1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,500 2 00:00:00,583 --> 00:00:02,833 Hi, Pastor Mark Driscoll here in Israel. 3 00:00:02,917 --> 00:00:05,667 Let me give you an idea of where we are. 4 00:00:05,750 --> 00:00:08,667 To my left, roughly a mile, is the Syrian border. 5 00:00:08,750 --> 00:00:11,708 Today, this general region is called the Golan Heights. 6 00:00:11,792 --> 00:00:14,583 In the days of Jesus, it was called Caesarea Philippi, 7 00:00:14,667 --> 00:00:18,333 named after the Caesar Philip, and we find ourselves 8 00:00:18,417 --> 00:00:22,292 on Mount Hermon, a large range of mountains 9 00:00:22,375 --> 00:00:25,333 that is spread over a large geographic area. 10 00:00:25,417 --> 00:00:28,542 The highest points are about 6,000 feet in the air, 11 00:00:28,625 --> 00:00:32,125 making them the highest places and the best views 12 00:00:32,208 --> 00:00:33,958 in all of Israel. 13 00:00:34,042 --> 00:00:39,000 What we are here today to explore is Jesus' moment 14 00:00:39,083 --> 00:00:42,792 of transfiguration, a very important moment in the history 15 00:00:42,875 --> 00:00:45,917 of the world, where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 16 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,750 the second member of the Trinity, 17 00:00:47,833 --> 00:00:50,625 came into human history humbly as a man, 18 00:00:50,708 --> 00:00:53,958 and he walked throughout this entire region. 19 00:00:54,042 --> 00:00:57,042 And in this moment of Jesus' transfiguration, 20 00:00:57,125 --> 00:01:00,792 he shone forth his glory, that which had been withheld 21 00:01:00,875 --> 00:01:04,792 or subdued during his humanity on the earth. 22 00:01:04,875 --> 00:01:07,917 He restrained and contained his divinity, 23 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,500 so that he could humbly identify with us. 24 00:01:10,583 --> 00:01:13,625 Now, what is very interesting is we don't know exactly 25 00:01:13,708 --> 00:01:15,125 where this occurred. 26 00:01:15,208 --> 00:01:18,500 And as I was speaking with the guide about this, 27 00:01:18,583 --> 00:01:22,792 I think it is important to note that the Bible sometimes fails 28 00:01:22,875 --> 00:01:26,917 to give us particular places that significant events 29 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,542 transpired, for a very theological reason. 30 00:01:30,625 --> 00:01:34,375 We have a tendency to ascribe sacredness to place. 31 00:01:34,458 --> 00:01:37,292 It can gravitate toward that place of Romans, saying 32 00:01:37,375 --> 00:01:40,042 that we, in fact, do which pagans 33 00:01:40,125 --> 00:01:42,542 and those who are idol worshipers do. 34 00:01:42,625 --> 00:01:45,542 They worship created things rather than the creator God. 35 00:01:45,625 --> 00:01:48,542 They form stones in sacred places, 36 00:01:48,625 --> 00:01:51,125 as if they mediated between them and God, 37 00:01:51,208 --> 00:01:53,958 and got them closer to God, and were sacred sites. 38 00:01:54,042 --> 00:01:57,958 And I believe that, perhaps, we do not know exactly where Jesus 39 00:01:58,042 --> 00:02:01,208 was transfigured because the center of our faith is not 40 00:02:01,292 --> 00:02:06,708 a place, like Islam or Judaism, it is a person, Jesus Christ. 41 00:02:06,792 --> 00:02:09,958 Nonetheless, we give you this panoramic scope because 42 00:02:10,042 --> 00:02:13,458 it is believed, by many, that Jesus was transfigured 43 00:02:13,542 --> 00:02:15,458 at a high place on Mount Hermon. 44 00:02:15,542 --> 00:02:18,292 There is, to be honest with you, a debate. 45 00:02:18,375 --> 00:02:20,458 Some would say that the transfiguration occurred 46 00:02:20,542 --> 00:02:23,750 on Mount Tabor, some 50 or 60 miles away. 47 00:02:23,833 --> 00:02:26,167 Others believed that it happened on Mount Hermon. 48 00:02:26,250 --> 00:02:29,583 Nonetheless, it is my belief that it probably was, 49 00:02:29,667 --> 00:02:31,958 or possibly was Mount Hermon. 50 00:02:32,042 --> 00:02:35,583 In Luke's gospel where Jesus is transfigured in the 9th chapter, 51 00:02:35,667 --> 00:02:39,417 Luke's gospel is among the most chronological gospels. 52 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:42,042 It has him preaching and teaching in the area 53 00:02:42,125 --> 00:02:43,875 of Caesarea Philippi. 54 00:02:43,958 --> 00:02:47,042 The declaration is made by Peter that he is the Christ. 55 00:02:47,125 --> 00:02:49,958 He foretells his death, and then his ultimate resurrection. 56 00:02:50,042 --> 00:02:53,500 And then immediately following we read these words in 57 00:02:53,583 --> 00:03:01,917 Luke 9:28-36: "Now about eight days after these sayings he--" 58 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,583 that is Jesus, "took with him Peter and 59 00:03:04,667 --> 00:03:07,750 "John and James and they went up on the mountain to pray. 60 00:03:07,833 --> 00:03:10,417 "And as he was praying, the appearance of his face 61 00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:14,792 "was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 62 00:03:14,875 --> 00:03:17,792 "And behold, two men were talking with him, 63 00:03:17,875 --> 00:03:20,792 Moses and Elijah--" Then Moses and Elijah, 64 00:03:20,875 --> 00:03:23,958 the Law and the Prophets came down to be with the 65 00:03:24,042 --> 00:03:27,333 Lord Jesus Christ and his three disciples at his moment 66 00:03:27,417 --> 00:03:29,375 of transfiguration. 67 00:03:29,458 --> 00:03:32,292 "Who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, 68 00:03:32,375 --> 00:03:36,083 which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." 69 00:03:36,167 --> 00:03:39,750 And this is important. In Luke's gospel 9:51 70 00:03:39,833 --> 00:03:42,750 it reveals that the first portion of Jesus' ministry 71 00:03:42,833 --> 00:03:47,083 was in Galilee, and then there was his trip toward Jerusalem. 72 00:03:47,167 --> 00:03:49,292 And 9:51 gives us the transition, 73 00:03:49,375 --> 00:03:53,208 saying that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. 74 00:03:53,292 --> 00:03:55,667 "Now Peter and those who were with him 75 00:03:55,750 --> 00:03:57,833 were heavy with sleep--" 76 00:03:57,917 --> 00:04:00,542 And I can tell you why they were exhausted. 77 00:04:00,625 --> 00:04:02,292 It is incredibly hot. 78 00:04:02,375 --> 00:04:05,292 They had walked many, many, many miles. 79 00:04:05,375 --> 00:04:09,250 Just to go from Galilee to this place was roughly an hour 80 00:04:09,333 --> 00:04:11,875 on a bus through modern roads, 81 00:04:11,958 --> 00:04:15,708 and just hiking up this hill alone is exhausting. 82 00:04:15,792 --> 00:04:19,208 "But when they became fully awake they saw his glory--" 83 00:04:19,292 --> 00:04:24,125 Jesus radiating the glory of God as the glorious God. 84 00:04:24,208 --> 00:04:28,292 "They saw his glory and the two men who stood with him--" 85 00:04:28,375 --> 00:04:29,792 Moses and Elijah. 86 00:04:29,875 --> 00:04:33,500 "And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, 87 00:04:33,583 --> 00:04:36,000 "'Master, it is good that we are here. 88 00:04:36,083 --> 00:04:39,750 "'Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses 89 00:04:39,833 --> 00:04:43,083 "'and one for Elijah' --not knowing what he said. 90 00:04:43,167 --> 00:04:46,250 "As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed 91 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:49,250 "them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 92 00:04:49,333 --> 00:04:52,083 And a voice came out of the cloud--" 93 00:04:52,167 --> 00:04:55,583 You need to, inasmuch as you're able in your mind's eye, 94 00:04:55,667 --> 00:05:01,458 see this and hear this as Jesus radiates the glory of God, 95 00:05:01,542 --> 00:05:03,958 this is said from God the Father, 96 00:05:04,042 --> 00:05:09,958 "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!" 97 00:05:10,042 --> 00:05:13,167 As Peter had just confessed Jesus as the Christ, 98 00:05:13,250 --> 00:05:16,542 so now God the Father, none other than God the Father, 99 00:05:16,625 --> 00:05:21,208 is vindicating and verifying Jesus Christ as the Son of God, 100 00:05:21,292 --> 00:05:23,250 as the Christ. 101 00:05:23,333 --> 00:05:26,083 "And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. 102 00:05:26,167 --> 00:05:29,625 "And they kept silent and told no one in those days 103 00:05:29,708 --> 00:05:33,083 anything of what they had seen." 104 00:05:33,167 --> 00:05:34,292 105 00:05:34,375 --> 00:05:40,625 [music] 106 00:05:40,708 --> 00:05:55,292 107 00:05:55,375 --> 00:05:56,958 Howdy, Mars Hill. 108 00:05:57,042 --> 00:06:03,792 Today we are in Luke 9:28-36, looking at Jesus' 109 00:06:03,875 --> 00:06:09,708 transfiguration, and herein we see Jesus in glory. 110 00:06:09,792 --> 00:06:14,292 The glory of God is one of the great mega-themes of the Bible. 111 00:06:14,375 --> 00:06:19,125 Depending upon how you count it, the glory of God is referenced 112 00:06:19,208 --> 00:06:26,125 some 300 times in the totality of Scripture in various ways. 113 00:06:26,208 --> 00:06:29,292 And when we're speaking of the glory of God, 114 00:06:29,375 --> 00:06:34,083 we're speaking of an attribute of God, an aspect of who God is. 115 00:06:34,167 --> 00:06:37,958 And to be honest with you, explaining the glory of God 116 00:06:38,042 --> 00:06:41,792 causes us to strain because of the limitations 117 00:06:41,875 --> 00:06:43,792 of human language. 118 00:06:43,875 --> 00:06:46,250 When the Bible says that we see in part, 119 00:06:46,333 --> 00:06:48,708 and we know in part in this life, 120 00:06:48,792 --> 00:06:52,042 and one day we shall see him face-to-face, 121 00:06:52,125 --> 00:06:55,042 and we will know him as he is known, 122 00:06:55,125 --> 00:06:58,208 it is indicating for us that when it comes to things 123 00:06:58,292 --> 00:07:02,292 such as the glory of God, there is an aspect in which we know 124 00:07:02,375 --> 00:07:06,917 truly, because of Scripture, but not fully until we see 125 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:12,000 the glorious face of Jesus on the other side of death. 126 00:07:12,083 --> 00:07:14,125 Nonetheless, as an attribute of God, 127 00:07:14,208 --> 00:07:19,375 the glory of God speaks of the splendor, beauty, magnificence, 128 00:07:19,458 --> 00:07:23,875 radiance, heaviness, weightiness, prominence, 129 00:07:23,958 --> 00:07:30,625 preeminence, luminescence, splendor, majesty, holiness, 130 00:07:30,708 --> 00:07:34,417 purity, worthiness, and superiority 131 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:37,250 of the God of the Bible. 