Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Matthew 26:36-39 Jesus praying in Gethsemane, asking if the cup of suffering could be taken from him
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.”
37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
38 Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
39 He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Matthew 27:32-35
Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross, Jesus offered wine mixed with gall, crucifixion
32 As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross.
33 When they came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull,”
34 they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink.
35 When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots,
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Mark 15:21-24
Parallel crucifixion account, Jesus offered wine mingled with myrrh but refused it
21 They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.
22 They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.”
23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.
24 Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take.
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Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man but ends in death, used to illustrate self-caused suffering
12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
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Psalm 23
Referenced briefly as quiet waters and green meadows versus the valley of the shadow of death
1 Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.
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James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy when facing trials, because testing produces perseverance so you lack nothing
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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1 Peter 5:10
After suffering a little while God will restore, support, strengthen and place you on a firm foundation
10 But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
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Psalm 50:7-15
Read during the offering, God owns everything and calls for a sacrifice of thanksgiving
7 “Hear, my people, and I will speak; Israel, and I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8 I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens.
10 For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
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Song of Solomon
Come away with me my beautiful one, referenced as an invitation to lay down your life and follow him
Keep this verseRecap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Brian picked up where he left off the previous week, working through a single idea he calls "choosing endurance over escape." The sermon centers on two cups that appear in the gospel accounts of the crucifixion: the cup of suffering Jesus accepted in Gethsemane, and the cup of wine mixed with myrrh that he refused at Golgotha. The question he kept returning to was why Jesus spat that second cup out, and what it means for us that he did.
What was said
Brian opened by placing three passages side by side on what he called the desktop of your mind: Jesus praying in Gethsemane that the cup of suffering might pass from him, and then two parallel accounts of the crucifixion in which soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, which he refused. The parallel is intentional. In the garden Jesus chose the cup of suffering. At the cross he was offered a way out of it, and he turned it down.
To understand why that matters, Brian spent time on what myrrh actually was in the Roman world. It was a common aromatic spice used in cooking, fragrance, and burial. Mixed with wine it produced a narcotic effect, dulling pain and helping a person check out from what was happening to them. On its own that might seem like simple mercy, but the historical detail Brian brought in changed the picture considerably.
Roman cities placed latrines at the city gates, and the cleaning implements at those latrines were sponges on sticks soaking in a solution of wine and myrrh. Brian was careful to say the gospels do not identify the source of what was offered to Jesus, but he noted that extra-biblical Roman historical sources describe this as standard sanitation practice. The cup of escape, he said, is what it feels like to drink from in the end: poo poo water. It looks appealing and it promises relief, but it is not what it appears to be.
Brian traced the cup of suffering through earlier parts of the sermon series, describing it as the cup of discipline, of trusting God without knowing the next five steps, of not giving up when the road gets hard. He read a quote from Charles Spurgeon making the point that adversity, however it appears to be our enemy, is our true friend, and that a high character has rarely been produced by continued prosperity. He tied this to the idea from James that the testing of faith produces perseverance, and perseverance produces maturity, so that we lack nothing.
A member of the congregation asked directly what the purpose of choosing suffering is, and the conversation that followed was part of what Brian was clearly after. Several people contributed: that Jesus refusing the cup was fulfilling the prophecy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, that in the garden Jesus had already committed his will to the Father and drinking the cup of escape would have broken that commitment, and that obedience demonstrated under pressure is what distinguishes a son who can be entrusted with authority from someone who only follows when it is easy. Another person shared that choosing to trust God through sleeplessness rather than numbing it with marijuana had opened him back up to hearing God in dreams.
Brian closed the main thread by saying the cup of escape is not neutral. It is the default cup, the one the enemy keeps offering with the argument that you deserve a break, that you can circle back to the hard thing later. Most of us, he said, can remember a time we chose the shortcut and it made us sick. The cup of suffering, chosen not for suffering's sake but out of obedience to the Father, is the one that produces something in us that nothing else can.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Fill out a connect card and check the box for the text blast so you know where Tribe is meeting each week.
- When you hit a moment this week where the easy way out is right in front of you, pause and ask yourself honestly which cup you are reaching for.
- If you have been thinking about water baptism, talk to Brian after service or reach out to him before October 13.
- Bring winter clothes or candy to the TMC this week to support the Wind River Reservation harvest festival trip.
- Close your eyes before you go to sleep one night this week and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about any area of your life where you have been drinking from the cup of escape instead of trusting God with the harder road.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian read from Matthew 26 where Jesus asks the Father to take the cup of suffering from him, but then says 'yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' What do you think it cost Jesus to say that, and what does it look like in your own life to get to that same place?
- Brian described the cup of escape as the default cup, the one most people around us are drinking from constantly. When you look back, what has the cup of escape actually delivered for you compared to what it promised?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
Brian continuó la conversación de la semana anterior sobre elegir la resistencia en lugar del escape. A partir de tres pasajes del Evangelio, señaló que en la crucifixión Jesús rechazó el vino mezclado con mirra que le ofrecieron, y explicó por qué eso importa: ese brebaje era la solución que los romanos usaban en las letrinas a las puertas de la ciudad. Lo que parecía un alivio compasivo era, en realidad, agua sucia. Esa imagen se convirtió en el centro del mensaje: cuando elegimos escapar del sufrimiento en lugar de atravesarlo con Dios, terminamos bebiendo algo que nos enferma, aunque en el momento parezca tentador.
