Peekaboo Part 1

Jonathan Evans: I'm like, how you gonna have the audacity to expect something from me that our relationship doesn't garner? How do we have the audacity to be requesting mountain-top experiences with valley relationships? The entitlement to get what these three got, who were willing to die for theirs, getting this experience with Jesus. We need to work on our relationship.
Guest (Male): You're listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry, Jonathan has two gifts for you. The first is the audio series that you're currently hearing called All Eyes on Jesus, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. The second part of this gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans called The Power of Jesus' Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? I'll tell you more about these later in today's program. Or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now let's get started with Jonathan's message, Peekaboo.
Jonathan Evans: You can remember as a child playing Peekaboo. That was that fun game where you would cover your face and then suddenly reveal yourself with a big smile. For many children, this was more than a magical moment. This was an opportunity for children in this game to have a discovery. Here the disciples in the Transfiguration experience a Peekaboo moment of Jesus, where now they are gaining a powerful revelation from Jesus about Jesus. I want to give you his Peekaboo so that you can experience the revelation that he was giving the disciples on that day. Here we go. It starts out by saying six days later. Six days later, after he had said these words, "Who do people say that I am?" and Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." It was six days after that he took them to the mount. It was six days after Jesus said to his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things and then be raised on the third day. It was six days later. It was six days later after Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone wishes to be my disciple, he must take up his cross and follow me. Those who want to save their life will lose their life. Those who are willing to lose their life will find their life." It was six days after that. It was six days after he made this statement: "Some of you will see the Son of Man coming in all of his glory, and you will not taste death before you do." It was six days later that he took three of them up to the Mount of Transfiguration. Now I want you to take all of those things that I just said and set them over here for a second. Because after that, six days later, after he said those things, he took the disciples, three of them up high. Why three? Because every disciple doesn't have the same level of relationship. Evidently, Jesus is willing to take you as high as your relationship with him will allow. There were just three of them. See, you've got to understand. In Luke chapter 6, verse 17 and 18, it says there was a large crowd of his disciples that came to hear and be healed. In other words, it was a technical term to describe follower. But these people came just to hear and be healed. In other words, they wanted the message and they wanted the miracle, but they had really no faith in the Messiah. So they were disciples technically. I wonder how many in the crowd today are disciples technically. You follow because you want something physically but not because you're full of faith. In John chapter 6, verse 26, he says these words: "You have come not because you have seen signs, but because you ate loaves." In other words, you just want to get full physically but you're not really full spiritually. That was the crowd of disciples. Then in Luke chapter 10, verse 1 and 2, there is the 70 disciples. These are the 70 that Jesus sent out before him. And he made the famous phrase, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." He sent them out two by two so that they could go before him into the cities and start working on the harvest. This was a good group because they were working for Jesus, but they just weren't as intimate with Jesus as the 12. No shade on the 70, they were doing the work, but they didn't have as much intimacy as the 12 did. Which means you have to be careful, you workers of the gospel, because you can preach on a pulpit, you can be working in the field and still not be as intimate with Christ as you could be. Some of us work so hard, we spend less time with the one we're working for. That was the 70. After the 70 you have the 12. We know the 12. The 12 was an intimate group. They walked with him, talked with him, did miracles with him, were in storms with him. I mean, they did life with Jesus and they experienced intimate relationship with him. But even inside of the 12, there was a more intimate group called the three. And these three were able to go much higher than anybody else was able to go. They were able to experience Jesus much more than anybody else was able to experience him because they had a higher level of intimacy than any of the rest. This was an intimate group. First was Peter. You all know Peter. Peter's the one that's going to step it out on a ledge for his. He's going to say, "You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God." In a storm, he's going to say, "I'm fixin' to go walk on this water and go to Jesus while the rest of the disciples stay safe in the boat." He's the one that's going to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 2 where 3,000 souls would come to faith. Jesus knew that Peter was that dude that was down for whatever. Then there was James. There's not as much written about James as there is Peter as it relates to James' accolades in the Bible. But what we do know is that Acts chapter 12, James was a martyr for the faith. He got stabbed by a sword right through the abdomen and he lost his life for the faith. He was a martyr for the faith, so even though there wasn't as much written about him, I can tell you this: he was ready to die for his. And Jesus knew, "James, that's my dude, he's down for whatever." Then there was John. John chapter 13, John chapter 20, 19, 21. He's referred to as the one whom Jesus loved, the one who was on his bosom. The one whom Jesus at his crucifixion said, "Hey John, I'm gonna need you to take care of my mama and them." And anybody you have in your will, that's your dude. John was the one that Jesus loved to the degree where he would call upon him and give him the revelation to close the canon of scripture called the book of Revelation. He had a close-knit relationship with these three. And Jesus knew that John was down for whatever. I wonder what Jesus knows about you and me. Does he see you in the crowd, see you as the 70, see you as the 12, or does he know this one is down for whatever? I can take them higher and give them a greater experience with me than I can give the rest. Because some people want a great experience with a low relationship. I had a friend of mine named Celeste. She's my friend currently. We've been friends for a long time, almost 30 years now. She's sitting right there. But when we were young, she had a person in her hand. She walked up to me and said, "You Jonathan?