The Futility Of Fighting God

And so Psalm 2 is on page 543, in case you haven't got it.

Psalm 2, why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one.

Let us break their chains, they say, and throw off their fetters.

The one enthroned in heaven laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.

Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

I have instilled my king on Zion, my holy hill.

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord.

He said to me, you are my son, today I have become your father.

Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.

The end of the earth your possession.

You will rule them with an iron scepter.

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 rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the sun, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way.

For his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Thanks very much, Jez.

So you can keep your Bibles open there at Psalm 2.

And if you want to take notes, you can do.

If there's anything you want to follow up with afterwards, delighted to chat that through with you.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at this psalm together.

Amen.

Our Father God, we thank you again for your word.

Thank you for making yourself known to us so that we can not only read about you,

but we can also know you personally, intimately.

And it's our desire that we would experience your work in our life.

And that we would be people who see you as you declare yourself to be.

That we wouldn't put our own slant or we wouldn't put our own particular view on things.

But that we would humbly come before you and let you declare to us who you are.

And how we as your people should respond.

So at the very outset, we bow before you.

We kneel before you.

And humbly ask that you would change us and transform us

to be more and more like your Son, the Lord Jesus.

So that the beauty of Christ is reflected in our lives,

in everything we do and in everything we say.

So help us now and pour out your Spirit generously upon us all.

We ask this in Jesus' name for his honour and for his glory.

Amen.

Well, my kids love to fight me.

That should come as no surprise, I guess, if you've got children.

Putting their differences aside, they combine forces,

gang up on me.

They mock me and they threaten me.

They call me chubby and baldy.

Throw cushions at me.

And whatever other missiles there are to hand.

Sometimes they get very brave.

They even punch me and push me to the ground.

But they know it's a pointless exercise.

Because Dad always wins.

At the moment, anyway.

Whether they like it or not, and whether they accept it or not,

I'm bigger and I'm stronger.

Fighting Dad is a futile exercise.

Well, Psalm 2 is all about a fight.

Not a pretend fight.

But a serious fight between the people of the world

and the creator of the world.

It's a fight.

It's a fight that we have started.

It's a fight that we have started.

And that we continue to fuel despite God's offer of peace.

More specifically, our fight is against God's chosen king.

And as we will see through this psalm,

we can either fight him and face his wrath,

or we can submit to him and find refuge.

So what is this fight all about?

Well, first of all, our rebellion.

Verses 1 to 3.

The fight against God is seen individually,

within our own lives,

and also nationally.

Look at verse 1.

He says,

Why do the nations conspire?

And the peoples plot in vain.

In fact, there is a worldwide united rebellion against God.

Verse 2.

The kings of the earth take their stand,

and the rulers,

well, they gather together against the Lord

and against his anointed one.

Let us break their chains, they say,

and throw off their fetters,

everything that binds us to him.

The people of the world, that's you and me,

we long to break free from God's rule and authority.

Of course, we may speak a different language,

we may come from different cultures,

but the world is united in a common goal

to plot the downfall of God.

We could say there is an anti-godness in our world.

It's what Adam and Eve sought to do in the Garden of Eden,

and it's what people continue to do today.

Just simply turn on the television,

listen to the radio,

and any influence or any talk of God,

well, it's quickly shut up.

People don't want to know.

We simply do not want God interfering with our lives.

In fact, we react strongly

when we are confronted with God's authority.

In defiance, we say,

this is my life,

and I will not be told how to live.

Of course, the real test

of whether we are fighting against God,

and this is a test for us,

a question that we can put to ourselves.

Am I fighting against God or not?

Well, the real test

to know whether we are fighting against God

is how we treat God's king.

Look at verse 2.

It says,

The anointed one is a title.

It's the Messiah,

God's specially chosen king.

And the identity of this king,

this anointed one,

is revealed to us very clearly

in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

So keep your finger in Psalm 2

and jump forward to the New Testament

to Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

And in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

we read here of Peter and John

who've just been released from prison

because they've been preaching

about the rule and authority

of Jesus Christ.

And they were put in prison for doing that.

And now they've been released

and they get together

with the rest of their disciples

and in response to what has happened,

they turn to God in prayer.

And we're going to pick it up

in chapter 4, verse 24.

Acts 4, verse 24.

Acts 4:24

When they heard this,

they raised their voices together

in prayer to God.

Sovereign Lord, they said,

you made the heaven

and the earth and the sea

and everything in them.

