Accepting God's Kingship and Control
Psalm 2:1-12
You can listen to a full recording of this message at http://www.nec.org.au/listen-to-a-sermon-series/responding-to-god-psalms/
Introduction to Reading
Altogether there are 150 Psalms. In the past weeks we have been looking at different Psalms and realizing that each of the 150 Psalms can be categorised into one of seven different genres. The seven different genres are:-
Hymns
Confidence
Remembrance
Kingship
Lament
Thanksgiving
Wisdom
Today we are going to look at Kingship Psalms
Kingship Psalms remind us that we have a King who is to be listed to and obeyed because He protects us and provides for us.
Basically all Kingship Psalms answer the same question … “How do I respond to the rule of God in my life?” Examples of Kingship Psalms include:-
Psalm 2 Psalm 72
Psalm 20 Psalm 89
Psalm 21 Psalm 110
Psalm 47 Psalm 144
This morning we are going to have a closer look at Psalm 2.
Series: Responding to God
Remembering God’s Faithful Acts
A sermon on Psalm 78:1-8
Read straight away.
Imagine what would happen if we employed an advertising agency to market Christianity. What would they focus on?
• Forgiveness is a free gift from God.
• The debt of sin has been paid for.
• All it takes is to confess your sin.
That would be the focus wouldn’t it. And it would be true advertising for Christianity. But it isn’t the whole truth is it. Here are a few other Scriptures.
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:37-38
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:23-25
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1
Putting God first. Making the sacrifice. Denying ourselves. Carrying the cross. Running the race. Counting the costs. That is another side to Christianity isn’t it. The side that is not as easy to market.
Everyone wants Jesus who is the Saviour – the One who pays the price.
Not as many people want Jesus who is Lord or King – the One who calls us to follow His rule.
How am I … how are you … going to respond to the rule of Jesus. How are we going to act knowing that Jesus is Saviour … and King? That is what this Psalm is all about. In this Psalm there are four voices.
The voice of DEFIANCE (verses 1-3)
By nature we can be a very defiant lot.
President Bush – the first president Bush – once said, "I do not like broccoli and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. Now I’m president of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli ..."
I guess it doesn’t matter too much if you are rebelling against eating broccoli … the problem comes when we start rebelling against the One who created broccoli.
The DEFIANT ones do not acknowledge the King of Israel because they do not acknowledge the God of Israel.
If we are going to properly understand Kingship Psalms we need to remember an important principal. In the days of the Psalms the king of the nation represented the God of the nation.
The Egyptian king ruled in the name of Egyptian gods.
The Babylonian king ruled in the name of Babylonian gods.
The Israelite king ruled in the name of YaHWeH.
And when nations went to war, and armies were captured, the victory was seen as a victory for the nation with the most powerful God.
King and God went together.
When you stood against the king … you stood against the God of the king.
The kings in Psalm 2 were doing that … standing against the Lord and His anointed.
They wanted to be their own boss.
They did not want the God of Israel to reign.
Not much has changed in 2500 years has it?
DEFIANT people still do not want the rule of Jesus in their lives.
For so many God is seen as nothing more than a long-armed policeman who is just waiting for you to step out of line so that He can give you a ticket to hell.
Why should I follow all these rules? They were written to a different generation.
We are more enlightened now. We need to give people more choice to express their individuality.
Basically what people are saying is that they want all the choices, without any of the responsibility.
As they stand in defiance they expect God and Christ just to leave them alone and not make a fuss. But Jesus is going to make a fuss … quite a big fuss.
That brings us to the second voice in our passage which is:-
The voice of DERISION (verses 4-6)
This voice is the voice of the One enthroned in the heavens.
Regularly at sumo championship wrestling events kids get to have a go with real Sumo Wrestlers.
The match-up are totally uneven.
The outcome is very predictable.
The Sumo wrestlers just laugh in derision at the thought that these kids have any chance.
God laughs in DERISION when anyone, including the representatives of the nations, think they can stand victoriously against Him.
“You think you are so smart. You will see ...". God laughs. He scoffs. He ridicules those who think they are so powerful. And He has had reason to laugh many times during history.
Remember Pharaoh’s stubborn refusals to let God’s people go. Never will the slaves be allowed to leave. God laughs because He knows that, after the tenth plague, Pharaoh will be more than willing to have the people gone.
Here is an even better one involving God’s greatest enemy. Luke 22:3-4 says
Then Satan entered Judas … and Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.
Satan thinks that the betrayal will lead to the removal of Jesus for good. How wrong he was. And God just laughed. You can’t pull the wool over God’s eyes. God will laugh in DERISION when we forget that He has ultimate control.
