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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god on this lord's day for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 113. psalm 113. and i'll begin reading in verse 1. praise the lord praise o servants of the lord praise the name of the lord blessed be the name of the lord from this time forth and forevermore from the rising of the sun to its going down the lord's name is to be praised the lord is high above all nations his glory above the heavens who is like the lord our god who dwells on high who humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth he raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap that he may seat him with princes with the princes of his people he grants the barren woman a home like a joyful mother of children praise the lord amen will please turn with me in your hymn books to psalm 150 psalm 150 as in charlie and we'll stand as we sing together [Music] oh oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hmm well let us pray our blessed god and heavenly father we thank you for the privilege to gather in the house of the lord god most high on the sabbath day we come to you and we acknowledge that you are from everlasting to everlasting we know that you are father son and holy spirit the god who made the world the god who governs the world and the god who has redeemed his elect from it and we rejoice that you've set your affection upon us that your love has been uh manifested in the cross and in our own lives in the application of the work of christ to us and god we rejoice that you've not dealt with us according to our sin we rejoice that you've taken that iniquity and cast it into the depths of the sea we rejoice in the gospel of our salvation and the fact that our blessed savior lived for us and died for us and was raised again for us and god as we gather tonight may you draw out our hearts and worship and in praise in adoration to our great god may you cause us to reflect upon these great works and cause us to respond with the gratitude that is appropriate to such a gracious father we ask that you would bless and strengthen each and every one of us fill us with your holy spirit cause us to be further conformed unto the image of your beloved son the lord jesus christ and fit and equip us for service in your kingdom in this coming week we ask that he would forgive us now for all of our sin and transgression god the scripture is very clear at the point of gospel conduct the apostle says we're to let our conduct be worthy of that gospel and yet father we confess remaining corruption in our hearts we confess transgression of that law of god and lord we rejoice not in our sin but there is deliverance there is forgiveness there is remission through that precious blood of the lord jesus christ and as you have bid us to pray that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we do so now and as well god we pray for those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins we ask that you would awaken them through the preaching of the gospel we ask that the holy spirit would come and bring that law of god to bear upon their hearts and show them that they are guilty before a holy god as well father set forth christ in all of his offices and in all of his ability to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through him and god be merciful and may it be the day of salvation in this place and throughout the earth as the gospel is proclaimed we have so many wonderful promises in the bible we know that there'll be a great multitude in heaven from every tribe and tongue and people and nation we know lord god that jesus shed his blood for the sins of many and we know lord god that there are still sinners to be saved so lord bless that word as it goes forth we ask for your blessing upon our children and our young people we give praise to you for this great gift and we would ask father in heaven that as men as women we would be faithful in terms of parenting and grandparenting and that father you would cause these little ones to learn of the savior in their youth as well our father we pray for those unable to be with us because of illness or ongoing challenges in the physical realm we just commit each one to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would undertake on their behalf to continue to comfort and strengthen and encourage each one we pray for other churches in our community we thank you that we're not alone in this town we thank you that we're not alone in this country and we pray for the faithful proclamation of truth from each and every pulpit in this land for god we know the harvest is plentiful and we pray that you would bless that proclamation for the salvation of sinners as well our god we pray for the churches near and dear to us theologically we pray for the surrey church we pray for vernon we pray for dryden and we rejoice in the the good news of their building acquisition that they now have a public place to meet in the in the worship of the living god and we pray that you bless that local work and cause them to flourish and thrive we ask for your continued hand of mercy to be upon the saints in honduras it is a joy and a privilege and a blessing for us to be united with them in the cause of god and truth we pray for our brother that you would grant him safe travel we ask that he would continue to bless and strengthen him and use him for uh the encouragement of the saints and that local or in that local church and may you bless pastors carlos and luis and just give these men grace and commitment to the sound doctrine of the word of god as well father we are reminded of the persecuted church as we read this morning so many letters so many issues and challenges facing the people of god and we want to remember them and we want to pray for them and we want to render aid as as we are able we ask that you look with favor upon those in the middle east those in muslim countries where it is so so disfavorable to be a christian we ask that we just continue to look with favor upon them bless the church in islamabad and use them father for the propagation of truth in that part of the world as well god we pray for china and thank you for the reports we receive from there and though there is persecution and though there is heavy oppression we see the cause of christ going forth and this is a great encouragement to our hearts as well god for the nation of india there's recurring threat and recurring uh persecution of believers there and we pray god that they would nevertheless not not shrink back from declaring the whole council of god almighty lord be merciful in these various nations and again look with favor upon myanmar restore order in that land give them uh some semblance of decency and normalcy we ask that you would continue to watch over that that compound continue to look with favor upon peter and just give this brother physical and spiritual strength that he may continue to glorify you there and god thank you again for this opportunity to meet together we pray for our brother ryan that you would fill him with the spirit and use him tonight to speak the truth of god almighty to our needy hearts and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we could turn with me again in your hymn books to four five five four five five we'll stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] is [Music] us [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] you can turn with me to the book of leviticus leviticus chapter nine leviticus chapter nine we've seen the detailed legislation given in terms of the sacrificial system so the question how can sinful man enter into the presence of god almighty is given the answer is given in chapters one to seven it is through a bloody knife and a smoking altar the priests have been prepared according to chapter eight and here in chapter nine the preparation leads to the actual act of sacrifice so i'll begin reading in verse one it came to pass on the eighth day that moses called aaron and his sons and the elders of israel and he said to aaron take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering without blemish and offer them before the lord and to the children of israel you shall speak saying take a kid of the goats as a sin offering and a calf and a lamb both of the first year without