–D.C. Adkisson (Winter of the Wolves)

       “I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given me to do.”

                         –John 17:4 (NKJV)
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               “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
                              –Luke 22:42(NKJV)

Put yourself for a minute in the garden, not asleep like the disciples, but maybe behind a rock watching the agony of Jesus.  Have you ever really thought about what it was that caused this great agony?  Maybe it is not clear from the translation above, so let me give you Harbuck’s, “Father, if You are willing or if it pleases You, remove this cup [of agony] from Me.  Nevertheless, [it is supremely important that] not My will or My desire be carried out, but that Your will be carried out and accomplished.”
       We see the Father’s will and the cup.  This cup was a cup of agony.  “Jesus agonized over His approaching death and the effect of God’s wrath.  The cup is a figure of speech for wrath.” (NKJV Study Bible).  What was this cup?  Yes, death was there, but it was not necessarily death or the grave that brought about the agony.  Jesus wasn’t concerned over the grave, He knew that He would rise again.  In Galatians, we read, that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (1:1)  Paul writes in Romans that it was the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (8:11).  Finally, Jesus had His own power to raise Himself (John 3:18).  The grave did not concern Him for He had power over the grave.
       Do not neglect this word “agony.”  It is definitely implied.  Jesus knew He would face severe physical torment.  Agony was the Greek word used of someone fighting a battle with sheer fear.  There is no hope against the torture, the pain–therefore, it is agony.  Vine states that the term meant, “severe emotional strain and anguish.”  At this moment, in that wretched time in Gethsemane, Jesus could have refused the cross.  Think of it, Jesus sweating and blood dripping.  Barclay puts it this way, “The salvation of the world hung in the balance of the Son of God literally sweated it out in Gethsemane; and he won.”
       They had sung a hymn before leaving the room, but now, in the Garden, the song had ceased and the agony began.  He knows He must go through with the Father’s will if mankind is to be redeemed.  He is to face the last enemy of life–death.  He knew He came to earth for this very purpose, but He also knows that He must face a terrible ordeal.  
       What was it then?  Agony of the soul.  Not only was there to be the physical pain, there was the emotional pain that would be attached to it.  Even more–the spiritual pain.  Yes, there is a pain of the spirit.  The holy One, the pure One, the righteous One was now to feel the touch of sin.  Not His, but the world’s–past, present, and future.  Paul writes, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV)  Even in this Jesus Himself did not become a sinner or that He was guilty of sin, but our sins, yours and mine, were imputed or attributed to Him.  Jesus, who walked among mankind, who saw the results of sin, who healed many who were sick that was part of the curse, who saw men die, now would not only see the results, but would feel sin.  The Holy One, received all the sins of the world upon Himself!
       Then He uttered those words; words that saw the redemption of mankind.  “It is finished!”  Redemption is here, the ransom has been paid, God’s justice has been declared and the wrath and punishment has been carried out.  Jesus declared it so!  “It is finished!”  Death came, the agony was over.  “Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2, NASB).  “…Jesus, the One Who is the Originator (Leader, Source) and Finisher and Perfecter of our faith, He, Who for the reason of the joy [of attaining the victory] that lay ahead of Him, endured the cross and ignored the shame…”  (Harbuck)  
       He faced all the agonies that came with the cross.  The enemy–Satan was there, the Father turned His back, sin came upon Him and He cried, not “woe is Me”; but “It is finished!”  I repeat–
            IT IS FINISHED!

                    –Luke 21:28 (NASB)
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               “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
               The emblem of stuff’ring and shame;
               And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
               For a world of lost sinners was slain.”
                         –George Bennard

I mentioned yesterday that we are not to mourn for the Person on the cross.  It may bring sorrow to you, but put that aside–do not mourn for Him.  However, it is not wrong for you to mourn if you are in a sinful state.  If you have not gone to see that the cross is empty; that Jesus paid the price and rose again.  Too many times we get caught up with seeing Jesus on the cross, still there, but He is not!  He, Himself declared it–It is finished!  Yes, look upon the cross, but look at it as what took place there.
       I invite you to read the following taken from Lois A. Cheney, God Is No Fool.

