He is the Way (First Sunday)

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Scripture Reading by Lady Pepper (Show Slide)

(Show Slide) Thank you Lady Pepper for the announcements and the reading of God’s Word.

Welcome! to everyone and especially those who are joining us for the first time. My name is Pastor Doc, and I will be sharing the Word of God with you today.

Please have your Bibles ready and Take Note’s

Title of the message this Morning

He is The Way

Week 4 - Matthew 17:1-9

Main idea:

While on earth, Jesus often instructed people to keep His true identity a secret. However, in this passage, Jesus transfigured before Peter, James, and John, allowing them to get a glimpse of who He really was.

He reveals to them that He is the messiah, the savior of the world, and the son of God.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Through this passage we learn the importance of seeing Him for who He really is.

Prayer:

“Lord help us to see you as you really are.

Help us to honor you and to lead others to you.

You are the way, and the truth, and the life.

Use us to bring others to you.”

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9, John 14:6, Isaiah 40:3, Acts 24:14

Introduction

Welcome church, today we’re wrapping up our sermon series, The Way.

Last week I ended by saying, “We are called to fight the good fight, to press on, and to keep the way.

And when the going gets tough just remember, you have Him.

You have Jesus.”

Today we’ll see just how important it is that we have Jesus.

His life is not something to keep secret or to withhold from others.

His life is something to share, to illuminate for others, and to model our own after.

But before we get too far, who here today has ever had to keep a secret?

A surprise party, an engagement, a reunion…

Whatever the occasion, secrets can be difficult to hold onto.

Story -

Share about a time you had to keep a secret.

What was the occasion? How did it work out?

Or even better, share about a time you were supposed to keep a secret, but it slipped out somehow.

In our passage for the day Jesus asks his most trusted disciples to keep one of the most amazing “secrets” of all time.

It’s one that biblical commentators have coined the “Messianic secret”

if you’ve spent much time in the New Testament you’ve read where Jesus forbids people from revealing His true identity to others.

Usually it’s connected to a miraculous healing like the one seen in Mark 1:43-45/Matthew 8:1-4/Luke 5:12-16. (Motif - A recurring subject, theme, idea)

We see this same motif (Mo-teef) in Matthew 17:1-9 when Jesus forbids Peter, James, and John from revealing His true identity.

What an intense secret to hold onto, and as we’ll see today, Jesus is the beloved Son of God.

He is, as John 14:6 says, “the way, the truth, and the life.” And “no one comes to the Father except through (me) Him.”

Main Teaching

As we get into our passage for the day, I think it would be beneficial to read through it together…

Read Matthew 17:1-9

As you can see in this passage, Jesus reveals His true identity to three of His twelve disciples, the Father speaks from heaven, and they are forbidden from talking about what they’ve seen until after Jesus has been raised from the dead.

There is a lot going on in this passage, so let’s take it one chunk at a time.

Revealed

Re-Read Matthew 17:1-4

The word transfigure means; “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.”

Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.

He was transformed from His human body into a glorious one.

One commentator puts it this way, “The theological connotation is that Jesus' eternal divine nature broke through His human nature.

In this moment, Jesus revealed His divine nature to the disciples…“His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”

These specific disciples, for all the miraculous healings, all the sermons, and everything else they had experienced with Jesus —

they had yet to experience something as powerful as this.

The fabric of Jesus’ humanity was pulled back and His divine, holy nature was revealed.

It’s also worth noting that the gospel writer Matthew says this happened up on a mountain and that Jesus' face glowed.

All of this is reminiscent of what happened to Moses when he went up on a mountain to talk to God and receive the ten commandments in Exodus 34:29-35.

It probably wasn’t until much later that the disciples made the connection, and understood the implications of Jesus being the “new Moses” to His people.

Just as Moses led the Israelites to the promised land, Jesus leads us to a better land, a future hope, an eternal salvation.

It’s one thing to be revealed as divine, which Jesus was.

It’s another to be revealed as the beloved Son of God, which Jesus also happened to be.

