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Spiritual Alarm Clocks that Awaken Us to the Transfiguration **Sermon worksheet and recommended reading below** HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS… TAKE OUR LIPS AND SPEAK THROUGH THEM, AND TAKE OUR HEARTS, AND SET THEM ON FIRE. AFTER COLLEGE, I MOVED IN WITH 3 GUYS WHO WERE LOOKING FOR A 4TH ROOMATE, AND AS SOON AS I MOVED IN, I KNEW I MADE THE RIGHT MOVE… WE HAD A GREAT TIME IN THAT HOUSE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED WAS THE ART AND ABSOLUTE CRITICAL EXECUTION OF THE PRACTICAL JOKE.
YOU REMEMBER, YOU CALL THE HOME PHONE, THE PERSON PICKS UP ONLY TO GET A LOAD OF SHAVING CREAM IN THEIR EAR. ONE OF MY FAVORITES THOUGH, WAS THE OL’ ALARM CLOCK WAKE UP TRICK… HERE’S HOW IT WORKS, USE WITH CAUTION…
SOMEWHERE WHERE IT WILL NOT BE SEEN BEFORE THE PERSON FALLS ASLEEP… Hiding places to consider are:
so…the person falls asleep, it goes off in the middle of the night. Hilarity will ensue as YOUR victim frantically searches for the SOURCE OF THAT HIDEOUS NOISE. Don't be afraid to set multiple alarm clocks all over the room. Once the prank is executed, the victim will be in possession of the alarm clocks and can do the same trick to you. Or, the victim will smash the alarm clock to pieces and so it should not be a time device that you value. OH, BUT THE REWARDS OF HEARING THEIR STORY THE NEXT MORNING WILL BE PRICELESS!!! AT THIS POINT IN THE SERMON, YOU’RE WONDERING 2 THINGS…
LET ME SAY THIS.. SOMEHOW, THE THREE MEN WHO GO WITH JESUS UP THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY…. YOU REMEMBER FROM TODAY’S GOSPEL… SOMEHOW THEY FALL ASLEEEP AND NEARLY MISS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING EVENTS IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE! AND MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU TODAY ARE… WHAT CAUSES THEM TO FALL ASLEEP AND WHAT WAKES THEM UP? THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE BIBLE! IT’S SO ALIVE! IT’S SO HONEST! HONEST ENOUGH TO SAY EVEN BACK THEN WITH JESUS IN THEIR PRESENCE, PEOPLE STILL FELL ASLEEP DURING PRAYERS! NOW, LISTEN TO THIS FIRST ETERNAL TRUTH.. EVERY WORD IN THE BIBLE IS THERE FOR A REASON… JESUS IS TELLING US IN OUR OWN LIVES… WE CAN BE SPIRITUALLY ASLEEP.. PHYSICALLY AWAKE, BUT SPIRITUALLY ASLEEP… AND CAN MISS OUT ON THE TRANSFORMATION HE’S INTENDING FOR US. AND SO TODAY, ALARM CLOCKS… WHAT WOKE THEM UP? NOW, HOLD THAT THOUGHT.. TODAY’S READING IS ALL ABOUT SOMETHING WE CALL THE TRANSFIGURATION… AN EVENT THAT HAS PROMPTED SOME OF THE FINEST PAINTINGS IN THE WORLD! THE REASON JESUS GOES UP THAT 9 THOUSAND FOOT MOUNTAIN… IS TO PRAY ABOUT WHAT HE KNEW WAS COMING NEXT IN HIS LIFE… HIS OWN BETRAYAL AND EXECUTION. JESUS HAS A DESIRE TO LIFT HIS FUTURE TO GOD IN PRAYER, AND RECEIVE GOD’S ANNOINTMENT. JESUS GETS MORE THAN HE IMAGINED AS HIS ENTIRE IDENTITY IS TRANS-FIGURED… TRANSFORMED… HIS