Hope is Here / 17. Hope is Here // 1 The Transfiguration - Joel Virgo // Matthew 17:1-9
17. Hope is Here // 1 The Transfiguration - Joel Virgo // Matthew 17:1-9
This Sunday we began our new spring term series ‘Hope Is Here’. We will be looking at the book of Matthew from where we previously left off as a church, launching into chapter 17.
Often in our lives we will ask, “Why is God so quiet?” We wonder where He is in our present situations, and why He doesn’t answer our questions or speak into our pain. The Bible sympathetically acknowledges this experience. We see people asking this same question in places like the Psalms and in Job.
We also see Pilate questioning Jesus in a similar way at His trial before His crucifixion, asking why He will not answer his questions. Jesus responds in John 18:37, saying ‘Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’. Part of what He means in saying this is that He is always speaking but our hearts are not always inclined to listen to what He has to say. While the Bible recognises the difficulty and confusion of feeling like God is silent, it also insists that God has spoken and is still speaking.
In this week’s passage we read the story of the transfiguration, which can act as a visual representation of God’s plan that has been worked out through history. Moses and Elijah are brought together and Jesus comes into their story and completes it. He is the one that the law and the prophets pointed towards, everything that had been was about Him. Jesus is the revelation of the living God, we can get to know the Father through the Son and this is how He communicates with us… but we must listen!
There are so many other voices and opinions that we can be exposed to and if we try and listen to them all, we can’t really hear any one. We have to choose to put aside the other voices and distractions that take our focus away from Jesus and concentrate just on Him and what He is saying. When we do this our eyes are opened to the triviality of things that we once cared about because Jesus is all that matters and everything that we need.
At times it can still feel as though God is quiet. We tend to look for experiences and feelings in order to be sure of His presence, when in reality He has always been there. When we have done so much of our lives with Jesus it can be easy to forget who He really is. In the passage Peter is excited when He sees Elijah and Moses but when the cloud lifted only Jesus was left. Our desire for novelty takes our attention away from what we already have in front of us.
When the letter of Hebrews was written, the people were going through persecution and hardship. In response to this, the writer of the letter spends the first chapter describing the glory and greatness of Jesus. Then in Hebrews 2:1 they say ‘Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard’. When we go through hardship we must look back at the thing that we have already been told.
The Bible is the word of God and so when we read and study it we hear His voice and see glimpses of Christ, who we will one day see in full.
Applications
Put aside distractions and make the decision to stop listening to voices that aren’t Jesus’ so that you are able to clearly hear what He is saying.
Talk less. God’s presence trivialises all of our concerns and opinions and so we need to spend less time talking and more time listening.
Read the Bible because that is God’s word. We want to hear God speak to us but He already has!
Often in our lives we will ask, “Why is God so quiet?” We wonder where He is in our present situations, and why He doesn’t answer our questions or speak into our pain. The Bible sympathetically acknowledges this experience. We see people asking this same question in places like the Psalms and in Job.
We also see Pilate questioning Jesus in a similar way at His trial before His crucifixion, asking why He will not answer his questions. Jesus responds in John 18:37, saying ‘Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’. Part of what He means in saying this is that He is always speaking but our hearts are not always inclined to listen to what He has to say. While the Bible recognises the difficulty and confusion of feeling like God is silent, it also insists that God has spoken and is still speaking.
In this week’s passage we read the story of the transfiguration, which can act as a visual representation of God’s plan that has been worked out through history. Moses and Elijah are brought together and Jesus comes into their story and completes it. He is the one that the law and the prophets pointed towards, everything that had been was about Him. Jesus is the revelation of the living God, we can get to know the Father through the Son and this is how He communicates with us… but we must listen!
There are so many other voices and opinions that we can be exposed to and if we try and listen to them all, we can’t really hear any one. We have to choose to put aside the other voices and distractions that take our focus away from Jesus and concentrate just on Him and what He is saying. When we do this our eyes are opened to the triviality of things that we once cared about because Jesus is all that matters and everything that we need.
At times it can still feel as though God is quiet. We tend to look for experiences and feelings in order to be sure of His presence, when in reality He has always been there. When we have done so much of our lives with Jesus it can be easy to forget who He really is. In the passage Peter is excited when He sees Elijah and Moses but when the cloud lifted only Jesus was left. Our desire for novelty takes our attention away from what we already have in front of us.
When the letter of Hebrews was written, the people were going through persecution and hardship. In response to this, the writer of the letter spends the first chapter describing the glory and greatness of Jesus. Then in Hebrews 2:1 they say ‘Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard’. When we go through hardship we must look back at the thing that we have already been told.
