Understanding the Transfiguration of Jesus

This is core Christianity, where answering your questions about the Christian life Monday through Friday. Your hosts are author and seminary professor Dr. Michael Horton and Pastor atrial Sanchez call right now with your question.

At 1833. The core that's 1-833-843-2673 and now here's atrial Sanchez were back here at the core answer your question about the faith. I am Pastor atrial Sanchez with my friend Prof. Michael Horton and the stats are in, according to pew research. The median length in minutes of the sermon in the United States is 37 minutes. I had another breakdown is pretty interesting. It was years average I average about maybe 32 I'm okay, you're right in the right around the Thea lower than average below average everything in my life so that the breakdown is pretty interesting and historically black Protestant churches. The average is 54 minutes while in evangelical churches. It's 39 minutes in mainline churches. It's 25 minutes and in the Catholic Church. It's a 14 minute slow like about you when you preach, how long usually preach for. I aim for 30 minutes, which means it's usually about 35 will.

That's not bad.

I have some friends who are pastors out here who will preach for at least 60 minutes in a nonlawyer spiritual elite or mistaken app. I know I appreciate their love for Scripture. Yeah, but at a certain point I think the sermons done.

That's right, you can really pack in the points on the passage in 30 minutes.

I agree hundred percent while speaking of church. We got a Facebook message from Eric how do you discover the best place you can serve in a church and how do I know if I'm gifted to serve in a particular church ministry yeah will. It's good that your you know looking for a place to serve in the body of Christ we serve our neighbors by our callings in the world but then also many of us feel the Lord is calling us to either to maybe assume an office in the church elder or deacon, or to just be generally more involved than we been in the life of the church. We look at some of the important passages on spiritual gifts. We see that the point of spiritual gifts actually visit their given for the building up of the rest of the church.

It's not my thing. What is your spiritual gift in acrylic what's your horoscope.

Are you a Leo or a Taurus. It's not my thing. Actually, I'm given a gift by God to give to the rest of the body. Someone in the church needs the gift that I have. So it's not really for me and the thing is, I'm also being given gifts that I need by others in the church.

In the end what the Bible presents as the most important gift we can give is love first Parthians 14 one tells us pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy others, preach proclaim God's word evangelize this section, following first Corinthians 13 the famous passage often read it weddings is really key for finding out your place in the body of Christ. Eric if you pursue love, you'll discover how you can best serve in the body of Christ.

So my advice is not actually to worry about your spiritual gift know what it is. Go spend time with people at church get to know them and realize what the needs are and you'll pretty soon find out where you can fit in what you have to offer what your gift is so practically speaking, the best way to find out where you should service just to jump in wherever you can, through actually serving wherever you are, whatever you're doing, you'll discover how you can be a blessing to the church. Don't worry about trying to figure out the absolute best place you fit and that's on the solea fixed thing that can come and go one stage in your life. You might find the you really enjoy greeting and hospitality.

Other times you might find your really useful teaching Sunday school.

The key is to focus on love if you love the the brothers and sisters. I'm sure you'll find pretty quickly what your gift is. I agree hundred percent. I think Eric that it's great that you're wanting to think through this. How can I be a blessing to the people around me and us.

As Mike said it, that's not confined just to Sunday morning.

Being in the church. It's boy what is it look like for you to love your neighbors like God calls you to to love your family first and foremost your children.

If you have any children and and let me you said none of that.

This is and what shirt getting at per se, but so many people today they feel like they're not really being used by the Lord and Lester doing some quote" ministry in the church. I'm a part of the coffee ministry or the youth ministry or week. We've we've invented all these ministry we call them and let me just say the primary reason we go to church and this is such good news is to be ministered to by Jesus. I think there a lot of people it's they want to be like Martha in that story in the Gospels with Mary and Martha.

They want to be like what I gotta do do do for Jesus to make Jesus happy and in the place that I do do do for Jesus is in church so I gotta sign up for the nursery and I gotta sign up for the coffee team are the set up for the cleanup and I think that's great. We want to serve, but we really need to view ourselves as Mary Martha sister were coming to sit at Jesus's feet and to receive and you know if you're doing that if you're receiving from Jesus. When you go to church. Boy that's really within a set you up to be a blessing to the people around you to be able to care for to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ to serve your neighbors in the community and so go to church to be served and then as you're being served by Jesus as your loving the people around you. You're going to see open doors to care for and love the people around you to so you Eric for that question.

Let's go to a phone call now heart.

All are our order torture regards true. Ronald refrigeration shooter start guard John Peter upper Mountain glow came on under Jesus or more additional larger peer always wondering how do they know about. Also spent a larger thank you thanks that question, keeping of the text actually doesn't really tell us how they knew I do love this passage I want to read Luke's version from Luke nine.

Beginning in verse 29 as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him, and as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, master.