CLOTHING TURNS DAZZLING WHITE AND HE GLOWS, LIKE NOTHING NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN! CAN YOU IMAGINE IT? AND YET PETER, JAMES AND JOHN ARE ASLEEP…ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THE HAND OF GOD FALLS ON JESUS IN A WAY NO ONE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE COMPLETE WITH ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES, OF A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, MOSES AND ELIJAH SHOWING UP! YET ALL THE DISCIPLES ARE LOOKING AT, ARE THE INSIDES OF THEIR EYE-LIDS--- YET ISN’T THIS IS OFTEN WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO US? …SPIRITUALLY SLEEP-WALKING THROUGH LIFE… AND THEREBY MISSING OUT ON ALL JESUS HAS INTENDED, INCLUDING HIS DESIRE TO TRANSFORM US! DON’T’ WE LIVE RIGHT THERE MY FRIENDS ON THAT MOUNTAIN-TOP? A DAY IN TIME WHERE JESUS IS DOING MIRACLES ALL AROUND US, BUT WE CAN’T SEE IT BECAUSE WE ARE SPIRITUALLY SOUND ASLEEP… HAVE YOU BEEN THERE MY FRIENDS? MAYBE YOU’RE THERE NOW…. I-E… YOU MIGHT SAY, WELL BECAUSE I AM! OR, THAT’S WHAT I DO ON SUNDAYS… OR THEY SAY WHO IS JESUS, AND OUT OF OUR DROWSINESS SAY, WELL, A GOOD MAN WHO HAS IMPLANTED VALUES AND MORALS… ANSWERS THAT DICTATE WE’VE BEEN ON SLEEPING PILLS… AND I BELIEVE AS WE LOOK AT OUR LIVES TODAY, THERE ARE KEY SLEEPING PILLS WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THAT IF TAKEN CONTINUALLY WILL KEEP US FROM SEEING THE MIRACLES OF JESUS CHRIST, AND HIS PLAN FOR OUR LIVES… THE FIRST SLEEPING PILL IS BUSY-NESS… COMBINE THAT WITH AND WE BECOME SPIRITUAL SLEEP-WALKERS… WHEN WE GO A DAY WITHOUT PRAYER, WEEKS WITHOUT WORSHIP… WHAT HAPPENS, IS THAT WE LOSE THOSE MOMENTS OF LETTING THE LORD SPEAK TO US! WE TAKE AWAY A MAJOR VEHICLE JESUS USES TO TRANSFORM US! REMEMBER THIS 2ND ETERNAL TRUTH…. WE CANNOT HAVE MOUNTAIN-TOP EXPERIENCES WITHOUT AN ACTIVE PRAYER-LIFE… YOU REMEMBER, THE VERY FIRST VERSE OF OUR PASSAGE.. JESUS WENT TO THE MOUNTAIN TO …. WHAT… NOT BEG FOR A HOLLYWOOD-LIKE FLASHING LIGHT MOMENT… NO, JESUS GOES TO THE MOUNTAIN TO ….PRAY…. TO PRAY AND OUT OF THAT PRAYER TIME COMES THIS AMAZING TRANSFORMATION! I SPEAK OUT OF PERSONAL FRUSTRATION… BUT THEN THE SUMMER HITS AND ANY KIND OF ORGANIZED PRAYER TIME CAN BE THROWN OUT THE DOOR… IF WE AREN’T IN DAILY PRAYER, WE ARE KEEPING THE MIRACLES THAT JESUS HAS INTENDED FOR US AT BAY! THE SECOND SLEEPING PILL FOR THE CHRISTIAN, COMES IN THE FORM OF FEAR… I WONDER IF FEAR MAY HAVE KEPT THEM ASLEEP ON THAT MOUNTAIN… FEAR CAN BE A SLEEPING PILL BECAUSE IT MIGHT PREVENT US FROM TAKING THAT CRITICAL STEP JESUS IS ASKING US TO TAKE! FEAR COULD HAVE PREVENTED THEM FROM GOING ON THAT MISSION TRIP.. JUST AS CHALLENGING ARE THE SMALLER FEARS.. IF I PRAY DAILY, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO GO TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY, THAT MIGHT MAKE ME A HOLY ROLLER…SUPER CHRISTIAN…I’M NOT INTO