[0:00] It's from Mark's Gospel, Chapter 9. I haven't got a page number. Mark's Gospel, Chapter 9. It's on page 1012. 1012 if you're using a red-covered Bible.
[0:20] So this first reading is an introduction to something that is picked up in 2 Peter. So we're going to read Mark's Gospel, Chapter 9, which is on page 1012, and starting at verse 2.
[0:50] Mark 9, starting at verse 2.
[1:23] It is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He didn't know what to say. They were just so frightened.
[1:36] Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud. This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.
[1:48] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from the dead.
[2:05] They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what rising from the dead meant. Now turn with me to 2 Peter, which is on page 1222.
[2:22] 1, 2, 2, 2. 2 Peter, Chapter 1. It's on page 1222.
[2:37] 2 Peter, Chapter 1, starting at verse 12. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
[3:00] I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
[3:14] And I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
[3:34] For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying, This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.
[3:49] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
[4:12] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[4:32] Well, I'm going to ask Ralph to come up. I'm going to pray for Ralph.
[4:50] He can sort himself out then, and then I'm going to give out some pens if anybody wants to take notes. So, let's pray for Ralph. Father God, we thank you again for your word.
[5:01] We thank you for this letter of 2 Peter. Thank you that your word speaks to us today. Thank you that we have the privilege and the freedom to have your word in our language.
[5:16] And we thank you for people like Ralph, for his gifts, for his ability to teach and explain. And we pray that you would fill him and you would fill us with the power of your spirit, so that the words we hear change us and transform us.
[5:37] That the words we hear are not just Ralph's ideas, but the very words of God speaking into our lives. Bless him and encourage us, and may our church be built up as a result of what we do together now.
[5:56] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[6:08] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[6:26] Amen. Amen. Over the summer, we're going through the book of 2 Peter, a number of different people speaking. So I'm continuing this morning from where Simon brought us the last couple of weeks.
[6:43] He's brought us through to verse 11 in chapter 2. So we're picking up as we've read from verse 12. One of the world's leading lights is fading.
[6:57] This person is known as the father of his nation, and he's so well-loved in his country that he's often just referred to by the name Mediba, which simply means father.
[7:10] And in this part of the world, we know this person more commonly, not as Mediba, but as Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994.
[7:23] I'm sure some of us can remember that time, remember the time that he was released from prison. It's actually one of my memories when I was younger of him being released and the big occasion that was. He's led his nation through massive changes, social upheaval, bringing an end to racial segregation and racial oppression within the country of South Africa.
[7:48] But would you believe Nelson Mandela is now 95 years of age? His remaining time is indeed very short. And you've maybe seen it recently, the last few weeks, his worsening health situation has always, it's been in the news almost constantly.
[8:04] And even though he's been out of politics for quite a while, it's still a struggle, isn't it, to imagine a South Africa and even a world without someone like Nelson Mandela, Mediba.
[8:19] And so many people are asking right now, how will the message, his message, continue without him? Without this leading light, how will the message continue?
[8:30] And as we come to 2 Peter, it's actually a very similar situation in a lot of ways for the early Christian church. The church was just beginning at this stage to lose some of its leading lights.
[8:44] The Apostle Peter was one of those, and he had emerged after Jesus had gone. Peter had emerged as a leader within the church. And his role was to pass on and to remind people of the light of the gospel, the good news about Jesus, to tell others and then to keep reminding them.
[9:03] And he writes in 2 Peter then, and the people he's writing to then are Christians, because he wants to remind them. Verse 1, this is how he describes the people that he's writing to. To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, have received a faith as precious as our own.
[9:21] They have the same faith as he does. And his main concern in writing is that they would continue to follow Jesus, as they already have done.
[9:34] He knows that his time is short, that his light is fading. So his opportunity to lead by example, to lead by what he says, to lead by his writings, that opportunity is passing.
[9:47] And he's just so concerned that they stay with Jesus. For us sometimes thinking about our death or life after death is a theoretical concern.
[9:58] It just seems so far away. But it wasn't for Peter. He's facing that prospect right now. He's going to fold up and put away the tent of his body.
