Well may it please Almighty God
to bless us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let
us turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 17 and we'll read verse
five. The Gospel of Matthew chapter
17 and we'll read verse five. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice out of the
cloud, which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him. This was a very wonderful occasion. A very blessed occasion. a very
important occasion. A great favour for the Church
of God today, which it has been since it occurred all those many
hundreds of years ago. And it shows to us a little glimpse,
a little insight of the glory which is to be revealed, which
is to come. and which is to be enjoyed by
the whole Church of God. And so we see here then, on this
occasion, the Lord took those three disciples, Peter, James
and John. And of course, the Word of God
tells us that there needs to be two or three witnesses for
everything to be established. And here we find that there were
these Three witnesses then, which the Lord favoured to come up
to this high mountain and there to be transfigured before them. And of course, it wasn't just
by himself, because there was Moses and Elias, Elijah, who
were found talking with him. And it's again a great strength
to our faith to realize that Moses had already been dead some
1,480 years, not a short time. And also, of course, Elijah had
been taken up by a whirlwind into heaven some 900 years. So we see that both of these
people had been away from the earth for a long time. And yet
we see the Lord gloriously saw fit to bring them back to this
situation, really to establish the Church of God in their faith
to know that there is a resurrection and that there is a world to
come. And these things are not fables,
as I've said, There were three witnesses to testify of it. And also, it's important to realise
that they could not forget what had occurred. And we're thankful
that it's recorded, their remembrance of those occasions, again, to
strengthen our faith and to establish us. The Apostle John in his gospel,
he tells us in the first chapter and in the 14th verse, these
words, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He did behold his glory. What a mercy it was. What a wonderful
occasion it was. How favoured they were. And then
also the Apostle Peter. Sometimes perhaps we think of
the Apostle Peter who was left to the weakness of his flesh
to deny his Lord and Master. And yet, you see, we know that
he repented of that fall because we're told he left the Saviour. And the Lord looked upon him
and he went out and wept bitterly. It was not something that he
rejoiced in. It was something he was truly
sorry for. But he recalls this wonderful
occasion in the second epistle of Peter and the first chapter,
verses 16 to 18. And this is what we read. For
we have not followed cunningly devised fables. Isn't that good?
When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty." And again, it's
good, isn't it, to make a statement like that? His majesty, the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He was on the earth as a man. He was, though, the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. And so, therefore, the Apostle
Peter is able to confirm this, that the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty, for he received
from God the Father honour and glory. When there came such a
voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from
heaven, we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. Well, the Lord, you see, in his
great love and mercy, enabled these saints to write these things
under the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit to encourage
us to know that that transfiguration which occurred while the Saviour
was on the earth was indeed for our benefit, for our encouragement,
And it's very important to notice that the account in Matthew tells
us that the Lord was transfigured before them, and his face did
shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Well, you may remember that when
the apostle Paul was converted on the Damascus Road, he said,
there was a light which shone into his heart above the brightness
of the midday sun. What a light that was and what
a light this was. You see, you and I cannot look
upon the sun, can we? If we ever tried to, we would
be blinded because of the brightness. But here we see the wonder of
that brightness and we know that the Word of God tells us that
in glory there will be no need of the sun, no need of the moon,
because the Saviour will be the light. How hard that is for our
finite minds to comprehend. What a glorious consideration
to think that all those millions of saints who will be found in
glory will find this absolutely sufficiency in the light which
shines from the Saviour. Well, it's something which we
cannot really understand, but we can look forward to that time
when we can see that light, which will never be dimmed. It is a
glorious light. And as the apostle goes on to
say, and his raiment was white as the light. It was an amazing
scene that was noticed and observed by those three favoured disciples
and it's recorded in that detail for our encouragement today to
know that we do not worship the unknown God, we worship the true
God, we worship the God who is the same yesterday, today, and
forever, the God who created the universe, the God who lived
that perfect life upon the earth, that God who rose a conqueror
over sin, death, hell, and the grave, a Savior who sits in glory
now to intercede for us, the blessed Savior who one day will
return in all his glory to take his ransomed people home. This is the truth of the gospel. This is that which puny man despises. But puny man, one day, unless
they are converted, will be found calling upon the rocks to cover
them, but in vain. No, everyone will be found standing
before that great white throne, the judgment seat of God, and
there sat upon it will be the saviour to judge mankind and
womankind. What a great day that will be,
a day which is certain to come to pass. We may perhaps think,
well, the days pass by and nothing happens. Well, that was the same
really years ago before the saviour came. They thought those promises,
those prophecies would not come to pass, but be very sure of
this. God's promises are fulfilled. They are fulfilled in his time
