Coming Off The Mountain
Matthew 17:9-27
It is that time of year again… VACATION TIME! In the next couple of months our attendance will be a bit more sporadic that the rest of the year because the kids are out of school, it is warm outside and many of you have scheduled a trip to the beach. (So have I and I am beyond ready to go). I absolutely love going to the beach and waiting till the sun goes down and then going to the beach. I can just sit there and listen to the waves and stand in awe of God’s creation. Whether you go to the beach, the mountains or somewhere in between it is good to get away from the everyday struggles of life for a while. But if you are like me, never far from your mind are the things that you must go back to when the vacation is over. I constantly think about having to play catch up when I return home.
Then it happens… the last day of vacation arrives and you have to leave because there is someone coming to claim your condo later that day. You get in the vehicle and then make the long trek back home. It is always a refreshing feeling to walk in the door and know that you are home. But, the next day is Monday and you are smacked in the face with a little thing we like to call reality. This is not necessarily the best feeling in the world but it is what it is. It takes a while but eventually you work yourself back into the normal routine of everyday life.
Yes… life can be a rollercoaster. And I think we all will agree that the spiritual life can be like a rollercoaster ride as well. You may find yourself in a good place, one of those longed for “mountaintop experiences”. There are some times spent with God that are just amazing… words can’t describe the immense joy that you experience during these times. Sometimes we get alone with God and see Him for who He is and hear a word from Him, commune with Him and we just don’t want to leave. And though He will “never leave us or forsake us” there is still work to do for Him. And there will come a time when we must descend the mountain and continue on our journey.
Have you been there? Have you been on the mountaintop with Jesus and then He says “Alright, I am not going to leave you or forsake you but we must come off the mountain and be about the Father’s business”? That is where Peter, James and John find themselves in our selected text. Let’s examine what happened in the preceding verses:
“Jesus took Peter, James and John to a high mountain”As they watched Jesus’ “appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun”. His clothes became as “white as light”. “They saw Moses & Elijah” appear and talk with Jesus.Peter wanted to make 3 tabernacles. “One for Moses, Elijah & Jesus”. While he spoke the Lord said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”....This was an amazing time for these men. It was a fearful time but I believe it was a blessed time. It was an honor to be in this place. They were a part of a literal “mountaintop experience” Now it is over and it is time to descend the mountain. I want to look at this event and preach on the thought “Coming Off The Mountain”
Many times we go from the Mountain top right into the Valley. We go from an extreme spiritual high to a devastating time of distress and discouragement. Isn’t it an honor to get on the mountain top with God sometime?
1. When you are on the mountain you can forget about your problems for a while.
2. When you are on the mountain you can see Jesus
3. When you are on the mountain you can hear from God
But in this life you can not always be on the mountain! Unfortunately, we must come off that mountain. Let me say this before we go any further:
1. When you are in the valley you can endure your problems.
2. When you are in the valley you can still see Jesus.
3. When you are in the valley you can still hear from God
Let’s see a few things that you may encounter when you “Come Off The Mountain”
I. COMING OFF THE MOUNTAIN WE MAY ENCONTER CONFUSING SITUAITONS- v9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
What??? Can you imagine seeing what these men had seen and not being able to share it with anyone else! Peter couldn’t even tell his brother Andrew. (who was a disciple by the way). Even if they had told the other disciples, they could not have grasped the fact that these men had seen the glory of the Lord, observed Elijah & Moses, & heard the voice of the Father.
Many times we go to a conference, a revival or even a really good church service and experience the power of God in such a special way. We are filled with the spirit and excitement. When this happens we seek to share this spiritual excitement with others. Sometimes when we do share with them they act as if they could care less. Then, we get confused as to why they aren’t as “spiritual” as we are. This may affect our mindset and help “bring us down from the mountain” even faster.
Coming off the mountain can be a shock to the system so to speak! Descending from such a spiritual high can be confusing. You may go from a place that seems like heaven on earth to a place where you may even question of God is still there. Just because “life happens” and we are no longer on that mountain top doesn’t mean that Jesus has left us. And it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have left Him.
It is a product of living in a fallen creation. Remember “we are just pilgrims and strangers passing through this land”. And until we reach glory we will face tough times, but as in the case of Peter, James and John… Jesus is walking with us even in the valley!
