1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,640 Matthew chapter 17. Let's get right into it. 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,760 Matthew 17. We're going to look at verse #1 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,560 through 8 this morning, one through 8. 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:40,360 And you know so verse #1 the Bible says, And after six days 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:45,320 Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth 12 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,960 them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,720 before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,960 raiment was white as the light. And and behold, there appeared 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,680 unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:07,440 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for 17 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,760 us to be here, if thou wilt. Let us make here 3 Tabernacles, 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,720 one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, while he yet 19 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,640 spake. Behold a bright cloud 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,040 overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud which 21 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,600 said, This is my beloved son, and whom I am well pleased. 22 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,480 Hear ye him. And when his disciples heard it, 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,880 they fell on their face and were sore, frayed. 24 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:37,920 And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise, be not afraid. 25 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:42,280 And when they had lifted up their eyes and saw no man save 26 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:46,240 Jesus only. I want to preach on this title 27 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,800 this morning. How to recognize a good place. 28 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,200 How to recognize a good a good place. 29 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,040 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, Lord, we come 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,920 before you again, praising you and thanking you for all that 31 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,600 you've done. Thank you for this lighthouse 32 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,840 of, you know, Liberty Baptist Church in this dark area, you 33 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,280 know, you know, Easton, Mass, southern Massachusetts, people 34 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:13,520 need Jesus. And Lord, I just thank you for, 35 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,520 you know, for this church here and for Pastor Rivero for you 36 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,720 putting a burden upon his heart to start this church many years 37 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,120 ago to reach people with the gospel, and that this church is 38 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,160 still here and still thriving and still reaching people. 39 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,080 I just ask you that you bless this church. 40 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,120 But Lord, this morning I just ask you that you speak to us 41 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,080 through the preaching of your word. 42 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:37,960 Give me the words to say. Speak to our hearts. 43 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,320 Help us, Lord, to be changed. Help us to be challenged. 44 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,600 Help us to leave different than when we came in. 45 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,560 In your name we pray, Amen. And so how to recognize a good 46 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,800 place as a way of introduction. This is one of the most precious 47 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:57,400 passages in this in the Bible. Here the Lord Jesus gives his 48 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,920 disciples a snapshot of the coming Kingdom. 49 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,600 It is helpful to understand what is happening in these verses. 50 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,720 If we, you know, we don't have time this morning to do it. 51 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:13,600 But if you take the time and you look backwards into chapter 16, 52 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,240 when you read chapter 16, you know, before, you know, I don't 53 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,320 know, I mean some people read their their Bible 54 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,400 chronologically. But if you, you know, read it, 55 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,320 you know, you know, chapter, you know, chapter to chapter. 56 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,960 When you go back to chapter 16, there Jesus had just told his 57 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,520 men that He is on the way up to the cross to die for their sins. 58 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:44,160 He tells them that Matthew 1619. He is then rebuked by Peter, but 59 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:49,040 goes on to tell the disciples that not only will He die on the 60 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,960 cross, but He will return to earth and glory someday. 61 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,840 Then Jesus makes a very strange statement in Matthew 1628. 62 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:03,080 He tells the disciples that some of them will not die before they 63 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,640 see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom. 64 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,200 After six days, Jesus taketh takes Peter, James, and John to 65 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,800 a high mountain. Mark Chapter 9 talks about this 66 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,240 as well. There Jesus was transfigured as 67 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,480 we just read in Matthew 17. He was transfigured in their 68 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,680 presence. Those three men, you know, 69 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,960 Peter, James and John, those three men were allowed to 70 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:37,280 witness a little bit of what we will see a whole lot of in 71 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,680 heaven. They were allowed to witness it. 72 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:44,200 Someday we're going to see everything that you know, in 73 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,480 heaven. But you know, you know, Peter, 74 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,880 James and John, they got a little glimpse of it at this 75 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,520 time in Matthew 17. They were given an honor that 76 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:59,360 none that no, none of them had ever, you know, ever got to got 77 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,880 over as long as that they lived. We would notice that the very 78 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:11,440 first word in chapter 17 is the Word, and this ties the events 79 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:16,320 of chapter 17 back to what happened in chapter 16. 80 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:22,760 What started in chapter 16 and what we will see here is a small 81 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:28,000 picture of the glory Jesus you know will have when He comes in 82 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,240 power and reign over earth. By the way, I thank God today 83 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:38,080 that I know who Jesus is. I am glad that I do not have, 84 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,840 you know, any trouble believing in the virgin birth. 85 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,280 I'm glad I don't have any trouble and believing in his 86 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,200 vicarious death or his victorious resurrection. 