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A Beautiful Transfiguration - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James,
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  Speaker 1: and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a
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  Speaker 1: high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them. Matthew 17,
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  Speaker 1: 1 and 2. Like Peter, James, and John, I thank you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: that you are giving me uncommon access to understanding and
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  Speaker 1: experiencing you in new and powerful ways. I praise you
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  Speaker 1: for your continued desire to take me higher and deeper
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  Speaker 1: into the things of the Lord. In the same way
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  Speaker 1: that you were transfigured, Jesus, I thank you that I
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  Speaker 1: am being transformed into the very likeness and image of you.
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  Speaker 1: In the same way our Heavenly Father validated your purpose, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: with John the Baptist, I also am recognizing the validation
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  Speaker 1: I have from you, Lord, to be seen and heard.
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  Speaker 1: Transform me from the inside out, and let me bring
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  Speaker 1: others who are close to me in on the journey
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  Speaker 1: of a transformed life. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 3: Christ, compassion, community. These three characteristics connect all believers. Here
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  Speaker 3: at Christian Healthcare Ministries, we prioritize our shared faith-based values
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  Speaker 3: by offering programs for every Christian.
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  Speaker 2: Why?
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  Speaker 3: Because that every Christian is you. From flexibility in picking
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  Speaker 3: providers to the ability to personalize your care with affordable options,
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  Speaker 3: you'll see biblical unity in action as our members make
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  Speaker 3: a difference. Learn more by visiting chministries.org.
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  Speaker 2: A beautiful transfiguration. In our last story, Jesus healed a
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  Speaker 2: man who was blind from birth. The young man who
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  Speaker 2: was healed was questioned by the Pharisees, for they did
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  Speaker 2: not want to admit that Jesus was truly good and
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  Speaker 2: had the power to heal. The once blind man stood
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  Speaker 2: firm in declaring that no evil man could do what
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  Speaker 2: Jesus did. Now we get a glimpse of Jesus' true glory.
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  Speaker 2: It emerges forth on a mountain, and three of the
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  Speaker 2: disciples come in contact with the true holiness of Christ himself.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard
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  Speaker 4: how Jesus healed a beggar who had been blind since birth.
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  Speaker 4: He used the opportunity to teach his disciples an important
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  Speaker 4: lesson about God's compassion and to correct their wrong thinking
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  Speaker 4: about the cause of illness and disease. He also used
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  Speaker 4: it as an opportunity to show the Pharisees their own
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  Speaker 4: lack of compassion and spiritual vision. Today, we'll hear how
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  Speaker 4: Peter demonstrates a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. Then
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  Speaker 4: we'll learn how Jesus gives three of his closest disciples
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  Speaker 4: an opportunity to see his true glory in a mountaintop
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  Speaker 4: experience that would leave them both terrified and in wonder
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  Speaker 4: at the same time. Let's listen now to the Gospel reading.
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  Speaker 2: The fire crackled under the evening stars. Jesus and his
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  Speaker 2: disciples lounged around the warm flames. Jesus was praying silently
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  Speaker 2: to the Lord. The disciples were staring into flickering light.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus lifted his eyes to the disciples.' What do people
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  Speaker 2: say that I am?' he asked. The disciples shrugged.' Some
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  Speaker 2: say that you are John the Baptist,' Thaddeus said while
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  Speaker 2: poking the fire.' Others say you are Elisha. Some would
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  Speaker 2: even say you are one of the prophets of old
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  Speaker 2: that has risen from the dead,' James answered. Jesus looked
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  Speaker 2: deep into the flames. But who do you say that
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  Speaker 2: I am?
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  Speaker 4: He asked.
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  Speaker 2: It was a serious question, a question that required thought.
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  Speaker 2: Peter lifted his gaze to Jesus. He was not known
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  Speaker 2: as a deep thinker. In fact, Peter was often known
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  Speaker 2: for his fast mouth and brash actions. However, Peter was
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  Speaker 2: sure of what he was about to say. He knew
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  Speaker 2: it in his bones. Peter looked deeply through the flames
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  Speaker 2: towards Jesus. You are the Christ, he said, the Son
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  Speaker 2: of God. It was early the next morning, and the
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  Speaker 2: sun had not yet peered over the horizon. Darkness still
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  Speaker 2: shrouded the cool morning, and Jesus gently woke Peter, James,
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  Speaker 2: and John. Not waking the other disciples, Jesus led them
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  Speaker 2: up a hill. It overlooked the first moments of sunrise.
