1 00:00:01,250 --> 00:00:04,340 Amen. Good morning, good morning. 2 00:00:04,410 --> 00:00:07,620 My name is Grant and I'm one of the pastors here at the church 3 00:00:07,630 --> 00:00:10,590 and it is good to be with you. It's good to be back with you. 4 00:00:10,970 --> 00:00:17,680 My family had some holiday over most of August and so we started 5 00:00:17,690 --> 00:00:22,460 it off as you do as a pastor by going and doing a wedding, which 6 00:00:22,470 --> 00:00:25,100 was wonderful. But we've kind of been all over 7 00:00:25,110 --> 00:00:28,180 Ontario a little bit and it's so good. 8 00:00:28,190 --> 00:00:29,540 Connie and I were just reflecting. 9 00:00:29,550 --> 00:00:34,390 My wife and I were reflecting how grateful we are to be back 10 00:00:34,460 --> 00:00:39,500 and settled in Guelph. And for many of you, I'm sure 11 00:00:39,510 --> 00:00:44,240 you can also resonate with this. Glad for kids to be going back 12 00:00:44,250 --> 00:00:49,210 to school and for rhythms to be coming back to normal. 13 00:00:49,660 --> 00:00:52,530 But mostly we're just, we're so thankful for you, for our 14 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:57,110 church, and for our chance to be back together worshipping. 15 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,540 So that's what we're going to do. 16 00:00:58,550 --> 00:01:00,410 We're going to jump in. We're going to continue working 17 00:01:00,420 --> 00:01:03,540 our way through Luke and we're still in Luke Chapter 9. 18 00:01:04,030 --> 00:01:05,860 We're gonna see. You can open up if you wanna 19 00:01:05,870 --> 00:01:08,300 take some time to find it in your Bibles or on a phone, on a 20 00:01:08,310 --> 00:01:12,480 tablet, do whatever is easy for you to get in front of you. 21 00:01:12,490 --> 00:01:16,510 I think that's the main point. But Luke 928 to 36 is what we're 22 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,660 going to read today. But before we do that, I want to 23 00:01:19,670 --> 00:01:23,260 pray and kind of lead us into it. 24 00:01:23,270 --> 00:01:25,400 So it takes some time. There'll be a few minutes to get 25 00:01:25,410 --> 00:01:30,000 yourselves situated into Luke 9. We'll also have it eventually up 26 00:01:30,010 --> 00:01:34,850 on the screens. But let's let's pray God thank 27 00:01:34,860 --> 00:01:37,460 you for your love and for your grace. 28 00:01:37,970 --> 00:01:42,580 Thanks that you're with us and that we are able to gather 29 00:01:42,590 --> 00:01:45,860 together and worship in this way to be the community, to be the 30 00:01:45,870 --> 00:01:48,040 church. Yeah, we, we're grateful. 31 00:01:48,050 --> 00:01:51,860 We need it, need to do life together in relationship. 32 00:01:51,870 --> 00:01:54,720 And so thanks that this is one of the ways that you bless us. 33 00:01:55,090 --> 00:01:58,400 And thank you guys, that you continue to teach us things, 34 00:01:58,410 --> 00:02:02,900 that you've got words for us and ways in which you long to get 35 00:02:02,910 --> 00:02:05,920 into our hearts and minds and transform our lives. 36 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,350 So I got up, pray that as we wrestled this text out, as we 37 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,610 read our way through this passage about Jesus, your 38 00:02:12,620 --> 00:02:16,340 transfiguration, I pray that that's what you would do today. 39 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,970 God change our hearts and our minds, transform what needs to 40 00:02:20,980 --> 00:02:22,950 be transformed. We need you to do it. 41 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,720 And we pray all these things in the strong name of Jesus, Amen. 42 00:02:28,540 --> 00:02:31,570 So I wonder, I'd be willing to bet that you have, but I wonder 43 00:02:31,580 --> 00:02:35,910 if you've ever had what you would consider an experience in 44 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:40,380 life where you find yourself looking around and thinking 45 00:02:40,430 --> 00:02:46,740 something here feels different. Something's not quite the same. 46 00:02:46,810 --> 00:02:49,120 And, and maybe you can't quite put your finger on it, you can't 47 00:02:49,130 --> 00:02:51,460 quite name it, but you're looking around, you're in the 48 00:02:51,470 --> 00:02:54,200 midst of this experience and you're going, wow. 49 00:02:54,210 --> 00:02:58,880 Like something is different. It's hard to describe with 50 00:02:58,890 --> 00:03:02,680 words, but there's a moment or there's a place that feels to 51 00:03:02,690 --> 00:03:05,300 you different. And when I say different, I 52 00:03:05,310 --> 00:03:10,330 mean, in some ways that feels spiritual. 53 00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:13,520 And maybe for you, that's language that resonates and, and 54 00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:16,120 you can think, yeah, I've had those moments where it feels 55 00:03:16,290 --> 00:03:20,230 spiritual, where something feels different, where you just kind 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,320 of sit and you take things in and you look around you go, OK, 57 00:03:24,030 --> 00:03:25,940 and maybe you have other language to describe it. 58 00:03:25,950 --> 00:03:28,560 Maybe it fell to you a little bit like this otherworldly or 59 00:03:28,570 --> 00:03:30,760 out of body experience. This moment where you're, I'm 60 00:03:30,770 --> 00:03:34,600 not quite sure what is going on. There's a painting in my office. 61 00:03:34,610 --> 00:03:36,730 If you've been in there, maybe you've seen it on your way out. 62 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:39,780 But there's a painting in my office of a mountain in Israel 63 00:03:40,150 --> 00:03:42,550 that I was able to climb when I was there in 2012. 64 00:03:43,370 --> 00:03:46,480 And I remember coming to the top of that mountain and feeling 65 00:03:46,490 --> 00:03:50,920 that type of experience coming to the top of it. 66 00:03:50,930 --> 00:03:55,360 Like unlike so many of the other places in Israel, which are loud 67 00:03:55,370 --> 00:03:59,040 and filled with different things that you can buy and take home 68 00:03:59,050 --> 00:04:02,000 for you, like tourist traps a little bit with trinkets to 69 00:04:02,010 --> 00:04:03,760 purchase and pictures to be taken. 70 00:04:03,830 --> 00:04:06,620 Like, I remember this one because we got to the top of 71 00:04:06,630 --> 00:04:09,010 this mountain and there was nobody there. 