The Thing That Never Changes

Okay, folks, have we got Sam 2 open in front of us? Yeah.

This is golden.

And this is just what we need at the start of the year

as we set out as a local church.

Because this gives us a wonderful vision of the kingship of Jesus.

And there's nothing else that we need more this morning

than a greater view of who he is.

So here is Jeff Bozos.

Is that how you say his name?

I'm never sure.

The owner of Amazon.

One of the richest men in the world.

And he's actually considered one of the smartest men in the world.

And he did an interview recently with the Harvard Review.

And he said this in the review.

He said, people always ask me,

what I think is going to change most in the next 10 years?

To be honest, I'd probably ask the guy that question I've ever met.

What do you think is going to change most in the next 10 years?

And my wallet would be listening to his answer.

But here's what he went on to say in this interview.

He said, no one ever asks me what's not going to change in the next 10 years.

Because you find that answer to that question, what's not going to change over the next 10 years.

And that's a place to ground your life.

He said this, let me put it to you, that when it comes to building a business,

that the answer to the second question is way more important than the answer to the first.

Fascinating, isn't it?

And it makes complete sense, logical sense when you think about it.

It's not rocket science to build our lives on the things that aren't going to change.

Which takes me right to Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Psalm 2.

This has become one of the most precious texts in the Bible for me.

And my weary soul that so often drifts and doubts.

Because this is all about the one thing this year that's not going to change.

And the invitation here is to come and see what God has done.

And build your life on it.

And it's not so much an invitation, actually it's a declaration to the world about the kingship of Jesus.

Because in a world that seems increasingly chaotic,

day by day it seems to be that, isn't it?

Increasingly chaotic.

And in a culture that seems angry or sometimes just plain indifferent to the Christian faith,

particularly this time of year, my soul needs to know what Psalm chapter 2 has to say to us.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

So come and warm yourself by the fire of this psalm.

And take a huge breath.

Huge gulp of air of the thing that it's telling us.

So why don't we read it together and then we'll get into this together.

Here's the one thing that's not going to change in this psalm.

See if you can spot it.

Psalm chapter 2 says this.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Why do the nations conspire?

And the peoples plot in vain.

The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed,

saying,

Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.

The one enthroned in heaven laughs.

The Lord scoffs at them.

He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath,

saying,

I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.

I will proclaim the Lord's decree.

He said to me,

You are my son.

Today I have become your father.

Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

You will break them with a rod of iron.

You will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Therefore, you kings, be wise.

Be warned, you rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Kiss his son or he will be angry.

And your way will lead to your destruction.

For his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

And God will bless the reading of his word this morning.

Friends, here's two things that this psalm has for us.

Two big lessons.

Here's number one.

It's that the world's rebellion is not unexpected.

So Acts 5 tells us that this is David writing this psalm

in his role as the king of Israel.

You might not see that.

You might not see any kind of author underneath the psalm,

but that's what Acts 5 tells us.

This is David writing.

And that's not just a throwaway comment.

It's actually really important for understanding the psalm

and everything it's got to teach us.

David's writing this as the king of Israel.

What that means is that in the back of his mind,

he has the promises,

the covenant promises that God made to him

in 2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

Now that's a massive chapter of the Bible.

Here it is.

It's the promises that God makes to David.

That God will establish one of his kings,

one of his sons rather, as king forever.

This is what God promises David.

And his rule will bring peace.

And it will bring rest.

And God will be to him like a father.

And he will be like a son to God.

And David's mulling on these wonderful promises

that God makes to him.

But you see, if that's what's in the back of his mind

as he writes this,

see what he sees in front of his eyes.

He's looking on at a world

that wants nothing to do with the Lord.

Do you see it?

Verse 3, come and see it.

This world wants nothing to do with God

and it wants nothing to do with following his king.

It's why we get the word against twice there.

Do you see?

It just means downright hostility.

Verse 3, here's what they're saying.

Let us break their chains

and throw off their shackles.

Do you feel that imagery?

It's a fist shaking in the direction of God.

That's what's going on here.

Let's get rid of God.

Who is this God thinking that he can tell us

how to live our lives?

And here the puzzled pain in David's voice.

What does he say?

Do you see the word that comes up there?

Why?

Why do the nations conspire

and the peoples plot in vain?

So David looks on what's seen on earth

and the rebellion that's happening against God

and he's saying, what are you doing?

