0:00
Good morning, church. How are we doing? Good to see you all. Here, as would you stand with me? We're gonna sing, but as you're standing, I wanna share a verse.
0:08
This is really encouraging. It's from Psalm one thirty nine. It says, oh Lord, you have examined my heart and you know everything about me. You know, you go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
0:22
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand. I can never escape from your spirit. There's nowhere we can go where God isn't. He goes before us. He follows us.
0:34
And, this is a song about that. It's a new one. I trust that we'll we'll all be able to join in very very soon.
0:55
Strength of God and go before. Lift me up. As I wait, Alright. As I wait, as I wait hard on God, satisfied and sustained. As I hear voice of God, lead me on.
1:53
Be my God, be my God, be my God. Above and below me before and behind me in every eye that sees me. Christ be all around me above and below me before and behind me, in every eye that sees me, I spiel around me. Verse three. As I go, as I go, hand of God.
2:35
My defense by my side as I rest. Breath of God for the pawn. Bring me peace. Bring me peace. Bring me peace above and below me.
3:01
Before and behind me, in every eye that sees me, Christ be all around me, above and below me. Before and behind me, in every eye that sees me. Christ be all around me. We'll sing of his life is death, his blood was shed. You'll die your death, Your blood was shed for every moment.
3:38
Every moment your life, your death, your blood will shed for every moment. Every moment your life, your blood will shed on every moment. Every moment your life. Your death, your blood will shed for every moment. Every moment above and below me, before and behind me.
4:23
In every eye that sees me, Christ feel around me, above and below me. Before and behind me, in every eye that sees me, Christ feels around me.
4:51
Amen. Y'all can have a seat. So I have a few announcements this morning. Not a ton of announcements. We have something else going on during announcements.
5:03
So Monday nights at first week. Carl, what's happening? Meal music and what's tomorrow.
5:07
Sam's cooking a delicious dinner. I don't even know what it is, but it's always great. And, tomorrow, we're going to be focusing on the great commission. 06:00. Please please know that you're invited.
5:18
Great commission tomorrow night. Monday nights. Meal, music, and message at six. It's a soft start. If you feel like I can't get here at six, but you can get here at 06:20, come on.
5:26
Okay? It's pretty relaxed. Awana is happening at the same time, and at 06:00 they start in this room, and if you can get here a little early for that, that's great too. So, you can get all registered and signed in and then, they're going to be playing games in here and council time downstairs and all kinds of stuff going on. So, Awana because kids matter to God, pouring scripture into their minds to reach their hearts.
5:50
Youth group is happening. Tuesday night, 06:30. I hear Richard Largy is going to be doing the lesson this week. So, thank you Richard for doing that. So, youth group, Tuesday, 06:30 to eight.
6:01
There are a lot of Bible studies. Somebody texted me yesterday who's not a normal guy. Well, he's a normal guy. Sorry. He's not a normal church attendee, you know?
6:12
But he said, do y'all have Bible study? Do you have a Bible study? And I said, yeah. What are you looking for? And he goes, I'm looking for a Bible study.
6:19
I'm like, okay. We've got about nine Bible studies that are going on in the middle of the week. So, from from the time we leave here to the time we get back, seriously, there are tons of Bible studies and a lot of em will be listed in your bulletin. So, see that and if you feel like I really need one that's at this time, we probably have one to accommodate that. For all the other announcements and remember their prayer quest too also in the bulletin.
6:42
So, they're right there. If you want to remember who it is that you know, I said I'd pray for so and so. Chances are they're on the list of people we're praying for here and it's great to do that and keep up because when you do it, you see that God is doing stuff. He's making a difference and your prayers do make a difference. So, I think that's all of the announcements but there is a baptism this morning.
7:06
Olivia Tolson is being baptized. I'm going to clear out this but Dan Tolson is doing the baptizing this morning. And I was going to do a little spiel about baptism right here and kind of explain what it is and what it isn't but I'm going to wait until the sermon time to do that because the text today is about what it is and what it isn't. So, Dan.
7:35
Good morning. This is Olivia Tolson. Olivia is how old are you Olivia?
7:42
11.
7:44
She's been bugging me for weeks to get baptized and I don't know if I wasn't paying attention or didn't really take her seriously but, last Tuesday night she looked at me and she said, dad I want to get baptized this week. Call Ray right now. Go call him. So would you like to say why you want to be baptized?
8:04
Because I do.
8:08
When I asked her why she said because I love God and because I want people to know that. But she also said I don't wanna say anything. So I'm putting her on the spot. Would you like to share how you became a Christian?
8:23
Because of you.
