{"id":1447,"date":"2021-02-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1447"},"modified":"2021-03-25T09:46:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T16:46:37","slug":"transfiguration-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/14\/transfiguration-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Transfiguration Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Transfiguration-Sunday-02-14-21.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark 9:2-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transfiguration of Our Lord=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Revelation of God\u2019s Love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.&nbsp; There he was transfigured before them.&nbsp; His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.&nbsp; And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.&nbsp; Peter said to Jesus, \u201cRabbi, it is good for us to be here.&nbsp; Let us put up three shelters\u2014one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.\u201d&nbsp; (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)&nbsp; Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud:&nbsp; \u201cThis is my Son, whom I love.&nbsp; Listen to him!\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp; Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.&nbsp; As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.&nbsp; (NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cIt is good for us to be here!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; As I was preparing this sermon, I couldn\u2019t help but think of how the words that the apostle Peter spoke on the Mount of Transfiguration apply so beautifully to today!&nbsp; After months and months and months of not being allowed to gather together inside the house of our God,&nbsp;<em>\u201cIt is good for us to be here!\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em>While we are thankful that we are now able to worship our God via Zoom, while it was wonderful to be able to worship our God in the beauty of His Creation, there is something special about gathering together as a family of believers here inside the house of the Living God.&nbsp; These past months have given us an even greater appreciation for the words of great King David,&nbsp;<em>\u201cI rejoiced with those who said to me, \u2018Let us go the house of the L<\/em><em>ORD<\/em><em>\u2019\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Psalm 122:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cIt is good for us to be here!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; After being labeled as \u201cnon-essential\u201d for so many months, I personally think it is highly appropriate that our first service back inside the house of our God is taking place on February 14\u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day!&nbsp; On a day that even the secular world has set aside as a day to openly express our love to others, we are given the&nbsp;<strong>option<\/strong>\u2014 and I say&nbsp;<strong>option<\/strong>&nbsp;because due to health considerations not everyone feels comfortable gathering together with others\u2014 we are given the&nbsp;<strong>option&nbsp;<\/strong>of openly expressing our love for our God here in His holy house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rejoicing at the option of worshiping inside God\u2019s house after such a very long time and recognizing that today is not only Valentine\u2019s Day, but even more importantly, today is Transfiguration Sunday, my goal this morning is to dove-tail those realities as we study this well-known portion of Scripture.&nbsp; To that end, our sermon theme for today is:&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><em>The Transfiguration of Our Lord= The Revelation of God\u2019s Love!<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp; There are three points I want to highlight today.&nbsp; First, let\u2019s see that the Transfiguration is a revelation of God\u2019s love for Peter, James and John.&nbsp; Then, let\u2019s see that the Transfiguration is a revelation of God\u2019s love for His Son.&nbsp; Finally, let\u2019s see that the Transfiguration is a revelation of God\u2019s love for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s actually very easy for us to see how the Transfiguration of our Lord is a revelation of God\u2019s love for Peter, James and John.&nbsp; Look at what Mark writes in the opening portion of our text,&nbsp;<em>\u201cAfter six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.&nbsp; There he was transfigured before them.&nbsp; His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.&nbsp; And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cAfter six days.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; What is Mark\u2019s point of reference here? &nbsp;<em>\u201cSix days\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;after what?&nbsp; To answer that question we need to go back to Peter\u2019s confession in Mark chapter eight.&nbsp; You know it well.