Do you see the vanity?

Do you see the futility of it all?

Oh, that you would see that life lived

in loving submission to this God

is precisely where we'll all find

the very fullness of life that we crave

and that we long for

and the one that we were created to know.

Oh, that you would see that the cords

that you are trying to throw off

are cords of grace and of love.

And that's the scene that David sees on earth.

And then we get the response from heaven.

Do you see it?

And this is the second big lesson

that this psalm has to teach us.

The world's rebellion is not unexpected.

But friends, the throne of heaven is not unoccupied.

Have a look at verse four.

Come with me.

Do you see it?

Now, here's a question for you.

Have you ever wondered what makes God laugh?

Probably didn't come up around the Christmas table conversation, did it?

But have you ever wondered it?

What makes God laugh?

And this is your answer.

And it's not a ha-ha kind of laugh

like Peter Kay's just rocked up at heaven's gates

and told a few funnies.

This is more like a parent

staring down at a tantruming child

who's hitting their fists in anger into their stomach

and they're smirking at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

That's what God makes of this scene on earth.

Do you see verse six?

God thunders his response to the arrogance of man.

What does he say?

He says,

I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.

So God's reaction,

what God's going to do

in response to the scene on earth

is to vindicate and establish his king

in front of the watching world.

And in so doing,

he's going to confirm once and for all

that his plans and purposes

since from all eternity

will never be stopped.

In other words,

God's going to make a statement to the world

and his statement will come

when he establishes,

do you see the language here?

You've got to see it.

He establishes his king

on his holy hill.

So God's response to the rebellion on earth

is to establish his king on his holy hill.

You with me so far?

This is about to really heat up.

So you've got to get with me, yeah?

This is what God's going to do.

But the thing is,

David's saying this

and I probably imagine he's thinking to himself,

this is way too big for me.

Way too big for me.

And it's Jesus Christ

who steps into all the promises

and all the potential

that's tied up in the true king

of this psalm.

He is the king from the line of David.

At his baptism,

and we're going to see this in a few weeks time

as we get into Matthew,

at his baptism,

God the Father uttered the very words

of verse seven there.

Do you see it?

Here is my son.

Again at the transfiguration,

here is my son.

Listen to him.

King Jesus.

Four things we need to know about King Jesus.

Four quick headlines.

Number one,

heaven's king lived.

Jesus is the perfect king

that Israel never had.

Perfect in his faithfulness.

Perfect in his obedience.

Perfect in his righteousness.

If you scan your eye back

to Psalm chapter one,

he is the Psalm one man.

Number two,

heaven's king crucified.

Jesus the king

who went into battle

for his people

against their biggest enemy,

sin and death,

sharing his triumph with them.

Number three,

heaven's king rose.

Paul would write this,

and we're doing it this morning

at the beginning of Romans,

that Jesus was declared to be

the eternal son of God in power.

And number four,

heaven's king ascended

to the right hand of the Father in heaven.

That's where he is right now.

And so when God says

that he will set his king,

what it means is

he will fix him there.

That's the language of something solid,

something unchangeable.

So heaven's answer

to the scene on earth

is the risen and ruling

King Jesus.

And he is the one

who will usher in

the age of God's promise

to Abraham

to bless the peoples

of the world.

Do you see the overtones

of that in verse eight?

Ask me,

and I will make

the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth

your possession.

See,

if you're a Christian

here this morning,

have you ever thought

about the fact

that you are part

of the inheritance?

People of the world

coming to know Christ

for themselves,

finding life in his name,

forgiveness in life.

You are part

of this inheritance.

We are part

of this inheritance.

to be declared

right with this God,

to be welcomed

into his family

through the person

and work of heaven's

all-conquering king.

Do you see the scene

on earth?

The world's rebellion

is not unexpected,

but the throne of heaven

is not unoccupied.

And so see,

as we just make our way

through these last

couple of verses,

let me just

change the angle

a little bit

and just throw out

to us two questions

for us to think about.

Here's the first one.

Friends,

do some of us

need to bow down?

Have a look

at verse 10.

You see,

we are living

in a day

when we're not

short on information.

You know,

I read a stat

the other day

that 500 hours

of video

are uploaded

to YouTube

every single minute.

we're not

short on information

in our world.

You can Google

anything

and it will

give you

an answer

to anything.

But we are

short on our world,

in our world,

on wisdom.

