Sermon for Maundy Thursday­4/20/00­"The Peter in All of Us"
Text: Mark 14: 32-42
Title: "I'm Just Worn-Out"
Introduction: All of us have "hit the wall" physically/emotionally/mentally

Theme: We can use our exhaustion as an excuse to sin by neglecting our duty or we can turn to the one who can fill us up with the strength to carry the day.

Reason why you and I become worn out

Common causes within our life (vs. 33):

  1. Stress of living in a world torn apart by sin and its consequence
  2. Burdened thoughts in grappling with guilt/the troubles of life/care for others
  3. Overwhelming sadness--failure, betrayal, death
  4. Physical/emotional exhaustion­lack of sleep/emotionally charged day (38, 40)
  5. ILL.: TURNING TRIAL INTO INNER STRENGTH
  6. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4: 13
  1. Sin-generated causes within our life
  1. Temptation--stress of finding willpower to fight off Satan (watch/pray--38)
  1. ­ILLUS.: TEMPTATION AND WILLPOWER
  2. ­"Temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." 1 Cor. 10: 13
  1. Sinful weakness of my flesh--spirit is willing but flesh weak (vs. 38)
  1. ­Peter promised to stand by Jesus but couldn't even stay awake to pray (37-38)
  1. ­"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank god! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." Romans 7: 24-25
  1. Unconfessed sin--living in a broken relationship with God and others
      1. ­ "When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Psalm 32: 3
      2. ­Today is the day to repent, confess, and move out of draining stress of sin

Ways that I can overcome the weariness of sin's impact on my life

Come to Jesus, alone (solitude)

  1. ILL.:If you can't stand solitude, maybe you bore others too. Bob Gordon Saturday Evening Post
  2. Not isolation but getting away from pooled ignorance to God's strength/counsel
  1. Come with Jesus in prayer (prayer)
  1. Just like Jesus learning to go to my one remaining "life-line"=prayer
  2. Be specific as Jesus was (35)
  3. "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire." Ps. 37: 4
  1. Come by Jesus, alone (trust)
  1. ILL.: TRUST­$1.10 WATERMELON
  2. It involves having a relationship with the Father through Jesus (Abba-36)
  3. It involves standing on His power not yours (All things possible-36)
  4. It involves submission (not my will­36)

 

INNER STRENGTH DEVELOPED IN TRIAL

In her book First We Quit Our Jobs, Marilyn J. Abraham writes: "We signed up for a hike with a ranger, who told us a remarkable thing: when a tree's life is threatened, stressed by the elements of fire, drought, or other calamity, it twists beneath its bark to reinforce and make itself stronger. On the surface, this new inner strength may not be visible, for the bark often continues to give the same vertical appearance. Only when the exterior is stripped away, or when the tree is felled, are its inner struggles revealed." God can use our grief to strengthen us in ways that are not visible to the world.

TEMPTATION AND WILLPOWER

Toad baked some cookies. "These cookies smell very good," said Toad.
He ate one. "And they taste even better," he said. Toad ran to Frog's house. "Frog, Frog," cried Toad, "taste these cookies that I have made."Frog ate one of the cookies, "These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!" said Frog. Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another. "You know, Toad," said Frog, with his mouth full, "I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.""You are right," said Toad. "Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop." Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl."Frog," said Toad, "let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop." Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie."We must stop eating!" cried Toad as he ate another."Yes," said Frog, reaching for a cookie, "we need willpower.""What is willpower?" asked Toad."Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do," said Frog."You mean like trying hard not to eat all these cookies?" asked Toad."Right," said Frog.Frog put the cookies in a box. "There," he said. "Now we will not eat any more cookies.""But we can open the box," said Toad."That is true," said Grog.Frog tied some string around the box. "There," he said. "Now we will not eat any more cookies.""But we can cut the string and open the box." said Toad."That is true," said Frog.Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf. "There," said Frog. "Now we will not eat any more cookies.""But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box," said Toad."That is true," said Frog.Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box.Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice. "Hey, birds, here are cookies!" Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away."Now we have no more cookies to eat," said Toad sadly. "Not even one.""Yes," said Frog, "but we have lots and lots of willpower.""You may keep it all, Frog," said Toad. "I am going home now to bake a cake." Renewal, Ray & Anne Ortlund, 1989, Navpress

TRUST

Years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on one of those hot, sultry Alabama days. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It's $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and said, "All I have is a dollar." "That's ok," the proprietor said, "I'll trust you for it." "Well, that's mighty nice of you," Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon, started to leave. Hey, where are you going?" the man behind the counter demanded. "I'm going outside to eat my watermelon." "But you forgot to give me the dollar!" "You said you would trust me for it," Parker called back. "Yeah, but I meant I would trust you for the dime!" "Mack," Parker replied, "You weren't going to trust me at all. You were just going to take a ten-cent gamble on my integrity!" Haddon Robinson