blemish as a burnt offering also a bowl and a ram as a piece of as peace offerings to sacrifice before the lord and a grain offering mixed with oil for today the lord will appear to you so they brought what moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting and all the congregation drew near and stood before the lord and moses said this is the thing which the lord commanded you to do and the glory of the lord will appear to you and moses said to aaron go to the altar offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people offer the offering of the people and make atonement for them as the lord commanded aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering which was for himself then the sons of aaron brought the blood to him and he dipped his finger in the blood put it on the horns of the altar and poured the blood at the base of the altar but the fat the kidneys and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar as the lord had commanded moses the flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp and he killed the burnt offering and aaron's sons presented to him the blood which he sprinkled all around on the altar then they presented the burnt offering to him with its pieces and head and he burned them on the altar and he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar then he brought the people's offering and took the goat which was the sin offering for the people and killed it and offered it for sin like the first one and he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner then he brought the grain offering took a handful of it and burned it on the altar besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning he also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings which were for the people and aaron's sons presented to him the blood which he sprinkled all around on the altar and the fat from the bowl and the ram the fatty tail what covers the entrails and the kidneys and the fatty lobe attached to the liver and they put the fat on the breasts then he burned the fat on the altar but the breasts and the right thigh aaron waved as a wave offering before the lord as moses had commanded then aaron lifted his hand toward the people blessed them and came down from offering the sin offering the burnt offering and peace offerings and moses and aaron excuse me went into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people then the glory of the lord appeared to all the people and fire came out from before the lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar when all the people saw it they shouted and fell on their faces amen this is one of those passages where you would have loved to have been a fly on the wall or a person present to hear the nature of that shout it was a shout of joy obviously because god had received accordingly the sacrifice that they had offered up and then god demonstrates his glory to them so the issue created at the end or the tension created at the end of the book of exodus is here rectified again sinful man enters into the presence of a holy god through blood atonement that is underscored here it is typological of the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world and in that we rejoice greatly that jesus christ has come that jesus christ has fulfilled that jesus christ has wrought atonement in such a way that whoever looks to him in faith will have everlasting life well let us pray our god in heaven we thank you that you can be approached that you have provided a way we see in the old testament this detailed legislation concerning the sacrificial system we see it in the new testament fulfilled in the coming of the son of man and as the baptist said behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world we give praise to you that you've removed the scales from our eyes that you have changed our hearts and have caused us to see him as altogether lovely and as chief among ten thousand lord god we praise you for so great a salvation and we pray that a great multitude would come to know jesus christ as lord and savior father we pray as well tonight for your blessing upon micah and chloe we praise you for the good progress that casey is making we ask that you would continue to look with favor upon this little one and god we entreat you that he'd be able to return to the lower mainland and that you would just continue to look with favor upon him and we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen you can turn with me in your hymn books to four three one 4 3 1 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] hey [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] god [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] so we can turn with me in your bibles to the book of first peter first peter chapter one first peter chapter 1 we will look at verses 10 through 12 tonight but we'll read the entirety of the chapter first peter 1. peter an apostle of jesus christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion in pontus galatia cappadocia asia and bithynia elect according to the foreknowledge of god the father in sanctification of the spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ grace to you and peace be multiplied blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of god through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of jesus christ whom having not seen you love though now you do not see him yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your souls of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you searching what or what manner of time the spirit of christ who is in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of christ and the glories that would follow to them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the holy spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into therefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ as obedient children not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance but as he who called you as holy you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written be holy for i am holy and if you call on the father who without partiality judges according to each one's work conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptable things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of christ as of a lamb without blemish without blemish and without spot he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in god who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in god since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love of the brethren love one another fervently with a pure heart having been born again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the word of god which lives and abides forever because all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass the grass withers the and its flower falls away but the word of the lord endures forever now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you well let us pray our father we come before you and lord we acknowledge that we need you we need the power of your holy spirit tonight to be among us lord we and we ask that you would be pleased to bless us in that way to to to help to expose the glorious message that is contained in this passage of scripture that we hope to look at tonight and that you would be pleased to bless it to the to the souls of each one of us here lord that it would be a means for to bring glory to your name and it means to edify your people here and and a means to bring sinners into salvation through your son the lord jesus so lord we we ask for your blessing and we pray this in christ's name amen sorry one second so i've been preaching through the book of first peter and um well primarily in in the vernon church but also here have been um been working through some of the similar sermons not all of them but um so it's very important when we working in series here that uh to um when i when it's several weeks in between sometimes it's we kind of forget what what what we looked at last time and and um it's always important to kind of understand the context here so just by a way of a very quick review when we find ourselves in the in this chapter here of first peter he he's um peter is preaching to the to the the pilgrims of the dispersion that he calls them here these these ones who have been um been they're feeling displaced