Now let's turn together tonight to Matthew chapter 17. Matthew the seventeenth chapter. In this passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit takes us with Peter, James, and John, and the Lord Jesus, up on the mountain of Transfiguration. He doesn't tell us which mountain it is, lest foolish men should make it some idolatrous holy place and establish a shrine and go and act as though there was something superstitious about it. But it was one of the high mountains around Jerusalem, and there our Lord Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.

That is, they saw his majesty and his excellent glory revealed in his person. In order to establish the connection here, I think it's needful for us to notice the order in which these events are recorded, we're told in verse one that after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain park. Now, after six days of the events occur, six days rather after the events that are recorded in chapter 16, is when this happened. Remember what's recorded there.

Our Lord gave the warning concerning the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees of intellectualism and self-righteousness and hypocrisy and a religious show. And then he gave a stern reproof to the unbelief that his disciples showed with regard to the needs of the people around them when he would multiply again the loaves and fishes for them.

And then in the middle of that We have Peter's strong, strong confession, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And shortly after that, Peter's word of instruction, which he sought to give to the Lord Jesus, a rebuke that he gave to the Lord Jesus, about his death. The Lord had told them that he must go to Jerusalem and there suffer and die, and then Peter turned and rebuked the Lord and began to instruct him exactly to the contrary. And the Lord Jesus rebuked Peter severely for doing so, and said to him, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou saviour of not the things that are of God, but rather the things that are of men. And then he spoke plainly concerning the cost of discipleship.

Take up your cross and follow me. And the last thing that was spoken of in this sixteenth chapter of Matthew was our Lord's statement concerning his glorious second advent. but also preceding that, his coming again in his kingdom and in power at the day of Pentecost in verse 28. He says, Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom, in another place coming in his glory. And so the Lord Jesus, six days after these things all have taken place, goes up into a mountain with his disciples and there he will tell them about the reward of his sufferings. There he will tell them something about what is going to be the result of his sufferings and death. Their hearts had been saddened by the news that he must die, and now he will gladden their hearts by a vision of his glory. Jesus taketh Peter and James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. Luke tells us in his narrative took them apart to pray. Oh, what a prayer meeting it was. The Lord Jesus took Peter.

Notice, Peter is still in the favored inner circle. Just a little while before this, just six days before this, Peter had rebuked his master. Peter had committed a horrible sin in standing in the way of the Lord Jesus and seeking to impede him in his work. He had become an instrument of Satan in doing so, and so the Lord Jesus spoke of him as though he were himself Satan. He said, Get thee behind me, Satan. But once the rebuke was given, and once the reproof was made, once the correction was found, then the Lord Jesus forgot the matter.

Peter was not to be held continually in suspicion. The Lord did not hold it continually in his mind. It was not something that he constantly had the offense in his mind. He had forgiven Peter, and as far as he was concerned, the issue was over, and it would never be brought up again. He loved Peter still. Peter was not in any way diminished in his relationship with the Master because of his sin. Oh, what great forgiveness there is in God our Savior. How thankful we ought to be for such a Savior, who so freely and so fully forgives our sins instantly and forever.

Now look at verse 2. And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Now, I frankly don't know exactly what all that speaks of. Our Lord Jesus probably here appeared briefly on the Mount of Transfiguration as he appeared now in heaven in his resurrection glory. Probably that's the case. Whatever it was, John said we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter said we were eyewitnesses of the glory of the Son of God. We beheld his glory, John said. Peter was the one who said we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

And then in the next verse we read, And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, or Elijah, talking with him. Moses and Elijah stood right before the master. Now, I have no idea how Peter, James, and John knew that it was Moses and Elijah. I've got no idea. All I know is they knew. And it's here stated that Moses and Elijah appeared in some kind of bodily form, standing before the master, talking to him.

If you look at Luke's account in Luke chapter 9 in verse 31, they talk to him about his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Moses and Elijah had spoken during their lifetime concerning his decease. They had spoken in their lifetime concerning what he must come and accomplish for the putting away of our sins. And so when they came to him on the Mount of Transfiguration, they spoke to him still about his decease Not that he should suffer, but his deceit that he should accomplish at Jerusalem. For he was sent to accomplish redemption by his death and by his resurrection.

