Good morning. Alright, we're
going to be in Mark chapter 9. Mark chapter 9, we'll be looking
at verses 1 through 13. Now in Mark 8, the last chapter,
we had Christ speaking of his death. and how he also went on
to speak of the death of the disciples, the cost of discipleship,
that is, our self-denial, denying ourselves and dying to self,
that is, taking up the cross and following the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so Mark 9 follows that. It's good and right for us to
look at the context that we read these things because here, after
speaking of death, The death that he should die, the death
that his disciples die to themselves in Christ, he now reveals to
them and shows them his glory. and the things which shall be
hereafter, both for him now even and for us when we depart and
go to be with him." So we see here in this text the glory that
is Christ's and it is his upon the finished work of redemption,
that work that he was to complete there on the cross and putting
away the sin of his people and having completed that redemption,
he goes to be with the Father and is glorified with the Father. So, even so, as departed saints,
when they leave this body, when we leave this tent, as our brother
read there in 2 Corinthians 5, the beginning of that chapter,
we shall go to be directly with the Lord and clothed upon with
his righteousness and glorified with him. Our title is Christ's
Kingdom Come. Christ's Kingdom Come. In this first division, what
we're going to look at is the believer's taste of death. The
believer's taste of death. One thing that we see here in
this passage, you'll notice that Christ uses the phrase taste
of death. Let's look at that. Mark 9, 1.
And Christ said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there be
some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death,
till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. So we see here that the righteous
only taste of death. The wicked, however, in the scriptures,
they are described as being killed with death. So the righteous
taste death, but the wicked are killed with death. In Revelation
2.23, speaking of those that fornicate with that seductress
Jezebel, those that follow false religion and that false gospel
of Christ, the Lord says, I will kill her children with death. The wicked die with death. Beloved
believers, they do die. They die in the flesh, but they
never die. We never die spiritually. We never die eternally. Turn
over to John 11. John 11, verses 25 and 26. Our
Lord is speaking to Martha. at the death of her brother Lazarus,
that is, when he fell asleep in the flesh. And Jesus said
unto Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. and whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? So what the scriptures are teaching
and what they reveal to us is that the death of this body is
the liberation of the soul. The death of this body, this
flesh, is nothing more than the liberation of our soul. And so what we see there, for
example, in Psalm 17, 15, David writes, as for me, I will behold
thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. And then in 2 Corinthians 5,
8, Paul says, we're confident and willing rather to be absent
from the body and to be present with the Lord. And Isaiah writes
in Isaiah 57 to, he shall enter into peace. They shall rest in
their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. So this body
will lie in the grave. This body, when we die in this
flesh, it'll lie in the grave. but our soul goes to be immediately
with the Lord. We who are his goes to be immediately
with the Lord and walks in the uprightness which Christ has
created for us, that righteousness that he has made us. So our Lord,
when he was crucified, he said to that thief dying on the cross
next to him, he said, verily I say unto thee, today, today
shalt thou be with me in paradise. And the scriptures give us a
glimpse, a tiny glimpse of that paradise in Revelation 2-7, where
Christ says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I
give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God. That is, we shall see Christ,
the tree of righteousness, and we shall feed upon Him. His life
is our life because He gives it to us as He will. So, when
we die, the Scriptures reveal that we're going to be immediately
in the assembly of the Blessed of the Lord, that the Church
of God will be immediately in that company, in that assembly.
It's in Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12, 22 and 23. Here we
read, but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the
City of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn,
which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men made perfect." In heaven, the
scriptures reveal that we shall be immediately clothed upon with
that heavenly body. Turn back there to 2 Corinthians
5, which our brother just read, 2 Corinthians 5. And we're going
to look at the first six verses. This is speaking of that heavenly
body which we are clothed upon with when we die in this flesh.
Paul writes there in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1, For in this we groan, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.
If so be that, being clothed, we shall not be found naked,
that is, found trusting in our own works of the flesh to try
and please God, but resting in Christ's righteousness. For we
that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, Not for
that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up of life. Because we see the weakness of
this flesh, and the sinfulness of this flesh, and the lust of
this flesh, and it burdens us. We groan because We desire Christ. We know that he is our righteousness
and we see the salvation that he has wrought for his people.
And so we don't love and rejoice in the fact that this flesh is
wicked and this flesh isn't improved and this flesh isn't doing that
which is right. It's the new man that Christ
has created in us. that desires him. And he says
now in verse 5, Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing
is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at
home in the body we are absent from the Lord. That earnest meaning
it's a down payment whereby we know that Christ shall indeed
return for us his purchased possession. He's not going to leave us. He's
going to return for that which he has begun, that work that
he's begun in us, he will return to take us home to be with him.
