Beeson podcast, Episode 389
Rev. Otis Dion Culliver
April 24, 2017

Announcer:	Welcome to the Beeson podcast coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Sanford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Now your host, Timothy George.

Timothy George:	Welcome to today's Beeson podcast. I'm here with Dr. Smith and we're going to introduce you to a superb young preacher who is also a graduate of Beeson Divinity School, Otis Dion Culliver. Dion Culliver graduated from Beeson in 2012 with his Master of Divinity degree. He serves now as the youngest pastor ever of the great historic Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama. Tell us what we're going to hear from our friend Dion Culver.

Robert Smith Jr.:	A marvelous insight that's provided by Dion Culliver is that we can experience transformation because Jesus went to the mountain of transfiguration. His wonderful proposition, very clear and powerful, those who have been called by God to minister to His church can minister with confidence because we have the assurance of the future hope in glory in Christ Jesus our Lord. His title, Transformation through Transfiguration, is relevant to Beeson Divinity School students and those who are serious about ministry regardless of the ministerial sphere. The sequence is logically progressive. He walks through the Scripture. It's amazing how he takes Luke 9:28-37 and walks through that passage very thoroughly, giving scriptural supporting text outside of Luke, even outside of the Gospels. 
	He is thorough in his investigation of this passage, wonderful ideas, key ideas on worship. He sees this text, Dean, in three tenses, and he gives three acknowledgements for the basis of this text. The great confession, the great disclosure, the great invitation. Prayer is another idea that's crucial. He takes it right out of the text, and the need for believers to pray based upon the fact that Jesus himself prayed. The illustrations out of church history, drawn from the lives of Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Gardner Calvin Taylor. Then, the evocative questions. Why Moses and Elijah? Why should they appear on the Mount of the Transfiguration rather than Abraham and someone else? He goes on to answer that, that Jesus will fulfill law and prophecy. 
	I think that this message is a message that gives hope, helps us to rejoice in what Christ has done for us, and he closes by pointing us to the eschaton, with a hymn. 'We Shall Behold Him Face to Face.' A message from transformation through transfiguration.

Timothy George:	Wonderful. Reverend Dion Culliver preached this at Beeson Divinity School the semester he graduated with his Master of Divinity, and he received, in that same year, the James Earl Massey Student Preaching Award. Let's go and listen to our friend, the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Dion Culliver speaking on transformation through transfiguration.

Dion Culliver:	Shall we pray? Speak Lord for your servants are listening. We pray that in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
	From the text that has been read at our hearing Luke Chapter 9 verses 28 through verse 37, I want to speak from the thought transformation through the transfiguration. Transformation through the transfiguration. The transformation of Jesus Christ was one of the most significant and glorious moments of His earthly ministry and yet, today, many Christians have unconsciously overlooked this moment because we cannot grasp fully the implications at what transpired on that holy mountain when the Son who was the incarnated son was transformed into His pre incarnated state revealing the glory that He shared with His Father from the time before the world existed. We can't fully understand it. It is a beautiful picture. 
	The synoptic Gospel writers, they grasped this momentous moment because each one record this witness, this moment, and this event in their Gospel witness. It is a beautiful picture because on this scene we see a full revelation of redemptive history. We have the law; we have the prophets; we have the Messiah, and we have the New Testament church. It is a full revelation. The text is saturated with Old Testament imagery. It's a beautiful collage of the past and the present that causes us to reflect presently on the past and rejoice about the future glory which we anticipate. It informs us and it enlightens us in our struggles of the present by encouraging us to look ahead to the anticipated glory which is to come. This scene still leaves us in awe, it still leaves us in a place of worship where we worship the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is to come.
	Then, we look at this text closely when we eventually wind in a place where we are in worship. Where we'll eventually wind in a place where we are in worship and allow, if we can not only look at the text but experience the text, the text has the power to transform how we live in between the already and the not yet. This text has the ability to bring transformation, there is transformation in the transfiguration. The text opens eight days later, approximately a week earlier in verses 18 through 20, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do crowds say that I, the Son of Man, am," and the disciples reply with great, interesting answers, and they reveal the top three replies of the latest opinion polls of Galilee. They say, "Some say that you are John the Baptist. Some say that you are Elijah. And some say that you are a resurrected profit from ages past." Jesus turned and say, "But who do you say that I, the Son of Man, am?" In verse 20 the Bible says that Peter answers, "Thou art the Christ of God." 
