Dr. William Stidger once told of a lovely little 90-year-old lady named Mrs. Sampson. Mrs. Sampson was frail, feeble, and sickly.  But Dr. Stidger said that when he was discouraged he always went to visit Mrs. Sampson. She had a radiant spirit that was contagious.

One day he asked this 90-year-old woman, "What is the secret of your power? What keeps you happy, contented and cheerful through your sickness?"  She answered with a line from a poem, "I had an hour of glory on a windswept hill." Dr. Stidger recounted his experience, "I knew she had been in touch with God and that was the whole reason for her cheerfulness."

Listen again to her words: "an hour of glory on a windswept hill." It sounds very much like the experience Peter, James and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Sometimes we refer to special events in our life as "mountaintop experiences." Many of us have had such experiences, a time when God seemed very close. It may have been on an actual mountain. It may have been by a seaside.  It may even have happened in a worship service…

It happens, my friends, when we are spending time with God.  It happens when we are with Him.  Peter was writing this letter to fellow believers, and He wanted to comfort them and assure them that Jesus was, in reality, going to return to take them to be with Him someday.  They were beginning to doubt that was the case and Peter needed to reassure them that it was.

He assured them that He and the disciples were “not following cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The rabbis, the teachers of the day, loved spinning yarns, telling stories, and making up myths about Old Testament figures.  The Greeks loved stories and myths.  And people do today too, don’t they?  But Peter wants us to know that the power and majesty of Jesus and what He has done for us is NOT something that is made up!  He was there!  He witnessed it!

Like he did on that special day when Jesus took him, James, and John up the mountain – and let them see a glimpse of his full glory.  His face changed until it was bright as the sun, Moses and Elijah appeared and began speaking with Jesus, and Peter was so excited he wanted the thing to never end.  He saw the amazingly bright glory of Jesus, and heard the authoritative voice of God!  “…we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”

Rather than resort to using myths, Peter affirms that he actually saw the glory of God on that holy mountain.  He was an eye-witness.  The beauty of that late afternoon was never forgotten.  He not only saw but also heard the voice of God speaking those authoritative words about his Son.  These words were intended to bolster the Saviour for the final battle with sin, Satan, and death.  Jesus longed for a return to the glory of his Father’s house.  The Transfiguration was a reminder of the full glory waiting for the Lord at the end of his suffering.

         You know how when you go into the movie theatre, find a seat that's suitable, climb over some poor person in the aisle seat, making sure you don’t step on toes or lose your balance, find a place for your coat, sit down, and get ready to watch the movie… The lights dim; the speakers blare into life, and an image appears on the screen. It is not the film you came to see. It is the preview of coming attractions, a brief glimpse of the highlights of a film opening soon. The moviemakers and theater owners hope the preview will pique your interest enough to make you want to come back and see the whole film.

         On the Mount of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John were given a preview of coming attractions. And today, we are too -- a splendid preview of Jesus in divine glory, his human nature brilliantly, momentarily transfigured; a dazzling preview of his divinity, perfectly pure, shining in glory like the very sun. A sneak preview of Easter, the triumphant climax of the epic love story between God and humankind!  And friends, is it not a sneak preview of when this Jesus will come again?  As certainly as those movies previewed hit the theatres, He is coming!

         As long as Peter lived, he never forgot the voice from heaven they heard “When We Were With Him.”  Not only did this event bolster Jesus for what was coming, it bolstered the faith of his disciples.  It lifts us up!  It gives us a glimpse of the brightness above!  The “light at the end of the tunnel!”  It assures us, my friends, that there is something more than what we can see here!

A hotel in Budapest was having problems with its elevator. Since most of the guests spoke at least some English, the owner put up a sign. However, either he had a sense of humor or he was not very adept at English. The sign read like this: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.”

I’ve known some unbearable people, haven’t you?  Have you ever been “unbearable”?  Have you ever been “unable to be lifted up”?  We didn’t get to go up that mountain with Jesus, now, did we?  So what do we have to boost us?  No doubt, that was the question the people Peter was writing to were asking.  “OK – great, Peter.  We are glad you got to eyewitness Jesus’ majesty on that mountain!  But what do we have to give us certainty?”  Ever felt like that?

Well, Peter says we have something better.  “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  Friends, the certainty of the coming of the Lord becomes a greater reality in our lives, not through myths, not even by an eyewitness account of the Transfiguration, but through the “word of the prophets made more certain.”  We gain our glimpse of glory in the Word of God!  A light shining in the darkness!

