The Speaking God (part 2) - [Hebrews 1:1-2]

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The Speaking God (part 3) - [Hebrews 1:1-2]

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Recently, I googled this question, if you could ask God one question, what would you ask?
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You could ask God one question, after all, He's omniscient, He knows everything. If you could ask
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Him one question, what would you ask? Well, some of the people asked this question, why do you allow suffering?
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Others asked, is Jesus God? Who created you?
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Why did you create me? Why did you create evil?
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What is heaven like? If you could ask God one question, what would you ask?
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Someone else said, are hell and Satan real? Don't all religions lead to you?
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Can I... Tom just said no, thank you. Can I lose my salvation?
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What about those who have never heard of Jesus? Lots of people have questions for God.
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Some actually have questions about God. The top ten questions, according to one site, that college students ask about God.
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Number one, how do you know there is a God? Number two, how can there be a good
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God when there's so much evil and suffering in the world? Question college students ask.
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Number three, how can the belief in God be reconciled with science, especially evolution?
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How can the Bible be trusted? How can a loving God send people to hell?
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How can Christians say their religion is the only one? Do all religions lead to the same
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God? What about those who have never heard? What's the difference between Protestants and Catholics?
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And the final one is from college students, can you be sure if you're going to heaven?
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Now here's the interesting thing. God has spoken and he's given us the answers.
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What if God never spoke at all? Matter of fact, it's a rare thing for God to speak.
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You know, if you take the history of the universe and condense it to the time periods where God has spoken, you'll have less than 100 years where God speaks.
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Sometimes we have large swaths of time where God doesn't speak at all. Remember between the
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Old Testament and the New Testament, the intertestamental period? How many hundreds of years did
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God go between Malachi 4 .6 and the curse and Matthew 1 .1?
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400 years God not speaking. Can you imagine God not giving any new revelation from Revelation 22, 90
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A .D.? That was written until today. But it's fascinating if you'll take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews 1,
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God does speak and God gives us answers. Matter of fact, God gives us answers to some questions we would never think about even asking.
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That's an amazing thing. If you can't find Hebrews, it's right after Philemon, so you should be in good shape.
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Hebrews is towards the end of your Bibles. God is a speaking God and He gives answers about Himself, answers to the questions asked about Him, answers to the questions that college students and even congregations, believers and unbelievers, ask about God.
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God reveals Himself. He discloses Himself. He didn't have to, but God speaks.
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And Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2 has one key sentence and God has spoken.
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And He's spoken fully, with superiority, and finally in His Son Jesus Christ.
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That is how Hebrews starts. You can imagine a bunch of racers lined up in a track and that starter has the gun and he says, on your mark, get set, and then it's
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Hebrews 1, 1 and off it goes. God has spoken.
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We don't know anything outside of creation unless God would speak.
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We wouldn't understand how can God be holy yet gracious? How can God forgive sins?
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What's His character like? What does He think about? What does He like? What does He not like?
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Can humans be forgiven? Can you repent and trust in Christ Jesus? There's all kinds of things we would never know except God has spoken.
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And He's spoken finally and fully in Jesus Christ. Let me read verses 1 through 4 of Hebrews chapter 1.
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We'll tend to go faster in chapter 2 and 3 and 4, but I'm camping out on purpose in Hebrews 1, 1 to 4 because it sets the tone, the tenor, and explains everything else well if you understand these verses up front.
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Long ago, at many times, and in many ways,
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God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days,
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He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also
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He created the world. He, the Son, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.
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And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins,
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He, the Son, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Having become as much superior to angels as the name
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He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. This book, the book of Hebrews, from all accounts, from all scholars, liberals and conservatives, say it's, to quote one man, the most extensively developed and logically sustained piece of theological argumentation in the whole of the
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New Testament. Another scholar said, this provides the most arresting beginnings possible, combining elegance, alliteration, rhythm, rhetorical artistry, with unstoppable force, and it's the most sophisticated and stylish Greek in the entire
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New Testament. And it's all about the person and work of Christ Jesus. Now let's think big picture for a moment and we'll dive back into these first few verses.
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Hebrews is written by the Spirit of God through a close affiliate of the apostles.
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And it's written for one main purpose, to say that Jesus Christ is the superior high priest.
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And that He develops over time by saying, God is superior,
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God the Son, to prophets, to angels, to Moses, to Aaron, to the old covenant, to all comers, one and all,
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He's superior, and then that should affect the way you live, chapter 10, 11, 12, and 13.
