All right. Good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. I hope you had a good week in the Lord. We're going to go ahead and get started with our service this morning as we praise to the Lord. (SINGING) Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation, O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation.

All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near. Praise him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigns. Shelters be under his wings, yet so gently sustaining. Hast thou not seen how thy desires have been? Planted in what he ordained? Amen. Praise to the Lord.

Praise to the Lord. He does prosper in thy work independently. Surely his goodness and mercy indeed we attend thee. Father, I do what the Almighty can do. With his love we give thanks. Praise to the Lord, the Lord, thou that takest me adore him. All that has life and breath, thou that placest before him.

Like the heaven sent from his people that day. Like the heaven sent from his people that day. All right. Good morning. Welcome to Brick Community Church. Again, as you guys know, our Taiwan team departed yesterday. So please continue to keep them in your prayers. They'll be back on the 28th and present what they were able to do over there.

So please continue to keep them in prayer. This week, we have praise and prayer. So we don't have regular Bible study. So please try to come to church a little bit earlier. Obviously, there is extra parking that we have and shuttles that are going around. So try to please come to church a little bit earlier so that we can start right at 730.

We have a men's ministry fellowship that's happening on Saturday, November 9th. At the fellowship, Paul, that's a Saturday. And basically, this time around, we have some older men who've been walking with the Lord for a while and have obviously been married for a while and raised children. And so we're going to be having a Q&A session for the rest of the church.

And so we're going to be picking their brains of what it was like when they were younger, what kind of struggles they went through getting married, raising kids, and dating, and all that stuff that the younger men, I think, would benefit to hear. And so please sign up for that.

That's happening on November 9th. Operation Christmas Child, our sister's ministry is sponsoring, again, for our Christmas outreach. And so the shoebox that they're making, there's a station outside. As you're coming in, you probably saw them. But as you're going out, if you sign up, they'll give you a box.

And they'll give you instructions. So please sign up for that if you want to participate in that. FAM 245, if you are married three years or less, there's a workshop that's happening on Saturday, November 16th at 10:30 AM. And so please come. The topic for this session is going to be biblical communication.

And then Thanksgiving outreach dinner, our outreach department is sponsoring an outreach dinner Saturday, November 16th at 6 PM. And so this is for friends and family, co-workers that you want to invite. They'll have a dinner talking about Thanksgiving, share the gospel, an opportunity to ask questions. And so if you are interested in coming or bringing somebody to that, please sign up for that.

Again, the sign-up tables will be outside as well or online. Berean men's, women's flag football, that's November 30th. So that's after Thanksgiving, after you've eaten too much. And then on Saturday-- so this before Sunday, it's usually a down Sunday. So you've done all your shopping, you've done all your eating, hopefully visiting your family.

And then on that Saturday, the men and women are going to be having a flag football day. So if you want to come and participate or if you want to just come and watch. But the sign-up for that is happening. So if you go outside, there will be a sign-up table for that as well for men and women.

And I think that it's going to be at the same park, November 30th. And then lastly, our sisters are, again, sponsoring Angel Tree Christmas. The last day to sign up for this is November 1st. Basically, this ministry helps families connect with loved ones who are in prison. And so it helps them to get the funds and things that they need to connect with them.

So if you want to provide for that, please visit the table, and they'll give you instructions for that as well. I think that's it for the announcements. Let me pray for us and give you an opportunity to give. And again, if you have a physical offering, there's a box that you can go visit on the way out.

OK, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for today. We pray that you would help us to lift our eyes, to see Christ and his glory in a greater light. Help us, Lord God, in the busyness of schedules, the entanglements, Lord God, with this life, that you would help us to see clearly how short this life is, that we are a vapor that comes and disappears, that we would entrust and invest things that are eternal.

I pray that this worship that we give, that by your Holy Spirit, that we be able to give as an abundance of gratitude and thanksgiving in our hearts. Help us, Lord God, if we have come into this room with grumbling and anxiousness, that you would help us, Lord God, to know you in a deeper way, that we would drink of the living water and the living bread, that we may know you, that we may proclaim you wherever you send us.

May the offering that we give would be an expression of this gratitude and may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Church family, would you please stand for worship and take a moment to greet those around you? I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.

Stand amazed. Stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful let my soul shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. He took my sins. He took my sins and my sorrows.

He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. How marvelous, how wonderful let my soul shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. And when the ransomed in glory, his face I last shall see, will be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me.

How marvelous. How marvelous, how wonderful let my soul shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful let my soul shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. Lord of every age, author of my faith, first and last the same, name above all names, crowned in majesty, glorious Prince of Peace.

Throne that guides right hand, worth at his command, worth at his command. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great you are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at your renown. There is no other Savior. Merciful and free, lover of the least. Generous and meek, protector of the weak.

Sacrifice to death, arrest your final breath. Dive the world to save, to overcome the grave, to overcome the grave. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great you are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at your renown. There is no other Savior. You reign forever, you reign forever, you reign forever, you reign forever.

You reign forever, you reign forever, you reign forever, you reign forever. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great you are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at your renown. There is no other Savior. Jesus, Lamb of God, how great you are. There is no other Savior. Every knee bows down at your renown.

There is no other Savior. There is no other Savior. There is no other Savior. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke, Chapter 9. We'll be reading from verse 28 to 36. Luke, Chapter 9, verse 28 through 36. Again, reading out of the NASB. Some eight days after these sayings, he took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

And while he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with him, and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

And as these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah," not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him." And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone, and they kept silent and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. Let's pray.

Father, give us understanding, give us ears to hear, give us surrendered wills, Father God, that as you are the potter and we are the clay, that we may be molded according to what you desire. Father, we ask that you would anoint this time with your blessing and illumination. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. I think most of you guys by this time have seen the A.I.s that's coming on our social media. And it's so good now that they can take a video and place a celebrity's face on it and make it say whatever it wants to say. Especially now we are going into the political season, and so much of the information that's being passed out there is being altered.

And so the opinions that we have are often altered opinions that are deliberately sent out. Whether it is an article or a podcast or a clip of a movie, and some with very bad intentions in order to slander and to get the false thoughts planted in people's heads. Now, some of it may be just entertaining, but some of it is very dangerous because false things are being spread like wildfire.

The difference between now and the other periods is that it spreads so quickly and easily. And some things that you hold so dearly in saying this is truth may be founded upon things that may not be true with very ill intentions. Now, this has always been the case because the Bible says that our enemy is a father of lies.

And so the primary way that he attacks Christian faith is through lies, through deception. And so we have been warned over and over again to remain sober, to seek truth, to discern what is right, what is wrong, what is from God, and what is from the devil. We have to be vigilant, especially as we are in a period where we have election coming up in a few weeks.

And I believe is one of the most important elections that we've had in, at least in my lifetime, just because of what is being fought for. I've never seen Christianity being this openly challenged, at least as long as I've been a Christian, where this false thinking has entered into the church and so many lies are being repeated like it's truth.

Again, my point today is not to get you to, you know, like this. It's not for political purposes, right, although it is important. It's so that we may pay attention to what the scripture says. My question is, how did you get here this morning? What caused you to say that you believe in Jesus and to follow Christ?

What brought you here? Did you examine the scriptures and you came to a point where you said, you know what, I believe what Jesus said, what he did was true. And the testimony of the disciples and the early Christians are true. I examined it and I've come to believe that it is true.

How many of you came because you grew up in a church and it was easier to stay on the boat than to get off? How many of you sit without day after day, week after week, month after month, because you're afraid of the consequence of seeking the truth? You're not sure if you believe, even though you come to church.

You're not absolutely convinced, so you kind of stay in the middle ground because if you seek the truth, either it will disturb you and will convict you that where you are is not where God wants you to be. And so there's a bit of fear that you're going to be convicted enough to pick up your cross, to go where you don't want to go, to do things that you don't want to do, to say things that you don't want to say.

Or you may seek the truth and maybe the end result of that is I don't really believe this. So therefore, you must leave the church. You must leave your traditions and the things that you work so hard to build. And so you deliberately choose to stay right in the middle where you can enjoy the benefits of Christianity, yet never fully committing yourself to Christ.

The Bible does not give us room for that. Either Christ was a crazy man. He said he was God. He said that he was going to take away the sins of the world. We believe that a man came back from the dead, that he created us, that after we die, that's where real life begins.

That's what we proclaim to believe. There's no middle ground to that. Either he was a madman deceiving the whole world, or he is who he said he was. Which is it? If you say he was a madman, you're in the wrong place. Every single minute that you spend at church is wasted time.

Every dollar that you give, every Sunday morning that you could have gone somewhere else and traveled, and made more money, made connections, you're wasting your time here. Or, if Christ is who he really said he was, maybe, maybe we're not really following Christ. That we're satisfied with being at church.

