["Pomp and Circumstance"]
On the first.
Song number 229 on the second.
On the second.
Song number
I will glory in my Saviour's name.
I have a will in this bright and clear sense I have been redeemed.
Dispelling every doubt and fear sins I have been redeemed.
Sins I have been redeemed, sins I have been redeemed.
You guys are singing great, let's sing it out on the last.
I have a home prepared for me, since I have been redeemed.
Where I shall dwell eternally, since I have been redeemed.
Since I have been redeemed, since I have been redeemed.
I will glory in my Savior's name.
Amen, great singing. Welcome to the Sunday evening service here at Verity Baptist Church.
Glad to see everyone here this evening. Bow our hands for a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come to your house this evening.
Lord, thank you for the people that are gathered here. Thank you for everything that you've done today.
Thank you for saving our soul, Lord, and we pray that you bless the service, bless the singing, bless the preaching.
Come, Lord, and we love you, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Alright, now it's time for our favorites, where if you're selected, we will sing a stanza from the song that you've picked.
Let's start with Brother Salvador. 40? Song number 40 on the last.
Song number 40, no disappointment in heaven. Let's sing it out on the last.
There'll never be a creep on the corner, no funeral train in the sky.
The rays on the hillside of movie, for there we shall never more die.
We all will be young there forever, transformed in the moment of time.
Immortals and in his likeness, the stars and the sun to outshine.
I'm bound for that beautiful city, my Lord has prepared for his honor.
Where all the reeds and the whole ages sing glory around the white throne, sometimes I cry.
Glory is high, there shall be hope, what a joy that will be when my Savior I see in that beautiful city of gold.
Amen.
What was his guide?
215.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.
Song number 215, sing it out on the first.
Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful day, a day I will never forget.
After that wonder and darkness away, Jesus, my Savior, amen.
Oh, what a tender compassion, a prayer, amen beneath the heart.
Shadows is failing with joy, I am telling, he made all the darkness depart.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.
When at the cross the Savior made me whole, my sins were washed away and my night was certain day.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.
Sing it out.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.
Ah, Miss Diane, I mean Christine, sorry.
216.
216, all right.
We don't have to turn too far.
Song number 216, surely goodness and mercy, let's sing it out on the first.
A pilgrim was I in our wild dreams.
In the cold night of sin I did roam.
Jesus, a kind shepherd found me, and now I am on the way home.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days, all the days of my life.
Sing it out.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
And I shall feast at the tables for me.
Surely goodness and mercy follow me, all the days, all the days of my life.
All the days, all the days of my life.
Ah, Miss Ariel, go ahead.
41, song number 41.
In the sweet by and by, song number 41, let's sing it out on the first.
There's a land that is fairer than any, and by faith we can see it afar.
For the Father waits over the rain to prepare us a dwelling place there.
In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Let's sing one more song.
Noah, go ahead.
415, song number 415, this will be the last song.
Sing it out with some passion, amen.
Song number 415, let's sing it out on the first.
Performing now and still to conquer, righted the king in his might,
leading the host of all the faithful into the midst of the fight.
Sitting with courage, mad men sing, quieting their billions array,
shouting the name of their leader, hear them exultingly say,
not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race,
yet to the true and the faithful, victory's promised to reign, amen.
Good evening. Let's go ahead and take our bulletins tonight.
We'll look at some announcements real quickly.
If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand
and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you.
The verse this week, Ephesians 3.20,
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.
And that's a good verse there. Of course, we like that.
If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time,
Sunday morning service, 10 30 a.m.
And we had a wonderful service this morning.
We're glad you're back out tonight for the evening service.
And we invite you to be with us on Wednesday night
for the Wednesday night Bible study.
If you look at our soul winning times,
our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
and we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays and Fridays
and Sundays at 2 p.m.
So we'd love you to make it to any of those soul winning times.
And of course, if you are a soul winner,
we ask that you would add your salvation on a communication card
so that we can update the bulletin.
If you have a map that has not been finished,
if you finish your map and you just discard it,
we'll be done with it. We'll count it as done.
But if you have a map that has not been finished,
clearly mark what was done and what was not done
and put into the bin in the foyer.
We would appreciate that.
And of course, if you're running late,
call us or text us at the number there, 916-868-9080.
And we would appreciate that.
We, of course, are a family integrated church.
What that means is that children and infants
always walk in the service.
We don't separate children from their parents for any reason.
We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms
available for your convenience,
so please use those rooms as needed.
If you have a child that's being distracted
during the service or if you need some privacy,
we'd encourage you to use the mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events,
of course, we've got our series.
We'll continue our journey with Jesus,
a verse-by-verse study in the Gospel of Luke.
And then, of course, we have men's preaching night this Friday,
August 5th at 7 p.m.
And we'd love for all the men to come out
and have a good time of fellowship.
And you don't have to preach at the men's preaching night.
Just come and hear the guys preach,
and we'll have pizza afterwards and fellowship.
But if you would like to preach,
there are rules to be able to preach,
so make sure you are aware of those.
And I think tonight is the last night to sign up.
You have to sign up and give us your topic,
so make sure you do that tonight before you leave.
Choir and orchestra, they had practice today at 5 p.m.,
and then the orchestra begins on Sunday, August 14th.
Upcoming cleaning crew, we appreciate your faithfulness there.
You can check all these other things there.
Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off
or place them on silent during the service.
They're not a distraction to anybody.
If you look at the back of the bulletin,
birthdays and anniversaries for the month of July,
those are all past.
Praise report, money matters,
all those things are there for you to look at.
And I think that's it for all of the announcements.
So let's go ahead and take our song books,
and we'll go to page number 46.
Page number 46.
And we're going to sing My Savior, first of all,
as we prepare to receive the offering tonight.
