Good morning, my name is Matt and one of the pastors here, if you have a Bible, I want to invite me to turn to Mark chapter 9 and we continue our service series on the Gospel according to Mark called the Cross-Shape Life. It's on 10-74, if you're going to be using one of the Bible's that we have, I need to share it, try to be 1,074. Chapter 9 verses 2-13 this morning. Here now God's holy and true word from Mark chapter 9, starting in verse 2. And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves and he was transfigured before them. And his clothes became radiant, intensely white as no one on earth could bleach them. And they're appeared to them in Elijah with Moses and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, grab it, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tenths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And the cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son, listen to him and suddenly looking around they no longer saw anyone with him but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain he charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the son of man had risen from the dead. So they kept a matter to themselves questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him why describe say that first Elijah must come. And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the son of man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written to him. This is the Word of the Word. You prayed me. Father, we give you praise and thanks for gathering us together again this morning. To hear from your Word, sing your praises, to confess things that we believe, to rejoice and forgiveness that we have in Christ. Father, we thank you for your Word and its power. We ask now that your spirit would fill us and give us eyes to see and ears to hear that this would be a time in which you transform us, make us new, make us more like your beloved son. So that we are equipped to run the gospel to our neighborhoods and nations for it is in Jesus name that we pray. So last week we came to a very challenging passage in Mark's gospel because Jesus lays it out as far as what discipleship is. And he tells us in that passage that following him, if we want to come after him, we have to deny himself, take up our cross and follow him. And that is hard to hear. Especially if you think about the fact that life is hard as it is, right? I mean so many of us are struggling with different things and then to think that Jesus calls us to really what is even more difficult. And the Holy Christ doesn't necessarily make life easier. In fact, it very often makes life more difficult. And so to think about that, to think about what we are already struggling with and then think I need to follow Jesus, he is calling me to deny self, that is hard, that requires struggle. To take up my cross, that is hard, that requires struggle. To do these things is a very hard call, it is a very challenging thing. Especially since we live in a culture that is so obsessed with happiness and doing whatever it is going to take to be happy. But that was obviously, even though we know that, we also know that adversity and struggle are the things that really form us. Think about this, David Brooks is a columnist for the New York Times, some of you are probably familiar with his writing. And not too many months ago he wrote this in an article, he said we live in a culture awash in talking about happiness in one three month period last year more than 1,000 books were released on Amazon on that subject. But notice this phenomenon, he says. When people remember the past, they don't only talk about happiness, it is often the ordeals that seem the most significant people shoot for happiness but feel formed through suffering. That is very interesting. And the question is, well what are we being formed into? What is happening as we struggle through these things? What does it mean to be a follower of Christ that faces struggles? And so what we are going to look at this morning, mainly we want to see is that through faith in Christ we can face struggle and suffering head on because we know that they are part of a process that will make us glorious. This is where we are headed this morning as we look at this text. Through faith in Christ we can face our struggles and our suffering head on because we know what they will form us into through the work of Christ. And the work of the Holy Spirit and that is that we are made into something glorious. So if you are going to make an outline, I am going to talk about three things this morning from this text. Number one, seeing the future, number two, adjusting the focus and then number three clarity in the cross. Seeing the future, adjusting the focus and clarity in the cross. Let's jump in. Keep your bottles open. We are going to meet them a lot today. Look at verse two and three. First thing you want to see is this. The Transfiguration revealed Jesus, eternal glory and provides a glimpse of our future glorification. Let's take a look. So after six days Jesus takes Peter, James and John, a few of the disciples with which he had a special relationship. We see that a few times in the scriptures he does things just with them. And he takes them up on this high mountain and it says he has transfigured before them. And verse three, his clothes became radiant, intensely white as no one on earth could bleach them. This was an incredible moment. And think about the scenery. They are up on a mountain. By this time it's probably late in the day. They didn't even start. Our out-of-the-view is probably phenomenal. But then Jesus takes presidents and he is