 But beginning in verse 27 and reading to verse 28 Matthew chapter 16 Matthew writes for the son of man will come in the glory of his father with his angels and then he will reward each according to his works Assuredly I say to you there are some standing here who shall not taste the death Till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom So let's do a review so we can lead up to this portion of scripture I'm going to spend a lot of time in verse 27 and then I'll move from verse 28 Give a few introductory comments and move into chapter 17 with that said Jesus has just stated as we've been going through chapter 16 that he would go to Jerusalem that he would suffer that he would die and That he would be resurrected you saw that in chapter 16 verse 21 Now all of this that he's saying at that time is something that his men couldn't grasp Especially when he began to speak concerning his resurrection Now you need to remember that during this day the doctrine of the resurrection was yet to be fully explained They really didn't understand what Jesus was speaking about when he spoke of resurrection When you look in the Old Testament the oldest book of the Bible is the book of Job The book of Job was written some 600 years before Moses penned the book of Genesis and so it's commonly known that Job is the oldest written book of the Bible So all the way back fourteen hundred years To know no no no no over over fourteen hundred years prior to I'm going to slow down and begin again Two thousand years before Christ Moses being fourteen hundred years before Christ so two thousand years before Christ with Job Job being Alive during the time of Abraham Job wrote and Job gave insight into an event that we now know as resurrection and so the doctrine of resurrection actually predates the writing of the book of Genesis and so when you have Job speaking concerning resurrection You'll see that this is a doctrine that had already been spoken of but not yet developed You see in Job nineteen verses twenty five through twenty seven Job said I know that my Redeemer lives And he shall stand at last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed this I know that in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall be ahold and not another how my heart yearns within me so Job writing before You know two thousand years before Christ or so had made it very clear That there was an event that would take place that he was looking forward to and that would be Resurrection later on in the writings of David the psalmist of Israel David living around a thousand years before Christ Later on in one of his psalms Psalm 17 King David said in verse 15 as for me, I will see your face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness And so we have Job two thousand years before Christ alluding to resurrection You see David one thousand years before Christ speaking about awakening in God's likeness Then you have Daniel Daniel wrote some 605 before Christ and in Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 Daniel said many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake Some to everlasting life some to shame and everlasting contempt and so two thousand years one thousand years 605 all of these years before Christ The the teaching or the doctrine of resurrection the revelation of resurrection had already begun to take place It was alluded to in the Old Testament, but not fully explained at that time So Jesus was speaking concerning his resurrection to his men, but they were unable to grasp it You're going to see that that's a little more explained in the transfiguration story that we'll soon examine So as we take that into consideration The events leading to Jesus's resurrection were unthinkable to them Especially when he began to say that he would suffer and that he would die And so that was revealed by the response of the Apostle Peter when he said far be that from you that these things should occur to you He actually brought a rebuke if you will under satanic inspiration And he wanted to preserve Jesus's honor by rebuke him He was attempting to protect Jesus by dissuading him from suffering and dying But remember with me in verse 23 that Jesus's response was immediate. He said get behind me Satan. You're an offense to me So what he did there is as I showed you last time is he rebuked Peter for acting as Satan's mouthpiece Jesus had to go to the way of the cross. There was no other way to obtain salvation Salvation was to be the result of Jesus dying as a voluntary sacrifice on our behalf He says in mark 10 45 even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many Paul and first timothy chapter 2 verse 6 said that Jesus gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time The word ransom speaks of pain a price to set a captive free from sin iniquity bondage or lawlessness And the word ransom speaks of the of the price that was blood the blood of christ So jesus speaks concerning this and and then he goes on and speaks concerning the cost of discipleship and And made it very clear that the way of a follower of christ and it will involve difficulty and self sacrifice It includes self denial And as he's been speaking concerning that he now moves on in verse 27 And he says for the Son of man will come in the glory of his father with his angels And then he will reward each according to his works And now he begins to speak concerning his return This is the first specific revelation of his second coming He says he's going to come in the glory of the father And what we have here is we have the glory of the father That is revealed by him being the Son of God But he also is going to come in his own kingdom That he receives as the Son of man Now this return of christ is something that