4 Address Book Revival

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Today we continue equipping for the harvest. So far we have looked at the first part of the equation: High Potency. We first maintained that To be highly potent Christians we need to be genuine and generous (and really that is the same thing, a genuine Christian is a generous Christian). Then last week, I shared that everyone is an evangelist, only what kind of evangelist am I? Am I a direct evangelist like Peter, an intellectual like Paul, an interpersonal friendship evangelist, the testimonial type who loves sharing my story, the inviter or the servant. A highly potent Christian considers themselves with sober judgement and develops themselves to be a powerful tool in the hands of the Lord of the Harvest.

Today we are going to move onto the second part of the equation: close proximity. It doesn’t matter how potent you are if you hide yourself in your Christian bubble and never come into contact with unbelievers. The salt needs to get out of its shaker before it can do its work of seasoning and preserving the food. So my stated goal here today is this: to shake you up and get you out of here.

To help you visually today I’ve got two props: an address book and a BBQ. I’m gonna show you how these two things might be super important in reaching your friends for Christ. First, I wanna show you a great little passage that demonstrates the principle that we’re going to look at today, the importance of the address book.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:35–45 ESV)

Your address book holds the key to revival in Canada. Look at this passage. John the Baptist had Andrew and his friend in his address book. Andrew, obviously had his brother, Peter. Jesus then went to Bethsaida and found Philip - how did he find Philip? Well Luke tells us that Bethsaida happened to be Peter and Andrew’s hometown, so the natural deduction is that Philip was in Peter or Andrew’s address book. Philip then got his address book out and thought to look for his friend, Nathanael. 

This is an address book revival. This is the normal natural path of conversion: through the personal social networks of believers introducing friends and family to Jesus. 

In the mid-1960‘s two, sociologists John Lofland and Rodney Stark, were the first scientists to study conversion to new religious movement, in this case, the Moonies (a Korean cult that was just coming over to North America for the first time). What they found was that, even though people often speak of their conversions as private and personal, every single one of the those who actually converted to the religion did so only after their personal social networks tipped in favor of the new movement. Put simply - they followed their friends into the faith. Address book conversion.

The Mormons have found the same thing. According to records kept by the president of Mormon missions, when missionaries make cold calls, the conversion rate is about 1 in 1000. However, when missionaries make their first contact with a person in the home of a Mormon friend or family member, the conversion rate jumps to 50%!  Address book conversion. 

Stark and Lofland concluded that the different between a successful religious movement and one that fails is the ability of the movement to remain an open network, one that constantly reaches out and into new social networks. When networks are kept open, the movement grows exponentially, for every new member entering the group brings along his or her network of family friends and associates. The kingdom of heaven being yeast that works through new loaves (networks) of people. 

This makes sense: How many of you really read all of the junk mail you receive at your home or in your inbox. Who are you more likely to say, “I’m sorry I can’t talk right now to: a telemarketer or an old friend?”

Hybels: The fact is, all of us experience discomfort when someone outside our circle of friends tries to influence us about personal significant matters. We all naturally gravitate toward people we already know and trust. Friends listen to friends.

The question we have to ask ourselves: are we the church remaining an open network - or a closed one. 

“Too Christian, Too Pagan”, Dick Staub notes that many Christians have no unbelieving friends because they spend all their social time with other believers. In fact, some have observed that the average believer has no unbelieving friends after he has been a believer for two years.  Because of the large evangelical subculture that John Fischer has identified, most believers are already in “relational overload” with just their believing friends.  As a result, they have no time, energy or relational capacity for unbelievers.

Perhaps its time to take a good, hard look at our address books and contact lists. Perhaps what’s truly holding back revival in Canada is not our potency, or our clarity, or our prayer, but that Christians are content to simply live in the salt shaker. 

So here’s a take home assignment: go through your address book or contact list and only concentrate on those outside of the church, non-believers and the unchurched. Here’s the first step, take a piece of paper and write on it: People I know. Then another column: People I used to know. Finally the last column: People I’d like to know. Now this last one might not be in your address book. It may be the grocery clerk in the store you frequent. You might write neighbor in the red house with the big dog - and not know their names.

