Come On Down
Mark 9:1, “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come awith power.”[1]
I. Some
A. Few
B. Faithful
II. Stand
A. For
B. From
III. Seen
A. Forever
B. Force
Introduction: I stayed in a cabin up on the side of Bearwallow Mountain from the beginning of 1998 until the fall of 2006. That comes out to about 8 ½ years. The journey that God brought me through on that mountain amazes me more and more as I think of what might not have been.
The old Cape Fear power plant that connects many people here at Merry Oaks was dear to me and my family. Uncle Willie retired from there. Each time when we would come down here to visit my father’s family one of the highlights was going to the plant. There was a village there where people lived who worked there. Daddy and I would visit some there and then go down to the plant to see Uncle Willie. When we finally moved here I would ride my bicycle down there and just hang out. It was a great part of my youth.
Bill Moore saw me one afternoon while I was working part time at the gas station across the street. He asked why I hadn’t put in an application so the next Monday morning I did. It felt like I was made for that old plant. They paid for me to take Engineering courses and later management courses. I was moving on up as the Jefferson bunch used to say. Other plants were using me for control system modifications. The company management moved me to the central office in Raleigh; it was a miserable time. The projects and the people were great but the atmosphere didn’t fit me. Every chance I got I was out in a power plant somewhere.
When I found myself detached from that corporate world I lost my Raleigh office and I lost my apartment where I stayed while visiting the plants in the mountains. It was decided that I would come back as a contractor and would bring others with me.
I didn’t have a place to stay up there in the mountains. Some very close friends had that old cabin where much of my work happened to be. Amazing coincidence? A lot better than an apartment; I was in another place of comfort but without my family. It was not to last. One day I would come on back down.
Each and every one of us probably has similar stories that you can tell how God placed you in a place of comfort and security and then somehow God allowed you to be away from your comfortable place. Nobody can possibly know that as much as Jesus knows that. He felt that.
Jesus was tempted in all things and yes He was tempted to go back to His comfortable place. He took three with Him and they witnessed Jesus in His glory along with two others. Elijah and Moses were there and Peter at least recognized them even though he had never seen them before. Why did Jesus let them see what they saw? Why didn’t Jesus go ahead and let them go from there back to heaven with those beside Him. Later Jesus would be with two others but that time Jesus would find no comfort. Jesus would be in a place that He must go through with two other on their crosses.
This quote is a paragraph out of Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost For His Highest.” From the May 17th article, “On the Mount of Ascension the Transfiguration is completed. If Jesus had gone to heaven from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone; He would have been nothing more to us than a glorious Figure. But He turned His back on the glory, and came down from the Mount to identify Himself with fallen humanity.” [2]
Was Jesus tempted to go back to heaven that day on the Mount of Transfiguration? You know He was. It is one of the few times that Jesus showed His frustration as He responded to the request about his demon possessed son. This is Jesus response in Mark 9:19, “He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.[3]
Sometimes it would be so easy to say enough is enough. Jesus was tempted! As a Christian you just can’t stop until it is His time to stop. You must get to the end of the thing or something will be left undone. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “vI have fought a good fight, I have wfinished my course, I have kept the faith:" [4]
Sometimes it would be so easy to stay up on the side of Bearwallow Mountain but when the world says “Come On Down” so you must go.
Scripture: The scripture today is Mark 9:1. Please stand if you’re able.
Prayer: Let us pray. Be seated.
Message: Rachael and I don’t have the freedom to do all the things that we have done in the past. Now we cherish things that allow us to just sit and enjoy togetherness. One of those things is watching “The Price is Right.” “Come on Down” the announcer says as the temptations begin. What to do what to do. Will I win or will I lose?
Everything is pretty good while the audience is the audience but when the audience member has to come on down to participate, roles change. Instead of watching others now everybody is watching you. What to do what to do. Will I win or will I lose?
The scripture leading up to our focal verse today has Jesus talking to His disciples about what would soon happen to Him. In Mark 8:29 Jesus had asked who others thought that He was and then He asked the disciples who they thought He was. Peter spoke wisely that Jesus was indeed THE CHRIST.