8:25
It wasn't because of me. She she accepted Christ when she was seven years old about four years ago. I believe that the Holy Spirit is working in your life and I'm really excited to see what he will do in the coming years. So do you agree that you are a sinner saved by faith? Yes.
8:48
Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised after three days to save you for your sins?
8:54
Yes.
8:55
Do you accept him as your personal savior?
8:57
Yes. Then
9:01
I'll take that.
9:10
The name of the father, the son, and the spirit, I baptize you, the name of Christ, the praise to walk
9:31
Y'all, would y'all stand up and greet one another and the band will bring you back together with a song while they change clothes? Thank you, buddy. That's wonderful.
10:23
Alright. Let's sing together.
10:24
What wondrous love is this, oh my soul. Oh my soul. What wondrous love is this, oh my soul. What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord on this to bear the dreadful curse for my soul for my soul to bear the dreadful curse for my soul. Alright.
11:04
When I was sinking down. When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down. When I was sinking down, sinking down. When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous crown. Christ laid aside his crown for my soul for my soul.
11:30
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul. To God and to the lamb. To God and to the lamb. I will say sing. As you've got into the lamb, who is the great I am, while millions join And from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on.
12:36
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on. And when from death I'm free, I'll sing in joyful beat. And through eternity, You were not a god created by human hands. You were not a god dependent on any mortal man. You were not a god in need of.
13:45
Anything we can gain by your hand that's just the way it is. So let's sing that again. You are not a god created by human hands. You are not a god in defendant anymore than men. And you are not a god in need of anything we can give by your hand that's just so it is.
14:20
And you are God alone. And you are God alone. From before time began, you were on your throne, you were God alone. And right now in the good times in bed, you were on your throne, You were God alone. You're the only God whose power none can contain.
14:59
You're the only God who's fame and praise will never end. You're the only God who's worthy. Anything we can give, on your throne. You are God alone. And riding now in the good times and bad.
15:37
You were on your throne. You are God alone. You're unchangeable. You're unshakable. You're unstoppable.
15:52
That's what you are.
16:38
Let's pray on that. God, indeed, you are worthy. You are God. You are sovereign over all in the good times and bad. You still are.
16:48
You are unchangeable. You are unshakable. You are unstoppable. And that is why we sing to you. You are our risen living savior.
16:58
God, would you meet us right where we're at, this morning? Wherever we are, if we're in a time that is just of peace and it's going great, thank you. Let us call out to you and praise for it. If we are in the dark right now and really in feeling despair, God, would you give us hope through despair just as only you can do? And thank you for just being our steady, consistent, sustainer, God almighty.
17:26
In Jesus' name. Amen. From Jeremiah ten six. There is none like you, Lord. You are great.
17:40
Your name is great.
20:31
My cedar defender, you are my king. Redeemer, my healer, Lord, almighty. My cedar
22:06
God almighty, we're thankful to be here this morning. I I look around the room and I see people from everywhere. Lord, you are a worldwide, bigger than that. Universe wide, cosmos wide God. You've created all it is.
22:20
There's nothing that was or will be without you being the initiator and creator. Lord, I pray that we'd recognize that fact and that everything that has breath would just fill up with it and then when it exhales, exhale praise to you. In Jesus name, lord, I thank you for Olivia for that appeal that she made to you through Jesus Christ. That saved our soul. I thank you for that expression this morning, the obedience of just following that up in baptism.
22:50
In Jesus name, lord, I ask for your blessing on her and her family, her brothers and sisters. Lord, I'm full up this morning completely and I just want to know lord that you'll keep on overflowing through this little church body here to the ends of the earth. So, God, would you take these offerings this morning, the resources that we put in these plates and would you multiply em to do your kingdom's work all the way to the ends of the earth. Starting right here in this community for sure lord but extending beyond to where the name of Jesus is not known and if it is, that it's mocked and not glorified. Lord, would you turn that tide?
23:31
Would you bring em in? And would you use us, lord, to help accomplish your kingdom's goals. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Alright, it's time for Peak Children's Church There's the cavalcade Heading downstairs and we have gotten to first Peter three thirteen is where we're going to start off today and I'm going start with a quote.
26:40
I think that this guy summarized this in one sentence. It's not a real short, concise sentence. It's not going to make any bumper stickers but I think he he kind of hit this for what it is. He said, Steven Cole says, he just, he's a pastor. Since Christ bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated, we too can bear witness through suffering and trust God to vindicate us.
27:03
He narrowed down two paragraphs of what Peter is saying, left out a couple of confusing illustrations, and then he narrowed it down to just that one sentence. Since Christ bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated, we too can bear witness through suffering and trust God to vindicate us. I think he just nailed it. I thought that was a really perfect way of looking at this. When we start off here in first Peter three thirteen, I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to that central point several times because it is about suffering.
