Sermon: Hear Ye Him!

Opening

Church, I come to you today with a burden on my heart. We are living in a generation filled with noise—opinions, distractions, and endless voices. But in the midst of it all, the Father’s voice still thunders from the mountain:

(Matthew 17:5 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” ).

If we do not hear Him, we will camp in old experiences.

If we do not hear him, we will lean on our own strength.

If we do not hear him, we will cling to old comforts.

If we do not hear him, we will miss the mission at the bottom of the mountain.

When the Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, was on the mountain - he was there for a purpose, but there was something greater of him required at the bottom of the mountain.

I. Hear Him!

Matthew 17:1–6 KJV 1900

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

Here we see humanity and divinity meeting together on a mountain where God was about to do something phenomenal. In our humanity, we will always gravitate to present or past experiences for our sense of comfort and well-being. Peter was a man who did just that, saying, “He sees Jesus, he sees Moses, he sees Elijah all with Jesus at the top of the mountain. He said let us build, in other words, what was supposed to be temporary, Peter wanted to build on it permanently. Think about that, how many times do we that. What God opens into our life, we want to build on something, and God was giving us a provision, not keys to our prosperity. I think of Israelites recieving their manna, they tried to keep it longer than its purpose and it turned into maggots. It became outside of God’s purpose.

How many of us have brought a blessing outside of God’s purpose? How many of us have built something that was meant to be temporary, and we begin to camp on the mountain. Peter is saying, “This is a great place to camp. Let's stay here forever!"

However, that was not what God was speaking. Matthew 17:5–6 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.” Now, this was not said for the benefit of Moses, Elijah or Jesus. God was telling Peter, James and John, "Stop speaking, and start listening to the Son of God! He is going to lead you somewhere. He is doing a work in your life. In other words, your opinions do not lead into the supernatural; they do not bring deliverance to people who are hurting.

I think of Psalm 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

All you can build is something that will ultimately become irrelevant if you are not willing to hear the Son of God. That is why so many churches who knew the move of God have closed their doors. Think about it, all of the churches that maybe you remember, where God moved, may not be around today. The Church of God has a rich history where God moves, and there is a revival, but they revival in those specific places may not still be happening.

God is wanting us to move with God, to move with the Holy Spirit, not camp where something miraculous happens.

There is a people in churches today, where they are running from place to place, just seeking new experiences. They don’t realize it but their religious experience has never left the “the Mount of Transfiguration.” Peter reveals something that is occurring today, generations of believers who have never left their “Mount of Transfiguration” experience.

Think about that, what if Christ never left the Mount of Transfiguratoion, what if tabernacles were built. Would the crucifixion have occured. Peter in that moment, in moment, almost childlike, declares what he wants in that moment, but God is saying listen to my son. That still small voice in your life.

Would we still have the comforter in our lives, if Christ camped on the tabernacle? In Luke, chapter 9:28-36 we see Moses and Elijah discussing with Jesus what Jesus is about to accomplish in Jerusalem—that everything that was ordained, that was prophecied, through the law and the prophets was about to be fulfilled at the cross.

A Church was going to be born. Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” The church was called to preach this wonderful message of salvation through Christ.

But in the very next passage in Luke, chapter 9:37-42 - we see the story of the boy who had an unclean spirit. Where this demonic spirit take the boy, and tear at the boy, and the boy would foam at his moth, and where the devil would throw the boy down, and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered the boy to his father.

Psalm 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

Jesus was leading these disciples somewhere, but they were so engrossed in their own ideas of what spiritual experience leads to that they could not hear Him. It was as if God had to override the whole thing, stop Peter in the middle of speaking, and declare, "This is My Son. Hear Him!"

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter saw Jesus shining like the sun, Moses and Elijah standing beside Him, and he said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let’s build three tabernacles and stay here forever.”

But while Peter was still speaking, God interrupted: “This is My beloved Son… Hear Him!”

Peter wanted to camp in the glory, but God was saying, “Stop talking. Stop clinging to the past. Listen to My Son—He is leading you somewhere.”

The World needs the church, and we are the bride of Christ., God wants to get up and walk into the valley where the mission of the Church waits for us.

Illustration: It’s like a hiker who climbs a mountain, sees the breathtaking view, and says, “I’ll just live here.” But the mountain was never meant to be the destination—it was meant to give perspective for the journey ahead.

Illustration: A lamp is not lit to be hidden under a basket—it’s lit to shine in the darkness. The Spirit fills us not to camp, but to go.

Preaching Points:

Stop camping in yesterday’s revelation—God is speaking now.

Your opinions cannot deliver the broken—only His Word can.

Do not camp in memory - move with his presence.

The mountaintop is for empowerment; the valley is for mission.

The Spirit fills us not to stay, but to go.

Broken people are waiting at the bottom of the mountain.

You don’t have to have it all together—just be willing to go where Jesus leads.

II. Full of Our Own Strength Matthew 26:33-35

Matthew 26:33–35 KJV 1900

Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow [the rooster shall crow], thou shalt deny me thrice [three times]. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

When the Lord speaks to each of the churches in the Book of Revelation, notice that He says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches"

Do you want to hear the voice of God in your life? Do you desire a ear that hears? I know that I want a ear that hears. I know that I want God to lead my life. But God is not interested in our ideas. If He is not leading, there is no power in it, and that means

2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

When we build are tabernacles at the top of the mountain, we are threatening God’s will in our lives. It is time we as Christians, place expectation on the move of God in our lives, instead of reliving past experiences.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

If you want to see a move of God in your life, seek the move of God. Desire the move of God. Hunger for the move God, and place expectation on the move of God. Look at Azuzu Street, and the great revival of 1906, led by the famous preacher William J. Seymour. His preaching was simple, but his prayers were powerful.