With the facts

that we have

making the correct

decision.

And of course,

what are Psalms 1 and 2?

They're often called

the gateway

to the Psalms.

Offering us

that worldview,

offering us

that perspective,

that pair of glasses

that we can

take,

put on,

and walk through

the rest of life

that the Psalms

present us with

with them on.

The Psalmist says,

in light of what

God will do,

in light of the fact

that he's seated

as king on his holy hill,

be wise.

Respond rightly

to what he has done.

Do you know

it was in 1882

that Nietzsche

famously

heralded

the fact

that God

is dead?

Right?

1882,

because he believed

that there would

inevitably come a time

when there'd be

no place

for Christian belief

in a post-enlightenment

world.

But if my maths is right,

forgive me if I'm not,

but 143 years on,

it's a good time

to ask how that

prediction is going.

Is it not?

And to ask it

in the same year

that Bible sales

in the UK

went up 14%,

did you know that?

Contrasted with the

wider non-fiction market

which is said

to be faltering,

got to ask how

that prediction

is going.

And it's

Psalm 2

that tells us

that Jesus

is not just

some kind of

skittle in a

bowling alley

and it's just

a matter of time

before the right

person with the

right baubles,

the right thing

and strike

and game's over.

What Psalm 2

is telling us

is that because

this king lives,

God will not be

thwarted in

accomplishing his

purposes.

He's not

Do you see

how that's the

thing that's

not going to

change this

year?

Because our

king is

enthroned,

nothing is going

to stop him

accomplishing this

purpose of making

the nations his

inheritance.

Does that not

encourage you in

evangelism?

And encourage you

to keep going and

witnessing to your

friends and family?

And the invitation

verse 11,

friends, if this is

you this morning,

if you think I

don't know this

king, would not

be a great thing

this year to

explore.

Have a look at

verse 11.

Here's the

invitation, the

wisdom.

Serve the Lord

with fear and

celebrate his

rule with

trembling.

And it's a

strange painting

of words if you

think about that,

isn't it?

celebrate with

trembling.

And yet it is

the joyous

confession of

every Christian

who has found

life and joy

in knowing

Christ.

He is my

Lord.

And I take it

we should put the

stress on both of

those words.

He is my

Lord, my

master, my

saviour.

He is my

Lord.

He is my

personal saviour.

These are

personal saviour.

And the

image there of

bowing before

the king,

kissing his

ring is just

one of pledging

your total

allegiance to

him.

You know, a

number of years

ago we used to

go on a church

weekend, some of

you will remember

this, to a place

called Barony

Castle down in

Peebles.

And there was

something above

the entrance of

the door to

Barony Castle that

always made me

laugh.

just above the

castle door, if

you remember

this, it just

said, prepare to

meet thy

maker.

As I really

relieved, I

didn't have a

clue what it

meant, I went

on Google and

tried to find

out, I was

delighted that I

had nothing to

do with the

foods from

somebody on

TripAdvisor

would tell you

that.

But that's the

warning of this

psalm, isn't it?

Prepare to

meet thy

maker.

one day we

will have to

answer to

heaven's reigning

king.

And for God to

be angry is

not for him to

fly off the

handles.

That's what I

do, that's what

we do, isn't

it?

And we have to

remember that

God isn't like

us.

God is the

all-wise, God

is the all-knowing,

God is the all-

eternal one, God

is the all-just

one, God is

not like us.

So for God to

be angry is his

settled opposition

because of who he

is to all the

evil in the

world.

And I don't

know how that

sits in you this

morning, maybe

for some of us

that makes us

quite uncomfortable,

but can I

suggest that the

idea of God's

wrath is really

good news.

I take it in our

world where we

are so often

rightly angry

at another

airstrike going

on in Ukraine

and at people

in news stories

like Jeffrey

Epstein, that

God, and that's

just the ones we

know about, right?

That God is

right to be

angry, he is

right to be

against all the

evil and the

proud rebellion

against him and

his ways in the

world.

Flip it around,

what kind of

God would he

be if he

wasn't?

But what the

psalm tells us,

friends, is at

the end of the

day we will

have to give an

answer to

heaven's reigning

king.

And the

question really

simply that

Jesus will ask

will be something

like, what did

you make of me?

The decision is

either Jesus has

taken that penalty

for our sin,

he has incurred

God's wrath on

himself in our

place on the

cross, either

Christ has

died for our

sins and

given us

life, or we

will have to

pay for our

sins at the

end of the

day in answer

to him, our

king.

