Mountaintop Real Estate - Spirit and Truth 2025

Scripture/introduction

Introduce myself…

Grateful to be here. I had one request when Matt asked me to come….not to follow Dr. Bellini.

In all seriousness. As I was praying and just confessing some fear and lies of inadequacies to be speaking this weekend….God kept bringing back to the same place… “ordinary”

I wish he would have used a different word. And before you immediately check out…I think God is inviting us now to remember the basics, the ordinary, the daily invitation to walk with him.

So to do that, we are going to start in the most opposite text…the absolutely ridiculous. Matthew 17 and the transfiguration. I believe what happens on the Mountain of Transfiguration can instruct some of what is happening here but also what is happening surrounding the mountain can instruct our tomorrow.

Matthew 17:1–9 NIV

1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Pray.

Hook:

Revival on the Mountain

But let’s set the scene.

Matthew 16 is in some ways this hinge point of the gospel of Matthew. Up to this point, Jesus has been in full form with public ministry. From calling the disciples to sermon on the mount, public miracles of the feedings of thousands. Calming the storm, healing parlyzed man, freeing people from the demonic. Matthew 16 has Jesus in an intimate setting where that question of “who do you say that I am” is put before the disciples.

Peter confesses, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Then verse 21:

Matthew 16:21 NIV

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter responds understandably desperate.... and then he is rebuked by Jesus.

So you have the proclamation of the suffering servant and a call put upon the disciples:

Matthew 16:24 NIV

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Then 17:1

After 6 days (a way of linking these passages together) Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on the mountaintop. and they are invited to see something that is absolutely wild.

In a moment, Jesus is “Transfigured” and begins to shine white as light. I am not going to pretend for a moment to understand what is happening here. This is a revealing of power, glory, of a future heavenly presentation. Transfigured is used in a lot of translations mainly because of it’s uniqueness.

Next to him is Elijah and Moses, heroes of the faith. Representing the law and the prophets. How does the disciples know who they are? Not sure they had portraits hanging in their study.

And hilariously Peter says… “Lord it is good for us to be here, I will build three shelters.”

Let’s have a sleepover. Mountaintop real estate. Let’s move in.

This is the profound response of one who is experiencing something very deep. He was just rebuked because though he knew the right answers, he didnt see the full picture of Jesus. I believe Peter is responding in confession and repentance here.

Is there any doubt to why he would want to build shelters?

To be in the manifest presence of God makes everything else fade away very quickly. Why would you go anywhere else?

Testimony from Conroe Spirit and Truth

So what is going on here? How might we receive instruction from such a mysterious part of our scriptures? Well, let’s make some observations:

Characteristics of Extraordinary moves of God

God is the initiator

Jesus is the one who takes them on the mountain. They did not wake up this morning and think… Jesus, we would like to give the mountaintop transfiguration a try today. It would really strengthen us for all this “take up your cross” stuff.

There is no working formula for this. God will not and cannot be manipulated.

I have often reflected at why there are these moments when God is poured out in special ways.

2. We are drawn to the Holy

Jesus brings community on that mountaintop. The extraordinary is a communal experience. Even if it is just a few people, this is typically how God will move. I think it is incredibly gracious that Jesus didnt just bring Peter. And I love that the community just wants to stay there.

Golf hole in one

3. Extraordinary moves of God is at the intersection of the crucified one and the glorified one

On this mountaintop we have blending of two realities of Jesus: The suffering servant and the glorious messiah. Remember Jesus has just confessed the reality of his journey. Much to the disdain those around him, he is headed for a death. These two pictures are side by side for reason.