               I stand before the cross
                  and wonder.
               I stand before the cross
                  and fear.
               I kneel before the cross
                  and weep.
               I pray before the cross
                  and rejoice.
               To know the cross
                   Is to know Christ.
               To feel the cross
                   Is to feel Christ.
               To gaze at the cross
                   Is to gaze at Christ.
               To carry the cross
                   Is to be a Christian,
                  And not until then.
               God forgive us.

The cross was a place of sorrow, now it is a place of rejoicing.  No longer are we bound by the shackles of sin because of the sacrifice of the Lord.  The cross was the place where the devil thought he had won, but it was the place of his demise.
       Now, since we are redeemed.  Now, since we are bought with a price–He tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him.  Look at that verse, contemplate it.  “And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].”  (Luke 9:23, Amplified)

               “To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
               Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
               Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
               Where His glory forever I’ll share.

                         –Kenneth Pratt  (A Love to Die For)

                    –Zane Grey  (The Light of the Western Stars)

       “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

                    –Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)
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What is the focal point of your life?  Don’t rush, but seriously take inventory.  Many will respond, “God,” simply because that is the right answer, but if so, what about God?  I knew of a man whose focus was his career and money.  He made $50,000 a week, but lost his family.  I ask was it worth it?  It all depends on your focal point, on what is important in and to your life.  Everyone, whether they realize it or not, has something or someone at the very core, the center of their lives.  Psalm 112 helps us with this for the psalmist shows us what should be our focus.

          1 — Praise the LORD!  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments.
          2 — His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
          3 — Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
          4 — Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
          5 — A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion.  (NKJV)

       “The fear of God is the soul of godliness,” states Charles H. Spurgeon.  That is where we should start with our focus.  Yet, how many, including Christians have a shallow life, one without the knowledge of the Lord?  As Christians our lives should have one dominant pursuit–God Himself.  How do we respond to the Word of the Lord?  How do we respond when the Spirit attempts to guide us?  Are we like the Israelites of old when they left Egypt–complainers, murmurers, angry?  Many want to pick and choose what they want from the Bible, but we should delight in all of His commands.
       Let me share a story from George O. Wood.  He speaks of a “Montana sheepherder who became enormously rich when oil was discovered on his ranch.  He promptly bought a Rolls Royce limousine, the kind where the driver sits in front of a glass partition.  A friend asked, ‘What do you like best about it?’  ‘Well,’ he drawled,’ I can take my sheep to market now without having them lick my neck.'”  The moral of the story is, what would you do if you came into wealth?  Where would your focal point be?
       This psalm is about “what it looks like for a believer to live a God-centered life, one in which God is the sum and substance of life.” (Steven Lawson)  Look at the priorities:  reverence, obedience, and then blessings.  Lawson states, “You cannot fear God without delighting in His Word.”  When that happens, there is a wonderful legacy to be left behind.  The person who fears God will have His blessings, both materially and spiritually.
       This person is able to see in the darkness because a light is given to him.  People around you may be groping in the darkness; they may not be able to see what is actually going on around them, but to the person who is upright and fears the Lord there will be a light to see things that others cannot.  He will have spiritual eyes.  Then he will respond justly:  gracious, compassion, and righteousness will be seen in their lives.  Then conform to the standards of God.
       What happens if you lose your material possessions?  Will you change?  It is entirely possible if your focus is not right.  “It is a small thing to lose the gifts as long as you possess the Giver; the supreme tragedy lies in losing the Giver and retaining only the gifts.” (F. W. Boreham)  Again I would say, take serious inventory of your focus.  What is important to you?  Check it against the Word of God.

               “And must I part with all I have,
               My dearest Lord, for thee?
               It is but right, since thou hast done
               Much more than that for me.”
                      –Benjamin Beddome