In Peter Allison's sermon titled 'Christ Incarnate Exalted,' he explores Philippians 2:5-11, emphasizing the nature and work of Jesus Christ. The sermon asserts that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, took human form without losing his divinity. It outlines the concept of Christ's voluntary humiliation, where he relinquished his rights for the benefit of others, serving as an example for Christians to follow. The sermon discusses Christ's exaltation through his resurrection, ascension, and coronation. It emphasizes the significance of the Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to live out Christ's example and achieve a harmonious community. Christ's ascension is highlighted as a pivotal event, marking his victory over sin, death, and Satan, and enabling the Holy Spirit's indwelling. Moreover, Christ's position at the right hand of God signifies his role as advocate and intercessor for believers, ensuring their justification and righteousness. Ultimately, the sermon calls believers to trust in Christ's reign and sovereignty, looking forward to his return and the final judgment, while living in the assurance of his completed work and ongoing intercession.

Our scripture reading this morning is Philippians chapter 2. I'd like to read beginning verse 5, we'll be looking particularly at verses 9 to 11. Philippians 2, verse 5, here the word of the Lord, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Thus far the reading of His Word may be praised at its reading and hearing.

Almighty Heavenly Father, Your Word is clear, Your Word is pure, refined seven times. Your word is truth. Please open our eyes to behold that truth, to behold you as you are revealed in it. And please sanctify these sinful lips and this vessel of clay to proclaim the riches of your grace, that the glory might belong unto you and not to men. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Well, In our consideration of the person and the work of Jesus Christ that we've been looking at these last couple weeks, we have seen that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Trinity, and that He is the One by whom all things were made and for whom all things were made, that He is the sovereign in His pre-incarnate deity, He is the sovereign over all, to whom all glory and power and dominion belongs. And In taking to himself human flesh and blood, he did not in any way cease to be fully God. He did not lose any of his attributes as God, but his glory was veiled. And even though the fullness of the God had dwelt in him bodily, yet that glory was not manifest in the time of his incarnation on earth. He willingly, involuntarily emptied himself.

He gave up his rights. This great doctrine of Christ's voluntary humiliation, voluntarily emptying himself of his rights, is the foundation that undergirds our call as the body of Christ. It's this example that we are to have the same view of our rights as Christ did of His, being willing to give them up for the good and the well-being and in the interest of others. And when we have this same mind that was in Jesus Christ, who was voluntarily willing to voluntarily relinquish his rights, then we will also, then that we will have this self-esteem of others, this self-forgetfulness. And the fruit of this humility, the fruit of having this mind as Christ did, is a harmonious body.

A body that has mutual love and affection for each other. A body that looks out for the interests of others as well as their own interests. Of course the Holy Spirit is the only power by which we can accomplish this. The Holy Spirit is the only way that we could ever have that mind of Christ and be willing to humble ourselves in that way and willing to give up our rights. No natural man could live this way.

For Those who live according to their flesh, the Bible says, set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be fleshly minded is death. Those who are in the flesh, Paul told the Romans, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The only possible way that we could ever have this ability is through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It's He that enables us, and He that empowers us to do these things. We might look at somebody and think, well, my, they seem very self-forgetful. They seem very humble. They seem like they are looking out for the interests of others. And certainly that may be the case.

There are many who are not in the Spirit, who may seem to do these things. And outwardly we can be thankful that they do them. That is part of God's grace as well, His grace to all people. Sometimes called His common grace. And yet this truth, this scripture is still true in what it says.

That those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. That those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And so when we see that, we need to remember this truth as well. While we can give thanks to God and give thanks to them for the work that they do. Yet we have to remember that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

And that what they are doing, if it is not done by the power of the Holy Spirit, is ultimately not pleasing to the Lord. But it is done out of the flesh. There are many reasons that people may do these things in the flesh. They might do them because they realize that through doing them, they bring credit to themselves. That they reflect honor upon themselves.

