Psalm 2, When God Laughs

Happy Fathers Day - It is great to be a Father. Now, more than ever, our society needs dads. Your influence on your families life cannot be overstated. If you are a 28 year old dad or an 82 year old dad. You make a difference to your family. Most importantly you make a spiritual difference. Men, Keep spending time with the Lord.

Read Psalm 2

Pray

Intro -

I’ve always thought that God had a sense of humor.

Why?

Look at some of the people around you that you’ve got to live with.

Have you ever asked yourself. How in the world did I get stuck having to deal with this person?

-The guy you work with. Your neighbor. A relative.

Yeah - God put that person in your life on purpose because God has a sense of humor.

and

Other people are thinking that very same thing about you.

For some people, you are the joke God is playing on them.

In our passage today - There is a time in the Bible when God laughs, but it isn’t a funny laugh.

It’s a laugh of mockery.

It’s a laugh at the sinful and rebellious.

Hook - Have you ever wondered, Why is it that the sinful and the godless seem to get away with so much? Where is God’s justice?

Now is the time for God’s mercy, but it will run out & God’s justice will come.

-Right now giving people time to repent and come to Him. He desires them to turn to Him.

-He is patient for a season, but His judgement is coming.

Today’s scripture is written from 10,000 feet up.

It has a long view of time and God’s judgment on the nations who rebel against Him.

Today’s scripture is about the nations who rebel against Him.

But this passage will apply to you today.

Transition - And what do we see in our first 3 verses?

Verses 1-3, The Rebellion of the Nations

-Nations: Rage, Rulers Plot, they Set themselves against.

-Who is this intentional raging rebellion against?

-Against God’s Anointed

WHO is God’s Anointed?

Anointed one = begins with David and the heirs to David’s throne, but is ultimately realized in Christ.

When this Psalm was written it was speaking of David, but it was looking forward to the Messiah.

Now when the Psalm is read, we see that the anointed one is ultimately found in Christ.

The Nations are saying - Let us break God’s control of us… break the control of “THE WORD” of God found in the person of Jesus.

…vs. 3, ”Let us cast their cords from us” what is the controlling or binding cords of God?

Answer - The cords of God’s Word, God’s Direction, God’s expectation.

The leaders of the nations believe that God’s Word, God’s standards, and God’s way is holding them down. God’s standards has them captured and holds them back from what they want to do.

Who do the nations view as the enemy? God, his anointed (Christ Jesus), and His Word.

The nations are trying to break free from God & His standards.

Illustration - We have all been a teenager. When you are a teenager your parents give you a curfew of when to be home on the weekend.

-How many of you heard the saying, “Nothing good happens after midnight.”

-The voice that said that was a voice of experience, maybe a voice that made some mistakes in their past, a voice that had seen a few things, and a voice that desperately cared about their child.

-Let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever been frustrated by having a curfew?

Don’t you remember speeding home when you were running behind on making curfew.

Don’t you remember pulling in the driveway hoping the dog didn’t bark.

-The “curfew” and “restriction on time” was given, not to hurt, but to help and to protect.

-We all have been frustrated by the curfew. Many times we wanted to come home later, or in the middle of a fun time we had to leave.

-It was our nature to want to cast off the bonds of our parents tight restrictions on our life.

So how does the unbelieving secular culture encourage resting God?

-By telling the people: God does not exist,

-If God does exists we can’t know much about Him,

-They teach our college students that the Bible is an old fashion worthless piece of fiction,

that the only one who should control you life is you,

that anything that smells of Christianity should be thrown in the trash.

So, the boundaries of life that God has given us in His Word that were meant to protect are discarded.

People begin to find their own way, with no road map, and no directions.

People are spiritually lost.

-They don’t know if they are a boy or a girl.

-They don’t know if they should be attracted to a boy or a girl.

-They don’t know if mom or dad should be a boy or a girl.

-They don’t know right or wrong.

-They don’t know God as authority or anyone as authority

-They don’t know how to keep a promise or to follow through with what they said.

-Cheating is an ok way to get ahead.

-There is no such thing as sin.

-Our culture is collapsing because we have thrown off the loving boundaries that God has gifted us with. On top of that we have called God’s way evil.

This is not a political problem, this is a deep spiritual issue.

-But this is not an earthly physical battle. This is a spiritual battle. The military weapons of the greatest superpower can do nothing to help them.

-Unbelievers in America do not think that a spiritual realm exist, but it is in the spiritual realm that the battle for their heart and life is happening. ???

Transition - And what is God’s final response to this? It is vengeance.

Verses 4-6, God’s Vengeful Response (wrath, anger)

Read verse 4-6

What does God do when He sees humankind’s rebellion?

God laughs in mockery at the ridiculousness of their plans.

Illustration - When I was 4 years old I got very upset with my mom and dad. I thought the answer was to run away from home. So, I got my favorite toy (show picture of Evil Knieval bike) and when mom was in another room, I snuck out of the house. I went about a block down the street and sat down on the curb.

In about 10 minutes my dad showed up and brought me back home.

As he was asking me why I left, where I was going to sleep, and why I took the toy with me … I could tell he was trying not to laugh at my ill thought out plans.

-I had no food, no where to go, just a toy. I acted like a mad 4 year old.

-A week later when I asked him what he thought about me running away, he confessed that He told my mom, “Don’t worry, when he gets hungry, he’ll come back.”

-A 4 year old running away from home with his favorite toy is funny now.

-But our rebellion against God isn’t funny at all.

-There is nothing funny about God’s laughter.

