Summer in the Psalm Part 1

Intro:

This week I had the honor of preaching Dorie’s grandmother’s funeral

Share about Honey

Personally she was one of my biggest cheerleaders

And she immediately welcomed me into her family

One of the things that I was just so overwhelming grateful for during all of it was community.

Dorie has a big family and we are all really close

But not even just that family but our church family and friends who are more like family

The love and care we felt even in the midst of one of the toughest times is such a reflection of the grace and goodness of God in our lives

It’s such a good reminder that we were never meant to be alone

Even from the very beginning as God creates the whole world and everything in it

After each creation he looks and says that it is good

Until he creates man and looks at him isolated and alone and for the first time God utters….it is not good

It is not good for man to be alone

And that truth remains throughout human history

And God specifically make sure that His people are together

in one accord, under one name, in unity, in thought, in goal, in mission, and also physically that His people will gather

That as we come before the Lord with praise and adoration that there would be moments and places that we do that together

Right, so today that’s one of the objectives of the church, it’s designed, by God, to gather His people together, for the glory of God

In OT times it was the temple of God, His people would come from all over the world and gather in the temple to bring sacrifices and praise to Yahweh

It was a instrument gather the people of God together to worship Him together.

Now, over time, I believe that those gatherings of God’s people have become over religionized and what’s happened because of that is people feel like they must meet certain criteria, they must do certain traditions, and they must act a certain way that is untrue of them otherwise

Now, I am all for honoring the Lord, right so there is a right way to gather and a wrong way, and I am by no means advocating for dishonoring the Lord

But the effects of our over churched southern bible belt jesus believing scripture mug coffee drinking culture is that upon our gathering we must put on our masks to meet tradition so that we aren’t looked down upon by the people who should be the most gracious in the world

Following Jesus has become a competition of who can fake it the best

And because of that, here at Cornerstone, we strategically have set out to be real

Real first and foremost to the Lord but also real with one another

There’s no benefit in faking it

It’s a trap that is never ending

So, yes, behave in a way that honors the Lord, His church, and His people, but real as best you can in the process of that.

And so, one of the things that I love about the Psalms is it is designed as a virtual temple for the people of God

A place for the people of God to enter into to, to pray, sing, meditate, and worship the Lord

But it’s not just “the Lord is good because He gives me all these blessings and He provides my every need and He is so close and present at every turn.”

The Psalms are not interested in being fake

You know what else the Psalms don’t try to do

They don’t try to protect God

Here’s what I mean by that.

I think so often, the church today stays away from difficult conversations and hard to explain topics because we feel like we need to protect God’s image to people

Listen, God doesn’t need your protection, and if He did, He would not be much of a God

And so the psalmsists are just real, they just put it out there.

God where are you when I need you?

haven’t we asked that same question.

God how could you allow evil people to thrive and good people to suffer?

Haven’t we asked that question?

God I’ve searched you and sought after you and I needed you to provide and you didn’t.

Haven’t we uttered similar word?

So, if you want cookie cutter Jesus, cookie cutter gospel, cookie cutter religion, stay away from the Psalms

If you want real, then you’ll enjoy this

So, this isn’t the first time we’ve been in the Psalms and probably won’t be the last, there are 150 of them after all

All written by different authors

And upon first glance they do seem a little scattered at times but there is a purpose behind each one

There’s really 5 big sections of the Psalms and chapters 1&2 serve as the books introduction

Since we did chapter 1 last time this time we will open with chapter 2 and then skip around some as we move through the rest of them this summer

So, if you have your Bibles turn to Psalm chapter 2 (middle of you Bible)

Psalm 2 NIV

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 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.

So, in this Psalm we have 4 major sections

vs 1-3 you have the kings who oppose the Lord and His anointed one

Then in vs 10-12 those same kings are inited to take refuge by serving the Lord and paying homage to the Son

And in between those 2 sections two voices are heard

vs 4-6 the Lord speaks of the appointment of His Son to rule and reign

And then in vs 7-9 the Son speaks of the divine promise of world rule

So first section

The question that is essentially asked is, why is there no peace?