It is good that we are here. Let us make three tense one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said as he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my son, my chosen one listen to him when the voice of spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen really just an amazing story know the first thing is how crazy is it that Luke has to insert that comment about Peter not knowing what he was talking about him. It is almost comical.

You know, there you have Moses and Elijah there talking with Jesus about his departure, at which actually that that word is the word Exodus in the Greek New Testament talking about his exit is that he's about to accomplish in Jerusalem and they're saying goodbye, and Peter blurts out hey stick around.

Let's make tense for everybody to hang out and they don't gotta go anywhere. I think my best guess Keith is that Peter probably overheard some of the conversation, and as he did. He recognized who these men were, and many scholars have noted that their presence with Jesus is significant in here you have a picture of the law and the prophets testifying of Jesus, Moses being the ancient lawgiver and Elijah being the ancient prophet but the focus of this text is Jesus and his mission. You can imagine Peter so overjoyed to see Moses and Elijah, and then hearing the father basically say from the cloud. Fix your eyes on Jesus on his Exodus. The death he's about to accomplish for you and is Jesus said that's what all the law and the prophets point to the fact he uses the word Exodus yeah says as much. The prophets were looking for me. The whole event that was in the forefront of the Jewish mind for all generations was the Exodus yeah God delivered his people from the hand of the enemy. They came through the waters of death safely. The waters of death were parted so that the children of Israel could pass through on dry land. That whole episode was merely pointing forward to a greater Exodus were Jesus passed through the waters of death for us so that we could pass in his wake, as it were behind him and amen Joyce. In the alley Exodus so beautifully put in Keith. I think the other option is. Maybe they had nametags. I'm not that one-of-a-kind. But no, probably not.

It wasn't a core Christianity were answering your questions about the faith.

Give us a call if you have a question, it 833-843-2673. That's 1833 the core. You can also email us at questions at core, Christianity.com a note today in our culture. One of the questions that were having to address more and more frequently as Christians and from the Bible is the question about homosexuality and that's want to let you know about an offer that we have for you today yeah very controversial. Today, in a way that it has never been in the church at least before and this is called nine things everyone needs to know about the Bible and homosexuality. You, everybody's asking this question. There's a lot of confusion about what the Bible teaches. This resource is free when you sign up for our weekly newsletter.

So head on over to core Christianity.com/offers to download nine things everyone needs to know about homosexuality because he was a call at 833-843-2673 to get a hold of that resource to the next question now. Glenn and Jeremiah 5 verses 14 and 15.

Jeremiah said that God will punish Israel for not upholding justice for widows and orphans supplied with the day of the new covenant always is only an old covenant reality yeah Glenn, it is specific to Israel. At least the terms of this covenant are unique to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament God says the land is holy, it will spew you out if you do not keep this covenant. Those stipulations those warnings.

Those threats are no longer in effect for the new covenant church because were not a nation. However, God's warnings against oppressing widows and orphans is repeated in no uncertain terms in the New Testament is the whole reason that in acts six the Lord instituted the office of deacon in order to take care of the widows who were not being taken care of because of the burden of the ministry. So James tells us in James 127 religion that is pure and undefiled before God the father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world limit whittle down the Christian life in terms of what the commands are what is it mean to love your neighbor that part of our calling as Christians to love our neighbor. What is it mean to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world that is his summary of the second table of the law and then he adds in chapter 2 verses one through nine, my brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes in your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in. And if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say you sit here in a good place.

What you say to the poor man you stand over there, or sit down at my feet have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts. Listen, my beloved has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him, but you have dishonored the poor man are not the rich, the ones who oppress you and the one to drag you into court, are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scriptures, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You're doing well, but if you show partiality your committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

This is such an interesting point because in the ancient world. The pagan gods or the gods of the ancient near East. They identify with the strong heroes the powerful and the rich, the true God of the Bible.

He identifies with the poor, the week lowly yell lowly Anaheim.

I think it just tells us so much about who our God is his love for the needy. I came to preach the gospel to the poor, nuts Jesus statement of his mission. I think that we we have to take that with absolute seriousness, especially in a day when Christianity has been so identified with consumerism and materialism and narcissism know we need to recover this emphasis that we see here in Scripture that concern for the poor, especially the orphan and the widow. Those on the margins of society that concern remains at the heart of God's will for us. Help Mike. We had a question on Facebook what you think is the most important thing for Christians to know about the end times. The Jesus is returning you know I think sometimes we get so caught up with end time scenarios and debates over the millennium and over the tribulation is over.

The main thing is that Jesus is returning and you see that in Matthew 24 when Jesus tells us what we should expect. He says that there will be great persecutions after he ascends to the father that there will be earthquakes or be famine there will be all sorts of things in the world that show the unsettled notice of things, but evidently this goes on for a long period of time because he says in the gospel only when the gospel is preached to all the nations will the end come. And then he says I will send my angels, and they will gather my elect from the four corners of the earth. They will reign with me in glory forever so that's what were expecting. We can hold differing views on the end times and still say together that summary of the Nicene Creed that we believe in Christ return. The resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.