And so the question that Jesus asks, "Who do you say that I am?" Is the most important question, no matter where you are, even if you are sick, even if you have only 10 days to live. The most important question that you need to ask is, "Who do you say he is?" Do you actually believe that?

Is your life consistent with that confession? Or is your life consistent with a cultural Christianity? That allows you to feel safe because everybody else is doing what you're doing. Even if everybody else might be wrong, broad is the way, and straight is the way that leads to destruction. Narrow, narrow is the way.

And difficult is the way that leads to eternal life. And very few will be found in it. Are you the few? Are you the few? Or are you on a broad path where you have chosen the easiest? And if you've been in the church, you have friends in the church, you have community in the church, the broad and the easiest thing to do is to stay on that path.

It's not difficult. In fact, there's quite a bit of consequence if you walk away from your faith. You'll lose your friends. Maybe your parents who raised you in the church will be very disappointed. You're going to lose the community that you worked so hard to build. And so because of the fear of the consequence of making that decision, you hold on, not to Christ, but you hold on to superficial Christianity, where you are warned over and over again.

Not everybody who says to me, "Lord, Lord, shall I enter the kingdom of heaven?" You hear that, you know that, yet you ignore that out of fear. Are you following Jesus? Do you actually believe this? Jesus has been spending his whole ministry to confirm his identity. It's to prepare them for what he was about to do at the cross.

So every miracle that he performed was to present his credentials. He fed the poor. Yes, they were hungry, but he fed them to show them that the Son of Man has power and authority to forgive sins. He healed the sick. Yes, he had compassion on them, but he did that so that they will know that that man with same power has the power to forgive sins.

We've seen just in this text that Jesus has power over natural disasters. He has power over disease. He had power over demons, and ultimately he had power over death. And then he turns around to his disciples as he prepares to go to the cross. "Do you know who I am?" "Yes." "Some say you're Elijah, some say you're a prophet, some say you're Jeremiah, but who do you say?

Who do you say that I am?" "You are the Christ of the Son of the living God. God has revealed this to you, and upon this confession I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." But Jesus wasn't done yet. He wanted to make sure that this confession is going to be solidified at the transfiguration.

So he's about to head to the cross, and before he heads to the cross, he takes the three of his disciples, and he reveals to them his ultimate glory, so that after he resurrects and the lights begin to turn on in their head, they begin to realize what they saw, and that becomes the foundation upon which they testify about Jesus, which has brought us here 2,000 years later.

Every single one of these men gave their lives giving this testimony. Every single one of these men. John, he's the only one who didn't die, but he was miserable because he survived a boiling in the oil, and then he lived the rest of his life at Patmos writing the book of Revelation, and he didn't have a comfortable life, every single one of them.

They didn't receive glory. They didn't receive honor. They didn't receive wealth, but to their death, not only them, but all the early believers who saw the resurrected Christ, many of them gave their life giving the same testimony, and that has brought us here to this day. Again, the question is, is it that testimony that you believe, or is it because of tradition?

What brought you here this morning? Jesus reveals himself to the disciples. The word "transfigured" literally means to metamorphosize. Jesus completely is transformed, Luke 9, 29. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. Literally means flashing like lightning. He was glorified in his body, and they saw Jesus.

They spent two and a half years walking with Jesus, but they've never seen Jesus this way. Matthew's account says Jesus' face shined as the sun. He was not the same man. Do you remember when Moses seized God's glory, even though it was veiled? That glory just shining off of his face terrified Israelites, and they begged him to go into the tent, because that same God that they were terrified of up in the mountain, just a glimpse of that shining off of his face terrified them.

And so please don't speak to us directly. They made him put a veil on him and go inside the tent. That glory was shining off of Jesus' face and his body. He reveals himself to the disciples. And like it says in verse 27, "But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." Now some people interpret this a different way, but I think the best way to understand this is that he's referring to the transfiguration.

That some of them referring to Peter, James, and John are going to see the king exalted. They've seen him as a humble servant. They've seen him serving other people. But for the first time, they saw the king in his glory. And I believe that that's what verse 27 is referring to.

Many people see Jesus to this day. He's this humble king. And so we look at the humble king, expecting him to continue to serve us. As Christians, he is a humble king who was exalted to the highest place according to Philippians chapter 2. That because he humbled himself, even death on a cross, God exalted him to the highest place.

And every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Christ is Lord. And then when John sees the glorified Jesus in the book of Revelation, this is what John sees. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He didn't see Jesus humbled, washing people's feet, as that may have been his memory of him.

