5/17/26 Sunday School - Pastor Charlie Branch - Meadows Baptist Church

All right, good morning everybody. Uh

good to see you in the house of the

Lord. We'll go ahead and get started

Sunday school this morning. Thank you

for being here and uh appreciate the

beautiful day the Lord's given us to be

in the house of God and uh he's been

good to us. Thank him for that. And uh

get my calendar pulled up here.

I trust you've had a good week this

week. And I want to start off this

morning with saying uh thank you to

everybody that came out yesterday and

helped us u with the uh visitation there

uh in town at Springfest. And we was

able to hand out uh pretty much every

invite that we had and they gave out

some waters and sold some snow cones

yesterday. So to help buy the team's uh

new shirts for youth camp and so um what

did we end up with out of that? About

about $300.

Praise the Lord for that. And pretty

much take care of their camp, getting

them some new medicine shirts for camp.

So, we're going to try to get that going

in the next few weeks. But I do

appreciate everybody that came out and

uh the young people did a fantastic job.

And uh and so it was a great blessing. I

appreciate all the effort that was put

into that on yesterday and appreciate

God blessing it and helping it. And uh

do remember uh coming up here um got

normal services today um this morning,

then this evening, Wednesday night

church, and then next Sunday will be our

family and friends day. So remember

that. Be inviting people out to family

and friends day. And uh um looking like

next Sunday we'll I'll let you know more

about it um uh when it gets here, which

actually I'm probably going to let you

know about it today because I'm not

going to be here this coming Wednesday.

So, um, what we're going to be doing on

family and friends day, this this could

change, but want to let you know now.

Um, we're planning on using the portico

out here in the front, um, for where all

the music's going to be. By grace will

be out here, and then we'll have

preaching out there. And so, what we're

going to do is we're going to rope off

this front section of the parking lot

over here. And uh you'll still be able

to come in this entrance, but from the

middle parking spaces down where Richard

um parks and then those parking spaces

up is going to be blocked off and all of

that will be seating area. And so um

those that park handicapped can come

around the building. My parking our

parking spaces will be open. Um all

these on the front will be open and then

we'll leave all those down on the lower

side open as well. But we're going to

have chairs out there and tents out

there. The reason we want to use the

portico is they're calling I think what

do we say about 75% chance of rain um

next Sunday and so we didn't want to

have it back there. We're going to try

to keep everything right here in this

general vicinity. So if it does get

really really bad um we can just come

straight from out there back in here and

it not be such a big ordeal. The sound

equipment everything be a whole lot

easier to deal with. And so we're going

to do that. We'll rope it off out here

in the front. We'll we'll still have the

the um the games and things like that

nature for the little kids. They'll be

over here and then all the food will be

in the alley over here. So remember that

on next Sunday um if you would please.

And so pray about that. Pray God will

bless it. Brother Don Anderson will be

here with us that day as well as by

grace. They'll be here singing and he'll

be with us here that evening and uh then

they'll be singing for us that afternoon

as well. So, um the service that day

will start at 4:30 in the evening. So,

remember that we'll have morning just

like normal and then the evening service

will be uh at 4:30. Probably not have

any choir singing that night just due to

it being outside. So, uh remember that

uh that evening if you would please and

uh get me other dates up here. Youth

Sunday coming up on the 31st and uh we

we will have choir practice if Miss

Melie you got the 27th available that

Wednesday night. Okay. We'll have choir

practice for the youth choir on the

27th, that evening, Wednesday evening.

Uh so remember that. And then youth

Sunday the 31st. And uh whatever job you

want for that, come see me. We'll get

you put in the spot for that. I'll say

this, don't just wait till Youth Sunday.

Amen. I know there ain't much of our

young people here today, but you don't

got to wait till Youth Sunday to do

that. They can do it anytime. I'll give

them a job anytime they want one.

Somebody say amen.

But the 31st, youth Sunday, June 1st,

ladies fellowship, and then Thursday

there, the 4th will be men's fellowship.

Bible school be coming up the 14th

through the 17th. And so remember that,

be praying about that. Praying God would

bless it and everything come together

well for that. And then homecoming and

Father's Day on the 21st. Be praying

about these days coming up if you would

please. And remember all of these in

prayer. Okay. And is anything else?

new cleaning schedule out in the forer

um for uh the rest of the month of May

into June. So remember that as well as

you leave today and uh we will be having

visitation pretty regular coming up and

I know everybody's busy and so but we'll

be having visitation there especially

into June. Definitely going to go those

two weeks before Bible school and going

to try to go one time a week maybe two

just uh make sure you're out inviting

people and inviting young people. We was

very did was able to do great work

yesterday. We probably had I think we

had 150 of those flyers that you made

and we gave out every one of those and a

bunch of our church tracks, Bible uh

school invites and uh every water bottle

had a door hanger church track on it

with a gospel on the back of it. And so

no telling what God will do um with what

was done yesterday. But I do appreciate

all the labor that went into that on

yesterday. Um prayer request this

morning. got several here I want to make

mention of. Um

if you would please this morning

remember a friend of mine um Dan Snow.