every believer Should be thrilled about His return is intended to provoke us to faithful sustained Joyful anticipation as we await him the fact that christ has promised to return Out of cause every genuine believer to be fully excited and anticipating his soon return It's something that should motivate every person who really loves him To live and in an expectation in an anticipation It ought to provoke us to live in such a way that when he returns we are prepared for him When you look at uh jude in verse 21 in the new testament The writer jude said keep yourself in god's love as you wait for the mercy of our lord jesus christ To bring you to eternal life and so keep yourself in the love of god Keep walking in the things of the spirit keep loving his word Keep serving him keep sharing about him and just keep waiting for him Now as the lord has been speaking this time of teaching must have been emotionally draining But it was also challenging for them because he's revealing many things to them that are difficult to grasp He had spoken to them about being god in human flesh He had informed them that he was establishing the invincible church He revealed that he would suffer at the hands of the sanhedrin that he would die be resurrected And then after saying all of this he went on to tell them that he will return to planet earth And that is just too much to grasp And yet he says in verse 27 the son of man will come in the glory of his father and his angels What an amazing thing for somebody to say to you That i'm going to return i'm going to be Tried i'm going to die i'm going to be buried i'm going to be resurrected But don't worry about it i'm going to return i mean You know it has been said either he was a liar Or he was a lunatic Or he's the lord There's just no way that that jesus could make those kinds of statements and still be trusted If they weren't true And he's speaking about that he's saying i am going to return with uh in the glory of my father and his angels He will no longer be veiled in other words by human flesh He will reveal his glory Later on in john 17 verse 24 jesus was praying And he said father i want those you have given me to be with me where i am and to see my glory The glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world I want them to see my glory is what he prayed I want them to see that kind of glory which is what will be revealed when he comes with With the the angels And so jesus will later on elaborate more fully about this and will give more details When we get to matthew chapter 20 24 Uh in about two years when we get there It says in verses 29 through 31 immediately after the tribulation of those days Shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light And the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn They shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet They shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other So he says i will return in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory So as christians we look forward to seeing him and here's something for you We remain openly identified with him I wonder how many of you had opportunity to watch any of the olympics Any of you watch it at all or am i the only person who did? I was blessed when a couple of divers Made a comment when they said Our identity is not in a gold medal or a silver medal They said this with a billion people watching They said our identity is in jesus christ and i said yes that is better than any silver or gold or bronze That's so much better than that just to hear them say that it spoke to my heart and said oh Thank you lord for for people who are willing to be open witnesses in front of so many people Thank you lord that they were able to give a little bit of a of an insight into what it means to actually know What it is to be a christian or even after our girls won the four by four by 400 Relay and they all Put their arms around each other and they said a prayer, you know And they did that with the four by 100 and and i watched a lot of the track And all because i enjoy track and field and and just to see them giving honor to the lord What a blessing it is don't be ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ Don't be ashamed of standing up and saying i believe in the lord jesus christ Listen, he's not ashamed of you. Why should you be ashamed of him? You know he died on a cross openly for me Why wouldn't i be open about my faith in him and there are people who is oh you shove your faith down people's throats You know, well the fact is is the world shoves its faith down my throat 24 7 I was on a i've said this before i was on a train I was in england and and and i sat next to some uh an american from the east coast and And marie and i were together we're doing ministry in london And while i was there happened to get on a train we're going Into london and this american was real friendly with seated next to me and and visiting with me and and a woman a young woman And as we were speaking she said i said what are you doing in england and she says oh and she's telling me She's on a tour and this and that and she just starts telling me her story She says oh i sing dirty bar songs. That's what i do for a living. That's what she told me I i sing dirty it's the word she used was body b a w d y body in dirty songs And and i'm just sitting there i'm not saying a word you know i don't want her to sing any to me But she's singing you know she's telling about that's what she does she goes i go to bars and i sing nasty songs I didn't say a word and she just goes on she's from massachusetts and she's telling me her story and how she got I mean it took several minutes and i'm just i'm just politely listening and smiling at her