72 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,410 There was nothing to be found. We were just at the top and it 73 00:04:12,420 --> 00:04:15,750 was peaceful and it was quiet. It was calm and it was serene To 74 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:17,240 me. It felt holy. 75 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:22,340 There was a holy place. I remember coming to the top 76 00:04:22,350 --> 00:04:25,900 and, and finding a place away from my other, you know, group 77 00:04:25,910 --> 00:04:29,300 members who had also walked up to the top and, and sitting down 78 00:04:29,450 --> 00:04:33,570 on a rock and praying. And I remember experiencing this 79 00:04:33,620 --> 00:04:38,810 divine peace in those moments. It felt to me in in those 80 00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:41,900 moments like the distance between heaven and earth was 81 00:04:41,910 --> 00:04:47,570 small, like it shrunk, and like that entire trip. 82 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,070 For me, it was significant in my spiritual journey. 83 00:04:52,300 --> 00:04:55,540 Maybe your mountaintop experience or your spiritual 84 00:04:55,550 --> 00:04:57,940 experience wasn't on a literal mountain. 85 00:04:57,950 --> 00:05:02,630 Maybe it was alone in a room of prayer, maybe it was during 86 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,530 worship, maybe it was at a concert. 87 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,010 Maybe it was away at camp or in a canoe on a river, like 88 00:05:09,020 --> 00:05:11,970 hundreds of kilometres away from anybody else, any other human 89 00:05:11,980 --> 00:05:14,170 being. I'll give you another example. 90 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,770 I went on this winter hiking trip and we hiked in and I 91 00:05:17,780 --> 00:05:20,830 planned the route. This is all on me, but I didn't 92 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,770 realize how much more time it would take in the winter to hike 93 00:05:26,780 --> 00:05:29,990 this particular trail. And so we're hiking in and the 94 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,750 sun starting to set and then it gets dark. 95 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,290 And so we pull out lights, headlights, and we did most of 96 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:39,430 the the hike on the snow and ice, trudging through minus 20s 97 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,600 weather to get to our campsite in the dark. 98 00:05:43,590 --> 00:05:46,900 And when we arrived there, it was completely dark and we 99 00:05:46,910 --> 00:05:49,320 struggled to set up our tents and we, there's no way we're 100 00:05:49,330 --> 00:05:51,180 going to make a fire. Everybody just kind of crawled 101 00:05:51,190 --> 00:05:54,420 into bed and tried to sleep. And I remember that night we 102 00:05:54,430 --> 00:05:58,720 heard these like loud pinging noises on the lake. 103 00:05:59,430 --> 00:06:02,900 I got like, what is that? And it was the ice, it was 104 00:06:02,910 --> 00:06:04,700 cracking. The pressure of the ice was 105 00:06:04,710 --> 00:06:06,940 shifting and cracking. And it was just these pings 106 00:06:06,950 --> 00:06:09,410 going across. And remember lying awake, 107 00:06:09,420 --> 00:06:12,900 they're going, what is going on? And in the morning, waking up to 108 00:06:12,910 --> 00:06:17,870 this beautiful, peaceful, serene lake, frozen lake that we had 109 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,260 camped on, it was a spiritual for us, those who were there 110 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,620 experience one more to show that they don't just have to be in 111 00:06:25,630 --> 00:06:28,370 the middle of like on the top of a mountain or in the middle of 112 00:06:28,380 --> 00:06:31,660 Algonquin Park in the winter. Doesn't need to be super wild 113 00:06:31,670 --> 00:06:34,830 out of the ordinary experience as a friend of mine sent me this 114 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,020 one day a song and it was in the middle of a day. 115 00:06:38,030 --> 00:06:40,900 We were at our old house in Hamilton and I won't let me 116 00:06:40,910 --> 00:06:43,670 paint this picture for you. There were dirty diapers in the 117 00:06:44,050 --> 00:06:49,370 everywhere and dirty dishes in the sink and like toys strewn 118 00:06:49,380 --> 00:06:52,290 about the family room when I was sitting there with the kids. 119 00:06:52,300 --> 00:06:55,090 And it was not peaceful in the way that you would typically 120 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:56,730 think. And it was certainly not quiet 121 00:06:56,740 --> 00:06:58,290 in the way that you would typically think. 122 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,950 And it was in the middle of for us, like this difficult season, 123 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:03,390 discernment. Things are going on. 124 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,390 What are we going to like God, what are you calling us to? 125 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,280 And my friend just sent me one text message. 126 00:07:07,290 --> 00:07:09,200 He said, hey, I was thinking and praying about you. 127 00:07:09,210 --> 00:07:10,510 I think you should listen to this song. 128 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,270 And I listened to the song and I remember sitting there and I 129 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:14,840 just like, tears started to come. 130 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,980 I just sat and I cried. I'm like, man, this holy place. 131 00:07:20,340 --> 00:07:25,420 Celtic Christianity calls these thin places thin places. 132 00:07:25,430 --> 00:07:29,340 Places where heaven feels close and where God feels immediately 133 00:07:29,410 --> 00:07:31,540 present. Places where the space between 134 00:07:31,550 --> 00:07:35,540 heaven and earth feels small, like it's right there in front 135 00:07:35,550 --> 00:07:37,900 of you, that you can reach out and touch it. 136 00:07:38,950 --> 00:07:43,400 Iona, the island on the western coast of Scotland, often called 137 00:07:43,450 --> 00:07:48,260 a thin place. Luke 9, the verses that we're 138 00:07:48,270 --> 00:07:51,220 gonna read describes, I think, a thin place. 139 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,390 This is one of those mountain tops experiences, one of those 140 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,260 moments where heaven and earth are close and where heaven is 141 00:07:57,270 --> 00:08:01,510 revealed on earth, where the glory of God is on full display. 142 00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:04,390 And so part of the invitation with the passage like this is to 143 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,850 slow down and allow it to unfold in front of you. 144 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,330 And so we are going to work our way through it in a moment. 