This morning if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 9, we have been going through a short series on glory in relation to the subject of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus. And I'm preaching you five sermons on this subject because there's much to speak about in relation to the Lord's glory, how that affects you and I today. How extensive and powerful and wonderful is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So let's bow together for prayer and ask the Lord to help us here this morning. We pray our great God and Father for ourselves this morning as we would behold your glory once again in relation to this text of scripture. We want to understand what it means in a greater sense to know Christian, the Christian experience of glory. That is in our own hearts. You're working in us and through us and accomplishing many things through your people. We ask, oh Lord, that you will help us to understand this text better as we go on today. We pray that we would know the enlivening work of your spirit in our hearts so that we would grasp what is being said and the doctrines that flow forth from this text of scripture. Help us to expect the great things that are coming in this church age as well, and the great glory that will be seen in all the earth someday. We pray that you will bless us now and work in our hearts as we listen and as I preach, we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Mark chapter 9, and I want to read to you verses 1 to 13. And Jesus said to them, assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves and he was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear Him. And suddenly when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked him, saying, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Then he answered and told them, Elijah does come first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the son of man that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come and they did to him whatever they wished as it is written of him. Now it should be pretty obvious to us from these verses that I've just read to you that these three men who saw the transfiguration, who saw Moses and Elijah in the glory, they didn't yet understand what it meant for a person to rise from the dead. If this is the case, then I wonder if it might not also be true that there may be some persons here this morning who do not understand what it means either. The truth of the matter came out when Jesus gave Peter and James and John orders not to tell anyone about the transfiguration until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Now they obeyed Jesus in this matter of the transfiguration and keeping it to themselves, but among themselves they were asking, what does the rising from the dead mean? They didn't know what it meant. And this should show us that there were, in those days before Christ's resurrection, many people who were in great confusion on this subject. This confusion had resulted from what the disciples had heard the scribes teach. The disciples asked Jesus, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Sometimes the truths related to the fulfillment of prophecy are not easy, nor are they obvious. So in order to bring clarity to our thinking this morning, I would like to ask you to think about this question of theirs together with me, so that we might grow in our understanding of the greatness of Christ's kingdom and His glory. What does the rising from the dead mean? I want to answer this question by showing you what these words imply in their context. There are three things which these words imply. First of all, in these verses, Christ is linking His resurrection from the dead with our boasting only in what has been accomplished through us. Secondly, Christ is linking his resurrection to his own sufferings and to the labors and sufferings of all his saints. And then third, Christ is linking his resurrection to a correct view of the fulfillment of prophecy. I'm not going to have time to go through all three of these points this morning. I'm just going to take the first two. And then if you're interested in the third point, that is the linking of Christ's resurrection to a correct view of prophecy, I would ask you to read it online when you get a chance later on. I pray that these truths will bring hope and encouragement to all of God's dear people to persevere in their labors and better endure their sufferings for the sake of the glory and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, first of all, here in these verses, Christ is linking his resurrection from the dead with our boasting only in what the Lord has accomplished in us or through us, verses 9 and 10. Now, remember the context. The disciples and Jesus are coming down off the mountain where Jesus had been transfigured. That amazing revelation and manifestation of his true and everlasting glory and power had been revealed to these men. They had had a taste and they had caught a glimpse of the kingdom of God, as it says here in the text, coming with power. But here is something just as amazing. They are instructed to keep quiet about it. until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. That is, they were not to breathe a word about it to anyone until the Lord Jesus had fulfilled His mission and His ministry to accomplish redemption for all of God's people. But after that, they could speak of it. Why was this? Well, I think that in Christ's mind, it was not a good thing for Christians to boast in their experiences. The Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 15 verse 18, for I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. And you can see more of what he means by this if you'll turn with me over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verses 1 to 6. Second Corinthians chapter 12 and verses 1 to 6. Here Paul says, it is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ, 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows how he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast, yet of myself I will not boast. except in my infirmities or my weaknesses. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees in me to be or hears from me. Now, it's agreed by all the commentators that Paul is speaking here of himself. But he is doing so in the third person. He's doing so as though he's looking at himself. That he's not really actually making this boast on his own behalf. And he's doing that so he will not fall into pride. It appears that before he wrote these words, that he had already felt somewhat exalted in his heart over this experience because God had to give him something unpleasant in his flesh. He goes on to say in verse 7, and lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan. to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." Now Paul is saying here that whatever revelations of truth and doctrine that have been given to you that you need to be humbled by them rather than to let yourself think that you have become someone great as a result of receiving them. If God knows that you as a believer cannot sufficiently guard your heart from pride, then he no doubt will give you a thorn as well in your flesh. Paul said that he would not boast of his experiences except in thinking of them as having come to someone else. and not him. As for himself, he said that he would boast in his infirmities. God chose to let this thorn remain with Paul, even though he says in verse eight, concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in weakness, therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Now I need to ask this question this morning, whether you have learned this precious lesson yet in living your Christian life, in your own Christian experience. Can you really say as Paul does here in verse 10, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs and persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong. The reason that Paul can say this is that he would prefer Christ's strength to his own. And he would prefer that Christ would be seen rather than himself. by other people. In verse 11 he says, I have become a fool in boasting, you have compelled me. But what person in their right mind would boast of their weaknesses and their infirmities, their persecutions and their distresses? It is because there is for the believer a greater revelation of the glory of Christ. and His sufficiency, the sufficiency of His power and His grace, which is made real to your heart by faith in relation to those things which are difficult for you. This is where Christ's power is at work in you, and this is where it will be seen and known by you in your distresses and in your weaknesses. Now Paul does say, that he will speak the truth. But he will not be a fool in speaking it. He will be a fool for Christ. He will not be a fool by boasting in himself. He does know, as it says in Psalm 44, verse 8, in God we boast all the day long. And praise your name forever. I believe that in these verses that we are studying that Christ is linking his resurrection from the dead with the glory of building his church. And when he was raised from the dead and his redemptive work was finished, then he knew that that would be the right time for his disciples to speak of his power to save people from their sins. and that he was going to build his church by his resurrection power, then was the time that he would have this glory spoken of. Before that, he knew that he must humble himself even to the point of death, even the death of the cross. It was not the time for his exaltation, it was the time for his humiliation. But now that Jesus had been raised from the dead, that time, he is saying, would be the time when those who were his disciples could speak of his glory. It's his glory, not ours. which needs to be seen. And it is His Word accompanied by His resurrection power that needs to be heard in our generation. It's a great part of our witness to our Lord that we bear witness to His resurrection from the dead. For when we do so, we also bear witness to our own resurrection. We witness to the spiritual resurrection of our soul in telling other people that we have been born again by the Spirit of God, our regeneration. And we bear witness also to what we know by faith will take place on the day of the resurrection, the general resurrection of all the dead physically, when Christ returns, that we will be raised from the dead physically. We will be glorified together with Christ on that day, when He returns. It's not good that we boast in ourselves and our own experiences, but in the Lord we can boast all the day long. This is the glory of Christ building His church. It's based upon His being raised from the dead. And God the Father has the power to be able to apply Christ's righteousness and His grace to our hearts as sinners who are guilty, as sinners who are polluted, as sinners who are helpless, as sinners who are hostile to God. And so then by His great power in giving us the Holy Spirit, we behold this great glory which is in Christ as we hear the gospel and we come to Him by faith. And then when we come to Him, we find salvation in Him. And we find the forgiveness of all of our sins. And then we find to our great joy that it is His glory, the glory and power of His grace, which then sustains us in all of our difficulties and sufferings. So that's our first point. That's our first point. We should not boast. in any of our own Christian experiences, but we should be ready to boast in the Lord at all times, and especially in Christ's resurrection from the dead, whereby we receive power and we behold His glory in a very personal sense. Now secondly, Christ is linking His resurrection to His own sufferings and to the labors and the sufferings of all of His saints. These disciples, Peter, James, and John, they were not looking for Christ to have to suffer. They were looking for Him to come and establish an earthly, temporal kingdom and for His glory to be seen by men without their Lord Jesus having to suffer. But the Lord Jesus was reproving this conception of theirs. by telling them that they should not speak a word of His glory and the glory of His kingdom to others until He was raised from the dead. His saying this implied that He was going to have to suffer. He was going to have to die. And His death might be sometime soon. in relation to their experience, they were confused. They knew that the scribes had told them that Elijah would come first, before their Messiah. If their Jesus was the Messiah, then why wasn't Elijah with them now? They thought to themselves. Why had he not come first? Why did he appear in the transfiguration and then vanish? They didn't understand the prophecy of Malachi chapter 4 and verse 5. So Jesus says to them, indeed Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And I want you to turn over with me to this prophecy in Malachi chapter 4 and verse 5. And verse 5. It says here, remember the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. Now couple this verse with Malachi chapter three, And verse one, behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Now these verses in chapter four at first glance might appear to be speaking of God sending Elijah the Tishbite. The same man who was active in Israel in the days of King Ahab to do this great work of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers and to prepare the way before Christ. But Jesus was saying that it was John the Baptist that was being referred to. The prophecy does not say Elijah the Tishbite. It says Elijah the prophet. Now