Whatever and and then she says and what do you do? I i i said uh I said i'm a pastor She looks at me this is The truth she looks at me. She says i don't like people shoving their faith down my throat. I hadn't said a word I hadn't said a word I just been listening to her I hadn't said a thing You know she was too busy singing her dirty songs. I don't know. I was i'm just I didn't say a word I And I said excuse me She goes i don't like it when christians shove their their their there's message down my throat and I smiled at and I said But it's okay for you to shove yours down mine And she goes i haven't shoved i said oh she goes when does my message get shoved down your throat? I said every time I turn on a tv Every time I go to the store and there's a magazine or a newspaper article Every time I turn on a radio or I look at a billboard Your message is shoved down my throat every moment of the day Your message is shoved down my throat and I find it interesting that you think that because I said i'm a pastor That i'm shoving my message down your throat No, your message is 24 seven on every channel. I've asked the question before of the church. Who is the greatest evangelist? And uh name them two or three name and and and our church on occasion, you know, we'll say uh billy graham You know louise palau, you know greg lori, you know great evangelists every one of them And i'll say they are not the greatest evangelists and then people well Who is now they're wanting to go into history, you know billy sunday or whatever mortacai ham You know different charles spurnier spurgens d l moody's they begin to think well Who could possibly have been the great and i'll say nbc cbs abc That is the greatest evangelistic television programs. You will see because 24 Seven that message is shoved down your throat 24 seven And so the bottom line is is we need to just realize Do not be ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ Because the lord can use you to reach people who will not hear this message Any other way and so no don't be ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ It's the power of god into salvation to anyone who believes to the jew first and also to the gentile Just remain faithful to that and and share the good news of the gospel of jesus christ You see we look forward to being with him We look forward to spending eternity with the lord jesus christ It's like a bride awaiting the bridegroom And jesus said in mark chapter 8 first 38 If 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's glory with the holy angels I don't want to be shrinking back the word ashamed means to shrink back I don't want to be somebody who shrinks back from the testimony of christ so you see we love him and Our anticipation of being with him provokes us to a variety of things including perseverance You see when you hold fast to him when you abide in him the sense of i want to be with him the longing to remain faithful to him We actually have a a sense of security in christ that is produced It's like what it says in first john chapter 2 verse 28 where john said now dear children Continue in him so that when he appears We may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming So when we truly anticipate his return Something happens in the way that we live Paul said in titus 2 verses 11 through 14 The grace of god that brings salvation has appeared to all men It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age While we wait for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people That are his very own eager to do what is good if i really really believe That jesus is returning how then should i be living well, paul would say in anticipation Expectation he could come at any moment and thus we ought to be prepared at any moment In first john in chapter 3 verses 2 and 3 john said it like this john said dear friends now We are children of god and what we will be has not yet been made known But we know that when he appears We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is He goes on to say everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself Just as he is pure If you believe that the lord is returning how then should you live You should live even as if he's at the door My dad and mom went on vacation Left me My brother was in the service And my two sisters were young so they went with mom and dad on vacation I was left alone in the house. I was about 19 They drove out on a saturday Or so saturday I think it was Monday I began having a party Had a two-day party Didn't stop I had friends who dropped Wine on their brand new rug and it was just it was just like It was I don't even we were really crazy kids and so I went it was into the second or third. I can't remember anymore. It's been so long But I do remember it may have been into the third day When I was in the in the kitchen at my parents house And we'd been drinking and all without glorifying that that's what we were doing When the door in the in the back door opens up and my sister madeline comes running into the house I wasn't expecting to see her. They were supposed to be gone for another couple days She comes running in and she says dad is mad I can imagine why so I had a friend of mine named l And some of you are too young to understand this and that's a good thing I'd say but there was a drug that used to be taken for him the drug of choice was reds Reds were downers So if you took several reds you will walk around just all like that and that was his drug of choice He used to drop a lot of downers reds And so he was really loopy and and he was there at the kitchen table with me and he was so wiped down So I got everybody and I shoved them out the front door because my parents were coming in the back door And