For the direct approach people: There is a evangelism networking and training session on Tuesday night in Ottawa called E2: Equipping Evangelists. It will be held at Blackburn Hamlet Community Church, 2598 Innes Road (near the TD Bank) on Tuesday October 8th, 7:30pm to 9:30pm. They are looking for 3-4 people per church who are passionate about evangelism, to do networking and training. Please attend. 

Let’s go back to front. So you got your list and have added to it people that you don’t know. The key here is to move them into the people you know column, particularly if your people you know column only has a few names in it. 

People I’d Like to Know

How do I get out of the bubble and meet people: neighbors, bank tellers, dog-walkers, bus commuters (at the station not on the bus). How do I meet people?

1. Be friendly: Treat people as if they are worthy of our love, respect and concern. They are!
2. Ask them questions about themselves: show genuine interest. Don’t just ask them what they do, ask them what they like about what they do. Ask them what skills they are most proud of having developed. 
3. Work on getting their first name and use it with them: The sweetest sound to your ears is your own name.
4. Also remember to look for openings to lead into spiritual conversations. Some people are open immediately, for some people your friendship may start over a spiritual conversation. The goal is not only to move them into a “people I know column”, our hope is that they might come to know and be known by Jesus, and some of them may be ready for that immediately.

People You Used to Know

How about those that you used to know but no longer have much contact with? Obviously, facebook makes this a completely different thing because now it feels like we know what’s going on in each others lives even when we haven’t really connected. So here’s the challenge - don’t let a facebook relationship count as a “real” connection. So if you have facebook friends you used to know, or contacts in your address book, and they’re non- Christian - maybe they used to come to the church here and you know that they’re not worshipping anywhere, especially if they grew up here with you - try to reconnect with them. 

1. Get over guilty feelings. Sometimes we feel bad because we didn’t keep up our end of the relationship. You know what, they might feel bad too and are just hoping you’ll call.
2. The great part about meeting up with an old contact is that there is immediately something for you to talk about.
3. Because they will feel they knew you once, you can take a bit more liberty in asking them about their faith and sharing yours with them.

People You Know

• Informal means
  • BBQ First Principle
  • Watching the game/ Movies (Damien’s block)
  • Working out/sports
  • Welcome New Neighbors on Your block
  • Playdates with kids: invite parents to stay
• Planed events
  • Baptism
  • Holiday Celebrations: Friends for Dinner
  • Thanksgiving Next week
  • Weddings
  • Matthew Party

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

(Luke 5:27–32 ESV)

• Today: Pick up a Matthew Packet
• This Week
  • Tell Pastor Dan That You Will Host a Matthew Party
  • Create Your Matthew List
  • Begin Praying Daily for Those on Your List
  • Share Your List in Your Small Group
  • Review the Materials in Your Packet
• October
  • Connect With Each of Your Friends in an Informal, Friendly Way
  • Continue Praying Daily and in Your Small Group
  • Complete Your Online Training
  • Plan Your “My Hope Party” (Time, Place, Group)
• Late October
  • Put Up My Hope Poster Somewhere Public
  • Get Excited When You Start Seeing National Advertisements 
  • Invite Your Friends to Your “My Hope” Party
  • Practice Telling Your Story
• Nov 3-10: My Hope Week
  • Hold Your “My Hope” Party!
  • Pray for Others’ Parties
  • Invite Friends to “My Hope” Sunday at Church (November 10)
• November
  • Re-connect With Your Friends to Follow-Up
  • Invite Friends to Your Small Group
  • Consider Another Matthew Party! Perhaps “Friends for Dinner”

Listen Now!

Be Yourself: Your Evangelism Style

AUDIO AT BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

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Some of you have tried to share your faith. You wen’t to some training or a how-to seminar or campus ministry. You gave it a go, but it never seemed natural to you and so you came to realize that you just weren’t any good at it. I’m not an evangelist and never will be. 

