MATTHEW 17:1-9 – And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WE MUST COME DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN. What if the group going up the mountain with Jesus was four, not three?. With Jesus, there would be Peter, James, John, and fill in your name. Wow! Invited by the Creator, the Godman, to go with Him to a secluded mountain for a prayer retreat. That is why they went. Words could not describe it. All Peter would say is, “Lord, it is good what we are here.” But then he would add the words, “If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter wanted an extended camping trip on top of the mountain! And who wouldn’t want to spend an extended time away from the hustle, bustle, trials, and pains down below in real life! But then we have to take Peter aside . . . “But, Peter, you cannot stay. You must come down from the mountain. You are going to be used to upset the world with Jesus’ Gospel and that means no sitting around a campfire with Jesus as great as that would be. Sorry, Peter. You must come down from the mountain. And so do we. Whether it be an emotional mountain-top experience from a concert, conference, sermon, book, or song, we cannot stay in the past event and Peter’s reasons for coming down the literal mountain are the same for us and our spiritual mountains.
First, we are on a Great Commission mission – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). We have work to do, commands to obey, and sinners to love with the Gospel, and that isn’t happening on a mountain. Are you active in the Great Commission? Am I? It’s a command not a suggestion. If we are not active in the Gospel, start tomorrow, even today.
Next, we are to come down from the mountain top to minister Christ to the hurting people all around us, Christians and non-Christians alike who in their own spiritual valleys of loneliness and sorrow need Christians to be “Jesus with feet on” by ministering to them – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). We go from the mountain to the valleys, just like our Lord, to minister to those suffering people traveling dark paths in a sin-cursed world. We do so to show them the God of all comfort in word and deed.
Yes, Peter, and yes, my reading friends. We must come down from the mountain. The world below needs us to be about our mission.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me not mistake emotional experiences for spiritual; the former is fleeting, and the latter is lasting.”
QUOTE: “Lasting spiritual growth cannot occur by conferences, books, or music. They are not the chief ways to grow.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim