Transforming With Christ

Transforming with Christ

Luke 9:28-36

We read in the text today about Jesus and three of His closest friends, Peter, James and John having a prayer meeting on the mountaintop.

Jesus took these three up the mountain with him and as he prayed a change came over him his facial expression changed and his clothes turned as white as white could be.

What an experience this must have been for Jesus, three friends.

What an eye opener! They probably had experienced mountaintops before but not like this! I’m sure that not only did Jesus have a transformation that day but I suspect His three friends did as well. There is no way that they could have been in the heavenly presence of our savior and not have transformed or experienced change in their life.

Think about it, anyone who has been in the presence of Jesus in some way, shape, form or fashion has been transformed. When we bow before the savior we are all transformed, not only do we change the look on our faces as Jesus did, we experience a change in attitude and we experience a change in our lives that others see.

We get a smile on our face a spring in our step, we begin to develop a new attitude and it shows and the people we come in contact with us see it, and most of the time want some of it.

Sometimes it’s a slow subtle change and sometimes it’s BAM!!!

Y’all know what I’m talking about, we have all seen people that have been changed people who have been transformed by walking up that mountain with Jesus Christ, and we see ‘em but it’s hard to believe that it’s them. It’s like when you see the schoolyard bully at your 20th class reunion and he has done a 180 and is now the nicest guy in town.

When I started going back to church after a long stint of running from God and walked into church for the first time in several years, let me tell you something, I was shocked by some of the people that I saw! I’m not kidding my jaw dropped when I saw some of the folks sitting in the pew and singing in the choir. I had worked with a few of these people on the Fire Dept. and had not seen or spoken to them in a while.

When I saw them and the initial shock wore off, I could tell they had changed and that they had experienced something in their lives. It was obvious to me that a transformation into a person much different that their old self had happened. I could see it on their faces and in their actions.

One of these guys left the department because of failing his drug test one to many times. Addiction to alcohol and drugs had taken over his life the last time I had seen him, but let me tell you something the man I saw that first day when we walked in that church was changed he had been changed and transformed in a way that could only be done by a walk up the mountain with a man called Jesus. He was smiling and praising God and loving life. He now goes on mission trips spreading the word of Christ sharing the Gospel with people in Honduras and Costa Rica anything he can do to give glory to God and benefit His Kingdom.

Another guy that I saw there was a surprise to me as well. I had been around him when he would open a half gallon bottle of whiskey and throw the top away. Now he also goes to Central America to spread the love of Christ, he hasn’t had a drink in more than 17 years he loves his family and spends more time with them than he ever did. A transformation had taken place a change had come. He went up that mountain with Jesus and came back transformed into someone else a better man a better person with the love of Christ in his heart.

You see that’s what happens when we walk with Christ when we put our trust in Jesus we change we transform. We get opportunities to go to the mountaintop! We all have times in our lives that are mountaintop experiences, our baptisms, our first child, getting married, sometimes we have them at spiritual retreats. All of these things can transform us all of these can change our lives and shape us and mold us into someone better.

You know I tell you about these guys being so far from God and being changed, the truth is I was no different than them. I had my share of problems and issues, but praise God I walked up the mountain with Jesus.