Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory

Transcript

A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: All right, we are working our way through Matthew's Gospel,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and we've come to one of the most significant, albeit brief,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: moments in the training of the Twelve and in the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: earthly ministry of Jesus. Whatever else you may have heard
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: about the transfiguration which is what this passage is on about.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Try your best to kind of shift that out of
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: your mind, and let's just let this section of Scripture
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: speak to us as if for the first time we're
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: hearing this. So turn to Matthew 16. I'll look at
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the last two verses of that chapter, and then the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: first 13 verses of the 17th.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: I think they go together.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: So we'll bypass the chapter break and act like it
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: isn't even there as we move from Matthew 16, 27
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: down through 17, 13. Once you find that, please stand
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: for the reading of the scriptures together. For the Son
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: of Man will come with his angels in the glory
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: of his Father, and will judge all people according to
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: their deeds. And I tell you the truth, some standing
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: here right now will not die before they see the
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Six days later,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: and led them up a high mountain to be alone.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed so that
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: as white as light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, Lord, it's wonderful for
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: us to be here. If you want, I'll make three
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: shelters as memorials, one for you, one for Moses, and
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: one for Elijah. But even as he spoke, a bright
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Listen to him.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Then Jesus came over and touched them. Get up, he said,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: don't be afraid.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the mountain, Jesus commanded them, don't tell anyone what you
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: have seen until the Son of Man has been raised
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: from the dead.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Then his disciples asked him.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: must return before the Messiah comes? Jesus replied, Elijah is
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: indeed coming first.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: To get everything ready.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: But I tell you, Elijah has already come but he
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: wasn't recognized. And they chose to abuse him, and in
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the same way, they will also make the Son of
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Man suffer. Then the disciples realized he was talking about
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: John the Baptist. Our hope is that this passage will
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: blend together in a way that we understand what transpired
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: as recorded in the narrative, and how it speaks to
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: us on this very day.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: Please be seated.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Dear Father, as we step into a week that includes
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: a day to reflect, to remember, and to respond with gratitude,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: We want you to know this Lord's Day, how grateful
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: we are for you, for all you have done, for
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: your son, Jesus, and all that he sacrificed, and for
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: your spirit, who lives within your people, your children, to
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: enlighten us and comfort us and encourage us and direct
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: our steps. On this Lord's Day, we give you thanks,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: especially for your word that guides us in tumultuous and
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: otherwise confusing times. When there is this enormous amount of
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: voices that are shouting and arguing and claiming and denying,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: demanding our attention. Give us the ability to filter out
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: the essential from the non-essentials.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: The truth.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: In the midst of all the erroneous information that's out there.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: What I really ask, Lord, is that you enable us
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: to focus on what you have written, that we might
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: live as you have prescribed. We remember others who have
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: been laid aside, would love to be here but cannot be.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: We remember those who take care of them, the caregivers,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: the nurses, the staff of places that assist those who
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: are unable to care for themselves.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: We thank you, our Father, for the.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Law enforcement that surrounds us, providing safety, and watching over
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: the citizenry of this country, protect them, encourage them, Some
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: work late into the night when it is even more dangerous.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: And we pray for their safety.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: We pray for those who represent your name in difficult
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: places today.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Our missionaries.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Our military men and women who serve the country. How
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: grateful we are, Lord, that there is this large body
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: of people serving and working behind the scenes as your
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: will unfolds. May we be of encouragement to them. May
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: we remember that we are better people because of our
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: knowledge of them and relationship with them. Finally, Lord, I
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: thank you for the blessing of family. for those who
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: have gone before us and have passed into your presence
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: on whose shoulders we stand, from whom we learned great
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: principles regarding life, the importance of obedience and sacrifice and commitment.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: And faithfulness. I pray as we gather together around our
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: tables today that you would give us a sweet spirit
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: of gratitude.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Slow our pace. Silence our lips from needless talk. Calm
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: us from overreaction.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: And may we remember, Lord.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: That you are the one who sovereignly watches over our lives.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Now as we've gathered together to ask your blessing, we