THAT… I DON’T MIND GOING TO CHURCH, BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE LABELED IN ANY WAY.. THIS CAN BRING ON A SERIOUS LETHARGY. AGAIN, I THINK OF OUR PRAYER STATIONS AT COMMUNION… WE HAVE SET THESE STATIONS UP SO YOU CAN COME UP FOR PERSONAL PRAYER FOR WHATEVER IS ON YOUR HEART.. THE SLEEPING PILL OF FEAR CAN KEEP US IN THE PEW, CAN KEEP US AT ARMS LENGTH FROM CHRIST AS HE WHISPERS IN YOUR EAR… COME AMY, COME JIM… COME DOWN SO I CAN SPEAK TO YOU IN WAYS THAT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR VERY LIFE… IT COULD BE ALPHA… IF I GO TO THE ALPHA CLASS IN THE FALL, WHAT IF SOMETHING ACTUALLY DOES HAPPEN IN MY LIFE WHERE I SEE JESUS IN A CLEARER WAY… I LIKE THE LIFE I HAVE… WHAT IF I HAVE TO GIVE UP SOMETHING I DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP? THIS FEAR CAN KEEP US SOUND ASLEEP... THERE ARE OTHER SPIRITUAL SLEEPING PILLS OUT THERE, LIKE INADEQUACY… OR THE THOUGHT THAT I’M UNLOVABLE…HOW COULD GOD LOVE ME…?? TO ALL OF THE ABOVE…JESUS SAYS GIVE ME A CHANCE TO TRANSFORM YOUR HEART! DON’T FALL ASLEEP! WELL, THANKS BE TO GOD, NEAR THE END THOSE DISCIPLES DO GET UP… LED BY PETER THEY COME OUT OF DREAMLAND… WHATEVER THEIR ALARM CLOCK WAS, IT SAVED THEM FROM MISSING OUT ON… NOT ONLY…
CAN’T YOU JUST SEE THE DISCIPLES? WAKING UP TO TO SEE JESUS SPEAKING WITH… COULD IT BE?? MOSES…WHAT? AND ELIJAH…YOU’RE KIDDING! NOW I REMEMBER BEFORE I WENT TO SEMINARY I ATTENDED A CHURCH LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM 4 FRATERNITY HOUSES IN A ROW… A REAL STRATEGIC LOCATION FOR MISSION WORK… AND I’LL NEVER FORGET THOSE EARLY SUNDAY MORNINGS WHEN THE CHURCH WOULD CHOOSE TO USE A BAGPIPER.. AND THE BAGPIPER WOULD ALWAYS START PLAYING OUTSIDE WHERE THE PROCESSION WOULD BEGIN… YOU KNOW THOSE UNMISTAKABLE RATHER HIDEOUS SOUNDS WHEN THE PIPER IS JUST BEGINNING! AND I REMEMBER AT TIMES LOOKING AT THE FRATERNITY HOUSES, AND ONE BY ONE, YOU WOULD SEE THESE GUYS WITH THEIR DARK SHADES KIND OF FALLING OUT OF THE WINDOWS WITH EXASPERATED LOOKS ON THEIR FACES… HEADACHES THE SIZE OF TALL BUILDINGS.. YOU COULD SEE THEM TRYING TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT TO STARBUCKS, OR ANYWHERE OUT OF REACH OF THAT PERILOUS SOUND! LIKEWISE… AS THE DISCIPLES AWAKEN… THEIR OWN PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN… MY FRIENDS, JUST AS PETER, JAMES AND JOHN WAKE UP, I BELIEVE OUR LORD MAKES AVAILABLE TO US SPIRITUAL ALARM CLOCKS TO WAKE US FROM OUR SLUMBER… THE ALARM CLOCKS MAY NOT BE IN THE FORM OF BAGPIPES… BUT NONE-THE-LESS… ALARM CLOCKS THAT ARE DESIGINED TO WAKE US UP TO HIS RADIANCE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER FOR OUR LIVES… THE FIRST IS LOVE… I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT, A TRUE MOMENT IN TIME WHERE I FELL IN LOVE WITH LIBBY… IT WAS OUR FIRST DATE… AT THE END I SAID GOODBYE TO HER, AND WALKED DOWN HER STREET WITH MY HEART IN THE SKIES…!
