Finding Our Place

Let's start with a word of Prayer. Our gracious father. How thankful we are that we can gather in your house to praise you. For being our God, and our King for your the money. One. And may we rejoice in that as we Fellowship together around your word and joyful singing and in prayer. May you bless us. Richly. Oh Lord Our God in Jesus name. Amen.

My father is Rich and houses and land Holdings LLC.

I meant.

What's 1 and 1/2?

IMAX.

I want.

I just have the little something to say about this song that I was thinking as we were singing. I was like, wait, is that? I'm the child of a king or I'm a child of a king. Okay, that sounds like it's about the same thing, but it's really real.

a child of the king different than being

The child of a king. I have to think about it, Sam. Knock it off. Because if we're, if we're the child of a king, it says that could be any. A child that means. Of the king. We have one king.

I think I get it.

One king and we are his children.

Where we're starting a new series this week and it's called finding our place. So we're going to be looking at Matthew some verses in Matthew. And today we're going to look at the Transfiguration, which is a time when Jesus truly revealed to three of his disciples, the glory that he had in them in heaven. And when we think about that, we don't often think that of God is just revealing himself. So powerfully. And yet it's a part of the word. And it's something that you and I all need one of the disciples that there was there to witness. That was John. And I think that the words that we have this morning from John. Go to chapter 1 verses 14 to 18 spring out of that experience that he witnessed on the mountain. So let's read it. John 1:14 and 18, the word became flesh and made his dwelling Among Us, the word being Jesus Christ. We have seen his glory to the glory of the one, and only son who came from the father, full of grace and truth. John testified concerning him. He cried out saying, this is the one I spoke about when I said he who comes after me is has surpassed me because he was before me. Out of its fullness. We have all received Grace in place of Grace already. Given for the law has given was given through Moses Grace and Truth came through. Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only son who is himself. God, and is the closest relationship with a father has made him known. And so, we'll Carry On from there. I have one prayer request here. Many of you know, Joe Hallett and he has just found out that he is suffering from liver cancer. And so we need to be in prayer for him. Let's go to prayer.

Precious Father. In Heaven, how thankful we are that we can gather before you the Mighty God and truly draw closer to you, as we come to know you through the power of your word, through the expressions of our glory, and our vision, in the music that you bring us to and through prayer. Father. We see you. we do pray for the needs of Our community for we live in a community of people, and many of these people are uncertain about their Eternal future and father, we come before you to cry out to you for the needs that they have. They need to know you father and may we be a picture of your precious word to them in the things that we say and the things that we do in our community that they might come to know you. Father, we also want to remember the request that we're here, and we think of Joe, and we know he loves you and desires to walk with you even through the difficulties of life. And so we thank you for his attitude. May you continue to lift him up and strengthen him. We pray for wisdom as he goes in to see the doctors to find out the extent. And then, father, give him the strength to face this war that you were placed in his locked, bless him and guide him. We do pray for the unspoken request that people have here. I know many of us have things that are on our hearts that our burdens and yet we do not openly Express them, but they are in our hearts. And so we pray that you would touch each knees. That is out there that you would be there too. Cover the blessing Goodrich. And now, father, as we continue, the service May our hearts be drawn to you, may our voices be lifted up in praise and honor of the one who has blessed us. So richly. In Jesus name, we ask these things. Amen.

All right. Nice to have after getting some rain in the last couple days, and I have some sunshine voices.

These are the days of Elijah by Jessica's Behavior store.

Good luck.

These are the days of Ezekiel driving because these are the days of your event. David rebuilding, the Temple of Praise. Father Days of the New.

Johnny Mac's.

Forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted.

I'm alive and well, your spirit is within me because I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted.

You were amazing.

You my king.

George.

You know.

Forgiving. Because I'm accepted you were condemned.

You like an amazing love?

By George you are, are you? You know, I do.

Jesus.

The sun has set you free. You are free and you are free. The sun has set you free. You are friend and amazing that you might came with.

I need a smile that you my king would die for me.

