It's so cute. Yes! ♪ So many angels in the sky ♪ ♪ So many angels in the sky ♪ ♪ So many angels in the sky ♪ ♪ So many angels in the sky ♪ so so ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Yeah. Okay. I don't know. Oh my God. So, Yeah. Yeah. so so Thank you. so so Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes. CCoSp4 3.50 Good morning everybody. You can all find your seats. We'll open up with our call to worship for Psalm 49. Psalm 49, to the choir master, a psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this all peoples, give ear all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom, the meditation of my heart shall be my understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb, I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. Why should I fear in times of trouble when the iniquity of those cheat me surrounds me? Those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches. Truly, no man can ransom another or give to God the price of his life. For the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice. That he should live on forever and never see the pit. For he sees that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations. Though they called lands by their own names, man in his pomp will not remain. He is like the beasts that perish. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence. Yet after them, people approve of their boasts. Salah. Like sheep, they are appointed for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me Salah. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies, he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him. For though while he lives he counts himself blessed, and though you will get praise when you do well for yourself, His soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish. I was fortunate enough yesterday, I went to the rally to share the gospel with a couple of people, and you could just tell there were so many people there needing hope. And I got to talk to a couple of nurses, and it was really interesting to me, because I was telling them the gospel, and I was sharing with them that our culture is kind of twisted Christianity, that it's a self-help, blessed, prosperity kind of idea. And I mentioned to church that in the States, I was like, you gotta be aware of this, that people think this is what Christianity is about, because it's not. That's not where our hope lies, and it's not in riches or finances. And this woman beside me jumped in and wanted to, she told me, well, be careful not to say that because these people are blessed and God has blessed them with riches and anointed by God and he does all these great things. And she wasn't being mean about it, but she actually proved my point. We don't find our hope in riches or wealth. And even today we were talking in Sunday school about what our hope is in. And we read this psalm, and I see things. It can't ransom another man, no matter how much money you have. You can't ransom another man. You can't ransom your soul. You're done to leave your wealth to others. They shall be consumed to Sheol with no place to dwell. But then, in verse 15, it's so comforting. God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, and He will receive me. And I think about all these people that are in dire need of hope and they're worried about their jobs, worried about finances, their family, their homes. And this one verse brings so much comfort. As much as money can bring peace, may we dwell in the greatest purchase that ever did happen. What riches could compare to coming together like this today to worship God? What riches could compare to an inheritance of money you leave to your children or the knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So today let's worship with that in mind. That we right here, we can feel rich in what we're doing right now. We can feel wealthy in what we're doing right now. It doesn't matter about material goods. It's this moment right here that we can come together and praise the Lord together. That's what makes us rich. Let's pray. O righteous and glorious Savior, we thank you as we come together to glorify you. Lord, we ask that we never become complacent of the riches we have in you. The honor is to pass on the wisdom and knowledge of you to our children. Please make us good stewards of this treasure. We pray for your mercy and grace as we once again gather to lift up an offering of our praise and adoration to you. May we sing praises to you today as truly blessed people, not as people who count themselves blessed because of certain financial situation, but as blessed people who were purchased by you as a people ransom from the power of Sheol. Thank you, Lord, for your grace in giving us this truly blessed treasure. And we lift this up to you in the name of your precious son, Jesus. Amen. Thanks, Matt, for your reminder this morning of our Savior. No man can give a ransom for his soul or the soul of another, but Jesus can. We're going to sing that psalm today, and if you're not that familiar with singing the psalms, we picked quite a familiar tune, and that is Jesus, Lover of My Soul. But the words fit, and I pray you'll be blessed as you sing this song, and you get it into you. And just as an encouragement, sing with your children, and sing the psalms with your children. So please stand with us, and let's sing, dust to dust, immortal dios. ♪ Blessed as the mother, blessed as the son ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Then within their hearts they say that their houses are glory. that their calling, grace and strength shall for generations send. To their lives they give their name with the hope of lasting fame. But that daughter quickly flies, Flies the lowly, misty night. Oh, such folly, mark their way, And the group of love they say. For their suits shall rule the nests While their beauty turn to dust. ♪ By which his soul shall save ♪ He will raise me from the grave ♪ Let no fear ensue nor haste ♪ No one's house and wealth increase ♪ Death shall end his fleeting day ♪ ♪ He shall carry not away ♪ ♪ Though in life he dwells the day ♪ ♪ Though the grace of men he made ♪ Proud with honor though we be, Highly gifted, strong and free, Well, man without God is in a way like a beast that dies. But our God is in the heavens. He is eternal. And His praise will never end. We will forever praise Him if we are His. So let's praise our soul, the King of Heaven. Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven! ♪ To receive thy tribute bring, that shall be my reward ♪ praise him praise him praise him praise him praise him praise him praise him In His hands He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, Hardly as His mercy goes. ♪ Angels help us to adore Him ♪ ♪ We behold Him face to face ♪ ♪ Sun and moon bow down before Him ♪ ♪ Dwellers all in time and space ♪ ♪ Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him, praise Him ♪ Praise with us the God of grace. Madam, please be seated. Well, good morning, brothers and sisters. It's good to see the house full of God's people here to praise Him this morning. We've got a few announcements for us, and I am delighted to announce the birth of Penelope Joy Kriz. Yeah, praise the Lord. I know that Cliff is here and he's beaming in his heart, so if you see him, give him a big congratulations and yeah, healthy birth and everything went well as far as I know. Next Sunday, we have the baptism of Renee and Mariah. So we are looking forward to that. Keep that in the back of your mind. Also, just watch for an email. I think we'll confirm this, but we may decide to have a fellowship meal after that as well. So just watch for an email on that. Grace groups are going to kick off a new season in the coming month, so just a note from me to all the grace group leaders, I will be sending out some notes for the first lesson, and they'll be coming out sometime this week. I'm not sure when all the grace groups meet on which Sundays, but we were gonna start in the next month, so that's starting next week, so watch your email for that. Also, if you've been here and attending, if you've been sort of a regular attender with us for a while, and you're curious about membership, I would just encourage you