I had them out. I said get out get out get out as fast as you can So I took out because I was just all wasted and I picked him off the off the chair and I directed him to the door And I threw him out 20 seconds later he came in the back door Through him out a second time and then my dad comes in Listen, I know the difference between anticipating with joy And when someone comes unexpectedly And the lord used that in my life a long time ago. He said to me, how do you want to see my return? And you're doing right when you're doing well You want someone to catch you doing good You want someone to walk and say well done. Oh man But when you're not doing well and they catch you at that's a different thing entirely So how am I living? Am I living in anticipation for the return of christ so that when he comes at any moment I can be ready now Does that mean that every moment of the day 24 7 every day of the week every day of the month every day of the year That i'm just mr. Holy mr. St No, I am aware of my own weaknesses And no, I don't want you to think in any way shape or form that i'm saying I'm just you know when i'm not here. I'm reading the bible until I fall asleep No, I already confessed to watching the olympics What I am saying is you live in anticipation and you refrain from anything That is going to make you not prepared And by reading the word of god you discover what those things are those things that would show that you're not prepared You see for the believer he is appearing as a time of joy But for the unbeliever it will be a time of judgment Again notice it says In verse 27 the son of man will come in the glory of his father with his angels and then he will reward each According to his works assuredly. I say to you there are some standing here Who shall not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom? So he will reward each according to his works now In romans chapter 2 verses 6 and 8 it says god will give to each person according to what he's done To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory honor and immortality He will give eternal life But for those who are self seeking And who reject the truth and follow evil there will be wrath and anger So the christian receives a reward But the reward is not salvation You see salvation is not a reward Salvation is a gift See there are those who believe that you earn your salvation But that makes salvation a work You don't receive salvation as a work You receive salvation as the gift of god in Ephesians 2 8 9 it says it is by grace That you have been saved through faith This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of god not by works so that no one can boast So you do not earn salvation Salvation is given to you as a gift Somebody said the cardinal error against which the gospel of christ has to contend Is the effect of the tendency of the human heart To rely on salvation by works The great antagonist to the truth as it is in jesus is the pride of man Which leads him to believe that he can be at least in part His own savior No, we are lost entirely in sin It is the grace of god that makes it possible for us to be saved and we're saved through faith and so We don't receive salvation as a reward But we do perform good deeds And the reason we perform good deeds or good works Is because we are saved and God graciously rewards us for doing these good works Now the one who has rejected jesus cannot perform any good works You know a lot of times people say but there's such a good person. There's none righteous. No not one There's only been one truly good person on the face of the earth And they crucified him That was jesus The rest of us are sinners in need of a savior. That's what the bible teaches An early church father said this he said good works as they are called in sinners Are nothing But splendid sins And there's truth to that So the one who rejects jesus ultimately receives judgment and in second thessalonians 1 verses 6 through 8 Paul said god is just He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you And give relief to you who are troubled and to us as well This will happen when the lord jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels He will punish those who do not know god and do not obey the gospel of our lord jesus And so he says in verse 27 he will reward each according to his works to see in the final judgment Jesus rewards them by denying them entrance into his kingdom Remember when we were in matthew 7 how that Jesus in verse 23 was speaking to those who professed to know him And he said to them i will declare to them i never knew you Depart from me you who practice lawlessness And so those who have rejected the lord jesus christ Receive judgment and punishment those who receive by grace and through faith the gift of eternal life Receive a reward because they will serve him until they come to see him And so he goes on and says in verse 28 Or surely i say to you there are some standing here who shall not taste death Till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom What is he referring to when he says that the son of man Coming in his kingdom Well the word kingdom there begin with that the word kingdom in the original language the original language here is is greek Is is the word basilia the word basilia speaks of royal splendor Royal splendor as well as a kingdom But the word basilia can mean royal splendor and therefore jesus would be speaking about coming in royal splendor To understand this you need to cross reference with luke and mark who give to us insight into the same Discussion here and when you look at luke chapter 9 verse 27 Luke records that jesus said i tell you the truth Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of god In mark chapter 9 