So often, we cannot hear the Lord, just as Peter we are living in our works! That is why I love the Scripture in Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Look back at what Jesus told Peter, where I am going, you cannot follow! And Peter’s response is that I will follow you and I will die with you. Again, we see Peter putting his priorities over God’s priorities. Think about that, if Peter died, who would have preached to the 3000 and such conviction on their hearts, they repent and become baptized in the Holy Ghost. Peter is so full of himself—full of his own ideas and his own strength, but when he listened to God, God moved! A church was born.

Just as Christ brought Peter to a place where he had nothing left to say, and he denied Jesus three times, and the rooster crowed, all Peter could do was weep. It was at the moment when he was weeping, that he finally began to hear the voice of God in his life. To hear the voice of the Son of God in his life.

Perhaps your testimony today is that you have come to the end of yourself. Your ideas have come to nothing and you have run into the brick wall that all humanity finds in their own strength. Well, the good news is that the end of you is the beginning of God. Are you ready to hear God in your life, and follow where God is leading you?

Illustration: A child insists, “I can do it myself!”—but after failing, they finally reach up for their father’s hand. That’s us. We boast, we try, we fail—and then we finally surrender.

Preaching Points:

Self‑confidence deafens us to God’s voice. Surrender opens our ears.

Where Christ leads, we cannot follow without His strength.

The end of you is the beginning of God.

As Peter wept, we see Brokenness is not failure—it is the doorway to hearing Him more clearly.

III. Unwilling to Embrace the New (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:7)

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Philippians 3:7 KJV 1900

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Unwilling to Let Go of the Old

One of the greatest reasons people struggle to hear the voice of the Son of God is because they refuse to let go of the old and step into the new. Paul tells us plainly in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

God is not just pulling us out of what we used to be—He is leading us into what He has prepared for us. The Spirit begins to open our eyes to what’s ahead, not what’s behind. He speaks to us about His promises, not our empty pledges. And that’s the difference: in our flesh, we make promises to God we can’t keep. But when we finally come to the end of ourselves, God begins to make promises to us—and His promises never fail.

But here’s the challenge: stepping into the new requires laying down the old. Old comforts, old habits, old experiences. You can remember them, but you can’t camp there. Sometimes it even means letting go of old friendships or relationships that keep pulling you back into bondage. Israel cried out for deliverance in Egypt, but once they were free, they started longing for the garlic and leeks of their slavery and we see this in (Numbers 11), they did not remember the bitterness or the tears, but only remembered only the taste.

We do the same. We say, “It was good back there, wasn’t it?, in our past and in our memories” But we forget the depression, the addiction, the brokenness, and the despair. We forget the dark spirals into deeper darkness. We want that little sip to take the edge off, I am not getting drunk. It is just a light buzz. Or we binge watch a t.v. show and then we wonder where did the time go.

When we feed our flesh, we make is to much harder to hear the voice of God.

And it’s not just sins we cling to—it’s also our achievements. We sit in our offices staring at certificates, trophies, and plaques, as if yesterday’s victories are enough to tomorrow. It does not matter how many degrees are on my wall if I am missing the voice of God in my life. If I am missing His fire. If I am missing his annointing in my life. Do not think about the degrees on your wall, but the degrees on a compass that points you back to the face of God.

Paul said in Philippians 3:7 “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” Even good things must be surrendered for greater things. Remember Peter on the mountain: “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles”

But God had something better than “good”—He had a cross, a resurrection, he had Priestly ascension, and a Church to be born.

The truth is this: we fail to hear Him when we cling to the old. Old sins. Old comforts. Old relationships. Old victories. And all the while, God is calling us into something greater.

Illustration: A runner cannot win the race looking backward. If you keep staring at yesterday, you’ll stumble today and miss tomorrow.

Preaching Points:

You cannot cling to Egypt and walk into Canaan.

Old sins and comforts silence the voice of God.

Even good things must be surrendered for the greater.

What God has for you is better than what you call “good.”

IV. Where He Leads Psalm 73

Psalm 73:15–28 “If I say, I will speak thus; Behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, It was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, And I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all thy works.”

• Like Peter in Matthew 26, the psalmist admits his own weakness and near‑failure: “My flesh and my heart fail” (v. 26).

• Like the Transfiguration (Matthew 17), the psalmist is brought into God’s presence and sees reality differently: “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood” (v. 17).

• Like 2 Corinthians 5:17, he experiences a turning point: “It is good for me to draw near to God” (v. 28).

• Like Philippians 3:7, he counts everything else as loss compared to God Himself: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You” (v. 25).

Conclusion / Altar Call

Psalm 73 moves from confession of weakness → revelation of God’s glory → surrender of the old → embracing God as the only treasure.

Peter’s failure (Matthew 26)

God’s voice on the mountain (Matthew 17)

New creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17)

Counting all else loss (Phil 3:7)

Altar Call Language from Psalm 73: Beloved, the Father is still saying: “Hear Him!”

Stop camping in old experiences. Stop leaning on your own strength. Stop clinging to what is past. And start walking where He leads—into the cries of a broken generation.

Look around you—our children are tormented by confusion, addiction, and despair. Families are breaking. Hope is fading. And God is calling His Church: “Hear My Son, and follow Him into the harvest.”

If you are weary, if you are broken, if you feel like you’ve come to the end of yourself—you are the perfect candidate for God’s power.

“Your flesh may fail, your strength may collapse, your past may weigh heavy—but tonight you can say with the psalmist: ‘God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ Come to this altar, lay down the old, and step into the new creation life that only Christ can give.”