Page number 46, sing it out on the first.
Page number 46, sing it out on the second.
Praise report, money matters, all those things are there for you to look at.
Thank you.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening.
God, I thank you for your word, for our church, for everyone that's here.
God, I ask that you please give each one of us the 10 hearts of
a message tonight.
God, I ask that you please read the passage to strengthen them and for this
spirit, we love you, in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Go right over there in Luke chapter 9.
And, of course, we are continuing our journey with Jesus through vector
of Luke going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and this morning we
at this passage of Scripture dealing with an assessment on salvation and an
assessment on discipleship and tonight we're gonna pick up right where we left
off. If you notice we ended this morning if you look at verse 26 the Bible says
this is Jesus speaking to his disciples for whosoever shall be ashamed of me and
of my words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own
glory and in his father's and of the holy angels. And again I'm not
gonna repeat this morning sermon but I just want you to understand the context
we left off this morning sermon with this idea that we should live for God
and that we should serve the Lord and be disciples because of the benefits here
on earth and also because of the benefits in heaven. We don't want to get
to heaven and find out that we've been a castaway that we've disqualified
ourselves from rewards we don't want to keep make the Lord Jesus Christ ashamed
of us is what the verse is saying here and in that context in verse 26 verse 27
is found. Now verse 27 if you if you really study it out you'll we didn't
cover it this morning but verse 27 is really in the context of verse 26 and if
you're dividing the scripture up into paragraphs you define that verse 27 is
part of verse 26 where where he says but I tell you of a truth there be some
standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.
Now at verse 28 a new we find the new transition a new story notice there in
verse 28 and it came to pass about eight days after these saying these sayings he
took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. Now the reason
that we did not cover verse 27 this morning and I wanted to cover it tonight
is because although verse 27 is connected to the previous passage that
we dealt with the went through this morning it really sets up what we're
gonna look at here in verse number 28 because at the end of that little talk
that Jesus gave he makes this statement this prediction he says but I tell you
of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste of death meaning
they're not going to die till they see the kingdom of God and that statement
there in Luke 9 27 it's not the only place that is found in scripture but
that statement is often used by some to mock scripture because Jesus is pretty
much saying that there are some standing here referring to the twelve he says
that are not going to die before they see the kingdom of God and people will
often look at that phrase and say Jesus was predicting that his kingdom his
coming kingdom would happen within the lifetime of the disciples and that did
not happen that makes them a liar that makes them a false that's a false
prediction but I want you to understand that what Jesus actually said was that
there was some standing here which shall not taste of death I do believe that's
referring to the fact that they're not gonna die till they notice the word the
key word is see the kingdom of God till they see the kingdom of God and where
you find this passage in in the rest of the Gospels you find consistently that
in all the Gospels in which the Mount of Transfiguration is meant as mentioned
I talked about on Wednesday night about the synoptic Gospels Matthew Mark and
Luke how they follow generally the same outline not exactly they've got some
differences but when the Mount of Transfiguration is mentioned in any
gospel it is always preceded by that statement that there will be some
standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God
and always within that context we have the statement we find in verse 28 and it
came to pass about an eight about an eight days after these sayings he took
Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray now when Jesus
goes up to that mountain we have a very well-known event in Scripture known as
the Mount of Transfiguration and if you're not sure what the model
Transfiguration is we're gonna study it tonight we're gonna look at it but I
want you to understand that the Mount of Transfiguration was that event that
Jesus was referring to when he said that there are some standing here which shall
not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God he said there are some
standing here referring specifically we know from the Mount of Transfiguration
to Peter James and John which were not going to die till they had seen the
kingdom of God and they did see the kingdom of God on the Mount of
Transfiguration and that's the event that's happening here so I just wanted
to take a little bit of time to kind of explain that because sometimes people
will ask about that and say well what is that referring to that there would be
some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of
God that is a reference to the fact that there are there were men standing right
there Peter James and John who eight days later six days later a few days
later went up on the mount and they got a view of the coming kingdom of God and
that's really what the Mount of Transfiguration is and if you're taking
notes tonight and I would encourage of course always take notes on the back your
course the week I think you can write some things down the first point that I
want to show you in regards to this is the revealing of the kingdom the Mount
of Transfiguration is a revealing of the coming kingdom now there are several
characteristics within the Mount of Transfiguration and I'll just show these
to you and and kind of study these out together tonight when it comes to the
revealing of the kingdom the first reveal that we see is of course a
glimpse of glory notice there in Luke 9 in verse 28 the Bible says and it came
to pass about in eight days after these saying he took Peter and John and James
and went up into a mountain to pray and as he prayed here's the event of the
Mount of Transfiguration why it's called Transfiguration the fashion of his
countenance was altered and his raiment was white and and glycerin the Bible
tells us that Jesus on this mountain was transfigured or transformed into his
glorified body and Peter and John and James they got a glimpse of the glory of
God they got a glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ during his
earthly ministry on this Mount his fashion and his countenance was altered
and his raiment was white and glycerin I keep it place there in Luke chapter 9
that's our text for tonight but go with me if you would to the book of
Revelation Revelation chapter 1 last book in the Bible should be fairly easy
to find Revelation 1 and look at verse 12 Revelation 1 12 you'll notice that
whenever we talk about Jesus and his glorified body we always have these same
types of descriptions and there's multiple places in the Bible I'm not
going to take the time to have you run through all those but I'll show you this
one in Revelation 1 and verse 12 the Bible says and I turned to see the voice
