Jentezen Franklin - Sing King (Garden of Gethsemane)
Hello and welcome to a very special edition of Kingdom Connection. Thank you for joining me today. I'm coming to you from the beautiful nation of Israel, and specifically, the Garden of Gethsemane. Something happened here today that I want to talk to you about. Go back with me in time, back to that special feast, the Passover. Jesus had entered into the city of Jerusalem for the last time. He had gone there and they had greeted Him with waving palm branches and shouts of Hosanna. Now He enters in for the last meal, the last supper and it's a joyous celebration that He had with His twelve disciples. Jesus, then the tone changes because as they were celebrating, He introduced the bread and the wine. He said, "The bread represents my body and the fruit of the vine represents my blood".
In other words, He was revealing a secret, "A new blood covenant is coming. You've been under the old blood covenant and the blood of goats and lambs, they were what brought you a relationship with God, the sacrifice of animals". But Jesus revealed the secret when He said, "A new covenant is coming. My body will be the bread and my blood will be shed for the establishment of a brand new and better covenant". Think about what Jesus knew that those disciples didn't know. He knew that His familiar friend before that meal was over, Judas, would betray Him for 30 pieces of silver. He knew that he would soon walk into this garden and there the Bible said, "The prince of this world, Satan, would come, and all of hell's focus would be on Jesus as He knelt by a tree," the scripture said, "An olive tree and begin to pray until the sweat on His brow became like drops of blood".
He knew that was coming. He knew he would soon be falsely accused. He knew that He would soon be arrested and beaten mercilessly with a cat of nine tails of leather whip that would rip His back to pieces. He knew that He would be spat on and His beard would be plucked. He knew that they would nail spikes through His hands and through His feet and they would shove a crown of thorns on His head. He knew it, they didn't know, but He knew what was coming. He knew that within hours He would be hanging on a cross on Goalmouth's Hill. He knew that the blood would be pouring from His body. And He knew that He would hang on that cross from 12:00, Jerusalem time, in the afternoon to 3:00 and the sun would refuse to shine. He knew the agony and the pain that was coming.
So, what did Jesus do knowing all of this? He could have called, the Bible said, "Twelve legions of angels". He could have called, in other words, the a legion was 6,000, it was a military unit in the Roman army. He could have called 72,000 angels into this garden. And when the soldiers came to arrest Him and take Him to the cross, He could have summoned those angels and they would have slain the entire Roman army if necessary. But He didn't do that. He could have said, "Lord, in this garden, God, you've asked too much and I'm going to let this cup pass. I'm not gonna drink from this bitter cup and man will die in their sins and be lost without any hope for eternity".
So, what do you do? Is the question for you. What do you do on the worst day of your life? Jesus, in this garden and in that upper room moment was facing the worst day of His life. He knew the storm was raging. He knew that pain and suffering and agony like He had never faced before was coming. No doubt about it, He knew it. The disciples didn't know it. And what did Jesus do? This is what's astonishing to me. After He said, "The one who dips his hand with me while I'm eating this bread will betray me". And it was Judas, and Judas betrayed Him. After that meal, "And He rose up," the Scripture. And in Mark 14, listen to this verse, verse 26. "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane, and there He surrendered His will to God's will". What got me was, "And when they had sung a hymn".
You know what Jesus did when He was facing the worst day of His life? Something in Him said, "Sing, King. Sing when you're facing tears. Sing when it looks like it's over. Sing when you don't know what you're going to do". A hymn, the Scripture said in Mark 14:26. "And when they had sung a hymn". The word hymn is "Hal al", which is Psalms. It comes from the Book of Psalms, and particularly there were certain Psalms that were sung and still are for every feast. There seven feast and there are different songs that are sung connected to that feast. And the song that is connected to the feast of Passover. The Psalms are one, Psalms 113 through 118. Listen to what Jesus sung on the worst day of His life. And maybe, maybe, I hope this hits you, like it hit me. He's going, He's leaving that dinner, He knows the pain, the suffering that He's facing and He's sings Psalms 118. "The Lord is on my side". Listen to the words now. "I will not fear what man can do unto me. The Lord is for me and He will help me".
