Camping, Faith, and Sushi

Ray Comfort 1:04

I had my Gethsemane experience two weeks after I saved . Mark seems to have had his in 1994 . Remember you were saying you just laid it all out . You just sweat drops of blood . You say I'm giving up the battle not my will , but yours to be done . And I think it happened to me two weeks after I saved , once the dust had settled and I began to become aware of what had actually happened , that I'd found immortality , everlasting life . This wasn't something to be trifled with . This wasn't just a change of lifestyle or a new sport . This was something worthy of my life being dedicated to . And that's what I did in that moment And that was my Gethsemane experience . Not my will , but yours to be done .

Emeal Zwayne 1:48

Way down in the jungle where nobody goes . There's a boogie woogie washing woman washing her clothes , with a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there . There's a boogie woogie washer woman washing her clothes .

Oscar Navarro 2:01

Scotty , if you can just cut that .

Emeal Zwayne 2:03

Just eradicate it . Camp songs Oh , I love camp songs .

Ray Comfort 2:07

Is that from the 1980s ? advertising something ?

Emeal Zwayne 2:10

No , it was a camp song . When I was in high school I did ROP . You guys remember ROP ? Nope , ROP classes .

Oscar Navarro 2:19

Oh yeah , yeah , military ROP That's .

Emeal Zwayne 2:21

ROTC , Oh pretend .

Oscar Navarro 2:23

ROP .

Mark Spence 2:23

The crop classes . What's that ? The crop classes ?

Emeal Zwayne 2:26

Yeah , they do different things , Like they would teach you . so I did an ROP class in recreational leadership . And so remember , after you got kicked out of high school this is after I got born again and then got back in and then did one of those . Did you guys remember outdoor science school Science camp Sixth grade .

Mark Spence 2:43

Yeah , the sun just went on this . Did you do that , Mark ? No , no , no , no Yeah anyway , i loved it .

Emeal Zwayne 2:48

But I remember the camp songs , man . You guys remember the one in the jungle , the mighty jungle , the lion's lead to the night .

Oscar Navarro 2:58

That's a Disney song isn't it , it's a Disney one .

Mark Spence 3:00

Yeah , that's not a camp song Oh yo , yo yo or whatever . You don't have to do that . That's Lion King . that's Lion King , is it ? Or I'm just a bill sitting here on Capitol .

Oscar Navarro 3:08

Hill . What was that Rock and roll ? what is that called ? I don't remember That show .

Mark Spence 3:13

I'm just a bill , i'm just a bill , You guys know before .

Oscar Navarro 3:16

Capitol Hill be same with the train one .

Emeal Zwayne 3:19

Remember What are these Conjunction , conjunction ? What's your function ? That's right . Have you heard of ?

Ray Comfort 3:25

these , but it's good for you to feel like I feel .

Mark Spence 3:30

Ray just left the building .

Emeal Zwayne 3:31

But there's something about camps , man , did you guys grow up camping , going to camps ? I did Church camps , you did Ray .

Ray Comfort 3:40

Yeah , when I was really little , my parents used to take me camping and I loved it . Yeah , You really loved it .

Emeal Zwayne 3:44

I loved it . As a kid I wanted to be like a camp counselor . Before I decided to go into ministry I thought , oh , that would be so cool . But when I went on that outdoor science school as a counselor , they made me change my I love Jesus shirt that I was wearing around camp Big old I the heart Jesus shirt , and it didn't even dawn on me . They kept , like the leaders kept , and then finally , one of the That was the secular camp .

Ray Comfort 4:11

You said , oh okay .

Emeal Zwayne 4:12

Hey , you need to take that off . I wanted to fight it . So , not legal . I wanted to fight it . It probably isn't , is it ?

Oscar Navarro 4:18

You going to sushi tonight right here ? Yeah , What did the bee say to the sushi ?

Ray Comfort 4:23

Wasabi Ha ha ha ha .

Emeal Zwayne 4:27

Did you look that up ? Oscar Straight from the heart . right Yeah , we got to get Ray to eat sushi .

Mark Spence 4:34

I ate in Japan .

Ray Comfort 4:35

I ate in Japan , went with mom .

Mark Spence 4:36

He likes to sushi . Well done .

Ray Comfort 4:37

It's really , it's lady food . Give me a steak .

Emeal Zwayne 4:40

Oh , sushi is glorious . Mark , when did you finally surrender your life to sushi ?

Mark Spence 4:46

Well , I've missed out on many sushi encounters .

Emeal Zwayne 4:48

When you think back .

Mark Spence 4:49

With you and Trent and Aaron and Matt . You guys all liked it and I just was not into it . I didn't understand it in the texture . When was it that it just finally ?

Ray Comfort 4:57

clicked .

Mark Spence 4:57

Well it slowly .

Sushi, Cereal, and a Gospel Testimony

Mark Spence 4:59

I started with California rolls , Which truth be told .

Emeal Zwayne 5:01

I don't think is it Speaking of rolls . Why you rolling your eyes , ray ?

Ray Comfort 5:03

Because it's seaweed wrapped around rice .

Emeal Zwayne 5:05

And you were thinking about it .

Mark Spence 5:06

Ooh , yeah , I think my mouth you haven't even seen Delicious , delicious , but like a rainbow roll . Yeah , Really really good roll , that's my favorite . Wow , how woke . Oh , that's what I get .

Ray Comfort 5:15

Oh man , that's what I get .

Emeal Zwayne 5:17

The rainbow . Yeah , because you get so many different types of fish .

Mark Spence 5:20

My daughter , ella , loves rainbow rolls . Yeah , absolutely loves it .

Oscar Navarro 5:23

I love straight sashimi .

Mark Spence 5:25

Yeah , yeah , you stick away from the rice .

Oscar Navarro 5:28

I'll do some , but most of it like 80% of my order is sashimi .

Mark Spence 5:32

Give me the fish , Just not like a large chunk of it , but whatever cut up really kind of smaller , medium to large size kids What ?

Emeal Zwayne 5:39

what Ray's getting bored here Come in and get me , get me Vaughn .

Ray Comfort 5:44

In and out .

Emeal Zwayne 5:46

I love to sneak sushi and a raised cereal bowl , have him pour milk over and just not know what he's eating .

Ray Comfort 5:52

But raise the almost , yeah , i thought you were off the cereal .

Oscar Navarro 5:54

I'm back . Oh yeah , right I found .

Ray Comfort 5:56

I found some cereal thrown in the towel . Yeah , i know I'm a wagon or I couldn't eat cereal because it wasn't good for me .

Emeal Zwayne 6:03

Is it the cereal or is it ?

Ray Comfort 6:04

but I found I drink raw milk , which is really good . It isn't past your eyes , it goes straight to your mouth regular milk yeah , it's regular raw milk and It's good and then so I've got some cereals that I can eat . So I drown in cereal every day . Crunch No .

Oscar Navarro 6:20

So , if you , what is your favorite cereal like , given that you eat it ?

Ray Comfort 6:23

because I haven't had it for years .

Oscar Navarro 6:25

So what are you ?

Ray Comfort 6:25

subtle . For Wait a bit , you've seen , you've would have seen that Ray Why ?

Emeal Zwayne 6:28

not in years . Like have one bowl .

Ray Comfort 6:31

I get instant heartburn Oh straight after instant .

Mark Spence 6:34

Well , so it's a week by the palette Ray .

Emeal Zwayne 6:38

How many boxes did you get ?

Ray Comfort 6:39

it was 240 ? You did really . Atheist on my a face book page was saying you liar . I had to take a picture of the palette of cereal and send it to .

Mark Spence 6:54

That is so , you Extreme measures but what is the cereal of choice that you like ? now We do mix . Oh , now I can't remember what it is So the in . Minnesota we had the Mall of America . They had a cereal store . It was like There about a month ago or so and I told my daughter we have to go to the cereal place . It's so great and I'm looking around , i'm looking around . I couldn't find it anywhere And I looked it up and said it's been out of business for more than 10 years .

Ray Comfort 7:22

I really want to , years ago , start a cereal like restaurant , but what you do is you have live cows hanging from the ceiling and you just reach up and straight into the Well , julia last night was talking about will she open the cupboards and saw frosted flakes in there and just Ah , sorry to scream it , and we're talking about how that stuff must have cocaine in it .

Mark Spence 7:41

Something something about sugar flakes . I used to put sugar on my frosted .

Ray Comfort 7:48

That's so great . It's like putting salt on salt water .

Oscar Navarro 7:51

I was all about the cinnamon toast crunch , No we still are at our house .

Emeal Zwayne 7:55

Yeah . Frosted flakes was my first encounter with like America . I remember the . Distinct memory , you I'm coming from home us every day and you know whatever ? and all of a sudden I taste this glory of fresh pure sugar .

Mark Spence 8:11

Did you not have to ?

Emeal Zwayne 8:12

cereal and live it on ? probably not . Oh , we'd eat , like saying goats , curdled milk .

Mark Spence 8:19

That with olives .

Emeal Zwayne 8:19

I don't know Camel .

Mark Spence 8:23

Camel with milk ?

Oscar Navarro 8:24

Yeah , yeah , would you like some frosted camel ?

Emeal Zwayne 8:27

Yeah , but but you think frosted flakes so stupid . What is it ? It's a stupid little flake with some sugar on it . There's nothing to it .

Ray Comfort 8:33

Well , that's actually manner if you look up manner and see the description of manner in the other testimates definitely frosted flakes .

Oscar Navarro 8:42

If you see the description it was sweet , and it was a flake .

Emeal Zwayne 8:45

Yeah , buckle down , yeah all right , friends , enough of the stupidity which you're probably immune to by now . Anyway , here's a comment from Hello friends . No , that's not again . No name Oscar . My name is Joseph . Oh sorry .

Oscar Navarro 9:01

I'm sorry . Would you like to repent ?

Emeal Zwayne 9:03

Apologize on national .

Emeal Zwayne 9:04

Televised podcast my name is Joseph Aaron and I want to tell you how you have helped my everyday walk with Christ , but I can't . I'm just kidding . You guys have inspired me to preach the gospel . At the beginning of the year , i resolved to memorize the gospel of John and I went to living waterscom and purchased 100 copies of the gospel of John to give to 100 people that I talked to about the good news . Keep up the good work , joseph . Joseph , praise the lord . Write us and tell us once you've memorized John , and if you do that and we see the comment , we'll read it on air and celebrate with you the gospel John . That was the first gospel I tried to memorize as a new believer .

Mark Spence 9:44

Wow .

Emeal Zwayne 9:44

I got as far as almost in the end of chapter three , as far as in , and then I quit because I was trying to memorize every verse and its reference And it got very monotonous , so I do it differently . in what version ?

Mark Spence 9:58

I knew American standard In the beginning .

Emeal Zwayne 10:03

Yeah , All right . This podcast is brought to you by the living waters podcast Mug . You think people are tired of hearing about it ?

Ray Comfort 10:11

I am Seriously I think What product do we have to do mug ?

Emeal Zwayne 10:16

mug , mug . Yeah , I'm adding some others . How to make sure god hears your prayers . Book Ray why did you write this ?

Ray Comfort 10:25

I have no idea .

Emeal Zwayne 10:27

Something that day that was one of those four books . Was this one of your last books ever ? There was the last book , yes .

Ray Comfort 10:33

Gotta keep you in .

Emeal Zwayne 10:36

Uh yeah , in this book , ray comfort exposes biblical truths revealing how the fear of the lord is key To entering god's holy presence and receiving his blessings whether or not god hears your prayers Doesn't matter at all .

Ray Comfort 10:46

Until you're hanging over a thousand foot cliff by your teeth . You're upside down in a Severe turbulence in a plane . That's when you need to know if god hears your prayers . No atheists and foxholes . Huh , there's no atheists and turbulence .

Emeal Zwayne 10:59

Hmm , what would that seem like ? the praying in mid air as you fall to the ground ?

Mark Spence 11:04

What is the prayer ? You know , daniel . Your son said um , danny comfort , oh , excuse me . He said mark , you know what You know

Gethsemane and Personal Faith Experiences

Mark Spence 11:11

. There was a point where I realized you were a christian . Now , bear in mind , we've been working together for several years .

Emeal Zwayne 11:17

Yeah , we all had doubts , mark . But we .

Mark Spence 11:18

We were on our way to one of our transformed conferences and we hit some severe turbulence , So much so where the plane took like a little dive down and I thought we were going down And so I yelled on the plane . I said let's do this .

Ray Comfort 11:35

And daniel was sitting right behind me . He's all you know .

Mark Spence 11:37

I think mark is a christian .

Ray Comfort 11:40

Mark . I know it's not sorry , i , just before we change subject . What do you normally yell ? It's normally we're gonna die , isn't it ?

Mark Spence 11:47

Oh , yeah , or oh no , we're gonna die , I wouldn't raise traveling too close to the car in front of us or something . Boy , i have to be the one driving This is what I've noticed .

Emeal Zwayne 11:57

Yes , right mark . How did you give out tracks in japan ?

Mark Spence 12:00

Oh , i , should you say this is not culturally , since I mean you have to be culturally sensitive because of the culture , right , and so I wanted to look it up . I'll head to get the accent No , right ? And then it goes like this Did you get one of these ?

Emeal Zwayne 12:20

Just like that , yeah and then you know the speakers .

Mark Spence 12:23

Your throat starts to bleed after that .

Ray Comfort 12:26

We couldn't give out tracks in japan and tokyo until , like we did some magic , it's a mess . I did a little bit of magic . We had crowds just saying , oh , take anything you got was amazing .

Emeal Zwayne 12:34

Oh Sushi tracks . Oh that's what we need sushi tracks . All right , friends , today We're going to go into the garden , the garden of mark and ray distraction . That's the garden . What are you doing ?

Ray Comfort 12:52

My microphone's been on all this time And it's me recording everything we say in the text it's about mccurdy Even says did you get one of these somewhere ? I , i bit it . I don't know how to stop that on .

Emeal Zwayne 13:07

Yeah , turn off anyways , back to the podcast . Today We're going into the garden of gethsemane . Does it conjure up pray ?

Ray Comfort 13:17

I preach the gospel in the garden of gethsemane .

Oscar Navarro 13:20

It's one of the highlights of my life ?

Ray Comfort 13:21

Yeah , because we had the cameras rolling , we were going to record something and they didn't have it completely ready , so the cameras pointed me . I had this couple sitting there , though Obviously weren't christians by the look of them . I don't know how you can tell , and so I went through the whole gospel to the camera out loud , in the garden of gethsemane .

Emeal Zwayne 13:37

It was a great story Yeah , I was there like this plants and that there's really weird looking trees . Olive trees , yeah , the houses of years old , yeah , old olive trees that they , they believe . some of them date back to the , to the time of christ .

Ray Comfort 13:49

Yeah , it's this one that scott carved in it . I was here , peter , and then I left .

Emeal Zwayne 13:55

But ray remember how gnarly seen my ear . Ray , remember remember how gnarly those trees were , though like I mean that's what I'm saying . They're all twisted and and ah you met gnarly , like the literal , like gnarly bro .

Ray Comfort 14:11

Yeah , no , they were . Yeah twisted . It looked like they could run after you and kill you . Interesting .

Emeal Zwayne 14:15

Yeah , yeah , but but I've never been . Oh you got , oh you've never been in .

Ray Comfort 14:23

Galilee . We hate to go into traditional sites . They did yeah , you'd be driving in the the guide say that was the way to call it . He would say this is traditional site , which means we don't know if Jesus was here .

Emeal Zwayne 14:35

So I didn't want to go there . That's why I love places like the Sea of Galilee .

Oscar Navarro 14:38

You know , you're near Jerusalem . It's definitely my bucket list . Oh , you got to go . Yeah , I mean it was a yeah .

Mark Spence 14:45

I've been three times mark Okay you loved Israel . Yeah , it was great It's . You know , it's been said that two weeks in Israel is the equivalent of a full semester at Bible College Because it puts everything in its proper perspective , geographically especially right if you're going on the Sea of Galilee , heading over to Decapolis , the 10 cities , everything , the Mount of Olives I can see your you're facing , and Then you have , i mean , everything . It just kind of .

Emeal Zwayne 15:10

Together for you .

Mark Spence 15:11

Everything's just visual in the head .

Emeal Zwayne 15:13

Just make sure when you go there you drink from Jacob's well .

Ray Comfort 15:17

Israel is Opening a preacher's nightmare , because everywhere there's stones . Oh yeah , waiting to pound .

Emeal Zwayne 15:23

Jerusalem , jerusalem . Oh yeah , you who stone the prophets . Yeah boy , what were we thinking , ray ?

Ray Comfort 15:29

When was it been you who the way ?

Emeal Zwayne 15:31

Ben Yehuda .

Ray Comfort 15:32

Street . You were the . You're the same one I just followed .

Mark Spence 15:35

Oh , that was insane How long were you sick for after drinking that water ? two weeks .

Ray Comfort 15:39

No , it wasn't two weeks , but it was there a room to rest your trip .

Emeal Zwayne 15:41

Drink water from this well , from a spoon that or whatever , it was a ladle that like billions of people use were you thirsty .

Ray Comfort 15:51

They'd get thrown down there .

Emeal Zwayne 15:52

We got caught up like idiots in the moment .

Ray Comfort 15:55

Yeah , the guy said this is the well , i can't imagine you getting caught up , samaritan ?

Oscar Navarro 15:59

well that .

Ray Comfort 15:59

Jesus drank from you want to drink ?

Emeal Zwayne 16:04

Oh boy , anyways , so yeah , sushi Ray .

Ray Comfort 16:08

Yeah , Jesus didn't eat sushi . And then we went to the Dead Sea easy and had a great time there .

Emeal Zwayne 16:14

Oh , yeah , don't remind me , ray . All right , let's go to the garden . Let's go to the garden . So , garden of Gethsemane . This is obviously the scene of Jesus great travail , just before he heads to the cross , right after Passover , where we find the famous Last Supper scene . This is a dark moment . This is a very tumultuous , turmoil filled scene in the life of Jesus , and we actually find this in all the gospel , even Gospels . Even John cites it , so it's found in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 , luke 22 and then John 18 , right , all right , yeah , hmm , hmm , hmm , we need to get that . We really do so . Yeah , guys , it's a dark , foreboding time and I'd love to just open it up for anyone who wants to jump .

Ray Comfort 17:04

Yeah , i say must have been frightening for the disciples , because Jesus was so utterly Confident and filled with faith and suddenly sweating drops of blood and being fearful and trembling . It must have been very disconcerting for them . What I like to think of is that I had my Gethsemane experience two weeks after I saved . Mark seems to have had his in 1994 . Remember you were saying you just laid it all out . You just said you just sweat drops of blood . You say I'm giving up the battle . Not my will , but yours be done . And I think it happened to me two weeks after I saved , once the dust had settled and I began to become Aware of what had actually happened , that I'd found immortality , everlasting life . This wasn't something to be trifled with . This wasn't just a change of lifestyle or a new sport . This was Something worthy of my life being dedicated to , and that's what I did in that moment And that was my Gethsemane experience . Not my will , but yours . Be done , wow .

Emeal Zwayne 18:01

Yeah , yeah . And let's look at how it opens up . I mean , let's look at the , the account in Matthew 26 , beginning in verse 36 . It says in Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples sit here , wow , i go and pray over there . And he took with him Peter and the two sons of debaite and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed . Then he said to them my soul is exceedingly sorrowful , even to death . Stay here and watch with me . We don't typically Envision Jesus getting this candid with the disciples , right ? I mean , this is the God of the universe , the creator of the heavens and the earth , the one who spoke and all things leapt into existence . And he's looking at these men that he made , that he fashioned and formed with his own hand , and he's telling them I am sorrowful , i'm deeply distressed , even unto death . What was going on there , oscar ?

Oscar Navarro 18:59

Well , first , let me I love the way you just described that like the creator of these disciples is Jesus and they're seeing him .

Christ's Humanity and Joy

Oscar Navarro 19:07

You know , i think us as as Children of parents , there's often a time in which We we see our dads , like for the first time , cry , or we see our dads get cancer , and it's like this Hero of our childhood . There's basically a moment , i think , in most kids childhoods , when they realize their dad is not Superman , their dad is human , really , and this is this is . I think this moment in the scriptures Puts the incarnation of Christ on display , just as much as trying to wrap your head around the reality that he was a baby in need of care . Because , you know , we like there was kind of a joke that was mentioned when you cleared your throat in the last episode . You know it was like , oh , you know , jesus would never do that . Actually , jesus did clear his throat , jesus did get sick , jesus did have dirt under his nails , jesus likely stubbed his toe . You know Jesus was human as much as he was God , 100% of both . It's important that we keep that balance less we fall into heresy and in this moment We see that on display .

Oscar Navarro 20:16

We see him looking at and what he's looking at that causes this , this bleeding , this pain , this suffering , is really important , because Here's here's to answer your question . So many people have died for their faith . The Maccabees had died for their faith a few years before Jesus came under the scene . Jesus disciples themselves will die for their faith and since then , many Christians have died for their faith . And when those people are dying for their faith , they're looking at the suffering , they're looking at the pain that they're about to face .

Oscar Navarro 20:49

But what does Jesus say in his prayer ? He does not say take this pain for me . He does not say take this suffering for me . He does not say take the nails for me . He says take this cup . The thing that brought Jesus so much angst in that moment Isn't that he was looking at his physical death . So much as that , he was looking at the fullness of the wrath of God That every saved human deserves , and he knew he was facing it . It was gonna be laid upon him . The prayer take this cup is such an important indication as to what he was facing in this moment .

Ray Comfort 21:33

Wow , wow yeah so that had happened , we'd have no hope in our death .

Emeal Zwayne 21:38

Yeah , And you think of the endurance of Christ . Through this . You know , scripture tells us for the joy set before him in Hebrews for the joy set before him , he endured the cross .

Ray Comfort 21:51

He saw this podcast .

Mark Spence 21:56

Is that the cross or the hope He would ?

Emeal Zwayne 21:58

have said I'm not going .

Ray Comfort 21:59

Father , not if it results in these And the .

Oscar Navarro 22:02

Lord says yeah I can understand that . Take this podcast from me .

