I’ve Got It Under Control! - Part A

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That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. You've all heard the phrase, you've all said the phrase whenever you want someone to be assured that you are not overwhelmed, that things are going okay, that you can handle the situation, that you haven't taken on too much. You will say, I've got it under control.

Ever said that? Got it under control. So when the young husband wants to impress his young wife that he's able to provide for the future, he'll go, I've got it under control. When the teenage son wants to have his mom back off because she keeps asking him about, why do you spend so late of time with those friends of yours that I don't like? He'll say, dude, I've got it under control.

Even though you shouldn't say dude to your mom. When the college student wants her parents to not worry because she's taking 18 credit hours this semester plus two jobs, she'll say, I've got it under control. The fact of the matter is, you don't have it under control. There's a lot of life that you'd like to have under your control, but it can spiral out of control very quickly.

Is that right? Things can get out of your control very quickly. I'll tell you about a guy named Fred. Life seemed really good for Fred. He inherited $10 million.

That's pretty good. Life was under control. But Fred made a series of choices where his life spun rapidly out of control. Here's his story. Fred inherited $10 million, but the will provided that he had to accept it either in Chile or Brazil. He chose Brazil. Unfortunately, it turned out that in Chile, he would have received his inheritance in land on which uranium, gold, and silver had just been discovered. But once in Brazil, he had to choose between receiving his inheritance in coffee or in nuts. He chose the nuts.

Too bad. Because the bottom fell out of the nut market and coffee went up to $5.30 a pound wholesale unroasted. Poor Fred. He lost everything he had. So he went out and sold his gold watch for money that he needed to fly home. It seemed that he had just enough money to buy a ticket either to New York or to Boston.

He chose Boston. When the plane for New York taxied up, he noticed it was a brand new 747 with red carpets and cheek people. The plane for Boston then arrived. It was a 1928 Ford tri-motor with a swayback. It took a full day to get it off the ground.

It was filled with crying children and tethered goats. Over the Andes, one of the engines fell out. Our man Fred made his way up to the cockpit and said to the captain, Look, I'm a jinx on this plane, all right? Let me out if you want to save your lives.

Give me a parachute. The pilot agreed but said, On this plane, anybody who bails out must wear two chutes. So Fred jumped out of the plane and as he fell dizzily through the air, he tried to make up his mind which ripcord to pull.

Finally, he chose the one on the left. It was rusty and the wire pulled loose. So he pulled the other handle.

The parachute opened but the shroud lines snapped. So in desperation, the poor fellow cried out, St. Francis, save me. A great hand from heaven reached down and seized the poor fellow by the wrist and let him dangle in midair.

And then a gentle but inquisitive voice asked, St. Francis Xavier or St. Francis of Assisi? Poor Fred was dead. His life was totally out of control. On a serious note, I read an article this week in Psychology Today that said, One of the paramount fears most people have is the fear of losing control. And some people have this perpetually.

It's a chronic fear that people live with, the fear of losing control in their life and it makes them live at a heightened sense of stress. Now I don't know if you find yourself saying, I've got it under control. I don't know if you say that a lot, but if you're a Christian and you say that, that could be part of the problem. In fact, we're speaking the wrong line.

That's not our line. Last time I checked, that's God's line. It's God who gets to say, don't worry, I've got it under control.

Not you. God would say to you, I've got it under control, even when it doesn't seem like it, even though the situation around you you don't like, even though people are very unpredictable. God can say, I've got it under control. Romans 8 28.

All things work together for good to those that love God. In chapter 18, we see a story that from a human vantage point looks like it's totally out of control. We elevate ourselves a little bit and we look down from heaven's perspective and we see God's got it totally wired. Chapter 18 of John verses 1 through 11. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place where Jesus often met there with his disciples.

Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? They said to him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he.

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. And then he asked them again saying, whom are you seeking? Again they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, 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. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath.

Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? Jesus and his disciples enter into a place known as the Garden of Gethsemane. It doesn't say that word here, but the other gospel writers identify this garden as the Garden of Gethsemane. Now there's an emotion that is looming over this entire scene, and that is the emotion of despair, at least on the part of the disciples.

Life's out of control. Jesus had dinner with them. He has announced that he is leaving. He has announced his death. They fired a few questions back. They're in confusion and disarray. They're despondent. That looms over this scene.