Amazing love. And you know, why? Do you know? Do you know like, let me

A man, may we honor him? Our gracious father? How we thank you that we can come before you the amazing God, who loved us enough, that he gave his son so that we might have life. And we thank you and Praise You. Lord, You're the mighty one and we pray that you would be here in power and strength. May your spirit be active and alive. And each one of our hearts that we would somehow be drawn to a closer relationship with you through the power of your word. And may you guide me that as I speak you would have control over me that the spirit of the Living God would guide each and every word from my mouth. We thank you for this in Jesus name. Amen. Well, as I said before, we're going to be starting a new series, it's a place and we need to find our place in our relationship with God and what he has for us. The greatest gift that we have is that relationship with Jesus Christ because it surely has changed our eternity. When we come to know Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, we turn around because we were Bound for an eternity of Destruction in hell and have come to know the Lord and Savior. Now, have that Eternal Destiny in heaven with Wonder and power and strength in him. And as we take a look at that, we need to think about why what brought you if you have come to know, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, what brought you to that point? What are the evidences that led you to come to Faith in Jesus Christ? Our Lord, you have to come to that. Since that Jesus is truly the Living God because apart, from knowing the Jesus is living God. What else can he do for you? If he's just another human being, you can do nothing. 8 he can't change your life at all. But if he truly is the Living God, he can change your life. And for most of you, he has, he's changed you to help. You come to know him as Lord and savior. And that's an eternal change. That's a wonder. And so, we take a look at some of the evidences that the bring us, you know, the recognition through the power of His word for the influences of other people. And somehow, there are other connections, what we're going to take a look at one of those connections today that were given to three disciples, Peter James and John to see Jesus Christ in his glory. And that isn't offered to very many people in a visual sense, and yet it was offered to them and it truly had an influence on their ministry as we read before when John speaks about that vision of that are not Vision that night that he saw on that mountain. In the opening of his book of John. So, let's begin the process. By looking at Matthew chapter 17. We're eventually going to go through the first nine verses with us, read the first couple and Jesus Christ, not at the end of his ministry, but he's been ministering for a few years now. And so it says, after 6 days, Jesus Took with him Peter James, and John, the brother of James and led them up a high mountain by themselves. Doesn't tell us which Mount that was, it might have been Mount Hermon in the north, which is a big mountain over nine thousand feet or it could have been one of the Lesser peaks in Israel. That doesn't give us. That idea. There was transfigured before them there. He was transfigured. For them, his face Shone like a son and his clothes became as white as the lights, you know, what transfigure? It was transfigured means, it's that he was truly changed. He was changed not into the vision of people that we see now. But it's like, our, his skin was peeled away and it revealed of the True Glory of who he wants and he is and the glory that we will eventually see when we get to heaven, but it revealed his glory

Jesus, I don't know if he was predicting this or not in the previous chapter in chapter 16, but it's might be evident that he was actually predicting that. Some of the disciples would see this glory in Matthew 16:28. It says, truly I tell you some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the son of man coming in his kingdom, and I don't know if this is the full vision of this but certainly all the disciples have died now. And it did they see this vision? And I think that this is part of that Vision that we see that Jesus revealed, really openly who he was as the Living God that he was truly different by showing himself. And so Peter, James and John, were the three that saw this person of Jesus Christ in in his Heavenly form. And and so we see that the Kingdom of Heaven came down to mankind at this point and that Transfiguration is a revelation of Jesus his glory to him.

It was really the ultimate change happened actually in the reverse if you think about it, when Jesus.

Jesus came down from heaven. He changed from that Eternal creature. That did not have any stress or pain or any of those things that we face, that new, all things that had lived on in eternity. And then he came as a man to her. That is the miraculous change. Anyway, Jesus chose three people to reveal himself to us as we take a look at those lives of the three people. We can see that these people were truly involved in the ministry in some sort. Remember, Peter was really the first leader of the disciples after Jesus rose into Glory, Peter took the, the leadership role as he was the first, Want to preach at Pentecost. He was the one that was there. When the Holy Spirit came upon the Jews and the, the Samaritans and finally, the Gentiles. And he led her to that point. And then we see John who expresses in other ways, that's evidence of Jesus Christ, as being the god of Glory in this way. And then James was the first disciple to. We reading Acts chapter 8, that he was the first of the disciples to pass away. And so somehow, God gave him that sense of his glory to James. There was one other and we'll look at him in just a minute.

