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[0:00] Well, welcome. My name is David Corenti. If you do not know me, if we have not met yet, I have the joy and privilege of pastoring Grace Church on 99. And before we get into the Word of God this morning, I just wanted to thank you. I know we've been able to worship with you multiple times over this Christmas season, and it has been such a blessing to be with you all. And I know many of you have been praying for us as we walk through a very unique trial in our own ministry, as we partner beside one another. And I just wanted to thank you as a congregation. I wanted to thank you as a leadership. And just wanted to thank even the leadership here as they have encouraged us and strengthened us and been alongside of us. And we're just so incredibly grateful for your leadership as well. So please continue to pray and continue to encourage and strengthen all of the body of Christ here in Squamish as we walk together.

[1:03] And so I just wanted to say that before we get into the Word of God this morning. So it's not my introduction, and it doesn't count against my time this morning. So let's pray before we go into the Word of God. Father, we thank you because of what we just sung, because you are our God and you are on your throne. You are worthy to behold. So, Fathers, we go into your Word this morning, may what we have already sung, what we have fellowshiped with already in the hallways, and what we encounter in your Word be true of our hearts. Let us worship you this morning. All of you, who you are.

[1:54] And may your Word go forth this morning, not because of anything I say, but because your Word goes forth and does exactly what you intended to do.

[2:04] None of it falls void. All of it accomplishes exactly as you intend. So would you do that this morning in the building of your church? In your Son's holy and precious name, amen.

[2:21] Well, turn in your Bibles this morning to Matthew chapter 2. Dave and I did not coordinate. Don't even know if he realized what I was preaching on this morning, but the songs chosen this morning were very inspired since it was connected to exactly what we will be interacting with this morning, especially that last song, Behold Our God.

[2:52] How uniquely fitting that was before we get into his Word this morning. Matthew chapter 2, starting in verse 1.

[3:07] Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

[3:17] For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. Go down to verse 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

[3:34] After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshipped him. A couple of weeks back, Grace Church gave my wife and I an opportunity and a gift to go away for a weekend, and we were very grateful for it.

[3:52] And one of the opportunities we had that weekend was go down to the Orpheum and to watch Handel's Messiah. I've never gone personally. I've never seen it, heard all about it.

[4:02] But I was struck by the immense clarity of the truth that they were singing about. Playing. Comfort, my people, are the first lines.

[4:18] The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. People that walked in darkness have seen a great light. Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

[4:30] With his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. And the very familiar Hallelujah Chorus. King of kings, Lord of lords, he shall reign forever and ever.

[4:44] And you know the drill. If you've gone, you need to actually stand up. It's a moment of adoration and respect for everything that's taking place.

[4:54] There's a sense of awe in the room. A sense of wonder. With the music. Whether instrumental. Whether the choir is singing.

[5:07] Whether the tenor has their opportunity to sing. But a lingering thought and question just could not leave my mind as I was in that room.

[5:19] As we live in this culture. Did the audience truly understand? Did the choir really understand?

[5:31] Did the musicians really understand what was taking place? What was being proclaimed? Who they were there to really learn about?

[5:46] Did they know that they were listening to the most glorious message they could ever listen to? Accompanied by glorious music? My fear in that room that evening was that there was an admiration of Jesus.

[6:08] An appreciation around Jesus. Maybe an appreciating of the concept of Jesus. Because it really is only played around Christmas time.

[6:20] Or what I was most afraid of is appreciating the art surrounded by Jesus.

[6:31] And that actually being more exalted than the person of Jesus Christ in that Orpheon that evening. At the end of the day, were they just using Jesus' birth to promote themselves with what the Creator gave them?

[6:50] In their talents? Their giftedness? Every soul that evening was confronted with Christ.

[7:02] Every Christmas, in this Western culture at least, you're confronted with Jesus Christ. And when you come to the person of Jesus Christ, you come to a crossroad.

[7:13] You don't come to a path of many paths. Many paths. You come to a stop sign and you have to understand who you are dealing with. Who you are facing.

[7:25] And all of the consequences associated with Him. With this question being primary. Do you worship Him? Are you worshiping Jesus Christ?

[7:39] He is not merely a spiritual teacher to be respected. A political figure to be studied. Or a consciousness to be contemplated. But a King who is worthy of worship from all of His creation.

[7:54] And anything short of that is mutiny. Unfortunately, sometimes I hear things. Even from professing Christians.

[8:05] Whether the Bible or Jesus is someone you just come to merely for questions. Or whether the Bible itself. You're able to pontificate or decide for yourself whether the Bible can be taken literally.