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: pray that.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: You will be pleased with the offerings we place before you.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: We do so full of gratitude in the name of Jesus.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: We give and we pray. And all his people said, Amen.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: I didn't know what the word glory meant.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: And it bugged me because I had just sung about
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: it for over an hour. But now here I was
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: sitting in the middle of the back seat of our
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: 47 Chevy in Houston on a cold, rainy winter night
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: in early December as our family making our way home
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: back to East Houston, having just sung in the First
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Methodist Church the magnificent oratorio of George Frederick.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Handel, Messiah.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: You understand that my mother sang beautiful soprano, my sister
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: had a lovely contralto voice, my brother, beautiful bass, and
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: I pitched in a little tenor. We had gone, it
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: sounded like a country western group, doesn't it? We had
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: gone through the the process of trying out for the
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: choir that sang there every year, and.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: We had all passed.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: My dad called himself our designated driver. So he drove,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: as we did the performances, there were about four or
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: five of them, as I recall, singing under the renowned
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Walter Jenkins, who led the entire orchestra, 200-voice choir, and
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: massive pipe organ without a piece of music in front
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: of him long since memorized it all the score so
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: he knew what he was doing uh if you know
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: the piece you know that it begins with a lyrical
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: tenor recitative comfort ye comfort ye my people speak ye
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: comfortably to jerusalem uh And it comes out of Isaiah 40.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: And then he moves into the aria. Every valley shall
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: be exalted. Every mountain and hill made low. The crooked
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: places straight and the rough places plain. Beautiful beginning to this.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Magnum opus of Handel. And then Dr. Jenkins had the
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: choir stand. And here I stood. I was about 15 years.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Standing alongside real singers. And then he began, as he
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: brought the baton down, and the glory, the glory.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: Of the Lord shall be revealed.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: I'll never forget. I've never sung in a group like this,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh. And I got real quiet, and
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: I just mouthed it so they could sing. And I
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: couldn't hold back the tears, I'll be honest with you.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: But there was this glory. That was a major part
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: of that first chorale. And I didn't know what it meant.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: So I said, my sister's sitting here, my brother's sitting here,
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: and daddy's driving. I said, daddy, what is glory? And
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: he quickly used the famous father words. There are only
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: three of them, but they're perfect.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Ask your mother. So I said, mom. What is glory?
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: And her answer was like many mothers, when we get home,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: I want you to get the dictionary and.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: I want you to look up the word glory.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: And by the way, when I did, I realized later
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: in my life, that's the first time I ever became
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: acquainted with truly a theological word.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Magnificent word. Webster states that.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Glory is great honor, praise, or distinction given by common consent.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: It goes on.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Adoration, praise, and thanksgiving offered in worship. Majestic beauty, splendor, resplendence.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: It gets better, doesn't it? Resplendent. Well over a decade later, I.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Found myself sitting in the classroom at Dallas Seminary, beginning
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: my studies as a young theological student, and we came
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: across Psalm 19.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: For the heavens.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Declare the glory of God without a sound or without
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: a voice. Neither is ever heard, and it's heard around
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: the world. And I learned that the glory of the
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: heavens represents general revelation.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: Learn a little theology here.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Regardless of your geography, culture, language, regardless of your religion
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: or lack of such, the heavens.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Declare revelation.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: The resplendence, the magnificence, the majestic beauty of their creator.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: You look up at any place around this earth and
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: you realize there is someone who has put all of
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: that in place. It could not have just happened. It
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: speaks without a word. The stars make no sound. The moon,
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: the sun, all of those planets, they're there in their
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: unique orbit and without a word, their voice is not heard.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: And yet the heavens announce the creator God is here
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: in all of his glory.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: He made it all.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: I learned when I got into the depths of the
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: New Testament language that the word in the New Testament
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: for glory is doxa.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: We get our word doxology from it.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: It means bright, shining, radiance of brilliant light when applied
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: to a person. Clothed in majestic splendor would be another
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: way of putting it. Walter Chalmers Smith captures it in
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: one of the closing verses of his wonderful hymn, Immortal Invisible.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: All praise we would render, O help us to see,
