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He witnessed that stunning, blinding change in Jesus’ appearance and he heard the voice from above and experienced intense pain in his heart, when Peter, true to form and following his inbuilt Jewish instincts, wanted to memorialise the three, Moses, Elijah and Jesus, by constructing 3 sacred tents. And the awesome voice which must have exploded in their ears “This is my son, my beloved! LISTEN TO HIM!”

When, with their faces on the ground, and intense pain in their hearts, Peter and his two companions opened their eyes, the two prophets from the past had disappeared and there was Jesus alone.

Jesus alone.

After that fearful experience, dare they listen anymore to those greatly esteemed voices from the past?  (or voices from any other for that matter). As the great John the immerser acknowledged, HE must increase, he – and all others, decrease.

Thus we find Jesus in all the scriptures, including the Old Testament texts. He showed this to the two despairing disciples on the way to Emmaus and then again to the spooked apostles. The law, the writings and the prophets – they are all about him! And now he is its interpreter. He alone.

We all have many esteemed voices floating around in our heads from well loved parents, friends, writers, preachers, teachers – and even prophets. But these must give way to Jesus’ voice only. He must take precedence. Other voices must decrease.

We are so prone to act on assumptions. We assume that the way we are doing things, serving God, going to church, running programs, what we have picked up over time, sampled from the smorgasbord of religion, is OK because countless people have travelled that road. But are these what he commanded? Are these what HE told us to do? Have we heard HIS voice? Are we listening now?

We must listen to him.

Imagine you and I were there climbing that mountain, following Jesus, wondering what this was all about. What next is going to happen? What is he going to do next? Why just us and not all the others? Who next will he upset? What new teaching will he give to shatter our illusions, change our course, renew our minds? What new wine will he bid us drink? What further claims will he make upon us? Where will it all end? Where am I going by following this man? What will I have to rethink next? What more long-held beliefs or precious traditions will I have to abandon? Where will he lead me?

We are still not used to this man who says the most extraordinary things, narrates the most explosive stories, makes the most stupendous claims, loves with such compassion and sovereignty, draws such interest, curiosity, inspires, heals all sicknesses, inspires true sacrifice, calms storms and walks on turbulent waters ….

Following Jesus closely is a life of surprises, the unexpected, the unfamiliar. No clichés. No formulas. No laws on stone.  Our assumptions evaporate. Once experienced, all other alternatives appear shallow, pale, lifeless. We who have tasted his new wine, his sublime goodness are spoilt for anything less.

Lord, to whom else shall we go? Though challenging, only your words are the words of eternal life.

There is nothing we can do to make God love us anymore than he does. He is love. We know God loves all. That’s settled.

God loves us all but do we love him? He has been reconciled to us by the death of his son. But are we reconciled to him? If we are not reconciled to him, then we are truly in a lost state. It is all a matter of a love relationship.

The only way we know if we love God is if we obey him! Do what he says. Jesus said if you love me you will keep my words. If we don’t  keep his commands, we cannot say we love him. Unless we love him wholeheartedly, sincerely, (although imperfectly), we cannot say we love him. The proof for us, as we examine ourselves before Him, is to answer this question: am I committed to obeying Jesus?

He asks us to love him. He commands it. Yet he never forces our love. It is a surprise to many, that Jesus never once asked disciples to worship him. Never once! Instead he asked them to obey him! worship in Spirit, in truth.

If we are to be his disciples then there is no option but to obey his words, take up his yoke, follow him, his word, bear his reproach, suffer with him.

What then are Jesus’ commands?

Some are obvious, so well-known: Love God. Love one another, pray.

Others may not be so obvious or discussed much: follow me, make disciples, teach them to do what I have said,  proclaim the Kingdom of God, bear fruit that sticks, abide in me, feed on me and my word, learn from me, serve one another, don’t love the world.  Obviously this is not an exhaustive list.

We must not presume that what we have learned in the past, our traditions, our religious practices, is what God commands. We must not assume we know the way. Jesus is the way. We copy him.

Ask yourself: given what we do know of Jesus’ commands, do we have any time and energy to be doing silly religious things or playing church, sitting and watching and listening in the pews?

Is that what Jesus wants us to do? Is that what he started?
We must avoid obeying anyone else but Jesus. If we go on to obey our religious traditions, we are voiding the word of God and are disobedient and preferring another way to Jesus. We must forsake all to follow him.

We must seek his will. Your kingdom come, your will be done as in heaven. This is only possible in us if we obey him. This was his practice with the Father. As Father sent me so I send you. The servant is not above his master.

If we are going to obey Jesus, then a lot of things, religious stuff will have to be laid aside. Heaps of so-called Christianity will have to be abandoned.  Then we will have the time and the energy and the ears to carry out what he wants, especially in bearing witness to him and making disciples. We must jettison churchy stuff, trivial rules and dogmas, passive meetings where no repentance and action takes place, and so on.