87 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,840 I am glad that I've been given the faith this, you know, to 88 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:58,760 believe that his visible return in his visible return some 89 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,920 glorious day. But this morning I don't want to 90 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,280 preach on the prophetic aspect of this passage. 91 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,160 I want to draw our attention to what Peter said in verse #4 Look 92 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:18,440 back at verse #4 Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, 93 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,640 this next phrase, it is good for us to be here. 94 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,000 When Peter saw all that was happening around him that day, 95 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,160 he didn't understand all that was happening, but he knew it 96 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,680 was enough for him to recognize that he was in a good place. 97 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,600 He was where exactly where God wanted him to be. 98 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,240 Here's exactly where Jesus wanted him to be. 99 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,960 As you and I travel through this life, we're going to find 100 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,640 ourselves in all different kinds of places. 101 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,920 Some are going to be OK places, some are not going to be OK 102 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,800 places. There's there's going to be 103 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,040 times of that when we're in the valley. 104 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,560 There's going to be times when we're on the mountaintop. 105 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:09,600 There's going to be times that fall everywhere in between those 106 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,760 two streams. But today I want to, I want to 107 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:17,720 try to help you and I, you know, help us out a little bit on our 108 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,840 journey through, you know, towards glory. 109 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,800 I want to help us to know of a good place in life when we see 110 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,400 it. And I believe you can be in a 111 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:31,320 good place and not even recognize it. 112 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,880 You might be in a valley this morning and not even recognize 113 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,840 it and not even recognize that that valley is a good place. 114 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:45,080 You might be in a time of physical pain or emotional 115 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:50,160 trouble this morning, or a financial turmoil or any other. 116 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,360 You know, thousands of things that are possible, things that 117 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:58,120 it could be, trials that we may have, and you might not even 118 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,880 recognize that it is a good place to be in. 119 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,560 I would like for us to examine this passage and how to 120 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,360 recognize that we're in a good place. 121 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,160 Look back at verse number one and two. 122 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,960 Yeah, first of all, that, you know, we could examine his 123 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,000 glory. And after six days, Jesus taketh 124 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,600 Peter and James, Peter, James and John his brother, and 125 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,200 bringeth them up into a high, high mountain apart and was 126 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,720 transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the 127 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,040 sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 128 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,360 And so here is a special people verse. 129 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:39,280 One tells us that Jesus only took three of his men with him. 130 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,520 Why 3? Have we ever wondered that? 131 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,200 Why was it? Why was it Peter, James and 132 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:47,600 John? Why not Bartholomew? 133 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,720 Why not you know? Why not Paul? 134 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,840 You know He takes these three. It would appear that these men 135 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:02,160 were the Lord's inner circle. In fact, this is not the only 136 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,960 time Jesus selected these men for a time of special ministry. 137 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,480 It was these three men that were with Jesus when He raised 138 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:15,000 Jarius's daughter from the dead in Mark chapter 5, verse 37. 139 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,000 So Jesus has selected these three men before. 140 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,400 You know, these three men were also with Jesus when He went a 141 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:28,080 little deeper into Gethsemane to pray in Mark 1433. 142 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:30,640 And so they were with Him. And you remember when He was in 143 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,360 Gethsemane, what are these three guys there? 144 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,160 They fell asleep, but they were with Him, you know. 145 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,640 And while it is true that God has no respective persons, as 146 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:45,680 Romans 2211 tells us, it is also true that some people are closer 147 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,720 to Him than others. Each and every one of us this 148 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:55,280 morning, we are at different parts in our relationship with 149 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,600 Christ. Some are, you know, you know, so 150 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,280 the Bible talks about some are as newborn babes, right? 151 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,800 You know, design A sincere milk, you know, a newborn babe in 152 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:13,640 Christ, you know, is not at the same place and no relationship 153 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,640 with Christ as somebody who has been saved for a long time and 154 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,800 has been studying and meditated in God's Word. 155 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,760 Everybody is at different areas in their walk with God. 156 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,800 Everyone's at different areas, you know, and so it, it does 157 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,040 not, you know, it does not mean that some people are more 158 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,240 responsive to his love. You know, it doesn't mean that 159 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:42,920 God loves some more than others. In reality, you and I are as 160 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:48,880 close to God as we want to be. We're close to God as we want to 161 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:54,200 be, you know, and you know, if we want to get closer, we can. 162 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,280 James chapter 4, verse 8. You know, I love this verse. 