[10:11] And Jesus has made it very clear to him. Peter is being called home. And when the master calls, the servant must answer.
[10:22] When the master calls, the servant must answer. Look at verses 13 and 14 from chapter 1. I think it's right to refresh your memory. As long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
[10:42] Death can bring a real focus. And for Peter, his impending death is just really honing what exactly it is that he has to say to these Christians.
[10:54] What are his final words? What words does he bring them now with this letter, with this last opportunity? Well, just go back one verse. And this is what he says.
[11:06] So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. He's writing.
[11:18] He's taking this last opportunity to remind them of what they already know and they already believe. He's not taking the opportunity to come up with some new words or some new message or to build them and push them in a new direction.
[11:32] As his light is fading, Peter just simply wants to remind them of the things he's already taught them. The phrase in verse 12, these things, it's actually come up before.
[11:48] If we look back, it's the qualities, isn't it, that Simon spoke to us of from verse 5. The things that should come with faith that should be added, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, all that great list.
[12:08] And Peter, he says in verse 10, for if you do these things, the end of verse 10, if you do these things, the things he's listed, you will never fall and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
[12:25] it's growing in the practice of these things, the practice of their faith, that they will know that they're reaching their goal, eternal life and a rich welcome, which is so real for Peter now because he's reaching the end of his race, the end of his story.
[12:45] Keep doing these things and you will reach your goal. He wants them to just continue on the same path, the one that's lit by the good news of Jesus Christ.
[13:00] We're all called to a living faith, a living trust in Jesus, which, as it says here, is going to light the way to heaven for us if we continue in these things.
[13:12] It's a message they already know. It's a message they're already following. But Peter isn't making any apologies for covering old ground. He isn't tempted to try and spruce things up with a new message or to add something in or to reveal a little nugget to just get them over the finishing line.
[13:29] No, he's going back to the same message. Do you know, we get bored easily. And you're probably very conscious of that during a 30-minute sermon. Our brains, they crave novelty.
[13:40] They crave new things. They want an insight, a new word in order for our brains to cling on to. And it's always much easier to get excited, isn't it, about new things than what is happening in the new rather than trying to hold on to the old ground.
[13:58] And it's something that's always happening. I think with each generation, each group of people, as we come along, you need to make your stamp, don't you? Young people are always, that's the encouragement, isn't it?
[14:09] It's your generation. It's your country. It's your government. You need to make a stamp. And politicians take this and they routinely declare that this issue or that issue is the civil rights issue of our generation.
[14:23] And why do they do that? Because they know that people are bored. They know that it's hard to hold the old ground. So they want to get people on board their cause. Of course, they have their own motive in doing that.
[14:34] But they want to get us excited about something new, something we can push, something we can develop. So the person with the new message, the person with the new approach is often the one that gets our attention, isn't it?
[14:46] It's not the same old message that can get us excited, isn't it? So as we're listening this morning, we're probably just even a bit bored that we're still at verse 12 and we have to get to verse 21.
[14:59] So let's move on. Sadly, Peter doesn't let us, does he? As we read 13 and 14 and he's not budging, I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
[15:17] He's not one for budging, Peter, is he? What a boring writer he is. But let's give him a fair hearing first. Peter says that this constant reminding that he's doing, just look, I've talked to you about what it means to stay on the path and I'm going to take a few verses just to remind you again of why I'm sticking to that.
[15:36] I'm going to keep refreshing your memory as long as I have the tent of this body. I want to keep your mind on these qualities. Remember this, you have a rich welcome awaiting for you in the kingdom of God.
[15:52] Keep growing in that direction. keep adding to your faith and growing in that direction. I don't have long left. But the times I do have, the precious time, the days, the months, the hours, I'm going to keep reminding you of the light that you need to follow on the path.
[16:10] You see, Peter wants them to arrive safely at their destination. Okay, we've had three verses now of reminding, refreshing, reflection. We get it, Peter. Can we move on now?
[16:21] Well, he's not finished yet, is he? We need, we do need one more verse. He's reminded them. He's promised to always remind them as long as he lives. Now he's going to go that one step further. He's going to make sure that they can remember these things even after he's dead.
