There are incidents in our lives that we do not want to move beyond. Your honeymoon is one such incident. The birth of a baby is a similar incident. Special vacations fall into this category. These and other occasions we make into Kodak moments. Judy and I made a trip to Alaska for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We made a trip to China to visit our oldest son two years ago. We recently made a trip to Chicago to visit our youngest son. All of these are Kodak moments. It is human nature to want to capture special moments.
I want to show you an incident in the Bible when a man tried to capture a moment. He tried to make it a Kodak moment. The man was Simon Peter. The story is found in Luke 9:28-36. “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Peter wanted to make this incident into a Kodak moment. He wanted to capture the event for eternity. He did not want to move beyond it. He did not want to leave the mountain upon which they stood.
I know how Peter felt. Judy and I love the mountains. Every time we go to the mountains we do not want to come home. We would like to live in the mountains.
We have a tendency to romanticize life. Memories are always better as we reminisce than they were when we created them. Joe South wrote a song years ago that illustrates this concept.
Song: Don’t It Make You Wanna Go Home
Needless to say, we humans like to capture special moments. We enjoy Kodak moments. However, we need to move beyond Kodak moments. God has something bigger and better for us. Peter learned some valuable lessons about Kodak moments. I want to share these with you.
1. Human limitations cause us to cling to Kodak moments. In our text the disciples faced several limitations. They were sleepy (vs. 32). They were afraid (vs. 34). They were confused (vs. 35).
"Eternal life in the future tense is eternity in heaven with God. Eternal life in the present tense is knowing God personally now. Eternal life in the present breaks through limitations and experiences the best that life can offer. Many Christians miss that. We do our duty as believers, but no passion drives us; no power enables us. Sometimes our very busyness for God masks the emptiness we still experience. And we feel guilty for being Christian and having those feelings. "But when we encounter God as He is, our lives are irrevocably transformed. As we craft our lives to better know Him, we move from religion to relationship, from duty to passion, from frustration to power." (Tim Ritter, A Passionate Pursuit of God [InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., 1999], 12)
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Bart Leger)
The concept of human limitations was seen as Jesus neared the cross. Just before Jesus went to the cross He spent a period of time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He carried some of His disciples with Him for that prayer time. As he arrived in the Garden He left the disciples at a certain spot while he went further and prayed alone. The Bible tells us that three times Jesus went back to check on the disciples. Each of those three times He found them asleep. Jesus analyzed that situation and said “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” In other words we want to but our human limitations keep us from reaching our full potential.
When I was sixteen the Lord called me to be a preacher. For five long years I hid behind my fears, my doubts, and my confusion. My limitations kept me from realizing God’s purpose for my life and from the fullness He had for me.
Today, you might be like Peter. God is offering you a new opportunity. He wanted to show Peter the glory, splendor, and majesty of Jesus. He wanted to show Peter His ultimate plan. Peter’s limitations held him back but God did not leave him there. God helped him overcome those limitations.
Linda Down discovered real power and she needed it. She had dealt with the limitations of cerebral palsy all her life. One day, she got this crazy idea of running the New York Marathon. But Linda walked with difficulty, so running seemed out of the question? She used canes with arm clamps to steady her arms. On top of this she was 25 pounds overweight and jobless. In a state of depression, she began reading in the Scriptures about the power of God at work in people’s lives. She read Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. While training, she listened for God. She thought as she was running in the dark at night: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction about things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). She thought about her limited dreams, her inability to see beyond the obstacles of life. Faith, she said to herself, was running in spite of the insurmountable obstacles. As the New York Marathon began that cold morning, some 12 years ago now, she wore gloves on her hands to soften the impact of the crutches. It was windy on the bridge and uphill. She had not expected the beginning to be so difficult. As she finished the mile long Verrazano Narrows Bridge, there were no runners in sight ahead of her. Spectators were gone for the most part. But one little girl ran out into the street and cheered her on, “You can do it!” Others on the curb later applauded and cheered and shouted. They brought tears to Linda’s eyes and helped her to keep going. Ten hours later Linda was still running in the dark through dangerous neighborhoods. Some admiring spectators walked with her for safety. Then an ABC-TV camera crew showed up and followed the story of her courage. She continued to run. She wore a hole in one sneaker from dragging it across the ground; her hands ached and throbbed; her arms became black and blue and swollen; she couldn’t speak to anyone because of fatigue, but she continued to run because she prayed: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Then two parks and recreation trucks in Central Park came by and stayed with her to light the way. After 11 hours of struggle and over 27 miles, Linda crossed the finish line. People were crying and Linda was crying at the response and support that she had received from God and these people. She thanked God for the power to do such a miraculous thing. Later she was invited to the White House and was pictured on the front page of the New York Times. Her story was not just a story of noble effort, it was the story of the power of God at work.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Davon Huss)
2. We need to move beyond Kodak moments because God’s plan is bigger and better than a Kodak moment (31). Peter wanted to build three shelters, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. That was a noble idea. Peter recognized great men when he saw them. He knew Moses represented the law. He knew that Elijah represented the prophets. He knew that Jesus was the Son Of God. He wanted to freeze the moment and stay on that mountain forever. However, God had something better in mind. God wanted His Son to come down off of that mountain and die on a cross so that men would not be hopelessly doomed in their sin. He wanted His Son to die on the cross so that men would understand the depth of His love for them.