Him and his brother Dallas um was my

best friend growing up. I found out this

past week that his dad passed away

unexpectedly. I guess it was what

Thursday morning. Thursday morning. 62

years old. And uh I don't know exactly

what um the cause of death was, but uh

he died. It was very unexpected. And so,

um, if y'all would please pray for that

family today. They're going to be having

his funeral service. Um, the viewing's

at 1:00, funeral's at two. Um, back up

where I'm from. So, I'm going to

hightail it out here right after church

this morning. I won't let the worship

service crowd know that. But, y'all just

know that cuz I'm going to have to get

out and go to that this afternoon. So,

if y'all would please remember them in

prayer. Um, continue to remember Miss

Anne and Chubby, their family,

Michelle's passing. Continue to pray for

them. if you would please remember them

and uh the kids and her Miss Michelle's

I guess son and daughter I guess and

remember them in prayer as well. Pray

for them and I pray God would be with

them. Let's continue to pray uh for all

these others that's been uh several

several had procedures. Miss Janet was

looking another procedure coming up.

Several others um got things going on.

Miss Ola, how you feel this morning?

>> Good. It's good to see you.

>> Amen. We've been praying for you and

appreciate you. It's good to see you

this morning. And so, several other

requests to prayer. Let y'all update us

on those. Anybody got one they want to

update? Prayer. Crest praise. Yes,

ma'am.

>> That name again, please. M A.

>> All right, let's remember that request

this morning.

>> Someone else. Yes, ma'am.

>> Oh goodness.

All right, let's remember that

>> someone else this morning. Yes, ma'am.

>> When When they going to do that,

brother?

Oh,

>> they cutting you all to pieces, ain't

they? Bless your heart. Just remember

that in prayer. Someone else this

morning. Yes, sir.

>> Brother Donald.

>> All right.

>> Did you hear anything from Charles and

Alice?

>> They were home yesterday.

>> They were. Okay. All right. Let's

continue to pray for Sherry and her

family.

Any news? Good, bad, good, good, bad on

Alice and Charles.

>> She's got

>> Okay,

let's remember them in prayer.

For those of you that that weren't here

when I first came, um Charles and Alice,

um they haven't been able to be here

much really in probably a year, I guess.

They come just ever so often, but just

due to very bad health. But when I first

came down, um they they had a a little

trailer before me and Abby got moved

down here. They had a little trailer

down there. They would let us stay in on

weekends and let us stay in on Sunday

weekends, things of that nature. And

when we had meetings and stuff, we would

stay down here during the week. And they

never charged us a dime for that. Never

asked us for anything. They just let us

stay there. And it was such a great

blessing to us. And they've been a

blessing. And do pray for them. Pray

that God would help and touch them. Both

of them got health needs. They're very

private people. They won't tell you if

they wouldn't tell you if they was

dying, but just pray for them. Pray that

God would would help them and uh be with

them during these days. So, is there any

other requests of prayer this morning?

All right, let's pray about that. Pray

God will touch and help her. Amen. Go

ahead, sister.

>> Yes.

Oh goodness.

>> Yeah.

Yeah. Let's definitely remember that in

prayer.

that family remember that this morning.

Someone else. Yes.

must remember that

it's been been burdened for your family

here late brother Matt and Spar missing.

I talked to him there a few weeks ago

and babies scared of sickness. So let's

pray pray pray for them and the others

pray God will help them. I tell you

what, it don't take absolutely nothing

anymore for people to get scared. And uh

we need to pray God will keep us all

strong. And you say, "Is that a mark

against him?" No, I'll be honest with

you, probably this probably the

strongest Christian I've ever met is my

wife's pastor. And him and his wife when

CO came through, they about just shut

down um through CO. Most faithful, most

faithful man I've ever been around in my

life. But but that sickness really

really got to them. And I'll tell you

the reason why it did. Their choir

leader, young man by the name of

Jeremiah, he was probably I guess what

was he 34 32 um killed him. Co killed

him. And uh when that happened, they

just and uh I tell you it's easy once

you go through that. It's hard to ever

get out of that because I know it's not

it's not constantly like that. But once

you've been through that, it takes a

long time to get get back out of that.

And so let's pray. There's several

families here I think about that was

their reason. They had a little child

and then out of that fear of sickness,

they haven't come back. And u you know,

I think that's valid for some point in

time, but we ought not ever let

something keep us out forever. And uh

let's let's pray. Pray for them. If you

would please pray that God be with them

and help them. Amen. Someone else got a

prayer request this morning. Yes, ma'am.

Yes.

>> Amen. Let's remember that. And uh let's

remember Don and Eric this morning. If

you would please pray for them and pray

God watch over them. Um they're they're

traveling today. So pray for them. If

you would please pray God be with them

and protect them and uh be with them and

help them. Amen. Someone else got a

request of prayer this morning.

Tell me his name again. Sister

Hollister. Let's remember that.

someone else this morning before we

pray.

>> Yeah,

do that. Just remember that

funerals can be a ministry.

and uh seen a lot of people get saved um

down through the years. Not in funerals.