Brian habló del sufrimiento no como algo que Dios nos impone con crueldad, sino como el camino por el que se forma el carácter, se aprende la obediencia y se llega a una fe madura. Citó a Charles Spurgeon, quien escribió que la adversidad, aunque parece enemiga, es nuestra verdadera amiga. Varios miembros de la congregación compartieron desde sus propias vidas cómo elegir confiar en Dios en lugar de buscar salidas fáciles les había costado algo, pero también les había dado algo que ningún atajo podía dar.
El llamado final fue sencillo: si hay pecado sin confesar, si hay una salida fácil a la que seguimos volviendo, este es el momento de arrodillarse y hacer cuentas con el Señor. Brian también anunció un bautismo en agua para el 13 de octubre, ya sea en Flat Creek o en el río Snake, y mencionó que la semana siguiente el servicio sería en el TMC en dos horarios, a las 9 y a las 11 de la mañana.
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Pasajes bíblicos usados
- Mateo 26:36-39
- Mateo 27:32-35
- Marcos 15:21-24
- Santiago 1:2-4
- 1 Pedro 5:10
- Salmos 50:7-15
Read the full transcript 9,062 words
How is everyone today? Made it all
the way over from IF.
I love it. I love it. And on time. I love it. Hi, mama.
Yep. Yeah. If you need
to dance, little room. Make a little room. Go kick the monitor. Oh lord, we tell you, you are welcome in this place. Your spirit is welcome here.
We have a plan today, but holy spirit, we just tell you, we lay it all down. We say, come. Have your way in this place today. Thank you for
your great great love that
you always show up, that you always come and you always meet us. Meet the
going never runs out on me. Your love. Sing that again. Your love, because your love never fails, never gives up, it never runs out on me. Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me.
Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. You'll love. Come on. Sing it out. On and on and on.
Come on. Oh, on and on and on it goes. One this one fails never gives up never runs out on me your love I sing this
in death and
in life just think about this in death never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love, it never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your never runs out on me. Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your
Let's sing this and on and on it goes.
And on and on and and on it goes. That's good news. And it overwhelms and satisfies
this one thing
remain your love your love never fails never gives up never runs out on me Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love. Come on, let's sing this in death
and life. Come on, let your hope rise.
Runs out on me. Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your
Just thank him this morning.
We praise you, God. Just right
where you are, just thank him this morning. Oh, you're worthy, worthy, worthy.
Oh, you're worthy, worthy, worthy. Oh, where would I be without you? Where would I be without you?
Just lift a new song to him today that comes from your spirit, the specific unique song that comes from your heart, from your testimony, from your intimacy with him. So lift a new song to him today. The worship that can only come from you and you alone to your father this morning. He loves to hear your worship.
Oh, then you're worthy of our praise today. Worthy is the lamb who was slain.
Heaven's mercy seat. Let's sing that again. Let's declare his
worthiness. Worthy is the lamb who was heaven's mercy see now join the angels and sing this together the king of kings you are my everything and I will adore you We will adore you, Lord. Jesus. Just sing about these words. Cold and rainbow name of Jesus.
Thank
you for adore you. We just gaze upon your beauty. We love you. Yeah.
Lift your own song to him this morning. Just tell him you love him. If you can't think of anything to say, tell him you love him. Tell him thank you.
He's coming again y'all with all creation I sing praise to the king of kings you are my everything and I will adore you. Oh, we adore you, You're worthy of it We just tell you. You're worthy of it all. Yes, you are everything I am. For from you are all things, for from you are all things and to you are all things.
You deserve the glory.
Just picture this. Just picture what's happening in heaven. You deserve the glory. But we ask that our worship, that our praise would be like incense that would just rise from our lives of just a lifestyle of worship to you that, like we're talking about last week and today, that we would that we would drink that cup of suffering because it's that denial of our flesh, that denial of our self. And that our life would be just a pleasing aroma, the worship of our life, the words that come out of our mouth, our actions, our thoughts.
And Lord, need to come to you daily, daily for the strength to look more like you. So we just... We ask that as we sing this last part that day and night, night and day, we make this just a prayer from our heart that the incense of our praise and our worship would rise. Not just on Sunday at church, not just here and there, but that every day, day and night that our life would be incense to you, pleasing aroma. Maybe as we sing this there's some unrepented sin in your heart, something that would keep you from the Lord.
He's here. He's here by his spirit today. Be quick to repent and let him just wrap you up and forgive you today and then worship your heart out. If you feel like there's a wall between you, start there. Lord, search me, oh God, if there would be anything, anything in me that would keep me from entering into your presence today.
Yes, Lord. Search us.
And day and night, night and day let incense arise. Deserve the glory.
One more time, just our voices. Let's declare it.
And to you are all things. You deserve the glory.
Yes, Lord. Lord, let us live that and not it just be words to a song recognizing that you deserve all the glory. We could just sing forever of your great love, of your mercy, of your kindness, of what a good father you are. Lord, we praise you in the good times and we praise you in the trials. And I pray for anybody in this place right now that worship is coming easy for them.
Maybe they have a lot to be thankful for this morning and it's just flowing out. And maybe there's people in this room today that it is hard because of circumstances in their life to lift a praise, to lift a hallelujah. But Lord, you see it. You see that sacrifice of praise today. Take that.
Take that and fill them with your peace today. Despite the circumstance, give them joy in the trial. We ask for your holy spirit to break through in here today and like we prayed as a leadership team, we have a plan but this entire time is yours holy spirit. Whatever you wanna do with this time with these exact saints gathered in this place today, we yield to you. We ask that you would come and speak each and every one of us today and that our prayer would be that we would leave here changed because we met with you, the risen savior, the king of kings, the lord of lords.
If we truly encounter you, we can expect to be changed today. So let our expectation rise. Let our expectation rise today for what you're gonna do in each and every one of our hearts today. We tell you we love you. Everybody just say that.
Say, I love you Jesus. I love Jesus. Amen. What great worshipers in here today. My goodness.
It's one of those days where you just wanna go into, I could sing
of your love because then where do you stop? Christine's like, well, fill up
your coffee. We're so glad you're here. There's a lot of visitors. Turn around and greet someone this morning. Say it's a good day to worship the Lord in a bar?
Thank you, sir. Jay's dad. How are you, sir? How are you? I'm good.
I I felt like I had a picture for you. And I felt like you did too. So, honestly And here's here's the picture that I felt like I had. I I saw a picture, you know, from that bible verse of nobody lights a candle and puts it under a basket instead. They put it on a stand where it gives light to the whole house.
And what I felt like is there's... I don't... I...
And I'm not gonna try to,
like, read into it because it's not my work. It's good for you. But there's even aspect of your life or maybe a a venture or endeavor of some sort that has been burning in your heart, but for some reason or another. I don't know that it's circumstances. I actually think maybe it has to do with, like, influence of some other people or something, but you've kind of been holding it under a a bush.
Now wait a minute. Wait a minute. Be encouraged. Alright. Alright.
Alright. Alright. Hey. Did you get that in Hawaii at helicopter school? Did you get that in Hawaii at helicopter school?
And there it is, still today. Wow. This is great. Find a seat or a lap depending on how good a friend you are or maybe just the kind of person you are. So glad that you are here.
There are some connect cards in your seat if you are new or visiting, passing through town. We'd love to have a record of your visit. There's also a box that you can check if you would like to be added to our text blast. It's probably one of the best ways that we communicate with our tribe fam to let you know not only of what's going on, but where is tribe meeting this week? I'm glad that you can laugh about it.
But it's a great way for you to stay in touch with us and for us to stay in touch with you. Also, on the back of that connect card, there is a place for you to write a prayer request. It is an honor for our leadership team to receive those prayer cards and and take time to seriously lift them up to you, lift them up to the Lord, your prayer requests. And so if you fill that out, you can either leave it in your seats, or there's a little box by the swinging saloon doors that you can drop that connect card in at the end of service. One of the other unique distinctives here about Tribe, not only are we a church in a bar, but I really enjoy the conversational aspect of the format of service.
Instead of just a sage on the stage, I really want this to be a conversation that we have together. And so if you have questions, comments, or even what I... My favorite is connections. So we'll be reading one passage. We'll be talking about one point, but the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart about some other place in scripture that you're like, oh, oh, this this reminds me of...
And it's creating a hyperlink in your brain from one place to another, and you feel like it's valuable for the rest of us, we wanna hear it. Because the more hyperlinks and the more, like, really, like, neural connections that we can make with God's word, the better it sinks in and the better it cements, not only in our minds, but also in our heart. And when the word of God is in our heart, that's what transforms our life. You can, like, win every... What did they call them?
Bible, like... There you go. You can win every sword drill and go straight to hell. Right? Otherwise otherwise, if you're familiar with the Bible, otherwise, the pharisees would have been the first ones and the quickest to receive their messiah, but they didn't recognize him because the word of god had not penetrated their heart and changed their life.
It remained all cerebral for them, far be it from our tribe fam, that that the word of God and the the things that we talk about would only remain up here, but it would make that 18 inch drop from our thinker down to our No. Yeah. Come on, y'all. If you have your bible with you this morning, would you turn to the book of Matthew? Last week, we started a conversation that I titled choosing endurance over escape.
And there were three passages that we kind of had opened up in different windows on the desktop of our mind so that you can click back and forth between these three passages. And if you're taking notes this morning, you can write the title of our conversation at the top of your notes. Choosing endurance over escape. Choosing endurance over escape. And let's jump into that first passage.
Because I like to do things conversationally, I'll invite you to read from different places that we're gonna go to today. And so the first place we're going to is Matthew chapter 26, and we're going to read verses 36 through 39. And so we also have a mic in the room. Carla is on the mic, and so if you just slip your hand up, if you have that passage open on your bible, we would love to hear your voice as you read. Just take a couple of verses.
You can read, and then pass it off to somebody else to continue reading. Get them, Carla.
Then
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, sit here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, my soul was crushed with grief to the point
of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.
He went along on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground praying, my father, if it is possible, will this cup of suffering be taken away from me?
Quick pause. Underline that phrase in your bible. If this... If possible, may this cup of suffering be taken from me. Alright.
Keep going.
Yet I want your will to be done, not mine not mine.
Very good. Good. Great. Great. Great.
So that page is open on the desktop of your mind. Right? Alright. Let's go to another place. We're going to...
Let's go to Matthew chapter 27. We'll look at verses 32 through 35.
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. There, they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Okay. Then one more place. Open up one more page on the desktop of your mind. Mark chapter 15. We'll look at verses 21 through 24.
I'd love to... Look at all those... Oh my gosh. This is pages of... Oh, that really blesses a preacher's heart to hear those paper pages.
I've always said, like like, just... If you're gonna do a Bible app, like, just turn up the volume with, like, the authentic paper crinkle sound. That just bless my heart. Mark fifteen twenty one through 24.
Okay.
Then they compelled a certain man, Simon of Cyrenian Mhmm. The father of Alexander and Rufus, and he was coming out of the country and passing by to bear his cross. And they brought him to the place Golgotha, which is translated place of a skull. Then they gave him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but he did not take it. And when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.
Okay. You probably can see it in these three different passages. And if it's not, like like, jumping out at you, we're gonna continue to develop this. But we've seen in these two different pat... Three different passages, two different cups.
And as I mentioned a moment ago, the title of the conversation... I hoped to have the entire conversation just last week, but you guys were doing such a great job of making connections and asking questions that... Now here we are in the second week of this one week conversation. Drinking deep, choosing endurance over escape. And what we said last week is that in this life, we are offered the choice to drink from one of two cups.
One of those cups is what Jesus himself calls as the cup of suffering. And we talked about how our normal default understanding of suffering is something that we all want to avoid. How many of you, like, really, actually, ultra trail runners excluded, actually love, like, and look forward to suffering? Oh, goody. Suffering.
Nobody does. Nobody does. We all would... If we're given the option, would you like suffering or nonsuffering? I'll take nonsuffering, please.
Okay. Very good. Off to the right. We all would choose nonsuffering. But when we choose the path of nonsuffering, we tend to miss out on a vital crucial facet of the nature and character of the Lord and something that is produced in us and through us that can only ever come about by suffering.
But when viewed from the outside, when when people go through suffering, it can often be misinterpreted. And I'm not talking about the... And we talked about this last week. I'm not talking about the kind of suffering that comes from a result of you stepping on a rake. Right?
There's a kind of suffering where you're like, oh, that looks good. There's a... Bible says, there's a way that seems right to man, but it ends in death. Right? And you step on that rake, it, what, snaps up, smacks you in the face.
That's not the kind of suffering that I'm talking about. But we're gonna continue to develop what kind of suffering I am talking about. Last week in our conversation, as as we were getting into it, a friend of mine sent me an Instagram reel, hey. This reminded me of of what we were talking about last week. And I watched the video, and it was really cute.
And I'll play it for you in just a moment to help to help maybe come at this topic from a little bit different angle. But disclaimer first. Like, social media is a terrible place to get, like, doctrine and theology from. Right? But as long as we, like, know that, and it's just a cute little video that has a mild connection point, then we can appreciate the cute video for what it is in its context.
So if you have that. That's cute. We talked about that word suffering. When you look at that word in the original language that the New Testament was written in, Greek, we see that the word suffering means this idea or concept of pressing of pressing together pressure. And metaphorically, it has with it the idea of of going through trials and even that word tribulation.
But as an often used tool by the Lord for our growth and development. God loves each and every one of us right where we are. We are his kids. But he is looking constantly and continually, the author and perfecter of our faith, to bring us to a place of maturity. He loves us as his children, but his desire is for us to become sons and daughters that can actually inherit the kingdom of God and handle the word of God and the principles of the kingdom with with skill.
And if we're going to if we're going to know our dad, if we're going to grow into maturity, there is suffering that comes with within the package deal of following the Lord. Can you imagine saying, Jesus, I will follow you anywhere? And Jesus says, that's awesome. Come on. Let's go.
And then whenever whenever things get hard, we're like, well, I'm I'm just gonna gonna go this way. I'll I'll meet you. I'll meet you up over I'll meet you up over here. What kind that? Of friend And then we meet him up on the other side.
We've dodged it. We've skipped out on suffering. And then Jesus is like, oh, there you are. And I'm like, yep. Right here with you.
Let's keep going. And he leads us along. We all love this quiet waters and the green meadows. Right? What about that valley of the shadow of death?
We talked last week how the cup of suffering is the cup of discipline, the cup of staying engaged. We talked about suffering as you being conformed into the likeness of Jesus instead of Jesus being conformed into your image and likeness, what's convenient for you. We talked about suffering as not giving up. And if you do get knocked down, what? Get back up.
We talked about suffering as trusting the Lord. I don't know what you're up to. I don't know what these next five steps are. How many of you like all five steps before you even do step one? Yeah.
Where the Lord's like, how about trust me with this one? The Bible says in the Old Testament that the steps of the righteous man are ordered. The Bible says that he led Israel by steps and by stages on their journey through the wilderness. Sometimes he even says, I need you to step out without knowing where your next footfall is, and you just have to trust me. Our flesh suffers greatly because our natural minds want to know where where are we going?
What are you up to? And he goes, you just gotta trust me. We talked about why it's important to embrace by putting your yes on the table. Lord, if you have suffering in store for me, for my growth, and for my character, my yes is on the table because I know two things. Number one, I trust you.
And number two, it is for my growth, and I see I have a vision or a picture of the finish line. When... Remember when Jesus said, anybody who gives up, who suffers loss in this life can expect, count on, take to the bank, hold me to my word that they will receive back a hundredfold in this life and in the next. And then he and then he ends that passage with eternal life. Oh, let me read you a quote about suffering.
I don't have it on the screen, but I came across this last week. It's from Charles Spurgeon, and you need to, like, like, listen really hard to get the most out of it. So, like, squint your eyes or, I don't know, maybe just close your eyes. Take some concentration. Alright?
