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is no authority nor any man on earth who can send Him to the cross to die unless He wants to go there. That was His will, His plan, His purpose as the God/Man - to die for us and to take up His life again. This is God’s Son who died, not because others forced death upon Him, but because He wanted to die under His own volition - to pay for our sin. This is how much He loved us. So, it’s good to be here to prepare us for Jesus’ death during Lent.3) And that’s what gives us the hope of heaven for only His death could cleanse us of sin and open heaven to us. So, it’s good to be here to see a prelude to glory that gives us hope. Think of it. What happened here is only a fraction of what you, in faith, shall see in its fullest extent when you reach heaven. There divine glory will set you free from all of this life’s sorrows. You see, the real hope for the poor in this world does not lie in a higher, guaranteed wage. The real hope for the sick in this world does not lie in health care coverage for all. The real hope for all does not lie in a solvent social security system where the government promises to give you everything you need. True hope lies beyond this world. When Moses and Elijah appeared on that mountain with Jesus, their presence was testimony to the fact that this present world is not the only home we have. Both of them had been gone hundreds and hundreds of years before this. That ought to make us stop and think that the 70, 80, or maybe 90 years that we live on earth is but a drop in the bucket compared to the eternity that awaits us in the next world. The only lasting hope for those who are poor or rich, sick or healthy, blind or seeing, deaf or hearing, young or old – the only real hope for people of all races, colors and classes lies in this:- that Jesus is God;- that He suffered and died to pay for your sin;- that because of these truths you have the assurance that when you die, you have the certain hope of seeing what we saw that day and much, much more. Believe it! This was a prelude to glory. Its fullness goes far beyond this and lasts forever. How good it will be to be there! God grant it to us all in faith for Jesus’ sake. Amen.The 8th Sunday after Epiphany: Transfiguration March 3, 2019Text: Luke 9:28-36 ILCW Series C 19:2111Theme: It’s Good To Be Here! We were all mixed up. When Jesus asked us, “Who do you say that I am?” we answered with sure conviction: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Savior Himself!” Jesus told us, “Blessed are you for it was God Himself who revealed this to you.” Our hearts swelled with joy, for if Jesus were truly God’s Son, surely our troubles would be over. Soon He would drive out the hated Romans and make Himself our king. But the next minute Jesus dashed our hopes to the ground. “I am going to Jerusalem to suffer many things,” He said. “I will be arrested, rejected by the Jewish leaders and killed. But on the third day I will be raised again to life.”Imagine the shock these words struck in us. How could the Son of God be killed? Who would save our Jewish nation if Jesus died?“This can’t happen to you!” Peter protested. Jesus turned and sharply rebuked Peter, “Get away from me, for you are speaking the words of Satan!”We were confused. What should we think? The things Jesus said must happen were unthinkable. Maybe we were mistaken as to who He was. Have you been confused, filled with doubt, when things did not go the way you thought God would have them go in your lives?Even though we kept such thoughts to ourselves, Jesus knew what we were thinking, just like He knows every second what you are thinking. He saw confusion; He saw doubt; He saw troubled hearts and knew we needed help. So, 8 days later he took us to a mountain in Galilee. Leaving 9 of the apostles at the foot of the mountain to minister to those looking for Him, He took Peter, James, and John with Him to the top of the mountain to pray. It was evening and darkness descended. Alone on the mountain top, they knelt in prayer. They prayed a long time, but the 3 disciples could not stay awake. Drawing their outer cloaks around them, they fell asleep. Jesus, however, prayed on to His Father. Suddenly, they were awakened, halfway blinded by an other-worldly dazzling light. It emanated from Jesus as though it were shining through Him, from inside out. His clothing was dazzling white. His face changed and took on the brilliance of heaven. And Jesus was not alone. Nobody else had been with them as He began to pray. But now two figures stood beside Jesus, talking with Him. We had never seen them before, but we knew right away that we were gazing at 2 great prophets who lived hundreds and hundreds of years before. One was Moses, the man known as God’s friend, the one whom the Bible says: “God knew face to face” (Dt.34:10). The other was Elijah, the prophet sent to turn the hearts of the people back to God. H did not die but was carried to heaven in a whirlwind, a fiery chariot, and celestial horsemen. I have no idea how we knew who these men were, except there is a Bible passage which says in the life after this, “We shall be known even as we are fully known (1Co.13). Why had these two come from the land beyond the grave?We listened intently to their talk. They discussed Jesus’ “exodus.” Exodus? That word is used to describe how God delivered His O.T. people from their time of slavery, taking them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Exodus means “road out” and these men were applying it to the very things Jesus told us only a week before this. He would go to Jerusalem, be rejected, killed, and raised again to life. It was all beyond us, the talk, the implications, the aura of heaven. It made us tremble with excitement and anticipation. What a grand thing this was! But it looked like the two men were leaving and we didn’t want them to go. Peter blurted out, “Master, it’s good that we are here! It’s so beautiful! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” I’m not sure that Peter really knew what he was saying. How does one put heavenly existence like this, that is meant for eternity, into a temporary shelter on earth? That doesn’t make sense, nor does it seem right. But we humans can come up with such simple thoughts.Jesus didn’t say a thing. But suddenly a thick cloud surrounded us on top of the mountain. It frightened us. Then a voice spoke from deep within the cloud: “This is my Son whom I have chosen; listen to Him!” And then it was all gone. We had fallen in fear with our faces to the ground. When we looked up there was only Jesus, in the way we normally saw Him. We never told anybody about this at the time, but much later, after Jesus ascended to heaven, we let it be known what we had witnessed on that mountain.That wonderful glimpse of the heavenly glory of Jesus lasted only a few moments. But we did not forget what we had seen, and during the dark days of Jesus’ suffering and death that followed, we were strengthened by the memory of the glory that belongs to Jesus. Had we not seen that, I’m not sure how we would have made it through Jesus’ Passion. We had a most difficult time as it was. But this sight,this wondrous sight stuck with us.You see, we needed a reference point, something to hold us firmly in place and keep us from getting swept off our feet in unbelief by the great force of doubt that would be thrown at us when we saw Jesus dying on the cross. It was good to be here for several reasons.1) It was good to be here to see proof of Jesus’ deity. This was undeniable proof of whom Jesus really was. Before this we heard His preaching and we saw His miracles. But now we were eye witnesses of His divine being as the holy, almighty, and eternal Son of God. If Lent with its message of Jesus’ suffering and death was to mean anything, this truth of His deity must be clear to us first of all. For if Jesus is not God, we have no Savior and no hope. Outside of His resurrection, this is the grandest of miracles that Jesus ever performed here on earth. By this miracle of His Transfiguration no hungry people were fed, no sick person was healed, and no needy or poor person was helped. It did nothing for anyone, except it gave us, and now you, a glimpse, just a tiny glimpse of the Savior’s glory as true God. And that is hugely important! When you see through our eyes the Savior’s face shining as brightly as the sun and with His clothes whiter than all the bleach on earth could ever make them, you ought to come away with the firm conviction that this is your Lord and God. This is fact. To that end Peter later wrote: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty…For He received honor and glory from God the Father…We ourselves heard it when we were with Him on the sacred mountain” (2Pt.1:16f). It’s good to be here to see proof of Jesus’ deity. This is your Lord and God! Now you are prepared to understand the message of Lent.2) It’s good to be here to be prepared for His death. That would be His “exodus” that He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Some refer to that exodus as His “decease” (KJV). Now that’s an interesting way to put it because we do not ordinarily talk about a man accomplishing His death. If we were talking that way about an ordinary human being, it would almost sound like a man was planning suicide. But in light of the Transfiguration, it makes sense. When we see Jesus here with His face shining brightly as though it were the sun itself, it’s clear that this has got to be God and that there ................
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