163 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,520 It starts off, you know, it starts, you know, saying draw an 164 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,040 eye unto God and he will draw an eye unto you. 165 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:10,480 So if you and I want to be close to God and our walk with Him and 166 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,760 our relationship with Him, you and I have to make the first 167 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,680 step. You and I have to decide to do 168 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:19,720 so. We need to draw a nigh to Him, 169 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,680 and when we do that, He will draw a nigh to us. 170 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:31,520 By the way, those who are open to all that God has for them are 171 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,600 more likely to see Him move in glory and power than those who 172 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,440 tend to stay further and further away from Him. 173 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:46,400 If you stay, if you're far, far away from God, if you don't care 174 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,240 about your relationship with God, you don't care about being 175 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,520 close to Him at all. And then you wonder, why am I 176 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,200 not seeing God answer prayer? Why am I not seeing His power? 177 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,000 Why am I not seeing His blessings? 178 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:04,840 You chose not to be near Him. You chose not to draw not nigh 179 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,400 to him. You chose not to be close to 180 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,520 him. I don't know about you this 181 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,680 morning, but I want to have a desire, always have a desire to 182 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:17,960 be close to him as John was at the Last Supper. 183 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,400 He was close enough to see Jesus lay his head over on his breast 184 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,400 and could no and could no doubt feel the breath of God on his 185 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,040 head. He was close enough to talk to 186 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,600 Jesus and close enough to hear Jesus speak to him. 187 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,840 And we find that in John chapter 13 verse 23 through 26. 188 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:42,600 John was able, was one of the one of the few that was able to 189 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:47,080 get, you know, few divine secrets because he made an 190 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:52,360 effort to get close to Jesus. How are we doing this morning 191 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,520 and getting, you know, and making efforts to get close to 192 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,600 him? Are we waiting on God to do some 193 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,400 miraculous thing to show us a miraculous sign, a miracle in 194 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,240 order for us to get close to him? 195 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,360 Or are we taking the first step? Are we drawing an eye to Him 196 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,960 every single day and getting close to Him every single day? 197 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,600 Why don't we stop hanging back and get close to Him today if we 198 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,080 will? We can examine His glory. 199 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,400 There's a special people, but it's also a special place. 200 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:31,760 We are told that these three men are on a mountaintop with Jesus. 201 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,080 They're on a mountaintop in verse #1 it's called a high 202 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,440 mountain. Later, when Peter wrote about 203 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,600 what he had seen that day, he referred to it as a holy 204 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,760 mountain. And so when we read Second 205 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,600 Peter, chapter one, verse 16 to 18, Peters talking about, you 206 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,920 know, the mountain of Transfiguration, and he calls it 207 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,520 a holy mount. And second Peter, for Peter, 208 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,240 that high place became a holy place. 209 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:06,200 Even John referred to this event in the later years in the book 210 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:12,040 of first John, when he wrote it, he referred to it, you know, as 211 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,160 a holy place. Peter wanted to settle down and 212 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,920 stay right there. Peter wanted to stay right in 213 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,200 verse #4 He says it's good for us to be here if thou wilt, let 214 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:30,760 us make here 3 tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one 215 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,840 for Elias. After this event, these men came 216 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,160 down off that mountain with Jesus. 217 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:42,400 When they had arrived back down in the valley, they were hit 218 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,000 square in the face with the pressures and the burdens of 219 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,040 life. And when you read later on in 220 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:55,480 the chapter, you know, from verse 14 to 27, they come off 221 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,120 that mountain and these three men again, they were hit with 222 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,640 the pressures and the burdens of life. 223 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,240 They had to deal with the demonic spirit. 224 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,080 They had to deal with paying their taxes. 225 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,520 They had to deal with that everyday life. 226 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,920 They but they carry the events of what happened on their 227 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,520 mountain, on this high mountain. They carry these events in their 228 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,680 hearts. Mark tells about that in Mark 229 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,320 Chapter 9. Here's the point. 230 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:30,720 If you and I really know the Lord, there's going to be some 231 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,520 high mount, there's going to be some mountaintops in our life 232 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,400 with Him. We're going to be up on the 233 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,400 mountaintops. We're going to be experiencing, 234 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,160 you know, His blessings and you know, we're going to be as close 235 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:46,600 to Him. We're going to experience his 236 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:52,200 presence, but there's also going to be times when, you know, his 237 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,880 presence is going to be real, his glory. 238 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,160 We're going to be able to see it, you know, and when we're on 239 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,800 the, when we're in on the mountaintops, when we're in 240 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:03,480 those times, we need to enjoy it. 241 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,800 We need to enjoy for all that's worth, because someday we're 242 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,480 going to have to make that trek down off that mountain. 243 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,640 We're going to have to make that trek back down, and we're going 244 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:19,840 to be in the valley and in the experience of the mountaintop. 