IT'S NEVER TOO LATE
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
-Although it is senior adult day, you do not need to be a senior adult to have times where you look back on your life and evaluate what you’ve done and where you’re heading
-Sometimes when you do that, you look back and remember times of problems, trials or failures and it sometimes hard not think about what would or could have been had you changed some things—but that moment has slipped by—it’s too late to fix some things that we broke in the past
-and although there are many things we can’t change in life because it is too late to do so, I thank God that as long as we have breath it is never too late to get our lives in line with God
-God gives us this life, as long or as brief as it may be, to place ourselves under His Lordship for His service—unfortunately it seems we spend much of our life doing the exact opposite—we instead fight against God’s authority over our lives and serve only ourselves
-But God demands and deserves our full surrender, even though we spend a good portion of our lives trying to pull away
-You may think that it is too late for you to get right with God…to finally surrender all to God…to have the relationship with God you see or hear others have but it has always been elusive to you
-But I’m here to tell you that as long as you have breath, whether you are a child or a senior adult or somewhere in between, it’s never too late—so I want to lead you today to submit every area of your life to His authority
I) In asserting our independence, we rebel against God (vv. 1-3)
I) In asserting our independence, we rebel against God (vv. 1-3)
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
-now, the picture here is of the nations that rise up against God and against Israel’s king, not wanting to be under their thumb—they want to be independent from anybody’s else’s rule; they want to rule themselves
-The wording here is interesting: the nations rage=they are restless over their current state; so they plot=they imagine and devise plans to get out from God’s rule; so they set themselves=take their stand against God; take counsel together= make a conspiracy together on how they can break free from God’s authority
-The bottom line is that these nations do not want to submit to the authority of God (Creator of the universe who rules over everything), they want their independence, so they rebel against God
-So you may ask, what does that have to do with you and me? It has everything to do with us, because if there is any part of our lives that we have not submitted under the authority of God, we are asserting our independence from God and are rebelling against Him
-God smacked me with this one this week: God opened my eyes to numerous areas of my life that I wanted control over and I was not about to let God have His say or hand in, and guess what, that made me just like those kings in the psalm
-When we try to throw off the chains of God’s dominion over us and try to rule ourselves, we are throwing our hat in with unbelievers—we get restless being under God’s authority, so we imagine and devise ways of getting out from under Him so we can do things our way, so we take our stand and won’t back down, declaring to God “This is the way it’s going to be; it’s going to be my way, and I’m not going to be moved”
-THAT’S REBELLION
like the rebellious teen who by action and word declares that even though he/she lives under the roof of their parents, they will by no means follow their rules—they are fighting against their parent’s authority, they are asserting their independence by means of outright rebellion
-and you can look at me all you want and think in your heart that I must be talking about somebody else, but I am talking to you and me—if there is an area of your life not completely submitted to God, you are the rebel because you are trying to be independent of God’s rule in your life
-LISTEN TO ME: If you refuse to repent of sin or try to excuse your sin, YOU ARE A REBEL; if you hold on to sinful attitudes (anger, bitterness, etc.)…; believe that church, religion or tradition are the main things and not Jesus Himself…; if your attitude is such that you say in your heart: “It’s my way or the highway” instead of God’s way, or things are going to be done how I think they shld be done {instead of God’s way}, or if you think that what you think is even more important that what God and His Word thinks; THEN YOU ARE A REBEL==you are taking your stand against God, wanting to break any bond of restraint He has on your life
-but you start coming up with excuses: I’m a good church-going person; I’m moral; I’m conservative--and yet here is this or that area of your life that is all yours that in your mind God cannot touch----Don’t touch my sin God! Don’t touch my lust God! Don’t touch my anger or bitterness God! Don’t touch all my non-biblical notions on how the church should run God!—THIS ONE IS ALL MINE GOD! YOU ARE A REBEL!
-but don’t think that in your rebellion, God is going to just sit their and take it—yes God is patient and loving and kind, but He is also holy and just, so we see in the next verses that…
II) In upholding His authority, God judges the rebel (vv. 4-6)
II) In upholding His authority, God judges the rebel (vv. 4-6)
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
-At first here, it says God laughs—not like laughing at a joke, but laughing at the utter ridiculousness of what these ppl were trying to do----these ppl actually think they can fight God off----God laughs at ppl who are so foolish as to think they can resist Him
-It’s as if God mockingly says: You’re kidding me right? I mean, you can’t be serious? You, little finite human, think you can rebel against me, Almighty God, and actually get away with it? Are you really that dense?
-but God’s laughter turns to judgment—those who rebel against Him, he speaks to them in wrath, and terrifies them in His fury because God will not allow any challenge to His authority to stand
-and some of you are sitting there saying: Amen, Hallelujah, go get ‘em God, not even realizing that God’s judgment on you is right around the corner because you are the rebel
-but you say: no, I’m alright, I’m a child of God----Have you not heard that judgment {begins} at the house of God…it begins with us first (1Pe 4:17)—if you have the same Bible as me it’s in there 1 Peter 4:17
-God deals with His children first and foremost, because do you honestly think God will just sit back and let His own child rebel? NO WAY. God says: I am not about to let My child act that way
-Parent’s, are you just gonna sit back while your kid runs rampant, constantly fighting against your authority, or are you going to discipline them—I’m not preaching on giving parenting advice today, but if your children are in your house under your headship and they are constantly going against your authority and you do absolutely nothing to correct that, then we got some issues----I know that here and there kids will be kids, but I also want to make sure that if my kids fight against my authority, they walk away saying I fought the law, and the law won
-How much more will a Holy God, the ultimate authority of the universe, act against His rebellious children
-I love it how some of us church folk always think it’s the devil fighting against us—you know what, it could be; but, did you ever consider that it could also be God Himself fighting against us because we’re fighting against Him?