27:37
Again, first Peter has a lot to do with suffering, and you might think, why is this? Is this the one where the preacher says, if you're not feeling any suffering, you're probably not a good Christian. Is this that sermon? This is a sermon on first Peter three thirteen through 22 and he talks about how we can trust in him. So, if you do feel like you're suffering, then hold on.
28:00
Hold on to this promise that there is hope, there is a future vindication to come, and do not grow weary in doing good as Paul would say. Okay, are you with me? Alright. I'm not going to push this you need to be suffering more because the way that our law or the law of our land works does allow for freedom of expression. Some of us, some of y'all, some of us are not as happy with that right now as we have been in the past or in the theory of it, but just think about it.
28:30
This is an unusual time in church history. So if you consider the the history of the world, I don't care what you think about creation for this right here. I don't care, but we have about 6,000 of recorded history. Okay? So there's six thousand years of recorded history.
28:47
Anything before that would be prehistoric. Okay? We have about six thousand years of that, and The US has had about three hundred years of run. Okay? Are you with me so far doing the math?
29:01
So The United States Of America, this idea that is our America, has 300 out of 6,000 of recorded history, okay? That's 5% of recorded history. So this is an abnormal thing. If you had a chance to win something and you had a 5% chance, you'd think, that's not a very good chance, right? That's not normal.
29:26
I'm much more likely not to win at 95%. So through 95% of history, it's not been the way that it is right now. We are relatively comfortable. Would you agree? All right.
29:39
With our population being somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000,000, and if you figure out 6,000,000,000, my math's not that really good when it gets to big numbers. But aren't we about 5% of that too? Is that right? So we're about 5% of the world's population right now as Americans free to peaceably assemble in freedom of religion as part of what we know, and so we are by law actually more comfortable than most. Would you agree that we as Christians probably suffer less here than Christians in, let's say, The Middle East, for example.
30:15
Would you agree? Okay. So 55%, 5% of history and just 5% of the people. We're a pretty small minority as we look at this. Peter is talking to the Roman Empire where they are, you know, Nero, the guy who's in charge, is burning Christians in his garden to light his garden parties and along the streets, impaling them first, dousing them in oil, and lighting them up to light the way.
30:42
Christians. So now Peter is writing this letter from Rome out to the far flung provinces of Rome, and there would be a temptation under the Roman Empire and under the Roman rule to what? Kowtow and not do things. Not do things the way that Christ would have done them, but do things however the government says you have to. Hiding behind closed doors and only huddling up and not expressing the love of God, not expressing that.
31:17
If you examine church history, you know persecution is always good for the church and just about the worst thing for the church is relative comfort because you then get to be a mile wide and an inch deep, but when persecution is on you, some of y'all are looking around the room and I'm seeing that you've been under totalitarian regimes that the king, sheikh, emir, whatever guy can do and say whatever he wants. And I know some of you have been under communism and were raised that way, and you remember when it fell. I know that. And so try to hear this through first century Roman Empire eyes or through somebody who has not experienced the same kind of relative comfort because I think that we just are lulled into thinking that there's no persecution for being a Christian. Or if it is, it's very, very mild, okay?
32:08
So anyway, who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? This is Peter's pragmatic argument. First of all, who who's gonna harm you? If you do what's right, who's gonna harm you? Nero.
32:20
Nero might. On from there, Domitian and all those other Diocletian, all those other guys that were stronger. It sounds crazy to say, but Nero's persecution, they're lighting Christians on fire, and it got worse. And Peter knew it was gonna get worse. Don't be surprised about the fiery trial that's happening.
32:41
This is the way that it is. If your savior, let's, I don't want to preach that. This is what I'm preaching right here. Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.
32:55
Even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness. I don't want to minimize this but if you're at school and you help out the underdog and you are constantly caring about everyone else around you, those kids or in the workplace, you defend the one that cannot defend themselves, You can and will be made fun of for that, right? It happens. I I've not lived anywhere else. We don't have cultural Christianity here in Jackson.
33:25
Have you all noticed that? Some of the out of towners might not notice that. I don't know but there's not a whole lot of cultural Christianity. Why would anybody claim Christ? Because people think you're a fool for doing so and they treat you like that.
33:38
I can have a conversation with people and have a good conversation going and then they'll say, man, we ought to get together sometime. What is it you do? I'm like, well, I'm the pastor of the First Baptist Church and they're going, oh, alright. Later, man. And they just leave me behind.