Some of us cause the laugh of derision by ignoring God’s commandments. We don’t want to live the way God asks us to live because it is too difficult. There are times when we think God’s way is a little archaic … it was good for people back then but we are a little more enlightened. We want to follow the ways of the world instead, for this is much more exciting.
At other times we cause the laugh of derision by taking God for granted. We pray when we don’t really mean it. We fail to live as a community of believers. We fail to meditate on the word of God. We don’t take the word of God seriously.
That is what happens when we do life our way. What we need to do is change our focus and remember that in all circumstances God is still on His throne and always will be!
God can handle anything and everything!
Nothing is too great for Him ... therefore we can have real trust.
Which means we do not have to fear or worry.
Whatever we are going through … the big stuff and the small stuff.
Whatever is pitched against us.
God is in control of all. And when it comes to His control He takes His responsibilities very seriously.
Which brings us to the next voice in our text
The voice of DECLARATION (verses 7-9)
Recently there have been … and continue to be … uprisings in a number African countries. Libya is the most recent. What do all these people want?
Freedom.
The right to have a say.
Democracy.
Indeed we live in a world that idolises democracy – the right of the people to be involved in the decision making process.
Which makes it hard at times for us to accept the ways of God.
God DECLARES that life is not a democracy, life is to be lived in response to God’s demands.
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are My Son, today I have become Your Father” (verse 7).
Here God is talking against the conspiring and rhetoric of the nations. And God says to the, I’m the One that ultimately is in control. It is my way that takes priority. It is my rule which takes precedence.
In the day of the Psalmist the Son was the King … the one who ruled Israel.
For us today the Son is Jesus … the One who rules for all eternity.
How we respond to the Son makes all the difference. It’s not a democracy. It’s a monarchy. Ultimately we are ruled by a King.
God says from the heavens, My Anointed has been instilled on My holy hill
Christ has overcome death and hell.
Christ has earned the right to be the ruler of the people.
Christ has been given the honour of sitting at the right hand of God.
And He demands all respect and authority.
That is the declaration.
Whether we like it or not, God always gets to have the last say and He has DECLARED that His Son is to be followed and obeyed.
Many people know John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
When people talk about Christianity that is the verse they focus on don’t they. But just two verses later we also read the following:-
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:18
Jesus is Saviour … and Jesus is Lord. God has put a plan in place for the salvation of His people … but He will not take lightly to those who ignore that plan and live their own lives. There comes a point when we need to decide where our allegiance lies. And that brings us to the fourth voice in our text.
The voice of DECISION (verses 10-12)
This is the voice of the Psalmist. He takes note of all that has been said.
He realizes that the wise man or woman should learn a lesson from this.
He realizes that there is a warning here for all people.
He realizes that there is a message here for all kings and all rulers:
It’s the application part of the Psalm. And the application is clear.
1) Be wise because you have been warned.
Remember the question from the beginning of the Psalm, "Why?" Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
Don’t they realize they are doing battle with the Lord?
Don’t they realize that the victory of Christ is assured?
Don’t they realize that there will come a time when Christ will come with power and every knee will bow down?
It is useless trying to resist the rule of King Jesus. Either you do it now, or you will be forced to do it when He returns. One way leads to an eternity with Jesus. The other doesn’t.
Be wise because you have been warned.
2) Serve the Lord because you have been saved
The Psalmist has shown that Jesus is King. Therefore we are to serve Him. We can serve Him in our jobs.
We don’t work for the big pay check; rather, we work to serve the Lord.
We don’t work for our own glory, advancement, promotion; rather, we work for the glory of God.
We don’t enter any kind of occupation; rather, we enter only those in which we can serve the Lord.
The Psalmist has shown that Jesus is King. Therefore, we are to serve Him. We can serve Him in our homes.
This says something about the kinds of books and magazines we read.
This says something about the kind of programs we watch on TV.
This says something about Bible reading and prayer.
This says something about the way we go about our marriages, and the way we raise our kids, and the way we treat our parents.
Serve the Lord because you have been saved.
3) Kiss the Son and find refuge in Him.
The story is told of a man in Haiti who wanted to sell his house for $120,000.00. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one condition: he would retain ownership of one small nail located just over the front door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unliveable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The point of the story is this:- if we don’t surrender all of our life to the control of King Jesus, if we give Him all but one small nail, then Satan will hang his rotting garbage on it and make us unfit for Christ. By kissing the Son we are showing Him honour and reverence. We may not always get it right, but we can keep on having hope and trust.
In this Psalm four voices are being heard.
DEFIANCE
DERISION
DECLARTION
DECISION
What is this Psalm saying to you?
