No Greater Love

NO GREATER LOVE Given by Craig Minke - Feb 14, 2021 This Sunday in the Christian world is called "Transfiguration Sunday". The theme of this week is about THE TRANSCENDENT POWER OF GOD. (HIS DIVINE GREATNESS). God's power is beyond our imagination, and he has no rival or equal. As we watched in the intro video, HE IS, so much more than we can even imagine. The love he has extended us as humans far exceeds our human understanding. Our message today is found in Mark 9:2-9 we see God revealing Jesus' power and divinity through the transfiguration. AS MANKIND WE TOO OFTEN UNDERESTIMATE GOD AND HIS INFINITE LOVE FOR US As humans we do love our heros. Do we have any Superman movie fans? * If you have any familiarity with Superman, you will know that his alter ego is Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper. * Working for a news organization allowed the Krytonian to interact with the people he was protecting and to hear about situations that may have required his super attention. * The Clark Kent persona would also allow for comic relief. * Not knowing they were talking to Superman, people would often underestimate Kent and say things to him they would never say to the Man of Steel. * It was all the more silly because Superman's "disguise" was a pair of horned rim glasses. * How was anyone fooled? * With all Superman's power, you would think he could come up with a better disguise! * Or, at least he could spend the cash for some hipster designer lenses. The way people underestimated Superman is similar to how people underestimate God; however, when we underestimate God, it is not always funny or cute. * Sometimes we think about God as if he is less than what he is. * We think about him like he is capable of cruelty and neglect. * We think about him as if He were not good. * When things are going our way, we sing God's praises. * But when our situation is challenging, we question God's ability to deliver us. * Why do we underestimate God? * And maybe a more importantly question, how do we stop? Today is Transfiguration Sunday, commemorating the day when Jesus went up on a mountain and evidence of his diety was revealed to three of his closest friends. * Jesus took 3 of his disciples with him up into a high mountain. * No reason is given as to why all the disciples did not go up with him. * James, Peter and John apparently formed an inner circle around Jesus. * Jesus reveals more to these 3 disciples than the other disciples. * Each of these 3 men were chosen for special ministry roles of which they were yet unaware of. * Peter was to be the leader of the early church, the one who was to open the door of the gospel to both Jews and Gentile after Pentecost. * James was called to be an apostle and to be martyred for his faith in Christ. * John was to receive the "Revelation" from God to close out the Scripture. * From a theological standpoint, the Transfiguration, as we call it, is important for us because IT HELPS US UNDERSTAND CHRIST' NATURE-fully God and fully human. * However, I believe there is more to the Transfiguration. * I believe the story of the Transfiguration can help us avoid underestimating God. * Let's look at the Mark's version of the transfiguration story. MK 9:2-9 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. The transfiguration may have helped strengthen Jesus who was about to suffer and die in Jerusalem. * Jesus was about to face the cross and the full weight of all that was involved in dying for the sins of the world. * He was fully God but also fully human so the agony of all that would be on his mind. * The pressure of bearing God's judgment for all the sins of the world was beginning to press in upon Him. * He needed God's strength, encouragement and assurance in a very special way. * Therefore God gave Jesus two very special experiences> * Jesus was transfigured raiment clothing shining as the brightness of the sun * JESUS SHINING LIKE THE SUN IS NOT AN ILLUSION, IMAGINATION OR A DREAM * His brilliance was not a reflection sun shining of a mirror or lake. * His FACE DID SHINE LIKE THE SUN. * The shining was the glory of the Lord's inner nature, of his Godly nature ACTIVELY SHINING THROUGH HIS BEING. * Also this was not the full glory of the Godhead shining through Jesus. * For no man can every stand in the full glory of God's presence not in man's present physical body. * God's glory is described in the verse below I TIM 6:16 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in UNAPPROACHABLE light, whom no one HAS SEEN or CAN SEE. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. * Apparently God allowed only a small degree of the glory, only what the three disciples could bear to shine through the body and clothing of Jesus. * God's glory is so brilliant that when he returns there will be no need for the sun. REV 22:5 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. * Matt in his account says that the face of Jesus shone like the sun. * Jesus was also visited by two saints from heaven, Moses - the great lawgiver, Elijah - the great prophet So why did Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus? 1) To discuss his death, Jesus may have needed strength to bear the weight and pressure of the cross. Jesus suffered in great agony as we read of the accounts a. Remember Jesus' all night prayers at Gethsemane, sweating blood b. Jesus cry on the cross "Why have you forsaken me" 2) Second reason was to show that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God, the One who is superior to the Law and the prophets. a. Moses represented the Law b. Elijah was considered the greatest of the prophets c. These two men were honoring and ministering to Jesus. d. They were symbolizing that the law and the prophets found their fulfillment