And so they can do many good things. And it's good that they do those good things. But if they don't do them in the Spirit, if They are not living in the Spirit. They cannot please God. But Jesus said that for the Holy Spirit to come, He had to first be exalted.

He had to first ascend into heaven. And so our text this morning picks up this progression of Christ's humiliation, His voluntarily relinquishing of his rights, of his glory, of veiling that glory in his time, but also because he humbled himself, God has highly exalted him. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. Those who humble themselves, God exalts. So Christ humbled himself and therefore, therefore, Paul said, because Christ humbled Himself and was obedient to death, even the death of the cross, therefore God has highly exalted Him.

How has Christ been exalted? Well, we'll look this morning at four ways that He's been exalted. He's been first of all exalted in His resurrection. His body did not see corruption as it lay in the grave. He descended into the grave, but his body didn't see corruption.

It was impossible for him to see corruption. The grave could not hold him, the apostles proclaimed on the day of Pentecost. The grave could not hold him because the grave had no legal authority to hold him. Christ was sinless. And in His death, He fully satisfied the wrath of God.

Remember, He said from the cross, it is finished. The wrath of God was finished. He had fully paid the penalty. The wrath he had satisfied or propitiated to turn away, appeased the wrath of God for all the sins of all of His people for all of time. And so the grave had no legal right over Christ.

It could not hold him. And he rose, he rose triumphant from the grave, defeating, he defeated death. But it wasn't A spirit that rose from the grave. It was Christ, the God-man. It was flesh and blood, the man, Jesus Christ, who rose victorious from the grave by His own power.

He says, no man takes my life. I lay my life down and I take it up again. Christ as the God man, Christ as flesh and blood rose from the grave with the same body with which he suffered. Remember when he appeared to the disciples, he went through the door, and it was locked and was standing in their midst, and they thought they were looking at a ghost. But he said to them, look at my hands and my feet.

A spirit does not have flesh and blood as you see that I have. Look at the wounds in my hands. A spirit does not have wounds in the flesh as Christ had. Christ rose bodily. He rose with His flesh and His blood.

He rose with a body like ours from the grave. And in rising from the grave as the God-man, He is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness. He is shown by that resurrection that He has satisfied the wrath of God. That is the proof that God's wrath is satisfied because the grave could not hold him. That is the proof that he has defeated death, that he rose victorious.

That is the proof that he has defeated Satan at the cross. See, He is shown in His resurrection to be the Lord of the living and the dead. That in life and in death we know that we belong to our faithful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the Hottelberg Catechism says. See God, Jesus told the Sadducees who didn't believe in the resurrection, and so Jesus went right back to Where? The Pentateuch, the law to show and approve the resurrection.

He went to the burning bush passage where God said, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus said, God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore you are greatly mistaken in Abraham, though he is dead yet he lives." They were still living because of the resurrection. Christ is our God in life and in death. And that we know that when we lay down this body of sin for the last time, that we will rise again.

And that we are not dying eternally, but that we will be raised and reunited with our body and be able to enter into His presence. We know that from the resurrection. And so whether we are alive or whether we are dead, Christ is Lord. Christ is our Lord and we belong to Him. So Christ is exalted in His resurrection.

By His resurrection, we obtain several benefits. By His resurrection, Paul said that He obtained our justification. By Christ's resurrection. Justification by Christ's resurrection. His righteousness is imputed to us who believe in Him, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and raised for our justification.

He also obtained our being made alive by grace. And you has He quickened, you has He made alive who were dead in your trespasses and sins even When we were dead in our sins, we were made alive together with Christ. And He has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. See, it's in His resurrection that we have known we have been made alive in Christ. And His resurrection also assures us, it gives to us that confidence and that assurance that we also will be raised from the dead in the last day.