Then He says in verse 11, watch him start describing the sacrifice on the cross, "They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me". And I'm reading it, but they sing this, this is a hymn. It's not to be read, it is to be sung. And Jesus, on the worst day of His life, the King, is singing. And he says, "They surrounded me, they surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them". He said in verse 13, "You have pushed me violently that I might fall, but the Lord has helped me". Listen to this verse 14, "The Lord is my strength and my song". Sing King, sing when it looks like it's over. Sing when it looks like hell's winning. Sing when you're in pain and agony and tears are streaming down your face. Sing when you're facing the worst day of your life.
"He has become my salvation." He said in verse 17, this is in Psalm 118, what a prophecy. He sung this before he came to this garden and was arrested. He said, "I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord". He knew they were gonna arrest Him. He knew they were going to crucify Him. But then he says in verse 22, "The stone which the builders have rejected will become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous in my eyes". "I'm about to go to the cross, God is allowing this. The Father has sent me for this purpose". And then listen to these amazing words in Psalm 118 when He says, "This is the day", verse 24, "This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it".
Jesus is singing a hymn and the disciples don't know why He's singing it, like He's singing it as they're walking out of the upper room, making their way across the little valley into the Garden of Gethsemane, where we are. He's singing on the worst day when He's facing the worst pain in agony. "This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it". Sing King, on the worst day of your life, He can sing. How can you sing, King, through the worst pain imaginable, the worst betrayal, the worst suffering? Maybe you're going through it. Maybe someone's broke. Maybe you've been betrayed. Maybe your own family has died. Maybe there's something that's happened. Maybe a tragedy has happened in your family. What do you do on the worst day of your life? How could He sing when He was facing the crucifixion within hours? Why is He singing, "This is the day the Lord has made".
The Bible tells us why. In Hebrews 12:2 this is what it says, "For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. For the joy that was set before Him, He despised the shame". In other words, He looked beyond the present pain, to see the gain. He looked beyond what He was going through, to what he was going to. He said, "I'm gonna gain a new family. I'm gonna gain sons and daughters. I'm gonna set captives free. I'm gonna heal sick people. I'm going to gain me a new family in Heaven. I'm going to gain me a church and a Kingdom that cannot be shaken". And I want you to know today that that is a powerful thing when you understand, the King said, "I'm going to sing".
Sing, King. Sing, because hell is about to lose its keys. Sing, King, because death is about to lose its sting. Sing, King, because your blood is going to save the world. Sing, King, because in three days there's going to be a resurrection. In three days you're going to conquer death, hell and the grave. Sing, King, on the worst day. I just have come today to preach to somebody and tell you, don't let the enemy steal your song. Don't let what you're going through stop you from understanding what heaven has planned in your life. The Bible said in Psalm 133, "That when they were taken into captivity, the people hung their harps up on the trees". In other words, they lost their song and they said, "We can't sing anymore. We can't really have a song of praise anymore because of what we are going through and everything that we've lost". But, I believe today that one of the greatest, most powerful lessons we can learn, is after He ate His last meal, He stood up and He started singing praise to the Father. And He said, "I will live and not die. And, yes, they'll take me to the cross, and yes, they'll crucify me but on the third day, I will rise again".
Don't lose your song. Don't let depression, fear, discouragement, death, bereavement sorrow, don't let it steal your song. Today I have come into the Garden of Gethsemane in this special, powerful, beautiful place, and I wanna pray for you. I wanna pray for your family. I wanna pray for your loved ones. I want to pray that the Holy Spirit, from maybe a spot like this, where Jesus got on His knees and His sweat became like drops of blood in agony. I believe that prayer can bring the song back. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in the prison and at midnight, they sang praises to God. The last thing the enemy thinks you'll do on the worst day of your life is still seeing praises to God. But when you find that place of prayer, you find that place of worship, and you find that place where you can just turn it all over to the Lord, that's what Jesus did. He fought a battle, and He said, "I feel like giving up". In so many words. He said, "Lord, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me". In this garden, He prayed that prayer. "Lord, if it's possible, let me get out of this".