I saw I only time I ever seen that

happens when we had Mark Southern's

funeral um up there at I guess that's

Colonial I guess is where that was at.

But I've seen a lot of people get saved

as a result of funerals. And let's do

pray about that. Remember that. Let's

pray for the lost. Amen. I know we got

every one of us got somebody on our

heart. one I've been praying about

coming in this church um several months

ago and ain't been back since. Let's

pray about that and stay burdened. Stay

burdened about it and don't go to sleep

on God on that. Stay burdened by it and

uh pray continue to pray for those that

are lost without God. Pray for those

that are not right with God. Amen. Pray

God will help them and touch them. Amen.

Is there any other requests of prayer

this morning?

>> Amen.

Amen.

>> Someone else. Anything else before we

pray?

All right. Yes, sir.

>> Mac up. You said okay.

All right. Just remember that.

All right. Anything else this morning?

>> All right. Let's remember our

missionaries. Pray for them and continue

to pray about uh the tabernacle

children's home uh ministry. Pray about

what the Lord would have us to give

there. I've got a number on my heart.

Probably going to ask the men about it

tonight in prayer room and then we'll

present that to you this evening if the

men agree with us in the prayer room

tonight. So, um remember that. Um, and

if you want to give, I had some ask me

uh maybe if um if we do take up some

money to send there to let them know um

that they would give towards that. And

so we may take up a special offering

after the service tonight and just send

that down with an offering um from the

church uh to help with that. So if you

would just pray about that today

throughout the course of the day and

pray God would have his way in that. All

right. All right. Pray for the service

today. Pray for the singing and the

choir specials. Pray everything be said

and done. Glorify the Lord. Pray the

Lord to help me today. I need his help.

And I pray God to give us grace. Amen.

All right. If all hearts are free, let's

come and pray. All right. Thank you for

being here this morning.

Father, thank you for this day. Thank

you for your grace and your mercy, for

your love. Thank you for your

blessed mercy towards us, Lord. Your

presence, God, that you've given us in

such abundance, God. Thank you, Father,

for these hearts that's come out, Lord,

to be a part of this church service

today. God, I realize we're nothing

without thee. God, I thank you today,

Father, that with you, Lord, Paul said,

we can do all things. I can do all

things through Christ, which

strengthenth me. And God, I pray today,

Lord, that you would strengthen us,

Lord, that the love of God would be shed

abroad in our hearts today, God, that we

would enjoy fellowship, but Lord, that

we would worship. We would praise and

honor you today and glorify your name

because, Lord, you're worthy, Lord, of

everything, God, we deserve nothing, but

God, you have given us everything, Lord,

and we thank you for that today, God.

Thank you for these people. I pray you

bless each one of them or love them

dearly. And God, I pray that you bless

them for their coming to the house of

God today. ask you God you would help us

today get all glory unto yourself and

may all your will be done Lord and

everything that's said done Lord

everything that's sung Lord the

offerings that'll be taken God I pray

that you would get glory out of those

father help us to give with a willing

heart father and a ready mind god I ask

you father uh this morning Lord that you

would uh minister grace Lord to each

heart father as the word of God will be

shared today I pray father for those

lord that are sick and afflicted this

morning god that you be with them lord

any not able to be with us today cause

the different illnesses God and things

we pray you'd help them today we pray

for those God in our church uh Lord that

are sin sick father not right with you

God that you would help them draw them

back to a place of nearness God close to

you again that I pray father you remove

the blindness Lord on their eyes God for

those that are lost Lord that they would

come to a place of repentance and be

saved by the grace of God I pray for

these young people God that you would

put your hedge about them protect them

their minds their purity that I pray

that you would give them strength and

wisdom uh Lord for their days ahead God.

We realize Lord that they need to give

the best of their life Lord to you these

young years God that they would submit

all to you Lord and do everything that

you asked them to and be willing and

obedient Father for whatever God you

call upon them to do. God, I ask you,

Father, today that you continue to bless

and put your hand on our church. And

God, as we go forward, I pray, Father,

you'd be exalted, Lord. That you would

be uh worshiped in our midst today, God,

that you would be praised and extolled

for who you are and for all that you've

done. God, we ask you please to help us

today and get all glory to yourself. And

we pray that Jesus would be lifted up

today, Father, and many sinners would be

saved as a result of these services. And

we thank you so much for loving us.

Thank you, God, for the blood for

Calvary. Thank you, God, Lord, for all

that you've done for us. You've been so

good. We give you praise today, Lord. We

pray once again, Lord, for every

request, for every lost loved one, God,

for every procedure, God, for every

situation, Lord. We pray, God, that you

would give grace for these that are

berieved. L. We pray for them today,

God, that you would help them and be

with them today. Well, we love you.

Thank you so much for loving us. We ask

all this in Jesus name. Amen.

All right.

Appreciate that, sister. Amen.

All right. Mark's Gospel chapter number

nine.

Mark's Gospel, chapter number nine.

