INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
"VERS. 1 - 13. And was transfigured before them."
"'He went up,' says St. Luke, 'to a mountain to pray.' He was asking for the wisdom that discerned the Father's will, for the submission that embraced it, for the perseverance that adhered to it, for the joy that illumined it. If you can dispense with prayer, Christ could not." "The death of Christ is the glory of the Old Dispensation; its glory, because its fulfillment and crown. That is why Moses & Elias were there." "The death of Christ is the glory of the New Dispensation." "That is why the disciples were there." "If Moses & Elias were the flower of the Old Dispensation, Peter & James & John were the germs of the New." '...found your interests & your hopes on the cross of Christ, & that will be the means of communion; press near to the person of the Crucified, & that will be the centre of communion." "...submission to the purpose of His well-beloved Son. Listen to Him, ¬ to the world." "Listen to Him, & not to the flesh." "Listen to Him, not to ministers." "Happy are they who, when the glamour dies from their sky, & the company vanishes from their path, & life looks bare & common, like the path down Hermon for the descending disciples, have a faith that will strengthen them when feelings pass, & a guidance that will cheer them when friendships are dissolved, and who, lifting up their eyes, see Jesus - Jesus alone, it may be, but a Jesus who is all-sufficient. (William A. Gray.)" "Lessons of the Transfiguration: - I. IT WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE THE THINGS OF THE FUTURE WORLD MORE A REALITY" "II. WE ARE TAUGHT THAT CHRIST'S KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. (W. I. Keay.)" "When God interrupts our enjoyments, He has always some other blessing ready for us, & generally better." "It was good to be there; it would not have been good to remain there. There was work to be done, sorrow to be lightened, sin to be grappled with & overcome. (F. J. A.)" "Love was within Christ, perfect, undefiled, intense, filled with the joy of giving & blessing. On the mountain He let His love loose, & oh, what the face of Christ must have been then, when infinite love overflowed His eyes & trembled on His mouth, no tongue can tell." "A man must be free to pray perfectly, & no man is free who is under the yoke of his own will to do wrong, who loves pleasure more than God's righteousness." "For the disciples, the Transfiguration was intended to illuminate with a ray of glory the dark days that were about to begin" "Blessed be God, there is a mountain of glory & joy before us, whence we shall never come down." "WHY SHOULD WE HEAR HIM? 1. Because God Himself commands us. 2. Because He deserves to be heard. 3. Because His message concerns your present & future welfare. 4. With what zest should those of us hear Him who profess to be His disciples. 5. Sinners must hear Him in this day of grace, or in the day of judgment." "HOW SHALL WE HEAR HIM. 1. With devout reverence. 2. Believingly. 3. Obediently." "All the Saviour we want we find in Jesus only. Jesus was enough for a Master - 'No man can serve 2 masters.' He was enough as their power for future life. He is enough as our reward." "...as we grow in grace, other things sink & Jesus rises. They must decrease, but Christ must increase; until He alone fills the full horizon of your soul, & rises clear & bright & glorious up into the very heaven of God. O that we may thus see 'Jesus only.'" "I. OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE ON EARTH NEEDS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SPECIAL SEASONS OF COMMUNION WITH JESUS." "II. OUR HIGHER SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES WILL NOT HAVE THEIR RIGHT EFFECT UPON US UNLESS THEY LEAVE OUR ATTENTION FIXED ON 'JESUS ONLY.'" "Vers. 14, 21. - And when they were come to the multitude. - The healing of the lunatic child" "THE WEAKNESS OF THE CHRISTIAN APART FROM CHRIST." "THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF FAITH. 1. The disciples could do nothing without faith. 2. The father of the lunatic child could receive nothing without faith. How this is to be explained. Faith is more than belief; it is a consequent putting of ourselves into connection with God. The wire must be brought into connection with the battery before it can be charged with electricity. The pitcher must be placed in connection with the fountain before it can be filled." "You cannot expel sin from your own heart; but the word of Christ is omnipotent."
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"VERS. 1 - 5. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky. - Signs of the times: - The proper observing of these signs."
