St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses:7-8, The Son of God: Jesus consoles them.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 6.
     
The disciples heard the voice of God and they were afraid.  Out of the cloud came a loud voice that spoke to them.  These were simple men.  They were not scholars.  They were not men of learning, men of power, men of stature in the community, but only simple fishermen, simple farmers, and common laborers.  But Christ chose them to be his followers.  They followed him because he had charisma.  They followed him because he had an aura about him that commanded their allegiance.  Christ cured the sick. He made the lame walk. He opened the eyes of the blind.  He even gave the disciples temporary power to do the same miracles that they saw him perform.  And they followed him because they came to love him.

But when the father spoke to them they became fearful.  They bowed their heads in fear for their lives.  They had not heard such a voice before.  They did not know if they were doomed or if they should rejoice.  Fear came upon them and took hold of them.  Fear opened the door and would have allowed evil to enter.  Fear prepared them for what they considered would be the end.  Yet this was the voice of their father speaking to them.  Hear him, he told them.  Hear Christ he told them.  Hear his words, hear his deeds, hear his actions, hear his presence.  But when the voice ended there was only Christ left for them to see.  There was only Christ left for them to hear.  There was Christ left for them to believe.  And Jesus came near and touched them, and said to them, “Arise and do not be afraid."  But lifting up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.   

Jesus told them, "Do not be afraid."  He told them as he did in many other situations to not be afraid.  He tells us today to not be afraid.  We fear what we do not understand.  We fear what we do not know.  We fear what we can not comprehend.  We are fearful creatures.  There are many things in this world that would cause us to open ourselves to fear.  But why should we be afraid?  Some would say that fear is good because it is a natural emotion built into our defense mechanism that protects us from harm.  We fear harm to our bodies.  We fear loss of life.  We fear loss of possessions, loss of love, loss of happiness, loss of material things, we are afraid of many things in this world.  This is only because we do not have the spiritual understanding that knows no fear.  Christ tells us not to fear.  He tells us not to worry.  He tells us to be happy because we have a father that will protect us from all harm.  It is one thing to believe but it is an even better thing to know with certainty. 

Yet we continue to fear because we do not believe, because we do not know.  We do not know who we are.  We have no idea of our spiritual nature within us because we only judge by our physical beings.  Fear limits us.  Fear controls us.  Fear commands us to act.  Fear closes the door to the opportunity for us to know who we truly are in Christ.  God created us in his image and his likeness.  He gave us dominion over this earth, over this realm, over the material world.  Adam chose for all men to give that dominion to Satan when he chose to be disobedient to God.  But Christ came and gave to all men, individually and collectively, the choice to decide for themselves if they want life or if they want death.

Spiritual life is a wonderful gift to have.  And life is as precious as freedom itself.  How do you know freedom if you have never been without?  How do you know life if you have never been without it?  How do you know death if you have never experienced life?  For he who is dead does not have life but only a dream.  And it is a dream that you wake up from and realize that you are dead.  In our life's dream we are given signs that tell us of our death.  We see death as though it were real life and true spiritual life as though it were a dream, something far off, something that may or may not exist but only in our imaginations. 

For those who seek to know life, Christ gave us the key.  He told us in his words how to experience life.  He spoke to us about the key to unlock death and open the door to eternal life, eternal life that we can see and experience and know with certainty, here on earth.  But we must awaken from the sleep of death.  We must open our eyes and see that we are asleep.  Once awake we can then seek the truth of life itself through Christ.  Some will balk at the idea of being told what to do.  Some will yield to the voice of disbelief and go back to sleep reasoning with the mind of the world.  But for those who seek, the door is open, the path is waiting for you to follow, the light shines at the end of the tunnel.  Come!  Find your treasure.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  The eye is the lamp of the body.  See the truth within yourself and gain the knowledge of the Holy Spirit within you.  Christ loves you and so do I.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 6, The Son of God: The Disciples are affraid.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 5. 
  
And the voice of God spoke from the bright cloud.  The voice spoke to the disciples telling them to hear Christ.  God spoke to them telling them that Christ was his beloved son and that he was well pleased with him.  They did not know where the voice came from.  They did not know how it spoke to them.  They did not know how they were hearing this voice.  All they knew was that it spoke to them telling them to hear him. 