&nbsp; Jesus asked His disciples,&nbsp;<em>\u201cWho do people say I am?\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; The disciples answered,&nbsp;<em>\u201cSome say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others one of the prophets.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Then Jesus asked them the most important question of all:&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u201cBut what about you?&nbsp; Who do you say I am?\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;We all know and love Peter\u2019s response,&nbsp;<em>\u201cYou are the Christ.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; The disciples were confident that they had things all figured out!&nbsp; For a long time they had seen and heard Jesus do wondrous things.&nbsp; They had watched Jesus heal many, cast out demons and feed crowds of thousands with just a little bit of food.&nbsp; They had seen Jesus walk on water, still a storm and raise people from the dead.&nbsp; They had heard Jesus teach God\u2019s Word with a clarity and an authority that had never been seen or heard before.&nbsp; Purely by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit they had been brought to believe that Jesus of Nazareth&nbsp;<strong>is&nbsp;<\/strong><em>\u201cthe Christ,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;the long-awaited Promised Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But then Jesus did something the disciples did not expect.&nbsp; Mark says,&nbsp;<em>\u201cHe then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Peter was so horrified by this that he took Jesus aside and&nbsp;<em>\u201crebuked\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;Him.&nbsp; You know what comes next.&nbsp; Jesus&nbsp;<em>\u201crebuked\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;Peter and said to him,&nbsp;<em>\u201cGet behind me Satan!&nbsp; You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;Then Jesus goes on to teach His disciples that if anyone wants to be His disciple, they must take up their cross and follow Him.&nbsp; Jesus concludes by saying to His disciples,&nbsp;<em>\u201cIf anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father\u2019s glory with his holy angels.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For six days\u2014 six days!\u2014 all of this was marinading in the minds and hearts of Jesus\u2019 disciples.&nbsp; Then Jesus took Peter, James and John, the \u201cinner circle\u201d of His disciples up on a high mountain where He was&nbsp;<em>\u201ctransfigured before them.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Peter, James and John were given the unique privilege of witnessing Jesus\u2019 eternal divine glory radiate forth from His physical body.&nbsp; Then Peter, James and John were given the unique privilege of listening as Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about&nbsp;<em>\u201chis departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Luke 9:31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How did all of this reveal God\u2019s love for these three disciples? Fast forward to after Pentecost.&nbsp; Peter became a&nbsp;<em>\u201cpillar\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;in the church at Jerusalem.&nbsp; He also became known and recognized as \u201cthe Lord\u2019s<em>&nbsp;\u201capostle to the Jews\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Galatians 2:7-10).&nbsp; Peter drew upon his presence at Jesus\u2019 Transfiguration to boldly and fearlessly proclaim the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to strengthen the faith of God\u2019s people and to fortify the holy Scriptures as the only sure foundation of faith.&nbsp; (See 2 Peter 1:16-21)&nbsp; James became so prominent in the church at Jerusalem that King Herod had him arrested and&nbsp;<em>\u201cput to death with the sword\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Acts 12:1, 2).&nbsp; And John?&nbsp; John became such a powerful preacher of the cross of Jesus Christ that the Roman government exiled him to the island of Patmos.&nbsp; (See Revelation 1:9)&nbsp; And so yes, my friends, when we look at the roles that God had prepared for Peter, James and John we can see how the Transfiguration of our Lord served as a revelation of God\u2019s love for these three men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How did the Transfiguration of our Lord serve as a revelation of God\u2019s love for His Son?&nbsp; That\u2019s an even easier question to answer!&nbsp; For most of the 33 years that Jesus was visibly present here on this earth He lived in what is called His State of Humiliation.&nbsp; This means that as the Son of God Jesus willingly set aside the full use of the divine power, majesty and glory that was rightfully His from all of eternity.&nbsp; Paul describes Jesus\u2019 State of Humiliation in this way,&nbsp;<em>\u201cHe made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness\u201c<\/em>&nbsp;(Philippians 2:7). &nbsp;Now as Jesus is drawing near to the end of His mission here on this earth, as the cross on Calvary\u2019s hill was coming closer and closer, Jesus\u2019 divine majesty and Jesus\u2019 divine glory was allowed to radiate forth from His human body.