145 00:08:10,380 --> 00:08:13,390 But instead of just working our way through it kind of chunk by 146 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,200 chunk, what I want to do is just begin by reading it slowly. 147 00:08:17,060 --> 00:08:19,870 And maybe this is the most meaningful part of the entire 148 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,530 sermon for you, but the invitation is just to allow it 149 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,930 to unfold in front of you and to attempt to really experience 150 00:08:28,940 --> 00:08:32,409 what is happening. So I'm going to read about the 151 00:08:32,419 --> 00:08:34,990 transfiguration. This is starting in verse 28. 152 00:08:36,700 --> 00:08:40,700 About 8 days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and 153 00:08:40,710 --> 00:08:45,090 James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 154 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,550 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed 155 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,350 and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 156 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:58,030 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, 157 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,270 talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, 158 00:09:02,340 --> 00:09:05,080 which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 159 00:09:05,930 --> 00:09:10,730 Peter and his companions were very sleepily sleepy, but when 160 00:09:10,740 --> 00:09:15,130 they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men 161 00:09:15,140 --> 00:09:18,600 standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, 162 00:09:18,610 --> 00:09:22,040 Peter said to him, Master, it is good for us to be here. 163 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,380 Let us put up 3 shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and 1:00 164 00:09:26,390 --> 00:09:29,620 for Elijah. He did not know what he was 165 00:09:29,630 --> 00:09:32,520 saying. While he was speaking, a cloud 166 00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:35,140 appeared and covered them, and they were afraid. 167 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,590 As they entered the cloud, a voice came from the cloud 168 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,230 saying, This is my son whom I have chosen, Listen to him. 169 00:09:44,050 --> 00:09:47,620 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. 170 00:09:48,070 --> 00:09:51,500 The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell 171 00:09:51,510 --> 00:09:55,080 anyone at that time what they had seen. 172 00:09:59,270 --> 00:10:04,110 So about 8 days ago is how we start off the passage. 173 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,550 About 8 days ago, Jesus has predicted his death. 174 00:10:07,610 --> 00:10:10,840 About 8 days ago, Jesus has challenged his followers to take 175 00:10:10,850 --> 00:10:15,480 up their own crosses and follow him like this is a devastatingly 176 00:10:15,490 --> 00:10:19,850 strong and dangerous invitation to the disciples. 177 00:10:20,610 --> 00:10:23,540 Jesus in his own words, he says the Son of Man must suffer many 178 00:10:23,550 --> 00:10:25,930 things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest of 179 00:10:25,940 --> 00:10:28,930 the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third 180 00:10:28,940 --> 00:10:31,220 day raised to life. And then he said to them, 181 00:10:31,230 --> 00:10:34,000 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up 182 00:10:34,010 --> 00:10:37,730 their cross daily and follow me. Whoever wants to save their life 183 00:10:37,740 --> 00:10:41,900 will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 184 00:10:42,740 --> 00:10:47,250 And it's this significant moment in Jesus's life and his 185 00:10:47,260 --> 00:10:50,570 ministry. He's now declared that he is the 186 00:10:50,580 --> 00:10:53,030 Son of Man. He's declared that he must be 187 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:57,150 killed and when will be raised from the dead to new life. 188 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,320 And it's not the message that his followers, his disciples, 189 00:11:01,330 --> 00:11:05,360 were hoping for. It's not the hey, it's time 190 00:11:05,370 --> 00:11:10,770 we're gonna go storm the castle kind of message that they were 191 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,430 expecting. Death was not part of their 192 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,390 expectation. Death, in their eyes, meant 193 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:16,810 weakness. It meant failure. 194 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,250 It meant that their hopes for a Messiah who would restore Israel 195 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:24,040 were gone or soon to be gone. If Jesus dies, this thing ends. 196 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,170 And in Matthews version of that story, Peter, who we're gonna 197 00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:32,950 see really bold and brash, he actually begins to rebuke Jesus. 198 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:37,870 If you read Matthew's account, he says never, literally starts, 199 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,630 never exclamation mark. It's like my kids when it's time 200 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:47,330 for bed never and they run little. 201 00:11:47,340 --> 00:11:53,100 That literally happens. And then you keep reading Peter, 202 00:11:53,110 --> 00:11:56,910 he begins, he rebukes Jesus, he says this shall never happen to 203 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,090 you. Like never, not a chance. 204 00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:01,610 This can't happen. And you almost picture Peter. 205 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:04,360 He's like half pleading like, please no, don't let this be the 206 00:12:04,370 --> 00:12:06,170 way. And half are like this better 207 00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:08,930 not be the way because this isn't what we've been waiting 208 00:12:08,940 --> 00:12:11,910 for. Jesus declaring that he must 209 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:18,340 die. And so we begin this passage. 