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: tis only the splendor of light hideth thee. That's the
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: glory of God.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: The Shekinah that burned from heaven into the holiest place
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: was the glory of God, fillings. this holiest place on
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: the earth in the tabernacle.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: The Hebrew word I learned later is kavod. Kavod.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: It means heavy, which is a hippie word for wow,
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: or hey, that's profound.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: But seriously, it has in mind.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: The profound totality of God's nature character and attributes. That
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: is his glory. Now, hard to get our arms around
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: all of that. We almost need it personified. And that
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: is why we're grateful, so grateful for this magnificent transfiguration.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Jesus speaks of this, I believe.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: At the end of the 16th chapter of Matthew, when
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: he says that the Son of Man will come with
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: his angels in the glory of his Father and will
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: judge all people according to their deeds. Obviously, a reference
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: to that time when he will come yet future. When
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: he will come and establish his kingdom and fulfill the
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: promises to Israel, set up his rule and reign.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: And then he adds a verse that can be confusing.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: If you link it with that rather than the transfiguration.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: Look at the next verse. And I tell you the truth.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: Some standing here right now will not die before they
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: Look at that.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: We could render that in his kingly splendor or in
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: his glory. Now, if you make that only the second advent,
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense because all of the disciples died
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: before he would come. It's still future to our day.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: So I believe it fits best to think of it
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: as what follows. You're going to live to see glory
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: appear before your very eyes. I would suggest he had
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: his transfiguration in mind.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: And they are about to witness it.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: Before we go there, just a little more information that
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: I think will help. Because our focus on Jesus is
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: almost always on his earthly being. As a man, conceived, birthed, reared,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: trained at home, worked alongside Joseph in the carpenter shop,
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: and around the age of 30 was baptized and began
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: his ministry, which went on for those three, three and
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: a half years, during which time he healed the sick
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: and he cast out demons and he performed miracles and
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: walked on water and on and on and on the
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: list goes.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: But he also slept and ate And talked.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: And walked. And looked just like another Jewish adult. It's
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: his humanity.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: It is easy to forget. When it's focused on only
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: the humanity of Jesus. That he is also. Undiminished deity.
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: But at the same time. True humanity.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Two natures. That do not mix. but remain in one person.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: Forever.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: That's why he's known as the God-man. Undiminished deity, true
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: humanity in one person. The disciples are walking with the
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: one they could easily think of as simply true humanity.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: Of course, they've.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: Seen miracles that only God could do, and they've heard
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: words only God could have said. And act carried out
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: that only God could have carried out. But it is
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: easy when you are walking with someone. Eating with them.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: Sleeping beside them. Becoming very familiar with them. That you
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: forget there is that other nature. So Jesus decides. Now
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: is the time for them to see evidence. Of my
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: full person. Which is what the transfiguration is all about.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: Now the glory begins. becomes manifested, displayed. Let's see how
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: it unfolds as we get into chapter 17.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: Follow along. Six days later, Jesus took Peter.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: And the two brothers, James and John, and led them
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: up a high mountain.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: To be alone.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: They were in Caesarea Philippi, the mountain nearest that would
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: be Mount Hermon, further north. I rather suspect it was
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: there rather than Mount Tabor, as some teach. I believe
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: it went up the slopes of Hermon. Notice it was
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: for the purpose of being alone. I want to highlight
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: throughout my message the value.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Of time alone.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: Time of silence, time to drink in the full scene,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: which could not have been done in the busy streets
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: with the crowds and all down where they had been.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: So he deliberately takes these three with him. They go
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: up the mountainside to be alone. Watch closely, just as
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: the men did. As the men watched, meaning Peter, James,
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: and John, notice it came without an announcement. He is
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: transformed before their eyes. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: was transformed. Metamorpho is the word.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: We got a word.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Metamorphosis from it. It means to change into another form.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Just simply define that way. He changed into another form.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Still a man, but now his face shone like the
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: sun and his clothing became white.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: As white as light.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Remember earlier the comment about the effulgence, the resplendence.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Of God's light-like presence.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Here, this one who has walked with them, talked with them,