that spake with me this of course John on the Isle of Patmos and he's he's on
the aisle he's praying is meditating the Bible says and being turned I saw seven
golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the
Son of Man this is the Lord Jesus Christ of course this is after his ascension
this is a the Lord Jesus Christ appearing to John in his glorified body
notice the description clothed with a garment down to the foot in gird about
the pops with a golden girdle his head and his hairs were white like wool as
white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like
undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of
many waters and his and he had his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth
when they sharped two-edged sword and his countenance was as the Sun shineth
and his strength notice that the Bible tells us his head was white his eyes
were as a flame of fire his countenance was as the Sun shineth and his strength
and when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me
saying unto me fear not I am the first and the last this is the same glorified
Jesus that Peter James and John saw on the Mount of Transfiguration the word
Transfiguration is means trans transformation is the same thing that's
gonna happen to you and I when we are resurrected this mortal will put on
immortality and this flesh and this corruption is gonna put on in corruption
they saw the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory go back to Luke chapter 9 keep
your place in Revelation if you would we're gonna come back to Revelation here
in a minute but go to Luke chapter 9 notice what the Bible says they saw they
got a you say what are the what are the characteristics of the Mount of
Transfiguration the revealing of the kingdom well the first is that they got
a glimpse of glory they got to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ just for
a minute notice there in Luke 9 and verse 30 the Bible says and behold there
talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias who appeared in glory and spake
of his deceased which he should accomplish at Jerusalem we're gonna come
back to those two verses here in a minute but look at verse 32 but Peter
and they that were with him were heavy with sleep and when they were awake they
saw his glory whose glory the Lord Jesus Christ they saw his glory and the
two men that stood with him see this is when Peter James and John they got a
glimpse of glory they were on this mount and here the Bible tells us that they
were asleep I believe that they were probably on this mount for several days
in fact when you look at and I won't take the time to run the verses but when
you look at the passages of the Mount of Transfiguration some passages tell us
they were up there for six days other passages tell us they were up there for
eight days people will often even look at that and try to point to the Bible
and say you know there's a contradiction here what was it well the fact that
Peter James and John were asleep tells us that they were probably up there for
six to eight days they were probably up on the mount camping we're gonna see
that here in a minute they were up there with the Lord Jesus Christ they're dead
asleep and they wake up and they see the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible they saw his
glory and two men that stood with him by the way that's why John would later
write in the Gospel of John you know the verse very well and the word was made
flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the
Father full of grace and truth this is a reference to the Mount of Transfiguration
he said we beheld his glory we got a glimpse of glory they went up on this
Mount and they got to see the coming kingdom and the coming kingdom showed
them a glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the coming kingdom
Jesus will be in his glory and so will you and I if you're saved tonight so we
see a glimpse of glory but I want you to notice there's a second characteristic
to this Mount of Transfiguration to the revealing of the kingdom not only do we
see the glimpse of glory but we also see the presence of the prophets notice
there in verse 30 again and behold they're talked with him two men which
were Moses and Elias and again Elias is the New Testament spelling of the Old
Testament name Elijah there were two prophets that were present at this Mount
of Transfiguration when Jesus was transformed and transfigured into his
glorified body and Peter James and John got a glimpse of his glory there were
two prophets present we see the presence of the prophets they're talked
with him two men which were Moses and Elias notice verse 31 who appeared in
glory they're also in their glorified bodies and spake of his disease which he
should accomplish at Jerusalem remember we talked about this morning that in
Luke in chapter 9 we have this transition where the focus now for the
Lord Jesus Christ is heading towards Calvary and here on the Mount of
Transfiguration we've got the Lord Jesus Christ in this glimpse of glory in
this trans figuration and this transformed formation of his body into
his glorified body and Moses and Elijah arguably the two most famous most
well-known greatest Bible characters of the Old Testament also appear in their
glorified body and guess what they take the time to talk about the stock market
now what they talk about the current political leaders is that what they talk
about the things that you and I worry or are anxious about is that what he's a
no you have this great meeting of these great biblical characters and the Bible
tells us that they spake of his deceased which he should accomplish at Jerusalem
I don't know what that conversation how that went and what exactly they were
talking about but this was the most important thing that they could talk
about they talked about the fact that it's getting near it will happen soon
Jesus you're going to go to Jerusalem and be crucified so we see the glimpse
of glory of our Savior and we see the presence of the prophets notice there in
verse 32 but Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep and when
they awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him who were
these two men Moses and Elijah now just real quickly go to the go back to the
book of Revelation Revelation chapter 11 and let me just say this and that this
is not part of the sermon but it's worth going on a little rabbit trail for it in
Revelation chapter 11 we are told about two witnesses that will come down to
this earth during the end times and it's often highly debated who these two
witnesses are going to be and the Bible doesn't tell us so we shouldn't be
dogmatic but everybody has their little guesses about who the two witnesses
would be and I'll just give you mine and again I'm not dogmatic about it
this is just my opinion but I believe that the two witnesses are going to be
Moses and Elijah now one of the reasons that I believe that is because of the
fact throughout the Bible you'll notice that Moses and Elijah are connected
together and they are also connected to the Lord Jesus Christ of course you know
here we see the fact that Moses and Elijah are the two men that appeared on
the Mount of Transfiguration they're also and we'll talk about this later on
in the sermon they're also the so when it comes to the Mount of Transfiguration
there was Jesus Peter James and John Moses and Elijah six individuals on that
mountain but when it comes to two individuals that are not the Lord Jesus
Christ that are on that mountain and are in their glorified bodies those two
