Transfiguration

1. Wal-Mart was founded by a man named Sam Walton.

2. Mr. Walton was once considered to be the richest man in America.

3. What was interesting about Sam Walton was his lifestyle.

4. He had more than money than almost anyone else.

5. His home was located in Bentonville, Arkansas (population 9,901).

6. Sam’s transportation was a 1979 red and white Ford pickup truck.

7. Walton didn’t keep his plain truck in a finely finished garage.

8. He left it under his carport and kept muddy dogs in his backyard.

9. Walton’s house was an ordinary house.

10. Were it not for ht email box that said “Sam and Helen Walton,” no one would have known where he lived.

11. When Walton went to Wal-mart to shop, he waited in line like everyone else

AS THE FOUNDER OF ONE OF THE LARGEST CHAINS IN AMERICA, SAM WALTON’S LIFESTYLE DID NOT MATCH UP TO WHAT MANY EXPECTED.

a) Jesus is also an example of someone who did not match what many expected.

b) Consider the apostles.

c) Jesus declared Himself to be the “Son of man” (an Old Testament title).

d) There had been confessions of who the Lord was.

e) In Mt. 14 we read of how Jesus calmed a sea.

f) Those on board confessed, “thou art the Son of God” (verse 33).

g) Then we have the confession in Mt. 16:16; Peter said Jesus was the Son of God.

2) On the one hand great things were being said about the Lord.

3) Jesus was also curing the sick, healing lepers, and raising the dead.

4) Lots of things suggested He was a special savior from God.

5) On the other hand, there were things that didn’t point to Jesus being a redeemer from God.

a) Jesus and His disciples were traipsing around the countryside.

b) If Jesus were the savior, why was He not with the big shots in Jerusalem?

c) Jesus had spoken of a kingdom, but no kingdom was visible.

d) People like the apostle saw Roman oppression, but this didn’t seem to bother the Lord.

6) Jesus finally let a few people get a better understanding of what things were really like.

7) Three apostles were given an “inside look” at who the Lord was.

8) Most of us are familiar with Mk. 9:1.

a) Jesus said there were people in His day and time who would see something.

b) Before people of His generation died, they would see the kingdom of God come.

c) When the kingdom arrived, it would come with “power.”

9) 6 days after Jesus made this promise we read about something called the transfiguration.

10) Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain.

a) In describing this event the Bible uses a word that is the basis for our word “metamorphosis.”

b) Just as a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, so the Lord was changed.

c) Each account of this event provides us with some details.

d) Matthew (17:1-8) says Jesus’ face “shined like the son” and His clothes were “white as light.”

e) Luke (9:29) says the Lord’s face was “altered” and His robe became “white and dazzling.”

f) Mark (9:3) adds His clothing was so white no launderer could have come up with this color.

11) As all this was happening, we read about something unusual in Lk. 9:32.

a) As you are turning there I will tell you what someone once claimed.

b) A New Testament Christian said he had “slept through some of the best preachers in the church.”

c) It didn’t matter who they were, he could sleep through the best of sermons.

d) He was trying to be funny, but he might not have been so amused had he thought about Lk. 9.

12) Lk. 9:32 – READ.

a) It seems hard to believe, but while the transfiguration was going on, Peter was nodding off.

b) Such a statement seems incredible but this is what Luke recorded.

c) When Peter snapped out of his drowsiness, he probably began to put some things together.

d) Jesus’ miracles had certainly set Him apart from others.

e) His claims were not like assertions made by others/

f) Now Peter and 2 others had seen Jesus talking with 2 great Old Testament characters.

g) There was a voice that said the apostles were only to listen to Christ.

h) Jesus had received a degree of glory (honor) unlike anything these 3 men had ever seen.

13) Additional insight about who and what the Lord was had come to light.

14) Little by little the claims of Christ not only matched what was expected of a Savior; they were exceeded.

AS WE LOOK AT THE TRANSFIGURATION, WE CAN LEARN AND APPLY SOME OF THE SAME LESSONS PETER JAMES AND JOHN LEARNED AND APPLIED.

a) First, these men were shown that all religious authority is rooted in Christ.

b) There is no human head of the church.

c) Neither can their be a “headquarters” for the church described in the New Testament.

d) Heaven said (speaking of the Lord), “Hear, ye Him” (Lk. 9:35).

e) This message is still what heaven is saying today: Hear Christ and no other.

f) We turn to no source but the Lord and His word for religious instruction/guidance.

g) When preachers preach, they are only entitled to preach the message Jesus has authorized.

h) When elders shepherd the flock, all their authority comes from the Lord.

i) Even parental and governmental authority are traceable back to Christ

j) If Jesus is the one to listen to, Moses and his law are no longer the right source of authority.

k) We do not turn to the Old Testament law (any part of it) for authority.

l) We can learn from the laws God has previously given, but they are not our covenant from God.