	Listen, in that text we get the great confession that Jesus is the Christ, but Jesus goes on further in verse 21 and 22 to tell them what this means, because he is the Christ he must go to Jerusalem not to be crowned, but to be crucified. Not to be inaugurated, but to suffer. He says that, "I must go to Jerusalem and when I get there I will suffer many things of the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders. The disciples, he tells them, "I will be killed, but I will be raised on the third day." 
	The disciples seemed that they missed that last clause that he would be raised on the third day. They are dumbfounded to hear the Messiah, the Christ predict his own murder, but Jesus does not stop there. He goes on in verses 23 to 26 and he tells them that not only on the hills of the great confession and in light of the great disclosure of who he is and what he must do, he goes on to give them the great invitation. In verse 23 he says, "If any man would come after me let him first deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." Jesus says to the disciples, he does not use covert speech, he does not use flowery mechanisms to try to persuade and manipulate people into following him. He talks to them directly and as he talks to us that the call to discipleship is a call to suffer. 
	Many people would try to reduce Christianity, today, to become a religion of name it claim it, reach up and grab it, that your best life now, prosperity gospel, but when you read the Scriptures Jesus says that we are called to suffer for his cause. He goes on and as he does this he knows that the disciples are shaken by this invitation. They did not see foresee the Messiah being crucified. For he tells them three reasons why you should accept the invitation despite of the suffering that the invitation entails. He tells them in verse number 24, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake will save it. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose or forfeit himself? For whosoever is ashamed of me and my words of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father." He closes the scene with a promise. He says, "But some of you will see the Kingdom before you experience death." 
	It is in light of the great confession, it's in light of the great disclosure, it's in light of this great invitation that Jesus calls Peter, John, and James up to the mountain. In verse number 28 the text says that he calls them up to go pray. Prayer, it is the spiritual disposition of anyone involved in ministry, prayer. Luke goes out of his way to show our Savior as a great man of prayer. In chapter 4 verses 1 through 3 the Savior, before he goes publicly in his ministry, he goes into the wilderness and he prays for 40 days and 40 nights. In chapter 4 verse 42 after opening his public ministry, after he has spent a whole day of healing, and delivering, and preaching the gospel of the good news the Bible says that he went away into a desolate place and there he prayed. In chapter 6 verse 12 before he called his disciples, the Bible says that he spent all night in prayer. Then, even on the eve right before he asked and polled his disciples concerning his identity, the Bible says in Luke chapter 9 verse 18 that he had just finished praying.
	Now, if Jesus, the sinless one, pure and holy, the incarnated Word, God in the flesh, if he spent time in prayer, how much more do we sinful and weak, bent and broken, wretched and undone, how much more should we spend time on our faces before God? Any attempt to do ministry absent of prayer is the quintessential example of human hubris. Anyone who would try to do the work of God the voice of the power of God that can only come through prayer time with God is a portrait of pride. It is the very definition of pride. 
	Charles Spurgeon pastor of the New Park Street Chapel, congregation drew hundreds and thousands every Sunday morning. People would arrive hours early to hear Spurgeon's powerful message. When the congregation got full they went into overflow rooms. There was a group of students who was visiting the country and they heard about the crowds that Spurgeon would draw. They said, "We need to go and find out what's so special about this church." They walk into the church doors and there greeted by a man and they ask him, "What's so special about this church?" He says, "If you follow me I will show you. Come with me to the boiling room. Go downstairs," and when they hear this man say go downstairs they look and they said, "No sir. We want to know what's so special about this church," hoping that he would change course and perhaps take them to the pastor's office to have a personal one-on-one interview with Pastor Spurgeon, but he insisted that they go to the boiling room. 
	They get downstairs, they opened the door and there in the boiling room are hundreds of people, hundreds of believers praying for the service that was about to take place upstairs. Then, after he showed them the boiling room he looked at them and told them, "I am Charles Spurgeon." Spurgeon recognized that what really fuels ministry, what really heats up ministry, what even brings power to the pulpit is personal private time in prayer. Your public ministry will go no higher than your private ministry. In fact, what you do in private is more important than what you do in public. He that spends sufficient time on his knees won't have trouble standing on his feet. 
	In the book Our Sufficiency is of God our own Dr. Smith writes an essay dedicated to Dr. Gardner C. Taylor. The essay is entitled, Preaching a Contemplative Theological Task. In the opening paragraph Dr. Smith reflects on an interview that he had witnessed on television in 1992. The interviewer looked at Gardner Taylor knowing that this is a man whose ministry has transcended denominational and ethnic barriers. He knows that he has received so many accommodations, so many awards, he says, "Is there anything that you could have done to be a better preacher," and after sitting a time contemplating the question Gardner Taylor answered with a simple reply, "I would've been a better and more effective preacher had I read the Bible more and prayed more." 