So believer, we may taste of death, but we will not die the
death of the wicked. All right, our second point now
is the kingdom will come, or the kingdom which came, rather.
The kingdom which came. Now this text here, this Mark
9, 1, seems to be a text of some controversy, because people have
differences in their understanding of what this means. What does
Christ mean when he says this there? Let's read it again, 9-1.
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there be
some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death
till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. So this kingdom which the Lord
speaks of here, it's a spiritual kingdom. It's the spiritual present
nature of Christ's kingdom. Now it's here, it's present,
it's a spiritual kingdom. God's church is his kingdom. The church is the Israel of God. The Church is the Israel of God. This is Paul who teaches us this,
Paul who is a Jew by birth, a Jew in the flesh. He never glorified
in one kingdom for the Jews and another kingdom for the Gentiles.
He never gloried in that. If you notice, he gloried in
Christ, our one Savior, our one Kingdom, the one Bride of Christ,
both Jew and Gentile. That's what Paul rejoiced in.
He teaches that there's one bride, and it's in Christ alone. Turn
over to Galatians 6. Let's look at a couple of verses
there. In Galatians 6, verses 14 through 16, and we'll look
at how Paul shows that the church, both Jew and Gentile, are one
in Christ. But God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is glorying,
not in the fact that he's a Jew and there's a special kingdom
for him. But he is glorying in Christ,
in the cross of Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, neither Jew nor Gentile, but
a new creature. So being in the flesh a Jew or
a Gentile, that doesn't make us fit for the body of Christ. Christ himself is the believer's
acceptance into that paradise of God. It's through Christ and
Christ alone. It's not our Natural birth, and
it's not any righteous works that we do in religion, that
is in our flesh. That's not what qualifies us
for paradise, but rather Christ himself. He is the believer's
righteousness. And he said there in Galatians
6.16, as many as walk according to this rule, this gospel, peace
beyond them and mercy and upon the Israel of God. Because not
all that say that they are Israel are Israel. but that which God
has saved and redeemed for himself. Now turn over to Galatians 3.7.
Galatians 3.7. And Paul says, Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham. So the children of Abraham are
the children of faith. That is, those that believe Christ,
they are children of Abraham, not just because they came forth
of his seed. Look at Galatians 4.28. Galatians
4.28. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, son, the natural-born son of
Abraham. As Isaac was, we are the children
of promise." He's writing to Gentiles. He's writing to a Gentile
church. He's not writing to Jews. There
may have been some Jews there, but he's writing to Gentiles,
and he says, as Isaac was, we are the children of promise.
So he's making it very clear and plain to us that we are all
one in Christ, Romans 9.8, that is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. So there's one kingdom,
and both Jew and Gentile are in that one kingdom. There's
one bride, and both Jew and Gentile are in that one bride. And I'm
saying this for a reason, because There are people that believe
that they're separate, and it just is creating division in
that which Christ has unified and brought together in himself.
So this kingdom began when Christ entered his glory, and he reveals
that the kingdom comes quickly, and that it will be seen. So
here's three things about this kingdom. of their brief. First, it was to come in relation
to Christ. That is, the scriptures show
that when Christ came, that would be the end of the natural kingdom
of Israel. It says in Genesis 49.10, Genesis
49.10, that the scepter, the rule, shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between its feet until, that means there's
a time coming when it'll end, until Shiloh comes. Shiloh come,
and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." And that's
what we see in Christ. He is Shiloh, meaning he is the
one whom God sent. He is the prophet that God raised
up and said, hear him. You look to this one. This is
my salvation, Jesus Christ. And that earthly kingdom of Israel
was literally destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans so that God
made it very clear that he was done with that natural kingdom. He's done. Everything now, all
the blessings we have, all the spiritual blessings are in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And how anyone who claims to
believe Christ can deny that, I just don't understand it. I
don't know why they would defend a natural, a physical millennium
or kingdom. Second, his kingdom would come
with power. Now, in our Philippian study,
we've seen how Paul was showing and just boasting of how the
fact that nothing can stop this gospel. Nothing can stop this
gospel from going forward and reaching all the sheep of Christ.