Christ now has risen from the dead and He has become the first fruits of those that sleep. We can look to Him as the first fruits and know that because we are in Christ, we also will rise in the last day when he returns. So because of Christ's resurrection, we then have this great assurance, this great confidence that not only has he paid the penalty for our sin, not only have we been justified, but that we also will rise again from the dead. Christ was exalted in His resurrection, but He was also exalted in His ascension. Christ was exalted when he visibly ascended into the heavens and was received in the clouds.

An amazing sight. Such that the apostles were standing there transfixed, just staring into the heavens at the glorious sight that they had just seen, that they had just witnessed. And the angel came down and said, why are you staring into the heavens? He's not there, he is gone. But that was a grand and glorious exaltation, that He ascended up into the heavens and was received into the clouds." You see the significance and the news there isn't that the second person of the Trinity, that this God the Son in His divine nature was raised to heaven.

That wouldn't be any great news. He was as we've seen the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He dwelt in inapproachable light in his pre-incarnate state. The amazing news of the ascension is that he ascended bodily in flesh and blood into heaven. The God-man ascended into heaven.

He is victorious as one who is man, who has a nature like ours, who has flesh and blood like we do. The ascension of Christ, the exaltation in his ascension is that flesh and blood has ascended into the heavens. That is marvelous. Never before in history news that flesh and blood has ascended into heaven. That God the man, the God man, has ascended into heaven.

And one in our nature has now passed into the heavens, been received into the clouds. See Christ as the second Adam has entered the presence from which the first Adam was expelled. Christ the second Adam, Christ The God-man with His flesh and blood has entered into the heavens. Christ as the seed of the woman that was promised in the Garden of Eden. It's He in His flesh and blood that has succeeded where Adam failed.

Where Adam was expelled in his body from the presence of God. Christ in His flesh has been received into the presence of God. Christ, as the second Adam, has fulfilled the terms of the covenant of works. God had promised Adam that if he obeyed God, he would live. But in the day that he disobeyed God and ate of the tree, he would surely die.

He would lose communion and fellowship with God. He would be removed from his presence, and he was. In the very day that he ate of it, he died. And yet Christ, the seed of the woman, with flesh and blood has perfectly obeyed the law of God and has Ascended into heaven into the very presence of the throne room of God. But it's not just someone with our nature that is ascended into heaven.

Christ is also our elder brother. Christ is our brother. In Hebrews, Paul tells us that it was fitting for him that is Christ, for whom all things and by whom all things are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all are one. And so Christ calls us his brothers. Well if Christ calls us his brothers then Christ himself is also our brother.

That's how that works. He can't be our brother without him being our brother as well. In fact he told the people When they told him that his family, his mother and brothers were there, he said, No, my mother, my brother and my mother are those who do my will. And in Romans 8 as well, we are said to have received the adoption as sons. And that we are joint heirs with Christ.

We are joint heirs as sons of God with Christ. To be a joint heir is to be a co-heir with Him. And a little later in that same chapter Paul said that those whom God has Foreknown from before the foundation of the world He's predestined to be conformed to the image of his son Jesus Christ That he that is Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers. Christ is the firstborn among many brothers. And so Christ, as our elder brother, has with his body, having a nature like ours, ascended into the heavens.

Now what are the benefits of His ascension? Well we said earlier when we opened this morning that for the Holy Spirit to come Christ must be exalted and Christ told his disciples that it was actually to their benefit For Christ to ascend for Christ to to leave them and why is that? Why was it to their benefit for Christ to ascend? Well, two reasons, two benefits. By His ascension, Christ draws our affections heavenward.

Our elder brother has ascended into heaven. We have a fellow heir, a joint heir with us in the heavens. One who is not just our flesh and blood, but one who is our brother in the heavens. So if, Paul told the Colossians, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

If Christ is ascended and sits at the right hand of God, then, Paul said, set your affection on things above. If that's where Christ is, set your affection there. But secondly, Christ said that he was leaving, he ascended into heaven in order to prepare a place in heaven for us. Now isn't that an amazing thing? Christ is now preparing a place for us.

