A Taste of Heaven
Notes
Transcript
What is it that keeps a christian going through the trials, tribulations and the temptations in this life? Hope
What then is that hope? Heaven, a place of promise , peace, no SIN or suffering and being in the presence of our Savior forever!
So then how does a christian maintain that hope in heaven when we’ve never seen it? By Faith. God allows us to have little Taste’s of Heaven in this life to increase our faith and hope in His Son and His Word, to continue looking up and moving forward to our heavenly home.
[Illus.] Over the last month we’ve seen three new families join the church and two baptisms. We’ve seen the healing of the sick and the home-going of some saints. That is the power of God working in the lives of people that continue to give us a Taste of Heaven and God’s goodness and grace!
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
This morning we’re going to get a “Taste of Heaven” as we look at the scriptures and my prayer is that they give us hope and increase our faith in heaven to come.
Text; Mark 9.1-7
1 And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—
6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
After a week of some earth shattering revelations from Jesus, the disciples needed to hear some uplifting news. So Jesus reveals to them/crowd, that some standing right there with Him “would not taste death until they see the kingdom of God present with power.” They would get a Taste of Heaven.
1. Jesus Transfigured; 2-3
1. Jesus Transfigured; 2-3
Transfigured- (“metamorphosis”) means “to be changed into another form,” not merely a change in outward appearance. Jesus’ human body was transformed (glorified) and the disciples saw Him as He was before and will be when He returns visibly in power and glory to establish His kingdom on earth.
5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Notice that Jesus was the only one who became bright in glory. His clothes were illuminated from the inside out. No launderer on earth could have whitened them this way. This represents the Deity of Christ, the Son of God, the God-Man!
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Transfigured appears four times in the New Testament, always in reference to a radical transformation. Here and in Matthew 17:2 it describes the transfiguration, but in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, it refers to the transformation in the lives of believers brought about by salvation in Christ.
Why Peter, James and John? Each was being chosen for a special ministry role
Peter would be the leader of the NT church
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
James was chosen as an apostle and to be martyred for his faith in Christ
2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
John was chosen to receive The Revelation from God to close the Scriptures
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
When God saves you He calls you to a specific role and enables you with certain gifts to serve Him. And He will give you a Taste of Heaven from His word to give you hope and faith to fulfill His purpose in your life.
2. Elijah and Moses; 4
2. Elijah and Moses; 4
Elijah and Moses met Jesus in the transfiguration and were having a discussion. So there are a couple of questions I want us to consider.
What were they talking about?
30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Why Moses and Elijah? Moses represented the law; and Elijah, who was considered the greatest of the prophets, represented the prophets. These two men were honoring and ministering to Jesus. They were symbolizing that the law and the prophets found their fulfillment in Jesus.
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
The old covenant was now to be fulfilled and superseded in Jesus who was to usher in the new covenant
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
Their presence in the transfiguration attested to the claim of Jesus as Messiah!
3. Peter’s Excitement; 5-6
3. Peter’s Excitement; 5-6
Peter was so excited and awe struck that he really didn’t know how to react. It’s kind of like that song by Mercy Me, “I Can Only Imagine”.
Surrounded by Your glory, What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You Jesus, Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence, Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, I can only imagine
The believer’s experience in the Day of Redemption will be very much like what these disciples experienced.
a. The believer will experience the Shekinah glory, see its full manifestation upon Christ.
b. The believer will hear the voice of God proclaiming Christ to be His Son, expressing perfect approval of His redemptive work, and rejoicing that He has been heard and is to be heard throughout all eternity.
c. The believer will fall upon his face, prostrate before Christ in awe and adoration and worship.
d. The believer will experience the Lord’s intercessory work. He will feel the Lord’s hand reaching out to touch him and to lift him up. And the believer will stand in the Lord’s righteousness and perfection, living in a state of glory forever.
e. The believer will witness and experience the Lord’s preeminence throughout all eternity.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. POSB (1996). The Gospel according to Mark (p. 164). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
The transfiguration gave the disciples a taste of glory. A taste that all God’s children will see when we get to heaven.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
No wonder Peter didn’t want to leave and see this come to an end!
4. The Voice of God; 7
4. The Voice of God; 7
This cloud is the Shekinah Glory of God Himself. This was the cloud that had guided Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 13:21), that had appeared to the people in the desert (Exodus 16:10; 24:15–18; 34:5; 40:34–38), that had appeared to Moses (Exodus 19:9), and that had filled the temple with the glory of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10).
Hear Him- God’s voice singled out Jesus from Moses and Elijah as His beloved Son, as the One who possesses divine authority over all heaven and earth!
The Greek verb akouete, is translated “listen,” it means not just hearing, but hearing that leads to obedience.
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Close;
When we read or hear the Word of God it gives one Hope. That Hope in Christ/Word strengthens our Faith to be more than conquerers in this present day. That Faith keeps us looking up and moving forward to our heavenly home.
Each day God will give us a Taste Of Heaven from His Word if we will Hear Him!
Have you heard Him today?
Are you looking for Hope?
Have you gotten a Taste of Heaven?
Do you want to go to Heaven?
Then by faith, repent of your sin and trust Jesus Christ as Lord!