You Can't Park Here

• And they would never be the same again

• And Peter suggests, let’s camp out here and never leave!

Peter says -- What a wonderful thing this is! “LET’S STAY HERE.”

• We can have our own Mountain

• We can have our own Temple

• How about a fresh start here, Jesus?

• On our own terms

• On our own mountain!

• Don’t have to worry about Paying Taxes

• Don’t have to worry about Paying Rent or Mortgage

• Don’t have to worry about Going to Work Every day to Earn a Living

• Don’t have to worry about Where the Next Dollar is Coming From

• Matter of fact, you don’t have to worry about going to Calvary

• Let’s Just Park Here

But the only answer is an interruption. A big enough deal so far, but now, a cloud overshadows the mountain. The damp air closes in and all the world slips away into a grayness. Then the voice of God echoes around them saying, “THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED; LISTEN TO HIM!”

• Glowing face and clothes

• Visits from famous figures of the past

• Hovering clouds and heavenly voices

• Spectacular Indeed

Just when the Disciples make the decision to Camp Out and Park and stay on the Mountain. God’s Presence and Voice Resounds and tells them in essence – YOU CAN’T PARK HERE!

• Kingdom work is not on the Mountain Top – But in the Valley

• Kingdom work is not in the Spiritual High of Worship – But in the Valley

• Kingdom work is not within the Four Walls of the Church – But in the Valley

Most of the time it is more Comfortable to Just Stand Still. Standing still is not God’s will. As Christians we are called to live lives that are counter to the values of the world around us and because of that, we push against the current of the world around us every day.

• If we stand still it will not be long until we are swept back

• You either move forward or back

• Standing still is not God’s will

Peter wanted to stay on the Mountain Top, But God responds – You Can’t Park Here. Like the Disciples on Sunday Mornings after Good Worship and Church service, I Too Want To Stay Here. But what about tomorrow? --

• You’ll be back out there in the world, struggling with day-to-day issues

• You’ll be dealing with all the pressures and problems and anxieties that seem to fill up our lives in this present world

• When tomorrow comes, will you remember what you heard here today?

• Will you carry God’s Word with you, and put it to work in your daily life?

I hope you will—but it’s not easy! Our immediate problems and concerns have a way of crowding God’s Word out of our minds. We get so wrapped up in this earthly home of ours that we tend to forget about our heavenly home, how we get there, and what we’re supposed to be doing on our way there. As a Christian, and knowing what you know --

• Can you keep the Good News to yourself?

• Can you be a child of God on Sunday mornings, and a child of the world the rest of the week?

• Is it possible to sit on your hands and conduct your life as if none of this ever happened?

• No! You’re naturally going to want to let others in on the Good News

• You’ll find yourself agreeing with the Jerusalem apostles, who said, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”—Acts 4:19-20