He said, in my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. And I go now to prepare a place for you and when I come again. I will take you there I Will receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also And so Christ has gone to prepare this place for us. And it is a wonderful place. The eye has not seen, the mind hasn't considered, cannot contain.

We don't know the glory of the place that He is preparing for us. We just know that it will be wonderful. And so Christ has gone to prepare that. He had to ascend in order to do that. But why does Christ need to ascend for the Spirit to come?

That's what He told His disciples. If I don't go, then the Spirit can't come in John 16. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you.

If I do not go away, the helper will not come to you." Now, why might that be? Why could not Jesus send his Holy Spirit while he's here? He said it was to their advantage. Well, there's a few things you might think of. First of all, Christ's bodily presence cannot be everywhere at once.

He has a nature like ours. We can't be everywhere at once. We can only be in one place. And Christ respects His human nature cannot be in every place, in more than one place anymore than we can. It's part of the nature of the human body.

It's part of the flesh and blood nature. And so, His Spirit though is everywhere present. In all times, in all places, in all circumstances. Wherever two or three are gathered in my name Jesus says there I am in your midst because he is there his spirit is present and so it's Christ descended into heaven in His body that His Spirit may come and so that's advantageous to us. John Calvin said, but far more advantageous and far more desirable is that presence of Christ by which He communicates Himself to us through the grace and power of His Spirit, than if He were bodily present before our eyes.

Because Christ, Matthew Henry said, Christ's bodily presence draws men's eyes, but His Spirit draws their hearts. But there's more. In Christ's ascension, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. That is what Paul said in Ephesians 4. Christ in His ascension led captivity captive.

There is one body and one spirit just as you are called in one hope or you are calling one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. But to each of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore he says, that's why he says when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now this, he ascended, what does it mean that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth? And he who descended is the one who ascended far above the heavens that he may fill all things." In His ascension, by His ascension, He led captivity captive.

Captivity that is a synecdoche for all of the captives, our spiritual enemies, sin, death, Satan. So this triumph over sin, over Satan, over death, over all of his angels, this triumph which was done through his death and resurrection was completed, was finalized, was in his ascension, in his triumphal entry into heaven. And in that triumphal entry, he gave gifts to men. Think of the victories, the triumphal marches that these ancient empires, ancient kings would have. Oh, we have them today too, right?

At the end of World War II, we had the great ticker tape parades. Those were triumphal entries where those who were victorious in battle were honored before cheering crowds of people and This is When Christ ascended into the heavens it was his triumphal entry He made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of the demons of Satan, openly trampling upon them. His ascension into heaven is that visible triumphal entry where his victory was displayed to everybody. And he gave gifts. In that triumphal entry he gave gifts.

Specifically, he gave his Holy Spirit. He gave gifts to men. He who descended is the one who ascended far above the heavens that he might fill all things. He himself gave some. He goes on to talk about what God has given, the gifts that he has given, that come through his spirit.

Because it is his spirit that enables anyone to do any work at all. He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for edifying the body of Christ. That's His Holy Spirit that gives these gifts. We call them the gifts of the Spirit. And so Christ in His ascension.

When He made a public spectacle of the foes that He had defeated He gave gifts to men He gave His Holy Spirit and in that Spirit all the gifts that flow from Him. But there's more. I think this is one of the most interesting reasons why He had to go to heaven for the Holy Spirit to come. He is our great High Priest. Now this is the main point, Paul said in Hebrews 8, of the things that we are saying.

We have a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man." Just think about this a minute. When you go home maybe read Hebrews 8 and 9 in their entirety. We don't have time to do that this morning, but let me just give you a synopsis. The main point of the things that Paul has been saying in the book of Hebrews to this point and he's been talking about Christ as the great high priest. The main point is that we have a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty, a minister, a servant of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord has erected and not man.