glowing. He is shining. He changes in appearance. That's what that word means to be transfigured. It also means transform. It's the Greek word metamorphosis. You probably hear that metamorphosis. And so Jesus goes through this metamorphosis and he is shining. He's still in human form but he is absolutely brilliant and radiant and Matthew's gospel. It says that his face was shining like the sun. What a moment. You know what's amazing about this? Look at that wording again. He was transfigured. That is in the passive tense. Which means that Jesus didn't go up to me guys and look at this. He went up there and then he was transfigured by God the Father. God the Father really wheeled to these three disciples. Jesus eternal glory, who he truly is. Not only his body but even his clothes are white. They are shining brilliant white. Wider and brighter than anyone could ever bleach them. In fact it literally says that wider than any longerer could bleach them. Any longer man. No oxyclean. No nothing. Nothing out there could get Jesus clothes as bright and shining as they were. And what we're seeing is that he is divine. We're seeing the divinity of Christ. That he is the second person of the Trinity that he is God. And you know this because if you think about the Psalm, Psalm 104 and our call to worship, listen to this speaking about God. Psalm 104. One and two. Bless the Lord. Oh my soul. Oh Lord, my God. You are very great. You are clothed with splinter and matchy. Covering yourself with light as a garment. And so that's what we see is happening here. Jesus' divinity is shining forth. His glory. His magnificent. It's an amazing thing. But here's what's so interesting about this. You see this moment and we see his eternal glory. The glory and he's always happy. He's shining through at this moment. And then we take a look at the way that Paul uses the exact same word that's translated here as transfigured. Paul uses this same word about us. It's pretty interesting. If you look at Romans chapter 12, verse 2, I'll read it. You don't have to turn there. And Romans 12, too, Paul says, do not be conformed to this world. You know this verse. Do not be conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewal of your mind. It's the same verb, same word, being transformed yet again. It's passive. It's something that God is doing as our minds are renewed by the power of the Scriptures. We're being transformed. We're being transfigured. He also says it in 2 Corinthians 3, 18. Paul says this, he says, and we all with unveiled face. We're talking about people who are followers of Christ. The veil's been lifted. We can see that he is the Christ, like the disciples. He says, and we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who gives the Spirit. So there he's talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit's job to make us more holy, to transfigure us, to transform us. And we have a change in appearance that we begin to appear more and more light in Jesus. And that's what's happening. That's what's happening has been followed Jesus. We're being made glorious. And the reality is, if we believe that we're being made glorious, it sends us free to be honest about the fact that we're not done. That we're not yet glorious, that there's still work for God to do. My parents are still to our house. And for several years, they lived in a 15 story of this time of building. And my mom finally said, I'm so sick of taking an elevator when I want to go outside. This is over. Jam, that's my dad's name. She said, this is over, Jam. And so they've not been married. Don't give me your arm. That's way off. The living in the condo is done. That's over. And so what they do is they move out of the condo and they build this house. And so it was built. It was built so much to be built. We were there one time when it was just kind of framed in. And we were there again when it was pretty much done. I still haven't seen a kind of a complete picture yet with a yard and everything. But I stored it out because the builder provided a sketch. And so the whole time all this house is being built. They kept looking at this sketch, which is beautiful. And they knew that that's what's happening. That's what's coming. And every time they looked at it, it just looked like a bunch of boards and walls and whatnot. And they knew that eventually it's going to be a beautiful house. Now think about this. So imagine they're standing there one day and they're talking with the builder. It's just bunch of boards just framing and stuff like that. If some guy was walking his dog, came by and just started yelling, Hey, that's not done yet. That house is not done. You know, FYI, just saying. That house is not done. In that moment, think about this. If they have no idea what this house is going to be like, that might actually be pretty difficult to summer, right? I don't know what's going to happen. But in that moment, they simply look at the sketch. Well, I know it's not done. It's a process and it's going to look like this. And so in that moment, the sketch, what's going to happen takes over. And the worry about not being finished yet is diminished. And if you are a follower of Jesus, those of us who are following Jesus, listen, we are being made like him. He's the picture. That's where we're headed. That's what God is doing. He is transfiguring us into His image. We're going to be like him. We're being made glorious. And that is absolutely huge. We'll never outshine Jesus, but we'll shine. Because we will be made to reflect His glory. John, the John of the Peter James and John standing here. You know what he would later write? The