Relish Your Bible

When you travel to a foreign country you probably notice what I do.  Yes, you will see signs written in a language you may not know.  The people might look differently than you do.  But, what I notice are the guards at the entrance point are carrying big guns.  Whether it’s at the airport or a check point at the boarder you’ll see guards.  I’ll never forget what it was like when we entered Japan at Narita airport.  Along the road into or out of the airport you’ll also see armed soldiers in towers, bunkers, and drive around barricades and trucks with water cannons.   These are sights quite different than the airports around the USA.  But, you also have the feeling of being well protected.  Seeing all that security gives you confidence that you’re safe inside that airport.

Two months ago we were standing with John the Baptist and Jesus along the Jordan River and heard the commanding voice of God say, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him” (Matt 3:17). It would be difficult to believe those words since Jesus appeared as the Son of Man without the glory of heaven beaming around him.  But, today we hear the voice of the Father once again reassure us that Jesus is our Savior.  And where do you hear that voice speak clearly God’s Word?  In your Bible!  So, on Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday of Jesus revealing himself as True God in his glory, relish the Word you hear today before we begin our journey through Lent when we witness the suffering and death of Jesus.  Listen carefully and then 

Relish Your Bible

Reliable Account

When someone tells you, “Hey, they are catching lots of fish along Rowlett Creek,” do you believe them?  Then when you see fishermen walking back to their cars with stringers full of fish that certainly bolsters your confidence.  Or if you find yourself walking down a dark street and there are some shady characters standing off to the side watching you, it’s nice to see a police car patrolling the area. Seeing helps our believing that we are safe.  And that would suggest to some why it is so difficult to be a confident Christian.  The Bible tells us that God wants us to be a confident Christian, but you have never seen Jesus turn water into wine, feed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread, and you have never seen Jesus in all his glory.  Perhaps this makes you notice something else about God–our God is a God who likes to hide himself, who likes to remain invisible. “I will take care of you,” God says. But as you drive down the road, as you go to work, as you spend time at home, or as you go about your day, you never, ever see God. “I’m in control of the world,” God says. But then you see alleged spy balloons being shot down, or over 35,000 people die in the earthquake in Turkey, tornadoes destroying homes, or even crimes, disease and sickness in your life. Don’t you want to ask yourself sometimes, “Where is God?”

When you’re struggling with a problem you might find yourself looking up to heaven and saying, “God, I wish just for once, you’d let me see you. Let me see that you are here. Let me see your glory. Let me see your power and your mercy. I want to see that you are really here.” Tell me, what happened when sinners got their wish? “To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain” (Ex 24:17). Now stop and think, when you wish for God’s glorious power in your life, do you realize that God is standing an inch away from your face, looking you right in the eye? You might not be able to see him, but God is here, right here, with all of his power and wisdom and grace and glory. He’s right here. But God does not burst forth in all his glory so you can see him with your eyes. Instead, if you want to see the glory of our invisible God, you’re going to have to do it a different way.

How? Well, just think of all the invisible things that are surrounding you right now. As we sit here in church there are radio waves all around you, even though you can’t hear the music. There are television signals in this room, but you can’t see the pictures they are producing. The air is filled with 5G communication signals, but as you sit here with all five of your senses, you can’t perceive those things. But, they’re all here. The only way you can perceive these things is by turning on the radio, the TV, iphone or computer.

Dear Christians friends, you will do well to pay attention because God is here! Agreed, you can’t perceive the glory of God with your five senses, but he is here! And yes, there is a way that you can connect yourself to the invisible God. And that is here, through the Word. Peter said,

“¹⁹ We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.”  

2 Peter 1:19

God has chosen to connect to you through the Reliable Accounts of his Holy Word! As we hear his Word and see his glory on the pages of Scripture the Holy Spirit increases our faith and we become more and more of a confident Christian. His glory is not just in his impressive glowing fire and lighting appearance, but in the glory of the Reliable Accounts of Holy Scriptures that point us to

Reliable Promises

Peter, James and John were there on that mountain and what they saw and heard continued to shape their lives (James, by the time of Peter writing this letter was already dead).  They saw Jesus’ miracles on water and land, they heard Jesus teach about dying to pay the penalty of all their sins, they saw Jesus die on the cross and alive again.  They saw Jesus ascend into heaven.  Peter and John were convinced that Jesus was their reliable Savior.  Now, instead of Jesus walking next to them in a visible way, he walked with them through the promises of his Word.  Likewise, instead of Jesus speaking to you face to face, Jesus speaks to you here, through the perfect, infallible, powerful, and Reliable Promises of His Word. Here is where God comforts you, encourages you, and gives you confidence to face all the ups and downs that life can bring you. Relish Your Bible and God’s Absolutely Reliable Promises!

