Don't Miss It (Luke 9:28-36)

If you will welcome Miss Amanda Sacedo, you guys get the ladies of Hope Church.

Pastor Todd is visiting uh Meridian today.

Woohoo! How are y'all this morning?

Are you sleeping well with the cold weather?

I tell you what, I had a full eight hours of sleep last night and I'm feeling it.

Well, if you don't know me, my name is Amanda Sasedo.

I'm the outreach director here.

Um, and uh me and my husband are about to go plant Hope Church Alvarado.

It's so exciting.

So I told Pastor Todd, I said, I feel like you are picking on me with the subjects you give me to preach on.

They are way harder than anyone else's.

Um, but I I am honored and uh I'm still nervous even though I've been up here many times.

It's nerve-wracking.

Um so just bear with me.

I'm gonna get through this.

We're gonna do well, and we're gonna get a great word today, right?

So, have you ever missed something that's right in front of you?

Every day, every day.

So um, I know the ladies are probably thinking, man, when my husband can't find anything or my kids, they miss it and it's sitting right there.

But I want to talk a bit about a different kind of missing it.

Um, I when I was a kid, we we grew up pretty poor, so we didn't go on many vacations.

And when we did go on vacations, it definitely wasn't on a plane, it was a road trip.

Um, how many of y'all can last in a car with your kids on a road trip for three days?

My hands way down here.

It ain't happening.

Um, but we were going to Colorado, and this took three days' time, and my mom had prepared a head.

She was like, you know what?

She's still in elementary school, he's in middle school.

Horrible ages, they're gonna get bored.

So for the young people in here, they're not gonna understand, but we had portable DVD players, they look like laptops, okay?

You just put the DVD in there, shut it, played it, it was cool.

And you had to remember to bring all the DVDs you wanted to watch, or else there was nothing else.

Okay.

So my mom had found two at a pawn shop, and she was like, you know what?

I'm gonna do it.

And it was great.

We were road tripping, it was amazing.

I never got bored.

It, my dad never had to listen to anything because we had headphones that plugged into it.

It was awesome.

Until we got into Colorado.

Have you ever drove into Colorado?

So the mountains, right?

It's like a roller coaster.

And at the time we had this small little Suzuki, and I remember my dad just being so mad while driving because he's like, if they don't hurry up and go faster, I'm not gonna make it over the next mountain.

And I'm like, Okay, dad, just watching my movie, like whatever, you have fun.

But as we got into the mountains and we got over them, there was beautiful scenery.

And I would have never noticed it because I was paying attention to what?

A movie that I'd probably already watched eight times.

And my dad was so furious.

I remember him stopping.

He stopped the car in this like gravel area.

I don't even know if it was a place you're allowed to stop.

He got everyone out and he was like, Do you see what we're in?

Do you see these mountains?

We're sitting in between two mountains on a road, and you're watching a movie.

And I was like, now mind you, my dad is six foot four, so I'm like, okay, dad.

Like, he's like, come on, look around.

Tell me what you notice.

Well, what do I notice?

I notice that there's colors I've never seen in a mountain because we don't have mountains here, we have hills with rocks.

And there's this beautiful river that is flowing in between.

And just as I'm looking up, there is a train on the side of the mountain that they have built, and it's like the old black locomotive, okay?

So it is so cool, like straight out of a Christmas movie, just beautiful.

But I would have missed it all.

If my dad had not gotten angry and been like, what are you doing?

Yes, yes.

Now, those DVD players broke the next day, and I think my dad had something to do with it, but he said he didn't.

Um, but he just wanted us to experience it.

He wanted us to be able to notice that we weren't in Texas anymore, we were in a different place.

And it's hard because sometimes we treat church this way.

We come and worship, but we get distracted because if I lift my hand too high, someone's gonna look at me and they're gonna know I'm praising Jesus.

Well, I got a side note for you.

We're here to praise Jesus.

We all came to praise Jesus, so lift your hands as high as you can.

Let's do it together.

But we also come to hear the message.

And sometimes, sometimes we listen.

I know I'm guilty of it.

I've placed my HEB order for groceries.

I I might not be paying attention.