We look forward to him coming judging the world, raising the dead, welcoming his sheep into the kingdom prepared for them by the father from the foundation of the world.

That is what were looking for an end to pain-and-suffering and injustice in the world and the reign of Jesus Christ, forever. What a wonderful thing to just meditate on and look forward to, regardless of whatever else we hold that may be important but that's the central thing and as you say, that's what all Christians throughout the history of the faith have confessed it's an that concrete reality that we are waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ return again to judge the living and the dead and to make all things new. Amen they know yet another Facebook question what can Christians learn from Jewish believers.

This is it an interesting question. Your salvation is of the Jews as Jesus said were partakers of the covenant promises extended to Abraham by God through faith. I think we need to be careful that we don't treat Jewish Christians as another class of believer though this is one of the big controversies during the apostolic church through Jesus.

There is one people of God that consists of both Jews and Gentiles a book that's really helpful in establishing this is Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Listen to what he said in chapter 2 verse 11 and following, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles non-Jews in the flesh, called the un-circumcision by what is called the circumcision which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, and he goes on there. In verses 19 falling.

He says so, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets in the Jewish believers who came before us that there are ancestors the history of God's covenant people becomes our history through faith in Jesus Christ were incorporated into those promises. The reality is you are a child of Abraham by faith. Is it when you read the stories in the Old Testament your reading your family history. The history of faith. I think it's so important for us as Christians today to understand that this is our history might be of any thoughts now. I mean, he closes Galatians by saying and blessing be upon the Israel of God. That's what's so wonderful.

Not that God is set Israel aside, but that the spiritual promises made to Abraham are now being fulfilled.

Even though it's no longer a nation. It is an international spiritual nation of people who are united to Christ and therefore children of Abraham. As you say this is the Israel of God, the Israel of God is one new man.

Paul says there one new man taken from two the Jews and the Gentiles, one Israel, one church that really is an important point because growing up in the church. Sometimes I got the vibe that some Christians viewed Jews, ethnic Jews as the people of God, whether or not they had faith in Christ write you may not have faith in Jesus, but some way mysteriously know God still treats you special just because you're a Jew. Paul says in places like Romans 11 actually faith in Christ is what makes the people of God so that we have to start there.

I think Christ is the object of our faith and through faith in Christ were joined together this great history of redemption is another call will yell your instincts are right Rachel fires caught fire burns fire is not a good thing. The fire here refers to judgment. John says that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Another word salvation and judgment member and in Isaiah 61. That's what the servant of the Lord will do. He will come and bring salvation but also the great day of the vengeance of our God. But Jesus in his first coming is not bringing fire. He's not bringing judgment. He's bringing peace.

He's announcing the gospel, the good news of salvation.

This is the day of salvation.

That's why when he announces the beginning of his ministry that he is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61.

He leaves out the day of the vengeance of our God because only in his second coming will he come to judge the living and the dead. This is not the day of judgment. I've come not to judge the world, but to save it.

John 317 so that's what John the Baptist is, as it were telescoping into one event. This Jesus is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit, his elect and then those who do not believe in Christ, he will baptize with fire and Jesus expounds on that when he talks more than anyone else in the whole Bible about the reality of hell and that the fire of judgment that awaits all who do not trust in Jesus Christ. If you ever hear pastors they were having fire baptism on Saturday night in the Delano know you don't want this fire to fall on you, thank you for that question. We really appreciate the questions that we've been receiving when we go to our next call.

What you think is really important to know about and all that well already think we should really find when we care. First, we need understand the message we need to know what the gospel is the gospel is in the message about how you can be a better person is not a message about all of the Bible heroes who were good and if you just follow their example. You'll be good. The gospel is not a message about how we can transform the world is not even a message about hell or you know about how to have a better marriage. The Gospels, the merit message of what Jesus Christ came and did to save us from our sin. If you're in it. It's not the gospel. The gospel is for you. The gospel isn't about you it's about Christ what he accomplished second, then we need to share the gospel in a way that thinning with the gospel leader share a message of grace with compassion and grace as well as conviction and then third.

I think often when people ask this question. Nerves may be some anxiety about sharing with the faith and on its understandable.

No one wants to get this message wrong. Sometimes were paralyzed by that though you don't need to have all the answers. Sometimes the best evangelistic approach is to tell people, and see and experience this for yourself so you invite them to church.

If your pastor preaches the gospel weekend and week out. I hope he does than they're going to hear that gospel message.

So start with that and be open to sharing what you know the best you can. Don't be paralyzed by the fear that you can't bring them to a saving relationship with Christ.

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