But when John sees him, he saw his glory, and he fell face down. And he placed his right hand on me, saying, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the living one. And I was dead. And behold, I am alive forever. And I have the keys of death and of Hades.

And this is what he meant. He wanted to show him what was coming, because he had these three men to testify. And it's the catalyst of these three men that has been connected to us all these years. Now, if you've ever played that game where you stand in a line of 10 people, and one person says this, and by the time it gets to the end, it doesn't sound anything alike.

So some people think that maybe Christianity is like that, that 2,000 years of being passed down to pass down, and now what we have today, how do we know? Well, that's a good question. Well, we know because we have the same words that they had. There's no other historical document that they have it from eyewitnesses like we do.

There's no document. The closest that we have of any document from its original is 700 years. The Bible is only 30, 40 years removed from the very authors who wrote it. So that's why we're confident that what they believe is exactly what we have, because we have those scriptures from the first century.

We are recipients of these eyewitnesses. I want to look at these three groups of people today, the people, Moses and Elijah, and God's voice himself, and what that means to us today, and why did God reveal himself in this way at the transfiguration? First, he takes the inner three, Peter, John, and James.

Wherever you see the names mentioned of the disciples, Peter, John, and James comes first. Because Peter is the leader, John and James are part of the inner circle. And I always, and I've mentioned this before, and this is probably because I'm a middle child, where is Andrew? Andrew's the one who introduced all of them to Jesus, and then he goes to the back seat.

And so maybe it never bothered you because you've always been the first son, and you were loved. Of course I was loved. But middle children, when they grow up thinking like, "Oh, don't worry about me." I'm not exactly sure why Andrew is not part of that, but I think the simple answer is probably the best answer, which is Jesus only needed three.

Because a three is a number of confirmation. All over the scripture, right, where two or three are gathered together in my name, the three testify, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. They say if there's anything against an elder, make sure it's confirmed with two or three witnesses. And so over and over again, the Bible says that three is the number for confirmation, and so Jesus only really needed three.

Then why not Andrew? Maybe, and again, this is my guess, that Peter was clearly the leader of the group, and John and James, these two brothers, these sons of thunders, could not be separated. So probably maybe the most humble of them, Andrew, maybe was chosen. Maybe Andrew, Andrew, hopefully you understand.

Your brother needs to be up there. These sons of thunders, they can't be separated. They need to be up there, okay? So this is not in the Bible. I'm just guessing. This is middle child exposition, right? For whatever the reason, these three are there, and they are repeatedly shown his glory.

Every instance in the Bible where God wants to present himself and send people out, he prepares them by showing his glory. Now today, if somebody wants to prepare for ministry, you go into seminary, you study a document, you learn how to do exposition, and you learn how to present facts to people.

You learn how to organize small group and disciple-making, but in the Scripture, none of that, none of that in and of itself is bad, but every instance in the Scripture where God wants to use a man, he opens their eyes to see God's glory. That was either with Abraham, with Moses, with Isaiah, with Ezekiel.

Every single person that God wanted to use, he reveals himself to them, because what God desires is not people to learn a bunch of facts and to be trained from other men how to do other manly things, and then to regurgitate that to somebody else. That's why we are called witnesses, to witness.

So the first thing that he does is to open their eyes to see his glory. So when they go out and represent the God that sent them, that they are able to show them and to tell them what they saw and experienced, not simply to go and study and then to regurgitate what I studied so that the people can study and then other people can study and more people can study.

God reveals himself to men to use him. In John chapter 114, John explains this experience in his words. "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, "and we saw his glory, "and the glory as the only begotten from the Father, "full of grace and truth." He said, "We saw it." We saw that glory.

"We walked with him, we saw his power, "but at the transfiguration, we saw his glory." Because through their testimony and then through the testimony of the disciples that the hope of the gospel was going to spread till he comes. Secondly, he shows himself, and Moses and Elijah is standing there.

Now why Moses and Elijah? There's so many great saints. How come maybe not David? How come Elisha? Why not Abraham? Why was it Moses and Elijah? If you read the New Testament, it's pretty clear. This is not any guesswork because Christ himself explains. Moses represents the law because the law came through Moses.

Elijah represents all the prophets. And to say Moses and Elijah represents basically the old covenant, Old Testament. And so when they say Moses and Elijah, it's like saying from our point of view, Old Testament, New Testament. So when they say Moses and Elijah, it's just the first century Jewish way of saying the Bible.

