Wake Up

Introduction

The statistics say that for one reason or another, we aren’t getting enough sleep. The Mayo Clinic says that almost all adults are sleeping less than needed, and as a result, struggle to get up in the mornings, and function throughout the day. 43% of people surveyed said that sleepiness during the day is interfering with their work. A survey in 2002, by the National Sleep Foundation found that 51% of adults said they had trouble sleeping at least a few night per week, and almost 1/3 have trouble sleeping every night of the week.i

While many of us struggle with physical sleep, it is unfortunately the opposite when it comes to spiritual things. Far too many people are spiritually sound asleep. They can’t see the light of truth because their spiritual eyes are shut. They can’t hear the call of Christ upon their lives because the sound of their own snoring is drowning Him out. In Matthew 26, we find the record of Christ’s toil and anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. The cross was just hours away, and our Lord’s humanity wrestled with all that trial would require. Gethsemane is one of the most majestic and yet mysterious scenes in the entire life of our Lord. In the midst of this cosmic struggle there is something very unusual and almost unbelievable. In the midst of His agonizing with the Father, Jesus pauses to check on the three disciples He had brought with Him. Verse 40 says, “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep…” The Lord himself seems somewhat taken back by this, and asks this question, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?”

This question from the lips of our Lord ought to serve today as a divine alarm clock, with no snooze button. This question ought to ring in our ears, and rouse us from our slumbering spiritual state. Like the disciples that night in the garden, we need to wake up! There are big and blessed things available to us, but only if we are awake. As we examine this incident in the Garden of Gethsemane, we are reminded of three truths to which we all need to be awakened. Notice first of all, we need to wake up and hear:

I. The Lord’s Invitation To Us

In our text in verse 38, there is a verse that is inconspicuously precious. If you read it too quickly, you might miss the sweetness of it. In verse 38, Jesus says to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, event unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

The eternal Son of God, all-powerful and self-sufficient, wanted in this most critical moment, to be with His beloved disciples. He invited them to “tarry” with Him, and to “watch” with Him. In much the same way, the Lord Jesus invites us into His presence, and asks us to wait and watch with Him. As we look at verse 38, we notice a couple of things about this invitation. Notice first of all that this invitation is:

A. To Sit With Him

Notice in verse 38, the word “tarry”. Jesus wanted these disciples to “tarry” with Him. The word “tarry” is translated from a little Greek word that means to remain, or to dwell. The word speaks of staying and waiting. The Lord asked these men to stay and to wait with Him. He wasn’t asking for any action or work or labor. He just wanted them to sit down, be still, and stay with Him. Of all the adjectives that could be used to describe our lives, stillness is probably not on the list. If we have to wait and be still, it usually aggravates and irritates us because we are sure there are other things we could be doing.

The truth we draw from this text, is that as we are running around, busying ourselves with what we consider the “important” things of life, the Lord Jesus invites us to come away with Him, settle down, sit down, and just “tarry” and stay in His presence. We like a fast-food Christianity. We want a Jesus that will be satisfied to simply exchange pleasantries in passing as we hurry on our way. We want a quick conversation, but what He is offering is a quiet communion. He invites us to sit down, stop our incessant running, and tarry with Him. Turn your cell phone off, park the car, unplug the TV, shut down the computer, and wake up to the Master’s invitation. He invites you to sit with Him.

As we look at this invitation in verse 38, we see not only that this invitation is to sit with Him, but notice also that this invitation is:

B. To Share With Him

There are two words that I have not been able to get over as I have studied verse 38. Notice that the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “…tarry ye here, and watch with me.” Look again at those last two words –“with me.”

That night in the garden, God the Father and God the Son were talking among themselves. The Lord Jesus was engaged in earnest prayer. He certainly did not need the disciples to help Him. He could do this on His own. Yet, don’t miss the fact that He invited them to share with Him in this historic and heavenly conversation. Though He did not require their presence; He requested it. He invited them to share with Him. Unfortunately, far too often we think of Christ only in terms of what He has done for us, or what we are doing for Him. What we fail to consider are the many glorious things He wants us to do with Him. Like the disciples that night, the Lord invites us to share with Him in times of meditation and prayer. He lovingly and longingly calls for us to take time to share with Him in private and personal times of retreat and communion.

A young, newlywed couple with no money to go anywhere, or do anything, sit together on a couch in a cramped apartment. They are as happy as they can be, because they are together. The circumstance they are in is secondary to the fact that they are sharing that circumstance.

We must wake up and see that the Christian life is less about going and doing, and more about sharing. Hear the Lord’s gracious invitation. “Tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

We need to be awakened and hear the Lord’s invitation to us, but notice also secondly that we need to wake up and hear:

II. The Lord’s Indictment of Us

After the Lord asked His disciples to wait with Him, verse 39 tells us that He went on a little further from them, and fell down and began to pray. In the midst of His of prayer, He comes back to where the disciples were, and verse 40 says that He, “…findeth them asleep.” No matter how many times I read that, it surprises me. In light of where they were, and Who they were with, it seems unbelievable that they fell asleep! The Lord seemed surprised as well, and He indicts them with this question. He asks, “What, could ye not watch with me for one hour?”

I fear that this indicting question could as easily be asked of our day as it was that night in the garden. Notice a couple of things this question implies. Notice first of all that this question points to the fact that:

A. They Were Unaware

They were asleep that night in the garden. Christ asked them if it was so hard to just stay awake with Him for one hour. This was not just any other night. Within minutes, the Roman guards led by traitorous Judas would come and arrest the Lord, taking Him to His eventual death on the cross.

Surely, had the disciples truly realized the significance of that night, they would have been able to combat their fatigue and waited alertly with their Lord. We shouldn’t be too hard on the poor disciples. In light of the critical day in which we live, and the shortness of time we each have, it is equally astonishing that so many of us are spiritually snoozing. The world around us is perishing, the devil is stealing the next generation out from under us, and we are so spiritually drowsy, that we can’t wake up for an hour’s worth of legitimate spiritual watchfulness.

Shortly after the 1912 election, new President Woodrow Wilson went to visit one of his elderly aunts. She asked him what he had been doing lately. He said, “Well, I was just elected president.” She said, “That’s nice, president of what?” He said, “The United States.” She gave him a strange look and said, “Don’t be silly.”ii

Like the sleeping disciples, many of us are ignorantly unaware of the importance of where we are, and Who it is we serve.

This indictment question not only pointed to the fact that they were unaware, but notice also further that:

B. They Were Unavailable

In verse 39, the Lord is on His face, agonizing before His Father. For some reason, He pauses in His prayer, and comes to the disciples, only to find them unavailable. Perhaps He was going to ask them to pray with Him. Perhaps He was going to tell them something important. Either way, they were unavailable because they were unawake.

Oh, that we knew the times our Lord wished to speak to us, but for whatever reason we were unavailable. He came to call on us, and we were busy with other things, and unable to respond to Him. Think about your day. Are you ever available to talk to Christ? If He were to come to you and through His Holy Spirit call your name, would you stop your work or your play and make yourself available to Him?

Have you ever dialed a number and got this message, “The party you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please hang up and try your call again later.” When you hear that, you feel like saying, “I need this party later. I need them now.”

I fear that the Lord Jesus is calling some your names from day to day, but He is finding you unavailable to take His call.

There is a third truth we draw from this passage. We need to wake up to the Lord’s invitation to us, and the Lord’s indictment of us, but notice also lastly that we need to awaken to:

III. The Lord’s Instruction For Us

Like the Great Physician He is, the Lord has a prescription for His sleepy disciples. Notice verse 41. He says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Lord invites to come apart and abide with Him in private communion. He indicts for being sleepy when we ought to be awake and available. Also, lovingly, He instructs us on how to keep our eyes open and hearts close to Him.

Notice a couple of truths we draw from the instructions of verse 41. Notice first of all:

A. We Need To Be Cautious

The Lord told Peter and the others to “watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” If they had been more in tune to the moment, and had joined their Lord in watching and praying, they would have been much less likely to have failed Him by falling asleep.

Notice that word “watch”. It speaks of being awake and alert. It means to be on guard and aware of your surroundings. Most of us go through life like kids skipping across a mine field. We act as if there are no dangers and no entrapments. You would think by the way we live our Christian lives that there is no Devil and no enemy out to get us. We don’t pray very much because we really aren’t too concerned about anything.

The Lord’s words to His blurry-eyed disciples are of great value in our day. We must spend less time playing and more time praying. We must quit being so casual, and start being more cautious. We must heed the words of 1 Peter 5:8. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

On Christmas day, 2007, in sunny San Francisco, several people filed into the zoo, hoping to enjoy observing the animals. By the end of the day, one of those patrons, 17 year-old Carlos Sousa was dead, and two others were injured. A three-year old, 300 pound Siberian Tiger had somehow escaped her pen, and had attacked the unsuspecting young men.

Listen Christian, don’t play around, there is a lion on the loose. Everyday, people are devoured because they were not more cautious. The Lord’s instructions in verse 41, remind us not only that we need to be cautious, but also that:

B. We Need To Be Conscious

The Lord told His disciples to watch and pray. Then He added this statement. He said, “…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Lord was aware of something the disciples had not realized. I am sure their desire was to be with the Lord, to watch with Him, to wait with Him, and to pray with Him. That was their desire, but it was not what they actually did. Their spiritual willingness was overpowered by a physical weakness. Their physical desires and needs were a stronger force in their lives than their spiritual desires. We need to be conscious of what our Lord said. As long as we are alive, we will have to wage war with our flesh. Our bodies will want to do that which is counterproductive to our spirit. Understand and recognize that while your heart may have good intentions, your body will often have strong contentions.

I read once about a man that had two dogs that were always fighting. Someone asked him, “Which one wins?” He plainly answered, “Usually, it’s the one I feed the most.”

When the struggle begins between the flesh and the spirit, the winner will usually be the one that has received the most nourishment and attention. The instructions of the Lord remind us to always be conscious of the fact that our spiritual desires are in a fight with our physical weaknesses.

In 1819, Washington Irving published a short story called “Rip Van Winkle”. Most of you are familiar with the story. Old Rip, in an effort to get away from his nagging wife, heads off into the woods, and falls asleep for an amazing twenty years. Among other things, Rip misses the Revolutionary War during his two decade nap.

A spiritual sleepiness and lethargy infects the church today. Many are missing critical and important things while they nap away their Christian life.

While we are sleeping the Lord Jesus is inviting us, indicting us, and instructing us. He stands with a broken heart, and asks us, His groggy people, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” May His question rouse our sleepy hearts.

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i http://www.apollolight.com/sleep_stats.html; accessed 5/1/08 ii www.sermonillustrations.com; accessed 5/1/08