to reach out to myself or one of the other three pastors and inquire about what that takes to become a member here. We would love to meet with you and discuss that with you. Also, I just want to put another plug in. They're always happening, but prayer meetings happen every Wednesday, either online or at our house, Caitlin and My Place. And I want to encourage you to come out. It's always a blessing. It's so good to be with God's people and to pray and to bring our burdens and our cares and our joys and our sorrows to the Lord together. So that is Wednesday online or at our house at 7 o'clock in the evening. And next week, we have the Lord's Table again. Actually, Ryan, are we gonna do Lord's Table and Baptism same Sunday, or? I was thinking of actually doing it all week and then bringing everyone into membership. Okay. So, Lord's Table two Sundays. Two Sundays from now, we'll do the Lord's Table. Good. See how that worked? Okay, that's all I have for this morning. Do you have another announcement? those exemptions if anyone wants. Okay sure so if you're looking for or you in need of an exemption we do have copies of the paperwork here and talk to Ryan about that as well. Well we're going to go into our consecutive reading this morning Matthew chapter 8. Matthew Chapter 8 is now, of course, comes after the great Sermon on the Mount. And if you think back through the Old Testament, God sent men to speak on His behalf. And those words were often accompanied by great signs and wonders. And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the men God sent. And his servant was then followed up with great signs and wonders to not only show that he was from God, but this was the Messiah, the God-man himself, come to bring the kingdom, not only to Jew, but to Gentile as well. And we see the undertones of all those things taking place in this chapter. When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priests and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them. And when he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, He marveled, and he said to those who followed him, truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And to the centurion Jesus said, go, let it be done for you as you have believed. And the servant was healed at that very moment. And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her. And she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons. and he cast out the spirits with the word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and bore our diseases. Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead. And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, save us, Lord, we are perishing. And he said to them, why are you afraid? Oh, you of little faith. Then he rose, And he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. And then the men marveled, saying, what sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Guardians, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out from the tombs. so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, what have you to do with us, O son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, if you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. And he said to them, Go. So they came out and went into the pigs. And behold, the herd rushed down a steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city, they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. May the Lord bless the reading of his word this morning. I'm just gonna leave the scripture there and pray that the spirit moves in our hearts. There's so much going on here and there's lots of things that come to mind. but I'm gonna let the Spirit press on our hearts the things that He needs to and go to prayer this morning. I'm gonna pray for, just as a congregation, I'm gonna confess our sins together to the Lord and praise Him for His everlasting mercies, His never-ending forgiveness. I'm gonna praise Him for birth of a new baby girl, We're gonna ask that he works in our quizzing ministry and in Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre. We're gonna pray for our government and also the preaching of the word this morning. So let's go to the Lord in prayer. Great God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, We gather this morning as sinners. We gather this morning under the banner of the blood of Jesus Christ. And Lord, we confess that once again this week, we all have sinned in different ways. We have not kept your law perfectly. And we are in desperate need of your grace. And so, Father, we pray that you would be gracious to us, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the greatness of your compassion, blot out our transgressions, and wash us thoroughly from our iniquity in the blood of your Son, and cleanse us from all our sin. We thank you that the blood of Christ is sufficient for everything that we've ever done wrong and ever will do. And we thank you for sending them. And we thank you, Jesus, for coming into this world. We thank you that you are our only hope in life and all of the things that it brings us, that you are our only hope in the face of death, that we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. We praise you, God, for your mercy. We praise you that your loving kindness is new every morning, that you love us unconditionally through the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Lord, this is why we gather to praise you. We praise you for the birth Penelope, healthy birth, new life in our church, and we lift up to you the Chris family, and we ask that you'd give them strength to raise Penelope in the way that she should go, and also for their boys. We lift up to you, Father, the other ladies who are among us, with life in the womb, that you would bless them and keep them and bring about more healthy deliveries, Father. We thank you for how you continue to grow this church from within. What a blessing it is to see little boys and girls running around. And we ask, Lord, that whether it be through Sunday school or through catechisms or through family worship around the table, whatever the means, Lord, that you would make our children born again. Father, give us as parents the grace to faithfully raise them in the way they should go. Lord, I want to pray particularly this morning for those among us with heavy burdens, heavy burdens because of the times we're in, heavy burdens because of particular life circumstances that come along. Lord, would we know how to look to Christ Lord Jesus, would you remind us of the gospel? Father, I pray for Matt and Emily, just the difficult decisions that may be coming. Would you give them grace? Would you help them to rely completely on you? Or for Naomi, who's had dreams of what life might be like As a veterinarian and all of those potentially put on hold, Lord, would you give her grace to just trust in you and show her the path. I pray even for Marvin and Dini this morning who've lost her brother. Lord, that you would comfort them in their grief. That you would help them to rest wholly and completely on you. Lord, there are many among us who have griefs and burdens that maybe or not even knowing, would Christ be sufficient for them in every way. Father, we thank you that in spite of everything that goes on around us, we have ministries running out of this church like quizzing. And Lord, we know that it's the word of God that helps to hold us up. It's the Word of God that gives us the knowledge of the truth that can preserve us in difficult times. And so, Father, the quizzing ministry is such an amazing ministry. And Lord, would you help the Word of God just go deep down into the hearts of the kids who come here and memorize scripture week after week, and be with the leaders who help them to do it. Thank you for Lazar, who puts time and countless hours into organizing. Lord, would you bless him and would he know the blessing of putting all of this work into this? Father, also I pray for the Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Center. And I'm thankful for the stories that come out of that ministry of women who have come to know the Lord Jesus, of women who have come to keep their child, that ministry that saves life. Lord, I pray that you continue to do your work there, that it would not ever become just another ministry, but Lord, that the gospel would always be central to it as well. Lord, that you continue to bring women there, that those who are playing with the idea of abortion or whatever it may be, Lord, that they would find their way there they would find hope in Jesus Christ, and that they would be supported through the difficulties of life in their situations. Thank you for the ministry, Lord. May we be a church that can faithfully help out in that area. And Lord, we want to pray for our government. An election was just had, Lord, and really nothing has seemed to change, and yet The times around us seem to be changing by the day and by the minute. And Father, this is a nation that continually shows itself to be your enemy. So Father, we beg you that your grace would come upon our leaders. We beg you that your Holy Spirit would wash across this nation And that when men go out, like yesterday at a rally, and preach the gospel, Father, that it would take deep roots in the hearts of our leaders, in the hearts of those who are involved politically. Lord, we know that political change is not the answer, but it is the gospel, and our nation needs to come face to face with the living God. And so, Father, the crisis that we're in, We beg you that you would use it, that you would use it to change this nation, to point us back to Christ. Father, please do a work in Canada. And Lord, this morning, do a work in this church. As Ryan comes and preaches, would you turn our hearts to the Lord Would you help us to see Christ fresh again? Father, give us life in our dry and weary bones. Give Ryan the words that he needs this morning. We pray all these things in the name of your precious Son, Jesus. So one thing I would like to ask the congregation to keep in prayer is the pregnant ladies among us and the families expect the little ones and we have another little one to announce and that is for Jake and Mary. So we were excited to You know, it's so amazing and actually shows God's wisdom in bringing the church together as a family. So on the one hand, the church needs each other and Christ ministers to us when we experience loss and when we encounter death and when we encounter upheaval in our lives. But Christ also ministers to us when we encounter joy. He loves children. He's blessed us so much with so many children. And let's keep our mothers in prayer. This is an important and an essential, a critical part of our church, family, and the church, to bring up children in fear and admonition of the Lord, to encourage one another. So let's keep them in prayer and rejoice with them. Please stand. We'll sing a few more songs. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus in Nazarene, and wonder how He would love me, a sinner condemned unqueen. How marvelous, how wonderful, that my ♪ How marvelous, how wonderful ♪ ♪ Is my Savior's love for me ♪ ♪ While he was in the garden ♪ ♪ He prayed for my health and mine ♪ ♪ He had no gifts for his own ♪ ♪ He touched and dropped and looked for me ♪ How marvelous, how wonderful, that my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. And many angels beheld him, and they him in the sorrows, be more for my soul than mine. Thou, my bliss, thou, my reward and my son. How wonderful is my Savior's love for me. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them His very own before the world. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song And how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. And when the paths of glory this face I last shall see, will be my joy through the ages to sing How wonderful that my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. Heav'n's seed of His glory, God, we give of Him, to walk on earth in red and blue and sing. He is born, He is born, He is risen from the dead. We shall bow every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Humbled and rejected, we turn and disown A sinless sacrifice, but by his death, his loss he gave our gift. He is born, he is born. He is risen from the dead and he is born. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Satan's forces crumbled like a mighty bowl, the stone that the living was thrown aside. The midst of life and glory was lifted over all The Word that heaven echoes with the cloud He is Lord, He is Lord He is risen from the dead and He is Lord All right, we've got one more song. Let's sing it out. He is exalted, the King is exalted on high. I will praise Him. He is exalted, forever exalted, and I will praise His name. He is the Lord Forever his truth shall reign Heaven and earth Rejoicing in His holy name He is exalted, the King is exalted above He is exalted, the King is exalted above He is exalted forever, exalted, and God will praise His name. He is the Lord, forever His truth shall reign. Glory to the Lord. Please be seated. Well, good morning, if you're able to, please turn in your Bibles once more to 1 Peter 3. Not sure if you caught the sequence of the last three songs we sang, but we talked about the sufferings and crucifixion of Christ in the first song, and then we rejoice in the fact that he is raised from the dead, and then the last one is he is now seated on high. And he's exalted. And that was not accidental because Peter is doing the very same thing in verses 18 to 22 of 1 Peter 3. So if you're able to, please stand. As we did last week, I'm gonna read from verses 13 to the end of the chapter. But we're only gonna focus in on verses 18 to 20 this morning. And God willing, at the baptism service, we'll look at verses 21 and 22. Hear now the word of the Lord. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and fear. Having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing the good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Well, thanks be to God for his word. Please remain standing as we pray. What a privilege it is to be gathered together this morning on the Lord's Day. As we set aside one day in seven to remind ourselves that Christ is risen, that angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to this highly exalted one. that in a world where there are so many people clamoring for the title of King or Lord, we know that one day they too will confess with every other tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee will bow and pay homage to the suffering one who was raised from the dead and is now ruling. Father, I pray that these would not be abstruse or abstract theological principles, but Lord, things that would truly direct our decisions and help us to live in these dark times. These times that so easily can bring discouragement, so easily bring distraction, anxiety, stress, worry, depression. Oh Father, how good it is to gather with your people who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb to sing praises to Him. So Father, I pray that through this text and through the remainder of this morning, our gaze would be reoriented heavenward, that we would remember where Christ is, that he is not rotten in some tomb in Palestine, but he has been seated on the throne and he rules. He has made purification for sins. He has been that propitiation for the sins of your people. We no longer need fear death. We no longer need believe the lies of the devil. That through Christ, we are more than conquerors through him. Father, please help us to walk now in a manner worthy of these truths as citizens of the heavenly kingdom. And help us as I was even reminded this morning in Sunday school that we would encourage one another with these words of hope. That for the Christian, death is not dying, but for the Christian, Death is great gain, because Christ is risen. Father, we so thank you for him, and I would pray this morning as the gospel goes out, that your elect, the sheep, would hear the voice of the good shepherd summoning them to himself to follow him as he brings his bride and his flock to the heavenlies before God. Father, we pray, would you bless us this morning As you define blessing, you tell us even in suffering there is great blessing when it is redeemed and sanctified for the glory of Christ and the purposes of your will. Would you do that, Father? We are utterly incapable. In the power of our own strength or might, the flesh cannot accomplish this. Ah, but Jesus, you said, what is impossible with man is entirely, easily possible for God. Would you bring a blessing to us this morning, we pray then. In Jesus' name, Father. Amen. Please be seated. Well, as we sort of intimated last week at Christ's suffering and death for us on the cross, it's not the end of the story. We think of Peter's own phrase in chapter 1, of these who preached in the Old Testament of the sufferings of the Messiah and the subsequent glories. And Peter's trying to remind us, this side of the cross, an empty tomb, that suffering is not the end of the story, that there are subsequent glories. And so before we look at 1 Peter, actually I want you to turn back in the Old Testament to Isaiah 53. We spent a sufficient amount of time there last week. And we began in Isaiah 53 verse one. However, the servant song, this final servant song, begins at the end of Isaiah 52. And it's important to read Isaiah 53 in light of these verses. that even before the inspired prophet Isaiah talks about this substitutionary or vicarious atoning sacrifice of the servant on behalf of Israel, he wants to remind the readers that this servant is victorious, that he conquers through suffering. Now remember that this section I've entitled in 1 Peter is the triumph of Christ's suffering, the triumph of Christ's suffering. Now look at Isaiah 52, verse 13. Behold, that's an important word in the Hebrew, hineh, and it sort of means wake up, listen, something important is about to be said. I was reading in Genesis 38, and it keeps saying hineh, hineh, hineh. Oh, listen up, don't get sleepy. Wake up, pay attention. Something important is about to come. Behold, my servant, he shall act wisely. Or you could translate that Hebrew word, he will succeed. It's used actually often of Joshua. What Moses could not do, the one who succeeds him will accomplish. He will be wise and he will succeed. Who? My servant. And as you're reading through the servant's song, starting in Isaiah 42, or moving to 49, you see that the servant can't be Israel as a corporate nation because they are sinners. They need help. They need redemption. And so God, in his mercy, does for his people what they cannot do for themselves. He sends the servant. And we know that the pace, that's the Greek word that Peter uses in the New Testament, the servant is Jesus. Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall succeed. He shall be high and lifted up. The SV doesn't translate that very well. He shall be greatly lifted up. And he shall be greatly exalted. Now remember that he's prefacing Isaiah 53 in all of the suffering and the dying in the place of the many. He's prefacing all of that with a word and a note of victory. Interpret Isaiah 53 and the apparent defeat of the servant through the lens of his victory. He will succeed. He will act wisely, and we know the beginning, the foundation of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Christ, the Son of God, fearing the Father, loving Him, reverencing Him, going to the cross out of fear, He will succeed. Not only will He succeed, He will be exalted. As many were astonished at you, and of course, there's this astonishment at the cross, the mocking astonishment. Let him save himself if the Father delights in him. If he is truly the King of Israel, if he is the Son of God, let him save himself. But there's also this astonishment of the disciples. Could this be our Savior, the Messiah, a suffering one? They're astonished. His appearance was so marred. Now remember, he acts wisely and he fulfills what God has given him. He completes and carries out the will of God. He will do so through being barred, almost like a decreation, if you will. Beyond human semblance. That's it, this is the true man, the true servant, the true Adam of Psalm 8. The true human being dehumanized. And through this, triumphing. This is the mystery of the New Testament. That God gains victory through apparent defeat. This is what the Corinthian believers could not grasp. That is actually an apparent weakness through which God triumphs. And he does triumph through the marring of the beautiful one. Oh, you mean like beautiful like a supermodel? No, true beauty. Inward beauty. Holiness, integrity, faithfulness, every virtue that God esteems, that is beauty. Not a six foot four model with a chiseled jaw. No, no, no, no. Oh, how differently God sees things. And it's formed beyond that of the children of mankind. You want to understand how sinful we are as humans? God gave humanity three hours with his son. And this is what we did to him. Oh, we did not bow our knees, not confess him as Lord. We spat in his face and marred him and ridiculed him. We scoffed at him, blasphemed him. Oh, the Messiah did not come to save a good people. He came to redeem a wretched people who so needed him. Behold the love of God. Behold the love of God. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Oh, how thankful I am. And He would come not only for the ethnic people of Israel, but He would come and sprinkle His blood for many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of Him. And this will probably ultimately be fulfilled on the great day when Christ is, as it were, shown as victorious and every king that defied Him whether Nebuchadnezzar, whether Esarhaddon, whether Pharaoh, whether our wicked prime minister, they will shut their mouths when they come before this one who suffered and bled and died in apparent weakness. Oh, how blind they were to the mystery that God raised him from the dead. For that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard, They understand. Well, I think Peter, who has drawn deep from the well of Isaiah 53, has picked this up in our text. Now, I know we spent last Lord's Day focusing on Christ's triumph through the cross. This morning, I want to focus not so much on the means of Christ's triumph, but the declaration of it. It's important that we understand how God triumphed through Christ. It was through the cross. You can read this in Colossians chapter two, verses 14 and 15, which Paul also links to baptism. It is that through the cross, Christ made a public spectacle of Satan and all of his wicked hosts, all of those fallen demons. How were they humbled? How were they put to shame? through Christ's crucifixion. We see that in 1 John 3, that Christ came to put an end to the devil and his works, and he came to put an end to our sin. How did he do so? Through the cross. The means of God's triumph is Christ's suffering and death. But what is the declaration that God triumphs through Christ's suffering and death? Well, it's through the resurrection. and through the enthronement of this Messiah. Let's look at it in verse 18. We'll see the cross, but we'll also see the resurrection. Peter's seeking to encourage discouraged Christians who are wondering if what they're suffering is strange, and Peter says it's not strange. You're in good company, not only with the prophets or with the rest of the believers, you're in ultimate good company with the Messiah, the sinless one. You think that you're kind of unique and suffering for righteousness sake? Oh no. You're just following in the steps of this archaegon, of this pioneer, of this Shepherd one, he also suffered once for all for sins, the righteous in place who pair in place of the unrighteous. Why? Now you need to underline this. That he might bring us to God. Remember there was a purpose in this vicarious once for all death for sinners. That he might bring us to God. Where is God? He's in the heavens. Now I know with Isaiah, God is everywhere. The earth and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him. But as you read through the scriptures, there's this idea that God's reign is most fully right now being manifested in the heavens and we're on earth. And so Christ, as it were, is put to death in the earthly realm and raised that he might bring his people into the presence of God. Because if you don't underline that sentence, you're going to get all mixed up in the rest of this section. And you'll be so concerned about all the trees, and you're going to miss the forest of Christ bringing his elect as a good shepherd into the presence of God. And to do so, he had to die, and he had to be raised. It's not enough that Christ died for us. He had to also be raised, that we might stand justified before God and the heavenlies. that he might bring us to God. And then you have these two, I know I'm showing off, but they're participles. On the one hand, being put to death. On the other hand, being made alive. That's the only way we can be brought into the presence of God, is through the crucifixion and also this resurrection and exaltation of Christ. He didn't just remain on earth. You read the book of Acts and it begins with his ascension into the heavenlies after 40 day seminary tutorial. So how do we declare? We know the means of God's triumph. It's Christ's crucifixion. How do we declare it? It's through his resurrection and exaltation. I would encourage the old habit that the saints used to go about on Easter Sunday. They would address one another like this. He is risen. He is risen indeed. But we should be doing that every Lord's Day, and we should actually do it every time we gather. That's what Peter's saying. Jesus is not dead. He is risen. He is risen indeed, and that has implications for everything. It should remove the terrors that you face. Do not be frightened of them. Do not be afraid. Why? Christ is risen. Yes, he was put to death in the flesh, but that's not the end of the story. He was raised, made alive in the Spirit. And so this is the good news. This is the declaration of Christ's triumph, that he was also raised and also enthroned. Let's look at his resurrection for a bit, because this is central to the New Testament hope that we have in Christ. Now in Sunday School, I kind of read it from 1 Corinthians 15, and you can read it afterwards, but Paul says this, that if in this life we have hoped in Christ, and he is not raised from the dead, that we are of all people most to be pitied. We might as well eat and drink, for otherwise we'll just die like him and remain dead like him. But ah, Paul says, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of this new creation, and therefore death is not dying. Death is not the end of the story. And that sufferings now can have meaning. Did Christ's sufferings have meaning? Yeah, his sufferings were that he would lead his people into the presence of God. And Peter says, if you are in Christ, your sufferings are not wasted. Your sufferings also can have meaning. Perhaps God is causing you to suffer, not only that your faith might be tried and purified, but also that you might be used to bring others into the presence of God through Christ. God loves to use a suffering people to declare his excellencies. For if we're always triumphant in the flesh, people look at how awesome we are. But we're a weak. needy, hurting, suffering, hopeless people so often. And God has designed it that way so that those who boast, boast in the Lord. So Thomas Schreiner says this. This paragraph, with all of its interpretive difficulties, does not veer away from the situation of the believers. Right, you think, who are the spirits that he preached to? Where did he preach to them? What happened in Noah? All these things I read so much this week. And even a nerdy pastor became bored with all the differing views. If you lose sight of the big picture, that Christ died but he is triumphant, you'll miss the heartbeat of this passage. Peter is encouraging suffering people, and he does not want you to lose sight that he has died, yes, but he has been raised, and he has been exalted, he has been enthroned. And all those things that terrify you are now subject to him. Schreiner says, the emphasis here is on Christ's victory and is meant to remind believers that the troubles of the present time are temporary. We need to hear that, don't we? Any great reminder, Marvin? That even death is temporary for the believer? Oh, it hurts. We don't gloss over that. We weep with those who weep. But we are not like those who have no hope. And so we encourage one another, weekly, not only of Christ's dying love for us, but of his victorious rising for us. Peter says, the victory is sure. How do we know that? Well, God has declared it. Yes, in his word, but ultimately in Christ's resurrection. First Corinthians 15, we're eyewitnesses of this gospel truth. Not only did we see Christ die, but we understood that the tomb was empty on the third day like he promised and the Old Testament promised that he would also rise. And Paul says, not only did I see him, but the apostles saw him and 500 people saw him. And like one born out of time, I also saw him as least and last of the apostles. How could Paul go? How could he go to the dogs and keep preaching? And how could he be almost stoned to death in Lystra and go back there and shipwreck? What propelled Paul? Hope. Christ is risen. I labored more than all the other apostles. Why? Because of his hope in the risen Christ. I hope that you are encouraged with this text. The troubles of this time, they're temporary for the Christian. Weeping may last for the night, yes, but what comes with resurrection morning? Great joy, tasted in part, now fully enjoyed then. Oh, that the truths of the resurrection would encourage us in these dark times. Shriner says this, and I do wanna say this, I'm gonna quit quoting him afterwards, but he says, the theme of the text, therefore, is not imitation of Christ. It's not moralism. Be like Jesus, try harder, suffer more. No, no, no, no, no. Peter is singling Christ out and saying, he is your hope. Don't try to be like him, you can't. His suffering was unique and repeatable. No, don't try to become like him so much as put your hope in him afresh and put it in him afresh fully. Some scholars say that we are to follow Christ in his sufferings. Yes, but this text is reminding us that Christ alone is victorious. We are more than conquerors through him and in him. Peter thus is encouraging his readers by reminding them of Christ's victory over evil powers. There's a couple of texts I want you to look at. Go to Hebrews 2 quickly. It's only a couple of books back. You've got 1 Peter, and then if you start flipping to the left, you go to James, and then after, or before that, you will find yourself in Hebrews chapter 2. Now this is important. Because what the author of Hebrews is doing is trying to show the supremacy of Christ over angels. Yes, over Moses, but before the author of Hebrews gets to Moses, he deals with angels. Because angels were the mediators through which the law was given, according to Galatians in the book of Acts. Not just good angels, but even evil, malevolent, fallen angels. And so, In Hebrews 2 it says, therefore, in light of the supremacy of this Christ, who himself is God, to whom angels bow, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. He's not just talking about the potentiality of apostatizing, but the potentiality of just becoming discouraged and fainthearted, like in chapter 3. Drifting, forgetting. That Christ not only died for us in fulfillment of the sacrificial system, that he's not only the true temple, but he was also raised and he is Lord of all. Well, he goes on to say in chapter 2, and it says here in verse 8, Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. And so here are hurting Christians, and they're saying, but didn't that loudmouth preacher say that Jesus is Lord of all? Right, isn't he raised, isn't everything in subjection to him? Yes, he has won the victory. And yet, there is a determined allotment of time between Christ's initial, as it were, announcement of victory and Him culminating that victory when He returns. And in between what He's doing, between that once for all definitive victory over evil and Him coming to bring that into perfection at consummation, there is a time that God has allotted. And during that time, we have been given a mission. Right? Second Peter deals with it in chapter three. It's that we would go out and we would compel the lost to come in and preach the gospel. We would herald God's victory over Satan and sin and hell and the grave. We would herald that in the gospel and the elect would come in. And then when the elect are saved, Christ returns, just like Hebrew says here. He says that not everything yet