they've they're they're they're suffering in various ways he calls them pilgrims and he's reaching out to them and what is his his focus uh or his his intention is for them to to shift their focus from their circumstances from the where they find themselves in the various trials that they're going through and and to focus rather on the on the heavenly realities and what he calls what he calls salvation in in several instances here and and and and everything contained within that that that we are we're in christ we're citizens of heaven we're bound for for glory so he so if we if you're in verse uh the beginning there at the introduction verse one and two he gives us um he really highlights the sovereignty of god speaking of of election there and and how the salvation their salvation was rattled by the triune god that that the the according to the foreknowledge of god the father through sanctification of the spirit and because of the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ that was how they were they were to be saved so that's his first um his first in his introduction there to get their minds thinking rightly there and then he and then he goes on in verse three reminding them of the of of the abundant mercy of god that this this salvation come proceeds from a god who is abundantly merciful that he is a a god of of of infinite love and and infinite mercy that that proceeds from him and and that is why we can be saved and he and then he brings them into the forefront the the inheritance that we as believers have in the in the future to that we can we can look forward to that one day we will receive this inheritance and inheritance that he calls here is says here is is incorruptible undefiled and that does not fade away and and we um we looked at that as that it was it's not it's incorruptible so it's not it's not corrupted by sin it's not like this world that we find ourselves in now everything is corrupted by sin and also that it's undefiled undefiled there that there's no um there's nothing that is that is unclean there's no there's no evil there's no no evil forces nothing that can that can defile this inheritance that we are headed for and that it does not fade away it's not something that is subject to the change of time so this it's everything that is that is different than where we find ourselves now in this earth in this temporal world we everything is polluted by sin it's it's it's it's defiled by by evil and and it is and and and it's subject to change things fade away things come and go so he's he's saying look we we can focus look at look at what we have what we have coming here and then um and then in in verses six through nine he speaks about how because of this because of when we when we think of these things we can greatly rejoice even though we're even though we're going through various trials if our focus is on these things understanding that that this earth is not the the be all and all but we are headed for glory this is what we have in store for us then then we can have this joy inexpressible that he says you're joy and expressible and full of glory and that's a and again that's that's that's by comes by focusing on on this great salvation and on the the captain of our salvation that the writer of hebrews um the writer of hebrews calls him our lord jesus christ so now when we come to verse verses 10 through 12 here he's he's he's he hasn't changed um what he's trying to do there he still wants to comfort them and really highlight this salvation but he comes at it from a different perspective now in the in the previous verses it was a lot of what we have in the future the hope of the hope of glory and and also just focusing on on um on god who who god is that type of thing but now he's um now he's coming at it from from another perspective he wants to to magnify it um you know to to just highlight how how great this salvation is how how awesome it is and he does he does so by does so by showing how um of what importance this was to to the old testament prophets and to the to the new testament apostles who who were who delivered this message to them and then also to even to the angels in fact the angels that that are they're desiring to look into this this this redemption here so he basically is going to to highlight for them how how this salvation that they have they're experiencing is something that is is been brought out by god through all of history and and and here they are they have they have this salvation that has been has been culminated in the in the work of the lord jesus christ so um so then that uh so first so first here then we'll look at the old testament prophets that um that these that these men here that it was this was um the the subject the salvation was the subject of of intense scrutiny by these by these old testament prophets here holy men of old he calls them them later on in the book so um so so he starts by saying that in verse 10 of this salvation now he's obviously speaking of everything he's he's just talked about previously so not just specifically you know that the fact that they are saved but what's all included in that it's he uses the terms you know inheritance and and and hope and and the um um a living hope there those are all the the same thing everything that he's talking about this this so great of salvation here and he says that they inquired and they searched they inquired and searched carefully about this so um i think there's a there's a common misconception here with this with this passage is that um is that these that the old testament prophets they didn't know what they were writing that they wrote that they were they were you know they wrote down through inspiration they wrote down but then they didn't understand what it was now we have to be careful because that when we think of inspiration it's we're not uh inspiration was not dictation god did not say you know they didn't listen hear something and write it down and then have to go and read it and study it now there are instances where where they do receive visions and express things from the lord and i think daniel is there's an example in daniel where they have to go back and you know the lord said write this and write this down what exactly was that but generally speaking that the holy spirit used these men and and he and their their their characters their cognition and what they wrote down was not um was not they they understood what they were what they were writing about so they knew that this revelation that that peter is talking about here this revelation that they had was of a savior it was of a king a savior king who would who would come and and and one who would save them from their enemies you know so it's it's not that they didn't know that they were speaking about the messiah and they and they were trying to understand that they they've they fully understood that that they were speaking of the messiah and it's not uh it's not that they were questioning the truthfulness of the message either they the um you know they were they had the they had the holy spirit they knew that god was speaking through them it was very clear that's why they prefaced so much of their of the prophecies and of their of their instructions with thus saith the lord or you know the word of the lord came to me so they understood that the lord was speaking they weren't so this is not them this is not questioning the questioning the truthfulness of their message is not questioning the content of their of their message of their revelation but they're they're seeking to understand the the fuller meaning behind this this message is because they did not have a they did not have a complete revelation of of of all of this it wasn't until the coming of christ and the and the the subsequent explanation of that message in that that we by the by the the uh the apostles who are endowed with the holy spirit who peter says here that they were the ones who who took this message and explained and preached it to them it wasn't until then that um that this fuller understanding was it was achieved in the the london baptist confession chapter seven verse three it's very help very helpful there that that paragraph says or part of the paragraph says this this covenant speaking of the covenant of grace and salvation this covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to adam in