Last Lord's Day, I commenced looking at this glorious event in the earthly life of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We noted the people, namely those that accompanied the Lord Jesus up the mountain, Peter, James, and John, the three closest disciples to the Lord himself who seemed to be present at many of the key moments in his earthly ministry. And in that, we can take great comfort child of God, because these three men were just ordinary men like us. Meaning that this mountaintop experience of blessing can be ours as well. And not only that, but in Peter's case especially, you'll remember how he had been rebuked by the Lord on account of his unbelief. And as we all know, in a short time he was about to fail the Lord. on a nigh unimaginable scale. However, He was one of the men that was chosen to witness this great event. So we can learn then how merciful, how gracious the Lord really is. And in spite of us failing Him many, many times over, in spite of those times when He has to chastise us as disobedient children, He still has those untold blessings. for us. And then we notice the place. It was a mountain, an unnamed mountain, because I believe the Holy Spirit would instruct His people that this experience of being on the mountaintop with Christ and witnessing His glory is something that can be had by any Christian with a mind for it, no matter where they are. It is the normal thing, however, in the Scripture, it would seem, for keep events to take place on the mountainside. And last time, if you'll remember, I showed how high up there the disciples would have seen life going on down below, just like the Lord sees it. And high up there, the air was cleaner. It was clearer, it was purer, and how they had a clearer vision of the Lord in such a place. And also how up there on the mountain, they were above the hustle and bustle of life and how that air was much more pure. And I made the point how the child of God has to pray to the Lord for deliverance from the atmosphere of the world. and how we must get above the hustle and bustle and cares of this life and get alone with the Lord in the place of prayer. And I closed last time with that point concerning prayer because that's the real reason why the Saviour went up the mountain that day. The transfiguration, if you like, is only an added blessing. And that's not to devalue that event. Far from it. But it has to be understood that they were primarily there to pray. And as a result of prayer, this great event took place. The glory of the Lord was revealed. And how much then can the believer learn from this? How that if we want to see and experience the glory of the Lord displayed in our lives, we're going to be much in prayer because that's how it comes. We want to move on then, and see fourthly here, the process. And the process, if you'll notice there in verse 2, is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 17. It says how the Saviour was transfigured before them, and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. Parallel record in chapter 9 says, He was transfigured before them, and His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them. Luke's record says, And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening. Now I pointed out that the word transfigure The English word transfigure, or the Greek word that lies behind this word that we get our English word from, is the word metamorphosis. And it means a change of appearance. And so in this process that took place there at the transfiguration of Christ, the appearance of our Saviour was changed in three areas. First of all, there is the glory of His person. That's very clear from the references that I've given you. And I have to make the point that the Bible does tell us that the Lord Jesus cannot change one bit in any shape or form. How do I know that? Hebrews chapter 13, verse 8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. So having that in mind and bearing that verse in our mind, Therefore, the change that is described for us here in the Gospels, in the Word of God, cannot really be a change of the Savior into something that he was not already. Because that would go against the verse that I've just quoted to you from the book of Hebrews. Rather, this change that took place on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord, it had to be a revelation of what He already was in Himself. And brethren and sisters, that's particularly true in regard to the glory of His person. His nature was precisely the same as it has always been and as it always will be. And yet on the mountaintop that day, that nature appeared in a wondrously glorified form In other words, it was a wonderful revelation of His true glory. The glory, for instance, that He spoke of in that great high priestly prayer that is recorded for us in John chapter 17. You remember the words, no doubt. It says, And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. That's the glory, you see, that we're thinking of. That's the glory that John himself spoke of. John 1 verse 14, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That glory, which because of His special mission to earth, to save sinners. That glory that had been veiled in his human flesh and hidden, if I could put it like that, that was what was shown to these men that day. And so the transfiguration in the first instance revealed the true glory of his nature. But more than that, it also consisted, if you'll notice, in the splendor of his countenance. Because if you look and think of Luke's words again, Luke records the words found in Luke chapter 9. It says, And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered. Matthew also says here in verse 2, in the middle of the verse, And his face did shine as the sun. You know the Bible commentators have made many points of comparison which have demonstrated the comparison and the link that exists between the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophet Moses. And here is just another one. Do you remember the story in the Bible, the account in the Bible, how Moses went up into the mountain to talk with the Lord? And as a result, when he came down, his face was glistening. His face was shining so much that the people couldn't even look upon him. And therefore, he