individuals are Moses and Elijah these two individuals also happen to be the
same two individuals that along with the Lord Jesus Christ are the only
individuals in the entire Bible who did a 40-day fast both Moses fasted for
Moses and Elijah fasted for 40 days the Lord Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days
Moses and Elijah were on the Mount of Transfiguration the Lord Jesus Christ
was on the Mount of Transfiguration there's other things we could talk about
both went on journeys through the wilderness and met God on Mount Horeb
both Moses and Elijah went through those similar journeys in their lifetimes but
here in Revelation chapter 11 we have these two witnesses notice verse 3 and I
will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred three score days clothed in sackcloth these are the two olive trees
and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth and if any man will
hurt them fire proceeded out of their mouth and devoured their enemies and if
any man will hurt them he must in this manner be killed now in verse 6 we're
going to be told the two kind of the great miracles that these two witnesses
do and I just want you to notice and ask yourself what do these miracles remind
you of revelation 11 verse 6 these have power to shut heaven that it rained not
in the days of their prophecy doesn't that sound like Elijah Elijah during his
ministry prayed and shut heaven that it would not rain during his ministry
notice so these they they have the power to shut heaven that it rained not in the
days of their prophecy and here's the other miracle that they can perform have
power over waters to turn them to blood does that sound like Moses and to smite
the earth with plagues does not sound like Moses as often as they will so
we've got most of Elijah two men other than Lord Jesus Christ who who did 40
day fast most of Elijah two men other than the Lord Jesus Christ who were
glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration most of Elijah two men
who wandered through the wilderness and walked up Mount Horeb and met God there
and then when we're told about the two witnesses in Revelation 11 3 they also
just happened to match the major events that Moses Elijah did shut heaven that
it rained not in days of the prophecy and have power over waters to turn them
to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues so my educated guess is that the
two witnesses are Moses Elijah you can disagree with me of course you have
every right to be wrong but I think I think that Moses Elijah are probably the
two witnesses and that's why they're honored with being up on the mount but
it's not just that go back to Luke chapter 9 Luke chapter 9 we're talking
about the revealing of the kingdom the Mount of Transfiguration the whole
purpose of this mount Transfiguration is that Peter James and John might see the
kingdom we see that they get a glimpse of glory they see the Lord Jesus Christ
transfigured in his glorified body and then of course Moses and Elijah are
there as well in their glorified bodies and then we have Peter James and John
are there but the Bible also tells us that as they were up on this mountain
down below were the rest of the disciples excuse me ministering to the
people down on the bottom of the mountain we're gonna see that later on
in the passage we read it at the beginning of the text so they go down
off the mountain to deal with the multitudes down there and to cast out
devils and to deal with those things so when we talk about the revealing of the
kingdom the fact that they're gonna see the kingdom all of these individuals
that are portrayed here in the mountain are a representation of the coming
kingdom of the coming rain they are a representation of the coming rain
referring to the coming kingdom of God so we see a glimpse of the glory we see
the presence of the prophets and we also see a representation of the coming rain
a representation of the coming rain you say what is that representation let me
just break it down for you and again if you're into these kind of things and you
like these allegory type things maybe you can write this down how does the
Mount of Transfiguration how is it that it could be said that Peter James and
John saw the kingdom of God upon the Mount of Transfiguration well the Mount
of Transfiguration represents the coming reign of Christ when you think about the
Mount of Transfiguration here are the players that are portrayed and what they
represent number one you have Jesus of course Jesus represents himself in the
coming kingdom that's why he was transfigured into his glorified body
because in the coming kingdom he will rule with a rod of iron in his glorified
body so we have Jesus representing himself in the coming kingdom as himself
transfigured in his glorified body but then we have Moses who does Moses
represent Moses represents believers who died before the coming of Christ these
would be what we call Old Testament Saints because if you remember Moses
died obviously Moses died in the Old Testament and his death was was pretty
well known and even even there was drama that came as a result of his death you
don't have to turn you I'll just read this for you Jude 1 9 says this yet
Michael the Archangel when contending with the devil he disputed about the
body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation but said the
Lord rebuke thee so here we're told that Michael the Archangel was contending with
the devil they were fighting about the body of Moses they were disputing over
the body of Moses of course we know that God is the one who took the life of
Moses Moses not allowed to enter into the Promised Land to cross over and he
went up the mount he met God there God took his life and buried him and nobody
knew where Moses buried but the devil and and Michael the Archangel were
disputing over the body of Moses so Moses definitely died and in this little
picture here we have Jesus who represents himself in his glorified
body the the coming Messiah the King of Kings the Lord of Lord the the Lord of
glory and then we have Moses who represents believers who died before the
coming of Christ Old Testament Saints who died excuse me Old Testament and
also Moses represents New Testament Saints anyone that died before the
rapture you said what about Elijah well Elijah represents those who were
raptured up because if you remember one of the main characteristics and
well-known things about Elijah is that he was caught up second Kings chapter 2
and verse 11 you don't have to turn they'll just read this for you and it
came to pass as they still went on and taught that behold there appeared a
chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder and Elijah went
up by a whirlwind into heaven so Moses represents believers who died before the
coming of Christ or the the rapture and then Elijah actually is a picture a
representation of those who get raptured up because Elijah never died he was
caught up into heaven a chariot of fire came down and the Bible says that he was
caught up by a whirlwind into heaven so he actually pictures the believers that
get raptured from this earth you say what about Peter James and John what do
they represent they represent believers who are still in their mortal bodies
during the millennial reign because during the millennial reign what we're
going to have is the Lord Jesus Christ reigning as King of Kings Lord of Lord
we're gonna have a saint in their glorified body who were resurrected that
did not that died and were resurrected from the dead they're going to be at the