 That was the experience of Mark Mittleberg. He was a young Christian, very excited to share his faith and so he signed up for a certain churches summer evangelism program. He was trained a certain, very direct means of evangelism, similar to what sales people call cold-calling. Approaching strangers and going door-to-door in the neighborhoods around the church. Mark found this to be very difficult work, and in the end he concluded that if this is what evangelism was, he was not cut out for it - he simply was not an evangelist. 

 Today Mark serves as evangelism director for one of the largest and most influential churches in North America and has written books on evangelism. He has led hundreds of people to Christ. 

What happened? Mark learned that one of the secrets to being a highly potent Christian is to be comfortable in yourself and who God created you to be and then to use your unique personality and communication style to share the faith naturally in a way that plays to your strengths as an evangelist while working with others who can cover your weaknesses. 

The idea that God has made us each different is very basic to the new testament. In Romans 12:3-8, Paul writes:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

The idea behind this passage is that God did not make us cookie-cutter carbon copies of one another, but that he gave us a unique personality and communication style for the purpose of serving one another. Therefore we do ourselves a disservice and do damage to the mission of the church when we take a one-size-fits all approach to ministry. We understand this sometimes in the church, but then we often train people for evangelism as if there is one way to do it. A lot of evangelism training is like Saul outfitting David. If you don’t know the story, there was a giant mountain of a man named Goliath who was challenging Israel, God’s people. And so this young shepherd David says, how dare he challenge the Lord, I’ll fight him! And so Saul, the king, brought David in a gave him all his own armor to go out a fight. But the armor didn’t fit him and David knew that his hope wasn’t in the armor but in his God, and so he left the armor by the side of the river and went to face the challenge in clothes more suited to him with God at his side.  Some of us have given up on evangelism because we’ve only tried it wearing armor not suited to us - methods handed to us from others, but that don’t really fit us. 

So today I want to encourage you with this. You are able to share your faith, you can be an evangelist, but I want to help you find your voice. 

Direct Style 

Some of you are Peter’s. We’ll call this the direct style. Like Peter in the Bible, you’re bold, confident, bold, assertive, to the point. Peter rarely backed down, especially after the resurrection. If you go to Acts 2 you can get a pretty clear picture of Peter’s evangelism style. Acts 2 is the day of Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit first filled the church. Jerusalem was filled with people and when the Holy Spirit gathered a huge crowd, who was it but Peter who lifted up his voice above them all and started proclaiming to the gospel of Jesus. Peter held back no punches - he very directly addressed the crowd and told them that they had crucified and killed Jesus. Peter so directly confronted their sin that people actually called out, “what shall we do to be saved.” and again Peter did not shy away from telling them, very clearly, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you for the forgiveness of your sins.” This is a guy to get in your face. These people like doing randoms, they make great preachers. This is the style that we often most closely associate with evangelists. Billy Graham has a direct style - a simple message of faith that he has delivered over and over again. Mark Driscoll is a pastor with this style - and his church sees a lot of salvations every year. Ray Comfort is also a very direct evangelist. This is the Power to Change, may I ask you a question style. I’m not this style, so I have had to learn to be more direct when I share my faith and in university I even intentionally put myself in situations in which I was stretched in this area and am glad I did, but this is not me. I’ve actually been encouraged to be more direct as part of this church - I find the Chinese are very direct. If you visit our Chinese side, they’ll just ask - are you a Christian or not, ok then you go to the seekers class. We Canadians are way less direct - where are you on you spiritual journey? That sort of question would drive you Direct Style people insane. 

Cautions

• Be sure to seek God’s wisdom so you will be appropriately sensitive and tactful. 
• Allow the Holy Spirit to restrain your desire to come on strong.
• Avoid judging or laying guilt trips on others who approach evangelism with a different style.

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• Ask friends for feedback on whether you have the right balance of boldness and gentleness. Keep in mind Paul’s phrase in Ephesians 4, “speaking the truth in love.” Both truth and love are essential.
• Prepare yourself for situation where you will stand alone. The nonbeliever you confront with the truth will sometimes feel uncomfortable. Even non-confrontational Christians who are with you will sometimes feel that discomfort. That’s ok. Under God’s guidance, challenge people to trust and follow Christ and He will use it.
• It is critical that you listen and value what others say before telling them what you think they need to hear. 
• Team up with friends who have other styles that may be better matched to the person you hope to reach.