2) Before looking at the next point, I want to include this thought.

3) Under the Old Testament system the Hebrews had “priests.”

4) Jewish people used priests to bring their sacrifices to God.

5) Many have tried to duplicate this system under the New Testament.

6) This replication is now known as the “clergy-laity” system.

7) Christ has not authorized this kind of distinction in the church. We are all “brethren.”

8) If we cannot establish a practice by Christ’s authority, we have no right doing it.

9) Thinking about the transfiguration gives us a regular source of encouragement.

a) Though Peter was tired on this occasion, he didn’t sleep through the whole thing.

b) He saw some of what was going on and this event stayed with him his entire life.

c) Towards the end of Peter’s life he wrote the book we call Second Peter.

d) In this document Peter dealt with hardships.

e) God’s people were facing difficult times.

f) To comfort them Peter drew his reader’s attention to the transfiguration.

g) Three verses were used to describe this historical event, and I will read them all.

h) 2 Pet. 1:16-18 – READ.

i) Peter got the high points and perhaps a whole lot more.

10) A loose reading of the gospels can leave people with a lopsided picture of the Lord.

a) A person might conclude Jesus was a good man who did many good things.

b) He traveled the countryside and taught some important truths.

c) The transfiguration takes to a dimension of the Lord that is also true.

d) Jesus was God in the flesh. He is the savior, leader, protector, and guide for His people.

e) When we think we need someone to come to our aid, let the mind go back to the transfiguration.

f) Christ is the one who has the authority in all things, and that power also exists to help us.

11) Too many times we may not view the Lord as the transfiguration portrays Him.

a) It is possible to view life through a “knothole” (we can have limited vision).

b) There are Christians who look around them and see nothing but an unresponsive community.

c) Or, maybe a person is looking at a congregation that is staggering and even plummeting.

d) Maybe a brother or sister sees a hypocrite, an empty checkbook, or failed relationships.

e) Without looking to Christ in His transfigured state, Jesus may seem unable to do very much.

f) It will help if we refer back to the scenes of Jesus being transfigured.

g) He is the one with all authority and power; He is the one to whom we must turn.

12) Another matter that relates to many lives is “coming down from the mountain.”

a) Peter, James and John, finally had to leave the mountaintop and their experience.

b) They came back to everyday life and all that it involved.

c) Others had to experience something similar.

d) Moses was on the mountain communicating with God, but he too came down from the mountain.

e) When he descended, he found the people involved in sin and corruption.

f) Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and came down and faced great despair.

g) We too get to “come down from the mountain” and face the harsh realities of life.

h) It is possible for us to come together as God’s people.

i) Our time together is good; the fellowship is great; and we are glad to be here.

j) 5, 10, 20, 60 minutes later, we are off the mountaintop and back to reality.

k) It does not take long for the heartaches of life to again set in.

l) Others have faced this, three of whom were three apostles and the Lord Himself.

m) This is a part of life.

n) We should enjoy our “mountain top” as much as possible and make it a regular part of life.

o) We can also remember that a time is coming when the saved do not come down from the mountain.

13) A final lesson from the transfiguration is found in the word “change.”

14) While on the mountain Jesus was altered in a variety of ways.

15) In some respects His changes prefigures (points to) our change.

16) In this life we are in the process of change.

17) Paul told us to avoid being “conformed to the world.”

18) It is our job to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.”

19) We must change.

20) For Jesus, the transfiguration was a one-time event.

21) For us, being altered is an on-going process.

22) Jesus was changed into glory; our character takes a slightly different form in this life.

23) We work to at least suppress and hopefully destroy the worst in us.

24) Our changing works to release what is the best about us.

25) At a later a time we will be changed in another way.

26) This morning we look at 1 Cor. 15.

27) Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

28) This mortal must put on immortality. We are changed so entrance into heaven is possible.

29) A lot of encouragement is found in the transfiguration of Jesus.

30) Jesus is our only hope, and tonight we ask of those who are present have turned to Him as their only hope.