Verse 8, we

like to think

we're invincible,

but in that

day, bowing

before King

Jesus, if you

don't know

him, do you

see the

warning, verse

8?

To this evil

rebellion that

exists, it

will all be

dashed to

pieces like

pottery.

So folks, do

some of us

need to bow

down before

heaven's king?

Second

question, do

some of us

need to look

up?

And here's

my hope,

this strengthens

many of us

this morning,

perhaps who

are walking

faithfully with

this king.

king.

What I mean

by that

question is,

do some of

us need to

recalibrate

ourselves and

take stock of

where our

king is?

The king who

loves us.

The king who

shed his

blood and is

for us in

heaven.

The king who

is there,

who's praying

for us.

Nothing will

happen to us

this year out

with his

sovereign

say so.

Along with

his father,

he has given

the Holy

Spirit and

Christ is

there praying

for us.

Do you

see where

your king

is this

morning?

We stumble,

we get weary,

we fall, but

he's on his

holy hill

interceding for

us, praying

for us,

holding our

lives.

We don't

have the

mental resolve

to face

another day

at work or

at home.

But he's

on his

holy hill.

When your

day is at

work and

at home,

they just

feel mundane,

they feel

pointless,

you think,

what's the

point in

going on?

He's on

his holy

hill.

When we're

facing our

darkest hour,

he's on his

holy hill.

When we feel

like we can't

go on another

day, he's

on his holy

hill.

When opposition

comes against

us because we

follow Christ

and we don't

know what's

going on,

it feels like

the world's

against us,

he's on his

holy hill.

When that

friend and

family member

feels indifferent

to the things

of the Christian

faith, he's

on his holy

hill.

And when there's

wars and chaos

in the world,

he's on his

holy hill.

Friends, you

see the one

thing that's not

going to change

this year

is that he's

never going to

be toppled from

his place in

the holy

hill.

does that

not give you

great encouragement

and strength

to know that

it's not about

me, it's

not about our

ability to

navigate our

way through

life, it's

about who

Christ is and

his love for

me and that

nothing will

separate me from

his love.

You know,

this psalm is

often quoted,

one of the

places in the

New Testament

is Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

In the

context, Peter

and John

have just been

beaten up and

as they feel the

blows, they

recognise that

what they are

experiencing on

account of

their association

with Jesus is

everything that's

outlined in

Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

They make that

connection.

It's amazing

actually when you

read it that

they recognise

that they are

living this,

they are

experiencing the

opposition that

Psalm 2 is

talking about

and they pray

not, Lord

protect us,

they pray,

Lord give us

more boldness

to keep on

speaking and

you read it

and you think

how on earth

did you get

there?

Because I

would be

praying,

Lord protect

me,

Lord make

this stop.

They pray

for more

power to

keep speaking

and going.

How did

you get

there?

The answer

is that they

realise that

there's a

man who's

risen from

the dead

and nothing

will topple

him from

that throne.

That's our

confidence in

evangelism.

Friends,

do you see

how that's

the reason

we keep

speaking?

Do you

see why

it's the

reason we've

got any

confidence this

year of

people coming

to know

Christ in

our community,

our friends,

our neighbours,

our family

members,

the people

that you go

to uni with

every day,

that you rub

shoulders with

every day at

work,

any confidence

that God

will bring

some to

faith.

nothing to

do with

us,

we've just

been faithful

and doing

the job

that Christ

has asked

us to

do.

It's not

in our

ability to

put on a

good show,

it's not

in our

ability to

find out the

tricks of the

trade.

Listen,

Netflix will

do that way

better than

we can.

What's the

one thing

that we hold

out to the

world?

is that

God has

seated his

king on

his holy

hill and

nothing will

stop him

accomplishing

his purposes

and we

minister,

we witness

for him in

the slipstream

of his

victory.

So do you

see,

friends,

how that's

the one

thing that's

not going

to change

this year?

Whatever

comes our

way this

year as a

community,

whatever comes

our way

individually

this year,

what's not

going to

change is

he is

never going

to be

toppled

from his

holy hill.

And God's

plan to

gather the

nations into

one people

under the

lordship of

Christ,

that plan

is bang

on track.

And just

to be

close,

let me

tell you

about a

book that

was massive

when I was

at uni.