And then he goes on to talk about the priests under the Mosaic dispensation. They had to enter every year into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice upon the mercy sea and make atonement for the sins of the people." He talks about then these priests and the service that they did. But then he compares it to Christ. He comes back in chapter 9 and says, but Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands that is not of this creation Not with the blood of bulls and calves, but with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once and for all having obtained an eternal redemption. The high priest had to go every year because they only brought the blood of bulls and goats and that blood couldn't atone for anybody's sins.

It simply could point people to Christ who would come, who with his own blood would enter a temple not made with hands in the heavens, not something that is created even of this creation, but a heavenly tabernacle. He would enter with his own blood, sprinkle the things that are there. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven should be purified with these." So that's the copy. Remember the earthly tabernacle was the copy of what was in heaven. It was necessary for them to be sprinkled with the blood of these bulls and goats.

But the heavenly things, this heavenly temple, this true temple of which the earthly temple was just a copy, this true temple with better sacrifices than the bulls and goats. For Christ has not entered the holy place made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us, not that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He would then have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now, once at the coming of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Christ had to enter, pass through the heavens, because he had to enter into that tabernacle that wasn't made with men's hands, and to sprinkle that heavenly tabernacle with his own blood. He is truly our great high priest.

And for him to do that work, he had to ascend into the heavens. And so for the Holy Spirit to come, to be able to bring, To be able to convince men of Christ's work and apply it to them, Christ had to finish that work. Complete that work, I should say. He had to actually ascend into heaven and sprinkle the heavenly tabernacle with his own blood. But also, Christ's ascension is the great argument to convince men of Christ's righteousness.

Christ's ascension is the great argument to convince men of Christ's righteousness. Christ's ascension is the great argument to convince men of Christ's righteousness. No sinner or unrighteous person could ascend into heaven and be seated at the right into the presence of the Father. Christ told his disciples that he was going to the Father, and as an evidence of Christ's welcome with the Father, they wouldn't see him anymore. If Christ had left any part of his work unfinished, not been received into the heavens, there would be no assurance that his work truly was done.

Because Christ is seated, his work is done. You sit down when your work is finished? Christ has sat down, ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God the Father. Now Christ is also exalted in his coronation, being seated at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name.

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Christ is exalted to sit in his flesh at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And it is this God-man, Christ in the flesh, Christ with this two natures, God and man, that he has been given all authority. All things are given to Him as the God-man.

All things have been put under His feet and He will rule until He has put all His enemies under His feet. Christ has advanced to the highest favor with God the Father, with the fullness of joy, glory, and power over all things in heaven and earth. What are the benefits of Christ being seated at the right hand of God the Father. Well, it is from there that Christ makes intercession for us, as we read in Hebrews 9. He appears in flesh and blood before the heavenly bar as our advocate to secure our justification.

He pleads his death that has paid the penalty, his righteousness that has merited our salvation. As the hymn writer said, five bleeding wounds he bears. These strongly plead for me." And he does so in his flesh and in his blood at the very throne room of heaven. Christ prays that his finished work would be applied to all those who would believe on him. And he does so from the throne room of heaven.

He does so as the one who bears in his body the marks of his death, of his crucifixion. He is our advocate before the throne of God. He answers the accusations of Satan. And all those who would accuse his brethren, he answers them at the right hand of God the Father. Who Paul said in Romans 8, shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect.

It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us. In other words, there is nobody that can bring a charge against God's elect. There is nobody that can condemn because Christ our advocate who is at the right hand of God the Father in his flesh and blood is pleading for us, making intercession for us.

What a truth to remember. Not only that our sins have been paid for, but if we do sin, We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. We have an advocate in heaven. And he is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. And so we can then come boldly to the throne of grace, knowing that our advocate who bears our nature, our flesh and blood is there pleading for us.

That we have a high priest who has been tempted like we are, who has suffered all the things that we have suffered, there is nothing that you can go through or I could ever go through that Christ doesn't know what it's like. Because in our nature, He has suffered all those same things just like we have. And so whatever our trial is, no matter how great it is, Christ knows. He understands. And He can sympathize with us.