and in his way. And it will be a wonderful blessing. If we are ready for that day,
should we be on the earth? when the Lord will return in
all his glory and every eye shall see him. All those who are in
the grave will be raised from the dead. Again, an amazing mystery,
isn't it? Those who have been buried at
sea will be raised from the dead. Those who have been cremated,
who think they've escaped the resurrection, will be brought
to life. None will escape that great day
of the resurrection. And so we have then this statement
of this transfiguration, high up in that mount, and what a
blessing it was. And then these three disciples
having observed Moses and Elijah speaking to the Saviour. And of course, the Lord must
have told them they were Moses and Elijah because they hadn't
seen them before. There weren't any paintings or pictures of
them. But there was that conveyed to them that this was Moses and
Elijah. And of course, you younger people
may think, well, why was it Moses? And why was it Elijah? It's a
good question. The answer is that Moses represented
the law of God and Elijah represented the prophets. Those two were
really the representatives. And so we should be thankful
to know it was so. What a great blessing it was
on that occasion. And so we see then what occurred. We're told, there appeared, then
answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us
to be here. If thou wilt, let us make three
tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He didn't really realize what
he was saying. And it was then that this bright
cloud came down and overshadowed them. And it was then that God
the Father spoke through the cloud with these wonderful words,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Not the first
time, of course. Those words were spoken before
when the Lord Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in Jordan,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. But on this
occasion, there were three more words added. And these are the
words, hear ye him. And they were words for Peter,
James and John. but they are words for the whole
church of God. And my friends, they are words
for you and me today. And they are solemn words and
they are important words. And we should not think that
we can discard them. And as I hope we understand,
really the whole word of God is the word of God. the words of the Saviour. And
as we read so often, especially in the Revelation, those who
have ears to hear, let him hear. My friends tonight, let us not
have deaf ears to the word of God. Let our ears be open to
receive the great truths of God and to understand the importance
of such a statement, hear ye him. It's still as powerful today
as it was those 2000 or so years ago. And we're then told, and
when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were
sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them
and said, arise. and be not afraid. When they
lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." Yes,
those two Elijah, Moses had been shown to the disciples to testify
of the power of God in the resurrection. But now they were instructed
to hear the words of Jesus. And the Lord came unto them and
touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. What a blessing that is for us
today because we deserve to be afraid. And often we are afraid
because of our sins and because what will become of us unless
the saviour comes and lifts us up. And unless the Saviour comes
to us and speaks to our soul, we need to be afraid, because
otherwise we will face the wrath of Almighty God, because we've
been those who have disobeyed the Word of God. Very solemn
it is, then, if we find ourselves in that condition. But what a
blessing it is if we are like those who truly hear God's word
and are doers of the word and not hearers only. When the Apostle Paul wrote to
the Hebrews, it's a beautiful book, of course, the Hebrews,
and it speaks so much of the Saviour. And it really begins
in a very wonderful way. The very first chapter, when
the Apostle says, under the influence of the Spirit of God, God, who
at sundry times, that's in many times, and in diverse manners,
various and many ways, spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his
Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Well, it'll be a
blessing for us if we have the evidence of God speaking to our
souls, speaking to our hearts. You know, we have many evidences,
don't we? In the New Testament, or when the Lord Jesus was, on
the earth and the many things he spoke to many people, the
many gracious words he spoke, the many blessed words he spoke.
You see those words were spoken for blessed reasons. But the Lord God Almighty still
speaks today. He speaks to his people in various
ways. He speaks often Through his word,
through the Bible, he applies his word to our hearts. It stands out. And it may be words which we
don't forget, because the Lord directed those words to our very
souls, to our very hearts, so that we know it was a word from
the Lord. Perhaps it didn't always suit
our situation, but you know, if God speaks to our hearts,
you won't be able to avoid it and you won't be able to turn
away from it. In actual fact, if it is from
God, the result would be good because you will prove in time
to come that it was from God. Perhaps it was a word of correction. Perhaps it was a word of direction. Perhaps it was a word of encouragement. Whatever it may be, you and I
do need to have what we perhaps call a testimony. A testimony. And that means to
be able to give an answer if people ask us, what has God done
for our souls? What has he done? Has he done
anything for us? Can you remember what he's done? The effect of what he's done? You see these disciples, they
never forgot. I know it was a very outstanding
occasion, but nonetheless they didn't forget. And we today,
in the age in which we live, still don't want to forget what
God has done for us, what God has spoken to us. And we have a very clear position
and picture of that when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians,
and in the second chapter, he tells the Ephesians these wonderful
words, and it's just worth remembering when the apostle wrote to the
church at Ephesus, he said this, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints, and all God's people are saints,
which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."