We are reading from Peter’s letter this morning.  He says, “¹⁶ To be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  At first you would think we wouldn’t even have to mention it this morning—that this is God’s Word.  But you watch the Discovery Channel and get bombarded by the devil to temp you to think that the Bible is a bunch of cleverly invented stories.  Have you ever stopped to think why the unbelieving world goes to such great lengths to try tell us how UN-reliable the Bible is?  There are all sorts of fictional religious books that are loaded with a little bit of truth, and a lot of false doctrine, and those books are flying off the shelves. It’s amazing to me what people will do to try and get closer to God, but come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid the obvious place, right here, where God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity. Amazing? Not really, because too many people believe the Bible is a bunch of “cleverly invented stories.” Do you see the great danger?  If the Promises of the Bible are not reliable, then neither is our Savior!

Peter, an eyewitness of Jesus’ transfiguration, sets the record straight for us. Most of the time, Jesus hid his glory and appeared as an ordinary man. But for a moment, Jesus gave his disciples a glimpse of his majesty. And not only did they see the majesty of Christ with their eyes, they heard it with their ears.

“¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

2 Peter 1:17

It must have been shocking for Peter to hear the voice of God, booming from the cloud. And what that voice of God emphasized was that Jesus, even though he looks lowly most of the time, really is the almighty and majestic God. “¹⁸ We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.”

If you agree with me that the Bible is God’s reliable source to tell us about our reliable Savior, then why do some Christians have such a hard time getting themselves to read the Bible? How is it that you can read and absorb all the different stats and trivia about the sports world, but you can’t get yourself to read God’s Word? How is it, that you can intently study the sales ads for clothing stores, or the catalogs, or spend hours surfing the internet for the best deals on things, but you won’t put half the energy into reading the Bible?  I know why. It’s because we’re sinful people.  Maybe our sinful nature needs a hit in the head with the 2 x 4 of God’s 3^rd Commandment! “Gladly hear and learn God’s Word!” Don’t shy away from reading, or listening to it on your phone—you will do well to pay attention to it and be comforted, encouraged, guided and given the hope of eternal life with our Reliable Savior and his Reliable Promise.  I would imagine there is no end to the number of times you would love to hear Jesus say to you, “I died for all your sins!  You are forgiven!”

Today marks the end of the Epiphany season with the bookend of Transfiguration.  This would be a great time to take a 40 day challenge to read through the Gospels and soak up the stories about Jesus’ passion.  Today would a great day to read about all the majestic things there are about God—his power, his unbelievable intelligence, his promises to be with us at all times.  And of all these majestic things read about the most glorious thing of all—when he became nothing! Read how Jesus walked down this mount of glory only to walk up another mount of hidden glory to suffer and die for you and for me when he hung on that cross. When Jesus, instead of bright, and shining, hung there in the dark, and took away the sins of the world. The greatest of all the teachings in this book is the fact that because of his sacrifice, you are a forgiven child of God right now, and that because of Jesus, God loves you right now.

Conclusion:  We might feel quite secure with soldiers and barbed wire around airports, but we all know some day another terrorist will strike because there is no perfectly safe place.  But if you are looking for absolute security, then pay attention to our absolutely reliable God. Stay connected to Jesus Christ here in God’s Word.  Pay attention as Peter says, “¹⁹ We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” Pay attention to God’s Word and he will continue to give you glimpses of his glory.  Pay attention to God’s word so he can make your bad days good, and your good days even better.  Pay attention to God’s Word where he will make your laughter more enjoyable, your pain more bearable, and your faith stronger every day.  Relish You Bible with all its Reliable Accounts and Reliable Promises To See Jesus, Your Savior.  Amen!