We can't prevent it. All the opposition of man can't
prevent it because there's no physical barrier that any man
could put up that's going to stop the advancement of Christ's
kingdom and his gospel reaching his children. Christ himself
even said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So we see that his kingdom came
with power. At Pentecost, when the disciples
were gathered together, those few disciples and they were gathered
together and they were praying, we saw the power of the Holy
Spirit come upon them and they saw what appeared to be tongues
of fire on each of them and they went out into the streets And
they preached and proclaimed the gospel of Christ there, so
that all heard them speak in their own language, glorifying
God in their hearing. We saw it come with power when
the Lord sent an army. He raised up an army of the Romans
to come and destroy and wipe out Jerusalem in 70 AD. And we see it come in power in
every redeemed sinner. That's not the work of our flesh.
Man doesn't save himself by his will and his choosing. God, the
Father, sends this gospel in power. by what Christ has obtained
for his people, and he subdues their hearts, he conquers their
wicked, rebellious hearts, he overcomes them and reveals to
them, in power by his Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that
they see and know, I am nothing and Christ is all, and he is
the salvation of his people. And then third, Christ told them
very plainly in 9.1 that there be some that stand here, right
now in front of me, which shall not taste of death till they
have seen the kingdom of God come with power. Turn over to
Acts 2.36 and we'll see this. This is a literal fulfillment
of it. This is now after what I just
described to you earlier when the Holy Spirit came upon the
disciples in power in the upper room and they went out preaching
The word of God in the language of all the people gathered there
in Jerusalem at that time, because it was Pentecost, so there was
many from different nations who spoke different languages. And
Peter now says, he's preaching to the people, Acts 2.36, Therefore
let all the house of Israel know surely that God hath made the
same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when
they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost for the promises unto you and to your children
and to all that are far off even as many as the Lord our God shall
call. So there they were witnessing
the power of the kingdom of Christ to come and arrest the hearts
of those people there gathered among them a couple thousand
that heard the word and believed because the Spirit had made them
alive to hear what was being said, to have Christ reveal to
them that He is the Savior whom God appointed. So they were witnessing
the power of the kingdom of Christ being established in the hearts
of His people. They saw it right there. They saw the kingdom being
established. And so, you know, it's important
for us to emphasize that because I know there's not many necessarily
hear, but people hear these messages and they ask questions about
it. So I just wanted to be clear
that we believe that we are now, even in that millennium, that
Christ's kingdom is established. He is even now ruling and reigning. He is the king. He is glorified
and has all power and authority And he's sending this gospel
forth and it's conquering the hearts of his people and saving
them. So we're witnessing the power of God and his kingdom
not being stopped. When you see it, when that candlestick
goes out of one place, the Lord is always moving it into another.
And you just see it throughout history, this kingdom just advancing
and reaching all the parts of the world and going wherever
the Lord wills it to go. And he's calling out all his
people from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people. Go back to
our text there in Mark 9, Mark 9, 11-13, because there are some
that still teach and believe that Elijah still has to come.
They don't even think Elijah has come, that he's going to
come physically, in person, now before the Millennial Kingdom
of Christ. In Mark 9, 11, they asked him,
this is now they've come down off the mountain, they asked
him, saying, why say the scribes that Elijah must first come?
They're saying, well, if the kingdom of God is at hand, and
you are the Christ, we believe that you're the Christ, well,
where's Elijah? I thought he was supposed to
come. And the Lord answers in verse 12, He told them, Elijah
verily cometh first. It is true. He's coming first
and restores all things and how it is written of the Son of Man
that he must suffer many things and be set at naught. But I say
unto you, verse 13, that Elijah is indeed come. and they have
done unto him whatsoever they listed as it is written of him."
So what they did to, he's speaking of John the Baptist, and what
they did to John the Baptist according to their will, their
wicked will, and dealing with him that way, Christ says, it's
according to what was supposed to happen. This is exactly what
God intended. Elijah came. So there's not going
to be a future Elijah that precedes another millennial kingdom at
some point. the danger, you could see how
carnal fleshly religion just is always looking to the flesh,
always looking for something to glory in the flesh and always
trying to bring down that which is spiritual into something fleshly
so that they could understand it, because they don't understand
that which is spiritual and that which Christ works in his people. All right, now let's see our
third point, the transfiguration. Transfiguration. So our Lord,
he speaks of the nearness of the kingdom of God in verse one.
And then it says six days later, Christ shows them now, he gives
them a view of the glory, of his glory, which should follow
when he finishes his work. And what this is, is it's a prophetic
view of Christ. This is showing to those disciples
the glory that is Christ's when he finishes the work of redemption.