turn over with me to Luke chapter 1 and verse 13. Luke chapter 1 and verse 13. Zacharias, the soon-to-be father of John the Baptist, is being given this good news of the birth of his son by an angel of the Lord, and he is troubled, and he is afraid. And in verse 13 it says, but the angel of the Lord said to him, do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Now you can see from these words that John the Baptist most certainly is the fulfillment of these prophecies in Malachi 3, 1 and 4, 5. John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come first. And this is also confirmed for us if we turn over to Matthew chapter 11 and verse 13. Matthew 11 and verse 13. It says here, and from the days of John the Baptist, until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. It says here. Now that's pretty plain, is it not? John the Baptist would come and he would preach in the spirit and power of Elijah, and by the means of the blessing of the Spirit upon him, he would have the same kind of ministry as Elijah had in the days of King Ahab. He would turn the hearts of the fathers to think of their children and their need of Christ. and his righteousness. But the prophecies do not specifically speak of John the Baptist having to suffer and die as he did. So Jesus had to plainly tell his disciples in verse 13 that Elijah has also come. and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him." The words, as it is written of him, do not refer to the clause, they did to him whatever they wished. They refer to his coming before, preparing the way of the Lord, even as the scribes had said. And Jesus even goes further here, and he also speaks of his own sufferings in relation to his labors and his glory when he adds, and how it is written concerning the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt. You see, Jesus was letting his disciples know in no uncertain terms that suffering and glory were intricately linked for him in his life and ministry. They are intricately linked together in our lives as well. And whatever labor and service that we will do for Him. And this is why I say that when you receive a great revelation of glory in connection with the preaching of the Scriptures and it comes to your soul with power, then you need to understand that this revelation is meant to motivate you to a greater labor for Christ. It's given to you to expect that you will suffer in certain ways. that he is appointed for you, so that God would be glorified in you. Let me give you an example of this. I want you to turn with me over to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. And we have here in verses 1 to 19 of Acts chapter 9, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus who would become the great Apostle Paul. He was a persecutor of the church. He was a blasphemer and an insolent man, but he received mercy and he received grace and a revelation of the glory of Christ. When he was converted, verse three, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. And then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. Now, if you will hold your place here in Acts chapter 9 and turn over to Acts chapter 22 and verse 9. Something more is added for our understanding. It says that he indeed saw the light, and the people that were with him saw the light. They were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. So I said, what shall I do? And the Lord said to me, arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all the things which are appointed for you to do. This is an amazing passage, a well relating about his experience on the road to Damascus. And then it says, then a certain Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a testimony with all the Jews and dwelt there, came to me and he stood and he said to me, brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him." Now you can see here that in Paul's case the veil was removed from his heart as well as his receiving spiritual sight. But something like scales fell off of his eyes It says in Acts chapter 9 and verse 18. But if you will now turn back to Acts 9.13, we find something that relates directly to our study. Ananias did not want to go to Saul. And this is what he said to the Lord when the Lord told him to go. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name. And this is the verse that I want you to see. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things or how much he must suffer for my name's sake. So Saul in his conversion was given a revelation of the glory of Christ. But in these words spoken to him by Ananias, he was also being told that the Lord would show him just how much he must suffer for his name's sake. Did you know that all the sufferings that you will endure as a Christian are sufferings for the Lord's namesake? And that these sufferings are proportioned out for you and that the glory revealed to you by Christ is proportioned out for you as well. But that the glory revealed to you by Christ is something that is meant to sustain you and bear you up. during the time of your sufferings and difficulty. All this comes with Christ's imparted grace, and it will enable you to endure all of your sufferings as you trust in your great Lord. And oh, how I hope that you will receive this truth, this great truth this morning. It was the resurrected Christ who said these things to Ananias in relation to Paul, and Ananias was the preacher of God's word to him. The glory of God and of Jesus Christ had been revealed to Saul in his conversion, and that glory would transform that sinful man into an apostle, along with the words of the Lord. and of Ananias. The glory of Christ's powerful grace would sustain Paul in all of his labors and all of his sufferings for Christ. And this strong witness to God's mighty grace would go forth from Saul's life according to the resurrection power. of Jesus Christ working in him. And so you should understand that Paul always longed for and he prayed for a greater revelation of the glory of Christ. And you see this in Philippians chapter 3 verses 7 to 10, Philippians chapter 3 and verses 7 to 10, where Paul says, but whatever things were gained to me, these I have counted. Loss, he says, for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now this ties it all together, does it not? Paul had Christ's great glory revealed to him on the road to Damascus, and that great impression upon his soul was sustaining him in all his labors and all of his sufferings, but he still longed for more. Do you see that? He wanted to know more of the power of Christ's resurrection, to receive greater power to continue to labor and even to suffer until God gave him the upward call. Let us ask ourselves if that is us. If the Apostle Paul prayed this way, then surely you and I can too. Biblical