132 00:07:37,333 --> 00:07:42,958 And occasionally in Scripture, the glory of God is revealed 133 00:07:43,042 --> 00:07:45,167 to the people of God. 134 00:07:45,250 --> 00:07:50,833 God, oftentimes, shows up in glory in such ways as fire 135 00:07:50,917 --> 00:07:56,292 and clouds, that as you see fire and clouds in Scripture-- 136 00:07:56,375 --> 00:08:01,125 leading God's people in Exodus, surrounding God as he's unveiled 137 00:08:01,208 --> 00:08:05,542 in places like Isaiah and Revelation, so that human beings 138 00:08:05,625 --> 00:08:08,750 get to peer behind the curtain, as it were, 139 00:08:08,833 --> 00:08:11,792 and see God in his glory. 140 00:08:11,875 --> 00:08:16,750 As you see Scripture in places like Daniel speaking of Jesus 141 00:08:16,833 --> 00:08:22,000 coming for a second time, a day that we long for, on the clouds 142 00:08:22,083 --> 00:08:26,875 of glory, these are ways in which the Bible is indicating 143 00:08:26,958 --> 00:08:30,625 to us that the glory of God is being revealed 144 00:08:30,708 --> 00:08:33,375 to the people of God. 145 00:08:33,458 --> 00:08:37,917 And so things like fire and clouds are indicative of that. 146 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,583 The ancient rabbis used to use language to explain the glory 147 00:08:42,667 --> 00:08:46,375 of God when it was made known to the people of God, 148 00:08:46,458 --> 00:08:49,333 and they would use the word "Shekinah glory." 149 00:08:49,417 --> 00:08:51,958 It's not a language that the Bible uses. 150 00:08:52,042 --> 00:08:55,083 That word "Shekinah" is not to be found in Scripture, 151 00:08:55,167 --> 00:08:58,292 but it was their way articulating and explaining 152 00:08:58,375 --> 00:09:03,458 the revelation of God's glory, the demonstration 153 00:09:03,542 --> 00:09:07,667 of God's glory, that God is glorious, 154 00:09:07,750 --> 00:09:12,625 and for us, Shekinah glory means that we have beheld God 155 00:09:12,708 --> 00:09:15,292 in glory, that he has made himself known 156 00:09:15,375 --> 00:09:18,958 and visible to us gloriously. 157 00:09:19,042 --> 00:09:24,625 And in those moments, it is a cloud enveloping God's people, 158 00:09:24,708 --> 00:09:28,167 or a fire leading God's people, 159 00:09:28,250 --> 00:09:31,792 and illuminating that which is darkness around them. 160 00:09:31,875 --> 00:09:36,792 That is because the glory of God encircles the people of God. 161 00:09:36,875 --> 00:09:40,042 The glory of God reveals the people of God. 162 00:09:40,125 --> 00:09:43,708 The glory of God leads the people of God. 163 00:09:43,792 --> 00:09:46,292 The glory of God, in this way, 164 00:09:46,375 --> 00:09:48,792 is first spoken of back in Exodus. 165 00:09:48,875 --> 00:09:52,458 In chapter 13, verse 21, we read that 166 00:09:52,542 --> 00:09:57,667 God shows up in glory among his people, who are in exile, 167 00:09:57,750 --> 00:09:59,917 and they're wandering in wilderness. 168 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,125 And there is a cloud that leads them by the day; that is 169 00:10:04,208 --> 00:10:06,708 the cloud of the glory of God. 170 00:10:06,792 --> 00:10:11,125 And there is a pillar of fire that leads them by night; 171 00:10:11,208 --> 00:10:14,458 that is the fire of the glory of God. 172 00:10:14,542 --> 00:10:18,792 And from that occasion onward, the book of Exodus is filled 173 00:10:18,875 --> 00:10:25,250 with occasions where God shows up in glory in pillar and fire. 174 00:10:25,333 --> 00:10:29,042 As well, we know from Exodus 33 and 34 175 00:10:29,125 --> 00:10:35,750 that Moses was able to enjoy the presence of the glory of God. 176 00:10:35,833 --> 00:10:41,042 He saw the God of glory and the glory of God as he was serving 177 00:10:41,125 --> 00:10:44,500 as a type of Jesus Christ, mediating between 178 00:10:44,583 --> 00:10:51,042 the holy God of glory, and the unholy people of God. 179 00:10:51,125 --> 00:10:55,792 And as he would enjoy the presence of God in his glory, 180 00:10:55,875 --> 00:11:00,792 he also would be reminded of the sinfulness, and stubbornness, 181 00:11:00,875 --> 00:11:05,583 and rebelliousness, and idolatry of God's people. 182 00:11:05,667 --> 00:11:07,667 And so God's glory would envelop him, 183 00:11:07,750 --> 00:11:12,250 and God's glory would comfort and strengthen him. 184 00:11:12,333 --> 00:11:15,000 We know as well, in Exodus 33-34, 185 00:11:15,083 --> 00:11:19,667 that Moses, upon receiving his second copy of 186 00:11:19,750 --> 00:11:24,958 the Ten Commandments (in anger, he broke the first) 187 00:11:25,042 --> 00:11:28,125 he came down from the mount, and after meeting with God, 188 00:11:28,208 --> 00:11:33,292 receiving the Ten Commandments, and we read in Exodus 34 that 189 00:11:33,375 --> 00:11:36,833 his face, after spending time in the presence of the glory 190 00:11:36,917 --> 00:11:40,625 of God, simply radiated the glory of God; 191 00:11:40,708 --> 00:11:46,083 that God was so gloriously meeting with Moses that upon 192 00:11:46,167 --> 00:11:50,292 coming down from his lengthy meeting with God to preach 193 00:11:50,375 --> 00:11:53,875 to the people and present to them the Ten Commandments, 194 00:11:53,958 --> 00:11:57,208 his face radiated the glory of God from simply being 195 00:11:57,292 --> 00:11:58,792 in the presence of God. 196 00:11:58,875 --> 00:12:01,625 To give you some illustration, perhaps, of this, 197 00:12:01,708 --> 00:12:05,083 last night as I was up quite late preparing this sermon 198 00:12:05,167 --> 00:12:07,292 outside on my Mac. 199 00:12:07,375 --> 00:12:11,167 We have a fire in the back of the house off the deck, 200 00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:14,917 and I was sitting there by the fire in complete darkness. 201 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,042 And what I was enjoying was the presence of the glory 202 00:12:19,125 --> 00:12:22,625 of the fire, that in the midst of darkness, 203 00:12:22,708 --> 00:12:25,875 to use the language that Scripture does, 204 00:12:25,958 --> 00:12:28,292 that the fire was glorious. 205 00:12:28,375 --> 00:12:29,833 It was radiating. 206 00:12:29,917 --> 00:12:31,583 It was illuminating. 207 00:12:31,667 --> 00:12:33,375 It was compelling. 208 00:12:33,458 --> 00:12:35,000 It was warming. 209 00:12:35,083 --> 00:12:38,333 It was revealing. 210 00:12:38,417 --> 00:12:42,458 And my son, Gideon, who is 4, came up to me and asked, 211 00:12:42,542 --> 00:12:45,250 "Poppa Daddy, can I put a stick in the fire?" 212 00:12:45,333 --> 00:12:47,958 He first asked if he could roast marshmallows. 213 00:12:48,042 --> 00:12:50,625 Grace found, I think, the world's largest marshmallows. 214 00:12:50,708 --> 00:12:52,958 They're about the same size as my head, 215 00:12:53,042 --> 00:12:56,458 and the kids like to roast them in our fire and eat them, 216 00:12:56,542 --> 00:12:59,958 but they'll all be diabetic if we let them do that every night. 217 00:13:00,042 --> 00:13:02,458 So I told Gideon, "No." It was almost bedtime. 218 00:13:02,542 --> 00:13:06,458 And he said, "Well, Dad, can I just go find a stick in the yard 219 00:13:06,542 --> 00:13:08,125 and burn it in the fire?" 220 00:13:08,208 --> 00:13:10,792 He's 4 and burning a stick in the fire is 221 00:13:10,875 --> 00:13:12,625 a momentous event for him. 222 00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:15,625 So he found a long, lengthy stick to ensure his safety, 223 00:13:15,708 --> 00:13:19,125 and he stood back, and he was just mesmerized in the presence 224 00:13:19,208 --> 00:13:21,792 of the fire, and its radiating glory. 225 00:13:21,875 --> 00:13:25,208 And he took a stick, and he placed it in the fire, 226 00:13:25,292 --> 00:13:27,750 and he waited for it to start burning. 227 00:13:27,833 --> 00:13:31,833 And what he loved to do was take the stick out of the fire, 228 00:13:31,917 --> 00:13:34,333 blow the flame off the end of the stick, 229 00:13:34,417 --> 00:13:38,292 and then just watch it radiate the glory of the fire, 230 00:13:38,375 --> 00:13:42,125 and the end of the stick would become red and turn more into 231 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:47,250 a coal, and it would burn, and it would radiate 232 00:13:47,333 --> 00:13:49,000 the glory of the fire. 233 00:13:49,083 --> 00:13:52,500 And Gideon kept looking at it in the darkness, and holding it up, 234 00:13:52,583 --> 00:13:58,000 and he was absolutely mesmerized by the ability of an otherwise 235 00:13:58,083 --> 00:14:02,292 dead and lifeless stick to radiate the glory 236 00:14:02,375 --> 00:14:05,167 of something else, the fire. 237 00:14:05,250 --> 00:14:07,458 And Moses was like that. 238 00:14:07,542 --> 00:14:10,792 He was a man who went up to the presence of God, 239 00:14:10,875 --> 00:14:13,833 and after being in the presence of God, like a stick 240 00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:18,458 on a campfire, he came down radiating the glory of God. 241 00:14:18,542 --> 00:14:21,083 And that is ultimately what we are to be 242 00:14:21,167 --> 00:14:25,542 as God's image bearers, radiators of the glory of God. 243 00:14:25,625 --> 00:14:28,875 Apart from God, dead in our trespasses and sins, 244 00:14:28,958 --> 00:14:31,458 but through faith in God made alive, 245 00:14:31,542 --> 00:14:36,417 and placed into the presence of God positionally in Christ, 246 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:39,250 so that the glory of God would radiate in us, 247 00:14:39,333 --> 00:14:42,167 and that people would see the love of God 248 00:14:42,250 --> 00:14:45,625 in the eyes of his people, and they would see the holiness 249 00:14:45,708 --> 00:14:48,625 and goodness of God in the lives of God's people 250 00:14:48,708 --> 00:14:50,792 who are radiating forth the glory of God. 251 00:14:50,875 --> 00:14:54,542 Well, as we trace this theme of glory briefly through the Bible, 252 00:14:54,625 --> 00:14:58,375 we know that glory existed as well in the worship of God 253 00:14:58,458 --> 00:15:02,333 surrounding the tabernacle, as God's people were in exile, 254 00:15:02,417 --> 00:15:05,792 and on journey going from their place of slavery in Egypt 255 00:15:05,875 --> 00:15:10,083 to their ultimate home in Israel, God instructed them, 256 00:15:10,167 --> 00:15:13,792 in great detail, to build something called the tabernacle. 