&nbsp; Imagine how refreshing that must have been for our Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now add to that the fact that the heavenly Father allowed Moses and Elijah to talk with Jesus&nbsp;<em>\u201cabout his departure.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; These two powerful men stood as testimonies to the fact that the entire Old Testament Scriptures\u2014 the Law and the Prophets\u2014 were in perfect agreement with what Jesus had told His disciples six days earlier.&nbsp; In order to fulfill the Father\u2019s Plan of Salvation for this world Jesus&nbsp;<strong>had<\/strong>&nbsp;to be betrayed, He&nbsp;<strong>had<\/strong>&nbsp;to be arrested, He&nbsp;<strong>had<\/strong>&nbsp;to suffer and He&nbsp;<strong>had<\/strong>&nbsp;to die on the cross of Calvary\u2019s hill.&nbsp; (Pointing to the cross)&nbsp; Jesus\u2019 divine nature shining forth from His human nature plus Jesus\u2019 conversation with Moses and Elijah then culminated with the Father\u2019s proclamation from heaven,&nbsp;<em>\u201cThis is my Son, whom I love.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; And so, yes, the Transfiguration of our Lord does indeed serve as a revelation of God\u2019s love for His Son!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, how does the Transfiguration of our Lord serve as a revelation of God\u2019s love for us?&nbsp; That\u2019s the easiest question of all!&nbsp; Mark concludes our text by saying,&nbsp;<em>\u201cAs they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen&nbsp;<strong>until the Son of Man had risen from the dead<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against their loving Creator, every single human being has been infected with a \u201cvirus\u201d that is trillions of times more deadly than COVID-19.&nbsp; It is the \u201cvirus\u201d of sin.&nbsp; There is no amount of \u201cscience,\u201d there is no PPE, there is no quarantine, no social distancing and no vaccine that can even begin to help us avoid or overcome or mitigate this \u201cvirus.\u201d&nbsp; As Scripture says,&nbsp;<em>\u201cThe wages of sin = death\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Romans 6:23).&nbsp; Our heavenly Father knew that the only possible way for us to be saved was for Him to send Someone into this world to serve as our Substitute.&nbsp; Whom did He send?&nbsp; The answer to that question is both seen and heard in the Transfiguration of our Lord!&nbsp; In His amazing love for us God the Father sent the One whose&nbsp;<em>\u201cclothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; In His amazing love for us God the Father sent the One whose&nbsp;<em>\u201cface shone like the sun\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 17:2).&nbsp; In His amazing love for us God the Father sent the One concerning whom He said,&nbsp;<em>\u201cThis is my Son, whom I love.&nbsp; Listen to him!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transfiguration of our Lord also reveals God\u2019s amazing love for us by&nbsp;<strong>proving&nbsp;<\/strong>to us that faith in God\u2019s Messiah, faith in Jesus Christ as one\u2019s only Savior from sin,&nbsp;<strong>guarantees<\/strong>&nbsp;a glorious eternity! &nbsp;Moses died some 1,400 years before the Transfiguration of our Lord.&nbsp; Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind some 850 years before the Transfiguration of our Lord.&nbsp; And yet, here they are speaking with our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration!&nbsp; What God promised to Moses and Elijah He has also promised to you.&nbsp; What God has done for Moses and Elijah He will also do for you. &nbsp;Trust in what Jesus has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>you (Pointing to the cross) and you will always have the comfort and the confidence that enables you to say\u2014 Heaven is my Home!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cIt is good for us to be here.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; As we hear the apostle Peter speak those words on the Mount of Transfiguration, as we hear the apostle Peter speak those words on the Sunday that we are finally allowed to gather together inside God\u2019s house again, as we hear the apostle Peter speak those words on the day we celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day\u2014 may we always remember how the Transfiguration of our Lord is the revelation of God\u2019s love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark 9:2-9 The Transfiguration of Our Lord= The Revelation of God\u2019s Love! After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.&nbsp; There he was transfigured before them.&nbsp; His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.&nbsp; And there appeared before them [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-service-podcast"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions\/1450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}