the promise of salvation by the seat of the woman and afterwards by farther steps until the full discovery thereof was completed in the new testament so so the full discovery was was completed in the new testament so now these these prophets were were seeking to understand what what what is this they were they were studying it they were trying to learn but they didn't they weren't um it was not given to them and later it we'll see here that it says that they they it was revealed to them that this was something in the future that was going to happen the grace that was going to be come to us so and that's what he says here next that they prophesied they prophesied of the grace that would come to you so peter makes this distinction here now between between what we have received and what and what they have received not in terms of not in terms of salvation it's it's not that they didn't receive grace and and we do important to keep to keep that in mind as we go through here the the old testament prophets were saved by faith to be sure so it's not he's not speaking of of the grace in that regard but it's a it's like the confession says it's the full discovery of this grace that was completed in in the new testament turn to matthew chapter 13 for a minute matthew 13. verse verse 16 and 17. jesus says but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear for assuredly i say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it so so they they um they had this desire to to see but there there was not the they were not given this fuller understanding of what they were what they were speaking about but we we have that the grace has come to you and we know that this that is because of the lord jesus christ that christ is the one who is who makes who who fulfills the old testament and who and and the one that it all comes it all makes sense it all comes together in our lord jesus christ that he is the one that that in in in all the circumstances around him that explain all these various prophecies and various things that that these old testament prophets were speaking of here so for for for example we we think of psalm 65 verse 3 david says as for our transgression you will provide atonement for them so so they have this revelation that that god will provide atonement for them but it's in in the new testament that's where we see we see jesus crying out it is finished paid in full as he as he dies on the cross that atonement there being being paid isaiah 53 he prophesies and it gives a lot of detail in isaiah 53 of this you know this suffering suffering servant of yahweh he would suffer he would be crushed for our iniquities he would be um crushed by by yahweh himself as as he's as he his soul was made and offering for sin and then when we come to the new testament romans 3 tells us here we see that the man christ jesus being set forth by god as a propitiation or propitiation is the payment to to satisfy divine wrath the the propitiation by his blood to bring about our redemption so that is so christ is the one who who who answers that christ christ is the one who gives that us that fuller understanding of of all the old testament and what the old testament pointed forward to turn to second corinthians for a minute second corinthians chapter 3. ii corinthians 3 verse 12 through 14. therefore since we have such hope we use great boldness of speech unlike moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away but their minds were blinded for until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old testament because the veil is taken away in christ even to this day when moses is read a veil eyes on their heart nevertheless when one turns to the lord the veil is taken away now the lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the lord is there is liberty but we have all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the lord are being transferred into the same image from glory to glory just as by the spirit of the lord so very very very clear here that we see that christ is the christ is the answer to all of these to all of these these um the old testament we think of in moses moses received this revelation from the lord in in exodus 34 where the lord says says that he's a god who's who's abundant in mercy and a god who's abundant in in in forgives all all sin and transgression and iniquity and then the second half of the verse he says but by no means we'll clear the guilty well that leaves us with a with a big problem but but christ is the answer to that to that problem there that is so the veil is taken away in christ when one turns to the lord the veil is taken away so so we can we can see then very clearly how that how that new testament gives us the the complete picture of this salvation so but these these old these old testament prophets here as peter says they were they were seeking to learn more about it because it was a matter of such importance to them so it says it says here that they were searching what or what manner of time there so um some translations say say who or what kind of person and and what manner of time so um and again they understood that they were speaking of a of a savior king they understood that you know there was one who'd come from the seed of david and one who would be a king forever and that he would be the that he would be the savior but they were and they were trying to understand what kind of a person would this be you know what what kind of a person would be a king yet we get one whom whom god would crush as an atonement for sin but yet his soul would not be left in hades you know that they he would be he would be raised from the dead as david says in psalm 10. you know what kind of a what kind of a person could that could that be and and what would be the the circumstances surrounding his arrival when when would he come you know these things they were trying to understand this here but they weren't they weren't given that information tells us here that it was revealed to them um that that rather it was it was going to be it was to us these things would come to us in in in in their future so so they didn't understand that but we we know that it was it was the the in the fullness of time god god god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those that were who were under the law so they were trying to understand when will that time be well it it was the fullness of time paul says god's time now there's there's definitely some practical application for us in this in this as well when we with these prophets here looking thinking of them um you know studying and and learning and wanting to know more about who this who this messiah was here um you know i've talked often about this need for a for us to to be studying to be learning and more about the salvation that's how we that's how we are um as peter's been teaching in the previous verses here that's how we get through sufferings and that's how we get that's how we can we can deal with sufferings in our life with joy and with and with with um with peace by knowing who our god is and this is again here it's just another reminder to to look at these old testament prophets here and and um and and to follow their example studying i think one of my i love the quote by charles hodge he says that the gospel is so simple that uh that a child can understand it yet so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its glories and i think that is just a beautiful quote because it's so true that that we we like these prophets here they didn't have the full revelation but we have this this fuller revelation as the as the confession says the full discovery of it in our in our bible so we ought to be studying learning more about who are who our savior is so now that that um you know they that um we have the the full discovery of it but that doesn't mean that we have um you know because we have the new testament and we have these things explained to us by the by these these these apostles that doesn't mean that you know once we've read through the new testament then then we've we've got it all figured out that's that's why i quoted hodge there this is there's there's no way to exhaust the glories that are contained within the within the word in regards to the gospel so we are to continue to learn we ought to strive to continue to learn about our savior you know because the