257 00:15:13,875 --> 00:15:16,667 And this was a portable worship center, 258 00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:18,750 a portable church, if you will. 259 00:15:18,833 --> 00:15:23,458 It was a tent, for all intents and purposes, 260 00:15:23,542 --> 00:15:27,375 and God would fill the tabernacle, 261 00:15:27,458 --> 00:15:31,958 and people would worship God as he came to dwell among them, 262 00:15:32,042 --> 00:15:36,333 Exodus 40 tells us, in glory. 263 00:15:36,417 --> 00:15:39,792 And so the glory of God is inextricably connected 264 00:15:39,875 --> 00:15:41,958 to the worship of God. 265 00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:45,208 We don't make God glorious, God is glorious. 266 00:15:45,292 --> 00:15:49,958 God possesses this perfect attribute of glory, 267 00:15:50,042 --> 00:15:52,417 and he reveals it to us. 268 00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:56,417 He comes to be with us, and we worship the God of glory 269 00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:58,625 because he, alone, is worthy. 270 00:15:58,708 --> 00:16:02,708 This leads to the temple glory, where after ultimately entering 271 00:16:02,792 --> 00:16:07,125 into, many years later, their promised land of Israel, 272 00:16:07,208 --> 00:16:10,792 the instructions for the construction of the temple 273 00:16:10,875 --> 00:16:12,750 were given to David. 274 00:16:12,833 --> 00:16:16,292 Because he was a sinner and a murder, he was not allowed, 275 00:16:16,375 --> 00:16:18,292 as king, to build the temple, 276 00:16:18,375 --> 00:16:22,292 and so that duty was granted to his son, Solomon. 277 00:16:22,375 --> 00:16:26,542 And Solomon oversaw, as king, the construction of the temple, 278 00:16:26,625 --> 00:16:30,583 which was to be the house for God on the earth. 279 00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:35,708 That sacred meeting place between the God of heaven 280 00:16:35,792 --> 00:16:38,125 and the people of God on the earth, 281 00:16:38,208 --> 00:16:42,917 and it was where God would come to be with his people, 282 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,750 and God's people would come to meet with their God, 283 00:16:45,833 --> 00:16:50,958 and so it became that connecting point between heaven and earth. 284 00:16:51,042 --> 00:16:53,917 And God was to be worshiped there, 285 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,917 and so God showed up in glory. 286 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,750 You can read it for yourself, 287 00:16:58,833 --> 00:17:00,958 and discuss it in your community group, 288 00:17:01,042 --> 00:17:04,333 but in 2 Chronicles 7 it explains that the temple 289 00:17:04,417 --> 00:17:07,542 was completed regarding construction, 290 00:17:07,625 --> 00:17:11,125 and that fire came down from God. 291 00:17:11,208 --> 00:17:14,625 God revealing himself again in glory through fire, 292 00:17:14,708 --> 00:17:19,625 consuming a sacrifice, showing that sin must be 293 00:17:19,708 --> 00:17:22,125 atoned for and dealt with. 294 00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:24,708 And then the glory of God filled the temple, 295 00:17:24,792 --> 00:17:29,417 and the God of glory came to be among his people, 296 00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:33,208 just like Jesus, later, would come down to be with us. 297 00:17:33,292 --> 00:17:36,958 That's where John in his gospel shows us that he came 298 00:17:37,042 --> 00:17:41,250 from the Father, and we have seen his glory, 299 00:17:41,333 --> 00:17:47,333 the glory of the one and only, that Jesus is the glorious God, 300 00:17:47,417 --> 00:17:50,458 and the glory of God, and the God of glory, 301 00:17:50,542 --> 00:17:52,083 come down to be with us. 302 00:17:52,167 --> 00:17:56,542 Just like the temple housed the glory of God, 303 00:17:56,625 --> 00:18:00,250 so Jesus' body was the ultimate fulfillment of the temple, 304 00:18:00,333 --> 00:18:03,958 and it was Jesus who brought to us the fullness of the glory 305 00:18:04,042 --> 00:18:07,458 of God, housed in his body as the glory of God was 306 00:18:07,542 --> 00:18:10,292 previously housed upon the completion of the construction 307 00:18:10,375 --> 00:18:12,583 of the Temple of Solomon. 308 00:18:12,667 --> 00:18:16,125 All that we see in the Old Testament is all foreshadowing 309 00:18:16,208 --> 00:18:19,292 the coming of Jesus, who is the fulfillment. 310 00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:22,667 There is then a series of tragic events, 311 00:18:22,750 --> 00:18:27,125 and a horrendous occasion in the history of Israel, 312 00:18:27,208 --> 00:18:29,625 and it is recorded in Ezekiel 10 and 11, 313 00:18:29,708 --> 00:18:32,458 and 1 Samuel 4, and that is that 314 00:18:32,542 --> 00:18:35,625 God's people did not worship God alone, 315 00:18:35,708 --> 00:18:39,792 the Creator, they started worshiping created things. 316 00:18:39,875 --> 00:18:44,042 They began participating in paganism, animism. 317 00:18:44,125 --> 00:18:47,792 They began worshiping everyone and everything except for God. 318 00:18:47,875 --> 00:18:53,792 They were guilty of repeated idolatry, and as a result, 319 00:18:53,875 --> 00:18:56,792 the temple was defaced and defiled. 320 00:18:56,875 --> 00:18:59,167 And people would have said they believed in God, 321 00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:02,083 perhaps like some of you, but their lives were lived 322 00:19:02,167 --> 00:19:05,583 in rebellion and unholiness, and so something occurred 323 00:19:05,667 --> 00:19:09,083 that was absolutely tragic. 324 00:19:09,167 --> 00:19:13,458 The glory of God departed from the temple of God 325 00:19:13,542 --> 00:19:15,042 and the people of God. 326 00:19:15,125 --> 00:19:17,083 God left. 327 00:19:17,167 --> 00:19:20,375 God's presence was removed. 328 00:19:20,458 --> 00:19:23,625 God's glory was withdrawn. 329 00:19:23,708 --> 00:19:27,125 Like some of you, people just assumed that God would always be 330 00:19:27,208 --> 00:19:30,167 with them, that God would always endure with them, 331 00:19:30,250 --> 00:19:32,958 that God would always put up with them, 332 00:19:33,042 --> 00:19:38,292 and eventually God's patience came to the end of its tether. 333 00:19:38,375 --> 00:19:41,792 And knowing their hardness of heart, and stiffness of neck, 334 00:19:41,875 --> 00:19:46,292 and rebelliousness of life, God withdrew his glory, 335 00:19:46,375 --> 00:19:49,458 and a name was given, Ichabod, 336 00:19:49,542 --> 00:19:53,125 which means the glory of God has departed. 337 00:19:53,208 --> 00:20:01,542 Ichabod was that season of the history of Israel wherein 338 00:20:01,625 --> 00:20:12,292 from that moment forward for 600 years, 600 years, 339 00:20:12,375 --> 00:20:15,125 the glory of God was absent. 340 00:20:15,208 --> 00:20:19,250 God did not reveal himself in glory. 341 00:20:19,333 --> 00:20:22,083 There was not a cloud of God's glory. 342 00:20:22,167 --> 00:20:24,500 There was not a flame of God's glory. 343 00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:29,708 There was not a tabernacle or temple that housed God's glory. 344 00:20:29,792 --> 00:20:37,125 God removed himself, regarding his presence, from his people. 345 00:20:37,208 --> 00:20:42,625 And for 600 years it is a season of Ichabod. 346 00:20:42,708 --> 00:20:47,458 It is a season of the absence of the glory of God. 347 00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:50,958 And to pick up the story of the theme of Scripture regarding 348 00:20:51,042 --> 00:20:55,625 glory in Luke's gospel, we then read this some months ago 349 00:20:55,708 --> 00:21:00,292 as we examined Luke 2:8-14, "And in the same region there were 350 00:21:00,375 --> 00:21:02,625 shepherds out in the field--" 351 00:21:02,708 --> 00:21:05,625 a normal day for working-class peasants, 352 00:21:05,708 --> 00:21:08,250 "Keeping watch over their flock by night. 353 00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:11,292 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them--" 354 00:21:11,375 --> 00:21:14,125 Something is going to happen, and what? 355 00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:15,958 What does it say, Mars Hill? 356 00:21:16,042 --> 00:21:18,417 "And the glory," there it is. 357 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:23,375 It has been a 600-year season of Ichabod. 358 00:21:23,458 --> 00:21:27,292 The glory of the Lord has departed. 359 00:21:27,375 --> 00:21:30,542 And to shepherds, blue-collar peasant workers in the field 360 00:21:30,625 --> 00:21:36,792 who were keeping watch of flock at night, an angel shows up, 361 00:21:36,875 --> 00:21:40,458 "And the glory of the Lord shone around them." 362 00:21:40,542 --> 00:21:43,083 The glory of the Lord is returning 363 00:21:43,167 --> 00:21:45,500 to the people of the Lord. 364 00:21:45,583 --> 00:21:47,125 "And they were filled with fear." 365 00:21:47,208 --> 00:21:48,458 "What could this mean? 366 00:21:48,542 --> 00:21:51,750 "Is this the presence of God for the judgment of sin? 367 00:21:51,833 --> 00:21:53,958 "Will we live? Will we die? 368 00:21:54,042 --> 00:21:56,292 "Will we be blessed? Will we be cursed? 369 00:21:56,375 --> 00:21:57,750 "What does this mean? 370 00:21:57,833 --> 00:22:00,792 "The glory of God has been absent for 600 years. 371 00:22:00,875 --> 00:22:04,125 What is he doing here now?" 372 00:22:04,208 --> 00:22:06,875 "And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, 373 00:22:06,958 --> 00:22:09,792 "'I bring you good news of great joy that will be 374 00:22:09,875 --> 00:22:11,625 for all the people.'" 375 00:22:11,708 --> 00:22:14,458 All the races, all the nations, all the classes, 376 00:22:14,542 --> 00:22:18,375 all the socioeconomic backgrounds, and income levels, 377 00:22:18,458 --> 00:22:23,750 and IQs, and it is for all the people. 378 00:22:23,833 --> 00:22:29,208 "'For unto you is born this day in the city of David 379 00:22:29,292 --> 00:22:34,375 a Savior, who is Christ--'" the anointed one of God, 380 00:22:34,458 --> 00:22:36,292 "'the Lord.'" 381 00:22:36,375 --> 00:22:38,375 Caesar is not Lord. 382 00:22:38,458 --> 00:22:40,458 Jesus is Lord. 383 00:22:40,542 --> 00:22:42,833 "'And this will be a sign for you.'" 384 00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:48,458 How will we know what is happening about the birth 385 00:22:48,542 --> 00:22:52,125 of this glorious Lord? 386 00:22:52,208 --> 00:22:56,125 He tells us: "'You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths 387 00:22:56,208 --> 00:22:58,167 and lying in a manger.'" 