And then in verse four, Brother Peter butted in. He was so much like many of us. Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If thou wilt let us Make here three tabernacles, three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." We'll look at that a little bit more in just a minute, but suffice it to say that Peter always felt like he had to say something. He always felt like he had to make a comment, and many times his comments were given out of zeal, but out of zeal with a great deal of ignorance, and that's the case here. And then Moses and Elijah were covered in a cloud and taken up as quickly as they had come down again, and the father spoke.

Look what he says here. And while he spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of heaven, out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, here ye be. This is one of the three occasions when God the Father is said to have spoken from heaven during our Lord's earthly ministry. You remember in his baptism, the Father spoke and said, this is my beloved son. In John chapter 12, when our Lord said, now is my soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. And he said, Father, glorify thy name. And the Father spoke from heaven.

And he said, I have glorified it and will glorify it yet again. And then here in his transfiguration, the Lord God, our father, his father, speaks to us from heaven, speaks to Peter, James, and John, and to us by them, concerning his son, the Lord Jesus.

Now there is a great deal in these verses that's shrouded in mystery, and we will leave it there. That which God is not pleased to reveal, We are content not to know. I hope you understand that. That which God has not been pleased to reveal, we must be content not to know. To remain in ignorance concerning it. But those things which he has revealed are for us and for our children. They belong to us. So let's not curiously pry into secret things. Leave secret things secret. But take that which is plainly revealed in the scriptures, and seek to understand the message that God has given us. Now we have before us many things that are edifying to our souls, many things that are full of instruction and are intended as such.

For one thing we have before us a striking demonstration of the glory in which Christ and his people will appear when he comes the second time. The Transfiguration, as I said, was a revelation of our Lord's true character. his true dignity. It is as though the Lord had lifted the veil a little, just lifted the corner of it, let us see what things are going to be like when Christ comes again.

Turn over to what John said in John chapter 1, John the first chapter, and verse 14. John said, The word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." John said, we saw him. We saw him in his glory. This same John later wrote, when we see him, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

He later wrote, behold, every eye shall see him. He was moved by inspiration, but he constantly had his mind and his heart fixed upon the glory which he beheld upon the mouth of transfiguration. This was not only a picture, a foreshadowing of the glory with which Christ will be revealed in the last day, but it is also a picture of the glory which awaits every believer. J.C. Ryle, I think, was exactly right when he wrote, there is made up for Jesus and all that believe on him such glory as the heart of man never conceived.

The Apostle Paul said we will, we have borne the image of the So shall we bear the image of the heaven. And we, these bodies that are sown in corruption, shall be raised in incorruption. These bodies that are sown, mortal bodies, shall be raised in immortality. And in that day, we shall appear even as the Lord Jesus here appeared in his glory. Oh, what a day that will be when we meet our Savior in resurrection glory and are made conformed to his image in character, but also in body, in resurrection glory. No tongue can describe it. These verses also give us a clear factual demonstration of life after death and of the resurrection body.

Now, there's a lot of speculation that has been written concerning Moses and Elijah, but Moses and Elijah were here standing on the Mount of Transfiguration physically, they were there. They were there. They were standing right before the Lord Jesus, talking to him, right before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. Now, Moses had been dead and buried for 1,500 years. Elijah went up into a world where the world went into heaven 900 years before this happened. But Moses and Elijah were here on the Mount of Transfiguration. And their presence there declares two things emphatically and clearly. There is life after death. This is not all there is. This is not all there is.

Brother Half Yates, that one told me yesterday, said three weeks ago, he began to tell her that he wasn't feeling well and he was anticipating that his life here would be taken quickly. And he said, now when it happens, he said, when it happens, don't you be thinking about what you're looking at later in that day. You'd be thinking about this. There will be standing over me angels of God, you can't see, waiting to usher me into glory.

And I'm telling you, that's fact. That's fact. It is fantasy to imagine that when a man dies, he dies like a dog and there's no more. It is contrary to reason Contrary to what's in a man's heart, and contrary to the revelation of God, there is life after death, and for the believer, it is a life of glory. The angels of God wait to carry us into heaven's glory. Not only is there life after death, but there is a day of resurrection coming.

Moses and Elijah stood before the Lord Jesus in bodies that were recognizable, in bodies like they had upon this earth, in bodies that were the form of men, and yet somehow not the form of men, so they stood before the Lord in glory, in his transfigured glory. And even so, at the last day, the Lord Jesus will raise these bodies up into glory. Are we indeed ought to comfort one another with these words. There is a day coming when the saints of God, like Job, shall see their Redeemer face to face with their eyes, not another, and they'll embrace Him with their hands, not another, and we shall stand before Him forever in the perfection of humanity, but in humanity that is redeemed and reconciled with God in perfect glory and in perfect righteousness.