245 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,440 The experience of the mountaintop will sustain us 246 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,080 through many long, difficult valleys. 247 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,840 Because it's a special place. It's also a special presentation 248 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:40,120 verse #2 says, and was transfigured before them. 249 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,200 Transfigured. This word is translated from the 250 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,280 same word that gives us metamorphose. 251 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:53,360 Nearly anyone who has ever taken biology knows what metamorphose 252 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,160 is. Yeah, it's a compound word, 253 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:02,520 meta, which means to change. And, and this is hard for me 254 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,160 because I hate science. I hate, you know, I never liked 255 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,440 science. I know it's strange because God 256 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:13,079 made all things and we find science in the Bible, but I, I 257 00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:14,960 just never could comprehend science. 258 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,920 I struggled with it in school and it's all the teachers fault. 259 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:20,520 It's not my fault, it's the teachers fault. 260 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:26,119 I'm kidding, you know. But you know, meta, you know, 261 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,080 you know, means you know, to change and morph, which means 262 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,040 form. So therefore metamorphosis is a 263 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,960 change of form or a change of appearance. 264 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:41,000 This term is used to refer to what happens, you know, to 265 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,120 transform a Caterpillar into a butterfly. 266 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:50,680 That ugly Caterpillar enclosed. It encloses itself with a cocoon 267 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:56,360 and goes through a metamorphose. It goes in a worm and comes out 268 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,840 a butterfly. It goes in having to crawl. 269 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,480 It comes out able to fly. It goes in a thing that is ugly 270 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:09,240 and despised, and it appears as a thing of a wonderful beauty 271 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:15,560 that this is what happens to the Lord Jesus on the mountaintop 272 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:20,720 that day. Up up until that moment, He had 273 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:26,000 appeared to them as just another Jew who did some pretty 274 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,120 remarkable things. But on that mountain, the glory 275 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:36,040 that was concealed inside His human body, a burst forth. 276 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,080 You see, this was not the first time Jesus had experienced 277 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,960 metamorphose. The first time was when he was, 278 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:48,600 you know, placed within the womb of a virgin named Mary and was 279 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:52,520 born into this world. And we know that Jesus existed 280 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,000 before Bethlehem. In fact, He's internal. 281 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,280 He has always been. And when He was born in 282 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,160 Bethlehem, He was merely concealed. 283 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,560 He concealed His heavenly frame within an earthly frame. 284 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,720 Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 through 8 talks about that, that 285 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:16,200 He became the likeness of man, you know, and he became, and so 286 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:21,400 on that mountain that day, Matthew chapter 17, the glory 287 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:27,360 that was on the inside was visible on the outside for 288 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:32,760 Peter, James and John to see. They witnessed that glory, you 289 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,240 know, and you know, they, they saw, you know, that glory that 290 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,840 was on the inside of Jesus. Every now and then, you and I, 291 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:45,920 we pass through, as we pass through this life, we have the 292 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,800 privilege to catch a glimpse of His glory. 293 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:57,560 I've never seen the back parts of our Lord, but Moses did in 294 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:02,440 Exodus chapter 33. I've never heard him speak 295 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:07,080 inaudible voice. Like Abraham, like Jacob, like 296 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,360 Moses, like Elijah and others did. 297 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:15,520 I've never have been within the veil of the holies of holies, 298 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,200 you know, and been enveloped in his glory cloud. 299 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:26,720 But I have seen a time or two when the heaven brushed up next 300 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,040 to the earth and things got a little foggy. 301 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,400 There have been times in life when He pulled back the veil and 302 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,760 let and He will let me catch a glimpse of Him and His glory. 303 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,360 And you can say the same thing. You've gone through times like 304 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:45,200 that and you've been able to see His glory. 305 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:48,400 And when that happens, it's a good place to be in. 306 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,280 It's a good place. You know you're in a good place 307 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:58,920 when you can examine His glory. I said #1 #2 You know that 308 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,240 you're in a good place when you can exalt his greatness. 309 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,120 Look back at verse #3 three to five. 310 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:12,120 And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking 311 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,280 with him. Then answered Peter, and said 312 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,120 unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. 313 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,720 If thou wilt, let us make here 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and 314 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,440 one for Moses, and one for Elias. 315 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,440 And while he yet spake verse 5, behold, a bright cloud 316 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,600 overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud which 317 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,600 said, This is my beloved son, and whom I'm well pleased. 318 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:39,440 Hear ye him we have heavenly visitors. 319 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,280 We find in verse three you have some heavenly visitors. 