Intellectual Style 

Some of you are Paul’s. Like Paul in Acts 17, when you share your faith you are more analytical, you use apologetics and reason. You anticipate questions people may have. You love reading things that give you insight as to how people think.  Others who have this style might be pastor Tim Keller, apologists like Josh McDowell or Ravi Zaccharius. This is my primary style. I was doing the exercise with my wife and the thing says - Often when listening to teachers or TV commentators, I mentally (or even verbally) argue with their positions and logic. I’m like, yep I do that all the time. I often gripe to Jean about logical fallacies I see or hear. That’s me. 

Cautions

• Avoid getting stuck on academic points, arguments, and hair-splitting points of evidence. These are mainly to clear the path to the gospel message.
• Remember that attitude is as important as information. 1 Peter 3:15 says to have “gentleness and respect.”
• Avoid becoming argumentative.

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• Set aside time to study. This style, more than others, relies on preparation. Take serious action on what it says in 1 Peter 3:15.
• Avoid doing all your preparation in an academic vacuum. Get out and talk to others. Try out your arguments on real people, and make refinements as necessary.
• Develop your relational side. Talk to people about everyday events, and what is happening in their life and your.
• Team up with friends who have other styles that may be better matched to the person you hope to reach.

Testimonial Style:

Some of you are like the man whom Jesus healed of blindness in John 9. “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”  “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.”

Notice the man refused to enter in to theological debate with them, just kept saying, “I once was blind but now I see.” He had a story to tell. People with this style are often clear communicators because they know their story, they can be good listeners, vulnerable about your personal life, ups and downs, overwhelmed by the account of how God reached them, and always looking for links between their experience and that of other people. This was my other primary style - and since I did this study I started listening to myself in conversations and realized just how much I do this. Lacy Sturm from Flyleaf at Rock the River last year had a way of connecting people to her story. Nick Vujacic.

Cautions

• Be sure to relate your experience to the life of your friend. You need to first listen to them to be able to connect your story to their situation.
• Do not stop with merely telling your story. Challenge them to consider how what you have learned may apply to their life.
• Don’t downplay the value of your story because it seems too ordinary. Ordinary stories relate best to ordinary people!

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• Practice so you’ll be able to tell your story without hesitation.
• Keep Christ and the gospel message as the centerpiece of your story. This is an account of how he changed your life.
• Keep your story fresh by adding new and current illustrations from your ongoing walk with Christ.
• Team up with friends who have other styles that may be better matched to the person you hope to reach.

Interpersonal Style 

Some of you are Matthew’s. Matthew was a tax-collector minding his own business when Jesus approached him and said, “Follow me.”  What did following Jesus look like to Matthew? After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with 

(Luke 5:27–29 ESV) These are the friendship evangelists. They are relationally warm, conversational, compassionate, friendship-oriented, focuses on people and their needs. This is what we talked about last year when we spoke about using our homes and our family rooms as centres of evangelism. This is having people over for bbq and hockey matches and building relationships with them to lead them to Christ. This is the strategy of the My Hope with Billy Graham initiative where you build friendships and bring people into your home to hear the gospel. So this fall is your turn to shine. 

Cautions

• Beware of valuing friendship over truth. Telling people they are sinners in need of a savior will test relationships.
• Do not get so involved in the process of building friendships that you forget the ultimate goal: bringing people to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Don’t get overwhelmed with the amount of needs your friends might have - do what you can and leave the rest to God.

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• Be patient. This style tends to work more gradually than others. Look and pray for opportunities to turn conversations toward spiritual matters.
• Continually create and plan opportunities to interact with friends and new people through social events, sports, etc. This will put you in a place where your style can flourish.
• Practice telling the gospel message so you will be prepared when the opportunity arises.
• Team up with friends who have other styles that may be better matched to the person you hope to reach.