Matthew chapter sixteen accounts Jesus rewarded Peter with the keys to the kingdom of heaven for Peter’s righteous answer. In just a few sentences later Peter is rebuked for proposing that he would prevent Jesus’ crucifixion. We also find this in the other gospel accounts.
Now here in Mark’s account Jesus is telling them that some of them would see the kingdom of God come with power and this would happen before they died an earthly death.
The very next thing that happened in Mark’s account was the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John were taken to see Jesus in His glorified body. The three had the opportunity to see Moses and Elijah in their glorified bodies as well. It was as if the kingdom of heaven had come to earth just as Jesus promised.
Notice that only some were there. Jesus said, “that there be some of them that stand here.” Not all twelve were there. Not half, only a quarter of the disciples were there; just a few. Those three are recognized by most who read the Bible to be Jesus' “inner circle.” James and John were brother fishermen and, by further study, presumed to be perhaps close relatives to Jesus. Peter seemed to be closer to Jesus one of His brothers but Peter’s brother Andrew was not included here on the Mount of Transfiguration. Just a faithful few!
Jesus makes the point of saying that those whom He was speaking with that day were standing. What were they standing for? At other times when Jesus was preaching He told the folks to sit. There were His disciples. They were standing. For what?
There has been a controversy about this thing now of when to stand; when to kneel. For me the symbol of someone kneeling to pray is an indication of separation from what is happening around them. When we kneel to pray we are saying that we are away from the conflicts of life and we are seeking to pay homage and respect to the One who is all and gives us all. It is not only a question of asking what you stand for but also what it is that you separate from as you kneel to pray. The disciples were standing for Jesus. What do you stand for? What are you getting away from when you kneel to pray?
Some have heard this story about my grandson’s graduation the other day. The preacher led the invocation as everybody stood. There in the program that they gave us were four stars to instruct folks when it was time to stand. The diplomas were handed out and people talked and it was about over. That same preacher stood up again. So did I. Nobody else stood up. Nobody! I looked at the program; four stars! Me and the other preacher stayed standing.
After it was over someone in my family asked why I stood up early. I about lost it. IT WAS THE BENEDICTION! THE GUY WAS PRAYING! Somebody answered, “Yeah, It’s a shame. People don’t know how to church anymore.”
“Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” Jesus said that they would see. People are seeing! When they look at us who are supposed to be Christians are they seeing the kingdom of God coming with power? What is the kingdom of God? How long will it last? Does it mean anything anymore or is it a useless ornament that people wear on their necks?
There is only one source of life and that life force is the force that keeps this universe going and thriving. It is a kingdom that will last forever and it can be seen in all of creation.
Prayer: Let us pray
Invitation: The question and invitation this morning are to bring attention to the choices that we are making. Yes the people have forgotten church. As long as they can flip on Charles Stanley or David Jeremiah and listen a few minutes to a sermon that was preached earlier to another congregation, people feel that they have “done church.”
We watch old Gaither programs and we are lifted as we listen to others sing and praise God. That is a good thing! That is not church! We enjoy doing things with our family and it feels good to hear a preacher bring order with a prayer. That is not church.
As a people this generation does not do church anymore. Listen to what God Himself told Peter when Peter was so happy that He wanted to put up a shrine that day. Starting at Mark 9:4, "And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, ccMaster, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6 dFor he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. 7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” [5]
That is church! We come here to hear Him. We come here to worship Him. We come here!
Do you suppose that those on the ground might have seen what those three say that day or were they so preoccupied with life that they were blinded? We will talk about that later. The real question for each of us today is this; what do you want to see? How do you want to be seen?
God has power to give to you if you will only put everything away and concentrate on Him. Where do we do that? Come on down! Merry Oaks Baptist Church is open for His business.
Consider as we sing…
a So Matt. 24:30. & 26:64. ch. 13:26. & 14:62. Luke 21:27. & 22:69.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mk 9). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mk 9:19). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
v See 1 Tim. 6:12.
w Acts 20:24. So Acts 13:25.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ti 4:7). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
cc See John 1:38.
d Comp. ch. 14:40.
[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mk 9:3–7). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
