Sermon Message: 

The Heathen Rage; The Lord Reigns.

                                                                                                                                  Psalms 2                                                                                                                                    June 28,2020 P.M.

 

. This message is not an especially convicting one but one that hopefully and prayerfully will inform and teach us what we are facing as Christians.

This evening I want to bring you a message that hopefully will either show us if we have not considered, or confirm if we suspect that what is going on in our world today is not about politics but is part of the Spiritual battle that is going on in all parts of our world.

I will attempt to show that this is not a political battle, but a spiritual one. It is not Democrat against Republican; not conservative against liberal; nor is it socialism against capitalism; it is not black against white nor male against female.

It goes much deeper and further back than before our country was even brought into existence as we know it.

If there ever was a time that Christians need to know this, it is now. We are in danger of losing our country. This is a real danger. This battle has been going on since before the garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was just the beginning of the war on and for this earth’s inhabitants.

We find in Isaiah 14 that the main purpose of this battle began before Adam and Eve. It began at some point in eternity past after God had created the heaven and earth. It is a battle between the arch-angel Lucifer and Jehovah God.

Read Isaiah 14:12-15 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

This was the reason that Lucifer, which means light bearer, had fallen from heaven. It was pride that was found in him because he wanted to be equal with God, in other words he wanted to be a god and not just a god but the god of heaven.

 Pride is what causes the people in our text to rebel against the God of heaven and His Anointed. Pride is what causes many of the people today to reject both God and Jesus. “You can’t tell me how to live; I am my own person; I am the captain of my own ship” is their attitude. They don’t want any restrictions on their lives.

Then in Ezekiel 28:12-15 we read this lament against the king of Tyrus. “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and  the carbuncle, and the gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth: and I have set thee so, thou wast upon the holy mountain of God: thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee.

This could not have been a direct lament against the king of Tyrus because we do not find that this particular king was ever in Eden the garden of God. Nor was he on the mount of God. We do however find the serpent or Satan which was Lucifer before his fall there tempting Adam and Eve.

Most of you are already aware of these verses that I have read and who they pertain to. I have read these verses to show how they pertain to this message.

This is just some background to what is going on today. It is just a continuation of the old battle between God and Lucifer. And I might add, this battle will continue until God destroys Satan, the dragon or serpent in the Lake of Fire along with all his demonic fallen angels and all those who have followed him in rejecting God through the atonement provided by Jesus on the cross.

Lucifer has always wanted to be the ruler on earth and in the lives of mankind, God’s created beings. This was his purpose in his tempting Adam and Eve. This is the primary focus on Psalms 2. 

In verses 1-2 we find that the heathens rage (re-read). The word heathen here does not mean an uneducated person or a person that acts like a wild man. This is what my mom thought. Whenever my brother Roy and I would get too rowdy, she would tell us to quit acting like heathens.  It is really a person that knows not the Lord God. It was originally meant to identify all those people that were separated from the commonwealth of Israel, the Jewish nation. They were considered and named heathens and or pagans.

So, here in this verse we see that the heathen people, those that do not know God as revealed in Christ Jesus are raging against someone and something. The writer of this Psalm does not know why. They in fact have nothing to be angry about. He asks the question Why do the heathen rage? They are very angry; they are in a state of uncontrollable rage. Much like what is going on here in our country and even in foreign nations. The law-abiding citizens are wondering why so much rage. Yes, there was unjustified killing of a black man; and yes, there is a justified anger but the men responsible have been arrested and will be brought to justice. But what does the burning of black businesses and the looting of stores have to do with that injustice? It is just an opportunity for hooligans to act out their uncontrollable lusts against a mostly defenseless society.

Just recently I saw on television two incidents that showed how these hoodlums preyed on defenseless people. The first was a young man that struck an elderly woman, 90 years old in the side of the head as she was walking on the sidewalk with a walker. When it knocked her down, she hit her head on a fire hydrant injuring her.

The second was some other really brave young men that set a homeless man on fire with fire works. That is what our society is coming to.

Read verses 2-3.