In derision God Mocks them.

And lets be clear, this is not a response of love, mercy, and grace.

The unbeliever has already rejected God’s love mercy and grace.

-God is a god of second chances, but there is a limit. Time will run out on you.

-You may die or God’s patience may come to an end.

-Why does God mockingly laugh at those who reject Him?

-He has zero fear of them.

-They have no power over Him.

-It’s like Gulliver’s Travels - The Lilliputians think they are some kind of threat to Gulliver. They are like ants to him. They are just tiny noise makers.

-Those who reject God are like tiny noise makers.

-He laughs and mocks them.

-God will have the last laugh when they are judged and cast into hell.

-Anyone who does not fully trust in Jesus has set their destination on the wide road to Hell.

Transition - So one of God’s responses to those who completely reject Him is to mock them.

I want you to see another response God gives to those who reject Him.

-Romans

Romans 1:24-25, Tells us that after God offered many chances to change, that he gave them over to sin.

Read Romans 1:24-25

In Romans 1, God says - OK, I will give you what you want. Take in as much sin as you would like. Go ahead, I won’t stop you.

-I will give you over to your sin, your will become addicted to it. You will not be able to spiritually return from it.

-This eventually destroys individuals, families, culture, and society.

-Our nation is a perfect example of this right now.

-And so, we see a vengeful response from God.

-A response that we 100% deserve.

Transition -

When we read passages like this, our hearts yearn to see some kind of mercy extended. Here is he mercy in this Psalm. The mercy comes through you.

Verses 7-9, Response of the Redeemer

Read verses 7-9

-Declare God’s decree.

-If you look, there is leadership.

-Israel’s King & ultimately the King of Righteousness, Jesus, will stand up and make a declaration. He will bring leadership.

Application - There is an application to us as well as believers given the Great Commission. We are to also share the decree of God.

Transition - And what is that decree?

-What is God’s decree? The decree is in 3 parts.

Part 1, vs. 7, “That Jesus is the Son of God”

Remember that “The Anointed” in this passage is David and all His heirs to the throne, culminating with Jesus.”

vs. 7, “Today you are my Son; today I have begotten you.”

For David this is a sign of adoption by God. In Psalm 89, David calls God His Father.

This is a way God says, I have adopted you as Son, you are mine.

When Jesus raised Himself from the dead, all question people had about who He was -

The Father birthed Jesus from the grave with a new heavenly body.

Any question about Him being “God’s Son” was dispelled.

The Psalmist (ultimately Jesus) -Proclaims, “I am the Son of God”.

You and I must proclaim, with our mouth, Jesus is the Son of God.

Part 2 (of the decree) is in vs. 8, God will give His Son the Nations as His inheritance.

-When Christ comes back, He will rule and rain over all the nations.

-As the final king of heaven and earth, Christ will possess all the nations.

-And so the Father laughs when the nations try to rebel, because in the end, rebellious leaders will be judged and the nation will be given as a gift to the Son of God.

Application - You are called to declare Jesus.

To whom do we declare? Declare Him to all the nations, because His judgment will not only fall on friends and family, but all who reject Him.

-There are over 1 Billion people across North Africa, The Middle East, and Asia that do not know Jesus. Many of those people live in towns that are the size of Louisville and have Zero Christians to share the Gospel.

-Entire towns like ours are headed to hell and need someone to decree to them the mercy of King Jesus, before they experience the wrath of King Jesus.

Transition - The 3rd part of the declaration is in verse 9

Part 3, vs.9, The nations will be shattered.

Illustration- In the first few years of marriage I was in our kitchen alone barefoot. I didn’t know it at the time, but one of the tabs that holds up the edge of a shelf had come loose and fallen out.

-That shelf was stacked with glass cooking dishes. Out of no where the cabinet door opened and from 5 feet off the ground about $200 of Corning-wear fell and shattered around my bare feet.

Shards of glass all over. some large and pointy like dangers, others like tiny sand spurs - more than I could count.

-This is what Jesus will do to the nations that have rejected Him .

-The Scripture tells us (Revelation 19:14-16) that when Jesus shows up in the clouds with his might army, that a sword will come out of his mouth and He will shatter the nations by His spoken word.

Read Rev 19:14-16

Revelation 19:14–16 ESV

14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Application

Sometimes we are nervous scared or frightened to share with those in our life about the forgiveness found in Jesus.

-When you consider the imminent return of Jesus & that He will come to judge those who have rejected Him, it gives you an earnestness to talk to share with others about Jesus.

Matthew 10:28 “28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

If the unbeliever does not turn to Christ and repent, he will get what all of us deserve - an eternity in hell separated from God, with no opportunity to go back and make it right.

Transition - So what are we to do?

Verse 10-12, Respond to this great warning of God.

3 part response

A. vs. 10, Listen humbly

-Someone is warning you about an eternal life or death matter.

-This is something to be taken with the utmost seriousness.

-If you are a Christ Follower, you are to give the warning to others.

B. vs. 11,

-Follow Jesus knowing that judgement is coming.

-It is not enough to know about Jesus. A real faith has action. Serve Him.

-Read verse 11.

C. Love Jesus, “Kiss The Son” Vs. 12

We see a command of our affections. Love Him with all your heart.

A true faith knows God, follows God, and loves God....

So we close with 2 challenges

-If you know Jesus as your Savior, Share Him with others.

-You have the inoculation too a sin disease that no one can stop, but Jesus.

-If you do not know Jesus, Take refuge in Him. Fully Trust Him.

Isaiah 55:6–7 ESV

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Prayer