.. it is good for us

is it?

.. many communities want to stay inside. What an experience! But it is the desire of the kids...

This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack

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.”
Mt 17:4
_{Berean Standard Bible}

Jesus, in all his glory

James, Peter and John were stunned by the amazing revelation when Jesus took his close disciples up the mountain. Jesus was revealed in all his glory. They were given a glimpse of heaven and the light of the kingdom without limits to come.
No wonder Peter gave voice to his desire to stay and dwell there with the heavenly heroes and Jesus!
Then the heavenly Father set things right. Because He had /has a plan which is not inert at all. And Jesus knows that plan:

suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said:
  This is My beloved Son.
  I take delight in Him.
  Listen to Him!
Mt 17:5

The role model – Spheres of Jesus

Jesus had inner circles and outer relationships. His closest associates were Peter James and John, then we can see the twelve and then the seventy.
Jesus taught differently to his different circles. He preached the same msg, the Kingdom of God, but he taught in a different way.
From the circles around Jesus we see that {God's} presence is working in a coaxial or con-centric way {too}.
His intimate relationships consist not only of spiritual followers, but this system of relationship is also an intimate community and friendship. When this dynamic between God and man is broken, Heaven is removed. When this dynamic between God and man is being restored, Earth will be restored around.
Jesus' life is a transparent one, a broken and divided life. Bread -life. {Mt 26:26; Jn 6:11;}
For Christian leaders, this spherical structure is an important model. This is the part of the Way. This helps in the multiplication.

The life of Jesus is a transparent life, a broken and divided life. Bread -life

Keep in touch

The community of Jesus is timeless and therefore continuous. The evil ruler of the world: the Accuser wants to break this continuity. The disciples were aware of this, understood the danger of this, and kept in constant contact with Jesus and later with the Holy Spirit. And they kept in touch with each other. So: upwards and downwards - with each other. This is the intimate "place" of kinship. Inside the family.

They devoted themselves to..

And they continued steadfastly {devoted themselves} in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers." (Acts 2:42)

The Greek word for "fellowship" is koinonia, {"to have in common" or "to share."}
So we can see that this community has two directions: vertical and horizontal in a personal way. Together they give the believer a full life.

Summit

When Jesus goes up to the mountain/place of transfiguration with his closest companions, he shares his most important relationship and revelation with them.
This is also an extraordinary experience, in fact it is a summit meeting, with Jesus' co-workers {Moses and Elijah} and to be in the touch of heaven is a special occasion. God's voice was heard, his love was poured out and people's lives were changed.
This is how Peter talks about his experience:

For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory:
   This is My beloved Son.
   I take delight in Him!
And we heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain.
2Pt 1:16-18 → Mt 17:1-5

working, sharing, giving

So Peter's life, his thinking and his heart were not changed by doctrines. His ongoing fellowship with Jesus was a very intimate working relationship, which also involved intense heavenly experiences. In His All Things Jesus taught about the relationship with the Father and this is a working, sharing, giving relationship. In all his actions, according to the Word of the Mighty He.. :

".. has given and has distributed to the poor, his righteousness endures forever"

This is a direct quote in 2 Corinthians 9:9 from Psalm 110 where the man who fears the Lord,...the righteous man:

...has distributed freely;
he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
Ps 112:9

a relationship with the Father – a working, sharing, giving relationship.

Note:
It's high time for a full-fledged teaching on God's abundant and caring kingdom. The poor and destitute in every sense are always around us:
Deut 15:7; Prov 28:27; Prov 11:25;

Giving light /clarity

Jesus' earthly ministry is the Light and the passing on of that Light. It is one of the keys to his growth:

"give and it shall be given"

“No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light. For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known and come to light. Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
Lk 8:16

Jesus sees the light in a very dynamic way. He points directly to the Holy Spirit and transmits Him:

“I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!”
Luke 12:49

This is an important "idea" for Christian leaders and leaders.

Transformations

When God shows up in the life of Jesus Christ, He always reaches an important milestone. Transfiguration follows epiphany.
The epiphany (or theophany) is the appearance, the working of God in the humanity of Christ. The word is derived from the Greek verb "to become visible" and covers the events of the Lord God's appearance:
· the revelation and homage of the Kings (magi) who recognised in Jesus the expected Messiah;
· the birth of Jesus, the hiding and humiliation of God in the simplicity of human existence.
· Or let us see and understand the miracle of the wedding at Cana, the first sign of Christ's heavenly earthly activity.
· Finally, we can stand on the mountain when the true glory and power of Jesus is revealed and visible for a time.

Is it good for us here?