320 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:47,240 We're told that when Jesus was transfigured, he was visited by 321 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,280 Moses and Elijah. He's called Elias in this 322 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,160 passage. You know, the appearance of 323 00:21:54,160 --> 00:22:00,600 these two men is a, is a marvelous miracle which has many 324 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,000 lessons to teach you and I. For instance, Moses had been 325 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,920 dead for 15, about 1500 years at this point, you know, and you 326 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:16,560 know when this event took place. But here he is Peter, James and 327 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:21,440 John, you know, had witnessed and had saw, had seen with their 328 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,960 eyes Moses who died some 1500 years previously. 329 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,360 Now I know that would scare some of us, right? 330 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:39,280 All of a sudden, or you're up on the mountain or wherever you go, 331 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,880 you go visit a relative in the grave site and all of a sudden 332 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,320 they appeared right before you and start talking. 333 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,080 I don't know about you, but I would run. 334 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:58,080 I would run. We don't see Peter, James and 335 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,760 John running here. We don't see them running away 336 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,800 after after Moses and Elijah appeared. 337 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,360 He is moving. Moses is moving. 338 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,720 He's been dead for 1500 years or so. 339 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,520 He's moving. He's not just moving, he's 340 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,680 talking and he's recognizable. He is very much alive. 341 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:24,680 This is just serves to remind us that the redeemed who die do not 342 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,240 go into the grave to wait for a resurrection, but they pass on 343 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,560 to glory with the Lord as Second Corinthians 58 talks about in 344 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,560 Philippians 123. Another thought is this. 345 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,520 Moses died on a mountain in the embrace of God. 346 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,360 God conducted his funeral and carried his spirit home to 347 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,160 glory. Moses represents believers who 348 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,560 died in faith. Elijah, he didn't die at all, 349 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,720 yet he didn't die. He was taken up in the 350 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,120 whirlwind, carried into heaven, the Chariots of fire. 351 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:04,600 He represents Saints of God who one day will be gathered up in 352 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,400 the rapture and taken to glory. What these two what? 353 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,960 What were these two famous men doing when they met Jesus on the 354 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,760 mountain? Luke 931 tells us that they were 355 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:20,600 talking with Jesus about his decease. 356 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,720 They were discussing his upcoming death on the cross. 357 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,080 How would you like to have heard that conversation? 358 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:35,080 Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus about what's happening 359 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:40,960 next, about dying on the cross. You're Peter, James and John. 360 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:46,160 Moses has been dead for about 1500 years, but he's they can 361 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,040 see him, he's moving, he's talking. 362 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,560 Elijah, who never died, was carried up in the whirlwind. 363 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,960 And how could you imagine just being there and hearing that 364 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,440 conversation, what you might have heard if you were there 365 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:07,880 that day when you heard the word, the word deceased, He 366 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,320 means exodus. So these three men were talking 367 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,320 about the day when Jesus would make his exodus out of this 368 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,240 human life. You see, Moses represents 369 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,160 represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets, the 370 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,240 law and every sacrifice prescribed in it to this point 371 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:32,480 and in it appointed ahead to Jesus the perfect fulfilment of 372 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,880 the Law. The prophet spoke of the one who 373 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:41,320 was to come to perfect that sacrifice and be the Redeemer. 374 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:46,040 The bottom line here is this Moses and Elijah came to exalt 375 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:51,160 the greatness of our of Jesus and to reveal to disciples that 376 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,320 he is and who he is, who he claimed to be. 377 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:00,200 That's why they were there. Moses again, you know, with the 378 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,120 law, you know, you know, they, you know, you know, with the 379 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:08,680 sacrifice, they pointed a head to Jesus, you know, and you know 380 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,960 the prophets, you know, they, you know, they perfect, you 381 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,240 know, they, you know, they prophesied the sacrifice in the 382 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,720 of the Redeemer. And so they were there to tell 383 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:24,440 Peter, James and John, he's not an ordinary Jew. 384 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:31,720 He is who he claims to be, the Messiah, the Son of God. 385 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,400 He was the one that we were looking forward. 386 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,400 We were looking forward to the day that he came. 387 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,320 He's here and now he's about to go to the cross. 388 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,600 And that's why they came. That's why they were there on 389 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,320 that mountaintop that day. You know, they, you know, to let 390 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:55,400 Peter, James and John know that he is the Messiah. 391 00:26:55,840 --> 00:27:00,240 Then we find in verse #5 we hear, you know, they, they heard 392 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,840 a heavenly voice when this happened. 393 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,240 Peter, James and John, they're they're actually asleep in Luke 394 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:11,120 92032 tells us, you know, gives us a little bit more into the 395 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:13,680 story and the events that happened. 396 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,080 I should say that they, that they fell asleep. 397 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,680 And when they woke up and they saw what was going on, Peter, as 398 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,120 usual, had to say something. Peter, yeah, he just going to 399 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,480 keep his mouth shut. He always had to say something. 400 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,720 And, you know, bless his heart, he had to say something. 401 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:40,960 And, you know, and so, you know, and yet many of us, you know, we 402 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,160 have that problem as well, just like Peter. 