knowledge, listen to me now, biblical knowledge by itself is not enough to sustain and empower you to labor and serve for Christ. But the glory of God with that knowledge is. And how I pray that you and I would behold it in our everyday lives, living for Him. What does this look like practically? As I've said to you, there is a time for His glory being revealed, and there is a time for your suffering for His namesake. And then comes the further revelation of His glory, both in being able to endure these sufferings, and then also at the time of your death. It is not just that glory, glory dwells for you sometime in the future in Emmanuel's land, as we sing, that's true, it is coming. But it dwells right now in your heart when you live by faith. and the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. When you believe in Christ, you will speak of his glory. Second Corinthians 4.13 says, and since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke knowing that it is he who raised up the Lord Jesus who will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you. These verses follow shortly upon verses six and seven. of 2 Corinthians 4 which say this, for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we know it is not good to take our pearls, dear brethren, and cast them or throw them before a swine. But it is good to speak the glory of what Christ has done at the cross, and the glory which we have come to know in our hearts, provided that we keep from exalting ourselves, as I've already said to you. God is glorified in our dependence upon Christ. You see, there's a glory in Christ building His church, a glory that began when He was raised from the dead. And this was the beginning of His kingdom coming with power. A glory that began when He was raised from the dead. And the glory of this power is known by each and every Christian individually, and it is also known collectively by Christ's church. And when Christ rose from the dead, he began building his church. But in his building his church, he does so through the manifestation of his glory in the regeneration of his people by his spirit. And this is the means that he reveals his glory. He is giving them a revelation of the glory that will sustain them. A revelation of glory which will give them joy and rejoicing in the midst of their trials. Listen to 1 Peter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Now listen to this. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, You have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him yet believing, watch this, you rejoice with joy inexpressible. and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." What a wonderful description of what I'm talking about. This is what Christ rising from the dead produces in your life when you are trusting in the Savior. It produces the fruits of love and joy. because you are beholding His glory. Now these graces which are produced in us by God's Holy Spirit fill our hearts with the glory of Jesus Christ and the love of Jesus Christ. I like what Jonathan Edwards says in his treatise on the religious affections concerning 1 Peter 1. And verse eight, their joy was full of glory. He says, their joy was full of glory, although the joy was unspeakable, and no words were sufficient to describe it. And yet something might be said of it, and no words more fit to represent its excellency than these, that it was full of glory, or as it is in the original, glorified joy. In rejoicing with this joy, their minds were filled, as it were, with a glorious brightness, and their natures exalted and perfected. It was a most worthy, noble rejoicing that did not corrupt and debase their minds, as many carnal joys do, but did greatly beautify it and dignify it. It was a pre-libation, it was a foretaste, or a pre-pouring out of the joy of heaven. that raised their minds to a degree of heavenly blessedness. It filled their minds with the light of God's glory and made themselves to shine with some communication of that glory. And hence the proposition or doctrine that I would raise from these words, Jonathan Edwards says is this, that true religion, in great part, consists in holy affections. He also says, The nature of this joy unspeakable and full of glory, unspeakable in the kind of it, very different from worldly joys and carnal joys of a vastly more pure, sublime, and heavenly nature being something supernatural and truly divine, and so ineffably excellent. In other words, you can't express it. It's so great. The sublimity, Edward says, and the exquisite sweetness of it, there were no words to set forth. Unspeakable also in degree, it having pleased God to give them this holy joy with a liberal hand in their state of persecution. And that is what Christ rising from the dead means for you, dear Christian. It means the glory of Christ in you and the glory of Christ working in you and through you. And in this, every Christian can and should rejoice. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this powerful, powerful section of the scripture which has spoken to us of the glory of Christ, and now fill our hearts, dear Lord, once again with this glory, so that we are transformed by it from one degree of glory to another, as by your Spirit, so that we will be able to endure difficulties, and persecutions, and sufferings, and weaknesses, and infirmities, and all of these things that come to us, so that we might show forth Your power and Your glory. For we pray it in Your name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Well, let's close our time here this morning by singing hymn number 379 together. Number 379, send thou, Lord, to every place swift messengers before thy face, the heralds of thy wondrous grace, where thou thyself will come. Let's stand and think about these things we've heard this morning and sing these good words together. Send Thou, O Lord, to every place swift messengers before Thy face, the heralds of Thy wondrous grace, where Thou Thyself wilt come. Send men whose eyes have seen the King, men in whose ears his sweet words ring. Send such thy lost ones home to bring, send them where thou wilt come. To bring good news to souls in sin the bruised and broken, hearts to win in every place, to bring them in where thou thyself will come. Curd each one with the Spirit's sword, the sword of Thine own deathless Word, and make them conquerors, conquering Lord, where Thou Thyself will come. ♪ Raise up, O Lord, the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ From this broad land of mighty hosts ♪ ♪ Therefore cry, we will seek the lost where thou, O Christ, will come ♪ And now, Lord, be with us as we are dismissed from your presence. May you go with us and work in us what is pleasing in your sight, and we will give you the glory and the thanks for it. Amen.