His True Identity

Re-Read Matthew 17:5-8

Amazingly, this isn’t the first time a booming voice from heaven had talked about the “beloved Son.”

If you remember, back in Matthew 3:17 when Jesus was baptized a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

What’s the obvious difference between these 2 passages?

If you noticed, in Matthew 17, God the father adds the command, “Listen to Him!”

For those who follow Jesus this is a big deal.

It’s not enough to know the teachings of Christ, it’s imperative that we adhere to the teachings of Christ…

That we model our lives after His, love others as He loved, and follow in His footsteps.

Read John 14:21

John 14:21 NKJV

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

This passage is an interesting one in light of our Matthew 17:1-9 passage.

Consider the parallels happening here… If you have the commands of Jesus, if you “Listen to Him!” and you keep them then you love Him.

And if you love Jesus, then you will also be loved by the Father.

But it doesn’t stop there, Jesus says He will “show myself” to those who love, follow, and obey.

His true identity isn’t a secret any longer. Jesus has revealed Himself as the Messiah and the Father has confirmed this for all to see.

In response to this amazing reality Peter, James, and John fell facedown on the ground.

They were terrified to hear the voice of God…

But Jesus, as He does for all of us, gently encourages them.

He says, “Get up, don’t be afraid.”

I wonder how many of us today are scared of Jesus.

We’re fearful of the implications that come if He really is who He claims to be.

We’re fearful that these stories from the bible aren’t just stories, they’re roadmaps leading us back to Him.

If that’s you, then I hope you are able to receive the words of Christ today, “Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus is gentle and humble in heart.

He is the way, the truth, and the life… He is the beloved Son of God given for the salvation of mankind.

He is the Way

In the Bible, Jesus is quoted as saying "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

This statement is often interpreted as Jesus claiming to be the only way to God and to eternal life.

For Christians, it means that Jesus is the only means of salvation and that through faith in him, one can have a personal relationship with God and eternal life in heaven.

This is the reality of Christ that we now understand to be true, but it’s one that Jesus forbade his disciples and others from revealing while He was here on earth.

Re-Read Matthew 17:9

As we can see in this final verse, His instruction was not to tell anyone until after He had been raised from the dead.

So for those of us reading this today, that means that we can tell everyone about Jesus.

He’s been raised from the dead, He is exactly who He claimed to be, and He is the way, the truth, and the life.

There’s no other way to eternal life and salvation.

Conclusion

As we read through this amazing passage and we’re able to see what Jesus is doing for Peter, James, and John there are a few questions that arise as we consider how to apply a passage like this to our lives today;

- Do we see Jesus for who He really is?

- Do we honor Him as savior?

- Has His Way become Our Way?

- Do we trust that He is the way, the truth, and the life?

As I mentioned earlier I imagine many of us are fearful of what it might mean in our lives to answer these questions honestly.

For better or for worse, we’ve got to be truthful about Jesus.

If He’s not really the messiah then who is He?

Do I see Him as Lord over all my life or do I view Him more like a helpful mentor who gives me good advice about living?

Do I trust that He is the only way, or do I deep down think that there are other ways to receive eternal salvation?

My favorite question to ask, in my life and others, Do I love Jesus and follow His teachings.

OR, do I cherry pick the things I want to follow and leave the rest behind?

There are many paths to follow in life.

Many roads to choose from.

But there is only one that leads to eternal life and salvation.

It’s a path through Christ, back to the Father, and into heaven.

It’s a path where the meek, the broken-hearted, the gentle, the persecuted, the peacemaker, and others are welcomed.

It’s a path where we are invited to participate, to light the way for others and to keep the way with integrity and righteousness.

It’s not an easy path, it may cost you, but it’s worth it in the end.

If you have Jesus, you have all you need, there is no other way.

Let’s pray together.

Salvation:

The Word of God says in:

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

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(Show Slide)

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This is Pastor Doc & Lady Pepper with:

Faith Vision Christian Ministries

Closing Blessing

Ephesians 6:23–24 NKJV

23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Have a Great Week! GOODBYE !