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There were people who had Jewish backgrounds and they were tempted to revert back to Judaism.
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And so the writer, I almost said Paul, sorry, I know I'm going to do that, so I might as well just get it out of my system.
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I don't think Paul wrote it, but the writer is saying, don't go back. And there also were some
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Gentiles who thought, you know what, Judaism is tempting and maybe I do need to be circumcised and embrace
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Judaism to worship God. So whether you're a Jew or a Gentile, you don't need to go back when you have everything.
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Why chase shadows when Christ Jesus is presented before you? And I love this because I think people are starving for the glory of God.
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They need to see God highly exalted. So often we just want to be told what to do.
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Give me five practical ways. Give me four spiritual laws. Give me three things God wants me to do.
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Give me two ways of living. And what Hebrews does is said, just forget all that. Jesus is the high priest and He's superior.
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Just take a good long look. And it's like a Polaroid picture, the book of Hebrews. Remember Polaroids?
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You take the picture and it would develop before your very eyes and you try to hasten the development of the picture by doing what?
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Blowing on it, waving it around and a picture. I mean, the kids are like, they don't even understand what it is, a
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Polaroid picture. You just take a picture and you see it right before your very eyes. But back in those days, you'd have to get film developed actually.
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You'd have to go to the Photoshop. And here with the Polaroid, you'd take a picture and all of a sudden, the hues start developing and it's not just black and white.
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And you see fully, with full comprehension, what the picture shows.
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Side note, you can get Polaroid cameras very cheaply. And my roommate back in college didn't know what to be for,
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I was not a believer at the time, Halloween. So he went to the...
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I know, it is an uh -oh. It is a big uh -oh. And he bought at the
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Salvation Army about 20 Polaroid cameras that were all defunct. And he just taped them to himself and he was the cameraman.
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That's what he was. You can edit that out of the tape. He just sets before your very eyes the theological reasons that Jesus is superior.
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He's the high priest. He's better than everyone and everything. And when you look at that, you think, that's what
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I need. You watch a TV commercial and they're playing on your emotions and you see a child overseas and they're starving to death.
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And you can see their ribcages. Except, what do you notice with a person who's starving? What about their stomach?
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It's distended. It's a large stomach. And that's almost like many evangelicals and many evangelical churches.
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They're starving for the greatness of God, but they look full. Lots of people show up, but they're not getting fed the superior
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Christ, Jesus. And this passage is one of those passages where you just say, feed me, teach me about Jesus, gorge me with Jesus.
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Not just the only Son, but the only Son who's the high priest.
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So let's take a look at chapter 1, verse 1, please. And remember what we learned last week with a little bit of new information as well.
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If you had to look at chapter 1, verse 1, God, in fact, first spoke, and then verse 2,
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He finally spoke. He first speaks to prophets in all kinds of different ways, but He fully speaks, finally speaks in Jesus.
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So let's take a look at it again because it's such a great passage. Long ago, at many times, and in many ways,
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God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. God takes the initiative to speak.
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He didn't have to, but He does. He doesn't remain silent, and He speaks at many times.
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Notice that in chapter 1, verse 1. This is talking about piecemeal.
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This is talking about bit by bit God speaks, little by little. You'll have a variety of different authors all contribute some to God speaking back in the old days through Abraham, through Moses, through the prophets, 39
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Old Testament books, part by part, in fragments, in portions, in various manners.
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We would call this progressive revelation. And He also speaks, look at verse 1, in many ways.
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And, of course, God is manifold in His attributes, and He's manifold in the ways He can speak as well back in those days long ago.
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In many times, and now in many ways. That is to say, dreams
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He spoke through. Visions. Direct communication. Adam, where are you?
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Through promises, through the law, through prophecies, through the pillar of fire, through the pillar of smoke.
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Still small voices. King James says, and in diverse manner.
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He speaks through burning bushes. He speaks in a vision at the temple.
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MacArthur said, the distinction is not the validity of the revelation, it's rightness or wrongness, but in the completeness of it and at the time of it.
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It began with the picture book in the Old Testament of types and ceremonies and prophecies and progressed to the final completion in Christ Jesus in the
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New Testament. Chapter 1, verse 1, we've got long ago at many times, in many ways
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God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. Moses is a prophet. Joshua is a prophet.
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David is a prophet. And so we contrast between verse 1 in the old times to verse 2, the new.
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In the past, but then look at verse 2, in these last days. Verse 1, to the forefathers are our fathers.