You spoke by the Holy Spirit

through the mouth of your servant,

our father David.

And there he quotes Psalm 2.

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord

and against his anointed one.

Who's the anointed one?

Read on.

Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate

met together with the Gentiles

and the people of Israel

in this city

to conspire against your holy servant,

Jesus,

whom you anointed.

Jesus Christ,

very clearly,

is God's anointed one.

And they are taking their stand

against Jesus.

And here with the people

described there in Acts 4,

you have the most unlikely

of alliances.

You have the people of Israel

who were the Jews

and you've also got the Gentiles

and the Jews and the Gentiles

were completely religiously

and culturally pulled apart.

Then you had Herod

and Pontius Pilate

who politically never got on.

But together,

all four of them

have joined forces

in a united attack

on God's King,

Jesus Christ.

The people

and the rulers,

religious

and political,

uniting together

and they're doing

everything in their power

to destroy Him.

In fact,

they had Him put to death

on a cross.

You see,

at the heart of our fight

with God

is a worldwide

active rebellion

against Jesus Christ.

People may cope

with the idea

of a God.

They may even find it

comforting to know

that there is a God.

But as soon as we introduce

and say that

Jesus Christ

is God's King,

His anointed one

and that we should

submit to Him

and obey Him,

well,

that's a step too much.

We do not want

a King over us.

Back to Psalm 2,

Psalms 2:3

verse 3.

Let us break

their chains,

they say,

and throw off

their fetters.

Let us cut

every bind

and every tie.

Let's get rid

of Jesus

and let's live

as we choose.

Well,

second,

God's response.

Verses 4 to 6.

Look how God

responds to this

plot

to dethrone Him.

verse 4.

The one

enthroned in heaven,

ha, ha, ha, ha,

the Lord scoffs

at them.

Rather than God

becoming a joke,

we are the joke

for fighting Him.

I remember

when I used to

try and fight

my dad

when I was small.

Maybe you remember

something like this.

He would simply

put his hand

on my head

and hold me

at a distance.

And there I was,

for all I was worth,

swinging punches,

punching thin air,

and all I could hear

was his great

big laugh.

Couldn't touch him.

Well,

fighting God

is a futile exercise.

It's pointless.

And the very thought

of fighting God

is laughable

because,

look at verse 6,

he says,

I have

installed

my king

on Zion,

my holy hill.

I already

rule over you.

I am your king

whether you

accept it or not.

Every attempt

to get rid of me,

every act of defiance

is like a little child

swinging his powerless fists.

It's a laugh.

But there is also

a very serious side

to this rebellion.

Look at verse 5.

Then he rebukes them

in his anger

and terrifies them

in his wrath,

saying,

I have installed

my king.

This

is no laughing matter.

God

is angry

at our rebellion

and he is angry

that we reject

his king.

Now,

God

and anger,

we don't like

to put those two together,

so

we mustn't

view God

like some

vindictive

tyrant

who picks

on powerless

mortals like ourselves

and bullies us

into submission

as if we are

thrown into the ring

with a heavyweight boxer

and we start saying,

stop,

stop,

stop.

It's not like that.

God has lovingly

provided us

with a king

to rule over us.

A loving

and generous

king.

A kind

king

who always

does what is

right and best

for his people.

And it's

under his

rule,

under his

loving and

caring rule,

that we find

our deepest

needs met.

Here we find,

living under him,

we find

satisfaction

and security.

Under this

king,

we find

freedom

and forgiveness.

He's the kind

of king

that we all

long for

and dream of.

A good

king.

So,

when we

rebel against

him,

we're not

only turning

our backs

on him

and walking

away from

him,

we are

actually

breaking

what the

Bible

calls

shalom.

Shalom

is the

harmony,

the beauty,

the order,

the togetherness

of the world.

So,

when we

turn our

backs

on this

king,

we are

actually

fighting

against

his good

and perfect

order.

we are

destroying

and breaking

his good

design.

And the

results

are all

too

common.

Broken

relationships,

family

breakup,

loneliness,

loss of

meaning and

purpose,

violence and

aggression.

Nationally,

we see

wars,

we see

oppression,

injustice.

The shalom,

the harmony,

the beauty

of the world

is being

broken

by our

rebellion.

And God

says,

I will not

allow you

to go on

ruining this

world forever.

And he

will judge

us,

as verse

five

describes.