But Peter of the chosen one. Remember Peter had his struggles. He was the one that denied. Jesus Christ, three times. After Jesus Christ was taken by the Sanhedrin and he had the opportunity to stand up for Christ and he didn't he fell down. So we see that God doesn't turn away from you just because you battle with life, but he can bring you back and part of that was Peter's understanding that. Yeah. Jesus is truly the King of Kings, the Lord of lords. He is God, in heaven, and Jesus brings him back and John 21 when he meets him at the lake with the other disciples, and he talks to him about what he wants Peter to do. And he says in John 21:15. He says, when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon, Peter Simon, son of John. Do you love me more than these? In other words, the world? Yes, Lord. He said, you know that, I love you. Jesus said feed my Lambs, the restored. If he'd went to that three times restoring Peter to, that leadership role in the group of disciples. We also see one other person. That's the glory of the Living. God. And this isn't recorded in scripture, but it is the evidence of it is recorded in scripture. And that person was Paul. He got to see some amazing things. Remember God took him out into the desert to teach him for three years. And in that desert, he had some experiences and he talks about those experiences in the second chapter, our second book to the Corinthians and in where he says I saw inexpressible things in the 2nd Corinthians 12 or and God revealed some things to me that are just inexpressible because of that. He said I have this burden that I carry around in my life, but it's why he was able to escape. Ralph's in in Philippians chapter 2, these words about Jesus Christ. He says, in Philippians 2 7 rather. He made himself. Nothing taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. Is he has that inexpressible comparison that God revealed to him who Jesus Christ really was. And now he's saying, yeah, I saw the glory but here he is. He gave all that up to come to Earth for you and for me and looking at that Lori in the way it is, and, of course or John, We see him expressing this. We saw that in chapter one, but then when he writes the book of Revelation, he gets to have this vision of Jesus Christ. And, you know, I'm not going to read through the whole Vision, but pretty incredible Vision to, you know, and when you see something that is just Indescribable is as false as inexpressible. You know, it's really tough to really explain it to everybody else. And here we see, John trying to do that in Revelation chapter 1 verse 16. It says in his right hand. He held Seven Stars and coming out of his mouth was as sharp double-edged sword. His face was like a sun shining and all its Brilliance and he goes on and describes other things on you going. Wow, what a picture of something. Inexpressible really in how to explain what we see when we see the Living God one day. For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior will be able to see that and will be able to express our glory and understanding of him, but here we have three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and they are getting to see something that nobody else gets to experience. They get to see the Living God revealed before them. And they later on can use that. And did you say that in their Ministries to other people to help people understand and know? Now, when you think about our own lives and you know, what, how we came to know and understand, Jesus Christ as Lord. And Savior, there are many things that happened in your life, whether it was guidance by a family member or members, or your understanding being in Sunday school and hearing the message or in church and hearing the message. We receive it in multiple ways. And how those evidence is build up to the point where you say, Okay. I want to know. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior that brings us to that point where we take that dive of faith and say I trust in you. And it truly is a diver fake Peter James and John had more evidence than you, and I of that power of Jesus Christ, but we all have that. And then we see some witnesses show up to the scene, some witnesses fast. And let's read on versus 325, just then there appeared before them. Moses, and Elijah interesting that they understood that it was Moses in the light. I don't know how, but they did take it talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up free shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah, you know, Express himself often without truly understanding where what was going on. But, and this is one of those times but he understood Moses in the manger. What are so that is interesting in his cell while he was still speaking of bright cloud, cover them in a voice. From the cloud said, this is my son whom I love with him. I am well pleased. Listen to him. Listen to it. Now. There are a lot of things about this little section that we can take from it. Remember that Jesus often a battled with the Pharisees and Sadducees about who he was and the evidences of who he was part of the event, was the miraculous work that he did. Surely they had never seen anybody come along and heal the sick and control the the weather and even raise the dead. And these were all evidences that he was the Living God and yet they didn't believe in. So we always talked about test tomorrow. The testimony of one. Well, he here as the testimony of several people including God and in John 5. 