Messages from Pastor Raddatz

Feb 14, 2021 Transfiguration of our Lord, Mount Olive Lutheran Houston TX, Other Texts 2 Kings 2:1-12 and Mark 9:2-9

February 14, 2021 Mount Olive Lutheran Church Houston TX

The Glory of Christ Does Not Diminish, Therefore, We Do Not Lose Heart

2 Corinthians 3:12-13; 4:1-6

Dear people of God,

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

We find "glory" in many things: a job well done, working hard, not quitting and accomplishing our goal. This is how many of us define glory. Just ask anyone who supported the Super Bowl Champions before they were Super Bowl Champions! When they were not on the top of the heap, they might have been quiet fans, but now that their team won the Super Bowl, they can now be highly visible fans.

Have you ever watched a game and noticed how many people are there to support players? I'm not just talking aboutfans. I am talking about coaches, trainers, doctors, people who bring out water to the players…The NFL Teams are only allowed to have 53 players on their active roster. Of these 53, only 46 players can dress out for the actual game. They can have over 30 medical people on the sidelines, not to mention the many, many, more who work behind the scenes. I guess it takes a lot of support people to have each player dress out for a game. In military terms, during combat it takes 5 to 6 people behind the scenes to support 1 personin battle.

Why are there so many support people in sport and in battle? There are so many support people because we can lose heart and become discouraged. As God's people we have the greatest support system available, it is the glory of God.

WHAT IS GLORY IN THE BIBLE?

The word "glory," meaning "splendor," occurs with higher frequency from 2 Corinthians 3:7 to 4:6 (fifteen times) than anywhere else in the New Testament.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday and we are reminded of the "glory" of God in Christ. The Gospel is Mark 9:2-9. The"glory" is recorded in the splendor of Jesus' divinity. He is the source of all "glory." He gives the Gospel its "glory." The Christian already experiences the "glory" of Christ and the atonement. He is even transformed "from glory to glory," "from splendor to splendor" already in this life . -Bul's Notes. This is our source of support, that God has given us his mercy and restored us to the image of God, v. 4.

God's glory is different than the world's definition of glory. The world's definition of glory is "ACCOMPLISHMENT" and/or "recognition". The truth of the matter is that when many people reach their accomplishment, they find that it is not as satisfying as they thought.

God's definition of glory is not found in what we do, but in how we do what we do. As we are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. "

The Eternal Weight of Glory: The Shadow of Our Future Selves

In this short excerpt, the scholar and Anglican clergyman N.T. Wright discusses the famous "weight of glory" passage in 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (NIV):

"The weight of glory" thus seems to refer to a superabundant expression of that humanness: God's people will be more truly themselves . We sometimes speak of somebody who has been extremely sick being "just a shadow of their former self." But what Paul seems to be saying here is that human beings are just a shadow of their future selves. God has prepared a larger selfhood which is the true fulfillment of all that they are at the moment, which will be the final, glorious enriching of it .

So, the "eternal weight of glory" of which Paul is speaking is the new life, patterned on the risen humanity of Jesus. Jesus' resurrection expresses not only what we are now,but what we will be when God has completed what he has begun in the Spirit. As Paul says in Philippians 1:6, what God has begun in Christians he will bring to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

Taken from N.T. Wright, Reflecting the Glory: Meditations for Living Christ's Life in the World, Augsburg Press, 1998, p.39.

HOW CAN WE LOSE HEART?

We can lose heart when we become discouraged. It is that feeling that we cannot finish what I have started. Lose Heart | Definition of Lose Heart by Merriam-Webster

It is common to face adversity when we set our heart on a goal. We live in a broken world. Hard work is often met with resistance. What should we do when we are faced with a problem? The Bible suggests that we focus on God and take our focus off our problem. He is the one for whom all things are possible ! He calls us TO SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS…Matthew 6:33. We "gain" heart when we look to God whose heart is bigger and stronger than us . Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) says: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." Biblical faith involves believing three things: that God exists, that He is a rewarder and that He will reward you when you seek Him. "Faith is," Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) tells us, "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hope is the confident belief that things not yet seen will happen the way God's Word says .

Sometimes God allows trouble because he wants us to see his glory. Peter wanted to stay on the mountain where God's glory was revealed in Jesus Christ. God's message to Peter was not to stay on the mountain, but God's message was to affirm that Jesus is God's son and to listen to him, Mark 9:2f. "Suddenly" in verse 8 " they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only". As they were coming down the mountain…they are confronted by a man whose son is possessed by a demon. Jesus asks the Father, "do you believe?" The Father responds, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief". The father cries out in faith but is burdened by his son's condition .

Our faith is not dependent on being strong or weak, great or small, because it depends on Christ (Formula of Concord Solid Declaration VIII 71). We enjoy the merits of Christ on the cross and the power of his resurrection which makes our faith strong.

GOD'S GLORY SHINES IN OUR HEARTS because He put it there and it cannot be diminished by the challenges of this world.

It is only through God's mercy that he allows the light of faith to shine in our hearts , 2 Corinthians 4:6. The Bible speaks about mercy and grace given us by God. Mercy and grace are both similar and somewhat different.

Mercy has to do with kindness and compassion; it is often spoken of in the context of God's not punishing us as our sins deserve. -Gotquestions.org

Thanks and praise to God who gives us his glory. This glory does not diminish even when we are burdened by the challenges of this world. While we live, we do not lose heart, because he has caused the light of faith and hope to shine in our hearts.

May this peace which passes all understanding keep your heart and your mind in the one true faith in Jesus Christ to life everlasting. Amen

Your Fellow Servant of Christ,

Pastor John F. Raddatz, To God Be The Glory=Soli Deo Gloria