"Another day is gone. The day of the Lord is nearer. Am I better prepared for it?" "Discussion is frequently designed not to fix but to unsettle faith." "They refused to recognize the force of the evidence already given them" "They cry out for water & refuse to draw from the abundant wells of salvation around them." "Too many signs of the times surround us on every side to make it either right, or wise, or safe, or happy to pass them by unnoticed." "It is a Christian duty to discern the signs, to watch the moral aspect of the times in which we live." "The agriculturist notes carefully the approaching alterations in the weather; the politician watches the current of popular feeling & the moods of men; the scientific inquirer devotes all his energies to the observation of facts that will enable him to wrest from nature her secrets; the speculator is constantly on the outlook for the first symptoms of an alteration in prices. Yet how often do these very same men decline to take any interest in the highest of all subjects - the relationship of God to man - on the plea that it is too vague & too uncertain for practical consideration!" "Vers. 6, 12. Take heed & beware of the leaven of the Pharisees & of the Sadducees." "PHARISEES. They rejected the written Word of God as the only & sufficient standard of religious truth, & the guide of religious practice; & they observed the tradition of the elders, which often made this written law of none effect." "Their righteousness, though strict in its kind, was merely external; consisting chiefly in a multitude of ceremonious practices." "...SADDUCEES. They denied the fallen & depraved state of mankind" "They denied the existence of angels & spirits, the resurrection of the dead, & a future state of rewards & punishments. (J. Bunting, D.D.)" "How vain it is to discourse concerning Divine things to men whose minds are preoccupied with earthly cares! Leaven makes them think of loaves. (A. B. Bruce, D.D.)" "Vers. 13, 17. Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" "How can we become stones in Christ's Church? Not naturally. Only by having Peter's faith." "How may we get this faith? God alone can give it - ask Him. (E. Stock.)" "The confession of Peter asserts the divinity as well as the humanity of our Lord." "We must try & find out what is the public opinion to-day about Christ, & instruct, correct it, gently. (W. Cuff.)" "Many things in the gospel are hid from the eyes of natural men which are manifest to those who have a spiritual sense & taste, & to whom the beauty & glory of the gospel are revealed." "...Peter ...It was the direct act of the Father, by which he was enlightened." "Ver. 18. That thou art Peter & upon this rock I will build My Church." "THE CHURCH EXERCISES ITS POWER THROUGH FAITH." "...if you abhor your sins they will be forgiven; if not they are retained." "BY FAITH THE CHURCH TRIUMPHS OVER ITS ENEMIES." "The true Church is cared for by all the 3 Persons of the Holy Trinity." "What is there in your character & conduct on which the Lord can build His Church? (John Foster.)" "THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, BEING THUS BUILDED UPON HIM, AS MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, IS ASSURED OF SECURITY & PERPETUITY." "Build a Church (1) not on creeds; (2) but on the Bible. (J. C. Jones.)" "Ver. 19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." "These keys we have authority to use... keys of righteousness & charity, i.e., keys of kindness & good living, as well as keys of wisdom & knowledge." "By our good words, & our good works, we are to constitute ourselves door-keepers in the House of the Lord, & to open the doors to all who would enter in." "...God has given men the power to develop, not gold & silver that perish, but riches that never fade, that moth & rust never corrupt, & that thieves do not break through to steal - eternal treasures - the immortal spirits of men." "...God sends every man that goes forth to carry the Spirit of God to his fellow-men." "You are the key-keeper for your children. You are the door-keeper for your own offspring. Take heed, then, how you carry yourselves as parents in your own household - how you administer God's Word." "Vers. 21, 23. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His diciples, how that He must go to Jerusalem, & suffer. - Christ foretelling His death" "Jesus was not ignorant of the serious sufferings which were coming upon Him." "We must be firm in the way of duty, having counted the cost." "There is the 'must' of destiny - what is to be shall be; it is vain to fight against it." "St. Peter was in reality desiring the worst thing possible; our redemption could not have been accomplished without the cross." "Afflictions are unavoidable." "How differently did our Lord think of them from his weak, still worldly-minded disciple, Peter!" "'Satan:' - Good men often do the devil's work, though they know it not. (R. Baxter.)" "PETER'S CONDUCT. Characterized by, 1. Arrogant presumption. 2. Ignorance of the end of Christ's sufferings. 3. Mistimed sympathy." "CHRIST'S REBUKE. Prompt, severe, instructive. (W. H. Booth.)" "Ver. 24. If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself. - Self-denial" "...renouncing whatever comes in competition with the love & service of Christ, your turning from things lawful when they become occasions of spiritual injury either to ourselves or others." "The cross is a trial which has something humiliating in it, & which is painful to the old nature. We must follow Christ, for what is it worth to 'deny one's self,' or to take up a 'cross,' if it be not done with an express intention towards Christ? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)" "We must renounce our own wisdom, will, mind, pleasure, etc." "The self we are to deny stands in opposition to God." "Vainglory is as sordid a piece of self, & as much to be denied, as riches & worldly greatness." "Consider, your happiness doth not lie within yourselves, nor in any other creature, but in God alone." "SELF-DEPENDENCE... We do God's work without His help." "It hinders the action within us of the Holy Spirit." "The duty & difficulty of self-denial: - To row against the tide of one's inclinations, to stem the rapid current of one's appetites & affections, to struggle against the violent motions of our will, & to wrestle with the opposition of our contending faculties; this is an employment that is laborious & uneasy, this is a performance that we pay dearly for; & the reward of such a warfare will certainly be proportionable to the hardships & difficulties with which we have encountered." "What 'self' is to be denied? - Man has various appetites, passions, desires, resting on present gratification, & on outward object" "...sensual appetites & anger" "...love of power, love of honour, love of property, love of amusement" "God will send you occasions enough for denying yourself. There is wood enough in every man's forest to build all the crosses he will need to carry." "Ver. 25. For whosoever will save his life. - Losing the soul to save it" "...the centre of man's capacities, passions, energies; the very seat of his personality." "HOW IS THE SOUL TO BE SAVED? By losing it." "Whoever purchases ease by dishonesty, or comfort by neglect of duty, or popularity by concession of principle - preferring self where truth, honour, love, purity or reverence demands self-negation, self-abandonment - that man loses his soul, loses his life, by saving it." "LOSS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE IS GAIN." "If Christ be (as we believe) the very & eternal Word of God; the very expression of the Father's truth, righteousness, purity, love; then the sacrifice of self to any one of these things is a saving of the soul by losing it" "Temporal gain eternal loss: - It hath cost many a man his life, when his house has been on fire, to attempt through covetousness to save some of his stuff; venturing among the flames to preserve this, he has perished himself. Many more have lost their souls, by attempting to carry some of their own stuff - their own self-righteousness - with them to heaven. O sirs! come out; leave what is your own in the fire; flee to Christ naked!" "Temporal loss eternal gain: - God can infinitely more than counterbalance all temporal losses by the larger & richer outpouring of His Spirit on the soul. He may demand our worldly wealth; but if He increase our spiritual riches, are we not therein great gainers? Can He not, by the consolations of His Spirit, raise us far above all temporal distresses; &, by opening up a prospect beyond the grave, make us to glory in all tribulations" "Ver. 26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, & lose his own soul? - The great exchange" "THE WORTH OF THE SOUL. 1. Refer to the great atonement as the most magnificent proof of the soul's worth. 2. To the triumphant joy awakened in heaven by the conversion of one sinner from the error of his ways. (J. Morison, D. D.)" "The foolish bargain: - The man who, for the sake of worldly happiness, shall lose his soul, makes a foolish bargain." "The value of a thing is often best known when it is lost." "The value & loss of the soul: - 1. Every man has a soul of his own. 2. It is possible for the soul to be lost; & there is danger of it. 3. If the soul is lost, it is the sinner's own losing; & his blood is on his own head. 4. One soul is worth more than all the world. 5. The winning of the world is often the losing of the soul. 6. The loss of the soul cannot be made up by the gain of the whole world. 7. If the soul be once lost, it is lost for ever; & the loss can never be repaired or retrieved. (Matthew Henry.)" "NOTHING CAN COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF THE SOUL." "The soul alone is capable of enjoying God." "This word 'soul' is taken most properly & strictly for the form, constituent, & better part of man; that breath that is breathed into him from God, when man becomes a living soul (Gen. 2:7)." "The soul of man is made for to bring glory to God. The soul of man is made capable of enjoying God." "The soul is - (1) Divine in its origin; (2) astonishing in its properties - vitality, rationality, accountability; (3) an immortal principle; (4) has fallen from its glory; (5) has been redeemed by Christ; (6) angels rejoice over its salvation." "For the soul of a man all the world cannot be a just price" "He who decides to live to himself, becomes the slave of sin, passion & lust. He who chooses God, attains to freedom, etc." "REASONS WHY WE SHOULD MAKE THE MOST OF LIFE & FILL IT WITH WORTH. 1. God gave it & upholds it. 2. God has redeemed it in order to give it worth. 3. God has a plan for each life, which, if followed, will lead from grace to glory, & from the utilities of time to the rewards & inheritance of eternity. Unless we do so, most assuredly, in the light of our text, life will not be worth the living, & indeed it were far better never to have been born. (L. O. Thompson.)" "If the soul perish, it is, once more, an irreparable loss - a loss that cannot be retrieved." "Vers. 27, 28. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father." "The saints in judgment will be manifested as the doers of the will of God upon earth." "...the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to this earth as a man in the glory of God with His angels." "...all Christ's believing people shall appear with Him. The Lord at His coming in His glory shall reward every man according to his works. (H. McNeile.)" The Biblical Illustrator, Baker, pgs. 332 - 364. |
AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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