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: been teaching and training them, now emerges in this glowing,
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: glowing presence. And if that isn't enough, Moses and Elijah
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: appeared and began talking with Jesus. Now, if I figure correctly,
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Moses had been dead about 1400 years. Elijah has been
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: dead about 900 years, which helps reassure all of us
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: that though we may pass through death, we continue to live.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Death only in the sense of our earthly bodies perish,
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: but our eternal bodies our eternal spirit and soul live on.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: So Moses and Elijah come and now appear alongside him.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: I don't want to rush through this. I want you
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: to see him as he is transformed in your mind.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: We have artist renderings of Jesus when he walked this earth,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: many of them From ancient days.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Where the only way they knew to do it. To
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: reveal the.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Two natures was to put a halo over him.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: You've seen them.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Pictures like that. Or to put a glow around him.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: They're trying to depict both natures.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: Many of them. And here there is no depiction. This
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: is reality. He shines brightly. And his clothing. Is blinding.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: In brightness. I mean if there's ever a moment. To stand.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: And let the wonder in. It's now. Now. But. Of course.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: When you're addicted to talking. As one of them was.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: You got to say something. So. Peter exclaimed. Lord, it's
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: wonderful for us to be here. If you want, I'll
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: make three shacks.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: just to put it on a street-level talk. It comes
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: across like that. Now, you know, what we need is
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: more information. First of all, we read that Moses, Elijah,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: and Jesus are talking, but we're not told what they
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: said to each other. What were they talking about? You
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: can't know from Matthew's account. So you need to correlate.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: You need to look for a parallel passage in another
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: of the gospel writers that covers the same event and
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: fills in what Matthew doesn't mention.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: Ah, I found it. There's a parallel in Mark 9
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: and in Luke 9. So with me, go back there
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: or go ahead to there. Find Mark 9. Hold your place.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: We'll come there second. First, let's look at Luke 9.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: I do not hear one page turning. Has anybody got
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: a Bible? Or are you all using your app? Well,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: turn on your app to that wherever, however that works.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Find Mark 9 and then Luke 9 and locate verse 31.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: They were glorious to see, meaning Jesus, Elijah, and Moses.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: They're the they. And they were speaking, here we go.
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: Matthew didn't tell us this, Luke does.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: They were speaking about his exodus from this world, which
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: They're talking about what's.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Laying at, what's, he's just ahead. See, when you're in
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: that eternal state, everything is in one panoramic view.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: You see it all.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: That's another subject. Uh, I knew if I said that,
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: you'd go, what? And then you want to go there.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: But we won't go there right now, some other time.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: But they knew what's coming. And so they're talking with
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Jesus about what's coming when he gets to Jerusalem, namely
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: his arrest, the trials, the death, the resurrection. They're talking
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: about all of this. And notice also that Luke gives
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: us a little more information about the disciples. Peter and
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: the others had fallen asleep. So, unlike all of you,
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: most of you, you're wide awake and you're very aware
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: of where we are with this.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: They're sound asleep.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: But they awaken with a start and we read, when
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: they woke up, they saw Jesus' glory and the two
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: men standing with him as Moses and Elijah were starting
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: to leave. Peter, watch, not Even knowing what he was saying,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: blurt it out. Hey, why don't I build three memorials?
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: One for you, one for you, one for you. Okay,
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: before I say anything more, let's look at Mark 9,
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: verse 5. Got that?
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: Both of you that are looking in your Bibles, have
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: you got Mark 9, verse 5?
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: Can you find that? Good.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Peter exclaimed, Rabbi, it's wonderful for us to be here.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: Let's make three shelters as memorials. One for you, one
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: for Moses, and one for Elijah.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: He said this because he didn't really know what else
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: to say, for they were all terrified. Okay, you know
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to just go on beyond that. We've
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: got to stop right here. First, I want to just
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: use these two words, O Peter. I love the way
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: one expositor describes the scene What an amazing sight. Luminous,
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: dazzling Jesus is talking to Moses and to Elijah. If
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: ever there was a time for silence, this was it.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: But enter Peter, a man who always had something to
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: say when there was nothing to be said. What in
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: the world was Peter up to, he asks. We do
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: not know, but we do see that the Lord's only
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: answer to him was silence.