You know the beauty contestant answer to what do you want most in the world

World peace

But why can’t we get that?

And the psalmist foundational answer to that question is

Peace is impossible when the Lord and His anointed one are rejected

So when we look at this from a macro level, when leaders and rulers are appointed who rebel against the Lord, peace is impossible.

And that can play out in a lot of way but what we know from scripture is that Jesus is the Prince of Peace

And so when you buck up against the Prince of Peace, peace becomes out of reach

When we look at this from a micro level and we zoom in a little bit

When you rebel agains the Lord, peace is going to be impossible for you

And I’m not talking about momentary peace, I’m talking about internal and eternal peace

You will never experience that peace that surpasses understanding that Scripture promises to those who live in peace with Jesus

And again this plays out in many ways

peace in your family, peace in your marriage, peace at your job, peace in your relationships

bottom line: peace is impossible without the Prince of Peace

Next section: (4-6) The Lord does not negotiate with rebels

Nor does He adjust himself to suit their demands

In fact, what He does is He simply reaffirms His royal plan

His King is installed and that is the end of the matter

No earthly power or authority will ever thwart the heavenly kingdom and plans

So, even the greatest of rebellion does not alter divine sovereignty

Jesus is King and no other king, no other power, no other principality, no other ruler or authority can change that

And if you so choose to rebel against His kingdom just know that His judgement is terrifying

Bottom line: Jesus is King, get in line

Next Section: (7-9) The purpose and power of the Son

God makes publicly plain what had always been the case.

That “ask of me” phrase contrasts the Son and the rebellious kings

Where rebellious kings demand and command out of self and self alone

The Son is submissive to the Father

The Trinity of God works in perfect unison to conduct the work of the kingdom

And so what we see is the inheritance of the Son

What does the Son get?

The earth and the nations

It all belongs to Jesus

We may think that we have possessions and that we have this and that we have that, but here is

The bottom line: Everything belongs to Jesus, including you

Last section: (10-12) Submit to the Son

Serve Him, rejoice in Him, kiss Him, find refuge in Him

The proper response to King Jesus is our actions for His glory,

Our worship for His glory

Our adoration for His glory

Our safe place for His glory

When we begin to understand the hierarchy of the kingdom, we can respond properly

And if we don’t anger and wrath is your reward.

But if we do, we will be blessed

Bottom line: Submit to His Kingship

Psalm chapter 2

Peace is impossible without Jesus

Jesus is king

Everything belongs to Him

Submit to His Kingship

It’s an election year, and it seems like every election season things just get crazier and crazier

People begin to panic and fear sets in

The world will end if he gets that position or if she gets that position

Everything will be ruined!

I think in those moments, Scripture would challenge us to look outside of our little kingdoms

We can get so fixated on our worlds and our kingdoms that we lose sight of the power and authority of God

Listen, I know those positions are important and I want the best people in them just like you do

But at the end of the day, no elected member is going to thwart the kingdom of God

And as the church, that should bring us such hope

Imagine being the person whose world comes crumbling down because the wrong person got elected in their mind

As the church the wrong person can be elected and that’s ok because the right person sits on the throne

Jesus is King and nothing is going to change that

The only thing we get to decide is: do we want to live in rebellion of His kingdom

Or do we want to live in that kingdom

Let me real here for just a second just like the Psalms are and then we will wrap up

There is a price to pay either way

If you submit to the kingdom of God you will have to kill self

You will have to everyday wake up and decide, I do not live for myself any longer

You will have to pick up your cross and nail yourself to it

And you will have to live for Jesus because He is King

Or, you can live in rebellion and pay it’s price

The anger and wrath of king Jesus

Sometimes that is here and now

But what I can absolutely guarantee is that there’s coming a day when you breathe your last, that if you have lived in rebellion against God, you will reap the wrath of God

And I was reminded once again this week, you never know when that last breath will be

So, please! I am begging you this morning. Don’t wait until it’s too late.