[8:22] Or even seriously in all of its claims. And its presentation. Which is to say you're questioning whether you take Jesus Christ seriously.

[8:35] Now this Christmas headed into the new year. Let's settle that score. All of your questions.

[8:46] All answered in the Lord Jesus Christ. And come from God's word. That does not mean, however, you cannot have questions. It doesn't mean that you cannot come to the Lord with your struggles.

[8:58] It doesn't mean that you're not ever going to have everything figured out. Because we're disciples. We learn, right? We're continuing to learn. But the question is, is your heart submitted to what the Bible says and what Christ says about your questions?

[9:18] As John 1.18 says, Jesus explains God. Meaning He answers the questions that anyone has about God.

[9:32] It's about worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what I desire to bring out this Sunday after Christmas heading into the new year. Is Jesus someone you merely appreciate?

[9:45] You merely admire? You respect? Esteem maybe? Or worship? Someone you use for your own purposes to maybe get ahead in life?

[9:58] Or do you submit your entire being to? Here's the definition of worship. Here's the definition of worship. According to the scriptures. An attitude or gesture of complete dependence.

[10:13] Submission to an authority figure. This attitude and gesture is one of allegiance. An adoration connecting oneself because of who that person is.

[10:27] It is an inner belief or conviction that expresses itself in an outward action or lifestyle. Simply put, you cannot ultimately hide what you believe.

[10:40] It will come out. In the biblical context. There's an element of serving. That's an act of worship.

[10:52] You serve the one whom you worship. You give. You sacrifice. to the one you worship.

[11:03] You see, this is really important because humanity is born to worship. Humanity, every single person is born to be identified with something. Connected to somebody. Having some sort of greater reality than just themselves.

[11:19] Maybe you've felt this before, but one of the greatest fears humanity can have or a single person is isolation. Loneliness. Being left behind.

[11:34] You see children sometimes as parents or siblings or friends leaving them behind and there's another fear that just takes over them. Or what about, have you asked the question, does my life amount to anything or does it have any kind of meaning?

[11:52] That is a human characteristic in each person to understand where we belong, who we belong to, what brings value or meaning to our lives. You and I are always placing value on something.

[12:08] Value on the words that we say. Value on the things that we do. What we collect. It's a part of how we were created. We were born worshipers. Worshippers.

[12:21] And if you want to know what you worship, if you want to have a little bit of insight into your own heart, you can ask yourself this. What do you value above all else on the planet?

[12:35] What would you give up for everything? What would you sacrifice it all for? And you can get to the heart of what you worship.

[12:49] So I pray that this challenges those who confess to worship Jesus Christ as we continue to grow and continue to submit our entire being to him in every area of our life.

[13:01] For those of you who are here and you're wondering about the Christmas story and who Christ is and what does he represent? Who is this one born in a manger?

[13:12] What do the scriptures present him as? And we come to the Gospel of Matthew and every Gospel has a perspective on Jesus Christ. And we come to the book of Matthew.

[13:24] And Matthew presents a king. The king of Israel. The Messiah to the world. Through Israel who will bless all the other nations because of this great king.

[13:39] He was born. He was born to suffer. He was born to save as a king. One who has authority. Remember our definition of worship. An attitude or gesture of submission to an authority figure.

[13:52] Matthew himself. He was a tax collector. He put himself under the authority of the Roman government because he would go and he would tax his own people.

[14:08] And very notably maybe even keep a little bit on the side for himself. So he was rejected by his countrymen. So Matthew is very fitting to write a Gospel because he understands what it means to have his mind and his heart and his perspective changed about the Messiah.

[14:28] He was banking on Rome. He was banking on Caesar. He was banking on this world superpower. But he needed to turn.

[14:39] He needed to see who his Messiah was. So what's happening in Matthew is he's writing a testimony concerning a king. The king. King of Israel.

[14:50] And the king of heaven and earth. It's fitting that the first words you see on the Skomach Baptist Church website is exalting Jesus as king.

[15:04] So that's what we want to do this morning. So the outline is as follows. Seven testimonies to worship the rightful king. We're going to go through the book of Matthew.

[15:16] There's multiple times where this word worship as we've already seen is used. Different context. Different scenarios. Different presentations. I.e. Testimonies of who Jesus is so that we understand who we are worshiping.

[15:32] And this first testimony is the king of promise. The king of promise. And we see this in Matthew chapters 1 and 2. So go back to Matthew chapter 2 verse 2.

[15:47] A magi from the east come and they say, Where is he who is born king of the Jews? This might be one of my longer points this morning, but I think it's crucial.