Did they not hear him before?  Were they not listening to him all this time?  They walked with him everyday.  They talked with him everyday.  They slept with him, eat with him, listened to him preach, saw him work miracles, everyday.  So why did they not hear him?  Why did they not listen to him?  Why did they not know him in their hearts that God the father had to tell them to hear him?  God spoke directly to them, and them only, that they should know the truth of who Christ was.  And they heard the voice of God speak to them.  But it was this voice that made them tremble.  It was this voice that caused them to fear.  It was this voice that brought them to their knees and made them fall to their faces with fear.  And on hearing it the disciples fell on their faces and were exceedingly afraid.

Christ loved his disciples.  He watched over them.  He fed them, made sure that they had food to eat and wine to drink.  He protected them from the evil that sought to destroy them.  And he nurtured them for they would become the future leaders of the church here on earth and would bear witness to his life, death, and resurrection.  But they did not hear him.  They were not listening to him.  They did not understand him with the knowledge and certainty of a truth taken from the world we live in.  It was only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they knew him with certainty, only after his death and resurrection. 

We know with certainty that the wind blows.  We know with certainty that the seasons change.  It gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer.  We know that there is gravity that will cause us to fall from high places.  These things and more, we know with certainty because we have experienced them with our bodies.  But then there are those things that we do not know with the certainty that we know worldly truths.  We believe that Christ lives.  We believe that we will come to live with him after we die.  We believe that there is a heaven where all God's children will go to, to live for eternity.  We know that there is evil in the world because we see it and experience it everyday in our lives.  Most of us do not know it directly but hear of it and see it on the news and in the media.  We believe that Satan does exist but we do not know it the way we know the things of this world. 

The disciples heard God speak of his son.  The disciples were told to hear him.  The disciples were listening but were not hearing.  Why do we not hear today?  What stops us from knowing?  Can we not know the truth of Christ as we know the things of the world?  Is it not possible for us to have the certainty in our beliefs as we have about worldly things.  You see, we have our inner beliefs and we have our inner counter beliefs.  Evil is in the world and evil influences us from within.  We believe the truths that God has given us through Christ Jesus and then we are given doubts.  We know within ourselves that Christ lives but evil would have us doubt.  Evil would have us disbelieve.  Evil would have us not know with certainty Christ Jesus. 

With the certainty of the spiritual knowledge of Christ and the life that he has given us, we know no doubt.  With the certainty of the truth that comes from the Holy Spirit we know who we are.  But evil will plague us.  Evil will continue to throw darts.  Evil will continue to talk to us and set traps to catch us off guard.  For evil wants us to doubt.  Evil wants us to question.  Evil wants us to ask what if.  Evil wants us to not know with certainty who we are in Christ.  For with certainty comes power.  With certainty comes wisdom.  With certainty the light within us is born and we know who we are without doubt, without uncertainty. 

Christ knew who he was.  Evil knew who he was also and sought to announce to it the world.  But Christ would not have his name proclaimed for fame and fortune.  He was not of this world and sought not the false riches of this realm.  Christ was from the Father and so are we.  Yet we do not know who we are or where we are from.  And evil would not have us know.  God , our father, proclaimed to the disciples to hear his son for they heard so much more.  They heard Christ.  They heard the people.  They heard evil speak to them from within themselves.  Just as we do today, they did then.  Defend yourself!  Stand up to the doubts of evil!  Know with certainty that Christ is within you and you are within him.  Seek the light given to you, for it is the key that opens the door of the certainty of who you are.  Christ told us: "The eye is the lamp of the body and if the eye is sound then the body is full of light."  Find your light within and know the truth of who you are in Christ.  For certainty is the key to the power that Christ has given you in this life. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 5, The Son of God: God the Father speaks.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 4.    

And now the Father speaks.  Peter was speaking to Jesus, saying that it was good for them to be there.  He was thinking that they should stay.  He was thinking that they should make tents and stay while Jesus spoke to the leaders of the past, Moses and Elias.  For this was a special moment for him, James, and John, the other two disciples that Christ had chosen to bring with him.  They were witnesses to the his transfiguration.  They were witnesses to the appearance of Moses and Elias.  They were the witnesses to the true nature of Christ as he stood shinning before their eyes in his enlightened state of majesty and glory.