Listen to what Charles Spurgeon once said. A high character might be produced, I suppose, by continued prosperity, but it has very seldom been the case. Adversity, however, it may appear to be our foe, is our true friend. And after a little acquaintance with it, we receive it as a precious thing, the prophecy of coming joy. It should be no ambition of ours to traverse a path without a thorn or stone.
Collectively, we can all say, So last week, we talked a lot about that that first cup of suffering. What I wanna do today is spend a few minutes looking at that second cup, and I call it the cup of escape. The first cup is the cup of suffering. The second cup, I'm calling the cup of escape. And we have a mic in the we have a mic in the room when you have a question or comment.
We probably can hear your voice, but we use the mic so that all of our families that are watching the livestream wherever they may be can get to hear and participate. What do you got?
I just wanted to... If I... You know, if there's enough time to get in something about my life that has to do with how I felt about the Holy Spirit for me this past week and if if there's extra time.
Okay. Does it have to does it have to do with suffering, or is it, like, another testimony of some kind?
It does have to do with suffering. Yeah.
It does?
It does.
Yeah. Give us... I hate to do this to you, but give us the fifteen second version.
That's tough. I'll let you go first.
Okay. Alright. Alright. Let's do this. Let's look at that second cup, the cup of escape.
Mark chapter 15 verse 23. We had read it earlier, and I think we might have that verse on the screen... For the screen. Mark chapter 15 verse 23. They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.
For us today, when we read that passage, it's alien and foreign. Some translation says wine seasoned or or wine mixed with. Thank you. But this is wine drugged with myrrh. Like, I don't think I could...
Would even, like, be able to... I don't know what myrrh tastes like. I don't know what it smells like. I I don't know. For for for...
If you if you wanna know what myrrh smells like, just give Christine's neck or armpits a sniff at the end of... I don't I don't know. Mean, either way, just go for it. But... It's woodsy.
Oh, alright. Woodsy. Alright. I'll I'll take that. Murr, it's woodsy.
So look. If we lived in Jesus' day and we saw or or smelled or even tasted wine mixed with myrrh, we would know immediately what was going on. We would know, and it would it would cause several connections to fire in our brain that we just don't have. And so we need to, like, stop, drop, set up shop, and and and talk about what this idea of myrrh means. Myrrh is a fragrant spice, and it was used ubiquitously throughout The Middle East.
And it added a variety of purposes and reasons and applications for using myrrh, not only in drinks but in cooking, but mostly as an aromatic fragrance. Mhmm. Now where, if you can remember, myrrh most predominantly being used in the story of Jesus? What comes to your mind when you hear myrrh being used in the story of Jesus? Just tell us.
What is the... One where she used the oil?
Okay. I don't know if that's myrrh. Wise men. Frankincense.
Frankincense poured out over him? I... But but I love that you're thinking Wise men. Wise men. As one of the gifts brought to baby Jesus.
One of them was frankincense. One of them was gold gold, and the other one was Myrrh. Myrrh. Now when else do we see myrrh being used in the story of Jesus? Hint, it's...
I mean, I almost said it's towards the end, but it's towards the end of one chapter. Where? Who? Yes. You're exactly right.
As a burial spice. I almost said the end, but that's not really the end of the story. That's just where, like, Mel Gibson cut off the story. But myrrh was used commonly as a burial spice. But we see here in the crucifixion of Jesus that it was also used.
When you take myrrh and mix it with wine, there is a narcotic effect that happens, that dulls pain, that helps you to kinda, like, like, check out. It removes you from the current experience that you may be having. It numbs you, helps you to check out, helps you to chill out. And interesting that when Jesus tasted the wine mixed with myrrh, he spat it out. The second cup, the cup of escape, is the shortcut cup.
And I'll be the first person, to be honest with you. I love the shortcuts. I do. If given the option, being able to reach the same destination, my flesh always loves to take the shortcut and skip, if possible, the cup of suffering. And how many times in my life have I been offered the choice between the two cups?
And I'm like, that's too much. Yeah. I'm not sure about that way. I'll take and drink deeply from the cup of escape. Would the shedding of Jesus' blood at his scourging and on the cross still have paid for man's sins if he drank from the cup of escape in that moment?
Would Jesus' of... Jesus' blood still apply to the forgiveness of sins and the establishment of a new covenant? Would his blood that was already shed and being shed, would it still be effective for us today for the atonement of sin? Yes. He was already bleeding.
He was already pouring his life out. This just coulda helped with the pain. Why did he spit it
out? Oh,
alright. Tell us... Get the mic because it... That's... What passage is he thinking of?
Isaiah, probably, 53.
So Suffering servant. Okay. So Jesus perhaps could have had Isaiah 53 at the forefront of his mind, which is titled... Isaiah 53 is titled what?
The suffering servant.
The suffering servant. Not the just get it done servant.
He was fulfilling the prophecy.
He was fulfilling that prophecy. Right.
Oh. Mind
link or space or whatever it's called.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Why else might Jesus have spat that wine out after he tasted it to his lips. What are you thinking?
This might be a reach, but when he was praying in the garden and he asked the father to take the cup from him, But he said his will be done. Maybe the father's will was for him to drink the cup of suffering only, and in obedience, he was not to drink the cup of escape.
You're exactly right. Now... Oh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
So
I'm geeking out over here in the bible app, the blue letter bible.
Now if you're gonna go to a place that I think you're gonna go No. You're I wanna be able to say it, but go. Go. Go. Go.
And I may call a pause.
No. No. I'm just looking... Because I did an interlinear comparison.