millennial reign but we're also gonna have saints who were raptured and we
have these representations but during that millennial reign there's also going
to be and again I don't have time to go into all these details I'm not preaching
on on end times prophecy tonight but during the millennial reign there's
going to be people that are born during that thousand-year reign of Christ who
are gonna believe on Christ we're gonna get saved and they're going to be
believers that live during the millennial reign and you say what
happens to them when they die at the end of the millennial reign there's a there's
another resurrection for them and Peter James and John represents the believers
who are alive during the reign of Christ and then you've got the people down at
the bottom of the mount the multitudes who do they represent they represent the
unbelievers during the millennial reign because in the same way that there's
going to be saved people during the millennial reign there's also going to
be unsaved people during the millennial reign and we know that because at the
end of the millennial reign Satan is loose from the bottomless pit and he
comes out and he gathers the armies to fight against God the nations of Gog and
Magog which are a bunch of unsaved people so see on this mount of
Transfiguration we've got this picture of what the millennial reigns gonna look
like we have the Lord Jesus Christ and his glorified body we have Saints who
died before the rapture we have Saints represented by Moses we have Saints who
were raptured at the at the rapture of the Lord Jesus Christ of course when at
the coming of Christ and they're represented by Elijah you have Peter
James and John who represent believers that are still alive during the
millennial reign and that got saved or were born after the rapture and then
you've got at the bottom the multitudes of unbelievers who are also going to be
at the millennial reign and they're going to be the nations of Gog and Magog
that go to battle with the Lord Jesus Christ so here we have this
representation of the reign this is why Jesus said there are some standing here
which will not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God and they did
see the kingdom of God in this picture of the mount of Transfiguration go back
to I don't know where you're at but go to Luke chapter 9 if you would Luke
chapter 9 hopefully that made sense to you but we have here the revealing of
the kingdom and I want you to notice secondly not only do we have the
revealing of the kingdom the glimpse of glory the presence of the prophets the
representation of the rain but we have number two tonight the record of the
father there's another event that happens at the mount of Transfiguration
now the purpose of the mountain Transfiguration was the revealing of the
kingdom but while this event happens Peter and we love Peter does what Peter
often does and he puts his foot in his mouth and as a result we not only get
the revealing of the kingdom we also get the record of the father notice there in
verse 33 what does Peter do Peter equates Jesus to Moses and Elijah notice
verse 33 if you don't really you know you might read this and think I don't
understand what Peter did that was so bad but when you when you understand
that he's equating Jesus Luke 933 and it came to pass as they referring to Moses
and Elijah departed from him Jesus so they're done talking and Moses Elijah
are departing they're leaving Jesus Peter said unto Jesus master it is good
for us to be here he says and let us make three tabernacles what's a
tabernacle a tabernacle is a tent he says let us make three tabernacles one
for thee one for Moses and one for Elias or Elijah notice I like how Luke puts
this little phrase here at the end of verse 33 not knowing what he said so
here Peter says hey this is great Moses and Elijah are here and and he throws
out this request he says how about we build three tabernacles how about we put
up three tents one for thee one for Moses one for Elias one for Elijah and
when he does this what he does is he equates Jesus to Moses and Elijah he
puts them on the same level go to Mark chapter 9 let me show this to you in
another passage Mark chapter 9 you're there in Luke just flip back to Mark
chapter 9 Mark chapter 9 remember in Luke 933 Luke put this little phrase and
he said not knowing what he said right Peter is just he says hey let's make
three tabernacles one for thee one for Moses one for Elias not knowing what he
said in Luke 9 verse 5 the Bible says this and Peter answered and said to
Jesus master it is good for us to be here let us make three tabernacles one
for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias notice Luke 9 6 notice how Mark
put it he says for he was not the word wish means to know or knew he was not he
knew not what to say so in Luke 9 33 we're told that he said this not knowing
what he said and in Mark 9 6 we're told he said this not knowing what to say and
here's just a application for you when you don't know what to say sometimes
it's best to say nothing at all because here Peter is like you know this is
great I wish I want to say something but this gets documented in Scripture for
all of eternity not knowing what to say for he wished not what to say he put his
foot in his mouth and the problem was that he equated Jesus to Moses and
Elijah so he puts Jesus and Moses it's not like he says hey how about we make a
tabernacle for Jesus and Moses Elijah can sleep under the stars like Peter
James and John are doing no he says hey let's build three tabernacles for these
three men and he equates them you got to understand that that's the problem with
Peter's statement because then we get the record of the father notice Luke 9
and verse 34 while he Peter thus spake I love that because as Peter is saying
these words hey we should make three tabernacles one for thee one for Moses
weren't for Elias while he does spake there came a cloud and overshadowed them
and they feared notice these words as they entered into the cloud I mean think
about that sometimes you got to put yourself in these stories they're up on
this mountain they've been there for a couple of days probably they've been
they're asleep Peter James and John they they wake up because this light
kind of wakes them up they open their eyes and they see the Lord Jesus Christ
transfigured in his glorified body Moses and Elijah in their glorified bodies
talking about the fact that Jesus is going to die they just sit there and
watch this glimpse of glory and when Elijah and Moses go to leave Peter says
hey wait a minute if this is great it's good for us to be here let's make three
tabernacles one for Moses one for Elijah one for Jesus and as he's saying these
words this cloud comes in this fearful cloud notice again verse 34 while he
does spake there came a cloud and overshadowed them and they feared as
they entered into the cloud I mean just imagine this cloud coming into the
mountain they're like what in the world verse 35 and there came a voice out of
the cloud saying this is my beloved son hear him you say what was the record of
the Father the record of the Father was this God the Father expressed the
preeminence of Jesus over Moses the preeminence of Jesus over Elijah the
preeminence of Jesus over everyone else because here you have Peter who Newton
he didn't know what to say so he's just gonna say something and he equates he
equates Jesus to Moses and Elijah and and God the Father brings his cloud in
and he speaks from the cloud and he says no this is my beloved son hear him and