-Things just seem to be going wrong, and we start with the whole: Oh woe is me, the devil’s getting me down—when in actuality God is the One resisting us because we’re resisting Him----you know what, a better reaction from our part is: I better do some self-examination so see if there is an area of my life that I haven’t submitted to Him; maybe I ought to pray:
Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
-Hear me now, God will not always overlook your rebellion—you keep fighting His authority, He will come down on you with judgment
III) In installing His representative, God’s dominion remains firm (vv. 7-9)
III) In installing His representative, God’s dominion remains firm (vv. 7-9)
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
-in v. 6 God states He will set up His own King; a ruler to represent Him and His purpose and His will here on earth—in vv. 7-9 that representative recalls the instructions that God gave to Him
-It talks about how this representative King will be in a family relationship with God, one of Father and Son; God promised this King all-encompassing authority over every area of the earth, and any who dare to oppose His rule will be broken and shattered
-This King that represents God’s authority on earth is none other than Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords—the Anointed One
-Jesus declared
Matthew 28:18 (ESV)
18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
-As the kingly representative of God on earth, Jesus, Who Himself is a member of the Divine Godhead, speaks on behalf of God such that all rule and laws and statutes He sets up are authoritative and binding, and to go against the King is to go against God Himself
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
-So when Jesus said you shall love your enemies, He did so on behalf of God and it is authoritative; and when Jesus said to die to self…; and when Jesus said to turn the other cheek…; when Jesus said to go and make disciples, and to be salt and light…----to rebel against Jesus is to rebel against God, for God set up Jesus’ kingdom, and He shall rule and reign forever and ever, and no one can rebel against His dominion without peril to themselves
-If you try to soften what Jesus said, or you try and excuse away what Jesus said, or you just outright refuse to follow what Jesus said, you are fighting a losing battle trying to get out from His dominion----are you sure you want to do that?
-so, to end the psalm, God gives rebellious mankind another chance to re-evaluate what they want to do:
IV) In warning His creation, God calls for submission (vv. 10-12)
IV) In warning His creation, God calls for submission (vv. 10-12)
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
-It is as if God is telling rebels: OK, after all you have just heard, you may want to think about what you’re doing; {or to steal from a gameshow}, is that your final answer
-He is telling ppl the only option before judgment comes is to willfully come under the authority of God and His King in every aspect of life
Warren Wiersbe explains the all-encompassing nature of these last verses. He says:
The closing three verses are an appeal from the Spirit to the sons of men to submit themselves now to Jesus Christ. The Spirit appeals to every area of the personality:
A. The mind (v. 10).
“Be wise … be instructed!” The “counsel of the ungodly” (Ps. 1:1) has led the ungodly astray. The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. 1:18–31). Our world boasts of its knowledge, and it seems that there is more knowledge than ever before, but there also seems to be less wisdom. God’s wisdom is found in God’s Word, yet the kings and rulers do not want the Word of God.
B. The heart (v. 11).
“Serve Him!” Instead of rebelling and resisting, people should bow down to Christ and serve Him. A reverential joy is what will result from yielding to Christ.
C. The will (v. 12).
“Kiss the Son” implies paying homage to Him, showing loving surrender to Him. A kiss speaks of love and reconciliation. God has been reconciled to the world by the Cross of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14–21); righteousness and peace kissed each other on the cross (Ps. 85:10). Now God is able to save lost sinners and still uphold His holy law. It is tragic that most of the people of the world are saying, “We will not have this Man to reign over us!” When Jesus returns, they will be forced to bow before Him (Phil. 2:10–11), but then it will be too late. All God has to do is kindle His wrath “but a little”—and sinners perish! What will it be like when His wrath burns on this earth in great judgment?
-At death it will be too late; and Jesus’ return and the judgment it will be too late—but hear me, as long as you are alive on this earth right now it is never too late to submit to Jesus with all your mind, heart, and will
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
- In his book Generation Ex-Christian, about younger Christians leaving Christianity, author Drew Dyck relates one interview with a young man who left Christianity to join the Wicca religion.
Morninghawk Apollo (who renamed himself as is common in Wiccan practice) discussed his rejection of Christianity with candor. "Ultimately why I left is that the Christian God demands that you submit to his will. In Wicca, it's just the other way around. Your will is paramount. We believe in gods and goddesses, but the deities we choose to serve are based on our wills." He is saying he wants a god who is under his authority, not the other way around.
-I wonder if you have more in common with that Wiccan or those heathen kings in the psalm, because you do not have all your life under God’s authority, you’re trying to assert your own
-You may be a Senior Adult kind of set in your ways, but if your ways are not God’s ways then it isn’t God who has to align Himself with you, it is you who has to align himself with God—It’s not too late to do that now
-You may be a youth who has set out to conquer the world with your own dreams and ambitions, but not according to God’s will and purpose for you--it’s not too late to get your life in line with God right now
-But you may be someone who has never even initially submitted to Christ, trusting in Jesus’ death to pay for your sins—right now it is not too late to do that…
-If you’re alive, don’t think it is too late to get things right with God—but what is true about it never being too late right now will not be true at your death or Jesus’ return----then it will be too late—but don’t wait until then, come now…