They are seeing that which is his to come when he's done with
the work on the cross there and has been raised from the dead.
Look at Mark 9, 2. After six days Jesus taketh with
him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high
mountain apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before
them. And so transfigured means he
was changed into another form. That's what it means. He was
changed right before their very eyes. And as Raymond, verse three,
became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth
can white them. So these men, they're seeing
that glory, which is Christ's, that glory which he had with
the Father, and they're seeing that glory which is his when
he goes up to the Father, having obtained eternal redemption for
his people. And it says, verse four, there
appeared unto them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking
with Jesus. Now, we don't know exactly what
they spoke of. I'm sorry, we know exactly what
they spoke of because it tells us in Luke 9. So look over there.
Hold your place here because we're coming back. I just want
to show you a couple of scriptures in Luke 9 29. Luke 9.29 As Christ prayed, the fashion
of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and
glistening. And, behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elijah. who appeared in glory
and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Peter writes of this in 1 Peter
1.11, Peter says, So they're speaking there of Christ's redemptive
work, and the three disciples that are there with him, they're
seeing this glory of Christ. They see him transformed, transfigured, into what He is in glory even
now. And it's even a token, it's a
sight for us to see what glory awaits us in Christ. And I want you to see that. Look
over in 2 Corinthians 3.18. Here's why I'm saying that. Because I know here we think
nothing of ourselves, but it's Christ's good pleasure to glorify
you, brethren. And there's a reason why he wants
you to see this and understand it. In 2 Corinthians 3.18 it
says, Paul writes of it, he says, But we all, with open face beholding
as in a glass or a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord. And that word changed there is
that same word transfigured, that when we see Christ, we shall
be changed to the glory that He is, from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord, so that when that day comes,
we shall be clothed upon with the heavenly, with that heavenly
body given to us, prepared for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is His work, and what He has purposed. In Ephesians 2.7
it says that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches
of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. What is that? Well, Philippians
3.21 Paul writes, and Paul tells us Philippians 3.21 who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his
glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even
to subdue all things unto himself. And then in Romans 8 29 says
again, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed. That's a different word, but
it has a similar meaning, to be conformed to the image of
his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. So there is a glory. We won't have these bodies. We
won't have this sin and this weakness. will be made into that
which Christ has purposed to make us, to glorify us. We will
know the glory that is Christ's, and that's what he's obtained
for us. Sinners who are unworthy of his
grace and his mercy, it pleases him to do that for his people. Now, just note too in verses
5 and 6, a brother had asked me, you know, will we know each
other in heaven? Will we recognize each other
in heaven? Well, here in 5 and 6 says, yeah,
we will recognize, we will know one another. To the fullness
of that extent, I don't know, but we'll know who one another
is, because it says there in 5 and 6, Mark 9, 5 and 6. And Peter answered and said to
Jesus, Master, it's good for us to be here. And let us make
three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,
for he wist not what to say, for they were sore afraid. And
so, without anyone telling him, he knew it was Moses and Elijah.
They don't have pictures, and they didn't, the only way that
he could know that is for the Lord to just make that known.
So that, I don't know that we'll look like we look like, I mean
we won't look like we look like now, but we'll know who are the
people of the Lord. We'll know them in that day.
Now Moses here pictures the law. And the law was given to shut
our mouths. The law was given to stop us
from boasting of our own works of righteousness. And so the
law was given to point us to Christ. So that's why Moses is
there. And then Elijah is there as well,
and he pictures the prophets, right? And the prophets were
given to foretell of Christ's coming. and to describe what
Christ would be doing so that when he came we would know this
is the Christ. This is him. He's fulfilling
all that the scriptures wrote of. He fulfills everything that
the law writes of and everything that the prophets have spoken
of. This is indeed the Christ. And so, you know, the religion,
man-made religion gets so hung up on physical things and you
can see it when you think back what we grew up under and what
we came up under in religion It's all about directing us back
to the law, now you need to start doing this better, and you need
to do these ten commandments, and then you need to do this,
and they introduce so many more commandments telling us what's
sin and what isn't sin, what you can do, what you can't do,
and all it is is about this external things in the flesh, these practices
that they say that we're to be doing or not doing. And then
they go to the prophets and all they find is nice little Bible
stories that teach us little moral lessons about how to be
better people in the world. And that's not what the scriptures
are for. The scriptures were given to
point us to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you could be very religious
and be very holy in your outward appearance of things, like the
Pharisees, and yet not know Christ at all, and not be in his kingdom
at all, and never enter his kingdom. It's of Christ and his righteousness
alone whereby we are saved. It's in Christ and his righteousness
that we boast in the work that he has done for his people. Religion outwardly is very willing
to look to those things, but Christ is saying, these things
point of me. They speak of me. They're pointing
to me, and natural religion seems to be pictured here in what Peter
is saying, because he's willing to make lodgings. It's those
three, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and Moses, and Elijah, and they're
all just going to be holding hands and singing kumbaya together,
and they're all happy because they're all one together, and
all their works are the same, and they've all contributed to
the same thing, until the Lord comes and says, no, no, you're
not equal with Christ. Christ is salvation for his people. It's not by the law. It's not
by the prophets and following these stories. It's not by religion
that we're saved. It's by the Lord Jesus Christ
alone. And the Father comes in verse
7 and 8 and says, Mark 9, 7, 8. And there was a cloud that
overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying,
This is my beloved Son, hear Him. And suddenly, when they
had looked round about, they saw no man any more save Jesus
only with themselves. And so the Father is revealing
to us that this, that the Lord Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, who
is the Christ sent of God, He is the Son of God by nature.
