Matthew 26:39, 42-44 (NKJV) “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” …Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
The prayer of consecration is a prayer that seeks the will of God for our lives. We pray “if it is your will” because we don’t know the will of God. However, this prayer is not easy to pray because praying “not my will, but as you will” requires us to lay down our desires and wants at the feet of Jesus and acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in our lives.
Jesus was 100% man and 100% God, and His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the extent of shedding blood because of what He had to go through. Yet, Jesus was submissive to God by praying to the Father regarding God’s will, not just once but three times in v39, v42 and v44 respectively. Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane with two wills but came out with only the Father’s will. It can be challenging to our flesh to live out a consecrated life because we need to bring our flesh into submission to the Spirit. However, in choosing to be yoked with God, we are allowing Him to be the stronger partner in the calling of our lives. All of us will come to a situation where instead of doing what we like, we will do what is right in God’s eyes and plan. Although righteousness is imputed to us, sanctification and consecration is a lifelong process. Consecration is something that all Christians should be doing, and God has made it possible through the Holy Spirit living in us.
In His moment of despair, Jesus did not ask to receive anything. He asked, “if it is possible” (v39) because He didn’t know if it was possible, so He was praying to the Father to see if there was any alternative. Nonetheless, Jesus submitted to the will of the Father when He knew what he was supposed to do, even if it meant going through tremendous suffering.
From this passage, we learn from Jesus that we should pray about the will of God for our lives, submit ourselves to God’s will, and pray repeatedly until God’s will is known. Living a consecrated life is a choice, and when we learn to walk in His will by surrendering ourselves to Him, we find ourselves living a life with joy, satisfaction of the soul and contentment of the spirit.
John 6:38 (NKJV) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Sermon Series: It’s January 1st, 2023!
分别为圣的生活方式
马太福音26：39，42-44 他就稍往前走，俯伏在地，祷告说：”我父啊，如果可能，求你使这杯离开我。然而，不是照我所愿的，而是照你所愿的。”… 他第二次又去祷告说：”我父啊，这杯若不能离开我，必须我喝，就愿你的旨意成全。” 他又来，见他们睡着了，因为他们的眼睛困倦。耶稣又离开他们，第三次去祷告，说的话跟先前一样。
分别为圣的祷告是一种寻求神在我们生命中旨意的祷告。我们祷告“如果是你的旨意”，是因为我们不知道神的旨意。然而，这样的祷告并不容易，因为祷告“不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思”要求我们将自己的欲望和要求放在耶稣的脚前，并承认基督在我们生命中的主权。
耶稣既是百分之百的人，也是百分之百的神，因为将要经历的事情使祂的灵魂悲伤到流血的地步。然而，耶稣通过祷告向父神表示顺服神的旨意，不仅一次，而是分别在39节、42节和44节中三次祷告。耶稣进入客西马尼园时有两个意愿，但出来时只有父神的意愿。活出一种分别为圣的生命对我们的肉体来说可能是具有挑战性的，因为我们需要使我们的肉体顺服于圣灵。然而，选择与神同负一轭，就是允许祂成为我们生命的呼召中成为更强大的伴侣。我们所有人都将面临这样一种情况，即我们不再按照自己的喜好行事，而是按照神眼中和计划中看为正的事。虽然我们被称为义，但成圣和分别为圣是一个终身的过程。分别为圣是每个基督徒都应该做的事情，而且神通过住在我们里面的圣灵使之成为可能。
在绝望的时刻，耶稣没有要求得到任何东西。祂问道：“如果可能的话”（第39节），因为祂不知道是否可能，所以祂祷告父神，看是否有其他的选择。然而，当耶稣知道自己应该做什么时，即使这意味着经历巨大的苦难，祂还是顺服于父神的旨意。
从这段经文中，我们从耶稣那里学到，我们应当祷告神对我们生命的旨意，顺服于神的旨意，并不断祷告直到知道神的旨意为止。活出分别为圣的生命是一种选择，当我们学会通过将自己完全交托给神而按照祂的旨意行走时，我们会发现自己活出了一个充满喜乐的生命，心欢喜，灵快乐。
约翰福音6：38 因为我从天上降下来，不是要按自己的意愿行，而是要遵行差我来那位的旨意。
讲章系列：2023年1月1日
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