Welcome everyone. I'm stoked that you could be with us for today's Beach Talk.
I want to help us understand every word of God that's in the Word of God because
we are disciples or followers of Jesus Christ. It's our responsibility as
disciples to understand God's Word and decide ahead of time that we're going to
do what it says. This is what it means to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. So
our objective is simple. It's disciples making disciples who plant churches that
plant churches so the grassroots movement of Jesus can continue all over
the world. Now in 2020 we had four churches in two countries and in 2021
our vision is to have eight churches in four countries. So please agree with us
in prayer about this as this is the vision we have for this year because
it's not the number of people that we have in our church. It's the number of
churches that our people start. Now this is our key performance indicator, our KPI.
This is our driving metric for ocean water. So be praying about this and keep
this in front and center of your mind about what God might be talking to you
about. So today we're in Matthew chapter 17 verses 1 through 3. It says now after
six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother and led them on a high
mountain by themselves and as he was transfigured before them his face shone
like the Sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Now Jesus was
transformed to show us that we can be transformed. This is what Jesus does. He
transforms people. He took Peter, James, and John. Jesus did not invite all the
disciples to this experience but only these three. Jesus did this to prevent
the account of this miracle being told before the time was right. Now others have
suggested that he did this because there were three needed, these three needed
closer supervision than the others, sort of the class clowns of the group. Now
Jesus led them on a high mountain and was transfigured before them. Now the word
transfigured speaks of a transformation not merely of a change in outward
appearance. The effect was extremely striking. Jesus became so bright in
appearance that he was even difficult to look at like the Sun, S-U-N. Now the verb
metamorphu here means transfigure or to change in form. It suggests a change of
the inmost nature that can be outwardly visible. Now essentially this was not a
new miracle but the temporary cessation of an ongoing one. The real miracle was
that Jesus most of the time could keep from displaying his glory. John said we
beheld his glory. Now Peter wrote we were witnesses of his majesty. Now his face
shown like the Sun in his clothes became as white as the light. It was his face
that did shine as the Sun. He wasn't transformed into another being with
another body. It was his own face that made this light. Jesus was showing us
that we can be transformed by God's power because this is what he does in
people's lives. Jesus had his disciples with him and he was not glorified
apart from them because we share in his glory just like we do in God's kingdom
work here on earth. Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Now these two Old
Testament people appeared and spoke with Jesus. Moses lived 1400 years before,
Elijah 900 years before, but they become a part of this story in a miraculous way
maybe in like a resurrected or glorified state. Now they represented both the Old
Testament law, Moses, and the prophets, Elijah. The sum of the Old Testament
Revelation came to meet with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration. We can say
that Moses and Elijah represent those who were caught up to God and defined
their experience up to that point. More specifically, Moses represents those who
die and go to glory and Elijah represents those who are caught up to
heaven without death as described in the rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4. Now in
verse 4 and 5, Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.
If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold a bright cloud
overshadowed them and suddenly a voice came out of the clouds saying, this is my
beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear him. Jesus is establishing his
supremacy. Is he supreme in your life? Is he number one for you? This is a
rhetorical question meant to make you think. Think about that. Is Jesus supreme in
your life? Now those said without careful thought, the effect of these words put
Jesus on an equal level with Moses and Elijah building equal shrines for each
of them. This is not what was intended. Peter sort of didn't know what he was
talking about. Now this is the cloud of God's glory called the Shekinah in the
Old Testament. From this cloud of glory, God the Father spoke. This is kind of the
experience that they were having here. He said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm
well pleased. Hear him. The Father from heaven rebuked Peter's attempt to put
Jesus on an equal footing with Moses and Elijah and while he was still speaking,
it was important to interrupt Peter so that all would know that
Jesus is unique and the beloved Son of God. He deserves our special attention so
we need to hear him. This is another development as well in the theme of the
conflict between Jesus and the religious people. For these words from heaven, God
the Father clearly said Jesus above the law and the prophets. He's not to be seen
as merely another lawgiver or a prophet. Jesus is the Son of God. Now hear him. If
we should listen to anyone, we should listen to Jesus. One would think that a
voice from heaven would say, listen to me, but the Father said, hear him.