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Now it says, to us. Notice that in verse 2. You've got through the prophets, but now through the
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Son. In various ways, and now the implication is through one way, the Son. Everything in the
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Old Testament was a type and a shadow, a provision, something pointing to the full, final revelation,
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Jesus Christ. In these last days, that is the Messiah's days, in the days between the first coming and the second coming,
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Jesus, not just the superior revelation, but the final revelation, God speaks through him completely, adequately, assuredly, fully, finally,
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God speaks. No more communication gap. In him, they are the promises of God.
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Yes, and they are our amen. Remember what we learned last week?
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You have the definite article in verse 1 by the prophets, but in contrast, verse 2, by a
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Son, or by Son. God speaks through particular prophets, but in these last days, he speaks to us through someone who has the quality of Son.
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If I send a courier to you, or send my Son to you, which would have more value, which would be more important?
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The Son is sent. And so what's happening here in the book of Hebrews, is the writer is trying to tell the people that are tempted to go back to the
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Old Testament, why would you go back to piecemeal? Why would you go back to initial revelation? Why would you go back to fragmentary revelation when you have the complete revelation?
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Jesus, don't go back to the piecemeal when you've got everything you need, Christ. Moses was fine, but Moses wasn't complete.
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Moses wasn't a son. Can you think of another passage in the Bible? I thought about this this week.
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Another passage in the Bible that does the same thing. The priority of listening to Jesus over Moses.
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The priority of listening to Jesus over Elijah and the prophets. Is there another place in the
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New Testament that shows us while Moses and Elijah were true and right and good, they weren't whole and complete and final and superior.
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Where in the New Testament do you see an exclamation point of Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 found answer?
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Anyone? The transfiguration. Let's turn there. We've taught through the transfiguration in Matthew before.
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We've taught through in Mark before, but I haven't taught through it in Luke before. So turn to Luke chapter 9.
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I'm going to tell you up front as I study this passage this week. I was thrilled. This is an awesome passage.
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And you say, well, I know all about the transfiguration. I'm not going to give you a new revelation from me, but I want to show you this revelation in the book, and you are going to be wonderfully thrilled.
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There is so much to see here, including Jesus, the supreme and final
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Son. This is the best. This is so good. Luke chapter 9.
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Now let's pick up the context in verse 18, please. Before I read this, in basketball,
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I don't know if you like basketball, but I played a lot of basketball in my life. Too many hours. One thing we were taught not to do is to telegraph a pass.
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We were taught not to look at the person we wanted to pass to and then pass it because the defenders would know if we looked at them.
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So we were required to do... Let's see, who could I talk about? I won't talk about Magic Johnson. A bird did this well, but let's talk about another
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Celtic, Pete Maravich. Did he play for the Celtics? Some of you were sleeping, but now you just woke up.
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Pete Maravich. And what Maravich would do is he would look at a person to pass to them, but he really was going to pass over here and he would do this special kind of wrist pass.
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Type it in YouTube, Pete Maravich wrist pass. You'll be impressed. You're not supposed to telegraph a pass in all kinds of sports.
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But I'm going to telegraph this pass. Here's the telegraphing pass. When you look at the transfiguration, you need to hear what the
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Father is going to say because left to your own eyes, your own senses, your own tactile kind of feel to the passage.
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You're going to miss it. Until you hear God speak, then you can figure it out.
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But up until that point, you're going to be just like Peter and James and John who are just going, what?
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What is happening? Listen to what God says about the situation and you're going to hear that Jesus is the one who is the final revelation and the superior revelation.
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And it teaches the exact same truth that Hebrews 1 .1 to verse 2 teaches.
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Alright, so that's my telegraph. Telegraphing the pass. Hebrews 1 .1 and 2.
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Got it? Hebrews 1 .1 and 2. Alright, we're ready. But for the context, verse 18,
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Luke 9. Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him.
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He asked them, Who did the crowd say that I am? And they answered,
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John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah. And others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.
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Then he said to them, But who do you say that I am? And Peter answered, by the way rightly, the
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Messiah of God, the Christ of God. And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying,
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The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, this is the
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Christ of God, this is the Messiah, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
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And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
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Now put this together in your minds. He is the Messiah, and that is right, but he is the
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Messiah, not who is going to be the political king and is going to take over for Rome or anything else, take over Rome.
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He is going to suffer and die. That is the kind of Messiah Jesus is. Could that be true?
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Really? So now let's move to the Transfiguration and you are going to see Moses fade,
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Elijah fade, but the final superior revelation from God remains.