Emeal Zwayne 22:06

Yeah , but the joy set before him , Mark , what would that entail ? The joy set before him , I mean , that's what enabled him to endure all of this , You know . I mean , Jesus was no wimp . Of course there was the physical pain that was coming , but it wasn't that that was causing him distress , you know . But yet he endured it for something greater .

Mark Spence 22:27

Yeah , well , i agree with the commentators that say the joy that was set before him was that fellowship that he was going to have , that the people were going to be able to have with him . The joy that was set before him was this unimaginable relationship between the creator and the creation , that people were going to be able to fellowship with a God who knows what is happening in the center of Saturn . right , it's beyond our imagination , but that is the joy that we as believers are . the joy that was set before him That when Jesus took the cup of the cursed and pressed it to his lips and he drank it till every drop was gone , he did it so that we now can taste and see that he is good , that he is a good God , a good and gracious Father , a good and gracious God .

Mark Spence 23:18

We talk about how , when somebody gets born again , there's fire insurance , but Christianity is so much more than fire insurance . It's so much more than just getting out of hell and into heaven , that we are called into a relationship , and I think that that is missing in the midst of an evangelistic call . We just think , well , great , i'm no longer going to hell . Right , it's a ticket . Yeah , it's that ticket into heaven .

Mark Spence 23:43

Jesus is my password . But no , that's not why Jesus came . Jesus didn't come just to not allow people to go to hell We are called into . Come into the holy of holy , that place where God dwells , and not leave that place to fellowship with God himself . We are that joy that was set before him . And so we see in scripture that when Jesus was inside the garden and he was sweating drops of blood I was reading a commentator earlier today that said that it was at that place of death , that there was a very good chance that Jesus would have died at that moment if the angel was not sent to strengthen him , that there is nothing more that can vex the soul than when you're at that place , in your extremities , where blood is actually coming out of your capillaries or coming out of the pores .

Mark Spence 24:41

It was not possible . We will never experience that , we'll never see that , we'll never understand that , that this is the great mystery , when the Father literally had to blink for the first time and take his eyes off of the second person of the Trinity to allow that wrath to fully come down upon the Son of Man , the Son of God Easy .

Oscar Navarro 25:01

Can you walk us through ? Many people will ask was him ? his sweat turned to blood , is that metaphorical ? Can that actually happen ? Can you get into the details of that ?

Emeal Zwayne 25:11

Yeah Well , it's an actual metal cold term called hematrodosis And it's , as Mark alluded to , something that happens in very rare instances of extreme , extreme anguish and distress . I mean , think about it . We've all gone through times like that , when we've been distressed in our lives , the daintest Yes .

Emeal Zwayne 25:31

Or we've seen people who are distressed . I mean , look , i've seen , unfortunately , martyrs who are about to be beheaded by Muslim captors . You know and those videos have played I haven't seen them sweat great drops of blood before they were beheaded . I mean , how much more torturous can it be to think I'm about to have my head severed But yet it didn't happen . So it's really rare , but it's a real medical condition that can actually happen And that just shows the degree to which Christ was in distress .

Emeal Zwayne 26:04

And again it highlights for us the reality of the humanity of Christ , that it wasn't some illusion that he became a man . He clothed himself , robed himself in human flesh , became poor in doing that , so that he can go to that cross , give his life that we might become spiritually rich in him , and that's just beyond description . So let's move forward now to what happens . Then It says he went a little farther and fell on his face , praying and praying . oh Father , if it is possible , let this cup pass from me , but then , ray , nevertheless not as I will , but as you will speak to the significance of those words .

Ray Comfort 26:51

Well , i'd like to give a quote from Charles Spurgeon . Yes , that's what we're talking about , and I hope I don't fluff this because it's so beautiful . To 12 , no to 11 only was the privilege given to enter Gethsemane and see this great sight . Out of the 11 , eight were left at some distance . They had fellowship , but not of that intimate sort to which the men greatly beloved are admitted . Only three highly favored ones , who had been with him in the Mount of Transfiguration and had witnessed the life-giving miracle in the house of Jairus . Only these three could approach the veil of his mysterious sorrow . Within that veil , even there , these must not intrude . A stone's cast distance must be left between He must tread the wine press alone , and of the people there must be none with him . Isn't that powerful ?

Ray Comfort 27:40

So powerful , just cutting them back , back , you go , back , you go . This must be done alone .

Emeal Zwayne 27:44

Oh , it's heavy . And yet , Ray , he had asked if there's any possible way for the cup to pass , that it would , but then he uttered those words not my will , but yours be done .

Mark Spence 27:54

I wouldn't have said the last words , adam said the same thing , if you would inside the garden to some degree , but with the twist not thy will but my will be done . He excused himself from the marching call of God , and because of that we are born into the Adamic nature .

Emeal Zwayne 28:14

Wow . The second , adam , takes it in a different direction .

Ray Comfort 28:17

I asked if you took a breath , which means there's something coming Here . It comes the breath . Who , who , who , who , God .

Oscar Navarro 28:21

God , this prayer . I talked before about the incarnation and not forgetting that he's fully human , and yet this prayer has also reminded us that he's fully divine , that he's a part of the trinity . Because this prayer is not a prayer against God , it's not a prayer questioning God , it's a prayer to God . But it's also a prayer that recognizes the suffering of the plan . But it also recognizes the sovereignty of the plan . And the way in which he prays could only be the prayer of a Trinitarian son to a Trinitarian father . And the way the commentator from my commentary says it . He says like this he only prays , he does not demand , he does not advance any claims , he does not lay upon God any conditions , he does not reserve any future obedience , he simply prays .