8 210 00:12:18,350 --> 00:12:22,650 days later. Jesus's declaration that he has 211 00:12:22,660 --> 00:12:28,560 to die is echoing in their ears. About 8 days after this, Jesus 212 00:12:30,300 --> 00:12:34,010 said this. He took Peter, John and James 213 00:12:34,020 --> 00:12:37,610 with them and went up onto a mountain to pray. 214 00:12:38,990 --> 00:12:44,490 So that's the this that he has to die, that he will be raised 215 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:48,220 up to new life. If you wanna follow me, you have 216 00:12:48,230 --> 00:12:52,800 to take up your cross daily. And then he takes Peter, John 217 00:12:52,870 --> 00:12:58,340 and James with him and they went up onto a mountain to pray. 218 00:12:59,590 --> 00:13:01,430 And I don't care if you're reading in a few Bible like the 219 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,780 church owns, you can highlight those. 220 00:13:02,790 --> 00:13:05,400 Those are good things to underline and highlight. 221 00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:10,270 There are three clues that something significant is about 222 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:16,180 to happen, and I want us to notice them this morning. 223 00:13:16,190 --> 00:13:21,050 So the first is the purpose. Jesus gets away to pray. 224 00:13:22,310 --> 00:13:26,920 Jesus often gets away to pray during his ministry. 225 00:13:26,930 --> 00:13:31,200 Jesus, in fact, consistently chooses to get away to pray. 226 00:13:31,270 --> 00:13:33,880 And when you begin to look at all of those moments where Jesus 227 00:13:33,890 --> 00:13:37,620 does leave in order to pray, many times it's either just 228 00:13:37,630 --> 00:13:42,520 before or just after something significant happens in his life 229 00:13:42,590 --> 00:13:45,340 and in his ministry. Jesus goes into the wilderness 230 00:13:45,350 --> 00:13:49,790 to pray, says he fasts, and he prays before or sorry. 231 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:54,150 That's immediately after his baptism and before his ministry 232 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,930 starts. So it's at least beginning of 233 00:13:56,940 --> 00:13:59,060 his ministry. Things are just about to ramp 234 00:13:59,070 --> 00:14:00,060 up. What happens? 235 00:14:00,250 --> 00:14:05,070 He's led into the wilderness, He fasts and he prays. 236 00:14:06,030 --> 00:14:09,180 Before Jesus calls the 12 disciples and names them. 237 00:14:09,250 --> 00:14:13,480 He goes up onto a mountainside and gets away to pray. 238 00:14:14,380 --> 00:14:17,330 After he heals a man with leprosy, crowds begin to gather. 239 00:14:17,340 --> 00:14:19,810 And like, things are just kind of picking up steam here. 240 00:14:19,820 --> 00:14:23,490 And they bring the sick to Jesus in order for him to heal them. 241 00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:27,630 But Jesus, it says he withdraws to lonely places in order to 242 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,710 pray. Prayer consistently drives the 243 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,410 mission and the ministry of Jesus. 244 00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:38,450 And so the first sign is that he's gone up to a mountain to 245 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,240 prey. The second sign that he wants to 246 00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:44,830 notice here are the people. So the purpose now, the people 247 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,470 for so much of Jesus's ministry. Jesus goes off in a particular 248 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:50,650 direction. And what happens? 249 00:14:50,660 --> 00:14:55,150 Crowds follow, sometimes many, sometimes just a few here and 250 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,050 there. But it it seems like in this 251 00:14:57,060 --> 00:15:02,040 moment, Jesus is really deliberate to pare things down 252 00:15:02,110 --> 00:15:06,520 and to get away. Not even all of his disciples, 253 00:15:06,530 --> 00:15:10,580 not even just the 12 disciples are invited into this moment 254 00:15:10,650 --> 00:15:13,280 with Jesus. Only Peter, John and James are 255 00:15:13,290 --> 00:15:16,390 invited up this mountain. And those are the same three who 256 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,500 we're gonna see later on toward the end of Jesus life will be 257 00:15:19,510 --> 00:15:23,980 invited up another mountain to pray once more before Jesus's 258 00:15:23,990 --> 00:15:27,270 death. So the crowds are gone. 259 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,750 Most of the disciples are left behind. 260 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,430 Jesus goes with Peter, James and John. 261 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,390 The third thing that I wanted to notice is the place nothing 262 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,950 small happens in the Bible when the story shifts to up on a 263 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,910 mountain. And we've talked a little bit 264 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:44,350 about this throughout the series. 265 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:47,430 There's a reason why spiritually rich and impactful moments in 266 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,750 life are called mountaintop experiences. 267 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,190 The Bible is filled with them. Bible is filled with stories of 268 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,900 people ascending, going up mountains in order to meet with 269 00:15:57,910 --> 00:16:02,480 God, in order for God to be immediately present with them. 270 00:16:02,490 --> 00:16:05,740 And so Moses. We see Moses in Exodus and if 271 00:16:05,750 --> 00:16:10,770 you want to go take a look at it, Exodus 3429, Moses is taken 272 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:15,620 up Mount Sinai to meet with God in order to receive the Law and 273 00:16:15,630 --> 00:16:18,370 the 10 commandments. Moses gets to do it twice 274 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:20,890 because he comes down and he smashes the 10 commandments and 275 00:16:20,900 --> 00:16:22,370 then he has to go back up that mountain. 276 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:28,390 But when he returns, it says that his face and his clothes 277 00:16:28,460 --> 00:16:33,410 are shining with light because he had been in the presence of 278 00:16:33,420 --> 00:16:34,960 God. Moses goes up the mountain. 