[15:58] He came into the world. He came into the manger. A king. He wasn't wrapped in royal robes.

[16:10] He was wrapped in a swaddling cloth. But he was born with all of the royal rights. All of the royal promises.

[16:21] Because of his heritage, his lineage, culminate into him being the king of Israel. If you just go back one chapter, you'll see this royal genealogy.

[16:35] That confirm that this baby boy has the exact heritage necessary to give him the royal rights to the throne. These magi, men from the east.

[16:49] Many think Persian men specializing in the sciences and the literary works of the day, including the scriptures. Astrology, astronomy, and who knows what else.

[17:02] They were able to connect the dots and bring them to this point. That there was something unique about this child and that he was going to be born a king.

[17:12] They understood it. So what Matthew does in this very first verse. Go to Matthew chapter 1, verse 1.

[17:23] He starts his gospel with this reality that this is the book or the record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah. Son of David.

[17:33] Son of David. Son of Abraham. Well, clearly Jesus was not born from David directly or Abraham directly.

[17:44] But it's very clear that Matthew has a point here. He comes from kings. And he is the Messiah. This is an amazing truth.

[17:56] So Matthew writing as a Jewish author to a Jewish people to present the Jewish king. The very first line says Messiah.

[18:06] This ought to have knocked their socks off. And here's why. Because the Old Testament said that there was going to be a son who would be a king, who would be a Messiah.

[18:19] And all of this points to Jesus. I just want to take you to two very important passages. Turn to Psalm chapter 2 for a moment. There are many messianic psalms.

[18:35] Kingly psalms. Priestly psalms. Prophetic psalms. And this fits this messianic kingly psalm. There's only a couple times in the Old Testament where this word anointed or Messiah, same word group, is used.

[18:58] Anointed one. Someone with a special opportunity or task given. That only they could accomplish. Look at verse 2.

[19:08] The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. You could say His Messiah. Saying, let us tear their feathers apart and cast away their cords.

[19:25] There's going to be a time where they come up against God's Messiah. The kings of the earth. But look at verse 6. But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion.

[19:39] My holy mountain. So this anointed one, this Messiah, is also going to be a king. But look at what verse 7 says. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, you are my son.

[19:53] Today I have begotten you. So He's anointed. He's a Messiah. Specially set apart for a specific task. He's also going to be a king. But He's also going to be a son.

[20:05] Uniquely a son. So what are they called to do? What are the kings called to do? Verse 11. Worship.

[20:18] Maybe some of your translations have the word serve. That's where that serving element comes in. Worship the Lord. Serve the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage.

[20:30] Pay homage. Honor. Exalt. Exalt. Recognize who the son is. That he not become angry and you perish in his way. In the way. For his wrath may soon be kindled.

[20:42] How blessed are all who take refuge in him. Who are protected by this king. So Psalm 2 looks ahead. To one who is going to be born as a Messiah.

[20:56] Who is also king. Who is also a son. Turn to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. We were here a couple of weeks ago.

[21:07] In Daniel chapter 7. As Pastor Mike Kiteke. If you were here. Talked about that ultimate day. Where the son comes to the father. And the father presents a kingdom to the son.

[21:19] So in Daniel chapter 9. Verse 25. There is this amazing. Precise.

[21:30] Intricate. Prophecy. About when the son will come. And what he is going to do. When the Messiah is going to come. And we don't have time to get into it. The point here is that there is a Messiah.

[21:41] Who has an authority as a prince. Look at verse 25. So you are to know. And discern. That from the issuing a decree. To restore and rebuild. Jerusalem. Until Messiah the prince.

[21:53] There will be seven weeks. And 62 weeks. It will be built again. With plaza and moat. Even in times of distress. Then after the 62 weeks.

[22:03] The Messiah will be cut off. And have nothing. This is a precise timeline. To when the Messiah is going to come. A precise calculation.

[22:16] That the Jewish people are supposed to understand. And look forward to. When this timeline happens. The Messiah has arrived. And it is calculated exactly. To when Jesus Christ comes.

[22:28] And enters into. The temple. On a donkey. There was anticipation. That's why we read Isaiah.

[22:40] Chapter 9. In the scripture reading. This morning. That a child. Would be born. Not just any child. But a son. Would be given. And that son. Would have a government.

[22:51] That would rest on his shoulders. That's where we're talking about. Authority. And that government. Will be. Of no end. Of peace.

[23:01] There will be. Peace all over that kingdom. To no end. As far as the eye could see. So turn back to.