Emeal Zwayne 29:16

Wow , i love that . And what a prayer . You know that is . And ultimately , this is the very heart of the believer . When the believer is spiritually minded , you know , like Jesus said to Peter , you're not mindful of the things of God , but of the things of man . When we're mindful of the things of God , the automatic utterance that will come from our lips is ultimately not my will but yours to be done . But because my will is self-centered , my will is the easy road . My will is anything but the path that leads to the cross , which is what Self-mortification , death to self . But His will will include things that we won't necessarily want to choose for ourselves , but that will never allow us to grow in the ways that we should if we don't go through them . And so ultimately , a Christian says as much as I may want this out of the other , i want what you want , lord , because my life is yours .

Ray Comfort 30:16

CS Lewis said in Gethsemane , the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him . That did not , Which is very powerful , isn't it ? You'd think Jesus would have had sway with the Father in that sense . But often we pray for certain things that just don't happen because it's not God's sovereign will . He looks to the future . Who would have guessed what was going to happen ? And disciples certainly didn't .

Emeal Zwayne 30:39

And that's the epitome of trust , isn't it ?

Emeal Zwayne 30:42

It's . I can't see what's coming , but I understand that the one who declared that it's all going to work out is true , and so I'm going to walk forward and not become undone , because that's really the thing , you know , when we talk about faith and we talk about trusting the Lord , ultimately , what does it mean ? I think , ultimately it means not just doing the right thing , but maintaining composure , and what I mean by that is , you know , we can do the right thing kicking and screaming , grumbling , murmuring , complaining , or we can do the right thing with a heart that says Lord , you're worthy of me doing the right thing . You're not asking me to do something that is like horrible and that's going to be destructive Ultimately , even if I can't see a good outcome right before my eyes , that's what it ultimately will be , because it results in your glory and it results in eternal affairs being advanced . So therefore , lord , i'm going to keep that right composure , i mean . That's at least what our cry should be . Help me , god , to have the right heart and attitude .

Ray Comfort 31:41

And seeing over the ridge , seeing past the lion's teeth .

Mark Spence 31:44

Yeah , amen , yeah , i mean it's wise to finish a prayer right And say I think I want this , but nevertheless not my will , your will , you see the bigger picture ? you know Blind Bartimaeus , the son of Timaeus , when Jesus

Staying Awake During Passover Week

Mark Spence 31:58

said , what do you want ? And he says that I might see spiritually , jesus knew what he wanted . But how much more would have taken place if he would have said and if I could see spiritually .

Mark Spence 32:05

Yeah , you meant physically Yeah if I could see spiritually instead of physically . You know where we have Solomon when he asked for wisdom . What a great prayer . He could have asked for anything .

Ray Comfort 32:15

What would have happened ? He had everything . He had her .

Mark Spence 32:18

There was nothing left You can't have everything . Yeah , wait , what'd you put up ? But what would have happened if Solomon would have said I think I want wisdom to lead these , your people , but , lord , you know better than I do .

Ray Comfort 32:30

You know , you could have said I want more wives . No boy , no one can serve two masters . Yeah , right , or 200 . You're in trouble now .

Emeal Zwayne 32:40

Okay . So we see this now . Christ is crying out to the Father . It says in verse 40, . Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping . This is huge , yeah . And said to Peter what I love it , the divine son of God saying what To the disciples What could you not watch with me one hour ? Yeah , watch and pray lest you enter into temptation .

Mark Spence 33:04

And he did enter into temptation and denied the Lord three times .

Emeal Zwayne 33:06

That's right .

Ray Comfort 33:07

So did it say in another gospel , they were sleeping for sorrow . Yeah , yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 33:12

And then I'll let you jump in , oscar , but let's not forget this . So we touch on it The spirit , indeed , is willing , but the flesh is weak . Yeah , oscar , go ahead .

Oscar Navarro 33:20

Yeah , again , here we are to really illuminate what the New Testament intends , what the author intends to show us . We have to understand the Old Testament , especially the Exodus . And so we are in Passover week , when this is happening , and remember that God required the Israelites to stay awake , because it was God who stayed awake , that did the work all night long and Passover , saving the firstborn of the Israelites . And so Exodus 12 , verse 42 is key to understanding , because someone might be like that's so weird . Why did they fall asleep ? I don't get it . Listen .

Oscar Navarro 33:57

Exodus 12 , verse 42 , because the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of Egypt . He now commands them on this night , all the Israelites are to keep vigil . He was the watchman that stayed up at night to make sure that the firstborn children of Israelites stayed alive , and he asks of them , on this Passover night , to remember my work , your work is to stay up To hear the disciples all fall asleep . They didn't keep watch . What does this tell us ? It tells us that the work of salvation is God's alone , that He alone stood awake , that He alone holds the keys of the kingdom , that He alone was going to bring salvation to His disciples and to us . They could not play their part , and so He played the part for them .

Emeal Zwayne 34:48

What a touch of grace . And it's easy to overlook that We just kind of focus in on hey , they're falling asleep , they're not praying , but the significance of that and the dynamic of our God's faithfulness , even when we're at . I love it in the word it says and James , if we deny Him , if we are faithless , he remains faithful . He cannot deny Himself . It's like your unfaithfulness is not going to move God and what He is committed to , no matter what , that's good . And so then He comes back a second time . He went away and prayed and saying 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 . I mean , again Jesus modeling for us . Right , it's okay to be candid with the Lord . Obviously Jesus knew that He was going to go to the cross . He knew this was going to happen , but in a manner He was sort of displaying the lament in His heart for what was to come and was communing with the Father .

Ray Comfort 35:54

Easy . How do you think the revelation came to Jesus as a boy that He was the Lamb of God ?