[16:36] Verse 15. And, I will make every effort to see that after my departure, what a wonderful way to speak about death for the Christian.
[16:47] And, I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. That's a bold claim.
[16:59] How will the light of the gospel, how will this message that Peter is champion, survive his death? Memories are short. The new is always there.
[17:11] What will keep us on the right message? And, what's going to light the way for us as we want to stay on this path? Because we want to get to our goal of eternal life. Now Peter's concerned that to remember the message, it does feel a little bit over the top to us, this constant reminder.
[17:27] But make no mistake, Peter and the message that he had, how to put it, were in a competitive environment. And he knew it. There were many other voices making all kinds of claims and promises.
[17:43] And not just from outside the church, but within the church. So, believers were there in their churches and they were saying, why listen to this old message, the message that Peter has come with, the one about Jesus and the old stories about Jesus, when there's other messages on offer.
[18:03] They were starting to look for a new light, one for their generation and for their concerns and for their issues, one that they could own. And there were any number of other Christian teachers and Christian teachings for them to listen to.
[18:17] Even in the early days of the church, we think the kind of splits and the diversity and the different thoughts are something new, but they were all there back then. You know, we're going to hear lots and lots about these competing voices from next Sunday.
[18:32] If you look, chapter two is all about those voices. There's a whole chapter. People, they were known as Christians, but the reality is that they exploited believers with made-up stories and half-baked truths.
[18:48] Voices that, as I said, still exist in the church today. That's a bit hard to say. Maybe I'm being, you could say, I'm being alarmist.
[18:59] Maybe I'm not being generous or kind enough or being too judgmental. to say that there are people within the church that are making things up or that there are people that are misunderstanding things and bringing us half-stories.
[19:19] And there is a danger of wrongly passing judgment or to wrongly pass comment on someone else's experience. But to not examine when someone tells us this is what the Lord says, to not examine that is to ignore the words of the Bible.
[19:37] And because this is where Peter is heading, I think it's good to look a little bit into chapter 2. Not too much. I don't want to preach next week's sermon.
[19:49] But if you look at verse 2 in chapter 2, this is what it says about those people. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.
[20:05] good-sounding stories. Stories all about God, but not true ones that come from Him. They come with heavenly stories. They talk about angels.
[20:16] They talk about demons. But they really don't know what they're talking about. They're actually slandering celestial beings. The latter half of verse 10. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings.
[20:33] Start at verse 12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. You see, they're essentially ignorant. But even though they're ignorant, they don't really know what they're talking about.
[20:44] They feel bold enough to confidently come and tell us about what's happening in the heavenly realms. They're looking up to heaven and they're talking about angels and demons. But they're just guessing. They're guessing about what God's will.
[20:56] The hidden ways of God. Things that aren't known to us. And in doing so, in trying to bring these things to us, they're destroying the walk of many. That's the competitive environment that Peter is in.
[21:10] That is what he's trying to protect the flock from. So as we read through chapter 2, we read that these people, they offer all kinds of things. They offer revelry, feasts, wealth, boasting, and they come with enticing words.
[21:22] And they promise freedom. And who doesn't want freedom? And much of what they say sounds good. And it's much more interesting, isn't it? And you could have a much more entertaining sermon with all that kind of stuff than just having to go back and list the qualities in chapter 1 from verse 5 to verses 11.
[21:42] Tempting is it not? Tempting is it not for us, for me to listen to other stories, to listen to other voices, to lend our ears to other kinds of teaching.
[21:53] Words that sound good, but really in the end they're just empty boastings. They're not true. Now I recognize there is much, much, much difficulty here for the believer, for the Christian, for me, for you.
[22:11] How do we react and deal with people that make those impossible to verify claims about God's will and hearing his voice? It is difficult.
[22:24] And if I'm honest, my reaction, the cowardly reaction sometimes is just to try and stay clear of commenting where possible. So when these things come up, you just talk around it or away from it.
[22:37] You just try and avoid. But let me encourage you. You should hold, we must hold to the message we've heard, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[22:49] And we must continue to remind one another, as Peter is doing here, remind each other of that gospel. So I would ask, what new message do we need than the one already given through Jesus?