Everything points us to Jesus. Charles Spurgeon said, if Peter is our master, let
us call him that. If Calvin is our master, let us call him that. Or if John Wesley
is our master, let him let us call him that. But if we are disciples of Jesus,
then let us follow Jesus and follow him with other men only so far as we
perceived that they followed Christ. Now verses 6 and 8, and when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid, but Jesus came and
touched them and said, arise and do not be afraid, for when they had lifted up
their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now the disciples
reacted with fear like we sometimes do. They didn't fall on their faces when they
saw Jesus transfigured, not when his face shone like the Sun, not when his clothes
became as white as the light, not when Moses and Elijah appeared with him, not
when Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus, and not even when the cloud of glory
appeared or overshadowed them, but when the disciples heard the voice from
heaven, they fell on their faces and they were afraid. You see, sometimes when God
talks to us, it can shake us up. When God really starts speaking to you,
sometimes we can fall on our face in fear. Now the disciples were once again
uniquely in awe of Jesus. This helps explain the purpose of the
transfiguration, to reassure the disciples that Jesus was the Messiah,
even if he would indeed be crucified as he had so surprisingly
revealed. Now note the context, Jesus just revealed his humiliation and
sufferings to them. It makes sense that they received another divine testimony to
Jesus' status as the Son of God at this time. When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but
Jesus only. It's significant that their entire focus was forced upon Jesus once
again. Now the cloud was gone, Moses had left, and Elijah had disappeared. It might
have been that after the events of the transfiguration, no one remained for the
disciples. Theoretically, when the experience was over, there would have
been no more Moses, no more Elijah, no Jesus. This is exactly the experience of
many. They have some spiritual experience, or receive a little bit of the Holy
Spirit. When it's over, it's done and gone. Nothing remains. We are to make sure
that Jesus remains in our life. This is why we need Jesus and his Word. It might
have been that after the events of the transfiguration, only Moses remained for
the disciples. Now theoretically, when the experience was over, there would have
been only Moses, though Moses was a great man compared to Jesus. He was like the
moon is to the sun. It would be sad to exchange the grace and truth that came
by Jesus for the law that came by Moses. But there are those sad ones who only
see Moses in his law, not Jesus. Now it might have been that after the events of the
transfiguration, only Elijah remained for the disciples. When the experience was
over, there would have only been Elijah. Elijah was a man great for the power of
his Word and the boldness of his national reforms. Yet all this doesn't
compare to the person and work of Jesus. Does that sound familiar? Not national
reform, but personal reform. Now verses 9 through 13, now as they came down from
the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, tell the vision to no one until the Son
of Man is risen from the dead. And his disciples asked him saying, why then do
the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Jesus answered and said to them,
indeed Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that
Elijah has come already and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they
wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands. Then the
disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptist. So Jesus told
the disciples not to speak of the transfiguration until after his
resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus was the final confirmation of his
ministry in glory. Until then, reports of the transfiguration would be more likely
to test the faith of those who did not see it, rather than strengthen their faith.
But I say to you that Elijah has come already, yet there was also a sense in
which Jesus could rightly say, Elijah has come already. Elijah had arrived in the
work of John the Baptist, who ministered in Elijah's spirit and power,
according to Luke 1. You see, this is evident from a comparison of the life of
both Elijah and John the Baptist. There were some similarities. Elijah was
noted as being full of zeal for God, so was John the Baptist. Elijah boldly
rebuked sin in high places, so did John the Baptist. Elijah called sinners and
compromisers to a decision of repentance, and so did John the Baptist. Elijah
attracted multitudes in his ministry, so did John the Baptist. Elijah attracted
the attention and fury of a king and his wife, so did John the Baptist. In fact,
that ultimately cost him his life. Elijah was a wise man, and so was John the
Baptist. Elijah fled to the wilderness. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness.
Elijah lived in a corrupt time and was used to restore a failing spiritual
life, and this was also true of John the Baptist. Now look at verses 14 through 16.
It says, and when they had come to the multitude, a man came to him kneeling
down to him and saying, Lord have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and
suffers severely, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. This particular
boy's epileptic symptoms were demonic in origin, though not epileptic symptoms are
demonic in origin, but they are in this story. The narrative tells us that the
boy was made deaf and dumb by this demon. Jesus can heal, but he doesn't always
heal. In this story, he heals and he eliminates the devil. He says they brought
him to his disciples, but they could not cure him. Sometimes Jesus' followers fail,
but Jesus never does. The man was wise for going straight to Jesus when his
followers failed. On previous occasions, the disciple did not cast out demons, yet
here they could not cure him. This is because there are ranks of demonic
powers, according to Ephesians 6, and evidently some demons are stronger or
more stubborn than others. Since the disciples have been given the authority
to cast out demons before Matthew 10, apparently this demon was more difficult
than most. So Jesus takes care of it. Their failure was in fact good for them,
just like failure is good for us, because our failure can teach us not to get into
a rut of just doing things. It can teach us the superiority of Jesus. When we are
weak, he is strong. It can help us to wish for the presence of Jesus and long for
it. It can help us to come to Jesus with more problems, which is what we're
supposed to do. And Jesus takes care of this problem, because Jesus has
authority over everything. Now look at verse 17 through 21. He says,
So faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? Shall I bear with you?
Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the
child was cured at that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and
said, Why could we not cast it out? So Jesus said to them, Because of your
unbelief, for assuredly I say to you, If you have faith as a mustard seed, you
will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. And nothing
will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and
fasting. Now what is he teaching us here? Now there's a sense that Jesus is
frustrated with his disciples. His season of ministry before the cross was
coming to an end, and perhaps he felt frustrated that his disciples did not
have more faith, and they should have been able to take care of this
themselves. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him. Jesus delivered the
demon-possessed boy instantly. What was too hard for the disciples was not too
hard for Jesus. Jesus laid the inability of the disciples to cast out the demon
at their unbelief. To be successful in a battle against demons, there must be
trust in the Lord God who has complete authority over the demons. There are
some things which are obtained by a stronger faith and by more fervent and
opportunity prayers than others are. A mercy sometimes seems to
come to the hand of God more easily for those who were wrestling with him. There
was no point in blaming the boy or his father for the demon, though the demon
was strong and had been there long before. The fault lay in the disciples. If
you have faith as a mustard seed, the faith that must have has more to do with
what kind of faith it is than how much there is. A small amount of faith, as
small as a mustard seed, a very small seed, can accomplish great things or
huge things if that small amount of faith is placed in God. What an
encouragement that God can do a lot with a little bit. Little faith can
accomplish great things, but great faith can accomplish even greater things. What
matters most is what our faith is in, the object of our faith. Jesus here in
effect calls faith an uprooter of mountains, a phrase current in the Jewish
schools for a rabbi distinguished by through personal experience. This kind
does not go out except by prayer and fasting. We show our faith in and a
reliance on God through prayer and fasting. It displays an occupation with
and dependence on Jesus. Great prayer and fasting will display an earnestness
before God that brings answer to prayer. We often pray dispassionately, almost
asking God to care about things we care little or nothing about. Prayer and
fasting demonstrate a willingness to identify with the afflicted person and
understanding of the strength of the demonic world, a dependence upon God 100%,
a desire to fight and sacrifice for the sake of deliverance. In verses 22 and 23,
now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the Son of Man is
about to be betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill him and on the
third day he will be raised up. And they were exceedingly sorrowful. Though they
were frequent, these reminders about Jesus's suffering and resurrection were
disbelieved and forgotten by the disciples until after his resurrection.
Jesus rarely told his disciples about his coming death without also telling
them about the coming resurrection. We know that the disciples really didn't
comprehend the triumph of the resurrection because they were so sad
about it. We easily get overwhelmed by our circumstances. Sometimes grief can
can overshadow our success. Now verse 24 through 26, when they'd come to
Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, does your
teacher not pay the temple tax? And he said yes and when he had come into the
house Jesus anticipated him saying, what do you think Simon, for whom do the
kings of the earth take customs or taxes? Their sons or strangers? Peter said to
him from strangers and Jesus said to him, then the sons are free and does your
teacher not pay the temple tax? This was a normal tax or a fee applied to every
Jewish person. Faithful Jewish men paid this obligation. Others sought to escape
the responsibility. Just like today, some people pay their taxes and others people
try to not pay their taxes. We're supposed to pay our taxes and you as and
get out of as many taxes as long as it's legal. Now verse 27 he says, and when you
and go down to the fish and when it's open its mouth you will find a piece of
money take that and give it to them give to them for me and you. Jesus was not
obligated to pay this tax under the principle he had just discussed with
Peter. That as a son not as a servant. He did not have to pay this temple tax yet
Jesus also recognized the importance of avoiding controversy. So he paid his
taxes just like we're supposed to and so was willing to pay the tax just as not
to offend those who question. Now the use of the Greek word scandalizine leads
us to think that Jesus was saying we must pay so as not to set a bad example
for others. We're not meant only to do our duty we must be go let's go beyond
our duty in order that we may show others the right way to be. Now Peter was
a professional fisherman who used nets not a hook in the line. It must have
humbled Peter to fish in this manner and we can imagine that he had hoped none of
his other fishermen friends saw him trying to catch one fish at a time. He
had much more pride than that. Jesus trusted in the miraculous provision of
God. It's not every day or any day that someone catches a fish and takes a coin
out of its mouth to pay his taxes but Jesus used this provision to pay his
taxes. Now we don't know why Jesus didn't tell Peter to provide enough to
pay for all of the disciples. Perhaps it was implied or understood that at this
time Jesus it was only required of Jesus and Peter because it was the collection
from the city of Capernaum and only Peter and Jesus were at this time
residents of Capernaum. So this wraps up our time today looking at Matthew chapter 17.
Now I love it when God speaks to us through his word. God always speaks to us
every time we hear his word. Now what was God speaking to you about today? Let's
talk to God about that. Let's pray about that together. Maybe you've never prayed
before. Prayer is just talking to God. Maybe you need to hit reset in your life
or get a fresh start or maybe you need to stop doing some things in your life
and start doing some new things. You know we can always pray and ask for God's
help. Let's pray together right now. Just say God help me to change my life. Hit
the reset button on my life. Give me a fresh start. Help me to stop the things I
know I need to stop and help me to start the things I know I need to start. Help
me to follow you in Jesus name. Amen. Now I want us to take our offering the Bible
teaches us to give as part of our worship. Christians have been practicing
this for thousands of years. I didn't invent giving. God did. The Bible teaches
the concept of giving 10% of our incomes to support God's work in the world
through the local church. That's what we teach. That's what we want to be a part
of. We want to use the resources that come in to bless the world. In our case
helping people get their water out of the ocean for free. And God is helping us
do that. Be faithful today in the giving that God puts in your heart. Now if you
would like to do that how to give you can go to Oceanwater.com and do your
giving there. We are all set up for that. I pray God's blessing on you and have a
beautiful day.