And so we can then come to Him boldly in prayer and ask for His help in time of need. He is seated bodily, the right hand of the Father. But also not only does He make intercession for us, but He is also the reigning King. He is sitting on the throne, and so He subdues to Himself all those for whom He died. Praise the Lord for that.

That he has subdued us in our rebel nature in our in our rebellion against him He as the reigning king of kings subdues our hearts to himself subdues our will and makes it conform to his He sits there also as and defends his church, his bride, against all of her enemies. Every, in the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. Every knee. He is reigning now and we might think, well, it doesn't look like it maybe. Well, it does.

It does look like it. Psalm 2 talks about this whole thing. It says that God sits in the heavens, that He has made His Son the heir of all things, And that he is laughing at those who would dare to conspire against him. And when he is done laughing at their puny, impotent resistance to his divine rule, then He will destroy them in His wrath, all those who do not willingly bow the knee before the Lord Jesus Christ. He will conquer all His enemies.

He will either conquer them in His grace or He will conquer them in His wrath. He is returning to judge the earth. He who was unjustly condemned by wicked men will come again at the last day with all his holy angels in great power and in full manifestation of His glory and dominion to judge the world in righteousness. But even now, He is reigning. And now, every mouth acknowledges that.

Just one little example. Time is always marked by the year of the reigning king. It always has been. If you read any ancient history, whenever they want to mark time, it is always in the certain year of the king, in the certain year of Nebuchadnezzar, in the certain year of so and so. And how do we mark time today?

In the year of our Lord, 2018. It's the year of His reign. Because when He ascended into heaven, He took His authority, his scepter, and he has begun to reign. And every mouth acknowledges that today. Do you know anybody else that dates today any other way than in the year of our Lord 2018?

Whether they acknowledge him or not, they acknowledge him. But in the last day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. And so the benefit to us of His coming to judge the world is that We can leave vengeance to Him. He is coming again. And just as He was willing to be unjustly condemned and crucified, He was content to leave justice in the hands of God.

He was sinless, was content to do that. How much more we who are sinful, who in many cases deserve what we are charged with? How much more are we willing to leave justice in the hands of the Lord when we are falsely accused. We do not need to fret ourselves because of those who do evil even against us because we know because God has been highly exalted because he has rose again because he has ascended into heaven Because He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, because He will come again to judge the world, that all will be conquered and justice will be done. Either all will be conquered, either in His grace or in his wrath.

And pray that all of those would be conquered in his grace and not his wrath. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we bow before you, the reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords this morning, to praise you for your wonderful works to us. You do indeed fill us richly with every spiritual blessing in the heavens because you have sent your Holy Spirit. Know what needless pain we bear because we do not avail ourselves of the blessings of the gifts that are ours in Jesus Christ.

Lord, we rejoice this morning that you are reigning. We ask that when we are discouraged, when we fear and fret ourselves because of evil around us, may you give us eyes of faith to see you sitting at the right hand of God the Father, where you reign, and to remember that you will come again to judge the world with perfect righteousness, and perfect justice, and perfect equity. So Father, we leave in Your hands those things that are beyond our power and ability to control. Knowing that you are the judge of all the earth, will indeed judge rightly. Knowing that you have won the victory, that you have crushed the head of the serpent, you have thrown Satan from heavens, such that he can no longer deceive the nations.

You have sent your Holy Spirit to go forth, bringing truth, declaring your works and all that you have said. Indeed all authority in heaven and earth has been given to you. To you. May we go and make disciples in full assurance and confidence that there is no one that can bring a charge against us, there is no one that can condemn us, there is no one that can defeat you, or there is no power in heaven or earth that can stand against your church. In this age, for today, you reign.

Oh Father, we praise you and bless your name through Jesus Christ. Amen.