403 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,920 Every time Peter opened up his mouth, it was just to change. 404 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,240 It was just to change feet or change the subject. 405 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:56,000 He put his mouth in motion before his brain got into gear. 406 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:02,200 Just for the record, there's times when it is better to say 407 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:07,640 nothing than to say something. There are times just to talk for 408 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,200 the sake of talking. Could be dangerous, you know, at 409 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,920 best, especially when we start to, you know, especially when we 410 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,400 start to remember that we will give an account for everything 411 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,360 that we say as what the book of Matthew says, for every idle 412 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:27,200 word that we say. When Peter does speak, he wants 413 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,960 to build 3 tabernacles on that mountain. 414 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,360 He wanted to. He wants to build one for Jesus, 415 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:37,240 one for Moses, and 1:00 for Elijah. 416 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,680 On the surface it seems fine, but when Peter's statement is 417 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:47,640 examined, it is clear that he's placing Jesus on the same level 418 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:52,200 as Moses and Elijah, which Jesus is not on the same level as 419 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,320 them. When this happens, a 7th person, 420 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,640 7th, you know, person shows up on that mountain. 421 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:07,480 When God hears what that when God hears his Son being compared 422 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:13,840 to Moses and Elijah and the prophets, you know, when he 423 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:19,520 hears this, he's, he reminds everyone on the mountain that 424 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:25,480 Jesus is greater than them. He's greater, you know, it's far 425 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,520 greater than Moses. He's far greater than Elijah, 426 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,960 you know, He's far greater than the prophets, He says, and at 427 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,800 the end of verse #5 this is my beloved Son, and whom I am well 428 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:43,640 pleased. Hear ye Him in truth. 429 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:49,120 He's the fulfillment of both, and He alone is worthy of our 430 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,240 praise and to give glory and on worship too. 431 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,400 When Jesus came out of the private years at his baptism, 432 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,760 God heard. God was heard to express His 433 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,160 pleasure in Jesus back in Matthew 3. 434 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:09,880 Here, in the midst of a public ministry of Jesus, God again 435 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,000 declares His pleasure in His Son. 436 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:21,080 I wonder if there was a time in heaven when Jesus returned with 437 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:29,080 the blood of His cross as the perfect offering for sin, and 438 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:35,520 God said for a third time, this is my beloved Son and whom I'm 439 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:39,560 well pleased. Do you ever think of that? 440 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,640 We find it twice in Scripture that he says that. 441 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:49,600 But when he goes, when he, when he leaves and he goes to heaven, 442 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:56,040 I wonder what the reunion was like up in heaven. 443 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,840 God saying, I could just imagine, this is my beloved Son 444 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,840 in whom I'm well pleased. Could you imagine that with me 445 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:12,440 this morning? You are in a good location in 446 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:18,520 your life when you and I have arrived at a place where nothing 447 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:24,400 and no one but Jesus has our attention. 448 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:33,800 You are, I'll say that again. You are in a good place in life 449 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,720 when you have arrived, you know, arrived at a place in life when 450 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:45,360 nothing and no one but Jesus has your attention. 451 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:51,640 You see far too many people are worship, you know, you know 452 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:56,760 worship the church, they worship the traditions of the church. 453 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,760 They worship people, they worship, you know, their 454 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,720 religion, a man made religion. But what has our worship this 455 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,600 morning? Who or what are we exalting this 456 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,480 morning? We should only be exalting our 457 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:16,920 Savior, our God and worship in him and not any tradition of 458 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:21,600 mankind or tradition of religion or worship in man at all. 459 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,640 We should be worshipping our Savior. 460 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,680 If if it's anything but Jesus, then you have, then we need to 461 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,960 change some things in our life. However, when we come to the 462 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,960 place in life, when we find ourselves worshiping Jesus and 463 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:41,720 finding ways to glorify Him, we have arrived at a good place. 464 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,800 This thing is all about Christ. It's all about Him. 465 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,840 It's not about me. It's not about your pastor. 466 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,960 It's not about you. It's all about him. 467 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,920 Why do we do what we do? I hope we do what we do because 468 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:03,200 we love him and we worship him. And that should be our 469 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,640 motivation. That should be our motivation 470 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,880 for praise, you know, and, and it shouldn't be because, oh, if 471 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,800 I don't go to church today, Pastor Rivera is going to find 472 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,200 out and he's going to call me up and say, where are you? 473 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:24,560 There was a time in my life when that when that happened, I grew 474 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,560 up in church and, and I could name and I could sit down with 475 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:34,120 you for hours and I can list out names of people that I know who 476 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,600 have said to me they only go to church because they don't want 477 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,480 to get a phone call. Why? 478 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:48,080 Because that happened. I remember the first time as a 479 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:53,600 teenager missing church because I was sick. 480 00:33:55,240 --> 00:34:00,760 God forbid you get sick. I didn't tell anyone that I was 481 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,000 sick because I was. I was sick. 482 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,360 I didn't pick up the phone or call anyone or text anyone. 