31, Jesus says, if I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. So he understood his testimony. I bought that testimony is also given by Moses and Elijah and even the Living God, who gives that testimony is also proclaimed through what he did. And so we see here are people from the Past coming. We see Moses, representing the wall and Elijah the confirmation of that through the prophetic work. And finally, we see God involved in it. Well, Moses was ministering on this Earth. He wrote the five books of the, the pentateuch and in the Deuteronomy, it says, and versus versus chapter 18 verse 17 and 18. Read to me. What they say is good talkin about the people of Israel and his guidance. I will raise up for them. A prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites and I'll put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything. I command him. I think about that. What did Jesus? What did God say about Jesus, listen to him. In other words. This is confirmation of this Prophecy from Deuteronomy more than 10,000, more than a thousand years. Before Jesus Christ came to the Earth. And this is the prophecy, predicting is coming and the power that he would have to present the word of God because Jesus, truly is the word of God. And then we have Elijah, Elijah comes along in a number of episodes. Not only Elijah, but John the Baptist is considered the Elijah and we have that prediction of John, the Baptist coming from Malachi 4:5 and it says see I will send the Prophet Elijah to you before the great and Dreadful day the Lord comes and this everybody saw is a prediction of what we see John the Baptist fulfilling that in the fact that he led the call for Jesus Christ coming to this earth. He was the procedure of Christ announcing his coming and yet people didn't believe but here Elijah comes and meets Jesus Christ along with Moses. This mountain and they are obvious to the disciples. There's one more and that's God himself. He comes down and makes it complete. Xre-22 here. We have Peter speaking to the Sanhedrin because he's just healed, the he's healed. The crippled at the gates going into the temple, and it got everybody wild up including the Sanhedrin and so he's talking to them about this and he says in Acts 3:22 for Moses said the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. In other words. He's referring back to that the prophecy from Deuteronomy 18 for you, me from among your own people and you must listen to everything he tells you. Notice that he's repeating what God said. We need to be willing to listen to everything. That Jesus Christ tells us, we need to pay attention to that because it's the word. It's what truly changes Our Lives. As we listen to the word of Jesus Christ. And that's what, what Peter is stating here, heater understood. He's actually probably even thinking back to that time when I'm out, when he saw Jesus Christ, when he heard the words of the Living, God, listen to Jesus Christ, you know, it's so important because Jesus Christ is the one place we have the guidance for eternal life. There's a lot of other people to come along and say oh yeah life is just you live it then, you know, if they believe in eternity, they think everybody's going to go by and return Ade and live. Joyfully by Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me Peter says the same thing in in an axe, you know, that he's the only way. And we need to remember that. And that's why we need to Proclaim that because we have a lot of lost souls in our world today. And if we're not willing to express the glory of the Living God and Jesus Christ to a world where saying, you know, good luck for all eternity. I've Got My Ticket, you know, we need to express that. So that people understand and know that they have an eternity to look forward to. Okay. Well, let's follow along in this, do the response, the last little bit of this passage Matthews 17629. It says, when the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground. Yeah. God has a way of doing that to us. Doesn't, doesn't he? But Jesus came and touched them be afraid. And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus as they were coming down the mountain. Jesus instructed them. Don't anyone? What you have seen and feel the son of man has been raised from the dead. In other words, you know, this is private for you until I'm raised from the dead. Why is that?