279 00:16:34,970 --> 00:16:39,430 Elijah also goes up a mountain, only this time it's to defeat 280 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:44,120 the prophets of of ball on the mount or on Mount Carmel. 281 00:16:45,010 --> 00:16:50,460 And in that story Elijah goes up and it's kind of this like duel. 282 00:16:50,730 --> 00:16:54,270 You can go and read it, but God causes fire to rain down from 283 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:58,520 heaven, lighting the altar, proving himself to be the one 284 00:16:58,530 --> 00:17:01,340 true God in that mountaintop experience. 285 00:17:03,300 --> 00:17:06,579 And so we have these three, the the people, the place, and and 286 00:17:06,589 --> 00:17:10,950 the purpose pointing us to something happening as he was 287 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,180 praying. As he was praying, the 288 00:17:13,190 --> 00:17:18,710 appearance of his face changed and his clothes became as bright 289 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:24,030 as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, those 290 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,710 same 2 appeared in glorious splendor. 291 00:17:27,780 --> 00:17:30,780 Talking with Jesus. They spoke about His departure, 292 00:17:32,020 --> 00:17:34,710 which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 293 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:38,480 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they 294 00:17:38,490 --> 00:17:41,310 became fully awake, we're going to get to that Eventually. 295 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,970 They saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 296 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:51,670 Jesus is, and I'm sure if your Bible has headings in it, Jesus 297 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,870 is transfigured. That's what most Bibles name 298 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,770 this section of the Gospel of Luke. 299 00:17:58,980 --> 00:18:00,910 And Luke doesn't use that specific word. 300 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,170 He doesn't use the specific word like Matthew and Mark 301 00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:07,670 transfigured. That word is a word that sounds 302 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,050 familiar to our ears. It's metamorpho where where we 303 00:18:11,060 --> 00:18:16,340 get metamorphosis from and it means to be transformed, to 304 00:18:16,350 --> 00:18:19,900 change form, but not just like the shape shift and like look 305 00:18:19,910 --> 00:18:22,700 different, like put on a mask, kind of pretend to be somebody 306 00:18:22,710 --> 00:18:25,220 else. Like this is to change in a way 307 00:18:25,230 --> 00:18:29,920 that reveals and keeps with inner reality what is really 308 00:18:29,990 --> 00:18:32,620 true. It's the same word that Paul 309 00:18:32,630 --> 00:18:34,440 uses when he writes to the church. 310 00:18:34,450 --> 00:18:38,350 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 311 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,840 Allow God to transform your heart and your mind in the way 312 00:18:42,850 --> 00:18:47,620 that it was intended to be. Jesus, Like I said, he doesn't 313 00:18:47,630 --> 00:18:51,600 shape shift he he doesn't look completely different like the 314 00:18:51,610 --> 00:18:54,520 disciples still recognize him as Jesus. 315 00:18:54,530 --> 00:19:00,100 Instead, he begins to reveal the fullness of who he really is to 316 00:19:00,110 --> 00:19:04,240 those disciples. This is the fullness of who 317 00:19:04,250 --> 00:19:09,120 Jesus is. Son of God on display, fully 318 00:19:09,130 --> 00:19:12,060 human, fully God. All of his goodness, all of his 319 00:19:12,070 --> 00:19:16,580 wonder and majesty is being revealed in this moment to the 320 00:19:16,590 --> 00:19:19,920 disciples. And it says they go from being 321 00:19:19,930 --> 00:19:29,390 very sleepy to fully awake. They saw his glory. 322 00:19:30,210 --> 00:19:36,260 They see Jesus's true nature, his full glory on display. 323 00:19:37,540 --> 00:19:44,910 The glory of God is present. Heaven and earth are not just 324 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:50,070 close, but heaven is breaking into earth, and the disciples 325 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,360 get to witness it. They get to see it fully awake. 326 00:19:52,370 --> 00:19:59,830 They see it with their own eyes. Jesus is God, God's glory, fully 327 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:05,170 present on earth, inside of human history, and on behalf of 328 00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:08,820 humanity. Sometimes you and I need to be 329 00:20:08,830 --> 00:20:16,950 woken up to who Jesus really, truly, fully is, and sometimes 330 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,720 we need to be reminded to see clearly, Stanley Hauerwas says. 331 00:20:21,730 --> 00:20:27,180 Jesus is transfigured and we begin to see the glory of the 332 00:20:27,190 --> 00:20:31,320 God whose home is among mortals. I love that line. 333 00:20:31,970 --> 00:20:35,600 We begin to see the fullness of who God is, his glory on 334 00:20:35,610 --> 00:20:40,620 display, not just this God who dwells like in the stars away, 335 00:20:40,690 --> 00:20:45,260 but whose home is among mortals. And then he continues, who will 336 00:20:45,270 --> 00:20:50,960 dwell in us and make us his people, wiping every tear, and 337 00:20:50,970 --> 00:20:54,940 death will be no more. What Hawass is pointing us 338 00:20:54,950 --> 00:20:58,140 toward, I think, is that the final promise found at the very 339 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:02,490 end of the book in Revelation, God's coming to dwell on earth, 340 00:21:02,540 --> 00:21:05,750 God's restoring things to the way they were meant to be. 341 00:21:05,820 --> 00:21:14,650 All of it begins in and with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. 342 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,370 Moses representing all of the law and the prophets. 343 00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:21,850 Elijah rather representing all of the prophets pointing us 344 00:21:21,860 --> 00:21:27,070 toward Jesus and Jesus pointing us toward the end of the story 345 00:21:27,830 --> 00:21:31,460 where God's presence will finally come to rest on earth as 346 00:21:31,470 --> 00:21:35,430 it is in heaven. We're told Jesus, Elijah and 347 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,070 Moses, they speak with one another about Jesus's death, 348 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:44,310 literally his departure, how he will depart, which he was about 349 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,520 to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 350 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,610 Their conversation is forward-looking. 