483 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:15,280 I was sick. 1235, my cell phone goes off and it's the preacher. 484 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:23,440 Where were you today not even 5 minutes after church ended? 485 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,400 Where were you? I'm sorry, I was sick. 486 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:34,760 It happened over and over and over and over again and people 487 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:43,159 changed the reason why they went to church because they didn't 488 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:44,840 want to get a phone call from the preacher. 489 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,520 They didn't want to get a phone call. 490 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,679 They don't want to be accused of anything, so they're just going 491 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:57,000 to church through the motions. And I was there at one point in 492 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,080 my life for a long period of time. 493 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:08,160 I was there and I recognized it later on and, you know, in my 494 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:09,720 life. And I got that right. 495 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,280 And we should only go to church because we love the Lord and 496 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:19,120 we're worshiping him and we're praising him for all he for who 497 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,840 he is and what he has done for us. 498 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:27,800 And when we stay in that that mindset, we are in a good place. 499 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:32,560 But if you ever find yourself, you know, you know, not having 500 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:36,320 that mindset and, and just going through the motions and, and 501 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,400 just serving because, you know, because you were told to and you 502 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,040 and you don't want to upset the preacher, you don't want to 503 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,320 upset the preacher's wife or you don't want to upset your Sunday 504 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,240 school teacher, whoever. If you're just doing it because 505 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,360 of that, you're doing it for the wrong reason. 506 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:54,320 You're doing it for the wrong reason. 507 00:35:55,240 --> 00:36:01,600 He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy, you know, for us 508 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:07,520 to serve Him and to worship Him. It's all about Him and not about 509 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,480 us. You know you're in a good place 510 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,600 when you examine, when you can examine His glory. 511 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:17,320 I said #1 #2 when you can, when you can exalt His greatness and 512 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,360 number three. And last, when you can 513 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:25,200 experience His grace, verse 6 through 8 says, and when the 514 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:30,840 disciples heard it, heard what? What God said at the end of 515 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:35,480 verse #5 This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased, hear 516 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:39,840 ye Him. And so verse 6 says, and tie in 517 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,160 verse 5 to verse 6. And when the disciples heard it, 518 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,240 they fell on their face, and they were sore afraid. 519 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,760 And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not 520 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,600 afraid. And when they had lifted up 521 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:58,200 their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus, only the grace of his 522 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,400 peace. We see here that we can 523 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:05,040 experience His grace. When these men heard the voice 524 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:11,080 of God and and realized the scope of what was happening on 525 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:16,960 that mountaintop, they fell down in fear before the Lord Jesus 526 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:22,760 was, you know as was his custom, walked over to them, touched 527 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:27,000 them and spoke peace to them. Jesus didn't criticize them. 528 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:32,440 Jesus didn't get on them at all. You know Jesus, you know he says 529 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:36,880 arise and be not afraid. Friend, this morning you are in 530 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:40,520 a good place in life when you can feel the Master's touch, 531 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:46,200 when you can feel the Master coming over to you in your life 532 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:51,560 and saying arise. Be not afraid whether he touches 533 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:55,320 you through the peace in the heart or whether you can hear 534 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,040 that still small voice from time to time. 535 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:04,080 It is a great day when you are a partaker of the grace of God and 536 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:08,280 the peace of our Savior. Thank God for those times when 537 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:12,600 He touches. When His touch becomes real, it 538 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,680 can drive away the icy fingers of fear and replace them with 539 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:20,680 the warmth of His peace. His touch can sever the you 540 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:22,800 know. You know can sever the tendrils 541 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,760 of doubt then that wrapped themselves around the soul. 542 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:30,400 From time to time. His touch can unlock the bars of 543 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:33,960 worry and liberate your troubled soul. 544 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,640 Thank God for His grace. His grace is sufficient for 545 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,880 thee. His grace is sufficient for 546 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,520 every need in your life. And you are in a good place when 547 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,960 Jesus blesses you with His grace. 548 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:58,200 His grace is priceless. His grace is matchless. 549 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,560 His grace is also incomprehensible. 550 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:09,160 It's too glorious for words to put to describe into and to talk 551 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,520 about. But we're in a good place when 552 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:15,040 we can experience His grace. How about the grace of His 553 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,320 presence? When is the when the disciples 554 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:22,840 looked up and verse 8 it says, and when they had lifted up 555 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:30,280 their eyes, when they had looked up, everyone but Jesus was gone. 556 00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:35,720 Moses wasn't there. Elijah wasn't there. 