But we

mustn't

think that

God's

anger is

in some

kind of

way like

a temper,

as if we

just push

the wrong

button and

he just

flips and

he blows

his fuse.

And he

acts like

an out-of-control

madman.

No,

God's

wrath is

his just,

fair,

settled,

and controlled

response to

sinners like

you and me

who have

destroyed and

ruined his

good and

beautiful world.

The problem

is not that

Jesus Christ

is king.

Here's the

problem.

When we

fight the

king,

we face

the king's

anger.

And that

is no

laughing matter.

So what

has God

done about

all of

this?

Well,

third,

God's

decision.

If we

are in

any doubt

as to

God's

rule,

look what

he has

said and

look what

he has

done.

Verse

seven,

I will

proclaim

the decree

of the

Lord.

He said

to me,

you are

my son.

Today I

have become

your father.

Well,

what's that

talking about?

Who's the

son?

What's

this

decree?

What's

this

statement?

Well,

again,

this decree

is picked

up and

it's

helpfully

explained

for us

again in

the book

of Acts.

Go to

Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter

13.

Acts

Acts 13:32

chapter

13,

verse

32.

32.

Here it's

been Paul

who's been

preaching

and he

makes a

direct link

between

verse

seven of

Psalms

and what

he is

saying

here.

Acts

Acts 13:32

chapter

13,

verse

32.

He says,

we tell

you the

good news.

What's

the good

news?

what God

promised

our fathers,

he has

fulfilled for

us their

children by

raising up

Jesus.

As it is

written in the

second Psalm,

you are my

son.

Today I have

become your

father.

son is

not just

Jesus,

but the

risen

Jesus.

Remember,

the world

thought they

had got

rid of

Jesus when

they killed

him and

hung him

on the

cross.

But the

good news,

as Paul

describes,

is now that

this king,

who you

thought you

had killed,

is the

risen

king.

And the

decree,

the

proclamation

upon him

is to

say,

you are

my son,

and I

am your

father.

His

victory over

death,

his conquering

of the

grave,

proves his

right to

rule.

You cannot

defeat him,

and you

cannot destroy

him.

He has

broken

death,

and he

lives and

reigns

forever.

And look

what God

says about

this risen

king.

back to

Psalm

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Two things.

First,

that this

risen Jesus,

he owns

the nations,

verse 8.

Ask of me

and I will

make the

nations

your

inheritance,

the ends

of the

earth your

possession.

nation.

You know,

every nation,

including our

own,

has their

own flag and

national anthem.

We sing it

proudly, we

wave our

flags with

pride.

It's a

reflection of

independence,

a statement

of sovereignty.

And every

nation gets to

make up their

own rules and

they decide

who's allowed to

come into their

country and who

has to go.

But you

know what?

In reality,

our flags and

our anthems are

just like a

kid waving a

banner and

blowing a

trumpet.

To God,

our attempt to

own our

nation is

just a

game.

No nation

has true

independence.

no nation

has absolute

sovereignty

because Jesus,

verse 8,

is the

rightful owner.

He has

possession upon

every nation.

He owns

Ireland,

he owns

America,

China belongs

to Jesus,

and Brazil

belongs to

Jesus.

It all

belongs to

him.

But not

only does he

own the

nations,

nations.

Jesus also

rules the

nations as

the risen

Lord,

verse 9.

You will

rule them

with an

iron scepter.

You will

dash them

to pieces

like pottery.

Before the

days of

Xbox and

PS3,

we used to

play board

games.

Do you

remember what

they looked

like?

They came

in boxes

and you

kept them

in cupboards.

And one

of those

board games

that we

used to

play was

a game

called

Risk.

Maybe

some of

you played

it.

It was a

game about

world

domination.

And the

way it

was, you

were all

assigned

different

countries

or parts

of the

globe.

You were

all given

certain

armies of

value and

strength.

And the

object was

to fight

each other

by the

throw of

dice and

to control

the whole

world.

And whoever

controlled the

whole world,

well, they

were the

winner and it

could go on

for days

and weeks

this game.

But at

the end,

what happened

to the

board game?

It got

simply closed

up and

the armies

got put

back into

their box

and the

countries

got put

away.

It was

just a

game.

The

most

same

power

games

happen

in reality.

One

side

calls it

the war

on terror.

Another

side

calls it

jihad.

we see

it played

out on

our TV

screens as

North Korea

threatens to

nuke South

Korea.