33:55
It happens. Really does. That that's I'd rather not lose the influence but immediately, I'm cut off because oh, that guy's an idiot. What's he even thinking? Even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, then you're blessed.
34:11
Blessed are, right? Remember the beatitudes. Oh, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The poor in spirit, right? And do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled.
34:27
Remember Jesus' words? Don't don't Peter's words sound a lot like Jesus' words and think about this. Peter, around the coal fire on the night that Jesus was betrayed there and somebody says, you're with him. You're one of them. You're one of his people.
34:41
I saw you with him and he goes, no, I was not. Denied Christ once. I said I was not and then cursed and said he was not. Oh my goodness Do not fear their intimidation and don't be troubled It may be that by linking yourself to him, you will suffer but even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you're blessed and don't fear their intimidation and don't be troubled. Here, Matthew 10, Jesus says, therefore, do not fear them for there's nothing concealed that will not be revealed and there's nothing hidden that will not be made known.
35:15
What I tell you in the darkness, you speak out in the light and what you hear whispered in your ear, that still small voice, right? Of the Holy Spirit and what you hear whispered in your ear, you proclaim that upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul but rather fear or revere only him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. He knows you.
35:50
He knows you. He understands you. He knows you down to every cell and every fiber of your being. So, do not fear. You're more valuable than many sparrows.
35:59
Therefore, everyone who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my father who's in heaven but whoever denies me before men, I'll also deny him before my father who's in heaven. Do not fear their intimidation. Go ahead and tell em. Now, I know that there's one part of us that says, one part in our psyche that says, well, I'm not a very good example of a Christian and I would hate to hurt Christ's witness. Then live a holy life.
36:27
If you are a Christian, you have the power that raised Jesus from the dead at work in your life and he can make you holy. You just have to submit to his will. You're either gonna submit to his will or the will of the society around you. It's gonna be one of the other. Do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but sanctify or set apart.
36:54
That's what sanctification means. Set apart. Sanctify Christ as lord in your heart. The way we typically think of sanctification is I am a sinner and I sin but as I submit my will to God, he is sanctifying me. He's cleansing me.
37:10
He's cleaning me up and that is true but what he's doing is setting me apart. He's setting me apart for holy service. So set apart Christ in your hearts or sanctify Christ as the Lord and I'll say it again. I've said it a thousand times. You cannot say, no, lord.
37:28
You can say either, yes, lord or you can say no But you cannot say, no, Lord. Does that make sense? Sanctify Christ as Lord, the one you look up to, your authority. Christ is our example. He is our authority.
37:45
Set him apart as Lord in your hearts, Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that's in you. Yet with gentleness and with reverence. So, always being ready to make a defense. There are some of y'all out there that go, I need to buy that Ravi Zacharias book so that I can defend among all of the other gods, Jesus among other gods. Well, good.
38:10
Do it but that's not what this is saying. It's not just talking. It is the word is an explanation. It's apologia actually. Apologia sounds like apology.
38:20
An apology, classically speaking, is a defense, an explanation for why you did what you did. Or an argument, not the way we think of argument typically, but it is presenting your case. Presenting your case yet with gentleness and reverence. So it's not an argument like, yes you did. No I didn't.
38:39
Yes you did. I know you are, but what am I? It's not that kind of argument. Always been ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account. So if someone were to ask you, man, you have been through some hard times, And yet you keep going.
39:01
And you tend, even when you're sad and I can tell that you're feeling it, you tend to still be kind and still be nice, and you tend to not lash out at other people. And what is it? How are you able to do that? Be ready to give a defense for that. Does that make sense?
39:21
It's a personal testimony and I love it. It's my favorite testimony ever. It's the shortest one ever. It's Jesus comma man. Jesus, man.
39:32
That's it. I can't explain it any other way. I didn't have the peace that passes understanding and now I do and it escapes me. I don't even know exactly how it is that it is but I know that it is. Jesus, man.
39:47
Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account. So, that's the word. A a verbal defense. It's particularly in a law court. So Peter talking to these folks in the far flung Roman Empire and these provinces out there, he knew that they're trying people for Christianity, and actually it got to be worse.
40:08
We've got letters from Pliny the Younger to Trajan and a couple other different letters where they're saying, well, how is it we're going tell if they're really a Christian, right? And he says, well, real Christians won't do this. They won't deny Christ because Christ said, if you deny me, I'll deny you before my father. So, real Christians understand they take weight in the words of Jesus and they won't do that and so if someone did that, they'd let him go. Are you with me?
40:35
All they had to do is say they were not a Christian and then sometimes they'd let him go. Oh, that's sticky. If you say, no, I will not deny him. He has given me peace. He can save me.
