Keith Battle - The Cup of Suffering - Part 2

I started a series last week called «The Cup of Suffering,» and the essence of that subject is drawn from the 11th verse in John chapter 18, where Jesus says to Peter, «Shall I not drink the cup of suffering that the Father has given me?» Last week, we explored that passage and tried to extract insights that would be helpful for our personal lives and experiences in our relationship with God. One of the conclusions we reached is that not only does Jesus have a cup of suffering to drink, but we all have our own cups of suffering as well. God has given us those cups of suffering for several reasons: one is for our growth—the cup of suffering helps us to grow—and it is ultimately for our good and for His glory. It serves our good, our growth, and His glory. We also discussed last week how, while we have our own cup of suffering to drink for God’s glory, our good, and our growth, there are some cups in our lives that are not ours to drink, and we would do well to put those cups down and get out of God’s way. Yes, someone say, «That part! That part!» In fact, just tell someone nearby, «That part! That part!» Put that in the chat—"That part! That part!» If you know that part was for you because you tend to hold other people’s cups and help others with their problems all the time, you do it too much. You jump into other people’s fights, you pay their rents, you let others use your car, you babysit everyone, and you fill out paperwork for people, ensuring they pay their tickets. You’re rushing around for everybody, and you have your own cup to deal with. That part right there! That part! Put your cup down. In fact, some of you, I had a picture I wanted to show you today; it’s a picture of some of you because you don’t just have a cup. Some of you have a tray full of cups! Production, could you show that picture? Some of you have a tray full of cups, and you’re walking around like a waiter or waitress, holding a tray. In fact, I’m going to call you «Trey»; I’m going to call you Trey, not because you’re the third person in your family with that name, nor because it’s short for «Tracy,» but because you’re carrying a whole tray of other people’s cups, and you really need to put that whole tray down. In fact, someone say, «Put that tray down!» You need to put down not just the cup but the whole tray! That part! Amen! So, that kind of encapsulates what we talked about last week in part one. If you didn’t see or hear part one of this message, I believe it would be worth your time to review it. God has some insight and help in that message for you. Today, I want to revisit this passage in chapter 18 and see if we can extract some unmined ore from this text that could be beneficial and valuable for us in our lives. I’ll pick up where we left off, beginning at verse 1, where it says, «After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with His disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.» I want to go back to the Kidron Valley. I talked about the Kidron Valley last week and mentioned that it is a valley that remains dry throughout the year; it is only wet during periods following intense, targeted rain. I talked about how you can know you are on your way into a season to drink a cup of suffering when you find yourself in a dry place. However, the other thing I wanted to share that I didn’t point out last week about the Kidron Valley is its historical and geographical significance, particularly regarding its connection to the lives of two different leaders. It wasn’t just Jesus who crossed the Kidron Valley right before being betrayed by someone in His inner circle; approximately a thousand years earlier, King David crossed the same Kidron Valley on his way to being betrayed by a man named Ahithophel, who was one of his inner circle and trusted advisors. It amazed me when I connected the dots between David, a thousand years earlier, going through the Kidron Valley while running from his son Absalom, who was starting a revolt to take the kingdom from him. By the way, that revolt was masterminded by Ahithophel, David’s chief advisor, who had turned on him and was now aligned with Absalom. Over a thousand years later, here comes Jesus, crossing the Kidron Valley, as one of His disciples stands with those who have come to capture Jesus, harm Him, and crucify Him, namely Judas. Ahithophel and Judas—David and Jesus—a thousand years apart. Look at the similarities: they both experienced betrayal at the Kidron Valley. What’s interesting is that both had men in their lives who possessed information about them, which they used against them.