the full revelation of christ is not is not here yet peter says that um that this is all this stuff will be will will be um this hope this inheritance that we have it's it's all coming at the at the revelation of jesus christ here that he says and in verse in verse seven at the end the revelation of jesus christ that's that's when we see christ face to face and we don't and there's it's no more we don't walk by faith anymore we walk by sight because we will see him face to face but until now until then we are still walking by faith and therefore we to to bolster our faith to grow our faith we ought to study and learn more about about who our savior is i think this uh this morning pastor again mentioned in that that the the church the or the yeah the church the bride of christ looks at her looks at the bridegroom looks at christ as the chief among ten thousand and and and um um uh escaping me now but what's that that's right altogether lovely thanks um but that is how we ought to we ought to look at our savior and have that desire to learn more about him you know so the more we learn the more we the more we study the word then learn the more we can look forward to in anticipation to to to the the future to to the revelation of jesus christ and seeing him face to face and then again the more that will help us to get through the various trials various difficulties that we will encounter in our lives here so then in in verse 12 here it says that that it was revealed it was revealed that not to not to themselves but to us they were ministering so they they knew that these things that they were prophesying about it was it was revealed to them that this was going to be this was going to come in the future in in their future that they so they had this an eschatological approach then as they were as they were studying as they were as they were making these careful searches here understanding then okay it is this is in our this is in the this is in the future they're looking to the future for that fulfillment of what they have been been speaking of here one man says that they were they were aware that they were speaking of a messiah but who the man should be who would hold that office or what period in their history he would arise they'd long to know they foresaw a christ but could not foresee jesus and they could give their christ no definite position in history there so so that's what they were they were they understood that that they that he was in the future but they couldn't you know they understood he was the messiah but they didn't know that he would be jesus and when he would come now um now peter says though now these things that that they've been prophesying about they're they're fulfilled now in in our era we have he says you we have the full discovery of this of this salvation this so great salvation here i think of we think of of simeon in luke chapter two simian was was was waiting in the temple now he had received divine revelation from god that he that he would see the christ that he would see the messiah and and he says here after as he as he as he picks up the the baby jesus he says lord now now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes i've seen your salvation so so here is here he is he's the messiah he's here he's the the savior of the world the fulfillment of the old testament he's he's arrived and that's what that's what peter wants them to understand that they are there in this same era christ has come christ has fulfilled this this this old testament and and their recipients of this of this salvation here and now this this uh solidifies of course the the um the christian message as well that as that as their um you know this was not a new this was not a new thing that that um you know christ or jesus you know jesus of nazareth comes onto the scene in the in and and you know claims to be the christ whatever and the group follows him it was not a novel thing this was what the old testament was was speaking about and they so it it it um it it solidified that message there you know jesus in in john chapter 5 verse verse 39 there he says he says he says you search the scriptures for and then you you you think you have eternal life but these are they which testify of me so jesus making making it very clear that the scriptures were speaking about him but how how could they be how could they be you know speaking about about jesus jesus jesus of nazareth well it was because it was because what peter says here the spirit of christ who was in them was indicating when he testified so the so again it's just realizing that their message that the message here was of divine origin that it was that the spirit of christ was the one who enabled these and and and and inspired these men to write this message the message that the christ was coming who or and and that he would be in there in the future there so if affirming that message as a as a message of divine origin and now that the same spirit who we'll see later on here that is in verse 12 is the one who who is delivering the gospel message through the apostles and and the new testament preachers that same holy spirit now has been has gone out to to bring that message through these men to the world but it says here that he and he says he they testified beforehand of the sufferings of christ and the glories that would follow so so we have to remember again here what what peter's doing he's he's he's wanting to strengthen their faith and and and comfort them as they're going through you know in the midst of the all these various trials that they're going through now so and he does something very interesting with the way that he words this this um this part here with the sufferings of christ what he what he actually says here he says the sufferings into christ or the or or even even more literally we would say the into christ sufferings or um we perhaps could go as far as to say the with christ sufferings and i believe that some that's that's the idea conveyed there and that with that preposition of of in christ the preposition contains the idea of being placed in and being being with and um some people that some people look at some commentators i should say look at that as a um um translated as the until christ sufferings and with the idea and it can be used that way perhaps that preposition but with the idea that um that suffering until christ returns but i i i don't i think the idea here is that it's that peter wants to convey is that you are you are with christ suffering suffering because you were in christ and and i have john calvin on my side to to support that um kelvin here he says this this then speaking of the the the sufferings these the the sufferings what our bible say of christ um these sufferings and is not is not to be confined to the person of christ but a beginning is to be made with the head so that the members may in do order follow as paul also teaches us that we must be conformed to him who is the firstborn among his brethren in short peter does not speak of what is peculiar to christ but of the universal state of the church so i think calvin here acknowledges that yes he is he is speaking of christ's sufferings um for sure that that christ that christ did partake of of sufferings but yet that it wasn't it's not limited to that that it's that he's also referencing their sufferings as well that they are experiencing these sufferings because they are in christ or they are they are with christ and um and later in the chapter he you know he in chapter or later in the in the book in chapter 4 verse 13 he says that they are they are um partakers of christ's sufferings there so under so understanding that they're not only not only is he speaking of the of that the fact that christ will suffer but more so that they are suffering as part of that that they are that christ as the as the the head as calvin says here the um what did calvin say here the beginning is to be made with the head so christ was the one who suffered suffered as our head well the members the body of that are in in due order to follow calvin says here so so that we will suffer because because christ suffered and then also too that as christ entered entered glory after he suffered then so too will will we enter glory after we have suffered and we can we can be assured of that because that's based on the on the the sure promises of