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: Silence.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Now you see the value of correlation, plus you understand
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: why we pause here to draw upon it.
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: Because this.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: Is an unusual moment that required absolute silence.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: Just taken in.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: If anyone should speak, it's the one being transfigured. If
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: anyone has something to say, he's the one to say it.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: I've noticed that that cloud appears while Peter is talking.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: The cloud interrupts Peter as if to say we have
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: something far more important than what you have to say.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: But before I go there, let me pass along Some
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: key advice regarding listening. Never miss an opportunity to shut up.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: Just put bluntly. Or as one lady said to me afterwards,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: she said, my dad used to say, do not speak
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: unless you can improve upon the silence.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: What good words. Peters.
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: The cloud overshadows them and a voice from the cloud says,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: I love this, This is.
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: My son, the dearly loved one.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: There's a restrictive attributive. Remember I mentioned that last time?
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Some of you may remember that. Here is where the
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: description is highlighted a little later. This is my son,
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: the dearly beloved one.
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: This is my one and only.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: This is the one I give you as a gift
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: from glory.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: And then he adds, he brings me great joy. Listen
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: to him. Listen.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Even in the silence, Jesus is speaking. His change of
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: countenance is a message. And this awesome, truly, I use
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: the word rarely, but it fits, this awesome interruption as
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: God breaks on the scene as Peter is speaking and
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: God says, Listen to the one I've sent. They're finally terrified,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: we read, and they fall on their faces.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: This is a great use of the word terror.
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: We often think of it as having a negative connotation
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: and not necessarily.
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: It's like the word awful.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: You read some of the divines of old and they
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: will talk about the terrible majesty of God.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: The awful holiness of God. The words are used differently
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: than we commonly use them.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: And when shaped by the theology of the setting, you
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: understand why. I love it that Jesus came over, found
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: them on the ground on their faces, and.
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: Touched them And simply said. Get up. Don't be afraid.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: Don't be afraid. When they looked up. Moses and Elijah
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: were gone. And they saw only Jesus. Well it is
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: about time. You would have thought. And we would have wished.
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: That on the way up a mountain. They would have
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: anticipated just. Jesus.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: Just whatever he has to teach us. Whatever he has
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: to say. However he wishes to speak.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: Or reprove us. Or inform us. We're here to listen.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: We're here to learn. And when they finally were silent,
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: it was all about Jesus.
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Kate Wilkerson, one of the 20th century writers of a hymn,
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: wrote this marvelous hymn, May the Mind of Christ My Savior.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: She closes it, it's really a prayer, a series of prayers,
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: and she ends the hymn with, May his beauty rest
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: upon us as we seek the lost to win. And
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: may they, that's the lost, may they forget the channel,
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: seeing only him.
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: That's a great prayer. When will we ever learn in.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: This narcissistic era, in this self-centered world, that it.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: Is not about us. It is all about him.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: Regardless of what you are going through, it is all
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: about him. Regardless of the depth of pain, it is
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: all about him. His plan is His hand, his touch,
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: his message, the things he will teach is all about him.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: When you begin to cultivate that concept, you go deeper.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: And you're weary of the superficiality of so much talk.
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: You tire of the evening news. So much talk. So
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: much advertisement. So many images, too many words. They saw
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: only Jesus. And you know what I really believe? I
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: believe they are, for the first time, caught up in
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: the moment as we wish they would have been from
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: the very start.
• 37:24
  Speaker 2: Jesus says, get up. When they looked up, they saw
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: only Jesus.
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: Now we find them in verses 9 through 13 coming
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: down the mountain. And there's a brief dialogue when they
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: remember their days in synagogue school and what they were
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: taught by their teacher. So it's a good time to
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: mention this because they had just seen Elijah. And they
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: want to know. They went back down the mountain. Jesus
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: commanded them, don't tell anyone what you have seen until
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: Keep this to yourself.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: First of all, it'll simply make people more inquisitive. They'll
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: jump to conclusions. They'll imagine all kinds of things. Furthermore,
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: some will think it's an evidence that Christ is beginning
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: his work of conquering and that's why the effulgence of
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: God's presence.