So Moses and Elijah appear representing the word of God. Matthew 5.17, "Do not think that I came "to abolish the law or the prophets. "I did not come to abolish, "but to fulfill the law." He came because so many prophecies have come through Moses and through the prophets. He says whole life of Christ and ultimately the glory of Christ was all predicted and proclaimed through Moses and the prophets.

Luke 24, verse 27, "Then beginning with Moses "and with all the prophets, "he explained to them "the things concerning himself "in all the scriptures." Again, I've only highlighted a couple for the sake of time. Over and over again, the New Testament says Moses and the prophets or the law and the prophets or Moses and the prophets, all of it referring to the scriptures.

Well, what is it about the scriptures that needed to be fulfilled? Luke 24, 44-48 says, "Now he said to them, "'These are my words which I spoke to you "'while I was still with you, "'that all things which are written "'about me in the law "'of Moses and the prophets "'and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" And then he explains what it is.

"Then he opened their minds "to understand the scriptures "and he said to them, "'Thus it is written "'that the Christ would suffer "'and rise again from the dead "'the third day, "'and that repentance "'for forgiveness of sins "'would be proclaimed in his name "'to all the nations "'beginning from Jerusalem.

"'You are witnesses of these things.'" Moses and the prophets prophesied about the coming of Christ, about his life, about his death, and about his resurrection. And he said, "Moses and Elijah "represents all those prophecies." So it's pretty clear why they were there. Because Jesus said from the beginning, "I've not come to abolish it.

"I didn't come to bring something new. "I came to fulfill "what God has been preparing "for all this time." They weren't just, you know, "Jesus is about to move on "to a new covenant." He said, "No, this is a continuation "of the covenant that God made." And that's why they were there.

But the ultimate testimony comes from God himself. He says that after having the conversation, the Father shows up in the cloud, and he speaks directly to confirm who Jesus is. Now, there's a difference here than when Jesus was being baptized, God, the clouds open up, and he says, "This is my son "in whom I am pleased." But here, he actually shows up in the cloud, and the disciples enter into the cloud, and he says, "Fear fall upon them." Every instance in the Bible where God's presence shows up, he is veiled, oftentimes, in the cloud.

And we know exactly why. Because his presence is terrifying. A sinful man cannot be in the presence of this holy God and see his face and live. We see in Mount Sinai where Moses says, "I want to see your glory," and he says, "If I show you my glory, "you cannot live, "but I will protect you "and cover you, "and as I pass by, "you will see my glory "from behind." And that glory that he saw a glimpse of, that shined off of his face, terrified the nation of Israel.

It was that glory that was coming. In fact, in Exodus 34-35, it says, "Then the cloud "covered the tent of meeting, "and the glory of the Lord "filled the tabernacle. "Moses was not able "to enter the tent of meeting "because of the cloud "had settled on it, "and the glory of the Lord "filled the tabernacle." The tabernacle was not a friendly place.

He said, "Oh, you know, "people gave sacrifices, "and it was at the center "of the camp "of the 12 tribes." Can you imagine the fear that fell upon them as soon as the first person died because they mishandled the offering? And that happened in the very beginning, in Leviticus chapter 10, Adab and Nebihu.

Can you imagine the fear that fell upon them that that which caused terror up in the mountain filled the tabernacle, but it was the tabernacle that kept them safe. It was the presence of their God as they were wandering in the desert that kept them safe from all the other more powerful nations to come and attack them, and they knew it.

Even though they were terrified of His presence, they knew only His presence would keep them safe from their enemies. "This same glory "that came the tabernacle "and eventually landed "upon the temple," we see in Ezekiel chapter 10 a very sad scene where repeatedly over and over again, God sends His prophets to warn them to turn from their sins or else the glory of God would leave Israel.

Ezekiel chapter 10, after the Babylonians come and take them into captivity, in captivity, God tells Ezekiel that He will withdraw His presence from Israel. Ezekiel chapter 10, verse 3 to 4, describes what happens. "Now the cherubim "were standing "on the right side "of the temple "when the man entered "and the cloud filled "the inner court.

"Then the glory of the Lord "went up from the cherub "to the threshold "of the temple "and the temple "was filled with a cloud "and the court was filled "with the brightness "of the glory of God." Now, if you notice here, He's in the inner court. The cloud comes, the glory is in the inner court, and then it begins to move toward the threshold.