god as found in scripture so so sufferings and glory christ suffered entered glory so too will we suffer and enter glory and he says here that the old testament prophets they they they testified about this and we we find that they experienced that as well they understood this idea of sufferings and glory i think job for example job was you know suffered terribly we were very familiar with that and job in job chapter 19 he says have pity on me my friends for the hand of god has struck me so he's suffering and then he but then he goes on to say for i know that my redeemer lives and he shall stand at last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed this i know that in my flesh i shall see god whom i shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold that's that's glory so so job understand sufferings and glory and i think when you think of psalm 23 as well you know yea though i walk to the valley of the shadow of death that's that's suffering you know then then he goes on he finishes the psalm that i will dwell in the house of the lord forever so that's that's glory we see that um we see it all through the all through the old testament that pattern of the understood sufferings and glory james in james 5 he says take my brethren the the prophets who have spoken in the name of the lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience so this was not a not a new phenomenon and that these that his audience was it was experiencing peter's audience here was that but that it was you know this was the this was the pattern this is what um what would happen to to the people of god because because um and now as or that because that was the message that was contained in the old testament that sufferings and glory now we have peter saying we have a clear understanding of of of why it's because we are we are in christ because we are with we're with christ that christ went through sufferings in ahead of us to secure glory for us now we obviously don't experience the same type of suffering as as christ did to be sure um you know or the same amount especially when we think of the sufferings you know christ suffering on the cross but that's not his his um you know his christ suffering the wrath of god he did so so we don't have to that was that was specifically the the purpose of the cross so he's not he's not saying you know you're going to suffer those same things of course not but but the idea that christ suffers and enter glory we will suffer and enter glory there excuse me but we see but we see jesus who is made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of god might taste death for everyone for it was fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings so what christ the christ is our head what he has gone through and then so too so too will we go through on our on our on our journey to glory sufferings and then glory now now um we have to understand here that that as peter said as well he says it's uh you know you have suffered you've been grieved by various trials he says here so now when we speak of you know suffering is is is inevitable and we we heard a lot about that this morning um you know suffering may we all suffer in various ways so you know i don't wanna we don't wanna frighten anyone that we're gonna you know it's something this is bound to horrible to happen but just the reality that suffering does happen in this lower world and and that you know it's it's a it's a variety of suffering that we experience but yet that is the that is the what god has laid out for us there so so don't uh so just don't want to don't want to um scare you or worry you that that we're we're all destined to have some sort of a horrible suffering in our life because of because of this concept that's not um that's not what peter's getting out here like he said he said he calls it various sufferings for that purpose and then he goes on here he says he says to them in verse 12 to them it was revealed so so we sort of dealt with that already that it was revealed with them revealed to them that the messiah this the savior king of whom they were prophesying he was not going to uh he's not going to come in their lifetime but it was is going to be sometime in the future and now and now this this message that that they've received that peter's audience has received here this is the the same message that um that was is was preached to them by these uh apostles and preachers in in the new testament era now so now everything is has been fulfilled the the the new covenant that the that jeremiah and the other prophets um foretold that that new covenant is here that covenant has been has been um has been ratified all the terms have been met by by the work of the of the man christ jesus that and that's that salvation is is here that that god has come emmanuel god in the flesh met the terms of that covenant and now and now we can we can experience this salvation because of that now turn to turn to hebrews 9 for a minute hebrews chapter 9 verse 11 11-15 but christ came as the high priest of the good things to come with the great with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is not of this creation not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all having obtained eternal redemption for if the blood of both of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the blood of christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to god cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living god and for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgression under the first covenant that those who are who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance they're so very very very clearly seen that christ is the one who is who has come he's fulfilled all that and now salvation is possible because of what christ has done and then he says here that these these things these things which have now been reported to you so these are the these these things these are what the what the old testament or what story with these new testament preachers apostles are going and teaching them there are these things that have that have been reported among you these were all the things that all the things concerning the lord jesus concerning what he did how he came and fulfilled this covenant there they've they these all the things that the old testament prophets foretold think of jesus on the on the road to emmaus speaking to these um to these two men there in luke chapter 24. he says to them he says you owe fools and slow of heart to believe and he says ought not ought not the christ to have suffered ought not to christ who have suffered these things and and to enter into his glory and beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself so so these were and and through those through those who have preached the gospel to you by the holy spirit he says here so the um all these all these things that surrounding the the lord jesus christ these are the things that he has he has um that they have um preached to them and taught them all these things that were taught that were pro that were sorry prophesied by the old testament there now now he says they've been preached that they've been preached by the holy spirit now and now many um they pre those who preach the gospel to you by the holy s by the holy spirit now many many commentators would think that this is a reference to pentecost and of course it very well could be that um you know that they received the the holy spirit from heaven there at pentecost but and whether it's specifically referring to pentecost or not either way it's the the fact that these men were equipped by the holy spirit to explain to the people all the all the things concerning this man jesus of nazareth you know that was that all these things around him what had happened to this man jesus um this was exactly what the old testament had had prophesied about what would happen to the messiah and that this man was in fact was the christ that he that he was the christ whom whom he had claimed this this story um the or the this uh all these happenings here it was christ and and we have the holy spirit um uh coming upon these men in order to to rightly teach and rightly explain this to them turn to acts chapter 2 for a minute acts chapter 2 we'll see a prime example of of that there peter peter standing up and and speaking there in acts