I maybe got on Facebook for like five minutes and then I'll look up and then the Lord humbles me because Todd's looking right at me, Pastor Todd, and I'm like, okay, probably shouldn't sit on the front row if I'm gonna do that, right?

Um now, if all of y'all move to the back and he asks the question next week, don't you throw me under the bus.

I didn't tell you to do that.

I just said to get off the phone.

And then we we cry at the altar and we want to change and we want a movement and we want to experience God like never before.

But then as we're up here, we're so distracted.

We're distracted by everything around us.

And it's you can be close to Jesus and still miss what he has for you.

So last week we we listened to the requirements to following God.

Does anybody remember him?

Anybody?

Anybody?

Hmm.

No?

Okay.

It's okay.

Sacrifice, surrender, and take up your cross daily.

There we go.

Let's wake up.

As they all begin.

Um, as all the disciples hear this, obviously it's a shock factor to them, just like it's a shock factor to us.

And so they're all trying to comprehend this.

And we're about to get into what Jesus is doing next.

And this is where he takes Peter, John, and James up a high mountaintop and shows them a glimpse of his glory.

So today I want us to look at three things this encounter teaches us about how truly follow how to truly follow Jesus.

Oh, I'm gonna mess up my place.

Hold on.

I just don't know his Bible today.

Mine's an NLT, but we use ESV.

So I was like, hey.

So we're in Luke 9, 28 through 36 today.

And if you want to go ahead and flip there, my title of my message today is Don't Miss It.

Don't miss it.

So let's start with 28.

Now, about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

And behold, two men were talking with him.

Moses and Elijah.

Now, oh, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Now, some of you do not know, Moses and Elijah have been dead.

They have been dead for a very long time, okay?

Like Moses way in Exodus.

Elijah, I didn't, I don't know where he comes in.

I didn't think about that.

But they were two very prominent men of faith, following God, following everything he has.

And what I want you to see is number one, you can't experience transformation without spending time with Jesus.

Luke tells us that Jesus took Peter, John, and James up a mountain to pray.

And while Jesus was praying, something extraordinary happened.

What happened?

We just read it.

He was transforming, known as the transfiguration.

His appearance changed, his physical appearance changed, and his clothing became dazzling white.

Now, when I read this, because I like jokes, that's how I like to do things, I was thinking, wow, he looks like a disco ball.

That's exactly what happened.

He was shining bright.

And but what we have to look at is he didn't become God on the top of that mountain.

He was already God.

His physical appearance changed so that the disciples could see it.

Because we all know if we can see something, we can believe it more, right?

Mm-hmm.

That's why we have miracles.

So, and don't miss this, don't miss this part.

It happened while Jesus was praying, right?

So if you think it was it was important to Jesus to pray, it should probably be a priority for us, right?

Yeah.

So then Moses and Elijah appear, and what they represent is the law of the prophets.

And what and what are they discussing?

What do you say?

His death.

They are literally discussing the suffering and the death and the crucifixion of what's to come.

It is his Jesus' departure in Jerusalem.

The Greek word for departure is Exodus.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

Yeah.

So Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, but Jesus was preparing a greater exodus.

He was delivering us from sin and death through the cross and resurrection.

Jesus is standing in glory while talking about suffering.

But I would know how I felt.

That I just got the physical anointing.

Now everyone who notices me can see it.

But now I am being told how I'm going to die.

So sometimes we think following God means life should be easy, right?

We get that anointing, we're ready to go, we're ready to take it on, and we just think it's gonna be smooth selling.

But Jesus reminds us that obedience can lead through difficult difficult places.

Difficulty doesn't mean God is absent.

So how many people here have a phone?

How many of you have to have it for work?

Yeah, same.

So what would happen if you didn't charge it?

It die.

Everything would be a dumpster fire, right?

So this goes for our spiritual life too.

Right?

We have to recharge our spiritual life.

We can't just come on a Sunday, and even though we pray for the entire week, it doesn't mean we're spiritually alive every single day, okay?

Because I don't know about you, but Sundays are my best days.

It works it I wake up and it's horrifying, okay?

Horrifying trying to get the kids ready, trying to get them to listen.

I need you to eat breakfast before we go.

Come on, let's go, go, go, go, go.

And then we get here and we're going.

But how do you feel after church?

What'd you say?