Basically, it's like being in the inner bedroom, and then the glory is now in the living room, and then in verse 18, it says, "Then the glory of the Lord "departed from the threshold "of the temple "and stood over the cherubim. "When the cherubim departed, "they lifted their wings "and rose up from the earth "in my sight "with the wheels beside them, "and they stood still "at the entrance "of the east gate "of the Lord's house, "and the glory of God "of Israel hovered over them." So the picture that we see in Ezekiel chapter 10 is where the glory of God reluctantly is moving out of the temple and of Israel.

It's in the inner court to the threshold, from the threshold to the gate, and then as the glory departs, it begins to hover. And Dr. Harris, when he was here speaking many years ago, described this as a scene where someone is reluctant to say goodbye, and they're saying goodbye in the kitchen, and as they are leaving, they're turning around and saying goodbye, and then they stop at the door, reluctant to leave, but they know they have to go, and then as they are leaving, they're hovering, they're taking their time.

And that's the picture that we see in Ezekiel chapter 10, where because of their sin, God's presence is withdrawn. That's exactly what it says in the book of Revelation of the seven churches. He said all the sins that he indicted them, he said if you do not repent, I will take away your lampstand.

That's another way of saying that his glory will be withdrawn. This happened. Glory of God was withdrawn from the nation of Israel 600 years before this event. 600. 600 years. Israel went to the temple and sacrificed. 600 years. They prayed to God. 600 years they burned incense. 600 years they sang songs to this God.

And for 600 years, God did not listen. For 600 years, they were playing a religious game, but the glory of God was no longer there. And that's why he says, in the book of Isaiah, that your assembly is an evil assembly. Your singing is noise to me. Stop assembling in your evil assembly because the glory of God has been withdrawn for 600 years.

The presence of God was no longer there. And Israel didn't even know. He stopped sending his prophets 400 years of dead silence. No one spoke for God. The presence of God was completely withdrawn. And the first time they see the glory come back is when Jesus is baptized. This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.

And then at the transfiguration, where he is preparing for his glory to return. But the way that glory is going to return, there needs to be something done about their sin. And the only way that the glory of God can return is by what he was going to do at the cross.

He was going to cover the sins of sinners. And by doing so, he was going to come. That's the transfiguration. Transfiguration was a glimpse of him returning to his people. 600 years of silence. Now, 2 Peter 1, 16-19, Peter describes this scene in his own words. "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." He's talking about this.

"For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, 'This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.' And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

So we, a prophetic word, made more sure to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts." He says the things that we testify, the things that Moses and Elijah, the Old Testament testify, was made more sure how?

By God. The Father himself spoke to them. "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." Now why these three disciples? I mean, if you look carefully of them three, and especially the leader among them, Peter, they sometimes act like three stooges. There's a reason why Luke goes out of his way and he says, "So sleep overcame them." And that's the typical scene that we see with these three.

At the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knows, he told them he's going to suffer and die, and they just couldn't stay awake. And he says, "Your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak." So you have to pray. Your will, your willpower, your training, your know-how, you're not going to be able to do it.

You have to pray. In fact, in verse 33, it says, "When Moses and Elijah is about to depart, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Not realizing what he was saying. They had no idea.

They're about to leave. He's like, "Can you get them to come back? Let's go camping." And it says, they had no idea what they were talking about. It was gibberish. My professor used to say, you know, after he would create our papers, he said, "There's a lot of sunshine in this paper." Basically, it had to be, let's say, ten pages, and five pages were just sunshine.

In other words, there's no content. You just fill the ten pages. Right? He said, they were talking, but they had no idea what they were talking about because they didn't understand about Jesus' death and resurrection. In fact, when Jesus mentioned this over and over, all they were thinking about was glory.

I want to experience what they experienced and what they didn't know. And that's the reason why he told them to be quiet. Can you imagine? After seeing this sight, after hearing the voice of God, and at the end of it, God says, "Don't tell anybody yet." Right? Now, I don't know how good of a secret keeper these guys were.

Right? Some people have a hard time keeping even little secrets, but can you imagine hearing the voice of God audibly, seeing His glory, seeing Jesus glorified as the King, seeing Elijah and Moses, and at the end of that, He says, "Don't tell people yet." Right? Here it says, in the book of Luke, it just says they kept silent, but in Matthew, Jesus actually tells them, "Don't tell anybody." And we know clearly why.

Because the first time that they had an opportunity to testify about Jesus, they failed miserably because they didn't understand the cross. It wasn't until He died and was resurrected and Jesus opens their eyes, they begin to understand that's what He meant. Why were these weak men chosen? Feeble men.

