Richard Sibbes was a puritan. If you have been taught that puritans were narrow minded religious bigots that hated dancing, you have mostly been fed lies. While certainly the puritans may have been a little overzealous in their prohibitions and stances on some things, they were also some of the most godly men that the world has ever seen. They were first-rate theologians and scholars and yet immensely practical and devotional in their teaching. J. C. Ryle writes:

Among the puritans was Richard Sibbes. He is often referred to as "the Heavenly Doctor" due to his emphasis on the matters beyond our earth. Sibbes once preached a 4 sermon series on King Josiah and the reformation that he effected for Israel. If you are a bit fuzzy on Kings/Chronicles, here is a quick refresher:

The fourth sermon that Sibbes preached was titled "The Saint's Refreshing" and was about Josiah's death. The text chosen was 2 Chronicles 34:28.

"Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’ ” And they brought back word to the king."

Listen to what Sibbes had to say:

This world is full of enemies of God and his people. The current persecutions of Christians by ISIS in the middle-east are proof positive of this fact. However, these are only the most extreme of God's enemies. We are truly assailed all about by vain philosophies and foolish worldviews that seek to tempt and destroy us. We are currently strangers waging spiritual war in the territory of the enemy. While we are given opportunity, we should be seeking out our fellow brothers and sisters, finding those who would defect from the enemies' evil camp to join the people of God; but it will not always be the case. We will not always have to wage this war.

So often we view death as the end. However, death does not really end anything. Death is simply a separation of body from soul, and the soul truly lives on. Where does the soul go? Well for those "dearly bought, with the blood of Christ," the soul, the true consciousness and essence of every believer is gathered to their Father. He will unite them again with their bodies on the last day, but truly with Paul, we may say that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21.

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1 Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, vol. 2 (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1871), xi.
2 Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1222.
3 Richard Sibbes, The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 6 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson, 1863), 78.

"And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." Mt 17:2–3.

The transfiguration is a very special event in the life of Jesus and the disciples who were following him. The event itself had several significances that are important, especially for the disciples to understand. However, something struck me about this text that is not really the main point. The transfiguration gives us a small peek, a special glimpse if you will, into the afterlife - particularly of Moses and Elijah.

While the appearing of Moses and Elijah are for a particular purpose and by design of God, note one small fact that may not have hit you right away: Moses and Elijah in their full personalities and consciousness are actually here appearing in history per God's redemptive plan. Far from being simple "tools" accomplishing God's purposes, Moses and Elijah get the opportunity to speak with the Lord Jesus Christ face to face.

What's more, look at their manner of speech. The same account in Luke 9 tells us that they were speaking about Jesus going to the cross. However, these men are actually simply standing and speaking to the king of the universe. One gets the impressions that this is a somewhat regular occurrence for saints who have gone to glory. Moses and Elijah aren't falling on their faces or weeping before the Lord, they are chatting with him about the great plan of redemption.

I don't mean to diminish the content of which they were speaking, nor the importance of their appearance and help, rather I simply strive to get at the fact that speaking with our God and maker and our Lord Jesus Christ is something that Moses and Elijah seem fairly accustomed to; and is likely something we will do regularly in the afterlife. Sometimes I get the impression in my head that heaven is a vast gathering of people, and God is still somewhere far off beyond the throngs of saints. Maybe I will get to see him one day in eternity, but I'll probably have to wait in a very long line. I would submit that this isn't a correct perspective. I don't know exactly what heaven will be like, but I do know that I will be closer to my God and the saints than I have ever been on this earth. I think J. C. Ryle gives a great closing thought for us to ponder on this text:

"Now we have in the transfiguration the clearest evidence that the dead will rise again. We find two men appearing on earth, in their bodies, who had long been separate from the land of the living, and in them we have a pledge of the resurrection of all. All that have ever lived upon earth will again be called to life, and render up their account: not one will be found missing. There is no such thing as annihilation. All that have ever fallen asleep in Christ will be found in his safekeeping: patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, down to the humblest servant of God in our own day. “Though unseen to us they all live to God.” “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38). Their spirits live as surely as we live ourselves, and will appear hereafter in glorified bodies, as surely as Moses and Elijah on the mountain. These are indeed solemn thoughts! There is a resurrection, and men like Felix may well tremble. There is a resurrection, and men like Paul may well rejoice."

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J. C. Ryle, Matthew, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 149–150.

Charles Spurgeon is one of my favorite preachers of all time. There is a reason they called him the "prince" of preachers. His style was not always "correct," but it was always passionate. He didn't always get the expository thought dead-on, but he always illustrated his point with skill and made strong application to his hearers' lives. Between his strength and force of style, and his ease of painting a word picture; I can think of no preacher alive today who preaches as Spurgeon did.

On May 9, 1858 Spurgeon preached a sermon titled "The World Turned Upside Down." The text Spurgeon chose was Acts 17:6 - “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” Spurgeon spends much time in the sermon endeavoring to show how the gospel of Jesus Christ turns the world upside down. He speaks eloquently of classes of men, maxims, and religious notions all being flipped on their head by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and illustrates each point abundantly throughout. Then, in typical Spurgeon fashion, he applies the text to his hearers by appealing to idea of whether or not their worlds have been turned upside down by the gospel.

"If any of you would be saved, your hearts must be turned upside down. I will now appeal to you, and ask you whether you have ever felt this—whether you know the meaning of it?"

Regeneration is one of the most important and special of Christian doctrines. It states that those whom God saves he also changes. Scripture speaks of being a "new creation." This is what Jesus was speaking about when he told Nicodemus that he must be "born again" before he could even see the kingdom of God. This isn't to say that Christians become perfect. Rather, they experience a radical altering of their desires that ultimately affects their lifestyle choices. Spurgeon explains in vivid detail:

“Again, it is a complete upsetting of all your pleasures. You loved the tavern once; you hate it now. You hated God’s house once; it is now your much-loved habitation. The song, the Sunday newspaper, the lewd novel—all these were sweet to your taste; but you have burned the books that once enchanted you, and now the dusty Bible from the back of the shelf is taken down, and there it lies, wide open, upon the family table, and it is read both morn and night, much loved, much prized and delighted in . . .

. . . Every thing is upside down there. The children say, ‘Father is so altered.’ They never knew such a thing. He used to come home sometimes drunk of a night, and the children used to run up stairs and be in bed before he came in; and now little John and little Sarah sit at the window and watch till he comes home; and they go toddling down the street to meet him, and he takes one in his arms, and the other by the hand, and brings them home with him.

can you now say, ‘Although I am in the world, yet am I not of it; its pomps and vanities I do eschew; its pride and its glory I trample under feet; these are nothing to me; I would follow my Master bearing his cross, through evil report and through good report?’ If such be not the case, if you are not changed, remember, there are no exceptions; one truth is true for all—‘Except ye be born again, ye cannot see the kingdom of heaven.’”

Spurgeon affirms what Jesus affirmed, when God saves, he also changes.

Has your life been changed? Reflect on your current state this morning. Are you a different person than you were before you learned of Christ? Perhaps you see little to no difference. I would encourage you to pursue God on the matter in prayer. Assurance of salvation is possible, and it is a gift that God grants in his Son. Seek out Christ while he still may be found.

To the Christian: you see a change in your life. You know that God has moved and you have tasted of his grace and mercy. However, you are constantly discouraged and beset by your apparent lack of progress and struggles with sin. The solution for you is the same. Seek out Christ, and God will grant the victory. However, take heart in the fact that God has caused you to be concerned with holiness. The more Christ becomes to you, the more the carnal world and its lies will fade away. Make much of Christ in your thoughts and dogged pursuits, and he will become precious to you.

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C. H. Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, vol. 4 (London; Glasgow: Passmore & Alabaster; James Paul; George John Stevenson; George Gallie, 1858), 225, 231-232.