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There are all kinds of illusions between Moses and Sinai and Jesus and this mountain, except Moses is in part and Jesus is final.
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He is going to have to suffer and now here on this vision, Jesus is going to have assurance that this suffering is the correct path and so will his disciples.
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Verse 28. Now, about eight days after saying these things, he took with him
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Peter, James and John, or Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
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And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his clothing became dazzling white.
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Mark says that he was transfigured before them. Now Matthew counts at six days.
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Mark counts at six days. Luke is about eight days. That's right. He is probably counting the day of Peter's confession and maybe having the
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Transfiguration day separately. The inner circle go up and they go to the mountain. It's called elsewhere the high mountain.
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Which mountain is that? Well, some people think it's Mount Tabor. That is church tradition.
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Probably not there. Majority of people think it's Mount Hermon, but it doesn't really matter what mountain it is.
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It's a high mountain. Hermon is 9 ,200 feet high and they go to this mountain.
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It doesn't matter what mountain it is. It's the particular mountain. And again, you can start seeing the echoes come through from the
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Old Testament when Moses goes up to the mountain. The key is not where, but what happens on this mountain.
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Very high mountain. And God sovereignly just chooses three of them to go up.
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And they go up. Verse 28 says, to pray. I'm positive that the prayer is, in light of what we just read about,
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I have to suffer and then to die and be raised. He's on His way to Jerusalem. He's set His face to Jerusalem and in Jerusalem is going to be
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His death. And He's praying in light of the passion. He knows what's going to face Him. And Jesus, fully
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God, yes, but He's a man and He knows what's in store, so He prays. This kind of prayer will end one day in Gethsemane highlighted by my
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Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. But not my will, but Your will be done.
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Matthew uses the word transfigured and it's this word in transliterated. Metamorphoso.
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Metamorpho. Change from the inside out. A transformation.
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The Good News Bible said, a change came over Jesus. That's not strong enough. It means what you really are on the inside comes out.
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That's the word transfigured. Matthew says
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His face, Jesus' face shone like the sun. Luke says His face is altered.
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Clothing becomes white as light. Effulgent, white, gleaming. Mark 9,
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His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. I wonder what people down at the bottom of the mountain must have been thinking as they watched this whole thing shining up in the middle of the night.
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In the middle of the day it'd be bright. This reminds me of 1 Timothy 6 .16.
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God who alone has immortality, who dwells in what? Unapproachable light.
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And it's streaming out of Jesus, whom no one has never seen. To Him be the glory and eternal dominion. Amen. 1
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Timothy 6 .16. White and dazzling. Mark uses language that would be used of lightning.
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I can just hear the echoes of Psalm 104, can't you?
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Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, You are very great. You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment.
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Radiant, bright, shining, dazzling. Now remember, on a mountain,
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Moses. On a mountain, Jesus. But now there's going to be all kinds of differences. On the mountain,
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Moses has his face shine, but it's a reflective shine. And now the shining, that doesn't go on Jesus' face.
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It's out of, from Him. God is light, and in Him there is what?
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No darkness at all. This makes me think of Daniel 7. I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the
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Ancient of Days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool.
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His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. Moses has to cover his face, when he'd go back and talk to the congregation.
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Jesus' face is shining because He was transfigured. Shekinah, the shining.
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Doesn't this make you think, this is the kind of glory that I'm seeing now, that Jesus had from all eternity.
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Momentarily visible. It's like if you're walking through the woods at night time, it's completely dark, and the lightning flashes for two seconds, and you see everything clearly.
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This is who Jesus is. John 17, 5, And now Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.
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I was glorious, and now for a second, these disciples, they see that. It's longer than a second, but they see it at this brief time.
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This is going to be the kind of glory Jesus has when He comes back to reign on earth and establish
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His kingdom. I'm sure they were thinking, we've been taught to pray back in Matthew 6,
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Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is on heaven, and now it is,
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Thy kingdom's coming. It's here. The King's here. He's in the land. He's establishing
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His kingdom right now before our very eyes. Echoes of John 1, 14, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
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His glory. Glory is the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. This kind of glory means, if you take a look at this effulgent glory coming out of Jesus, and then close your eyes and look the way you could still see it in your eye, it would have an after effect.
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It would leave an impression in your mind, even with your eyes closed. Notice verse 29.
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The appearance of His face became different. It was altered. Now it's fascinating.
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Behold, Luke 9, 30. Two men were talking with Him. By the way, that tense there, it's a long conversation.