Why does He even use us? I mean, our churches are filled with people who don't read the Bible, never even pray. Maybe this room is filled with people who've never even one time spoken the gospel with somebody. And yet He says, "I will build my church and gates of Hades will not prevail against it." He wasn't relying on their gifting and talent.

There wasn't something special about them. He says, before He went, He said, "Wait, because I already know you. Your credit score is low." Right? "You have 515 credit score. I can't give you a loan." He said, "But the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. The power is not within you." When He comes, then you will receive power.

You will be my witnesses. But see, the call of these disciples was not their own testimony. If a man stands before you and say, "I know you don't understand, but trust me." You run from that man. Because the testimony of whether it's a pastor, or an elder, or anybody in the church, or outside the church, their testimony isn't reliable.

So the goal of the testimony is to bring us to the Word of God. So if we don't bring you to the Word of God, and all I'm telling you is to trust me, the moment that I disappoint you, your whole faith crumbles. Because your faith was dependent upon another man, who's no different than you.

So the calling of the three is to bring them to the Word of God. Now here's where you and I need to be careful, because you go to a church where the Word of God is emphasized. We do inductive Bible study where the Word of God is taught. But if you stop here, you are also in danger.

There are some people who are in love with the idea of being in love with the Bible. In John 5, 39, it says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me." Do not become connoisseurs of good sermons.

Because the point of Scripture, the reason why they had to bring people to the Word of God, it says, "Preach the Word in season and out of season. Don't turn from it to the left or to the right. Don't add to it. Don't subtract to it." Every iota, jot and tittle, will be fulfilled.

Will be fulfilled, he says. But the purpose of the Word of God is to bring us to Christ. Because you and I are in a Bible community. You know, when I first became a Christian, because I saw the superficialness of the Church, I said, "You know what? It doesn't look anything like what I see in the Scripture." And I realized that's great.

Just like that tag, you know, started out great, but by the time we got 2,000 years later, it doesn't look anything like the beginning. So I realized we have to go back to the beginning. What did the first guy say? Which was the Word of God. And that's where we have to go.

We have to go to the original. So we are constantly reforming what went wrong in the last 2,000 years, according to the Word of God. But here's the danger. So many people in the Bible community get to the Bible, and they never get to Christ. They're in love with the idea of being in love with Christ.

It's like, you know, out of all the weddings that I've performed, every once in a while, I run into somebody who is committed to getting married, but they don't seem to love their future bride or their husband. But they're in love with the idea of the wedding. They're in love with the idea of the marriage.

It just happens like you need a husband to do that. You need a wife to do that. And so when you make marriage your idol, you're willing to get whoever is going to fulfill that purpose. And a lot of people with good intentions end up forfeiting and compromising their life as a result.

If our pursuit of Christ and truth causes us to end in the Word of God, you've missed the whole point. The reason why these men had to bring people to the Word is because the Word brings us to God. It brings us to Christ. There's so many people who are in love with the exposition of the Word, but they don't love Christ.

You know why I know that? You know how you know that? Because all they talk about is the Bible. The Bible. Which means it's a road, but they never get to the destination. The destination is Christ. There's no affection for Christ. There's no loyalty to Christ. There's no love of Christ.

There's no obedience to Christ. They love the idea of being biblical. You know why the difference is between being in love with Christ and being in love with the Word of God? If you're in love with the Word of God, all you do is to spread that other people love the Word.

But it's not Christ. It is not Christ. The greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Not love the Word of God with all your mind, strength. It's an avenue to get to Christ. If you end there, you're no different than the Pharisees.

The Pharisees, who are so committed to dissecting every part of the Word, and then when Christ came, he said, "I never knew you." Because if the Word of God leads you to Christ, automatically you are humbled. Why does the Word of God make you arrogant? Why does the Word of God make you judgmental?

Why does the Word of God make you proud? Because it hasn't led you to Christ. When you see the glory of Christ, when you see the humility of Christ, when you see the love of Christ, you change. And you become a witness. Now, some of you are Dodgers fans, right?

And you know what day it is. Today is the seventh game. If they win, they get to go to the World Series. If they lose, they go home, like everybody else, right? And you know who the Dodgers fans are. They're in the Dodgers chat room. Some of them may have been wearing Dodger uniform or their hat.

Whatever plan you had tonight was canceled because you got to go watch it. I think it's at 5 o'clock today, right? But you know who the Dodgers fans are because you didn't ask them. They weren't trained to be Dodgers fans. You just know because they love the Dodgers. That's their team.