And thirdly, the primary thing that is intended to be shown by this event. By divine testimony, we have the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is here identified as one who is infinitely superior to all who are born of women. We read here that Peter said, it's good for us to be here. If thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses, one for Elijah.

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed Moses and Elijah. Just overshadowed them. And behold, a voice out of the cloud which said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Now you forget about Moses and Elijah. You hear him. You hear him. You understand that?

The cloud just overshadowed Moses and Elijah, as if to say, don't dare compare Moses and Elijah with my beloved son. You see, it appears that Peter had done just that. He had made, he had made in his bewildered statement, in his bewildered trance here, he was just, he was beside himself, he seems to put Moses and Elijah on a par equal with the Son of God. and that could not be allowed, that could not be tolerated. You see, the voice was meant to teach us, to teach Peter and James and John, and to teach us that Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God, that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of men, and that the one in whom and by whom God is well pleased is not Moses, nor Elijah, nor you, nor me, but Jesus Christ alone. as the rising of the sun eclipses every star and causes the stars to fade away, so the rising of the Son of God, the Son of Righteousness in the earth eclipses all who came before him.

Once Christ came, Moses, who represents the Lord, was totally, completely fulfilled. Can you hear this? Once Christ came, Moses, who represents the Lord, was so fulfilled, he so met, Christ so met all the demands of the law that the law is now forever silent against God's children. It is written, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Now listen close.

The law of God is holy and just and good. The law of God is intended for lawful use and lawful purposes to show us our and to shut us up to Christ. But the law of God cannot ever condemn them, God says. If you're in Christ, if you look to Christ, the law of God cannot just condemn you, for Christ is the end of the law.

He fulfilled it and satisfied it. Once the Lord Jesus Christ came, Elijah, who represents the prophets, are no longer to be pried into as though there were somehow mysterious secrets yet back here to be unveiled and mysterious secrets to be revealed.

Oh, how many times you listen to folks and they start quoting scripture. And they spit out scriptures. This Vanity fellow comes on Fox TV every Sunday night. He's full of prophecy. Oh, just got all kinds of prophetic things he's going to teach us. And he spits out scriptures like a machine gun spitting out bullets, but they have no connection. They have no contextual connection and no biblical connection. So what they do is rest the scriptures and try to find some mystery in the scripture that is not there.

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophets. You ought to write that down somewhere and understand it. The Old Testament prophets are fulfilled in Christ Jesus. So that we do not look for signs and wonders yet to be performed in heaven. We see Christ who has fulfilled the law and the prophets. And the law and the prophets will be fulfilled when he stood upon the earth as a man. And they shall be ultimately fulfilled when he comes again in his glory as our Lord and Savior to gather us unto himself. But even at that, we understand that He Himself, not Israel, not Russia, not the United States, He is the fulfillment of the Law and of the Prophets.

Alright, now this evening, I want to talk to you about the message of the Transfiguration. And the message of the Transfiguration is found primarily in verse 5. And so we'll spend our time right there. Look at what our Lord says. He tells us what the Lord God says, right? This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. Now let's look at those three sentences together, and then a couple of other things that are clearly set before us in the passage. First, the Lord God says, this is my beloved son.

With those words, God the Father, publicly and openly owns the man, Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, the Nazarene, to be his beloved son. The babe of Bethlehem, the suffering one of Calvary, is here described as God the Son, God over all and blessed forever.

The Lord Jesus Christ, in John 3.16, is called the only begotten of the Father. That is, he's the only woman who comes essentially from God the Father. That's what it means. When it says he's the only begotten of the Father, the implication is not at all that there was some time when he was begotten of the Father, but rather he is the eternally begotten Son of God.

Let me show you that. Turn back to Proverbs chapter 8. Proverbs the 8th chapter. Here is the prophecy concerning the covenant of grace, not a prophecy, but a statement concerning the covenant of grace and of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ as our covenant servant. But here in Proverbs chapter 8 and in verse 22, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way. Do you see that?

In the beginning of the Lord's way. Not in the beginning of my way, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way. before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. Now the Lord Jesus speaks of himself in his divinity, and he says the Lord possessed me from everlasting, from the beginning of his ways. And the word is used just as a human expression to identify something of God's eternality, to make us understand God is from everlasting.