of course this is not the first time this happened when a voice came from
heaven of course at the baptism of Christ the Bible tells us lo a voice
from heaven said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and of course
the Father shows us his his express approval on the preeminence of Jesus and
look let's not forget and let's never get this attitude that Jesus is like
anyone else in the Bible he's not just a prophet he's not just a teacher he's not
a good man no it's the preeminence of Christ above everyone that's what one of
the themes I love about the book of Hebrews where Hebrews tells us that
Jesus is better than the angels Jesus is better than the law Jesus is better than
Moses Jesus is better than everyone why it's the preeminence of the Lord Jesus
Christ so Peter equates Jesus to Moses and Elijah and God the Father expresses
the preeminence of Jesus over everyone else and then I love this because the
cloud comes in it's foggy they can't see they just hear a voice this is my
beloved son hear him you don't need Moses and Elijah's what he's saying he
says you've got Jesus and then I love the way it's worded in verse 36 and when
the voice was passed when the voice was passed and the the cloud cleared notice
these words Jesus was found alone I love that
hey praise God Jesus was found alone you say why because he's all I need Jesus
Christ has made to me all I need all I need he alone is all my plea he is all
I need I don't need anyone else I don't need anything else I've got Jesus he G
and God says this is my beloved son hear him when the voice was passed Jesus was
found alone and they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those
things which they had seen go to Ephesians just real quickly let me just
run a couple of verses with you Ephesians chapter 1 you're there in
Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians Galatians Ephesians
Ephesians chapter 1 you know what you and I need we need to recapture the
preeminence of Christ in our lives Jesus all I need I don't need anything else
and when I have Jesus he's all I want Ephesians 1 and verse 20 Ephesians 1 in
verse 20 don't ever forget the preeminence of Christ above everything
that in all things he might have the preeminence seek you first the kingdom
of God the Bible says Ephesians 1 and verse 20 which he wrought in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places
notice verse 21 far above all I love how it says that not just above all no no
not just above all far above all far above all principalities far above all
power far above all might and Dominion and every name that is named not only in
this world but also in the world which is to come and I put all things under
his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his
body the fullness of him that filleth all in all you understand why God the
Father was a little frustrated when Peter says hey you know I think Jesus
and Moses and Elijah they're kind of equal let's give them all three
tabernacles and God the Father feels the need to come in and say no this is my
beloved son hear him he's far above all principalities and power and might
Dominion every name that is named not only in this world but also in that
which is to come keep your place there in Ephesians go back to Luke chapter 9
Luke chapter 9 so notice we see the revealing of the kingdom what was it a
glimpse of glory the presence of the prophets the representation of the rain
we saw number two the record of the Father Peter equates Jesus to Moses and
Elijah and God the Father expresses the preeminence of Jesus over Moses over
Elijah and over everyone else and then I'd like you to notice thirdly tonight
the reality of their current state see we saw the revealing of the coming
kingdom and we saw the record of the Father but when this event the Mount of
Transfiguration is over the reality of their current state begins to settle in
you ever gotten on a vacation and got a little down when you came home like ah
it's over you know back to the real world well Peter gets a little bit of
that notice Luke chapter 9 and verse 33 and it came to pass as they Moses Elijah
departed from him Jesus Peter said notice what Peter said and this is why
Peter puts his foot in his mouth because he says let us make three tabernacles
one for thee one for Moses one for Elias but here's why he said it he said it
because he didn't want it to end Peter said unto Jesus master it is good for us
to be here let and let us make three tabernacles now he shouldn't have said
it because he shouldn't equate it Jesus to Moses and Elijah but he said it
because he was having such a good time because it was such a a great stay up on
the mount he did not want it to end and look I can understand that you're there
in Ephesians go to Philippians Peter was having such a good time up on the Mount
he didn't want to go home Peter was having such a good time he said let's
just stay here for a while let's just build some tabernacles let's build a
fire let's get some s'mores going let's just let's just do this what was it that
Peter loved so much Peter for a moment got to live in the coming kingdom really
he got to live in what you and I would refer to as the afterlife or the heaven
even though the kingdom of God we understand there's a lot of different
things there but Peter was out of his real-life world for a little bit and he
loved it Peter said unto Jesus master it is good for us to be here I don't want
to go home can we just stay here and I understand that sometimes you don't want
to go home or maybe you should put this way sometimes you want to go home and
you don't want to be here we sing that song heaven sounding sweeter all the
time and sometimes the longer you live and the older you get heaven really is
sounding sweeter all the time notice there in Philippians 1 and verse 23
notice this is how Paul said it he said for I am in a strait betwixt two having
a desire to depart Paul said Paul said sometimes I don't I don't want to do
this life anymore sometimes I I just like to go home he said he said I'm in
a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart into and to be with Christ which
is far better but then Paul says nevertheless to abide in the flesh is
more needful for you see Peter said let's just do this for a while I like
this this is great and for Peter this was quite what we might refer to as the
mountaintop experience real quickly go to 2nd Peter if you would 2nd Peter
chapter 1 if you started revelation and go backwards you have Jude 3rd 2nd and
1st John 2nd and 1st Peter if I'm gonna preach a sermon on the Mount of
Transfiguration we have to go to 2nd Peter because in 2nd Peter we have the
epistle of the Apostle Peter in 2nd Peter chapter 1 where he talks to us
about the Mount of Transfiguration about this event that he had up on this
mountain with the Lord Jesus Christ 1st Peter 1 and verse 16 notice what Peter
says for we have not followed cunningly the word cunning means deceitful or sly
we have not followed cunningly devised the word devised means planned out he
says for we have not followed cunningly devised fables a fable is a made-up
story he said what we've followed was not cunningly devised fables when we
made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ he says
but were eyewitnesses of his majesty his majesty referring to his glory majesty
is a term used for kingdoms Peter said I saw the coming kingdom I was an
eyewitness of his majesty I was an eyewitness of the coming kingdom you
asked Peter who was there what's the coming kingdom look like he said well it