chapter 2. we'll just begin at verse verse 22. first in the in verse 14 he explains the these things in regards to to pentecost and all the happenings that were there and then he goes on to explain now about this about about jesus of nazareth men of israel hear these words jesus of nazareth a man attested by god to you by miracles wonders and signs which god did through him in your midst as you yourselves also know him him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of god you have taken by lawless hands have have crucified and put to death whom god raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it and he goes on and he works all through here he continues to to to um rehash sort of all the account of the of the of the work and of the crucifixion of of the christ here if you drop down to verse 30 again he says therefore being a he's speaking of david now david being a prophet knowing that god had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh he would raise up the christ to sit on his throne so peter's saying you know look david understood that that that and david foretold of the christ who had come from from his body the fruit of his body as the as the king there and he goes on then that um the the he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the christ that his soul was not left in hades nor did his flesh see corruption this this jesus god has raised up of whom we of of which we are all witnesses therefore being is all being exalted to the right hand of god and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit he poured out this which you now see and hear and then he continues on we can drop down to verse 36 briefly there he says let all the therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly that god has made this jesus whom you crucified both lord and christ so very clearly explaining that all this stuff that happened to this man jesus of nazareth this was in fact this was what was going to happen to the christ and this he is in fact the christ he's come he's he has brought in salvation and we see that more often in in acts as well in in chapter 3 he says the same in verse 18 of acts he says but those things which god foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the christ would suffer he has thus fulfilled again speaking of speaking of the lord jesus there so in acts 7 stefan goes or stephen goes through the goes through the whole history of of the nation of israel with that intent to show them that look at this is this this christ was the one that that was was prophesied that he would he would come he didn't he wasn't even allowed to finish his sermon because they were so convicted by what that by the fact that just like he says just like your father's killed all the prophets who prophesied of this christ you know you killed him and and they you know they they just couldn't uh couldn't take that so they they killed him before he could finish but um you know so then so we have these the these men gifted by the holy spirit to give us this fuller explanation and to and to bring that message to to these um to these pilgrims of the of the dispersion or this this message there and then and not only not only just their their testimony as they went around preaching but then also as they are as they are they start writing epistles to the letters epistles that that now we find in our canon of scripture the epistles that are that are are um inspired by by the holy spirit now they've now they have a they have a divinely inspired interpretation of the old testament as well in explaining that that who who the who christ was what what what manner of uh who who it was what matter of person what matter of time well it was it's now it's we've we've he it was when christ was here when jesus of nazareth was here he's the christ it's been fulfilled um uh richard barcelo says that the new testament is the infallible interpretation of jesus in relation to the old testament so we have a we have an infallible interpret infallible interpretation of what these old testament prophets were inquiring and were searching carefully about and what they were prophesying about an infallible interpretation of it in our new testament so so now now peter says then to these to these suffering believers there he says that you are you are recipients of something that has been anticipated since since genesis 3 15 since the fall of man that that uh that that all of redemptive history so far had been pointing pointing to this one who would come and now he's come and he's he's fulfilled it all there so so that that you know god in his sovereignty orchestrated orchestrated all of of history to to bring about these events that were that he prophesied about and and and the and the the to bring about this this moment this climax of of of salvation when with the coming of of his son the lord jesus christ into this into this world and bringing about redemption through him jesus who took on took on flesh the son of god took on flesh for us man and for our salvation and he and and peter wants them to to to realize he's saying here you are you are the recipients of this this this this great salvation it's it's truly amazing how god has brought it out and you get to be the recipients of that and another thing that peter doesn't really draw it out here but i think um it it sort of just follows is that um in order for them to just to help them have an appreciation for this this salvation and the gospel message there is that um you know he talks about that how the the gospel was preached to them by these by these men who were who were filled with the holy spirit it's that it was a it was a because it's a message that's so so um wonderful that these these men were willing to submit themselves to all sorts of of suffering in order to bring this message to the ends of the earth so as they had been commanded to so you know that they were um that they were they paul says the gospel is the power of god unto salvation and that that message of the gospel that that that um you know the men were willing to die to bring that message you know it should help them to realize just the the value the the magnitude of of their salvation these men could have stayed in jerusalem you know they they received the holy spirit they could have stayed there but rather they obeyed what christ had told them to do was to wait there until they had the holy spirit and then to go and bring this message to the uttermost parts of the world there so they they followed that they suffered much for the for the the the cause of bringing this message this message of us of so so great a salvation to these people so and um and then he and then he goes on here then to with um he says here the things that things which angels desire to look into uh so again this this salvation our salvation is something so so great redemption is so great that it that even the angels they can't they take interest in it and they and they want to they they want to watch what the the proceedings what is this this is you know to to look into here he says we think it gives us sort of the idea of um of uh the word the idea of bending over looking and looking down watching it and i think it sort of reminds us of the of the ark in the in the old testament um in the temple there on the ark was these was the the two the two angels looking looking over bending over looking at the the mercy seat on the ark you know the mercy seat was it was sprinkled with with blood signifying the atonement for sin so that mercy and and grace could be given and again that's obviously pointing forward to the atonement made by the death of christ to to atone to atone for sin so that grace could be given there so um and and the word is is indicates this sort of this perpetual desire to watch this to continue to watch to watch this redemption play out in in history as as as as redemptive history we plays out the angels are watching this and they're they're amazed by it it's the salvation salvation of of man there because the angels the angels don't experience redemption for themselves right we understand that there's fallen angels satan and his and his angels they're their fallen angels and they cannot be redeemed they're they're destined for for eternal punishment and we also know that there are elect angels in first timothy um paul or yeah paul talks about elect