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: Don't go. I just wanted you to get a glimpse
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: between us of the full that often isn't revealed.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: So they ask him, what are the teachers of religious
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: law insist Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: It's a good question.
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: They've been taught that, but they were never given it
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: in context and how it fit into the scheme of
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: things over the chronology of the eschatology of events, the
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: plans for the future.
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: What is all this about?
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: So Jesus replies, Elijah is indeed coming first to get
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: everything ready. But I'll tell you, and this is so
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: like Jesus in his teaching, he switches a little bit
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: of the subject. It makes you think deeper and you
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: realize later what it was he was getting at. He says,
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: but I'll tell you, Elijah has already come, but he
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: wasn't recognized and they chose to abuse him in the
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: same way they will make the son of man suffer.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: He uses that as an analogy to his own suffering
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: that's In the future when they get to Jerusalem. And
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: then we read. Then the disciples realized. He was really
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: talking about John.
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: The baptizer. Interesting how Jesus switched to that.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: Without telling them what he was doing. But as they
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: may remember. We read of it in Luke 1.17. Speaking
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: about John. Who was yet to be born. He will
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: be a man. With the spirit and power of Elijah.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: He will prepare the people. For the coming of the Lord.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: And Jesus says. That's the role the baptist. The baptizer filled.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: And they finally.
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: Put it all together.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: Now, I understand how you must be sitting there wondering how.
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: This ties together. I've wrestled with this application, wondering.
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: How to shape it for our times, and I've come
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: to realize it really has something to say for us
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: in this day. I want to stand against three long-standing
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: habits of our times as I apply what we have
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: just gone through. The habits are moving too fast, talking
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: too much, and reacting too quickly. It's a habit easily
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: formed when you operate in the press of the crowd
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: and in the midst of a busy city life, which
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: is ours to live. Moving too fast, you soon discover
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: that you are staying too shallow. The Lord wants us
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: to go deeper. He wants us to think deeper. He
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: wants us to be men and women who think his
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: thoughts after him. And none of them come naturally. It
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: takes time to work that into our thinking. And so
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: I'll remind you today to slow down. We so happen
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: at this time to be facing a good season to
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: do that.
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: But if you're not.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: Careful, it'll be all about gifts you buy. Crowds you
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: have to deal with. Trips you have to take. Plans
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: you have to make. People you have to feed.
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: Hold it. Slow down.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: Deep people are that way because they've learned to pace themselves,
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: even in the press of our day. And talking too
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: much We listen too little and therefore learn less than
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: we could.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: So be quiet. Say less.
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: I often say to people who we bring to Israel
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: and enjoy the tour with us, I often begin the
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: journey with an opening little devotion where I say, while
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: we're together, let's walk a little slower. Let's talk a
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: little less. Let's think a little deeper. Let's write a
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: little more. Let's let the wonder in. Because God doesn't
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: hurry up to catch up with us. We slow down
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: to walk with him. And as you know, he's in
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: no hurry And when you walk with him to learn,
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: you must not talk. Just learn to listen. Third, our
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: tendency in this fast-paced lifestyle is to react too quickly.
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: And we wait, therefore, too seldom.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: Take time. Slow down. Be quiet. Take time.
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: Let's commit ourselves for the next several weeks to those
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: three priorities. Some time ago, I wrote some things out
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: that I want to read to you as I close.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: I don't want you to think about leaving. I want
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: you to think about listening. So here, I worked on
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: my words carefully. Boisterous noise, hectic schedules, and constant talking
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: dull our senses. They close our ears to what God
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: is trying to say to us in his still, quiet voice.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: They make us insensitive and numb to his touch.
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: I added this.
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: For 23 years, My family and I lived in the
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: Los Angeles area. We truly enjoyed those years of greater freedom,
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: numerous opportunities, personal growth, and many unexpected, undeserved blessings from God.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: For all those things, I'm forever grateful. However, I found myself,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: as did Cynthia, becoming weary of the noise of the
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: incessant crowds at every turn, the accelerated pace, the endless
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: rush of traffic, the relentless press of activities.