Touch the corner of your glasses.
Yeah. And
I don't see him even putting it in his mouth in comparison. So I'm just curious if that's translation or what, because there's several translations that says
He refuses it.
Yeah. He refuses it.
Okay. So when we paint a little bit more full of a picture, what you're saying is perfectly allowable, and and and you're seeing accurately. You're seeing accurately. It could be. Or maybe in a different translation.
So when we drink from the the cup of escape, it's the cup that is sparkly. It is the cup that is like, hey, free refills. It is the cup that when we look around the world around us and our friends around us and the people going through things around us, it is the cup that we see most people drinking from. Like soccer moms with their Stanley mugs in the straw. It's the cup that most people or Orangetheory moms.
I don't okay. She does... She's not she's not drinking from the cup of escape today. Oh, she's got it. That's not the cup of escape.
Wait. Oh, she's just taking a big pull from it. Oh, I haven't seen Rachel Miller in a while. She shows up, and she gets called out. Great.
The cup of escape is the cup that is our default choice. It is the cup that is that is instinctually the cup that we tend to grab for first. The cup of escape is the cup that the rest of the world continually drinks from. I've told you this before, but literally, my senior quote underneath the picture in my high school yearbook was, ignore a problem long enough, and it will go away. Oh my gosh.
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It's worked out terribly.
And here's something that Jesus knew and saw that today, it has been camouflaged from us. The enemy would love to offer us the cup of escape. Hey. Hey. Hey.
You can circle back around to that. But, like, just write... You've had such a long day already. You've got so much on your plate right now. It's it's it's a bit much.
You're not gonna turn a blind eye to it forever, but just... Like, just check out for a little bit. Just this one time. Hey. You're getting over it, and more times than not, you grab the cup of suffering instead of the cup of escape.
But guess what? This one time, you deserve it, the cup of escape. Well, here's what Jesus knew. Here's what the readers of this account knew that is missed by most of us. And it has to do with the Roman Empire and their the way that they sat up and organized and ran cities.
So imagine, in your mind's eye, you have the the thriving metropolis of Jerusalem. Thousands and thousands of people living in that crowded, busy, bustling city. You have the challenge of sanitation. How do we get all the trash? How do we get all the garbage out?
Well, was there's this place called the Kidron Valley. It is between Jerusalem and the Mount Of Olives. And down at the end of that valley, people would dump their trash, and they would burn it. It was just a big burning pile of trash. Jesus used that oftentimes.
But not only was there issue of, like, trash and sanitation, but there was also the issue of, like, human waste. What do we do with it? And so Romans, at the... Being pretty smart and pretty savvy, at the at the gates or entry to most major cities, they put latrines. Now their idea of of latrines and sanitation, very different than ours, and privacy and modesty, very different than ours today.
And in a lot of places, Roman latrines have been excavated so that you can see, like, oh, there's the city gates, and there's a bunch of, like like... Imagine outhouse stalls but without the dividers in the stalls. Just open seats over a trench that gets washed out and and flushed away out of the city.
I'm picturing it.
Okay. You're picturing it with me so far. Now something else that Romans didn't have was toilet paper. But at every latrine, they had they had their equivalent of of toilet paper that was right outside the city gates. Now let's stop and think.
Where was Golgotha, the place of the skull? It was... That's right. Right outside the city gates. And it was the Romans' way of saying, if you're coming into the city, you better do two things.
Number one, go to the bathroom before you get in the city. Number two, look at the criminals guilty of capital... Committing capital crimes, and this is what happens if you mess with the Roman Empire. So while you're sitting down doing your business, you can stare across at victims who have been crucified by the Roman government. Thieves, criminals, and there's Jesus.
Romans did not have toilet paper. What they did have were several buckets lined up in front of the latrines with sticks and a sponge on the end of the stick sitting in a solution of wine mixed with myrrh. The gospel does not tell us that a soldier reached into some latrine water. But from extensive Roman history written about extra biblically, this was the common sanitation practice. You do your bathroom, then you grab the stick with the sponge on it that was been sitting in myrrh with wine, and you clean yourself, and then you put the stick back in the bucket, and then pull up your trousers, and off you go into the city of Jerusalem.
This is what is commonly believed was offered to Jesus. Jesus in the garden chose the cup of suffering. We are faced with two cups that we can drink from. The cup of the long, hard, rewarding right way, We can drink from the cup of suffering. We can drink from the cup of discipline.
We can drink from the cup of trusting the Lord and allowing him in his good timing to work about his plan for our life, or we can take a big old gulp from the cup of escape. But here's what many of us fail to connect. That cup of escape is really poo poo water.
Right?
How many of us, and you don't need to raise your hand, because you know, how many of us in our life have had... Can remember a time when we were... When we... When the road was forked for us, and we're like, cup of suffering, the cup of endurance, the cup of faithfulness, the cup of of allowing God to work his plan in my life, letting go of control, trusting the Lord, surrender in obedience to the Lord, or with all the neon signs in the flashing, and you deserve this, and, like like, you'll still get to the end result, the cup of escape. And we've chosen the cup of escape only to have it make us absolutely sick in the end.
Don't raise your hand. But how many of you have avoided the cup of suffering and drank the cup of escape only to find that it was poo poo water? Just think about that. It's what it feels like. Brian.