We're sons and daughters by adoption, but he is the Son of God by nature. He is very God. The fullness of the Godhead dwells
in him bodily, and that's what makes him a fit sacrifice, a
fit Savior to save his people. That's why he is righteous, and
he's not of the sons of Adam. He's not He doesn't have that
sinful nature. He doesn't have sin in Him. He
committed no sin. He's perfect. And so He is a
fit sacrifice, the Lamb of God provided to take away the sin
of His people so that His blood is righteous and holy and washes
us, purges us of our sin and our iniquity and his blood makes
us clean. He died paying the price, the
wages of our sin, he paid that price in full to put away the
wrath of God and to put away the justice of God against ourselves
and the condemnation of the law which was against us which we
could never fulfill or keep perfectly. Christ did all that work so that
by His blood we are purged of sin and by His death now we are
reconciled to God. So that the Spirit now comes
upon us giving us a new birth, making us to know what Christ
has done for us and what God freely pours out upon His people
through the Son. All because of what Christ himself
has done so our salvation rests in that word of the Lord Jesus
Christ and you know it's important even like as Christ said in John
539 when he said to the Jews you search the scriptures for
in them you think you have eternal life but they are they which
testify of me so that's why it's not in Moses it's not in the
prophets that we have life it's in the Lord Jesus Christ so These
words were the same. The father spoke those same words.
and when Christ was baptized, only this time he added, hear
him. We are to hear him and not hear, I mean, we're to read the
scriptures, but we're to see Christ in the scriptures, because
they're revealing to us our salvation in Christ Jesus. All right, so
if we would be saved, we must hear Christ and be taught of
him. John 10, 27, and 28 says, my sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. As they came down from the mountain,
he charged them that they should tell no man what things they
had seen till the Son of Man were risen from the dead. And
you can see that they kept that, because as they're coming down
from the mountain, they're really coming down, because immediately
they start arguing there in verse 10. They kept that saying with
themselves, questioning, one with another, what the rising
from the dead should mean. They still didn't even understand
what Christ had shown them just back recently, that the Son of
Man must be persecuted and rejected of the chief priests and elders
of the people and be crucified, that he would be killed. And
they still don't understand, what is he talking about? They
don't even understand it yet. But the Lord would bring back
this glorious view of Christ's transfiguration to James, I'm
sure, though he died early. and John and Peter. And Peter,
if you turn over there, in 2 Peter 1, go to 2 Peter 1, verse 16. Peter is overcome with Christ. He's now about to die. He's about
to lay down this earthly tabernacle and wear it no more. And he's
going to be with the Lord immediately. 2 Peter 1 16, and he says, we've
not followed cunningly devised fables. So to you who don't believe
Christ because you think it's fiction or a joke or something
that's just made up, Peter's saying we have not left all to
follow a lie. We didn't forsake our living
and our ability to make riches in this world and to get some
inheritance and spend time with our wives and our children. We
didn't leave this all behind for a lie. But rather, this is
the truth. This is the Christ. And he says,
We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, his
kingdom, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received
from God the Father honor 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, we
have also a more sure word of prophecy where unto ye do well
that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place
until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts and
he's he's encouraging us brethren to wait for Christ, to look for
Him, to follow Him, to not forsake the assembling of ourselves.