388 00:22:58,250 --> 00:23:05,583 The glory of God is coming in the form of a child. 389 00:23:05,667 --> 00:23:09,625 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of 390 00:23:09,708 --> 00:23:12,958 the heavenly host--" This is a lot of angels-- 391 00:23:13,042 --> 00:23:15,583 "praising God and saying" --what do they say, Mars Hill? 392 00:23:15,667 --> 00:23:19,333 "Glory, glory. 393 00:23:19,417 --> 00:23:21,333 Glory to God." 394 00:23:21,417 --> 00:23:23,167 Why? 395 00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:24,583 Because God is glorious. 396 00:23:24,667 --> 00:23:29,125 We don't make God glorious, we acknowledge the glory of God. 397 00:23:29,208 --> 00:23:31,208 We celebrate the glory of God. 398 00:23:31,292 --> 00:23:34,250 We respond to the glory of God. 399 00:23:34,333 --> 00:23:36,125 God is glorious. 400 00:23:36,208 --> 00:23:40,125 He reveals his glory, and we respond to him as the angels 401 00:23:40,208 --> 00:23:45,833 did, worshiping him, saying, "Glory to God in the highest." 402 00:23:45,917 --> 00:23:47,750 That means he is highest. 403 00:23:47,833 --> 00:23:51,167 He's above all nations, and he's above angels and demons. 404 00:23:51,250 --> 00:23:53,125 He's above Satan and sinners. 405 00:23:53,208 --> 00:23:57,375 He's above all languages, and cultures, and political parties, 406 00:23:57,458 --> 00:24:02,792 and leaders, and warriors, and soldiers, and thinkers, 407 00:24:02,875 --> 00:24:05,208 and movement leaders. 408 00:24:05,292 --> 00:24:07,792 Whomever you admire, whomever you esteem, 409 00:24:07,875 --> 00:24:14,750 whoever you aspire to be like, God is the highest. 410 00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:19,292 His name is Jesus, and he, alone, is worthy of glory. 411 00:24:19,375 --> 00:24:22,708 "'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those 412 00:24:22,792 --> 00:24:26,667 with whom he is pleased!'" 413 00:24:26,750 --> 00:24:29,417 And the announcement is given. 414 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:35,458 The glory of God is returning to the people of God in the person 415 00:24:35,542 --> 00:24:40,042 of Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the God of glory, 416 00:24:40,125 --> 00:24:44,667 that Jesus is the highest Lord, that Jesus is not only the God 417 00:24:44,750 --> 00:24:53,500 of glory, he is the God who comes to reveal glory. 418 00:24:53,583 --> 00:24:58,500 And then something happens in Luke 9:28. 419 00:24:58,583 --> 00:25:01,625 Jesus has, at this point in the story, 420 00:25:01,708 --> 00:25:08,625 grown from boyhood to manhood. 421 00:25:08,708 --> 00:25:11,500 He's now in his early 30s. 422 00:25:11,583 --> 00:25:13,333 He's been doing ministry publicly. 423 00:25:13,417 --> 00:25:15,792 He's been preaching, and teaching, and healing, 424 00:25:15,875 --> 00:25:18,667 and raising the dead, and casting out demons, 425 00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:22,750 and caring for the multitudes, and he's chosen 12 disciples 426 00:25:22,833 --> 00:25:26,792 to be his students. 427 00:25:26,875 --> 00:25:29,458 And something happens in Luke 9:28, 428 00:25:29,542 --> 00:25:32,792 "Now about eight days after these sayings," 429 00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:35,292 in previous ministry, "Jesus took with him 430 00:25:35,375 --> 00:25:38,958 Peter and John and James," his three senior leaders. 431 00:25:39,042 --> 00:25:42,000 The Bible speaks of 120 and 70, 432 00:25:42,083 --> 00:25:45,625 and it talks as well of the 12 who were disciples 433 00:25:45,708 --> 00:25:48,958 and among them, the three who were the senior leaders. 434 00:25:49,042 --> 00:25:50,792 There is a chain of command. 435 00:25:50,875 --> 00:25:52,917 There is a hierarchy of leadership, 436 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,375 and there are always smaller teams within larger teams 437 00:25:56,458 --> 00:25:59,125 based upon the example of Jesus. 438 00:25:59,208 --> 00:26:01,958 And they get privileged access to Jesus. 439 00:26:02,042 --> 00:26:06,125 They get to be there for sacred moments that others do not have 440 00:26:06,208 --> 00:26:08,542 the opportunity to enjoy. 441 00:26:08,625 --> 00:26:12,958 And he went with them on the mountain to pray. 442 00:26:13,042 --> 00:26:15,625 So they go up to a high place. 443 00:26:15,708 --> 00:26:19,875 It may have been, to be honest with you, to escape the crowds. 444 00:26:19,958 --> 00:26:23,000 Jesus had multitudes following him, 445 00:26:23,083 --> 00:26:26,083 pressing in around him continually. 446 00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:29,458 And Luke is clear to tell us in places like, 447 00:26:29,542 --> 00:26:32,792 I think chapter 5, verse 16, 448 00:26:32,875 --> 00:26:39,500 that Jesus would often withdraw to lonely places and pray. 449 00:26:39,583 --> 00:26:41,875 That's exactly what Luke 5:16 says, 450 00:26:41,958 --> 00:26:45,458 that Jesus would pour himself out in ministry, 451 00:26:45,542 --> 00:26:48,417 and then he would pull himself out of ministry, 452 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:51,458 and he would place himself in the presence of the Father 453 00:26:51,542 --> 00:26:54,625 to be refreshed and encouraged. 454 00:26:54,708 --> 00:26:58,458 I had my performance review recently by the elders here 455 00:26:58,542 --> 00:27:02,125 at the church, and they said I need to do more of this, 456 00:27:02,208 --> 00:27:04,417 and I agree with them. 457 00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:07,708 Jesus made it a habit to withdraw to lonely places 458 00:27:07,792 --> 00:27:12,500 to pray, to be refreshed, and encouraged by the Father. 459 00:27:12,583 --> 00:27:17,042 You need that, I need that, so that then we can be filled with 460 00:27:17,125 --> 00:27:20,250 the Spirit of God and the love of God, 461 00:27:20,333 --> 00:27:25,583 and participate in the lives of others to the glory of God. 462 00:27:25,667 --> 00:27:28,000 And that's exactly what Jesus here is doing, 463 00:27:28,083 --> 00:27:31,000 silence and solitude for prayer and time with the Father. 464 00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:35,208 And these mark important moments in Jesus' ministry. 465 00:27:35,292 --> 00:27:38,292 Give you another example where before he selected his 466 00:27:38,375 --> 00:27:42,500 12 disciples, he spent a whole night in prayer, 467 00:27:42,583 --> 00:27:46,375 discussing with the Father whom was to be chosen. 468 00:27:46,458 --> 00:27:49,833 You and I need to enjoy the Scriptures, 469 00:27:49,917 --> 00:27:52,250 and follow the example of Jesus. 470 00:27:52,333 --> 00:27:56,625 And our major seasons of life and ministry need to be bathed 471 00:27:56,708 --> 00:27:59,458 in prayer, and sustained in prayer. 472 00:27:59,542 --> 00:28:02,542 Before you determine what college you will go to, 473 00:28:02,625 --> 00:28:06,125 or what major you will declare, or what person you will marry, 474 00:28:06,208 --> 00:28:10,875 or what theology you will build your life upon, 475 00:28:10,958 --> 00:28:13,208 before you determine where you will live, 476 00:28:13,292 --> 00:28:15,875 or what church you will become a member of, 477 00:28:15,958 --> 00:28:18,042 or what community group you will join, 478 00:28:18,125 --> 00:28:20,000 or what ministry you will volunteer for, 479 00:28:20,083 --> 00:28:22,000 what people you will call friends, 480 00:28:22,083 --> 00:28:27,000 or what friends you will confide certain grievous, 481 00:28:27,083 --> 00:28:30,417 or painful parts of your life to, 482 00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:34,000 before you decide whether or not you will buy that home, or spend 483 00:28:34,083 --> 00:28:37,042 that money, before you determine how you will allocate 484 00:28:37,125 --> 00:28:41,750 your resources, how you will tithe generously, 485 00:28:41,833 --> 00:28:44,333 financially to God and his people, 486 00:28:44,417 --> 00:28:50,083 before we make these big life decisions that are enormous, 487 00:28:50,167 --> 00:28:54,958 and affect so many people, including yourself, 488 00:28:55,042 --> 00:28:58,792 it's important to get away and spend some time in prayer. 489 00:28:58,875 --> 00:29:01,167 That's what Jesus here is doing. 490 00:29:01,250 --> 00:29:03,458 Verse 29, "And while he was praying," 491 00:29:03,542 --> 00:29:07,583 while Jesus is enjoying communion and union 492 00:29:07,667 --> 00:29:11,583 with the Father as he had from eternity passed, 493 00:29:11,667 --> 00:29:14,417 "the appearance of his face changed, 494 00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:18,417 and his clothes became dazzling white." 495 00:29:18,500 --> 00:29:23,917 Again, it has been 600 years since the glory of the Lord 496 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,083 has been revealed to the people of the Lord. 497 00:29:28,167 --> 00:29:33,042 And here it is this humble, Galilean, peasant 498 00:29:33,125 --> 00:29:38,500 carpenter born of a teenage girl in a town of dozens, 499 00:29:38,583 --> 00:29:44,958 in the middle of relative obscurity that the glory of God 500 00:29:45,042 --> 00:29:54,292 explodes, is unveiled, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, 501 00:29:54,375 --> 00:29:58,958 in the moment of his prayer. 502 00:29:59,042 --> 00:30:06,458 Jesus says in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." 503 00:30:06,542 --> 00:30:12,625 And here the light of the glory of God is manifest, revealed, 504 00:30:12,708 --> 00:30:17,625 unveiled through this God-man, Jesus Christ. 505 00:30:17,708 --> 00:30:23,542 And this is how Jesus existed in eternity past. 506 00:30:23,625 --> 00:30:27,625 When you think of Jesus, be careful not to think of him 507 00:30:27,708 --> 00:30:32,250 just during what I will call his humble incarnation. 508 00:30:32,333 --> 00:30:34,417 All of this is in the "Doctrine" book, 509 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:36,458 and I know it can be complicated, 510 00:30:36,542 --> 00:30:39,250 but I'll try and summarize and synthesize 511 00:30:39,333 --> 00:30:44,292 this very important series of truths for you. 512 00:30:44,375 --> 00:30:46,583 Jesus is eternal God. 513 00:30:46,667 --> 00:30:51,292 He lives without beginning or end as the Creator God 514 00:30:51,375 --> 00:30:54,292 in perfect communion with God the Father, God the Son, 515 00:30:54,375 --> 00:30:59,542 God the Holy Spirit, that they live together as one God, 516 00:30:59,625 --> 00:31:05,625 three persons in glory, glorying in one another, 517 00:31:05,708 --> 00:31:07,958 glorifying one another, worshiping, 518 00:31:08,042 --> 00:31:11,792 enjoying in communion and community, 519 00:31:11,875 --> 00:31:14,583 one another in eternity past. 520 00:31:14,667 --> 00:31:19,333 And this is the God of the Bible, the God of glory. 