verse 1 mark says he said to them i tell you the truth Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of god come with power Royal splendor Now jesus had just said some of you will not taste death till you see the kingdom of god So he would be speaking of an event that is about to take place that is referred to as the transfiguration You see he didn't return in their lifetime So that helps us to understand he was referring to something else And that's why you would see him move into chapter 17 and speak of the transfiguration So in verse 1 chapter 17 after six days Jesus took peter james and john his brother brought them up on a high mountain by themselves And was transfigured before them his face shown like the sun his clothes became white as light And behold moses and elisha appeared to them talking with him Then peter answered and said to jesus lord It is good for us to be here if you wish Let us make here three tabernacles one for you one for moses and one for elisha While he was still speaking behold a bright cloud overshadowed them suddenly a voice came out of the cloud Saying shut up peter no Saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased Hear him and when the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid But jesus came and touched them and said arise do not be afraid And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no one but jesus only Now as they came down from the mountain jesus commanded them saying tell the vision to no one until the son of man is risen from the dead His disciples asked him saying why then do the scribes say that elisha must come first Jesus answered and said to them elisha truly is coming first and will restore all things But i say to you that elisha has come already And they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished Likewise the son of man is about is also about to suffer at their hands The disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist jesus takes peter james and john Why did he take them Well one we know that as we go through the bible that jesus often spent time with these men They're called his inner circle And there are times that we see him spending personal time with these men We saw them with jesus with when jesus raised up gyrus's daughter You're going to see them with him again mentioned in this way on the amount of olives And you'll also see them mentioned in this fashion in the gardener getsemane And so these are men that were often with him when he did certain things But the question has to be asked why would he take these men with him at this time? Well because these men are going to provide eye witness testimony In the old testament in deuteronomy 19 verse 15 The old testament law says a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses And so these men are going to be eye witnesses of the event that is about to take place And so he takes them on a high mountain by themselves verse two says and was transfigured before them that word transfigured Speaks of being changed. It's the word that we get the word metamorphosis from It speaks of changing into another form or being transformed And so the divine majesty of jesus christ is shining through his human nature And even his clothing is listening with purity somebody said And as this is taking place as he is being Transfigured before them and this glory begins to be revealed the glory that he had already mentioned by the way about In verse 27 The son of man will come in glory of his father this glory a pre-figurement of the glory That ultimately takes place as they're seeing this take place. There's moses and there's a laitya And moses and a laitya they're talking to him Now why moses and why a laitya? Well moses in the old testament is referred to as the law giver ezra chapter seven verse six Says that ezra came up from babel and he was a teacher well versed in the law of moses Which the lord the god of israel had given so moses is known as the law giver Now ezra is also known as the defender of the law as well as being an uncompromising prophet of israel So this represents the law and the prophets the law Being moses the prophets being ezra So they sum up the law and the prophets in jesus christ And they're talking to him according to verse three Now luke 931 says they spoke of his decease Which he should accomplish at jerusalem So they're confirming what jesus had been saying to his disciples about his death So as this is taking place verse four peter answered and said to jesus lord It's good for us to be here if you wish let us make here three tabernacles One for you one for moses and one for a laitya Let us make three tents You can stay here and we can remain here in this mountaintop experience and If you do so then you don't have to go down and you don't have to die And once again the apostle a peter begins to fill the silence with the sound of his own voice You know sometimes the wisest thing to do is to simply remain quiet In proverbs 17 28 it says even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace When he shuts his lips. He is considered perceptive. It's true You know if you're ever in the situation where There's a lot of argumentation going on and people are trying to make their point and and you sit there quietly and you don't respond They talk themselves out eventually And then they'll look at you and they'll say well, what do you say? And then at that point you can say I want a pizza or you can you can You can say whatever's on your mind You know, I go to a lot of meetings and and i'm i'm always the one who doesn't say anything I'm always the one who just kind of Listens to everything and it gives you an opportunity to hear every side And then it gives you an opportunity to condense that and produce