Coming off the mountain may be confusing at times. As we move father we will see that:
II. COMING OFF THE MOUNTAIN WE MAY ENCOUNTER COMPLICATED SITUATIONS - v14 ¶And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
There was a demon possessed man who was brought to Jesus by his father. Then man explained that he had brought him to the disciples and they could not help him. Jesus rebukes the demon and heals the boy immediately. The disciples are concerned as to why they could not heal this young man. Have you ever sought to win someone to Christ? You share your personal testimony with them, tell them about what the Bible says about sin, pray for their salvation and continuously fail to see results.
Maybe you have a wayward child and you have attempted to draw them closer to the Lord with not success.Maybe you teach a class or serve in come capacity and have a great desire to do Kingdom work and you fail to see the results that you would like to see. When we encounter these complicated situations we often lose heart and become discouraged. It is amazing how quick things change once we descend the mountain.
Things can be confusing and complicated when you come off the mountain and sometimes the farther you walk the worse things seem to be. Consider:
III. COMING OFF THE MOUNTAIN WE MAY ENCOUNTER CATESTROPHIC SITUATIONS - v22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: 23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
What devastating news. Their master has revealed that soon He will be betrayed and killed! This no doubt had a tremendous impact on their lives. Death, Divorce, Foreclosure, Repossession, unemployment, on and on it goes. There are many catastrophes that we may face in this life. When we encounter a catastrophic situation, sometimes it affects our spiritual condition. How soon we move from rejoicing on the mountaintop to blaming God for the catastrophe. Not everything that we encounter when we descend the mountain with Jesus will be completely devastating.
IV. COMING OFF THE MOUNTAIN WE MAY ENCOUNTER COMMON SITUATIONS - v24 ¶And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Jesus had stated in the past that “He had no place to lay His head”. The disciples had forsaken all that they had in order to follow Jesus. But they now had to pay their taxes. No matter how spiritual we may be that we still have to face the daily issues in a fallen creation.
o We still have to go to work.
o We still have to pay our taxes
o We still have to deal with irritating people.
o We still have to live life.
Daily customs and issues can take away from our spiritual high. In fact, sometimes the common ordinary issues of life may hurt us spiritually more than the catastrophic times we face. Because when extreme trouble comes we immediately call out to God. But the little things that we fail to take to Jesus and we attempt to “handle them” on our own. When we come off of the mountain we encounter many different situations. Some are Confusing, some are complicated, some are catastrophic and some are common.
You may be thinking, “So what preacher, you haven’t told me anything that I don’t already know”. I understand, but there are some things that I think we can take away from this message.There is encouragement for those who have come off the mountain:
1) When you Encounter Confusing Situations, JESUS IS THERE!
When you are confused and discouraged that you can’t explain your spiritual excitement with others, Jesus is still there! He was with Peter, James & John when they couldn’t tell the others about what they had experienced.
2) When you Encounter Complicated Situations, JESUS IS THERE!
When you fail to succeed in the ways that you desire concerning Christian ministry…JESUS IS STILL THERE! When you can’t seem to reach someone for Jesus, when things become complicated… JESUS IS STILL THERE! Continue to serve and have a burden for ministry but leave the results up to Him! The disciples couldn’t heal the lunatic but Jesus did! You can’t save anyone but Jesus can!
3) When You Encounter Catastrophic Situations, JESUS IS THERE!
Even though the disciples learned that their Master would die, He remained with them. When tragedy comes in your life and you feel all alone, when you feel like blaming God for the catastrophe, remember that He is still there and that He is in control!!
Side note: Consider the crowd at the Cross. We only have record of the Apostle John being present at Calvary. At this most catastrophic time in their lives, the disciples were away from Jesus. Not because He left them but because they deserted Him! If you can’t seem to feel the presence of Jesus, you may want to consider that you have left Him and need to return!
4) When you Encounter Customary Situations, JESUS IS THERE!
During daily life, when we are facing the daily grind, Jesus is still present with us! If we are His, we can rest assured of His enduring presence.How long has it been since you have been to the mountain top?Are you in a place where you can be taken to the mountain top or is there a barrier between you and God? If you have never accepted Jesus, I would like to introduce you to a friend who will be with you no matter what circumstance you face!