Emeal Zwayne 36:00

Boy . That's a good question . I do often wonder what were the dynamics that came to play , because He grew in knowledge and wisdom And the scripture talks about . Was there still , though , that divine knowledge of this is who I am from the very outset ? I don't know .

Mark Spence 36:17

But when He was inside the temple and His family went on ahead , he rebuked His family , his parents , saying He's 12 . Yeah , 12 years old . They should have known that He was going to be about His Father's business . So there was some sort of communication at least between Jesus and His parents . But yeah , that is an interesting thought and question , a little mind game there as to what took place in the beginning as He grew in that stature To be honest .

Ray Comfort 36:49

He was a little boy looking at the scroll reading Isaiah , and suddenly his eyes become widened as he realized as who he is .

Preparing for Temptation and Betrayal

Mark Spence 36:59

Yeah , it's been said that Jesus spent 30 years in preparation for three years in ministry . When we spend three years in preparation ministry for 30 years of ministry , i saw a gentleman who said if you were he was asking the question if you knew you had four years left in life , how would you spend those four years ? And I don't think you'll agree with this one , ray , but it was just an interesting thought . He said I would spend the first three years becoming fully equipped on knowing what to say and spend the last year heralding what exactly to say . so I didn't mess things up .

Ray Comfort 37:32

Oh , just keep on doing what I'm doing now . That's right , Get it Dan .

Emeal Zwayne 37:36

Yeah , and so then Jesus comes back a third time . So he left them , went away again and prayed a third time , saying the same words . Then he came to his disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and resting ? We hold the hour as at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners . Rise , let us be going . See , my betrayer is at hand . What a moment that must have been Remember .

Emeal Zwayne 37:59

Before this . They were having the Passover and Jesus said to them one of you is going to betray me . And they're conversing amongst themselves Like who is it ? Is it me ? And it's a . Is it me , lord ? Is it me ? And Mark ? you alluded to Judas , teacher , right , rabbi , is it me ? But now it's about to be uncovered and I would assume that they're still wondering is it ? Who is it ? Am I about to do it ? I mean , peter's gonna learn . He was warned about the denial , like we touched on in one of the podcasts , and he still did it right . So it's like maybe there were other instances of the sort where Jesus would tell them something and they say no , no , lord , and then it happens like okay , we can't even trust ourselves , yeah , and then it's about to go down , but first of all being watchful and praying lest we enter into temptation . How important is this , guys ? Being a people on our watch .

Mark Spence 38:50

Yeah , you know , when Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration and he came down with Peter , james and John and they came across the demoniac and they're saying , hey , we are not the demoniac but the person who was demon possessed . And they said we couldn't cast out the demons . And Jesus said , yeah , well , this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting . Jesus was not saying you know what ? Go pray , go fast and then come back and perform the deed . No , it was understood that you should have been prayed up already . You should have been fasted up already . Jesus didn't say if you fast . he said when you fast , it was understood that you would have a life of spiritual disciplines and piety in order to do the tasks by which God has called you to do .

Emeal Zwayne 39:30

Wow , Yeah , and .

Ray Comfort 39:32

Ray , you feel hungry , sorry , sushi .

Emeal Zwayne 39:35

There's something that I do in my life that I call preventative prayers , and that is I pray over things in my life that I know I have a tendency to be weakened and to fail in . Like what ?

Ray Comfort 39:48

Better to restore to Oscar Pray . every time I look in the mirror , I have a problem with pride .

Emeal Zwayne 39:52

Yeah , but that's , i think , in keeping with sort of what Jesus is alluding to . You know , pray lest you enter into them , and that's a part of what he taught them to pray , lead us not into temptation . But often we don't have that hard attitude in our spiritual disciplines when it comes to besetting sins or sins that we may fall into , and it's like what Hebrews says you haven't yet been striving to the shedding of blood in your struggle against sin .

Ray Comfort 40:14

Yes , like defensive driving . If you know what defensive driving is . It's very intelligent . It sounds like a pessimist , but what you're looking for is where things can go wrong from every quarter when you're driving . That can save lives . If you're driving at 40 miles an hour and there's cars each side of you , you're thinking about a door suddenly swinging open . What are you gonna do if someone steps out or a kid chases a ball right in front of you ? All that's within your mind And you're ready . You're watching , Your attitude is awakened to it , And that's what we should be like with sin . That's good .

Oscar Navarro 40:42

Yeah , That's crouching at your door waiting to devour you , but you must master it .

Ray Comfort 40:49

Yeah , so as we start to wrap up , now we get to the Sorry , i can't believe how many people open their car doors actually when you're driving along So close to you and other people actually get out of their car while there's cars zooming about two feet from them , 40 miles an hour and they've got no concern for their lives . It just drives me crazy . So I just to get off my chair is carrying easy .

Mark Spence 41:09

Right needs a hug . Yeah , something happening . this morning on the way up I read all the three people .

Oscar Navarro 41:14

Yeah , was that a speed bump ? That was my neighbor .

Emeal Zwayne 41:18

You know I want to jump to John 18 . Wow .

Mark Spence 41:22

Mm amen brother .

Emeal Zwayne 41:25

And look at that account .

Emeal Zwayne 41:26

Now for the transition to what happened after all this .

Emeal Zwayne 41:29

It says in verse 18 , verse one , john 18 , when Jesus had spoken these words , he went out with his disciples over the brookedron where there was a garden , and the disciples entered and Judas , who betrayed him , also knew the place , for Jesus often met there with his disciples . And let me just say here for a quick second , i mean imagine being in a place with a lot of sweet memories , you know , and now you're there in this kind of dark scene . It says in 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 who 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 . Think about that , for a moment .