The allied

forces threaten

to invade

Syria.

And that's

not to

mention every

border skirmish

and every

revolution taking

place across

the globe.

But to

Jesus, as he

looks down on

all our

acts of

power and

control,

to Jesus,

it's as if

we're playing

risk.

It's like a

board game

to him.

Our

attempts to

rule are

just a

game and

one day

the board

is going

to close

over and

every army

and every

nation will

be crumpled

up.

We may

ignore the

risen Jesus.

We may

even reject

the risen

Jesus.

But that

does not

mean he

is not

king.

So what

is our

response to

this awesome,

mighty and

great king?

Well, God's

rule expressed

through his

son Jesus

Christ requires

our very

careful and

wise response,

verse 10.

Therefore,

you kings,

be wise,

be warned,

you rulers

of the

earth.

Because

fighting God

is a

futile

exercise.

So how

are we to

respond?

Verse 11.

Serve the

Lord with

fear and

rejoice with

trembling.

Kiss the

son,

lest he be

angry and

you be

destroyed in

your way for

his wrath can

flare up in

a moment.

You know,

in the

days of

kings,

there were

two ways

you could

come and

approach the

king.

First,

you could

simply come

in and

you would

make a

bow at

your service,

your majesty.

It was an

act of

submission to

one greater

than you.

Second,

you could

also come

in and

not just

bow,

but you

would actually

kneel and

kiss the

feet of

the king.

Oh,

great and

mighty king.

It was an

act of

honour.

So to

serve the

Lord,

verse 11,

and to

kiss the

son,

verse 12,

describes how

we should

come to

the risen

Lord Jesus.

He deserves

nothing less

than our

full submission

of bowing

down and

our complete

honour.

And we

declare to

him,

at your

service,

Lord Jesus,

for you

are a

great and

mighty

king.

We can

point the

finger at

the rebellious

world,

but I

think we

all know

that we

still live

in defiance.

Every

sin,

every

thought,

every word

that we

say out

of temper,

every action

that is

unloving,

is an

attempt on

our part

to simply

dethrone

Jesus.

In

defiance,

we say,

this is my

life,

and I will

not be told

how I should

live.

love,

and so we

regularly need

to come

back,

and we

need to

bow in

humility,

and kiss

the feet

of the

sun,

at your

service,

Lord Jesus,

for you are

the great

and mighty

king.

king.

And should

you ever

question why?

Well,

because of

this,

because this

king died

for you.

This very

king,

who rules

over all,

came into

this world

for us,

and stood

in our

place,

and exchanged

places with

us,

and suffered

God's

wrath for

us.

He is the

one who

deserves to

be served,

but he is

the one who

came to

serve us,

and to

give his

life for

us.

He is the

one who

deserves to

be kissed,

but he is

the one who

kissed us,

and embraced

us,

and welcomed

us into

his family,

treating us,

as his

own son.

This king

has reached

out,

and has

made peace

with us.

Jesus is

the perfect

king,

wise,

good,

kind,

the kind

of king

we all

dream of,

and so he

deserves our

full submission,

and our

complete honor.

to defy

this king,

well,

remember,

his wrath

can flare up

in a moment.

It simply

means that we

do not know

the day or

the hour when

Christ will

return,

and your

life will

have to be

given an

account for.

But,

to rest in

him,

look at the

end of

verse 12,

look how

the psalm

finishes,

blessed

are all

who take

refuge

in him.

Do not

ignore the

king's

command

to

continually

bow down

and kiss

the sun.

Let's pray

together.

let's just

take a

moment

in

personal

reflection,

perhaps for

the first

time,

but maybe

we come

back again

and in

our hearts

and in

our minds

we

simply

bow

before the

risen

king

Jesus.

Jesus

we kiss

the feet

of the

sun

at your

service,

your

majesty,

for you

are the

only

great and

mighty

and awesome

king.

Thank you

for serving

us.

Thank you

for dying

for us.

Thank you

for giving

your life

for us

so that

we might

have life

in all

its

fullness

so that

we may

no longer

fear

your

wrath

but

enjoy

you

forever.

We

thank you

in Jesus

name.

Amen.

Well our

song that

we're going

to

conclude

with

before we

gather

around to

continue

our

worship

of the

Lord

around

his

table

around

the

Lord's

supper.

Could you

flick on to

the chorus

there for

me?