We have seen the rage and now we see in verses 2-3 their rebellion. Here in these two verses we get a glimpse of what they are angry about and more importantly who they are angry with.

“The kings of the earth.” This would be the leaders of the Gentile nations. And the rulers, that is those in direct authority, the governors, mayors, judges, over the people. It says that they have “set themselves.” They have taken a stand. They have resolved together. They are solid in their purpose. They have a firm attitude of determined resistance. Who have they taken a stand against? The Lord God and His anointed, the Son, Jesus.    

Why such rage? Why the rebellion? They do not like the restrictions against sin and their power. They want no challenge to their authority. They do not like the thought that there is a God in heaven and a God of heaven that rules in the affairs of mankind. They do not like the idea that there is a Creator God that they have to be in subjection to, and one day will have to give an account to.  They have the idea that if they come together in agreement that they can overthrow the plan of God, thereby overthrow God Himself. Their boast is “let us break the bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”

We notice from verse 2 that their resistance is against both the Lord God and His Anointed Son. We also notice that in both boasts the word “their,” meaning more than one. They are well aware of both the God of heaven and His Son, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One. They are not ignorant of God and Jesus the Christ. They are not ignorant of the laws concerning what is sin and what is holiness: what is right and wrong; what is light and what is darkness: what is sweet and what is bitter. They do know, but do not like it. They do not want to submit; they do not want to conform to God’s laws. This means they are at war with God’s people both the Jews and the Christian, both Israel and the church. And they are at war with God’s word, the bible.

In many of our states, we have seen governors and mayors that have shown antagonism against the churches by allowing such businesses as bars, pot shops and massage parlors to reopen while keeping churches for the main part closed. They seem to think that if they can keep the church doors closed, Christians can’t worship their God: they cannot support the church financially and the church cannot survive. How foolish is that?!

Let’s look at another man in the bible that made his boast against the God of heaven; Sennacherib came against Jerusalem and king Hezekiah and made his boast that Hezekiah’s God could not deliver him from the Assyrian army. What happened? That night one of the Lord’s angels came and killed 185,000 of the Assyrians. One angel. Not a large army.

God’s response to Sennacherib was the same as His response to what is going on today with all the world’s rulers. It is utter foolishness to go against the God of Heaven, The Creator God. You can read this true story in 2 Kings 18 and 19.

God’s response read verses 4. We have seen the rage and the revolt of the heathen and now we see God’s response.

His first response is to laugh at their puny attempts and plans. It is futile for the thing formed to think that they can overthrow the One who created them. As Bill Cosby said to his son Theo on the old Bill Cosby show, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out!”  If these people would just read the bible, they would see how insane it is to rebel against God. It is reported that someone had written on a wall this graffiti, “God is dead, signed Karl Marx.” To which someone wrote under it, “Karl Marx is dead signed God.”  

It has been attempted time and again to kill Christianity, from Diocletian the emperor of Rome in during the mid-200’s to the early 300’s. He had his monuments made to boast of his victory over Christianity, but Diocletian is gone and Christ still reigns. His church still remains and will till He returns for it.                         

Not only does God laugh at their attempts, as though they were amusing, but He also speaks to them in His wrath and vex them with His sore, great, displeasure. When God speaks, he acts, He does so with action. His words spoken are the reinforcement of His eternal plan to place His Son, Jesus, on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

Then we see the Lord’s reply in verses 5-7 (read). We saw the Lord’s response in His laughing and now we see the Lord’s reply.

Notice how God says, “I have set My king upon My holy hill. God has spoken of this as having already happened. This had been decreed from the foundation of the world. It cannot fail. It will happen. We need to take note of something here; that the holy hill of Jerusalem belongs to God, not the Palestinians, not Mohammed nor Allah; not the United Nations, not the European Economic Community, and certainly not the United States.

It belongs to God and He has given title deed to the Jews. It has and will always belong to them through their and our God. It does not belong to man to divide this land. Yes, God has often taken them out of their land on occasion because of their disobedience. He has chastised them severely, but He has not forgot His love for them and always brings them back into their land.

