Often, as we serve Him on earth, the Lord gives us these little glimpses of Heaven, special moments when we know “the Lord is in this place!”
Pastor Perry Sanders decided to witness to his seatmate on a plane bound for Richmond. “Do you know the Lord?” he asked the elderly gentleman. “I sure do!” the man said. “I’d love to hear about it,” said Perry. The man said, “Years ago, I was traveling the highways of South Carolina in sales. As lost and miserable as it’s possible to get. And one day I picked up a hitchhiking college student. He told me about Jesus and led me to the Lord.” Perry said, “Sir, do you recall where you let that student out?” “Yes sir. He got out in Bamberg, South Carolina.” Perry Sanders, longtime pastor of Lafayette, Louisiana’s First Baptist Church, said to him, “Sir, I’m that boy. I was a student at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC and always tried to share my faith with anyone giving me a ride to my parents’ home in Bamberg.” A little foretaste of Heaven.
In Heaven, they ‘re going to be coming up to you: “Do you remember that time you witnessed? Preached a sermon? Prayed a prayer? Gave an offering? Wrote a note?” And God used it. So, He lets that happen just a little in this life in order to prepare us, to encourage us, to keep us faithful.
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (2 Peter 1:16).
In the middle of His teaching on discipleship, the Lord Jesus paused to utter a one-of-a-kind prophecy, one that would be fulfilled within the week: “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). The gospels of Mark and Luke phrase it slightly different. “…will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1). “…shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27).
The prophecy was fulfilled a few days later when the Lord took with Him the three disciples of His inner circle–Peter, James and John–to the top of the mountain where He was transfigured. Several things happened…
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