A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of January 11-15, 2021
MONDAY
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
Luke 22:39-45
Jesus is about to be tempted. A temptation is a situation that affords us an opportunity to refuse God’s will. The Bible is full of stories about humans who have faced a similar trial. This was not Jesus’ first and only temptation to do His own will, and escape surrender to the will of God.
We see Him in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry, being offered an easy way to prominence. Jesus refused to accept anything less than the Father’s will, which always brings about His glory. When God’s will is established on the earth, then the glory follows. God has always planned for nothing but His glory to cover the whole earth. Surrender to His will brings the glory.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Acts 10:38 ~ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
January 11: Genesis 12, Matthew 11, Nehemiah 1, Acts 11
January 12: Genesis 13, Matthew12, Nehemiah 2, Acts 12
January 13: Genesis 14, Matthew 14, Nehemiah 3, Acts 13
January 14: Genesis 15, Matthew 15, Nehemiah 4, Acts 14
January 15: Genesis 16, Matthew 15, Nehemiah 5, Acts 15
January 16: Genesis 17, Matthew 16, Nehemiah 6, Acts 16
January 17: Genesis 18, Matthew 17, Nehemiah 7, Acts 17
TUESDAY
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
Luke 22:39-45
Help came to Jesus, just as help comes to each one of us who cries out for it. The moment He surrendered to the will of the Father, the glory of God came in the form of an angel, strengthening Him. There are times when we need human help and there is time when we need supernatural strength. God knows who to send to help us. In our time of need, we need to see the glory of God.
In our time of need, we need to surrender all to the will of God. We can find no greater friend in our time of struggle. What was Jesus’ struggle? Many say He did not want to be separated from the Father, as is expressed in His words on the cross asking the Lord why He had forsaken Him. Some believe that as a human being He despised the shame of being hung on the cross, as is reflected in Hebrews 12:2. We may never know what the temptation was, but we do know the answer for every test.
WEDNESDAY
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
Luke 22:39-45
The answer in all situations is total surrender to God. That is your way of escape, so you can bear it. The bible says that in every trial, God is faithful and will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but gives a way of escape, that you may bear it. It did not say your discomfort would end immediately, but He would allow you to escape and bear it. It somehow seems a little contradictory… escape and bear it, but that is precisely God’s way.
God has ordained that we be more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We are conquerors through Him. When we abide in His peace, His love and joy, we can endure anything! How do you find this place? Through totally trusting Him to bring you out. Don’t try to escape on your own. He knows how to deliver the righteous out of temptation, and He is mighty to deliver!
THURSDAY
Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
Luke 22:39-45
When we endure, we receive His glory. When we allow Him to bring us out instead of seeking our human will, then we will have an impartation of His life that will keep us through many situations, and allow us to strengthen others, but we must take His way of escape… yielding to the will of God.
When you escape into His will, you are in the best place for you. When you seek your own will, you may get into deeper water, or hotter fire. If you are in a near drowning situation, lifeguards warn not to fight the water, but to remain calm and try to cooperate with the water, navigating your way to safety and trying to swim with the current. Staying calm is the same as yielding to God’s will.
When you receive His peace, then you can stay in the situation until victory and deliverance come. Human will always has a “give up” point. Choosing God’s will separates the overcomer from the one who is overcome. The overcoming Christian is the one who is filled with God’s glory, because he endures.
FRIDAY
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”
They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
John 18:1-11
Jesus in the garden has just prayed a prayer of what we call dedication or consecration. But I believe it was much more than that. He completely surrendered His will to the Father’s will.
Immediately after this prayer He was tested. The men stated they were looking for Jesus. When The Lord said, “I am He,” His arrestors fell to the ground. This had never happened before. A new power had come into Him. It was total power over His life but now augmented by the Father’s will.
When we surrender totally to God, we find His empowerment, not just our own. We still have a will, but now joined to the Father, we have His strength as never before. Those we admire who have done great exploits in God have this in common: His will, not their our own. It leads to the miraculous, the unthinkable, the glory.