Thursday
11-24-16 Posadas City, northern Argentina
Today we
read Matt 17 - 21
S. Matt 17:9 As they descended the mountain, Jesus commanded them,
"Don't tell anyone what you have seen until I, the Son of Man, have been
raised from the dead." NLT
O. Three of the 12 disciples had just
witnessed a peek into the Kingdom of God. They saw Jesus, clothed in
dazzling white, as Moses and Elijah possibly discussed His coming sacrifice for
the sins of the world. And then came the voice of the Father declaring to
Whom they should now listen. They had listened to Moses’ laws and the
prophet’s, like Elijah, all their young lives and now they are instructed by
the Father to pay close attention to the words of the Son of God. Jesus
then instructs them to not share this experience with anyone until after His
death and resurrection. Why?
A. Only a day or so earlier,
Jesus had announced that some standing there would personally witness the
Kingdom of Heaven before they died. Perhaps Jesus did not want the other
disciples to feel that they had been left out of something so wonderful.
Can it be that God sometimes gives us some special experiences that we should
keep to ourselves? Paul the Apostle alluded to his visit to the third
heaven (2 Cor 12:4), how that he was caught
up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man
to utter. KJV He was limited in his description of a
mighty personal revelation.
P. Lord, You have given me many
wonderful experiences, but nothing to compare with what Peter, James and John
witnessed that day or what Paul experienced. You allowed them all to
eventually share only a limited description of what they saw and heard.
Sometimes I have shared how You visited me personally one day as I sought You
on my knees. Although I wrote down things You spoke to me that day, I somehow
later lost all the notes I took of Your words except one marvelous principle
that was burned into my soul… which I have shared on a few occasions. You
gave me a “Kingdom experience”… and I will never forget it. Amen.
Ralph
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