• Sometimes a taste is not enough. Sometimes it is too much.
• Ill. Little Johnny sat playing in the garden. When his mother came out to collect him, she saw that he was slowly eating a worm. She turned pale. "No, Johnny! Stop! That's horrible! You can't eat worms!" Trying to convince him further she noted, "Now the mother worm is looking all over for her nice baby worm."
• "No, she isn't," said Johnny.
• "How do you know she's not?" said the mother.
• "Because I ate her first!"
• Jesus wanted to give his friends a taste of His true glory.
Mar 9:1 And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
• Verse 1 of chapter 9 belongs to the verses in chapter 8 on counting the cost of discipleship.
• Jesus had called all the people together with the disciples and said discipleship would cost, but adds, "there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
• This statement mean something different to the people. It meant another thing to the speaker.
• Most expected the Messiah to rise in power, defeat the Romans, and re-establish Israel as rulers of the world.
• John had prepared the people's hearts by telling them that the Kingdom of God was near.
• This was their hope and dream: for God to re-establish the glory of Israel.
• We understand that Jesus was talking about taking back His glory, empower spiritual kingdom.
Mar 9:2-3 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.
• Oh, the transfiguration. We "traditionalize" the word "transfiguration" by over usage.
• Because of this limiting its meaning, we miss its power.
• The Greek word is the same as "Metamorphosed" or going through a metamorphosis.
• It simply means that Jesus went through a major physical change right before their eyes.
• Examples of Metamorphosis:caterpillar and a butterfly, a tadpole and a frog, a seed and a tree or an egg and a bird.
• The idea is something completely changing by not even resembling the original state.
• There is no way that a bird looks like an egg or a tree looks like a seed.
• Jesus was temporarily re-clothed with the glory He had given up to walk among men.
• Mark briefly describes the sight of this metamorphosis.
• But he only mentions his clothing glowing, emitting light instead of simply reflecting them.
• This was like wrapping a light bulb in a handkerchief that cannot conceal the light emitted.
• Matthew adds in Chapter 17 that Jesus' face shined like the sun.
Mar 9:4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
• Elijah, representing the prophets. Moses, representing the law.
• Jesus fulfilling both the prophets and the law.
• Moses represented those who die. Elijah, who was raptured, represented the raptured.
• What a spiritual message we see here as this testifies to the deity of Jesus Christ!
• But that message was lost on Peter. He was too overwhelmed by the metamorphosis.
• He was blinded by these two legends who he had revered all of his life.
• In a sense, this raised Peters view of Jesus, but not near far enough.
• Still, Peter was beginning to see, but not yet clearly.
Mar 9:5-6 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.
• Peter was again one of those who, when he was at a loss for words, used them anyway.
• Usually, when the disciples were wrong in their beliefs, Jesus had a way of telling them.
• He had previously said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan, for you mind the things of men more than the things of God."
• I am certain that this request for three tents of worship frustrated our Savior.
• But I can also picture that in His heart, God the Father whispered, "I'll handle this one, Son."
Mar 9:7-8 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.
• Matthew tells us that the disciples fell to the ground and bowed their heads.
• When Jesus tapped them on their shoulders and they looked up, Elijah and Moses were gone.
• They were alone with Jesus.
Mar 9:9-10 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. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
• Again, Jesus knew to control the message until after the resurrection.
• If Jesus capabilities were understood ahead of people grasping His purpose, they could rush off and do damage, like rebel against the distructive Roman government.
• Many would be hurt. So the three disciples only discussed the matter among themselves.
• But they wondered at the part about rising from the dead.
• Death was not part of their understanding.
• The disciples were only ready for a glimpse of what Jesus promised.
• They got a taste of Jesus' glory.
• Sometimes, God gives us a taste of what He is doing.
• He gives us a glimpse of His plan, His purpose and His power.
• How can we not err in our understanding when we get a taste of glory divine?
• There are three lessons I want us all to capture today from this message.
I. Power: Never underestimate the supernatural work of God.
• The reason the disciples missed the meaning of this event was they underestimated the supernatural work of God.
• They saw Jesus Metamorph into glory.
• They saw two men who had lived generations before, speaking to Jesus.
• They focused on the presence of the two men.
• They missed the impact of the glory of Jesus.
• Paul mentioned this phenomena in his second letter to the Corinthians.
• 2Co 5:16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
• Was this not the mistake Peter just made, he limited Jesus to the Jesus he saw?
• And when Jesus transformed in front of him, he missed the significance.
• How do we do this?
A. In our prayer EXPECTATIONS.
• Jas 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
• We are encouraged to pray fervently because there is great power in prayer.
• Sometimes we are tempted to give up asking.
• We have not because we do not ask, ref. James 4:2.
• If prayers are not answered in our timing, we tend to believe they are not answered and are doing no good.
