“OUR INCREBIBLE, YET APPROACHABLE SAVIOR #5-THE …



“OUR INCREBIBLE, YET APPROACHABLE SAVIOR #5-THE VOICE ABOVE ALL VOICES”

LUKE 9:28-36

INTRO: There are many voices in our world today demanding our attention.

Judaism invites, “Hear and obey the Law of Moses.” Islam says,

“Search the Koran and hear and obey the teachings of Muhammad.”

Buddhists invite you to meditate to find peace and fulfillment in life.

Spiritists ask to you levitate to achieve peace and harmony. The palm

reader asks to see you hand so he or she can give you the direction,

guidance, and answers in life you are seeking. The Televangelist

pleads, “give me your money and God will give you health, wealth and

prosperity.” Your neighbor consults the stars so he or she will know

how their day will be ordered. The agnostic says, “No one can know.”

The hedonist declares, “I don’t care to know.” The atheist says, “there

is nothing to know.” To the uniformed and unregenerated these

voices are not only conflicting, but confusing as well. “Where do I go?

Whom do I listen to?”

But when we turn to the Scripture we find THE VOICE ABOVE ALL

VOICES! It’s the voice that gives us hope, courage, and guidance for

our lives. It is the voice which declares, “I am come that they might

have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John

10:10b). THE VOICE ABOVE ALL VOICES is the one single voice

which is the right voice for us to listen to! In Luke 9:35 we read,

“And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved

Son: hear him.” The saints are bidden to turn from every human

teacher, even those as revered as Moses and Elias, to listen to our

Lord. To hear Him will lead from error and sin into truth,

righteousness and fitness for heaven. (B. W. Johnson, The People’s

New Testament). We are to hear his voice “reverentially, implicitly,

alone.) (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary).

Hannah Whitall Smith in The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life wrote:

“I lay it down as a foundation principle, which no one can gainsay,

that of course [God's] voice will always be in harmony with itself, no

matter in how many different ways he may speak. The voices may be

many, the message can be but one, if God tells me in one voice to do

or to leave undone anything he cannot possibly tell me the opposite

in another voice. If there is a contradiction in the voices, the speakers

cannot be the same. Therefore my rule for distinguishing the voice of

God would be to bring it to the test of this harmony.” -- Hannah

Whitall Smith in The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. Christianity

Today, Vol. 37, no. 10. In Proverbs 8:33-34 we read, “Hear

instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that

heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my

doors.” Matthew Henry wrote: “Surely we should hearken to Christ's

voice with the readiness of children. Let us all be wise, and not refuse

such mercy. Blessed are those who hear the Saviour's voice, and wait

on him with daily reading, meditation, and prayer. The children of

the world find time for vain amusements, without neglecting what

they deem the one thing needful. Does it not show contempt of

Wisdom's instructions, when people professing godliness, seek

excuses for neglecting the means of grace? Christ is Wisdom, and he

is Life to all believers; nor can we obtain God's favour, unless we find

Christ, and are found in him.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise

Commentary).

In the verses before us today, we see the transfiguration of Our Lord

Jesus. I want you to remember that this event occurs shortly after

Peter’s bold declaration of who Jesus is, “The Christ of God” (v20).

Jesus and His disciples were in the northern part of Galilee, near

Caesarea Philippi. They had gone atop a high mountain there,

perhaps Mt. Hermon, which is the tallest mountain in the area, to

pray. It is upon this mountain that God tells us whose voice we

should be listening to. Notice two things with me this morning as

we consider the subject, “The Voice Above All Voices.” First…

(1) LET US HEAR THE VOICE OF THE REDEEMER

LUKE 9:34-35—“While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and

overshadowed them: and they feared as they

entered into the cloud. And there came a voice

out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son:

hear him.”

*The Voice of the Redeemer is:

A. THE VOICE OF COMPASSION. The voice of Christ is the only voice

that will suffice in our lives. In Luke 9:20 Peter gives us a bold

declaration of who Jesus is and what He will do for fallen man. Peter

declares thou art, “The Christ of God.” Jesus is the Son of God who will

forgive mankind of sin by His death on Calvary’s Cross. Hear the

words of compassion from the lips of our Savior in Luke 9:22—“The

Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and

chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.”

These words of Jesus not only served as a confirmation of the Scripture

but also the showed forth the compassion of the Savior. Note the words

“The Son of man must…”. It was a divine necessity, a divine imperative.

It is strong; it means a constraint, an imperative, a necessity was laid

upon Him. He had no choice. His death and resurrection had been

planned and willed by God through all eternity. The prophets had so

predicted. He must fulfill the will of God, for God had ordained His

death (Preacher’s Outline And Sermon Bible, New Testament, Volume 4.

Luke Commentary). What was it that caused Jesus to suffer, face

rejection and mockery from the hands of evil men and finally lay down

His life on the Cross for sinful man? Was it not His great compassion

and love for us? In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, “I am crucified with

Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life

which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who

loved me, and gave himself for me.” And in 1 John 3:16 we read,

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for

us…”.

ILLUS: A Christian from China was giving his testimony and he said,

"I had slipped into a great ditch and the ditch was sin."

Buddha came along and said, "Come up half way and I will

lift you up." Muhammad came along and said, "Here are five

pillars that will get you out." But I couldn't get up those five

pillars. Confucius came along and said, "You're not really in

that ditch, you just think you're in that hole." But I was still

there in the ditch of sin. Then Jesus came by and saw my

predicament. He didn't say a word but laid aside his regal

robes and got down in the ditch along with the sin and the

mire and he lifted me out of it by his grace. The difference

was his love and who he was! He was who was God was

willing to come down to my level in order to lift me out of sin.

B. THE VOICE OF COMFORT. When we discover Jesus’ voice as our sole

director in life, we find that His voice gives comfort, guidance,

forgiveness, direction, and help. His voice provides us wisdom,

contentment and peace. It is only the Lord’s voice that can calm the

restless waves and raging storms in our souls. Hear him as He invites

in Matthew 11:28-30—“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” His voice can bring us

comfort even in our darkest of hours.

ILLUS: Tommy Dorsey is known as the Father of Gospel Music. He had

enjoyed a career as a successful Jazz musician but his life fell

apart. After taking some time off from music he surrendered his

talents to be used for the Lord. In 1931, just as he was coming

to the peak of his success he and his new wife were overjoyed

to learn that she was due to have a baby. It was almost time for

the baby to be born when he left his apartment in Chicago early

one morning while she slept to go play at a series of meetings in

St. Louis. That evening when he finished playing as he came

down from the platform a boy brought him a telegram with only

four words on it, "Your wife is dead." He rushed to a phone and

all he could hear on the other end was "Nettie is dead. Nettie is

dead." When he got back, he learned that Nettie had given birth

to a boy. He swung between grief and joy. Yet that night, the

baby died.

Tommy Dorsey buried Nettie and their little boy together, in the

same casket.

And then he fell apart. For days he closeted himself. He felt that

God had done him an injustice. He didn't want to serve God

any more or write gospel songs. He just wanted to go back to

that jazz world he once knew so well. And then a friend led him

to a piano, as he lay his hands upon the keys something

happened to him. He felt at peace as though he could reach out

and touch God. He found himself playing a melody, it just

seemed to fall into place along with the Lyrics

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand,

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn,

Through the storm, through the night

Lead me on to the light,

Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

As the Lord gave him the words and melody, He also healed

Tommy's spirit. He later wrote, "I learned that when we are in

our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when

He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring

power."

(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications,

Swanlake@jam. August 25, 2003)

The hymn writer wrote:

He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me

Sometime when misgivings darken the day

And faith's light I cannot see

I ask my dear Lord to brighten the way

He whispers sweet peace to me (to me)

Chorus:

He whispers sweet peace to me (yes He whispers to me)

He whispers sweet peace to me (He whispers sweet peace to me)

When I am cast down in spirit and soul

He whispers sweet peace to me (to me)

-- Words and music: Will W. Slater (1937)

Lead: Charles Davis--

Only the voice of our Redeemer is THE VOICE OF COMPASSION and THE VOICE OF COMFORT. But there are other voices out there which echo, “LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN TO ME!” But these voices only lead to confusion and chaos…

(2) LET US NOT HEED THE VOICES OF RUIN

LUKE 9:23-26—“And he said to them all, If any man will come after

me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross

daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his

life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life

for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a

man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and

lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever

shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him

shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall

come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of

the holy angels.”

*The voices of ruin tend to divert our attention away from the Lord’s best for us

and also to lessen our affection for the Lord. Let us look at some of these

voices which only lead to confusion and ruin in our lives when we allow them

to override THE VOICE ABOVE ALL VOICES…

A. THE VOICE OF SELFISHNESS. Selfishness is an idea which is foreign to

the Christian life. Selfishness is a terror to our lives. Jesus said in Luke

9:23—“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself…”. This

involves as John Welsey wrote denying “His own will, in all things

small and great, however pleasing, and that continually” (John Wesley’s

Explanatory Notes). Why? Because selfishness doesn’t satisfy. It never

ends. It takes more and more to feed it insatiable appetite. The voice of

selfishness says, “feed your passion, focus on your person, fulfill your

priorities.” The voice of the Redeemer tells a man to “to deny himself…”.

Friend, the Christian life is not a life of self-advancement but self-

abasement. Let me ask you today what motivates you to serve God? Is it

glory of self or for the glory of the Savior?

ILLUS: How oft have you sought some reward for a task you said was "for

the Lord?" How oft have you felt a stinging slight and felt that you

were not treated right? How oft have you said "I quit, I am through.

Nobody says 'thanks' for the things I do." How oft have you felt the

precious thrill that comes from just being in His will? How oft did

you count earth's glory dim compared to the joy of serving Him?

What is it your heart has longed for? Does praise of men or His

smile mean more?

The Lord Jesus said in Luke 9:24—“For whosoever will save his life shall

lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

The voice of selfishness does not bring fulfillment, peace or direction in

life. Someone remarked to the director of a mental institution, "I imagine

all the people in here are 'beside' themselves." "No, you're wrong," the

doctor replied. "They're shut in here, not because they're 'beside'

themselves, but because they're 'inside' themselves. They think of nothing

else but self." When preoccupation with self becomes your problem, you

become a problem for the world and to God Himself.

LET US NOT HEED THE VOICE OF SELFISHNESS, and let us not heed…

B. THE VOICE OF “STUFF”. The voice of the Lord says in Luke 9:25—“For

what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or

be cast away?” Materialism has become the bane of modern day

society! Can you not hear the voices of “stuff” in our world today,

“Buy me! I will make you happy. Drive me home and you will be a better

person. Get that job promotion and people will see how great you really

are! Get a bigger house so you can improve your social status!” STUFF!

STUFF! and MORE STUFF! Listen to the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes

2:4-11—“I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards:

I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of

fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth

forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my

house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that

were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the

peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I got me men singers and

women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments,

and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were

before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And

whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart

from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion

of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought,

and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and

vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”

ILLUS: If there is one message that comes to us in ten thousand

seductive voices, it's the message of our country and our century

that life does consist of things. You can see it on a hundred

billboards as you drive down the highway. It is the message from

the sponsor on television. It is sung to you in jingles on radio. It is

blared at you in four-color ads in the newspapers. We're like the

donkey that has the carrot extended before it on a stick. The

donkey sees the carrot and wants it, so the donkey moves toward

it, but the carrot moves, too. The carrot is always there, promising

to fill the appetite. But what it promises, it does not deliver. –

Haddon Robinson, "A Good Lesson from a Bad Example,"

Preaching Today, Tape No. 56.

The voice of “stuff” has not only permeated society but also it has invaded

the sanctuary of God.

ILLUS: THE BUILDING MANIA

by Dave Miller

The emphasis in the church today upon fashionable church

buildings is a clear indication of liberalism. The church in the

last century reached a point where there was a decided trend

toward extravagance in the construction of large, cathedral-like

church buildings. Benjamin Franklin called them "temples," "a

display of unchristian opulence," and an "appeal to the lust of the

flesh and the pride of life" (ELDER BEN FRANKLIN: EYE OF THE

STORM, Earl West, pp. 290-292). He was on dead center. We are

lusting after the very thing which we long ago observed and

exposed in Catholicism as misplaced religious zeal and off-base

dedication.

No matter how loudly we shout our supposed justifications; no

matter how strongly we brand those who challenge our practice as

"jealous," or "content with smallness," or "anti-church buildings,"

we will stand before God and give an account for the way His

money has been spent. No one questions the latitude implicit in

Bible teaching which makes room for individual judgment

regarding the expense of our facilities. However, God's Word

clearly opposes the extreme lengths to which some are going to

surround themselves with extravagance and luxury.

The cathedrals and religious "malls" being constructed by some

churches today are deliberately calculated to impress and awe the

human mind. They are purposely designed to seduce and lure

people. The construction of gymnasiums and "family life centers"

is the result of misguided efforts to address family problems and

needs through entertainment and pleasure (the social gospel).

They are mere human substitutes for what people really need to

sustain them amid life's trials and tribulations: straight-forward

confrontation with the mind of God revealed on the pages of the

Bible. If we will sit down, examine our hearts, and be honest with

ourselves, we will see that the desire for numbers and big

buildings which cost millions of dollars are nothing more than

appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride

of life (1 John 2:16). -- BULLETIN BRIEFS. Volume 2, #7, July

1999

The building is not really the Church. God's people are. Yet the Church

today spends more money for buildings than for anything else. When an

artist was asked to paint a picture of a decaying church, to everyone's

astonishment, instead of putting on canvas an old, tottering ruin, the

artist painted a stately edifice of modern grandeur. Through the open

portals could be seen the richly carved pulpit, the magnificent organ, and

the beautiful stained glass windows. To one side was an elaborately

designed offering plate for foreign missions -covered by a cobweb!

Friends, It’s time the Church got back to her primary mission, “Go ye into

all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15).

Solomon in Ecclesiastes calls the pursuit of wealth and “stuff”

meaningless, empty, and vain. It’s a voice we should not heed!

LET US NOT HEED THE VOICE OF SELFISHNESS, nor the VOICE OF

“STUFF” and finally LET US TAKE HEED IN…

C. THE VOICE OF RELATIONSHIPS. As mankind, it is very tempting for us

to fall into the trap that says, “I need friends, because that’s all that is

important in life.” Relationships are important. The family relationship,

our romantic relationships, our friendships are all important but

ultimately the voice of relationships cannot satisfy our longings nor

provide sound direction in our lives. As Psalm 118:8 tells us, “It is better

to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” In our relationships we

will receive many conflicting voices as to God’s will for our lives and His

purpose for our troubles and trials but only in the pages of God’s Word

may we find the sound direction we need. Our friends, family, and loved

ones may be well-meaning in the advice they give but we must be careful

to follow only those things which will ultimately bring glory and honor to

God. Jesus said in Matthew 10:37-38—“He that loveth father or mother

more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more

than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth

after me, is not worthy of me.” Those are some powerful and tough words!

But the point is clear: Christ must be the central priority and central voice

for our lives! The Father says in Luke 9:35—“This is my beloved Son: hear

him.” Hear him we must! HE IS THE VOICE ABOVE ALL VOICES!

CLOSING: Jesus is THE VOICE ABOVE ALL VOICES! He is the single voice

for guidance, peace, wisdom, comfort, and hope in life! No other

voice out there will speak honestly to us. But that is a hard claim

for many to swallow. Many refuse that truth. “You cross a line

with that claim. Call Jesus godly, godlike, God inspired. Call him

“a voice”; a good man but not God-man. But good man is precisely

the terminology we cannot use. A good man would not say what he

said or claim what he claimed. A liar would. Or God would. Call

him anything in between, and you have a dilemma. No one

believed that Jesus was equal with God more than Jesus did…Call

him crazy, or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud, or

declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him,

but don’t play games with him. Don’t call him a great man. Don’t

list him with decent folk. Don’t clump him with Moses, Elijah,

Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, or Confucius. He didn’t leave

that option. He is either God or godless. Heaven sent of hell born.

All hope or all hype. But nothing in between. C. S. Lewis

summarized it classically when he wrote:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus

said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a

lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or

else he would be the Devil of Hell…You can shut Him up for a fool,

you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His

feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any

patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He

has not left that open to us. He didn’t intend to.

Jesus won’t be diminished. Besides, do you want him to be? Don’t

you need a distinctive voice in your noisy world? Of course you do.

Don’t walk the midway alone. Keep your hand in his and your eyes

on him, and when he speaks: ‘Listen to Him’” (Max Lucado. Next

Door Savior. pp. 134-135). Friend, there is a VOICE ABOVE ALL

VOICES. His name is Jesus! LET US HEAR THE VOICE OF THE

REDEEMER and LET US NOT HEED THE VOICES OF RUIN. He

is calling to you today, can you hear His voice?

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