Mark Spence 42:21

Jesus said I am . He right , i am . I didn't look it up , but is this in equivalent to ego on me ? You know I'm not sure , but what he said I am . He could have said I am and you were You know , knocked him and killed him all , but he didn't do that All the way to the end . he had a compassion towards people , sheep without a shepherd , and even healing Malchus's ear . You know that last moment that we see , i am , you were gone .

Emeal Zwayne 42:49

I mean talk about meekness to the utter extent . I mean think of what he said to Peter even after he cut off the servants here , my father can send 12 legions of angels . What are you ?

Ray Comfort 43:01

thinking So meekness is strength , under control , yeah .

Emeal Zwayne 43:05

And you know , so we see that . So he says I am he and I would have loved to have witnessed what that was like , you know , and which end like being one of the apostles , or being one of the guys that fell over Judas .

Mark Spence 43:17

Judas , malchus , malchus .

Emeal Zwayne 43:21

Then he said again then he asked again who are you seeking ? And they said Jesus of Nazareth . Jesus of Nazareth , i 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 . I mean , look at that . You know he's thinking of his disciples , the ultimate in heroism . You know , you see , today , like people being heroic in movies and oh y'all , i'll take your place . But you have to understand this is God , not for people he loved , for his enemies , you know , for wretched sinners who deserved his wrath . I'm gonna cover , you know , to let these go . You've got me .

Oscar Navarro 44:02

Yeah , you know , no gain to himself , yeah .

Ray Comfort 44:05

I wonder if Peter was aiming at the ear , or was he gonna slice him right through his head ?

Emeal Zwayne 44:09

I'm pretty sure he probably was aiming for that . I wouldn't be surprised and he leans over and boom you know he got an earful .

Oscar Navarro 44:17

Yeah , for sure , You know . I mean to conclude There's there's three things we can take away .

Emeal Zwayne 44:25

I mean , let's preach a stifle that means we have within 45 minutes .

Oscar Navarro 44:28

To conclude , look , it's the . These passages remind us that , first , god is with us Also , that God is for us and that God is at work without us . God is with us . One thing that we haven't touched on yet is the reality that anybody who's Experiencing struggling or suffering that is like why , when is God gonna do something ? Why doesn't God do something to stop this from happening ?

Oscar Navarro 44:51

these verses remind us that God has Done something , that he let his son suffer To the maximum to drink the fullness of the wrath of God , to experience that suffering and pain so that one day , his people would no longer feel suffering and pain , pain that one day , every tear would be wiped from our eyes and That we would be fully healed .

Oscar Navarro 45:15

And with him , he has done something for us . It remind us that God is for us , to the point you just made , and that God is in need of nothing . He wasn't lonely , he wasn't without love , he didn't want the attention , he had everything he needed within the Trinity . This is a sacrifice With nothing in return . He is doing it as an extension of his love and compassion towards Sinners in need . That he is in need of nothing and then , like we talked about too , it's God's work without us . The fact that they fall asleep is a remembrance to us that God is at work alone in saving sinners , that there is nothing we can add or take away from his finished work on the cross . We get to see , repent , believe in the finished work .

Emeal Zwayne 46:07

Amen . Well said , oscar , and look it , as we've been Kind of flies on the wall , if you would , to this scene of Jesus in Gethsemane . Please , on the wall , please . Laos is lice , laos is Lice , lice , lice , please , please .

Emeal Zwayne 46:24

Really witnessing what Jesus did , i want to encourage you to Soak yourselves in the scriptural accounts where we see Jesus living and doing , because it's through those that we really get a glimpse of who our Savior was , and it impacts our life . You know , peter talked about how Jesus left us an example to follow in his footsteps in terms of how he suffered . I want to close with this poem I wrote years ago . I have a valiant hero who one day rescued me . He found me bound and bonded and chose to set me free , although he knew the greatness of the price he'd have to pay . Without a hesitation , he gave his life away . I could not understand it and still I do not know why he treated me as friend when I had treated him as foe . If only you would meet him , you'd see that he is true and he'd become your hero and gladly rescue you .

Emeal Zwayne 47:13

Come now , adore his beauty , observe his pleasant ways , sit silently and listen and fix a steady gaze . Hear him speak his gentle words that calm the raging heart . See him mend and heal the lives that once were torn apart . Hear his sayings of wisdom . See his brilliant joys . Observe the great and violent hate his holy love destroys .

Emeal Zwayne 47:32

Come and see humility that cannot be compared , selfless generosity that gave and never spared . See compassion when he prayed and passion when he wept . See the truly righteousness He constantly displayed . He truly is a hero , and I'm glad that he is mine . Jesus Christ , the king of kings , the Lord of lords divine , i long to be just like him , for surely he is great to follow in his every step and seek to Imitate . Well , and so , friends , i hope that encourages you and reminds you to follow in the footsteps of the Savior . Learn from these lessons here . Be those who cry out to the father in anguish and and sincerity and candidness . Be those who learn to Depend on on the father's will rather than your own . Be those who are willing to sacrifice on behalf of others .

Ray Comfort 48:21

He left

Palms and Poetry

Ray Comfort 48:21

us . An example was by memory , not read . It's very moving when I see that . And easy , you got a right to book with your palms And I don't normally like poetry , but your palms are just so oh thank you .

Emeal Zwayne 48:32

Well , hopefully one day . Until then , i'll remain an idiot on the living water spot . Okay , well , friends , that's it . Make sure to check out all this stuff We talked about . I don't have energy to recant it . Recap it all . See , i can't even say it right . Thank you for joining us . We'll see you here next time on the living waters all together . Oh , that was the worst where we have no idea what we're doing .