557 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:40,400 It was just Jesus. He was still there, just as when 558 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:45,720 just said he had he been there? He was there before all this 559 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:48,320 excitement started. He was still there, and for a 560 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:52,160 short time Jesus had become lost in their excitement. 561 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:58,000 Now He is the center of their attention once again. 562 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:03,800 They had, they had His presence and after the, and after all 563 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:11,120 they had seen, I am sure he, he was more precious to them than 564 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:16,160 ever before at that moment. Can you, Can you imagine the 565 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:21,080 time that they spent with Jesus every day in his earthly 566 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:25,640 ministry, all the miracles that they saw and then at this 567 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,960 moment? When God, when they heard the, 568 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,480 when they saw Moses, they saw Elijah, they were excited with 569 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:34,760 that. They heard the voice of God 570 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:38,480 saying, this is my beloved son and whom I'm well pleased. 571 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:42,240 They experienced the touch of Jesus saying arise, be not 572 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,800 afraid. And they looked up and he was 573 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:45,760 there. He was there. 574 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:52,240 Their relationship with Jesus changed at this point, they were 575 00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:55,240 closer to him than they ever been before. 576 00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:59,920 As we move through the valleys and over the mountains of life, 577 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:05,200 there is one constant that you and I can always count on, and 578 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:09,160 that's Jesus. There's one constant He's the 579 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:12,320 same yesterday, today, and forever. 580 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:16,880 You know, he's all he will never leave us nor forsake us. 581 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:20,240 As the Bible tells us, regardless of what changes in 582 00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:24,840 your life, Jesus won't change. He's not going to leave you. 583 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,200 He's going to always be there. And, and thank God for the times 584 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:33,800 in life when Jesus has manifested his presence. 585 00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:37,640 And your life and my life, thank God for that. 586 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:44,200 You know you're in a good place when Jesus comes by and lets you 587 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,480 experience the grace of his presence. 588 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:55,520 Since that is true, we must also be careful about getting caught 589 00:41:55,520 --> 00:42:03,640 up and trying to keep the law. We must be careful about getting 590 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,160 lost in the future events of prophecy. 591 00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:13,160 We need to be careful that Jesus doesn't become just another part 592 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:17,480 of our life. We need to be sure that we are 593 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:23,360 ever in a place where we can sense His presence and where He 594 00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:32,600 is the centerpiece of our life. What has our attention today? 595 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:41,520 In conclusion, Peter missed a few things along the way, but he 596 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:50,040 got one thing right in verse 4 when he said, Lord, it is good 597 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:54,440 for us to be here. Are you in a good place this 598 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:57,080 morning? Here's how you can tell. 599 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:01,520 Are you in a place where you can examine His glory? 600 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:06,840 Are you in a place where you can exalt His greatness and are you 601 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:11,160 in a place where you can experience His grace? 602 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,320 If the answer to each of these questions is yes, then you are 603 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:20,440 in a good place in your life. But if you are missing out on 604 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:26,640 even one of the three things, one of these great blessings, I 605 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:31,600 challenge you to get yourself to Jesus today and get the help 606 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,280 that you need to get in a good place. 607 00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:36,840 You might be lost this morning. You might not know. 608 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,560 None of this might make sense to you because you're not. 609 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,720 You're lost and you don't know Christ as your Savior. 610 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:46,920 You can be saved today. You can. 611 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,600 You need to recognize you're a Sinner and that your sin has a 612 00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:53,680 penalty and you're on and because of your sin, you're on 613 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:57,160 your way to hell, just a penalty for sin. 614 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:01,080 But Christ loved you so much that right after, you know, 615 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:05,440 shortly after the mount of Transfiguration, he goes, Jesus 616 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:08,520 goes and he dies on the cross. He paid for all of all of 617 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:12,320 mankind's sins, our past sins, our present sins, and our future 618 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:15,480 sins He paid for. He was on that cross. 619 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:19,160 He was buried, and then three days later he rose again. 620 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:23,560 And if you put your faith and trust in Christ, He will save 621 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:27,480 you. He will, for whosoever shall 622 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:32,040 call upon the Lord shall be saved, not might be, not hopes 623 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:37,240 to be, but shall be saved. You can come to Him today and be 624 00:44:37,240 --> 00:44:39,240 saved. If there are burdens in your 625 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:41,200 life, your burdens can be lifted. 626 00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:44,040 If there are needs in your life, they can be met. 627 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:52,080 The solution to all of these issues in lie in life lies in 628 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:58,080 US. Get into Jesus, get into him, 629 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,920 draw an eye to Him, get close to him, bring it to him. 630 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:06,640 Be in a good place. Thank you for listening to the 631 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,240 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 632 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,840 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 633 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,960 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 634 00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:20,880 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 635 00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:24,760 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 636 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:27,840 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.