2022.02.11 - Am I Glowing Yet?

Am I Glowing Yet?

Mark 9:2–9 NLT

2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. 5 Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them. 9 As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Transfiguration Sunday – Jesus takes some friends up the mountain and his face is changed! He encounters Moses and Elijah … God speaks and Jesus is ‘transfigured’ (changed face - compare to DISfigured)

It’s easy for us to dismiss Jesus being transfigured. “Well, that’s Jesus … and I am NO JESUS!” So this can easily become “a nice story about someone else” that has no impact on me.

But Moses defies such a dismissal. Moses is a normal man … a regular Joe, and check out what happened to him:

►►►CLICK [Exodus 34:28-35]

Exodus 34:28–35 NLT

28 Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets. 29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. 30 So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them and asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over, and he talked with them. 32 Then all the people of Israel approached him, and Moses gave them all the instructions the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. 34 But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, 35 and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord.

Moses was...

born to a poor woman

raised as a royal (perhaps the only really remarkable part … but Moses rejected his royalty and became a commoner)

ran away from trouble

hid in the wilderness

shrank from his calling

He made every excuse possible to NOT do what God told him to do … MOSES WAS YOU AND ME!

We see in Exodus, Moses had an encounter with God. When he came back down the mountain, the people didn’t even recognize him because he was glowing! It looked like Moses had taken a tour of Chernobyl or Fukushima.

So, even for a regular dude — an encounter with God changes us!

Transfiguration Sunday is only partially about Jesus being transfigured. It’s also about God’s encounter with any human … He has an impact!

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Lent begins this week. Transfiguration Sunday is always the Sunday before Lent, and I think that’s because there is a connection.

Jesus is changed because it shows that You and I can be changed - WE MATTER - YOU MATTER

We are transformed so that we can be partners in God’s transformation. We must realize and respond to the Truth that “ALL OTHER PEOPLE MATTER” too

This is important because Bartlett Chapel is the last best hope for Hendricks County to discover God. Don’t dismiss that statement like I’m over-exaggerating .

YOU are someone’s last best hope to discover God’s grace and mercy! YOU!

I firmly believe those statements stand as a testament of God’s challenge to us. They can be a rebuke if necessary, too.

We’ve forgotten that we matter to God. We’ve thought it more important that we matter to ourselves or that the community should respect us more as The Church!

But the All powerful God of the universe … WE MATTER TO HIM! What else is more important than that?

We’ve also forgotten that ALL other people matter to God. We tend to assign value to individuals based on our own scale, and if we’re honest — we all have our own scale, right?

Well … sure “those people” matter, but surely they don’t matter as much as the Governor or a State Senator, Town Council members, or members of our Ad Council or Trustees or me!

Yeah … actually they do.

And we’ve failed to recognize that Hendricks County is doomed for an eternity separated from God if we don’t act!

All that God has done in your life has been building to this! How have you responded? Have you been changed? Have you been transformed … transfigured?

I’m not sure how accustomed to this you are, but I’m still ‘the new guy’ which means most of you will still allow me to go outside the box at this point. So I’m going to grab a wireless mic …

I’d like to ask for a few testimonies. But, please pay close attention to the category I ask for.

First, who would be willing to tell us about the person who first showed you the love of Christ?

[take testimonies]

Now, who would be willing to tell us how you have told other people about the love of Christ — in the last month?

[leave time — pause if none]

Friends, it’s time to drop our excuses and pick God’s calling back up.

We are called to be His people … doing His work.

His redemptive work in other souls is awaiting our availability, and when we realize that:

we matter

other people matter

and we are the collective hope of the world around us to find the Lord…

… that reality should transfigure us. We should LOOK different to the people around us. We should be living as transfigured people, serving a transfigured Christ, within a transfigured church.

So as a part of our preparation for Lent, let me ask: “Are we picking up the responsibility that comes with God’s blessing … or are we hoping to gain the blessing without the responsibility?”

We regularly receive the grace of the living God with the purpose that we share it with the rest of the world!

But I’ll confess … I’m not glowing yet. Are you?

Let’s begin our prayer today with a period of silent confession.