521 00:31:19,417 --> 00:31:23,458 And then God creates the heavens and the earth, 522 00:31:23,542 --> 00:31:26,750 he creates us in his image and likeness, male and female. 523 00:31:26,833 --> 00:31:35,542 He creates us to radiate his glory, and we sin, and we fall, 524 00:31:35,625 --> 00:31:39,792 we rebel, we become depraved. 525 00:31:39,875 --> 00:31:46,083 We want glory for ourselves, not glory for God. 526 00:31:46,167 --> 00:31:51,125 And God makes a promise that he would come as a Savior 527 00:31:51,208 --> 00:31:56,625 to love us, and to forgive us, and to redeem us. 528 00:31:56,708 --> 00:32:01,583 And he rises up a succession of prophets in the Old Testament, 529 00:32:01,667 --> 00:32:03,958 and he places his words in their mouth, 530 00:32:04,042 --> 00:32:06,875 and his Spirit in their heart. 531 00:32:06,958 --> 00:32:10,958 And he calls them forth to be the spokesmen for the coming 532 00:32:11,042 --> 00:32:12,958 of the God of glory. 533 00:32:13,042 --> 00:32:14,625 They're heralds. 534 00:32:14,708 --> 00:32:17,833 They give sneak previews, and they give commercials, 535 00:32:17,917 --> 00:32:19,833 as it were, in that day. 536 00:32:19,917 --> 00:32:21,500 "Here's who God is. 537 00:32:21,583 --> 00:32:25,333 Here's what he says, and here's how he's coming." 538 00:32:25,417 --> 00:32:28,958 One of the great prophets of the Old Testament is a man named 539 00:32:29,042 --> 00:32:34,458 Isaiah, and he had one of the most lengthy prophetic 540 00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:38,750 ministries preaching repentance to God's people of all 541 00:32:38,833 --> 00:32:41,667 of the Old Testament prophets. 542 00:32:41,750 --> 00:32:45,000 And Isaiah is commissioned into ministry, 543 00:32:45,083 --> 00:32:49,042 and it is recorded in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, 544 00:32:49,125 --> 00:32:54,208 and Isaiah says this, as he's living his life, 545 00:32:54,292 --> 00:33:00,208 the curtain between the world that God dwells in, 546 00:33:00,292 --> 00:33:07,500 and the world that God rules over is lifted for a moment. 547 00:33:07,583 --> 00:33:13,375 And Isaiah tells us, "I saw the Lord," 548 00:33:13,458 --> 00:33:17,583 and he sees the Lord in glory. 549 00:33:17,667 --> 00:33:21,458 "I saw the Lord high and exalted, 550 00:33:21,542 --> 00:33:26,000 and the train of his robe filled the temple." 551 00:33:26,083 --> 00:33:32,792 We're talking about magnificent glory, God in glory. 552 00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:35,583 And he says, around him there were angels, 553 00:33:35,667 --> 00:33:38,125 and they were crying out, and they were singing, 554 00:33:38,208 --> 00:33:41,833 and they were worshiping, and glorifying him saying, 555 00:33:41,917 --> 00:33:48,458 "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; 556 00:33:48,542 --> 00:33:55,958 heaven and earth are filled with his glory." 557 00:33:56,042 --> 00:33:59,792 558 00:33:59,875 --> 00:34:07,708 Who did Isaiah see in glory? 559 00:34:07,792 --> 00:34:10,125 He saw the Lord. 560 00:34:10,208 --> 00:34:14,458 He saw God. 561 00:34:14,542 --> 00:34:17,667 Some years later, John would write in the gospel bearing 562 00:34:17,750 --> 00:34:21,417 his name in chapter 12, verse 41, 563 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:28,583 "Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke of him." 564 00:34:28,667 --> 00:34:37,958 The God of glory that was beheld by Isaiah was Jesus Christ 565 00:34:38,042 --> 00:34:42,792 ruling and reigning before his humble incarnation, 566 00:34:42,875 --> 00:34:46,708 before he took on human flesh, before that God got off 567 00:34:46,792 --> 00:34:53,125 of his glorious throne, and took upon himself human flesh, 568 00:34:53,208 --> 00:34:59,833 and entered into human history as the baby, Jesus Christ, 569 00:34:59,917 --> 00:35:04,583 that was announced by the angels that the God of glory had come 570 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:09,458 to be among the people of God. 571 00:35:09,542 --> 00:35:14,250 So before Jesus comes in humility, he previously, 572 00:35:14,333 --> 00:35:19,458 eternally rules in glory. 573 00:35:19,542 --> 00:35:24,167 Philippians 2 talks about this in verses 5-11 where he humbled 574 00:35:24,250 --> 00:35:28,792 himself, he set aside his rights to be worshiped 575 00:35:28,875 --> 00:35:32,125 and obeyed in his revelation of glory. 576 00:35:32,208 --> 00:35:33,958 He humbled himself. 577 00:35:34,042 --> 00:35:37,000 He didn't any way lose his divinity, 578 00:35:37,083 --> 00:35:39,917 but he added to it humanity, the church father Augustine 579 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,333 rightly tells us. 580 00:35:42,417 --> 00:35:46,583 And he took upon himself certain limitations to identify with us 581 00:35:46,667 --> 00:35:49,417 fallen sinners that he might be our mediator, 582 00:35:49,500 --> 00:35:52,250 that he might be fully God and fully man, 583 00:35:52,333 --> 00:35:56,833 and that he might reconcile men and women back to God. 584 00:35:56,917 --> 00:36:01,792 But when you think of Jesus, think of him in eternity past, 585 00:36:01,875 --> 00:36:08,667 as Isaiah saw him, in glory, and then he comes in humility. 586 00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:12,083 And in this moment, the Mount of Transfiguration, 587 00:36:12,167 --> 00:36:18,292 the glory of Jesus Christ, our eternal Creator God 588 00:36:18,375 --> 00:36:23,708 is made manifest, it is made visible. 589 00:36:23,792 --> 00:36:27,500 The glory of God that is present in Jesus Christ, 590 00:36:27,583 --> 00:36:31,292 the God-man is seen. 591 00:36:31,375 --> 00:36:33,208 It breaks forth. 592 00:36:33,292 --> 00:36:38,250 This is a foreshadowing, a foretaste of Jesus' 593 00:36:38,333 --> 00:36:41,292 ultimate return to glory. 594 00:36:41,375 --> 00:36:44,292 After his humility, after his suffering, 595 00:36:44,375 --> 00:36:49,625 after his abandonment, after his betrayal, after his crucifixion 596 00:36:49,708 --> 00:36:54,583 in our place, for our sins, as our substitute Savior, 597 00:36:54,667 --> 00:36:58,792 after his burial, there was going to be, 598 00:36:58,875 --> 00:37:03,708 and ultimately there in fact was, a glorious resurrection, 599 00:37:03,792 --> 00:37:09,125 and then Jesus ascended, where? 600 00:37:09,208 --> 00:37:12,458 Back into glory. 601 00:37:12,542 --> 00:37:17,667 And today Jesus rules and reigns in glory, 602 00:37:17,750 --> 00:37:23,958 surrounded by angels and the souls of departed believers, 603 00:37:24,042 --> 00:37:29,833 being worshiped, and adored, and enjoyed as the God of glory. 604 00:37:29,917 --> 00:37:33,875 So when you think of Jesus, realize that he existed in 605 00:37:33,958 --> 00:37:37,958 eternity past in glory, that he exists in eternity future in 606 00:37:38,042 --> 00:37:41,667 glory, and during his ministry on the earth to identify 607 00:37:41,750 --> 00:37:44,375 with us, he came humbly. 608 00:37:44,458 --> 00:37:47,917 But in this moment of Luke 9, his glory breaks forth, 609 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,292 his glory is made known. 610 00:37:52,375 --> 00:37:58,250 And the next time you and I see Jesus, it will be in glory. 611 00:37:58,333 --> 00:38:01,417 In fact, in the new creation on the other side of 612 00:38:01,500 --> 00:38:06,792 resurrection, the Bible promises that the glory of Jesus 613 00:38:06,875 --> 00:38:11,792 will be made known to all of creation continually. 614 00:38:11,875 --> 00:38:14,458 Revelation 21:23 says it this way: 615 00:38:14,542 --> 00:38:18,625 "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, 616 00:38:18,708 --> 00:38:22,458 "for the glory of God gives it light, 617 00:38:22,542 --> 00:38:25,458 and its lamp is the Lamb." 618 00:38:25,542 --> 00:38:29,292 That the centerpiece of the new creation will be the throne of 619 00:38:29,375 --> 00:38:34,542 God, and seated upon it will be Jesus Christ in glory, 620 00:38:34,625 --> 00:38:38,125 with his glory radiating outward, 621 00:38:38,208 --> 00:38:42,042 illuminating all of the new creation. 622 00:38:42,125 --> 00:38:46,417 There will be no sun, and there will be no darkness, 623 00:38:46,500 --> 00:38:50,792 because Jesus' glory will radiate forever, 624 00:38:50,875 --> 00:38:54,708 and the people of God will be in the presence of God to enjoy, 625 00:38:54,792 --> 00:38:59,417 and worship, and celebrate, and like the face of Moses 626 00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:02,292 in the presence of the glory of God, 627 00:39:02,375 --> 00:39:06,750 radiate forth the glory of God in holiness, and obedience, 628 00:39:06,833 --> 00:39:11,375 and worship, which will be the happiest that you have ever been 629 00:39:11,458 --> 00:39:15,792 forever because that is who you were made to be, 630 00:39:15,875 --> 00:39:19,625 and that is what you were created to do. 631 00:39:19,708 --> 00:39:25,833 Luke 9:30 continues, "Look, two men--" 632 00:39:25,917 --> 00:39:29,625 Moses and Elijah-- "were talking to him," Jesus. 633 00:39:29,708 --> 00:39:32,542 Moses and Elijah show up out of nowhere. 634 00:39:32,625 --> 00:39:35,875 I don't even know how we know it was Moses and Elijah. 635 00:39:35,958 --> 00:39:39,333 I don't know if they had name tags, T-shirts with their face, 636 00:39:39,417 --> 00:39:41,333 I don't know, they just show up. 637 00:39:41,417 --> 00:39:44,792 These guys have been gone for a long time. 638 00:39:44,875 --> 00:39:46,583 "They appeared in," what? 639 00:39:46,667 --> 00:39:50,000 "Glory," revealing, indicating that you and I 640 00:39:50,083 --> 00:39:53,583 on the other side of death, we will be glorified, 641 00:39:53,667 --> 00:39:57,208 the presence, and the power of sin will be removed out of 642 00:39:57,292 --> 00:40:01,833 the life of the children of God whose faith is in Jesus, 643 00:40:01,917 --> 00:40:07,708 and you and I will be in a state of glory. 