The death of Christ is imminent. But overarching the scene is the grand truth of the sovereignty of Almighty God, a God who would look at this scene and say, I have this totally in control. The sovereignty of God is one of the most important doctrines that you as a Christian need to come to grips with, that God is in control. In fact, Charles Haddon Spurgeon said of all the Christian doctrines that God's children should enjoy, what brings them the most comfort is the doctrine of God's sovereign control.

Now we want to look at this control in three aspects. The place, the people, and the plans. Jesus Christ is in control of the place they're at, of the people that are around him, and of the plans that are being made. We begin in the first couple of verses with the place. Jesus, when he had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples. Notice he is doing the initiating.

He's calling the shots. Over the brook Kidron where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. There's one thing that we've discovered in the Gospel of John is how Jesus controls the situations of the movement of the disciples.

I'll give you an example. In chapter 11, which I know is like 30 years ago since we've been there, but in chapter 11, before they go up to Jerusalem this last time, he hears that Lazarus is sick, and he waits a few days, and then he says to his disciples, let's go up to Judea. The disciples aren't too keen on that. They go, ah, last time we checked they wanted to kill you in Judea. Let's not go to Judea.

Let's go have a falafel here and just stay put. And they go up to Jerusalem because Jesus leads them to that place. Then at the time of Passover on this very day, earlier that day, Christ said to his disciples, when you go into the city, you're going to find a man carrying a jar of water. Go follow him. He's going to take you to a house. And ask the owner of that house to show you the room that he has prepared all furnished where we can have the Passover.

There make ready for our meal. It's all totally those places under his control. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, understanding Genesis is critical to understanding the rest of Scripture. And in his book, You Can Understand the Book of Genesis, Skip Heitzig helps you discover the meaning and message of this foundational book. Embark on an epic journey to where it all began so you can understand the amazing story of God's love and our redemption in Christ. You Can Understand the Book of Genesis is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.

Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copies when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Then at the end of the meal in chapter 14 of John, verse 31, the last verse of the chapter, Jesus said to them, Arise, let us go from here. So he led them out of that upper room, out of the city, down toward the Garden of Gethsemane, and now in chapter 18, verse 1, he enters it and they follow him.

Every single place he has led them into and out of, he has been in total control. Now just file that thought for a moment. There's some wording in these verses that is very suggestive that John puts in there. He doesn't say it's Gethsemane.

I'll get to that in a moment. He just says they're going to a garden. That could be just incidental. That could just be John. But it could be that John wants the readers to think of the last time a garden was significant in history, and that was the Garden of Eden. Maybe John is saying just a garden so that we would compare what happened in the Garden of Eden with what's happening in the Garden of Gethsemane. For example, in the Garden of Eden, that's where life began. In the Garden of Gethsemane, that's where new life began. In the Garden of Eden, it was Adam who was conquered by sin. In the Garden of Gethsemane, it was Christ whom Paul calls the second Adam who conquered sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam ran, fled, hid from God. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus presents Himself to fulfill the will of God. So it could just be coincidence.

I don't think so. I think John is simply saying in every place, even this place, Christ was in total control. There's nothing else in the text. In verse 1, it says they went over the brook Kidron. Now what would that have looked like?

Let me paint the picture for you. Up on top of the temple, they were sacrificing lambs at Passover. Guess how many lambs? 200,000 plus lambs in a two-day period, slaughtered.

It's an enormous amount of blood, right? Joseph had said, one Passover, 256,000 lambs were killed on the temple. So they had to figure out a way to convey all of that blood away from the temple mount, an enormous amount of blood pooling on the altar of sacrifice.

They built a conduit, a channel, that went out of the temple mount, underneath that mountain, and emptied out in the Kidron brook. So when Jesus was walking over with His disciples, the brook Kidron, they would look down and see blood of lambs. Lambs, the Passover lambs.

Jesus passes over the brook, looking down at the Passover blood, He Himself being the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world, all very, very suggestive, like divine poetry. Then there's the garden itself called Gethsemane. Again, it's mentioned in Matthew and in Mark, but not by John, that term, Gethsemane.

We've all heard of it. It's a Hebrew word that comes from two Hebrew words, gat, which means the press, and shmanim, which means oil. It means the oil press, the olive oil press. In the Garden of Gethsemane were olive trees. It was like an arboretum filled with rows of olive trees.

It was a production plant, if you will. Olives were harvested and placed in an oil press. Here's an oil press. Huge round stone, olives placed on top of it. On top of the olives, another grinding stone, a very heavy stone that would crush the pits of the olives. That's where the oil comes from, the pits. And it's in that tremendous crushing where the olives now become valuable. Olive oil was used for everything from washing to lighting lamps every night.