Hungry.

Spiritually, spiritually.

How do you feel?

Cool.

Good.

You're ready to take on the world.

I'm gonna go get lunch and then it woo-woo.

Right.

But how do we feel Monday mornings?

Because if you feel like me on a Monday morning, I want to stay in bed.

I don't want to get out when my kids come in and they're like, Mom, like, oh, no, it's not time.

But it is.

I think there's something to say about Mondays, because the whole world knows that Mondays are the worst.

Everybody thinks Mondays should be the day we get off, right?

But it's because we're so filled on Sundays from coming to church and experiencing the Lord, praying to Him, and being at the altar.

That Mondays feel like such a drag.

So if we're only having a relationship with God every Sunday, then how do we expect to be blessed on all the other days?

We pray for peace, wisdom, and strength to make it through just the day, but we don't re-energize ourselves in God's word.

Um, I thought it was very rude of the Lord to lay this on me uh because it was uh uh a check for me too, but who all knows that a relationship takes two?

Mm-hmm.

So this relationship has God on the other end.

So what do you think it says about you?

Me included, I'm the problem.

I have something to fix.

You're the problem, you have something to fix.

I did not like hearing that.

I do not, but it's true and it's necessary.

So you are the cause for the failed relationship, and why you feel so numb, empty, and frustrated all the time.

We have it in the Bible in so many different scenarios that Jesus prayed to God.

He was constantly praying to God.

We see the feeding of the 5,000.

What did he do?

He went and prayed to God.

We are not exempt from building that relationship just because we come on a Sunday.

It's an every single day.

So let's move on to point two, verse 32.

Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him, and as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, is it good that we are here?

It is good that we are here.

Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

And I think Luke is pretty funny right here because he's like, Peter not knowing what he said.

He don't know nothing.

Don't listen to him, right?

It cracks me up.

So, number two, don't become so distracted that you miss what God is doing.

This part of the story is almost unbelievable.

Jesus is standing in glory.

Remember, disco ball, okay?

He's he is as white in his clothing as he can be.

Even his facial has appeared brighter.

Moses and Elijah are there, okay?

Remember, they were dead.

So, like they're coming up.

Like, the only thing I can think about is uh, y'all seen the newest Ghostbusters at the very end where he comes in like his spirit form, and he's right?

No?

Okay, just me.

It's okay.

Well, that's what I think of that they're standing there in like this off bluish white tint, just having this conversation with Jesus.

And what are Peter, John, and James doing?

They're falling asleep.

Like, talk about being in the most like as much glory as you can get, and you're like, oh, I don't know about this, nodding off.

Now, I've seen people sleep in church, I might have been one of them.

But can you can you just imagine sleeping through the transfiguration?

But they were so distracted with sleep that they were missing it.

They were missing it and what God was trying to do right in front of them.

And then you have Peter who wakes up and suggests what let's build tabernacles.

Because Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are back, right?

No, and he missed the point.

Why did he miss the point?

Because he was sleeping.

But we do that spiritually.

We sleep spiritually and we don't get it.

So Luke says he didn't know what he was saying.

He's like, Don't listen to Peter.

He's obviously not understanding.

Peter wanted to preserve the moment, and we do, we want to preserve the moment.

They're precious, they're amazing, they're beautiful to us.

But Jesus was preparing for the cross, he was preparing for more.

Peter focused on the experience while Jesus focused on the mission.

And sometimes we're the same way.

Following Jesus isn't about staying on the mountain, it's about following him wherever he leads.

So let's jump back to the vacation moment.

Who all would like to stay on vacation forever?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, Miss Jenny.

Yep.

And why is that?

Number one, there's no responsibilities.

I don't have to get up and cook breakfast.

I don't have to do the dishes afterwards.

I don't have to worry about my kids' laundry.

I don't have to worry about a schedule.

I wake up whenever I want.

But what do we have to do to stay on vacation?

What do we have to have?

Money.

And money runs out, doesn't it?

So fast.

So all the razadazzle, it comes to an end.

The experience is no longer fun.

But we call it life and we keep moving forward and we keep going and we do it all over again, right?

So this brings me back to my intro we do this to the church.

We act like this is a scheduled event.

Is it scheduled?

Yes.

Because we want to be here with people.