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It's just not, Hi, how are you? But it's an ongoing conversation, and we're getting to eavesdrop a little bit. We don't know exactly what they're saying yet.
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They were talking with Him over and over and over, and who were those two men? Moses and Elijah.
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Two men that, by the way, have been on a mountain and spoke to God before and vice versa, who appeared in glory and spoke of His departure, which
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He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. How did the disciples recognize
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Moses and Elijah? We're not told. Maybe Moses was saying,
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Hey, Elijah, and Elijah said something about Moses. I don't think it's that. I just think they knew. I think they knew, like you'll know when you get to heaven.
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You're not going to have to say, Excuse me, what's your name again? I don't recognize Mom in her glorified body. You'll recognize people in heaven.
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And here stands Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, who symbolizes the prophets, conveying all the
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Old Testament, the law and the prophets, the two great divisions in the
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Old Covenant, Old Testament. Moses, dead for 1 ,400 years.
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Elijah, dead for 900 years. But they're alive. Their bodies have been dead that long, but they're alive, fully alive.
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They're talking. And when you think of Moses and Elijah, what were they pointing to?
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What did the law speak of? What was the law pointing to? To whom was the law pointing?
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When you think of the prophets, what were the prophets talking about? Who were they saying was going to come and be born in Micah 5, 2?
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Isaiah 7, verse 14, the virgin. Isaiah 9, 6. They're all pointing to Jesus.
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These men, Elijah and Moses, have been pointing forever to Jesus, and now they're on the mountain talking with Jesus.
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All the law, all the prophets have been fulfilled in Jesus, and now they're standing there with Jesus, who said in chapter 5 of Matthew, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law,
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Moses, or the prophets, Elijah. I have not come to abolish them, but to what? Fulfill.
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That's the idea. Just take all the Bible. 39 books for us in the
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Old Testament. And what's the theme? It's all pointing to Jesus. It's all pointing to Jesus, who is not just going to be the prophet who speaks, but also the sufferer.
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He's going to have to die. And Moses spoke of that, and the prophets spoke of that. Now, what does the text say in Luke chapter 9 that they talked about?
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This is fascinating. I'd love to know what they talked about. S. Lewis Johnson says, You think they have ought to have spoken about how the
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Jericho Juleps and the Jerusalem Jimbos were getting ready for spring training in the baseball season? Or that they were thinking about how the
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Beersheba Bears and the Dan Donkeys will do in the coming National Football League race in the fall? No, of course not.
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They're not thinking about stupid things like that, the things that we think about. Perhaps they're talking about politics.
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When will Pilate get the axe? Who shall succeed Herod? But what they're talking about is what they have been talking about in heaven, and what is the centerpiece of heaven,
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Revelation chapter 5. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, who is standing as if slain, they're talking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus because they're on earth talking about it, and they've been in heaven talking about it, and they will be talking about it, and they are talking about it.
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The glory of the God who sits on the throne. Do you notice in verse 31, what did they talk about?
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They're in this glory, Shekinah, and it says they spoke of His departure.
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What's the Greek word for departure? Exodus. Exodus.
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Departure. Used of Peter in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 15 to speak of His death.
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I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
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Moses, Elijah, Law, and the prophets, and they're talking about the Exodus. Not just the
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Exodus where God rescues Israel out of Egypt, but the spiritual Exodus where men and women who are slaves to sin need to be redeemed by the price of a ransom are rescued out of spiritual slavery and forgiven and clothed of the righteousness of God Himself.
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They're talking about Jesus' death. You say, when I hear Exodus, I automatically think of God's triumphal, initiating, sovereign grace in rescuing people out of Egypt.
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That's exactly right. But now we've got the new Exodus, the cross. They're talking about Jesus' destiny.
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Early on, you can imagine the disciples. You're the Christ. That's right. And then
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Jesus says, I'm going to suffer and die. Really? I'm going to suffer and die? And now Moses, and now
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Elijah. They're not only talking to the disciples saying, that's right, because the
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Old Testament says, the path to glory is through the cross. By the way, here's what the world and worldly churches teaches.
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Avoid the suffering and go straight to the glory. Give me the crown,
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I don't want the cross. And Moses and Elijah are saying, no, it's got to be through suffering. It's got to be through the cross.
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Cross, then glory. And I'm sure it also, because remember, Jesus is a man. He's more than a man, but He's a man.
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Needs the encouragement. He's just been praying. God, help me, I'm on my way to Jerusalem.
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And now Moses and Elijah show up to encourage Jesus. If angels could minister to Jesus back in the desert, could not
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Moses and Elijah minister to Jesus on the way to the cross now? It's right.