in Jesus. e. Jesus is the One of whom the law and the prophets SPOKE. f. He is the One to whom the law and prophets POINTED. g. The OLD COVENANT was NOW to be FULFILLED and SUPERCEDED BY JESUS who would usher in the NEW COVENANT. , I would like to focus on Peter's response. * Prior to this story, Peter had one of his best moments. * In Mark 8:29, Jesus asked Peter a question that only God could help him answer. MK 8:29 29 He asked them, "Jesus said But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." * It was a huge spiritual victory for Peter. * However less than a week later, on that mountain, Peter is spoken very loudly to from a cloud! * We love Peter, and we do not think we are better than the apostle. * But we see Peter was very human and sometimes formed some very poor conclusions. * A cloud spoke to Peter to correct him. * I am joking, of course. It was God speaking through the cloud. God had to lovingly and firmly correct Peter in that moment because his thinking was not correct. NOTICE A FEW THINGS FIRST ABOUT THIS INCIDENT * First, Peter called Jesus "rabbi." * A week earlier, Peter called Jesus the Messiah. * Now he is calling him "rabbi," or a "TEACHER." * Keep in mind, Peter is speaking as Jesus is shining and talking with two dead heroes of faith. * How does one go from "Messiah" to "rabbi" in that moment? We will get back to this question. Next, Peter proposed building three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. * There was a belief in Peter's time that divine beings dwelled in tabernacles, or tents, and scholars believe Peter wanted to extend the Transfiguration phenomenon. * Note what Peter did - He offered to build three shelters for Jesus and the two prophets. By this act he hoped to EXTEND THE STAY of the heavenly guests and the glorious experience. * The shelters which Peter offered to build were the booths made of branches and grass which could be quickly built, it was the kind often built by travellers on there stops along the road night by night. * Peter had good intentions, but he was "cloud wrong." * Peter was inadvertently putting Elijah and Moses on the same LEVEL AS JESUS. * Perhaps he saw Christ as a great prophet like Moses and Elijah. Without meaning to do so, Peter had diminished Jesus in his own eyes. * He underestimated the Son of Man as his Lord and Savior and he somehow imagined the Eternal Son would be pleased to stay in a tent made by human hands. Again, how did Peter go from acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah to underestimating him in less than a week? * In verse 6, Mark gives us important information about Peter's state of mind. MK 9:6 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. * The transfiguration struck the apostles with awesome fear. * Peter "did not know what to say, for they were terrified." * The disciples experience can be applied to the future when believers will stand before God at the day of redemption. o On that day believers will hear the voice of God in full power o Believers will fall on their faces before Christ is awe and adoration and worship. o Believers will experience Christ's intercessory work as he as the feel the Lord's hand touching them and lifting them up. o Believers will witness and experience the Lord's preeminence for all eternity. * Peter and his companions were afraid, and rightly so! * Peter is better than us. * After seeing Jesus shining and two dead guys walking around, most of us would have set the world record for fastest descent of a mountain! * We might even set some world records racing down the mountain. * At least Peter stayed on the mountain, and I give him credit for that. * The transfiguration also made the disciples witnesses of God's APPROVAL OF JESUS. However, Peter felt a type of fear that compelled him to speak. * It was not just the primal terror that triggers our flight response. * Some other type of fear was working in Peter that drove him to insert himself into the Transfiguration. * We do not know what was going through Peter's mind, but perhaps he felt he would be punished if he did not show the proper respect to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. * Perhaps Peter thought Jesus needed to be reminded that the three disciples were there so they would not accidentally be incinerated by Christ's power. * Whatever the reason, Peter's fear became greater than the image of Christ in his mind. I am not picking on Peter, because all of us do the same thing. * For example, if someone we care about becomes seriously ill or if our car unexpectedly needs a costly repair, it is natural to be anxious or afraid. * However, if we are not careful, we can allow that anxiety or fear to spiral into worry. * If the worry goes on long enough, the fear can cause us to accuse God of being cruel, uncaring, distant or some other negative adjective because he is "allowing us to go through this." * "If he loved me," we might reason, "he would protect me from this hardship." * We end up underestimating God's goodness and his ability to deliver us. I wish I could tell you that my relationship with God is not affected by my circumstances, but I cannot. * I sometimes allow my situation to determine my perception of God's goodness. * I let my problems affect my belief in God's ability to save me. * I make my fear a false god and allow it to erode my trust in Jesus. * Ironically, the more I give in to fear and worry, the less I am inclined to bring my problem to God-the one who could actually help me. * I somehow allow myself to believe the great Creator of heaven and earth, the one who holds all things together, the one who puts the very breath in my lungs, is weak. * Lord, have mercy on me and anyone else who falls into that trap! During the Transfiguration, when