It may have changed the actions of people if if this had been expressed, we don't know why. Totally, but they were going to hold on to that. You know, when we actually come before the Living God. It's there are times. It's really ought to drive us to our knees in worship because God is an incredible being who has created us and he continues to sustain us. We owe literally everything to him and I don't think that we often fully grouse. How great God is and you know, when God's voice came on, it just drove the disciples to their knees and probably caused them to fade away for a little bit. We sometimes need to have that reference for the Living God. He wants to touch your life deeply and we need the yield into that and Daniel. He does a similar thing and we see you the actions of John and Revelation, but in Daniel, Daniel 10:9, you know, Daniel has been asking for guidance and then it says, then I heard him speaking in, as I listened to him. I fell into a deep sleep my face to the ground. In other words, there is a reverence that needs to be when we come into the presence of the Living. God. I don't know if you've ever thought about this. So, you know, when you get to heaven and you truly meet the Living God. What are you going to do? You know, I Is that for whatever? Going through your mind? How do we respond to understanding the Living God? Who is above all?

Everything is committed to the Lord. He holds all things in his hands and we need to understand this. Jesus was walking this Earth, but he was also the powerful Living. God 1127 says, all things have been committed to me by my father. In other words, everything that's happening is Guided by me through my father. No one knows the son, except the father, and no one knows the father except the Sun, and Those whom the son chooses to reveal.

God Alone knows the Heights. And depths of our hearts, in the desires that we have. We took a look at Bartimaeus this morning and Sunday school. If you remember Bartimaeus, was this blind, man, and he was sitting by the side of the road and all of a sudden, he heard that Jesus was coming along and he is

His desire was to have Jesus heal him and so he cries out to Jesus, you know, help me. Help me and people know help me. Help me and I finally Jesus says bring it to me.

You see when God knows the heart, he responds. And God is looking for hearts to respond, Peter James, and John responded to him as so, did all the other disciples, but they responded to him because the evidence of who he wants became clearer and clearer to them. And that's the way we respond when the evidences of God become clear.

You know what? We don't need to fear God.

Because he loves us and cares for us. But if we don't know him, if we haven't come to that point of receiving Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, we ought to fear Him. Because he's the one that holds our eternities in his hands Matthew 14:27. But Jesus immediately said to them take courage. It is I don't be afraid. This was an experience where the disciples were on the lake and there was a storm, the waves were crashing in in Jesus, Walks across the water. Think he's a ghost and they start to cry out and said don't be afraid.

You know, when we don't need to fear coming before the Living God, he calls us to come before you and to worship Him and seek his will and his guidance.

We need that interlocks. Now, when we think about Witnesses, I think the disciples openly used this understanding of who Jesus was in there Ministries. And we see that in 2nd Peter, his last book, he wrote before dying, and he wrote this book and he says about knowing Jesus Christ. And speaking about those who saw him. He says, we ourselves heard the voice that came from heaven. When we were with him on the sacred Mountain. Remember the Jesus, the god three times. He spoke from Heaven wanted, Jesus baptism, one time here, and one time, just before he went to the cross, the voice of God was hurt. But Peter is looking back that I'm on the mountain and you think, you know, We were there and we saw him and we heard the voice of God and it made a difference in our lives.

So we have this incredible experience of the Transfiguration and how it changed the disciples lives. And we don't get to experience God in that respect, most of us. Anyway, I don't know where he's taking you, but God doesn't reveal himself in this way for y'all and f***. He does reveal himself clearly in so many different ways and we see that in the launch of people who truly want to walk with him. And we see that in the power of God's word and we see that as people Proclaim his name and so they're many ways that we can come and have evidence enough to make a difference in our lives. And when that occurs, it hopefully brings us to a change. In our relationship with him. We want to know him as our Lord and savior and I hope that each person has come to know. God is their lord and savior. If you haven't, you can change that even today and you can come and you can ask him to be your lord and savior.

If he's change your life. Has it made a difference? In your lie, it made a difference in the lives of Peter, James and John. It changed their life completely and they gave up the rest of their lives to tell others about Jesus. You know, that's our responsibility. If God has you here on this Earth. He has you here to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ to a world that is in me.

That's our responsibility as believers. You know, it sometimes we're really silent about that. But God wants us to be Bowl. Not only in our desire for him to move in our willingness to be obedient to the call that he has made on. Our Lots is changed us and we need to help others see that change and know him so they can change as well.

Grace's Father in Heaven, how we thank you for these different pictures. You give us in your word of the life changes that you bring about as people trust in you and look to you and we thank you for this incredible Vision than your desire to reveal yourself, the others and you want to do that to our lost world as well. So father we pray that does we take in these thoughts that we truly would become messengers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world in need lead us in this. Oh Lord Our God in Jesus name. Amen.

I hope is the rock, I stand.

Priceless. Da Roc.

Our gracious Father in Heaven, how we rejoice in your incredible provision of life? And as we rejoice, in that may we be willing to be bold in our expressions of Faith to a world in Need for, they truly need you as well. And we pray for your guidance in this, your courage and your strength to go before us in Jesus precious name. Amen. Praise God, from.