Revival, outpouring, extraordinary, whatever we call it..... it requires both understandings of Jesus.

awakening includes both the understanding of atonement/forgiveness/righteousness through Jesus and Jesus’ reign above all things as Lord

awakening includes brokenness at the foot of the cross and freedom found at an empty tomb

awakening includes confession of sin, repentance, laying down wrongs and the proclamation of faith in Jesus

awakening on any scale, requires humility and seeking faith

The one who loves you, took our stripes, took our shame, took on evil, and died the sinner’s death. The one who loves you has also vindicated death, evil, sin, and he is the Lord of all. Breakthrough is found at the intersection of this reality.

Coming down the mountain

These three do not get to stay there. They wanted to. I suspect a few of us would like to bottle up this experience…we want to have a little bottle so that we could release a little when the time is right.

But down the mountain is where they go. And at the bottom is demonic, chaos, suffering, failure, burn out, mistakes, crucifixion… not just Jesus crucifixion, but the joining of themselves to the crucifixion.

We get a little snap shot at the reality of things. When Jesus, Peter, James, and John get back down the mountain they find the rest of the disciples have failed to cast out a demon and heal a young boy.

I can imagine Peter and the Sons of Zebedee thinking, well let us give it a shot, we just came off the mountain. We brought our mojo.

Jesus does not give them a shot….

Matthew 17:17 NIV

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

A little side note here:

It is possible to hang around Jesus and miss all the promises and power

There is some judgement here that I wonder if Jesus might also be tired of our shows for him.

and before you think well the three were not there yet. Peter, James, and John, have seen a little more than the others….

Sons of Zebedee:

Let’s start there… After these events, Matthew lays out one of the main blocks of teaching. In this section there are multiple places where Jesus teaches about humility, servanthood. Chapter 18 begins with the question… who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Answer: not a place of honor but only those who come like children.

Then momma Zebedee brings her sons and they at least are consenting to the request…. that Jesus puts them at his left hand and at his right hand.

Peter:

We know the story… for all his zeal and all his leadership, he denies Jesus at the darkest hour.

….

One of the things I love most about the gospels is the path of discipleship that is presented. Of course I love all the Jesus stuff, but I love to follow Peter, James, and John on the journey.

Because here is the thing brothers and sisters,

discipleship is not an emotive response on the mountain…

It is the repetitive, ordinary, day to day journey in the valley. As Matt hinted at last night, Holy Spirit living strangely comes from the obedience of getting the cubits right.

Discipleship to Christ happens in the Valley

I truly believe we have a discipleship problem in the church today.

I think we have a problem with letting people sleep in the church. Our churches are full of shelters built in the shadow of yesteryears.

we are allowing people to spiritually sleep, or to fall asleep. We are doing our best to wake them up on Sunday morning, midweek programming, and then we are surprised when we see them again and they are right back there.

3 personal data points for me:

• COVID

• Presidential election

• Racial injustice in Tyler

We lost our everlasting minds. And listen this is not to downplay the seriousness of those three, but my goodness.

Be my disciple. from the calling stories….

The word for follow and disciple really go hand in hand.

Follow could mean any one of three things in english:

1. To follow someone going in same general direction. Following someone you dont know on the road

2. To follow someone generally connected to. Like a tour guide

3. To follow someone and you are shaped because of the following.

Disciple: Mathetes

Rowan Williams

In other words, what makes you a disciple is not turning up from time to time. Discipleship may literally mean ‘being a student’, in the strict Greek sense of the word, but it doesn’t mean turning up once a week for a course (or even a sermon). It’s not an intermittent state; it’s a relationship that continues. The truth is that, in the ancient world, being a ‘student’ was rather more like that than it is these days. If you said to a modern prospective student that the essence of being a student was to hang on your teacher’s every word, to follow in his or her steps, to sleep outside their door in order not to miss any pearls of wisdom falling from their lips, to watch how they conduct themselves at the table, how they conduct themselves in the street, you might not get a very warm response. But in the ancient world, it was rather more like that. To be the student of a teacher was to commit yourself to living in the same atmosphere and breathing the same air; there was nothing intermittent about it. -Rowan Williams

Williams, Rowan. Being Disciples (p. 2). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

To be the student of a teacher was to commit yourself to living in the same atmosphere and breathing the same air; there was nothing intermittent about it. -Rowan Williams

I want to pray for awakening. I want to yearn for that and I want our young people to lead the way. And we will. But I love the practicality of the story in Matthew.