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It's good. It's a date with destiny. It's the new exodus. And it's not just a minor conversation.
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It's a lengthy conversation. Jesus, you're going the right way.
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It's right for you to go to the cross. He's confirmed in His work.
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He's encouraged in His work. We know it's the departure, His death, which was about to accomplish.
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Look at verse 31. At Jerusalem. Turn to Matthew 16, please.
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Keep your finger there in Luke. Matthew 16. What makes this so fascinating to me is
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Moses and Elijah encourage Jesus to go to the cross. But what has just happened,
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Matthew 16 tells us, although Luke doesn't, still true, we put the
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Gospels together, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the same Gospels, synoptic Gospels, very similar.
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Look at Matthew 16. Who needs enemies with friends like this?
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Verse 22. Peter, Matthew 16, 22, took
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Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, now what's happened? Well, what's just happened is
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Jesus has said, I've got to go die. I've got to go suffer. He took
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Him aside and said, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. But He turned and said to Peter, get behind Me, Satan.
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You're a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
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I've come to fulfill these things, and you're getting in My way. Yes, I am a
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Messiah, but I'm a Messiah that suffers. I'm the suffering servant. And so get behind Me.
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That's what Satan would say. Satan would say, glory before the cross. Cross, get rid of, go straight to the crown.
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Did not Satan, matter of fact, say that back in the wilderness? Of course he did. So now back to Luke.
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Can you imagine? Moses and Elijah. Peter's wrong because it's in the
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Old Testament. Go to the cross. You're going to go to die. That's right. We want to encourage you,
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Jesus. As Jesus was discouraged by Peter, He's encouraged by Moses and encouraged by Elijah because they represent all the
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Old Testament. It's been 600 years since Shekinah glory has been seen, and now on a little shelf someplace on a mountain, it's beaming out.
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Moses, Elijah. Luke 9, verse 32.
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What have they been doing up to this point? The three, Peter, James, and John.
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Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep. But when they became fully awake, they saw
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His glory and the two men who stood with them. I mean, you can imagine they're rubbing their eyes, getting the sleep out of their eyes.
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Is this a dream? That's what I'd be thinking right away. Am I dreaming? Probably tired.
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It's a long climb up. High elevation makes you sleepy. And they wake up, and the three of them are talking.
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Jesus, Moses, Elijah. It's an ongoing conversation, and they're speaking about the new exodus because Christ is our
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Passover, 1 Corinthians 5. As the men were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it's good that we're here.
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He starts off all right. Let us make three tents. Now is when
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He's going south. This is awful. I know I said stupid earlier by quoting S.
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Lewis Johnson, and so now I'll quote F .F. Bruce. This whole scheme is a stupidity.
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It's good that we're here, not so bad. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what
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He said. Let's make three tabernacles. Thy kingdom come.
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What does Zechariah chapter 14 say is going to happen in the millennial kingdom? That everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the
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King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of Booth, Zechariah 14, 16. The King is here.
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He's in the land. It's going to be the kingdom. It must be the kingdom. As a matter of fact,
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I kind of like this kingdom because it's not going to have to go through the cross. We get the glory right now.
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That's a good idea. Glory now. Let's set up the booths. Peter and his pre -millennial ideas.
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Your kingdom's here right now. Except Peter didn't realize this is not some escape hatch, the kingdom being set up now.
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This is all an encouragement to push Jesus to do what He's been ordained to do, and that is to die on behalf of sinners and be raised from the dead.
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Now, the early church thought it was Mount Tabor, not Mount Hermon, so they constructed three tabernacles or churches on the top of Mount Tabor to correspond to the three tabernacles that Jesus didn't let the apostles build.
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That's why I love the Sea of Galilee. You can't build a church on the Sea of Galilee. Suffering Messiah?
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No. Kingdom right now. Millennial kingdom right now. Set it up. Mark 9 says
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He didn't know what to answer for they were terrified. Luke 9 says, as we just read, not realizing what
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He was saying. Mark, He's got a phobia. And the phobia is, the terrifying thing is, yes, the glory, but He is, as King James says,
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He's sore afraid. Wycliffe translates it, He's aghast by dread. Now, how do we interpret this thing where Moses, Jesus, Elijah, they're talking, they're in the glory cloud, the three men wake up and they see and now let's just say, you know what, let's build tabernacles, one for each.