Oh, yes, sir. I don't
wanna take you on a don't wanna take you on a different tangent, but what's the purpose of suffering? If I gotta choose between both those cups, I know why I choose the escape one, but what's the purpose behind choosing the suffering one? I know why Jesus did.
Yeah. That's great. But but for us... I love that question, and I feel like you're lobbing me a softball. Mhmm.
James one one, consider it... Or James one two, consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials or sufferings of many kinds. Because you know that the testing of your faith, it develops perseverance. And perseverance must be mature and complete so that you'll be lacking what? Nothing.
He he allows suffering in our life to produce within us something for our benefit and his glory that cannot be accomplished any other way. He is not a... One of those people that cause pain on other people. Say... Sadist?
I don't... Sadistic. Sadistic. He is not sadistic. He is not cruel.
He is not vindictive. There are things that he allows in his wisdom that he could easily prevent with his power. But he says in the Old Testament, In the valley of a... Achor, I have trouble, the valley of trouble, suffering, trial, tribulation. I have placed a door in a spring of refreshing.
We like the spring of refreshing. We don't like the Valley Of Achor or trouble. First Peter also tells us, hey, you may have been... May have suffered for a little while, but it will result... First Peter five verse 10, I have it right here.
In his kindness, God has called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. We all want we all want that firm foundation. We just don't wanna pay the price for that firm foundation. The bible says that Jesus learned obedience through what?
The things he suffered. Thought today? Come on. You and me, we're doing this together. I love you, brother.
I think there's the suffering that Jesus did to pay for our sins. I think the suffering that we're having to embrace is exactly the verse that you just said, Ryan. It's it's... There's no other way for us to learn obedience than to follow the father when he says, this is what I want you to do. He's not saying, I'm just gonna throw suffering at you.
Right. Because he... That... He wants us to ask that our joy would be made full.
It says.
But if I wanna walk with authority as a son, someone that he can trust to follow his will, we have to, at times, know. I'm not just choosing suffering for suffering's sake. Right. I'm choosing suffering because I'm obeying my father. Yes.
And that's a totally different thing. Yeah. Because if I just choose the things that give me blessing, well, big deal. The world does that. That doesn't demonstrate the heart of an obedient son who can be entrusted with authority.
It's only when he asks me to do something that I'm not asking what's in it for me. I'm saying I'm doing it because you asked me. Yeah. And it doesn't have to have anything in it for me. Because then I'm not serving self, but I'm serving him.
Yeah.
So good.
It's expensive, but just drop the mic, walk away. Carla. Jesus said Jesus said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And when it's ready, I'll come get you and take you to where I am. And that phrase in the Greek includes the understanding of by the same way, I will take you through the cross.
Thanks. Holy Spirit, like, shaking me over here, just wanting me to say this. I just...
Come on, Mike.
A lot of times that cup of suffering is the more painless way to go is what I've learned. Because, like, it is painful to step out in faith. It is painful to to to trust and to know that this is what God wants me to do and do that when this seems easy and clear. Like, I had an issue sleeping. And marijuana makes me sleep, but it also severs my connection to God.
I can't hear God. And I don't dream and God speaks to me in dreams. And so it seemed really scary not to do that. But then all of a sudden when I put my trust in God and I do what he wants me to do and he's able to speak to me in dreams and then he shows me that I can sleep, it it helped me put my trust in God Yeah. And the problem solved.
Yeah. So that was suffering to go through that trial. Yeah. And to just say, oh, it's just you again, Satan.
Yes. It's good, Mike. Oh, I love it.
It's good, Mike.
I love it. I love it. Hold on just a second. We... I think we have a...
We're at a great moment. And I I always say, like, I wanna I wanna hear from you, but let me just let me just grab a hold of this moment right here. Let's close our eyes and invite the Holy Spirit to just speak to us. And as each and every one of you are unique in who you are and what you're going through. In the same way, the Holy Spirit will speak to you in a unique manner.
For one, it may be comfort or strength in the midst of suffering. For another, it may be an invitation. Like it says in Song of Solomon, come away with me, my beautiful one, my bride, and let us go onto the mountains of spice or even myrrh. And it will be an invitation to lay down your life. Pick up your cross and follow him.
For others, it could be the gentle but firm voice of the holy spirit of conviction saying, baby girl, why are you continuing to drink from the cup of escape? That's poo poo water, and that's not what I have for you. Let him speak to you. Let him speak to you. Come, Lord.
Jesus. Speak to Jesus, we ask you to speak to us. Help us, Lord. God, we ask
freely give. I will ever love and trust him in his presence daily.
The seat that you're sitting in can be transformed into an altar where you can bow the knee of your heart before king Jesus. Just slip out of your seat, get on your knees, face your chair, and do business with the Lord if you need to.
I
was reminded of this verse out of Psalm 50 a couple weeks ago that I'll read here in a second. But the picture it brought to mind would be, you know, for the longest time, I lived with my parents from the time that I was born until I was about 18. It's kind of embarrassing, you know, not very self sufficient. But I was just thinking about how ridiculous it would be if, like, every week, like, went up to my dad kinda reluctantly and was like, dad, okay. Here's, yeah.
Here's $20 for you. You know, this is just my duty. Yeah. I'll give that to you. You know, our our parents love us and love to bestow every single thing that they can on us, and our father in heaven is the same way.
Everything that we have is from him, and when we have the chance to bring tithes and offerings to him, It's not out of a place of obligation or reluctance. This Psalm says that it's... Should be out of a place of thanksgiving. So this is Psalm 50 verse seven says, here, oh my people and I will speak. Oh Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you. Your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goat from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine.