Jesus only taught what his Father said – what he heard from God. His commands are the Father’s commands. So we also must teach only what we hear from God, from what Jesus has commanded us. There is no other viable, sustainable option.  Anything else is a waste of time. And Jesus’ yoke is actually easier. Easier!

This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 Jn 5:3).

We are called to tell good news, not bad news, as Jesus our Lord directs us. He may direct us by his leadings from the Holy Spirit. And for his direction, we read the gospels, copy Jesus and understand what he wants. This is to proclaim the good news as he did (Luke 4:18 “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me ….”) and as he sent his disciples, ”to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons, proclaiming “the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you”(Mt 10:7). This kingdom is not of this world!

Jesus did not proclaim the law or judgment to the common folk but good news, to follow Jesus. To follow him is totally sufficient. It means a radical turning away from one way to another – his way.

This is to follow his example including the way he taught the good news. Often what people hear from us followers is bad news, all the things they must give up. How many of those are there? Myriads. Countless. So we become more known for being against the “freedom” which people want, than for the true freedom that the Jesus has come to give. “You (Joseph) shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins”. It is knowing him that that saves us from the slavery of sin. His people are saved daily and forever from the degradation, the horrible mess of society that has been and continues to be shaped by people in the hands of a malignant enemy. As Peter Hitchings said recently on ABC’s Q&A program, our world is fast becoming an unfit place to live in. But Jesus is Lord! He calls us follow him unto a whole new world, of new heavens and a new earth!

People must hear the good news, come to know Jesus and the dynamic gift of the Holy Spirit. It is critical that they hear the good news of Jesus’ life and grace and experience him and his kingdom. When we experience Jesus we become aware of God’s ways written on our hearts. Then will unfold the loving of Jesus in obedience, growth, transformation, the fruit of the Spirit. Then comes true freedom, solid hope.

To speak of Jesus is sufficient. To invite people to follow him is sufficient.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

Some think that that before sharing the good news you have to preach law in order to make people feel their need of a Saviour. That’s not the New Covenant. When people meet Jesus they are given a heart of flesh – the stony heart is taken away.

To follow Jesus was sufficient for Matthew and Zaccheus to leave behind lucrative tax collecting. It was sufficient good news for the disciples to follow him and as they walked with him they discovered more of what it meant to be in the Kingdom of God just by being with him and hearing him. They learned as they walked with him.

Jesus said it is the Holy Spirit’s work to convince the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Not us. We must trust that the Holy Spirit is going before us and stay in touch with him as we bear witness. The first disciples were told when the Holy Spirit has come they would be “witnesses unto me” – to the abundance of life in Jesus, not to law (Acts 1:8), not to religion. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth!

We are to call people to repent. This means to turn, to change one’s mind, one’s world view. But it is turning to Jesus as Lord! It is not merely turning from something or from many things, but to someone. To Jesus. To follow him. Merely turning away from your lifestyle, to reform, to do better, to turn over a new leaf, or to religion, to dogma, will lead to despair and a worse situation.

Turning to Jesus, knowing him — is such good news. We must communicate that.

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”   Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Matthew 8:1-3

When asked, on this unique occasion whether it was his will to heal the man with leprosy, Jesus had no hesitation in declaring “I am willing.” And then he doesn’t even pray for the guy, and the man is healed!

Isn’t it striking that the Son of Man never prayed with the words if it be your will and he never taught his disciples to end their petitions with any such phrase! Believers sometimes pray, tacking on these words in resignation, asking with a sigh of doubt: Lord, if it’s your will … We seem to do this often when praying for someone’s healing.

Sure, he taught them (and us) that their praying must always be undergirded by three most important petitions:

Your name be hallowed

Your kingdom come

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

And then he suggests a series of petitions and undoubtedly these are the will of God for us.

The first believers did not appear to ask the Father in any sheepish manner. Look at their approach in their recorded prayers in Acts. The author of The Letter to the Hebrews frequently tells his readers to ask boldly, persistently. The will of the Father must be done – absolutely!

It’s a fact that we believers do not ask the Father, like tentatively, for things such as

Lord, if it’s your will, give me love for others

Lord, if it’s your will, I will give thanks

Lord, if it’s your will, I will follow your ways

In fact these are things we do not ever need to ask for! Rather we give thanks. Again, it is absurd to sincerely pray …

Lord, if it’s your will, make me a disciple of Jesus

Lord, if it’s your will, let me serve you to your glory

Lord, if it’s your will, let me share my wealth with others

Lord, if it’s your will, teach me to bear witness about Jesus

There are things we do not even need to pray about. Just do them! And there are things we do need to pray for. We are promised wisdom from the Lord. The apostle Paul declares that we (note the plural) have the mind of Christ. When we do not know how to pray, Paul instructs us to pray in the spirit with the Helper’s help (Romans 8:26): the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. So in the spirit we are enabled to pray “Your will be done, for sure!”