Invitational Style 

Some of you are like the woman at the well in John 4. The woman at the well in John 4.“Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.” (John 4:27–30 ESV). You are always thinking about who you can bring with you to a place where they can hear the gospel. Hospitable, persuasive, enjoys meeting new people, enthusiastic, spiritually opportunistic, outgoing. You are a networker. You know who to connect with whom. Allison Mo - you might be this style. 

Cautions

• Don’t let others do all the talking for you. Your friends and acquaintances need to hear how Christ influenced your life. In addition, they have questions you could answer concerning the implications of the gospel.
• Carefully and prayerfully consider which events or church services you take people to. Look for ones that are clear with truth, but sensitive to the needs of spiritual seekers.
• Do not get discouraged if people refuse your invitation. Their refusal could be an opportunity for a spiritual conversation. Also, their “no” today could become a “yes” tomorrow.

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• When inviting people, try to get written details about the event into their hands (either preprinted or handwritten). Whenever appropriate, offer to pick them up and do something together before or after the event.
• At events, mentally put yourself in the place of the other person. Ask yourself whether the event would relate to your concerns or mindset. Reinforce the positive aspects to the person you invited.
• Offer constructive feedback to the event sponsors consisting of specific and realistic ways you think they could improve the event and make it more compelling to the people you bring. 
• Invite friends to other, not specifically “outreach-y” type of events to develop your friendship. When they invite you to something that is important to them, try to go with them if your conscience allows.

Serving Style

Some of you may be Tabitha’s (also called Dorcas) in “Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.” (Acts 9:36–43 ESV) Tabitha was known for her good works and surrounded by people who she impacted for the gospel - now hopefully you don’t have to die before they actually hear the word of God preached! Traits, Patient, Others-centered, Sees needs and finds joy in meeting them, Shows love through actions more than words, Attaches value to even menial tasks. This is my wife, Jean. We work together well. 

Cautions

• Remember that although “words are no substitute for actions,” “actions are no substitute for words” either! In Romans 10:14 Paul says that we must verbally tell people about Christ. You can do this in many ways as you point to Him as the central motivation for your service.
• Don’t underestimate the value of your service. It is your style that will reach the hardest to reach people. Acts of loving service are hard to resist and difficult to argue with.
• Be discerning as to how much you can do realistically without depriving yourself or your family of needed care and attention.

Suggestions for Using and Developing This Style

• Find creative ways to communicate the spiritual motivation behind the service you offer. If could be through a word, a card, or an invitation.
• Seek God daily for opportunities to serve others for eternal purposes. He will open your eyes to areas you might have missed. Be ready to follow His leadings, even if they seem a bit out of the ordinary.
• Be careful not to impose your service on others. Pray for wisdom so you will know where to invest your efforts in ways that will be strategic for the kingdom of God. 
• Recruit nonbelievers to work along side of you while you are serving others. This can open up opportunities to speak with them about your central motivation for serving - the Lord.
• Team up with friends who have other styles that may be better matched to the person you hope to reach.

Moving From Mountains

Luke 9:28-36 [Audio Link at Bottom]

How to Move [from] Mountains

The point of the transfiguration is not what happens on the mountain, but what happens after.

• The Mountain-Top Experience Was to Prepare Jesus for His Mission

The first thing to understand about the transfiguration is that it wasn’t for us. It wasn’t primarily for the disciples, it was for Jesus. The mountain-top experience was to prepare Jesus for his mission. As I noted last week, Luke 9 is all about Jesus preparing for Phase II of his Mission. Phase I was to reveal the character of God and announce that He, the Messiah, had entered history. Phase 1 was accomplished through Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing, which left people in awe of the works of God and marveling over the identity of this Man of Marvels. But now Phase II is looming. Jesus had revealed to His disciples in verse 22 that “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Phase II of the Messiah’s mission included suffering, rejection and death. Last week I suggested that Jesus’ walk to Golgotha - the hill upon which He would be crucified - starts here. In a very real sense, we are seeing Jesus in this chapter, take up His cross, and start the journey to His death. Before he begins His journey, Jesus takes time to pray. 

