"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "The Cup!"

(Jesus is greatly distressed and rightly so as He is

well aware of what the next thirteen hours will bring.)

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will,

but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and

strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly,

and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."

(Luke 22:41-45)

The Lord Jesus Christ was agonizing over drinking the "cup." What? Jesus knew that just hours away were the beatings and ripping of His flesh with unmerciful stripes, the spitting in His face, the nails in His hands and feet, the piercing and tearing of His flesh against the splintered wood of that heavy monstrous cross, the shame of hanging naked in front of the world, the pain and torture He was about to endure, the Blood that would flow from the crown of thorns driven into his head, and the blood flowing from every pore in His mangled, almost unrecognizable, body ... Why? It was for the Sins of the whole world, every unrighteous ungodly act performed by humans, destined for a fiery burning Hell ... if He did not drunk the "Cup," if He did not shed His blood for mankind, there would be no hope for any of us ... This was "The Cup."

Jesus had told them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the

point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

(Matthew 26:36)

Jesus wanted His disciples to watch and pray with Him during this most horrendous time of anguish in the history of the world, but they fell asleep ... It's sort of like today; Jesus is still asking that pointed question, "Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Huh? Do you wake up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep? ... It's time to pray; it's time to "share the cup." What? Weep and pray for the sins of the people of every nation, kindred and tongue, weep for the souls of men, women, and children; groan in agony for the blatant evil that parades our streets and sticks its haughty face into the Holy face of Almighty God. "It IS Finished" as Jesus Christ said on the cross, when He died, meaning He paid the cost for the Sins of the whole world; it's done, but now it's up to mortal humans to ask for forgiveness, accept His blood shed for them, receive His Spirit and speak in tongues as His Spirit gives utterance, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ... then, we are made clean, washed, and ready for His return! It's a battle of the Wills ... God's Will is that no one perish or be lost, and man's Will is ... So, we share the burden of what was in the Cup; we share the tears for the lost to come to repentance; we share, in prayer, the Vision of the Cup ...

The Lord Jesus Christ LIVES! He died on the cross, was buried in a borrowed tomb, rose the third day, and He's ALIVE and He will return very soon to gather His own and we will be "caught up" together with Him in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord!

Maybe you are reading this and you live in another country or nation and you don't understand this "Gospel of Jesus Christ." Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. In the old testament of the Bible before Jesus was born, before the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, every time people sinned, they had to sacrifice a spotless animal or a bird, and the blood that was shed covered their sins for a time, but when Jesus Christ came, was born of a virgin, grew up and performed His ministry, then bled and died on the cross, the blood shed by Jesus Christ, the God of the universe, Almighty God, did away with the sins of all mankind for all eternity. He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself, and because of His blood shed, we have forgiveness of sins and we are redeemed. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, his birth, death, burial and resurrection. All we have to do now is come to Him, accept Him as our Savior, ask His forgiveness of all of our sins with sincere and deep contrition, receive His Spirit, and be baptized in His name. It's so wonderful to feel clean, to be forgiven, and to be filled with His Spirit! This is the salvation message for every human being in planet earth.

To "take up our cross and follow Him" is akin to sharing the "cup" with Him. We, as Christians, must feel His burden of a lost world, weep for the lost, pray for every nation of the world, love as He loved and loves ... it's like partaking of the "cup" in a sense. Only Jesus Christ could take away the sins of the world, but His Church carries on His Gethsemane, by prayer, by laying on of hands and taking authority in His Name, His Blood and His Word to defeat disease and evil, to bring all manner of healings, and to help bring people to repentance in His name. Jesus Christ drank "The Cup" and a white robe awaits every soul in earth who repents and obeys His Word (Acts 2; Acts 10; Acts 19) ... He drank the Cup for You and me and "It IS Finished."