Brown's Daily Word 2-1-08

Good Morning,
Happy first day of February. For those of you who live outside the USA, this coming Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. It is the culmination of the season, where the two, arguably, best teams in the NFL face off to prove to the world that they are the best of the best. Janice and Jeremy, who live in Boston have become avid fans of the New England Patriots. They are training Micah and Simeon to be Patriots' fans as well. The Giants and the Patriots are the 2 teams playing in the Super Bowl and, while they both are in this final game of the season, their roads to get there have been very different. To most fans, it came as somewhat of a surprise for the Giants to be one of the final 2 teams, while the Pats have gone undefeated all year long; no one has beaten them. The Giants have had quite a mountain to overcome.
Speaking of mountains, we read in Matthew 17:1-8, "And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He was still speaking when behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.' When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them saying, 'Rise and have no fear.' And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."
Aside from it being Super Bowl Sunday, it is also known as Transfiguration Sunday in our liturgical Christian calendar, a day to remember this remarkable event, and look at how it impacts us and what effect is has on us today as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ. So, what is it that we need to know about the Transfiguration to apply this to our daily walk?
1. This was an eyewitness account. The disciples had struggled with and not really understood some of Jesus’ teachings the week before, primarily the aspect of his upcoming death. In chapter 6 verse 22 Peter is the one who stood up and said, “Far be it from you Lord! This shall never happen to you!” This was a confusing and troubling lesson that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples, but they just were not getting it. So Jesus took Jesus, James, John, and Peter up to the top of Mt. Hermon, and there His divine nature was revealed to them. These 3 disciples could not really be effective ministers after the resurrection until they truly knew that Jesus has ALL the power and ALL the authority. It is from this encounter that they were able to later say, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and WE HAVE SEEN his glory” –John 1:14 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but WE WERE EYEWITNESSES of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,' WE OURSELVES HEARD this very voice born from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” –2 Peter 1:16-18
Having an eyewitness is very important. We talk much about Faith in our Christian culture, and the Bible gives us the definition of this in Hebrews 11:1, that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”, but the Bible also gives us the historical eye-witness account of what really happened by the men and women who were there.
The first point here is that we have disciples of Jesus, telling us, “Yes, this happened to me, I was there, I saw it, I heard it”. They are our eyewitnesses, and through our faith we believe. The end of verse 5 gives us words from God regarding Jesus, “Listen to him”. The Greek word used here for to listen means more than to just hear, it means to understand and live accordingly. There is a call to a higher ideal of knowledge and understanding that is acted out in the way that we live. Are we listening to him today? Are we hearing what He is telling us? Has Jesus changed your life? If so, then you have been changed from the inside out. Just as the light was radiating from within Jesus, so a light radiates from within us as children of Christ, and it is up to us how we show this light to others.
2. How we show this light leads us into the 2nd point of how we can apply the transfiguration in our daily lives today. The Bible mentions 11 different mountains by name, and on each mountain something amazing happened. On Mt. Hermon was the transfiguration we are talking about today, Moses met with God more than once on Mt. Sinai, Abraham’s faith was tested to the extreme on a Mount Moriah when he was told to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It seems that on the mountaintops it is easier to hear God’s words for us and to be closer to him. We all have these same mountains in our lives today, (not that we are out climbing mountains, though some more adventurous than I do), but figuratively speaking. My marriage, the birth of my children, my salvation, answering a call into ministry - those have all been mountaintops in my life. Those are all experiences that I would have loved to dwell in and bask in and soak up for as long as possible. This is what Peter wanted also. Verse 4 Peter is ready to pitch some tents, make a monument, and probably send John down the mountain to catch dinner while having James build a fire. Why? Because he realized that he was in the presence of something very special, and he wanted that to last.
Jesus, however, knew that it could not last and it should not last; there was something that needed to happen after this great event on the mountaintop, and there is something that needs to happen in our lives after our great mountaintop experiences. “But you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” –Acts 1:8
We cannot be effective witnesses while we are still on the mountain. We have to come down off our mountain and, often times, head down even lower into the valley, to share our testimony. The Bible uses mountaintop experiences to bring us to God’s glory and presence, but He also uses the valleys to bring this testimony to those who need to hear it. “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself” – I John 5:10 What we need to say to witness to others is within us already. We just need to come down off our mountain.
Even after such a remarkable transfiguration and discourse with Moses and Elijah, Jesus was still approachable to his disciples, and he is just as approachable today, through prayer. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”- Hebrews 4:16
Despite our humanness, despite our sins, despite our sickness, despite our frailty, we can still take our needs to him with confidence because he is approachable. Through this approaching he will offer mercy, grace, and help in our time of need. The throne is always open. Jesus is not out chasing us to himself; he is waiting for us to come to him. “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” –James 4:8 We could all stand to draw a little nearer today.

Pray for my sister-in-law, Lalamani, wife of my brother Patel, who lives in India. She has come down with malaria.

Pray for the family of Juanita Griffin, who died very suddenly this week. She was a member of our local school board for over 30 years, and chairman for several years of that time.

Our annual couples' banquet will be held on Saturday, February 16. Dr. George Miller, former president of Davis College, will be speaking.

The Jeremiah People will be in concert on Saturday, February 23, at 7:00 PM. They will present a program which incorporates music, drama, comedy, and dance, all in such a way as to point people to the Lord.

Please pray for our friends, Larry and Jane, in Georgia as Larry seeks a new position of employment there.

Pray for the weekly television outreach ministry, on Cable Channel 4, tonight at 7 PM.

Pray for our friend Lauren Helveston, in Atlanta, who recently had surgery.

Have a wonderful day!

Brown