That means those who weren't at Ephesus, but nonetheless were
called by God, were addressed by the apostle when he wrote
this epistle to the Ephesians. And as he came down, we come
to the second chapter. And as I'm sure you know, in
the original There weren't any chapters, there weren't any verses,
but nonetheless, there are today to help us. This is what the
Word of God tells us. And you, it is a personal word to all those
who are the saints, which were at Ephesus, and to the faithful
in Christ Jesus. And it's a faithful word to the
whole Church of God today. And this is what it says. And
you hath he quickened, it means being made spiritually alive,
who were dead in trespasses and in sins, where in time past ye
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince, the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also We all had our
conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others." So the apostle spells
out there really very clearly the blessing of God to those
who are made spiritually alive, who have heard the voice of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, what it proves
to us today is there is a change. A change occurs. And you know,
or you don't know, whether this has occurred in your life, but
is it? If it has occurred, you will
have the evidence of it. And you'll be thankful for it.
May you praise God for it. The Lord hasn't left you to remain
in a dead condition, but has made you spiritually alive. And if therefore you and I are
spiritually alive, we can look forward to that time when the
apostles were given that glimpse of that glorious scene where
the Savior will truly be in that situation of wonderful light. No darkness in heaven, eternal
light, no need of the sun. And with all the saints praising
and rejoicing in the Saviour. It's a wonderful day, isn't it,
to look forwards to. And I pray that all of us may,
from time to time, be able to be found looking forward to that
occasion. Many people will say, well, that's
a morbid thing, when it's not a morbid thing. It's a very glorious
thing, because it sets before us the eternal state of the true
church of God. So there'll be nothing to upset
us there, nothing to make us sorry, nothing to make us sad,
because there'll be no sin. There'll be peace and happiness
forever. Again, something that you and
I cannot really appreciate, cannot really understand. And yet here
we have in this account, on this time of transfiguration, this
great and glorious prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, clearly set
before those three apostles as the glorious one, the one who
Isaiah saw high and lifted up, the one that Moses spoke of when
he wrote to Israel in the book of Deuteronomy, He tells us this
in the 18th chapter and the 15th verse. The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy
brethren like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. That was a
glorious prophecy with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. And there were all those years
Those 1400 years which had to pass by, but it came to pass. That's the great blessing of
the word of God. You see, it comes to pass. Nothing
ever fails. Well, today, may we be thankful
that we have a record of this occasion. It's recorded in Matthew,
Mark and Luke. The wonder of it slightly differently
in each occasion, but nonetheless it tells us what occurred. This bright cloud overshadowing
them and this voice out of the cloud which said, this is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. It was
something that these three apostles could not forget. And what a
good thing it will be for you and me tonight if by faith we
view the Lord Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of the
Father, the second person in the Trinity, that we truly believe
in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it will be a great blessing
for you and me if the Holy Spirit comes and shows to us In our
salvation, the love of God, and the love of God in the love of
the Father, the love of God in the love of the Son, and the
love of God in the Holy Spirit. And what we shall then appreciate,
three distinct persons in the Trinity, and yet all united together. And there will be no doubt, that
we shall indeed be Trinitarians. We shall be those who worship
God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And we shall be very thankful
it is so. It is, of course, a great mystery,
again, which you and I cannot understand. But what a mercy
when God gives faith to believe it. Faith to believe that which
occurred on this occasion. Faith to believe that the Lord
God makes us spiritually alive through the wonderful work of
the Holy Spirit. And faith to believe the Lord
Jesus Christ has paid the price to atone to take away all our
sins. That's great cause for rejoicing,
isn't that? And I hope we do rejoice. And I hope we ponder these things
and that we meditate upon them. And we don't cast them away like
so many people today as just fables, as just mere fairy tales. But no, they are the truth of
God. And the reality is they will
be. the life of our soul, because
it will be that which will strengthen us, and that which will encourage
us, and that will enable us to hold on our way. So may it be
truly so tonight that our desire is, as the Lord said on this
occasion, the Father said, hear ye him. Well, come back then,
have we heard the word of the Saviour? Have we heard the voice
of our Beloved? The Song of Solomon speaks to
us very beautifully of the Bride of Christ, hearing the voice
of her Beloved. And how sweet it was, and what
good news it was, and actually wanted to hear it. May it be our concern and our
desire to often hear the voice of the Saviour, often hear the
voice of our beloved, encouraging us as we journey on through time,
as many things to discourage us, our own sinful nature, the
evil heart of unbelief, the evil of our nature through that which
we've inherited through our forefather, Adam. And yet to know and have
the evidence in our heart that the blessed saviour did come