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: While we thoroughly enjoyed.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: Close friendships and an expansion of ministry involvements, there were
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: times we longed for relief. for the enviable presence of
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: silence and stillness. We would occasionally escape to the mountains
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: to a retreat about an hour and a half from
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: our home where we lived in the busy city. Where
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: we went was removed from the blare of horns and
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: the grinding roar of the freeways and the constancy of
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: Too much shallow and superficial talk. Sitting together up there
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: in the mountains at about 6,000 feet, we often leaned
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: against a massive ponderosa pine or a hundred-year-old oak, and
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: we would absorb the therapy of the forest, saturating our
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: souls with majestic stillness. Quiet rains of autumn washed away
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: the dust of summer, inviting the cold winds of winter,
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: which turned overnight into soft falling snow that blanketed the
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: forest floor with a white so brilliant our eyes would hurt.
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: Such visual feasts mixed with the inimitable sounds of silence
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: made both of us more sensitive to the Spirit's presence
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: and leading, more thankful for God's matchless grace.
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: More aware of his majestic glory.
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: In a word, those soul-calming excursions drove us deeper. deeper
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: than we would ever have gone without such times. Last
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: night alone in my study with just a lamp burning,
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: I turned to a couple of sections of what Clarence
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: Edward McCartney has written.
• 48:29
  Speaker 2: One is this piece.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: He writes, there's nothing so impressive as silence. He writes,
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: I like to wander into some great cathedral and standing
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: alone in the nave, listen to the silence of the
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: immense pillars, the soaring arches, the angels and saints looking
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: down upon me from stained glass windows above me. And finally,
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: from his book, Bible Epitaphs. I have no dread of
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: a cemetery. Sometimes it's better to be there and have
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: fellowship with the dead who are buried than to walk
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: down the streets of our cities and meet the unburied dead.
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: That is, those in whom faith and hope.
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: And love and purity have long been dead, leaving only
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: the animal alive. In the cemetery, the Bible of life
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: is open to And a passionless voice reads to us
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: the great lessons and tells us to apply our hearts
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: unto wisdom. Sometimes we can learn more from the silence
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: of the dead than from the speech of the living.
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: Whether it be a little.
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: Churchyard where under ancient elms the dead lie close to
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: holy walls, Or the dark spaces of some cathedral where
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: the dead sleep under sculptured sarcophagus and lettered marble. Or
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: some wilderness battlefield where the nation has gathered the bodies
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: of the soldiers who there gave their last full measure.
• 50:34
  Speaker 2: Of devotion.
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: Or some rural hillside For the wind blows free by
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: the banks of a river that flows silently and swiftly away.
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: Like man's life.
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: Wherever it may be, the resting place of the dead
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: has always something worthwhile to say.
• 51:01
  Speaker 2: To the living. Slow down. Be quiet. Take time. May
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: we bow together in this quiet place.
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: This may be the first time for you in most
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: of your adult life to be this quiet. When you're
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: quiet and always when you're alone, your thoughts reflect on
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: where you've been and what your life has been like.
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: If you look back over the pages of your past
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: and cannot find a time when you truly gave your
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: heart and soul to Jesus Christ, the master, the savior.
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: Do that now.
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: You don't have to say a word. You don't have
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: to do a thing. In your mind, acknowledge, I come
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: before you, oh God. Distant and lost. And I realize
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: my need for Jesus. Please, occupy my life. I receive
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: him now. Into my soul, I take him into my heart.
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: If you've been moving it too fast, a clip, I
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: suggest you slow starting today. If your tendency is to
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: talk too much, I suggest silence. The discipline of silence
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: for an extended period of time. And if you're the
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: type to react to whatever, I suggest you take time.
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: To let the wonder in. Drive a little slower. Think
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: a little deeper. Look only to Jesus. Oh, Father, may
• 53:53
  Speaker 2: the mind of Christ, our Savior, live in us from
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: day to day. And may his beauty rest upon us
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: as we seek the lost to win. Amen.
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: May the word of God become our diet. May time
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: with you mark our lives. We leave this place different
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: than when we came. May that difference continue through this
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: week and through this season.
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: For Jesus' sake. Amen. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.