first John three, two, he writes, we are God's children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him. Because we shall see Him as He is. Isn't that amazing? And we're becoming more and more like Him. And so when our faults are exposed, that gives us an opportunity to look at the sketch. Think about this. When we realize we're not as loving as we're supposed to be. We're not as kind as we're supposed to be. Should that crush us? We're not as patient. This is a big one for me. I have very little patience. I'm actually uncomfortable with how long it took me to say that sentence. Okay? But there's even bigger, uglier things, addictions to pornography. Struggling with alcohol. Struggling with concept fighting and having a hard time loving our spouse. And all these things are absolutely crushed if we forget that we're being transformed. God is taking us to that place. Jesus is leading us to our transformation. And so when we are struggling and saying, I can't believe I did it again. That's time to look at the sketch. When we see our faults, we need to look at Jesus and remember our future. One day, you and me are going to shine. We're going to perfectly reflect God's glory. Okay? And that is liberating and huge. So that's seeing our future. Let's talk about adjusting the focus. Let's adjust the focus. Look at verses 4 through 8. Next thing we want to see here is that Jesus is the central figure of the Bible and he must become more and more the central figure of our life's story. That's a big piece of discipleship that our lives begin to revolve more and more around who Jesus is, the person and work of Jesus. Whether we've been following him for 30 days or 30 years or twice that, it's a call to continually more and more make our lives about him. He's the main figure. Look at verse 4 through 8. You have Elijah and Moses are now standing there talking to Jesus. What were they saying? And Peter says to Jesus, a route that we are here. Let us make three tents. One for you. One for Moses. One for Elijah. He didn't know what to say. His cloud comes in overshadows them. And then they hear God the Father's voice. What a moment. This is my beloved son, listen to him. And then suddenly everybody's gone except for Jesus. So you have this scene in Elijah and Moses are there. Peter blurs out this thing about tents. Sponning is a lot of different scholars. Look at that and try to figure out. What was he talking about? Was he thinking about the feast of booze or was he thinking about the tarot? What was he thinking about? And Mark says he didn't know what he was thinking about. He was terrified. He didn't know what else to say. He just sees this magnificent scene. And he's like, Well, tents, let's build tents. It almost doesn't matter what he's saying there. Peter and a human being did not know what to say in that moment. But who did? God. God knows exactly what to say out loud for them to hear in this moment. So they're on a mountain with a cloud. And with two individuals who have been in the Old Testament on mountains in clouds they're going from God. And he's going to speak. This is very covenantal. We're reformed. We're Presbyterian. We're covenantal. We believe in God's promises. And this has the recipe of God's promises. Okay? Being fulfilled. God's faithfulness to us is based on his promises. Not our performance. Okay. And that's huge. And so here's one of these covenantal moments where God is speaking to his people to whom he's made promises. And he's saying, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. Adjust the focus to him. And then everybody disappears. It's just Jesus standing there. What an amazing sight, right? Everything just ends up focusing on Jesus. What are Elijah and Moses doing there? Have you probably heard before? Is a common understanding. And it's right that Moses represents the wall and Elijah represents the prophets. And Jesus is thus fulfillment of the law and the prophets. True, yes, amen. But we can go deeper. I'm going to go deeper. Let's look at the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 4. If you're using one of our Bibles, it's on 1021. You've got to see this. Okay? It's amazing. And I want to show you this in verses 1 through 3. Once again, Malachi chapter 4. 1 through 6 on page 1021. Malachi chapter 4. If you look at verses 1 through 3, God is talking about this great day when He will remove the wicked from the earth and He will redeem the people who fear Him, the people who believe in Him. It's this amazing picture of God's salvation for His people. And then in verse 4, who shows up? Verse 4. Remember the law of my servant, Moses. The statues and rules that I commanded him at Harab. That was a mountain with a cloud there anyway. Okay? And then in verse 5, who shows up? Behold, I will send you Elijah. The prophet before the great, and Austin Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers, unless they come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. And so Elijah here representing not just the prophets, but the prophecy of restoration. That's the picture that Elijah is representing here. A restoration of God's people. That's why in verse 12, when Jesus refers to Elijah, he says, yes, Elijah does come to restore all things. That's the picture of a restored people, father's hearts, inclined to their children, children's hearts, inclined to their father. There are a whole people being redeemed and restored, representing and reflecting the glory of Almighty God. It's such an amazing picture. A whole people made new. And so the Old Testament ends with the reality of the law needing to be fulfilled and a restoration needing