and that he did appear to Peter and James and John. And they
did see the glorious vision of that transfiguration. and therefore
to believe today that that same Jesus is now seated on the throne
in glory. To believe in the wonderful transfiguration,
to believe in the wonderful ascension of Jesus, and to believe that
now today in glory, he's there to intercede for us. And therefore,
as we may come trembling to our Father in Heaven, because of
our sinful condition, to realise that it is Him, the Saviour,
is seen instead of us when we approach to God. And it is Him,
the blessed and glorious Saviour, that presents our prayers to
His Father. And by that grace, we are accepted
in the beloved. What a great truth that is, isn't
it? As we perhaps look in our heart sometimes, perhaps cry
out, can ever God dwell here? And yet to know the Lord Jesus
Christ has overcome. He's overcome the devil and he
sits now triumphant in glory. What a mercy. What a blessing
that is, and how we should be truly encouraged. You know, the
apostle, when he wrote to the Hebrews, and of course that is
to the whole Church of God, he writes and says, wherefore, holy
brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. Every true believer
is a partaker of the heavenly calling. And then he says, consider,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus. Well, that's in the third chapter. You may remember in the 12th
chapter, the apostle also instructs us to consider him. And that's after he's given that
wonderful statement about the saviour. and all that he's done. When he says, we're foreseeing,
we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
Of course, these apostles were a cloud of witnesses. Let us
lay aside every weight, and the sickness does so easily beset
us. The devil desires and designs
to load us with weights which hedge us up and weaken us and
slow us down in the race that is set before us. But here is
the remedy. And therefore, let us lay aside
every weight and the sin which has so easily beset us and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us. It's a
race to be run. and we are to run it patiently. Sometimes we become impatient. Well, here is the remedy. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God, and then he says,
for consider him. I often think if you and I find
that we are in a difficult path, in a dark path perhaps, what
a mercy if we are given grace to lift up our eyes, to consider
him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The Lord Jesus Christ
had so much to endure, didn't he, on our behalf. He didn't waver. He set his face
towards Jerusalem, we're told, like a flint. And he knew the
work that his father had given him to do. And he did not fail. And what a mercy it is for us
today, to be able to come and consider him, how often we need
to consider him, this great and blessed and glorious saviour,
and to hear what he says. There's many instructions he
gave while he was on the earth. Perhaps one of the greatest statements
which he gave was, for you and me to, day later, take up our
cross and to follow him. To be blessed with that true
following. What a blessing it is to be a
true follower of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can read also in the 11th
chapter of Matthew, the gracious, wonderful invitation of the Savior. We come towards the end, and
it tells us this. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That is a wonderful
invitation with a wonderful promise. Let us not turn away from it.
And it tells us, take my yoke upon you. And learn of me, for
I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light. These are wonderful words. People
tend to turn away from them. And they say, well, of course,
I haven't got any ability to do that when it's addressed specifically
to a needy sinner. This is what it says. All ye
that labour and are heavy laden, do have you come in now. Does
that suit you? If it does, then the invitation
is for you. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Yes, a wonderful
promise, isn't it? A wonderful blessing to know
that we come to this risen saviour, we come to the saviour who was
transfigured before Peter and James and John, that one whom
the father said these gracious words, this is my beloved son
whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. I wonder, I wonder if
the saviour is well pleased with us. I wonder if we have heard
What do you say? And I wonder if we've taken up
our cross daily and followed him, or if we're still standing
as it were on the bylines, dithering here and there, and listening
to the devil with an unbelieving heart. Well, you know, there's
no virtue in that, especially as we may consider him of what
he's done in order to redeem our souls, the cost of our salvation. Go to Calvary, view the Saviour,
suffering all incarnate God could bear, with strength enough and
none to spare, in order to redeem our souls, in order to give us
that good hope, through grace, that one day we shall indeed,
by faith in glory, behold the Lamb of God, without a veil between. But may we now be blessed with
that faith still, to behold the Lamb of God, and taking away
our sin. Behold the Lamb of God, that
appeared on that mount to those three disciples on that wonderful
occasion, and to realize the great and glorious truth of these
words, which are so good and so powerful, that there shone
that great and glorious light, and was transfigured before them,
and its face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white
as the night. Well, may we by faith believe
that to be very true and to look forward to that day when through
the grace and mercy of God, we shall be found with the ransom
of the Lord in glory, praising him and then seeing that wonderful
saviour and the glorious life which will never be dimmed. whiny
yet spake. Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them. And behold, a voice out of the
cloud which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him. Amen.