Transfiguration (3)
Notes
Transcript
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
“Cleverly invented stories.” Do you know any? Have you ever told any? Have you used them to teach moral lessons so that your children and grandchildren would remember right from wrong and hopefully do what is right?
If you have ever begun a story by saying “Once upon a time . . . “, you have told a cleverly invented story.
If you have learned in mythology about the Greek or Roman gods, you have heard cleverly invented stories.
If you have included in your celebrations of Christmas or Easter Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, you have told a cleverly invented story.
These stories were made up and often repeated so that the lessons they are meant to teach will continue to be taught long after the story teller has departed.
Jesus himself told “cleverly invented stories”. They are called parables. (NIV): 34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
As time has gone on the art of telling stories and presenting them has grown. They can be a quick paragraph or they can be a series of novels and portrayed as movies, trilogies of movies, and seasons of TV shows. Such stories deal with the past, current situations, and scientific futures that are limited only be the imagination. The discerning person does well to realize whether the story being told is actual fact, based on fact, or completely make believe.
Today’s sermon addresses something that we do well to take as an article of faith but which many modern critics have decided are only cleverly devised stories. We realize that some stories about famous people who lived long ago are a combination of fact and myth.
What young boy did not enjoy reading about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table or
Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men?
In school we may have been taught the stories of the Greek and Roman god and heroes.
We may recognize that Santa Claus is loosely based on a man named St. Nicholas but that this childhood heroe has been greatly embellished.
What we may not be aware of us is that not long after the time of St. Peter, there were some who were beginning to write down make up stories about Jesus (cite example of him raising a dead bird) in apocryphal books. We cannot deny this.
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
What we do deny is that the events that the Bible portrays as historical events did not really happen but were made up by religious leaders just to teach moral truth. Instead, we believe that Adam and Eve were actual people, Noah did build the ark and only he and his family survived a world wide flood, Moses did lead a nation of 2,000,000 people for 40 years, King David was real, and the events of Jesus recorded in the Gospels really happened as the Bible teaches.
But these records of past events are under the attack of skeptics and those who are wise by human standards.
About 30 years after the ascension of Jesus, we have Peter defending the truth against those who accused him of making stuff up. His goal was to keep on teaching the truth and to write it down so that when he couldn’t speak anymore, the message of the Gospel would continue to be taught. Why? Because he believed in the “story” Jesus told that when a person dies who has faith in him, they will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of oru Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
How could Peter be so sure that what he was telling was the truth? Here he takes us back to an event he had witnessed which at the time has left him dumbfounded and about which he was temporarily told by Jesus to keep under wrapts.
(Retell Transifiguration event)
He then affirms the truth and validity of the Bible.
This concept of “verbal inspiration” is taught elsewhere in the Bible.
(NIV): 23 These are the last words of David: “The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs: 2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,
(NIV): 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
(NIV): 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
(NIV): 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Aside: Source of cleverly invented stories. As noted earlier, the world is full of stories. Some are based on an actual event. Others are the complete product of an imaginative mind.
Aside: Source of cleverly invented stories. As noted earlier, the world is full of stories. Some are based on an actual evenst. Others are the complete product of an imaginative mind.
I get my ideas from everywhere. But what all of my ideas boil down to is seeing maybe one thing, but in a lot of cases it's seeing two things and having them come together in some new and interesting way, and then adding the question 'What if?' 'What if' is always the key question.
Coleridge was widely known to have been a regular user of opium as a relaxant, analgesic, antidepressant, and treatment for numerous health concerns. Kubla Khan was apparently written under the drug's influence, but the degree to which he used the drug as a creative enhancement is not clear.
Poe’s most chilling tales have lost none of their power in the century and a half since their publication. They continue to speak to each new generation because the stories still seem eerily real. What most readers may not know is that many of these works were inspired by true events as magazine editor Poe kept up with the latest scandals and sensational murder trials and incorporated them into his fiction.
Peter and the other authors of biblical books did not need to be so creative or to have such vivid imaginations. Peter teaches us that the prophets source of information was the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that he source was God the Father and taught his disciples that the Holy Spirit would remind them of everything he had taught them which confirms their veracity.
For this reason we can sing with confidence:
Peter and the other authors of biblical books did not need to be so creative or to have such vivid imaginations. Peter teaches us that the prophets source of information was the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that he source was God the Father and taught his disciples that the Holy Spirit would remind them of everything he had taught them which confirms their