angels there and these and these angels are they're elect but they have not been redeemed rather they have been they have been um they're they're put into some sort of a state where they are not able to sin so um you know but but they didn't need saving because they never saved and they've been prevented they've never sinned and they've been prevented from sinning so they so therefore they don't need to be redeemed from anything but yet but now so they therefore they watch they watch the redemption of man of man play out because redemption really is amazing and there and that's why that's why jesus says in luke 15 he says that there's there's much rejoicing in heaven among the angels every time a sinner repents and is saved it's because because redemption because salvation is is so amazing grace is so amazing there so if we think we just we think of redemptive history god god creator he creates he creates man in his own image you know the the crown jewel we would say of his creation in his own image and then and he tells that man he says in to not eat of this tree and in the day that you eat of this tree you will surely die he says and then man instead of obeying god listens to the serpent and and eats of the tree but on that day they didn't surely die yes we understand they they died spiritually in the sense of their nature became fully corrupted by sin but but they did not immediately die that day rather an animal died and god used those those the skins of the of those animals animal whatever it was to clothe adam and eve and make them you know presentable so to speak um you know so that's that's how that's how it starts out and then we have you know the promise given that that one day of the seed of the woman one someone who would come who would who would undo all of all of the work of of of sin and and what the devil had done and and redeemed mankind and then through throughout history we have the promises to to abraham that in his family all the seed of the earth would we would be blessed and all nations of the earth would be blessed by someone from his seed and promises made to to david that it would be a king from his from his lineage who would sit on the throne forever and we have in a continual continual revelation of this of of redemption and then when you know when we come to the to the new testament to the arrival of christ on the scene and and suddenly it's the it's the son of god himself who comes down takes on humanity and and becomes a becomes a man in order to redeem man it's it's no wonder the angels are are amazed and now that and now we see christ all he he fulfills everything in this old in the old testament brings about the salvation of of mankind of his people and again and then and then the promise goes out to all of to all of man kind the promise is given or the the the the call is given to to all who believe in the lord jesus will will be saved we'll be able to experience this this great salvation it's really a a wonderful amazing amazing message that we find in the scriptures there and and the angels look into this and they're amazed by what is happening and that and that um that same call would go out now as well that that that you know all who believe in the lord jesus will be saved you will you will experience this great salvation you know and and and and uh in hebrews hebrews chapter two it says how shall we escape if we neglect so greatest salvation so so if you're here this evening and you have not have not come to christ have not trusted in him do not neglect it do not reject it do not delay do not turn away but rather believe on the lord jesus christ and you will have this this great salvation that that that peter talks about here he doesn't use those words that's that comes from the writer of hebrews but but but yet that's the idea this is that that we are to be amazed by this salvation that we get to be that we we get to be recipients of so that that concludes our our exposition just by wave of a few practical applications then um again just to that we that we take example from these old testament prophets as far as when it comes to to to studying to learning to to um to to growing in our faith because you know we have this fuller revelation this this this this fuller discovery that our confession says er in in our new testaments you know but yet we are still walking by faith we have not yet um we have not yet experienced the the full revelation of jesus christ that peter speaks of that is coming in our future when we see him so we're walking by faith but we can strengthen that faith by by a diligent and careful study of of the word of god and remember that's peter's whole point in this in this book here is that they is in order to to strengthen them their strength in their faith by pointing them to the realities of this great salvation that they are part of so um you know and but you know we may not be necessarily experiencing you know such difficulties right now in in the here and now but but this is this is preemptive this is a way where you know by when these things may come in our future and and it will happen and um you know we're all going to experience loss and suffering and pain in in in many different ways but yet if we are if we are you know we don't wait till we're until we're experiencing them but yeah beforehand that we are studying we are learning we are we're we're resting our minds on these things so that as we do experience suffering we are able to to to go through that suffering with this joy inexpressible and full of glory that that peter says here and then again just to obviously to uh to understand the the pattern of sufferings and glory that this is a reality that we will we will suffer you know that peter says in chapter four it says think it not strange concerning the fiery trials that you're experiencing so so don't think don't be surprised when sufferings come that's the pattern that has been that the old testament prophets spoke about that our christ experience and that we as being as we as being in christ experience as well sufferings on our way to glory kelvin john calvin here says the church of christ has been from the beginning so constituted that the cross has been the way to victory and death a passage to life so just the the idea of sufferings and glory and then lastly again just just like like i mentioned just to be to be amazed at our salvation that it is uh you know to ponder these things to study study the gospel and and learn more of christ in in and then and then in that god is glorified and we are we are edified and then we will know that that joy unspeakable and and full of glory there so let us close in a word of prayer lord we do thank you for this passage of scripture and we thank you for your word lord we thank you that we have these passages like this that point us again to this great salvation that we that we can be part be part of that we can be recipients of lord it is humbling and yet it is so encouraging and we are so thankful for that lord we're so thankful that we have we have been rescued from from the kingdom of darkness and that we have been brought into your kingdom the kingdom of the son of your love and we are so thankful for that lord and our hearts are greatly encouraged by passages like this that tell that that speak and speak so so highly of our salvation and that cause us to be amazed by our salvation so lord i do pray that that we would be our hearts would be filled with with the love for our savior with the love for you and and that we would leave here with with that joy unspeakable and full of glory and and and praising our praising our savior all the day long lord i pray that for each one of us here and i do pray if there are any here tonight lord who do not know you a savior that that they would not delay they would not hesitate they would not neglect so great a salvation so lord i do we do pray that you would revive the hearts of those who who need who do not know you that lord we pray your blessing on us as we as we as we go our separate ways in this week watch over each one of us bless us lord help us to do all things for your honor and glory to live in light of this great salvation as a and have a desire to bring glory to you in all that we do so lord we we pray this all in the name of our savior the lord jesus amen we'll close with a time of meditation you you