looks like Jesus in his glorified body it looks like a bunch of Saints Old
Testament and New Testament Saints that died before the rapture it looks like a
bunch of Saints that died that that were that never died that were raptured up it
looks like a bunch of mortals that got saved during the millennial reign and a
bunch of unsaved mortals that did not get saved during the millennial reign
he's like that's what I saw I was an eyewitness of his majesty look at verse
17 for he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a
voice to him from the from the excellent glory Peter says I was there when Jesus
received from God the Father honor and glory when did Jesus receive honor and
glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory when a
voice came and told us something about Jesus now I like and I understand this I
like how Peter leaves out the part where the reason that this voice that God the
Father spoke is because he put his foot in his mouth you know I probably would
have left that out too but but he said look there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and this
voice which came from heaven we heard when we were hit when we were with him
in the holy mount referring to the mountain of Transfiguration so look I
don't blame Peter I you know he's he said what he said and you know I don't
know you and I might have said something even stupider but I don't blame Peter
because he was having a good time you say I don't want to go home I want to
stay here I want to stay here with you Jesus here in the kingdom I want I want
to talk to Elijah I want to talk to Moses I want to stay up on this map see
Peter was having he wanted to stay on the mount because he was having quite a
mountaintop experience but did you know that you and I can have a little
mountaintop experience here on earth cousin second Peter chapter 1 verses 16
17 and 18 Peter tells us about this experience on the mount of
Transfiguration in which he said it is good for us to be here I don't want to
go home but then in verse 19 Peter makes this application he says we have
also a more sure word of prophecy where unto ye do well that ye take heed as
unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day
star arise in your heart and Peter said look I was up on that mountain the
cloud came in I heard the voice I saw the glory I was up there but he said you
know what I was up there and then he compares that to the Word of God and he
says but we have a more sure word of prophecy you know that you can get up
every day every day tomorrow morning you can get up and open your King James
Bible and read it and have a mountaintop experience with God tomorrow you can
open your Bible and pray this prayer open now mine eyes that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law and read the Word of God and feel the Spirit of
God and have the warning start arise in your heart you can have a more a
mountaintop experience tomorrow morning tonight before you go to bed Moses Moses
was up there but Moses is here Elijah was up there but Elijah is here Jesus
was up there this is Jesus the Word of God Peter wanted to stay on the mount it
was quite the experience but you and I can have a mountain top experience too
we have also a more sure word of prophecy where unto ye do well that ye
take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and
the day star rise in your heart sometimes we're cold and dark towards
the things of God you just open up that Bible and get you a mountaintop
experience with the Lord Jesus Christ Peter wanted to stay up there I don't
blame him I would have want to stay up there too but the problem was that Peter
could not stay up there because there was work to be done go back to Luke
chapter 9 the reason that they only got to see the kingdom is because the
kingdom has not yet come it's coming you know the day is coming when you will
be in your glorified body I will be in my glorified body we will be serving the
Lord Jesus Christ in his glorified body and there'll be no tears there'll be no
pain there'll be no disappointment there'll be no death there'll be no
trials there'll be no persecution there'll be no the the things that weigh
heavy on our hearts we won't have to deal with that one day but that's not
today you understand that see the but you know what the Bible tells about the
millennial reign the Bible tells us about the millennial reign that the lion
will lay with the lamb that the bear will lay with the the ox that that
children will play with serpents and and they'll play with venomous snakes
and and they and they won't get a bitten and there'll be no poison see there's
coming a day when you'll be able to pet a lion when you'll be able to pet a bear
when you'll be able to pick up a snake and you won't get bit there's coming a
day it's called the millennial reign of Christ but let me tell you something
that day is not today and if you pick up a snake called the devil today you're
gonna get bit you're gonna get poisoned Peter wants to stay up on the mountain
but that was not the day there was work that still needed to be done there was
Devils that still need to be cast out Luke chapter 9 verse 37 and it came to
pass but on the next day when they were come down from the hill what hill the
Mount of Transfiguration this great experience notice what the Bible says
much people met him Peter wanted to stay up on the mountain but there was people
down on them at the bottom of the mount that needed their help verse 38 and
behold a man of the company cried out saying master I beseech thee look upon
my son for my son for he's my only child and lo a spirit taketh him he has a
child here that's demon-possessed a spirit taketh them and he suddenly
crieth out and it tareth him that he fometh again and bruising him hardly
departed from him notice the problem verse 40 this father comes with his
broken heart he sees Jesus coming on off the mountain he says he says please help
my only child he he's demon-possessed the spirit taketh him and he cries out and he
tears him and he's foaming at the mouth he's bruising him notice what he says in
verse 40 and I besought thy disciples to cut to cast him out notice his words and
they could not because remember the only disciples that were up on the mount were
Peter James and John the rest of the disciples were still at the bottom of
the mount still ministering still preaching still healing still casting
out Devils I would remind you that we already saw the sending of the twelve
where God where Jesus ordained the twelve and empowered them to be able to
cast out Devils to be able to heal the sick to be able to preach the kingdom of
God they'd already cast out Devils but on this particular occasion the Bible
says that there was a certain demon that they could not they could not cast out
notice verse 41 Jesus answering said actually before I read that go to
Matthew real quickly you're there in Luke just flip over to Matthew 17 in
Matthew 17 we have the same story I won't take the time to read all the
passages but look at verse 21 when when when Jesus comes down he says hey your
disciples you know they've been casting out Devils but my son has this one devil
and they could not cast out that devil in Matthew 17 and verse 21 here's what
Jesus says about the problem he says how be it this kind goeth not out but by
prayer and fasting see there was a certain devil Jesus said that the
disciples though they cast out other Devils there was a certain devil that
they needed to up their game with he said this kind this kind goeth not out
