LIFE OF
CHRIST
Mark 9:1-10
ZEAL FOR GOD
LIFE OF CHRIST #32
It is good to have
zeal or be zealous for God. Of course
there are right and wrong kinds of zeal.
True zeal comes
from God and God alone.
There are
conditions I feel that we must meet to have zeal for God, but ultimately God
must be in it for it to be real.
In studying our
Lord’s transfiguration I believe that I have found some guidelines for allowing
God to develop true zeal for him in our lives.
The old time
railroad crossings without any flashing lights or dropping gates gave this
simple advice, and it is the advice I share with you for developing zeal for
God. The advice is:
STOP!
LOOK!
LISTEN!
In Mark 9:1 we see
a promise from our Lord. He announces that there were some who would not see
death until they saw the
This verse was
fulfilled when three of the Apostles witnessed the transfiguration of Christ on
the Mount.
Peter gave his
testimony of seeing this when he states in 2 Peter 1:16-17.
Peter, James and
John became zealous for God because they were eyewitnesses of His majesty!
To develop zeal
for God we see that we must first
STOP! – Vs. 2
In order for these
men to be witnesses of what God was going to do, they had to be taken apart by
themselves.
They left the
majority of the disciples.
They left the busy
ministry.
They left the
multitudes.
It was when they
were alone.
It was when they
had stopped that God gave them an experience that would ultimately affect their
zeal.
Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The ones who wait
on the Lord will zealously soar for the Lord!
The ones who wait
on the Lord will enthusiastically run for the Lord.
The ones who wait
on the Lord will patiently walk with the Lord.
Take time each day
with the Lord, and your enthusiasm or zeal just might build.
LOOK!
At the end of
verse 2 it says that Jesus was transfigured before them.
Luke tells us that
our Lord was praying and the disciples were sleeping.
The word
transfigured here is related to our word “metamorphosis”.
According to
Dwight Hiebert, the word “…denotes a visible change of the outward form as
expressive of the true inner nature.” Dwight E. Hiebert, Mark, A Portrait of the Servant,
(Chicago, Moody Press, 1974), p. 213
In other words,
what’s inside comes out so you can see it.
As we study this
transfiguration, we find some things to look at that will help make us zealous
for God!
· LOOK AT HIS GLORY
Vs. 3 – While
Matthew and Luke comment on the brilliance of the Lord’s face, Mark tells us
about the brilliance of His garments.
His garments were
so white that no fuller, who cleaned and dyed woolen garments could get them
this white.
These clothes were
so white no laundry on earth could have done it.
They were seeing
Jesus in His glory as the Son of God.
My friend, we will
not have visions of the glory of God but we can look intensely at His glory
when we read His Word.
As we search the
Scriptures, we can look at His glory as creator.
We can look at His
glory as God in the flesh.
We can look at His
glory as God’s master teacher.
We can look at His
glory as the sinless Son of God.
We can look at His
glory as the one who shed his blood for us.
We can look at His
glory as the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
We can look at His
glory as the resurrected Son of God.
We can look at His
glory as the intercessor for the saints.
We can look at His
glory as the Son of God, the messiah who coming to earth in power.
We can look at His
glory as the ruler of the Millennium.
We can look at His
glory as the judge of both the saved and the unsaved.
The more you look
at his glory the more you will see his deity. Isaiah 6:1-8
The more you see
His deity, the more you will be zealous for Him, because you are serving the
living God.
· LOOK AT HIS FULFILLMENT
Vs. 4 – Here we find Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus in this remarkable
scene.
Moses represents
the Law which when Jesus came, He fulfilled.
Elijah represents
the Prophets, and Jesus came to fulfill the words of the Prophets.
Luke 9:30-31 - And, behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elias: [31] Who appeared in glory, and spake
of his decease which he should accomplish at
Luke tells us that
they talked about the ultimate fulfillment that Jesus accomplished, His
sacrificial death for our sins in
If you want to be
zealous for God, look at all that Jesus did on the cross for you!
He made it
possible for you to be accepted by God.
He made it
possible for you to be forgiven by God.
He made it
possible for you to be cleansed by God.
He made it
possible for your to have communion with God.
He made it
possible for you to live eternally with God.
If you have been
born again, all these things are not only possible, but true!
You are accepted
by God.
You are forgiven
by God.
You are cleansed
by God.
You do have
communion with God.
You will live
eternally with God.
Look at Christ’s
fulfillment, and be zealous for the one who has loved you so.
· LOOK AT CHRIST ALONE
Vss. 5-6 – Peter is awakened from sleep.
He is afraid, but
felt that he needed to say something.
And he didn’t even
know what he was talking about.
He suggested that
three tabernacles or booths be made by him and the others. Perhaps he was
thinking of prolonging the experience.
I see Peter’s
primary mistake as trying to put the men Moses and Elijah on the same level as
the Lord. Jesus.
Vs. 7 – The glory of God appears in a cloud, and God attests to the deity of
His Son.
Vs. 8 – When the experience was over, and it ended suddenly, there was no one
more to look at by Jesus only.
They were back to
just being able to see Jesus!
And, that’s just
what zeal for the Lord should be, being able to see Jesus only!
H.A. Irsonside –
“Moses and Elijah disappeared and Jesus Christ alone remained to be worshipped
and adored.”
H.A. Ironside, Expository Notes on Mark, (Neptune, New
Jersey, Loizeaux Brothers, 1975), p. 135
LISTEN! – Vs. 7
Have you ever been
told, “You should hear this guy preach”?
Or, “You should
read this book”?
Or, “You should
listen to so and so’s advice”?
What if God gave
you a recommendation of someone to listen to?
Going back to our
story, right after Peter puts his foot in his mouth, there is the cloud
representing the Shekinah glory of God.
This cloud
symbolized God’s presence.
God speaks to the
three disciples and says, “This is my beloved Son, hear ye him!”
God attests to the
deity of Jesus Christ and is saying, “Because this is my Son, hear Him!”
I think of hearing
here as having two parts.
The first part is
hearing with a desire and a mind to understand what is said.
This is not the
type of hearing which lets something “to in one ear and out the other with
nothing to stop it in between.”
This is hearing
which grasps, which catches on, which learns, which understands.
This is active
hearing.
And when you truly
hear someone, you do what they say!
You are obedient
to the teaching!
So God is saying
secondly, “Hear by obeying!”
It is the
Christian who hears and obeys who becomes zealous for God.
It is the
Christian who hears and obeys who is also a wise Christian.
Matthew 7:24-27 - Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock: [25] And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock. [26] And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand: [27] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Would you like to
have zeal for God?
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