Matthew 17 - The Mount of Transfiguration

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. Matthew 17:5-6.

The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign from heaven proving He was Messiah, but He refused, stating that the only sign to be given Israel was the sign of Jonah. Fortunately, for three of the disciples, Peter, James and John, they were about to witness an amazing sign from heaven that would've made the Pharisees salivate! On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was transfigured before them as the God-man, His face and clothes brighter than the whitest white, just as the prophets of old had seen in visions and dreams! And what's more, even Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus. What an amazing opportunity for these three men!

Peter, in his zeal to worship the Lord, made the mistake of putting Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. As he was proclaiming his seemingly wonderful plan to build three tabernacles, the Heavenly Father interrupted his speech, declaring, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!"

What a wonderful message that is so true for us Christians today. We are to listen only to Jesus, for He is the exact representation of God the Father. Moses and Elijah are wonderful, but they are not on the same level as Jesus; instead, they point to Jesus! They represent all the Law and Prophets, which lead us to the person of Jesus. Praise God for that!

Jesus is the most wonderful gift that the Heavenly Father could ever give mankind. Sadly, there are many who are blind to this truth and needlessly suffer in sin, condemnation, and death. That's why it is so important for born again believers to advance the kingdom and share the good news of the Gospel!

Matthew 14 - Rise Above the Wind & Waves!

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:28-31. 

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus directed His disciples to go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to the land of Gennesarat while He went up to a high mountain to pray. A wonderful spiritual lesson was about to unfold; as the wind kicked up and the waves began to roll, the disciples found that they could not maneuver their boat toward their destination. Circumstances were against them, and they were doomed to fail without God's intervention.

Jesus knew of their circumstance but waited until after 3am to come to them - not as a rescuer who would snatch them out of their predicament, and not even as one who would calm the wind and the waves. No, He came as one who would show them HOW they were to RISE ABOVE the wind and waves and do what they had been called to do. He came to them walking above the wind and waves, revealing Himself as not only an anointed flesh man, but also an anointed, spiritual God man.

What is the message to us on the other side of the cross? Persecutions and obstacles will be there, and they may be huge, both from the spiritual realm and the natural realm. But we, as born again children of God, are to rise above all of that, with our spiritual sights set on Jesus, and do as He has called us to do. We cannot let fear stop us, but must push through our fleshly hesitancies and things that defy our natural reasoning and move forward in faith. Those of us who are bold like Peter will do supernatural, miraculous things, provided we step out in faith AND keep our eyes on Jesus. This is impossible to do in our flesh, but with and IN the spirit, all things are possible!

Jesus casually walked above a wild and tumultuous sea, and Peter did too! The same power and authority IN CHRIST is available to the church today! How exciting!

Pray in the Spirit!

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:18-20

Our final weapon against the enemy is the most powerful, and it is praying in the Spirit. I don't think any of us truly knows what goes on in the spirit realm when we pray in our prayer language. Paul tells us in Romans 8:26 that the Spirit prays for us through groanings and utterances that cannot be understood. And why is that? Because our human minds cannot pray the necessary specifics and details that only God would know. 

I love how John tells us in John 11: 33, 38 that as Jesus prayed for Lazarus to be raised up, He groaned and sighed within Himself, which I believe was Him groaning/praying in the Spirit. Just recently, an exciting historical discovery was made when ancient scrolls were found in the Vatican describing Jesus bringing a stillborn baby to life. It is intriguing that the writer of the scrolls claims Jesus looked to heaven and prayed in an indecipherable tongue before the miracle happened. How interesting!

In John 4:23-24, Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that a time was coming when God's people would worship Him in spirit and in truth. Before the Spirit came to indwell people as God's born again children, God was worshiped via the Mosaic law through the sacrificial system. People had to go to their priest, rabbi, or a prophet to hear from the Lord. Now, we can speak to and hear from the Lord as we sit in our family rooms or as we go about our days, all because the Holy Spirit was given to us as our comforter and guide who dwells inside of us. How amazing! He prays through us, searching the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10)  Again, the ramifications of this wonderful gift are astounding.

One of the side effects of praying in the Spirit is a boldness to preach the Gospel with divine revelation that points only to Jesus! Just look at what the timid, scared Peter did on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out and he and the other disciples prayed in other tongues. (Acts 2). The boldness Peter displayed in preaching how Jesus fulfilled prophecy exceeded anything he or any other priest or rabbi had demonstrated before. I can personally attest that my revelation of how Jesus fulfilled Scripture grew by leaps and bounds when I began praying in my prayer language. 

Again, if we truly understood the power of praying in the Spirit, all of us would probably pray night and day! It must be powerful and deadly to the enemy because religious people fight it tooth and nail! But tongues is in the Bible, so I'll keep on believing and praying! Amen to that!