had to speak with them with his veil or literally his countenance covered. It was hidden by a veil. But here's the great difference between those two individuals. You see, the countenance of Moses, as when he came down from that mountain, reflected the glory that he had just witnessed. His was a reflection of the divine glory. Whereas the glory of Christ's countenance here in the Transfiguration is of Himself. It wasn't a mere reflection, you see. Because He possesses within Himself all the power and all the glory. And the glory that was revealed in His countenance that day was all of His own divinity. It was not the reflection of something or someone else. So how can we understand it then? How can we take it in? Well, perhaps a couple of references will suffice. Turn over with me, please, to Acts chapter 26. In Acts chapter 26, we have verse 13. It's a testimony of Paul here, and he says in verse 13, At midday, O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. This is the account of Saul, or as it became known, Paul's meeting with the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus. And he gives us a graphic description of the brightness of the Lord's glory. He says here, it was a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining round about me. In fact, it was so bright, it was so radiant, that Paul suffered physical blindness for three days as a result of it. And friend, that demonstrates why God had to reveal that glory when He was here on this earth. Because man could not take it physically. He couldn't take it spiritually because man is at a distance from God. He needs a mediator to act as the go between himself and the God that he has offended due to his sin. But when He was on earth, man couldn't take the glory of the Lord. Listen, on that future day, when we'll be glorified. Praise God, we're going to be able to behold it in all of its radiant beauty. Turn over another couple of pages to Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. Verse 23 says there, And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it. For the glory of God did lighten it, And the Lamb is the light thereof. Here's a verse and it's speaking of the New Jerusalem. And how the Lamb is the light of it. His glory, in other words, is enough to provide the light that is needed there. Revelation 10 and verse 1 also speaks of Christ. And it says that His face was, as it were, the sun. This is how then, that the Bible has described for us the glory of the Lord that was revealed in His countenance on that day. But then if you'll notice as well, in Matthew's account in chapter 17, it also speaks about the brightness of His garments. It says His raiment was as white as the light. End of verse 2. Mark puts it, and his raiment became shining, exceeding white as the snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them. Luke says his raiment was white and glistening. The word glistening is an old word that is still in the dictionary. I would say it probably isn't as used as much today as glistening. But both of them mean much the same. It means to sparkle. means to glitter. The Greek word in the text means literally to lighten forth. It has with it the connotation of lightning. And that's how the Savior's garments appeared on that day. And you know, friend, there is a most important note to this. You see, the fact that His garments are shown to be bright white as the light, as white and glistening as the snow, so as nothing on earth was as white to them, does that not demonstrate here something wonderful about the Saviour? Does that not make us think of something tremendously true about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Does this not demonstrate to us His pure and divine nature? That's another part of the revelation you see. You see, time and time again in the Word of God, it describes the Lord in such a fashion as this. For example, in the prophecy of Daniel, chapter 7 and verse 9, it says, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool, His throne was like the fiery flame and His wheels were as burning fire. The ancient of days there in that verse, it's the title of Christ. And we're told there that His garment was as white as snow. Of course, John, in Revelation chapter 1, he comments as well concerning the Saviour. He said that His head and His hairs were like wool, as white as snow. And His eyes were as flame of fire. Revelation 19 speaks of Christ riding upon a white horse. Revelation 20 speaks of Him sitting on a great white throne. And not only that, but the Lord promises in Revelation 3 that he that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. Friends, all of those mentions, all of those descriptions serve to reinforce the fact that the Lord Jesus is a pure Savior. The Lord Jesus has absolute holiness. And therefore, any revelation of His glory would include something of that holiness, because that in itself is the glory of the Lord. That's one of the things, the glorious things, that make the Lord Jesus Christ who and what He really is. Therefore, it's no wonder then that His raiment was as white as the light on this occasion. The wonder would be if it wasn't included. Friends, this is a vision we all need to get the hold of today. We need in these wicked and sinful days When right is wrong and wrong is right, we need to be convinced of the purity and the absolute holiness of the Lord. And as a result of that, the purity and the holiness that he expects his followers to strive after. Well, what I'm saying this morning is that we need to press on toward the mark. We need to strive, as many of the verses point out, for that life of holiness unto the Lord of hosts. For instance, turn over with me to Luke chapter 1, please. Luke chapter 1, verse 74. Luke chapter 1 and verse 74 says that He would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. My friend, that's a tremendous desire for any Christian. Oh, that you would pray that to the Lord. Oh, that that would be the all-consuming desire of your heart. That you would serve the Lord in holiness and in righteousness before Him all the days of your life. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 7 is very blunt. It's very direct. It says, For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness. Hebrews 12 verse 14 follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man can see the Lord. And as you think of your life today, why is such a thing necessary for the people of the Lord? Why is it necessary to be commanded to live a life of holiness like this? Well, simply because we have people today that are accepting filth They're accepting downright ungodliness today that would have never been countenanced even ten years ago. Immorality and wickedness. Think of the subject of sodomy and that abomination unto the Lord is being prayed publicly before our eyes. Where it once would have been conducted in shame and in secret and in embarrassment. And by and by, the child of God who doesn't dance to the world's tune is seen as odd. They're seen as out of touch. Well, praise the Lord for that. Why? Because our God is holy. Our God is pure. And therefore, we ought to strive to be like Him. What am I saying, child of God? I'm saying there has to be consistency. There is a movement amongst Christianity today that goes by the name of Christian liberty. And what they mean by that is they're able to live like the devil during the week and then come to the Lord's house on the Lord's day and get all dickied up and act a Christian. Friend, that cannot be because the Bible tells us if any man is in Christ, he's a new creature. And that new creature part is just not for the Lord's day. It's for our own, our whole lives. And we're called unto holiness as we've seen time and time and time again. And therefore, in this age of declension, in this age when many are going back to the things of the world in the name of Christian liberty, we need to stand fast for the Lord because the Lord is holy. The Lord is pure. And His people ought to be holy. and pure as well. We ought to strive to be like the One who has redeemed us. There is the process then, but if you look back at Matthew chapter 17, we also have the prophets. Because there were others that were present there that day. There were the people that He took up with Him, Peter, James and John. There was the Lord Jesus Himself, but there were others present. There were the prophets. There were two old-time prophets of the Lord. And it's interesting to notice that neither of those two prophets left this scene of time and normal circumstances. One was taken to glory in a chariot, Elijah, and the other one was taken and buried by God Himself, Moses. And Matthew announces who they are here, verse 3. It says, And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, or Elijah, talking with him. Mark says, And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Luke puts it, And behold, there appeared, or talked with them two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory. So let us understand, it was literally Moses, it was literally Elijah who appeared with Christ that day. Now before considering these men, let's understand something. These were men, first of all, and surely that would have been an encouragement and a great comfort to these disciples to see just ordinary men, albeit glorified ones, appear with Christ. Surely it would have given them great consolation. Surely that consolation would have come from the fact that it confirmed everything that was going to happen at the last day when the believer too is raised and glorified. What a consolation it would have been to see these two prophets glorified before them. Even to the likes of Peter, who is full of faults like we are, and yet there to know and to see how he would be in the future, no faults and glorified with Christ. What an encouragement that must have been. But look at the men themselves. There was Moses and Elijah. Moses had been gone for almost 1,500 years. He was the deliverer of the children of Israel from those long years of bondage. He was the giver of the law under the old system of government. He was a prophet and he was one of the clearest types and foreshadowings of the Lord Jesus that there is in the Bible. But he was still just an ordinary man. but a man of great stature in the things of the Lord. In fact, I always remember this one fact about Moses. I remember a lot of things about Moses, obviously. But there's one fact about Moses that stands out in my mind consistently. Something that is said of Moses that has never been said about anybody else. Turn over with me to the Old Testament, to Deuteronomy, and let's see this for yourself. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Something unique said about Moses that's never said about anybody else in the Bible. Deuteronomy 18, verse 15 says, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, Like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. You'll notice in your authorized version there, the word prophet has a capital first letter. So this is a prophecy concerning the prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was given to the children of Israel to say that a prophet would arise out of their ranks whom the people would listen to. So it's clear that this expectation of the Messiah was evidently something that the earliest of God's people were knowledgeable about. In fact, John 1 verse 21, in reply to inquiries concerning his identity, it says there, And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? He answered, No. Some thought John was Elijah back on earth again after a trip to glory. Then some thought he was that prophet, the expected prophet that was to come to rise out of the ranks, the one that they were waiting for, the Messiah. So it's clear that this prophet was expected. But I want you to see this unique thing about Moses. Look what it says about the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I want you to see this morning. Moses said that the coming prophet Christ was to be like him. It says there, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me. Now bear this in mind. This is God's Word. God, the Holy Spirit, inspired Moses to write this. So what we're saying is that the Spirit of God has decreed that the coming prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, was to be like Moses? Aye, that's just astounding. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Isn't it a tremendous thing when we read of men and women down through history being like Christ? I would encourage you to read the memoirs and the life of Robert Murray McShane. Robert Murdoch McShane was a godly Presbyterian minister from Scotland in a former day and he was well known for his holiness of life and his example of piety before the people which God had chosen to serve under. Tremendous story. So it's a good thing when we read stories like that, accounts like that, that this man or this woman over here, they were like Christ. This man or woman over here, they trusted Christ and they exhibited what Christ did. They followed Christ and they were like Christ. Isn't that a great honor to be said of any believer? I do believe it is. Certainly, if we were to have that on our headstone, our memorial, that would be a tremendous thing. But here's something far, far above that honor, because Moses is saying that Christ is coming and Christ was going to be like him. What a tremendous honor that was for Moses. There are many ways in which this was true, but what an honor. And the Lord Jesus certifies it there. In verse 18 of Deuteronomy, when it says, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. Do you see how that's true of Christ? Do you remember how he came to this earth? how He came with the message from the Father. He prayed about it Himself in John chapter 17 when He said, For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest Me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and have believed that thou didst send Me. Later on in that prayer He says, I have given them thy Word. To the Lord Jesus gave them the Word of the Father. And what a tremendous thing it is when the Lord certifies what Moses is saying here about himself. Turn over with me to Acts chapter 3, please. Acts chapter 3. There's a further proof here that Moses was speaking of the Lord Jesus there. It says in Acts chapter 3 and verse 22, It says, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me. Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. Now the setting of those words in the book of Acts is a sermon of Peter's. And he's there in the temple after he had just healed the lame man that was sitting at the gate of the temple. And it's abundantly clear that Peter was preaching about Christ. And he quoted these words about Moses. And notice what he said about the Lord. He said the people ought to listen to that prophet with a capital P, the Lord Jesus. And the consequence of not listening is there. Every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. What is that? That's the gospel. And my friend here this morning, let me ask you, have you listened to him? Let me ask you this morning, are you saved? Are you converted? Because the Lord Jesus did say, for example, just giving you one quote, he must be born again. among many other wonderful things that he said. And if you haven't listened to what he said, the word is abundantly clear. It says it here in the book of Acts chapter 3 and verse 23. If you don't listen to the words that the Lord Jesus says, you shall be destroyed from among the people. That is why ye must be born again. Peter wasn't the only New Testament character to quote Moses, Stephen also did so at his trial. In Acts chapter 7, just a few chapters later on in verse 37, he said, This is that Moses which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me. He says that this is that Moses. So he's putting his finger clearly upon a well-known, a well-regarded individual from history who was still revered among the people. And he was saying, aye, that was him. Aye, that very man who said that the prophet should come and he's going to be like unto him. Oh, listen, I say unto you this morning, it's a marvelous thing that the Lord would condescend in such a manner as this. to allow a mere human being, a normal human being, a human being that was full of thoughts like us, to say that Christ was to come and to be like him rather than the other way round. Moses then was a great man as far as the Lord was concerned. And that makes his inclusion at the Transfiguration a very fitting and proper thing indeed. Oh child of God, you need to go home and read the history of Moses to find out what a man full of faults he really was. And what an encouragement this is to us this morning. Believer, are you struggling today? Have you got a heart trying to live for the Lord? And there's those times, I've mentioned it a couple of times, no doubt I'll mention it again, in Romans chapter 7 when Paul was talking about the things that he should do that he doesn't do, and the things that he does do that he shouldn't do, and he gets down because he lets the Lord down and the devil gains a victory in his life. You read Romans chapter 7 about the war of the natures? Not one of us here this morning can say that's our experience. We're not living our lives right before the Lord. And there's those things that we do that we detest. There's those things that we don't do that really get us down because we want to do them. And yet there's something within us that stops us from doing them. That's Paul's experience. And if Paul felt like that, one of the greatest servants of the Lord that there is, Friend, it'll happen to us if it hasn't happened already, but no doubt it has. And Moses was like that too. You read about him. Man, it's amazing how the Lord chooses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Why? Because he gets all the glory. And that's the story of Moses. Time and time and time again, he let the Lord down, but yet the Lord still used him. Why? Because Moses wasn't the one to be glorified. It was the Lord that was to get all the glory. He was to get the preeminence. And that's why the Lord has chosen you, child of God. Sometimes you might just feel like Moses. Well, take heart. That's the sort of person the Lord used. And you're the sort of person the Lord can use as well. Very quickly as we come to a close this morning, Elijah was also the other prophet present. Moses had left some 1,500 years ago up to this point. Elijah had left that scene of time just over 900 years before and now he's back. And you know the story about Elijah, he was an old time prophet. However, more especially, he is identified with that office. Of course, Moses Judah is receiving and transmitting the law of God to the people is more identified with the law. Although he was a prophet in his own right, we know that Moses was the law giver. And as I thought of that, I thought how the law is represented in Moses and the prophets in Elijah. And of course, that brought that verse Romans 3 and verse 21 to mind. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Yes, it's not a reference to the event that we're considering this morning, but it could be applied to it. Because we have that transfiguration being the revelation of God's glory, particularly His holiness, particularly His purity. Another word for that is what? Righteousness. There's no greater revelation of the righteousness of God than the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we can apply the words now, the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. And who was the witnesses? The symbol of the law, Moses. The symbol of the prophets, Elijah. Isn't that an encouragement to see Moses there who failed the Lord striking the rock instead of doing what the Lord had told him to for the act of disobedience. He forfeited the right at that time to set foot in the land of promise but was taken up another mount and shown it from a distance. But praise God here he is many years later. Finally he has set foot as it were in the promised land and on the occasion of this visit it was to be a witness to the Transfiguration. Just like the likes of Peter There's mercy with the Lord. What about Elijah? Elijah failed the Lord as well. You remember how he took off with no word from the Lord and he ran into the desert and he lay down under the juniper tree and wanted to die. He thought he was the only one left. And yet the Lord had to come by and tell him, well, no, actually, you're wrong. Reserve for me all these people that haven't vowed to me to be. And how often it is, and I tell our own folks this, in a small work such as this, we think there's very few left. There's very few of God's people remaining. Oh listen, you do not know what the Lord's doing behind the scenes. Elijah didn't. And because he didn't wait to ask the Lord about it and seek the Lord about it, he took off and ran into the desert and wanted to lie down and die. No wonder in James chapter 5, We have a summary of his character. He says, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. What does that mean? It means that he wasn't superhuman, but he had his faults just like we have. And yet, like Moses, there he is on a mountain with the Lord seeing his glory. I tell you, it's a wonderful thing. It's a marvelous thing to see these two great men of God there present on the mountain with the Lord and His disciples. And what an encouragement for every child of God it is to know and to be assured concerning that same glory of Christ, the future glory that awaits every believer. Let me give you a verse. It says, He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. So even though you're struggling, even though you've got it hard and you're failing the Lord, yet praise God if you're truly saved. You're going to be in glory. You're going to be glorified. There's no question about it. It's an encouragement to see the mercy of the Lord displayed in this event, that despite how we've failed the Lord in the past, how we're going to fail Him in the future, because there's no such thing. There's no such thing as sinless perfection in this time of eternity. He's still willing to bless us. He's still willing to bless us with revelations of himself to us. And praise God, there is coming a better day when, as Luke puts it, we too shall appear in glory with Christ. What a day that's going to be. Oh, what a day it will be when my Jesus I shall see When I look on his face, oh, tremendous pain. But I can't leave this message thinking about that. I'm not asking a question here this morning. Are you going to be there? There's a modern doctrine that's put around in many apostate churches and Many compromised churches. It's called the universal fatherhood of God. And what it means is that it tells us that we're all God's children. We're all going to heaven. God is a God of love and he can't judge anybody. It's harassing. It's nonsense, at the very least. Why would the Savior say he must be born again if we didn't need to be born again? It wouldn't make sense. And so therefore, let me ask you again in this meeting this morning, are you going to be there? Are you going to see Christ again? Are you going to be in glory with him? Are you going to go to a lost eternity in a place called hell forever? What a tragedy. What a tragedy after sitting in meetings such as this. and knowing of a fact that you need to be saved and converted and brought to Christ. And yet you haven't. And on some future day you find yourself in that lost eternity where boys like me are trying to warn you from. And part of the torment that will go on day after day after day after day will be the opportunities that you had to come to Christ. And you didn't. So tell me, are you ready to meet the Lord? Listen, some people get into a tizzy about what Christians do and how Christians live and everything else. You can't look at other people. None of us are perfect. I've said that. Christians are not. I remember seeing a bumper sticker in North America one time. It says Christians aren't perfect. They're just forgiven. And it's true. We are not perfect. I have told you how we let the Lord down day and day and thought, word and deed. And we do those things that bring shame and dishonor to his name. But for all that, the Bible tells us in the book of Romans that every man shall give an account of himself to God. So you will not have to stand before the Lord and wonder or try to come up with excuses. Because of seeing so-and-so doing that, that's not going to be the answer that's going to get you anywhere. You'll have to answer for yourself. Therefore, will you not be saved? Will you not come to Christ today and get the matter settled for all eternity? And then be sure to have been able to go to that land on that future day and see Him as He really is. Even be welcomed in and say, Hear the words, well done, my good and faithful servant. Man, I'm looking forward to that day and I trust that you will be as well. May the Lord bless His word to our hearts for His great name's sake.