Now let's see Peter's reaction, up on the mountain. The presence of God and his visible miracle is a powerful experience.
Of course, this is a foretaste of completeness and many communities want to stay inside. Such an experience! But this is the child's desire. Whether it's our level of knowledge, our level of understanding, the religious orientation of yesterday, the lovely community events, or the spiritual state of glory - we are still, at our core, living in an extremely childlike way. We want to stay in the beautiful, the pleasant, the good state. In the kindergarten.
Meanwhile, our Heavenly Father loves us, so He has prepared us for growth.

“Do not remember the past events,
pay no attention to things of old.
Look, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert. The animals of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to My chosen people.
The people I formed for Myself
will declare My praise.
Is 43:18-21

Two-stroke engine

It's natural, {at least very human}, to hate to see the end of the heavenly moment. Our souls and new self long for heaven, but real heavenly work is always a two-phase process:

“I have much to say about you and much to judge, but He who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
Jn 8:26-27

Jesus plainly teaches about preparation and action.
The glory of God builds and prepares.
The glory of God is pouring out.
God's growth thus works and advances.

Multiplication or Stagnation

Let us see now an ancient example from the Bible, interpreted by David Guzik:

After the flood humanity began to multiply quickly. God told Noah and his descendants to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 9:1), and they did. Instead of spreading over the earth, people stayed close, settling in southern Mesopotamia, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The area was called Shinar (11:1), also known as Babylon (Genesis 10:10). All this was in disobedience to another command God gave in Genesis 9:1 – the command to fill the earth, instead of sticking close together.
We could say that humanity was determined, ready to build and to accomplish things. Unfortunately, they didn’t surrender that determination to God.

Sadly true statement. And sin prevails around the world even today. We tend to not do, not fulfil the great potentially optimised plans – planned by the Our Creator father.
Jesus is our Redeemer. And his redemption gives a straight clear and focused plan and perspective on how to restore the heavenly dynamic. It has two stages. (two strokes) He says:

Ask and it shall be given... Mt 7:7-8
Give and it will be given... Lk 6:38

You can read an article about the two-phase process here in the Blog

The real heavenly work is always a two-phase process

The power/authority of the believer

The inner circles of Jesus receive not only the experiences of revelation and revelation but the whole work plan, with revelations, glory and suffering. And they heard the Voice:
"this is my beloved son"

This is not the first time the Father has said this, for it was also the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry...

But now, up on the mountain, comes the fulfilment of the work. Peter and his companions could be present at the inner event followed by the death of the cross in the visible world, outside.

This is their preparation.
This is our redemption.
It is the believer's inheritance.

Peter quite understood this:

If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever.

But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name.
1Pt 4:11. and 16

On the other hand, this is part of the believer's work in the heavenly family, by heavenly support. Inheritance that brings salvation to people.

and if we are children, also heirs —heirs of God and coheirs with Christ —seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Rom 8:17

Narrow hearts - radiating hearts

We must not live and be one-sided when we only talk about God's glorious experiences, or when we only talk about work or service all the time, or when we only talk about suffering alone, or when we only pray in this way. For if we communicate in this way, we only bring out the old character of our own old human bias. This is egoism. It excludes other lifes. In this way, the Lord's followers and friends do not grow in a healthy and heavenly way. This is not the way the believer develops and grows to fullness, for in this way he does not impart all his light and pain. The transfiguration on the mountain and the wandering in the valley.
Paul writes thus:

Our lips are opened and our hearts are opened to you, Corinthians!
We have not closed ourselves off from you, you have not opened your hearts. As to my children, I say to you, return the same and open your hearts.
2 Cor 6:11-13

Jesus fully reveals his life to His close companions and they pass it on. They are the ones who pass on the sincere faith. They are not the stage people glittering on Twitter, radiating mere positivism. They live with believers. They change into the image of God, but they share it with their close friends. They are not specialists. They are not heroes on a triumphal march. They're not religious martyrs, perishing. They are good at touching heaven but they go further and listen to the teaching of the Son.

This is an important thought for Christian leaders and the led.

Jesus fully reveals his life to His close companions..
They are not the stage people.. radiating mere positivism. They live with believers.

Finally, I would like to note..

It's no good for us here. Even the most glorious moment is not the heaven. In this body you can go no further. You have a restored and eternal life, prepared for you by God, at the end. And there is a transit where you have to go through the gate,.... but after that... comes the real eternal life.

That's what we train for here.
Here. But when the great plan is complete, you will understand, feel, see and live the fullness. The great transformation, the last epiphany, the last moment - that will be the First moment of your eternal life.

The Revelation on the heavenly Jerusalem

I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Rev 21:22-23

And it will be good for us there!


Filia and Agape

HU

☆