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How do we interpret this experience? And now the good news is, we get to interpret it because the
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Father tells us exactly how to think about it. The Father is going to give us a little mini -exposition and He's going to take
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Moses and Elijah, Moses and the prophets, and use three key verses to say, you know what, let me tell you who
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Jesus is. He's prophet, He's priest, and He's what? King.
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If you ask the average Christian today to what three -fold office was Christ anointed, I don't think you would hear from Luther's small catechism.
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Christ was anointed to be our prophet, priest, and king. Maybe some would even say,
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I didn't know Jesus ever held public office or something to that effect. If you ask the average church member,
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I ask you the question, three words or phrases to describe Jesus. Maybe you would say, lover of my soul, trusted friend, close comforter, but how many of you
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I wonder would say prophet, priest, and king? And I think that's exactly what the
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Father is saying. Let's find out. As He was saying these things,
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Luke 34, cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they entered the cloud, absorbed into the cloud.
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They were afraid as they entered the cloud. You would be too. I would be. And a voice came out of the cloud.
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You need revelation to understand experience. Saying, this is the
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Father. This is my son, Psalm 2.
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My chosen one, Isaiah 42. Listen to him,
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Deuteronomy 18. And He uses Moses and the prophets, Moses and Elijah, to say this is my son, the king, excuse me,
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Psalm 2. This is my chosen one, the suffering servant, Isaiah 42, the one who stands between God and man, the priest.
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And He also speaks, so listen to Him because He's a prophet, Deuteronomy 18, Heidelberg Catechism.
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Why is Christ called anointed? Answer, because He is ordained of God the
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Father and anointed with the Holy Ghost to be our chief prophet and teacher who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption to be our only high priest who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us and makes continual intercession with the
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Father for us and also to be our eternal king who governs us by His Word and Spirit and who defends and preserves us in that salvation
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He has purchased for us. He's a prophet, priest, and king. And here the
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Father, using three Old Testament passages, changes the order a little bit and says He's a king,
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He's a priest, and He's a prophet. And don't forget the telegraph pass.
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As great as Moses and Elijah were and are, they're not complete.
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They're not full. They're not final. They're not superior. Jesus is.
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What was going on with these three booths? I'll tell you what was happening. They're the same.
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Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are all the same. Let's put them on the same playing field.
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They each get a tent. They each get a booth. They each get a tabernacle. Moses is great.
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Elijah is great. And Jesus is great. And the idea is they're all equally great.
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Now the Father interrupts and says, No, no, no, no, no. Hebrews 1, 1, and 2 congregation, if you want the telegraph.
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This is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased. Listen to Him. Now, when
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Jesus was baptized, something similar was said but not exact. Remember Jesus is ordained into public ministry.
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He's baptized. Immediately He went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the
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Spirit of God descending like the dove and coming to rest on Him. And behold, the voice from heaven said,
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This is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased. Full stop. Period.
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What was added in Luke? You've got Moses and the prophets there.
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Think of Hebrews 1, 1, and 2. In part, in many ways, long ago. But in these last days,
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He's spoken to us in the quality and character of His Son. And now exactly what happened in the
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Old Testament happens here. Not just this is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased, but listen to Him.
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So as Johnson said, so what the Father has done is to combine a kind of exposition of the whole purpose of the
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Messianic ministry. He is the
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Son. The Lord said to me, You are my Son. Psalm 2 .7. And as a Son, He's the
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King. The real Davidic King. What's the other part here in the verse?
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Do you notice it? My Chosen One. That's not in Mark. That's not in Matthew. My Chosen One.
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When you read this and you're thinking in light of Moses and the prophets, Who's my Chosen One? The Elect One.
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By the way, when people say, I don't like election, they conveniently forget this verse because Jesus is called the
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Elect. The Chosen. I like election. I like the Chosen One. Especially when
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God chooses. The Father chooses the Son. The Elect One. Listen to Isaiah 42 .1. Behold, my servant, who
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I uphold, my Chosen, in whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon Him.
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Do you see what's happening here? The Father is saying, you want to put them all in the same playing field.
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They're all equal. They're all level. I'm telling you that He's my Son. He's the King. Psalm 2 speaks of Him.
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Moses speaks of Him. The prophets speak of Him. He's my Son, the King. Now, secondly, my
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Chosen One, He's not just the King, but He's the Suffering Servant. Suffering Servant. Isaiah 42.
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Isaiah 49. Isaiah 50. And Isaiah 53. Those four servant songs where God the
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Son can mediate between God and man as a priest who will one day die on the cross.