In 1993 Judy and I moved from Molino to Northport. We loved the people of this church and this community. The human side of us wanted to stay still. We wanted to freeze the moment. God had something different in mind.
In 2005 Judy and I waved good-bye to our son and daughter in law as they boarded a plane to spend their lives in Southeast Asia serving as IMB missionaries. That was the hardest thing I have done in my life. Judy and I both cried uncontrollably. The human side of us wanted to keep David and Erica close to us. However, God had something better.
Last December our youngest son moved to Chicago. He is working to start a church up there. The human side of us wanted to keep John close to us. However, God had something better. We could not and would not freeze time. God’s plan is bigger and better than a Kodak moment.
In the past two years I have lost my father and my only brother to death. My father died in June 2007 and my brother died last November. The human side of me wanted to hang on. I did not want to let go. However, God had something better. Both of them are in Heaven. Both of them are out of their suffering.
In our text Peter wanted to capture the moment. That was not God’s will. God’s plan is bigger and better than a Kodak moment. Two things needed to happen after this mountain top experience.
1. Jesus must go to the cross. That could not be avoided. We would not want Him to avoid the cross. That was God’s plan before the beginning of time.
2. God wanted His disciples to leave the mountain and go down into the valley. God never intended for His children to live in some spiritual vacuum isolated from the world. He never intended for us to be isolated from change. He intended for us to serve. He intended for us to share. He intended for us to represent Him.
Illustration: A few weeks ago Judy and I made our first visit to the Cove. The Cove is a training center, owned by the Billy Graham evangelistic association. It is located a few miles east of Asheville, NC. We experienced a wonderful week at the Cove. There were no phones. It is a beautiful pristine environment located in a valley in the mountains. The buildings and grounds are immaculate. The staff is courteous. The food was wonderful. The conferences are attended by some of the most awesome believers you will ever meet. We wanted to stay there. We did not want to come home. However, our ministry is not at the Cove. Our ministry is in Fairhope.
“I sought to hear the voice of God,
I climbed the topmost steeple,
he said go down again,
I dwell among the people.”
3. Jesus is life’s ultimate Kodak moment. Peter wanted to give Moses and Elijah equal standing with Jesus. This idea provoked God to speak firmly to Peter. Notice verse 33-35. “Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Sometimes God has to get our attention. Do you remember the old after shave commercial? A man gets a splash of after shave and a slap on the face. He comments by saying, “thanks I needed that.”
Ladies and gentleman, you cannot freeze life. You cannot stop change. My immediate family consisted of my father, mother, brother, and me. Of course, I married Judy and we have two sons. Now, when holidays roll around my father and brother are no longer around the table. That is a drastic change. It is an unpleasant change. It is a change I had rather miss. But you cannot freeze life and stop change.
You cannot stop pain. This past April our first grand-child was born. We know what other grand-parents mean when they speak of their special grand-children. In July our son and daughter in law returned to their mission service in Southeast Asia. In addition, they carried our grandchild with them. Judy and I literally grieved for days after that experience.
You cannot stop disappointment. When I served as pastor in Northport I had a disappointing experience. We had a deacon who was one of the finest men I have ever met. He was a superb deacon. He and his wife gave birth to a baby in their mid forties. That experience knocked their feet out from under them. They stopped attending church. They never returned to church. I tried to encourage them and talk to them but to no avail. I was highly disappointed.
While serving in Northport I had a pastor friend with whom I prayed every week. We were confidants. We were best friends. One night I received a phone call telling me that a man had stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road and my friend plowed his motorcycle into the back of that car. My friend died. I was hurt and disappointed.
Paul knew something of pain, disappointment, and heart-ache but he also knew something about victory in Jesus. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-38
Recently I came across a true story that happened during the Holocaust of the Second World War. Solomon Rosenberg, his wife and their 2 sons were arrested, together with Rosenburg’s mother and father for the crime of being Jews. They were placed in a Nazi concentration camp. It was a labour camp, and the rules were simple. "As long as you can do your work, you are permitted to live. When you become too weak to do your work, then you will be exterminated." Rosenberg watched as his mother and father were marched off to their deaths. He knew that the next would be his youngest son, David - because David had always been a frail child. Every evening, Rosenberg came back into the barracks after each day of hard labour and searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another and thank God for another day of life. One day Rosenberg came back and didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping and praying. He said, "Josh, tell me it’s not true." Joshua turned and said, "It is true, Dad. Today David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him." "But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg. "Oh Dad," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid and he cried. So Mum said, ’There is nothing to be afraid of, David,’ and she took his hand and went with him." That illustrates a mother’s love-- a love so strong that it chooses to give up life so her child can be comforted. This is also a picture of the sacrificial love Jesus has for us. To keep us from fearing death, he went before us. He met death head on-- then returned from the grave so we would have hope in the Resurrection. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" ...Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
(SOURCE: MELVIN M. NEWLAND, in "A Mother’s Love" on www.sermoncentral.com. Edited by SermonCentral Staff. Citation: I Corinthians 15:55-57.
Contributed to Sermon Central by Martin Dale)
Jesus will give you a Kodak moment that cannot be taken away.
