2011-10-09
Training of the Twelve - The Transfiguration :: "Listen to Him!"
Steve Lane

A. Introduction
The transfiguration fits perfectly here
Revealed the Father to then in life relationships, and they learned through...
Then He pulled the religion rug right out from under them and showed them how to live
The barriers to knowing God are many, and Jesus made them consider the full breadth of them
The cross of salvation - the great chasm
The cross of sanctification - Reckon it to be true
The cross of connection - the temple
The cross of abiding - the vine

Hard teaching: Matthew 16: 21 - 22; Matthew 16: 24 - 25

B. The Transfiguration

Matthew 17: 1 - 8; [Mark 9: 2 - 13; Luke 9: 28 - 36]
A foretaste of the future happening of the cross - the glory that will result from His voluntary humiliation and obedience unto death (Philippians 2: 8 - 9)
One of many revelations of the Deity of Christ

C. Listen to Him! [NIV]

In Matthew 17: 5, "My beloved Son with whom I am pleased... listen to Him!, Hear Him."

What were those words that were so difficult, so hard to hear that they required a voice from Heaven, and a glorious sight? "You did not listen, and these words you must hear and receive"
What if someone refuses the cross?
But Peter and the others... not ready just yet to hear and obey
Peter trying to enjoy the aroma of Heaven without the cross bearing
"Listen to Him" is not meant just for these three disciples
Making your way into the presence of God, stopping the furious pace to be satisfied

D. Removing the Veil

Back to John 12: 23 - 26; 2 Corinthians 3: 15
The transfiguration is a glimpse behind the veil of His body

We sense the call is for us, but still we fail to draw near, and the years pass and we grow old and tired in the outer courts of the Tabernacle. What hinders us?

The self sins are self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others
~AW Tozer, The Pursuit of God