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Psalm 53. He's not just a king, but He's a priest who sacrifices
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Himself, makes the offering, and sacrifices Himself. And then what we come to that's the important part as we wrap things up.
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Listen to Him. He's not just a king. He's not just a priest. He's the prophet.
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Listen to Deuteronomy 18 .15. Moses said, The Lord your
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God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen. And now this last part of Deuteronomy 18 is quoted by the
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Father to these men and to Jesus. You shall listen to Him.
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The heavenly endorsement of Jesus. You men want to put Jesus on a level with all the other prophets.
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You can hear it today in apologetics. Jesus is just like another prophet. A prophet of many. But the
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Father says, the God who made the world said, Do you know what? He's a king, and He's a priest, and He's the prophet.
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You listen to Him. He's not equal to Moses or Elijah. He's greater. You learn from Jesus. You sit at His feet.
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And when you want to rebuke Jesus by saying, Go for the glory and not the cross, you better listen to Him.
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When Jesus says, I have to suffer and then die, and then be raised, you better listen to Him. He's fully and finally and with superiority, the prophet.
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Hear Him. Literally in Greek, present imperative, Him be hearing.
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Him be hearing. Yes, Moses pointed to Him. Yes, Elijah pointed to Him.
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But now you listen to Him. They're not equal. So Peter's interrupted by this voice from heaven.
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Stop it. Here's the way to think through the issues. Hear Jesus. Listen to Him.
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He's the Messiah. Matthew rounds it out by saying in chapter 17,
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When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
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Rise and have no fear. How wonderfully compassionate and kind and patient is Jesus the suffering servant.
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And now we pick up in verse 36 as we hear from Luke the writer.
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And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. As the
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Father says, they're not on the same playing field. Let's make the point emphatic. As Moses fades, Elijah fades.
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That's what they were supposed to do anyway. There are shadows saying, Jesus is the
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Messiah. They've said it. Now Jesus is here. So Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days about anything that they had seen.
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Mark translates it this way. And suddenly looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
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Matthew 17, they saw no one but Jesus only. Jesus is superior to all.
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He's greater than Moses. He's greater than Elijah. He is the final fulfillment of everything.
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And the Father says then, Jesus is my King. This is my beloved Son. He's the priest, my chosen one.
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And He is the prophet. Listen to Him. And what God the Father says in Luke 9 is exactly what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 1, 1 and 2.
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I'll only give you one takeaway. Since Jesus is superior and final revelation, and He has now codified
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His revelation from the New Testament as He gave the apostles inspiration through His Spirit, then friends, it behooves all of us to be readers of the final superior revelation.
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Doesn't it? So here's what I do and what I'm committed to do most days is I just read 10 chapters of the
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Bible. Some days I read more. But why don't you just try to read 10 chapters of the Bible per day? Listen to Him.
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How can you understand who Jesus is and listen to Him if you don't read your Bible? So I usually read, today would be
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Proverbs 27, about five Psalms, a couple chapters in the Gospel, a couple from the
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Old Testament or the Epistles. It takes about a half hour and I think, the Father has said,
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Jesus is the priest, He's the king and He's the prophet. Listen to Him. You cannot listen to God outside His Word.
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So be resolved as the Spirit gives you strength to do everything opposite of using the
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Bible for pressing dried flowers and leaves or even falling for gimmicks like the 100 -minute
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Bible for time -starved Christians that puts the really essential parts of the
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Bible so you can read it all in 100 minutes. On the flip side, this is
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My beloved Son, My chosen One, Him be hearing.
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Father, I thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the endorsement of Your Son. Thank You that Moses and Elijah did the opposite of what
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Peter did and then You finally said, Yes, all of Your Word is culminated in Jesus Christ.
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He's the final and full revelation from God. King, priest and prophet.
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We're thankful for such a Savior, the priest on the throne, One who tells us that very thing.
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I pray for Bethlehem Bible Church in 2016. We are weak and needy and we need strength and our priorities are askew so often.
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So would You help us? Jesus isn't just another prophet. He's the prophet.
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And Father, we want to listen to Him. So speak through Your Word to us. We want to be listening. We want to be reading.
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Help us to break bad habits and start new ones. Help us as we read from the Old Testament to the
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New, speaking as You do through Your Spirit. One wonderful sentence, summary sentence as it were,
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Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, has offices of prophet.
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He speaks as priest. He intercedes. He's made atonement for us. He's been raised from the dead.
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And He's a king. He protects and He has a royal sovereign rule. Thank You for such a great