And if you watch the Dodgers fans, they want everybody to know. It's on their Instagram. If they win, if Shohei Ohtani makes a home run, whether you like it or not, you're going to know about it. And they love to fellowship with other Dodger fans. I guarantee you as soon as this is over, there's going to be pockets of people that's going to be talking about today's game and who and where they're going to be watching this and they're going to be sharing and they're going to be in the chat room talking all this stuff.

And then they go beyond that. The real Dodgers fans can't wait for you to become a Dodgers fan. They are going to be evangelizing today because it makes them happy for you to love what they love. Right? When you force worship, I mean, you say, "Come on. "Let's go watch Dodgers fan.

"Let's just go watch Dodgers." But you're forcing. You're going through the motion. You put on the blue. You wear the hat. You have no interest. It's miserable. You're just playing the games because you're around people who love it. And then you say, "Fellowship." They're all talking, "Oh, Dodgers this, Dodgers that." And you try to play the game, but it's not there.

And for sure, you're not going to tell other people. You're not going to proselytize. But if your faith leads you to the Word and the Word leads you to Christ, you become a worshiper. You can't help but worship Him. You can't help but worship Him. There is nothing like Christ.

Even the mother's sacrificial love is nothing like Christ. Even your best friends who are so loyal to you and love you is nothing like Christ. The more you know, the more you see the glory of Christ, what can possibly be compared? And then fellowship just happens. I don't have to find somebody who's middle-aged or is Korean American and likes the food I like.

Like I said, I just meet somebody who's 15 years old or 90 years old, and if they love Christ, immediate connection with that person. And then the Christ that I love makes me rejoice to see other people come to Christ. It just makes me happy to see that they fall in love with what we love.

If the church is filled with people who love the Bible but do not love Christ, it is a miserable place to be. The Word of God becomes a source of a flashlight to point at other people and to see what they're doing wrong. But if that brings you to Christ, then the church changes.

Fellowship happens. Evangelism is an overflow of genuine worshipers who worship Him in spirit and in truth. He said what was told us by the apostles, what was confirmed and prophesied from the law of God and the prophets has been made sure by God Himself. And you and I have been called for that purpose.

And that's why He says, "This is my beloved Son. "Listen to Him. "Listen to Him. "Your life, my life depends on it. "Listen to Him." Let's pray. Father, help us. We're so easily distracted. It doesn't take much to fill us with pride. Help us, Lord God, to break away from religiosity, to see the aspects of our life that we have been accustomed to by tradition and teach us, guide us, convict us that we may be worshipers of Christ, that we may be servants of Christ, that we may be obedient to Christ, that we may be proclaimers of Christ, ultimately that we may be lovers of Christ.

May Christ and His name be glorified in your church. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise. ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Whose priceless blood has ransomed me ♪ ♪ Mine was the sin that drew the bitter nails ♪ ♪ And hung Him on that judgment tree ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Who crushed the power of sin and death ♪ ♪ My only Savior before the Holy Judge ♪ ♪ The Lamb who is my righteousness ♪ ♪ The Lamb who is my righteousness ♪ ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ My life He bought, my love He owns ♪ ♪ I have no longings for another ♪ ♪ I'm satisfied in Him alone ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ His faithfulness, my standing place ♪ ♪ Though fools are mighty and rush upon me ♪ ♪ My feet are firm, held by His praise ♪ ♪ My feet are firm, held by His praise ♪ ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Who carries me on eagles' wings ♪ ♪ He crowns my life with lovingkindness ♪ ♪ His triumphs all have ever seen ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Who waits for me at gates of gold ♪ ♪ And when He calls me, it will be paradise ♪ ♪ His face forever to behold ♪ ♪ His face forever to behold ♪ ♪ I will glory ♪ ♪ I will glory in my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Who waits for me at gates of gold ♪ ♪ And when He calls me, it will be paradise ♪ ♪ His face forever to behold ♪ ♪ His face forever to behold ♪ ♪ Let's pray.

Hebrews 1, 1 and 2. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers, in the prophets, in many portions, and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Hebrews 3, 15.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me. Father, I pray that Your Word that You have implanted in our hearts would bear fruit beyond memory. May it change us, revive us, renew our affection and our love for You, that we may be Your witnesses, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the end of the age.

Amen. ♪ God sent His Son ♪ ♪ They called Him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy My pardon ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lived ♪ ♪ Because He lived ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because He lived ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because He lived ♪ ♪ Yes, I depend on You ♪ ♪ For the victory ♪