351 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,010 This mountaintop experience isn't just happy emotion. 352 00:21:54,020 --> 00:21:57,650 Feel good, wonder at who Jesus is, celebrate and then go home. 353 00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:03,250 Mountain Top Experience Over This mountaintop experience is 354 00:22:03,260 --> 00:22:10,330 filled with the conversation of Jesus death, Fred Craddock 355 00:22:10,340 --> 00:22:12,270 writes. This is a mountaintop 356 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:16,530 experience, but not the kind about which persons right 357 00:22:16,540 --> 00:22:21,870 glowingly of sunrises, soft breezes, warm friends, music and 358 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,110 quiet time. On this mountain the subject is 359 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:29,240 death, and the frightening presence of God reduces those 360 00:22:29,250 --> 00:22:34,360 presence to silence. In due time, after the 361 00:22:34,370 --> 00:22:38,240 resurrection, he says, they will remember, they will understand, 362 00:22:38,450 --> 00:22:41,670 and they will not feel heavy. In fact, they will tell it 363 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,140 broadly as good news. But here's the thing. 364 00:22:46,820 --> 00:22:54,510 They're not quite ready yet. Peter, I love Peter. 365 00:22:54,720 --> 00:23:00,170 Peter confronted with Jesus, whose face is shining with Moses 366 00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:02,830 and Elijah, who really like honestly, right, shouldn't be 367 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,710 here in this moment says the most Peter thing that comes to 368 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,050 his mind. Peter, if you don't know, acts 369 00:23:10,060 --> 00:23:13,970 first thinks maybe like that's how he moves. 370 00:23:13,980 --> 00:23:16,470 That's how he operates and it's bold. 371 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:21,220 In many moments it is bold, but we continue to read This is so 372 00:23:21,230 --> 00:23:25,380 as the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, Master, it's 373 00:23:25,390 --> 00:23:31,330 good for us to be here. Let us put up 3 shelters, one 374 00:23:31,340 --> 00:23:35,510 for you, one for Moses, and 1:00 for Elijah, and then we get this 375 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,250 line in parenthesis. He did not know what he was 376 00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:41,630 saying. This is the Bible version of a 377 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:46,130 footnote, OK? This is the like you, Luke wants 378 00:23:46,140 --> 00:23:50,900 us to know that this is not the way Jesus, you know, had 379 00:23:50,910 --> 00:23:54,870 intended this, this maybe to go in this like this is Peter's 380 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,190 working something out here, all right? 381 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:58,450 This is what he wants you to know. 382 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,990 Peter's trying to figure it out, but here's the thing. 383 00:24:02,790 --> 00:24:06,280 You and I can be a lot like Peter, right? 384 00:24:06,970 --> 00:24:09,240 You can probably get into Peter's mind a little bit. 385 00:24:10,140 --> 00:24:14,690 Here's Moses, Elijah, Jesus, three people who ascended 386 00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:17,710 mountains and met with God. At least two of them had faces 387 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,170 shining with light. Like there's something similar 388 00:24:20,180 --> 00:24:21,830 going on here. This is a moment. 389 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,230 This is a mountain top experience. 390 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:27,150 This is this is a moment that we want to sit in and enjoy. 391 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,590 And like, Peter's getting wrapped up into things and you 392 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,890 can imagine how his mind starts to go right, Like maybe this is 393 00:24:34,900 --> 00:24:36,800 the moment we've been waiting for. 394 00:24:39,020 --> 00:24:41,370 Maybe this is the coming of the Kingdom. 395 00:24:41,380 --> 00:24:44,840 Like Jesus, maybe you, maybe you got it wrong a little bit. 396 00:24:44,850 --> 00:24:47,760 Like maybe we don't have to leave this mountain. 397 00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:53,930 Maybe we can stay here. Let's try to make sense of it. 398 00:24:54,620 --> 00:24:57,990 Let's think about how we can configure this so that this can 399 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,010 be the thing. Like maybe just you don't need 400 00:25:00,020 --> 00:25:02,790 to go back down the mountain and and die in Jerusalem. 401 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,950 Like maybe that part can we can put it on hold for a little bit. 402 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:10,190 Maybe we don't have to leave this emotionally high, 403 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,870 wonderful, great mountaintop experience. 404 00:25:14,260 --> 00:25:16,410 So he says, listen, Gee, this is a good thing that you brought 405 00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:18,510 us. This is our moment finally. 406 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,470 Like I know you've been doing the thing and like Moses and 407 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,590 Elijah, but like, maybe we can do something now too. 408 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,480 Like, hey, we wanna help. I'll build 3 shelters, one for 409 00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:28,820 each of you. We can pitch a tent and we can 410 00:25:28,830 --> 00:25:30,370 stay. That's what he's saying. 411 00:25:31,980 --> 00:25:34,760 What Peter's referencing is the tent of presence. 412 00:25:35,750 --> 00:25:39,600 When Israel was wandering in the desert, Moses would leave, go 413 00:25:39,610 --> 00:25:43,060 outside of their camp, and he would put up a tent of presence 414 00:25:43,070 --> 00:25:49,040 where God would meet with him. And so Peter's going, hey, we've 415 00:25:49,050 --> 00:25:52,120 got language for this. We, I can see what's happening. 