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

This is not unexpected. We’ve seen in the book of Luke on multiple occasions in which Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to pray, especially before making major decisions or beginning new ministry. We’ve also seen that Jesus occasionally prayed late into the night or began early in the morning, so it does not surprise us that the companions he chose to accompany him - Peter, James and John, became “heavy with sleep” and drifted off. What might Jesus have prayed for? Well, were not told specifically, but it must be that He was praying about His upcoming journey, and it would not be unimaginable that He was praying for strength, encouragement, direction. What we do know is how God answered his prayer. First, something changed in Him. For the only time that we know of in His lifetime among us, Jesus’ glory as the Son of God was manifest. 

And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

This is a mountain-top experience like no other. While in prayer Jesus experiences the glory that He had with the Father before the world began. Later in John 17, Jesus would pray that all who would follow Him would be with Him to see His glory, given Him by the Father before the creation of the world. On that night however, the glory of the Son would have only a few witnesses. Peter said later of this unveiling, “we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16) John puts it this way, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Well talk about the effect on the disciples in a second, but imagine the effect that this mountain-top experience must have had on Jesus Himself. He is praying to the Father to prepare himself for Phase II of the mission, and as He prays God gives Him a reminder of the Glory He once had at the Father’s side and a foretaste of the Glory to come in His ascension. That’s why we pray - to get a glimpse of the Glory of God to sustain us through our trials. Jesus got more than a glimpse - He got transformed. The Mountain-Top Experience Was to Prepare Jesus for His Mission

The second way God answers Jesus’ prayer is by sending Moses and Elijah to speak with Him. Moses, the writer of the first five books of the Bible, the man God used to bring the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt - and, oh yes, who died 1400 years before Jesus. And Elijah, the prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who confronted Idolatry, and who was taken into heaven 800 years before Jesus. These two men, long since gone, God sends to Jesus to encourage him before beginning his mission. What an answer to prayer! Like, I’ve prayed before and God sends someone to encourage me - once or twice - the phone rang as soon as I said Amen, but I’ve never had God send anyone to me who no one’s seen for hundreds of years. You think Jesus was encouraged for His mission? Here’s Moses and Elijah! And what do they talk to him about? They “spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” There is a lot here.

1. The Old Testament saints, long since departed from this world, were still alive in some form somewhere and keenly interested in Jesus fulfilling His mission. While they were alive, the prophets foretold of the ministry and mission of the Messiah, but they saw through the glass very dimly. Peter puts it this way in 1 Peter 1:10 “the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.” Even after the prophets departed, they still were keenly interested in when and how and in what matter Christ should suffer and attain glory. Because Christ is their salvation as well as ours. Salvation is the same in the Old and the New - they were saved by looking forward to the sufferings and glory of the Messiah, we are saved by historical fact of the Messiah having suffered and having attained glory, and we - like they - look forward to His return at the end of history, when He comes in glory to bring all things to fulfillment.
2. They spoke to Him about his departure he was about to accomplish. Many see this as simply a reference to His imminent death, and perhaps his resurrection and ascension, yet I think there is more going on here. Literally in the original language, the phrase is, they “spoke to Him about His exodus which He was about to fulfill.” Two words should jump out at you. Exodus and fulfill. Isn’t it interesting that Moses should talk with Jesus about an Exodus. Isn’t it interesting the Elijah, a prophet, should speak about “fulfillment” - a prophetic word. It’s not just that Jesus would accomplish something in His mission; Jesus’ upcoming death and exultation will be a fulfillment of generations of prophecy foretelling that the Messiah must suffer be rejected, be murdered, and be raised in order to lead God’s people in a new Exodus, from which they would be delivered from slavery to their sin by the Messiah who will assume the role of the passover Lamb, before leading people in His glory. Perhaps no two people in history were more qualified to speak with Jesus about his exodus than these two prophets who were both known for their exits - Moses from Egypt and Elijah as He ascended to heaven in a flaming chariot. Again, think of the encouragement! Jesus is conversing with two pillars of history, who are reminding him that His upcoming mission is the fulcrum of which their entire lives and all scripture points. Can’t you see Jesus getting excited for the mission to come? The Mountain-Top Experience Was to Prepare Jesus for His Mission. Yet we also see that the mountain-top experience was to prepare the disciples for their mission.