40:56
Kinda like the three Hebrew children thrown into the fiery furnace, right? He can save me, but if not, I'm not gonna bow the knee to the emperor or to society or to whatever idol. He is my God and I love him and he loves me, And whether he whether you kill me or not, I will not bow to me because he is God alone. Right? So from oppo, from, and logos, intelligent reasoning.
41:26
From intelligent reasoning, properly, it is a well reasoned reply, a thought out response to adequately address the issue that is raised. If someone were to ask you this afternoon, why is it that you just get up and go and keep going forward? Why is it you get up and go to church? Why is it that you help people? Why do you volunteer for whatever organization you volunteer for?
41:49
If someone were to ask you, what would you say? I I would recommend this afternoon or some point this week. Take a half a sheet of paper. It don't have to be long. Just a half a sheet of paper and sit down and go, what is it about Jesus that has endeared me to him so?
42:07
The fact that he suffered on my behalf. We'll get to that in a minute. He died for my sins. Jesus, man. Think about it.
42:19
Think about it and let it sit with you for a while and think, is it just church? Is it just because I've been to church my whole life? Is it because I like to sing and there's not anywhere else that's socially acceptable to sing? Is it is it creature comforts or is it because Jesus died for your sins? Okay, always be ready.
42:43
Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask of you. Give an account for the hope that's in you. Yet with the gentleness and reverence. This is not arguing someone down like, ah, ah, ah, I got you again. You cannot get me.
43:00
I am a Christian. I will win. Be gentle and have some reverence for someone who is created in the image of God, and God wants them to know him. And he does not want for you to drive a wedge between him and them. Keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you're slandered, keep a good conscience, keeping a good conscience is you know that you've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and you know that he has given you.
43:28
He's given you. This was kind of my point from earlier. He's given you out of the kingdom of darkness into the marvelous light. He's given you salvation but he will sanctify you as you submit your will to his. So, this is keep a good conscience.
43:44
He cleanses you from all unrighteousness. First John one nine, if you are confessing your sins, he is faithful and just to be forgiving your sins and he will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Oh, what a promise that is. You can keep a good conscience by staying in steady contact with him. Lord, forgive me and give me the strength not to walk in that way again.
44:06
Bring me up out of the ditch and into the center of your good gospel. Will you do that? And he says he will. Keep a good conscience because if not, if you feel like, oh, I I messed up and I said something I was so harsh with that person and I've ruined my witness with him. I'm never going to even pretend to be a Christian around them again because I don't want to ruin and they think I'm a hypocrite.
44:31
We're all hypocrites. We're all sinners. We all still sin. But God cleanses us and we can keep a good conscience by acknowledging that and if you sin against someone and you speak about them to them harshly or behind their back, whatever. You can go to em and say, I am so sorry.
44:51
I'm so sorry. I did not think or I did think and what I came up with was just vile and awful and I was just ugly to you and I didn't mean to and I'm so sorry. Can you please ever forgive me? Be surprised what a soft answer like that does and an asking to forgive does. Keep a good conscience.
45:12
So that in the thing in which you're slandered and that can be a brother in Christ or sister in Christ or anyone else too. Keep a good conscience. If you remember when you're at the altar and you remember that some you have something against your brother, your brother has something against you, go and make it right. Go and make it right. Relationship is that important.
45:29
Just make it right. Keep a good conscience so that in the very thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. Don't let the argument be your argument that puts them to shame. Let it be your good behavior in Christ. When people take a serious look at Jesus, a really serious.
45:53
Now, people dismiss him all the time not knowing him but when people take a really good look in the gospels and getting to know Jesus, it is his good behavior. It's how he did what he did for everyone else that endears him to us and with the Holy Spirit, this will this will preach. You know, just give him a chance. Read the gospel of John. Read the other gospels but read the gospel of John about it being about belief because doing follows believing and not the other way around.
46:20
You can't fake it till you make it. To give an account for the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and reverence and keep a good conscience. Don't let the arguing be something that ruins your good conscience. Oh, I shouldn't have. Shut em down because I'm a such a rhetorical whiz and could do that and embarrass them in front of their peers.
46:45
Keep a good conscience. For it is better if God should will it so. That's important. If God should will it so. It is better that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
46:59
So, imagine that the Roman government says, you must worship the emperor. You must and you say, but God is God alone and I'll have no other gods before him. In your heart, you know that it is wrong to worship the emperor. You're going to suffer for doing right and not worshiping the emperor or for doing wrong by worshiping the emperor. You're going to suffer both ways.
47:27
One of em, you're going to suffer before men and the other you're going to suffer before God. Does that make sense? For Christ also died for sins once for all. Praise God. For Christ also died for sins.
47:43
In in some versions, you'll see it says, suffered. Christ also suffered. I think suffered is gets at it for Christ also suffered. See what it says just before that is, sorry. It is better should God will it so that you suffer for what is doing right rather than for doing what is wrong.
48:03
For Christ also suffered for sins. Now, his suffering was unto death. Christ also died for sins once for all. The just, perfectly just. He had a perfect record.
48:14
He did not owe any sin debt whatsoever and none of us can say that about ourselves. So, Christ died for sins once for all, the just, for the unjust. So that he might bring us to God. There's one mediator between God and man, the man, Jesus Christ. He's the only name that's given whereby we must be saved.
48:38
He suffered and died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust so that he might bring us to God and and be the bridge for that great chasm that's fixed. Luke 16, where it says, there's a great chasm fixed and no one can go postmortem from darkness to light. They cannot go from hell to heaven after this life that he might bring us to God having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. So, Christ's suffering is right there and I'm going to do a dot dot dot. This is an ellipsis, okay?
49:13
I'm skipping some right now. I'm skipping an illustration which Peter thought was very helpful in his day but I have to tell you the truth. Some some Sundays, I think an illustration is going to work and it just doesn't. Okay? It is holy writ and I believe it can be understood but it has confused people for many many generations and so I'm skipping that for right now.
49:32
I'll come back to it towards the end of the sermon. Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him. Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God. Now, we just said two slides back that he suffered and he died and now, he's at the right hand of God Having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him, all is subject to Christ. All is subject to Christ right now.
50:11
Spiritually speaking, powers and authorities have no reign, no rule without that it was given by God. This is where the sovereignty of God comes in and you just go, wow, that is amazing because you can look at it and hold God responsible for anything you're suffering for if you think about it, okay? And that's true, and that's really hard, but it is still true that there's nothing that comes upon us that has not passed through the hands of God. Nothing takes him by surprise. All authorities and powers have been subjected to him.
50:48
So, Christ was vindicated. It reminds me of Philippians passage where he being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God something to be grasp but he took on the nature of a servant and he served and he served and lived a perfect life and he died a perfect death. Even death on a cross, Paul says, and therefore, God has exalted him and his name is above all other names because of his suffering. He has now been vindicated and exalted. So, Christ suffering and vindication.
51:20
So, we see that as a pattern. The unjust, earthly suffering. Now, if you do the crime, you do the time. That's not unjust, okay? God's given power to the government.
51:29
Romans 13, we're supposed to obey and supposed to live under that authority but unjust earthly suffering is followed by divine vindication and exaltation. That's a pattern in first Peter. It's a pattern in the New Testament and so we go from there into this. It is nine Greek words, just nine Greek words. They're the most confusing nine Greek words in the whole New Testament.
51:53
Most people would agree if you ask anybody what the hardest passage to exegete or squeeze the juice out of. They would say, it's this sentence. In which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison. That's what it translates to in English. D.
52:12
Edmund Hebert, he's a great commentator on first Peter three nineteen says this, each of the nine words in the original has been differently understood. That is an understatement. Martin Luther on this says, A wonderful text this is. He was not short on opinions, by the way. Luther would nail it down.
52:33
He was not short on opinions. A wonderful text this is and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means. Scott McKnight says this, It is clearly unclear. He had the benefit of, you know, two thousand years to dwell on this instead of just fifteen hundred for Luther. Augustine felt like he had, and I actually agree with Augustine on this, In which he also made and went and made proclamation.
53:10
That's the same word for preaching. Proclamation is making a proclamation, a preaching of the word to the spirit. We're now in prison. So, we have to start off with in the spirit. That's the last part of verse 18.
53:25
You go for Christ also died for sins once for all just for the unjust so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in the spirit, in the spirit in which he also went. He's he went in spirit, okay? It's past tense. He went in spirit and made proclamation to the spirit now in prison. I'm I'm giving my interpretation a little bit by the way that I'm reading this.
53:50
I'll give you more later. Who once were disobedient? The spirit's now in prison. Who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark in which a few, that is eight persons were brought safely through the water. So that's the confusing part right there.
54:09
Those two sentences together and people are questioning us, what in the world does that even mean? And there are three possible Christian, I'll call em Christian, Orthodox Christian interpretations. One of em is the descent into hell that in between the cross where he paid the sacrifice for sins that Christ descended into hell. If you grew up in a liturgical church, probably stated apostles creed every Sunday and it says, after he's crucified that he descended into hell. That's where that comes from.