And uh Lord willing, unless he changes

my mind, this is where we'll be for

today. And so if you want to put your

bookmark there, we'll be there all day

today, Lord willing. And uh

I want to deal with a subject out of

this chapter. Something um I've preached

about a lot in passion. I don't know

I've ever preached a message on it here

at the church, but I want to talk to you

out of chapter nine here about the

record of the transfiguration of Christ.

And we'll read a few verses here and

then we'll talk about it a little bit

this morning. and uh and then we will

move on through the service. And I just

want to say I'm glad I'm saved this

morning.

>> Amen. And uh I'm not going to hell.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. And it's just good. I'm I'm on the

right. You know, I've heard people say

my whole life, you know, well, it's just

good to be on the right side of the

dirt. And uh you know, that's true. I'm

I'm thankful for that. But I'll tell you

this, uh man, I'd rather be on the wrong

side of the dirt saved than on the right

side of it lost. Amen. And uh man, I'm

telling you, God has been good and I

appreciate his blessings. I appreciate

each one of you. Let's look here. Mark

chapter number 9 verse number one. The

Bible says, "And he said unto them,

Jesus speaking, 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." And after six days

Jesus talkth with taketh with him Peter

and James and John and leadth them up

into an high mountain apart by

themselves. And he was transfigured

before them. And his raignment became

shining exceeding white as snow. So as

no fuller on earth can white them. There

appeared unto them Elias with Moses. And

they were talking with Jesus. And Jesus

answered and said, or Peter answered and

said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for

us to be here. Let us make three

tabernacles, one for thee, and one for

Moses, and one for Elias. For he wish

not what to say, for they were so

afraid." And uh I'll just put this in

there. When you don't know what to say,

what do you do?

Amen. Verse seven. And there was a cloud

that overshadowed them. And a voice came

out of the clouds, saying, "This is my

beloved son. Hear him." And suddenly,

when they had looked round about, they

saw no man anymore, save Jesus only with

themselves. And 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 they kept that saying

with themselves, questioning one with

another what the rising from the dead

should mean. And they asked him, saying,

"What say the scribes uh that Elias must

first come?" And he answered and told

them, "Alias verily cometh first, and

restoreth all things, and how it is

written of the Son of Man, that he must

suffer many things, and be said it not.

But I say unto you that Elias is indeed

come, and they have done unto him

whatsoever they listed, as it is written

of him." Father, I ask you for a few

moments that you would help us this

morning. Give us wisdom beyond

ourselves. speak to us and through us.

Get glory unto yourself and we'll thank

you for what you do. Bless these people

and Lord, we give you thanks for it all.

We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. This

chapter introduces us to this moment in

history where Jesus is transfigured.

Now, I like this text because there's a

lot of implications here. And I'm going

to try not to deal with much of that

today in Sunday school just because it's

really um prophetic in nature and deals

with, you know, a lot of preaching can

be done out of this text. But I want to

just give you face value here. It's just

some truths I feel like God's laid on my

heart in this text. Of course, Jesus

here is uh has brought six days. The

Bible says there in verse two, he's he's

took with him Peter, James, and John.

These three men are labeled as the sons

of thunder in scripture. And the Bible

says that he leads them up into a high

mountain apart by themselves. And then

it says, "And he was transfigured before

them." Now that word transfigured there

literally translates in the Greek over

to the word metamorphize or

metamorphosis is that word. And we think

about uh you remember in school when

they taught you that process uh in

science create or some I had creation

science some different things that it

would be in but it's a a matter of

science and they teach you that

metamorphosis is the picture of a a

caterpillar as it would grow up in go up

into a cocoon and spin itself into that

thing and then it would come out what

does it come out as a a butterfly right

and so that that image that

transfiguring here in the text is

basically expressing to us the same

image that Christ here in the text. Let

me let me say this, okay? And I'll I

will move on here with the thought. But

what this was to do was to exalt him him

before them. Now, we know basically the

life of Christ, you'll find there's um

at least three different instances where

God speaks from heaven. When we go back

to Matthew chapter number three, there

at the beginning when Jesus is being

baptized in the Jordan River by John,

the Bible says that the Holy Spirit uh

descends in in bodily form like unto a

dove. And then God speaks from heaven,

this is my beloved son in whom I am well

pleased. And so there is that first in

instance where God speaks from heaven in

the life of Christ. And then we look

over to the last instance in the in the

gospel of John 12 when Jesus is praying.

You know he he makes this famous

statement except the corn of wheat

fallen to the ground and died abideth

alone. And then he goes down through the

list uh talking about how he's going to

the cross. He is headed to suffer. And

he gets to the end of the statement that

he makes in John 12 and he makes this

statement. He says, "Father, glorify thy

name." And God speaks back from heaven

and says,"I have both glorified it and

will glorify it again." And so what that

means is is that God when he spoke that

last time to Christ on this earth, he

was saying, "All right, you I have been

glorified. You have glorified your

father in your life." And when he says,

"I have will both glorifi," he said,

"I've both glorified it and will glorify

it again." And he was saying, I've

you've been glor you've glorified me in

your life, but I will be glorified as

well in your death. And that's why Jesus

prays the way that he does in John 17

that the father is to be exalted. And so

in this text though, this deals with the

emphasis here for his disciples. Now,

it's interesting to me, he has three

disciples here. And then you notice in

the text there is three men that appear.