644 00:40:07,792 --> 00:40:11,458 "They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure." 645 00:40:11,542 --> 00:40:14,792 They were speaking of Jesus' own exodus, that he would live, 646 00:40:14,875 --> 00:40:16,958 that he would die, that he would rise, 647 00:40:17,042 --> 00:40:20,125 that he would ascend back to the Father, 648 00:40:20,208 --> 00:40:23,292 that he would be completing his mission and he would be 649 00:40:23,375 --> 00:40:26,542 departing this earth, and he would be returning to glory, 650 00:40:26,625 --> 00:40:30,625 "which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem," 651 00:40:30,708 --> 00:40:33,917 that Jesus is finishing his ministry 652 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,667 in the region of Galilee. 653 00:40:35,750 --> 00:40:39,167 And chapter 9, verse 51, which is forthcoming in this chapter, 654 00:40:39,250 --> 00:40:41,750 says that he set his face toward Jerusalem, 655 00:40:41,833 --> 00:40:45,083 and then he begins his journey into Jerusalem where he 656 00:40:45,167 --> 00:40:48,083 would be betrayed, and he would be executed, 657 00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:50,917 and he would atone for the sin of the world, 658 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,708 and that he would rise to conquer Satan, sin, and death. 659 00:40:53,792 --> 00:40:57,667 Now, Moses lived 1,400 years prior. 660 00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:02,000 Elijah lived 900 years prior. 661 00:41:02,083 --> 00:41:08,333 Moses penned the majority of the first five books of the Bible, 662 00:41:08,417 --> 00:41:11,792 the Pentateuch, which means "book in five parts": 663 00:41:11,875 --> 00:41:17,958 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 664 00:41:18,042 --> 00:41:21,958 There is a bit in there that I believe was probably penned by 665 00:41:22,042 --> 00:41:27,000 Joshua, his successor, because it's about the death of Moses, 666 00:41:27,083 --> 00:41:29,458 and I don't think he wrote that. 667 00:41:29,542 --> 00:41:32,875 And he is the one who gives us the law. 668 00:41:32,958 --> 00:41:36,333 The Ten Commandments are given to him, 669 00:41:36,417 --> 00:41:41,292 and he gives us more than 600 laws in the Pentateuch, 670 00:41:41,375 --> 00:41:44,833 and he represents the law. 671 00:41:44,917 --> 00:41:47,083 Elijah represents the prophets. 672 00:41:47,167 --> 00:41:51,000 He is one of the greatest Old Testament prophets. 673 00:41:51,083 --> 00:41:55,292 And so herein we have the law and the prophets. 674 00:41:55,375 --> 00:41:58,042 And the law and the prophets, friends, are about Jesus. 675 00:41:58,125 --> 00:42:00,583 Everything in the Bible is about Jesus. 676 00:42:00,667 --> 00:42:03,250 Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, he said, 677 00:42:03,333 --> 00:42:06,542 "Do not think I came to abolish the law and the prophets, 678 00:42:06,625 --> 00:42:09,542 rather, I have come to fulfill them." 679 00:42:09,625 --> 00:42:12,792 In a few Bible studies at the end of Luke's gospel, 680 00:42:12,875 --> 00:42:16,208 after his resurrection, we are told that Jesus led this 681 00:42:16,292 --> 00:42:20,250 Bible study teaching them how everything in the law 682 00:42:20,333 --> 00:42:23,125 and the prophets was ultimately fulfilled in him. 683 00:42:23,208 --> 00:42:25,625 The priesthood was about Jesus. 684 00:42:25,708 --> 00:42:28,333 The temple was about Jesus, because the priest is 685 00:42:28,417 --> 00:42:30,750 the mediator and now Jesus is our mediator, 686 00:42:30,833 --> 00:42:33,167 and the temple was about the presence of God, 687 00:42:33,250 --> 00:42:35,250 and Jesus is the presence of God. 688 00:42:35,333 --> 00:42:38,583 And the sacrificial system was about Jesus because Jesus is 689 00:42:38,667 --> 00:42:41,917 the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 690 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,167 He is our Passover lamb who has been slain. 691 00:42:45,250 --> 00:42:47,917 All of the law and the prophets are about Jesus. 692 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,667 The law shows us how sinful we are, 693 00:42:50,750 --> 00:42:55,958 and Jesus comes without sin to live the life we have not lived, 694 00:42:56,042 --> 00:42:59,333 so that as the prophets command us, we can repent of sin, 695 00:42:59,417 --> 00:43:03,333 trust in him, and receive his righteousness as a gift because 696 00:43:03,417 --> 00:43:07,625 he, alone, perfectly, obediently fulfills the law of God. 697 00:43:07,708 --> 00:43:10,625 The law and the prophets are all about Jesus, 698 00:43:10,708 --> 00:43:13,792 and here in this glorious moment, 699 00:43:13,875 --> 00:43:16,625 the law and the prophets come to be with Jesus, 700 00:43:16,708 --> 00:43:21,125 in the person of Moses and the prophet Elijah. 701 00:43:21,208 --> 00:43:23,708 Both of these men had previously met with God 702 00:43:23,792 --> 00:43:25,708 on mountaintops as Jesus was. 703 00:43:25,792 --> 00:43:29,500 Moses met with God on Mount Sinai in Exodus 31:18, 704 00:43:29,583 --> 00:43:31,792 and Elijah met with God on Mount Horeb, 705 00:43:31,875 --> 00:43:35,292 another name for Sinai in 1 Kings 19. 706 00:43:35,375 --> 00:43:40,125 What's interesting as well, Moses died and was buried by 707 00:43:40,208 --> 00:43:46,167 God, and Elijah is one of the only two men in the Bible 708 00:43:46,250 --> 00:43:49,625 who did not taste death. 709 00:43:49,708 --> 00:43:54,417 Enoch and Elijah are the two men that the Bible says did not die, 710 00:43:54,500 --> 00:43:58,292 they were, rather, just taken into heaven to be with God. 711 00:43:58,375 --> 00:44:02,750 Elijah was taken up to heaven in a flaming chariot. 712 00:44:02,833 --> 00:44:06,583 He did not die, he was just taken into the presence of God 713 00:44:06,667 --> 00:44:11,792 after faithful service to God, 2 Kings 2 tells us. 714 00:44:11,875 --> 00:44:15,583 Verse 32, chapter 9, "Now Peter and his companions," 715 00:44:15,667 --> 00:44:17,958 the other disciples, "were weighed down with sleep." 716 00:44:18,042 --> 00:44:20,667 They're exhausted. 717 00:44:20,750 --> 00:44:24,792 And we may read this and sort of mock them, but I can tell you, 718 00:44:24,875 --> 00:44:28,542 journeying up these mountains, and climbing up to that point 719 00:44:28,625 --> 00:44:35,333 of 6,000 feet in 100-degree heat with massive humidity, 720 00:44:35,417 --> 00:44:38,250 it's exhausting. 721 00:44:38,333 --> 00:44:41,125 Jesus and his disciples have been walking all over 722 00:44:41,208 --> 00:44:44,083 the region of Galilee, mountainous, 723 00:44:44,167 --> 00:44:47,792 desert-like terrain, and these men are exhausted. 724 00:44:47,875 --> 00:44:52,750 It says if Jesus, as the power of the Holy Spirit is enabling 725 00:44:52,833 --> 00:44:55,708 his life, he has more energy than the average man. 726 00:44:55,792 --> 00:44:58,958 He has more capacity than the average man, 727 00:44:59,042 --> 00:45:01,333 and God grants that to some leaders, 728 00:45:01,417 --> 00:45:04,292 particularly in certain seasons. 729 00:45:04,375 --> 00:45:08,583 So the other men are tired, "but since they had stayed awake, 730 00:45:08,667 --> 00:45:12,708 "they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 731 00:45:12,792 --> 00:45:15,375 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus," 732 00:45:15,458 --> 00:45:19,708 and we love Peter because Peter always gets it wrong, 733 00:45:19,792 --> 00:45:21,375 that's Peter. 734 00:45:21,458 --> 00:45:24,375 If you're the person who always says the wrong thing 735 00:45:24,458 --> 00:45:28,000 at the wrong time, you are Peter's disciple. 736 00:45:28,083 --> 00:45:31,458 If when it would be a perfect moment for silence, 737 00:45:31,542 --> 00:45:34,917 you feel free to fill it with your own voice, 738 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:37,167 you're just like Peter. 739 00:45:37,250 --> 00:45:40,125 Some of us just have this innate ability 740 00:45:40,208 --> 00:45:43,125 to always say the wrong thing. 741 00:45:43,208 --> 00:45:47,125 I love Peter because it gets better as he gets older, 742 00:45:47,208 --> 00:45:48,958 and that's my hope. 743 00:45:49,042 --> 00:45:51,458 I've said a lot of things I regret. 744 00:45:51,542 --> 00:45:54,208 I can even see them coming out of my mouth. 745 00:45:54,292 --> 00:45:56,958 It's like, "Oh, this is going to be very bad." 746 00:45:57,042 --> 00:45:59,125 Here's what Peter says, 747 00:45:59,208 --> 00:46:02,958 "'Master, it is good for us to be here. 748 00:46:03,042 --> 00:46:06,583 "'Let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, 749 00:46:06,667 --> 00:46:10,292 one for Elijah,' not knowing what he said." 750 00:46:10,375 --> 00:46:14,083 Peter says, "This would be a very nice community group. 751 00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:16,625 "I really like John, and I really like James, 752 00:46:16,708 --> 00:46:20,542 "these are friends of mine, and we wanted to officially start 753 00:46:20,625 --> 00:46:23,958 "a community group, and we're trying to pray through 754 00:46:24,042 --> 00:46:26,375 "who we could invite to our community group. 755 00:46:26,458 --> 00:46:29,375 "And Jesus, we all voted, we'd love to have you 756 00:46:29,458 --> 00:46:30,750 "in our community group. 757 00:46:30,833 --> 00:46:34,792 "And hey, Moses and Elijah, this seems like 758 00:46:34,875 --> 00:46:36,417 "a really good community group. 759 00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:39,292 "And the problem with this community group is if we come 760 00:46:39,375 --> 00:46:42,750 "down the mountain, other people are going want to join our 761 00:46:42,833 --> 00:46:45,167 "community group, especially as we study the Pentateuch 762 00:46:45,250 --> 00:46:48,542 "and Elijah because, well, their authors are here. 763 00:46:48,625 --> 00:46:51,125 "And so how about if we do this, Jesus, 764 00:46:51,208 --> 00:46:54,875 "how about if we go online, and we go to REI.com, 765 00:46:54,958 --> 00:46:58,875 "and we just order some tents, and we have them shipped up here 766 00:46:58,958 --> 00:47:00,750 "to the top of the mountain, 767 00:47:00,833 --> 00:47:04,042 "and then we just camp together forever? 768 00:47:04,125 --> 00:47:07,083 "And our community group can just hang out on the mountain, 769 00:47:07,167 --> 00:47:09,792 "and we don't need flashlights or a fire. 770 00:47:09,875 --> 00:47:12,292 "You can just do the glory thing, 771 00:47:12,375 --> 00:47:14,792 "and Moses and Elijah could answer 772 00:47:14,875 --> 00:47:16,958 "all of our theological questions, 773 00:47:17,042 --> 00:47:20,542 "and this would be a pretty fantastic community group. 