There was no beginning with him. And then he says concerning himself, as our covenant surety, I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. That is, he was set up, but he didn't begin there. He was already in the beginning. For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.

So Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, he's the eternally begotten Son of the Father, and he is the co-equal Son of God the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ, then, is coessential with the Father, so essentially one with the Father, that without Christ there would be no God. Now, I hope you've grasped the depth of that statement. Folks talk today, and they seem to suggest, many seem to suggest, many just flatly state that Jesus Christ is not God, that he is not one with the Father, But to do so is to deny the Godhead altogether. Jesus Christ is so essentially one with God that if he were not, there would be no God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and this Word who was with God is God. He is God. Oh, grasp the marvel of this. Our Savior is himself God Almighty. We are the sons of God by adoption. He is the Son of God by nature and essence. This voice came from heaven announcing the fulfillment of all those prophecies which foretold the coming of one who would be both God and man in one glorious person. And the Scriptures clearly gave those prophecies.

Look in Isaiah chapter 7. Isaiah the 7th chapter. Now I don't suggest that Isaiah grasped everything that he wrote, because he wrote by divine inspiration. And yet I do think that Isaiah understood in great measure far more than what folks give him credit for understanding. When he wrote Isaiah 7, 14, I'm quite confident that he understood he was talking about the Messiah, the Redeemer. He says, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.

Behold a virgin, not just a young woman, A virgin, a young woman who has never known a man, shall conceive. How is she going to conceive? By the Holy Spirit. By God's, the Holy Spirit. That's what Matthew said in Matthew 1 in verse 20. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. That is, she's going to conceive in her womb and she's going to bring forth a son and this is his name, Emmanuel. That was the prophecy. The one who comes to save comes God in human flesh. Look in chapter 9 in verse 6.

For unto us a child is born. As a man he was born. As a child he was born. But as God he could never be born. And unto us a son is given. The son was given to us through the womb of the Virgin with that body that was formed in her womb and that child that was born of her. But the Son was neverlasting. The child of Jesus, the man-child, He was born. But in that child that was born is God Almighty, the infinite, eternal God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is that one then of whom the prophets speak, of whom it is written, there comes one who is God. and man in one glorious person. And the Lord Jesus is the beloved Son of God. The Father loves the Son as the Son. Of course, that goes without saying. God the Father, from everlasting, loved his Son and loved his Son as his Son. But particularly, our text here, where God says, this is my beloved The text is spoken to show us that God the Father loves and delights in the Son because of his obedience as our mediator and substitute, as the sinner's substitute and savior.

Turn to Proverbs 8 one more time, if you will. Proverbs chapter 8. Now, whenever the Scripture speaks of the Lord Jesus being loved of God as the result Obviously, it's talking about him having obeyed God as our substitute, having obeyed God by his own voluntary submission to him as our surety and mediator. Here in Proverbs chapter 8 and verse 30, the Lord Jesus speaks again. He says, Then was I by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. Look in John chapter 10. John the 10th chapter.

The Lord Jesus says in verse 17, Therefore, that is for this cause, doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again? For didn't God the Father love his Son before that? Of course he did. He said back here in Matthew 17, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

But here he speaks of him and says, I love him because of his obedience to me as my representative among men, as the substitute and savior of my people. And the Lord Jesus says the same thing. The Father loves me as a man because I've earned his love. He loves me as a man because I've honored him in the world and I have redeemed my people. I've been obedient unto him even unto death.

Now this is the first essential thing to be learned. Jesus Christ, our Savior, is himself God the Eternal Son, well beloved by his Father. It is his Godhead that gives merit and efficacy to all that he does. He who is God is an all-sufficient, effectual Savior for sinners. Now look at the next sentence. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

God the Father speaks from heaven to Peter, James, and John, but he speaks about one person, only one person, in whom he is well pleased. Moses was there, but he didn't say, I'm well pleased with Moses. Elijah was there, but he didn't say, I'm well pleased with Elijah. Peter was there, James was there, John was there, but he didn't say, I'm well pleased with any of you. He said, this is my beloved son. He's the one in whom I am well pleased. Now what does that imply? What does that teach us?

God never has and never can be pleased with any sinful man. But God always has been and always must be well pleased, perfectly pleased with his son, the God-man, our Savior. It goes without saying the father is essentially well-pleased with the son. As it does, the father loves the son.