416 00:25:52,130 --> 00:25:55,920 We can understand this and we can make sense of it and we can 417 00:25:55,930 --> 00:25:58,640 capture it and we can hold on to it. 418 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:03,180 He wants to build a shelter and commemorate and contain this 419 00:26:03,190 --> 00:26:07,880 amazing gift of God, His presence and His glory on full 420 00:26:07,890 --> 00:26:13,150 display. Like maybe, maybe we don't have 421 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:22,340 to leave. Only Peter is interrupted again. 422 00:26:22,350 --> 00:26:25,520 This there's listen, there's a lot, I think there's a lot of 423 00:26:25,580 --> 00:26:30,890 comedy in the scripture when you know how and where to find it. 424 00:26:32,140 --> 00:26:34,670 So here's Peter saying like, hey, maybe this mountaintop 425 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,070 experience doesn't need to end. Jesus let me do this mid 426 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:43,190 sentence. While he was speaking, a cloud 427 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,810 appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered 428 00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:49,680 the cloud, so they are hit by fear. 429 00:26:50,290 --> 00:26:54,720 And then a voice came from the cloud saying, This is my son 430 00:26:54,730 --> 00:26:58,460 whom I have chosen, Listen to him. 431 00:26:59,990 --> 00:27:02,980 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. 432 00:27:04,140 --> 00:27:06,090 The disciples kept this to themselves. 433 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:10,310 They did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen. 434 00:27:10,740 --> 00:27:19,030 Listen to them. I think we have the same 435 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:29,760 tendency as Peter to limit God or to contain God, to try to 436 00:27:29,770 --> 00:27:35,880 understand what God is doing and put it in a box that feels safe 437 00:27:35,950 --> 00:27:41,090 and comfortable and cozy. Now I wonder how you try to 438 00:27:41,100 --> 00:27:46,650 limit God. What tents are you building to 439 00:27:46,660 --> 00:27:50,770 make your life a little bit more easy to manage? 440 00:27:50,820 --> 00:27:55,010 And then if God's in this box over here, then I can have this 441 00:27:55,020 --> 00:27:59,270 box right here and I can have this one over here, and I can 442 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,430 make sense of everything. And it's neat and it's tidy and 443 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,270 this is the way it's meant to be. 444 00:28:05,210 --> 00:28:08,600 And maybe it's as simple as, hey, church is its own box. 445 00:28:08,610 --> 00:28:12,380 I go to church on Sunday because that's the right thing to do, 446 00:28:13,020 --> 00:28:16,350 because that's what my mom and dad did as my grandparents did. 447 00:28:16,420 --> 00:28:18,570 And I'm gonna continue to do the same thing. 448 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,850 I'll tell you one of the boxes that I wrestle with as a pastor 449 00:28:23,620 --> 00:28:26,570 putting God in and I don't have a name for it. 450 00:28:26,580 --> 00:28:28,990 I just called the pastor box, but maybe it can resonate with 451 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:34,410 you. This is the box where I read my 452 00:28:34,420 --> 00:28:39,430 Bible most days because I'm getting ready for a sermon that 453 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,720 I have to preach on Sunday, or because I'm looking for some 454 00:28:42,730 --> 00:28:45,620 word of encouragement that I can send to somebody else. 455 00:28:45,930 --> 00:28:49,260 I spent hours studying, reading, reading commentaries, what other 456 00:28:49,270 --> 00:28:54,250 people say about the passages that we wrestle through and very 457 00:28:54,260 --> 00:28:56,970 quickly what I can do and I can find is I find myself going, 458 00:28:56,980 --> 00:29:00,750 Hey, I have spent so much time in the script My my job, my time 459 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,550 with Jesus, my time reading the Bible. 460 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,850 It's done nice tidy. Leave it when I go home, right? 461 00:29:05,860 --> 00:29:08,120 The door can shut on my office and I go home. 462 00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:18,980 And what I don't do is my own quiet time, my own hey God, you 463 00:29:18,990 --> 00:29:21,280 need to confront me for me moments. 464 00:29:22,390 --> 00:29:26,330 You need to challenge my heart. You need to get into my life. 465 00:29:26,340 --> 00:29:30,470 You need to reorient, rearrange things in my own spirit. 466 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:35,160 For me, not as a pastor, eventually maybe as a pastor. 467 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:41,470 That's a box that I think many pastors or people who work for 468 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,970 churches can end up inadvertently putting God into. 469 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:52,130 Many of us can be like Peter when really what we need is this 470 00:29:52,140 --> 00:29:58,690 level of divine interruption. I wonder if you've had any type 471 00:29:58,700 --> 00:30:03,520 of experience where you've been stopped dead in your tracks and 472 00:30:03,530 --> 00:30:05,800 hopefully it's an OK experience that you're like not, I'm not 473 00:30:05,810 --> 00:30:08,400 talking like car accident, like not that level of, of 474 00:30:08,450 --> 00:30:10,220 experience. But I'll give you one. 475 00:30:10,230 --> 00:30:14,440 For me, I when I was training and running a lot, and this was 476 00:30:14,450 --> 00:30:17,780 when we were living in Hamilton, we ran through the winter. 477 00:30:17,790 --> 00:30:20,970 And in order to run through the winter, you basically are 478 00:30:20,980 --> 00:30:22,280 committed to running in the dark. 479 00:30:22,290 --> 00:30:25,360 Like that's just, that's it. And so this was the fall was 480 00:30:25,370 --> 00:30:28,040 starting to get dark early and that we would run, we would go 481 00:30:28,050 --> 00:30:31,500 trail running so early in the morning so that we could be back 482 00:30:31,510 --> 00:30:36,080 home at 1/2 decent hour that we started with headlamps. 483 00:30:36,570 --> 00:30:38,340 And you can probably imagine where this is going. 484 00:30:39,090 --> 00:30:42,660 And so we start with headlamps running through the woods, 485 00:30:42,670 --> 00:30:44,900 through the forest on the Bruce Trail in Hamilton. 