774 00:47:20,625 --> 00:47:23,458 "And yeah, there's no food, but I remember Elijah 775 00:47:23,542 --> 00:47:25,792 "had food brought to him by some birds. 776 00:47:25,875 --> 00:47:28,125 Let's hook that up." 777 00:47:28,208 --> 00:47:32,333 That's Peter's plan. 778 00:47:32,417 --> 00:47:36,792 What he may be referring to is the, make sure I get it right, 779 00:47:36,875 --> 00:47:41,917 the Feast of Tabernacles, and it was an annual event in Israel's 780 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,958 calendar where, kind of like Thanksgiving in the U.S., 781 00:47:45,042 --> 00:47:47,333 or certain other holidays in other nations, 782 00:47:47,417 --> 00:47:50,583 everyone would take the week or few days off 783 00:47:50,667 --> 00:47:53,417 and maybe get together with their family and friends, 784 00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:56,167 and they would feast and fellowship. 785 00:47:56,250 --> 00:47:58,875 And it was decreed according to Scripture that they 786 00:47:58,958 --> 00:48:00,583 would live in tents. 787 00:48:00,667 --> 00:48:02,458 They would go camping. 788 00:48:02,542 --> 00:48:05,292 So if you're a camper, you go, "Yes, it's biblical. 789 00:48:05,375 --> 00:48:06,625 "Camping is holy. 790 00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:10,333 God commands camping for his people in the old covenant." 791 00:48:10,417 --> 00:48:12,625 And they would get together and camp, 792 00:48:12,708 --> 00:48:16,500 and they would live in tents, and if you're the kind of person 793 00:48:16,583 --> 00:48:19,375 that when the weather permits it in Seattle, 794 00:48:19,458 --> 00:48:22,708 both of those days every year, you like to go camping, 795 00:48:22,792 --> 00:48:26,958 this is the kind of holiday you would have really enjoyed. 796 00:48:27,042 --> 00:48:30,292 Peter is saying, "Let's just do the Feast of Tabernacles. 797 00:48:30,375 --> 00:48:34,167 Let's just make some tents, and hang out, and be together." 798 00:48:34,250 --> 00:48:41,125 But the problem is, and this is a common sin among God's people, 799 00:48:41,208 --> 00:48:45,750 he's trying to indefinitely sustain 800 00:48:45,833 --> 00:48:49,083 a mountaintop experience. 801 00:48:49,167 --> 00:48:52,333 People have the proclivity to do this. 802 00:48:52,417 --> 00:48:56,125 You have an amazing experience with God, 803 00:48:56,208 --> 00:48:59,875 and rather than enjoying it, and moving on to what God would have 804 00:48:59,958 --> 00:49:05,667 for you next, you keep trying to go back and relive it. 805 00:49:05,750 --> 00:49:09,875 Some of you had a great experience at a camp, 806 00:49:09,958 --> 00:49:13,917 and so for you, you're addicted to camp high. 807 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:18,375 Some of you had a church that did things in a certain way, 808 00:49:18,458 --> 00:49:21,958 and maybe that was even your first experience of worship, 809 00:49:22,042 --> 00:49:24,292 or teaching, or community, or programming, 810 00:49:24,375 --> 00:49:27,958 and it meant a lot to you, and God used it in your life. 811 00:49:28,042 --> 00:49:30,458 And I don't want to denigrate that at all. 812 00:49:30,542 --> 00:49:33,458 We rejoice in that, but you keep trying to recreate it 813 00:49:33,542 --> 00:49:35,125 and relive it. 814 00:49:35,208 --> 00:49:38,792 "If we could just go back and keep it the way that it was." 815 00:49:38,875 --> 00:49:41,625 Parents even have a proclivity to do this with children. 816 00:49:41,708 --> 00:49:44,292 "We had an amazing experience when they were this age, 817 00:49:44,375 --> 00:49:46,708 "and I just want to keep them that size, 818 00:49:46,792 --> 00:49:49,542 "and keep them that age, and keep reliving those experiences. 819 00:49:49,625 --> 00:49:52,208 "I just want to capture this sacred moment, 820 00:49:52,292 --> 00:49:56,042 and never let it dissipate." 821 00:49:56,125 --> 00:49:59,792 And the truth is, it is a sin to want to continually relive 822 00:49:59,875 --> 00:50:02,833 mountaintop experiences. 823 00:50:02,917 --> 00:50:06,625 We are to enjoy those sacred moments that God shows up 824 00:50:06,708 --> 00:50:12,167 in glory in our life, and then proceed forward trusting that, 825 00:50:12,250 --> 00:50:15,292 if and when it's time, he will meet with us at 826 00:50:15,375 --> 00:50:18,958 a different time, perhaps even in a different way. 827 00:50:19,042 --> 00:50:21,625 For some of you, this comes down to music. 828 00:50:21,708 --> 00:50:24,458 And you say, "But I worship God through this music." 829 00:50:24,542 --> 00:50:26,292 You may worship worship. 830 00:50:26,375 --> 00:50:29,875 It may have been a moment where even in singing a song or 831 00:50:29,958 --> 00:50:33,292 hearing a song, the glory of God was revealed to you, meaning 832 00:50:33,375 --> 00:50:36,625 that your heart and mind were open to love Jesus, 833 00:50:36,708 --> 00:50:39,125 but now you have to sing that song, 834 00:50:39,208 --> 00:50:42,625 or you have to sing those songs, or you have to sing them 835 00:50:42,708 --> 00:50:44,458 in those ways. 836 00:50:44,542 --> 00:50:49,458 And methodologies then become methodolatries because we keep 837 00:50:49,542 --> 00:50:53,583 trying to recreate, relive a mountaintop experience, 838 00:50:53,667 --> 00:50:56,625 some sort of Christian high. 839 00:50:56,708 --> 00:51:00,000 And Peter has that same sin. 840 00:51:00,083 --> 00:51:02,458 Verse 34, "While he was saying this, 841 00:51:02,542 --> 00:51:04,458 a cloud came and overshadowed them." 842 00:51:04,542 --> 00:51:07,625 Again, I told you early on that often in the Bible, 843 00:51:07,708 --> 00:51:10,708 clouds and fire are indicative of God 844 00:51:10,792 --> 00:51:13,333 revealing himself in glory. 845 00:51:13,417 --> 00:51:15,083 "A cloud came and overshadowed them, 846 00:51:15,167 --> 00:51:17,458 and they were terrified as they entered the cloud." 847 00:51:17,542 --> 00:51:19,792 The glory of God is surrounding them. 848 00:51:19,875 --> 00:51:23,792 "Then from the cloud came a voice that said--" 849 00:51:23,875 --> 00:51:28,708 so the Holy Spirit is indwelling and empowering Jesus. 850 00:51:28,792 --> 00:51:31,958 We've already read previously in Luke that he is filled with 851 00:51:32,042 --> 00:51:36,542 the Holy Spirit, that is the third member of the Trinity. 852 00:51:36,625 --> 00:51:40,500 Here is Jesus Christ, the God-man, the Son of God, 853 00:51:40,583 --> 00:51:42,500 the second member of the Trinity. 854 00:51:42,583 --> 00:51:45,042 And now we will hear from God the Father, 855 00:51:45,125 --> 00:51:47,792 the first member of the Trinity. 856 00:51:47,875 --> 00:51:49,833 He's going to speak. 857 00:51:49,917 --> 00:51:53,292 He says, "This is my Son." 858 00:51:53,375 --> 00:51:54,917 Like father, like son. 859 00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:57,250 He's the same as I. 860 00:51:57,333 --> 00:51:58,917 "We are equal." 861 00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:01,625 This is a declaration of divinity. 862 00:52:01,708 --> 00:52:06,208 This is God the Father saying, "That man is the God-man." 863 00:52:06,292 --> 00:52:13,917 "My Chosen," "he's the one who I have chosen to reveal my glory 864 00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:16,042 "to and through. 865 00:52:16,125 --> 00:52:21,292 He is the one who I have chosen to save sinners by." 866 00:52:21,375 --> 00:52:23,792 "Listen to him." 867 00:52:23,875 --> 00:52:26,542 Mars Hill, you should highlight that in your Bible. 868 00:52:26,625 --> 00:52:29,542 Listen to him. 869 00:52:29,625 --> 00:52:30,958 Don't listen to Satan. 870 00:52:31,042 --> 00:52:32,458 Don't listen to false teachers. 871 00:52:32,542 --> 00:52:38,125 Don't listen to those who would confuse you with false religions 872 00:52:38,208 --> 00:52:42,333 and ideologies, and half-truths, and don't listen to all 873 00:52:42,417 --> 00:52:46,042 your critics, and don't listen to the world. 874 00:52:46,125 --> 00:52:48,458 Listen to him. 875 00:52:48,542 --> 00:52:53,167 Listen to him, the Lord Jesus. 876 00:52:53,250 --> 00:52:57,625 "When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone." 877 00:52:57,708 --> 00:52:59,083 Moses and Elijah are gone. 878 00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:00,792 Their work is done. 879 00:53:00,875 --> 00:53:03,125 Jesus remains because he still has to atone 880 00:53:03,208 --> 00:53:05,208 for the sin of the world. 881 00:53:05,292 --> 00:53:07,125 "And they kept silent in those days, 882 00:53:07,208 --> 00:53:13,542 and they told no one anything of what they had seen." 883 00:53:13,625 --> 00:53:15,458 884 00:53:15,542 --> 00:53:17,708 Friends, Jesus is not just another man. 885 00:53:17,792 --> 00:53:20,417 Jesus is not just another good man. 886 00:53:20,500 --> 00:53:24,292 Jesus is not even, as the Muslims would falsely tell you, 887 00:53:24,375 --> 00:53:26,417 just another prophet. 888 00:53:26,500 --> 00:53:30,625 Moses and Elijah, actually both of whom were prophets, 889 00:53:30,708 --> 00:53:35,375 were there, and Jesus is in a completely different category. 890 00:53:35,458 --> 00:53:38,542 He's not just a mere prophet. 891 00:53:38,625 --> 00:53:40,250 He's not just a mere man. 892 00:53:40,333 --> 00:53:43,292 He's not just a mere teacher. 893 00:53:43,375 --> 00:53:46,167 He is the glory of God. 894 00:53:46,250 --> 00:53:50,333 As Paul says elsewhere, he is the image of the invisible God. 895 00:53:50,417 --> 00:53:56,792 The invisible God, the Creator God is made known, is seen. 896 00:53:56,875 --> 00:54:01,250 His glory is revealed in the person, and the work, 897 00:54:01,333 --> 00:54:05,792 and the teaching of Jesus Christ, the God-man. 898 00:54:05,875 --> 00:54:12,292 Jesus is the God of glory revealed humbly, 899 00:54:12,375 --> 00:54:15,625 and then made known in glory. 900 00:54:15,708 --> 00:54:18,458 That's exactly what's happening here. 901 00:54:18,542 --> 00:54:24,458 And here the Father is echoing his baptism where, again, 902 00:54:24,542 --> 00:54:26,792 Jesus was coming out of the water. 903 00:54:26,875 --> 00:54:29,958 The Holy Spirit was present in the form of a dove. 904 00:54:30,042 --> 00:54:33,917 The whole Trinity is there, and we read previously in Luke 4 905 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,542 that the Father spoke from heaven and said, 906 00:54:36,625 --> 00:54:42,917 "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased." 907 00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:45,292 That's what God the Father says about Jesus. 