[23:12] Matthew. Chapter 1. With that kind of. Anticipation. That there will be one. As you. Heard a couple weeks ago. One like the son of man.

[23:23] And how the son of man. Is a title. For the Messiah. In the book of Matthew. Right now. We come to Matthew 1. 1. And what is supposed to happen. In the Jewish heart. This is the record.

[23:33] Of the genealogy. Of the. Messiah. Jesus. The Messiah. Son of David. Son of Abraham. Verse 6. Jesse. He was the father.

[23:44] Of David. The king. Born. King. King of promise. King of promise. Why Abraham.

[23:57] Do you say. Well we don't have time. To get into it. Or the sermon. To be four hours long. But remember. Back in Genesis 17. Where God promised.

[24:09] To Abraham. That kings. Would come from him. And Genesis. 35. Said the same thing. To Jacob. Kings. Will come. From you. Genesis 49.

[24:19] Verse 10. The scepter. Will not depart. From Judah. Numbers 24. A star. Will come. From Jacob. A scepter. Shall arise. From Israel. A ruler.

[24:30] Will come. From Jacob. All of this. Is going to come. Through the lineage. And heritage. Of. The Israelite people. But because David.

[24:43] Was promised. An eternal throne. One from everlasting. To everlasting. It cannot be. A mere human. Who takes the throne. It must be. Someone who lives.

[24:55] Forever. Forever. And ever. Whose authority. Goes forever. And ever. And can rule. Forever. And ever. Therefore. All of these promises. Prove.

[25:05] That Jesus Christ. Is the king. The eternal king. Who will sit on the throne. Of David. Forever. And ever. And these magi. Have come.

[25:17] They came. To worship. Him. Because they would have been in. Persia. That's kind of modern day Syria.

[25:27] Or Iraq. Which is. Quite the traveling distance. From Israel at the time. So they. They sacrificed their livelihoods. They sacrificed their time.

[25:38] They sacrificed their resources. They even sacrificed themselves. At the risk of disobeying King Herod. Because they said. You know what? Because God said.

[25:51] Let's not. Go back. We cannot go back. Verse 9.

[26:04] After hearing the king. They went on their way. The star. They had seen from the east. Went on their way. Until it came. And stood over the place. Where the child was. And having been warned. By God in a dream.

[26:15] Not to return to Herod. The magi left. They obeyed. They obeyed their instructions. This was not mere appreciation.

[26:26] On the magi's part. But a submission of their lives. To the king. And to the word of God. The king of promise. Secondly.

[26:37] The king of truth. Turn to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. I'm assuming.

[26:49] That you hate being lied to. I'm assuming. You hate. Living in lies. And hate the consequences. Of lies. We've all experienced it.

[27:03] You and I experience. The world we do. Because of a couple lives. That were told. And believed. Right from the beginning. Satan is guilty. Of bringing the first lie. Did God really say?

[27:16] Is God really the only one worth listening to? Isn't there another way to find out about truth in this world? In that context.

[27:27] It was Adam and Eve. In this context. It is the son of God. It is the second Adam. The one who will fulfill what Adam could not fulfill in the garden. And Satan is asking Jesus.

[27:39] Are you really who you say you are? He's putting Jesus up on the witness stand. He's acting as judge. He's giving this king tests.

[27:50] Similar tests that the Old Testament kings had to walk through. And failed. But Jesus would not fail these tests. Jesus stands against evil.

[28:02] Pure. Unadulterated evil. With the truth. With passages from Deuteronomy. So don't forsake your Old Testament reading as you start a new Bible reading project this year.

[28:15] He stands against the truth. He conquers evil with the truth. And he says at is written. As it is written.

[28:26] What is concrete? What is validated on earth from heaven? What is eternal? Is that how you worship Christ? Your heart.

[28:39] Your mind. Your soul. Meaning your beliefs. Your thought processes. And all of your convictions. Does it operate on this foundation as it is written? Or is it as it is opinionated?

[28:58] As it is commented online? As it is speculated in my own heart? When you hear about truth or you have truth presented to you from God's word.

[29:12] Do you worship Christ in submission to it as it is written? Because Satan's first and repeated tactic.

[29:23] It has not been a new tactic. It's been the same from the garden. To downgrade the absolute authority and clarity and power of the word of God.

[29:33] Are you falling prey to that lie? Or are you worshiping? Because he gives three tests here.

[29:44] And this last test is worship me. All of these things. Verse 9. In chapter 4.

[29:55] I will give to you if you fall down and worship me. As if he actually had the ability to give them. As if they were actually his.