But he's talking about the son as the God-man, as our mediator, as the representative of an elect race. And he says, I am well-pleased with him as the God-man, as the mediator between God and me. God was well-pleased with his son eternally as the surety and mediator and representative of his people in the covenant of grace.

You can look this up for yourself, but write it down. Isaiah 42, 21, the Lord God says, I am well pleased for his life. So that from everlasting, the Father looked on the Son as our covenant surety, and though he would never be well pleased with us because we can't produce righteousness, he looks at his Son and says, I'm well pleased for his righteousness sake to save you, well pleased for his righteousness sake to receive you. God the Father is well pleased, honored by, and delights in the representative life of by which he brought in everlasting righteousness for us.

And that's what's signified by his obedience unto the Lord in baptism. Look in Matthew chapter 3. Do you remember why our Lord submitted to baptism by the hands of John? Verse 13 in Matthew 3, Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."

I've come here now to establish righteousness, and this is necessary. My obedience to this ordinance at your hands is necessary, because this is my Father's will, and so I must fulfill all righteousness. And in response to that, in verse 17, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Oh, now here is righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ lived in this world in perfect conformity and obedience to the will of God. That's what righteousness is. That's what righteousness is. If you would be righteous, You must be perfectly conformed to the will of God from beginning to end with no sin. That's what Christ did for us. And buddy, we couldn't do it for ourselves. We can't fulfill righteousness.

But Christ has fulfilled all righteousness. And God is well pleased with the substitutionary sin-atoning sacrifice and death of his Son by which he satisfied divine justice and put away the sins of his people. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. That is, God's justice was satisfied on our behalf by the sacrifice of his son, and it could never have been satisfied in any other way. God the Father is well pleased with his son's heavenly intercession.

He intercedes in heaven for us, and the Father forgives our sins, because the Son intercedes for us. He's well pleased with the providential rule of His Son. His Son, as He was on this earth, always doing His Father's will. So, as He rules in heaven, He's always doing His Father's will. Those things which please His Father, and those things which honor Him. So that in all His providential dispositions, in all His providential works, God the Son pleases God the Father as our mediator, fulfilling his purpose and his will. And God the Father shall be well pleased with the results of his Son's covenant engagements and his mediatorial rule. When the end comes, he'll present the kingdom to the Father. And he'll say, Lo, I and the children which thou hast given me. He'll take Bobby Estes and he'll present him holy and and unapprovable impulses. And God Almighty will look at Bobby Estes and say, I'm well pleased.

I'm well pleased. Can you get a hold of that? This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Now hear this third word. Hear ye him. God the Father is well pleased with us for Christ's sake. so that we come to God believing him, and we offer up prayers and sacrifices acceptable and well-pleasing to God by Christ Jesus. That's the only way he'll ever accept us. That's the only way he'll ever accept anything done by us, is as he accepts us in Christ the beloved. And then he says, hear him, hear ye him. With those words, the Father informs us that Christ alone is the great prophet, priest, and teacher in his kingdom. No voice is to be heard in the church and kingdom of God but the voice of Christ. Hear him. Hear his doctrine.

His doctrine is the doctrine of the cross. I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw men unto me. That's his doctrine. That's his doctrine. Oh, when you preach, Ron, you go down there to preach in Sylacauga Sunday, when you get up, start out preaching the cross, stay with the cross, and finish with the cross. That's the message. That's his doctrine.

All the doctrine of Scripture is the doctrine of Jesus Christ being crucified. That's all the counsel of God. See that it's declared continually. I'll go tomorrow, if the Lord willing, and preach at Madisonville, and I'll preach at Danny Franklin on Thursday, as God wills. And I'll tell you what I'll preach. I'll preach his doctrine. The doctrine of Christ crucified.

I've got no other message. That's what God sent us to preach. Hear his invitation. Come unto me. Come unto me. You who are without Christ, hear me now. Listen to me for a minute. Listen to me. There's only one way, only one way You can never be accepted of God. Only one way. Only one way. That's everything. Only through the merits of Christ. And here's his gracious word. Come to me. Come to me. Come. Trust me. Cast yourself on me.

And in Him, you too will be healthy inside of God. Not for your sake. but for his righteous mistake because of his blood and his obedience that God Almighty imputes to you. Now hear his promise. You come to him believing him and he says I'll never condemn you. He says thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee. And he says I am with thee all the way even to the end of the world. And then he says I'll come again and receive you unto myself. that where I am, there you may be also."