Peter underestimated Jesus, NOTICE WHAT GOD TOLD HIM IN VERSE 7, MK 9:7 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." * In calling Jesus his Son, the Father is establishing Christ's equality with himself. * In speaking of his love for Jesus, the Father is stating his unity with the Son. * In other words, the Father told Peter that Jesus is the Creator and the Almighty. * Jesus is the one who caused the stars to shine and seas to roar. * Jesus is the one who raised the mountains. * Jesus caused the birds to sing and the flowers to bloom. * Jesus created humanity in his image, and by his active will, puts air in our lungs, providing the very breath Peter used to underestimate him. * We know the passage: COL 1:16-17 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. As the intro of video at the beginning of the sermon said HE IS so much more that we can even fathom as human beings. THE TRANSFIGURATION STRENGTHED JESUS BUT IT ALSO STRENGTHENED THE DISCIPLES IN A FEW WAYS 1) It helped the disciples shattered faith * Jesus said he was going to Jerusalem to die. * The transfiguration showed the the Messiah (Jesus) had God's approval * Helped see how the law and prophets found their fulfillment in Jesus. 2) The transfiguration gave the disciples a taste of glory. * They were tasting some of heaven's joy peace, security fulfillment and perfection. * They and especially Peter did not want to leave this hallowed ground. (Peter - lets set up tents and stay awhile.) 3) The transfiguration struck the disciples with awesome fear * Gave them a glimpse of what it will be like on the great day of redemption. (Christ's return to judge the nations) * Believers will fall down in the presence of God, his power, his glory, and might and will feel him touch them and lift them up as he give them a new body. 4) The transfiguration made the disciples witnesses of God's approval. * They knew that they hadn't left their fishing careers for nothing * They knew that they were on the right team, doing what God and Jesus wanted. IN THE TRANSFIGURATION: God instructs Peter to listen to this Jesus-the real Jesus-not the Jesus of his corrupted imagination. * Peter should have rejected the Jesus of his fear and bowed down before the King of kings and Lord of lords. * He should not have presumed to know anything and looked to Christ to show him how to think and be. * God's admonition to Peter is important instruction for us as well. * We cannot allow the circumstances of our lives to diminish Christ in our hearts. * Too often we are PRIDEFUL, thinking we know what God SHOULD DO, and WHEN and HOW he should do it. * And, when he does not do things the way we expect, we tend to judge him and diminish our estimation of his greatness. * Instead of submitting our will, emotions, and reason to him, we sometimes treat God like he is a corrupted human being. The Transfiguration reminds us that yes, Jesus is our friend and brother, and he is the first new human, but his unity with humanity does not rob him of his majesty and divinity. * Transfiguration Sunday should be a reminder that we cannot and should NOT UNDERESTIMATE our Savior. * If we fully trusted Christ, we would never underestimate him. * Trusting Jesus involves not only BELIEVING in him, but also HAVING FAITH that God is giving us what we NEED. * It involves TRUSTING IN HIS PERFECT TIMING. * It also means that we trust his leading and believe he will tell us what we need to do to join him in the work that he is doing. * Trusting God means FOLLOWING HIM despite a lack of understanding and without the BIG PICTURE. * Most importantly, trusting God means BEING CONTENT with what we have, knowing that God would only deprive us of things we do not need or are harmful to us. * Peter did not have full understanding of what was happening on the mountain of Transfiguration, so HE TRIED TO INTERPRET EVENTS for himself. One way to keep ourselves from underestimating Jesus is to regularly put ourselves in a position to be overwhelmed by our great God. * We need to put ourselves in the place where words fall short-the place where logic fails. ;- * We need to go to the place where all we can do is worship him. For some of us, music takes us to that place. * Praise and WORSHIP MUSIC helps us draw nearer to God. * Experiencing NATURE is another way to be filled with awe. * When we immerse ourselves in CREATION, we cannot help but notice its beauty, symmetry, and glorious complexity. * It will inevitably lead us to the feet of the Creator who prepared such a beautiful world for us. * Commit to doing whatever it is that makes you feel overwhelmed with wonder and gratitude on a regular basis. * We need to create a space for Jesus to be transfigured before our eyes. MK 9:8 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. * After the voice from the cloud spoke to Peter, everything else disappeared. Moses, Elijah, and even the cloud faded away. * Only Jesus was left. He is ALL WE HAVE, and he is ALL WE NEED. * His GREATNESS cannot be overestimated. * There is NONE LIKE HIM! * Nothing else can SATISFY like Jesus! * No one else can SAVE like our Lord! * There is no greater love than that which flows from the heart of our Jesus! * Let us make everyday Transfiguration Sunday because Jesus is worthy of all praise! * Today the world celebrates Valentine's Day, we celebrate and are thankful for our loved ones * We are thankful for those who have loved us and shared life with us. * We are thankful for those who have stood by us through difficult times * We are thankful for those who have helped carry our burdens and made life easier for us. * BUT LET US NEVER FORGET THE GREATEST OF ALL LOVE THE JESUS HAS GIVEN US. * THIS LOVE HAS GIVEN US ETERNITY AND ETERNAL LIFE EVER AFTER. CLOSING PRAYER