	Now, it behooves us to take two of the greatest preachers from the past two centuries and listen to their words of advice. It behooves us to take those words and then examine ourselves to find out are we really spending enough time in prayer with God? Then, go and lift our hearts to God in prayer. We need no prayer no power. A little prayer a little power. Much prayer much power. Brothers and sisters I want to tell you this, we are here at Beeson Divinity School and what a blessing to learn the disciplines of academia. I wanted to tell all of my fellow students that when we are involved in ministry your intellect cannot replace or remove the necessity for the power of God in your ministry. It doesn't matter what you know in your head you need to be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Not only that, your GPA is not a substitute for a vibrant and healthy prayer life. You can have a 4.0 but if you don't spend time on your knees your ministry will fall apart. 
	Jesus goes to pray and as he was praying his face was altered, as he was praying the Bible says that his clothes become dazzling white. He was transfigured, but then in verse number 30 two visitors shows up on the mountain, Moses and Elijah. One whose tomb is unknown to us because God took his remains and had a private burial somewhere that we cannot find and another one which did not experience death, but God raptured him up. Why Moses, why Elijah? Why not Abraham? After all, he is the father of the faith. The Bible does say in Genesis 12:3 that through him all nations will be blessed. Why not David? After all, he is the one that God promised that his throng would have no end. Even Matthew opens his Gospel by saying Jesus Christ the son of Abraham and the son of David. 
	Why Moses and Elijah? Moses represents the law, Elijah that represents the prophets, and Jesus represents the fulfillment of both law and prophets. In fact, later on in Chapter 24 verse 27 the Bible says that as Jesus was speaking to two depressed and dejected disciples on the [inaudible 00:20:21]. The Bible says they began there with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted them all the Scriptures concerning himself. Jesus shows up, but Luke tells us something else, he tells us what this conversation was all about. He says that they were discussing his departure, his [exid-on 00:20:46], his exodus that was to take place at Jerusalem.
	Now listen, if Moses who's been dead approximately 1500 years and if Elijah who's been dead approximately 800 years come back from the presence of God to have a conversation about what was going to take place in Jerusalem, they were talking about the cross, if you would, they was revealing the one thing that was that was on half his agenda, the cross. The question is today, if heaven is talking about the cross, why aren't our churches talking about the cross? If heaven is concerned with nothing else but the cross because the cross is the only thing that has eternal value. 
	Many times you go to many churches across this nation and in worship, in both song and proclamation, they miss the cross. It's all about seeking feely worship instead of a call to people to see the cross of Jesus Christ. He's talking about the cross. Paul says that's the only message we have. Paul says that the Jews seek a sign, the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. For the preaching of the cross is foolishness, folly, it doesn't make any sense to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. He says, "I am determined to know nothing amongst you except Christ and him crucified."
	Preach the cross because the cross brought us redemption. Preach the cross because the cross brought us justification. Preach the cross because the cross brought us reconciliation on two fronts. First, vertically between God and man. Then, horizontally between man and man. Let me put a footnote here, if you don't mind they told me to have fun, Paul say we are ambassadors for Christ calling the world to be reconciled to God, but make sure that when we call them to reconciliation with God, when we let them know that it also implies reconciliation to one another. Not only that, we can't just tell them to be reconciled to one another we must make sure that we practice reconciliation ourselves because reconciliation cannot be a passing casual conversation for just a theological purpose. It must be a daily practice that we go about until it becomes a reality. 
	Preach the cross. At the cross where I first saw the light, the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight. Now, I'm happy all the day. When you preach don't be persuaded to give way to more of this therapeutic preaching that has reduced the good news of Jesus Christ to good advice, that has changed the description of the pastor from someone who feeds faithful the sheep the knowledge of God's Word into becoming a Christian life coach. Make sure that you proclaim the cross. 
	I got to close. In verse 23 to 32 they was getting ready to leave, Moses and Elijah. The text says that the disciples finally woke back up. It wasn't unusual for these boys to go to sleep. When they woke back up Peter has a not so bright idea. He says, "Master it's good for us to be here. Let's build three tents. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," but Luke says he did not know what he was saying. His perspective was wrong. Now, I can't blame Peter because after experiencing the glory of God I would've wanted to stay there too.
	In fact, some of us need to pray that God show us your glory. We need to be like Moses, Lord tell us more of who you are, show us your power, show us your majesty, show us your glory. Peter wants to stay, but his perspective is wrong. Number one, because his perception of Jesus is tainted. He would ask to build a tabernacle for Moses and Elijah and Jesus, he's equating with Jesus with Moses and Elijah, which shows that even when he confessed Jesus to be the Christ he did not really grasp the significance and the magnitude of his confession. He says let's build one for Moses and Elijah, but it wasn't long after that that God shows up to straighten Peter out.
	In verse 34 a cloud descended and a voice, the Father speaks from within the cloud, "This is my beloved son, the chosen one. Listen to him." Moses and Elijah were great men in their own right, served great purposes in redemptive history, and we thank God for Moses and Elijah, but Moses and Elijah they are not Jesus. Jesus is in a class all by himself, he's Alpha and Omega, he's beginning and end, he's the first and the last. Listen to him. Not only that, but I suppose that when I look at this text perhaps Peter was asking to build these tents because he wanted to stay on the mountain, but there was work to be done in the valley. The text says in verse 37 ... Not demeaning the mountain because we have to enjoy the mountain, but we can't forget about the valley. In verse 37 when they came down great crowds met him. A crowd of hurting people, crowd of broken people, a crowd out of spiritually vexed people, met him there. 
	This is what happens, we go on the mountain for revelation, but ministry must be done in the valley. When we come to Beeson what a great place to learn from a distinguished faculty, to have their knowledge imparted unto us. Sometimes revelations, I don't know about you but it's beyond my capacity to understand. Many days I left class scratching my head, but we thank God for that. A place where we have common interest in the Word of God, where we can pray together, break bread together, and serve one another. Don't become so comfortable in the safety of the walls of academia that you don't embrace the messiness that exists beyond these walls. There is a valley of hurting people and God calls us out only to send us back out. 
	Where the text closes, disciples still hadn't grasped it, but would you have grasped it? Such majesty, such glory, would you have grasped it? We do know from later readings that they were impacted by what they saw. It's something that impacted them because all of them answered the call to the great invitation, all of them suffered, all of them died horrible deaths. Peter crucified upside down, John exiled in the Isle of Patmos, James killed by the sword of Herod, all of them suffered. The question is what gave them the courage to continue to preach even though they had been warned of the consequences of their choice? What made them persist amidst great persecution? I suggest to you that one, among many other reasons, was the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The transfiguration transformed these fearless and frantic disciples into fearless apostles who proclaimed the truth of God's Word. 
	Peter says it this way, "We did not follow clever myths, we may know of you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty for we were with him when he received honor and glory from God the Father. We heard the voice born to him by the Majestic majesty, 'This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.' We saw it with him on the holy mountain." Those who have been called by God to minister to the church, to minister with confidence because we have the assurance of the future hope in Glory in Christ Jesus. Say that again. Those who have been called by God to minister to His church can minister with confidence because we have the assurance of the future hope in Glory in Christ Jesus. 
	Closing, on the mountain it was a glimpse of heaven as we saw the church triumphant and the church militant coming together in the presence of God, but it was only a temporary preview because only five people received the invitation. Only five people were invited to the preview, but because Jesus left that mountain and went to another mountain, he left the Mountain of Transfiguration to go to the mountain of disfiguration because Paul said that he who knew no sin was made to be sin that we may be the righteousness of God.
	On the cross, He was disfigured by our sins. On the cross all that majestic glory was transformed into humiliation. The Bible in Hebrews says this he endured the cross despising the shame on the cross because he died, but that's not good enough. He couldn't just die, but early Sunday morning He got up from the grave with all power in His hand and because He went to the cross one day we all will get an invitation to that eternal preview of heaven's majesty. One day we all, the church militant and the church triumphant, will gather together at the throne of God and bow down and worship him and cry, "Holy! Holy! Holy!" One day we will all see His glory. 
	Some might have said it this way, "The angels shall sound, the shout of his entrance, the sleeping shall rise from their slumbering place, and those who remain will be changed in a moment and we shall behold Him. Face to face we shall behold Him. We shall behold Him face-to-face in all of His glory we shall behold Him. We shall behold Him face to face, our Savior, Lord."
Congregation:	Hallelujah!
Dion Culliver:	My grandma in the church I grew up in wouldn't say it that way. They would say, "Oh, I want to see him. Just to look upon His face, God to sing forever of His saving grace on the streets of glory. Let me lift my voice. Cares have past, home at last, ever to rejoice."
Announcer:	You've been listening to the Beeson podcast with host, Timothy George. You can subscribe to the Beeson podcast at our website beesondivinity.com. Beeson Divinity School is an interdenominational evangelical divinity school, training men and women in the service of Jesus Christ. We pray that this podcast will aid and encourage your work, and we hope you will listen to each upcoming edition of the Beeson podcast.