Jesus and the Father's Will

 

Luke 22:39-46

And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and they followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

 

Jesus often went with His disciples to the Mount of Olives. Jesus could have possibly avoided being found and arrested if He would have deviated from His regular activities. Jesus didn’t let threats or intimation or other’s expectations or opinions divert Him from doing the Father’s will.

 

Our lives as followers of Jesus are to be directed by Jesus, not our feelings or other’s opinions.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is following Jesus, not my emotions or popular opinion.

 

Jesus tells His disciples that they are to pray, not give into temptation. Being tempted is not sin. Scripture tells us that Jesus was tempted just like us but He didn’t sin.

 

Our desire should be not to sin and to pray for the Holy Spirit to strength us and equip us to say no to sin.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being tempted but, by the Holy Spirit, not letting it lead to sin in our lives.

 

Jesus prays if there is a way to avoid the cup of suffering He was about to experience, to not have to drink it, but not Jesus’ will but the Father’s will is what He wanted to do.

 

Humanly Jesus was not looking forward to experiencing the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering He was about to endure. But Jesus says, “Not what I want but what the Father wants”.

 

We as followers of Jesus are to be like Him and seek the Father’s will and want to do the Father’s will and do the Father’s will.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is doing the Father’s will, not our will, no matter the circumstances.

 

Jesus was experiencing such stress that as He prayed, He actually sweated blood.

 

Jesus understands the stress that you and I go through. He is able to help us in our stress and anxiety. He went through great stress and still remained faithful and obeyed the Father’s will.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is looking to the Holy Spirit to be our hope and peace in the midst of stressful living.

 

Jesus comes back to His disciples and encourages them and then goes out to meet those who are coming to arrest Him.

 

We as followers of Jesus have all we need in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to meet life and overcome.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is, with total dependence in God, meeting life and, by God’s power, overcoming.

 

With Our Loving and Powerful God

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe