“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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