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A reading today comes from 
Matthew's Gospel chapter 26, 

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starting in verse 36 through 46.
Then Jesus went with them to a 

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place called Gethsemane, and he 
said to his disciples, Sit here 

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while I go over there and pray. 
And taking with him Peter and 

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the two sons of Zebedee, he 
began to be sorrowful and 

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troubled. 
Then he said to them, My soul is

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very sorrowful, even to death. 
Remain here and watch with me. 

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And going a little farther, he 
fell on his face and prayed, 

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saying, My Father, if it be 
possible, let this cup pass from

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me. 
Nevertheless, not as I will, but

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as you will. 
And he came to the disciples and

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found them sleeping. 
And he said to Peter, so could 

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you not watch with me one hour? 
Watch and pray that you may not 

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enter into temptation. 
The Spirit indeed is willing, 

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but the flesh is weak. 
Again for the second time he 

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went away and prayed. 
My father, if this cannot pass 

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unless I drink it, your will be 
done. 

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And again he came and found them
sleeping, for their eyes were 

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heavy. 
So leaving them again he went 

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away and prayed for the third 
time, saying the same words 

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again. 
Then he came to the disciples 

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and said to them, Sleep and take
your rest later on. 

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See, the hour is at hand, and 
the Son of Man is betrayed into 

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the hands of sinners. 
Rise, let us be going. 

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See, my betrayer is at hand. 
This is the word of the Lord. 

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Thanks be to God, you may be 
seated whether you're joining us

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in person or online. 
Welcome to Holy Week at Park 

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City's Presbyterian Church. 
This is perhaps our favorite 

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week of the year as a church 
family, and we're so glad that 

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you've joined us. 
The gospel writers slow down 

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during this week in Jesus life, 
and so do we. 

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They focus their attention on 
Christ's death and resurrect 

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resurrection, and so do we. 
They long for people to grasp 

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the significance of these 
historical events, and so do we.

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And so we're praying for us, for
our family and friends, for 

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people who don't yet know Jesus,
that he would do a great work in

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our lives this week, this year, 
as you probably know, we'll see 

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Holy Week through the eyes of a 
number of characters in the 

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story, because we want to see 
what they see, but also what 

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they don't see, so that we can 
see what we see and what we 

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don't see as we behold the Lamb 
of God who takes away the sin of

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the world. 
John Stott once said, the cross 

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is the blazing fire at which the
flame of our love is kindled, 

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but we have to get near enough 
for its sparks to fall on us. 

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So, friends, wherever you are 
this week, we invite you to draw

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near to the cross. 
Come in out of the cold, and 

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come around the blazing fire of 
His love. 

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And we pray that He would give 
us grace to draw near enough 

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that the sparks fall on us. 
As we dive into this familiar 

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passage, I just want to pose one
question. 

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Have we ever been asleep when we
were supposed to be awake? 

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It's actually one of my deep 
fears, and I come by it 

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honestly. 
When I was a freshman in high 

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school, I was playing basketball
and my team was on a bus on the 

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way to Rockwall to play a game, 
and I happened to fall asleep on

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the bus. 
I woke up with a sense of some 

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sweetness in my mouth and the 
coach, my coach standing in the 

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aisle next to us saying, guys, 
what's going on here? 

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And as my senses came back 
online, I realized my mouth was 

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full of chocolate. 
So through the chocolate I said 

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ask him. 
So while I slept my so-called 

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friend had been stuffing Rolos 
into my mouth to see how many he

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could fit. 
So that day my friend learned 

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not to do that as he had to sit 
out the whole first half of the 

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game and I learned not to fall 
asleep in public places. 

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This is a terrible feeling to be
asleep when we're supposed to be

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awake, but that's really what 
our passage is about today. 

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So much has happened in our 
passage since Jesus triumphal 

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entry on Palm Sunday. 
Imagine the whirlwind of a week 

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that the disciples have had, and
on this night in Matthew 26, 

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they've already gathered for the
Passover. 

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Jesus has predicted his 
betrayal. 

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He's instituted the Lord's 
Supper, and now they've come to 

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this familiar place where they 
gathered before the Garden of 

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Gethsemane. 
Just imagine three years with 

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Jesus. 
All that's happened. 

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The disciples have to be 
exhausted. 

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In verse 43, we read that their 
eyes were heavy and with a storm

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losing on the horizon for Jesus.
I don't think they fully grasp 

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it, but they sense something is 
coming. 

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They're sorrowful. 
In the same episode in Luke 

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2245, we read they were sleeping
for sorrow. 

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So the disciples have sleepy 
eyes because they're exhausted 

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and sorrowful to realities that 
we know all too well. 

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When's the last time you heard 
someone say I just feel so 

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rested and energetic? 
We're exhausted. 

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And whom do you know who hasn't 
been touched by deep sorrow? 

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We all have sorrow and 
exhaustion and sorrow lead us to

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fall asleep or to be sluggish 
when we're supposed to be awake.

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And I don't just mean physical 
sleep. 

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Some people are completely 
asleep, unaware of who God is 

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and what He's doing. 
Holy Week comes year after year.

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The good news is preach week 
after week, and they are asleep 

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to it all. 
And some of us have been 

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awakened by the Holy Spirit. 
But we're still prone to fall 

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asleep when life gets busy or 
hard, when disappointment or 

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suffering comes. 
In these moments, we're tempted 

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not to lean in, but to check 
out, to doze off. 