There's Elias, Moses, and Jesus. And

this matter of transfiguration, it was a

exalted position of Christ. The Bible

says he takes them up into a high

mountain. And so he is exalted. He goes,

they go, he takes them to the highest

point that they can get to. But then he

goes a little bit further than that. And

he, the Bible says he is transfigured

before them. And out of him being

exalted in verse two, he is encompassed.

In verse three, the Bible says his

raignment became shining and see

exceeding white as snow. And so the

brightness of his glory is expressed.

Now I don't know that this is a full

revelation to them of who Christ is in

his eternal state, in his exalted glory,

but I do know that his his appearance

was changed. I do know that when Christ

went up on this mountain, he was

transfigured in the brightness of his

glory. I think he's definitely a looking

a lot closer to the son of god that he

looked in heaven before he came down in

this text because he looks different

than he does in the flesh. And so he's

encompassed by glory of course this rad

radiating light uh off of him. The Bible

says it be he became shining his

raignment became shining exceeding white

as the snow. Mark describes it here. So

as no fuller on earth can wipe them that

that fuller there is a launderer a

cleaner of garments. And he says there's

not a single one that could make a

garment as white as the garment that

Christ was wearing in this text. And so

he is exalted. He is encompassed in

light. But then there is this expression

here. Of course the Bible says there in

verse four. Look what your Bible said.

And there appeared unto them Elias with

Moses and they were talking with Jesus.

Now, there's a lot of different things

that can be said about this. All right?

But basically, what I want you to get

out of this this morning is that out of

their transfiguration, there comes a a

period of talking here. There's a

dialogue that takes place between Elias

and Moses. Now, there's a representation

that you need to get out of this. When

we think of Moses, what do we think

about? We think about the law, don't we?

The first five books of the Bible, the

pen, the penitute. Amen. That's the the

law. And so then when we think about

Elijah, he is a prophet there, the book

of first kings, he comes on the scene

there about chapter number 181 17 in

there. And Elijah is that prophet of God

that appears uh to prophesy. And the

Bible says that he turned the the rain

off from heaven for a space of three and

a half years. So there's an emphasis

here. Moses represents the law. Elijah

represents the prophets. And then the

Bible says, "And they were talking with

Jesus." So we have the law here speaking

to Jesus. We have the prophets here

speaking with Jesus. But you say,

"Preacher, what did they talk about?" I

ask myself this question. But the Bible

answers the question. You know, I I

found this the most the most helpful

thing when studying the Gospels is is is

looking at them cross references and

going to the other text where it talks

about the same thing. Listen to what

Luke says about this instance in Luke

chapter number 9.

Luke chapter 9 verse number 31. What

Luke 9 · chapter mention

were they talking about? The law is

present. Moses is present. Elijah is

present. The prophets are present there.

The Bible says in verse number 30 of

Luke chapter 9, this same account, verse

Luke 9 · chapter mention

29, let's look there first. Luke 9:29.

Luke 9:29

And as he prayed, the fashion of his

countenance was altered, and his

reignment was wide and glistering. And

behold, there talked with him two men,

which were Moses and Elijah, who

appeared in glory, and spake, notice

this, and spake of his decease, which he

should accomplish at Jerusalem. So, this

conversation is obviously not veiled.

I'll say these these individuals are not

veiled because Peter and John uh let me

put it this way. I don't know that Peter

and John and James knew who Moses and

Elijah was when they were up there on

the mountain. But I do know this, they

knew when they recorded this text. And

so whether or not Jesus told them, we

don't know. But I, you know, I I

personally believe that they knew who

they were. I think that the radiance

that shined about them, it was pretty

well evident. Maybe something about

their appearance signified that one was

Moses and one was Elijah. But I'll say

what interests me about this is that

they're all talking about his death. And

there's an emphasis here, this

expression that I mentioned. I want you

to get this. All right. The law and the

prophets are talking with Jesus about

his death. Now, what do we think about

when we think about Christ's death? We

think first of all that the law is what

required death to come into the world

because the Bible says without the

shedding of blood, there is what? No

remission of sin. So the requirement for

death came by the law. So Moses being

present here reveals the need for the

sacrifice of Christ. But then you think

about Elijah being present here.

Elijah's talking with Jesus and Moses is

talking with Jesus. And so they are both

conversating. The law revealed the need

for Christ's death, but the prophets

revealed the person and the time of

Christ's death. They revealed that his

death would indeed take place. They

revealed that it would be the Messiah,

the one that would come, that he would

suffer and he would die. Isaiah 53

describes to us that that suffering.

Elijah himself believed and prophesied

of this very event. Malachi speaks of

this instance, and we'll deal with that

in a in just a minute out of this text.