They have to come back down the mountain and face reality of life. There is still demonic, evil, brokenness. And sometimes it looks as if we can’t do anything about it.

God does come in extraordinary means, some of us need to ask if we believe this.

God also comes in ordinary means and this is our discipleship journey.

It is actually his preference. If it was the mountain top then wouldnt he just zap us with glory and get on it with it? Well yeah but that isnt relationship. It’s like thinking love is complete at the first date.

What does the ordinary look like?

Ordinary means of grace are the regular avenues that God has given us so that we can walk with Jesus:

By ‘means of grace’ I understand outward signs, words, or actions ordained of God, and appointed for this end – to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men preventing, justifying, and sanctifying grace….

The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon) and receiving the Lord’s Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of him; and these we believe to be ordained of God as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men. [John Wesley, The Means of Grace. II.1]

Means of Grace:

The Lord’s supper

scripture

prayer

service

community and worship

Do you know what is also required in all of these? What also is the undercurrent of each one?

The suffering servant and the glorious messiah.

It is scripture where we root ourself in the life, death, resurrection mission of God in Jesus.

It is in prayer that we attach our life in humility to the holy one and experience intimacy with the one on the throne

it is at the table where we quite literally meet with the crucified and enthroned one.

It is in service that we practice cruciformity and self giving for others because of Christ’s lordship and love for the world

It is in community that we are drawn to the holy.

Illustration: my associate pastor is adopting a child from India at this time. He is legally their child. His name is Moore. Now it is the means of grace through which Joshua’s life will be formed by that reality. These means of grace will be family interaction, events, dinner table routines, nightime prayers, etc.

Spirit filled churches are filled with awakened disciples

I like Steve Seamands commentary here:

“What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Although it is a spatial metaphor, being filled with the Spirit is not really about space, like filling up a cup of water. We will be misled if we conceive of it that way. Essentially this metaphor describes a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit characterized by surrender and abandonment to the Spirit. For though the Holy Spirit is present in all believers, in some he is not preeminent; though he is resident in all, in some he is not president. That is why Paul exhorts believers who already have a relationship with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).” - Steve Seamands

Culture of Discipleship:

Repentance

leaders must lead

Presence is Priority

Practice

Let’s talk about these for just a moment:

Repentance:

Repent of and release our modern american church expectations. This is not for church growth. (While God is bringing people to our church, we also have people leaving). This is not a formula. And what God does in your church cannot be self-determined.

Jeremiah 2:13…

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of the living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Preach this out…. the old ways still work. Stop trying to manufacture the mountain top.

2. Leaders must lead:

Pastors in the room: I am not asking you to do more…I am asking you to do less. Simplify, shed, narrow. Teach people to abide. And you have to abide first.

Leaders in this movement are not pastors….that isnt the qualification. Young people in the room you will lead this.

3. Presence as Priority:

Presence must be a central priority in our lives, in our homes, in our churches. Breathing the same air as Jesus.

4. Practice

Repetition, consistency. Jesus wants to be with you. Surrender to His Spirit regularly. Transformation is about love and love is dynamic.

Last week, my wife and I went on a vacation….

Marriage is built in the other places:

Closing: Ordinary leads to the unordinary:

When people start to live with God, extraordinary begins to happen

prayer tent

Young people worshipping in the mall until they are asked to leave, but getting to share the gospel with someone because of their obedience

A prayer meeting held once a week for years, sometimes with just a couple of people showing up and then someone from the community comes and experiences healing

A hospice nurse ministering to a patient who is dying. An athiest, hates God and hates the church…comes to church and receives prayer, communion for the first time, days before he dies.

Discipleship: Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.