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Intro
Return to the transfiguration.
Last week we looked at how Jesus was revealed as the glorious Son of God, and how we respond to Him.
Today we will focus on the process of letting His transfiguration affect our transformation.
Pray
The two people who joined and spoke with Jesus on the mountain were indicators of how Jesus fulfilled all that was written about Him.
But they are also excellent examples of how to follow Jesus.
Some of us have been following Jesus for many years.
Some of us for less time.
But regardless of how long you have been following Jesus, following Him should never be a static experience.
We are not at our destination, so let’s keep moving!
We’ll take a high overview of the lives of Moses and Elijah, see how God revealed Himself, how they responded, and what we can learn from this.
Moses - Followed God:
With Growing Commitment
Exodus three takes us to Moses’ first encounter with God.
God reveals Himself from a distance in a burning bush.
Would Moses move toward or away from this revelation?
“I will turn aside” - from my plans, my purpose, my priorities.
When we see God’s standard or God’s glory differing from our, do we turn aside?
When we do, as Moses did, God will reveal more of Himself.
Moses continued to take steps of obedience.
Not always smooth, by that was the the intention of his life.
And God worked through Moses to not only show His glory but to accomplish His intention for His people.
As God revealed more, and Moses obeyed more, Moses got a first row seat in God’s amazing works.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be right in the middle of what God want’s to do!
I might have plans or hopes for my life, but I can’t imagine how they could possibly be better than being in the middle of a move of God!
God moved people, and God moved creation - Moses was God’s tool to lead His people out of captivity.
Moses SAW that!
And how did he respond?
With Prayer and Worship.
There was a lot of uncertainty and wrestling with God.
Not from Pharaoh, from Moses! Prayer is not only “Now I lay me down to sleep.” or “Lord bless this meal and the hands that made it.”
Prayer is “How can I survive this?!” “Lord I am shattered!! There’s no way I can do what you’re asking without YOU doing it!”
Prayer is the battle that must be fought before the battle is begun.
When we engage the battle of prayer, we release responsibility for the battle that follows to God.
And guess what - God is able to perform all that He intends!
Is there a battle in your life that seems like it would take an army to overcome?
God IS THAT ARMY!!
We have but to / submit / commit / then watch God work.
How much time do you spend in the battle before the battle?
With mission alignment.
When Moses was a young man, he had aspirations for the thrown of Egypt.
When Moses was middle-aged, he wanted to be left alone to tend his sheep and rase a family.
When moses was old, his purpose was transformed to God’s purpose.
Moses no longer represented his own interest but God’s.
If we desire to be the effective agents God uses, our purpose must also be transformed to God’s purpose.
Our mission aligned with His.
For that to happen, we must respond to the transfiguration of our Lord.
As we better understand God’s love, as we are beneficiaries of greater and greater revelation, we must continue to grow and mature AND FOLLOW.
Moses gives as a pattern to respond to visions of God’s glory.
But so does Elijah!
Elijah - Followed God:
We have much less of Elijah, almost nothing of His early life or calling.
But we do have three tings.
His soaring victories in God; His debilitating depression; and God’s unique close to His life.
In Victory and Defeat.
We spoke about Elijah several weeks ago.
One of the major missions in Elijah ministry was to call out God’s people for worshiping other gods.
This came to a head when he called on the carpet 450 prophets of these imposter gods.
Long story short, he challenged their gods to prove themselves - they did not.
Then Elijah asked that God prove himself - He did!
Elijah didn’t then think he had proven God to be true and get prideful and arrogant.
He followed God’s direction and God’s purpose.
Up till this point, we have talked about following God the right way.
About being obedient.
Now I know that’s not our story all the time.
How well we all know the passage in Romans - “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
How de we follow God when we’ve blown it?
How do we follow God when we’ve come us short; when we weren’t good enough for the task?
After God’s victory through Elijah, the pagan queen of Israel, Jezebel, swears an oath to destroy Elijah.
I don’t know what all went through Elijah’s mind, but I can imagine what I might think.
“After this definitive display of God’s power and authority, the battle is clearly won!”
I might let my guard down at this point.
I might not see the battle still at hand.
So when Jezabel come at Elijah with all she had, Elijah became dismayed.
He ran and hid in the wilderness.
He forgot that God would protect Him.
He forgot to seek God so he sought his own deliverance.
Have you ever felt that way?
Have you had those moments when you are so lost you’d through in the towel but you don’t even have a towel to throw in!
I know I have.
This is not a great place to be, but I want to show you one thing to keep in this situation, and that’s a compass.
A compass has a needle that will always point north even when there’s no other reference for direction.
Elijah’s compass was the person of Yahweh God.
Though he saw himself as utterly defeated and broken, he acknowledged God’s authority.
We may have no strength or hope or meaning, but if you will, even in those situations, call on the name of the Lord, He will provide all that you need.
It might take time, it might be hard, it might hurt.
When we are willing to follow God in victory AND defeat, we know that we poses the faith that can truly transform our broken, sinful self, by the power of the
Me - I Will Follow God:
In _________ and ___________…
Why look at these two when the passage is about Jesus being transfigured to reveal His glory?
Because these two responded well when God revealed His glory to them.
They are our example.
They call us to respond well to God’s glory.
How will I follow?
Will I love and desire God?
Will I hear and head His words?
Will my victories be because of Him and my devastation be redeemed by Him?
Will my obedience be defined by Him?
When we are entrusted with the vision of the Glory of God, we have a responsibility to respond to that.
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