And I love the fact that the scripture said that he reached that point where he said, "But not my will, but thine be done". I'm telling you, God has a will for your life. I'm telling you that God has a plan for your life, and you need to stop fighting it, and you need to stop running from it, and you need to accept the call, just like Jesus did in a spot like this. Somewhere there was a tree just like this, there was a spot just like this, where Jesus said, "I surrender, Father. I surrender to the will of God. Not my will, not my will, but thine be done". Boy, when you do, you can sing. You can sing because you know that all things work together for the good to them that are called according to His purpose. Not just the sunshine, not just the successes, not just the victories, but the pain and the agonies and the betrayals and the trials and the tribulations, suddenly, God takes it all. All things. You can win that battle in prayer. You can win that family.
And I'm reminded of the first time I ever came in this place. And me and Cherise had little children back then and we found one of these trees, just she and I, and we gathered around that tree and we wanted to be by ourselves, we'd brought people over, but we wanted to be by ourselves. And we touched our hands and we prayed, and we gave our little family, and we had some of our girls with us, and we brought them over, and they were just little, and we laid our hands on them. And we pray in this garden, and you can do the same. And it's a prayer that God will never forget. And He's working His will. He's doing His will. Your family belongs to God and you have to remind yourself, Satan is a liar. And that day, we won a victory. We got up and we knew that we had been with the Lord in a very special way in this garden. And I feel His presence. Somebody's being healed right now. He was wounded for your transgressions. Sing, King, sing.
"Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' Let the poor say, 'I am rich.'" Let those who are discouraged today sing a song of triumph and praise to our King. If He could conquer death He can conquer anything. He can conquer cancer. He can conquer addiction. He can conquer suicidal thoughts. He can conquer mental health. He can conquer any kind of issue that's coming against you and your family. And I want to pray for you in closing today. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to the spot and I want to pray for you and your family. And listen, if you don't know Jesus, He died on a tree, on a cross, a wood cross for you, and you can accept Him today. Say this prayer, say, "Lord Jesus," Right where you are. Say it. "I receive you today as my Savior". Say these words that He said in this garden. "Not my will," say that. "but Thine be done".
All of you watching me today who are in a mental battle. I love that this is live TV. Birds are flying and horns are blowing, but Jesus is here and He's saying, "I've been waiting for this moment, for you to surrender your will to me, just like I did to the Father in that spot that day in the Garden of Gethsemane". It's time for you to do that. Say, "Lord, I surrender my will". Say these words. Everybody say these words. "Not my will, but thine be done, I surrender". We would love to pray with you. We would love to believe with you. I want to pray for every one of you who need a miracle today, from the Garden of Gethsemane. "I speak freedom. I speak healing. I speak provision. I speak family restoration. I speak the power of the name and the blood of Jesus Christ over you and over your family. And no weapon formed against you is going to prosper". Hallelujah. Sing, King, sing. "Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee how great thou are".
Today I want to thank you for praying that prayer and if you have a need in your life, there's a number on the screen (1-888-331-8827) and there's a prayer team standing by, ready to pray with you. We'll send you material, we'll send you next steps, we'll send you a little Bible. Whatever you need, we're here to help you. There's all kinds of things that are online that you can go free of charge and they'll help you find the will of God, just like Jesus found that day in this garden. Thank you so much for joining us, we love you, we appreciate you. Coming to you from the Garden of Gethsemane. Don't forget, keep on singing, keep on praising. There's power that's behind you when you praise the Lord. Satan's a liar and Jesus has given you a song that hell cannot defeat. Sing, King.