[30:08] Evil wants to be worshipped. Satan wants you to give him your heart and mind and soul. And draw you away from the truth.

[30:24] Jesus spoke. Lived. In the truth. Because he was the truth. Isn't that the desire? Even as Mike mentioned a couple weeks ago.

[30:36] To have a king or a president or a prime minister. To live in such a way that has authority in a country or a nation.

[30:48] That only acts and only speaks in reference with the truth. Jesus defends error with the truth.

[31:03] He even is able to as God himself. Reveal the truth. We're not going to go through Matthew chapter 5 through 7. But it's a sermon on the mount. He clarifies.

[31:14] What the truth is. Where the truth goes to the heart. He defines it. He reveals it. Think of what the kings were called to do in the Old Testament. They were actually called to write out the law in front of the Levitical priests.

[31:29] None of them could ultimately define or reveal truth. Only Jesus could do that as God himself in the flesh. We worship Jesus because he's the king of truth.

[31:40] He never leads in error. He never deceives. He never misleads. He never swindles for selfish gain. He gives you the truth about who you are. About who he is. And how to reconcile the two.

[31:52] How to close the gap. And he judges all matters in heaven and on earth. With the truth. He never distorts justice. Listen to these passages in Psalm.

[32:05] Psalm 45 verses 6 and 7. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. For you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

[32:17] Psalm 89 verse 14. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before you. We worship him because he reveals what is true, what is real, what is accurate, what is genuine, what is just.

[32:34] And has never done anything other than that. To reject Jesus. And the truth is to say that you're wiser, more knowledgeable.

[32:47] You know the divine balance between mercy and justice. Or you count what is true as unworthy for you and not valuable for your existence.

[33:01] And in the end is not just to worship something else, but it is to worship yourself. Because now you have become the judge of God and what is true. You've probably heard this before.

[33:14] The definition of insanity is doing the same thing with getting the same results. I would argue the definition of insanity is the clay believing that they are the potter.

[33:28] We worship him because he is the king of truth. Thirdly, he is the king of life. Turn to Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9 verse 18.

[33:41] You and I both know that the world is on a search for what brings life. What extends life. What rejuvenates life. Maybe you're not a green thumb and it just painstakingly takes time to give plants life in your home or in your front yard.

[34:03] Scientists are still trying to find that one little particle. You know, the God particle. That one little piece of existence that could possibly maybe explain the entire universe.

[34:19] It's going to be an endless search that will always end in despair unless you look in the right place. Look at Matthew chapter 9 verse 18. While he was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed before him.

[34:35] That's our word. That's our worship word. And bowed down before him. And said, my daughter has just died. But come and lay your hand on her and she will live.

[34:51] This synagogue official, this one who would represent Jewish life. One who is intimately involved in the daily operation potentially of the synagogue which was worship.

[35:02] He was at the end of human intervention. Human intervention reached its limit.

[35:15] The curse of sin prevailed as it always does. But he knew there was something else in this person of Jesus. He knew that something within him could bring life where death was currently reigning.

[35:31] And then you have in verse 20. A woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years. Came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak.

[35:46] You have another woman who is deprived of a healthy and productive life. Not only that, but a hemorrhage usually meant some sort of bloodletting.

[35:58] Which would have left her unclean and unacceptable in the community. Which would have meant isolation and loneliness and a life of suffering and physical pain and discomfort. If you know me at all or you're a part of this church, you know that we flee from anything that even touches the prosperity gospel.

[36:18] That if you just come to Jesus and your life is just going to go well, be all better, pain free. We know that that's a lie from the pit of hell. The point here though is there was a recognition that Jesus could provide something that produces life that nobody else could.

[36:39] That Jesus is the life. And that life was the light of men.

[36:49] That he came to bring life and bring it abundantly. That he gives life to the world. That he alone can create life, restore life, heal life, and raise life.

[37:01] Jesus spoke creation into existence. He gives life to the world. He gives it to you and I in this very second. He was proving as the Messiah.

[37:15] As God in the very flesh. That he can even reverse the curse of the effects of sin that no one else can possibly do. No doctor.

[37:30] No trainer. No scientist. You are only living and experiencing life in this very moment because Jesus is allowing it. In him, Hebrews says, all things hold together.

[37:44] Colossians 1. Hebrews 1. Think of it this way. Even if your heart, your spiritual heart, your mind, and your soul are not in submission to Jesus, your physical flesh is in submission to Jesus.

[38:02] Your physical body is under the submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you cannot even breathe another moment unless Jesus allows that to take place.

[38:15] That ought to induce worship. He knows the days of your life before there was even one of them. You and I owe everything we have to Jesus Christ because he gives it to us.

[38:32] These two lives. Families were changed because Jesus gave them the life that only he could provide. But how did that come about?

[38:44] Do you look in verse 22? Daughter, take courage. Your faith has made you well. There's another account here. Look at verse 29.

[38:55] He touched their eyes and it shall be done to you according to your faith. The prosperity gospel says that it is the intentionality of your faith.

[39:05] How much you have faith. That's what brings in the blessing of God, which we would wholeheartedly reject. It is faith in the person of Christ. It is faith in his power and what he alone can do.

[39:18] They trusted Christ because of who he is. No power in their own faith, but power in the person of Christ. They submitted to his power.

[39:29] They trusted his authority and the exclusive reality that only he could make him well. He's the king of life.

[39:41] Fourth, the fourth testimony in Matthew is that he's the king of creation. Turn to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14, verse 33. This next story, you probably know it well.

[39:55] He's the king of creation. Matthew chapter 14, verse 33. And those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, You are certainly God's son.

[40:15] Jesus was testing the faith of his disciples. And what better way to test someone's faith by putting them in a life or death experience?

[40:26] You'll find out very quickly what you worship. Because you'll know what you're thinking about. What comes in your heart will probably come out of your mouth.

[40:38] What you believe, what you think. What you cling on to, what you try to save. They'd already experienced multiple miracles displaying Jesus' power. And yet there was more refining to be done.

[40:51] They were in a very difficult situation. Look at verse 24. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves. For the wind was contrary.

[41:02] This was a quality storm for these fishermen. Jesus comes and he walks on the water. These men are in deathly peril.

[41:16] And yet the king of creation is unbothered by the wind and the waves. He's in complete control of the entire situation. Creation is submitting to him.

[41:30] He's able to step on the water and take steps on the water as if it's the dry ground of Galilee. Every moment and every molecule is in his control, whether it's the wind or the water.

[41:50] Yet his people were still fearful. Peter was the brave one though. Calls out.

[42:04] Take courage in his eye, Jesus says. Peter says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Then he said, come. And in this moment, it is not merely about Peter's faith, but Jesus' spectacular power to uphold his creation under his control.

[42:26] Even though the wind and the waves are still battering, Peter is able to defy physics. Why? Because of his faith? No, because Jesus created physics, controls physics, and created these laws and is able to operate within them and outside of them however he chooses.

[42:50] And then Jesus steps into the boat and the entire situation changes. The wind stops. The waves stop.

[43:02] And the worship begins. Physical world can look to us like it is out of control.

[43:15] It can look to us that there is no other recourse. That the world is in disrepair. It's in desperate condition. And can seem from our vantage point, it's lost and it's in need of human restoration.

[43:29] As if we have the answers. But we need not forget that even Jesus can make rocks cry out to worship him.

[43:44] Have you ever thought about that? Would it look like if he called all the rocks in Squamish to worship him? It would be pretty deafening, wouldn't it? He even says that he can make people from stones.

[43:59] I can make even sons of Abraham from these stones. In Jesus, all of the creation is being held together by the power of his word.

[44:16] Your feet are firmly planted on this ground because of Christ. The chief is where it is after the flood because Jesus carved it out the way it would be so that it would be almost an international monument for climbers.

[44:29] The stars are held in place because he made the stars also. And he will one day, for all those who trust in him, will transform physical bodies.

[44:45] Your physical bodies, if you trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, your physical body will decay in death. But then he will restore and recreate it to look like a glorious heavenly body.

[44:59] Where it will never degrade, never experience sin again. Who can do that but Christ? Paul says in Romans that false worship replaces God, substitutes God for his creation.

[45:17] The created ones are now the ones being worshipped. Or the created. Romans 1, as you have heard from Pastor BK, professing to be wise, they became fools.

[45:35] So don't fall trap to a second. For any moment when the world calls you unscientific for believing in six-day, 24-hour creation.

[45:49] He may call you all sorts of things. Illogical, incoherent, mindless. He is the king of creation.

[46:03] He created it. Peter was falling into the water because he started to trust in his own perspective. You and I naturally will fear the same way that Peter did.

[46:16] We feel like God doesn't have control. We look to the things seen and not to the unseen things. We go into anxious or panic mode. We try to fix it for God. We see the treacherous seas.

[46:28] We become scared, forgetting quite quickly that he was one that could firmly plant his feet on the water. Again, creation's purpose is to point the very reality of a creator.

[46:44] And that he is worthy of worship. What was the charge? Verse 31. Oh, you of little faith.