It was the bloodline of the nation. So when the olives were crushed, the oil was exuded and collected from a lower channel into bottles, became valuable when it was crushed. Again, to me, very suggestive that here is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the place of pressing where the sins of the world are laid upon Him and He is being pressed by this horrible situation. And Isaiah, speaking of it predictably in Isaiah chapter 53, said He was wounded or pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed, literally crushed for our iniquities. So everything from the garden to the crimson river to the place of the press, all of that suggests that this place Jesus was in total control of.

He knew exactly where to go. Now let's talk about your Gethsemanes, the places you've been. You've been to some pretty raunchy places in your life. What I mean by that is you've been in places where it's dark, it's painful, it's sad, it's lonely, it's your Gethsemane. And you've looked around and you've said, this is out of control. God isn't here.

You need to know something this morning if you don't already. There has never been a place you've been where you have been alone apart from God if you're a believer. He's been with you. He's walked with you. He led you.

He was in control. Remember Psalm 139? David said, where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Remember that? He said, if I go up into the heavens you are there. If I make my bed in the depths of hell, behold, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning and go to the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your right hand will direct me. Jesus said to His disciples, I will never leave you nor what? Forsake you.

I'm very emphatic. I will never know, never know, ever leave you or forsake you. Jesus is called Emmanuel, which means God with us. There's never been a time, Christian, in your Gethsemane where it has been, you thought, so dark, but that God wasn't there. God was there.

Just as God was in control here, He is in control where you're at. There was once an atheist who wrote on a piece of paper in his office the words, God is nowhere. That's what he wrote. God is nowhere. That's what he believed.

That's his world view. God is nowhere. This little girl was in the office. She was learning how to read and she just studied that little sentence that he wrote and thought about what it would look like if there was a gap between the W and the H. And she wrote, God is now here. That atheist didn't like what his daughter wrote all that much.

Same spelling. How many times have you been in a situation where you said, God is not here. God is nowhere. It's so dark. It's so painful.

It's so alienating. It's so lonely. God is nowhere. But in reality, God is now here. In this Gethsemane, God is now here.

Listen to this psalm. You know it well. It's one of your favorites. One of the most well known. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

We all know that. Psalm 23. Remember when David says, even though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he said, I will fear no evil because you are with me.

Because you are with me. I studied a little bit about sheep because I don't know anything about sheep so I had to study people who know about sheep. One guy who knows about sheep said this. When it's hot, the summer months, the shepherd will lead the sheep down into deep ravines because it's hot up on top and it's in the shadowed, shaded areas where the wadis, they're called wadis, the little streams, the overflow streams, run at the very bottom. That's where the refreshment is, at the bottom of the pit, the valley. However, sheep, they don't like shadowed places. They can't see very well so when they look down into a ravine and they can't see where they're going, they're skittish.

There's no incentive from the shepherd. Get down there! Only to discover that the greenest pastures in the hottest summer months are in the deepest valleys.

The place of the most refreshment is down deep in the valley. I know that you all have testimonies. You could say, you could testify that in the darkest times of your life, even when at first you thought God is nowhere, you discovered the sweetest nectar of God's fellowship. Like you've never experienced it before where you said, wow, God is now here.

Even in this place. So that's Gethsemane. Jesus was in control of the places. Second thing I want you to look at is the people.

He's in control of the people. Now there's two groups of people here in our story. There's enemies of Jesus and there are friends of Jesus. There's two types.

Now there is a third group. Not an enemy, not a friend. I'm going to call him a frenemy. You know what a frenemy is? A frenemy is somebody who pretends to be your friend, but isn't.

But really acts behind the scene as an enemy. That's Judas. He's a frenemy. He said, Jesus, I love you.

You're my friend. But he's conspiring behind the scenes to get Jesus arrested. He's a frenemy. He's siding with the enemies. Well, let's look at the enemies of Christ. First of all, look at verse three.

Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came with lanterns, torches, and weapons, it says. They're looking for trouble. Or they're expecting the worst, you might say.

They're prepared for the worst. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will take you back to where it all began so you can understand all of God's word more clearly.

Pastor Skip's book, You Can Understand the Book of Genesis, is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copies when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.

That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. And did you know that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources from Pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox? Simply visit connectwithskip.com and sign up for emails from Skip. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Make a connection Make a connection At the foot Of the crossing Cast all burdens on His word Make a connection Connection Connect with Skip Heitzig Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.