SOMETHING IN ME CAME ALIVE THAT NIGHT! IT’S THE SAME WHEN WE FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS ALL OVER AGAIN! OR WORSHIP, SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES OR TEACHINGS, FALL IN LOVE WITH CHRIST FOR THE FIRST TIME, OR THE 50TH TIME, AND THEY ARE NEVER THE SAME! SOMETHING COMES ALIVE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN OUT OF THAT EXPERIENCE
BUT MY FRIENDS, SOMETIMES THAT ALARM CLOCK GOES OFF IN OTHER AREAS OF LIFE THAT ARE PAINFUL. YOU SEE, JESUS ALSO USES SORROW TO WAKE US UP . GOD DOESN’T CREATE SORROW, BUT HE CAN USE IT TO TRANSFORM US.. I CAN’T HELP BUT THINK OF A FUNERAL AT WHICH I OFFICIATED SEVERAL YEARS AGO… THE FUNERAL OF A YOUNG DOCTOR WHO DIED OF CANCER…HE HAD 5 CHILDREN… THE CHURCH WAS PACKED TO THE GILLS, 2 WEEKS LATER, I GET A PHONE CALL FROM SOMEONE I DIDN’T KNOW, ASKING TO HAVE LUNCH WITH ME. HE TOLD ME THAT DESPITE HIS OWN SORROW FOR BOB, SOMETHING CAME ALIVE IN HIM DURING THAT FUNERAL… THE PROMISE OF EVERLASTING LIFE THROUGH HIS OWN SORROW WOKE HIM UP TO THE RADIANT POWER OF JESUS CHRIST! GAVE HIMSELF TO THE LORD… BUT ALSO DURING ALPHA, HE MET A WOMAN WHO A YEAR LATER WOULD BECOME HIS WIFE AND THEY’RE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD IN A MATTER OF WEEKS! DO YOU SEE HOW THROUGH THE ALARM CLOCK OF SORROW, WE CAN HAVE OUR MOUNTAIN TOP WAKE-UP EXPERIENCE OF TRANSFORMATION? THE THIRD WAY JESUS WAKES US UP TO HIM, IS THROUGH A SENSE OF NEED… ON THIS VERY DAY 61 YEARS AGO, AUGUST 6, 1945…. A U. S. WAR PLANE DROPPED THE FIRST OF THE ONLY TWO ATOMPIC WEAPONS EVER USED IN COMBAT… PROMPTING JAPAN’S SURRENDER AND THE END OF WORLD WAR II… YET… A WORLD FOR A MOMENT STUNG IN UTTER HELPLESSNESS.. THE FEAR AND THE REALIZATION THAT THINGS WERE HAPPENING BEYOND HUMAN CONTROL… HAVE YOU BEEN THERE? YOU’RE LIVING A ROUTINE LIFE, SPIRITUALLY ASLEEP-- THINKING YOU CAN DO IT ALL ON YOUR OWN…
BUT THEN, COMES ALONG A PROBLEM YOU CANNOT SOLVE,
IN THAT DAY THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT CRY, CLINGING TO HEAVEN BY THE HEMS… THE ALARM CLOCK OF UTTER HELPLESSNESS WHERE YOU WAKE UP TO YOUR NEED FOR CHRIST… WHEN OUT OF SHEER DESPERATION YOU’RE DRIVEN TO YOUR KNEES! LORD I CAN’T FIGURE THIS OUT, I’M HELPLESS, AWAKEN YOUR POWER IN ME, TRANSFORM THIS MY FRIENDS THE LORD DOES HIS BEST WORK WHEN WE’RE ON OUR KNEES… THAT’S THE POSTURE OF TRANSFORMATION! I THINK HERE OF THAT WONDERFUL PHRASE.. “A LOT OF KNEELING KEEPS US IN GOOD STANDING!” BACK TO PETER… AND UPON SEEING THOSE AMAZING FIGURES OF MOSES, AND ELIJAH, HE COMES UP WITH A PLAN… HE WOULD SET UP 3 SHELTERS… ONE FOR MOSES REPRESENTING THE CHIEF LAW GIVER OF THE OLD TESTAMENT… AND ONE FOR ELIJAH, REPRESENTING THE WISEST OF THE PROPHETS… THEN ONE FOR