We want to be here with the community.

But how many of us can honestly say we strive for the experience every single day?

Like I'm looking for this altar every single day.

Because last week it was dying to ourselves.

So Sunday isn't just a special treat.

This is something you can have every day if you take the time and focus on the mission God has set forth.

Does the mission have tiny details to it?

Yes.

Yes, yes, yes.

But those tiny details become nothing when we stay focused on becoming a follower of Jesus, a disciple maker.

Right?

Because once we're discipled, it's time for us to make disciples.

Because it doesn't end.

Encountering God, it's an everyday goal we should have, not something we barely make time for on a Sunday.

We can see in the scripture that Luke is clueless about what Peter has decided is the path.

And we see him sleeping and he's missed the entire conversation.

And it's great to want to honor and preserve a moment, but possessions only last as long as our lives.

Because when we pass away, everything in our house is going to the antique store or the junkyard.

It is what it is.

Our kids don't want it.

As much as we wanted it, they don't want it.

So wouldn't you want to make a difference that would last for generations?

That's what the mission is.

So don't miss it.

Point number three, verse 34.

Let's keep going.

As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my son, my chosen one.

Listen to him.

And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.

Oh, excuse me.

And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

So point number three, if you want to follow Jesus, you have to listen to Jesus.

So Peter is talking about building three tents when suddenly a cloud surrounds them.

And when we see a cloud in the Bible surrounding something, what does that usually represent?

God.

Yes.

So throughout the Old Testament, clouds often represented God's presence.

And then God speaks in verse 35.

He says, This is my son.

This is my chosen one.

Listen to him.

Peter wanted to honor Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, but God makes something clear.

Jesus isn't just another prophet, he's the son of God.

Moses and Elijah pointed toward Jesus.

But Jesus came to fulfill God's plan.

So and then in verse 36, Moses and Elijah they disappear.

Okay?

They're no longer there.

They just kind of fade out.

And Jesus was found alone.

I don't know about you, but I love that.

I love that it says Jesus was found alone.

Because even though Moses and Elijah did great works and they followed God word God's word faithfully.

It's not about them anymore.

We're seeing here that we're going away from Moses' law.

We're headed towards the cross.

So when everything else disappeared, Jesus remained.

And that's where their focus needed to be all along.

That's where Peter missed it.

Let's build three tabernacles to honor you all.

No, they're not staying.

They were never meant to stay.

So obviously, I have a lot of parents in the room, and uh that's gonna be my illustrations.

But how many of you?

The house, like the kids are distracted, and you get like 10 minutes to yourself, and there's nothing going on.

How many of you know that's like a big deal?

Yeah, my kids are four and six, that's a big deal, okay.

And I, you know, you have that one friend, they're like, Hey, are you busy right now?

Can I call you?

And you send that message because you're standing there, like, man, everyone's preoccupied.

I'm okay, I can take a phone call.

I got this.

So you hit yes, they call, and what happens?

The kids start screaming.

The dogs, if you have dogs, they get the zoomies through the house.

And Lord, if you don't know what I'm talking about, the zoomies, the zoomies are awful, okay?

And then all of a sudden the TV's too loud and you can't focus on anything, and then you hear a knock on the door because that's the first knock you've had on the door since 2020.

And you're like, all I said was hello.

I just I just had 10 minutes.

What happened?

And then you just hear it over and over and over again.

Mom, mom, mom, but you know they can see the phone in your hand.

You know they can see it, and you're just looking down at them like, what do you see how big my eyes are?

Are you not getting the clue?

And then they start saying it in a whiny voice, in a high-pitched voice, and then your ears, you're like, Oh Lord, give me strength, I need it, and you just want to scream at everybody, right?

And go one at a time, please.

I didn't ask for it.

But that's what the world does to us.

We're so consumed by everything grabbing our attention, right?

Everything.

And we can't focus on a single thing.

But if we listen, if we just take that moment, shut your eyes, and go, it's okay.

And you just listen, there's this little voice and it saves everybody.

It saves your kids from you beating them.

It saves the TV from getting broken, it saves the dogs from staying outside forever.

And it says, listen to Jesus.

So whose voice are you allowing to have authority in your life?

If you answer Jesus, then do your actions reflect that?

