Journey to Gethsemane — E.A. Johnston

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Superficiality and Self-Preservation in the Church

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. I will stop there, friends. We go from that tender scene to this observation of mine, that there is a lot of superficiality in our churches today. There is silliness in the pulpits and stupidity in the pew.

Many pastors are just entertainers today, and those listening are merely pew potatoes who sit and soak just enough nonsense before they go have lunch. Everybody is into self-preservation today. Most church members don't live in their Bibles or stay on their knees, but you can be sure to find them either on the golf course or in a stadium watching a ball game or transfixed to their TV.

And they're more concerned about who won the latest ball game or who got the latest Oscar than they are about going deeper with God in a deeper experience of Him, in true soul searching, a true soul searching experience where they let God strip them down to nothing but the clay that they are and lay everything they have on the altar for God to do with it as He pleases.

The Cost of Following Jesus to Gethsemane

A lot of Christians are willing to follow Jesus as far as Canaan or even follow Him to the Sea of Galilee, but very few want to journey with Him to Gethsemane. For it is there, in that agony of the garden experience, that your laziness for Christ is exposed under the searching light of the Holy Ghost while you sleep your watch away.

It is there, in that soul-stripping garden, that the rottenness of your heart is revealed as you turn tailcoat and run to save your skin because self-preservation is your ruling desire. It is there, at your Gethsemane, where God's spotlight shines upon you to such a bright degree that all the vermin run for cover as they spill out of your rotten heart until you're stripped down to nothing, you have nothing, you are nothing but the crumbling clay that you are made of.

Surrendering What Is Most Dear

It is there, in that night of excruciating soul-searching, that everything you have is placed on the altar for God, even your most darling Isaac. I'll never forget the pastor who shared with me how in the midst of a Holy Ghost revival at his church, where lives were being transformed right and left, that one night late he was alone with God in the sanctuary and God asked something from him.

He intimated to me that it was his son that God was asking for. All I know is that when God asks for a thing, we must be at the place of surrender to give him that thing, whatever it is, no matter how dear to our heart.

The Gethsemane Mark on Personal Ministry

Let me ask you, friend, have you had your Gethsemane experience yet? Brother preacher, have you been there? Is there a mark on your ministry from that night of wrestling with God and night of surrender?

When you stand in the pulpit, does heaven come down? When you pray, does God show up? Have you had your Gethsemane experience, where you were so tired of the ordinary and sick and tired of the mediocre that you're ready for the extraordinary, no matter the cost?

Surrendering to God’s Will

Have you been there? Have you come to that place, friend, where you meet with your God in agony of soul and you get to the place where you can sincerely say, not my will, but thine be done? I'm going to challenge you, friend, to go past your brookhedron on your way there and to cross your own Rubicon and come to the place of your own personal Gethsemane.

The Transforming Fruit of Gethsemane

Why am I asking you to do this, you may ask? I believe I can promise you two things if you do. You'll have a better look at your own heart and a clearer look at your crucified Savior. The experience can be life-changing to you and life-changing to those who come in contact with you.

Let us pray.