JESUS. HE TAKES THAT STEP, AND AS MISGUIDED AS THAT WAS, JESUS WOULD USE THOSE ACTIONS TO TRANSFORM HIM… “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM!” THE WORD HEAR ALWAYS IMPLIES TRUST AND OBEDIENCE… EVEN WHEN WE DON’T UNDERSTAND… TRUSTING JESUS TO THE POINT OF CHANGING OUR LIVES AND STRUCTURES TO CONFORM TO HIS PLAN FOR US… THIS IS A 3RD ETERNAL TRUTH… TRUSTING JESUS TO THE POINT OF CHANGING OUR LIVES AND STRUCTURES TO CONFORM TO HIS PLAN FOR US…. PETER WOULD GROW IN UNDERSTANDING THAT WHILE JESUS CAME TO FULFILL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS, IT WAS JESUS AND JESUS ALONE WHO IS OUR CHIEF CORNERSTONE… HE WAS NOT TO BUILD A SHELTER FOR ELIJAH OR MOSES… JESUS WAS ALL HE NEEDED… IN OTHER WORDS, PETER, THROUGH THAT PROCESS OF BEING AWAKENED IS TRANSFORMED AND THEREFORE WILLING TO LET STRUCTURES GO BY THE WAYSIDE SO THAT JESUS WOULD CONTINUE THE TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESS! YOU SEE TRANSFORMATION MEANS MOLDING AND SHAPING IN WAYS THAT CAN SOMETIMES BE PAINFUL… BOTH ON THE LEVEL OF OUR EARTHLY LIVES AND ON THE LEVEL OF THE CHURCH. MY FRIENDS, AFTER YEARS AND YEARS OF SPIRITUAL SLUMBER, I BELIEVE WE IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH ARE RECIEIVNG OUR OWN WAKE UP CALL! REALIZING THAT THE OLD STRUCTURES WE’VE DEPENDED ON ARE NOT WORKING ANYMORE! AND WE ARE SEEING JESUS TRANSFORM AND SHAPE OUR CHURCH IN AMAZING BUT SCARY WAYS! AND WE ASK OURSELVES, ARE WE TEACHABLE, ARE WE WILLING TO LET CHRIST TRANSFORM THIS CHURCH BY GIVING IT A NEW STRUCTURE? AND IN OUR PERSONAL LIVES AS WELL! WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE IN OUR LIVES, SO THAT WE CAN HEAR THE WAKE UP CALL BY CHRIST?
DO WE HAVE OPEN ENOUGH MINDS TO OBEY THE VOICE OF GOD WHEN HE SAYS: THIS IS MY SON, HEAR HIM…OBEY HIM…EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! CAN WE RE-CREATE THE STRUCTURES OF OUR LIVES… OF THIS CHURCH SO THAT JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF IS GLORIFIED ABOVE ALL? QUOTING HERE MY FRIEND, FR. JOHN GUERNSEY..
YES, MY FRIENDS, WE NEED THAT ALARM CLOCK TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF OUR OWN TRANSFIGURATION… IT’S HAVING THE COURAGE TO OBEY THE VOICE OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO SAY LORD, I GIVE YOU THE PERMISSION TO TAKE APART MY LIFE, I GIVE YOU THE PERMISSION TO TAKE APART MY CHURCH, SO THAT YOU MIGHT PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER TRANSFIGURED, TRANSFORMED IN YOUR IMAGE. MAY THIS DAY BE THAT SPIRITUAL ALARM CLOCK, THE BEGINNING OF A NEW TRANSFORMATION AMEN. Spiritual Alarm Clocks that Awaken Us to the Transfiguration: Sermon Notes
Great Summer Time Reading:
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