There are so many dark moments in our lives, are there not?  Moments of indecision, moments of fear, moments of worry about the future, of wondering how we are going to cope with the latest hardship we are going through, moments of guilt we have no idea how we are going to deal with, moments of anger at someone making our life miserable, problems we don’t know how to solve, questions we can’t answer, gloomy clouds we can’t lift.  Moments of darkness.  Our lives become darkened when we lose our eagerness for the Lord’s return.  Our lives become dark when the Word is not shining in them.  When we are not with Him.  All the other sources of help in this world are short-lived candles.  But the lamp of God’s Word will never fail!  The lamp of God’s Word shines and keeps our hope alive until Jesus’ coming!

The morning star is the first thing in the sky before daybreak.  It announces the coming of the sun.  This morning star announces the arrival of the “sun of righteousness.” (Mal.4:2).   The Word, with its promises of Jesus’ coming, creates a greater longing for his return.  As this longing becomes more vivid in our lives, our troubles are no longer as troublesome!  There is greater strength for Christian living!  We become more patient!  The glimpses of glory we find in God’s Word will lead us to say “Lord, it is good to be here,” whatever our situation in life might be!  Friends, you and I need to be with Jesus!  We need to be with Him in his Word every day!  Let me tell you, life is different When We are With Him!

But the reality of the Lord’s coming isn’t always as vivid to us as it should be, is it?  Did you live this week as though it was?  Did the things you did, the decisions you made, the thoughts you had… reflect the reality of the fact that you are a child of God whom He will be returning for?  Christ is coming!  We long to be with Him, don’t we?  Let’s live that way!  And let’s let his Word bolster us and strengthen us to live with that certainty!

We can trust his Word.  Peter said, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  No part of scripture came from man!  The writers were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  Like a ship being carried along by the wind.  The prophets raised their sails and the Holy Spirit filled them and carried their craft along in the direction He willed.  Men wrote.  God spoke.  Just like the Word, Jesus, came into this world through an impure human being, but remained pure, the written Word came into this world through impure humans, but remained pure.  Friends, the Bible is God’s Word.  We can trust it.  When you hear it, like the disciples hearing the voice on the mountain, you can be sure that you are with God!

         In the classic story by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, the prelude to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Bilbo Baggins and his troop are traveling through a dark, dangerous forest infested with gigantic, poisonous spiders and all manner of dark critters and creepy-crawly things. Just being in that kind of place was a frightening experience. And each member of the group, especially Bilbo Baggins, wanted to get out of that dreadful forest of darkness. As they traveled on, hoping that the edge of the dangerous forest was near but not having their hopes fulfilled, one of the leaders orders Bilbo to climb the tallest tree he can find in order to have a look around and see where the dark forest ended.

         Reluctantly, Bilbo climbs the tree, with limbs, branches and leaves scratching at him all the way. Several times he nearly falls. Having pushed his way through the forest canopy, he is nearly blinded by the sudden and intense sunlight! It took some time for his eyes to get used to the light, but once they had, Bilbo found that it was very wonderful and beautiful up there! The canopy above him was the most beautiful blue sky and around him was an ocean of green treetops. After being in the damp darkness below, he enjoyed the sunshine and was able to soak it into his weary, tired and aching bones. The fresh air blew softly in his face and invigorated his lungs and cleared his mind.  What a wonderful place to be! And no doubt, if we could have asked Tolkien's fictional character, Bilbo Baggins, he would have said, "Yes, 'tis good to be here."

         Now, that story is fiction, but it reminds us of a time when three disciples were permitted a view that was extraordinary. What happened on the Day of Transfiguration was real. When Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, He took them out of the dark valleys of this world and up to a high place, a mountaintop, where their eyes would squint at the bright light of the Son of God, who would be transformed before their wondering eyes. It was good that they were there to view this special revelation of God.  They heard God’s voice when they were with Him.
        
Friends, we gain our glimpse of glory through his Word.  Just like the Transfiguration, the Word of God gives us the glimpse of the Saviour’s glory we need to sustain us and comfort us and motivate us to live in a new way.  See how important it is to be in the Word?  That glory that was bestowed upon Christ is a glory that is now bestowed undeservingly on us.  Did you hear that?  How is that?  Because you and I possess Christ’s righteousness through faith!  God sees us the same way He sees his Son because of what His Son did for us.  And so, that same approval: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  is given now to you and me because of Jesus.  This is a comfort we will get, again and again, when we are with Him in his Word!   Amen.