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "Jonathan Evans, Tony Evans' son, right?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "I'm gonna need you to walk me to my car." Now you gotta understand, I was the youngest, kind of the locker room kid. I was halfway saved when I was 15, 16 years old. My subject-verb agreement started crossing. I was like, "What your name is?" Like I just... I was like, "How you gonna have the audacity to expect something from me that our relationship doesn't garner?" How do we have the audacity to be requesting mountain-top experiences with valley relationships? The entitlement to get what these three got who were willing to die for theirs. Getting this experience with Jesus. We need to work on our relationship. There's a story about Mary and Martha in the Bible, Luke 10:38 through the rest. And Martha was frustrated because she was doing the work. And she came out and said, "Why doesn't she get in the kitchen with me and do this work?" And Jesus said, "Because Mary chose the better thing," to be with Jesus. And these three went up higher and let me tell you what happened. Because we're about to go deep-sea diving for a little bit. They went up to the mountain and Jesus transfigured before the three. Peekaboo. The Greek word for transfigured is metamorpho, which is where we get our English word metamorphosis. We understand a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. All that's happening is what's already in there finds a cocoon and comes out. When he took them up there, he was showing them what Hebrews 1:3 says. Hebrews 1:3 says he is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact representation of God's nature. And on that Mount of Transfiguration Jesus said, "Peekaboo, I'm letting you see what's already in there." This is one of the clearest passages in the Bible of the deity of Christ. The Bible doesn't just say, "In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God, the word became flesh and dwelt among us." It does not just tell you in John chapter 8, when Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and he tells them, "Before Abraham existed, I am." It does not just say in John chapter 14 when he's having a conversation with Philip and Philip says, "When are you going to show us the father?" and Jesus responds, "Have you not been with me long enough Philip? When you have seen me, you have seen the father." It does not just say in Colossians 2:9 that the full deity of God resides in bodily form. It does not just say in Colossians 1:16 that Jesus is the creator of the heavens and the earth, the invisible and the visible, the rulers and dominions. He created all things through him and for him. It does not just say in Philippians 2 that God emptied himself, taking on the form of a bondservant being made in the likeness of man. It does not just say that he healed, that he gave sight to the blind, that he walked on water, that he multiplied bread, that he raised people from the dead. It does not just say that he himself was resurrected. It also says that three eyewitnesses saw God coming through his face.
Guest (Male): More of the Faith Walk with Pastor Jonathan Evans in a moment. When life leaves you feeling spiritually dry, pressured by culture, or unsure of your purpose, All Eyes on Jesus will help you refocus on the one who changes everything. Today, with a gift to support the ministry of the Urban Alternative, Jonathan wants to give you a copy of his eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Also included with your gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans, The Power of Jesus' Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. Both the book, The Power of Jesus' Names, and the eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus, are a gift for you to thank you to show our appreciation for your continued support. It is listeners like you who make this program possible. Our 24-hour resource request line is open at 1-800-800-3222. Let one of our team members help you. 1-800-800-3222. Or get all the details at tonyevans.org to learn more. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Now, let's get back to Jonathan with the rest of today's message.
Jonathan Evans: It does not just say that he himself was resurrected. It also says that three eyewitnesses saw God coming through his face. So at this point, if you still are in the church and you are lacking belief in the complete deity of Jesus Christ, that means you are a Romans 1 person and you are choosing to suppress the truth. Because this is one of the clearest representations in scripture that he is God. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of David, and God himself. You may say, well that doesn't make sense. How can he be the Son of God and be God? It's because God is one God who is simultaneously three persons. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. But it's one God. It is not three gods. It's one God who is three persons. You say, Jonathan that doesn't make sense. Well let me Tony Evans you for a second. If I pull out a pretzel, you're going to see three holes in the pretzel. This hole ain't that hole, that hole ain't this hole, this hole ain't that hole, but you're only going to be looking at one pretzel because it's tied together by the same dough. That's who God is. That's why he says in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our image." Who's us and our? That's why he says in Matthew 28, baptize them in the name singular of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the plural. That's who he is. And so God, the second member of the trinity, has become man and took three up to the Mount of Transfiguration and said, "Peekaboo, I want you to see the radiance of his glory shining through my face." I'm doing metamorphosis right in front of your eyes so that there is no excuse, and I gave you eyewitnesses who saw it. If you believe in Jesus but you don't believe that Jesus is God, wrong Jesus. He's transfigured before them where John would write in John 1:14, "We beheld his glory as the only begotten from the Father." That's what he was talking about when John wrote in Revelation 1:16. He said he had seven stars in his hands, through his mouth came a cutting sword sharper than any