Next, in verse 7, we see the Son saying, “I will declare the decree; The LORD has said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” This no way implies that Jesus was a created being. According to John 1:1-4; Hebrews 1:1-2 and Colossians 1:16-17 it was Jesus whom God used to create all things in the heavens above and the earth and all its inhabitants.

This day have I begotten thee, according to Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5, this took place at the resurrection of Jesus when He arose triumphantly over the grave, and gave Satan the final blow to the head as promised in Genesis 3:15. This act of the resurrection wrested control from Satan and gave it back to the One who had created all things. By this single act of the resurrection was why the God the Father could then proclaim that Jesus now the Supreme ruler of all creation. His authority was given and guaranteed by His Father in heaven. God always backs up His words with action. He is not some impotent idol of gold or wood.

Then in verse 8 we read of the Son’s request .

The Son in verse 8 says that His Father tells Him that if He just asks, He will give to Him the heathen for His inheritance.  We know that this is the time of the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus will rule with a rod of iron.  Satan will have been chained and cast into the bottomless pit. Jesus will make the rules or laws;  and they will be enforced without delay.  He goes on to back up His words with this: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

In verse 9 we see the Lord’s return as He promised .  This will happen when the Lord returns to the earth with all of His saints to reign. He will put down all opposition. He will prove that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.There will be no question of who is and who will be in control. He will in effect according to verse 9, break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. There will be no resistance.

Jesus spoke everything into existence and He can speak everything out of existence. It is Jesus that holds all things together. Without Him everything would dissolve back into nothingness.

At His return things will change dramatically. All pornography will be gone; all liquor stores will be done away with; all institutions of learning will be re-programed to teach the ways of the Lord; anything that is in opposition to the expressed will of God will no longer be allowed to exist. If there is any attempt to bring them back the Lord will deal with it immediately.

So, what is the answer to all those in opposition to the Lord and His Anointed?

Verse10-12  Repentance is required. This Psalm writer then gives 5 avenues of repentance.

1. Be wise and not so foolish to think that you can resist God: He laughs at such attempts. (verse 10).

2. Serve the Lord with fear (verse 11). Don’t rage against them but serve them. They are a gentle task-masters. They want only what is best for you. They do not want to harm you but to only help you. Jesus said, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 

3. Kiss the Son (verse 12). Have a close relationship with the Savior, instead of attempting to cast away their cords and break the bands asunder. 

4. Do it while the opportunity is there (verse 12). It won’t be long until that opportunity is gone. The Lord God will soon show His anger and speak His sore displeasure. He will not abide this rebellion much longer then it will be too late. All of the trumpets, vials and bowls given in the book of Revelation, will soon be poured out.

5. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him (verse 12). This is the ultimate form or expression of repentance.  I would much rather have the Lord smile upon me than to laugh in my face.

So, what can we conclude from this portion of scripture?

1. That God is in complete control. He is not without means to do whatever is His desire. He can bring hail, fire, hurricanes, drought, pestilences and any number of things that will destroy.   You cannot cast off His laws without paying for it. You cannot ignore the Lord while embracing the world and its standards. It will always lead to spiritual defeat. The sky is not falling, but judgement is sure to.

2. That this battle that is going on is a Spiritual battle that belongs to the Lord. It is His battle. 2 Chronicles 20:15 tells us not to be afraid not dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours by God’s. No matter how many are against the Lord, one avenging angel is sufficient for God’s wrath to fall.

3. Don’t get too wrapped up in the politics of this world and life. Politics are devised by man. It is man’s reasoning; man’s response to man. They are conditioned by man’s spiritual condition. If they are unsaved the politics of the man reflect his or her condition.

4. Always try to steer others to obedience to the Lord. It must be taught in the homes; in the pulpit and in the classrooms whether in the secular schools or in the churches

5. Never compromise your godly principles for the promises of this world nor the expediency of political gain. It is better to be biblically correct than politically correct. One leads to blessings and the other to being cursed.

6. Make sure you are living in harmony, obedience and a close relationship with the Lord and His Anointed Son, Jesus the Christ. You will be blessed if you do, and laughed at by the Lord if you don’t.

This is both a challenge and a charge to all of us. Amen!