[23:05] What new message do we need besides the one that we've already received through Jesus? And so in those situations, I think we can show in our words and in our actions what we say, a commitment to the old and reliable good news about Jesus.
[23:22] It is difficult, you know, and even with our own experiences and the experience of others, to walk that path, to work it out. And sometimes we do avoid, but hold to the truth yourself, remind one another, and help people to see the worth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[23:42] Now Peter has a greater challenge than any of us will ever have in that area. Peter must show that his message, the one that he keeps reminding them of, is the true light of the good news about Jesus.
[23:53] You see, Peter is an apostle, he's someone who knew Jesus and he was chosen by Jesus to lead the church. And he had that special role of establishing the message and continuing it in the early church and ensuring that that scripture came about.
[24:08] So Peter isn't coming with a second-hand story that he's made up. No. What Peter says comes from God. Verse 16. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
[24:27] For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory saying, This is my son whom I love. With him I am well pleased.
[24:38] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven and we were with him on the sacred mountain. I was there, says Peter.
[24:49] I was there on the sacred mountain. And I can picture his face lighting up as he recounts this story. The day that Jesus took three of them on a trek and marched them up the mountain.
[25:02] Peter, James and John. And as they walk up the mountain I feel that they should know that something sacred is going to happen. They should know that something heavenly is going to take place because if you ever read your Bible you know that lots of really cool and exciting things happen on mountaintops and mountain places.
[25:22] And then it happens. Before their eyes Jesus is glorified. This normal looking guy this average looking guy he starts to glow with the brightness of the sun.
[25:36] Imagine. Imagine that. Imagine taking a very light piece of cotton and the sun we don't have it today but the one we've enjoyed for the last few weeks. Taking the cotton and just putting it up over the sun and trying to look at the sun through that light piece of cotton that is what it was like.
[25:52] The sun of God was shining the brilliance of Jesus trying to look through that cotton at the sun that's what it was like and Peter sees all of this right before his eyes and then he hears the voice from heaven and he says that voice is the majestic glory and it's God the Father speaking and the voice says this is my son whom I love with him I am well pleased.
[26:16] It's as if the whole of heaven has opened up and it touches the mountain that day and it makes the mountain sacred Peter says it's the meeting place of heaven and earth right at that point and for that instance what an experience what a story imagine being there of seeing with our own eyes the glorified Jesus of hearing the audible voice of God coming down from the sky oh the sights and the sounds and the brilliance of the feeling of the glory of God on our very skin and this is the true story that Peter comes to share with us the light of Jesus the reliable first hand truth about Jesus that he's God's blessed son equal equal with the divine father that's why that voice came so Peter can say among all the other competing voices that are out there all the things that would look for attention listen to me for I have seen the light of Jesus but still the other voices and still they continue yes Peter's was amazing his voice and his story and his experience but others say they have similarly amazing encounters people today claim people still say and people do have visions of Jesus and continue to hear voices from heaven but how do we know if these stories are true or how do we make sense of our own experience of God if that's true for us maybe we believe that we've heard the voice of God or we've had a vision of Jesus and so the 2000 year old problem that was there for Peter how to distinguish his message and the truth of it is a problem that still remains for us which light will we follow which voice will we listen to and I think we have two basic views that come out or two different reactions we can react by either dismissing completely personal experience and that whole area or we can react by trying to chase after our own words from God and wanting it but Peter offers his readers including us today a better alternative a better alternative to feel like that we're missing out somehow on God's experiences or that we have to somehow chase after them and get them and Peter is going to tell them how they can take his real experience and have a more sure version of it you see his experience on the mountain wasn't meant to be just a personal encounter
[29:02] Jesus had told them after told Peter and James and John to tell others after the resurrection all about it it wasn't to be a personal experience the light of Jesus on the mountain when Jesus was there was meant to point to a more sure light verse 19 and we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place this Bible is the more certain light Peter's reminder after death remember he was looking in verse 15 to somehow remind them after his death of these things is this sure light and we would do well to pay attention to it he says see how it's described it is the light shining in the dark place and the Bible the scriptures the word of the prophets is a more sure light than the light of divine experience the Bible is a more sure light than the light of divine experience
[30:20] I wasn't sure about writing that of thinking like that and it's hard to agree sometimes with statements like that I mean how can the words the words on a page be more certain than actual experiences does that not bother you it bothers me we place such a high value on experience seeing and hearing something first hand is so much better in our estimation or understanding and getting information from a book isn't it isn't always better to experience than to read so given the option of reading how we should live as Christians from the Bible or finding God's will from some amazing happenings well we're going to tend in that direction aren't we we're going to want that more than this but Peter and the holy scriptures would disagree what these verses say is that scripture is a more certain guide than experience even undeniable experiences like
[31:24] Peter's where Jesus is in front of us and an audible voice is coming from heaven more certain than that and that by the way is Peter's experience is far far beyond what often passes today for God speaking how can we trust the Bible more than our own experience well I think we continue to trust the Bible because we will always have doubts about experiences when something happens we have to take it in don't we through our senses what we see what we feel what we touch what we hear and we take it in and we have to interpret and so as we experience things we have to sift those things through our minds and through our hearts and we have to make sense about what they mean what's happening what is God saying here and then we're somewhat vulnerable aren't we to all kinds of thoughts and all kinds of motives do you know what's reassuring even Peter didn't get it right he didn't always get it right when it came to his experiences and in fact he didn't even get it right to this experience it's an alarming thing to say about an apostle about a writer of the New Testament to say that he didn't get it right so stay with me as I try to explain don't be alarmed just yet look back again at Mark chapter 9 will you
[32:43] Mark chapter 9 now Mark chapter 9 is Peter's own account from the gospels of what he thought was happening at the time of the transfiguration Mark is the author of the gospel of Mark but it's believed that Peter was the source material the person that passed on the stories and the information that allows the gospel to be written so back Mark chapter 9 and just two of the verses 5 and 6 Peter said to Jesus Rabbi it's good for us to be here let us put up three shelters one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah and then look at it a little bit in brackets he did not know what to say they were so frightened Peter's telling this all to Mark he's telling the story as he's writing the gospel and he's being truthful he's being honest he says you know I saw all that happened and I was frightened out of my wits at the time
[33:44] I had no clue what this was about I had no idea what was happening look at verse 9 and as they were coming down the mountain Jesus had to give them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the son of man had risen from the dead they kept the matter to themselves discussing what rising from the dead meant Jesus Jesus had to tell them to keep it to themselves until after the resurrection why was that because Peter didn't understand the experience even though he had seen it and heard it and felt it he didn't understand and what it took was Jesus to rise from the dead and Peter to understand that but then Jesus after he rose from the dead he came and he spent I think a period of 40 days before he ascended to heaven and you know what it says he did during that time he opened up the scriptures he opened up the old testament and said look here this is about me look here you don't understand the resurrection but look there's a hint of it back here and I'm going to explain that to you all the scriptures are pointing towards me and so
[34:50] Jesus knew that and he said to Peter and James and John don't tell anyone about this because you don't understand you're not going to understand it until after the resurrection until after I've risen and come and explained it all to you it was only the light of the scriptures that made any sense of what happened on the mountain it was only the light of scriptures that made any sense of Peter's experience for him and so the key thing to understand is this that scripture didn't come about by the author's own attempts at interpretation no scripture has its origin in the will of God who carries the author's along by the holy spirit and we need to come back now to 2nd Peter and chapter 1 2nd Peter chapter 1 and verse 20 above all you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the holy spirit it's a big area isn't it how the bible came to us what's in there the stories and the holy spirit and how does all that work and I can't describe all of that this morning and I don't know all of it but
[36:11] I think what we can say is that the events that are in scripture are accurately recorded by the authors of scripture and we can see that you know when people talk about the bible being a religious document and fabricated but look back at the account in Mark and the honesty of it of what Peter's saying it's not airbrushed or spun or there's no extra bits added in to try and explain it away Peter doesn't come across particularly well he's frightened he doesn't know what's happening the account is honest and the holy spirit works and he takes these experiences the things they didn't understand and he ensures that the words of scripture are not just the author's own ideas about what happened but are the very words of God the choice of the stories the way they fit together to make a story the way that the whole scripture from Genesis to Revelation fits together is all of God's work yes God is involved in the divine experiences but he is also involved in the capturing of those experiences those events onto the pages of scripture to ensure that yes the Bible has many authors maybe 40 40 human authors but there is only one divine author over it all that is why