two-edged, and his face shone like the sun with all of its strength. This is where these writings are coming from, from the Mount of Transfiguration when they're seeing this. So if you're not believing it now, you're not seeing it, I need you to wake up. Why would I say wake up? Well because Luke 9 gives you more detail than Matthew 17. Luke 9 says this in verse 32. It says, "Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep. But when they were fully awake, they saw his glory." Wait a minute. Matthew 17 said he took them up and transfigured. Luke 9 says they were sleeping. You're sleeping while the glory of God is being revealed? How you sleep and the glory of God is being revealed? How you watching what's going on in Israel and you sleep? Have we not read Ezekiel 38? Do we not realize that the end is near and Christians are snoring? Do you not realize that the judgment of the Lord and the final days are showing themselves clearly, shone like the sun, letting you know the times that you're in and we just up in here? The times are here! Wake up! Why were the disciples sleeping? Because they were depressed, they were filled with anxiety. Remember earlier Jesus said, "I must suffer many things," six days earlier. Earlier he said, "If you want to follow me, you got to take up a cross, you got to be willing to lose your life." He said some of you will not even taste death until you see the Son of Man coming in all of his glory. They were trying to figure all this out, they couldn't understand it, but they knew they had to suffer. Even at the Garden of Gethsemane, these were the same three that were asleep when Jesus was in the garden praying, "Not my will but your will be done." Same three dudes, they always sleep. Because they were filled with the anxiety of the times and the moment. They didn't know how to deal with it, and you know how depression will do, it'll put you to sleep. But at the moment that they were sleeping, his glory was being revealed. So I need you to know something practical. When you're filled with depression and anxiety and you don't know how to overcome it, stay awake, don't sleep on Jesus because in those times his glory is being revealed. He's showing you what he's going to do. That's why 2 Corinthians 4:17 says this light momentary affliction is preparing us for a weight of glory that is beyond our comparison and comprehension. We have to stay awake especially while his glory is being revealed in these times that we're living in. He goes up and his face was shone like the sun. His garments were white as the light. This was a beaming light coming through his face as he's literally doing metamorphosis in front of the disciples. He's letting you know and letting them know, there is clarity. Hey Peter, six days earlier when you said you I'm the Christ the Son of the living God, this is what that looks like. When I told you to take up your cross and follow me, trust me, it's worth it. When I said that the Son of Man must suffer many things and some of you will see his glory, I'm letting you see it right now. You three are the some. He's revealing himself at the Mount of Transfiguration. And then, watch this. When they finally wake up, you know what they see? They see Jesus transfigured before them, and that moment of Peekaboo produces Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah are standing there having a conversation with Jesus about what he's about to accomplish. What is he about to accomplish and why? Stay with me. Why Moses and Elijah? Why not Abraham? Why not David? Why not Jeremiah? Why not Ezekiel? Why not Isaiah? Moses, before it was formalized, was the prophet. He spoke to the people on behalf of God. Moses, before it was formalized, was the priest. He mediated the relationship between God and man. Moses, before it was formalized, was the king. He ruled the people in God's name. Moses was the consummate Old Testament prophet, priest, and king. Not only that, Moses was the one who took the people out of bondage and slavery and took them to a promised land. You need to understand that Moses is the type of Jesus Christ that represents what Jesus Christ was in the New Testament. Jesus was the consummate prophet, priest, and king that took the people out of the bondage of sin and is taking you to a promised land. That's not all Moses is there for. When the people saw Moses, they understood Moses as the Old Testament law. Matthew 5:17 says Christ did not come to abolish the law, he came to fulfill the law. So when he was showing these disciples is that I am the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament law. I am the consummate prophet, priest, and king that you have been praying for and seeking, and I am the one who takes you out of the bondage of sin and moves you into the promised land. That's why Moses is there. Elijah, this was the one that the Jewish people romanticized about. They even said John the Baptist comes in the spirit of Elijah. Because Elijah was back in the Old Testament raising dead widow's sons from the grave. Elijah was in the Old Testament shutting up the heavens from rain. Elijah was in the Old Testament multiplying flour, in other words, he multiplies bread. You know anybody like that in the New Testament? Somebody who raises people from the dead, multiplies bread, and can control storms? Elijah was one who represents Jesus Christ but he was also the head of the prophets. When they talked about the law and the prophets, they were talking about the Old Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets represented by Moses and Elijah. So he's letting the disciples know, not only am I full deity, but I'm also the completion of the Old Testament that you have studied. I am him.
Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you. An eight-part audio series, All Eyes on Jesus, and a book, The Power of Jesus' Names. How could knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Through Dr. Evans' book, The Power of Jesus' Names, you'll discover how the name of Jesus reveals his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. We're also including Jonathan Evans' All Eyes on Jesus audio series, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. Discover how to deepen your faith, stand firm in difficult times, and live with confidence in God's calling. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Both resources are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative. It's our way of showing appreciation for the continued support of listeners like you who make this program possible. Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Thank you for listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. The Faith Walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.