[46:55] Why did you doubt? You looked at Christ. You worshiped him. Because he's the king of creation. Fifthly.

[47:07] He's the king of the nations. Turn one chapter to Matthew chapter 15. Verse 25. Verse 25. His creation extends to nations, countries, borders, groups of people.

[47:26] Each one unique. Each one intentional. He is leading each individual nation towards his plan and the purposes of the world.

[47:37] That's essentially what Daniel is about. All the kingdoms of the earth coming to that one ultimate kingdom of the sun. He is not merely king of the Jews, but he is the king of every single person.

[47:49] And the purpose of salvation is to go to the nations. He made it very clear that he was to go to the Jews first.

[48:01] Look at verse 24. He answered and said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He came to his own people.

[48:12] The context here is this woman. Verse 22 from Canaan. A region that came out and began to cry out saying, Have mercy on me, Lord.

[48:26] Son of David. My daughter is cruelly demon possessed. They don't know how. Could be through false worship.

[48:37] Very likely. But Jesus. The salvation does not only extend to the nation of Israel, but also to Gentile nations.

[48:50] This woman from Canaan with no rights from Israel. No special blessing of what Israel provided. No temple. No sacrificial system. No morally righteous set of laws to abide by.

[49:02] Look how she answers. She came and bowed down before him.

[49:13] Again, that's our worship word. She prostrated herself with a gesture of worship before him saying, Lord, help me. An understanding of authority with the title of Lord.

[49:24] Lord, it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. It's pretty politically incorrect nowadays, wouldn't you say?

[49:38] But she said, yes, Lord. But even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Hear that language?

[49:50] The worship language? Lord? Lord? From their master's table? She knows where she stands.

[50:03] She doesn't blame Jesus for her birth status. She doesn't seek a higher status. She's humble and lowly. But most importantly, she knows that Jesus' power and salvation isn't limited to a passport, civilization, citizenship, bloodline, or national status.

[50:24] All she wants is a crumb. Just give me something from Christ, she says.

[50:36] One crumb from Christ is greater than any entire bakery from the world.

[50:48] This is what she's saying. Give me one crumb from Christ. She's recognizing what Jesus and who Jesus is.

[51:03] She's the king of all of the nations, who is intimately involved in individual needs, a personal king, a present king, who walks among his people as clearly as God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve.

[51:16] She didn't fall into self-pity. She worshipped. She humbled herself.

[51:32] She recognized her unworthiness before her master. You can still feel unworthy, but also worship before Christ.

[51:46] Sometimes our feelings of unworthiness go to self-pity. But she understood her unworthiness, but she still worshipped because she looked to Christ. She knew that he was worthy.

[51:59] And even if a crumb touched her lips from Christ, even if she could just have one healing touch, one word from Christ about helping this demon-possessed daughter, even that one crumb would satisfy her.

[52:22] A king who provides for all under his rule of benevolence and goodness, understands the needs of each one.

[52:40] This is the true need for each of us. She was possessed by a demon. She was possessed with evil.

[52:50] It was internal. And she knew that the only hope for salvation was ultimately Jesus Christ to stand before her king with his approval.

[53:05] Which leads us to our next king. We've got two more to go. The king of the kingdom. Turn to Matthew 20. Here comes a story that is in great contrast to this previous story with the Canaanite woman.

[53:24] We know that his creation will culminate into Jesus ruling over all the nations and over all of his earth. We know that there is a coming kingdom that Jesus will rule and will last forever. We've already heard that he will rule with justice and righteousness, with the end being true rest, peace, and joy.

[53:41] He would earn his throne, his rule, and his kingdom. But it wouldn't be smooth sailing. He didn't come and everyone were like the magi, everybody bowing down, everybody worshiping, a glorious parade, pomp and circumstance, an easy path.

[54:02] But what Matthew is pointing out here, that this king is going to inherit his kingdom through pain, heartache, and suffering. Look at Matthew 20, verse 20.

[54:18] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of him. There's our word again. And he said to her, What do you wish?

[54:31] She said to him, Command that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on your right hand and one on your left.

[54:43] It's a pretty bold request of a mother. You could probably imagine these two sons of Zebedee maybe standing behind their mom, peeking over her shoulder. What did he say? In one instance over here, you have this Canaanite woman who is saying, I want a crumb.

[55:02] Give me some sort of touch, some sort of word from God. And then these two guys send their mom, Can you just make sure we get seats with Christ? Can you just make sure that these two guys get to sit with you in the high place?

[55:19] Receive glory with you? And what was Jesus' answer? You do not know what you're asking.

