Announcements

Youth group will have its Valentine’s Day party following church this morning from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Another Gospel? book club Monday evening at 7:00 PM via Zoom.

Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the FMC.

Finance Team will meet next Sunday, February 21st at 4:00 PM.

Opening Prayer

The darkness of winter has been our companion, Lord. Now the days are lengthening. Bring your light to us, that we might see your glory and may work for you, offering hope and peace to this world. We ask this, in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Opening Songs

“Days of Elijah”

“Joy of the Lord”

Pastoral Prayer

Lord of infinite mercy, we would make a Broadway production of this Transfiguration event because we would not take the time to understand its significance for our lives. We are in such a hurry to memorialize everything that the power and meaning of the event become pale or altered in our memories. Help us look at Jesus with new eyes, those eyes that see him in light of the witness of the ages; that see Jesus as the One who comes to set people free, to heal, to bring hope and peace. Make us ready to become faithful disciples, rather than remaining dazzled by the mountaintop experience. Give us strength and courage this day to witness to Jesus’ love by the many deeds of mercy and justice we can offer in his name. For we offer ourselves, imperfect, but willing, to serve. AMEN.

Song of Praise

“Build My Life”

Scripture Reading

Mark 9:2–9 ESV

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Living in the Glory

Introduction

1. The Transfiguration of Jesus was a display of his full divinity. (vs. 2-4)

Mark 9:2–4 ESV

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Daniel 7:9–10 ESV

9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

Daniel 7:13–14 ESV

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

As the disciples spent time with Jesus during his ministry, they all knew that there was something very different about him. His command of the law and the miracles he performed were all more authoritative and decisive than they had seen in any other person. Just a few verses earlier, they had confessed that Jesus was the messiah that Israel had long be awaiting. But what the three in the inner circle of the disciples experienced that day on Mt. Hermon was beyond anything they had ever seen. They saw precisely what the prophet Daniel had been speaking of in his vision written in Daniel 7.

In the vision from Daniel 7, Daniel sees God coming down from heaven to establish his kingdom and sitting in judgement over the nations. Then in verses 13-14, we see the Son of Man who comes in the clouds and has dominion over all things as an everlasting dominion and a kingdom that will not pass away. This scene of the divine gives us insight into the fullness of Jesus’ mission on earth. The kingdom that he is proclaiming and ushering in is one that will have dominion over the entire earth and will not be overthrown or squelched by Satan.

Jesus’ coming and fullness of his divinity is evident to the disciples, but the extent of what Jesus has come to do in the world is not yet known by the disciples. How can this one who is God in the flesh who has displayed the fullness of divinity be the same one who will go to a cross and die as ransom for many? What the disciples witness is what Jesus will be like once he is resurrected and ascends into heaven. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28:

1 Corinthians 15:24–28 ESV

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

In Jesus, the law and prophets were fulfilled and the fullness of God was pleased to dwell:

Colossians 1:15–20 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

When the disciples saw the full divinity of Jesus, it was confirmation that he is above all things. He has dominion over all things. Even in his death that Peter railed against earlier, Jesus had dominion. When Jesus was before the Sanhedrin, he had dominion over it. When Jesus was before Pilate, he had dominion over him. All things that have been made were made through him and by him. This same Jesus that would be nailed to a cross was the same one who had brought all things into existence. This is what the disciples witnessed on the mountain that day.

John 8:54–58 ESV

54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

The fullness of the second Person of the Trinity was on full display for them to see. And for us, hearing these words is a reminder of the all-encompassing power of Jesus. In a world that seems so off-kilter and in a mode of self-destruction, Jesus has dominion over it because he is God incarnate. We may not have been witnesses to this event, but we see the affects of this event through God’s people. Which leads us to our next point:

2. The glory of the Lord can rest in us. (vs. 4-6)

Mark 9:4–6 ESV

4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Now this may seem to be a bit far-fetched to us. How can the glory of the Lord rest in us? Do we somehow become divine? No. We are creatures created in the image of God. That is, God has imprinted all of us with the ability to connect with him. For the glory of the Lord to rest upon us, we must look at it in a different way. It is something from beyond ourselves that brings us in closer proximity to the holiness of who God is. We are not changed in any way ontologically - that is in our being. But we are drawn closer to the perfection and righteousness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was transfigured, the disciples saw who he truly was. It was Jesus’ being. The glory was Jesus. The glory of which we speak today in us something that is beyond who we are but points us toward who God is. The disciples were close to this glory. They saw this glory revealed. But the glory of the Lord did not consume them.

Exodus 34:29 ESV

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

In Exodus 34:29, Moses returns from the mountain receiving the law from God. It seems that whenever Moses would communicate the word of God to the people, his face would shine with the reflection of the glory of God that he had encountered. When Moses would go before the Lord in the tabernacle, his face would shine in the same way. This glory that would be reflected in Moses shows that he was a mediator for God. He was a messenger of the divine to the community of Israel. In Moses’ shining face, there is an embodiment of the word that conveys tangible implications for those who hear that word. The response to this glorious word is to reembody the word to the world. The shining face of Moses anticipates the filling of the tabernacle with the divine glory:

Exodus 40:34–38 NRSV

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; 37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.

But now that the temple is no longer here but destroyed and with the coming of the Holy Spirit to fill believers on Pentecost, Paul tells us that we have become the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Because we are God’s temple and the Spirit of God dwells in us, we are called to live for him and be a reflection of his glory in the world. We are called to live lives that are congruent to the life of Christ and show forth his glory to all. Our lives are to be an example of one living in this glory - of having God’s word being announced through our lives in word and deed.

