February 25, 2001

Monica,

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters— one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

I am borrowing heavily from a teaching I heard by Bishop Clarence McClendon for this insight.

Peter had just confessed [Matthew 16:16] that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Although Peter immediately (verse 22) showed he could also speak from his flesh with Satan’s voice influencing him, he showed Jesus that he was able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. That is how he could know Jesus is the Son of God.

I believe that the Mount of Transfiguration comes next to symbolize something that God is about to do with us who are learning to hear his voice instead of just depending on denominational leading and social and church laws. He is taking us to a higher level as symbolized in the mountain.

He waited six days after Peter made his confession in Matthew 16:16. Six is the number of man. Jesus took men who were sensitive to the Spirit up to a higher level. The transfiguration (actually the Greek word is our word metamorphosis) was how man sees Jesus up at that altitude (read spiritual level).

Bishop McClendon said that God told him to teach three things in this passage: convergence, caution, and clarity.

The convergence is pictured by using Moses and Elijah. Both from the past, Moses represents completed past. The work of the law was finished at the cross. Elijah represents the prophetic--what God has or is calling you to--the dream or vision he has given you. Moses and Elijah come together in the presence of Jesus. Your past comes together with your future. Most people have pasts that don’t bode well for the future by human reckoning. Moses and Elijah come together. The broken pieces of your past and your God-given dreams come together from different directions. Your past runs into your prophetic future. Your failure is about to meet your success.

The caution is to make sure you listen intently to God the whole way. Do not run ahead at all. Impulsive Peter blurted out what he thought Jesus might want him to do--build three shelters--instead of sensing, knowing, what God wanted to do. You have to move with God but not ahead of God even one step at this level because on top the mountain the wind changes directions a lot. The wind symbolizes the Spirit, and Jesus said the wind blows were it wants to. At this level, be ready for sudden changes in the wind.

This leads to the clarity emphasis. Get clear leading and move with God. In Matthew 17:9, Jesus told them not to tell anyone about this experience until the proper time. God always has a right time for everything. He is never late and never early. Abraham had to move at this level. He trusted the voice of God, telling him he should take his son Isaac, tie him on an altar, and kill him. When the Isaac was on the altar, the voice of God changed the directions. That is God’s privilege, and we have to be ready for it.

That is why it is not smart to tell anyone any more than is necessary to tell. You blab your instructions around too much, you can look ridiculous when God changes the orders. If Abraham had told everyone he was supposed to kill Isaac, he would have seemed to have been mislead or lying when he came home with Isaac still walking. However, even if you do tell someone what God tells you to do, you can’t afford to worry about that when new direction comes.

For example, I mentioned to Rich that I know I am supposed to be in this RV and I will be used in a roving ministry. Tomorrow God could say sell the RV. Or he could even say give the RV away. God is God.

Promises that he gives us, he will keep. The path to the promise, however, may go right one minute and turn left the next. Be ready to switch gears, and don’t try to impress anyone else in any way. God will steer you in the right direction, but don’t get worried if that direction seems to change. His ways look very foolish to the human mind. Trust him to lead.

You gave me a good example of this when you signed up for and paid for the youth gathering called Impact. You found out that you had a conflict that day. You could have felt foolishly ashamed to have missed God when you paid for Impact. By listening to God, however, you found out that there was a girl who wanted to go and could not afford it. God told you to give the Impact registration to the other girl and not accept any money in payment. I believe both the registering for Impact and your giving away the registration were Father’s leading even though you did not realize you were not the one going to Impact when you first registered.

On the Mount of Transfiguration your hindsight has come together with your foresight in new insight.

Love,

Dad