The cattle on a thousand hills are mine. I know all the birds of the hills and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you. For the world and its fullness is... Fullness are mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the most high. Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you shall glorify me. So this morning as we bring our tithes and offerings to the Lord, just search your heart and just find that thanksgiving, that attitude of just realizing that the things that we have are not from us, and that God has given abundantly to us, And we have the opportunity to give back to him as a way to show our thanks. I'm gonna pray for our offering.
Father God, you have poured out your life for us. You've given us your son. You've bestowed good gifts on us, and you continually provide at every turn for our physical needs, our emotional and spiritual needs. Lord, you know us inside and out. Before something is on our lips, you know it.
So this morning, would you just have your favor over our giving? Pray that you would use these things to further your kingdom and to meet the needs of your people. We love you. Amen. If you're new to Tribe, there's a couple ways that you can give.
You can text, 8... Any dollar amount to 84321. Actually, I'm not sure if it's any dollar amount, but test it.
Yeah. So be careful. Type the right number.
If we have any volunteers to test the upper limits. To suffer? Or Who there's a giving tab on our website, tribejh.com. Or back by the swinging saloon doors right by Adam, there's a little box and you can put cash and check-in there. Or I think Brian has been saying that we we can put bitcoins in there.
Yep. Yep. Bitcoins, will fit through that slot. Couple of announcements for stuff that's coming up. This...
Let me pull that up again. Sorry. On... It's... What are the dates for Wind River?
It's
the... Tenth through twelfth.
Tenth through twelfth. Tribe is sending a group over to the Wind River Reservation. We're gonna be helping out with their fall harvest festival. They do an incredible ministry on the reservation over there, going around, bussing kids to their rec center and putting on a great event with candy and games and gospel message. So, we're gonna go and just help out however we can.
Are we taking donations for...
All they need, they just got back to me is winter clothes
Okay.
And candy for the harvest festival.
Great. So if you have extra coats laying around or snow pants or blankets, anything like that, feel free to drop them off at the TMC down in the... Downstairs, and we'll take care of those or candy donations. Another thing coming up on October 7, there is going to be a one year anniversary of the October terrorist attack on Israel. We're gonna have a gathering in the town square, and the attendees are invited to come barefoot just to show solidarity for the remaining hostages and just to, yeah.
Go and support our Jewish neighbors here in Jackson. We we love them. We love Israel, and we wanna be there for them in their time of trouble. So that's a huge witness to them.
Mhmm. That's a good way to put it.
And I think that's it. So PB, would you come and pray us out? Thanks,
Justin. I love what you bring to our tribe fam. Don't we love Justin?
We love Justin. We
got such a deep bench ministry team wise. I have two quick things before I invite you to stand up and I pray for you before you get out of here. Number one is next week. We will not be meeting here at the saloon because there is an event happening here on on these grounds. And so next week, we all get to become really good friends and meet at the TMC.
But here's what we're gonna do. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do two services, nine and eleven. So nobody can choose the ten because I know that's what you would all choose. So next week, you need to decide whether you would like to come to the 9AM service or the 11AM service.
We will do Tribe Kids at the 11AM service, so that may help you decide which service you go to. We will do Tribe Kids at the 11AM service, and we will also be doing 9AM service at the TMC. If you're... If you don't get the text blast, it's a great time to fill out that connect card so, like, you can know where's tribe meeting this week. If you've never been to a service with us at the TMC, the tribe ministry center, it's a a unit that we own.
Welcome. It'll be a great time. Do we have any more to add about nine and eleven?
It'd be fun to see a show of hands who would come to the nine.
Oh, let's see the planner. Alright. How about 9AM?
Okay. That's... Okay. That's...
Eleven? Everybody's coming up. How many of you suckers are gonna duck out on the initial? Alright. So now we know.
Last thing is this. I've had a few people come up to me recently and say, I have either never been water baptized or I was water baptized as a kid, and I would like to get re baptized as an adult or owning my faith as a public outward expression of the inward transformation that happens. And so October 13, we're going to do a water baptism. We'll... October 13.
Sunday, October 13 after church. We're gonna see... It'll either be at Garmin Park in Flat Creek or at Snake River. We'll see whichever one is colder and go to that one. Irrelevant.
Yeah.
Forecast is irrelevant. Right? Let's take let's take the way of suffering. If you are interested in getting water baptized, come up after service and and visit with me, and I'd love to talk to you more about being a candidate for baptism, and we can talk all about that. But just remember October 13.
Would it be alright if I pray for you? Please stand up. Jesus.
Oh,
imagine what if you took the easy way and said, hey, if you really wanna be my follower, you would take the hard way. That's what every other religion in the world does. Some little g god standing up on high. You wanna have right relationship with me? You do this and you do this and it rules.
Jesus is like, hey, follow me. You took the hard way, the better way. Oh Lord, the the Bible says, I have heard you call my name. Come and spend time with me. In the cry of my heart is, yes Lord, I'm coming.
May we follow you with every choice, every action, every word, every deed. And if we mess up and we fall down and we blow it, Lord, give us the strength to just get back up and run hard after you. Father, I command a blessing over each and every member of our tribe family here today and those that are watching our livestream. Help us to follow in your footsteps. I command a blessing over everyone here today.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, the strong son of God. And everybody said, amen. I love you so very much. I want you to have a great week. And remember, baby Hanu, you got this.
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