But the law and prophets are

conversating with Christ about his

death. So, a lot of conjecture we could

we could make about this. Okay? you

know, um, you know, in my mind, I think,

well, Christ comes to the earth, you

know, some, well, some 2,000 years after

Moses was here, and then Elijah comes on

the scene, probably a thousand or so

years after Moses. And then it's

another, you know, 7 6 7 800 until

Christ comes. You know, maybe they had

some type of fellowship, you know, down

there in the heart of the earth where

they were at before. You know, the Bible

says that they were in the heart of the

earth. It's called what? paradise,

right? Those saints of old David, you

know, Adam is there and and Noah is

there and Abel is there. They're in

paradise with God. And so maybe they've

had some conjecture before up to this

point. I'm I'm not I'm just food for

thought, okay? It's what it is. All

right? Take it or leave it. It ain't

worth anything. But it's we're just

talking about it. Okay? But maybe

they've had some conjecture up to it

about this point. But in this text, they

come back talking about this instance

again. Now what is Jesus purpose? What

if what do we always say Christ primary

purpose was being on this earth was to

die. And so when they came to this earth

the conversation was not about his

ministry. It was not about his miracles

but the conversation was about his

substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of

mankind. And the law and the prophets

throughout the Old Testament indicate

this matter. But then you've got verse

number five. And I, you know, I can con

kindly compare myself to it in this

instance because we really don't know

what they were talking about other than

his death. We know they were speaking of

his death that he should accomplish. But

notice verse 5. The Bible says, "And

Peter answered and said to Jesus,

"Master, it's good for us to be here."

Now,

this is I mean that's that's a true

statement. Wouldn't you agree? These

three men there are standing there

seeing the son of God exalted. They are

they are seeing him encompassed by

glory. The expression is seen. The law

and the prophets there are witnessing

under the gospel. Jesus the person of

the gospel himself the person of the

faith that should come. And Peter says

it's good for us to be here. The

expression they have they are taken in

but they do not understand all that is

taking place in this text. And so out of

this conversation that Jesus and Moses

and Elijah are having, Peter and these

other men are standing looking on. And

this is what he says. It's good for us

to be here. Let us make three

tabernacles. One for thee and one for

Moses and one for Elijah. Now when you

think about a tabernacle, what do you

think about? We my mind always goes back

to the tabernacle in the wilderness. All

right? And we and we think about the

emphasis that God placed on that thing.

The honor that was there, Moses, the way

in which it was supposed to be carried,

the way it was adorned, all the honor

that encompassed, what that tabernacle

represented was because of what was holy

on the inside of that.

>> And that tabernacle was a house. It

literally means a a building, a house to

dwell in. And when Peter says, "Let us

make three tabernacles," he's saying,

"All right, we need to honor the

holiness of these three men with a

house." That's basically what he's

saying. We need to honor these three

men. We've got the law, we've got the

prophets, and we've got Jesus Christ,

the Messiah. And we need to make a house

for all three to honor their holiness.

Now, in a sense, we would say that's

commendable. But you understand when we

look at this text, we realize who is

primary here. Verse six, the Bible says,

"For he whis not what to say, for they

were so afraid." Now, I'll say this. He

he was he was pretty, you know, he was

pretty straight. He was pretty right

about what he said, but his eyes were in

the wrong place. Felt like it was

probably the best thing he could have

said at the time, the best thing he

could have done was say nothing at all

and listen. But the Bible says after he

has spoken this word concerning this

tabernacle, the Bible says in verse 7,

there was a cloud that overshadowed them

and a voice came out of the cloud

saying, "This is my beloved son. Hear

him." And so I personally believe here

in the text again there is another

instance of God revealing the Trinity.

Again, you say, "What is that?" Well,

notice the verse verse 7. is a cloud

often representing the presence of the

Holy Spirit. When you look back in the

Old Testament in Solomon's temple, the

Bible says the cloud descended. When he

had offered his prayer, that cloud

descended. The glory of the Lord filled

the house of the temple of the Lord. The

Bible says, "And so the cloud

representing the presence of the spirit

of God and a voice came out of the cloud

saying, "This is my beloved son." So

there is the cloud representing here the

spirit of God, the voice representing

the father. In verse number eight, the

Bible says, "And suddenly when they had

looked round about, they saw no man

anymore

save Jesus only with themselves." And so

God pinpoints the message of the gospel

in this text. You say, "What is that?"

Well, let me give you this. All right?

What did Paul when he talked to the

church at Galatia? When he wrote the

epistle to the Galatians, he he he he

said, "Oh foolish Galatians, who hath

bewitched you?" I mean, and he and he's

telling them they're trying to accompany

the works of Judaism

with the grace of the gospel. And

they're trying to blend the two. And

what are the works of Judaism founded

upon? It's found upon two things.

Founded upon the law and the prophets.

Well, in this text, God has taken the

fathers of what would be Christianity.

God, Jesus looked at Peter and he said,

"Upon this rock, I'll build my church."

Of course, he was talking about himself,

but we know that Peter was the little

stone. Amen.

>> His name went from Simon to Peter, that

little stone. And God would use him to

begin the ministry of the church. And

when we think about Peter, James and

John, the three most influential figures

in the early church apart from the

apostle Paul. And so when he says in

verse number eight, then when when Mark

records, suddenly when they had looked

round about, they saw no man anymore.

