The fly in the plane

How can we keep our trust in God’s path?

Psalm 1 says that the righteous will be happy and the wicked will end in destruction.

But what do we do when being righteous doesn’t make us feel happy?

What about when things are hard?

That’s what Psalm 2 is for.

This also helps us to see how psalms can form us. So let’s look at a time when the apostles needed Psalm 2.

Acts 3-4

Peter and John healed a man, then preached a sermon. This should prove to everyone that Jesus is alive!

Instead, they get arrested, and told not to preach anymore.

They are alive, but the ungodly are still in charge, and they will stay in charge for Peter’s whole life.

Even so, they go home and have a party, because they have been raised on Psalm 2. So let’s read Psalm 2 together.

Psalm 2 NIV

Why do the nations SWITCH TO NIRV

What did they learn from this Psalm?

Lessons from Psalm 2

God has made Jesus king over the nations. (v.4-9)

The God who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.     The Lord makes fun of those rulers and their plans. 5 When he is angry, he warns them.     When his anger blazes out, he terrifies them. 6 He says to them,     “I have placed my king on my holy mountain of Zion.”

7 I will announce what the Lord has promised.

He said to me, “You are my son.     Today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will give the nations to you.     All nations on earth will belong to you. 9 You will break them with an iron scepter.     You will smash them to pieces like clay pots.”

Sometimes we forget, but this is the Good News—Jesus is king, Lord and Savior, and he will judge.

Acts 2:32–33 NIV

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Acts 10:41–42 NIV

He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 13:32–33 NIV

“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 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.’

Acts 17:31 NIV

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Adults, do you remember the relief of having adults to take care of you? Doesn’t part of you wish you could go back?

But hey, kids, having adults in charge isn’t easy, is it?

Even while the messiah reigns, things will be hard. (v. 1-3, 10-12)

Why do the nations plan evil together?     Why do they make useless plans? 2 The kings of the earth rise up against the Lord.     The rulers of the earth join together against his anointed king. 3 “Let us break free from their chains,” they say.     “Let us throw off their ropes.”

First of all, people don’t like to obey, so they will resist Jesus’ kingdom.

Sometimes we are rebellious—I want to decide!

But also, it’s hard to be a kid in an adult world.

If Jesus is king, then I am not. I don’t get to rule, and I don’t get the promises.

10 Kings, be wise!     Rulers of the earth, be warned! 11 Serve the Lord and have respect for him.     Celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Obey the son completely, or he will be angry.     Your way of life will lead to your death. His anger can blaze out at any moment.

So what is the comfort?

We can take refuge in the king of the world. (v. 12)

You know who the king is, and he has invited you to be on his side. All you have to do is accept.

 12 Blessed are all those who go to him for safety.

Max Lucado’s image of a fly on a plane

What are you doing? “I’m flying to Hawaii.”

But why are you flying? “Because that’s how you get to Hawaii.”

He gets more and more tired. Another fly comes along. “Let’s get out of here. We’re never going to make it to Hawaii like this. I found a way out, let’s do it ourselves.”

What should the fly do?

He’s trying to stay busy because he feels like he needs to fly himself there.

As he gets tired, he gets discouraged. He is tempted to leave the plane.

What does he need to do to make it to Hawaii?

Stay in the plane!

He doesn’t have to stop flying (but he should take a break, to avoid exhaustion and discouragement).

We trust in the KING, not our SELVES.

We trust in the PLANE, not our WINGS.