[37:36] Psalm 119 says your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path you see it is the true and reliable light it guides us as to how we live and how we're to go each step along the way so we can look back over verses 5 and 11 the things that Peter is wanting to remind them of and we can see how those words guide us and help us along the way it says how we are to live as believers what it means to be a person of faith it means that all these other qualities and characteristics will emerge and grow and be added to our gift of faith that we have from God so that one day we're going to get to the end of that path and reach our heavenly home scripture the bible is the bright light to guide us on that path it's it's really how we can today think about it 2000 years later in Ireland see Jesus see Jesus standing on that mountaintop a Judean mountaintop 2000 years ago it is through the pages of scripture so given what we have in scripture the reliable first hand accounts of God's dealings with people all of which are interpreted by God
[38:59] I guess the question is why would we chase after other stories or our own interpretation or our own experiences of the word of God that often prove to be unreliable why leave the certain light of scripture for an uncertain guide that's why Peter starts or says in verse 12 remember remember Peter says remember these things and then he says you will do well you will do well to pay attention to the scriptures maybe you're a bit disappointed this morning that we can't in a sense repeat the wonderful mountaintop experience of Peter I wish I wish that was the new message in some ways that I could bring to you but it's not Jesus Jesus has come and gone the transfiguration that that glorification of Jesus was just a passing glimpse it was over so quickly a passing taste of the risen
[40:05] Jesus and it was Peter's experience thankfully recorded for us in the scripture so today today we can be guided by that sure word and this is why Peter tells them of the need to always remember the message the qualities these things that's why he tells them of the light of his own experience that's why he tells them of the more certain light of scripture as a guide maybe I do something new there's one more light left there is one more light left for us and this is one that we're all going to see just in case we feel we're missing out on our mountaintop experience there is one light there's a wonderful message and it's tucked away it's tucked away in verse 19 we skipped over it verse 19 and we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts you see there's a wonderful time limit on the light of scripture peter says yes it will be our light shining in a dark place but only until until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts did you forget that you only need a light as long as it's dark did you forget that the bible tells us that we're walking yes it's dark days we don't see Jesus we don't see his rule we're living in a dark day but one day soon a new day is going to dawn and when the dawn comes the lamp and the light it's no longer needed to guide our path on that day
[42:05] Christ in his brilliant radiance is going to come again and on that day Jesus is the morning star rising in our hearts we weren't there for his first coming we weren't there for the transfiguration but we're going to have front row seats for his second coming on that day we will all have our mountaintop experience one that's already been written about in the reliable words of the bible you just need to look at you don't need to turn first thessalonians chapter 4 verse 15 onwards and this is what it says this will be our experience on that day the lord will descend from heaven with a loud command and he'll have the voice of the archangel and there'll be the trumpet call of god and this time we won't be standing around in confused fear wondering what's happening no this time the brightness of the glorified jesus looking at that sun through the cotton sheet it won't switch off it won't be temporary and this time there's going to be more than three people on a mountaintop that's going to hear this voice from heaven for everyone everyone who ever died trusting in the gospel trusting in jesus is going to hear that call and they're all discarded tents the all discarded tents are going to rise and we who are still alive are going to hear the voice from heaven and we're going to see the illuminated and glorified jesus the conquering king as he comes down then my friends we're not going to have to hike up a mountain no jesus himself is going to pull us and pull us up from the earth to meet him in the sky as he comes we're going to be caught up side by side we will be with the king of heaven as he finally comes down as heaven finally comes and rests upon the earth you see the transfiguration was but a glimpse but on that day our eyes are going to fully see on that day our eyes are going to be a transfiguration forever so why do we abandon the sure word of god the light of scripture to chase after made up stories of others stay the course be reminded of the truth of the gospel that you know and you believe and are sure of for our promised and sure experience of the glory and the voice of god is going to be ours one day amen thank you to try and thank you go