As the Holy Spirit fills us as God’s temple, the glory of the Lord is shown through us as his people. Just like the glory of the Lord was to be shown through Israel to all, we show the glory of the Lord to all as we come closer and closer to God through Christ. We are not God’s glory, and his glory is not part of our being. It is the power of the Spirit working in and through us.

Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 5:1-2

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We are to imitate God in his holiness and walk in love just as Christ loved us. As Wesleyans, we talk about becoming perfected in love. Not that we are perfect in all things, but we can be perfected in how we love. This is the goal of sanctification.

Consider these words from Paul in Philippians 3:12:

Philippians 3:12 ESV

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

And further what John writes in his first letter:

1 John 4:12 ESV

12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Because of the glory that is in us through the power of the Holy Spirit as temples of the Holy Spirit, we press on toward this perfection in this life. It is not just something that is attained once we die. It is something that is possible in the here and now as we move closer to the Lord and filled more and more with his glory. We, like Moses, begin to reflect this glory in our lives through the way in which we love God and neighbor as we are called to do. This is the action of one who is filled with glory. It would be easy to stay in the moment and make dwellings like Peter suggested. But that is not our call as Christians. We do not contain this love just for ourselves but are called to move out into the world to show this glory of God in us to the world. This leads us to our final point:

3. We must take the glory of the Lord into the world. (vs. 7-9)

Mark 9:7–9 ESV

7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

After the disciples witness the glory of God in Jesus and Moses and Elijah speaking with him, they hear this thunderous voice from a cloud that has encompassed them recognizing Jesus as God’s Son and they are to listen to what he says. It is very reminiscent of Moses being enveloped in the cloud on Mt Sinai as he is receiving the law from God. You can imagine that the disciples first thought when they see and experience all this is to go and tell everyone about that they had seen and heard on the mountain. But Jesus tells them not to say anything until after he had been raised from the dead.

Why would Jesus not want anyone to know what just happened? Throughout the Gospel of Mark there is a theme of the hidden messiah. Jesus tells people repeatedly not to say anything about who he is to others. This is because in this gospel the mission of Jesus is centered on the cross and nothing else. All things that have happened in Jesus’ ministry must be viewed through the lens of the cross. If we look at what happens at the transfiguration through that lens what we find is that Jesus is not the kind of messiah that Israel had been expecting. The messiah was more than just someone who would conquer the Romans. He was God in the flesh who would destroy the power of sin and death to inaugurate a new kingdom built on love for God and others. It is a kingdom that brings us into fellowship with one another and points us to the reality beyond what we see to one that is eternal in worship and praise. So before Jesus ascends into heaven, he calls his disicples together to tell them that when the Holy Spirit does fall upon them and they receive power from God, they are to go and preach the good news to the world.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

They are to share with the world that Jesus is not a military messiah. He is the Son of Man who has come to receive dominion over all things and conquer the world with his kingdom.

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

All authority has been given to him. And all authorities are under his feet. This authority and power have now been given to those who trust and believe in the name of Jesus. We are to go and make disciples of all nations and bringing others into the kingdom of God. This is where the church needs to stop being pessmistic about the reach and power of the gospel. We have bought into this notion that some how Satan is winning. We look at the headlines on television or on our Facebook feeds and think that Satan has the upper hand. Our society has full-on rejected Christ and turned away from him. We are as humans have always been - self-serving and self-worshiping. Nothing has changed since Adam and Even were kicked out the garden.

But the church is moving. God’s kingdom is moving forward. Do you know according to an article in the Economist magazine last September, that by 2030 there will be more professing Christians in the China than members of the Community Party? Did you know that there is a revival among evangelical Christians in Iran right now. Muslims are converting to Christianity at rates that are alarming the Islamic regimes in power. The church is not constricting. It is thriving and expanding. The kingdom of God is making in-roads into India, Japan, and other Asian nations. It is only in the West that you see the church’s decline. But that is just for a season. God will raise up a remnant and bring the power of the Gospel to a new generation just like Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

There will be a day on earth when the world will know the word of God through his church that all the people in world will not have to have law read to them but it will be on their hearts. People will be turning to the Lord. But we must be the reflection of God’s glory in the world right now. We must be examples of what it means to live in the presence of God because his Spirit is in us. We must be perfected in love of God and neighbor so that the others can know of God’s love in their lives.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, this is not a pipe dream or an naive understanding of the world. There are no “Polyannas” among the prophets of the Old or New Testaments. It is the reality that Jesus’ message, his gospel has the power to overcome the world. His gospel is sufficient above all things. There is nothing that Satan can do to stop the gospel from reaching every heart and turning the full number of the Gentiles toward him. God takes his kingdom into the world through us. We are not to sit idly by and say that the world is going to pot anyway so lets just watch it burn. We are to be in the world showing the world who Jesus is and helping people to know Christ and be changed into his likeness.

Jesus is on the throne right now where he rules and reigns at the right hand of the Father. His glory is still upon his people to show the fullness of who God is to all. Let us not back down from this call but take it all more seriously in our world today. Let us be the ambassadors of the gospel of Jesus Christ and represent him and his kingdom until he comes again to judge the living and dead.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, you have called us to be your people to take the message of Jesus Christ and his kingdom into the world. Give us strength as we go forth to be bold in our proclamation of your word. May your word change us and challenge us to be more and more like Jesus everyday. May the reflection of your glory shine in us just at it did Moses so that others can know you are indeed with us. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.

Closing Song

“Victory in Jesus”

Benediction

Get ready to serve the Lord. Go in peace and joy, sharing the good news of Jesus’ transforming love and power for all. AMEN.