• Never underestimate the power of prayer.
• Isaiah 65:24 reminds us, if we are faithful to pray, God will hear us before we pray and and will hear us before we request. But His answer comes in His timing.
• B. In our SANCTIFICATION.
• We also have a tendency to underestimate the power of God in transforming us.
• I understand we have a lifetime of experience in failure, flesh, sin, habits and attitudes.
• But I also know the most powerful force in the universe is working on me.
• If you are saved, the most powerful force in the universe is working on you.
• Paul wasn't complimenting the Philippians when he said, "Php 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
• Paul wasn't looking at the Elijah and Moses in the lives of these believers.
• He was looking at the one who began the good work with faith that He will sustain it.
• We are certainly not to give up on ourselves when it comes to those habits.
• Most of the time, God has to bring us to the end of ourselves before He can be our victory.
• That means God has to defeat us in order to share His victory with us.
• That is discouraging at the moment.
• I want to believe that I am strong enough to handle some things.
• I want to believe I can stand against some temptations.
• However, I am never stronger than when I turn it over to God.
• When I focus on my law and my truths, I miss the Redeemer.
• We are certainly not supposed to give up on each other.
• I have a friend who did not give up on me. He wanted to beat me up a few times.
• I was frustrated, and when I get frustrated, I get short and cynical.
• This friend would say, "Tim, quit it. Tim, quit it."
• But this friend prayed for me. He made no excuses for me. And he never gave up on me.
• This friend confronted me and kept loving me, trusting that God was working.
• God used this friend to show me my self-reliance and the subsequent failure.
• Never say, "Things will never change with that person."
• One of these days, that cloud of the Shekinah glory of God will cover them and they will hear the voice of God speaking, if you continue to love, confront and pray for them.
• I must press on.
• Just remember that those little victories are just a taste of what God is doing.
II. The Providence: Don't presume to understand what is happening at the time.
• The disciples must have thought at the moment they saw Elijah and Moses, "Wow, I knew Jesus was special, as special as any of our heroes in the faith."
• It's kind of fun to snicker at them, but we do the same thing.
• If you are like me, you want to understand right now what God is doing.
• One of Satan's tricks is to flatter us into thinking we know what's going on.
• 1Co 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
• I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to understand what God is doing.
• I think that is part of our God-given nature.
• But we must remain humble in realizing that we only see a portion of the picture.
• Ill. A couple of weeks ago, Laura and I went to see a college basketball game.
• One team jumped up by 17 points in the first half.
• I heard someone say that one of the schools was rated 6th in the country.
• I assumed it was the team that was playing flawlessly.
• Late in the game, the other team drew within 3 points.
• They had too much to make up to win, but made a game of it.
• I later found that the team that lost was the one that was highly rated and had just suffered its second loss of the season.
• That is life on earth. We can only judge something based upon what we see and understand.
• However, we cannot see enough or have enough understanding to know what God is doing.
• Remember, what you do understand is just a taste of what God has in mind.
III. The Privacy: Some spiritual moments are just for you.
• How many times have I had a super spiritual moment that blessed me intensely and tried to share it with someone else?
• Often, they bat their eyes and say, "Cool".
• There have been times when someone has told me, "Oh, that was not what it appeared to be. Or you are exaggerating to brag about your spiritual life."
• Jesus told the disciples that this moment and experience could be shared, but at the right time.
• For now, it was for them to contemplate and for their growth.
• I have been to some great conferences that deep spiritual thoughts were shared.
• One of the things that is mentioned is this, "You must agree not to share what you learn here for six months. That will give you time to digest it fully and put it into practice before you share it with someone else."
• Sometimes, God speaks to you and the first thing you want to do is shout it from the mountain tops.
• Just note: Sometimes God speaks just for you and you are not to share it for awhile.
• God intends to use it for other people, eventually, but for now, He wants to use it in your life.
• My guess is that God has kept His promise today.
• He has spoken to you during this service.
• some of you will need to share it. Some of you will need to embrace it and live it first.
• God has a way of letting you know which to do.
• As a matter of fact, it stands to reason that God may have spoken to you in another service, perhaps by another speaker, and you have embraced and lived it.
• Now may be the time to share the victory with those here that love you.
• Hear the voice of God, obey Him.
• Remember, what God is calling you today in this service is just a taste of what He is calling you to do in your life.
• Ill. A well-known preacher of the United States was asked to say a few words to a gathering in an open air meeting. At the close of his address an atheist stepped up to him and challenged him to a debate, assuring him that he would bear all the expense of renting the hall and advertising. "I accept on one condition: When you bring with you fifty people who have been helped by your philosophy, I am ready. I will bring you hundreds who will testify to the transformation this Gospel has wrought in their lives." Needless to say the challenger departed somewhat chagrined.