The Bible is the word of God and so when we read and study it we hear His voice and see glimpses of Christ, who we will one day see in full.
Applications
Put aside distractions and make the decision to stop listening to voices that aren’t Jesus’ so that you are able to clearly hear what He is saying.
Talk less. God’s presence trivialises all of our concerns and opinions and so we need to spend less time talking and more time listening.
Read the Bible because that is God’s word. We want to hear God speak to us but He already has!
More Episodes
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17.Easter Sunday // Starting Again - Joel Virgo // Matthew 28:1-15
In the final passage of our Hope Is Here Series, we look at how Jesus’ resurrection makes a difference to us in our lives today.
The guards at Jesus’ tomb had an extraordinary encounter with an...Show episode 34:44
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16.Hope is Here // 12 The Cross - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 27:27-50
Summary:
The cross represents different things to different people, to some it symbolises Christianity, to others, crucifixion, and others Jesus Himself. While the cross displays many things,...Show episode 39:47
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15.Hope is Here // 11 Gethsemane - Matt Carvel // Matthew 26:30-56
The word ‘Gethsemane’ is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means "a place for pressing oil (or wine)" and shemanim, which means "oils." During Jesus' time, heavy...Show episode 34:32
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14.Hope is Here // 10 The Lord's Supper - Joel Virgo // Matthew 26:17-35
In the passage this week, we read about the last night before the crucifixion. This is the crisis point that the story has been building up to. The disciples have been repeatedly told that Jesus is...Show episode 35:24
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13.Hope is Here 9 // Jesus Curses The Fig Tree - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 21:12-14, 18-22
Summary:
In this week’s passage, after throwing the people out of the temple Jesus came across a fig tree with no fruit on it and cursed it so that it withered. It would be easy to get the...Show episode 38:42
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12.Hope is Here // 7 The Cleansing of the Temple - Joel Virgo // Matthew 21:12-17
Throughout the bible, we see God’s people taking the gifts that God has given then and using them to be a means of privilege. For example, the sabbath was intended to be a gift of rest but it was...Show episode 35:08
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11.Hope Is Here // 6 The Triumphant Entry - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 21:1-11
Summary
This week’s passage tells the story of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ return to Jerusalem. We know that it is an important story because it is written about in all four gospels.
In...Show episode 38:21
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10.Hope is Here // 5 What do you want? // Application
Application of the sermon: https://youtu.be/16w9LYvEhckShow episode 05:04
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09.Hope is Here // 5 What do you want? - Joel Virgo // Matthew 20:17-34
Recap:
In Matthew 17 we read about the transfiguration where the voice of God says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” After witnessing this, it would be fair...Show episode 34:11
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08.Application // The Temple Tax // Matthew 17:24-27
From the sermon:
https://youtu.be/3mDd4eKrdLUShow episode 04:31
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07.Hope is Here // 4 The Temple Tax - Matt Carvel // Matthew 17:24-27
In this week’s passage, Peter is asked if Jesus pays taxes. As laid out in Exodus 30, the Israelites paid tax for the upkeep of the tabernacle and this seems to have been carried over and applied to...Show episode 33:10
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06.Hope is Here // 3 Jesus and the Children - Matt Carvel // Matthew 19:13-15
In the passage this week we hear a story of children being brought to Jesus so that He could lay His hands on them. Firstly what we can see is how the people wanted to bring their children to Jesus,...Show episode 32:23
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05.Hope is Here // Jesus heals a Boy with a Demon Q and A Live
Following the evening service, Tobi Ford-Western and Joel Virgo engaged in a live Q and A around the Sunday passage from the Matthew teaching seriesShow episode 24:05
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04.Application // Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon // Matthew 17:14-20
Summary and discussion questions from the talk:
https://youtu.be/udhX9wJDs9YShow episode 04:53
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03.Hope is Here // 2 Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 17:14-20
In the passage this week, we read the story of Jesus healing a boy with a demon. Firstly, we see the contrast between the transfiguration in the previous verses, with the chaos of fallen humanity...Show episode 37:11
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02.Application // The Transfiguration // Matthew 17:1-9
Summary and discussion questions from the talk:
https://youtu.be/bu3wCl9gxrsShow episode 06:01
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01.Hope is Here // 1 The Transfiguration - Joel Virgo // Matthew 17:1-9
This Sunday we began our new spring term series ‘Hope Is Here’. We will be looking at the book of Matthew from where we previously left off as a church, launching into chapter 17.
Often in our...Show episode 40:46
