Matthew 17:1-15
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”
God Himself applied this to our Lord Jesus Christ – the voice that came out from the excellent glory.
Remember, Jesus is the Word by whom God speaks to us. He powerfully excites and effectually engages us to speak and write what He
has put into our mouths.
We are moved by the Holy Ghost in what we deliver, preach and teach, of the mind of God. The Holy Ghost is the Supreme Agent; we, the people of God, we are but instruments.
The Holy Ghost, He so wisely and carefully assists and directs us in the delivery of what we have received from Him so that we will not make any mistake in expressing the prophecy or whatever is given to us to deliver.
1 Corinthians 12:18, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”
The question for us all is: Are you in your place of assignment? Are you where God has placed you?
When you are where God has placed you, He will speak strength and courage through your trials. That is: those who bless Jesus in their trial will be blessed by Jesus through their trial.
If you are where God has placed you, even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil. If you are with the right source, where God guides, He also provides.
John 15:3 says, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” Jesus is the Word by Whom God speaks to us.
John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”
What does this mean?
What a means of blessing is the look of faith to Jesus! There is light, life, joy, perfect healing, in fact, everything. Have a look of faith to Jesus. Oh, what a means of blessing!
Let us look at a cheat, a fraud, a fake. By what mark may we discover a cheat in the house of God?
Jesus is the Word by Whom God speaks to us and promises to guide us, not only to deliver the message but to guide us wisely and carefully assist and direct us in the delivery of what we have received from Him so that we would not make a mistake.
“In the name of Jesus”, is the Word we receive. It is not ours, it is God’s. In pronouncing the Word, we are not speaking for ourselves, but for God.
By what mark may we discover a cheat? If Jesus is there to guide us, wisely and assist and direct us in the delivery of what we have received from Him, by what mark may we discover a cheat?
If he gives us any sign or foretells something to come and the event is not according to his prophecy, according to his prediction, we may come to a conclusion and say, “he is not of God”, because Jesus wisely and carefully assists and directs us in the delivery of what we have received from Him so that we would not make a mistake in our expression.
Why? So that we would not make a mistake. At the same time, the very Word of the Scripture is accounted for as the Word of the Holy Ghost. It is not possible for anyone who is guided by the Holy Spirit to say, ‘A’ will happen tomorrow and it turns out to be ‘B’.
God’s Word refreshes our minds. God’s Spirit renews our strength. This means that in order to be a Christian or a pastor, you must not only have God’s Word, you must also have God’s Spirit, as well. If you have God’s Word without God’s Spirit, you become a philosopher in the house of God.
The Bible says, man has the ability to preach but the Holy Spirit preaches as He wills. It means, man can preach powerful sermons, but the Holy Spirit teaches. So, not only must you have God’s Word in order to be born again, you must also have God’s Spirit.
If I go to school, I am going to study God’s Word, but God’s Spirit is from above. I may be able to preach the Word, from Genesis to Revelation, but it is God’s Spirit that drives the Word and makes it work. Without God’s Spirit, the Word will remain on our lips, but with
God’s Spirit, it will go and perform what the Word is sent to do.
God’s Word can be achieved by might and power but when it comes to God’s Spirit, it is purely by the grace of God – which is priceless, costless! It is like a grant for which you pay absolutely nothing, except your support.
Not only must we have God’s Word in order to be born again, we must also have God’s Spirit. God’s Word conjoins with God’s Spirit at the point of repentance.
At the point of repentance you say, “Jesus is Lord, I trust Him with all my heart”. If you trust Jesus with all your heart, then Jesus is your Healer, whether He heals you or not; He is your Deliverer, whether He delivers you or not.
But what is the situation with you today? When you don’t receive healing, you begin to look at Jesus in bad light, as if He has no power to heal you. What you do not know is that your situation is as a result of your unfaithfulness. When you come to this conclusion, you will trust Him with all your heart.
This means that even when the going is not good, you still say, “Thank you, Jesus”. Once you come to this conclusion, then you are getting it right. It is not only when you are blessed that you say, “Jesus is Lord”. Indeed, every prayer should start and end with praises and worship.