486 00:30:44,910 --> 00:30:50,180 And I had one moment where I was running and my headlamp, if you 487 00:30:50,190 --> 00:30:52,780 ever used the headlamp, it's really good at illuminating like 488 00:30:52,790 --> 00:30:55,960 just a very specific area in front of you and not all of the 489 00:30:55,970 --> 00:30:59,170 things in front of you. And I ran smack into a branch 490 00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:02,860 that I didn't see it like, and I landed on my back and lying in 491 00:31:02,870 --> 00:31:07,840 the mud and there's cobwebs all over me and stopped dead in my 492 00:31:07,850 --> 00:31:09,740 tracks. And in moments like that, you 493 00:31:09,750 --> 00:31:12,890 really like, you do wonder, you second guess all of the 494 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:15,650 decisions you've made in life that have led you up to that 495 00:31:15,660 --> 00:31:18,590 moment. That's the level I think of 496 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,270 interruption that Luke has or that that that Luke draws up for 497 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,500 Peter here. This is like while he was 498 00:31:25,510 --> 00:31:28,220 speaking mid sentence. Like I've got the knowledge, 499 00:31:28,230 --> 00:31:30,900 I've got the wisdom. I know the way we should go. 500 00:31:30,910 --> 00:31:35,180 Hey G. And mid sentence God shows up. 501 00:31:36,750 --> 00:31:40,490 Peter is interrupted and in that interruption I think they 502 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,240 finally start to get that this is different. 503 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:49,880 The disciples and Jesus have an experience with God the Father. 504 00:31:50,710 --> 00:31:55,710 God's presence descends on them, says that Peter and the other 505 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,550 two disciples, they're caught up, they're afraid as they 506 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,920 entered the cloud, like something here is happening. 507 00:32:03,430 --> 00:32:08,060 And then a voice speaks. And really what we see here is a 508 00:32:08,070 --> 00:32:11,020 parallel story to Jesus's baptism. 509 00:32:11,750 --> 00:32:14,820 There, at the beginning of Jesus's ministry, Jesus is 510 00:32:14,830 --> 00:32:18,240 baptized. When he comes up, there's a 511 00:32:18,250 --> 00:32:21,830 voice that speaks. The voice comes from heaven. 512 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,870 You are my son, whom I love with you. 513 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:31,690 I am well pleased. Here again, God confirms who 514 00:32:31,700 --> 00:32:35,090 Jesus is. You are my son. 515 00:32:35,180 --> 00:32:41,040 This is my son, and God confirms the mission that Jesus has been 516 00:32:41,100 --> 00:32:44,110 sent on. So at the baptism, the beginning 517 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,260 of the ministry of Jesus with the one of the things that 518 00:32:47,270 --> 00:32:51,150 baptism does is it confirms Jesus's identity as the Son of 519 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,870 God and it confirms the mission, the ministry that he is going to 520 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,750 embark on. This isn't just some random 521 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:02,150 person that is doing some random thing. 522 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:06,450 God is affirming, confirming Jesus's identity and his 523 00:33:06,460 --> 00:33:10,010 mission. Here again, this is my son whom 524 00:33:10,020 --> 00:33:12,230 I have chosen. Listen to him. 525 00:33:12,580 --> 00:33:16,710 God's divine interruption confirms Jesus identity and 526 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:23,570 confirms Jesus's mission and it corrects Peters understanding 527 00:33:23,660 --> 00:33:28,580 and Peters will. Peter is pulled in this moment 528 00:33:28,850 --> 00:33:34,380 into alignment with God's mission and with who Jesus is. 529 00:33:35,910 --> 00:33:39,840 You know, I think there's a chance that some of us, maybe 530 00:33:39,850 --> 00:33:43,410 all of us, need to be interrupted. 531 00:33:45,690 --> 00:33:51,750 That level of fall on your back, pull the cobwebs off, wipe the 532 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:59,390 dirt and get back up kind of interruption until your life is 533 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,610 interrupted by Jesus, truly and properly. 534 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:07,240 All aspects of it shifted because of who he is. 535 00:34:07,610 --> 00:34:13,199 You aren't fully awake and you're not living fully alive, 536 00:34:14,870 --> 00:34:19,860 but there is great hope to be found in learning to allow God 537 00:34:19,929 --> 00:34:26,719 to be God, and in learning to allow that God to interrupt your 538 00:34:26,730 --> 00:34:32,550 life when he sees fit. Allow that same guy to stop you 539 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,710 dead in your tracks. Correct your understanding, 540 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:40,560 correct your desires, and correct your will and pull you 541 00:34:40,570 --> 00:34:45,190 into greater alignment with what Jesus is still doing in the 542 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:50,719 world today. Let me pray, God, thanks for 543 00:34:50,730 --> 00:34:56,320 your love and for your grace thinks that you're with us and 544 00:34:56,330 --> 00:34:59,120 thinks that you interrupt us and you interrupt our lives. 545 00:35:00,290 --> 00:35:04,280 Now we're grateful for that, as painful as a process as it may 546 00:35:04,290 --> 00:35:07,430 be at times. So God, I pray that you would 547 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,780 interrupt and I pray that you would align our hearts, align us 548 00:35:12,790 --> 00:35:15,160 as a church with who you are and what you're doing. 549 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:21,040 Jesus here say we we love you. Would you help us live out that 550 00:35:21,050 --> 00:35:26,340 love in this world? So we gotta teach us, encourage 551 00:35:26,350 --> 00:35:28,930 us, challenge us, rebuke us. All of it. 552 00:35:29,930 --> 00:35:33,560 We need you to as we continue to worship. 553 00:35:33,570 --> 00:35:39,510 I do pray that we would go encouraged because you continue 554 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,230 to show up and because you continue to be present. 555 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:43,960 We pray these things in the strong name of Jesus. 556 00:35:44,630 --> 00:35:52,630 Amen. Amen in.