• The Mountain-Top Experience Was to Prepare Disciples for Their Mission

Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, Can you imagine that some of this was happening before the disciples droopy-eyes! How often we slumber spiritually while the Lord is doing glorious things right in from of us! but 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 tents, one for you and 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!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

So they wake up, see this amazing scene - Jesus in his glory speaking with Moses (!) and Elijah (!). And so Peter blurts out, “This is an amazing place! It is good that we are here! Let’s set up some tents here for you three.” Now to Peter’s credit, Luke remarks, he had no idea what he was talking about. Peter’s immediate response to this amazing mountain-top experience is to sustain it by settling there. It is a natural response to spiritual-experiences. We have a uniquely intimate moment with God and we want to sustain it by going back to it, the same place, again and again. It is why we build religious structures and shrines and go back to camps and retreats each year  - we want to sustain the mountain top-experience. Yet Peter is rebuked by the Voice of God. A cloud envelopes them: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Now, most commentators will focus on the first part of the rebuke and tell you that Peter’s fault lay in not recognizing the uniqueness of Jesus over-and-against tMoses and Elijah. Peter wants to set up three tents, but the Son of God stands apart as the Chosen One - the servant who will bring salvation to all. If you remember, just before this passage there are controversies over Jesus’ identity in which the crowds actually thought Jesus might be Elijah or one of the prophets of old reincarnated. God’s voice then is declaring that Jesus is not merely one of the prophets, but He is the Christ, the Son of God, the Chosen One - something Peter is still not understanding. And so the transfiguration stands as the Highest revelation of Jesus’ identity in Scripture. It answers all the questions of “Who do you say that Jesus is?”

Yet I think there is more. The Lord says to Peter, “Listen to Him!”. Peter wants to put up tents, Peter wants to settle, Peter wants to sustain the mountain-top experience, yet what was the purpose of the mountain-top experience? Why send Elijah and Moses to talk to Jesus? To prepare Jesus for the Mission to come! To settle on the mountain is diametrically opposed to the Mission of Jesus and the purposes of God. Peter would have known this if he had been listening to Jesus, because Jesus has just told him and all the other disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” So Peter, you don’t know what you are saying, the purpose of this mountain-top experience is not so you can settle here, but so that you also will prepared to follow your Lord in His mission. You are here to see his glory, but you can’t stay here, you need to go down from the mountian, follow Him to the cross, and ultimately Peter, James and John, you will take Him to the nations. 

Here is a secret for you who have had mountain-top experiences with the Lord. How do you keep mountain-top experiences? Go out in mission. Rope illustration.

• The Word of God Reveals the Glory of Jesus and Sets Us On Mission

So where do we see the glory of the Lord today that inspires missional movement? How do we ascend to the mountain-top and then descend to the world in mission? Peter having been rebuked by the Lord, wished us to not fall into the same trap as he did of settling on the mountain-top seeking fleeting experiences, and so he encourages us in his letter:

2Pet. 1:16  For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter says that even though He had the priveledge of being on the mountain-top with Jesus, seeing the glory and hearing the voice, we have something even more fully confirmed than even what he saw with his eyes and heard with his ears - we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. That is, we are to look into the word of God intently until we see the glory of Christ. The glory of Christ is revealed today in the pages of Scripture, whenever we look intently enough into it to be seek it. It is interesting that represented on the mountian of transfiguration were the writers of Scripture: Moses who wrote the Law. Elijah, representing the prophets. So you have the OT - the law and the prophets. Then you have John, one of the gospel writers, and Peter who wrote New Testament letters and who also confirmed the letters of Paul, another epistle writer. Thus, on the mountain-top with Jesus you have all Scripture represented, all scripture testifying to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Thus today our mountain-top experiences come as we come to the Word of God and behold the glory of Christ, and it is the glory of Christ in the Word of God that compels us not to settle on the mountain-top of our own religious experience, but to travel down from the mountain, into the world to proclaim the excellencies of the glorious Christ.

Listen Now!