[55:30] You do not know what it actually takes to sit on that throne, to sit beside me in that kingdom. Are you willing? Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink?

[55:46] Oh, we're able, they say. That was quick. Sometimes you interact with your kids, you say, are you ready for what this might mean? They say, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're ready.

[55:56] There's no thought process in between. That's what it's like here. My cup you shall drink.

[56:08] But to sit on my right and on my left, it's not mine to give. But it's for those who have been prepared by my Father. What a contrast.

[56:20] The cup of suffering. He will inherit His kingdom. He will sit on His throne, but it will be through mocking, through scorn, and the brutality of death on the cross.

[56:35] And if we were to kind of search internally, I think if we were honest with ourselves, we would hope to kind of just enter into the kingdom, maybe with a little smoke on our heels, but in a way that doesn't really touch us that much.

[56:54] We want the rewards without the suffering. We want the growth without the pain, spiritual maturity, without the scars, through ease and comfort. But we want everything that Christ provided, but none of what Christ's life experienced.

[57:10] You and I both want that. That's what the disciples here wanted, that Jesus had to challenge. That your faith in Christ, your worship of Christ, will produce suffering that tests your faith, that are to reveal God's power in your life.

[57:29] We know that in the end, according to Isaiah 9, the increase and peace will be of no end, but the cost of that peace was His suffering and His sacrifice. So why any different for His worshipers?

[57:42] Why any different for the people who identify with this King? One dear brother of mine lost his wife five years ago, and I got to walk through him as she was nearing her last days, and he was determined to be faithful.

[58:05] They were determined to be faithful, and it was powerful to watch. The world would not recognize that as power.

[58:18] But here's what power is. He was determined to be faithful. It's a line that we'll never forget. He says, I get to do one thing here that I will never get to do in heaven.

[58:32] Praise God in suffering. That's power. to suffer faithfully because you know your King has suffered for you to provide you spiritual life and to be identified with this King who suffered.

[58:54] You will go through that cup of suffering. It will be individual. It will be personal. You will walk through it with the church. But that suffering is to prove the power of God that you are serving your Savior.

[59:12] Because isn't that the point of this? Verse 28, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many, this King came to serve.

[59:25] This King came to suffer in serving you. So that's what happens as you continue to walk through life, worshiping Christ.

[59:39] You get to praise Him through the cup of suffering that He brings, and you willingly walk under His authority, and He will sufficiently provide for every single one of your needs so that you will grow.

[59:51] Lastly, King of salvation, Matthew 28. Matthew 28. We know this as the resurrection.

[60:06] Matthew 28, verse 9. Behold, Jesus met them and greeted them, and they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him.

[60:21] Look at verse 17. They saw Him. They worshipped Him. But some were doubtful. So everything in His earthly life culminates to this point.

[60:33] The rising of His physical body from dead, from the death, that He experienced on the cross, so that this point could be said in verse 18.

[60:46] Jesus came up to them and said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. So in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 1, He was the Messiah.

[60:59] Matthew chapter 2, the Magi recognized Him in the major as the one who was born King. And then in Matthew 28, He's the one who is now receiving all authority in heaven and on earth because of His resurrection.

[61:16] So His resurrection proves everything else true, that He is the King of promise. Look at verse 6. He is not here for He has risen just as He said because He's the King of truth.

[61:33] He promised what would happen, it was true, and it happened. He's the King of life, so He was able to raise Himself up. He's the King of creation, so He was able to recreate what was cursed and to prove if you have faith in Him that He will raise you from the dead and transform your mortal body into His body of immortality.

[61:55] He's the King of the nations, meaning He broke down the barriers. Verse 19, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. He's the King of the kingdom.

[62:08] He suffered to rule, and He's the King of salvation. He was raised up to redeem. So who else is worthy?

[62:25] Who else can hold that title but our God and our Savior and the one who is worthy and deserving of all worship and praise?

[62:37] Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this testimony of Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew. The testimony of one who is worthy of everything we are, everything we have because of His lordship and His kingship.

[62:58] Lord, I pray for every soul here that they would bow down, that they would be in His kingdom, that they'd be receiving the spiritual life that You provide, and if they are not, Father, work in their soul and in their heart.

[63:18] Grant them faith and life. For those professing the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, Lord, help us to conform to His image, to renew our mind and our hearts about who this king is.

[63:39] Lord, we need Your help. Help our weaknesses, help our faith to grow to worship this king rightfully and worthily.

[63:54] as we enter into this new year, Father. May we look to Him who is worthy in Your Son's precious and holy name. Amen.