to take place. And Moses represents that law. And Elijah represents the prophecy of restoration. Everything disappears in Jesus alone stands. Because he is. The fulfillment of the law. And he is. The reason there will be restoration. Think about this. Looking still in Malachi. I think about this. You've got Moses and the law. Okay. And then you've got Elijah, which is standing for restoration. Then you think of Jesus standing there alone. Jesus who says he came not to abolish but to fulfill the law. And Jesus who says, I am making all things new. That's the central figure of all time. And the more we wrap our lives around that and around him, the more we are transformed and made into his likeness. Hannah and I went to a play. A month or two ago, a circle Christian put on a production of hellow dolly. And I love plays. Plays are really good. Especially down here, the high school plays are like, what, how are they so good? Where I came from, high school plays. And not so awesome. But down here, we've seen these high school plays. And it's like we're teleported to Broadway or something. It is fantastic. And so we saw this production of hellow dolly. And it was really, really awesome. And I love one of my favorite parts of the play is actually the end. And that's not because I don't like plays. Okay. It's because of what happens at the end and the recognition of the star. Like for example, you know, in this case, what happens is somebody will, the play comes to an end, the curtain goes down and then, the supporting cast. The ones who have kind of a small role will come out. Everybody starts clapping. And oh, that guy was a great tree. You're a great tree man. And everybody's clapping. And then the next level comes out. We use the people who have a little more significant of a role. So speaking role, everybody starts talking. Oh, that was so funny. I really like them. Oh, yeah. And then the main characters come out. And they're so excited. And then the lead comes out. The main role. The lead role walks out. And everybody goes crazy. And everybody's clapping. And the audience stands up. And they're throwing roses. And it's this amazing moment. And one of the things I really, really love when the people in the cast suddenly turn and they're clapping and they point to that. As if to say, you're the one. It's you. This whole thing. It's successful or failure based on you. You hold all things together. That's what's happening in this moment. As Jesus being the star of time. Jesus being the hero. Jesus being the one that all the characters, the old testament are saying. He's the one. He's the one that's all the pins. He's the one who will fulfill the law. He's the one who will restore all things. He is the one. And so the more that we realize that we are just supporting cast in this story, the more things change. The more things change. Think about the pressure that takes off. Because if you're a supporting cast to play and you make a mistake, most people probably don't notice, because their eyes aren't strong. And if the star nails it, the whole play is a success. And we're just supporting cast. And Jesus is the incredible success. Jesus is the one. So think about what that does for our guilt. What are you carrying right now? You feel terrible about something you just did. If you're the main character of your story, it's crushing, right? Because you have failed. But if you step outside and Jesus is the center of your story, suddenly that story is not over. And it's a good story. Because even though that you fail, he will fill the law. He will bathe perfectly in your place. Now lips are guilty. Not a piece. What about losing something? What if you lost? What devastating loss have you experienced? If it's all on you, that's a crushing reality. Whatever it is, you're struggling with, whatever you lost. But if he's, if it's his story, and he's the one who's going to bring about the full restoration and make all things new, and the story isn't over, is it? So we need to make him more and more the center of our lives. If Jesus is the lead role, our failures, as supporting cast cannot ruin, ruin the story. If Jesus is, if our life is rotating around him, revolving around him, then even our failures or losses cannot ruin the story. No, it's so critical that we see ourselves as these cast members. That's what Moses and Elijah realized. What were they talking about? What do you think they were talking about? Maybe Moses was talking about the fact that he desperately needed Jesus to fulfill the law because he was a murderer. Moses was a murderer. What did Elijah say? Elijah was saying he desperately needed Jesus to bring the restoration because Elijah had run away from God's call one point as well. They're pointing at him. And God the Father confirms it with his words. This is my son. My beloved son. Listen to him. Amazing. So lastly, let's talk about clarity. Clarity in the cross. The third thing we want to see is, our struggles and suffering are not detours for the Christian. They are the highways and byways on route to glory. Our struggles are suffering are not detours. They are the highways and the byways on route to glory. They're part of how God is making us new. They're part of our transfiguration, our transformation. We need to hear that, or they crush us as well. We can person nine. They're coming down the mountain. Jesus is telling them. Don't tell anybody about me until after I've risen from the dead. Again, he wants them to be silent until they can speak clearly and accurately about who he is. And they're questioning this. Why does he arise from the dead? Why were they questioning