is in full subjection to Him, but we see Him for a little while, who was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor, here it is, because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone, right? Here's the triumph over all of these evil things through Christ's suffering. Look at verse 14. Since, therefore, the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, through the devil. And as I asked in Sunday school this morning, how does Christ conquer through death? Through death, but ultimately through resurrection. The resurrection is the definitive amen to Christ's ministry, that he has conquered death through death. And this is what we need to remind ourselves. Let me read it and I'll show you how. That likewise, it says, he partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. The resurrection is the definitive declaration that we are no longer slaves to the fear of death. See, Satan is a liar and a murderer from the very beginning. And you know what he does? Not to just unbelievers, but even to believers. He tries to paralyze us with fear. of death, but Christ has removed that fear of death. Why do we fear death? Because we know, even atheists know, that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. And if we stand naked before this one with whom we have to do, we know we will be condemned, and that's why people are afraid to die, because they know they're sinners. But Christ died for us, and I can now stand faultless before the throne. How? In Christ. Who is before the throne? You see that? The father is there and the son is at the right hand and our names are written on him, right? They're written on the ephod, they're written on the breastplate, they're written on his hands and we stand faultless before the father. Why? Because the son has been raised to sit at the father's right hand. And so when Satan seeks to tempt you and cause you to despair and to be afraid of death, you say, In the words of Luther, you very well go back to hell where you belong, you lying murderer. This is great news to people who are freaking out in the world we live in, who are putting their hope, please, please, please don't hear me taking shots at vaccines here. But I see that by and large people who know not Christ are putting their hope in a vaccine. I'm not against, please don't hear it, I'm not getting that, I'm just saying they're putting their hope in this, or putting their hope in this, or their hopes were dashed when the Liberal government was voted in. Here's a news alert, don't be surprised when a wicked nation has a wicked leader, because we as a wicked nation voted them in. My hope is not in that, I will probably never see a Conservative government until I die. But my hope is not in that. My hope is in the fact that Christ, who took on flesh and blood in my place, died and rose so that I no longer have to fear death. I'm no longer a slave. No longer walk around afraid of everything. No, the righteous can now be bold as a lion. Beliefs that I hear around don't cause me to startle. Why? because Christ destroyed the power of death, and he defanged Satan. I've used the picture before, that Satan has been defanged, like in Psalm 3. Christ has punched out his teeth, and he's like that old grandpa who lost his dentures, and he's trying to bite you without any teeth. That's Satan to the Christian. I know it's a funny picture, and he has been put to open shame, Colossians 2. But that's what Satan does. Or in the picture of Pilgrim's Progress, you remember those two fearful people come running past Christian and he's like, what's the deal? There's lions up ahead. And Christian is counseled, continue to walk in faith, for those lions are chained and they cannot touch you. They can roar and they can growl at you, but they have no teeth. It's like an old confused grandpa yelling at you. It's about it, surely. It is not angels that he helps, but he helps the seed of Abraham. And so now he can help us in this life that we now live. I think Peter's saying the same thing, that Christ brings us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. Let me tell you quickly what this does not mean. And there are a plethora of interpretations, and if you want to talk about them with me over lunch that you provide, I would love to do so. No, it's incredible. What Peter is not saying is that Christ can somehow neatly be divided up into parts. That's a pagan, Greco-Platonic understanding that you've got Christ's body and Christ's spirit, and his body is dead here, but the real spirit, that's not what he's saying here. Okay? He's not saying that Christ, and I listened to John MacArthur's sermon, and he actually holds to this, and I strongly disagree with him for exegetical reasons. And he says that, well, you know, Christ died, but then his spirit was wandering around. No, that's not what's happening. Most scholars would say that that's not what is being purported by Peter, that he was somehow put to death, and then for three days he's wandering around in the spirit. No. What happened here is that Christ was put to death in the fleshly realm, in the earthly, in the natural realm, you might say. And this is what Reformed scholars would call the state of humiliation. Has anyone ever heard of that before? The state of humiliation where Christ comes into the world, he incarnates, right? Though he's fully God, Philippians 2. He doesn't exercise all of those divine prerogatives. He's in a state of humiliation. It's through his humiliation that he will save his people. But then after he dies and is resurrected, he now moves from the state of humiliation in this earthly, fleshly realm into the state of exaltation in the heavenly places. Have you ever tried to make sense of that in Ephesians, where we are blessed with Christ in the heavenlies? What are the heavenlies? It's this different sphere in the invisible realm where Christ now is in bodily form, and we're with him. He was made to life into this spiritual realm, that he died to the old age, if you will, and he's made alive as the first fruit to the new age. And I'm not a new age, I'm just saying there's this new resurrection age, and Christ is the first fruits, and he's leading us into that, and he will present us before the Father in the heavenly realms. So he was put to death, yes, in the flesh, but he was resurrected into this new exalted state, into this new state where he's, let's look at it in 1 Corinthians 15, quickly. This is a mysterious chapter, I get it, but I do believe the rest of the scriptures help us to understand this. I'm gonna start reading in verse 20. Okay, and so in a natural sense, we, who are naturally born in Adam, are born into this earthly realm. And I know this blows our minds, but I've tried to do it before, that there's two realms. There's this earthly realm, characterized by sin and death and law, right? All are in Adam. All are under sin. All are under the condemning power of the law. All are dead. And then you have this new sphere. And this is the sphere of the Holy Spirit, where Christ now is. And what he does is he begins to overlap them. And that's what Paul is gonna talk about here in 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 20, but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the? Firstfruits. He died and rose, and we will follow him there. Right, that's when the Jews would pray, your kingdom come on earth, fleshly realm, as it is in heaven, spiritual realm. And one day they will perfectly overlap. in Revelation 21 and 22. He's the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. That's what it means when he says he was made alive in the spirit, he was made alive into the spiritual realm. Please don't think a spiritual body is untouchable. Right? Like it's like an invisible. That's pagan thinking. Christ had a spiritual body. Oh, you mean one that you can't see or touch? No, no, one that you can touch. But it's spiritual in the sense that it's now exalted, it's resurrected, it's in power. He's the Son of God in the flesh, Romans 1, and when he's raised, he's the Son of God in power. Okay? For as by a man, who's that man? Adam. If you're not in Christ this morning, you're in Adam. And you're dead in your sins. You're dead in your trespasses, you're condemned by the law, you're guilty, and the wages of law-breaking and sin is death. Your only hope is now to be in this exalted one, to be seated with him. It only happens by union, which only happens by faith. And oh God, that you would regenerate the dead this morning. Verse 22, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Only those in Christ, but each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, then it is coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying, this sounds just like Peter, every rule and every authority and every power, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for God has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that He is accepted, that's the Father, who put all things in subjection under Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him, who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all. You're confused. That's a passage you should read slowly and repeatedly. But what Paul is teaching here is that if you're in Christ, this Exalted One, and though you're suffering, understand that Christ has been enthroned. And like Hebrews says, though not everything yet has been fully put under His feet, one day it all will be. And if you belong to Him, you will reign with Him. And that day is coming. Verse 35, but someone will ask, well, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? You foolish person. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. Christ had to die, not only for our sins, but he had to die to lead us into the presence of God. That's why I said you need to underline it. Christ's death and resurrection are both necessary to bring us to God. Why? flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, the perfected kingdom of God. No one, apart from a new resurrection body, can inherit that, which is why Christ had to die in this earthly realm and be raised to the spiritual realm. Let's keep going. You foolish person, what you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps a wheat, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. but God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. So don't feel guilty when you're eating a delicious pork belly treat, right? There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly, and I think that's what Peter's getting at. There's degrees. There was the glory of Christ in his state of humiliation. But now he has been made alive in the spirit, he's been resurrected, and there's a new glory. A sneak peek that they saw in the transfiguration. There is a new exalted glory that Christ has in the heavenly, in the spiritual realm. Verse 42, so it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. Christ had a perishable body. He was made just like us, flesh and blood. What is raised is imperishable. He was put to death in the flesh, but was made alive in and by the Spirit. And He has that new resurrection body, imperishable. And we will also share in that because we belong to Him. It is sown in dishonor. There's Christ in His state of humiliation. It is raised in power. There He is in a state of exaltation. It is sown in dishonor. There is Christ in his state of humiliation. It is raised in glory. There is Christ in his state or sphere of exaltation. It is sown in weakness. Did Jesus have to sleep? He got tired and he got hungry. Right? He had a body that needed to eat. He was vulnerable, we could say, after 40 days of fasting. Of course, he's impeccable, I'm just saying. We gotta go to the scriptures that he had a weak body. But it is raised in power. It is so in a natural body. Did Christ have a natural body? You better believe he did. Hebrews 2 said it. It is raised a spiritual body. And so when the disciples saw Jesus eating fish, that was in his spiritual body. And in that spiritual body, that was physical, he was raised up, as it were, exalted, and we will follow him there. That's the only way you can make sense of how we'll have resurrection bodies in a different realm, because Christ has gone there before us, and God declares that Christ has conquered through the resurrection and exaltation. It has raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, the first man, Adam, became a life, a living being, The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. That's why Jesus had to become, like us in every way, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, listen, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Christians, this is for us now. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. That's meant to encourage you in suffering. You feel weak? This too shall pass. You feel like you're in a state of humiliation? Do you understand that the Messiah and his ministry were characterized by weakness and suffering? and rejection and slander and reviling. But oh, praise God for the subsequent glories when the Father raised Him. And as Christ conquered through suffering, you in Christ will also. That your suffering and weakness, whether physical or intellectual or whatever you want to say, that's not the end of the story. And I think there's a great so what to this. Right? And when you preach, you're always supposed to say, what does it say? So what? Now what? It says that Christ conquered through suffering in his resurrection. And if you belong to Christ, you too have been risen with him. And you too will also conquer. Because I'm so strong? No, because Christ has gone out to conquer and to conquer. Well, we're still just finishing verse 18, but we'll speed up now. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. What in the world is going on there? Who's he preaching to? Let me say who he's not preaching to quickly, and I will back this up if you're very interested. I think more of you are probably interested in lunch, but that's okay. Just track with me. He did not go, and I could be wrong, but I do not believe that he went and to preach to unbelieving persons. When it says that he preached to spirits, this Greek word, pneuma, when it's used in the plural and it's all by itself, it always refers to spirit beings, to angels, if you will. Okay, so you all run into Mormons who will say, see, you got a second chance. That Jesus went to all these disembodied spirits and he preached to them the gospel so they could have a second chance to be saved. That's not what it says. That is unbiblical. Jesus did not go to those who had never heard the gospel and give them a second chance. No, he's appointed unto man once to die. And their judgment is sealed. Okay, you can take the Mormon then and say, you know what, my pastor said this Greek word here never refers to human spirits. It always refers to demons or to angels. Always to spirit beings. To angels, if you will. Another interpretation is that Christ, through Noah, was preaching to unbelievers in the time of Noah. But I already said that that word spirit never refers to people. Okay, so he's not preaching to people who were alive in Noah's time, and he's not preaching to disembodied spirits of people after. So who are the spirits that he's preaching to? If you want to write notes, I would encourage you to write it down. 2 Peter chapter 2 verses 4 and 5 and Jude 6. They're referring to these disobedient angels in the time of Noah, which you can read in Genesis chapter 6 verses 1 to 4. who went outside of their domain. Yes, they were malevolent, wicked, God-defying spirits, but they went after, it says, strange flesh. They were angels, and they knew the sons of man. And these sons of God, as it were, entered into sexual relations with humanity. I know it sounds weird, but I just have to let the text be the text, and this is what 2 Peter, and I think he's the same as 1 Peter, the same author, and Jude are referring to. And so these evil angels who sought to thwart God's purposes, to bring in this godly seed from Genesis 3 on, they sought to, what's the word I'm thinking of? The opposite of purify, to taint the human line by which Messiah would come in. That they could not conquer God's purposes. And that all of their wicked and all of the evil that they brought into the world, Jesus says, you're defeated. And so what happened, according to 2 Peter and Jude, is that these wicked angels were bound by God. They were punished for their sin. And they were put into this prison. And this prison, this Greek word, fulike, is not used of a prison for departed humans. It's used for evil and rebellious angels. And so God, as it were, bound them. And you can see that word in 2 Peter 2 and in Jude. He bound them. And it's kind of interesting, because even in our New Testament reading this morning from Matthew 9, you remember Jesus came and there are these demons inside of the demoniac. And they knew a time was coming. What have we with you, is what the Greek says. We know who you are. Have you come before the time? And so these angels know that there's a reckoning, a time of reckoning. And out of some of these angels who know God is coming with victory were some that God put in prison. And Christ proclaimed to them. What did he proclaim? I don't know, Peter doesn't say, but this Greek word keroux means a proclamation of victory often. MacArthur says a sermon, I think he's reaching a bit. I think he simply declared either by word or even by his exaltation, you lost. You thought you could thwart the purposes of God and you cannot. And so Jesus through his resurrection and exaltation, he goes. It doesn't say he descends, he doesn't descend into hell. That's an old Catholic interpretation that is wrong, right? That he goes down into hell. It just says he went to. He didn't descend, he just went. And the same Greek word is used in verse 22. He went, he went. And I would say that in his resurrected state, he was like, here's exhibit A that you have lost. You thought you defeated me through the crucifixion? I just pulled the rope-a-dope on you. Have you ever heard that before? You're not old like me. Perhaps the greatest boxer to ever live, Muhammad Ali. Have you ever heard of that? The rope-a-dope? I don't know, I can't remember if it was Joe Frazier. But whoever he was fighting, he made it look like he was weak and he was taking shots and he was bouncing on the rope and he was tiring out his opponent. And then when his opponent thought that he had defeated him, he knocked him out. Not the best analogy. But that's what 1 Corinthians 2 says, that when Satan thought that he had conquered over this Messiah, Christ roped it over to him. And he died, and they thought, ha, we've won. Or if you're not as old, think of Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Remember on the stone table? They're all celebrating. Aslan is dead. And on three days, it cracks. And he's brought to life. And he goes and he conquers. That's what Peter's saying. They thought that they defeated him, but in being made alive now, he goes and says to them, you lost. You gave it your best shot, good try, but I won. That's a great reminder for Christians. Sometimes we think, will these evil people get away with it? And the resurrection says, absolutely not. Now, we might not be suffering as much, but I pray that if we go into an intense time of suffering, remember that Christ has declared himself victorious over all the hosts of hell. The rest you can read about, that these spirits were inciting sinfulness and themselves sinning in the days of Noah. We'll look at it more next week as we look at baptism. But do understand, Now there's a correlation here, that though there's all this sin going on, God promised that he would refrain from utter judgment for 120 years. That in his patience, this righteous one called Noah was a herald of righteousness. And so what Peter's saying, you may feel just like Noah, and all the gates of hell seem to be attacking you, and all these people are mocking you, keep preaching the gospel in season and out of season. That God has a time allotted, 120 years in the time of Noah. One thing I do agree with MacArthur, he said the ark was not a one year reprieve for Noah, but it was a 120 year sermon. You think my sermons are long? For 120 years, the Ark said, God's judgment is coming. God's judgment is coming. God's judgment is coming. Noah, let them mock you. Let them ridicule you. Keep preaching the gospel. And then what happens at the coming of the Ark? God does triumph over evil. And the ultimate triumph of God over evil is not the Ark that Noah was on, but the Christ who died, who was raised, and then in verse 22, who has what? Gone. Same Greek word. When it says he went and preached, he now has gone and is seated. See how that works? It's play on words. Are you suffering? Understand that Christ has gone into heaven and is now at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. It's the argument from the greater to the lesser. If Christ is subjected, angels and authorities and powers Can he not do so with mere mortals? The devil is on a leash, right? Because Christ is risen. So also are all of the people who are persecuting. Prime ministers are on a leash. Universities are on a leash. God-hating organizations. who defy Him, they're on a leash. And so don't lose the forest for the trees. Don't get lost in all these weird interpretations. Understand, Peter's trying to encourage us this morning in suffering. And it's simply this. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. And that's our declaration this morning. And I pray to God for the rest of our life. Christ is risen. Father, we want to thank You for Your Word. We're so thankful that You did not leave Your Son in the tomb. We think of Peter's words on Pentecost, quoting Psalm 16, that he could not remain dead, for you had promised that he would be raised and he would enter into this new sphere of existence, a state of glory. And Father, we long for it. I forget who quoted it, but we long for a new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. And oh Father, how we long for that. Would you stir us up by the Spirit to remember that we have the same destiny now as Christ, this one in a state of exaltation. Oh, Father, we will share in that, that we will receive a body like unto His, for He is the firstfruits from the dead. And even if and when we are put to death in the body, whether through martyrdom or just old age or disease, that we who are in Christ will be raised with a new body like unto His. So Father, I pray that you would help us to encourage one another with these words of hope, that we would declare to one another afresh and unceasingly that Christ has triumphed, yes, through the cross, but oh, how he's triumphed through the resurrection and exaltation. And Father, as we think of baptism for next week, oh, that we would celebrate it. as this great symbol that we can see afresh, that Christ is conquering the hearts of Rene and Moriah, that Christ is conquering the hearts of sinners and building His kingdom, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So help us go forward in Christ's confidence even this week, Lord. Help us to bear with suffering in light of the truth of Christ's resurrection and enthronement, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, I'll ask you to stand up with us. Sing, O Church Arise. O Church Arise, O Church Arise, ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? ♪ See that they are strong in the strength that God has given. His shield of faith and belt of truth will stand against the devil's lies. And our people are saddled by his love, reaching out to those in darkness. Call to arms, love the captive soul, but to rage against the captor. And to build a sword that beats the wounded old, we will fight with faith and valor. And face the trials on every side, we know the outcome is secure. And Christ will have the right for which He died, an inheritance of nations. And Christ he birthed is from the grave. His faith we march, continuous till the day, every eye and heart. A strength in every strife, give grace for every hurdle that we may try, with faith to win the prize of a servant good and great. As sins of old still bind the way, we challenge triumphs of His grace. We give it all and hunger for the day when with Christ we stand in glory. All brothers and sisters, Set our hope before our eyes. Let's encourage one another with His faithfulness. And hear the words of the Lord in Jude, in chapter, the only chapter of Jude, verse 24. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time, and now, and forever. Amen. I'm sure there's art.