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March 2, 2003: Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday; Holy Communion Sunday
Sermon by Pastor J. T. Kim
�NO DOUGH, NO GO�
(2 Kings 2:1-12)
[1] Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. [2] Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. [3] The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." [4] Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. [5] The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." [6] Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. [7] Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. [8] Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. [9] When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." [10] He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." [11] As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. [12] Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
(Mark 9:2-9)
[2] Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, [3] and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. [5] Then Peter said to Jesus, �Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.� [6] He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. [7] Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, �This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!� [8] Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. [9] As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
In 1972 - 31 years ago � NASA had sent a deep space ship called �Pioneer 10� with no human on board. Recently, on January 22, this year, 2003, NASA last received a signal back from Pioneer 10, from a distance of 7.6 billion miles -- 82 times the distance between the Earth and Sun. It took the faint radio signal 11 hours and 20 minutes to get home, traveling at the speed of light.
It was very interesting news because we all are interested in exploring the universe God created.
Just about a month ago, we were stunned and shocked by the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia as it roared through the atmosphere on the final leg of its journey home.
Shuttle flights to the heavens and back had become rather routine, and we weren�t prepared for this tragic reminder of the true danger of space travel and the death-defying courage of our astronauts.
With the pieces of Columbia still being picked up across the United States, it now seems almost surreal to think of space travel as being just a pleasant diversion for the super-rich.
Before the Columbia disaster, many people wanted to have space travels, and as a matter of fact, a couple rich people did it with their huge amount of money.
In September last year, there was an interesting article entitled �No Dough, No Go� in The Washington Post.
Russia soared into the space tourism business two years ago when California investment banker Dennis Tito plopped down $20 million and became the first person to bankroll his own ride into orbit.
South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth soon followed in his footsteps.
Lance Bass wanted to be next.
Who is Lance Bass? He is a singer in the famous boy-band group called �N Sync. He may be a celebrity � but definitely not a super rich person.
So he wanted to fly to heaven using other people�s money. After approaching Radio Shack and Pepsi for sponsorship, Bass spent several months in Russia, modeling spacesuits and undergoing training.
He was following the lead of a Hollywood promoter who believed that the next great frontier in space was going to belong to celebrity game shows.
Problem was, nobody paid.
The Russians waited and waited and finally lost their patience. �It�s ridiculous!� grumbled the top Russian space spokesman. He continued to say that Lance Bass is �eating right now on our account and he�s living on our account and he hasn�t paid a single kopeck .... We�ve been spending our own money and we don�t want to do that. The whole idea was to make money on this.�
Eventually, Lance Bass was bumped from the space travel.
Well, these days it�s no problem to book a reservation for heaven. But like the article said, it is �No Dough, No Go.�
According to this morning�s Old Testament text, the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind, not a rocket.
But his liftoff was every bit as spectacular as the launches we watch today on CNN. His blastoff included a �chariot of fire� and �horses of fire,� a sight so overwhelming that it caused his student prophet, Elisha, to cry out in amazement as Elijah disappeared from view.
2 Kings 2:11-12: [11] As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. [12] Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Yes, Elijah left the earth in a blaze of glory. It was like one of those scenes from science fiction movies!
Certainly God does not expect us to scrape together $20 million and make a reservation for a space travel on a Russian rocket. Nor does He promise that we�ll escape our earthly existence in a whirlwind, surrounded by the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. Nor is it likely that we�ll be walking with God and find ourselves in glory, like Enoch.
Who was Enoch? Genesis 5:24 says: <Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.
According to the Bible, Enoch and Elijah are only ones who were taken by God without going through any death.
Anyhow, as ordinary people, what can we say about heaven and how to get there?
There is a church that has a special sign. The sign says: �Free Trip to Heaven � Details Inside.�
Do you believe that there is heaven? Most people do, if they believe in God. And the Bible announces it loud and clear that there is heaven!
But we don�t know where heaven is. It�s a curious thing about human nature. If you were headed for a particular destination, you�d like to know where it is � right? Makes sense. Knowing where something is, is crucial to getting there.
But the Bible doesn�t give us any clues. Well, throughout the Bible, we see how heaven looks like and how heavenly life would be. But we just cannot find heaven in our Thomas Guide or the world map.
Why God would not give us the map to heaven? Well, obviously, we cannot go to heaven with our skills, experiences, fame, or even our money!
Even though we travel the deep space with lots of money, we cannot locate heaven there! Maybe the universe is too wide to pinpoint heaven�s location?
We recite the Lord Prayer at least every Sunday: �Our Father who art in heaven�� What is the meaning of �art�? According to a dictionary it means: �A second person singular present indicative of be.�
So, in modern English, it�s �is� � with some expression of respect. �Our Father who is in heaven��
Just as we cannot see God � we cannot see heaven either - in our physical eyes.
2 Corinthians 4:18 says: �because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.�
God indeed gave us how to get to heaven � through the Bible! How can we get in heaven? We get in only by the grace of God.
�For by grace you have been saved through faith,� says Paul to the Ephesians, >�and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God � not the result of works, so that no one may boast� (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Accepting this gift of grace is a transforming event. We live changed lives � because now we have a picture of heaven in eternity! We are new creations in Christ; the old has passed away, and everything is new.
Of course, after death, there is another dimension of life waiting for us. However, as we live on the earth, we can also build up the kingdom of God here!
Let us read the passage from Romans 14:17-19 together in one voice: For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Before you know Christ, your life has been hell. But after you are in Christ, you build up the kingdom of heaven in your life!
Romans 8:1 (NIV) proclaims: �� there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.�
In today�s Mark�s Gospel we read the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. In vv. 2-3: �� And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.�
Christ showed His transfiguration to the disciples as a sample � a taste - of heaven.
That�s why our Christian calendar�s color for today is white, and my stole is also white � it�s not just because of Holy Communion sacrament we have today.
Knowing that we�re headed for heaven changes our lifestyle. We pack light for the journey � the eternal journey with God.
This means, just as Hebrews 12:1 says: laying aside �every weight and the sin that clings so closely,� and running with perseverance the race that is set before us.�
Our priorities have shifted. Our values are different. Our lives have taken on new meaning.
My brothers and sisters in Christ!
What can we say about heaven? We can also say that the trip to heaven requires training. Even a Lance Bass or a Dennis Tito had to undergo training � even if they were paying $20 million to go.
The difference is that they had to condition themselves for the challenges of �OUTER SPACE,� while we, Christians, have to prepare ourselves for �INNER SPACE.�
What �inner space�?
This is a new environment dominated by �love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control� (Galatians 5:22-23).
Moral and spiritual discipline plays a large role in the training of Christians aspiring for heaven.
Philippians 3:20-21 talks about our transformation for heaven: � our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
This is the description of what the fruit of the Spirit tastes like.
Finally, heaven is a place where God and his people will reside together, where �God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.�
This description of heaven can be found in Revelation 21:3-4.
My brothers and sisters in Christ!
Heaven for $20 million. Works for a few � very few. Maybe no one. Problem is that it�s not real heaven that they think it is.
The kingdom of heaven, a gift of grace. Works for all � even you.
Only through Jesus Christ � for He is the Door to heaven.
In John 14:6, Jesus proclaims: �I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.�
May you fully enjoy heavenly life in Christ this week and forever! (Amen)
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