Perhaps a solution and so it's just wise to remain quiet and sometimes Well, we need to do that peter should learn that and i'll show you this in just a moment You see Moses and elijah had to leave Because jesus would remain preeminent when they left And so as I looked at this I I came up with at least three basic things that I could learn that will help me in my walk with god Now one I want you to notice this when he says in verse four Let us make here three tabernacles we want to preserve this spiritual experience We don't want to move from this experience to anything else We want to remain here. We want to camp out if you will On this particular in this particular experience And so the first thing you learn from the apostle peter is do not camp out on spiritual experiences Because god's intention is to develop growth in us I've heard people give testimony of how the lord met them in a certain place and there are times When we have set up what we would call stones of remembrance When the children of israel were crossing into the promised land they were to put up stones of remembrance so that In the future when The jewish children would see these stones that were placed by the tribes They could ask their father. What do these things mean? And then the father could rehearse to the children This is how god moved and this is how god gave us this land And in our lives, of course, we have what are called stones of remembrance There are places where the lord met you in a very special way Whether it was when you first got saved and you were in a bible study and god gave you A nugget of truth that you've built your life around Whether it was a prayer that you had and said god Please would you help me with this and and god broke through and gave you Some some supernatural revelation of some sort where your prayer was answered and depth occurred I mean, we all have stones of remembrance When you leave if you haven't gone to the northern wing here in our foyer and you look at our timeline You can see that there are actual stones of remembrance in the form of pictures Where you look at adam and and I walked Some of the young ladies in our church just the other day We were walking through and I was walking through and and they happened to be there and I stopped and they said Oh, we hadn't even noticed if we never come in this direction And I said, yeah, let me walk you through and I started walking him through that timeline And I said you see that woman there teaching Sunday school And there's this young woman speaking teaching at Sunday school. They said, yeah, that's my wife Marie I see that little boy there closest to the camera there and that little girl next to him Yeah, that's my son David and that's his cousin charity I said see that hippie guy with the curly hair That's me when I used and so I walked her through those are called stones of remembrance And you walk through and I walked them through I said that's our first church building that we rented There's the first house that we met in for bible study. That's the school we used to meet in and and I walked him through Those are and that's okay, but don't camp out there Don't camp out there We cannot always say the good old days because the best is yet to come God wants to do more abundantly more than we could ask or think But if we think that God has already passed by that the cloud of glory has already moved on it hasn't God wants to continue doing worse. That's why I keep on praying that God will raise up the youth And and move them forward until Jesus returns because for such a time as this some of you are being raised up You just don't know it yet You think that these days are worse and we had bad days when I was growing up. Yeah, that's true We had race riots in newark, Detroit, chicago, watts We had some tough times. We had assassinations We had john f kennedy killed robert f kennedy killed martin luther king jr. Killed We had people killed in kent state by by by uh Military personnel we had the vietnam war We had an invasion of music and philosophy that that just changed the entire society that we lived in We went through one thing after another after another so that finally time magazine Actually had an article that said is god dead and a few years later. It said the jesus revolution See god isn't stopped. He hasn't stopped moving god wants to continue moving and i'd like to say to you young people You younger people listen. What does god want to do in you? Don't camp out on the past but look to the future and see what god will do Because I started this church as a home bible study with a handful of people and i'm no different than you God wants to use you. Amen. God wants to use you to do works for jesus christ. Don't forget it There's nothing nothing unique about me or any of the guys that you may know Nothing unique other than one thing we heard god say move and we did and we do not camp out on the past My pastor chuck taught us. He says I um I tip my hat to the past But I take my jacket off for the future And that's what the lord has called us to do and so one do not camp out on past spirit spiritual experiences In second chrithians 3 18 We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord are changed into the same image from glory To glory even as by the spirit of the lord god wants to move you and move you and move you on into deepness Secondly Learn to do god's will and not your own Because peter is still trying to substitute his plan for god's plans Jesus he says allow us to build three Shelters so you can remain here and you will not have to die Is missing the point Moses and Elijah must leave So that jesus remains preeminent and then third I already mentioned this but i'll say it again Think before you speak Sometimes the mouth is in gear before the brain Kicks in And you will say things i've said things god knows i've said a lot worse things than you have God knows that You know james says a man offends with the tongue. It's a little it's a little member But it can set off a great fire And there's no doubt about it. There have been things that you've said and i have said That you didn't intend to say it that way and it came out that way Maybe i'm the only one and and you've heard somebody's feelings You've heard and you didn't mean to you were trying to comfort them You were trying to say something to them That would encourage them. You just didn't do it right. I've done that so many times so many times learn The think before you speak Learn to listen Marie has a miscarriage See marie had my wife marie had five pregnancies in six years and She had a miscarriage And there are those who would say Don't worry about it. God will give you another child That isn't the right thing to say when someone's mourning the loss of that child It's kind of like when when job. I've heard this said job had his children all die at the beginning of the book of job all of his kids at one time And then at the end The lord gives him children And i've heard people say see he he replaced no No, you never replace a lost child You never replace a lost child Ever that child is always going to be your lost child Now that doesn't mean that you don't take comfort in knowing that that baby's with jesus That doesn't mean that at all, but that does not remove the pain of the loss Of that child it never does So we need to learn that sometimes the best thing we can do is listen And weep with those who weep And not be so quick to be facebook police You know what i'm saying Somebody says i'm feeling down and before you know it you got 15 posts telling you why you shouldn't feel down Listen if i can't tell you i'm not feeling good today. Who can i tell besides jesus? I should tell him first and not tell you i guess i don't know But sometimes the best thing you can do is simply say praying for you Sometimes it's the best thing praying for you Don't understand praying for you And that's the kind of person that i gravitate to Because they're not trying to advise me They're trying to suffer with me Weep with those who weep all said to the romans, right? So we need to learn Sometimes that silence is golden And sometimes it's the best thing There's a psalm psalm 141 verse 3 that says this set a guard, oh lord over my mouth Keep watch over the door of my lips Proverbs 21 23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity And that's true So you learn these things from the apostle peter who's so moved by the experience That he begins to blurt things out that really circumvent the will of god Well, it says in verse 5 while he was still speaking behold a bright cloud over shadowed them and Suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well, please hear him Now luke tells us in chapter 9 verse 34 that they feared as they entered into the cloud This cloud we know represents the the glory of god. It's been referred to as the shekinah Glory of god. I used to think it was chicano glory. No, it's shekinah glory And it says That the voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son notice in whom i'm well pleased I'm well pleased so god is declaring his approval Of everything jesus has done and everything that jesus has said But notice also he says hear him Now when he says hear him, that's another way of saying obey him Hear him is another way of saying not just listen to what he's saying But do what he says I've said this to you before i'll say it again the hebrus and the greeks The jew and the gentile The gentile believed that the accumulation of information The accumulation of information was education So the more i knew the more educated i was The jews would say it's not just the accumulation of information It's the accumulation of information that produces transformation The jew would say you don't really know something until you do it And i well obviously we're christians. That's what he's teaching us It's not that i can repeat bible verses Is that i'm learning those bible verses by obeying them So the lord is saying this is my beloved son i'm very pleased Hear him He's saying listen to what he says and do what he commands If there is anything the church needs to remember today or perhaps even be taught Because this isn't the only church. I mean there's thousands and thousands of churches throughout the united states and into the world If the church in general needs to learn anything right now It has to learn to obey what the lord says Because we have quite a number who profess the lord with their lips But haven't enshrined him in their hearts They're able to talk about things But they're not walking those things and so what the lord is saying here is more than just listen to what he's saying I'm well pleased with him everything he's done and everything he said I am well pleased with but you need he's saying You need to hear him. You need to obey him Jesus and john 14 verse 15 said it like this. He said if you love me keep my commandments In first john 5 3 it says this is the love of god that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome Listen, oh, it's so hard to follow jesus. Well john says uh-uh his commandments are not grievous his commandments are not burdensome His commandments are light Because when god says do this or don't do that that it gives me a great comfort to know that my father knows exactly What it is that i need and he's saying this is the answer to your prayer. You've been asking about this. Here's your answer How many times i've spoken to young women who say i want to date this guy It