But if Jesus has instructed his disciples, taught them what he expects, what he commands, is it not unbelief or procrastination or maybe disobedience, when we trot out that little formula, if it be your will?  Are we wanting to have two dollars each way?

What are the commands of Jesus? Receive the Holy Spirit.  Make disciples. Teach the things I have commanded you. Be in the world but not of it. Preach the good news. Heal the sick. Drive out demons. Be my witnesses. Do the works that I have done.

He gave his followers a commission and he expects us, his disciples, to carry it out. Do we really have to pray about whether to get involved with these? To do these things?

We look around us and we grieve that his will is not being done. Ought not this observation charge us with a holy indignation, a desire to confront the powers that pretend to rule the world, the minds of men?  And declare firmly “Your will be done! And we will do it!”

Then perhaps we can act with renewed minds and with sure confidence as the disciples did, as recorded in the gospel accounts and later in the Acts of the Apostles.

Think of a little child asking her father for good things, things that parents are expected to do for their children. What child asks a parent with if it is your will? Then we may ask with confidence and expect to receive, knowing the things of the Kingdom are the will of God. For sure.

“Your will be done! Here! Today!”

The Word of God has authority, it is not mere truth. Jesus’ words had authority for his listeners. He speaks truth with authority to us today just as he spoke then. Because he speaks with the authority of his Father, the Living God, we must take his words seriously. If we do not heed them there are consequences.

Truth goes nowhere if not acted upon, if not followed through. Truth is given freely to Jesus’ disciples for a reason, to produce obedience of faith, turning, action. Truth demands a response from us. God always initiates truth –  it is not from man. And we must respond. Jesus actually lived this out and taught his followers to do the same. If he acted in this way, must not we do the same?

Jesus’ first disciples were taught truth from the one who IS truth in human form, the one who is the word of God in human dress. They were able to grasp only so much of this truth as they followed him all around Galilee and Judah, Israel. But it was after the events of the resurrection of Jesus from death and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that they began to appreciate more fully the profound implications of his truth and we have the historical book we call The Acts of the Apostles which records how they actually put it into practice. They obeyed because Jesus’ words continued to have authority.

If we keep on seeking truth, soaking it up, even digesting it, storing it away in our hard disc, keeping it filed and catalogued –how can that be good? Our minds can be full, stimulated even, but our hearts remain cold. Truth can be shelved, put where is does not challenge us, so we live in denial. Cognitive dissonance.

He said to his disciples, freely you have received— freely give. We cannot keep his truth to ourselves. We must share, give, tell. Shout.

The word of God is living, active, extremely sharp, having great power in its effects. God never wants his word to return to him empty. It has a purpose, a telos. It has authority. It must not be hidden away. The world desperately needs to hear.

The Pharisees had much truth to proclaim God’s truth to people in Jesus’ day but Jesus had authority in his “truly, truly” words, his teaching. He spoke not just for people to hear and applaud but for people to obey.

Beloved, we must beware of just storing up God’s wrath for ourselves in grabbing truth, becoming an expert, showing off our knowledge, but not acting on it. Some teachers of truth teach but do not expect hearers to act on it either.

Jesus sternly warned his hearers in the parable of the two house builders and the two different foundations, sand or rock (Mat 7:24-27). Both hear exactly the same words of Jesus but the builders on rock are those who obey Jesus’ words. The builders on sand are those who hear but do not obey Jesus’ words.

Again, in the sheep and goats parable (Mat 25:31-46), the only difference between them was what they did and didn’t do about Jesus’ commands to care for even the least of his humble brothers and sisters, his disciples (see Mat 10:42 and the whole passage).

Jesus even offended his mother and brothers once by declaring that “my true family members are the ones who do my Father’s will.” (Mat 12:46-50)

If we do not act on his words, are we not despising his words?

Worship of the Father must be worship in spirit and truth (John 4:12). He did not say true worship is worship of truth. Truth is a gift from the Giver and we must love the Giver not the gift.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life—he is very truth personified in human form, pictured in the Gospels as truth totally mobile, walking around among men full of grace and truth … For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John 1:14-17)

There’s the difference! Knowledge of the law failed to produce righteousness. But Jesus not only lived the truth, he is the truth. He speaks with authority and people are transformed when they choose him.

We must not stockpile truth like money in a bank. The manna God sent daily, and not eaten on that day, went rotten for the Israelites in the desert wanderings. It was not allowed to be kept and worshipped. Truth is to be shared.

Surely the real issue is to live by every authoritative, dynamic word that proceeds straight from the mouth of God, not out of some memory bank? His mercies are new every day.

Freely you have received, freely give!