This is what God was saying. God was

saying to them, "All right, there is a

the the the law and Moses, they they

converse with Christ, but the but at the

end of the day, they have a

relationship, but Christ is preeminent."

>> And what this comes back to in the text

is this. Peter says, "Let's make a

tabernacle. We're going to honor the

holiness of these men with a house." God

says, "All right, y'all need to get out

of the way.

Jesus is there. You honor his holiness

>> and you're going to be the house.

>> You say, "How is that?" Well, you

remember what Paul said? He said, "What?

Know you not that you are the temple of

God,

>> right?

>> The Holy Ghost lives on the inside." And

so, this is the introduction. I Now, I

know the church is not mentioned. It was

a mystery that's revealed to Paul, but

the foundational truth of who Christ is

to the believer is founded in this text.

The Bible says when they looked round

about, they saw no man anymore save

Jesus only with themselves. Now, it must

have been a wonder to behold Moses and

Elijah. But the truth is the greatest

wonder was the one who had been with

them all the time. You say, "How is

that?" Well, Peter went on later to

record in his epistle, he said this. He

talked about this very instance and he

said we have a more sure word of

prophecy

that you do well that you take heed.

Let's let's turn there and look at that.

All right.

Turn with me to the book of second

Peter.

Second Peter chapter 1.

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Listen to what Peter had to say about

this event. Arguably the greatest, one

of the greatest events in history.

Peter, James, and John beheld

themselves. And listen to what he says

in verse number 16, 2 Peter 1. He says,

"For we have not followed cunningly

devised fables when we made known unto

you the power and coming of our Lord

Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of

his majesty. For we received from God

the Father honor and glory." Isn't that

interesting? Honor and glory. What was

Peter saying? Let's build a house. Let's

honor you for your holiness. But notice

the text. 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. Verse 19, we

have also a more sure word of prophecy,

where unto you do well that you take

heed as unto a light that shineth in a

dark place until the day dawn and the

day star arise in your hearts. Knowing

this first, you say, preacher, what is

the more sure word of prophecy? Notice

verse 20. Knowing this first, that no

prophecy of scripture is of any private

interpretation. Verse 21. For the

prophecy came not in old time by the

will of man, but holy men of God spake

as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

You say, "Preacher, how does that

correlate with what we've just read?"

Well, remember who we were talking

about? The law and the prophets. When

you sum up the Old Testament, what do

you have? I know we have history books.

I know we have Ruth. I know we have

Esther. I know we have those other

books. But when you sum up the Old

Testament, what do you have? You have

the law and the prophets. And so when

you put Jesus in the mix, what do you

have? You have the complete word. Jesus

is introduced. Matthew chapter 1. The

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

law said that he needed to come. The

prophecy said that he would come and the

gospels said that he did come.

Acts said that he came and he left his

spirit. The epistles say that he's

living in his church. Revelation says

he's coming again. All right.

>> The message of the of the Bible is this.

That that the law and the prophets and

then when Christ came, all of that came

together for what Peter called a more

sure word of prophecy.

It's a finalized work. Paul described it

this way in the book of Corinthians. He

said, he said, "When that which is

perfect is come, then that which is in

part shall be done away." What was he

talking about? He was talking about the

sign gifts. He was talking about the

miracles, the speaking in tongues and

the gifts of healing and the gifts of

diverse tongues and and there were other

gifts that were mentioned in that. But

he said when that which is perfect is

come that then that which is in part

shall be done away. And he was saying

when God's word came when we got the

full inspired word of God preserved for

us, he said all the rest of that would

be done away. And so we have the full

history. We have the full revelation of

all that God is. The law, the prophets,

the gospel in the person of Jesus

Christ. And listen to what Jesus says in

Mark 9. He says in verse number nine,

"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."

Verse 10. And they kept that saying with

themselves, questioning one another one

with another what the rising from the

dead should mean. And you say,

"Preacher, what what was it that brought

about the change in Peter? What how did

he go from wanting to build a tabernacle

in this text to in his epistle saying

that Bible's all I need?"

>> Right?

>> This is what made the difference. It was

who came and took up residence on the

inside.

>> Remember what Jesus told him? He said,

"Simon, Simon," he said, "Bold, Satan

hath desired to have thee, that he may

sift thee as wheat." He said, "But I've

prayed for thee that thy faith fail

not." Remember what he said after that?

and when thou art converted. Well, he

wasn't talking about salvation, but he

was talking about that spirit of God

taking up residence in his life because

Peter was saved when he came to Christ.

All right? But they didn't get the

indwelling spirit of God until Jesus

breathed on them. And he said, when they

are converted, what he say? Strengthen

the brethren. So that strengthening came

because Peter had saw all this before.

But you know what? Now, he had the

witness on the inside to hook up with

what he had saw before.

>> Right?