that? Well, look at verse 11. Their question really tells us a lot about what's going on in their minds. And they ask him. So they ask Jesus. Why did a scribe say that first Elijah must come? You see, they knew that Elijah needed to come. And then the restoration would begin. And so now, they're starting to think their wheels are turned. Wait a minute. We just saw Elijah. We just saw Elijah. So maybe there is the restoration happening right now. Maybe you don't need to die. Jesus, maybe you don't need to do that suffering and death and rising thing. Anymore, because we just saw Elijah. So the restoration is happening, right? And for that matter, maybe we don't need to do the whole denying of self and taking up of cross. Maybe we can all just skip all that stuff. And the restoration is here, right? And Jesus then ensures that they understand that the cross is not a need towards the destination. Look at 12. And he said that Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written that the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written of him. And Matthew tells us that he also explained to them that this is John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the one that came to represent Elijah and represent the restoration. But what did they do to him? Well, they persecuted him and then they ended up killing him. And that is the same thing that is going to happen to Jesus that that is where he is going. It's not a need to or it's not something to skip, it's his destination. In our struggles and our suffering as followers of Christ are not need to or it's either their part of the plan or the story that culminates in the whole world. And they see how glorious Jesus truly is and then us being like Jesus connects the Son of Man from the book of Daniel. With this other mysterious person mentioned in the Old Testament that no one has ever connected with the Messiah. Here's Daniel 7-13. This is their understanding but Jesus is saying he's the Son of Man. This is what they think. They're remembering what Daniel said. Daniel says, I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds, clouds like our scene here today. Of heaven there came one like the Son of Man, Jesus calls himself the Son of Man. And he came to the ancient of days and was presented. Here's Jesus before God the Father. It's all right here. This is the scene. And so him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages could serve him. His dominion is never lasting dominion which will not pass away on his kingdom one. That shall not be destroyed. So that's what they're thinking. Here it is. Jesus rule. Do your thing. But Jesus wants to connect them with the Son of Man suffering. And so he is really bringing in what Isaiah said about God's suffering servant in Isaiah 52. Would you turn there with me? Isaiah 53, if you're using one of our vials, it's on 780. I want you to hear this. This is what Jesus said. This is his destination. Isaiah 53, it's on 780 if you're using our vials. Listen to this. This is where it is written of this Son of Man. Okay? Son of Man is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 starting in verse 1. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised and we esteemed him not surely. He has borne our griefs and carry our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisers that brought us peace. And with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have come straight. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed. And he was afflicted and he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. Like a sheep that before and it shears his silence so he opened not his mouth. Think of that. But Jesus knew this is his destination. This is where he was headed. And the reality is he also knew that after that there would be resurrection. And there would be restoration. And there would be a people sin. So he knows that glory is to follow the sun. And the reality is Jesus root to everlasting dominion and glory went through the cross. And yours and my journey towards being like Jesus also go through what the Puritans used to call the crosses and losses. The very difficult things of life. So these things are not lead to us. So we follow Jesus through the pain. Whatever it is. That gut-wrenching pain. Jesus is saying to you today come follow me through that. Through the pain. His suffering ended in glory. And so will. If you're a follower of Christ. Own this. Own the fact that you're going to be made. You're going to be in glory. That happens primarily by us. Centering our focus of life on Christ and realizing that we go through these difficult things as part of the process. And as one day we will see him as he is, we shall also be like him, John says. Do well on that. And that changes everything. And we ask for your mercy that you would empower us to believe these things which we have seen today. And we ask that you forgive us for the ways that we are constantly trying to make ourselves a center of our story. And open our eyes to the damage that continues to do. And help us to follow a heart after the one who has called us to a difficult life. A life that adds things in our culture and our country continue to change and hostility towards you and your sovereign rule. Continue to grow hostile towards you Lord. We need strength. We're going to need more and more of it every day. So bless us with an ability to see our coming transformation. The one day we're made like Jesus. Bless us with the ability to make him the center of our existence. And bless us with the ability to follow him through the pain. For your glory, for our good, in Jesus' name we pray.