eyewitness

Coincidentally we begin our worship this week with:

2 Peter 1:16

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the

power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his

majesty.

I say "coincidentally" because it was also the passage that we providently studied at this week's Friday morning mens group (See Week 12 - 2 Peter 1:16-21 - The Confirmed Word).

Not only was Peter one of the first disciples called (Matthew 4:18-20), Peter was a witness of the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) and heard the voice of God.

Matthew 17:5

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

But he knew this eyewitness would soon be gone.  So he did something.  He wrote this letter.

2 Peter 1:15

And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

 Let's read this with the importance that Peter placed on it.

upon

On this Easter morning, we begin our worship with:

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon

you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;

but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And

nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Our time in darkness is over!  The glory of the LORD has come.  

And the commands to us are:

• "arise" (qûm) - We are no longer to be in the ashes of mourning, in the slumber of sleep, in the filth of sin . . . 
• "shine" ('ôr) - We are not simply to reflect God's glory, we are to be so intimate with it, that we too are told to participate and shine.

These commands imply that we could choose to do the opposite.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 
Do not quench the Spirit.

It is too easy, when the moment is inconvenient, to blow out the flame of the prompting Holy Spirit, to not reach out the hand, to not say the word, to not shine.

Holy Spirit come upon me.

stones

 As we prepare for Holy Week on this Palm Sunday, we begin worship with:

Luke 19:33-40

And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying

the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to

Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode

along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on

the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began

to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they

had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace

in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd

said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these

were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Heading west, as you crest the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem comes into view only 3/4 of a mile away across the Kidron Valley.

As they make the descent, his disciples giving testimony of the works of Christ in loud voice and being of sufficient number to be called a multitude, they would have been easily visible and within the hearing of those at the temple, particularly those on Solomon's Portico that faces east, high above them.

When rebuked, Jesus responds from the prophet Habakkuk:

Habakkuk 2:9,11,14
“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
    to set his nest on high,
    to be safe from the reach of harm!  

For the stone will cry out from the wall,

    and the beam from the woodwork respond. 

For the earth will be filled

    with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

What was being done could not be stopped.  It could not be held back!  It would be  like trying to hold back a great river that wants to join the sea.

So, let us not hold back either.  As we come to worship today, let us recall all the mighty works that we have seen.

practice

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have

a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Most avoid fear and strive toward courage.  This verse asks us to go in the opposite direction.  

This is not an emotion, rather it is something we do.  We are to "practice" it (ʿāśâ).  The ESV is nearly alone in this translation.  Most others add "his commandments" or "his precepts" or "his will" to give an object to the verb.

If we follow a rule, we vault ourselves as having accomplished the task.  If we practice fear, we are never vaulted in front of our Lord.

Practice the fear the Lord and the rest falls into proper perspective.