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  Speaker 2: As Peter, James, and John stood over the valley below,
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  Speaker 2: a bright light emerged from Jesus. The brightness was piercing,
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  Speaker 2: and his face shone like the rising sun itself. It
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  Speaker 2: was as if his humanity was unzipped. and the essence
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  Speaker 2: of his deity shone through the cracks. It was too
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  Speaker 2: amazing and too terrifying for the three men to describe.
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  Speaker 2: Emerging from the light was Moses and Elijah themselves. The
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  Speaker 2: three men watched as Jesus spoke with them, yet they
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  Speaker 2: were not as equals. The two historic men of faith
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  Speaker 2: bowed to Christ as their Lord and spoke to him
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  Speaker 2: as God. It was too great for Peter's heart to handle.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke up and said, Lord, it is good that
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  Speaker 2: we are here. Let us make three tents up here
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  Speaker 2: for you, Moses, and Elijah. Then we can... As Peter
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  Speaker 2: was speaking, a bright light consumed Peter and the others completely.
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  Speaker 2: A cloud of holy radiance swirled around them like a tempest.
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  Speaker 2: Peter shrunk on the floor into a fetal position, covering
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  Speaker 2: his eyes from the light. A voice like thunder boomed
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  Speaker 2: from the clouds, saying, This is my beloved Son, with
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  Speaker 2: whom I am pleased. Hear him and only him. The
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  Speaker 2: voice sent all the disciples onto their faces. Then the
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  Speaker 2: light disappeared. The disciples opened their eyes to see Jesus
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  Speaker 2: standing alone on the top of the hill. They saw
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  Speaker 2: Jesus only without his radiance, but equally holy. He helped
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  Speaker 2: them to his feet and led them down the hill.
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  Speaker 2: The sun was beginning to rise and they could see
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  Speaker 2: the other disciples beginning to stir awake. Tell no one
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  Speaker 2: of what you saw this morning. Jesus commanded the three,
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  Speaker 2: Not until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.
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  Speaker 2: As they were descending down, one of the disciples asked,
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  Speaker 2: Isn't it said that Elijah will return before the Son
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  Speaker 2: of Man? Jesus nodded and said, It is true, but
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  Speaker 2: Elijah has already come back. You just did not recognize him.
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  Speaker 2: The disciples understood who he was referring to. John the
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  Speaker 2: Baptist was a voice crying from the wilderness. He was
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  Speaker 2: the one who came before Jesus, declaring the way of
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  Speaker 2: the Lord.
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  Speaker 4: We begin today's reading with Jesus and his disciples sitting
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  Speaker 4: by a fire. By this point, they've seen their teacher
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  Speaker 4: do amazing things, from healing the crippled, lame, and even
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  Speaker 4: raising the dead, to feeding thousands in a miraculous display
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  Speaker 4: of God's provision. They've heard him speak to the Pharisees,
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  Speaker 4: challenging their understanding of God's law and the purpose of
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  Speaker 4: God's law. So Jesus begins with a simple question. Who
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  Speaker 4: do people say I am? The disciples are quick to reply.
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  Speaker 4: Some say he's Elijah, others that he's John the Baptist.
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  Speaker 4: There seems to be no general consensus or true understanding
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  Speaker 4: among many as to who is Jesus. So then he
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  Speaker 4: asks the harder question. Who do you say that I am?
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  Speaker 4: They've been closer to Jesus than anyone. They've seen him
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  Speaker 4: in public, spoken to him in private. If anyone... But
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  Speaker 4: to grasp his true nature, it should be them. I
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  Speaker 4: can almost hear the crickets as the question hung in
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  Speaker 4: the air. Silence, but not for long. If there's one
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  Speaker 4: thing you can say about Simon Peter is that he's
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  Speaker 4: quick to jump up and speak his mind. So he says,
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  Speaker 4: you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus replied
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  Speaker 4: that Peter was correct. But as Jesus continued, he told
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  Speaker 4: him that the insight did not come from Peter's own understanding.