but by prayer and fasting they have to up their game go back to Luke chapter 9
look verse 41 and Jesus answering said O faithless and perverse generation how
long shall I be with you and suffer you bring thy son hither and as he was yet
coming the devil threw him down and tear him and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit
and healed the child and delivered him again to his father and they were all
amazed at the mighty power of God but while they wondered everyone at all
things which Jesus did he said unto his disciples and he goes on to give them
some instructions and we'll deal with that next week but let me just say this
here we have this illustration where they're up on the mountain and the
multitudes are down at the bottom the disciples that did not go up to the
mountain have already cast out Devils down at the bottom but this kind but
this sky goeth not out but by prayer and fasting and just by way of
conclusion tonight I just want to make this application that oftentimes in the
Christian life look you and I in the Christian life cannot just stay the same
there is no such thing as staying the same you're either growing and expanding
higher ground or you're backsliding there's no in-between and the truth is
this you maybe have heard this little phrase before higher levels bring
greater Devils sometimes what we need is to draw closer to God see the Mount of
Transfiguration represented a few things now I showed you what it represented
regards to the kingdom but in a very practical application the Mount of
Transfiguration represented time with the Word of God because they went up
there with the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word of God the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us we beheld his glory that's what Peter that's what John is
referring to the Mount of Transfiguration he said we have a more
sure word of prophecy so the Mount of Transfiguration represents what going up
on the mount and getting along with the Word of God the Lord Jesus Christ but it
represents more than that it also represents going up on the mountain and
spending time in prayer because that's what they were doing up there remember
Luke 9 look verse 28 and it came to pass about eight days after these sayings he
took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray that's why
they went up there verse 29 and as he prayed so look the Mount of
Transfiguration represents this going up there and spending time with the Word of
God the Lord Jesus Christ going up there and spending time in prayer and it
also represents spending time in fasting because again you think it's a
coincidence that Jesus comes down and says in Matthew this kind goeth not out
but by prayer and fasting when he just went on a mountain to pray and when he
met up there with the two other Bible characters who had 40-day fast you say
what does the Mount of Transfiguration represent it represents our devotional
time with the Lord the time that we spend in the Word of God in prayer and
also in fasting and what's interesting is this and this is just kind of a
concluding thought in your life and in my life we have two different sides to
our lives we have our private lives and our personal lives our private lives and
our public lives you have your private life that nobody knows or just your
family knows and then you have your public life what everybody else sees but
what Jesus is teaching us is this that your ability to succeed in your public
life your ability to beat Devils to to to to grow to win spiritual battles in
your public life is directly influenced by your private life see your ability to
come down the mountain and cast out Devils higher Devils greater levels this
kind which goeth not out but by prayer and fasting that ability is directly
influenced by the amount of time that you spent up on the mountain with the
Word of God and in prayer and in fasting your public life is influenced by your
private life so here's the question for you how's your devotional life was the
last time you had a mountaintop experience when's the last time you took
some time to get away you took some time to get away I'm not saying you have to
go up on a mountain but you turn the stinking phone off and you got you a
King James Bible and you went alone somewhere and you spend some time in the
Word of God and you spend some time in prayer you spend some time maybe fasting
you got a hold of God and got the power of God it will show in your public life
and by the way the lack of private time with God will also show in your public
life so you might want to take time to get along with God because you can have
mountaintop experience just like Peter we have a more sure word of prophecy
you've got it in your hand read it spend time with it spend time in prayer maybe
even fast I realize there are some reasons why you may not want to fast or
may be able to pass if you're pregnant or have some sort of a reason why
medically why you can't but if you're able to you just you should try it spend
time with God get away with God is a major lesson in this passage as far as
enamel prayer heavenly father thank you Lord for your word I think for the story
of course this amount of transfiguration so much that could be said so many
things that we can learn and read from it Lord I pray you'd help us understand
it help us understand the the actual representation of the kingdom and Lord
also help us to understand the application of getting alone with God
Lord we love you in Jesus name we pray amen
we have brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song again just want to
remind you that we'd love for you to be back on Wednesday night 7 p.m. for our
midweek Bible study of course and then don't forget a couple of things men's
preaching and Pete tonight is this Friday for the guys if you need to sign
up please make sure you do that today and then of course choir practice will
continue next week and I think that's it so if there's anything we can do for you
please let us know why brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song man let's
grab our song books and turn to page number one hundred and thirty
song number one three zero yesterday today and forever
song number one hundred and thirty let's sing it out on the first oh how sweet
the glorious master simple faith may claim yesterday today forever Jesus is
the same still he loves to say he was sinful
he'll a sick and lay
still the tempest glory to his name
yesterday today forever Jesus is the same
Oh
Hey
yes
Jesus is the same
Oh
Jesus never
glory to his name
glory
to his name
glory
to his name
oh may change
but Jesus
never
glory
to his name
on the third
he who
the raging billows
walks upon the sea
still can
hush our wild
the tempest eyes
on Galilee
he who
webs and braids in anguish
in Gethsemane
drinks with us
each cup of trembling
in our agony
yesterday
today
forever
Jesus is the same
all
may change but Jesus
never glory
to his name
glory
to his name
glory
to his name
all may
change but Jesus
never
glory to
his name
let's finish strong on the last
as of old he
walks on pillars
with them to abide
so
through all life's way
he walketh ever
near our side
soon again
shall we behold
him hiss and lord
the day
but will still be
missing Jesus
as he went away
yesterday
today
forever Jesus
is the same
all may
change but Jesus
never glory
to his name
glory
to his name
glory
to his name
all may
change but Jesus
never
glory
to his name
amen
great seeing you can have brother Graham
would you dismiss us with a word of prayer
in the name of Jesus Christ
amen