Hear Him

Gtcotr/ss071110

Matthew 17

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

4 Then 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."

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

Hear Him! Who? Jesus. Hear what Jesus says above what everyone else says.

Well, did Jesus say? The very next thing Jesus said was clear instruction to those three men and it is recorded in

Matthew 17:7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."

That means, “Stand up and don’t back down.”

I am telling you this morning that Jesus did not come to take sides, He came to take over.

He came to advance the Kingdom of God throughout the earth.

The Words of this Bible are not some heavenly spice to be mixed with our life to make us sound or feel more spiritual.

The Bible is the eternal, irrevocable, unapologetic, Holy Writ, all powerful, immoveable, unshakable, in-debatable Truth of the Sovereign Creator and uncontested God of the universe.

And we are at war with a world system, spawned by the devil himself, which is fully committed to wiping the knowledge of God from the earth and condemning every soul of man to hell. The devil and this world system hate you, your children, your God and your girlfriend. He is a nasty, evil, untrustworthy, liar whose promises will never come to pass.

We cannot afford to give one inch in this war. We don’t have to be mean, hateful or ugly, but we must be firm and go forward.

Wars are not won by evacuation but by advance.

And, we are taking ground, not giving ground in this war between good and evil. And for this advance, we must call evil, evil, no matter the source.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Jesus said, “Arise and do not be afraid.”

Ezekiel 22

30 "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

Listen my friends; it is time to stand up for Jesus in your own personal life, in your community affairs, on your jobs, at your school, and in the ballot box. It is time to stand up, or in other words, take a stand!

Not only must we take a stand but we must not allow ourselves to be forced into backing down once we stand.

It is not a popular thing to stand up for what is right in America today or take a stand against what is wrong in America today. However, realize that if you decide to stand up for Jesus you will suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Persecutions are sometimes difficult to endure but there is still a marked difference between persecutions and repercussions.

I had rather suffer persecution from this world because of my stand for Jesus than suffer the repercussions from God for not taking a stand for Jesus in this world.

Jesus came to redeem not to abandon this world.

When you stand up, you become a representative of God, an Ambassador for Christ.

If we are going to be an agent of redemption we must arise and not back down on these 5 basic truths.

1. Creation: God created the heavens and the earth and every living creature. He made mankind in His image and in His likeness, superior to all other living creatures.

2. The Devil: Satan, the ruler of darkness, hates God and every one of His creations. Satan is a master tempter and tries who constantly tries to deceive mankind, tempt him, and lure him away from God.

3. Sin: Through disobedience man sinned and fell from grace causing death to reign over all mankind since Adam.

4. Judgment: Eternal judgment awaits every soul of man.

5. Salvation: God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, and whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.