When you have been called to have patience the moment everything blows up, do we?

And it's not just at home, it's out public too.

My son, he um he doesn't understand, but one day he will.

Uh, when I'm driving and someone does something very bad, instead of saying a bad word or being rude to them, I will start saying, I hope you have a great day.

And I just keep on going.

And my son, Asher, he just heard it so many times, and he was like, Mom, you're just so nice.

And all I could think is, Lord, you're humbling me.

I feel the conviction right now.

So when we have been called to have um, do we respond to our kids with love, even though they are screaming and making you consider a name change?

Do we take a minute to surrender our anger and just understand we have free will?

The turn off button for the TV, it works, okay?

And if that doesn't work, just unplug it from the wall.

All of it works, it gets the job accomplished.

And if you're like me where you have country kids, just shove them all outside and the dogs go too.

It works, it's great.

I highly recommend.

But we can do that.

I know it is so hard in the moment whenever life is coming at you, and you're like, man, I still have 50 unread text messages right now.

I I have a builder calling me, I have a roofer calling me.

The AC is out, gotta call the AC guy again.

But if we could just take a minute, and in that minute, we call on God and we say, Lord, I understand what you have for me, but I need something right now.

I'm praying to you, I'm understanding.

I need you, I need you, I need you.

Or do we decide it's easier to do it our way?

Where it's just blow up, start screaming.

Decide in that moment that everything can be destroyed, and it's okay, we'll just pay for it later.

We can see that Peter wanted to bring honor to all three men, but that wasn't the point.

Jesus wanted what Jesus wasn't equal to Moses and Elijah.

He needed to be set apart to fulfill the mission God had planned.

So following Jesus means obeying him even when it's uncomfortable.

And I know we want to be comfortable.

But Jesus can't be the Lord of your life if his voice is just another opinion.

So as we get into altar time here, the band can come back.

And what are our transformational moments?

Number one, have you been so busy living your life that you've neglected spending time with Jesus?

I encourage you, if you are just so overwhelmed with life, maybe there's that five minutes you can take out where instead of scrolling your phone, instead of watching a TV show, you pray to God.

And better yet, you get your Bible out and do it.

If you don't have a Bible, I can help you with that.

You know, uh the research is that it takes 21 days to form a habit.

If you can do it for 21 days straight, it makes every day after that so much easier.

So five minutes.

Because there's always a place to start.

And you'll watch that relationship grow.

Number two, have you become so distracted by everything around you that you're missing what God wants to do through you?

Are you seeing what God has for you?

Are you understanding what God has for you?

Maybe you don't know what God has for you.

That's okay.

Just pray.

When you're like, I've had my wits in and I'm done.

Because we go to all these different services or worship nights and different things, and we're like, okay, God, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, please, please lay it on me.

And nothing happens, right?

Well, I'm here to tell you mine happened at youth camp as an adult.

I was 22.

I was supposed to be the leader, and the Lord's over here, like, I'm talking to you, and I'm looking back like, are you sure?

But maybe you need to leave that distraction at the altar.

Leave it and don't pick it back up.

Change it.

Number three, is Jesus, ooh, is Jesus truly the Lord of your life?

Or is voice or is his voice just another opinion?

I know we hear it all day long.

I think you should do this, I think you should do that.

Maybe you should work on this, maybe this is where you can improve.

Or you go to ChatGPT and you're like, hey, this is my problem, and then it gives you 20 different illustrations and things to do, and you're like, ooh.

And then at the end, ChatGPT says, What?

If you'd like to go further, I can offer more.

No, I don't! So don't allow God to fall into the ordinary opinions of everyone else.

God is foundational and he wants to speak to you.

Have the courage to be obedient.

I know it's scary.

But it just takes one yes.

So here at Hope Church, we like to end every message with a salvation call.

And this is just a little prayer that we like to say, and we give you a little gift.

But if you haven't accepted Jesus into your heart, first if we can bring down the lights a little, and everyone bow their heads.

And say this with me if you're accepting Jesus into your life for the first time.

Just repeat after me.

Dear Jesus, I am a sinner.

I need your love in my life today.

Forgive me where I have failed you.

I give my heart to you today.

Take my life, use it for your purpose.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.