doesn't know jesus, but i can lead him to christ So they become missionaries missionary dating No It's easier for you to pull me off of this platform than for me to pull you onto it You know, no, no, what is what is what in common does light have with darkness? What in common does sweet have with bitter? What do i see in an unbeliever that is more attractive Than what i see in a person who loves christ and that reveals where my heart really is Because if i'm attracted to sinfulness i'm revealing my own sinful nature But pastor you don't know what a hunky is Well, you know that guy's big old chest It's going to become his belly I've been around a long time I've seen those chests turn into bellies I tell you this all the time. I'll say he is stupid. I all of you have heard this. Some of you haven't that's why I say it You know the girl's getting those little stamps. There's a little tattoos on their back They put the little hummingbird a little hummingbird on their back. It's going to turn into a vulture And they're walking it So we need to be careful You know the word of the lord is very pure And the word of the lord directs our footsteps we need to understand that the power of the holy spirit Gives us the ability to perform that which our heart desires, but our flesh doesn't allow Keep that in mind And so we need to understand that his commandments are not grievous and not burdensome And the lord would have us to do what he says obey him. How do we know his word? How would you know what he's telling us read your bibles read them daily And ask god give me insight and I will do those things that you're teaching me So as this is taking place we'll roll up to the conclusion verse 6 where he goes His disciples heard it. They fell on their faces were greatly afraid Jesus came and touched them and said arise. Don't be afraid And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only now As they came down from the mount and Jesus commanded them saying Television to no one until the son of man is risen from the dead His disciples asked him saying why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first Jesus answered and said to them Elijah truly is coming first and will restore all things But I say to you that Elijah has come already and they didn't know him But did to him whatever they wished Likewise, the son of man is also about to suffer at their hands Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist And so in verses 6 through 8 where they were afraid their faces were touching the ground and all That's the most natural reaction When you encounter something that is powerful and pure like that You are immediately made aware of your own sinfulness. That's what happens You don't puff yourself up and think oh look at how wonderful I am that god is showing me no it humbles you It's the exact opposite of what takes place Sometimes you'll see people who say oh I speak to the lord and god speak to me every day and this and that listen if If the lord ministers in a way like this the natural reaction is going to be on your face before the lord And it takes jesus to come and comfort you and that's what he does Now as this is taking place And he says to them Not to tell anybody verse 9 Tell the vision to no one until the son of man is risen from the dead When you add marks inside it helps you because in mark chapter 9 verses 9 and 10 It said as they came down from the mountain He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen until the son of man were risen from the dead And they kept that saying with themselves Questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean they still didn't understand And so they were still discussing amongst themselves. What does he mean? But they went into that question. Well, what about the scribe saying that elisha must come first You see malachi prophesied that in malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6 Where it says i'm going to send you elisha the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the lord He will restore the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers Lest I come and smite land with the curse So jesus acknowledges that elisha literally comes in the future But he says one already has come in the role of elisha and he had mentioned that earlier and you see that in verse 13 When it says then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of john the baptist Because jesus had already made reference to that in matthew chapter 11 verses 11 through 14 The son of man is about to suffer at their hands They rejected john And he died Even so They will reject jesus and they will kill him also And they understood to a degree a little bit more when they began to put the pieces together May the lord help us To hear him Listen not a single one of us in this room has a better plan for our life than god has for it Keep that in mind Keep that in mind If i if i'd have gone through with the plans for my own life That i had for myself I'd be retiring from driving a truck in san luso bispo Because that was the plan for my life. I wanted to move to san luso bispo Drive a bread truck Raise a family And retire someday God's plans were better than mine And god's plans for you Are better than the ones you've planned for yourself The best thing you can learn Remain in the center of his will and watch what god will do At one day you'll turn around and you'll see all the wonderful things that jesus did in your life And you'll go oh god your plans were so much better than mine Thank you lord Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your spirit. Thank you for your word and thank you that you're coming again I will be prepared so that when you come I want to hear those words Well done my faithful faithful servant