>> There's a lot of preaching that, but I'm

not going to do it. Amen. And so, this

strengthening came. Peter is still

questioning. Verse 10 in this text,

they're questioning one with another

what the rising of the dead from the

dead should mean. Verse 11, they ask

Jesus, "What say the scribes that Elias

must must first come?" And all of this

comes back into this question. What he

what he says in verse number 12, it

comes back into this answer that he

gives. Listen to what he says. Elias

verily cometh first and restore all

things and how it is written of the son

of man that he must suffer many things

and be set at not. Now, this represents

the suffering of Christ, this death that

Elijah and Moses were talking about with

Jesus. And the disciples say, "Well,

well, the Bible says Elijah has to come

first before the Messiah comes back."

Well, where where was Eli? Where was

Elijah? This is what Jesus says. And it

he says it's right. Elias must verly

cometh first. He truly cometh first. And

so he's not he's not denoting their

question. He giving them a part of

revelation. And then in verse 13, he

gives them the whole revelation. Look

what he says. But I say unto you that

Elias is indeed come and they have done

unto him whatsoever they listed as it is

written of him. So the collision in

their mind is they've seen Elijah,

they've seen Moses, but they're reading

these prophecies in their mind. What

Malachi said, Malachi chapter 4, that

Malachi 4 · chapter mention

Elijah must come first. They're saying,

"Well, why is Elijah not revealed

himself to the world? Why is Elijah not

being the man that why has he not

appeared? If you're the Messiah, isn't

that a prophecy that must be fulfilled

before you can reign? And Jesus says,

you're right about that. But then he

says in verse 13, Elias is indeed come.

You say, "Preacher, Elijah didn't come

back to the earth before Jesus." Well,

here's the thing about that. When you

look at that text, you remember there

was there were some men, and I'm I'm

trying not to get too out there with

this, all right? But I want you to

understand what I'm saying. There were

some men that came to Jesus and Peter

and the Lord asked Peter, he said, 'Whom

do men say that I am?' You remember him

saying that? Whom do men say that I am?

He said, ' Some say Elias, some say

Jeremiah, some say you're that prophet.

You know, then Peter says, "Thou art

Christ, the son of the living God." And

so there were some that thought that

Jesus could have been the prophet, could

have been Elijah, could have been a

prophet given from the Old Testament to

appear. But they've come back to this

prophecy and Jesus is revealing to him

them here in this text that John the

Baptist is the prophet that should come.

Elias is indeed come. You say, "How do

you know it's how do you know it's John

the Baptist?" Well, it's known by that

phrase in the last part of verse 13.

Notice that. And they have done unto him

whatsoever they listed.

Speaks of the destruction.

You remember what they they called John?

He was the voice of one crying in the

wilderness. Ain't that right? And what

did they do to him? They cut him off.

Herod, they cut his head off. I heard a

man preach a message one time about the

voice. When when the voice gets too

loud, so you got to cut it off. He

preached a message titled on killing the

voice. And it comes back to this text.

Jesus says how he says, "How it is

written that the son of man, he must

suffer many things and be said it." and

all. What he's saying is his death's

going to come. He said Elijah's done

come and died. John the Baptist is dead.

He's been said it not. He's dead. He's

gone. Jesus says, "Now it's my time."

>> Right?

>> So, he ties all of that together in this

text. All right? And we're going to look

from verse number 14 down several more

verses in the preaching hour today. I'll

say this. All right. The transfiguration

marks a transitional point in the

ministry of Christ because from this

point on, Jesus is going to draw his

disciples unto himself. And I'm going to

emphasize this a little bit here now,

just to give you a little nugget. I want

you to be able to get something extra

from Sunday school. But you know what?

There was there was 12 disciples,

weren't there? Why did he only take

three? You know, I've thought about that

a lot. Jesus, you know, James, Peter,

James, and John, they were the closest

to the Lord. I believe that. You think

about the miracle that they got to see

in this text and I'll probably preach it

again this morning but but I was

thinking about this in this text. You

see there's another miracle that takes

place in this chapter in the next part.

Jesus comes back to find the other nine

weak in faith.

>> Not going to preach my message. All

right. I'm just going to give you this.

Okay. He comes back to find the other

nine weak in faith. There's a boy

possessed by a demon. They can't deal

with it. They don't know how to handle

it. Jesus has had Peter, James, and John

off in his presence, but you know what?

He He had that miracle for Peter, James,

and John, but you know what? He also had

a miracle for the nine that were left

behind.

>> Right?

>> And I'll say this, you may not be

everything you should be, but Jesus has

got a miracle for you,

>> right?

>> Amen. And I'm going to preach on that

this morning out of this text. So, let's

pray and ask the Lord to help us this

morning. Thank you for being attended.

Father, thank you for this time this

morning. Thank you for the truth. Lord,

I want to be like Peter, James, and

John. I want to be with you. I want to

be near you. But Lord, at best, God, I'm

going to stumble over what I say, Lord.

I'm going to say things, Father, that

sound foolish, Lord, because I know in

my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.

And so, God, would you set a watch about

our lips and God, keep us holy and pure.

I pray for our church today. I pray that

you would bless the worship, bless the

singing, the music, touch the musician's

hands, and uh Lord, for those that'll

sing specials, bless the offering today.

Uh we pray you'd help us in the

preaching. Save the sinner nearest hell

and get all glory to yourself more than

anything else. We'll love you and thank

you for what you do because we ask it in

Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.