908 00:54:45,375 --> 00:54:48,542 It doesn't matter what anyone else says about Jesus. 909 00:54:48,625 --> 00:54:53,250 What does God the Father say about Jesus Christ, 910 00:54:53,333 --> 00:54:55,208 the Son of God? 911 00:54:55,292 --> 00:54:59,208 He says, "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased," 912 00:54:59,292 --> 00:55:00,958 at the baptism. 913 00:55:01,042 --> 00:55:04,667 He says, "This is my Son, My Chosen. 914 00:55:04,750 --> 00:55:08,750 Listen to him," on the Mount of Transfiguration. 915 00:55:08,833 --> 00:55:15,250 There can be no higher authority than the Creator God. 916 00:55:15,333 --> 00:55:19,625 There can be no higher authority than God the Father. 917 00:55:19,708 --> 00:55:23,833 There can be no more authoritative testimony of who 918 00:55:23,917 --> 00:55:26,958 Jesus is than God the Father. 919 00:55:27,042 --> 00:55:29,125 It doesn't matter what the leaders say, 920 00:55:29,208 --> 00:55:32,417 what religious people say, what books are written, 921 00:55:32,500 --> 00:55:37,583 how people speculate, what the polls would indicate. 922 00:55:37,667 --> 00:55:45,500 God the Father says Jesus is God become man, and he, alone, 923 00:55:45,583 --> 00:55:52,292 possesses the glory of God because he is the God of glory. 924 00:55:52,375 --> 00:55:55,458 Now, some of you in hearing this 925 00:55:55,542 --> 00:55:57,792 say, "This is astonishing." 926 00:55:57,875 --> 00:55:59,833 It is. 927 00:55:59,917 --> 00:56:02,833 It's absolutely astonishing. 928 00:56:02,917 --> 00:56:07,292 See, here Jesus is revealed as the God of the Bible, 929 00:56:07,375 --> 00:56:09,792 but it's nothing he's done. 930 00:56:09,875 --> 00:56:13,792 He doesn't make himself radiate glory. 931 00:56:13,875 --> 00:56:18,125 That's done as a gift in a revelation from the Father, 932 00:56:18,208 --> 00:56:21,458 and Jesus is declared to be the Son of God, 933 00:56:21,542 --> 00:56:23,958 but it's not something that he says. 934 00:56:24,042 --> 00:56:26,958 It's what the Father says so that the deity, 935 00:56:27,042 --> 00:56:32,250 the divinity of Jesus Christ is made seen, 936 00:56:32,333 --> 00:56:36,667 known through God the Father. 937 00:56:36,750 --> 00:56:39,542 There can be no higher authority. 938 00:56:39,625 --> 00:56:42,167 There can be no more authoritative witnesses 939 00:56:42,250 --> 00:56:45,125 and some of you in hearing this would say, 940 00:56:45,208 --> 00:56:48,167 "I wish I would have been there. 941 00:56:48,250 --> 00:56:52,917 "I wish God would do that for me. 942 00:56:53,000 --> 00:56:57,292 I wish I had that kind of certainty and clarity." 943 00:56:57,375 --> 00:57:01,833 But we do have the testimony of Peter, some years later. 944 00:57:01,917 --> 00:57:05,667 So in 2 Peter 1:16-18 some years later, 945 00:57:05,750 --> 00:57:07,958 Peter, who was there on the Mount of Transfiguration, 946 00:57:08,042 --> 00:57:09,458 says this: 947 00:57:09,542 --> 00:57:12,875 "For we do did not follow cleverly devised myths." 948 00:57:12,958 --> 00:57:16,167 God is telling us here, people didn't make this up 949 00:57:16,250 --> 00:57:18,208 like other religions. 950 00:57:18,292 --> 00:57:21,542 "When we made known to you the power and coming of our 951 00:57:21,625 --> 00:57:26,625 Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." 952 00:57:26,708 --> 00:57:30,125 Peter says, "I saw him in glory. 953 00:57:30,208 --> 00:57:34,458 My report is accurate." 954 00:57:34,542 --> 00:57:36,458 "For when he received honor and--" what? 955 00:57:36,542 --> 00:57:38,125 What's the word, Mars Hill? 956 00:57:38,208 --> 00:57:41,167 "Glory from God the Father." 957 00:57:41,250 --> 00:57:44,083 The glory was the radiating of Jesus, 958 00:57:44,167 --> 00:57:46,125 and the honor was the declaration: 959 00:57:46,208 --> 00:57:48,458 "This is my Son, listen to him." 960 00:57:48,542 --> 00:57:52,333 "And the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory." 961 00:57:52,417 --> 00:57:55,417 The Father in glory said something. 962 00:57:55,500 --> 00:57:56,792 What did he say? 963 00:57:56,875 --> 00:58:01,167 "'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" 964 00:58:01,250 --> 00:58:03,917 He's going here back to the baptism, 965 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:06,542 and also forward to the transfiguration. 966 00:58:06,625 --> 00:58:11,208 On both occasions, the Father says, "This Jesus is my Son." 967 00:58:11,292 --> 00:58:15,917 He goes on to say, "We ourselves heard this very voice borne 968 00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:19,958 from heaven for we were with him," where? 969 00:58:20,042 --> 00:58:22,292 "On the holy mountain." 970 00:58:22,375 --> 00:58:25,625 On the holy mountain, the mountain that was made holy 971 00:58:25,708 --> 00:58:28,458 because Jesus was on it. 972 00:58:28,542 --> 00:58:30,542 Peter says, "We were there. 973 00:58:30,625 --> 00:58:34,292 "If you wonder who Jesus is, trust us. 974 00:58:34,375 --> 00:58:36,250 He's the God of glory." 975 00:58:36,333 --> 00:58:38,125 And some of you, again, would say, 976 00:58:38,208 --> 00:58:39,875 "I wish I had that experience. 977 00:58:39,958 --> 00:58:42,875 "I wish I had been there on the Mount of Transfiguration. 978 00:58:42,958 --> 00:58:47,792 "I wish I could have hand shaken Moses and Elijah, 979 00:58:47,875 --> 00:58:50,125 "and asked my theological questions, 980 00:58:50,208 --> 00:58:52,875 "and watched Jesus radiate in glory, 981 00:58:52,958 --> 00:58:56,583 "and hear God the Father speak, then I would trust in Christ, 982 00:58:56,667 --> 00:59:01,292 then my doubts would go away, then my fears would fade." 983 00:59:01,375 --> 00:59:06,125 Read, read with me what Peter, who was there 984 00:59:06,208 --> 00:59:09,458 and had that experience has to say. 985 00:59:09,542 --> 00:59:14,750 He says in the very next section of verses, 2 Peter 1:19-21, 986 00:59:14,833 --> 00:59:17,250 "And we have something more sure." 987 00:59:17,333 --> 00:59:19,542 More sure than what? 988 00:59:19,625 --> 00:59:22,792 More sure than Jesus radiating the glory of God, 989 00:59:22,875 --> 00:59:28,458 more sure than Moses and Elijah returning after having died, 990 00:59:28,542 --> 00:59:32,375 more sure than God the Father speaking from heaven. 991 00:59:32,458 --> 00:59:35,375 We have something more sure than that. 992 00:59:35,458 --> 00:59:37,042 What is it? 993 00:59:37,125 --> 00:59:40,167 What is this sure thing that we have? 994 00:59:40,250 --> 00:59:47,125 "The prophetic word," the Scriptures, the Bible. 995 00:59:47,208 --> 00:59:55,042 The very words of God are more sure than seeing Jesus in glory, 996 00:59:55,125 --> 01:00:00,417 meeting Moses and Elijah, and hearing the voice of the Father. 997 01:00:00,500 --> 01:00:02,583 Read your Bible, Mars Hill. 998 01:00:02,667 --> 01:00:05,917 Read your Bible. 999 01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:09,000 "The prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay 1000 01:00:09,083 --> 01:00:11,958 attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place--" 1001 01:00:12,042 --> 01:00:15,292 See this book is filled with glory. 1002 01:00:15,375 --> 01:00:17,125 The world is filled with darkness, 1003 01:00:17,208 --> 01:00:20,833 and this book is filled with glory. 1004 01:00:20,917 --> 01:00:23,458 "Until the day dawns and the morning star rises 1005 01:00:23,542 --> 01:00:26,125 in your hearts," until Jesus returns, 1006 01:00:26,208 --> 01:00:30,542 and until Jesus' glory is seen over all of the new creation. 1007 01:00:30,625 --> 01:00:33,958 "Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture--" 1008 01:00:34,042 --> 01:00:37,542 Nothing that was written by Moses, or Elijah, or Peter, 1009 01:00:37,625 --> 01:00:43,792 or John "comes from someone's own interpretation." 1010 01:00:43,875 --> 01:00:46,042 Peter says, "We don't make this up." 1011 01:00:46,125 --> 01:00:50,125 Peter is ultimately going to be crucified upside down for not 1012 01:00:50,208 --> 01:00:53,167 renouncing Jesus as Lord. 1013 01:00:53,250 --> 01:00:59,167 "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, 1014 01:00:59,250 --> 01:01:02,625 "but men spoke from God as they were carried along 1015 01:01:02,708 --> 01:01:04,833 by the Holy Spirit." 1016 01:01:04,917 --> 01:01:10,750 And the Holy Spirit gives us the Word of God, which is more sure, 1017 01:01:10,833 --> 01:01:16,542 more sure than seeing Jesus in glory, 1018 01:01:16,625 --> 01:01:22,667 than meeting Moses and Elijah, than hearing the Father speak, 1019 01:01:22,750 --> 01:01:25,000 and the Holy Spirit inspires 1020 01:01:25,083 --> 01:01:27,125 the writing of Scripture about Jesus. 1021 01:01:27,208 --> 01:01:29,667 He indwells the children of God. 1022 01:01:29,750 --> 01:01:34,625 He illuminates our understanding so that the God of glory would 1023 01:01:34,708 --> 01:01:39,167 be gloriously revealed to us, that he would do a transforming 1024 01:01:39,250 --> 01:01:44,333 work in us, and that his glory would be made manifest through 1025 01:01:44,417 --> 01:01:50,958 us, and that our lives would radiate forth the glory of God, 1026 01:01:51,042 --> 01:01:54,292 and love, and justice, and mercy, and compassion, 1027 01:01:54,375 --> 01:01:59,542 and generosity, and living in all ways for all things to 1028 01:01:59,625 --> 01:02:04,958 the glory of God alone because God, alone, is glorious. 1029 01:02:05,042 --> 01:02:06,458 Amen? 1030 01:02:06,542 --> 01:02:11,000 Father, you are a glorious God. 1031 01:02:11,083 --> 01:02:14,917 Lord Jesus, you are a glorious God. 1032 01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:19,458 Holy Spirit, you are a glorious God. 1033 01:02:19,542 --> 01:02:25,333 We confess that the Trinitarian, singular God of the Bible 1034 01:02:25,417 --> 01:02:32,792 is a glorious God enjoying glory in eternity past, 1035 01:02:32,875 --> 01:02:36,750 coming into human history through the presence, 1036 01:02:36,833 --> 01:02:42,500 and the person, and the power of Jesus who is glorious, 1037 01:02:42,583 --> 01:02:45,458 revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 1038 01:02:45,542 --> 01:02:53,292 and the pages of the Scriptures which are glorious, a sure word. 1039 01:02:53,375 --> 01:02:58,958 Father, please, please allow us to always remember that you, 1040 01:02:59,042 --> 01:03:05,000 alone, are glorious, and that you are worthy of all glory. 1041 01:03:05,083 --> 01:03:06,708 Amen.