And here is commands. Yes, he's a king and a king gives orders. He commands us to be baptized, confessing him. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. That's the reason we do it. If he hadn't commanded it, we wouldn't practice it. He commands us to eat his table. This do in remembrance of me. If he had commanded it, we wouldn't do it. But he has commanded it. And he commands all his people to receive the Lord's table in remembrance of him. He says to you and I, love one another. This is my commandment. Love each other. Love each other. If you can't do anything else, love each other. Love one another. And thus fulfill the whole law of Christ. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Hear ye him." Well, I can't preach it, but if you look at verses 6, 7, and 8, in those three verses, Matthew gives us also a beautiful picture of the experience of grace. Let me just give it to you and we'll move along. And when the disciples heard what the Lord said, what God said concerning Christ, They fell on their face and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them.

Now there's a picture of his sovereign regeneration. He comes. Oh, not with a physical hand. With a hand of mercy and grace, he touches. When he touches, he gives life. He gives life. And when he touched them, he said, arise. You see that? That's his effectual call. Arise. Arise. Come to me. Come to me. And when he says arise, folks don't wait around. They arose. And when they arose, he said, be not afraid. That's his word of assurance and peace. Don't be afraid. No need to be afraid anymore. I've come to you. you come to me."

And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. There is only one object of faith, only one, Jesus Christ the Lord. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God have made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Ron, hold your Sunday morning. There's only one option. Only one to look to. Christ is all our wisdom, all our righteousness, all our sanctification, all our redemption. Look to him alone. Not to the church, not to the baptismal pool, not to the Lord's table, not to a decision, not to a preacher, not to an experience. Look to Christ! He's everything. He's everything. And then in the last part of the chapter, or the last part of this paragraph rather, verses 10 through 13, our Lord explains the ministry of John the Baptist.

His disciples asked him, or verse 9 rather, as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them saying, tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him saying, why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? Now the scribes got that from Malachi chapter 5, chapter 4 rather, verses 5 and 6.

Malachi prophesied Elijah must first come, and when he comes he'll turn the hearts of the father to the children and prepare the way of the Lord. Now read over. Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things. But I say unto you that Elijah is already come, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them.

Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist." Now Malachi prophesied that prior to Messiah's coming, Elijah would come and he would restore all things and prepare the way for the Lord. Our Lord here states plainly that John the Baptist was the Elijah of whom Malachi spoke. so that we don't look literally for Malachi or for Elijah to come from heaven. That's not what Malachi was talking about.

He was talking about John the Baptist having come in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet of God to prepare the way of the Lord. And indeed, like Elijah and John the Baptist, all true gospel preachers are sent from God as forerunners to prepare the way of the Lord. by declaring to men the gospel of God's free, sovereign, saving grace in Christ.

And so the scripture says how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel and bring glad tidings and great joy. Now here's what we learned from the passage. First, God is well pleased with Jesus Christ alone. If you would be accepted of God, you must be found in Christ alone. Secondly, the only object of faith is Jesus Christ alone. And thirdly, all true gospel preachers are sent of God to prepare the way and to point sinners to Jesus Christ the Lord.

Preachers are like that brazen pole, or that pole rather, upon which Moses fashioned the brazen That pole was totally useless. It was totally useless except for one thing. To hold up the circle. That's all the pole was for. And this man and all other preachers are totally useless except for one thing.

To hold up Jesus Christ and Him crucified and say look to Him. Look to Him. That's what we're sent for. And I bid you look to Him. Children of God, whatever your soul needs, look to Christ. He's all in all. And you who are yet without Christ, your soul's needs will be found only in me. Look to Christ and live forever. God help you to do that. Amen. Let's pray together.

Now, our Father, we ask that you will bless the preaching of the word to the hearts of chosen sinners for the glory of your Son. We pray for Hap and Evelyn, for Alberta, for James, and Oma. God, will you be pleased to strengthen and sustain their hearts. We commit them to you, and thank you for the blessed privilege of knowing that our God, our heavenly who loved us and gave his son to redeem us, is too wise to err, too good to do wrong, and too strong to fail. Help us to trust you, to trust you implicitly, and thus to honor you. We pray for these here who know not our God, that you might be merciful to them. Grant life and faith according to your will. for the glory of Christ, I pray. Amen. God bless you. Your distance.