Gethsemane that Jesus sowed the seeds of victory on Calvary.  I will be faced with countless Calvary’s and the only way I can prepare for them is to go through Gethsemane.

I must be a Gethsemane disciple.   Gethsemane was not an isolated experience for Jesus; He went there “as was His custom.”  (Luke 22:39)   Spiritually, His whole life was a Gethsemane; He was constantly facing the enemy’s alternatives, He was continually deciding to do the Father’s will.  

The more selfish a person is, the less he will experience Gethsemane.  He has no crisis, no agony, and therefore no victory.  

Believers who live in the atmosphere of Gethsemane constantly reap victory.

Gethsemane divides disciples into three groups:  those who decide to ignore God’s will, those who decide to consider God’s will and those who decide to DO God’s will.

Victory comes only to the one who chooses to enact God’s will!

I can avoid Gethsemane if I choose to do so, but I cannot avoid Calvary.  The tragedy is that if I avoid Gethsemane, I will be in poor condition to face my Calvary.

The glorious sequence of “Calvary, resurrection and ascension” starts in Gethsemane.

Lord, let me say honestly, “I’ll go with You through the garden!”

Then Jesus will respond by saying, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”  Rev. 3:21 NIV

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