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  Speaker 4: God had revealed this truth, the foundation of the church
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  Speaker 4: God would one day build. The truth that Jesus is
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  Speaker 4: the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world,
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  Speaker 4: is the core of the Christian faith. Less than a
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  Speaker 4: week later, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him
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  Speaker 4: to the top of a high mountain. As we've seen before,
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  Speaker 4: these three men had a very special closeness with and
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  Speaker 4: access to Jesus. But nothing they'd seen so far had
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  Speaker 4: prepared them for what was about to happen. There on
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  Speaker 4: top of the mountain, Jesus was transformed right before their eyes. Jesus,
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  Speaker 4: the light of the world, shone brightly around them. His
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  Speaker 4: face was bright as the sun and his clothes shone
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  Speaker 4: in brilliant white. The disciples were amazed at what they
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  Speaker 4: were seeing, but there was more to come. Then Elijah
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  Speaker 4: and Moses were standing with Jesus, talking to him. The
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  Speaker 4: moment was so spectacular that Peter had an idea. Why
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  Speaker 4: don't we just stay here forever, he asked. It's understandable.
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  Speaker 4: When we experience something incredible and life-changing, our desire is
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  Speaker 4: often to capture that moment and never let it end.
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  Speaker 4: But to do so would have been self-serving. This moment
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  Speaker 4: was meant to move these disciples to greater things in
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  Speaker 4: the future. Everything that Jesus is on the inside is
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  Speaker 4: now radiating on the outside. It is a metamorphosis, a transfiguration.
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  Speaker 4: And they, the disciples, would then be empowered to take Jesus,
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  Speaker 4: the light of the world, to every person they could.
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  Speaker 4: It's a reminder for all of us to take these
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  Speaker 4: high mountaintop experiences when we feel very close to God
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  Speaker 4: and allow them to strengthen us and encourage us so
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  Speaker 4: that we would pursue God and share his love with others.
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  Speaker 4: No sooner had Peter spoken that a cloud came over them,
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  Speaker 4: just as a cloud had covered Israel in the days
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  Speaker 4: of Moses in the desert. God's voice thundered out of
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  Speaker 4: that cloud, repeating what God had said when Jesus was
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  Speaker 4: baptized by John the Baptist. This is my Son, with
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  Speaker 4: whom I am well pleased. But this time, the identification
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  Speaker 4: of Jesus as God's Son came with a command. And
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  Speaker 4: that command is this, listen to Him. If there had
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  Speaker 4: been any question in their minds that Jesus had come
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  Speaker 4: from heaven, that He is the Son of God, now
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  Speaker 4: all doubt was wiped away. This realization filled Peter, James,
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  Speaker 4: and John with fear because they were in the presence
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  Speaker 4: of God. But then we see in Matthew 17 and
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  Speaker 4: verse 7, But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise,
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  Speaker 4: and have no fear. They had nothing to fear because
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  Speaker 4: Jesus was with them. And the same is true today.
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  Speaker 4: Because of Christ, we do not have to fear the
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  Speaker 4: presence of God. We can fear Him properly and respect
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  Speaker 4: Him and revere Him. But fear, real fear, The fear
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  Speaker 4: of God is love on its knees and worship of
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  Speaker 4: our God. As they descended the mountain, Jesus told them
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  Speaker 4: to keep what had happened to themselves until the Son
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  Speaker 4: of Man had risen from the dead. This command likely
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  Speaker 4: perplexed them as they still did not fully understand what
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  Speaker 4: Jesus was going to do. One of the disciples asked
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  Speaker 4: why some say Elijah must return before the Son of Man,
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  Speaker 4: and Jesus explained that in a way this had already happened.
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  Speaker 4: John the Baptist had completed the ministry of Elijah, preparing
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  Speaker 4: the way of the Lord. But just as the people
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  Speaker 4: failed to recognize Jesus, they did not recognize that John
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  Speaker 4: the Baptist was the one declaring the arrival of the Savior.
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  Speaker 4: Dear God, we thank you for your word, which is
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  Speaker 4: light and life to us. Thank you that you are
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  Speaker 4: the Savior, the Son of God, who is the light
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  Speaker 4: of the world. Help us to remember that in mountaintop experiences,
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  Speaker 4: when we see you clearly, that it's not enough for
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  Speaker 4: us to remain there, but we are to go and
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  Speaker 4: tell others of your love and your grace. We pray
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  Speaker 4: this in the name of Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for listening once again to today's Bible in
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  Speaker 4: a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Please
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  Speaker 4: download the Pray.com app and make prayer and Bible study
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  Speaker 4: the priority of your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast,
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  Speaker 4: share it with someone you love because by sharing this
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  Speaker 4: Word of God, you can make a difference in someone's life.
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  Speaker 4: And if you want more resources on how to tap
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  Speaker 4: into God's power for living the Christian life, be sure
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  Speaker 4: to visit us at jackgram.org. God bless.