54:38
That view believes that Christ after the crucifixion when his soul was between living this life in the flesh and living a resurrected life that his soul, spirit descended into hell and that he made proclamation to the spirits there. That's one view. The harrowing of hell is one of those. Some people say, some of those proponents of that view say that he proclaimed it more or less. Maybe I'm putting them down to say, nanny nanny boo boo, nothing you can do about it now but I'm proclaiming that I am lord after all.
55:15
I don't think that that's right. Others say that there were certain folks, they point back to this time of Noah thing and they go, there's certain folks and it might be the Nephilim, you know, the ones who came down from heaven angels that cohabitated with women. That's a bizarre, obscure passage of the Old Testament. They say, that maybe it. The descent so that they gave that type of spirit a chance.
55:38
The preexistent Christ view is which I'm going to try to explain in a minute and then the triumphal proclamation over the spirit worldview which is a lot like the descent into hell. The descent into hell view says that for everyone that came before him, they were in a place, Hades, not technically Gehenna Hill, but they were before him and they went into a place that's sort of like what the Catholic church would call limbo and so they're in a place where they're awaiting in a prison and then Christ freed them from that prison, the harrowing of Hades where they pull em out. That's the top view. The middle one, I'll explain in a minute. The third one is the triumphal proclamation over the spirit world is that he went and just said, I'm in charge.
56:22
God is going to raise me from the dead, and that's it. So all of those have reasonable reasons why you would think that. But I think I tend to think simpler. You know, if you see a guy laying down on the ground and he has he has on his about this big, he has on his chest a U that's like this. What would you think?
56:46
He's been trampled by a not a zebra, right? Okay. Do you understand what I'm saying? Maybe. This might be the thing like Peter's illustration that just doesn't work.
57:01
To me, I try to go for the simplest explanation, and I think this is the simplest explanation. There is one other impossible and anti Christian position. Postmortem conversion is unheard of in the New Testament. It is absolutely unheard of. There is no chance after this.
57:17
It's appointed for a man who wants to die, and after that, the judgment, and you do not get the chance after death to move. There's a great chasm fixed. It's not going to change. There are some practices that stem from that and those practices around here you might recognize as baptism for the dead to move them up a level. You might recognize them from around Catholic Christianity as purgatory, and that is a very very dangerous and very very slippery slope and if you go to a funeral in the Catholic church, lot of times you'll hear, pray for our dearly departed brother that God would receive him.
57:57
Well, either God is going to receive him or he's not based on what he decided here about Jesus. Does that make sense? Jesus is the one that brings us in and he does it while we're here and while we're breathing, while we're living, okay? So postmortem conversion is absolutely out. It's unheard of in the New Testament.
58:13
You have to do all kinds of verbal gymnastics to make it work. So corresponding to that, and the reason I'm gonna go proponent of the preexisting Christ view is this. Corresponding to that, corresponding to what? Corresponding to ones, the ones who were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, okay? To the ones who are disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the heart and it was a long time, right?
58:46
Like one hundred years, one hundred and twenty years. Long time. And the patience of God kept on waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark in which a few, and that's only a few, only eight people survived. Eight people were brought safely through the water. And so corresponding to that, think the water reference is what got him going.
59:05
He gets the water reference there and he says, corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. Oh my goodness, Peter. Baptism saves you? Dan, when you're explaining to Olivia this week, yes, we're going to dunk you because baptism saves you. No.
59:21
Actually, Peter clears it up really quickly. He recognized up. Wait a second. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh. Yeah, you do that in a bathtub.
59:28
Yes. That is something that it's it is a cleansing ritual in Judaism. Yes, I understand that and that does not save anybody but an appeal to God for good conscience. He can keep you in a good conscience. He can move you from the kingdom of darkness into light but it's an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
59:49
There's one way. There's one way to the father and it's Jesus Christ and so an appeal to God is the baptism that Peter is talking about. It's not water baptism. Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward act where you have made the appeal to God for a good conscience. Through the resurrection of Christ, you put your faith in him and him alone and then you follow that up in obedience with baptism.
1:00:11
Outward sign of an inward act. Everybody with me? Is there any confusion? There's still confusion. Has anybody is there anybody here who want okay.
1:00:23
Okay. The tub is still here, and it's still warm, and it's still water up here. If any of you afterwards think, oh gracious, I have done the appeal thing but I haven't washed from the flesh and I have to do baptism, sir? I'm getting there. Yeah.
1:00:42
I'm getting there. So, here we go. Corresponding to that baptism. Now saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh but appeal to God for a good kindness through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1:00:53
So, Peter's definition of baptism. Removal of dirt from the flesh, nope, that's not it. Peter is saying that baptism changes you. It completely and totally changes you and it is an appeal to God. For a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1:01:10
Baptism now, the now right there. The spirits who are now in prison. Who are those? Those who have died without Christ. Are you with me?
1:01:22
This is a difficult one. I know that. Those who have died without Christ. Now, since he called to our recollection, Noah in the days of Noah and he said that Christ went in spirit and he proclaimed. What did Noah do the whole time he was building the ark?
1:01:40
He proclaimed that God was calling them to repentance. He proclaimed that God was calling them to trust in him. The preexistent Christ view is that the spirit of Christ and Peter calls it the spirit of Christ. Other people would say, the Holy Spirit, spirit of God. Peter calls it spirit of Christ in the first and second chapter already and he says, the spirit of Christ was proclaiming to them, and there were plenty who mocked and scorned, and Noah and his family suffered derision, and they suffered because they were doing something.
1:02:15
They were building something that everybody else thought was foolish and crazy. Are you with me now? Does this make sense? The world thinks that what we are doing, building the church of Christ, working together is foolish and silly. And he's saying that Christ proclaimed back then and so, we have the example of Christ vindication of he suffered once for all and for Peter, that was only just a few years before, thirty something years before, right?
1:02:47
But he's saying, even Old Testament, the spirit of Christ was in Noah when he was proclaiming to these people and they denied it. Don't ever judge whether something is right or wrong by how many people are standing in line behind you, right? There were eight people that were saved because they trusted God. There will be a small number of people who will be saved because they trusted in Christ and the masses, the the huge mass of people does not believe that. So, since Peter is writing to Christians and he's writing an appeal to Christians, he's writing the appeal to say to Christians, Christ suffered and he was vindicated.
1:03:30
Noah suffered but he was vindicated. He was saved from the wrath that came, right? The resurrection of Jesus Christ and then we get back to where we were about Christ vindication. Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of God having gone into heaven Luke says it this way and he led them out as far as Bethany lifted up his hands and he blessed them and while he was blessing them, he parted from them and he was carried up into heaven. Mark says it this way, so then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and he sat down at the right hand of God.
1:04:04
Why'd he sit down? The work was done. He's already been proclaimed to be over all powers, principalities, and authorities and if you are suffering, you can take the same tag that Jesus took when Pilate said, don't you know I have authority over you? And he says, you would have no authority over me except that God had given it to you. What you're going through does not surprise God.
1:04:30
So, he sat down at the right hand of God and they went out and they preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Jesus Christ, after the angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to him, He's at the right hand of God. His vindication is right there. His vindication is sure and I'll get to our last little blurb from Stephen Cole. Since Christ bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated.
1:04:58
Since Noah bore witness and suffered derision, read that sometime. Read that story. Imagine one hundred and twenty years of building something nobody ever built before or a flood that had never happened before in a world where it never rained before. Can you imagine that? No.
1:05:20
Well, we walk by faith and not by sight. Since Christ bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated and since Noah bore witness through his suffering and was vindicated, we too can bear witness through suffering and trust that God will vindicate us. It was through Noah's obedience that we are here today. Does that make sense? And I say again, we're still sinners.
1:05:46
Live a life of holiness. Yeah, he lived a holy life but immediately after he sinned again, I I thank God that he put that story in there. He put that story in there and goes, you know what? Oh, he just had to keep on turning to me, and you just have to keep on turning to him for salvation and for sanctification. I think that's my last slide.
1:06:04
I do have a benediction after this, but was that too heavy for you? It was was it worth nine extra minutes of sitting here? Okay. Did I explain my case well? I could give equal time if there's someone here who can explain the harrowing of hell better than I did.
1:06:18
If not, would you all stand up? And if there's anybody in the room who wants to be baptized, the pool is still full. And I have some baptism clothes even if you don't. Someone also delivered a box of T shirts to my office this week that had the when I said on the screen last week, that'd make a great T shirt. By Tuesday, I had T shirts in my office that said, you know, honor all people.
1:06:44
Love the brotherhood. Fear God and honor the king. That's pretty cool. I've got a T shirt for you to cover up with if you want to get baptized. Don't do it for the free T shirt though.
1:06:56
Okay. Alright. Okay. Alright. That sermon may have been a little heady but I promise you, the commentaries I've been reading all week, whoo.
1:11:12
Much much worse. Y'all suffer your way. I suffer mine. As you leave this place, remember, this is based on Philippians two twelve through 14. As you leave this place, remember that the spirit of God is already at work in you.
1:11:28
Spirit of Christ is already at work in you. He has given you both the desire and the strength to do what pleases him. So go from here with joy to love and to serve God and one another, and may the blessing of God, the love of Jesus, and the presence of the Holy Spirit be among you and within you. Amen.