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We're like the spouse that loses
the wonder of being married. 

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We can fall asleep in the most 
important relationships. 

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We're like the soldier who falls
asleep at his post. 

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We can fall asleep in the most 
important assignments. 

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We're like the lighthouse keeper
who dozes off in the midst of 

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the storm. 
And so our falling asleep can 

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have disastrous consequences. 
All too often when we're asleep,

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when we ought to be awake, my 
heart breaks that this is who I 

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am. 
So what do we see through the 

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sleepy eyes of the disciples? 
First, we see that our willpower

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fails us. 
Our willpower fails us. 

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Just before this passage in 
Matthew 2631, Jesus tells his 

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disciples, You will all fall 
away because of me this night. 

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So Peter replies, though they 
all fall away because of you, I 

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will never fall away. 
Then Jesus predicts Peter's 

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denial and Peter says, even if I
must die with you, I will not 

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deny you. 
See the confidence he has in his

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willpower? 
And the text says all the 

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disciples said the same. 
Then the scene shifts to the 

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Garden of Gethsemane where we 
are. 

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Gethsemane literally means oil 
press. 

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It's a garden. 
It's an olive Grove. 

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It's an oil press. 
In this garden, Jesus and his 

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disciples are both pressed, but 
they respond very differently. 

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In this moment of anguish for 
Jesus, he anticipates the 

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suffering that he will face the 
next day on Good Friday. 

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So it makes sense that he wants 
his friends to pray with him. 

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It's a very human moment. 
He has eight of them stay in one

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place. 
Then he invites 3 Peter, James, 

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and John to go a little farther 
to come with him. 

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And he tells them, My soul is 
very sorrowful even to death. 

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Remain here and watch with me. 
Just a simple request. 

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Watch with me, pray with me. 
And then Jesus goes a little 

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farther by himself, falls on his
face and begins to cry out to 

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his Father. 
And the text says he pleads with

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his father three times. 
And in between the praying, he 

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comes back to his disciples, I 
suppose, maybe looking for 

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comfort, only to find them 
asleep. 

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And it's not just the other 8 
disciples who are sleeping, it's

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the inner circle, the three, his
closest friends. 

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So in verse 40, Jesus addresses 
Peter, who made the boldest 

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promises. 
Could you not watch with me for 

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one hour? 
You see, even the strongest 

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among us have failed the Lord. 
The Lord wants to be with us. 

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He wants to do something for us.
He asked something of us. 

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But exhaustion and sorrow get 
the best of us. 

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And we, like the disciples, miss
the wonder of what God is doing 

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right before our eyes because 
we're asleep. 

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So through the disciples sleepy 
eyes we see our own failure to 

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stay awake. 
That, you could say, is the bad 

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news. 
But here's the good news. 

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We also see Jesus resolve to 
save us. 

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While we're sleeping, Jesus is 
fully awake. 

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He's watching and praying, 
pleading with the Father. 

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He's wrestling against spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly 

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places. 
He's winning a battle in this 

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garden that we lost in an 
ancient garden at the beginning.

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While we're sleeping, Jesus is 
pondering being separated from 

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his Father for the first time 
since eternity past. 

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He's sweating drops of blood. 
He's praying. 

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My Father, if this cannot pass 
unless I drink it, your will be 

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done. 
Think about Jesus being fully 

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human. 
He has to be more exhausted and 

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sorrowful than his disciples, 
but while they're sleeping, he's

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awake and fully engaged. 
He will not sleep in the Garden 

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of Gethsemane. 
He will not sleep all night as 

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he's accused and abused and 
condemned to die. 

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And he will not sleep all day on
Friday as he's handed over to be

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crucified, to carry his own 
cross, to allow soldiers to 

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drive nails through his wrists 
and his feet, to have to push up

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on those nails just to take a 
breath, to feel the weight of 

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his people's sins bearing down 
on him until he cries out. 

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My God, my God, why have you 
forsaken me? 

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Our Lord Jesus will not sleep 
until he breathes his last and 

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is laid to rest in a tune. 
He will not sleep because he 

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came to save people like us who 
fall asleep when they're 

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supposed to be awake. 
So friends, are you asleep when 

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you're supposed to be awake? 
Hear Jesus word to his disciples

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today. 
Watch and pray that you may not 

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enter into temptation. 
The Spirit indeed is willing, 

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but the flesh is weak. 
Come and be with Jesus this 

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week. 
Watch and pray with Him. 

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If life is noisy, come a little 
farther. 

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Come away from the crowds. 
Hear His word, listen for His 

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heart. 
Your spirit may be willing, but 

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your flesh is weak. 
So if you feel drowsy, ask Him 

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to strengthen you. 
But realize our hope is not in 

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our power to stay awake. 
Our hope is in the one who would

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not sleep until He could say it 
is finished. 

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And our hope is in the one who 
will not sleep on Sunday morning

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when it's time to wake up and 
conquer sin and death and hell. 

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Let's take a moment now for 
silent prayer and reflection. 

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Ask the Lord to show you where 
you're asleep, and ask Him, by 

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the power of His Spirit, to 
awaken you.