A number

of years

ago,

I'll give

you that.

But when

I was at

uni back

in the

day,

this book,

this 2003

New York

Times best

seller that

sold a

million copies

all around

the world,

millions of

copies all

around the

world called

The Da Vinci

Code.

Why it was

so big is

that people

always,

I remember

they used

to come

up to me

and say,

here's the

book that's

going to blow

the hole

on the side

of Christianity,

exposing the

cover-ups,

exposing the

myths.

And here's my

favourite article

that I read on

the BBC News

a few years

ago.

It was

about an

Oxfam

bookshop

in 2007

in a place

called

Swansea,

who put a

notice in

their window

that said,

and if you've

got good

enough eyes

you can see

this,

we're all

trying to do

that,

aren't we,

in our

phones,

but we can

do it.

It says

this,

you could

give us

another

Da Vinci

Code,

surrendered

by a pile

of Da Vinci

Codes,

but we'd

rather have

your vinyl.

And that

sign sparked

an idea

in the mind

of a local

artist called

David Shrigley.

What he did

is he thought,

I'm going to

get a hold

of as many

copies of

Da Vinci

Code that

I can get.

So what he

does is he

finds out

where the

Oxfam

bookshop

keep all

the reserves

and he

phones up

this recycling

centre where

all the

unwanted

books go

and he

asks them,

how many

copies of

Da Vinci

Code do

you have?

They respond

to him and

say we've

got an

almost unlimited

number.

So he

says I'll

take the

lot.

What he

does is he

gets the

whole lot

together and

he pulps

them and

he turns

it into

a piece

of art.

So do you

see what's

going on

there?

Do you

not love

that?

This

book that

was meant

to take

God down

is now

pulp.

Friends,

God has

done it

before.

The

Babylonian

empire,

empire,

the

Roman

empire.

Do you

think anyone

living in

those days

thought that

God would

outlive those

empires?

Probably

not.

God has

done it

before and

God will

keep on

doing it

throughout

history.

Why?

Because he

seated his

king on

his holy

hill.

The

opposition on

earth is

not unexpected.

the throne

of heaven

is not

unoccupied.

The end

of history

is not

uncertain.

Here's the

last thing I

want to say

if you look

right at the

end of the

psalm.

I hadn't

noticed it

until this

morning so

I've not

scripted this

we'll just

run with

this.

See the

word at

the end

there?

It's

actually the

word that

you get

at the

beginning

of psalm

one and

at the

end of

psalm

two.

Do you

see the

word?

What's

the word?

Blessed.

Now roughly

translated that

word means

happy.

Now you

know how we

talk in our

age about

our happy

places.

Yeah?

Happy places.

The wisdom

that psalm

one and

psalm two

are offering

us this

morning is

that your

happy place

make it

at the

feet of

your king.

So tomorrow

as you open

your Bible

cup of warm

coffee, warm

coffee in your

hands, is

as you

open your

Bible, as

you read

about who

we are in

Christ, as

we think

about his

victory, as

we bask

ourselves in

that, despite

the chaos

that's going

on in the

world and

perhaps in

our lives,

the invitation

of this psalm

is to make

that our

happy place.

You see

it?

Blessed are

all who

take refuge

in him.

Let me

pray.

Amen.

Father, we

just want to

take stock

this morning

of the

fact that

you are

God in

heaven and

we are

on earth.

Lord, would

you forgive

us for

the small

pictures we

have of

who you

are.

Lord, that

you are not

just like a

bigger version

of us.

you are

our creator.

You are

our savior.

You are the

one who is

eternal.

You are the

one who knows

all things.

Father, would

you forgive

us when we

have small

thoughts of

you?

And so,

Lord, it's

our prayer

that this

year would

be one

where we

leave it

at the

end with

a greater

view of

who Jesus

is than

when we

came into

it.

Lord, would

you increase

the horizons

of our

minds as

we grasp

something more

of the

greatness of

his victory.

So, Father, I

pray that

wherever this

has landed

on our

lives this

morning, I

pray that

your spirit

would be at

work teaching

us wonderful

things about

who Jesus

is.

And so,

Father, as we

turn our

attention now to

communion as

well, Lord,

may we savor

something more

of the sweetness

of the victory

that he's

purchased for

us on the

cross.

So be with

us, Lord, as

we finish our

time together.

In Jesus'

name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.