And He's saying that that day, that day in which we will be
transfigured, is fast approaching. That which you saw in Christ,
which we described to you occurred to Christ on the mount, that's
what awaits His people, when they shall be transformed, conformed
to His image, in glory when we are clothed upon with the heavenly. So you who are laying down your
life, you know, you who are denying self now, you who are taking
up that cross, you who are making sacrifices to see his word spread
even here among you and following Christ, he's saying, don't be
afraid. Don't turn this in. Don't turn
away. from that work which the Lord
has already begun in you and has you following after him. You keep looking to Christ, and
he sets our minds back on the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory. And so that glory that awaits
us, brethren, we who are looking to Christ, remember that Christ
himself came in humiliation. He came and took upon him this
flesh with all its weaknesses, yet without sin. And He laid
down His will, laid down that which He would do in obedience
to the Father, doing what the Father would have Him to do,
all for the sake and benefit of us. And He went to the cross
where He suffered mightily when He bore the sin of His people
to put it away and to make them righteous, and Isaiah tells us
that he saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. He looked
to that end and was satisfied. By his knowledge, it says, Christ's
righteous servant justified many because he bore their sin. And it's actually, let me just
read it. Yeah, and you know, Hebrews,
it says in 12.1, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses. We have a great cloud of witnesses
that shows us and testifies that this is the Word of God and that
this is the Christ whom we've been waiting for, the Christ
promised back there in the garden when our parents sinned and rebelled
against God. And he said, Let us lay aside
every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus, the author and 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. For
consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against
himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds." So Christ
did it. And John tells us in 1 John 1
verses 3 through 5, 1 John 1, 3 through 5, he said, that which
we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that ye also may
have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father
and with his son jesus christ and these things right we unto
you that your joy may be full this then is the message which
we have heard of him of christ himself and we declare it unto
you that god is light and in him is no darkness at all and
he's saying we've seen it we've seen the glory of Christ before
our very eyes we've handled him which the father sent to work
this salvation and we're declaring that to you that he is even now
glorified with the father having obtained eternal redemption for
you brethren and so we see in this that no matter what the
sacrifice is that we're called to make when you when you lay
aside this earthly tabernacle, this body of death, and you go
to be with the Lord, and you're clothed upon with that heavenly
body which Christ has wrought for each of you. And you see
the Ancient of Days sitting upon the throne there, being ministered
to by thousands and thousands and thousands of angels and all
the hosts of heaven, and you see Him If there is in any sacrifice,
you're going to look back on that you've made and say, I didn't
need to do that. You're going to say, Lord, I
can't believe I didn't do more. I can't believe I didn't do more
because all of this is nothing compared to the glory which Christ
has obtained for you, brethren. And you're going to be so thankful
and so satisfied and have such joy and peace that there is nothing
that this world has that can compare to his beauty and glory
and what he has obtained for you. And we're going to rejoice
and give him all the praise and the glory and the thanks for
it. So don't, you're not sacrificing nothing that you're going to
regret sacrificing. you keep looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I pray that he bless that word to our hearts. All right. Why don't you close
the hymn and then we'll pray after. Our closing hymn is going to
be 452, I Stand Amazed. 452. Stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene, And wonder how He could love me, a sinner
condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful
then my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me! For me it was in the garden He
prayed not my will, but thine. He had no tears for his own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine. How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever How marvelous,
how wonderful is my Savior's love for me! In pity angels beheld
Him and came from the world of light To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night. How marvelous, how wonderful,
And my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful,
Is my Savior's love for me! He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone. How marvelous, how wonderful,
And my songs shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful,
Is my Savior's love for me! And with the ransoming glory
His face I at last shall see, Will be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me. Our gracious Lord we thank you
father for your mercy the love and the the grace which you have shed
upon us abundantly through your Son, Jesus Christ. And Lord,
though we're here in this flesh, this old flesh, the old man,
Lord, we pray that your Spirit in us would rise and see the
Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted up, exalted and glorified in
your presence. And Lord, we groan for that day
when we shall be Not unclothed, Lord, but lay aside this flesh
and be clothed upon with that heavenly body which you have
made for your people. Lord, keep us faithful. Keep
us looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and trusting Him, Lord,
in doing that which you have prepared for us before the foundation
of the world in us, Lord. And that your gospel will go
forth from this pulpit plainly and clearly in reaching your
lost sheep, Lord. Bring them home. into the fold
of Christ. We pray this in Jesus' name,
our Lord and Savior. Amen.