But then, as Peter was speaking, God the Father spoke.  God the Father came.  He came in a cloud that overshadowed them.  He came in a bright light.  He came to give witness to his son.  And he spoke to the dsiciples to let them know for certain that Christ was the chosen one, the Messiah.  As he was still speaking, behold , a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him."

And this was the seal that was placed upon Christ.  God the Father was well pleased in him.  God the Father was pleased in his actions.  God the Father was pleased in his words.  God the Father was pleased in him.  For the disciples did not know.  The disciples did not fully understand what was planned.  The disciples did not comprehend the full scope of the mission of Christ here on earth.  For he came to save mankind.  He came to be the sacrifice for the propitiation of our sins.  He came to satisfy the penalty that was placed upon mankind as a result of disobedience through the temptation of Satan upon Adam and Eve.  

Man had sinned in the garden.  Man had given up his life through his disobedience and now was dead.  Man lost his life and became dead.  And as time passed death ruled the earth and man was under the rule of death.  Even today man is dead.  There was no life everlasting.  There was no eternity with God in heaven, for man had lost the life within him, man had lost his soul.  But God is merciful.  God is loving.  God is a just God and the penalty had to be paid for our sins.  Who was worthy to pay the penalty?  Who was pure?  Who was without sin?  Who would become the sacrifice?  No one on earth was worthy.  Everyone born to man came under the curse of death.  But then Christ came.  Christ took off his heavenly glory.  Christ gave up his heavenly majesty.  Christ set aside his heavenly crown and became man. 

He who was first conceived, was first.  He who was with him before all were created, was first.  He who was with him before the angels were given life, was first.  He who was with him before the heavens were created, was first.   He who was with him before the earth was created, was first.  He who is the love of God, gave up all to become man, to become the sacrifice, to save us from death.  He who is pleasing to God, gives us eternal life with him in heaven.  This is the gift of God to man.  This is the reason we celebrate the season.  This is the joy in our hearts today, why we sing upon the coming of Easter Sunday. 

We are in morning over the death of Christ.  We are in sorrow over the suffering.  We are heartbroken over the agony and the pain and the disgust of what man did to Christ through the manipulation of the evildoers.  For it was evil that crucified Christ.  It was evil that spat upon him.  It was evil that beat him.  It was evil that crowned him with thorns, mocking his majesty.  It was evil that hung him upon a cross and watched as his precious blood drained from his body.  And it was evil that took his life.  But it was Christ who became the sacrifice.  It was Christ who became the lamb.  It was Christ who gave of himself that we might have life eternal with him in his father's kingdom.

It was the sacrifice that had to be made to pay the penalty.  It was the sacrifice that had to be made to right the wrong.  It was the sacrifice that had to be made to lift the curse of death and restore mankind to life.  For without it, man would know only death.  But with the sacrifice, mankind now has life eternal with Christ in heaven.  Do we believe?  Do we accept?  Do we know the truth of who we are in Christ?  Can we now accept the truth of God and obey his commandments.  For the commandments were given that we would not open the door to sin.  The commandments were passed down that we would not fall to evil.  God gave us the commandments that we would know how to live life here on this earth and not fall to the temptations of Satan.

Come!  Let us celebrate the gift of God.  For Christ has come.  Christ has made the sacrifice.  It is finished.  It is done.  The doors of heaven are open to us.  Let us celebrate the joy of life that is given us, the joy of love that we receive, the protection of the Father that we can know, and the peace of his presence that is ours to have.  The decision is ours.  Be not deceived by the trinkets and passions of this world, for this world, as we see it, is dying before our eyes.  But true life, true peace, true joy is mine and yours for the having, yours for the taking, yours for the knowing, right here and right now.  All you have to do is seek it in Christ.  Search for it in his words.  Know it is there for you to have.  Believe that you can have it.  Ask for it in your prayers and he will give it to you.  I have.  I did.  I know.  And now, I encourage you to do the same.  God loves you.  Christ awaits you and the Holy Spirit seeks your invitation that he may come and live with you. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!